dragonofruin Posted March 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2020 Sombra relaxed ever so slightly to give the unicorn his attention again once he remembered who he was forgetting, his ears turning towards the stallion's voice. Finally, he had a name to match to the pony. Magnus. The king was silent for a few minutes as he took in Magnus's appearance fully, committing it to memory so that when he ran across him again in Canterlot, he'd recognize him. "I'll keep that in mind, then, Magnus. I'm sure we'll meet soon enough in Canterlot," Sombra replied, giving the slightest nod of his head. He blinked when Magnus abruptly vanished, and it didn't look as if he'd teleported- there was usually that signature flash of light when one teleported. His tail twitched behind him and Sombra's mouth bunched up at one side in thought. Something else, then, perhaps Magnus wasn't really here- or perhaps close by? It didn't matter to him, really. They still talked, and came to an agreement. His attention was quick to center entirely upon Tongue Twister now that they were the only two creatures in the clearing. The news that she gave him, of an imposter taking over the Crystal Empire, being defeated, and next trying to conquer Canterlot.. His face darkened to something thunderous, an unsettling air rising from him. An imposter, wearing HIS face. But, perhaps just a puppet? A fake of some sort? If Tongue Twister was to be believed, Discord had been behind it and his chaos magic could do so much more than unicorn magic. It was very much possible. In that case, he at least knew who to be angry with- he just wasn't sure if there was anything he, or really any being, could do about the lord of chaos himself. Not even Hou. Sombra snorted softly, trying to shed his burst of fury with a shake of his mane, fluffing it out. "I'm sure they'll have an even lower opinion of me after an awful impersonation, not that it could ever be high enough to begin with." He snorted. "I just hate that that happened. It at least explains something," Sombra added with a mutter, flopping back down on his rear. "I just can't help but wonder if we could tell Celestia. It might not hinder Hou in any way, but.." he trailed off and shrugged. That wild impulse was still in the back of his mind, and when he could try to straighten that situation out to boot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiktoBarada Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 Quote "I just can't help but wonder if we could tell Celestia. It might not hinder Hou in any way, but.." he trailed off and shrugged. That wild impulse was still in the back of his mind, and when he could try to straighten that situation out to boot. Tongue Twister had to think about that for a moment. "Well, that WOULD be something nopony would expect." she stated, "And some warning is better than none at all. Celestia has dealt with Hou before. But how to tell her ? For now though, I think that question should be tabled for later." she stated as she looked around, "Now that the 'Final Battle for the Fate of All Equestria' part ten is over, every creature will be heading for home. This road might be getting busy soon, so best to get lost !" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonofruin Posted March 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 "I have an idea," Sombra began and fell quiet at the mere mention of it being tabled for later. Tongue Twister was the last to have stuck around after the situation with Hou, if only because she'd dealt with the sorceress with him, and he hadn't expected their little meeting to end so soon. He straightened with a frown. "I didn't think this path would be that well traveled that I'd have to hide soon. How many ponies often go wandering through the woods?" His ears flicked back and he turned his frown towards the earth he stood on. Maybe some did, but.. it was a stupid question he regretted asking immediately. The king looked back up towards the sky, in the direction he'd seen the earlier multi-colored glare of light. The Elements of Harmony in use, he assumed. He never wanted to have to actually deal with that, as he was certain it was light magic of some sort. Like the Crystal Heart, though that particular relic had failed to kill him in any way that mattered. His tail flicked and Sombra stepped away to pick up his crown with a flicker of his dark magic. "Part.. ten?" he turned to look at Tongue Twister, confusion on his dark features. "I'm not sure what you mean by that." The most he understood was that Equestria was frequently nearly conquered many times, and he understood this from both the kingdom's history books, its newspapers (when he read them when a particular headline caught his eye), and her statement. "Regardless, I think I will head to Canterlot. At least, once whatever that was calms down a bit," Sombra stated, jerking his head in the direction of the earlier lightshow. Maybe it was the fight he had with Hou and the excitement it'd stirred up that had him so tempted to commit a wild, and impulsive idea, or perhaps because he'd just fallen into a routine too generic for his liking as of late. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiktoBarada Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Quote The king looked back up towards the sky, in the direction he'd seen the earlier multi-colored glare of light. The Elements of Harmony in use, he assumed. He never wanted to have to actually deal with that, as he was certain it was light magic of some sort. Like the Crystal Heart, though that particular relic had failed to kill him in any way that mattered. His tail flicked and Sombra stepped away to pick up his crown with a flicker of his dark magic. "Part.. ten?" he turned to look at Tongue Twister, confusion on his dark features. "I'm not sure what you mean by that." The most he understood was that Equestria was frequently nearly conquered many times, and he understood this from both the kingdom's history books, its newspapers (when he read them when a particular headline caught his eye), and her statement. "Regardless, I think I will head to Canterlot. At least, once whatever that was calms down a bit," Sombra stated, jerking his head in the direction of the earlier lightshow. Maybe it was the fight he had with Hou and the excitement it'd stirred up that had him so tempted to commit a wild, and impulsive idea, or perhaps because he'd just fallen into a routine too generic for his liking as of late. Tongue Twister smiled a bit. "Yeah. For a realm that is so full of peace and friendship, it gets threatened disturbingly often. At least once a year or so it seems. First, it was the return of Nightmare Moon," she stated, starting the count with her wing pinions, "Then the Return of Discord, and the First Changeling Invasion. Then the return of the Crystal Empire and, well, you. Then the magic-eating centaur Tirek absorbing all power, growing to the size of a building and tearing up the landscape. Then Starlight Glimmer's Equality cult, the Second Changeling Invasion, the Pony of Shadows, then Cozy Glow's nearly successful attempt to eliminate ALL magic in Equestria, and then finally whoever just got blasted over there." She had ten pinion feathers extended on one wing - far more than normal wings have. She flinched then rapidly shook her wing. After a few moments, it was back to its new normal. She sighed heavily as she looked at her wing. "I'm going to have to get used to that sort of thing, aren't I ? No matter. I have some loose ends in Las Pegasus to tie up first. Then off to Canterlot to square things with my parents." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonofruin Posted April 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 Some of the events in the list Tongue Twister gave him were what he'd already read about, the major ones being in the Equestrian history books, like Discord's brief reign over Equestria, Tirek's imprisonment, and Luna's descent, although the word return meant that it'd happened again. He already knew enough about Luna's situation from what he'd managed to figure out, and the others.. It explained why Discord was still around, perhaps to make an imposter of himself to terrorize the empire again and Canterlot, as for Tirek.. Sombra snorted softly, his eyes flicking to the wing she'd held up. With each thing she'd listed, another feather seemed to appear, and it was both a grotesque and fascinating thing to watch. Sombra stared at it, perturbed, until she shook her wing back into normalcy. He suppressed a shiver. Some of it definitely had been what he'd heard of, though this Starlight Glimmer and Tirek's return, were not. The mention of Cozy Glow's attempt certainly explained why his magic had been on the fritz when he was still out and about in Equestria, forced to hide until it returned on its own; it was something he figured was just a strange result of his body's reformation, however delayed it was. His snout wrinkled. "I see," he muttered, giving Tongue Twister's question a distracted nod. "You'd think they would've learned by now to properly dispatch their enemies." This conversation was wrapping up, if her intent was anything to go by. As much as he might like to continue for a little longer, he hadn't much else to say, or ask, as Tongue Twister had freely given him some useful information to keep in mind and mull over the next few days on the way to Canterlot. "I suppose I'll see you in Canterlot, then," Sombra announced, his eyes dropping to his helm. He didn't have anywhere to stash it- he had pockets sewn into the inside of his cape, but none of them were big enough to fit it even if he did enchant them or make them the entrance to a pocket realm. He sat there considering it for a moment between his two hooves before he turned it around and slipped it back onto his head. It fit as it always did, and some part of him did feel some comfort in having it back in place, even if the rest of his armor was long gone and destroyed (or so he believed). With a quick illusion spell, he hid it, making it appear as if it was never there. No need to frighten ponies, or make himself any more recognizable than he already was. If Tongue Twister had nothing more to add, then.. it'd be back on the road for him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciraxis Posted April 14, 2020 Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 Epilogue: "....You are dismissed." Hou ordered to her minions, who in turn bowed and unobtrusively left the chamber. It's good to be back at Wunyun. Sorceress gaze glided across the spoils of the sucessful operation. It was good. Not perfect, but good, and that was enough. It was a shame that she had to reveal her presence to Sombra, but even more so that she had to leave his soul alone for now. But at least she got potential follower out of this mess...perhaps even student, if he fulfills his task..... He sough to learn from both her and fallen king. Good....she expected nothing less! Who knows? Perhaps with passing years he find himself with potential to become one of the Seven? And this pegasus that spied on them..... Hou wondered how her dark magic would influence her. She certainly didn't give it any direction. If she welcomes it, she may become something unlike any other creature in this world. And if she resist? Well, that was the mystery. No matter, she had time to find out answers for both of these questions. Of all ponies on the face of the world She had time. And she will use it to study her prizes in the meantime. Copies of Starswirl numerous notes, his monograph about mirror magic, the volumes of dark magic that eluded her for centuries.....Magic Mirror...and the Stone....those were but a few of treasures she got out of this. Of course more remained behind, like Staff of Sacanas....but all in due time. Shuren's gaze left the artifacts as she walked and sat on ornamented throne. Those were just tools, no matter how powerful. The true might laid in something else. Sorceress conjured magical images of exceptional ponies. Student's of Princesses.....two of the Sun...one of the Friendship....one of the Moon. Who knows? Perhaps Love will take apprentice of her own. She could hardly wait to match her wits and magical might with every one of them. Such delicious souls..... "Certainly, interesting times are soon to come....don't you agree, Your Highness?" sorceress said, to the petrified visage of the Storm King...... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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