Artist’s notes:
 
Nothingness, that’s where he was, drifting in an endless ocean of darkness, or was it blinding light? He wasn’t sure, all he knew was that he was there for a long, long time. He counted the days, the weeks, the years, how long was it, really? He cursed his mind for not having the luxury of going insane.
 
His thoughts were quickly dashed once an otherworldly pull gripped him, yanking him through time and space with a blinding flash of white light.
 
The silence was broken by the wind, by birds, by distant sounds of nature. The nothingness replaced by cold stone under him. He was back…back in the world of life and light. Sombra shook his head, rubbing his face as his eyes slowly got used to the light. After a few seconds he finally opens his eyes, and what he saw nearly shocked him to death! Standing before him was an alicorn, one whom he had never seen, but sensed something familiar about her. He gauged her deeply, wracking his memories of the past thousand or so years, the only thing close was that Princess of Love and her lap dog of a husband….of course, this mare was no doubt the spawn of those weaklings, though the hardened mare before him could not be any further than her parents. Her mane and tail were cut short, any sort of royal regalia or jewelry were absent, instead she wore military gear, worn and dirty as though she had been in recent operations. And she looked…defensive, shielded, on guard at all times, her hand hovering over her sidearm. The place he was laying in looked like ruins, ruins of…Canterlot? Strange, last he heard Celestia was ruling quite an empire from Canterlot, why would it be in such disrepair?
 
“Are you good?” the mare finally says, “No dizziness, no pains or loss of feeling?”
 
“Not at all” Sombra says after a moment of silence, “Although you have my gratitude of bringing me from the void, I question your motives, I can sense you are the child of the false princess and that shield stallion, and they were very much against me…”
 
“They were” she spits back at him, “You nearly killed them before Spike banished you”
 
Sombra nods, his hand rubbing his chin. He remembered that day clearly, as though it happened mere hours ago. “Yes” he says, “I was to spread my reach from the Empire to Equestria to the Griffons and dragons and all life upon Equis, under my rule…as fractured as my mind was.” The stallion took the moment to sit up, grunting slightly, his muscles aching from centuries of disuse. It was now he noticed his predicament. “You’ve locked my powers…”
 
“Yeah” Flurry says back at him, “I took the liberty of turning you mortal till I know I can trust you”
 
“If you don’t trust me then why have you summoned me? Are you here to rehabilitate me? To turn me into Celestia’s lapdog?”
 
“No, I need you”
 
This caught his attention, “Need me?”
 
Flurry nods slowly, “You’re the only one left powerful enough to end this nightmare, I don’t give a shit if you want to be good or evil, either way, you’ll be fighting what I’ve been fighting for all this time” she lifts up her hand where the strange, red and black colored crystal, “This has all your shadow and crystal and green eye powers, all you’re left with is what you had as a unicorn”
 
Sombra purses his lips, the idea of being a mere unicorn again turning his mood dour, “I assume that you will return them?”
 
“When its time” she replies, showing a twitch of a smirk, “Can’t let you lose your mind and turn into a headache”
 
“Hah” Sombra laughs, he first genuine, hones laugh he’s had in a long time, “very well, we’ll play by your rules, for now”
 
“That’s good enough for me” Flurry says before tucking the crystal into a special box and then stuffing the box into a duffel bag. Once the back was slung over her shoulder she grabs her rifle. Sombra perks up at such a weapon, it had a sort of elegance to it in its simplicity, he’d have to get his hands on one in the future. His eyes fell upon her other weapon, a sword, a sword that he was familiar with, “Luna…” he whispers softly before getting to his feet. Just then the air was filled with distant howls, howls that screeched and echoed, “Damnit” Flurry says, “They found us, they must’ve heard the summoning”
 
“And who, might I ask, found us?”
 
“A pack of Hunters, you don’t want to see or meet them”
 
Sombra shakes his head, “And what are these Hunters?”
 
Flurry looked at him as she tossed an old machete at his feet, “Let’s say they’re what’s left of Canterlot’s social elite”
 
“I see” Sombra says, “Things never change about them I suppose”
 
“Hah, got that right” Flurry chuckles, peeking out a broken window, “If we hurry we can get out of the city before nightfall”
 
“And am I right to assume that I’ll have to go…as this?” he says, finally brining attention to his nudity
 
Flurry flicks an ear, “You should have thought about that before using dark magic to keep yourself decent, if we run across anything like a blanket or towel then you can use that till we get back to Ponyville…doesn’t hurt you’re not bad to look at I guess”
 
“I’m flattered”
 
“But don’t think about anything stupid” she warns, “Remember, the bigger they are the easier they are to hit”
 
“Heh, I will keep that in mind” Sombra says, grabbing the blade off the ground, “Shall we?”