Originally posted on: December 21, 2021 at 7:29 PM UTC
> Ex Student Chap 2 — return of the king
> Here's chapter 2 of this story!!! Cant wait to see what you guys think!!!
> This story contains King Sombra, Stardust, guards, Twilight Sparkle
> WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS VIOLENCE, MENTIONS OF DEATH AND LIES! DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO THIS
> Ex student: chapter 2 — return of the king.
> Twilight Sparkle had been on the run now for months. Getting her magic back, had given her a huge advantage in the trip she’s made. She has been flying for miles. Managing to sneak back to her castle and grab some supplies, filling many many bags and bringing them with her.
> She had her saddle bag, and attached to those bags, were large clips that carried 2 more large bags. They were filled with food, water bottles, and supplies for things like a campfire. She had also brought some warm clothes, because where she was going, wasn't going to be a very friendly place.
> She was flying to the area where the Crystal Empire vanished hundreds of years ago.
> The purple princess let out a shudder as she flew deeper into the frozen landscape. Her wings tensed up from the cold, and she thought this was the best place for her to land.
> “Well… No turning back now… There's only one unicorn powerful enough, that doesnt want my head on a spike… and I gotta find him…” Twilight thought out loud as she landed in the knee deep snow.
> Her horn ignited and she opened one of her bags, taking out a scarf, some boots and a body warmer.
> The purple princess slipped her wings through the body warmer, before putting the scarf on, letting it rest over her rapidly cooling muzzle. Lastly, putting on her boots.
> The scarf was wide enough that it can double as a hood, which helps keep her ears warm.
> She slipped the makeshift hood on, she looked around at the white blanket of land, squinting her eyes, looking for some shelter.
> “C’mon twilight.. There must be something nearby… Just go for the nearest place you see…”
> In the distance, she noticed a nearby cave, and she made a beeline for it. The snow grew heavier, the further she traveled, causing the princess to let out a shiver or two as she walked through the powdery snow, until eventually she made it to the cave.
> The inside was much warmer than the outside, to the point she lowered her hood and let it sit across her shoulders. As she walked deeper into the cave, echoes of water droplets falling from the ceiling could be heard. Her hoofsteps bounced off of the walls, which had a crystal blue aura to them. There was still some residue of snow, maybe of other ponies taking shelter here in the past. With a sigh of relief, she sat down in the very back of the cave, opening her saddle bags and gathering the supplies to make a campfire. She decided to avoid using magic for this. She had been in jail for celestia knows how long, so using her magic for something like making fire could be risky. But she knew she would need to use it soon anyways. For a much bigger spell…
> She set up a small campfire, and used some dried out twigs to make the starting flame. Once there was enough heat coming from it, she began to layer leaves, hay and some thin twigs on top. All of which she had gathered from Sweet Apple Acres before she left. Applejack was away in Applusa with family, so she had all the time in the world, especially since she managed to fill one of her bags to the brim with materials, she would be set for a long time.
> The princess got cozy beside the fire, giving a soft smile as she let the warmth embrace her shivering purple body. Soon she had gathered the energy to use the spell.
> And she knew exactly what she needed to do.
> She took out a spell book and opened it, before standing with all 4 of her hooves far apart. She spread her wings and her horn illuminated. Coating the cave in a bright pink light.
> Soon a small circle formed in the air in front of her, which began to open like a wormhole. It revealed the interior of the long lost castle, which rested in the centre of the crystal empire.
> She saw many many, dimmed out crystal ponies standing within the castle. All in cuffs and chains, some were bloody and bruised. Others were skinny and shivering. And others were pale and rotting, most likely dead, while still cuffed to the others. Just being dragged along like a sack of moldy apples.
> But she wasn't looking for them. She was looking for their current overseer: King Sombra.
> Soon enough, she heard the echoing footsteps of armoured boots, her eyes widened, and she commanded the portal to look around the castle. Until she was face-to-face with the unicorn villain himself.
> The purple princess let out a small gasp, along with the grey unicorn.
> “wait.. YOU!!”
> Sombra let out a snarl and attempted to lunge at Twilight, But the wormhole wasn't fully open, so it pushed him back a few feet.
> “Wait! King sombra i need your–!” The purple princess began, before Sombra charged again, being knocked back once more.
> “Need what? Me to return the empire, so I can be humiliated by your precious princess again?
> Sombra retorted with a scowl, he began to pace in a circle around Twilight, which the portal followed, keeping him in the centre at all times.
> “No.. I need your help. Something terrible happened and you are the only one I know that knows a revival spell. Not even Starswirl-the-bearded knew how to revive ponies. But I know you can, because legends speak of it!”
> Twilight explained, avoiding to tell the full truth of what happened. The grey lord stopped in his tracks, raising an eyebrow at the princess.
> “You need my help, to revive a pony… And why would I do that? What's in it for me? You banished me along with my kingdom and my subjects. I have nothing to lose” Sombra snarked. Continuing to pace again. The purple smoke from his eyes left a small trail behind his head. His red eyes glowed in the dim light of the castle’s corridor. Though some blue light still shimmered over Sombra’s mane and tail.
> “because the pony is very important. She is the princess of the stars. Stardust''
> That made sombra pause again, and he gritted his teeth at the name.
> “you need me.. To revive my own daughter? She’s an immortal alicorn, she can't die. I don't see why you need my help. You’re wasting your time.”
> Sombra went to turn away before twilight stopped him. She jumped through the portal and put her hoof on king sombra’s shoulder. He turned to snap at Twilight, but she put her hoof over the front of his muzzle.
> “May I remind you, that you are equally matched here. You may know spells to medal with someone’s life, dead or alive, but I can deal a whole world of damage to you, using your own magic. “
> Twilight spoke with a low, cold tone. Her horn ignited and the magic that followed, matched King Sombras. Small lines of purple smoke came from the princess’s eyes, and her eyes went a similar green/red that Sombra’s did.
> The dark grey unicorn growled and backed away, his mane swishing behind him as he turned his head away.
> “besides. You’re Stardust’s father… Somehow. Surely you must care about her.”
> Sombra gave a sigh and his horn illuminated, bringing a book out of the library nearby. It was a scrapbook. He opened it to show a child-like drawing that Stardust made as a filly. It was a drawing of her and sombra together, standing in a castle.
> “We were meant to rule the crystal empire together. That's where she was born after all. Though she may not have been born in the way you may think. See… Stardust has no mother. I made her myself. Using this.”
> Sombra turned to the back of the book, revealing a cluster of crystals, each of them a different colour. He pulled out one of the red ones.
> “I infused one of these crystals with all the magic I could muster. Creating Stardust. An alicorn who would grow up to be one of the most powerful out there. Fit to be a queen. But as I began my attack on the Crystal Empire, Stardust ran away. To where, I don't know, I was defeated before I could find her. I guess she made it out before Celestia banished me away. But as stardust was growing up, I lived outside of the crystal empire, in my own home. Once we were both powerful enough, we began to take over. She was there in the start, but then ran away once we were successful. And now you’re here, hundreds of years later, telling me that she’s dead. And you need me to revive her. Stardust meant everything to me. She can do everything you can and more. I taught her how to use magic, how to fight with it, and how to use it for her own personal gain. She may as well be one of the best alicorns out there… ”
> Sombra gave a sigh and put the book away, turning to look at Twilight, who had a determined look on her face.
> “King Sombra, i promise, once you and your daughter are reunited, you 2 can go away and live a good life together, catch up on the time you 2 lost. But for now, we need to sneak ourselves back into Canterlot. Her grave is in the castle gardens. We can leave the gravestone there and make it look like nothing happened. Are you with me?”
> The purple princess held her hoof out to King Sombra, who shook it firmly. The 2 of them gave a smile and a nod, before Twilight helped him through the wormhole. It closed easily behind them, leaving nothing behind.
> King Sombra turned to Twilight and raised his eyebrow, the purple princess had begun to shiver, a storm had kicked up and the wind had gotten so strong it distinguished the campfire.
> “c’mon. The quicker we get to centerlot, the quicker we can part ways and never speak of this again.”
> Sombra said with a scowl, he made his way to the exit,with the purple princess in tow.
> Sombra made a bubble around the 2 of them to protect them from the storm, and they made their way back, in the direction that Twilight came in.
> Many days of planning had passed. King Sombra and Twilight were able to take refuge in an abandoned house, just outside of castle grounds. Twilight was walking around the perimeter of the room while King Sombra sat there looking at the plan they had written out. The plan was for Twilight to distract the guards somehow, that didn't result in the guards using a fatal spell on her.
> Soon twilight let out a loud “AHA!!” Which nearly made Sombra jump out of his armour.
> “Sombra! We can use a decoy! and no one's gonna know what to do when they see somepony that looks like you!”
> “What are you implying princess?”
> Sombra asked with a snarky tone.
> “Im saying, we can make a fake version of you ! Maybe use a transformation spell on somepony, so they look like you!!”
> “But won't that get them killed?” Sombra asked with a rather surprised look on his face. But it was only answered with a humble shrug.
> Sombra couldn't help but laugh
> “You are quite the devious one Princess. I like it~”
> The grey unicorn looked out of the broken window, seeing a random pony walking by. The king let out a chuckle and the purple smoke returned to his eyes as his horn ignited. The pony began to levitate. Within the glow, they could see the pony’s body changing. Limbs got longer, chests puffed out a bit more, horns and fangs grew. Soon enough, they were the spitting image of King Sombra. The only difference was the eye colour.
> Almost immediately, some royal guards spotted them.
> “STOP RIGHT THERE!!!” one of the guards yelled, before they charged at the pony. The poor pony let out a scream and bolted down the road, with the guards hot on their tail.
> Twilight looked out of the window and gave a nod, it was all clear for them to go. They wore puffy shoes to muffle their hoofsteps as much as possible, as they made their way to the huge back gardens of the castle. In the middle of a small ring of stones, was a gravestone. It was Stardust’s gravestone.
> “Huh, you weren't kidding. She was actually killed… What killed her? Did you see?”
> Twilight shook her head and put a comforting hoof on Sombra’s shoulder.
> “But now is the only time you have to get her back. It's now or never your highness.”
> Sombra gave a sigh and walked towards his daughter's grave. His horn lit up and he aimed it at the grave, his horn lit up a bright purple as the ground began to pulsate. Soon enough, a pink, stripped hoof punched through the dirt, reaching for something to grab onto.
> Sombra immediately grabbed Stardust’s hoof and pulled her out of the dirt, the red alicorn giving a loud gasp as her lungs were filled with the crisp night air.
> ”Oh my stars. Stardust you’re ok now, papas here.”
> He wrapped his front hooves around Stardust, hugging her tightly. Stardust immediately hugged back, nuzzling into his shoulder.
> Unfortunately, Twilight had to break up the reunion by tapping Sombra’s shoulder ”Sorry, but we have to go, before the guards get back…”
> Sombra nodded and the 3 of them fled the gardens, running to a nearby cottage on the outskirts of canterlot.
> “Father… What's going on…? Why are you here? And why is Twilight her–!?”
> Stardust immediately hid behind Sombra, realising that the 3rd pony with them was Twilight. She gripped his cape tightly, and shook as she looked at the purple alicorn.
> “oh hehehe… Looks like i've got some explaining to do huh?”
> And thats chapter 2!! hope you all liked it!
> Hope you're all looking forward to chapter 3!!!
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