Misery hates company!

[James Knight]

As much as he hated to admit it, the dark lord of the Crystal Empire was not happy. Sure he had initially thought that bringing the murder train to O-Harmony would make him feel somewhat better than he did. But it didn't make him feel better. To be exact, it didn't change his mood which was well he didn't know how to describe it. His mood was a combination of rage, sadness and what he could only call a neutrality presently. Sure he had a home but it was empty of fellow ponies. Was this why he was miserable right now? Did he miss his race? Trotting out of the gate from Camelot,  King Sombra considered why he potentially could be sad. Companionship was one of the reasons that he could be miserable. After all none from his race were here and that was bound to be depressing to say the least. Of course the lack of power he possessed could also be a contributing factor. 

Starswirl also didn't believe he had cast the spell properly. Sure he had done his level best on the spell but it didn't make sense. Why could he not cast a spell properly here? And why were most of his spells beyond his reach? Oh yes. Sombra had been told by Starswirl that the "Laws of Magic" in this place were different from the ones of Equestria. So magic here was different and he had to relearn every spell. Doing so was going to be a major pain in the flank because Sombra didn't have time to relearn everything. O-Harmony may have been dealt with by him, but he had work to do. Work that involved Deadpool but in order to do that he would need something he didn't have. 

This was actually something he couldn't get with Omnilium. Sure he could make secondaries, but he needed those who could think and fight. In short he needed ponies or bipeds that were loyal to him. What he needed were knights of his own that he could empower with all the powers of darkness he possessed. Sure it might not be easy to do so. But he was bound and determined he was not going to leave his fortress undefended. The traps he'd put up were ineffective for some reason, and he needed to figure out why. To be completely honest with himself, he had a lot of work he needed to do. By Faust,  he had a lot that needed to be done. 

When he had finally gotten back to the Fountain he started to look around. 

"Where do I go from here?" 

[James Knight]

Coruscant was the gate that had the white armored troopers around it. Given their 'intolerance' towards non bipeds, King Sombra was not sure if he would even go there. For that very reason he was currently sitting by the Fountain and thinking. Where would he go from here? Which of the gates made the most logical sense for him to go to? Right now he couldn't return to the Vasty Deep. The defenses of his home lacked something, but he wasn't sure what it was. If they couldn't keep away a bunch of nosing Imperials they certainly couldn't handle an Alicorn. There were now Three Alicorns within the Omniverse two of which that had been brought by him. 

Twilight was to be his sparring partner and also a reason for him to push himself. Given his current lack of magical prowess King Sombra knew he needed to relearn all of his powers. Every spell in his old arsenal was useless in this plane of existence practically. Sure he could use Nightmare Force but it was not the same as the curse he'd cast. Stasis spells were beyond his reach and he was pretty sure he was not immortal anymore either. Honestly what had Omni thought when he ripped all of Sombra's powers from him? It was something the dark monarch decided he would deal with in due time. The dark overlord could not afford to be indecisive. To do so was to be weak, and a coward like he had been when Twilight and her friends had routed him. His route had been too easily done. 


Stupidity like he had shown in the Crystal Empire could not be tolerated here. Never again would he leave something that could kill him just lying around for anyone to turn on him. No, such items would be disposed of. It was the more intelligent choice. Of course such things didn't exist unless some prime could be suckered into making them for Cadence or Twilight, but he wasn't sure they were stupid enough to do so. Neither of them were proper princesses at least not in his eyes. His training from Starswirl had been geared to solving one problem that had vexed the whole planet,  the dreaded magic thief Tirek. Even Sombra was afraid of that vile Centaur because of his abilities. Especially now that he didn't have magic fully under his command, Sombra had every rational reason to be scared. Fortunately for him,  the Centaur was not here. 

O-Harmony was no longer an issue thanks to his earlier actions. Sure he didn't like getting his hooves dirty, but this time it had at least done something right. No one else would get paired with Deadpool by them. But what could he do from here? Already had he routed the opponents that had dared to sully his honor, the radicals known as O-Harmony. One of his earlier ideas might fit the bill, after all, what was a king without those to follow him? Knights,  highly skilled Primes that would pledge his banner would certainly prove useful to the monarch of the Crystal Empire. How was he to find them was a question that sprang to mind. After all he only know so many people in the Omniverse. Carmelita Sly-Cooper was one of his friends but it was his hope she never discovered what he had done to the idiots of O-Harmony.  After all murder would likely make her battle him.  Due to Omni draining him, he was not sure right now he was powerful enough to handle her. 

There was also of course the matter of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Her skill in magic could prove to be a problem without him gaining his own power back. As he knew she would be likely to go up against him in battle, the dark king decided he needed to make preparations. But which gate should he choose as his next goal? Already had he been to Camelot, the Endless Dunes and the Vasty Deep. The Vasty Deep was his home because  he had built an island castle for himself. Although the defenses of the castle needed work to actually be effective. For some reason they hadn't managed at all at keeping out the Imperials who had come to visit him. Those white clad soldiers reminded him of knights, but he knew the armor of his soldiers would be radically different from that. White after all was not his color. 

[James Knight]

On the other hand however there were reasons that he might consider visiting the world of Coruscant. One of these was that they had more of the power known as "Technology" that had been utilized by Carmelita Sly-Cooper. The power of such interested him to say the least and made him curious. What could be done with the power if he had it? His base could be properly outfitted and modified. Still he wasn't entirely sure he wanted that particular power just yet. Though to be honest if he had a hoof-held version of one of the auto turrets that she had at her base,  Sombra wouldn't exactly object to putting such a weapon to use. Given that he started to consider his options about the Omniverse. Dark energy built up around his horn as he attempted casts of all of his previous spells that he had back home. When none of them worked, like he had expected he face hoofed. 

Starswirl was right. 

Magic here was different from what he was used to. 

It was a completely new field of study. 

Life was truly complicated. 

As those thoughts buzzed around in his head angrily, the dark king made up his mind. No matter what it cost him he was going to develop new powers he otherwise didn't have. His strength needed to increase to levels on par with that of Omni himself so he could take the fight to that white grinning biped and buck him in the face. And then remove his head from his shoulders. There was the beginning of a plan. But what was he to do with the head in his saddlebags? As he thought about it the king thought of many things. One the President likely had hatched a backup plan. Two, if the president had hatched a backup plan Sombra would need to be ready. Three,  Sombra was NOT going to date Deadpool under any circumstance. In fact the very thought of it made Sombra barf in his mouth a little. 

Honestly though he was still unsure about where to go from here. Coruscant was more interesting than the Endless Dunes, but there were other places that one could go as well. Still he had to make up his mind about where to go.

[James Knight]

Why was he so indecisive when he had a simple choice in front of him? Simply choose somewhere to go.  It should have been easy, but for the life of him the evil overlord couldn't make up his mind. Where would he go from here? Coruscant would present a challenge all it's own and perhaps a way to bolster his knowledge of the magic of "Technology" or as he pronounced it,  Tek No Lo Gee. Whatever it was happened to have a lot of power that he didn't understand. Before he left the Omniverse, King Sombra made a mental note that he was going to understand all forms of this power and make it his own. Magic wasn't enough after all to take down Omni. Even battling the bandits or the President of that despicable website, O-Harmony had been difficult. Truly this universe was entirely different from the one he was accustom to because there was no Celestia to raise the sun. Sure Luna and Twilight and Cadence were here,  but only because he needed Twilight and Cadence. Cadence had been brought to serve as a "conscience" for any future sites similar to O-Harmony.  A repeat of the Deadpool "date" especially with his lack of magic might prove to be more than tragic for him. Given that the individual made Discord look like a nerd, and him look like a saint according to Carmelita Sly-Cooper,  well to say that he was worried was an understatement. Sombra was not going to encounter that particular nuisance until he had more spells in his bag of tricks. 

What powers should he seek out next? Well he lacked the variety of dark magic spells, including Crystallurgy that he had back home. Of course simply gaining old powers wouldn't be entertaining. What he should do is learn powers that no pony or biped would expect him to wield. Learning how to use the one power that could destroy him, the power of Harmony might actually prove beneficial. It would also make him one step closer to beating Twilight Sparkle. A wise Unicorn Philospher had once said that in order to beat one's enemy, one must first understand the enemy they fought, and also know themselves. Since he already knew himself, but didn't understand the bookish Alicorn yet or her magic fully,  the dark king made up his mind. Harmony Magic was definitely on his "shopping list" of new powers that he was going to work to master and make his own. But yet, on it's own Harmonic Magic wouldn't be enough. Sure it would be good for the "Rainbow Laser of Death" that Twilight had fired at Tirek. Well not the Rainbow Laser of Death, more like the Rainbow Laser of Impending Doom or Purification,  actually. Shaking such thoughts from his mind, the dark king asked himself. 

"Honestly, where should I go from here?" 

And for once,  King Sombra, the Tyrant King had no answer for himself. 

[James Knight]

The Emperor of the Crystal Empire and the Regent of Darkness had made up his mind. The power of science or as he called it "Tek No Lo Gee" was going to be sought out by him and made his own. Such a power if it was capable of perfectly accurate shots out of auto turrets or a cloaking that didn't require magic belonged in one place. It belonged in the arsenal of the dark monarch. Coruscant thus was the logical choice. Even if he disliked how th armors of the soldiers reminded him of the white armor that was worn by Celestia and her soldiers,  he'd have to handle his dislike later. For now work needed to be done. Victory over Omni couldn't be won without the power of Tek No Lo Gee or many other powers that he didn't have. On the other hand he couldn't afford to rush into things. Rushing into things was how he had been beaten by the Crystal Ponies. Admittedly he had overestimated his own power and that of his traps, while simultaneously underestimating their power. To think that six mares, the same six he had brought here had been enough to overthrow his reign of darkness? It meant his skills needed to be polished....vastly. No longer could he simply coast by with the powers of dark magic. They were not powerful enough on their own. As much as it pained him to admit it he'd need to learn the power of his enemy in order to make himself grow to the levels he should be at. Harmonic magic was not his first choice of a new power.

Nor would it be an easy magic for him to master. Yet in order to survive in the Omniverse, the former ruler of the Crystal Empire needed to master just about all the powers there were. To start out with he'd work to regain his powers over the darkness. The shadows were his strongest weapon and once he reclaimed their might, he'd be one step closer. Still he knew that Harmonic Magic was going to be difficult as was Chaos Magic. Both were types of power he had never before used a day in his life. This meant he'd need to experiment with a lot of things. Starswirl's statement of magic being different in different universes was aptly proven by what Omni had done. Without the substance known as Omnilium, nothing could be done here. The dark king needed to get a lot of it then if he was to survive. However even with all of the Omnilium, what else did he need?

[James Knight]

Power was what Omni had said that the rainbow colored substance was. Normally he didn't like the color Omnilium was because it reminded him of hi past. The mere memory sent phantom shivers down his spine and through his body. Being under the ice was not a pleasant thing to say the least, but he had managed to survive it twice. Of course that was in the past. As it was in the past, he couldn't allow himself to focus on that. But what did he need as a focus point for himself? The more the former Emperor of the Crystal Empire thought about it, the more he realized something. In order to archive his goals he was going to have to form alliances. Other Primes were needed, unfortunately. Darkness wrapped around his horn as he attempted to cast one of his older spells. This was a simple beam of dark energy. Yet, when he tried to do so the spell failed. So great was the annoyanc of the dark king at that, Sombra face-hoofed himself. 

"Of course, life is never that simple." 

What was he missing? For all his knowledge of magic, all the studies he had done all of it was useless. Truly his mentor was right, and the laws of this place were...different. Typically his normal response when somepony annoyed him would be to reduce them to cinders. However he didn't even have a power that could allow him to cast a fire-ball spell. Sure saving his life had been nice and all, but why had Omni weakened him to the level of a foal? It was probably out of some sort of sick desire to watch the Crystal King suffer. Ha Ha, Very Funny. As if any creature could make him afraid. Sure he was mildly concerned with the existence of Deadpool. But that was due to two factors. One the individual made him and Discord look normal. Two, if the individual discovered magic? Existence itself was bucked.

[James Knight]

"The armor worn by those soldiers around the gleaming gate would prove interesting to use as parts for armor of my own soldiers. After all I will need my own minions one day anyway. It's best I do so now. Despite my reservations, there is no time left. I've made up my mind."  

A strange individual with a scythe approached him.  "Are you King Sombra?" 

King Sombra looked over the individual who wore a gray coat and carried a scythe,  a scythe that was identical to the one Sombra wielded.  "Who's asking?" asked the dark king of the Crystal Empire. 

"I saw your work with O-Harmony. It's good to see some pony who values justice. When you get through the gate into Coruscant, I will be waiting. Seek me out, and I will teach you how to use the Scythe you wield. I will also even throw in lessons in magic for you,  because you look like some pony who could use them. I know a few spells you might find useful,  Hero of Darkness!"  

The man then threw down a marble, creating a smoke screen and running off ahead of him to the Gate.  It took Sombra roughly three hours, but hee managed to reach the gate via hoofing it. Once he was there he said. "Into the breach, to learn how to wield my new powers. Soon Omni your head will adorn my wall. Too bad your head is so small. I will once more stand tall over a Kingdom." 

The dark monarch of the Crystal Empire went through the Gate to Coruscant.