AN: I CLAIM NO OWNERSHIP TO THE PICTURE I USED!

Sombra's dim red eyes slowly opened halfway before slipping closed again. The dark unicorn groaned slightly as he started to wake up. Everything ached. Once again he opened his eyes, his vision slightly blurry as he took in the dark room. He saw that he was lying in a bed with smooth, dark green sheets and a black headboard with holes scattered about it in seemingly random places. The grayish black walls of the room reminded him more of a hive than a palace. Soon Sombra's eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room and his gaze fell onto the double doors that lead out of his quarters. He focused and tried to use his magic to turn the door handle, but his red tipped horn only gave off a few sparks before he let out a frustrated groan.

He supposed he would have to open the door manually. He winked his nose at the thought. In his mind a stallion fit to be a King, such as himself, shouldn't be reduced to such things. Throwing off the sheets he slid out of the bed and onto the cold, dark floor. As his sore hooves touched down on the ground he wobbled slightly, but soon regained his balance and walked over to the doors. Sombra reached up to the door handle and pushed down on it. After finding he couldn't turn it, he jiggled it. Still, the doorknob refused to give way. Furious, king Sombra stamped his hoof in protest.

"You dare keep me imprisoned this way?!" Sombra growled. "I demand to be let out at once!"

"Sorry Sombra, can't allow it." A changeling guard answered from behind the closed doors.

"That's King Sombra to you, changeling!"

"The Queen informed me to only let you out if it is important."

"Important?! This is imperative! I must speak to Queen Chrysalis at once!"

"I shall request her presence here immediately."

......

"My Queen." Said the changeling guard, bowing.

"What is it, Stinger?" Queen Chrysalis asked.

"King Sombra is requesting your presence right away, your highness."

"Ah, so he's finally awake."

"Yes, my Queen. He is extremely impatient and claims he must speak to you now."

"Of course, lead the way General."

General Stinger then led the way to Sombra's quarters as Queen Chrysalis walked behind him. The two made their way through the palace's complex system of hallways before eventually arriving at their destination. Queen Chrysalis stared forward, her insect-like eyes narrowed slightly in thought.

"Leave us." Queen Chrysalis commanded, still facing the doors.

"Yes, my Queen." Stinger said with a nod.

General Stinger and the second changeling guard obeyed, flying off deeper into the palace. As the buzzing of their wings faded away Queen Chrysalis eyed the double doors of King Sombra's quarters before lighting her horn. A green aura surrounded her horn and enveloped the entire doorknob of the door on her right. Then a smoky image of a green key appeared and fitted itself into the keyhole before it unlocked the door with a clicking sound. The key then dissipated as she used her magic to open the door where she found King Sombra pacing back and forth. King Sombra stopped pacing and turned to face the changeling Queen as she entered his quarters, shutting the door behind her.

"I see you're awake, Sombra." Queen Chrysalis greeted in an even toned voice.

"How perceptive, Chrysalis." King Sombra stated, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "How come you have imprisoned me?"

"I haven't imprisoned you, Sombra. It's merely a necessary precaution."

"Necessary precaution?! Do you realize who you're talking to?!"

"Yes, I do. Which is exactly why I don't want you wasting your energy. You spend yourself now, you'll slow your recovery. A powerful King such as yourself will be a force to be reckoned with once you're at your best. The Princesses will fall with the two of us working together."

"And once we have Tirek, we will take over Equestria with even more ease." Said King Sombra, his eyes flashing back to their original vibrant red.

"Now you're thinking." Queen Chrysalis agreed, cackling. "We're already getting stronger and my changelings have doubled in numbers since our attack on Canterlot!"

"Excellent! I've certainly learned from my last attempt. Oh, how helpless the ponies of Equestria will be!"

"As have I. We must make sure the Princesses are taken care of as well as that little group of-" Queen Chrysalis shuddered and then hastily spit out her next word. "-Friends."

"Those meddling little foals." King Sombra growled.

"But now that their precious Elements of Harmony are no more they won't stand a chance."

"Ah wonderful."

"And now that you seem a bit stronger, we can start planning how we're going to free Tirek from Tartarus."

King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis grinned, their eyes twinkling with malice. Oh how great it will be once their plans are in motion. Yes, they could just see it now, ponies bowing to them, power coursing through their veins and those foals will be absolutely helpless to stop them!

"Excellent."

.....

"Wait... am I hearing this right?" Rainbow Dash questioned in disbelief. "You found another bearer?!"

"Well, yes." Twilight Sparkle answered. "At least I think so."

"At the rate you're going, you'll have everypony you need by next week!" Applejack commented.

"I don't know Applejack, as far as I know they could be anypony." Twilight countered.

"Honestly Twilight, no wonder Princess Celestia put you in charge of all this!" Said Rarity.

"Well, I don't think she put me completely charge..."

"Of course she put you in charge." Fluttershy assured the lavender alicorn.

"Yeah silly, I mean, she gave you the book with everything you gotta know about the elements for Celestia's sake!" Pinkie Pie chattered, giggling at the end.

Twilight gasped as she realized what Pinkie just said.

"The book!" Twilight yelled, dashing through the double doors of the throne room.

The six ponies and baby dragon then exchanged confused glances, a few of them merely shrugging in reply. Moments later Twilight Sparkle ran back into the throne room with an old, tattered book encased in her magic trailing behind her. She then set the book on the table in front of her throne, and examined the cover.

"Is that it?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Is that the book Princess Celestia gave you?"

"It looks like the book about the Elements of Harmony." Fluttershy observed.

"Except... older." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"It's not just old, that book is ancient!" Rarity gasped.

"While it may be ancient, this book holds the key to getting rid of Sombra once and for all." Twilight told.

The lavender alicorn stared at the worn leather book, who edges were ragged. In the center there was a silver image of a unicorn mare with violet eyes, along with straight mane and tail. The unicorn's front right hoof was held up. Arranged around the pony in a semi-circle were brightly colored symbols. A bright red flame, a dark blue water droplet, a purple gust of wind, a light green leaf, a pale gray crystal, and finally, a white snowflake were all displayed on the cover.

While everypony stared at the book Pinkie Pie bounced over and got down to eye level with the book. The pink pony's light blue eyes scanned the cover before she stood up straight, drew in a big breath and blew across the top of the book, sending dust flying everywhere. Pinkie Pie then coughed, trying to get the dust out of her lungs.

"Woah!" Pinkie spoke in a raspy voice. "That's really dusty!"

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna found the book in the royal library." Said Twilight. "From what they told me, they had no idea of this book's existence."

"Wait... so they don't know much about the elements either?" Starlight Glimmer questioned.

"Celestia did say their knowledge was limited." Said Twilight with a nod.

"Then I say we open up that book and figure out a way to take down King Sombra!" Spike declared, standing up in his own little throne beside Twilight's.

"I agree." Twilight concurred. "We must form a plan. Or at least the beginning of one."

Then with a deep breath, Twilight flipped past the cover of the book and went to the first page.

"Here we go."

AN: Well here we have it. Another chapter done. It's a bit shorter than the rest but I like it. What do you guys think?