Not well known in Canterlot history, King Sombra and his crystal empire rested soundly far off to the north beyond the Everfree Forest. Now recently you may have heard about Sombra and about his corruption, but in the time of this story, he was a just and pleasant ruler.
Sombra loved and respected his subjects. He frequented the streets of town and greeted the shopponies and the passing ponies enjoying a beautiful day. On particularly uneventful days, he would partake in racing the young ponies down a flight of stairs. He would even let them win just to see the joy on their faces. ((Wow, I just realized how much he liked stairs; even then)). Yes, the kingdom was happy; or mostly. You see, every evening, Sombra would watch as ponies retired to their homes and families. Sombra had none to return to each night, and this idea kept with for a while. It was not so much that he wanted a companion - nopony in his empire made his heart fluttery - but he wanted somepony to call a true friend.
One day, Sombra left a note to his Captain explaining the details of his absence. He was going to be gone for a few days, maybe a week, on personal business. Sombra planned to leave his kingdom in the hands of his capable guards to go see what else there is beyond the walls of what can feel like a self-built prison for himself. His leave was planned to be inconspicuous so he left in the midst of the night, and headed south where he knew other settlements were established.
The crystal empire is perpetually in temperate weather; warm and sunny days and mild nights. The same cannot be said for the land outside of the kingdom. Sombra fought through a blizzard as rough and wild as the manticore in the Everfree in order to reach the midnight train. The frozen tundra between his empire and the train station gave little in the way of scenery, and was all too empty.
The only other pony at the station was the porter who was found snoring on the bench. Sombra, having not seen anything exciting on his way over, couldn't resist having a little fun at another's expense, especially one asleep on the job. He gathered a few stones and pulled together a couple large snowballs and piled them next to the snoozing pony. Sombra snickered to himself at his own prank and tossed a snowball at the porter. He abruptly woke and jumped out of his seat at the sight of a giant abominable snowman staring him down!
The porter exclaimed, "Blimey! Where did you come from?"
Sombra could not contain his laughter. "I'm sorry, sir. I could not resist having myself a little fun. Tell me, what is your name and when should I expect the next train out of here?"
The porter retorted, "I should say! Who might you be waking up a bloke in the mid'le of the night?! And on that matter, it's the mid'le of the night. What on earth might you be doing here?"
The king smirked, "Don't you recognize your king in your frenzy? I wish to ride the train out of here to the next waypoint."
"King Sombra? A thousand pardons, sir. I wouldn't in a hundred years expect my station to be graced by you at this hour! They call me Pockets, sir. I do apologize for my indignant behavior."
"Please, do not fret yourself. I quite enjoyed your act. You have yet to tell me when I should expect the next train and where it next stops."
"Sir, the next train arrives in, oh I'd say, fifteen ticks of the clock's hoof. But don't you know, sir? The first stop is just outside the Everfree Forest. Nopony gets off there."
"That is fine; I have no fears for this forest. Just tell me how much a ticket is."
"If you insist on traveling there then it's a buckshee fare for you, sir. I warn you, though. No pony ever finds anything good in that damn'ed forest."
The train slowed into the station. There was only one other carriage in addition to the caboose and Sombra climbed aboard. Pockets echoed one last warning before closing the cart's door and watched as the midnight train left for anywhere.
