God, I love how this turned out! [squeals] It’s so pretty…
 
****** 
The little filly trudged through the snow, her hooves starting to get numb from the cold. She’d read somewhere that frost bite starts with pain but that had long since passed. Fear filled her heart but she kept walking. She didn’t know where she was going but knew stopping was the worst thing she could do.
 
.:What is this? A crude but promising gem has placed itself before me?:.
 
Twilight stopped, looking around to find the source of the voice. She couldn’t see through the snow and yet the voice was clear despite the wind. “H-hello? I-is somepony there?!”
 
.:A gem with ears that listens to shadows as well? How fortuitous.:. It said, revealing itself to the filly. From the snow, ink black smoke erupted from the ground, quickly surrounding the filly. For the first time in hours, Twilight was warm and unconsciously moved closer to the darkness. A smile unseen grew on the entity. .:Tell me, my child, what brings thee such sorrow, to have you wandering about the wasteland?:.
 
“I…” She sniffled, looking up at the face in the shadows. “I just wanted to be like the princess! B-but I couldn’t… I failed…”
 
.:Ah. Sweet child, worry not about past failures.:. He assured, caressing her cheek with a misty dark limb. .:For I can sense greatness in you. A brilliant gem just waiting to be polished to a shine.:.
 
“Like the princess when she raises the sun?” She asked, hope slowly filling her at the stallions words. He smiled and in her eyes it was like a light at the end of an endlessly dark tunnel.
 
.:When I finish showing you how bright you can shine, not even the sun will measure up to you, my little gem.:. He promised, drawing into his shadows.
 
Little Twilight Sparkle was never seen again.
 

 
Woo, that was fun!
 
So as I was thinking about possible AU’s I’d want to follow, the one that stuck with me is one featuring my favorite villain, King Sombra. Sombra will always be the coolest villain because he comes off as the most menacing. He enslaves ponies, filling them with such deep fear that the mere mention of his name destroys any desire to fight, probably condones torture since fear has to stem from somewhere and he is one of the only villains to have a legit war with Equestria (at least in the Cutie remark).
 
As I thought about this, I wondered “Where is Twilight in this timeline?” So I thought of this! An AU from the Sombra timeline in which, somehow Twilight had ended up as Sombra’s pupil rather than Celestia’s. It would be like this:
 
After failing her test, Twilight ran away, scared her parents would be disappointed in her (since her brother was succeeding by leaps and bounds) and ended up in the Frozen north. Just before she would have froze to death, a voice from the earth called out to her.
 
After answering its call, shadow Sombra would take her under his wing, training and teaching her the ways of dark magic. It would be her that break the Sombra’s curse and ensures that he takes control back. Even when Cadence and Shining show up, Twilight’s heart has darkened to the point where her only family is Sombra.