Sombra Dislikes Crystals

by The Apologetic Pony

Beryl's Done Bloody Murder

‘Why would a cutiemark that gave me this weird aura have it so that it could be broken by a guard, but not by you, unless I told you? You hardly managed it even then... I had this sense of panic all of a sudden yesterday night. I thought that you and I might have been wrong about my cutiemark, which was weird, since I hadn’t been all that bothered about it for years.’

‘You ruffled Celstia’s feathers by coming here without saying anything I heard!’

‘I was a bit paranoid when I got summoned while I was trying to look for a few books that were extremely relevant, haha.’

‘She has a hard time changing the way she does things between typical royals and less formal relations if I’m not around.’

Sombra was thankful for the brief comic relief, but got right back to confessing his sin.

‘At first I figured I’d look for books related to Undefined Talent Syndrome, and while they were interesting, they didn’t help me all too much. I remembered some obscure fairy tale that I read as a foal, which had some uncanny resemblance to what I was thinking of. But the Canterlot library doesn’t have fairy tales.’

‘And what were you thinking?’

‘That my cutiemark wasn’t what we thought it was, and that it was something malicious. Now I think that it was meant for killing you.’

‘Does that bother you?’

Sombra made some kind of “huh” sound in surprise.

‘You don’t have to do what you think your cutiemark tells you do you? And if it really was supposed to be for killing me, you haven’t got a very potent cutiemark, Som-bra? How are you going to weaponise a few crystals that can be broken easily by any unicorn but me? It’s ludicrous, unless you’re going to slit my throat when I get that kiss I asked for.’

Luna’s brash dismissal made him a little more anxious.

‘I’m not sure it’d be so direct... not that what you’re saying is wrong.’

Luna started nuzzling around his neck.

‘It’s nothing Som-bra. I just hope you’re not too distressed by the ambiguity all of a sudden.’

‘I just don’t wanna kill you is all. And the whole thing with my aura getting stronger after I kiss you doesn’t make any sense otherwise.’

‘Would you rather I kill you than you kill me?’

Luna monetarily slowed as she felt Sombra tense.

‘Um?’

‘What?’

‘I don’t know, just kiss me already.’

Luna nibbled at his ear before she did.

Sombra, and his tongue, were manic; Luna drew back earlier than typical, though neither of them mentioned it.

‘There was a-another thing.’ Sombra stuttered, somehow still flustered by Luna peering into his eyes.

‘Straight back to business are we, haha.’

‘Wouldn’t this exception of the crystals hardly being breakable by you, but easily fractured by normal unicorns, make me an even better candidate for the ambassador of the Crystal Kingdom? Like, the more specific a counter it is to you, the better right?’

‘Might not be much of a difference, Som-bra, but I’ll look into it. Now relax this time, okay?’

Luna leaned in again and Sombra was more receptive this time. To Sombra it seemed like the kisses were breaks between a few still images of this talk with her. And what was this conversation but a culmination of an irrational worry that he could neither deny nor validate? But he hated how Luna had dismissed it so. That’s not what you’re supposed to do, that makes it seem like you know I’m right.

‘Hm?’ said Luna, taking him out of his little trance.

‘Oh sorry I was just super spacing out there.’

‘Was that my fault?’

Yes? Is that good?

‘Maybe? Kiss was good.’

‘You’re concerning me a little bit, Som-bra. And that’s stopping me thinking of anything funny either.’

‘You’re just off point, Luna, accept it.’

‘Funny.’

‘But why did you ask me that thing about me killing you, or you killing me? You don’t think that’s actually what my cutiemark is, do you?’

‘It was a bit weird wasn’t it? Sorry.’

‘It’s okay, but why?’ Sombra pushed.

‘Because I’m unsure if I’d want to stop you even if I had the choice. The longer you live, when there's no limit, the more apathetic you get, and your survival instinct weakens too. And because I love you very much.’

‘That’s... very strange.’

Luna gently rubbed Sombra’s back.

‘It’s the same for Celestia, she just expresses it in a different way. Not at all platitudinous like me!’ Luna chuckled.

Sombra felt like the images had ended, leaving things a lot more like reality now. Which is still just a fluid series of images, with different colours. It’d be red for anger, green for grass, black for magic, and grey for apathy, or white?

‘Gosh you’re never going to actually teach me new magic again during these lessons are you?’

‘I was never teaching you Som-bra, we were discovering, and I think we’ve discovered quite a lot today.’

‘Like you being bad at being funny.’

‘Oh you want me to start pulling out the bad puns? I can pull out the bad puns.’

‘No thank you, I should probably get back soon. We’ve been talking for quite a while, huh.’

‘You really are alright, aren’t you, Som-bra? I have to ask you before you go.’

‘Yes, you’ve settled my paranoia, all will be well by tomorrow.’

On the walk back Sombra wondered if his previous anger was manifesting itself as this completely utterly irrational fear that Luna knew everything he said about his cutiemark before he said it, that she knew everything and that he really was going to kill her, and that it was true, and that he was right, and that he wouldn’t be able to open the door home. No, you’re not afraid of that. Life’s certainly faster though, so that’s good.

‘Good lesson?’ asked Robyn after she’d said hi.

‘Yeah I’m actually tired just from talking pretty much.’ Sombra smiled.

‘Sounds very academic.’

Just the opposite.