Trust Me
A few weeks went by without incident as Luna kept to herself and her duties, avoiding other ponies as best as she could. Cadence had finally sent another letter shortly after Luna’s last visit to the oubliette, saying that most unfortunately her search for information on the Crystal Heart had turned up no results. Any information left on the Crystal Heart was probably tied too closely to information on King Sombra, and the ponies of the Crystal Empire wanted nothing to do with that dark period of their history. Luna accepted the news with a sort of sullen grace, sending back to Cadence a letter of gratitude for her willingness to help and her efforts to look, and then took to writing in her journal.
It wasn’t until those few quiet weeks had passed that Luna realized just how much she had begun writing in the journal. She was busy penning down yet more thoughts when the quill ran dry and she had to dip the numb in the ink again. Her eyes scanned over her writing when the detail jumped out at her: barely a sixth of the journal was left for her to write in. Her hold on her magic slipped a moment and the quill clattered to the surface of the desk. Had she ever written this much before in her long life?
I have too many thoughts in my head, some part of her mind insisted. I’m too consumed by them. Writing them out is the only way I can free them and keep from going mad. I simply shouldn’t question it and just let the matter be, keep writing. Yes, that will be the simplest thing to do.
But even as she continued the entry she was currently on, she felt half-distracted. She was still quite stunned to realize how much she had been writing so recently. There was also a nagging sort of doubt and suspicion that remained with her, left over from discovering Discord had swiped the journal and tried to tempt Celestia with it. Would Luna always have to be on guard now, should the draconequus make more efforts to vandalize her private thoughts in such a manner? She didn’t like to entertain the idea.
“One day he shall learn respect for our privacy.” She reassured herself aloud, or tried to. It all actuality it was highly unlikely; he was Discord, after all.
She finished the entry and set her writing aside, trotting to her large windows and easing them open. Nearly sunset. With a sigh, she shut the windows again and concentrated her magic on a teleportation spell, the observation tower she so loved coming into her mind as her destination. The magic enveloped her and then passed through her until she felt weightless for a brief instant. The spell was her and she was the spell, her awareness stretching far beyond its normal boundaries.
And then the moment was gone and the world became solid—or rather, she became solid—once again with an audible pop, and she opened her eyes to see the foot of the winding stairs before her. Silently she started to climb, ignoring the surprised and hasty greetings of the Solar Guards on either side of the archway. Normally she would have returned the courtesy, but the recent writing left her confused, quiet, brain-numb, and perhaps just a little empty. Her mind wanted to form thoughts but she just couldn’t, and merely climbed the path to the observation tower deck in a trance-like state.
Once she was at the top of the tower, she looked at the sky again. Her elder sister was setting the sun to rest, its gold and red-violet plumage waving a final farewell to the day. Luna stood and watched quietly, mind at peace as she took in the spectacle. An abrupt memory returned to her, an older diary entry from her days as a filly when she and Tia had both written in the bound volume almost daily. Little Luna had observed her sister’s first successful attempt to raise the sun and at the time, there had been nothing cooler in her life. And now a small smile stole across the Moon Princess’s face as she recalled her ecstatic journal entry and watched the sun sink below the horizon, remembering how she had been so in awe and wanted nothing more than for her sister to be equally proud of her raising the moon.
Dusk began to settle in and Luna waited patiently, bringing forth small patches of stars here and there, waiting for the perfect time to raise the moon. At last, when the moment seemed right, she called forth the beautiful, shining silver light and hung it carefully among the constellations. Releasing her magic, she took a few steps back to admire her work. No matter what anypony else thought, it was a lovely night.
There was a soft, sinister hiss somewhere behind her.
The hair on the back of her spine rose and she cast a quick glance over her shoulder, instantly on edge. All she saw was a small, curling, slithering shadow that was beginning to slip away from view. As her eyes widened, the shadow slid over the edge of the terrace, forming a jagged claw that beckoned to her. And then it shot away down to the grounds, slipping between arched windows and into the palace corridors below. Luna held her breath, hesitating only for a second.
It’s impossible. It couldn’t be…
But the fact was the shadow had beckoned for her to follow, and Luna, with her curiosity piqued and her mind already forming dozens of questions, teleported down from the observation tower to go find it.
***
Sombra paced the length of his cell just a bit impatiently as he waited for her arrival. His breath was coming a bit fast and shallowly, and his entire body shivered with excitement. His shadow continued to draw closer, and he knew from his connection to it that the Princess of the Night was indeed following. So close…so close…
The shadow slithered down the stony flood in the long, cavernous hall before finally slipping through the enchanted barrier and reuniting with the soft, elegant curls of his black mane. He allowed himself a small, sly smile as he looked at the mouth of the hall and caught sight of Luna’s approach. There remained some suspicious uncertainty in the way she moved, but he could sense her intrigue even from there. She had a brief word with the guards before advancing toward his cell, her tail swishing back and forth behind her. Sombra worked his features into a neutral expression and slowed his pacing.
“Thou wished to see us?” Luna finally asked when she came to a halt on the other side of the cell. He had to hold back a bit of irritation at her use of the older tongue; clearly she was trying to lay it out that she was in charge in that moment, and that meant she was unlikely to really hear anything he had to say to her.
Patience… He reminded himself. If he was correct in his guess based upon his interactions with the princess prior, then she would indeed hear what he had to say, no matter how closed-off she might act.
“What, and you didn’t want to see me?” He tossed back innocently, giving her a broad smile. She didn’t reply for a long moment.
“Didst thou wish to speak with us?” she finally asked in a tone of polite civility. “We thought thee of the opinion that we needed to take space from thee. Is that not correct?”
This last sentence rang with the echo of a royal command. Some part of the unicorn king still bristled at that—the nerve! He was royalty too, after all—but at the same time he also found he enjoyed hearing that tone of authority from the alicorn princess. She wore her regality still with some measure of pride. Really, she ought to, as far as he was concerned.
“It was,” he agreed with a slow nod. “Have I vexed you with this change of mind?”
“We are confused,” she replied, tone uncertain, “but not complaining. Pray tell, what brought thee to this change of mind?”
He took a deep breath and let it out again.
“Do you remember our initial talk?” He asked. “When I told you that I am caught in this rip, this tear between the magical ley lines and the Shadow? And our conversations concerning my… ability to move in and out of the Shadow, however minimal?”
She nodded, sending a rippled through her flowing mane. “We have not forgotten.”
He cast his eyes down and flicked his tail a bit, wondering how to approach what he had to say next as he studied his iron-plated hooves. Would she believe him? Or would she snort in his face? Finally he simply decided to go for broke and try to just speak plainly.
“I trust you are familiar with the present queen of the changelings?” He prompted, and Luna’s teal eyes narrowed sharply.
“We know of Queen Chrysalis.” She spoke in cold, clipped tones. There was the smallest of magical surges in Sombra’s horn. The princess despised the changeling queen, and the realization brought a rush of delight to the stallion. That was good; he needed that.
“She is planning something.” Sombra murmured, and Luna raised a slender brow.
“Planning something?” She echoed. “What dost thou mean? How came thee to know this?”
“I must confess,” he admitted a touch guiltily, shuffling his hooves, “I’ve been slowly testing my limitations with trying to see into the Shadow and across Equestria. It comes and goes, so I haven’t always been able to get far.”
“So thou have attempted escape, and influencing the rest of Equestria with thy powers.” She said coolly, eyes narrowing again. He returned her gaze calmly, slowly blinking.
“You actually gave me the idea from our discussions, Princess.” He replied quietly. “But do you really wish to sit here and deliberate when there is a chance to prevent danger and protect your subjects from the wrath of the changelings?”
She remained quiet a moment as the wheels in her head turned, and finally she nodded in a determined sort of way.
“Right!” She seemed to be rallying herself as she spoke. “We have a duty to our subjects and we must not fail them! Our royal sister shall wish to know of this development, and we must rally our defenses in preparation for the assault!”
“Not a bad course of action.” He remarked, and abruptly she seemed to recall he was still there and watching her. Flushing a bit self-consciously, she respectfully inclined her head.
“We will of course let it be known that thy hoof in the matter is not over-looked, unicorn king.” She said formally. He could avoid lifting his brows in surprise. “Unicorn king”, she called him. A bit different in terms of address from “king of no kingdom”, quite a bit different. Perhaps her previously low opinion of him was beginning to change after all.
Then now is my chance.
“Actually, princess…’ he began cautiously, waiting for her reaction, “I had been considering another course of action altogether. Provided you are not opposed to listening to what I have to suggest, that is.”
She hesitated, suspicious again, but she nodded.
“Perhaps we could attempt to approach the changeling court.” He said, drawing in another deep breath. Her brows shot up, almost disappearing into her mane.
“ ‘We’?” She echoed incredulously.
“Yes.” He said. “It has been over a thousand years since I last actually attempted a diplomatic approach with another royal, but you have been doing so since your return, no?”
She winced, looking a touch uncomfortable. “Not precisely. We are learning again the arts of diplomacy, but it is our sister who excels at such things. But why dost thou include thyself in this?”
He glanced down again.
“If you and I,” he began softly, “were to go on our own to the changeling court, perhaps we could head off the problem. I can attempt to assist your diplomacy to the best of my abilities.”
She watched him for a long time, before remarking, “Celestia would not free thee from thy cell for this occasion.”
“No,” he concurred, “But I was hoping… that perhaps… you might.”
“What?” Her regal tone and pretense dropped immediately. “You can’t be serious!”
“I am.” He replied, looking up and meeting those teal eyes. “Please consider this, Princess Luna. If you and I personally go deal with the matter, then no one will call you incapable of diplomacy and handling things on your own.”
“And what do you stand to gain from this?” She immediately demanded.
“A chance to stretch my legs and get out of this accursed cell for a while, a breath of fresh air. And if it suits you, I shall take the blame should this put you in any sort of trouble with your sister. Besides, perhaps it is time I begin to truly redeem myself and earn back the right to be reunited with my heart.”
She continued to scrutinize him, though something in her expression appeared to soften. After a second, she asked, “And how do I know this isn’t some sort of trick? You could turn on me the instant I set you free. I have no guarantee that you aren’t planning treachery of some sort.”
“It would be a very foolish gamble, to risk turning on you while your guard is up.” He answered. “I know you don’t exactly trust me, fair lady of the night, and I don’t blame you for that. I’ve done nothing to earn your trust. But if I should turn on you, then it will be short work for you to incarcerate mem again. And you can prove your suspicions about me to your sister once and for all. Is that not fair?”
Silence fell between them for quite some time. They stood looking into each other’s eyes, measuring and weighing one another in the tense quiet. Sombra held his breath, waiting. This was it, the moment of truth.
Do you trust me, Luna?
“You bring up excellent points.” She said quietly. “I suppose you wouldn’t want anypony else knowing if I set you free and we set off on this venture?”
“Preferably not.” He concurred. “I highly doubt we would even make it out of the palace grounds if anyone knew. And I don’t think trying to appeal for the chance to be freed under observation to assist you would work. At least, not in time to make a substantial difference.”
She hesitated again, looking away and staring at nothing as she thought.
“Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.” He added with a light shrug of his shoulders. Luna pursed her lips as she frowned, still thinking. Without warning her horn shimmered, chiming softly with magic.
And then the enchanted barrier dissolved.
Sombra stifled a small gasp and as Luna backed up a few steps, he tentatively picked his way forward, watching his hooves warily as he crossed the threshold where the barrier had been. Tiny shivers ran up his powerful legs and he had to consciously not shiver like a newborn foal.
“I hope for both our sakes I don’t come to regret this, Sombra.” Luna remarked, and he looked up at her, unsure what to say. Luckily he didn’t have to think of anything.
“Come stand by me,” she ordered him, “And I shall teleport us to an unguarded, unseen spot beneath the outer wall.”
He complied readily and gave a respectful nod, holding back another shiver as he stood close enough to her their shoulders almost touched. She raised her horn high, her magic encasing them, and the two vanished.
***
It hadn’t occurred to Luna to double back. Perhaps she had been secretly too eager for the opportunity to let it just pass her by. Perhaps she was actually beginning to develop some trust for the deposed unicorn king. But whatever the reason, the thought hadn’t occurred to her.
Had she doubled back, she would have found the guards as they fell over, dark magic pouring from their eyes like smoke as they entered a mindscape of their worse fears.
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Why, what a pleasant surprise!
Metroid was here
In all
Also I'm glad I was right. Go sneaky King!
Well its kind of sad seeing that Sombra is playing around with Luna's feelings
I doubt that this story will have a happy ending
The plot (of the story) thickens.
And I wouldn't bother too much with that journal if I were you.
well shoot...now I want more....any chance to know when you'll update?
6405941 >> I'm planning to update tonight. I'm editing the next chapter right now.
'Mem' should be 'me'. I almost didn't catch that, with the story being so exciting (especially this chapter)!