19. Somber Night
Still riding on Sombra's back, Sweetie Belle nudged to the side and looked over at the blaze burning at his eyes that served as their light source. She had seen them dozens of times before, but had never paid much attention to them. The way they flowed out was almost hypnotizing to the already drowsy filly. The fire seemed to burn sideways instead of flowing upward like a normal flame, but it was definitely fire. The edgy flicker of the flame and the warmness it gave off proved it to be so.
"You okay?" Asked Sombra as he turned his head slightly to glance at Sweetie.
"Huh? Oh, yeah." She replied as she broke out of her trance like state. "Why do you ask?"
"You're not usually this quiet. Just wanted to make sure everything was fine."
"Don't worry about me, I'm just dandy!" Sweetie Belle said as she kicked a fore hoof up in enthusiasm though a yawn quickly followed making Sombra smile softly.
"I do believe it's past your bed time."
"I can still stay up a little bit longer!" Sweetie Belle shouted out, but her eyes betrayed her words. She had to fight her eye lids from closing, the warmness of Sombra's flames only made it harder to stay awake.
"Take a quick nap. I'll wake you if something exciting happens." Sombra said as he returned his gaze to the tunnel.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Not waiting for another response, Sombra began cast out a veil of darkness over her to soothe her slumber. This created a visible discomfort to Luna who stared intently at the duo. She opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it, and instead she waited them finished since the filly didn't seem to mind his actions.
"Goodnight Mister Sombra..." Sweetie Belle said softly as she slumped down onto his soft mane before she was consumed into the dark.
"Is that safe?" Luna asked as she stepped closed to inspect the mass of black on his back.
"Yes. The only thing I really did was block out the light and sound around her. She's fine, just sleeping away now."
"I...see..." Luna said softly before hesitantly turning her eyes back at the path. "How did you learn dark magic?"
Sombra took a moment to think. The moment he realized the answer didn't come to him right away he knew it was a sealed memory just like all the others. Deciding against going through another pain session, her simply answered in honesty.
"Can't remember."
"You cannot recall? Truthfully?"
"Yes. My memories are...foggy, to say the least."
"And to say the most?" Luna asked, still curious as to his origins. Sombra looked over at her, his eyes were dull, almost lifeless in nature. The moment they locked eyes she turned away from pure discomfort of looking his way. "Forgive me. I shouldn't have pried."
Sombra took a moment to think through what he wanted to say as he looked ahead. He felt a mix of emotions surge through his body, but the one that stood out the most was irritation. Having his own mind keep secrets from him was incredibly frustrating. What made it worse is that his only method of finding his answers were through vague, disorienting dreams.
Sombra's eyes widened as he realized something. He turned to the Princess and looked her over. She was the Goddess of the Night. She had been known to venture into a pony's dream to help them through a problem. She could very well be the his answer to the strange amnesia...but did he really want to expose whatever was locked away to her? What sort of secrets could he hold in his head to need them banished like so?
"I-Is there something wrong with my appearance?" Luna asked as she turned to look at him with a slight blush. He had unintentionally been staring at her with what one would say was a fierce expression.
"I was just thinking."
"Of what? If I may so inquire."
"Of how far your powers can-"
Sombra stopped his sentence midway as he felt one of his hooves sink into the ground. He jumped back as quickly as he could and sure enough, he managed to avoid another trap. This time, it had been a falling stone from above him.
"What happened?" Luna asked as she flapped her wings to take flight and make her way to Sombra without accidentally setting off anymore tiles.
"Looks like it was another of those clever traps from before." Sombra said, already annoyed by the surprises the tunnel had for them. "Sorry, did I wake you?" He said as he felt a sudden movement at his back.
Sweetie Belle emerged from the darkness with spinning eyes. Sombra's sudden jump back had sent her into a dizzy spell and was still recovering.
"Uhhhh..." Sweetie Belle groaned softly. "What happened?"
"The castle happened. More traps it seems." Sombra said as he nuzzled her to try to help her recover.
"How did you manage to react so quickly?" Luna asked as she gently let herself down.
"I felt the tile sink beneath me. I knew something was about to happen."
"Yes, but such reflexes are unheard of. You are truly gifted with swiftness."
Sombra smiled softly at her compliment yet deep down, he didn't think it was a gift so much as muscle memory. But that only begged the question: Why had he had so much experience with traps? Just like he had so much experience with infiltration. Still, this was no time to ponder.
"Here." Sombra said as he gently lifted Sweetie Belle off his back and onto Luna's before walking forward. "Hold her for a moment."
"Where are you going?" Luna asked as she struggled to keep the half asleep filly balanced on her back.
"You were the one that said so. I'm but a shadow. I'll take point and watch for traps." Sombra said with a smirk before turning back around and walking ahead of them.
Luna and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances before continuing on behind him. They remained in silence for a while longer with Sombra a few meters ahead the entire time. There really wasn't much for conversation when they couldn't see one another. Though that didn't stop Sweetie Belle from trying now that she had her power nap.
"So how come you didn't see the trap?" She asked the alicorn she was riding on.
"The traps here are well camouflaged. The naked eye alone could not decipher a normal tile from a trap tile."
"Don't step over there." Sombra interrupted their talk. "That one is a trap."
Luna furrowed her brows in annoyance from being proven wrong. The giggling on her back did nothing to soothe her anger.
Sombra on the other hoof had little time to think of what was going on behind him. He only continued to glide his eyes across every inch of the tunnel they were in. Every cobweb, every scratch, every small detail told him a story. The faint hoof tracks scraped on the ground told him which path was safe. And when those tracks came to an end, it meant who ever had walked there had their travel come to an abrupt end early due to a trap.
The tunnel would twist and turn, making it difficult if they were making any progress in escaping at all. Soon, Sombra no longer knew which way was north or south. Just what was the purpose of this tunnel. Could something be hidden here? Could it be the stone he was looking for?
"Mister Sombra?" Sweetie Belle asked, finally getting tired of the silence again.
"Hmm?" He responded without turning to face her.
"How much farther?"
"I cannot say with certainty."
"Does that mean 'soon'?" Sweetie said with a yawn.
"I'm afraid not. It might appear as though we still have a long way to go." Luna said as she turned to look at the yawning filly. She lifted her wings up to make a soft spot for Sweetie Belle to lay her head and fall back asleep while they continued on their journey. One that seemed to have come to an end. A dead end.
"Hijo de la-" Sombra began to say out loud as he saw the wall straight ahead of him. He had, for a moment, forgotten to look for traps. Luckily for him, the sinkable tile at his hooves was barely avoided in his walk to the wall.
"Sombra, watch your tongue." Luna interrupted as she followed him. She too managed to miss the tile.
"What? She's asleep." He said as he walked over to the wall to inspect it.
"That does not give you permission to speak in such a manner. Especially in front of your princess."
"Yeah yeah, how do you know Spanish anyway?" Sombra said softly as he kneeled to see if there was any indication of a secret passage.
"As a princess of Equestria, I must be able to speak many tongues to properly communicate with other countries and make treaties. Is that not the same reason you know Spanish as well?"
Sombra stopped in his tracks as he began to dig through his mind for the answer. He thought about it a moment too long and was soon met with a stinging pain at his head, making him grasp his temple in reflex. He shook away the thoughts before more pain came his way not that it helped any about the pain he was already suffering. Luna did not go without noticing and quickly began to worry from just how hurt he seemed and quickly made her way to his side.
"Like I said Princess...my memories are foggy." He said as he felt the mare kneel beside him. Closing his eyes and slowing his breathing to help soothe his mind in meditation, Sombra began to recover from the staggering headache.
"I...see." Luna said as he walked to his side. "Does that happen often?"
"Only when I try to remember certain things."
"Things like?"
"Things from before I was King." Sombra said as he opened his eyes once more. His headache had drained some of his strength and decided to sit with his back to the wall as he rested.
"All of them?"
"Every single one. Yet everything else after that is crystal clear. I can tell you in full detail what happened on the day I was crowned King. I can do the same with what happened the next day and the day after that. Yet a single hour before then is out of reach. I cannot recall anything else."
"What sort of curse was placed upon you for such amnesia to take place?"
"Perhaps it's a side effect of being brought back to life by a spell. Perhaps the spell wasn't executed correctly since a filly was the one to cast it and banished my memories. Perhaps I was hit with amnesia from even before I died. I don't know." Sombra said as he lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling. Frustration was beginning to take him.
"Well, perhaps we could find somepony who can-"
"What does it matter?" Sombra said as he closed his eyes while still tilting his head up. "I don't require my memories to know why it is I came back to life. I need just one thing. Just one object to take my revenge."
Luna remained quiet as she looked at him. She remembered now why she had had her guard up when she first laid eyes on him. Despite all of his actions, he was still evil. He said so himself. Even now his only goal in mind was to take vengeance on somepony. That was all she needed to know that he had not had a change of heart. He was still the Tyrant she knew from so long ago.
"Pray tell, what is this object?" She asked as she began to squeeze out any detail she could in hopes of finding a way to stop whatever evil deed he was planning.
Upon hearing her speak Sombra looked at her and locked eyes. He knew exactly what she wanted. He was fully aware that if he spoke she would do everything in her power to hinder him. Yet even knowing this, he opened his mouth and answered truthfully.
"It's the object I mailed you and your sister about a thousand years ago." He said, not losing eye contact. "The stone of chaos that you two acquired upon entering Equestria."
Luna furrowed her brows as she heard him speak. "I...have no idea what you're referring to." She said as she loosened her tense posture.
"What?" He asked. Sombra looked up and down the mare in hopes of finding a sign, some sort of body language that told him she was lying or feigning ignorance. It was no use. Luna was legitimately confused about what he was talking about. "You and Celestia do not have such an object?"
"I...I'm afraid not."
"Then why did you attack me on the day I had sent out the letter? Did you really have to attack me if I was spouting nonesense? Would it not have been easier to simply send a response with this exact answer?"
"Sombra, when you sent us that letter, Equestria had just ended a terrible era of great struggle. Surely you remem-" Luna began but stopped mid sentence when she realized how stupid that question would sound. "What I mean to say is that we had no choice. We received a letter with a threat of attack if we did not give over what you wanted. You gave us no description of what it was you wanted from us yet said you would take it by force if we did not comply."
"The day I got the only lead on the stone since my search began, we were busy with other things. The Crystal Empire was running short on crystals to sell in order to buy our food. Even I had to oversee an excavation just moments after writing the letter to you. I was rushing out the message. In my haste, I failed to accurately explain what it was I needed from you and it might have come out a little...threatening."
"A little? You were blunt in your statement. You confidently said you would take what you thought we had by force, as if we had no choice in the matter to begin with. With such a declaration of war, Celestia and I had to take every measure needed to ensure that the Harmony we had brought into the land was not sent into disarray by a Ty-"
Luna paused as she looked at Sombra who held dry eyes of anger and frustration. He now knew why he was given the infamous title of 'Tyrant'.
"Not going to finish your statement?" Sombra asked as he stood up. "You're not going to say that you needed to kill the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire who enslaved his subjects into mining crystals for him? Not going to say that I was living a glamorous life since I was the only pony not in the mine when you arrived with an army? An army that I fought alone because if I allowed my own to leave the mine, my entire empire would suffer the consequences?"
"Sombra. I realize now that we might have misjudged you but-"
"What is there to misjudge? Anypony would have thought I was a Tyrant by the show I put on when you arrived. I even went as far as banishing my empire afterward to keep from from dying out without a leader. Yet to you, it was an act of cruelty. A selfish act of 'If I can't have it, nopony will.', correct?"
"I know you're upset by how things were handled..."
"No Luna. I do not blame you for taking action as you did." Sombra said as he turned to look at her with an aggravated look. "You did as any would have in your position. You had all the evidence you needed to back your claim on me. What I'm angry about is that I had to die. I might have survived the battle with you and your sister, but once I returned I was attacked on sight because of what was already thought of me."
Sombra took a moment to try to calm himself down to no avail. Just thinking how he himself was the catalyst for his own demise irked him. Had he taken just a few more moments to write things out in his letter, no, had he sent out scouts to see if the lead was true before confronting the sisters. Had he not acted on a whim. Might not have had to feel the stinging pain of a frozen prison. He might not have had to have been killed.
"To think..." He began. "To think that I died because of a false lead!" Sombra shouted in a loud roar of frustration. His anger was at its limit. The flames emitting from his eyes grew larger and larger as he looked back at Luna who remained terrified at the sight. He was on the brink of blowing everything up in frustration. Yet he stopped. His flames died down as a small voice come from Luna's back.
"Hmm?..." Sweetie grunted as she began to shake awake. "What happened? What's wrong?" She asked as she looked around.
Sombra sighed as his anger was quickly extinguished at the sight of the filly and walked over to the filly who was rubbing her eyes with her hooves.
"Forgive me, I became loud for a moment." He said softly as he nuzzled her. Luna looked in awe as she saw him interact with Sweetie Belle. He went from on the verge of destroying everything in his path to a gentle caring stallion in a stomp of a hoof simply because the filly woke up.
"Is everything alright though?" Sweetie Belle asked as she nuzzled back to let him know she was fine.
"Yes, we just have to back track a little. We've hit a dead end."
"Oh okay. Sorry, I must have picked the wrong path back at the fork in the road..." She said drowsily.
"Ah, yes that must be it. Do not worry. It's just a short walk back. We'll take the right path and have you out of here soon."
"Okay."
Sombra smiled softly as he looked at Sweetie Belle yawn. He then turned his gaze to Luna who was still trying to understand what it was that happened.
"I should ask forgiveness to you as well. I put up quite a bad display. I will be careful it doesn't happen again." Sombra said as he turned back around and gestured her to follow. "But really, we should get moving. Rarity will have my head if I return with her so late.
Luna still could not comprehend what had happened, but she pushed those thoughts aside and simply let things be. All she truly cared about at the moment was that she had been wrong. Sombra didn't only care about his revenge, who ever it might be on. He also cared for Sweetie Belle. If nothing else, that alone made him a better stallion that most.
With a sly smile, Luna brushed away what fright she might have had and spoke in a quirky voice. "Well she will have to get in line. I am to behead you first."
Sombra could only chuckle as he began to walk. He had been standing right over the trap tile he had missed earlier and failed to spot it yet again. He was fortunate enough not to step on it as he moved away from the dead end. Luna, however, was not as lucky this time. Sombra's ears flickered as he heard the unmistakable sound of a machine being set off. He turned back with widened eyes as he witnessed just as he feared.
Luna was falling down another trap door with a sharp scream. Quickly reacting as best she could, she quickly spread her wings and began to stabilize herself in the air. Unfortunately for Sweetie Belle, that meant she no longer had Luna's wings to lean on while on her back and instead was flung out into the dark pit.
Sombra didn't hesitate. He jumped forward and reached out to the falling filly. He caught up to her and wrapped his fore hooves around her before twisting in the air to look up at Luna as the trap doors began to shut. Every possible scenario past through his head as he fell himself continue to fall down the pit, none of them deemed a good outcome. Sombra could only take a gamble, and his best bet would be to leave Sweetie Belle with Luna.
"Luna!" Sombra shouted as he used what strength he had to throw the filly in his hooves through the closing doors.
Sweetie Belle made it through with time to spare and was quickly caught by princess. She took a few seconds to realize what it was that just happened now that the sudden movements had jolted her fully awake. Reaching out to the falling stallion, Sweetie Belle could only shout out in vain.
"Mister Sombra!"
Bam! The door shut.
<=•=>
Grunting as he struggled to his hooves, Sombra found himself in pure darkness. He let out his dark magic to light his environment with purple flames once more. It seemed that he had fallen down a similar pit as the very first one. Standing on another strange contraption with a single tunnel as the way out. The path upward no doubt still closed.
"Luna? Sweetie Belle?!" He shouted up but received no response. "Maldición."
Sombra ran to the nearest wall and jumped forward, merging with it as a shadow. He slid upward towards the top but didn't seem to matter. As a shadow, his flames were not present and he was unable to find a crack to slide into to go back up. There also seemed to be no noise whatsoever on the other side. It was likely the girls were no longer there. Giving up, Sombra went back down and shifted back into his pony form to light the way.
"I guess there's only one thing to do now." He said as he began to make his way down the tunnel in a gallop. "I need to get as far away from Sweetie Belle as possible. When I do, I'll return to her side as a shadow. The curse will ensure that. Just please be safe, and try not to touch anything."
<=•=>
"What happened to Mister Sombra?!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she jumped away from Luna's grasp. She ran back and forth in the corridor looking for the tile that had gone off earlier. "Touch everything! We need to find that tile!"
"Calm yourself." Luna said as she continued to stay airborne and chase after the filly trying to stomp on every tile she could find. "We mustn't set off another trap!" She said as she finally caught the filly again.
"But Mister Sombra, he fell down there! What if there were spikes, or a torture room, or a Minotaur?!"
"Such thoughts are poison to your mind Sweetie Belle." Luna said as she cradled the filly in her hooves. "It would be unlikely that any of those things can happen."
"Unlikely, but possible!"
"Either way, we cannot do anything about it now."
"What are you saying? You want us to leave Mister Sombra behind?!"
"Would that be so bad?" Luna asked as she raised an eyebrow, waiting for the filly to understand what it was she was planning. Though at first Sweetie Belle wanted to shout for even suggesting the idea, she quickly caught in to her plan.
"No...no it wouldn't cause if we get too far away, Mister Sombra will be forced back to me by the curse!"
"Exactly. Now let us make haste. It does not matter if we find the exit or not. All we require is enough distance to trigger the effect." Luna said as she levitated the filly with her magic and placed her on her back.
"Okay!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she readied herself for the sudden rush of speed as Luna began her flight down the tunnel. Coincidentally, it was the same direction Sombra was currently traveling in his own corridor. Their actual distance between one another didn't seem to change in the slightest.
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"Yes. The only think I really did was block out the light and sound around her. She's fine, just sleeping away now." Shouldn't that be thing instead of think?
And love this little shift apart to have luna plumb sweetie for information.
Well, who's going to be the first to stop or try the other direction? Will it be both at the same time?
Love this story. Keep it coming!
It's called "fatherly instinct", Luna. It's why big, tough stallions turn into loveable softies (Usually wearing dumb smiles.) whenever they have to take care of a child.
And talk about a failure in communication...
I thought of something very different...
5543262
wat
Son of a Luna
I need to know how to finish it!
Nice to see more of Sombra's backstory.
5543445 puta-bitch
she kicked a fore hoof up in enthusiasm though yawn quickly followed
Sombra began cast out a veil of darkness over her to sooth her slumber
The giggling on her back did nothing to sooth her anger
grew larger and larger as his looked back at Luna
It was likely they girls were no longer there
1. Though a yawn quickly followed.
2. Sombra began to cast out a veil of darkness over her to soothe her slumber.
3. Soothe.
4. He.
5. The.
Just a note; Sooth is basically a bad thing. Know what a soothsayer is? Basically a doomsayer. So yeah, best way to remember
So the trap door leads back the same way they walked? Who wants to say, Basement 2? And out of curiosity, Sombra has to be able to hear the commands directly from Sweetie for the curse to take effect? So does that mean anything Sweetie commands Sombra to do while he can't hear anything from her would lead him to do nothing?
5543262 I love that song
Also, this chapter made for some serious character development.
So a misunderstanding of the highest degree was the cause of Sombra's title and public image? Haha, oh Christ. Usually when that happens, it's something minor like ordering supplies or a wrong address. Sombra gets an icy grave.
Maybe he should hire a pre-reader for his letters.
5543445 puta would be the correct ending. However I thought it was Hijo de puta without the "la"
"Forgive me, I became loud for a moment." He said softly as she nuzzled her. Luna looked in awe as he saw him interact with Sweetie Belle.
I am pretty sure you mean she not he
Oh wow! Talk about unfortunate coincidences!
5543862 Me too.
Everypony has a story behind them.
dead end
Another great chapter!
Luna and Sombra seem to work well together. But is it only because of the fact Sweetie Belle is present? And who built all these durn traps anyway!
Sorry SombRarity, you have some new competition in the form of SombLuna (note to self, figure out a better abbreviation). Sorry, I have a bad case of shipping sickness. It does make me wonder, I know I've read at least two fics with Sombra and Rarity officially in a relationship, but I'm not sure I've ever seen one for Sombra X Luna.
More seriously, it was nice to see a bit of a truce and perhaps even the beginning of a friendship spring up this chapter.
i like Sombra now, thanks
Sometimes don't you just hate irony?
Another fine chapter Note keep up the fantastic work.
5543445
5544204
While yes, most would say Hijo de puta to translate 'Son of a Bitch'. What Sombra was going to say before he was interrupted was Hijo de la chingada. Which roughly translates to 'Son of they who were fucked'. However, in Spanish. Chingar can mean various things.
Ser Chingon means 'to be Badass'.
Un chingo de means 'a shit ton of'.
Me chingaron or Voy a chingar means 'I was fucked' and 'I'm going to fuck', respectability.
One could say it's a....very flexible word to use.
5546123 I gotta say I like Hijo de la chingada more than Hijo de puta
My only nitpick with this interpretation of Sombra's history is that they crystal ponies definitely seemed traumatized when the empire first returned. Was that a side-effect of the thousand-year time lag, fear associated with his title of King, or is Sombra's interpretation just biased?
Maybe its some other reason.
5546123 I think it allows to troll people very easily :p
5547075
5546665
While I understand that this interpretation of Sombra's backstory is stretching the Canon to the point of almost breaking it, there is a reason to my madness. I wanted to explain this certain detail about the Crystal Ponies as well this chapter, however because of the flow of the conversation I couldn't find a comfortable way to incorporate it.
It will, however, be fully explained later in the story with great detail. If ya'll bare with me a while longer, I promise I'm not disregarding the show's canon.
Well that's convenient. Something ought to happen whilst Sombra travels that particular direction. I wonder what he'll find...?
Circling the wheel of existence,
dreaming of a whiter chain,
something like good will.
Cloudy skies veils intentions in confusions,
but know this;
within a heart so black and pained,
there is yet warmth
to thaw the ice lingering of such a pony.
Awaiting further releases.
5547762 Very well said!
5549544
Why thank you for your interest~
5550847 Your very welcome
Ah, I remember that sweet "Hijo de la Luna" song, so, I almost instantly realized what that phrase meant ^^
5547399
It's not that much of a stretch- good isn't always nice, and ponies have shown themselves to be highly skittish. Just better safe than sorry, I've found.
This is awsome!
The story is great XD can't wait for the next update
5547075 It never said he was kind to his subjects, just that he was trying to keep them alive and fed.
____________________
also, can't sombra become a shadow at will?
5565256 Thanks.
5564681 He can, and he did as seen in the part where he slides up the wall as a shadow but is ultimately unable to get back to the girls. The problem isn't that he isn't able to become a shadow, it's that if he manually triggers it, he himself has to find his way back to Sweetie Belle as apposed to when the curse forces him back, he would become a ray of energy that automatically finds it's way back to Sweetie Belle as it did in chapter 11, Going Flying.
5565802 got'cha
5546123
¡Ja ja! As a mexican I can confirm this.
What's amusing here is that there's a rather lovely song called Hijo de la Luna.
to keep them from
Really loving this story.
Well, being in the ice for 1,000 years and subsequently going nuts when freed will do that to you.