Just in Time to See the Fall
Soarin trotted silently, the once busy streets of Sire's Hollow left barren, empty, and so terribly alone. He’d only landed in town a few minutes ago, yet he could already see the differences since his last proper visit as he looked around, his expression unreadable.
He had tried to mentally prepare himself for his arrival on the flight here. He knew what he would be met with, but no amount of that could properly prepare him for the sheer fear that had engulfed his childhood home. There were eyes on him, it didn’t take his years of guard training to notice that, the ponies nervously shaking as they watched him from the safety of their homes.
How many of them recognized him, he wondered? Had his time in Canterlot changed him? Or did they still see him as the foal playing dress up and going on his imaginary crusades?
When this started, did they think the same about him?
—
Soarin had decided he didn’t like Sire’s Hollow.
It was a thought he had stubbornly held onto ever since he had gone around looking for a new home with his parents, and it had only grown stronger when they decided that they loved it. He continued to be sure of this in every step of the moving process, no matter how nice the school was, or how pretty the scenery was, or any of that! It wasn’t Cloudsdale, so he didn’t like it.
All the adults called him childish and stubborn, saying he just needed time to get used to his new home. Which was silly! He still didn’t get why they had to move out of the skies in the first place!
He was still thinking things like that on his first day of school, crossing his hooves in the shadow of a tree he found in the gardens, silently fuming to himself. The town was a nice place, but it just... didn’t feel like home! It was too close to the ground, and the grass wasn’t anywhere near close to being as soft or fluffy as the clouds outside his old home.
It was stupid really, they should have changed it already.
Everypony in the school was nice from the looks of it, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to get close to any of the others. Even if he enjoyed himself, it felt like giving in, accepting the change, something he wanted to fight as much as possible.
“Adults are stupid anyways...” he grumbled to himself, his small wings crossed behind his back to match his hooves, making his displeasure as clear as possible. It was break at the moment, but he was determined to stay where he was for as long as possible, even beyond if he had to! That would surely prove the adults wrong for once.
“U-um... excuse me?” a quiet voice asked, Soarin turning as the other foal squeaked nervously, hiding his face behind some of his long black mane, his warm red eyes mostly staying shut. He was a unicorn, like a good amount of the town from what Soarin had seen, although this one seemed far less comfortable dealing with him than the other children.
“Hey.” he grumbled, unsure why somepony had even tried to bother him when he was doing all he could to look as unapproachable as possible. “Are you trying to be overly friendly too?”
”O-oh, I just...” he trailed off, muttering under his breath, whatever he said being unintelligible to the pegasus, who looked at him questioningly. “I just... sit here. On breaks I mean. It’s just nice... you know?”
“But... don’t the others play over there?”
”Yeah...” he sighed. “I don’t do well with other ponies though. So I usually just stay over here.”
”By yourself?” asked Soarin in confusion as he trotted closer to the unicorn. “But aren’t the others really friendly? They seem nice to me.”
”I suppose... but it doesn’t matter! They all think I’m weird... probably since I haven’t got my cutie mark yet...” he whispered, looking down and sighing as Soarin blinked in shock.
”But don’t you get lonely?”
“A little... a few of the others at the orphanage seem to like me a little more at least...”
”Orphanage?” he repeated, trying to recall where he had heard the word before and gasping. “You mean you don’t have a family?”
”Y-yeah... I guess even my parents thought I was weird...”
Soarin blinked. It hadn’t occurred to him that he wasn’t the only lonely pony in the school, or how much he was overreacting in the first place. At least he had his family, this unicorn didn’t have anypony. He stayed quiet for a moment, trying to find the right words to say in response to what he’d been told.
”Well... I don’t think you look weird!” he exclaimed, the unicorn looking up in shock as he outstretched his wings to try and look more inspiring. “I mean, everypony here seems odd to me! It’s all pegasi in Cloudsdale! And you don’t seem any different to anypony here I’ve seen! So… you’re just worrying about nothing!”
The unicorn blinked, his eyes wide as he looked up at the pegasus in awe. “Y-you think so?” he asked in disbelief.
“I know so!” Soarin answered with a wide smile, the earlier stubborn thoughts forgotten now that he was focused on this new mission.
“D-do you promise?”
“Yep!” came the joyful reply. “I promise you can be friends with them all! Just like how I promise to always be there to help! So come on!”
“Ok!” answered the foal with the biggest smile he had so far, although an aura of unease remained. “J-Just... can you stay with me? Just to help, I mean... if you don’t mind...”
”Sure thing! Let’s go and meet the others now! I need to introduce myself anyways, you should come with me!” he offered, the unicorn blinking in shock once more before his eyes sparkled in joy.
”O-ok! I’ll try not to be too nervous... thank you... S-Soarin was it?”
“Yep! Fastest pegasus in Cloudsdale! Well... fastest stallion at least.” he boasted, before pausing in thought and turning towards his new friend. “Oh, I almost forgot to ask. What’s your name?”
“Oh... my name is Sombra!” he said, his eyes somehow shining even more as Soarin’s heart beat grew faster, in what he decided must have been from meeting his first new friend.
Maybe, just maybe, he could learn to like Sire’s Hollow after all.
—
“No… that isn’t important…” he muttered to himself, the thoughts dismissed as he walked down the path, his head held down, helmet removed in case the situation called for it. No matter what had happened to him, what was going on, there was no way in Tartarus that he wouldn’t recognise him. It was something that he had to believe.
Dark clouds were gathered above him, blocking the settlement from the light of its ruler or her opposite, the constant reminders of hope snuffed out by the unnatural weather. Even if he didn’t have any background information, he could tell it was wrong, his feathers standing on end at the sight of them as he shivered instinctively.
He didn’t see anypony until he reached the very end of the street, an armoured guard that had been standing as still as a statue suddenly turning towards him, holding out his hoof to stop Soarin in his tracks.
“Halt. State your business.” the orange stallion spoke robotically, his words emotionless as he stared with glowing green eyes.
“I’m here to see your king.” he answered, his eyes narrowed as he stared back into the bottomless pits of green. Soarin remembered Flash Sentry, his kind blue eyes, the kind of pony that would have done wonders in the Canterlot guard. Flash had laughed at his offer to join, saying he wasn’t the fighting type, and he had always respected him for that.
Now here he was, paraded around like a puppet through the home he loved so much.
“None may see him. The king is not due to make a public appearance until tomorrow morning. Please return to your home.” Whatever spell had taken hold of him attempted to make his answer sound cheerful, but the attempt only made it more unnatural.
“I’m not waiting until then!” he growled, anger bubbling to the surface as his wings spread out in fury. “Take me to Sombra! I need to see him!”
“Please return to your ho-” the pegasus began before pausing, blinking as it answered a voice only he could hear. “I understand, my liege. Come with me.”
He began to trot away, Soarin following close behind, knowing their destination, seeing it tower over the entire village. He did his best not to look at it, trying to keep his feelings together, what was happening suddenly feeling so much more real now that he had said the name out loud.
He’d been trained to keep his cool in almost any situation. But this? There was really nothing that could properly prepare him, and as much as he hoped, prayed to the sun and even the moon that this couldn’t be happening, it was starting to set in just how foolish that was.
Soarin willed himself to keep moving, to stay focused and not let emotion take over, but try as he might to ignore them, the empty streets he walked through would forever remain alive with memories.
—
“I told you I don’t want to get my hopes up!” insisted Sombra as he trotted towards the building, Soarin floating by his side. “Just because ponies from other towns come here doesn’t mean they'll be my friends!”
”I still think you're overreacting buddy.” commented the pegasus, smiling in his trademark annoyingly carefree manner. “We had lots of friends back in the schoolhouse! You just needed a good wingpony to get to know them!”
”Yeah, I know... they didn’t feel like friends though! More like... ponies I happened to know? Like I talked to them, I’m nice to them, they’re nice to me, but we weren’t really friends, you know?”
”You do know you are describing exactly what a friend is, right Sombra?” Soarin raised an eyebrow before bursting into giggles at the offended glare he got in return.
”No it isn’t! They’re totally different!” he argued back with a scowl. “If they didn’t feel right then they couldn't be that important to me!”
”Ah yes, since the unicorn that didn’t have a single friend until three years ago is suddenly an expert on it.” joked the pegasus, smiling as he looked around the bustling town.
”Said unicorn also heavily regrets letting that happen. You are insufferable.” he grumbled. “You always want to get involved, make it almost impossible to study and have the uncanny ability of spreading chaos wherever you go!”
”Awwwwww, thanks Sombra!”
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.” sighed the unicorn with a flick of his mane, the action seeming incredibly theatrical.
“When are you going to cut that? My mom gets me to do it every few months.”
”Finally we have discovered the one advantage of being an orphan.” he rolled his eyes. “But no. I’m keeping it like this. I like it.”
”Suit yourself.” he shrugged, blushing a little, his eyes drawn to the flowing locks before he shook his head to help regain focus. “You shouldn’t change it. It looks... nice.”
“T-thanks...” he flushed a little, before narrowing his eyes. “Oh for... you know I can’t handle compliments you jerk!”
”H-hey! Not my fault you're so easy to tease!” came the unconvincing retort from the pegasus.
“Whatever. You just like it so I can play princes easier in your games.”
”Well, I need somepony dashing enough to be worthy of my rescue!” he laughed happily. “So you’re the only pony for the job really.”
”I thought the royal guard had to save anypony.” Sombra smirked with a raise of his eyebrow. “You won’t last long there if you decide to just not help the ponies you don’t like.”
”I know, I know! I’m not an idiot! It’s just nicer to practise by helping your best friend rather than somepony you can’t stand, you know? Should make it easier in the future when I’m an actual guard. Maybe even a Wonderbolt!”
”If you say so. I would have thought you would get actual training once you joined though.” commented the unicorn with a small smile. “Then again, you always wanted to be prepared.”
”Exactly! It’s smart! And totally not a waste of time! Your talent must just be knowing me perfectly!” Soarin beamed, pleased to see it was only making his friend even more flustered.
“T-that’s silly! I’m sure my special talent isn’t as specific as that...”
“You never know!” Soarin teased with a grin. “It’s either that, being a dashing prince stand-in, or reading too much!” he laughed, the two of them finally reaching the entrance. “But don’t dismiss it so fast! You are amazing at it after all. You're like the best friend a pony could ever ask for! And that’s why you’re going to make tons of more friends!” he beamed, the unicorn giving an uncertain smile back.
”You promise?”
”Oh come on, Sombra! When have I ever broken a promise?”
—
Focusing on the past was really the worst thing he could do in a situation like this, but Soarin was unable to stop himself from reminiscing on his foalhood. He had to keep moving though; the real Flash Sentry was kind and understanding, but he had a feeling what he was following wouldn’t be so patient.
He could see more armoured ponies now, their motionless forms almost blending into the background as they stood still. He would have preferred it if they were faceless, if they were the mindless puppets they acted as, instead of old friends, acquaintances, or even one of his old teachers.
The only small relief was that he hadn’t seen certain faces amongst the crowd, but without proof, he could only hope that his parents were safely in their homes, or that whatever did this had retained enough of themselves to leave one of their closest friends out of this terror.
Of course, he hadn’t seen Sombra either, but he knew that was going to change soon.
”Follow.” repeated the guard once more, the soulless, enchanted eyes glaring right at him.
”I’m coming, Flash. No need to get testy.”
“Do not make snide remarks to royal guard ponies.”
”Why shouldn’t I?” he growled, only the countless hours of training in Canterlot keeping him together.
”It was a new rule our liege set only today. During his message to transfer you to his presence. He anticipated you may act in a manner similar to this.” the sentry stated, the words finally enough to chase the pegasus to freeze in his tracks.
“H-he… said that?” he repeated with a growing dread, the feeling festering in the very depths of his stomach.
“Affirmative.”
He felt sick, unwell, his legs shaking as Flash continued his pre-set journey, the other pegasus taking a moment before following. He took some deep breaths, looking up into the unnaturally black sky, lightning striking as the shadow of the twisted structure was lit up, as if it was poisoning the skyline with its unnatural existence alone.
He needed to keep moving, to somehow try and stop this before it was too late. That was the entire reason he was here. The reason he had gone behind everyponys’ backs on the naive hope that this could be prevented from spreading any further.
But faced with this, the sinking feeling that it was already past the point of no return was only growing stronger. Because, like Flash and the guards, it would have been so much easier if the evil king who conquered this town was only a mindless, snarling beast that had no idea of its actions.
It should have given him hope to know that he wasn't completely gone.
But instead, as he stared into one of the many crystals awkwardly sticking from the ground, he felt his heart sink deeper into the pits of despair.
—
“This probably isn't the best idea.”
“Oh come on Sombra! It’ll be fun!” reassured Soarin, the unicorn glaring at him judgingly while one of their companions sniggered.
”Not just any fun! Great and Powerful fun! This stunt will be the greatest Equestria has ever seen!” Trixie cried to the heavens, earning more judging glares from the adults walking past while Sombra smiled at them unconvincingly in an attempt to ward off their anger, their other friend sighing as she looked up from her book.
“I seriously doubt that a couple of foals and fillies could make something greater than any other pony has in history before now.” commented Starlight with a raise of her eyebrow. “Sunburst really did have the right idea sitting this out. If only I had the foresight to join him…”
“Oh come on Starlight! You don’t need to take the fun out of it! You make it sound like this is just some children playing around!”
Sombra stared at them judgingly.
”It doesn’t matter who it is that performs this task!” Trixie waved her hoof, attempting to enchant the audience of ponies around her with a smirk that made Starlight suddenly raise her book. “What matters is the legacy left behind by such wonderful and marvellous activity!”
”Yeah, well if it’s a bill, I’m not helping pay for it this time.” Sombra snarked, trying not to laugh at the offended looks from his friends as Trixie’s attitude did a complete one eighty.
”WHAT!? Sombra no! We will need those numerous and appreciated funds of yours in case something goes wrong!” She paused, clearing her throat as she pointlessly attempted to regain her focus. “I mean, not that's going to happen! I have nothing but faith that we will be able to successfully scoot through the streets supported by nothing but Soarin’s wings and my great and powerful magic! Tell him Soarin!”
”What!?” asked the pegasus, the question drawing him away from the wheel he was checking. “Why do I have to do it?”
”Since Sombra always listens to you! It’s like how Starlight always helps me out since she’s my best friend in the world!”
”Against my better judgement...” muttered the unicorn from behind her book, a small flush in her face. “I-I would rather be doing homework today anyways!”
“Come on, Sombra! Please? Please? Please? I’m your best friend! You can’t abandon me if things go south!” Soarin pleaded, the other stallion laughing at his attempts.
”Let’s see how things go first. Then I might consider it when things inevitably go that route.” he rolled his eyes before gasping in shock as the pegasus suddenly wrapped a wing around him.
“Great! You’re the best Sombra!”
“Y-you’re impossible…” he muttered, blushing from the praise while Trixie giggled.
“Come on Soarin! We need to get started with this already!”
“Coming Trixie!” the pegasus grinned, dashing to the scooter while Sombra and Starlight sighed in unison.
“Both of them really are impossible, aren’t they?” Starlight groaned, watching them start to scoot away, leaning back against the fence as the calming sound of the river’s flow echoed from behind them.
“Definitely. You would think I would be more used to him after knowing him for years…”
“Ha! I don’t think anypony could get used to Trixie. She was my first real friend after Sunburst. Best friends according to her.” she laughed fondly.
“Well you pretty much are best friends. Even if Soarin would much rather do something this crazy with her…” Sombra winced, watching as the duo almost rammed into their old teacher who was out doing some shopping. “Then again, I’m more relieved than anything that she has somepony sane that hangs out with her…”
“She’s not so bad… she’ll have moved on from this in a few minutes. Then I can focus on trying to get her to actually. You know. Work.” she lamented, smiling a little as the unicorn and pegasus cheered in excitement. “She’s like a cat. A very excitable cat that needs to get a lot of energy out of her system before she actually does anything.”
“I think cats would be easier to deal with.” he laughed, Starlight joining in for a moment as she sighed happily.
”She might not say it often, but Trixie really is glad she met you both. She wouldn’t have dreamed of being this in the open before. I actually had to persuade her to even show up to school! More ponies being nice to her really helped.”
”I wasn’t the best before Soarin. Kept to myself and only talked to other ponies if I had to, then that headstrong pegasus just had to transfer and throw everything off balance.”
“Tell me about it. But we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we?” Starlight smiled, Sombra giving a smaller one in return as the duo began to dash back towards them.
”Of course. But... one second. You two! Slow down before you hurt yourselves!” he barked in concern, cringing at the bumps in the path that lay ahead.
”Pfff, don’t worry so much Sombra! We’ll be fine!” Soarin shouted back.
”Indeed! There is nothing to fear! For the invulnerable and unstoppable Trixie can-“
It was then that the scooter hit a very large bump in the road, sending it tipping forward as both ponies were sent flying, Starlight and Sombra’s eyes both widening in shock.
“AH QUICK! SOMEPONY SAVE THE VULNERABLE AND VERY FRAIL TRIXIE!”
”PONYFEATHERS!” screamed Soarin, covering his eyes with his wings as the two unicorns watched in shock.
”SOARIN!” cried Sombra, panic gripping his soul as he shut his eyes to avert himself from the sight. The context suddenly didn’t matter, just that his friend was in danger, his horn suddenly aching as, unnoticed by everypony, dark smoke slithered free, clouding around the horn as magic sparkled within.
The ground rippled, Starlight gasping as crystals burst free from the soil, coiling upwards into a curve, the rocks growing in seconds until both ponyies hit its curved surface, sliding down before harmlessly landing at the other's hooves.
Everypony blinked.
”What just happened?” Starlight broke the silence first, her mouth regaining the ability to form proper words.
“I-its a miracle! A great and pow-“ began Trixie uncertainly before giggling at the judging stares she got in return.
”You saved us Sombra!” Soarin beamed, wrapping the surprised unicorn into a hug with his wing. ”That's supposed to be my job, you know!”
”Y-yeah... I guess I did!” Sombra laughed uncertainly, feeling almost everypony eyes on him, feeling his horn out of instinct to find nothing out of the ordinary. “Good thing I t-thought quickly then!”
“Yeah, that was amazing! Thanks a ton, I didn’t want to get stuck, injured or anything... you know I hate being helpless!” he laughed, him and Trixie quickly getting over the shocking experience.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for the assistance. Although she could have easily gotten out of it herself.”
”Trixie!” hissed Starlight, clearly still on edge from the experience.
”Fine... Trixie gives her great and powerful thanks to you, Sombra.” grumbled the unicorn as Starlight ceased her judgement.
”Now that I’ve handled miss ego over here, we can move onto more pressing matters. I’ve never seen magic like that before! Who taught you that Sombra!?” asked the unicorn.
”I-I don’t know! It just... came to me. I must have seen it in a book somewhere...”
”Really?” Starlight raised her eyebrow. “That’s... curious. I’ve never seen anything like that in any of my books...”
”Nuh uh! I know that look! You're not going to Starlight over this!” cried Trixie, continuing before the unicorn could even defend herself. “There’s nothing strange about a spell that saved our lives! Besides, there’s no way you’ve read every book on spells already!”
”I-I suppose not...”
”Then there’s nothing to worry about!” Soarin shouted, too distracted by joy to think any harder on the topic. “Let’s go celebrate! Our treat!”
”Y-you really don’t have too...” he blushed, the group of ponies that had watched them starting to walk apart now whatever happened was over. “I-I just wanted to help...”
”We know you silly! That’s why we have to celebrate!”
”Yeah, obviously! Although you might want to get rid of those rocks first...” added Trixie, Sombra blinking as he turned back toward the crystals.
”Oh! Right... forgot about that...” he tilted his head, looking at the shiny surfaces in front of him as he racked his brain for a way to get rid of them. “Maybe if I...”
He stomped his hoof into the ground, the action causing the crystals to dissolve into nothingness.
”Oh wow! Awesome!” beamed Soarin.
”Fascinating...” mused Starlight.
”Boring! Can we move on already!?” complained Trixie, the question prompting them all to burst into laughter as they trotted away to do something more relaxing. Sombra trailed behind them a little, looking down at his hoof with curious, narrowed eyes before finally following.
—
They had arrived.
Flash hadn’t said anything, but Soarin knew that the confirmation was unnecessary, the sight alone enough to confirm his suspicions. In some ways, it was just like what he had seen before, only even more extreme, the towering structure looking like it had burst free from the town centre, a spawning, shining castle of purple crystal.
”Enter.” spoke the sentry, Soarin silently trotting through the large open doors before they slammed shut behind him, leaving him in darkness. For a moment, he wondered if it would stay that way before purple light flared into existence, lighting the way for the path ahead.
It wasn’t like he had any other choice than to follow, the pegasus’s hoofsteps echoing through the vast fortress. He could make out little of his surroundings, only the almost claustrophobic crystal walls closing in on him.
Every instinct was on edge, knowing with every step he took he was getting closer to Sombra, closer to finally knowing the true story. Or at least, confirming what he had been told back in Canterlot.
He only hoped he could get there in time. Before it was too late.
He silently continued for a few minutes, waiting for any sign he was getting closer, anything even remotely welcoming in the hostile environment. After a while, he finally encountered something different, a door that led into another tower, one that was filled with steps that climbed for miles and miles.
“Sombra always liked stairs.” He chuckled humorlessly, before starting to climb.
—
“The evil king? Isn’t that just some bedtime story for foals?” asked Soarin, leaning back on Sombra’s bed while the unicorn rolled his eyes.
”Yes, there are plenty of legends around him, Soarin. But it is also very well known they are based on reality! Like an actual pony. How do you have no idea about this?”
”Hey! Not my fault nopony told me!” the pegasus protested, Sombra raising an eyebrow as he ceased writing and turned to face him.
”We were reminded about it several times at the schoolhouse. Such as when we did a literal group project on him.”
”Ohhhhhhh... I... um... totally remember that?” he laughed nervously.
“You really are impossible sometimes.” Sombra muttered with a fond smile. “Do you really remember nothing from back then? The lost empire? The power hungry ruler? That Celestia herself had to fight alongside her other to defeat? Not even the legend that inspired the stories!?” he questioned.
”Um... well... you know history was never my favourite subject... that’s why I needed your help in this research task to begin with! I still don’t know how this is going to help me when in the royal guard!”
“Oh sure, go ahead and ignore the mistakes made in history then. You know it’s to stop ponies stupidly repeating things right? I’m not even surprised you're asking for my help with this though.” chuckled the unicorn. “So you know what topic I got, do you know anything about yours?”
”A little! It’s on General Firefly. You know, founder of the Wonderbolts and all that.” he spoke in pride. “There’s a big statue of her in Canterlot in their headquarters. She was the first and most loyal of all of Celestia's army! And so founded a private guard for the princesses made of the best of the best! The same guard I’ll be standing alongside one day!” expressed Soarin confidently.
“Huh, that’s more than I thought. You really know all that?”
”Well, yeah! Normal history is boring, wonderbolt history isn’t! It’s basic maths!”
”None of what you just said involved numbers.”
“Big words from the pony that has a history project on somepony with no name!”
”He did have a name, moron.” Sombra chuckled, the laugh sounding a bit darker than intended. “It was just struck from all records after his death. That wr- the princess is the only pony on Equestria that knows it now. Besides, it adds to the spookiness of the legen... story I suppose.” he said uncertainly, the rest of what he said coming out deathly serious.
”Spooky.” remarked the pegasus in curious concern. “What’s the story again?”
”Oh that. They say, before he died, that with the last of his strength and intense magical ability, he laid an eternal curse. Powered only by his sheer hate for those princesses, he swore that his soul would never rest until he got his revenge. That no matter how long it would take. I-he would get his revenge.” he stuttered.
”Huh.” Soarin blinked before tilting his head. “If he was that powerful shouldn’t he have won though? Like why couldn’t he have cast a better spell?”
”It was a different kind of magic... I think. But yeah, since then, there’s been a ton of threats facing Equestria. Not all of them are related to this. But every few centuries there always seems to be ponies that s-share some similarities. So the legend goes that the evil king is reborn every three hundred years or something.” he shuddered.
”Are you feeling alright, Sombra?” asked Soarin, putting his hoof on his friend's back, flinching before recovering from the shock.
”I’m fine, this project is just... putting me on edge I guess. I felt uneasy looking at this before but... I don’t know, it just... feels different this time.” he sighed, shivering before slamming the book shut.
”You’ve just been cooped up here too long.” said Soarin with a warm smile. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air. I’ll even get Trixie to get Starlight and Sunburst out so we can finally get all you eggheads outside for once!”
“Yeah… guess you’re right… I have lost track of time looking at all this…” he agreed, before narrowing his eyes. “Wait a second. I just realised something. If you knew that much about Firefly, why ask me for help to begin with?”
“O-oh! That!” Soarin laughed, his eyes darting from side to side, Sombra thinking he could see the beginnings of a blush fill his features. “No reason! J-just wanted to see you… for help! See you for help!”
It was strange to see the pegasus so embarrassed over nothing, the unicorn blinking before laughing to himself and flicking his mane. “You’re adorable sometimes. Come on, let's go and relax for a bit.” he laughed, already feeling better from his friend’s support, not noticing how the red lingered on the pegasus’s face as they left the room together.
—
The amount of steps was, quite honestly, completely ridiculous.
He had climbed them for what might have been over fifthteen minutes at this point, yet the darkness above him continued to conceal his destination. He didn’t stop though; he knew he couldn’t until he saw that this was over for good.
He only had dim purple flame to light his way, the bad visibility being the only thing stopping him from simply flying to the top as fast as possible. But with every step, he knew he was getting closer.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity he reached the end of his long journey. The hours spent sneaking away in the shadows of Canterlot, flying in search of his childhood village before trotting down literal memory lanes, all leading to this single moment.
The door wasn’t even that different to a normal one, just much larger, the crystal towering over him as the purple gleamed in the torchlight.
“Ok, maybe it is a bit different…” he muttered, taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes in a final attempt to reassure himself. It was still possible this was a misunderstanding. That this was somehow not as bad as he or every other pony had been led to believe.
Then, he opened it and walked inside.
The room he was met with was in sharp contrast to the dimly lit hallways of the rest of the castle, almost every inch of it bathed with an intense glow that illuminated from above. But his eyes barely noticed that. As always, they were drawn to him right away.
He stood in front of a throne of crystal, his mane as long as ever, a red regal cape flowing from the metal neck brace, his hooves covered with metal boots. But it was the eyes Soarin noticed first, those innocent red eyes from so long ago hardened into blood-tinted rubies that contained none of their former kindness.
For a minute, the two ponies simply stared at each other, not saying a word as the heavy silence surrounded them.
“Sombra.” Soarin broke the silence first, the word slipping out breathlessly, emotions born from exhaustion, shock and terror, the unicorn staring back without a word. There were so many things he could call Sombra throughout his life, companion, best friend, partner.
Now he would find out if tyrant and enemy would join them.
The king chuckled.
“Well, it's good to see you… Soarin.”
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aww that is so adorable! love ponies
aww, and also ominous, given that it is Sombra somehow! and it makes sense for him to form a bond with Soarin’, since Soarin’ is also an outsider here
yay, Flash is in this (not in the best circumstances but still counts!)
aww, child Sombra is quickly becoming the Sombra we know and love here
ehehe love this exchange
and a great take on an Equestrian version of this trope. augh i love this world
ooh i bet this will be a tragically ironic statement later
and oof, love the idea here. it is so true that it would be worse to know Sombra is still very much the Sombra he knew, while still being able to do all this
okay i already love this AU where Soarin’, Sombra, Trixie, and Starlight were all friends in Sire’s Hollow doing stupid teenager things together long before they were world-destroying villains/normal adult ponies
and augh, just loving this dynamic. of course Sombra and Starlight would be the sane ones that enable/restrain their “best friend” halves
classic Trixie moment, love it
and Sombra’s powers being awakened in the act of saving his friends from their own teenage hijinx, augh. that is just wonderful
perfection, love it
love how teenage Soarin’ is already better at this than adult Rainbow Dash
and oof, definitely love the idea of Sombra being reincarnated over the centuries rather than somehow Sombra has returned
ehehe
and oof, this is definitely the Sombra we know and love now. augh, what a great villain!
I love the pacing and characterisation so far! One tip: use a comma after a quote that's followed by a speaking tag.
So what you wrote as:
should be:
That's the only technical detail I saw consistently out of place. You and your editor did a great job on this. Can't wait to finish it, and I already know it's going to be a favorite!
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Thanks for the advice and great to hear! :D