//------------------------------//
// Chapter Ten: Resolutions 
// Story: A Draconequus's Destiny 
// by TheOnlySaneDraconequus 
//------------------------------//


Author's Warning:
This chapter contains Sombra's "Worst Fear" trap going off, so there's a tiny bit of gore. Hopefully nothing bad enough that I have to tag the entire story. Sorry if you're squeamish. 



Chapter Ten:



Resolutions




	A few days later, I decided to keep my word, and checked in on Sombra. I was met at the door by a very irate Twilight. She stuck her head in my face, pointed at her mane, and yelled, “Look! Grey! I’ve got grey in my mane, and it’s all. Your. Fault!” she screamed. “If it isn’t actually you, it’s sompony you sponsor for the rehabilitation program! Will you never leave me in peace?!”

I shrugged. “I’ve got all Eternity. How long can you hold out for?”

Twilight collapsed into a sobbing heap, then pointed up the stairs. “Just go! You two deserve each other!”

My curiosity flaring up, I walked up the stairs to Sombra’s room. As I knocked on the door, something was thrown at it, smashing loudly. “Away, vile plebe!” Sombra spat. “I will not talk to a purple menace today!”

Taking my chances, I opened the door. “Well, I’ve got a coat of many colors, but purple isn’t included. I am a plebe, and a menace, but will you grace me with your presence anyways?”

He nodded. “My apologies. I thought you were that infernal Princess,” he growled.

I glanced around the room. “Huh. I just realized, this was my room when I lived here. Take it easy on the décor, will you?! You’re welcome to put up some heavy metal posters, if that’s your thing.” I then held up a paw. “Speaking in my role of bringing balance, as the only person you’ll talk to, and the reason you’re both stuck together, what in the hay happened between you two?!”

Sombra folded his legs, and growled. “The ‘Princess’ and her dressmaker friend had a falling out. I merely suggested that the Princess burn her shop down, and now I’m ‘grounded.’ Whatever that means. Suffice to say, it escalated quickly from there. I’m forbidden from leaving this room, but I did hold my own.”

I nodded, wondering why I’d signed up for this, before remembering I had the easy part. “So, how are the withdrawal pains?”

“They’re fine!!” Sombra snapped. “I’m doing perfectly well, and do not require your help at all!”

“This is just my coltfriend rubbing off on me, but how are you feeling?”

Sombra closed his eyes, and said through clenched teeth, “I feel. Isn’t that enough for you?”

“Oh. I’m sorry. When you can’t feel for a really long time, and it starts up again, you feel everything, whether you want to or not.”

“Oh, and I suppose you just happen to have lost your soul by dabbling in the Forbidden Arts, so you’re speaking from experience, right?”

I sighed. “No. I just know what it’s like to stop and start feeling against your will. You didn’t lose your soul, by the way. That’s almost impossible to do. Trust me on that one.”

I gave Sombra a closer look. Even in the dim light, his coat was at least two shades lighter, and his mane was shorter. It looked more like a mane than a writhing mass of smoke. The mist flowing from his eyes would stop for a few seconds and start again.

“You do know you’ll have to apologize to the two of them, right?” I asked.

“I am a King!” Sombra bellowed. “I do not apologize to falsely transcended librarians, and overly dramatic haberdashers!” I raised an eyebrow. “NO!” he shouted.

I sighed. “Fine.” I then snapped my fingers behind my back. “You’ll have to do it sooner or later, but,” I shrugged, “free will.”

Sombra’s head tilted. “I heard you snap your fingers. You did something underhooved, didn’t you?”

“Not really.” I pulled a book off the floor at random, and started flipping through it. My eyes lit up. “Ooh! Transmogifis Transcendus! That was one of my favorites to study, I still have the formula memorized.” I held the page out to Sombra. “So, could you do this one? It’s pretty advanced.”

Sombra scoffed. “Ha! Foals’ play!”

I shrugged. “So, do it then.”

Sombra’s eyes narrowed, and he growled, “You took away my-” I examined my claws. Sombra’s eyes lit up, and he grinned evilly. His horn lit up, and the smashed vase by the door flowed together, before reforming into a black crystal bust of himself. “Yes!” Sombra cheered.

I chuckled. “Should have seen that one coming. Anyways, enjoy having more of your magic back. I still don’t trust you, and you haven’t earned it, but it should help you.” I leaned in, and said, “Besides, somepony needs to give Twilight a run for her money. Personally, I’d like to see someone beat her at magic without using a soul-sucking evil amulet. I think you’re the perfect choice for the job. Go forth, and do me proud!”

Sombra chuckled. He then said, “Thank you. Why did you do that?”

I shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe the voices in my head decreed it in a majority vote. I certainly don’t know why I do things half the time.” My eyes narrowed. “If you use it to try to conquer Equestria, or just for evil and mayhem in general, I’ll ki-” I put a paw to my left heart. “Seriously discipline you.” I corrected. The pain stopped.

“Oooh! Scary!” Sombra said with a grin.

“You’d be amazed what you can live through, and what I can manage to work within a loophole. I’ll leave you in Twilight’s capable hooves, maybe for once somepony can teach her something about magic. I know you like her.”

“Why do you keep saying I like her?!” Sombra shouted.

I shrugged. “It might have something to do with the way your heartrate speeds up and your pupils dilate whenever you hear her name. Biology doesn’t lie my friend.”

Sombra’s jaw dropped. He then folded his hooves, and huffed, “I would get a living lie detector for a nurse.”

“I’m your sponsor, not your nurse.”

“You can’t really hear somepony’s heart rate without using magic, can you?” he asked in a worried tone.

I nodded. “If it’s quiet enough, there’s only one pony around, and I concentrate, yes, I can. It creeps me out to no end, so I avoid it. I keep thinking ponies are deaf and blind, then remember I have super senses, ponies aren’t defective. Work on that apology. If it helps, think of it as a moving speech to the lowly rabble.”

Sombra actually laughed at that. He then asked, “So, how goes it with you and the bug?”

I smiled. “We’re actually doing pretty well, thanks for asking. We’ve been … talking a lot the last few days. I took him on a trip to some ruins in the Amanezonian rainforest, and he took me bowling.”

“Bowling?” asked Sombra in a confused tone.

“Oh, sorry. I forget you’re about a thousand years out of date. It’s a game that’s a sport, that also isn’t a sport.” Sombra gave me a blank look. “It’s sort of like ninepins?” I tried desperately. The blank look continued. “Never mind. Have Twilight explain it to you, she’d know more about it, and could likely give you a lecture on its complete history.” Sombra shuddered. “Oh! You’ve gone through one of them already!” I said with an evil grin. He nodded, a nauseous look on his face. “How can you know about a lie detector, but not about bowling?”

He sighed. “It’s a big library, and it’s very quiet in here. I haven’t gotten to the sports section yet. Besides, I’m … adaptable. It’s not like I can go back in time.” I suddenly got very nervous, but he didn’t pick up on it. He gave a laugh out of nowhere. “You know, whatever you may say, I don’t like Twilight, but … she’s not quite the shrill menace I thought her to be. I will admit there are times I enjoy being around her, just to debate and win triumphant. Now will you leave me in peace, abomination?”

“Sure. The way you called me that, I’d almost think you cared.” Three pillows were thrown at me with great acuity. “All right! I’m gettin’ I’m gettin’! Practice your magic, it’ll really help. For pity’s sake, apologize, or they’ll hold it against you for weeks.” He nodded dejectedly. “Please take it a bit easier on Twilight, she’s working herself into an early grave as it is, she doesn’t need people like you and me lending her a shovel.” Sombra smirked at that. “Bye!”

I met Twilight at the door, she had managed to compose herself. I held up a white flag. “Listen, I actually am sorry for putting you through this. Again. It’s making a difference, trust me. What’s he like to live with?”

“He’s so arrogant!” Twilight snapped. “He thinks he knows everything, and he treats all of us like servants! He's devious and amoral and unreliable and irresponsible and... and definitely not to be trusted,” she finished lamely.

“Hmm,” I said noncommittally.

“He is the biggest thorn in my side I have ever-” I raised an eyebrow. “The second biggest thorn in my side I have ever had to deal with,” she corrected.

“Thank you. I’d hate to think I was being outdone. He’s actually improving, it’s just hard to see.” I held out a book. “Truce?”

Her eyes lit up at the book title. “Spearhorn’s Laws of Transformative Magic! This has been out of print for over a century! How did you…?”

I shrugged. “I know a guy.” As Twilight swan dived into the wonderful world of books, I noticed something I had been hearing. Heh. She does the same thing Sombra does when he thinks about her.

My fingers started itching Someone in my head cleared their throat. You know, my Inner Shipper said, they’d be perfect for –

-No! I thought back angrily.

-Why not?They’re both very powerful unicorns, they both love Olde Magick, they’re both royalty, they could both teach each other a lot, and they actually have a lot in common, her resemblance to his wife aside. 

-I am not getting involved in this! There isn’t exactly a deep, fiery undercurrent of forbidden passion between them. 

-(Somebody’s read too many romances)

-In fact, they’re usually this close to strangling one another!

My Inner Shipper mentally shrugged. That’s how you and Sombra feel about each other, but you’re still friends.

-I am not friends with him!! I exploded.

-Denial ain’t just a river in Neighgypt.

-OH, SHUT UP!

-Will you at least –

-Look, if you butt out of other people’s love lives for the rest of the day, I’ll give you a cookie. 

-Deal. I passed him an imaginary snickerdoodle. As he chewed, he asked, Can you just ask Seraphina her opinion on-

“No!” I shouted.

Twilight gave a start. “Sorry, what was that?” she asked, glancing up from her book.

“Just thinking aloud,” I said. I rubbed my temples. “It’s getting wwaaaayyyy too crowded in here,” I groaned. I then remembered something important. “Oh, by the way, Sombra has at least half his magic back now, so he’ll most likely be an even bigger pain then before.”

“What?!!!” Twilight screamed.

“Oh hey! Look at the time! If you’ll excuse me, I think I hear a water war starting on Mars.” I dove to the floor to narrowly avoid the fireball thrown my way, teleporting back to the Hive in the nick of time.

The next day, I was going about my business, when a familiar voice called out “Knock, knock!” In a flash of light, Discord appeared. I was about to make a witty and devastating reply, when I noticed his expression. He almost looked scared, and was the most serious I’d ever seen him. In his talons was a scroll the size of a triple-stuffed burrito. Without speaking, he handed it to me, then withdrew his talons like he’d been burned.

“Look,” he sighed, “please don’t read it aloud to me, I’ve gotten four of those, and I still have flashbacks and nervous tics. To sum it up, there’s going to be a trial, and you need to get ready. I’m willing to speak up for you, but,” he shrugged, “it isn’t up to me who does what. If you thought human lawyers were bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He shook my paw like he’d given me a death sentence, then said, “Er, good luck. You’ll probably need it.”

Before I could ask what in the hay was going on, he was gone, minus the flash of light. I examined the scroll. It had the Draconequus eating its tail seal of the Council. I sliced it open, and the scroll fell to the floor. It was as long as I was, from horn to hoof. I read the opening paragraph. I reread the opening paragraph. I rubbed my eyes, and read it a third time. It still didn’t make any sense.

I’m going to need some help, I thought. I then clenched my teeth, and thought, It’s … time I came clean. This is going to go so well. Not. I found a sheet of paper, and summoned up a gel pen, since I still couldn’t use quills well.

Twilight,

I would like to talk to you, and more importantly to Sombra. It’s slightly urgent, and is very overdue. I would like as few ponies as possible there, but that is entirely within your discretion. Please write me back as soon as you get this, and let me know when a good time to meet would be. 

Yours,

Secundus

Spirit of Duality

I rolled the paper up, and stamped a yin and yang seal on it. One breath of fire later, and it was sent. I winced slightly as I thought about what would happen. I then picked up the scroll from the Draconequine Council. I wandered the Hive for a bit, reading as I went. I finally found what I was looking for. I knocked on the wall to my side.

“Thorax?” I said in a small voice. “I … need another favor.”

“YOU WHAT?!!” everypony shouted. Actually, “everypony” was misleading. It was only me, Thorax, Sombra, Spike, and Starlight. We were seated in a sitting room of Twilight’s castle.

I grit my teeth. “It’s a long story, and I am not repeating it.”

Starlight started stammering in shock. “Y- you … I mean, you … you actually-?”

I nodded. “Eeyup.” I said with a phony smile.

Sombra’s mouth was still hanging open. He finally composed himself. “I knew you didn’t like me, in fact I knew you hated me, but you were going to wipe me out of the timeline?!” he half shouted, and half growled.

I cringed. “Yes.”

Starlight looked at Thorax and Twilight. “You two seem awfully calm about this,” she said in an accusing tone.

Twilight took another sip of tea before replying, “He disappeared for ten seconds, and when he got back, he knew what Sombra’s favorite breakfast was, among other things. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.” She then glared at me. “You swear you didn’t mess with the timeline in any way?!”

I nodded. “Look there are a couple of oaths I could make, but I’d rather not throw them around lightly. I didn’t interfere, I only observed. I know you only have my word, but that’s all I’m comfortable giving. I’d rather not be smote by an irate god for giving false promises.”

Starlight turned to Thorax. “We’ve … talked about it,” he said with a shrug.

“If you were so intent on destroying me for what I’d done, why didn’t you?” Sombra asked in a frighteningly cold voice.

My mouth opened. “Because I wouldn’t let him,” said a voice wholly different from my usual two. I whacked the side of my head with a paw. “Quiet, you.” I growled. Everypony gave me a funny look. I sighed. “Look, when I was young, I turned my conscience into an imaginary friend, and as I grew up it became a complete, separate entity. I’m not pretending to be insane to get out of it, that’s just how my brain works. I was a very lonely kid, alright?! Don’t judge!”

Sombra giggled. He then started to laugh hysterically. “What’s up?” I asked.

“It’s … it’s just that, … you’re completely insane!” Sombra laughed.

My jaw dropped in surprise. “Are you seriously just getting that now?!” I asked in shock.

Sombra stuck out a hoof. “Nice to meet you Mr. Conscience!”

“Likewise,” my conscience replied, shaking his hoof. I then asked, “So, I take it I can expect an unholy revenge at some unspecified point in the future?”

“Absolutely,” Sombra said with a scary smile. He then frowned. His horn lit up, and the temperature in the room plummeted thirty degrees. All the shadows got longer, and the lights flickered out. “Now … I think it would be best if you got out,” he snarled, eyes glowing dangerously. I nodded, and in a blink I was back in the Hive.

As someone who is pathologically honest, I thought, whoever said that “honesty is the best policy” deserves to be strangled. 

My mane stood up on the back of my neck. I turned, and groaned, “Seriously?!” Even though no one had mentioned stories in any way, my tried and true friend, the brick wall had taken up part of the room behind me. I glared at it for two minutes, it survived my onslaught. I then sighed. “Look, just because they can reform a villain, and get them to accept friendship in the last thirty seconds of a two-parter episode doesn’t mean I can. That’s not how this story goes, I’m just a character in it. I think.” I glared at the wall again, and snarled, “That’s is the closest I will ever get to breaking you, so just accept that, and leave me alone for the rest of my unnatural life, please!” The fourth wall didn’t have a face or body, but somehow it shrugged, and nodded, before slowly fading out, sticking its tongue out as it did so. I groaned. “’Bout time.”

This isn’t going well at all, but amazingly, we’re all somehow still alive! I thought bitterly, knowing it could have been so much worse.

In all honesty I enjoyed living at the Hive, now that I was more or less back to “normal.” It did have one drawback. Changelings are extremely sensitive to negative emotions if they’re in large quantities. When one of them called me a “walking migraine” he hadn’t been kidding. As someone who could change emotions faster than a T.V. remote, I tended to mess with their empathy at best, cause them pain at worst, like when Thorax had seen my “bottled” anger. I was working on getting my mood swings under control, and I was getting better, but it was slow work. The Changelings seemed to like me, but I had noticed a lot of them sneaking aspirin into the Hive. By an unspoken agreement, I mostly just kept out of their way, unless they needed my help for something.

The afternoon of the day I’d played “full confession,” Thorax dropped into my room, slightly out of breath. “You got out of there so fast, I had to fly home,” he said wryly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I forget how far away Ponyville is from here. I guess I’m too used to teleporting.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll pay for it later,” Thorax said with a grin. He then said, “Actually, it’s a good thing you left when you did. It … got ugly. I’m kind of glad you didn’t hear the things Sombra called you. Any luck figuring that thing out?” he asked, pointing at the scroll Discord had given me.

“The fifth time I tried it, yes.” I held it up. “See for yourself.”

Thorax squinted at the scroll. “Um, this is just gibberish. It’s just a bunch of random symbols.”

“Really?” I asked. I took the scroll back. I cleared my throat. “Article Two: Section One: The accused, henceforth referred to and know as the accused for the duration of these proceedings shall have the following rights and restrictions, outlined in Article Two: Section Two. It is strongly advised to read these carefully, in order to prepare for trial. Following court procedure, which is covered in Article Three is vital.” I looked at Thorax. “You really can’t read this? I mean, it’s in leagalese, but it’s written in nice block print.”

Thorax shook his head. “It’s worse than Olde Ponish. It looks like someling just squiggled down whatever came into their head.”

I sighed. “Given Draconequui, that’s probably exactly what happened. I guess only other Draconequui can read it.”

“When does your trial start?” asked Thorax.

“Tomorrow.” I growled. “Thank you, Discord for the advanced warning.” I held up the scroll. “Even if you can’t read this, will you help me go through it?”

“We sure seem to have a lot of late nights together,” Thorax chuckled.

“I decline to comment, but the fact I don’t sleep doesn’t help that issue.”

Thorax laughed. “OK, read it aloud, from the beginning, slowly, and one section at a time.” Out of habit, my tails scooted Thorax closer to me, and I wrapped around him a bit. “Has anyling ever told you you’re very clingy?” he teased.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said as I leaned back into him. “Besides, you make a good backrest.”

I started reading. “A notice of intent to try and judge the Spirit of Duality, by his peers, for infractions in temporal regulations. Article One: Section One: Location of the Courtroom…”

The next night, at around three-thirty in the morning Thorax woke up, and headed down a shifting hallway to the kitchen. He ducked as a knife flew past his head. “Hey!” he called.

“Ohmigod!! I’m so sorry! Are you ok?!”

Thorax gestured at all of the dishes and pots and pans levitating around the room. “What are you doing?”

“Midnight vegetarian spaghetti. I just wanted something to do, and by some miracle we had most of the ingredients. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” I said quickly.

Thorax chuckled. “It’s still pretty obvious when you’re in a bad mood,” he said, tapping his horn with a hoof.

I set everything I’d been working with down. “Great, I probably woke up the entire Hive,” I grumbled.

Thorax shrugged. “I think I’m just more in tune with you than the others, must be part of being with you.” He looked at the catastrophe I was making in the kitchen in the name of pasta. “This isn’t just a way of eating away your emotions, is it?”

“Stop being my therapist for a few minutes, I’m fine,” I said, sticking my tongue out. “Actually, I’m not hungry at all. Like I said, I just wanted something to do. I thought maybe the night patrol would like it, and if they didn’t, I’d take it over to Ponyville or something in the morning.”

“You were gone before I got up this morning, and you’ve been gone most of the night.” Thorax commented.

“Yeeeahhh … actually, they were nice enough to suspend time in the courtroom for me.”

“What does that mean?” asked Thorax in a puzzled tone.

“It means I’ve been gone for a week!” I groaned. “The first meeting in court took an entire week! It was awful.”

“How did it go?” Thorax asked carefully.

“Well, let’s see,” I said, dicing a zucchini a lot harder than was necessary, “I’ve been charged with: willful disruption of the timestream, altering the destiny of an entire planet, reckless endangerment of several sentient species, reckless endangerment of several non-sentient species, premeditated murder in the first degree, six counts of grievous bodily harm, complete disregard for my duties as a Draconequus, and jayteleporting to make it to court on time.”

“You didn’t actually do any of that!” Thorax exclaimed.

I sighed, and carefully set the knife down. My horn lit up, and all the not sharp objects in the kitchen began levitating in complicated orbits around one another. “For a Draconequus, the line between thinking about doing something, and actually doing it, is paper-thin at best. In a society where individuals can alter reality just by thinking about it, it’s important to control your thoughts. So Draconequus justice is a bit strange: you’re charged with the things you thought about doing to start with, then they lower the charges to what you actually did. It doesn’t sound fair, but it makes sense.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, by the time they actually sentence you, the charges are much lighter, and you’re allowed to have others speak in your defense. Odds are I’ll get off pretty lightly, since I only traveled in time, I didn’t alter it.”

“That still sounds kind of harsh,” Thorax said.

I shrugged. “It most likely is, but we’re about the only things that can keep us in check. The gods usually don’t directly intervene, unless something goes really wrong. A justice system that helps us keep our powers and emotions from accidentally blowing up planets isn’t necessarily nice, but it is necessary. Like I said, it’s a lot less harsh when it’s actually over with.”

“So, how come Discord gets away with metaphorical murder? All you did was travel back in time, he turns reality inside out!”

I grinned. “It’s Discord’s job to break the rules and get away with it, that’s what chaos does. He’s the eternal wildcard in our deck. It’s his function to be the dissenting voice.” My grin widened. “Besides, everyDraconequus agrees that most of him spending a thousand years as a statue was punishment enough for a lot of what he did. We’re not good at sitting still for long periods, even the Spirit of Order gets … fidgety. Pony justice was considered more than satisfactory.”

“Your species is weird,” Thorax said with a grin.

“Tell me about it,” I laughed.

As I went back to my cooking, Thorax asked, “So … just in case this doesn’t go well for you … what’s the worst-case scenario? What would they do to you?”

All the dishes I was levitating dropped to the floor, breaking in pieces before I hastily put them back together. “They were … nice enough to inform me of the worst possible thing they would potentially do to me. In my own personal case, they would … lock me in my mind. For an undetermined period. Possibly centuries.”

“Oh.” Thorax said in a small voice.

“Heh. If anyone knows me well enough to figure that one out, it would be you. Don’t worry though, that’s not for this trial, that’s the worst-case scenario for if I destroy a universe or something.”

Thorax rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, even you don’t have enough magic to destroy an entire universe,” he snarked.

“No, I can’t just,” I snapped my fingers, “and ‘boom!’ but I can do things like mess with causality, and that can destroy a universe if done right. Or wrong, whichever case may be. When they say, ‘With great power comes a heck of a lot of responsibility,’ they aren’t kidding.” Not knowing what else to say, I went back to my cooking, and drained the noodles. My stomach was doing cartwheels from everything I was feeling.

The spoon I was stirring with lit up in a lilac aura, and Thorax swiped it away from me. “Hey! I need that!”

Thorax held the spoon up to his mouth like a microphone. He started singing:

My, my! At Waterloo, Neighpoleon did surrender!

I grinned, and swiped the “microphone” back. I sang: Oh, yeah! And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way. The history book on the shelf … is always repeating itself! 

We bonked heads for a minute, before singing the chorus together: Waterloo! I was defeated, you won the war! Waterloo! Promise to love you forever more! Waterloo! Couldn’t escape if I wanted to. Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you, Waterloo, finally facing my Waterloo. 

We started dancing around the slightly cramped kitchen, continuing the song.

When we were done, Thorax chuckled. “I had a feeling you’d know that one. Has anyling ever told you you’re-?”

“Very anachronistic? Yes, and one of them is a Timelord.” Thorax chuckled. “By the way, you’re not such a bad singer yourself.” He blushed.

I heard something rustling by the entry to the kitchen. I turned, and saw about two hundred pairs of brightly colored eyes glinting at me in the darkness of the hall. “GAAAH!” I screamed.

“Can you stay forever?” a Changeling in the back piped up. (I think his name was Labrum.) “I haven’t had food that good in months.” The rest of the Changelings snickered.

“Goodnight!” I said, pulling a door out of thin air, and slamming it in their faces. I looked at Thorax exasperatedly. “I forget I’m just a walking pantry to your relatives,” I said. He chuckled.

“I’m sure they like you as a lot more than that,” he said warmly.

“Hmm. I hope so, but I really don’t know. Thank you, for just being silly to cheer me up. Oh! I’ve got something you might like.” I walked over to the small refrigerator, and pulled open the freezer. I reached in, only to be shocked by a small bolt of green electricity. “OW!” I rubbed my paw, and glared at Thorax. “You seriously booby-trapped the ice cream?!”

“Well, something kept stealing mine the last few months, and-”

“Next time, just ask, and I’ll buy you more.” I sighed.

His eyes widened. “It was you?”

I nodded. “Yes. How many people in this Hive even like peanut butter ice cream? I don’t think it’s a very long list. Honestly, ponies say I do extreme things, who shocks people for stealing ice cream?”

Thorax gave me an adorkable nervous grin, and I stopped being angry instantly. His horn lit up for a moment. “There!” he said with a bright smile. “No more trap!” I pulled out the ice cream, and dished him up a bowl. “My prrrreeeecccciousssss …” Thorax cackled.

I raised an eyebrow. “That explains the booby-trap,” I muttered to no one in particular. I dished myself up a small bowl, I didn’t want to know what Thorax would do to me if I stole more.

As we ate, Thorax asked, “So, aside from exiling you to your own personal Tartarus, what will most likely actually happen in this trial?”

I shrugged. “The future isn’t part of my sphere of responsibility, and I don’t want to peek ahead. Odds are that I’ll simply get off with probation and community service, and the Draconequus version of ‘Do it again and we’ll kill you,’ which would honestly be pretty terrifying. It’ll be OK, honesty.

“What I’m worried about is Sombra. I mean, I didn’t personally pull him out of time, but it’s sort of my fault he’s here and now. I may have unleashed him on an unprepared Equestira, but I doubt that. He’s … actually doing pretty well, surprisingly. Well, aside from today, that is. I don’t know how to apologize to him, and ‘Sorry’ isn’t going to cut it. I mean, what do you say to somebody you tried to wipe out of existence?”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Why didn’t I what?” I looked down, and saw that my bowl of ice cream had somehow turned into a mug of hot chocolate. Great. After I gave the ‘Watch your thoughts’ speech too… I took a sip anyway.

“Well, why didn’t you wipe him out of existence? I mean, he did have us all foalnapped in front of you, he was going to conquer Equestria… You were … kind of … scary when you showed up.”

My ears, and tail drooped. I stared gloomily into my mug. The pot of spaghetti sauce, which I had entirely forgotten about, burst into flames on the stove. I spent about five minutes trying to beat it out, before finally just making it disappear entirely. “Well, there went that idea!” I growled, clicking in the back of my throat. “I haven’t set the kitchen on fire since the Macaroni Incident!”

I turned, and saw Thorax shaking with silent laughter. He calmed down, and said, “You never answered my question. Why? Oh, don’t get me wrong, I believe you about the voice in your head,” he said with a smirk, “but I know you enough to know that there had to be more to it than that.”

I shrugged. “We may never know. I suppose I … felt sorry for him. That, and I’m not a killer,” I said with a hollow laugh. I turned my mug back into a bowl, and set it in the sink. I made the noodles from my poor mistreated attempt at spaghetti disappear, then replaced the pot I had vanished when it caught fire. I looked around at the disaster in the kitchen. “I’ll clean this up tomorrow,” I muttered. “I think I’ll probably be pacing the rest of the night, I’ll try to do it outside.” I then remembered my theatrics, and got rid of the door I’d summoned. Just as I was walking out, my whole body tingled, which meant someone was using telekinesis on me. I examined the color of the aura, just as Thorax walked out of the kitchen.

“My blanket’s in the wash,” he said with a shrug. “Your fur is toasty.” He started dragging me down the hall.

“I can walk you know,” I said with my arms folded as I was dragged down the hall a few feet behind Thorax. He let me go. The Hive was still a semi-living maze, but I could find my way around much better after the time I’d been living here. I was very surprised when we missed the turn to my room, stopping instead at a set of double doors.

Thorax opened the doors, and we walked into his room. He hopped up into the bed, turned around a few times while kneading the mattress, and gave me an expectant look. It took a minute for it to sink in. “Ooh, I’ve been promoted to the bed now!” I said with an evil grin.

Thorax grinned back. “Cuddling with you on the floor is taking a toll on my back. I’d like to not wake up with a crick in my exoskeleton. It’s a really comfy mattress, I’ve never figured out how you sleep on the floor when you do sleep.”

I shrugged. I climbed in. “I thought you said that if we did this, you’d do something you’d regret,” I said, knowing what he had meant.

Thorax cracked an eye open. “I do have some self-control. Get over here, I’m cold.”

I wound around him, warming my body temperature by about ten degrees so he’d be comfortable. Thorax let out a sound that I could only describe as a purr. “You’re a housecat,” I said incredulously. “I’m in love with an oversized housecat.”

“Maybe, but you make a really good beam of sunlight,” Thorax said sleepily.

I chuckled. “You never answered my question,” I said quietly.

“Hmm?” asked Thorax.

“What do you say to someone you almost tried to wipe out of existence?”

He thought about it. “You’re right that ‘sorry’ isn’t going to be enough, but you still need to apologize in some way. Whether he accepts, and what he does with it is up to him. Now, will you be quiet? Some of us do require sleep, in case it slipped your mind.”

“’Night, Thorax.”

“’Night Sec.”

I actually got my chance to talk two days later. A trail of smoke located me, and a scroll popped into existence in my paw.

I found Thorax in the gardens, holding court. “Could you mind the store for me?” I half joked. “I got a letter from Sombra. He wants to talk.” Thorax smiled and nodded.

I popped into existence in the hall of Twilight’s Castle, and knocked on Sombra’s door. No answer. I tried the library, the roof, the kitchen, and the sitting room before giving up and calling out “Sombra?” loudly.

“I’m in the basement!” came the muffled reply.

I wondered what he was doing there of all places, and headed down. On the third step, I slid on a roller-skate. I then tumbled down the stairs, knocking into a rope that upended a bucket of water on me, went sailing through a suspended bag of flour, and crashed through a shredded pillow before landing in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.

As I was rubbing my head, Sombra crept into my vision standing over me, holding a polaroid, with an evil grin. After the flash of light, I blinked the stars out of my eyes. Sombra was holding the picture while waiting for it to develop, laughing heartily, and just a bit maniacally.

“Oh, you have no idea how good it felt to do that again!” he said with a slight cackle.

“Remind me to introduce you to Rainbow Dash,” I groaned.

My jaw dropped when I saw him clearly. His coat was the same light grey it had been when he was a foal, his mane and sideburns were made entirely of hair instead of smoke, and were much neater, and concentrated evil wasn’t flowing out of his eyes. His eyes were a light green, with normal sclera and sparkled with mischief. His horn had straightened out, and was a rather impressive grey spiral. When he grinned, his fangs glinted. I rubbed my eyes to check I wasn’t hallucinating.

He held out a hoof to help me to my hindpaw and hoof. “Uh … how are you doing?” I asked.

“I feel great!” Sombra said. “Thanks for your help with the withdrawal, it made all the difference. I don’t think I’m going through it at all anymore actually.”

“That’s … fast.” I said. “Really fast actually.” A thought crossed my mind. My horn “lit” up with shadowy magic, with dark blue spots flickering in it. Sombra drew back a few feet, looking nervous. “Sorry. Just checking you weren’t still having cravings.” I quickly got rid of the magic, rubbing my head at the headache.

He shook his head. “Not at all. I pray I never touch the stuff again. You can use Dark Magic?” he asked with mild interest.

I nodded. “I am the Spirit of Duality, so on occasion I have to use Dark Magic to balance out other types of magic.” I shuddered. “I hate using it, because I know I’d love using it if I tried it long enough. That, and it gives me the worst headache. I never use it unless it’s for work.”

He chuckled before saying, “Well, you’re wiser than I was. I’m sorry you have to use it at all.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is. Believe it or not, there are places that need the stuff, but … yeah. I don’t enjoy using it. I am slightly resistant to the effects, but, not much. Must be my abominable physiology.” I said with a smile. Sombra chuckled at my reference to the nickname he’d unintentionally given me. “So … your magic seems to be doing spectacularly well, how are the friendship lessons going?”

Sombra blinked in surprise. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve had one the entire time I’ve been here.”

“What?! I got at least three a week!! Where’s Twilight?!”

I stormed into the library, trailing the occasional feather. I knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Twilight then looked up. “What in Equestria happened to you?”

“I got the unholy revenge I had coming to me,” I said, gesturing at my chickenfication. “He tarred and feathered me.” Twilight laughed at that. “He says you’re not giving him any friendship lessons,” I said suspiciously.

“I’m not,” Twilight said in a slightly smug tone.

“Why not?!”

“You are,” she said matter-of-factly.

“What does that mean?”

“He gave a very nice apology to Rarity, and to me, after you left that one day. You really think I could have gotten him to apologize to ‘lowly peasants?’” she asked in a growling imitation of him.

“Probably. You put up with me for six months. I haven’t actually done anything, aside from dump another problem in your hooves.”

“You did do that, yes,” she said, giving me a Look, “but you also spoke up for him, helped him through withdrawal, and gave him somepony to talk to. I don’t think he’d had that for a while, and he certainly didn’t want to talk to me. Sometimes, the small things we do for others make the biggest difference. Ooh! I should put that in the Friendship Journal!”

I chuckled, and snapped my punishment out of my fur. “Have you … noticed anything … different about him lately?” I asked carefully.

“Well, he’s been almost equine lately,” Twilight said with a smile. “Actually, he’s been somewhat pleasant, he’s a bit of an old-fashioned gentlestallion.”

“He is over a thousand years old.”

“Mmm. I don’t know what it is, but his personality did a one-eighty shift. I’m actually starting to like him a bit.” An evil grin oozed up my face. “N-not in that way!” Twilight stammered. The grin stayed. “I just mean, it’s nice to have somepony as intelligent as me to talk to, and he’s kind of … I don’t know, nice lately. I suppose you’ll say he was really always like that.”

“Remember when Rarity got her hooves on Inspiration Manifestation?” Twilight shuddered. “Or when Trixie got the Alicorn Amulet?” Twilight visibly paled. “He wasn’t the King of sunshine and lollipops, but yeah, Dark Magic really twists your personality into something horrible. If you used it for three years straight, you would most likely crush Equestria beneath your iron hoof and usher in a new Age of Order. Even Steve wouldn’t like that.”

“Who’s Steve?”

“The Spirit of Order. Think Discord’s polar opposite.”

Twilight grinned. “That doesn’t sound so bad,” she said wistfully.

“Pure order is bad, trust me. Anyway, I’d better go.”

As I headed for the front door, I heard a throat being cleared behind me. “Do you play chess, abomination?” asked Sombra.

I paled. “Uh, technically yes, but you really don’t want-”

“I beat Twilight in one-hundred-sixty-four consecutive games. Now she won’t play me at all. She even made the chessboard explode.”

“That sounds like Twilight when she’s angry, yes.”

“It’s not my fault if I’m better than her,” Sombra said sincerely.

“We’ll have to work on your humility at some point,” I said flatly. “As I was saying, I am most likely the worst chess player you will ever come across. I can’t even really think about the move I’m making, let alone think moves ahead. If you can beat Twilight that much, I will be a misery to play against.”

“Then I’ll teach you,” Sombra said in a friendly tone. “Come on, abomination, you know the way.”

“I know you don’t mean it the way you first used it, but I can think of nicknames I’d rather have than ‘abomination.’” I grumbled.

“But it fits you so well!” Sombra said in a friendly mocking tone. I rolled my eyes.

We headed up to his room. Sombra pulled out the charred remains of his chest set, and magically glued it back together. “Light or dark?” he asked.

“Dark,” I said. He spun the board around.

After his move, I reached for a piece. “You use your paws for things instead of levitating them, why? Wouldn’t it be easier?” Sombra asked in a confused tone.

I shrugged. “I didn’t have magic for most of my life. It’s just a habit. I mean, I use it for lots of things now, but I still prefer to use my hands if I can. You don’t have to use magic for everything. Besides, still having fingers rocks!” I said with a smile.

Sombra’s head tilted. “How old are you? I know your species has a supposedly unlimited lifespan.”

“Actually, we have a genuinely unlimited lifespan. We outlast entire universes, which is still weird to think about. I’m twenty-two.”

“Hmm. I never would have guessed. You certainly don’t act like it.”

“Look, I know I should hang a sign around me neck reading ‘immature,’ but it still hurts when Changelings call me twelve and Ponies call me seven.”

“Actually, I meant that you’re a bit old for your years. Even if you are very silly ninety-nine percent of the time. No, you don’t want to make that move, if you do I’ll have your queen the next move.”

I hastily withdrew my paw. “Thank you for that.” We spent the rest of the game in silence. Sombra dealt merciless death to every one of my pieces, then finally my king, but I was surprised I held out as long as I did. I knew he had gone very easy on me, but I still felt a bit better.

“Same time next week?” I asked, standing up and working some cricks out of my back.

Sombra nodded. A nervous look crossed his face. “WouldyougototheCrystalEmpirewithmetomorrow?” he blurted out suddenly.

I picked the sentence apart in my head, and nodded, a confused look on my face. “Sure, … if you really want me to. I don’t think I’m the best choice for the job. Wouldn’t Twilight or somepony be better?”

“Most likely, but I’d like it to be you. What time will you be here?”

“I don’t sleep, so, early!” I said with a chipper voice and an evil grin. “Why are we going?”

“… Personal reasons. … Besides, I have one or ten traps to disable,” he said with a nervous chuckle.

“Fair enough, I’ll quit prying. I’ll be here at six, I don’t know if you’re a morning pony, so apologies in advance if you aren’t.”

“I’m not!” Sombra groaned.

“Sorry. Me either, even with the no-sleep thing. I do have a good reason for it though. Goodnight, sweet prince.” I said with a wave. I stuck my head back in the door. “Or, good early-afternoon, sweet prince. You know, ‘Prince Sombra’ has a really nice ring to it. It’s a major demotion, but this century it’s probably the best you could get, and you really might-” I was blathering in one huge rush.

“Begone, thou loathsome aberration, thou dost infect my ears with thy banal twittering!” He was smiling as he said it.

“Aww! You like me enough to insult me in Olde! I think you and Princess Luna need to commiserate about being out of time at some point. I’ve been promoted to ‘aberration’ too! That sounds much better! See you tomorrow!” I practically skipped out the door and into my portal home.

Sombra turned at a sound behind him, and saw Twilight with an amused expression on her face. “… Does he … always do that?” Sombra asked in a confused tone.

“Change moods faster than most ponies can think?” Twilight asked with a laugh. “You don’t know the half of it. There was this time last winter when I swear he…”

At five-fifty-nine and thirty seconds the next morning, Sombra was in the hall of the Castle, his back pressed up against a corner, glancing all around him.

“Hello!” I said, sticking my head through the corner behind him. He jumped. “Did you really think that would have stopped me from turning up behind you?” I asked. “Physics are overrated.”

Sombra didn’t reply to my foalishness, he simply said, “You’re … punctual.”

I shrugged. “I’ve had an internal clock you could set your watch by for my entire lives. It does make not sleeping slightly more irritating.”

“You always refer to your ‘lives.’ Is that some Draconequus thing?” Sombra asked.

I chuckled. “Definitely not. I’m … unique that way, even for a Draconequus. It’s a story for another time. Maybe for today, it’s going to be a long day.”

“Why? You’re just taking me to the Empire, that won’t take long,” said Sombra.

“Ah, you’d think so, but…” I pushed the rest of me through the wall, and held up two tickets in my paw.

“We’re taking the train?!” Sombra asked in shock.

I nodded. “Eeyup. I could teleport us, but I won’t. You’re going to need the trip to prepare, it’s … a big step, and I thought you could use the extra time.”

“I thought I was perfectly prepared, I know the implications of returning to the Empire. On reflection however, that makes sense. Come, aberration!” he said with a grin.

When we boarded the train, by some sort of mercy, our car was nearly deserted. Sombra clambered into a seat, and yawned, blinking slowly. I passed him a cup. “Black, right?”

He took a sip, and brightened up. “Yes. How did you know how I take my coffee? Was that part of spying on my life?”

“Educated guess.” I grumbled. “I did spy on your life, but it was at about a million times the normal speed, so I wasn’t privy to every detail. It was mainly highlights I only knew the waffle thing because you had them almost every single morning. I honestly had to put most of the rest together in my head.”

“Good. I’m not comfortable with the fact that you saw everything I went through.”

“I’m guessing that’s the understatement of the millennium.”

He laughed. “So, having seen my life, what is your opinion of it?”

“I’m not qualified to judge a life, that’s god territory, I’m just a lowly spirit.” I said with a grin.

Sombra noticed that I was edging away from his cup like it was full of nuclear waste. “Is something wrong with my coffee?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. It’s not poisoned or anything. It’s just … coffee.”

“You really don’t like coffee?”

I closed my eyes. “Thorax does,” I groaned. “I’ve never had it, but I know it wouldn’t end well.” I said darkly. “Besides, my brain’s wired differently than almost everyone else’s so the few times I’ve had caffeine in a soda or something, it either messed with me or put me to sleep.”

Sombra laughed at that. “That explains a lot about you.”

“People used to accuse me of being able to pass for ‘normal,’ whatever that standard is supposed to be. I was never so insulted in my life.” I said with a huff.

Sombra chuckled. “So, you’ve never had coffee. Thank the gods, you would be terrifying on it.”

I smirked. “Yeah, I can count the number I’ve times I’ve had a serious amount of caffeine that wasn’t in chocolate in the last two years on my hands-” I remembered I only had eight fingers. “On my old hands,” I groaned.

Sombra settled into his seat. “OK, you can’t just keep making statements like that. Spill, I command it.”

“Well, Draconequui apparently coalesce into being from raw aether, although new Draconequui are somewhat rare, they don’t form very often. I … didn’t form that way. I existed as a lowly mortal before then, as another species entirely, just in a different universe. I had a quiet, unexciting, semi-invisible life, and I loved it that way, because I knew I’d never have the issues important people have. I was perfectly content with it.

“Then at some point, I literally fall from the sky into the Everfree, and a few days later, Fluttershy finds me, and brings me to Ponyville. I wasn’t quite sentient at that point, I guess my mind was still moving into my new body. From my perspective, I went to bed, and woke up the next morning a Draconequus. For reasons I still don’t understand, the gods did that, I don’t know if it was because they thought I’d be useful, or if it was a joke. If it was a joke, it wasn’t meant in harm, but … I wouldn’t have thought it was possible. Either way, it turned out well.

“So, when I wake up here, I can remember every detail of my former life, except for the fact that my old name has been carefully edited out of my memories. I find out that the reason for that is because a Draconequus’s name defines who they are, and their function, so my old name wouldn’t have cut it.

“I also didn’t have magic of any sort, which was fine by me, as I didn’t in my old life. So, it was decided that I should study under Twilight. After my carefully constructed plot to spend six months giving her a fatal aneurism via my annoying personality-” Sombra laughed at that. “Twilight got the crazy idea to combine two opposing types of magic, and have me try to use it, and … voila! Instant, freshly minted Draconequus.”

Sombra spent several minutes processing this. “Where does,” he tried to remember something, “… Thorax come into this?”

“Twilight set us up on a blind date,” I muttered. Sombra howled with laughter. “So, I’ve got the gist of your life story, and you’ve got the gist of mine. Fair’s fair.”

“I honestly don’t know what to reply to that.” Sombra said.

I shrugged. “You don’t have to.”

Sombra then said, “That … letter, then one you brought from Winter Lily? I think you deserve to hear what it said.” I waited for him to tell me. “All it said was ‘Come back to me.’”

“Oh.”

Sombra nodded. “I thought she meant it literally, but on reflection, I believe she meant ‘Be the stallion I love again.”

I nodded. “That makes sense.” Not knowing what else to say, we both lapsed into silence.

Sombra started staring out the window. After about ten minutes, he said, “When I … banished the Empire, I didn’t think it would take a thousand years for it to reappear. I feel very out of place in modern Equestria. I’m obviously not a king anymore. What am I supposed to do with the rest of my life, in a century I don’t belong in?”

“I get the feeling that was rhetorical, but would you like an answer anyway?” He shrugged, which I took as permission. “Well, you’re brilliant at magic. You’re probably even better than Twilight. Er, don’t tell her I said that. Maybe you could teach at the Canterlot University.”

“That hole in the ground has a university now?!” he exclaimed in shock.

I snickered once or twice. “What’s so funny?” Sombra asked.

“Sorry. I know it’s been a thousand years, it’s just … I would love to see what would happen if you called Canterlot a ‘hole in the ground’ in front of the locals.”

“They were always a bit snobbish, even then,” Sombra mused.

“As opposed to you, whose snobbishness is justified by your magnificence,” I managed to say with a straight face.

“Yes, naturally,” Sombra said, meaning it. I rolled my eyes. After reflection, Sombra said, “I don’t believe I would enjoy teaching advanced magic to a gaggle of whiny, unappreciative college students.”

“They’re not all whiny and unappreciative!” I said defensively.

Sombra’s head tilted, then he chuckled. “Twenty-two. I should have known you were the right age. What did you go to school for?”

“Well, back in my last life, I wanted to be a radiologist.”

“Radiologist?” Sombra asked in a confused tone.

“They work with doctors, they take pictures of people’s insides to help make a diagnosis.”

“Oh.” After a few minutes with a puzzled expression, he asked, “How does the patient survive being dissected for the photograph?” I let out a shriek of laughter.

“OK, so the teacher thing was a bad idea,” I said. “It might work, but it’s your life not mine. If you want to figure out what to do with your life, what did you get your cutie mark in?” Sombra’s face flushed red, and he muttered something even I couldn’t make out. “What was that?”

“I NEVER GOT ONE!” he exploded. “I’m a thirty-year-old, gifted sorcerer and king, who never got his cutie mark, OK?!” He started to wave his hooves around. “It should have been for magic, but nnoooo! Do you have any idea what it was like to be an adult without a cutie mark?! Of course not, you’re not a pony, you couldn’t possibly understand.”

“You’re right, I couldn’t understand,” I said. I thought about it. “Do you even need one?”

Sombra looked up at me with horror in his eyes. “Of course you do! It’s-”

I held up a paw. “I know how cruel foals and fillies are to ponies without one, I can’t imagine how cruel adults would be to a pony without a cutie mark, but in all honesty, do you need one? It just shows your special talent, it doesn’t define your destiny. You successfully ran the Crystal Empire for almost a decade, you were a loving husband, an incredibly gifted mage, and a great practical jokester. That’s a lot of special talents right there. I come from a species without anything resembling the concept of a cutie mark, and we get along in our lives just fine for the most part.”

“You got a new name,” Sombra said in slightly accusing tones,

I nodded. “Yes, but all that does is describe my job. There’s a lot more to me than just being the Spirit of Duality, the same way Discord can be a caring friend instead of only Chaos, or the fact that the Spirit of Time has an impish sense of humor. Ponies with cutie marks still enjoy doing things unrelated to their special talent, it doesn’t define your life, or you as an entire person. I wish ponies wouldn’t treat it as the be-all of creation. There’s a lot more to life than obsessing over what you’re good at.”

Sombra looked pensive. “I … never thought of it that way.”

“Mmm. Most ponies don’t.” I then examined Sombra. “Say … when’s the last time you had a manecut?”

Sombra’s eyes grew wide, and his mouth became an ‘O’ of horror. “You are not cutting my mane!” he protested.

“Relax, Samson, it was just a question.”

“I honestly don’t remember. My memory is a bit … hazy towards the end there. I wasn’t exactly myself, even though I knew what I was doing.” His ears drooped.

“Well, if we’re going all the way to the Empire, you might want to be a bit more presentable.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the way I look!” Sombra snapped.

I sighed. “I know I’m most likely the only one who would notice this, but your mane still moves around a tiny bit when you’re upset or nervous.” I held up a comb. “May I?”

Sombra nodded dejectedly. After a few minutes, I held up a mirror. “I haven’t had a manestyle like this since I was a colt!” Sombra whined petulantly.

I shrugged. “Best I could do. If it’s any consolation your mane and sideburns do make you look swarthy and mysterious. I’ve been told mares flip for that.”

Sombra chuckled. “I notice you’re using magic around me now,” he said wryly.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. You’re not a threat anymore, so,” I snapped my fingers. “You got your powers back! Many congratulations!” Confetti exploded around me.

Sombra rolled his eyes. He then ran his tongue over his teeth. “Even though I’m … me again, I still have fangs. I think they’re permanent.”

“Nothing wrong with a good set of fangs,” I said with a toothy grin.

Sombra chuckled, then looked serious. “Thank you. For … being my advocate.”

I nodded. A thought then struck me, and me fur paled. “Sombra … you did write or tell somepony we were coming, right?!”

“Oh. It slipped my mind.”

I covered my eyes with my paw. “This is going to be very interesting.” I muttered.

“What do you suggest I do when we get there?”

“Well, you could always say-” my voices became an impression of corrupted Sombra, “I am Sombra! Former Tyrant of this Empire! Bow before my might, worthless husks!” My voices returned to normal, “But I get the feeling even you can be a lot subtler than that.”

We laughed, and spent the rest of the train trip in silence.

When we got to the Empire station, Sombra swallowed nervously. We then got out, and headed through the blizzard. “My adoptive father’s great-grandfather built the barrier around the Empire to keep it safe from this,” Sombra commented.

“Really?” I asked with interest.

He nodded. “Yes, and my father’s father built the Crystal Heart.”

“Interesting.”

When we got into the Empire proper, all the ponies on the streets took one look at us and screamed, before running away. “Happy times are here again,” I growled.

“They did that to you?” Sombra asked in shock.

I sighed. “Not these ponies personally, but yeah. I got that reaction almost every time I stepped outside for four months until they got used to me. In their defense, for all they knew, I was going to turn Equestra inside-out, but it still hurt. Badly. The ponies of the Empire did do that to Thorax, though.”

Sombra laughed. “They were scared of that adorable bug?!”

I nodded. “Well, I’m sure you know the reputation of the Changelings before they reformed.” He nodded. “Prejudice is just that, prejudice. They didn’t know him, so they thought his was a rogue Changeling there to lead an invasion.” Sombra chuckled. My eyes glowed, and I growled, “And he’s my adorable bug, so hooves off!”

“Relax, I’m very much a mare’s stallion,” Sombra said with a grin.

There was a sound like a stampede, and what must have been every guard in the Empire was suddenly surrounding us with spears. “Deja-vu all over again,” I muttered.

“What is he doing here?!” the Captain of the Guard asked, pointing his spear at Sombra. It was the same stallion who had done this to me when I first showed up in the Empire.

“He’s here to disable the magical traps he laid before his banishment, and to take care of some personal business.” I bent down until my nose was touching the guards. Quietly, I said, “Unless you want to find out what it’s like to have your bones on the outside, I suggest you let us pass to do so.”

The Captain was about to make a reply, when a voice called out, “What’s going on here?” The guards passed to let somepony through. “Secundus,” said Shining Armor curtly.

“Your Highness,” I circled my elbow a few times as I gave a half bow.

“You’d better have a good explanation for this,” Shining said. He didn’t sound angry, just like he wasn’t going to put up with any of my nonsense. I couldn’t blame him.

I nodded. “Sombra asked me to accompany him here today so that he could disable some of his magical traps, as well as take care of some personal business. I don’t know what the personal business is, it wasn’t my place to ask.”

“We’ve disabled all of his traps,” a purple guard said dismissively.

Sombra examined him. “It’s Longbow Steelheart, … isn’t it?”

Longbow’s mouth dropped open. “Y-you remember me?!”

“I do, yes. You were in my guard before … I … fell, and took the Empire with me. You were an excellent guardsstallion, I can see why Prince Armor retained your services. You seem to have adapted to the modern era better than I have,” Sombra said with a smile.

Longbow chuckled. “It was a bit of a shock for all of us.”

“Yes, I can imagine.” A pained look crossed Sombra’s face. “Trust me, you haven’t found all the traps yet. I do not wish to be the cause of any more harm here. I wish to apologize to the ponies of the Empire, as well as to you Prince Armor, for the harm I have caused.”

Shining didn’t answer right away, he simply looked at me. I nodded. “I can’t change what I feel … but the stallion before me seems very different from the King Sombra I first met. After getting to know him, I trust Secundus’s word.” He paused. “… Welcome home, I hope it hasn’t changed completely.”

Sombra chuckled. “That remains to be seen, but the Empire is in good hooves, I will gladly let you continue your work.” He gave me a look. “I’d like Secundus to accompany me while I disable the traps, he’s … a bit knowledgeable on Dark Magic, and more importantly, how to resist it.” Shining nodded. “I hope you like stairs,” Sombra told me, with an evil glint in his eyes.

“Wait until you see some of the staircases in the Hive,” I said with an evil grin. “You’d cry.” Everypony laughed at that, and some of the tension was lost.

A thought struck Sombra. “If the Empire has returned, the Queen, is she …?” The guards from Sombra’s time shook their heads slowly. Sombra quickly sat down, breathing heavily. His ears and tail drooped. “I … never got to say goodbye,” he said lowly. Sitting there, he looked completely broken. Nopony knew what to say.

After about twenty minutes, he shakily stood up again. “Come on, aberration,” he said, “let’s get those traps taken down.”

I slowly followed him into the Crystal Palace. He looked at the halls thoughtfully. “This way,” he said, trotting slowly down a hall. When we passed by a pillar, I got a horrible headache out of the blue. I tapped him on the withers. “Oh! Yes! This is it!” He started to power up his horn, but I quickly shook my head.

My horn lit up with my black and blue aura of dark magic, and my irises disappeared, leaving my eyes completely black. I shot a beam of Dark Magic at the pillar, and it swung open on a hidden door.

“Duck!” Sombra said quickly. I hit the floor just as a huge blade whirled past where I had been standing a moment ago, burying itself in the wall.

“I little more forewarning would have been nice,” I grumbled, dusting myself off. I snapped my fingers, and the sawblade and dent in the wall disappeared.

“I was wondering why Cadence always got a headache when she walked past there,” said Shining Armor from the hall beside us where he was watching.

I pointed at the darkened passage behind the door, and the stairs leading down it. “Any other surprises waiting for us down there?” I asked Sombra irately.

He thought about it for a minute. “Don’t step on the third step. Other than that, we’re good.” I rolled my eyes.

As we headed down, I very carefully avoided the third step down on the stairs. “Just out of curiosity, how many evil lairs do you have built into this place?”

“I wasn’t thinking of them as ‘evil lairs’ at the time, or even as ‘lairs.’ I just needed places to think and conduct business. There’s this room, the way into the tower where I kept the Crystal Heart, and my … study. That’s three, and that’s it. Not that many.”

My voices became an impression of Sombra’s gravelly voice. “‘Oh, sure! I’ll just create three pocket dimensions filled with death traps and psychological torture because I need some ‘me time!’ That’s not what villains do at all!’”

“Hush you,” Sombra said, lighting his horn up to see.

We headed down what would have been thirty flights of stairs. “What is it with you and stairs?”

Sombra shrugged. “Before I was adopted, I wanted to be an architect. Stairs are the easiest thing to make magically. Plus, impossible staircases just look cool.”

“That explains it. They do yes, I have to agree with you. What are we looking for down here?”

“My journal and some other personal effects. I also want to collapse this place, and I’ll need your help to do it.”

We came to an old wooden door. Sombra looked at me expectantly. “No way!” I snarled.

Sombra sighed. “Relax, this door isn’t rigged, the room’s not as important as the tower.” He facehoofed. “The key! I forgot the key! It’s probably at the bottom of a glacier by now,” he muttered. I stuck a claw in the keyhole, and rotated my wrist. *Clunk!* “You’re kidding,” Sombra said.

“Fingers,” I said with a shrug. “Twilight used to lock the front door to keep me from going AWOL at three in the morning. It never worked.”

“I’m impressed,” Sombra said with a sly grin.

We entered the room, and both started coughing from the dust. I swatted away some cobwebs that were at about my height. Sombra started sorting through some of the items, “No, no, no, yes, ABSOLUTELY NOT, yes.” He stuffed the items into a bag he’d brought with him. “Alright, we can leave.”

I looked at all the books. “Twilight would kill us both for destroying a spell book collection from a thousand years ago.”

Sombra nodded. “You’re right. Send them all to her, except that one,” he said, pointing at a slim black covered volume on the table with a hoof.

I held out a paw, and noticed the way it went cold and numb when it got close to the book. “Horcrux?” I asked in an amused tone.

“Nothing so vulgar,” Sombra said, sticking his tongue out. “Just some of my early research into Dark Magic. I’d rather nopony, including me, ever saw it again.” I nodded, and sent all the other books to Twilight’s castle, in a room I knew was empty. “Do you even know how to safely collapse a pocket dimension?” Sombra asked.

I shrugged. “Well, I may not know the exact magical science behind it … but,” I snapped my fingers, and we were standing back in the hall of the Crystal Palace, in front of the false door that now opened into a crystal wall. “Somehow, it works anyway.” I slammed the door closed with a loud, slightly disappointing, click. “Besides, I own a pocket dimension, so I got to figure out how they work.”

“Remind me to never get into a magical duel with you,” Sombra said in shaky tones. “If you had fought me, you would have turned me into a dishrag.”

“Probably,” I said with a grin. “Luckily for you, I’m usually the nice one. Where to next?”

Sombra thought about it. “The tower.” I cringed. Once in the throne room, I opened up the trap in the floor, and we made our way down. Towards the bottom, he asked, “Just out of curiosity, the trap in this door … what would you have seen?”

I sighed. “Is that a roundabout way of asking me what my worst fear is?” He nodded. I thought for a minute. “… I have … a very good, imagination, so I can hazard a guess. It’s not just one thing, though. I’m not talking snakes or spiders.”

“Well, what are you-”

We got to the door. “Let’s find out, Sombrero.” I hauled him through the door with me.

There was a flash of light.

Sombra looked all around him in puzzlement. This isn’t my worst fear… he thought. He then looked behind him. “GOOD GODS!” he shouted.

“Sombra, it’s me,” I snapped.

“Secundus?!” he asked in shock. I nodded. “You’re … very strange looking,” he commented.

“Yeah, I would be.” I examined my human body. “Been a while since I’ve looked like this, that’s for sure,” I said.

“Where are we?” Sombra asked as he looked around the room.

“Judging by the hideous carpet, I’d say we’re in the apartment I grew up in.”

“Your worst fear is your old house?” Sombra snarked. “There’s nopony here!”

I held up a finger. “Wwaaaiiiitttt for it …”

The front door slammed open. No one walked in, but it shut itself. My shadow lengthened, and stood up behind me, twisting as it did so. I looked up above my now much shorter head, to see an icy, hateful look in eyes above a snarled white beard. “You are just like me,” the towering man said. “You’ve ended up hateful, friendless, and alone. You can’t even stand the sight of yourself.”

“Stop it,” I whimpered in my seven-year-old voice.

The man laughed. “No matter where you go, no matter what you do, I will always be looking out of your eyes, whispering in your ear. You got my mind, remember? You can’t get away from me, you can’t help but turn into me. And I’m disappointed you thought you could try…”

I looked down, and saw that he was right, I’d died alone and angry at the world.

The scene dissolved, and I was back in my Draconequus body. Sombra examined the sky above him nervously. It was blood red, with large chunks of ash floating through it. Equestria was a wasteland, not a living thing was in sight. There was a tearing and a chewing sound from around the wall of a ruined building.

I walked around it, and saw Thorax, or what was left of Throax, staring glassily up at the sky. Blue blood leaked out of the gaping wound that was the remains of his stomach, deep claw marks ran across his exoskeleton.

Sombra had wandered over to the statues of all the Princesses, Twilight and her friends, Shining Armor, and all the rest, all their faces frozen in a scream. There were more chewing sounds from the dark alley behind us, and a deep growling, mixed with some clicking sounds.

We walked into the alley, stepping over hunks of decaying meat. In the dark, blue irises glowed faintly, and the growling grew worse. The lights suddenly clicked on, and Sombra let out a yelp. Hunched over in the alley in front of us was … me. I was busily gnawing on the remains of Thorax’s heart, licking the blood out of my beard. There wasn’t a trace of intelligence left in my eyes, it was the gaze of a mindless predator … and it had just seen new prey. The other me gave a twisted version of my smile, and lunged.

Sombra and I turned and ran, knowing we’d never make it. Just as claws began to tear into our hides,

there was another flash of light, and we were back in the hall of the Crystal Palace, breathing heavily. I closed my eyes, waiting for the headache to go down, as my eyes slowly returned to their normal color

“Y-you, you, how – what …?” Sombra was stammering incoherently.

I was clenching and unclenching my fists, gritting my teeth, and making exactly that growling/clicking noise. Eventually, I calmed down, and said, “So, that’s my worst fear, in both lives. Tell me what you think. You’ll notice in this life I’d damaged the entire world, naturally I wouldn’t settle for anything less.”

Sombra had gotten his breath back. “You don’t look very scared.”

“That’s because I’m angry. I could still end up like that … thing.”

“No. You couldn’t.” Sombra said, in slightly caring tones. He then said, “I’ve never seen a pony that lucid when they set off that particular trap.”

I shrugged. “I’m not a pony, I’m a Spirit. Besides, most of my dreams turn lucid halfway through, so it wasn’t much of a stretch. Besides, I’d seen that before, and it was only scary the first couple of times.”

“How many times have you seen-”

I cut him off. “Where to next? Your study, right?” He nodded.

A few minutes later, he realized something. “Wait a minute! Sombrero?!”

“Sorry, that was just cruel of me,” I said with a grin. Sombra nodded. “Smoky it is!” I declared. Sombra facehoofed. “What do you want me to do with the cursed entrance to the tower? I’d rather keep the tower, Cadence would kill me if I rearranged the Palace that much.”

“There’s another way in I can show you. Just destroy that thing.”

I fistpumped, and cheered. “EEEYES! Finally, I get bona-fide permission!”

Dark clouds filled the pit we were in. “Secundus, what are you doing?” Sombra asked nervously. Red lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled. A bolt of lightning struck the door, there was a sound like a tray of glasses being dropped, and a blinding flash of light.

When Sombra’s eyes cleared, we were standing back in the throne room, and I was coughing.

I noticed a small scorch mark in the carpet over where the entrance to the trap had been. “Whoops.”

“Do that a lot?” Sombra asked.

“I tend to get carried away, yes. You’ll have to show the Armors the other, uncursed way into the tower. Let’s get to your study.”

We came to the Palace Library, and I let out a whistle at the number of books. “These all yours?”

Sombra shook his head. “Some of these have been here since my great-grandfather’s time, and I’m sure they’ve added more. Even before I fell, this was always a nice refuge, though,” he said, smiling at a memory.

We headed for a mostly abandoned part of the library. Sombra bent down, and pointed to a pair of books. “Ah, here it is! An Incomplete History of Cursed Objects: Volumes One and Two. Pull the book, Secundus!” I did. “WWWROOOOOOONNNNGGG BOOOOOKKKK!” he screamed as we plummeted through the floor. I noticed the three-foot spikes we were headed for, and quickly got us out of the trap. Sombra put a hoof to his chest, trying to get his heart rate down. The trap door slid back into place. “Just out of scientific interest, do ponies survive for long periods around you?” he snapped.

“They’re your traps!” I snapped back.

“Touché,” he muttered.

“I take it I in fact want to pull Volume Two?” He slowly nodded. I very carefully, pulled the book forwards, hitting the floor after I did. The bookcase creaked open.

Sombra raised an eyebrow. “Were you expecting another sawblade?” I nodded. He rolled his eyes.

“It’s a miracle Cadence, Shining, and Sunburst have stayed alive in this place.” I muttered. Sombra rolled his eyes again. We walked into the study, which was as dusty as the first hidden room we walked into. “Anything in here cursed?” I asked carefully. Sombra shook his head, already sorting through books and papers. I spotted something on a shelf, and wiped the dust off of it. “Hey, there! What’s your name?” I asked it.

Sombra turned around. “Eh?” His eyes grew wide. “T-that’s nothing! Nothing at all! I certainly didn’t mean to hang onto him I just must have misplaced him in here, nothing more. Don’t read anything into it.”

“Sombra, it’s fine. Twilight has Smarty Pants II, and Shining Armor has Brutus Force. What’s this little guy’s name?” I asked as I held the stuffed toy out.

“Prince Erebus,” Sombra muttered.

I examined the black doll with red button eyes, and a star stitched in for a cutie mark. “It suits him,” I said. “So, you want me to destroy him, or-”

“NO!” Sombra shouted in horror. He then blinked in surprise. “J-just put him with everything else we’re keeping, I still need to re-sort it all.”

I smirked, and sent Prince Erebus to the room I’d been sending books to, making sure he was clearly displayed for future taunting. I then said, “If it helps, I slept with a stuffed animal until I was twenty. These days, I just call my teddy bear Thorax.” Sombra turned slightly green. I then noticed a scroll. “SWEET DICHOTOMY!” I held the scroll out. “You have Starswirl the Bearded’s autograph!”

Sombra chuckled. “Are you a fan?”

I shook my head, and shuddered. “It took me two weeks to read his collected papers and essays. No, I’m not a fan.”

“You read Starswirl’s entire published works in just two weeks?” Sombra asked with shock.

I nodded. “I don’t sleep unless I really want to, I get bored easily, and I’m a freaky-fast reader. Yes. I just meant I should give this to Twi- You should give this to Twilight. Seriously, to her, this is an engagement ring, and the Holy Grail combined.”

“Holy Grail?” Sombra asked in a puzzled tone.

“How your capitol can be named ‘Canterlot’ without your society having any Arthurian legends, is beyond me.” I muttered. “It’s just something she’d really, really like. She’d probably fall down at your hooves and worship.”

Sombra chuckled. “I’d love to see that.”

“What was he like?”

“Who, Starswirl?” I nodded. “Honestly, he was a bit of a jerk. I was just a young, impressionable, aspiring mage, and so I met him and got the autograph. I’m amazed it lasted this long.”

“I had a feeling Starswirl would be a jerk,” I said with a laugh.

“Don’t tell Twilight that,” Sombra said with a smile. “She’d butcher us both.” I nodded. Sombra examined the room. “Well, there isn’t anything else in here worth salvaging.”

I put the scroll with the autograph into a protective bag, then into the sack Sombra was using to carry smaller items. “Save that for a special occasion.” He nodded. I snapped my fingers, and closed the last of the pocket dimensions.

We had reappeared in one of the main halls of the Palace. “Have fun you two?” asked Cadence from behind us with a laugh.

I shrugged. “Aside from the near-death experiences.” Cadence glared at Sombra. He chuckled nervously.

“Well, somepony owes one or two ponies a sincerely heartfelt apology,” Cadence told Sombra. He nodded.

We walked out to the center court of the Palace, to find that everypony had assembled, and were whispering nervously.

Sombra started sweating nervously. “My mind’s gone completely blank!” he hissed to me. “What do I say?” I leaned down, and whispered something in his ear. “What?” he asked. I whispered some more. “Are you sure?” he asked. I nodded.

Sombra walked over to the Crystal Heart. His horn glowed for a moment. I noted that his aura had gone from being a sickly lime to an emerald green. He closed his eyes, and touched his horn to the Heart.

*BOOM!*

There was a blinding flash of light, thankfully, I’d summoned up some sunglasses.

When the light cleared, the entire Empire glittered brilliantly. The streets were even cleaner than normal, the sun shone clearly, and even the permanent blizzard outside the Empire had let up for a moment. All the ponies of the Empire were talking excitedly, I didn’t quite know why. Sombra flopped to the ground, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. I could tell he’d burned through a lot of magic, but I still couldn’t tell what he’d done. I fed him a tiny bit of my magic to help him feel less drained. He sprang back up like a jack-in-the-box.

“Are you OK?” I asked in a worried tone.

“I’M GREAT!” he shouted happily, a wide smile on his face, his eyes shining happily. “Who wants to go build a book fort?! Maybe we should reorganize the entire Palace filing system! Ooh! How about we go through a ten mile jog through the Empire?!! Who wants ice cream?!! Everything’ssoprettyI’veneverfeltbetterIloveyouallyou’reallsobeautifulthankyouforbeingsoawesome!” He started turning cartwheels. “This is the best day of my life!!!!” he cheered happily.

By this point my mouth had dropped. He noticed the way I was staring, and stopped flipping around. “WHAT?!” he bellowed with an angry snarl, “Can’t I be happy without you getting jealous?! Is it really that bad if I feel good?! Huh?!” Even though he didn’t look like his evil self, he was still somewhat scary at the moment. A few ponies backed away slowly.

His ears then drooped. “You’re right,” he said lowly. “I’m a horrible pony. I don’t deserve to be happy, or even to be here. I just want to go home. Oh. I don’t have a home anymore.” He suddenly collapsed, and curled into the fetal position, not moving a muscle, not blinking, barely breathing.

“What did you do to him?!” Shining Armor hissed lowly at me.

Realization dawned. “Oh. So that’s what that looks like outside my head.” I walked over to Sombra. “I’m very sorry, but if I’m right, you’re really not going to like me getting much closer…” When I got about two feet away from him, he twisted up and tried to bite me with his fangs, his irises glowing sky blue. He hissed at me, and made the pony version of my clicking growl.

I quickly drained the magic I’d given him out of his system. After a minute, he shakily stood up. “W-what happened?” Sombra asked in his normal voice.

I gave a nervous grin. “I, uh, wanted you to feel a bit better, so I gave you a smidge of my magic to refill your reserves, but I forgot my magic is different than pony magic, and is a large part of what I am, so … you accidentally got a piece of my mind. Well, not really my mind just some of my ‘normal’ emotions, and … stuff. I took it all back!” Sombra rolled his eyes. I passed him a check. “This is enough to cover the average cost of a first visit to a therapist. After they day I’ve given you, you’ll need it.”

Sombra chuckled, before firing a laser out of his horn at the check. “I’m fine. Actually, if that’s just a piece of your mind, how are you still alive?”

I shrugged. “It’s a combination of stubbornness and sheer dumb luck.” I pulled out a polaroid, and snapped a picture of Sombra.

“What?” he asked in a confused tone.

“You’ve crystaled,” I said, waiting for the photo to develop. “You hadn’t noticed?” He shook his head. It was true, everypony in the Empire had crystaled the way they did when something wonderful happened. Rather than the awful combing I’d done, Sombra’s mane was now in a long braid down his back, a bit like a Viking. It was very old-fashioned, but it definitely suited him. “Hey!” I called, “That’s not the only thing that happened!”

“What?!” Sombra asked. I pointed. Sombra looked like he was chasing his tail for a minute as he circled to get a good look. “Oh, my gods!” Sombra practically squealed with glee. Sombra’s flank now proudly bore an exactly replica of the Crystal Heart.

Sombra stopped in his tracks. “Wait! What’d I even get it for?!”

“Well, what’d you just do?” I asked. I was somewhat puzzled. I could tell that he’d cast a large spell, and my Balance Sense™ could tell that he’d tipped the scales of local magic majorly into the harmony category, but I still couldn’t tell what he’d actually done.

Sombra shrugged. “All I did was undo the last lingering effects of my curse. You said I should demonstrate my apology, rather than just make some sappy speech.” He blinked. “So, is my cutie mark in magic after all?”

I grinned. “I’m not a betting sort of entity, but…” I placed a bit in his hoof, “I’d say it’s for giving of yourself to those you care about. It’s just a little late. Maybe it knew you’d be here a thousand years later, who knows? There isn’t a lot of research into them.”

Sombra chuckled. A cooing sound came from behind us, near the door to the Palace. Sombra turned and looked. “A baby?” he asked curiously. Sunburst levitated Flurry Heart over to us. She looked up at Sombra, and giggled in a tooth-achingly sweet voice. Sombra seemed puzzled. After a few minutes, Sombra said, “Well … she seems … functional.” I snickered. “What?” he asked.

“Most ponies turn to helpless lumps of jelly in the face of her never-ending onslaught of weaponized adorableness.” Cadence and Shining glared at me. Not noticing, I said, “She can be quite a terror, I’ve heard.” The glares increased. Flurry cooed again. “Hmm? Sorry, what was that?” I asked her. She babbled happily. “Shadow-heart stallion has proved himself,” I translated. “Amends have been made, and the Empire has been restored at last.” Flurry clapped her hooves together, and giggled. “Your Princess demands a party to commemorate this momentous occasion!” I called to the Crystal Ponies. They cheered.

In true pony fashion, a party was pulled out of thin air, and everypony began to celebrate. As it got into swing, Shining Armor walked over, and wryly said, “So … I know you’re a Spirit, but can you actually speak Baby, or were you just putting words into Flurry’s mouth?”

“That would be slander against a member of Equestrian royalty!” I said in horror. “I would never, I could get six months jail time for that!”

Shining stared at me, but my expression didn’t change. He chuckled, and said, “Well, I know it’s what she would have said.” He walked away to be with his family.

A minute later, I remembered something, and walked over to him. “Prince Armor? I just thought you should be made aware … Flurry Heart prefers to be called Harmonia, Dark Empress Over All Equestria.”

Shining spat out his drink. “Please tell me that was a joke!” he said with wide eyes.

I shrugged. “She’ll grow out of it. It’s more common than you’d think. You should hear the Cake twins’ preferred names. You might want to teach her to not call everypony ‘Peasants,’ though.” Shining stammered for a few seconds. I shrugged, and headed back out.

I was trying to find a place to hide, but the place I’d picked was occupied. “OK, this isn’t a residual trace from my magic,” I said drily.

“But-!”

In spite of his size, I picked Sombra up by his neck. “If I have to suffer through a party in your honor, so do you!” I threw both of us back into the fray.

After about two hours, I glanced at the setting sun. “We’d better be getting back,” I told Shining and Cadence. “I’ve got a coltfriend to apologize to for skipping out all day, and Twilight’s most likely worried over Sombra. Thank you for not throwing us in the dungeon when we showed up out of the blue.”

“Well, if you don’t write ahead next time …” Shining said with a grin. I nodded.

After explaining our rearranging of some hidden parts of the Palace, Sombra grabbed his bag. “You know what? I’m to tired to take the train home. Au revoir, all!” I teleported Sombra to Twilight’s Castle, wishing him a good night.

Before I left, he said, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For … helping me become myself again.” Sombra blinked in surprise. “Your chest is glowing again.”

I looked down, and noticed that the scar over my left heart was healing. “Oh.”

“What does it mean?”

“It just means I kept a promise. See you for our weekly chess game?” Sombra nodded.

When I got back to the Hive, I wound up in Thorax’s room without realizing it. I think it was going to be normal for us from now on. Thorax was in bed, reading one of the books I’d brought from the library in my Realm. “Well, you’re in a great mood,” he said with a smile. “How’d it go?”

“Surprisingly well. I think I can stop worrying about Sombra and what’s going to happen to him, he’s in good hooves, not the least of which is his own. I’m still a little nervous about my trial, but I think it’ll be OK.”

“Well, you’ve said that some Draconequui can speak in your defense at the trial, right?” I nodded. “What about us ‘mere mortals?’ Could I speak, if that’s appropriate?” I was about to reply, when Thorax clutched his stomach. “KAACK!” He coughed up a scroll with the Council’s seal on it. It read: You can, yes. Expect to be summoned at eight a.m., Equestrian Central Time. Best of Luck. “That’s a little creepy,” Thorax said in a nervous tone.

“Sorry, the head of the Council is the Spirit of Time, which makes him omniscient, so he has a really good sense of timing. He also has a slightly warped sense of humor.”

This time I hacked up a scroll. In Tempus’s loopy writing it said: I DO NOT!

“Well, I guess you’re coming with me to court tomorrow morning,” I said cheerfully. “Mind if I sleep in here?”

“Sure!” Thorax said. I got down on all fours, and paced the floor a few times. “Why are you taking the floor?” Thorax asked.

“If I take the bed, I might do something unseemly,” I said with a grin. I curled up, with my tails over my nose.

Thorax chuckled. “If I’m a housecat, you are an overgrown puppy.”

“Oh, hush,” I said without opening my eyes.

“You going to sleep tonight? If not, I can stay up a bit, and talk or something.”

“I’m good. ‘Night.”

“Night Sec.”

The next morning, I was examining the cuckoo clock on the wall as Thorax finished getting ready.

“Just so you know, this isn’t going to feel good,” I said quickly.

Thorax raised an eyebrow. “What’s not?”

*BAMF!* 

When we got to the courtroom, Thorax clutched his stomach. “That felt horrible,” he groaned.

“Sorry, you get used to it after a few times.”

“At least he didn’t throw up,” said a familiar voice.

“Hi Discord!” I said cheerfully.

“Hi, Thorax!” Discord said. When Thorax shook his talons, Throax’s leg stayed exactly where it was, and Thorax was shaken up and down.

“Discord, leave him be,” I growled lightly.

When Discord let go, Thorax waited for his eyes to stop spinning, before asking, “So, you’re a part of the trial?”

“Of course! I’m the squirt’s chief advocate!” Discord said, giving me a noogie. “I do know him better than any other Draconequus knows him, so I’m the most qualified to be an amazing defense attorney!” Discord was wearing a dark suit with a red tie and pocket square, hip glasses, and carrying a large briefcase with the words, “D. Cord: Attorney at Law” on it. His mane was also slicked back.

Thorax chuckled, he knew how much Discord hated looking neat and orderly, even if it was just in one of his costumes.

Discord showed Thorax to his seat, the room still looked like it was hanging in space. I took my chair in the front; the Judge took his seat in the front of the room. The Judge was a living shadow, I’d been told he was a good entity, but not someDraconequus to get on the wrong side of in court.

A gong sounded. You may begin, the Judge thought at Discord.

Discord stood up, peering at a piece of paper. “Thank you, Your Honor. The defense calls its final witness, Secundus’s chosen mate: Thorax, King of the Changelings of Equestria.” There was some surprised murmuring in the room, I hadn’t exactly flashed around the fact that I’d chosen a mate so quickly.

Thorax stood up, smelling very nervous. “Your Honor, I don’t claim to understand Draconequine law, I don’t even understand all of it that Sec has explained to me. I will use what I do understand to defend him. He’s charged with interfering in the timeline of Equestria to prevent Sombra’s original rise to power, right?” The Judge nodded. “It’s my understanding that a Draconequus is firstly charged with their intentions, then with the actual crime committed, right?” The Judge nodded again.

“Then I’ll start with his intentions. He only wanted to meddle in the timeline because at that moment, Sombra had us all prisoner. He was only thinking about helping and protecting us, and to do that, he had to stop Sombra returning.”

Nevertheless, the Judge thought, there was a desire for revenge involved. The defendant has admitted this freely. He could have dealt with the issue in other ways than temporal interference. 

Discord spoke up. “Your Honor, those of us who have had a mate before can testify how deeply we will protect them. Thorax here can tell you of the extreme lengths I would have gone to in order to defend Fluttershy when Chrysalis had her foalnapped.”

The Judge seemed amused. Yes, but your intentions were to rescue your … friend, without the level of violence desired by Secundus.

Discord huffed. “Oh, don’t pretend it didn’t cross my mind to wipe Chrysalis out at the time. Are you really going to hold him to this high a standard?”

The Judge laughed. You had the same intentions at that moment, yes. However, in your case, they were only desires, Secundus acted on his intentions.

Thorax spoke up. “OK, let’s talk about his actions then. Instead of wiping out Sombra, he has actually defended him against the ponies who he had hurt. He helped him kick his need for Dark Magic, and helped to teach him the value of friendship. In fact, he did the exact opposite of what he originally intended to do. Doesn’t that make this whole trial a farce?” Thorax snapped.

A ripple of shock went through the room. I don’t think anyone had ever said something like that. It reminded me how much I loved Thorax, while making me sure that he was about to be reduced to free-floating atoms.

The Judge rippled with uncertainty. There must be consequences for-

“For what?! Because he had an angry thought?! Do you know how many times I’ve thought about hurting someling, and I’m the pushover! If you sentence him based on a thought he had in a horrible circumstance, and don’t take his actual actions into account, then by the standards of my world, your entire system of law is backwards.” I noticed Discord trying to hide a smile.

Thorax continued, “Even if he thinks he could have murdered Sombra, he didn’t, and I know he never could. So, just let him be,” Thorax said with a snarl at the Judge.

I knew with absolute certainty that Thorax was a dead Changeling trotting, and I didn’t care, because I was so over the moon about the way he’d defended me. The Judge was suddenly sitting in a different position, being able to stop time to gather your thoughts was a very handy talent of my species.

The Judge cleared his throat. After … due consideration … it is decided that Secundus will be sentenced to a period of light supervisory probation, the exact period to be determined by his subsequent behavior. Mostly just to keep him out of trouble. The Judge then leaned forward. It would be in both of your best interests if he didn’t appear before my court for another millennium. 

“Done,” Thorax said with the speed of a striking snake. He then stood up, and very possessively dragged me after him. I heard eveyDraconequus dying laughing as we stepped through a portal back to Equestria.

“Thorax … you can let go now, I know I’m yours.” I said.

“I know, I just wanted your family to know too,” he said.

I laughed. “Remind to write a letter thanking Ember for her assertiveness training, but … you know he could have killed you, right?”

Thorax shrugged. “I didn’t think he actually would have. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, you were magnificent! I don’t think I’ve seen that side of you before.”

“I’m a bug of many sides, I like to keep everyling guessing,” Thorax said with a smirk.

I examined where we were, we were in a bright park, just outside Ponyville. Thorax asked, “Just out of curiosity, you haven’t called me your ‘mate’ since that day with Sombra. Do you still feel that way about me?” he asked coyly.

“Oh, well, … I … uh,” Thorax flew up, and rubbed his head under my chin a few times, taking care not to poke me. He then nuzzled the fur on my chest, followed by my cheek. He then kissed me on the lips for thirty seconds. I fell flat on my back, with my tails splayed down, as stiff as a piece of wood, not moving, not blinking, not even breathing.

“Yep! I’m still your mate!” Thorax said with a predatory smirk.

I held up a finger. “Medic!” I croaked. Thorax snickered. I stood up. “Whatever am I going to do with you?” I mused aloud.

“You could always marry me,” Thorax said slyly.

I wound around him, and touched the tip of my snout to his. “You sure you’d want to marry a headcase like me?” I asked with a grin.

Thorax frowned, and sighed. “Actually … I have a confession.”

“Oh?” I unwound from him. His tone made me nervous.

Thorax closed his eyes, a pained look on his face. “You see, I- I’ve met someling.”

I could hear the brakes screeching as my world ground to a halt. “What?” I asked, praying I’d heard wrong.

Thorax nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been getting to know him a bit, and the more I know about him, the more I like him.”

“Thorax?” I asked.

“He’s very funny, very caring, I love spending time with him,” by this point I was crying a bit at his words. “Personally, I think he’s very sexy,” Thorax continued.

“THORAX!” I said in shock. “I can’t! I just can’t listen to this! Get away from me!” I started heading in the opposite direction.

“AND HE WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO JEOPARDIZE THE ENTIRE TIMELINE FOR ME!” Thorax shouted at me.

I stopped in my tracks. I then stomped over to Thorax. “Do you have some sort of death wish I am not aware of?” I growled.

“No, you’re just too fun to mess with,” Thorax said with a smug grin.

I sighed. “True.” I grinned, “You really find me sexy?”

“Were you completely oblivious this whole time we’ve been dating?” Thorax snarked.

I snickered. “Maybe. You’re pretty cute yourself.”

“I am not cute!” Thorax huffed adorably.

“Mmm. I beg to differ. Let’s go home, and I can find a way to make you pay for that.” Thorax grinned at me.

At the end of that week, early in the morning, I asked Thorax, “Hey, I know this is a bit random, but could we go for a picnic? Like we did on your hatch day?”

Thorax nodded. “Sure, I could use a break. Where are we going?”

“My place. I need to dust, and there’s something else I have to take care of.”

“OK, I’m dying of curiosity now,” Thorax teased.

“Shall we?” He nodded, and we stepped over to my Realm. “Memories, huh?” I joked. Thorax chuckled.

“So, you need a hoof with the dusting?” Thorax asked.

“Hmm? Oh. No, I’m good, I can dust any time.”

“Then what are we here for?” Thorax asked with surprise.

I held up a picnic basket. “Can we eat? There’s a thermos of honeysuckle nectar, daisy sandwiches, that really expensive cheese you like I can never remember the name of, and a tub of rocky road.”

Thorax’s eyes lit up. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“Can we eat first? I think better when I’ve eaten.”

As he dug in, Thorax noted with amusement that I wasn’t actually eating. “Sec?” he chuckled, “You’re a nervous wreck! What is going on?”

I stood up, and tried unsuccessfully to comb my half-beard and mane with my fingers. Here goes, I thought.

I knelt down on one knee. “Gah!” I winced.

“You OK?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I forget my knees don’t bend that way very well anymore. Way to ruin the moment. Anyways,” I cleared my throat, and did my best to be serious. “Earlier this week, you asked if I still thought of you as my mate, since I hadn’t really talked about it since I first called you that. I’m talking about it now. I do, entirely. The more I get to know about you, the more I love you, and I’ve come to realize that you feel the same way, even if I don’t know why. You’re not my ‘other half,’ you’re my other five-sixths, and I’d never be complete without you. I want to spend the rest of your life with you. Would you do me a great honor?” I held up a medium-sized jewelry box. “Would you, Thorax, marry me?”

Thorax was momentarily speechless. He opened the box. I got very nervous. “I – I know that they make horn rings, or hoof rings if you want to be extravagant, or earrings if you want to be old-fashioned, but I kept thinking about it, and I got you this. I shouldn’t have, I mean, you’re a stallion, and it’s not what stallions wear, but, I just thought it fit you for some reason so I-”

Thorax held up a sliver locket in the shape of a heart. “It’s beautiful,” he muttered. He then blushed and said, “It’s actually great. I’m … not the most ‘macho’ stallion around, you might not have noticed that.” I rolled my eyes. Thorax then examined the engraving. In small block print the words “Custos Mea Corda” were engraved on the outside of the locket. “My Pony Latin is pretty rusty,” Thorax said with a laugh.

“My any Latin is nonexistent, but it means ‘Keeper of my hearts.”

Thorax blushed. He then opened the locket. Inside was a small portrait of him on one side, and of me on the other. “Did you paint these?” he asked, recognize the style from a craft session in the Hive.

I nodded. “Yeah, they’re not very good, and it took sitting up all night with a one-hair brush, but I wanted to do it that way.”

“It’s perfect.” Thorax said. He put the locket on, and grabbed me in a hug. He then pulled my ear down level with his mouth. “Yes, by the way,” he whispered. Before I could reply, he pulled me in for a kiss.

When my head stopped spinning, I said, “Thank you.” I was crying a bit. I then chuckled. “I do still have one or two minor details to iron out – like the entire wedding.” Thorax laughed. “Planning’s boring!” I declared with my arms folded and a smile.

“So, I’ve got a great locket, but what do you have?” Thorax asked with interest.

“My finger takes a size ten horn ring. I just like simple bands, and I honestly prefer stainless steel to silver or gold to you don’t have to break the Changeling Treasury on my account.” Thorax rolled his eys.

“Come on, then,” Thorax said as he started to pull me back to the entrance. “Besides, I want to help pick out your dress!”

“I AM NOT WEARING A-”

“Joke,” Thorax said with a grin.

“TTHOOOOORRRRAAAAXXX!”