“Last night I had a dream that I was him again,” I told Doctor Marks when I visited him again.
“Can you describe for me what happened in it?”
“I was in the room I was originally in when I first got there, and that mare, Radiant Hope, was there, too. We were talking about me, me me, and how I caused Sombra pain by breaking that knot. We talked about how I, or, he knew she was coming because they were friends. We talked about how I planned this happening to me, how I didn’t exist, and how we- ah!”
“You’re neck?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” I answered as I rubbed the pinched nerve.
“Is that getting any better?”
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “It doesn't feel like it, but it might be. The sensation is always there, it just flares up every now and then. I went to the doctor and got an Xray and an MRI a few days ago, and they said they didn't see anything wrong with me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he told me sympathetically. “I do hope it gets better. But back to the topic at hand. As you were saying?”
“We laughed at how we thought the princesses were stupid, and made a plan about how we would get rid of them. And then I woke up.”
He was silent for a few seconds, and then started to speak. “There’s a lot there to unpack. Let’s start with the obvious first. How do you know this one was a dream and last time wasn’t just a dream?”
“Well, it was like I was him, but I was also able to see myself being him,” I told him. “It honestly felt like I was seeing myself from both a first and third-person perspective. Like, I was him, but him as him, instead of inhabiting his body like I was before. Plus, I couldn’t tell exactly when the dream started. I know exactly what was happening the moment before I actually went there a few weeks ago.”
“Okay, can you tell me what you, or, what he was feeling in the dream?”
“He was a little angry, mostly at me, but a tiny bit at Radiant Hope, too, for letting me break that knot. He was mostly happy to be around her, though. It felt like they’ve known each other for years, and I think I got the feeling he was in love with her.”
“That’s interesting.”
“I guess. I mean, what I read about them backs it up. Uh... he was also confident that he could stop the six of them and Discord, and was kind of arrogant about it- Oh! And just like me, he felt weird about Cadance.”
“Weird about her?”
“Yeah. It was like, he knew that he should attack her in theory, but didn’t know if he actually had to. So, um, you might be right when you suggested that she was trying to plan something.”
“Do you have any idea what?”
“Not a clue. I mean, she has a family, she’s the ruler of an entire kingdom, and is the Princess of Love. If she did have a plan, I don’t know what it would be or what her motive for it would be. Or why Sombra wouldn’t know what it was, especially if he was involved in it. But, to be fair, it felt like he only had a general grasp on what happened while I was there.”
“Speaking of plans, I am curious about the plan that Sombra and… Radiant Hope is it? I’m curious about what plans they held.”
“From what I understand, they decided that all they need to do was take care of one of the mane six-”
“Mane six?”
“That’s Twilight and her friends. They decided that all they had to do is take care of one of them to keep the Elements of Harmony from being used, and then take Discord out of the picture to claim victory.”
“Discord is the chaos one?”
“Yes. At first, they were considering trying to get the Elements of Harmony used on Discord by somehow deflecting the blast their way, but then decided that it was too risky and might not work anyway.”
“Why wouldn’t it work? You told me before that you thought that those elements might hurt or kill you.”
“Because, even though Discord can cause chaos, and is the God of Chaos, he’s not chaotic like I was. It’s like, he has an order to his chaos, I guess? But, um, after that they decided they would try and take him by surprise, seeing as he’s the most powerful being in Equestria. He’s effectively a Deus ex machina.” I sighed, then added slightly bitterly, “Except in my case. Apparently, he couldn’t do anything about me.
“But anyway,” I continued, “they decided that their best bet would be to try and take him by surprise. I guess their plan is to turn one of them into stone, have another one say Discord’s name, and then turn him into stone, too.”
“Do you think such a plan would work?”
“I mean, I guess it could work. They don’t really have any other options other than to attack him head on, which I’m sure would fail. I mean, he could literally snap his fingers and send the two of them to Tartarus, hence the reason he's Deus ex machina.”
“Ah, okay. In any case, let’s move on. What about when he said you were a figment of his imagination?"
"I'm not concerned about that. I know for a fact I'm real." I paused for a second, then muttered, "I kind of wish he was right, though."
"Why do you wish that?"
"Because he'll be caught off guard when I'm not a figment of his imagination," I said sadly.
There was a brief silence before the therapist asked his next question. "How are you feeling?”
“Depressed,” I said immediately.
“Depressed? Can you tell me why?”
“Cause I’m going to go back. I know for a fact that I am.” Doctor Marks stared at me, waiting for my explanation, and I continued. “They were talking about tying back that string that I broke, and I have a feeling that as soon as they do, I’m gonna be pushed back in his body. With my luck, it’ll be just as Discord is sending him to Tartarus, or Twilight is shooting to kill him.” I sighed and continued, “I guess I could get lucky and have time to snap the string again, but there’s nothing stopping them from repairing it again. So why bother?”
“You’re not thinking of killing yourself are you, Alex?”
Another sigh came from me. “No, but if I go back, I won’t stop them from killing me.”
“Now, if I was Sombra, where would I be hiding?” Twilight thought aloud.
“He’s probably far away from here by now!” Rainbow Dash said, sounding frustrated. “Ugh, we’ll probably have to search all of Equestria for him!”
“I’m not so sure about that, dear,” Rarity told her. “I don’t believe he would turn Princess Luna to stone as Twilight said and then abandon the Crystal Empire. He’d likely try and hide somewhere nearby.”
“Maybe we could split up and look for him!” Pinkie Pie offered. “It could be like a really high stakes game of Hide and Go Seek!”
“That might be a good idea…” Twilight trailed off thoughtfully. "Not the 'Hide and Go Seek' part, but the splitting up part."
Sombra and Hope were a bit of a distance away, listening to the conversation. They were hidden from the view of the Princess of Friendship and her companions, and didn’t have to worry about being seen by any of the other ponies in the Crystal Empire, seeing as they were still hiding in their homes. The only thing the two had to worry about was the stallion containing his laughter.
“You were right,” he said quietly, stifling back his laugh. “They aren’t as smart as they think they are.”
“I honestly wonder what goes on in their heads,” Hope responded, a tiny smile starting to form. “Why would they ever consider trusting me to help them? And now they’re talking about splitting up?”
“They clearly don’t realize they’re stronger together,” he chuckled. "Splitting up would crush any inkling of a chance they might have against us.”
As he said this, Applejack spoke out against the plan. “What in tarnation are y’all going on about?” she asked, a scowl on her face. “We obviously stand a better chance against him when we’re together. Why would we go an’ ruin that by splitting up? What would we even do when we found him if we were all apart?”
“She does have a point, Twilight,” Rarity said. “Splitting up would do us no good if we couldn’t contain the brute when we found him.”
“Hump. I guess they’re not complete imbeciles…” Sombra muttered. He then turned to his friend and instructed, “Hope. I need you to be hidden, far enough away to stay out of any crossfire there might be, but close enough to help me if I need it.”
“Are you going in now?” she asked him.
“Yes,” was his firm response. “I want to end this.”