//------------------------------// // The King's Secret // Story: Faded Memory: The Rise and Fall of Sombra // by Speedy Quill //------------------------------// Sombra stood on the balcony of the palace, overlooking the citizens of the Empire. There was no cheering. No fanfare. The crown had been placed on his head, but all he could see was sorrow in the eyes of his subjects. In being crowned King, it was the final confirmation to them that Amore was gone. He didn't expect them to be happy. He stood there, looking over everypony. "Most would find this coronation odd without celebration, but there is no reason to celebrate. I'm wearing this crown due to a tragedy. My mother, the rightful ruler, went missing. And there isn't a trace of her anywhere in the known kingdoms. I wish...I wish nothing more than for her to be here." A tear fell from his eye, wetting the floor. "If the day comes that she returns to us, I will gladly give this crown up. I don't wish to be your King. Not yet at least. Not in this manner. But for the good of the Empire, I will serve you." There were nods from the crowd, along with muttered words of respect and acceptance. Sombra nodded his head and continued. "I will never stop hoping for Amore's return. I will strive to follow her example to the best of my ability." More nods from the crowd. "Long live the King." Sombra looked down toward the front of the crowd. A single pony had stepped forward. He was staring straight up to the balcony. "We know you'll do well Sombra. Amore would be proud. Long live the King!" More ponies echoed his words and soon a chant picked up, like a wave through the crowd. "Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!" Sombra bowed his head to the crowd before turning away. His eyes drooped as he entered the palace. Returning to the main hall, he took his place on the throne. A page approached and cleared her throat. "Your Highness? You have visitors." Sombra took a deep breath. "Who is it?" "The Princesses of Equestria, come to pay their respects." Sombra sat up, feeling his heart lighten ever so slightly. "Show them in." The page nodded and left the hall. After several seconds, the great doors opened and revealed Celestia and Luna. Sombra stood to receive them. "Welcome, your Highnesses." Celestia bowed her head. "King Sombra." Luna didn't take her eyes off of him. "We heard you were being crowned. It appears we've missed the festivities?" Sombra shook his head. "There will be no festivities. This isn't a happy occasion." Celestia raised her head and nodded. "Of course not. Amore was a dear friend to us. We still can't fathom what could have become of her. To just...disappear without a trace?" Sombra sighed. "You don't have to remind me. Nopony has put more effort into searching than I have." Luna stepped forward. "Of course! We weren't suggesting otherwise." Sombra noticed Luna shoot a brief glare at Celestia. Celestia was acting rather...stiff, as if she were uncomfortable. Luna on the other hoof was being very sympathetic. Seeing these sisters together always illustrated their differences. Sombra could feel Celestia looking him over, as if she were searching for answers. He glanced at her and caught her eye. She quickly looked elsewhere. "I suppose there will be changes around here." Sombra shook his head. "Not really. My mother was a wise ruler. There's nothing I need to do except follow in her hoofsteps." Luna smiled and nodded. "We know the Empire is in good hooves." Sombra bowed his head to her. "You two knew my mother better than most. Perhaps you would join me for dinner and we can honor her memory?" Celestia seemed taken aback. "You act as if she's dead!" Luna looked up at her sister in shock. "Celestia! He's not insinuating anything!" Sombra lowered his head again. "My apologies. Luna is right. I meant nothing by it. I just thought we could share fond memories and discuss if there was anymore we could do to find her." Celestia glared at the King for a moment. Her eyes softened as she felt Luna touch her shoulder. "Of course, your Majesty. We would love to join you." Sombra smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Somepony will show you to your rooms for now. I have to take care of a few things before dinner tonight." The sisters lowered their heads in acknowledgement and followed a Crystal pony out of the hall. Sombra's eyes followed them as they left. Before disappearing from view, Luna looked back. She wore a sympathetic smile. Sombra smiled back and nodded to her. From the main hall, Sombra made his way to the west wing of the palace. A group of ponies had gathered in one of the rooms, waiting for his arrival. There had been some grievances and requests that had been on hold after Amore's disappearance. Now they were Sombra's problem. He settled everything within and hour and escorted the ponies out of the palace. From there he went to the kitchen and told the staff his wishes for dinner that evening. After exiting the kitchen, Sombra felt his energy level dropping rapidly. It felt like a good time to get some rest. He wound his way through the corridors, approaching his bedroom. The normal procedure would have been to take over his mother's old room as it was the royal suite, but he couldn't bring himself to enter it. So he'd remained in his own room just a little further down the hall. He entered the room and closed the door quickly behind him, letting out a sigh of relief. "I can't keep this up." "I think I said something similar." Sombra spun around to find Luna sitting at his desk. "I felt so overwhelmed after my first week as a princess. But at least I had Celestia to lean on." She stood up and approached Sombra. "You have no idea how hard I had to fight the urge to come here after we found out about Amore. I wanted nothing more than to be with you." Sombra stared at her, a dozen emotions stirring within him. "I would have welcomed the comfort." "I'm sorry." He was about to respond, but she continued. "For everything." "E- Everything?" Luna began to tear up. "I've been acting cold towards you for so long. And I didn't want to! But Celestia..." Sombra rolled his eyes and growled. "Why is it your sister hates me?" "She doesn't! She just...doesn't want me to be hurt." "You know I could never hurt you." "Not intentionally. But I'm immortal." Sombra closed his eyes. "I know. But am I supposed to just pretend I feel nothing for you?" "I...I don't know..." He opened his eyes again and looked at the mare. She was crying. "Is that what you've been doing all this time?" Her tears came faster. "I...I..." Sombra reached out and wiped away her tears. He stared into those aqua eyes that he'd come to love so much. "Tell me honestly...what do you want?" For a brief second, Luna stared at him. Then she lunged at him and pressed her lips to his. He was shocked at first, but upon feeling the connection felt the shock melt away. Everything melted away in that moment. He felt everything she did; love, sorrow, and longing. He returned the kiss with his own force and they embraced. -------------------------------------------------- Shade opened his eyes abruptly. "I'm going to just stop there." Vacate the rest of that memory from my head NOW! I apologize. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. A stream of magic shot from Shade's head to the crystal, but didn't yield an image. Luna had turned a bright red. "Um..." Celestia was nearly as red as her sister. "I thought you said you'd never..." Luna stood up and marched over to the window, hiding her face. "As if I was going to tell either of you about that?!" She looked over her shoulder, glaring at Shade. "Thanks, Sombra." Tell her I'm sorry. "He says he's sorry." Luna shook her head and looked back out the window. Celestia's face slowly returned to normal. "I mean...it's not an unnatural thing..." Shade threw up a hoof. "Stop! Just don't. I'm trying to shake the memory off still. No offense to you Luna-" Luna shuddered. "None taken. Let's all just stop talking about it." The three ponies fell silent for several minutes before Sombra spoke up to Shade. We should continue. There's something they need to see. Shade's ears perked up. "Sombra says there's more to that day. That night apparently. And he assures us there won't be any surprises of that sort." Luna turned back to the table and nodded. "I'm ready if he is." Celestia nodded as well and Shade focused on the crystal again... -------------------------------------------------- It was late. Sombra was in a hallway, pacing near a door. He was working up the nerve to knock. He'd already been there for a few minutes. It took him a few more to finally get the courage. He knocked softly. After a second he heard movement and some grumbling. The door opened slowly to reveal Luna, whose eyes quickly opened all the way at the sight of Sombra. "What-" She looked out into the hall and made sure they were alone and lowered her voice. "What are you doing here?! Celestia is right next door!" "It's not like that Luna. I need your help. Would you come with me?" Luna stared at him for a second before sighing and nodding. She followed him as he led the way through the palace. Sombra and Luna moved quietly through the halls, descending to the lower levels. Luna looked around in confusion. "Where are we going?" "The old dungeons." That made Luna pause. "Why?" Sombra looked back at her. "Because that's where the problem is." He continued forward, hearing Luna follow him after a second. They arrived at the old dungeons. The dust and cobwebs spoke to how long they'd gone untouched. A place from an old era of the Empire, back when enemies were caged rather than reasoned with. Sombra led the way to the last cell and stopped. "I didn't think anypony would understand if I told the truth. But...maybe you'll believe me when I say I didn't mean for it to happen." Luna looked at the cell, squinting in the darkness. Sombra lit his horn, casting a red glow on the crystalized Amore. Luna gasped and stepped back. "What...what happened to her?!" Sombra took a deep breath, trying not to cry. "We had an argument. I lost my temper and fired off some magic. I didn't even realize that it hit her until it was too late." Luna looked at him and shook her head. "So you hid her away?!" "What could I have done? Tell everypony that I effectively killed their Princess?" "Do you know if she's alive?" Sombra shook his head. "No. I hope it's just some sort of stasis magic, but I have no way of knowing unless I can undo it." Luna opened the cell door and approached Amore. She walked around her, inspecting the crystalline casing. "What spell was it?" "No spell. Just...raw emotion." Luna looked at him, her expression unreadable. "What have you tried?" Sombra sat down. "Everything. I've used every possible resource at my disposal. And still nothing frees her. I thought I might need a new perspective... You're the only one I trust to keep this secret." Luna shook her head. "I don't know if I can. Celestia should know." Sombra jumped up. "No! She already thinks I did something. You heard her earlier! She thinks I offed my own mother!" Luna put up a hoof. "Okay, okay. Point taken. But I'm not sure if I have any more knowledge than you do on this." "Please...just try?" Luna looked at Amore again. "You said it was purely emotional? No incantations at all?" Sombra nodded. "It was just raw energy." Luna was silent for a minute, deep in thought. Sombra felt uneasy waiting. Then she spoke. "I have an idea, but...I can't have you here." "What? Why not?" "Because I need to summon something, but nopony is allowed to see it." Sombra's ears perked up. "Summon something? Like a magical relic? Or some sort of potion?" Luna shook her head. "I can't say. But you need to leave if I'm going to try." "Luna-" "Sombra, I mean it." He saw the seriousness in her eyes and slowly nodded. "I'll stay within earshot if you need me." Luna nodded and turned to Amore. Sombra walked down a few cells and sat down. After a minute, a brilliant light came from the last cell. Sombra had to nearly cover his eyes for how bright it was. The light continued to shine for several seconds before abruptly extinguishing. Sombra heard Luna gasping for air and rushed back to the cell. "Luna?" Luna was sitting on the floor, catching her breath. "I'm sorry." Sombra looked at Amore, still crystalized. He lit his horn and looked her over more carefully. He paced around her, examining the crystal. As he came around to the side, he stepped on something. "Ouch!" Sombra lifted his hoof and looked down at the floor. It was a small shard of crystal. The same crystal as Amore... "Luna look!" He picked up the shard and showed it to her. "You chipped the crystal! We could get her out of there!" Luna looked up at him, still trying to regain her breathing. "Sombra...it took everything I had to get that much off." He finally examined her and noticed how disheveled she looked. It was like she'd been fighting an Ursa for a week straight. "It...It can work. It may take time, but we can free her." Luna shook her head. "You don't understand. What I just did was the absolute last resort, and it only splintered a fraction off. If I or Celestia or both of us together tried to do this to the extent of breaking the entire crystal...it would most likely kill us." Sombra felt his hope melting away like an icicle in the sun. "There has to be a way..." Luna shook her head. "I'm sorry." Sombra sat down, crestfallen. He felt the tears coming. Before they could fall though, he spotted something in the corner of the cell; a book. "What's that?" Luna shifted her body so that it was between him and the book. "Nothing you need to be concerned about." Sombra wiped his tears away. "That's what you summoned, right? Some sort of spellbook?" She sighed. "Yes. But that's all I can say." "You said...If Celestia or you tried. Why couldn't somepony else? Unless..." He noticed Luna becoming concerned. That confirmed his suspicion. "It's alicorn magic." Luna shifted uncomfortably. "I...I can't say." Sombra thought of the implications. There was magic that only Luna and Celestia knew. Secrets of their kind. The magic she'd put off in her attempt had left the air charged. He'd never felt anything so powerful before. It was the most successful magic so far and yet it wasn't enough... At least...not with Luna... "Luna...What if I helped you try again?" The princess shook her head. "You can't." "Why not?" "Because-" She cut herself off. Sombra took a deep breath and sighed. "Because I'm just a mortal unicorn. And I assume I'm not powerful enough?" Luna didn't answer. He felt hurt. He understood, but it didn't sting any less. Luna stood up, her legs still a little wobbly, and walked up to him. "I'm sorry my love. If there were any way..." Sombra glanced behind her at the book, the wheels in his head still turning. "Perhaps there is." He lit his horn and focused his magic. "I'm sorry Luna." Her eyes widened as his magic hit her head. She instantly fell to the floor, unconscious. Sombra summoned the book and opened it. His brow arched as he read the first page of content and he looked down at the sleeping mare. "It seems you and your sister have your own secrets." -------------------------------------------------- Shade opened his eyes and turned to Luna. She was covering her mouth with a hoof. "I...I don't remember any of that!" Shade nodded. "He wiped your memory of everything from when he woke you up. To you, you slept through the night." Celestia stared in disbelief. "You used Gusty's journal in front of him? You left it laid out?" Luna shook her head. "I don't remember! It was obviously for a good reason!" "You should have run! You should have run and told me at once!" Shade waved a hoof in the air. "Please! What's done is done." The sisters each cast a glare at the stallion and he sighed. "I recovered the journal. And I doubt Sombra shared it with anypony else." Shade lurched suddenly, as if he were going to be sick. His eyes closed and opened to reveal Sombra's eyes once again. "Luna, I can explain-" Luna's anger came out. "Explain what?! How you stole from me?! How you wiped my memory?!" "I was desperate! I thought I could use or improve the magic!" Celestia chimed in. "She didn't use any spell. She tried to hit Amore with 100% arcane magic. And it nearly killed her!" "I know that now! I studied that journal front to back a dozen times." Luna stared at the stallion. "You betrayed my trust without me even knowing..." Sombra looked at her. "I won't ask your forgiveness, my love. I don't deserve it." Celestia scoffed. "Of course you don't." Sombra ignored her. "I just wanted to get Amore back." Luna shook her head. "But you didn't get her back. And you didn't return the book." Sombra nodded. "I know. And you should know what happened..."