//------------------------------// // Day One // Story: In His Presence // by Ocean Heart //------------------------------// Sombra woke with a startle, feeling the onset rush of nightmare pumped adrenaline making him hyper aware of his surroundings and process his current state of being in a rapid gasp of air. Yet all that remained where the fear had been, only darkness lay. The darkness accompanied by blissful, fleeting dream memory. Yet there was also something of a surprise this morning; he had a pillow! Several even! Though his body still refused to respond to his command, with the runic ring off his horn, he was able to use a spell to weave his broken muscles back together in a slow and often painful process; though this pain was a blessing when he took the moment to press on his own arm with a hoof, reveling in the sharp pain that his muscles felt and the relaxing sensation as magic and biology rushed to numb and repair. He let out a long sigh, next straining the muscles in his legs to stretch, willing to risk more pain to feel the cool and, frankly, the best sheets he ever had the privilege of sleeping in, roll over his fur and tense body. Though his neck hurt, no matter what he did or what position he was in, his neck throbbed with the pain of the past decades. The room was something to take in as well. The dark of night and whatever spell the dragon used had practically blinded him, so with the help of the sunlight being filtered through a stained glass window showing a purple dragon and pony. It was artsy, not his sort of thing, but the rest of the room was more to his liking. Black was the dominant color, without a doubt, black finished vanity, black sheets, black area rug, though it was broken by a white desk facing a wall to his left, supporting a few books in loose order, probably however the owner simply tossed them. Sombra took in another deep breath and tried sitting up, feeling his body strain and then getting himself up just a little to then fall back on the pillow, sorta sitting up...he smiled, regardless. He took a moment to think, wondering if going back to sleep, or looking for food was the best choice... Spike hoped it wasn't too bad, but Nashta was ever the serious kid... The whole of his room was covered in a layer of soot. Like a volcano sneezed right in his window...which isnt too far off from realty he realized with a chuckle. Though he was tired enough to at least laugh, happy he didn't need to get angry. Really, this felt like a moment 'for the future me' and he closed the door behind him and grabbed his bed sheets, tossing them about to get the worst of the soot off and climbed in, thankful for his hard scales not even feeling the abrasive ash still mingling in the cotton fibers. He yawned, eyes heavy and vision blurry... He could have kept to his study, but the blurry vision was what sent him looking for this protest Nashta left him; words on the pages faded into black smudges and his body was ready to keel over. He even forgot the wound on his shoulder from the ice trap he stumbled into. Another problem for future Spike. That place was fine waiting till he slept, and when he was honest with himself in the moments fading to sleep, he needed to talk to Twilight before he did anything next. That, and get a unicorn in here on work order to clean this place. His stallions informed him that his daughter was back, sleeping in her room, he needed to do something about that, too he thought. Tomorrow...or, whenever I wake up, I need to take a personal day with that kid. She's right, you did forget she was Nash...not some solider... And that gave him new chills and dark thoughts as he drifted into a light snore and deep sleep. Twilight maintained that mornings were the best time of the day, despite her namesake. Morning was full of possibility and, generally speaking, it was also the quietest part of the day. So she allowed her position of authority to silently dictate that the Princess will wake when she very well pleases...so long as she was there for the meetings. Today there were none; maybe she would invite the Changeling diplomat for tea and talk plain matters about border disputes. Then thoughts crept in about the Crystal Empire. Wondering just what to do with the territory in the coming months... She let out a sigh, to wake her up and vent frustrations. Getting out of bed and staring daggers at her gold regalia waiting on the mannequin nearby and heading to her personal wash room. "Celestia..." she mumbled, not like others might, as a prayer, but as a longing. She couldn't help but want for her teacher, and a long time ago she decided not to care about moving on. Moving on wasn't for her, she decided. Now though... Starting to do a basic wash, wetting her fur with a damp towel to freshen and clean without wasting time on a full bath, a cheat she learned ages ago on her early years as princess with the other elements. Thinking hard about her teacher. Wondering just what was really left behind; Sombra, sure, but what about the Elements? The sun and moon moved on their own ever since their death, was this a planned spell or was this proof of an afterlife that Twilight got obsessed with ages ago? Sombra was just a tipping point. Solid, real, factual proof that Celestia kept secrets even from her student. That upset Twilight beyond words. The gold ensemble fell in place on winds of magic lifted by the princess to dress herself in the day to day set of gold and gems, fashioned by a mix of craftsmen and Rarity advising on the affair. It was much like Celestia's, a touch Twilight liked a lot, but it had more wispy, more...magical notes as Rarity had put it. Moving finally to the door to face the menial tasks that needed to get done lest some other do it for her and inevitably cause disaster. Nashta opened the door to her room, bringing with her the scent of a simply made soup from hands inexperienced at cooking, though the care put into it made it a little better. Sombra was sitting up proper and looked unsteady but determined, shining with the light sweat of strain as he practically tried willing his body to obey. Seeing her startled him, causing a bit of an over strain and his arms slumped forward with body slouching; Nashta judged by the pained groans that the only thing keeping him up was the back muscles inability to stretch any further... She was quick to set the food down on the table, shoving books aside which got her a glare from the stallion even as she caught him and pulled him back, allowing him to lay down and rest again, adding "What were you up to, huh?" in a playful tone so she could avoid hurting his feelings... "Nothing..." he started, playing a cold silence to her jest, but then continuing. "Just trying to force some healing." and he wanted to say more, to thank her, to maybe even hug her again. Yet he was Sombra, and he needed to maintain who he was, even to himself. "Well, I have something to help that, I think." she stated with a wry grin, seeing through his act quite easily he noticed...getting up to get the soup once more and take it to him, presenting it for him one spoon at a time seemed to be her plan for him. Sombra wasn't having it. His muscles may ache but his magic was coming back much faster, and the spoon and bowl was grabbed in a jagged and harsh control of magic, his horn sparking only slightly from the effort. The meal was bland, but it was enough. The caretaker, the strange being that cared for Sombra in that pit, gave him all he really needed to survive and extend his torment, but the warm soup he had now was a luxury he hasn't had the pleasure of enjoying for a long time. That sort of thinking didn't ease his mind when he felt his eyes water at the simple gesture of trying to nurse him back to health. It really was something he never needed to feel, but he was thankful he got to feel it now... Nashta wasn't sure what to to at this point, watching him eat felt a little creepy, but she didn't want him spilling it in her bed as much as she wanted to help him. Then came the knock at her door. The two were instantly on edge, knowing they both would be in a very different kind of trouble if found out; Sombra gulped the soup down as quick as he could, spilling on his fur but not on the bed to the dragon's silent relief, snatching the bowl and rushing to the door as Sombra tried to get out of the bed, failing miserably as he fell off the side and couldn't help the groan that came from him. Nashta was smart, though, yawning loudly to cover it up, looking at the bowl in her hands and tossing it back to the desk and out of the way. "Nash...? Dear, I wanted to talk, if that's ok..." the voice on the other side of the door said, sounding meek and lacking the regal confidence that was more befit to Princess Twilight. Nashta cursed under her breath and took a quick breath, opening the door a crack to peer out. "Yea Aunti Twi?" Twilight smiled, the first smile she had seen in awhile on the mare to be fair, and it made the lie hurt even more. "I was hoping we could talk. I know Spike is sleeping, he had a rough night, I think..." she paused, seeing Nashta roll her eyes and unsure of the conflict between the two dragons, wondering if she should intervene. "But I want to talk to you, I need a different perspective than Spike's...we're both...older, but that doesn't always mean wiser. Sometimes problems can only be solved when you listen to all your friends, not just one." she ended as if reciting an old letter to Celestia. Ever the Princess of Friendship... Nashta nodded and stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her with the best, most extra natural smile she could muster given the situation. Twilight was none the wiser it seemed... The Princess smiled happily, blowing out a sigh with it and nodded, as if confirming something to herself. "Good, good...meet me in the garden, I assume you want to get out of your, uh...gear." she said, raising a hoof to accentuate her point, noting the dragon still wearing her operation gear, not having the time to change between sneaking Sombra inside and visiting the right guards to make sure no one entered her room without arousing suspicion. She hoped. "Yes ma'am!" Nashta quickly answered, almost giving into the urge to go back in her room, which would have been natural to get changed...but Twilight took the hint, smiling wistfully, nodding again and departing for Nashta to rush back in her room and start unhooking and unstrapping all her gear. The suit was built to muffle sound, thick padding and loose straps of cloth helped limit passive noise made by the body's natural movement and help her use her special Night dragon power, blushing a sharp red when she heard the pony grumble about back pain. "OK!" she called, trying to quickly quiet her voice. "Shh! Ok, relax, I'll help you in a sec, just give me a minuet and don't you look!" Sombra didn't have much choice in any matter. He couldn't see her from his spot on the floor, anyhow. The vanity was on the other side of the bed and he hardly cared about draconic anatomy. Scoffing was his only response. This caused Nashta to huff in frustration, a dark mist swarming about her body as she moved, the mist seemed to eat light, and the legs Sombra could see from his spot on the floor showed just how potent the mist effect was at keeping her hidden in the dark. She practically blended in with her vanity save for the contrast she created on the white marble floor. When the mist vanished, she was in black sweatpants and sneakers...at least as far as he could see. Nashta smiled and straightened the hoodie sporting her favorite band, black with plenty of red blotches to mimic blood and good contrast to her midnight scales. "Ok! Try...uh...To not go anywhere?" she paused, hearing an exasperated sigh from the stallion. "I'll be back super soon! We'll get to do more when the sun sets; oh! You gotta tell me your story. Then I'll uh...I guess I'll talk to dad- Spike, yea...once you get sorted. Ok?" Sombra grunted. "Fine...be swift." She nodded, not that he could tell. "Promise, soon!" she said as she departed. Sombra thought hard to himself...and decided his muscles needed the workout anyway...