//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Cold Comforts // Story: One Thousand Years Ago // by Scroll //------------------------------// “No!” Shining Armor rejects as he stands near his wife who is sitting on her throne. “Absolutely not, Cozy. It's too dangerous. I forbid it.”     “Excuse me?!” Cozy asks incredulously. “You forbid me? Did I hear that right?”     “Can't you hear yourself?” Shining asks in an almost pleading tone. “You are asking us to trust an entity who calls himself King Sombra. The answer to that is most certainly no. If you only knew all the horrors he put this kingdom through, or indeed . . . all of Equestria through, I don't think you'd be asking us this.”     “Actually,” Cozy says as she brings her head back a bit, “I have a really good idea what he put the world through and what the world put him through.”     “How could you possibly know that?” Shining challenges.     “He and I have a connection,” Cozy shyly admits, then speaks on with renewed confidence, “and recovering his memories is precisely how we can put him to rest. While he was reminded of some of his memories due to an ancient painting and Sunset’s magic touch, I shared his experience. Both Sunset Shimmer and I. She can vouch for me if she was here. You,” she waves a hoof at her adopted uncle, “can write her a letter about that later to verify my claims.     “I also saw what he put Equestria through when 'Grogar' brought him back to life.”     “Yeah! We will never forget that experience!” Shining says acidly. “She held my infant daughter, Cozy, and used her as a hostage. I have never been more frightened and infuriated in my life, and I won't commit to any risks that could lead to a repeat of that experience.”     “We're not going to be here long,” Cozy says dourly as her eyes droop halfway. “We'll just get what we came for then we'll be out of your mane.”     “You're not listening to me!” Shining growls with annoyance. “The answer is NO!”     “Look,” Cozy says with a disgusted tight squint, “I only came here to warn you as a courtesy. I'm not asking for your permission to do what I want. It's my body, my life, and I shall do with it whatever I please! And I'm telling you now . . . King Sombra will have permission to possess my body temporarily,” she says with major emphasis on the last word. So much so she hangs on it for a few seconds before continuing her point, “then he'll give it back to me. I also want to make it perfectly clear that if he does not surrender my body back to me then you can blast him with whatever precautions you think is necessary.”     Shining Armor narrows his eyes at Cozy.     This causes Cheese Pie to laugh nervously before reminding everypony, “Look . . . everypony . . . we're all friends here, right? Can't we all just . . . get along?”     Shining closes his eyes as his face hangs down, then says as he looks back up at Cozy, “Look, Cozy, the security threat to the kingdom is not the only reason I'm denying this. Try to understand, I'm saying this for your own benefit too. I don't want anything to happen to you either.”     Cozy scoffs in disgust, then sneers, “Don't pretend you care about me! I know you better than that. You think I'm a monster too, same as everypony in Equestria.”     “Cozy, he does care,” Flurry Heart assures her. “We all do.”     Cozy passes Flurry a much softer questioning look as if to ask, “Do you really mean it?” In reply, Flurry just nods.     “That's challenging for me to understand,” Cozy expresses back to Shining. “I don't see how you caring for me benefits you, so that's pretty tough to swallow.”     “You're family, Cozy,” Shining reminds. “I know you also mean a lot to my sister, and she means a lot to me, so you mean a lot to me also. Plus, I know my daughter is really fond of you, and she's an excellent judge of character.”     “I see,” Cozy partially accepts. “I guess.” Then she looks down with a sigh. “Look . . . I've had a rough time lately and I have a lot to think about. I apologize if it's making me cranky and coming on too strong.”     “Apology accepted,” announces Princess Cadence with grace, who then goes on to say, “Look, I think we're all making a bigger deal of this than it has to be. I can think of an adequate and even pretty obvious solution.” She looks at her husband to her side as she tells him, “You're right, my dear. Our daughter is a great judge of character, so let’s rely on her judgment.” She shifts her look to her opposite side at Flurry as she asks her, “Flurry, Honey, do you trust Cozy?”     Flurry looks at her mother for a moment, then passes a discerning look to her friend who simply looks back at Flurry, then the younger princess says, “I do trust Cozy. She means what she says and she is telling the truth.”     Cheese scoffs, then says, “I could have told you that.”     “Sombra, on the other hoof, I'm not so sure about,” Flurry goes on. “But my friend trusts him enough to risk loaning him her body, and I trust Cozy, so I'm inclined to cautiously give him the benefit of the doubt.” She looks across to her father as she tells him, “Believe me, I do understand your concerns. I care for Cozy too, so I don't want to see anything bad happen to her . . . but as my friend, I have to be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She's telling us to trust this plan, so I believe her.”     Shining sighs as he looks across those gathered in the room, then says, “Okay, fine . . . but I assume there are no objections if we apply some precautions. Starting with,” he waves a hoof, “guards . . . leave us.”     Instead of obeying, they pause in confusion and glance at each other, each  wondering if they heard their prince correctly.     “You heard me!” Shining assures. “King Sombra is adept with fear and mind magic. Having more guards here means he can simply use you against us. By limiting your numbers, we therefore limit the assets he can use.”     “But what about you, Your Majesty?” one of the guards asks with worry. “You're just as vulnerable of a target as any of the rest of us would have been.”     “Don't worry,” Shining reassures. “I've got an ace up my sleeve for that. My biggest trump card against Sombra, for the moment, is Flurry Heart.” He looks at her next. “Honey, I want you to summon the Crystal Heart to the throne room right now. Keep it behind you as a precaution.” He returns his look to the concerned guard who spoke to him earlier. “The Crystal Heart itself will be our weapon against Sombra if he chooses to attack, and Flurry Heart is an empath. She'd be able to sense his hostile intentions before he makes a move, thus giving Flurry a chance to act before he does. We know that the Crystal Heart can be an effective weapon against him. It worked before.”     “Yes, Father,” Flurry Heart agrees. After that, she closes her eyes and concentrates. A moment later, the Crystal Heart teleports and spins above and behind her.     Reassured by the sight of the Crystal and Shining Armor's plan, the guards finally obey by leaving the room.     “Do you think we should stay?” Cadence wonders to her husband.     “I'm inclined to say yes,” Shining answers. “We may need to be here to make critical decisions on the fly. Besides, I want to see where this 'secret room' is located. By knowing that, we may become prepared against future dangers, whether it comes from the room itself or it has a resource that can protect us from something else later. If nothing else, knowing where the hidden room, in itself, is useful knowledge. Who knows when we might use it as an emergency panic room?”     “Good point,” Cadence agrees, then looks at Cozy in concern. “Cozy, Honey . . . are you sure you want to go through with this? Sombra wasn't the nicest pony.”     “Neither was I, if you remember,” Cozy reminds. “Sombra and I seem to have an eerie number of things in common. I'm hoping it's not just the bad stuff.”     “I hope so too,” Cadence agrees. “Well, if you are certain, we'll stick around to make sure Sombra keeps his word. My husband and I once had the power to drive back an entire swarm of changelings in Canterlot. If, for some reason, the Crystal Heart fails, I believe we can also assist you. I'm good with love magic. That may be the perfect counter against his fear magic.”     Cozy opens her mouth to respond, but pauses for a moment as she shifts her head to the side as if listening to a disembodied voice, then she grins as she looks back at the Princess as she says, “Actually, he agrees with you.”     Flurry notices that, since her mother's old nemesis agrees with her, she finds that fact strangely unsettling. Maybe it is because his knowledge of it might already help him plan a counter strategy.     “Thank you . . . everypony . . . for trusting me,” Cozy expresses brightly.     “Sure,” Shining says with casual dismissal, then asks, “By the way, while we're on the subject, what assets does King Sombra plan to claim anyway?”     “Ahhhhh . . . I think I'll let him explain that,” Cozy decides, “because he understands the items better than I do. Trust me, though, you're going to love it, especially considering the journey I will embark upon soon.”     “In that case, remind me again why he needs to possess your body at all instead of just telling you where the secret room is?” Shining interrogates.     “I already told you!” Cozy snaps bitterly. “Weren't you listening? And you call yourself a former Captain of the Royal Guards.”     “I heard you perfectly the first time,” Shining assures. “I just want to make sure you're telling the truth by telling again consistently.”     “So,” Cozy squints one eye at him, “you still don't trust me, eh?”     Shining grins as he brags, “I wasn't Captain of the Royal Guards for nothing . . . and I wasn't born yesterday either. You're Cozy Glow. Enough said. I love you, Honey, but that doesn't automatically make me a fool.”     “Huh.” Cozy returns his proud grin and raises him a slow clap of her forward hooves. She sits on her tushie in order to do so. “Well done, Sir,” Cozy commends. “There's hope for you yet.     “As for the answer to your question, I remind you that it will require magic to open this door. I'm theoretically capable of performing this with this crystal and his instruction, but I don't have much practice in it yet. Besides, it requires dark magic to open the door, so he's deciding to spare you all the effort to open it.”     “Hmm.” Shining Armor rubs his bottom chin. “That answer actually isn't consistent with your former response, or rather to say . . . this answer was more elaborate. Last time you only told us that it requires magic to open the door and that only he knew where it was. Now you added the fact that you could learn magic using that crystal, and the fact that the door requires dark magic to open.” He groans, then says sarcastically, “This plan just keeps getting better all the time.”     “Are you serious?!” Flurry asks excitedly. “You can use that thing to cast magic?!”     Cozy looks at her friend quizzically as she says, “You already know this, Flurry. In fact, you . . .” Cozy trails off when she recalls that surprise visit to her room was a secret, so she course corrects her speech. “I wrote a letter explaining this to you earlier, remember?”     “Oh yeah!” Flurry realizes, then knocks herself on the noggin once. “Sorry! I guess I forgot.”     “One more question, if I may,” Shining intercedes. “Your mother knows about this plan, doesn't she?”     “Ahhhhhh . . . yes.” Cozy passes Flurry a subtle warning look because she knows that Flurry has detected that statement to be an outright lie. “Yes, she does,” Cozy confirms while her stern gaze lingers on Flurry.     “Really?” Shining asks skeptically. “Well,” he scratches his head, “that's a surprising move from my little sister. I know for a fact she feels very protective over you.”     “Tell me about it,” Cozy agrees with an annoyed roll of her eyes, then adds more tactfully, “However, in this case, she considers the benefits to outweigh the cost. After all, the items Sombra plans to retrieve will come in hoofy for the journey ahead. Continuous benefit in exchange for a brief risk is something she considers worth it in the long gallop.” Cozy crosses her forward legs across her chest and wears a smug smile along with a single nod. “Yep-yep! It's a sound strategy, after all. I'm not the only one who can learn these things.”     “Eh, well,” Shining shrugs. “If you say so.”     “Well then, without further ado,” Cozy's eyes scan across those left in the room, “I guess I should get on doing what I came here to do. Best to get this over with.”     Privately, Flurry Heart wonders why Cozy's mother is kept out of the loop. Normally that wouldn't concern her too much. Flurry loves her parents, but she keeps some secrets from them too.     However, the fact that Sombra put Cozy up to this tests the limits of her faith in her friend. Deciding to keep Twilight out of this, in this case, really is concerning.     More than that, Flurry also feels nervous about meeting Sombra at all . . . sort of. Having the Crystal Heart ready behind her eases her fears a bit, but this encounter might also have some very personal and dynamic layers to it, especially if Cozy's earlier theory is correct.     What if it is true? What if she's about to meet a ghost she had a complex past relationship with in a previous life? How will she feel now? What old baggage might be summoned along with it?     Also, the fact that this meeting is kind of occurring through Cozy's body feels wrong somehow.     Flurry locks eyes on her friend as she watches Cozy slowly nod off, until she feels strong attention and concern from her parents. She glances at them long enough for her to notice that they keep shifting their eyes back and forth between Cozy and their daughter. In the latter case, it is because they are scanning Flurry's face carefully to see if she shows any signs of distress, for she is the first warning system they have to indicate if anything is going wrong.     Well, of course something is going wrong! This whole plan is flawed to begin with, in Flurry's personal opinion. As far as she is concerned, no entity in the world should be in control of that body other than Cozy Glow for one-hundred percent of Cozy's life, even if that same entity might be her in a previous life.     A chill sinks into Flurry's stomach and rises up her spine when she senses the shift in consciousness within the pink pegasus. It causes goosebumps to spread throughout her body as well as causing her fur, mane, and feathers on her wings to stand up straight. She tried her best to mentally prepare herself for this, but now that it's actually happening, a cowardly instinct suddenly seizes control of her heart with unexpected intensity.     What is wrong with me? Flurry wonders to herself. Why am I panicking so much?     It might not be the whole reason, but one answer that comes to her mind is that she loves and accepts Cozy Glow for who she is, as a dear friend. However, this other entity is something else entirely, and it does not belong in that body at all!     It feels like the chill within Flurry's body seizes hold of the entire room the moment “Cozy Glow” opens her eyes, for all can recognize an overwhelming personality difference in her now.     “Greetings again, Your Majesties,” Sombra, within Cozy, greets as he forces Cozy's body to bow to them. As he speaks, although it is Cozy's voice, there is a chilling smoothness to it that leaves no doubt in the minds of any of his listeners that they are no longer addressing the true Cozy Glow. “Forgive me for this intrusion into your peaceful home. With your consent, I shan't be long with this endeavor. Believe me, I have no desire to share my existence within this little mare's body any longer than I have to.” He cracks her neck as he tilts it from side to side. “For it is an indignity for one such as myself, and I think we can all agree that this body belongs to her anyway. I've already had my time, and it is done.”     “I'm glad we can all agree on that,” Shining says to Sombra tightly. “If I had my preference, I won't have to tolerate your presence any longer than I have to. Just do what you came here to do, then get out! Upon that time, return Cozy's body to its rightful owner.     “I'm warning you, you fiend, we are all watching you very carefully. Don't try anything funny. I mean it!”     “Very well.” Sombra rises from “her” bow smoothly. “As you wish.” He rises Cozy up on her four hooves, then bids, “Follow me.” Sombra makes his way out of the throne room and heads for the stairs leading downward.     “Watch him carefully,” Shining advises to his family. “Especially you, Flurry. You are the most likely of any of us to spot any trouble.”     “Yes, Father,” Flurry acknowledges.     “How does he feel now?” Cadence asks as her husband graciously helps her up from her throne with an offered hoof.     “Almost as tense as we feel, but not because of us,” Flurry reports quietly. “I can't put my hoof on why he feels that way.     “I also sense embarrassment. His current situation is indeed humiliating to him.”     Shining relaxes slightly as he says while following Sombra, “Well, if I were in his situation, I'd probably feel the same way.”     “Aw!” Cadence flashes her husband a teasing grin. “But look on the bright side! At least you'd be an adorable little filly!”     Shining winces at his wife as he asks her, “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”     “Probably not,” Cadence agrees. “But it would make me feel better when I get to hug you and pinch you on those adorable wittle cheeks!”     “You're the worst,” Shining complains with a slightly amused chuckle.     “Just wishful thinking, Dear,” Cadence teases but follows it up with a kiss on his cheek to make up for it.     “By the way, I know you might consider my timing really strange, but we are alone together besides these three, and there is something I wanted to ask you,” Shining brings up to his wife.     “What's that, Hon?” Cadence asks back at her husband.     “Have you ever considered having another foal?” Shining very unexpectedly brings up. That question provokes all those around him to halt for a moment. Flurry and Cadence downright freeze, and Cheese behind them shakes as if she's about to explode with glee. As it stands, she already is quietly shrieking with her mouth closed. She quickly brings a hoof to her mouth in a desperate effort to contain herself.     After a long, startling pause, Cadence resumes her journey as she asks her husband, “You're asking me this now?!”     “Well . . . yeah,” Shining admits shyly as he rubs an uncomfortable hoof behind his neck while flushing beat red. “Flurry is always going to be my special little girl, don't get me wrong, but she's not so little anymore, and I miss having a tiny foal around the place to look after. Plus,” he shrugs, “next time it might be a son. That could be a different experience, don't you think?”     “Ah . . . Hon, can we talk about this when we are not in front of the Lord of Darkness?” Cadence requests with slightly strained patience.     “Aw! But I'd love to have a little brother to look after!” Flurry encourages, then brightens further, “What if he's born as another alicorn?! Equestria hasn't seen something like that since . . . since . . .” She trails off as she furrows her brow, then admits, “Actually, I'm not sure if Equestria has ever seen something like that before.”     “If you mean a male alicorn, then maybe not,” Shining agrees. “Although I don't see why it's not theoretically possible. As for a baby alicorn, Equestria has seen that exactly one other time before. I'll give you one guess as to whom that might be.”     “Ooo-ooo!” Cheese raises a hoof above her head excitedly while she continues trotting on the other three legs. “Pick me! Pick me! I know who it is!”     Shining, Cadence, and Flurry all laugh mirthfully together.     When the moment passes, they fall into silence again as they continue following Cozy's possessed form. Eventually Shining breaks the silence by quietly asking his daughter, “What's he feeling now?”     “Um . . . nostalgia, I guess,” Flurry figures.     “You guess?” Shining reflects in alarm.     “Well, he's kind of difficult to read,” Flurry reports. “It's not that I don't sense anything. If anything, I sense too much. He's complex and deep. I also sense conflict within him, almost as if he's at war with himself.     “I am alarmed to report that there is some dark ambition that lurks within him. It's as if part of him wants to conquer this place and all of us. For some reason, he's especially interested in conquering me.     “But another part of his mind is fiercely fighting that instinct, and it largely seems to have the upper hoof over his mind. I don't know why he feels so determined to protect us at the same time he wants to conquer us, and once again . . . that is especially true in my case.”     “I wonder why,” Shining says aloud, then growls. “I don't like it. He seemed interested in you before, too. I used to think he saw you as a valuable hostage, for that is exactly what he appeared to use you for, but now I'm not so certain. As a guard and as a father, I find this news deeply disturbing, and that prompts me to remain especially alert.     “Keep me appraised of any important changes within him,” Shining commands his daughter.     “That would be easier if we stop talking to her, Hon, and let her concentrate,” Cadence points out.     Shining grimaces as something else occurs to him, so he asks his daughter, “One more thing. Do you still sense Cozy Glow? Is she alright?”     Flurry focuses hard on the answer to that question, then reports, “Barely. She is awake and aware of the situation. She's difficult to detect because Sombra is such an emotional storm in the way. He's like psychic interference.     “That said, what I have to report on her is that she's aware of her surroundings very keenly. In fact, she finds this deeply disturbing. Probably because she can sense her environment around her, but she can't control it. Not while Sombra is pulling the carriage, so to speak.”     “That makes sense,” Cadence figures as they all continue their way down the ridiculously long flight of stairs. “If I were in her horseshoes, that's how I'd feel at this moment given those circumstances.     “By the way, let me make it all clear to you right now. If any of you ever notice my body being taken over by some foreign entity, then I want you to know that, regardless of its intentions, I encourage you both to do whatever it takes to give that control back to me. I just want to make that clear in case you ever wonder later and I lost my chance to tell you in advance.”     “Ditto,” Flurry quickly concurs.     “Same here,” Shining says after his daughter.     Right after Shining says that, for some reason, Sombra pauses and looks out a window on the wall hung along the spiraling staircase. Once it has his attention, he draws closer to it almost hypnotically.     “What's wrong?” Shining asks defensively. “Why did you stop? Is the secret room here?”     “Pardon me for a moment,” Sombra apologizes using Cozy's voice. “It's just that . . . this city meant so much to me at one time. I just wanted to look upon it again.”     “Well don't!” Shining orders harshly. “Keep trotting, Monster! The sooner you get your business done, the sooner you can give Cozy back her body, and the sooner we can be rid of you.”     “Hon,” Cadence prompts with a discouraging voice as she applies a hoof to her husband's shoulder, then she says, “It's okay. As long as he's not hurting anypony, I think we can spare a brief moment of indulgence for him.”     “What makes you think he deserves this?” Shining counters hotly.     “Perhaps he doesn't,” Cadence acknowledges. “However, he's behaved so far, and I don't want to give him an incentive to stop behaving.”     “I can think of a few reasons!” Shining growls harshly.     “Dad, please, spare him this moment,” Flurry begs. “He needs this, I think. Maybe it will help give him closure. If he can achieve that, maybe this will also help him to pass on and rest in peace. If that happens, then Cozy's counterpart might wake up. You care for her too, don't you?”     Shining sighs in resignation, then reluctantly says, “Fine.” He gives Sombra a hard stare. “But just for a moment. No more.”     As Sombra examines the view out of the window, Flurry examines him. Or rather, she examines the entity within her friend’s body.     Once again, noticing him within her just feels so wrong to Flurry. It's eerie and makes her hide crawl. She feels so utterly certain that spirit is not Cozy. The difference feels as clear as day and night, and yet he's wearing her hide and face as if it is a mere costume. It feels like a stranger wearing dead flesh. It's just so unsettling.     But Cozy's theory about their shared past life keeps ringing in her head now like a song stuck in her head. Part of Flurry keeps wondering if Cozy might be right, potentially on both ends of the spectrum. If this is true, the eerie circumstances they find themselves in feels too appropriate, as if it's part of some grand intelligent design. It would have to be because, if this is just a coincidence, then frankly it's too much to be believable.     There is one way she can find out, but she's been afraid to check that deeply so far. She might lose her chance to check later, however, so Flurry attempts to steel herself and gather her courage.     Reluctantly, Flurry concentrates hard to look at this situation beyond that which is on the surface. She senses how his emotions are right now, but she can peer deeper. Sunset probably knows a trick like this, except Flurry's abilities don't require a magic crystal (except maybe her innate connection to the Crystal Heart), and Flurry can only read emotions instead of emotions and memories.     Also, apparently, her empathic abilities have far more range than Sunset’s.     Since he's distracted, his defenses are temporarily down. Maybe that does not matter with a mare of Flurry's abilities, but this situation probably still helps. Something tells her he could have been prepared with psychic defenses if he wanted to. Very likely frightening kind of defenses.     As she peers closely at him with her mind's eye, a pattern starts to emerge. She can feel how tall he is. Certainly taller than Cozy Glow, but not a giant by any stretch. In fact, his height is nearly average for an adult unicorn stallion. Cozy just happens to be short.     She doesn't see this information, but she can feel the fact that he has a black mane and tail. Sometimes it flickers like a black flame if he's especially charged with dark magic, and she can certainly sense that potential within him. That part of his soul feels like a disease. The aura around that part of his soul is black and vibrates at a very low signature. It feels cold. So very cold.     But there is more to him than that, especially now. For the longest time, almost a thousand years, he literally was dark magic incarnate, but now it's a mix. Hot and cold swirl and clash within him. The cold and emptiness of his dark side, and the warmth of his love which he is simultaneously ashamed of, as if he feels he does not deserve it. That shame weakens him, yet he's still strong enough to suppress the darkness within him. He's even holding it back well enough for the good side of him to be mostly dominant, but it is a continuous struggle to maintain the advantage. During that time, he is constantly suffering, yet he accepts it as an apt punishment for his crimes.     As she focuses more on the warm side of his soul, the image of him in her mind's eye gradually shifts. He gains more color, but that only shifts him from shadowy black to dark gray, his natural hide color in life. She can feel sideburns on his cheek in either form unless it is his smoke form. The smoke form is almost entirely limited to his dark side.     More details become clear to her. The red cape, crown, and armor vanishes. The only thing that replaces it is a red scarf, but it is an enchanted scarf. The warmth of love radiates from it, and it keeps his body warm.     In fact, the energy of that scarf feels all too familiar.     Oh my goodness! I made that scarf in my past life! I gave it to him as a symbol of love, and also to protect him.     Protect him . . . as he's done for me so many times over.     In her mind, she slowly sees his head turn enough for him to look back at her. She sees that he has piercing red eyes. Actually, it's not too far removed from Cozy's rust-red colored eyes, but his eyes stand out far more.     As she stares into the mental projection of his eyes, she feels lost in it. She swims in it. She feels engulfed by his sheer presence that feels so strong, it could fill an entire room. Flurry drowns in it, and although it is a little painful, part of her likes it for some reason.     Cozy herself rarely projected this much of a powerful aura. She can. Flurry had experienced it exactly one time. She can't even remember what provoked that response. All she can remember is the fierce look in Cozy's eyes as she gazed at Flurry with unyielding determination. At that moment, it felt like Cozy's will could shatter mountains.     But this guy can pull that off without even trying. His presence alone can guarantee he gathers attention if he wants to, and Cozy could never pull off such an intimidating aura. She's too adorable for that. Sombra, on the other hoof, Flurry feels certain she could notice in the room even if she isn't looking at him.     As the vision continues, it shifts. She feels herself falling onto his powerful, sturdy shoulders. She embraces him in depression and exhaustion, but for the most part, he isn't the reason. In fact, he came to comfort her.     He veers his neck around hers and accepts the hug. During that time, he attempts to be her pillar of strength. He stands there, embracing her. Loving her . . . but from afar. He struggles to keep his heart at a distance, and he does not completely succeed.     He is not her husband, though she did offer. He is not her lover, at least not in an open relationship. Both of them mask themselves with duty and social distance. It somehow became expected of them.     But the real reason for his distance lied within him, and that reason is fear on so many levels. Fear of attachment. Fear of another loss. Fear of hurting her, and fear of himself. Darkness is growing inside of him and he's aware of it. He does not want her to get too close because he wants to protect her, even from himself.     But for her part, all Flurry can feel back then is pain. Pain that she has to endure holding a strong impression for the rest of her citizens, and pain that she can't get as close to him as she craves. She feels like she needs him to endure the difficult trials she suffers as a monarch, yet they cannot allow their mutual weaknesses to be known. That is why hugs like this only occurred in private.     She needed that. She needed to desperately let her defenses down and express her true emotions to one she felt would not betray her. She knew how important she was to him. That's part of why she adored him, too.     Despite that, she felt fear growing inside of her heart back then, but it was not for her own sake. She knew that if anypony tried to hurt her while she was within his presence, he could blast them into oblivion with ease, and she knew he'd strongly be inclined to do so.     But that was exactly the problem. A darkness grew inside of him and she knew he had a difficult time controlling it. In his determination to protect her, he'd accidentally go too far. His anger would just explode which, in turn, would cause him to destroy his target mercilessly. It might even be a slow, painful death.     No! She had cried out desperately in her mind long ago. Don't go! Don't go where I cannot follow! I cannot pretend to be this strong forever. Not on my own.     I need you . . . my guardian devil.     Sorrow overwhelms Flurry. She also jolts when she hears a pained scream in the dark. A scream that occurred on the day she died, but the physical pain was ten times outclassed by the emotional pain she felt within.     She can't do this anymore! It's too strong! Flurry pulls out just to protect her sanity.     When Flurry opens her eyes, she notices her vision is blurred by tears. Inwardly she feels like she is waking up from an intense nightmare. For the moment it feels keen and painful to her, but it starts to fade just like a dream.     “Flurry, are you okay, Honey?” Her mother asks with tender concern.     Ahead of her, she notices that declaration startles Sombra. He turns Cozy's head about to look straight back at Flurry. The vision of his powerful masculine form fades from her mind. Once again she sees Cozy's body directly, but she can still feel the entity behind it. She also sees him widen Cozy's eyes in horror when he notices Flurry in pain.     She just stares at him with pain in her eyes. A pain born from feeling and experiencing the tragic loss of the past.     Horror shifts into astonishment when Sombra realizes that he is beholding a tiny glimmer of the mare he once dearly loved in the distant past. He is astonished to realize that they are finally truly seeing each other across the distant veil of time.     For a brief moment, Flurry's pain almost urges the distant hero he once was into action. Cozy's body jolts as he almost stepped forward to embrace Flurry in a passionate and mutually desperate hug.     And, honestly, Flurry wishes he would.     But, just like in the past, he cringes back in fear. Fear of hurting her again. Agony over realizing he is the source of much of her pain. He wishes desperately that isn't so, for a strong part of him wants to invite her into his (her) legs and into his heart once again. To embrace her and just stand there like that, each side absorbing the warmth of healing that is critically needed.     Alas, he does pull back, returning to the window.     If he did approach, he'd likely have a fight on his hooves with an adjacent protective father anyway.     He knows it is very little consolation, but he looks back up at Flurry as Cozy's own eyes shine with sorrow, mostly with apology.     Now that feels familiar to Flurry. This is the same sad song and dance that destroyed them before.     There is also a vague feeling, like an echo, of relief in Flurry's soul that occurred sometime during the afterlife when she finally let all that pain and attachment go. Right now it's very hard to recall, like a distant dream, but it's there . . . glowing in the pit of her soul. It feels like a small reminder of the consolation she once had. Just enough to restore hope and equilibrium.     It is also a reminder of an effective strategy. A willingness to let go eventually leads to comfort and emotional freedom. One that was desperately needed.     He never got that far, though. At least, not during this phase of his existence. His spirit lingered in the physical world for far too long. In fact, in a way, he did it twice, because his soul got split into two, and now it's clashing back together again, and not in a harmonious way.     Not yet, at any rate.     Flurry Heart closes her eyes and tries to swallow back her pain. To do it, she concentrates on that small nugget of warmth in her that leads to a wise answer; the willingness to let go. It's not a skill one can master instantly. Perhaps that was never true, but nonetheless, it is a path that leads to a better reality. She does not need proof that this is so. She can merely recall the fact that it worked before.     When she opens her eyes again, she is much calmer. She nods to Sombra to silently communicate the fact that she'll be alright.     That silent message is received and acknowledged. It brings him some small measure of comfort too, but he still feels guilty over the fact that he has nothing to do with it.     However, he flashes her a proud smile through Cozy's lips. During that moment, Flurry can feel the fact that he feels familiar with the fact that she can recover on her own. To him, that is a mark of strength within her that he once admired. Sometimes he was even in awe of it.     Then, without a word, Sombra continues his journey down the long flight of stairs.