Sombra's POV
*beep**beep**beep*
'Ain't that a familiar sound.'
Before even opening my eyes, I already knew where I was, or at least what building I was in. My eyes opened, before immediately shutting, not used to the brightness of the room yet. After blinking a couple of time and clearing my eyes, I looked around the room I was in and sighing. I was in a god damn hospital.
"I can't believe this." I told myself, I haven't been in this world for more then two days and I already found myself in a hospital. I wanted to sigh and rub my face, but found that I couldn't. "What the hell."
I looked down and saw a sight that I was also familiar with. I found myself strapped to the bed with thick leather straps. It wasn't as worrying as one might have though, given my profession. But what was concerning was how many straps there were.
"That cant be good." I observed, looking around once again, trying to see if there was somebody in the room that could get me out of here. Sadly there was no luck, the room being empty, even from another patient. "Can I get some help here?"
Only answer I got was the constant beeping of the heart rate monitor next to me. I wondered how long it would take for me to get help, but I decided that I didn't want to wait that long. I looked at both of my hands and found what I was looking for. On my right hand was a pulse oximeter, and though my hands were bound, all it to was a couple of good flicks of my wrist and it was knocked off. My heartrate monitor immediately flatlined.
After that, it took less then ten seconds for me to hear the rapid footsteps of someone running. Not soon after that, the door burst open with two people, one of then I immediately recognized.
"Oh Hello Nurse Redheart." I greeted, Redheart and what I assumed was a doctor. They both looked at me from the door, surprise written across both their faces as they looked at me.
"Sombra?" Redheart said dumbly, confusion lacing her voice as she began to walk up to me along with the doctor. "You're awake?"
"I am," I answered, then jutted my head towards the straps. "I also seem to be tied to this bed."
"We're sorry about that young man." The doctor apologized, jumping to my side and pulling up a small "But before I release you I need to check you, make sure you're feeling alright."
"And how would you be doing that?"
"Im going to do a standard procedure as well as ask you some questions. Its mostly to see how your feeling, you've had a couple of incidents while you were asleep and we dont want the same thing to happen to you while awake." He explained, pulling a notepad and clicking a pen. "Are you ready?"
Thankfully, the check up didn't take long, and the questions weren't too bad. Just the typical 'how are you feeling', 'are you in any pain' and the such. After the final question, both redheart and and the doctor, who's name turned out to be Dr. Horse, started the process of unstraping me.
"Now that we're done with the standard procedure, I want to ask you a very serious question." Dr. Horse said, his tone serious as he begun to undue the straps around my torso. "Are you being abused?"
I was so shock at the question that I couldn't even answer him, not at first. I just laid there and stared at him.
"What the hell kind of a question is that!?" I shouted, Dr. Horse and Redheart flinched at my sudden volume. I winced as I realized how loud I was as well. "I'm sorry, but that was kind of a random question."
"Is it dear?" Redheart asked, getting back to working on my straps. "We got a look at your body to see what happened to you. Have you seen what your own body looks like, other then what we had to stitch back together, you look like you fought a manticore and barly escaped."
I looked at her in confusion for a second before looking back at myself. They had taken all of my clothes and left me with a blue hospital gown. The short sleeved gown had only reaches as far as my elbows and went down to my mid calf, exposing the multiple scars that were on my arms and legs. And seeing as they had to get the clothes off of me, they most likely saw the scars over the rest of my body.
"No," I sighed, closing my eyes as they took off the strap on my torso. "I'm not being abused by anyone Dr. Horse."
"Are you sure?" Dr. Horse asked, his eyes meeting mine. "If your worried about your abuser coming after you if you confess, we have ways to keep you safe."
"You have nothing to worry about Sombra." Redheart said, her eyes filled with concern and worry. "You'll be safe, just tell us who did it."
'Oh god, this again.' I've been through this song and dance plenty of time when I was back on Earth. When I would need to go to the hospital, people would think I was getting abused by my master. At first i though it was funny and went along with it, the old man spent a night in jail for that, but as I got older and visited more hospitals, I got more annoyed. Now I was having to go through it all over again becau-
My mind went blank for a second, trying to remember what exactly happened to me. I remember I was walking into a dark alley, I saw a group of Diamond Dogs surrounding two gi-
"The girls!" I exclaimed, my hands shooting up but the bindings on them preventing them from going higher then a couple inches. For the second time, both the nurse and doctor flinched. "I-I don't remember a lot of what happened to me before I came here. But I know there was two girls in the alley I was in. Are they safe." They looked confused for a minute, before taking on a distant look. Then Redheart snapped her fingers.
"The gaurds who brought you in did bring in two little girls. I believe that it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." He explained, I waited for her to continue, she must have saw the look I was giving her because she smiled. "Their both alright dear, and from what I hear, Diamond Tiara had some interesting things to say about you." She continued to smile, though the after a second, it faded slightly. "Mostly what you did to the Diamond Dogs."
"Well I couldn't just let them take those kids." I said, sounding a little defensive. "Is there going to be problems with this later on."
"No, actually." Dr. Horse jumped in. "Diamond Tiara, one of the girls you saved, was able to excuse you of any charges by telling the gaurds what happened. Not only that, but as we all know, those hooligans are always causing trouble for our town. I'm sure it will be the talk of the town that they got what was coming to them, even if it was only a small group."
"That's great." I chuckled, taking in a deep breath as Redheart pulled the strap from my chest.
"Sombra," I looked over to Redheart. "Do you remember what exactly you did to that group?" She asked, folding the strap and setting it to the side.
"Well I know that I fought three of them before I was knocked out by.... something." I recalled, my memory was still somewhat hazy from the night before and it was a little concerning.
"So you dont remember much?" She asked, I nodded.
We didn't talk anymore after that, I just let them take the last of the thicker straps that held me down. I waited for them to start on the straps on my wrist and ankles, but they made no to remove them. "Aren't you forgetting something." I said, shaking the chains I wore, but they just gave me a nervous smile.
"We cant remove those." Dr. Horse said nervously.
"What do you mean you can't remove them?" I asked, confusion in my voice. "Aren't you the one who put them on me?"
"We only put the leather straps on you dear." Redheart jumped in, calmly explaining what happened. "Your body would convulse at random times, and you were so strong that the nurses couldn't hold you down. So we needed those to hold you down to not injure your self and reopen your wound. Those chains were put on by someone else."
"And that is?"
"Well, it would probably be better for you see them for your selves. They are here waiting for you in the lobby, along with her student and friends."
I didn't give a response as both Dr. Horse and Redheart walked out of the door, just laid back in the bed with my arms and legs still bound. I looked at the chains, noting the symbols that were all over the chains and cuffs.
'These look oddly familiar. ' I thought, but I decided not to worry about it, they would hopefully be off soon and I wouldn't need to worry about them. I looked around and saw a clock on the wall opposite me.
"Three o'clock." I muttered, I thought coming back to me. I didn't know what the exact time it was when I left the library, but I know that when I left the Cakes from the hospital it was close to two, and spent about a hour at the library. So the best case was that I was only out cold for a day, longer for the worst. That got me thinking about more though, such as the fight I had that day. I know for a fact that I had nearly beat all those Dogs. But then something happened to me, that excruciating pain that was inside my body. Then I remember nothing else, no memories of what led me ending up at the hospital. Not only that but I felt as though I was forgetting something else, something that must have been pretty important. A knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Come in." I called, as the door opened, I remembered what it was that was so important. It was my meeting with Twilight and her friends. The only reason that came back to me was because all of them were coming through the door, their faces ranging from concern to confusion. Not only that, but it looks like they had two new friends join their group, and my goodness were they beautiful.
The first woman I saw was tall, probably close to 6'9. She had pearly white skin and as well as large magenta eyes. Her hair was a mix of pinks, blues and greens that seemed to wave in a nonexistent wind. She wore a long, elegant white dress that hugged her waist snuggly, leaving nothing to the imagination. The straps of the dress crossed her biceps, looking similar to feather on wings then actual straps.The On her neck was a golden necklace that had a large pendant shaped like the sun. And on top of her head, she wore a golden crown with a large purple gem in the center. Her magenta eyes watched me as she crossed the room, filled with caution and concern, though it didn't feel like it was for my injures.
The next woman was shorter than the first, around 6'4, she was almost the complete opposite of the taller woman. Her skin was a light chocolate brown that contrasted to the first womans white skin. Her hair was was a deep blue that had specks of glowing white, it was like the night sky was trapped in her hair. She wore a short, light blue dress that ended right at her knees with transparent black sleeves over her biceps. Over the dress was a dark blue corset that had a tailcoat attached to it who's color shifted from dark blue to purple. She had a laced choker wrapped around her neck and a small gem in the shape of a crescent moon was embedded in the center of it. Like the first woman, she wore a crown on her head, but hers was black. Unlike the taller woman, she didn't look at me with concern or the like, instead she looked at me with what I thought was wonder.
Twilight, spike, and their friends crowded me, all of them asking questions about my well being and what happened to me, Rainbow was brash enough to ask about my scars, though a quick glare from the others cut that off. I didn't answer them, I kept my eyes on the women that stood at the opposite wall, and they were doing the same. The girls seemed to notice that I wasn't paying attention to them and they followed my gaze. For a ten seconds, no one made a sound, not even Pinkie. It was Twilight who broke the silence by clearing her throat.
"Sombra," I turned my head towards her. "I know that this might not be what you, or any of us, expected today, but I would like for you to meet the co-rulers of Equestria. My teacher of magic, Princess Celestia," She gestured to the woman in black"and her sister, Princess Luna."
"It's nice to meet you." I greeted, throat going dry as I looked at the two women. I couldn't explain it, there was an air about these two that put me on edge, like they were trying to break down my very being. "My name us Angelus Sombra, but everyone just calls me Sombra."
"Sombra?" The younger one, Luna, said, eyes narrowing slightly. "Quite an interesting name you have young one."
"Well, it's not much where I come from."
"Oh, is it a common name where you come from." Celestia asked, head tilting slightly.
"No, not at all." I shook my head.
"Then why is it not much?"
"Well it's a word in a different language." I explained, that seemed to get the others attention. "It just means 'shadow' where I'm from. No one normal would want to name their kids that."
"Well that certainly a first for me, I've only here of the word once, and it was a name that belonged to someone else." Celestia said, her face taking on a dark tone for a fraction of a second, before clearing up and smiling to me. "But regardless, my sister and I have a few questions that we want to ask you. Twilight and her friends also have their own and we figured that we may as well do them together since our questions are so similar."
"Well I'll certainly try to answer," I raised a brow, my feelings from earlier disappear. "But if I can ask, why would royalty want anything to do with me? Not only that, but why do you have me bound bound like a rabid animal?"
Twilight and her friends looked at me as if I just slapped them.
"Sombra, dear, there no need to say it like that." Rarity said, a stern tone to her voice.
"Is there any other way to really say it? I'm chained to a hospital bed and have no idea what going on. I have princess's here that have a sudden interest in me. And I dont remember what happened to me last night. So excuse me for being a little frustrated. " I wanted to say more, but I stopped, berating myself for letting my emotions get the better of me. Especially in front of two princess's. Dealing with royal back on earth was a mixed bag, some were down to earth or really kind while others thought they deserved the world. I hoped that at least one of these two were the former rather then that latter, thankfully they both didn't seem angry at my outburst. In fact, they both had looks of understanding.
"We understand your frustration young man. But before we tell you anything, please let us ask our questions, just so that we know where to start with you." Celestia requested, I saw no lie in her eyes, so I nodded my head. With that, she continued. "I'm told you you arrived here in Ponyville not to long ago, correct?"
"That right."
"Twilight had a chance to tell us about you while we waited in the lobby. Is it true that you come from a town where no one can use magic of any kind?"
"Yes, my people focused on what we can do with out magic." I said, racking my brain on what to say. Because of what happened last night I hadn't been able to think of a cover story, now I was once again caught flat footed thanks to me fighting those Dogs. There was still one thing I could do, but iIreally didnt like having to rely on it. A skill so complex that to use it was to risk it all...Lying.
'I'm really going to have to get by like this.' I thought, remembering my masters words.
"if your going to lie, then you shouldn't make up a full blown story that you'll have to remember later, sprinkle the truth in there. There isn't a better lie then the one that has the truth."
"And you yourself have never used magic?"
"That's correct."
"What of your parents? Were they capable of using magic?" Luna asked, taking a step closer.
"I don't know." I shrugged.
"You dont know because you never saw them use it, or you didn't know what it looked like." Twilight questioned, head tilting to the side, I shook my head.
"No, I dont know because I've never met them, I'm an orphan" That definitely got a reaction. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity gasped, Rainbow and Applejack winced, and Twilight, Spike, and the princesses only widened their eyes. After a second, their faces shifted to sorrow and pity.
"I'm sorry to hear the little one." Luna said, looking around awkwardly as she tried to think of a way to move on.
"There's no need to be sorry, they abandoned me when I was really small, I really never knew them." I said, trying to show that I wasn't hurt by it. That might not have been the right words to say. The mood in the room becoming even worse. Rarity even went as far as to wipe away tears from her eyes with a handkerchief she got from... somewhere, and handing two more to Pinkie and Fluttershy.
"That's so sad." Pinkie sobbed, blowing into the handkerchief and trying to hand it back to Rarity. Through her tears, she gave the offending handkerchief a small disgusted look before using her magic to take it.
"How did you survive, surely you had someone to help you?" Fluttershy asked, wiping any leftover tears she had.
"Or maybe an Orphanage?" Twilight jumped in, everyone seemed to agree with that, but they looked to me for confirmation.
"Well I was in a orphanage when I was younger," I said, looking off and giving it some thought, the girls looked relieved. "but they kicked me out for extremely bad behavior." I ignored the gasps again.
"Bad behavior?!" Applejack asked. "What can be so bad that they'd just throw you on the streets?"
"Well, I would always be breaking stuff."
"That's it?" Applejack scoffed, anger on her face as she moved back. "Ain't nothing a child can break that can't be fixed with duct tape and time. You shouldn't have been thrown out on that alone." All the women seemed to agree.
'Can't fix a skull with duct tape.' I remembered the times I would get into fights with the other kids at the orphanage, the last one being the most brutal as well as the last straw. I didn't say that out loud though.
"But you said that you were picked up by someone." Spike, who had been quiet until now, chimed in. "You told us when we were asking each other questions."
"So you were picked up by someone?" Fluttershy asked, getting over her shock. "Where are they, we didn't see anyone else with you last time."
That question got me to wince, it had been a long time since I actually thought about him. Sure, his lessons always came to mind and would never leave, but I never actually gave the man any thought. I looked at the women as they looked back at me, wanting me to tell them were my guardian was.
"He's.... gone." I said, they looked confused when I said that, looking to each other for answers. The only ones who didn't look lost were the princess, who looked at each other like they both fucked up.
"M-Maybe we should mov-"
"What do you mean he gone Sombra?" Spike asked innocently, interrupting the Celestia, the women finally seemed to catch on, but before they could stop, I started to talk.
"He's dead, Spike, It happened about a year ago." I lied, watching his eyes go wide. There was a pain in my chest when I finally said it, which was strange. His death actually happened over forty years ago, and it was no surprise when it happened. We had both prepared for each others eventual death, so when it happened, I barley felt anything. But right now, I had emotions running rampant.
'Seriously, what the hells been going on with me.' There was a pain in my chest and small tears in my eyes, all ready to fall. I blinked them away, I tried to wipe them away, only for my chains to stop me. 'Damn it, this is bot something I need right now.'
Because I was so busy trying to not look like a fool, I never noticed the two princess's walking to either side of me. The girls gave them space as they made their way to me, walking to the end of my bed. When both of them reached me, they both put a hand to either cuff and a aura outline their hands and the cuffs. When they let go, the cuffs had released.
"We're sorry that we brought up bad memories." Celestia said, the others agreeing with her. I put rubbed my tears away, covering it up as a scratch. "We just wanted to be sure that you were not corrupted in anyway."
"What do you mean?" I asked, they both looked at each other, to the girls, and then back to each other.
"Girls, I will need time to talk to Sombra alone." They looked shocked at what were told. But before anyone could protest, Celestia raised a finger and turned to her sister. "Luna, can you please ask the staff can spare a room and explain the situation to them. This might be too much for him and may need to be alone."
Luna didnt respond, she only nodded her head and ushered the girls out. Now it was just Celestia and I alone. We stayed quite for a minute, gathering both of our thoughts.
"I have to once again apologize for what we put you through." She said suddenly, her head down as the word left her mouth. I just stared at her, not saying anything.
"Why did you ask me those questions?" I asked, she did answer at first, using her magic to pull a chair behind her and sitting down.
"I'll start with the easier one to explain, about your using magic."
"I already told you, my people dont have magic." She only stared at me before shaking her head.
"Sombra, what do the remember about the night before?" She asked, I raised a brow at her, the pain from earlier disappearing.
"How will that help?"
"Please, just tell humor me." She said, I shrugged and explained what I remember. She nodded along as I told her what happened to me, about the fight, the burning pain, the men using their claws and final about me passing out.
"That all you remember after that?" She asked, crossing her legs and looking me in the eyes, I nodded. "Well then let me tell you what happened after you fainted." I leaned in closer as she took a breath. "After you fainted, you had a large magical surge. Large enough that Luna and I were able to feel it all the way from our castle. Not only that, but you were able to use your magic in a way to take down the rest of the boys who were involved in the attempted kidnapping."
"Really?"I said blankley, not believing a single thing she said. "Me, a guy who never even thought real magic existed until a couple of days ago, was suddenly able to use magic."
"You weren't suddenly able to use magic Sombra, you were always able you use magic, you just never seemed to have enough to actually use it. And your cutie mark is proof enough that you were able to use it" She said, before bringing a finger to my left hand and taping the symbol. "While cutie marks are not exclusive to Equestrians, it is proof that you have magic. Surely you can feel the magic running through your body as we speak, you've probably even developed a form of your magic before your surge."
I thought back on the days that I've been here and she was right. There was something about my body that was not normal, the river. Not only that, but that my ability to sense fear.
'Is this the magic she was talking about?' It was the only change, beside the new body, that was different about me. And I remember how it was that I got this ability to use magic. 'The Shadow Mage.' Though I was more curious than ever tk get to the bottom of this, I wasn't about to tell the Princess. Given everything that I have seen, this man was a real menace.
"So you do feel the magic." She asked, I nodded, but not telling her anything else. But it seems that I didn't need to say anything, as she continued to talk. "Somra, when you released your magic, you didnt just affect your surroundings, you affected the entire town. You had preformed a spell that was though to be lost, you made a eclipse aura."
"What the hell is that." I asked, rubbing my head to soothe the oncoming headache.
"A eclipse aura is exactly what it says Sombra, it is a very powerful spell that is believed to be able to cover the world in shadow so long as the user can use it properly." She looked to me. "That's what you did Sombra, and I have a feeling that you will be able to do so much more."
"I don't even know what I am, what's going on, or what to do, and yet you're telling me to do I'm able to do so much." I chuckled darkly, lost in my head for what felt like the hundredth time since coming here.
"But I know what you are, and what magic you use." She said, a small amount of excitement in her voice.
"Some clarification would be nice, I can't think straight right now."
"Sombra, you are a what's left of a race that is nearly on the brink of extinction, and use a magic that is in a similar situation." She said, taking my hand in both of hers. "You are a Umbrum, a race whose people are able to control both shadows and terrors. The only race who's able to use Umbral magic."