Flurry and Sombra walked in silence. The ruins of Duskfall soon vanished, lost in the mountain passes. They stayed close to each other. Without his cloak, Sombra suffered more from cold than he'd let on, and they relied on each other's warmth to keep them moving.
The cold ebbed as Sombra led them down and away from the frigid winds. Flurry's shivering eventually ceased, but started again as the sun set behind the mountains. "We should find shelter for the night," Sombra said. His voice was flat.
Flurry opened her wings. "I'll fly up and see if I can find anything," she said. With a jump and a flap, she soared into the sky and scanned their surroundings. "Over there!" she shouted, pointing along the mountain face. "A cave!"
She landed, and the two walked to their new destination. Flurry gasped when she saw its interior. Black crystals lined the ceiling—not the jagged spikes she'd seen in Duskfall, but almost perfectly smooth, with only a hoofful of blunt protrusions. The floor itself was stone, but bore the scars of picks and heavy iron carts.
"This must be one of the old mines," Sombra said. He performed a quick sweep and detected no other occupants. "Wait here. I'll be back with some firewood."
Flurry Heart made herself comfortable on the cold stone, watching the world outside fade to night. The waning sunlight glinted off the dark crystal, showering the cave with bright refractions. She saw the Crystal Empire in the distance, its castle spires sparkling as well. Mom and Dad must be worried sick. She imagined them rallying the guard for a search party, knowing full well they hadn't the slightest idea where to start looking. I'll be home soon, she promised.
Sombra returned then, blocking the cave entrance with a stack of dried wood held in his magic. He stacked the wood carefully, then ignited it with a spark. A few minutes later, the cave was as comfortable as any room in the castle. The crystal ceiling reflected the firelight, all but eliminating any shadows.
Flurry's stomach grumbled, but she didn't say anything. Sombra lay across from her, firelight dancing in his eyes. There was something in that reflection she found enchanting.
"The Crystal Empire is less than a day away," Sombra said. "If you fly, you should get there safely."
"You're not coming with me?" Flurry wasn't sure why the idea surprised her.
Sombra snorted. "I'd be a fool to expect anything less than imprisonment."
"Where will you go, then?" Flurry asked. "You can't hide out here forever. They'll come looking."
"Then I'll run." Sombra sighed, long and deep. "What other choice to I have?"
Flurry had an answer, but she hesitated. Her rational mind knew he would never accept it, but the other part hoped he would. "Come back with me," she said. "I'll speak up for you."
"You?" Sombra stared at her for a moment. Wide eyes. Open mouth. He's actually surprised. "Why?"
Flurry shrugged. "I trust you." Sombra grunted. Flurry scowled. "If you’ve made up your mind, why are you still here? Why not start running now?"
Sombra's gaze returned to the fire. It took him a moment to speak. "That night, when you first called me," he said. "You asked me where I was from. Did you know that in over a thousand years, you're the first pony to ever ask me that?”
Flurry shook her head, but it made sense. Otherwise, somepony would have written down the answer.
"I've been alone for most of my life, Flurry Heart," he continued. "The king of shadows always is. That was my role, from the moment my destiny became clear." He gestured toward the cutie mark on his flank. "In my day, the king was above questioning. I spoke, and my people obeyed. When I enslaved the crystal ponies, it wasn't just about justice for my kind. I expected them to obey. That was the way things were done, so I made them comply. It wasn't until recently—until I met you—that I realized... it wasn't the only way."
Flurry stood and walked closer to him. He watched her approach, armored forelegs crossed in front of him. "When you asked about my home, I didn't know what to think," he continued as she settled down beside him. "At first, I thought you were just being insolent, but... of all the ponies I've known since becoming king, you’re the first who... cared about me.”
It took her a moment to find a response. “It’s not a big deal.”
"It is to me." For the first time, his face seemed completely relaxed. Open. He trusts me, too. "That’s why I couldn’t… why I saved you. Why… why I let you go in Duskfall. As much as I mocked friendship before, the truth is… I’ve missed it."
Flurry scooted closer to him and gave him a nudge. "Yeah? I’d like to hear about your friends."
Sombra smiled—a warm smile. A happy smile, free of malice. He spoke of his days as a foal, of growing up among the shadow ponies and the other foals his age. He told her of the lessons they learned together, the importance of duty and responsibility and listening to their elders. He laughed—a good, hearty laugh—as he recalled the adventures of his childhood, the narrow escapes and great discoveries only the closest of friends could truly share. Flurry laughed with him, but inside, she felt a gnawing emptiness. Even Sombra had friends. What does that say about me?
Sombra finished one of his tales, which involved a rather complicated pantomime that left Flurry in a fit of giggles. He returned to her side. Flurry felt a kind of thrill run through her body as his tail brushed against hers. As she watched, his smile began to fade. "Everything changed when my destiny was revealed," he said. "I was honored, of course. I had always been gifted, and I don’t think anypony was surprised. But a king isn’t held to the same standards as the common folk. The elders set me apart, and my friends… they became my subjects, and that wall could never be crossed.” He closed his eyes, Flurry felt a tremble run through his body. “I only hope that when their time came, they found peace."
Flurry leaned her head against his shoulder. He smelled of sweat, but not unpleasantly so. The cold edge of his chest plate irritated her skin. "I’m so sorry," she said. "You must have felt awful, going back to Duskfall after all this time."
Sombra shrugged. "Maybe. But there is one good thing that came of it." He turned and faced her. His breath tickled her nose. "I finally found somepony to share it with—the good and the bad."
The records described Sombra’s eyes as blood red, full of hate and evil, but as Flurry stared into them now, she only saw kindness. No, more than that. Determination. Longing. They gleamed like rubies in the firelight, full of passion and regret, but hope as well. She felt her body shake. Is this what it’s like, to understand?
He turned away. Flurry took a sharp breath and looked into the fire as well. "There’s only one thing I don’t understand," Sombra said. "The night I first told you about Duskfall, you said you didn’t have any friends. I knew it was true, because it scares you, but I don’t understand how a pony like you can be so alone."
Flurry Heart closed her eyes and took a long breath. "I’ve always wanted close friends, like my Mom and Dad have, or like my Aunt Twilight. I guess I did have friends when I was younger, but as the years went by, they just… didn’t last."
"Because you’re a princess?"
"Because I’m different." Flurry started tracing circles on the floor. "I don’t… get ponies. What they’re thinking, or feeling, I just don’t see it. That makes it hard to connect to… well, anypony."
Sombra was silent for a moment. Flurry listened to the steady rise and fall of his breath. "I know my opinion may not matter, but it seems to me that seeing is only one part of understanding," he said. "You may not see as others do, Flurry Heart, but you wonder, and you ask, and above all, you listen. I think those qualities will take you further than any first impression could."
He shifted, and the edge of his breastplate dug into her temple. She gasped and jerked away. Sombra watched her for a moment. Then, a red aura flared around his horn. Piece by piece, he removed his heavy armor and set it aside, then shuffled closer to her. His flank pressed against hers. Her stomach fluttered at the touch, and her face felt uncomfortably hot. "It’s going to be a cold night," Sombra said quickly. "We should stay close to each other, for warmth."
"Y-Yeah," Flurry stammered with a gulp. Wood snapped in the fire. A few sparks flew into the air, specks of red that faded to black as they gently fell. "Gotta stay warm so… we don’t… freeze…"
She felt Sombra’s sides shaking. When she turned, she saw him struggling to repress a grin. "What?" she snapped.
"Nothing." Sombra gave her a sideways glance, then winked. "Get some sleep, Flurry Heart. I’ll keep the fire going."
Flurry’s protest was eaten by a long yawn. She nodded, then rested her head on her forelegs and closed her eyes. The crackle of the fire and Sombra’s slow, steady breaths became the lullaby that welcomed her to sleep.
"NOW!"
Flurry jumped to her hooves. She heard the shimmer of several spells being cast at once, followed by a startled yelp. By the time her mind had settled enough to process her surroundings, Sombra lay pinned beneath multicolored layers of magic. "Hold him still!" Dad stood just inside the cave entrance, horn aglow, full armor gleaming in the morning light. Six armored unicorns stood beside him, casting spells of their own. Four earth ponies and five pegasi leveled spears at Sombra‘s face, though Flurry wasn’t sure what their weapons were supposed to do with her father’s barrier spell in the way.
With a grunt, Sombra twisted his eye to look up at her. She realized with a start that she was hovering in the air. "I must have dozed off," he said.
"Don’t speak a word to her," Dad commanded. Sombra sighed and fell silent. "Flurry, are you all right? What did he do to you?"
"Nothing." Flurry fluttered to the ground. "What’s going on? Wait, how did you find us?" Flurry analyzed the spells on Sombra. She only half-heard her father’s explanation—something about somepony seeing their fire and reporting it to the guard. Barriers, spatial bindings, magic nullification. It was her own combination of spells, used to bind him when she’d summoned him herself. The only one missing is the retribution spell.
"King Sombra is contained, sir," said one of the guard. "We should get the princess home."
Dad nodded and pointed to one of the unicorn guards. "Take care of my daughter. Inform Cadance that we’ll be back with the prisoner shortly."
"Prisoner?" The full impact of the scene before her finally dawned. "Wait! You can’t—"
The rest of her sentence was cut short as, with a flash, she and the guard disappeared from the cave and appeared at the castle gates in an instant. "Your mother is waiting to see you," the guard said. "I’ll take you to her."
As Flurry followed him inside, she turned her head back toward the mountains. The cave was but a speck in the distance.