//------------------------------// // That Heaven I'd Forgotten // Story: When I Look At You // by Meteor_Mirage //------------------------------// The next day, Sunburst found himself approaching Shining Armor again with blankets and pillows in tow. He figured it would be best to make his intentions known this time, lest his and Sombra’s conversation get interrupted again like last time.  The problem was actually getting those words out. Shining, for his part, tried to remain unsurprised and unphased as Sunburst approached him with the makings of an epic pillowfort. Especially when Sunburst wore a nervous look on his face. But his stoicism quickly faded.  “Sunny, buddy, I was joking when I said you’d have to do our laundry for getting my character killed.” He said with a laugh, moving to help his bespectacled friend with the linens. “We’ve got maids who’d love to help you with that.” Sunburst just as quickly shied away with a squeak, scrambling back and ensuring Shining couldn’t have his way with the bedding he held in his magic. “No no, these aren’t to wash! These are, um, more for delivery?”  Shining squinted at Sunburst. He eyed the stallion over, tilting his head as he gazed into Sunburst’s bright blue eyes. “Well Flurry’s room is the other way, so unless you’ll be making pillow forts with my wife again…” Sunburst’s face flushed and he reeled back, shaking his head wildly. “Oh no, nothing like that! Never without you, I mean.” Still flushed, Sunburst cleared his throat and tried to calm himself a bit. “These are actually for, um, for our… guest. For… for Sombra.”  For a moment, Shining closed his eyes with a sigh, nodding his head. “Yeah, yep! That’s what we’re doing now. Ferrying bedding to tyrants.” Opening his eyes again, he had the stern, serious face of Sunburst to greet him. “Listen, I thought I told you to stop worrying about it. We’ve got the Sombra situation under control.” Remembering how easily Shining ‘handled’ the situation last time, Sunburst had to fight back a laugh.  Clearing his throat again, Sunburst shook his head. “You know I can’t just let things like this go. Asking me to ‘stop worrying’ is just…” He trailed off with a sigh, pressing his lips together. “Not when he’s still down there. And with how cold it is.”  Shining set his jaw, but nodded all the same. “If you’re that set on it, then I can’t stop you. Just know that this is the last time you’re going down there.” And Sunburst beamed at that, grinning from ear to ear as he rushed Shining to hug him with a very un-Sunbursty closeness. “Thank you! You won’t regret this, I swear!” After a moment, he quickly pulled back as he realized how unlike him the hug was. Face flushed again, he pushed his glasses up with a hoof. “Um, what I mean to say is… Thank you, Shining. I’m sure both Sombra and I appreciate it.” Only able to laugh at this display, Shining nodded. “Don’t worry about it, Sunny. Now let’s just head down there before I regret this.” He moved to turn, but quickly turned back and eyed the ball of blankets and pillows Sunburst held. “Are you sure you don’t need any help with those?” As Shining reached out to help again, Sunburst again scrambled back, shaking his head. “Nope! I’ve got it all covered!” He said, offering a forced smile that was entirely too wide. Dropping the subject entirely, Shining nodded. And Sunburst breathed a sigh of relief as he did so, happy Shining never checked the blankets. The trip down to the dungeon was quicker than ever. Sunburst more than used to the walk at this point. So used to it, in fact, that he bounded ahead of Shining, taking the lead from a pony who thought he really ought to be the one leading. It was his castle, after all. But Shining paid those thoughts little mind as both stallions approached the door, both hesitating before either cast the spell that would unlock it. Sunburst turned to Shining first, a strangely embarrassed look on his face. “Would you mind, um, waiting out here? I sort of get the feeling he doesn’t like you very much.”  “Oh, and he likes you so much more?” Shining asked as he rolled his eyes. Shrugging soon after, though, he nodded. “If it helps with whatever you’re trying to do, then I’ll wait for as long as you need me. Just, you know, if you need any help with him…” “I’ll get you right away.” Sunburst finished with a soft smile. After which he quickly turned to face the door again. “Now, let’s get this started. My horn is getting a bit tired.” Sunburst wasted no time in unlocking the door with his magic and sauntering in. It was only after he crossed the threshold that he realized he’d just cast a spell he shouldn’t know in front of the pony who hadn’t taught it to him. One he’d only learned so that he could see Sombra alone. Turning to Shining, expecting the worst, Sunburst only saw a pleasant smile on his face.  Shining waved Sunburst in with a hoof. “Go on then. Don’t keep him waiting.” Sunburst turned again, slowly, but before he was able to take another step: “Oh, one more thing.” Sunburst turned to Shining again, this time greeted by a semi-stern expression.  “No hiding under the bed this time, alright?” Shining asked, his face flickering a smile for a moment, but still managing to remain stern. Without waiting for an answer, not really needing one, Shining Armor shut the door between them. Sunburst’s face flushed, only able to stare blankly at the oaken door for a few moments. A laugh then echoed through the room, deep and boisterous, that drew Sunburst’s attention to the center of the room. There, Sombra laid lounging, a mirthful grin pointed towards Sunburst. “Welcome back, Sunburst.” He hummed as he stood and stretched his back out, emitting enough pops and cracks to make Sunburst cringe. Paying no attention to this, he maintained his grin towards Sunburst before his eyes flicked up towards the ball of bedding Sunburst held in his magic. “And you brought gifts too. My, what an honor.”  Sunburst blushed again, but this time smiling brightly. “Y-yep! I wanted to get these to you sooner, but I didn’t think I could make it down again without being spotted.” He turned slightly, leaving a lingering gaze towards the dungeon’s entrance. Sombra laughed again. “Well, it seems that was the least of your worries.”  Sunburst sighed, letting out a small whimper as he did. Quickly shaking himself from his shame-filled stupor, he approached the cage with as much mirth as he could put forth. Sitting before the imprisoned former king, he began to unweave the ball of bedding he held in his magic, beginning to pass it through the bars. “I hope you weren’t too uncomfortable last night.” Sunburst muttered as he offered a dark red, magically heated blanket. “The temperature just keeps dropping this winter, and I hadn’t even considered you’d be cold too. I hope this will be enough.” Sombra wasted no time in accepting the blanket, wrapping it around himself despite its size more befitting a stallion as small as Sunburst. The enchantment imbued, however, was strong enough to let its warmth course through him. Despite himself, Sombra groaned happily, rolling his shoulders as the heat finally helped him work out a few kinks. And it was music to Sunburst’s ears, his bright grin growing as he continued to pass bedding. “I actually slept like a foal.” Sombra said with a gentle smile. “Quite an uncomfortable one, a foal with back problems perhaps, but a foal nonetheless. It seems the secret is absolutely wearing myself out through overuse of magic.” Sunburst’s face fell at this. “Oh, um, sorry about that.” “Oh, I couldn’t possibly blame you for that, my little friend.” Sombra chuckled, shaking his head. “I overestimated my abilities, and paid the price. Very simple.” “You only had to do that because I forced your hoof.” Sunburst sighed solemnly.  A silence fell between the two as Sunburst continued to unwrap his Ball of Bedding. After a minute or two of Sunburst’s offerings being passed to Sombra, the stallion on the other side of the bars finally had his full gift of four magically enchanted blankets and four of the fluffiest pillows Sunburst could find. All of which freshly washed and dried by Sunburst’s own hooves. With that, Sunburst’s delivery of the plushest of bedding was complete, and he was left with the two paper bags that he had hidden in the center. He floated them to the ground, one in front of each stallion.  Ignoring his plush bedding for a moment, Sombra inspected the bag Sunburst placed towards him. Through the bars, he saw a plain brown bag with red accents, emblazoned with a golden stylized ‘H’ on the front.  Nothing about it exactly stood out to him, but… The smell it exuded caught Sombra off guard. The oily, greasy scent that seemed to fill the room was off-putting, and yet strangely enticing. A smell that made Sombra both want to recoil while also enticing him and making him want more. It was a predicament that brought him towards the bars of the cage and towards Sunburst.  “And what do we have here?” Sombra asked curiously, tilting his head as if it would help him see into the bag. “Oh! It’s, um, I guess you could say it’s part of the gift.” Sunburst said chipperly, reaching into his bag and extracting a paper-wrapped object, displaying it to Sombra. “I brought us some Hay-Hut for lunch! I know it’s not as fancy as my mother’s soup recipe, but I hope you enjoy it. It’s, well, actually kind of one of my favorites.” He finished with a giggle, pushing Sombra’s bag as close as he could towards him. “Try it! I feel like you might like it.” Sombra pulled the bag across the threshold, intending to inspect it closer. He pulled his own fragrant, paper-encrusted object and inspected it. “But what is it, exactly? The way you’ve offered it to me, hiding it in so much lovely bedding, makes me think none of this is exactly above board.” Looking up towards Sunburst, Sombra smirked. “Am I an accomplice to one of your food crimes, Sunburst?” “W-what? No! Of course not.” Sunburst squeaked, looking towards the ground as he tapped a hoof on the ground. “Maybe a little. I’m not really supposed to have this much fast food. I couldn’t explain that half was for you, so I had to hide all of it. Otherwise Shining would have given me another lecture.”  Sombra hummed with interest, setting down his lunch for a moment to lean in with interest. “Oh? It sounds as if there’s more story to it than that.”  “Not very much, really.” Sunburst grumbled, crossing his forelegs in front of him. “Shining just feels I should be eating less fast food. Which, I mean, sucks because it’s so easy to eat while studying.” With a huff, he pursed his lips. Then he relaxed, giving up quickly with another grumble. “But… he has a point. It’s probably not healthy all the time, but at least we can enjoy some as a treat, right?” “Of course. It’s always good to indulge a bit.” Sombra nodded, reclaiming his meal from the ground as he did so. There, he continued to inspect the paper wrapped object, picking at it with a hoof as his face grew concerned. “Is the, erm, paper a part of the meal? Has the rationing gotten this bad again?” Sunburst stared at Sombra for a few moments, wanting to make sure the stallion was serious. Seeing the look of confusion maintained on Sombra’s face, he couldn’t help but snicker a bit. “Oh no, it’s just a wrapper. Here, let me just…” He leaned in towards Sombra, reaching his hooves through the bars and quickly peeling the paper in Sombra’s hooves away, revealing a hayburger. “There! Just a standard Hay-Hut hayburger. I wasn’t sure if you’d want any toppings, so I hope you don’t mind it plain.” “I… suppose I don’t.” Sombra muttered, inspecting the burger closely as he wondered what exactly could be added to the oil-battered hay in order to make it more appealing. Before he could endeavor to take a bite, his eyes flicked up to Sunburst who was already ready to chow down himself. And then they fell to the bars set between them, separating the two stallions. A small frown drew across his face. “This is certainly an awkward way to have lunch with a friend.” He said, gesturing towards the bars. “Would you, perhaps, like to join me in here?” Sunburst blinked. But quickly he shot up, a wide grin crossing his face. “Yes! Of course! I would love to join you for lunch.” As he drew closer to the cage, stowing his burger away and bringing his bag with him, a gentle blush crossed his face. “I-I mean, if you’re alright with that, of course.” “I wouldn’t have suggested it were I to not want it.” Sombra said with a soft smile, standing and extending a hoof through the bars. “Please, join me.” Sunburst wasted no time in grabbing Sombra’s hoof, quickly feeling himself being pulled in as Sombra reduced to shadow. He held his breath, squeezing his eyes shut, and quickly found himself reconstituted on the other side of the bars.  Sunburst looked down at the bag of food he still held, an expression of concern briefly crossing his face. “For a second, I was worried I’d get spliced by holding this.” “Thankfully I’m much more careful with my magic than a foal taking their first teleport.” Sombra hummed softly, then began to spread out one of his new blankets between the two of them. Satisfied with himself, he sat down on the plush blanket and motioned for Sunburst to join him. “Come now, let us eat.” “Yes, let us.” Sunburst smiled warmly, eagerly joining Sombra on the blanket and setting out his food.  Sombra was quick to take a tentative bite of his burger, grumbling happily as the interesting flavor of greasy, oily hay coated his tongue. He nodded, pulling back with a satisfied smirk. He moved to speak, to compliment the masterwork of the chef that had brought him this, but was quickly distracted by Sunburst. For his part, Sunburst was just gleefully indulging in his favorite kind of junk food. In one hoof he held an already partially consumed hayburger, while the other periodically dipped into his feedbag. There, Sombra spied him pulling out small morsels of hay and quickly popping them into his mouth.  It took a few moments for him to notice Sombra staring at him. He smiled, blushing a bit as he pulled a half-full sleeve of the hayfries from his bag. He offered them over to Sombra. “Do you, um, want some? You should have an order in your bag too.” Unable to resist himself, he took another hoofful for himself. “They’re pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. Definitely one of my favorites.” Sombra hummed again, reaching a hoof into his own bag to find his own share. He carefully extracted a hayfry, briefly inspecting it before deciding to trust Sunburst’s palate and pop it in his mouth.  He laughed as he chewed it, a salty and greasy, yet not altogether unpleasant flavor filling his mouth. “I don’t quite understand the obsession with hay you modern ponies seem to have.” He gestured with his burger briefly, then lifted it to his face. “Why, in my time, if you wanted a savory burger like this, you would have just used meat.”  Sunburst jumped a bit at that, much to Sombra’s pleasure, and covered his mouth with a hoof as he cleared his throat. “Well, um, I suppose I can check with the more… gryphon-centric restaurants next time.” He said, his face going as white as the splotch on his muzzle. A satisfied grin pulling across Sombra’s face, he began to chuckle softly. “I appreciate it, my friend.” The two stallions fell into a comfortable silence after that, each of them enjoying both the food and the company they kept. As they ate, Sombra couldn’t help but stare at Sunburst again. This time, instead of inspecting the wizard’s choices in food, he just stared and thought. How long had it been since he could relax like this? No worries about ruling, no wars, no misguided attempts to reclaim a kingdom that never truly belonged to him. No, just a common pony eating with another. Company that, for once, he truly wished to keep. Despite himself, Sombra was brought back a thousand years ago, his brain reeling with thousands of memories with Him. His Scholar, his Lover, his Muse. Some good, some bad, but most all memories full of love and affection for the pony who once was his. Finally looking up his tasty sandwich and noticing the intense staring, Sunburst’s face flushed heavily. “Oh, um, do I have something on my face?” He asked, reaching into his bag to retrieve a napkin and wipe his face down.  And he did, a few splotches of ketchup staining the corners of his mouth. But it wasn’t as if Sombra had even noticed.  “When I look at you,” Sombra softly said, his eyes never leaving Sunburst’s, “I can’t help but see my Icy’s face reflected back.” Sunburst stared back for a few moments, tilting his head in confusion. Then his eyes lit wide with recognition. “Icy…” He muttered gently in response. “Do I… remind you of them that much?”  “Enough to send me for a shock on seeing him, you, after a thousand years.” Sombra laughed, a soft, nostalgic smile pulling across his face. “You’ll have to forgive me for my lack of composure then. At the time I thought it some sick trick Shining Armor had pulled.”  “I don’t think any of us are that cruel.” Sunburst said, shaking his head. Looking back up at Sombra, he gave a sympathetic look. “But, if you don’t mind me asking, who was he? I’ve hunted and searched for a pony with a similar name, but I came up with nothing.” “No, I’d think not. I erased his name from any documents long before you were even born.” Sombra sighed mournfully, looking away from Sunburst finally and instead staring at the bars of his cage. “Ice Crystal was a stallion very special to me. A companion, a confidante, a study partner…” He trailed off, his voice catching briefly in his throat. “A lover, at times, but most importantly a friend.” Looking back to Sunburst, he offered a half-hearted smile. “Were it not that his lineage ended with him, I’d think you his descendant.” “Oh I’m… I’m so sorry.” Sunburst reached a hoof out, attempting to comfort the pensive stallion. “But why erase him? Why not celebrate his life instead?” Sombra laughed sharply, almost sounding like a scoff, as he gave Sunburst a serious look. “Because it was my horn by which he was slain. A life to save a kingdom.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Unable to forgive myself, I ensured that only I would be able to remember him. Even as the centuries passed. That is, until you…”  A silence again fell between the two stallions, this one much less comfortable than the last. Neither could bear to look at each other, Sombra looking towards bars of his cage while Sunburst’s eyes fell on the oak door he’d entered from.  It was Sombra who broke the silence this time, leaning back in his seated position.  “And thus, another reason I belong in this cage I’ve built.” Sombra softly sighed, a hoof trailing along one of the metal bars. “Pain seems to follow where I tread, so tread I shall no longer.”  “No.” Sunburst said simply, shaking his head. Sombra blinked, pausing for a beat. “No?” “No. Absolutely not.” Sunburst said as he stood from his seated position. He approached Sombra, his face falling a bit serious and sullen. “I don’t care about the mistakes you’ve made in your past. How much you’ve, admittedly, massively screwed up. There’s not a bone in my body that’ll let me leave you in this cage.” “Why? Because you’ve been tasked in ‘saving’ me?” Sombra said, a smug smirk forced to his face. “Because you’re my friend!” Sunburst near-shouted, briefly losing composure and having to take a shuddering breath to regain it. “And I refuse to leave a friend of mine in a cage in some dark dungeon. You should be out enjoying your former kingdom, seeing how it’s grown since you seemingly saved it. And… and I’d love to join you for it.” “That does sound lovely.” Sombra sighed through pursed lips. “But I doubt your little prince would allow it.” With a sighing huff, Sunburst sat back down in front of Sombra. “I’ll ask Shining. There’s enough rooms in the castle, I’m sure you can stay in one. And I’m sure he’ll allow excursions if you’re supervised by a guard or something.” “Perhaps…” Sombra hummed, trailing off to bite his lip with uncharacteristic nervousness. “Perhaps you could request that Shining place you with me instead of some guard. So that we could explore this empire together.” A flush crossed Sunburst’s face, staining even his white dappled muzzle a deep red. “O-oh, I mean, I suppose I could.” He squeaked out. “I-if that’s what you want.” “It seems like exactly what I need.” Sombra said with a grin, tracing a hoof towards a near-empty bag of fast food. “And maybe, if you’d allow, I could treat you to a meal as thanks. Something a bit more healthy. Homecooked, even.” Sunburst’s face remained flushed as he giggled softly. “It’s not that bad.” “I will admit, it’s growing on me a bit.” Sombra hummed, picking at his hayburger with a hoof. “Though perhaps it would have tasted better with the paper covering.” “I can speak from experience that it doesn’t.” Sunburst admitted with a bashful smile before awkwardly standing from his prone position. “But, um, I should probably go and ask Shining. He’s probably wondering where I’ve gone.” Standing as well, Sombra joined Sunburst near the bars. “Allow me to let you out.” He said, placing a hoof against Sunburst’s back.  Both ponies quickly reduced to shadowy wisps, something that Sunburst was becoming more than comfortable with. The feeling of being pulled in towards Sombra, held closely to him as they moved through the bars. The warmth that left as soon as it came as Sombra left him on the other side of the bars.  “Hopefully for the last time.” Sombra sighed tiredly, laying down upon the blanket that covered the cold floor. Grabbing one of the soft, cushiony pillows, he laid it beneath his chin. “And for now, I will utilize the gifts you’ve given me to their fullest extent.”  Sunburst couldn’t help but smile when he saw Sombra shut his eyes. Deciding to leave the tired stallion to rest his eyes in peace, he quickly but quietly made his way out of the room. As he passed the threshold, ensuring the oak door closed quietly behind him, Shining Armor gave him a curious look. “That was way longer than I expected.” He said, giving Sunburst a quick once-over. “I was starting to get a little worried about you. What happened in there?” Ignoring Shining’s question for a moment, Sunburst let out a sigh. “So,” he said, already giving his best pleading look, “I have a huge favor to ask.”