“Did they ditch us again?” Soarin groaned, crossing his hooves as the other two stallions looked up from their books.
“Can you blame them?” Sunburst asked with a raise of his eyebrow. “You turned the last study session into' 'Would I ever!’ These are supposed to be productive study sessions!”
“It was my suggestion.” sighed Sombra. “You know how bad he gets with Trixie. Besides, she wanted to spend more time with Starlight anyways.”
“But studying is so boring without her!”
“That’s because we can actually study!” Sunburst rolled his eyes.
“Come on Soarin, you know these tests are important. You need to make sure you pass if you want to join the Wonderbolts! Besides, we were free to mess around a few years ago, but now we’ve almost finished here! We can’t afford to keep playing around like we used too.” explained Sombra.
Soarin simply grunted and rolled his eyes.
“How in Equestria did you manage to get this far in school again?”
“Because I'm here to help him.” scoffed Sombra. “He would have failed ages ago if it wasn’t for me giving a helping hoof.”
“Hey! Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!” objected the pegasus with a flare of his wings. “It’s not my fault it’s hard to focus!”
“Yet you were supposed to have this essay done ages ago.” chimed in Sombra.
“I-I know! I’m still getting it done though! Just really slowly! It’s not like it bothers me or anything!” The pegasus insisted, earning him yet more eye rolls from the other stallions.
“If you want to work faster just focus on it for a while! It works fine for me!”
“This coming from the pony that would stay in his room all day if we didn’t drag him out…”
Sunburst glared at Sombra, the pegasus giggling to himself and sighing as he flicked through a few pages of his book.
“Oh well, as long as I get the final product done soon. This is what will determine whether I become a Wonderbolt and all… and all our futures! After this I’ll have to go to Canterlot if I do well enough…”
“Like you’ve reminded us about countless times already… you know I’m trying to be a royal archivist right? Of course, I am aware of how serious this is!” Sunburst sighed.
“Oh you’ll be fine.” assured Sombra with some comforting brushes of magic. “Nopony wants to be a Wonderbolt more than you!”
“You say that. But there was this really devoted filly I knew back in Cloudsdale…”
“Soarin. I’m trying to give you a prep talk, try not to pick it apart like Sunburst proofreading an essay.” groaned Sombra.
“I’m only trying to be constructive!” objected the unicorn.
“Oh right, sorry. Can you carry on maybe?” he asked nervously, earning a judging glare in return. “Please?”
“Fine. Like I was saying. You can do this. It’s not like you're an idiot or anything. You know this stuff. That’s why you chose to write about Wonderbolt history in the first place. It’s particularly the only thing you ever paid attention to… it’s literally the best topic you could do it on!” Sombra explained casually, the pegasus rising in increasing joy from every word.
“Yeah! You’re right! That all seems really obvious now you say it out loud! Thanks Sombra!” expressed Soarin, wrapping a wing around the unicorn while Sunburst sighed and made another note.
“For Sun’s sake, I wonder if I’d been better off studying with Trixie and Starlight. And they probably would be using all of their self control trying not to make out with each other…” he laughed, Sombra doing the same before frowning at his own book, neither of them noticing Soarin’s confused expression.
“Huh? Starlight and Trixie? B-but… they’re both mares?” he stammered in confused shock, earning almost identical raises of eyebrows from his friends.
“Very observant of you.” said Sombra, watching as Soarin went though vastly different emotions in fast forward.
“That… that’s a thing? You can… do that? Stallions too?”
“Yes?” answered Sunburst after a moment.
“Since when!?”
“Since always!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Are you serious?” asked Sombra, unsure if he should be groaning or laughing at his friend. “You’re on the edge of becoming a royal guard and didn’t even realise ponies of the same gender could love each other? It’s totally normal! Like you know the candy maker here is married to our history teacher right?”
“What!?” repeated Soarin for yet another time. “I thought they were just really good friends!”
“Oh they are. Really good friends.” teased Sunburst with a laugh. “Did you seriously not know? Oh Trix and Star are going to love this! How can you be so smart and so dumb at the same time?”
“I can confirm it’s classic Soarin.” smiled Sombra, something stopping him from laughing as loud as his friend as his eyes seemed to be drawn to the book he was reading, not noticing just how red the comment and revelation was making his friend.
“Y-yeah! Silly me! Haha!” said the pegasus a bit too quickly, barely able to stay focused on what he was doing thanks to the info that had dropped on him. “Anyways! How’s your look coming along Sombra?”
He only meant to ask so he could change the topic, already planning on asking him anyways, but part of him already regretted it when he saw the subtle pause in the unicorn’s movements.
“F-fine! It’s going fine! I already know most of the evil king stories anyway… this just gives me an excuse to research it more!”
“Did you both seriously just research your private pet projects instead of branching out?” asked Sunburst with a raise of his eyebrow. “You could have used this as an excuse to find out about that crystal magic or something!”
“I’ve told you I hadn’t found anything about that! I looked years ago since the first time I used it and everything. If there’s anything written about this kind of magic, it isn’t available here. Maybe in some better libraries in Canterlot, but not here. Starlight couldn’t even dig anything up! S-so I’m sure there’s n-nothing…”
“Are you feeling alright!?” Soarin swooped in, leaning in closer than he needed too as Sombra flushed.
“I-I’m fine… I just need a little break for a while.”
“Yeah, you’ve been working on this for ages… maybe it would be a good idea to just step away and do something else before you get back to it. You have plenty of time before it's due!”
“I suppose you're right…” muttered Sombra.
“Of course I am! Who wants to do stupid old work anyways when we can j-just hang out!”
Sunburst cleared his throat.
“Oh sorry, who wants to do stupid old work that isn’t an anti social egghead. Is that better?” he burst into giggles at the offended roll of the eyes he got in return, trotting away with Sombra in tow, a blush returning to his face as the new information he had learnt brought new context to the usual thoughts that plagued him.
—
“Good to see you!? That’s all you have to say!? I came back from Canterlot to find… to find… this! And you say it’s good to see me!?”
“Well, I’m not lying.” the unicorn smiled. “I’ve been all too lonely without you. Recently I’ve found the lack of intelligent conversation a bit grating. Though I can’t imagine why.” he chuckled, the sound making Soarin shake in growing fury.
”Cut the act Sombra! You should know why I’m here! You know what you’ve done! I’ve seen it for myself! I just want to know WHY!” he yelled, Sombra’s expression hardening as he turned to face him with a flick of his cape.
”All in due time. But I’m curious. Why are you here Soarin? And all alone? Does Celestia underestimate what this is? Has her long life finally led to lapses in her “great” judgement when she thinks one wonderbolt I happen to be acquainted with is enough to handle an invader to her empire!?” He gloated, stomping threateningly towards the pegasus, towering over him even more so than normal.
It took the pegasus a moment to form an actual reply, regaining his composure as he narrowed his eyes back. “The army’s coming tomorrow, Sombra. I’m here on my own. I set off as soon as we heard what happened.”
“Oh? You came here of your own violation then?” his voice turned softer for a second, concern showing on his face. “I can’t believe you're still such an idiot even after all your training! Why would you do that!?”
”Are you seriously asking me that!? To stop this! To stop my best friend being executed for being a threat for all of Equestria! To stop a tyrant from mind controlling a village full of ponies he’s known for his entire life! All of which I can not only see is happening, but from your own will! So can you just tell me what is going on already!?”
“Fascinating. I didn’t notice in our letters, but the royal guard has only made that impatience of yours worse!” he laughed, more genuinely this time. “How did you find out what happened, if I may ask? I didn’t think it was so arrogant to assume I would have a few more days before Celestia caught wind of this.”
Soarin sighed, turning away as his expression crumbled. “Trixie told us. She burst into Sunburst's quarters, he sent somepony to get me, and she eventually told us everything she saw.”
“Hmmm, did she now? I was wondering where she had gotten too… must have slipped out in the confusion.”
“She was terrified Sombra! It took her an hour to calm down enough to tell me and Sunburst why! Crystals bursting from the ground! What you did! How you controled everyone you found! Even Starlight! OUR FRIEND! WHY WOULD YOU DO ANY OF THIS!? AND WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU ANSWERING ME!” he screamed.
“Starlight is quite safe. She wasn’t supposed to be effected by it in the first place. I want her as far away from this as she can be. She’s my friend Soarin. Do you think I’ve forgotten that?”
”What am I supposed to think!? You’ve done all this! Am I supposed to assume you still care about any of us?!” he glared in fury, Sombra matching it before turning away with a flick of his cape, his ruby eyes glowing green.
”Walk with me, Soarin. I’ll attempt to explain. If that is what you want. I suppose I... owe you that much.” he spoke softly, trotting away as the pegasus followed uncertainly, slipping through a large archway and into the pitch black darkness.
—
He should be working. Sombra knew that.
Instead, he simply glared into the crystal he had created, his reflection peering back, each time more distorted than the last. It was times like this he wondered what he was doing with himself, since it was honestly just as much of a mystery as what he was researching.
Parentless, still no cutie mark, no specific dreams of the future, nothing. Out of all of them, he probably had the least amount to lose when it came to this final exam that would help set them on the paths towards the rest of their lives. Still, whatever the future brought, he hoped Soarin would be there.
Late-appearing cutie marks were rare, sure, but Sombra wondered if his had any hope of showing up at this rate. But that wasn’t the current object of his concerns anyways, he was more focused on this crystal, or more specifically what it represented.
He had never admitted it to anypony else, but he had found something on crystal magic a while back, though it was a book on fables, so he had told himself it didn’t matter. Even when it described it being associated with the legendary evil king.
It was clearly a strange coincidence, but there was no reason to bring it up. It would just be silly, and it certainly wasn’t anything to do with the fear that struck his core as soon as he read those words. It was the same reason why he never mentioned the unusual feelings that stirred within every once in a while when researching what experts had labelled as likely being reincarnations of the evil king's restless spirit.
For a while, it seemed a bit boring for whatever reason, almost like he had read this all before somewhere, and it only got weirder when he started to think most of it was wrong...
”Heh, Starlight would have a fit if she knew I was disagreeing with princess approved textbooks...” he laughed out loud, hoping some humour would calm him down a little.
It didn’t work.
The feeling of unease continued to hang over him like a restless spirit, the inaccuracies in the texts clawing away at him, a voice calling for him from far away, steadily growing closer. It made his heart race, the unicorn having to remind himself that it was just a figment of his imagination like always, an annoying ringing that had been in the corner of his mind since he was a child.
“What aren’t you telling me?” he mused aloud, even Sombra unsure who the question was for, the sound of knocking snapping him out of the thoughts.
”Hey Sombra, are you there?” Soarin shouted.
”I’m here! Calm down!” he opened the door with his magic, chuckling as the overeager pegasus landed flat on his face.
”You know I hate it when you do that.”
”I mean, you do keep giving me perfect chances to do it...” he smirked, Soarin rolling his eyes while brushing off the dust with his wings.
”You’re impossible.” he grumbled, looking over the unicorn's back to see what he was doing. “Are you seriously working again!? You know you can rest sometimes right?”
”I know! It’s just... I want to get this finished already. I feel like I’m thinking about this way more than I need too...” he sighed, slamming the book shut and shelving it with his magic.
”You just need to worry less, Sombra. It’s all fine! You’re certain to pass anyways!” encouraged Soarin with a wide infectious grin.
“It’s not just that.... it’s...” he began, before frowning and trailing off. “It doesn’t matter, did you want anything Soarin?”
“O-oh! It’s nothing important!”
Sombra raised his eyebrow.
“Honest!” He insisted, only earning an even more intense judging stare in return.
”Ok fine! I was just... you know that event that’s coming up? The finale to our school life in Sire’s Hollow and all that?”
”Oh right, that. After the last exams if I remember right. What about it? I thought you’d want to skip it. Spend some time with me doing exciting adventuring stuff. Maybe even playing royal guards again.” he chuckled.
”Hey! We haven’t done that in years!” Soarin protested with a blush. “I just wanted to ask you something... if I was going to that, would you come with me?” he turned redder.
”With you?” repeated the unicorn in surprise. “You're not gonna to skip it? Seriously? I thought you hated things like this! Isn’t it going to be all posh and stuff?”
”W-well yeah... but Trixie and Starlight are going and I thought...”
“Oh right. You're worried about us splitting up. Do you really think our futures are going to keep us apart? Sure you and Sunburst are going to be in Canterlot. But I’ll still have Trixie and Starlight. It’s going to be fine, alright?” he said with a smile, burying his own twinges of sadness at the thought of losing his best friend.
“Well... yeah, that is part of it. But there’s more to it than... look I just...” it was weird to see the confident pegasus trying so hard to force something out, his face flushing wildly. “I... do you want... to g-go with me? Maybe! If you want?”
”Go with you?” He raised an eyebrow. “Soarin, you just asked me that, and I already said yes. Besides, we basically go everywhere together already, why are you acting so weird about this?”
”T-that’s not what I meant!” he protested with an uncharacteristic stammer. “It’s just... I didn’t mean...I meant... g-go together like T-Trixie and Starlight do?” he turned red. “Only if y-you want of course!”
Meanwhile, Sombra’s brain had short-circuited.
H-he... was he being asked on a date? By Soarin. What? This didn’t make sense! This wasn’t happening! That was crazy! This was crazy! R-right? Yeah, of course it was! Oh buck he should probably say something though, form words, he can do that, he’s done that plenty of times!
“Ummmmmmmmmmm.” was all that slipped out as he grew increasingly redder.
“I mean it's fine if you don’t want to! It’s weird right!? It’s totally weird! I d-don’t know when it started since I didn’t know this could even be a thing until the other month! I just thought I felt like that since we’re best friends but then I talked to Starlight and… I-I might have been crushing on you for years?”
Sombra blinked in a daze.
“I mean how could I not crush on you! I mean you’re smart, kind, and always know what to say. And you keep me from doing anything too stupid! My parents like you. I like you! Well, obviously. And y-you’re really strong and have a nice horn and I love your mane and I’m just-”
“Soarin.”
“Yeah, I’m Soarin hello!” He shouted in a panic, Sombra laughing fondly as he trotted closer to his best friend, the pegasus shaking in fear.
“Of course I’ll go out with you, you idiot.”
“Yeah, I know you would prefer to be just friends, it was silly for me to- wait what!?” he cried. “F-for real!?”
“For real.”
“R-really?”
“Yes Soarin.”
“But are you certa-”
“Oh for sun’s sake.” He groaned, deciding that actions would speak louder than words, leaning in close as their lips unexpectedly met. It was messy, utterly unromantic, and could be described with plenty of other negatives, but in that moment, it was theirs.
—
Neither of the two ponies had said a word once they had left the room, both of them trotting heavily down the hallway as if the silence was physically weighing them down. Soarin continued to frown, glancing out of the nearby translucent wall to see the town below, the guards moving around like tin soldiers in soulless routine.
”So?” he eventually asked, stopping in place as the nearby torches suddenly burned with purple flame. “Are you going to explain or not?”
”I’m... simply trying to find the right words.” he whispered with a sigh.
”The right... the right words!? What, does ‘I went crazy and took over the town’ not roll off the tongue!?”
”There’s more to it than that!” he growled. “Do you honestly think I don’t have a good reason!? That I didn’t think this though in some way?!”
Unsurprisingly, his words only made the pegasus more furious, Soarin looking ready to attack at a moment’s notice. “What could possibly be a good reason for any of this Sombra?!”
”It’s...” the unicorn looked lost for a moment, turning towards the town below. “We’ve always known I’m different from other ponies, Soarin. The lack of a cutie mark. The crystal magic. Even the orphanage had no idea about my parents. They just found me wandering the streets. I’ve always known there was something wrong with me. But why... why couldn’t it be anything other than this.”
The hurt in his friend's voice brought pause to the pegasus, staying silent as he watched his everything turn around with a sigh. “I didn’t find out why until a few years ago. A bit after you left. The reason why I was so interested in the evil king too. It’s because I’m him Soarin. I’m his reincarnation.”
”What!?” he laughed in disbelief. His blood ran colder when Sombra didn’t laugh with him. “What do you mean you're his reincarnation!? That doesn’t make any sense! You said that part was made up yourself!”
“How time makes fools of us all.” laughed the unicorn humorlessly. “No, I’m not crazy before you ask. Trust me, I almost wish I was. I can hear him all the time now. My first life. He’s offered me quite a bit of insight.”
“How is that meant to make me think you aren’t crazy!? That’s ludicrous! You can’t just say that like it explains everything!”
“It’s the truth. He explained everything to me. I don’t have a cutie mark because of him. It was a famous trait of his after all. We never could find anything on crystal magic because it’s dark magic. And along with mind control magic, happened to be my most used spells back then.”
“S-Sombra? You’re scaring me. Like… you can’t be for real right now! You just can’t! It’s a story! I-it has to be! You're supposed to be smart Sombra! You can’t believe that rubbish! That kind of magic is impossible anyways! You said it yourself!” Soarin argued in desperation.
“When was the last time I joked around Soarin?” he sighed sadly. “Whatever you think doesn’t change that this is the reality of our situation.”
“Don’t... but you're not evil! You're kind! You aren’t some evil mastermind Sombra, that just isn’t you!”
“I’m afraid it is Soarin. This fate. This destiny of mine. It was set far into motion centuries prior. All in preparation of his... my victory.” He turned to face the pegasus, his expression hardening as his eyes narrowed in determination.
“W-why... why didn’t you just tell me?” asked the pegasus weakly.
”You weren’t supposed to be involved!” he roared, the flames around them flickering wildly as his horn shined with dark magic. “You were in the safest place in Equestria! You were with her! You being there was the only reason I would risk something like this!”
”Something like what!?” Soarin snapped back. “Attacking our friends!? Conquering our home!? What a truly brilliant move that isn’t at all tyrannical !”
“This is merely self defenc-“
“Self defence!?” shouted Soarin in disbelief. “This Isn't self defence! Self defence would be showing the princess that you're nothing like the evil king! This is the opposite to self defence! Sombra, how can you not see that this is obviously evil!?”
”I AM NOT EVIL!” the unicorn yelled, stomping the ground with all his might, the very tower shaking as he took deep heavy breaths. “That’s… that’s the problem. I’m not evil Soarin. But this voice in me. Where I came from? That’s evil.”
Sombra’s voice didn’t betray any of his inner emotion now, that alone scaring the pegasus more than anything else so far.
“Then tell the princess! Tell her you don’t want to do any of this! That this spirit thing is making you!” Soarin pleaded in increasing desperation. “We can still fix this Sombra!”
Sombra simply laughed.
“The princess? Oh you would think that wouldn’t you Soarin! The precious, kind princess of Equestria would surely listen to me. Well I thought that before too! I’ve thought about it for plenty of lifetimes in fact! But when I try it, well…”
“What are you talking about!” shouted Soarin, his panic and patience running thin as he cried out in desperation. “You aren’t evil! You’re the nicest pony I know! Celestia wouldn’t do-”
“You don’t know what Celestia will do!” Sombra roared. “I want to be good. I want to be loved. To be cared for like any other pony. For a time, I was. For a time, I was happy. But then.” he chuckled, even that sounding consumed by hate and despair. “Then I find out that isn’t my fate. My fate.” He spat the world in pure hatred. “Is to be slaughtered by our kingdom's defenders. Cut down regardless of what I desire! The history books speak of tyrants. They speak of the heartless. But they speak of the others!? The children who accidentally unleashed crystal magic!? DO THE BOOKS TELL YOU ABOUT THOSE LIVES!?”
Soarin gasped, taken aback for a moment before responding. “How do you know about them then!? Did that voice tell you? For Tartarus’s sake Sombra, it wants you to hate her! It’s goading you!”
“Then why do the dates not match Soarin?! There’s no set cycle for the reincarnations without this!”
“I don’t know! I just know you’re being manipulated! Even if you can’t see it! You need to call this off! The princess is marching here tomorrow!”
“And I will finally prevail.” he growled, a dangerous smirk filling his features. “I’m certain this time.”
“A-are you even listening to me!? Sombra you need to stop! You don’t need to do any of this! Please listen! Trust me!” Soarin cried. “I don’t want to lose you to this! How much of you is even… you anymore!?”
“I am who I always was.” came the cold response. “I am Sombra. The evil king reborn. My soul kept alive through the power of a matter most dark. Once more called from the void. That is who I am.”
“You’re clearly not certain though! Are you even listening to yourself? You’re contradicting yourself every other sentence! It’s toying with you just so it can see through its delusion of revenge! Sombra please!”
“Bah. Why did you even come here if not to support me? Did you honestly think you could stop this? A lowly pegasus? What a pathetic joke. A shame you didn’t even try and make it amusing.” the mocking comment made Soarin growl before the pony burst into a furious shout.
“You know why I’m here! What, does being an evil king give you short term memory loss or something!? I thought it was quite clear I am here to stop my boyfriend from killing himself!”
For a moment Sombra didn’t say a word, facing away from the other pony as he stared across the horizon, seeing the first traces of sunlight edge over the horizon.
“Heh. Of all the times you could have said it. You always had the worst timing Soarin. But this is new heights even for you… the lives we lead really are tragic are they not?” He spoke somberly. “I don’t think I’m wrong Soarin. About the reincarnations. Everything just makes too much sense to ignore. I don’t want to believe it, but I have too.”
“Stop being so stupid! You’re supposed to care about facts, Sombra! Sources and facts! Not just what some voice in your head is telling you! Just listen to me! I’m begging you!” Soarin cried, tears sliding down his face as a wing suddenly wrapped around the unicorn. “I-I can’t lose you. N-not like this. Not e-ever. You’re not going to do anything but kill yourself! I don’t care if you’re a reincarnation! I don’t care if you’re supposed to be some evil king! You’re not a monster! I know it! You're my everything, Sombra! Don’t take that from me please!”
“I understand. I knew this wouldn’t be easy for you. I’m sorry. The least I could do was make sure you and the others wouldn’t go down with me in case the worse happens.”
“W-what? Y-you… but you’ve mind controlled the entire town you moron! That’s directly involved… everypony.” he paused, his mind putting the pieces together, gasping as it all clicked.
“Making it so it’s painfully clear I’m the one to blame, yes. Sparing the entire town from Celestia’s injustice.”
“Just because you have a good reason doesn’t make it ok to violate their minds like this though! You don’t even need to do this! Why don’t you just listen!”
“I’ve tried to fight fate before! I’ve tried to be normal! I’ve tried to leave others out of it! And it only makes things worse! The only way to end this is to defeat Celestia!”
“No it isn’t! You’re basing this off the words of a tyrant! A lying, manipulating tyrant! What happens after Celestia, Sombra!? Do you think that will be enough!? We were taught about this in history! Ponies like him always want one more thing! It’s never going to end!” He raged.
“I am him! We aren’t different ponies! His spirit is where I came from!”
“THEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH A MONSTER!”
The sheer hatred in his friend's words made the unicorn physically pause, looking down in despair. “Perhaps you’re right. Then again, you weren’t the first. Every life there seems to be another soul damned by my mere existence. Like it or not, I am the evil king. And this destiny is the only path left for me.”
“Is it!? Is it really!? Or is that thing in you too evil to even consider giving up!”
“You still insist on that view then.” he laughed sadly. “You always were stubborn. That’s why I’m sorry for this Soarin.”
“It’s a bit late for apologies!”
“Not for that. For this. Take him away.” he said emotionlessly, Soarin suddenly became aware of the door opening behind him, turning to see two guards heading towards him.
“What!? No! You are not going through with this! I won’t let-” he didn’t even get the chance to finish, a wall of see-through crystal shooting up between the two ponies, Soarin staring at the unicorn in betrayal.
“Celestia and her army will be here soon. The safest place for you is the cells. I refuse to let somepony I care about get caught in the crossfire.” he sighed, looking right into the pegasus's eyes. For a moment, Soarin didn’t see the hardened eyes of a tyrant, but the hopeful warmth that belonged to the love of his life.
“I don’t care! I-I don’t know how I feel now! But I love you! I’m always going to love you! I should be by your side! To stop this from getting worse!” Soarin pleaded desperately, watching as the two pegasus grew closer, their wings sure to cut off any escape.
“You really are stupidly loyal. That’s why you made for such a perfect guard. Celestia is lucky to have you.” he smiled. “I missed you, you know? I wonder if this would have happened if I’d…” he paused before sighing. “No use dwelling on it now though…”
“Stop talking like that! Let me in! Let me in!” He pounded on the crystal, looking back to see the mindless guards growing ever closer. “Let me help you!”
“You know I can’t do that. I have to keep you safe regardless of what you think of me. I make a habit of that, I suppose.”
“Then what if it’s not just a coincidence!? You’ve told me about the evil king’s lovers before! Radiant, Flytrap, Yin Yang, Skyfiler, Starsong! There’s almost always someone! What if it’s more than that!? What if my soul is stuck following yours!? What if I’m supposed to stop you from doing this!?” Soarin wasn’t even sure if he believed it, determined to stop his friend as he gasped desperately.
Sombra’s eyes hardened so suddenly that Soarin wondered if they had warmed to begin with.
“Then I will have one thought to comfort me, if the end does come.”
“No! Sombra!” screamed Soarin, struggling against the ponies that were dragging him away. “There’s still time! Don’t listen to it please! Sombra! SOMBRA!”
The unicorn remained silent, the desperate shouting ending with the slam of the doors.
—
The battle had been brutal.
How long did it last this time? Certainly longer and closer than normal, one that ruined buildings, forests and even a crater in the side of a nearby mountain.
That was where it ended.
Sombra spat blood, his legs shaking as he barely remained standing through sheer will, the final blast of magic from his opponent simply too much to block fully, even with his crystal magic. The remains of his crown fell to the ground, the alicorn in front of him lowering herself to the ground, barely looking bruised from the intense conflict.
So annoyingly perfect.
“Only you this time?” He asked mockingly, his lips twisting into a smirk. “Or did she get tired of living in your shadow after so long?”
Celestia looked up for a moment, catching a glimpse of the moon, not fully lowered in her rush to reach the battle, and the horse imprinted on its surface.
“Ah. I see.” laughed Sombra humorlessly. “Might make the next try easier I suppose.”
“Is this a game to you?” he was surprised to hear her voice, so direct, so frustrated and so clearly tired. “These constant rebirths? You cause only pain. Why don’t you just stop? Put your soul to rest. End this pointlessness.”
“Ha. That’s the first thing you’ve asked me for centuries. I doubt you would understand.”
“I understand you were happy.” Celestia answered. “I understand that you had friends. I’m disappointed that it didn't factor into this. But perhaps it did? You truly are an enigma.”
Sombra laughed to himself, coughing some more blood in the process. “Oh just finish it already. It’s funny. Part of me is happy you won. Happy you stopped me before it went too far. What a tragic, messy fate we lead.”
Celestia sighed, her horn glowing as Sombra shut his eyes, ready for what he knew was coming, one final thought going through his mind before all went dark.
“I’m sorry, Soarin.”
Perhaps it would be forever. Perhaps the next life. Or perhaps she had shown mercy enough for a trial. It was funny, he realised, that he didn’t know which he would prefer, as all went dark.