//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: A Uniqe Discussion 
// Story: Redemption's Shadow 
// by Whooves235 
//------------------------------//

Ponyville - Blue's House

Sombra took a sigh of relief when the door to Blue's home finally closed after a quiet walk back, the stallion's tense shoulders dropped and exhaustion was made apparent

"You going to be ok?" Blue asked, the stallion looking to Sombra in a kind manner, to which his response would be given in a mere grunt as a response, the exhausted stallion dragged himself to the sofa and flopped down.

Blue walked over to the sofa and gently sat down, looking over the stallion in detail. Taking in his features as he just thaught about Sombra for a moment, he was always under the assumption that underneath all that armor and coldness Sombra was a well-kept Stallion, given he was of royalty. However it was surprising how it was the complete opposite. The stallion's red eyes were shut, and underneath the white shirt's collar, at the nape of his neck was a bumpy, ragged scar. The bridge of his muzzle had the telltale signs of a once-broken and poorly healed wound. Along his thigh, the grotesque, fleshy scar, wide and difficult to look at. Smaller nicks and gashes here and there along the stallion's back. 

"...you know your safe here right?" Blue said, the stallion trying to get his attention.

"Hmm...? Did you say something?" Sombra murmured, too tired to be wary of danger that he so often expected. Sleep was slowly claiming him, and the stallion's closeness was a comfort. Even if he knew it wouldn't last, just like all of his relationships before. The umbrum murmured, pulling Blue close with a surprisingly soft touch. "I'm cold."

Blue was taken by surprise as he was pulled to the umbrum. He felt himself suddenly lay on top of him, his head against his chest as he was now fully cuddling with him. Blue's face blushed deeply, as he definitely didn't expect to be this close with Sombra after not even a full day of getting to know him.

"You are pleasantly warm", Sombra stated, holding onto Blue the stallion paused for a moment, yawning. Blue just quietly layed there. This was the first time he felt like this...warm...the stallion taking in how soft he felt, it was amazing how soft his fur was, especially with all the scars, he never imagined it like this.

After a while of quiet, Blue would notice that Sombra had at some point, fallen asleep, his grip around Blue slightly stronger. The stallion looked to the Umbrum's face as he ever so slightly moved up close to it, He could feel Sombra's breath in slow, steady puffs, his rising and lowering chest and the warmth of the stallion's exposed limbs. The dark sideburns framed his face, contrasting high cheekbones and the red, curving horn being almost like a beacon of color amongst the dark gray and black hues. Blue would slightly move his hoof up to Sombra's cheeks, gently caressing them as he just admired him. His face was very appealing to Blue. His cheeks softly blushed as he just...stared...the stallion never really had a coltfriend before, and while he had his fair hair of crushes he didn't expect to be this close to a stallion...especially that of Sombra.

Sombra huffed in response, stirring ever so slightly, but seemingly not enough to wake up. Slowly, little by little, Blue was able to take in more and more details, the short fur, almost like a velvet that gave way to his horn, how wonderfully full his eyelashes were, the soft, lazily drifting curls of his mane, coiling ever so slightly. Slightly sharper pointed ears than normal twitch occasionally. With a quiet murmur, he could see the stallion shift slightly, as if something was bothering him in his sleep....it wouldn't be far-fetched for the tyrant king to suffer from nightmares, and with a snap, the moment was gone. The former king jolted awake with a sudden jerking movement and then stared at Blue, cheeks ever so slightly red as Blue felt his balance shift to the side, fast towards the floor.

"What. Were. You. Doing?" Sombra growled, his eyes narrowed at the pegasus, who was now face first into the floor, groaning in pain slightly.

"I was just- uh" Blue picked himself up "I was-er..." He was flustered byond belief trying to think of an excuse "I was...admiring you?" He said nervously.

For a moment the stallion glared at him with a frown and a raised eyebrow, but eventually relented: "I suppose I cannot fault you for that."

"Im sorry for startling you I was not...thinking clearly" He said as he went to take a seat again, this time a bit further from Sombra.

"No, no, it wasn't... well, it wasn't mostly you."

"Are uh...you ok then? You looked troubled when you where asleep" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

Sombra stood up curtly, his face skewed: "I am fine, and you are forgetting your place." He had already shared too much, and now the guard of the Princess of Dreams was prying into his...  No, the stallion may have lowered his guard, but Sombra was far from a gullible little pony. The stallion's stern expression returned and he walked away, towards the upstairs, his tail twitching like an angry cat's. Though, clearly Sombra was a moody character, switching his behavior quickly, and was quick to raise a block between his genuine self and an angry sorcerer. And it almost felt like the stallion didn't know which one he needed to be.

Blue sat in thought. From his experience with duties and his special talent, he knew Sombra's emotions were a complex mix of things. He knew Sombra liked to be himself, but he was also very prideful and wanted to seem dominant. Blue needed a way in that Sombra would be comfortable with, he just needed to find it and a few minutes later, the stallion would work up the courage and go to find the Umbrum. He walked upstairs and went to the stallion's room. Knocking on the door.

Sombra opened the door with a curious, somewhat confused look, an opened library book left open on his bed. "Yes? If you're here to offer coffee, I would enjoy some while I read."

"Uh...I can get you coffee if that's what you'd like...I was...more hoping I could join you? I wanna talk" Blue said, smiling softly.

"Talk?" The stallion cocked his head to the side, looking more confused: "What is there to talk about?" With a slight scoff, the large umbrum steps aside, letting Blue into the room. The stallion went back to his bed and shut the book with a slip of paper to mark the spot he was at, then set it on a dresser. Sombra looked at Blue with a confused expression.

"Well it's just-" Blue said, thinking about his words "When you were sleeping you...looked like you were having a nightmare. Does...that happen often?"

It took a moment for Sombra to answer, his expression changing from confused to suspecting: "Sometimes, why?" Sombra frowned and turned away from the stallion, observing his reflection idly from the gleam of his gorget, carefully laid on an armor rest.

"Well I just...was worried when I saw you having the Nightmare and It made me wonder if I needed to worry about you having like...night terrors or something" he said "I don't really know if you having Nightmares is...different."

"... I'm at a turning point in my life, one that feels... shaky at best. Of course there is going to be nightmares. As for night terrors, I've had none for... a while." The stallion tried to deflect, but Blue could feel that the answer was far from honest.

"Right" Blue said, huffing as he contemplated something "Can I show you something?" He asked.

"I... suppose so?" Sombra took a few unsure steps towards Blue, following him as the stallion took a couple of steps back, huffing as he quickly undid his belt and pulled his pants down slightly to show his flank to the Unicorn, unfurling his wings.

"Do you see my Cutie Mark?" he asked, his Cutie Mark was shown to be a blue and cyan brain with a circle around it and a thin line resembling a scan.

The stallion blushed slightly at the surprisingly intimate action, but nodded. "Yes, I do. Not the sort of cutie mark I would expect of a guard. A healer, more likely."

Blue hadn't noticed the blush the King was now sporting "Well...I got my Cutie Mark when I was a kid...it stands for my special talent in Neuropsychology and understanding the mind" Blue said "The reason It actually helps me in the guard is because I can tell when ponies have special traits about themselves, ticks they might have when they are lying or hiding something." He said "I in a sense can read ponies like a book...to an extent."

At first the stallion said nothing, before giving a low chuckle: "if only I had you as my spymaster eons ago..." The stallion shook his head slowly: "You're going to tell me how I'm lying through my teeth, is that it?"

"No no" Blue said, waving his hoofs in the air slightly "I am telling you this because I want you to know, that if you want to talk to me about things...I can help you understand them...if you have a hard time doing so" He said, walking slightly close to him.

"And what guarantee would I have that everything I tell you isn't carried to your precious princesses as a potential weapon against me if my progress isn't good enough?" He retorted back, eyes flicked downwards for a brief moment, before returning to look at the stallion in the face. Then he smirked, but it was a hollow, deflecting smirk; "Was today just that, for you to analyze the big bad umbrum~?" Sombra turned around and let his thick tail travel along Blue's chest and under his chin, before whapping him in the face with it lightly."I can see it already... I'm sure the purple eyesore would find my inner workings fascinating..." the stallion let his uncovered hoof travel along the long red cape of his armor.

Blue flushed as he felt his thick tail travel along his chest and under his chin, slightly recoiling at the whip to his face. Huffnig softly "I can...see how you would feel that way which is why I can only say this; You can trust me. Everything you and I say to each other stays between us." Blue said with a serious tone "And, whatever I need to do to prove that to you...I will do it."

The stallion continued to stroke the rich velvet. "I am not in habit of taking ponies at their word." Sombra paused when Blue declared his willingness to prove his trustworthiness. He thought of making Blue kneel, like everypony of his sworn guard, pledge eternal servitude in body, mind and soul. The thought was admittedly delicious, enough to send a familiar shiver down his back. He remembered his honor guard, a collection of mares and stallions that swore an oath to him, served him as bodyguards and occasional lovers warming his bed. He missed those times.

"I know...and I understand why. Truly I do" he said, the stallion moving next to Sombra "But im serious...I want you to know you can trust me, and whatever I need to do to show you that, I will try my best to do it."

"... in olden times, I would have had you accomplish some grand feat, defeat a foe on my behalf, stain your hooves for me, swear to me your undying loyalty. But now such a thing would be unfitting."

"Right...well...like I said I will try my best to do what you'd like me to do to prove my trustworthiness" Blue said.

The stallion nodded slowly, thinking. But he had no answer for Blue."We will... well, if it is granted to us, perhaps one day I will trust you. But not yet."

Blue sighed softly "I understand...just please know I'm here for you if you wanna talk ok? You may not trust me fully now, but I'd like to at the very least make sure you're ok" He said.

"I... appreciate it. I really do."  Sombra nodded, slow, gliding gait with barely any sound on the wooden floor towards Blue. "Now, little Guard... Are you always in a habit of showing off to your guests, or am I the exception?" There was a slight amusement in the stallion's voice, making the pegasus jolt when he realized what Sombra meant. "I knew pegasi were proud and prone to showing off their 'talents' but I didn't quite expect such..." Sombra licked his lips, wishing to put aside the uncomfortable topic for one much, much more enjoyable.

Blue flushed deeply as he quickly squirmed at his pants, pulling them up as fast as he could. "O-oh im- Oh my I didn't mean to. I mean I-" He said, panicked and trying to get himself calm "I didn't even notice that I-" He stammered more.

Sombra laughed, a low chuckle, and let his head fall, to push under Blue's chin, slowly and teasingly nuzzling the pegasus. Determined gait forced Blue to back up all the way to the edge of the bed: "Completely understandable reaction, after all... You are in the presence of me. I can hardly blame you for a reaction when I've had ponies far holier than thou blush like a schoolfilly~."

Blue huffed as he was nuzzled by the stallion, feeling himself getting backed into more and more until he hit the edge of the bed. Just as the king was planning. "N-no no I just, I mean I did take my pants off to show you my cutie mark"

"I'm hardly offended of a guard I could have included into my honor guard..." The stallion purred, this delectable little morsel was positively adorable when flustered, and even if it didn't exactly feed him like fear could, it still caused some corner of his shriveled black heart to stir.

Blue flushed as he looked at Sombra, the stallion huffing as his cock, slightly twitched below him "I-I..." He huffed softly, his face flustered "Im...j-just nervous" he said, the stallion's face warm with heat"I-I will admit...y-you are very...very...attractive..."

The umbrum sighed and stood up, a surprisingly gentle look on his face: "Perhaps it ought to be good for you to not push it for now. You are free to cuddle me if you want to, but we don't have to go further." Sombra sat down on the bed and laid down, patting the empty spot on his mattress. He knew what such nervousness felt like, even if it had been eons since he had last felt it. But he was not a poor lover, and took great pride in the fact.

Blue blushed as he looked to Sombra for a few seconds, that gentle look on his face caused Blue's heart to slightly skip a beat. Was the stallion seriously...crushing...on him? on Sombra? "R-right" He said, the stallion softly moving to the bed and moving to the empty side of the mattress, laying down on it next to Sombra.

Blue could smell the umbrum's delicious, spicy scent of peppers and anise, he felt the stallion's heft against him shift ever so slightly and could swear the stallion was giving him a look-over. "... if you forgive my curiosity, what happened here?" The stallion very lightly touched Blue's metallic wing.

Blue huffed as he tried to settle his hormones down. The stallion just trying to concentrate on something. Luckily that question helped "I uh...well I lost it when I was in the Zeebra Lands..." He said softly, feeling...honestly rather safe "It was...cut off for torture purposes...to get me to talk."

Sombra looked surprised. He had expected an accident, not torture. "...well? Did you?"

"...I didn't talk no...I refused too" He said, the stallion just sighing softly.

The stallion was now very focused on Blue, his eyes traveling down the metal wing slowly. Then he moved his hoof up to the stallion's cheek, near his mechanical eye: "And this?"

Blue flushed as he felt Spmbras hoof on his cheek, ever so slightly leaning into it "I uh...lost my eye in the torture too..." he said huffing softly.

Sombra nodded slowly, shifting a bit. Blue could see Sombra's various scars. "Hmm... I commend you for your resilience."

"Thank you...but...I honestly don't deserve it..." He said "I...have made alot of mistakes...including the one's that happened while in the Zeebra Lands."

"You do realize who you are talking to?" The stallion gave him a pointed look, one eyebrow arched with a questioning, unimpressed look.

"Yes I'm aware" Blue said, sighing softly as he shuffled a bit. Getting his body closer to Sombra as he heard Sombra's breath hitch in surprise for a moment, before the stallion relaxed again, hooves and magic -a warm, slight tingle to it- guided the pegasus to a better position that impeded neither. Sombra huffed slightly, enjoying the pegasus' warmth. "Hmm... you will be most enjoyable during cold months... but do go on. I am rather interested if my mistakes could topple yours in severity." Clearly, the stallion was competitive.

"I..." He huffed softly "I doubt my mistakes could topple yours...but...I think that it's just worth mentioning that we are not all perfect you know?" He said, softly sighing as he felt his head rest against Sombra's chest slightly.

Sombra hummed slightly, his tongue rolling over his teeth in thought. For a while, he was silent, thinking back to his old scars: "How exactly do these work?" Another fascinated look at his mechanical wing: "...is it magic? Or something similar as that train we took? I can't see any markings that would indicate a charm..." The stallion shifted, his curiosity got the better of him. Blue saw mostly the stallion's chest and stomach as Sombra basically loomed over him, pressed somewhat against him, eyes carefully going over his metal wing, gently turning and operating it with his magic. "Can you feel anything when it is touched?"

"I-it uh...mostly mechanical science...with some magic added" Blue huffed softly as he just relaxed in the semi-grasp of Sombra's body, Blue slightly letting his head rest on Sombra's stomach. Blushing furiously "The wing is connected to my nervous system...and it allows me to control it like a normal wing. T-the..magic in the wing is mainly for me using the special features in it."

"Interesting...!" Blue saw a shift he had never imagined Sombra could make; he was genuinely excited. "So fascinating...! We at best-had charms and runic carvings for tethering magic into minerals, but never anything this sophisticated..." The stallion stared at the wing in awe, before seemingly remembering Blue's eye."And your eye? How does it... do you need to take it out, can you see from it? I thought it was similar to a glass eye, but with maybe some magic to orient you.."

Blue blushed slightly at the excitement. The stallion feeling flustered from Sombra genuinely taking an interest in him "U-um.. it is actually quite similar! The eye is connected through some magic and nerves however I can actually remove it at free will" He said, before he actually did so, removing the eye from his socket to show Sombra "Its...magic magically enchanted with a sophisticated spell which allows me to use it like a computer in a way. I can zoom in on things, use it to target specific body parts to injure, and it also can change its color too...I can change my iris color to be whatever I want." He said smiling as he looked up to Sombra.

"Com... what now?" The stallion looked confused. Right, 1000 years, most of which spent in isolation and/or in the Aether. "It's like a... spyglass or a scope of some kind? And it can calculate..." The stallion fell silent for a bit, his mind taking all of it in. If he was impressed before, it was nothing compared to this. "...this makes my armor feel almost foolish in comparison." Sombra huffed, thinking back to his defeat, and let out a small whinny of annoyance: "With something like this against me, I could have accepted my defeat with grace. Not the mere happenstance and sheer luck..."

"Hay, you have some pretty cool stuff too!" He said "I mean, your Sombra... whether the princess likes to admit it or not, you are one of the top three most powerful Unicorns to ever exist" Blue said "You created magic that ponies still use today, you are a scholer in your own amazing way! I'm just a Pegauss...I have no magic...unlike you.."

Blue could see the umbrum king's chest puff out like a particularly proud pigeon's, clearly pleased with the adoring words. "Well, it's true I did do some rather capable feats of magic! I even re-engineered Grogar's spell for immortality." The stallion shifted to pull Blue closer, now what could be said to resemble a rather tight embrace: "But top three? Really? I can only imagine Star Swirl to be one of the other two, but who would be... oh! Of course, Clover the Clever the second. That makes sense." Sombra had all but forgotten the stallion was even there, oblivious to how much his body pressed against Blue's own.

"Y-yea...you are a really amazing Unicorn Sombra...your magic is impressive" He said, blushing as he ever so slightly nuzzled into Sombra's stomach. The stallion huffed softly enjoying how comfortable this felt to him "You may have made mistakes but you also did alot of wonderful things.."

Another hitched breath, as the stallion fell silent from his self-grandeur. "What... what did you say?"

"You are an amazing unicorn...and you may have made some mistakes but you have done alot of wonderful things Sombra...you re-defined magic with your spells and skill" He said looking at him.

"I..." Sombra stammered. "I... I need a moment." The stallion didn't care that it hurt him, turning into a mist was the only way he could slip out quickly. He felt like his heart had thundered right out of his chest and ran.  Blue saw the stallion vanish and flee downstairs so quickly that he could barely comprehend what was happening. Sombra hid in a small dark corner to take it all in. He had done something... he had done something that had been worthwhile? That had been remembered, that was useful... The stallion felt a wetness in his face but quickly wiped it away, but the smile was not as easy to dispel. He couldn't stop smiling. It felt like all the years of his life spent studying, spent drudging after others, being a blank flank had been worth it after all. And then the pragmatic, cruel voice that so often plagued him, robbed him of mirth with the suggestion that it was a little too good to be true. They'd say anything to put a yoke on him, to bridle him to the Princesses will.

Blue was now worried. Had he done something wrong? Blue was being careful with his words when he spoke. The stallion huffed as he got up and went downstairs to find Sombra, he was confused and worried. If he did hurt him he didn't mean to "Sombra? I didn't mean any offense if I hurt you..." he said, his voice sounding of genuine concern "Where are you??"

Sombra shook his head, trying to rid himself of the inner voice made of every bad experience he had had. "...No, no... you didn't. Quite the opposite..." Shyly the stallion emerged from the shadows of Blue's staircase, his brow dripping with sweat and a rogue tear."... it... Hhah... how do I put it? It made me... happy." The stallion sat down and blushed, hiding his face with his hooves: "It made me happier than any victory I've ever had, than any completed spell has ever made me."

Blue walked over to the stallion, gently sitting down in front of him as he looked at him, the pegasus observing his face and blush, as well as his tears. "I...well I'm...happy that you are happy" He said, softly smiling at him "I meant every word you know...you really are amazing.."

"Y...you're making it worse... stop it...!" The stallion blushed even more, hiding more of his face, but from the gaps here and there, Blue could see him smile; not the cruel, vindicative grins, or the smug sneers, but a genuinely happy smile. So happy in fact, that the stallion had been thrown for a loop and into a state of near-panic."... I... I never... I never thought anyone would find anything I ever did worthwhile... I...I can't stop smiling, what is this??"

"Its joy Sombra" He said, gently taking one of Sombra's hoofs to hold for comfort "You are feeling happiness and pride..." He said, Blue gently smiling just looking at him "This is normal...don't worry nothing wrong with you."

The stallion swallowed slowly, the heat that radiated off his cheeks felt so strange after so many bitter years spent in anger and hatred."It... it is such an insignificant thing, it shouldn't... it's hardly proper for me to react like this!" he stallion muttered, but slowly lowered his other hoof too. He felt a terrible need to sink into the shadows, but resisted, just barely."... It's so strange... happiness is such a foreign feeling for me. Genuine, actual, real happiness, I know I felt it eons ago, I know I felt it when I was a foal but... after that, it has all been so bleak." The stallion whispered, almost as if anything louder would lead to some terrible calamity.

"I know it's probably hard for you, but this is a good thing. It's a huge step into the direction you want for yourself" Blue said "This is really healthy for you...even if it doesn't seem like it"

"I... I want to calm down." The stallion groaned, blushing a bit. "... I... I never was very good with regulating my emotions..." The stallion laid down and leaned closer to Blue, holding onto him tightly, his cheek pressed tight onto Blue's chest. Listening to the steady rhythm of the pegasus' heartbeat slowly calmed him down. With a soft sigh, Sombra closed his eyes and focused.

Blue flushed slightly as the large Umbrun leaned into him. His heartbeat accelerated slightly as he held onto the stallion. Blue's body heat resonated with Sombra. "You are gonna be ok...I promise" He said, speaking softly as he ever so slightly leaned into Sombra as well.

The stallion's body was very warm, still reacting to his emotions. But the stallion looked exhausted by such an extreme length. "... if you do not mind... I need sleep. It has been a while."

"Alright..." Blue said, softly letting him go. "You can come to find me if you need anything ok?"

Sombra nodded as he took another breath, before slowly walking back up the stairs to his own chambers, the stallion lay down on his bed as he stared to the ceiling, he could still feel his heart thumping, and his cheeks hot from blush. What was this other feeling he was having? He didn't recognize it...no...he did recognize it...but he didn't think it would be possible for it to happen again. Whatever the case, the stallion would soon close his eyes and return to slumber, finally getting some rest.