The shadowy prison of the oubliette was always dark in its own way, but that late night as Luna descended, that darkness about the place felt distinctly sinister. The shadows were silently mocking her she was certain, but her rage at the nightmare burned away all hesitation and anxiety she may have felt. She moved with swiftness, letting her own natural glow illuminate her path, as her reserves of patience had run too dry to even bother illuminating her horn.
Sombra! She thought furiously, anger coursing through her. That foul, wretched, vile, lying monster! This time I shall get answers out of him!
A vague, fleeting thought at the back of her mind wondered if the unicorn king could possibly hear her thoughts in some way, but that by that point, she cared not if he could.
Let him! Let him know of my approach and my intent! May he be wise enough that he trembles in the face of my wrath!
Her guards saw her approaching at a distance, and for a brief instant, they appeared ready to bar her path. But a glimpse of her fierce expression had them thinking otherwise. They moved as fast as they could, pulling the gate open and quickly stepping aside. The princess charged through without a word, heading straight for the cell beyond. She came to a halt not more than a few feet from it, watching the shadows within boil upon themselves.
“Sombra!” She roared. “Show thy face, coward!”
The shadows moved rapidly for a moment, then dissipated, leaving the form of a unicorn stallion behind. Sombra was lying on his stomach as he lifted his head to acknowledge her, and a look of mild annoyance crossed his features.
“Rude,” he huffed, “Some of us are sleeping, as I’m sure you very well know.”
“Spare us thy pitiful mewling and speak plainly, for we know of thy schemes against us and our sister!”
“Oh, oh yes,” came the mocking, sarcastic reply, “Let me just tell you all about my wicked, devious plans to disturb poor Celestia’s sleep with my thunderous snoring.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed slowly.
“We are not amused.” She said in frigid tones.
“Really? More’s the pity; I thought it was rather funny.” Sombra yawned, tossing his mane and baring his teeth before rolling onto his side lazily. “Perhaps you don’t possess a sense of humor, princess. You do come across as the rather grim sort.”
“So you deny that you have invaded the privacy of my dreams and shown me disturbing visions of trying to kill my sister?” She asked, dropping the royal voice and trying to force herself to remain calm and collected. Losing her temper now would accomplish nothing.
“Princess Luna,” he huffed a sigh, shaking his head slowly, looking at her through heavily-lidded eyes that barely masked his growing impatience, “While it’s possible that I could touch the dreamscape through the Shadow, what makes you think I would?”
“Your power comes from fear, from terror,” she answered stoutly, “And what better way to frighten all of Equestria than by attacking its inhabitants in their dreams?”
“Hmm,” he began to smile slowly, looking nefarious as ever, “The suggestion you make intrigues me, but I know of your dream-walking power. With their beloved sovereign moon warrior watching over them… Well, it would be rather foolish of me to try attacking ponies in their dreams.”
He sat up on his stomach again and crossed his forelegs, one over the other, and proceeded to watch her expectantly, no doubt awaiting a response. She gave him none; she had a feeling they were thinking the exact same thing. While such an action taken would be foolish indeed, Sombra could succeed in a plan like they spoke of, if he were able to find a way to disable Luna’s powers and ensure she wouldn’t be able to fight back. If he could do that, he would rampage quite freely, with little to challenge him. Luna did not wish to speak of that into the silence. Words carried power, Celestia had always said, and to speak of a thing that was merely thought, was to invite to it the possibility of becoming a reality.
“Or perhaps,” Sombra suddenly said, cocking an eyebrow and tilting his head to the side, his smile hiding silent laughter, “You’re not interpreting your own dreams quite right. Did you ever consider that possibility?”
She frowned at him again.
“What do you mean?” She asked in a challenging tone. Of all the nerve! The Princess of the Night and Moon and Dreaming, not knowing what her own dreams meant? Why, the very idea was preposterous!
“I’m merely suggesting that you are looking at your dreams only through the eyes of a warrior-princess. You are so eager to believe the worst of me!”
“Hard not to when my nightmares consist of you attacking my subjects and sister. And I take it you have your own idea of what my dream means, then?”
“But of course, princess. A bad dream is not uncommon, correct me if I’m wrong.” He spoke as though deep in deductive thought, rising from the floor and beginning to pace the length of his cell. “Perhaps you are subject to them less often than others, but the fact remains that mostly, bad dreams reflect the fears, the worries that trouble the waking heart.”
“Need I remind you that I am well aware your foul magic feeds off such fear?” She said, her voice cold steel. “But continue, Sombra.”
“Ugh, details, details.” He rolled his eyes, somehow managing to come off as both condescendingly dismissive and rather melodramatic at the same time. “Can’t let a fellow alone for a second, can you? At any rate, the point I seek to make to you is that your own…worries continue to plague you even as you sleep, whereas my appearance in your dreams…”
“Yes?” She prompted testily, and he gave her a roguish, toothy grin.
“Well, let us just say…the romantic fantasies of besotted young mares are not unknown or unfamiliar to the sovereign of the Crystal Empire.” He answered with a decadent chuckle, giving a flick of his carefully-groomed tail. Luna’s mouth fell open in shock, and her face flushed hot with anger.
“How dare you!” She shrieked.
“Only a harmless suggestion.”
“I would never conduct myself like some love-struck filly, especially not over you! You’re a foul, heartless fiend, and you care for nothing and nopony but yourself!”
“That’s jumping to conclusions,” Sombra retorted, “And how would you even verify such claims about me? I do have a heart, thank you very much. I find it rather irritating whenever anypony seems to think I don’t.”
“Prove it.”
“My heart is the Crystal Heart.”
For a moment, she stared at him in quiet surprise, but laughter began to build in her chest. She tightened her lips, trying to hold it in, only to find she couldn’t, and the laughter escaped anyway, issuing forth from Luna as loud guffaws. Sombra watched as she chortled, his face contorting into an unamused frown.
“Th-the Crystal Heart?” The princess managed to say between almost hysterical giggling fits. “You? HA! You expect me to believe that the Crystal Heart is your actual heart?”
“Yes,” he replied, slightly miffed, “The Crystal Heart is my heart.”
“You jest!” She continued to laugh, throwing her head back as she did so. “The Crystal Heart is a force of pure good, light and happiness. It brings peace and prosperity to the Crystal Empire. It spreads joy and illumination to all corners of Equestria. The unshattered, unfettered beacon of all that is good, your heart?”
“Yes.” He answered stoically, and her mirth evaporated, replaced again by the suspicion and doubt that remained in her mind. But no longer were they alone the two things she thought and felt; something else had crept in at his stubborn insistence, something that she knew would be rather dangerous if she did not keep it in check.
Curiosity.
“How?” She demanded coolly.
“You doubt my word.”
“Any wise pony would. How?”
“Do you have time for a story?” He asked, cocking his head to the side and letting a fleeting smile cross his face. “Or do you only have time to spare for a lonely, dethroned monarch when you think he’s poisoned the water or is conspiring treachery?”
Luna glanced over her shoulder, back to the entry gate. As though they had known she would look back, there her guards waited, peeking back at her. Worry was evident on both their faces, and they shifted as though wishing to ask if she was alright, if she needed them. She gave them a reassuring smile, making the tiniest of nods to let them know she would be fine. Only when they inched back out of sight did she turn back to Sombra, gauging him. One of his eyebrows crept up in a silent, mocking challenge and his smile widened.
“Yes?” He purred, and part of Luna was sorely tempted to blast him so hard it would wipe that arrogant, self-assured smile off of his face. Still, she held herself in check and tilted her head back to assert her authority, resuming the mannerisms of old once again.
“We shall spare thee a quarter of an hour, but then no more.” She declared in her sonorous voice. “Tell us this tale.”
This time a genuine smile came to his features, and he straightened into a formal sitting position, clearing his throat pointedly.
“I was once like you and your sister, not so very long ago, it feels. I was prince of the Crystal Empire, but I was just the second-born; I had an elder brother, Crown Prince Lucien. I was dark where he was fair, childish where he was mature, and obsessed with the study of magic where he concerned himself with learning the mechanics of politics. Still, even though we bickered and often did not see eye-to-eye on many things, we were brothers. I looked up to Lucien, he was fond of me, and we were very close for many years.”
Luna arched a disbelieving eyebrow. So far it merely sounded as though he was fabricating his tale from what he knew of her and Celestia, and quite possibly what little he knew of Twilight Sparkle as well. She wasn’t surprised by the thought; she had hardly expected Sombra to be honest with her. Still, she made no comment and let him carry on.
“Time passed and we both grew up,” Sombra spoke in a low, wistful sort of way and stared off at nothing, the shadowy wisps of dark magic dissipating from his eyes. “I never thought much of the throne or rulership; that was always Lucien’s job, Lucien’s concern, and for a great deal of time, I was content to let him worry about that. I was too involved in my pursuit of the study of magic to think about our positions in the kingdom and royal family. That is…until one day.”
“Oh?” She prompted.
“Yes,” he answered with a bit of a vague nod, “I remember it quite well, actually. My memory has suffered somewhat from spending time as part of the Shadow, but there are some things I recall with perfect clarity. This is one of them.
“I had been in the royal library, and I was quite given over to childish excitement, as I was certain my studies had led me to discover something of great magical significance. I had stumbled across a text in an old tome that spoke of a pocket of crystals deep within the Star Lake Caves, crystals with their own latent magic. Naturally, I desired to requests an audience with my mother and father at once. Working all forms of magic through crystals was always my special talent, and the chance to study crystals such as those was the chance of a lifetime.”
He paused, a dark look coming upon him, the corners of his mouth turning down. The black of the shadows flickered around him, and his eyes began to glow again.
“My father’s royal advisor sought me out that day, found me in the library before I could leave to make my request formally. He came—so he said—because he had to escort me to my family for some important news, some announcement that wouldn’t wait. Of course, I had to obey a royal summons, and I hope that I would be allowed to make my request upon hearing this news out. What I did not know then was that this would be the worst news of my life.”
“What was the news?” Luna asked, jolting him out of his memories. He stared at her for a long moment, and then the smile slowly started to make its way back onto his face.
“Why, princess! I did not believe you would become so invested in my tale.” He said, on the verge of a chuckle. “Surely you do not wish to listen further?”
“Continue.” She said simply, before adding gently, “Please.”
The light in his eyes danced in a merry sort of way before he abruptly scowled again and tossed his head indignantly, ebony mane flying.
“It is not something I necessarily wish to recall. And really, thinking on it…isn’t the quarter-hour you promised me up?”
Surprised, she raised her eyebrows. Surely he hadn’t been speaking that long already? He had really only just begun the story. However, when she thought on it, Sombra was right. Almost the full time had already passed, and she needed to leave. She could not afford to waste much more time down here. Drawing herself up to her full height, Luna held her head regally and folded her wings primly against her back.
“Very well. It is time I must be back to attend my royal duties.” She announced, feeling slightly awkward in doing so, but the unicorn king inclined his head gently regardless.
“Of course.” He agreed calmly.
“Still, your story intrigues me. I would hear more of it…but at another time, during some other day.” She remarked thoughtfully, giving a small flick of her tail before turning gravely serious once again. “But do not presume that this shall lessen your sentence or imprisonment, King of No Kingdom.”
There was a sneering curl to Sombra’s lip at this, but when he spoke, his voice remained calm and even.
“I would never assume such a thing,” he said coolly, “And I suppose I can’t very well prevent you from shattering the monotony of this miserable hole whenever you choose to do so, now can I?”
“Why, you sound almost grateful!” She chuckled at him.
“Actually, Princess Luna,” he replied in a much more civil tone, “I am. It has been over a thousand years since I have had anypony to properly hold an intellectual conversation with. For that, I am quite grateful, and more than willing to divulge my story.”
Luna had been turning to leave, but at his words, she faltered a step. Memories of the moon, cold, silent and unforgiving, rose to the surface of her thoughts, endless memories spanning a lonesome millennia. She forced the memories away and drew in a deep breath, willing herself not to look back at him in a show of sympathy.
“Another time.” She repeated insistently.
“Another time,” he echoed her in his soft, rich voice as he shifted back into a vaporous form, “When it suits Your Highness, naturally. After all…well, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”
Steeling herself, Luna marched away, her mind spiraling in a chaotic whirl of thoughts. She needed to record the events of this evening at the first opportunity she could find, and share them with Celestia.
And in his cell, the shadow of the unicorn king watched the alicorn princess depart, thinking upon what he had told her. She did not trust or believe him, not yet, but she was intrigued, and that was a start. All he had to do was be patient, and after a thousand years of imprisonment in the Shadow, Sombra was more than well-versed in the art of patience.