//------------------------------//
// Chapter Nine: Fractures 
// Story: The Tale of One Shadow 
// by RadBunny 
//------------------------------//

They stayed in the park for a time; Sombra wasn't sure how long. Enough time had passed that Amber had begun to nod off in the noonday sun, snuggling her head next to Sombra's chest.  He shifted slightly, causing Amber to look up at him, light blue eyes soft and radiating trust and calm.
 and love? Dare I think she still-?
A flurry of emotions sprang up into Sombra's chest, blocking any and all words.
 I don't deserve somepony like you Amber, I never have, and I never will. 
Sombra's teeth grit together, the stallion's own emotions eating him from the inside out. He  wanted  to be happy right now.
“Lets go home Amber.” He rumbled, causing the mare to nod briefly. Another nuzzle across his fur, and she stood, looking at him with beseeching eyes.
“You ok Sombra?” She asked simply, causing him to pause.
Try as he might, the stallion couldn't shake his head. Anything to keep the gentle smile on Amber's face. After a thousands years of seeing nothing but-
A shiver ran down his spine, Sombra forcing himself to not to show any outward discomfort, for the most part. He managed a slight smile, half nodding, half shaking his head in a circular motion.
“I'll live.
---

The walk home was a quiet one, Amber clearly enjoying being close to Sombra, judging by how close she walked to him.
How much he wanted to enjoy her presence, but something was eating away at his mind- and he could only hope sleep would cause it to pass. A strange haze was covering his mind, like a spiderweb over one's eyes. 

By the time he was shown the guest room, the stallion was ready to collapse. He bid his parents and.....almost-special-somepony goodnight, and was unconscious the instant his head hit the pillow.
----	----	----	----

Darkness.
Somba blinked his eyes, struggling to his hooves as the world resolved itself around him. He stood upon a vast expanse of rust-colored earth, jagged rocks jutting this way and that as the similarly-colored sand blew about. The light was from directly overhead, and yet visibility was limited to but a few pony-lengths in front of him. Plodding forward, the stallion braced himself against the wind, the particles lashing at his coat with a strange ferocity.
 Wait a minute. 
The unicorn's horn lit up, producing a small bubble around, to which the particles didn't simply curve around.
They attacked it, as though angry bees vying for a piece of a bear's paw that was in their hive.
The dust ceased its attack, flowing to a large rock that stood in front of the stallion, pulling itself together into a shape. It grew more solid, darker, and began to move as though alive.
When two eyes lit up with a green and purple glow, that was when Sombra knew.
 You. 
“Hello Sombra. Remember me? It hasn't been that long, has it?” The demon asked, walking until he was directly in front of the shield.
“No. You're dead.” The stallion spat, looking around as the haze in his mind lifted.
“This is just a dream. It's the stress of being back. I've had weird dreams for a few days; you're just a figment of my-” His voice cut off as the other stallion shattered the shield, slamming Sombra to the ground to then place a hoof over his throat.
“A dream? You silly pony. Does this feel like a dream?” The demon laughed, releasing its hold on the stallion.
“Still a dream!” Sombra re-assembled the shield, forcing it outwards to purge this  thing  from his thoughts. 
A wicked smile, the same that Sombra was forced to endure for over a thousand years, spread across the demon's face.
“A dream? You will soon realize otherwise.” 
The stallion was tossed against the ground again, powering up the shield as the ground melted away, leaving him standing on a small platform of red stone. Darkness rose up around him, lashing at the shield like angry hydra heads. 
“This is  MY  world! You cannot kill me, you pathetic excuse for a stallion! You summoned me to Equestria, from where  do you think I came from?” The demon fired another series of dark bursts at Sombra, the shield almost collapsing as the stallion forced all the energy he could into it, barely maintaining the translucent barrier.
“What happens when you boil water, Sombra? Does it disappear, or does it turn into steam?” 
A laugh ripped from the demon's throat, its figure growing as large as Canterlot Castle. The throaty chuckle reverberated through Sombra's entire being, the creature leaning closer.
“All I need is another bridge. You can't hide from me forever Sombra! I've experienced your world, and left my mark on it. You will see me again!”
It smiled, teeth glittering like the crystal empire itself. 
“And when we do meet, I'll be sure to pay a visit to Amber Leaf.
And you'll get to watch as I tear out her throat.”

A burst of light cut across the demon's face, the shadows quickly healing.
“Oooh. Did I hit a nerve?” The aberration jeered, looking down at Sombra. 
Tears ran down the stallion's cheeks, Sombra's shield collapsing to almost nothing as the demon leaned upon it.
“You didn't break me. Not in a thousand years.
And you won't break me now. Not here!”
Sombra's eyes glowed a bright red, sending the shield blasting out against the demon. As his vision faded to nothingness, the voice still rang inside his head.
“You can't run fast enough to escape me. Neither can Amber. 
His shield shattered. Massive jaws opened up, swallowing him whole. Thick, viscose shadows wrapped themselves around the stallion, trying to crush him in their cold embrace.

–		-	
 “NO!” 
Amber Leaf literally jumped out of bed, smacking her forelimb against a cabinet as the house shook. Sombra's roar was loud enough to wake the neighbors, and most certainly anyone inside the house.
The second sound though-
Grabbing a metallic device from one of the drawers, Amber looped her hoof through it, making her way to Sombra's room-
Where a large hole in the wall fizzled, dark flames sputtering out as the stallion disappeared into the night.


The tunnel wouldn't end.
Tears streamed down the stallion's cheeks, images flashing along the walls, conjured from the demon's basic understanding of his fears. He could see the light- it was straight ahead, white and pure.
Shadows ripped at his fur, Sombra pushing onwards, sending them flailing off into the abyss. So close!
 There. 
With a final heave, Sombra shoved his way into the circle of light. The shadows that gripped at his limbs withered and died, unable to survive in the pure light.
The tears didn't cease, Sombra standing still in the light as familiar figures surrounded him, wrapping the pony in a loving embrace.
 Mom? Dad? Sis? You're here? 

When Amber, her parents, and the few guards in the streets finally caught up to Sombra, they stopped, shock stamped onto their features.
The stallion was curled up into a ball, sleeping peacefully, tears on his fur. The guards had moved him off to the side- the stallion crawling back every time they tried to move him, Sombra refusing to leave the room where a object slowly rotated.
All the while, the Crystal Heart pulsed with comforting power.
-

 “Wake up, my little pony. You're safe.” 
A familiar voice pierced through Sombra's mind, calm and soothing amid a torrent of red snow.
 “Wake up.

The stallion's eyes snapped open, his barrel-like chest drawing a heaving breath.  For a moment, all he could see was a pair of terrifying eyes-
But then it was swept away with a flurry of stars, and a pair of familiar orbs stared back at him, shimmering with fear and worry. Their ice-blue color caused a warmth to bloom in his chest as Amber Leaf looked at him with almost palpable relief as he awoke.
“Sombra? You're awake.” The mare's voice was barely above a whisper, and her expression was that of pent up emotion, threatening to crack.
“Amber? Where am I? What happened?” 
 The last thing I remember is that demon, then-
Princess Luna? 

Amber Leaf made room for a nurse, who checked Sombra's vitals before nodding briefly, leaving the two alone. The mare walked to the other side of his bed, leaning her head on his back.
“It started last night.”

  The Night Before  
Amber snatched up the metal cylinder from her bedside, looping her hoof through the catch on her way to Sombra's room. The device was one of only a few in Equestria. Imported from the Griffin Kingdoms, the device combined the use of gunpowder and magic to launch a projectile at any foe in front of it. It held three shots- on a large rotating cylinder. The main barrel was attached to a small smooth silver box that rested on one's shoulder (with a fair amount of padding,) the other parts of the harness wrapping around one's chest and shoulder.
Obviously, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence were aware of her having such a dangerous weapon- especially since the projectiles were designed to penetrate magical shields, but after...
Amber Leaf shook her head as the memories came back; the door being forced in, her family helpless.
The barrel of the weapon dropped as Amber and her parents opened the door- the cold wind from the outside blowing in. The wall next to the bed was demolished, the edges of a massive hole still fizzling black and red streamers from red magic.
Without a word, Amber and her father galloped out the door and down the street, her mother staying behind with her little sister.

“He's fast.” Her father panted as they chased the stallion, still visible in the distance.
“And you're out of shape!” Amber quipped as they ran, her comment a blatant attempt to try and mask the fear she was feeling.
“The crystal heart!” The stallion gasped, eyes narrowing. 
Her father sped onward, easily putting Amber's out-of-shape comment to shame. Already there were a few other ponies trotting in the same direction, apparently having the same thought.
When Amber managed to catch up, the barrel of her weapon lowered as she saw Sombra. The stallion had crossed the distance down the crystal streets at a breakneck speed- only to collapse at the foot of the crystal heart, his back resting against the pedestal on which the artifact floated.
 He's asleep? 

The mare walked over to him, prodding the stallion with a hoof in an attempt to wake him.
Instead of waking up, the stallion only shivered, edging closer to the crystal heart.
“Ok Miss, we know he's not breaking any rules, but it is the dead of night.” One of the late-night guards said, edging over to Sombra.
“What happened? He just came dashing in here, and collapsed there.” The guard asked, looking over to Amber curiously, spear held at a relaxed stance.
“He just ran off.” Amber said cautiously, leaving out the exploded-wall bit for obvious reasons.
“Lets go Sombra.” Picks said, moving to try and pull the stallion to his hooves.
“S-Sombra?! W-what-who?” The guard backed up, as did a few citizens at the mention of the stallion's name. 
“Not  that  Sombra. That was a demon. This is the pony who existed before all that.” Amber hoped her explanation would suffice, but all it seemed to do was take the edge off everyone's nerves.
Which, was to say, did very little.

As Picks tried to move Sombra, the stallion shook his head, resisting all the efforts until one of the guards picked him up in a magical grip, nodding to Picks.
“Just lead the way sir, I'll carry him back home.”
Before Picks could thank the kind guard, Sombra's eyes flashed open- a demonic green and purple haze misting from his pupils.
The guard's grip was shattered with a flash of Sombra's horn, and the stallion growled, lurching back to the crystal heart. As soon as he was within reach, the glow faded, replaced by his normal red eyes.
By now, the citizens had backed up a fair distance, ready to flee at a moments notice. The guards had their spears at ready, and by now Cadence and Shining had been roused from their slumber.
Which was obvious, judging from the hastily donned armor and bed-mane as the pair looked around.
“What is going on here?” Shining barked at one of the guards, who simply pointed.
“It's him! I thought he was a normal stallion, maybe a crazy guy at best. His eyes-they were like  His!  All green and purple!” The guard managed to stammer out, prompting a few gasps and agreeing nods from some other ponies.
At that moment, Sombra let out a whimper, the stallion curling into a ball, looking much more like a lost and frightened colt-
Amber's eyes shimmered as tears traced down Sombra's face, even in sleep.

“Does he look like a threat right now? As far as tricks go, he isn't accomplishing much.
Green and purple you say? It could have been an illusion spell. Go back to your homes everyone. We'll handle this. This pony isn't well.”
Cadences voice radiated confidence- despite a tired undertone. Quite a few ponies nodded and went back without complaint, but a few took some more convincing from the guards. Once there were about twenty guard-ponies, the townsfolk seemed to get the message, leaving the prone stallion alone.

“What happened here Amber Leaf?” The confidence had left Cadence's voice, instead being replaced by genuine concern, Shining Armor's suspicious look not helping in the slightest.
“He-I think it was a nightmare.” The mare said softly, having put her weapon away at the sight of the guard-ponies.
“A spell, in his sleep, tore a hole in our wall. He galloped here and won't move. We tried, but he just started growling and crying.”
Cadence's eyes softened, and she waved Shining armor over.
“Sombra isn't well. Lets put guards to him until daybreak. Most fears fade in the light, which may be why he sought out the crystal heart. It has a different affect on ponies. As soon as we can move him, we'll put him in the hospital ward, with guards of course, what do you think Shining?” 

The white stallion shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head slowly.
“What else can we do? Locking him up won't get him anywhere. He hasn't broken any laws, just acted strange. I think we need to be on our guard, but I'll trust your judgement on this Cadence.” His lingering words spoke what need not be said.
 I'm trusting you. 
The Alicorn princess nodded without missing a beat, beckoning Picks and Amber over.
“You all can return home or stay here with Sombra; we'll guard him until he can be moved. We obviously need to speak with him once he is awake though.” 
Nodding at Cadence's words, Amber took an offered blanket from one of the guard-ponies, settling down a short distance from Sombra. 

“I hope it's just a nightmare.”
Cadence's soft voice carried on the still air as she and Shining walked back up to the castle, not settling Amber's heart in the slightest.

 Present 
“I'm glad it was just a nightmare though, right Sombra?” Amber's trusting gaze bore into the stallion's ruby eyes.
“I don't know. I'll tell you when they get here, which they are, right?” He asked, wincing as he lifted his head. 
 Feels like my head got trampled. 
“Yes. They will be here shortly. I assume the nurse went off to alert them.” 
Sombra sighed at Amber's words, trying to shake the unsettled feeling off from his mind and body.
 I still feel that demon's touch.
“Well, so much for keeping my presence low-key. So I blew a hole in your wall, charged the crystal heart, and looked like a demon in front of lots of ponies, and now I have to figure out what these nightmares are too, assuming that's what they are?” The stallion's chest ballooned in another sigh as Amber nodded.
“This is going to be rough, isn't it?”
Her silence was not terribly comforting.