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// One's Instinct, Another's Denial 
// Story: The Shadow and The Spark 
// by CybertronPrincess 
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Chapter 4: One’s Instinct, Another’s Denial

As Sombra fell into unconsciousness, both Twilight and Harmony looked down upon the injured stallion with concern. As blood still dripped from his injured leg, Twilight looked out upon the now empty street, her mind now made up after this tragedy.

After turning to Harmony, Twilight argued, “Harmony, usually your ideas are well-thought out. But I’m sorry, this is a HORRIBLE idea. What were you thinking?! You can’t just let Sombra run free and expect to reform him! What if THIS sort of thing happens again, what if next time he attacks somepony else or perhaps an entire city? It’s too dangerous!”

Harmony did agree with her friend. It was a dangerous task, but after remembering the kind, friendly Sombra before going back into his old violent self, she knew that there was more to him than meets the eye. And for that, she had to defend him.

“Twilight, listen.” She looked down at the Sombra, the odd phenomenon that had happened right before he snapped. “Something is wrong with him.” She said calmly.

“Of course something’s wrong with him! He’s EVIL!” Twilight snapped angrily.

“He’s NOT evil. He may act evil but deep inside; I see a kind and gentle soul. You were there with me.  You heard what he said. You saw how he was acting before he had that outburst. He was being friendly and sweet. But…” Memories flashed before Harmony’s eyes, remembering Sombra’s cries of pain and pictured Sombra’s eyes. The way they had suddenly switched colour; the excruciating pain he must have felt. “But…something turned him, something inside his mind made him more of a monster than usual. That something is taken away.” A spark of fear entered her heart as she got a little closer to the unconscious stallion, looking him over and wondering if he was going to suddenly jump up and go on a rampage again. “Now that I think about it, I think he might be possessed.”

“What?” said Twilight absurdly, looking in disbelief. Surely she couldn’t be THAT acceptable in Sombra’s “goodness.”

“I’m not sure, but the way his eyes shifted colours like that… that tormented look on his face and…” Tears trickled from her eyes as she remembered again that pained look on his Sombra’s face. “The way he cried out in agony. I feel that’s a sure sign that he’s being tortured by someone or something. Maybe...” She quietly mumbled; but perked up as she turned to Twilight to continue her words. “Maybe if I reformed him, then I can cure him of this possession. I will stop this something or someone if it’s the last thing I’ll do.”

With Harmony’s courage, Twilight truly wanted to trust her friend with this, but her doubts still clouded her; she felt that the stakes were rising if they carried on with this dangerous task. 

“I value your determination, Harmony, but this is too much for you to handle. You can’t just reform somepony like Sombra. You remember the stories of what he did to the Crystal Ponies back then, don’t you? Of how he mentally and physically tortured them until they had no hope of escaping his grasp or ever having the courage to fight him? I KNOW Cadence had told you all about it. Besides, if we do reform him, there’s no guarantee that he’ll STAY reformed. So, for the sake of everypony’s safety, I suggest you send Sombra back to Tartarus before he causes any more havoc.”

Harmony Spark did know the stories, and she understood where Twilight was coming from. However, she wasn’t as silly or naïve as her friend thought she was. Meeting Twilight’s eyes head-on she said, “Come on, Twilight. I’m not just doing this on a mere whim. I did it because I can see the good in every pony, just like Celestia said. I want to become his friend because…because I care about him. If you don’t want to help, then that’s fine. You don’t have to.” Closing her eyes, she knew she did have to admit the possibility. “If…things go wrong, and Sombra DOES attempt to harm or kill any others because of my bringing him back to life, then I’m prepared to accept full responsibility for my actions.” She opened her eyes once more, staring into Twilight’s. “Twilight, I want to become his friend. Not for Celestia, not for Equestria, but for the sake of friendship. You, Twilight, one of the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, should know more than anypony else that friendship is one of the most powerful magic there is. My instincts, my heart says we should give him a second chance. Please…I know that you don’t agree with me but please… please give me this chance.” She wore a nearly depressing look at the thought that Twilight would refuse, but she wasn’t going to beg. 

After letting out a long sigh, Twilight closed her eyes to think. She thought long and hard about the possible consequences of giving in and letting Harmony have her way. She knew the possibility of a large amount of damage was almost certain. There was no guarantee that Luna’s spell would hold on forever. And if Sombra somehow was, then he would surely do all he could to find a way to remove it so he could use his dark magic to become the tyrannical warlord he was once was. 

But…Harmony had said that she was willing to accept responsibility for anything that went wrong in her endeavour, and she knew her friend was just as powerful as Sombra. Besides, she’d proved twice already that she could overpower him if he got out of control.  There was still a danger, but she then remembered that one of the most important parts of friendship was having trust in your friends and lending them a hoof if they weren’t strong enough on their own.

“Okay, Harmony. I trust you. You can give it your best shot to try and befriend him. And if you need help, I and the others will always be there for you. But, he’ll have none of our trust until he’s COMPLETELY reformed, and you’re fully responsible for his actions.” Twilight kindly, but firmly replied.

“Of course I will. I said that before. Thank you, Twilight. You truly are a great friend.” She jumped up, giving Twilight a big hug. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Sombra will come around shortly.”

“I hope so.” said Twilight, with a trusting smile. But that wasn’t the only reason she was smiling. She felt that Harmony Spark bore a strong resemblance to Pinkie Pie in personality. She was quirky and energetic, did all she could to make new friends, refused to see the bad in others, and despite their cheerful nature, both of them knew to get serious when it was necessary.

As the two mares reconciled, Sombra slowly awakened from the creature’s control. He was still King Sombra, but he no longer felt like a possessed monster. His vision was blurred. His mind still felt infected from the creature inside him, but his senses were slowly coming back to him. “What…what happened to me?” He asked slowly, trying to collect his memory. Suddenly he saw the upside-down face of Harmony Spark above him, a smile appeared on her face.

“Well, apart from going blooming insane, calling me a mortal, scaring the living daylights out of everypony, and cutting yourself, nothing happened.” Her smile switched to a concerned expression. “Seriously though, are you alright?” She looked worriedly at Sombra’s bleeding limb.

“I…I’m fine.” Sombra replied dismissively as he got to his feet. “It’s just a scratch.”
“Scratch, nothing! You almost cut your hoof off. We need to get you to a hospital and quickly!” Harmony sternly responded.

“Harmony…” Twilight started hesitantly. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but after that outburst, I don’t think that the Canterlot Hospital will want to look after him.” Thinking it over, she hatched an idea. “Harmony, why don’t you do it? You healed him before. And you did pass a medical course in Trottingham University.”

“Yeah, I did heal him, but I’m still not that good at magical healing. All I did was close the wound because the slash I gave him earlier with the sword was very shallow and I only did it to show him I meant business. The wound here is a lot deeper, so I don’t know if just closing the wound is going to be enough. We need to get back to Ponyville, quickly.” Harmony concluded, whilst she and Twilight both helped the injured stallion to the nearby train station.

As the train left for Ponyville, the two princess sisters watched it race down the tracks. Celestia and Luna each had a different expression. Luna watched hopefully, believing in Harmony and hoping Sombra would be reformed and freed from his evil just like she had been before. As she stared at her sister, however, she could see a worried look was all over her face. “Do not fear, sister. Harmony knows what she’s doing. And my spell will prevent Sombra from casting any dark magic.”

Staring forlornly at the train vanishing on the horizon, Celestia replied, “I know, Luna. But even though his dark magic is gone, he might still be a threat...”

End of Chapter 4