Sombra’s ear twitched. Something was wrong…
He pulled Rarity closer, trying to ignore the feeling. He hadn’t slept this well since he had awoken from the gem. No nightmares, no feelings of loss. This new feeling though… it wouldn’t leave him. Something was happening; something powerful and evil.
Sombra reluctantly lifted his head and glanced at the window. The sun had yet to rise, but it should have done so by now. He pushed the blankets off and got out of the bed. From the window he could see a small portion of Ponyville. The citizens were out and about, obviously confused.
Rarity toss in bed, stirred in her sleep by the lack of warmth from Sombra’s body. He turned to watch her for a moment before returning his attention back to the window. He could feel the presence of Ruin Worms… That was why the princess was researching them, he thought. I cannot be in my weakened state if the worms come this way… I must break the locking spell.
He walked to the door and froze. He didn’t want to leave Rarity unprotected. Sombra returned to her side and slowly stroked her purple mane. He had never fully understood the power of his shadows… the Nightmare Gem had always been somewhat of a mystery, despite the fact it was the source of his very existence. All he knew was that the shadows worked to save him whenever his life was threatened, even saving him from the life-ending attack of the two princess. He had never attempted to give that power to somepony else…
Sombra focused his power and felt a piece of it fade away forever, slowly soaking into Rarity’s shadow. Some might call it curse, but Sombra had given it the sole instruction to protect her and nothing else. Content that she would be safe until he returned, Sombra left the room as quietly as possible.
He needed more power to get rid of this locking spell. More power…
“Rarity! Rarity!”
Sombra was familiar with the voice echoing through the halls. It was the dragon’s, his other former guard. Perfect…
Slipping through the shadows at unnatural speed, Sombra reached the source of the shouting within moments. The purple dragon had his clawed hands cupped around his mouth, calling Rarity’s name over and over again. Sombra smiled. The urge to gather fear and hate was rising… he needed power and he would do whatever it took to get it.
“Rarity!” the dragon called again. “Rarity, where are you!?”
“What business do you have, dragon?” Sombra whispered from the shadows.
The dragon whipped around, his eyes wildly searching the area. Sombra stayed in the shadows, obfuscated by his magic and hidden from the dragon’s view. This terrified the dragon, adding more power to Sombra’s Nightmare Gem.
“S-Sombra?” the dragon asked, attempting to maintain a confident tone. He was failing. “I thought… I thought Twilight had locked you back up…”
“You thought wrong,” Sombra whispered in a dark tone.
“I… uh… Where is Rarity?” The dragon continued to scan the room, the scales on his back standing on end from fear and anxiety.
“What makes you think Rarity even wants to see you?”
The dragon momentarily froze, a pained look on his face. Sombra began laughing. He knew he had struck a sensitive cord… The dragon cared for her. “S-she wants to see me,” the dragon stammered, trying to convince himself of that fact.
“Yet you’re looking for and she’s not looking for you…”
“You don’t know that!” the purple dragon shouted.
“Don’t I?”
“Y-you don’t know her! What have you done with her, Sombra!? Where is she!?” The dragon’s frustration and fear were getting the better of him. He dropped down and hunched his back like a little angry housecat, trying to act tough, but his youth and naivety were showing.
“Don’t be a fool, beast. You’re nothing but a pet, a servant, to the ponies around you. She won’t come looking for you until she has something for you to do. Gather her gems, carry her things…”
“I… That’s…” The dragon’s voice began drifting off and his eyes glazed over with water. “That’s not true…”
“Isn’t it? Isn’t that how all the ponies treat you? Think back, beast. Think back over all your time here in this tiny town… How many times have you been summoned for your company? How many times have you been summoned for your advice?”
The dragon slouched in his spot, tears running down his face. He grabbed at his tail and hugged it close to his body. “They… uh… they threw me a birthday party… once…”
“And how many times have they summoned you for work? Summoned you to do their labor?” Sombra began darkly laughing, enjoying the hate he was receiving from the dragon. He was almost strong enough to break free… just a little more and he wouldn’t need this dragon any more.
“They said I was their friend…”
“They would say anything to placate you.”
“But… this is my home… Twilight… Twilight raised me…”
“And when you’re no longer useful…” Sombra continued in his dark tone. “What do you think they’ll do then? When you’re too big to do their chores? Too vicious to stay with pony-kind?”
The baby dragon had tears running down his face, his body shaking. “No… No, they wouldn’t send me away… Twilight said… Twilight promised…”
“They’ll get rid of you, like the monster you are. Twilight, Rarity… they’ll cast you aside, or worse. What do you think ponies do to monsters like dragons?”
“No! No, they wouldn’t!” The dragon covered his eyes with his clawed hands and shook his head. “You’re wrong! You’re wrong; they would never do that! Twilight would never… Rarity would never…” The dragon picked himself up and ran from the room, his fears, frustrations and hate radiating from his very body. Those feelings were just enough… Sombra drank them and felt the power he needed…
The spell locking his unicorn magic was broken!
Red and green energy soaked the room and corrupted everything it touched. Black crystals sprouted from the shadows and he stepped out, his powers nearly at their peak. Sombra reveled in his regained strength but now he wanted more. So much more. The sclera of his eyes became green and soon he all he could think about was where he could get more power. He would leave the ponies here to their fate… the Ruin Worms would destroy everything… and he would go back to her Crystal Empire, the source of so much more magic.
Sombra strode from the castle and exited out into the snow. The cold stung and for a brief moment he reached for his neck to secure his scarf, but it wasn’t there… he had left it with Rarity. Sombra took a deep breath and hesitated. Just thinking about Rarity calmed him. His lust for power was momentarily waned.
No, he thought as he shook his head. No, I need power… Why was I even with that mare? I need… I need power over all else… Not confident with his decision, Sombra slowly walked to the edge of Ponyville, his eyes on the sky. The sun still hadn’t risen. If he was going to escape it had to be now. The dark magic coursing through his body pulled him forward, leading him further and further away from town.
---
Rarity rolled over in bed and reached out only to be disappointed. “Sombra?” she asked. Rarity opened her eyes. “Sombra?” she asked again. Nothing. The room was silent.
Getting out of bed, Rarity looked around. Sombra was nowhere to be seen and his scarf was resting on the nightstand. Where could he had gone? She trotted over to the mirror and slowly brushed her mane, trying to clear her thoughts…
Much to her surprise, her shadow moved on its own and curved up onto the wall. Rarity backed away, dropping her brush but remaining silent. The shadow had a face its own, holes in the shadow in shape of eyes and a mouth, and it smiled as though it had a secret.
“Are you… is this…” Rarity could barely formulate her thoughts into coherent sentences.
The shadow pointed to the door and held a hoof up as though ‘shushing’ her. Rarity quickly glanced to the door and then back to the shadow. “You… you want me to leave the room?”
The shadow nodded.
Rarity hesitantly walked over to the door and stared down at her shadow. “Do you know where Sombra is?”
The shadow nodded.
“Will you help me find him, er… shadow?”
The shadow again nodded.
Rarity smiled. The shadow wasn’t dangerous, which was the biggest relief. Was this something Sombra had given her? “Then let’s go, my darling! We’ve no time to lose!” Before she exited the room she used her magic to carry over her’s and Sombra’s scarf. She knew he would need it.