//------------------------------// // Survival of the strongest // Story: Sombra. Saga of Hatred // by HiddenUnderACouch //------------------------------// The smell of fresh vegetable soup teased Krystal's nostrils when she slowly opened her eyes, waking up from a strange fever-induced dream. Her head felt heavy, as if filled to the brim with metal, and her skin felt hot and wet. She didn't even try to move, feeling that her limbs had no power in them; she couldn't lift a feather even if she tried her hardest. Krystal opened her mouth to speak, but all she could utter were weak moans and rattles. "Oh, you're awake. I was so worried. You’ve been sleeping for quite a while," Sombra's suddenly gentle voice reached her ears. Krystal lazily turned her head to the source of the voice and saw Sombra standing near a small bonfire made out of broken furniture and torn cloth. The fire was surrounded by solid rocks, to prevent it from spreading, but it was far too small to actually set anything on aflame, even in such a rotten building. Where was she anyway? She couldn't remember anything; everything from the point of her collapse at Sombra's feet was blank. The floor, the ceiling, the walls of this place, they were all so old and rundown. There was junk everywhere, broken tables covered in dust, cobwebs and a slight cover of snow. However, her little corner was quite tidy: no dust, web or junk. It seemed like a broom had been at work. Krystal finally realized that this little corner of hers was entirely Sombra's doing. He’d cleaned this place up a little, found this duvet to cover her from the chilling cold, and even set up an improvised kitchen where other beds used to be. And right now, judging by the smell, he was cooking something. Sombra noticed Krystal's confusion and smiled. "It's a vegetable soup. Sorry, but the vegetables are a little ‘out of date’, but they're all edible. I tried, so if you find bite marks, don't worry, that was me," he said, stirring the boiling concoction in the kettle. It looked quite new, but with a few scratches on its big, black belly. Sombra used magic to lift a small spoon and delved it into the boiling soup. He tried to catch a piece of potato drifting in the soup and, having succeeded, tasted it. He winced as he swallowed the concoction, showing clearly that he didn't like the taste. "Oh, sweet Emperor... Ugh... I should have just brought bread and butter," Sombra lamented, and stirred the soup some more. His face turned sad and thoughtful as he stared into the whirling water. "S- so..."Krystal wanted to say something, but he quickly shushed her. "No. Don't speak. I know what you'll say. And I agree with every insult you were about to pronounce. I know what kind of pony I am, Krystal. I know how horrible I am," he sounded very honest and firm. "Before I ask for forgiveness, let me explain something to you, okay?" She nodded weakly and Sombra took a deep breath. "I was so hostile to you in the beginning — interested, but hostile. I thought you would stab me in the back, I thought you would betray me, like my previous friend did. But I decided to give this blooming friendship a chance," he made a pause, his stomach churning. "But, in the end, I was half-right. The betrayal happened, but the roles were reversed." He looked at Krystal, his eyes filling with tears. "I was afraid of betrayal, and in the end, it was I who betrayed you. I caused a wound so deep it cannot be measured. I've insulted your honour, and threw away my responsibility on your frail back". She wanted to say something, but he quickly covered her mouth with his right hoof. "No, don't say anything. I know. Please, don't hurt even more," he said. "All, that has happened to you, it's my fault. All of it." He took a breath and closed his eyes. "I promise, I will help you as long as you need help. And if you want me gone, I will go away. Just let me heal you back up, and then, decide my fate". When he was done talking, he looked around and glanced at the boiling soup. "Oh, it's ready. Now, it's dinner time!" he said and approached the kettle, wrapped the bowl, lying nearby, with his magic aura and dipped it into the kettle. He blew at it, the steam coiling in the air and flying away through the cracks. Sombra really believed that what he cooked could be eaten — at least if boiled. "Though, some salt would be great," he noted drily after trying it. "Now, dear, open your mouth and try not to swallow all of it at once, you might burn your throat." He levitated the bowl towards her. "Now, carefully. Very carefully!" She put her lips to the edge of the bowl and felt the hot soup flowing down her throat. An immediate gag reflex kicked in as Sombra wasn't a good enough cook to figure out that the vegetables should be properly cleaned and chopped. But, it was edible. Krystal suppressed her disgust and just swallowed the food carefully. Sombra tilted the bowl more and more until Krystal drank all of the soup. She coughed a few times, having not chewed one of the green lumps. After her stomach stopped seething, she felt warm and relaxed at last. At least it did the job: it kept her warm. "There we go. Now, sleep. You should rest a lot," Sombra said, touching her. "You and the baby need a lot of sleep. Come on, close your eyes." Krystal smiled weakly and obeyed, shutting her eyes. Immediately, the fever took over her, making her feel as if she was aflame. Every muscle in her body seemed to be pulsating with pain, but she held back, and just tried to fall asleep. She turned from side to side, hoping that her constant movements would keep the pain down, but it was to no avail. Sombra gently hugged her, and tried to calm her down, stopping her from moving. Krystal finally felt the pain abate a bit and it slowly dissipated as she fell asleep. When will this blizzard end? Sombra wondered, peering outside through the cracked window. The winter started not that long ago, but it seemed to have acquired its full power. The howling wind, the cold snow; all of these traits were so bitterly close and dear to Sombra. After all, during such time he met Krystal. He fell unconscious then. The old times, oh my. How he strived to bring them back; the years, when they had both been little children, when Krystal had still had hope for the future, dreams and her childish smile. When she had been happy. Sombra surrendered to thoughts for a moment. Was he really making her happy? Thinking logically, he had never given her anything worthy of note. Gifts? No, gifts have no value. Friendship? But she only suffered, having to endure his impossible, unreliable, uncontrollable character. And then, there was the child, the child that he was responsible for and that he had so gladly abandoned. How ironic. He hated Amethyst, and yet, in the end, was no different from the joke of a father he so despised. Just like Amethyst, he had abandoned his child. But unlike Amethyst, he still had a slight chance. If Krystal would forgive him, he would be the best father in the world. He would always be by his kid's side, always help him with homework, always protecting him. He would pick the best filly for him as a pair. Though, that would look very strange. His kid is sitting by the window, counting birds, when suddenly Sombra barges in with some filly, screaming ‘Hey, son, I found you a marefriend!’. How ridiculous. He wondered: would his son be like him? That would be very irritating, having to listen to complaints from teachers; he would come home hours into the night, sometimes not even coming at all. And also watching his behaviour, or else he would take up a cigarette. But the only thing his son would not have problems with would be the mares. Sombra was sure his perfect, flawless image of a perfect mare would pass on to his son. And that would be his mother. Not Blanket. Though, he would definitely need to teach his son that he should be careful during... 'close contact', since early pregnancy is something he would need to avoid for the time being. A chilling wind set Sombra's mind right - why was he only considering a son? Maybe Krystal was carrying a beautiful filly inside her. A daughter would be very cool, too. She would need protection from the bullies, which her father was more than ready to provide, until she would find herself a stallion... whom he would still control, because nopony touches his little daughter. Nopony, ever. Sombra leaned on the windowsill. It tore his heart to think that his child might not be born. He felt so stupid. How could he think of getting rid of the child, and now wish for him or her to be there? How could he contradict himself so? Maybe he’d changed, grown up, become responsible. Mayhap dreams had changed. There was one particular dream... If the child Krystal was carrying was a daughter, he wanted to... hug her. Just a simple hug, wrap his hooves around her frail body and press her against his chest so she would hear his heartbeat. She would feel protected, safe in his grasp, because she’d know that her daddy could beat anything, even dragons. "Krystal, please... live in this world. Live on, and bring light into it. If I die, nopony would notice, for I brought nothing worthy of note, but you brought so much light and good. Without you... the world would become so much colder. It would freeze. Please... live on, and share your happiness with others," he whispered, looking at Krystal dreaming in her bed. He approached her and slowly caressed her head. The fever, she felt like she was aflame. Oh, poor mare. He noticed the pendant on her neck and touched it with his hoof, wanting to take a closer look. Yes, it was the same pendant, containing the picture of her family, the one she wore back then, during their trip to the theatre. Carefully, in order not to disturb the beautiful mare, he carefully turned it over and opened it. The picture with the child her, her mother and her father with a moustache were still there. Sombra's stomach churned when he saw this picture. He realized what he’d deprived Krystal of: not just home. He’d deprived her of a family. What kind of a pony he was, when he takes something from others, just because he didn't have the same things? "I'm... sorry," Sombra whispered, knowing well enough that sorry wasn't enough. No amount of sorry could save him now. He leaned his ear to her belly and listened carefully, catching and remembering every sound, for maybe it was his last and only chance to hear a sound made by his child. He was lying near her for hours, it seemed, and slowly drifted into sleep, lulled by the slow beating of Krystal's heart. *** "Hey... wake up! Wake up!" Sombra felt a soft poke to his side and opened his eyes. Krystal gently pushed him, hinting that he should get off her, which he immediately did. "I... Uh, sorry. I just wanted to get some shut eye for a moment... I'm just so tired," Sombra said, rubbing his forehead. Krystal smiled humbly, before coughing a few times. "It's okay... Though you shouldn't sleep next to me," Sombra's heart shrank. "You might get infected. Who knows, it might be contagious." "Ah, don't worry," Sombra said, relieved to know that she wasn't angry with him. "My immune system is strong." He quickly touched her forehead and gave it a gentle kiss. "I suppose you're feeling better?" the stallion asked, whereto Krystal nodded. "Yes, I feel better, just... very exhausted, for some reason. Like I've been jogging the whole week," she said. "Can't feel my limbs... and there’s a heaviness in my stomach." "Oh, I know what that is. Or who," Sombra giggled, rubbing her belly. "It became so much bigger. I'd say the child will be very big." "I sure hope so. The bigger, the healthier," Krystal said. Sombra looked around and his mood went down a bit. This place, while big, was not a fitting place for the child to be born. Granted, he didn't know when it was going to be born. "Krystal, I know I shouldn't ask, but how long till you finally give birth?" he asked, his voice trembling, afraid that she would push him away. Krystal noticed that and relieved him once again with a soft smile. "I think five months, give or take." She made a long pause. "Are you... interested in what happens to the child?" "Krystal, forget what I've said back then, when you first told me. Forget that farce; I was such a big fool back then. Krystal, please, give me a chance. Let me do things right. Please, please!" Sombra suddenly begged. The feelings he had from yesterday still persisted and the desire to hug his daughter burnt brighter than ever. "You sounded different yesterday. I thought I had the freedom of choice," Krystal giggled weakly and coughed loudly several times. "You really want me to forgive you that badly?" "Yes! I'd do anything! I'd build you a house, I'd collect enough money for you to live prosperous for ages. I'd even kill for you!" "Stop, stop, enough!" Krystal calmed him down. "You shouldn't worry too much. The fact that you're ready to accept your duty as a father is enough for me. And... I really missed you and the lewd things you whisper in your sleep." "You... wait, what? I whisper what exactly?" "Nevermind." Krystal smirked, smiling and hiding her face behind a blanket. "Long story short: I want to forgive you. I missed you so much, dear, even after everything that has happened." "R-really? You forgive me?" Sombra asked, just to make sure. She nodded in agreement. "Yes! Yes! Thank heavens, yes!" he screamed. "Hey, quieter, please! I never said the headache passed," Krystal noted and Sombra finally calmed down, hugged her, and kissed her gently. "Thank you, dear, for giving me a chance," he whispered. "Now, let's focus on getting you back up. I can cook you some soup if you want." "It would be nice... But do you have medicine for me? It doesn't seem like a common cold..." Krystal said, coughing loudly. "Oh, sweet Emperor, my chest... it hurts..." She rubbed her chest, trying to somehow suppress the pain, but it only got worse. She cried with pain as the disease gripped her lungs. "Krystal! Krystal, what's wrong?!" Sombra shouted, his horn lightning up instantly. He desperately looked for a healing spell in his memory, but could not find one. Krystal started coughing loudly, gripping her throat, as if trying to scratch it open. Soon, her coughs turned into rattles, and her face turned pale. "Krystal! Come on, girl, don't do this to me! Breathe!" Sombra cried, his voice filled with worry. Losing himself in fear, only one thought came to his mind, a trick he once heard about at school. He moved the blanket away, and put his hooves on Krystal's chest, right where lungs are supposed to be. Then, repeating the words some boy told to his friend, he pressed hard every time Krystal inhaled. He didn't know whether it will stop this choking attack, but he had no other ideas. Every time he pushed, Krystal coughed louder and louder, which clearly caused her pain. Finally, at the third push she rattled once more and fell on the pillow, motionless. "Krystal... are you okay?" Sombra whispered. "Khh... ugh..." She murmured before inhaling deeply. "Krystal, please, stay still. Don't make sudden movements!" he pleaded, but she didn't listen and turned around on her side, swiping the blood, that streamed down her lips. Sombra paled at the sight of her bleeding. "It's okay... I'll be okay... It's just blood... Could you give me a towel?" she uttered weakly, and he quickly fetched a towel, which he’d stolen not so long ago. He didn't quite know what to use it for, but it seemed to be clean. Krystal covered her mouth with the towel, and, having turned to her belly, coughed loudly several times into it. When she moved it away, blood could be seen on the once white towel. Sombra took it, looking at the bloody stain with horror. "Krystal... you're very sick... We need to get you to a doctor," he whispered, but Krystal quickly shook her head, coughing. "No! No, we can't. We simply can't!" He looked at her with despair. "But why?! They have to help. You’re sick! It's their duty!" "Sombra... Do not worry. I'll be okay. You'll just have to get some medicine for me, that's all. I'll be okay," Krystal said, dragging the blanket back on to her. "Listen carefully: I need..." She told him several names of the medicine she needed, though they all were in Unicornian. Sombra didn't understand any of them, but she told him to look for the names on the bottles. It shouldn't be too hard. However, little did she know how Sombra intended to acquire that medicine. "I hope you have enough... money for it. I am sorry, I can't give you anything to sell..." she said, covering her pendant. Sombra smiled, trying to relieve her. "Don't worry. Money's not a problem. I'll get the medicine for you," he assured her. "But... I can't leave you alone here. What if you have another seizure while I'm not there? What if some bum enters and you are here, alone and unprotected, with a child, no less? No, I can't simply leave you here alone." She smiled at him, feeling all fuzzy inside from the care he was showing. Even though she was scared staying alone in this place, it had to be done. Otherwise she'd die. "Go. I'll be okay. Just cover the doors, and I'll be here as quiet as I can. Nopony will notice," she said. "Go now. Please... Before it starts again...” Sombra closed his eyes and turned away, not wishing to see his beloved spit blood. Without looking, he gave her the towel, and she quickly covered her mouth with it. "Stay safe, Krystal. I promise, I won't be away for too long," he said, approaching the exit. "I'll be here soon. I'll heal you. You and our child have a long and happy life waiting. Just you wait." Those were his last words as he disappeared into the blizzard. Krystal covered herself with a blanket and stared into the dying fire dancing in the improvised bonfire. She should probably give it some fuel. Her horn lit up, as she levitated several pieces of food and threw them into the fire. Even such a minor spell took a good portion of her strength, but the deed was done: the fire would burn. She would have to do this from time to time, but she could manage it. She wasn't too worried. She was more anxious about Sombra, who was out there, all alone, in the snow. Closing her eyes, she thought of the happy times she had, and would have. She knew that he would return soon, unharmed, and would heal her. A whole new, happy life was waiting for them, herself, Sombra, and the child. A new and happy life. *** "Good morning, sir! How can I help you?" the orange-colored earth pony greeted her new costumer. It had been a while since she’d had one of those. "Good morning..." The blue shimmering crystal pony looked distressed and worried, his eyes dancing around as if looking for something. Drops of sweat were running down his neck and chest... which the young shopkeeper found very strange. It was so cold outside and he was sweating. "Are you alright, sir? You look a bit pale," she said, looking straight at the blue pony. "No, no, I'm okay... I just need a... brew for my wife," he said, rubbing his neck nervously. "Oh, do you mean..." the orange mare hinted, and the blue pony quickly nodded. The shopkeeper then grinned. "One second, please," she said, turned around and started walking around the shelves, filled with all kinds of bottles. Every bottle had a sticker on it, with sloppy black letters spelling out the name of the brew. These stallions, the orange colored mare thought to herself, how shy can they get? Every mare has problems once in a while, there's no need to be shy about it. It's a pharmacy store, not a pub. When she finally found the required brew, she put it on the counter in front of the stallion, much to his relief. He brightened up and sighed. "There you go. That will be thirty gold coins, thank you," she announced. The stallion hesitated for a moment, but threw his purse on the counter, and the shopkeeper quickly counted out the needed amount of money. "Thank you! Please, do come again!" she said, and the stallion took the brew and shoved it into the bag he was carrying. However, instead of leaving, he trotted along the display, looking at the dry flowers and petals, along with many more ingredients to be made into medicine and brews. The mare let him do that, maybe he would pick up something else and just walked away from the counter, back into her cabinet. However, the ringing of the bell, hanging near the door by the entrance, made her flash back to the counter. A young crystal unicorn, dark-hued, with molten snow in his mane and coat, entered the shop, looking around, looking just as nervous as the stallion before him. However, this boy looked teen, sixteen or seventeen years old max. He looked around in anxiety, scanning his surroundings. When he noticed the blue stallion, he stood still and a shiver ran down his body. "Hey, there, pretty!" the shopkeeper said, smiling and looking at the young colt. She never admitted this in public, but she had a thing for young colts and stallions, so much that many earth ponies shied away from her back in her homeland. But here, nopony seemed to mind, so she took the freedom to flirt a little bit with the younger part of her clientele. "Welcome to Valencia's Herbal Medicine and Brews! I am very happy to see a new face around here," she sung, looking at the young colt approaching the counter. He didn't reply to her ingeniously composed greeting, and kept silent still. But the shopkeeper, Valencia, was determined to make this cutie talk even a little bit. "So, do you need something in particular, or you're just looking around?" Valencia asked, looking at the young pony. He looked back at her. His eyes were so strangely muddy. Was he sick? "I need medicine," the dark-colored pony rattled, trying to keep his voice down, looking straight into Valencia's eyes. He quickly named the medicine he required, and even though he was speaking unicornian names, Valencia quickly remembered the normal names of the herbs he needed. She took a long inspecting look at her young costumer. He didn't look particularly royal, and those herbs were incredibly expensive, especially during winter, when they reached the peak of their price. "Honey, are you sure that's what you want? Because I don't see bags of gold with you," Valencia joked, not being too far off the truth. This young stallion didn't look rich at all. Why would he ask her for that? "No, you don't. But I really need that medicine," he said, and something sinister sparkled in his eyes. Valencia wanted to reply with a flirty joke, but suddenly felt something cold touch her neck. She looked at the dark stallion again: his horn was sparkling with grey energies and his face was now contorted in a grimace. She shifted her eyes a little bit to the right, and saw the light reflecting by the shiny surface of a small metal shard. The edge of the makeshift weapon was scratched: the stallion probably found something metal on the street and just beat it with a rock until it assumed a fitting form. "Now, listen to me very closely," the young pony growled, but quietly, so the stallion with the blue shimmering coat would not hear him. "Do it quickly and quietly. Bring me the medicine, or else I will kill you. Got it?" "Yes, sure, I got it," Valencia uttered, trying to keep her voice down. He looked extremely desperate. Just one little movement of a horn, and she would fall down with a sliced throat. But it was so hard: her ankles were shaking with fear, and the cold sweat started running down her skin. She could hardly stop shaking. The young robber was quite smart: he put the shank to her throat in such a way that her long orange mane would hide it from the sight of the other pony here. With but a quick movement, he would be able to slice her throat and walk away quickly before he notices a thing. She should obey him and pray for a miracle. Valencia quickly trotted away back to her office to fetch the required medicine and Sombra hid the shank under the counter, where he could easily reach it with magic. Everything went much smoother than he expected. Sombra hadn't thought much when he entered the shop with the weapon. He never made a scheme or a plan of how exactly this would go. He was just following the stream of events, and so far, it was going where he wanted it to go. However, this blue pony freaked Sombra out a lot. Why was he hanging around, and not leaving? Just what the Abyss did he forget here? Sombra was so frustrated and scared when he threatened Valencia, that this freak would notice it. But everything played out quite well — he didn't seem to notice anything. He didn't even turn to observe what Sombra was ordering. Everything was going smoothly, far too smoothly. But what if it just seemed like it? What if this pony noticed everything already and was just pretending to be a simple bystander? What if he already planned to take Sombra down? No, no, he couldn't. He couldn't take him down! He was not strong enough for it. He couldn't be stronger. He could be stronger. He might as well be fully aware. Maybe he knew before Sombra even entered the shop. Sombra was shaking like a leaf in the hurricane, sweat running down his face like a waterfall. Every fibre of his being was shaking and trembling, and his mind was filled with horrific words: caught, criminal, trial, punishment. Did he really fall so low? Or was he walking this road since the beginning? Valencia was taking too long. What was she doing there? It had been almost a minute. What was taking her so long? Sombra wanted to call her out, but kept silent, afraid to alert the stranger. Finally, the orange colored earth pony returned, carrying several bottles with her. Sombra squinted his eyes when he noticed that the names on the bottles didn't match the ones Krystal told him. "Are you sure you brought the right medicine?" he asked, and Valencia sighed with worry. "Yes... they just have a different name in my language," she said. "That's all I have." "Are you really sure?" Sombra suddenly blurted, getting angry. He didn't believe her at all. She just used his ignorance of her language to save her own skin and money. She was lying. He was sure she was! The shard quickly shifted from its cover to Valencia's neck. She gazed at Sombra with fear, and he angrily stared at her, letting her know that he was serious. She was completely at his mercy. "Yes... They're just called differently. I don't speak unicornian, but I know the names of the medicine... it's required... worldwide..." she started to mumble as Sombra pressed the blade harder and harder against her skin. He had no intention of hurting her, only scaring her. He focused entirely on keeping control of his nerves, in order not to slip and cut Valencia accidently. Valencia became so pale so quickly. She literally withered before Sombra, turning from an independent mare into a weak plaything. Sombra couldn't stop looking in her eyes, full of fear. Why were her eyes so addicting? Or was it the fear? Did he enjoy position of power? "Got you!" Sombra's descend into philosophy was rudely interrupted as this loud, rude remark startled him, making him turn towards the source of the sound. All he was able to notice was the angry face of the blue crystal pony as he tackled Sombra down and pinned him to the ground. This pony certainly knew what he was doing: his movements were quick and strong. Without too much of a problem, he used his weight to pin Sombra down on the floor and struck him right in the chest. The young robber could barely recover his breath. He gasped desperately for air as the stallion struck once more, aiming right in the head this time. Sombra's vision darkened and turned grey as the world around started to spin. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body, trying to fight back the dizziness. "I- I think I got him," the pony exclaimed, thinking that he knocked Sombra out. He quickly turned around to Valencia. "Are you alright, miss?" "Yes... Oh, thank you so much! I thought I was a goner for sure!" she lamented, covering her eyes, when suddenly she started trembling and sobbing. "I... really thought he was... going to kill... me!" "Don't worry. It's okay, he's out cold now," the stallion assured her. He gazed at Sombra once more and sighed. "So young... Do you have a rope or something? We need to restrain him, and then give him out to the guards," he said, seeming very displeased about what he was doing. He was probably a father, so breaking a life of a pony so young must have felt atrocious for him. Hearing the words 'restrain' and 'guards', Sombra shuddered. He... couldn't be caught. He must not be caught. He had to do something. Sombra started to panic. If he was caught, what would happen to Krystal? To her child? He must not be caught! He couldn't be caught! He had to get out! Get out! Get out! He couldn't let her die! Couldn't let his child die! Sombra's horn unleashed a blinding spark as he wrapped the shard that had been lying on the floor ever since the pony tackled him in his magical aura. His attacker couldn't even react as the blade sunk deep into his flesh, right into his back. The blue pony gasped of the sudden pain, opening his eyes widely, but Sombra wasn't going to stop. He opened his eyes at last, revealing that he was still conscious and quickly gathered up a ball of energy at the tip of his horn. Seconds later, this small ball smashed right into the attacker's chest, knocking him back with such power that he utterly smashed through the counter, made from wood and glass, and crashed into the wall. The power of the collision was strong enough to shake the shelves and several of them fell down right on top of the poor pony. The sharp edge of the blafr didn't cut too deep, though, as it flew into the corner, leaving a bloody trail behind, when Sombra unleashed the magical charge. Sombra got up slowly, breathing heavily, his chest still aching from the strike it suffered. His heart was pounding faster than ever. His mane was wet from sweat, and the thumping in his ears was driving him insane. It took a minute for Sombra to get his breath. For Valencia, it probably seemed like an eternity as Sombra breathed slowly, loudly and heavily, and her protector was lying among the broken glass and bottles that barely survived the fall. However, not only she was slowly overtaken by horror. "Is he... dead?" Sombra whispered to himself. "Did I... kill him?" He slowly trotted towards the pony, avoiding the small drops of blood that fell from the wound on his back during his flight across the room. It felt like a dream, a horrible dream, and Sombra wished he could wake up. Or at least see Blanket, who would confirm his suspicions that it was a dream. He slowly approached the pony he just knocked down. And he wasn't waking up. "Please... please!" he whispered, swiping away the pieces of wooden rubble and putting his hoof on the downed opponent's neck. The gods were merciful: he was still breathing. Sombra backed away, letting out a sigh of relief. He was alive. Thank the Emperor. Quickly turning around, he dashed towards the counter and rudely put his hooves right there, smashing the wooden surface so hard the bottles with medicine jumped a little bit. "A bag! Now!" Sombra growled as menacing as he could, but Valencia hesitated for a moment, looking at her defender and then ran away. She returned shortly afterwards, carrying a long linen scarf. It appears she didn't have anything else to serve as a bag as her costumers would usually bring their own. Sombra didn't care too much, however. When she put the scarf near the tray with the medicine, he quickly shovelled all of it on the scarf and tied its ends. It wasn't the safest way to carry something, but it wasn't too bad, Sombra thought. He took the improvised bag, put it on his back and was about to leave, when he suddenly felt cold filling his very veins. He felt his blood freezing. He felt his mind turning into ice, as a long, complicated and logical thought visited his brain. Witnesses, he thought to himself. She will report to the guards. She had seen what I've done. She remembered my face. She will tell. It seemed quite logical. He was a criminal in her eyes, stole her property, hurt an innocent pony. She’d seen it all and she would tell. He knew she would tell. She had to. Sombra walked back to her, glaring at her with emotionless eyes, while her own eyes resonated with fear. "I gave you what you wanted! Why won't you leave? Please!" she cried, backing away and hitting the wall with her backside. "Leave me alone!" "I can't," Sombra said. He knew he would never be the same after this. Krystal might not even forgive him. No, she wouldn't forgive him, not this time. But he had to do it for her, even if she’d think it was wrong. Take two lives to save two. The shank flew up into the air once more and positioned itself near Valencia's throat. Just one slice — that was all it’d take. "P-p-please... Don't. I beg you!" she mumbled, getting down on her knees. "I have a family! Please, don't... I promise, I won't tell anypony! There's no need to do this! I beg you!" Sombra didn't listen. He couldn't hear her words over the sounds of Krystal crying. He knew she was crying. Deep inside, she was crying. She wanted to go home. He couldn't take it. "I'm sorry... I have to," Sombra whispered so quietly that only he could hear it. He took a deep breath, and jerked his head to the right, preparing to end the life of this pony. Remember your misery! Remember your pain! She deserves it! They all deserve it! He spoke in his mind, mustering up the courage to end her pathetic life. Remember Amethyst! Prepare yourself! Prepare for what you are going to do to him! She is but a subject now! A slave, your plaything! End her life! you can do it! He screamed inside his mind, already feeling the cold taste of blood in his mouth. He already felt his hooves stain in the blood of this pony, felt her flesh tear under his vicious cuts. He was ready. He could do it. After so many years, he would finally get his revenge for everything this world had done to him. Avenge himself! Avenge Krystal! Avenge his mother! Kill her! He was about to jerk his head to the right, commanding the blade to move, commanding it to end this miserable life, when he suddenly felt something heavy, something very heavy inside his chest. “You're not like this, are you?” a painfully familiar voice reached his ears, and Sombra turned to its source. "Mom?"