//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 
// Story: Shadowy Love 
// by FinnPony 
//------------------------------//


Shadowy Love
By FinnPony
Chapter 13


Sombra slammed the door of his room shut behind him, staggering a little. He tried to sit down to the side of his bed, but couldn’t stay put for long. He already knew it. He wouldn’t sleep that night. No, there was too much emotions boiling inside him for now. Sombra growled and started to pace around the dim room once again. He felt a bit annoyed because he had been enjoying his time with Twilight that evening. He shouldn’t let himself slip like that again... Or maybe he was annoyed by the fact that they were having fun, and it of course had to be ruined because of him.
“Why can’t you leave me alone even after you are dead?” he slurred to nopony in the room. He stopped his pacing in front of the big window in his room and pulled the curtain out of his way, revealing the town of Ponyville to him. The sun was still in the sky, but it was getting lower slowly. Sombra saw ponies going on with their daily life. They seemed happy.
Maybe it was the alcohol in him, but he felt the constant urge to talk, even if it was just to himself, “Look at them smiling like they had some reason to do so!”

Suddenly Sombra felt a cold wave wash over him, his drunkenness disappearing immediately, leaving a bad taste into his mouth. He knew that they had just entered the room.
“Oh but they have a reason to smile,” one of the voices said calmly.
“Unlike you,” the other voice said bluntly, making Sombra frown. 
The third voice continued after a short moment, sounding almost sad, “Poor master… All the rights for a normal life taken away so harshly…” 
“Shut up,” Sombra commanded angrily, but the second, angry one continued.
“You can’t deny it! Would you be in this situation if he hadn’t done what he did?” the voice asked from him, making Sombra sigh.
“No, I wouldn’t,” he admitted.
The third, sad sounding voice continued from here, “You would have a family, a career… a future.”
“I have a future!” Sombra said loudly. The voices mumbled something, before the calm voice continued.
“Of course you have a future… with us,” the voice told Sombra. He looked out from the window, thinking if the voices were right or not.
As if they would have read his thoughts, the same voice continued, “Look outside. Do you think that you could live like them? They have friends and family… You have neither one.”
Sombra growled, but didn’t answer the voices. He knew that they were right. Normal life wasn’t an option. Not anymore.
“Touchy subject?” the angrier voice asked, but did not wait for an answer, “So what if you can’t have the life that they have? You can have so much more! The Crystal Empire… -” The two other voices joined it. “- The whole of Equestria!”
Then the calm one continued with steady, yet cold voice, “Besides… Surely you want to punish those brats for making you go into that icy hell for so many years?”
Sombra felt a chill go down his spine. Only remembering the decade he spent in the ice of the frozen north made him feel like his whole body was cast in ice again.
“Of course I do, and I will. I will get my revenge,” he answered.

	“Revenge…” the angry voice dragged teasingly. “You already have some first-hoof experience in that matter, don’t you master?”
“Shut up,” was Sombra’s cold reply.
“Revenge…” the sad voice spoke with sorrowful tone. “What else could you have done to make your suffering stop?”
“It didn’t, and it never will,” Sombra retorted. He sat down to the floor and hung his head. “My revenge wasn’t about me not about me, it was about them. You should already understand that.”

“You had to punish the ones that did wrong to your lov...”

“I told you never to spoke of them again!” he interrupted angrily. He sprung up from the floor, trying to locate the source of the formless voice with angry frown on his face and his teeth exposed. Sombra was sure that he heard quiet whispering around him. He breathed heavily, almost blinded by rage and grief that his history held within, and the voices seemed to notice it. They kept silent as he hissed curses to nopony in special and kicked the poor nightstand, sending it to a short flight towards the corner of the room. He paced around the room for a moment, before finally letting out one last curse, slumping down to the floor and calming down. It took another short moment before the calm voice started asking. 

“How is our little plan coming along? How much progress have you made? Have you already found a way to gain enough power to crush the two sisters… to rise on the throne of Equestria!?” the voice spoke, rising it’s voice a bit, making Sombra feel troubled to answer. His sudden aggression was now gone, replaced by a bit of hesitation.
“I have had a couple of setbacks…” he answered slowly, and could feel the temperature dropping in the room drastically.
“What!?” the angry voice shouted. “How can you not have gotten anything done!? All you have been doing is hanging around with that wretched mare…”
The voice stopped, and everything was silent for couple of seconds, before the sad voice wailed, “Oh poor master! He has fallen for a mare!”
“Never,” Sombra answered, angrily gritting his teeth. He lowered his voice a bit before speaking, knowing that there might be a guard behind the door, “Twilight Sparkle is just a pawn…”
“You better keep it that way!” the angry voice yelled at him. “You know what will happen to her when we reach our goal… After all, she too is one of Equestria’s princesses, responsible for your most recent defeat!”
“Of course I know what will happen to her!” Sombra growled. He was getting irritated by the voice.
“Don’t get mad master,” the calm voice spoke, trying to calm Sombra down. “We just don’t want to have any problems that could do harm to our mission.”
“Why do you think that it would be trouble!?” Sombra growled even louder.
“She will give you only more suffering,” the sad voice sighed. “Stay away from her.”
“Yes! Just stay away from her!” the angry voice commanded. “Or even better, kill her.”
That sentence made Sombra frown. He had thought about his plan more than enough during the last couple of days, but every time he started to think about what to do with that purple alicorn, his planning came to a stop. Would he kill her? Sombra felt the strange heat returning to his chest once again. He already knew that it was somehow related to the struggle with his damned feelings. He quickly shook of his thoughts of Twilight Sparkle.

“Calm down,” the calm voice told to the other two, which seemed to obey. “We still aren’t powerful enough to challenge the two sisters.”
“I agree,” Sombra said.
“But soon we will be,” the voice said. “And then you must not hesitate…”
“I won’t,” Sombra answered annoyedly.
“We know you won’t,” the second and third voices spoke. “We will make sure of that.”
Sombra tried to look like he hadn’t paid any mind to the voices, and listened as the calm one spoke, “We must go now. Do not act suspiciously. We must not act before we are ready.”
“Don’t worry,” Sombra assured with grim look on his face.

“I’m sure that nopony suspects a thing.”


* * *


“I suspect that Sombra is up to no good!”

“Calm down sister,” Luna said and watched from her comfortable cushion as her sister paced around their personal quarters. Celestia shot a nervous look towards her. For a moment the only sounds heard were the clattering of Celestia’s hooves against the marble floor and the crackling of wood in the fireplace behind Luna. Celestia did a couple of circles around the table Luna was sitting in front of before turning towards her younger sister.
“How can I calm down?” Celestia asked and returned to pace around the tea table, where Luna was sitting and enjoying her tea. “King Sombra is back and he’s living in the same castle with our newest princess? How do you think that I could calm down?”
“Maybe some chamomile tea?” Luna offered with a smile. Celestia paid no attention to her and continued walking.
“What if he’s already done something terrible to my Twilight? She hasn’t sent me a message today!” Celestia spoke, maybe to herself.
“Princess Twilight,” Luna said with a raised eyebrow. 

Again, Celestia paid no attention Luna’s remark. She rolled her eyes and as Celestia passed her again, she snapped her teeth into her sister’s multi-colored tail and pulled her down to the cushion next to herself. Celestia gave her a strange look.
“Sister,” Luna started and poured Celestia some tea. “I think we should talk.”
“About what?” Celestia asked, grabbing the teacup with her golden magical aura.
Luna thought for moment bow to approach the situation, before saying with a sheepish smile, “Sorry. It is my first time as a voice of reason between the two of us.”
“Voice of reason?” Celestia asked and took a sip, looking at Luna with suspicious look on her face. 
“Yes,” Luna said and nodded. She decided to go straight to the point, “Your obsession with princess Twilight Sparkle is starting to go a bit too far Celestia.”
Celestia did a spit-take when Luna said that, and the table got covered in tea. She quickly used her magic to vaporize the tea from the tablecloth and poured herself some more. Then she turned to speak to Luna, “Obsession? Luna, are you really implying that I’m obsessed to Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yes.”

“Why that is just crazy!” Celestia almost shouted.
“Is it?” Luna exclaimed. “What about all the spells you secretly cast upon her castle without her knowing?”
“Just a precaution,” Celestia answered calmly.
“Then can you explain a whole brigade of your guards stationed in Ponyville’s borders?” Luna continued her bombardment. Again, Celestia had answer.
“With the recent events in Ponyville I decided that the town needs more law enforcements in case of one certain god of chaos returning to his old habits for example,” she answered, making Luna sigh deeply. Celestia seldomly was as stubborn as she was now, it usually was Luna’s job.
“The spy you send to watch over her?” she asked.
“I cancelled that order!” Celestia answered and held her hoof up in her defence.
“It was me who had to cancel that order!” Luna snapped at her and waved her hooves in the air for emphasis. 
“Oh…” Celestia said slowly. “I forgot about that.”

Then there was a deep silence fell between them. They both continued to drink their tea in silence, listening to the all little sounds that could be heard in the room. Celestia spun a spoon in her cup with her magic, staring at it without even blinking. Luna knew that her sister wouldn’t continue on the subject, so she had to.
“Sister,” she started gently. Celestia lifted her gaze towards her, staring at her through her thick mane. Luna thought that for a second she saw almost an embarrassed look in her older sister’s magenta eyes.
“You know how Twilight Sparkle feels about all this,” Luna said. “It makes her feel like she is being treated not equal with us, which is not true. We both know that.”
“I know,” Celestia sighed, hanging her head a bit. Luna smiled a little. Now they were making progress.
“I…” Celestia started, clearly hesitating. “I just don’t want to repeat my mistakes.”
“Mistakes?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. Celestia didn’t answer with words. Instead she just glanced nervously towards Luna, whose eyes grew wide when she got what Celestia had mean with ‘mistakes’.
“You… You don’t mean Nightmare Moon do you?” she asked quietly.
There wasn’t words, but silence spoke volumes between the sisters.
“Celly,” Luna said, sounding almost sad. “Only pony responsible for it is me. Nopony else.”
“But I didn’t see your distress, and wasn’t there for you when you needed me. If I would only have know that you were so upset…” Celestia spoke with a almost quivering voice, which made Luna feel strange. She hadn’t seen Celestia like that. Luna herself was in peace with her past, but Celestia clearly wasn’t.
“I didn’t show it to anypony,” Luna said with uneasy look on her face. “Now I regret it.
“Oh I was so lonely,” Celestia said, and looked Luna in the eye. Luna returned the stare, seeing the sorrow in her sister’s eyes. 
“I regretted my decision every day and night,” Celestia continued. “Please Luna, do believe me. If I could undo all of it, I would.”
“Of course I believe you Celly,” Luna said with awkward smile on her face. Their conversation was getting in the wrong direction, and Celestia was getting emotional. If Luna hadn’t been feeling so uncomfortable about it, she might have found the situation amusing. She didn’t know how to react. After a couple of seconds she decided to go with a solution that would most likely work. It usually worked on Luna herself when she was getting angsty or stuff like that.

Luna reached forward, and closed her older sister into a tight hug. She had to rise up to her hind legs to reach Celestia over the table. Celestia slowly lifted her front-hooves over Luna’s neck and hugged her back, rubbing their cheeks together. They stayed like that for a minute, before it became too awkward for Luna, and she broke the hug. She noticed that Celestia was smiling again, and that she looked more like her normal, calm self.
“Thank you Luna,” she said and smiled. “I must say that I no longer wonder how a single hug can calm you down when you are upset.”
“So you feel better now?” Luna asked and rubbed Celestia’s cheek with her hoof, earning a wider smile from her.
“Yes. I’ve needed that for a while now actually,” Celestia answered, gently swiping Luna’s hoof away.  
“Glad I could help,” Luna said, and then her smile turned into a serious stare. “But now we need to get this whole Twilight mess solved.”
Celestia frowned, but nodded. She then looked past Luna’s shoulder, out from a window behind her.
“I know that my I might be a bit too protective towards Twilight Sparkle, but…” she started, but Luna cut in.
“Might? A bit?” she asked with annoyed frown. Celestia returned the look, making Luna fold her ears backwards.
“Will you let me finish?” Celestia snapped at her, making Luna shut her mouth. Celestia then continued, “You must understand me Luna. Twilight Sparkle is the most valuable student I have ever had, not to mention that she is a fellow princess and a very close friend of mine.”
“Yes, yes,” Luna answered. “But it still doesn’t give you a right to make decisions on her behalf. She is a grown mare and a princess.”
“What you say is true,” Celestia said, a sad look appearing onto her face again. “But even though she is an adult mare, she is still so very young… and so very pure.”
“Pure?” Luna asked, sounding confused.
Celestia gave her a faint nod and explained, “She is one of the elements. She represents one of the six forces that held our kingdom together… -” she held a small pause “- and she is very powerful.”
“Where are you getting with this?” Luna asked from Celestia, who gave her the most grimm look before answering.
“What if her powers were to be used for evil?” Celestia said, making Luna frown.
“Evil? We both know that Twilight could never…” Luna started, but now Celestia interrupted her.
“Of course, but what about if there is a force that might… corrupt her?” Celestia spoke quietly, making Luna’s frown melt away. Celestia was sure that there might have been a glimmer of worry in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly.
“Sombra? Bah!” Luna said and chuckled. “He doesn’t even have his powers now. What could he do? Besides, Twilight Sparkle is not a force he would like to mess with, not after getting hit by the elements.”
There was a short silence, before Luna added, a bit more shyly, “And the element’s could reform me, so why not him?”
“We both know that his evilness has no borders. Who knows if he is planning to regain his powers right now?” Celestia asked from Luna, who shrugged in response. Celestia then continued, “A stallion so wicked and sick-minded… A stallion with a heart as black as night… We can’t even imagine what troubling thoughts goes through his head, and what he is capable of.”
“I know that we must be careful with him, but this is important for Twilight too,” Luna said to Celestia. “If she can -” A shudder crawled down her spine “- find a place for Sombra in society, she will prove herself once and for all. Think of the confidence she will gain from it! And besides, you were the one who let him live in the first place.”
“I know Luna,” Celestia said and sipped her now cold tea.
“But doesn’t that mean that at least in some subconscious level you trust that she won't be harmed by him?” Luna asked with hopeful tone. 
“I-ah… Yes. I think,” Celestia answered and rubbed her front-hooves together with a thoughtful look on her face. Luna started to smile.
“It is a start, my sister,” she said and patted Celestia on the head, earning a mixed expression of annoyance and amusement from Celestia. 

“And if it bothers you so, we can go Ponyville together, to see how Twilight Sparkle is coming along Sombra,” Luna offered, in which Celestia was quick to answer.
“Oh, I forgot to mention that Twilight actually asked us to visit her after she has completed her studies with Sombra. She told that it will take her couple of weeks,” Celestia told Luna, who wasn’t so pleased by the fact that she wasn’t informed.
“When did she sent the invitation? Why wasn’t I informed?” she asked from her sister, who looked awkwardly away and told her the reason.
“It was when you visited her dreams and caused the small outburst from her… She proposed that we would… Settle some things with me during our visit.”
“Oh…” Luna sighed. “I will drop this topic right away.”
“Much appreciated sister,” Celestia said with a smile. After that there was a bit longer silence between them.

“I know that you have a really close relationship with Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, waiting for a reply, which she got.
“She is like a child to me,” Celestia admitted. Luna had decided they had discussed of that topic long enough for one day, and wanted to lighten up the mood.
“Yes, that brings us to the other topic I have wanted to discuss with you,” Luna told Celestia, a small mischievous grin appearing onto her face. “You should really start thinking about making a real child for yourself to pamper, instead of Twilight Sparkle.”
“Luna!” Celestia scolded her little sister, who was giggling to her hoof. There was also a small hint of blush on Celestia’s cheeks. She cleared her throat and asked, trying to sound serious, “And who would like an old hack like me?”
“Oh I’ve seen you and that admiral changing some looks when you think nopony’s watching,” Luna said with a wide smirk, making Celesia blush like a small school filly. 
“Me and Admiral Vanner have nothing romantic going on between us,” Celestia denied, only to earn even wider grin from Luna.
“How did you know which admiral did I mean?” she asked from her older sister, who blushed scarlet red as she realised that she had spoken herself into a trap. Luna started to giggle and soon Celestia joined her, before speaking.
“You can’t deny it, sailors are cute,” she said, and the sisters giggled some more, before Luna stopped laughing with a long sigh.
“I’ve missed times when we spent time together like this, talking about colts,” she admitted to Celestia, who smiled a loving smile to Luna.
“Me too Luna,” she said and closed her little sister into another hug.