//------------------------------// // 12. Darkness // Story: Sweetie's Shadow // by Note Sketch //------------------------------// Rarity opened a door and upon going into the room, quickly shut it and leaned her back against it while she sighed. She and Twilight were made aware of the little mishap Sweetie Belle and her friends had went through and all Tartarus had broken loose upon their arrival. Thankfully Twilight and her were able to calm their anger...to an extent. "You okay Rarity?" A voice called out to her. Grimace took over the mare as she stared into the bane of her existence. "Am I okay? That's quite a question after you nearly got yourself and your friends killed!" She shouted out as she began to make her way towards Sweetie Belle who was laying down playing chess with Sombra, a sight she has gotten used to seeing. "My fault?!" "Who's else would it be?" "I would say it was the other fillies." Sombra said as he moved a black piece on the board. "They were the ones that made the plane. Actually, I would say that they would be dead if the filly hadn't been there." Sending a glare his way, Rarity scoffed at Sombra's voice. "Nopony asked you." "Hey! That was mean." Sweetie Belle quickly retorted as she stood between her sister and her guardian, who for the first time since she could remember, were not the same pony. Opening her mouth to speak, but quickly deciding against it, Rarity instead took a deep breath. Sombra noticed this little gesture and carefully watched her interact with Sweetie Belle. "Yes yes, you're right. I guess I'm just angry about almost losing you...again." She said as she came close to snuggle the filly. "Still, we clearly told you to keep Sombra a secret and you deliberately left to meet with your friends unsupervised." "I..." Sweetie began before turning to look at her dark guadian watching over them. "You're right. It was selfish and irresponsible of me. I was just trying to get Mister Sombra out of an awkward situation. I didn't mean anything bad to happen, can you please forgive me?" Rarity stood silent for a moment as she tried to comprehend what she just heard. "W-Wait, you're taking responsibility? You're saying that it was your fault when you could have easily blamed Sombra?" She asked dumbfounded. "Well, that would be unfair for Mister Sombra, plus it's the truth! Mister Sombra told me it's bad to lie so I'm trying not to." "But I've been telling you it's bad to lie for years now!" Rarity said with her eyes open in disbelief. "Upset that she listens to me more?" Sombra asked as he stood up with a cheeky smile. His eyes had the spark of a predator about to pounce on their prey, just teasing the sensation of danger towards Rarity. She quickly replied as to not be out done by him. "Me? Jealous of you? Perish the thought." Rarity said with a haughty tone as she tried to blow him off. "Never even crossed my mind." He finished with a soft chuckle before walking past them. "And where do you think you're going?" "To get a drink of water. Is that against the law here?" Sombra replied with a dry sarcastic tone, a tone that only seemed to bother Rarity, her sister simply taking it as a joke. "No no, carry on." Getting the half hearted 'okay' from the head of the house, Sombra proceeded to leave the room to get his refreshment, a smirk on his lips the entire time, only enticing Rarity's frustration towards him. It was now that Sweetie Belle began to notice the long stare her sister was giving Sombra and suddenly an idea popped into her head. "Rarity?" "Hmm?" "Do you like Mister Sombra?" She asked innocently. Rarity's eyes opened wide and disgust filled her at the mere thought of what Sweetie Belle was insinuating. Slowly narrowing her eyes at her, she leaned down and stared at Sweetie before speaking firmly. "You perish that thought Sweetie Belle." <=•=> Sombra's smirk lasted quite a while even after he had left the room. His thoughts were much too satisfying for it to fade. That little conflict between the two sisters proved his theories and made his escape a possibility. Well, escape was a stretch to say. After all, he would still be under the command of Sweetie Belle, just that it wouldn't be her giving the commands. Fillies as easily swayed. Their thoughts and personalities are still in the age to be formed and influenced. All Sombra had to do was convince Sweetie Belle he was an ally and that everypony else was the enemy. Seeds that had already been planted and all he really had to do was nurture them and watch them grow. The more the elements opposed him, the more Sweetie Belle would take his side. She already gave him her trust after all. Soon Sombra will have no problem doing as he pleased, the filly would follow him blindly with the right encouragement. This would be simple. Slow, but simple. "Uh, yer uh majesty?" A voice said, quickly bringing Sombra back to reality. A quick turn of the head and he found the one speaking to him, Applejack. "...Sombra is just fine." He said, raising a brow at how respectful she was in addressing him. "Right, Mister Sombra as Sweetie Belle calls you. Ah just wanted to thank you." She said as she got close, though still appearing rather uncomfortable and nervous. "For what?" "For saving mah sister. She means everything to me and if it wasn't for you, well...Ah just don't know what Ah woulda' done if you weren't there." Pausing a moment to process the situation, Sombra felt a strange sense of déjà vu pass over him. Had this happened before? No...yet it all seemed so familiar. Placing a hoof to his forehead, Sombra squinted as he tried to remember why this felt so strangely familiar. "You okay there?" Applejack asked as she turned her head to the side to get a better look at him. "Yes...I'm just...probably too far away from the filly. I get weak when I'm not around her." He replied. He really wasn't all too sure about the cause of his pain, but the answer would satisfy his morals and her question so he went with it instead. "Oh, well take care of yerself. In case you haven't noticed, Sweetie Belle thinks the world of you." Applejack said as she began to walk away, leaving him alone as he tried to shake away the strain on his mind. "Don't you worry. My time here has just begun. I won't rest until my goal is reached." Sombra said as he raised his head again, a strong look upon his eyes. He didn't understand what was happening with him, but he didn't have the luxury to try to find out. Time was scarce for him; he was on a timer. The night crept its way on the day and soon Sombra found himself once again playing his game of chess against Sweetie Belle. Not once since they had began their games did she come close to winning apart from that small hiccup while the princesses came for a visit, yet her enthusiasm over the game never diminished. "Come now Sweetie Belle, it's time for bed." Rarity said as she walked into the living room where Sombra and Sweetie Belle were playing. On his stomach and his hooves crossed in his usual pose, Sombra watched the filly in front of him remained laying down in the same position he was in. "Just one more game..." The filly said softly as she thought of her next move. "It's way past your bed time." The mare replied before using her magic to gently levitate her sister and hold her just a few inches from her face, only getting a soft yawn in response. "But we're almost done..." "You would have lost anyway." Sombra said as he stood up and began to put the chess board away with his own dexterous magic. "Did you memorize where each piece was at?" Sweetie Belle asked as she was placed across Rarity's back to make it easier to carry. "Of course I did." He responded out of reflex but quickly felt himself regret the statement. "Okay..." Sweetie said before yawning. "We'll continue tomorrow then." Gently falling asleep on her sister's soft back, Sweetie began to breathe deeply in a soft snore, making her sister smile at her. Clearing her throat to speak, she turned to the dark stallion who was beginning to make his way to her. "You recall where your own room is I presume?" "Of course." "Then I will see you tomorrow morning." "As you wish. Buenas noches." Sombra said as he wished her a goodnight before walking past them. She felt an uneasy chill run up her spin as he walked by, whether it was because of his 'gentle' tone or his dark figure almost mixing in with the shadows around them, Rarity still kept her guard up around him. What has gotten into me? I mustn't get too attached to that filly. Sombra thought to himself as he walked through the dark halls of the house. He had only traversed through a few times but he already memorized the layout of the building to the finest detail. Because of that, he quickly found himself in his new establishment of rest...'his room'. It was small, but then again there really wasn't much anypony could do about it. The house was built for a single bedroom and they were already pushing it by having Sweetie Belle a permanent member of the household. Previously a storage room, Sombra's new room was well disguised to be a bedroom. Other than the small living space, it was richly decorated with fancy furniture along with a humble sized bed. He had a nightstand and a lamp that would go unused by him but welcomed for the mere appearance of them. He also had a small closet that held nothing inside, purely aesthetic for the 'homey' design. "Truly the Element of Generosity." Sombra said to himself as he began to make his way to his bed. Just a meter or so above it was a small window that showed a bright moon being partially blocked off by dark storm clouds. "The heavens are about to cry for me." He joked as he sat down on the bed to look over his small room. It really wasn't anything compared to the grand bedroom he used to claim as his own when he was King but it would serve its purpose. Pulling the covers to the side and crawling in, Sombra was at least thankful for not being trapped inside a cage anymore. If anything, he was at least moving up the ladder from beast to a simple 'guest'. He sighed as he rested his head on his soft pillow. He felt his power once again wither as Rarity moved the filly towards her own room. He was able to feel each step they took away from him as it drained him of his strength. Finally they came to a stop as no doubt Rarity was tucking her into her bed. Though he disliked being so weak, he could at least find no trouble finding sleep while in such a feeble state. So with one final breath he closed his eyes as he let himself fall into the realm of dreams. <=•=> The sound of heavy breaths echoed through the thick forest as Sombra found himself running. Was he running away from something or towards something? He couldn't tell nor was it important to him. Daddy! A voice called out as he ran. "I'm here!" Sombra shouted out as he ran. Twigs crackled under his hooves as he began to speed up in his run. He used every ounce of energy he had to gallop deeper into the forest. Daddy!? A voice shouted out again, only making Sombra exert more power into his already worn out muscles. He felt them begin to give out, exhaustion began to take the place of his bravado but it didn't stop him from forcing his body to move. He pushed though the pain. Nothing. Nothing would stop his sprint. Nothing could get in his way. DADDY! Finally he stopped. That final outcry froze him on the spot. The pain in the voice brought his heart to a sharp halt as he felt something tug away at his being. The voice stopped calling out. There was nopony out there to call out. They were gone. He was alone. "Amethyst!" <=•=> "King Sombra!" Sombra blinked a few times as he began to gather his bearings. Sweat ran down his forehead from the sudden nightmare, but that was no longer on his mind. He was instead more focused on figuring out where he was. As he turned his head to look, he felt something push against his chest. Looking down, Sombra found a filly latching on to him. "Filly?" He asked as he looked at Sweetie Belle who was currently gripping onto his fur coat with all her might. Just as he spoke lightning struck and the room flashed white. The terrible crashing sound of thunder echoed making the trembling filly flinched as a yelp escaped her. She didn't speak, she was much too scared to do so, instead she simply buried her face into Sombra's chest as she tried to hide away from the thunder storm raging just outside her window. "Did you summon me?" He asked as he looked down at her. A moment past and there was no response. Again the room flashed and thunder was heard making Sweetie Belle tense up again. "Are you afraid?" He asked after a short silence. "Mhm..." She answered in a muffled tone, still not willing to raise her head. "Of the lightning?" "Hmm-hmm." She responded as she shook her head against him. "Of the thunder then?" Sombra asked out, thought as luck would have it, just as the bellowing sound of thunder echoed again, making Sweetie yelp once more. Annoyed by constant interruption of the weather, Sombra looked over at the window to see the storm responsible for them. With a gentle spark of his horn, Sombra's magic ignited into flames from his eyes. Sweetie Belle remained still for a while longer before realizing that there were no longer any flashes of lightning or the horrifying sound of thunder. She slowly raised her head to see herself and Sombra completely shrouded in darkness, the only light source being the purple embers expelling from his eyes as he gazed down at her. "W-Where are we?" She asked as she locked eyes with Sombra's. "In your room." "This doesn't look like my room." She said as she glanced around quickly and looking back at Sombra. "I surrounded us in darkness. This veil will keep us from hearing the thunder or seeing the lightning." Sombra said as he pushed himself a few inches back from Sweetie Belle who was no longer clinging to him. "It's...really dark." "Are you afraid of the dark too?" "Y-Yeah..." Sweetie Belle said as she finally broke their locked gaze for good. "I really don't like the dark..." "And why not? What is it about the dark that scares you?" He asked as he laid down from his sitting positing and crossed his hooves over one another. "I think something will jump out at me..." Sweetie said as she looked out into the darkness around them. The thought of a monster pouncing on her filled her with dread and she quickly retreated to Sombra's side. "So you're not afraid of the dark then. You're afraid of what's in the dark." Sombra said as he looked over at the filly who was once again invading his personal space. "Would you rather I bring down the veil and be witness to the storm?" "N-N-No!" Sweetie Belle shouted out quickly, her fear of thunder quickly overpowering her fear of the dark. "Then you should find comfort in darkness, not push away from it." Sweetie Belle looked up at Sombra who still had an annoyed expression. Gathering up some courage, she began to look out again into the darkness but felt her muscles tense as she saw something move. Again she inched closer to the stallion who by this time gave up trying to move away from her. "There is nothing there. Just your mind playing tricks on you." "My mind?" "Fear is a state of mind. You can choose not to be afraid." Sweetie's gaze once again met with Sombra's fire lit eyes, though this time felt some comfort in seeing them blaze out. Taking a deep breath to steady her speech, the filly tried to change her focus of the dark instead to Sombra who seemed completely at ease. "Aren't you afraid of the dark?" "No." "Were you ever afraid?" "..." Sombra took a moment to think. Short memories flowed in his mind as he thought of the time when he too was afraid. They weren't exactly memories he wished to recalled and instead shook them out of his head. "I used to be...I used to live in different time period filly. When the darkness of night bled over the day, it meant certain death to us ponykind. We were at the mercy of the beasts that lurked in the dark." "So when did you stop being afraid?" Sweetie asked, now interested in how he managed to get over his fear. "When?" Sombra asked as he made eyes contact with Sweetie Belle once more. "I stopped being afraid of what lurked in the dark when I realized I was the scariest creature to roam in darkness." He said as his eyes dulled with each word he spoke. "You?" "Of course. Nothing is scarier than I. Nothing is more powerful." Sombra said softly to the filly who seemed hypnotized by the flames of his eyes. "Nothing?" "Nothing at all." A quiet giggle escaped Sweetie Belle as a smile spread across her face. Sombra raised a brow at her strange gestures but remained quiet. The giggle soon became full out laughter as all her fright completely left her. "That means it's silly for me to be scared of anything huh?" "Why do you say that?" Finally calming her giggles, Sweetie Belle looked up to Sombra with a large grin. "Because if you're the scariest thing in the dark, nothing can hurt me!" "Oh?" "You always come to my rescue Mister Sombra. I can count on you like a king on his rook." Her sudden remark made Sombra laugh. "That's quite the comparison." He said after a short chuckle. "But you do realize a rook can only come to the king's rescue once right? And that certain conditions have to be met before that can even happen." "Like being bound to one another?" "I supposed that qualifies as a 'condition'." Sombra said with another soft chuckle. Sweetie Belle joined him in his laugh and together they shared a moment of inner peace despite each other's turmoil. After a moment they finally quieted down only for Sweetie to yawn. "Sorry. I'm not used to staying up so late..." Sweetie Belle said as she rubbed her eyes. "Shall I lower the veil?" Sombra asked, ready to get the filly to bed so he may retreat to his own bed. "No...I kinda like the dark now." She replied as she began to curl up next to Sombra and use his hoof as a pillow. A peaceful smile on her as she slowly dosed off, Sombra couldn't bring himself to move away from the filly now resting her weight on him. "Hmm...doing as you please again." He said in a whisper. His voice had a hint of annoyance in it, but his eyes said otherwise. They were soft and full of care as he looked over the small filly. Using his free hoof to caress her mane, Sombra felt himself fall into a sense of melancholy. Like a long forgotten memory. As if under a spell, Sombra began to stroke the filly's mane in a soothing motion. Force of habit took over his muscles and he softly hummed to help Sweetie Belle sleep. He didn't know what tune he was humming to, but it was one he had hummed before. Doing what he never thought he'd do, Sombra let muscle memory move him and he began to sing out a rhyme. ♪Una linda niña, duerme en su coral.♪ (A lovely girl, sleeps in her cradle) ♪Canta, ríe, juega, que feliz esta.♪ (Singing, laughing, playing, how happy she is.) ♪Y todos preguntan: ¿En quién pensará?♪ (And everyone asks: Who is she thinking of?) ♪Piensa en su papa, quien la cuidara.♪ (She thinks of her dad, who will take care of her.) ♪Mira con dulzura, sueña con papa.♪ (She looks with such a sweet gaze. She dreams with daddy.) ♪Porque ella sabe, que él siempre estará.♪ (Because she knows, that he'll always be there.) Sombra softly sang the words to a nursery rhyme he didn't know he knew. Or rather, didn't remember he knew. He had sung it before though it was a long long time ago. He too was soon taken by drowsiness and Sombra slowly lowered his head to rest. His eyes slowly shut as he continued to hum softly. His eyes were fixated on Sweetie Belle who still held a smile on her face. For some reason...it was relaxing to see. <=•=> Grunts escaped Sombra as he tried to open his eyes. By the amount of light coming from the window, he judged it was late into the morning. Usually he was up before now, yet now his body seemed determined to stay asleep. Shaking whatever sleep was still trying to keep him tied down, Sombra got to his hooves as he tried to maneuver around the room. His knees seemed flimsy at best and the room seemed to spin at the sudden motion of standing up. The strangest part of it all was that everything seemed so...large. "I...need something to drink..." He said to himself as he made his way towards the door, though his voiced seemed a little strange to his ears. He couldn't quite place his hoof on it though and moved past it. Once opening the door with his magic, Sombra continued to move down the halls of the boutique and make his way to the kitchen. With each step he took, a small bit of his conscious began to come back him. Everything really did seem larger after all, it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. He ignored the pestering thoughts itching at his mind and focused instead on making it to the kitchen where he would be able to get something to clear his throat and his mind along with it. Again he used his magic to open a door and this time he caught sight of another strange detail. The aura used to open the door was green... Again he tried to ignore these extra bits of details but he soon reached a point where he couldn't do it anymore. The counter to the sink seemed rather tall... Did everything get bigger over night? No... Just as he finally noticed that all of the furniture were indeed several times larger than the day before he heard a voice call out from behind him. "Good morning Sweetie Belle. You're up awfully early." Sombra turned around and saw Rarity also make her way into the kitchen. Looking around the room for the filly she had mentioned, Sombra noticed her make her way to...'him'. "Are you alright? You seem a little confused." Rarity asked as she came close to him. She was much larger than he remembered, but that wasn't the truth. The reality of the situation was that he was the one who had gotten smaller. "Good morning Rarity." Another voice called out from around the door way. To Sombra's dismay, he saw what he dreaded to see. He saw his body walk into the kitchen with a groggy expression. Looking down at his own hooves, Sombra saw small white hooves instead of his. A glance upwards revealed a curly mane hanging loosely over his forehead. "I...I'm in the filly's body..." He said softly before looking up at 'himself'. "And she's in mine..."