//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 // Story: Defender of Justice, King Sombra! // by VashTheStampede //------------------------------// Some weeks had passed since Sombra’s unintentional use of magic – yet he had still yet to talk to Twilight Sparkle about it. Part of this was due to genuine inability to find compatibility in their schedules, Sombra was a relatively busy pony between work and Redheart, and, if the conflict arose, he had to admit he’d choose Redheart over Twilight any day of the week. And he had, several times in fact. Sometimes though, he made excuses, to himself, or to Snowflake, or to whoever was telling him to go do it. “I don’t feel well,” he’d say, or “I need to go meet with somepony else.” Weak excuses, that he felt nopony really believed, least of all Snowflake or Redheart. The already paltry excuses were running thin, though, and finally this morning he had had a meeting with Twilight Sparkle arranged for him that he couldn’t get out of. Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Or it shouldn’t be, at least. If he thought about it, honestly, he felt different in his soul, and the hoofful of external, physical changes seemed to indicate the same. Most notably his horn – the deformed scar that had adorned his face and become a symbol synonymous with fear in the Crystal Empire was finally gone. His biggest concern was that the purple mist that still trailed slowly upwards from the ugly green sclera of his eyes, an unsightly reminder of how far gone he once (and maybe still) was. Here he was, though, finally forced by Snowflake to make his way over to Twilight’s on a morning the mare was actually going to be in town and not saving the place from mortal peril. Sombra swallowed heavily, and placed two sturdy knocks on the crystal door. He waited several moments, and brought his hoof up to knock again. Before he rapped on the hinged crystal slab a second time, however, a steady, rhythmic clip-clop indicated a pony coming to the door. It pulled open inwards, and a slightly-disheveled looking Twilight Sparkle smiled out at him. She wore a white lab coat buttoned up tightly around her neck, draped around her legs to prevent any potential accidents, and some heavy, thick protective goggles were strapped around her face. Her horn glowed briefly and the goggles floated off her eyes and up, over her horn, coming to rest gently on top of her mane. “Good morning, Sombra!” she greeted him cheerfully, “Come on in. I’m in the middle of something at the moment but-” the sound of a small, muffled explosion came from the basement, “Well it looks like I’m not in the middle of anything anymore. What can I help you with?” Twilight walked over to her couch, horn flaring again. Her lab coat and goggles completely disappeared this time, and she turned and sat down to face him. “Should we…” Sombra trailed off and gestured to a door that appeared to have a small wisp of gray smoke coming from behind it. “Nah,” the purple Alicorn waved a hoof apathetically, but a pained expression remained on her face, “Anything flammable down there already went up, and while I do miss Golden Oaks greatly, it is nice that I don’t have to really be too concerned with fires here. None of the building can burn. If the smoke turns yellow then we’ll have a problem, but until then, eh. Besides, I’ve heard you have a particular reason for coming here today?” “You seem oddly nonchalant about this.” “Well, Spike told me I need to work on, and I quote, ‘taking the stick out of my bum’ sometimes. So I’ve been trying to practice… not caring. It isn’t… something that comes easy for me,” Twilight slowly processed the words, blushing slightly and throwing a quick glance at the already-thinning smoke. “Well then…” Sombra cleared his throat, he too now struggling to keep his eyes off the evidence of an experiment gone horribly awry, “I uh, as you probably know, used magic a few weeks ago. Normal magic, that is. Not the, you know…” the unicorn trailed off and gestured to his eyes with a hoof. “That’s fascinating, Sombra, really,” Twilight said earnestly, her attention suddenly completely on the stallion, “Redheart mentioned it to me in passing, but she didn’t really know the details on what happened. I know your horn has… healed, I guess we could say, but did you ever consider trying magic after that?” “No, I hadn’t,” Sombra admitted, “I was more than a little under the weather, and by the time I was healthy enough that I would have been able to try magic again, to be honest, I’d pretty much just forgotten, since I was so used to avoiding it. Using magic, that is.” “That is true, I remember Redheart mentioning that back… when I came storming into her house after hearing from Fluttershy,” Twilight broke eye contact, looking away and admittedly feeling a bit guilty, before her head snapped back up and her tone shifted dramatically, “I’m sure you remember that.” “One would find it hard to forget,” Sombra replied, his voice light, and a hint of a smile on his face. He knew the hypocrisy of trying to get other ponies not to blame themselves for their reactions to him, but it just felt so wrong to let them berate themselves for not trusting a stallion who had been so horrid in the past. “So, are there some tests you want to do, or some notes, or…” “Ah, yes!” Twilight said, perking up. Her horn glowed for a moment and before her appeared some paper and a pen. Her wings fluttered a little in anticipation, and she leaned forward. “Alright, so how exactl-” she stopped talking suddenly and looked behind Sombra. Her horn glowed again, and two protective face-masks appeared before her. “You’re going to want this,” Twilight said, before turning and yelling over her shoulder, “Spike! Gas mask, now!” “Already on it, Twi,” the little dragon’s voice came from somewhere above. “Wha- oh, that’s yellow,” Sombra noted, following Twilight’s gaze over his shoulder, towards the door to the basement, noting the sudden change in the color of the smoke. He pulled the mask over his face, not terribly enjoying the closed-in feeling it gave him, but surely a little mental discomfort was worth not breathing in whatever concoction had Twilight so worried. “Are you going to need help with that? Is that going to be contained?” “I have spells around the library,” Twilight replied through her own respirator, voice muffled and muddy, “It won’t get out. I would appreciate some help, though. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you what to do, come on…” --- Sombra sat, holding an ice pack to his head, his mane blown back from some small explosion or another. His gas mask sat on the table in front of him, short streaks of black where the flames had made their best attempt at burning his face. Twilight sat next to him, dabbing at a dozen small cuts with hydrogen peroxide-doused cotton balls, wincing briefly with each moment of contact. “Who knew – ow – that Erlenmeyer flasks – oh – could explode like that,” Twilight thought aloud, setting aside the cotton ball and grabbing another Band-Aid, magically applying it. “So uh… where were we before that?” “I think you were about to ask me what happened that lead up to me using magic,” Sombra responded quietly. “Right,” Twilight said, horn shimmering to life and levitating the parchment and pen she had brought down earlier. “So… then… what happened?” “Nothing really that special, I was just talking with Snowflake at the orphanage, we were cleaning, he tried to throw a broom to me, and I just… did magic,” Sombra said, “It wasn’t something I thought about doing, it was just a reaction,” he paused, the steady skritch-skritch of a quill pen on parchment registering in his ears, “Are you writing all this down?” “Of course, you never know what might be important. Is that okay?” Sombra shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” “Alright,” Twilight continued, “Can you describe what exactly happened while you were using the magic? What did you use it for, how long did you use it? Do you know what color your aura was?” “It was just for a short time, only two or three seconds at the most,” skritch-skritch, “It didn’t really feel like anything, really, I didn’t even notice I was casting a spell until I saw the broom floating. My aura was a light pink color, about the same color as…” Sombra trailed off, and the skritching stopped. “About the same color as what?” “As Redheart’s mane,” he replied quickly, blushing a little. One side of Twilight’s mouth lifted into a smirk. “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about, really,” Twilight told him, “They say the color of a unicorn’s or Alicorn’s aura is representative of someone or something you love deeply or have a deep connection to. I mean, Princess Celestia’s is yellow like the sun; Cadance’s is the same color as my brother’s eyes. Vinyl Scratch, the DJ mare, has a deep gray aura like her wife’s coat. Mine is purple, a color commonly associated with knowledge or magic. Not to sound arrogant, but it does make sense. If yours is the same color as Redheart’s mane… well… all I can say is congratulations.” Sombra’s eyes went wide and his jaw clenched, color rising further into his cheeks at the less-than-subtle implication Twilight was making. “Anyways,” Twilight’s smirk had grown a into a proper grin, “You said you held the broom for two or three seconds, then dropped it, and no more?” “Yes, that is all,” the unicorn said with a nod, “And I have not attempted any magic since.” Once again, the pen came to an abrupt halt on the parchment. “You haven’t tried it since? Why not?” “Because, if it was a fluke, or some cruel joke of fate, I do not wish to inadvertently cause harm to anypony or anything,” he replied quietly. “Well we should try it again!” Twilight nodded excitedly, wincing as she stood, placing weight gingerly on her cut up forelegs. When she saw Sombra open his mouth, his apprehensiveness clear on his face, she headed off his objection. “I have some familiarity with Dark Magic, and I can cast a number of preventative spells and charms before we start as preventative measures if anything goes wrong.” “You have knowledge of Dark Magic?” Twilight’s horn glowed briefly in her usual purple, then faded out. She screwed her eyes shut, and when her horn ignited again, the purple shifted, changed, became darker – opaque. Black energy crackled within the deep purple aura, glowing, shifting, far more violent and erratic than normal, more like fire than water. It flickered and flashed, and Twilight opened her eyes, a terrifying, wicked glint coming from her now green sclera, purple smoke floating gently upwards. A menacing smile spread across her face, and she took a step towards Sombra. Suddenly a bright flash of light filled the room, and when the stallion could see again, Twilight was back to normal, the mare shaking her head as though trying to clear a daydream. “How did you-” “Celestia taught me,” Twilight explained, “Well, less taught me and more showed me, and I figured it out from there. I had to use it to access your true throne room and the highest tower of your Crystal Castle, when we were… when you… you know.” Sombra nodded wordlessly, remembering what Twilight was talking about. It was true; he had sealed the tower with dark magic, on the assumption nopony else would be able to get in. Twilight Sparkle truly was a prodigy among prodigies if she had taught herself dark magic after seeing it used only once or twice, and been able to wield it with such power and precision to undo the seals Sombra himself had placed all those years prior. “Anyways, come on, let’s go downstairs and try it then. I’ll set up a bunch of those flash-bomb spells to snap you out of it if anything goes wrong,” Twilight smiled reassuringly, “and I’ll be here, too, to help with anything if I need to.” Sombra nodded, and followed Twilight back into the recently on-fire basement. The crystalline steps and walls showed no sign of fire damage, to Sombra’s surprise. He might have noticed that earlier if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with simply getting out. “Alright,” Twilight said, wings flaring open as she glided down the last half-dozen or so steps, getting some distance over towards a large machine, and flicked a couple switches on it. She turned and levitated a helmet over to Sombra, who took it into his hooves and looked at Twilight questioningly. “What exactly is this for?” “It monitors brain activity and magical activity in the body,” Twilight explained, a few plugs stretching over from the machine to the helmet, suspended in the young Alicorn’s magical grasp, “Whether or not we can get it to work, I’m sure I can get some really interesting data from this.” “So this is just an experiment, to you?” “Yes and no,” Twilight replied with a sigh, “I’d be lying if I didn’t say the data and simply seeing what happens didn’t have a chokehold on my attention. There’s so little data and history on dark magic as it is, Celestia had it essentially buried and teaching it was expressly forbidden. But I do genuinely care. I want to see you using magic again. There’s… it’s both. It really is.” “I understand,” Sombra nodded, “I too would not be opposed to regaining some control of my magical faculties, and if I can provide valuable information for future research, I would be glad to help.” Sombra donned the helmet, and Twilight brought forth a small, rough stone, and placed it on the table before him. “I don’t remember exactly when or where I found it,” Twilight started, gently rubbing the rock with a hoof, “but I’ve been using this rock for years in various magical experiments. Somehow I’ve never broken it, or vaporized it, or lost it in the Everfree. It’s become kind of a good luck charm with my experiments. Hopefully it’ll do the same for you.” Sombra laughed once, just a brief puff of air out of his nose. “Shall I begin then?” “Not quite yet,” the purple mare replied, and she closed her eyes as she cast several spells. “Alright, that’s a half-dozen magical flash-bombs, a general containment shield for the basement, and three auto-targeting anti-magic spells set to seek small sources of dark magic. We should be ready now, though.” Sombra nodded, and looked to the rock. He closed his eyes, reaching deep into his mind, trying to find that source, that wellspring of magical powers. It had to be around in here somewhere, he had used it not that long ago. Where, where… Sombra found it, tapped into it, that well of magic. It began to flow, like a river, feeling it’s way through his mind, around, through, under, behind thoughts and ideas, widened, narrowed, made the leap between mental and physical and suddenly he felt that telltale tingle in the base of his horn. He kept his eyes closed, focusing, thinking, deciding. Redheart. The rock was to float, just a few inches. He just had to bring it up, just a bit. He could do this. “Good job Sombra, you’re doing great so far,” Twilight’s voice penetrated his mind, and a memory of fear and anger flashed unbidden to him, momentarily overruling his magical point of focus, just for an instant, but for long enough. The smoothly flowing river in his mind became rough, rapid, turbulent. Fear, anger, shadows, blackness, burning, burning- A staccato of flashes and pops blinded the unicorn, and he lost his footing and felt the magic retreat from the front of his mind. He hit the floor hard, and a slight coppery taste filled his mouth as he realized he’d bitten his tongue. That was good though – he was thinking clearly again, his mind was his own again. “Sombra? Sombra, can you hear me?” Twilight’s voice sounded dull and faded, as though she were speaking through a cloth. He felt a gentle tug on his head and was vaguely aware of the helmet being removed. “Yes, Twilight, I’m alright, I think,” Sombra’s own voice sounded the same. His ears were ringing a little, but the whine was rapidly fading. “What happened?” “Well,” Twilight started, “I think when I spoke it distracted you and some dark magic snuck in. The flash-bombs went off, and apparently startled you out of the spell. The good news is I just collected a lot of fascinating data, and the counter-spells I put in place work well. You also managed to actually move it a little with magic before I… interrupted you. The bad news is… well I’m not really sure where my rock went.” “I’m sorry,” the unicorn said, working his jaw as he got back on his hooves, “About your rock.” “Sombra, it was literally just a rock,” Twilight deadpanned, placing a hoof on Sombra’s shoulder. Even with her recently acquired Alicorn stature, she was still a good deal shorter than him, and the gesture felt a little awkward. “I could go outside and find a dozen others just like it, and I’m sure whichever one I find will be a perfectly suitable replacement, and last just as long as that one did. The more important question is are you alright? You hit the ground pretty hard there.” “Yes,” Sombra replied with a nod, “Just bit my tongue. Thanks you for… pulling me back.” “I’m sorry for distracting you, that was my fault,” Twilight took her hoof down from his shoulder and stepped away, towards the stairs. “Can I get you something? Another ice pack maybe?” “A glass of water would be excellent, if it’s not too much bother.” “Not at all,” Twilight said with a smile, “I’m going to go get another rock.” Spreading her wings, she took flight back up the stairs. Sombra sat alone for a moment, and then a glass of water appeared on the table next to him. He smiled, ever impressed with the ease and power with which Twilight worked with magic. He took a drink, the cool liquid easing down his throat and soothing his aching tongue. He continued sipping at the water, and, as though they had rehearsed the timing, just as he finished Twilight reappeared at the top of the stairs, with a rock tucked in the crook of her foreleg and a triumphant look on her face. “Told you I could find one just like it!” Twilight declared as she leapt back down the stairs, a moment of alarm on her face as she realized she hadn’t accounted for the additional weight of the stone before she corrected her trajectory and landed smoothly, just a bit further away from Sombra than she had anticipated. She trotted over to the table and placed the new rock upon it, and turned back to Sombra. “Want to give it another shot?” Sombra nodded, and with a smile, donned the helmet once again.