//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: Defender of Justice, King Sombra! // by VashTheStampede //------------------------------// Sombra sat bolt upright in bed. The quick disturbance elicited a heavy snuffle from Snowflake, but did not wake him up. The unicorn’s eyes were wide, focused on a spot in the air a short way in front of him. His breaths were coming through his mouth, shallow, ragged, and measured – in, out, pause. In, out, pause. In, out, pause. He rotated his head, then his body, turning and gently sliding out of the bed. On a small table across the room, Snowflake’s record player was still on, quietly. The needle was skipping, the same couple of words repeated over and over again. It’s burnin’ me –bip– It’s burnin’ me –bip– It’s burnin’ me He felt like he was going to be sick. He quickly lifted the needle from the record and clicked off the player. His body felt numb, alien; uncooperative. He stumbled across the room and leaned heavily against the frame of the door, a grunt interrupting his breathing for just a moment before the steady staccato resumed. His mouth was watering, stomach turning – he was going to vomit. He rushed to the bathroom and knelt over the toilet, staring into it for several minutes, waiting for his stomach to either upturn itself or calm down. To his stomach’s credit, it managed to hold his dinner down. After another several minutes of staring at the reservoir in the porcelain bowl, Sombra stood back up and trotted out of the bathroom. His breathing had calmed down – breaths were still heavy and labored, but deeper, more regular. The terror of the nightmare was starting to leave him. Making his way to the kitchen, he flicked the lights on as he entered it. He found a glass in the cabinet and poured himself some water, retrieved a couple ice cubes from the freezer, and sat down at the table. He had every intention of drinking it, he really did, but instead he found himself quietly staring at it. Mesmerized by the ripples on the surface of the water whenever he tapped the glass, he hardly noticed as the ice cubes melted. Some time later, a couple soft hoofsteps garnered his attention, and Sombra looked to the door to find Tag-a-long standing there, staring at him. He opened his mouth to greet her, but no sound came out, and he turned back to his glass of water. “Are you okay Mr. Sombra?” the filly asked. It was more for lack of knowing how to really start a conversation, he clearly wasn’t alright. His eyes were… harrowed is the word she would use to describe it, at least she thought she was using that word correctly. They looked sad, empty. Unfocused. “Yes, I’m- I am,” Sombra said quietly, not looking back at the foal. The motions of his mouth felt exaggerated and wrong, but he could not place why. “You’re a horrible liar.” “Yes, I am.” “Do you want to talk about it?” Tag-a-long asked slowly, taking a few steps over to Sombra and pulling out the chair across from him. She had to stretch a little to get into it properly, the adult-sized seat too large for her. She sat wholly on it, all four legs tucked beneath her, big eyes peeking over the edge of the table at the unicorn. Sombra smiled, she really was rather cute, and for just a moment felt a little flicker of envy for Brighter. “No, I… I do not,” Sombra broke eye contact, trying hard to become preoccupied with his glass of water again. “Is it something with Miss Redheart?” Sombra’s head jerked up, unable to feign disinterest any longer. “I… in a sense, yes, but it is not anything to do with our relationship. Well, it kind of is. It is kind of complicated.” Tag-a-long merely cocked her head in reply. Sombra sighed. “I had been having horrible nightmares shortly after my arrival in Ponyville. I discovered, quite by mistake, that sleeping in the embrace of Miss Redheart has had a rather cathartic effect, soothing or often outright preventing the nightmares. Last night,” Sombra looked over at the clock on the stove, “Well, this night, given it is so early in the morning, was the first night in several months I haven’t slept by her side.” “So the nightmares came back?” Sombra nodded. “Worse than ever. I dreamed I became a monster and hurt my friends…” he paused for a moment, before quietly, too quietly for the little filly to hear, adding one more word, “again.” “I’m sorry,” the cream colored filly hopped off her chair and shuffled around the table, hopping up unto Sombra’s lap and giving him a hug. “Feel better?” Sombra chuckled, shaking the little filly softly as his chest vibrated. He brought his own forehooves around her back, returning the hug. “A bit, yes. Thank you, Tag-a-long.” “You’re welcome Mr. Sombra.” The two held the hug for a while, before Tag-a-long shimmied free and pulled away. “I should probably get back to bed now,” she said, turning for the door back into the living area. “Wait,” Sombra called to her, the orange-maned filly turning to look back at him, “it is quarter til four in the morning. Why were you out of bed in the first place?” “Oh, I… I woke up and had to go to the bathroom and I saw the light on in the kitchen,” the filly explained, slightly embarrassed. She smiled, though – looking into Sombra’s eyes, they focused on her now, they didn’t look as dead as they had when she’d first seen him. “Goodnight, Sombra. Or morning, as the case might be.” “Good morning, Tag-a-long,” Sombra said to her as she left back towards the bedrooms. He sighed heavily after she left, and looked back to his still-untouched glass of water. He took a drink, and addressed the pony standing behind him. “Good morning to you as well, Snowflake. How long have you been there?” “I woke up when you turned off the record player. I didn’t think you knew I was here, though.” “Honestly it was a lucky guess,” Sombra said with a chuckle, turning to face his Pegasus friend. “Look, Sombra, I didn’t realize-” “It’s fine,” the big pony interrupted the bigger, “You needed help tonight and Redheart was unavailable. A little nightmare now and then isn’t going to make me turn down a request for help from my best friend.” “It seems like it was a bit more than a ‘little’ nightmare. You said you dreamed you turned into a monster, that’s far from a bad dream. I’m sorry I put you through that, Sombra.” “It’s fine, really, don’t stress out about it,” Sombra explained once again. When Snowflake’s mouth opened again, the unicorn quickly continued to head off any more objections. “And that’s the last I’ll hear of you apologizing. It was a bad dream, and no more. Though perhaps we should not listen to that record anymore whilst we sleep. Come, let’s go back to bed,” the dark pony finished, upturning the glass of water before him, swallowing the cool liquid in large gulps. He set the glass next to the sink, and stepping over to Snowflake, threw a hoof around the Pegasus’ shoulder, and the two walked back to the bedroom. --- Morning came to the stallions again in the form of a rather bemused Nurse Redheart. “Well,” she started as Sombra blinked away the sleep, “I leave you alone for one night and you’ve replaced me with my brother, of all ponies. And you, Snowflake, first chance you get away from Brighter and you run right into the waiting hooves of my coltfriend.” A great grin spread across Sombra’s face as he sat up, his body shaking slightly with the bed as Snowflake laughed. The unicorn turned his head for just a moment to make sure his hooves hit the ground beneath him and he stood out of the bed, and hurried over to Redheart. For a few moments, he stood there and smiled at her. “Is everything alright?” Redheart asked after he stared a few seconds longer than normal. “I’m just glad to see you unhurt,” he said, stepping forward and hugging her. “Why wouldn’t I be?” the white mare instinctively returned the hug, squeezing tight around her coltfriend’s shoulders. “Nightmare,” Snowflake mouthed from behind the unicorn. “Ah,” she mouthed back, then nuzzled into her special somepony’s neck, giving him another squeeze. After a few more moments in each other’s embrace, Redheart loosened her grip and started to pull away, gently pressing her lips to Sombra’s cheek as their faces passed. The unicorn blushed and smiled, nodding his thanks to his marefriend. “So, if the message Lightheart had for me yesterday is accurate, Brighter isn’t here today, right?” Redheart asked her brother, “She’s out in Canterlot?” “Yep,” Snowflake answered loudly, “Just the three of us for today. She should be back pretty late tonight, though. Think you could help out today?” “I didn’t have any other plans,” Sombra said after a moment’s thought, having placed a hoof to his chin, “Redheart?” “I’m on call tonight, but I can certainly help this morning and afternoon,” the mare nodded her head as she spoke, smiling at her coltfriend. “Great!” Snowflake exclaimed, “Think you could get breakfast going while Sombra and I take showers?” “Sure. Anything particular for breakfast?” “I didn’t have anything in mind.” “Late start at school today. When was the last time we had pancakes here?” “The last time we had pancakes, or the last time we had your pancakes?” “Oh, they’re not that good, Snowflake.” “Has Sombra had them yet?” Sombra’s eyes had been switching back and forth between the siblings as they spoke, and turned one more time to Redheart as it was once again her turn to speak. Instead he found her looking at him, and when he turned to look back at Snowflake, he too was looking at the black unicorn. “I, uh, I have not,” he answered, “Really if it’s any bother at all don’t worry about it, Redheart.” She bobbed her head back and forth as though shaking the idea up, and turned back to Snowflake. The huge Pegasus had an expectant grin on his face, and soon the smile spread to Redheart as well. “Alright, fine. I’ll go make some pancakes. Well, a lot of pancakes. Go get showered, you goofs.” Snowflake pumped a hoof in the air. “Come on, Sombra, let’s go. You need a towel and stuff, right?” “Yes, I-” Sombra only got a couple words out before the towel caught him in the face and wrapped around his head. A moment of shock gave way to amusement, and soon the stallions shared some muffled laughter as the unicorn struggled with his hooves to pull the towel off his face. Chuckling, the two trotted across the halls and into the bathroom. --- I smell manly, Sombra thought, the unusual scent of somepony else’s shampoo wafting from his mane, This is weird. He had had to use Snowflake’s shampoos, and as a result, for the first time since his arrival in Ponyville, Sombra had actually used shampoo designed and marketed towards stallions. He really didn’t see the need, it was just soap for Faust’s sake, ponies should smell like whatever they want. Either way, a warm, sweet aroma pervaded the air. Sombra could only guess it was coming from the kitchen. Judging from the small stream of foals shuffling towards it, with mumbles of “Come on, Miss Redheart’s making pancakes!” he figured he should follow. Stepping carefully around the sleepy children, the big unicorn made his way closer to the source of the smell. In the kitchen, Redheart stood in front of a griddle next to the stove, wearing an apron. Her head bobbed to the tune of the song she was humming, working with a spatula to flip the pancakes over, cooking each side to a warm golden-brown. Beside the griddle sat two plates already heaped with pancakes. Her hooves moved deftly, quickly, with no wasted movement – this could not be a particularly easy task for an earth pony, and Redheart was doing it with ease. “Good morning Miss Redheart!” the foals cheered in unison, some more enthusiastically than others. The mare jumped, sending a pancake arcing high into the air. Sombra’s horn began to glow and he slowed the fluffy breakfast treat gracefully, stopping it inches above the outstretched spatula Redheart already had beneath its path. “Good morning to you too, children, Sombra,” Redheart answered them, a look of slight annoyance in her eyes that quickly gave way to a smile. “I would have caught that, you know.” “I can see you would have,” Sombra replied, impressed. “You’ve been cooking pancakes for a while, I presume?” “Not as often as I used to, but yes, ever since I was a little filly,” Redheart smiled, returning the escaped pancake to the griddle. “Alright, kids, pancakes are almost ready. Go get washed up and sit down at the tables. There might be a late start at school today but we still need to be ready to go!” A chorus of ‘yes’es rolled through the foals, and the small horde once again shuffled out of the kitchen. A few minutes later they began to trickle back in, walking through the kitchen and into the dining area, filling in the tables. Snowflake buzzed around above them, passing out forks, napkins, and glasses. Sombra grabbed the jugs of milk from the refrigerator and magically levitated them around the tables, filling glasses for the foals just moments before Redheart stepped in. Three plates full of large, heavy-looking pancakes were balanced precariously across her forelegs and back. For a moment Sombra just stared at her. “Little help would be nice,” the mare deadpanned. “Oh! Of course,” Sombra, hurried over to her and lifted the plate off her back with his hooves, stepping away for a moment waiting for further instructions. “You could have used magic you know.” Sombra muttered a quiet “oh” and a pale pink aura surrounded the plates as he brought his forehooves to the floor. The children behind him giggled, and he felt the tips of his ears burning a little. “Alright kids, you know the drill,” Redheart barked suddenly, but with an air of joviality still present in her voice, “Everyone gets one to start, seconds come with leftovers and I’ll make more if I need to. Sombra, would you do the honors?” The unicorn nodded and turned to the children, hungry eyes upon him expectantly. He smiled back at them, and pancakes began to float upwards from the plates and drift serenely towards the little fillies and colts. Landing gently on their plates, he could see the lust for food in their faces, but they all waited politely until everypony had their share before digging in. Sitting down at a table off to the side of the rest, Sombra doled out breakfast to Snowflake, Redheart, and finally to himself. He licked his lips, picked up a fork with his magic, and brought a small bite to his mouth. Before he could bite into it, though, he noticed Snowflake staring over at him expectantly. “What?” “My sister makes the best pancakes in the world. I want to see your reaction,” Snowflake answered. Redheart blushed and poked at her own pancake, muttering under her breath. Shrugging, Sombra put the bite of pancake into his mouth. It was, truly, amazing. There was no other way to really put it. Soft, fluffy, still-warm, and just sweet enough. He hummed in delight almost instinctively, quickly bringing another bite to his mouth. Snowflake was not wrong – while true, these were the only pancakes he had eaten, he doubted they could be topped. “You want some syrup for those?” Snowflake offered, dangling a bottle of viscous brown liquid from a hoof. Sombra nodded vigorously and swallowed. “Thank you,” he breathed after a quick inhalation, and took the bottle in his magic, gently drizzling it over his pancake, or what remained of it. “These truly are amazing, Miss Redheart.” “I’m glad you like them,” she answered, finally taking a bite of her own. “Can I get another, Miss Redheart?” a brown earth colt called from one of the other tables. “Already?” “… sorry.” Sombra laughed and levitated another pancake over to the child’s plate. --- After breakfast had ended and Redheart had taken the foals to school, Sombra had asked Snowflake if he could make a brief visit to Twilight’s castle. Having not technically been scheduled for that time anyways, Snowflake had readily obliged him. Sombra knocked on the door to Twilight’s castle. It was a place he often found himself, even outside of their weekly magic sessions. Twilight was a kind mare, markedly more understanding and accepting of him than the rest of the Elements, if perhaps some of that stemmed purely from scientific interests. He felt bad for what he was going to request because of that – she was always going on about how much she appreciated his help with learning about dark magic. He’d had enough of that, though, especially after that nightmare. It was only a dream, yes, but it was something he wanted to prevent from happening at all. The door swung open, and Twilight’s confused expression quickly shifted to a smile. “Hello Sombra! I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” she started, moving to the side and gesturing for him to enter, “Can I help you with something?” “I want to apologize first,” Sombra began, walking around the mare. He heard a shimmer and a click as she used her magic to close the door behind him. “I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle, but I would like to discontinue our explorations into dark magic.” Twilight’s ears flicked downwards dejectedly. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but of course. We agreed to this at the beginning, right? Do you mind if I ask why this sudden change of heart?” “That is just it – I am afraid of being taken over by the darkness again,” Sombra explained. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it again. She had agreed to respect Sombra’s wishes to end this at any time, and she simply nodded. “Would you like to continue our normal magic lessons?” “If possible, very much so. Though I do have one more request for you,” Sombra continued, “Can you… seal my dark magic? Is there any way you can make sure I can never cast it again?” Twilight’s head moved backwards a couple inches, and she blinked twice. “I… I don’t know, actually. Not for just your dark magic, at least. There are spells that can seal magic, but they’re all but irreversible, and Celestia actually outlawed them centuries ago.” Sombra looked at the ground and thought for a few moments. His brow furrowed. “Do you know how to perform them?” “Okay, Sombra, two things. One, you are asking me to directly disobey Princess Celestia. Me. Two, extinguishing your spark… Sombra, I am the Element of Magic. You are asking me to destroy a part of everything I stand for, a part of me. I just… I won’t do that. I can’t do that. Even more, destroying your magic would be a crime. You are… well, not as talented as the princesses or myself, but you may be one of the most powerful unicorns alive if you were to continue your magical studies. There’s an incredible magical reservoir inside you, and as far as I can tell it’s linked to your extended usage of dark magic. As it is now, it’s still mostly a reservoir for dark magic, but little by little, it’s being purified, just like you. I cannot, in good conscience, destroy that. Why would you want to?” Sombra sighed sadly. He wanted to be mad with Twilight for shutting him down like that, but he really couldn’t justify it in any way. “I… I know this will sound childish, but… I had a nightmare, a new one. Not a memory of my past like so many before, this one was a creation of my own mind. In it, I lost myself to the dark magic, and I…” he looked away, “I killed you, and Miss Redheart. I know it was my imagination, just a dream, but… I do not want even the possibility of that actually happening.” The black unicorn was suddenly aware of hooves around his neck, the purple Alicorn hugging him gently. “I’m going to tell you something Princess Luna told me years ago,” she said, “’Dreams are called dreams for a reason,’ she told me. Because they’re not real. ‘Dream’ and ‘ambition’ can be synonymous because nothing comes of either of them without acting on them. You would never do any of that, right?” “Not without losing myself, no.” “Exactly,” Twilight said as she stepped away, “and even if there was an issue, that’s why I’m here. If it ever came down to it, you’d have to go through me to get to the rest of the town, and, not to sound arrogant, but I’m pretty sure I’d be able to stop you.” “That… does actually make me feel better,” Sombra nodded to her and smiled weakly, “Still, I would rather not take any chances. While it may be extreme, it is still a precaution I would like to take, if at all possible.” “We don’t have to experiment with dark magic anymore if you don’t want to. But please, Sombra, don’t give up on magic entirely. It’s healing you. Simply using magic is helping you to cleanse yourself. Who knows, maybe eventually you can get those eyes of yours back to normal. Sombra…” Twilight trailed off, suddenly losing her train of thought. “Just… just don’t give up. Just look at yourself, you are proof that ponies can change.” Sombra sighed. “Don’t give me that,” Twilight continued, “It’s true, what you used to be is… pretty horrific. But your past doesn’t define you, Sombra. If we didn’t give ponies second chances around here… I never would have met one of my best friends, and Discord would still be a statue in the Canterlot Gardens, and we’d still only have one Princess. Every single pony deserves a second chance, and you should absolutely give your magic a second chance. Please, Sombra.” “I… I understand what you are saying, Miss Twilight. I understand that completely sealing my magic would be… an overreaction to say the least. I also understand your personal qualms with the request. I’m just… to call it a nightmare is almost an understatement, given my personal history with similar events,” Sombra hung his head low for a moment, but suddenly looked up with a determined smile on his face, “You are right, though, Twilight Sparkle. I was given a second chance at life, and by all of you here in Ponyville, for a reason, and certainly that reason was not to give up. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, perhaps this was just the conversation I needed.” “You’re very welcome, Sombra. I’m glad I could help you.” “If you do not mind, I should probably head back to the orphanage now,” he said, turning to leave. “Of course. Please, don’t hesitate to come by any time you want to talk.” With a nod, Sombra stepped back out into the bright morning sun. Twilight turned her back to the door. Now, where was I? she wondered, tapping a hoof to her chin. From below, a muffled explosion resonated through her castle. Ah, ponyfeathers.