//------------------------------// // Breaking Through To You // Story: Umbrum ad Infinitum // by Pixel_Spark //------------------------------// Sombra slept poorly that night, woken not just by nightmares so bad they made him ill, but by more shards of his memories. How he’d come to be at the empire, what he'd done to take over it. Then he sensed something strange in his dream, and seen a flash of starry mane. He lashed out, pushing the invader away.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He woke feeling more strung out then ever. The doctor brought some food, and asked more questions, gauging how Sombra's health was doing. And it concerned him greatly that the pony clearly wasn’t sleeping. He wasn’t the only one... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna scared the daylights out of her sister and everypony else when she appeared partway through breakfast. "Luna? Is everything OK?" Celestia asked, noticing her sister looked haggard. "We chanced to glimpse upon Sombra's nightmares last night. They were broadcasting on such a wide band we were naturally drawn to them. And we wished we hadn't. Soon as we entered, We were almost lost in them. So much pain and fear. Then we suddenly feel somepony push us out of the dream, shouting we should stay away for our own sake..." "Sounds like he was trying to protect you," Twilight Sparkle frowned "but are his dreams that bad?" Luna nodded "we are surprised he slept at all if this is what fills his head!" Celestia thanked her sister and said she’d talk to Sombra some more. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She went up to visit him after breakfast. He was curled up on the bed. He didn’t seem as jumpy as she walked in. She seen he had the oath band she'd made on the bed in front of him, and hoped he was a step closer to accepting it. Going by the empty plate, he at least was eating properly now. "Your sister showed up in my nightmares." He said blankly. "Yes, she did mention you suggested she evacuate them." Celestia commented. "Seeing such things will drive her insane, I’d rather not have that on my hooves." He said curtly. Celestia nodded. "Those...visions, did tell me something." he said softly. "What was that?" she queried. "How I came to be at the Crystal Empire.” He stared at the bedspread, at his pale reflection in the gleaming band. Celestia sat down, waiting for him to carry on. He looked emotionless, but she was willing to bet he was feeling swamped by everything going on. “I was found out in the snowy wastes by a guard patrol. With no clue who I was, they brought me to the orphanage. But for the longest time I couldn't talk, perhaps wouldn't talk. When I did, the first word that popped into my head was "Sombra". So they named me that...” he shook his head, laughing. “I spent most of my time there alone, pretty certain the other kids knew there was something odd about me. I didn't have anypony to converse with besides the orphanage director. She alone treated me kindly. When I was old enough, she offered to take me to see the crystal heart. But I had some sort of fit when I got in close contact with it. I was violently ill for days, and I became terrified of the thing." "It hurt you..?" Celestia asked. "Back then...yes..." Sombra shivered "eventually it became bearable, but I didn’t want to go near the thing. I began to loathe it for what it did to me." he laughed bitterly, "I was a silly foal, all I wanted to do was go to the faire and someday get a cutie mark like everypony else. But one day, after I got upset at the director for leaving her job and essentially leaving ME alone, I felt like my fate was sealed. I would be abandoned again. So I ran away into the wastes around the empire. There I found a red crystal." "An Umbrum crystal?" Celestia was riveted by what he was telling her. He nodded. "It told me it was my creator. My mother essentially. That i wasn’t a normal pony, I was their last hope. She also that she hoped I would be able to fulfil my destiny..." "What was that?" She said. Sombra looked about to be sick; "Under the empire there rests an entire legion of us, our civilization, locked away there for what reason I do not know. It was like a switch had been turned on. Suddenly I knew why I couldn’t gain a cutie mark, I wasn’t even a pony. And that the Princess had KNOWN all along, she had to have. I became so angry, I….my power overloaded. I recall the crystal shouting at me to stop, that it was too much for a young mind to handle...” He felt a wave of dizziness hit him as he remembered what happened next; “That’s when I changed. My childish form was discarded, I no longer desired to be a weakling that the guard could easily overpower.” “Like an age spell?” Celestia wondered. Sombra shook his head “how do I describe it? It felt like every bone in my body was being broken and re-shaped. Every little fracture felt like it was killing me-” Celestia looked a bit green around the gills. She had a golden-clad hoof pressed to her mouth, pinky-purple eyes on stalks. It'd have been amusing if Sombra hadn't been feeling just the same himself. “I was driven insane by that pain, all I could think was: get rid of that heart. I ran back to the empire, bent on getting rid of that thing. I recall the mother crystal begging me to come back, that I wasn’t ready. And...that she was...sorry?” He shook his head, sitting himself up with a wince. “I don’t know what she meant. All I recall is that I succeeded in trapping the heart away, and banishing the Princess. But being in direct contact with it after so long...I.." he shook his head, looking upset. "Was that what caused you to snap?" Celestia asked. Again, he nodded. "It went to my head, exacerbated the state I was in. I became obsessed with reviving my race as an ARMY, not living creatures who just wanted rebirth...and, well, you know the rest." Celestia nodded. "Where the hell do I belong?" Sombra muttered, sounding more lost then ever. "I’m not a pony, I’m not even a living being, I’m just a crystal with a mind of its own!" "NO!" Celestia shook her head "any creature with consciousness has the right to be considered alive, Sombra. You especially. I intend to follow through with my promise if you help us." She nodded at the band. --Me? Deserving to live?-- a faint spark flared in Sombra, and he quickly tried to snuff fit out, reminding himself of what those illusions had told him. Any hope he had wouldn’t live long, and he couldn't...he couldn’t do it. He shook his head, voice cracking just a little "YOU may do, but once the empire's new caretakers find out, I doubt it will be long before I find an army on my tail. They will want to try me for every crime imaginable. That or simply be rid of me for good. And I would not fault them for it. Don't put yourself at odds with them by trying to help me." "I will see to it you are left in peace," she said. “No.” he said softly, his voice held such a finality it stopped her in her tracks. She seen one hoof brush over the band, an undeniable hope there for just a moment. Then it was as if he severed the link, as a shudder ran over his body and his hoof fell back to the bedspread, any emotion gone from his eyes. “That is a price that should never be paid, not even by you, Princess.” he said, blank as a slate. Celestia sighed, before reluctantly leaving him alone. She felt like she was back to square one. He was so afraid of having his hope and trust shattered he wasn’t willing to surrender it to anypony. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Problem?” she jumped as, at the end of the hall, Discord waited. He seen the look on her face and asked “feeling OK?” She shook her head, and gave a short explanation of what Sombra had told her. Even Discord looked queasy by the end. “He did that to himself? No wonder he went off the deep end. That frankly sounds barbaric. Do most Umbrum do this I wonder?” “I don’t know,” Celestia surprised Discord, her eyes shimmering faintly with sympathetic tears “but he is insistent the empire will hunt him down and either try him or kill him. The fact he isn’t a pony is only playing into this fear, as he believes he is merely an inferior copy.” “Let ME try, you go have some coffee~” Discord glared at the door to Sombra's room “I’m going to drill some sense into his head, one way or another!” “Don’t try anything rash-” Celestia began, and Discord dropped the tough guy routine with a huff. “I’m merely messing with you 'Tia!” he sighed dramatically “of course, of course! I'm not going to send him batty!” He set off towards the door “after all, I’ve seen how much damage has been done already...” As she left, Celestia realised he was right. He'd gotten more response from Sombra than she had. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --Please, just let this hope die...I don't want it...I…-- Sombra shook his head, as he felt panic start to surge. He crushed it down, but it felt like something stabbing his chest. He couldn’t let Celestia fool him. No way would she sacrifice that much for a lifeless crystal in a pony’s guise. At last all of this became too much, he couldn’t take it. Something clicked off in his mind, and after a sharp stabbing pain in his head that felt like it'd knocked the air from his lungs, he felt the sensations and emotions suddenly vanish, letting him breathe at last. He closed his eyes, breathing slowing at last. “Boo!” Discord popped out of thin air at the foot of Sombra's bed. Sombra stared blankly at him, only blinking once. Did this odd creature want something? “Yoo-hoo..” Discord waved a hand in his face. Sombra looked at him, but there was no response there. The pony looked right THROUGH him! “Are you aware coconuts can migrate?” he asked, concerned by this lack of anything. Nothing, not even a chuckle. Sombra merely looked away from him, staring at the bed beneath his hooves. But Discord kept trying. He even tried singing that song Celestia kept telling him NOT to sing, the one about liking large rear-ends. Nada. At last, Discord tried to reach out and set a hand on his head, and this finally garnered a response. Barely had he brushed the pony's soft grey coat, than it became apparent there was still some shred of him in there as the stallion tensed up, growling. “G-get away!” the words were spoken sharply, but there was a faint tremor in that near-emotionless voice. A flash of the real pony beneath the mask for a second, a pony that was frightened and hurt, but it flickered and faded, replaced by that same blankness. The stallion shut his eyes, turning his head away. “So you are in there, Sombra...” Discord muttered. He sighed, hating to do this, but it was the only way. To break Sombra out of this trance, he would have to shock him out of it. Since Sombra had his eyes closed, this would be a lot easier to spring on him- And what was this grand plan of Discords? Easy, a HUG. That much contact would be more then the pony could handle, he would have to choose between suppressing his emotions or letting them reach a frantic peak. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sombra thought he'd won, that this bothersome creature had left. But the next second he was surprised as something actually embraced him. For just a second he wondered at the contact, then a gut-punching jolt of panic hit his core. As Discord had expected, Sombra flipped out. “NO-!” the pony's body went tense “Let me go!!” he yelled franticly. --Hah, called it!-- Discord thought smugly. But in his gloating that he'd gotten a rise out of Sombra, he forgot one thing: he was STILL holding onto him. “Uh-oh.” he said as, sure enough, a split second later Sombra gave him a pretty powerful shove, sending him flying off the end of the bed. He nonetheless declared “gotcha!” as he flew. Sombra sat on the bed, chest heaving, eyes wide with panic. Was this creature here to kill him? Hope bloomed, and he stood up on the bed. “Oof, you have quite a strong punch there...” the Draconequus shook his head to clear it, then noticed the desperate look on Sombra's face as the pony stood on the bed. The way Sombra was regarding him, like he thought if he tried it, he could meet his end at Discords hand. -Oh crap, maybe this wasn’t so smart afterall…-- Discord thought, then suddenly decided enough was enough. Sombra needed to learn things weren’t going to end that way, that he wasn’t going to be killed or imprisoned again. “You can wipe that look off your face! Nobody's dying today!” He lectured the stallion “Get this into that stubborn head of yours. Tia is willing to give you a second life-” "What’s the point?" Sombra cried hoarsely at Discord as this sunk in "you think the crystal empire is going to just...let me live?! How is everypony so naive!" "Don’t be foolish!" Discord snapped "I tried to take over Equestria too, and I got a second chance. Of course it wont be easy, but do you consider your life so worthless you'll just throw it away the way you’re trying to?” He towered over Sombra, glaring at him coldly “do you really want to DIE?” Sombra blinked, staring up at him. A hiccupy sound that he recognised as a final cry for help bubbled up in his throat. He clapped a hoof over his mouth, shaking his head. Discord waited, sensing this was the crucial moment. “Please...just help me..” at last the words tore free from the traumatized pony. He hunched up, ears flattened as fresh tears welled up, unbidden. But this felt different. This felt like a relief from the torment of the last few days. He yelped in fright as a claw wielding a fancy linen handkerchief appeared from his peripheral vision and got rid of them. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Discord floated back, giving Sombra some room to breathe. He conjured the customary glass of chocolate milk, and floated this over to Sombra. The pony blinked, recognising the liquid. The hypnosis occurrences of before meant he woke only with vague memories of what had transpired. More sensation then solid recollection. But this strange drink seemed so familiar… Sure enough, it was nice. Something that felt good amongst the maelstrom of nightmares and fear. --Works every time, nopony can resist chocolate milk!-- Discord thought smugly as Sombra finished the glass. The pony hiccuped, but his ears had perked up a little bit…. "Your head feels like its going to burst because you’re trying to fit too much in there.." the Draconequus' hand tilted Sombra's chin up so he was looking at him. "the sooner you get it all off your chest, the sooner you can sleep peacefully. Makes sense, no?" Seeing Sombra hesitate, Discord added "I wont tell anypony any of this, well-" he trailed off. "Celestia..." Sombra whispered. "Tia, yes. She does need to know all this. But think of it this way- if you can tell us as much as you can, you don't have to get involved with the fighting! You can start thinking about that promise she made!" He held up the oath band so it caught the light. Sombra looked uneasily at it, but one hoof did raise off the bed, like he was about to reach up for it. "She will keep it?" Sombra asked, the hoof faltering. "Its an oath spell, I should say so! Besides, my dear 'Tia's not one to fib that way. She'll sell it you straight, wont let you get away with anything. Think about it, if she didn’t hesitate to deal with you before, why would she waste time setting up an elaborate lie? If you were a danger, she'd do what was necessary. But you’re NOT.” Sombra processed all this, still looking conflicted. “But she will give a second chance when she sees one is deserved. After all, she gave one to me, freed me once more! I tried to turn Equestria into a land of pure chaos. I even stole Celestia's tail! Hoo boy were she and Luna mad, they used the elements to seal me in stone. Then Twilight and company whooped my butt when I escaped!" Sombra looked up at him, seeing Discord's no nonsense expression. “So you see, we're not that different, you and I. And If I managed to gain acceptance, what's stopping you? Really, what have you to lose? You've been here awhile, and you're not dead or imprisoned. We're the good guys!" Sombra bit his lip, but there was no denying he longed for the stability and hope Celestia's promise held. After enduring what he had at Scorpan's hands, he understood why he'd been so feared by the crystal ponies. he'd been the king of monsters, not the Umbrum's saviour. Celestia seemed....sincere. He sighed, and finally nodded. Cool metal pressed against his coat as Discord set the band around his neck. He flinched a little at the chill of the metal, and Discord flew back, giving him space to breathe. "You can easily remove it if you need to, its not a confinement. Putting it on just accepts the promise..." Discord added, seeing a worried flash in Sombra's eyes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In her office, Celestia heaved a sigh of relief. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The floodgates broke, and Sombra finally felt every last scrap of information bubble to the surface, every little detail the delusional Scorpan had revealed coming to light, along with a few observations he'd made himself, to try and distract himself from the pain. He found he couldn’t sit still, and limped back and forth by the window, so much info spilling out from his memories his head began to hurt. "Getting that much magic he must be planning to absorb it all..b-but dark magic.." Sombra was babbling now, becoming slightly incoherent. “Calm down...” Discord handed him another glass of chocolate milk. This stemmed the outpouring of information, and gave Sombra's aching head a rest. He was worn out by the time he'd finished talking. His throat felt raw, and his voice trailed off into silence. Once Sombra finished talking, Discord once more sent him to sleep, and planted a suggestion for a much nicer dream maybe...? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thank you, Discord.." Celestia sighed in relief as he reappeared in her office. "Well, I think the fact he can see from what I told him that there is such a thing as a second chance helped." "Proof.." Celestia agreed, nodding. Discord gave a sigh, “Tell you one thing, that pony has a mean right hook!” “Say what?” Celestia asked. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sombra's dreams that night weren’t so bad, in fact they were about coconuts. Weird. But he woke up feeling less in agony. He lay in bed, watching the sunlight fill the room. For a brief spate of time, he felt free, comfortable... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Discord and Celestia showed up along with the yellow pegasus pony, he was surprised to have an extra visitor. "Hi..." the pony squeaked "A-are you feeling better?" This was the one Discord had spoken about. Fluttershy. He'd said she was...kind. Sombra managed a nod, but couldn’t think what to say. "How is your magic...?" Celestia asked. Sombra's expression went from "what's she talking about" to "OH." "I cant reach it. I don't understand why." he shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye he seen Celestia frown, the yellow pegasus looked sad, and Discord looked puzzled. "You have no access to it? Or are you simply empty? Funny though..." Discord frowned thoughtfully "even after sustaining injuries like these, your magic should've replenished a little?" "I tried!" Sombra closed his eyes and shook his head "It wont work. Not at all. Whatever Scorpan did, I think it scrambled it-" "-I’m sure we can find a way!" Celestia cut him off, trying to be reassuring. "Y-yes!" Fluttershy nodded "I'll ask Twilight!" "I wouldn’t," Sombra sighed, staring at the bedspread "it's safest it doesn’t come back." Fluttershy frowned sadly. "Whys that?" Discord asked, watching Flutters. "Why do you think?!" Sombra snapped, making them all raise their eyebrows "if it comes back, it’ll require a suppressor, otherwise- well, I don’t doubt you’ve kept it a secret I’m here?" "That’s true.." Celestia began, and Sombra nodded. "You wouldn’t be able to contain the panic that'll start if anypony outside these walls finds out. Add in I have my magic back, and you’ll have a mob on your hooves. No," He sat up, wincing as his leg ached, and glanced out of the window "I don’t want it to come back." the way he said it was so final, they all fell silent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sombra gave a weary sigh as they left. It hurt to say, but he knew Celestia couldn’t seriously protect him THAT much? She was risking too much of her precious power betting on keeping Sombra safe as it was. Offering him a HOME was enough trouble for her, he just knew it. "Question?" A voice spoke up by his ear "who were you fooling with that line?" "EYAAGH!" Sombra let out a terrified yell, and nearly fell off the side of the bed, but the next second an arm snagged around his back, stopping him from falling. He tensed up, the contact sending familair jolts of panic down his body. Why was he afraid of this? “L-let me go!” he gasped, voice a strangled cry. But the arm didn’t drop him, just kept hold of him. "The only contact you’ve had so far has been abuse. THAT'S why you're scared." Discord said this is a matter of fact manner. He had to wonder at the way Sombra had gone tenser then a wooden board, staring at the arm bracing him like it might bite. Out of curiosity he placed his other paw on Sombra's chest, and cocked an eyebrow; “Good sanity, your hearts going like a jack-hammer! Calm down before you explode or something. I'd rather you didn’t….” he poked Sombra's nose so the freaked out pony went cross-eyed “I just bathed!” "P-put me down..." Sombra said calmly, although he felt less than. Also, embarrassed at being caught out by Discord. "YOU, silly Sombra, need to learn to trust more. Hm, I have an idea!" Discords chaotic side snuck out again and he grinned, teleporting them both in a bright flash of light. Sombra blinked, the glow fading, and realised Discord was still keeping a hold of him, only now they were up on one of the highest towers, leaning out over a sheer drop. "Unhand me you insane creature!" Sombra bellowed. "Eesh, loud!" Discord grumbled. He grinned at the pony, they were practically nose to nose. "Cmon, it's bracing up here! Fresh air, birds, what more do you want?" Sombra was giving him such an evil look, it made Discord chuckle. "Fine, close your eyes, and I’ll let you go. You're not going to fall by way, I just hid the railing..." "Oh of course, so you can initiate further jokes at my expense?!" Sombra snarled back. "Well you'll just have to trust me wont you? Otherwise you're not going anywhere!" Discord grinned, making Sombra's temper spike. Fuming beyond belief, Sombra realised he had no choice, and part of him refused to be subject to Discord's jokes. He reluctantly shut his eyes as told. The sense of perspective shifted, so he was at least sat upright. He was aware the sheer fall to the ground below was right behind him? He was no longer aware of anything holding onto his body, and assumed Discord had kept to his promise. What if he...? --You could if you wanted to so badly..-- a voice that sounded like his tormentor whispered in his head. Sombra leant back just a little, felt the railings pressing into his lower back. Just a little further... --DON'T!!-- a voice that he recognised as his own, cried out inside his head --you don't want this...there’s still a chance!-- He hadn’t heard thoughts like these since before the takeover. He'd lost his mind, become obsessed with resurrecting an army to take on the Princesses with! --Imagine a home, in the wastes or the woods....by yourself...you could just..rest.-- the same voice begged. He realised he'd...like that. If he could help Celestia defeat Scorpan, could he find somewhere to live in peace? Would the empire's rulers leave him in peace? --You don’t have to go near them. Sign an oath of your own, if you wish...-- the hopeful voice begged --just don’t give up, there's a lot for you to do still.-- The only sound he could hear was his heartbeat, and feeling the wind tugging his mane. He finally felt able to breathe again, uttering a shaken sigh of relief. "Finally made your choice hm?" Discords voice filtered through and Sombra snapped back to his senses with a gasp. He stared at him, baffled beyond belief. "Wha..." he began, but cut off, only shaking his head slightly. "Its a start!" Discord declared. Sombra took a look at the tower they were stood on, noticing it offered a stunning view of Canterlot. "Look at it.." he heard himself murmur. Entranced by this never before seen view. "What, Canterlot? Oh sure, its nice enough!" Discord said, shrugging "oh wait, you never set hoof outside of the Empire, did you?" "Never..." Sombra said "Technically I was born, if the same concept applies to Umbrum's, out in the hostile wastes." "Yes I heard Celestia mention that. Hard to believe you're a crystal. You look like a normal pony, albeit built like a tank..." "Normal..?" Sombra laughed "I wouldn’t know what that is. It's jarring, really..." "What’s weird about it? You live, you breathe, you think...on occasion-" he cut off as Sombra gave him a pissed glare "-kidding. But seriously, you fill all the check boxes a living creature does. one of which is self preservation.." he hinted at Sombra's choice not to let himself fall, rather continue living. Sombra still felt uneasy about the future after this fight was over. he fell silent once more, the fear weighing on his mind. But without realising he raised one hoof to rest it against the necklace Celestia had placed the oath spell on. --So, he's starting to trust us now...-- Discord was surprised by the fact he'd gotten involved. it'd started out as a favour to Fluttershy, who asked him to lend them a paw, she'd be very grateful... He hadn’t been able to resist that smile, and had ended up listening to the discussions about Sombra. He knew how it felt, dealing with out of the blue waking back up after a long period of imprisonment. the world was different, strange. And so many had reacted in fear to his being alive again, it'd made him angry. But then Fluttershy had stood up for him, declared she was his friend. And...he'd nearly blown it, with the Tirek incident. Now it looked like the same situation was occurring again, only with Tirek's crazed brother. Sombra was an unwitting pawn in this. summoned from what should've been final rest to serve as a battery and punching bag. He thought about his former behaviour, trying to take over Equestria, and how he'd have reacted if he'd woken up in Sombra's situation. No wonder the stallion was so lost. "Ironic, isn’t it?" Sombra spoke, staring out over the city. "What is?" "All the nightmares I caused back then, now I’m the catalyst for a worse one." "You think this is acceptable?" Discord snapped. Sombra angled his head to look at him, expression neutral. "As i said to Celestia, I’ll never be free, the best I can hope for is peace and quiet..." "You’ll feel different once this is over, I can guarantee it," Discord said calmly "just wait and see!" Sombra was puzzled by the optimistic words, but nodded. "Best get you back to your room," Discord said at last, seeing Sombra was starting to doze off standing up. He teleported them back, and was amused by Sombra just flopping lethargically onto the bed and falling asleep in seconds.