//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Shards of the Past // Story: A Somber Tale: FIENDship is Magic // by Maltrazz //------------------------------// ‘So, we get the book on Dark Magic from your study, but how do we get there?’ Twilight asked telepathically, as Sombra moved to the door. ‘Shining Armor said that the guards thought they heard somepony down there, so there’s bound to be sentries posted there tonight.’ ‘Then, it is good that I indulged with your brother a bit,’ Sombra responded with a chuckle. ‘What do you mean?’ Twilight asked in confusion. ‘Why to recover my magic, of course,’ came Sombra’s reply, as his grin widened. ‘Although, I doubt the Prince enjoyed the experience as much as I did.’ Twilight’s eyes widened at that, suddenly considering all the terrible things Sombra might have done to her brother once they were alone. As her eyes twisted into a glare, they flared with Dark Magic. Slipping into Shadowform, she shot forward, before reforming between Sombra and the door. “What did you do to him!?” Twilight demanded, speaking aloud in her anger. Sombra just chuckled again, before explaining, “All I did was talk to him. That was all I needed to do.” Seeing Twilight’s anger turn to curiosity, he went on. “All this false humility has stunted my recovery, so having a chance to lord my inherent superiority over another in private did wonders to make up for lost time.” However, his explanation left Twilight confused for a moment. “How could talking to my brother let you regain magic? And why would being humble hinder it, unless…” Suddenly, everything clicked into place for her. “Unless the emotion you fuel Dark Magic with is… Pride!” “Precisely. I knew you were clever enough to figure it out, I did make you my student, after all.” Sombra said, his eyes flashing with Dark Magic for a moment as he did. Pressing a hoof to his chest, he added, “What better emotion for a King to use, than Pride in his own considerable abilities and accomplishments?” “That… actually explains a lot.” Twilight said, as many of the stallion’s past actions and arrogant behavior took on a new light. Getting back to the original subject, she asked, “Are you planning to have us use Shadowform to slip past the guards? I don’t really like the idea of sneaking around my sister-in-law’s castle.” Sombra’s grin became strained for a moment at the reminder that the castle was not his anymore, but he shrugged off the thought in order to reply. “Not quite. Until you can get a handle on your temper, or we can get you using a less volatile emotion than Wrath, you should refrain from using Dark Magic more than necessary. Instead, we shall simply walk into the throne room, and I shall demonstrate the next spell I shall teach you, in order to incapacitate any guards present.” “You aren’t going to hurt them, are you?” His student asked in concern. “They’re just doing their jobs, after all.” "On the contrary," Sombra replied, his usual grin widening, "I will not harm a single hair in their manes." Slipping past her, he strode out the door as he continued. "You have seen the raw power that Dark Magic can bring to bear, but brute force was never its intended purpose. Light Magic will always be able to overpower Dark Magic in a fair fight, but Dark Magic is far more versatile, capable of things that those who cannot use it will never truly comprehend." As they approached the throne room, Twilight was feeling conflicted. Part of her was eager to learn a new spell, but the rest of her felt guilty about the thought of letting Sombra use Dark Magic on Crystal Ponies again. Stepping in front of him, Twilight said telepathically, 'Why don't I try talking to them first? I'll just tell them that Cadance gave me permission, and they should let us through.' 'Oh? And here I thought you were eager to learn more magic?' Sombra replied, halting as he looked at her quizzically. 'I am, but if Cadance ever found out I let you use Dark Magic on them, I know she would never forgive me.' Twilight answered him. 'I'm sure I can just talk them into letting us past, anyway, since Cadance is my sister-in-law, and...' Twilight trailed off for a moment, before asking, 'Why are you smirking at me like that?' Sombra was indeed openly smirking at her, unable to contain his amusement. Chuckling, he explained telepathically, 'I am just glad that I have a student with such... potential. Understanding the effects one's relationships with others have on third parties is an important skill for any leader to master.' 'But I'm no leader!' Twilight protested. 'On the contrary, you represent the Element of Magic, do you not?' He asked rhetorically. 'You are the leader of the Elements of Harmony. The fact that it is you that Celestia calls on when the Elements are needed is proof of that. As is the fact that it was you who discovered their secret. It was also you who restored their power when Discord returned. Without you, the Elements would be powerless.' Sombra paused for a moment, before saying, 'But enough about that. If you wish to try your hoof at diplomacy, rather than relying on magic, then so be it. However, I shall await your word, should you change your mind.' His smirk returned as he added, 'Lead the way, Twilight. I look forward to witnessing how you deal with them.' Suspicious of Sombra's inordinately good mood, Twilight forged ahead, nonetheless, quickly arriving at the doors to the throne room. She started to push the door open, only to pause at the sound of voices from within. “…just can’t believe the Princess would let a monster like that spend the night here.” Came the voice of one of the Crystal Guards. Twilight’s eyes immediately slipped to the stallion beside her, her mind in a panic. ‘Did he not believe the “Black Knight” cover-up? Did Sombra say something to Shining Armor to give himself away? Did one of the guards overhear us in my room? Did-’ However, her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of another guard. “Watch who you say that around. That’s the Prince’s sister you’re talking about.” Twilight’s thoughts immediately ground to a halt with but two words in her mind. ‘Me? Monster?’ “You saw it just as well as I did.” The first guard spoke up again. “That was King Sombra’s magic she used, or I’m a dragon!” “I’m not saying you’re wrong,” the second guard replied, “but what can we do? The Princess trusts her.” “Aye, and Princess Amore lowered her own guard around Sombra and look what happened to her,” the first guard shot back. “Shattered. Are we just supposed to wait for our new Princess to meet the same fate, and we have a Queen enslaving us instead of a King?” ‘What a shame,’ Sombra’s telepathic comment radiated the utmost pity. ‘You risk your teacher, your reputation, and even your friendships to learn Dark Magic, all so that you can protect ponies like them, and this is how they repay you? With slander and suspicion? You have my apologies Twilight. Perhaps, I should stop teaching you, so you do not have deal with this?’ “NO!” Twilight cried out in panic, the thought of losing the opportunity to learn Sombra’s magic momentarily making her forget to stay quiet. “Who’s there!?” One of the guards shouted in response. Twilight froze until Sombra’s voice echoed in her mind once more. ‘You wished to speak with them, did you not? Now seems to be your chance.’ Bolstered by that thought, Twilight pushed the door open and stepped into the torchlight illuminating the throne room, to confront the two guards. The pair of sentries tensed at her appearance. “Speak of the devil and she will appear…” Muttered one of the guards, in the voice that she heard first. Frowning, Twilight said, “Look, I love Cadance as a sister, so I’m not about to try and overthrow her.” “If that’s true…” The second guard hesitate before finishing, “Then why do you know Dark Magic?” “I’m only learning Dark Magic so that I can use it to help protect everypony,” Twilight replied. However, the first guard refused to accept her words. “You expect us to believe that? Are you even listening to yourself!?” Although initially startled when Twilight entered the room, and fear was quickly turning to anger. “King Sombra ruined our lives with that power! Even if you aren’t just tricking everyone into lowering our guard, you’re at least a spoiled brat playing with something she doesn’t understand!” “But I want to understand!” Twilight protested. “Well, you don’t and that puts all of us in danger!” The angry guard snapped at her. “What would we do if your fumbling around lead to King Sombra coming back again? Did you ever think of that?” Twilight hesitated at that, due to how close that was to exactly what had happened. However, her silence was telling to the calmer guard, who quickly put the pieces together. “By crystals… It’s already too late isn’t it? That stallion with you… I must warn the Princess!” “Wait! Stop!” Twilight cried out as the second guard broke for the exit. When he ignored her, Twilight gathered her magic, her eyes glowing bright green. “I said STOP!” A flash of Dark Magic and a moment later a crystal statue in the form of the retreating guard fell to the ground, skidding to a stop at Sombra’s hooves. Chuckling, Sombra stepped over the crystallized pony, commenting, “I see negotiations failed, my dear Twilight. Shall I implement Plan B, then?” However, his smile faltered when he saw the young mare’s expression. Twilight stood motionless, her eyes locked on the guard ‘statue’. The only part of her that moved were her lips as she mumbled, “I didn’t mean to… I just wanted him to stop… It was an accident… I didn’t mean to…” repeating the words to herself like a mantra. Sombra frowned, as he realized his student was in shock over her own action. Glancing towards the other guard, whose anger had turned to terror at the sight of what happened to his partner, Sombra’s eyes flashed with Dark Magic, causing the eyes of the guard to glow the same colors. The guard immediately fell motionless, his mind trapped in a prison of his own worst nightmare. Turning back to his student, Sombra stepped between her and the crystalline form that had caused her such distress. “Twilight. Look at me,” He said softly. Raising her head to meet his gaze, Sombra saw tears in her eyes, as she whispered. “I… I killed him… I didn’t mean to… it was an accident, but I…” Any satisfaction Sombra had felt over Twilight’s reflexive use of Dark Magic vanished when he saw her crying. He did not know why. He had taken great satisfaction from seeing others reduced to such a state when he was King, but seeing the normally strong mare in such a state left him feeling… distressed. Brushing aside the thought for later contemplation, Sombra focused on the immediate issue, saying, “He is not dead, Twilight.” “What!?” Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “But I turned him into crystal!” “Yes, the same thing I did to Princess Amore, and all the other Crystal Ponies who crossed me,” Sombra replied succinctly. “And yet, for all my ‘crimes’, murder was never one of them. The spell is actually what I based the ‘curse’ that sealed away the entire Empire off of. It is more of a stasis spell than an actual attack and, as such, it is reversible.” “Really?” Twilight asked excitedly, happy that her mistake had not been as costly as she thought. Rushing over to the crystallized guard, she added, “We have to fix this right away!” “Unfortunately, that is not an option,” Sombra replied, going on to explain before she could ask. “Reversing the process is much more difficult and delicate, requiring raw power that I currently lack and an understanding of Transformation and Manifestation magic that you have yet to achieve. We will be able to reverse it one day, but not now.” “But…” Twilight seemed disappointed. “We can’t just leave him here and I doubt we could get him back to Ponyville without raising a lot of questions.” “I have a better idea,” her teacher replied, before revealing the secret staircase down to his study with a blast of Dark Magic. “Grab him and follow me.” As they descended the stairs, Twilight levitated the guard down and asked a question to try and calm her still rattled nerves. “What did you do to the other guard?” “What I had planned to do to both,” Sombra replied. “A spell I named ‘Trauma Prison’. I believe you experienced it first hoof when you attempted to breach my Cursed Door.” Grinning, he added, “Tell me, why do you think I chose this spell to disable them?” Twilight thought for a moment, remembering what she could about her own exposure to the spell. “Well, it’s nearly impossible to break out of on your own, and keeps you from moving your body while under its effects. So, you used it so they wouldn’t disturb us, right?” “That is one reason, why else?” Sombra asked, having Twilight analyze the spell further. It took Twilight a moment longer to respond, “Well, I did not know what was going on while I was under its effects, so if we had used it before the guards saw us, they never would have known we were there.” “Indeed, although I feel obliged to explain that the version I used here was a more severe version than what you experienced at this door,” Sombra said, gesturing to the door in question as they reached it. “The trauma the guard will experience will be so intense that their own mind will blot out this night’s events in order to protect his sanity, meaning that even though you spoke to him, he will not be able to remember that you or I were ever there, or what happened to his partner. In addition, when we leave, we shall keep the entrance to the staircase open, making it seem as if somepony escaped, perhaps an ancient tyrant come back to life, rather than somepony breaking in. And since your cover claimed that you already removed the book we are retrieving, nothing will seem to be missing, further enforcing the illusion that nothing was taken tonight. On top of that, should I need to use my Dark Magic openly at a later date, we can claim that the Spirit of King Sombra merely sought out a ‘compatible host’, with you using your knowledge of Dark Magic to ‘suppress the malevolent tyrant’ once the need for me to use such magic has passed.” Twilight just stood there gaping at him for a moment. She had seen Sombra as a monstrous villain. She had seen him as a teacher. However, this was the first time she had gotten a glimpse of the brilliant mind that had nearly succeeded in re-conquering the Crystal Empire without even setting hoof within its borders until the last moment. Not noticing Twilight’s reaction, Sombra lead the way into his study, his student scrambling to catch up a moment later. Moving over to one of the bookcases, he pulled a book partially out. …Only for it to open yet another secret door, revealing a much larger chamber beyond. As Twilight entered, she was not prepared for what she saw; dozens of crystalized ponies were positioned in rows, taking up the majority of the room. “You can put your little guard over here,” Sombra said, gesturing to an empty space near the door. “What are all these?” Twilight asked as she placed the crystallized guard where her teacher pointed. “These are all the ponies there were easier to simply Crystallize than to keep as slaves,” Sombra explained. “As you can see, all of the Crystal Pegasi and Unicorns ended up in here, hence why you only see Crystal Earth Ponies in the Empire now.” Grinning, he added, “If the events of this night made you rethink learning Dark Magic, then consider this: if you learn enough, then one day you might be able to set all of these ponies free.” “I suppose that explains that,” Twilight replied. “And there’s no way I could just abandon all these ponies.” Turning to Sombra with a renewed look of determination, she said, “Where’s the book we came here to get?” “Follow me, my dear student.” Leading her back into his study, Sombra closed the secret door to the ‘statue’ hall and passed a book entitled ‘The Basics of Dark Magic for Aspiring Unicorns’ to Twilight. However, as they turned to leave, they were stopped short by the sound of a hoof knocking against wood coming from a shadowed corner of the room. Looking in the direction it came from, Twilight saw what seemed to be a simple wooden door in the wall. From beyond it, a whispery voice called out, “I have been waiting for you. I can feel your Dark Magic. Won’t you please speak with me?” Wary of what might be lurking beyond the door, Twilight asked Sombra telepathically, ‘What is that?’ However, Sombra’s response was slow in coming. Even his expression gave no clues, as he kept it carefully neutral, not even his normal grin present. When he finally replied, it only left her with more questions. ‘Consider that your next test.’