//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: A Friend in the Shadows // Story: Crystalline: Her Destiny // by Ice Star //------------------------------// “You’re alive?!” Sombra exclaimed. I gracefully straightened my posture and looked around. We now were in a crater, no doubt from the explosion I had felt before I entered the Heart. I stretched out my left wing, now back at my side. “The Wraith… is she dead?” “Umm… yes,” said Sombra, deciding to look at the ground instead of engage in his usual one-sided glaring contests. “I’m the Crystal Empress.” I briefly explained some of what happened when I was in the Crystal Heart, leaving out most of what was probably For Crystal Alicorn Eyes Only. “Huh… so that’s why the Heart was glowing.” Now to see if what I feared had come true. “Sombra… I heard what you said before… and it… it’s not…” Sombra instantly looked disgusted. “NO! It’s not! Why would it be you?!” He made a huffing noise. "Do you know what a mess that would be? I'm not even remotely interested in you." I looked at the sky. “We had best get going, friend.” Sombra jerked his head around. “Friend?!” I nodded. “Yes, you are my friend. You have saved my life on multiple occasions, come to my aid, and most importantly you have saved my kingdom. If Celestia won’t knight you like I want her to then I will go into saying how you gave up your most-precious-secret-” “How did you guess that it was you little-“ he grumbled. “-to save my kingdom and if the Element Bearers and Twilight try anything, they will have to go through me. Okay, friend?” Sombra glared at me, as if trying to detect a lie. “Knighted?” “Of course!” “Hmph.” I took that grunt as an okay, but then again, with Sombra, you can never be sure. There was silence for a moment as we turned from the ruins and began to head back south. “Fine,” he muttered out of the blue. “What?” He sighed in a slightly annoyed manner. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this, but I'll tell you… who she is.” I giggled and scooped up the Heart, cradling it gently in one of my wings. All of my gear with the exception of my now holey cloak had now perished, and while I missed my bow I'm glad it wasn't me that had been lost. Or my kingdom. “Whisper it, the wind might hear you,” I teased. He frowned, and gave me an eye roll on top of it all just to show how irritated he was. “YOU OWE ME!” I plucked a gem from the headdress and tossed it to him. Sombra shoved it in his bags. “That'll do, Princess.” He whispered a name in my ear. My eyes widened. I couldn't believe it... yet in the strangest way I knew his words were true. “Let me guess, I don’t even have a chance,” he mumbled. I giggled once more, feeling like the silly teenage alicorn who read dorky novels to Twilight and snuck her into all the romantic comedies I could in Canterlot theaters when I wasn't with Shiny. It was just too good for me not to ship, although there was no way I'd get into explaining that to Sombra since I doubt he'd appreciate my art. “Take it from the Princess of Love: you have a shot, and I wish you luck.” For the first time, I think I saw him smile. Or was I just hallucinating…? ... Only Celestia was at Canterlot; Luna was at a meeting in Baltimare, which made my meeting with her less dramatic than if Luna and Twilight had been there, but it also meant I had to wait a while to tell them I was okay. It took a lot of explaining to Princess Celestia to clarify why Sombra shouldn’t be banished again, but I managed to convince her while a bitter Sombra engaged in a staring match with Auntie. She even refused to mention him by name, much less return his gaze. After she heard me explain everything but the secret Sombra revealed; Celestia explained she would not knight him, after all the role of knight in Equestria comes with significant power. Instead Celestia grudgingly proposed the take-it-or-leave-it offer of making him a realmless duke. “Like Blueblood?” “No,” Celestia said calmly “Blueblood has an estate to his name.” Sombra, who had been reduced to standing behind me, cleared his throat loudly. “What is it?” Celestia asked tonelessly, contrary to the look in her eyes, which resembled burning coals shooting sparks at Sombra. “Can I leave?” She raised an eyebrow. “I can’t just have you wander around the castle, where will you go?” He snorted a bit. “How about away from you, O Eternally Irritating One?” Celestia drew an angry breath, but maintained much of her composure. “Guards, if you please escort this stallion to another room.” I suppose it was only a matter of time before some drama was stirred up because of him, and I think things are going to get pretty interesting around here to say the least. ... Three days later… I was nervous. Canterlot Hall was filled with well-dressed ponies who looked both intrigued and worried at the same time. Twilight, who was beside Princess Luna on the platform, waved to her friends among the front rows of attendees. I was all decked out as Crystal Princess. I waved to Shining Armor, who unlike our kingdom was not instantly healed with the restoration of the Heart; he couldn’t climb the platform with that leg of his. Meanwhile, Princess Luna stood off to the far left and looked as reluctant as I was. Leave it to Celestia to be the only pony comfortable in an immense hall filled with ponies. I loved to be around ponies too, the more the merrier and all - but sometimes there could just be too big of a crowd, and I was worried how Sombra would handle all this, since I doubted everypony would be friendly to him if he were going to attempt to socialize. Center stage was Sombra, who was still sporting an overgrown mane and tail along with his singed cloak. The sword that I let him keep was sheathed at his side. Sombra was shooting a downright murderous look at Blueblood, who unfortunately was standing next to me, fretting over what to do and clearly repulsed by Sombra's presence, even though I think Sombra makes for much better company... even if he kinda is, ya know, a ex-tyrant and all. Princess Celestia cleared her throat, signaling the beginning of the ceremony. “I, Princess Celestia of the Two Sisters, Diarch of Equestria, do hereby grant the affix of Boundless Duke upon this pony. You may have completed a task of great merit with the aide of the Crystal Princess, but alone you have committed greater, almost overshadowing crimes. Do not think that they will be forgotten. Now, to the oaths.” We were all quiet as she began, as Celestia's now disdainful gaze still seared, boring down on Sombra, who was only about the same height as Luna, maybe an inch or two shorter. “Do you, Sombra of no inheritance or house,” she began eloquently, “swear to uphold the laws of Equestria, its vassals, its allies, and its states?” “Yeah, I might,” he grumbled, although his tone made it sound like he would have rather said a less sure 'maybe'. There was already murmurs of fear in the crowd, and Celestia, who certainly hadn't expected this, was starting to look a bit pink, her anger only obvious to Luna, Twilight, and myself. In the audience, Rarity almost fainted at his lack of formality towards the princess, whereas Celestia then seemed to coolly let his curtness slide. “Do you, Sombra of Unknown Parentage, swear to protect Equestria, her rulers, subjects, allies, vassals, and states, as if they were your own?” “I do,” Sombra stated, “swear to protect Equestria, its rulers, subjects, allies, states, and vassals from harm and-” his gaze met Celestia's. “-from tyrants.” A collective gasp could be heard, and the cocky grin that found it's way onto Sombra's face was a direct foil to Auntie Celestia's hot-coal stare. The crowds were dismissed and Princess Celestia shot me a we'll-talk-later-look. I nodded and trotted over to Shiny, whose leg was in a cast. My crystalline coat was still in effect, and my thoughts drifted over to Sombra. Something told me this wouldn’t be his last adventure, if any pony could change Equestria, it was my friend: Sombra, Duke of Nowhere and Nothing.