Favorable Alignment

by Ice Star


Chapter 8: Blood and Fire

Luna:

"Sombra," I repeated a second time. I was waiting for the demon stallion to put down the book he was so absorbed. He stood on deck beside me, the levitating ship's manual hiding his face.

His lack of any response earned a roll of my eyes, not that he would have seen it. I was trying to show him the ropes of the Sky Scraper, quite literally, but apparently him saying that he would multi-task simply devolved into Sombra's hyper immersion with the latest book he's taken from the library.

In order to get his attention this time, I do not call out his name knowing that his mind is elsewhere.

"Two plus two is seven."

The book is lowered so Sombra can properly glare at me with more fury than Celestia's sun burning in his eyes.

"What did you just say?"

"So, I have your attention now?"

Sombra promptly closed the book, and unlike his unamused expression, it did not vanish with a spell. "I suppose you do, go on with your explanation of how the ship stays afloat."

I cock my head to the side as he says this. "So you were paying attention?"

"I said I was going to. There were no questions I had to ask since your explanations were solid, and it helped having a book in front of me."

"Oh... I did not realize that, Sombra. Go back to multitasking if you wish."

Never once did Sombra resume his reading as he silently listened to all I had to say, eyes of flame-red following every gesture, flickering back and forth with each wave of my hoof or turn I made when moving to a different location.

Although he spoke no words, Sombra remained very animate in the subtlest of ways. Whether Sombra intended this or not, I don't know. He was easy for me to read, a spark in his eyes and a slight twitch spoke volumes and compared to the signs of other ponies. I learned much more about what he thought and how he interacted via this effortless communication. All movements like this were complex, I could always pin down the exact meaning of a smile and everything behind it even if the owner did not wish to be deciphered.

Now that we had begun to adjust to each other, even if the adjustment was gradual, we learned about what the other felt without too much effort. Reading things like this had always been almost automatic for me, and Sombra isn't one who is a stranger to being observant. This is how I noticed the two strangest things about Sombra.

The first was that without bothering to know him, one would easily assume that he's nothing but a liar even though he has done so such thing so far. He doesn't even bother to conceal what he generally feels, most likely because there are so few ponies that would pick up on such a trait. The second is much more elusive. The way he moves, slight disturbances in the way he carries himself, I've noticed them where others must have ignored these since he is remarkably good at hiding whatever it is that ails him. It is only notable when I look closely at the way he turns his head or flicks his left ear far more than his right. How he never faces certain directions or walks odd around certain obstacles like he wasn't sure they were there.

I think Sombra has some kind of visual problem, but I can't be too sure yet.

...

"Sombra how do you find the wheel?" I call upon exiting the navigator's office where I had been double-checking a map. Last night I had shown Sombra around the ship and tonight he was grudgingly trying out steering the Sky Scraper.

Well, it isn't night yet, I think with a smile as I pause to raise the moon, my magic reaching out below the horizon to prod the celestial body for its evening trip into the sky so the stars might be seen.

Once this is done, I go over to Sombra's right side to see how he's doing since he didn't answer my question. His expression is one of concentration, but also touched with confusion since his muzzle is scrunched up a bit and the twitch under his left eye appears to be acting up.

"It's not something I'm used to," Sombra mutters once he sees me.

"Is it not within your skill set?"

"I can't say it is."

"I-I am sorry, I forgot to inquire what your skills were, and-"

"Luna, you don't need to apologize for this; all I've got to really do is watch out for stray weather, correct?"

"I could always get wild weather for you, if you wish." As I say this, a stray cloud on this clear night nudges the side of the port side ship. It isn't anything dangerous but I wonder why Sombra chose to run into it instead of turning, since that particular kind of cloud doesn't dissolve so easily as most of the stuff the Sky Scraper encounters.

"Do you not think the Right-Honourable Lord Sombra can manage a few insolent clouds?" When Sombra receives a small giggle as my response, he pulls his sword out of his scabbard, and jumps up, brandishing the blade. I am able to see the silver and red before the ship lurches and halts upon hitting a rather dense rain cloud and the sound of the wild rain can be heard emptying into the ocean far below. Sombra sheathes the sword before I'm able to get a better look at it and blinks in confusion.

"What was that?" he asks, before rushing to the port side even though he should have seen that unruly cloud before I did. I follow him over to the side and look at the cloud.

"A cloud, and not just that, but a cloud you should have seen!" If I weren't distracted by whatever dramatic speech he was going to start then I would have seen it as well.

"What do you mean? I'm looking at it right now!"

"You should have seen it before that! Sombra, you were the one steering! You would have seen it first, the ship is designed to allow that and it was so obviously to your left side that you would have seen it, I saw you looking at it!"

"Luna, it was a cloud-"

"It was a cloud this time!"

"I understand, but I don't see why you had to interrupt me to say that!"

"This is the only ship we have Sombra, and I would greatly appreciate it if you did not trash it for the sake of a convenient journey."

"Well, why'd you let me steer this thing in the first place?"

"To see if you could. I did not know you would be so careless. This can be fixed with magic, but I would like to avoid doing so for every little dent that could be avoided."

"Alright, Luna, I understand that but I probably shouldn't be the one to steer."

"No kidding, you are practically blind!"

Sombra's coat suddenly looked about eight shades lighter, his mouth hung open and those crimson eyes stared at me, utterly shocked by what I had said and even fearful.

"Sombra...?"

There was that twitch in his left eye again, I always thought it was a habit, simply a nervous tic but now...

"Nopony was supposed to know," he whispered, but it wasn't directed at me.

"Sombra, what was nopony supposed to know? I cannot help you if you do not tell me what is wrong." I've really gone and upset him, haven't I? Oh Luna, why do you have to be so brash at times like this?

"It can't be healed. It can't, it can't, it can't!"

He moves to storm away, he's clearly on the verge of a breakdown of some magnitude. I grab one of his forehooves and roughly try to pull him back where I might be able to calm him down, because I have no idea what he's going to do and it sounds like he's hurt. Sombra screams in the panic, no doubt since I'm much stronger than he is, not that he is weak in anyway.

"Sombra, it is okay, nothing is going to hurt you, please just tell me what is wrong."

"Let go!" he screams; there's a fiery, unhinged look in his eyes. "Let me go, or gods know I'll make you!"

At the second part, I let him go, knowing that it wouldn't have helped either of us, and watch him stumble a bit, rubbing what must be a bruised foreleg under that partially crushed metal boot before I heard the sound of the navigator's office door slamming.

I really screwed things up this time. Picking on Sombra, what new low can I sink to? I kick myself with a foreleg at how stupid and rude I was but all I get is a bruise and the honor of feeling worse than before.

...

My hoof hovered over Cabin A's door, reluctant to make any move at all, even though I had acted so poorly and did feel sorry, so an apology would be necessary for the latter alone and it was better to apologize sooner than later. He probably hates me anyway, but at least he'll know I'm sorry and I won't feel nearly as guilty.

I knocked anyway, even though Sombra can sense magic and would already know I'm here. Then, I waited for a response.

"Go away, Luna."

My favorite response. "Sombra, I need to talk to you."

"Too bad."

"It was not a question."

"You're not coming in here."

"Stars forbid I know any teleportation, Sombra. The mighty door shall surely hold back this goddess!"

"Quit stealing my job and go away."

"I just want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't."

"Alright. You do need your space." I turn to talk away, wondering when it will be best to try to talk to him, since I'll have to do so at some point.

"Wait!" comes his voice from behind the door, "Why are you just leaving?"

I pause in the hall, empty except for me. "You said you did not want to talk now, I did upset you greatly and understand if you hate me because of this. I also respect your wish not to be disturbed, although I hope we can resolve this at some other point because I do not think you are a bad demon at all, Sombra, and thus far enjoyed spending time with you."

Down the hall, and behind the door, there was a very loud sigh. "I prefer to be labeled a pony, and umm, thank you for doing what nopony has ever done. I've never been considered like that before."

"I will just be going then..."

"An hour," he blurted from behind the simple barrier.

"Pardon?"

"You can come back in an hour. I won't be nearly as frustrated then."

...

One hour later Sombra stood in the doorway of his cabin with an expression that looked like one who has spent too much time around particularly pesky foals, but due to recent events it was clear he went through a minor panic attack as well. He wouldn't meet my gaze, but I could see it in his eyes and how he held himself.

"Sombra, I am incredibly sorry-"

"Can we do this inside the cabin instead of standing out here in the hall like this?"

I nodded in agreement since it certainly felt a bit awkward out here in the hallway. Soon, I'm seated at the desk in his cabin and he insists on flopping onto the bed for our discussion.

"As I was saying: Sombra, I am sorry for upsetting you and continuing to overreact over the cloud incident."

He isn't saying anything.

"I made my point, but I did so poorly and it was all my fault..."

"You didn't know."

"But I am not blameless, Sombra!" I say, bringing a hoof down on the desk, or I would have if Sombra hadn't gotten up and caught my forehoof in his magic so I didn't blindly break the cabin's furniture.

"While that's true, you should never blame yourself for something you were only part of and become something that went beyond your control. Blaming yourself for everything isn't realistic or accurate, Luna."

If you only knew how much I did just that...

"Are you really...?" I was going to say 'blind' but my voice just dropped into silence at the last part.

Sombra put my hoof down. "Am I what, Luna?"

"Can you not see out of one of your eyes?"

"I can see better than most ponies," Sombra said, his tone was that of somepony who was on edge and it was my question that made him respond like this. If he were to use that impersonal tone any more it would feel like he was drifting away.

"You can," I add, my voice low. Sombra is very observant. I'll never forget how it felt when he was the one pony who noticed how miserable I was so many years ago. It made me so nervous, so thankful, so confused, and even angry since he had mocked me in our fight, he who knew more about a single pony at a glance than some could know in a lifetime, assuming they didn't just ignore what they saw as so many must have done.

"I'm not blind," he says, voice hard and cold, "I'm not."

What comes to mind I know I probably shouldn't say, but I have to if I'm to get anywhere with him.

"Only physically, Sombra," I say, my voice a whisper.

He's just standing in front of the chair where I sit now, bristling with hostility. "Didn't you hear me? I said I wasn't-"

Sombra is stopped in me finishing that statement when I sit up and stand in front of him and place on hoof on his wither. "Cover your left eye, please," I ask, keeping my voice soft.

He clearly knows something of what I'm doing and places a forehoof over his left eye. When that's done, I conjure a small green cube, its grassy color is the only distinct feature to the small, plain toy.

"What color is this?"

"Green."

"What is it?"

"A green cube, Luna."

"We are going to do the same thing with the other eye, I listened to you once Sombra, so now you are going to listen to me. I know what I am doing."

Even though Sombra looks like he's going to object he reluctantly complies with all the pitiful awkwardness of somepony who has been hit. His right eye is covered with his hoof and I conjure another small toy, this time a yellow sphere.

"What color is it?" I ask Sombra kindly. I really don't think he denies being blind because he truly believes he can see out of that eye, but because he believes he'll be treated like he's worth even less or harmed for it. I may not have heard the words come out of his mouth but he clearly associates being blind, physically, with being ignorant, which he is not. All I need to do is get him to accept that those aren't true, and that the former does not indicate the latter. Sombra simply needs to admit this to himself without being afraid.

Meanwhile, Sombra bites his lip. "...Blue?" he guesses, voice cracking slightly.

As with before, I do nothing to indicate whether he is correct or not.

"What is it I hold?" I ask, bobbing the toy a bit.

Another bite of his lip, although this time the spell over his fangs, which I presume are his natural teeth, is wearing off and one of his eyeteeth pierces his lip and draws a bit of blood.

"Sombra?"

"Just give me more time," he blurts.

"Very well, then."

For five solid minutes Sombra doesn't say anything. Or do anything.

"I-I..."

"Yes, Sombra?"

"I-I-I... I am not quite... Okay, so... I may or may not... Luna, I'm unable to see whatever it is that you're holding."

"Can you make out anything? A blur of color, an outline?"

"N-No. There's nothing," he says, removing his hoof just as the conjured toy disappears in a flash of turquoise.

He almost walks away, but I won't let him get away that easily and drag him back over with the hoof I had placed on his wither. I didn't even allow him a chance to speak before I used my free hoof to gently push his bangs aside.

"Luna, stop, I-"

"Both of your eyes still react to the light and adjust well."

"Yes, but Luna you're awfully close to me..."

I lean closer to get a better look at his eyes. "That I am. I have been closer to you before and you did not complain then, now did you?"

Sombra swallows and I think I see him blush slightly, no doubt because I embarrassed him by bringing up the one simple trick that twisted his words against him and allowed my sister and I to defeat him. I hope he's still as excellent a fighter as he was then, because this time around I'd actually like to compliment him on his fantastic skill.

"You have very interesting eyes, you know."

Sombra flinches a bit. "Yeah, I know nopony has eyes the color of blood. How very interesting indeed," he concludes bitterly.

"They look like fire."

Sombra blinks, his eyes flickering with confusion. "I've never been told that before. It's always been just 'crimson' or 'blood colored'."

"Well, I think they look like fire and find them to be quite beautiful. Now would you mind telling me what happened to the left one?"

Sombra tells a short tale about a fight with a few windigos before Onyx and him reached the Empire, in the time they traveled the Arctic alone in his youth. One of the mighty beasts shot its ice at them, and injured Sombra's eye, for Onyx was not skilled enough to dodge. Since they... well, primarily Sombra, for he was the only one who bothered to care for the injured eye, didn't have the proper resources to take proper care of it, the eye became infected. This led to Sombra one day discovering the eye no longer worked and how he had to craft a spell that would deceive Onyx into thinking otherwise when the brat was in control, for Sombra's body was incapable of being healed by his own magic. However, half of Sombra's world has always been darkness.

As he concludes his tale, Sombra appears to be somewhat relaxed, which is certainly unusual for him.

"Sombra, do you realize that I would be able to heal that?"

He stares at me, utterly speechless.

"What you told me indicates that this mostly stems from the nerve being disabled by the windigo's attack and an old wound. It might take a few tries but I would be able to heal that for you, so you could see again. Your eye is completely intact, still responds to the light, and is otherwise unharmed."

"It won't work."

"Just let me try," I say, taking my forehoof away and letting his mane fall back in place.

"Fine. Go ahead and try, but don't be sad when it isn't working. I don't need you to mourn something doomed from the start."

I do not respond to his last remark and close my eyes as magic engulfs my horn. Using the precise paths of the magic that now coursed through the area around and including Sombra's left eye - which now glowed a faint turquoise as well, though I needn't open my eyes to see that - I was able to construct a map of what was wrong. Tia may prefer to heal things with flashes of light and make things as easy as blinking, but I have always been much more intrigued and thorough when it comes to healing, always searching for the problem instead of proposing only a quick and temporary solution. This includes starting from within and working outward.

Healing things my way was something that was hardly ever done except by the most dedicated professionals. But even they were confined to what textbooks taught them, lacking the dreamer's innovation combined with logic that helped me see each individual and master what they considered to be top tier techniques like it was nothing, and advancing to a level where I stood unrivaled. My sister, of course was a master healer in her own right but our methods different in almost every way. Even if we found ourselves in similarly unchallenged status, it had been always been I who had the magical talent and greater power of the two of us.

What I did right now was like being presented with a puzzle of a great many 'strings' that all tied together to form a properly functioning eye. Strings could vary from pony to pony and creature to creature, and what I saw now was Sombra's pattern of strings and nopony else's. Certain 'knots' made specific things work and had to be 'tied' in certain ways for that to happen. As the healer, it was my job not only to tie these knots but to mend each string and reinforce it if I need to.

Through this turquoise colored web that I had projected into my mind I could see the frayed, but not severed, threads that I was to work with and moved to repair them with a bright flash of aura falling forth like a stage curtain once I was done.

I opened my eyes and looked at Sombra, who stared at me with unreadable apathy.

"Did it work?"

He waves a hoof in front of his left eye after he had blinked it a few times. "Nope. Still darkness. Nice try, but no sticker."

"Then I shall try again, for I am greatly intrigued by what stickers you are giving out."

The process is done once more, although not before Sombra asks if we can give up. I refuse to, and this time I notice that one of the 'threads' remained frayed. I should probably have reinforced each one of them as well, which I do before opening my eyes.

"Sombra, did it work this time?" I inquire, looking at the forehoof he holds across both eyes with an annoyed frown.

"I'm telling you it's not going to work. Blindness can't be healed so after this can we just forget about this and stop wasting time?"

"Pull your hoof away first, and I will have you know that while not all things can be healed, this most certainly is not one of those cases."

He gives an impatient sigh before dramatically pulling his hoof away and shooting me an acid smile that's obviously just sarcastic and very, very fake.

"Let's see if what you did-"

He blinks and yelps, looking about madly and blinking rapidly before his focus shifts back to me.

"-even works..." He finally manages, trailing off and staring at me with awe and something else that I couldn't place even after the time I spent around him.