Protector
"Unbelievable! This is just unbelievable!" the angered lord shouted, spitting. He seemed to use that word a lot. "I can't believe it!"
Matvey growled a curse once more before smashing a vase in front of him, which had, up to this point, peacefully been standing on the table. It flew into the wall and turned into tiny shards. There could be no end to his frustration. And why would there be. He got ripped off, big time.
There never had been a time where he had been ripped off. Nopony would dare to fool him; he was Matvey, The Lord, the richest noble of the Empire.
"My lord, please, listen to me: this isn't my fault!" Lazarus cried, tears gathering in his eyes. "I... I didn't know she was... that she was..."
"Don't give me this idiocy, Lazarus! You're her father. You’re supposed to know!" he growled and glanced at the girl who stood in a corner, covering herself with a light shawl. Poor thing. She really looked pathetic, unlike the proud lady back at the banquet.
Matvey didn't look at her anymore. He wouldn't admit it in the open, but he didn't want to torment her, since it wasn't her fault. Mares were beasts that desired freedom, would do anything for it. There would be no inhibitions to what they’d do if they’d receive their long desired freedom. If you, as a stallion, couldn't keep your mare under control, any fault, and mistake she’d make would be yours, not hers.
"How was I supposed to know that my daughter was a... a..." before Lazarus could say the cruel word, Matvey put his hoof to his lips.
"Do not say that. There are no whores in nobility, there are only stallions who are oblivious to their wives and daughters. You are definitely one of them, if you couldn't notice that your daughter was carrying a child until it was far too late to stop the pregnancy!" he growled. "And, in addition, you're a cheater! You were going for the Meet Off, knowing that she was no virgin!"
Celene trembled at these words, which signified that Lazarus would probably get himself in trouble. Matvey smiled. At least this idiot would get punished for his blindness.
"Please, my lord, reconsider! I had no idea Krystal had sinned with some low-born! It's not my fault!" Lazarus was almost crying. Poor thing.
"Are you deaf? I really don't care with whom Krystal has slept. All that matters is that it wasn't I, and that you failed to make sure it would be I,” Matvey said, looking for his tobacco pipe. "Where's my pipe?"
"Here it is, sir." The servant quickly passed the pipe to him. Matvey quickly put it in his mouth and looked around for the unicorn who would usually light it.
"Where is that moron?" he growled, when Lazarus suddenly lit the pipe without any warning. "Bah, stop hooflicking, Lazarus, this won't change anything. The deal's cancelled."
Lazarus turned away, looking at his wife, then hatefully at Krystal.
Before leaving, Matvey approached Krystal and took a good look at her. A moment later, he gently touched her cheek salty from tears with his hoof.
"I envy your first stallion... I hope he was worthy," he sarcastically noted, already knowing the answer: no, he wasn't. With a prideful smile, darkened only by the realization that some pony had beaten him to the 'prize', he took his leave along with his servants, guards and all of Lazarus's dreams.
The servants wrapped him into a majestic red mantle, before setting out into the blizzard. Even though it was quite stormy, he didn't want to stay in this mansion any longer.
Lazarus gritted his teeth when the doors, leading outside the mansion, were closed, sealing away all hope for a rich life and prosperity. And because of what? — Because of his whore of a daughter who, instead of learning, decided to hide around the corners and get plowed by all kinds of low-born scum. Slowly turning around, his eyes red with anger and his heart pounding with no stop, he casted a hateful glance at his wife.
"Are you happy now? Did sending her to a 'normal' school turn out well? Are you happy?" he repeated, faced with Celene's angry look.
"Meet Off? You haven't told me anything about that!"
"Oh, shut up, please! It doesn't matter anymore, it's cancelled!" he shouted at his wife. "Our opportunity to live happily ever after is gone, only because our daughter is a damn whore!"
He screamed the last words so loud that Krystal trembled with shock. She would have never expected to see such treatment from her father. Since Krystal was a filly, she had thought she could trust him with even the most personal secrets. She turned to her mother, silently crying for support and help, searching for it in her eyes.
Her mother's eyes, the ones she adored so much, wherein she’d find hope and care even in the darkest of hours of her short life.
Now, she found nothing.
Cerene looked at Krystal with shame and just a pathetic bit of sympathy. One small look was all she got and then Celene quickly left the room, leaving Krystal face to face with her enraged father.
She lowered her head, looking straight at the floor as he approached her, every step tearing the poor girl's soul apart with fear and dismay.
"Why did you betray your family, Krystal?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"Dad, I didn't! I can explain everythi—"
Her voice was silenced with a loud pound on the floor. Her father had a habit of stomping the ground when he wanted somepony to be quiet or when he was really angry.
"Don't you dare come up with excuses! I already have an explanation: you were hiding this sinful desire ever since you reached this... awkward age! You were hiding this desire and you should have kept hiding it, but then you met a stallion whose charm you couldn't resist!" he screamed at his daughter. "Then, I doubt I need to retell what you did in some dirty corner!"
Krystal backed away slightly, covering her belly. Her face was covered with a blush when she remembered how she and Sombra decided to try something new... in her parents' bedroom.
"Instead of saving your pride, you wasted it on some rabble that you barely even know!"
"That's not true! He loves me! And I love him!" Krystal finally lost her cool and shouted back. Her father's eyes widened with shock and anger.
"Loves you?! Trash is incapable of love, you idiot!" he screamed, but suddenly stopped and felt calm for a moment. Then, he left the room.
Krystal was standing in place like a rabbit, too scared to run away. Everything inside her felt empty as she felt her own soul drift away into nothingness. Her whole life was being destroyed right now, and she could do nothing about it. She couldn't lie, she couldn't succumb to her father's will, for her feelings for Sombra were far too passionate to suppress.
Her father walked into the room once more, holding something aloft with his magic. After taking a closer look, Krystal realized that it was her golden pendant. Lazarus stopped in front of her and opened the little neckwear.
"I had such a beautiful daughter... back then. It pains my heart to realize that she grew up and became you," he said bitterly. "You really believe he loves you? Then go to him and never come back!"
With those agonizing words he threw the pendant into Krystal's face. The golden neckwear left a small scratch on her cheek and a horrible wound in her soul. She looked once more into his eyes, her own eyes filled with tears and a question: Why? She found no answer, only cold and bitter command.
"Get out!" he said coldly, slamming the door behind him, leaving his daughter with the pendant and no hope.
As tears ran down her cheeks, Krystal picked up the pendant and put it around her neck. She felt hurt and abandoned, destroyed and manipulated by everypony she had ever considered a friend or family. The will to life was fading inside her as she approached the front door and opened it, the vicious blizzard biting her skin.
Without any fur-coats, blankets or anything to protect the frail mare from the cold, she ventured onwards, tears falling from her eyes, turning into ice when they touched the snow. She walked, slogging through the deep snow, falling and getting up, her belly angrily booming and the child inside her womb turning anxiously, feeling the cold.
She walked, without looking back, praying, that, maybe, there'd be one pony in the whole world who’d grant her a roof over the head. Hopefully, Sombra was still waiting for her in that summer house, ever faithful and yearning for her forgiveness.
She had never believed in fate or supreme deities. But right now, she was praying, for she was scared for one life. Not for her own, but for the one fledging inside her. She couldn't understand the sudden love she felt for the baby inside her, but, after so many months of hiding, attempts to escape, and tears, she realized just how much she valued the child. She wanted to get to Sombra as fast as possible and save the child, even if it’d cost her own life.
***
His body felt numb and the tips of his forehooves felt non-existent, as if they weren't even a part of his body anymore. He quickly rubbed them against each other, trying to warm them up through friction.
Sombra tried to warm himself by trotting in circles, without leaving the summer house itself; that would mean an immediate cold. He would drown in snow, or turn to ice because of the wind colder than ice itself.
Nature really went wild with this winter; he couldn't recall any winter like this. It had arrived so suddenly, too. It had seemed like autumn, with its endless rains, mud, dirt, and melancholy would never end, until the cold winds arrived, turning everything to ice.
After cleaning his mind of unneeded thoughts about nature, he peered into the white gust. There was nothing else to do but wait. But, at least, his temporary nap cut the time he had to sit here and freeze.
Funny, though. He had come here more often than he could remember: every day at the same time, the same place, just to wait for nothing. And even though any sane pony would just accept his mistakes and move on, Sombra wanted to correct that fatal one, even if it’d cost him his own skin.
Why, Krystal? Why won't you forgive me? he thought, looking into the storm and sighing heavily. But maybe I deserve this. Yes, I definitely deserve this.
To wait forever for the forgiveness that may never come. What a cruel fate, he thought.
Looking into the storm, he noticed some movement in the white gust. Somepony was slogging through the banks of snow, slowly making his or her way to the summer house. This wasn't the first time Sombra had seen something like this. During blizzards, many stranded ponies sought refuge in here. He would have to share this place, then, which he didn't like at all.
But, the closer the pony came, the more familiar he or she seemed, the figure, the gait, the very outline. It was a mare, a big one, but Sombra couldn't see through the mist well enough to tell who it was.
"Hey! Who goes there?!" he shouted at the approaching figure. There was only one reply: a loud and bitter sob, which he could hear through the howling of the wind. A reply he had never expected.
"Krystal!" he shouted, and immediately ran out of the summer house, towards the figure. It was Krystal; her cheeks were as white as chalk and her body was covered with snow. Her mane was horribly dishevelled by the wind, and her movements were slow and sloppy as her big belly didn't allow her to walk very fast. When she saw Sombra, she seemed to have brightened up: her muddy, tear filled eyes sparkled for a moment, but then turned dim as her face lost color again, turning blue.
All she could utter before fainting was a weak moan. Sombra, wasting no time, approached her and helped her get up.
"Krystal! Wake up! Can you hear me? Wake up, love!" he cried anxiously, but the mare didn't reply. Sombra looked around, thinking of whither he could take her. Without any clear idea of what he was doing, he started dragging Krystal's body somewhither, hoping to find a warm spot or an abandoned building wherein she would be shielded from the cold.
His heart was pounding, the blood in his temples boomed with each passing moment. The joy of reuniting with Krystal was darkened by fear of what might happen to her after she exposed herself to such cold.
He had many questions, so many questions. But his will was strong enough to suppress them all and focus on saving his beloved. He activated the warmth sharing spell, providing Krystal with enough heat to last a little bit longer, long enough for Sombra to find a shelter.
But where in this big city, full of houses, big, and small, where would he find a shelter for both of them? Outcasts were not welcome anywhere, even in their own home.
***
The walls of the long abandoned warehouse were scratched, dusty. The giant holes on their surface told many stories, of parties, fights and deaths that happened in this forgotten place.
This place used to be a hospital for the poor. For those ponies who couldn't afford the normal healthcare. Here, two humble sisters Natalia and Victoria had helped those in need. They had never charged anypony for their help, always taking care of the poor and maimed, helping them get through another winter or guard raid. They used to find those who were sick and dragged them hither to be treated.
Sombra had heard many rumours about this place. Those two had certainly been good ponies, in a way, but they had to profit from this, after all. So, there were theories that they’d gathered those, who couldn't be saved or have died from disease, and sold their body parts on the black market. Many young gryphon nobles who had to prove worthy of their adulthood, would buy these to show to their parents to demonstrate their courage and bravery instead of actually going to battle.
The story of the sisters had ended tragically. In the end, it didn't matter if they had traded body parts or not. Some drug addicts came hither and killed them both, looking for anything to sate their desire. They had found no Dust, so they left, leaving this building to rot.
Sombra cleared away one room from the junk, filling it, and set up a nice little corner for Krystal to lie in. She was still unconscious when he placed her on what was left of a bed and covered her with an old, torn blanket; he went out to find a better cover for her. He needed something very warm, like sheepskin coat, or a duvet — anything to provide warmth for her. His spell was still giving her warmth, but his own temperature was getting lower and Sombra started to feel nauseous from the amount of pressure his veins and brain were enduring. Bile was already rising in his throat. He felt like he could faint any moment, not just because of the exhaustion, but out of worry.
"Hold on, love. I will save you. I promise!" Sombra said, leaving Krystal to rest. He would find a blanket, even if he had to kill for it. He wouldn't spare anypony if it meant saving Krystal. He would murder for a warm blanket.
At the very instant Sombra left the building, the cold wind bit him, making him clench his teeth. But he walked onward through the raging blizzard and the snowflakes, which were scratching his skin.
He compared this cold to the one he’d felt as a kid, when walking to school through the banks of snow, compared the feelings he felt now to what had been before.
Thinking back to how he and Krystal were before made his eyes water. He held them back, knowing well that he'd be dealing with ice on his cheeks if he cried. But there was something to cry about: something was lost between them. Sombra only noticed it now, when everything was rolling down the hill.
Back then, they were both... pure and innocent. Young, foolish, and full of dreams. At least Krystal was. Sombra was a husk ever since he had been born.
As he walked, messing the snow with his hooves, he realized that her life might have been better without him. She might have met a better stallion, one who was actually worthy of her and wouldn't abandon her in her time of need. Sombra walked and realized that he was nothing but burden and pain for a pony he loved.
And now, that pony was withering in a forgotten warehouse in the middle of the slums, when she was so used to the warmth of her mansion, the caress of her parents and servants, the expensive taste and smell of Unicornian wine. And he had deprived her of it all.
Sombra clenched his teeth, looked up and faced the cold blizzard with all the fire that was in his heart.
What the hell was he thinking right now? Idiocy! Bullshit! Words of a pony too weak to stand against the odds, words of a pony who couldn't protect or care for the ones he loved. The words of the creature he used to call father.
He was not like his father. He was not him. He was Sombra, and he would do anything to save his beloved, unlike his slug of a parent. It was time Sombra threw out the empty thoughts of sadness and melancholy, colted up, and actually started doing something!
"I versus them. I versus all of them to protect her!" Sombra whispered to himself. His own little speech, his call to arms, his battle cry.
"I shall protect you, Krystal, no matter what. Let's win this shit!" he suddenly shouted, and, to hit the moronic, weak, sad self even more, he inspirationally punched himself in the face. Though, he didn't consider his strength and punched hard enough to draw blood.
"Argh, damn it!" he swore, swiping the small bloodstreams from under his nose. But the deed was done. He was ready. And not only would he find a blanket, he also needed a big kettle, a bowl, a spoon, some pillows, matches, and a knife.
He didn't know what had happened to Krystal. Maybe she had been driven away from her home, and if that was the case, he would make damn sure that she’d have a new one. An even better than the old one!
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the ending seems to repeat it self like twice
but other than that it was good chapter
4162795 Note to self - do not update while sleepy.
Issue fixed. I hope it didn't cause much trouble.
Repeating much?
4162816
Not at all, it is understandable.
It might look repetitive, but I still love it!
Princess Bride reference?
I'm in two minds about whether or not to feel sorry for Krystal. On one hoof, she's free of her tyrannical father who only ever really cared about his money and status.
On the other hoof, she now faces a life of great tribulation and difficulty. But at least she has Sombra.
...right?
And so begins the hiatus. I've known it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier.
You know, Couchie, these chapters are really hitting home to me, for reasons you (and only you) may know. I wonder if I haven't played some part in the story's most recent progression.
4462350 I'm honored to hear that, battlebrother (sister)
im2-tub-ru.yandex.net/i?id=214126126-63-72&n=21
Finally caught up, just took me a couple of days. I like this, its pretty much a true novel in itself. I do hope you continue this soon. After, it was getting to the good part.