Sombra. Saga of Hatred

by HiddenUnderACouch

The Wolf

The wind, whistling through the thick foliage, brought the warm breath of the south. Sombra was grateful that Larissa chose this day to go on an expedition into the forest.

The last few days were pretty uneventful. After his complete recovery from their 'lesson', Larissa assigned him some minor duties, like cleaning her clothes or fetching ink once she ran out. If she needed to meet up with somepony, she'd let him go, otherwise he was always near her. Of course, each night, she'd attempt to woe him once more, and it was getting increasingly difficult to turn her down. Before, he could shoot down any naughty thoughts with the anger he felt at her, but as he got used to his new chores and position, she stopped being the oppressor and felt like a really sweet piece of meat he'd love to dig his teeth into, metaphorically, of course. The only way he could persuade himself to not fall for her allure was his pendant, which unearthed memories that burned away any desire.

The library became their classroom. If Larissa wasn't busy reading another book, she'd tell him about different dark mages, the legends the commonwealth created about them, and which one of them were true. She did have him try to conjure more dark magic, but she always put some limit from now on - the tasks varied each time, but they were always relatively innocent. Sombra guessed that she was just not too happy about fixing the floor after his outburst.

However, the library was also, relatively, the reason for their current expedition. Larissa dug up an old tome, written in old crystallian, and decided to decipher it. After some sleepless nights, she discovered that it portrayed the beliefs of ponies of these lands, long before the Empire was ever created. Inspired by this finding, she decided to investigate one particular thing that caught her eye.

"Remind me, why are we out here, again?" Sombra asked, swiping at the air to drive away the insects flying at him.

The mare by his side turned her head slightly, her eyes looking into his from underneath the hood of her cloak. It was a running theme with Larissa that she was always dressed in a way that looked stylish without being overbearing or gaudy. It was almost unreal. "An obsession of mine," she answered, not minding the little creatures swirling around her. Then again, she had cast a protective charm that for some reason made her invisible to these pests. Given the relative warmth, it might seem strange that she was wearing a hood, but she had said that the wind would just ruin her hair. "We're on an adventure, boy. Don't you ruin it with your questions." They had started walking into the forest quite a while ago with apparently no rhyme or reason to where they were actually going.

"I don't think it would ruin your fun if you'd tell me our destination." Sombra replied, flexing his neck, feeling slightly tired. After all, he got to carry all the heavy bags. "These lands aren't friendly to outsiders. One needs to avoid travels, if possible."

"I would tell you where we're going. I really would," she told him in an apologetic way that was almost believable. "I just don't really know where exactly we are going either." It really seemed like she was going by simple whim, as there was no map, no compass, no nothing in play here. "If you're asking what we're looking for, though, it's some sort of derelict building."

Sombra couldn't help but snicker. "Alright, then. The derelict it is."

When the sun was in high zenith, Larissa decided it would be ample time for a break. They settled under the nearest tree, unpacked the bags and grabbed something to eat, while they were at it.

"Good thing summer is on its way." Sombra murmured, taking a bite out of a small slice of bread. "Otherwise, there'd be no shortage of wolves."

"But then you wouldn't need to haul water with you," she reminded him. Snow would be pretty easy to melt on a campfire. She herself was eating a loaf of bread with a side of cheese, since apparently she could resist having it a little bit better and more expensive than Sombra either way. "Then again, your abs have developed nicely." Her eyes leered at his crotch.

"So, you're not worried about the wolves?" Sombra raised an eyebrow. He got used to her ogling him. As long as he wasn't ogling her, everything was under control.

"Sweetie," she began, giving him an actual flat look that was directed at his eyes. "I am the wolf." She opened her mouth wider than was reasonably to be expected of a mare her size and bit off a sizable chunk of bread.

"I wish I could have your confidence at the start of the next winter, when the White Alpha returns." Sombra replied, finishing the rest of his meal.

"Maybe you will," she told him nonchalantly, packing the rest of the bread again to put it back in their bags, which only Sombra was carrying. The cheese, she kept floating by her side. "You know, you would really need unicorns in that village." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Wouldn't the Inquisition want you back?" He began packing the bags, the break was coming to an end. A long trek ahead awaited them.

She hummed indecisively at that. "Sure they would." And that was it. She didn't intend to continue that line of conversation. Getting to her hooves, she made the thicket rustle with her movement. Even now, the insects were avoiding her. "Let's move." There suddenly was a need to move for her, and she made her impatience known by the way she shifted her weight around.

"Very well." Sombra replied, following Larissa's lead. As they kept going, a sense of unease crawled into his psyche. The seemingly endless labyrinth of massive trees, intertwining roots and leaves that shadowed the very sky scared many of the locals from going too deep into the thicket of woods. Who knew what was hiding there, away from the main roads, among the trees more ancient than the Empire itself?

Perhaps, he was thinking too much into it. After all, Granitza stood here for Emperor knows how long, and so far nothing daemonic had came out of the woods, except the White Alpha. This was just like any forest in Crystal Empire - a landscape full of resources and potential hiding spots. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how many generations had these trees withstood - the deeper they went, the bigger and stronger they seemed.

"You know," Larissa broke the silence after a while during which there was nothing heard besides their own steps and the rustling of leaves. Even the animals seemed to avoid this place, it seemed, or at least they were more versed in the art of hiding. Well, except the insects that had managed to irritate Sombra's hide quite a lot at this point. "It's moments like this where I wish there'd be brigands or whatever lying in wait. Anything but this silence." It was a hidden criticism levelled at Sombra's silence. Then again, she couldn't really blame him. It was in that moment that her hoof hit something that gave a dull thud compared to the rustling of dirt beneath her hooves. "Oh?" Kneeling down, she inspected what looked like cobblestone.

"Huh." Sombra raised an eyebrow and kneeled before the stone, eyeing it thoroughly. "Weird. This doesn't seem like a natural stone."

"Because it isn't. Look here," she told him, looking up and pointing at its shape. "Way too angular. It's almost a perfect cube. Someone worked on that." There had to be more nearby. That or someone just dropped this here somewhere. "Look around and see if you can find something. This was maybe a road."

"Roads? Here? I don't think so." To imagine that there was once a trace of civilization amidst these green depths was a preposterous idea. Nevertheless, their finding remained a fact, and Sombra started looking at the ground more thoroughly, in case there was anything else of interest. However, it was something else that caught his attention.

"Do you see this?" He pointed at pieces of rough fur stuck to the bark of a large tree. Wolves. They oft used the bark to scratch any itches they couldn't reach by themselves. "We're in the wolves' territory now... I don't like this."

"It's not night yet," she called over to him and approached, lowering her head to take a closer look at the fur herself. Still, they wouldn't be getting back before nightfall either. Closing her eyes, a shimmer emerged from her horn but there seemed to be nothing that was influenced by her magic. The rock. There needed to be some sort of object it had belonged to. Of course! "We need to start digging," she stated.

"Not sure if that'll be of any use." Sombra looked around for any possible clues on where to go next. "This ground is chockfull of roots. Even if we find anything, it'll be after long hours of hacking at roots."

He took a few steps away from the stone and peered into the shades in the distance. "We're better off heading back. We're way too deep, this won't end well."

He expected a reply, a snicker or maybe a grope, but none followed. He turned around and realized that he was standing all alone and, what was even more implausible - in a completely different location. At least he thought so, the environment all looked the same.

A little more than a moment was all it took. Larissa had taken a few steps away from him, so why couldn't he see her anymore? Or hear. A gust of wind went through the thicket and made it rustle, and even his calling wouldn't get her to come out again. The wind intensified, making it increasingly difficult to hear anything that was going on. Even the insects had disappeared.

Whenever he looked, there were only shadows. He couldn't even return home now, he was completely clueless about his location. It invoked unpleasant memories.

"It's alright. She's probably hiding somewhere, ready to jump at me at any moment." Sombra murmured to himself outloud, trying to calm down his pounding heart. It felt as if there was something more sinister than wolves here now. Nevertheless, he had to move - stillness is death, in many situation. He picked a random direction and began his march.

Deciding where to go was surprisingly easy, given that all options seemed equally unappealing. Every now and then, the trees admitted a bit of light to pour down on him. It was late now, the light turning orange. It drew dancing shades upon the trees with the wind making the leaves shake and the brushes shiver.

Sombra figured that he could use some simple spells to figure out his location. Perhaps, fire a small spark into the air to alert Larissa, or anypony, of his whereabouts. He aimed his horn into the sky, concentrated just enough at the very tip and released the gathered energy.

The ball of energy dissipated without having flown even two meters. Sombra tried again and again, to the same effect. His blood felt cold inside the veins - magic wasn't working here.

A bird's cry resounded through the air just as he made that realization. The very forest was mocking him, taunting while making its roots rise, it almost seemed to make him trip, the thickets thorny to gouge his sides and the stones unsteady, each one of them bearing the risk of slipping and potentially breaking his neck. What was wrong with this place? Had it seemed this menacing the entire time or was it just Larissa's company that had made it seem so banal, almost innocent the entire time?

There was no way other than forward. Sombra took a deep breath and steadied his movements: this wasn't the time for panic. He was a soldier, he should be above fear. And yet, this place chilled him to the bones.

After, what seemed like an eternity, he saw an opening, a glimpse of a field among this monstrous labyrinth. Sombra rushed, ignoring the thorns and roots, falling and getting up a few dozen times, low-hanging branches scratching his skin. He saw an opening that might lead to a way out, and he went straight for it.

He found himself in the middle of a small field, a place relatively free from the gnawing feeling of dread and despair. Only shortly after he realized that he wasn't out of the fire - he was right in its centre.

The trees seemed to yield where he stood, preferring to stand back and bow their crowns as if there had been drawn a line that they couldn't cross. Only tall grass grew here, almost as high as Sombra stood, making his head stick out only a little bit above it. There was something ahead, he could see: A tree, old, tall and boney with not a single leave in its crown.

"We're here," came a voice from behind him and Larissa emerged silently from behind a swath of grass. She was smaller than Sombra and therefore could hide completely in the grass. "Can you feel it?" she asked him, nodding towards the tree. "This soil is stained with magic… Powerful magic, beyond our generation. This was once a place of..."

"Of what?!" Sombra peered into the thick grass, trying to note flashes of Larissa's dark cloak.

"Of worship," Larissa replied quietly, keeping her eyes forward. "I’ve thought it all a myth. Only found in the legends and fairytales. Long before the unicorns of the lands that would become Crystal Empire knew about arcana, they worshipped things way beyond their understanding… or our understanding, for that matter. Shamanism." She started moving through the grass towards the centre of the grove. "Follow me in my steps. One wrong move, and it will tear you to shreds." Her horn was glowing constantly, although there was again nothing that he could see her influence directly with magic. The closer they got, the heavier the air seemed to become, the very breath they took becoming more difficult by the moment. Leaving behind another swath of grass revealed that which lie at the centre: A withered altar hewn out of the bony roots of the tree. Its edges were shaped with fine precision to resemble the shape of a wolf's head and the bark of the dead tree that rose above it bore eldritch symbols and pictograms of figures, mostly ponies it seemed from the way some had crude wings and others were surrounded by a halo of what appeared to be protective magic. They were surrounding the figure of an enormous wolf that appeared ready to pounce.

"By the Emperor..." Sombra uttered, never having seen or felt anything like this before. He heard of many religions, but none of them ever worshipped a monstrosity such as this.

"Interesting," she muttered, holding out a hoof to stop him from progressing further. In front of them appeared to be something that almost looked like a perfect circle around the shrine that was not overgrown by grass or any other vegetation in any way. It was just... barren. "Can you feel something ahead?" she whispered to him, motioning to the barren land with her head.

"Yes... I feel a presence... A powerful presence." He felt as if the presence was familiar, like he encountered it before.

She noddded in reply. "Not only that, though." Using her magic to plug some of the grass from their vicinity, she motioned for him to watch closely. "If I'm right, then..." Throwing it over the edge, it shrivelled up and withered right before their eyes as if it was decomposing right before their eyes until only dead earth remained.

Sombra staggered back, shocked at the sight. It was powerful magic, no doubt, but for it to be here, in the wild, on its own? This place looked ancient, over hundreds of years old, there was no way a spell or a charm could last this long. Either this was an anomaly, or the caster was the best damn sorcerer in the history of the world.

"Shh!" Larissa intoned sharply and her magic aura enveloped Sombra, keeping him in place. "How bizzare..." She slowly released him once she could be completely sure that Sombra would not move away suddenly again. By now, the daylight was almost gone.

"What?" He exclaimed, turning to Larissa. "Can you finally explain what this place and what the Abyss we're doing here?"

"I read about this, Sombra," she replied, letting her eyes roam across the ground, the shrine, the grass. Anything that might help her make heads and tails of this mess. "The shamans, that lived here a long time ago, have built this place to honor their god. They are long since gone, but whatever they worshipped…" She lowered her head and touched her horn to the ground for a moment. "It might be a spirit, or a ghost. It still lingers here. I’ve always thought the stories of shamans spoke of weak-minded, gullible fools, a parody of spellcasters, but this ..." she exhaled deeply. "This is proof. They drew their power from here. We need to destroy this shrine, now."

"Destroy?" Sombra looked at the nightmarish construct of wood once more. "Whatever helps to keep Granitza safe, I'm in. We're going to need a torch."

"No wood," she began, sounding a little distant as the shine of her horn continued. "No oil, no simple spell will undo this. We’ll need to." Her horn shone yet brighter, and Sombra could hear a faint, suffering sigh from her throat. "Sombra," she wheezed. "Help me." There was a hoof, offered to him.

Sombra grabbed her hoof and pulled her towards him. "Damn it! What do I do? How... how do I help you?"

"You're strong," she replied in the same tone as though she was suffering a heavy migraine. As Sombra watched, he could see that there were black lines scrawling from her horn over her forehead as though the blood inside her veins was turning to ice. Whatever was inside this shrine, it didn’t take kindly to Larissa’s suggestions. "Kill it," she muttered, her voice erratic. "Before… it con-"

"Hold on, Larissa." He pointed his horn at the shrine. A ball of dark energy began to gather at its tip. "It dispelled my magic before, but let's see how it'll handle this!" He poured the distress that he garnered throughout this trip into this attack, hoping to shatter the abomination in one powerful swoop.

"Whatever you are, I'll destroy you." Sombra said, preparing to launch his attack, but something stopped him. Suddenly, he stopped charging the ball, and it just dissipated, filling the air with dark shimmering sparks.

Larissa barely managed to regain her composure as the unknown presence let go of her. She wanted to ask Sombra why he stopped, but noticed that he was staring straight into the eyes of the wooden wolf, completely motionless.

Her thought process was interrupted by a loud crack. She immediately turned to its source, and saw the wooden shrine rip in two, and if torn by an unseen, powerful force. Several splinters flew right past her, leaving a long scratch on her cheek. Then, before she could make up even a single thought about what happened, the destroyed shrine went up in flames.

Breathing heavily, she raised her head a little to get a better view, not understanding what exactly had happened. How did it just...? "Sombra?"

Sombra was still standing still, his eyes focused on the shrine. Suddenly, Larissa felt her senses fail her, and her mind drifting asleep. She reeled, trying to stay awake in vain, and then collapsed, shutting her eyes and drifting away into a dreamless slumber.

She awakened shortly after. Immediately after opening her eyes, she looked around to check if they were still in the same place. Much to her disappointment, it looked like they returned to where she and Sombra split up. The stallion himself was a few meters away from her, waking up from slumber, just as she was.

The whole affair definitely didn’t go according to her plans. "Sombra?" she intoned, sounding as though she had to ground herself in reality again. "The fuck happened?" She rubbed her eyes before feeling her head, wanting to check if her horn was still there for some reason.

"I..." Sombra shook his head in confusion. "I... had a vision."

"I'm pretty sure we just inhaled some poisonous polen," she replied, rubbing her head. "Let's..." she began, trying to get on her hooves again, ", just go."

"That was no hallucination. Believe me, I've been under the influence once - this was completely different." Sombra replied, dropping the bags he was still carrying and searching them for a flask of water. Once he had found it, he levitated it to Larissa. "Either this was somewhat of a defense mechanism, or a dream spell. Need a drink?"

"What dream spell? Think I sucked you off while you were out?" she asked him, taking the bottle of water and taking a deep gulp. "Pretty sure it was magic."

"Ugh, whatever. Did you satisfy your curiosity? No more trips planned?" He replied in an irritated tone.

"It," she began, frowning. Had it satisfied her curiosity? Not at all, if she was honest. "No, not actually," Larissa replied honestly, approaching Sombra. "Let's get back, though, sweetheart. I feel a little drained." By now, it was almost night. Strange. The dream fit seamlessly into the time they were having right now.

"Good idea." One of the few, actually. Sombra felt tired as well and he wouldn't mind a good nap. Hopefully, Larissa was tired enough to keep away from him for at least one night.

One thing still lingered in his mind, though. That moment when he looked into the eyes of the wolf, etched into the wood. He saw something wicked... something crazy.

He saw a titanic bird, of fire and metal, breathing flames like a dragon, turning anything in its way into ash and cinders. Behind it, a great firestorm followed, the very earth becoming black, charred coals. The phoenix was flying unhindered, until it turned its preying eyes to Sombra - but he didn't shake. He didn't run. He felt the scorching heat, its immolating maw opening to gorge on his flesh: but instead of turning away and escaping, he let out a chilling howl, summoning a blizzard of ice and snow. Right after his summon, the wolves came, bringing a blizzard of claws and teeth. Together, Sombra and the pack rushed at the firebird, the hellish flames splitting before their charge. Staying ahead, Sombra steadied his body and then lunged, leaping into the air right at the firebird, ready to clash with it in a battle to the death. In that dream, he was not himself. He was the wolf. He was the Alpha.

Sombra shook his head, still dizzy after the short sleep. The vision made little sense, and he couldn't understand the reason for it. Did he eat something bad this morning, or was Larissa right, and it was just an acid trip? Perhaps the shrine put him into slumber, and the sleep was the result of all the stress. Nevertheless, they were going home now, and that was all that mattered. He couldn't wait to down this memory in conversations with his friends, as well as a few cups of beer.

They would make their way towards Granitza again, both of them side by side, like warriors walking away from a battlefield. It was dark already when they moved, so Larissa kept her horn lit for a while, before her magic gave out. There was a headache growing behind her horn that she couldn't shake off and was getting worse the more they walked. It got so bad that, halfway to Granitza, Larissa lowered herself against a tree, breathing deeply. "Sombra," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I really don't feel well."

"All drained, huh?" He hummed. What a sight - she actually was tired. "Have some rest - I can carry you."

She was leaning her head against the tree, eyes closed. What was wrong with her? The entire ordeal with the shrine had just been an illusion, right? When Sombra moved in to grab her, he would notice that she was hot to the touch and sweating. Fever.

"Oh, crap. You're going to need a doctor. Now..." He leaned under her, positioning himself just right. Larissa was clearly in a bad state - he'd have to handle her with care. "-up you go."

He stood up, lifting her into the air. Larissa was by no means light, but Sombra felt confident that he could carry her home. "You'll be fine, don't worry."

"Thank you," came the quiet reply, but she didn't feel confident enough with speaking further. Her stomach was turning and she was concentrating on not sullying Sombra's hide. She would make herself completely limp on his back. She didn't care if it was not the most flattering position for her to be in.

Soon, they came out of the woods and back into the town. Sombra immediately hurried Larissa to the mansion where he could put her to bed. Out of any medics, they only had their garrison's surgeon, who earned extra gold by helping the commoners, but that wasn't an option - he knew jack shit about magical afflictions, and even less about how to treat them. Sombra had only himself to rely on.

He entered the mansion, ignoring everypony in his way. Thankfully, he didn't encounter Lord Radiant, although that decrepit fuck was unlikely to get up by himself, or Crumbled Paper. Once they reached their bedchambers, Sombra carefully put Larissa down on the soft bed.

"How are you feeling?" He checked her head - it was still burning. "Not good, I wager." Before heading out to make her something to drink, he levitated a small bucket towards the bed - in case she felt sick.

"I'll be back soon. Hold on."

By the time they had arrived in the village, Larissa had completely descended into a state of half-sleep. She knew what her problem was: Magical entropy. This shouldn't have happened, however. It made no sense. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was going to be sick, so she tried not to. Dimly noting that he had said something to her, she turned her head. "Water," she croaked, feeling like there was sand running down her throat.

"Yeah, yeah." Sombra murmured and then ran off. He soon returned with a cup of water from the storage. Guessing by the color of Larissa's face, he immediately knew that he'd have to help her drink.

"Careful now." He held her head with his hooves, while levitating the cup, pouring the water down her throat in controlled dozes, so that she wouldn't choke.

The first gulps were nigh-on painful, but the more the drank, the easier it got. Still, it upset her stomach and she soon signalled him to put the cup away. There had to be something they could do. However, Sombra wasn't a proficient spellcaster, so that wouldn't do. Of course! "The gemstone," she muttered, meaning the little gem she had used to suck up Sombra's excess magical energy when they had trained in the library. She had drained him of excess magical energy back then to prevent him from hurting himself. It might be able to help her. "From the library."

"Give me a moment." Sombra rushed away and soon returned with the gemstone floating by his side. It was pulsating with dim light, hungering magic.

She held out a hoof to accept the gem. What followed was remarkably unspectacular, as she simply held it against her horn. There was a small sizzling upon connection and the inner glow of the gem dimmed before Larissa went limp, falling asleep, her breathing slow and even. The gem fell out of her hand and onto the ground.

"Whew." Sombra breathed a sigh of relief. In a way, they were now even - she once helped him, and now, he helped her. Feeling spent after the long day, he snuck under the blanket, hoping that Larissa wouldn't mind, or kick him too much.

The night itself would be spent in silence. Larissa was sweating still, making the bed somewhat clammy and hot, but it wasn't something she could regulate anyways, so complaining would've been wasted breath. In the morning, she would still sleep, fevering, although her breathing was normal, and her sleep was calm and sound. Sombra took it upon himself to watch over her. Until her full recovery, he had to be around her days and nights.

Comments

[ZyferKazumi]

So awesome. Another capture so quick, I can't even. I was struggling to decide but I now know for sure that this is by far my favorite fanfiction. Can't wait for the next capture. Keep up the good work mate ^^

[Ice Star]

I do so hope that there will be more... what's the state of the story? Is it anywhere near completion as well?

[Deergenerate]

This fic is sooo fucking good. Shame it's dead :/

[Ice Star]

I often think about this story sometimes. I have the hope that one day it might continue.