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Oh How Time Has Passed2,129 words
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Oh How Time Has Passed

Oh, how wrong I was, to think immortality meant never dying.

Sitting in the cold silence, he was slowly brought out of his deep sleep with pain in his stomach and fear budding in the back of his mind. The rich food had upset his digestive system...so long eating something that couldn't even be called food had ruined any taste he had for the fancy. The sheer amount of it had also put him into a deep slumber; one that he awoke from with more stiffness in his neck than usual. The pitch darkness of the cell told him it was night; the sister of the lunar moon must be awake right now...sitting on her balcony and watching over the dreams of her subjects. There were times long ago, when he felt a presence in his dreams, looming just out of sight; watching...judging.

Over time it went away, either disinterested, or she forgot to stalk her prisoner, which he was thankful for. There were times where he could see darting teal eyes chasing him as he ran in dreams, sometimes they chased him, other times he would wake up exhausted after chasing it. Never reaching it, always an inch away and a mile apart...just always chasing. Lifting his head and rolling it as much as he could, the tight joints slowly loosened and he ended the stretch with a long yawn, his teeth were stained yellow and had splotches of green...his latent magics sustained a lot of his body, but anything extra was too much energy wasted. So, he suffered the slow rot of his teeth, thankfully he could go another fifty years without needing to worry.

"Something feels...wrong."

Words echoing quietly with the chains jingle, he looked around to try and see any obvious signs of a threat. Veins filled with ice and neck hair standing up, a mane floating on a phantom gust was visible in the darkest corner of his room. A gold shoe on snow white hoof stepped forward, her face remained in the shadow, but he knew... it was her...

"Get away from me..." He said blatantly, fear just in the edge of his voice.

Looming...watching…planning, judging him; she just stood there silently, using the fear she created against him.

"I said get away! Leave my presence before I rip your wings off you demon!"

In a deep, commanding and fear invoking voice, the booming call that sent him to this hell, for a moment, he felt like his body was on fire; every nerve lighting up and screaming in pain; and all he heard was her say.

"Villain."

He flinched.

The sound of the door crashing open caught his attention, hooves echoing quickly as the bright purple eyes rushed to him, the soft lavender glow on her horn lighting up her face once she got close, the worry in her eyes plain as the stark surprise in her voice.

"What's happened?! Sombra! Speak to me!"

The pain and fear lingered with echoes of a scream in the room. The alicorn lit her horn bright and illuminated the room in a calming glow, his body resonating in the aura...soon his pain subsided, the agony fled from the purple light. Warm tears falling from his face, wetting his cracked skin under thin fur, he slowly brought himself back to clear thoughts, he looked up and finally saw the face if his savior...and felt his heart sink.

"Y... you." he said with a cold indifference.

Twilight looked at him, worry shifting to mixed confusion. The glare in his eyes, shaking hooves and sweating profusely, the two were silent for a few more moments, Twilight unable to understand what caused him so much pain and then vanish like it never existed...he was just trying to keep his nerve and return to the calm he was so accustomed to. Finally, she spoke up to try and get him talking.

"H-how are you feeling…?" She said with a timid demeanor.

Tilting his head back down, Sombra took one last deep breath to steady his racing heart. Understanding dawned on him. The light she was giving off was not just illumination to sting his eyes, it was healing magic. She was mending him…by force. Sombra felt bile rise at the thought of being cared for by this guilt wracked goddess.

"I am fine...thank you, your highness." The calmness in his voice and haunting bass echoed in the room and made the alicorn shutter slightly, the slight against her also hit home by his observation...

Twilight held back a sigh of relief, taking a few steps back but letting the light in the room stay. Twilight took another look at him...the food and helped his overall frame, his ribs only showing slightly. It was hard to really gauge how he was after such a shock, but she hoped that he was improving...

"I'm sorry for whatever caused this...."

"Sorry is a word easy to say, but to mean takes a conviction I do not hear." He cut...coldly glaring into her.

Really, he did not need to be so harsh, but he liked picking at her skin with his words…

The alicon took another step back, recoiling from the harshness of his tone. They sat in silence once again, Twilight was wise...she was tempered by her time...but this put her back all those years, facing down an enemy from her early years, armed with nothing but her wits and a tiny dragon at her side. Now she stood before him as not just an adult, but a goddess with near limitless power at her disposal. If she wished, Sombra would be obliterated and everyone could bury the past like a fresh corpse. Hide it away so no one ever sees the sins of the gods...like she did. Yet, she was stronger than that. Twilight took a slow breath to steady herself and she sat down.

Slow getting comfortable, the big tail coming around to lay at her side and wings folding in to hug her body. Princess Twilight smiled at the broken king of darkness and said…

"I'm here to put an end to this."

Sombra looked at her, watching her every move and hiding his astonishment. To willingly put yourself in this cell, where nothing ever leaves and say, ‘You're here to help.’ It was almost too much for him to accept. So long in the darkness, he held reserve for her until the shackles came off; even if a part of him was wanting to smile just as brightly in joy at the thought of leaving.

Looking down at her, she still held the warm smile and continued.

"I want to...tell you what's happened since you've been imprisoned."

Keeping quiet, he didn't want to give anything away; any information she was willing to give up on her own was more than welcome.

“50 years ago...”

After your defeat, we all assumed you had perished. Then...things were as normal as they could get, everypony lived their life peacefully. Nothing could seem to break this peace, even Discord himself was reformed. I think that Celestia was even trying to work an alliance with the dragons...a real peace between all of the races. It was good, to finally see everything act as it should; my friends and I would simply learn about friendship...simple times.

Then...a horrible monster broke free from his prison in Tartarus. Tirek...

He nearly enslaved the entire world, stealing all the magic he could find, even draining ponies of their own magical power. The land was dry, weather wild and he nearly destroyed everything. Celestia had a last resort. They gave me all of the power they had left, three alicorns poured everything they had into me.

But I beat him...we...all of my friends beat him back to his cell and returned everything to peace, or so I had thought. We tried...for so long...but I couldn't get rid of the power. It was impossible for me to give back the only thing keeping the wisest and strongest leaders alive, was stuck inside me. It took a few years, but age caught up with them...and...Celestia passed away. Luna withstood a few more years, but she perished just the same.

“I was looking in old records a few weeks ago, since Celestia has- had a habit of leaving things behind for others to discover. I found your record and…didn’t know what to think. I had to speak to you.” Twilight finished.

_ _

Sombra listened intently, the news of reformation from the god of chaos was a surprise; not unforeseen, but a surprise. Tirek was another story. In his studies, the name often came up on topic of end times; The Red Tyrant, Eater of Souls...many names for the same evil. Odd that he should so easily recall that name, he felt his own was fuzzy at times...perhaps the tale of his downfall struck something within him all those ages ago.

It was the tale of a downfall that he took from, it told him never to trust anyone to be your allies forever...even your own brother will betray you for a better offer. Sombra wanted to laugh at the fact that he was an only child when he took this to heart...but even as she spoke, he couldn't wrap his head around what she was saying.

Celestia...dead

Luna...dead.

Cadence dead.

The only things that stood in his way died in their beds as frail old mares. They suffered the rapid degradation of their bodies and minds until nothing, but dust remains deep in the soil...the only proof they existed in the headstones...it nearly made him cry; he won. Sombra couldn't stop the smile on his face, a big grin and bright eyes that gave his emotions away like a flare in the night sky. Twilight let him have his moment, the broken king let out a short laugh and lifted his head high, the red in his eyes shining bright and regaining its former youth, his eyes watered but no tears fell...it made her heart sink with pity.

Sombra lied to her...it was obvious, he was going to betray her and take up arms against the princesses once again. It told her that he still would remain here for a bit longer, despite her shame and pity, a broken king is still a danger to the world, if not more dangerous. Sombra was always a threat, but now he had no care for his own life, even less for the lives of others; she needed to be sure...without a doubt, that he wouldn't turn his back on the light.

_ _

"I apologize for...the way I am acting- it’s just that the news comes as a shock." He finally said, the laughter still in his voice.

Sombra shifted his position a little, the chains jingling quietly.

"It was not my intention to offend...I'm very sorry for your loss…a-and for the loss I'm sure Equestria suffers."

The tone grew from thick with irony to somber and kind, Twilight assumed it was a farce, a joke to her pain, or possible guilt; it was her fault, after all. Princess Twilight Sparkle, all that power and just helplessly watching her teacher die...The idea simply made Sombra shiver with delight. Revenge better than he could ever hope for. Twilight stood up after a few moments, her limbs a little stiff and jaw sore from the long talk; but she got up and decided that now wasn't the time to continue. Sombra had enough to think about, he needed time to digest the implications behind the history he has missed to understand...

Twilight only wanted him to understand...that if he can learn from the past, his future can be saved.

So, with a turn and last glance at the laughing stallion, she opened the heavy door and departed from the prison. The door shutting with a hard bang, echoing his entrapment once again. Sombra couldn't stop himself anymore, he let out a long and boisterous laugh that no one could silence; the princess of the burning sun...snuffed out.

Now all that remained was the last alicorn...perhaps a descendant of the happy couple to kick off his throne. The gods consider themselves without falter, without fault and free of judgment. Sombra had long ago made a vow to bring her to his own justice; to stand before her work and see her weep as her actions burn a nation...that was his final goal...gone. Soon, he began to form his own plan, using this knowledge to formulate a new plan of attack; the laughing subsided, leaving him a little winded, but his mind was racing a mile a minute. It didn't take long for someone as clever as him to think of something...something that will sate his revenge on the world...

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