A shadow of what I once was.

by FaelaArts

Well, I guess I should just say what is going through my head.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Sombra raised his head and levitated the door open, revealing Twilight standing there awkwardly. Biting her lip, she brushed some of the sparkles leftover from the party out of her fur, and stepped into the room. Sombra levitated some pieces of paper underneath his bed. Twilight blinked, and then remembered the booby trap, of course he had no reason to hide his actions.

“Listen, the castle has bigger rooms, with proper locks, would you like one?” Twilight scratched the back of her head, and glanced away. Really, it was something that should have been done quite some time ago. Sombra stood up, gently sliding all his papers into one batch, and turned toward the bed. Horn glowing, he levitated a reasonable amount of paper from underneath the bed, and folded it up, putting it in his saddlebag.

“I am ready, please escort me there.” Sombra turned, and followed Twilight as she led him back into the throne room, and over to the other side of the castle. Passing her room, she opened the next door and stepped aside so Sombra could look inside. There was a large double bed with a window overlooking the town, curtains for privacy if needed. To one side was a desk and chair. The chair was made of proper materials, and had a cushion on it.

“There’s a bookshelf there, you can take whatever books you like from my personal library, third door on the left.” Twilight pointed to a small bookshelf sitting against the wall to the left of the table, and then walked into the room, motioning to the other half of the room. It housed a large bench, and a very small fridge.

“I filled it with the ingredients for many chocolate milk drinks. The instructions are on that piece of paper on the counter. Oh, and the lamp turns on through the switch on the bedside table. That’s about it, unless there’s something you need.” Twilight stepped out of the way as Sombra moved toward the double bed, and sat down. It was almost as soft as a cloud.

“Thank you.” Sombra turned, and looked directly at Twilight, who widened her eyes in response. Twilight’s ear twitched, had she heard him right? Sombra kept her gaze for a moment longer, before he placed the papers down on his desk and began sorting them, putting the folded up papers into a drawer and casting an unknown spell on it.

“Uh, You’re welcome, I’m one room across if you need me.” Twilight stepped out of the room and closed the door, watching Sombra immediately resume work. Turning, she headed back into the throne room, where Rainbow Dash was sitting. Twilight smiled warmly and nudged her awake.

“Go home, it’s alright.” Twilight waited as Dash regained her senses, and stood up.

“But Twi, are you sure?” Dash frowned in the direction of Sombra’s old room, and Twilight motioned in the direction of his new room.

“Positive, go sleep. I’ll be here in the morning, you can count on it.” Twilight smiled as Dash paused, and then finally nodded, stifling a yawn.

“MMn, okay Twilight. It’s gonna be nice to sleep in a proper bed for once, see ya.” Dash flew to the door, and closed it behind her as she left. Twilight smiled warmly, and walked toward her room. To her surprise, Sombra’s door was wide open. Twilight could tell he had been listening in to the conversation.

Twilight entered her room, closing the door with a soft click, and settled into her bed. Spike snored softly in his own bed, curled up into a ball. Twilight yawned, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep quickly.

Sombra closed his door, and resumed working.

---

“There you are, I was looking for you.” Twilight smiled as she ascended the stairs to the observatory, finding Sombra reading a book and sipping a chocolate milkshake. Twilight peered curiously at the book, it was one of the newer magic books about the possibility of gryphons possessing magic. Sombra raised his head as she placed a plate of breakfast nearby. Wordlessly, he began to eat it.

Taking a seat on her own cushion, Twilight leaned forward and read the page upside down, an ability she had mastered early on. Sombra turned the book around for her to make it easier to read, finishing his food quickly.

“Listen, I know this probably doesn’t interest you, but I could use someone who knows what I’m talking about to discuss it with.” Twilight looked away, letting her ears flop down. It would be best not to mention she had already asked Luna. Sombra levitated a bookmark over, and slapped the book shut with a thud, levitating it to the side. Gulping down the rest of his drink, he put it on top of the plate, and turned his undivided, yet somehow bored, attention to Twilight.

“Well, you might have noticed how well I handled the batponies, and that’s not the first time. Well it’s the first time leading troops into a battle that I just found out about but-I’ll get to the point.” Twilight paused, and lowered her eyes, dragging at the ground with her hoof, despite it being crystal.

“I don’t think I’m fit to rule. I mean, if I was surely I would have instantly known what to do with those batponies right? Sure I can smile and wave and play the part, but I just don’t feel like I really should be the main one making decisions.” Twilight sighed and closed her eyes, raising her head to look once more at Sombra, whose expression hadn’t changed.

“You are right, you are not fit to rule.” Sombra yawned as she blinked, widening her eyes and opening her mouth to question his statement. Sombra cut her off quickly with a scathing glance.

“You lack the experience a natural born ruler would be trained with. The most difficult decision you have to make of a day is what style to brush your mane into.” Sombra paused as Twilight felt anger swell, ears flipping back as her eyes narrowed. Sombra’s expression didn’t change.

“You are suited to a sidekick, a conscience to be a guide for the ruler, a wise wizard. You can’t sit by the sidelines as ponies are sent to what might be their deaths. You can’t make the tough decisions when the going gets tough. And you lack foresight, you can’t see how a battle is going to turn out before it begins.” Sombra stood up, levitating both the book and cutlery up as he left the room.

“Then again, neither did I, before my brother died, and I became the heir.” Sombra closed the door to the observatory behind him as Twilight stood there, half standing to run after Sombra and shout at him for insulting her. Sitting back down, she sighed and bit her lip.

Comments

[the other sans]

when the going get’s tough

1. Gets.

Life lessons being given by someone who has lived them before, died and was brought back to life. Oh, and he was also a tyrant. So his advice should be ignored.

Twilight, you are very very VERY hot headed, relatively young and very inexperienced. You take what you can from what was given and make the best of it. Something tells me she won't as much though...

[FaelaArts]

5158950
Twi's not holding the idiot ball right? I really hate it when I accidentally do that.

[the other sans]

5159075 I missed one;

who’s expression hadn’t changed

1.5. Whose.

It's basically the last four paragraphs that more or less made me think that.

[FaelaArts]

5159246
:\

[TwibraFlattercordlover]

Plates and cups are called crockery