A shadow of what I once was.

by FaelaArts

I feel like I know so little about him, and yet so much.

Sombra raised his head as Twilight knocked on the door, and held out a book. Glancing at the title, it said ‘Dark Magic’ and nothing else. Holding out the book with her magic, Sombra took it and flicked it open, giving it a skim.

“I’ve been racking my brains to find out more about this fear magic, and I realised the best solution would be to come to you about it.” Twilight levitated over a chair, and sat down as Sombra regarded her.

“Sombra, there’s a crawling under my skin, a desire to know knowledge only you can show me.” Twilight glanced to the book, and returned her eyes to Sombra as he placed it down and turned to her.

“Are you asking for knowledge, or power?” Sombra narrowed his eyes as he looked at Twilight, who blinked and shook her head.

“Knowledge, I don’t want to know how to use the spells, I just want to know more so I can write down that knowledge for future generations. They can learn from it.” Twilight looked toward the window, and motioned to the ponies going about their lives outside. Sombra followed her gaze, and breathed out, standing up and closing the curtains. Turning on the light, he closed the door and moved all the papers on his desk to one side, and grabbed a blank piece of paper.

“Before I begin, there are a few questions I need to ask you, so I know just how you view fear. After that, I will explain various important points to keep in mind, and then we will move onto practical activities.” Sombra put down the quill and stood up, levitating the bed up and moving it into the kitchen, standing on its side.

“Practical? Isn’t that dangerous? What if I become corrupted?" Twilight stood up and sat down on the ground where Sombra pointed, and looked curiously at the piece of paper in his magic. Sombra sighed, placing it down and looking at Twilight.

“You, from what I understand, are one of the Elements of Harmony, the one meaning friendship. The chance of you becoming corrupted is nonexistent. Are you ready?” Sombra blinked at Twilight as she leaned back slightly, widening her eyes. The Elements would protect her from corruption?

“But, why didn’t the Crystal Heart protect you?” Twilight winced as Sombra growled, and looked away.

“That is none of your concern.” So, Sombra’s reply was that it wasn’t any of her business. Twilight narrowed her eyes, but breathed out, it would have to be a conversation for another day. Nodding, she motioned for Sombra to continue.

“Describe fear,” he spoke, picking up the piece of paper and glancing to it. Realising this was some sort of test, Twilight bit her lip and forced herself to remain composed. Gulping, she opened her mouth to speak.

“Fear is an emotion induced by a threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events.” Twilight beamed proudly, knowing she had absolutely nailed the question. Sombra glanced to the piece of paper again.

“What does fear cause?” Sombra watched as Twilight opened her mouth, and closed it again, pausing.

“Well, all Ponies when confronted with fear chose between fight or flight when confronted with something they can’t hide from.” Twilight tilted her head, was that the right answer?

“What if they are trapped by a fear they can’t run or fight from?” Sombra put the piece of paper down, turning his full attention to Twilight.

“Well, they’d accept their fate probably, feeling depressed, alone, and other such emotions. But as long as they have hope, they won’t fall into true despair.” Twilight nodded twice, ponies were strong, and full of hope. When faced with fear, they confronted it.

“Before we begin, I must ask you to put a limiter over your horn, and allow me to bind you. This next step involves mental exercises which may cause you to act out and damage my room, or more.” Sombra glanced over to his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out what looked to be a brand new limiter. Twilight bit her lip, but nodded, taking the limiter and carefully slotting it over her horn.

“So trusting,” muttered Sombra, before shaking his head and returning to reality. Leaning over, his horn glowed and slowly Twilight’s body began to be encased in crystal. Twilight found she could still move inside it, but there was not much room. Feeling the sudden entrapment, and powerlessness, she smiled sheepishly at Sombra, who stood up and stepped over to her.

“When I first discovered that it was possible to transfer emotion into magic, I immediately sought a way to rid my empire of fear. I was not aiming to make them fearless, that would be foolish in the long run. As a kingdom that requires love being poured into a Crystal Heart for protection, I was attempting to devise a way to harness fear, and transform it into love.

“I won’t go into specifics, but needless to say I succeeded, and the Crystal Empire enjoyed a golden reign of prosperity, at least for a time. How my empire crumbled is not related to the power of this magic. It is during this process, that I realised that magic seems to be the opposite of fear.

“It was also during this time that I gained an understanding of how Changelings convert love into food and magic, but that is not important. The important aspect of this knowledge is thus; fear magic is designed to convert emotion into magic, and back into emotion. It is simple to use, but near impossible to master.” Sombra paused, looking Twilight directly in the eyes.

“I will not lie, if you fail this next stage you will never master this magic. Are you ready?” Sombra paused, and Twilight gulped, and then nodded, looking determined. Whatever this final test was, she was positive she could pass it. Twilight, student of Celestia, magical prodigy, was sure she wasn’t going to fail.

“Y-ye-as,” she stuttered, gulping as sweat beaded on her forehead. Sombra leaned back, eyes glowing and purple mist seeping out of his eyes. Slowly, a smirk emerged on his face, and his horn glowed with a sickly green energy.

“Good,” he hissed, leaning forward and bringing his horn slowly down on her head.

“I look forward to seeing you squirm.”

Comments

[the other sans]

Psychology, Magic and Magical Conversion 101 folks The ultimate and only test.

[FaelaArts]

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