• Published 6th Nov 2014
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Regarding Falling Villains - naturalbornderpy



Given the successful befriending of Discord, Princess Celestia deems that no longer will villains be defeated but instead reformed. Brought back from the dead and stripped of his powers, Sombra only wishes he could have stayed dead all along.

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Chapter 21: Regarding the Price of Immortality

REGARDING THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY

The life of Twilight Sparkle was like clockwork. Each morning she rose at the same time and had the same small bowl of cereal for breakfast. Afterward, she re-checked her checklist from the previous evening and added to it whatever thoughts had cropped up overnight. Then, with mane properly shampooed and conditioned and with travel bag itemized and organized, she would leave her large castle and begin her long day of meetings and planning and whatever else a Princess of Friendship spent her time doing.

Which, to me, seemed like a lot of fluff. But that was something I planned on keeping to myself.

Tired and groggy as I was most morning (due to beds becoming far softer than they should ever be over the last thousand years), I would join Twilight each morning for black coffee and spirited conversation. The first few times I could tell she was trying to come off as more Princess-like than she normally would, but it was only a few days before she gave up the act.

That had always been the Twilight I’d wanted to be with, not that impossible image the public made out of her. And sadly, since my acting chops could be summed up by “Tree No. 4” or “Rock No. 1” in a filly’s school play, Twilight would in turn need to settle for Sombra, and nothing more.

Hopefully it would be enough.

Living with Twilight, it didn’t take long for Spike to make himself known, usually coming around to bug me once Twilight left the house and he began his daily chores. Since I was still tasked with Twilight’s services list (and because Ponyville needed more assistance than ever before), I spent most of my days around town, repairing most things those without a horn could not.

Before, I was silently shunned by everyone. Now I was popular, which meant a plethora of sneaky embraces and enough homemade sweets to cause me time and again to pass out under a tree for a nap like some overstuffed squirrel.

Since I wasted around an hour each morning drinking coffee before leaving (I had never been all that hungry in the morning), I humored Spike a single time with his chores and dusted a lone small shelf for fifty-eight minutes straight. When the sight proved too much for the poor mini-dragon, he threw his rag on the ground and stormed upstairs, mumbling something about how much easier it was cleaning their much smaller home. Much harder cleaning crystal, I’d imagined.

It was only during the night that Twilight and I actually had time to spend together. After dinner, we’d either read together in the library or discuss each others’ days.

I worked slowly and I worked smooth, and soon I went from reading on a lone seat to spreading out along the library’s lone couch, Twilight leaning against me and reading for the both of us. The first time this occurred, she told me she was cold and that I was justifiably “fluffy and warm.” Neither of these terms were ones I would have used to describe myself, but I’d put up with them if it meant I could hold her close.

While we read, I snuck her dozens of small kisses and she giggled and blushed. I felt her wings flutter and her heartbeat quicken. I told her how much I cared for her and how much she meant to me. In return, she went quiet, and I could tell she was thinking of days past. Honestly, I should have realized the fact that my being as close to her as I was a miracle in itself.

Now if only one of us would have said what was truly on our minds at the time.

I had little fear in taking things further. My only worry was scaring her away—moving too fast for her liking. Her only relationship before me had been rocky and hurtful. I wanted ours to be better, even if it was anything but orthodox.

“Well, goodnight, Sombra.”

Like a desperate puppy, I stood outside her bedroom door night after night, curious if that would be the evening she’d invite me inside. Each time, it was hard appearing both saddened and understanding when she closed the door on me.

Still, I wanted more.

REGARDING THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY CONT.

With a leg, I held open the curtain to our box seats and ushered Twilight through. She smiled and took a seat, leaning over the thin railing to view the dozens of other ponies sluggishly finding their seats down below.

She asked, “How did you get these tickets again?”

“It was a gift. I reset a whole roof for some couple on Cherry Street and they hoofed over two tickets. They didn’t even seem all that pained to give them away.”

Twilight nodded. “Sad, but I guess I can understand. Thanks for taking me with you, Sombra.”

I grinned at her. “I thought you could use a night out. And there’s no one else I’d rather spend an evening with.” I lifted her chin to kiss her cheek, and she flushed. She took one of my hooves in hers. It was first time she’d done such a thing, and I was tempted to squeal like Cadence had at that horrendous dinner weeks prior.

I squeezed Twilight’s leg. “Have you seen this show before? I met the performer a few times during rehabilitation, but her tricks always were amateur and feebleminded at best. I hope this show is better.”

Twilight grimaced. “Trixie… tries. The first show I saw of hers was called ‘Trixie the Great and Powerful.’ Then, after everyone kind of became less enthused of her antics for a while, her following show was called ‘The Great and Powerful Magician.’ And after that, just ‘Blue Magician.’ What’s this one called again?”

I glanced at my ticket stub. “Magic: the free snack extravaganza.”

Twilight nodded. “That explains why this place sold out. And why they were giving out crackers at the doors.”

A few moments later the overhead lights dimmed and the Great and Powerful Trixie made her presence known, as well as the overwhelming fact she had about four tricks in store for the evening and wasn’t about to let anyone leave until the ninety-minute close. As I heard Twilight “Oh” and “Awe” to my side—I believed out of simple pity—I tried desperately to keep my head up and my eyes focused on the show. Needless to say, I had to stab my free leg with my horn more than once to make it through. Eventually came the final trick of the night.

“Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience!”

A jerky spotlight swam over the attendees’ heads, waiting for some brave soul to trust their lives in the “talents” of the star spangled magician. I noticed Twilight put a hoof to her forehead.

“I can’t believe she’s actually trying this trick again.”

“What trick?”

“She invites someone down and puts them in an empty box. Some bits of fog and fake lightning later, they’re supposed to appear at the other side of room.”

I didn’t understand the problem. “That seems like an easy feat for any unicorn.”

Twilight glared at me for a moment.

I huffed. “Then maybe you should volunteer.”

She nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

Twilight’s leg shot into the air, still holding onto mine, and a moment later the spotlight from the rafters above blinded us both. I heard a mild gasp from the audience below.

“It’s Twilight! And she’s with Sombra!”

A few excited claps later, I whispered to her, “What do you think you’re doing?”

She grinned cruelly. “I’m volunteering, silly. I’m volunteering you. So make sure you put on a good show.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re going to owe me for this, you know.”

She playfully shook her head. “Considering you live in my castle and eat all my food, I don’t think I’ll owe you anything.”

I huffed out my nostrils. “Fine. If it a trick they want, then it is a trick they will get. Here’s the opening act.”

Unbeknownst to her, I tugged her leg and pulled her in for a kiss. A wave of whistles and hollers erupted from the small auditorium and when I backed away, I found a timid Twilight Sparkle wide-eyed and bewildered. It was wonderfully adorable.

“Now we’re even.”

Half a minute later, I stood in the center of the stage for all to see. Trixie the Great Snack Giver trotted nimbly around me, seeming to search for something that didn’t exist to begin with.

“Trixie wishes to know if you’re carrying anything that might ruin the magnitude of her wondrous illusions!”

I shut my eyes. “I’m naked and quite devoid of pockets.”

She shot a leg into the air. “That’s good enough for Trixie! Now, bring out… the Box of Mystery!”

As two stage-hooves brought out the Box of Mystery (by the looks of it some empty, painted refrigerator box), I shielded my eyes and searched for Twilight on the balcony. Once I found her, she gave me a small wave alongside a grin that was threatening to break loose into howling laughter.

As the cardboard box was placed over me, darkness came with it. Carefully, I lit my horn to see what sort of trick was in store.

“Now Trixie will transport our audience member to a location even Trixie is unawares! She can only hope he arrives there in one piece!” She paused for dramatic effect. “Now, silence!”

The murmur from the crowd died and I began to feel a small tug on my body. A few wispy threads of light-blue aura hovered close to me, desperately trying to usher me to some new and unknown location. The only problem was, her magic was too flimsy and too weak.

I would help.

Firstly, I cut off a sizeable chunk of my mane to separate and spread out along the floor. Secondly, I forged an elaborate illusion on the inside of the box and everywhere in-between. Then, when the moment seemed right, I teleported out while expanding a white burst of energy that first bent and then blew the box into pieces. Already, I could hear the quick inhale of air from everyone watching.

“Where’d Sombra go?”

“Oh, Celestia! She killed him!”

“There’s absolutely nothing left! You monster!”

I stood in the back of the auditorium, concealed in shadows. Gleefully, I viewed the box I had traveled from, torn apart with bits of blood and dark hair littered across the stage. A blackened circle had been burned into the spot I had been standing, and even a darkened silhouette of myself had been stained on one side of the box, as if some powerful blast of magic had vaporized every part of me.

It was a nice trick, I must admit.

Trixie stared at the ruined stage in muted horror and I was curious whether she’d try and hide in her hat again or run out the back. She stammered out, “There has been a technical malfunction, but Trixie will—”

Trixie’s hat snapped off her head and a reddish burst of light caused the crowd to shut their eyes. I appeared at the center of the stage, star-covered cap pulled snug around my mane.

Soon after, each attendee stood and stomped their approval as a fake-smiling Trixie stood next to me. “You could have warned Trixie about that.”

I smiled and waved. “What ever do you mean? It was magic, pure and simple.”

She snorted her contempt. “And you put a hole in Trixie’s hat!”

I stared upwards and found my horn piercing out the top of her trademark garment. I should have felt bad, but I thought any such annoyances would be forgotten come the following morning’s reviews.

REGARDING THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY CONT.

By the time Twilight and I returned to her castle, it was well into the early hours of the night. As we walked, Twilight did her best not to burst out laughing from the memory of me wearing Trixie’s hat. Then the image of Sombra hosting children’s parties swam into her head and she lost it completely.

Still too awake for bed, I lit her library fireplace and we sat together, watching the flickering embers and dancing flames. Twilight rested her head against my chest as she blinked heavily.

It was a beautiful scene, no doubt. But it was one I’d grown accustom to in the weeks prior. And during all that time there was still something I wanted out and over with.

I quietly asked her, “Twilight? After the dragon attack, Discord told you I tried to kill him and it was a fact I never denied. Why haven’t you brought it up again?”

Twilight shuffled against me. “Because I know that you were scared, Sombra; that you’ve never really experienced a draconequus before. Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about it completely, because I haven’t, but right now it’s not as important as it was. Since then, you’ve done better and I feel you’ve changed.” She laughed sleepily. “Okay, given what happened tonight, you might still have a few kinks to iron out, but you’re a lot better than what you were. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I hesitated. “I… do. I think so.”

Twilight hesitated. “Do you trust me, Sombra?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then I want you to be honest with me. Can you do that?”

Twilight got up and sat in the corner of the couch, a gentle nervousness on her face. I could tell it had been something she had been waiting to ask for some time.

A cold lump formed in my gut. “All right.”

Twilight rubbed one hoof against the other. “I’ve known you for months now and I feel myself growing close to you. You’re passionate and strong and you’re not afraid to let others know what you think—as often as that backfires. Considering you’ve lived with me for some time now, I’ve come to know what you do during the day and how you are when we’re together at night, and… I’ve come to like it. There’s warmth to you that I don’t think enough ponies have seen. And I think maybe it’s only taken so long to get to that place because of your past—because of all the secrets you keep to yourself. I know you, but I hardly know a thing about you.”

Suddenly, I wanted the night to be over. “What do you mean, Twilight?”

“I mean, I know the Sombra that came back from the dead and stayed in Canterlot against his will. I know of the Sombra that hung around Ponyville and won over the town by saving everyone. I know he can be funny and loving, and I know he can be dark and moody and even violent sometimes. But I also have no idea what you used to be.”

She paused for a moment.

The fire roared on.

“Weeks ago, you mentioned your family, and I know it hurt you to speak of them. I didn’t want to press it, but I feel if something were to start between us, I should be able to know who I’m growing attached to. You know all there is about me, as open as that knowledge is. Now I want you to trust me enough to let me know the real you.” She grabbed one of my hooves. “So will you do that for me?”

My jaw trembled and all at once I was somehow too tired and too awake to speak. At once I wanted to storm out of the room.

She lifted my head to her. “If we stay together, I need to know what events brought you to me. You shouldn’t let your past overwhelm you. Not when I’m here for you.”

I stared into her shimmering eyes, and that lump of cold in my chest ebbed away. At that moment, I felt more scared than when dealing with Discord, but what Twilight said held merit. If I knew everything of her, it was only fair she knew everything of me, as black as it was. Now the only trouble was how to begin a story you’ve never told anyone before.

Slowly, I began to speak:

“All my life, I’ve been jealous of others. What they have—what they’re better at than me. I’ve always wanted it, craved it. I’m envious and because of that, I’ve done horrible things. I told you I was the youngest of seven, and I believe my jealous tendencies started when I was very young. When my mother was still alive, there was enough adoration to go around to each of us. But when she died, all that was left was my father—a stallion more interested in his home than his offspring.

“His kingdom, was what he called it. His small plot of land, as barren as it was.

“My family and I were ponies of the earth and made a living through the simple task of rock farming. Everyday was the same and the only solace I could remember were the stories told to all of us each night. The ones about wishes, I liked the most.”

Twilight tried to hold a timid smile as I spoke. Already there was worry in her eyes.

“Since the oldest of my siblings were the strongest and most able-bodied to work the land, my father gave them more affection than the rest. It seemed as though all six of my siblings could do something I could not, and in return they were loved more than I. Even now, I know that not to be true—that I was only too young to discover my purpose in life—but still, I felt such jealousy and hatred for each of them. And soon, that was all I felt anymore.

“Early one morning, I saw smoke drifting from the tips of a nearby mountaintop, and I knew I had to find its source. In the stories I was told, dragons granted wishes to those that requested them—those that deserved them. So who better than me in my plight?”

I felt a lump in my throat. All those years ago, I could still remember how excited I was once I discovered the smoke. To my young mind I felt like the hero in some book.

“It took me a day and a half to reach the mouth of the cave, and once there I was too tired and too determined to feel much fear. Inside, I found a trio of dragons hundreds of times larger than me. They watched me with curiosity before laughing hard enough to spew fire onto the walls. I had thought it was a good sign.

“With surety, I told them of my wish and they passed a whisper between the three of them. They all smiled so wide; I thought they wanted to help. I was so young, so naïve. I—”

I looked away from Twilight as something warm and heavy pulsed behind both eyes. I could still picture myself, before the change. When I was so full of wonder and hope, and that things would get better for me if I tried to fix them on my own.

I eventually continued, “From under a mound of coins, they gave me a perfectly curved black stone. They told me it would grant me my wish, but with it came a price. I had heard of curses before, usually in those darker tales I tended to shy away from, but why would someone like me deserve such a fate? All I wanted to do was be better than the rest of them—something different; something that my father would notice and would love and would no longer ignore. Someone that would be remembered forever.

“In that cave I whispered to that blackened rock and the moment I stopped speaking, it cracked perfectly in half and fell from my hooves. That was all it took.

“By the time I returned home, I felt ill and my head felt on the verge of bursting. For being gone so long, I was rightfully punished. I took it all without feeling. Already, I knew something was happening to me.”

I remembered the morning I first looked into the mirror and noticed what was happening to me. I should have screamed and clawed at my face, but, instead, I was delighted by what I saw. If I knew the events that were to happen soon, would I have done something differently? Would have ended my life before there was no going back?

I told Twilight, “The color of my eyes were the first to change, and soon a small lump formed on my head. It was hard and it pained me each day, but I knew in the end it would be worth such misery. Soon, I was able to move things just by thinking about it.

“For seven days I hid my growing horn under whatever garments I could. It was easy, truthfully—no one ever noticed me before. All I had to do was wait until I was complete, and then I would show my father how much better I was than the rest of them. I knew everything would be so much better. But, as you might have expected, he took notice of me much earlier than I wanted him to.

“Instead of becoming something special, I had turned into some freak; some monster that he could hardly see without shuddering. I wanted to feel sad, but more than that, I felt angry. I had never been so angry and so full of contempt in my life as I had since receiving that horn. Unknowing what to do, I ran away from him and from that plot of land he called a kingdom, and alone in the woods I finished becoming who I’d spend the rest of my days as. And from there, I decided to bring wrath to those that hurt me.”

As I recalled each face of my departed brothers and sister, I sensed that first trickle of tears slide down my cheek. I hardly noticed, though, as my thoughts were far away and deep in memory. At first each of them were scared, as they should have been; not one of them recognized me completely. But near the end they understood. And to think I almost pitied them right before the end.

“One by one, I coaxed my siblings away from home, either with sweet words or images in their heads so horrible they wanted nothing more than to run and scream. I… tricked them with my new gifts, and I either made them leave forever or fooled them unto death. And each time I brought violence to one of them, I felt a peace and clarity like never before. It made sense, what I was doing to them.

“When all of my siblings were gone, I went back to my father, hopeful to be embraced and wanted when no one else was there for him. Instead, I found a shell of a stallion, weeping and mourning for all of his lost children. ‘No,’ I thought. ‘That is not my father—the father of a being such as me would never be so weak.’ And like that, I left him and never saw him again. From there, I went in search of my own kingdom to rule as I saw fit. Years later I found it, and I took it. And during that time, I became something so much worse than what my father ever could have been.”

I finally looked up at Twilight, her eyes brimming with tears. I was surprised to find she hadn’t let go off my leg, even if it was attached to a monster.

I took my leg from her and painfully pressed it against the side of my horn. “This cursed thing made me destroy everything I had in this world! This cursed thing has ruined everything for me!”

I got up from the couch, unsure of where to go. “I didn’t know it would be this bad. I didn’t realize it would last forever. And every time the hate and the anger built up too much, I felt I had to hurt someone, just to feel that calm again.” I hitched in a breath. “It wasn’t supposed to end this way—I was tricked. All I wanted was to be loved, like my brothers and sister, yet, now I never could be. I was a fool, I know. But does that mean I should suffer everyday forever because of that.”

Something pattered to the carpet below, and I realized I was crying. It was something I couldn’t help in the least.

I hit my horn with a hoof. “And all because of this gift.” I hit it harder. “This stupid gift!” With two hooves I gripped its curved sides and tried to pry it from my head, wincing from the pain. “And now it will never go away and I will forever remain a monster! I don’t want it anymore, and now I understand my dream in the hospital was right. I should have stayed dead. I have hurt too many. At the time, I had to. I needed to. And only now do I realize that my father was right all along. He didn’t want to see what I became because it was wrong. He couldn’t love something that never should have existed and I don’t believe anyone could. I’m a mistake. And now nothing can change that.”

Still trying in vain to detach my horn from my head, I collapsed to my knees. I shut my eyes as more tears trickled down my face and my chest struggled to catch air. I hadn’t thought this long of the past in over a thousand years, and even then, did I rarely admit the truth to myself. It hurt too much. It was a pain I didn’t want to feel.

“Sombra…”

Twilight was somewhere in front of me.

“Sombra, please look at me.”

With effort, I opened my eyes. Twilight was knelt before me, a few tears of her own. Without a word, she enveloped me in a hug and held me tight. Feeling most empty of everything, I clamped down around her and continued to cry into her neck.

She whispered to me, “You were young, and you were only doing what you thought was right. You were cursed, and you lived with it for much longer than you should have. You may be right. You may never be able to rid yourself of it, but you can live with it. You don’t have to let it define you. Already, I know there is more to you than that.”

She pulled away from me to look at my tearstained face.

“Because, for a fact, I know you are capable of being loved. Because I think I do.”

I couldn’t fathom what I was hearing. “You… really…”

With force she put her lips to mine until I fell backwards to the floor. My legs wrapped around her head as I held onto her. She was nervous, I could tell, but that didn’t stop me from wanting her more than I ever had before.

Only a few moments later, did she guide me upstairs.

REGARDING THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY CONT.

I quietly sipped my coffee and tried to gauge Twilight’s mood out of the corner of my eye. Like all mornings, she was a few spoonfuls into another bowl of soggy oats. She kept her head down with the tiniest smirk on her lips. Her mane was more haggard than I’d seen it.

“That’s interesting…”

She flipped through the morning’s paper and pretended to read. If she was actually digesting what was on each page, I knew she would have been done with it already.

I put my mug to my mouth to hide my smile. “I had no idea you were into dirty talk, Twilight. It’s very unbecoming of you.”

Her spoon noisily plunked into her bowl. “I already apologized for that, Sombra, and I only said it once. And the fact that I even apologized for it is ridiculous.”

“You said ‘Celestia’ last night. That’s the last word I wanted to hear while—”

Twilight angled her head to glare at me. I could tell if I ever wanted a repeat of last night’s transgressions, I would shut up and never bring it up again.

I patted her hoof. “You’re forgiven.”

Twilight blew a strand of hair from her eyes and pretended to read again—a sight so simple and so sweet. Before I had needed to be surrounded by thousands of my fearful subjects to feel wanted and required. Now I only wanted the affection of a single pony. And somehow, I had gotten it. I would never let it slip away from me.

I scooted out from the table and went to refill my cup. Since I never ate in the morning, I sated my hunger with copious amounts of liquids. Cup number four smelled wonderful already.

While I was up, I heard Twilight’s spoon fall into her bowl again, as well as something else.

I turned, and at first, I chuckled, the sight too amusing to resist. Twilight’s head had fallen straight into her bowl and her paper had crumpled to her side.

“I didn’t think I tired you out that much, Twilight.”

I waited a moment. Then another. And soon I realized the punch line was nowhere to be found.

I lifted her head from the bowl, her eyes closed and her entire face coated with wet oats. “Twilight? Twilight, what are you doing? Stop doing this.” I roughly removed what mess I could and placed my hoof under her nose. She was still breathing, but that did little to quell my startled nerves.

I shook her shoulders and patted her cheek. “Please stop this, Twilight. I’m not good with jokes and I can’t tell if you’re joking right now. So wake up, all right? Please, Twilight, please just stop doing this.”

The mare did not move an inch.

I hurried her over to the library’s couch to lay her down. Drawing my hooves back, I found them trembling in front of me. My mind was a whirl. I knew I had to do something, I only didn’t know what it was.

Then I heard a snap and glimpsed a faint flash from the top of the stairs.

“Twilight? Twilight!

I heard Discord’s voice, high-pitched and shaky. I turned to watch him enter the foyer, a motionless Fluttershy across both arms.

I gulped dryly. “What’s happening? Why is Twilight like this?”

He moved past me and knelt beside the couch, tears already falling from his eyes. “I’m too late,” he moaned. “I’m too late!

“What… what are you talking about?”

He rested the stock-still Fluttershy over one shoulder. “I was spying on Fluttershy this morning, like most mornings since I’d left, and she just collapsed. I went to her and she wouldn’t wake up. It’s them, I tell you! It’s those monsters that use that poison.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know that.”

He growled at me, “Then who else? We need to move. We need to move right now.”

I felt the first few tears bite at my eyes. “I won’t leave her. Not when she’s like this.”

“She’s need the antidote, Sombra! They both do!” He hitched in a breath. “We have… maybe ten minutes until the poison paralyzes them both. From that point on, there’s not a lot we can do.”

I viewed the silently breathing Twilight—so soft and so innocent. I couldn’t lose her like this.

I thought for a moment. “Then we get Celestia and Luna. They can help. They’ll know what to do.”

Discord grabbed my arm painfully. “There’s no time, you idiot! And I’m done wasting my breath!” With his other arm, he set Fluttershy on the couch next to Twilight, then kissed her on the head. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

Then he held his fingers to the side of his head and snapped.

REGARDING THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY CONT.

“How do you know of this place?”

I was hiding behind a row of trees before the entrance of a cave. Discord knelt down beside me and watched our enemy through a pair of binoculars. I’d never seen the draconequus as barren of laughs in all my time since meeting him.

He said bluntly, “As I told you before, I’ve had time on my hands. So I’ve been sniffing these monsters out—including where they keep their poisons and their antidotes.”

I watched the mammoth black spider that guarded the entrance to the cave. It energetically twitched its many thin legs, its dozens of eyes catching the sun’s glare. I truly didn’t care what types of poisons lay inside of it should it lay its fangs into me.

“We have minutes left, Discord. I’m going to kill that thing and then you’re going to run inside and get the antidote. We need—”

Discord lowered his binoculars. “You’ll take too long.”

He snapped his fingers and a giant fly-swatter far larger than the spider smacked into its side, shooting it into the distance. I should have noted then how lifeless it was as it shot through the air.

With the entrance clear, I wasted no time, charging for the small opening. Once inside, my eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom and I was momentarily taken aback by its simplicity. The cave was more like a small hole cut into the rock than anything of worth—enough room to store a few hundred bottles along the floors. Oddest of all was that no other guard waited for us inside.

Behind me, Discord yelled, “Grab the one on the stand! Hurry!”

Every small bottle on the floor was stained a cherry red, while a lone white vial sat precariously on a single rock pedestal. With my horn, I picked it up and trotted back to the entrance—only to find no entrance at all.

Discord stood with his hands behind his back, his tears dried but his eyes lined and heavy. He almost seemed ashamed.

I screamed at him, “What are you doing? We need to leave! Now!”

“And give them what, exactly? I don’t think that’ll help at a time like this.”

I stared at the vial I had been carrying, suddenly changed into a glass of chocolate milk that I let shatter on the ground.

I stammered out, “But… Twilight… I don’t understand.”

Discord nodded slowly. “I’m started to believe that’s your default setting. But have no fear, my friend; Twilight and Fluttershy are as fine as can be. You didn’t think I’d bring real harm to them, did you?”

I focused on my horn with more awareness than I ever had before. It would be my only saving grace should I need to escape or attack.

He extended a hand to me. Resting on top were two very familiar looking dolls, one purple and one yellow and pink. Each one had a trio of sewing pins in its back. With a snap, he removed each pin.

“That should do it,” he said. “Something else I’ve been learning for a time now is pressure points and nerve endings. Soon both of them will wake, perhaps with a stiff joint or two, but nothing more.”

I stepped towards him. “Why are you doing this? Why can’t you leave me alone? You don’t need to kill me to get your friends back.”

He giggled, a hint of the original Discord creeping back in. “Oh, silly Sombra. I’m not going to kill you. No! We’ve been through this before. What I’m doing now—what I’m doing right this second—is bottling you.”

He held both arms to the rock walls and ceiling. “This will be your new home for the next hundred years… or maybe two hundred. We’ll see how I feel. And in that time, I’ll get my friends back, and together we’ll have an entire lifetime of fun and happiness. And when they’re gone and only Twilight remains, I’ll let you out. But I can’t guarantee that she’ll wait for you—especially if she doesn’t know where you went.”

I shook my head forcibly from side to side, not wishing to hear another word. I charged my horn not to attack, but to teleport away, only to find I couldn’t mentally glimpse beyond the thick stone around me.

Discord watched me carefully and snapped his fingers. He furrowed his brows. “I see you’ve learned how to keep your horn. That’s all right. These walls are so infused with magic, you could try for a thousand years and never get out. But, truthfully, Sombra, you should feel happy about this.”

He strolled closer to me. “What I told you before, about how you were better than me, is true. If you and I continue to befriend Twilight and the rest, you will always come out on top. You have changed—not completely, to be sure, but more than I. I know I will fail again. It is part of my nature to disrupt that which has order, so that is why we cannot coexist. They will always choose you over me. I’m not good with competition.”

Finding the act of standing too much at the moment, I crumpled to the floor. The floor of what might become my tomb for more than a hundred years.

He asked me, “How did you spell Lu Fish in your journal, Sombra?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Well, because more than likely I’ll be your last visitor for some time, so maybe you’d like to chat a bit before I depart, and before you start banging your head against the walls.”

I thought of Twilight wondering where I was and wanted to leap for the monster that had put me there. But I knew that wasn’t the way I’d leave that place.

I said bluntly, “L-U-F-I-S-H.”

He put a finger to his chin. “That’s too bad. If you would have spelt it correctly: L-O-O-F-I-S-H. I would have done this neat reveal whereby switching the letters around, it would have read: FOOLISH. But that’s neither here nor there, is it?”

I lowered my head. “Can you tell Twilight that I love her, at least?”

“I… umm…” Discord appeared pained for once. “You know I can’t do that. You’ll be missing. No messages from the missing.”

I lowered my head even more. “Okay.”

Discord stood overtop of me, raping his knuckles on my head. “What are you doing? Stop moping! This is the part where you get angry and tell me all the nasty things you’re going to do to me once you’re out! This is when you curse my very soul. Don’t you get it?”

I sighed. “I will not do that, Discord, because in some ways I feel as if I owe you, even for the short time I got to spend with Twilight and the rest.”

He took a step back and narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“When I was on the Canterlot roof, preparing to jump, you were the one that pulled me away. Even if your goals were selfish in nature, it was because of you that I continued to live.”

He thought for a moment. “Well, then you’re welcome. Now, act like you normally would and charge at me or something!”

I stood up and shook my head. “No. Because since you’ve disappeared and I’ve stopped trying to find a way to kill you, I’ve been trying to understand you. And at this very moment, you remind me of myself.” I watched his pupils shrink as he curled a lip over his fang. “On that roof, I wanted my friend back more than anything and in my desperation I couldn’t think of a reasonable way of doing so. That is what you’re doing now—becoming desperate. You helped me once, and now I will do the same.”

He crossed both arms over his chest. “I would never need any help from you!”

“Even when it’s one thing you’ve wanted from me all along?” I smiled faintly. “I am going to do something for you now that very few have done before. I am going to befriend you, Discord. Right here. Right now.” I cleared my throat. “Discord, I want to be your friend.”

Discord ran a hand over his face. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am very serious, Discord. How else can we all coexist together? Better still, think of it like this: in one hundred years time, when all five of Twilight’s friends are gone from this world, who will you have left to call as friend? You may have Twilight, sure, but she will not always have the time and patience for you. Try as you might, you cannot hold on to everyone forever. Call it the price of immortality.” I paused to lick my lips. “I could be there for you, Discord. Immortals should try and stick together. And haven’t you always wanted a guy friend? And how many of your friends are as impervious to death as me?”

“I… don’t…” Discord’s face was a clash of emotions, both wanting to believe my words and shut them out completely. He turned his back to me. “You’re lying! You’re only saying that because you don’t want me to bury you for a hundred years!”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, yes, that might have brought on this epiphany that’s happening right now, but I think this is something that was always coming. We both have a lot to learn about friendship, and of understanding the needs and wants of others. I can plainly see that you are hurt, but you must understand it was never me that caused the rift between you and your friends. All I did was bring to light how much better things could be. If we were friends, then I could help you become better friends with all six of them.”

Slowly, he turned his head to me. I could tell he wanted to hate me, but more than that he wanted to believe me. He said hopefully, “You really mean all that?”

“I do.” I held out one leg to my side. “Now come in for a hug, big guy. Come to poppa.”

The draconequus took a step towards me, fighting with myself. “I don’t want to. You could still be lying. Plus, you probably smell and are terribly itchy!”

I shook my head. “Just the other day I was told I was fluffy and warm. You know you want to be my friend, Discord. In Canterlot, I denied you more times than I can remember, but now I am willing. So bring it on.” I motioned him over to me.

Like a deflating balloon, he collapsed over my shoulder, his thin arms looping around me while his narrow head drooped close to my tail. Once I hugged him back (and smelled every trace of his stale candy odor once more), he succumbed to his rising anxiety, crying and coughing and making me very worrisome of the state of my fur on my back.

He said through choked sobs, “I’ve really screwed up this time! I want them to like me, I really do!”

I patted the shuddering creature. “We will talk to them and set everything straight. We don’t need to mention this whole buried-alive thing to anyone.”

“Okay.” I heard him blow his nose on a conjured rag. “Sombra?”

“Yes.”

“Can we have chaos Fridays?”

“We can have mild chaos Fridays, sure.”

“Okay. Will you bring snacks?”

“Well, I won’t bring them every time, but sure, I guess I will.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. We’ll alternate, then.”

Eventually his tears ceased and he pulled away from me. “And I promise, if I ever accidently kill you during chaos Fridays, I’ll bring you right back.”

I grimaced. “I’d rather you didn’t need to.”

“I won’t make promises I can’t keep, Sombra. That’s not what friends do.”

I sighed. “All right… friend.”

Discord grinned and tap danced on the floor, a series of small fireworks following each step.

He scooped me up in one arm. “This’ll be great, Sombra! I’ve always found Fluttershy’s conversations to be girly and boring, but you and I can talk about anything!”

I lightly patted his arm. “Yes… I’m sure we will. But how about first we leave this dreary place?”

He set me back down. “All right. That sounds good. But there’s one thing I want to give you first, friend, since I hear you’ve been without it for some time.” Discord reached down and popped off his goat leg, before another slid neatly into place. Holding the detached appendage near his mouth, he blew fire onto it until it blackened and dripped on the ground. “Here you go!”

He set it onto my trembling hooves and my mouth overran with saliva. At once I wanted to stuff the whole thick piece of meat into my mouth, and yet savor it as much as I could. Sadly, it was gone within seconds, as well as the bone at its center.

With a smattering of grease still coating my muzzle, I could only hope Eeyup Pony would forgive me when I told him the news: I’d found a new best friend. This one came with benefits.

Together we left that cave and back out into the sun.

With an invigorated expression, he turned to me, “You know what we should do?”

I turned to him. “What’s that?”

“Find more friends to play with.”

REGARDING THE SUBTLE ART OF FRIEND COLLECTING

In the hour it took to coax her from her nest, I recalled all the moments that made up the last few weeks. When I returned to Twilight’s castle from the cave, I found her and Fluttershy in the kitchen drinking tea, curiosity overtaking them as I walked in with Discord by my side.

That evening, Discord said his apologies to all six Elements and was begrudgingly forgiven. I could tell not all of Twilight’s friends accepted him openly, but there was always room to improve. That evening, I was also invited to spend the night in Twilight’s room once more, reading and talking. Although I never told her about Discord’s latest scheme to be rid of me, I did tell her of his need to feel included. Agreeing, she got to work on a list of draconequus safe activities that same evening.

Mine and Discord’s first chaos Friday would be one to be remembered, as it ended with a coffee spill that stained more than half the homes in Ponyville. I died, heroically, while trying to float to safety on an oversized sugar-cube. I can only hope next week’s ordeal is lighter in severity.

Only now we had a new friend to meet.

“Why won’t you leave?” was the first thing the insectoid Chrysalis said to Discord and me, as we stood patiently outside her home. “You’ve been told to go and the fact that you remain is trying my patience.”

Several hundred smaller drones hovered around us as we waited outside their nest. Any moment their leader gave the word, I knew they would descend and destroy. This was all becoming increasingly interesting.

Discord stretched his long neck in her direction. “But you haven’t even heard our pitch yet!” He cleared his throat. “Have you ever thought about the good word of Celestia? Or about the magic of friendship?”

Chrysalis’ eyes darted from Discord’s to mine. She was on edge, as she should be. “I’m not interested in your little cult. If Celestia wishes to wage war upon us, she may try. Now tell me, how did you find this place? It has been well hidden for years, and your disturbance cannot go unpunished.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Oh, now you’re being silly, Chrysi. All it took was some aerial photos and some well-drawn maps and some crystal balls and some luck! But don’t look at this like a threat—”

“This is a threat now?”

“—look at this like the first day in the beginning of a beautiful new life!” He nudged me in the ribs and whispered, “Give her the pamphlet.”

I levitated over the thin booklet and Chrysalis nervously held in one hoof. With her horn, she flipped it open and scowled at every small item inside.

Discord sidled next to her and pointed with a claw. “So here’s a list of all the wonderful stuff friendship can accomplish! And here are a bunch of pictures, because pictures are so much better than words! Here’s Twilight and the gang. And here’s Celestia and Luna—remember them? Oh, and looky there, here’s Sombra and me at the bar last week. This was taken a few minutes before we were ejected for thirty-one different reasons!”

Chrysalis flipped to the last page. “Why is there so much fine print near the bottom? I cannot read it.”

Discord waved a hand. “Oh, that? That’s just some side effects that might happen due to friendship mishaps, such as murder, attempted murder, dragon attacks, property damage, assault, grievous injury, etc., etc. It’s standard stuff, I promise.”

Chrysalis let the pamphlet fall to the ground. “I am uninterested in your so-called ‘friendship.’ My race feeds off love and nothing more. Now be gone from my sight before my hive tears you both to pieces.”

Discord ran a hand along the back of his neck. “But it would be so much easier if you just agreed to it.”

Chrysalis’ pupils shrunk as she took a step away from us. “What do you—”

That was when Discord shoved a burlap sack overtop of her, tying both ends with string. The moment he did, she lashed out and he had to hold the bag away from him in a field of magic.

He yelled to her, “You’ll thank me later! I promise!”

I watched the violent display as her horn already punctured a hole through the sac. “You should have double-bagged her. She’ll get out soon.”

Discord put a hand on my shoulder. “Oh, whatever. I’ll just put her in a safe or something. What we really need to worry about is the thousands of her little friends coming to kill us posthaste.”

The hurried flutter of paper-like wings intensified around us. “Any ideas, then?”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

I watched the thrashing Queen for a few moments longer. “Was I that bad in the beginning?”

Discord giggled. “No. You were worse. She at least talks. You just sat and stared.”

I nodded. “I hope she likes cookies. Maybe I’ll bring her some when she tires herself out.”

Discord opened his mouth to speak as the bag ripped in two. A furious Chrysalis with burning red eyes glared at us both. She screamed, “I will drink the very essence of love from both of your hearts!

Seemed as though she wasn’t ready to be our friend just yet.

Author's Note:

Well, sorry to say, but that's it for now. Thanks for reading along and either hating or enjoying the story. (Or both?)

Again, I'll label this as complete, but I know of at least two bonus chapters I'd like to eventually add. One from when Sombra was in Canterlot (and was a dick), and one from when he was in Ponyville (and was an idiot).

And yes, a third arc is completely possible, once I get away from this project for a while.

A big thank you to this story's editor spigo, who I tricked by saying the second arc would be around the same length as the first. (It was three times as long.) He was the first editor I've ever used, so I have no idea if he was horrifically brutal to me, or as soft as melted butter. Either way, the story looks a thousand times better due to his hard work.

Enough words. I'll shut up now.

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