The Company We Keep

by Ice Star

Chapter 7: Unbelievable Discovery

I woke up in my bunker, on my sleeping bag, and my head is spinning and he's looking at me. I don't know how he got here. My thoughts feel as if they're going too fast. I've heard of speaking a mile a minute, but not thinking a mile a minute. Is this normal? I don't think so.

On my jaw, up to my right cheek, there is a nasty cut over a bruise speckled with generous amounts of dried blood. I blame the metal he wears on those hooves. Why, exactly, does he do that?

But that didn't matter because somehow he was here and he was looking at me.

Judging me, as always. It was the Sombra from the weird vision, the younger one. He had dark circles under his eyes, like he decided he would suddenly never sleep when he was king, and he currently looked like he wanted me dead.

Very dead.

I brushed an imaginary curl out of my face nervously and tried to speak. I did, but the words came out half garbled and I didn't recognize them as words at all, and I didn't think he did either. All he did was look at me with such anger that made me feel like I was filthy and the gash on my face sting even more.

His gaze didn't waver, although his expression clearly stated that he wasn't pleased with my existence. "I could have broken your jaw."

Help.

He looked really tired and angry, but also so young and umm... rather solid for what I'm pretty sure was a paradox. Or a ghost. Another ghost.

I gulped. Tried again. "H-how...?"

It was all I could get out.

"You cast two spells. The second undid a seal on the door. But the first was me. I'm an energy-related spell born from hidden runes in the door frame, meant to create a copy of the original caster in the exact condition they were in on the date the spell was created. I'm a perfect replication of, well, myself and was supposed to be used as a last resort in case of something like this, but it seems something in my strategy went wrong and the Alicorn sisters succeeded."

His tone was impatient, as if he were not only already fed up of dealing with a pony he shouldn't even know, but wanting them to leave his sight after only a few seconds of even acknowledging them. It seemed out of character for him considering Sombra enjoyed describing magic, as well as rubbing his knowledge of it in others’ faces.

The disinterest he showed was puzzling and I noticed that Sombra's leg was shaking, but it wasn't out of fear, he looked too angry for that. The Sombra I knew could sit still easily, staring off into the void and judging it for hours. How could this fidgety ball of anger issues be him?

Yet why wasn't he calmer? He wasn't acting like his arrogant and nonchalant self. He should only be mad if I've done something to push him over the edge, like asking about his past. I didn't do that. What could possibly be provoking him?

"Umm... do you even know me...?"

It was a fair question, I think. It really shouldn't make him angry. He's my friend. Definitely.

But if he's my friend why do I feel afraid of him right now?

"I know of you." His tone was worse now, borderline enraged although I didn't know why. What reason did he have to direct such contempt at me? If I continued talking to him, I'd have to be very careful and choose all of my words carefully. Delivery was key here.

"But... wait... what do you mean... I'm so confused... aren't you-?"

Suddenly-Completely-Sure-If-He's-Sombra's eyes narrowed. "I see how it is."

Low tone equals dangerous tone. Even my sore head knew that.

He continued on, dangerous even when he was sitting across the room. "I should warn you that there's two things you should never doubt."

What exactly is going on here?! I don't like what's happening, I didn't bring up his past at all.

"Me."

Uh-oh, he said that through gritted teeth and spitefully. That's a really bad sign. Except he's not moving... doesn't that nullify the idea that he's going to hurt-

Dark aura. I just saw him use dark aura. THIS IS NOT GOOD.

In an instant, äerint crystals sprouted from the wall and squeezed my throat, cutting it until they got blood, and then they were gone.

"-and my authority."

I stood up in an adrenaline rush, gasping as blood ran from my throat.

"After all," he added flatly. "I'm supposed to be a king... supposed to be..."

'A pony possessed by dark magic can never directly heal themselves.' Sombra had told me something like this once. I definitely wasn't possessed by it, but when I lit up my horn with a healing spell it dimmed the next second, and I couldn't get my horn to glow with the same energies again. They had just vanished.

I put a hoof to my throat, it wasn't fatal by default, but...

But...

I looked over at Sombra, who was looking at me... and he didn't even care.

Yet, even though he didn't care, he healed me from across the room. His horn glowed with crimson magic, and he just stared right past me.

Hurt, I sat back down and cried knowing that this was the only place in the entire castle that was stocked and Poltergeist-free because of the charm I cast.

Even through the Ice Star's snow and my tears I could see Sombra sitting across the room, ignoring me as he set small objects on fire and watched them burn with a vaguely familiar jaded look in his eyes. Everything about him was twisted into somepony I barely recognized, yet clearly needed my help.

Later, when my tears didn't come anymore, I tried to talk to him. I hated to see him just sitting there being a firebug. Even more, I hated seeing him look the way he did: depressing. Even though he was tall, all of the king-garb seemed too big for Sombra as if he hadn't grown into it. His mane was so long I could swear it hung across his tired looking eyes like black icicles. One of his hooves was propping up his chin, a sure sign of apathy... a trait I actually recognized in him.

I knew better then to call him just 'Sombra'.

"King Sombra, how old are you?"

He didn't reply, instead he just picked up a book I had brought in - for some reason he didn't burn books like I expected, just wrappers and paper cups, mostly - and sat there looking glum as he began to read it even though it was a one of the few silly romance novels I mixed in with all the horror I would like to read. I swear he almost flinched when I called him that.

The clock on the wall ticked on. When its crystal hands indicated that ten minutes had passed, I got up and made some plain coffee. No magic espressos for now. My hooves kept shaking.

An hour passed. I began to to read too, drowning out everything by staring at the black type of a cheerful romantic comedy that just had be feeling more depressed by the second.

At some point I looked up. He was done with the book and was doing puzzles in the sudoku book I had brought in. I had torn out the answers and tip pages found toward the back to help challenge myself. They lay on the end table next to me. I wonder how well he'd do without them, considering I hardly did five pages worth of the stuff.

I went back to my book and half-heartedly read some more, trying not to be bothered by the silence.

"Seventeen."

Hmm? I glanced over at him. There was a stack of books next to him, and from the looks of it he'd just placed the sudoku one on top. In about two hours he'd read eight books, while I was barely through twelve chapters of one romance novel. What can I say, it was long.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I'm seventeen. Apparently I ruled this place for another six years, if you could call what I did 'ruling'."

I stared at my novel, unlike it I was tongue tied, and words couldn't come.

Comments

[Word Worthy]

That is ... a very very young Sombra ...

Excellent description of body language and appearance. Sombra is as animate as Cadance thanks to it, despite being in the form he is here in this scene of the story. Your editing is getting better, too! Soon I will be completely obsolete

[Kaleido]

"You cast two spells. The second undid a seal on the door. But the first was me. I'm an energy-related spell born from hidden runes in the door frame, meant to create a copy of the original caster in the exact condition they were in on the date the spell was created. I'm a perfect replication of, well, myself and was supposed to be used as a last resort in case of something like this, but it seems something in my strategy went wrong and the Alicorn sisters succeeded."

oh dear, running around with sombra 2, this can't possibly go wrong

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Fascinating.