Umbrum ad Infinitum

by Pixel_Spark

A Nightmare Incarnate

Sombra's dreams that night centred around the erasure from the past. Of the Empire and his defeat. He recognised the ponies now, the ones that’d rescued him were the same that’d helped defend against him. He seen flashes of his time in the Empire, intersected by the flashbacks of Scorpan's tortures.

His brain turned betrayer and he suffered a hallucinatory nightmare that had him waking, a terrified cry shattering the peace of the night. He lay there in the darkness, stomach churning in fright.

He'd seen himself imprisoned once more, only this time it was in the Empire, at the hooves of the two he'd tried to take it from last time. The Alicorn Princess and the white unicorn with blue mane. His nightmares of Scorpan's torture bled into the illusion, and those two became his tormentors.

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--Don’t you get it?-- he heard that same voice in his head. Snapping out of the daze he sat up quickly, and seen a ghostly illusion at the end of his bed. It was HIM, but dressed as he was before, the armor and crown, the red fur-tipped cape draped over his back.

“Don’t you get it?” The illusion spoke out loud now “you can't believe what the Princess offers you, she just wants the information to protect her kingdom. What use will she have for you once you’ve given her that?”

“B-but..” Sombra croaked, and the ghostly Sombra stepped closer to him, eyes flashing.

“You sentimental fool! You hope this Princess will be merciful because she made one promise?”

“Its an oath b-” he began but the ghost cut him off.

“Give it up! There’s no place for a monster in their world- Abandon this weak hope now, before it ruins you!”

“Oh, DO shut up, wont you?” a smarmy voice interrupted them. The ghostly version of Sombra turned, coming face to face with...a ghostly Discord?

“Do push off,” Discord snickered “I need to talk to the REAL one!” pointing at the confused Sombra.

And without waiting for a response, he fired a blast of magic at the ghostly vision, wiping it out.

“You have GOT to stop letting your imagination run riot...” he lectured the stunned Sombra. Then he noticed the stallion was shaking, on the verge of breaking down again. Eyes wide, full of desperate panic as he tried to breathe normally.

Discord poked his nose, using the same spell as before. But he noticed Sombra was still breathing very rapidly, the panic refusing to release his body, even if it had his mind. The spell had wiped away the feelings of terror, but the body was wondering why it was shaking so.

“Hm, perhaps this...” he reached out and scratched behind Sombra's right ear. Sombra blinked, caught off guard by the unexpectedly gentle gesture. The hypnosis once again kept the fear of contact at bay, and he felt the bands around his chest loosen just a little. He could breathe...

--Well that worked…-- Discord thought in relief. He'd discovered most ponies had a thing about being scratched behind the ears. It made Fluttershy giggle, as she was ticklish. He'd done it once to Celestia when she'd been particularly stressed out, and she'd actually relaxed for a few seconds, before regrettably recalling why she was cross at him and resuming her lecture, even if it had been tinged with an amused smile.

It seemed to be having the same effect on Sombra. The pony was relaxing, the tension in his body slacking off, chest rising and falling in a more regular rate, as opposed to the hyperventilating of moments prior.

Seeing the way Sombra was fighting to keep awake, eyes drifting closed, a simple sleep spell sent him to a restful state.

Figuring he'd keep an eye on him, in case he freaked out again, Discord summoned a hammock and flopped into it, idly conjuring a candle and a book to read….

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When Sombra woke up the next morning he was surprised to see Discord still there. Sleeping in a hammock suspended in mid air, the Draconequus was snoring softly, muttering something about cheesecakes. Sombra sat up on the bed, and the springs creaked slightly. This startled Discord, who bumbled upright declaring;

“But your eminence, I AM the king of the penguins!” before realising where he was and coughing. Looking at Sombra he added “you didn’t hear that, alright?” in an amused tone.

Sombra looked perplexed and tried to talk, but nothing came out.

“Hm? What’s the matter?” Discord asked, seeing a look of panic on his face. Sombra gestured to his throat, looking frantic.

“Relax, maybe you just lost your voice temporarily, you woke up screaming afterall...”

The reminder made Sombra hunch up on the bed, looking pale. He tried to push the images away, but a second later and it became too much, and this time it was Discord left in the dust as Sombra shot by him and into the bathroom, kicking the door shut.

Like Celestia, all he could do was wince at the sounds of a frightened pony being violently sick.

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Alone in the bathroom, Sombra waited until he was sure he could stand without blacking out and staggered to the sink. After drinking a load of water, he felt slightly better. But he didn't want to go outside the room. He was at least somewhat safe in here….right? Or could this strange guardian just teleport through the wall?

No doubt the doctor or Celestia would be called, and he couldn't face them. So he curled up on the cold floor, shivering. Hiccupy sounds escaped him, as he wished this would just end.

“You're going to freeze.” the voice startled him and he tried to stand, but his legs had turned to jelly and he crashed back to the floor with a soft gasp of pain as the braced leg twinged.

“Oops!” Discord said guiltily, and quickly wrapped his tail around Sombra's middle, careful to avoid the bruised ribs. He felt Sombra tense up, a faint panicked sound rumbling through his body.

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Quickly, he carried him back to the bed and set him down. Sombra seemed to have gone into shock, the contact paralysing his mind in fear.

“No-one's going to hurt you,” Discord repeated what Celestia had said “not the girls, not the Princess. And me? I'm harmless! Well, technically Discord, but you can call me either!”

Sombra looked perplexed as he tried to catch up to this rapid fire speech. But at last he managed a single nod.

“Why so silent?” Discord queried. Sombra looked unsure, and shook his head.

“Hmm, you need some fresh air!” Discord snapped his fingers and in a flash, he and Sombra appeared standing out in the garden. Sombra staggered on his feet, blinking.

“Hi!” a pink pony popped up in front of him, and he staggered back, balance disturbed by the sudden teleport.

“Whoops!” She apologised, reaching a hoof out to him, then recalling what Celestia had said about touch, and retracted it.

“No hoofsies, promise!” she offered. Sombra edged back until his back hit a tree, and further retreat become impossible. But they were at a safe distance and he finally felt able to relax.

"Whoa," Rainbow Dash shook her head and spoke very softly "he's really wigging out isn’t he?"

"I've seen animals react this way," Fluttershy said sadly. The others looked at her as she explained;

"If an animal is badly abused by its owner, it comes to judge all owners by what its experienced, and will do whatever it takes to avoid them. Sombra must think we want to hurt him too, so he doesn't want us near him!"

"So how d'ya persuade yer animal friends to accept you?" Applejack asked.

"It takes time, and kindness. Just little things. Maybe, day by day, I’d step a little closer. offer something and move back so they know I wont steal it away."

"Would feeding him cakes help?" Pinkie Pie asked. She darted back to the basket and picked out the tastiest cake she'd made that morning, and trotted back to Sombra, setting it in front of him before sitting a ways back, smiling proudly.

“Cakey!” She announced “they’re super yummy!” She patted her belly, which gurgled. She grinned sheepishly, pulling a spare cake from her mane and popping it in her mouth.

"The case, Pinkie Pie!" Twilight Sparkle looked mildly horrified. Pinkie Pie slapped her chest with one hoof, and burped the case up, neatly polished free of every last crumb.

"That's....impressive." Discord had to admit. Pinkie Pie bowed, but watched Sombra from the corner of her eye.

He tilted the cake this way and that before glancing about, and, case removed, taking a bite. He chewed it hesitantly, then swallowed, something sparking in his eyes.

"Yummy, huh?" Pinkie Pie grinned.

He nodded, studying the remainder of it. It tasted nice, he'd never seen anything like it.

“Never seen a cake before?” Discord asked, watching Sombra's intense stare. Sombra shook his head, then pointed at the cake.

“Ah, cake like THAT! True, they have gotten more fun in this time!” Discord nodded.

“Why wont he talk?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I'm not sure. He hasn’t been able to speak a word since this morning when I checked on him.” Discord told her.

The group looked worried, wondering how bad it’d been.

Sombra finished the cake, and looked a little less pale.

"Can we talk to you? I mean, you can just shake your head if you can't talk." Twilight Sparkle got the nerve to ask Sombra. He looked scared again for a moment, but after several long seconds, he nodded. He just had to respond/nod to what he could recall, right?

“I did some research with Princess Celestia, and I think I found out something,” she looked at Sombra “Do the words “Umbrum ad Infinitum” mean anything?”

Hearing those words, Sombra felt panic surge up to overwhelm him. He thought he could cope, but the words the little Alicorn had uttered struck a chord, resonating with last nights nightmares. The fear they'd have no use for him once they got what they wanted….

Did answering her mean his time awake...alive, would be cut short?

--Isn’t that what’s best...that I…..die?-- despite the still present desire being at the forefront of his mind, a tiny fragment was there, wishing to live...the conflicting emotions hurt, and his stomach churned. He felt a disgusting taste rising in his throat. He doubled over, the intense pain hitting like a kick to the gut.

He pressed a hoof to his mouth as the urge to cough clawed at his throat, and he couldn’t keep it back. He bit the inside of his cheek, in an effort to stop the nausea. It worked, but when the taste of blood hit the back of his throat-

The whole group gasped in horror as Sombra began coughing heavily...and blood dripped down the hoof pressed to his mouth and onto the grass beneath his hooves.

“Sweet 'Tia on a pogo-stick!” Discord blurted, shooting over there, pulling the hoof away from Sombra's face. Seeing crimson streaking the pony’s hoof, feeling how badly he was shaking. The sight of the blood seemed to alarm Sombra too, undoubtedly reminding him of the bad days.

He sat in front of Sombra, trying to get the stallions attention “come on man, breathe!”

At last Sombra was able to make a ragged gasping sound, and stopped just short of blacking out from lack of air.

“What's wrong?!” Fluttershy teared up “tell us! Please?”

But the stallion shook his head, and Discord seen a pleading look in his eyes. He put two and two together with what he'd heard Sombra's ghostly vision say and realised the root of the problem;

“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” he asked Sombra, “that once we get what we want from you, that’s it. Game over.” he stared the pony straight in the eye, lowering his voice so only Sombra could hear him;

“Remember? These girls can be friends if you let them.” this echoed deep inside, with the words Discord had woven into the spell the first time he'd used it on Sombra.

Sombra's desperate panic faltered a moment as he realised what Discord had said. The vague sensation he'd been told this before did slowly filter through the barriers. He looked from the Draconequus talking to him, to the ground, then at last nodded. Discord let him go, and Sombra relaxed a fraction.

“We're not like that!” Twilight Sparkle said softly, setting the book down “I’m sorry if I scared you!” she looked genuinely saddened, ears drooped.

“Yeah, were not bullies!” Rainbow Dash blustered, realising she'd been a bit harsh so far. She'd been reluctant to trust him, but seeing how literally scared he was of them, she felt kind of bad now.

“Honest truth, we just wanna stop tha nutball that put ya through the wringer in the first place!” Applejack said in her trademark fashion.

“Please don’t be sad,” Pinkie Pie looked up Sombra “you don’t have to be, not any more.”

“I promise we wont hurt you.” Twilight Sparkle began-

“WE, promise..” Rarity added. The girls all nodded, gathered beside Twilight Sparkle. Discord made a foam hand in the shape of a thumbs up appear on one hand.

“Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes!” Pinkie Pie recited her favourite oath, and the others mimicked her actions, ending with a hoof placed over one eye. Pinkie Pie even held up a cake, eyebrows raised.

“And I got a cake ready! I'll do it!”

“She will!” Discord said to Sombra, was taking all this in with a smidgen of hope. “Not kidding, she's nutty as I am!” he poked Pinkie Pie in the tummy with the foam hand and she giggled, rolling into a ball.

“And nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise and survives!” Rainbow Dash added, looking at Sombra “seriously dude, you don’t mess with Pinkie Pie!”

Discord snapped his fingers and made a glass of water appear. He coaxed Sombra to drink it, and magiced away any traces of blood. He suggested they fetch a doctor, but Sombra shook his head, trying to indicate what’d caused the blood, and Discord at last understood.

“Do we need a doctor?” Fluttershy asked, and Discord assured her it was OK, explained what’d happened.

Sombra took a deep breath, and Discord heard him make a few faltering sounds before at last he broke the mental barrier and spoke:

"Umbrum ad Infinitum. Where did you hear that?!" he croaked, voice pained. Rarity was reminded of an old record, scratchy but still audible.

"It was in a book, I couldn’t understand all of it. Do you know what it means?"

Sombra stared at her, deep red eyes showing genuine discomfort and fear and several seconds passed before he was able to speak again. It was a fight to get his vocal chords to obey, and he felt tired from the effort.

"I understand it means "the infinite shadow" Sombra shivered "but I...I don't recall..."

Twilight Sparkle nodded "it's what Scorpan was after from you."

A nod, and they could hear how exhausted Sombra was "I cant remember my own kind. I don’t even know how I came to be..."

"Uh...biology?" Rainbow Dash joked. Fluttershy blushed instantly. But Sombra shook his head. He tried to speak, but his throat froze up again. Twilight picked up her notebook;

"Umbrum ponies are born from powerful crystals. At their core they are an entirely different species." Twilight Sparkle read aloud, seeing Sombra wince at the reminder. “Sorry...”

"How does that work?" Applejack asked.

"Princess Celestia said the crystals are sentient," Twilight Sparkle continued, watching Sombra to see how he reacted "in times of scarcity they can create one of their number. They do not have magic in the same sense as a normal unicorn, but in this case..."

"Dark magic.." Sombra muttered "it manifested as close as it could to something that exists in this world."

"Wha..." Rarity gawked "crystals?!"

A small nod from Sombra.

Pinkie Pie noticed he wasn’t looking at them and resolved to pull stupid faces until he noticed.

Bored, Rainbow Dash seen her and started a goofy face showdown, which seemed to go unnoticed by the others until Discord spotted them and did one of his own, eyes crossed and all!

"Classy, guys.." Applejack snorted in amusement! Sombra looked up at them, but soon returned to looking at the ground. Tried to tell himself he was protecting himself by doing this, by keeping them at a distance.

"Duh, I’m awesome!" Rainbow Dash grinned.

"Scorpan wants to set his brother free, right?" Twilight Sparkle continued "from what Discord told us, Scorpan was more timid compared to Tirek.."

"He was," Discord recalled "what drove him to this-?"

"His family disowned him." Sombra's emotionless tone cut through the speculation.

"What do you mean? Why?" Rarity frowned.

Sombra returned his gaze to the grass. It was easier to pretend he was alone. He closed his eyes, trying to recall every enraged rant Scorpan had delivered while he'd been taking his rage out on his captive.

"After his brother was locked away the second time, at the hooves of ponies, he became obsessed with blaming you ALL. I think he hoped you’d be able to get the brother he knew growing up back, and when he heard Tirek was defeated twice, he lost it. Seems he was becoming too obsessed, he was stealing magic, books, anything he thought could help him. His parents threw him out of their home, and he became even more fixated..."

They all sat, transfixed by Sombra's tale;

"He'd hit a dead end on what to do...until.." he swallowed down the urge to be sick, "until an old mage centaur told him about ME. He went searching for any trace, and when he found it, he used the magic he'd stolen so far to wake me up. The rest, well...you can guess from what you saw…" he opened his eyes, telling that story had been easier in the darkness.

"Yeah, he was using y'all as a magical battery!" Applejack looked grossed out, and disgusted. “It aint right!”

Sombra looked oddly conflicted at this, as if he was pondering whether she was right or not. Applejack frowned when she spotted the brief look on his face. It was just there for a second, but look was so intense, and seemed to cause him some upset, for he slipped back into unemotional a second later.

"That sort of magical extraction is highly dangerous, the power can become unstable. Especially with dark magic, so few have ever been able to truly use it. Your being an Umbrum makes more sense now, never have I seen a case of dark magic adaptation like this..." Twilight Sparkle said, fascinated.

Sombra shivered again, and looked on the verge of collapse.

“Okayyy..” Discord raised an eyebrow “time for the doctors, I think!” he vanished away with Sombra.

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"Wow...he's...kinda messed up." Rainbow Dash said at last.

"I agree darling," Rarity sighed, "this isn’t the same terrifying visage that chased us through the snow. He's..."

"Terrified." Applejack finished.

"Scorpan tortured him," Twilight Sparkle shook her head "he got it into his head Sombra could magically solve all his problems, and when he refused to surrender, he took out all his hatred for Tirek's defeat on Sombra."

“What concerns me is that look on his face.” Applejack muttered.

“Which one? He didn’t even react the whole time he was sat there!” Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

“Oh ah seen it alright. Just a second, there an' gone...”

“You mean the look that said “pretty sure I deserved it” when you said it wasn’t right?” Discord popped back into existence, making them jump.

But Applejack nodded in response to Discord's statement.

“Yes, though he doesn't realize it, he talks in his sleep.” for some reason, Discord decided not to mention the ghostly version Sombra had somehow summoned.

“When I stuck my head in to check on him, he was tossing and turning, muttering about it being only deserving or something like that. Given the manner in which he woke up shortly after, I’ll wager it was a flashback nightmare.”

“PTSD...” Twilight Sparkle said softly. Discord nodded.

“More than likely..” he sighed. “we're treading a fine line, between getting the details we require and breaking him all over again.”

Fluttershy shook her head “Nopony deserved what that monster did to him...” she whispered.

Discord ruffled her mane affectionately and she mustered a smile.

"I'm still confused.." Pinkie Pie made a funny face "how can crystals have kids?"

Twilight Sparkle sighed "I'm not sure myself..."

"And why aren’t there more like him? Why is he alone?" Pinkie Pie pondered.

"Maybe their extinct?" Twilight Sparkle suggested.

"Sombra may have known at some point-" Celestia appeared from thin air, looking worried. She'd been watching this whole situation, and had been alarmed by Sombra's fear, he wasn’t any closer to believing in them, although discord at least seemed able to calm him. That surprised her, but it was progress at least.

She shook her head to clear it and continued "I sense the trauma has caused him to shut down all but the most basic memories. I asked him why he came to the empire and he said the memories were lost to him, he can't reach them."

"If the story’s out there, Twilight will find it!" Pinkie Pie said at last, and Twilight Sparkle nodded.

"For all I hated the guy, what happened aint right!" Applejack blurted "aint nopony deservin' of that kinda beating, not that I can imagine...."

"Tirek maybe.." Rainbow Dash grumbled, then another thought occurred to her "Wait, why does he think WE'RE a threat? I mean, come on, he's practically twice our size!"

"Its because we're trying to get closer," Celestia said "imagine waking up and being thrown in a cage. You'd be scared, confused. With no way out. Even if somepony freed you, you'd come to think: "what do they want from me?"..."

"And what will they do to get it." Twilight Sparkle finished her mentors sentence worriedly.

Rainbow Dash winced as she pictured it, a shudder running from mane to tail.

Celestia nodded "Exactly. Every part of his mind is blaring alarms, warning him not to believe us, or let us help. It's funny, but I sense he's far more aware of his past mistakes than he lets on. The only time when he seemed like his former self was when I was admittedly somewhat shocked by his admitting he was an Umbrum. I may have stood there with my mouth open..."

Pinkie Pie giggled at the mental image;

""You should see your face" was all he said. But that bluster dropped right off when I took a step towards him. Whether the impact of the crystal heart resonated enough to change something in him, I do not know. But he feels different, magically speaking. I don't feel like I'm sensing the same pony as before."

"He doesn't seem as loopy-boopy as he was last time." Pinkie Pie translated.

"Maybe the crystal heart had an effect?" Fluttershy whispered "I mean, it's crystal and HE’S a crystal...maybe they communicated?"

"Wow, that's an amazing theory..." Twilight Sparkle looked at the pink maned pony with admiration "I must look into it!"

The door opened, and Spike came running over to the group, looking petrified.

"What’s the matter Spikey-wikey?" Rarity patted his head as he ran over to her.

"Y-you wont believe who I j-just saw at the medical-!" The baby dragon blurted.

"Sombra." The whole group said, and he nodded.

“I know you guys told me but...he was just sitting right there! I ran before he seen me, he's big and scary…and he's SOMBRA!”

"I understand its a shock, let me explain." Celestia began...

So Spike sat still between Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, and listened to the whole tale. He looked a little green by the end of it.

"That sounds awful..." he gulped.

Twilight Sparkle nodded "He's scared, Spike....even when we tried to set him free, he was backing into a corner to try and get away. He even went to far as to try shove me away, saying I should get out before Scorpan got back and found us all!"

"So, is he dangerous?" Spike asked.

"I don’t think so...or at least we have a rare opportunity here to get him on our side," Celestia said bluntly "I offered him a guarantee I’d help find a way for him to live in peace once we stop Scorpan. I changed my neckplate into an artefact called an oath-band."

"So THAT'S where it went!" Twilight Sparkle had been wondering all day where the pretty gem necklace was.

"What’s an oat-brand?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Celestia suppressed a chuckle "oath band my dear. It's an old practise, used in days gone by. From one to another it signified the promise was serious. The one who puts the promise spell on the band will be reminded of it day after day if they try to back out on it."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Rarity asked. Celestia shook her head.

"Only if you intend to betray a promise," she said "otherwise its used as a valuable demonstration of trust. I am confident he recollects such a thing, he seemed familiar with it. Whether he chooses to accept is up to him."

"Whoa, this is all so weird!" Spike blurted "I mean, this was the crazy guy from the Empire, now he's...freaking out?"

"Anypony can be scared Spike," Twilight Sparkle told him "nopony is immune to being hurt either. None of us would want to be alone if we were injured."

"We're hoping he can unravel Scorpan's plans before he sets them in motion..." Celestia sighed worriedly.

Discord said nothing, but once again he thought about how Sombra was ill-equipped, mentally speaking, to deal with such a demand. He needed to be assured something good could be found in him.

But how to do THAT?

Author's Note:

Fnarp.

Comments

[kniznik]

Interesting, did the whole crystal thing come from Steven Universe?

[Pixel_Spark]

6610876 It was just an idea that's been in my head since I first read the fiendship is Magic comic for Sombra. The idea of literal crystal ponies! I've heard of Steven Universe, I know my brothers a fan, but I've never personally watched it. It's not on DVD in the UK yet...

[rileyknudson]

no kniznik read the comics

[Amos Anon]

"I'm still confused.." Pinkie Pie made a funny face "how can crystals have kids?"

Well, when two crystals love each other very much...

[Amos Anon]

"I'm still confused.." Pinkie Pie made a funny face "how can crystals have kids?"

Well, when two crystals love each other very much...

[Lullaby_for_a_ brony]

"¡Pero su eminencia, YO SOY el rey de los pingüinos!" antes de darse cuenta de dónde estaba y toser. Mirando a Sombra, agregó "no escuchaste eso, ¿de acuerdo?" en un tono divertido.

Is this a reference of G1?