Umbrum ad Infinitum

by Pixel_Spark

Crystallized

The next day, during the first daily check-up, the Doctor suggested the recovering stallion get some fresh air. Sombra nearly refused but for Celestia showing up. She offered to accompany him as she had a few questions, would he be up to answering them?

Sombra nodded, and followed her through the corridors as she talked. He answered her queries as best he could, but she noticed he seemed oddly calm, kind of emotionless. It concerned her, Discord had said he’d seemed better after their last chat.

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Sombra cast fleeting glances at the ponies he passed, one thought racing around his head.

--They’re real, but me....I’m just an enhanced magical crystal...why was I created to look like one of them?--

The concept was hitting him hard. That he was just a..what WAS he? What were the Umbrum ponies anyway? His vision blurred and a spike of pain dug itself into his head. He came to a halt as they strode through an open corridor that was open to gardens on either side. Celestia, hearing him making a snarling sound, turned back to see what was wrong.

"What’s the matter?" she asked.

"I-i don’t know.." he whispered.

He sat down, vision going in and out of focus. They were alone, Celestia having opted not to have a guard. She was taking the chance Sombra wasn’t going to snap back to his old self. The oath-band glimmered from its place around Sombra's neck, and she knew he was putting what little faith he had in her promise.

"We need to get you to the Doctor." she said firmly. But when Sombra tried to stand, his confused red eyes widened in panic.

"I cant move-!" he blurted. Celestia frowned, what was happening? He abruptly cried out and hunched over, chest hurting so badly, a painful stabbing in his back...

Celestia's jaw dropped as she seen sparks of magic dart over Sombra's coat. And from his forelegs, starting at the bottom of his hooves, he began changing into a crystalline form. It began to spread rapidly, but it wasn’t like a crystal pony’s coat, this was literal crystal!

Sombra's eyes opened, and when he seen what was happening, he flat out panicked.

"Please, do something!" He cried desperately.

"I don't know what’s happening..." Celestia shook her head, what COULD she do? "I’ve never seen this before!"

Sombra could hardly breathe, he was so sacred, it felt like he was coming apart at the seams.

--Please, turn back!! I don’t....I’m not ready for this!-- he begged. He felt a sharp pain in his head, but this felt different.

There was a bright purple flash of light, and Celestia seen a shimmer of dark magic run down his body from horn to tail. It changed his body back to flesh and blood, and he collapsed forward. She caught him in the nick of time, looking around...

In the end she moved him to beneath a shady tree, and went looking for somepony to help her…

Barely had she taken three steps then the doors she was heading towards were flung open and a bright blur of pink came bouncing out.

“Hi hi Princess Celestia!” she called.

“Pinkie Pie,” Celestia smiled “Perfect timing. All of you...” as the rest filed in behind “I need you to just stay with him briefly while I fetch the Doctor and some food. I'll get some tea and cakes too.”

Craning past her, the six realised who she was referring to.

“Aww, he's taking a nap!” Pinkie Pie giggled “he doesn’t look that scary asleep!”

Celestia suppressed a chuckle “I don't think passing out counts as sleeping. I’d coaxed him outside when he seemed to suffer a loss of balance and collapsed shortly after. Its probably nothing serious, but I’d like the Doctor to check on him regardless.”

“Okie dokie wokie!” Pinkie Pie nodded. So she and the others settled nearby to keep an eye on Sombra...

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When Sombra at last awoke, his head hurt a little, but it felt better. The last thing he recalled was...

"Celestia?" he said thickly, head muggy.

"Nope!" A cheerful voice startled him and he sat bolt upright, which made his vision blur.

"Oopsie..sorry!" a blurry pink shape apologised. She used her hooves to steady him. He initially tensed up, then recalled Discord's little prank the day prior. He relaxed and Pinkie let him go.

“Hoofsies,” she realised “Hoofsies okay now?”

He hadn't yelled at her like Celestia had suggested he might. He blinked at her a moment, before nodding. He looked a little nervous, but he wasn’t franticly backing away like last time.

“They’re...fine.” he said shortly.

She reached up and actually patted his nose, sticking her tongue out in the process. He was surprised that he didn’t mind, even though it still sent minor shivers down his spine, he didn't feel as threatened as the first days.

“See?” she giggled “Pinkie's safe!”

"Where's-?" he began, shaking his head to clear it as she set her hoof down. He winced as this made his head pound heavily.

“Princess Celestia? She went to get us all some cake and tea." Pinkie beamed "she told us to keep an eye on you!"

Sombra hit on the word "US", and only now glanced up. The other five were standing several feet away, expressions mixed between concern and curiosity.

Rainbow was silently applauding Pinkie for petting Sombra's muzzle like that. She could be downright fearless at times, that pony!

“Ya feelin' OK?” Applejack had to ask “you were mutterin' in your sleep. Couldn’t be sure half of it was english, but ya sounded upset?”

Sombra tried to recall what his dreams had been about. Vague images were all that remained now. Cold floor, dank walls. A faint rattle of chains. As if reminding him, one of the now fading scars around his right foreleg itched, and he found himself glancing at it.

Applejack followed his gaze, and realised what the dream had been about.

“What was that language?” Twilight Sparkle asked, seeing Applejack floundering for a clue on what to say.

Sombra looked away from the scars “I- what was I saying?” he asked at last.

Twilight Sparkle repeated what she'd heard. Sombra tensed up, looking unsettled. More and more the language was starting to drift back to him.

“It's, that is...” he took a deep breath to keep the nausea at bay “I cant tell you how I know, but that’s the Umbrum language.”

“An entire language?” Twilight Sparkle's eyes were wide, full of such total curiosity. Her friends all groaned.

“Its something egg-head doesn’t know!” Rainbow Dash pretended to faint in horror “what do we do?”

Twilight Sparkle stuck her tongue out at Rainbow, whilst maintaining a smug look at the same time. But a second after they were both giggling fit to bust at each other.

Sombra cocked his head to one side, he didn't understand how they didn’t seem bothered by each others antics.

He shifted how he was sitting, feeling the broken leg in its brace object to the movement. It wasn’t as bad as before though.

"At any rate, ya sure sleep like a log," Applejack spoke at last "Pinkie was playing a fluglehorn and ya didn’t even twitch!"

"Not even when I did that massive burp!" Rainbow added.

"THAT could’ve woken somepony three countries away!" Rarity declared.

"I-is your head hurting?" Fluttershy asked.

"I can go fetch the Doctor?" Twilight Sparkle suggested.

Sombra shook his head "No, there’s no need. I'm fine. Thank you." the words came out in short bursts, as he scrabbled for them. He found himself talking to the grass beneath his hooves, despite how hard he tried to hide his unease. Pinkie Pie flopped onto the grass and rolled so she was in his line of sight.

“Over heeere!” she waved at him “why are you staring at the grass? Ooh, is there something cool down there?” she proceeded to roll back onto her belly and stare intently at the grass.

After a few seconds, Sombra actually became concerned she was going to burst a braincell or twenty at the rate she going. And so he hesitantly nudged her head so she was staring at Twilight Sparkle, who was closest.

“Interesting is over there.” he corrected her “your friends.”.

“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie glomp-hugged her friend as if she'd only just found her again, a big grin on her face.

“Pinkie...” Twilight Sparkle chuckled at her happy-go-lucky friends antics.

Pinkie Pie's stomach gurgled, and by a silly coincidence so did Sombra's. It was pretty loud. To his credit, he did TRY to act as if it wasn't him. The illusion was shattered a millisecond after however, by Pinkie Pie declaring;

"Wow, you win!"

Sombra just coughed, staring absently at the grass.

"When did ya last eat anything?" Applejack pondered.

"Breakfast.” Sombra said at last.

“No surprise then, its almost lunch!” Applejack answered.

Right on cue Celestia trotted out from the door, followed by a cook pushing a trolley piled high with cakes and pots of tea. The Doctor wasn’t far behind. He sat with Sombra while the cook began to lay everything out on a big blanket.

Sombra told him he was fine, he'd just felt dizzy. Celestia had mentioned to the Doctor that Sombra's magic had briefly shown up, and as per his training he requested the unicorn try to demonstrate it. He set his case down and asked Sombra to try lift it.

Pinkie Pie bounded over to ask if Sombra was going to join them and have cake. She inadvertently startled the pony, who was struggling to marshal his magic, and instead of moving the bag, Sombra moved himself! A rapid fire teleport spell went off, and he found himself about twenty feet away.

“Whoopsie?” Pinkie Pie said sheepishly to the Doctor, who frowned at her.

Sombra shut his eyes, shaking his head, yelling inwardly at his magic and ordering it to recede. The magical aura sputtered and dropped, and when he opened them, his eyes were back to normal.

“Well, I can safely say its working, although it seems a bit on the fritz.” the Doctor looked at Celestia, eyebrows raised as if to ask “what now? This is dark magic”.

Sombra caught the glance and his heart wrenched. Of course, he couldn’t be allowed to keep it…

Any feelings of relief he instinctively had about his magic he quickly quashed, preparing himself for what was to come. He took a deep breath, awaiting the inevitable.

“That’s fine then,” Celestia said “if it has come back at all that’s good. It'll straighten itself out in time. We've all had days like that. That is all.”

Sombra stared in shock, that wasnt what he was expecting at ALL.

“But, Princess-!” the Doctor was confused, this was SOMBRA she was talking about. He'd done the tests out of concern for the patients health, because his training demanded it. But Sombra having his magic couldn’t be safe, surely? “Surely you should-”

“I said it's in hoof.” Celestia stared daggers at the Doctor. Sombra sighed, and when he spoke, that same monotone inflection was back in his voice. Both looked over at him as he spoke.

“He has a point. And It would be pointless for me to try and suppress it myself. My own magic will only undo any bonds I try and create.”

Celestia closed her eyes and when she opened them, they bore the same glow as Sombra's “I am a recognised practitioner of dark magic in aid of this empire. Are you saying I don't know what I’m talking about?” she raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.

“O-of course not your majesty-!” the Doctor blurted, shamefaced.

“Good. I don’t want to hear any more discussion on the matter.” Celestia dismissed him, and he hurriedly scuttled away.

Sombra felt a worried pang. She was putting herself in too much danger-

He jumped when he realised she'd walked over and now stood in front of him, her expression reassuring. She spoke softly;

“You don't need to be alarmed, I will not see barbaric magic suppressors used on you.”

“Maybe you should-” Sombra said, worry rearing its head “What if it's permanently unstable? You seen how it reacted just now. I'd RATHER suppress it now than later, Princess.”

“Give it time,” she said kindly “let yourself feel safe for today at least."

He seen the identical glow in her eyes, the same green and purple as his magic.

“You only just got it back, it’ll naturally be all over the place. It'll settle in once its back to normal. Now,” she nodded at the blanket and food “the Doctor recommended you up your intake of sugar, seems your levels are far lower then they should be. Why don't you come sit with us?”

"Its best I don’t..." Sombra began, but Twilight Sparkle wandered back over, offering a smile;

"I'd like to talk a little more, if that’s OK.." she smiled, showing him a book on legends of Equestria.

The others watched in curiosity as both Celestia and Twilight Sparkle coaxed the bigger pony into following them to the blanket.

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Sombra didn’t eat much, but he did eat a cake Pinkie Pie nudged towards him, which made the pink pony smile. She viewed it as anypony that could enjoy cake couldn't be all bad!

As they ate, Twilight Sparkle showed Sombra a variety of books. Celestia watched as they appeared to be studying a page on magical rituals.

Sombra reached one page and abruptly angled his head away from it, going white as a sheet.

"What is it?" Twilight Sparkle asked "wait, is this-?”

"Those markings, t-they were on the ground when I woke up there." Sombra shuddered in disgust at the memory, flashbacks of the arcane markings rushing through his head.

"This is some nasty magic," Twilight Sparkle quickly flipped the page "it requires a LOT of power."

"He had all these amulets scattered about. I suspect he's using those same ones to store MY magic."

"Ooh, one second!" Twilight Sparkle teleported inside, and returned with a massive volume. She rifled through the pages, until she came to a section on magical amulets.

"Any of these familiar?" she asked hopefully.

Sombra turned the pages, an uneasy look on his face. One that he indicated made Twilight raise an eyebrow.

"Those are extremely rare, but they’re known to boost the power of what they contain!"

"Not good." Applejack winced.

"What is he planning to do with that much power? I mean, if he wanted to, he could’ve used a hypnosis spell. Why go to all the trouble of forcefully extracting the magic?" Twilight Sparkle pondered. Sombra could only shake his head, he couldn’t answer that.

"Scorpan isn’t the type that likes to share is why!" Discords voice popped out of nowhere, as he appeared behind Twilight Sparkle and Sombra, slinging his arms around the two. Twilight Sparkle glowered and Sombra twitched.

Celestia noticed, however, that he didn’t panic and shove the Draconequus away. She hadn’t seen the scene with Pinkie Pie, so she was relieved to see Sombra seemed to be allowing contact again.

"He knows YOU-" Discord tweaked one of Sombra's ears "have enough power to kick him to the curb if you were given the opportunity. He didn’t want to have to share the "glory" with anybody once his brother is back. Add to that the fact he can boast he utilized one of Equestria's greatest former tyrants to get his way, and he's banking Tirek will be proud!"

Sombra sighed subtly, and was surprised when his ear was tweaked again, but this time more...apologetically? He hadn’t a clue.

But he shoved the reminder of what he'd been through aside, and tried to think back.

"He always said he was weak, that Tirek called him that constantly..." Sombra's expression went distant, as the scrap of memory pieced itself together.

"Really?" Fluttershy asked "was he a bully?"

"Of course he was, it's Tirek!" Rainbow Dash growled "the guys a jerk! They've ALL been jerks or jerkettes-”

Applejack elbowed her in the gut, cutting her off, making an exaggerated face.

“Oh...” Rainbow Dash coughed “uhh, my bad?”

“No, I’m pretty sure the “bad” was on my account.” Sombra muttered.

--Not getting it is he?-- Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

“I remember Tirek talking about his brother as if he was worthless...” Discord caught Sombra's attention again, and the pony nodded.

“Indeed. He often raved about how he'd have his brothers love and respect if he pulled this off. Tirek always said he was too pathetic, too childish, and Scorpan wanted to SHOW him he wasn’t." Sombra shook his head "I got the feeling he wanted his brothers admiration more than anything."

"And he's willing to destroy Equestria to get it? Is he nutso?" Pinkie Pie blurted "that’s noodle doodle!"

"Everypony wants acceptance of some kind, some just feel like they'll never get it." Sombra's solemn words got their attention "and Scorpan feels if he can prove he's on his brothers level, he may get what he wants."

"When Tirek will likely just steal whatever power he's gained and dispose of him," Discord grumbled, scowling at the not so distant memory "reminds me of that amulet!"

"Yes, I remember..." Twilight Sparkle wondered if Discord was ever going to let her and Sombra go.

The Draconequus had a weird way of displaying any sort of amusement or affection, usually way OTT. But at least he wasn’t pranking them. Hugs were the lesser of two evils with Discord, she thought, rolling her eyes.

"It was the final key to unlocking the chest!" Rarity nodded "so something bad became something good!"

"It can happen!" Applejack said nonchalantly, but when the others weren’t looking, she shot a quick nod to the ebony-maned unicorn, who seemed to brighten a little, just a smidge.

Sombra and Twilight were finally released as Fluttershy offered Discord some cake, and he gleefully shot over to sit between her and Pinkie Pie, who gave him a smile. With a snap of his fingers he put the pegasus' mane into a pretty braid complete with flowers.

"Ooh," Rarity cooed "I have an idea for a new spring line!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and snorted, so Discord changed her mane into a punk rocker do. Once she seen herself though, Rainbow had to admit she was actually pretty impressed!

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When it was revealed they'd run of of tea, Discord snapped his fingers and made enough glasses complete with pink mini rain-clouds appear in front of everypony.

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie whooped, poking her tongue out in concentration as the glass filled, then chugging it down in seconds.

Sombra felt an urge to smile as he seen the cloud fill the glass. He was really starting to like this stuff.

He was unable to suppress an amused snort when he spotted Pinkie Pie dispensing with the glass completely and just sitting with her head tilted back, going "ahh", while the mini rain-cloud did its job.

Rarity insisted on using a straw, not wanting to get it on her coat. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were drinking as fast as they could, trying to see who was fastest, although they kept laughing between rounds.

Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle managed to remain a bit more demure. Even Celestia happily tossed back a glass or three.

"Good stuff!" she declared. Sombra, mid way through glass three, nodded.

"It is very nice." he said in a soft rumbling voice.

"Nobody can resist chocolate!" Discord snickered "makes everything better!"

"Hey Princess Celestia, I found those comics you told me about-" Twilight’s little dragon Spike came barrelling out the door, a huge stack of comics in his arms. He couldn’t entirely see where he was going, and tripped up a second later. Twilight Sparkle caught HIM, and Sombra reacted in time to catch the stack of comics. He just managed to set them down before his magic sputtered and hid away again, and he sighed irritably.

Spike sighed in relief, then noticed the mini rain-clouds.

"What’s going on-AHH!" He jumped out of his skin when he seen Sombra, and hid behind the stack of comics.

"Spike!" Twilight Sparkle frowned, "be nice!"

"I don’t wanna!" Spike had convinced himself Sombra wouldn’t scare him, but after coming so close to the tyrant whilst escaping with the Heart, he was still a little leery.

“I'm returning to bed.” Sombra hurriedly made up the first thing that popped into his head, this was starting to feel overwhelming. So he started to stride away when something wrapped around his middle and stopped his escape by lifting him off the ground.

“What the--?!” He glowered at Discord, who smirked, having used his tail to stop Sombra's escape.

"I see you found them, Spike!” Celestia broke the silence by smiling at the little dragon "I knew I still had a stack of those comics somewhere in my storage room!"

"These are first editions, that's so awesome!" Spike momentarily forgot about Sombra, and peeked round the stack of comics at Celestia.

"Well you are welcome to keep them, I have read them many times!” She beamed.

"Wow, thanks!" Spike grinned "that’s the coolest thing ever your highness!"

During this, Sombra was glaring at Discord, who still had that smug look.

“Put me down!” he insisted.

“So you can run off?” the Draconequus tutted, Sombra's expression was priceless “silly Sombra, you’ll do yourself no good that way!”

“What’re you going to do, stand here all day?” Sombra shot back. Discord pondered this, and while he did, Sombra closed his eyes, trying to dredge up a small spark-

Bzap. Discord got a tiny shock, enough that it tickled considerably. With a snort of laughter he involuntarily released Sombra, and the poor stallion did a not-so-elegant faceplant into the grass.

“I win!” he declared snarkily, voice muffled.

“Smartass.” Discord folded his arms “that's cheating!”

“Not my doing, it's all over the place!” Sombra fibbed smoothly as he sat up, dusting himself off.

They were interrupted by a loud snigger and ensuing giggling. Both looked at Spike, who was clutching his sides laughing.

“Man, that’s hilarious!” he laughed.

“What can I say, I’m a natural!” Discord did an elegant bow. During which Sombra zoomed off. So by the time Discord realised the unicorn had done a runner, Sombra was at the door.

It would’ve ended there, save for Spike having dropped one of his comics. Sombra nearly trod on it, just stopping in time. He floated it up with a smidge of magic, and examined the thing. Colourful images of ponies in costumes filled its pages.

Shrugging, he floated it over and deposited it by Spike.

“I believe this is your, well, I don't know what THAT is.” Sombra finished, turning once more to go back inside.

“You don't know what a comic is?" Spike's nerves were overridden by his fanboy outrage Sombra didn’t know what a comic was. It made him feel a bit more brave, knowing he knew something this supposedly all powerful pony didn’t.

"Bit before my time, these..." Sombra muttered, raising an eyebrow at the suggestion. Spike rolled his eyes like he thought Sombra was a doofus;

"Here!" He pulled a comic from the stack and trotted over to where Sombra stood "these are the power ponies..."

He launched into a description of the entire lore of the comic. Sombra stood there, listening intently it seemed. Spike became more animated as he got into his stride, and the gang smiled. Funny how Spike didn't seem so afraid of Sombra while he was explaining his favourite comics to him.

"See? It's the coolest thing! We even ended up in one once!"

"...?" Sombra looked confused.

"One of Spike's comics turned out to be enchanted," Twilight explained "we all ended up playing the power ponies and their assistant!” she beamed proudly at Spike.

"We kicked butt!" Spike declared proudly.

"Sounds interesting." Sombra said softly, but he seemed fairly fascinated by the comic Spike had been showing him, flipping through the pages, "curious.." he added.

Spike looked pleased, then seemed to realise who he was talking to, and was momentarily confused.

Sombra looked at him, but there was none of the former fury and malice Spike had seen before. All the little dragon seen was a wary expression of trust and a flicker of nerves. Twilight had said he’d been hurt so badly he'd almost been broken by it.

“Keep it,” Spike said “it'll make more sense if you read it end to end.”

“O-oh, I see. Sombra looked surprised by the offer, “it does look exceedingly interesting, such colourful artistry. Thank you, little dragon-?”

“Spike!” the little guy offered.

“Spike.” Sombra nodded, assimilating this knowledge. A wave of dizziness swept over him a moment after, and he suddenly swayed on his hooves.

“You OK?” Spike asked.

Celestia noticed this too, and asked was he alright?

"Yes, I...I just need some sleep.." Sombra said softly with a thinly disguised yawn.

Celestia walked back with him to his room, leaving Spike with the others.

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"That was weird." Spike said.

"See Spike?" Twilight ruffled his spines "he's just as startled by kindness as you were by seeing him again!"

"He seems polite enough. He's certainly far more well spoken than I recall." Rarity said. "He’s been helping us figure out what happened with Scorpan."

"So he’s not crazy any more?" Spike asked.

"He seems sane enough to me," Discord shrugged "I think the shock of what happened has cleared out a few cobwebs."

"Give him a little chance, OK darling?" Rarity smiled at Spike, who sighed happily and willingly agreed. Rarity was the best!

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"OK, Casanova?" She teased, tickling him and making him burst into fresh giggles.

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After dinner that evening, Sombra was curled up on his bed when he heard a knock at the door.

“Who..?” he asked. The guard opened the door, and Spike trotted in.

“Uh, hi!” He managed “look, I found the next three issues. I've read them loads of times, so you can keep them with you if you want!” He approached the bed and held up the comics.

Sombra's expression of surprise echoed what Twilight had said to Spike about Sombra seeming unused to acts of honest kindness.

“That would be vastly appreciated.” he smiled as Spike set them on the bed. The baby dragon nodded, before ambling back over to the door.

“Thank you.” Sombra's words reached him as he was halfway out of it “for this.”

Spike nodded, he was surprised by how normal Sombra seemed. Like any normal pony who'd had a scary time, he seemed to have been cheered up a little by Spikes gift.

Spike trotted back to where the others were, feeling a little less conflicted about seeing Sombra again.

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After another check-up, Sombra was left to sleep peacefully. Well, as peaceful as his fearful dreams would allow.

He was woken some hours into the morning, crying out in panic. He'd felt something terrible heading towards him, something indescribable, then it hit and-

He awoke with a warning echoing in his head that it was almost time-!

A sparkling light in the dark caught his attention and he felt his stomach sink. That crystalline change was back. It began to creep up his body, and that splitting pain in his back had returned.

"No, no, please stop," he pleaded with it "I don't understand-!"

It crept up his chest now, his entire lower body crystallized.

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The guard posted outside heard him cry out and tried to open the door, but something was pinning it shut. He was trying to force the door when Discord popped out of nowhere; the sensation Sombra's off-kilter magic generated was like a bucket of ice water being dumped on him.

"Allow me~" he said simply. He teleported inside, and his jaw dropped.

Sombra was literally changing into crystal. Was this part of an Umbrum's power?

But Sombra was terrified of it, that was obvious. From the way he begged and pleaded with his own magic to please change him back, to the scared tears that caught the moonlight streaming in the window, as they fell to splash on his crystal hooves.

"What’re you doing?" Discord asked, plonking himself on the bed in front of Sombra. The pony looked up at him, desperation showing in his eyes.

"I don’t know..." he croaked "what’s it doing to me?!"

"It looks like its trying to alter your base form-"

"Then how do I make it stop! I cant do this!" Sombra cried "I..."

He shook his head, looking down at his forelegs as the crystal began to encroach on them too.

"I’m not ready to do this." he whispered, shutting his eyes.

--What does he mean?-- Discord pondered. Then shook his head, that could be pondered later on!

"Try using your magic!" He urged the unicorn.

"I’m trying, but i-it wont.." Sombra gave a frightened yelp as it spread further "it's not working-!"

He cut off, gasping in pain "it hurts-! My back..."

"Relax already!" Discord grabbed him and shook him slightly "your freaking out won't help you! If this thing is part of your Umbrum ability, then you CAN control it man!"

He pressed one paw to Sombra's forehead, trying to use his hypnosis to snap him out of it.

"Deep breath, and relax. Close your eyes."

"But-"

"Trust me, it'll help.."

Reminded of the experiment two days prior, Sombra nodded. He squashed down the pain and shut his eyes. Darkness swirled in, and he could hear his heart pounding so loudly he felt it would deafen him…

The hypnosis kicked in, and he felt his breathing relaxing at last. Felt his panic beginning to thin out. His magic, he could reach it now.

Discord sighed in relief as Sombra's horn lit up with the familiar sigh of his dark magic. It ran down over his body in a shimmering purple wave, changing his body back to normal.

At last the crystal disappeared, and Sombra was back to his usual self. He was hunched over, breathing shallowly, ears flattened down.

Discord was about to suggest the usual fix-all of a glass of chocolate milk when he seen something on Sombra's back.

"What's..?" he shifted round to Sombra's side to get a closer look. What he seen baffled him. There were two cuts on Sombra's back, mid way down. They were bleeding heavily, as if something had tried to push its way through from the inside.

--What in Equestria...?-- Discord shook his head, he had no idea what those were!

--Wait, it couldn’t be wings could it? No, Celestia never mentioned wings AND horns being combined in any other species. Then again, the Umbrum have been gone for literally an eternity. Even she may not know what they're capable of. For all we know this could be part of the prophecy!--

“Why am I a pony? Are the rest of my kind like this? Or did it just...happen?” Sombra seemed in shock, staring at his back-to-normal form like he was afraid it may vanish again.

Both jumped as the door was flung open, and Celestia and a guard came running in. Since Sombra had calmed down they'd been able to get the door open.

"Oh thank heavens, you're alright..." Celestia sighed.

"What happened?" she asked next, then spotted the cuts on Sombra's back "what-?"

"It- that crystal, it happened again!" Sombra croaked.

"You know a little about Umbrum," Discord asked Celestia "do they normally start turning to statues?"

"Not that I’ve ever heard of, but then, even I know very little about them! Bar what Twilight's researched, little is known in general. There aren’t many texts about them."

She sent the guard to fetch the Doctor, and he soon came running, bag in tow.

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The cuts required stitching, they were quite deep. Sombra sat through this, only occasionally flinching at the sensation of the needle.

With the cuts cleaned stitched and bandaged, the Doctor recommended he check it again in the morning. For now Sombra needed rest. The pony seconded this by passing out a few seconds later.

The Doctor and guard left, and Celestia and Discord were left alone with the sleeping Sombra.

"This is becoming more complicated by the minute,” Celestia murmured “What caused these?"

She looked at Discord as she spoke, who was also focusing on the bandaged cuts.

"Buck if I know!” Discord said "He was saying it hurt badly, and those cuts were on his back after he turned back to normal. Don't you think they look an awful lot like..." he gestured to her wings.

She raised one, looking at the point where the bone joined on her back, then at the cuts on Sombra.

"Impossible, but yet, not!"

"Say again?" Discord said, confused.

"I don't know what kind of hierarchy the Umbrum have, but since Sombra is a pony by form, maybe it's trying to manifest some form of power by generating wings. As he understands our species, an Alicorn is the highest position. For all we know, Umbrum society may have a similar figure, and being the only one left, Sombra's body is trying to change him to fill the role?"

"Then why is it scaring him half to witless? He was freaked out of his mind!" Discord repeated what he'd seen.

"It's possible he cannot recall his own species mannerisms. It seems he is unable to recollect much about them at present, beyond how he came to be and the incident at the Empire. Whatever this is, he's not triggering it himself. Something else is causing this, and its a mystery."

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They left Sombra to sleep, urging the guard to check in on him every so often. And call her or the Doctor if he was in any pain.

“It's what Scorpan is after from him, isn’t it?” Discord guessed what was on Celestia's mind as she walked back towards her bedroom.

“I’m afraid so. I've never seen anything like it. Whatever his destiny is, it involves a great deal of power. The fate of all of us depends on who's hooves he will entrust it to.”

Author's Note:

Im a Pineapple!

Comments

[Princess OtakuGeek]

This is a good chapter. I like!

[Pixel_Spark]

6629246 Yay! ^^ Im glad you liked it!

[Princess OtakuGeek]

6630472 You're welcome! Hope to see the next chapter soon!

[DayShadowMysteriumPON3Y]

I was feeling a bit indifferent about this story since it felt rushed in the first chapter but now i really like this story and also YAY! for Alicorn Sombra i hope!

[Pixel_Spark]

7769481

I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I know what you mean about the first chapter. That seems to happen with all my new stories, they start off short until I get into whatever groove I've decided on...I may rewrite it later on in time.

[Sephocolys]

"Of course he was, it's Tirek!" Rainbow Dash growled "the guys a jerk! They've ALL been jerks or jerkettes-”

jerkettes? OW! i WAS eatind a cookie and I bit my cheek! Ow... Jerkettes though? lol

[Amos Anon]

You may be a pineapple, but I am a pear.