Never Alone

by SoloBrony

If You're Lucky

I staggered away from the portal, and then drew myself up to full height. I retrieved my bag from the southern wall, and drank down my last stamina potion, along with a Soulfire potion to temporarily supercharge my magic. I straightened my back out and held my head high as I marched out to the courtyard, squaring off. Rain was just beginning to fall, and I breathed deeply and slowly, calming my heart and mind.

I knew that Sunset would rush off to get help, and that if I could stall Sombra long enough, the portal would open again and they would save the day. I also knew that, in all probability, if I had not beaten him by then he would either kill me or use me as a hostage against my family.

Beat the villain. Save the day. Get home in time for dinner.

The simplicity of that mission statement cooled my nerves, and I took another deep breath of the scent of fresh rain. When I opened my eyes again, Sombra was standing on top of the southern wall, staring down at me.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Some new pony hero has come to challenge me?" He gracefully leapt from the parapets and landed imposingly in front of me, striding forward close enough he wouldn't have to shout for me to hear him. I noted the alicorn amulet clasped around his neck without comment.

"I'm impressed you dealt with my army, but there isn't a pony alive that can stop my return! You should submit now – perhaps I'll have mercy on that friend of yours that was helping you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, I didn't notice before, but you sure have a nice voice."

Sombra opened his mouth, processed what I said, and scoffed, tilting his head at me slightly. "Excuse me?"

I shrugged. "It's just an observation. Like, the whole outfit, the voice, you've just got a lot of style. From one villain to another. Just take the compliment."

Sombra grinned, showing off an impressive set of fangs. "Oh, a villain? You certainly look the part, but then why are you here? Why stand in my way?"

I fixed him with a bored stare. "It's just a territorial dispute. Equestria is mine, and I'm not going to hand it over to a dead pony."

Sombra sneered at that. "Yes, I heard about how that Sombra disgraced himself. But I—"

"You're from an alternate timeline, and you aren't even real. I get it."

He recoiled slightly, and raised an eyebrow with another cocky grin. "Very well informed, I see."

I gave a little shrug. "Where's your partner? Did you leave her up on the wall?"

Sombra growled at that, and I pressed on. "You know the one." I raised my voice so it would carry up to the wall. "Cozy Glow? I know she must be here – nopony else would have known how to cast the spell powering the portal. Good call leaving her up there, though – she's completely useless in a fight!"

Right on cue, Cozy Glow popped out over the parapets, buzzing in place and screwing her face up in rage. "HEY! I am not useless!"

I fixed Sombra with a knowing grin, and he grimaced and rolled his eyes in response to his partner's antics. He fixed me with a level gaze, and returned to his cocky grin. "So tell me, then – hero, villain, whatever you are. What's your name?"

"I'm Quillon. And, just so you know, you can't become real – it's impossible. I don't know what your boss told you, but that portal will only let you exist for a little while as a shadow creature. You'll fall apart before long."

I knew that was how it would normally work, but I strongly suspected they had some way around that, and hoped that needling him would get the answers I needed. Either way, the last thing Equestria needed was a vengeful shade of Sombra with nothing to lose wandering around – or one of me, for that matter.

Sombra shook his head. "You're a naive one, Quillon. I don't need your world! I can rule over my world!"

I sighed. "So that's what they promised you. But fake timelines disappear. They can only stay stable for a little while. Did you know that?"

Sombra just laughed – a ringing and melodic sound that was so deeply at-odds with his sinister behavior. "Of course! But that's not a concern for us. Now, if you're quite done trying to educate me..." he fixed me with a menacing glare, and his eyes glowed red and green, "... get out of my way."

"Oh, I'm not just going to educate you..." I slowly lowered myself into a fighting stance. "I'm going to school you, you second-rate, two-bit magician."

Sombra roared and loosed a blast of pure dark magic from his horn. I charged straight through it, blocking with one wing while the other beat as hard as I could manage in the opposite direction, pouring dark magic and the magic from the Soulfire potion into the motion to such an extent that sparks erupted from my wing, eliciting a cry of pain I hoped sounded more menacing than pathetic.

A thunderous, deafening crash shook the entire castle as I took off towards him, the ground behind me shattering from the sheer force of it. All the black magic I had absorbed was screaming to get free, and the result was every movement was exaggerated. His blast melted against my wing and merged with it, and in a split second I was directly in front of him, his face just starting to register shock.

"SINKHOLE!"

I slammed a hoof into the ground, and the ground beneath his hooves disappeared, causing him to sink a couple of inches – then, black crystals erupted around them, locking him in place.

"STUN!"

I slammed him in the chest with one of my wings, with enough force that the amulet he was wearing shattered, and the backblast kicked up a dustdevil behind me.

"FLYING HYDRA PUNCH!"

I stomped the ground, pouring so much black magic into the strike that a pillar of crystal shot me upwards, directly hoof-to-chin with the would-be shadow king. His upper body separated from his hooves, which dissolved into black mist, and as we rocketed into the sky, the rest of him did as well. I cursed, realizing he had only been temporarily stopped by my attempt at an alpha strike.

But that still bought me enough time to swoop down on the terrified, fake Cozy Glow, who was just realizing the danger she was in and scrambling to get away. I pinned her down on top of the northern wall, and concentrated power into my right wing.

The effort nearly knocked me unconscious, but I managed to tear open a portal to the aether, where pure chaos would dissolve magical constructs like her, rather than risk her proving ephemeral like Sombra had. Cozy stared at the portal for a second, and then waved her hooves frantically up at me, giving me the fake puppy-dog eyes routine I knew far too well.

"Nononono! They forced me to help them! You wouldn't hurt an innocent foal, would you?!"

I scoffed at that, tossed her towards the portal, and gave her a solid buck straight into it. I heard her high-pitched screech as the portal closed, and screamed "GOOD RIDDANCE!" in turn. I felt a pang in my chest, like something had snapped, and it caused me to freeze up for a moment, staring at where the portal had closed.

I heard Sombra reform on the wall behind me, his voice rich with incredulity.

"I must say, I didn't expect a defender of Equestria to dispatch a child so casually. Even a self-proclaimed villain such as yourself."

I stared at where the portal had shut for a few moments more, and discretely let a little of my magic leak onto the ground where he couldn't see. "That wasn't a child, or Cozy Glow. It was just a memory of a nightmare, no more real than your shades—" I turned and fixed him with a stern glare, "—or you. Besides, I guarantee she had it coming."

"Oho." His mouth opened in a wide, menacing smile. "I take it you have history with that one. It's rare to see such pure hatred."

"You could say that." I took a deep, steadying breath, and decided to stall for more time. "I'm the original."

Sombra's eyes widened, first in surprise, then in recognition, and his smile disappeared as he looked me over. "Ahh... I see. You've changed much since Grogar brought us together, Cozy Glow. And how did teamwork turn out for you?"

I grinned. "Great, actually. If the real you had joined us, he'd probably still be alive."

"Oh?" Sombra glared at me and lowered his stance, ready to attack at a moment's notice. "That's not what I heard."

I snickered, keeping my eyes locked on him. "Oh, so whoever summoned you knows about the Battle of the Bell. Which means they're not from your timeline."

Sombra's eyes shot wide, then narrowed as he grinned again. "... Now I understand why you were such a threat to Equestria. But you're no threat to me – you've shown your cards already! I know I can't best you with dark magic, but you can't hurt me with it, either! And that means it's only a matter of time before I wear you down."

I snorted derisively, even though he was precisely right. "You're all talk, and not enough walk, Sombra. Not that I mind – seriously your voice is just way too smooth for a ruthless villain."

Sombra growled. "You're stalling. Expecting help? Well, I'll finish you off before they get here – unless you surrender now, and let me open the portal. What do you say, Cozy?"

I hesitated, weighing my options in my mind, and focused on him as a plan began to formulate.

"Beautiful on the outside, rotten on the inside."

Sombra raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You."

Sombra growled and fired off another dark-magic blast, which I idly deflected with my wing. He let out a frustrated yell, "What is your obsession with my appearance and voice?!" He charged at me, but swerved off when I raised a wing and began distorting space to form a portal like the one I had thrown fake-Cozy into. I snorted.

"What's yours? That armor doesn't protect you; that cape doesn't keep you warm; that crown wasn't given to you by loyal subjects. It's all fake! You don't even need that fancy horn! Even the real Sombra had a fake body, and you're just a fake of a fake. So why put all the effort into the details?"

Sombra circled with me, watching for openings, and sneered. "And I suppose you're going to give me some tripe about how you're ugly on the outside, but beautiful on the inside?"

I gave him a nightmarish smile as I let the dark magic I had been storing flood all over me and around me, just as he stepped onto the trap I'd left on the ground while my back was initially turned to him.

"No, Sombra. Unlike you, I know I'm a monster."

I struggled to yank my hooves out of the juvenile sinkhole trap I'd stepped into just as I finished speaking, and looked up to see a horrific shadow overtake Cozy's face, distorting her smile into a fanged green-and-black monstrosity.

"No, Sombra. Unlike you, I know I'm a monster."

The shadow spread out from her, engulfing everything around us, and I growled and loosed a dispel to clear it away.

Except nothing happened. I yanked my forehooves again, only to accidentally rear up and stagger back, as I was no longer trapped. I roared in frustration.

"YOU CANNOT TRAP ME WITH NIGHTMARES! I am the KING of nightmares!"

I charged magic into my horn, trying repeatedly to free my mind from whatever phantasm this upstart dark mage had inflicted on me, but nothing worked. I growled and squared off.

"Your cheap tricks won't protect you from me! Show yourself!"

I heard her manic, deranged giggling echo all around me, denying me any chance to pinpoint her location. Her voice echoed in my head, and the sensation made me nauseous.

"The king of nightmares? Wow, talk about self-important, tryhard titles. If you truly understood nightmares, Sombra, you'd know they come for all of us... especially the ones who try to inflict them on others."

I scoffed at the impudent brat. This fool thinks to lecture me? There is no greater master of nightmare magic than I! I'll show her!

Her voice came back to me, and I felt an icey sensation through my body as I registered her words. "Oh yes, do show me. Show me how your mastery over nightmares rivals that of Luna, the original guardian of dreams."

"You... you aren't just projecting a nightmare, you've infected my mind!"

More of that infernal giggling. "Whoopsie! Guess I let that slip. But you're right, we're in here together now."

I slammed a hoof on the nonexistent ground. "What do you think to gain with this ploy? You stole Luna's power and believe it will work against me? I fear NOTHING!"

I heard the runt tutting at me, and I fired off several blasts of dark magic into the void, fruitlessly. "Fear? See, I keep saying it, but that's the problem with you magic-types. So obsessed with your special power, you forget to use your brains..."

A new voice caught my attention. "Sombra? Where are we?! What is this?!"

I looked over to the side and saw a purple unicorn there I hadn't seen in... centuries. My heart leapt to my throat.

"Hope? What... what are you...?"

The deranged filly's voice echoed around us again, provoking visible fright from Hope. "Ooooh, who do you see, who do you see?"

I roared in fury. "YOU CAN'T STOP ME WITH PETTY ILLUSIONS!" I fired off a dispelling beam at Hope, only for her to be blasted back and crumple to the ground instead of disappear. I froze on the spot, the sheer horror of what I had done and seen working its way through me. "What...?"

"OH, nice shot! All I had to do was pretend she wasn't really here, and POW!" She punctuated her speech with another sadistic giggle. "Sooo predictable."

I slowly made my way over to Hope. She was groaning in pain and singed, but not seriously hurt. I turned her over, fighting to push down the horror and confusion.

"Hope? How are you here...?"

Her expression was no less confused than I felt. "I have no idea!" She coughed and slowly regained her footing with my help. "Why did you shoot me?! And..." She looked me over, and her expression grew more and more concerned. "What happened to you?"

I opened my mouth and closed it, and pulled her into an embrace. "There are no words..."

As I held her, I watched the shadows recede from all around us. We were in the courtyard, rather than on the wall, and Cozy stood there, staring at us.

My timeline warp spell broke apart as my concentration was broken, shunting us back near where we had come from. I stared at the two of them for a while, and then sighed and sat down.

"She can't follow you into Equestria, and she can't enter your original timeline, either. The only place you two can be together is here – and both of you will fade sooner or later. You understand that?"

Sombra had closed his eyes as he held Hope close, but opened them to look at me as I spoke. He nodded slowly. "I... understand. This is your offer."

I groaned. "It wasn't meant to be. I was just going to destroy you, but..." I scuffed the ground in frustration. "I was in your head. I know what you felt. I pulled her from your memories – from another false timeline that you're still attached to."

Sombra opened his mouth to respond, but Hope was the one who spoke first. "I don't understand what you're saying... you mean neither of us is real?"

I nodded at that, and looked off to the side. "Yeah, you're both just... memories. Or, I don't know... I guess you're more like facets of the original pony. A decision they didn't make, a life they didn't lead."

Sombra fixed me with a quizzical look. "And if the original is gone? What does that make us?"

I threw my hooves up in frustration. "I don't know! Where do ponies go after they die?"

Hope shook her head. "What do you mean? Why did you bring that up?"

"Because that's what this is! Enjoy your afterlife, leave us alone. Deal?"

Sombra disengaged from Hope and strode up to me, eying me curiously. I avoided his gaze as I fought to keep my warring feelings under control, to keep my thoughts locked down like I had during our fight. After a few moments, he spoke.

"Something happened to you when you destroyed your other version, didn't it?"

I just grunted in response, but he kept staring at me. Finally, I looked up at him and groaned. "Yes, okay? I thought false timelines were just... like, dream worlds. But they're more than that. They're parts of us. You may not be the real Sombra, but you're a part of him that's still in this..." I gestured all around us, "This freaky multiverse we live in. And she was a part of me. It's not that he's dead, it's that you're dead – but a part of you is still exploring, like... possibilities. Ways stuff could have gone. Okay? That's all I got! That's the best I can explain it."

Sombra regarded me coolly for a few moments, and looked back at Hope, who was watching the exchange with visible confusion. "So you're saying I should explore this possibility, rather than one where I dominate Equestria?"

I scowled at him. "That's not even on the table here. You keep trying to cause trouble, and I will stuff you into the aether, and unlike the real Sombra, you won't survive there for an instant. But yeah, you agree to stay here with her, I'll leave both of you alone."

Sombra scoffed at my threat, but addressed Hope next. "What about you? Don't you have a home she tore you from?"

Hope fidgeted in place. "Actually... I was trapped in some kind of shadow world before. Then you just appeared out of nowhere."

Sombra looked at me with an obvious question, and I grumbled. "I pulled her from a bad timeline where you had died and she had gotten herself stuck in a freaky umbral prison looking for you. I didn't feel like she was going to get much out of exploring that possibility. Like, her future was literally just being trapped there until she faded away."

Sombra thought that over, looking between the two of us, and spat a curse. "Fine. I, King Sombra, will spare you, and your Equestria, little pony. Be grateful."

I threw my hooves up in disgust and groaned. "Oh whatever."

He snickered at that, and turned to walk towards Hope, but he paused and looked back at me. After a moment's hesitation, he drew himself up to look as regal as he could, and said, "I do like the new look, by the way. Fits this more... merciful side of you."

I thought back to my black-eyed, black-winged, nightmare-faced appearance and gave him side-eye. "Okaaaay...?" Then I perked up. "Oh! Before I go, can you tell me who summoned you?"

Sombra just shook his head. "They didn't reveal themselves. They merely paired me with that obnoxious brat – no offense—" "None taken." "—and told me my circumstances as a creature of an offshoot timeline. They communicated strictly through magic. We were told to open this portal and go to Equestria, where we could retrieve something that would give them the power to sustain our timelines indefinitely, though they didn't say what, precisely. They also promised to wreak vengeance on those ponies who stopped us before. We were supposed to get more instructions when we crossed over."

I groaned and rubbed my temples. "Oh my stars it's like I really am up against another me. How paranoid is this pony? Ugh, whatever. Fine. If that's all, I'm leaving."

Sombra quirked an eyebrow at that. "The portal is not yet ready."

I rolled my eyes and dusted myself off. "It's ready enough, if we can pretend that portals in the dark void are like barroom doors."

"Hm?"

"I could really use a drink right now." With that, I marched off to the portal and prepared to hijack it for purposes poor Starswirl could never have imagined.

Author's Note:

Well that took a turn.

Comments

[Cyana Flame]

ooooh Isekai, need some pick-me-ups~

[Reese]

Pile Up:
"Cozy made a sturgeon expression"
...What? Was that supposed to be a different word?

"Cozy responded with a sturgeon expression"
...Okay, I'm guessing it's a phrase I'm not familiar with, then. Or at least not presently remembering coming across before.

"but she immediately leapt off of the wall and glided down into the courtyard on my wings."
On Sunset's wings?

If You're Lucky:
"Sombra's eyed widened"
"Sombra's eyes widened"?

"Well that took a turn."
You don't say. :D
Seems like things went well, though. :)

[SoloBrony]

10952210
Typos fixed, can't believe I missed those. As for the sturgeon expression thing, some years back it was a common term for a certain facial expression (sort of an exaggerated, contemplative frown, popularized by the Obama "Not Bad" rage face meme). I'll have to think of an alternate description for that since it's apparently no longer in common use. It's a pretty unique, but also common expression with no particular name, heh. People do it all the time when joking around.

[Wild Stallion]

10952731

Cozy believes in the power of overwhelming violence

Certainly in this situation if nothing else. "If You're Lucky" made that more or less plain. Interesting choices in that chapter by the way. Your premises remain intriguing as usual, if a touch disturbing in their implications (especially as it pertains to Cozy Glow herself).

[SoloBrony]

10952832
Thanks! Yeah, a journey to redemption for a traumatized, formerly megalomaniacal/anti-social kid is pretty full of swerves.

In regards to interesting choices, I didn't even intend for the chapter to turn out that way. That was all Cozy, heh.

[Reese]

10952725
Heh, no problem; speaking as an editor, typos can be sneaky. :)

Regarding the expression, ah, thanks for the explanation! Though you might want to get a second opinion before finding an alternate description, as I'm not sure I'm the most representative sample for this sort of thing.

[ArceusFan493]

...drink right now, drink right now?

Man, still can't believe that meme exploded again lol

[SoloBrony]

10962710
>Slow clap

Honestly had no idea if anyone would pick up on that, it just struck me as too funny not to throw in once it popped into my mind.

[hmaf43]

end with diplomacy lol

[Biglulu]

It felt really bad when Cozy killed alternate Cozy. I definitely don't buy that they aren't real.

[Herald of Opera]

From the descriptions of how her wings work now, she seems to have evolved from Cozy Glow to Crimson Glow. (Or at least I recognize some stuff from the original Valstrax fight; it'll be a bit before I unlock the Rise version).

How paranoid is this pony?

Not paranoid at all, seeing as you really are out to get them.