Healing Shadows (2e)

by AzuraKeres

08: Hearts and Clovers

Sombra marveled at the night sky. The many stars draped horizons and glimmered brightly like flares. For them to spark such lively flames toward these thicket woods astounded him.

It was a magnificent sight to behold. Even he, who hailed from the brilliant kingdom of crystals, could not deny that. He just never imagined he would have to admit such a shabby place could ever be exquisite. The place is founded under boggy waters and old oak woods that don’t age as well as crystals. On what land could anycreature ever call this place home?

Sombra gazed upon the shacks that were adorned with paints and candles glowing like a neon light. The village espoused a ritualistic vibe that made Sombra feel he was no longer in Hayseed Swamp. There was too much magic in the air for it to feel that way. And again he was appalled by his admission. Him, calling this village of all places magical?

Of course, it’s nothing in comparison to the Crystalling. Though he never had the chance to experience its brilliance without pain, the dazzle it left on the Empire’s citizens was a remarkable sight. Perhaps it’s the uniqueness of their celebration that swoons his eyes. After all, there is always wonder in the unknown.

Or maybe it’s likely Meadowbrook drugged him with something.

Sombra endured mornings and nights of Meadowbrook’s strange cooking: Gumbos of uncanny ingredients, nasty herbal brews that sickened his tongue, and odd powders she would spray upon his coat. And most of those decrepit things she forced upon him. In spite of this, he still fought valiantly to resist his rabid healer’s ‘treatments’. If Meadowbrook would not be compliant to make a decent meal, she would not receive an agreeable patient.

“You’re slowing down,” Meadowbrook said, pushing Sombra from his haunch. Sombra glared back at her with the deepest malevolence he could pull from his soul. He hoped to spook the mare for her non-consented touch, but Meadowbrook only sported a bored glance at him.

Nothing he did seemed to scare her. This mare grew far too comfortable around him for his liking. So much so, that she didn’t even have an ounce of doubt in lording over him.

His many fangs became more like an experimental interest to the mare rather than something to be wary of. She even went so far as to often brush and floss them with her crummy equipment. Sombra only welcomed crystalline fibers to purge his gums, but as always, the mare was neglectful of his feelings.

And the darkness that slathered through his skin became more of an annoyance to the mare instead of freaking out over. She would grow livid against him whenever she caught him letting the blotches of blackness escape his coat. She feared that his darkness would wound him again, prompting her to make a rule of him never to do it again. As if he was going to listen to this peasant.

Suffice to say, this mare has grown used to him. But Sombra will resolve that problem. Once he regains his prime and removes this accursed ring from his horn, he will enlighten the mare of her foolishness.

“Look at it all!” Pye shouted excitedly. Her eyes beamed awestruck at her glowing home. “It’s just how I imagined in my dreams!” She then looked toward the open lake and gave a proud smirk. Sombra never imagined the filly could ever give off a diabolical aura. “Heh, heh, with my secret weapon, we’re going to catch all the glow fish. He’s gonna love it.”

Meadowbrook tussled Pye’s head, earning a chuckle from her pupil. “I’m sure you’ll catch a whole bounty of ‘em tonight,” Meadowbrook said. “And I’m positive your friend will appreciate the length you went to help him out.”

A small bronze urn was strapped to Pye’s side. She would often pat on it and speak to it as if it was a living thing. “This whitetail dye is gonna get us all the glow fish,” Pye proclaimed. “Just wait and see.”

“Easy now,” Meadowbrook chuckled. “You need to use it with moderation. You wouldn’t want a whole school of them fightin’ over your tail, would ya?”

Pye blinked at Meadowbrook and then stared at her tail. Seconds later, she held on to it protectively. “You don’t think they’ll snap it off, do ya?”

Sombra groaned. “Will you stop your incessant prattle about that dye already? Has the last few weeks been enough for you?”

Sombra endured the garrulous chatter of this filly for weeks on end. Pye’s constant breach of his personal space and telling him of all her passions and delights in the world absolutely infuriated him.

Sombra voiced toxicity toward this filly in hopes of deterring her approach. However, no matter the harshness in his words, that filly would keep on a jolly face and happily respond to him as if she did not understand the intentions behind his words.

Her positivity was so crushing that she caused Sombra to resign to her whims. Pye had constantly asked Sombra to try out her whitetail dye, but Sombra would always decline her viciously. Despite his rough rejection, she would ask again the next day in her happy-go-lucky nature. Her requests were like dents to Sombra’s sanity. Though small as they were, it eventually carried strength in its numbers. It was inevitable when Sombra reached his breaking point and adhered to the filly’s request that he finally managed to shut her up.

Sombra allowed the filly to dye his thin black tail to a ghostly white hue. Pye marveled at his contrasting color. The fisher ponies who observed from afar guffawed at how white was a nice color to cleanse all the darkness in his soul. Let it be known that Sombra will see to it that those two will be stricken white with fear when his strength returns. Especially towards the colt whom Pye constantly boasted about because the fault also lies with him for leaving Sombra to deal with Pye’s nonsensical tirade. Sombra hoped for nothing but the worst for that colt tonight.

“Let her be, Sombra,” Meadowbrook said. “She’s been waitin’ weeks for this. I want her to have the time of her life tonight.”

“Then why can’t she hurry and find the colt she constantly blathers about?”

“Ooh,” Pye exclaimed with her hooves squashed upon her cheeks. “Do I sense jealousy in your voice?”

“What?” Sombra gazed appalled at the filly’s insinuation. “You think I, a king that can strike fear into the hearts of many and obtain any mare in the world, would feel challenged by some meek colt from the backwoods? And all for the sake of some simple filly with no status to speak of?”

“Oh I know, it sounds so magical doesn’t it,” Pye swooned. “It’s like one of those fairy tales my gram-gram used to read to me at night.”

“I grow tired of this talk.” Sombra hastened his step and went past Meadowbrook and Pye. He scowled back at the two that appeared surprised by his quickened pace. “Will you two hurry up already? I don’t want to be standing outside all night.”

They eventually entered a bridge circling around the center of the village. Residents filled the area, adorned with glowing paint similar to the ones Sombra found on buildings.

Sombra could not ignore it anymore. “Why does everyone have that glowing paint on themselves?” Sombra asked. “Why do I see it everywhere across town?”

“You’re not familiar with fish oil, are ya?” Meadowbrook asked.

“Fish oil? Is that what it’s supposed to be?”

“It’s a special kind found from glow fish. The villagers have always extracted the oil from the fish for herbal purposes. It also makes an effective incense to attract the glow fish for tonight.”

“An incense?” Sombra turned towards Pye who continued to pat on her urn of whitetail dye. “Then what was the purpose of making that ridiculous dye then? Couldn’t you have used the fish oil like everyone else?”

Pye shook her head. “Oh Somby, Somby. You don’t understand. This here is a special brew that’ll be a lot stronger than glow fish dye. I know that whitetail happens to be a favorite food among glow fish.”

“I’d fix that tone in your voice if I were you,” Sombra warned. “Regardless, I hope you don’t intend on using your own tail as a lure. Unless you actually intend on having the little buggers gobble it up for themselves.”

“Hm? What do you mean? Fish can’t eat your tail…” Pye then gazed at her mentor. “They can’t eat my tail, right?”

“Your tail will be fine, Pye,” Meadowbrook assured. “Sombra is just trying to instill fear in ya. Besides, I wouldn’t imagine him knowing a lot about fish considering he’s lived most of his life in the harsh snow.”

“You underestimate my wisdom, mare,” Sombra countered. “There is a lot I know that would stun your feeble mind. I could offer a lot more to Pye as a mentor than you ever could.”

“What I’m offering to Pye is knowledge passed down from generation to generation,” Meadowbrook stated with a sharp gaze at Sombra. “And it’s not just the knowledge that I pass on to her, but also the love and bonding that ties us together.”

Sombra couldn’t help but pause at the sharpness of Meadowbrook’s tone. However, Sombra refused to back down. “That’s merely sentimental talk. What you’re teaching her is just a culmination of math and science. I would imagine the technology of this world has evolved while your old ways have grown, shall we say…redundant.”

“Are you calling my family traditions redundant!?” Meadowbrook stomped before Sombra. He had seen her sport an angry face many times, but this one held a malevolence common to his own.

The hatred of being laughed at for his identity. For what he was and the way he saw the world. None of the crystal ponies could understand his pain and they would commonly ignore or mock him for it, and he abhorred and envied them with all of his heart.

“I…” Sombra started, but couldn’t find the right word to respond with. What could he possibly do at this moment? Should he try to prove his claim to this mare? Should he just move along and neglect this conversation altogether? Or, should he recognize that he is in the wrong? “Then why not prove it to me?”

“What?” Meadowbrook said, baffled by Sombra’s response.

“You heard me,” Sombra said with more confidence. “You claim that there is a uniqueness in your teachings that is unlike many, right? You claim that love and bondings hold a value in those teachings, so it will allow you an opportunity to prove it to me?”

“…You mean like a challenge?”

“Yes, that’s it,” Sombra spoke as if a bulb dawned upon his head. “I challenge you to prove the value of your teachings.”

“I don’t need to prove anything to ya,” Meadowbrook snapped. “Pye and I know how important it is. As long as we hold value in it, then that’s all that matters.”

She didn’t take the bait. Sombra thought. Where is your pride, mare?

“Hey guys,” Pye shouted excitedly at the two. The two shared their gaze at the filly and found her with a buck full of glowing liquid. “Look what I got.”

Sombra squinted at the bucket. “Is that the fish oil?”

“Think it’s ‘bout that time we got uniforms, right?” Pye said. “Here Somby, let me help you get it on.”

Sombra immediately jumped back from Pye the moment she drew near him with the bucket of fish oil. His hooves defensively rose between him and Pye. “You keep that thing away from me,” Sombra demanded. “You must be a fool if you think I will allow something so disgusting to blemish my coat!”

“This ain’t up for debate, Sombra,” Meadowbrook said as she grabbed hold of the bucket from Pye. “This is part of the celebration. Who knows, ya might even like it if you opened up for once?”

“I can hardly attest to that. You may have me stuck here and forced to do your egregious labors—”

“All you’ve done is restock the shelves,” Meadowbrook interjected.

“—But this is where I draw the line,” Sombra raised his voice. “You will not paint me.”

Meadowbrook stood with a neutral look. This was also a new expression to Sombra. How he wished he could have his magic in order to read the emotion surrounding her.

“Is that right?” Meadowbrook said with a calm voice. Far too calm for Sombra’s liking. “Well, if you’re not looking to get in the spirit of the event, I can always take ya back home.”

“Really?” Sombra and Pye responded shockingly.

“I didn’t know that was even an option,” Sombra said.

“Of course,” Meadowbrook continued. “Pye and I would be out here enjoying Firefly Rank. So, I would have to leave ya with the fish ponies to watch over ya. Such a shame that’d be the case, really. They were lookin’ forward to this just as much as Pye. And I don’t think they have the best opinion about you.”

“Uh…” Sombra’s mouth hung open, not knowing how to respond. He recalled how the burly stallions shared in Pye’s excitement like a bunch of prepubescent foals. For Sombra, taking that away from them would soothe his dark heart. However, to be locked in the house with them did not spell leisure time for him.

“I did not think a healer would practice the tactics of a scoundrel,” Sombra growled.

“How is that any different from you?” Meadowbrook challenged. “You evoke fear into others. I’d say that’s a scoundrel’s hallmark more than anythin’ .”

“Oh, so you think you have me where you want, eh? The old ultimatum where I would have to choose the least worse of two choices.”

“Wait,” Pye voiced. “Is Sombra scared of the fishers?”

Sombra blinked, astonished at Pye’s claim. “What? You think those saps scare me?”

Pye let out a wide gasp. The intense reaction from her face seemed overly dramatic in Sombra’s eyes. “Oh no,” Pye said. “Somby, you can’t fear them!” Without a chance for Sombra to retort, Pye pounced upon him and gave him an unwanted hug that tingled his bones. “They’re good folks! You just gotta give them a chance!”

“I—” Sombra grunted from the intense tingle in his bones. He can hear his voice betraying as he nearly let out a giggle. He, the dark king that spreads fear into the hearts of many. “—I fear no one! Now release me!”

“Make up your mind, Sombra,” Meadowbrook said with a smirk. “Are you gonna be a big pony and put on the fish oil? Or do you want the fishers to be your babysitters while we’re gone?”

“You dare call me…I…fine,” Sombra growled. “But know that you will receive your just reckoning in time.”

Despite the eerie claim Sombra made, Meadowbrook and Pye came upon him with delight. Sombra would like to say that he endured this cruel punishment bravely, but of course, that would be a lie.

Sombra shook at the cold goop of the fish oil slathering onto his body. The mushy sensation of it squirming through his coat and onto his skin made him want to run and dive into the boggy water to get rid of it.

It certainly did not help that Pye and Meadowbrook held a lovely conversation about the oil’s application as they drew their hooves onto his coat. Such an act would never be permitted in his kingdom.

“Can’t you two hurry it up,” Sombra commanded with a quivering voice. “This is most uncomfortable.”

“Oh, hush up, now,” Meadowbrook snapped. “You should never rush one’s art.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sombra asked. “What are you drawing on me?”

“Something that’s gonna make you popular with all the ponies,” Pye chuckled.

That alone hinted at something grim to Sombra. Whatever art the two had in mind for him, there was no way he would find it agreeable.

He decided to call it quits and make a run for it now. Though it may be shameful for a king to douse himself with nasty swamp water, it would be better than having this gross fish oil on his skin for another second.

However, the moment he tried to kick himself to a start, Meadowbrook clutched his belly so hard that he croaked. Had she reached a little lower, he might have lost his stallionhood.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Meadowbrook asked. Though her voice lacked all the warmness and care he was used to. “You wouldn’t like to ruin the fishers’ time tonight.”

“Alright, fine!” Sombra shouted. “Just let go of me already. Just finish this as soon as possible.”

Despite his request, the two took their time dressing the goop onto his coat. He complained and cringed profusely, but they kept on slathering more of the goop with meticulous brushes.

And here Sombra thought he was supposed to be the cruelest thing alive.

To his relief, the end had come. Meadowbrook had announced their accomplishment and Sombra galloped to the nearest stand that had a mirror. What he saw in his reflection appalled him.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Sombra cried.

“I know right?” Pye cheered. “Doesn't it look cute on you?”

Sombra gazed, mortified at the numerous clovers and hearts placed across his coat. There were even tiny small specks on the goop that shimmered like glitters. Glitter! How on Equestria does one think this was befitting of a dark ruler?

Meadowbrook joined Sombra with a triumphant smile. Perhaps this was an attempt to get back at him for his insult about her family teaching.

“Think of it as a good luck charm,” Meadowbrook said. “I think Pye made a nice choice pickin’ this look for ya.”

Sombra wanted so badly to shout at this mare. However, if this could resolve the argument they recently had, then perhaps it was best he held his tongue. But only this once!

“Can we just go fishing already?” Sombra sighed, earning a surprised glee from Meadowbrook. Maybe that’s a sign that she has forgiven him.

He expected her to respond with the joy of his compliance, but instead, she walked off. “Are you not satisfied?” Sombra asked. But she continued to walk forth where residents were gathering.

“Somby,” Pye whispered to him. “She might not want to show it, but what you said about our family really hurt her feelings. You should apologize to her.”

“ I beg your pardon? You honestly expect me, a king, to apologize.”

“C’mon, Somby, Ms. Meadow has been doing her best to look out for you. Don’t you think she deserves a little respect for that? Besides, she’s been looking forward to coming out here with you.”

“She has? Well, I certainly didn’t see any sign of that?”

“Well, she was hoping to go to Firefly Rank with Rockhoof, but it looks like he couldn’t make it today. So, we gotta do our best to make sure she has fun tonight.”

“Are you seriously giving me that responsibility? How am I supposed to give her a good time?”

Author's Note:

Edited by A Man Undercover

Comments

[A Man Undercover]

11197154
11197306
It’s ready.

[Tardy to The Party]

Rockhoof a no show, time for Sombra to swoop in and charm her with a probably badly worded apology and the shenanigans that will ensue.

[Tardy to The Party]

11197312
It’s all good.

[RegisteredUser]

Oh I am super excited to what happens next!! I love the many times Sombra was a loss for words in this chapter! To actually be put in his place! The vet start was also super enjoyable, that he sees the swamp to be magical! Very lovely touch!

[Yoshifan30]

Okay so it looks like there's some celebration going on here and Meadowbrook Sombra and pye are preparing to go there something about a glow fish sounds like an interesting activity what it looks like Sombra kinda hurt Meadowbrook feelings about her family tradition and pye tell him to try to have fun with her or something and he has no idea how to well I'm sure he'll figure it out can't wait to see the next one

[Yoshifan30]

Hey hate to bother you or anything like that but it's your story continuing on

[Dragon-In-Black]

I’m loving this so far! It’s so funny but also enjoyable. I feel that King Sombra will quickly fall.