Faded Memory: The Rise and Fall of Sombra

by Speedy Quill

Epilogue: The Door Is Shut

Shade walked down the library stairs to the lowest level. This was where old records were kept, but it was also where Sombra's stairwell was tucked away. He walked down the corridor and found newly laid stones covering the doorway that led down to the cursed room.

After everything he had learned, there had still been one thing that he needed to know. And only one pony could tell him. He just hoped she was still nearby...

Shade stood in front of the stone wall, making sure he was alone before he spoke.

"Um...Emerald? Are you still there?"

He sat still, straining his ears for any noise. He knew that it had been her he heard when he'd last been in that room. He was positive.

"Emerald...please? I have to know something."

"I told you to leave this place."

Shade nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of a voice behind him. He spun around to discover a pony covered in a cloak. He couldn't quite make out the face, but he didn't need to. He recognized those green eyes from the Everhoof mine.

"I...I thought I freed you."

"You freed me from Sombra's hold over the mine. The other umbrum were freed from the dark magic cast on them because they were cursed by half-baked incantations. But for me...I'm a creature of shadow, just like he was. Immortal and haunted by memory."

Shade felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"I'm so sorry Emerald..."

She shook her head.

"You owe me nothing. Even after pulling a stupid stunt like going into that room."

"Thank you for your help with that by the way."

She bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"It was the least I could do. Now...what was this question you had?"

Shade's eyes lit up as he remembered why he'd come down here in the first place.

"Amore!"

Emerald seemed visibly shocked.

"What about her?"

"She's still in the mines, right? Surely with Celestia and Luna to help she could be revived!"

Emerald pulled back her hood. Her features solidified from shadow to pony and tears formed in her eyes.

"Shade...I'm so sorry."

Shade felt confusion setting in.

"Wh-why are you sorry?"

Emerald sat down and sighed.

"When you banished dark magic from Everhoof, it freed the umbrum and purified the crystals."

"Right."

"All the crystals."

It took a moment, but it sank in. Shade felt his knees give out, forcing him to sit.

"But...what does that mean? Has she been free all this time?"

Emerald shook her head and sighed.

"Let me tell you about my time in Everhoof. After Sombra was defeated, his magic gave out. The wall that kept the umbrum imprisoned fell apart and we were free to roam the mines. I returned to Amore within the first hour of my freedom."

Emerald was crying again.

"I...I sat there with her for years. I'm not sure how many exactly. But...somehow she reached out to me."

Shade's eyes lit up.

"The crystal! The crystal Sombra used on you was cut from Amore. It must have created a small connection between you two!"

Emerald shrugged.

"I didn't know that for sure. Either way, I was able to speak to her."

"So, she was alive..."

"Yes. And because Sombra used a part of her on himself, she knew too well what he'd done."

Shade felt his lip tremble. That was the last thing Sombra would have wanted to happen. Emerald continued.

"Amore and I talked endlessly. I lost track of all time in the pitch black. None of the other umbrum ever bothered us. It's like they were afraid of her seeing them."

She sniffled.

"And then...one day...Amore told me it was time."

"Time?"

"Time for her to rest. As it turned out, she'd been keeping track of the time."

"How long had it been?"

"Three hundred years."

Shade's eyes grew wide.

"You talked to each other for three hundred years?!"

Emerald nodded.

"We shared everything about ourselves. I knew her better than anypony ever did. And after three hundred years, there was still one thing I didn't understand."

"What?"

"Why she didn't hate Sombra."

Shade felt himself tearing up again as Emerald continued.

"She still loved him despite all that he'd done. I guess that's a mother for you. She loved him more than anything else in her life."

Shade nodded.

"And he loved her. I know he wanted to bring her back, but...too much changed."

Emerald scoffed.

"Too much changed. That's an understatement."

"Emerald, I've had his memories swirling around my head for the past week. I can tell you this all started with good intentions. But...love and hatred have a strange way of mixing..."

Emerald closed her eyes and sighed.

"Funny...Amore said something similar."

"What happened next?"

Emerald opened her eyes again.

"She...stopped talking. Her crystal began to radiate energy though. It gave us all a sense of peace."

"I...I don't remember feeling any of that in the mines."

The mare shook her head.

"You wouldn't have. Her crystal stopped emitting energy after another century."

Shade felt a lump in his throat.

"Was she..."

"I don't think so. She just...lost her will. I think it took everything in her to last as long as she did. But in the end...she became dormant. And when Sombra returned, he made sure to store a piece of his soul in the mines. Any trace of Amore's magic after that was gone."

A small smile formed on her face.

"And then you turned up. You healed everything."

Shade felt his own smile start.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have come sooner."

"The first thing I did once you'd cleansed everything was to go back to Amore. Her crystal was a brilliant ruby color! And then..."

Emerald's lip quivered.

"It shattered."

Shade felt his heart ache.

"Shattered?"

"Yes. And underneath the crystal, I saw her spirit. She was barely visible. Similar to how the spirits of the umbrum looked."

Shade felt the tears coming again. He wasn't alone as Emerald started back up as well.

"She...she smiled at me. She didn't say anything. Just smiled. And then..."

Shade nodded in understanding. After over a thousand years, Amore had finally passed on. And it was because of him. His eyes lowered to the floor as his head hung low.

"I...I'm sorry. I wish I could have saved her."

Emerald reached out and lifted his head up with her hoof.

"You did save her, Shade."

Shade felt everything come crashing down on him. His own memories were still muddled by traces of Sombra. And hearing that Amore had been released from her crystal prison was overwhelming to say the least. He began to cry and covered his face. Emerald pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back.

"It's ok. We're all at peace now."

Shade cried for a few minutes while Emerald held him. When he regained control of himself, he wiped away the tears and stood up. Emerald straightened her cloak and raised the hood. Shade stared at her for a second before speaking.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What are you going to do now?"

Emerald turned away and began walking down the corridor.

"The Empire as I remember it is gone. It only serves as a reminder of a darker time. I'll go off and find a place for myself. Somewhere quiet and out of the way. Nopony needs to know of my survival."

"That sounds awful lonely."

"That's how I want it."

Shade nodded and sighed.

"I won't forget you Emerald Dawn."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Nor I you, Shade."

She dissolved into a cloud of smoke and flew up the stairs, leaving Shade standing alone. He stared after her for several seconds before looking back at the sealed doorway. He had experienced so much pain because of Sombra. The nightmares he'd experienced had left him scarred inside. Few were privy to that knowledge. After the week he'd just had though, something felt different.

Shade shook his head and walked away. He made his way up to the main level of the library and then outside. He looked around at the Empire as the Crystal ponies went about their lives. He felt a sense of pride and relief at the current state of things. He wasn't sure how long Sombra's memory would linger in his mind, but part of him knew that it wasn't anything to worry about. Not this time.

The end of the nightmare had finally come. And both he and Sombra could finally rest in peace.

Comments

[LunaAlpha]

Is there going to be a sequal?

[Speedy Quill]

10696324
I'm sorry to say there won't be a sequel to this particular story. I hope you enjoyed it still.

[Witchery]

This was very enjoyable.

[Speedy Quill]

11075666
Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it.

[KingSombraTheTyrantRuler]

I loved this. It broke me down a few times.

[Speedy Quill]

11077548
Glad you liked it!!

[KingSombraTheTyrantRuler]

11077904
You're welcome. :D