When I Look At You

by Meteor_Mirage

Though The Melody Plays On

It came as no surprise to Shining Armor when Sunburst approached him to visit Sombra again. Having known the stallion for years now, he knew well that Sunburst wasn’t one to drop an unresolved issue, even when asked to. It was one of his flaws, Shining accepted, but also one of his stronger points if directed well.

What surprised Shining, however, was the state of the stallion as he stumbled up to make his request a few days after The Sombra Incident. A gaunt, hungry frame and eyes that wore darker bags than usual. A mane that, while unkempt on the best of days, looked as if a nest had been built in it. Hooves littered with ink, dust, and papercuts galore.

All of this added up to a stallion who tiredly wobbled like a non-existent wind threatened to blow him over. Someone who was both looking at Shining and through Shining, almost as if he weren’t sure the stallion standing in front of him was real or not.

“There’s no records, Shining.” Sunburst said, every fricative paired with an unpleasantly hot feeling breath. “I checked every census during his reign and there’s no mention of an ‘Icy’ anywhere. Nor was there any ‘Ice’, ‘Iced’, ‘Nice’, ‘Thrice’...” He trailed off for a moment, staring off in the distance before cutting himself off with a laugh. “It’s funny. Even looking a thousand years back, only one ice-themed name ever popped up. Little ‘Ice Storm’, born just a couple years ago. Obviously she’s a little too young to have anything to do with this though.”

Yet even as he said that, his eyes narrowed slightly. After a few moments of rough, untethered thought, Sunburst spun around very abruptly. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to cover all of his bases, right?

But before Sunburst could gallop off, Shining had already gripped his tail in his magic. Rolling his eyes, he stormed off in the other direction, dragging Sunburst towards him towards the guard barracks and their showers. No matter how much Sunburst squirmed and grasped helplessly on the polished crystal floor.

Sombra could wait a little longer, as this wizard was in dire need of a shower and a nap.

Mostly the shower.

---

The next day, after several hours of napping on both stallions’ parts, Shining and Sunburst again found themselves in the halls beneath the Crystal Empire. This time, unflanked by any guard and unfettered by armor, the two walked side-by-side.

There was not much to be said between them, Shining preoccupied with making their way through the tunnels while Sunburst still dwelled on the events of the previous day. A distraught and embarrassed blush covering his face every time he remembered it.

But while it would surely haunt Sunburst and keep him awake at night for many years to come, it mattered not. For they were standing before the runic door, each hesitating before making their entrance.

“Are you sure you’re sure about this?” Shining asked, turning to face Sunburst with an unsure look about his face. “There’s no shame if you want to turn around and let someone else try. I’m sure Twily and her friends would love a crack at him.”

“N-no, I feel like I need to give it another shot.” Sunburst sighed, briefly looking at Shining but quickly looking back to the door. “Like I, um… Well, like I tried to say yesterday, there’s a lot that doesn’t add up yet. A lot of questions I need to ask him, and a few I think only I’d ask.”

By turning away, Sunburst missed the proud smirk on Shining’s face. Though one that settled quickly into Shining’s standard stern yet welcoming demeanor. “Still caught up on all that ‘Icy’ business, huh?”

“And a few other things.” Sunburst nodded, but a sheepish look quickly swept his face. “I mean, it’s mostly that, but I have a few other questions I could ask first. Like why he’s here, or what’s stopping him from leaving, or if he knew the war with the Windigos was doomed to fail from the start.”

The grin Sunburst gave shone brighter than the sun as he considered all the questions he could ask, hopping gleefully from hoof to hoof as he nearly blinded Shining with it.

Shining breathed a soft, sighing laugh as he saw this, shaking his head slightly before turning towards the runic door before each of them. “Well, if you’re sure…” He hummed gently, then lit his horn and fired the beam to unlock the heavy oak doors.

And as they creaked open, a deep voice oozed from through the cracks.

“The war may have been a failure, one of my greatest, but the kingdom stands strong.” The voice said soberly. “In the end, that’s all that matters. And that’s all there’s to be said on the matter.”

Both Shining and Sunburst flinched, looking at each other questioningly.

To which the voice responded. “Your voices carry more than you’d expect down here. Now, if that’s it for the questions, you both will take your leave.”

Another look shared between the two, Shining nodding briefly back the way they came. Sunburst pursed his lips, briefly considering, before shaking his head and pressing through the doorway. And dutifully behind did Shining follow.

This time Sombra sat facing the door, red eyes blazing as he took the time to glare at Shining Armor. When his eyes flicked over to do the same to Sunburst, however, they quickly trailed down to the crystalline floor instead.

“And yet you both remain.” Sombra muttered, shaking his head. “Perhaps I wasn’t clear the first time.”

The candles in the room again flickered and dimmed, the entire room growing darker as light pulled in towards the cage in which Sombra was kept. The former king’s edges loosened and unraveled into wispy black smoke, the only thing stable remaining his stony gaze on the floor in front of the two stallions.

But, as Sunburst stepped forward, the smoky stallion’s form suddenly resolidified.

“Well, I do have a few more questions.” Sunburst said as he approached the bars of the cage. With every step he took, Sombra’s eyeline drifted ever further away from the orange unicorn. “That was the deal, right? We’ll stay for as long as there are questions to be answered?”

“You’ll stay until I no longer wish to entertain your questions.” Sombra’s eyes flicked up towards Sunburst’s face again, looking at that hopeful yet somewhat afraid expression, before turning around to face away from the stallions. “So be quick about it. That time is already drawing near.”

Sunburst quickly took a breath in attempts to soothe himself. It did little to help, but he still stepped closer to the cage despite that.

“Why is it that you’re, um… here, I guess?” Sunburst asked, deflating slightly as his nerves mangled the expert question he’d drawn up in his head.

A beat of silence was followed by both Sombra and Shining stifling a laugh, the former doing worse to hide it than the latter.

Sombra turned, looking past Sunburst to give Shining a curious, yet somewhat amused look. Turning back around, he gave a short, booming laugh. “I am simply living out my punishment. And if that’s the best you have for questions, then I see no reason to entertain this any further.”

As he said this, the door behind the uncaged stallions opened with a creak. Turning to face it, and away from Sombra, Sunburst saw Shining standing by it. Shining gestured wordlessly with a hoof, beckoning yet another strategic retreat from him.

With his head hung low, Sunburst slunk off towards the door with another loss notched into his belt.

---

And yet, despite his failure, Sunburst approached Shining and requested to see Sombra again the next day. This time, having only done a little research and resource gathering, the two quickly made their way down to the lower depths of the castle to try, try again.

And as Sunburst studied Shining as he unlocked and opened the door to Sombra’s containment, both stallions could hear a loud, disdainful sigh coming from within.

“While your persistence is admirable, I grow tired of these constant interruptions.” Sombra told them, his voice stern and somehow more gravely than usual.

But it was no matter to Sunburst, who pressed forward anyway. With his head held high, he immediately approached the cell’s bars and opened his mouth to speak.

“And what was your name, little scholar?” Sombra crooned as he stood, now towering over as his low voice cut Sunburst off before he could start. “I don’t believe you’ve told me yet.”

Sunburst blinked, his mind grinding to a halt as his jaw hung open for a moment. “What?”

Sombra chuckled, his long and tangled mane shifting to one side as he tilted his head. “I feel it’s rude that you’ve interrupted my penance thrice now, and I still don’t know what to call you.”

Another blink, this time with Sunburst tilting his head alongside Sombra. He stammered for a moment, blushing heavily as he was torn between apologizing, excusing himself, trying to move past his blunder and continue to ask his question, and just emitting nerdy squeaks.

“O-oh, well, my name is Sunburst, um, sir.” His brain decided on, eyes locked on the sharp grin of the stallion who stood more than a head taller than him. A fact that was quickly making itself apparent in the forefront of his mind. “A-anyway… Back to what I was saying, I-”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Sunburst.” Sombra chuckled as he stared down the floor in front of Sunburst. “And you intend to interrogate me on my reasons for being?”

Sunburst pursed his lips, a flare of annoyance quickly building within him. He stepped forward, puffing out his chest and standing to his full height as he tried to stare Sombra down. “Yes, exactly, and I really don’t appreciate you-”

“Interrupting you?” Sombra finished, wearing a very pleased look on his face as he did so. “No, I expect not. And yet you’ve let me do it thrice now.” Pulling his eyes away from Sunburst’s hooves, he looked in Shining’s face with a bemused smirk. “Am I to assume this is what qualifies for an interrogation these days?

Shining Armor stepped forward with a scowl, moving from the tall door to overtake Sunburst, getting right up in Sombra’s face. “Enough playing around. We don’t want to keep you down here, despite your requests, but you need to answer our questions so we know you’re not dangerous.”

Sombra scoffed in response, taking a step back to inspect Shining Armor. “And what is this? Good guard, bad guard?” Another smirk flickered along his features, paired well with a low, rumbling chuckle. “You’ll have to do better than that, I’m afraid. Especially with our time getting so limited.”

As Sombra gestured vaguely to the door behind the two stallions, both could now finally hear the sound of hoofsteps that, while quiet, were quickly approaching.

Returning to a sitting position in the middle of his cell, Sombra offered a pleasant grin to his two visitors. “It seems as if it’s time for more gruel. Feel free to stay, if you wish, but you may not find it as appetizing as I.”

Shining Armor grit his teeth briefly, then quickly tore around and began to stalk towards the door with an angry huff. “We’re going, Sunburst. We’re clearly wasting our time again.”

Sunburst gave Sombra one last lingering look, pursing his lips as he noted how the stallion seemed far more interested in the kaleidoscopic pattern of the floor than anything else around him. As Sunburst turned around, however, the stallion spoke once more.

“Ta-ta for now. We really should do this again sometime.”

---

Hours later, Sunburst was pacing. Back and forth across the interior of his Crystal Empire home. Pacing, he felt, helped his brain work out all the cobwebs and the excess energy that prevented him from planning properly.

And he mumbled too, small snippets of words spoken to himself in both confusion and anger. Half-baked addendums to his plan of attack that were quickly dropped and remained forever unfinished. Plans to give up and leave The Crystal Empire with his head hung in shame, though that was quickly dropped as well.

Sunburst had a debt to pay Shining and Cadance for welcoming him into their family, and it wasn’t one he was quick to neglect.

So Sunburst sat, his legs growing tired from all the pacing, and leaned against one of his many stacks of books for support. The stack quickly fell from this undue amount of weight, sending both he and the books tumbling to the cold wooden floor.

And there Sunburst lay for a moment, groaning among the heavy tomes that had fallen all around him. There was little in him that wanted to stand back up, instead preferring to lay there and bask in his mistakes. His booky mistakes.

The hardcover that he was currently using as a pillow prevented that, however. Another groan on Sunburst’s lips, he extracted the tome from beneath him.

Only to see the familiar face of Stygian on the cover, looking wistfully to the left as an embossed drawing of The Pony of Shadows lingered menacingly behind. This was ‘Shadows in the Closet’, the second of Stygian’s best selling three-part autobiography. One that focused primarily on his time spent with the Pillars of Equestria and, specifically, one Flash Magnus.

From the wear on the book, despite how much he’d tried to care for it, one could tell it was one of Sunburst’s favorites. And it was signed too, as a gift from one friend to another.

As Sunburst looked fondly upon this gift, the gears began to turn in his head. This was furthered as a small note card he was using as a bookmark fell from the book. As annoyed as he was to lose his place, clicking his tongue as he picked it up, his annoyance was quickly quelled as he read the words written on it.

‘Don’t be a stranger. Call me if you need to talk.’

The elegant, if a bit unreadable script was followed by an intricately etched symbol that resembled an hourglass, though inlaid inside were even more intricately crafted runes.

This? This was a spell Sunburst recognized. One he and Stygian had worked on together after late-night edits on Stygian’s third book.

The idea finally solidifying in his mind, Sunburst jolted up from his prone position and rushed to a pad of paper. He quickly scrawled a note, ‘Calling now, sorry - Sunburst’, ripped it free, then lit it with a green pseudo-dragonfire that emanated from his horn.

Then he waited, tapping his hooves nervously as he hoped this wasn’t an inopportune time. It only took a few moments before, in a puff of inky black smoke, his response had arrived.

Admittedly, he skimmed it. Stygian’s flowery prose had leaked into the letter and, while Sunburst appreciated the stallion’s way with words, he didn’t feel as if he had the time for it. In essence it told Sunburst that, while his time was short, Stygian would love to help him with whatever it was he needed.

And that was all Sunburst needed to read. He quickly made his way to his bedroom, grabbing a stick of runechalk as he passed it, and sat down in front of the large, antique mirror he’d purchased long ago. He made swift work of scrawling the hourglass and its runes on the mirror’s glass, though he had to consult the note a few times as a reminder.

With that part done, all that was left was for Sunburst to light his horn, firing a small golden glow into the drawn symbols.

Slowly, Sunburst’s reflection in the mirror began to warp. As a golden shimmer ran down the surface of the mirror, the reflection shifting to something darker yet more cozy, the color intertwined with a deep blue before finally fading entirely.

Now across from Sunburst sat Stygian, the grey stallion seeming as if only separated from him by a thin pane of glass. Despite being, Sunburst assumed, hundreds of miles away in his and Flash Magnus’ shared Canterlot home.

“Did it work?” Stygian asked, his Trottish accent ringing a bit muffled through the glass. “I’d not want our hard work to be all for naught because of a pesky sound issue.”

Hearing his friend’s voice brought a smile to Sunburst’s face, immediately relaxing in his seat. “N-no, I can, um, I can hear you!” He said, leaning forward to wave at Stygian. “Hey, Stygian. It’s been a while.”

Stygian leaned forward as well, a soft grin playing across his face as he rested his chin on crossed hooves. “It has! Though it seems as if we just keep missing each other. Flashy told me you were in Canterlot just last week for some research. Of course, I was away to consult with my publisher…” He trailed off with a grumble, shaking his head. He perked up a moment later, angling to look away from Sunburst and more onto his surroundings. “But today you’re… in The Empire? Ah, it’s been quite some time since I last visited. Doing a favour or two for the royals again?”

“Oh, you know it.” Sunburst snickered, pressing a hoof to his muzzle. “That’s, uh, actually why I called you today. I’m a little out of my element here and all.”

Stygian hummed softly in response, giving a small nod. “It would be my honour to assist. What seems to be the problem?”

Sunburst pursed his lips at that question. He brought his hooves together, tapping them against each other as he considered exactly how to break the news to Stygian.

“Somehow,” he began, “Sombra has returned. And I guess my job is to interrogate him and make sure he won’t be taking over The Crystal Empire any time soon.”

Stygian took a beat before offering Sunburst a very sympathetic smile. “Well, they certainly don’t give their Crystaler the easy jobs, do they?” He thought on it for a moment, then brought his hooves to rub together eagerly. “Putting that aside, what can I do to help?”

“Well, I sort of just figured that… you and Sombra are so similar. I mean, you both were around at the same time, and you both are unicorns, and-” Sunburst stammered out before being stopped.

“And we’ve both turned into shadow monster stallions at one point in our lives.” Stygian mused, a cheshire-like grin spreading across his face. “Of course, only one of us has been redeemed so far. So it makes sense you’d ask for my assistance.”

“I was hoping to not come out and say it like that..” Sunburst said with a blush, covering his face with his hooves for a moment. “But yes, you were both, at one point or another, shadowy villains who’d dabbled in dark magic. So, any tips?”

Stygian hummed again, tapping his hooves against the surface of his desk. “Well he and I aren’t the only reformed unicorns you’ve helped along. Dare I say, you seem to have a habit in collecting us at this point.” A teasing, playful grin spread across his face. “Have you had Starlight consult on this yet, or am I the first?”

Sunburst paused, then quickly shook his head. “N-no, I’m not quite sure how to break the news to her. I’m honestly a bit afraid that she and Sombra might get along a little too well. If you catch my drift.”

“Ah, fair enough.” Stygian said with a bit of a chuckle. “Well, how is our Shadow King then? Malicious and melodramatic, I’d wager. We’ve all been there.”

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Sunburst waved the notion away with a hoof. “He’s mostly docile. Sarcastic, snarky, and very reticent to any interrogation attempts, maybe, but nothing outwardly violent. If anything he seems a bit…” He trailed off, gesturing with his hooves as he tried to find the right word. “He seems a bit resigned to this? At this point, I don’t even know if the cage was on Shining’s request or his own. He acts too comfortable to be just a prisoner.”

Stygian thought on this for a moment, stroking a hoof down his chin. “Perhaps we’re looking at this in the wrong way. If I’m honest, perhaps interrogation may not be your strong suit.” At the dour look Sunburst gave him, the stallion’s head lowering in shame, Stygian gave a sympathetic laugh. “I don’t mean it like that! You’ve still managed to get some dangerous unicorns on your side despite this. And do you know how?”

Sunburst blanched at the question, blinking for a moment before sheepishly bringing his hooves together. “My, um… My winning charm and personality?”

“Well yes, but not quite.” Stygian laughed. “You talked to us, Sunburst. And listened. And showed me that I’m more than just some shy, bookish stallion. So maybe you can show Sombra he’s more than the cage that holds him as well.”

“But- but what if this all goes wrong?” Sunburst asked. “This could all be a ploy, and we just don’t know it yet.”

All Stygian could offer was a soft, gentle smile. “As someone who’s been in his position before, all I can ask is that you trust me.”

Stygian moved to talk more, but he paused momentarily as his ears flicked towards the sound of movement deeper within his home.

“Little Shade! I’m home!” A voice came from Stygian’s side, muffled but still very audible on Sunburst’s end. “I hope you’re busy writing, sweetheart. I wouldn’t wanna have to ‘punish’ you~”

A deep red blush crossed its way across Stygian’s face, the stallion freezing for a moment before forcing a panicked smile. “Ah, well, it seems as if my time is shorter than I thought!” He quickly reached to begin to wipe the runes on his side away with a hoof. “We should do this again sometime, but for now I wish you luck!”

Sunburst scrambled forward, wishing there was something he could do to stop Stygian from so far away. “W-wait! I think I still might need your help!”

“Just talk to him, Sunburst.” Stygian said as he furiously scraped away the pesky chalk. “Be yourself, and he’ll come around.”

As he said that, an orange stallion, Flash Magnus, walked into frame behind Stygian. He looked to the mirror for a moment, squinting at it briefly, before his expression brightened. “Hey, is that Sunny? How’re you d-”

Then the spell cut out. Leaving Sunburst staring in the mirror at himself.

With a sigh, Sunburst leaned back in his chair and looked up, preferring to stare at the stars on his ceiling instead of himself.

“Be myself….” He muttered, shaking his head. “Usually I save infodumping about my mother until I really get to know someone, but...?”

Comments

[Melody Song]

While I feel bad for Sunburst, it seems like he's figuring out a plan, also can't get over the implied Stygian-Flash Magnus ship, eeee!

Great job with this story so far!

[Bicyclette]

What surprised Shining, however, was the state of the stallion as he stumbled up to make his request a few days after The Sombra Incident. A gaunt, hungry frame and eyes that wore darker bags than usual. A mane that, while unkempt on the best of days, looked as if a nest had been built in it. Hooves littered with ink, dust, and papercuts galore.

well i’m not surprised by it. that’s just being in grad school!

“It’s funny. Even looking a thousand years back, only one ice-themed name ever popped up. Little ‘Ice Storm’, born just a couple years ago. Obviously she’s a little too young to have anything to do with this though.”

i can definitely see why the residents of a Crystal Empire that always existed on the knife-edge of freezing to death would never name a child with an “ice” theme! though my other thought here is if whatever happened to “Icy” led to his name being deliberately shunned in the collective memory

The grin Sunburst gave shone brighter than the sun as he considered all the questions he could ask, hopping gleefully from hoof to hoof as he nearly blinded Shining with it.

aww classic Sunburst prancing in place moment

Another blink, this time with Sunburst tilting his head alongside Sombra. He stammered for a moment, blushing heavily as he was torn between apologizing, excusing himself, trying to move past his blunder and continue to ask his question, and just emitting nerdy squeaks.

too adorable

His booky mistakes.

hehe

“Did it work?” Stygian asked, his Trottish accent ringing a bit muffled through the glass. “I’d not want our hard work to be all for naught because of a pesky sound issue.”

this setup feels like the right way to have magical video calls in the world of Equestria

“And we’ve both turned into shadow monster stallions at one point in our lives.” Stygian mused, a cheshire-like grin spreading across his face. “Of course, only one of us has been redeemed so far. So it makes sense you’d ask for my assistance.”

oh yeah, it does make a lot of sense! the Pony of Shadows and Sombra’s whole deal could totally be the same phenomenon somehow

Sunburst paused, then quickly shook his head. “N-no, I’m not quite sure how to break the news to her. I’m honestly a bit afraid that she and Sombra might get along a little too well. If you catch my drift.”

hehe so true

“Little Shade! I’m home!” A voice came from Stygian’s side, muffled but still very audible on Sunburst’s end. “I hope you’re busy writing, sweetheart. I wouldn’t wanna have to ‘punish’ you~”
A deep red blush crossed its way across Stygian’s face, the stallion freezing for a moment before forcing a panicked smile.

ah, the dangers of video calls in the home!

As he said that, an orange stallion, Flash Magnus, walked into frame behind Stygian. He looked to the mirror for a moment, squinting at it briefly, before his expression brightened. “Hey, is that Sunny? How’re you d-”

and yes, love this little glimpse of Stygian x Flash Magnus!

“Be myself….” He muttered, shaking his head. “Usually I save infodumping about my mother until I really get to know someone, but...?”

though on the other hoof if he’s still around after that you know he’s really into you!