From the Shadows

Sombra silently plodded behind Twilight as they progressed through town, and though the morning was young, the streets were filled with ponies, eager to gawk at the spectacle that was Sombra. Perhaps it had something to do with his appearance, maybe it was the fact that he was with the princess, or a certain vibe he gave off, but regardless, the eyes of every citizen they passed fell on him. He made a point to send glares back in return, meeting the eyes of each stallion, mare, and foal he passed.

He felt a faint, refreshing chill in his stomach, and he knew it to be from the fear, or at least the nervousness, he was inspiring.

His attention was wrought from a stare-down with a teal unicorn mare by Twilight, addressing him with that kind, friendly tone again.

"So, we'll visit Rarity first," she explained, gesturing slightly towards a large structure as they entered the town's bustling square.

Sombra couldn't help but feel a bit piteous, that the building they were approaching, the largest of the town, was so miniscule compared to the architecture of the Crystal Empire. It served as a reminder that he didn't belong in this place; he was meant for, as well as accustomed to, much higher things.

No matter; that would all change soon enough.

They approached the door of the building, a small crowd watching from behind as crystals marked Sombra's noiseless hoof falls.

Twilight pushed through the door, an awfully cheerful bell sounding above the doorframe. Another cheerful sound came from deeper inside; a voice, high pitched and sophisticated, sang out a greeting.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Finest fabrics in Ponyvil... Oh."

Sombra recognized her as she came out of a backroom; the fabrics and thread the mare was toting in a telekinetic glow fell to the floor as she stopped in her tracks, her eyes growing wider as she saw her shop's visitor.

"Hey Rarity," said Twilight, breaking the silence spawned by her friend's shock.

Rarity pointed at Sombra, her mouth agape, and the stallion took a brazen step forward in silence as the mare remained mute, silenced by surprise.

"Soooo," said Twilight awkwardly, "Today, we're starting Sombra's reformation."

Finally, Rarity's dumbfound nature was shattered, and her composure returned.

She cleared her throat, and very elegantly repositioned herself, correcting her posture, and said, "Twilight, may I speak to you?"

"Of course," the alicorn responded, not moving from where she stood at Sombra's side.

"Alone," continued Rarity, shooting a quick glance at Sombra to indicate to Twilight the matter they needed to converse over.

Twilight nodded, and followed her friend out of sight, but not of earshot. Sombra unnecessarily leaned forward, catching the first words the mares exchanged in a yell.

"Where are his guards!"

Twilight's and Rarity's heads poked around the corner, exposing themselves from within a back room, and Sombra quickly shifted his eyes from them to pretend to be inspecting the layout of the room.

The mares retreated again into the back room once confident they were indeed speaking in private, not unlike gophers finding sanctuary down their holes. Sombra leaned in closer again, directing his full attention to the whispers from beyond his line of sight.

"Why are you going around with him without protection? He's dangerous," hissed Rarity, her frantic tone bearing no resemblance to the sophisticated manner she had tried so hard to portray moments earlier.

"The guards are all gone."

"What do you mean they're all gone? There were eight of them plus your brother a few hours ago."

"Shining has sleep deprivation, and another got sick, so the others took him to Canterlot."

"To Canterlot?"

"Yes, to Canterlot...What's wrong?"

Sombra listened a little harder as the whispers died away; he swore he could hear the mares breathing, even from across the room.

"Two guards becoming deathly ill in one night, and the others deserting; that can't be a coincidence Twilight."

"They didn't desert, they took the sick one back to Canterlot."

"It doesn't take seven royal guards to take one sick stallion a few miles to the north."

"What are you saying?"

"Did your brother say anything to you?"

"Rarity, what are you saying?"

"If your brother was fit enough to speak, I think he'd tell you Sombra is behind this."

The king gritted his teeth as he prepared for a showdown. If the princess did believe what her friend was saying, the truth, there would be little time between her acceptance and his expulsion, and he was not going back to the north. But, no duel occurred, and the hushed conversation continued.

"Why would you say that?"

"He's evil Twilight. Why shouldn't I be suspicious?"

"Rarity, trust me. He hasn't even done anything to me or Spike yet, and we were asleep with him downstairs for hours; if he wanted to hurt us, there was nothing stopping him."

"Twilight, just him being around makes me uncomfortable. He doesn't even have to do anything. I can see it in his eyes; he's up to something."

Sombra came to realize that Rarity was keen to what Twilight seemed oblivious to.

"Ok Rarity," floated Twilight's voice from the other side of the corner, "I'll be more careful, but like it or not, Sombra's not going anywhere soon. Celestia needs us to try and reform him; we can't let her down."

Something else was whispered, but Sombra was unable to hear any syllables, and as the sound of hoof steps reverberated from the back room, Sombra reverted to looking at the interior of the structure. The mares came in, trying to fool him by wearing the same expressions they had disappeared with; they didn't.

He eyed them without emotion as they came trotting up. Twilight stood at his side, and Rarity took her place to his front, creating a generous gap between the two of them.

"So Rarity, since we're going to be helping Sombra with his reformation, why don't you two get acquainted a bit."

Rarity looked at the alicorn with shock, but Sombra, willing to listen, took a seat on a crimson couch along the wall, curling up comfortably with his chest and head held high.

Much to Rarity's chagrin, a ring of crystals sprouted through the couch's fabric to encircle the king, ruining the piece in her eyes. The white mare stamped her hoof in frustration, but Twilight stopped her from further action.

Sombra waved a hoof forward, as if presenting the floor of the boutique to Rarity, letting her know he wanted her to begin. Then, he sat silent and still, as if he were a student waiting on a lecture from the professor, Rarity.

Taking a deep breath and, again, recomposing herself into an elegant stance, her knees locked out, her back straight and her head held high, she began to speak uninterrupted.

"Well, I suppose I'll start with a bit about myself, seeing how that's what you came across town to learn apparently," as she finished, Rarity looked a bit disapprovingly on Twilight; an odd expression for a princess to receive, or so thought Sombra.

"So, my name is Rarity," she said, flicking her mane a bit theatrically, "and I'm an expert seamstress and designer here in Ponyville. I run my shop here, but I have clients all over Equestria."

Sombra adjusted his seat a bit, and Rarity stepped back, becoming concerned as soon as she saw him move.

Sombra saw it in her lavender eyes as well as her jumpy, nervous state; she was afraid of him.

She continued speaking after seeing he was not about to hurt her, something about the details of her business, but Sombra wasn't listening. Her blathering and verbose monologue were not important; the things that Sombra could learn the most from were in the tiniest details of the boutique, and his eyes began to wander ever so minutely away from the unicorn, enthusiastically gesturing to this and that, before him.

The first thing that struck the king was the amount of mirrors in the room. There were at least a dozen on the first floor alone, as a set of stairs to his left alluded to the presence of a second story, and most definitely, more mirrors. Normally, the reflective panes would be expected in a designer's shop such as this one, but even in his own castle's wardrobe, much larger than this one, there had only been a trio of them.

She was fascinated, transfixed, with reflections, and judging by the makeup and eye shadow on the shelves beneath nearly every mirror in sight, her own reflection; specifically, its beauty. She was narcissistic. The mare valued her beauty greatly, and righteously so.

Sombra's wandering eyes began to explore the body of the mare, still talking, in front of him. She was gorgeous, from her slender legs and curvaceous flanks, to her sparkling eyes and angelic face, and Sombra felt the cold, familiar burn of lust inside of him.

He refocused on his inquiries. He would sate that hunger later; now was a time for learning. Now was a time for gaining knowledge; the greatest weapon of all to be used at his discretion.

Sombra began gauging the room again. The stairs, the mirrors, the cat prowling around on the far side of the room, magazines, photographs, trinkets here and there, a single piece of clothing that stood out from the decorative designs draped over the mannequins by its simplicity on the floor; this was her home as well as her workplace. Likely, her quarters were upstairs.

Sombra looked around again, seeing everything a second time to try and find the rest of the keys the room's contents might hold, but his mind kept returning to the photographs around the windowsills and the mirrors. They all contained pictures of her, be it a portrait, a memory, a picture with friends or family. But for all the pictures, not one depicted her with a stallion.

She was single.

The king was perplexed. Given her beauty, it would be sensible to think that stallions all over town would be begging her for a courtship; she could take her pick of the lot of them, but rather, she chose to remain chaste.

The king could think of two possible explanations.

Either she was not sexually interested in stallions; unlikely, as her screaming femininity pointed to a complete domination of testosterone by estrogen in her chemistry; or she valued her purity. That had to be it.

She was saving herself. She wanted to be pure and sinless, waiting on the coming of the perfect, fantasized stallion and the following marriage.

More to be used against her; more indication of her fears.

"Ahem," coughed Rarity upon finishing her verbose autobiography, calling Sombra's distant mind back to the present, "Have you any questions?"

Sombra looked at her a long while before standing, and asked in low, flowing, carefully annunciated syllables, "What is your element?"

"My element of harmony?" she asked to confirm, and looked to Twilight for assurance that she could indeed reveal that information.

"My element is Generosity."

Sombra had already begun to leave, prompting Twilight to follow, but Rarity finished before he reached the door.

Looking over his shoulder, and in a guttural, Slavic voice, he crooned, "Fitting."

"What's that supposed to mean," harrumphed Rarity defensively.

The king opened the door, silencing the joyous note of the bell with a focused, incinerating blast of dark magic, turning it to dust. He waited for a very shocked Twilight to join him on the porch, and then turned to look Rarity in the eye.

"Fitting, because you've given me more than you know."

He let the door slam shut, separating his devious glare from her shock-filled eyes, and stepped down from the porch, ignoring the disapproving look on Twilight's face.

Sombra began walking off on the road, and over his shoulder, called, "So who am I meeting next?"