From the Shadows

"What was that all about?"

The purple alicorn was acting offended as she walked alongside the king on another promenade through the square, effectively terrorizing residents with the sight of Sombra alone.

Rather than answering her, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, confused.

"You weren't very polite to Rarity."

"Nor was she to me," he snarled, turning his gaze to his front, "Or to you for that matter."

Twilight stopped walking, coming to a halt in the middle of the road.

"What do you mean?"

Sombra stopped after passing her on the street, circling back around to face her.

"You are royalty," he rumbled, "and she spoke to you as if she were your equal."

"She's always talked to me like that," answered Twilight, her voice gentle, contrasting the harsh notes in Sombra's words, "It's just a part of who she is."

"Who she is," countered the king, "is nothing more than a common merchant, a servant to the highest bidder."

"Who she is, is my friend," rebuffed Twilight, her face immediately contorting into a glare and her tone abandoning hospitality as she spoke.

The two stood there in the street, dozens staring at them from throughout the square, but no attention was paid to the bystanders. Twilight was locked in Sombra's eyes; the king was seized by the princess's glare. Minutes passed, neither saying a word, nor moving a muscle, until finally, Sombra broke the stare.

His scowl softened a bit, and his fangs protruded outside of his lips as the corners of his mouth drew up in a smile. His brow stayed set, but his chin adorned a devious grin. He reached out to touch her face.

Sombra's hoof touched the princess's cheek seductively, and she drew back when she felt nothing as they touched without feeling. She saw him brush her face, but she felt nothing.

She stopped her retreat once she realized it was harmless, and the king continued to caress her, from the top of her neck to her cheeks, adjacent to her eyes. The two still glared at each other; Twilight's gaze spoke volumes about suspicion and confusion, while Sombra's eyes, though scowling, seemed amused. It was a few seconds before he spoke.

Slowly, deeply, the words rolled off of his tongue as he serenaded through a rich, exotic baritone.

"So much potential," he sighed, "yet, you squander it."

With that, he suddenly drew away from her before Twilight herself could recede, his cape swinging around behind him as it passed through Twilight's chest silently, and began proceeding down the street again.

Twilight, hesitantly, followed in his hoof prints, marked by the crystals sprouting in his wake.

***************

It wasn't long before they reached the farm.

Sombra and Twilight crested the hill, together, but not side by side as before; Twilight took care to put a bit of extra space between herself and the stallion for the rest of the trip.

From the road, the rural plot was visible in its entirety. Sombra, much to the surprise of his companion, strolled off the side of the road, and sat down amidst the grass, looking out over the farm in serenity.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," she said as she approached him from behind, "It's amazing what you can accomplish with family love and hard work."

Before she finished, Sombra rose and began hiking downhill towards the farmhouse, taking great care to ignore her.

He covered the distance quickly, Twilight trotting behind him to keep up. He stopped silently when he reached the yard, a dirt piece of earth between the barn, the house, and the fields. He looked all around, taking everything in, from the chairs neatly placed on the porch to the trees, planted in rows as far as the eye could see; there was obvious pride invested in the upkeep of the property.

Reaching his side, Twilight stated, "This is where Applejack lives."

Mistaking his observance for admiration, she added, "pretty impressive huh?"

He gave an inconspicuous grunt, and pawed at the ground, not moving any dirt manually as a few crystals bloomed in the spots he touched.

Twilight herself began looking around, eventually saying, "She should be around here somewhere."

As if on cue, an orange mare vacated the barn, a basket of apples balanced on her back. She wasn't alone.

A large, red stallion accompanied her, and his eyes widened a bit when his eyes met the king's. The stallion looked at the mare, and without words, the two parted ways, nodding to each other as they did so. The stallion plodded off towards the groves, but the mare approached the yard.

She feigned a smile to Sombra, and then beckoned Twilight for a 'private conversation', just as Rarity had before; only this time, the princess denied the request.

"Then I'll just say it in front o' him," said Applejack, planting a hoof firmly into the soil, "Twilight, ya shouldn't be goin' round with him. Ya know he's dangerous."

"I know," came the response, prompting a seemingly surprised expression from the farmer.

"But," continued Twilight, "since we're going to be reforming him," Sombra rolled his eyes as she spoke, "I figured it would be better if he were able to get to know us a bit before we really got into it."

Applejack looked back and forth worriedly before her seemingly unworried friend and Sombra, who was looking at her nonchalantly, almost as if he were bored.

"So ya want for him to get to know me?"

The response came in the form of a nod.

"Well then," she said, shepherding her guests towards the porch, "Y'all better come inside."

****************

Sombra found himself ushered into a living room, and while his host prompted him to take a seat on the couch, Twilight, remembering what had happened to Rarity's furniture earlier, advised against it. Rather, the stallion stood at the side of a small table in the center of the room as Applejack courteously served glasses of apple cider.

Twilight, taking a sip from her vessel, said, "So, what we've been doing is just telling him a bit about ourselves so we're no longer strangers, and one step closer to be being friends."

Applejack looked at Twilight as if she were crazy, then at Sombra, who seemed, intrigued. Applejack shrugged, and spoke simply.

"I was born here, I've been here my whole life. Not much else to tell."

Sombra looked at her disappointedly, then at Twilight for a moment, and after waiting for something else to be said in disappointment, he grumbled, "Not as verbose as the other."

"Yeah, well, actions speak louder than words."

Sombra eyed Applejack, who returned a suspicious scowl. Yet another equine who seemed reluctant to trust him.

"And what of your actions? What have they said, since your words seem to fall short," he said articulately.

"Just look at this farm. Me and my brother do near everything on this farm and take care of my sister and Granny, and have been doin' so for years. If that don't say nothin', I don't know what does."

Sombra saw the fire in her eyes, the fire of pride, and couldn't help but feel a bit aroused as her mistrust and suspicion of him boiled over into frustration and self-confidence, normally fine in small doses, but in excess, deadly. Yet, he knew there was something behind it all, a source of that pride, the motivation for her to work so hard, and the cause of the obvious chip on her shoulder.

"Your element?"

"Honesty," Applejack responded firmly.

"Now, tell me Honesty, why have you and your sibling had to maintain such a large piece of property alone?"

The mare's fire was extinguished immediately, and Sombra knew he was onto something.

"Surely, you and he did not purchase such a large plot alone. Your parents," Applejack recoiled a bit, and Sombra suppressed a smile as his inquiry paid off, "must have been around to do a bit of the work themselves, hmm?"

Applejack stopped breathing for a moment.

"Am I to understand that your parents haven't been present for your foal hood?"

The mare was silent, a glare materializing on her brow beneath the brim of her hat, which was blatantly too large for her; Sombra could have guessed where it came from, and he would have guessed right.

"Honesty?" he pushed, using her strength against her, prying.

"Yes, that's right," she finally said.

"And, where have they been?" said Sombra, fighting the urge to smile.

Finally, much to the shock of Twilight and the delight of Sombra, Applejack exploded in rage.

"You get outta my house, now!"

She ushered the king, grinning deviously, out onto the front porch, and there, listening to arguing in the house between the alicorn and the farmer, he waited. Eventually, Twilight came out as well, angry and frustrated, but still composed.

"It seems your friends are not too fond of me."

"I think that's because you're such a creep."

Sombra glared a bit at her, but then hopped down off the porch and started back towards the town.

"And what do you think?"

Twilight was slow to respond.

"I agree, but there's something else too."

"And what's that? growled the king, his demeanor changing to a defensive posture as he began to feel threatened.

"It seems like you're eager to learn, which is good."

Sombra smiled.

"Yes, it is. I only wish to learn more."

"Well then, let's get to the others."

Twilight started off, but Sombra called her back.

"Princess, may we make the next meeting quick?"

"Yes, why?"

"I wish to learn more about friendship, specifically its magic."

"Of course," chimed the alicorn, delighted that her guest was so interested in learning about good magic.

Sombra, behind her as she trotted back to the road, was equally uplifted, but not for the same reasons.