“... free me...”
A silent, disembodied whisper. Filling the chamber, echoing amongst the stone walls of the vault, multiplied despite its faint volume. Delicate and yet so sinister, more than enough to send shivers down one’s spine. Like a silent hiss of a vicious snake in tall grass, ready to strike with fang and venom. Startling, but somehow fascinating. Captivating. Enchanting.
“I am not here to do so,” another voice, resounding with authority and splendor, responded to this noxious plea.
“... you have no right to keep me here...”
Another echo bounced of the cold granite walls, bringing a certain feeling. A sensation of being right in the very core of one’s mind, akin to an urge that you cannot fulfill, a desire that can never be quenched.
“It is for your own good. And the good of Equestria,” the radiant presence passed its austere judgment.
“... like a plaything... a prize... a trophy... how can you...? You have no right...”
Words dripping with sadness and despair, sipping sweet, treacherous venom right into one’s ears, filling the heart with compassion and the soul with pity.
“I have come to talk with you, S—“
"FREE ME!!!"
Anger. Hatred. Fury. Waves, torrents of it. Washing through the deepest and most secure of the royal vaults, one prepared to hold only the most hidden of secrets. The few enchanted torches on the crude walls guttered fearfully, and shades similar to dark flames filled the distant corners of the chamber. The whole place trembled a bit in a small earthquake, caused by the sheer power behind the scream.
Yet Princess Celestia stood, unflinching, against this assault of dark power.
“Please, Sombra. I have come to help you,” she plead with a saddened note in her pure voice, not at all matching her valiant pose, as she focused her stare at a little object in the middle of the chamber.
There stood a marble stand, once white and gleaning, now covered in jet black crystals, erupting from cracks in the stone like hideous eschars. Suspended above the stand, in a sun-weaved veil, was the source of the voice and the anger. A horn, red as blood, crackling with dark bolts of nefarious, arcane energy. Constantly shivering, desperately trying to escape the prison of shining luminescence which was keeping it shackled.
“Help me...? Help me?!”
An ireful tone shook the place once more as the horn throbbed profoundly. Old dust, gathered on the ceiling of the chamber, began falling down, swirling in the air similarly to a panicked flock of birds, desperately trying to escape an upcoming predator.
“Like you did all those centuries ago, Celestia?”
The deep, resonant tone of accusation changed the alicorn’s name into a most biting insult.
The Princess stood still for a second, glaring at the horn with a concerned look, hoping to meet Sombra’s stare, even though she knew it was in truth impossible.
“I have told you, there was nothing to be done,” she said hesitantly.
“LIES!”
The red remnant of the fallen king conflagrated in a sudden burst of darkness and a shape began forming in front of the stand. The Sun Goddess took a step forward, even though instincts would tell anypony to move as far away as possible from the twisted energy. Soon, in the middle of the vault, stood a faint, atramentous silhouette. It wasn’t even made out of thick smoke, like the form Sombra had possessed when the Crystal Empire returned, it was more like a transparent mirage, weaved of shades, forming a faint outline of the corrupted unicorn. It lifted its head, and two voids, not unlike empty eye sockets, stared right at the lustrous alicorn. A malicious, manifold tone of Sombra’s voice filled her mind.
“You had the power to save her!”
Celestia glanced back at the vile apparition, knowing that what she was about to say may cause the phantom to lash out at her with the full extent of its vile power. But she was ready for it. She long time ago decided that she owed him an explanation.
She took a deep, thoughtful breath.
“She was not meant to live.”
Sombra’s visage became petrified. The outlines of it crystalized, making his form more corporeal. For a brief moment he looked like a historical figure of old, depicted in the stillness of stained glass. The silence that fell in the chamber was becoming more and more unsettling, heralding an upcoming tempest. And the tempest soon occurred.
The fallen king’s form shattered into thousands of shards with a deafening shriek. The remnants flew through the air, only miraculously missing Celestia, who did not even have time to conjure a protective shield for herself. The razor-like pieces embedded themselves in every corner of the room, piercing the stone like daggers thrust into flesh, as the scream of pain was becoming louder and louder.
“How dare you?!”
Sombra’s cry echoed in the vault with the force of a throng of shards. The innumerable remnants of the unicorn melted down into watery shadows, which leaked down on the stone floor and began slithering in the cracks between stones like cimmerian, voracious snakes. The horde rushed at Celestia, who stood gallantly in place, willing to experience the full extent of his attack.
The assault of shades enveloped her fully, wrapping her in a strangling and crushing cocoon. She could feel the cursed magic numbing her senses and the corruption took the very breath out of her lungs. She gasped for air but the only thing she inhaled was a thick shroud of shadows. She felt her eyes burning with a searing, penumbral flame.
The vault was gone. The granite, harsh walls turned into an elegant, bright tapestry and the overwhelming darkness transformed into a subtle light of a chandelier, at least right before Celestia’s eyes, for the distant edges of the elegant hallway were still enveloped in murky, ebbing dark. It was undoubtedly a vision of the past, a projection of memory, and the mare could clearly see two unicorns having a heated conversation.
“What do you mean ‘nothing’?!” a black-maned stallion, dressed in an ancient, rich ensemble of a courtier grabbed the other pony by his jacket. “There has to be a remedy for this!”
“I-I have told you, sire, there is no known cure!” the physician’s voice was shaky and startled as he tried to free himself from the grasp. “O-only a miracle would help her.”
Sombra became stupefied in a whim. His red irises stared blankly forward, stunned by the sudden solution that came to his mind.
“Of course,” he uttered, releasing the medic, who took the opportunity to sneak away from the distracted official.
Darkness fell upon the scene like a heavy curtain, marking the entr’acte during which Celestia hopelessly sought for more air. She could feel her throat being clenched, strangled by thick cords of shades.
Light shined again, as a cozy room materialized before the alicorn’s eyes, full of various toys and a massive bed with a warm, silk comforter—a luxury only a few would be able to afford at the time. Under this warm covering laid a little filly, her blue coat paled by the illness, and her weary eyes lacking the playful, childish spark. She was barely able to hold her small rag-doll. Celestia managed to hear her whisper, but only just.
“Daddy, it hurts...”
“Don’t worry, darling...” Sombra, kneeling by the bed, was stroking the filly’s head as gently as possible, in fear of hurting her even with this subtle gesture. “The Princess shall be here soon... I have sent her many letters.”
The alicorn’s heart sunk instantly. She recalled word for word all of those scrolls he had written to her.
Your Royal Majesty, my daughter, Joyous Shade, is grasped by a vile illness. The many physicians I have contacted claim for this sickness to be incurable. As your loyal servant and humble student, I seek your aid, honored Princess...
That is how his very first message began. It was not to be the only one. Sombra was begging, pleading, willing to sacrifice his belongings, privileges, even his very life, just for her to save his daughter. Celestia had never before experienced such an unconditional parental love.
But the alicorn’s understanding of the laws of cosmos reached far beyond the mortal veil. She knew that she could not have interfered in this death, even though she wanted nothing more than to answer Sombra’s beseeches. This passing, however, had been foretold to begin a chain of events that would reshape Equestria. And even Celestia, with all her power, would not dare appeal to Fate’s final judgment. Nor did she know at the time what exactly was to become the outcome of this death.
If she was to experience this tragic moment, unraveling before her, a millennium ago... maybe she would oppose Destiny herself.
“The... Princess?” the little filly’s eyes shuddered, too tired to even open up in surprise.
“Yes, sweetie. She was very sad to hear that you are sick. She shall come here with medicine and you shall be healthy again,” Sombra’s voice was trembling and his eyes were filled to the brim with tears. “And then you will grow strong and one day become the First Mare of the Court. And Daddy will be so proud he will conjure fireworks all around the castle, just you wait.”
The little unicorn tried to smile, but instead just let out a sad, exasperated sigh. She stared lifelessly into the distance and for a brief moment her eyes sparked up as she locked her gaze with Celestia’s.
Although a thousand-year-long flow of the River of Time was separating them, the alicorn felt this little filly’s gaze pierce her thoroughly. It was not a stare of defiance, or rejection, or anger at the passing of such a short, feeble life. Those were the eyes of a little, innocent being, in agony over leaving her father behind.
“Daddy... I’m tired...” the filly’s voice was now nothing more than a drained breath.
Sombra stared at her with loving, yet hopeless eyes. His muzzle was soaked with tears and his lips were shaking in torment.
“Just a little longer, my little sunbeam... please...” he begged her, with all the remnants of his shattered will. “I have promised Mommy I shall take good care of you... Wait a breath longer... the Princess will come, I swear... She has to...”
The filly stared deeply into his eyes. She mouthed, faintly and feebly.
“I love you... Daddy...”
And, after a moment of heartbreaking silence, darkness enveloped Celestia again, with the strength of Sombra’s mourning cry.
Yet another scene unraveled itself from the void. A barely lit chamber of an ancient library, with forbidden symbols smeared on the floor. In the midst of the marks and runes stood Sombra, levitating a grand tome, an opus full of forsaken and forbidden wisdom. The unicorn was murmuring constantly, while gesticulating with fierce determination.
“R’aqshi mutk’ar sertara Q’uliartu...”
Celestia well understood those incantations. It was an old, forgotten speech, one used by warlocks and occultists of ancient times. It was a tongue of curses and vile rituals. As Sombra continued, the ground beneath him began emitting dark smoke, and miniscule, adumbral flames were lighting up all around him.
“No, stop!” Celestia desired to shout, despite her constricted throat, forgetting that this was but a vision from the past.
The channeling was nearly complete. The unicorn stared up, shouting the last words with his eyes full of both grit and tears.
“... A’lycor hak’shi tukatra mehiya!”
The whole room erupted in a dark conflagration. The ancient bookstands, filled with precious knowledge, evaporated abruptly, leaving behind only ash particles, and the stone floor melted like snow. In this outburst of raw, untamed magic, Sombra screamed incoherently. His mane transformed into smoke and began flowing, defying the laws of gravity, and his eyes shined with a venomous green hue, accompanied by a purplish, miasmatic flame.
The darkness’ attack had finally ceased and Celestia was released from the grip of the corrupted force. She fell to the floor, panting deeply, welcoming the air again. Her eyes felt dry, burned by the malicious magic. When she finally managed to regain a state of clear mind, she stared up and witnessed Sombra’s shade above her, motionless and stoic.
“Now do you understand, Celestia?” his voice reverbed in her mind. “All that I did was meant to bring my daughter back. Even if it was to be through forbidden and vile rites, yes. To allow her to come back and be a child again, carefree and joyous, like she should have been. But then... then I had learned that I did not posses the power... that I could not do it...” the echo of his sentence faded after a while as Celestia was struck by a sudden thought.
She stood up, despite her shaking legs and sweat going down her forehead. The apparition right before her was stalwart and majestic, regardless of the fact it was but a dim, faint reflection of Sombra’s former self.
“Why did you really usurp the throne of the Crystal Empire a millennium ago? Why did you need the Crystal Heart now?” the alicorn queried, her voice silent and faint, so unlike the tone she usually used, the one to bolster courage and resolve.
The shade looked down, in a gesture of shame.
“I wanted you to kill me.”
Celestia’s heart stopped for a moment. It all became clear to her. She was so often contemplating the reasoning behind Sombra’s actions. Pride. Revenge. The twisted nature of the power he tapped into. But she had never before reached this particular conclusion, one that made it all have a tragic sense. Until now. This is what he meant by his words.
“Free me.”
Let me die...
The apparition continued, its sad tone drilling through the alicorn’s mind.
“I knew that only actions at the height of maleficence shall entice you into destroying me. So I acted my part heart and soul. I caused suffering and humiliation and despair. Expecting your retaliation to finish my life. Yet here I am.”
The room shook as a testimony to his words, but the quake was not caused by his fury, but rather his desperation. Slowly but steadily, the shadowy silhouette of his began dispersing as the voice became fainter and fainter, like a declining echo.
“Here I am, even after the Crystal Heart’s power ripped my restored, corporeal form into pieces. I am forever cursed by this magic to remain in the mortal coil, shackled and suspended in unlife. Never to be with my daughter again...”
The outline of the stallion vanished like smoke from a blown out candle.
“Sombra?” Celestia beckoned for him.
“I still condemn you for all of this, Celestia,” a faint, ethereal whisper answered her. “I am just... I am too tired for hatred just now.”
The alicorn let out an acute sigh. She could not blame him for his feelings. In his judgment, her refusal to heal his daughter was the direct cause of the tragedy that enveloped both him and the child. And, as much as Celestia still believed that she had done nothing wrong, she felt guilt that this was the fate which the unicorn had to suffer.
And so she took a step forward, towards the marble stand. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep, solemn breath. And she bowed her head, humbly, before the red horn.
“Forgive me, Sombra...”
Dead silence fell upon the chamber. The time itself seemed to have halted, as no sound nor motion dared to hinder the moment when the Goddess of the Sun bowed her head in apology. And after a while of this unearthly tranquility, a voice comparable to a delicate breeze supplicated the radiant mare.
“Celestia... could you... could I ask a favor of you...?”
The alicorn looked up at the crimson remnant of King Sombra. The foul power surrounding it relapsed out of a sudden.
“What is it you wish?” she replied softly.
“I know you can reach out to them... To the souls in the Realm Beyond...” the stallion’s voice was like a dying breath now.
“Yes?”
“Tell her... tell my daughter... that Daddy loves her too... and that he always will.”
