Chapters True Friends Stab You In The Front
Sombra walked the streets of the Crystal Empire as the sun began to set. For whatever reason, he felt like he was dragging weights with him, and it seemed to him that it was too often that he felt that way. Things hadn't quite been going his way lately and he could hardly remember the last time he chalked something up in his “win” column. All of that didn't matter right now though, because Sombra had something he knew he could count on to alleviate the anxiety: a friend.
“Y’know, I’d say that you look down in the dumps, but I feel like that wouldn't be giving enough credit to our city’s wonderful landfills.” A unicorn outside a bar spoke as Sombra came into view.
Sombra smirked. “Oh how you wound me Luz. If you’d like I could rearrange your face a bit and then we’ll discuss who the pretty one is.”
Luz laughed. “Aw right, the biggest softie in the Empire is gonna work me over. I’m petrified.”
Sombra looked his friend over. He looked as vibrant as ever, sporting his disheveled gold-colored mane, which all the mares claimed literally shone against his deep blue coat. Sombra reflected on his less stellar colors, a grey coat and a blue mane, not really the most awe inspiring.
Luz raised an eyebrow. “Yo, Sombra, you see something you like? I’m flattered really but you know I’ve got certain turn-offs… like dicks.”
Sombra looked unamused. “Really? Considering how much you love yourself and what a big dickhead you are, I thought you’d be all over that.”
Luz stuck his tongue out. “Loving oneself is the first step to loving others, and then to making love with the pretty mares. Now you gonna stand around all night or are we going in?” Luz nodded his head toward the bar door.
Sombra nodded it return. “Yeah, yeah. The debauchery awaits us.”
Luz pushed open the door. “Debauchery waits for no stallion, you gotta put your ass in gear and go get it.”
Sombra followed into the bar. “I’ll listen to the expert then. Lead on; I’m your lemming.”
The pair made their way to the counter of the shady bar. The place was hardly lit and Sombra was pretty sure there was a twitching stallion in the corner smoking a crystal. The two made their drink orders and shortly after each had a mug in front of them.
Luz peered around the bar. “These places are as endearing as ever. Our trips out just wouldn't be the same without the constant feeling of being inches away from being stabbed in a seedy, mare-less bar would they?”
Sombra took a long drink and put his mug down with a sigh. “You know damn well why things have to be this way Luz. I’m still not really comfortable with it anyway.”
Luz took a drink. “Pronoun game Sombra. What aren't you comfortable with?”
Sombra sighed. “Always making me say it huh? Fine I’ll spell it out: a prince spending time with a commoner. You have to know how wrong that is don’t you?”
Luz shrugged. “I’ll never understand that y’know. We’re both ponies, though I am infinitely more handsome. If you ask me us having to sneak around like this is total bullshit.”
Sombra winced. “You just don’t understand it. Being a prince is way more important than you realize. You know that often princes become kings, and kings are pretty much the most important things there are. What message does it send if a prospective king is out drinking with some commoner?”
Luz turned to Sombra. “To me it says theres a prince in this place capable of pulling his head far enough out of his ass to know that theres more to this Empire than flashy rulers. I say if a prince and commoner drinking is wrong, then to Tartarus with being right.”
Sombra felt a smile creep across his face as he shook his head. “Well then, cheers to keeping our heads as far out of our asses as we can.” Sombra raised his glass.
Luz connected his glass with Sombra’s. “Hear, hear.”
As the two made their toast, light suddenly filled the bar through the opened front door. In through the door stepped a small squad of Crystal Guards who went about scanning the room. As one caught sight of the pair at the counter he made motion to the others who then approached the counter and surrounded the two.
A large Crystal Guard stepped forward as he pinned his eyes on Luz. “It seems the proper order of things is just a lesson never learned for you is it?”
Sombra lowered his head. “Hey, don’t be too angry with him. This is more my fault than his.”
The guard turned his attention to Sombra and pressed a hoof sharply against his throat. “I don’t recall asking you to speak. For all you’ve put us through you know I’ve got half a mind to—”
“Release him,” Luz said sharply.
The guard scoffed. “I’m not going to hurt him. He just need to learn his place already.”
Luz put his hoof on the guard’s. “Lightning Lance, as prince of the Crystal Empire I command you to release him immediately, and I don’t want you to lay another hoof on him.”
Lighting Lance sighed. “As you wish.” Sombra took a sharp breath in as he was released.
Luz shot an apologetic look to Sombra. “I guess one round will have to do for now.”
Sombra nodded his head.
Luz rose from his seat and was quickly surrounded by the guards who escorted him from the bar leaving Sombra and Lightning Lance behind. Sombra made move to turn back to his drink when suddenly the legs of his stool were snapped and he fell back onto his head with a violent thud.
Above Sombra Lighting Lance grabbed the drink. “I was told not to lay a hoof on you, and I didn't. Let me make myself completely clear now though: I’ve put up with you way too long. The next time I have to deal with you, it’ll end with me burying you.” Lighting Lance poured the drink out on Sombra’s face and dropped the mug on his chest.
After Lightning Lance cleared out from the bar Sombra pulled himself off the floor and rubbed his head. Tonight wouldn’t be going in his “win” column after all. In fact pissing off the guards one more time would probably mean there wouldn't be a column left to deal with. Sombra ran a hoof down his face and made his way out of the bar.
True Friends Stab You In The Front
Sombra made his way through the streets again, except this time it was noticeably darker. Sombra could swear that sometimes that sun was in a hurry to set, as if going down was a chore that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. Regardless, the streets were darker and colder as Sombra made his way home.
As he walked Sombra thought to himself about the things that Luz had said. Luz and him were friends, but them becoming friends was more by chance than anything else. It felt like forever ago to Sombra. When Luz was a colt he had a rebellious streak a thousand miles long and he seems to make it a personal challenge to irritate the guards as much as possible each day. To that end he figured out no less than fifty secret ways out of the castle, and he wasn't shy about using them.
One day Luz was up to his usual antics, but apparently unbeknownst to him the guards had made a recent addition to their ranks: one Lightning Lance. Lance had no patience for anything the young prince was up to, and he didn't chase after him; he hunted him down. Luz was so terrified of this guard he ended up making his way to the one place he thought the guards would never think to look for him, namely the so called “shady” side of town, so named for how it was forever in the shadow of the larger buildings including the castle, and for how one was very likely to be stabbed for having the wrong color coat, or looking at somepony the wrong way.
Sombra was walking from his home that day when he saw Luz sprinting down the street as if the gates of Tartarus themselves had swung open and were trying to swallow him up. Sombra didn't know what was going on, but he had a general rule about trying to help out ponies that looked like they were running for their lives. He flagged down Luz and together they made their way to one of the more inconspicuous alleyways. Not long after a squad of thoroughly upset guards went tearing down the street, narrowly missing the alley they colts had dived into.
After he caught his breath Luz introduced himself, conveniently leaving out the part about how Sombra was now aiding and abetting a runaway prince. Sombra gave his name and tried to leave, but something had fascinated Luz: Sombra’s horn. Luz was a unicorn too, but apparently Sombra was the only other crystal unicorn outside of his family he’d ever met, which really wasn't that surprising; crystal unicorns were probably the biggest rarity in the Crystal Empire. Sombra knew this, but Luz seemed to obsess over their similarity. Sombra laughed when he remembered Luz saying, “we must be long lost brothers.”
Sombra recalled the good things about that day, but he also recalled that being one of the first times that he had ever truly feared for his life. Maybe they were talking a bit too loudly, or maybe Lighting Lance really could smell fear, but either way the colts soon found themselves with their backs against the wall, cornered by the oversized pegasus in the alley. Sombra remembered things going down pretty much the same way they had in the bar not too long ago, except when he was a colt he recalled being swatted across the alley so hard he thought his bones must’ve turned to dust.
Not long after that Luz showed back up in the “shady” part, except this time he was looking for Sombra, and it wasn't long after that the two had a routine going. Luz breaks out, the two get hounded, and hopefully neither ends up dead. After a while the guards had caught on to the routine though, and whenever they couldn't find Luz they’d go stake-out Sombra, so Sombra got good at shaking off tails. He memorized every building, alley, cart, booth and routine that he could use to get the guards off him when he wanted to, and his dark coat and short stature only helped him even more.
Sombra came to a halt just outside of his home and looked it over. To call it modest would be far too generous, the place was hardly enough to constitute a functional house… but it was home. Sombra shot a glance up to the castle, high enough in the sky to be seen from just about anywhere in the Crystal Empire. Luz was probably back there being reprimanded… or maybe not. Really it depended on whether the queen was busy or not, because if she was around to save his ass he had nothing to worry about. It wasn't much a secret in the Empire that things didn't function by splitting up power; in this case there was the queen with all the power, and the consort, whose sole purpose was to help expand the family and provide companionship. It also wasn't a secret that Luz was the queen’s favorite.
Sombra let out a sigh and watched his breath become visible in front of him. It was cold tonight, like the night before and all the nights before that. That was something that was tough about the Empire, it was always so damn cold. Complaining about it never got anypony anywhere though, and like the saying went, “ask not for a warmer coat, but for the will to withstand even the coldest night.” As much as that was ringing true for Sombra, it was still cold enough he had no desire to stay outside. Sombra turned his head from the castle and went inside his home.
It was pretty much the same as it always was. Old furniture that looked like it belonged more in a landfill and the lingering smell of smoke reminded Sombra he was certainly home. Sombra began to walk through the living room to make his way to his own room when the sound of somepony clearing their throat caught his attention. Sombra let out another sigh and turned to face the coach.
The mare on the coach narrowed her eyes on Sombra. "Usually when somepony says they'll be home by sundown they actually mean they won't leave their mother worrying about whether they were growing cold in some alley somewhere."
Sombra let his face fall slightly. "I know we have the standing 'home by dark' rule in place, but I'm a grown stallion and sometimes I get held up. Its nothing to worry about."
Sombra's mother let more irritation creep into her expression. "If you knew that you'd be home late, then you'd tell me and give me a reason. That leaves me with two possibilities: either you didn't know you'd be home late, and something happened to you that you didn't plan for, and that makes me worry, or you knew you'd be home late, and didn't want to tell me the reason, and that makes me worry even more."
Sombra turned his head away. "You're going to have to stop doting on me sometime. I can take care of myself."
Sombra's mother closed her eyes and sighed. "Lightning Lance came by again today. Told me 'miss Yoru, the prince seems to be making our lives more difficult again; do you know where your son is at and if he's severely hurt or not?' Tell me you weren't out with him again."
Sombra kept from making eye contact. "If I were, it still wouldn't concern you."
Yoru began to rub her temples. "Sombra, we've been over this so many times. He's your friend and I get that, but he's worlds away from you and me, and mark my words, if you keep this up you'll be the death of each other."
Sombra turned and began to walk into his room. "Good night, mother."
"Don't you—"
Sombra shut he door behind him and ran a hoof through his mane. This really wasn't the way it should be. Disagree as they might they were all each other had. He could apologize later though. For now his head was still ringing from hitting the bar floor and he was tired.
Sombra crawled into bed and closed his eyes.
True Friends Stab You In The Front
Sombra rolled about in his bed agitatedly as an incessant tapping noise pulled him from the peace of sleep. He opened his eyes, having no real idea what time it was. It was often difficult to know what time it was in the shadow of a giant castle, and when the weather and mountains were factored it was almost impossible. For now Sombra just assumed it was very early, and assuredly knew he was very upset about that. Sombra willed himself over to his window and slid it open.
A crystal guard standing outside gave a salute. "Good morning Sombra, acquittance of the prince. Prince Luz would like to request your presence at"— he pulled out a note— "that one place that we used to go to, that one month."
Sombra nodded his head. "Understood. Did he say when?"
The guard looked back to the note. "He says to go at 'his favorite time.'"
Sombra put a hoof to his face. "Of course thats what he wants. Alright then, you're dismissed."
The guard gave another salute and walked away. Sombra waited for him to turn the corner and then jumped out his window. Him and Luz knew they'd have trouble communicating so they set up their own system. First Luz find a guard thats either new enough or dumb enough to follow his order to send a message to Sombra, and then they always make sure to use their own code. Every phrase had its own meaning, so if the message was to go to "that one place we agreed to go to that one time," he knew to go to the last place they agreed to meet at, and the time of the meetings was likewise encoded. This ensured that even if the messenger got found out they'd still have a hard time figuring out where to go. In this case, Sombra was heading to a diner outsider the palace, and Luz's favorite time was obviously "immediately."
Sombra made his way through town, every so often looking over his shoulder in the most casual manner he could manage just to make sure he wasn't being followed. A short while later Sombra found himself scanning the ponies in the diner looking for something that would give Luz away. Crystal ponies usually didn't wear clothes, and those that did usually had some profession or rank to justify it. Therefore it was a pretty safe bet to look for a pony with Luz's coat color that had a big dumb hat and glasses.
Sombra spotted what he was looking for and made his way to the table. "If you woke me up this early in the day just so I can tell you what a poor sense of fashion you have, I may just commit regicide."
Luz let out a chuckle and stood from his chair. "I won't be taking advice from mister 'I think capes are cool,' thank you very much."
Sombra twisted his expression. "They're warm and regal as all Tartarus. You're father has one and I still say you need to get one."
Luz shook his head. "No capes. Thats not why we're here though, so c'mon, lets go." Luz began to walk away.
Sombra cocked his head. "You told me to immediately come to the diner so that we could not eat here?"
Luz turned back around. "I told you to come here because it close enough to the palace that we won't miss it, but if you keep standing there and talking then we will miss it, so lets go." Luz made his way to the door.
Sombra trotted up next to Luz. "Now you're playing the pronoun game. What're we not going to miss?"
Luz turned to speak as he kept walking. "So you know how there was an excavation mission going on in the caves around the empire? Apparently they found something big."
Sombra raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna have to define 'big' for me."
Luz sat down and spread his front hooves out as far as he could. "I mean BIG. If we believe everything we've heard then that means that we found some sort of tomb out there. You know what that means? Thats the first evidence for there being a society here before us! Tell me that isn't awesome. The team is supposed to be coming back to the palace today with some sort of artifact."
Sombra let out a short whistle in amazement. "Okay you got me, that is pretty cool. Whats the deal with just bringing back an artifact though? Shouldn't the team have been big enough to take back a lot more than that."
Luz shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah they were, but for whatever reason as soon as they found the damn thing they insisted on coming back as soon as possible. Add onto that the crazy miner and we should be happy we're getting anything back."
Sombra showed his confusion. "Crazy miner? Did they have a team member smoking crystal out there or something?"
Luz shook his head. "No not as far as we could tell. He was the first one to actually find the artifact in the caves, and then a little while after he just started picking fights and freaking out. The team says the stress of the job just really got to him. Apparently he tried running off with whatever he found so the team tried restraining him. He ended up getting hurt pretty bad, and you know how it is out there."
Sombra furrowed his brow. "So we won't get to ask him any questions. Thats just great."
Luz barely paid attention as they got to the road leading to the palace. "Yeah yeah. They should be coming in right about now."
The two stood with eyes on the road until the excavation team came into sight. Before long the team was passing right by the two as they looked over the items carried in their cart. Most all of it was mining equipment, but one object clearly wasn't. The object was throughly wrapped in cloth and sitting in the middle of the cart.
Luz jabbed Sombra's side. "Hey, mister magic expert, unwrap that thing before they get away."
Sombra shot an annoyed look to Luz. "You're a unicorn, you can do it yourself."
Luz rolled his eyes. "Yes, but you're more subtle, now go for it."
Sombra sighed and turned his focus to the object. Focusing his magic he began to peel away the layers surrounding the object.
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore."
Sombra shook his head. "What?"
Luz looked to Sombra. "What?"
Sombra looked back to Luz. "What was that noise?"
Luz cocked his head. "Its the sound of our opportunity passing us by."
Sombra opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Returning his focus to the object he removed the final layers. Underneath a jet black crystal was revealed; large and jagged, the crystal seemed to reach outward like a tree whose branches were trying to grab all that surrounded it. Looking at it Sombra felt his stomach turn, like he was going to be sick. Sombra quickly covered it back up and let out a sharp breath.
Luz let out a sharp whistle. "Well that certainly looked interesting. Bet the nerds at the archive will have a field day with that one." Luz turned to look at Sombra as his expression turned to concern. "Hey buddy, you alright?"
Sombra put a fake smile as quickly as he could. "Yeah I'm fine. I just... I have a really bad feeling about this."
