A single second. It had only taken him a measly second to realize that something was wrong, very wrong. And it didn't take long for his thoughts to be confirmed as quickly as his instinct kicked in and a portion of his memories returned. Everything had been tinged with a pinch of irony.

He had only time to shout a warning to the princess, when suddenly and without warning, she disappeared from his sight.

***

"Do you think we're going in the right direction?" Twilight asked suddenly as she looked at the rocks on the side of the road.

Somehow her questioning did not surprise Sombra, who could only observe her for a brief moment before nodding without concern. He may not have noticed, but Twilight ended up raising an eyebrow slightly after his slight delay. Although deep down she wasn't so worried about it.

"Of course, we are not so far from the most important reference that should guide us to our first objective. The real one, on the other hoof, is far beyond," cried Sombra in a murmur loud enough for her to hear.

"Maybe you want to tell me where that last place is?" she asked in a slightly suggestive tone as she approached him.

Sombra glanced over his shoulder and frowned in a somewhat thoughtful expression, which was not lost on Twilight.

"Do you remember I said the place your friend was taken to is far from here?" Twilight nodded her head at his question. "Likewise, however, it is impossible for me to know the exact location when it was never told to me."

"Wait, wait..." The surprise that the last thing he had said meant for her was something she didn't really expect. "How is it possible that you don't know? Please, tell me we're not walking in circles."

She really, really didn't want his answer to be the opposite. Not when they had so little time to reach him without her levels of worry reaching the limit. Not now that she had changed the perception she had at the beginning. And yet, nothing she had imagined was what he ended up answering.

"I thought you trusted me more, princess," he said after letting out a snort of annoyance. "If we were following the same path without getting anywhere, I would have said so a long time ago."

After hearing that, she closed her eyes. Then she decided to concentrate and be calmer, she let out a slight sigh as she turned her gaze towards him.

"I'm sorry, I do trust you," she looked away from her hooves for a moment. "I just exhaled and thought things I shouldn't have when you said you don't know where it is.

"I know very well where it is, princess..." She raised her head quickly just a second before saying something, before he stopped her. "Just let me finish," he replied when he stood in front of her when he saw the look of genuine confusion she gave him. "I don't know its exact location, and by that I mean we must go and look for it."

Twilight immediately understood what he was trying to say.

"You mean you know any place where we can find that information." It wasn't a question, she was just expressing it in affirmation.

"Exactly as you just announced," Sombra confirmed after hearing her answer, then he took on a serious expression again, a bit more different from the usual. "But I'll warn you something, princess," he said in a deep tone and approached, while clearly seeing how she frowned. "You must prepare yourself because the road will not be easy, much less short."

Twilight had already imagined that, so it wasn't at all unexpected when she nodded to his words without hesitation. For Spike, as well as for any of her friends, she would be willing to face whatever came her way and go wherever it took to bring him back to her side.

"I am, Sombra," she replied at last, adjusting the clasp of her cloak tightly. "As long as I get him back, I always will be."

Sombra looked straight into the mare's eyes, realizing what her words were expressing. The strength and determination that were reflected in her gaze, somehow made him almost moved by her. Although despite everything, the expression on his face did not change.

"Very good" was the last thing he said.

Sombra turned once more and Twilight let out an unconscious sigh of tiredness as she began to follow him. Busy as she was, she didn't notice the quick flash that had flashed deep into his crimson eyes. At that moment she was more focused on walking calmly by his side.

But because of that fact she couldn't help but crack a small smile with some complacency at the thought of how much things had changed. If somepony had told her a month earlier that she would be trapped on an unusual island next to the dark unicorn former king of the Crystal Empire and that she would even form an alliance-friendship with him, Twilight would have thought that most likely that pony had lost his mind. She simply could not have believed it.

And now, however, she also thought about all that she had improved, fortunately for the better. Even though her little dragon was far away from her at the time, kidnapped by creatures she had never known existed. It was inevitable that she would not feel worried and rightly so.

"I'll be with you soon, Spike, I promise," she thought as her gaze turned to the blue sky beyond the treetops.

Twilight looked down again, but this time she didn't fix it on the road in front of them again. On the other hoof, she ended up directing her to the stallion next to her, although it was only for a brief moment. Or so she had in mind at first.

She stared, almost out of the corner of her eye, at that face that had long ago been the cause of bleak nightmares not only for her, but also for the little dragon affected by that event. A face that she had always seen in her darkest memories with expressions of malice, hatred and resentment, but that nevertheless now showed an apathetically serious expression, as if he cared almost or nothing.

Although she knew that things could be different. If she took into account everything they had been through up to that point, it was like another trait of his personality.

Again, Twilight didn't notice how long she'd been watching him with slight intensity. But he did and immediately turned his head in her direction.

"What happens now?" asked Sombra while frowning at the insistent gaze of the alicorn.

The effect of his action was immediate. Twilight took a small leap in the surprise of having been discovered in her fleeting gaze, which she left reflected in her face. And most likely it was just because of the supposed embarrassment that she ended up turning quickly when she felt her cheeks begin to warm into a slight blush

"I-It's okay..." She said in a slight stutter that she ended up dragging, although then she let out a sigh. "I was only thinking about certain things."

"Can I ask about those things?" he asked while raising both eyebrows, feeling only a bit intrigued by what the princess might have thought as she looked at him in that way.

Sombra's question elicited a slight reaction of surprise from Twilight. If she took into account that the previous times she had hinted at the desire to start some kind of conversation longer than the words they always exchanged, the stallion only ended up answering in short terms, without much apparent desire to want to say anything more. On that part she couldn't help but feel frustrated at times, but deep down she didn't want to push for it.

And now, instead, it was he who wanted to know? Everything had definitely turned upside down and she barely noticed.

"Just my stuff, it's nothing important," she replied while shying her head and making a gesture with her hoof, as if she wanted him to forget about it. "Why do you ask? Did you really want to know?"

"In the same way that on previous occasions you inquired about me."

Twilight frowned at that answer, knowing what he meant. And in the end he hadn't even answered the question.

"That doesn't answer my question," she said in an almost flat tone, without revealing the real interest she had in it.

Sombra paused only for a moment, causing her to imitate his action as well. She almost expected him to reply something else, when in fact all he did was direct the gaze of his crimson eyes towards hers. Twilight took only a step back when she seemed to see a fleeting flash deep within them.

What she felt was nothing like fear as he leaned more in her direction.

"Yes it does, princess; pay a little more attention," Sombra replied in a low tone, walking away before she could react.

Clearly he wouldn't say it, but in the end he couldn't help but observe with some satisfaction how she seemed to remain static before his action; while he just resumed his journey. On the other hoof, Twilight could only blink quickly after that, somewhat feeling strange about her own reaction.

She gave him another look when he was just a few steps ahead of her. She let out a quick snort and stepped forward without wasting any time.

Twilight finished organizing her thoughts at just the right time. A few seconds later a sensation formed within her that was already beginning to be quite familiar. The new feeling of a bad feeling.

She took a quick look at the stallion next to her in the hope that she had not been the only pony who had felt it, however his serene look did not reveal any type of alteration in his condition. It seemed that it was just something hers. Either that, or actually Sombra was in charge of hiding any kind of emotion very well. Knowing him as she did until now, the latter was most likely.

Despite all that, Twilight decided to stay alert as she had learned to do lately. She focused on the road once more and put her worries aside for a moment as the evening light began to filter through the treetops.

That was another thing that had fascinated Twilight from the first days they had arrived here. Earlier she had wondered if the rising and setting of the sun on that land, like the rest of her world, was controlled by Princess Celestia's own magic and they had only not been able to escape due to the barrier that surrounded it completely.

Or if it had been the opposite and that the island was actually on a completely different plane, which could be accessed by the various points that had been clarified on her previous visit to the cave of the underground spring. All this she had thought about when she did not yet have the knowledge she currently possessed.

Now she was aware that such a place had not even been created as a piece of land in the middle of the sea would naturally in her own world. And that explained why it followed its own rules.

Twilight was distracted by those thoughts for quite a while, so much so that she only came to react when she realized that the warm daylight was already beginning to wane, just because she suddenly looked up at the sky. She frowned a bit and then looked at the stallion when she noticed something else, a noise that was beginning to reach her ears. Sombra also looked at her and spoke before she could say a single word of what was on her mind.

"You don't need to say it, I can imagine what you're thinking." Then he muttered only to himself. "Darkness will fall soon."

Twilight nodded, though she was only a bit surprised by his quick deduction. In a way it was a matter of logic to want to look for some shelter in which to spend the night. But she had a hunch that this time, as in all previous ones, they would also spend it outdoors. She was already beginning to get used to that.

"That wasn't all I was thinking about," Twilight stepped forward as she dodged the large trees and walked cautiously toward the constant noise she had heard a short time ago. Then she paused for a moment to look at Sombra and point in that direction. "There's something else that intrigues me, and it's over there."

Sombra followed the direction of her hoof, then nodded.

"If we're going to go, it'll be careful."

"I know, it's necessary," Twilight replied as she let out a sigh and waited for him to position himself next to her.

The path they continued along gradually opened up, as the constant noise eventually became the classic, definite sound of the water running past them. They had already imagined it when the characteristic smell of wet earth had seeped into their noses, which made them relax a bit more. Or at least, Twilight did.

"Luckily it's only a river," she approached carefully.

"That's what it looks like," he said, his brow furrowing as he stood under the sheltered shade of the trees. "So don't be overconfident."

Twilight looked at him and gave a brief smile, more out of kindness than anything else, at the warning. Deep down she felt a bit tired of him stressing that to her whenever he could, even if she knew it was necessary.

"I know, I'm aware of that," she replied in a low tone and sighed again at the sudden exhaustion.

Twilight walked to the edge of the river, seeing now more accurately that it was actually wider and quieter than she had at first expected. Although crossing it would not be a problem for her but rather for the stallion. Anyway, that wasn't her goal at the time, not even to reach her destination.

It ran its course in a gentle stream, with nothing to disturb it more than the ground itself and the occasional stones on its surface. Twilight stopped on the shore and stroked the wet earth of the edge with her hoof, then moved closer and soaked all of her coat with the liquid slide. She thought that all this seemed to be a very relaxing environment.

She let her eyes close for a few more seconds as she enjoyed a quiet moment that she knew she was rarely going to have. Not even when she returned to her land. On the contrary, she sensed that those moments of peace would be increasingly rare due to her obligations as a princess. And now much more so because of the return of somepony her friends believed was totally defeated.

But as for Sombra, everything was now much more than she had imagined at first. Things changed a lot, if she took into account that moment when they both agreed to define the state of their current relationship. She knew that they were now more than just allies, or at least she could feel it. No, what she had thought about too much at that moment was the fact about what she was going to do about him when they finally managed to escape from there.

Twilight pulled her hooves out of the river and moved a bit farther from the edge. She sat down beyond, where the ground was no longer so wet, and ended up closing her eyes as she sought to enter into the introspection of her own thoughts. And trying to organize them, by the way.

Although everything so far was going quite well between the two... What was going to happen if in the future this strange friendship they had was further consolidated? Or if the opposite actually happened? How was she going to deal with that, if either option occurred, once they returned?

She let out another sigh. She hadn't really thought about it too deeply.

Twilight could only exhale exhausted. Add to that the feeling of constant weariness from her ever-present concern for Spike, and it was almost as if she didn't feel strong beyond her physical condition. It was only because of him that she could muster the necessary strength.

"Why does it all have to be so complicated?" she wondered as she watched from afar as Sombra did everything that was needed to get their temporary camp ready in the shortest time possible.

Twilight hurriedly got up from her spot and walked over to him to deal with something else she could help with. So as she had done on previous nights, she used her magic to conjure the elements of a spell. Her objective was to form an invisible barrier that would cover several feet around the place that would allow it to detect any possible intruders in advance. However, after several lines in a row regarding that thought, the aura around her suddenly darkened.

Just as she should have done long before Spike was taken away...

Twilight frowned and shook her head to clear away all the intrusive thoughts that had formed inside her. It was useless for her to feel sorry for herself now when what she really had to do was to direct all her efforts in her concentration to get to him.

Her work ended up completely done after the unexpectedly long time she needed for it. After that she just took off her cloak and put it in her bag, while enjoying the light dusk wind that cooled her coat. The sounds coming from a certain direction let her know that Sombra was done with his business, too.

"Don't you need anything else?" she asked suddenly after seeing how he sat in front of the improvised campfire.

Sombra made a simple gesture of denial to her question, without saying a word. She took advantage of that and also decided to move to where he was to enjoy the warm atmosphere that had formed around the fire.

Once she was settled she took a slight look at the unicorn, which only seemed to be deep in thought while keeping his eyes closed. Twilight was aware that when he took that position, the last thing he wanted was for somepony to talk to him. But on that occasion she really didn't know what to do with the quiet atmosphere that had been imposed between the two.

"Hmm, Sombra?" she whispered and waited for him to listen to her.

All she had for an answer was a brief "hmp" from deep in his throat. Twilight rolled her eyes slightly at that and prepared to continue after a slight clearing of her throat.

"Don't... don't you want to talk about some specific topic?" she asked in a curious tone that tried to encourage him to comment on something, anything that would make her forget that she was not alone.

But obviously that had no effect on him, so he just sent his simple answer in a gesture of shaking his head. That didn't stop Twilight, though.

"Really?" she insisted a bit more.

He nodded this time.

"Nothing for... break the silence?"

Sombra finally dropped the facade of seriousness he had put on his face, instead, annoyance began to be visible in his gaze when he opened his eyes again.

"No, silence is too good a thing that shouldn't be broken."

"Tsk, you just did it."

Twilight frowned and looked straight into his eyes, only to have her ears finally lowered her ears as she drifted away in the cold flash of his crimson orbs. Something that was beginning to mean much more than just danger... At that moment she thought about whether she had done well (or not) to say the latter.

Sombra let out a short growl before remembering to calm down. Something difficult, easier to think about than to do. So he rested a hoof just below his horn and let out a sigh.

"By all the gods, you really are a fastidious mare of Harmony," he replied in a snort, more because of the sudden headache he had when he remembered something he didn't expect, than because of the princess's insistence.

"What?" Twilight forgot the feeling that had caused her and frowned in a flat gesture of confusion and annoyance, not quite understanding what he meant by his words. "What do you mean by that and why do you say it?"

What was he talking about? It was quite unexpected that he would let go of it so suddenly.

"Why do I say that?" Sombra looked away from her when a thoughtful and slightly distant expression formed on his face; as if he was going back into some kind of past memory. "I think it's because in a way, you remind me of somepony I once knew."

"Really?" asked Twilight, not forgetting her annoyance, but with some intrigue as to who that pony might have been.

Sombra didn't answer her question directly, but instead nodded his head slightly. Twilight perhaps hoped that he would continue and say something else, although she should have expected otherwise.

"I think I remember that she was somepony as enthusiastic as you," he spoke suddenly and without her expecting it. Sombra looked at her as he remembered something else. "But unlike you, it was difficult for her to concentrate on one thing."

"Oh..." Twilight looked down and whispered. "That's something you've already checked."

"Really..." he confirmed in an almost whisper. After that he fell silent again.

Twilight didn't press him to say anything else, though deep down she was still dying to know what else from his past this stallion had to tell, and not just related to him. After all, several important events in the history of Equestria had occurred more than a thousand years ago in the past. And he was just one of the few living ponies who had most likely witnessed them.

She really had so many questions in her head just thinking about it.

When Twilight finally got out of her musings, she took another look at the unicorn in front of her. He had already settled down and was again with his eyes closed, apparently ready to rest. It was at that moment that Twilight remembered something quite important when her stomach began to growl.

"Don't you plan to have dinner before you go to rest?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she searched for her own food in the saddlebag.

"I don't have an appetite at the moment," he clarified without adding anything else.

"Okay..." Twilight had doubts, but she wasn't going to force him right now. Instead, she decided to forget about everything for a while and enjoy her dinner.

But even as she dined, she could not help but feel the constant concern for the fate of all of them that had been with her for a long time.

After several hours following the forest path that led them upstream, both Twilight and Sombra had agreed to take a small, well-deserved break from the hot midday sun. Although for various reasons for her it was much more than just a little rest.

"You shouldn't go that far," Sombra commented in passing when he saw how she began to enter the path that led directly to the river.

"I won't, I just need to cool off a little," she said as she stretched her wings.

Twilight took flight although she stayed close to the ground the whole time, while avoiding the trunks of the trees along the way. A minute later she stopped when the sound of running water reached her ears. Before continuing, she turned her head in the opposite direction to confirm that she could indeed still see Sombra, even among the trees in the distance. That fact relaxed her a bit.

She let out a light sigh as she marked a non-existent physical path in the local land with her hooves. But such would be her surprise when she found the great mass of water waiting for her at the edge of the forest, instead of the peaceful river they had followed all this time.

It was a lake that seemed to her to be quite calm, located on the edge of a ravine not too high in which the grove beyond continued. All this gave it the impression of being a hidden place among the great treetops, away from the ordinary view of any unexpected visitor.

"Okay, I guess I shouldn't miss the opportunity."

Twilight got rid of the bag she was carrying, but not before going and sending a quick call to Sombra about her location. He sighed and got up from his place, a minute later he arrived at the place that had generated such a stir in the princess. And when he did, he found her with half of her body submerged in the calm waters, near the shore.

Sombra frowned when he began to feel somewhat strange about the existence of this place. He decided not to walk beyond the edge of the tree line.

Instead he did not fail to stay close as a precaution, although the distance from where he was to the shore of the lake was greater than he thought at first. And although he was aware that even in such a place anything unexpected could happen, the fact that his own intuition was not silenced at that moment, like a cautious voice in the back of his mind, somehow aroused his alarms.

Sombra left his thoughts for a moment when he heard a splash coming in front of him followed by the voice of the princess. He looked in her direction and wondered what she needed now.

"Did you have any idea this existed?" Twilight asked after catching his presence.

He might confirm it, but she almost couldn't help but feel relaxed as the water gently caressed her coat. It really had been so long since she had felt that way.

On the other hoof, he had already imagined that. So that's why he made the decision to step out of the dark shadows of the forest to get a bit closer. And then he took up his words when he did.

"No..." He answered her question and the face of his gaze hardened even more. "I don't think so."

Something, just something, didn't feel right. It didn't matter why, but given the fact that he was almost about to activate his magic to listen to his instinct and the hunch he'd had, it hadn't been something he could only ignore.

But at that moment Twilight almost didn't hear his answer because of the water that was covering her ears at that moment, so she didn't notice the tone with which he had expressed it. Then she decided to head in the direction of the shore and shorten the distance that separated them a bit more.

But she didn't notice the small, fast bubbles that whipped the surface of the water in a short time.

Although in reality, neither of them realized that.

"It's really so good here..." she whispered as she let out a sigh.

"You should get out at once, this is not a pleasure trip," he interjected in a reproachful tone, sending her a flat look.

Twilight also sent him one expressing mutual feeling, only she didn't use the same tone.

"I'm doing it," she closed her eyes and continued on her way to the shore, slow due to the resistance of the water. "You know? Why not-"

Twilight stood completely still after opening her eyes and noticing the strange look that was reflected in Sombra's. She couldn't define why, but she didn't feel good about the fact that he seemed to constantly look beyond her.

"Get out right now."

Twilight frowned in a worried gesture, more so because of the tone in which he had said it.

"What is it that happens?"

"Get out now I told you!"

"Okay, okay! I'm already on it," she exclaimed apprehensively, moving quickly.

Twilight shuddered, still frowning when she heard the imperious tone of his voice added to the way he had said it. But she was also worried about the latter. What the hell was going on?

Sombra only let out a growl as he walked closer to the shore. Again, perhaps it was thanks to his hearing or perhaps it was his sight that caught some imperceptible movement on the apparently imperturbable surface out of the corner of his eye. Moreover, it wasn't just because of that.

Slowly he had come to feel the fur around the back of his neck begin to stand on end in an unconscious sign of his own intuition. That feeling had intensified, and that was something he definitely didn't like at all.

But then that happened.

The atmosphere before it happened had become unusually tense, so much so that they could only keep in mind the sound of their breaths. Neither the sound of the forest, nor the slight noise of the water going along with the current meant anything.

It could all be summed up in one thing when the waters were agitated and from the center of the lake something invisible emerged and moved too quickly towards Twilight. She had practically no time to react.

Immediately she felt an enormous force carry her downwards, into the dark and cold waters of the deep. She only had time to see Sombra's form that quickly blurred as he ran in vain towards her, listening to her shout something that sounded very far away... Her name perhaps?

But she wasn't going to give up so easily. She held her breath as she tried to fight whatever was taking her away. She quickly lit her horn to conjure a quick teleportation spell. But that only remained in the attempt.

Her vision began to wane as she watched in horror as the magic unraveled in front of her, taking the spell on the spot. Her legs were already getting tired and the small bubbles escaping from her nose ended up increasing even more. Fatigue was winning and she almost wanted to let herself go.

Was it really going to be like that?

Did she simply disappear from everything, forgotten from the world? Would her body slowly sink as she headed for the dark bottom of cold waters that had felt so warm before?

And yet, through it all, her thoughts ultimately turned to who was always the first to occupy them, to her little dragon, to her friends, to her surprise even to a certain grumpy stallion.

What she would have given to see them again even if only for a single moment...

And in the end, all she could see before the air once again flooded her lungs, before she inevitably fell into darkness was, ironically, a small light.

Author's Note

Oh well, I think maybe there's a lot of questions.