Redemption's Shadow

Hay and Stay Hotel - Canterlot

As Blue and Sombra made their way into the hotel, The staff was a bit wide-eyed at their newest guest, the hotel reception seemed to not be able to take their eyes off of the almost as tall as Celestia stallion. Granted this was Sombra so Blue wasn't too surprised about this. Blue walked over to the reception nonetheless, putting down his badge.

"Room for two, but please refrain from putting it down in the registry, royal guard business."

"A... Ah, I see... Will do, sir." The receptionist wrote down fake names and handed them their keys. "Here you go, please have a good stay." Blue nodded as he led Sombra to the room they were staying in. Seemed the reception gave them the best room, given it was on the top floor and had a balcony Sombra smirked slightly in approval of the room.

Sombra sat down, taking a moment to look out the window: "Ugh, it seems even in the modern age ponies can't help themselves in making their business lavish...Never was fond of it as a foal."

"Ehh I've never been a fan of it myself, but with my job I'm able to afford it to a degree" Blue said "Besides, most ponies don't come to this hotel for the building itself, it's mainly the view and the actual place the hotel is at."

"Mmhm." Sombra nodded, muffled, eating, "So, on the whole, thoughts on how this trip will go?"

"I think it will go well, especially the fact that I'm with you. I enjoy having company" He said, giving Sombra a loving look.

Sombra smiled with a sly smile "Well...I will admit, being with you isn't so bad either."

"Well...I'm glad that's the case" Blue said, smiling in return as he looked to the clock "Alright, I'm going to head down and get an idea of what we can do here, just make yourself comfortable alright?"

"Alright...be back soon. I don't wish to wait for too long, I have good company of advanced spell matrices so I can keep myself occupied."

Blue chuckled softly, rolling his eyes as he left the room, leaving Sombra to himself. That was until Sombra heard some wing flaps coming from the balcony of the room

"I have to say...it is quite the honor being in a presence such as yourself~"

Sombra frowned, feeling his shoulders tense. He had had run-ins with assassins before...But never ones so brazen. The stallion didn't immediately lower his book, but his eyes were lodged tight onto the open balcony door "...typically ponies that intend my demise do it quietly. What do you want?"

Sombra shifted, ready to bounce off the bed. But he had never been one to make sudden movements, and wasn't about to start now. "Oh I'm far from a pathetic assassin King Sombra..." The stallion explained, he appeared to be an orange stallion wearing a Wonderbolt Generals Jacket. He had a dark black mane and with yellow-gold stripes going through it. His eyes a crimson red.

"And you failed to reply to my question." Sombra frowned, his expression deepening to something close to contempt. "I do not care to repeat myself, so perhaps you would want to try that again?" The stallion rose up from the bed, ears high in alert. He took a few careful steps towards the stallion, annoyed, his tail swishing like an angry cat

"Merely to meet the stallion who had broken the nation, with his surprise reformation...and...shocking love life" He said, holding up the newspaper tabloid "But I suppose none of that truly matters at the end of it all" He softly adjusted his tie, putting the tabloid down and walking into the room "I am Yellowjack...Air Pony Counciler of Equestria, and owner of the Wonderbolts"

"Well, now you have met me." Sombra growled, "Leave, before I throw you out." The dark stallion still seemed irked, his book -that he had enjoyed reading- lay forgotten on the bed.

"Mn...no" He said "You see Sombra...I am what you call a stallion of ambition...of course if you will" He said "As one of the three most powerful and influential ponies in all of Equestria I have a reputation and a business to uphold" He continued on, pacing around the room slightly, but never breaking eye contact "You...coming back...well...that puts a bit of a hindrance in that."

To Sombra, the stallion's boasting of his status meant very little, but at the sign of a threat, his eyes narrowed. If he had any luck, this was some delusional twat insecure of their position. If he didn't, then... well. Perhaps he was one of the ponies who thought change only happened to creatures not of his caliber?

"Last I checked I've done very little, unless you find lounging on a nice divan a personal affront." the stallion hissed, annoyed. He walked past the stallion, knowing the magic that bound his soul to the realm of the living could withstand a fall, or a backstabbing.

"Mn...you haven't done anything as of yet...however it's the future I am far more concerned with" He said "And unlike some other idiots I'm not going to just sit here and babble on about my plans and allow you to foil them...so im going to just cut straight to the point" He said, before he took out what looked like a VHS Tape, of course Sombra had no idea what the hell it was... until he walked over to the TV, inserting the tape into it, before the screen flashed to life...showing Sombra something that would most likely cause panic. It was him and Blue...in the train....and Sombra was having his panic attack.

The stallion tensed considerably, silent as a grave. Yellowjacket saw how, despite the attempt at masking it, Sombra was alarmed, no, more than alarmed. He was nervous. Sombra grit his teeth, red eyes flashed all the more bright against his paling face. Sombra turned his head towards the stallion in almost a robotic way, like he was momentarily numb. Hairs at the back of his neck and shoulders stood up, his voice was an aggressive hiss.

"Do you think you can just waltz in here and blackmail me??"

Sombra was scared, so very, very scared, but he had never been the one to shy away. No...when he was scared, he went for the throat. And now he closed the distance to Yellowjacket, eyes locked onto his eyes. But his magic didn't come; the shadows didn't answer to his silent call.

Of course, Celestia's spell... The stallion regretted his choice now.

"I can when it serves me well" Yellowjacket smerked "Now here is what is going to happen...at some point in the future, you will owe me one single thing...and when you have completed that...the tape will be handed to you" He said, as he continued to pace "And before you go and try to have your little...fuck toy known as Blue Crest try to save you" He said picking up the paper "Know that I have been the one behind all of this...I control all of the newspaper companies in Equestria, I decide what gets published and when...and trust me when I say you are always going to be followed" He said, walking up close to Sombra smirking "So try to defy me...or get in my way...and everything will be released"

The stallion growled: "I should bind your wings and throw you off the balcony... I should gore you for this insolence!!"

But despite the threat, the stallion didn't move, but his voice was barely audible from the growling, grave tones. "Leave, if you know what is good for you, before I have half a mind to make sure you suffer!"

Yellowjacket chuckled as he walked back to the edge of the balcony "You may have been a powerful, feared, and well-known king 1,000 Years ago....but this is the modern age Sombra, you...are nothing but a pathetic excuse for a stallion, longing for a place in a world he doesn't belong in...I...on the other hand...have taken everything you were..." He said, flaring his wings* "Keep our little...talk...in mind when you go to speak to your 'Prince~' hm?" *He said, mocking Sombra with the name that only he and Blue should know, as he flew off.

It was purely out of adrenaline that the stallion didn't even budge until he could no longer see the pegasus, collapsing as his legs gave out. He laid on the carpeted floor, heaving and his eyes wild. And Blue wasn't there to help him. He could feel his heart race, his vision tunnel into something small. He had no place in this era, that...he knew that. He hadn't even had a place in the era he grew in, far less here.

Canterlot Castle

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon, The day was officially over and giving way to evening. Celestia could feel that little detail down in her very bones, needling and prodding her to attend to her last official duty of the day and lower the sun so the moon could rise. But at the moment that needling sensation just wasn't quite enough to get her up and out of her office chair.

The pile of paperwork occupying her inbox had eventually migrated its way to her outbox. But if asked about the finer details of what she'd processed, she wouldn't be able to give much of an explanation. Her mind had been elsewhere the entire time, leaving her more or less running purely on autopilot for the majority of it. Sombra's wish that he had asked for her to do was replaying in her mind over and over again. Had he truly changed so much to want to purge the very thing that made him who he was?

It was only when she felt a shod hoof prodding at her side, did she really come to and take note of her surroundings.

"Bit for your thoughts?" Luna asked her while giving her a look that only a sibling could manage.

"If only," she sighed as she rotated to better face her. "Sister...what do you think of General Blue's report of Sombra? and there visit today?"

Luna was quiet for a moment and sighed softly "Truthfully sister, I do not know how to feel. On the one hoof Sombra was one of our greatest foes next to Lord Tirek, it took almost all of our strength to defeat him...and now that he is free and roaming our lands, it gives me cause for worry." She said, then she looked out the window, looking to the sky as the sun began to set, Celestia's magic slowly lowering it.

"Somehow that does not surprise me." Celestia huffed.

"On the other hoof...where it not for chances like the one you are giving Sombra, perhaps I would not be here with you right now. It was your student who saved us from The Nightmare, and also gave Discord a chance to show his worth being reformed as well. If you believe Twilight to be capable of ruling Equestria after we retire, then we must have faith in her."

"Sister...the truth is I don't want to believe that this could actually work. As much as I admire Twilight's dedication to wanting to help Equestria's villains, Sombra is something completely different. He is half Umbrum, they are pure evil." Celestia groaned. "He enslaved the entire Crystal Empire, brainwashed the populous, and tried to conquer all of Equestria, and we are supposed to believe he will simply change his ways just because of a program?"

She groaned again, and leaned back in her chair as she covered her face with her hooves.

"Sister...I put Blue Crest on this job because he has shown me he is the most loyal pony to the country, and that he holds his job and the ponies under his command at high regard. He took the job, knowing full well Sombra could try to take him under his dark magic control, he forfeited his own personal time and well-being for this job. And yet, when we learn about Sombra showing change, we doubt the capabilities of not only the pony we put in charge of watching him, but your most gifted students' future plans? Is that truly the situation we find ourselves in?"

Celestia's doubts aside, she needed that forceful energy and enthusiasm that Luna had right now.

"Rest assured, Sister, Blue Crest and Twilight Sparkle both have shown in the past their intuition in others. I believe we can trust them and give Sombra a chance. Just like you gave it to me."

"I suppose...you make a good point sister." Celestia said smiling in response.

"Now how about you and I get something to eat because I am starving and of no use to anypony on an empty stomach!" Luna stated. "I have been waiting nearly an hour for you and I refuse to wait any longer. Now move!"

Celestia wanted to comment, but was interrupted at her stomach growling at the mention of food, effectively shutting down any discussion on the matter.

"Well when you put it that way..."

Hay and Stay Hotel - Canterlot

A few hours later, Blue would return, with a small bag. The stallion had a bit of a smile on his face "Hay Sombra, sorry I took longer, I wanted to-" Blue noticed then immediately Sombra on the floor, dropping everything he had on and rushing over to him "Sombra?!"

"I'm... I'm fine. I just... was trying out a spell. It was a bit more adverse than I expected." Sombra lied, refusing to look at the stallion. He had inadvertently brought Blue into his problems. He didn't know how to deter the stallion. Blue wrapped a wing around him, holding him tightly again

"Are you sure? You look sick..." he said, looking him over as he tried to make sense of the situation "What kind of spell was it?"

The stallion didn't answer initially: "I...feel sick. I'm..." The stallion rushed to the bathroom and threw up, all the years of insecurities and hurt came out with his body being first to react.

"It... it was an emotion-spell, it backfired..." More lies. But he didn't know what else to do. He had pulled Blue, who was innocent, into his myriad of problems. Now he was going to be followed for as long as the stallion was attached to him. All of the sudden, his old prison cell under the tundra was sounding good. He could just... cast a sleep spell on himself and... cease to be, forgotten. Like he should have been ages ago.

"I'm sorry Blue."

"Hay hay...don't apologize" He said, softly walking to the bathroom and sitting next to him, rubbing his back softly "You didn't do anything wrong... you are ok and that's what's important" He said, softly nuzzling him. The stallion wasn't sure why he made that much of a gesture to him, but he felt it would help calm him.

Instead of leaning onto Blue, the stallion shied away from him, eyes averted: "No... it's..."

The stallion was lost, his footing destabilized. He didn't know how to word the thoughts as he scrambled to get back to his mental calm.

"... I should have been more careful. Should have been smarter."

Blue noticed the shied away, immediately putting out some warning flags in his mind* "Hay what's wrong...you seem distant..."

The stallion didn't answer. Instead, his shoulders sagged and he rinsed his mouth of the bile. "...I'm going to bed."

"W-wait hold on-" Blue said, getting up as he followed the stallion.

"It was just... a bad spell. Need to sleep the effect off." The stallion growled. He felt exhausted, spent and ill.

"Sombra please can you just talk to me?" He asked, the stallion sounding genuinely worried.

Sombra didn't answer at first, climbing into bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, but Blue's presence, the tone of his voice made him open his eyes again: "You didn't do anything wrong, it's not you. I'm the source of all these problems. I'm the reason we're followed around and you suffer because of me."

The stallion used his magic to draw the curtains closed.

"Sombra...you are not to blame for any of that stuff...those damn reporters are just nosey fools who want to make big by reporting on you. You are not the problem, and you shouldn't blame yourself"

"If...If I had been content being a nopony, a footnote in a history book, none of this would have happened! None of this would have happened and the world would be better for it! Better without me!" The stallion yelled, growl and anger in his voice, "I am to be blamed! Of course I am!! I caused all of this and you'll be hurt by me eventually!"

"Don't talk like that! Sombra for godess sake you shouldn't blame yourself for that stuff. You made mistakes, everybody does, even bad ones" Blue said, trying to calm him down all be it with himself getting a bit heated "You say you would be better not around well I disagree! I want you around...I think the world would be boring and sad without you in my life right now"

"Boring and sad is better than what I offer! You will get hurt. It's not if, it's when!" The stallion stood up, growling: "... and I can't let that happen. Not again, not... Please look for another assignment."

"No I'm not going to do that! I'm not going to abandon you!" He said shouting, being quite firm in his stance* "Not after everything we have done together!"

The stallion roared in fury, his hoofsteps heavy even against the carpet as he stood up, eyes blazing: "Everything we've done? I'll tell you exactly what we've done." Sombra stepped close to Blue, so close that Blue had to crane his neck to look at Sombra's eyes. "I let myself get attached, enough to lower my guard, when I never should have!" The stallion's voice was venomous, cruel and cold.

If he couldn't keep the stallion safe with reason, then he would do it with force.

"Im not abandoning you" He said aggressively "I'm never going to abandon somepony! Never again! I'm not going to sit by while you suffer not when you are trying so hard! I've seen the good in you, I have seen a side of you that no pony else has! And I'll be fucking damned if I abandon you just because some fucking reporters!-" Blue staggered before he noticed something...the stallion pausing as he slowly walked to the table near the balcony, first noticing the newspaper...then...a single...orange feather...

Sombra's breathing was heavy and loud, as he followed Blue with his gaze. He was angry, no, livid that the stallion tried to go down with him, even though he deserved better. But at the same time, he was both terrified and relieved that Blue could see past his behavior. The next moment, Sombra only heard one word.

"Yellowjacket" Blue said in a low tone, the stallion's voice sounding threatening, something Sombra had never even heard before. Furthermore the fact he said Yellowjacket right away says something else...Blue knows what is going on.