Dream's Fading Shadow

Fading Shadow

Had they been walking for just a few minutes? Hours, maybe? They didn't know; time was different here. Or rather, it didn’t seem to move at all. Twilight was walking ahead, with Sombra a few meters behind, keeping his distance.

Why? Well, our Twilight was nervous, thinking about why she had kissed him. Was it on impulse? Partly, yes; she had done it because all of this made her feel so frustrated, leading her to make impulsive decisions. But that wasn't all.

She had been kissed before by one of his fragments; that pressure, that sensation… she needed to know if it felt the same with him. This version of him seemed more sensitive than the others.

This made her think: Is this the only good part of him? What about the others? The others seemed to hate her or even obsess over her to the point of forcing her into situations she didn’t want.

"Was this the first time?" she asked, breaking the silence that had dominated as they walked.

"The dreams?" he asked. "Yes… a few weeks after the Empire incident. My body was reduced to a mass of shadows, fracturing my soul into several pieces…" he replied, his voice calm.

"I need you to tell me everything, every detail of it," she said, still not looking at him, just walking.

"Well… I don’t know how, but pieces of my soul managed to reach your dreams, even evading the guard of the Princess of the Night," he said, deep in thought. How could they have done that? They even bypassed the power of an alicorn. He was good, he wouldn’t deny it, but he wasn’t that powerful, especially not at that moment.

"And they started tormenting me. How nice," said Twilight, turning around to look at him with a hint of sarcasm. "You really don’t know how to lose."

Sombra looked at her, somewhat amused. It was the first time they’d had a conversation that wasn’t one-sided, where one spoke and the other responded with grunts. He started to laugh, but suddenly, he felt something was wrong.

"Ugh…" he stopped abruptly. Twilight noticed and rushed to him.

“What’s happening to you?” she asked, panic rising in her voice, but what happened next, she hadn’t expected at all.

He was fading away—or rather, his body was disappearing, like a mere reflection. Twilight reached out with a trembling hoof towards him. What was happening? Fortunately, he was still somewhat solid; she could touch him, but he was slowly vanishing. They looked at each other, one more worried than the other.

"We need to hurry," Twilight said. She was right; there wasn’t much time left.

Sombra was stunned. This was bad—very bad. But he wasn’t thinking about himself. He thought that if he disappeared first, Twilight would be next. If he vanished, this entire surreal reality would vanish along with Twilight's consciousness. This was very bad.

"Twilight, you have to go. Please," Sombra said urgently.

"Sombra, I already told you, we’re going to—" she began, but he interrupted her.

"Twilight, just look at me! It’s fine. This is what I deserve, don’t you think?" he repeated, desperate for her to leave. "If something happens to you, I..."

Twilight was startled. It was obvious that she mattered to him. Despite the things they had said before, were these emotions the same ones she felt for him when he was in his monstrous form? And if it was the same, that would make everything much more complicated given the moment they were in.

"Sombra, it’s okay, you haven’t done anything to me—" she tried to say, but once again, she was interrupted. Frustrating, yes. Why wouldn't they let her finish?

"Twilight..." he murmured with difficulty. He couldn't face her, and he couldn't because his conscience wouldn't let him. "You... you don't know, you have no idea what they did to you, or rather, what I did to you in those dreams..." he said, unsure of how to continue. "You have no idea! You're lucky you can't remember them... but I..."

Twilight looked at him with that expression again, that pained look that made his heart clench like a thorn piercing it. He was right; she couldn't remember the dreams from before she first saw him in his monstrous form.

"Yes, you're right," Twilight admitted, making Sombra lower his gaze even more. Even though he needed to confront her, he couldn't. "But it wasn't you; it was them," the pony added.

"But I am them... and besides, I could have prevented it... but I chose not to." His voice trembled slightly as he finally looked up at her. "Why are you doing this? I mean, I don't deserve anything from you."

"Sombra..." Twilight murmured. It was the first time she saw him like this. The first time she faced him, not in her dreams but when she defeated him, she thought he was evil, selfish, and many other things she decided not to mention. But now, she could see many things, including that he also felt fear, just like her.

“It would be better this way, Twilight, to disappear like the shadow of a dream,” said Sombra, turning his gaze away completely. He wouldn’t let her perish with him; he was decided, determined! He would do anything to get her out of this dream.

“What are you talking about? I already told you, we’ll find a way!” Twilight exclaimed with frustration. She knew she would find a solution, but at the rate Sombra was fading, every second counted. “Let’s keep moving,” she added, turning around and continuing. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, but he didn’t move.

“No,” Sombra replied, not taking a step. Twilight started walking, but didn’t turn around. “Where are we supposed to go...? This place is doomed!” he shouted, gesturing all around. “Why bother saving me? Twilight, you have to get out of here, now!”

Twilight stopped, her gaze down, teeth clenched. Let him die? No one would do that, least of all her. Why? Well, her emotions had been intense ever since she started dreaming about him. Maybe she had developed some kind of attachment? But that didn’t matter now. Whether it was attachment or even love, it didn’t matter. She could figure it out later, but not while Sombra was disappearing.

She turned to him and just stared. Sombra flinched. A staring contest? He was very good at those, and he wouldn’t go down easily! Both of them locked eyes as if arguing silently. Twilight stood there, persistent, immovable, but Sombra’s pupils were beginning to waver. He blinked. Damn.

“All right, tell me the plan,” Sombra said, sighing in resignation. Twilight gave a small smile of victory. Sombra also smiled, seeing her childlike attitude as she took charge. Had the real leader just shown up?

“Okay, I’ve been thinking about something,” continued the pony.

“Since when? Since you got here?” Sombra asked, confused but amused.

“Something like that. I still need to confirm a few things, but yes. It might work,” said the bright unicorn. This definitely had to work. It had to.

“I still insist you should leave; there’s still time,” said Sombra. He wouldn’t stop insisting. This was no longer just about him; it was about her. She, who made him feel things. Even now.

“Stop it. Anyway, I can’t wake up,” she said as if it were nothing.

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?” Sombra asked, confused. It was true, he no longer had the ability to wake her up. Now that he thought about it, he had tried to wake her up when he told her to leave, but she hadn’t disappeared. Why?

“I’m inside your dreams, in my dream. It’s... strange,” she replied, somewhat confused by the situation.

“That makes no sense,” he said, laughing.

“None of this does. How did even your other versions manage to connect to my dreams?” Twilight responded. Sombra looked at her thoughtfully. He had no idea, but something told him his other versions were somehow connected to the pony's plan.

That, he would find out.