Presence of Mind, Absence of Body

The bed is warm, and so is she. He’s pressed over her, using her engorged tits as a pillows while he stares silently at the ceiling and recovers his breath. She runs her hands softly across his chest, feeling the muscles underneath while they both just breathe.

He is sated.

So is she.

Now there’s silence. Likely, he intends to drift off to sleep. She’s tired, but maybe it’s time.

There are only three moons left, after all.

“Sombra? Can we talk?” Her voice is soft.

He grunts. “What is it, Princess?”

She smiles at the name. He still doesn’t know, or perhaps care, who she is. To him, she’s simply “Princess.”

“Our test is coming up, and I’d like to talk about it.”

“Will I finally learn what this mysterious ‘Friendship Test’ is? Or will you continue to be needlessly vague?”

She continues to smile. He’s not angry, or even interested. He’s entertaining her request to talk is all. Even now, sometimes he defies expectations. She’d be curious about everything in his horseshoes, and have peppered her with questions years ago. But him? He needed to figure it out himself. And her volunteered information was… unnecessary.

But time was almost up. There were only three moons left, and they felt like nothing.

“You know I’m from an alternate world, right? My friends here… they aren’t my real, real friends.”

He shrugs. “I’m aware. I hadn’t considered the aspect covering the others. What does it matter?”

She sighs. “I told you my friends would save me.”

“And I told you that they had no chance. I was far stronger than them before, but now? I’m infinitely stronger.”

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t mean them, you dummy.”

He pauses, confused at her lukewarm insult. She’s usually much more hostile when she’s insulting him. That was purely childish.

Twilight continues. “I mean my friends from home. And your magic? It won’t mean much. It doesn’t really hold a candle to what they could do.”

He snarls, suddenly offended as he grabs her hand to stop her gentle stroking. “I could defeat armies. Let them try.”

She gently taps his forehead with her other hand. “Can you really? You call me ‘Princess’, but have you thought about the repercussions of that? You’re always missing details with relationships, even simple ones. If I’m, indeed a princess, then could you really handle an army? One that comes from a magic world and wouldn't be daunted by your spells? One prepared to take their princess back by any means, with access to magics you haven’t considered?”

He’s quiet as he thinks.

“Even if you knew what they could do, three moons is hardly enough time to prepare. Even if I could tell you exactly their plan, which I can’t, it’s simply a matter of force. You, or perhaps we, would have no chance. And that’s assuming I’m not lying to you, which I know you always consider.”

He lets go of her hand. “Then I must assume you’re lying now.”

She sighs, feeling a weight in her chest. “I haven’t lied to you, Sombra. You should have enough experience with me to understand that.”

He tenses his arm, then relaxes. “So, are you then? A princess?”

She stares listlessly at the ceiling. “I am. I am the Princess of Equestria, the Princess of Friendship, and the Element Bearer of Magic. Any one of those titles would warrant a response. With all three? And my personal relationships with all of Equestria’s heroes and royalty? They will come for me.”

His answer is slow. “What if… I were to kill you?”

She laughs. That’s such a “him” thought. It’s practical, ruthless, and easy to employ. But it also completely misunderstands the equine heart. “Then, my dear Sombra, you’ll have an army seeking vengeance. That’s hardly a better position to be in. At least if I’m alive you have a bargaining chip.”

He growls, “You’re mine.”

Twilight’s heart flutters. She really is, in so many ways.

“I know. Which is why we need to discuss other options. I don’t want you to fight them. I don’t want them to fight you. If anypon… body dies, I lose something. I know you don’t believe me, but I consider you… something to me. A friend at least. And… something else as well.”

She doesn’t know what she means by that exactly. What they have isn’t love. It’s an understanding, coupled with pure physicality. She might be emotional about it, but she doubts he is. At least, not like her.

He snorts. “So you want me to just give you up?”

She shakes her head. “No… If you sent me back… I’d… I don’t know. Miss you? Miss… this? Oh stars, do I want to help you?”

She hadn’t thought about it like that. Or rather, she had put those thoughts in the library of things not to think about.

He grabs her hand and holds it to his face, inspecting it. “Then the tattoos did eventually work?”

Twilight feels disgusted with herself. “Or the hormones, I suppose. Oxytocin is potent… and you’ve been… well… I doubt it’s the tattoos. I’m not particularly obedient.”

She slaps his face with her other hand, the action is easy and he seems startled. It honestly feels good to hit him… a little.

He grunts in annoyance, “I see.”

She closes her eyes and wraps her hands around him. “Oh stars… what the hell have you done to me?”

He doesn’t answer. They both know plenty that he’s done to her.

“Why three moons?” Sombra asks instead.

Twilight squeezes him slightly. “The door between our worlds is time gated. It opens once every thirty moons. Usually.”

“Usually?”

Three moons? Twilight has an odd thought. “Yes… I made keys that let me travel more often…”

He grips her hands. “Where are they?”

She grips back. Why wait three moons? “You have them. The books. I should have left one at home, so somepony else could use it, but I brought it with me. I had wanted to compare it with Sunset’s and see if any changes had manifested… but you took them. They’re on the shelf in your archive.”

“Can they be used to close the portal?”

She shakes her head. He’s on the wrong track, but she’s thinking hard. Why does it need to be three moons? “No, they can’t do that. And before you ask, even if you could destroy the portal it would be disastrous for both worlds.”

“I don’t plan to simply wait and die. If I have to destroy everything, I will.” His answer is terrifying. She knows he’s serious.

She needs to give him another option. “Actually… I have an idea.”

He stares silently at the ceiling. “What is it?”