Obscured in Shadow

Luna was hesitant to continue. The last thing that she wished was to anger Sombra, therefore she chose her words carefully so as to not come across in a negative way.

"You are aware of my sister, correct?"

"Spirit of the sun, Celestia, yes." Sombra answered shortly, prompting Luna to continue.

"I need her dead, to put it simply." Luna paused again. "But I am unable to do this by myself. She is far too powerful." At this, Sombra raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed? Of all things, this was the least expected." Sombra exhaled slightly and closed his eyes. "But, I would like to address the fact that Celestia, being and Ascended Alicorn like yourself, would not be greater in power." Sombra opened his eyes to observe Luna's mane. "You have also reached the peak of your powers as an Ascended Alicorn, not unlike your sister, correct? Further proof that you are equals." Sombra was more understanding than Luna had expected him to be, but he wasn't wasting any time. He was quick to speak and was clearly uninterested in small talk.

"All due respect given, being of equal power doesn't allow me to do anything. An open battle would result in a stalemate." Luna quickly added: "I'll of course grant something in return if you would require incentive to assist me."

"I could kill Celestia in a second, no questions asked," Sombra looked down at the Alicorn. "Although, would it not disrupt the balance? I'd doubt it would be wise to kill the spirit of the sun." Sombra considered for a moment. "Unless of course you wish to take over as the sun's guide?" Luna nodded.

"That is what I intend." Luna was still admiring this great Unicorn. His features were dark, but attractive at the same time. No, Luna. Get a hold of yourself.

"Well, if it is what you wish, I shall assist you. But as i'm sure you guessed, I will require something in return." Luna nodded. "I wish to ask that you allow me to take control of the Crystal Empire without interference." This came out of nowhere. The Crystal Empire? Why that of all things? The Crystal Empire was south of Equestria, but Celestia and Luna had not had much involvement with it at all. It was apparently the last empire left standing after Discord's reign. It was, at the very least, clear that something powerful resided in that place.

"May I ask, Sombra," Luna hoped that she wasn't about to make the wrong move. "Why the Crystal Empire?" Luna backed away slightly as Sombra's expression began to harden, his eyes narrowing, but his face softened after he noticed Luna's reaction.

"I shall tell you, If you tell me why you must kill your sister. We shall share our reasons with one another, it will not be one- way." Luna agreed with this, and began to explain. It was a long- winded explanation, but Sombra did not mind. Well, as far as Luna could tell anyway. Once she had explained everything that was needed explaining, she waited for Sombra's reaction.

"The Crystal Empire," It was clear that he was not going to comment on Luna's story. "Housed one of the most powerful Unicorns ever to exist on the face of the planet. He was known as the 'Crystal Emperor', fittingly so." Sombra glared at the ground. "His name is a mystery to me, but as far as i'm concerned, he needs no name. I am not interested in such things." Sombra began to pace. Luna found it odd, but didn't dare say a word of it.

"You say: 'Why the Crystal Empire?'. The humorous thing is that I'm not interested in the Empire whatsoever." Sombra looked at Luna. "I'm only interested in it's previous Emperor."

"May I ask why?" Luna asked, quickly adding: "Or is it not for me to know?" Sombra raised an eyebrow. Luna had been acting overly cautious during their conversation, and it was obvious that Sombra noticed.

"You needn't be cautious, Luna. At least not to this extent." Sombra glared behind him. "I do not know what Djorn has told you, but I wouldn't hurt a mare such as yourself." Sombra cleared his throat while Luna blushed slightly. "Well, I wouldn't hurt any mare, or stallion for that matter." He paused. "Well, unless I was prompted to, of course. But I assure you, nothing that you will say here today would result in me hurting you. You can be sure of that." Luna was now developing a case of the butterflies, but ignored them.

"The 'man' said that if I ended up dead, then it would mean trouble for him," Luna smiled. "But I suppose I was just being paranoid, I apologize." Sombra nodded, smiling faintly, and continued.

"The Crystal Emperor sparks my interest for two reasons. The first being the fact that he successfully traversed the gates of Tartarus, which has never been done before. It has been several thousand years since, but no one else has ever been able to do it. The second reason...." Sombra looked into Luna's eyes. "Is the fact that he successfully murdered by brethren." There was a long pause before anyone spoke. It was Luna who broke the silence.

"How...why?" Luna was concerned.

"His magic was something that no one had ever seen before. The way he manipulated what is now known as 'Crystal Magic' was incredible. Not even the greatest of our bloodline could touch him." Sombra bit his lip. "This Emperor has hid all of his knowledge in the Crystal Tower, according to rumor. It is my plan to study the ways of Crystal Magic in order to further my own magical potential. Perhaps, I could even alter it to my liking, and create new magic through that." Sombra looked down at Luna. "The reason WHY he attacked my family is something that I still to this day do not understand completely. It seems that he is one of those 'self proclaimed do- gooders'. I would assume that he was under the impression that he was doing the world a service by getting rid of us.

"But, as a result of his ideology, my bloodline has had to suffer. I am now the last of my Dynasty, and as far as the Tartarus bloodlines are concerned, my bloodline, is a dead one." Sombra hung his head slightly. "I have practically been discredited as a result of this, and I am practically worthless in the eyes of many in Tartarus. But you see, title dictates nothing in Tartarus, it is one's power that which defines who the individual is. However, it seems that I am the exception to this. I am of a dead bloodline, and as a result, I am not illegible to receive respect."

"And if you were to lean Crystal Magic," Luna was now beginning to understand the stallion before her. "you will be able to receive respect." Sombra, to Luna's surprise, smiled.

"It seems that that much doesn't need to be explained. You are quite intelligent, Luna of the moon. But I daresay that your reasons are greater than my own. You have definitely suffered from your immortality in such a way that it is difficult for me to relate. Everyone I have ever known has been immortal, and I have never experienced a death, other than that of my family of course. But such a thing is rare for those of Tartarus."

"Sombra, I have a question to ask you, if you don't mind." Luna was now quite confused. "Why do you exist in Tartarus?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your meaning." Sombra tilted his head slightly.

"I have heard that only evil and dark individuals end up in Tartarus. But you aren't either of those things. Based on what I've seen so far, you are a kind and friendly Unicorn, and you are definitely not what I would refer to as: "evil". Sombra sighed.

"Luna, i'm afraid things are more complicated than that. But even now I am lost as to why I was sent to Tartarus." Sombra looked up thoughtfully. "I would suppose that my deepest feelings are that of darkness." He shook his head. "Either way, I will assist you with killing Celestia if you so desire it. But, I must ask that I make my way to the Crystal Empire first." Luna, even though she knew that Sombra was practically harmless, still did not want to deny him his wishes at this stage. She nodded in reply. "I wish to use my Crystal Magic on Celestia, once I have acquired it. She would be an excellent test subject." Well that explains it. Luna was for a brief moment considering the possibility that Sombra was attempting to get out of fulfilling his end of the bargain. But it was clear to Luna now that such a thing wasn't the case, which brought her relief.

"Shall we leave, then?" Luna was borderline overjoyed. Her plans had actually worked, and her sister would soon be dead. Just the thought made Luna's blood boil with excitement.