Login

Sombra The Highly Unmotivated

by naturalbornderpy

Chapter 5: Betrayal... Later

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

By the time I entered my condo and set my keys on the hook, Sombra had already cornered me, his odd pony features stuck in a frown.

He said coldly, “Steve, you left me here all day long knowing full well I could have been attacked. I’ll have you know I skipped my after-meal nap because of you. How can you possibly live with yourself?”

I sighed and readjusted the grip on my bags. “I had to work, Sombra. I told you that on the phone.”

I tried to enter the living room, but he blocked me. “You still should have been back hours ago. I thought something might…” He glanced down. “I thought something might have happened to you; that those ponies might have gotten to you while you were out.”

With my leg, I scooted him to the side and set my bags on the coffee table. I said casually, “Almost sounds as if my pet pony actually cares about me. But that couldn’t be, could it? He’s a dick.”

Sombra’s original frown came back. “That’s not what I was referring to, Steve. And I am not your pet. If anything, you are mine. My only concern was whether food would be coming or if I’d need to try cooking again.”

I sat on my side of the couch and crossed a leg. “Well, the condo’s not on fire, so I guess you didn’t. How you burnt water that one time, I still have no idea.”

“That’s because I was using unicorn magic. And I was trying to turn it into some of the wine from my old kingdom.”

I kept the religious jokes to myself.

I patted the couch. “We need to talk.”

“You’re damn right we do!” he trumpeted, taking a seat beside me. “We don’t have much time. We need to strike at them before they begin their attack. I know it was only that lone mare the other day, but I can’t imagine her leaving out her other cohorts in laying my carcass to waste.”

“About that.” I rubbed my hands anxiously. “You see, I actually got a call from Twilight today. And then I spoke with them in person. All seven of them.”

Sombra’s pupils shrunk as he stood up on the couch. He tried pacing back and forth, only managing a single step in either direction. “What!? And for some reason you decided not to inform me of such details? Is your head on straight, you fool? We can continue our witty banter anytime! Not when those psychotic mares have spoken to you!”

I pulled on his leg until he sat down. “Look, it’s all right. We spoke and that’s all that happened.”

Sombra’s eyes went from the curtained window to the door. “How do I know they’re not outside right now? How do I know they didn’t follow you back with a net on a stick, along with another stick, to try and trap me?”

I looked at the window, even if I knew no pony lay in wait. “Why would they need an extra stick?”

“To poke me with, obviously. Those mares…” He growled. “They’re sick, I tell you. Twisted and vile and deranged.”

“They were actually kind of cute, Sombra. Perhaps a little too bright, but I guess anything might seem pretty bright compared to your black on gray color scheme.”

Sombra scoffed. “My coat and mane are the best that you could hope to find. Black goes with everything. Everyone knows that.”

I faked surprise. “Is that why you won’t leave my couch? Because you’re a perfect match?”

He put his hoof to my mouth. “Enough talk, Steve. You said seven of them. That purple mare only had five friends the last time I saw her and I highly doubt Celestia had enough bits to pay another poor pony to be Twilight’s friend for a lifetime. Was it…” He gulped. “Was there another alicorn with them?”

I flicked his dirty hoof away. “Yes. A big one, too.”

Sombra edged his butt to the corner of the couch, wrapping his tail around him. “A big blue one or a big white one?”

“Blue. Named Luna. Is that better news or worse news?”

Sombra contemplated. “I don’t know. But I don’t like it. Any alicorns here at all scares me.”

“You said you wanted to kill them. Where’d all that talk go?”

“Well, of course I still do, Steve!” he shot back. “It’s… I’m just not ready yet. They didn’t give me fair warning.” He bared his fangs. “But if they wish to die, then so be it! I’ll rip out their throats and roll in their blood. I will not go down without a fight.”

I placed both legs on the table and put my hands behind my head. “As much as I’d love to see you get your sorry ass beaten by a group of colorful mares, I actually have some good news for you.”

He looked at me curiously. “What?”

“They left. All of them did. We talked and we talked and in the end they agreed you could stay here, as long as you remained out of sight and didn’t cause trouble.”

Slowly, Sombra retreated from his corner of the couch. “How? I don’t understand, Steve. They came all this way for me and now you’re telling me they just left without me? That sounds too good to be true.”

I grinned. “I might have had to embellish a few facts about you to get them to understand the situation better.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I told them you didn’t want to rule over anyone anymore.”

“I rule over you, Steve,” he corrected.

“All right. I also told them you’d gotten fat and lazy, and weren’t all that much a threat. That you’d basically become a pony that refuses to leave the couch.”

Blasphemy!” he shouted. “Lies and slander, Steve! I am so still a threat. To everyone. And so what if I like this couch? It’s soft and dependable. Qualities I wish more things in my life had.”

“To get them to go, I had to tell them stuff like that. I wasn’t meaning to damage your character, Sombra. You’ve been doing that just fine on your own, I think.”

He opened his mouth to say more, but hesitated. Eventually, he asked, “So, they’re really gone?”

I nodded. “Yes. In a blast of white light and everything.”

Sombra leapt off the couch and jumped up and down in front of the TV, giggling childishly. “I knew I could outsmart those stupid mares! They thought they could best a King? Ha! Run back home with your tail tucked between your legs!”

I rolled my eyes. “I might have helped, too, you know.”

Sombra stopped his silly little prance. His grin left his face as he came up to me, setting a hoof on my leg. He viewed the floor again. “Thank you, Steve. You are a good friend.”

I wanted to rebut what he’d said. Make light of it and tell the dark King he was going soft—compare him to the mares he’d become so afraid of. I was more than sure he’d respond with something about my luck with the ladies and I’m sure we’d both get a chuckle out of it. Only this time I kept my mouth shut and took his statement to heart. I found I could hardly look at him at the time.

I patted his leg. “You’re welcome, Sombra.”

It would only be a few hours more until it’d be over.

***

It didn’t take long before most of Sombra’s muzzle was coated with grease and bits of cheese. Once I’d explained to him that the threat had vanished, I pulled out the two boxes of pizza I’d picked up on the way home.

For the briefest of moments, he glanced at the box nervously. “I thought this was only a Friday thing?”

I opened both boxes on the table. “It’s a celebration, Sombra. Let’s leave it at that.”

It didn’t take long for the pony’s stomach to overpower his thoughts. A reddish aura grabbed at the closest slice and in the blink of an eye it was gone, mashed to bits between his teeth.

It might be a long while until his next pizza, I thought gloomily.

My own pizza I put on a plate before I turned on the TV. I turned to the chewing monstrosity. “I want to show you the last episode of Breaking Bad. You all right with that?”

With a leg, he wiped at his mouth. “I thought we still had a few more tales to go before then, Steve?”

I started the last episode anyways. “Just humor me. I only want you to see the ending.” I decided I couldn’t leave it at that. “I’m curious what you’ll think.”

I started the episode and finished my couple of slices. Sombra closed his box and glanced at the rest of mine. I nudged it over to him and the munching continued. While the show started, I filled him in on what’d happened, including the death of his favorite character Mineral Man. His grief was short lived though, as I informed him he eventually found his minerals before passing on.

It took close to ten minutes to get up the nerve to say what was on my mind, but it was a topic I needed to address. For my own sake, I thought.

“You’re not a very good pony, are you?”

Sombra pried his eyes from the screen. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you’ve done a lot of bad things to ponies. Hurting them and killing them. It’s true, isn’t it?”

The pony narrowed his eyes. “Did those mares tell you that?”

“They did,” I answered calmly. “About your Empire and your slaves. About your decades of torment.”

He looked at me sourly. “And what of it?”

I put out a hand. “You don’t feel bad about any of that? All those poor ponies you hurt?”

“They had it coming.”

“No, they didn’t.”

“If I hadn’t have done it, someone else would’ve.”

I grabbed onto his shoulder. “Don’t joke this aside, Sombra. What you did in your own world was terrible and unforgivable. Do you honestly not feel the least bit sorry about what you did?”

With two hooves, he took my hand and placed it aside. He answered slowly, “I might regret a few of the things I did, yes, but I’m still proud of my accomplishments. When one is given such power over others, and when misery and death become a daily way of life, it’s easy to lose track of one’s morality. I think, since being away from it, I’ve come to understand it more.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of an apology.”

“That’s because it isn’t,” he responded sharply. “And I won’t be giving one.”

I changed directions. “When you go back to Equestria—if you go back—what would you do? Enslave again? Conquer again?”

Sombra thought for a moment. “No. I don’t think so. A job with less responsibility, perhaps. Something simple, like couch sales-pony. I know couches very well.”

I didn’t disagree.

I watched the TV again. “You know, those mares wanted to help you, Sombra. It was never their intention to hurt you or blow you up.”

“I wouldn’t have believed a word they said.”

“They told me they wanted to befriend you. Show you a life of happiness and joy and all that crap.”

Sombra grimaced. “I’m happy enough right here. Plus, I’ve already got one idiot to contend with, why would I want another seven of them?”

I could tell he was trying to insult me into ceasing my line of questioning. Thankfully, I was almost done.

“So you would be happy spending the next hundred years on my couch?”

He yawned. “As long as the image machine doesn’t break down.”

“No Empires? No pony pals? No sunshine and rainbows?”

“If I wanted any of that, I’d look out the window.”

I let the conversation go and went back to the TV. He wasn’t making what was to come any less hard. Or easy.

***

The final episode ended and I flipped it to some listless game show. I knew during the days, Sombra would go back and forth between channels, searching for any Family Feud episode he could find. He’d yell at the TV his guesses, pouting each time they weren’t accepted. Sombra’s sense of humor must have been removed as a child, not laughing at a single comment from the host.

Finally, I turned to him. “What did you think?”

“I think something’s wrong with that human’s mane. It’s missing.”

I sighed. “No. Not that. I mean with the last episode of Breaking Bad.”

He brought a hoof to his chin. “It was good. It ended well. But I thought that that bald man should have remained as he was, conquering and destroying all that opposed him.”

“I think he was looking for redemption, Sombra, to get a piece of his old soul back. He knew he’d turned into something he didn’t want to be anymore, so at the very end he changed, even if he knew it would likely lead to his death.”

Sombra grinned at me. “Is that what you believe will happen to me, Steve? Redemption? If I spend enough time around a normal, everyday human then sooner or later I’ll shed myself of all nastiness?”

I pointed a finger at him. “I think it’s already happened, Som-bro.”

“I only said that because I had to.”

I smiled. “Sure. Whatever you say.” I got off the couch and went to the kitchen, opening the fridge. “You want a beer?”

He turned his head to me, cocking a brow. “I thought beer was bad for ponies, Steve.”

“Well, as far as I can see, there’s two ways to get you to leave this place. Either I shove your sleeping body back through the toaster, or I slowly kill you with bad human food. So far, my money’s on you eating yourself to death.”

He flashed his fangs and clapped his hooves together mockingly. “Another fat joke, Steve, well done! You truly are the funniest human I’ve ever met! Oh, wait, you’re the only one.” He stopped clapping. “Fine. I’ll take one.”

I brought out two beers along with two glasses from the shelf. I opened one and poured, retrieving the small vial Twilight had given me from my pocket. It was emerald green with a cork at the top. I popped it off and quickly ran it under my nose. It smelled like nothing at all.

The contents of the vial went into the glass and disappeared into the beer. I didn’t even need to stir. Magic, I reminded myself. Don’t think about it: magic did it!

Returning to the couch, I set both down and Sombra grabbed hold of his with his horn. He drank deep and sighed contently, a thick foam mustache on his face. “We should drink more often, Steve. I rarely went a day without drinking myself to sleep in my Empire.”

I took a small pull from mine. “Living with a fat pony, I can handle. Living with an alcoholic one with magical powers? Not gonna happen. This is a treat. You’ve been stressed lately and so have I. So enjoy it, pony-boy, and drink up.”

Sombra did just that, grinning as bits of beer fell from his lips. Halfway finished his glass, his eyes took on a hazy look and he blinked sluggishly. He watched the TV with his head tilted to one side.

He said quietly, “You know, while you were gone today, I spent some time on your laptop.”

“Don’t remind me. I’ll throw it out in the morning.”

He snickered. “I didn’t do anything bad, Steve. I only tinkered a bit to keep myself from thinking about those mares.” He hesitated, before adding, “You used the term ‘petting’ a few days ago. I looked it up and found humans sometimes pet things to alleviate stress.” He gingerly glanced in my direction. “You don’t have to, you know… but since you said you’ve been stressed recently…”

I put the poor pony out of his misery and placed my free hand atop his head. I scratched at his mane and he shut his eyes contently, giggling in that odd deep voice of his.

After a while, I asked, “How bout this?”

I hooked a few fingers under his chin and his eyes went to the back of his head.

“By the gods!” he exclaimed, his tongue lolling out his gaping jaw.

And to think, his slaves could’ve taken back their city in mere seconds if they’d only had fingers.

Fearing wayward drool, I took my hand away and ran my hand across the back of his head. By that point, his eyes had almost closed and he was wavering from side to side.

“I’m sorry, Sombra,” I told him.

He could hardly keep his eyes open. “For what?”

“Just know that I’m sorry. And that everything will be all right.”

Sombra’s eyes shut and he fell to the back of the couch, snoring soon afterwards. I stood and watched the small pony for a bit. It would be the last time I’d see him sleeping on my couch and I found I was torn. I could’ve loaded him up in the car and driven him to Canada, just like he’d asked, but all that would’ve done is stall the outcome that’d always been on its way.

I found I had to remind myself of what he’d done. He might have been my friend, but he was something much worse, as well: a small monster that held not a hint of remorse.

I picked him up and hoped it would all be over soon.

***

Carrying Sombra was hard. He was heavy and his thin legs and wide torso made getting a hold on him difficult. After nearly dropping him to the grass a couple times, I hooked him over my shoulders while both hands held onto his legs.

I entered the thick of the forest a half-mile away from my condo complex and found Twilight and her friends waiting in a circle. A faint glow from the mare’s horn illuminated the small clearing just enough to see and not be noticed.

Luna stepped towards me. “You are late, Stove. You have kept us waiting far too long.”

The other six mares glared at her.

Luna pursed her lips. “I mean, thank you for coming, Stove.”

The glares continued.

Luna exhaled sharply. “I mean, thank you, Stttteeeeepppphhhhhggghhh.” Bits of spittle flew from her mouth.

I said, “Here he is, asleep and sound. Do what you need to do and then go. I feel bad enough already.”

I set Sombra down in the center of the seven, one of his legs peacefully grasping at the air.

Twilight stood beside me. “I know it must have been hard, Steve, but you made the right decision. In time, I’m sure Sombra will understand why you did what you did. We will help him as best we can. He’ll be safe with us.”

I nodded, finding not much else to add. I dug my hands into my pockets, watching the rest of them.

Rarity gave the unconscious King a poke. “He seems… bigger than before. Or am I only not remembering that right?”

Rainbow Dash hovered near her head. “Nah, you’re right. Sombra got fat while he’s been here.” She turned to me. “What’ve you been feeding him?”

“Human food, mostly. Junk food. Pizza. Things with cheese.”

Now Rainbow Dash poked at him. “Huh. Well, I think you overfed him.”

Twilight turned to them. “That’s not nice, guys. Sombra’s in a bad state right now, but when we get back to Equestria we’ll start him on a friendship diet. It might take some adjusting, but I’m sure he’ll come to love lettuce and fruits again just as much as pizza and chips.”

I took a moment to look at each of them in turn, curious which one would have the guts to deny Sombra his snacks. That one might not live to see the end of the week.

The cool wind ruffled against my shirt. “Can we finish this, please? I just want to wash my hands of all this nonsense.”

Luna nodded. “I agree with the human. Let this quest come to its rightful conclusion forthwith.”

Twilight went back to the circle. “Fine. Everyone ready? Let’s form the bond again and I’ll—”

“Huh… what…”

Sombra lifted his head from the grass sleepily, eyes struggling to open. He stared at Twilight’s surprised face for ten whole seconds before springing to his hooves, screaming out in shock.

“You!” he yelled. “I knew you weren’t done with me!” He quickly spun to growl at the rest. “Mares. All of you stupid mares will pay in blood. I’ll eat your—”

His eyes came to mine and his original wrath dropped. What replaced it was confusion, his ears flattened against his head.

“Steve? What are you…” he started. “What am I even doing out here? How did I get here?”

I roughly turned Twilight’s head to face me. “You said that potion would knock him out for hours. It’s been less than twenty minutes.”

She grimaced. “Well, I might not have taken into account the excess weight. His system must’ve burned through it a lot faster than I thought.”

Sombra scowled at me. “You traitorous bastard! How could you? How could you, Steve?” He hitched in a breath and tried flashing his fangs. It was shortly lived, as the anguish was evident. “I trusted you, Steve. You said it was over! You said you made them leave!”

I stood and ran a hand over my mouth; my anger towards Twilight and her lackluster potion edging into my voice. “Then I lied, okay? They’re going to help you, Sombra, not hurt you like you think.”

“And you believed them? What? From a single conversation?”

“I learned more about you in that single conversation than all the time spent between us.” I thought. “You deserve this, Sombra, as much as you might not like to hear it. You deserve worse, actually, for what you’ve done.”

He walked as close to the circle of mares as he could. He told me, “But I don’t want to go, Steve. I like it here.”

“It’s too late for that. And what did you expect out of this relationship? That we’d still be insulting each other and playing video games in a hundred and twenty years?”

“Yeah, why not?”

I turned away from him and tried to calm down. I didn’t want to be apart of this anymore. I shouldn’t have had to watch him leave.

I heard Sombra dig his hooves into the dirt. “Fine, then! I don’t need you to protect me, Steve! I kill all these pesky mares and crunch their bones between my teeth. It will be a short battle, I’m—”

Pop!

Something bright flashed behind me and I spun around to find Sombra stuck inside a large pink bubble. Both of his hooves were pressed against its sides, his expression horrified.

He pleaded to me, “Steve! Steve, they’ve put me in a bubble, Steve! Help me out of the bubble, Steve! I don’t like the bubble!”

I didn’t answer him.

Sombra fumed. “I’ll kill you, Steve! I’ll find a way back and kill every last human on this stinking rock. I hate humans! Every last one of them! All they do is lie and trick! You think this bubble can hold me?”

He lit up his horn and shot red flame at the pink wall. The blast bounced back at him and he screamed, dodging a handful of times before the fire dissipated. Afterwards, he ran horn first into the bubble, each hit sending him back to the dirt.

Rarity turned to Twilight. “I don’t remember him talking this much, do you? And he hasn’t even mentioned slaves or crystals once.”

Twilight ignored her, keeping her horn directed on the barrier.

Sombra started bucking his back legs against the unyielding wall. He panted, “I am more powerful than you could possibly imagine… once free… I’ll gouge out your eyes… and…” Six kicks later, he sank back to the ground, exhausted. He waved a hoof. “Just give me a minute.”

Rarity nudged Rainbow Dash. “He’s really out of shape, isn’t he?”

“Knock it off, all right?” I spat at her, causing her to wince.

I went to the side of the shield and knelt. It was hard watching Sombra in such a state—defeated and scared, betrayed and confused. I shouldn’t have felt as bad as I did.

“I’m sorry, Sombra.”

He looked at me from the ground. “Is it because of the cat, Steve? I’m sorry about that. Really, I am. I could buy you a new one, if you’d like. And I promise we’d get along. Or maybe the rent? I could get a job. I’m sure I could find something. How much do they pay guide dogs? I’m sure I could find the strength to walk around for a few hours a day.”

I sighed. “That’s not the reason I gave you to them.”

“Is it because you hate me?”

“No. And I don’t actually hate you, Sombra, as often as I might tell you that. This’ll be good for you, I promise. You need help and they’ve promised to give it to you. And talking ponies aren’t made for this world. Same as humans in yours. In time, no matter what, you would’ve gone back.”

Sombra’s eyes watered and he said no more. I returned to the outside of the circle of mares as Twilight and Luna cast a large white wall around all eight of them. Each mare closed their eyes and levitated a few inches off the ground.

From inside the bubble, Sombra ignored the rest of them and looked up at me. “I thought you were my friend, Steve.”

“I am your friend.”

“Then why doesn’t it feel like it?”

The wash of white exploded outward and I shielded my eyes. When the dots subsided from my vision, I found myself alone, a scorched circle burnt into the grass. I looked around the small clearing for some possible mistake—perhaps for Sombra to have miraculously escaped. But no, he was gone. They all were.

It would be over two months until I’d see him again.

Author's Notes:

Sad chapter ending? Don't worry, here's some art! A big thank you to Charliehorse for sending it to me.

Next Chapter: Regret... Later Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 16 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch