Sombra's breath came out in little bursts as he paced back and forth, his gaze fixed on the equally furious umbrum stallion in front of him. "You are a coward!" He snarled, watching the other umbrum mimic his motions. "You had an opening, a chance to tell Twilight how you felt and yet you were too afraid to say it!" His long stride quickly brought him to the wall-mounted mirror, scarlet eyes tracking his movements as he followed those of his reflection. It was a dark gray stallion, his eyes completely red and glass-like, his face too pointed and angular and his canine teeth were sharp-pointed fangs. In short, he was physically unappealing, resembling the vampiric draugrs of old, which he had personally seen before they became the stuff of myths and legends.

You're disgusting. How could an angel like Twilight Sparkle ever like you, let alone lo-...?

He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought. Sure, their relationship had changed from captor and prisoner to coltfriend and marefriend and she was clearly interested in him, but that didn't mean that she wanted to be tied down to him. How can he be certain that she really cares for him?

Yes, yes, you're hideous. Enough with this pity-party! You know damn well that Twilight can't and won't ever see you that way. So why waste your time on her? You're a fad, nothing more. She'll date you until her curiosity is sated and then move on. Just like Celestia did. There are plenty of other mares to...occupy your time.

"I don't want another mare!" Sombra shouted aloud. "She's...not...Celestia. Twilight is kind and smart and cheerful. She's strong and doesn't give up! That's why I want her! That's why I..." His reflection mimed his downtrodden face and tear-filled eyes. "I love her," he whispered.

Going to pieces over a mare. You're a disgrace to your house and that crown you stole.

"I...earned...this crown. It is my birthright and I worked hard to obtain it. I earned it."

Sure you did...kin-slayer.

"Stop calling that! How long are you going to hang that over my head?"

As long as it takes. Patricide, father-killer, murderer.

Sombra slammed a hoof down. "I remember you being more helpful in the past. Now you're an all-out bastard."

Times change and so did I. I'm what you need me to be. You're still alive because of me so don't you ever forget that!

"I don't need you anymore!"

What did you day, you ungrateful whelp?!

"I said, 'I DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE!' LEAVE ME BE!"

"S-Sombra?"

"Twilight?" Sombra spun around to find his marefriend standing confusingly in the doorway. He struggled to find his voice as his heart pounded in his ears. "Um...how much of that did you hear?"

The mare took a few careful steps towards him. "Enough to know that you and the Darkness are having a falling out. What does it, or he, keep calling you? What is he holding over your head?"

The umbrum sighed, a long, tired noise and he slumped down, feeling as old as he looked. "I think it'd be better if I showed you rather than told you." Pulling back the green cloth, Sombra beckoned Twilight forward and together they faced the collection of memory crystals he had stored up. "The ones that are clear are empty while the red or black ones are my worst memories, those in which I experienced the most pain, fear or anger." This was the first time he showed his collection to anypony and it wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be.

"And the white ones?"

His hoof traveled over the tops of each white crystal. "My happy memories," he replied wistfully.

"You don't have many."

"No, no I do not. Anyway, this is the one I wanted to show you." He pointed to a large black crystal that was covered in little red veins of energy. "Focus on it. Feel it take you to another time, another place."

As it was on her previous trip, Twilight was yanked forward and found herself tumbling headfirst and landing ungracefully, this time finding herself on the stone floor of the training room. She dusted herself off and turned to spy two dark gray stallions standing a few feet from one another. One was obviously a slightly younger Sombra, his face lacking any kind of hard lines or world weariness. The other resembled Sombra, only with a wild beard and mane and a long scar that ran over his pearl-white right eye. His eye was also similar though unlike Sombra's, which were intense and burned like two bonfires, his was instead more like a pool of blood in the torchlight.

"Father, surely there has to be another way! Celestia doesn't deserve-..."

"Be silent, you fool!" Erebus growled, his voice deep and gravelly. "You had one job: seduce the queen's oldest daughter, bed her, wed her and put a foal in her. You weren't supposed to fall in love with her! Do you really think she gives a shit about you? She's an alicorn and you're an umbrum! We're mortal enemies! They will wipe us all out and not even blink." He scoffed, "Love. Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species."

"You...you're wrong! Celestia loves me! And I won't let you hurt her!"

A cruel cackle erupted from Erebus' lips as he threw his head back. "You won't let me? Do you know who I am?!" Black spikes shot up through the floor all around Sombra as his father's glowing horn conjured a ring of green and purple flames around the two. "My poor, naïve son. I am the Shadow King, the Lord of the Umbrums, the Sword of the Abyss, the Emperor of Perpetual Night, the Warden of the Frozen North, Slayer of the Crystal Princess. Who are you compared to me?"

The young stallion straightened his back, his fear replaced by cocky swagger as a smirk appeared on his face. "I don't know who I am but I know who you are."

"And who is that?"

Sombra's horn glowed as he shouted, "Somepony that underestimated the wrong foe!" Swinging his head down, he shot a black energy blast at Erebus, forcing the elder umbrum onto his hindlegs as black crystal columns pined his limbs and neck, leaving him stretched out like a scarecrow. A cluster of smaller crystals formed around Erebus' horn and skull, creating a jagged crown atop his head.

Erebus twisted and growled, his horn leaking sparks as he thrashed about. "What have you done?!"

Sombra shrugged, his manner blasé and almost innocent. "I did what you told me to do: study black magic and learn from the crystal mages. It took me years to combine the two and even longer to find a way to block magic. All I had to do was act like the whipped dog and bide my time until you were so secure in your superiority that I just had to make my move."

Bowing his head, Erebus began to utter what seemed to be some sort of prayer, his mouth moving quickly as he spoke in ancient umbrumese. He winced as the jagged crystals began cutting into his skin."Sombra...think about this." For once, fear occupied the stallion's face. "What are you going to do?"

"It's as you always told me, father: 'Aim for the heart.'" And with that, a spear-shaped black crystal shot out of the floor and rammed itself into the old king's chest, knocking his crown off of his head and splattering the floor with a rivulet of blood. As his life-blood drained away, Erebus muttered something and dipped his head as a death rattle seized him. His mission complete, young Sombra collapsed to his knees, trails of salt water flowing down his cheeks. Noticing the crown laying near him, he reached out and picked it up, rolling it around in his hooves. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils and rose to his hooves, the crown now sitting on his own head. "The king is dead, long live the king."

Twilight stumbled backwards and into Sombra's waiting forelegs, gasping for air and trying to find her bearings as the memory-world emptied from her mind. "You're alright, Twilight. Just breathe. That's it, breathe," she heard Sombra gently coach her and she felt the air return to her lungs, the room no longer spinning as she focused on her coltfriend's face. "Feeling better?"

Twilight nodded. "You killed him. Erebus, I mean."

Sombra looked away shamefully, instead helping her to her hooves and pouring her a glass of water. "He had to go. He had such plans for me, for Canterlot. And I could no longer be a part of them."

Twilight drained her glass and stared at him. "Because of Celestia. Because you fell in love with her."

"Yes," he admitted, though it sounded like he had dirt in his mouth and was trying to get rid of the taste.

"What happened between you and Celestia?"

Taking the empty glass, Sombra levitated it back onto his desk and took Twilight by the hooves. "It no longer matters. Look at the memory crystals. What do you see?"

"I see...a lot of bad memories. Pain. Anger."

"Now look at the white crystals."

Twilight squinted. The interiors of the white crystals showed little images of... "Me?"

Sombra nodded and ran a hoof along Twilight's cheek. "Every one of those are filled with memories of you. Ever since you came into my life, I found a kind of joy I'd not had in a very long time. Our first dinner, the walk in the Star Garden, the crystal faire, they're all here." If Twilight were any hotter or her cheeks any redder, she could easily be mistaken for a cooked pepper. A vice gripped her chest, leaving her breathless and numb in Sombra's embrace. She didn't know how she could experience such lightheaded bliss outside of a library but she didn't want it to end. "Twilight, there's something I want to tell you but I'm a little scared."

"Sombra…" She was afraid of this moment, not because it was unwanted but because she didn't know if she could handle it without fainting. It certainly didn't help the way that he was staring at her, as if she were a piece of solid gold.

"Instead, why don't I show you?" Sombra's horn lit up with a light indigo glow and came into contact with Twilight's horn, striking her with a wave of emotions. She was overwhelmed but also soothed by their multitude: bliss. Joy. Contentment. Lust. Admiration. Gratitude. Compassion. Appreciation. Loyalty. Once Sombra ceased contact, she felt cold, empty, as if a fire lit deep inside of her had been quickly extinguished, leaving her freezing and in the dark.

"Twilight Sparkle..." Time slowed down for Twilight, a lump caught in her throat as the words tumbled out of Sombra's mouth. Even through her own thundering heartbeat, she could hear the words as clear as day:

"...I love you."

All tension left Twilight's body as she released her breath, her whole body going slack in Sombra's forelegs. Those five words had her feeling drained and yet rejuvenated, smoldering hot but also icy cool. She'd never heard them from a pony that wasn't related to her or one of her friends. From the way Sombra said them, so sincere and so devoted, she completely believed them and could still feel his burning gaze staring straight into her very soul. There was only one true response to this.

Seizing his dark mane, Twilight pulled Sombra forward and smack-dab into the biggest, wettest kiss that she could muster. Their teeth clacked together painfully but she ignored it, wishing to express her own feelings for her stallion. My Stallion. The thought had her deepening the kiss, allowing something to prod her gums and she nearly jumped from the contact. Twilight had heard of Prench kissing but thought that it was unsanitary and disgusting. Now she was kicking herself for never trying it. Her own tongue gently prodded his and upon feeling that spike in arousal, went all in, caressing it and licking the inside of his cheeks.

Tearing away from one another to gulp down fresh oxygen, they panted and gazed long and hard at each other. Never before had a stallion looked so desirable before. "Sombra, I...I love you too." A giggle escaped Twilight's mouth when he picked her up bridal-style and latched his mouth onto her own, beginning the make-out session anew. Twilight didn't know what the future held but she decided then and there that whatever it held or whatever challenges she had to face, she wanted to face them with Sombra by her side. And that was a promise.

Author's Notes:

Awwww, they exchanged the magic words!

In Norse mythology, a draugr is an undead warrior that sometimes takes the form of a corpse-like horse, which is what I imagine them to look like in the MLP universe.

Erebus' anti-love line is taken from a quote by English author and playwright W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)

For whatever reason, I imagine umbrumese to sound like Icelandic/Swedish