Post by Mal on Jul 9, 2016 0:17:16 GMT -5
Princess Amore still felt a little stiff after it all. The corrupt, crystallization left her body trying to repair itself. Though the mage's magic had helped a great deal. At least she could talk again. That alone took her some time. It also took some time for the tears to stop flowing. How her heart ached. She walked behind Star Swirl, hear head turning side to side as she felt lost in this world. Perhaps it was just because it was not her kingdom, or because she was a pony out of time. Her long, luxurious tail of magentas and icy lavenders swayed with her elegant steps. She walked like a princess, but no longer carried its crown or power. Over her back she wore a cloak. While it seemed a bit silly given the season, she was afraid, ashamed to let anyone see that mark on her hide. It was once a subject of pride, her snowflake, now it was a source of shame. How far has she fallen now? How had she failed the young ones. She raised her head, doe eyes blinking shyly. "W-where are we going?" Her voice was soft, a pale edge to the once commanding, sharp, and fierce tone that lead ponies with a warm dedication, ironic given she had been the princess to the Crystal Empire, the heart of the Frozen North. She knew little of her home and how it fared. The princess that barred the icy chill of the North with her presence alone. Now she could only fear the possibility of it being no more than a wasteland. Were they able to protect it? She had put all her hope into the foals... Sombra, why?
Star Swirl the Bearded hobbled in front of the former princess with hats piled high upon his had. Hats that somehow had changed from an hour prior. Metal helms from multiple kingdoms, a grey wizard hat with a gold tiara, and on the top was a beret. "Honestly missy I don't really know! If this world is anything like mine we should be heading towards where my home would have been! Where was that exactly? The old pony looked back at the mare only to scuttle around and beam at her. "You should cheer up! You're alive an ye aren't missing any parts! I know if I were a thousand years old I'd not look near as good! The stallions in this age'll love ya." What the ancient world-displaced mage failed to mention was that he 'was' about that old. And he didn't look good at all! He looked like a breeze might push him over at times. But at other times he was a spry ol' git. They did find themselves in a small hamlet though. He'd had to go half way across Equestria to track down the last crystal to solve that damn puzzle!
Lord Sombra thought he might've hidden those shards well, and for all he knew, he did. His travels with Hope took him through a few, varied places, from the city, through the country and even this village. The village was something of a comfort that not all things had changed so drastically, although Sombra'd never been in proper Equestria before. Just the ice and snow of the Frozen North. It was warm enough that the velvet cape felt uncomfortable, but he would not discard any of what he wore. He hid them through illusion, instead, when he was forced to interact with ponies. Yet.. sometime since leaving the Frozen North he'd become plagued by half-remembered emotions and memories. He didn't recognize them, yet they were familiar.. and the familiarity was aggravating. Ponies he was sure he'd never properly spoken to, the face of the sunbringer.. Feelings. Sombra tried to put it out of his mind while they camped out near this.. place. He mostly tried to keep hidden and out of the hamlet, as they needed to linger on the edge of civilization so that Hope could find food. He didn't need to eat, so much. Sometimes Sombra ended up lashing out in bad temper when overly bothered, but now that he was left alone with his thoughts.. maybe he could sort them out. Provided nothing else came along.
Princess Amore nearly faltered when the old pony seemed frazzled about his own position. She would come to a halt, her head raising and shoulders leveling out. Even if she has become remiss to her place in this world, she still stood with the strength her past had built. While her eyes were a portrait of sadness, hurt, her body was a sculpted figure drawn from the very cliffs of ice themselves. Nothing about her said weak, or delicate, but her heartstrings were on the verge -- but a single strand remained, holding her together. For a moment she turned her golden eyes towards the aging unicorn, brows creasing so softly one could kiss the slope with a thread. A soft smile would begin to form as the ends of her lips pinched back, cheek to cheek. She let out a soft sigh as she parted her muzzle in an airy giggle, though it sounded more the mourning warble of a finch that has long lost its love.
Princess Amore looked back along her body, the cloak she wore was a simple, dull green. Just something to hide that... pon her hip. "Ah... so far I do believe you did a very good job of finding all that I am." She frowned, ears pinning back against her silken curls of magenta-pink. "I... I am sorry you've nothing to call me by. I still cannot find it... the name given to me." Perhaps lost with the delicate strings of her heart somewhere beyond. She knew who she was, and where she came from.... all she was able to tell Star Swirl, for now, is that she was looking for home, and the ponies she had failed. She knew, in her heart, they were out there, the ones she could not save. For now the kingdom... she felt, was alright. She would know, wouldn't she? If something terrible happened... "What is this place called?" Her unfamiliarity with all things Equestria shone as brightly as her coat against the summer sun.
Star Swirl the Bearded reached up to give the larger mare's head a bit of a pat. "Come now, my dear! You need not apologize for not knowing your own name! Why, if I didn't have it written on the inside of my bowler hat I'd probably forget mine! It can happen to anypony." He shifted and turned to step away only to pause an look rather sheepish. "Umm... If this is anything like my world then we're in eastern Equestria... I think the little hamlet might be called Fudgingham." Definitely not... But it wasn't like the ol wizard knew any better. "But this is part of the lovely Equestria unless the griffons took over. Given that ponies are still existing I don't think they did. But maybe the minotaur invaded... Or the fire nation." he mused as he found himself ducking around a foal that was running through the street. He was nearly taken out! Alas a second foal caused him to lose balance and spin around until he righted himself. The now dizzy wizard flopped down in the dirt. "Ooooh Swirling Stars!"
Lord Sombra often thought things over when he was alone. It made it easier for him to work out problems, to figure things out... to plan. The current issue with the memories that were not his, yet were, made it impossible to do much more than dwell. Did something happen after he was destroyed? While he was banished? It was impossible for the king to tell.. and, slowly, the silence was getting to him. Sombra couldn't discuss this with Hope for she might think him mad. More so than he was.. and he could not bring himself to share anything with her, because his feelings were strangely torn. Sombra grumbled to himself and pulled himself to his hooves. Maybe he would find her, or poke around the hamlet, see what else there was to find. When he could think, he had an inkling of an idea.. mostly inspired from the memories.. With a ripple of dark magic, his disguise was in place and Sombra headed into town with a scowl.
Princess Amore's expression softened when she was pet, like a foal that needed coddling. Honestly it was rather nice. He was a sweet old pony. A bit odd, but very sweet. She could not see him doing any wrong, or to bring her harm so she continued to follow. Inhaling she would release a soft exhale and chuckle. "I suppose among ponies our age," She mused. "Forgetfulness is simply part of the job, but I feel there is something there that is holding me back from capturing these memories." Had Starswirl missed a piece? Or was it something more complicated? Was not only her body, but her name sealed away as well? Could she never recapture the entirety of her being? When Star offered her the name of the hamlet she could not help but lower her head in question. "That is a rather silly name." She had worried upon his mention of racial conquest. War -- never changed, huh? Even so far away into the future.... into a time she did not belong.
Princess Amore looked behind her as she felt something crawl up her spine. Her horn gave a soft glow, an icy gold color that dissipated ad quickly as it had formed. "Did you feel that?" She asked. She was unsure what direction it had come from, but that energy... It was the one that she had been encased in for centuries. She knew that magic... There was a moment where she wished to run towards it, but she held fast. She was still mindful of the primp and etiquette given to her, the memories of how to move and speak were no more easily forgotten as one's ability to walk. Even if her walking was shaky, at best, she still recognized it. "Ser Starswirl, did you feel it?" Had Dark Magic become common place? Maybe it was him? Raising a hoof she would tuck it against her chest, body tensing as anxiety filled her heart, or at least burdened it with what she could remember. they were only flashes...
Princess Amore occasionally saw memories of their faces, broken and corrupted by her time in the dark crystal, but the feeling was never forgotten. Her hoof came down as she attempted to steel herself, but she would end up rearing as she whinnied, backing away in quick steps as the fear struck her like a bolt of lightning. She remembered the pain that came with being locked away... and not just a physical one either.
Lord Sombra strode into town through one of their many streets, tall and intimidating even in the guise of a normal pony, walking with his old, slow surety. A veritable dark cloud of threat. The thoughts and memories of what wasn't his, yet was, still bothered him greatly and would continue to bother him for many days yet. It made him wonder.. He knew when it started, but not why, but it did make him wonder.. was he changing? Was putting him back together making him not what he was? Sombra just couldn't tell, and he tried his damnedest to shove these musings far back out of his mind while he strode through the hardpack dirt of the small village's streets. Trying to focus on the sights, instead, and perhaps some sign of a recent 'newspaper' as they were called. Modern Equestrians cataloguing every little thing to happen when it happened made it too easy... that and what he learned in the museum. The lunar princess falling and being banished just like he had, for a thousand years. Of course she had returned, back to her old self again.. but my, Princess Celestia did like her banishments did she not? Sombra was too occupied keeping a look out that he hadn't quite felt that brief flicker of.. something. Nearby.
Princess Amore while she wanted to wait by the old pony, his distractions being rather endearing: she could still feel it. Her body showed a clear indication of stress. She stood with legs stiff and her tail snapped to and fro ad the curls of fur flowed like a banner hanging off her elongated tail. The former crystal princess had lived a long life and had been imprisoned for much longer. Was this payment for keeping the Umbrum trapped as she did? Was there really a way to save them, or were those the cold whispers of lies, masked by hope... Her heart jumped. She felt it again. It was growing nearer. She turned her body, only pausing to look back at the old unicorn. He survived this long... a moment without her presence should do him no harm. She just wanted to see...
Princess Amore had only meant to walk with haste, but it was not long before she was trotting and in a full gallop toward the sensation. Hooves trampled along the packed roads, dust kicking up beneath her once lightly colored hooves. As such was the was with traveled they had become marred by soils and caked with mud. While it did not bother her as primly as it would perhaps the most bourgeoisie of ponies, she knew that living took fortitude and a bit of dirt. If she was to become part of this living world again she would have to remember that beneath that ice and snow was dirt and stone. Neither the same, nor apart from one another. One came from the land toiled by earth ponies, the other from the sky gifted by the pegasus. What sit between: grand schools of clerics and teachers were the unicorn, but instead of being a teacher, a leader -- had she become like the destructive Umbrum?
Princess Amore would slow as she came to a rather busy section of road. Though ponies were still few within the hamlet, there were laborers crossing paths as their day came and went. After thousands of years sealed away... the soft voices of the talking ponies, which once brought her joy, pained her. Her ears rang, reverberated with the highpitched warbles of their happiness. Where had her love for their community gone? Perhaps lost among the scattered pieces of her heart....? She would peer around a corner, look over ponies and beneath obstacles. As the cloaked, unicorn mare searched, only to find nothing: she would become more convinced of the darkness having corrupt her heart and body.
Lord Sombra did like when the ideas for a plan came together. An oh so sweet satisfaction, and it took a certain.. cruel creativity. Yet was he certain if he wanted to go through with what was on his mind now? Were the memories he saw, cropping up in his mind like weeds from seemingly lifeless soil, a figment of some newfound madness.. or truth? If they were true, was it something that could be used? Oh, the possibilities were delicious.. It was a small light in the darkness of his current existence, a king without a kingdom and wandering through the village of rabble. He hated their noise, and the further he became to its heart, the busier the streets were. He was taller than most, perhaps rivaling that of the lunar maiden, and ponies gave way easily.. because he didn't stop or deign to stand aside for them. Sombra kept walking, his eyes wandering over the established shops and restaurants that it held.. unaware that the pony he had broken was so very near.
Princess Amore was beginning to think she had imagined it all... As her hooves carried her down the dusty roads, it would become apparent that she no longer knew where she was. In her frantic attempt to find the small thread that had bound to her memories, or the scattered echoes of a past no longer present, she had become lost. This place was not her kingdom. She was a maiden displaced, a monarch crownless, but she was not without home or kingdom. Now that she had become whole, there was no longer any doubt if she could act. She was no longer a memory, but a living breathing -- dream. She had stopped dreaming after the first few years. Than came the silence. Nothing to look forward too, nothing to look back upon. The haze of the corruption had taken away her memories and dreams. She had been empty.
Princess Amore could feel him and knew that she was brought back for a reason. Her foals, all of them. They were orphans of war. The hatred and destruction wrought upon by the Umbrum. From the Crystal ponies these shadows took away their mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts and many more nameless under the rancid destruction. Who was to blame for the ripple that cut across the lands. Who was to know that the dark in a single alicorn's heart could perhaps have been the cause. Or was there something more -- sinister, at work? She pushed through the ponies, apologizing profusely. She had come to the end. An open square with naught to find. The ponies had began to depart and return home.
Princess Amore stood there in the open... not a figure in sight. She felt that heaviness again. It came whenever she began to doubt. The lingering darkness, most likely. Her horn light up, that icy-gold hue surrounding the cloak, straightening out as it has become jostled in her sprint. Twas for naught. "Where are you...?" her voice was a windigo's kiss: icy. The way she bit out the question filled it with despair, loathing.
Lord Sombra kept walking at his slow, stately pace through the village's dirt streets, spotting things both new and old to him. The newness was what bits of technology ponies have come up with in the thousand years he'd been.. asleep, the changes in architecture, furniture.. many things. It was intriguing, and.. perhaps not so useful information, it told him enough about how things changed since. His aimless wandering, with no Hope in sight, lead him out of the busier crowds near the markets and stores towards.. a square. There was a small fountain at its center. A pony- No. Sombra came to a halt, jostled from his thoughts and plans at the sight of her. There was no possible way for her to be, 'lest he had gone mad and begun to hallucinate, next to the memories. Her regalia, gone, and a green cloak in its place. There was a mingling swarm of feelings, and something.. cold. It was not murder in his heart, but something else. Fear? Sombra wouldn't admit it to be.
Lord Sombra denied its existence in him. He was the ones ponies feared, the harnesser of it.. The former king wouldn't allow himself to retreat before she saw him, but neither would he try to approach her. If it really was her, and not another look-alike as the pink alicorn was. It was too much a coincidence..
Princess Amore hadn't time to admire the advancements ponies had made. Since Starswirl had put her back together her mind struggled to wake from the silence she had suffered for centuries. The soft lull of ponies talking had become cacophonous in nature, while the warm touch of the sun burned her lightly colored coat. Nothing was pleasant, not even her waking, for it was just a heavy sleep that still blanketed over her consciousness. She pushed through though. The pain was nothing when compared to the suffering of those foals. The achiness could not even touch upon the suffering of the widows from the ruthless battles against the Umbrum. Her tail had all but sunk, the curls spilling onto the floor like a bolt of unfurled silk. Her head lowered and her ears would pin back, tucking against her bouncing curls. She shifted her weight, the clap of her hooves muted against the dirt. She sighed, feeling a bit foolish at her exertion. She still did not have much energy to her name.
Princess Amore raised her head and made move to turn and find her way back to Starswirl, but she was sure she no longer recalled the way. Foolish. She could fool herself no longer. Like the grip of a mountain troll, the mare felt a squeezing pain in all her body. It could remember the pain. It remembered the suffering caused to it. Her head slowly turned, eyes drawn toward the single, dark form that resided in the street at that moment. It was as if everything had come to a standstill. No sound crawled through the wind, but the pounding of her heart was audible, swimming between her ears. Her muzzle lips parted. "....you." His name unable to be formed. She had no fear, nor had she anger towards him. How could you be angry at somepony whom you loved and whom needed your guidance? But -- he showed he did not need her. He cast her away. "...where...?" She could not fight the tears that began to spill, the memories that crushed at her chest.
Lord Sombra stood standing there, as frozen as she was as his mind struggled with what his eyes saw. His disguise left him bare, gray and black, no cutiemark. If any passing ponies remarked upon it, he paid them no attention. He knew what he was, had known since that meeting with the red crystal. "You." Sombra replied in kind, his voice a deep rumble, a growl rising from beneath the usual, suave voice. Shocked, angry, confused... Sombra saw her tears, too, but no fear. He did not know how to feel about the tears. Some inkling of his past self, before the darkness, drawn out by Hope's choice of finding him over becoming a princess.. drew up some ghost of guilt, but he would not let himself feel it. He did what he had to do. "I broke you. Scattered you all across Equestria! How do you come to be here, now?" Sombra's voice rose as he took a couple of steps forward, sharp teeth visible just past his lips. "Princess Amore." Almost a purr, that threatening growl.
Princess Amore visibly shivered. Her fur stood on end when he pressed the pronoun to her. Her? Yes... but... who was she? Their faces, their names were as clear as the day was warm, as painful too. While the cloak guarded her back from the worse of the blistering rays, but her face and neck were unguarded. Her eyes carried a soft squint as her brows pinched down. Without all his regalia she still recognized him. That foal who hid behind the taller legs of others. That soft, curious face had hardened into a focused, unwavering visage. He had grown, and he had become distant. She never knew what it was that changed him so. Such was privy to Hope, that foal that always stood by his side. She knew Hope well, or at the very least her parents. While they grew and changed she -- had remained the same until she did change. What had she become? Shattered, broken. Just as he said. The tears stopped when her name was spoken.
Princess Amore felt an arrow pierce her heart, no -- a rusted spear gouging through her breast. He spoke with such dastardly intents. Where had her sweet foal gone? Where had she gone wrong? Her eyes turned down, the hurt swimming through the molten pools of gold festered into burning bile. "I don't know." It was all she could muster, a voice shaken by confusion, distress. What could she say? How could she face him? "...please..." Just -- a little. Maybe she could reach this ghost of a foal she had such hopes for... such Hope. Where was she? The tears began to flow again as her hooves finally began to move and draw her towards him. "....allow me--" She just wanted to see him up close again. For so long she lay frozen in that silence. But even still she could not forget the face that sent her there.
Lord Sombra didn't know what to do about the (former?) princess. It really was her, unless he was just shouting at a figment of his imagination, a madman. Her scattered broken speech was hard to determine what it was she wanted him to allow. Sombra had noticed the change in her expression when he said her name, exploiter of weakness was he, but not to what end this time. The king fought the urge to take a step back from her as she slowly approached. He had to stand tall, head lifted arrogantly and hatred in his gaze, even in this thin disguise. There was no chance he could repeat what he'd done in the past, turning her to crystal as he had, she was probably expecting it. Older than he, Amore had to be a sharp mare to be a princess, no? Even at her lowest, here.. Sombra's eyes narrowed. "Allow thee what?" He snapped. "Your tricks shan't work on me." He hadn't forgotten that she'd known what he was.. even as a foal she'd known, and let him suffer.
Princess Amore followed his movements as he stood tall. He had become... so big. Had been a princess, once, so long ago. She remembered how she strive to provide those foals a home. "...I just wanted to..." Her voice slipped from her throat, the chill that edged it made it almost jagged. The sounds of icicles falling upon a tin roof, like the ring of warbling birds, lost to the deafening snows of winter. She raised a hoof, body finding balance on her three legs, though she could barely afford such a simple task with so much energy drained from her body -- was it drained? Perhaps it too slept. She pulled the forelimb over her chest, the knot of her clock tightening. She was trying to hide it, the mark. She was ashamed to carry it in front of him, now that he knew... "I never meant for you..." Could she say such a thing? She had hidden the truth, but never had she meant for him to be hurt. "...protect..." Her throat locked up, memories suffocating her with silence.
Princess Amore her eyes pinched closed as her head lowered. Curling locks of pink fell over her skull, hiding her shameful, stifling sniffle. She had only meant to protect him. All of them. They were all worth being saved. Even Sombra. Especially Sombra. She shook her head and stood, the pride of her princesshood not forgotten by her bones, her muscles. She stood straight and raised her head to Sombra, her own height untouched by her voicelessness. She was still powerful -- though her heard was hanging by a thread. She shook her head, tears streaking down her cheeks. he didn't understand her intentions. How could he? She kept so many things secret. She became their wall against the unforgiving snow and ice that threatened to swallow them whole. "...home!" It was all she could string together. "...together we..." Why was it so hard to find the missing piece?
Lord Sombra's heavy brow furrowed down over those menacing red eyes, left without the acid of the green tint from dark magic. There was something about Amore that differed from his memory of her. His true memory. Something.. cold, but not maliciously so. Just cold. Like the snow. How did his imprisonment of her change her? Sombra was capable of curses, and he'd taken the Crystal Empire out of the grasps of the pony sisters with one when he couldn't have it for his own. Sombra's eyes followed the forehoof crossing over her chest, and he wondered what it was she might be hiding, if she were hiding something. Maybe it was just emotional distress, something he was still able to see vividly on her face. "If you have something important to say, speak it, without your stammering!" Sombra spat, impatient. The snatches of speech he got from her were fractured and confusing.. "Home." The king mused, and came upon something... a thought. Oh, something he might certainly be able to use.. and he went forward with it despite her evident remorse. "The Crystal Empire was taken from me by a pink alicorn." The stallion's voice dropped to a purr. "She looked much like you.. I do believe I remember one of those.." Sombra had to avoid using the word slaves, "ponies calling her the Crystal Princess." Persuasive words, perhaps to find something out, or soothe? Sombra'd never admit to either, but he didn't know, himself what his intention was. "Give yourself a moment to think, princess, and speak."
Princess Amore could not help the feeling of breathlessness around him. It was not emotional so much as it was physical. Her body remembered the torture he caused, but her heart knew who he was.... Had she something important to say? Of course. They were an important part of the empire. Pieces to repair the shattered remnants of her dream. It wasn't as if she could go back and perhaps tell him sooner or learn of what it was that had hurt him so. She was a princess. Her time at the orphanage was always short, always pushed behind schedule by her advisors. A table of them and yet none could find her time for the ones who mattered most for the Empire. The youth were the ones would would protect the heart when she was gone and she couldn't prepare them. She wasn't prepared for what had come that day. If the physical agony of being shattered was not enough, the mental strain of being torn apart, yet remaining alive, was without words.
Princess Amore looked to Sombra when he spoke. In her ears his words were sharp, like a blade crossing over ice. Such would leave no evidence -- not unlike his words which caused the already pale-furred mare to pale further. It seemed am impossible task in the sun that marred the skin beneath her coat a light shade of pink. When Sombra spoke of a pony that resembled her, she could only brush off the emotion and remain taciturn. No. It was just an impossibility -- at least she could believe until he spoke the title. She was shaken, hooves barely catching her as she took a step back. Her eyes danced about the scenery before landing upon her muddied hooves. Time? Too much time had already been wasted. So many things ... but the kingdom was safe, right? An alicorn? No... than it wasn't her. Was it...? She raised her head. "Where is Hope?" The one she left to take that role...
Lord Sombra closely observed the former princess once he'd dropped that possibility, wondering what it might mean to her. There was no mistaking the similarities in color, the same way their manes came down in swirls.. but he didn't know of the cutiemarks. A step back from Amore meant Sombra advanced, her gaze having broken from him to perhaps stare at the ground. The dark king's head cocked to the side in a curious manner when Amore, instead, decided to ask about Hope rather than tell him anything. Blast. "Alive, unharmed. Somewhere in this village if not at camp." Sombra answered- honestly, for once, only to go a step further. "She gave up her title of princess for me, to bring this monster back into the fold." The king paused, eying what he could see of Amore's face. "The question is, who brought you back? Only a truly determined, clever pony had to have been able to find those shards that were scattered so far apart." Sombra had many questions, but Amore, as rattled as she was, would take time to pry open for information.
Princess Amore was not ready to think about such things or contest to his words without knowing the truth. She was not sure where the old mage had taken her, but this wasn't the Crystal Empire anymore. It was like she was having a dream. Sombra was there. And so was Hope. And even faces she had never before seen with her own eyes. Perhaps, though, she had been too quick to ask him to come back... or return. She had not asked him what it was he had done, how it was he had changed, or who it was he had become. The mare took not of his approach. She was not afraid of him, but instead she was ashamed of herself and her shortcomings. She moved her hind leg subconsciously, knowing what it was that burned on her hip. It was a mark of shame. She had lost something important of herself that day. While she was not ashamed to have given herself up for others: it made her blind to Sombra's suffering.
Princess Amore breathed a sigh of relief to hear that Hope was well. It was Hope she had put everything into. Her love and kindness -- Her gaze slowly returned to Sombra's. Her brows were pinched in a soft confusion. She never looked to him with fear or anger. Perhaps that was a most unsettling trait for her. She was not afraid. She had seen war. She has seen the worst side of life. She has lived through it and watched how others suffered. Her privilege came with her magic and position, one she did not abuse. So-- Hope left to be at his side? She could not say she felt surprised. 'Amore'. The name rang in her ears again. She had been feeling pain since he had mentioned it. A gnawing sensation, burrowing into her ear. She shook her head before her muzzle parted. "Fate..." Fate had returned her. She turned a strong gaze towards the younger stallion. "Fate returned me to face my destiny." Even if it was punishment for her failure to protect the innocent souls.
Star Swirl the Bearded had replaced his hats with a shiny guard helmet, a terribly gaudy pink crown, and a white cone with some unknown letters printed down the side. Alas the old unicorn had gotten separated from his unicorn puzzle. Damn! Where had she gone? He spent good bits on that puzzle! The old pony eventually found the errant princess (not that he really knew she was an actual princess) and she was speaking with some dark furred pony who looked rathr... grumpy? His puzzle mare looked so distressed to.... He needed to cheer them both up somehow. Alas how he went from a being far away to being right with them both would be an unanswerable question. One moment he was not, and then he was. He went for a hug on dark and grumpy and then he all but vanished and squeezed the puzzle mare in a hug to! "Why the long faces! Hugs for everypony!" Enter crazy old pony who should be dead by old age long ago!
Lord Sombra snorted softly, mildly amused by Amore's answer. "Fate." He spat. "Fate had us meet as foes. It did not piece you back together. That is the work of a pony's hooves.. and powerful magic, too." Only a strong mage could've done it. "What can your destiny truly be now that you are without a kingdom and citizens to rule?" A mocking tone curled in his voice, those cruel red eyes staring the unicorn mare down until he found himself being abruptly hugged by a pony. An old, scrawny geezer with the most ridiculous array of headwear. Sombra recoiled, his snout wrinkling in disgust until the old stallion moved away. There was something familiar about him, that two sets of memories spoke of.. The king shook his head and straightened again, pointed teeth bared behind a curled lip. Where'd this coot come from?
Radiant Hope was wandering around town thinking to herself, yes she was overjoyed she had restored Sombra and was glad he had gotten sane enough to see that she only meant the best for him and just wanted her childhood friend near, but what if he desired to overthrow ponies and actually turn to mass murder or enslavement?
Princess Amore folded her ears back when he spoke his words with such a venomous feeling... While she never believed in Destiny.... Fate was not the same. She looked away, her left foreleg raised up against her chest as she tried to slowly breathe, the pressure in her chest warning her to move away from him. She was still weakened. By instinct she knew that, for the time being, she was in danger. She could not cast any complicated spells and so far from the Kingdom, its Heart... her magic was weak. She was glad it was there though, that feeling emptiness was not something she wished again, nor a state of dreamlessness. If she pushed Sombra's temper it could mean another century's rest for her. Shaking her head she parted her muzzle to correct him, but before she could speak the old pony appeared!
Princess Amore squeaked with surprise, the pained expression slowly drifting to that of the hat wizard. She liked that title for him. Hat Mage! Much less frightening than Hedge Mage, which she thought he was at first with that grizzled and aged face! "You found me..." She was relieved. She had been lost and -- alone with Sombra in her state. She offered a soft smile before turning her eyes to Sombra. No -- the kingdom was never hers to begin with... she merely led it. She backed up somewhat so she settled by the wizard.
Star Swirl the Bearded released the unicorn and fell back onto his hooves. However that jovial look was turned back towards the dark unknown pony. "Is everything alright here?" Either some sort of illusion was in play or... Well the old unicorn's rather gaunt face grew shadowed (almost skeletal) and did his smile turn predatory. "My puzzle mare seemed scared." he continued and.... was there a red demonic light glinting from his eyes? A cloud crossed over the sun with remarkable timing, making it appear to grow dark. However just as the cloud passed he turned back to the mare and gave her a light pat with a jolly ole smile back on his muzzle. "Dark and grumpy-face can't hurt you. Grandpa Swirly is here!" Some might wonder just what sort of threat a frail old pony could be.
Lord Sombra pondered, briefly, as his eyes switched between the unicorn pair before him, where Hope might be. What would she think to see Princess Amore back in one piece, without her aid? He did consider telling her about Amore's shards on their travels, but he never brought himself to actually go through with it. Hope had been beaten to the punch by another pony, a terribly familiar pony.. Was he not some great mage on the rise from the unicorn tribe? Or was he some strange visitor? The memories warred within him. Sombra shook his head, eyes locking onto the wizened mage when he gave him a look. A threatening look, but to Sombra it was almost a challenge.. but he had no intention of hurting Amore again. Once was enough, and how distraught she'd been! He'd broken her, though there might yet be steel left in her with that talk of fate and destiny.. The look was gone, and the old mage seemed back to.. weird, at the flip of a coin. "I had no intention of doing so." Sombra smoothly replied; he'd just been antagonizing her, and to hide his shock at her return. "Your.. puzzle? Were you the one who brought her back?" He was assuming, and he might be wrong. "You don't know who she is.. nor me."
Radiant Hope finally reached the square and her heart skipped a beat, before her eyes she saw.. Amore, Princess Amore along with Sombra and some wizened old mage who looked very familiar, but how? wait Amore oh princesses... energy gathering in her horn she teleported in between Sombra and the two unicorns and lowered her head. "Stop! Whatever is going on here I will not let you destroy him again, I... I'm happy to see you restored but no fighting!" Her horn still burst with magical aether, no she wished no harm on anypony but she had suffered for centuries as Sombra's curse kept her youthful and she wanted no more suffering.
Princess Amore looked down to the hat mage when he seemed to frazzle. Seeing as she had stepped to his side, she did not see the rage cloud filing his elderly features! When he turned to her with his declaration she smiled softly. Though the expression was barren, like the desert of ice she was raised in -- there was a sense of happiness. He was a kind old mage. "Thank you..." She exhaled before considering her state. She couldn't much longer -- not like this. The stress of being pieced back together after countless years of a frozen, dreamless state it left her with difficulty raising back to her genuine authority. An authority born only of princesses. Somewhere it was buried deep, but she could not yet reach it. Her curls bounced as she raised her head, the green cloak over her back hiding her cutiemark and shielding her back from the sun's rays.
Princess Amore's eyes pinched softly. "....he didn't always have that...'grumpy' face." Before she could speak more a pony teleported before them. Hear heart sank, as did much of the feeling in her legs. She tried to speak but she was struck, vehemently, by a mountain of memories, or were they forsook dreams? Her little princess -- She was well, as Sombra had said. She never doubted it. He would never hurt her, but still. It hurt Amore, seeing that those dreams she had -- were real. She would collapse under the weight of pain. "Hope..." It was all she could exhale before her weakened body crumbled. She was only just pieced back together, and unliek Sombra who only suffered a few short years shattered: she had spent centuries lost from her consciousness. She was having trouble refocusing her existence, her princesshood.
Star Swirl the Bearded was taken by surprise as another pony teleported into the midst of them. "I won't fight long as Mr Grumpypants doesn't start anything." What a mature name to call the dark pony...Alas the old pony found his attention quickly turning to puzzle pony whenever she collapsed! "Ooooh nonono, whats wrong puzzle princess?" he asked as he bustled about her in a few circles and tried several things. Why had she collapsed? He tried to give another hug; heck he even tried to give her the crown of victory and protection! The gaudy pink crown looked outright ridiculous on a pony..... That left him with the helm and the cone hat. "I just put you together; don't you fall apart on granpa Swirly!" hehe... pun....
Lord Sombra wrinkled his nose at Amore. No, he wasn't always so 'grumpy,' but that was before he knew what he really was. A shadow monster. The king had nothing to say to them yet, as this day was the most talkative he'd been in.. a long while. The flash of magic, a most familiar, soothing magic, preceded the immediate appearance of Hope. Ah, there she is. Sombra's expression softened minutely, and it took him a moment to realize what she was saying. Hope had said 'destroy him' not 'her.' "'Twas the royal pony sisters and their pawns." Sombra rumbled quietly to her and looked up as Amore.. collapsed, with the old stallion fussing over her just like a doting grandfather. "It is King Sombra to you." He corrected harshly and decided to flick off his disguise; nopony would be coming down this way, anyway, not if they trusted their instincts. Sombra stepped up towards Hope, lowering his head. Maybe he'd grant.. a sliver of mercy. "I daresay the old pony did not know what he was doing. Perhaps your magic might help." It was whispered, quietly, into Hope's ear; she was so enthusiastic to help..
Radiant Hope swallowed but nodded when she heard Sombra whisper into her ear, if she was a master in anything it would be her healing arts, her very talent and calling in life so she rerouted the flow of energies and suffused Princess Amore with her curative powers, if it came to it she wouldn't see anypony hurt badly yet for Sombra, she would do nearly anything for him.
Princess Amore offered the hat wizard a warm smile, He was kind. She couldn't speak, but gave a nod., She did not want to fall apart again. While many spoke of Tartarus being a place of eternal damnation, torture and other unspeakable horrors, this is perhaps what they called limbo. A place of neither peace or punishment. It was a true nothingness that weighed heavy on the body and soul. It would take time for the mare to regain who she was. Seeing Sombra and Hope well allowed her to openly wish to see tomorrow, instead of wishing for death to end the emptiness. After a moment she would feel the warmth of healing upon her body. It took away a great deal of the pain and tiredness. Though it did not fully restore her magic, which needed time and rest. She could stand now. She pushed up and wobbled to her hooves. "Oh," She exhaled. "...thank you." Her darling foals had grown up so much... without her...
Star Swirl the Bearded hobbled in front of the former princess with hats piled high upon his had. Hats that somehow had changed from an hour prior. Metal helms from multiple kingdoms, a grey wizard hat with a gold tiara, and on the top was a beret. "Honestly missy I don't really know! If this world is anything like mine we should be heading towards where my home would have been! Where was that exactly? The old pony looked back at the mare only to scuttle around and beam at her. "You should cheer up! You're alive an ye aren't missing any parts! I know if I were a thousand years old I'd not look near as good! The stallions in this age'll love ya." What the ancient world-displaced mage failed to mention was that he 'was' about that old. And he didn't look good at all! He looked like a breeze might push him over at times. But at other times he was a spry ol' git. They did find themselves in a small hamlet though. He'd had to go half way across Equestria to track down the last crystal to solve that damn puzzle!
Lord Sombra thought he might've hidden those shards well, and for all he knew, he did. His travels with Hope took him through a few, varied places, from the city, through the country and even this village. The village was something of a comfort that not all things had changed so drastically, although Sombra'd never been in proper Equestria before. Just the ice and snow of the Frozen North. It was warm enough that the velvet cape felt uncomfortable, but he would not discard any of what he wore. He hid them through illusion, instead, when he was forced to interact with ponies. Yet.. sometime since leaving the Frozen North he'd become plagued by half-remembered emotions and memories. He didn't recognize them, yet they were familiar.. and the familiarity was aggravating. Ponies he was sure he'd never properly spoken to, the face of the sunbringer.. Feelings. Sombra tried to put it out of his mind while they camped out near this.. place. He mostly tried to keep hidden and out of the hamlet, as they needed to linger on the edge of civilization so that Hope could find food. He didn't need to eat, so much. Sometimes Sombra ended up lashing out in bad temper when overly bothered, but now that he was left alone with his thoughts.. maybe he could sort them out. Provided nothing else came along.
Princess Amore nearly faltered when the old pony seemed frazzled about his own position. She would come to a halt, her head raising and shoulders leveling out. Even if she has become remiss to her place in this world, she still stood with the strength her past had built. While her eyes were a portrait of sadness, hurt, her body was a sculpted figure drawn from the very cliffs of ice themselves. Nothing about her said weak, or delicate, but her heartstrings were on the verge -- but a single strand remained, holding her together. For a moment she turned her golden eyes towards the aging unicorn, brows creasing so softly one could kiss the slope with a thread. A soft smile would begin to form as the ends of her lips pinched back, cheek to cheek. She let out a soft sigh as she parted her muzzle in an airy giggle, though it sounded more the mourning warble of a finch that has long lost its love.
Princess Amore looked back along her body, the cloak she wore was a simple, dull green. Just something to hide that... pon her hip. "Ah... so far I do believe you did a very good job of finding all that I am." She frowned, ears pinning back against her silken curls of magenta-pink. "I... I am sorry you've nothing to call me by. I still cannot find it... the name given to me." Perhaps lost with the delicate strings of her heart somewhere beyond. She knew who she was, and where she came from.... all she was able to tell Star Swirl, for now, is that she was looking for home, and the ponies she had failed. She knew, in her heart, they were out there, the ones she could not save. For now the kingdom... she felt, was alright. She would know, wouldn't she? If something terrible happened... "What is this place called?" Her unfamiliarity with all things Equestria shone as brightly as her coat against the summer sun.
Star Swirl the Bearded reached up to give the larger mare's head a bit of a pat. "Come now, my dear! You need not apologize for not knowing your own name! Why, if I didn't have it written on the inside of my bowler hat I'd probably forget mine! It can happen to anypony." He shifted and turned to step away only to pause an look rather sheepish. "Umm... If this is anything like my world then we're in eastern Equestria... I think the little hamlet might be called Fudgingham." Definitely not... But it wasn't like the ol wizard knew any better. "But this is part of the lovely Equestria unless the griffons took over. Given that ponies are still existing I don't think they did. But maybe the minotaur invaded... Or the fire nation." he mused as he found himself ducking around a foal that was running through the street. He was nearly taken out! Alas a second foal caused him to lose balance and spin around until he righted himself. The now dizzy wizard flopped down in the dirt. "Ooooh Swirling Stars!"
Lord Sombra often thought things over when he was alone. It made it easier for him to work out problems, to figure things out... to plan. The current issue with the memories that were not his, yet were, made it impossible to do much more than dwell. Did something happen after he was destroyed? While he was banished? It was impossible for the king to tell.. and, slowly, the silence was getting to him. Sombra couldn't discuss this with Hope for she might think him mad. More so than he was.. and he could not bring himself to share anything with her, because his feelings were strangely torn. Sombra grumbled to himself and pulled himself to his hooves. Maybe he would find her, or poke around the hamlet, see what else there was to find. When he could think, he had an inkling of an idea.. mostly inspired from the memories.. With a ripple of dark magic, his disguise was in place and Sombra headed into town with a scowl.
Princess Amore's expression softened when she was pet, like a foal that needed coddling. Honestly it was rather nice. He was a sweet old pony. A bit odd, but very sweet. She could not see him doing any wrong, or to bring her harm so she continued to follow. Inhaling she would release a soft exhale and chuckle. "I suppose among ponies our age," She mused. "Forgetfulness is simply part of the job, but I feel there is something there that is holding me back from capturing these memories." Had Starswirl missed a piece? Or was it something more complicated? Was not only her body, but her name sealed away as well? Could she never recapture the entirety of her being? When Star offered her the name of the hamlet she could not help but lower her head in question. "That is a rather silly name." She had worried upon his mention of racial conquest. War -- never changed, huh? Even so far away into the future.... into a time she did not belong.
Princess Amore looked behind her as she felt something crawl up her spine. Her horn gave a soft glow, an icy gold color that dissipated ad quickly as it had formed. "Did you feel that?" She asked. She was unsure what direction it had come from, but that energy... It was the one that she had been encased in for centuries. She knew that magic... There was a moment where she wished to run towards it, but she held fast. She was still mindful of the primp and etiquette given to her, the memories of how to move and speak were no more easily forgotten as one's ability to walk. Even if her walking was shaky, at best, she still recognized it. "Ser Starswirl, did you feel it?" Had Dark Magic become common place? Maybe it was him? Raising a hoof she would tuck it against her chest, body tensing as anxiety filled her heart, or at least burdened it with what she could remember. they were only flashes...
Princess Amore occasionally saw memories of their faces, broken and corrupted by her time in the dark crystal, but the feeling was never forgotten. Her hoof came down as she attempted to steel herself, but she would end up rearing as she whinnied, backing away in quick steps as the fear struck her like a bolt of lightning. She remembered the pain that came with being locked away... and not just a physical one either.
Lord Sombra strode into town through one of their many streets, tall and intimidating even in the guise of a normal pony, walking with his old, slow surety. A veritable dark cloud of threat. The thoughts and memories of what wasn't his, yet was, still bothered him greatly and would continue to bother him for many days yet. It made him wonder.. He knew when it started, but not why, but it did make him wonder.. was he changing? Was putting him back together making him not what he was? Sombra just couldn't tell, and he tried his damnedest to shove these musings far back out of his mind while he strode through the hardpack dirt of the small village's streets. Trying to focus on the sights, instead, and perhaps some sign of a recent 'newspaper' as they were called. Modern Equestrians cataloguing every little thing to happen when it happened made it too easy... that and what he learned in the museum. The lunar princess falling and being banished just like he had, for a thousand years. Of course she had returned, back to her old self again.. but my, Princess Celestia did like her banishments did she not? Sombra was too occupied keeping a look out that he hadn't quite felt that brief flicker of.. something. Nearby.
Princess Amore while she wanted to wait by the old pony, his distractions being rather endearing: she could still feel it. Her body showed a clear indication of stress. She stood with legs stiff and her tail snapped to and fro ad the curls of fur flowed like a banner hanging off her elongated tail. The former crystal princess had lived a long life and had been imprisoned for much longer. Was this payment for keeping the Umbrum trapped as she did? Was there really a way to save them, or were those the cold whispers of lies, masked by hope... Her heart jumped. She felt it again. It was growing nearer. She turned her body, only pausing to look back at the old unicorn. He survived this long... a moment without her presence should do him no harm. She just wanted to see...
Princess Amore had only meant to walk with haste, but it was not long before she was trotting and in a full gallop toward the sensation. Hooves trampled along the packed roads, dust kicking up beneath her once lightly colored hooves. As such was the was with traveled they had become marred by soils and caked with mud. While it did not bother her as primly as it would perhaps the most bourgeoisie of ponies, she knew that living took fortitude and a bit of dirt. If she was to become part of this living world again she would have to remember that beneath that ice and snow was dirt and stone. Neither the same, nor apart from one another. One came from the land toiled by earth ponies, the other from the sky gifted by the pegasus. What sit between: grand schools of clerics and teachers were the unicorn, but instead of being a teacher, a leader -- had she become like the destructive Umbrum?
Princess Amore would slow as she came to a rather busy section of road. Though ponies were still few within the hamlet, there were laborers crossing paths as their day came and went. After thousands of years sealed away... the soft voices of the talking ponies, which once brought her joy, pained her. Her ears rang, reverberated with the highpitched warbles of their happiness. Where had her love for their community gone? Perhaps lost among the scattered pieces of her heart....? She would peer around a corner, look over ponies and beneath obstacles. As the cloaked, unicorn mare searched, only to find nothing: she would become more convinced of the darkness having corrupt her heart and body.
Lord Sombra did like when the ideas for a plan came together. An oh so sweet satisfaction, and it took a certain.. cruel creativity. Yet was he certain if he wanted to go through with what was on his mind now? Were the memories he saw, cropping up in his mind like weeds from seemingly lifeless soil, a figment of some newfound madness.. or truth? If they were true, was it something that could be used? Oh, the possibilities were delicious.. It was a small light in the darkness of his current existence, a king without a kingdom and wandering through the village of rabble. He hated their noise, and the further he became to its heart, the busier the streets were. He was taller than most, perhaps rivaling that of the lunar maiden, and ponies gave way easily.. because he didn't stop or deign to stand aside for them. Sombra kept walking, his eyes wandering over the established shops and restaurants that it held.. unaware that the pony he had broken was so very near.
Princess Amore was beginning to think she had imagined it all... As her hooves carried her down the dusty roads, it would become apparent that she no longer knew where she was. In her frantic attempt to find the small thread that had bound to her memories, or the scattered echoes of a past no longer present, she had become lost. This place was not her kingdom. She was a maiden displaced, a monarch crownless, but she was not without home or kingdom. Now that she had become whole, there was no longer any doubt if she could act. She was no longer a memory, but a living breathing -- dream. She had stopped dreaming after the first few years. Than came the silence. Nothing to look forward too, nothing to look back upon. The haze of the corruption had taken away her memories and dreams. She had been empty.
Princess Amore could feel him and knew that she was brought back for a reason. Her foals, all of them. They were orphans of war. The hatred and destruction wrought upon by the Umbrum. From the Crystal ponies these shadows took away their mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts and many more nameless under the rancid destruction. Who was to blame for the ripple that cut across the lands. Who was to know that the dark in a single alicorn's heart could perhaps have been the cause. Or was there something more -- sinister, at work? She pushed through the ponies, apologizing profusely. She had come to the end. An open square with naught to find. The ponies had began to depart and return home.
Princess Amore stood there in the open... not a figure in sight. She felt that heaviness again. It came whenever she began to doubt. The lingering darkness, most likely. Her horn light up, that icy-gold hue surrounding the cloak, straightening out as it has become jostled in her sprint. Twas for naught. "Where are you...?" her voice was a windigo's kiss: icy. The way she bit out the question filled it with despair, loathing.
Lord Sombra kept walking at his slow, stately pace through the village's dirt streets, spotting things both new and old to him. The newness was what bits of technology ponies have come up with in the thousand years he'd been.. asleep, the changes in architecture, furniture.. many things. It was intriguing, and.. perhaps not so useful information, it told him enough about how things changed since. His aimless wandering, with no Hope in sight, lead him out of the busier crowds near the markets and stores towards.. a square. There was a small fountain at its center. A pony- No. Sombra came to a halt, jostled from his thoughts and plans at the sight of her. There was no possible way for her to be, 'lest he had gone mad and begun to hallucinate, next to the memories. Her regalia, gone, and a green cloak in its place. There was a mingling swarm of feelings, and something.. cold. It was not murder in his heart, but something else. Fear? Sombra wouldn't admit it to be.
Lord Sombra denied its existence in him. He was the ones ponies feared, the harnesser of it.. The former king wouldn't allow himself to retreat before she saw him, but neither would he try to approach her. If it really was her, and not another look-alike as the pink alicorn was. It was too much a coincidence..
Princess Amore hadn't time to admire the advancements ponies had made. Since Starswirl had put her back together her mind struggled to wake from the silence she had suffered for centuries. The soft lull of ponies talking had become cacophonous in nature, while the warm touch of the sun burned her lightly colored coat. Nothing was pleasant, not even her waking, for it was just a heavy sleep that still blanketed over her consciousness. She pushed through though. The pain was nothing when compared to the suffering of those foals. The achiness could not even touch upon the suffering of the widows from the ruthless battles against the Umbrum. Her tail had all but sunk, the curls spilling onto the floor like a bolt of unfurled silk. Her head lowered and her ears would pin back, tucking against her bouncing curls. She shifted her weight, the clap of her hooves muted against the dirt. She sighed, feeling a bit foolish at her exertion. She still did not have much energy to her name.
Princess Amore raised her head and made move to turn and find her way back to Starswirl, but she was sure she no longer recalled the way. Foolish. She could fool herself no longer. Like the grip of a mountain troll, the mare felt a squeezing pain in all her body. It could remember the pain. It remembered the suffering caused to it. Her head slowly turned, eyes drawn toward the single, dark form that resided in the street at that moment. It was as if everything had come to a standstill. No sound crawled through the wind, but the pounding of her heart was audible, swimming between her ears. Her muzzle lips parted. "....you." His name unable to be formed. She had no fear, nor had she anger towards him. How could you be angry at somepony whom you loved and whom needed your guidance? But -- he showed he did not need her. He cast her away. "...where...?" She could not fight the tears that began to spill, the memories that crushed at her chest.
Lord Sombra stood standing there, as frozen as she was as his mind struggled with what his eyes saw. His disguise left him bare, gray and black, no cutiemark. If any passing ponies remarked upon it, he paid them no attention. He knew what he was, had known since that meeting with the red crystal. "You." Sombra replied in kind, his voice a deep rumble, a growl rising from beneath the usual, suave voice. Shocked, angry, confused... Sombra saw her tears, too, but no fear. He did not know how to feel about the tears. Some inkling of his past self, before the darkness, drawn out by Hope's choice of finding him over becoming a princess.. drew up some ghost of guilt, but he would not let himself feel it. He did what he had to do. "I broke you. Scattered you all across Equestria! How do you come to be here, now?" Sombra's voice rose as he took a couple of steps forward, sharp teeth visible just past his lips. "Princess Amore." Almost a purr, that threatening growl.
Princess Amore visibly shivered. Her fur stood on end when he pressed the pronoun to her. Her? Yes... but... who was she? Their faces, their names were as clear as the day was warm, as painful too. While the cloak guarded her back from the worse of the blistering rays, but her face and neck were unguarded. Her eyes carried a soft squint as her brows pinched down. Without all his regalia she still recognized him. That foal who hid behind the taller legs of others. That soft, curious face had hardened into a focused, unwavering visage. He had grown, and he had become distant. She never knew what it was that changed him so. Such was privy to Hope, that foal that always stood by his side. She knew Hope well, or at the very least her parents. While they grew and changed she -- had remained the same until she did change. What had she become? Shattered, broken. Just as he said. The tears stopped when her name was spoken.
Princess Amore felt an arrow pierce her heart, no -- a rusted spear gouging through her breast. He spoke with such dastardly intents. Where had her sweet foal gone? Where had she gone wrong? Her eyes turned down, the hurt swimming through the molten pools of gold festered into burning bile. "I don't know." It was all she could muster, a voice shaken by confusion, distress. What could she say? How could she face him? "...please..." Just -- a little. Maybe she could reach this ghost of a foal she had such hopes for... such Hope. Where was she? The tears began to flow again as her hooves finally began to move and draw her towards him. "....allow me--" She just wanted to see him up close again. For so long she lay frozen in that silence. But even still she could not forget the face that sent her there.
Lord Sombra didn't know what to do about the (former?) princess. It really was her, unless he was just shouting at a figment of his imagination, a madman. Her scattered broken speech was hard to determine what it was she wanted him to allow. Sombra had noticed the change in her expression when he said her name, exploiter of weakness was he, but not to what end this time. The king fought the urge to take a step back from her as she slowly approached. He had to stand tall, head lifted arrogantly and hatred in his gaze, even in this thin disguise. There was no chance he could repeat what he'd done in the past, turning her to crystal as he had, she was probably expecting it. Older than he, Amore had to be a sharp mare to be a princess, no? Even at her lowest, here.. Sombra's eyes narrowed. "Allow thee what?" He snapped. "Your tricks shan't work on me." He hadn't forgotten that she'd known what he was.. even as a foal she'd known, and let him suffer.
Princess Amore followed his movements as he stood tall. He had become... so big. Had been a princess, once, so long ago. She remembered how she strive to provide those foals a home. "...I just wanted to..." Her voice slipped from her throat, the chill that edged it made it almost jagged. The sounds of icicles falling upon a tin roof, like the ring of warbling birds, lost to the deafening snows of winter. She raised a hoof, body finding balance on her three legs, though she could barely afford such a simple task with so much energy drained from her body -- was it drained? Perhaps it too slept. She pulled the forelimb over her chest, the knot of her clock tightening. She was trying to hide it, the mark. She was ashamed to carry it in front of him, now that he knew... "I never meant for you..." Could she say such a thing? She had hidden the truth, but never had she meant for him to be hurt. "...protect..." Her throat locked up, memories suffocating her with silence.
Princess Amore her eyes pinched closed as her head lowered. Curling locks of pink fell over her skull, hiding her shameful, stifling sniffle. She had only meant to protect him. All of them. They were all worth being saved. Even Sombra. Especially Sombra. She shook her head and stood, the pride of her princesshood not forgotten by her bones, her muscles. She stood straight and raised her head to Sombra, her own height untouched by her voicelessness. She was still powerful -- though her heard was hanging by a thread. She shook her head, tears streaking down her cheeks. he didn't understand her intentions. How could he? She kept so many things secret. She became their wall against the unforgiving snow and ice that threatened to swallow them whole. "...home!" It was all she could string together. "...together we..." Why was it so hard to find the missing piece?
Lord Sombra's heavy brow furrowed down over those menacing red eyes, left without the acid of the green tint from dark magic. There was something about Amore that differed from his memory of her. His true memory. Something.. cold, but not maliciously so. Just cold. Like the snow. How did his imprisonment of her change her? Sombra was capable of curses, and he'd taken the Crystal Empire out of the grasps of the pony sisters with one when he couldn't have it for his own. Sombra's eyes followed the forehoof crossing over her chest, and he wondered what it was she might be hiding, if she were hiding something. Maybe it was just emotional distress, something he was still able to see vividly on her face. "If you have something important to say, speak it, without your stammering!" Sombra spat, impatient. The snatches of speech he got from her were fractured and confusing.. "Home." The king mused, and came upon something... a thought. Oh, something he might certainly be able to use.. and he went forward with it despite her evident remorse. "The Crystal Empire was taken from me by a pink alicorn." The stallion's voice dropped to a purr. "She looked much like you.. I do believe I remember one of those.." Sombra had to avoid using the word slaves, "ponies calling her the Crystal Princess." Persuasive words, perhaps to find something out, or soothe? Sombra'd never admit to either, but he didn't know, himself what his intention was. "Give yourself a moment to think, princess, and speak."
Princess Amore could not help the feeling of breathlessness around him. It was not emotional so much as it was physical. Her body remembered the torture he caused, but her heart knew who he was.... Had she something important to say? Of course. They were an important part of the empire. Pieces to repair the shattered remnants of her dream. It wasn't as if she could go back and perhaps tell him sooner or learn of what it was that had hurt him so. She was a princess. Her time at the orphanage was always short, always pushed behind schedule by her advisors. A table of them and yet none could find her time for the ones who mattered most for the Empire. The youth were the ones would would protect the heart when she was gone and she couldn't prepare them. She wasn't prepared for what had come that day. If the physical agony of being shattered was not enough, the mental strain of being torn apart, yet remaining alive, was without words.
Princess Amore looked to Sombra when he spoke. In her ears his words were sharp, like a blade crossing over ice. Such would leave no evidence -- not unlike his words which caused the already pale-furred mare to pale further. It seemed am impossible task in the sun that marred the skin beneath her coat a light shade of pink. When Sombra spoke of a pony that resembled her, she could only brush off the emotion and remain taciturn. No. It was just an impossibility -- at least she could believe until he spoke the title. She was shaken, hooves barely catching her as she took a step back. Her eyes danced about the scenery before landing upon her muddied hooves. Time? Too much time had already been wasted. So many things ... but the kingdom was safe, right? An alicorn? No... than it wasn't her. Was it...? She raised her head. "Where is Hope?" The one she left to take that role...
Lord Sombra closely observed the former princess once he'd dropped that possibility, wondering what it might mean to her. There was no mistaking the similarities in color, the same way their manes came down in swirls.. but he didn't know of the cutiemarks. A step back from Amore meant Sombra advanced, her gaze having broken from him to perhaps stare at the ground. The dark king's head cocked to the side in a curious manner when Amore, instead, decided to ask about Hope rather than tell him anything. Blast. "Alive, unharmed. Somewhere in this village if not at camp." Sombra answered- honestly, for once, only to go a step further. "She gave up her title of princess for me, to bring this monster back into the fold." The king paused, eying what he could see of Amore's face. "The question is, who brought you back? Only a truly determined, clever pony had to have been able to find those shards that were scattered so far apart." Sombra had many questions, but Amore, as rattled as she was, would take time to pry open for information.
Princess Amore was not ready to think about such things or contest to his words without knowing the truth. She was not sure where the old mage had taken her, but this wasn't the Crystal Empire anymore. It was like she was having a dream. Sombra was there. And so was Hope. And even faces she had never before seen with her own eyes. Perhaps, though, she had been too quick to ask him to come back... or return. She had not asked him what it was he had done, how it was he had changed, or who it was he had become. The mare took not of his approach. She was not afraid of him, but instead she was ashamed of herself and her shortcomings. She moved her hind leg subconsciously, knowing what it was that burned on her hip. It was a mark of shame. She had lost something important of herself that day. While she was not ashamed to have given herself up for others: it made her blind to Sombra's suffering.
Princess Amore breathed a sigh of relief to hear that Hope was well. It was Hope she had put everything into. Her love and kindness -- Her gaze slowly returned to Sombra's. Her brows were pinched in a soft confusion. She never looked to him with fear or anger. Perhaps that was a most unsettling trait for her. She was not afraid. She had seen war. She has seen the worst side of life. She has lived through it and watched how others suffered. Her privilege came with her magic and position, one she did not abuse. So-- Hope left to be at his side? She could not say she felt surprised. 'Amore'. The name rang in her ears again. She had been feeling pain since he had mentioned it. A gnawing sensation, burrowing into her ear. She shook her head before her muzzle parted. "Fate..." Fate had returned her. She turned a strong gaze towards the younger stallion. "Fate returned me to face my destiny." Even if it was punishment for her failure to protect the innocent souls.
Star Swirl the Bearded had replaced his hats with a shiny guard helmet, a terribly gaudy pink crown, and a white cone with some unknown letters printed down the side. Alas the old unicorn had gotten separated from his unicorn puzzle. Damn! Where had she gone? He spent good bits on that puzzle! The old pony eventually found the errant princess (not that he really knew she was an actual princess) and she was speaking with some dark furred pony who looked rathr... grumpy? His puzzle mare looked so distressed to.... He needed to cheer them both up somehow. Alas how he went from a being far away to being right with them both would be an unanswerable question. One moment he was not, and then he was. He went for a hug on dark and grumpy and then he all but vanished and squeezed the puzzle mare in a hug to! "Why the long faces! Hugs for everypony!" Enter crazy old pony who should be dead by old age long ago!
Lord Sombra snorted softly, mildly amused by Amore's answer. "Fate." He spat. "Fate had us meet as foes. It did not piece you back together. That is the work of a pony's hooves.. and powerful magic, too." Only a strong mage could've done it. "What can your destiny truly be now that you are without a kingdom and citizens to rule?" A mocking tone curled in his voice, those cruel red eyes staring the unicorn mare down until he found himself being abruptly hugged by a pony. An old, scrawny geezer with the most ridiculous array of headwear. Sombra recoiled, his snout wrinkling in disgust until the old stallion moved away. There was something familiar about him, that two sets of memories spoke of.. The king shook his head and straightened again, pointed teeth bared behind a curled lip. Where'd this coot come from?
Radiant Hope was wandering around town thinking to herself, yes she was overjoyed she had restored Sombra and was glad he had gotten sane enough to see that she only meant the best for him and just wanted her childhood friend near, but what if he desired to overthrow ponies and actually turn to mass murder or enslavement?
Princess Amore folded her ears back when he spoke his words with such a venomous feeling... While she never believed in Destiny.... Fate was not the same. She looked away, her left foreleg raised up against her chest as she tried to slowly breathe, the pressure in her chest warning her to move away from him. She was still weakened. By instinct she knew that, for the time being, she was in danger. She could not cast any complicated spells and so far from the Kingdom, its Heart... her magic was weak. She was glad it was there though, that feeling emptiness was not something she wished again, nor a state of dreamlessness. If she pushed Sombra's temper it could mean another century's rest for her. Shaking her head she parted her muzzle to correct him, but before she could speak the old pony appeared!
Princess Amore squeaked with surprise, the pained expression slowly drifting to that of the hat wizard. She liked that title for him. Hat Mage! Much less frightening than Hedge Mage, which she thought he was at first with that grizzled and aged face! "You found me..." She was relieved. She had been lost and -- alone with Sombra in her state. She offered a soft smile before turning her eyes to Sombra. No -- the kingdom was never hers to begin with... she merely led it. She backed up somewhat so she settled by the wizard.
Star Swirl the Bearded released the unicorn and fell back onto his hooves. However that jovial look was turned back towards the dark unknown pony. "Is everything alright here?" Either some sort of illusion was in play or... Well the old unicorn's rather gaunt face grew shadowed (almost skeletal) and did his smile turn predatory. "My puzzle mare seemed scared." he continued and.... was there a red demonic light glinting from his eyes? A cloud crossed over the sun with remarkable timing, making it appear to grow dark. However just as the cloud passed he turned back to the mare and gave her a light pat with a jolly ole smile back on his muzzle. "Dark and grumpy-face can't hurt you. Grandpa Swirly is here!" Some might wonder just what sort of threat a frail old pony could be.
Lord Sombra pondered, briefly, as his eyes switched between the unicorn pair before him, where Hope might be. What would she think to see Princess Amore back in one piece, without her aid? He did consider telling her about Amore's shards on their travels, but he never brought himself to actually go through with it. Hope had been beaten to the punch by another pony, a terribly familiar pony.. Was he not some great mage on the rise from the unicorn tribe? Or was he some strange visitor? The memories warred within him. Sombra shook his head, eyes locking onto the wizened mage when he gave him a look. A threatening look, but to Sombra it was almost a challenge.. but he had no intention of hurting Amore again. Once was enough, and how distraught she'd been! He'd broken her, though there might yet be steel left in her with that talk of fate and destiny.. The look was gone, and the old mage seemed back to.. weird, at the flip of a coin. "I had no intention of doing so." Sombra smoothly replied; he'd just been antagonizing her, and to hide his shock at her return. "Your.. puzzle? Were you the one who brought her back?" He was assuming, and he might be wrong. "You don't know who she is.. nor me."
Radiant Hope finally reached the square and her heart skipped a beat, before her eyes she saw.. Amore, Princess Amore along with Sombra and some wizened old mage who looked very familiar, but how? wait Amore oh princesses... energy gathering in her horn she teleported in between Sombra and the two unicorns and lowered her head. "Stop! Whatever is going on here I will not let you destroy him again, I... I'm happy to see you restored but no fighting!" Her horn still burst with magical aether, no she wished no harm on anypony but she had suffered for centuries as Sombra's curse kept her youthful and she wanted no more suffering.
Princess Amore looked down to the hat mage when he seemed to frazzle. Seeing as she had stepped to his side, she did not see the rage cloud filing his elderly features! When he turned to her with his declaration she smiled softly. Though the expression was barren, like the desert of ice she was raised in -- there was a sense of happiness. He was a kind old mage. "Thank you..." She exhaled before considering her state. She couldn't much longer -- not like this. The stress of being pieced back together after countless years of a frozen, dreamless state it left her with difficulty raising back to her genuine authority. An authority born only of princesses. Somewhere it was buried deep, but she could not yet reach it. Her curls bounced as she raised her head, the green cloak over her back hiding her cutiemark and shielding her back from the sun's rays.
Princess Amore's eyes pinched softly. "....he didn't always have that...'grumpy' face." Before she could speak more a pony teleported before them. Hear heart sank, as did much of the feeling in her legs. She tried to speak but she was struck, vehemently, by a mountain of memories, or were they forsook dreams? Her little princess -- She was well, as Sombra had said. She never doubted it. He would never hurt her, but still. It hurt Amore, seeing that those dreams she had -- were real. She would collapse under the weight of pain. "Hope..." It was all she could exhale before her weakened body crumbled. She was only just pieced back together, and unliek Sombra who only suffered a few short years shattered: she had spent centuries lost from her consciousness. She was having trouble refocusing her existence, her princesshood.
Star Swirl the Bearded was taken by surprise as another pony teleported into the midst of them. "I won't fight long as Mr Grumpypants doesn't start anything." What a mature name to call the dark pony...Alas the old pony found his attention quickly turning to puzzle pony whenever she collapsed! "Ooooh nonono, whats wrong puzzle princess?" he asked as he bustled about her in a few circles and tried several things. Why had she collapsed? He tried to give another hug; heck he even tried to give her the crown of victory and protection! The gaudy pink crown looked outright ridiculous on a pony..... That left him with the helm and the cone hat. "I just put you together; don't you fall apart on granpa Swirly!" hehe... pun....
Lord Sombra wrinkled his nose at Amore. No, he wasn't always so 'grumpy,' but that was before he knew what he really was. A shadow monster. The king had nothing to say to them yet, as this day was the most talkative he'd been in.. a long while. The flash of magic, a most familiar, soothing magic, preceded the immediate appearance of Hope. Ah, there she is. Sombra's expression softened minutely, and it took him a moment to realize what she was saying. Hope had said 'destroy him' not 'her.' "'Twas the royal pony sisters and their pawns." Sombra rumbled quietly to her and looked up as Amore.. collapsed, with the old stallion fussing over her just like a doting grandfather. "It is King Sombra to you." He corrected harshly and decided to flick off his disguise; nopony would be coming down this way, anyway, not if they trusted their instincts. Sombra stepped up towards Hope, lowering his head. Maybe he'd grant.. a sliver of mercy. "I daresay the old pony did not know what he was doing. Perhaps your magic might help." It was whispered, quietly, into Hope's ear; she was so enthusiastic to help..
Radiant Hope swallowed but nodded when she heard Sombra whisper into her ear, if she was a master in anything it would be her healing arts, her very talent and calling in life so she rerouted the flow of energies and suffused Princess Amore with her curative powers, if it came to it she wouldn't see anypony hurt badly yet for Sombra, she would do nearly anything for him.
Princess Amore offered the hat wizard a warm smile, He was kind. She couldn't speak, but gave a nod., She did not want to fall apart again. While many spoke of Tartarus being a place of eternal damnation, torture and other unspeakable horrors, this is perhaps what they called limbo. A place of neither peace or punishment. It was a true nothingness that weighed heavy on the body and soul. It would take time for the mare to regain who she was. Seeing Sombra and Hope well allowed her to openly wish to see tomorrow, instead of wishing for death to end the emptiness. After a moment she would feel the warmth of healing upon her body. It took away a great deal of the pain and tiredness. Though it did not fully restore her magic, which needed time and rest. She could stand now. She pushed up and wobbled to her hooves. "Oh," She exhaled. "...thank you." Her darling foals had grown up so much... without her...
To be continued.