Post by Mal on Aug 17, 2016 19:56:02 GMT -5
Lord Sombra sorely missed sleeping in a bed, but while he still owned a physical body, he had to sleep no matter how fussed he was about it. The next time they set up camp, he took off what he wore and set it carefully aside, folded up cape rested across the top of his gorget. As he never learned cleaning spells.. he didn't want it to get dirty. Sombra went to curl up to sleep on the grass with a soft huff, submitting to his body's needs for however long they were stopped. He didn't trust anypony save Hope, but.. he did trust that the others wouldn't make any assassination attempts, so he slept peacefully enough.
Princess Amore had never been given the chance to be a mother, at least not in the sense of having a foal of her own... but because of her role as Queen of the Crystal Empire all of her life and heart went into making sure her peoples had a life, a meaning. Even if they were -- Shadow Pony. A foal was innocent of their parent's mistakes. This was something Amore truly believed in. She believed foals were pure and they were the source of a kingdom's power. Generations of her family's rule, yet nothing had influenced her more than her mother. It was a brand of heritage she could be proud of. There had been no one as gentle, as loving -- yet she too had been lost to her during that war. She did not become weak and allow hate to consume her. She was still a little tired, but far from vulnerable. She had slept here and there, but what kept her awake was the knowledge of the decisions Sombra had made, despite everything. She had thought Hope would be a major influence on him, but she spoiled him.
Princess Amore she would seek to enter the part of the encampment where Sombra and Hope slept. It was still quite early in the day, but as a Queen she was oft up with the sun. The old wizard was likely asleep, or off collecting more hats. Whatever the activity she found that, upon entering the clearing she would find Sombra asleep. Vulnerable. Were she any other pony she could have considered doing him in, coup de grace... but since this was Sombra, and she was Amore, she could do naught but pity her child. She moved to lay herself by the stallion, her slender forelimbs tucking against her body. She looked down to his sleeping form. She pitied him, her miserable son. Raising a hoof she moved to gently brush aside that messy, scraggly mane. "What do you dream of?" What did he desire, truly...?
Lord Sombra curled his legs closer to his body, lying on his side since he'd first fallen asleep. There were no pillows for him to use, so he used one curled foreleg as one. He had vague, confusing dreams, some of which were memories that haunted him from foalhood. Some of the Crystal Empire itself. Tainted. The Crystal Heart, and the dark face he'd seen within it. His face. It was never a very soothing fact to know that the monster he saw.. was himself. The role of monster settled squarely on his shoulders like a mantle, one that grew comfortable on him over the years to the point it no longer registered. Some ponies just needed reminding. At some point in his sleep, Sombra became vaguely aware of the sunlight on him, warm, and a presence beside him. At first he would've thought it to be Hope, until he felt something stroking over his mane, sensations that reached him on the verge between asleep and awake. A voice, and it took his mind a moment to register it wasn't Hope's. Lord Sombra shifted, stirring, lifting his head to try to peer up through the blinding sunlight at who it was.
Princess Amore was hardly an unpleasant sight, her voice gentle on the ears. Her scent was light, underwhelming. She was not like the Alicorn sisters where their power and presence could be felt. Hers was more akin to a scolding whisper. Her raspberry tresses curled against her body, her leg pulled to rest back against her chest when she felt him beginning to rouse. She did not wish for him to feel as if she was taking advantage of him -- even though she was. Selfishly did she seek to bathe him with gentle, warm attention where she had never been able to before. Always too busy. Always running a kingdom. She had a husband, of course. One she loved dearly... the Umbrum had taken everything from her, but they had given her children to dote over. Without her husband, her precious mate -- she had to run the kingdom on her own. It was not easy running a kingdom under one's own power. Advisors, in the end, were just advisors.
Princess Amore spent a great deal of her life, her time, on her kingdom so the others could -- be happy, foregoing her own. She sat with her back to the sun, her pale fur unforgiving. She was from a frozen country where the sun was hardly harsh, far too far for it to do little more than light up the skies, some of the time of year, anyway. "Good morning." Her soft voice rang, body settling in its spot. Was she a dream? Sometimes she felt as if she was dreaming again. Soft memories of her ponies. Jagged memories of that face -- that accusing face of his. Screaming at her. Blaming her. Accusing her... She saw his face, and all she felt was disappointment in herself. She had failed as both a leader and a mother.
Lord Sombra became more certain he'd felt a hoof stroking his mane, mixed up with an old foalhood memory. Somepony, maybe Chestnut Falls or another, stroking his mane perhaps when he was ill or when the Crystal Faire made him feel agony. It was a pleasant memory, next to others, despite the hot sun beating down on his dark coat. When the blurriness of his eyes faded after a bit of blinking and squinting, it became apparent. Princess Amore. What was she doing? It was hot and sunny, and he wasn't sure why Amore was so close nor why she was stroking his mane. After the way he treated her, the way he usually antagonized her. Perhaps.. a dream, if she dared approach him like this. Sometimes Amore flitted across his dreams, because of her knowing of what he was all along and that fateful meeting at the Heart. He wanted to ask what she was doing, and roughly to cover up the fact that he'd taken any pleasure at all from stirred up memories. Memories from a time when he thought he was.. close to as normal a pony. The king's ears flattened back as he set his head down, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Do.. Do that again." Sombra murmured, perhaps in the same tone he'd once commanded the bard to read another story. A lovely voice that, to soothe a beast with, short of music.
Princess Amore had no intention to do him harm, or expose him to the harsh light of the sun she knew was behind him. While her first instinct was to move to give him room, she knew it would be a bit shocking, painful. Her second nature prevented her. She remained close to him. She had no fear of her son, blood or no, only the sharp refusal of his attentions. To be scorn by him -- it had been a pain much worse than any death she could think of. Her head lowered as he seemed to have difficulty rousing from his hazy state. Her muzzle lips pulled back in a warm smile. She was convinced -- convinced she could never restore his faith in her, but she could at least try to bring back that bright smile he had when he played with Hope. Those jovial games that made their youth seem eternal. Her heart ached, but the pain was not new. It had been the one she long suffered from his lashing spite. Like fire encapsulating her soul. It would never heal.
Princess Amore hoped, though, she could perhaps heal him. When his little brows knitted she could not fight the soft giggle that escaped her throat. Her hoof raised up to hold back the unlady-like sound before she raised her head, allowing her mane to sweep back. She offered him a soft smile. "had you asked -- I would have too, spoiled you." Who couldn't spoil such a haughty little face? She raised her hoof to reach for his mane again. "It's become so thick, so unruly." She paused to think. "Like a blizzard cloud." The dark angry ones that consumed the sky, only to release beautiful, delicate, crystalline flakes. Her forehoof drew over the edges of his mane. How she wished -- to comb it.
Lord Sombra wasn't quite looking at Amore's face, he could only see it in the bright summer sunshine out of the corner of his eye, pale bordered by pink mane. Her smiles and giggles confused him. Sombra was sure this was just a very weird dream, mixed in with how he'd been taken care of by Chestnut Falls back in the orphanage with Hope. Sometimes Princess Amore did come in to speak with the orphans, either something encouraging, or to read to them. Brief periods of time where the princess herself granted such lonely orphans some attention. Sombra rested there while Amore continued to stroke down his mane, which did indeed need brushing after their journeying. His brow still held some of his confusion on his face as he struggled, sleepily, to understand. "Spoiled?" That detail caught his attention.
Princess Amore's ears perked as she aimlessly drew patterns over his mane, playing with the knots and curls. It would be lovely did back in a tail. She hummed in her throat. "Yes... spoiled." She affirmed. "I feel foals should be spoiled occasionally." She expressed. "Told they are handsome. Given a chance to walk without a guardian at their side, fretting. Small things to help them grow up." Things they had done. Sadly, she would again lose that which she held dear. As much as she wished to sit here and play with his mane, this was not her little monster. He was a grown monster with ill intentions. She had to remind herself this. She had to remind herself that this monster, held hostage her little beast. Rowdy, rambunctious, jovial... She pulled her hoof back against her body, finally relinquishing her touch. As much as it pained her... she had to let go some day. Princess Amore pushed to stand, her curls bobbing with her movements. "Well, I think you should raise now. A good king gets up with the sun, no?" She teased softly before turning to walk back to where the old pony slept, unless stopped.
Lord Sombra felt a faint ruffling of the former princess's hoof as she played with his mane. It felt.. soothing. It was a nice dream, if it was, made him wonder what life would've been like for him had he been a normal pony with parents. A mother to dote on him. Sombra'd been close to normal as a foal, believing that lie, long enough to be afflicted with such thoughts compared to if he'd always known what he was. If he'd always known, he would be much worse than he was now. It was a strange thing to consider. Sombra's wandering thoughts stopped when he no longer felt that hoof against his mane, and he looked up towards Amore. She had withdrawn. Why? It was.. soothing. The king slowly rolled up onto his stomach, legs folding beneath him as Amore said what she did. It soon clicked in Sombra's mind that.. this wasn't, and had never been, a dream. He was awake.. which meant he'd legitimately asked Amore to keep stroking his mane. Sombra felt some strange species of horror, and perhaps anger too, for feeling like he'd been fooled. Amore didn't deliberately try to fool him, didn't try to tell him it was still a dream, but regardless. He felt foolish, and it'd been a moment of weakness.. which Sombra found strange in itself. The king snorted in annoyance, shaking out his mane to try to forget that sensation of having it petted, and went about gathering up his cape and armor. He wanted to hiss after her, but all he could do currently was growl and grumble to himself. Dammit.
Princess Amore had never been given the chance to be a mother, at least not in the sense of having a foal of her own... but because of her role as Queen of the Crystal Empire all of her life and heart went into making sure her peoples had a life, a meaning. Even if they were -- Shadow Pony. A foal was innocent of their parent's mistakes. This was something Amore truly believed in. She believed foals were pure and they were the source of a kingdom's power. Generations of her family's rule, yet nothing had influenced her more than her mother. It was a brand of heritage she could be proud of. There had been no one as gentle, as loving -- yet she too had been lost to her during that war. She did not become weak and allow hate to consume her. She was still a little tired, but far from vulnerable. She had slept here and there, but what kept her awake was the knowledge of the decisions Sombra had made, despite everything. She had thought Hope would be a major influence on him, but she spoiled him.
Princess Amore she would seek to enter the part of the encampment where Sombra and Hope slept. It was still quite early in the day, but as a Queen she was oft up with the sun. The old wizard was likely asleep, or off collecting more hats. Whatever the activity she found that, upon entering the clearing she would find Sombra asleep. Vulnerable. Were she any other pony she could have considered doing him in, coup de grace... but since this was Sombra, and she was Amore, she could do naught but pity her child. She moved to lay herself by the stallion, her slender forelimbs tucking against her body. She looked down to his sleeping form. She pitied him, her miserable son. Raising a hoof she moved to gently brush aside that messy, scraggly mane. "What do you dream of?" What did he desire, truly...?
Lord Sombra curled his legs closer to his body, lying on his side since he'd first fallen asleep. There were no pillows for him to use, so he used one curled foreleg as one. He had vague, confusing dreams, some of which were memories that haunted him from foalhood. Some of the Crystal Empire itself. Tainted. The Crystal Heart, and the dark face he'd seen within it. His face. It was never a very soothing fact to know that the monster he saw.. was himself. The role of monster settled squarely on his shoulders like a mantle, one that grew comfortable on him over the years to the point it no longer registered. Some ponies just needed reminding. At some point in his sleep, Sombra became vaguely aware of the sunlight on him, warm, and a presence beside him. At first he would've thought it to be Hope, until he felt something stroking over his mane, sensations that reached him on the verge between asleep and awake. A voice, and it took his mind a moment to register it wasn't Hope's. Lord Sombra shifted, stirring, lifting his head to try to peer up through the blinding sunlight at who it was.
Princess Amore was hardly an unpleasant sight, her voice gentle on the ears. Her scent was light, underwhelming. She was not like the Alicorn sisters where their power and presence could be felt. Hers was more akin to a scolding whisper. Her raspberry tresses curled against her body, her leg pulled to rest back against her chest when she felt him beginning to rouse. She did not wish for him to feel as if she was taking advantage of him -- even though she was. Selfishly did she seek to bathe him with gentle, warm attention where she had never been able to before. Always too busy. Always running a kingdom. She had a husband, of course. One she loved dearly... the Umbrum had taken everything from her, but they had given her children to dote over. Without her husband, her precious mate -- she had to run the kingdom on her own. It was not easy running a kingdom under one's own power. Advisors, in the end, were just advisors.
Princess Amore spent a great deal of her life, her time, on her kingdom so the others could -- be happy, foregoing her own. She sat with her back to the sun, her pale fur unforgiving. She was from a frozen country where the sun was hardly harsh, far too far for it to do little more than light up the skies, some of the time of year, anyway. "Good morning." Her soft voice rang, body settling in its spot. Was she a dream? Sometimes she felt as if she was dreaming again. Soft memories of her ponies. Jagged memories of that face -- that accusing face of his. Screaming at her. Blaming her. Accusing her... She saw his face, and all she felt was disappointment in herself. She had failed as both a leader and a mother.
Lord Sombra became more certain he'd felt a hoof stroking his mane, mixed up with an old foalhood memory. Somepony, maybe Chestnut Falls or another, stroking his mane perhaps when he was ill or when the Crystal Faire made him feel agony. It was a pleasant memory, next to others, despite the hot sun beating down on his dark coat. When the blurriness of his eyes faded after a bit of blinking and squinting, it became apparent. Princess Amore. What was she doing? It was hot and sunny, and he wasn't sure why Amore was so close nor why she was stroking his mane. After the way he treated her, the way he usually antagonized her. Perhaps.. a dream, if she dared approach him like this. Sometimes Amore flitted across his dreams, because of her knowing of what he was all along and that fateful meeting at the Heart. He wanted to ask what she was doing, and roughly to cover up the fact that he'd taken any pleasure at all from stirred up memories. Memories from a time when he thought he was.. close to as normal a pony. The king's ears flattened back as he set his head down, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Do.. Do that again." Sombra murmured, perhaps in the same tone he'd once commanded the bard to read another story. A lovely voice that, to soothe a beast with, short of music.
Princess Amore had no intention to do him harm, or expose him to the harsh light of the sun she knew was behind him. While her first instinct was to move to give him room, she knew it would be a bit shocking, painful. Her second nature prevented her. She remained close to him. She had no fear of her son, blood or no, only the sharp refusal of his attentions. To be scorn by him -- it had been a pain much worse than any death she could think of. Her head lowered as he seemed to have difficulty rousing from his hazy state. Her muzzle lips pulled back in a warm smile. She was convinced -- convinced she could never restore his faith in her, but she could at least try to bring back that bright smile he had when he played with Hope. Those jovial games that made their youth seem eternal. Her heart ached, but the pain was not new. It had been the one she long suffered from his lashing spite. Like fire encapsulating her soul. It would never heal.
Princess Amore hoped, though, she could perhaps heal him. When his little brows knitted she could not fight the soft giggle that escaped her throat. Her hoof raised up to hold back the unlady-like sound before she raised her head, allowing her mane to sweep back. She offered him a soft smile. "had you asked -- I would have too, spoiled you." Who couldn't spoil such a haughty little face? She raised her hoof to reach for his mane again. "It's become so thick, so unruly." She paused to think. "Like a blizzard cloud." The dark angry ones that consumed the sky, only to release beautiful, delicate, crystalline flakes. Her forehoof drew over the edges of his mane. How she wished -- to comb it.
Lord Sombra wasn't quite looking at Amore's face, he could only see it in the bright summer sunshine out of the corner of his eye, pale bordered by pink mane. Her smiles and giggles confused him. Sombra was sure this was just a very weird dream, mixed in with how he'd been taken care of by Chestnut Falls back in the orphanage with Hope. Sometimes Princess Amore did come in to speak with the orphans, either something encouraging, or to read to them. Brief periods of time where the princess herself granted such lonely orphans some attention. Sombra rested there while Amore continued to stroke down his mane, which did indeed need brushing after their journeying. His brow still held some of his confusion on his face as he struggled, sleepily, to understand. "Spoiled?" That detail caught his attention.
Princess Amore's ears perked as she aimlessly drew patterns over his mane, playing with the knots and curls. It would be lovely did back in a tail. She hummed in her throat. "Yes... spoiled." She affirmed. "I feel foals should be spoiled occasionally." She expressed. "Told they are handsome. Given a chance to walk without a guardian at their side, fretting. Small things to help them grow up." Things they had done. Sadly, she would again lose that which she held dear. As much as she wished to sit here and play with his mane, this was not her little monster. He was a grown monster with ill intentions. She had to remind herself this. She had to remind herself that this monster, held hostage her little beast. Rowdy, rambunctious, jovial... She pulled her hoof back against her body, finally relinquishing her touch. As much as it pained her... she had to let go some day. Princess Amore pushed to stand, her curls bobbing with her movements. "Well, I think you should raise now. A good king gets up with the sun, no?" She teased softly before turning to walk back to where the old pony slept, unless stopped.
Lord Sombra felt a faint ruffling of the former princess's hoof as she played with his mane. It felt.. soothing. It was a nice dream, if it was, made him wonder what life would've been like for him had he been a normal pony with parents. A mother to dote on him. Sombra'd been close to normal as a foal, believing that lie, long enough to be afflicted with such thoughts compared to if he'd always known what he was. If he'd always known, he would be much worse than he was now. It was a strange thing to consider. Sombra's wandering thoughts stopped when he no longer felt that hoof against his mane, and he looked up towards Amore. She had withdrawn. Why? It was.. soothing. The king slowly rolled up onto his stomach, legs folding beneath him as Amore said what she did. It soon clicked in Sombra's mind that.. this wasn't, and had never been, a dream. He was awake.. which meant he'd legitimately asked Amore to keep stroking his mane. Sombra felt some strange species of horror, and perhaps anger too, for feeling like he'd been fooled. Amore didn't deliberately try to fool him, didn't try to tell him it was still a dream, but regardless. He felt foolish, and it'd been a moment of weakness.. which Sombra found strange in itself. The king snorted in annoyance, shaking out his mane to try to forget that sensation of having it petted, and went about gathering up his cape and armor. He wanted to hiss after her, but all he could do currently was growl and grumble to himself. Dammit.