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dragonofruin

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Posts posted by dragonofruin

  1. His monstrous teeth were bared when Hou deflected his blast up into the sky. He glanced up long enough to watch its path, up by the lumpy shape of something he'd glimpsed earlier before his attention snapped right back to Hou and the defenses she was laying down for herself. Her offer of a bet drew a scowl.

     

    "Why would you even bother? What is there to gain from attacking me, if I've already expressed, in a manner, that I'll avoid central Equestria if you really did mean to catch up later on?" Sombra asked, sliding to a halt on the ground as he eyed the vial and the liquid that spilled out of it soon after. He didn't have a clue what it was, only that it was strange. His brow furrowed in a confusion that was quickly wiped away by an expression of determination. He wasn't about to let some centuries-old pony witch get the upper hoof on him..

     

    He made a mental note that Hou wasn't worth his time anymore and shifted to shadow, paying attention only to the important information Hou happily slipped him in what could almost come close to being a monologue if she ever kept going as those blades came flying out from the sphere behind her. He retreated, the weapons passing through his incorporeal body as he threw up another shield of jagged black crystals between himself and the sorceress. His ears were up, alert, listening for any sign that the assault of flying blades stopped- if they did- so that he could work on his next attempt.

     

    His magic lifted the black crystals he used as a wall, breaking them off from where they grew. They sharpened in his magic and Sombra waited for silence to fall so he could fling them Hou's way, and batter her magic domes with their scrawls of unfamiliar symbols.

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  2. His eyes narrowed. There wasn't a single chance this unicorn mare could've managed to hold her ground against two alicorns. He wasn't even a pony and he'd managed to hold his own for a little while. Ultimately, they'd lost to him when the Empire disappeared with him. It was a pyrrhic victory for him, to set everything up so nicely so that they could lose what they were trying to take from him. He supposed it had something to do with the dark magic Hou picked up, absorbing souls for power. A wicked thought flashed across his mind: she had to take the souls of others just to have any measure of power.

     

    A smirk managed to slip across his muzzle before he had to protect himself from the onslaught of eldritch fire that Hou's forehooves sent his way. The wall of black crystals managed to protect him well enough, but it likely wouldn't from Hou's next attack. Sombra started moving then, shifting into shadow as he ran around his jagged barrier to avoid the screaming skulls. The noise grated on his ears, sparking his temper.

     

    His power focused and he released a beam of dark magic, intent on getting past the strange, jade bolts of magic to strike Hou with it. At some point, he really would have to see what he could do about her horn. Could she still perform without it?

     

    "I wouldn't say that I am!" Sombra exclaimed, a growl lacing his voice.

     

    He'd forgotten about investigating the shape he thought he'd seen above moments ago. Hou took all his focus.

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  3. Sombra flashed Hou a smirk, the tip of one fang visible between his lips. It was enjoyable, seeing her confusion. He'd been hoping to fluster her. "I was well prepared, thanks to your tip. The one thing we both didn't expect was that little banishing trick of theirs. Light magic from two powerful, immortal alicorns against one umbrum?" An eyebrow rose and he tossed his mane in annoyance. "I can't imagine what they'd be able to do to you, or if their little Element of Harmony bearing pawns would be the ones to take you down instead. I'm at least aware of how fond they've become of letting them do all the heavy lifting."

     

    An eyeroll was soon to follow in response to Hou's jabs about overcompensation, and her 'explanation' about how she couldn't let him go to central Equestria. He'd been hoping to get her to spill a few more details, but the sorceress was stubborn and still wouldn't give him more of the information that he wanted. The exact reasons behind why she wanted to keep him away, or what equation he would 'throw out of wack' with his mere presence. He'd just have to settle for her vague reasoning for now, much to his annoyance. If she wanted to underestimate him, then all the more power to him.

     

    "I'm sure," Sombra replied dryly. Her food metaphors were growing stale.

     

    His inequine red eyes followed her rise into the air, levitating through her own power. He made a soft noise in his throat, his brow furrowing. "Oh, is that what you wanted? My.. soul? And here I thought you just wanted to have a comfortable get-together in some tavern to drink together, like a couple of old acquaintances. Maybe plot a little." The king shrugged one shoulder and sighed heavily, as if disappointed. "Shame."

     

    A shadow falling onto the fog still drifting about the area drew his eye up past Hou, his eyes squinting. He wasn't sure what he'd seen, if there was something flying up above. Somepony? Maybe it was just a bird. He couldn't really investigate just yet, not with Hou flashing her power; she took up most of his focus. Sighing softly through his nose, he returned his eyes to the sorceress, waiting for what she was planning to do.

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  4. He inclined his head and regarded the shift of the equine form into that of a feminine yokai. If he tried to look for them, he could've seen the familial resemblances.

     

    Sombra studied the disguised appearance of Miles' sister, committing her appearance to mind before he finally looked down into the mirror, the curve of his red horn flaring with dark magic that he focused onto its surface. His eyes narrowed, holding the image of the female yokai in his head as he gathered and cast his spell onto the mirror's surface. Hopefully he knew how to do this right; it was something he only tried and toyed with back then just to try and see if he couldn't spy on others during his reign. To keep an eye on the crystal ponies.

     

    The mirror's surface darkened and grew murky reacting to the spell that he cast and powered. Now all he had to do was wait and see if any sign of her surfaced..

     

    [I have no idea if it should work or not, so up to you if you want it to or w/e? o3o]

  5. His demanding posture never changed, but an eyebrow did lift at her answer. Either he was reading into it in a certain way, or she was possibly suggesting she'd been obsessing over him for the past thousand years. Of course, she'd indicated she'd been up to other things too, that neither helped nor hurt what he thought he was hearing.

     

    "I'm not sure about my mental state, I certainly wasn't in any sane place when I and the Crystal Empire returned together," Sombra began and his gaze twitched to a random spot on her face for a scant few seconds before meeting her gaze again; he wasn't sure how to voice anything more than that concerning his imprisonment. How he'd obsessed and raged and just spent so much of his time thinking about everything, mulling over certain memories and trying to keep himself in one piece. Certainly a few things likely still did slip through the cracks by the end of his time in that prison, when everything had collided into a restless haze of his fury and obsession and need for control that lead him to act so irrationally once he was free and physical again. A lesser pony would have been driven entirely mad in that place, if being stripped into a nonphysical state didn't outright kill them first, if it didn't do something worse to them than death.

     

    "I just don't think you know as much about me as you think you do, we only met once before haven't we? Or have you spent that lengthy period of time with me in the forefront of your thoughts? Obsessing.. ?"

     

    The king trailed off in the face of how quickly her playful demeanor changed to something more wicked, and the full power she wielded came to light. He could feel it pressing against him, and his magic flared and crackled with more ferocity in an attempt to push back. It'd been quite a while since he'd ever had to bring his own might to bear, and he dug deep within himself to hold his ground despite the inches he'd lost against her own, his hooves digging into the earth and making grooves where he slid. A few, jagged black crystals sprouted aimlessly around him with his effort, his monstrous teeth bared and his eyes glaring a neon green so bright it drowned out his red irises.

     

    The sound her magic made hadn't escaped his notice, and he was astounded that magic could make any sort of sound at all. What had Hou been up to all this time to have grown so strong? Perhaps he'd dare to admit he was rather impressed by her display of power; he really needed to do more, strive for more, than the role of a wandering vagrant he'd fallen into just to see more of the world.

     

    "You really don't want me there, do you? I'm curious about why," Sombra said as he tried to take a few steps forward, mirroring Hou's movements. "If it might be a threat to you." The umbrum king paused and eyed her. Just from the sense of her magic, she was preparing for a fight with him if he refused her. Oh how he was torn between finally seeing some action and taking the time to build up more of an understanding of Hou. He wanted to deny both options she gave him, but he couldn't figure out if there was a third he could make for himself. Sombra flashed a smirk.

     

    "I was just going to go and peek out of curiosity.. but, I suppose I could give you some time with me, since you've thought about me so much." His phrasing made it sound as if he was twisting her reasons for keeping him here, as he absolutely refused to give into her demands or even make it sound like he was. He wasn't. "I wouldn't mind that drink."

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  6. Sombra regarded the mirror in silence, vaguely aware of the sliver of Miles' reflection in the edge of it. In theory, it seemed doable, but now that he'd sat down in preparation for what he was about to attempt, the more he thought about it the more difficult it was starting to look. Well, he could always run through each of his ideas and see which one worked, if the scrying spell turned up anything at all. The most they might get would be a blurry mess of colors, with so much about Miles sister not as defined as they'd need her to be to find her after a thousand years.

     

    He licked his lips with a pointed tongue, wetting them before he thought to bring one idea to light. "If you remember what she looks like, then.. or at least as much as you can remember, do you think you'd be able to make yourself look like her? Whether this is a transformation or illusion that you're using as a disguise, whatever the case," the stallion gestured vaguely at Miles' current appearance, "try and see. I can attempt to scry her based on her appearance alone. If that doesn't work, I'll just have to move on to what else I have on my mind."

  7. The king snorted softly, his nostrils flaring. She was circling him now, and he tried to keep an eye on her, rather than waste his time trying to turn to keep her in view. His tail flicked behind him and one eyebrow rose in response as she spoke about his memories; the compliment was overlooked, for now; he'd prompted that one. Sombra turned his head as she circled around to his other side, keeping a watch on her out of the corner of his glowing eye.

     

    "What would you know about me? About anything going on in my mind or memories?" Sombra chose to ask, rather than justify anything she was saying. There were a few small gaps in his memory, or at the very least, a few memories that'd grown hazy with time. "Even if there was anything at all, I doubt anypony would be able to hold onto picture-perfect memories after a thousand years in a void." He was unable to help adding that on with a bit of huffiness, his tail sweeping behind him again.

     

    Memories aside, he didn't think there were any spells missing.. His brow furrowed, and he glanced over the aura now flowing over Hou's body. Fascinating.

     

    Mentions of Grogar caught his attention. Sombra had heard legends about him, although not what happened to Grogar. The information Hou dumped on him took him by surprise. Discord, using Grogar as a disguise? How disappointing..  The other names, aside from Cozy Glow, were familiar and he'd at least heard about the former two having made an appearance near Central Equestria. The fact that they were trying to take over Equestria was laughable. How many others have tried and failed?

     

    Sombra snapped out of his thoughts and stared at Hou, the purple smoke streaming from his eyes growing a little more opaque. "Me?" he blurted out and moved towards the sorceress. "How could I have been summoned to a meeting I never attended?" The king asked, his tone demanding answers, an explanation. How? Could it have just been an illusion of some sort? Some trick of Discord's? He was baffled. "I deny nothing when I know I was never present!"

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  8. His pace quickened to hurry them off of the streets, and he slipped into the cooler shade between the buildings. The dark unicorn lead the way down the narrow passage to the alley that ran behind the buildings and picked a spot in the shade to sit, his back against one building and his magic pulling the round mirror out to lay it where both he and the disguised Miles could see it. Now he.. just needed to figure out how exactly they were going to try this spell.

     

    His dark brows furrowed and he pointed to the spot on the other side of where the mirror lay, indicating where he wanted Miles to sit.

     

    Sombra briefly considered his options: mind-controlling Miles to perform the spell with his memories of his sister, showing the yokai how to do the spell, or perhaps trying to figure out a way to do it together. Hell, if Miles could disguise himself as his sister for just a moment, Sombra would probably be able to use her image to scry her. The umbrum rubbed at his chin with a hoof, mulling it over.

     

    "Do you remember what she looked like?"

  9. The way Hou leaned on empty air was.. odd, and not something he could figure out while her response held his attention captive. His eyes narrowed, disliking what she was implying about him with her.. unusual metaphors.

     

    "As a matter of fact, I haven't aged a day since my return," Sombra replied, taking a few slow steps towards the sorceress. Towering. "My mind is still sharp, and I'm just as handsome as ever," he continued, his lips twisting into a sneer that bared some of his monstrous teeth. He cocked his head, strands of his long mane brushing over one of his shoulders.

     

    "I wouldn't say I'm one of the reinforcements.. merely following them," he jerked his chin towards the distant group, who he'd lost sight of in the fog, "out of curiosity. I've been hearing about something going on around central Equestria that has ponies all in a fuss, and acting very unusually towards one another. I'd like to find out exactly why that is, unless you'd care to tell me.." The shadow king trailed off and leaned in, the pale white-green of his sclera brightening dramatically to a neon green glow that trailed faint wisps of purple. She was threatening him. Him. But why? What exactly would his presence do there that would have the mare so willing to try to stand off against him? The potential for a fight left Sombra missing his old armor, and he made a note to try to have some new armor made sometime. Something better than what he had.

     

    "If all you want is a drink with me, you don't have to threaten me to get it; all you'd have to do is ask," Sombra added, his gaze intense as he stared into her eyes. "I'd just like to know what has you so ruffled over this, and the Crystal Empire to boot. Tell me up front, without your silly metaphors, Hou."

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  10. The shadow king's hoofsteps were quiet as he strode into the shop and moved among the shelves, eying the products displayed there with small paper tags announcing their prices. It was peculiar, that so much would be so easily available now, no matter whether somepony was nobility or peasant. Even soap. He poked around at a few bottles, squinting at their labels, before moving on among the aisles. He finally glanced out at Miles and instead of a yokai, he found a rather burly unicorn. A disguise, Sombra guessed. An eyebrow rose and he turned back to his search.

     

    Mostly beauty products, of course. Sombra almost gave up until he came across one wall and found a small selection of hoof mirrors. Supported by wooden displays, small oval or round mirrors within decorative gold or silver frames of different shapes and designs. They were, to his eye, a little tacky. Albeit, the face he caught reflected back at him in a few of them were not.

     

    Sombra smugly tilted his head this way and that, admiring his reflection and preening just a little. He thought highly of himself, mostly of his looks, and this was a momentary, distracting opportunity to gaze at his own reflection. He stopped, remembering what he was here for and looked around as if he was making sure nopony had seen. Turning his attention back to the mirrors, Sombra selected the simplest one: a small round mirror with a plain frame. It would do. Tucking it under his cape by one shoulder, he slipped out of the shop to meet back up with Miles, clearing his throat and gesturing with his head to head into the alleys.

  11. His dark eyebrows twitched up. Was that a jab at him? Sombra had no illusion that Hou was any sort of friend- she was just an odd, brief acquaintance he met once. His eyes dropped to the crumbling raven and back up to the mare, intrigued by it.

     

    "I haven't figured that out yet, although.." Sombra tilted his head, taking note of their surroundings and how they shifted oddly. She had to be using magic of some kind, illusions.. "Considering what I've read about Equestrian history and how long Princess Luna was imprisoned in the moon, I'd guess it was over a thousand years." Unless somepony knew the exact number, it was just what Sombra would have to stick with.

     

    His gaze snapped back to Hou. Her questions were beginning to make him wonder if she was driving at something about him, perhaps something about how he was no longer the tyrant of the Crystal Empire? Did she find issue with that? The king studied her coolly, his expression guarded.

     

    "I asked you first," he retorted with the lift of one brow. "How would it be inconvenient, might I ask? As pointless as it may be to ask considering how you've been dodging my questions." The latter sentence was grumbled more than spoken as Sombra eyed her, unable to glean much from her decidedly coy attitude and the sinister edge to her smile. His body tensed under the drape of his cape, preparing himself for anything Hou might decide to throw at him; she was clearly up to something, he just couldn't figure out what. He had nothing to lose, and she had nothing to gain from him beyond his power, or an alliance of some sort.

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  12. As they drew further into the city, dark magic bubbled to life around Sombra's horn as he cast a small spell on himself to ensure that anypony who looked at him would forget about him, or that he was there, and he did this without breaking stride. It was better than manifesting a cloak for himself here, just so he wouldn't stick out more than he already did, and his vanity prevented him from simply using an illusion to disguise himself most of the time. Unless he had to.

     

    Miles was exempt, of course, since his spell was focused towards ponies.

     

    He didn't have to look behind him again to know that Miles was obediently following, despite how silent the yokai was. Sombra wasn't sure if he was glad that Miles wasn't very talkative, or if it meant it'd take him longer to really learn more.

     

    The king lead the way down one street of shops, peering in through the large display windows until he found something promising: a beauty shop. It would likely have anything ponies needed to buy for home use: soaps, makeup, mane and curry brushes, and.. personal mirrors. It'd be easy to just have one on hoof so they could hunker down somewhere private and test the spell. For fun, Sombra supposed. He slipped into the store to look around, finding how.. peculiar it was to be in such a place; nothing like this ever used to exist a thousand years ago.

  13. His aggressive search through his memories, even of that time in the Crystal Empire, eventually faltered when he began to notice the white haze filtering into his peripheral vision. He tore his eyes away to look around, taken aback by the appearance of what looked like mist drifting in from between the trees, of which had begun to change too. His mind no longer entirely consumed by the possible identity of the mare was now able to focus on the feeling of magic in the air. A glance ahead showed him that some of the ponies he'd been trailing after were out of view for the most part.

     

    Hm.

     

    Sombra's eyes snapped back to the mare at the sound of that giggle and there was a slight widening of his eyes as her appearance changed towards somepony he could finally recognize. Of course. It was the one who'd visited him sometime during his rule in the Crystal Empire. One of very few unusual visitors, next to his yokai servant, Miles.

     

    "I've had a lot on my mind," Sombra finally replied, eying her. He would always have some degree of suspicion for everypony he met, and Hou was no different. He hardly had any idea what reason she had for running into him like this, if she'd purposefully sought him out at all. If she had, how did she manage to find him?

     

    Dark magic briefly flickered up around the king's curved horn beneath his hood and the cloak he was wearing quickly dispersed into shadow, no longer concealing most of him from view; his signature cape was the only exception. "Why are you here?" Sombra tried to cut straight through to the point.

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  14. It wasn't surprising that his suggestion met no resistance; he was so used to the defiance of others that to have Miles so agreeable to the plan threw him off guard for a moment. Of course, the yokai wanted to find his sister. Internally shrugging, Sombra stood up and strode off without a word, picking his way along the park paths to head into the city. It'd still be fairly active around this time, which made Sombra wish that it was closer to sunset, if not nighttime. It wasn't that it was going to be difficult to get anything that he could use, he just hated being around ponies.

     

    And, of course, there would be some challenge, too; he couldn't afford to grow lazy and soft, now could he?

    Sombra glanced back at Miles, though there was no need to check to see if the koma-inu was following; the king knew he was. He strode ahead, seeking out the street he knew many of the shops to be. It could be a good starting point.

     

     

  15. [ooc: This rp is based sometime during The Ending of the End. Sombra is currently traveling with a few ponies, (can be whoever!) on the way towards where everything's going on. The other Sombra still happened, it just might as well be a poor copy that mine never knew of, albeit he's likely to still catch the blame for it.]

     

    The pleasant atmosphere of the Whitetail Woods was overshadowed by a peculiar foreboding aura. It'd been hanging over Equestria for a time now, and had only recently begun to boil over in the kingdom's capital city. Snippets of news occasionally reached the shadow king from where he traveled to the northeast of what had been happening during his travels, caught either from the mouth of ponies or the occasional newspaper he happened to stumble across. There was a mention about the Crystal Empire a few months back, too, one he tried not to pay too much attention to for the sake of distancing himself from it.

     

    Although now these events were impossible to ignore. Talks of attack and ponies heading to help reached him, and Sombra felt curious enough to join a particular group heading towards the stretch of plains near Ponyville. He needed some sort of action in his life again, and whether or not STAR would call upon him for his assistance wouldn't matter, although they'd likely rope him into it anyway. This was something he was doing out of his own interest.

     

    The former tyrant hung at the back of the group of ponies he was trailing through the Whitetail Woods. A dark, hooded cloak wrought with a little shadow magic mostly concealed his appearance from them to avoid any recognition, if it could be helped. He was still tall enough to tower over most ponies, and the grey fur of his legs and muzzle were still visible, details he hadn't bothered to mask because of how much he hated hiding any part of himself. It wasn't as if anypony would bother him for it, though, if their focus was more on the destination and whatever was happening. He'd caught the mentions of names elsewhere, like Tirek and Queen Chrysalis, names that he vaguely recognized.

     

    Sombra tried to listen to what he could hear, although his attention kept straying towards one particular pony in the group. There was something about the mare, something about her magic, that was so.. familiar, and it bothered him. They'd met before, hadn't they? He was sure they had, but he couldn't quite place it. He kept a careful eye on her, puzzling over his memories. He was sure he knew this mare from a long time ago..

     

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  16. The umbrum nodded and glanced over at Miles. Scrying spells would be a start, then. The only thing Sombra needed was a reflective surface. It was always what worked best with such a thing, even if he hadn't used it terribly often; it'd just been something useful to learn, should he actually need it. Although, Sombra realized, he needed to know what Miles' sister looked like, a description or a picture, that could help him at least try since Miles expressed he wasn't any good at such spells.

     

    A picture would be out of the question, when it'd been a little over a thousand years since Miles last saw her, and cameras hadn't existed until.. recently? By some years, from what Sombra understood. Hm. This was going to be a problem to figure out. Scrying might not even work, but it was always worth a shot.

     

    "As much as I enjoy seeing my reflection, I'm afraid I don't have a mirror on me. If we want to try this, just as something to do instead of sitting around and brooding," as if he hadn't already been doing just that before Miles showed up, "we'll have to find one. I'm sure in a city like this we'd be able to find something we can use." He turned in place to face Miles, pulling one foreleg off of the railing. He was up for looking into it in this very moment; it'd give him an excuse to do something, and take something too.

  17. The king rumbled softly from his spot against the tree and considered Miles for a moment. A traveling companion? He wouldn't mind that so much, especially since Miles didn't seem to be overly talkative like some ponies he'd heard. He snorted softly and pulled himself up from where he'd been lounging to stretch his legs and give himself a shake, dislodging any small bits of bark that might've stuck to him.

     

    He strode up next to Miles, albeit with a bit of distance between them, and sat down to hook his forelegs over the marble railing. "Have you ever tried using any spells to find her? If you have anything that used to belong to her, you might be able to track her, or perhaps some reflective surface for scrying to see if you can glimpse her or her location." Neither was likely to be reliable, considering how long Miles had been a part from his sister, but it was already a start. Maybe he wouldn't mind.. helping.. if just to glean more about his rather loyal servant. Companion? He wasn't sure what Miles would be to him.

     

    Any gestures like he was giving now was rare for Sombra, but he wasn't incapable of them. Most saw him as an irrefutably evil being who would never stoop to lending even a crumb of assistance to another, a view that was incorrect. Sombra was just a very complicated being, if rather selfish; anything he did would always serve him in some way.

  18. The umbrum inclined his head, attentive to the explanation. It helped answer some questions he had concerning the pact in particular and he guessed it was something unique to Miles's species. He grunted softly.

     

    "I've wondered, because of my circumstances, if there's a chance I could be partially immortal- kill-able, but long lived. Albeit, anything has yet to manage to really put me down, even the Crystal Heart failed. This could last for a very long time.. if your species' lifespan is so long lived. I suppose it does at least benefit you in some way." As Miles would likely benefit him. He really would have to actually get to know the yokai better, now that there was nothing consuming Sombra's focus like the subjugation of a city.

     

    "I suppose I shouldn't expect anypony to stick around the same location for a thousand years.. I wouldn't. There's a whole world out there to explore." Maybe that was something he could do, at some point.. He could see the world. Learn new languages, and explore to his heart's content if he really was going to live as long as he thought he would. It might be nice. He quickly pulled himself away from his wistful thoughts to continue. "I'm sure we can find her eventually. She couldn't have gotten far, if she's stuck around Equestria at all."

  19. "Your sister?" He was somewhat surprised to hear that Miles had a sister. If she'd ever been mentioned, he didn't recall, and Sombra didn't think he'd ever thought to ask much about Miles to begin with. Mostly he just questioned the loyalty of any who'd willingly follow him. Scratching at one of his sideburns with a hoof, Sombra eyed the yokai leaning on the railing.

     

    "The fact that you seem to have a better bond with me than your sister is concerning," Sombra commented, lifting one dark brow. "Do you know where she'd been last, or if she's still alive? I don't think I have any idea how long your species lives, or anything about what you mean by the bond. Is it part of your species' magic?" It could've easily been some part of this pact Miles had made to him too, as Sombra knew there could be such things, and forced servitude forged with magic.

     

    "What exactly does your pact to me entail, and how does it work?"

  20. Foal? The word caught his attention and his eyebrows shot up. It sounded as if the new Crystal Princess and her husband had been busy in his absence. He snorted, mildly amused, and his inequine red eyes settled on Miles again. The yokai's observation about his mental state intrigued him enough to wonder what exactly the creature thought of him, and what he'd seen during Sombra's tyrannical rule of the empire. Furthermore, what did Miles think he knew about him?

     

    His gaze was intense as he looked at Miles, as if trying to glean some sort of answer from the koma-inu's face. He grunted softly and looked out at the view over the railing, at the different shades of green that made up central Equestria, and the distant speckling of yellow of the straw-thatched roofs of Ponyville. "It wasn't," Sombra replied. "A lot wasn't, but we're here now at least. I just wonder what there is for me to pursue here in Equestria, beyond basic needs and comforts." The king shifted in place, rolling to slouch with his back up against the tree again, and his rear nestled between two protruding roots. His hoof flicked at the white-fur hem of his signature cape, getting it out of the way and adjusting it around his broad shoulders.

     

    He wanted to do something, to have some sort of purpose again- but only because he'd chosen it for himself, and not because somepony else had put him there. The only question was.. what? It was growing increasingly frustrating every time his mind hit a dead end with those questions. He licked his lips with a pointed tongue and looked back up at Miles.

     

    "What are your goals, exactly? What doesn't involve your pact to me."

  21. "How long ago?" Sombra asked, intrigued by the information. How could it have taken longer for Miles to reappear after the Empire had? It explained why Sombra hadn't seen the yokai; not that he would've noticed. The time the Crystal Empire returned, and him with it, he'd been out of his mind after a thousand years in a cold void with only one goal on his mind. Regardless..

     

    He wasn't sure how to feel about Miles' loyalty towards him. Was it because he'd helped the yokai, before he ever became a tyrant? If it was, he wasn't sure if he entirely understood why such a situation would've made Miles want to stick around- he had to have seen what Sombra did to the empire and its crystal citizens. His brow furrowed and Sombra sat down, his right side still leaning up against the rough bark of the tree with the fabric of his cape protecting him from it; his posture was little more than a slouch.

    "Well, I hope you're not fussed that I'm not interested in going back to the Crystal Empire. I've ditched that place. I have a life to live, now that I've gained so much time and so much has opened itself up to me." Sombra tilted his head, his gaze flicking past Miles briefly to survey what he could see of the area. "I have choices, now," he added quietly, just loud enough for Miles to hear.

  22. Sombra tilted his head, curious about these 'problems' that Miles spoke of. He'd ask the yokai about it soon, they had something else to talk about first. "I wonder, what have you been up to these past few years? It's at least taken me that long for my body to reform- up until around four.. ? months ago.." His voice had an uncertain tone as he spoke of how long he'd been around now. It could've been much longer, or perhaps.. less than that. He wasn't entirely sure. He knew it'd taken him a while to travel all those miles south through Equestria to the center of the kingdom, and he'd done what he could to keep track of the moon's phases.

     

    "Furthermore, I'm not sure what 'problems' I might have, beyond a lack of direction and somewhere to stay." A dark eyebrow arched. The only way he'd been getting by was staying for a night or two at an inn for a bed and a bath, and he only managed such when he pilfered some bits from unsuspecting ponies. He wasn't above stealing when it suited him. It made him miss the luxuries of a king: a soft bed, a bath whenever he wanted it, and other creature comforts. Sometimes, he did wonder if he ought to just turn back to his old habits and conquer something for himself just so he could have a comfortable life again; at least, comfortable without any of the anxiety and paranoia that came with wondering if at least one pony would make an assassination attempt. He hadn't been in the best state of mind, then..

     

    His ear twitched and Sombra pulled his mind out of his thoughts before they wandered too deep. "I have no intent on trying to break your pact, if it is something that matters to you," Sombra admitted quietly.

  23. Before Sombra completely turned away from what he'd been surveying, his eyes caught movement and he felt a small flash of alarm. He looked back, only for his gaze to land on a figure that resolved itself as a familiar one. It was.. Miles, was it? He recalled running into him for the first time in a thousand years at that particular meeting for STAR he'd been invited to. Sombra wasn't sure what he'd even do about STAR, or how he'd even be involved in it. Had he even signed anything? He couldn't recall if he had; only that there had been a lot of talking and a lot of fiery speeches from the mare who called herself Black Ice.

     

    Sombra rolled easily to his hooves and stood, keeping to the shadow cast by the tree as he eyed the koma-inu's approach. He didn't know why he never thought of trying to find the yokai after that silly meeting. Maybe he just hadn't thought of it when he felt he didn't have a use for Miles.

     

    "I just wonder what that service will even entail now," Sombra commented without so much as a hello in response. Some of his memories about Miles were a bit hazy, but he could still vaguely recall how they'd initially met and how Miles had come into his service. Although what Miles could even do for him now.. Sombra wasn't sure. His ears flicked back in uncertainty.

     

    "What have you been up to all this time?"

  24. Canterlot had proven to be an interesting place. It leaned more towards the wealthy elite of unicorn society, and because of such, the mountainside city was clean and well-kept, although there was still enough evidence of some of the more regular citizens living here. The former tyrant cared for none of them and kept to himself as much as possible, or to any libraries he could manage to sneak into during the more quiet hours. Or the dead of night, if need be- it wasn't terribly hard getting inside for one like him who was unafraid of breaking a few rules and laws. If he was breaking any all just to read when he wouldn't be disturbed or discovered.

     

    Currently, the umbrum wasn't up to much beyond lurking at the city's outskirts, close to the marble railing that edged the large platforms of the city. There were a few benches and patches of grass from which a tree or decorative patches of flowers grew. He sat under one such tree, his forelegs crossed over his broad chest and his mouth pulled into a thoughtful frown. There was still a lot to explore, and learn, and yet.. even now, he found himself in a moment where he just felt lost without what defined him before in the Crystal Empire. He'd never go back, of course, he'd succeeded well enough at what he intended when he'd been there. That part of his life was over.

     

    Sombra shifted briefly in his spot, peering around the tree he was leaning up against just to check on his surroundings; a habit to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him. There was only so much brooding he could do without getting restless and checking with a paranoid eye.

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