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Generous Darkness


Novaburst

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Rarity awoke with a bucket of water dripping over her features, matting her pelt and sending her through shock and waves of panic as she shot up. She was immediately confronted with the visage of Sombra, wizened ever so slightly as he was, holding somewhat limply the bucket that had just been emptied on her. Well, that was rude, but Sombra was a rude tyrant so it didn't come across as too much of a shock. He started speaking quickly about how he didn't use slaves here and how he wasn't going to enslave her. Maybe that was true. Maybe it was. But if he had expected that realization to give her a sense of comfort and ease with current events, he was wrong. At least too much. To a small extent she guessed it was reassuring but in the larger expanse of interaction and possibility not so much, because of several things he had said.

She took a few seconds to collect herself and breathe before she replied. When she did so, she tried to sound stern, but the fear was there. “Even if you are not enslaving anypony yet, it is hard to understand why you would be so interested in me collecting the Elements of Harmony for you if your intentions were anything less than noble. That contract you want me to sign is meaningless if you're so invested in the acquisition of such matters. It is hard to imagine you simply want to be left alone if you're wanting to seek out such powerful relics,” she got up, this time walking towards him, her voice growing in strength, “and how dare you think I would do such a thing! Deception is unbecoming of somepony wanting peace and to be left alone, especially when something like the Elements are involved! Harrumph!” She said, taking many haughty stomps away towards her things. “I should have paid attention to that little voice in my head that was telling me something was wrong about all this! How outrageous!”

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  • 8 months later...

Rarity could not be allowed to leave, because Sombra genuinely needed the new garments he had wanted her to prepare. "I'm sorry I wanted the Elements. I just wanted them to use them as batteries to restore myself fully - you've seen how weak I am. With as much power as Equestria has.... I admit. I'm scared of what could be done to me now with even a tenth of the resources your home has."  Sombra was worried that they were going to attack him, and that in his weakened condition he knew that he would not survive having an attack like that done on him. Leaving the horn ring on, he asked her. "What would it take to get you to stay, and make the clothing, and decorate the place?" 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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“To borrow a phrase, what a load of cow manure,”Rarity began, till clearly angry at the deception. “Equestria doesn't go out and attack creatures or seek out fights, and you well know that. The only reason you'd ever need to worry about power is if you were in the middle of an ungentlestallion sort of activity that would draw attention. You're perfectly safe where you are and the idea that you think anypony would willingly give you powerful artifacts is...frankly mind boggling,” Rarity said with equal parts disdain and disbelief. Did he honestly expect ponies to hand over artifacts of great power to a stallion with a long history of dark magic and slavery?

Nonsensical balderdash.
That doesn't mean the place wasn't still a wreck.

“Nonetheless,” she said with a toss of her mane, taking a deep breath as she tried to be...nice. They had given Discord a chance to redeem himself and he did far more to Equestria directly than Sombra was doing out in the middle of nowhere, “this place is still a mess and both you and it need a proper aesthetic remodel. So I'll...do the job as it were. But let me make this one point very clear with you, Sombra. You will not lie to me anymore and you will not think me so struck by offers of wealth as to forego by friends and my love for Equestria. Is that understood?”

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Sombra listened to her words, thinking about it. For the sake of having the new clothes, and the new outfits he wouldn't deceive her anymore. It was a small price to pay to get this place operational so he could move onto his next plan, and then the next plan, and then the plan after that. "Very well. We have an accord."  Sombra then thought about what he was going to do after this. Sure, he had been found out, and would probably have to move off of the island, but at least he would have decorative ideas that actually were pleasing.  "I shall also trust your word that I am safe here for now."  Even though he was going to trust her statement, Sombra knew he was going to need to replenish himself, and preferably sooner.

 

There had to be some sort of artifact they did not know of that he could obtain in the near future. Alternately he could simply go to the tree of harmony, and try to pry the Elements from it. Those should make a good "Discord Stay Out" sign as Sombra had no patience for that. His construction on this place was nowhere near done, and then he had to find somepony to buy it, so he could afford Phase II of his plans, and phase III.  "I had two uses for the Elements, though I will have to revise my plans to find another way. The first use was to replenish me, so I am up to full strength. The second was a "Stay Out" sign, or a "No Trespassing Sign" to a certain wild card whose only fear is the Elements." 

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Rarity tried to set her mind to the task at hoof. For all of the unnecessary drama and inherent danger due to what he represents, Rarity was here for a job. Sombra wasn't a threat. Maybe he was a wanted criminal, she didn't really know whether he could be held accountable for ghost crime, but what she did know was that this whole place was a crummy disaster. Her eyes ran over the cracks in the walls, the ugly filler that seemed to permeate every dank hole and creaky piece of wood. His clothes were of poor make and of ancient styling, a disaster in form and function. She didn't know how long she would be comfortable working for him. She just knew that she would at least make him presentable in the time she had. If she could power through and allow the creativity to carry her through this most unusual time and client, she may even look back at this with pride and excitement.
 

Of course, part of that was on him. He needed to stop asking about the Elements. "Sombra, no. I don't need to hear about your plans and protections. If you don't threaten Equestria I see no reason you must be afraid. Just focus on bettering yourself and no need to worry," she said, her voice clearly exasperated. Why was he obsessed with telling her what he was planning to do, or wanting to do? It seemed more than a little silly. If she betrayed him, she could tell them everything that he was planning. Of course that itself may have been part of a plan. She didn't care. She just wanted to make fine clothes. "Anyway- I need you to give me a short tour of this island. And I need to know the weather, as well as what fabrics and fibers are available to me here."

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"Very well," said Sombra, beginning to give her the tour that she desired. For now he had to refrain from telling his plans to her. His current plans amounted to finding a way to convince Discord that messing with him was not fun, and would be something scary, so he did not have to deal with that. While the Equestrians were not likely to perform pre-emptive strikes on him he did not know if the Chaos Entity was. This worried him to be honest. Sombra started giving her a tour, like she requested. The first part of the island he showed her were the rooms she had not been to in the castle, including his bedroom. While her bedroom had been in good shape - his was in a disaster area to say the least about it. After she had seen that, he showed her the vault full of Gold, Silver, and Gemstones. The Gold and Silver had been mined on the island by him personally. Once he had given her the tour of the castle, he then started giving her the tour of the island. "As to fabrics, I've managed to grow some silk, and some cotton for myself, took me a while to figure out how to do it," said Sombra. "That's about all I have, to be honest fabric and fibers wise. Anything else we could order I suppose, that you need. As to the weather, well,  it storms a lot. Sometimes the storms are so bad I have to throw up af barrier around the entire castle just to keep it standing." 

 

Sombra sighed as he looked at the island. "Too bad food doesn't grow here all that well." 


 

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The tour went well, as well as it could be expected. The concerns were there, but she was going to make sure that they did this right.

“Your bedroom is dreadful. Honestly, how you carry yourself in your most private of moments reflects on your character and how you are likely perceived outside of it. I trust you don't consider yourself an uncouth barbarian, do you?” She asked with a bit of bite to her words. Really, he spoke of the Elements of Harmony and protection against attacks of the highest magnitude but he couldn't comport himself in a manner becoming of somepony of such supposed station.

“The fabrics will do, for now. I can work with it at least,” Rarity said with some confidence. It wasn't going to be easy to work with such limited material on such a project but she had come prepared for the labor of fashion anyway. A challenge only made her success all the sweeter.

“I see. Well, we'll need to do something about the weather. This place drips with a lot of magic but did you know that it means very little the further away you get from Equestria? Not in terms of what you're capable of personally, but the...afterglow, to phrase it improperly. That means that any spell or magic you use to keep this place together will fade once you leave, at least enough to force some damage. These storms of yours will do such terrible damage to the interior over time. Nothing that should ruin the function, of course. But then again we aren't here to discuss function, are we?” Rarity spoke at length somewhat languidly. Indeed, she had listened to length to some of Twilight's lectures on the subject and was happy that she was getting some use out of it.

“I'm not worried about food. I'm not a waif, nor am I somepony you need concern yourself with too much on getting by. I am sure whatever it is you had in mind for sustenance during my stay here will be enough.”

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"To be fair, the castle's a work in progress. I haven't had the time, or the resources to properly finish construction of it, yet." admitted Sombra. as he looked at Rarity. She had a lot of ideas about the castle which was honestly a good thing because he needed to get this project done. When he had it done he could move onto Phase II, or Phase III. Phase II involved moving his island entirely somewhere far warmer. "And no, I'm not an uncouth barbarian. I just thought it best this time around to focus on getting the guest quarters fixed, first, given that you were set to arrive. "  Sombra then looked at the place for a moment, with an analytical eye.  "And yes, the storms are quite annoying because of the level of damage they dish out to the island, and my property. I've yet to complete several of my projects, but I've been working on a solution to the storms." 

 

Of course his solution had been an attempt to replicate a certain relic, but powered by a different source of energy. His solution was going to require a lot more time than he had initially thought to complete, because of his lack of resources on the island. What he really needed to do was make the island inhabited, for one. Gathering the misfits of Equestria might actually be a good idea. The ones who did not fit in there would be perfect subjects for him, and he could gather the "scum" from around the world, turning them into his kingdom. Of course, if he was to do it, he'd have to move the island to far warmer climates, before he'd even consider doing so. "I do not understand how you, and your friends managed to reform Discord."  Sombra said as he thought about it. However they managed to do so, proved they were nearly as cunning as he was. Were he willing to study their methods, he might gain insights that could help him with his future plans. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Rarity took it all into consideration and sighed.First rule of being a gentlecolt is you don't invite a lady to your abode when it is still under construction. It isn't a proper look for somepony styling himself with such grandeur, Sombra. No matter. More important matters to attend to. There is too much risk of damage to really lay out the sort of options that I'd prefer to work with. We need something sturdier. Calico will suffice. I will get to that later, however, work on some brilliant designs for you,” she said, a designer's pad appearing as she started sketching out patterns and ideas.

“Speaking of brilliant designs, focus on you. First off: you would look better in purple, but we need the right shade of it. You don't look good in the deep purple you see commonly used to denote royalty. Dark Magneta, Raspberry, no, no, no, no. A heliotrope, perhaps? Darker shades of gold as accents. Or a Prench Mauve, perhaps Fuschia, with blus tassels with the gold accent trimmings...hmm, yes. One of those will work. Material...so many choices. Silk and satin would be divine, but your environment doesn't call for it. A bit unusual...but maybe sarsnet? Nopony will really know and the fabric is still rather beautiful. Sure it is lining...but beautiful, still,” she said as she paced around him, eying him up. For somepony who should be dead he cut a healthy enough frame that she didn't have anything too garish to cover up.

“Discord? Well, the easy answer would be is that he was shown kindness. A bit more to it than that, but it answers the question well enough. Redemption isn't about what others do for you, but what you decide to do with yourself and for others. Now, I need to get to the work space. Ideas are starting to percolate and the longer we wait the less effective they'll be!” she said with more than a small trace of excitement. She loved to create no matter who it was for!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sombra looked at her, and nodded. Once more, he led her back to her workshop i. "So Kindnesss how Discord was won over,  and not with the Elements....."  Sombra's mind began to tick. How could he show Discord enough kindness, to make Discord stay at least.... however far away it took for his powers not to work on the island? Sombra really didn't feel like dealing with a mess caused by the Chaos Entity on the island he was still working on building his house on. Of course,  the reason he had built it was that he had absolutely 0 desire to be blasted by the Elements of Harmony, Rainbow Power, or any other trump cards the Bearers had up their sleeve, including but not limited to military forces. As things stood, he was nowhere near the level of power he was going to need. Even if he had the power level he needed, he was not sure he could survive another blast from the Crystal Heart. Really, his only choice was to play nice and do as the Elements wish. For now, while it sickened him, he had to play the role of "reformed villain" in order to prevent his untimely death. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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For all intents and purposes, Rarity had what she needed. It wasn't glamorous and it would take time for her to get over the misdirection and outright lies used against her, but the pay was real, the intent seemed...naive in its belief, but she was an Equestrian mare. If he was going to live peacefully, so be it. Maybe doing this job was a way of helping him along a better, purer path? She internally chuckled at the illusion, the delusion, and the silliness of the scenario, but nonetheless committed herself to action.
“Yes, yes. Now be a dear and run along. Measurements are taken and work has to be done. Need to focus to create something truly unique and stunning,” she said, her voice rising to a pleasant crescendo.

She mentally re-listed all of her materials. By all of Equestria's good graces she was stocked well enough for the job, even if her own immense abilities would be strained to a certain degree. She wasn't sure if the jobs would all line up with her own perfect ideal but true art required adversity and this was certainly a strange, adverse situation she found herself in. It was time for her to do what she came here for: Create something wonderful!

OOC- Now would be a good time for a time skip, days/weeks later. Took me a while to post because I wasn't sure where to go with it at this time.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A week had passed, and they had dined a few times during the week together, but mostly Sombra had left the meals outside her quarters. During that time, he had been slaving away on some sort of strange crystal growths on the island, that no one would know the purpose of but him. The snow, and the cold was not something Sombra particularly enjoyed, and he planned on ditching said snow and cold at the earliest possible opportunity. Thus, the idea was hit upon by him to relocate his entire island. Rather than ruin her hard work, he was going to make sure to relocate it slowly. Sombra sighed as he continued the preparations to relocate his island. 

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The week passed along with little conflict. Rarity wasn't entirely comfortable with how she had arrived here or the pretences under which she had been brought here. Nor was she entirely giving purchase t the idea of his redemption. While she was willing to believe in it he had to admit that she was having a hard time shaking her suspicions. Still, if she had been taught anything by Discord's redemption it was to at least give it a chance. Thus she had done so for the week and she spent that time working. First she worked on the castle itself. It was easier work, after all. Castle walls didn't change by the seasons, weight was never a concern, style and mane- nothing, it was a constant. Made it easy to consider and then eliminate the possibilities.

So that was in the process of being done. It would take time. There was a lot of windows and hallways, throne rooms and bathrooms, bedrooms and studies. During a break a week into her stay, after she had eaten and placed her utensils in the kitchen (it wasn't like she was going to leave it a mess) she decided to check up on her host. She found him mid-sigh as he worked on some manner of crystal growth. “Ahh, there you are. Just taking a break myself. Some excellent progress! How is...uhh, well, what are you doing?”

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