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Description
I've been caring for King Sombra for about five months now.
He's been getting better. He was, of course, extremely disoriented when Cadence took him in. But he's become a lot more aware of his surroundings thus far.
Neither Cadence nor Shining Armor wanted him in my home. I don't blame them. Despite his horn being gone, and his magic power seriously diminished, he still has physical strength and size much greater than mine. Celestia only knows what he could do if he decided to turn on me. I don't think he will, though. He's been kind to me. Shining put guards in the new house we've moved him into, and they neglect to even come in anymore. I'm starting to think they're not showing up to work most days. But he's been...docile, to say the least. Sure, he's a bit grumpy, but it's definitely an improvement over a blood-thirsty tyrant. He still scares me; he is an awful lot taller than me, and has the worst case of resting bitch face I've ever seen. But he makes pleasant, if not odd, conversation.
He spends most of his time reading the collection of books I bring with me each day. I bring a different one each time I visit, and he usually finishes them before I leave. I don't make much conversation with him, because he ends up starting them most of the time. He's very conversational. I've been trying to get him to go outside more, but he refuses most days, except for a few times where he'll poke his head out the door for a little while before shutting himself back inside again. He seems to be very sensitive to light, and it's understandable. He's spent a lot of time in the dark, after all.
Aside from reading, he's also been writing a lot. I mean a lot. He seems to carry a journal with him wherever he goes. On the few rare occasions I've managed to get him outside to explore the new kingdom, he pulls that journal out of the ether and writes down what he sees. It's a constant struggle to get him to look where he's going. I asked him a while ago why he writes everything down, and he wouldn't tell me. But then again, there's a lot of things about him he's refused to tell me. He doesn't seem to trust me, which...I suppose I can't fault him for that. He doesn't really know me all that well, considering I'm way too terrified to initiate conversations with him unless I'm prompted to do so, which isn't often. Most of the time I just observe him from around a protective corner, like I am right now, writing down everything I've noticed in the past few months.
His reformation has been astoundingly uneventful. I expected some spectacular disasters, like Twilight told me had happened when Discord was being reformed. But then again, Sombra's horn is missing, and he's not nearly as powerful as he used to be. He can really only perform a levitation spell, and apparently a small conjuring spell here or there when he needs to pull out his journal. And he doesn't seem all that chaotic, either. In fact, he is very organized. He spends at least half an hour every day meticulously resetting everything on the shelves before I leave. I suspect he'll try the same with my stuff if I ever invite him into my house, which I probably will. I should. It's just common hospitality, after all, and he seemingly hasn't seen a lot of it in his life.
Anyway, getting to the point.
I think there's something...wrong with him.
His memory is starting to fail him, and I think it's been happening for a long time now, because his memory is...awful, to say the least. Just the other day, he had to struggle for a bit to remember what my name was. And that is very alarming, considering he seems to know my name very well (it's the only thing he calls me). He sometimes forgets where whole rooms are located, and has a little difficulty navigating his way around the house. Sometimes, though very rarely, he'll even get up to move into a different room, only to stumble or pause, as if he's forgetting how to walk.
I'm terrified.
Every day, it gets worse. Not noticeably, of course. But every two weeks or so, I've come by to check on him (as I do every day) and I notice he's strayed a bit further from himself. He has great trouble recalling what he did yesterday. He asked after the time literally six seconds after I'd just told him. He didn't remember the year, or the day of the week. He remembered after a moment's thought, but it still took far longer for him than it did for me, or any other pony I know. Whatever this ailment is, whether amnesia or another greater form of memory loss, it is progressing at an alarming pace. I'm starting to think he's suffering from dementia. And with his symptoms, I wouldn't be surprised.
Maybe he knows. Maybe that's why he writes down everything that happens during the day. He writes it so he won't forget. He must have been suffering for so, so long already, if he's already developed such a methodic system to work around it. I've peeked at his journal before, and everything he writes is so ridiculously detailed. Dementia would explain why he does it; he can read it each day and remember what happened, probably because he doesn't want to look weak in front of me. He just wants to be left alone. But I can't leave him alone. Especially knowing now what I didn't know before.
I want to get him checked, and perhaps diagnose or treat this issue. But no doctor in one-hundred miles will take him in. I'd have to find a doctor outside of the Crystal Empire, a brave one, not to mention I'd have to involve the other royalties, which I don't want to do. I don't want to stress them out any more than they already are with Sombra. But he is fading from this world, and I can't stop it on my own.
He's a good pony. He really is, on the inside, though he won't show it. I want to save him, and I know he's fully capable of recovering from his dark past. But I truly, deeply fear that he has dementia. He's probably been suffering from it for a long, long time now, and I am starting to think that he doesn't have much longer to live. I don't want him to die, not yet. But I can't help him on my own. I'm not sure he'll accept the truth, and I'm not sure I have the strength to deliver it to him.
I'm not even sure if I'm cut out for this.
I plan to take him in to see Cadence and Shining tomorrow. They'll oblige my request to see a doctor, I know that much. But I don't know how much longer he can go on like this, and I don't know when that doctor is going to arrive, if they ever will at all. He's not going to like it, but I can't let him keep suffering. It puts this pit in my stomach. I'm literally watching an ancient relic suffer mental decay at the hooves of something no one can stop.
He's going to die. He's going to die unless we do something.
And goddamnit, if he's not going to do something, I will.

Description
I've been caring for King Sombra for about five months now.
He's been getting better. He was, of course, extremely disoriented when Cadence took him in. But he's become a lot more aware of his surroundings thus far.
Neither Cadence nor Shining Armor wanted him in my home. I don't blame them. Despite his horn being gone, and his magic power seriously diminished, he still has physical strength and size much greater than mine. Celestia only knows what he could do if he decided to turn on me. I don't think he will, though. He's been kind to me. Shining put guards in the new house we've moved him into, and they neglect to even come in anymore. I'm starting to think they're not showing up to work most days. But he's been...docile, to say the least. Sure, he's a bit grumpy, but it's definitely an improvement over a blood-thirsty tyrant. He still scares me; he is an awful lot taller than me, and has the worst case of resting bitch face I've ever seen. But he makes pleasant, if not odd, conversation.
He spends most of his time reading the collection of books I bring with me each day. I bring a different one each time I visit, and he usually finishes them before I leave. I don't make much conversation with him, because he ends up starting them most of the time. He's very conversational. I've been trying to get him to go outside more, but he refuses most days, except for a few times where he'll poke his head out the door for a little while before shutting himself back inside again. He seems to be very sensitive to light, and it's understandable. He's spent a lot of time in the dark, after all.
Aside from reading, he's also been writing a lot. I mean a lot. He seems to carry a journal with him wherever he goes. On the few rare occasions I've managed to get him outside to explore the new kingdom, he pulls that journal out of the ether and writes down what he sees. It's a constant struggle to get him to look where he's going. I asked him a while ago why he writes everything down, and he wouldn't tell me. But then again, there's a lot of things about him he's refused to tell me. He doesn't seem to trust me, which...I suppose I can't fault him for that. He doesn't really know me all that well, considering I'm way too terrified to initiate conversations with him unless I'm prompted to do so, which isn't often. Most of the time I just observe him from around a protective corner, like I am right now, writing down everything I've noticed in the past few months.
His reformation has been astoundingly uneventful. I expected some spectacular disasters, like Twilight told me had happened when Discord was being reformed. But then again, Sombra's horn is missing, and he's not nearly as powerful as he used to be. He can really only perform a levitation spell, and apparently a small conjuring spell here or there when he needs to pull out his journal. And he doesn't seem all that chaotic, either. In fact, he is very organized. He spends at least half an hour every day meticulously resetting everything on the shelves before I leave. I suspect he'll try the same with my stuff if I ever invite him into my house, which I probably will. I should. It's just common hospitality, after all, and he seemingly hasn't seen a lot of it in his life.
Anyway, getting to the point.
I think there's something...wrong with him.
His memory is starting to fail him, and I think it's been happening for a long time now, because his memory is...awful, to say the least. Just the other day, he had to struggle for a bit to remember what my name was. And that is very alarming, considering he seems to know my name very well (it's the only thing he calls me). He sometimes forgets where whole rooms are located, and has a little difficulty navigating his way around the house. Sometimes, though very rarely, he'll even get up to move into a different room, only to stumble or pause, as if he's forgetting how to walk.
I'm terrified.
Every day, it gets worse. Not noticeably, of course. But every two weeks or so, I've come by to check on him (as I do every day) and I notice he's strayed a bit further from himself. He has great trouble recalling what he did yesterday. He asked after the time literally six seconds after I'd just told him. He didn't remember the year, or the day of the week. He remembered after a moment's thought, but it still took far longer for him than it did for me, or any other pony I know. Whatever this ailment is, whether amnesia or another greater form of memory loss, it is progressing at an alarming pace. I'm starting to think he's suffering from dementia. And with his symptoms, I wouldn't be surprised.
Maybe he knows. Maybe that's why he writes down everything that happens during the day. He writes it so he won't forget. He must have been suffering for so, so long already, if he's already developed such a methodic system to work around it. I've peeked at his journal before, and everything he writes is so ridiculously detailed. Dementia would explain why he does it; he can read it each day and remember what happened, probably because he doesn't want to look weak in front of me. He just wants to be left alone. But I can't leave him alone. Especially knowing now what I didn't know before.
I want to get him checked, and perhaps diagnose or treat this issue. But no doctor in one-hundred miles will take him in. I'd have to find a doctor outside of the Crystal Empire, a brave one, not to mention I'd have to involve the other royalties, which I don't want to do. I don't want to stress them out any more than they already are with Sombra. But he is fading from this world, and I can't stop it on my own.
He's a good pony. He really is, on the inside, though he won't show it. I want to save him, and I know he's fully capable of recovering from his dark past. But I truly, deeply fear that he has dementia. He's probably been suffering from it for a long, long time now, and I am starting to think that he doesn't have much longer to live. I don't want him to die, not yet. But I can't help him on my own. I'm not sure he'll accept the truth, and I'm not sure I have the strength to deliver it to him.
I'm not even sure if I'm cut out for this.
I plan to take him in to see Cadence and Shining tomorrow. They'll oblige my request to see a doctor, I know that much. But I don't know how much longer he can go on like this, and I don't know when that doctor is going to arrive, if they ever will at all. He's not going to like it, but I can't let him keep suffering. It puts this pit in my stomach. I'm literally watching an ancient relic suffer mental decay at the hooves of something no one can stop.
He's going to die. He's going to die unless we do something.
And goddamnit, if he's not going to do something, I will.