//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Magic Paint Brushes 4 // by Ugly-Duckling123 //------------------------------// The next morning, while Suzy and the children were having breakfast, Jack went into their room and found the sketchpad and the diary, knowing the doll will be in Emma's grasp at the table. After taking them back to his room and into a bag he'd be wearing when they went to Equestria later which also contained the pictures, he went to answer the door. "Hey cuz," Jack said opening it to reveal Sarah and Eric, inviting them in. "Didn't expect you to be this early, we haven't even finished breakfast yet. "Yeah well, anything to do with what you told us last night," Sarah said quietly eyes shooting over to the kids "Is worth getting up early for." "If you say so dear," Eric said yawning and stretching a bit. "AUNTIE SARAH!" Billy and Sophie cried as they, and Emma came to welcome her and Eric into the house, their eyes big and expecting. "No... no presents yet kids," Sarah said figuring out what they wanted "We've just come to join you and your parents on a trip to Equestria, you daddy and I planned last night." "Why?" Emma asked looking scared, knowing that the whole family doesn't go to Equestria on short notice unless something bad was happening. "We need to ask the Princesses and Uncle Discord something," Jack said putting the bag on his back and brought out the pencil nodding to Eric who held up his paint brush. "What do you need to ask them?" Emma asked again clutching her doll tighter scared they'd take it away. "You're not going to take Little Emma away are you?" she asked. "We just want to ask them on if they've heard of any news from someone who fought against us before you were born butterfly," Suzy said kneeling before her daughter silently asking to be trusted. "Ok... But I can still take her right?" she asked quietly smiling when she got nods from everyone. Once the breakfast things were cleared and everyone was ready, they all used the silver item in question and zapped out of there on their way to Equestria. o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Sombra was at war with himself. He was mad that the boy and how the other brats knew of his plan. But... He was pleased that they are being dumb enough to take the doll with them to Equestria, where the Dark Magic will be enhanced and take over the girl quicker and bring him back sooner too. "I guess," he told himself "It really depends on where they turn up when they get there..." With that he returned to the screen a dark smile on his face. The family opened their eyes when they felt the magic wear off to find themselves on the hills next to Ponyville. Sarah, wearing her rainbow dress and knee high boots, and her white wings catching the light of the afternoon sun her hair in it's usual ponytail, and charm bracelet glowing. Suzy, in her midnight blue dress with slip-on flats, black and purple fingerless gloves, and hair flying free. Emma and Sophie both in plain white but beautiful looking ankle length dresses with white slip-on-flats, and their hair in high (upbraided) pigtails.* Eric in his rainbow knight's form of Sarah's Harmony outfit, the chest plate showed a shield with a rainbow pattern and six gems on it and red cape. Jack in his Student of Discord outfit looking just like his master minus the wings with his odd socks and shoes - one bright green the other brown, his right handed fingerless glove and short sleeve, while his left sleeve was a three quarter one and his hand was glove free and finally a full length brown coat and a crown with different animal horns. And Billy wore a pair of brown trousers, a blue hoodie, and white trainers. "Do these things have a return to sender thing or something then?" Eric asked looking over his sword checking "Because every time we come here we end up here." "Only because this is the place you visit the most," Jack answered putting his pencil away and checking that the things in the bag survived the journey. "So we don't always have to pop up here?" Sarah asked going back to Eric's first question. "So how do we go to different places?" "Well one you'd of had to of been there before," Jack said standing back up and making sure all of his children were there "And two you need to think hard on where you want to go. Now come on. Off to Canterlot..." he said snapping his fingers poofing them all to the capital of the place. *o* Up in Canterlot Twilight and her friends were visiting, enjoying a shopping trip for gifts for the Triplets' birthday in a few days. "Oh I do hope they like the presents we've brought for them," Twilight said as they came out of the shop and began to walk up the street. "I'm sure they'll love them Twilight," Applejack said getting nods from the others. Just then Pinkie looked up and around and gasped. Grabbing all the gift bags she stuffed them into her mane and then leaned against a conveniently well placed lamp post and began to whistle. Before anyone could ask what was wrong the Jones Family popped up out of nowhere and they were assaulted by the kids. "Hi guys," Jack said waving to them. "Fancy running into you ah?" "Hey you lot," Twilight hugging Sophie at the moment "What are you doing here? I thought their birthday wasn't until Saturday. We didn't get the dates wrong did we?" "Twi, Twi calm down," Sarah said bringing the purple princess back. "This visit has nothing to do with their birthday we promise." "Well what is it for then?" Rainbow Dash asked allowing Billy onto her back as she floated above the others. "Well first we'd like to be in a bit less populated area..." Suzy said, Emma next to her her doll in her hand, looking around and seeing all the looks the snobby rich ponies of Canterlot were giving them. "And next we'd like at least Celestia and Luna to be in on this too." "Right," Twilight said nodding beginning to lead them to the castle. Up at the castle the guards quickly escorted the groups into the throne room, where they met Celestia on the throne doing paperwork and Luna off by the windows playing with her pet possum. "AUNTIE TIA!" Billy and Sophie screamed running up to her, startling her into miss-signing her name right. "Oh hello dears," she said laughing passing the work back to her secretary who packed up and left. "And hello to you as well everyone. While her brother and sister were saying their greetings to Celestia, Emma went over to Luna. Luna was always the Princess she liked more out of he Royal Sisters. "Hi Auntie Luna..." she said quietly, Little Emma behind her back. "Hello Emma," Luna said smiling a bit more now there was something fun to be had "And whatever might that be you're hiding behind your back?" "A birthday present from someone a few weeks ago," Emma said bringing the doll out into the light. After looking at it for a second, Tiberius went to hide behind Luna's back legs not trusting the doll the girl was holding. "Huh, that's odd," Luna said stepping aside and turning to her pet. "Tiberius what's wrong?" After a few squeaks and points and shakes of the head, Luna looked to the doll Emma was holding again and then to her parents. "Jack, Suzy you mind if I speak to you privately for a bit?" she said getting everyone's attention and then walking out of the room Jack and Suzy following her. o0o Once they had left and were in a room down the hall a bit, Luna turned to them. "You must get that doll away from you daughter and destroy it as soon as possible," she said straight away. "We know," Jack said having one of those rare moments when he's serious meaning something's up. "But she doesn't want to get rid of it. We haven't told her yet that it's dangerous. We only just found out ourselves. We just told her and the others - they got gifts too they're in here," he said taking his bag off "To give them back and tell us if something's funny with them and she hasn't said anything yet." "I shall get these looked at," Luna said taking the diary and sketch pad. "But who's the person who could of given your children these objects?" "We think..." Suzy said biting her lip looking to Jack who began pulling out the pictures "It was Sombra." o0o Back in the throne room Emma was showing the ponies her doll, watching like a hawk as they passed it around and complemented whoever made it. "Why it looks just like you dear," Rarity said nodding and holding it up so the doll and Emma were side by side. "I wonder why Sophie and Billy didn't get some if they're so good at it to make one for Emma..." Twilight asked out loud. "Doll's are boring/for girls" Sophie and Billy said together. "No they're not!" Emma cried snatching Little Emma back and hugging her "You're just too dumb and fussy to realize what you're missing." And with that she ran out of the room to go play with Little Emma on her own, everyone stunned at how she just reacted. "There's something up with that doll isn't there?" Applejack asked looking to Sarah and Eric getting nods, as Jack, Suzy and Luna came back in. "Mammy?" Sophie asked quietly meaning she was worried "Is Emma going to be ok?" "The only way for her to be ok ladybird," she said petting her daughters hair and looking at everyone "Is if we can get that cursed doll away from her and destroy it, before Sombra uses it to destroy her." "Who?" the children asked looking around confused while the ponies gasped, and their eyes going wide. "Sombra was a... not very nice pony who along with Mummy's old Queen, destroyed and took over nearly all of Equestria," Jack said lifting Billy up as he told the story comforting him. "Along the way he..." he said looking to Sarah who just avoided his eyes and gripped her arm and bit her lip meaning she didn't want any part in this. "Well he did some very mean things. In the end we, well I, tricked him and Chrysalis to go through one of those old magic mirrors and sent them to the South Pole on Earth where we thought they'd not bother anyone ever again... Turns out I was wrong." "To be fair, like Sarah said to you last night Jack," Eric said trying to cheer him up "It has been just over five years." "That's not the point," Jack said looking to Eric "I... knew there was something wrong with that doll, and him when he came to our door... And yet I accepted the gifts and gave them to the kids." "Papa?" Billy asked getting Jack's attention back "What happened to Chris... Chris-a-liss?" "My guess dragonfly..." Suzy said strangely not caring if this were true or not "They're either all frozen, or all dead." "So why's Sombra not like that?" Sophie asked confused. "Because he's probably more used to it," Twilight said speaking up getting the kids to look to her. "Sombra was the king of the Crystal Empire one thousand years ago," she said taking the crystal beside the throne which Celestia used to teach her about it a few years ago and struck it with light magic. A circle of light hit the floor and a miniature Crystal Empire appeared complete with ponies. "Wow..." the rest of the five, Sarah, Eric, Sophie and Billy said amazed. "But instead of earning that title... He took over it," Twilight continued and as she did the colors and the beauty disappeared to be replaced with grey and brown floors and buildings and black spiky crystals finishing up with the palace being covered in them and Sombra's head at the top most spire. "He was over thrown by Celestia and Luna, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic North. But not before he was able to put a curse upon the empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air," she continued as the crystal lit up again and the map went away "Sombra spent one thousand years under the cold of the ice. No one knows how he did it. But somehow he did." "My guess," Sarah said speaking up after staying quiet all this time "Was it had something to do with the 'turned to shadow' part. Either that or is dark magic. We only met him once, but I could tell it was frozen already so he probably didn't feel it." "You mean like Papa, Auntie Sarah?" Sophie asked smiling again. "No. Sombra's nothing like you dad," she said sighing again "I think I'll go look for Emma." With that she left to no argument from anybody.