//------------------------------// // Rest And Readiness // Story: Spike's Shadow // by DraconequusMaximus //------------------------------// It had been one week to the day since Spike and Sombra had left for New Griffonstone, and they were expected back any moment now. Lyra and Twilight were currently sitting on the porch in the fading summer sunlight, eagerly awaiting their mutual friends and family. Spike had sent a letter ahead saying that Gilda and Fluttershy would be taking the train, while Spike would be flying Sombra home shortly. Their bags would be delivered to the house tomorrow. While Twilight and Lyra were friends, the extent of their current relationship left them with very little to talk about. The only things they had to talk about other than Spike and Sombra were magic, and the bygone days of school. Eventually the silence became too much for Twilight, and as princess of friendship she felt obligated to try and make small talk. Twilight felt a bit uncomfortable at first, as Lyra had taken to converting the house's poison joke supply into joints in preparation for Spike and Sombra's return. But Lyra had already been at it when Twilight arrived, and it would have been rude to ask her to stop. Lyra was a grown mare, knowing full well the risk of smoking. It was her choice. And while her machine-like speed and precision at joint manufacturing was impressive, Twilight was still a bit at odds with the fact Spike smoked. Of course Twilight knew smoking wasn't detrimental to Spike's health, but as a mother that biological fact didn't seem to matter all that much. After combing through the mental files she had on Lyra, Twilight believed she had finally found a comfortable topic of conversation. "So... How are things with Bon Bon? You two have been together awhile now, right?" Twilight asked, feeling just a little proud of herself for solving the minor friendship problem. Lyra, for her part didn't seem to mind, being as easy going as she was. She kept at her work, but she answered nonetheless. "Oh you know, things are good between us. Great even. I wanna marry her, I really do..." Lyra started, punctuating her statement with a downtrodden sigh. As She finished the very last joint, she set everything aside and sprawled her self out on the porch, looking up into the sky. We've talked about it... But Bonny's a classy lady. Old fashioned too. She wants to meet my folks before saying yes. She gets upset sometimes because she doesn't know a whole lot about my life before Ponyville, even though we've been together so long. She deserves to know about my past, but I don't wanna drag her into my family problems." Lyra finished, sounding tired. Twilight had not expected such a complex and troubled answer from Lyra, and was now completely and utterly flummoxed as to how to even begin forming a reply. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I her ask about her love life!? I'm terrible at relationship anything! I dug myself a grave... Twilight lamented internally. "So... Any chance Spike's getting a dad anytime soon? Or another mom? I don't think I've ever seen you with a date before." Lyra asked after it seemed Twilight wasn't about to comment. With a noticeable sigh of relief, Twilight let out the anxiousness that had persisted only seconds before. "I uh... No, I don't thinks so." Twilight answered with a slight blush, "I tried the whole romance thing, but I realized pretty quickly it wasn't for me. I just don't have the same needs most ponies do. All I really want out of life is good friends, good books, and to spend time with the people I love. Running a part of the government is pretty fulfilling work too, and I have a great son. I'm happy with how things are now... even if I worry about Spike a little too much for his liking." Lyra patted Twilight on the back supportively, much to her surprise. "Ace is cool with me. Not my bag obviously, but hey, you do you, Twi. If you're happy, that's all that matters. And you can totally worry about the big guy, that's your shtick, right? What good mom doesn't care about their kid?" Twilight paused briefly to put on a smile that was equal parts confused and grateful. "I only understood about half of that, but thank you for what I got." Twilight chuckled. Lyra and Twilight shared a laugh until a large unmistakable shadow was cast over them. With a quick glance upwards they saw Spike circling the house, slowly losing altitude and speed to prepare for landing. Within thirty seconds Spike moved his legs out of their tucked under position and dropped from the sky like a stone. On his back was of course Sombra who looked no worse for the wear. Perhaps a bit tired, but otherwise fine. As per the usual, Sombra dismounted by sliding down the membrane of Spike's wings. This put him directly in front of the porch, meeting eyes with Twilight and Lyra. While Spike's newest titles had made him a front-page story in every newspaper on the continent, Sombra had yet to be seen since his makeover. "You know, I could make so many jokes about you being horny right now that I can't actually decide on just one." Lyra sighed, sounding defeated. Sombra rolled his eyes at Lyra's typical antics, but in truth he had missed her. He had missed the house, and the torn up yard, and the occasional lazy afternoon in the lounge. Not to mention the morning coffee, nor the joke after dinner and the nights alone in bed with Spike. Be they restful, or exciting. "I will be happy to tell you how I got my horn back in detail later, Lyra. For now, I'm merely glad to be back home. Once Spike became a celebrity again our vacation was hardly restful. I swore Gilda would have eviscerated the paparazzi if they woke Sugar Berry one more time." Sombra replied. At the mention of Sugar Berry, Twilight seemed to perk up even more than just a moment ago. "I was so happy Fluttershy had Spike send us pictures of the kids! Little Sugar Berry and Frost are so cute! I can't wait to see them tomorrow. I'd go tonight of course, but they'll be tired after the train ride." Twilight exclaimed excitedly. "Yeah they are pretty adorable. We even got to babysit yesterday while Fluttershy got drafted to care for one of Gavin's battle-orthros. Gilda didn't trust it, so she had to go with." Spike agreed. Twilight only now looked her son in the face, and her gleeful expression changed to one of fury, disappointment, and worry all rolled into one. Spike was becoming increasingly familiar with it. It never failed to cut deep, and Twilight was quite skilled in it's application. "You, young drake have some explaining to do. But before that, stand up, arms out at your sides, head up." Twilight ordered. Spike knew exactly what she was mad about, but he complied nonetheless. Standing up on his hind legs, Spike exposed his chest for all to see. The wounds were closed to the point they no longer required bandages, but the scales around the wound had fallen off and exposed a bit of the surrounding flesh. It was red and irritated, but showed the signs of healing. Still, for such large injuries it was no wonder Twilight was concerned. To rows of three gashes forming an X across Spike's entire abdomen. The most serious injury Spike had ever been dealt, at least in appearance. "What was it? I checked all the papers. None of them would say what it was." Twilight continued. "The ghost of Arimaspi. I couldn't hurt him. He could definitely hurt me though. Sombra's the one that actually defeated him. I was basically just a distraction." Spike answered honestly. Twilight turned back to Sombra, reconsidering the reappearance of his horn. "You can hurt ghosts with magic? I didn't even know there were ghosts. I kinda thought they were a myth or something." Twilight asked. Sombra hesitated in answering, but he supposed it was best to be up front about everything. There was no longer any point hiding anything. Sombra merely wished he could explain everything better. "I am unclear about other ghosts, but I did defeat Arimaspi with my magic. It is however very different from yours, or Lyra's, or even Spike's. I am told that the only other person with similar skills is Luna." Sombra tried to explain. With no visible effort, Sombra transformed his mane and tail into flowing shadow once more. His mane twisted and grew until it came to resemble Spike's hand and forearm made of pure darkness. With it, Sombra reached into his scarf with his ethereal arm and produced a claw, nearly as large as Spike's own, but a dark slate-gray. Sombra stretched the arm a bit, offering the claw to Lyra. "Griffons don't appear to be fond of gift-shops, but I imagine the claw from Arimaspi's haunted skeleton will be a fine souvenir all the same. We retrieved it from the bottom of the abyss, along with the fragments of my dearly departed sword." Sombra joked. Lyra eagerly took the claw, but at the same time was just as interested in Sombra's magical mane. "Bucking balls this is cool. Thanks Brero. You got yourself some pretty rad equipment here too." Lyra graciously replied as she tentatively poked the hand. Lyra found it solid enough, but at the same time she felt like if she really tried she would pass through it. Like some sort of ephemeral clay, or ultra-malleable metal. It was also warm to the touch, about average body heat or perhaps a few degrees higher. Twilight likewise examined the spectral arm with fascination and scientific curiosity. Sombra smiled, having been mildly concerned his new power might be a bit frightening. Without further need, Sombra recoiled the dark construct but left his mane and tail to move about as they pleased. Spike had taken to calling it 'letting his hair down' and if Sombra were to choose he would likely say it felt more natural this way than leaving it natural hair follicles. Yet another perk to being home, being away from prying eyes. "That's incredible. So this is your magic? It doesn't have anything to do with..." Twilight asked, losing steam as she went. Sombra actually smirked at the question, then quickly closed his eyes. For what couldn't have been more than a second Sombra kept them closed, then opened them to reveal his other acquisition. His eyes, so like Dootha's but at the same time completely opposite. "Dootha may be inside of me, but I have quelled any influence or hold he might have had. I am all me, and the darkness is mine to use as I see fit. I am one with it. I ripped away the shadows Arimaspi used in place of his body and made them mine, then with these eyes I saw Dootha's corruption on his soul and smothered it into oblivion and freed his spirit." Sombra smiled, his voice dripping pride and contempt for Dootha. Spike got a welcomed sort of chill down his spine when he heard Sombra speak of his victory. The voice strikes again. Spike chuckled inwardly. "Pink sclera, icy blue irises, darker blue pupils, and electric green miasma. Negative color scheme to Dootha's eyes? And you said they see inside of people? Can you see inside of everybody? How does it work?" Twilight asked, already having summoned up her trusty pen and pad. Sombra had expected such a reaction, and he was ready to play along. "I see silhouettes filled with colors. Spike is a boiling sea of emerald green, with bursts of magenta flaring about occasionally. Lyra is a warm golden color, though there are tinges of blue around the edges, from all the poison joke I'd wager. I myself am a black too deep to see into as I learned in the mirror, and you Twilight..." Sombra began. Sombra stopped when he saw Twilight. At first she had just seemed a glowing fount of magenta mana roiling about, nearly too dense and potent for it's host. But after he got a good look, he could see it there. Deep down, there was a tiny fragment of Twilight corrupted by Dootha. Hardly noticeable, but it was there. Sombra could feel it now, the need to get rid of it was now extremely present in his mind. "Twilight... You are a vibrant magenta that is almost too much for your body it seems. You are truly a fine mage, if that is any indication. But I must inform you... There is a small mote of corruption within you. With your permission, I believe I can remove it." Sombra proposed. Twilight was a bit taken aback, but it quickly dawned on her that Sombra was most likely correct. "Fifteen years ago... I used the dark magic I saw Celestia do to get through the magical safeguards in the Crystal Empire." Twilight remembered. Sombra sat down, not wanting to pressure Twilight. Such a small presence of Dootha's power would likely be benign in every sense, but there was a chance it could be trouble. Either way, Sombra would respect Twilight's wishes. Spike seemed on the fence in the whole situation, unable to comment. He had known all along Twilight had been forced to dabble in Dootha's power years ago, and it had been nagging at the back of his mind. When Dootha eventually recovered he might be able to control those that took his magic willingly. Spike didn't want that to happen. But at the same time, Sombra had only done what he was proposing once. Even then, Arimaspi had been dead already, a ghost. There was no guarantee Sombra could perform the same feat on a living being, nor that it would be safe. Lyra was uncharacteristically silent, packing away some fifty joints into a tin as she waited to see what would happen next. "Okay... Do it. I want it gone." Twilight answered. In actuality the decision had taken a mere three minutes to make, but to everyone present it had felt like an eternity. Wordlessly, Sombra rose to his hooves and mentally prepared himself. He needed to be careful, and he couldn't allow himself any hesitation once he started. Twilight was Spike's mother, and something of a friend. If anything were to happen Sombra couldn't ever forgive himself, even if Twilight or Spike might be able to. "I would recommend relaxing as much as possible while staying perfectly still, as paradoxical as that sounds." Sombra told Twilight calmly. Giving Twilight a thirty second head start, Sombra formed a small portion of the shadow and darkness that made up his body into an appendage in the shape of his lost blade. A relatively small and sleek precision instrument, much more subtle and quicker than the shadowy hand. Twilight closed her eyes as Sombra ushered it forward, and by the time she opened them it was over. The black blade was a few inches in front of her, and a purple ball of corruption the size of a gold bit and covered in green energy balanced upon it's curve. Sombra changed the blade into his shadow hand once more, crushing it completely and utterly. The mote was nowhere near Arimaspi's level of corruption or power, but the less of it there was in the world the better. Even if it was an exhausting experience. Twilight looked herself over, finding she was perfectly fine. "Huh that was kind of anticlimactic. I feel good. Really good, actually." Twilight announced. Sombra breathed a heavy sigh of relief and released the pseudo-spell upon his eyes. Destroying that fragment of Dootha's power hadn't been all that difficult, but the stress of whether or not he would have succeeded had took something of a toll on him. Sombra used his tail to grab one of the last joints Lyra had out and placed it between his lips. "Spike, if you would." With a simple snap of his fingers Spike obliged Sombra and lit the end of his joint. Sombra took a hearty drag, then let a stream of blue smoke out in a satisfied way. He could feel the unusual magic working itself into his body. "Ah. Thank you very much. That was something of an ordeal, and the coffee on the airship was almost literally mud. I was never really able to wake up today." Sombra smiled. Sombra sat down beside Lyra and leaned over onto Spike. Sombra was actually becoming rather receptive to public displays of affection when tired. Though Spike was almost sure this is the first time it had been initiated by Sombra. "You alright there?" Spike asked, a bit surprised. "Just pleasantly content. We're home, I have a way to contribute to our cause now, Gavin is thousands of miles away, we can sleep in our bed again, we have our family of friends at arms reach, I can smoke freely, and I didn't kill your mother with my magic. A very good day." Sombra explained, punctuating his statement with a yawn. "I also like that you didn't kill my mother." Spike joked, pulling Twilight close with his tail. Likewise, Sombra followed suit and used his mane to pull Lyra into the grouping. Spike forced a group hug, being able to hug all of them at one giving him final say. Not that anyone particularly objected. "I'm glad you've finally settled in and gotten friendly with everybody Sombra. I know you haven't gotten to meet everyone, yet. But they'll love you in time. We already do." Spike assured Sombra. "And I look forward to meeting them. We still have a ways to go before we can call our adventure over, but we can't proceed further until-" Sombra was cut off by a rumbling in Spike's gullet, made all the louder due to everyone's closeness to Spike's chest. Spike belched out a pair of scrolls, bound together with a length of twine. Sombra caught it via his new appendages, having formed his tail into another hand. "As I was saying, we can't proceed until we hear from Celestia and Luna." Sombra finished sheepishly. Separating the scrolls, the group looked to whom each was addressed. It seemed the scroll with Luna's seal was addressed to Sombra, while Celestia's letter was for Spike. As soon as Spike realized he was still holding everyone he restored their ability to move freely Sombra handed him his letter while opening his own. Dearest Sombra, I find your condition most fascinating. Typically it would take someone decades to form a connection to the darkness in any capacity, let alone use such advanced techniques as Spike has described in his previous letter. Shadow phasing alone took me over a century, and to this day I still do not excel at it. Performing such a feat by accident is unprecedented. As far as your eye abilities and overpowering Dootha's tainted magics, I am out of my depth. That is all you, as far as I can tell. Unique abilities are something of a study topic of mine, so I may be able to help shed light on that once we begin training. That being said, I would be happy to instruct you personally while Spike trains with Celestia. I will say I have never taken a student before, so please prepare for it to be a learning experience for the both of us. Celestia is hammering out the schedule and setting things in motion, for further information consult Spike once he has read my sister's letter. P.S. Keep in mind that magic often behaves like muscle and should be excersized regularly. Just don't overdo it. Sincerely, Luna Sombra felt rather excited to find Luna was willing to teach him. Eager even, it seemed. There was no doubt Luna could teach him a great deal, and understanding the darkness within might even lead to Sombra finding out more about himself. Sombra did as instructed and looked to see Spike was still reading his letter. But at the same time, Sombra saw Spike holding several golden slips of card-stock. Tickets of some sort, by Sombra's reckoning. Spike soon looked up from his letter, but his expression wasn't quite as bright as Sombra's. Spike rolled the letter back up, as if it's contents had disappointed him. He did however still have the golden tickets in his hand. "So... About how happy you were that we could finally be home for awhile? Awhile is like, a month as it turns out. Or like, twenty-five days really." Spike informed Sombra reluctantly. Sombra didn't quite like where the conversation was heading, but he took the letter when Spike offered it. Dear Spike, Luna and I were delighted to hear of your success in obtaining the power of electricity. While your newfound popularity with the griffons was unexpected, our renewed relations with New Griffonstone are off to a good start. Gavin was kind enough to send us an ambassador who was still legally alive. The last one was one of those creepy White Ravens, that you were so kind to inform us about. To the matter at hoof, I regret to inform you your astounding progress has caught me at a bad time. The Grand Galloping Gala is fast approaching, and I can't postpone it any further. To be blunt, we weren't planning for you to be so far ahead of schedule. We have more nations than ever coming this year, and it would be best not to upset any world leaders that would happen to be on the council three months from now at the Grand Summit. I'd like for you and whomever is coming with you and Sombra to arrive in Canterlot the day before the gala. As always, the chefs would appreciate you preparing the meat dishes for the event, if you would be so kind. If you need assistance let me know so I can hire extra staff for the event. You, Sombra, and Twilight are all invited of course. I've enclosed your tickets, and if you require any more just write me on that too. Since your training will be difficult we have no idea how long it might take, but Luna and I still have duties to preform. I regret to inform you that this means you'll need to stay at the castle until the both of you have finished, as we can't travel constantly and it would be best if you devoted the majority of your energy to training. Luna has insisted that she provide you with her finest guestrooms in her half of the castle for the duration of your stay. You'll have the run of the castle of course, but I do apologize. If the fate of all life on Earth didn't depend on it I wouldn't be so adamant on the accommodations, but you have nearly a month to set affairs in order. Please give Sombra my best, and try and rest up while you can. Yours, Celestia Sombra read the whole letter aloud, seeing why Spike was reluctant to tell him about it. It definitely soured the vibe that had flowed so freely amongst the group only moments before. Yet it wasn't quite as bad as Sombra had feared. "Well then... An extended stay in Canterlot does undermine the source of my pleasant mood. But we have time to make the most of our little break. It's not the end of the world... Yet. I will be just fine, but I thank you for the concern, Spike." Sombra told Spike. It was clear Sombra was at least a little annoyed with being away again for an undetermined period of time so soon, but he was being calm about it. Spike found his tough act adorable as usual, but he still felt like he should do something to cheer Sombra up. Fortunately he had opportunity to do so. "Okay then... Now that we're home, why don't I get some dinner going? It's getting late anyway. Mom, you wanna stay for dinner? We can celebrate your... corruption-less-ness?" Spike suggested. Twilight saw the sun was now but a sliver of tangerine colored light on the horizon, and realized it was dinner time. "Sure, I don't have any plans. I don't think I could say no to your cooking anyway, Spike." Twilight agreed without hesitating. "Awesome. Sombra, why don't you set up the chessboard so you to can play in the meantime? Mom's the one who taught me how to play, and she's way better than me. I bet she'll give you a run for your money." Spike suggested. Sombra's mood brightened a bit, and his seemingly ill-intented smile returned to run shivers down Spike's spine. "We shall see." Sombra said ominously as he opened the door for Twilight. As soon as they were inside Spike felt comforted knowing Sombra was doing better. He often feared Sombra would hit some sort of snag adapting to modern life, but he was thankfully being pleasantly surprised at every turn. As he turned to enter the house himself he found his passage barred by a construct of golden mana that belonged to Lyra. Upon looking back, Spike noticed Lyra wore a shaky smile and was shuffling her hooves about nervously. It wasn't often Lyra looked so genuinely troubled. Spike quickly grew concerned, as it was clear she had something important on her mind. "Lyra?" "Hey, so... I think I need a favor, Spike."