Four Ponies & A Time Machine

by SkelePone

Chapter XV: Sombra Rex

“The past is never dead. It's not even past.”
― William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Lots of rumbling and shaking later, the time machine came to a rest.

Time Turner had fallen down and he was lying on his back staring at the ceiling of the chamber. To his left was the blaring, whistling dashboard. The TROTIS was already setting itself to recharge. To his right, Derpy and the others sat quietly. The noise from the control console died down, and they all sat in silence, listening for anything outside. It was absolutely silent.

Time Turner dragged himself up onto his hooves. He gazed at the door. Was it usually like this? So quiet? Time Turner heard unbuckling as the other left their seats and trotted up, taking their positions at his sides. Time Turner opened the seal to the door, and it slid open with a hiss. A blast of cold, cruel wind blasted through the door, chilling the friends to the bone. But this wasn't just any winter breeze, like they had experienced one hundred years ago in Canterlot.

This was an evil wind. It reeked of sadness and pain. In the distance, a dark city shadowed the thick snow that the TROTIS had landed in.

Time Turner let out a gasp.

Before, the TROTIS had usually been very helpful in where it materialized. But now they weren't anywhere near Canterlot. They were just outside the Crystal Empire, the nation Equestria was still at war with.

They were just outside King Sombra's door.

Carnegie had picked up a cloth satchel from somewhere inside the machine. He threw in a towel with '42' stitched onto the side. He also grabbed several small kegs of brandy and a large bottle containing rum, then threw a few bags of chips and cakes into the satchel.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked in bewilderment.
"Well," Carnegie replied, organizing the contents of his satchel, "I'm not gonna jus' sit 'ere waitin' fer Sombra ta come an' kill us. 'Cause tha's his place, righ' Doc?"
"Yes... but we can't just go barging in there! This isn't a frat party, Porter!"
"I know it's not a bloody frat party, Doc. An' we're bargin' in 'cause he won' be expectin' it. See?"

And with that, the crazy stallion leapt from the door and into the thick snow below. It reached up to his knees. Carnegie looked up at the others.

"Well, ya comin'? Or are ya gonna wai' fer Sombra ta come an' make a meal o' us?"
They quickly followed suit, until Time Turner looked to the TROTIS as the machine resealed itself.
"What about the time machine...?"
"Don' worry 'bout it, Doc. Sombra's not gonna care 'bout a carriage."

As they approached the crystal city, Roseluck began to ask questions.

"So what do we do when we get there?"
"We find a way ta call Starswirl o' the Princess. They'll come an' save us an' the machine. Simple, love."
"But Porter, how do you know that we'll find a way to contact them?"
"I don', love."

They trudged on through thick snow and powerful winds. When their hooves finally touched the dark crystal streets, they felt a little bit warmer, but the air of the city quickly chilled them once more. They felt a sudden wave of hopelessness and oppression. Around them, mindless Crystal ponies in shackles pushed carts of gems and gold. The Crystal ponies completely ignored the intruders.

Occasionally, the four would see a flying smoky cloud of shadows billow past. They always hid when the shadows passed. Within the smoke, they could vaguely make out the shape of a shadow pony, an umbrum. Minions of Sombra.

Carnegie would occasionally pause by a Crystal pony slave who had passed out. He would pull out a small keg of brandy, and let the pony drink before recapping and moving along. Time Turner never thought he'd see the day when Porter's special talents with alcohol and drinking would come into a rather heroic use. The brandy seemed to revitalize the slaves. A few would leap back up, a sudden fire in their eyes. The alcohol seemed to break them from whatever hypnotic spell held them. They would run away into the snow, escaping from the terrors of Sombra.

Roseluck was looking at Carnegie in amazement.

"How did you know that brandy would do that?"
"I didn', love. Brandy's jus' fer warmin' up and relievin' exhaustion. I didn' know it cured hypnosis."
The four saved as many of the Crystal ponies as they could. But Carnegie had only brought about a dozen tiny kegs of brandy. They eventually ran out, and had to leave behind the ones that were still enslaved. Time Turner guessed they had released about forty of the slaves. Not enough, but it was something.

The party eventually reached the bottom of the central tower. The wind whistled through the empty arches. In the exact center of the tower's base was a spike of blue crystal jutting down from the ceiling. Directly below it, a much smaller spike reaching up. Time Turner guessed that something was supposed to go into that empty space. He didn't voice his thoughts, though. The four were silent, fearing that they would attract the attention of the wicked King or the other umbrums.

Quietly, they tip-hooved their way up the staircase leading up into the actual tower. If there was a way to contact Canterlot anywhere in the Crystal Kingdom, it was going to be here.

Their hoofsteps clopped noisily against the cold crystal floor. They tried to be quieter, but there was nothing they could do besides pray to Celestia that Sombra was hard of hearing. They were halfway up the tower when Carnegie Porter finally realized how stupid his plan was.

They were most certainly going to die.

---

A cracked door with a dim blue light glowing from beneath it attracted their attention. Porter had peeked in, then excitedly whispered that they may have found their ticket to escape.

Inside the room was a large oblong mirror, casting the blue light across the room. Time Turner immediately recognized it from history books.

"Porter! That's the Mirror of Narcissus!"
"Ya, I went ta school, Doc. I know wha' it is."
"Then you know we can't look into it! It's cursed!"
"Nah, gov. Ya see, I paid attention in class tha' day. Sombra enchanted tha mirror ta use fer spyin'. Anywhere he wanted, he could see. An' if he wanted, they could see 'im, too."
"Did you know this would be here?"

Carnegie shrugged.
"Nnnope!"

They gathered around the mirror. Time Turner nervously straightened his tie and let Carnegie step forward. The cockney pony cleared his throat then gave a deep impersonation of some royal stallion.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

The others looked to Porter incredulously. Now was the time he had decided to goof off?
Sniggering he continued:
"Nah nah nah, I was jus' messin' wit' me mates here. Jus' show me Celestia. Or Starswirl. Or both. Preferably Starswirl. An' let 'em see us too while yer at it. Chop chop!"

The mirror began to glow and a deep bass hum reverberated across the chamber. The mirror cleared itself, revealing a white Alicorn, a dark blue Alicorn, and an elderly unicorn. Celestia, a more mature Luna, and Starswirl. The three looked up in shock, staring at what must've been an odd sight.

"Oye! Fellas! It's us," Carnegie hissed, "we materialized outside the Crystal Kingdom! We're trapped here! Couldja get us outta this mess?"
"Porter!" The wizard exclaimed, "Where is the Doctor?!"
"Right here," Time Turner whispered, coming into view, "please Starswirl, Princesses. Hurry. He'll find us soon."
"Alright, don't worry. Hang in there, we're on our way."
With that, the mirror cut out, completely going dark.

The four shook in fear as they heard a cackling laugh. Sombra.

The umbrum king flew down in a cloud of smoke, setting hooves onto the chilly crystal floor. He spoke with a deep hissing voice that sounded like hundreds of snakes speaking in unison.

"Thank you, my little pony. You've helped me greatly. Now I can wait as the Princesses come directly to me, to save you. The old wizard is merely a bonus."
Sombra gestured to more billowing clouds behind him.
"Take them away. Make sure they get comfortable in the dungeons."
The King towered over them.
"And one more thing."

Sombra's horn began to glow purple and green as he cast a spell.

The four fell unconscious. He had put them to sleep.

Comments

[StarHorder]

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