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Victory from Defeat2,227 words
Calm Before the Storm2,001 words
A Surprisingly Civil Imprisonment2,734 words
Subverting Expectations2,194 words
Familiarity Estranged2,750 words

Familiarity Estranged

Twilight woke up with a yawn. As she sat up, it took her a moment to make sense of her surroundings. She was fully awake a moment later, as her memory kicked in and brought the reality of her situation crashing down on her. And yet, the fact that she had just had a restful night's sleep in a comfortable room made the fact that she was a prisoner seem positively surreal.

Twilight yawned again as she glanced at the window. "It's barely past dawn," she mumbled. "I wonder what woke me up?"

As if in response, Twilight heard the sound of something hard striking metal, a sound that was repeated a moment later. Jumping out of bed, she rushed to the window and looked outside. Due to the height, it took her a moment to process what she was seeing. In the castle courtyard, a group of armored Umbrum formed a ring around two others that were facing off. As she watched, one struck out with Dark Magic, causing a spur of crystal to burst from the ground beneath the other, who barely managed to dodge the attack. Twilight gasped in horror as the other retaliated with a similar spell, the first dodging too slowly and the crystal striking their armor.

Even if they were technically Equestria's enemies, Twilight could not sit idly by while two ponies fought. She rushed out of the room, only to slam into someone as they passed. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" The Umbrum snapped, a mare with a purple and pink mane.

"Ignore her, Soleado, or we're going to be late!" Another mare urged the first, her own mane two different shades of blue.

Twilight blinked in surprise as she realized these were the first Umbrum besides Sombra and his sister that she had seen in corporeal form without armor. Both had greyish hides, like Sombra, but taking a closer look at them, she realized that the first mare's had a blue tint and the second mare's was closer to tan. Their manes were much more colorful than she was expecting, however.

Shaking such thoughts from her head, she focused on more important matters. "Two Umbrum are fighting outside! We have to stop them!" Twilight warned. Rather than the shock that she was expecting, the pair looked at her like she had grown a second head. And since it had been weeks since she last saw Discord, Twilight deemed that unlikely. Thinking that they simply did not believe her, she went on, "It's true! I saw it from my window!"

"Well, duh," the one called Soleado said.

"Yeah, how else would we train?" The other one asked.

Blinking in surprise, Twilight blurted out, "But the Royal Guard always used training dummies!"

The looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Do you hear that, Índigo?" The first mare sneered. "No wonder ponies are so weak!"

"I can't believe you've never heard of sparring!" The other said in disbelief. "There's nothing as amazing as proving you're stronger than somebody else!"

Recognizing the term 'sparring' from some of the more ancient books she had read, Twilight blushed in embarrassment for not having figured it out on her own. She started to turn away when the second mare spoke up again.

"Why don't you come watch, pony?" Índigo said with a smile. "Although, all you'll see is me totally kicking tail."

"Ugh, does she have to come along?" The other Umbrum replied.

"Up to her," Índigo said as she took off, "But either way we gotta hurry! You know I hate missing training!"

"I've... read about full contact training before," Twilight said, as she hurried after the pair, her curiosity peaked. "Princess Celestia deemed it too dangerous centuries ago."

"Like I said, it's no wonder your kind is weak, pony," Soleado said.

"My name's not 'pony', it's Twilight Sparkle!" The young alicorn said, starting to get annoyed.

"Then you should've told us sooner! I'm Índigo Zap, fastest Umbrum alive, and the grumpy one here is Explosión Soleado," Índigo replied.

"You're not faster than King Sombra," Soleado pointed out.

"Well, not when he's in shadow form, obviously," Índigo replied, "but that's not fair, King Sombra's in a whole other league! Everyone knows that!"

"Indigo Zap?" Twilight repeated in surprise. "That seems like an unusual name."

The Umbrum in question replied, "What make's you say that?"

"Well, to be honest, most of the names I've heard I can barely pronounce," Twilight admitted, "but yours actually makes sense."

"Pfft, some princess," Soleado scoffed. "She doesn't even know how to speak Umbral."

"All Umbrum names mean something," Índigo explained. "Mine just happens to be similar in both Umbral and Equestrian."

Before Twilight had a chance to ask anything else, they reached the throne room and the two Umbrum mares knelt so fast Twilight nearly ran into them. Seeing Sombra ahead of them, she realized he was the cause of her near-collision.

Sombra nodded at the pair in front before noticing Twilight behind them. "Princess Sparkle? What has you up about so early?"

"Indigo invited me to watch the sparring," Twilight said cautiously. "You did say I wasn't confined to my room."

"True, but I also said you were not to leave the castle without permission, did I not?" Sombra asked, one eyebrow arched.

"The courtyard is still within the walls, or does that not count?" Twilight asked in turn.

"A technicality, but I suppose I shall allow it," the Umbrum king conceded. "After all, I was just heading out to join them myself, so that would actually make keeping an eye on you even easier." Nodding to the still kneeling mares again, he added, "On your way."

The pair dashed to the main doors, followed more slowly by the two royals. As the exited into the early morning sun, Twilight heard a familiar cold, monotone voice declare, "Índigo Zap. Explosión Soleado. You are late."

"My apologies for keeping them, General Baleiro," King Sombra cut in smoothly. "They escorted the Princess to me."

Twilight blinked in surprise at Sombra covering for the pair, even if what he said was technically the truth.

"As you say, your majesty," the stallion replied with a bow of his head. Turning to the two mares, he said shortly, "You two are next."

The pair both nodded and trotted over to a rack of armor to get ready. Meanwhile, Twilight turned to Sombra and asked, "Isn't sparring like this dangerous? Aren't you worried that one of your subjects will get injured? Or worse?"

"You ponies are obsessed with Harmony, are you not?" Sombra asked.

"I wouldn't say obsessed..." Twilight replied.

"Regardless, the long years of peace have taken their toll on your kind," Sombra went on. "Only the princesses have any power of note. My kind have a saying, 'Harmony is a lie, there is only Conflict.' It is only through Conflict, by pushing ourselves to the very brink of our capabilities, that we can discover and correct our weakness and improve our strengths."

"If that was true, you never would have been sealed away," Twilight said.

Sombra scowled at the reminder but gave a grim smile a moment later. "My kind may have been sealed away for millennia, but the alicorns responsible paid a much more permanent price."

Twilight felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. "What do you mean, 'permanent'?"

Just then, the ground beneath their hooves shook violently, accompanied by the sound of shattering crystal. Twilight looked towards the combat circle and saw a stallion on the ground, the mare standing above him holding a piece of jagged crystal against his neck with her magic. "I yield," the stallion said a moment later.

"WOO!" The mare cried out in happiness as she jumped in the air. Seeing the pair approaching the circle, she ran up to them. "Did ya see that!? I was like 'BOOM!' and his crystals were like 'CRACK!' and I won!"

"Yeah, that was pretty cool, Limón-raspar, but I'll show you some really amazing moves!" Índigo bragged as she and Soleado entered the ring.

As the two began to fight, Sombra replied to Twilight's unanswered question. "To be honest, it was before my time. I was born into captivity, and it was only through the sacrifice of the lives of six other Umbrum that I was freed. I would suggest asking Baleiro about the imprisonment. He was there when it happened, after all."

Twilight glanced at the intimidating general, then back and Sombra... and had to suppress a laugh. 'If somepony had told me a week ago that I would meet a being scarier than King Sombra, then I'd have called them crazy,' Twilight thought, 'but I guess nopony really knew what Sombra was like... at least around his own kind.'

Curiosity getting the better of her, she left the king to watch the fight and trotted over to the general. "It's Baleiro, right?" Twilight said with a hesitant smile.

Slowly, the stallion's head turned to face her, the movement eerily silent despite the plate mail he wore. "It is," came the short reply, his tone as cold as ever. "Do you need something of me, Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"Um, well, King Sombra suggested that I ask you about how the Umbrum got imprisoned," Twilight said nervously. "He said you were there when it happened, so..."

Baleiro simply stared at her for a moment, and although his expression was hidden by his helmet, Twilight got the feeling that it would have been unreadable even if she could have seen his face. Then the moment passed and Baleiro turn back to watch the sparring match, as silent as ever. Just as Twilight was beginning to think he would not answer, he spoke.

"It was thousands of years ago. How many millennia, I cannot say for certain. I stopped counting after the fiftieth century passed in that prison. But it began even before that. Back when three races ruled this planet; the Umbrum, the Alicorns, and the Draconeqii. The Alicorns were beings of Creation, we Umbrum were beings of Order, and the Draconeqii were beings of Destruction. There were others beings, but they were mere mortals before us Gods.

"However, peace could not last between us, if it ever existed at all. While the Draconeqii were directly opposed to the Alicorns, we Umbrum could not condone their random Destruction, either. After all, Gods we may have been but Gods could fall to other Gods. For a time, we were allies, and even the reality-warping power of those Beasts could not stand before us. We hunted them down and wiped them from existence... Until one remained."

"Discord," Twilight interjected. The ancient Umbrum merely nodded and continued.

"Indeed, and as his name suggested, he turned us against each other. He showed the Umbrum that Creation could be just as Chaotic as Destruction. He showed the Alicorns that Order would mean the subjugation of their Creations. What was one Draconequus? Surely no threat to our might. And so, the War of Light and Shadow began.

"Before our disciplined army, the Alicorns fell quickly. Even as they learned the discipline and value of Order, so did we learn the magic of Creation. Both sides suffered great losses but it quickly became obvious to both sides that it was only a matter of time until the Umbrum stood triumphant. And so, the Alicorns decided that if they could not stand victorious... then neither would we.

"The Alicorns combined the three great powers; Destruction, Order, and Creation. They sacrificed themselves and bound their magic and essence into a new form; a great crystalline tree that bore strange fruit. The last of their number drew us north, into a trap, drawing upon the mortal ponies there to power their weapon. As the last of the Alicorns was struck down, the trap was sprung, and that accursed Crystal Heart sealed us away.

"In the end, it was the sole Draconecuus that won that won that war."

As the old general fell silent, Twilight's mind reeled as she tried to process what she had heard. The first question that came to mind was, "But what about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

Baleiro nodded slowly. "We had underestimated King Apollo and Queen Artemis, the alicorns' rulers. Before they sprang their trap, they had hidden away their newborn daughters. I must admit, it was a rather bitter pill to swallow, finding out that we had not taken all of them down with us. The Two Sisters may have found a way to increase their numbers but now, we are free once more, and you alicorns barely number five, one of whom is a mere foal."

"But, if Discord was your enemy, why hasn't he done anything to stop your return?" Twilight asked.

"I have been wondering that myself," Baleiro replied, "Draconeqii were always unpredictable, that one in particular. Perhaps he fears us. Perhaps he does not see us a threat at all. Perhaps this is all just a game to him. Only time will tell."

As Baleiro fell silent once more, Twilight's gaze wandered as she settled into thought once more. Until her gaze landed on the Umbrum king. "What about Sombra's parents?" She asked. "He said he was born after that..."

"Indeed, I served his majesty's parents during the war," the general replied. "Both were imprisoned by the Alicorns' trap. However, while his hatred of the Alicorns and Draconeqii bordered on an obsession, in the end, King Odio was a fair ruler to his own kind and never asked them to make a sacrifice he would not make himself."

Twilight's eye's widened as the answer came to her. "The one of the Umbrum that freed Sombra..."

"Was his father, yes," Baleiro confirmed. "His mother cast a similar spell on herself. Unwilling to let any more of us give our lives, the best she could do was to transfer her consciousness into a magical crystal in the Frozen North."

"Is she still there?" Twilight wondered.

Baleiro was silent for a moment. "Queen Rabia was one of the most powerful among us. King Sombra found her after only a few years, and her magic would have sustained her for centuries, giving her plenty of time to raise him into a great king..." Suddenly, his head whipped around to face Twilight, his eyes glowing with Dark Magic from inside his helmet. For the first time, Twilight heard true emotion in his voice; unadulterated Wrath. "And then the Two Sisters locked him away for a thousand years. Because of them, our queen's sacrifice meant absolutely nothing."

Twilight swallowed nervously, trying to think of something to say, when a voice spoke up behind her.

"Not nothing, Baleiro," Sombra said sadly. "I did not know my mother as long as I would have liked, but were it not for her, I may never have learned who I truly was." Turning to Twilight, he gave a polite smile and went on, "Now, sparring seems to be over for the day and I believe you had a letter to write, do you not?"

Twilight blinked in surprise, then frowned as a thought struck her. 'Sombra knew I was writing a letter to my friends, and yet he made sure I heard this story first. Why would he-' And before she could even formulate the question, the answer clicked into place, 'It's for the same reason he left that journal, isn't it? He wants the story to be known.' Looking Sombra in the eye, she said, "Yes, and I had better get started. I have a lot to write."

To that, Sombra's smile twisted into his usual grin. "Indeed you do," he replied. "Indeed you do..."

As Twilight entered the castle once more, the Umbrum general turned to his king. "Your majesty, if I may speak freely?"

"Always, Baleiro, you know I welcome your council... even if I don't agree with all of it," Sombra replied.

"Is it truly wise to give the Alicorns such information?" The older stallion asked. "If they were to join forces with the Draconequus..."

Sombra shook his head. "They have even less reason to trust him than they do to trust us. If anything, knowing that story should only make it more clear how much of a manipulative beast he is. Besides, while I know your opinion on the matter, I have no desire to fight my parents' war. Now, we will wait and see if the Two Sisters feel the same way."

Author's Note:

And there we go! Some nice world building/backstory to explain the AU tag, if I do say so myself. Not to mention, setting things up for some more... cordial interactions between Twilight and Sombra.

What does Discord have planned for the Umbrum? How will Celestia and the others react to Baleiro's tale? Find out in future chapters of 'The Best Laid Plans of Shrews and Stallions'!

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