Lemon Hearts’ living room sprang into existence around him and Sumac felt his stomach doing flippity flops. He heard a cry and as his vision faded in and out, he saw Lemon Hearts charging right at him. He braced for impact, but it never happened. Instead, she plowed into Trixie and clung to her. Trixie, still recovering from the trip, sat there with wide eyes, confused by the lemony yellow mare clinging to her.
A woozy looking Twilight staggered around on three legs, a pained expression on her face. Beside her, Starlight stood, looking worried, angry, and perhaps a bit sad, but it was hard to tell. Sumac sat down and tried to get his head to stop spinning. He was starving now, Twilight had drawn a lot out of him for the trip back. He was tired, hungry, and oh so very thirsty. Parched.
“I thought I lost you,” Lemon Hearts murmured, “I thought I lost my very bestest friend.”
Just as Sumac was about to say something, Twilight beat him to it.
“We’re still close to the artifact… how?” Twilight shook her head, trying to clear it, then she turned and looked at the lantern. “Of course! How could I be so stupid! Sumac! May I please see your lantern?”
Seeing no reason to say no, he nodded. He watched as Twilight picked the lantern up off of the floor and held it up in front of her face. The light was gone now, the lantern had gone dark. Starlight came over and stood beside Twilight, looking curious while Lemon Hearts continued squeezing the stuffing out of Trixie, who was too fatigued to protest.
“What do we have here?” Twilight asked as she undid some latches that held the bottom of the lantern in place. The bottom of the lantern separated from the upper half, revealing a base and a bracket. In the bracket, there was what appeared to be a half of a pendent, but it was broken. The hinge appeared to be sheared off, leaving behind jagged, broken metal of some sort.
Twilight’s eyes went wide as she stared at the lantern base. Beneath the bracket, a piece of black string was wrapped around the central stalk that was the base of the bracket. Looking at the string made Sumac feel queasy and nauseous. In his current state, he feared it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge, and he turned away from the hideous, stomach turning string.
“A broken locket and some string,” Starlight grumbled.
“No,” Twilight whispered in reply, “No, this is one half of the Rainbow of Light and the drawstring of the Rainbow of Darkness.”
Starlight’s horn glowed. “That string is—”
“Don’t touch it!” Twilight snapped. “You mustn’t touch it!” She shook her head and glared at Starlight. To keep everything safe, Twilight hastily reassembled the lantern and secured the bottom back to the top. “This is a clever creation, using what was left of the Rainbow of Light to keep this part of the Rainbow of Darkness in check. If you touch them, the consequences could be catastrophic.”
“Well then…” Starlight, rebuked, shrank back from Twilight. “Grab the lantern and let’s go. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“No.” Twilight’s lone syllable carried with it the gravitas of rule. “No, I will not be stealing Sumac’s lantern.” She set the lantern down upon the floor and looked at Sumac. “Sumac, I trusted you with Boomer and I haven’t been disappointed. Megan gave you this lantern for a reason, so this is going to stay with you. Do be careful.”
Sumac nodded and as he tried to say something, a yawn slipped out.
Her eyes narrowing, Twilight cast her gaze upon the lantern for a moment, then looked over at Lemon Hearts and Trixie, still engaged in the sort of hug that only the very best of friends might give one another. Well, Lemon Hearts anyway, Trixie just sort of sat there with a blank stare, not knowing what to do or why the lemony yellow mare was still squeezing her while rubbing her cheek against her neck, at least by the looks of things as Twilight saw them.
“She was worried about you, Trixie,” Twilight said in a soft voice. “Friends do that.” She cleared her throat. “I trust both of you to keep Sumac safe, and by keeping him safe, the lantern will be safe as well. We’re going to have to step up our game though… Sumac made a powerful enemy this night—”
Just as Twilight spoke, Pinkie Pie came bursting through the front door in a shower of confetti, holding a cake aloft over her head with her front hooves. Twilight didn’t look surprised at all, Starlight let out a groan, and Sumac just sat there with his brain melting at the sight of Pinkie Pie charging towards him, cake raised up high.
“Sumac Apple! You’ve made an arch-nemesis! A sworn enemy! Something that hates you more than anything!” Pinkie Pie bounded across the living room, bouncing with every step, and she set the cake down on the floor in front of Sumac. “This is a very important moment in your life, Sumac Apple!”
“I don’t know what is going on.” Sumac looked up at Pinkie and his muzzle crinkled with confusion.
“Well, I started a tradition back when Tarnish made his first sworn enemy, his arch-nemesis, and then Maud got one, and not long after that, Limestone got one, and I got one, and these moments seem super important, like a birthday or an anniversary, so I started celebrating the occasion!” Pinkie Pie paused, her head tilted back, and she looked up towards the ceiling. “You know, I never knew that there were evil geologists. Maud’s nemesis, she’s not a nice pony. Not at all. I’ve met her and she’s a real pain in the neck! Boring too. She and Maud glare at one another and do funny things with their eyebrows.”
Tilting his head, Sumac looked at the cake. The pink frosting was tempting. He was starving. Under most circumstances, Sumac was thoughtful, well mannered, and well behaved. All of that was cast aside though, as he plunged his muzzle into the cake and began gobbling. It was a confetti cake, with bright bits on the inside and delicious, sugary pink frosting. Famished, he devoured the cake and wished he had a glass of milk.
“Catrina is a wily and dangerous foe,” Twilight continued, “she’s obsessed with her own beauty. She is vain to the point of it being a weakness.” She paused, let out a sigh, and watched as Sumac ravaged the cake. “She’s also an all powerful demi-lich and to be quite honest, I don’t think I could have beaten her. We would’ve had to destroy her phylactery to take her out, and I doubt she had one there with her. She would have destroyed us, most likely.”
“So, I’m guessing she came into the castle, made it to the labyrinth, tried to cheat, was captured by the null golem jailer, and tossed into one of those cells, which no doubt, had null iron to keep powerful magical prisoners in place.” Starlight, using her magic, stole a dollop of frosting from Sumac’s cake and ate it. She licked her lips, looked at Twilight, and added, “She might have stayed locked away forever and a day if we had not come along.”
“Somepony needs milk!” Pinkie Pie went pronking off to the fridge, her tail twitching.
“I… didn’t think of that, I mean, I didn’t think about how difficult it was to take down a demi-lich,” Starlight admitted as she bowed her head. “I am sorry. Once again, I let my aggression get the better of me. You are right, Twilight. She would have wore us down and then taken what she wanted from us, but only after doing awful things to Sumac because of what he said.”
“What’s a demi-lich?” Sumac asked with his mouth full. He smacked his lips and licked away frosting from his snoot as Pinkie Pie set a glass of milk down on the floor beside him.
“Never you mind what a demi-lich is!” Trixie replied in a very firm voice as she attempted to wiggle free from Lemon Hearts, who was still squeezing the stuffing out of her. “Lemon Hearts, stop telling me how brave I am and let me go! The Great and Powerful Trixie has a great and powerful need to visit the little fillies room!”
“Twilight, we need to get you to the hospital and then I’ll throw you a ‘I broke my leg again!’ party.” Pinkie Pie, even though her eyes were merry, had a worried look upon her face. Turning her head, she watched as Trixie, now free from the prison that was Lemon Hearts’ embrace, went to the restroom.
When the door was shut, Pinkie turned to Twilight and asked in a low whisper, “She’s never been in love before, has she?”
Eyes darting to the bathroom door, Twilight shook her head but said nothing. She glanced over at Lemon Hearts, then back at Pinkie, who was looking unusually thoughtful. She then looked at Starlight, who was oblivious and studying the lantern.
“Is it that obvious?” Lemon Hearts asked.
Pinkie and Twilight nodded.
“It’s just a little crush, that’s all.” Lemon Hearts’ voice was little more than a spoken breath.
“We should be going,” Pinkie Pie said as she gave Twilight a nudge. “Say ‘good morning—’”
“Morning?” Twilight’s eyebrow arched.
“It’s about five in the morning, silly!” Pinkie Pie stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. “It’s too early to say goodnight!”
Sumac’s head felt full of sludge. He struggled in the chasm that existed between sleep and wakefulness, it was difficult to cross the gap. His whole body ached and his mind resisted leaving the dreaming realm. He had pleasant dreams, wonderful dreams, but he had trouble remembering what they were.
The scent of food cooking tugged him over the vast chasm, he opened his eyes and sniffed. He was in his bed, alone, and his mouth felt as though it was filled with sand. His eyes were crusted over with eye boogers and there was a dull ache in his stomach. His brain protested at all of the effort and it felt difficult to even think.
The blanket was pulled back and Sumac turned his head. He saw Trixie, he was glad to see her, and he managed a sleepy, though somewhat dimwitted smile. He reached out his forelegs for a hug and lay there waiting. He did not have to wait long. He got the hug that he wanted, a gentle squeeze, and a kiss as well. He felt himself lifted out of the bed and held aloft.
“Kiddo, your face is gross.”
“Gross.” Sumac nodded.
“I’m gonna toss you in the tub.”
“Okay.” Sumac gave his mother a simpleton’s smile.
“Bother. I had hoped that you would sleep off the stupid phase. At least this will make bath time easier.” Trixie let out a soft sigh then smiled at Sumac. “I was just sitting here watching you sleep while Lemon Hearts fixed lunch.”
“Lunch?” Sumac gave Trixie a hopeful look.
“Pumpkin ravioli and glazed carrots.”
“Mmm.”
Trixie sniffed, then her nostrils crinkled. “We’ll need to do laundry. The bedding smells like a corpse. And so do you. Ugh. I spent the last hour scrubbing the stench of Castle Midnight off of me and now I can really smell it on you, kiddo.”
“Stench.” Sumac blinked a few times then giggled. “Stinky.”
“I can’t stand to see you like this, kiddo, it bothers me that we did this to you.”
Sitting in a chair, Sumac watched with a dull, vacant stare as Boomer scampered across the table. He was clean, smelled of flowers, and Trixie had trimmed his mane. It was nice. He was clean and fresh feeling, he smelled good, and everything was wonderful.
His head was also mostly empty.
Boomer smacked a plump, purple grape, sending it rolling over the table, and then hurried after it. She pounced on it, flexed her claws, and then savaged the poor grape, ripping open its tender, thin flesh so she could slurp down its juices. An ever growing purple-blue puddle grew around the grape as Boomer made certain her prey was dead, stabbing it with her claws as she bit it.
“Tree dragons are actually a subspecies of wyvern,” Lemon Hearts said in a conversational voice as she began to clean away the lunch dishes. “And this one is a savage hunter. Look at her going to town on that poor grape.”
“It never stood a chance,” Trixie said as she lifted up a teacup. “Sumac? You okay?”
“Grape!” Sumac watched as Boomer slurped up the blood, er, juice of her victim.
As Lemon Hearts cleared away the last of the dishes, she set down an enormous bowl of ice cream in front of Sumac, then wiped his face with a clean cloth, trying to scrub away the sticky carrot glaze. As she did so, Trixie looked up from her teacup with a miserable expression.
“He’s not even squirming or fighting back,” Trixie said in a low whisper. “I hate this.”
“You want him to misbehave?” Lemon Hearts asked in astonishment.
“Yes!” Trixie set down her teacup and tea sloshed out on the table. “Sumac is at his best when he fights back. He’s at his best when he questions everything and demands a reason for something! I want him to struggle, to fight, to reason, I want him to think and challenge everything I teach him… and I can’t bear to see him like this.”
Not at all bothered by Trixie’s outburst, Sumac lifted up his spoon and began eating ice cream as his mother fumed beside him. When Boomer came over, he held out his spoon, offering her some ice cream, even though dairy products gave baby dragons terrible gas. The consequences were out of reach of his current mental state and he paid them no mind.
“I trimmed his mane and he didn’t even bat an eye.” Trixie slumped over the table and let out a mournful sigh.
“You want Sumac to fight back?” Lemon Hearts asked.
“Yes,” Trixie mumbled, “I raised him to take care of himself and be independent. I raised him to be a scrapper. Even though it's been a headache.” Looking up, she watched as Lemon Hearts sat back down at the table.
Lemon Hearts cleared her throat, let out a polite little cough, and said, “So, you’ve raised him to be like you…”
Can't wait till Gosling and Catrina meet. I want to know if Equestria is ready for so much narcissism. But seriously, they have a part off the rainbow of darkness (which probably means the other part is useless) and Twilight just gives it too Sumac? Don't know if that's good idea. At least help him with hiding it or keeping it safe, especially now he's so vulnerable in his stupid-phase.
So will Boomer let out large fart flames even if she's a wyvern? Also, it's been a while since I heard anyone say wyvern in this fandom. I was beginning to think people forgot about the lesser dragon species for a while there.
LOL, so THAT'S where trixie ego went.
I wonder if Megan had read The Lord of The Rings before coming to Ponylands.
"Sumac Baggins Apple, I entrust you with the One Ring Rainbow of Darkness"
7525198
Actually, I'm wondering what's going to happen when Applejack learns what Sumac went through because of Twilight and that he now has his very own, gen-u-ine Arch Enemy(TM) that wants nothing more than to suck on his entrails. And the fact that Twilight left the Rainbow bits under the protection of one pint-sized Apple and one pint-sized-pint-sized wyvern.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure AJ is going to go have herself a nice little "chat" with one Purple Princess over all of this.
And yeah, I'd pay money to see Catrina and Gosling go at it.
You say Demi-lich, I hear small, mostly apathetic, bejazzled, skull that floats through the world, getting really angry at the small stuff, and doesn't even need a phylactery to rejuvenate itself.
We may have a communication error here.
Then again Castle Midnight is nowhere near as terrifying as "The Tomb of Horrors"
7525242
Tomato, tomatoh, etc, demi-lich has had several meanings through the years.
Catrina has multiple phylacteries and is essentially unkillable at this phase. She can be contained, however, as we have seen.
Twilight is working on that, however.
7525198 Let's think that through though, how does it always end when the powerful artifact is taken from the chosen guardian by someone in charge for the sake of safekeeping?
I think Sumac will be fine, he's just reeling from his first adventure and having taken all that Zap Apple Ticture
7525198 Maybe Gosling's vanity will be the key to redeeming Catrina (again)?
Darn and I thought Catrina was reformed. So are Starlight and Tarnished still arch-nemesis though i''m sure by now he's probably picked up a few more.. Likewise sure there are times people want to strangle him when things go wrong with his magic.
7525552
Tarnish and Starlight don't get along well. They are not archenemies, because Starlight is good now, but they don't get along. We'll soon see that.
7525771 Maybe my assumption that they were archenemies originally was wrong
Taking my childhood and taking it in new and interesting directions? Such fun.
I wonder how Pebble will feel about all of this.
Thanks a bunch Kudzu~!
7526067
She can't be told, remember?
What's eating Gilbert Grape?
I missed when Lime & Maud got arch nemesis's, when did that happen? Have I missed another story arc?
7526154
Boomer, obviously.
7526071
Oh right! When she finds out though, I would be curious to see her reaction.
This was an interesting chapter and I'm glad to see that they've managed to obtain the artifact. Sumac needs to recover form the effect the Zap apple tonic had on him.
7526158 Movie reference.
image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/hC9u7vlma8c4h0ibX2KmfOksn2F.jpg
7526596
Yes. I know. He went full retard.
I, too, feel for Sumac once he's got the stupids... and I agree I like him more when he's questioning.
But the other side is that you get him doing stuff like with Olive, where his smart mouth and embracing his rebelliousness got him in trouble... but I even liked that attitude, then.
You know, I've never been big fans of destiny talks. Sure, it's not explicitly mentioned here, but it is rather implied.
Personally, I like to believe that there was no planning to this and Twilight is utterly wrong. In another time and another place where, for some inexplicable reason, a squirrel had followed them into Castle Midnight and touched the statue a split second before Sumac, leading Megan and Firefly to sigh in unison but due to the bizarre enchantments holding their spirits to the plane, she had no choice but to give the lantern to the first living non-evil being who touched her statue. In this case, a particularly fat squirrel.
Well. Those names are cingeworthy.
That being said, Sumac was incredibly brave during the raid, Also, while I understand the need for Sumac, I also question the reckless child endangerment and why Twilight didn't just mobilize the army.
Sure, a lot of Undead are there and ultimately ponies would have died, but that seems like a more reasonable response that I cannot recall even seeing mentioned before taking a foal into an undead infested castle.
7528310
Cringeworthy?
I didn't make them. Deal with it.
7528315 Oh. i guess you're off the hook then.
7528324
G1 MLP. Geeze. You n00nbs don't know nuttin'.
You probably don't understand why Applejack was a dragon.
7528324
7525771
I guess he didn 't forgive her the incident with the Diamond Dogs and the pup, right?
7525252
So basically she's the Equestrian version of Voldemort?
It's been a headache*
7528327
I actually have no idea why she was a dragon.
Twilight is smart, don't take magical artifacts from someone that the artifact chose.
The effects of the zap apples on Sumac remind me of witchweed. I would not be surprised if zap apples, witchweed, and possibly poison joke use alchemically related toxins, which can be refined into drugs, potions, and other products of equine utility.
The good thing about being an evil geologist is that you get an hollowed out active volcano as a lair.