//------------------------------//
// Whooves 
// Story: A Bright Little Shadow 
// by Princess OtakuGeek 
//------------------------------//

"I can't thank you enough for doing this," Twilight said as she set a suitcase down in the entryway to the Whooves. "With all the planning I have to do for the Grand Equestria Pony Summit, it's just really nice of you to volunteer to take care of Sombra for the duration."

"It's no problem," Ditzy said with a wave of her hoof. "My husband practically adores Sombra and we have plenty of room. Out of curiosity though, why couldn't your friends watch Sombra? I've seen them interact with the little guy so I'm sure they would've loved to take care of him."

"A number of Fluttershy's animals came down with the flu and she doesn't want Sombra getting sick." Twilight began to explain. "Pinkie Pie is out of town for some party convention and the Cakes have their hooves full enough with the twins. Rainbow Dash isn't even an option because she lives in a cloud home and the cloud walking spell doesn't even last a full day so in order to make sure Sombra doesn't fall through the floor, I would have to reapply it every evening which would just add an extra layer of stress to my already sizable pile.'

"Rarity's getting ready for her fall line and scouting out places for her Canterlot boutique so she'll be in Canterlot too and Applejack and her family are getting ready for Apple Buck season and after what happened that time, I didn't feel right giving her some extra responsibility. Even if Applebloom offered to help, I doubt AJ would feel comfortable leaving him with her after the Everfree incident."

"Fair point." Ditzy conceded before turning to address the colt in question. "Well then, welcome to the Whooves home."

Sombra just nodded and trotted inside and into the living room. The colt then settled on the couch and pulled his stuffed ferret close. The two adults were silent as they watched before Princess Twilight broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, he's not normally like this." She apologized but Ditzy waved her off.

"Oh don't worry." She assured the alicorn. "I've hosted enough sleepovers and overnight stays with my kid's friends to recognize this. Their always shy at first, especially their first time, but given time and encouragement they relax and start coming out of their shell. Now, is there anything I should know about Sombra?"

"Ah, yes." Twilight snapped out of her stupor and began levitating the rest of Sombra's things. "These are his ferrets but don't worry if they're not in the cage, we only use it for transportation purposes and naps. They actually prefer being outside of the cage and are very adept at getting it open. When they are in the cage napping, just leave the door open."

Ditzy nodded attentively as she set the cage aside. "This is Sombra's music box." Twilight continued. "Sombra can't sleep without a lullaby and when I'm unable to sing him one, he listens to that. He's also afraid of the dark so here's a portable light rune to serve as his nightlight." As she spoke, she set a violet gem with runes carved into it on the music box Ditzy was holding. "He's also afraid of being alone in the dark, but Onyx and the others always sleep with him so you don't need to worry about that."

"Onyx?" Ditzy asked in confusion and Twilight facehoofed.

"The ferrets." She explained. "Sombra can introduce them to you later. Now as for allergies, I'm not sure if he has any, he hasn't had any sort of allergic reaction to anything we've fed him. He has likes and dislikes naturally but we haven't yet discovered if there are any foods he can't eat. So just keep an eye on him at mealtimes, just in case."

"Is that everything princess?" Ditzy asked gently just to make sure she wasn't going postal due to stress.

"Um, I think that is but I could've forgotten something," Twilight said in a slightly fussy voice before turning to her Number One Assistant. "I haven't forgotten anything have I?" She asked the dragon and Spike rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, you haven't." He said, sounding very much like he'd gone over this several times. "Sombra will be just fine. Ditzy and the Doctor will take good care of him. Now we need to get going now or we're going to miss our train."

Twilight looked torn and anxious until Ditzy placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight trust me, he'll be just fine."

"I'm sorry." Twilight apologized as her ears drooped. "I know you're going to take good care of him, but I can't help but feel a little anxious. This would be the first time we've been apart for longer a day and the last time I entrusted him to somepony else, things didn't end well."

"I completely understand," Ditzy said as she rubbed soothingly. "I went through the same thing when I had to drop my kids off for their first sleepover. I worried and fussed that they would be okay and so on. But everything went smoothly and now when they stay at a friend's house for sleepovers or when we have to have them at a friend's house for a few days, I don't worry so much. Don't worry, this little phase will pass."

"Really?" Twilight asked and Ditzy nodded.

"I'm certain. And as for that last part, the Crusaders are somewhat reckless fillies that tend to jump into things head first without thinking." Ditzy added with a small, teasing smirk. "I on the other am a fully grown, responsible adult with two kids of my own. I promise this won't end like the Everfree incident."

Twilight blushed. "I know that, logically." She said. "And I know it's irrational, but I can't help but remember that incident and then my imagination runs away with me."

"It's okay, I won't hold it against you," Ditzy said kindly. "Now, I believe that you've got a train to catch."

"Yipe!" Twilight yelped and was about to turn and gallop to the train station, only to pause and turn to Sombra. "Sombra." She said, gaining the colt's attention. "I promise I'll be back as soon as the summit is over. I'll try to keep in touch as much as possible in the meantime." Twilight bit her lip for a moment then spoke softly enough that only Sombra could hear what she said next.

"I love you."

Sombra's expression brightened and he dashed over to her to hug her leg and whispered his reply. "I love you too."

"Take care kiddo," Spike said as he pats his head then turned to Twilight. "We really should get out of here or we'll miss our train."

"I know," Twilight said as she pried Sombra off her leg then turned to him. "Be good for Ditzy and the Doctor and have fun okay?"

Sombra nodded shyly. "Okay. Have fun at the summit!"

"We'll try buddy," Spike said. "Might be a little hard since we'll be planning and organizing the whole thing, but we'll do our best." Spike then turned to Twilight. "You know at this point you're going to have to teleport us to the station if we want to make it in time."

"Right, of course," Twilight said as she levitated him onto her back. "I'll see you by next week at the most, bye!" And with that, the alicorn vanished in a flash of magic, leaving just Ditzy and Sombra. Seeing him starting to pull into his shell, Ditzy preempted his attempt with a question.

"So, do you want to introduce me to your pets?" She asked and Sombra gave her a shy smile and nodded.





Outside of Ponyville on a hill was a figure that was staring down at the peaceful town. She was short and young, pretty much a filly but she looked nothing like any normal filly. Instead of a fur coat, she had a hard black shell with holes that poked through her hooves. Small insect-like wings fluttered on her back and a slightly crooked horn poked through a shiny cream mane as dark brown eyes gazed down at the town.

A small grin displaying tiny fangs spread across this new figure's face and she looked excitedly down at the town. "It's perfect." She said. "The perfect place to live and to show mom that she's wrong."

"You hear that mom?" She declared as loudly as she dared. "I'm going to prove to you that your way is dumb and counter-intuitive to love collection. You'll see."

And with that the little changeling pointed her nose up as she trotted down to the town, muttering to herself all the while.

"First things first, I need a place to live."





After introductions, Ditzy set about preparing snacks. When she came out with sliced apples, She found Sombra sketching in a sketchbook on the couch. Setting the snacks down on the coffee table, Ditzy approached the colt and sat on the ground in front of him.

“Hey bud, whatcha drawing there?” She asked. Sombra jumped as though he hadn’t known she was there and pulled his sketchbook close to him.

“A picture.” He whispered and Ditzy gave him a kind smile.

“Would you like to show me?” She asked and Sombra shook his head. “Alright then, I just came in to let you know that snacks are ready.”

Sombra brightened at the sight of the plate of apples and after carefully closing his sketchbook, leaped off the couch and grabbed a slice. The colt examined how the apple had been sliced then turned to Ditzy with a curious look. Ditzy chuckled gently.

“When I was younger, I traveled a lot so I know a lot of recipes from different countries.” ’And different universes’ Ditzy added to herself. “This is a recipe from a country to the far east called Usagi Ringo. Translated into Equestrian it means rabbit apple and it's basically cutting apples to look like rabbits. See, the ears?”

Sombra’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I see them.” He said brightly and he began to make the rabbit hop across the table. As the colt played with his slices, Ditzy smiled victoriously.

“Gets them every time.” She said to herself.





Thirty minutes later, Ditzy and Sombra were trotting through the town towards a certain destination. After playing with his apple rabbits for a couple of minutes, Sombra started to eat them without prompting, much to Ditzy’s delight. When he was finished, Sombra was much more relaxed and when Ditzy had to go pick up her own children from school, the colt followed.

While the pair were moving through town towards the schoolhouse, they ended up running into a pegasus filly that Sombra had never seen before. She had a light beige coat and a yellowish cream white mane with a few brown stripes mixed in. Her eyes were a warm chocolate brown and as she trotted past, Sombra couldn’t resist the urge to greet her.

“Hi!” He greeted and the new pony jumped a little but quickly composed herself.

“Hello.” She tentatively and Sombra’s smile widened.

“I’ve never seen you around town before, are you new?” He asked, knowing for a fact that he wasn’t as knowledgeable as auntie Pinkie on who’s who in town.

“Yes, just got here actually.” The newcomer confirmed.

“Cool. I’m Sombra.” The colt introduced himself as he stuck out a hoof.

“I’m Lacewing. A pleasure to meet you.” The filly introduced herself as she bumped her hoof against his.

“Pleasure is all mine,” Sombra said. “So are you moving here or just visiting?”

“Moving actually.” Lacewing replied. “Our previous home wasn’t in such a good area, bad neighbors and all, so we decided to move somewhere much nicer.”

“Well, it can’t get any nicer than Ponyville,” Sombra said cheerily. “We may not be as big as Canterlot or other places, but everyone’s nice enough. I think you’d like it here.”

“I already do.” Lacewing said. “I think we may stay here a while.”

“Sombra, care to introduce me to your new friend?” Ditzy cut in and Sombra blushed.

“Sorry. Lacewing, I’d like to introduce you to Ditzy Doo Whooves.” Sombra said by way of introduction. “I’m staying with her family while Twilight and Spike are out of town.”

“Twilight? As in Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Lacewing asked in surprise.

“Yep! She’s my guardian, hopefully, my mom.” Sombra said but didn’t notice the odd look that crossed Lacewing’s face.

“That’s cool. So she’s out of town?” Lacewing asked.

“Yeah, she’s helping organize the big friendship summit in Canterlot and since my aunties weren’t available, she asked Ditzy,” Sombra explained.

“Sounds like a big job.” Lacewing said.

“It is. That’s why she had to ask somepony to watch me.” Sombra said matter of factly.

“So where are your parents?” Ditzy asked. “I haven’t seen any new adults anywhere and you seem kind of young to be wandering around a new town on your own.”

“Don’t worry ma’am I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Lacewing assured the older pony. “As for my parents, well my mom’s not around so it's just me and my dad and he’s out house hunting. I just wanted to look around and get to know my way around town.”

“Neat, we’re heading to the schoolhouse, want to come?” Sombra asked. Lacewing gave the idea some thought before nodding.

“Sure, why not.” She said with a small shrug as she fell into step alongside them.





At the Ponyville schoolhouse, two little ponies were waiting for their mother to arrive. Lounging at the base of a tree was a greyish purple pegasus colt with spiky golden orange mane. As the colt watched the clouds, his twin sister, a purple unicorn filly with a pale blonde mane, sat nearby with a book. Looking up and glancing around, the filly then turned to her brother when she didn't see their mother.

"Hey Dizzy, what do you think is taking mom so long?" Dinky Doo Whooves asked and her brother shrugged.

"Couldn't say." Dizzy Twister Whooves said in reply. "Princess Twilight was dropping off her kid to stay with us for a while so maybe she was taking care of him or something like that."

"Maybe," Dinky said, not entirely convinced. "Or maybe something happened."

"What, like she got swept up in one of those dangerous, important adventures she and dad go on?" Dizzy asked, sitting up then shaking his head. "Nah. My money is on her losing track of time or maybe getting turned around. You know her eyesight's not that good when she's trying to navigate only three dimensions."

Despite the assurances, Dinky couldn't help fussing over where her mother was. Glancing around again, she almost breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her mother's distant figure approaching. As she was tucking her book into her saddlebags, Dizzy also noticed the approaching parental figure and gave his sister a smug look.

"See, what'd I tell you?" He said smugly. "She just lost track of time or got held up."

As they approached their mother, they took note of the two other kids with her. The colt they recognized as Sombra from around town but the filly was definitely new. Neither had ever seen her before.

"Hey, kids." Ditzy greeted the two with a smile. "Sorry I'm late, we got a little held up. You two remember Sombra right?"

"Hi." The colt greeted shyly.

"Hey, nice to meet you." Dizzy greeted with a wave. "I'm Dizzy Twister, but everypony just calls me Dizzy. This is my sister Dinky."

"Hi." Dinky greeted then turned to the unfamiliar filly. "I'm Dinky Doo, and you are..."

"Lacewing." The filly greeted simply as the two bumped hooves. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Dinky returned. "So, you must be new around here."

"Yep, just got here actually." Lacewing said. "It's actually a very nice town."

"So do you have a place to stay?" Ditzy asked and Lacewing shrugged.

"Not yet." She admitted. "We're still house hunting right now."

"Well, then why don't you come stay with us?" The pegasus mare suggested. "We've got plenty of room even with Sombra staying with us so we've got enough room for one more."

"I'll have to talk with my dad first." Lacewing said. "Speaking of, I should go find him now. See you!"

With that Lacewing galloped off towards the town as Sombra and Ditzy waved good-bye. "She seems nice," Sombra commented as she disappeared vanished in the distance.

"Yes, she did." Ditzy agreed. "I believe we'll be seeing more of her later. For now, let's just get home. I've got to get dinner ready by the time your dad gets home."





Even after traveling the whole of time and space, the Doctor was a stallion of simple pleasures. After a long day at the clock shop, he enjoyed relaxing at home surrounded by his beautiful wife and children. Maybe read a book on astrology or physics before bed but otherwise, there wasn't much that couldn't please him. He supposed it was a result of his many life-threatening adventures. After spending several lifetimes running, it felt good to take a deep breath and relax.

He still spent some time running, but these days those times were more like family vacations than his entire life. He always found running better if he wasn't alone anyways. As he opened his front door, however, he was almost bowled over by Dizzy when the colt ran smack into his chest.

"Sorry, dad." The colt apologized when he saw who he'd run into. "Didn't see you there."

"No problem son." The Doctor said as she set his son on his hooves. "Though I must ask why you are running in the house. Remember our rule about running?"

Dizzy nodded. "Running is only acceptable when we are on our family vacations, not indoors." Dizzy recited word for word and the Doctor smiled proudly.

"Exactly, so why exactly are you running in the house?" He asked.

"It's part of our game." The colt answered with a grin.

"DADDY'S HOME!!!" The Doctor was only barely able to register that Dinky was the origin of the shout before he found himself at the bottom of a foal pile with an 'oof'. Hearing a warm chuckle, the Doctor glanced up past his son's tail to face his beautiful wife.

"Welcome home honey." Ditzy greeted with a smile that the Doctor returned.

"Good to be home." He replied as he struggled out of the foal pile. Aside from his own children, there were two other little ponies. Sombra he recognized, but he didn't recognize the beige pegasus filly.

"Well hello, there little lady." The Doctor greeted. "I don't believe we've met. I'm the Doctor."

The filly looked at him strangely. "Doctor who?" She asked and the stallion chuckled.

"Not who, just The Doctor." He corrected. "Though most just call me Doctor."

The filly looked at him strangely then muttered something under her breath that sounded like 'ponies and their strange names'. The Doctor just smiled.

"Now how about you little lady?" He asked. "I don't believe you've told me your name yet."

"Oh, I'm Lacewing." The filly introduced herself as she held out her hoof. "Pleasure to meet you, Doctor."

"That's a very pretty name Lacewing." Doctor complimented as he bumped his hoof into her's. "So, are you staying for dinner?"

"Actually, Lacewing is going to be staying with us for a few days," Ditzy interjected. "She doesn't have someplace to live while she and her father are moving in, so I offered to let her stay for a bit. I spoke with her father and everything checked out. He's staying at their old place until he finds a better place."

"Ah, well then welcome to the Whooves home Lacewing!" The Doctor said brightly. "And if my nose is not mistaken, I'd say it's time to eat."

"Your nose is not mistaken," Ditzy said as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "We're having meat and vegetables tonight. Dinner time!"

After announced the evening meal, everypony rushed to the table eager to partake in the delicious smelling food. After serving the children and her husband first, Ditzy sat down and began eating as well. As everyone else enjoyed their food, Sombra was curiously examining the contents of his plate. Most of the food items he recognized, mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed vegetables, and salad, but there was one food item he didn't recognize. It was thick and pale with sauce on it and it smelled good but Sombra had never seen it before.

"Miss Ditzy?" He called out and Ditzy looked up.

"Yes, Sombra?"

"What is this?" He asked as he pointed at the unidentifiable food item and Ditzy paused.

"You've never seen pork before?" She asked.

"What's pork?" Sombra asked in answer. "Is that what this is?"

"Well yes. Pork is a special kind of food called meat." Ditzy explained.

"Oh, and what's meat?" Sombra asked curiously.

"Um, well.." Ditzy started explaining only to be cut off by Dizzy.

"In simple terms, it's the flesh of an animal." The colt said bluntly. "Specifically a pig."

Ditzy had to resist the urge to facehoof at her son's bluntness on the subject. He and Ditzy had grown up knowing eating meat, so neither really understood how this was a touchy subject for some ponies. Lacewing seemed okay with it, but she sincerely hoped her boy hadn't traumatized Sombra. The colt in question was now eyeing the meat with an unreadable expression before looking up at Ditzy.

"So this was once alive?" He asked and Ditzy sighed. May as well try to run damage control and salvage the situation.

"Well yes, yes this was once a living thing." She said. "Applejack and her family raise and slaughter pigs so we have an ample supply here in Ponyville. Don't worry, they aren't sentient, there are laws against using other sentient creature for meat."

"Did it suffer?" He asked and Ditzy got a sinking feeling.

"Near as I can tell they didn't." She said. "The Apples always make sure they are killed quickly and they don't suffer. But if you don't want your pork-"

"No, it's okay." Sombra cut her off. "If it didn't suffer than it seems a little selfish of me to disregard its sacrifice to provide food for me."

"Are you sure?" Ditzy asked. "Most ponies can't stand the idea of eating another creature so you wouldn't be insulting anyone."

"I'm certain," Sombra said with a firm nod. "Besides, it smells delicious and I'd like to try it."

"Okay then," Ditzy said in relief at the crisis averted and watched along with the others as the colt took his first bite of meat. He chewed the morsel slowly to savor the flavor and nodded.

"It's good. Can I have more?" He asked and Ditzy chuckled.

"Maybe later after you've finished your food," Ditzy said kindly and the rest of the meal passed without incident.





"So you can't access your magic either?" Sombra asked and Dinky shook her head.

"I've tried, but no matter what I do I can't conjure up a spark." She said glumly. "Your lucky, at least you can gain some sort of access to your magic."

"Not beyond the odd magic surge and that one time in Griffinstone." Sombra corrected. "I don't have a lot of control over my magic and things tend to get blown up or transmogrified."

"Maybe you're going about it the wrong way?" Lacewing suggested. "If you can't get your magic to work, then maybe it works differently. You may just need to approach this from a different angle."

"Hmm, I hadn't thought about that." Dinky hummed. Given her parentage, it made sense that her magic might work differently. Her father was after all a time lord and her mother was a planeswalker so she may have inherited something from either of them. And Dizzy had proven himself capable of crossing dimensional boundaries so maybe her magic leaned more towards time lords or planeswalkers.

"Thanks, Lacewing, that really helps." She thanked her new friend.



Few Days Later



"Are you certain you don't want to stay longer?" Ditzy asked and Lacewing shook her head.

"Dad and I want to move in as soon possible so I have to go help him." She said with an amused smirk. "He's practically helpless without me. I'll see you around later!"

"Alrighty then, good luck and welcome to Ponyville!" The Doctor said by way of good-bye as the pegasus filly left. "She's a nice kid." He sighed to his wife once she was a good ways off.

"She is." Ditzy agreed as she led him back indoors. "I'm looking forward to seeing her again."

"Me too." The Doctor said then paused for a beat before continuing in a quieter tone. "So I assume you already know that she's..."

"Of course," Ditzy answered her husband's unfinished question.





"So how did you two meet?" Sombra asked the couple one night at the dinner table in curiosity.

"While traveling." The two said simultaneously and without hesitation. This wasn't the first time they'd been asked this question. The Doctor grinned at his wife and picked it up from there.

"I've been more of a nomad in the past and one day during my travels I ran into Ditzy." He elaborated. "We fell for each other and long story short, she's the one who got me to settle down to raise a family. And the rest, as they say, is history."

"Just like that?" The colt asked. "You two just met and fell in love."

"Well, it was a bit more than just that sweetie," Ditzy said. "We had to get to know each other first before getting married and settling down of course. Love is never that simple, but it is magical."

"Oh, so what do you think the chances are of Twilight finding and marrying someone?" Sombra asked and Ditzy snorted in amusement.

"I'd say pretty high given how social she is now." The Doctor answered for his wife with a smirk of his own. "I remember she was such an introvert in the past, but she's gotten better since her friends came into her life. Don't you worry, someday she'll find that special stallion and he'll become your father."

"How can you be sure?" Sombra asked. "She never goes on any dates! I'm going to grow old without a daddy!!"

The two adults chuckled in amusement. "Chin up boy, have I ever lied to you before?" The Doctor asked and Sombra shook his head. "Then trust me when I say that Twilight will get hitched one day."

"Okay," Sombra said before digging into his potatoes.



Few More Days Later



"Thank you again for watching him," Twilight said as she gathered his suitcases and handed them to Spike who grunted under the added weight.

Ditzy glanced at the dragon in concern. "Are you okay Spike?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Spike answered as he heaved the stack a bit. "This is nothing compared to Rarity's luggage so I'm good. I'm just taking part of my punishment."

"Punishment? For what?" Ditzy asked, turning to Twilight for an explanation. The alicorn gave her a grin but Ditzy could practically see her rage beneath the surface.

"Oh, nothing much, just a few errors in judgment that almost ruined the summit completely." She said 'pleasantly'. "We managed to save the event, but he's still grounded for a week. And he's going to be helping me out a lot."

"Ah, I see," Ditzy said as Sombra exited the house to join the two. "Well, try not to be so hard on him."

"Don't worry, I'm well aware of Spike's limits and I will en devour to keep his punishments within that area," Twilight said sweetly.

"Alright then, well we'll be going on a family trip so we'll be unavailable for a while." Ditzy reminded her and Twilight nodded.

"I will remember that," Twilight said as she lifted Sombra onto her back. "We'll see you around then, bye!"

"Bye!" Ditzy called and shut her door. Once she turned around, she found herself facing a grinning Dinky.

"Guess what?" She asked in barely restrained excitement.

"What?" Ditzy said.

"Lacewing was right," Dinky announced. "All I had to do was take a different approach and I finally accessed my magic!"

Dinky then lit up her horn and a purple light lit up on the tip along with a very familiar humming whirring sound. Ditzy smiled, happy for her daughter.

"That's wonderful darling." She congratulated Dinky and led her back into the house. "Let's go show your father and then we can go on our trip. I'm sure aunt Jenny will be pleased as well."





Lacewing looked proudly around her new home. Now that she wasn't in anypony's presence, she'd reverted to her true form, a changeling princess. Her horn wasn't quite grown yet and her wings were a little small. Looking around the underground home she'd dug out and was currently in the process of building. She'd already finished her room and the guest room (just in case), a storage room and the kitchen. Now she was working in the bathroom and making excellent progress. At this rate, she should be finished and moving on to the living room by the end of the week.