//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Flipping Your Fins (Part 2) // Story: The Fairy Tale Fiasco // by LaWombat //------------------------------// The lair of the sea witch was almost too easy to find. Even though the merponies back in the undersea city quickly gave up directions to the location, they simultaneously warned Twilight to stay as far away as possible. “I’m pretty sure Starswirl meant anything but this when he said you could visit the surface,” Spike whispered while they moved slowly through the dark waters of the deep ocean. Twilight’s bulb lit the way, but its light didn’t expand very far beyond a few feet around them. “That’s why we couldn’t tell them. Starswirl and my ‘sisters’ still think that we’re using our day to visit the surface,” Twilight said in a normal tone, not as concerned with keeping her voice down. “I’m sure they’ll find out soon enough, but by then, I’ll already be a pony. At least… as long as the spell isn’t one we have to worry about.” “Did I mention how much I don’t like this idea?” Spike bumped against her side as they passed the decaying skeleton of a spindly sea creature, the gaping jaws grinning at them when it lit up in the glow. “A few times, actually.” Twilight rolled her eyes, but subtly tried to swim as close to Spike as she could. Through the blackness of the waters, a small ring of lights appeared out of the gloom, and the shadow of the abandoned reef loomed into view. “There it is.” Twilight darted ahead and hovered over the opening of a small tunnel. Green flecks of luminescent slime dotted the entrance, through which the lair of the infamous sea witch awaited them. “I really don’t like this idea.” Spike stared at the opening with apprehension. “Are we sure Sombra can’t just kiss you now and fix everything?” “I don’t know why you’re so scared,” Twilight said with a twinge of fear wavering in her voice. “It’s not like she’s going to cut out your tongue.” “Wait! Can that happen!?” Spike exclaimed while Twilight slipped into the hole, eyes flicking around the deepening shadows when her bulb suddenly sparked and shorted out. She gulped as the feeling of magic left her, not at all comforted by the dull glow of the slime. The darkness only seemed to swallow what little light they provided, since Spike was only a dark shape when he swam in behind her. Twilight could hardly see anything as they inched along the tunnel. She found herself flinching and shying away when stray seaweed lightly brushed against her. They were deep in the tunnel when Twilight spotted a small shadow darting toward them. She yelped and tried to dodge out of its path, but only ended up kicking back into Spike’s snout. In  the ensuing confusion, the creature shot right for her and thumped against her chest with a high-pitched squeal. Twilight screamed when short tentacles wrapped around her legs. “Wha—! Twilight!?” Spike’s startled shout was drowned out by a sudden wail, and whatever had a hold of Twilight only constricted tighter. She kicked her tail fin to escape and accidentally slammed into the wall, dislodging a large chunk of the strange ooze clinging to the tunnel. The glow flared for a second at her touch, and Twilight briefly saw a familiar curl of hair. “Flurry Heart!?” Twilight stopped screaming long enough to recognize the crying, and struggled to pull her legs free of the suction cups before hugging her niece against her chest. Flurry’s sobs subsided as she hiccuped, soothed by Twilight’s comforting hoof against her mane. “I’m so sorry, Flurry! I didn’t know it was you!” In the dim light, she could almost make out her niece’s curly mane. From her barrel up, she appeared normal, but in the shadow of the tunnel, Twilight could barely make out short, wriggling appendages below her waist, like the arms of an octopus. Flurry finally managed to calm down from Twilight’s comfort and eventually let out a happy giggle when she hugged her back. Suddenly twisting in Twilight’s grasp, she popped away and darted back down the tunnel, only stopping once to wave her legs at them. Twilight and Spike exchanged a look but hesitantly started after her. “So, Flurry Heart’s the sea witch?” Spike asked the obvious as the tunnel slowly opened up ahead and a light grew brighter as they drew nearer. “She’s the most adorable sea witch ever.” Twilight grinned, watching Flurry swim into an open chamber at the end of the tunnel. “Focus, Twilight.” Spike gave her a flat look while he followed her through the opening. They swam into a large area with glowing orbs and luminescent plants hanging from the roof, which let in a large amount of light through the pocked ceiling. They must have been swimming up the whole time, because the cave appeared to be incredibly close to the surface. “Bffft!” Flurry spit out a happy noise as she wiggled back over to Twilight, holding a round, bubble-like object with a red gemstone trapped inside. Flurry released the orb, and Twilight reached out while it slowly descended in front of her. Flurry Heart clapped her hooves together with a giggle when Twilight picked it up, and swam away before Twilight could ask about it. Her niece gathered two more glittering objects from a shelf set into the cavern walls, and returned once again to drop them into Twilight’s hooves. “They’re all very lovely, Flurry.” Twilight smiled with uncertainty, hugging the three identical orbs to her chest while Flurry Heart sped away to collect more things for her. “But, umm, we really need to know about the spell…” “You think she understands what’s going on?” Spike asked while Flurry deposited a glowing conch shell in front of Twilight. Flurry Heart let out a grunt when she tugged on an iron ring sticking out of a crevice in the wall. Before Twilight could find a place to set her items to help, Spike had already swum over and grabbed the ring in his mouth. With a kick of his tail fin, bits of the wall crumbled away, and the heavy black object shifted before tumbling into the middle of the chamber with a hollow clang. Flurry gave Spike a hug in thanks while Twilight drifted closer to look at the rusty and barnacle-encrusted cauldron. Flurry Heart babbled something in baby-speak and swam over to the pot, hovering above it and waving her front legs while giggling at Twilight. Twilight glanced at the items she held, then drifted closer and carefully tossed them above the cauldron. As each bubble floated into the dark pot, it glowed with a soft flash of light. Flurry Heart flitted about above, appearing to dance while a hazy, sparkling mist spilled over the lip. “Do you know what to do?” Twilight asked Flurry, but her niece only blew a raspberry in response and giggled. “I'm pretty sure she doesn't,” Spike said right before Flurry Heart suddenly darted to Twilight’s tail and grabbed her in a hug. “Oww! Flurry!?” When Twilight managed to pry her off, she yelped as her niece’s suction cups managed to pull away a few scales. “That hurt!” Twilight tried reprimanding her niece, but Flurry was already hovering over the cauldron and tossing the items into the pot. When they floated close enough, the mist formed a long fin that swept out to scoop the scales inside. The cauldron shook with a quiet rumble before a spray of froth erupted from it, and Twilight watched the glowing gems rise within the torrent. They settled into the chests of the creatures that materialized behind the bubbles; when the haze eventually cleared, the three transparent shapes of the sirens hovered above the pot. “The sirens!?” Twilight exclaimed, swimming back with a jolt, but the three only stared silently, making no move to follow after her. “I think she got the wrong spell!” Spike shouted before grabbing Flurry Heart and darting around to hide behind Twilight while the three sirens stared at them with their glowing eyes. The middle one leaned forward and shook her head. Twilight blinked, watching as the siren returned to float between her sisters, and the trio waited patiently in the water. “Umm…” Twilight started hesitantly. “Can you… turn me into a pony?” The siren to the left nodded her head and swung up her tail until she was pointing at Twilight’s throat, then waved at herself with a slow movement. Twilight lifted her hoof to her neck and glanced at Spike with worry. “So… I’ll lose my voice, but in exchange, you can make me a pony?” “Twilight, no!” Spike shouted and tugged at her tail fin, but she pulled away and drifted closer to the ghostly sirens. “What are the conditions? Will I… what will happen to me?” The sirens moved their legs to mime out an answer, putting their hooves together to form the rough shape of a heart. Twilight felt herself blush slightly when the pair on either end leaned in to exchange a friendly kiss and pulled apart with a soft “pop”. “So… I have to kiss the prince?” Twilight asked, even though she was already well aware of this part of the tale. The sirens continued, making another heart again, only this time, the third sister flipped around and sliced the shape in two so viciously that the water bubbled and foamed. “And if I don’t,” Twilight whispered with a sinking sensation, “I turn into seafoam?” Much to her dismay, all three sirens nodded silently, and each lifted up a single leg to display a count. “And I only have three days…” Twilight rubbed her forehead with a groan. “Is there a way to change the spell or alter the conditions?” The sirens all shook their heads in unison, then two of them started toward Twilight as if to seize her. “Wait!” Twilight swam between the pair, but they moved to surround her, diligently following while the third twisted above to cut her off. “I don’t want to do this!” They didn’t appear to care. As Twilight made a mad dash toward the openings in the ceiling, she suddenly jolted to a painful stop, looking back to see one of the sirens biting her tail fin. “Hey!” Spike left Flurry Heart floating in the water and sped toward the siren holding Twilight. “Let her go! She doesn’t want your stupid spell!” He lunged for the siren and tried to bite her, but surprisingly tumbled in the water when he harmlessly passed through. Even though Spike had failed to physically attack them, Twilight couldn’t escape the siren’s grip as she dragged her back through the water, thrashing furiously when a second one coiled around her like an eel. She tried to squirm out of their hold, but they spun her around to face their sister, who pointed a hoof at her neck. “Spi—!!!” Twilight shouted, but her voice immediately fell silent. A warm glow lit up beneath her chin, and as the siren moved her leg up, Twilight could feel a swell of magic slide through her throat. She heard Flurry Heart begin to whine while Spike shot through the water again, ramming his head against the cauldron with a painful-sounding clang. He managed to shift the pot in its place, and the sirens appeared to growl in fury before one of them swung her tail around to launch Spike across the cave. The glowing orb that was her voice floated out into the water, and Twilight could only watch silently while the siren lifted it toward her mouth and gulped it down for it to settle in her own throat. The orb's glow increased, and the siren began to sing a haunting melody in her own voice while the other one’s grip constricted tighter around her. Twilight thought she heard Spike scream her name, and Flurry wailing in the background, but her senses soon became lost behind a searing pain that ran across her whole body. Like she was being run through with a sword, she could feel every ache and strain as her tail split in two, and every needle sharp stab when feathers erupted along her fins to form two full wings. When Twilight took in a gasping breath, the water suddenly felt like it was suffocating her, pouring into her mouth as bubbles escaped through her nose. Her legs flailed wildly, and Twilight realized that the siren was no longer holding her. And then Spike was there, pushing beneath her stomach while Flurry held onto one of her wings. The water pressed her flat against Spike’s head when he barreled through one of the holes in the ceiling, quickly racing out into the open water with the cackling wail of the siren's cruel laughter fading behind them. Twilight felt the burning sensation in her chest grow as she desperately tried to hold in that final breath, feeling herself slowly drowning and listening to the frantic pounding of her heart in her ears as her vision grew hazy and bright. A torrent of water suddenly splashed around her, and the sky opened up above. Twilight choked out a lung-full of seawater, her chest heaving while she took in laborious gulps of oxygen. “Twilight?” Spike asked quietly while floating carefully over the water’s surface. “Are you okay?” Between her gasping breaths, Twilight could only nod her head, hoping that Spike would feel it against his back. “You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked again while her hind legs suddenly touched land. Twilight slid down his side and stumbled into the water, sputtering and tripping as the waves nudged her onto the beach. As she collapsed over the sand and huffed out a quiet wheeze, she shook her head in answer. Her body ached, but she was still alive… for now. Spike let Twilight rest to catch her breath, but she heard Flurry Heart crawl up to her side and pat her head comfortingly. Twilight looked up to see Flurry sniffling quietly, with small tears forming in her eyes. Despite the pain she was in, Twilight carefully shifted her legs to pull Flurry into a soft embrace, nuzzling her and trying to convey that the situation was not her fault. “What do we do now?” Spike asked softly, and Twilight huffed out a breathy sigh while struggling to lift herself into a sitting position. She only ended up toppling to the ground, so Twilight lit her horn instead and lifted Flurry Heart onto Spike’s back to cling to his dorsal fin. When she pointed her hoof out to the ocean, Spike shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you, Twilight.” She patted her own chest and looked up the shoreline, then pointed to a castle further down the beach on a distant cliff, a place that Spike wouldn’t be able to go to with his fins. When Spike didn’t move, she gave him as stern a look as she could muster. Spike finally started to wriggle away after a moment of intense staring. “I guess if I have to, but I still don’t like it,” he grumbled, maneuvering his body as he flopped back out into the deeper water. “I should tell the others what happened… maybe they can help. But I’ll be back to make sure you’re alright!” So he finally left Twilight alone on the shore, and she watched his dorsal fin until it disappeared beneath the waves. Twilight stared at the point for a long time before turning back to look at the castle in the distance. It was difficult not to think about what she needed to do, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but fret. Among the terror, confusion, and absolute restlessness she felt, it was hard to think positively. To finish the story and save her life, she would eventually have to kiss Sombra. It was a long-shot, but maybe the storybook wouldn’t care about how much of a kiss they shared, even if it was just a quick peck on the cheek; and if the kiss even worked at all. With Rarity as the second princess, it was possible the kiss wouldn’t even save her. So if the mermare inevitably turns into seafoam at the end, how was she supposed to escape the fairytale alive!? Twilight sank to the sand with her wings covering her face, trying to convince herself that everything would be fine. If the Sheriff of Trottingham could be a good guy… then the mermare would marry the prince and live happily ever after! That’s how it went in most versions! She regretted sending Spike away so soon, because without him for support, the terrifying thoughts continued to haunt her mind. While she eventually managed to calm herself down with a few deep breaths, hidden beneath the shadow of her wings, she still trembled from the feeling of dread. She needed to deal with one problem at a time; if a kiss was necessary to save her life, she just had to get it over with. It was only a kiss, after all. It wasn’t like she hadn’t just received one, even if she had been completely embarrassed by it. She had simply been surprised, since she hadn’t considered Thorax in a romantic way. He was a good friend, nervous and timid, but also honest and kind; so at least he wasn’t some sleazy creep that could have made things worse. Not that she thought of Sombra in that way. While he wasn’t exactly the kindest stallion, he did have some teeny-tiny redeeming qualities if she thought hard enough. If he wasn’t so impatient and rude, he probably could be charming. In the few calm moments that they had shared, he’d shown a lack of maliciousness, and even seemed to be a cultured intellectual— Why am I even thinking this!? Twilight flared her wings open with a start. I don’t want to date him, I just need to endure it and kiss him! Or maybe you could enjoy it, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. How she managed to hone in on it in the turmoil of her thoughts only embarrassed her more. “So you’ve come back?” Twilight jolted at the sound of the deep voice from behind her and turned her head to see Sombra staring down at her with a frown. She hadn’t even heard him approach over the sand. “And you’ve lost your fins. How did you manage that?” Twilight felt her heart skip as she scrambled to her hooves... or at least tried to. The sand slid beneath her frantic movements, and she only wound up falling flat on her stomach. Sombra watched with a bemused smirk while Twilight fought with her own legs to stand before she settled for staying on the ground with an irritated huff. Apparently, as the little mermare, she had never learned to walk. So Twilight instead tried to signal to him what had happened and tapped a hoof against her neck while opening her mouth. Sombra only wrinkled his snout with a frown. “Is this some sort of game?” Twilight shook her head, and instead tried pointing to her mouth and moving her lips; of course, no sound came out. “You’re not—” Sombra began, but stopped with a surprised look when his ears flicked forward curiously. “You’ve lost your voice?” A strange grunt issued from his throat. “And now you can’t talk.” He gave her an unusual expression that Twilight only wondered about briefly. When she saw his shoulders begin to shake, she narrowed her eyes at him. She stomped her hoof against the sand, more determined than ever to lift herself, but immediately slipped on the unsteady surface. Twilight tumbled right into Sombra’s chest, but he didn’t move away or appear irritated at all. Instead, he simply lost it and burst out laughing. At first, she was stunned, gawking up at him while he shook with laughter. It wasn’t the wicked sound that usually had his enemies quaking in fear, but as time passed, Twilight’s surprise faded, and she started fuming over his amusement at her expense. She flailed her hooves to flip herself, but when she started to fall again, she grabbed onto Sombra’s front legs for stability—which only gave him his second wind. Twilight glared daggers at him, and Sombra eventually quieted down to a deep chuckle. “You don’t need a voice to convey your intentions anyway.” He leaned over and cleared his throat, his usual frown quickly fixing itself on his snout. “You have very expressive eyes.” Twilight leaned away with a suspicious look, staring at him and not really knowing how to take his remark, but before she could decide, Sombra offered his leg to her. “If you’re really so helpless, it will be faster if I assist.” She stared at his offered hoof as if it were a trap, but slowly and hesitantly reached for it. The moment she was close enough, Sombra linked his leg around hers and stepped against her side. When he took a cautious step forward, Twilight had to actually concentrate as he moved down the beach with her, which helped in distracting her from the burning sensation she felt at the base of her ears—and the extreme pounding of her heart. As he helped her to the castle, she suddenly found all her other worries completely forgotten, but only because she had a new concern: silently hoping that Sombra couldn’t feel the racing of her pulse against his leg. “Oh my, look at how nicely you clean up!” Twilight shifted her gaze away from the mirror to the maid that stood behind her. The pink crystal pony gushed over the stylish blouse she now wore, and the round braids they had woven into her mane while doing up her hair. Twilight’s fur had even been scrubbed clean of sand and grit by the helpful staff, who were prompt to give her a bath as soon as she had arrived at the castle gates. “How do you like it, dear?” the maid asked, and Twilight took another look at herself before nodding her approval. She held a hoof up to her chest and gave a slight bow of her head. The maid tittered before waving and moving out the doorway. “Right this way, then. I’m certain His Highness will be interested in seeing you all nice and dressed.” Twilight doubted that, but she followed the maid out into the richly decorated corridor anyway, careful not to misstep and lose her balance again. While she had improved on her trek up to the castle, she was still a bit slow and shaky as she moved over the slick floors. While the maid led her to another room in the elegant castle, Twilight marveled at its marble tiles and high windows. It wouldn’t have surprised her if the storybook had pulled some of the style from their memories, since it very much reminded her of the Crystal Empire, which was only made all the more apparent when the staff consisted of nothing but crystal ponies. They soon entered an enormous study, where one wall made up entirely of glass windows from floor to ceiling gave the room a perfect view of the ocean as it stretched across the horizon. Tall bookshelves filled the other walls, while rich furniture had been arranged nearby for comfortable sitting. Sombra was lounging on one of the sofas and scribbling something into a book, clearly ignoring them. “Tah-dah!” The maid presented Twilight with a flourish of her leg. “Isn’t she just adorable?” she gushed while Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously, giving Sombra a sideways glance to see his reaction… not that she cared about his approval. Sombra didn’t appear to care either: he simply looked up from his book with an annoyed frown. While his eyes seemed to linger on Twilight for a brief second, his gaze promptly returned to the book floating before him. “Quite. You may leave now, slave.” The servant didn’t bat an eyelash at the degrading title, merely bowing before trotting out the door. Once she had left, Twilight managed to stomp over to where Sombra sat without tripping up and gave him a fierce look. Even though Sombra’s attention was on the book, he eventually looked up with a grimace of his own. “Oh, the princess doesn’t approve?” he said in a mocking tone. “I only address them as they are, not that they have noticed. As before, they don’t even seem to remember their rebellion against me.” Twilight blinked in surprise, looking back at the doorway where the maid had left through, wondering now if she should have recognized the crystal pony. The last time she had seen any, they had been playing the roles of thieves and bandits, which was an odd switch if the same ponies were suddenly appearing as servants. While Twilight hadn’t identified a finite set of rules that the storybook seemed to follow, when she had encountered ponies from her own memory so far, they had appeared and acted appropriately with roles that matched their personalities and past. Even Starlight’s role, as horrible as that situation had been, had followed a similar take in relation to their original meeting. But she couldn’t ask Sombra to elaborate, and he had already gone back to his scribbling. The quill lifted in his aura of magic and furiously flew across the page, practically tearing up the paper while he wrote down something in a rush. She was curious to know what he was so engrossed with, but Twilight was also interested in the journal itself. Of course she wanted to know what he was writing, but she realized that she had just found her means of communication. Lighting her horn, she attempted to borrow the book and quill from him. Sombra reacted immediately, yanking away the pen and closing the book with a snap of its cover. “Do you mind?” Twilight huffed, pointing at the objects, then tapping against her horn to try and indicate that she wanted to write something. Sombra stared at her quietly for a moment, appearing to process her train of thought. “I’m not working on a spell that will help us escape, if that’s what you are implying.” At that moment, an elderly pony that Twilight recognized as the one from the ship entered the room and stepped up next to them, bowing deeply. “Sire,” he addressed Sombra. “And… erm…” The stout pony adjusted his spectacles. “Have we learned the lady’s name?” “No.” Sombra didn’t look up from his book, his voice short and impatient. “I was simply going to call her Flounder for the way she washed up on shore.” Twilight puffed up her cheeks with a glare. He knew full well what her name was—he could easily end the charade by simply telling the staff—but Sombra stubbornly remained silent for some reason. She knew he wasn’t the most cooperative pony, but why was he suddenly acting so vindictive? At least… more so than he usually was... “Perhaps the lady could write it out?” The servant stepped closer and pointed to Sombra’s journal. Sombra lowered it for a moment, and with an irritated snort, he finally relented and tore out a blank sheet before floating it over to Twilight along with the quill. Twilight skipped happily on her hooves and took the sheet in her own magic, settling down right there on the floor. She lowered the quill to the paper and scribbled away, quickly finishing off her name and moving onto the most important thing: her current predicament. Twilight started to explain the conditions of the spell the sirens had cast on her, but about partway through the paragraph, she began to notice something odd. She happened to glance back at her words to check the grammar, but found herself frozen as she stared at a mess of scribbles and lines that didn’t make a lick of sense. Twilight pulled the paper closer, trying to read over what she had just written, but nothing legible appeared in the nonsense of marks. Her mind raced to try and figure out what was going on. Had the spellbook messed with her in some way? Again? Maybe the lack of oxygen from her near-drowning had done something to her horn-writing, or she had hit the sand one-too-many times after getting her legs back— In a rush, everything suddenly became clear. The little mermare couldn’t walk because she grew up in the sea with fins… so it only made sense that the merponies didn’t have books and literature because they disintegrated underwater. She simply didn’t know how to write. Twilight slammed her head on top of the page, not bothering to look up when she heard hoofsteps stop in front of her. Only a sharp poke against her horn caused her to lift her gaze to see Sombra standing above her. “Are you finished? I know your name isn’t that long.” With a frustrated sigh, Twilight turned the page around and showed the two stallions her messy paragraph. She didn’t have high hopes, but maybe there was some small chance that it was legible to others. The servant’s eyes went wide before squinting at the paper, while Sombra leaned closer and skimmed over the page. The expression he shot her gave it away before he had even spoken. “Are these even words? This is worse than that brat’s drawing.” “Oh my,” the servant mumbled. Twilight’s ears flopped down, and her cheeks went red with embarrassment. “It’s quite alright, dear,” the servant reassured her. “Perhaps we can… umm… oh…” He sighed, at a loss of what advice to offer. With a groan, Twilight kicked the sheet away and stood up, slowly strolling over to the windows while pounding her hoof against her head. Of course her last means of clear communication had been taken away. She stumbled over to the glass and leaned against one of the panes, glancing at the view and trying to work out a way to fix this. How did one mime out the signal for imminent death? Twilight stared outside at the darkening sky, watching the mix of orange and blue create a smudge of vibrant hues amid the sunset, and her ears perked with a small idea. At the very least, she could find a way to communicate her name to the crystal ponies. While she had been thinking, the two stallions had picked up her sheet of paper and appeared to be trying to decipher it. She tapped her hoof against the floor to get their attention and pointed at the windows when the older stallion looked up. “Hmm?” He moved closer as she tapped against her own chest before motioning outside again and pressing her hooves against the panes, encompassing the view of the setting sun and pointing at it vigorously. “Are you trying to say something? Ah! Perhaps a name, let’s see...” Twilight smiled with a small feeling of hope. If she could get him to guess her name without words, then maybe she could eventually communicate to Sombra how serious the situation was. It was also a nice thought that she wouldn’t be stuck with some stupid name that Sombra made up for her. “Sunset!” the servant proclaimed. Twilight shook her head, pointing again at the sky. “Oh, not that? How about… Starlight?” Twilight sighed and shook her head once more, trying to wave at the entirety of the stars and setting sun, only confusing the poor servant when she included the clock as well. “Twilight.” Sombra’s voice broke through their frantic game from where he had returned to lounging on the sofa, scribbling in his journal again. “That is her name.” “Oh! Did he guess correctly?” the servant asked, turning back to Twilight. She nodded slowly, a bit flabbergasted that Sombra had finally given her real name despite his apparent moodiness. Upon her confirmation, the servant turned to Sombra with a grin. “How clever, sire! You got it on the first try!” Sombra simply huffed, his eyes glued to his journal. “Of course I did.” The servant nodded happily and gave them both a quick bow. “If you would excuse me, I will go check to see if the lady—erm, pardon me. I will see if Miss Twilight’s room is ready.” Sombra only grunted while the stallion left the study. Well, her name was taken care of, but now she just needed to alert Sombra of the danger to her life. At least he was aware of the fact that they needed to kiss… he just didn’t know why it was so important. She leaned back against the windows with a sigh, closing her eyes and pressing a hoof against her furrowed brows while trying to come up with ways to communicate to him the story. She could always act it out? She wasn’t very good with charades, but when losing meant turning into seafoam... “Not that I care.” Sombra’s voice moved up beside her, and she turned to see him approaching, finally done with whatever he had been writing in his journal. “But what are you worried about now?” He leaned closer. “You’ve had that same look before… with more troubling matters.” Twilight’s ears flopped as she hesitated, sitting back and tapping against her chin. Sombra watched quietly while she threw her legs up, waving them over her head and trying to show what had happened beneath the sea. Sombra looked at her blankly and raised an eyebrow. “Is this about the kiss?” Twilight blinked with a sharp intake of breath, then nodded her head before switching the motion to a swift shake. “So? Which is it?” Sombra commanded with an impatient growl. “Are you saying you’re ready to try it now or not?” Now!? Twilight’s heart jumped with a sharp beat, and she covered her mouth but still nodded behind her hooves. They were probably only halfway through the story, so she wasn’t entirely certain it would even work. Then again, with her life on the line, it was worth testing… right? Without a word or warning, Sombra lifted his leg and pulled her hooves away from her muzzle, watching her quietly for a moment before leaning forward. Twilight flinched and steeled herself with a gulp, only to close her eyes so that she wouldn’t be tempted to back out… or hit him again. She could feel the heat on her face and her heart pounding strongly in time to each passing second while she waited for their lips to touch. Any moment now… aaany moment... “But what if I am not ready,” his deep voice suddenly whispered in her ear. She felt a hoof cover her mouth to push her away. Twilight opened her eyes to see Sombra grinning at her devilishly. “After all, I can still feel the sting of that slap from before.” Twilight worked her jaw even though she knew she couldn’t speak, and Sombra pulled away, sauntering back over to the sofa where his journal lay. As he picked up the book and taunted her with a smirk, her temper suddenly flared, and she scrambled forward, only to lose her balance and stumble to the floor. Twilight felt an intense heat burning on her face, both from embarrassment and anger. How could he toy with her emotions like that!? He was… actually being childish! And petty! And… and holding a grudge like that when she could seriously lose her life!? Okay, he didn’t know that—but that didn’t make her any less furious about his stupid little stunt! The elderly servant promptly returned to the room at that moment, preventing Twilight from doing something she might have regretted. “Sire, the guest bedroom has been prepared.” “Excellent.” Sombra strolled to the doorway, either oblivious to Twilight’s anger or intentionally ignoring her. Twilight assumed it was the latter, as she had seen the flicker of a smile when he’d turned his head. “I will retire for today.” “Very well, sire.” The servant bowed as Sombra left, then walked over to Twilight and offered a hoof to help her up. “I can lead you to your room, Miss Twilight.” Twilight stared at the hoof for a long time, then let out a soft sigh when she realized she was making the poor stallion wait, as his stance didn’t falter the whole time she hesitated. Her anger didn’t fade completely, but her dispute wasn’t with the innocent servant. She could be mad at Sombra in the morning. Right now, she just needed some sleep to figure things out. With the help of the old stallion, she climbed to her hooves and let him lead her to the guest room with its fancy drapes and plush, canopy bed. Her tired body was easily enticed into the soft blankets, but it took much more time trying to convince her thoughts to settle down. Her mind was too abuzz with worry and fear. She had to get across to Sombra how high the stakes were… and she now only had two days to get him to kiss her. How could she convince him that her life depended on it? And would he even care enough to want to save her?