//------------------------------// // The Lost // Story: Learning To Live Again // by Speedy Quill //------------------------------// We moved slowly into the tunnel ahead. There wasn’t any source of light. We each conjured an orb of light, keeping it close. I was reminded of the darkness of that horrid room. Our lights didn’t illuminate much beyond a few hoofsteps. As we moved further from the entrance, the temperature dropped. And that’s when I began to feel my stomach turn. Sombra’s magic permeated the air down here. The deeper we went, the more crystals there began to be around us. As we rounded a corner, I made a realization. None of the crystals had any color. They were black as the darkness surrounding us. I moved to the nearest one. "This isn't good." Sunburst came closer. "It has the same energy as that shard we found." Shining Armor came up on my other side. "The air is thick with dark magic. The crystals must be overflowing with Sombra's power." I looked along the tunnel. Black crystals were everywhere. "It's like he stockpiled his magic in this mine. If every crystal is like this..." Sunburst swallowed hard. "There's enough power in this mountain to level the entire continent." I nodded. "He was ready for all-out war." Shining Armor took a few steps further into the tunnel. "No wonder he sealed these mines off. He didn't want anypony taking his source of power." We continued deeper into the mountain, the darkness growing heavier. Sunburst cleared his throat. "Do we know where we're going?" Shining Armor looked back at us. "We're following the aura in here. I can feel it getting stronger." I nodded. "My stomach is in knots. This is just how I felt before. We have to be getting close." Close I froze. "Did anypony hear that?" Sunburst and Shining Armor looked confused. Sunburst shook his head. "No. What did you hear?" I shook my body from head to toe. "Never mind. I must be imagining things." We continued around several turns. The whole time I felt uneasy. As if...something was watching us. I felt like I should turn around, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know if my suspicions were right. Shining Armor came to another fork and nodded left. "This way. The magic is getting strong." Bad place I froze again. I glanced at Sunburst. He was shaking. I took a breath and whispered. "Did you hear that?" "You mean something like a whisper behind us? Nope." He hurried over to Shining Armor, who was looking around the route ahead. I turned my head ever so slightly, daring to look behind me. Don't My head was turned just enough for my peripheral vision. And I could just make out several things moving in the darkness... I tried to stay calm, turning my head forward again. "Who are you?" No response. I took a deep breath, nearly choking on the dark magic in the air, and joined Shining Armor and Sunburst. "Whatever you do, don't look back. Just keep following the trail." They both turned forward and we began walking side-by-side. We continued in silence for several minutes. As we turned a corner, I heard Sunburst stifle a gasp. He must have seen something out of the corner of his eye like me. Shining Armor finally broke the silence. "Shade, what's following us?" I strained my ears, listening to our pursuers. The noises I heard made the Windigos from earlier seem like a lullaby in comparison. I began pouring over my knowledge of the darker creatures of the world. Nothing. I kept listening, hoping for a clue. There were several voices by this point. Feed Kill Stay Save us That phrase made me stop. They wanted help? Pain I felt a lump growing in my throat. I knew what I needed to recall. As I thought about the information, I began to shiver. Shining Armor and Sunburst had gotten a few steps ahead of me. When they noticed I wasn’t keeping up, they froze. Sunburst cleared his throat. "Is there...a problem?" "Yes...and no." I had to be crazy for this. "I need you two to go a little further. Without me." Shining Armor shook his head. "Out of the question." "Can you just trust me on this? It's the only way I can know for sure." "If we leave you back there-" "Please! I know what I'm doing...I think." They both stood there for a few seconds. Sunburst slowly nodded. "I trust him. But we shouldn't go beyond the next turn." Shining Armor stayed silent for a few seconds longer. He let out a sigh finally. "Cadance will wring my neck if you die, but I'll trust you." They began walking again. The light faded as they moved further down the tunnel. I looked at my own light orb. Light out No light Light bad "Will I be safe?" Safe No kill No eat Safe Light out I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. I extinguished the orb and was engulfed by darkness. I felt something like tar pressing against my left flank. Then my right. I was surrounded. I did my best not to whimper. "What are you called?" No name Name gone Lost "But...He gave you a name." No name Hate name Hate Him "Please. I have to know. I think I know who you are, but you need to say it." They fell silent. I still felt them pressing against me. I couldn't move. And then one voice spoke. Umbrum I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. Something touched my cheek, wiping the tear away. Cry Sad You know us I nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Why come Why here I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the tears. Why have you come here? My eyes flew open, despite having nothing to look at. It was the same voice that had spoken their name. It sounded like a mare. "You're different..." Why are you here? "We...we came to find Him." Why? "We came to kill Him." He is shadow He is hate He is pain The voices died down and the one voice returned. He is dead already. "But what about this place? His spirit is still here, isn't it?" I was greeted by a chorus of hissing. It reminded me of the hive in my younger years. We don't speak of his spirit. It curses this place. "That's why we're here. His spirit is beginning to reach out to the Empire." The Empire survives? "Yes. It's thriving since his death." And you wish to keep peace? "Yes. We mean you no harm. We just want to rid the world of Sombra." Another chorus of hissing. I began feeling pressure on all sides. DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME!! "I'm sorry! Please!" The pressure lessened but remained firmer than before. Can you promise? "Yes. We mean to end this nightmare." And us? I felt the tears building again. "I'm sorry. I wish I had an answer to end your suffering." The book The book THE BOOK I heard something hit the floor. "What was that?" Light your horn. But only to the floor. Look at nothing else. I did as I was told. My horn put off a warm glow, revealing a book on the floor. It was old. The pages had been leafed through often. I kept my head low to the floor, looking at the cover. There was no title. "You think this has the answer?" This book made us. I nodded. "So perhaps it can unmake you." I picked the book up and put it in my saddlebag. "I'll see what I can do. I promise not to leave you like this." I had forgotten to extinguish my horn. So, when I looked forward, it was impossible to hold back a gasp of fear. I was staring at the face of what I assumed was the voice's owner; an umbrum. It was black with the most piercing green eyes. The form resembled a pony but seemed to flow and morph as if it were made of water. Its eyes narrowed. "You must swear by all you hold dear." I couldn't stop myself from shaking. "I...I swear...on everything...my life, my friends, my family...and my honor." The umbrum moved closer. It looked me in the eyes, staring into my very soul. "You are haunted by Him." I nodded. "I've read things I wish I hadn't." The eyes opened fully. "Read?" I nodded. "Two books. One that He created, and one by a pony. I know too well what happened back then. And I know what happened to create all of you. I don't think I will ever be free of that knowledge." The umbrum stared at me for a few seconds. It seemed to be surprised. "You read...my book?" I locked eyes with the umbrum. Her eyes were a dark shade of green. I felt the tears fall as I realized who I was speaking too. "Emerald..." ----------------------- I saw a small light ahead of me. As I grew closer, I began to see Shining Armor and Sunburst. Shining Armor sighed when he saw me. "Thank Celestia you're safe." Sunburst looked behind me. "Are you being followed?" I nodded. "And we'll be followed the whole way." "What?!" "If I explain, can we keep moving forward?" Shining Armor nodded. "Yeah. I want to get out of these damn mines as fast as possible." We started walking again. I took a deep breath and began explaining. "There was a book hidden away beneath the library. It was written by Sombra. I read it. And then I burned it to ash." Sunburst looked at me in shock. "That's why you smelled like smoke that day?" I nodded. "Nopony should ever have to read what I read in that book. But I'm going to tell you about one of the subjects in that damned tome." Shining Armor glanced at me. "Do you think that's wise?" "It's the only way to tell you about what's happening." I looked over my shoulder. I couldn't see the umbrum, but I knew they were there. I turned forward again. "Sombra didn't just torture and kill ponies. He used some of them for experiments." Sunburst swallowed. "Experiments?" "Yeah. He was obsessed with two things; power and immortality. He wanted to ensure he'd rule forever." "What does that have to do with these experiments?" "He was working on creating spells to augment his magic power and extend his life. But with such dangerous spells he couldn't test them on himself." Shining Armor turned to me. "He used ponies to test his magic on?" I nodded. "Dozens of times. Maybe even hundreds. I'm honestly not sure. The problem was that he failed constantly. Even though he tweaked the spells constantly, they always yielded the same results." Sunburst was beginning to shiver. "You mean..." He glanced behind us. I slowly nodded. "He began to call them the umbrum. They're creatures made from ponies and shadows. They've been living here for centuries, unable to die. None of them even remember what life was like before Sombra. Well, except for one of them." "One of them?" "She was the last umbrum ever created. The one that proved Sombra's spell a success." Shining Armor stopped. "So, she's like him?" I nodded. "A living shadow, unable to die. And that's what Sombra did to himself. He wasn't a unicorn anymore by the time Celestia and Luna defeated him." Sunburst kept looking around the tunnel. "And his power?" "I assume these mines are answer enough. Once a crystal is imbued with your magic, you can use it as an extra reserve. And, if you were strong enough, I imagine you could access that power from anywhere. From the feel of these crystals, I would guess he nearly drained his magic every day to fill one stone." "An entire reserve of magic in each crystal?! But that would be insane!" "Think about who you're talking about." Shining Armor looked behind us. "What about these umbrum? Are they a threat?" I shook my head. "They have nothing but hate for Sombra. Once they knew we were here to end whatever is left of him, they agreed to not interfere." "It was that easy?" "Not by a long shot. They also want my help in finding a way to kill them." That made them both stop. I turned to look at the two of them. "What?" They were both in shock. Sunburst was the first to speak. "You said that so...calmly." "So" Shining Armor shook his head. "Shade, you can't just kill them. We should try to save them!" I shook my head back at him. "That's not what they want at all. They've been trapped in here, left to rot by that tyrant. They've been suffering for a thousand years! None of them would be able to function in the outside world." "They deserve a chance." We don't want a chance. I closed my eyes. Shining Armor turned to the darkness. "We can try to reverse what Sombra did to you!" We don't want that. We want death. Shade promised. Sunburst turned around, his knees shaking. "Surely we can figure something out. We could take you somewhere! Away from the mines." No. We must stay. Nopony must see. I stepped in front of the stallions, my frustration boiling to the surface. "Listen to her! They've made up their mind." I sat down, my body beginning to feel the exhaustion of the last few days. "I know it's a common belief that anything can be fixed. Villains can change, bad things can be undone, or a song can somehow fix the problem. But you need to realize that that's not true. This is one thing that can't be fixed." Shining Armor looked at me for a second before turning to the darkness. "Is there nothing we can do?" We stared into the abyss, waiting for her answer. We cannot live anymore. We wish to pass out of all memory. Shining sighed. "Then I hope we can help you." He turned back around. "We should keep moving." Sunburst and I nodded, and we all fell in side-by-side again. We didn't look back as we continued further into the mines. I only glanced back once, as we turned the corner. Two emerald eyes stared back. Be strong. He is near.