//------------------------------// // On the G.N.L. // Story: Sombra's Midnight Star // by Twilighted Rose //------------------------------// (Present, Sombra’s Cave) “Welcome back, Uncle. It has been a long time, has it not?” Sombra greeted as he walked onto the balcony. He gave his uncle a toothy grin as the old god laughed. The once multi-faceted eyes, now yellowed with red irises, twinkled with merriment as Discord answered, “It has, Sombra. It has. And my, my, have you grown! You have grown into your powers since the last time I saw you. I suppose it has been about 3,200 years since I last saw you!” “You are off by a few centuries, but close enough,” Sombra said. He started down the stairs when he noticed the yellow pegasus cowering behind Discord. Her light blue eyes flicked back and forth between him and the old god. The alicorn slowed his descent out of respect for her. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he slowly approached the shivering pony as one approached a timid puppy. She hid behind her light pink mane. In all of Sombra’s many years, this yellow pegasus appeared to be one of the cutest he had seen. “Hello there, little one. You do not have to be afraid,” Sombra said as he lowered himself to the ground to make himself smaller. “You are safe here. My name is Sombra. What is yours?” “Hey, Egghead! Back away from my friend!” yelled a new voice. Sombra turned his head to find an angry cyan-colored pegasus. It struck him as strange to find a pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Back when he had had Midnight in his life, that pegasus would have been a prized pet for her unique eye color and mane. He would have been astounded to find a pony such as her reach her twelfth birthday. The cyan pegasus’s rose-colored eyes flashed with rage at his curious expression. “Rainbow Dash,” a quiet voice whispered to her friend. “What?” retorted the blue pony. “I don’t think he’s going to harm us. All he said was hello,” the yellow pegasus answered. She squeaked when Sombra looked back at her. “Then why are you afraid?” Sombra inquired. He cocked his head to one side as he studied the yellow pegasus. “Hey! You!” the cyan pegasus yelled. “I’m talking you!” “Young one, you know it is very rude to interrupt,” Sombra calmly parented. “I know you would like to talk, but we can have a civil conversation after you calm down.” He threw her a look which spoke, ‘Are we clear?’ The cyan pegasus snapped her mouth closed in a huff of indignation. Sombra inclined his head in respectful appreciation. He stood up to his full height and looked down at Discord. Discord met his eyes, not cowed in the least by his nephew’s stature. “All of you look like you need to eat,” Sombra stated as his eyes swept the small group he had accumulated. “Come, let me provide you food and drink.” “Well I can’t say no to that!” declared Discord as he tromped along after Sombra. Sombra heard flapping wings and hurried hooves also following after him. He smiled to himself at Twilight’s interesting friends. “I’m only following you because Discord seems to trust you,” said Rainbow Dash, the blue one. “That still doesn’t mean I would forgive you for what you did to the Crystal Empire. So you better believe that I’m watching you, buster!” “The Crystal Empire? Never heard of it,” Sombra stated matter-of-factly. “And, if I have never heard of the place, then how, pray tell, can I do something against it?” Still walking, he turned his head to look at the flying, cyan pegasus in the eyes. He could tell that she had some pent-up anger issues which needed to be resolved. Sombra could practically hear the rainbow growling behind him. “Don’t play dumb with me! I saw you at the Battle of the Crystal Empire! You were trying to steal the Crystal Heart! And we stopped you by activating it and turning you into smoke! So, how are you alive?!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Well, you will not be receiving any answers from me if you keep yelling at me. Nor will you live long if you keep spiking your blood pressure like that with your angry outbursts. Try this: take a deep breath once in a while, in and out, slowly. From one drama queen to another.” “DRAMA QUEEN!!!” Rainbow Dash shrieked. Discord busted out laughing. Even the yellow pegasus let out a quiet giggle. Realizing something, he stopped and turned to the yellow pegasus. He put on his most charming and innocuous smile and asked, “May I have the honor of knowing your name, little one?” Her light blue eyes met his red ones, and she whispered with a smile, “My name is Fluttershy.” “Fluttershy. Hmm… That is a lovely name. Now, let us go get some food. I have been asleep for centuries and just woke up. I am starving. Anypony care for a mango? I could go for a mango. By Harmony, I miss mangos. Especially from Marcov’s grove. He had the best mangos in all of Harmonia. Am I right, Uncle? I distinctly remember I could always find you there. Munching on all my mangos.” “Well I did eat them just to get a rise out of ya,” laughed Discord. “You always were easy to mess with.” His snickering continued as they walked eastward in the seemingly endless corridor. “By the way, Sombra, my boy, why does it seem like we are never going to get to the other side of this hall? I’m the god of chaos, and this seems ridiculous to me! I’m also hungry, you know.” “Discord!” a whisper shout resounded a few feet away. A flustered Fluttershy was shooting daggers at a capitulatory Discord. “Terribly sorry, Fluttershy, but it is true. I’m practically starved,” Discord mumbled. “And Sombra did promise food.” He crossed his arms to bolster his argument. Discord started to pout, but Fluttershy rubbed her wing up and down his back. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes. By Harmony, Sombra had missed this. Interactions with other living beings in real life were not to be taken for granted. Realizing something else, Sombra suddenly stopped in the corridor. “Ow…” Rainbow Dash’s yell was muffled when she flew into Sombra’s flank. “Why did you stop?” But she was ignored. “Fluttershy, are you Discord’s girlfriend?” Sombra asked. “If so, would that make you my future aunt? Would it be alright if I called you Auntie?” “NO!” “I did not ask you, Rainbow Dash.” “But, but that would be weird!” “How?” he asked with the patience of a saint. “Because you’re a bad guy! That’s why!” Rainbow Dash retorted, eyes flashing in unbridled rage. “Who told you I was the bad guy? I have never met you, nor have I ever done anything to you. If you are basing your anger and (frankly unjust) bias toward me based on a false accusation, then I would very much like to correct you. It would be unwise to judge someone based on preconceived notions and hearsay. Now, tell me who gave you this absurd idea that I am a bad guy.” “Celestia.” Ω ΩMidnightΩ I awoke to find that the ground was moving! And, I also found that I had no idea where the hay I was. But I did have a clear idea of who had put me here. And he was going to get an earful when I found him. So, I hopped down from the incredibly soft bed onto cherry red hardwood floors which wouldn’t stop moving. I immediately rammed into the opposing mahogany wall. A mini globe, along with a few books from the shelves, fell onto my head. Groaning, I scrambled to my feet, trying to get away from the offending wall. Once I arose, I was slammed into the other wall. Both of my shoulders were screaming by the time I finally got out of that room. Unfortunately, the hallway wasn’t any better. I thought I was going to become a bruise by the time I got to my destination. I finally arrived at the end of the hallway to find stairs and a closed door. I really didn’t want to climb those things at the moment. Especially when I was constantly being slammed into the walls. Nor was this queasy feeling helping much. Find Sombra I must, so climb the stairs I would. But it was an accomplishment in and of itself. With weak magic and unsteady hooves, I finally managed to pry the door open to a bright sunny day with huge waves crashing onto the deck. Wait a minute! WAVES?! And I might have seen some shimmering green and blue scales in those waves. Yep, I was right. There were green and blue scales in the water. A massive reptilian head emerged from the water speaking a language that I couldn’t quite understand. And who was in front of that thing? You bet you a fresh mango it was Sombra! That crazy stallion was going to get himself killed. Well, I guess it was up to me to go and save the goof. On wobbly feet, I made my way over from the top of the stairwell to where he was standing. I flopped like a fish on the wet oak deck with a groan of resignation. I looked up to find a red-eyed stallion and a blue-green serpent staring at me. One set of eyes was twinkling with mirth and the other with curiosity. On the bright side, the boat had stopped moving quite so much. However, the stillness did not arrive in time for my stomach to settle. I dashed over the railing and upchucked mucus and bile and whatever I had eaten the night before. I saw red magic pull back my mane and felt something soft rub my back as I disgraced myself. I felt humiliation coursing in my blood as I continued to vomit everything in my stomach. “Is she alright?” a melodious voice asked. I saw the green-blue scales inch away from sickening pool. I felt really bad about that. “I believe so, Sarff Fawr,” replied Sombra. “At least, I hope she is. Are you alright, fy un bach I?” He pulled me from the railing to which I had affixed myself with a death grip. He wrapped me in his wings and started to purr. That somehow helped with my upset stomach. “So why are you all the way out here, fy un bach I?” Sombra whispered in my ear with a smile. I laid my head back onto the fluffy purring chest and looked up to find the alicorn wearing a new expression that was possibly a cross between suppressed humor and sympathy. And at this moment, I wasn’t sure I liked it. “I was trying to rescue you!” I groaned. Another bout of nausea came over me. To keep from spewing the contents of my stomach onto the alicorn, I tried to escape the confinements Sombra had put upon me, but to no avail. I started gagging. Red magic covered me, and I stopped feeling sick altogether! Instead, I felt as though I was by a warm fire drinking hot chocolate. And, now I wanted hot chocolate. “Trying to rescue me from what?” Laughter was heavily present in his voice. “As you can see, at the moment I do not need any rescuing. But if I am truly in trouble, I will call on someone as brave and strong as you, fy un bach I. Is that okay?” He pulled out his most charming smile. And it was effective. “Fine. As long as you don’t space out in the middle of battle,” I waved off his smile. He looked confused. “I do not ‘space out.’ What on Harmony’s green world are you talking about?” he asked indignantly. I tried once again to get out of his cocoon, but he pulled me right back in. Grr… Sombra, didn’t you see I was getting way too hot here? No? Great. “There are times when you look at me and you space out. It is rather funny, but at the same time it can become really annoying. Like yesterday… Oh… ah… um…” “What happened yesterday?” he inquired. “You… the alicorns… A’stavera… what happened to them? All I remember is them preparing to attack, and you… was A’stavera really there? And how did I get on a boat? My getting sick is your fault because you put me on a boat! How long was I asleep? And another thing…” Before I knew it, I got a mouthful of feathers to my face and was graced with Sombra’s deep laughter. “Slow down, fy un bach I. I will tell you everything in the cabin. But, right now, I have things to discuss with Sarff Fawr. Then I will answer your questions. Is that alright?” He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head back. “Fine.” “Good.” He smiled as he gently put me down. He walked over to the water serpent and started to talk again in the language that I didn’t understand. The words he spoke sounded like musical notes. And the serpent replied back with melodic tones. It sounded like one of those traveling bands I used to listen to as a filly before the alicorns banned them. It was beautiful. The water serpent nodded its head and dove into the water. Sombra walked over to an orange earth pony wearing a tri-cornered hat and talked quietly with him. Then Sombra came back smiling. Red magic encased me and lifted me up, depositing me on Sombra’s back. He tromped down the stairs toward that infernal hallway. I noticed, riding on his back, that he had a picture on his back. It was of a silver tree with a six-pointed star at the juncture of the trunk and its eleven branches. All of the branches were draped in willow switches with white jewel leaves. But five of the branches had different colored jewels. The jewels were the colors of Harmony, all present except purple. What struck me as odd was that there were a sun and a moon sitting underneath the six-pointed star. All in all, it was a pretty picture. “Hey, Sombra, what’s the tree?” I asked as I bounced along to his paces. “Hmmm… What do you mean, fy nghariad bac?” Sombra asked as he ducked through the doorway. I managed to duck in time to slide in under the doorframe on his back. “That’s a new nickname.” “Is it?” “Yes, it is. But back to my earlier question. What’s with the tree on your back?” I asked as we entered the room. “Oh, that. Well, that is my cutie mark. Do not ask me how Harmony came up with that name. I suppose the name got on my nerves, so she stuck with it. She does that a lot… Well, anyway, you need some food in your belly and some sleep. Now, do not give me that look.” “What look? And what’s a cutie mark?” I was so lost. “A cutie mark shows the world what your destiny is. And mine is to be the guardian of this world and the next.” He said this as he slowly removed me from his back and softly placed me on the bed. He magically created some type of soup. When I asked what it was, he said it was clam chowder. I watched Sombra tidy up the room as I took a tentative bite. Not bad! He was humming an upbeat catchy tune. While he cleaned (it seemed he was always cleaning something, the stubborn stallion), I noticed a prettily wrapped box. I thought to myself, ‘Must open!’ In hindsight, maybe I should have asked before I ripped open the box. Unfortunately, when there’s a box in pretty paper, I have always been compelled to open it! Sombra chuckled as he watched me tear open the box. When I opened the box, a cloud of navy sparkly glitter shot in my face. Blah! Whoever invented this stuff needed to be stabbed, just saying! Even worse, some of it got in my mouth. I was going to be picking this stuff out of my mane for weeks! It didn’t help that my alicorn master was hooting and hollering and rolling on the floor. He even wiped tears from his eyes! What a jerk! I was in pain because of the glitter that had invaded my nose and eyes, and all he could do was laugh. There was no pity in those eyes. So, I made a box of pink (hot pink, that is) glitter and dumped it on his head. He shot to his feet, sputtering. “Bleh! I got it my mouth! Gross!” Sombra shouted as he spit hot pink glitter on the floor. I made so much glitter that his mane turned pink! Now it was my turn to laugh. He looked at me with anger burning in his eyes. He really put up a good fight, trying to keep his face serious, but that lip kept quivering despite his best efforts. Finally, he gave up and joined me in laughter. We laughed and guffawed and chortled until our sides started to hurt. When we were finished, we both wiped tears from our eyes. Coincidentally, the tears got most of the glitter out of our eyes. Thank Harmony. “Alright, since you clearly opened it anyway, let’s see what’s in the box,” Sombra said after catching his breath. I smiled, and my horn flashed with magic. I pulled out a long silver chain. This chain seemed to go on for hours. But then again, I had always been a very impatient pony. At the end of this long chain was a beautifully crafted pocket watch. It was beautifully engraved with a finely detailed six-branched tree. Similarly to the alicorn’s cutie mark, at the juncture of the trunk and the tree branches was a six-pointed star set with a purple stone. I noticed an inscription written in a language that I didn’t understand bordering the edge of the watch. Then red magic floated the watch towards Sombra. “What does it say?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He squinted and hummed but did not answer my question. I crossed my front legs in impatience as I watched him study the blasted thing. I wanted to know what was inscribed on the watch. I wanted to know now! I growled at him. Unfortunately, all that did was make his lip quirk up at the corner. “Sombra, are you going to answer me?” I asked. I was growing quite irritated at the lack of answers. He just chuckled. He took the watch and stored it in one of the traveling bags that he had brought with us. I felt embarrassed when I saw my small, hole-ridden brown bag sitting beside his beautiful travel bag. His bag was black with a red border and a silver tree with red leaves expertly embroidered on the front. I was too shy to ask for a new bag, but that didn’t keep me from looking at his with envy. “Well?” “Hmm… I do not know if I should tell you what it says, considering that you dumped glitter on me. A color, mind you, which we both despise. So, as punishment for giving me art herpes, I decline to tell you what it says.” A look of triumph was evident in his eyes as he spoke. I jumped at him so I could tackle him, but the blasted stallion evaded my attempts with a practiced expertise. I chased him around the room trying to get my hooves on the infuriating alicorn. Unfortunately for me, every time I got close, he would move just out of my reach. We stopped running around in circles when the floor had been covered in a thick layer of pink and navy glitter. (We won’t mention the fact that I was out of breath.) Sombra appeared to be on the verge of another laughing fit. Blast him. I shook my hide like a wet dog trying to dry itself, and a small mound of glitter fell to the floor. I resigned myself to the eventuality of picking glitter out of my mane for weeks to come. Well, my mother had always said that I needed a sparkling personality to get where I wanted to go in life. I just wasn’t sure this was what she had had in mind. “Well, as fun as that was,” Sombra said, looking around the sparkling room, “I, for one, do not want to stay in a room covered in shiny, distasteful, multiplying speckles of color. So, if you will excuse me, I shall begin to sweep up this disaster zone. Midnight, if you would hold the dustpan for me?” A broom and dustpan appeared out of thin air. My magic encased the dustpan and set about cleaning our artful mess. It took forever (and a half), but we managed to sweep most of the glitter off the bed and out of the room. We had to change the blankets just so we would not be sleeping on the stuff. Ugh… I hated glitter! I could have sworn an alicorn must have made it just to make everyone else miserable. I heard Sombra grumbling something about going to find the inventor and so he could turn them inside-out, or something along those lines. I laughed a little at this. The alicorn turned toward me and smiled. By Harmony, that smile! It could break a mare’s heart from a mile away. I smiled back, then returned to my task of sweeping a small pile of pink glitter out of the corner. Sombra walked up to me. He picked up the dustpan and magicked it away, along with the broom. He looked out the window, and I followed suit. The sun was setting on the horizon, and I thought I saw a white speck at the corner of the sun. But I brushed it off as part of my imagination. “It is time for bed,” he murmured as he looked out the window. “I’m still hungry,” I whined. “Little Star, there is nothing here for you. That is, unless you want to eat that glitter. In that case, be my guest.” “Never mind.” He turned to me. When he did, his red eyes pinned me to the floor. I swore, I would never understand what spell he had cast to make me feel so firmly glued to the wood floors. It was rather reassuring, though, and I silently wished it wouldn’t stop. Red magic encased me, lifting me off the floor. Blankets were drawn back as I was tucked into bed. My eyelids became five pounds heavier when my head touched the pillow. As I drifted off, I was sure I heard Sombra say something, but I was too tired to pay attention. My dreams that night were not a pleasant experience. Ω ΩSombraΩ I left Midnight sleeping in our room. As fun as the glitter fight was, I had more important issues with which to contend. I went down to the galley, weaving in and out among boxes until I finally made it to the back. A cage was sitting there. In it was a bloodied alicorn, shackled to the floor. Her pink-red coat was riddled with deep gashes and cuts. A’stavera’s pink eyes flashed in fear as she saw me walk up out of the shadows. I smiled cruelly at the pathetic equine as I watched her tremble. “Now, let us try this again. Tell me everything I want to know.”