//------------------------------// // Creation of Darkness // Story: All Hail, Midnight Sparkle! // by MisterEdd //------------------------------// It'd taken them some time, but the band of ponies-and one dragon-had managed to traverse the Everfree Forest relatively unnoticed by the beasts that lurked in its gloom. In all honesty, they all felt that the umbrum leading them was ten times as scary as anything they could encounter on their journey. At least the various monsters in the forest were just deformed animals looking for their next meal or protecting their territory. After dealing with the grootslang, which had become quite docile post-gem removal and was easily corralled into a nearby ditch, they turned back around and resumed their quest, traveling to the place where their adventures together first started. What none of them wished to acknowledge was that it could very well be the same place where their adventures could end. Applejack sat in between Sombra's shoulder blades, her claws gripping either side of his neck in order to stabilize herself. The sensation was, simply put, downright weird. She was used to walking under her own power, easily trotting across the dirt or leaping over fields. Instead, she had stubby legs that she was still learning how to use properly and due to her small size, had to be carried on top of the stallion in order to keep up with the others. Now she knew how Spike felt. Rainbow Dash wiped her brow. "Can we take a break? We've been walking forever!" Sombra, however, refused to break his stride. "We're nearly there. Come along, Dash." "Come on Sombra, one li'l ole break ain't gonna hurt nopony," Applejack reasoned. Pinkie Pie held up a paper bag that she didn't have a minute ago. "I've got cookies." After a short beat, Sombra relented and lowered himself to his haunches, allowing Applejack to stumble onto the ground. "Very well then. Five minutes, and then we're gone." "Thank Goodness," Rarity mumbled as Spike set her onto a nearby log, her forelegs resting on top of her new cane. "As comfy as Ap-Spike's back is, it's not doing my neck any favors." Spike rubbed one of Rarity's shoulders. "Are you okay, Rarity?" "Much better, Spikey-Wikey. Thank you. Oh, how dreadful it is to be old." "Well you're timeless to me," Spike beamed, which Rarity reciprocated, albeit closed-lipped. Rainbow groaned and lifted Flutterfoal out of the baby sling. "How're you holding up, Flutters?" Flutterfoal shrugged and made a so-so gesture with her hoof. "Great. Just hold on. We're going to fix this." The filly nodded and gave her a big grin. "Cookie time, yay," Pinkie said, passing around cookies and miniature milk cartoons. As the group settled into a small semi-circle, Applejack couldn't help but notice Sombra had made no move to join them. Whether it was due to his own personality or uncertainty of their relationship, she didn't know but figured it wouldn't hurt to extend an invitation. She strode up to him and cleared her throat. "Ya okay there, Sombra?" "I'm fine." He lacked the usual shortness in his voice, sounding more distantly formal but polite. "Would ya like somethin' t' eat?" Applejack asked, holding up a cookie. Sombra eyed the treat, lifting it up with a red aura before taking a sizable bite. "Thank you, Applejack." "Muh pleasure." "Hey...Sombra? Could I ask you something?" The umbrum turned to Spike. "I suppose." "Erm, earlier you said something about dealing with eidolons before." All conversation died, everyone's eyes now directed towards Sombra. "What did you mean by that?" Sombra turned away and then turned back. "I doubt it's a tale you'd like to hear." Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof. "Please, we've fought Discord, Nightmare Moon, comic book villains, diamond dogs and changelings. A scary story is nothing!" "If you insist..." "We do, we do," Pinkie nodded slowly. Drawing in air through his nostrils, Sombra released a heavy sigh. "Very well then." ~*~ The Frozen North was in a state of serenity, the rampant blizzards and thrashing winds having decided to inexplicably take the day off, allowing the lone pony to traverse the bone-white fields undisturbed. King Sombra marched through the snow, his stress-lined face as cold as the wastes but his red eyes burning hotter than the flames of the Dragonlands. Normally he would be accompanied by some of his mind-controlled guards but this was a private matter, one that he would attend to alone. Following the ordeal with Garnet, Sombra decided that he needed a distraction and this would serve nicely. Besides, it'd been too long since he'd last seen his home, his real home. "Shortly after my conquest of the Crystal Empire, I'd felt as though my revenge was complete. Those responsible for my kinds' fate had been punished and yet there was an old feeling of incompletion in my soul. Studying the darkest of texts, I poured over necromantic rituals so that I could inform my parents of my triumph and allow their spirits to finally rest." The king's signature red curved horn flashed with green and black energy, its aura mimicking the signaling of a firefly as the umbrum searched the horizon. He knew that it was in this direction, both from his location charm and his own memory. He paused a few times, his single-minded goal keeping him going. Sombra gulped, his throat aching with dryness. He was afraid of revisiting the site but was determined to see it through. "I'd decided to relocate the remains of my old village and enact the ritual there. What a fool I was." His horn's glowing intensified, releasing a soft ringing sound. A few minutes later, he made it over a small hill and approached some knee-high stone walls half-buried in the snow. This was it. Sombra's stomach twisted into knots, his chest constricting with anxiety and his limbs trembling. His every step felt heavier than iron, memories flooding his mind like a deluge the more he drank in his surroundings. He could almost hear the shrieks of youthful laughter, the chatter in the town square and the clanging of hammers in his father's forge. For the briefest of instances, the villages halls and huts were no longer burnt, splintered remains but tangible dwellings, its inhabitants walking around as if nothing had happened. Sombra's flesh tingled at the onset of wetness on his cheeks and shook his head angrily, chastising himself for being so emotional. Now that he was king, he needed to show better control. Swiping away a thin layer of snow, Sombra went to work crafting the glyphs, slowly drawing them onto the dirt. He paid no mind to his racing heart as the last glyph was finished and connected to the others in an unbroken circle. Sombra charged his horn, magical energies flowing along every part of his body. Snow and dust swirled around Sombra's hooves, his mane and cape fluttering in as the air crackled with eldritch power. The glyphs seared and smoked, emanating a burning red hue as the dark spell took effect. Black streaks were yanked from various parts of the village, smacking and colliding into each other as they gathered within the magic circle. It coalesced into an oily, solid mass that soon towered over Sombra. Sorrow and fury radiated off of it, scaring even Sombra with the intensity of its emotions. A multitude of whispers chattered all at once, belonging to different ages and genders. Despite the mass' lack of eyes, it stared directly at Sombra, all the while the voices continued. "The pain..." "Put out the flames before they-..." "To the last stallion-..." "Hilde, no!" "Betrayers! Murd-..." The mass' middle rippled, slowly forming a vaguely pony-shaped face. "Sombra? It's been so long..." The stallion's heart dropped at the familiar tone. "Mother?" "Yes, my sweet sonur," the voice confirmed. "We have missed you..." "'We'?" Another face appeared alongside the first. "Our child has come home at last." Sombra took a step forward. "Father?" "Aye, lad. It's been so long. We hoped you would've come sooner." More and more faces stretched out of the black quagmire, a chorus of voices joining them. "You can set us free..." "The crystal ponies must pay..." "Justice will be swift..." "All will suffer..." "Avenge us..." "Nothing will stand in our way..." Sombra tried to back away but his limbs refused to obey him. "Join us, Sombra," all of the umbrums chanted in unison. "We feeeeeeel your desire for vengeance. Your righteous fury. Merge with us...become one with the Darkness..." Regaining control, Sombra turned and fled, hoping to get away from the abomination as quickly as possible. Something grabbed his hindleg, forcing him to smack into the ground and pulling him through the snow. An arm had formed and was wrapped around his leg like a tentacle, several more arms twisting out of the mass. Two more seized him, coiling around his other hindleg and midsection with an iron grip. All of the faces bore toothless grins. "Join us...we will have everything..." "Let go of me!" Teleporting a few feet away, Sombra watched the mass shift into a more equine form, its eyes white pits of emptiness. A twisted horn and a pair of wings appeared, making it resemble a shadowy alicorn. Spreading its dark wings, the creature advanced, breaking free of the magic circle, the now-useless glyphs sputtering and dying. Sombra could only remain stationary as the horrid thing grinned at him through a mouthful of black fangs. "You cannot hide," it gargled. "Let us be one..." Sombra fired a magic beam at the creature, ripping through its chest. The creature chuckled, the hole immediately mending itself. He aimed for the head, blasting away half its face only for the same result to occur. Sombra ducked to avoid a black energy missile and raced towards the exit, taking stock of his situation. This thing could control darkness like him and was comprised of three-hundred demented umbrum souls, all of whom were crying for bloody revenge and wanted to fuse with Sombra in a forcibly symbiotic relationship. This was going to be a problem. "Ssssombraaaa....!" A patch of snow exploded next to him, the impact knocking him off his hooves. He rolled and, swerving his head to avoid a sharp stone, collided with an old spinning wheel, shattering the burnt out husk. Pieces of wood stabbed into his back but Sombra ignored it, instead placing all of his focus on the shadowy creature shambling towards him. Whatever this thing was, it was not getting a hold of him. Purple smoke erupted from Sombra's eyes, a low snarl rumbling from his mouth at the sight of the being that dared to make a mockery of his people's memory. "BEGONE DEMON!" Sombra roared, his horn erupting with a violent flash. A swirling black and red cloud appeared above the creature, red particles flaking off of it as a small cyclone swirled out of the center. The creature frantically clawed at the ground, its hooves converting into talons in an attempt to anchor itself but it was no use. It howled in three hundred voices as it was yanked and sent hurtling through the portal, vanishing into thin air. Drawing in several breaths, Sombra collapsed onto his back, both physically and emotionally drained. "I don't know where I sent the beast, only that it was far away from me." ~*~ Sombra stared into the distance, his features speaking volumes of his anguish. Everyone stared at him, not a single one of them daring to say a word, not that anything could be said. Pinkie's face was partially concealed behind her straight veil of hair, the only sign of any emotion being the twin trails of tears racing down her cheeks. Spike rubbed Rarity's back soothingly while Applejack sniffled and scratched at her eyes. Even Rainbow was visibly affected by Sombra's story, her mouth left slightly ajar, her magenta eyes misting over. "I never went back there," Sombra finished painfully. "Sometimes I wonder if their shades remained in the village and I merely aided in giving them a more tangible form or if I pulled them away from paradise and crammed them into a shell of loathing. Perhaps it was punishment for my selfishness." Flutterfoal let out a sobbing squeal and buried her face into Rainbow's chest. "So...why didn't ya look fer it?" Applejack wondered. "It was no longer my concern. The fact is, that thing was away from me and that's all that mattered." Spike raised a hoof. "But if it was really that powerful, then it could've gone after some innocent ponies." Sombra considered this briefly. "Perhaps it did. However, other ponies don't matter to me, not then, not now." "What? How can you say that?" Rainbow pointed accusingly at him. "That's a bunch o' horseapples," Applejack declared defiantly, arms folded across her chest. "Yer spouting two-talking nonsense." A flicker of surprise momentarily registered on Sombra's face. "What did you say?" "I read inna newspaper about uh 'living shadow' that saved uh family from uh mugger. We both know who that was." "That," Sombra snapped before composing himself, "Was a momentary lapse in judgment." "Lapse in judgment mah hoof! Er, foot!" "Regardless, it was a mistake. I reserve concern only for myself and those close to me. You can't seriously expect me to care for each and every living thing in Equestria." "Why not? It's what we do!" Rarity asserted. "We help ponies and other creatures if they need us." "And that is the issue." Sombra rose to his full height. "This modern age is too soft...too comfortable. Ponies flock to Princess Celestia or you to fix all of their problems. They don't have to struggle to get what they need. You're teaching them to depend on others to solve everything for them." "But what about Nightmare Moon? Or Discord?" Spike brought up. "Somepony had to stop them." Sombra gave him a pitiful shake of his head. "And that's fine but you seriously can't expect me to believe that all of you will make a real difference. Good and evil, light and dark, you're all just spokes in a giant wheel. You're beloved by the masses today but what happens should one or all of you fail in your duties? The public will turn on you, despite all you've done for them. You can play hero as much as you want but at the end of the day, the wheel just keeps turning forever." Before anyone else could jump in, Sombra turned and began to trot away. "We've rested long enough. Let us get going." Reluctantly, one by one, they all began to follow his lead and the rest of the journey was filled with silence.