//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: A New Enemy // Story: Sombra’s Interesting Quest // by Badguy400 //------------------------------// “What are we gonna do?! We’re doomed!” Poundcake said as he’s hyperventilating... . (Before the story resumes; I forgot to mention that King Sombra has telported them to the train station. Now; onto the rest of the story... ). Pumpkin Cake; not wanting to get caught. And not wanting to hear her brother hyperventilate anymore; has decided to put a hoof to his mouth, and shushed him. “Quiet!” she began to whisper. “Do you want us to get caught?!” Poundcake shook his head no, and pointed to his covered muzzle. With that; Pumpkin Cake has put her hoof away from her brother’s mouth, and then says; “exactly!” After what seemed like hours; despite it being just a few minutes; King Sombra has returned to the group; (after scouting the area whilst in shadow fog form), and brings the group some bad news... . Before he could get to that; Cozy Glow asks; “well...? What is it?” With that; King Sombra said; “I was getting to that”, and cleared his throat. “Okay... . I got some good news, and some bad news. What news do you wanna hear first? Poundcake reluctantly raised his right forehoof, and asked; “the bad news first...?” Sombra nodded, then says; “well... . The bad news is that all of Ponyville is filled to the brim with bandits; aside from the train station we’re at.” Pumpkin Cake nodded, and then asks; “and the good news? What’re they?” Sombra says; “oh”, and handed out some baggage. “These are your supplies. They’ll have everything we need in order to survive this journey. Tirek?” Tirek putted a hand in front of himself, and then points to his back; which surprisingly already has a backpack strapped to him, and says; “no thanks; I’m good.” Sombra; surprised and intrigued as to how Tirek was prepared; blantly says; “good job. But... how’d you get all that stuff? And where?” Cozy Glow cleared her throat, and then says; “it was me... . You’re welcome.” Sombra then said; “nice”, and pats Cozy on the head. She giggled at that gesture, but blushes and looks down with blush on her cheeks whilst shuffling one of her backhooves that’re crossed with each other. Once Sombra looked around to see if the coast was clear; he then starts to ask; “so; anyone know how to get to the Crystal Empire without alerting the bandits?” Before neither one could answer; Cozy Glow looked shocked, and pointed behind Sombra; “Uuh, Sombra? Who’s that?” Before he could have a chance to respond to her question; he was struck in the back of the head, and knocked out cold. Having to have saw what struck him; Cozy Glow and the others backed away whilst Tirek and Pumpkin Cake used their magic to bring King Sombra close to them. Without missing a beat; Poundcake starts to ask; “uuh, guys? What do we do?” Without second thinking; Cozy Glow then shouts; “run!” and took off away from the train station following the tracks. Soon the others followed suit, and carried King Sombra off with them. With the coast now clear; they stopped to catch their breaths... . Once they caught their breaths; Cozy Glow then asks; “what was that?... . And who knocked him out?” Tirek was thinking of something, and then he responded; “no idea, but he looked important... . I saw his insignia on his chest... . It looked to be an eye in an amulet. But I have no idea what that could mean exactly... .” King Sombra then woke up, rubs the back of his head, and then says; “that insignia was a symbol for one of the greatest bandit groups known to this world: The Eye of the Horizon.” The others looked shocked, but then Cozy Glow; whom isn’t shocked at all, and mostly confused, asks; “what kind of name is that?” Sombra sighs, and then begins to explain; “it used to be a band of soldiers who used to work for Princess Celestia... . Back then they were called the Call of the Phoenix... . Their insignia was different too. Instead of an eye; it was the sun itself shining everywhere; along with a Phoenix in its shining glory... .” The others said; “woah”, in unison, and gestures for King Sombra to continue. King Sombra then continued; “Now that they were decommissioned; these guys had no choice but to resort to banditry and vandalism for a living... . And to possibly make a profit out of it too... .” Poundcake got confused, and asked; “wait... . If they were the good guys, and they resorted to villainy... . Then why in Equestria would they ever wanna be bandits in the first place? Why can’t they just do an easy job to help make a living?... . That’s what I would’ve done; if I was one of them... .” Sombra sighs, and then says; “true kid... . But then again; they’re not known for “soft jobs”. Once they were tasked with doing something awful back then; they took it. And oh boy did they do it well... .” Pumpkin Cake started to whimper, but then asks; “but why? They’re good; right? So why are they doing this?... .” Sombra sighs again, then says; “let’s just say that there’s some things that just simply can’t be explained... okay?” Defeated; Pumpkin Cake whines, then says; “okay”, before moving close to King Sombra and leaning against him for comfort. With that; King Sombra then wrapped his shadow hand around Pumpkin Cake, and gave her a hug. “I’m sure that you’ll be fine”, he commented. After what seemed like hours; Poundcake got up, and then said; “well; I’m bored. Where should we go now?” Thinking; Tirek had an idea, and proposed; “why don’t we go to the Everfree Forest?... . Grogar’s lair hasn’t even been touched since we defeated him... . So I say we go there, and ensure that we will win this; right? Albeit once we come with a plan first of course... yeah.... .” Sombra; approving of this proposal; says in agreement; “it’s a deal... .” But then stops in his tracks and says; “but wait... . How are we gonna make it there without the bandits spotting us?” All of the others thought for a minute, before Cozy Glow got up and raised her hoof. With being picked by King Sombra; Cozy Glow got in front of everyone, and proposed; “I’d say we go to the Everfree Forest by magic; huh? What do you say?” Sombra nodded, but then said; “I guess so... . But how’re we gonna do that without getting caught before we teleport?” Out of nowhere; Queen Chrysalis teleported in front of their eyes, and got ready for a fight with some bandits by aiming her crossbow at the nearby ones. Before anyone could say anything, she then starts to say to them; “no time to explain; just go.” Sombra; worried about his friend, says; “but chrysy?...”. Without a moment to spare; Chrysalis interrupted and shouts; “go!” before preparing to fight off the bandits, and fired off a bolt; which struck a bandit in the head, and knocked them out cold... . With time to spare; the others got up, and left to the Everfree Forest; leaving the once changeling queen, behind to fend for herself so they can be safe... . Once they made it to the forest, and checking to see if the coast was clear, Cozy Glow; also worried about her friend, says; “we gotta go back! They’ll hurt her...”. Sombra sighs, and then says; “I know kid... . But we can’t right now. She gave us an order, and we have to follow it; okay? Besides...”. Sombra kneeled down to Cozy’s level, and says; “...if we hadn’t fled when she ordered us to; we’d most likely have been captured by the bandits like her, or worse; perish.” Cozy Glow gulped; having just heard of the thought, and says; “you’re right... . I’m sorry.” Sombra patted her head, and says; “no worries... . Now then... where is the lair?” Tirek; lost for words, says; “I forgot... .” Sombra facepalmed, and then said; “you what?” Tirek then explained; “I’m sorry okay? It’s been so long since I’ve been a statue... . You gotta give me time; honest... . You gotta give me a chance; please... . You just gotta... .” Cozy Glow; not wanting to hear anymore of Tirek’s begging, says; “alright, enough! We’ll give you time to think about it. But hurry up... .” Cozy Glow then looked behind the group, and says; “...because I have a feeling that Chrysalis attacking those bandits was no joke... . And that this won’t be the last time we’d ever see her, or those bandits again... .” Pumpkin Cake turned to look at Cozy Glow, and asked; “how can you be so sure?... .” Cozy Glow then turned to face her, and says; “because; like those yetis in our last adventure; those bandits are just the beginning... . Trust me... .” Tirek; not wanting to waste anymore time says; “alright; here goes nothing... “ and starts thinking as to where the lair is... .