//------------------------------// // 3 - Misfortunes are Cruel // Story: Crybaby Sombra // by TheLatteDog //------------------------------// Hour Glass tossed and turned in her bed. She desperately reached out to the empty air in front of her with her ivory hooves. Her brass mane flew every which way with each flick of her head. She experienced these fits ever since getting her cutie mark last year, especially on nights before stressful events. Things like test days, project due dates, presentations, etc. It tended to be a lot of school related things, which is understandable when one was a student at the premiere magic school in the world: The Celestial School for the Gifted. With the workload put on her, she swore the teachers tried to drive her insane. Her hypothesis only gained support by the fact that she currently resided in the “madhouse,” or the dorm where the school placed all the creatures with “weird” and “out-there” magical talents. As the spinning hourglass on her flank indicated, her magical specialty was time. That wasn’t a particularly “weird” magical talent, much less “out-there.” However, it also wasn’t common and did fall into the “restricted” section of the Canterlot archives, meaning that there was no predetermined track for her to go on, meaning that she would have to sleep with the weirdos.  At least there were no boring creatures here. Since discovering her cutie mark, her magic turned erratic. Sometimes it manifested in surges and unintentional spell casts, but her current predicament was the most common and predictable way. Every so often, she would be terrorized by a vision of a future that would cause her great pain if she didn’t course correct (“great pain” being relative considering when she usually got them). However, tomorrow morning was the first day of summer break. This wasn’t supposed to happen now. She should be happy to be going home for the summer. So, what caused this episode? Hour Glass gasped; her grey eyes shot wide open. She jumped out of her bed and her eyes locked onto the clock on her nightstand.  “Oh no!” she shouted. “Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no! I don’t have much time left!” She sucked in a big breath of air.  “Okay, breathe. Calm down. The dorm is going to blow up in five minutes but calm down!” She quickly ran to her bookshelf and ripped out one of her notebooks.  “Okay, okay, let’s see,” she said to herself, trying to calm herself down while violently flipping through the pages. “Ah HA!” She placed the book down on the ground. The pages showed the notes for a short term time travel spell. “Okay, ten minutes before now should be enough,” she panicked. “Please, please work,” she muttered to herself, lighting up her horn before disappearing in a flash. The second she vanished, the fire alarms blared. Hour Glass reappeared right next to her sleeping form. She glanced at her clock. “Fifteen minutes…” She quickly threw on a pouch of sand she always wore on her neck, before bolting out the door. “WAKE UP!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, running down the halls. “WAKE UP! THE DORM IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE! THE DORM IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE!” She yelled, screamed, and banged on doors, dashing through the hallways like a mad mare. She did have a destination in mind and, soon enough, she stood in front of the dorm parent’s door.  The dorm parent was a unicorn mare named Moon Dancer. She graduated from this very school years back and now worked as a staff member. Hour Glass slammed her hoof on the door, desperately trying to get her to wake up.  “Ms. Moon Dancer!” Hour Glass yelled through the door, accompanying her distressed banging. “Wake up! It’s an emergency!” Eventually, the dorm parent did answer her calls. Moon Dancer didn’t look much different than her usual self, aside from being a bit more disheveled. She still wore her typical navy blue knitted sweater with her purple and red bangs tied so that they pointed upwards, keeping them out of her eyes. The main difference between how she looked now was mostly that her glasses sat ajar on her face. Judging by this, it was likely she fell asleep at her desk. Again.  Moon Dancer straightened her glasses and looked down at the filly, heavy bags hanging from both of her purple eyes.  “What’s the matter, Hour Glass?” she croaked out, asking her dorm child.  “I saw a vision!” “And what did it say?” “The dorm is about to blow up! We have to get everypony out right now!” “Oh. Wait, what!?” Moon Dancer shouted, her eyes popping right open. “Are you sure that was a vision?” “Yes, now hurry!” Hour Glass said frantically. “We have to get everyone out of here!” “Pull the fire alarm,” Moon Dancer ordered her. “And then get away from the building. I’ll go and ensure everyone is accounted for.” Hour Glass could only give her a nod in response before Moon Dancer rushed past her.  Hour Glass soon found a fire alarm and yanked it with all her might. She may have broken the handle doing so, but the system still blared, its shrill noise alerting the occupants to get out of the building. Hour Glass turned to run to the exit, but something inside her made her hesitate. Something didn’t feel right inside of her. If she left the building now, she would be the first one out. She knew about this danger before anyone else did. It didn’t seem fair of her to be the first to act on it only to save herself.  She had to make sure everycreature was outside first. She ran farther into the building, slamming on whatever doors she thought might have ponies behind them, and giving a (metaphorical and occasionally literal) swift kick in the rear end to get them outside. “Come on! Hurry!” she shouted to each creature she passed, trying to get them to hustle. She ran through the hallways, trying to make sure no one was left behind. Pretty soon, she reached the end of the line, or rather the end of the residents area. Realizing this, she at long last decided to make her own escape. However, a passing glance at a random wall clock was all it took to make her freeze up. Her eyes dilated like a deer in headlights. Her vision clouded over. And, in all her fourteen years of life, she uttered her first swear word. “...shit…” She crumpled up into a ball as a massive bolt of magic struck the side of the building. Night Shade and Chora giggled together as they cuddled in the afterglow of their “session.” While they definitely had “peaked” earlier, the effects of the shrooms still persisted in them. The colors still danced off the small imperfections on the flaps of the tent.  “Hey, Chora,” the colt started. “I like you.” The thestral in turn snorted. “I mean, yeah, I would hope so,” they said. “I don’t think you would hang out with me as much if you didn’t.” They snuggled closer to him, putting their head on his chest. “I like you too.” “Good.” They both let out a few chuckles. Night Shade’s expression then shifted to one of serious contemplation.  “Hey Chora,” he spoke up once more. “What are we?” “What do you mean?” Chora asked. “We’re friends, obviously.” “I don’t think friends fuck each other like we do.” “I’m sure some do.” “Hm.” Chora tittered once more while Night Shade pressed his lips together. Then, taking a deep breath, he finally worked up the courage to say what was on his mind. “Chora,” he began. “Are we partners?” The thestral put a claw up to their chin. Then another claw. Then another. After scratching it a few times with each talon, they finally gave their answer.  “We could be, heheheh.”  Night Shade chuckled once more, before finally spitting out the question he actually wanted to ask. “Do you want us to be?” “Hm,” the thestral hummed. They put their talons up to their chin again, before finally nodding their head. “Sure! Let’s do that! Can’t be any different from what we already do, right?” “Heh, yeah, you’re probably right about that.” “Are you gonna get jealous if I think another pony is hot and want to ‘see more of them?’” “Well, what if I get to them first?” “Hah! As if!” They both broke down with laughter, heaving against each other. Meanwhile, three sets of hooves stepped closer to their tents, leaving behind the two incapacitated Guards. When Hour Glass opened her eyes, she didn’t expect to see what she saw. Everything had just…stopped. Embers froze in the air. The cracking floor below her remained stable. The roof above her head held itself together. It was like the building just paused mid-explosion. “What happened?” she wondered out loud to herself. “Am I dead?” A searing pain ripped through her head. Her eyes turned upwards to the bright glow coming from her horn. “Am I doing this?” she asked no one. She picked herself off the ground and dashed over to the nearest window to her.  She could see what appeared to be thirteen creatures: six ponies, four dragons, two changelings, and the house parent, Moon Dancer. They all stopped dead in their tracks with the shock at what was happening plastered on their faces.  There are supposed to be fifteen, Hour Glass thought to herself. Another wave of pain crashed through her head, reminding her that she was currently using magic. She needed to get out of the building, and fast! Looking behind her, she saw the main staircase. A rush of flames bursted out from them, held in place by the halt of time. She figured that the fire would still feel hot, even in this frozen state. Even more pressing, she saw tiny movements in the flames, indicating time would move as normal soon. The stairs would have taken too long anyways, she thought, trying to power through the pain in her head.  She turned back to the window. Looking out of it, she understood what she had to do to have a chance at survival. She looked down and guessed that she stood at least one hundred feet up. She took a deep breath, and climbed onto the window still.  Okay, legs first, she thought. Protect your head. She braced one hoof on against her face, trying to be considerate of the chance her head hits the ground as well. Without thinking about it, she pushed herself off of the ledge. As she fell to the ground, legs out like a cat about to land on its feet, only one thought crossed her mind: This is gonna hurt. When her legs touched the ground, the only thing she heard was a snap followed by a boom. The explosion whipped her body into the air, completely drowning out her cries of pain. Then, blackness. “Alright, you degenerates, your fun time is over!” an alabaster unicorn pony with a teal mane yelled from outside Chora and Night Shade’s tent.  His baby blue eyes lit up in fury. “Come on out before we drag you out ourselves!” “Who is that?” Night Shade wondered out loud. “Doesn’t sound like anyone I know,” Chora responded. “Alright!” the pony shouted. His horn lit up and the tent tore open, leaving the newly official couple on full display to the outside world. “Times up!” “Hey!” Night Shade cried. He tried to sit up before continuing his charge. “What’s the big—” “Shut up!” The unicorn’s hoof crashed into Night Shade’s face, flinging him back down to the ground. Chora just stared in awe, wide eyed and not fully comprehending the situation.  “You’ll do as you’re told if you want to get out of this with your life. Now, get up!” Night Shade remained on the ground, his body quivering. His barrel convulsed, and his whines grew in their intensity. “Why did you do that?” he whimpered, turning back to the stallion. A cut on his face swelled where the alabaster unicorn’s hoof landed. “What did I do?” “What’s your problem?!” Chora finally called out. “I’m not talking to you, flying rat! Speak when you are spoken to!” the alabaster pony retorted.  “Flying rat, huh,” Chora growled, cracking their talons. “Flying rat? I’ll show you a flying—!” A grey unicorn with a turquoise mane standing behind them slammed a smooth yet dark stone into the back of the thestral’s head, knocking their lights out before they hit the ground.  “What the hell was that?” the alabaster unicorn complained. “I had some more to say to that flying rat!” “Maybe you did, but look at her forelegs and cutie mark,” the grey pony pointed out. His green eyes gestured to the griffon talons Chora sported and their cutie mark of an eye in the center of an eight pointed star. “She’s clearly one of those chaos beings. You really think you could take one of those?” “Doesn’t matter what she is. Still just a filly to me,” he dismissed. “Besides, taking care of the magic of powerful beings is what that stone is for.” “Don’t be idiotic—” “Chora…” Their attention turned back to the grey pinto teen colt. Fresh black tears ran down his face like the waterfall next to Canterlot. He rushed over to the limp body of his partner. “Chora!” he screamed, checking to make sure she was alive. “Chora! Chora please!” “Ay!” the alabaster unicorn shouted out. “I ain’t done with you yet!” He bucked the colt’s barrel, knocking him to the side and forcing him to ball up while he continued to sob. “What’s the matter with you!” the alabaster unicorn hollered. “What kind of colt are you, crying like that? Stallion up and face us!” Night Shade could only continue to weep. He stared at the body of his partner in front of him. He felt helpless. His mind still swirled from the drugs. That, combined with the recent impact to his stomach, forced him to vacate the snacks he had eaten from his system.  “Ugh, what a pathetic being,” the grey unicorn noted. “I have never seen such a sad display. I never would have expected it from a leftie degenerate like yourself.” “Hey guys, look!” a third unicorn with a pastel blue coat and a silvery main called out. “Check out all the stuff they were doing!” He held up the drugs and whiskey the pair had with them. “Oh,” the white unicorn said, holding the colt by his neck with his blue magic up to his eye level. “Having a party all by yourselves, huh? Well, I hope you enjoyed it, because you both are clearly beyond saving!” Night Shade could only grasp at his throat. It was the only thing he could do, besides letting the tears run down his face.  I need help, he thought. I need someone, anyone. Images of the remote rushed through his head. He needed to click the button! It was his only hope! His horn lit up suddenly, the dark magic fuming out of it. His cloak, which rested with the remains of Chora’s tent, crackled with the dark energy. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you!” the white unicorn yelled, tightening the grip on his neck. Night Shade snuffed his horn out, trying to obey the stallion that held his life in his hooves. “We were gonna kill you already, but for that, an open display of your heresy and degeneracy, I’m gonna personally make you suffer!” The unicorn choke slammed the “heretical” colt onto the ground. Night Shade gasped as the restraints to his breathing were lifted. He sputtered and coughed, barely allowing him to register the new pain that was just dealt to him. “You seem to be fond of that flying rat over there,” the alabaster unicorn said. “So, I think we’re gonna kill her first and make you watch.” “No…” he squeaked out inbetween coughs and wheezes. “Don’t…kill…them…” Magical restraints of a different color formed around him. The grey unicorn stallion stood over him, holding his entire body down to the ground in his golden magic. He then braced the black stone against the colt’s curved horn. “How about we rip her head off, like the rat she is?” the white unicorn said. He looked at the pastel blue unicorn. “Grab her bottom half!” “No!” Night Shade cried. “Don’t do this!” “Now now, kid, we’re just doing our sacred duty as rat catchers to clean up the filth from our streets.” The blue stallion took Chora’s lower half in his silver magic while the white one held their head. “Not everyone can say they’ve killed a chaos spawn, even if she was just a filly,” the white stallion said, smiling with sadistic glee. “On a count of three.” “No!” Night Shade shrieked with black inky tears pouring out from his eyes. He fought against the magical restraints. His horn began to bubble and fume again, but the stone just seemed to absorb it all like a sponge. “Stop!” “One,” the alabaster stallion counted. “Two—” The stallion’s count was cut short by what sounded like a small explosion. Under normal circumstances, that stallion would have questioned, loudly, who was interrupting them doing their “sacred duty” of cleaning filth up off the streets.  However, the white unicorn stallion in question at that point found himself missing half his face. In response to that, the stallion fell to the ground, dead.  “What the hell was that?!” the pastel blue unicorn yelled, dropping the rest of the thestral onto the ground. He whipped his head back and forth, before his eyes landed on the remains of the teenagers’ tent. There now stood a small platform with a spinning blue device. Beside it stood a yellow earth pony stallion in a blue hoodie, holding a smoking shotgun aimed in their general direction. “Owamya,” Shortie greeted with a smile. “Seems like you’re terrorizing some teenagers. That ent wosh, babs.”