With the factory trip gone, school returned back to its repetitive state. They all stood in the drive of the school waiting to be let in, a massive group of students with each year being let in one at a time, the higher up in the school, the later you’d be let in. This is usually fine, unless it was like today, in which it was pouring and windy.
(“This is miserable”) Sombra complained, having given up pushing the hair out of his face.
(“You’d think they’d let you in”)
(“They’ll only complain when we leave water everywhere”)
(“Well they’ll hate me and my water trap tail”)
“You look miserable” Hope told Sombra, who looked a little less like a sea monster than Sombra with his hair hanging down his head and neck. They had been standing in the downpour for long enough that any effect of the natural shadow was completely negated by the weight of the water. Giving sombra a chance to truly understand how long his mane was.
“What are you doing?” Sombra asked as Hope who was standing up against his chest.
“Using you as an umbrella”
“Why-“
“Just grow a few more inches up and I can hide under you”
(“Congratulations, you’ve been demoted to shelter”) they stood in the rain for a little while longer until the head teacher came storming through one of the doors.
“What in Equestria are you doing?! Its chucking it down let them in Celestia dammit!” He yelled at the teacher watching them.
“But the order!”
“Fudge it! they’ll be freezing all day now!” with that he opened the doors for the hoard of drenched students to make their way into the building, motioning to the teacher to let some into the maths block, who did so begrudgingly.
As always school went by about as normal as always, they went to form, they went to first lesson. They watched Fleur and the popular girls bully some poor kid into restrained tears at break. She didn’t sit with them anymore, they hadn’t known her very long but it was odd to see how suddenly she flipped. Then when break finished they went to the next lessons and got the occasional entertainment of corridor zoo sounds. Lunch was just prolonged break and they had the joy of a returned chemistry test after (in which Sombra wished his enjoyment of the subject was mirrored in his grades) and last lesson dragged as always.
(“If it is possible to get back the rest of you, let’s make a deal to not make school in whatever way that system is”) Opal complained as he half slept on Sombra’s back, even more bored as he just had to sit there and endure what went on with no other need to be their than Sombra being there. Finally they were given freedom.
“Hey, Hope, I’m going to head back to the factory again, can you tell Velvet?”
“Who-who’s- oh right, yeah sure, why you heading back?” Hope asked.
“The boss said I was allowed back”
“Ok, mom will probably want you back before tea”
“Yeah sure” they parted ways, with Sombra heading back to the Eastern part of the empire.
(“I recommend going a longer way round to avoid getting to close to the castle, perhaps on small streets or between houses to keep you somewhat hidden”)
(“ok”) with Opal on his back to guide him, Sombra made his way through the side streets, which twisted in and out of buildings and strayed away from the empires usual straight and organised method. Just like the day before, the streets got dirtier.
Given the time, Sombra didn’t expect to see so many young foals and teens. It seemed that down the path he was heading there was more than the total population of his school, which now that he thought about, there was significantly more houses.
“Hey!” it was a young foal who stopped in front of him, with a typical young and livelier expression. Sombra simply stared at them, becoming rather aware of his intense shyness.
“Are you the umbrum that’s living in the empire?”
“Um”
“Oh sorry, come here you” the mother, who had been distracted by her other three older children, pulled the youngest away from him.
(“We should be concerned”)
(“Why?”)
(“Well if there’s news an umbrum is around here then it has most definitely reached the castle”) Sombra strained to look up over the building and through cables to look at the castle. He certainly didn’t like that idea.
(“What would be the appropriate reaction to that”)
(“Am-well definitely…a lot of words Missy wouldn’t like you knowing”)
(“What”)
(“Continue with cautionary and calm panic”)
(“That is not reassuring”) they turned onto the road with the factory entrance and Sombra tapped on the iron bars. Fortunately there was a worker near the gate to see him and let him in. He was once again bought into the sweltering building as he was lead into a new area. The worker knocked on the door, which lead into what Sombra could only assume was Big J’s office, who opened the door just as the worker was lifting his hoof up to nock.
“Heya kid”
“Uh”
“Figured you’d come back, come in kid” the room wasn’t massive, although the corridor wall was thinner than the door frame which added a little to the space. There was a simple wooden desk, with what seemed to be a hap-hazardly put together metal pencil pot. There was a shelving unit filled with binders and books, then a something sombra hadn’t seen before. A series of wooden platforms stacked atop each other and an elevated box with circle holes in. Said box had a pair of green eyes staring at him, or more specifically…
(“Oh come on, what is my luck”) Opal complained and Sombra felt him slump down into the dip of his hips.
(“What’s wrong?”)
(“Fudgin’ cat”)
“Don’t worry bout yer bird, Flops is er…pretty hopeless in terms of bein a hun’er”
“I’ve not seen a cat”
“Yer haven’? guess their not too popular in the rich streets, you’ll meet ‘er eventually” Big J grabbed some pillows stashed under his desk and chucked them on the floor. They sat down and Opal found the highest point of Sombras body to sit on, being his face.
(“Do you mind”) Sombra complained.
(“No”)
(“Do you not like cats?”)
(“Yeah I absolutely love them with every inch of my heart-NO, NO I DO NOT”)
(“Your tail still touches the floor-“)
(“Shut”)
“So, I assume you wan’ed to have a chat righ’?” Sombra simply nodded in response.
“So what ya want to talk ‘bout lad?”
“I er, have a question”
“Go on”
“If sire was here, why is he in the Colosseum?” he had thought about it last night, it bugged him through most it.
“Ah righ’, yeah so what happened was is that we told the umbrum we picked up that they could leave anytime, excep’ they didn’. They wan’ed to reform their tribes first. Some did leave but I’m not sure how far they got with guard patrols. Yer sire was one of the ones who stayed and he also planed the whole revolution, he lead it and the others followed him”
“I remember something about a howl”
“Yer sire went out to the Colosseum after some months of spreadin’ word, he knew full well that he could easily die but he genuinely hoped he would see some of his family there”
“Me and dam weren’t there that day”
“Ya managed to stay with yer dam with Amore?” Big J asked in subtle shock.
“We ate her leg”
“…oh…reasonable” there was a light fud from the corner of the room and from around the corner of the desk came what Sombra could only imagine was Flops. An absolutely fat white cat, who, like her name suggests, flopped onto Big J’s shoulder.
“Heya Flops”
“Mrrow”
(“It’s so cute”)
(“You dare”)
(“Look at it”)
(“No”)
(“I doubt it could hunt you considering it seems real fat”)
(“A fat cat can still play on element of surprise”)
(“You’re not that stupid though”)
“Anyway, er yeah yer sire I assume is resting in the Colosseum somewhere then”
“The middle”
“Righ’ then, when I get the time I’ll go pay mah respects, good stallion yer sire was. He would not shu’ up ‘bout you”
“He wouldn’t?”
“Well, no, you were his only son, but er, I also have a question…did you actually lick an icicle?”
He couldn’t see much except for ice, which was elegantly stuck to his nose. He could see the glow of the campfire around the shape and the slow drips of water sliding down the ice. There was a poke in his side and he saw Yesric teasing him.
“Maybe” he imagined he blocked out the memory entirely out of sheer embarrassment.
(“Mate…”)
“Ok, I genuinely though that only happened in me daugh’ers books”
“Oh” it didn’t help the shame. There was a silence when Flops got up from Big J’s shoulder and walked over to Sombra.
(“Get it away from me”)
(“Calm down”) Flops flopped again, then proceed to bat and swipe at the floating ends of Sombra’s mane.
(“See, she’s more interested in my hair”)
“Hey kid, why not tell me about yer tribe, your sire said a lot, but I imagine you have some extra stuff” Sombra had to delve into his mind for a while, trying to remember anything.
“Um…”
He was with his Granddam, weaving between the bustling crown of umbrum. It was night and all of them blended into the dark, the only way he could actually follow his grandam was by the slight illumination of the green and purple waves of light in the sky. They were traveling through the market, using the traded items from their own stall to buy some things for themself. His grandam lowered a fresh skewer down to him she had just bought from a stall, smearing the glaze over his mouth.
It was day, he was out with the twins on the Eyes floor after fresh snowfall. They hid behind makeshift walls they had built, rolling snow up from near buy, avoiding snowballs whizzing buy their heads. Sombra threw one and it hit another foals wall, not exactly having the strongest throwing leg. Out the corner of his eye he saw Yesqen get a ball to the flank. Their fun ended when Folre came to pick them up, in which they complained and started heading back. However, in an attempt to hit either him or the twins, a snowball hit Folre in the side of his stomach. His usual blank expression shifted into a smirk, his horn ignited and a dozen snowballs floated at his side.
“Did you ever meet your other tribe?” Big J cut asked in Sombras brief moment of thought.
“Other tribe?”
“Yer dams tribe”
“No”
“Right, just wondered since yer sire never said anythin’ either, hey er, I’ll go get a drink and some biscuits that sound good?”
“Sure” Big J stood up and walked out the door, having to force Flops to stay in the room since the ovens were still on. He was gone for ten minutes in which Flops sat and scratched the door, adding more marks to the already battered wood. Big J came back with two cups of tea and a pack of biscuits. Flops wove between his legs as he placed the tray down.
“Did you say you had a daughter?” Sombra asked him.
“Yeah, she’s in primary, she got ‘er cu’ie mark recently when she was doing up her friends mane”
“Hope keeps complaining she doesn’t have hers yet”
“She a friend of yours?”
“Yeah”
“Well some marks just take a while t’ come in, a friend of mine didn’ get his till he was in his early twen’ies” they sat and drank their tea and ate their biscuits, giving fuss to Flops as she pestered them. She leaned up on Big J trying to eat the biscuit out of his mouth and darting for any crumbs that fell.
“Nearly six huh, you should probably head on back home kid, starts getting’ dark at about eight so”
“Okay, Miss chestnut will probably panic over me anyway” they stood and made their way back down to the front door of the factory, locking Flops in the room again.
“You good t’ get back yeah”
“Yep”
“Alright lad, I’ll see yer soon” Sombra took to a trot down the street, which was significantly quieter now the school rush had ended. The sun was lowering and was half cut off by the clustered buildings.
(“Hey Opal, you mentioned an oath yesterday”)
(“Oh year that thing”)
(“What is it?”)
(“We aid our umbrum, whether it be mentally or physically, until death takes us both”) he said in a repetitive tone.
(“Did you help another umbrum before me?”)
(“Yes, she was a young mare and she was almost completely deaf from birth, she could here telepathy just fine though. I was with her for a good few hundred years until what I’m sure now is cancer took her-“)
(“So shouldn’t you be dead?”)
(“Well her dying wish was for me to break the chord and help someone else, you know, break the oath”)
(“So you did it?”)
(“Yes and then was found out, attacked and kicked out the Eye by the other Lumos with a broken wing and a ripped open chest”)
(“You don’t sound very sad about it”)
(“I’ve had many years to think”) they continued home, mostly silent, going through back and side paths once out the congested streets and into the neater ones. He entered through the back door of the house for reasons even he didn’t know but he did smell food, or specifically the herby smell of Miss Chestnuts vegetable soup. Immediately when he walked in, with only half his body in the house, did Miss Chestnut rush him down.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep”
“Did you get hurt?”
“No”
“Did anyone see you?”
“Probably”
“What do you mean probably?”
“Hi Sombra”
“Hey hope” He pushed past Miss Chestnut and sat next to Hope who had eaten most of her soup. Fortunately Sombra’s bowl was still quite warm, he assumed this was helped by the larger bowl being placed over the top of it.
“How about you let him have some form of autonomy for once” Cloud mumbled to Miss Chestnut as she sat down.
“But there’s so many things that could go wrong-“
“He’s been walking outside for a year now-“
“But that place-“
“Pretty sure he can handle himself-“
“But the crime-“
“Do you read the paper?” Sombra turned to Hope with confusion as the pair continued arguing, in which Hope mouthed “argument” to him. They sat watching and eating, in which sombra tried to eat as fast as possible to get out the situation. It resulted in him leaving a bit of soup behind and taking the rest of his bread upstairs with Hope to her room.
“They’ve been arguing on and off since I got back”
“I gathered” Sombra hid his stumble over the mess that was Hopes room with its strewn about paper and many empty candle jars. Hope lit an orange one and then flopped on her unmade bed.
“I don’t know why she doesn’t want you to go out, she’s so weirdly protective of you, every pony seems to be”
“Isn’t she just as protective over you?”
“I mean, I guess, she didn’t let me go to Fleurs house a while ago”
“Maybe she’s just a bit more protective then others”
“I guess…did you do anything at the factory?”
“The boss new my sire” Hope stared at him blankly.
“Dad”
“Oh, did you know your parents?”
“Yeah” he laid on the bed with her, albeit not being able to rest his tail comfortably and one of his hind legs half hanging off the single bed.
“Oh and the boss has a really fat cat”
“I’ve always wanted a cat”
(“Can you two NOT”)
“Opal doesn’t like cats very much”
“I guess not, since he’s a bird, how fat is the cat?”
“Very chunky, round, bit like Opal”
(“You little sh-”) Hope snorted at the site of the anger plastered all over Opals face, which her snort so conveniently covered a word slipped across the chord. They sat crumpled onto the bed as they did homework for a few hours, and decided to stay slightly thirsty if it meant not stepping hoof into the anger downstairs.