//------------------------------// // Chapter 14~ // Story: Sombasi, Brother of Sombra // by Pomp-Neigh //------------------------------// A crowd of crystal guards, mares and stallions of all types making up the pastel-colored masses, are gathered around the ‘junior division’ arena Olstrom, Sombra, and Sombasi once inhabited.  But now, the brothers watched the spectacle unfolding within the arena with ‘front-row seats’ as Olstrom and his opponent stood short distances away from one another.  A wooden sword is suddenly tossed toward Olstrom via his opponent’s magical brown grasp while simultaneously wielding their own. But the saddle arabian made no effort to catch the weapon, and it fell onto the dirt, causing an updraft of dust. “Olstrom Shattershield! How about we have a spar of our own? Yes, those two colts would certainly learn a lot from our battle. What say you?” The audience silently waited in excitement and anticipation as Olstrom looked down upon the wooden weapon mere inches away from his left forelimb. He then locked eyes with his opponent, sincere in his next decision. “No.” A gust of wind passed by, and stunned faces formed amongst the observers. “What?!” Olstrom’s red unicorn challenger seethed, their dark-brown tail and mane shaking via the anger flowing throughout their form. “What do you mean, ‘No’?!” “Exactly what it entails.” Olstrom scanned his surroundings, ears picking up the disappointed murmurs of the audience. But then his eyes rested on Sombra and Sombasi located at the base of a nearby panel of the corral, the elder sibling just so happening to intake a greedy amount of air. “Hey!” Sombra bellowed, eyes narrowed and focused on Olstrom’s opponent. He had meant to scold the unicorn for their blatant disrespect to royalty, one who hails from an allied nation, no less.   “You can’t do that! Princess Amore wouldn’t stand for such disrespect!” Unfortunately, the young colt’s words were overshadowed by the talkative masses, all while Sombasi’s ears picked up the sounds of nearby guards placing bets on which challenger would be the victor. Naturally, most were in favor of their fellow crystal guard. However, Sombra’s exclamations were quickly deciphered by Olstrom, having read the young equine’s lips before turning back to his challenger. “I do not wish to partake in your challenge,” he said, hazel eyes resting on the unicorn before him.  “You spineless coward!” “Speak your insults; it changes nothing. That said, I do wish to know your name, my fellow saddle arabian.” The unicorn saddle arabian was taken aback by Olstrom’s words. “H-how did you…?” “You’re much taller than the average pony,” the prince answered. “And seeing as you lack the shimmering coat of a crystal pony, despite residing here in the empire, it leads me to believe that your parents are likely an equestrian unicorn and a saddle arabian. Is that right?” Olstrom’s opponent momentarily held their bafflement until their features morphed into a scowl. “That’s right!” they barked. “And I’m proud of that!” stomping a forelimb, the crimson challenger raised their head up high. “My name is Hoo’Far Wanderer, the Second.” “Hoo’Far?” the name sent ripples through Olstrom’s memories, albeit foggily. “That name…why does it-” “Sound familiar?!” Hoo’Far roared and snarled. “It certainly should be, Shattershield.” he spat in disgust. “When I first heard of your coming, I couldn’t wait to take advantage of such a prime opportunity.”     Olstrom inhaled deeply, although his mind still dug through his memories—that name… it pulled at his psyche. “Listen, Hoo’Far… my presence clearly displeases you, although I’m genuinely confused as to why. But there are better ways to deal with this. Come. Let us leave this arena and converse in a civilized manner.” With those words, the sounds of displeasure cried out from the audience, save for Sombra and Sombasi.  “Aww, come on!” “I never got to see a saddle arabian in action before!” “Welp, that was a waste of my break…” “Horseapples. What a letdown.” Hoo’Far grits his teeth in seething anger and frustration, eyes narrowed as if trying to pierce through Olstrom with visual prowess. “How dare you…” he muttered scornfully. “How dare you!” The furious unicorn charges forth, horn alighted while preparing to strike at Olstrom with the wooden weapon held within his magical aura. He roars out and performs an overhead, downward slash, only for Olstrom to sidestep in a collected motion. Hoo’Far slightly careens past Olstrom but digs his hooves into the dirt, halting in place, and instantly shoots out his hind legs in an attempt to buck at the saddle arabian. But Olstrom dodges and swipes a foreleg sideways, brushing his opponent’s strike aside before jumping backward and swiftly picking up the wooden sword Hoo’Far had thrown out earlier. Hoo’Far regains his stance following Olstrom’s defensive counter, turning in place to face the Prince of Saddle Arabia. A grin forms on the unicorn’s muzzle as he sees Olstrom shift into a combative stance, his right forelimb crossing his chest region while wielding his wooden weapon sideways.   “Perfect! Make this more fun for me, Shattershield!” “As if you gave me a choice…” The unicorn hybrid laughs and once again charges forth. Hoo’Far smirks along the way as he molds an imitation of his wooden weapon out of pure, brown magic energy. Of course, he made sure that it wasn’t life-threatening. He despised the Shattershields, certainly, but he wasn’t a murderer.   -Ah, yes.- Olstrom began in thought during his opponent’s approach. -The ability to form weapons entirely out of magic. It’s a rare trait and often difficult to pull off, yet he seems to have disciplined himself thoroughly. Impressive.- he then kicks off and matches his opponent’s charge, powerful muscles propelling both challengers forward. -Unfortunately, Hoo’Far, you’re not the first one to use this trick against me.-    The combatants soon close the distance, and roars of enjoyment erupt from the crowd as Sombra and Sombasi’s muzzles had long since felled. Hoo’Far prepares to swipe his dual weaponry in a near-scissor-like fashion, but Olstrom suddenly throws his weapon with calculated force at a particular target. -And you won’t be the last.- Hoo’Far’s eyes widened in confusion. Why would Olstrom throw his- the half saddle arabian suddenly cries out in pain as the thrown weapon projectile makes contact with the base of his horn, and an explosion of pain repeatedly pulsates throughout his form.   Unicorns amongst the onlooking masses, more accurately stallions, and even the dark-grey-coated colt brothers, all flinched and gritted their teeth uncomfortably. It was a widely known fact that a unicorn’s horn was fairly sensitive, and Olstrom’s actions were comparable to the one weakness that most things that call themselves male truly feared: Getting hit in the balls. Hoo’Far’s magic-comprised imitation fades away, and the stallion drops his remaining weapon while nearly falling over mid-charge and likely would’ve tumbled were it not for Olstrom’s following action. Olstrom swiftly locks a forelimb under Hoo’Far’s right forearm and jerks upward before going sideways, effectively forcing his opponent to fall onto their left side. The prince then lowers himself and pins Hoo’Far to the ground, applying some pressure to the downed half saddle arabian’s cheek with a forelimb, pushing their head further into the dirt. “Apologies for using such methods, Hoo’Far,” Olstrom said as his opponent struggled to get him off, but to no avail.  “G-get off me!” Hoo’Far shouts. But Olstrom’s strength proved to be superior. “But seeing as you used such an advanced spell against me, I think my actions were reasonable, all things considered.” Olstrom’s gaze hardens, “I didn’t want this. It was clear to me from the very start that this ‘sparring match’ would escalate unnecessarily. I don’t know why you have such great hatred for the Shattershield name, but I’ll have no part in it. I’m done.” In one fluent motion, Olstrom dismounts his opponent and stands at his full stature. He turned away, and the audience, who had gone silent in amazement and dumbfoundment, tracked his movements as the saddle arabian prince walked toward the arena’s exit. “Woah…” Sombasi said in wonder. “Th-that was…” “So cool…” Sombra comments. But the duo are suddenly drawn toward a now recovering, yet still grounded, Hoo’Far. “Wh-where do you think you’re going?!” Hoo’Far shouts. “We’re not finished yet!” Olstrom’s ears perked up, followed by a sigh escaping from his throat. “Very well.” he looked over his right shoulder, “I surrender. Victory is yours.” his head goes forth once more. “Now, if that’ll be all, I’ll take my leave.” Brief moments passed by, and Olstrom finally reached the exiting gateway. He stretched out a forelimb to grasp the gate and pry it open, only to stop in motion as he picked up his opponent’s movements from the rear. He didn’t even need to look to know what would happen next. “You stubborn foal…” he muttered in disappointment. “SHATTERSHIELD!!” Hoo’Far’s voice boomed from Olstrom’s rear, accompanied by the familiar sounds of crackling, magical energy—the clear sign sounds of a spell being charged. Nearby voices cried out from what they saw: “Hey! Somepony stop him!” “Hoo’Far! Let it go!” “Is this seriously worth your whole career?!” “You lost fair and square!” “You’re striking a PRINCE, you idiot!” “Quick! Somepony, get a barrier up!” But the words of these onlookers fell on deaf ears as Hoo’Far roars out and takes aim with an alighted horn before unleashing an energy beam of brown coloration.  The world goes into slow motion for Sombra and Sombasi. They had taken a liking to the prince, but seeing him about to be struck down before their eyes filled them with all manner of emotions. And they were knowledgeable enough to realize that this would have… repercussions.   However, all in attendance would bare witness to an event that, at least to those present, has never been seen before: Olstrom rapidly shifts his left hind leg, and in doing so, the dirt around the general vicinity of his rear section begins to shift and meld. A protective wall of earthly material is erected just before Hoo’Far’s magical outburst makes contact. The resulting collision of earth and magic cried out and graced many ears, accompanied by the aroma of scorched earth. Hoo’Far halted his attack; eyes widened in shock as they rested upon the manipulated mound of dirt and rocks that had been present beneath the arena, the wall still standing firm even after his magical assault.  “Wha… how did… th-that…” he was at a loss. In fact, every equine of all ages and genders was simply bewildered. And one question emerged in everypony's mind as if they had shared some kind of hivemind:  What, in Amore’s name, just happened…?