//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Sombra's Story 
// Story: Before the First 
// by foxfyre2 
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	Meanwhile, Sombra sat gazing out the window of his cart, thankful that the blizzard was out there and not in here. The gentle ruffles from the train tracks and the steady howling of the wind rushing past the inconsistencies on the train lulled Sombra into a drowsy state. He tossed and turned and mumbled in his sleep. “But where are you going? How long am I going to be here by myself? You can’t leave me!” The steward appeared and shook his majesty out of his daze.
“Sir, are you alright? You were dreaming and you nearly fell right out of your seat.”
“I’m fine, thank you. How much longer until we arrive at the first stop?”
“I’d say it should be just another ten minutes. Are you certain that you wish to depart from there? The storm is bad and the forest is dangerous.
“Yes I’m certain. What I seek is an answer that no pony can give to me. If it is alright with you, I would like to be alone with my thoughts.”
“Very well, sir.” And with that, the steward took his leave of the king. Several minutes passed by and Sombra’s train came to a halt at a small shack nearly buried in snowdrift. “This is it, sir, the first and only stop in the Everfree Forest.” Sombra thanked the steward and stepped out into the biting snow. His first thought was to knock on the shack and see if anypony was home, but the sight of the thing gave itself to believe that it hadn’t been occupied in years. He turned around just to see the caboose disappearing behind a wall of snow.
“I guess it’s now or never… literally.” He faced away from the train tracks with the wind at his side. He pulled a mask around his head and refastened a scarf around his neck. With one last sigh, he set off. Deeper and deeper into the forest he wedged himself.
You may be asking me, where is he going? I thought he was lonely so who is he going to find in the Everfree Forest? Yes, he is lonely, but more so, he is looking for a family.  Not just any family, but his own. Have patience and you will find out.
The trees around him grew dense and increasingly eerie as he pressed on. The sliver of the moon appearing now and then grew fainter and fainter. Sombra walked on steadily, his ears perked and listening intently. There was a crackling noise resounding from the trees. For a moment he thought he glimpsed a twig scurrying past him, but it was so dark that he thought his mind was playing a trick on him. On he walked. “I must be getting close. It’s getting darker and I’m losing my bearing.” Suddenly Sombra found himself face down in the snow. Something caught his leg. He struggled to free himself but it held fast. A short burst of red haze shot down from his horn to his foot and he was free. Sombra lit up the area with his horn and beheld dozens of branches and vines extending towards him. He took off like – well, he took off like you, Rainbow Dash – off to escape the danger. Twice he nearly tripped, but shear adrenaline kept him upright. He burst forth into a clearing, safe from the trees… for now.
He turned away from the forest and what next he glanced upon nearly startled him. There he stood at the edge of a bubbling marsh, oddly not frozen like the rest of the forest. Directly in the middle of the swamp sat three large columns. Sombra knew for sure that he had found the place, the resting spot of The Elders. 
He carefully leapt between rotting logs and rocks sticking out of the marsh. He finally stood on solid earth after much effort and near slips. He approached the three pillars and bowed before them. His horn began to glow and the space around him lit up spectacularly.
“We are The Elders. Who is it that dares face us? Speak now and recognize your fate.”