//------------------------------// // Wake Up! // Story: In Sombra Cadum // by Darkryt Orbinautz //------------------------------// By Darkryt Orbinautz: In Sombra Cadam Chapter 2 Wake Up! Twilight tossed and turned in her sleep. She was having horrible, horrible dreams. They varied a little, but the menacing glare of King Sombra's demonic snout was a consistent. In the first variation, Twilight was a Crystal Pony peasant, kneeling at Sombra's hooves for him not to increase the tax or whatever evil kings do. He, of course, gave a mocking chuckle in answer to her pleas. The second was worse, thought. Much worse. In the second, she laid on King Sombra's bed. (Not that she knew what Sombra's bed look like, but whatever...) dressed in any manner of light -blue provocative clothing. Waiting for Sombra to enter the room and take her. But the third was by far the worst of the lot. In the third one, she sat on a throne besides him, dressed in elaborate black garb with a fancy fringe around her neck- not his victim, not his slave, but his just as dark and just as imposing equal. Once the unending torrent of nightmares quit trading places with one another, Twilight was confused to wake up in a white room. She looked down at her bedsheets, and from their coloration (plus that she was hooked up to an EKG machine) led to the conclusion she was in the hospital. But why? A doctor came into the room to check on her. "Oh! You're up! I bet you might be confused as to why you're here." Twilight nodded, kneading the covers' edge with her hooves. "Well, your assistant found you lying on the floor. Your friends didn't know what was going on, so they brought you here. None of our staff could find anything wrong with you, so we're just going to let you go in a minute. Excuse me." He left the room, leaving Twilight alone with only the EKG machine for company. As the beep-beep-beep of the EKG assailed her eardrums and gave her a headache, Twilight suddenly saw a vision come to her. The image of the worst nightmare- herself standing imperiously by Sombra's side- but with a small, slight twist. There was no Sombra sitting next to her. Just her and her alone on her throne. She could do it. She could rule an empire, couldn't she? It was a lot of work for one pony, but she had excellent organization skills. Beep-beep-beep. Twilight was starting to wish the EKG's pounding beep would go away. It really was giving her a headache. Beep-beep-beep. "Can you be any quieter?" Twilight asked of the machine stupidly. The machine wasn't going to give her an answer! Beep-beep-beep. "Be quiet!" Twilight hissed, her patience broken, She fired a spell off at the machine with the intent to shut it up so she could heal from her headache. As her spell hit her target, Twilight noticed her magic was green instead of it's usual red-to-purple color. She also noticed the black, jagged crystals that were Sombra's trademark crawling over the machine like the penultimate stage of an infectious disease. Twilight put her hoof over her mouth in horror. Her immediate thoughts were what he doctor would say if he came back in and saw the mess she made. Fear of being abandoned and worry over her self-image overrode her better judgement, and she bolted out the covers and dashed out the room, galloping as fast she could for the exit. She narrowly avoided steamrolling a nurse, but she got out. Now that she was outside the hospital, her mind calmed down a little. She realized that what she just did was probably the worst thing she could've done. Now everypony would wonder what she was hiding. She thought about what she could do. Just go back inside and try to explain? That seemed the best thing to do, but for some reason, the image of herself as Queen of the Crystal Empire wouldn't leave her mind. She was going to turn around and go back inside- really, she was! But instead, she turned around started on a path towards Rarity's boutique. Once she went from one end of Ponyville to the other and entered the building, Rarity was just finishing up a dress. So wrapped up in it she didn't hear the ring of her store's bell. "One cut here and voila!" Rarity congratulated herself before noticing Twilight. "Oh! Twilight, darling! I didn't hear you come in. What can I do for you?" "I have a dress idea I want you to make for me." Twilight answered genuinely. "Ooh!" Rarity squealed at the idea of her other friends taking interest in fashion the way she did. "What it is, darling?" "Well..." Twilight then proceeded to guide Rarity through the motions to get the dress that that was in her dream. When it was finished, Rarity displayed it proudly for Twilight's critique on her stitching. "It looks just like it did in my dre-head." Twilight complimented. "Good work, Rarity." "Oh, thank you, darling!" Rarity exclaimed. She eyed the dress. "Pardon me, Twilight...but don't you think this dress looks somewhat...evil?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Evil? What do you mean, evil?" "It's all black and fancy." "I really have no idea what you're talking about, Rarity. I'd like the dress now, please. How much do I owe you?" "Oh, nothing!" Rarity dismissed her. Twilight made a disapproving pout. With her magic, she took the dress from Rarity and forcefully dropped some bits into her opposite's hoof. Before Rarity could object, Twilight left. Twilight stopped by the library to get some more bits, let Spike know she was okay, and change into her 'evil' dress. She ignored Spike's inquires as to what the dress was for, and where she was going. Passing Pinkie on her way, Twilight headed for the train station. Ignoring the looks other ponies' gave her, Twilight headed to the conductor. "Ticket for one to the Crystal Empire, please." Twilight gave him the bits for the ticket and boarded the train. The gentle churn of the train's wheels were relaxing at first. The conductor made one last call for passengers to the Crystal Empire before the train took off at full-steam. Given how foreign and fantastical a place the Crystal Empire was, nopony on the train questioned Twilight's apparel. One pony, though, an old beige one with a white beard, came over and gave her a mourning gaze. Twilight started to feel uncomfortable. "Is something wrong, sir?" The old pony just shook his head. "I can tell you're a mare who has some demons running around in her, is all." The old pony left her alone. Twilight rolled her eyes. Demons. Ha! Once Twilight was inside the Crystal Empire proper, she talked to a guard and told them her brother was expecting. The guard knew how much Shining loved seeing his sister, so he didn't question it and led her through the streets, to the castle, up the castle, into the throne room. The guard bowed and left her. Twilight came into the room without knocking. Shining Armor and Cadence were sitting on the throne and were surprised to see her. "Twiley! What are you doing here?" "We weren't expecting you! What's with the dress?" "Mh-hmm." Twilight nodded, not really caring for their petty greetings. "Yes, your majesties...I am here to restore this room to it's true form." Shining Armor and Cadence exchanged glances. "What do you mean?" Twilight prepped her horn, her eyes flashing green. A black bolt shot out and struck a desk, turning into a dark spiky version of itself. Shining and Cadence were mortified. "Twiley, what's wrong with-" Twilight shot another bolt. This one struck Shining's horn and covered it in black plates. "Not again!" Shining wailed. "Twiley, I understand you're upset right now, but-" Cadence put a hoof on Shining's leg. "Shining, don't reason with her right now. Run. Just run." "But-" "No!" Cadence snapped, dragging him away and running out the throne room's entrance. Twilight let them go and walked towards the throne. She stopped and admired it for a moment before blasting back into it's Sombra's version of it and sitting in it. Twilight's horn blasted off bolt after bolt around the room until everything but the floor was black and twisted. "Now..." Twilight rasped to herself, putting her hooves together now that she had established a comfort zone. Another bolt shot out and hit the floor, creating a pool of magic that gave her a bird's-eye view of the Empire. "Let's get down to business."