Chapter 6: Making a Mark
Polaris lay in his bed, completely stunned. Here was his father, standing in front of him, looking perfectly normal; the one pony Polaris had never though he would see here. Starswirl must not have known about this, for he surely would have told him. Mouth slightly agape, he spoke the only question he could think of.
“How?”
Octan gave a small chuckle, then walked over to the bed. “Come with me,” he said, gesturing with his head to the open door. “I’ll explain everything I know.”
Still slightly dazed, Polaris climbed slowly out of the bed and followed his father out into the hallway. It was in the same run-down state as the rest of the castle.
“This way,” said Octan, and he began walking to the other end of the hall, which Polaris could see led to the second floor of the entrance hall. He walked behind his father, his mind racing as it struggled to understand exactly what was going on.
Octan turned left up the stairs that led to the balcony and walked over to the table and chairs, still in the same positions as they had been before Polaris had collapsed. He sat down in one of the chairs, and gestured for Polaris to do the same.
“Dad…” Polaris began, but quickly stopped. It had been a long time since he’d used that word to address the pony associated with it, save for his disbelieving question a few minutes ago. He took a deep breath and tried again.
“Dad, I-”
“Polaris…I know you have questions, and I know this is strange for you. It’s still very odd for me as well, but I promise you I will tell you everything I know. Please, sit.”
Polaris nodded and sat down in the seat opposite his father. “So,” he began. “I guess we can start with the obvious. How are you alive?” It couldn’t be time travel, could it? Starswirl had explained that there was no way to save his father.
Octan took a deep breath. “You and Equina were young. Your mother…” he paused for a second, and Polaris noticed a slightly saddened expression come over his father’s face.
“Your mother had taken the two of you out to go shopping. I was at home, reorganizing the library, when he appeared.”
‘Maybe it was Starswirl then,’ Polaris thought. “Who was it?”
Octan shook his head. “He never told me his name.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I did…but he said that soon his name wouldn’t matter anymore…I can tell you what he looked like, though.”
Polaris was a bit perplexed. Starswirl never struck him as the kind of pony that was hesitant to give out his name, even if he was, for good reason, apprehensive when it came to answering questions about himself. He nodded. “Okay.”
“This creature had a very long, skinny body, almost like a snake. He stood about nine feet tall on two legs, one of which was a lizard’s, the other one a goat’s. The top half of him was gray, the bottom half was brown, and he had a short red tail at the end. His right wing was-”
“Okay, stop,” Polaris interrupted, and his father looked at him, the slightest hint of surprise on his face. Polaris, on the other hoof, wore an expression of disapproval. The thoughts in his head had come to a skidding halt as his father began describing the creature, and though the sights he had seen recently were hardly to be believed in and of themselves, this was not something he was willing to just accept.
“I’ve been through a serious ordeal, especially within the past few hours,” he continued. “But even after everything that’s happened to me, I just can’t believe a being like that exists. It sounds ridiculous.”
His father frowned. “Well, I won’t finish describing him, then, but the general idea is that he looked like he was made of all sorts of different animals combined. A few of them were some I’ve never even seen before.”
Polaris blinked. Surely his own father wouldn’t make something like this up…
“Where is Sombra?” he asked.
“I’m getting there. First, just let me-”
“How do I know you’re actually my father?”
Octan looked at him, the surprised expression on his face now much more pronounced. “Polaris, I…of course I am…I know this is strange, but-”
“Stop, okay? This isn’t as simple as me just believing everything you say. I’ve learned more today than I ever have, and one thing I learned is that nothing can be trusted. How do I know you’re actually you? How do I know you’re not a…” He couldn’t finish his question. Did his father even know about changelings? What if he didn’t? He’d have to explain what they are and how he knew about them, and then what if that had consequences of its own? Polaris looked down. Was this what Starswirl went through every time he had a conversation with one of them? Carefully planning every word he said, calculating all of his answers so as not to upset any established events?
“A what?” His father’s voice shook him from his speculations.
Polaris shook his head. “N-nothing. Just…when we’re done here I’d like to see Sombra. What did this creature want with you?”
Octan was slightly shocked. Was this his son now? What had happened to him? How could a colt that was so bright and cheerful grow into a stallion this…cold? What exactly had happened to him? Hesitantly, he began speaking again.
“He…told me that I was dying…Queen Platinum’s son had secretly cast a life-draining spell on me. At first, I didn’t believe him. I could hardly believe my own eyes, but he explained things to me, and we made a deal.”
“What did he explain to you? What kind of deal?”
“Well…showed would be a more accurate word. Before I could protest, he had taken me through time to…umm…my funeral. It was only a year in advance.”
Polaris looked down as he remembered the day in question. It was a day like any other…warm, slightly sunny, a small breeze every now and then…nothing unordinary…except of course for the events happening that day – the eulogy, the casket being lowered into the ground, his mother and sister crying, and the faintest feeling within himself that something just wasn’t quite right…
“He offered me a chance to see my two foals again,” Octan continued. “My daughter for six months, and my son for a brief period of time.” He chuckled. “I guess he was right.”
Polaris looked up at his father inquisitively. “You were here for six months?”
“Who else do you think took care of your sister?” Octan answered nonchalantly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Polaris, you saw what that potion did do her. Believe me, her recovery from it was not an easy process to go through.”
“Alright, but…the Crystal Heart…mph,” Polaris tenderly touched his head as it twinged. “Never mind…what was his end of the deal?”
“Hold on…do you know what the Crystal Heart can do? Do you know what happened to you?”
“Not…really,” Polaris replied vacantly. “I just remember wondering how I got in here if the castle was being guarded, and…then…I guess I passed out?”
Octan nodded. “I can explain that. The creature told me some things about the Crystal Heart most ponies don’t know.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you’ve probably already figured out that the castle was never being guarded by ponies, but you thought it was, didn’t you.”
Polaris remembered the revelation he had what he assumed was a few hours ago and nodded. “Why, though? Why do I remember something that never happened?”
“It’s a sort of…foolproof defense the Crystal Heart uses. In the event it becomes endangered, it will modify the memory of anypony that wanders too close to it so that they’ll just…go away. Completely harmless…unless that pony remembers.”
“I remembered…” Polaris said. ‘That explains the splitting pain I experienced earlier.’ “Why did it let me in now and not before?” he continued. “I tried to get into the castle many times during the six months I was alone. Why now?”
“That I don’t know. The creature didn’t tell me.”
Polaris sat back in his seat as he took this in, trying to think of an explanation. ‘What if it had let me in the first time I tried? I would have met with my father, gotten Equina, and…’ Then what? Stayed in the Crystal Empire? What if she had wanted to leave? What if he had never met Starswirl? Sombra never would have cast the spell that caused all this, Equina would have become a victim of the love potion, and then…who knows? And what of his mother?
“A paradox…” he muttered.
“Paradox?” his father echoed. “What are you talking about?”
“It had to be now…it could only ever be now. Any time before now was too soon.”
“What does that mean, son? You’re not making sense.”
A hint of a smile found its way onto Polaris’s face. So this was what it felt like to know what others didn’t. Choosing his words carefully, he answered his father’s question.
“Dad, I…don’t think I can tell you what’s happened to me because it might…upset things. I’ve…I’ve traveled through time a bit with Starswirl-”
Octan’s ears perked up at that name.
“-and we sort of accidentally caused and prevented certain events…really, really important events.”
Octan blinked. “You met Starswirl? Clover told me-”
Polaris held up his hoof, but made a mental note of his father’s reaction before continuing. “Point being if I had been allowed into the castle at any time before now, it would have changed a lot of things…probably for the worse. The Crystal Heart knew exactly when to let me in, and for similar reasons, I’m assuming you could never get out?”
Octan only stared at his son. The last time he had seen him, he had only been a young colt…and now here he was, independent and responsible. A sense of extreme pride came over him, and he realized that his eyes were glistening. He quickly rubbed them and cleared his throat, deciding not to push the Starswirl issue.
“No, I…I couldn’t. The Crystal Heart only modified my memory once, and after I realized what it had done, I had a reaction similar to yours. That was the first and last time I tried to leave.”
Polaris nodded faintly. ‘I wonder if the heart blocked Starswirl’s life detection spell. It would explain why he wasn’t able to sense Equina, Sombra, or my dad the day I first met him.’ “Something is still bothering me, though. Something I saw…” He let his gaze drift away from his father and off into the distance of the Empire. Slowly, he scanned the empty streets, taking note of the desolate buildings lining each one. After a few moments, he found the two he was looking for – the two houses adjacent to the alley he and Starswirl had decided to hide in. ‘But what did I see before that?’ he asked himself, slightly annoyed. ‘I saw…I saw…I saw…’ Images flashed through his mind now. Sombra casting the spell, Starswirl grabbing him, a street filled with enslaved ponies, the Crystal Heart missing…
“What did you see?” Octan’s voice interrupted.
“The Crystal Heart…” Polaris absentmindedly answered. ‘How could I have…oh, but of course I forgot.’ That clever little rock, always making sure it wasn’t noticed by the wrong pony at the wrong moment. It had reached out across the fabric of time to make him forget about it and focus on the more important tasks. Only that could explain why he never mentioned it to Starswirl. Polaris let out a small chuckle. “I don’t even remember forgetting…” He looked back at his father. “The Crystal Heart is safe, correct?”
“Yes, but…what did you see?”
“I…I can’t tell you, dad. I’m sorry. I might be able to, but you have to finish your story first.”
Octan stared at his son quizzically. “Okay, then. Well, I believed the strange creature after seeing myself…you know. He explained to me that in the more distant future, Sombra would take over the Crystal Empire as a tyrannical ruler, but not before he and Equina became victims of one of his own devices. I was to look after Equina until you showed up to take her back.”
“But where is Sombra?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know,” Polaris repeated coldly.
“When the creature brought me to this castle six months ago, they were here, right here, on the balcony, still under the effects of the potion.”
Polaris didn’t like where this was going. “Dad,” he said, the nervousness prevalent in his voice. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I…I didn’t know what to do. I knew I had to get them away from each other quickly-”
“Why?” asked Polaris urgently, a sick knot forming in his stomach.
Realization struck Octan, and he hastily quelled his son’s anxiety. “Polaris…nothing happened…I promise you. There’s no way I would have allowed that…although I was almost too late.”
Polaris gave him a hard stare. “You’re sure-”
“Yes,” Octan replied quickly. “I grabbed Equina and teleported her to a random spot in the castle.”
Polaris let out a relieved breath as he relaxed. “You know how to teleport?” he asked, slightly surprised.
Octan smiled. “Your mother taught me. She knew how to do it months and months before she met me…even told me she did it once accidentally as a filly when she got lost in the woods. She’s such an amazing pony…” He shook his head abruptly. “Anyway, Sombra always somehow found us after a few minutes, and keeping Equina from escaping was proving to be a challenge as well, but eventually, he just gave up.”
Polaris was skeptical of this. “He quit? Just like that? That doesn’t seem like him…”
“Well, the stranger thing is that around that same time, Equina seemed to become normal again, like the potion had worn off.”
Polaris had been staring intently at the table, pondering why Sombra would just forfeit the chase, but this information brought him back to the conversation.
“Say that again.”
“It…was…like the potion had worn off,” Octan repeated, slightly confused.
“Dad, where is Equina?”
“She’s fine. She’s sleeping in one of the bedrooms on the first floor. I didn’t want to wake her just yet because I wanted us to talk first.”
The knot in Polaris’s stomach was forming again, his heart rate increasing. “Take me to her. Now.” There was a demanding, yet shaky tone in his voice, a combination of anxiousness and…fear.
Polaris was truly, properly frightened. Sombra was no longer under the potion’s effects and hadn’t been for quite some time apparently, his father had no idea where he was, Equina wasn’t being monitored, and now, on top of all that, he was in the castle as well. Never would there be a better opportunity for Sombra to not only kill off a majority of his family, but rewrite history, too. Polaris had gathered that his father would have to be returned to the correct point in the timeline…and then pretend for a year that nothing happened. If Sombra killed him now, he would never be able to go back. He quickly stood up from the table and began walking away.
“Polaris, are you alright?”
“Dad, you don’t understand what we’re up against. We need to find Equina. Right now.”
“I told you she’s…she’s…umm…”
Polaris whirled around. Standing next to his father was the very creature he had described to him, and it was holding on to his hoof.
“Hey!” Polaris yelled to it. “What are you doing here?! You can’t take him back yet!”
Octan looked up at him. “I still need to give it to him,” he said, which the creature responded to with a short nod.
“What are you giving to me?” Polaris asked as his father walked over to him.
“Do you know how to perform a storage spell?” Octan asked.
Polaris nodded. He’d learned about those during his months of research as well.
“Good. I’m told that what I’m about to give you must stay safe.”
“Why? Who told you? Oh…” Polaris said as Octan glanced briefly back to the creature. He turned his head back.
“Here.” A small object appeared next to his ear. Polaris looked at it closely. “Is that…”
“A scale, yes; it’s a lizard’s scale.”
“Why would I need that?”
Octan shook his head. “I don’t know, but you need to keep it safe.”
Polaris performed the storage spell on the scale, removing it from sight. “Dad…” he began. “I’m not going to see you again, am I.” He was trying to stay as calm as possible, but his grief was beginning to surface, causing his voice to shake a little.
Octan gave Polaris a sad smile as he pulled him into a hug. “It’s alright, son…no matter what happens, I know you’ll make me proud.” As he let go, Polaris noticed that his eyes were wet.
“Wait…you didn’t say goodbye to Equina.”
His father sighed. “I’m out of time…Polaris, tell her…tell her that I…” his words failed him as he struggled to keep his composure.
“As soon as I find her, dad,” Polaris said.
Octan nodded at the creature, who at this point had walked over to him. Fighting back tears of his own, Polaris looked at it as it again took his father’s hoof in its claw.
‘Strange,’ Polaris thought. ‘He almost seems sad.’ His mouth was forming a small frown, and his eyes were squinting slightly, as if trying to fight back tears. Polaris looked right into them. They seemed so strange, and yet…
“What’s your name?” he asked, a small sense of awe coming over him. “Who are you?”
The creature stared at him sadly for a few more moments before answering. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Wait!” Polaris yelled as he galloped towards the pair, but it was too late. In an instant they had disappeared. He let out a frustrated groan and bucked one of the chairs with his hind legs. It crashed into the table, which fell over onto its side, causing a loud clattering sound to echo throughout the entrance hall.
It had been brief, but just for a moment, looking at the creature, Polaris could have sworn he saw…what was that? A strange object was now sitting on the floor a few feet in front of him. He walked over to it curiously.
It was a feather; a long, gray feather. Polaris picked it up and examined it closely. The vane on its left side was shredded and frayed, and yet something about it seemed familiar… He might have spent more time pondering it, but at that moment he remembered something more urgent. “Equina.” He quickly performed a storage spell on the feather as well and raced down the first set of steps leading to the T-shaped stairs against the back wall, continuing to run until he was on the first floor of the entrance hall. He remembered that the bedrooms were on the same side of the castle on all floors and made a left when he reached the bottom. He was about to walk over to the hallway when something caught his eye; or rather, a lack of something. The doors of the castle had been left open from when he had entered, and looking through the large doorway, he could see the pedestal the Crystal Heart sat on. At least, it would be sitting on it if it weren’t for the fact that it was missing.
A cold shiver ran down his spine, and he cast an invisibility spell on himself as he began walking down the hallway. Sombra definitely knew he was here. There was no doubt about it.
His father hadn’t said which room Equina was in, so he decided to just try all of them. The closest bedroom to him was the first one on the left. Cautiously, he opened the door and slowly peeked his head inside. A chest of drawers sat up against the wall next to the door, two small lanterns sitting on top of it, the only source of light within the room. Across from them against the other wall was a small side table and an empty bed. Polaris closed the door and turned around. Was it just his imagination, or did the hallway seem longer than before?
The next bedroom was also on the left side. Just as carefully as before, he opened the door. Inside was…the same bedroom…the exact same bedroom as the first one. A pang of nervousness shot through his chest, and he closed this door as well, turning to continue down the hallway once again. Much to his dismay, the next bedroom door was on the same side of the hallway as the previous two.
Fear slowly began overtaking his mind and body as he quickly trotted over to the next door. Throwing caution to the wind, he forcefully pushed it open with his front hooves. The room inside was, as expected, the exact same as the first two. Polaris began to feel sick. His breathing became heavier, and a bead of sweat found its way down his face. Nearly stumbling over his own hooves, he turned away from the door, not even bothering to close it and tried to peer down the other end of the hallway, back towards the entrance hall. There was just one small problem.
The entrance hall was gone. It had been replaced by a seemingly endless void of darkness, and Polaris certainly wasn’t going to try stepping through it. He turned around to face the other way, only to find that the rest of the hallway had met a similar fate.
Polaris gulped as he came to terms with the fact that there was now only one place left to go. He had no idea what might happen to him if he stepped into the room, but he had no choice. Shaking slightly, he pushed the door open all the way and stepped into the room. A loud banging sound from behind him made him jump. Slowly, he turned around.
The door had closed itself. He didn’t bother trying to open it; it was probably locked, and even if it wasn’t there was no point going back outside. He faced the interior of the room again and took note of the missing bed. The lighting of the room was dimmer as well, a result, Polaris observed, of one of the lanterns’ flames extinguishing. He slowly walked over to where the bed had been, an ever-growing sense of dread creeping into his mind, and the slight drop in temperature accompanied by just the faintest hint of wind did little to remedy this.
Darkness. The other lantern had gone out now as well. He was locked completely alone in a pitch black room with no idea as to where his sister or his enemy might be. He turned back to face the center of the room as another, slightly more palpable breeze wove its way through his coat. It was at this point that Polaris now realized just how eerily quiet it was, the only audible sound being his own quick, uneasy breaths. Frantically, he scanned the room, desperate for some source of light, and, much to his surprise, one presented itself.
A few feet in front of him, reaching down from what he assumed to be the ceiling, was a tiny, conical beam of light. It illuminated a miniscule section of the floor, and Polaris decided to chance walking towards it. His heart still thumping, he stepped forward, his hooves emitting a small clacking sound as they made contact with the stone floor. As he approached it, he thought he noticed it become wider and brighter, until finally he stood directly under it, both he and the floor beneath him fully illuminated. He stood there for a few moments, savoring the calm that this light was bringing him. His breathing was slowly returning to a normal pace, as was his heart, and the slight shaking of his front legs had all but completely dissipated.
This, unfortunately, was short-lived, for at that moment, a violent breeze entered the room, accompanied by a brilliant flash of light. Almost blinded, Polaris quickly squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a brief grunt of discomfort as he lifted a hoof over his eyes and staggered backwards, nearly falling to the floor in the process. Collecting himself, he turned around, mane and tail whipping wildly in all directions. The light was dying down, and through his partially restored vision, he thought he could make out a figure standing a few feet away from him.
Polaris could tell that he was no longer inside the castle, and when his pupils readjusted themselves, he discovered that he was, in fact, standing on what seemed to be the top of the castle’s tower, essentially a giant, circular crystal enclosed by several thin, crystalline pillars, allowing for a view of the Empire and the lands beyond. What most concerned him, however, was the white pony on the far side of the tower lying on the ground. She was engulfed in some sort of magic field, and she seemed to be unconscious.
“Oh, no,” he said as he began running towards her. He had barely taken two steps, however, when a blast of magic exploded in front of him, leaving a scorch mark on the ground. Polaris let out a short yell and stumbled back, looking around frantically.
“Not another step,” said a stern voice. As the dust from the impact began clearing, Polaris could see who the voice was coming from, and he did his best to hide the chill going through his spine.
He was standing there, as menacing as ever, his red eyes glaring at Polaris, his teeth slightly bared. Polaris let out the breath he had been holding in and did his best to gather himself. Starswirl had said there was a good chance he’d encounter Sombra, but he never said anything about how to defeat him. Furthermore, the explosion hadn’t woken his sister, and Polaris deduced that the field engulfing her was sound-proof, much like the spell he had seen Starswirl use earlier. He choose his words carefully as he looked away and answered.
“I’m here to get my sister back.”
Sombra looked surprised. “Your sister? I have the Crystal Heart, I have the power to kill you where you stand, I know for a fact you have nopony else to help you, and the first thing you’re worried about is your sister?”
Polaris took a step toward him. “That’s right. I’m going to take Equina back from you, and then I’m going to defeat you.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he found himself hanging upside down about twenty feet above the floor of the tower. Polaris took deep breaths as he struggled to keep his panic under control and concentrated.
“I could kill you right now!” Sombra called up to him. “I don’t even have to do it with a spell! I could just drop you over the edge of the tower and let you plummet to your death!”
Polaris was barely listening. His eyes were closed as he focused his mind. He was thinking of a specific location in space, a very specific location. His horn began to glow.
“What are you doing?” Sombra yelled. “I know you can’t save yourself. You don’t even have your Mark yet. I think I’ll just end this. I’m already getting bored with you.”
Polaris opened his eyes as the light emanating from his horn intensified. “Go ahead!” he called down to Sombra. “Let me go!”
The result of his demand nearly ended his spell right then and there as he felt himself be forcefully pulled over the edge of the tower. He was now looking at the ground, a considerably higher distance than before. He closed his eyes again and braced himself.
The magic supporting him suddenly disappeared, and Polaris, for the first time in his life, felt the full sensation of falling. As the ground beneath him came closer and closer, his horn finally illuminated completely as he focused on the same spot he had just been standing in. Moments before his inevitable impact, he felt a massive jerk on his entire body, and suddenly he was standing face to face with Sombra. He had done it. He had actually teleported. The only downside to it was Sombra’s reaction.
The whites of his eyes were turning green, his jet black mane blowing everywhere as the wind picked up. Polaris could tell that Sombra was angry, and he braced himself for whatever was coming.
A stunning spell hit him square in the head. Polaris reeled back in pain as he smacked up against one of the pillars and fell to the ground. The right side of his body now sore, he picked himself up and turned to face Sombra again.
A dark blue aura suddenly covered his head, and it slowly became more difficult for him to breathe. A suffocation spell; he had read about them just a few weeks ago. The only problem was remembering the counter before he ran out of air. He racked his brain as he took as many shallow breaths as possible. From the corner of his eyes he could see Sombra staring at him, most likely just waiting for him to die. He had to hurry. The spell didn’t require much space, and he was rapidly running out of air. Suffocation spells…where had he read about them? He closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could, inhaling a massive amount of air as well. He needed all the time he could get.
‘Counter spell…counter spell…something with the horn. It’s not a spell exactly, but…rrgh...what was it?’ His lungs were beginning to cramp as he struggled to remember, and his forehoof began tapping lightly as his body involuntarily found a way to express his extreme discomfort. ‘Come on…come on…I know this…’ His lungs were screaming now; his insides felt like they were about to explode, and…
That was it. Concentrating as much as he could, Polaris channeled his remaining air up to his horn. After a few short moments, it burst outward, and the spell around him shattered. Polaris gasped as fresh air entered his lungs, collapsing on the ground as his legs gave out. His eyes scanned the area, and he groaned in frustration as Sombra walked over to him.
“So…it seems you’re smarter than you look,” he said. “Tell me…why don’t you have your Mark yet?”
Polaris coughed. “I’m going…to stop you…” he said between breaths.
Sombra frowned. “I don’t think so. Look at you. You can barely breathe.” He leaned his head down toward Polaris. “You are weak. How do you plan on stopping me like this, hm?” Sombra’s horn glowed again, this time casting a spell on its owner. Green light now surrounded his two front hooves.
Polaris wasn’t prepared for what came next. In one swift motion, Sombra raised his front hooves and stomped on his ribs, a sickening crack emanating from his side. He screamed, his breathing now much quicker as tears welled in his eyes. “This could have been so much easier for you,” Sombra half-whispered to him. “I was willing to just end it quickly and not make you suffer.” He picked up his left hoof and began pressing it against Polaris’s head, squeezing it against the ground. “The Crystal Empire and your sister both belong to me now.”
Polaris’s eyes began to close as Sombra pressed harder against his head. He struggled to remain conscious, to no avail, and as everything around him faded to black, a memory surfaced within his mind; a lesson his mother had taught him.
It was a bright, sunny day. Polaris was a young colt, his sister just a bit older. They were outside in the yard with their mother tending to the small garden along the back wall their father had been working on. It had only been a few weeks since his passing.
Polaris walked over to a patch of roses in the corner, his mother and Equina on the other side of the yard. ‘Wow,’ he thought to himself as he stared at the vibrant flowers. ‘Dad sure was good at this.’
He decided to take one out of the ground. He quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure his mother and sister wouldn’t see him before reaching his hooves to one of the roses. Carefully, he began to pull it.
“Polaris, what are you doing?”
Polaris jumped and quickly let go. He turned around to see his mother standing right behind him. “Sorry, I was just…um…”
“You like the roses?”
“Mhmm.”
“You like the way they look and smell?”
Polaris nodded as his mother sat down next to him. She pulled a rose out of the ground with her magic and levitated towards them.
“Mom?” Polaris asked, confused.
“If you pick a flower, eventually, it withers and dies,” Clover said. Polaris watched the rose as Clover’s magic caused it to shrivel up. It hung limp in the air now, all color drained from it.
“So if you love a flower, you should let it be. Love is about appreciation, not possession.”
Polaris watched as his mother moved the dead flower over to the rooted ones and set it down in the dirt. He looked up at her and nodded.
“Mom?”
“Mmm?”
“Did you pick dad?”
Even as young as he was, Polaris could see his mother trying to hide her pain. Her eyes went wide for a brief second before returning to normal, and her breathing became shallow. She quickly looked down.
“Polaris, could you go inside? I’ll…I’ll be in in a minute.”
“Alright.” Polaris stood up and began walking toward the house. His mother was sitting in front of the roses, staring at them. He reached the door, but as he was about to open it, he heard her quietly say something.
“I’m so sorry.”
Polaris slowly opened his eyes. The memory of that day and his new understanding of it had given him back a small amount of energy. He glanced around. Sombra had walked away from him and over to Equina, presumably because he thought he was dead. Close to his head he saw the scale and feather. The storage spell must have broken when he passed out. It required a negligible amount of energy to sustain, and Polaris reasoned that he must have really been about to die.
The memory. Appreciation, not possession. He chuckled. A jolt of pain went through his side as he did so. Now Sombra really was going to hurt him. Speaking of which…
Sombra had heard him. In an instant, he had teleported over to him. “You’re alive?!”
Polaris coughed. “Yes, I am…and you’re wrong, by the way.”
“What are you talking about?”
Polaris spoke through strained breaths. “You said once…that you just wanted her to love you…but she never will.” Sombra’s eyes suddenly flared up, and Polaris decided to speak with more caution. “Because you…don’t understand…love…I do.” As he spoke he noticed that his horn was beginning to glow. “My mother…taught me…an important lesson.” Now his horn was really illuminating, the golden light beaming from it engulfing the scale and feather as well. They began spinning together rapidly, until they were just a blur, two objects becoming one. Polaris could feel warmth coming from them and began to stand. Clumsily, he got on his two front hooves and put some weight on them. Sombra was staring at him, completely ignoring the spell.
Polaris nodded to Equina. “Look at her…do you really think…she’ll ever…love you?” As he spoke these words, the aura coming off of his horn suddenly exploded and traveled to the scale and feather. They shot up into the air, sparking off bits of magic and spinning madly, until finally, there was a huge flash of blinding white light. For the second time, Polaris was nearly blinded, and he shut his eyes immediately.
The light died down much quicker this time, and he shivered as a breeze went through his fur. At least, he thought it was a breeze. Something about it wasn’t quite right. He glanced upward from where he lay, and his gasp sent another wave of pain through his side. Sombra, meanwhile, had had a similar reaction. He was staring, mouth agape, eyes wide open at the sky, for the creature that was currently hovering above them was unlike anything either of them had seen before.
It was about the size of three ponies put together, completely covered in green scales, its eyes in the shape of a vertical ellipse. On the ends of its four legs were sharp claws, and its tail moved menacingly back and forth, the end of it stopping about a foot away from its large wings at the end of each swinging arc. There were several conspicuous scales lining its back and tail and a forked tongue hanging just slightly out of its mouth amongst many sharp teeth.
Without warning, the creature turned its head towards the sky and let out a roar, an enormous jet of fire shooting forcefully out of its mouth. It extended far above their heads before tapering off into a brilliant orange and white cloud that hung in the sky over the tower. It jerked its head back toward the castle tower, narrowing its eyes at Sombra, its black pupils glinting in the light coming off of the cloud of fire above it.
If it hadn’t been for the tingling sensation coming from both his back legs, Polaris probably would have kept staring at it. Instead, he looked down and could hardly believe his eyes. As he finished standing up, his legs shaking slightly from the weight, he gazed with amazement at his left rear leg. After all these years, his Mark had finally appeared, and the creature above his head could barely compare to what it was showing. It looked like a random assortment of all sorts of body parts; arms, legs, claws, tails, wings, all attached to one generic body shape in the center, as though it couldn’t quite decide what it wanted to be, though it lacked the snake-like structure of the creature his father had been visited by.
What was perhaps most confusing about his cutie mark, however, was the very obvious question mark floating above the creature. Polaris had no idea what it was doing there or what it could possibly mean, but he decided he’d have to worry about it later. He looked over at Sombra, who seemed almost immobilized. The creature had begun to descend, its mighty wings stirring up a large wind as it came closer to the top of the tower.
Its tail slammed down behind it as its four claws collided thunderously with the floor. Polaris felt a hint of pain go through his side as a vibration shook the tower. He looked at it closely. This had come from a feather and a scale? And what was that spell he had accidentally done? He eyed it inquisitively, visually examining as much as he could.
Suddenly, the creature turned to face Sombra, its tail kicking up a small amount of dust as it swayed slowly across the floor. It let out a snort, and Sombra slowly began backing away from it. It turned its head around, its narrow gaze aimed at Polaris and then back to Sombra as it followed him towards the edge of the tower. He jumped slightly as he backed up into a pillar, glancing briefly behind himself. There was nowhere else to go unless he teleported. Growling, the creature bared its teeth and lifted one of its claws, but before it could attack, Sombra vanished and reappeared behind it. As if it had been expecting this, the beast turned around, a massive flame exploding out of its mouth. Sombra shielded himself from it; or rather, he tried to. After a few seconds, the fire began breaking through his spell, the beast walking closer and closer to him.
Polaris could see Sombra struggling, but it was no use. His shield broke, and at that very moment, the beast let up its fire, and, in one swift motion, spun around. Polaris watched as its tail dragged on the ground, and at the very last moment, lifted up slightly, smacking Sombra directly in the side. He went skidding across the floor and off the edge of the tower, completely silent. The beast let out a triumphant snort of smoke and turned to Equina, who was still trapped in Sombra’s spell. It reached out, its claw passing seamlessly through the spell. Delicately, it picked her up and pulled her out. The moment this happened, Equina woke up, and upon seeing what was happening to her, let out a piercing scream. She fired a spell directly at the creature’s chest, to no avail. The spell merely dissipated, leaving it unharmed.
‘Magic doesn’t affect it?’ Polaris asked himself before addressing a more pressing issue. “Equina! Equina! It’s alright!”
Hearing her brother’s voice calmed her down a bit, and she allowed the giant claw holding her to place her gently on the ground in front of it. Polaris ran over to her, and she fell against him, shaking with tears. He put a comforting hoof around her. “It’s alright, now…you’re fine…you’re okay….shhhh.”
A sudden strong gust of wind caused them both to look up. The creature had taken flight, soaring off into the now almost pitch-black sky. They watched it for a few moments before turning to face each other.
“Equina, I…I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner…I tried for months-”
“What…what was that thing?” Her voice was weak.
“I…I don’t know.”
“Where are we? Where’s dad?”
“He…he had to go…couldn’t say goodbye…I’m sorry.”
Her face fell with the delivery of his words, and she looked at the floor. “I...I won't see him again, will I.”
“I'm sorry...there was nothing we could do. He wanted me to tell you…he loves you, Equina, and he’s going to miss you so much…”
Equina gave a few small nods and sniffed.
“Look...” Polaris continued. “We need to get out of here. I don’t think Sombra’s gone, and-”
“How right you are.”
The voice had come from behind them. Grimacing, Polaris turned around. Sombra wasn’t looking very good. There were small cuts all over his ragged coat, accompanied by several bruises.
“We’re leaving,” Polaris said. “I already know what happens, and I know that I don’t have to beat you here.”
Sombra opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment, a pony materialized in front of them. “You!” Sombra yelled.
It was Starswirl. Ignoring Sombra, he ran over to Equina and Polaris.
“Hey, I remember you,” Equina began. “You were there when we-”
“No time. With me.”
“Equina, his hoof,” Polaris said quickly as he took Starswirl’s hoof in his own.
“What? Why? What’s-”
Starswirl interrupted her again by grabbing her hoof instead, and hurriedly began casting his spell.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Sombra growled as he began charging a spell of his own, but he was too late; the three of them had disappeared.