//------------------------------//
// The Bearded Sorcerer 
// Story: Dark Hearts Chronicles: King Sombra 
// by Ex-Machina 
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"Can't catch me!" Lucinda squealed as she took off at full speed, darting around pieces of furniture and toys that scattered the playroom. Her brother energetically gave chase, desperately trying to outrun his sister.

Lucinda stopped for a moment, giving her brother some time to close the gap between them before she began to run again, never tiring. She was surprisingly quick for a one year old old filly.

Pluto stumbled and crashed headlong into a bookshelf crammed with colourful picture books and thin paperback novels. But in less than five seconds, he was back on his hooves, determined to show no weakness. Who would respect him if they knew that his sister was really faster and stronger than him?

He sprinted after Lucida, who ducked behind one of the many toy chests, but when he followed her, he noticed that she had disappeared. Confused, he circled the chest several times before scanning the cluttered playroom with his dark blue eyes but he couldn't find his sister anywhere.

"Lucy?" He called, anxiety starting to rise in his chest, "Lucy?"

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" A glittering, pale blue form came swooping out of nowhere and bowled into his side, sending him flying into Lucida's play pram. Pluto screamed and cowered under the bedsheets that lay inside the pram. He heard a girlish giggle and looked up to see Lucinda sitting on the top of a bookshelf.

"Lucy?" He asked, quickly jumping out of the pram and staring up at her, "How the hay did you get up there?"

Lucinda spread her shimmering feathered wings, "Look at this!" She called, jumping off the bookshelf. Instead of tumbling to the ground, she glided through the air and landed somewhat clumsily at the other side of the room. She turned to her brother, beaming proudly, "Wasn't that cool?" She asked, excitedly bouncing up and down, "Did you see that?"

Not wanting to show that he was impressed, Pluto shrugged, "Not bad." He said absent-mindedly, "But you know that I can do just the same thing, right? I've got wings, too." He unfolded his to prove his point. Though his wingspan was a lot larger than his sister's, he didn't want to admit to anypony that he was a bit too nervous to take his first flight. Anything could go wrong. Anyway, he had a horn, too. Lucy couldn't do any magic!

Then she said the thing he was dreading: "I bet you can't do it!"

Oh crud.

Pluto raised his muzzle, "Of course I can!" He exclaimed haughtily, "What kind of Alicorn do you think I am?"

Lucida smirked evilly, "Prove it." She stated, sitting down and looking at him expectantly.

There was no way out. Pluto winced and clambered on top of a nearby toy chest (there was no way he was going to risk his neck by getting onto a bookshelf). Even from just the top of the chest, he felt uneasily. It didn't look that high until he was on it...

"Get on with it!" Lucida called. Pluto had a feeling that she was enjoying this very much.

This is the craziest thing I've ever done... He thought to himself, opening his wings, Why the hay am I doing this? Right, to prove that I'm not a sissy that can't do what his sister can. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and jumped just as the door burst open.

"What in the name of-" 

The silver colt gave a cry of alarm before crashing into the ground far less gracefully than his sister had, whacking his right wing against the floor and gasping as a sharp pain shot through it. The two foals looked guiltily at the mare who had just entered the playroom and was glaring disapprovingly at them.

"I leave you two youngsters alone for a few minutes and look what you do!" Nana Brightspark scolded, trotting up to Pluto and yanking his damaged wing under her nose, causing him to cry out again in pain, "What have you done to yourself this time?" In the months of looking after the two foals, many accidents had occurred including bruises, splinters and the one time when Pluto had almost turned his sister into a pile of hay.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Pluto pushed away the temptation to tell Nana Brightspark that she was hurting him. But he knew that if he did that, he'd appear weak and he couldn't let that happen. Princes were supposed to be brave and strong, just like in the stories.

"You're going to have to go to the Infirmary for this." Nana Brightspark told him, finally releasing his wing, "I'm no doctor, but that seems bad."

Pluto gratefully folded his wing back into place, "How do you know that?" he questioned curiously.

"You looked like you were about to cry when I pulled your wing." he regretted asking. "Come on, then." She guided him out if the playroom, pausing at the door before sighing, "Lucida, you should come, too. I don't want to come back to find you seriously injured."

The blue princess happily galloped after them as they walked through the brilliant, shining palace. Even though he'd lived in it his whole life (which actually wasn't that long), Pluto still felt awed at the creation of his ancestors as he made his way through the extravagant halls. How long would it have taken to built this place?

The Infirmary was located under the palace in case the Empire was under attack. The room was in the shape of a long rectangle with it's roof, walls and floor made of clear, shimmering diamond. Two rows of white-sheeted beds faced each other on both sides. A nurse approached them, "What is it now?" the two young foals were regular visitors to the Infirmary.

Nana Brightspark nudged Pluto forward, "This idjit thought it was a good idea to teach himself how to fly."

The nurse sighed, "Young ponies these days..." she muttered, which made both the foals angrily protest. She guided Pluto over to one side of the room so he was out of the way of the other ponies getting on with their work.

After a quick examination, the nurse declared that Pluto's injury was simply 'just a sprain' and that he should refrain from flying and moving his wings as much as he could. She sent them back to the playroom without any real medical treatment.

"Can't I at least have a bandage?" Pluto asked as he and his sister were guided toward the exit.

"Why? You don't need one." the nurse told him, "You just need to take it easy for a week or so."

"But it hurts!" Pluto moaned, "I really want a bandage!" It didn't really hurt that much, he just wanted something to attract the attention of the public. Bandages were magnets for sympathy.

"But you don't need one." the nurse said again, "All you need is to- What do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed as she caught sight of Lucida stumbling towards to doors, wrapped loosely in several metres of bandage. "Put those back where you found them!"

Lucida tripped over the bandages several times as she attempted to untangle herself from them, mumbling "Sorry, sorry" over and over.

Just before they left, the nurse stopped Nana Brightspark and pulled her over to one side, "By the way, is it true?" Pluto heard her whisper, "Is he really coming all this way?"

"Yes, he himself is coming." Nana Brightspark replied, "I really can't believe it."

"But what on earth for?"

Nana Brightspark shook her head, "I have no idea." she admitted quietly, "I hope that there's no trouble."

"Well if you find anything, tell us." the nurse said, pushing open the doors, "We're all dying to know what is so important that Starswirl the Bearded himself is needed for."

As they walked back to the playroom, Pluto couldn't help but think that the name sounded familiar. He was sure that he'd heard it before in one of his lessons, but he couldn't put his hoof on it.

All the same, by the end of the day, he'd forgotten all about what the nurse had mentioned. Since it didn't include him, I wasn't important at all.





Although it wasn't important for the young Alicorn prince who had everything he wanted, his parents were more agitated than they had ever been. Trying to keep calm, King Diamond Heart strode beside his wife to meet the great sorcerer.

"Great Starswirl." Diamond Heart greeted, dipping his head in respect, "We're so sorry to bother you, but only a few months ago, we come across something that none of us know what it is."

"Show me." Starswirl the Bearded commanded and the king hastily obeyed. He led the famous sorcerer up the many crystal stairs, taking him higher and higher through the castle when at last, they reached the room at the very top.

"We've kept it as far away as we could from everypony else." Diamond Heart explained as he pushed the door open with his front hoof, "We have no idea how dangerous it is, so we thought it would be better to keep it out of sight until an expert arrives." He hesitated and then pushed open the door.

The maid, Ella Care bowed to the sorcerer as soon as he entered, but he ignored her and fixed his gaze on the young gray Unicorn colt with a matted black mane. Unlike every other pony that Starswirl the Bearded had come across, he didn't flinch or give his humblest greetings. Instead, he stared right back at him with his unnatural red and green eyes.

When Ella Care noticed the lack of respect that the thing was showing, she tried to push him down into a keeling position, but he wriggled away from her. "Sombra!" she hissed in shock.

"Do you know who I am?" Starswirl questioned, striding up to the colt and observing him with his pale blue eyes.

The colt, Sombra stared at him, his face expressionless, "Yes, I do."

"Do you fear me?"

"Should I?"

"Do you admire me?"

"Does everypony have to?"

Diamond Heart's eyes widened in shock, "I'm so sorry." he blustered, "See, it's incapable of emotions, it doesn't-"

"It's alright." Starswirl dismissed, "I've never seen anything like it before. You say that he was born in the Crystal Empire, yet doesn't have the crystalline body of a true Crystal Pony?"

"Yes, your greatness."

"Simply mystifying." Starswirl the Bearded murmured, "His pelt and horn are like nothing else. And it's eyes are truly disturbing." Ella Care probably would have wanted to protest, but she remained silent. The sorcerer turned back to the king, "It appears that this is the way he will remain for the rest of his life, there's nothing I can do to save him."

Diamond Heart looked disappointed, "What should I do?"

Starswirl the Bearded shrugged, "Even I don't know that." he said, "No amount of magic will change it, what he's got isn't a disease I'm afraid. You won't be able to hide it forever, too."

"I can't kill it." Diamond Heart said weakly.

"You're not going to kill him." Ella Care growled, briefly forgetting who she was talking to before shrinking back, "I mean, please don't kill him, your highness."

Diamond Heart sighed and looked down at the floor, "We'll keep him here." he decided at last, "Spells will be cast to allow only certain ponies to walk the top staircase. Only Rin, maid Ella Care and I will be able to come near this room. Nopony will talk about the thing, it will remain a secret until it dies."

Sombra listened to what he was saying, but gave no indication that he cared at all. He only spoke one last time as the two colts began to leave the room.

"Do I disgust you?"

Diamond Heart stopped in his tracks. The thing had addressed him directly. He didn't want to be it's father, he wanted to be the wise king of the Crystal Empire that he had always been. Yet the moment this thing had been born, he had lost the confidence to be who he had to be. Every day, he hoped that nopony would find out the thing hidden on the top of his palace and ruin him forever.

"Yes."

That was the last thing he said to the thing for several years.