//------------------------------//
// Act 1 | Bargaining Power 
// Story: Daughter of the First Reign 
// by LegionPothIX 
//------------------------------//

The return to reality was not a smooth one as Sombra felt like he had been kicked in the gut, twice. Once by the physical assault of the guard twice his size, and the other by the reality of crimes that Treeling was accused of. The charges didn't do them justice. The filly cocked her head to the side with a piece of chalk hanging out of her cracked lips. The look showed that she didn't see any problems with her actions. Sombra fell out of his seat and dry heaved as the crystal circle collapsed.

At the same time... He knew that they had it coming, he could feel it in his gut, and that was the worst part. Having felt what she felt he could identify with the position that she was put in and, if he were left alone with his baser instincts, he could see himself doing the same. He desperately tried to build a case for the Queen on how she should be released so that they could study her magic, and finally strike a blow back against Discord... but nothing he could think of even began to rationalize the murders.

The taps of chalk to slate drew his attention back to the filly who was quietly doodling away. Sombra turned to see, morbidly curious what could she possibly have to say for herself after that, but her diagram showed something else entirely. It was less about what she had to say, and more of what she had to keep silent: she had learned his secret. He could only stutter as his eyes drank in the diagram of the city. Specifically placed "X's" inscribed in wavy circles marked the locations of each of the apartment structures build over the last five years. His projects. His crystal pylons. 

More than that, there were arrows flowing from one building to the next, which described a network of lay-lines that were circumscribed on the city's interior walls, and which the castle lie in the focal center. With her awareness of these magical implements his entire five-year plan laid bare on that tablet.

"When...?" he stumbled over the word as it flopped out of his mouth. 

She wiped the board clean and drew three images. The first: of him delivering his speech to the Crystal Queen. The second: of him constructing the circle that led them into that memory. The third: of her drawing in his magic and channeling it back into the circle. It wasn't until after she drew in his magic that she knew what the first two were for, which in turn, explained why she refused to let him guide her into her own mind. She wiped the slate clean once more before drawing tiny specs on a mound with one big queen ant in the center of the pile. To her, he really was just like the black army from her home, and she had watched him as intently as she watched them.

He had completely opened up to her because she was a child and didn't realize until he was in her memory how terrible of an idea that was. In that speech he had used wording that even the city planning advisers didn't fully understand, and gave no thought to putting the filly in the room. However, he had completely forgotten that this one had been specifically conditioned to have images evoked in her mind when she heard words. She needn't know the definitions to put it together– especially if she was borrowing the images directly from his mind. The only question left for him to ask before he took her to the Queen and that was what she was going to do about it. As it stood now the two were under a mountain of their respective dirty laundry but it would seem that only he minded the smell.

"So. Is that how it's going to be?" Sombra looked her over as she patted the chalk-dust from her cheeks and turned the tablet around to draw her response. Ten lines formed a tree that she so often drew but with the addition of with her cutiemark inside the large opening that she came out of. She motioned to the world around her with the span of her fore-leg, and brought her hoof in close across her neck, before she tapped the tablet with it.

"Your tree?" Sombra asked but she shook her head and tapped the chalkboard again. 
"Not your tree?" he clarified. She nodded and tapped once more. The look in her eye told him to go on. 
"Not your... problem?" he asked to which the filly smiled and set the the tablet face down on her lap.
"I see," Sombra said, "I'm glad that we understand each other."

To clear his mind Sombra took the time to clean up after himself and melted the crystals back into his shadow. Afterward he went to the dresser to root for an outfit that would be appropriate for Treeling to wear when presented in front of the court. While she waited she slung the slate over her neck again, rolled over onto her belly, and kicked her legs off the sides of the chair. It was unnerving to Sombra to see that she didn't have a care in the world; even though she had just threatened to ruin him after five years of faithful service to two empires.


***


It was a long and arduous process to get the street urchin into a presentable state especially since no magic could be used to restrain her through the tedium of a thorough bath, hair dressing, and teeth cleaning. Sombra wasn't sure which of them were more exhausted by the process but he knew that he was now at the disadvantage because children recovered much faster than adults.

He lost track of how many times he yanked the chain on her collar and said "Hold still," as he found himself doing even then. The only dress he could get her to stay in was crisply crimped at the hem and dyed the color of autumn from bottom to top. It reminded her of her mother. He had asked her to tell him that story, the one that she shared to Nurse Clarity the night before, to keep her mind off of all the things they had to do before they could see the Queen. From what he could discern the tree actually gave birth to her and if that were true it would explain her connection to the land. Considering it would have taken a substantial amount of chaos, or even nature, magic to keep her stable during any amount of gestation.

The story lasted them until the final stages of preparation. After the chalk-dust was removed from the filly's face and makeup was applied in its place to hide her numerous scars. Though it would be impossible to cover them all they managed to be lightened enough as to not be terribly distracting.

"Don't touch it," Sombra knowingly said over his shoulder to the filly, that his back was turned, whose hoof hovered in the air an inch from her face. He turned his attention to her directly after dismissing the help, "When we're in the courtroom do not 'say' anything to anypony. I will speak for us." Sombra then nodded to the guards who opened the chamber doors.

Treeling smiled up to Sombra as they made their way into the grand hall. The Crystal Queen sat on her throne surrounded by advisers. Though, sometime since his first visit her daughter's throne had been removed. Sombra guessed that she couldn't stand it still being empty with the knowledge that neither of them would likely ever see her precious Cadence again. That thought still wore on heavily on her face.

Sombra dropped one knee and bowed while Treeling curiously watched the behavior as these social graces did not exist in the wild. 

"My Queen!" he said with rigid formality.

"Arise, Sombra," she responded with regal splendor, "Speak your piece." Her voice carried an edge to it that caused Treeling's ears to perk up. Somepony was going to get cut down.

"Yes, my liege. I've come to beg the court for the release of this filly–" he had barely began when the knife dropped. 

"She killed two of my guards, and I should just let her go?" the Queen rhetorically questioned. She was not amused, a fact easily betrayed by the timbre in her voice, and as she spoke the entire courtroom tensed up. "Do you even know what she's capable of? Have you seen the horror that a hundred citizens were subjected to?" The Queen stood from her throne bringing an ever rising authority to her words as she towered over the pair with fully splayed wings.

"I was not present at the time," Sombra meekly offered, "but I know that many more will die if we do nothing. You said we couldn't enter battle with shield alone so I have brought you a scabbard. The sword lies within and we need only pull it out."

"Bold claims." The Queen took a moment to recall her wings before continuing, "But this court requires evidence." 

The black unicorn rose to his hooves and explained: "We've found that in places saturated with high quantities of magic," his words were interrupted as the filly tugged on his cape but he did not stop, "she can draw it in, and harness that magic. We could fight fire with fire. Chaos with Chaos."

The Queen raised a skeptical eyebrow an the court magician balked at the claim. The filly again tugged at Sombra's cape and this time impatiently tapped the ground with her other fore-hoof. When he turned to see what was so important Treeling's face lit up with wonder and sense of dread filled Sombra's heart as the first hint of her golden gilt could be seen. How could he have forgotten that Discord was here, using magic, but it was so long ago that there couldn't possibly be any left...

All present watched with skepticism as Treeling excitedly pranced in place while holding her slate up to draw on it. Her pursed lips quickly moved over its surface and brought a chalk outline into being. A draconequus that she shouldn't know how to make, a portrait of a princess she should have no knowledge of, and a game that never got played were all etched in black and white. The filly flicked her horn with her hoof to recreate the sound that Discord made with his fingers and the oldest and youngest female in the room vanished in a flash of light.

In their absence the entire courtroom went silent as they stared in horror at Sombra.


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