//------------------------------// // Shopping // Story: Crystal Castle // by Skrive Flip //------------------------------// It was about a week since Brick had returned to Sombra, and things had slowly settled back into the relatively new routine. Despite his original protests, Sombra had been working a lot less this week and let Brick take… Responsibility… Over the continued maintenance of the gradually expanding castle. It was actually very close to reaching the point that Sombra felt he could properly call it a castle. It had a Throne room, a Sanctuary, A kitchen, A ‘bath house’ and several extra rooms for future use. While Sombra stubbornly tried to keep Brick at a arms length away from him, the idiot had insisted, or for a more precise word, pestered, that he needed to help Sombra with resting. Even if it was annoying, It had allowed Sombra to relax a bit more, and granted him time to figure out where to store the gems found in the walls of the new excavations. Sombra had almost begun to feel like things were getting tolerable again. Almost… “Brick, You have exactly four words to explain why you didn't say this sooner…” The gray workhorse opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to think of the best way to phrase his response. “Uhm, You were Injured?” Brick offered. The dark, former monarch let Brick have another of his virtually trademarked glares. “So a little blood stopped you from telling me that there is a Snowstorm coming Tomorrow!?”  “Uhm… I guess?” An incredibly frustrated groan escaped Sombra as he dragged a hoof down his face. “Well, We will just have to survive with what we've got,” The dark unicorn grumbled, taking a moment to take a mental inventory. “But, can't I just take the cart into town and-” “No.” Sombra cut off. “But-” “I said No. You are not leaving!” Sombra snapped at Brick, almost sounding like a fuzzy mother at this point. “But why not!?” “I ne-... I Want, you to keep working on the Castle.” The gloomy unicorn said with a sharp huff, turning his head. Brick, while not wanting to get into another argument with Sombra, Brick insisted despite his best judgement. They really didn't have enough supplies to last through a possible snowstorm. “Then what are we going to do, My Lord?” Brick asked, making sure to stroke the ego correctly. “We don't have enough-” “We’ll make do!” Sombra interrupted, thinking that would put a lid on the conversation. “We can't make do!” Brick insisted. “Listen, I know you want to be alone, but I can just quickly-” “You’re not going anywhere alone again! You’d just end up being late again!” The dark unicorn growled, jerking around to stare down Brick. “Then what are we going to do!?” An hour later, Out in the mountains: “I… Did not see that coming.” “Shut up…” Sombra grumbled. Brick  really still was having a hard time getting the situation to add up. He was pulling the cart now, making his way through the path he had walked so many times now since he had met Lord Sombra. And now the dark unicorn was lying on his back in the cart, a large black cloak draped over the former monarch. “I’m sorry.” Brick said, keeping his eyes on the road. “I just… I thought you didn’t want to be bothered by the world? Why’re you leaving the castle?” He asked curiously. Sombra groaned for the hundred thousandth time, off handedly knocking a hoof against the gem basket they had brought along. They would need a lot of supplies, so a lot of gems would be needed to pay for them. He then rolled his head backwards, looking upon Brick upside down. “Because Somepony has to make sure you don’t get lost in a hedge or something.” “B-But, we don’t have any hedges at this time-“ “I Said ‘Or Something’. That includes anything you could get your tiny little head stuck in.” Sombra explained to the idiot. “I will not be back at the castle, starving to death, just because you got your head stuck in a bucket or something…” The gray idiot turned his head to Sombra with that sickeningly innocent smile of his. “Silly, You don’t wear buckets on your heads. Why would my head get stuck there?” “Urrrgh, Are we there yet!?” “Almost, You should be able to see Icedale once we reach the top of this hill!” Brick responded, pointing up towards the hill for reference. Now knowing that, Sombra rolled around and sat up in the cart. As the two just reached the top of the hill, Sombra finally got a much clearer view of renowned Icedale. One thing that immediately sprung to mind, was that this village had not originally been built by Equestrians. The architecture was a strange mish mash of several styles he could recognize, though it did not quite make sense in his head. Some of the buildings looked like it had Crystal influence, with jagged roves and the traditional more spire like designs. The much newer buildings of course had the usual Equestrian influence of square, yet somehow squiggly walls. It was built both with the mind of comfort and function. However the third design especially stuck out like a sore hoof. It was longer wooden structures, its design reminding him of… Stories… And Memories... “Lord Sombra? Are you okay?” The dark unicorn snapped back to reality, glaring down at Brick. “Of course I am okay. I was thinking. Don't try it, you might hurt yourself.” Sombra said snarkily, before jumping off of the cart, and walked up besides Brick, as to follow along. “Now, let’s just get in and get those supplies. The sooner we’re back in the castle, the better.” Brick gave a little mock serious salute at the dark unicorn, however also made a mental note of maybe asking about this later. With that out of the way, the two headed into Icedale. Beyond the architecture, nothing particularly offending stuck out to Sombra. It seemed like a normal frontier village. Ponies were going around, doing their business, talking about their days,  and even in the frozen weather, lovers were out to enjoy the fresh cool valley air. Sombra did his best to keep his cloak tightly wrapped around himself, and to lower his stature slightly as to make himself less conspicuous. However, he quickly realized that it was turning out to be a foolish endeavor if he were to continue walking alongside Brick, as eyes seemed to be homing in on them.   ‘Great. Nopony in this village notices Brick when he's alone, but the moment somepony new is in town, suddenly it’s interesting! This is bad.’ Sombra grumbled in his own thoughts. He turned to stick a hoof up into the cart, and picked out a good hoofful of gems and stuffed them in his cloak. “What are you doing, My L-“ Brick was not allowed to finish his question before Sombra shoved a hoof over his mouth. “Listen to me carefully Brick. I want you to be as inconspicuous as always. However, That seems to be impossible as long as I am walking besides you. I am like a beacon for attention, and I would rather not begin to cause a scene.” “Cwse a swene? (Cause a scene?)” Brick mumbled through the hoof. “Cause a Scene, as in invoke the deepest fears of any snoopers to the point of breaking them into sobbing messes on the floor.” Sombra explained in a deadpanned voice. “While I would love to let out some aggression, my desire for discretion is higher. So…” Sombra leaned closer, looking Brick dead in the eyes. “Can you be inconspicuous?” Brick, with a look of powerful determination, gave a firm nod. “Good. Then make sure to gather together enough food, general supplies and anything else you think we might need. I will meet you back at the hilltop. Do not be Late.” With that, the two quietly parted ways. And much like Sombra expected, the collective attention span was not large enough to handle the idea of two things to follow, so most settled on keeping eyes peeled for this new pony. Too bad for them, that Sombra was very good at being discrete. A momentary image of him surrounding the entire Crystal Empire in a dome of darkness, did though force Sombra to reevaluate his previous thought to ‘mostly’ good, at being discrete. But that was a special case after all. So, with a couple of dashes down the occasional alleyway, space between houses and darting behind boxes, Sombra had lost most of the intrigued eyes upon him. The rest would be a margin he would have to accept. Now, finally alone with his own thoughts, but still with the content knowledge of this only being a very temporary state, Sombra stopped to consider what he should do in town. Anything to keep the voices away came to mind, but that was a very cynical statement. He thought that maybe he should try something different for once. What would be optimistic to do right now? His eyes immediately settled on one of the Crystal inspired buildings, seeing the sign called ‘Fabulous Ness´s Beauty shop’, and another thought came to mind. He didn’t have a vanity corner in his Castle yet. ‘How could I have forgotten that?’ He almost chastised himself and decided to take a stroll into the shop. Pushing the door open, a small bell rang, announcing his presence to the seller, who immediately sprung to life. He was a white coated stallion with quite the bleached blonde mane, and a comb as a Cutie Mark. “Why! Welcome to Fabulous Ness´s esteemed shop, What can I…” he paused, seeing that his customer were completely draped in a ghastly blanket, obscuring his sight of the customer´s features. “Sweet Celestia Sir! What awful piece of cloth is that!?” He almost shrieked. Now, some ponies might feel a bit intimidated by the sudden friendliness and professional panic of fashion minded ponies. But some ponies had not once been royalty. “It is a piece of cloth with which I use to keep my confidentiality, as certain, Uncivilized businesses, has refused to respect my privacy.” Sombra said in an almost dull hum. “Am I to be disappointed by yet another uncivilized brute who cannot respect the wishes of the customer?” His voice caught in an overly gentle sigh as he almost turned around. The business stallion however, gasped almost in panic. “Why no no! My sincerest apology, most esteemed customer, I did not mean to disrespect your wishes, I just wished to comment on…” He started, though the explanation died in his throat, forcing his head to drop in defeat. “My deepest apologies, Sir. I welcome you again to my shop, Tell me what Fabulous can do for you?” A small smirk snuck upon Sombra´s lips for a moment, before he continued. “Well Mr. Ness.” Sombra said beneath the cloak, choosing the surname overtly. “I wish to buy supplies for the maintenance of my beautiful persona.”   An Hour of Shopping Later: It had been quite a while since Sombra could say he was positively delighted. He had wrapped that sales ponies around his hoof like a piece of string. Just a few compliments, a well placed double entendre treat and a couple of shiny gems placed in their direction and he had everything he wanted. With the different array of items purchased, he had even been lucky to retrieve himself a helpful carry on box, for convenience. Sombra almost felt like humming. Things were finally going- He stopped his own train of thought there, deciding not to tempt fate, that horrid shrew, and continue on his little shopping trip through the village. There were quite a few shops that peaked Sombra´s interests, which did amaze him to a certain degree. The village was on the frontier after all, so most of this, must necessarily have had to have been imported. So that meant that somehow, there was a market either large enough, or small but lucrative enough, to support this kind of business. Thinking on that, Sombra remembered that Brick had mentioned his family was the largest. Could that perhaps also mean that they were rich? The idea stuck to him, and refused to go away as he trotted carefully down the smaller side paths inside the village, keeping his head down and keeping himself to the shadows. His curiosity got the better of him, and Sombra decided to set off for the outskirts of town. If they were mead manufacturers, then it would make sense to keep their production seat near the raw materials. The thing with mead produced in the North, Sombra knew, was that it was made from the honey of extremely hardened bees, considering there wasn't much vegetation in the most northern regions of the world. Some claimed it was tempered with magic as well, making the bees incredibly versatile. ‘The gods granted the bees their determination’ For once, Sombra was not immediately shaking his head or emptying his mind to abandon the voice reaching him. For this one was not something he wanted to forget… Though he was certain that if the owner was alive… She'd want to forget him… Now that thought he wanted to let go. He stopped for a moment and sighed deeply. ‘Let’s… just continue...’ He thought. No such luck for the dark Unicorn however. He turned around a corner, only to immediately have somepony hammer, snout first, directly into his chest. Now, Sombra was not THAT much taller than most ponies. He was no way near alicorn level, but he did have a couple of extra centimeters that certainly put him in the taller department. This, thankfully, meant that he also had a much better balance than pony who had walked into him. The sudden shock had stunned all members of the pedestrian collision for a moment though. Sombra was quick to check himself and see if his cloak had fallen off. Luckily for him, it hadn't, though his box of shopping had fallen off of his back and gone into the snow. “Are you blind!?” Sombra growled, despite not even having taken a look at the pony he had knocked into.   “Uhm, Sorry, I didn't see you there-” A stallion´s voice quipped before getting immediately interrupted by Sombra. “No, kidding, If only I had commented on that earlier. Now if you’ll excuse me” The former monarch snarked, casually picking up his box again and setting on his path to walk past whoever he had walked into, only to almost walk into a mare. Forced to stop only for a second, Sombra only gave the maroon coloured mare a first glance which told him gender and colour before he stomped around the obstacle, and off on his way. Leaving behind a pair of ponies, both also lifting up their cloaks to try and cover themselves up. “What was his problem?” The mare´s voice asked, just before Sombra got out of earshot. The stallion, an azure blue one, shrugged at the question at first. “I don't know… But he looks like somepony who might want to hide…” The two looked at each other in silent thought, until the mare gave a small grin. “Perfect.” Back with Sombra: Deciding to ignore the momentary interruption, Sombra continued onwards on his path. Said path lead him to the outskirts of what clearly was a farm, even now covered in the snow. He presumed that when the snow melted the ponies might use the area for, whatever could be profitable to sell. Though there was one thing slightly different compared to the few farms he had seen before. This one was a bit more lavished. It was designed for show, rather than strict practicality. At least the most recent part of it. Which was a thing that really piqued Sombra´s interest. The building was large, almost to the point that one could call it a Manor, but it was also clearly built in two halves. The old foundation, and the newer, Equestrian inspired upper floor. It was getting ridiculous how much this simple detail was bothering him. He was a king, not an architect, why was he looking at a stupid building that was most likely the result of an architect drinking too much? What was it… That bothered him so much about this building? What was it Brick had called it again? ‘Is’hall’? Was it the name? It certainly sounded familiar, but the reason escaped him. But he had the feeling it was important. “Urgh!” he groaned once again in aggression, slamming a hoof into a small wooden fence, marking the edge of the family property. “I feel like, I should remember this…” No answer came immediately to mind, though it felt like it was right on the tip of his tongue. ‘Something about… the war...’ “Excuse me Sir.” Sombra turned his focus away from his thoughts and onto the source of the noise. It was a ash grey earth pony with coal black mane and a small goatee. “Are you that new pony? The one who arrived with Brick?” He asked innocently. Though an innocent question was enough to infuriate Sombra. So clearly somepony had noticed him. Though he did take a moment to just make sure the pony was alone. Relieved by that fact, he knew he could handle this. “That doesn’t concern you. That is actually something you should stay your muzzle out of it.” Sombra simply stated, as he turned around to walk past the pony, and back into town. Leaving behind the intrusive stranger. “Oh I should, stay my muzzle, you say?” The stranger asked, his voice initially gentle and confused like any polite stranger. Though then it twisted into a confident humm, mirroring the almost sadistic smirk. “Just like you should have, Sombra, Son of Thora.” Sombra´s blood froze to ice and he turned to face the stranger, but found nothing in its space. He was alone again. “I need to find Brick again.” He urged himself, and headed off into town with more than a brisk trot. While he would like to think himself in complete control, and fully serene, the momentary scene had shaken Sombra enough to make him abandon any further projects. Now every objective had been stricken down to only find Brick and get home. ‘Because I need to make sure he didn't screw up’ He told himself, forcing the thoughts of the disappearing pony out of his mind. He would have nothing more. Nothing more. No more voices, no more illusions. No more tears. He did make sure to carry his items in the box on his back as he weaved in between the buildings, taking any sort of side road to change the path, and force his mind on the now. It didn't take that long to find Brick again, considering the fact that, to Sombra, any other Pony in the town might as well be curious wildlife. Something absolutely beneath him. The idiot had parked himself in a small alley, not too far away from the center of town, most likely for a moment to check the stock of what he had gathered so far. Much to Sombra´s disappointment however, as he rounded a corner to see Brick, he found him failing at the one task he had asked him for, as the Pony was currently being confronted by another. The former monarch was preemptively preparing himself for a facehoof, when he finally got a better look at the situation. Brick was on the back hoof. “- around. I asked myself ‘Why is nothing broken?’ and then I realized I hadn't seen you in a while, Brickster.” The pony standing right in front of Brick said. He was a rather bulky teal coloured pegasus, his cutie mark an image of a rock cracking down the middle. “Aha. Ha. Ha. Thats. Really. clever… Abs… You certainly got me there…” Brick spoke in a tone that could not be dripping with more sarcasm if it had been doused with a snarky hose. ‘So that is the infamous Abs Ton.’ Sombra thought, giving the pegasus an extra moment of observation. He certainly seemed like he had some physical strength behind him, as his name might suggest. His posture was with an air of arrogance, but an arrogance seemingly grounded in a grain of truth. In short, he was a potential threat. Keyword being potential. “Whatcha got in the carriage there, Brickster?” the bulky pegasus asked, seemingly ignoring Brick´s attempt at a comeback. “Food and stuff…” Brick tried to push the subject. “For the family.” he lied without any trouble. “Really?” Abs Ton asked, as he tried to walk past Brick, only to be blocked by the same earth pony. The large pegasus smirked in self confidence. “Then why can't I look in it?” “Because its none of your buisness, Abs.” Brick rumbled, making a not so subtle suggestion that Abs should perhaps leave. The pegasus would have none of that however. He laughed. “None of my business? You must have hit your little head, Brickster. I am Abs Ton! Everything is my business!” The bulky pegasus announced, pushing against Brick who was holding his ground steadily. “All I need to do is tell on the Guvnor that you're causing trouble in icedale. Then he is going to need someone to take care of it, after all.” Abs threatened casually. “And then he would turn to his good old friend to fix things.” He glared directly at Brick. Sombra had been observing this all go down from much further down the alleyway, hidden. He didn't interrupt. This pony clearly had connections. If he were to jump in now, he would be as good as revealed. And if any information about his survival were to return to Equestria, or even the empire, he had no doubt he would not have his castle for long. Back at the cart, Brick returned the glare, not willing to back off a single step further. The cart was behind him, and it had to be defended. “Maybe I should tell Mama and Papa that you're stopping me from delivering their stuff.” Brick tried to take the advantage with a threat. However, Abs simply smirked. “Who do you think they’ll believe, Brick? Everypony knows you´re the runt. The unwanted. You’re just always the one to stir up trouble.” Abs Ton butted his head lightly against Brick´s, the two pushing back and forth in tests of strength. “Maybe it was in reality you harassing me?” Brick was now sneering. His hooves were itching to just punch Abs right there square in the jaw. But he knew the consequences of that. And Abs knew that… The pegasus chuckled to himself. “Do I need to explain to the town that you had a fit again?” He asked condescendingly. “I wonder how long your parents will ground you this time… An adult, grounded as if he was a foal.” Brick´s face fell, and his eyes descended towards the ground. He grid his teeth in hope of containing himself and shutting out the harrowing voice of the pony before him. Abs however, decided that perhaps now was the time for the gut punch. “Tell me… How does it feel to be so insignificant?” “Why don't you try it out?” Abs blinked in confusion as he heard another voice, and turned to face it. He was met with a set of shining green eyes, a malicious purple mist steaming off of them, and a sudden flash of purple magic, sending him flopping limply onto the floor. Brick had also heard the voice and raised his head, only to almost drop his jaw to the ground at the sight. On the ground, Abs Ton was lying, shivering. His eyes were glowing a bright green and were quickly beginning to well up with fresh tears as his face was frozen in a horror. Above him, his savior stood, looking as grumpy and menacing as ever, only his horn was gently dulling the purple light, and his eyes returned from shining green to its usual redly hue. “Hmph” Sombra scoffed. “Pathetic…” He mumbled as he nonchalantly stepped over the horrified stallion, and walked over to place his box of shopping into the back of the cart. “Let us head back home.” The former monarch hummed, before turning to see that Brick was still stock frozen from surprise. “Brick!” He snapped. “Wh-wha...buh… wha?” Brick babbled, still unsure of what he had completely just witnessed. “Let us go home.” Sombra repeated, gesturing for the pony to get to the cart. “Oh! Right!” Brick said, snapping out of his confusion and hooking himself up to the cart. Calmly, but with still a brisk pace, the two simply left Abs Ton there, frozen in the alley, and headed out of Icedale, heading back towards the mountains and the castle.