//------------------------------// // why, or how? What fits? // Story: Shadowed mirror // by Doukzor //------------------------------// CHAPTER 5 WHY, OR HOW? WHAT FITS? // Alternate Equestria \\ Pinkie pie rubbed a hoof along a design of a pony princess, etched in marble. "Ooh! this one looks like Princess Celestia!" She exclaimed. "That`s because it is" the annoyed grey unicorn mumbled. "ohhhhhhh... I get it! this is the good version of ms.prissy pants Celestia!" was what he was replied with. "..." Fluttershy just glanced at the drawings every once and a while, scared that something scary would be drawn there, though that was HIGHLY unlikely due to the fact every picture was either sun or moon related. Suddenly she caught sight of one picture, which bore a pony whom set in her fears: "Um, S-Sombra, take a look at this one..." "What?" he growled as he backed up from his standing position, stopping to stare in awe at the etching. It shone Celestia, the other worldly one, his love, sighing as the currently main picture part presented Sombra himself floating, being turned into the evil he was now. It didn`t show him saving the princesses though. "Looks like your popular `round here huh?!" Pinkie smiled, clearly oblivious to the purpose of the picture. "Yeah, not how I would have hoped..." Sombra sighed and began to continue his walk towards the kingdom`s courtyard. Maybe he could ditch the two ponies there... Maybe. On the other side of the castle, Stargleam would put her sketchbook to it`s limits, drawing almost every symbol on the walls. She figured that if she made her way to the castle`s front door, wherever the heck THAT was, then she could get some actual answers, like maybe why the heck Sunbutt was practically painted on the walls. "Hello!" she called out, just to see if anything lingered near. Nothing, though she could feel a prickle of concern, something seemed to be watching her... The unicorn slid her feet into a defensive pose, ready for attack... Nothing, but she kept her stance... Still nothing. Just as she was about to shrug it off, a bush in front of her rustled. "Show thou self!!!" She yelled, in her awkwardly defensive voice. It wasn`t her fault she unintentionally spoke like that at times. A small figure came to the edge of the bush, almost visible. Stargleam could make out what looked like a small reptilian creature. "Grah?" that confirmed it, as the creature placed a hoof, er paw out of the brush. It had red fur. "Not a dog, though" Stargleam noted. A small head popped out of the brush, it was also furry and red, except the frontal face was a lighter shade of it. It had large crystal blue eyes, and even ears like a dog`s. But it also had horns, tan spikes, two of them- one each behind both ears. "rah?" It smiled, revealing two tiny fangs from it`s dog-ish snout. it`s nose wrinkled as it opened it`s mouth, two little slits like a pony`s nose would be. "..oh, um..." Stargleam stood normally again, a look of confusion on her face. what in Celestia was this thing? As the creature fully stepped out into view, Stargleam got a full evaluation of it`s body. Still that red color, the back feet were even more dog like than the front, as the front`s seemed to have unretractable claws, and slightly longer feet. Though these were practically all dog, claw and all. The creature had two small wings which were open. They were feathery like a pegasus, and the inside part, which was facing stargleam, were a lighter red. Small light red stripes lined the body. Then came the tail. Mostly like a griffon`s, it had red and light red striped fur, and the end left it in a tuft of the former color`s fur, which swayed in the small breeze. Snapping out of her daze, Stargleam quickly took out her book and sketched the creature from memory, unknowing of it`s current actions. Once she finished, about only ten seconds after starting, really, she nodded and put it back into her satchel. Just as she lifted her head up to check if the thing was still there, she got a surprise " Grah!". At her right hoof, the creature sat down and looked up at her. It`s tail swayed back and forth, happily. "Um..." Stargleam was having trouble thinking, I mean, The creature was so adorable! "Rah!" It began purring and rubbed it`s head against her leg. "...ugh..." She was still having trouble reacting to the last action. Finally processing everything, she bent down to the little happy ball of fur. "H-hello there! eh, what`s your name little fella?" She closed her eyes in a kind posture. "Draise!" the little creature happily yapped back, much to Stargleam`s surprise. "D-did you just talk?!" She returned the excitement. "Yeah! why?" Draise smiled, though confused. "I didn`t know you speak the same language as me, cool!" "Oh, ugh yeah... right. um, what exactly are you?" " mrr,A draken! A branch along the species of dragon!mrr, why?" "Oh, ugh nothing really..."Stargleam stood up, "Are you, lost?" "mrr! No, of course not! i`m... mrr, hiding" Draise whimpered. "Really now, from what?" Stargleam said, a look of worry beginning to spread from her muzzle. "Who,mrr, that is. A pony...mrr" "Why?" "She is, mrr, scary" "In what way?" "mean scary. she, mrr, is mean!" "... oh, i`m, sorry about that..." Stargleam sighed, saddened. But it didn`t last long as a scream broke the silence: "WHERE ARE YOU! YOU CAN`T HIDE FROM ME, YOU LITTLE RUNT OF A DRAGON!!!" "Mrr!!! help me!" The baby draken cried, crawling under the middle of underneath Stargleam. "She sounds really awful..." The unicorn whispered, half to Draise, half to herself. Overhearing her, Draise replied with, "yeah! mrr, she really is!" The unicorn had an idea, and two options, either leave the furry dragon to suffer, or not... Not. "Hold on!" She yelled as she grabbed Draise by the collar of her furry neck and threw her onto her back as she began to gallop away from there, in the direction she had originally been heading in. The small draken clung to her furry back. "mrr, your furrier than most ponies, mrr!" "Thanks?" She replied, turning a corner into what seemed to be a garden of some sort. Statues lined the small curbs along the perimeter of the garden. She turned and quickly hid behind one of the larger statues. "Were, mrr, safe in here!" Draise yapped, crawling and then jumping off of the unicorn "ugh, how exactly?" Stargleam asked, confused. "She is, mrr, an outlaw" "A what now!?" Stargleam deadpanned. "Yes, mrr, she is charged for animal cruelty" "oh... that explains a lot". "So, mrr, why are you so furry? and your taller than the ponies i`ve seen, mrr!" "Heh, well you see, i`m not exactly your regular pony, I`m a shyre breed of horses, stronger, more stamina and have more fur! were also taller than most ponies, but not by much." Stargleam explained. "Where did you, mrr, come from?" Draise jumped onto the lap of the now sitting pony. "Well, i don`t really know, in truth." "So, mrr, why is that?" "Well, let me tell you the whole thing..." Stargleam trailed off into a most likely unbelievable story. Meanwhile, the trio of ponies came closer and closer to their destination. "Why are you traveling with me if i`m not even looking for your stupid mirror?" Sombra growled at the pink pony. "Because, silly, were looking for a mirror shard. I think i`ll find it if I travel with you, right Fluttershy?" Pinkie pie nudged her friend. "Um, I don`t know..." She whispered. "See? even she agrees! I`m just surprised you don`t remember this item!" "..." Sombra sighed, and stared at the sandy dirt path at his hooves. On one hoof, these ponies were company, and he sensed a power from them. On the other hoof, cotton candy there was as annoying as the evil Celestia and Luna had been, COMBINED. "No, more than that" he thought, then let out a small, soft chuckle. He could feel what seemed to be knot start to unwind. Although, whatever "knot" had loosened tightened up once more as the pink pony shouted, "Oh look! a garden. I`m famished, maybe the bucking doors are around her somewhere!" She began to trot off, tail flicking this way and that. Sombra blinked, taking in that cotton candy had just cursed. She hadn`t done that earlier, for sure. As they began to close in on the flowery patch of the shady garden, Sombra noticed a blue pony, Not a guard, though. They were strict with orders and always wore armor... "... Probably undercover or something..." Sombra muttered as he glanced around him. "But they always have a guard nearby". It was too late to turn around though when Pinkie pie screamed a "Hello!!!" to the mare. She jumped back a little, and put some animal on her shoulders, but gave off no TRUE hostility. "Um- Hi there... Pinkie, correct?" The mare asked, glancing at her dog thing. "Yeah!!! Oh, I don`t think we met though... Wait, yeah- whenyouorderedthatcakeandthenthesevinesstartedgrowingoutofthegroundandsomedarkthingcameoutofyourhornandthen you forced me to never tell any pony about that!" Pinkie tightly hugged the blue unicorn, who seemed to start sweating. "Yeah...Heh, heh, hehhhh", The mare`s laugh faded when she saw Sombra. "S-Sombra?!" She gaped. He quickly took to backing up. Fluttershy stepped up, "Maybe we should, um, get going?" Draise whimpered, "Her! It`s, mrr, her!" "Wait, your dog can talk?" Sombra seemed confused. "Their called Drakens, and yes, he can talk" Stargleam paused, then looked at Draise, "What? Fluttershy? She`s one of the nicest ponies alive". The yellow pegasus took notice of him. "A-Another dragon?! May I pet him? Oh dear Celestia he`s cute!" Fluttershy had already snatched the small furry animal and was hugging and petting him. "Help! mrr, Me!!!" Draise cried. Sombra face-hoofed. "Oh, am I hurting you? So, sorry... Here"- she lightened the hug- "Better?" "mrr..." Draise stopped complaining. "Eh..." Stargleam levitated Draise out of Fluttershy`s reach and placed him on her own back. "We- We REALLY need to get going." She sympathetically smiled, while weighing the possible chance they knew she had their mirror. If the element of Loyalty tried to get it, then wouldn`t the others too? I mean, being in an alternate world together? What if these were secretly copies of the mane six? What if they were counterparts, like Sombra? Shrugging of that thought- Stargleam began to head towards small set of double doors she managed to spot. "Oh Celestia! I can`t believe it!" The pink one-Pinkie pie gasped. Quickly shielding her saddle bag, she stammered, "w-what?!" "Your going to the same place as US!" She rushed to Sombra and the pale yellow pegasus. Stargleam couldn`t remember her name- just that she must have represented kindness. Or shyness. The unicorn began to make her way through the doors and into a hallway. "Just hang out here until they leave"she whispered, "They`ll leave you behind soon". Her panicky expression quickly switched to a smiling one as the three entered. Sombra faltered, mumbling something below her hearing capacity. "This way!" Pinkie Pie was bounding off down the hallway, jumping continuously. Sombra backed up- Stargleam could guess why; He was a villain, entering his enemy`s CASTLE without even being prepared. But why, then, did he suddenly grin- quite widely- before setting back off down the hallway?! She shook off the creepy vibe of that smile, and walked on. But she had seen it before... Somewhere. Back when she was still NEW Equestria, one day he- he smiled like that. but why? She could have swore she remembered it being when she was injured- which would make sense of the fuzzy memory being so... Blank. She decided to follow them, surely Pinkie Pie had ALREADY forgotten about her by the looks of it. Why not tag along? Get a few sketches of the kingdom, and make sure Sombra didn`t get killed. As they continued making their way along the corridor, Fluttershy was thinking to herself quietly, "He seems creepy..." She mumbled. Her conscious barked back, "No, he`s not!". "But he`s scary...". "SO? Your just as BAD as him". "W-what?! no... I`m not bad...". "Yeah, you are. Look at you- your allowing him to freely walk through Celestia`s castle. He might try to blow her to smithereens!". Fluttershy glanced at Sombra worriedly. "But he`s the good sombra... Right?". Her mind made a sound like a snigger, "NO, he`s not. He`s evil- and you KNOW IT". Fluttershy whimpered, "Your right...". "Exactly. and your letting him walk freely- because guess what?". "W-what?". "Your.Too.SHY". Fluttershy suppressed another whimper. These conversations had been going on in her head ever since they had found HIM. She sighed, "He`s why your here, right? When we found him... You... You rude little TERRIBLE thing got into my mind!" She screamed into her head, silently. "...Right. He did this too you- your just gonna let him get away with it, aren`t you?!". "...Well, I don`t like you, but-". "AREN`t YOU?!". "...No", was all Fluttershy said. "Good. but I bet you won`t DO anything, will you? Your still too SHY. A little petty 'no' can`t-", "NO! You little petty- petty THING!!! Stop! I swear if you don`t stop i`ll-". "...". The voice ceased, then said, "Well. DO something then". Fluttershy grumbled, feeling different. Why? When she looked at Sombra it was longer- she could feel her hate for him- taste it! He put this wretched voice in her head! She glared at him, and when he looked at her, she continued, harder- he gave a confused look and held his ears forward, slightly coming out of his mane, as if listening to her hatred itself scream and yell. Then he simply sighed and went to ignoring her. She felt horrible when he turned away, horrible that she couldn`t show him her anger. She suddenly realized she wasn`t breathing, and by taking a deep breath, calmed down. "What was that?" she questioned herself, sighing as she held her head low again. What did she do just then? "THAT, my friend, was YOU. This world`s you. It can`t live without you. It can`t live with the other you". The voice. Fluttershy ignored the comment as best she could, instead changing the subject, "Do you have a name?" "A name?! um, you just call me-" "Hey, Flutters! Come on! your trailing behind!" Pinkie waved. "Oh? Sorry, Pinkie pie". Stargleam had noticed the change in the pegasus` stature. The way she seemed to focus all hate into Sombra, and how she had been cringing as she mumbled to herself earlier... "What the hay...?" She wore a confused look as they continued on through the castle, the unicorn keeping a keen eye on everything, just in case.