//------------------------------// // If I Could Turn Back Time... // Story: Spike's Shadow // by DraconequusMaximus //------------------------------// Sombra awoke with a headache befitting someone who had quite recently been skewered through the brain. Yet at the same time there was a bright smile on his face. It fell when he realized where he was, but he was at least in pleasant company. Sombra was with Spike and Jay in a room unmistakably familiar. The private, and magically walled off study of Gavin Eadric Eboncastle. Spike was covered in bandages, and was seated in an uncommonly enormous armchair. It had most likely been provided due to Spike's inability to lay on the floor comfortably. His entire abdomen had been heavily injured, and Sombra could tell some sort of chemical salve or numbing agent and disinfectant had been applied to the wounds themselves from the smell in the air. Jay seemed to be faring much better than the last time Sombra had seen him, meaning he was no longer a heap of fur and feathers. Gavin himself was nowhere to be seen, which suited Sombra just fine at present. "Good morning, or night... Or midday? I've no idea how long I've been unconscious. This is becoming something of a pattern though isn't it?" Sombra joked as he popped his neck. Spike was at Sombra's side with as much quickness as he could muster, wasting very little time in scooping him up off the plush cushion he had been seated on. "It's ten till eight, the same night you passed out. You just took a nap for about ten hours after you tired yourself out while your body was still recovering and adjusting to your new... or maybe old, powers? I dunno. I've had just enough time and kick-ass painkillers Jay got me to be past freaking out about everything for now. Right now I just wanna be sure you're okay. You scared me back there, even though that was easily the coolest thing I've ever seen." Spike started in. Sombra briefly stared up at his new horn, pondering his state of being. "I feel... More put together? Complete? It's difficult to explain, but while I can't understand all of it I took something back from Dootha... Something that belonged to me. For the first time ever... I dreamed." Sombra smiled, recalling his slumber fondly. Spike smiled, placing a kiss at the base of Sombra's horn. He had known Sombra would get his horn back at some point and had picked that spot accordingly. He hadn't expected it to be so soon, but he was happy for Sombra. "I'm proud of you. You stuck it to Dootha, and you even helped a bad guy. You pretty much topped the hero charts. I am kinda curious what you dreamed about though." Spike asked innocently. Sombra thought for a moment, recalling the vague colors and sounds that had flooded his sleep. While it had seemed vivid and awe-inspiring at the time, Sombra found it was quickly fading. The more he chased after the dream the more quickly it fled back into the blurry void that had replaced the darkness. "I can't seem to remember now... But it was there." Sombra sighed happily. "As touching as this is, my warm fuzzies died centuries ago and we have business to discuss." Sombra's eyes flared out into their new and unique appearance as soon as the speaker came into view. The unusually calm and collected Gavin bristled as his mismatched eyes met Sombra's. His eyes thinned to slits like Spike's while Sombra's widened in surprise. He wasn't just seeing Gavin, he was seeing into Gavin. Gavin's soul, or possibly his energy. It was unclear. Gavin's body glowed red and black in his new sight, and the energy flowed like thick liquid. Like blood. Deep within his chest and across his face were familiar masses of purple and green energy. Dootha's influence, stronger in the scar than in his chest. The last thing of note was a healthy blue-green glow coming from his green eye. As if on reflex Sombra's mane and tail began flowing once more, prepared to crush the evil magic radiating off of Gavin's personage. Gavin eventually lowered his guard, acclimated to the sight of Sombra's new and somewhat familiar eyes. "Hmm. Spike informed me of what happened in the abyss. I hadn't known what to think until now. Your eyes are full of the same fire as Dootha's, but the feeling isn't cold and abrasive. It pleasantly warm. Just what did you see with your new eyes, I wonder?" Gavin mused in a disturbingly excited manner. Sombra closed his eyes briefly and remembered the breathing techniques Zecora had taught him to ease his meditation. With some effort, Sombra collected himself and found a switch of sorts after probing about in his subconscious. While mere switch seemed a poor metaphor for controlling such powers it was the only thing Sombra could compare the sensation to. Once Sombra opened his eyes they were normal again. His mane and tail seemed to slow their flow until they eventually stopped and became actual hair again. Though Sombra's mane and tail were so deep a black to begin with only someone with vision as sharp as Spike's could actually tell. "I saw colors...? Magic? I'm not sure exactly. I have seen Dootha within me, and the blight that was on Arimaspi's soul, even though I didn't realize it at the time. It resides in you as well. While your darkness is comparatively small to Arimaspi's I could see it too. The red, I imagine is your blood magic which was the strongest, but the one that surprises me most was a blue-green coming from your eye. It didn't seem to belong to you. It was soft and gentle, while every other color of magic within you was abrasive." Spike and Gavin both contemplated Sombra's new power, but Gavin seemed to be impacted the most. He placed a claw over his green eye, and a sort of sad smile graced his beak. Gavin seemed to show his age briefly, reminiscing on something that must have been greatly important to him. Something that was still extremely important to him. "So... The eye isn't corrupted then." Gavin sighed contently. Sombra and Spike looked at one another, unsure what to make of the sudden out-pour of emotion. When it was clear neither knew what to say or do they looked to Jay. Jay was smiling, but at the same time equally confused as to what was going on. "I have not seen Gavin this happy since we were small children!" Jay leaned in and whispered to the curious couple. "Yes... When we were young..." Gavin hummed thoughtfully. Gavin sat down at his desk, from which he retrieved a bottle of clear liquid Spike and Sombra were quite familiar with. A bottle of true moonshine, this one emblazoned with the cutie mark of Luna herself. As soon as they had begun consuming it regularly, Spike had looked up the actual price of the magical intoxicant. A single Berry Punch bottle would fetch nearly ten thousand bits. A Luna Original, reportedly twice as magical and mind numbingly crisp and fresh could go for over a hundred thousand bits in auction and were only produced every five years. A bottle from before Nightmare Moon would fetch twice that. Gavin poured himself a generous shot, and quickly downed it and let loose a stream of stardust with a content sigh. "Right then, I'm inebriated enough to speak of the past. I promised the two of you a story, and I intend to deliver." Gavin began. ... As the prince of Griffonstone, I was brought up in the original castle. Griffons were more barbaric then, and strength was essentially the only thing that determined status other than wealth. I am obviously on the small side, having inherited mother's traits rather than father's. Even though I'm a full five years older than Jay he was slated to be the new ruler. I was forced to settle for becoming an adviser, at least if father had his way. This was all something in the neighborhood of two and a half thousand years ago, mind you. Not a lot of progressive ideas back then. One day father took us all out on a hunting trip and I got separated from the group. I was thirteen, and armed with a knife that was nearly as long as my arm. Needless to say, I was grossly unprepared to run into a full-grown bugbear. I tried to flee, but it was far too fast. It shot a stinger into my shoulder, the anti-coagulant venom causing me to lose blood at an alarming pace. My vision turned red, and before I knew what had happened I was covered in red crystal that was keeping my blood in my body and skewering the bugbear. I eventually realized I could feel my blood, as if it were another limb. It had thrown itself up to shield me just as an arm would upon instinct. I was able to free myself while keeping the wound sealed, but I was in an incredible amount of pain and didn't have the faintest idea of what had really happened. I wandered about as far as I could, looking for shelter or the rest of the party. But, by the time it got dark out I was much more lost than before, and it gets quite frigid in the mountains at night. I was cold, injured, lost, confused, and hungry. The last thing I saw before I passed out was something stirring in the dark. When I awoke the next morning my injuries had been healed and the crystallized blood was on the ground in front of me. At first I thought the hunting party had found me, but I soon realized that was not the case. A small feline form slinked out from behind a boulder and sat itself down in front of me. I knew instantly that the unassuming wrapper the monstrosity wore was some sort of facade. It seemed to tower over me, despite needing to look up to meet my gaze. It's eyes were a vibrant green and it seemed perfectly content as it's mere presence threatened to smother me to death. What was worse was when it decided to speak. It had the voice of a child, or maybe a chorus of countless children speaking all at once. It was impossible to tell, as it felt as though a drill was on either side of my head with intent to meet in the middle. It etched every single syllable onto my soul. "The pretty bird all dressed in red, it's beak is sharp and kills things dead. So new and afraid of little old me, yet so full of potential. That much I can see. I saved your life my pretty pet, that leaves you in my debt." The cat taunted triumphantly. I had never been in such a position before. I wasn't the heir to the throne, but I was still always shown respect as a prince. Yet here I was being talked down to, toyed with by some kind of unnatural thing. Yet all I could do was bow to it, fearing he would collect my life-debt if I rebuked his claim. "what would you have me do?" I managed to choke out. The cat purred in a pleased way, having known full well that I was trapped under-paw like a mouse. "You will become king on the twentieth eve of your birth, then is when you must prove to me your worth. You will do as I say, running your little land like a play. If you do well I will reward you, but if you fail to comply your race will see all the things I can do." I had no doubt the insignificant form of the cat could commit genocide of the griffons, so I followed it's order and after it showed me the path home I waited. For seven years, I secretly honed my blood magic that had attracted the little demon to me. Just before bed on the night of my twentieth birthday there was a commotion in the castle. I knew something was going to happen, but I just stayed in my chambers and pretended to sleep. It was Jay, now a strapping lad of fifteen that barged into my room to inform me that father had died. He had apparently taken his own life after leaving a note about how wrong his past decisions were. I was to be king, and Jay my adviser. Only I had any idea of what really happened, even if I didn't see the cat kill my father. Just as the cat had said, I became king and began ruling. I had been in control for three years before I saw the cat again. It told me I was doing exactly as I had been bid, and that I had earned yet another position of authority. I departed Griffonstone under the guise of a diplomatic trip several days later, headed for the Crystal Empire. The cat guided me to a run-down looking tavern. In the basement was a staircase leading down into the dark. Yet still I obeyed, even though I hated the ever-superior feline impersonator. After what felt like miles of descent we came to a chamber large enough to house a castle. An underground dome of crystal that housed a small city. The largest building seemed to be a temple of sorts which the cat directed me to. Unlike the crystal above in the city and the dome of the unnaturally huge chamber it was surrounded by black crystals that felt the same as the cat. Inside were tapestries of incredible age and horrid imagery, made all the more terrifying by the braziers full of purple fire that served as lighting. Upon a throne of tainted crystal and bleached-white bones of all manner of species sat a decrepit white creature that looked to be as old as the Earth itself. A desiccated white unicorn with sunken-back eyes flowing with a suffocating miasma, a curved horn that looked as though it had been dipped in blood, and a set of fangs befitting a manticore more than an equine. My heart seemed to stop beating for a time, as the unicorn silently stared into my soul with his miasma-filled pits that served as his eyes. When he spoke, my ears, my eyes, and my nostrils all bled. Even though I didn't know what sort of language he was speaking I knew what he was saying. It was a song of sorts... I think. I feel as though whatever form of speech Dootha spoke in was not meant for mortal ears. It was the melody of beginnings, of all beginnings, and of pain and jealousy. The story of gods and the first evils, and of the family of dragons that played parts in all of it. A story the two of you know very well, but Dootha has added some chapters since. Once I regained consciousness I was among other such individuals the cat had gathered. I later learned his name to be Beznik, the shadow of Dootha's true body. Apparently mind-melting song had been some sick initiation ritual or test of worthiness that Dootha was fond of. Some were important political figures from various lands all over the world, powerful mages, monsters there to worship and obey, and a party mix of mindless zealots, brainwashed cultists, and reanimated slaves. Quite an assortment of evil who's who's, all working together. Out of fear of course. Were we all not under the watchful eyes of Beznik and the old fart himself we would have torn each other to shreds in minutes. The organization was known as The Court of The Third King, the first two kings being the king of the gods, Suuph, Dramaal, king of the dragons, and the third was of course Dootha, the king of all evils. In exchange for power and longevity we were all given tasks, as teams or individuals depending on our specialties. Some of us would rule our own lands and provide other court members with temporary lodgings, safe houses, and supplies. Some were made to set up communication networks or act as spies in non-affiliated countries. The blindly faithful attended to Dootha's personal needs, and those like me were given the task of research. I was to experiment with my unique skills in blood magic in attempts to help the cause. To keep Dootha's host bodies stable longer, to find an immortal vessel for Dootha, or to break the seal keeping Dootha from taking a dragon as host. I was quite successful in the first, able to infuse new blood into host bodies to keep them fresh. Dootha's power could eat through a body in less than a decade, while I was able to increase that time by two to three times, depending on the bodies. I was the king of my own prosperous land, and I had a plethora of exotic research materials provided for me. So long as I kept contributing to the cause now and then I was left to my own devices. The research led to my blood bond with my species, and the spells I used to make the White Ravens, to name but a few. Everything went splendidly for many centuries, but I was never really happy. I couldn't be, because I was still at the mercy of Beznik and his master. Eventually it got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore, and I decided to kill Dootha and his shadow. If I didn't, there was no way I would ever be truly free. I am no fool. Everyone in the court knows Dootha can only be harmed by a dragon from the same bloodline. So naturally I set about trying to find one while still using the court to further my own goals. Within the court was an unofficial faction known to others as the old-bloods. Families that had been in the court since the beginning and kept extensive historical records. The court's finest spies were the ones that never needed to blend in. They had always been wherever they needed to be. With a bit of digging, I discovered the first-blood family tree as we knew it. From Dramaal all the way to what was then the present. Beasha, a blue first-blood drake reportedly took a mate before he and one of the court's tailor-made monsters killed one another. Though since no first-blood dragons had been seen in over the thousand years since then the court presumed the bloodline had ended. I however wanted to be a bit more thorough. It took me decades, but eventually I caught wind of a dragon sighted moving from cave to cave across the continent. A dragoness, smaller than Spike is now. She was very good at covering her tracks, and she had likely been lying low after the death of her father. I approached her after keeping a safe observation distance for weeks. She had finally made her way to Griffonstone, in the emerald caves to the south. I could protect her there so we could plot the end of Dootha. I walked into the cave with nothing but a shield, wary of her fire. While the court had provided me with an elixir that permanently kept me from aging I was still very killable at the time. Even in this day and age, being burned alive is easily my least favorite activity. "I seek the first-blood dragoness. I wish you no harm. I am Gavin Eadric Eboncastle, king of Griffonstone. These caves are on the southern border of my kingdom." I called out into unknown caves. For a few minutes there was only silence, but then she emerged from around the bend of one of the many corridors. I had only glimpsed her from afar before, and even then in the dark when she would hunt small game. She was lithe and sleek as I had seen, but even thinner so up-close. Her frame was strong, but after studying dragons to an extent I could tell there was something wrong. She was weak, and their was a look of defeat and tiredness in her eyes. It was quite clear she wasn't well. "How do you know my bloodline? Mortals aren't meant to know the secrets of the past. Though they don't usually announce themselves to predators either." She barked at me, seemingly annoyed and interested all at once. I was a bit nervous myself, unsure how to ask for her assistance, or if she was even able to give it. I hadn't counted on her being unfit for battle. And then there was the matter of explaining how I knew what I knew, and how she would react. Given the likelihood of how closely we would have been forced to cooperate I decided truth would be best. There was every chance I could be caught in a lie. Being as paranoid as I am, I couldn't risk making my most important ally an enemy. "I have been in the employ of some shady character for the past few hundred years. Among them a certain cat-shaped demon and it's master. I've tired of working for them, and I was hoping I could help you kill them. It's not the sort of job one can just quit, as you could imagine." To my surprise she began laughing, right to my face. "Ha! Serves you right for aligning yourself with devils. I'm in no position to help anyone, even if I cared enough to help you. You'll be stuck working for them until the end of time. Which is bound to be whenever your boss gets a decent meat-suit." Despite her general rudeness I knew things could have been much worse. She wasn't outright hostile in anything but word, despite knowing my affiliations. "I see, and might I ask why you're unable to help? I was under the impression it was your obligation to try and defeat the traitorous dragon currently using a pony as his quickly deteriorating skin." She snorted indignantly and used her claw to slice a section of cave out. It was a segment chalked-full of emeralds, which she began snacking on lazily. As if her meal was infinitely more important than her duties, or my offer of help. "I've got a birth defect. A bad heart. It didn't used to be much of an issue, but when my wings grew in I almost died from the strain. My heart's been threatening to give out on me if I do much more than a brisk walk. I've never even been able to fly before. Isn't that just a kick in the teeth?" She snapped through a mouthful of gems. My hopes had been thoroughly dashed, seeing the only dragon capable of fighting Dootha would die before the real fight could start. I tossed my shield aside, knowing it wouldn't be needed. She took it and began eating it too, not that I cared. Out of options I laid down on the cave floor to think of my next move. "Yeah, giving up is the way to go here. Far as I know, I'm the last of my kind, and Dootha's still kicking more or less. It's just a matter of time. Kinda nice to have company though I guess... Ever since Zecora left to try and find one of my probably-dead cousins to carry the torch I've been wandering from cave to cave every few weeks. Name's Nabi, by the way." For a time I listened to Nabi speak. She seemed quite lonely, despite being a bit snippy with me. Then, to my surprise she asked me about myself. Other than Jay and Roderick I had never been much for socialization. It was rather new to me, but after awhile I began to open up. Nabi and I became friends somehow, and she told me about her mentor who continually revived over and over and many other things. It seemed the court had omitted a number of things in their records, as I had never heard anything about her before. Eventually I even showed Nabi my blood magic, and to my surprise she thought it was beautiful. People had only ever been afraid of my power before. That was when Nabi devised a plan that would utterly change life as I knew it. To my abject horror Nabi placed her left wrist in her mouth and opened her veins. Crimson ichor flowed forth and I crystallized the wound, wanting to keep her alive. She was my only friend, and I was furious at her for doing what she did. "Ha! So you can use your magic on dragon blood. I knew you had it in you. I think we've found you a weapon to kill Dootha then." Nabi said casually. I momentarily swallowed my anger and gathered up the blood she had lost. I formed it into a crystal, then changed it's shape into a small knife. I could feel it was much more powerful than the blood of an ordinary being, even if I couldn't understand the power completely. As much as I hated to admit it, the plan seemed viable. With the blood of a first-blood dragon I could possibly form a weapon to smite Dootha with. It seemed the only option at the time, and as time wore on I wanted to end Dootha more and more. I now had someone to protect, someone I cared for just as much as Jay and Roderick. If Dootha and the court got hold of Nabi they would kill her, or even worse they would keep her alive and perform terrible experiments on her. Each time I visited Nabi she would give me a small amount of blood to add to my supply, and I made certain the court knew nothing of Nabi or my impending betrayal. I had stockpiled a large amount of magical artifacts and trinkets and placed them around Nabi's cave to essentially make the cave invisible to everyone who didn't already know it existed. After a century of collecting blood I had enough. I compressed it all into a large scythe, dense enough to hold together under tremendous pressure and sharp enough to cleave through diamond. I put every single ounce of my arcane knowledge into reinforcing and bolstering it's power. With Nabi safe in her cave, I went to report in to the court and stage my betrayal. I liquefied the scythe and disguised it as the blood I normally brought to transfuse into Dootha's ever-decaying host body. Unfortunately for me, I had been found out. The court had likely been spying on me without my knowledge. My overconfidence was to be my downfall... Our downfall. When I arrived in the court's underground compound, my heart stopped when I saw Nabi in chains. Beznik was sitting casually in front of her and a flock of robed court zealots quickly surrounded us. It appeared Dootha had known I wasn't trustworthy from the beginning, and was ready for my betrayal. "Little bird, little bird, all grown up now. I knew you would turn, but I knew not how. Impressive work finding another dragon of first-blood for us. Using her will make our task take off by leaps and bounds and she can't even put up a fuss." The detestable feline purred. I did the only thing I could think to do and reformed the scythe. Using it in sync with my blood magic I slew several score of the robed followers, but Beznik was far too fast for me. Before I even knew what had happened I was thrown into the wall behind me and had a tremendous gash running down the left side of my face. If he hadn't been toying with me I'd have died right then. With my remaining eye I saw Beznik transform into his truest shape. A nebulous mass of shadow the size of a castle. There were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of glowing souls of various brightness and colors floating inside of it, giving it the appearance of a chunk of sky ripped from the night itself. It was beautiful and horrid all at the same time. Then, suddenly it began shrinking again. I thought it was resuming the guise of the cat again, but I was so very wrong. The decrepit unicorn that was Dootha's host body was walking out of the facility at a leisurely pace into the haze of darkness. Beznik was rejoining it's master. Together Beznik wrapped around the host of Dootha as a cloak, resembling a dragon with enormous wings and tremendous ghostly-green eyes imposed upon it's silhouette of a head. Incomplete, but still the most terrifying thing I had ever seen, and likely the scariest thing I ever will. I had no choice but to use a power I had avoided tapping into in all my years as part of the court. I had seen many a soul burn itself out from overusing it over the years. Dootha's own power he was all too eager to give out, tainting the souls of mortals foolish enough to accept it. Combining my blood magic with Dootha's borrowed strength I gathered up all the blood I had spilled and encased them in a massive crystal of blood. Nabi's blood-scythe was a portion of it, so I hoped it would slow their escape if only a moment. I managed to free Nabi, and we began our escape. Unfortunately on our way out the incomplete Dootha broke free of it's prison and shot a bolt of shadowy miasma at us. While we avoided it, it struck the dome and produced a large number of cracks. The dome was doomed, as the destructive energy hastened it's end. Dootha roared in a rage as he was forced to occupy himself with stopping the roof from collapsing upon him. The remaining cultists were either praying to their broken god to be saved, or running about screaming. By some miracle we had a window of time to escape in. Or at least I thought it a miracle at first. It was only seconds after we started running that I realized I hadn't crystallized my own wound in all the commotion. I had lost a fair amount of blood, but the pain had made me forget until I was falling unconscious. The next thing I knew I was back in Nabi's cave, and she was in a sorry state. While we had escaped, running out of the empire and the restless walk back to the cave had taken nearly everything Nabi had to give. I was barely able to sustain her life by using my magic to ease the burden on her heart. Once she was stable I had to return to the castle, knowing the court would be hot on our heels. I was right of course. They sent one of their heavy hitters, Arimaspi to steal the treasure of my race. The Idol of Boreas. Without it our species would lose the ability to cooperate with one another. It was essentially an act of terrorism and a declaration of war all rolled into one. I was unfortunately in no condition to fight anyone. Beznik's claw had filled my body with a toxic miasma and all my focus was on filtering it out of my blood via magic. If I let it linger within me for too long it would have begun rotting me from the inside out. Fortunately as a king I had an army willing to lend me aid. One of my White Ravens nailed him in the back of the head with a cannonball, causing him to fall into the abyss. Had I known he had a modicum of magic power in him I wouldn't have used such a barbaric method. I would have cremated him to avoid the events of this morning, but I had few options at the time. Things were about to fall apart very fast, so I had to set one of my more drastic contingency plans in motion. The ravens were put on ice in a lab deep underground, safe until I could return. I had to travel with as few people as possible to avoid detection. I took with me only a few important magic objects and a satchel of gold. I would have to rebuild the nation another time. I had paid the price for betraying the court, but they too would pay once I was back on my feet. I had safe houses set up all over the world I could visit that the court didn't know about. The only thing left to do was get Nabi so we could leave. Unfortunately things would not go as planned in that regard. When I got to the cave Nabi was there, and she was well. No one had gotten to her yet. The court had likely thought of me as a bigger threat, knowing Nabi was too ill to fight them. But someone would come for her soon enough if something wasn't done. "Nabi! The kingdom has fallen. I haven't the resources to keep you safe here, so we need to leave." I shouted as I ran into the cave. Nabi just looked at me sadly, as if everything had been her fault... She just looked so very sorry. It tore into my heart like Beznik had sliced through my face. "I'm staying, Gavin. I've written Zecora, and she's coming here on the wings of the first male dragon she can coerce with some gold. You've helped me realize how important it is that Dootha be stopped. I'm sorry I can't go with you." Nabi explained, much to my confusion. "But some other dragon isn't going to cut it, it has to be you. It has to be us. You know that. The court is injured and fractured, they'll need to find a new location and regroup, just like us. We can't wait. We'll never catch a break if we don't get away while they're uncoordinated." I pleaded with her. Nabi seemed close to tears, hanging her head in a way much more defeated than even the first time I had met her. "I know that, Gavin. But I've realized it's not my job to kill Dootha. I'm too weak, and even if our plan had worked we don't know for sure if the blood would have done the job. We need a real first-blood dragon. "Which is why I'm going to have a baby. I won't survive, but Zecora will make sure my child is raised properly and takes on it's destiny. I hate that I'll never get to meet my son or daughter, but I know they'll be happy with whoever Zecora chooses." Nabi explained. In that moment I realized that I had cared for Nabi far more than I had ever admitted to myself, and in the instant that followed my heart broke. For the first time in hundreds of years I cried like the lonely little cub in the woods that had been attacked by a bug bear. I briefly considered telling her how I felt, but I knew she had already made up her mind and she was going to go through with her plan either way. I think that the last shred of sanity left me that day, but I kept myself from lashing out for Nabi's sake. She was already so broken, and was going to make the ultimate sacrifice. It would have been selfish of me to deny her her place in the legacy of her bloodline. There was only one thing left I could do for her. "If you give me something of yours, something organic, like a scale or a fang, I can use a bit of magic I know to watch over your child. When the time comes, I will stand by them. Please let me do that much for you." I said through the tears. Nabi gave me a sad smile that still haunts my dreams occasionally, even now some twelve-hundred and something years later. "I would love nothing more than to have you by their side. I've had a precious few friends in my life of moving from place to place, and I count you among the best. I want you to take my left eye, and when you perform your spell I can watch them with you. I can rest easier knowing I can see them after they're born." Though I regretted offering her the kindness I carried out her last wish. I waited with her until my body had purged the miasma, not wanting to damage the eye. I then carefully performed the operation with as little pain as I could inflict. After it was done I sealed the wound with the crystallization trick I had used so often, leaving her a dark-red simulacrum in it's place. That was the last time I saw her alive. I stayed in watch near the cave until Zecora found her way there just in case, and then I fled. My being there would have only complicated things, and I had no interest in seeing Nabi off to wherever the drake was. It would only serve to twist the knife in my chest even further. Ever since then, I've spent my time mastering new skills and assassinating the members of the court I knew of while stockpiling resources. Some eight-hundred and seventy-six people of various species have met an end by my vengeful hand. Every single time I made perfectly certain to look them in the eyes as their lives drained away. I've probably lost my mind ages ago, and the only thing that has kept me going was the memory of Nabi, and the thought of Dootha's end. I will live until Dootha and his minions are all naught but memories, even if a few of my people's lives are forfeit in the process. Spike will kill Dootha, Sombra will be freed, and the world will be better for it. ... Gavin sighed as he finished his tale, feeling lighter than he had in what felt like an eternity. Though he didn't hesitate to down another shot of maximum strength moonshine, in an impotent gesture of trying to drink the pain away. Everyone else in the room was currently attempting to find words, as theirs had seemingly left them. Spike seemed the most shaken, which was understandable in the current context. The mad tyrant that ran the kingdom of New Griffonstone had once been Dootha's ally, as well as the ally of his biological mother's whom he had never gotten to meet. The last and possibly most disturbing was how the strange green eye that Gavin had had once belonged to her. "Why... Why would you wait until now to contact me?" Spike managed to ask. Gavin seemed to begin to say something, but his words failed him and he stewed on the question for a moment. "I had no idea what to say, nor how to do it properly. Had I introduced myself earlier and you hadn't known about Dootha I would have come off as even more of a dangerous lunatic than I do at present. Or too soon into your training I would have likely seemed like I was trying to coerce you into being my ally instead of Zecora's. "Then there's also the issue of how dangerous associating with me is. I was still being hunted down like a dog, as until very recently the court's focus was still on me. Now that you've come of age you have a bulls-eye on your back. Doubly so since you've got Sombra, who is in essence their god's divine vessel. So I had time to repair my shattered people, and put myself in a place where I could offer my assistance in the last seven years." Gavin reasoned. Sombra was a bit surprised Spike didn't seem to want to contest that answer whatsoever. There seemed so much to process that he wasn't able to muster the appropriate hostility. Even though Gavin's answer had seemed sensible enough Sombra couldn't say for certain he wouldn't have snapped at Gavin, regardless of how reasonable the reply. "Does explain where you were always running off to with smile on face. Jay had never thought he would see brother with woman." Jay laughed innocently, trying (unsuccessfully) to diffuse some tension. "So... I guess the eye is how you know so much about me and my adoptive family? Have you been watching me for my entire life?" Spike continued with surprising calm. "Off and on, yes. I slew a few assassins the court sent to dispatch you, but until now we had never been within ten miles of each other. Though you spent so much time as an egg I may have skipped a week here or there while on my crusade of vengeance. I had to learn lip-reading too, or it wouldn't have been as useful as it was. Rest assured, that damned Tree of Harmony has blocked out my sight. "I had feared in the back of my mind that the residual evil magic in my body had finally corrupted it, and that that was what clouded my view. Or that it had merely started to wane after so long in such a foreign body. I thank you for relieving me of that fear, Sombra." Gavin replied, placing a claw over his prized eye. Sombra could somewhat relate to how Gavin might have felt. Though his sword had been destroyed, Sombra now had a shard of it incorporated into his very being. While the blade was gone, there would always be something left of it bonded to his very being. A part of Spike that would never be taken, even if he were to lose his horn again. "I suppose you're welcome. While I am not entirely pleased to call you an ally you likely have more information than we could gather in several lifetimes as far as this 'Court of The Third King' is concerned." Sombra consented. Gavin felt no need to be offended by the comment, knowing perfectly well he was detestable in many regards. "As they were previously based in the Crystal Empire, I'd like to know what sort significance it has to Dootha. Or if I happened to be among the ranks of the court while you were there. Or someone that resembled me. I am unclear as to how many cosmetic changes my body has undergone since Dootha's possession." Sombra asked, picking up where Spike left off. "The Empire is where Dootha and Dramaal lost their physical forms. Much of their magic stayed there and reshaped the climate and landscape. That is why there is crystal growing everywhere. Dootha would drain them to increase his compatibility with his host and add to his mana pool. As for you, Sombra, I had never laid eyes on you until Spike saw you in the Empire fifteen years ago." Gavin answered clearly and calmly. "I see. Would you happen to have any idea where the court might be based now, or their numbers?" "Somewhere in the remote areas of Equestria, and likely no more than a hundred members. They seem desperate if they need to supply non-members with magical weaponry. Their more powerful members are likely all dead. All you need do is find them, and then destroying the remaining members should be easy enough. So long as you can destroy Beznik somehow..." Gavin surmised. Sombra hummed thoughtfully, finding the court to be a little too close to home. The news that he had never been a member of the court, at least during Gavin's tenure, was welcomed information. Sombra hated to admit how helpful Gavin was, but at present he was concerned for Spike's state of mind. After all the questions at the forefront of their minds had been asked the group sat in silence. It was clear that Spike would need a bit more time before he could talk about everything, even with Sombra. There was just too much to take in in such a short period of time. Fortunately a welcomed distraction saw fit to save them from the situation. A green jet of fire escaped Spike's maw, which was caught in the air just as soon as it became an unusually small scroll. Spike opened it with mild curiosity, unable to react with the proper enthusiasm or surprise. Yet somehow, against all odds the corners of Spike's mouth turned up in a glowing smile so vibrant it would have been impressive even on a good day the very instant he read the note. "Fluttershy and Gilda are back. They've been looking for us. They want us to come meet the kids."