//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16. It was Sombra’s Maw. 
// Story: Possession in the Crystal Empire 
// by Askre 
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Chapter 16
 
Flash Sentry was feeling a little nervous right now. He had figured it would be Cadance that would insist on coming and helping, but no it had to be Twilight. The Pegasus was now responsible for keeping an eye on his commander’s little sister, not that he didn’t think she couldn’t handle herself if it came down to it, but he was a royal guard and his job was to protect the royalty.
 
It didn’t help that someone kept spreading rumors around the garrison that he had a thing for her. He had met her like what, once before? Yes, they kept bumping into each other that time, but how did that translate into him having a thing for her?
 
Just keep calm, this is just another job, Flash thought as they continued to fly westwards to the Crystal Ale. He was lined up beside Twilight Sparkle, while behind them came four Crystal Pegasi, two of which pulled a cart.
 
“It’s strange that rousing them didn’t work, when I got stuck in Sombra’s creepy magic door, Spike calling my name was enough to wake me up. Then when Spike got caught, all I had to do was close the door,” Twilight remarked thoughtfully.
 
“Maybe it was a different kind of spell?” Flash suggested, not really sure if that’s how it even worked. His knowledge of magic was minimal after all.
 
“Oh that might be it, the door seemed to only work on one pony at a time, well one pony and one dragon.” Twilight nodded and gave Flash a small smile. “This might be a similar but still different spell.”
 
Flash just nodded and raised his eyebrow a little when Twilight began rambling more about the possible spells being used. She then started to go into dark magic theory that went straight over his head. The Pegasus glared back when hearing a snicker, two of the guards behind him instantly assumed nonchalant expressions.
 
Great, that’s not going to help the rumors at all is it, he thought and faced forward again. They would soon see the inn, since they were flying and that was a fast way to travel, even if two guards were pulling a cart behind them.
 
Is that smoke? He frowned when he suddenly noticed a dark gray line rising up in the distance.
 
“Then I was surprised that Discord confirmed that chaos magic and dark magic can cancel each other out and…” Twilight stopped abruptly in her ramble when Flash Sentry suddenly shouted, “The inn is on fire! Double time, we need to get there immediately!” The orange yellow Pegasus then increased his speed and so did the four other guards.
 
“Hey wait for me!” Twilight called as she was pretty much left in the dust, still not being the strongest of fliers. Fortunately, she remembered that she could cheat a little and immediately teleported closer to the guards as they were diving right down towards the inn. Smoke was pouring out of it and flickers of flames could be seen.
 
Flash wasted no time barging right into the building to look for survivors. What he saw shocked him to the core. Creatures and Ponies were all screaming madly as they tried claw their way through a force field that was being desperately held together by Sharp Spear in the middle of the inn. She stood over Bright Spark who looked unconscious and bled from a nasty claw wound that something had managed to inflict on him and his armor had not managed to deflect. Emerald Shines stood near Sharp, frantically looking around.
 
“We are free! WE ARE FREE!!” the green crystal pony kept shouting with tears in her eyes. Both standing guards looked battered and bruised, bleeding from cuts on the parts of their bodies the armor didn’t cover.
 
Few creatures and ponies lay unconscious and bleeding around; the guards had clearly managed to fight for a little bit. Someone had kicked the logs in the fireplace out of it and it was from that the fire was spreading.
 
“Flash!” Sharp Spear noticed Flash Sentry and the other crystal guards who had arrived. “I can’t hold this shield up much longer!”
 
“And you won’t have to!” Twilight Sparkle declared as she pushed past the guards when making her way into the building. Already some of the creatures attacking the shield had turned around and prepared to attack them instead. The Princess narrowed her eyes, her horn began glowing bright and suddenly every attacking creature and pony were frozen by her magenta aura.
 
“Flash, the rest of you, get them out of here!” Twilight ordered as she struggled to maintain the spell that kept the mad inn patrons frozen in place.
 
“Sharp, drop the shield,” Flash ordered as he and the rest of the guards rushed over to their injured comrades. They picked up Bright Spark and hurried with him out of the inn along with the two mares.
 
Twilight in the meantime was already trying to feel for the spell that the patrons were under. She had to hurry though, the fire was spreading, plus there were so many frozen under her power that she was straining to keep it that way. The worst part was that this didn’t silence them, they were all still screaming in terror.
 
I… I can’t detect any spell on them, the Alicorn blinked in surprise. She looked at the closest person. It was a young griffon. Twilight gasped when seeing that her eyes weren’t glowing green or red, they were just mad, mad with fear. Their minds are gone. I can’t do anything.
 
“Like my little surprise, Princess?” Twilight looked around when hearing the dark voice of King Sombra. Then she spotted the big brown Minotaur at the back. He was frozen like the rest, but his eyes were the only ones that were green and red.
 
“Sombra! What have you done to them?” She snapped, figuring that the Dark King was speaking through the creature.
 
“Drove them mad with their fears. A trap for any guard pursuing me and I left one last spell in case an Alicorn Princess came along,” King Sombra said and started to laugh. “I’m afraid your magic can’t help them, once the mind itself has been driven mad, there is no easy magical solution.”
 
“You monster!” Twilight gritted her teeth. She was starting to lose hold on the patrons and the smoke and heat from the fire were starting to bother her.
 
“Not just any monster. The King of Monsters!” King Sombra cackled madly. “You have no choice Twilight Sparkle. The only way to save them is the sweet embrace of death, the inn is burning and you’ll never have time to rescue everypony from the fires.”
 
“No! I will stop you and I will save them!” The princess snapped, causing Sombra just to laugh more.
 
“Twilight!” Flash Sentry appeared in the doorway. “Whatever you’re going to do, you better do it now!”
 
“Yes Twilight, try in vain to save them and die in the process, that’s just one less princess for me to deal with,” Sombra snorted and his presence left the Minotaur who resumed screaming in fear.
 
“Flash, you and the guards be ready. I’m going to try and knock as many as I can with a knockout spell then teleport them out. It’s the only way!” Twilight shouted to the Pegasus.
 
“Are you sure?” the guard asked with a frown, there were at least twenty creatures and ponies.
 
“We have no choice. My hold is breaking!” The Princess cried, already some of the creatures were beginning to try and break off the hold.
 
Flash Sentry quickly saluted and hurried back out. Twilight dropped the holding spell, but made sure everyone she had been holding were dropped from a height so they had to rise up again when landing flat on the floor. This gave her the precious seconds she needed to build up her magic and sent a shockwave of it through the inn. The knockout was powerful enough that it took out nearly everybody, only few now remained conscious, but they had been pushed further inside the burning inn.
 
Twilight concentrated again, focusing on everybody that was in the room with her magic. She knew this was going to take a lot out of her, even if she was only going to teleport them a short distance. The Princess activated her teleportation spell and in a flash she and everybody in the inn disappeared outside.
 
The Princess stumbled once she found herself outside the burning inn. What patrons that were still left conscious were quickly dispatched by the ready Pegasi guards. With great effort, Twilight produced enough restraints for all of them, knowing they would still be insane when woken up.
 
“Princess, are you alright?” Flash landed beside her after knocking out the last creature.
 
“I’m fine… just need to catch my breath,” Twilight wheezed and sat down. She looked at all the bodies strewn about on the snow outside the burning building. “We are going to need more carts.”
 
“We’ll send a guard to get more,” Flash assured her and waved one of the Pegasi guards to come over.
 
Twilight nodded. She noticed the three guards that had been left at the inn nearby her. Sharp Spear was calming Emerald down and Bright Spark had woken up, his wound had been mended the best it could be until they could take him back to the city.
 
The inn continued to burn and the wooden parts were starting to fall in. Twilight frowned, had she been a second too late the roof would have caved in on them all. She bet Sombra had expected that to happen.
 
That bastard is pulling no punches. He was after murder and nothing less, she thought, her frown turning into scowl as she watched the pegasi guards restrain the unconscious inn patrons. The deceased Crystal Ponies had all been put in the cart by now.
 
“Princess.” She looked over to the three guards when hearing herself being addressed. It was Bright Spark. He looked about just as tired and ragged as her, then again he had been fighting for his life while Twilight was just exhausted from all the magic she had used in short amount of time. The Alicorn was pretty sure he was feeling worse.
 
“Yes, are you alright? Do you need anything?” she asked, worried that the wounded guard was uncomfortable.
 
“I’m fine, your Highness, thanks. I just wanted to tell you something, when we were being attacked. Strong Horn, the brown minotaur over there, he is owner of the inn. He seemed to become possessed at one time by the King,” he said and started to look graver.
 
“He mocked us and told us that we would serve as an example, but then he said something odd. He said that once the time is right, he would enclose his maw over the pretenders and take back what was his,” Bright Spark told her.
 
Great, near murder and a riddle. What a lovely afternoon this has been, Twilight raised an eyebrow when hearing this. “Thanks for telling me this. What is your name?”
 
“Bright Spark, your Highness,” the guard introduced himself and did a bow where he lay.
 
“Thanks again, Bright Spark, I’m sure we can figure this out so we can stop him,” she assured him with a smile.
 



 
Cadance walked past the dining parlor and noticed the door was open. Looking inside she saw Dew Doe sitting by the table. She seemed deep in thought, one fore hoof rested under her cheek and the other traced an invisible line on the surface. Remembering what Hard Shovel had told them during the brunch, the Princess entered and approached the glum looking Pegasus.
 
“Hi,” she addressed the blue mare and sat down beside her.
 
“Huh? Oh hello, Princess.” Dew blinked when seeing Cadance, she started to make an attempt to bow, but was stopped by the Alicorn.
 
“No need for that and please, just call me Cadance, I don’t think formalities are necessary right now,” the Princess told her and smiled gently. Dew just nodded and looked down at the table again.
 
“Are you alright?” the princess asked carefully, though she could already tell the answer.
 
“I…” Dew sighed. “No… I’m not alright. I’m worried.”
 
“That is understandable.” Cadance said with a sympathetic smile. “I’m told you and Private were good friends.”
 
The way Dew started to fidget and looked more nervous told the Alicorn everything. That Pegasus was in love, this was not just a good friend who was in danger, this was someone she really deeply cared about and was hoping for something more.
 
“How did you and Private first meet?” Cadance asked. She was going to tread this ground carefully.
 
“Oh, Foxy and I trampled over him during the Fillydelphia Running of the Leaves event about uh eleven years ago or so,” Dew looked at Cadance and smiled a little at the memory. “Foxy and I decided to partake in the event and it was about midway of the run when Private by accident entered the road being used. Nopony noticed him in time and we all ran right over him. Foxy did notice though afterwards, stopped me and pointed at where Private lay groaning on the ground. So we quit the run and took him to the hospital where I was working part time while studying sociology,” she started telling the Alicorn.
 
“He was just moving in to Fillydelphia. He had accepted a part time job in the History Museum while he was also in college studying history. He hadn’t found a place to stay in, so Foxy and I, because we felt a little guilty for hospitalizing him, offered to him to stay in the house we were renting. He reluctantly agreed,” Dew finished and resumed tracing an invisible circle on the table.
 
“What is he like? I didn’t get to talk with him for very long. We think Sombra had him pass out for some reason, maybe to silence him, when I was trying to talk with him at the hospital.” Cadance wondered and refrained from saying that it had been a little bit more disturbing how Sombra had forced Private to be silent.
 
“He can come off as a silent grump, but he’s really sweet, gentle and caring. He’s a really great uncle to Coal, if anything he’s been the dad she’s needed in place of her actual dad, Barricade. He does have a thing about ponies coming too close to him or touching him, only those of us who know him well are usually allowed close. He hates crowds and usually prefers solitude,” Dew began counting up and Cadance wasn’t surprised that the Pegasus was smiling more dreamily now.
 
“He has a passion for history and can dig out really obscure facts from various historical periods. One of the few times you can get him to really talk is if you ask him about history, especially Spartacorns and Spartacornia, he can go on for hours about them. Or get him to talk about Commander Hurricane, he actually begged to play him once in a Heart’s Warming Eve play. He was willing to glue fake wings on himself and everything, too,” Dew started to giggle at that last bit.
 
“Well, was he allowed?” Cadance asked grinning a bit at the thought of that silent looking stallion with wings glued on himself.
 
“He was, even tried to conceal his horn with the helmet,” the Pegasus confirmed. “They in fact asked him to play Hurricane again the next year.”
 
Cadance nodded. Although generally the three leaders and their aides were played by the pony race they had originally been, it wasn’t unheard of that parts were played by a different race or even gender. Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy, both stallions historically were often played by mares. Cadance had even seen Princess Platinum being played by a Unicorn colt once.
 
“So how long have you had a thing for him?” the Princess asked casually.
 
“Oh I think it started ever since I helped tend to him at the hospital when we… I… what?” Dew Doe froze as she realized the trap she had not just entered but sprung.
 
“That was eleven years ago wasn’t it, you have been infatuated with the same stallion for all that time?” Cadance was mildly surprised to hear that, she had assumed the love had gradually built, but not that it had been building for that long.
 
“I… uh…” Dew Doe cleared her throat then sighed. “Look, I actually don’t care much for attention from stallions. I mean these obvious jerks who just want to get under my tail if you know what I mean.”
 
“I think most mares don’t care for that, but I catch your drift,” the Princess nodded, not wanting to interrupt too much of her explanation.
 
“My mom is Sky Dive, THE Sky Dive - the former model now hardcore model agent who has a stranglehold on her private life,” the Pegasus continued, causing the Alicorn to raise an eyebrow slightly. “I used to be a filly model and all my life I’ve been told what a pretty little filly I was, then when I grew up everypony kept telling me what a pretty little mare I was. I was constantly told how shapely I was, good looking, symmetrical, that I was a born model. I hated every single minute of it.”
 
“Fortunately my mom, as I said, was Sky Dive. She had a firm rule that if I didn’t want to do anything, she would not push me to do it. She was very supportive when I did not follow her hoofsteps to become a model and instead went into social service,” Dew Doe looked at Cadence now with a grave expression.
 
“My sister, Foxy, suffered a lot because of me. Stallions would use her to get to me, they would pretend to date her, just to get a chance at me. I’ve never dated, even once, nopony I’ve met has wanted me because I’m me, they just wanted that pretty rump. Except Private. Private so far is one of the few stallions I know who has not tried to hit on me and has been nice to me without expecting anything else in return,” the Pegasi sighed and looked down. “He even treats Foxy as a normal pony, not as some obstacle to get to me. He even defended her against his own brother, when Barricade was being too much of a jerk to her.”
 
“Did Barricade do the same as the others, date Foxy to get to you?” Cadance wondered. She noted that Dew blinked a bit as if some realization had come to her.
 
“No he didn’t, he dated Foxy and only Foxy. He showed no interest in me.” Dew Doe frowned. “I can’t believe I can say that Barricade was a better coltfriend to her than some of those other slimeballs she dated.”
 
Princess Cadance nodded at that, Barricade had definitely struck her as somewhat loyal despite his rude mannerism. She thought it was a little sad that due to his behavior he and Foxy had separated. It couldn’t be easy on Coal to have parents that had bad blood between them.
 
“Anyway, what I was trying to say is, it might sound odd to others, but for me, I don’t mind it this way. I can wait for him. He’s well worth the wait,” Dew then finished.
 
Then I guess I’m just going to have to ensure that we get him back for you, the princess thought and hid a smile. She wondered though how Private felt about this and if it was positive like his father suspected, if she shouldn’t try and give them a little nudge. Of course first they needed to do was get the Unicorn away from Sombra.
 
The two mares were interrupted in their talk when Shining Armor came running in. He immediately gestured to Cadance to come with him out of the parlor. The princess excused herself and followed her husband. They stopped a good distance away from the dining room before the Unicorn spoke.
 
“The mare from the inn, she calmed down enough to speak. She told me that one of the stallions, most likely Barricade, had asked her about a mountain with a jaw like peak, she told him it was Sombra’s Maw,” Shining Armor informed Cadance in a hushed voice, not wanting to risk any of their guests, if nearby, to hear.
 
“You think they are going there?” Cadance asked with a worried frown.
 
“That is my guess. Sombra wouldn’t know the name as it is recent and if he told Barricade where they were going he would probably just point him to the mountain.” Her husband nodded.
 
“Then we must head after them as soon as possible, we better wait for Twilight though, I want us to have all the firepower we can get against that fiend,” the princess declared firmly. Shining, seeing that his wife was now in full authority mode, simply saluted before rushing off to make the necessary preparations.
 
Finally, some good news, Cadance thought as she returned to the dining parlor, where she offered Dew to have some tea brought to them. The blue mare readily accepted it.
 
End Chapter 16