Before the Darkness

by Riku006

3: A New Craft

Throughout my childhood, I had always been reminded of the stigma of being different that I bore. I often wondered whether I could ever be somepony that contributed and be accepted for not what they are, but what they can do. I am therefore grateful beyond belief to have ponies that recognise this and stand by my side.
--Excerpt of Sombra’s Journal

---

“Keep it up everypony! Stay focussed and visualise.”

The instructions echoed up from the grassed central courtyard of Crystal Academy to the second floor window, from where Sombra sat as he watched his classmates in their most, and his least, favourite class. Looking down, he spotted Quartz, standing rigid with his head bent in concentration. His glistening coat seemed to flicker for a moment before he stomped the ground with his fore-hooves. In the same instant, a crystal matching his grey coat colour unearthed itself before him. While he felt happy for his friend, Sombra couldn’t help but be tinged with sadness as well over the feat.

Crystalmancy. The greatest ability by crystal ponies and the source of most of the Empire’s innovations and defences. Being similar to earth ponies, crystal ponies had a connection to the earth; much like pegasi did with the sky and unicorns with their magic. By channelling this connection, crystal ponies could spawn and control the vast amounts of crystal that lay below the soil of the Empire, shaping it to their will as they so desired.

Like the small groups his classmates formed in the courtyard, crystalmancy could be used in a variety of ways. The three main uses, however, were construction, crafting and combat, the latter being Quartz’s focus as he struggled to levitate the crystal before willing it into a few targets set up further along. The stone failed to hit the mark, but it got closer than most others attempting to hit the targets, Lapus included.

A shame though that Sombra couldn’t see it up close. Being the only unicorn at the academy meant he had no need for attending the class, and doing so often led to Lapus and his retinue of followers to unleash whatever they considered their best new insults. So Sombra sat alone, up in an empty class, watching his classmates achieve something he never could.

“Sombra.”

The colt jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see the sparkling steel-grey coat and bun-donned maroon mane of Headmistress Rosetta Stone. While normally she wore a face of either busy indifference or tired concentration, gazing at Sombra were bespectacled brown eyes that held a look of something bordering sympathy.

“H-Headmistress?” Sombra asked, instinctively sitting a little straighter in his stool. “I-Is there something I can help you with?”

At first, she didn’t reply, instead continuing to analyse the young colt before answering. “Sombra, I know it must be difficult sitting through the class only watching, but you should still be down there learning all that you can. Crystalmancy is an important part of life in the Empire after all.”

“Yeah, only for those that can use it,” Sombra muttered dejectedly, looking back out at the class down below. There was no immediate reply as Rosetta considered her response. Sombra went back to looking down at his class and, since the Headmistress not standing right next to him, resisted the urge to make a fool out of Lapus with his magic.

“Well then,” Rosetta spoke up, moving to stand between Sombra and the window to get his attention. “What if I was to say that unicorns can use crystalmancy?” A small grin of satisfaction crossed her muzzle as the colt immediately looked at her, wide-eyed and curious.

“What? Who? When?”

“Well, let’s make a deal, shall we?” Rosetta sat down, looking Sombra in the eye. “As this is your last class before the day ends, I’m willing to allow you to leave early.” Sombra’s mouth opened to unleash the barrage of questions, but a raised hoof stopped them before they could escape as Rosetta continued. “In exchange for leaving early, your task is to research crystalmancy and present me your findings in one of two ways; either a five page essay on the craft and the unicorn who was able to master it.

“Or,” she glanced behind her before leaning closer in. “You bring me a shard you yourself summoned using crystalmancy.”

Sombra’s inquisitive energy died right off once the headmistress finished. “What? That’s not fair!”

“I never said you had to agree to my terms Sombra,” Rosetta replied with the well-refined calmness of an experienced teacher. “However, the alternative to this project is sitting here, all alone, inside this empty classroom for the next twenty five minutes. But that is entirely your decision.” With that, the mare turned and left, a knowing smile hidden from the colt’s view.

“W-Wait!” Sombra called out before the Headmistress could step through the door, his saddlebags hovering behind him. “I-I’ll do the assignment.”

-\--\*/--/-

“Great, now what?” Sombra sighed to himself as he began the slow trot home. Walking down the side street, he racked his young brain on what to do. He wasn’t sure if his mother had any imperial history books at home, and despite the Headmistress’ words, he was still pretty sure unicorns couldn’t use crystalmancy. But he had agreed, in a desperate attempt to escape the boring and sad empty classroom.

So consumed in thought, Sombra didn’t realise where he was going until he bumped into someone, falling back onto his flank. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said instinctively.

“No, it’s my fault, I wasn’t looking where… Sombra? What are you doing out of the academy?”

Sombra, recognising the voice, looked up to see the familiar form of Mirror Shine looking back, empty saddlebags strapped across her barrel. “Oh, hi Mirror. I’m not skipping class, honest.”

“Uh huh,” Mirror replied after a moment as Sombra stood up, her disbelief easy to spot.

“No, really,” Sombra went on, levitating the note Headmistress Stone had given him to Mirror. “Headmistress Stone said I could leave early if I did an extra assignment.” He waited anxiously, fiddling with his scarf as she read through it. A wave of relief rushed throughout his body when her smile returned.

“Geez, these are pretty tough terms, aren’t they?” Mirror thought out loud before passing the note back to Sombra. “Well, your mother hasn’t come back from her duties at the palace yet, so why don’t you stay with me for a little while?”

“That’s okay, I could teleport inside.”

“Did you forget about your mother’s ban on teleportation spells? Your last teleport is why you’ve been grounded the past week after all.”

“Oh… right.”

Seeing him drop his head, Mirror placed a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s not all bad,” she said as they started walking down the main parade. “I’m sure you could learn a lot about crystalmancy from everypony down at the markets. Surely someone there will be able to help.”

“Y-Yeah,” Sombra replied, feeling a little better. Despite this, a thought suddenly made itself known to him. “Wait, Mirror, can you use crystalmancy?”

“Of course I can, silly.” Mirror replied with a chuckle.

“Well, it’s just, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you use it.”

“I use it all the time back at home, I’ll admit, the way I use crystalmancy probably isn’t as exciting as what you’re learning at the academy, but it’s how I got my cutie mark and my old job at the palace.” As the two entered the outer district further down the parade, Mirror looked to her side to see Sombra levitating a notepad and quill, no doubt taking notes.

“So, you use crystalmancy to clean?” He asked, his face showing confusion about the concept in his mind.

“Yes. I… oh… How can I explain it to you? You know we crystal ponies have a connection with the crystals when we shape them?” Sombra nodded. “Well, my connection isn’t as strong as some other ponies. When I was little, I struggled to summon any decent sized crystals. After a while, I was about to give up when I tried making one gem bigger when it shone instead.

“What happened was my will to improve the gem made its surface sparkle and gleam. I just have to press my hoof hard enough against the crystal and will it to shine brighter. It might not be the usual skill-set crystalmancy’s used for, but it works for me.” Mirror finished her small story with a proud glance at the mark adorning her flank; a feather duster with an opal attached to the end. Looking back, she saw Sombra finishing taking notes before looking back at her with a big smile.

“So, crystalmancy can be used in different ways other than the main three.”

“Yes, and I bet there are other ponies down here in the market that use them in different ways too.”

Sombra looked up from his notepad to see the two were now in the outer district markets. Lining the sides of the parade and side streets were a plethora different stalls, manned by all sorts of ponies selling all sorts of wares. Sombra also noticed something lacking from the inner city; self-entitlement. Many ponies that lived in the inner district of Glacier Spire were all either nobility, military or had extremely well-paying jobs. To be among less privileged ponies felt better. Yet something still nagged at him in his mind.

“Hey, Mirror, why aren’t we shopping closer to home?”

“Well, I like it here.” She answered with a simple smile. “Besides, I grew up down here, and the shops in the inner district always charge a forehoof for stuff you could get down here for a few bits.” With that, Mirror turned and started gazing around before settling on a produce cart a fair way down the parade.

“Well, ‘ello there Mirror. Been a while.” Behind the cart stood an orange stallion with brown hair hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat, his laid-back attitude was easy to discern through his smile.

“Hey Bronze.” Mirror replied cheerfully. “It has, hasn’t it? I’ve just been a little busy, especially with this little guy to keep out of trouble.” A nod of her head drew the stallion’s attention to Sombra, who instinctively moved behind Mirror a fraction.

“Oh, so this is the little fire-starter, huh?” He asked with a chuckle. “No need t’ be shy, buddy. Name’s Bronze Crop. Ah take it yours is Sombra?” The colt nodded slightly, the easy-going nature of the farmer starting to make him relax as he stepped out from behind Mirror. “Well then, how ‘bout an apple for the little guy, on me this time.” With that, Bronze tossed him a fresh red apple, Sombra only just catching it with his magic before the fruit impaled itself on his horn.

“T-Thank you sir,” Sombra replied, though Bronze waved it off.

“Aw shoot, you don’t have to thank me for that. An’ call me Bronze from now on. Ah’m not too fussy on titles. So,” Bronze went on, now turning back to Mirror, “What can Ah get you?”

“I’ll need... hm,” Mirror brought a hoof to her chin. “For now, just a hoof-full of lettuce leaves and a few carrots, apples and onions.”

“Comin’ up,” Bronze answered with a smile as he got to work. It wasn’t long, however, before he noticed Sombra staring at him. “Somethin’ Ah can help you with?”

“Huh?” Sombra squeaked before clearing his head with a shake. “Oh, um, I-I was wondering if you would like to help me with something.”

“Well, what kinda somethin’?”

“A class project,” Mirror answered as she hoofed over a small amount of bits for the bag Bronze handed her.

“I’m researching crystalmancy,” Sombra went on, feeling a little more confident. “And I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling me how you use crystalmancy?”

A hoof placed itself on Bronze’s chin. “Well, Ah don’t use it too often. Usually all Ah use it for is makin’ a barrier ‘round my crops, so critters can’t bury underneath and steal my stock. Bein’ a farmer means Ah don’t need to use it too much.”

As Sombra scribbled notes down in his notebook, a faint noise began ringing out. Swivelling his ears, Sombra looked around, hoping to find the source. While he couldn’t see it, he could see a few surrounding ponies groan as the sound got slightly louder.

“White Mare damn it, he’s at it again.” Bronze Crop grumbled.

“Who’s at it? What’s that noise?” Sombra asked, turning back to face the two older ponies.

“It’s Stone Cutter,” Bronze replied, his carefree attitude not so anymore, replaced by an agitated one. “Lives on the outskirts of the city, not that it helps with all the blasted noise he makes.”

Not understanding, Sombra turned to Mirror for answers. “He’s an old crystal smith who lives out in the expansion district. He makes all kinds of stuff out of crystal shards, but I thought he had an apprentice who took over from him. What happened to her?”

“Apparently she couldn’t stand him pesterin’ her. Can’t say Ah blame her, what with how stubborn that old coot is.” Bronze shook his head with a sigh. “You two sure are lucky living so far in the city. He’ll sometimes work all through the night! Drives most folks ‘round here up the wall.”

“Well, I’m sure he has his reasons,” Mirror replied, trying to play peacemaker. Sombra, meanwhile, looked out towards the outskirts of the city, where the noise seemed the loudest. Within moments, he figured out a plan.

“Hey, Mirror? I think I’ll head back to the academy, see if Quartz is finished there.”

Mirror, looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Alright, but no getting into trouble. I don’t want your mother thinking you’re out breaking the rules again.”

“Oh, let the colt be a colt.” Bronze cut in with a sly grin. “You only get be young once buddy, so you’d best make the most of it.”
Sombra nodded before heading back in towards the city, leaving Mirror keep shopping around in the markets. Once he was a few blocks further into the city, he took a left down a side street. Daring a glance back down the main parade, Sombra was both relieved and a little guilty that Mirror didn't see him purposely turn down the wrong road. Trotting a little further in, he widened his stance and concentrated, his horn slowly glowing crimson.

Sorry Mum, sorry Mirror, he thought as he cast the spell.

And in a flash, he was gone.

-\--\*/--/-

After a moment of hesitation, Sombra stepped off the crystal roads of the outer district and onto the grass of the edge of the city. Dubbed the “Expansion District” by the rest of Glacier Spire, this was where the lowest income earners of the city lived. Being beyond the crystal roads of the outer district meant the ponies living here were living in danger, for if the city were to be attacked, the walls designed to rise and protect the city would separate them from everypony else.

But walking through the pathways between smaller huts and houses, Sombra still felt at ease. These ponies, though visibly poorer than everyone else, seemed happy with what they had. Furthermore, there were more patrols of the Imperial Guard out here, and the main barracks were stationed in the north of the expansion district.

The banging Sombra had been following snapped him out of his sightseeing, focussing on a slightly larger building than the rest, though it was a fair way away from the other buildings, and backed out onto the expanse of the southern plains. The sound was nearly deafening here, proving to Sombra Bronze’s complaints weren’t exaggerations. Looking around, he took a deep breath and entered the front door.

The inside was mostly taken up by aisles of shelves, all of them full of various items, trinkets, tools and even weapons of crystal. Some items even hung on the roof from thin pieces of string. A bell rung as Sombra walked in over the crystal floor, closely examining a suit of golden armour with a blue star adorning the chest piece.

“Welcome to my shop, what can I do-” Sombra turned to see a sparkling, slate-grey stallion with messy silver hair and glass goggles hanging around his neck walk out from a door behind the counter. Age was starting to have a visible effect on him, given the slight slouch of his neck, but his hooves still looked strong and his steel-blue gaze sharp. Said gaze was now thoroughly examining Sombra.

“What are you doing in here?” The stallion asked suspiciously. “Where are your parents?”

“Oh,” Sombra stumbled, caught off-guard. “Um, they’re not here right now. I’m just, ugh… Looking through, I promise.”

The pony’s brows furrowed as he began walking towards Sombra. “I’ve been chasing off no-good colts long enough to know when I’m being lied to, son. So unless your parents are waiting outside, I want you out of my store. Now.”

Gee, Bronze Crop wasn’t kidding, Sombra thought. Seeing the firm stare he was getting, he sighed, deciding honesty was the best policy.

“I’m sorry for just walking in here, Mr. Stone Cutter. It’s just, well, I’m doing an assignment for my class at the academy. I need to research crystalmancy and its uses throughout the empire, and I thought ‘Nopony would know more about crystalmancy than a crystal smith.’” Sombra lit up his horn, showing Stone Cutter his note from the Headmistress as proof. “So… I know it’s a little rude, but… could you perhaps teach me a little about crystalmancy and how you use it?” Stone Cutter remained silent throughout Sombra’s story, reading through the note before hoofing it back.

“Sorry, son,” He said with a shake of his head, “But you’re better off learning from a book than me. Besides, you’re distracting me from my work.” With that, he turned and began heading back to the door out the back.

“Well, can I at least watch you work then?”

“I already said you’re a distraction.” Stone Cutter stopped but didn’t turn around. “I value perfection in my craft, which will be impossible with you in the room. Plus, this project is for one of those up-tight nobles in the inner district. They’re tight-plots about the detail so, like I said, I can’t have you distracting me.”

“I won’t say a word.” Sombra said desperately, stepping forward. “You won’t even know I’m there.”

“I said no!” With that, Stone Cutter turned around and slammed his fore-hooves onto the crystal floor, summoning a wall of jagged emerald gems between him, the shelves and Sombra. Nervous, Sombra was forced to back up as, with each forceful hoofstep Stone Cutter took forward, the wall matched his movements and advanced closer to the young unicorn until he was back at the front door.

Sombra looked back at Stone Cutter’s stubborn glare, anger growing inside over the stallion’s blind dismissal. It wasn’t a huge favour he was asking. Just to answer a few questions or sit quietly and watch. Was that so much to ask for?

“Fine!” Sombra shouted, his horn glowing as he slammed his fore-hooves on the floor of the door way. With a loud cacophony crashing around him, Stone Cutter looked around to see a majority of his wares scattered on the floor. He turned back to shout, only to see the unicorn running away.

“Stupid colt,” Stone Cutter grumbled to himself as he started the slow process of putting his shop back together. With a firm stomp, the wall he had summoned shattered into smaller pieces. “Hm, these might be useful.” He started placing the shards in a pile when he noticed something different. Something… out of place. Upon closer examination, his eyes widened before looking back out the door, in the direction Sombra had run away.

-\--\*/--/-

“Sombra, I have to say I’m a bit disappointed,” Headmistress Stone said after reviewing everything Sombra had done for his report. All three and a half pages of it. Looking over at the colt, however, it was obvious he had at the very least tried. There were bags under his eyes after a hard night of studying, and his drooped head showed nothing but resignation and exhaustion. Looking at his work again, she was actually impressed. Despite not reaching the five page minimum, he’d gone into detail on all three basic uses of crystalmancy, as well as a few that branched outside those categories. It was obvious from this he’d been paying attention from the few crafting lessons he’d participated in, but he still failed.

“I will give you credit for your hard work, but you did fail to reach five pages. As such, you now need to attend all crafting classes whether you like it or not. Understand?” Sombra nodded and as about to hop off his chair and leave before a knock came at the door. “Come in.” A young mare with glasses, which Sombra recognised as Peridot, stuck her head through the door.

“I’m sorry to disturb you Headmistress, but there’s someone who wishes to see you.”

“Send them in.” She replied with a nod before turning to Sombra. “You may go to class Sombra. Better hurry though, you’ve only got a few minutes before first period.” Sombra nodded and began trotting out until he saw who stood at the door.

There, wearing a weathered blue jacket, was Stone Cutter.

“Can I help you sir?” Rosetta Stone asked, noticing Sombra’s sudden tense posture around this stranger.

“Yes,” He replied with a nod. “My name’s Stone Cutter. I’m a crystal smith from the expansion district, and I was hoping I could talk to this colt here.” A hoof pointed to Sombra and the young unicorn’s mind filled with all sorts of scenarios, most of them involving Stone Cutter getting revenge for his shop.

“What is this about?” Rosetta asked sternly, moving to Sombra’s side.

“Oh, no, it’s not like that.” Cutter replied, putting his hooves up in defence. “You see, this colt came into my store yesterday asking if I could help him out. I was in the middle of work so I may’ve been a little hasty in saying no.”

“W-What do you mean sir?” Sombra asked, stepping forward.

“This.” With that, Cutter pulled out a gem fromhis pocket and placed it on the floor before teacher and student.

“It’s just a red gem,” Sombra admitted after studying it for a few moments.

“Sombra… That’s no ordinary crystal,” Rosetta said with shock slowly encompassing her features.

“It’s a pure ruby,” Cutter explained. “It’s one of the rarest crystals in the Empire, and one of the hardest to summon. I found it while cleaning up my workshop after our… encounter.”

“So?” Sombra shrugged. “It’s a rare gem. What does this have to do with me?”

“You summoned it.”

A stunned silence descended on all four ponies in the room, including Peridot, who was still listening from the half-opened door. Sombra stood there, slack-jawed, glancing between Stone Cutter, the ruby and back again.

“I-I did that?” He stuttered as the bell for first period rang.

Cutter nodded. “And, if you want, I can help you master crystalmancy.”

“…I could summon crystals…?” Sombra muttered as he stared back at the gem, the gears in his mind spinning frantically over what this could mean for him.

“Sombra?” Sombra turned back to see Rosetta smiling at him. “Why don’t we retry your assignment down there?” She pointed at the window, Sombra quickly picking up her meaning. Still a little shocked, he nodded and led the way to the courtyard, Stone Cutter and the Headmistress following in tow as they passed classes, including his own, on their way.

Once on the grass, Sombra took the same broad stance that he saw Quartz take during each lesson. While Rosetta stood back and watched, Cutter was circling the colt, analysing his technique before stopping before him.

“Let’s see what you can do.” He instructed.

Sombra nodded, concentrating much like he would when casting a spell. But instead of directing his energy through his horn, he focussed hard, trying to redirect it through his hooves instead. As he did this, he also envisioned a gem the size of a hoofball, willing it to be summoned. Once he felt he was ready, Sombra struck at the ground with all the might his little body could muster.

Nothing.

The ground before him didn’t even show a bulge. Flashbacks of his first few crafting lessons rocketed into his minds’ eye, and the embarrassing memories made him realise that most of the classes were actually looking down, wondering what was happening.

“Ignore them,” was Stone Cutter’s blunt response, snapping Sombra out of it. “You’re more used to channelling energy through your horn, correct?” Sombra nodded. Cutter looked down, pacing in-front of the colt in thought before facing him again. “Then do that. Channel your energy through your horn, yet still go through the motions you’ve learned here.”

Sombra looked up at his horn, then down at his hooves before finally settling on the grass before him. Doubt began circling in his mind, along with thoughts of what his peers were whispering right now.

“Come on Sombra! You can do it!” Surprised, Sombra turned to see Quartz Guard standing next to his mother, smiling as confidently as he always did.

With that little boost, Sombra took a deep breath, his features now more determined. He took the stance again and focussed once more, following Cutter’s instructions and channelling his energy to his horn rather than his hooves. Clenching his eyes, built the pressure higher and higher before finally slamming his hooves down. As his hooves made contact, the tell-tale sound of displaced earth roared before him. Panting a little, he slowly opened his eyes to see the result.

There, standing before him, was a massive ruby monolith, easily the height of a classroom ceiling.

Sombra just stood there, regaining his breath as he, and everypony else watching, stared in awe of what just happened. This didn’t last long though, as Sombra was soon tackled off his hooves.

“That was amazing! Way to go Sombra!” Quartz yelled joyfully as he let his friend up, beaming from ear to ear. “How’d you make one that big?”

“I… I don’t know,” Sombra admitted.

“Nicely done, son. You’ve got one heck of a talent there,” Cutter said as he came over to the two colts. “In more ways than one, it seems.”

“W-What do you mean?” Sombra asked. Stone Cutter just showed a small smile as he pointed a hoof. Sombra followed it and the shock on his face rapidly turned into joyous relief.

Upon Sombra’s flank was a newly appeared image of a three-pronged outcrop of ruby crystal.

Comments

[aidenmc3]

It's nice to finally see another update from you, and your really put a lot of work into this as well. There's also the world building you've put into this making me think of this like and actual part of the establishe cannon. That's the sighn of a fine story when it's indistushibale from the cannon and it beats off disbelief with a fotress of pure imagination. I can't wait to see more!

[The Forgotten Comrade]

Nice to see he ain't that callous. Cutter I mean.