Equestria Exiled

by AndrewRogue

Chapter 14 - Problems

Lyra woke up staring at the ceiling, clusters of unfamiliar inset crystals barely illuminating the room. Nothing looked remotely familiar.

Where was she?

In a bed. On a bed, rather. The silken sheets felt soft and cool beneath her body. The room was chilly too. And, she realized as she stared into the dim light, large too. Much bigger than her own room.

She grunted as she tried to sit up. She felt… bad. Not quite hungover, but something related, like coming out the other side of a cold. Just a cloud of minor unpleasantness that permeated the entirety of her being.

She swallowed, trying to ease the dryness in her throat, and felt something squeeze around her neck. Lifting a hoof to it, she felt a segmented metal band with something set into the front of it.

“What happened?” she groaned into the darkness. A longer look confirmed this definitely wasn’t her room: besides being too big, it was too nice, neat, and had too many flat surfaces not occupied by books. It also clearly wasn’t a hospital or anything. It looked like somepony’s bedroom room. The question was whose?

She looked around, searching in vain for an answer that the room refused to give. The room had a pair of shelves built into the walls with various history and magic theory books, a clean, black plastic desk with a powered down console, a fine chair by the bed with a nearby lamp… all useful things, but nothing that offered much clue to the owner’s identity.

It might as well have been a hotel room. A nice and very expensive hotel room, admittedly, but a hotel room nevertheless.

Clambering out of the bed, she wavered, a mild vertigo causing the world to spin in an unpleasantly familiar way.

That’d been it. She had been at Cookie’s daughter’s cuteceañera, then she’d had another episode and…ended up here, somehow.

She started as the door opened and memories began to reassert themselves as Sombra entered.

His stern expression warmed as he saw her, then nodded his head vaguely towards the bed and chair. “Excellent. You’re finally awake. Though, I am not sure you should be standing. Please, sit.”

“What happened?” Lyra asked.

“Sit,” Sombra commanded, advancing on her.

Lyra’s legs folded under her as she backed into the chair.

“Good,” he said, his almost teeth shining in the crystals’ dim light as he smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Unpleasant, but not terrible. What happened? Where are we?”

“Do you know who I am?” Sombra asked, ignoring her question.

“Yes?”

He stared at her.

“Sombra,” she snapped, “Former leader of the Crystal Station. Now a councilor for the Grand Equestrian Empire. Now—”

“And where are we?”

“I’m not actually sure.” Seeing his expression change, she amended, “Manehattan Station. I meant I don’t know where this,” she gestured at the room around her, “Is.”

“My home. Do you know who you are?”

She bit her lip. “What is this about?”

“Who are you?”

“Sombra, what is going on?”

“Who are you?” he repeated.

“I’m Lyra Heartstrings! Now would you tell me what in Tartarus is going on? What is this all about?”

Sombra waved his hoof dismissively. “Perhaps I should be the one asking you that question? I thought your reticence was a result of your nervousness around me, but now... You had some very interesting things to say before you passed out, Lyra.”

She stared at the floor, her stomach churning. “What happened?”

“Well, we left the cuteceañera after you started talking about Cookie having two fillies and Blueblood being a prince.” Sombra’s horn glowed as he continued to talk, the steady chill of his crimson magic passing over as he spoke, “As I attempted to escort you back to your building, you began speaking about the Elements’ past bearers and the dangers they faced. Your rambling became increasingly erratic and incoherent until you eventually passed out and nearly pitched over the edge of a catwalk.”

Lyra’s chest grew tight, her breath coming in shorter gasps as she struggled to control herself.

“Since we were closer to my home than yours, I brought you back here so that I could examine you and decide whether you needed medical attention.”

Everything had been going so well...

“Has this happened often?”

“I…” Lyra started, before trailing off. Had it? It had seemed like things had improved. But now, as her confusion at the cuteceañera came back to her, she wondered once more if she just hadn’t realized how bad it really was.

She had to leave. Escape. And do what? Did it matter at this point?

“Lyra.” Sombra’s voice cut through her thoughts. “I believe I can help you, but it can’t happen unless you are willing to talk to me.”

“A few weeks,” she eventually mumbled. What did it matter? One of the most powerful ponies in the Empire knew she was nuts, now. “I don’t know exactly when it started. I thought it had been getting better lately, but apparently I was mistaken.”

“Do you know what’s causing it?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Would you like to?”

Her head shot up. “What?”

“I believe I may have identified the cause of your sudden psychosis, and the fact that you seem coherent now certainly serves to support my theory.” Sombra leaned forward, reaching a hoof out to her and touching the choker fastened around her neck. “This crystal is helping regulate the flow of magic in your body right now. While I was examining you, I found that there was an irregularity in your magic – a foreign strain, as it were.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. That could explain it, with the added advantage of proving that she wasn’t insane. Her hooves reached up and touched the crystal gingerly. If she focused, she could feel faint traces of magic emanating from it, magic that matched perfectly with Sombra’s. “Did you make this?”

His smile widened. “Excellent deduction, Lyra. Yes. It is a variation of the magic of my home station. You know of the Crystal Heart, yes?”

Lyra nodded. Any magical scholar worth their salt knew about the Crystal Station’s core, an ancient relic that drew upon the love and joy of the station’s inhabitants to power the entirety of the station – including the nigh impenetrable barrier that surrounded it.

“Think of this as something like your own, personal, Crystal Heart. It resonates with your magic and, in turn, acts to shield you from aberrant influences. For example, the spark of magic that seems to have been causing your…” Sombra paused for a moment, searching her downturned face for the right word, “...delusions? Hallucinations?”

“I don’t know, really.”

“Well, regardless, for the moment at least, it appears to be doing its job. Though I suspect we won’t know for sure until you have had some time.”

Lyra nodded.

“Will you tell me about what’s been happening to you?”

Sinking further into the chair, Lyra tried to avoid Sombra’s gaze. “I…”

“You don’t have to, of course. But I believe, if you talk to me, I can do more to help. Besides, I have no doubt that speaking openly with me will help alleviate the weight on your shoulders.” He smiled at her. “We are friends, are we not, Lyra?”

She wanted a friend. “Like I said, I don’t know exactly when or why it started. I was just in the library’s stacks one evening and everything suddenly seemed strange. Not right. History books didn’t make sense. Texts I’d read a thousand times looked different. Have you ever just walked into a room and been sure something had moved while you were gone?” Lyra didn’t give him a chance to respond as she continued, “Imagine that, but about everything. I thought maybe I was just overtired or something.” The weight and tension of the past weeks pouring out of her as she continued to speak, unable to stop herself anymore, “But it kept happening, and then things got worse. I’d be looking at something and then suddenly I’d be somewhere else entirely.”

“Where?”

“Old Equestria, I think? Not a station. A planet, with fresh air and wild greens and ponies living in perfect harmony. I saw the past Bearers, but it wasn’t like seeing heroes of legend, it was like seeing old friends. Nostalgic. Everything felt so real, so vivid, so clear.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t think they’re hallucinations. I think… I think...” She finally faltered, her eyes dropping to the floor. Nothing sound good preceeded by the words “it sounds crazy.”

“Do you think they’re visions of the past?” Sombra asked, his voice soft.

Lyra’s head shot up again. “Y-yeah,” she stammered.

“Don’t be surprised. I believe I mentioned that you said some interesting things?” The reassuring smile remained as he locked eyes with her. “You are not crazy, Lyra. Afflicted, perhaps, but that is certainly not your fault.” He chuckled to himself as he continued, “Well, technically not your fault. Would you like to hear my theory?”

“Sure. Yes. Please.” Lyra said, hoping the desperation wasn’t too obvious. “But how—”

“You are a very intelligent pony, Lyra. Had this happened to any other pony, I am sure you would have figured it by now. Unfortunately, I believe I have identified a blind spot in the way you think, and it is keeping you from seeing what I see.”

“What?”

All traces of humor fled from Sombra’s face. “If you want to know, you must promise not to take what I have to say beyond these walls.”

Lyra nodded, waiting for all of this to end. “I understand.”

“Promise, Lyra. I want to help you, but I must be able to trust you to do that.”

“I promise! I swear! Just tell me what you think!” Lyra almost shouted. She needed an answer. Any answer.

“If you insist.” Sombra smiled again. “Lyra, based on our combined knowledge of the situation, I believe it is likely that you are one of the Elements.”

Lyra stared, mouth agape, unable to form a response.

“I suspect it hadn’t crossed your mind?”

“Of course not!” Lyra snapped. “Because that’s… that’s patently absurd!”

“Is it?” he mused, looking at her. “Perhaps if we only consider what you know. But let us combine that with some of what I know. For example, did you hear about the incident at… where was it?” His eyes jumped towards the crystals on the ceiling for a moment as he thought. “Club Crazy Horse, I believe.”

A chill ran down Lyra’s spine.

“Well, an earth pony who may have managed to get her hooves on one of the Elements was there that night. The incident began when the Council Guard attempted to detain her, but the proprietor of the club – Vinyl Scratch, if I recall correctly? – interfered and it became a rather unfortunate affair. She disappeared during the confusion, appeared again a week later, publicly apologized after a rather thorough round of questioning by the Station Guard, and then took a leave of absence from her club to apparently vanish, despite records indicating she has not left Manehattan in some time. I suspect she is involved with the mare who has the Element, somehow.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Lyra asked weakly.

“She was a school friend of yours, no?” Sombra didn’t even wait for the nod before he continued, “Well, a friend until a couple years ago at least, if the rumor mill is to be believed. Don’t you find that oddly coincidental?”

“Well, yes. But… Well… Coincidences are coincidences.”

“Of course. At the same time, however, you told me yourself that the Elements will draw towards each other, correct? You begin experiencing odd visions just as what I believe to be one of the Elements is found. You suddenly go from a pony forgotten and abandoned by the Council to having the interest of both myself and Sunset Shimmer. A former friend of yours is suddenly involved with an earth pony who may have simply lucked into one of the most powerful magical items in the universe.” Sombra’s eyes didn’t leave her as he spoke. “That is quite a series of coincidences, no?”

“I…”

“Moreover, consider the nature of the Elements as you yourself have described them. Conduits, not reservoirs, meant to interact with chosen ponies. An item tied so closely to the user would no doubt leave an imprint.” He raise a hoof and pressed it gently against the crystal fastened around her neck. “That is a basic fact of crystal magic. The caster leaves much of themselves behind, because the magic pulls from their heart, their mind, and their soul. Would it not make sense for the past Bearers to have left something of themselves behind too? If the Elements truly want to be found, perhaps it’s trying to reach out to you.” Sombra stretched his neck as the speech drew to a close. “It explains everything quite neatly. Your unusual involvement in this affair, the foreign magic within you, the nature of your hallucinations... ”

Lyra tried to form a response, but her mouth couldn’t keep up with her mind. The entire idea was absolutely ridiculous. Preposterous. And she was an idiot for having never considered it herself. An absolute, unforgivable, idiot. Sweet Celestia, his reasoning was even less spurious than hers had been for declaring Octavia a bearer. Or Vinyl.

“I told you that I believed you had a blind spot,” Sombra said, interpreting her look perfectly. “You do not consider your role in the world. You act as an observer without ever thinking about what part you could play. I saw it when you were part of the Council, and I could still see it now.”

That much was true. But something he’d said didn’t add up. “Okay. But even assuming all that were true, why would one of the Elements be reaching out to me now?”

“I will admit that this is a bit of leap,” Sombra said, his confident tenor giving way to a chuckle, “But I wonder if you may have already come into contact with the Element you are meant to carry. You said these strange thoughts began in the Manehattan Library, correct? Then perhaps the stacks conceal another hidden treasure.”

Lyra wanted to tell him that the whole idea was ridiculous. That even considering it was a total waste of time. That the idea wasn’t worth entertaining. But some other part of her spoke up first, a surge of pride that cut through the doubt: why couldn’t she be one of the Elements? Why should some random earth pony out of the lower tiers or that idiot Vinyl be the only ones deserving of something this incredible. Why not her? “Then we should go see. See if we can find it.”

“I thought you might see it that way,” Sombra said, laying a restraining hoof on her shoulder, “But no, not tonight. It will do no good for the two of us to raid the Manehattan Library stacks alone in the middle of the night.”

“But—”

“I will ask them to stay closed tomorrow and assemble a small group of trusted guards to assist you in your search. It will no doubt still draw some attention, but less than if we were to storm the place tonight.” He stood up, offering her one last smile of encouragement. “I believe it would also be best if you were to stay here tonight. I still do not know how effective my crystal is, so I would like to keep you close to monitor it.”

Her hoof touched the multi-faceted surface of the stone. “Of course.”

~~~~~

Ditzy stretched her wings as she paced the width of the cockpit, the dull drone of ENN’s evening report filling the room. Nothing exciting, as usual. Upcoming concerts and shows, hoofball scores, highlights from the day’s council meeting, a few odd crimes there and there, and still absolutely nothing regarding a pair of runaways wanted by the council guard.

On one hoof, it certainly made getting around easier to know everypony wasn’t looking for your passengers. On the other hoof, she wondered when that horseshoe was finally going to drop.

Circling back around the edge of the cockpit, she kicked a large panel on the wall and hopped back, letting the cot fall out and lock into position. No sense worrying about it right now. She’d already done everything she could. The best she could do now was watch for any weird ships docking and be ready to bail at a moment’s notice.

Moving back to the console, she initiated her nightly system scan, but decided to leave ENN up, even if it would hog resources to run it alongside the scan.

The last couple days of chatter and laughter and bickering had been a welcome break she hadn’t known she’d needed. Even a few hours without that pair had left Drifter’s normally pleasant silence feeling just a little lonely.

She leapt into the air and landed lightly on the cot.

Tomorrow was gonna be busy. There were about a dozen different things on Drifter that she hadn’t realized weren’t working until Vinyl or Octavia had tried to use them. She smiled as she stretched out, running down the mental checklist she’d made: some loose panels in the passenger rooms, a few flickering lights, the port side shower had no hot water, that cabinet door that fell off its hinges and smacked Vinyl in the face…

Ditzy’s ears pricked as the console beeped, the sound repeating every few seconds. A serious error?

She slipped off the cot and trotted towards the flashing console, frowning. These checks were mostly tradition at this point, a holdover from when Drifter had been a junker with about four dozen failing parts, burnt out magic circuits, completely outdated systems, and more than a few star spider nests jamming critical machinery.

Lift Thruster Status: Disconnected - Error: Magic Circuit Link Inoperable

Her frown deepened as she stared at the message. They’d landed no problem, so the thrusters had been working, and the landing had been easy, so nothing should’ve gotten jarred loose. Maybe that magic circuit had burned out?

No lift thrusters would definitely hamper departure attempts, though.

She slipped out of the ship and onto the docking platform, shivering as she stepped into the frigid station air, stopping for a moment to stare at the streams of water pouring down beyond the protected cover of the dock.

In retrospect, maybe she should’ve offered Vinyl and Octavia her rain slicker before they’d left. She only had one, but it probably beat nothing.

Whoops.

It didn’t take long to find the problem once she got under Drifter’s body: one of the panels near the thruster had been torn off, leaving the magic circuit and what looked like about two dozen wires dangling out of it.

She glanced around, squinting as she looked into the deep shadows cast by the dock’s lights. “Oh, geeze!” she mumbled, laughing without feeling a trace of humor, “I didn’t know I let get so bad down here!” Scooching further forward, she rolled onto her back, trying to get a better look at the mess.

It was worse than she’d thought. The circuit had been pulled out, leaving the wiring all around it torn, disconnected, and trashed, while the circuit itself had nearly been snapped in two. You only got that kind of damage when a little asteroid punched through your barrier and smacked the hull.

Or when somepony was looking for something they could damage pretty easily with about ten minutes and a set of basic maintenance tools.

She stared back up in the gaping hole where the circuit had been situated.

It was also gonna be a pain in the flank to fix, if she could even do it herself. The circuit might just need to be replaced, and she had no idea what parts they’d stock on the edge of the Empire. Especially if somepony wanted to keep them from getting off-station

Pulling the relay free of the tangle without much concern for whatever other wires tore, she crawled out from under the landing strut, wincing as she stood a little too fast, catching the base of her spine on the edge of the ship.

“Guess I’m gonna have to order a new one of these,” she said after fully getting out from under the ship, once more glancing around the docks. “I wonder if the station techies even work during storm weeks…”

She trotted back towards Drifter’s boarding ramp, ascending quickly and shutting the door behind her. Once she made it back to the cockpit, she closed ENN and activated the proximity sensors.

Looks like she wasn’t getting much sleep tonight. She needed to call Octavia and Vinyl and warn them, then see what she could do with a couple dozen ruined connections and a magic circuit that somepony hit with a hammer a few times. She kept a bunch of odd spare parts laying around, but lift thrusters only ranked slightly below jump drives and nav systems for raw complexity. Even if the circuit still worked, she wasn’t sure this was something she could fix tape and putty.

And they weren’t going anywhere until it got fixed.

~~~~~

Vinyl nestled into the blankets laid out in the narrow space between the bed and the wall of Filthy’s tiny guest room. She wanted to sleep. She really wanted to sleep.

Too bad she couldn’t.

Between the adrenaline and the aches and the worry, Vinyl felt completely wired. She probably wouldn’t be able to sleep until she literally passed out, and, even then, she still shouldn’t. Tavi needed her right now. Maybe she couldn’t do anything, but she also couldn’t just sleep while the Element kept poisoning her friend.

Not that she knew what to do at this point. Filthy was already asking around for a unicorn doc. She’d already nearly busted her horn trying to stop the rock. That left staying out of the way, keeping Tavi company, sending her good vibes, and maybe praying to Luna and Celestia both for a bit of luck.

Her head jerked up as somepony opened the door, but settled back into the pillow as Bon Bon entered, dumping another pile of blankets in front of Vinyl.

That had been another awkward surprise.

“Okay, Vines. With that, I think we’ve got you and your friend tucked away the best we can for the moment and Rich is seeing who’s still awake and might know where to find a unicorn doctor on station.” Her voice flattened as she continued, “Don’t think he’ll have much luck, though. Ponyville Station’s got maybe a dozen unicorns on it? And that’s counting you.”

“What?” Vinyl shouted.

“It’s an agriculture station, Vines. Not many self-respecting unicorns want to live on a trashy station on the edge of the Empire.” She snorted. “Even Flim and Flam spend as little time here as possible, and they basically own the place.”

“Come on, Bon Bon. This place isn’t that small. You gotta have at least one doc here.”

Bon Bon gave her a look she hadn’t gotten in quite a while. “Yes, Vines. We have doctors. A few of them, in fact. Earth ponies can be doctors too, you know. Redheart, for example, is an excellent physician and takes quite good care of everypony here. But she’s not a unicorn, so she’s not going to be much help with magic poisoning or whatever’s wrong with your friend, is she?”

Vinyl bit her lip. Buck. She hadn’t thought about that.

“Rich will do his best, of course, and if there is one anywhere on the station right now? I’m sure he’ll find them.” She sat down, her expression softening a little as she watched Vinyl fret. “You should start working on a Plan B, though. Call somepony you know, pay them to come out here, take your friend over to Fillydelphia Station, whatever. But, right now, you should probably just go ahead and let Rich do his thing. Clean yourself up. Take a nap. You still look like something an ursa dragged in.”

“There anything here to eat? And maybe an energy drink or some coffee?” Vinyl shifted, cringing as pain lanced through her everything. Definitely hit up a gym when they got back to Manehattan.

“I can get you something to eat, but I don’t think Filthy’s got anything but water here.”

Vinyl sighed. If she had to be awake and wired, she might as well be really awake. “Any place to get any?”

She offered Vinyl an exasperated look. “Pretty much all the shops take the week off. Nopony sane wants to be out in that.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. Just something to munch on is fine then.” Vinyl hesitated for a long moment before she added, “And um… it’s cool to see you again. Sorry for being kinda all over the place and not super friendly right now.”

“Nothing to worry about.”

“Didn’t even know you were out here. How’d you end up as Filthy’s assistant?”

“Well, that’s thanks to you, I suppose. You introduced me to him when he came out to Manehattan. I just reached out after I left Manehattan, and he apparently liked me well enough to put me up and offer me some work until I got my hooves back under me. It worked out.”

“Yeah.” Vinyl hesitated for a moment, then decided buck it and pushed forward with another line of thought, “Um. Hey, before I came out here I saw Ly—”

“I don’t want to hear about it, Vines,” she interrupted.

Vinyl started. “Huh?”

“I’m not interested.”

“Gotcha, gotcha,” Vinyl mumbled, caught off-guard by the brush-off.

“I will say, I am surprised that you actually got off Manehattan,” Bon Bon said, changing the subject. “I figured you’d never set hoof on a shuttle again.”

Vinyl shook her head. “Well, it still totally freaks me out, but...” Vinyl trailed off, her gaze drifting over to the unconscious mare on the bed, “Just didn’t have a choice but to deal with it this time, you know?”

That caused Bon Bon to raise an eyebrow. “Are you two together?”

“Huh?”

“A couple? Sleeping together? Having sex?”

“Friends!” Vinyl snapped, face reddening. “Why in Tartarus would you even ask that?”

“Just curious. I didn’t think you’d go this far out of the way for ‘just’ a friend.”

“What the buck, Bon Bon? Seriously? I helped you girls out all the time!”

“When it was convenient, sure.”

Vinyl bit her lip and took a deep breath, holding back her retort. Much as she hated to admit it, that kinda was how it’d gone down in the end. “Look. It’s been a long time and I don’t want everything to be the same as back then, okay?”

“Fair.” Bon Bon sighed. “Probably not the right time for that sort of thing anyway. Sorry. That was mean.” She smiled as she continued, “I think I am happy to see you again, even if the circumstances suck.”

Vinyl opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when the door to the room pushed open, a somewhat concerned looking Filthy stepping through, a pink filly trailing behind him. “Hey, Vinyl. Bon Bon here get you and Miss Melody settled in?” He glanced around the room and frowned, probably realizing how poorly the four of them fit in it. “Should’ve told you there wasn’t a lot of space.”

“It’s cool,” Viny said, not even trying to pretend she cared. “You find anypony who could help out?”

“Not yet.” He smiled reassuringly as her expression dropped. “Don’t forget, it is quite late already. We are not out of options yet. I’ve left a few messages, but, still… Are you sure you need a unicorn to help you? I do not doubt that Bon Bon has informed you that we are not exactly overburdened with a large population of them here.”

Looking at her friend, Vinyl nodded. “I’m totally sure. It’s a magic problem and all, you know?”

“Yes,” Filthy said, drawing the word out a little, “A magic problem. Is it something contagious?”

Vinyl cocked her head. “Huh?”

“Could it be passed on to another pony? If so, wouldn’t it be safest for us to move her to Bon Bon’s, provided she could spare the room, of course.”

Bon Bon nodded. “It’d be fine.”

“Oh.” Resisting the urge to glance back at the bag with the Element in it, Vinyl shook her head. “No. I really doubt it matters. Uh... I think it might’ve been something back on the ship, like some busted shielding around the engines or whatever. Not a problem for any of you.”

“Well then, there are still a few ponies I can try calling. In the meanwhile, please, rest and make yourself at home.”

“Thanks. I seriously appreciate it. I’m sure Tavi will too.” She had one last option to resort to try and help herself. “Um, you got a console or a tablet I could borrow?”

Filthy nodded. “Diamond Tiara, dear, would you get yours?”

The little filly at his heels stared at Vinyl for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay, daddy,” she said, running off.

“Thanks for that, too,” Vinyl said, offered a sheepish grin. “Sorry this whole meeting kinda blew up.”

A loud ring sounded from down the hall, drawing Filthy’s attention before he could respond. “Well. Hopefully that is the sound of good news and we can get things back on track. Please excuse me for a moment.”

“Hopefully,” Vinyl agreed, failing to not get her hopes up as Filthy trotted off.

“I should get back to work as well,” Bon Bon said, “After I get you something to eat. If you need anything after that, I’ll be in the office just down the hall.

“Thanks.”

Vinyl laid her head on the edge of the bed as Bon Bon walked away, watching Octavia’s shallow breaths. What was she supposed to do? What could she do? How long could she wait? How long should she wait? Her only idea at this point hinged on somepony not totally insane having written a guide on what to do when your friend was being assaulted by a magical relic somewhere on the network.

“Vinyl,” Filthy’s voice came from down the hall, “Your ship’s pilot is on the line. She says she needs to speak with you.”

Comments

[Caliaponia]

Arg. Not that Sunset is all sunshine and rainbows, but it's frustrating to see Lyra fall under Sombra's sway. That sabotage is super ominous.

[the other sans]

After thinking for some but, I think the choker that Lyra is wearing that was made by Sombra is actually suggestively altering her thoughts. Think about it, she's so far now considering that she's one of the key pieces instead of being an observer. Yes, most would come to that point eventually but the fact that soon after she's convinced by Sombra to raid the library at his behest soon after? I smell something fishy and I don't mean the one who sabotaged the Drifter in the monsoon cycle though granted they'll smell of something anyways.

Makes you wonder how far Sombra's contact reach. But now that I think about it... does Sombra know about Hooves? Shimmer does and from the sounds of it before, he's quite infamous.

[Satto Kez]

YES an update!

damn I already finished it...
I do hope to see more of this soon!

[AndrewRogue]

7137935 Gonna do my best to not let a gap bigger than two months between chapters open again. Can't promise it, but gonna try.

[Satto Kez]

7139450 hey no worries, I understand what happens sometime to have things pushed back! So take your time, as long as you plan on finishing it I'll stick with you!

[Alondro]

Sombra is suave and cunning in this story. It would be easier if he were the snarling smoke monster snarling about crystal slaves.

Cunning villains are the most dangerous of all.

That's why ya shoot first and ask questions later!

[Travolore]

Enter element of honesty!
T

[TheWindrunner]

Theory so far.

So if Octavia is loyalty and Vynil is kindness, that means there are four elements left: Honesty, generosity, laughter and magic.

I think that Lyra could be magic at this point.

Hooves and Ditzy Doo probably both are Elements as well, and with a slight possibility of bon-bon. I'm thinking Hooves could be generosity, and Ditzy laughter or honesty. Probably leaning to laughter, but then again she could just be a side character.

Who knows? I'm just gonna have to continue to find out.