Spike's Shadow

by DraconequusMaximus

While You Were Away...

The return to the realm of consciousness was not a painful transition for Spike. Though as his senses synced back up with his physical form, Spike felt the overwhelming hangover setting in. Zecora's drug had been strong, and Spike had exhausted himself in every conceivable way. His muscles ached, his head was pounding, and he was hungrier than he had ever been.

The sound of snoring alerted Spike soon after, and he painfully craned his neck to look behind himself.

Selene was laying on a mound of her own mane wadded up for use as a pillow. She was drooling a bit, Luna lay beside her reading a book. By the looks of the stack haphazardly balanced beside her it wasn't the first she had read. Spike rose from his place with a series of pops and groans, alerting Luna.

"Careful. I imagine you're quite stiff after so much time in hibernation." Luna cautioned, putting away her reading glasses.

Spike rolled his jaws and shoulders, and stretched out his wings despite the tenderness.

"How long was I out?" Spike wheezed, feeling as if he had eaten a dust bunny.

"Eighteen Days. We were beginning to think you weren't going to win against whatever twisted version of yourself lay within your subconscious." Luna told Spike, nudging Selene awake.

Spike was surprised, but not very. The way he was feeling made him believe it right away. But at the same time he felt everything more vibrantly than before. Almost like his senses had sharpened to the same degree they had during puberty. Spike could feel the magic in his body, low on mana as he was, much more easily than before.

Not only that, he felt he understood more about himself than before. The spark of divinity was his to command, just like his magic. He was confident he could at least put up a fight against Dootha now.

"So... Is Sombra ready too?" Spike asked hopefully.

Selene rubbed her eyes and faded into Spike's shadow at a slow, almost leisurely pace.

"I'll fetch 'im." Selene said groggily as she disappeared.

Luna and Spike waited patiently for a moment, neither knowing exactly what to talk about.

Spike got the feeling that Luna wanted to tell him something, but wasn't sure how to breach the subject. He figured that he would find out what was so important once Sombra joined them. Fortunately they didn't have too long to wait.

Selene returned a few minutes later, Sombra in tow.

Sombra looked tired, but otherwise good.

He was still in his true Umbral form, but he seemed more reigned in. The flow of his mane and tail were calm, and his hooves were normal. His eyes had returned to being white with amethyst irises, and the ghostly white miasma was nowhere to be seen. The tip of Sombra's horn was still white, but Spike was happy just to see him.

Even though to him it had only been what felt like a few hours.

Spike reached out and grabbed Sombra, and the two embraced again.

Spike was a bit taken aback by how Sombra hit his senses. Sombra had always smelled a bit unusual, in a good way. But now he didn't even register as having a scent. He was a shadow, so Spike supposed it made sense, but it was a little disorienting.

"I'm sorry you had to wait so long... But I'm whole now. It was really dumb. I was holding myself back because I wasn't thinking things out. But hey, you seem to be in peak form yourself. You've gotten stronger again, and I can't even smell you anymore. That's gonna take some getting used to." Spike chuckled, tears of happiness rolling off his scales.

Sombra stared into Spike's eyes, not needing to change them to see something different in the emerald orbs.

"Yes... But you seem to have made a great improvement as well. There's something I can't see inside you... Yet I know it's there. I believe we have the tools we need for the job ahead of us. After some well deserved rest of course." Sombra cooed, his voice like velvet.

Spike was mildly alarmed as the scene changed to black, but Sombra smiled wide.

Then the blackout ended just as quickly as it had come on.

Spike and Sombra were still mid-embrace, and Selene and Luna were standing about awestruck. They were now all standing in the living room of the house Spike and Sombra shared. Even Luna's books had been brought along. Everyone cast surprised glances at Sombra, but he merely looked smug.

"I ran out of training exercises to master at day twelve. I spent the remainder of my time coming up with new tricks, improving my ability to go undetected, and smooth out the problems in the shadow jump. Now you can't even tell you've moved until you're there. Handy, yes?" Sombra practically gloated.

"Whoa. Nice. We were literally just on the moon too. That's a hell of a jump." Spike praised.

"Yes... That's quite a feat. Why don't the two of you get some food in you, and we can discuss what has happened since you've been away?" Luna suggested.

Sombra too took note of the uneasiness in Luna's demeanor. Yet neither of them felt like denying the suggestion of having a meal. Spike's body would likely begin committing autophagy if he held off eating any longer, and Sombra had had nothing but shadow in eighteen days. Selene and Luna settled in on the couch and resumed sleeping and reading respectively.

Spike and Sombra got to cooking, an activity they had both grown fond of doing as a couple.

Though Spike took lead, as Sombra's expertise was still limited to chineighse food.

After several hours of cooking, they felt they had had enough. Or they had simply cleaned out the kitchen. Luna was unsure. It all smelled heavenly, but Selene felt they were going to devour essentially all of it and deigned not to ask for anything.

In the span of forty-five minutes, Spike and Sombra had consumed what had to have been several million calories. Spike was still rather peckish, but he would hold off going on a hunt for awhile. Both Sombra and Spike had noticed Luna's apprehensiveness and wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of Luna's uncharacteristic worry.

"So then, sisters... What is it that has you so tense? It's Dootha, isn't it? He's made himself well known by now, I'm sure." Sombra guessed, taking a shot in the dark.

Luna didn't deny anything.

Instead, she pulled a world map from her mane and stretched it out across the coffee table. It was perfectly ordinary, but Luna lit her horn and things began to change. There appeared a number of blood red blotches in the southern hemisphere. As well as a smaller blotch in the badlands.

"Dootha has been gorging himself on sentient life since you both left to train. Kobolds, ogres, and several other southern races are reporting massive casualties. None more so than the Naga. Abyssinia is a hollow shell. The Naga that were away from there homeland and several hundred refugees are all that remain.

"The casualties Dootha didn't eat were incinerated, as were the military forces that attempted to intervene. We have sent aid to these nations, and are accepting a great many refugees. We were of course only able to send help after Dootha had moved on, but we knew it was the best we could hope to do at present." Selene explained wearily.

Spike's stomach lurched, and he feared he would lose the considerable lunch he had just eaten.

Sombra however seemed more enraged than sickened. His eyes flitted back to black and ghostly white miasma surged forth like fire. It wasn't until Spike wrapped his tail around him that Sombra was able to quell the fury roiling through him. Once his head had cooled, he began thinking.

"Luna... If you would allow us access to emergency funds we could begin construction in Farrier's Gulch. It's largely undeveloped land, now with an agreeable climate. It could house a great number of refugees, permanently if necessary. I suggest offering the refugees a home in New Trottingham once construction has ended to the same effect. If you are in need of workers, I believe Appaloosa is experiencing a job crisis. Though that information is dated, as I haven't read a newspaper in several weeks." Sombra suggested.

Sombra took advantage of the clean coffee table and with the fluidity of his mane began drawing out plans and figures. In the span of ten minutes, Sombra had written out a detailed plan for relief efforts concerning the influx of extra-species refugees. Twilight Sparkle herself would have been proud.

Sombra reached into his mane and produced his camera.

He took a great number of photographs of each section.

"If you could have this transcribed onto a proper medium, I believe it would be best. These are merely suggestions, mind you. Far be it from me to tell you and Celestia how to do your jobs. Should you choose to enact this course, please notify my proxy Trixie that she will be busy." Sombra offered.

Luna watched the plans move into one central mass of blackness before flowing off the table and back into Sombra. The photographs broke the plan up into categories, and they were easy enough to read. Though Luna wondered when Sombra had had the time to learn shorthand.

"These seem well thought out, and in truth better than anything we have at present. I shall assign Twilight to organizing the efforts in Trottingham and Trixie and Mr. Braeburn of the Appaloosan worker's union should be up to the task of coordinating efforts in Farrier's Gulch." Luna agreed.

Spike was relieved they could lessen the severity of the refugee's plight, even in a small way.

"Okay, so we have ten days left on the clock. Eight really. We'll need a couple to recover. What are our training options?" Spike pointed out reluctantly.

Everyone's triumphant mood lost some altitude just then, but it was a relevant question. Dootha would return very soon, and Spike still had need of training. The act of using all elements at once and the spark in tandem needed to be second nature. Everything needed to be quick, instinctual.

"Oh! I know! The mirror island! Fiddler's Green! It's a blank zone, it's perfect. Hard training, better yield." Selene implored.

Spike and Sombra considered the suggestion for a time. They were understandably wary, as blank zones tore away at stamina and made it difficult to use magic. Spending eight days inside a blank zone was nearly unthinkable.

Yet, at present it seemed the best option.

Spike sighed, and he rose from the couch.

Sombra likewise got up, dreading what came next. Despite it all, Spike was already running a cursory examination of his stamina and mana. Sombra hadn't slept in nearly twenty days, but he seemed able enough as well.

"I guess we're doing this then." Spike sighed.

"Yes... Another day in the life. It's never easy. But, I have learned that it does surprise you with impressive dividends if you wait long enough." Sombra said optimistically.

Luna and Selene followed Spike and Sombra outside, watching them fly off into the distance. They regretted their uselessness in the situation. The power to move the heavens themselves was looking less and less useful as time passed. For now, it was time for the next generation to lay siege to the forces of evil.

They could only hope it was enough.

Author's Note:

Hey. This is going to be the last chapter before the final battle. Just sort of setting affairs in order. I know it isn't very long, but it is what it is. I'm going to be putting a lot of effort into these last few chapters. I'm planning on three more, not counting this one. We'll just have to see.

Again, thank you for your continued support.

The end is nigh!

Comments

[Jaybird78]

Can't wait to see how this story ends. I started reading it in august 2015. Man how time flys

[StarPony123]

It's all coming to an end, god I remember when this story first kicked off.

[DraconequusMaximus]

7888694 If I post my original stories anywhere I'll probably link them from here.