So...Who Took Her?

by Dr Atlas

The realistic souvenir.

“How much longer till the train comes?”

“Sir, just be patient, ten minutes isn’t that long of a wait.”

“To me, it is!” Shining stepped closer to the jr. conductor. “I don’t think you know who your talking too right now.”

The pony narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I do know. You launched off an entire swarm of bro- er, changelings into the air and now you’re a prince to this place.”

Shining went face to face with him. “I have the power to get you fired! You know that!?”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, hoping she heard that wrong. “Shining!”

Shining then realized what he said and stepped back. “I’m sorry Twilight, but do you know just how stressed out I am?”

“Why are you stressed out anyway?” The pony asked.

“It doesn’t concern you, just tell me how much longer we need to wait!”

“Sir, It’s gonna be at least a ten minute wait, you can wait that long, right?” He smiled, but Shining didn’t do the same, making the jr. conductor bite his lip and look away, feeling very uncomfortable with the looks this stallion was giving him. “Well, you could always head to the souvenir shop to pass the time.” He suggested, hoping it would make Shining go away.

Shining stomped the ground. “I don’t care about-”

“Maybe that’s exactly what we need right now.” Twilight said, wanting Shining to stop yelling. “I’m sure it has lots of things to look at.”

The pony nodded. “Yeah, there’s souvenirs, candy, trinkets, snowglobes, name plates that apparently don’t have the name Carl...” He ended in a slight tone of annoyance

Twilight smiled while Shining groaned. “That sounds interesting! How about we take a look, Shining!” With no response, Twilight sighed and pulled him closer. “Listen, Shining, can we just find something to take your mind off of this?”

“I’d rather have my mind fully on this, Twilly! My daughter is in the claws, hooves, paws, or...w-whatever they’re using to hold her, and the last thing I want to do is to stop thinking about it!”

“What about your daughter?” Shining and Twilight looked back at the pony, his head cocked to the side.

Shining looked back and forth. “Um...l-like I said, nothing you need to worry about.”

“Oh...okay then.” The pony awkwardly started backing up before walking away, not wanting to deal with the crazy stallion. As for Shining, he sighed and grumbled to himself as he started walking to the nearby store, Twilight close behind.

Shining swung the door open, a bell sounding the seconds he did. He looked around the store, knowing nothing would stop him from thinking about Flurry heart. Twilight noticed his expression and nudged him. “It’ll be okay, Shining.”

“It’s not gonna-”

“AH! Prince and princess!” Both ponies turned to the counter, seeing a smiling brown stallion in glasses. “What an honor to have you visit!”

Shining turned away while Twilight smiled nervously. “Oh, w-we’re just, having a look around while we wait for the train.”

The pony continued smiling. “I was actually hoping you’d come here one day, for you see, I have an item I’m sure you’ll love!”

Shining continued having his back turned to him, looking at the many trinkets to remind ponies of their stay at the empire. “If it involves a snow globe, you can forget it.”

The pony behind the counter shook his head. “Oh no, this is far more than that, it’s something to remind you of your victory.”

“Victory?” Shining looked at Twilight to see if she knew what he was talking about, only for Twilight to do the same. “Uh...victory in what?”

“In saving the Crystal Kingdom of course, you remember .right?“ He chuckled. “I know I do, nopony can forget how far you threw your wife, you have quite the arm.”

“Um...thanks?” He laughed nervously. “I-I guess you could say I learned from the b-”

“Wait.” Twilight started thinking. “What do you have anyway?”

“See for yourself.” He craned his head toward a door. “It’s in the back, I’ve been trying to sell it, but apparently no one wants to buy something that reminds them of...well, you’ll see.”

Twilight felt concerned, not only due to the fact it was behind a closed door, but that the pony had waited this long for him to sell it. “Uh...why behind a door?”

“Safety reasons.” He said, still smiling.

“Well, okay then.” Twilight nudged Shining. “Come on, Shining, let’s go see what he has for you. It might cheer you up”

“The only thing that’s gonna cheer me up is finding-”

“We’ll be right back!” Twilight yelled as she started walking, pulling Shining along the way. “Shining, please, you need to be optimistic about this.”

Shining glared at her. “Kinda hard to when I lost one of the few things I’ve ever loved in this world.”

Twilight gave him another tug, wanting him to look at the gift together. “We. Will. Find. Her! We just need to stay calm and stay determined, can you please do that for me?”

Shining was about to make another angry remark, but the face she was giving him made him look away and say, “Fine...let’s see what he’s got.”

Twilight smiled and grabbed the door handle with her magic.. “Shining, I’m sure this will-” She then hit the door and backed up. “Ow...w-what the?” She tried turning it again with her magic, but there was still no results. “W-why isn’t it…”

“Ya gotta turn it the old fashion way!” The shopkeeper yelled. “Like I said, safety reasons.”

“A door you can’t open with your magic?” Now Twilight was very concerned. “Why would he need a-”

Shining didn’t seem to care as he grabbed the handle with his hoof. “Can we just get this over with?” He flung it open and stepped inside. “I just wanna get this out of the way and...a-and…”

The brother and sister gasped once they saw what was in front of them. It was an object they remembered all too well, something that could bring fear to any of the crystal ponies who looked at it. Both of their eyes trailed over what was standing on the column before them, with nothing but shelves filled with books and candles lit around it. After a long moment of silence, Twilight shut the door behind them and spoke.

“I-Is that...Sombra’s horn?”

“I-It sure looks like it...How in the hay did he get his hooves on something like this?”

“Maybe he made it?”

Both ponies stared intently at the object before them, the horn pulsated with red light while a cape similar to Sombra’s was laid underneath. “If he made it, he’s got some good craftsponyship.”

“So, this is the gift.” Twilight continued staring. “Wonder how he got it to glow like that.”

Shining closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Well, the last thing I need is to see something that reminds me of another monster in my life.” Shining’s eyes then went wide. “Hey...you don’t think…” He turned to Twilight, hoping she would know what he was talking about.

Twilight did, but ended up laughing. “Come on, Shining, like his horn would actually be the only thing to survive, I mean, sure it looks...really looks like the real thing, but I doubt it is.” Shining wasn’t convinced. He stood closer to the glowing object, wondering if something would happen if he was close enough. Twilight rolled her eyes at the sight. “It’s just a horn, m-maybe we should look at something else and go tell him that it’s a...thoughtful gift, but-”

“Just give me a sec.” Shining didn’t listen as he brought his face inches to the horn, still waiting for a sign. He lifted his hoof and tapped it, still getting no results. “Huh, I guess you’re right, Twilly. it is just-”

“CAN YOU NOT!”

Twilight and Shining (mostly Shining) screamed as a ghostly figure with glowing green eyes started emerging from the horn, before long, a body started forming from the dark matter, followed by a set of front legs. A head soon formed around the eyes while the rest of the see through spirit remained connected to the horn. A few moments of silence passed before the ghost spoke. “Can’t a spirit rest for king’s sake!”

“S-Sa..Saa...SOMBRA!?”

Sombra threw his see through arms in the air. “Of course it’s me! Who else do you think I am?” He craned his head to Twilight. “And how long have you had those wings?”

Twilight looked at her wings while Shining pointed at him. “S-So that is your horn!”

The spirit felt rather offended. “Of course it’s my horn, who else would this thing belongs to?”

“B-But what’s it doing here!?” Twilight asked.

Sombra dragged his hoof across his face. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know the journeys I’ve been on while stuck in this horn. I’ve been through tons of stores, been thrown away in many trash bins, been sold by many shady ponies and enchanters, and now I’m just...just…” The ghostly Sombra pointed at his horn, a price tag doned on top. “Just a stupid souvenir locked in a magic proof room that’s being sold for a bit-fifty!”

“That’s not a bad price.” Shining said with a smile, making Sombra lash out as far as he could at him, his see through face inches away from Shining’s.

“If I was whole right now, I’d do to you what you did to me!” He crossed his arms and looked away. “And here I thought ponies like you wouldn’t do things like this.”

“Do things like what?” Twilight was confused. “Good always triumphs over-”

“I’m talking about killing me!”

Both Shining and Twilight gasped. “Ka-Killing!?” They yelled.

Sombra pointed at them. “YES! Killing! You killed me! Not destroyed, not defeated, not imprisoned, not casted away. Killed. K-I-Double L-E-D.”

Both physical ponies looked at each other. “W-We don’t kill.” Twilight said. “T-That’s just...that’s not right!”

Sombra rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, you definitely didn’t kill me, I mean, it’s not like being a ghost trapped in a horn that came off my dead body is considered being dead.”

Twilight still couldn't believe what she was hearing. “B-But how did your horn make it out of that blast, you were blown to pieces!”

Sombra nodded. “Yeah. I was...my horn fell miles out, some pieces of my arm, leg, and body are still three miles that away.” He pointed to his left. “And the most important part of my body fell in a cave and got stuck in some weird slimy substance...and I swear I can feel the hooves of that accursed hole filled mare...using it.” He shivered

Twilight tilted her head. “What body part are you-”

Shining coughed. “I’m guessing your horn is the only thing keeping you stable?”

Sombra nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t hunt all the pieces of me down, surely you know my spirit has the ability to morph from the smallest pieces of my body...unfortunately, that blast of yours took away almost all my magic, and now the only part that I can have all my senses is this thing. The shear fact I’m talking to you right now while maintaining this form is a miracle, to be honest.”

Twilight started fidgeting. “Well, w-we just thought you weren’t much of a threat ever since we defe-”

“Killed…” Sombra corrected coldly. “You ponies must be masters at rubbing salt in the wound if you just came here to make me admit my death.”

Shining was getting sick of listening to him. “Hey, talking to you isn’t what I expected to do here, today.”

“Then what made you come to me? Huh!? Was it boredom? Revenge? Or just so you could ridicule me at the fact that I’ve been stooped so low in life?”

Shining stood higher. “For your info, we’re looking for somepony.”

Sombra managed to form a smile. “Ah, so your daughter has been ponynapped, I’m not too surprised to hear that, actually.”

Shining was shocked to hear that. “W-What makes you think I’m talking about- wait, h-how do you even know about her?”

Sombra raised a ghostly eye at him. “Do you know how long I’ve been on this column? I’ve been listening to the news of ponies behind that door and, for the entire time, have ponies ridicule my horn for looking fake whenever that four eyed pony wanted to sell me! It’s not fake!” He screamed.

Twilight had to ask. “How many stories?”

The dark parts of his form narrowed over his eyes. “A lot...most of them coming from you.”

“Me?” Twilight pointed at herself. “Why me?”

“I’ve heard all about you, Sparkle, the challenges you faced, the foes you defeated before and after me, the journey’s you’ve walked, the...friends you made, I’m just another speed bump in the road of Twilight Sparkle’s life, aren’t I? AREN’T I!?”

Twilight and Shining looked at each other in awkwardness. “Geeze, Sombra.” Twilight said. “Calm down.”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN!?” Sombra pointed at his horn again. “This is all I have left, Sparkle, this is the only thing keeping me in this world, and throughout the course of a year, I’ve heard nothing but news about some mare and her friends defeating a monster, or somepony finding long lost towns, and even listen to an idiotic stallion and his wife make a child that has more power than I could even comprehend!”

Shining’s jaw dropped. “So you would take her!?”

“Oh, believe me, if I wasn’t stuck here, I would take your daughter after what you did and use her power for my own plans.” Sombra sighed and let his arms dangle in the air. “You know, I wasn’t always like this, some power mad stallion bent on ruling Equestria, I was just another pony, had a good life, a nice marefriend, a nice scarf too...then that stupid crystal had to get in the way...same with that stupid doppelganger...making me stay underwater for-”

“I don’t care about your life story, Sombra!” Shining yelled, wanting answers. “Did you take my daughter or not!?”

Sombra extended his arm across the small room. “Does it look like she’s around here?”

“Just answer the question before I shove your horn right up-”

“ALL ABOARD!”

Shining and Twilight’s ears went in the air, hearing that the train had arrived. “I’m guessing you’re taking the train to look for her?” Sombra asked.

Shining glared at him. “We’ll deal with you later.”

“Sure you will…” Sombra said sarcastically as he started fading back into his horn. “Wake me up when ya find your stupid filly so I can at least dream about catching her.”

Shining gritted his teeth as he made his way to the door, hitting it by trying to use his magic to open it. Sombra snickered while Twilight opened it for him by hoof. “Come on, Shining, let’s leave this monster by himself.”

“I heard it all before, Sparkle. Gonna take a lot more than that to hurt my feelings...oh wait, I can’t feel anymore.” He laughed loudly before toning down and sighing, returning his entire form inside his horn.

Twilight shut the door and made her way back outside, Shining close behind. The still smiling shopkeeper waved. “So,” He said. “Do you wanna buy-”

“Not interested.” Both ponies said as the left the store, leaving the pony to himself again. His smile went away as he slumped his head on the counter.

“Well, I guess I that gypsy was right, no one’s ever gonna buy that stupid fake horn…” He sat back down as a loud scream came from the other room, he didn’t seem to hear it once he pulled up a book and started reading

Meanwhile, Shining and Twilight stepped on the train and took a seat. Shining slumped on the table, fearing that they may never find his daughter. Twilight noticed this and frowned. “Shining…”

“I know, I know. ‘We’ll find her.’” He repeated, sitting back up. “I just wish it would happen already…”

As the two continued talking, a mare in a green and black dress a few rows down noticed them and buried her face in a newspaper, groaning in annoyance. “Can’t leave me alone for ten minutes now…”

Comments

[Hillbe]

It's been stuck on Pinkies face for hours what can we do?
Some of the Queens foalings look like you BBBFF!
Doomie I can't get her off! PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSE! It burns!
I'm OUTA HERE!
greens? How uncouth!
?!!!!!!!!!!
No offense precious scales
Why does Pinkie have diaper rash face?

[StarzGecko]

I been thinking of a silly story were Flurry Heart is hunting down Pinkie Pie because she loves her squishy!

I would be surprised that it happen, she flu all the way to Pinkies to get her

[Crystal Night]

Just go find Pinkie Pie before you guys start a huge war.

[tsaukpaetra]

Silly Twilight! Just wait for her to surge and follow the damage!
Keep going! ;)

[Razzy]

... *looks at the part about Chryssie finding a certain part of Sombra*... *Eyebrow wiggle*

... About a quarter of the crystal empire inhabitants are Chryssie's kids, aren't they?

Poor Sombra.

... It's not Chryssie's lucky day, isn't it?

[Ultra-the-HedgeToaster]

“You know, I wasn’t always like this, some power mad stallion bent on ruling Equestria, I was just another pony, had a good life, a nice marefriend, a nice scarf too...then that stupid crystal had to get in the way...same with that stupid doppelganger...making me stay underwater for-”

“I don’t care about your life story, Sombra!” Shining yelled.

Now I kinda feel sorry for Sombra.

Almost expecting Snips and Snails to pick him up from the bargin bin to use as a part in some school science project.

Sweet Celestia, my imagination can be evil sometimes.

[9543]

MOREEEEEEEEEEEEE