Chapter 8: A Frozen Heart (Part 4)
Twilight’s eyelids gently fluttered open when the warm air of a light breeze tousled her mane. The sunlight that greeted her caused her to squint, and she lifted her head sluggishly to look out over a lawn of bright green grass. Pale flowers waved serenely while the wind rippled lightly through the small field where she lay.
“What… what was I…” Twilight rubbed her head, trying to hold onto a disturbing thought. She couldn’t quite remember what it was, but in the calmness of her surroundings, even the vague knowledge of it rattled her nerves. The decorated garden with neatly trimmed hedges and pebbled pathways made it difficult to grasp. Her ears kept flicking toward the light splashing of a small fountain, where a stone mare spit an arc of water into the pond below.
Twilight wanted to remember, but like a fading dream, the more she fought to recall it, the fainter it grew. She dug into her own thoughts, picking out the sliver of a memory only to have it slip away. Even in the middle of such a tranquil place, she felt a headache begin to develop from the strain.
So she let it go. Maybe it would hit her later when she wasn’t trying to force it.
“Oh good! You’re awake!” Twilight turned to see Starlight strolling towards her from the quaint cottage. She held a tray in her magic that she lowered onto a checkered blanket spread out beneath them. A pitcher of lemonade and a pair of full glasses sparkled in the sun. “I was beginning to think you might sleep all afternoon.”
“How long was I out?” Twilight asked, racking her brain for something useful. She couldn’t recall anything before waking up, and the fact that this didn’t appear to be a concern disturbed her. “When did I even fall asleep?”
“Oh.” Starlight waved her hoof dismissively. “You just took a short nap in the sun. Happens to the best of us. Lemonade?” Starlight floated one of the glasses her way, and Twilight blinked at it after it bumped against her snout. As she stared at the liquid, she felt her worries vanish. Her lips were dry, and her throat was parched. The offered drink suddenly became her top priority.
She nudged her magic towards the glass to pick it up and… nothing happened. Twilight stared at it intensely until Starlight must have realized what she was doing and quickly interjected.
“You hit your horn!” she frantically explained and pointed to her own forehead.
“My… horn?” Twilight asked while Starlight nodded. A bump on the head might have explained why she couldn’t remember anything. “How did it happen?”
“An… unfortunate match of dueling spells.” Starlight rubbed her leg with a guilty smile. “I have an idea for something relaxing to make up for it. And it doesn’t require magic!” Starlight’s horn glowed softly, and she pulled out a large, diamond-shaped kite from behind a nearby bush. “Tah-dah!”
“You… want to fly a kite?” Twilight asked with uncertainty.
“Yes! I mean—” Starlight hesitated. “If you want to...” In a much softer voice, like she was spilling a secret, she added, “I like kites.”
Twilight couldn’t hold in her quiet giggle and answered Starlight with a nod of her head. “It sounds very relaxing. Where’s mine?”
The weather was absolutely perfect for flying kites, almost as if some magical enchantment was at play. The breeze was fair, and not too blistery as to rip the kites away. Twilight sat next to Starlight with the spool in her hooves and not a care in the world. The two were lost in deep conversation; complimenting the climate, discussing what they could fix for dinner, and how they could better develop the intricate equations for transferring magic over long distances.
“I’ve been toying with it, but I’m not able to travel very far without completely depleting my magic from a constant cast,” Starlight explained while her kite’s spool floated near her chest. “When the source of magic leaves the range of the protective spell, it simply—”
“Extinguishes?” Twilight finished for her.
Starlight nodded. “Exactly. The spell is extremely powerful, but that ironically makes it very fragile.”
“Maybe if you had smaller sources connected together,” Twilight suggested while tapping her chin thoughtfully. “You could spread them over the distance you would need to travel; then the magic would have more of a direct path to transfer through.”
Starlight blinked at her, then suddenly jumped up and dropped her kite’s string to the ground. “We should do that! Let me get something set up, and we can work on it together!” She practically skipped up the porch, leaving the kite to lazily drift into a bush. “This is so exciting! We’ll probably work late into the night! We can tell scary stories! Or give each other facials! This will be so fun!”
With an excited hop, Starlight yanked open the back door and disappeared inside, leaving Twilight to pull in both of their kites. After struggling to get the strings straight on their spools without the help of her magic, she finally strolled up the stairs and dropped the tangled mess by the door before sitting herself down in a nearby rocking chair.
Twilight quietly admired the view of the garden while she waited for Starlight to return. Every so often, her thoughts would drift to how she had dozed off before, but each time she felt that curiosity, a surprising calmness settled over her, and she found herself unconcerned about the time before her nap. She didn’t need to investigate, because there was nothing strange about it.
As Twilight felt the serenity begin to pull her into a light sleep, a heavy thud echoed from inside the cottage and caused her to jolt up in her seat.
“Starlight?” Twilight called out with concern, but her friend didn’t respond. Instead, there was a sharp crash against the wall inside.
“Starlight!? Are you alright?” Twilight jumped to the entrance and tried to rush inside, but her head only slammed against the tightly sealed door.
“Perfectly fine!” Starlight yelled back, her voice strained. “Just stay out there!”
A deep thud shook the porch beneath her, and Twilight stumbled away as the door bent from the impact of something heavy slamming against it. She smartly scrambled out of the way, right as it splintered into pieces. Starlight flew backward over the deck, surrounded in a glowing shield that protected her when she bounced against the lawn and disappeared behind a group of tall hedges.
Twilight tried to follow, but a shriek from inside startled her, followed by a streak of white that dove after Starlight into the bushes. She heard voices yelling, and bright beams of magic shot wildly into the air.
Before Twilight could decide to rush to her aid, a large creature charged through the doorway and slammed against her, throwing her over the stairs and to the ground. She skidded to a stop on the grass with the breath knocked out of her, gasping as she stared up at the dark shape above her. The bewildered face of a reindeer stared back, a heavy layer of frost and snow clinging to his fur.
She reacted without hesitation and kicked him square in the snout.
The reindeer reeled back with a vicious snarl, while a clump of snow fell loose and splattered right in her face. A shocking chill shot through her body from the cold, and she couldn’t comprehend his words when the reindeer growled at her. “What are you doing!? I thought you were her prisoner!”
Twilight pressed her hooves against her head as memories suddenly flooded her mind. Everything that had happened… the storybook, the fairy tales, and Spike’s capture… Her eyes snapped open with a gasp, horrified that she had forgotten any of it.
“A memory spell!” Twilight pounded her forehead with a groan. “This is the part with the garden and the witch…”
“Oh good… you seem to remember now.” Sombra rubbed his nose and glared at her. “It would be a shame for you to forget and attack me.”
Before Twilight could answer, a shout from the garden caused both of their heads to turn. Bright streaks of magic lanced through the air, and the white raven crashed through the bushes with a terrified screech while Starlight burst after him. When her frenzied eyes landed on Sombra, her expression warped into a furious scowl. “YOU!! You’ve ruined it!”
“I couldn’t distract her!!!” The raven swooped down and dove for cover beneath Twilight’s wing right as Starlight’s horn lit the area with a dangerous-looking glow.
“Idiot!” Sombra shouted and lunged for Twilight, pulling a yelp from her when he shoved his nose beneath her body and scooped her up. Twilight shouted from the prongs that stuck into her side, but she still wrapped her legs around his antlers as he spun and headed for the tall hedges that lined the yard. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut right before they crashed into the leaves, and the warm breeze blowing against her immediately dropped to a frigid gale.
The shift in scenery was instant, as if they had stepped from one story to another, like flipping the page to a new chapter. The landscape surrounding them was dark and frozen, with stormy winds whipping snowflakes across her vision. She looked back to see snow-covered hedges with a large, reindeer-shaped hole that led back into warmth and sunlight. The garden had been nothing more than an illusionary haven.
“Wait!” Starlight appeared as a dark shape in the gap, outlined by the inviting light behind her, but Sombra wasn’t concerned with finding out what she wanted. Twilight only caught a quick glimpse of Starlight’s pained expression before she faded into the haze. “I-I can explain! Please—” As the distance grew between them, the howling winds ripped Starlight’s voice away, while the sight of the cozy cottage was soon lost in a fog of ice.
Twilight kept staring back into the gloom, even though her vision had been completely engulfed by the grey and white landscape. That heavy, cold feeling in her chest began to spread, but a heavier thought wouldn’t escape her mind, even while Sombra galloped effortlessly over the frozen ground, leaving that arc of the story far behind them.
She could have been okay with that. She was even somewhat glad to be escaping that place. Twilight didn’t want to dwell on the thought of Starlight’s role… Even though the pony depicted by the storybook hadn’t been the real Starlight, she had still used a friendly facade to hide an ulterior motive. It dredged up her own memories of the past that had led to their eventual friendship.
Starlight hadn’t hurt her. As terrible as it seemed, this story version only appeared to have wanted a friend. Her voice calling after them had even sounded so heartbroken… and the familiar shout that echoed in her mind only pulled at her the longer she dwelled on it.
“G-go back!” Twilight shouted to be heard above the screaming winds. “We h-have to go b-back!”
“Are you mad!?” Sombra yelled, his stride not even slowing as he powered on. “There’s no way I’m wasting my time with that warped, conniving little—”
Twilight struck out and bit down on Sombra’s ear with a tug. He tripped over his own hooves, throwing them all head-first into the snow with a shouted curse.
Shivering uncontrollably, Twilight managed to pull herself from the snowbank, racing up and pushing through the powdery snow that rose to her chest. Sombra’s furious threats rang out behind her, but she ignored him and spun in a slow circle, trying to figure out what direction Starlight’s cottage was in.
“Princess!” Twilight jumped when the raven’s talons stabbed into her shoulders, but she settled down when he huddled against her neck. “We need to keep moving! You can’t stay out in this blizzard for very long!”
“Wench!” Sombra yelled from behind, and she turned to see him stomp over to her, his lips curling back in a snarl. “You have the audacity to bite me!?”
“You wouldn’t turn around!” Twilight shouted at him over the howling winds.
“You want to go back to the psychopath that abducted you!?” Sombra lowered his head to glare closer to her level. “That unicorn is more dangerous than the bandits!”
“She’s not a psychopath!” Twilight yelled back. “She’s my friend!”
Sombra’s sneer briefly shifted to an expression that bordered on surprise, but he narrowed his eyes while his voice dropped to a low growl. “Now I see how those stooges captured you in the first place. You set yourself up for your own destruction, but I’m not going to fall along with you.” With a deep huff, he turned into the storm and marched over the snow.
“W-wait!” Twilight called out, but Sombra did not stop. “Where are you going?”
“I am done with this fairy tale! And your foolish ideologies!” Sombra stomped off, his dark form quickly fading into the fog.
Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as she stared after the spot where he disappeared, feeling a wave of panic course through her. She was lost and alone in the bleak, frozen wasteland. A creeping sensation crawled up her spine, and she wasn’t sure if it was the anxiety or the frost collecting against her fur.
“Princess?” She felt the raven shift along her back, and his wings wrapped around her neck like a feathery scarf. While it did little to block out the cold, she lifted a hoof and hugged him closer.
“I’m f-f-f-fine.” Twilight trembled and stumbled to her hooves. “I just have to...” Her voice faded as she stared over the hazy landscape.
Not even a minute had passed since Sombra stormed off, but she could already see a large shape growing more defined over the clouded distance. After a time, Sombra stood in front of her with an annoyed frown as he looked down at her. “I… don’t know where the castle is.”
“And I d-d-don’t have the map,” Twilight answered.
“She still cannot be trusted,” Sombra grumbled.
“I know…” Twilight said solemnly. “You were right, I s-should have been more careful with Starlight.” She bowed her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
Sombra was quiet for a moment, and the only sound she heard was the wind whistling past her ears.
“Why… would you apologize?” he finally asked.
“W-why?” Twilight repeated and lifted her head.
“We are enemies,” Sombra elaborated. “But you already have my cooperation, because… as much as I despise it… we require one another to get through this accursed storybook, so you don’t need to apologize.” At her dumbfounded expression, Sombra wrinkled his snout with a maddening glare. “What I mean is—you should, but you don’t have to! NOT because I don’t want you to... because—of course—I was right. So you should. Apologize.”
“I… f-felt bad.” Twilight couldn’t stifle the snort of laughter that escaped her, and Sombra narrowed his eyes from suspicion. “Really! You were the only one t-thinking of that possibility. Maybe if I had l-listened to you, it wouldn’t have been as bad a s-situation as it turned out.”
“Pity for your nemesis.” Sombra snorted. “I don’t need it.”
“It wasn’t p-pity!” Twilight insisted. “It was…” Her gaze trailed down, trying to figure out a reason for herself before explaining it to him. “When I recognized you… back in the bandits’ c-cave? I laughed because I… was relieved.” Twilight looked up at him, blinking in surprise at her own conclusion. “I didn’t f-feel alone anymore.”
Sombra gave a doubtful snort. “Are you suggesting we’re friends?” he said in a mocking tone.
“I d-don’t think we’re enemies.” Twilight smiled at him.
Sombra stared at her for a long moment, but eventually moved and lowered his head. “Come,” he simply said, before nudging his nose beneath her stomach. Twilight was a little less startled this time around as she settled near his antlers. “Your legs are freezing over.”
Twilight looked at her hooves in surprise and noticed a layer of frost that she hadn’t felt while sitting in the cold. Any longer and she might have unknowingly turned into a statue.
It was too long before Twilight spotted the shadow of the cabin through the storm, and Sombra headed for the warm glow of the enchanted garden in the hidden backyard. As he approached, Twilight could see Starlight curled up on the grass with her legs covering her face.
Sombra stopped right outside the opening, and Twilight was tempted to ask him to step into the warmth, but she was also hesitant to have them enter haphazardly. She called out softly, “S-Starlight?”
At the sound of her voice, Starlight’s head popped up, and Twilight could see that her cheeks were wet with tears. She blinked in surprise at the sight of Twilight draped over Sombra’s head, and with a loud sniff, she wiped at her eyes. “You… you came back?” her voice croaked.
“You c-can’t leave the garden… can you?” Twilight asked in a reserved tone.
“I… If I do… the protection spell falls apart.” Starlight turned her gaze to the side. “The few ponies that do pass through wouldn’t have a safe place to stay… and the garden would… just… I… I just…” She ducked her head and hid beneath her hooves. “You were happy, weren’t you? We were having fun together?”
“That d-doesn’t make it right.” Twilight took a step onto the grass after Sombra lowered his head, sighing when she felt the warm air of the protective spell wash over her. The raven slid from her back and fluffed out his feathers in a spray of snowflakes.
“I… I just wanted a friend…” Starlight’s voice cracked from a sob.
“You can’t force friendship like that,” Twilight said with a stern tone.
“I was so afraid…” Starlight sniffed as the tears spilled from her eyes. “Everypony ends up leaving! I’m always alone!” She covered her face with her hooves. “You don’t know what it’s like!”
Twilight touched Starlight’s hoof and gently moved it away from her face, giving her a sad frown as Starlight looked up at her. “I know how important it is to have friends that can support you, and I know what it’s like to feel abandoned…” Twilight helped Starlight into a sitting position, then leaned in to give her a hug. She wrapped her wings across Starlight’s shoulders and lowered her cheek against her neck. “I can’t imagine where I would be without my friends, but as close as we are, we aren’t perfect. We have our differences, and I may have doubts… I may even be afraid of losing them, but that doesn’t mean we should give up.”
She felt Starlight’s weight fall against her, and her shoulders shook from the sobs convulsing her sides. Twilight patted her back and let her cry, giving her time to let it all out.
Or at least, she would have… had a large snowball not splattered against her back. Twilight flared her wings with a sharp yelp, snapping her gaze around to see Sombra pointing an innocent hoof at the flabbergasted raven.
“Are you kidding!?” Twilight hissed.
“Consoling this fictional character is a waste of time.” Sombra’s annoyance was clear as he spoke without any hint of shame. “Are you almost finished?”
Twilight ignored him, unable to help think this was revenge for biting his ear, and turned back to Starlight, who had quieted down to soft sniffles. “I’m… sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I c-can… I understand if you don’t—” Starlight tried to explain through her quiet sobs.
“Apologizing won’t erase what happened,” Twilight said, able to grasp what Starlight was going for. “But it doesn’t mean you can’t be a good pony, or a good friend. We can work towards it together. That’s what friendship is.”
Starlight drew away, pushing Twilight back while she wiped at the tears on her face. “Even after everything I did…?”
Twilight nodded. “It’s up to you if you want to change, and I can help you.” She then put a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder, while placing the other over her own chest. “But right now, I have to go. I promise that I’ll come back and visit… but Spike needs me. He’s a part of my family, and he’s been taken by the Snow Queen.”
Starlight grimaced and slapped her forehead with her hoof. “You were headed north to find him… now I feel so much worse…” Starlight then sat up straight, looking like something suddenly bit her. “Wait here!” She turned and bolted into the house, and the sound of crashing pots and pans echoed from inside. In a burst of light, Starlight quickly teleported back with a bundle floating in her magic.
She thrust the bags against Twilight’s chest, and Twilight managed to catch them before they dropped to the ground. “I’m sorry! Again. I already threw out your cloak, but I kept your saddlebags. I just... didn’t want it to trigger your memory.” Her gaze fell while her ears drooped, and she held out a scarf folded on top of her hooves. “But I don’t travel—obviously… so you can have my emergency scarf. I just hope it keeps you safe,” Starlight mumbled.
Twilight lowered her saddlebags and accepted the scarf, wrapping it around her neck. “It’s perfect, Starlight, thank you.” She leaned in and gave her friend a warm hug.
“Oh! And another thing!” Starlight sat up with a look of excitement. “There’s a wizard over the mountains just east of here. They helped me set up the garden before I… got stuck.” Starlight grinned sheepishly. “It’s a bit of a detour from where you’re headed, but they might be able to help you with your affliction. I don’t think you can make it to the Snow Queen’s castle otherwise.”
Twilight turned to Sombra, and he rolled his eyes with a soft huff before she turned back to Starlight with a big grin.
Equipped with nothing but her new scarf to combat the cold, Twilight found it difficult to keep her eyes open while clinging to Sombra’s neck as he galloped effortlessly through the snow, staying on course of the path that Starlight had pointed them in. Even though he was warm, the elements beating against her quickly wore her down. The scarf wrapped around her head and the raven trying to act as a shield did nothing to stave off the numbing chill.
She couldn’t tell how long it had been, or even how far they had traveled. She thought her eyelids might have frozen shut, and it still felt as if she were trapped in the storm when a jumble of faded voices finally reached her ears. Almost as if they were trying to talk to her through a thick layer of ice, she couldn’t understand any of them. Her legs were stiff, and her head wouldn’t move. The only thing she could do was hug Sombra’s fur even tighter.
Something shockingly warm touched her cheek, and she grunted when a hoof gently lifted her head. In response to the cold air that filled the emptiness between herself and Sombra’s coat, she clung to him, but whoever was speaking didn’t move her any more than that.
A hot liquid spilled against her lips. Surprised by the heat and wanting more of it to combat against the cold, she was able to open her mouth just enough to swallow a few gratifying gulps.
Whatever the drink was, it immediately warmed up her insides and seemed to help her break through the frost that clouded her mind and body. Even though she was still freezing, the feeling had started to return to her limbs. With an effort, she cracked open her eyelids and blinked at the pleasant light that met her.
She couldn’t clearly see her surroundings, but she got the impression of a large cabin with a wide, open living room. Although everything was fuzzy, she could almost identify a small kitchen and dining room table off to her left, while the bright light flickering nearby was obviously the fireplace.
The voices around her were still muffled behind that wall of ice, but they sounded stronger and clearer than before. A blurry orange figure stood before her, and a cup floated into view and pressed against her lips again. She heard a garbled string of words and assumed he was asking her to drink, so she obliged. The same beverage slid down her throat, and her vision gradually returned.
“W-where…” Twilight tried to ask, but the pony interrupted her, saying something about resting a moment longer. She felt a deep rumble beside her, and a high-pitched squawk from the weight on her back. Even through her confused senses, she could pick up on Sombra’s irritation as he argued with the raven. But she had more patience, and after a minute of waiting, the pair of figures standing in front of her slowly came into focus.
“F-Flurry?” Twilight croaked out. She received a happy babbling in response when Flurry Heart rushed forward to hug Twilight around her neck. Twilight happily caught her in a warm embrace and nuzzled her nose against Flurry’s cheek. She was so elated that she wanted to fly up with her niece and spin through the air, but her legs remained planted on the floor, and her wings barely twitched in response.
“It was definitely more than a simple flurry,” Sunburst leaned closer and explained. “That blizzard is perpetuated by the Snow Queen herself! It’s very dangerous to travel now, especially in your condition!”
Flurry Heart cooed with concern, burying her face against Twilight’s chest with a small frown and gently tapped her hoof against the spot where the magic pooled in a frigid lump. She wasn’t certain if it was just coincidence or if Flurry actually understood what was happening to her.
“Indeed, you might have frozen out there,” Sunburst scolded her, appearing to respond to an unspoken statement. “What were you doing?”
“Going to… the queen’s castle…” Twilight breathed, resting her head atop something soft. It turned out to be Sombra’s shoulder, but she didn’t care, not after traveling with him through the storm.
“Why would you want to go there!?” Sunburst exclaimed and raised a hoof to fix his spectacles.
“Spike…” Twilight huffed out, feeling as if she had done all that running through the blizzard on her own. “She took him. I have to… rescue him.”
“We came here to find a cure for this,” Sombra explained, motioning his head at Twilight. “Quickly heal her so we can be on our way.”
“You’re in no condition to rescue anypony, not with that spell threatening to freeze you,” Sunburst continued on, unable to understand Sombra, but somehow appearing to know about the magic affecting her. “You can rest here, but I can’t condone you rushing off to die in the storm!”
Flurry Heart made a series of babbling noises that Sunburst tilted his head towards. When she stopped, Sunburst nodded and trotted toward the kitchen. “I can prepare the water, then.”
In the silence that followed, Flurry fluttered up to follow after Sunburst while Sombra watched with a blank expression. “Is he going to elaborate, or are we just going to pretend that’s normal?”
Twilight was too drained to even roll her eyes; she simply flicked an ear and laid her head down to rest like Sunburst had recommended. Bottles clinked and cutlery rattled while Sunburst assisted Flurry with some kind of preparation and not the other way around.
“Buuah!” Flurry finally announced while flying over a pot that boiled with heat. Sunburst used his magic to scoop the liquid out with a ladle and poured it into a cup. Still scalding hot, he floated it over to Twilight.
“Breathe in the steam, Princess.” Sunburst lowered the cup, and Twilight opened her eyes, grunting as she lifted her head to sniff at the concoction. As soon as the vapor entered her nostrils, she snorted and flopped backward with a sneeze, instantly feeling a warmth spread across her body. The effect was only momentary as the chill quickly returned, but at least it was no longer draining her strength.
“What is it?” she asked, feeling more alert while she sat up to peer into the cup.
“Something to help with the cold. It should be safe to consume now.” Sunburst tipped the cup to her lips and she took a few gulps. With each sip, a heat burst down her throat and through her insides. The stiffness that had frozen her joints melted away, and she immediately felt her temperature begin to rise. Twilight had to stop, pulling away with a puff of steam escaping when she breathed out.
“Can’t…” She let her tongue loll out of her open mouth, stumbling to her hooves in the direction of the door and causing the raven on her back to squawk in surprise. “Too hot!”
A burning sensation rose in her throat and raged across her tongue. The hut had become too warm, and her entire body felt like it was on fire. Twilight suddenly sprinted to the door, leaving the raven hovering in the air while she tugged it open and tumbled down the steps into the blizzard. Her relief came in the form of a snowbank as she plowed head first into it, letting out a heavy sigh after crunching on a few bites of the powdery snow.
“Oh dear…” She heard Sunburst’s voice from the porch. “We might have made it too hot.”
“Might have!?” Twilight pulled her head from the snow and gave him a heated glare. The others stood with him, Flurry Heart clapping and giggling while the raven paced on the edge of the steps.
“How do you feel now?” Sunburst asked, seemingly unphased by her outburst.
Twilight blinked and realized she felt fine, considering that she was laying in a mound of snow while a blizzard raged around her. Even though all she had on was the scarf, she only felt a slight chill from the elements. “Good… actually.”
“Well, that was entertaining.” Sombra’s head ducked through the doorway with a smirk. “As well as beneficial. Off to the castle then?”
Twilight shot him a sour look, but she hastily climbed out of the snow pile, sharing his thoughts on traveling as soon as possible. “Right. We can go to the Snow Queen’s castle without any worry—”
“Hold on,” Sunburst interjected, causing Twilight to slip right back into the snow. “The potion needs time to settle and defend against her magic. Traveling through this blizzard too soon will just freeze you all over again.” He moved into the doorway and waved his hoof. “Come back inside, you can sleep here for the night.”
Twilight shook the snow off of herself and scrambled back into the house. The moment she was inside, the raven fluttered up to land on her shoulders when Flurry Heart darted through the air and intervened. She hugged Twilight’s back and wrinkled her snout as she looked up at the startled bird, who veered away and landed in the rafters with a dejected warble.
“The potion should keep you safe,” Sunburst explained while floating over a few blankets from a closet as he trotted past. “But if any more of the Snow Queen’s magic gets in, you’ll just freeze… and next time, it won’t be so easy to fix, if at all.”
Twilight nodded in understanding, following him down a short hallway to a large guest room, with Sombra’s heavy hoofsteps lumbering after them. A pair of beds shared a space near the window, and there was a small fireplace along the wall for extra warmth. Sunburst laid the blankets out on the floor while moving over to the hearth and fiddling with the logs to get a fire going.
Twilight strolled to the nearest bed, jumping up and collapsing against the covers with a weary sigh. Flurry crawled down Twilight’s shoulder and snuggled up beside her, nosing her way beneath her wing. Twilight happily obliged her niece, shifting closer to Flurry’s warm body even though she felt perfectly fine thanks to the potion.
A flicker of light sparked in the fireplace as Sunburst got the flames started. “It seems your travels have taken quite a toll on you.”
Twilight’s eyes were already closed, but she nodded soundlessly in answer.
“I will let you sleep, then.” Sunburst quietly shuffled to the doorway, where a soft flutter of feathers announced the raven entering the room. “If you get hungry, let me know.” And with that, she heard the door shut with a soft click.
A creaking and squeaking of metal springs disturbed the quiet of the room, and Twilight opened her eyes to see Sombra with his front half on the second bed. He was trying to lift himself up, but the mattress was obviously much too small for his reindeer bulk.
“Confound this… stupid… feeble...” he grumbled while trying to figure out how to fit as his antlers scraped the ceiling.
“I think the blankets are for you,” Twilight said as she pointed to the comforter on the floor. Sombra turned and followed her hoof, frowning deeper at the sight of the sheets near the fireplace.
Despite his obvious dislike, he strolled beside it and investigated them, pawing curiously at the makeshift bed and inspecting it close enough to be able to see each thread of fabric. After a time, he finally stepped over it and flopped down, grumbling something inaudible beneath his breath.
Twilight watched him glower for a moment, adjusting her leg carefully when she realized Flurry Heart had already fallen asleep against her. The raven fluttered over silently, his light steps not even phasing the mattress to disturb them. When he settled against her other side, the room went quiet, with the muffled whistling of the wind outside the only sound that could be heard. Twilight felt herself drifting off to sleep when Sombra’s voice broke the peace.
“Out of curiosity…” he started hesitantly and lifted his head away from the sheets. “How did you come to be friends with that unicorn?”
“Sunburst?” Twilight asked groggily, careful to keep her voice low.
“The other one. With the garden,” Sombra clarified.
“Starlight?” Twilight lifted her head slowly and blinked at him. The fireplace had filled the room with a soft, amber glow.
“I fail to see what circumstances might benefit an alliance between you two,” Sombra said. “Unless this isn’t the first time you’ve been trapped in a corrupted storybook with an enemy.”
Twilight almost laughed. “I was stuck in a comic book once, but not with Starlight.” She gave him a brief summary of how they had met, after having to explain to him what a comic book was.
“Because of what happened, Starlight was afraid. She was so scared of what might change, she tried to control it in a bad way.” Twilight looked up at Sombra, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout her story. There could have been a thousand reasons as to why, but Twilight tried something on a whim. “Did anything like that… happen to you?”
For the briefest moment, a strange look flashed across Sombra’s face that could have simply been the flicker of firelight. His expression displayed its usual intensity as he glared at her. “I am not one of your friends to be consoled,” Sombra grumbled.
Twilight watched him quietly for a moment before shifting her legs, taking great pains to move delicately. She managed to slip away from Flurry without waking her niece up, but the raven turned to blink sleepily at her. With a ruffle of his feathers, he shifted his body to press against Flurry, and her little legs reached out to hug him like one of her stuffed animals.
Free from the pile, Twilight slid down the bed and trotted over to Sombra to offer her hoof to him. “Not yet.”
He wrinkled his snout while looking down at her leg. “What is this?”
“An offer of friendship. Officially,” Twilight continued after Sombra’s scoffing snort. “Even if it’s only while we’re trapped in here. As long as we’re working together, why not?” Twilight smiled up at him, and Sombra frowned back at her as if she was holding a rotten fruit. “We can work through this… together. I’ll listen to your concerns, and you consider mine. If not, then… we escape and go back to being enemies. You can conquer the Empire...” Twilight paused, frowning sadly at him. “And I’ll stop you.”
Sombra chuckled darkly and leaned closer. “You can try,” he rumbled, and Twilight’s ears flattened, disappointed that he wasn’t willing to agree.
“But—” he started again, and her ears perked up. “You are… intelligent, despite your poor judge of character. And…” His gaze slid off to the side. “I’ll… admit, you have served me usefully in some instances.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Friends help one another. They’re loyal and kind—”
“Yes, fine. I don’t need any selling points.” Sombra lifted his leg and nearly toppled Twilight over when he laid his large hoof over hers, giving it a slight shake. “I shall give this friendship a try.”
Twilight tapped his hoof and pulled away, shaking her leg to get the feeling back into it, but grinned at him awkwardly, not really sure what she should do next. “Alright then… uhm… Goodnight… Sombra.” Twilight blurted as she stepped back towards the bed, but before she could climb back up, Sombra’s voice stopped her.
“I suppose…” he hesitated, appearing to sound a little flustered. “Since we are… friends… of a sort, I should ask a fairly important question.” He turned his head and muttered, “One I probably should have asked a while ago.”
Twilight paused and tilted her head when he remained quiet. She lifted her hoof, urging him to continue. “What is it?”
Sombra rumbled something deep in his throat before speaking up. “What is your name?”
Twilight was quiet for a moment, not certain if he was being serious. Of all the times that he had been around when her storybook friends had called out to her… and after all this time? “Really?” Twilight asked flatly. “You don't remember my name?”
“I didn’t care to pay attention… or remember.” Sombra glared at her. “It didn’t seem important... Although, admittedly, it would have been easier than coming up with new insults to call you.”
Twilight sighed with a drop of her head before placing a hoof over her chest. “Twilight Sparkle.”
“Princess… I assume?” Sombra asked curiously, but Twilight shook her head.
“Just Twilight, is fine.”
“Then...” Sombra mused as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Twilight.”
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Seriously? He didn't know her name? Not sure if that's realistic or not, but it certainly adds another layer to Sombra's development! Really enjoying this story, keep up the great work!
9064415
Thank you!
It might be plausible,(I'm horrible with remembering names, even after a few days), but more likely I feel like he intentionally forgot her name out of spite. "This piece of information is worthless to me... delete!"
I think it'd be hilarious if Flurry likes him no matter what he does. How is Cadence and Shining Armour going to react to this? I'm so happy!
And there're so many possibilities! Cinderella, Pinnochio, Snow White, Little Mermaid and so much more! I can't wait to find out where this goes!
9064487
That feels very Sombra-like! Well done.
I wonder who will win finally
And Knowing her name is a good start! I'm waiting for your friendship to sublimate into romance.
You two kinda reminded me of Pride And Prejudice.
Always great to see an update for this! Especially with the promise of more banter between these two.
Be very greatful that Sombra was there, Twilight. If he wasn't, you could very well have been stuck in there through the next Winter Wrap-up. The girl was stuck with the witch for months in the original fairy tale, right?
9066843
Hmm, not sure! The version I read wasn't very clear, but I guess it would need to be enough time that the witch finally got forgetful and wore a rose in her hat to remind the girl.
You keep saving Twilight Sombra and people are going to talk...
I thought it was hilarious that he didn't even know her name, such a villain thing to do, not even bothering to remember or even learn who your supposed adversary is.
It's a good thing Sombra finally cared to ask her name. It wouldn't have been good if they broke out of the storybook spell, madly in love with one another, had a whirlwind courtship, and he only finally learned her name on the altar!
Still, at least they got away from Starlight, and she gave them some new information and a new location to boot. I am mildly surprised that Twilight doesn't think to compare Sunburst at all with the original tale (though I can only remember bits and pieces of it too) just to see how he lines up with a character from the original. After her encounter with Starlight, you would think Twilight would at least be once bitten, twice shy.
On another note...I'm beginning to wonder what the exact nature of the storybook spell is, at least to how safe it is. The fact that our heroes and heroines feel pain, and in Twilight's case, a lot of extreme cold, suggests it isn't anywhere close to sanitised. But nobody's died yet. It's entirely possible it isn't corrupted enough for anybody to actually die, given how even when they derail the original storyline, it always winds onto a path to conclude the arc. Of course, it's not something anybody is going to test, either!
I really love this line, though when thinking back on it the first time, I mis-remembered it as "Heavens forbid you forget to attack me"... in a stereotypical British accent
the ending scene with both the agreement and the asking of the name was just a lot of fun too
Socially awkward Sombra
i.pinimg.com/originals/75/bd/f0/75bdf06df3fd6ddd9d3311d8cb2be029.jpg
It's always awkward to ask for names when being together for a while
I almost feel like checking back since I'd thought he used her name before now. Didn't like Starlight use it in front of him or wasn't Sombra there when she introduced herself to Starlight? Have they been using fairy tale names until now?