Chapter 8: Sowing the Seeds
(Split vote. Dice rolled and Sandbar goes to the Shadow Mountains.)
Sandbar waved goodbye to Storm Surge as he headed toward the mountains. The strange hippogriff had followed him until the unusual terrain turned into more regular hills. The hippogriff vanished in a flash of magic, so Sandbar was left on his own to approach the formidable mountains.
The foothills here weren’t so bad. Streams broke up the rocky hills. Sandbar easily hopped over them. A few pine trees grew on the lower slopes of the mountains. It was easy enough to pick out a good path between them. Plants always seemed to bend out of Sandbar’s way when he was determined to get somewhere. It might be some earth pony magic or maybe just his instincts with plants.
It was a tough hike, but Sandbar made his way up to one of the lower ridges. He was nowhere near the mountain peaks, but the wind was already blowing harder at this elevation. It was colder, too, but his thick fur would be enough. He stopped to catch his breath and looked up above. He could catch glimpses of jagged peaks and maybe something else up in the dark swirling mists that were above him. It didn’t look like a very good place to plant one of the seeds that Storm Surge had given him, so he looked to see if there was a better place to plant it nearby.
As he looked around, he could see something flying down from the mountains toward him, but it was still a long way off. He’d have time to plant the seed if he hurried. He spotted a nice mountain clearing with a little waterfall and pond. He quickly galloped to it and focused his mind as he pulled out one of the seeds.
He reached out to feel the magic of the land. There was a perfect spot on the edge of the pond. Sandbar pawed at the ground with a hoof until he broke through to the softer dirt deeper down. He made a little mound and placed the seed into the dirt.
“There you go, little guy. That should be a good place to grow.”
Sandbar’s eyes widened as he felt a flash of magic and energy from the seed. It burst into a small plant. It drew a little of Sandbar’s earth pony magic, but it had more magic of its own. Sandbar could feel it quickly expanding its roots inch by inch. The top of the seedling unfurled into a thorny bush. A flower shaped like a lily bloomed on top. A rainbow of colors shimmered and glowed from within its white petals.
Sandbar could feel this was no normal plant. The roots were reaching out to Storm Surge’s power. The flower was what the hippogriff had said it would be. Sandbar plucked the flower, and the petals on one side of the flower lit up brightly. It pointed toward the mountain peaks. One of his friends would be up there.
As he looked up, he could see the creatures in the sky circling above him. Now that Sandbar could see them better, he really wanted to run away, but it was too late. Sandbar barely had time to hide the flower under his mane and trot away from the strange plant. He somehow felt that these creatures wouldn’t like the magic of the plant he had just grown.
The three ghostly creatures looked barely like ponies. Parts of them seemed almost like thick clouds. Their skull-like faces and glowing eyes were fixed on Sandbar as they landed. The smallest one floated forward. It was a faded dark blue color and looked a little more like a mare than a stallion.
“You, earth pony, stay right there!”
The creature radiated an aura of malice and despair that Sandbar could feel. His ears flattened instinctively, but he stood still instead of following his instinct to run away as quickly as possible.
“We weren’t looking for a pony,” said the large sickly green creature in the back.
The smaller one glared at her companion.
“I know, but a pony is far more valuable than some dragon. Now let’s introduce ourselves to our guest.”
“Oh, hey. I’m Sandbar. Nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure.” The blue one reached out a hoof and Sandbar shook it. At least the hoof was solid. “I’m Hypotha. The big green stallion is Venin, and the quiet gray mare is Ash. Shade and Nightmare would love to see you up in the fortress. It will make things easier if you follow us back there right now.”
An undertone of threat laced all of Hypotha’s words. Sandbar could feel something bad would happen if he said no.
“I think my friend might be that way,” Sandbar said.
Hypotha’s eyes lit up like flames as she stared at Sandbar. “Oh really? Was this friend a small dragon?”
“Yeah, that’s Smolder.”
They all were silent a moment before Venin floated to the start of a rocky path that lead into a cave.
“Come along, Sandbar. It’s quicker by air, but we know the best route through the caves. Follow us.”
Ash crowded Sandbar from behind while Hypotha floated next to him. Venin led the way. They floated quickly, so Sandbar had to practically trot to keep pace. The creatures used some sort of magic to create a dim glow. Sandbar could see enough of the cave to not trip over any rocks, but it was still a rough path. He had to hop across deep chasms in the dark and crawl up loose rock. Sandbar tried to memorize the path, but there were so many other tunnels. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to come back this way without a bit of luck.
He was breathing hard when the path flattened and they stepped out of the dark cave. Icy winds blew wildly, and dark mists swirled around jagged peaks. A huge fortress loomed out of the mists up ahead. During the hike up, Sandbar had learned these creatures were called umbrum. If he had read as much as Ocellus, he might know what that meant.
They led him to the huge metal gates of the fortress. The gates creaked open just enough for them to slip through before slamming shut behind them. Torches with blue flame lined the entry hall. The entry hall was sparsely decorated. Two banners hung on the wall. One was deep purple and black with a white crescent moon. The other showed a spiral of black covering up six smaller gems of color.
The umbrum led Sandbar through the hall. They passed a few side halls before stepping through an archway and into a throne room. Two thrones were on a raised dais, but they were both shrouded in darkness. The torches flickered. Instead of darkness, there were now two pony-like figures on the thrones.
An alicorn mare with feathers and fur the shade of darkest night sat on the right throne under the crescent moon banner. She was thin and graceful, but staring at her mane and tail was like trying to make out something with too little light.
On the left, an alicorn stallion sat under the spiral banner. He was huge and muscular. His mane, body, and tail were like a swirling mix of shadows and dark clouds, and his eyes glowed a bright white.
Neither of the two seemed entirely solid. Their presence felt more real than their bodies. The umbrum bowed. Ash pushed Sandbar down into a bow when he was too slow to react.
“You may rise,” Hypotha said. “Welcome to the court of Shade and Nightmare.”
Sandbar shivered at the overwhelming presence of the two rulers. Shade stared directly at him while Nightmare seemed distracted. Shade pointed at Sandbar.
“Instead of a dragon, you bring me a pony. And this one bears the mark of Storm Surge.”
Magic tried to pluck the feather out of Sandbar’s mane, but it stayed in place.
“Tell me pony. What deal have you struck with that trickster?”
Sandbar kicked nervously at the stone floor and bit his lip before responding. He was terrible at lying most of the time, but he felt that the whole truth might be bad to say here.
“He gave me the feather as a way to contact him if I wanted to make a deal with him.”
Sandbar tried to smile. Nightmare barely glanced at him, but Shade stared right at him.
“If that was all, then it should have lost most of its power when you crossed over into our domain. I can sense more chaotic magic on you.”
Shade’s horn glowed and a spike of shadow shot out from the swirling shadows around his chest. It stopped inches from Sandbar’s neck.
“Let’s try this again. What deal did you make with Storm Surge?”
Sandbar’s heart was racing. He reached for the flower but quickly put his hoof back down.
“And it seems you have some connection to the dragon that got away, too. Do you know where it is hiding? It will be painful for you if you don’t tell us the truth right away.”
Sandbar could feel the magic of the flower pointing him to the floors above him. There had been a staircase on the side of the entry hall. He could try to find Smolder, but he’d have to escape the umbrum and their leaders. Or he could stay here and buy Smolder more time. He had a few options, but he’d have to decide quickly, and that was something he always hated doing.
(Sandbar has 14/14 stamina and 5 friendship tokens.)
- Tell the truth
- Try to buy time
- Escape and try to find Smolder
- Call on the magic of Harmony for protection (costs friendship tokens)
- Use the feather to call Storm Surge and make a deal with him.
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Oh boy sandbar is in trouble I hope he gets out