The Life of Penumbra Heartbreak

by Unwhole Hole

Chapter 7: The Disappointment

The bricks flashed with blue light, levitated shakily, and then quickly charted their path through the air, moving from one pyramidal pile to another. Penumbra performed exactly as she had been trained, although it took all of her focus. Focus her mind on one brick, lift it, move it, turn to the next. It was a repetitive process, but she could feel herself sweating from the strain.

Crozea and Scarlet Mist were both beside her, standing one on each side, watching carefully. Penumbra doubted that she could have even begun to maintain this focus without them there, the one who cared for her and the one who taught her everything she knew. Especially not while HE was there.

It was just as Crozea had said- -but also not, in a way. The king was indeed handsome. Even though he was the only stallion Penumbra had ever been allowed to see, she understood that he was unique, from his black mane to his muscular body, to the way his horn was bladed and curved. His eyes were piercing and strange. They did not look like Penumbra’s, but they felt like Scarlet Mist’s.

He watched her carefully. It was the first time Penumbra had met her father, and she needed to succeed. She had to impress him, to show him that she was a good pony- -and that Scarlet Mist had done a good job.

“Stop,” he said at last. Penumbra stood at attention. The brick she had been holding dropped and shattered, although she did not especially care- -nor did she understand why he had stopped her in the middle of her task.

Sombra approached her. Penumbra felt her heart beating faster. She did not understand why.

The king stared at the creature before him, a gaunt, grayish alicorn with pale, blank eyes. Then his horn flashed. A narrow strip of light condensed into a whip, and Penumbra instinctively summoned a shield spell. She knew this drill well. The makeup Crozea had given her was still covering the marks that Scarlet Mist had left on her face practicing it.

The shield spell shattered the instant Sombra’s magic touched it. Penumbra cried out both in surprise and in pain; her spell was so pedestrian that she had constructed a feedback mediation system. Sombra’s magic slapped her in the face. It was roughly equivalent to being slapped with a heavy bootstring, but it still smarted- -and it smarted the same when he slapped her on the other side of her face, just for good measure.

Sombra’s eyes narrowed. “I am very disappointed,” he said. “Both with you...” He looked up at Crozea and Scarlet Mist. “And with your handlers.”

“Disappointed?” Penumbra’s heart sank. Something inside her hurt very badly, but she did not know what it was. She did not understand why her eyes were suddenly so wet.

“If you grow impatient with our plan, know that she is doing the very best she can.”

“Which is exactly the problem, Crozea.” Sombra kicked over one of the pyramids of bricks. They were made of a comparatively light material; several skittered across the crystal floor. “THIS is her best?”

“Unfortunately, it is,” said Scarlet Mist. “I’ve done what I can, but there is nothing to work with. She has the magical potential of an especially weak unicorn. Two months of training, and this was as far as we could get.”

“And you bothered to waste my time with it? A report to my steward would be adequate. This is simply insulting. And embarrassing.”

“My king, the girl had grown impatient; she wanted you to see her power, even if it is only nascent.”

“And you allowed this? Why? Do you take orders from a child now, Crozea?”

“Father,” said Penumbra. “It’s my fault. I am sorry, I had miscalculated- -”

“Do not call me that. You will refer to me as ‘my king’ or ‘sire’.”

“Yes, my king.” Penumbra was embarrassed, but secretly overjoyed that he had adressed her directly.

“Penumbra,” he said, easily levitating and stacking the bricks absently with his own red magic. “This is not good. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, my king.”

“I had intended for you to take the open slot in the Dark Thirteen, to accelerate your career. But After this demonstration, that is out of the question. Steward.”

“Yes, sire?”

“We will move forward with the selection process. There is no point in holding the space any longer.”

“I am sorry,” said Penumbra, lowering her head.

“I do not require apologies. They are meaningless. I require RESULTS.”

“Perhaps if you gave her a real teacher instead of me. I knew the idea was absurd from the start.”

“Do not dare show our king such disrespect! If you do, you surely know what you can expect.”

“What could he possibly do? I have no body. I feel no pain. I have nothing to lose.”

“You have your honor,” said Sombra, calmly. “Or reputation, I suppose. Am I to believe that the great Scarlet Mist cannot train an alicorn to do more than lift and stack some blocks? Or perhaps your competence lies with your other half?”

Scarlet Mist stiffened. “You bore.”

“Penumbra.”

“Yes, sire?”

Sombra pointed to the door. “Get out of my sight. I have much to discuss with Crozea and Scarlet Mist. Do not return until you can offer something worthwhile.”

The water in Penumbra’s eyes began to increase, and she wiped it away with her foreleg. The metal she wore felt cold on her face. “Yes, sire.”

“And the next time someone strikes you, if you cannot learn to block with your magic, at least learn to dodge.”

Penumbra sat outside the door, waiting. Her eyes felt hot and tingly, and some amount of water was dripping from them, causing her makeup to run. She did not know where else to go, or what to do, so she just waited. Crozea and Scarlet Mist would be out soon. Scarlet Mist might yell at her, but she could accept that. It was not nearly as bad as Sombra’s calm debridement of her skill. She had been trying her very hardest, and apparently she was still not good enough.

As she waited, several ponies passed down the hall. Most were masked thralls, in the process of patrolling or moving to new assigned areas. A few were slaves who looked at Penumbra in awe but quickly turned away in fear, hurrying their pace to go about their duties.

No one spoke to her. She supposed that was better. No doubt, they would only remind her that she was a failure.

That was until one pony stopped, standing over her and casting a long, dark shadow. Penumbra did not look up, but she noticed a distant smell of something strange. Like rotting flowers.

“Oh my. Are you crying?”

Penumbra looked up. The pony standing over her was a white unicorn. She nearly gasped, as she had never seen one before. He was clad in an officer’s long leather coat, and beneath it he wore armor carved with incredibly intricate lines of runes. His long violet main was tied back in a braid, and his eyes were deep violet. He was the second unicorn stallion Penumbra had ever seen, but he was somehow nearly the opposite of her father, and not just in color.

“Hello,” said Penumbra, wiping her face. She stood and bowed. “I am Penumbra Heartbreak. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance.”

“So that is the name they gave you. It is a very pretty name. Here. Let me help you.”

Penumbra felt magic cross her face, and braced for pain. There was none.

“Huh? What did you do?”

“I fixed your makeup. It would not do for the Crystal Princess to be seen crying like this. Please remember this. You are meant to be a symbol of strength.”

“Crying?” Penumbra did not know the word, but nodded. “I will commit your advice to memory. Thank you, sir.”

The unicorn smiled. “My name is Twilight Luciferian. I work with your father.”

Penumbra bowed again. “I am glad to have met you, Lord Luciferian.”

“It would actually be Lord Twilight. The house-name comes first for unicorns. But you may call me Luciferian, if you like.”

“I can?”

Luciferian chuckled. “Only if you would like to.” He looked up at the closed door. “I came here to discuss a matter with your father, but it appears he is indisposed. I suppose I have some time to waste. Tell me, princess, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on a walk?”

Penumbra blinked. “Am...am I allowed to?”

“Of course you are. I am your father’s most trusted adviser. Believe me when I say, I only have your best interest at heart.”

Penumbra was led through many places she had never been allowed to see. The unicorn who accompanied her was quiet, but he also seemed kind. Though, for some reason, Penumbra felt strange. It was the same feeling she got when she got too close to Scarlet Mist; a sharp tightness in her chest that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Something instinctive told her to be wary.

That instinctual voice was quieted, though, when Penumbra was led to the most amazing sight she had ever witnessed. She gasped when she saw the open room before her: a large, round room with a luminescent dome-shaped roof, the base of it filled with trees and plants of every sort.

“What is this?” she asked. “What are these things? Why are they so GREEN?”

Luciferian laughed. “These are plants, my dear. I forgot that you have never seen their like. This is our botanical garden. This is where rare herbs and reagents are produced for our research. Acquiring rare plants from distant places is very difficult, what with the embargo. So we grow them here. Your father and Crozea use it mostly, and Edwin the Goat required it almost constantly. I use some from time to time.”

“And this has been here? The whole time?”

“Indeed it has. Come.” He began on the path that led into the garden. “But be careful. Many of the plants here are...violent. Stay by my side, and no harm will befall you.”

Penumbra did as she was told, holding close to the white unicorn. Something felt good about it, knowing that she was safe there- -but the smell of him became even more disturbing, even through the aromatic scent of so many dark and evil herbs.

“I have been following your progress, Princess.”

“Oh.” Penumbra’s heart sank. “Then you are aware of my failures as well.”

“I am. Although I do not believe it is as bad as you think it is.”

“I was created to be powerful. Yet I am not. Does this mean my birth is a mistake?”

“No,” lied Luciferian. “It is simply fate. Perhaps if I explain by analogy?” He crossed to the edge of the path and pointed at several small, leafy plants. They twisted on his approach, as if preparing to uproot themselves and bolt.

“These plants are horseradish,” he said. “They are a very rare and very important ingredient for alchemical research. However, they will never grow any taller than they are now.”

Penumbra looked at the plants. The tops of their leaves barely reached the tip of her horn.

“The trees behind them are manchineel. A useful ingredient indeed, but common. Yet look how tall and stately they grow?”

“I do not understand, Lord- -I mean Luciferian.”

Luciferian smiled. “Do you think that the horseradish wishes it could be as tall as the manchineel? Even though in its small, diminutive state, it is far more important?”

“It is a plant. It does not ‘want’.”

“Then you misunderstand its role.” Luciferian stamped his front hoof- -the one that was not clad in a heavy armored boot- -and the horseradish immediately leapt from the ground, revealing roots that looked like warty brown ponies. They squealed and ran, bolting past the trees and into the forest. Penumbra squeaked in surprise, but then giggled.

“Excuse me,” she said, regaining her composure.

“There is no need to apologize, my dear.”

“I am not a deer.”

“Indeed. But you understand my point? Here.” He began walking, motioning for Penumbra to follow. “Perhaps a more direct approach. Penumbra, do you really need to be proficient at magic?”

“Yes. It is my purpose. It is the only way my father will be pleased with me.”

“So that is what Crozea told you then?”

“Well...no...maybe. It’s hard to tell, sometimes. She speaks in rhyme.”

“And I am glad to see that you do not. It is an unpleasant habit. The zebras are a primitive tribe with strange, pointless persuasions.”

“Scarlet Mist says that prejudice is a luxury.”

“For her, yes, because she no longer has a body of her own. Forgive me, I simply do not trust Crozea. If you knew her crimes, neither would you. But I have digressed.” He pulled Penumbra to the side suddenly. She gasped at his touch; he felt so warm and soft. Unlike her, his body was covered in a fine fuzz.

A dark vine swept by her, barely missing. A bolt of violet light from Luciferian’s horn struck the tendril, and it recoiled, swearing quietly in its own language as it retreated back into the grove of herbs.

“Forgive my impudence, my princess.” Luciferian set her back down. “That one is known to be especially aggressive. One of the last of its kind, I’m afraid; the modern breeds are far less tenacious.”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“It is not a problem. I could hardly let you come to harm after giving you my word that you would be safe. Further, you are quite valuable to this kingdom, even if you cannot use magic.”

“I...am?”

Luciferian nodded and smiled. “Of course. As I have said. You are a symbol of the Empire. Of its strength, and of its power. An alicorn born to our great king, a princess to be feared and obeyed. Even now, the crystal slaves speak your name in hushed tones.”

“They do? Why?”

“Because they fear you. And in time they might come to respect you, as they do your father.”

“Even if I cannot use magic?”

“In distant lands there are kings who are earth-ponies, or Pegasi, or even zebras, although I suppose those would just be chiefs. They rule without magic, do they not?”

“I don’t know. I have not seen this...I don’t even know what some of those things are.”

“My point is, you can still have a role in the kingdom. Simply by being born to a king, you are in a perfect position for politics. And politics is something that requires no magic.”

“Politics?”

“To assist your father in the governing of the kingdom. Its operations, and its rule. To support him in that way.”

“So I can still help him.”

“You can. This is the role of a princess. And, in time? You may even take the role of a uniter, something no one else can do.”

“I do not know what that is.”

Luciferian stopped. “It is a thing that only a princess can do. By marrying a prince or a noble, you can unite the Empire with another land- -and take control of both.”

“I can?” Penumbra shivered. Somehow the idea made her feel dirty.

“Of course. I am quite familiar with the subject, being nobility myself.”

“You are?”

“House Twilight is one of the most powerful of unicorn houses. I am the last of a long line of necromancers, dark wizards, warlords and cultists. Though, since the other Houses consider mine to be tainted with evil, we rarely have a chance to marry outside our own blood, let alone to a princess.”

“Wait. You mean YOU would want to marry me?”

Something flickered in Luciferian’s eyes. He took Penumbra’s hoof. “I am honored that you would even consider the idea, but alas, I am not worthy. Not for one so beautiful as yourself, my princess.”

“You think I’m beautiful?”

“I do not ‘think’ anything. I KNOW.”

Penumbra felt her face grow warm. No one had ever called her beautiful before.

“Now,” said Luciferian, putting her hoof back down. “We really must return to your father. He is probably finished berating your caretakers. I really must speak to him about preparing your public debut at his side.”

Penumbra gasped. “You can do that?”

A sly smile crossed Luciferian’s face. “For you? I will do my very best.”