Road Trip

by fore shadow

Road Trip

“Are we there yet?” The child complained, for the umpteenth time, causing Starswirl to grit his teeth.

‘No, not yet.” He responded, wondering yet again why he even bothered replying. It would just come again.

“How about now?” Whined the foal. “I’m tired. We’ve been walking for daaayyyysss.”

Starswirl rolled his eyes. The grievances, which at first had been sporadic, had been gradually been building over the last half hour.

At least it was better than the murder attempts. Those had lasted the better part of the morning after the foal had awoken in a blind rage. Still angry at the “pitiful vessel” he’d been saddled with, the ‘young’ Sombra had given his all at trying to kill, maim, or at the very least harm the older unicorn. Granted the lack of magic made the attempts pitiful at best, but the efforts had been both an annoyance and a time consumer.

Eventually, the mage had decided to address the issue directly, by carrying the kicking and screaming foal in his magic. After about an hour of further protesting, the message finally sunk in. An uneasy accord had followed for a few hours.

As they progressed without protest or incident, the initial enjoyment of the calm was marred as Starswirl began wondering what the sinister mind was plotting. It wasn’t long after that the little king began to torture the unicorn, with his constant whining and questioning as to their arrival.

Turning, Starswirl took in the slumped form, the bent knees, and the pallor in the foal’s cheeks. Sighing, he realized that there might be something more to the complaints than just a chance to annoy him. Perhaps there was one small foible in his intricate plan. He had not allowed for the slower gait and lesser strength of a child. For the briefest of moments, he actually felt sorry for the smaller pony, until his better judgment caught up with him, reminding him of who was actually in front of him.

Coughing to clear his throat, Starswirl gazed around taking in the surroundings. Technically, they were not too far from the town of Hope Hollow. If they re-adjusted their trajectory, they would be there … Eyeing the foal, who was now lolling on the ground moaning melodramatically, Starswirl calculated the time in his mind.

“If you are quite finished with the melodrama, we are actually not too far off from a town. We could stop there and rest…”

The foal turned his head to eye the older unicorn. “A town?” he asked. His eyes flashed a bright green for a moment as his mouth twisted up on the side in a calculated half smile. Hopping up, far more nimbly than his prior visage would have suggested possible, he trotted past the older unicorn. “What are we waiting for?”

Eyebrow raised, Starswirl was reminded of the true nature of the manipulative pony inside the body of the foal. “Ahem,” he coughed.

The foal stopped and turned looking back questioningly.

“Not that way.”

The youngster looked behind in the direction the mage was pointing.

“That way.” Starswirl couldn’t hide the joviality in his tone, but he managed to keep the snicker inside at the little earth ponies snarling expression. The direction he was pointing was uphill, through trees and brush, and decidedly not clear territory.

“Up… there?!?!” The foal asked incredulously. “Ridiculous!”

“Well, if you want a rest and something to eat, that’s the direction we need to head.” Was the only response the youngster received as the older pony stepped off the track and began to carefully step through the brush. Pausing when he didn’t hear steps following him, Starswirl turned and looked back over his shoulder. “Well, come on then.”

“AUGH!” the ‘young’ Sombra roared, but then he began to pick his way through the trees. He made slow progress, slipping backwards a few times, before he caught up to the old unicorn. “At least we’ll get to eat soon.” The youngster shot the mage a reproachful look as he passed him up and kept climbing.

“Soon enough.” Following behind Sombra, he began to ascend the mountainous terrain. Unable to resist, Starswirl continued with a grin on his face, “Shouldn’t take us more than an hour or so.”

The older unicorn broke into a laugh at the scream he received in response.

---

“It’s not amusing.” Sombra glared at the still chuckling Starswirl. The mage had laughed on and off over the past hour of walking, as he recalled the young King’s earlier reaction.

“Oh, but it is.” The old unicorn chuckled in response.

“No, it isn’t!” Sombra argued.

Starswirl just laughed again. “Actually, it is very amusing.”

“It is not!!” Sombra stomped his hooves, glaring at the mage.

“Not everyone appreciates humor.” Starswirl smirked. “Perhaps you will understand one day why something is funny.”

Still throwing daggers at the unicorn with his eyes, Sombra walked headfirst into something. “Oof.” Stepping backwards he shook his head and rubbed the tender spot. Gazing upwards, he realized he had walked into a giant billboard of a rainbow. Glancing around he spotted a sign that read, “Welcome to Hope Hollow.”

“Hope Hollow?” The little Sombra rolled his eyes at the town’s name. Looking around at the colorful visage, he snorted. “More like hollow hope.”

“Hope isn’t hollow!” A young voice responded.

“No, It’s full! Full of color!” Another followed.

Turning to see who had spoken, the young Sombra took a step back as two young pegasi, sporting red aviator goggles, invaded his space.

“Really, it’s the perfect name for our town!” The female of the pair emphasized by rising up on her back legs and waving her forelegs dramatically through the air. “In fact, hope brought back all this color.”

“How can hope bring back color?” Sombra scoffed.

“Our town was hopeless,” the male of the two explained. “And without hope, the whole town lost its color. Princess Twilight figured that out!” He tossed his seafoam green mane back in pride, not noticing the older unicorn beaming in response nor the grimace on the young Sombra’s muzzle. “We all thought it was the generator ‘splosion but, turns out, it happened before that.”

“An explosion?” the little Sombra’s eyebrows raised in interest. “Do tell?”

Starswirl eyed his charge with suspicion but did not interrupt the pair.

“Well, the mayor thought he could help bring the town back together by making the rainbow bigger! So, he tinkered with the Rainbow Generator. Then…” The filly paused dramatically before looking at her cohort.

“BOOM!” They shouted jumping into the air at the same time.

“All the color was gone! Woosh. Just like that.” The foal dragged his foreleg through the air for emphasis. “But then Rainbow Dash came here! HERE! And she taught US these awesome moves…”

“Seriously, she made everything like 100 times cooler!” The filly interrupted. “Rainbow Dash even had us perform with her! It was so awesome!”

“She brought back our hope! And then the color came too!” The foal nodded.

“Rainbow Dash brought back the color?” Starswirl asked, raising an eyebrow with incredulity.

The two exchanged looks, before the filly qualified the story “well, the princess and her friends helped too.”

“Mmmhhmm,” the older unicorn murmured.

“They did more than just help! Rainbow Dash, Princess Twilight, and all their friends brought back our town’s hope. That’s why Hope Hollow is the perfect name for this place. Once again, we are a valley filled with friendship and with Hope!” a new voice responded. It came from the blue unicorn sporting a top hat and bow tie approaching them. He was trailed by a pink earth pony with an abundance of purple curls and an ample belly evidencing her condition.

Offering a hoof to Starswirl, the unicorn continued, “Welcome friends! I’m mayor Sunny Skies and this is my lovely wife, Petunia Petals. Those two chatterboxes are Pickle and Barley Barrel. What brings you to our little town?”

“Nice to meet you both. I’m Starswirl and this is…,” the mage trailed off staring intensely at Sombra, recognizing the power in this moment and taking it seriously.

The foal stared back unblinking, tilting his head, curious as to what the older unicorn would finally say. He certainly didn’t expect the truth. Not that they would believe it was truly him. To be honest, he didn’t really want anyone knowing it was him, not in this body. It was frankly embarrassing.

Watching the younger’s eyes for something, Starswirl finally concluded his statement, “…Kibou Shade.”

“Uh, er, right then. Welcome Starswirl, and uh … Key-boo shade, is it.” The mayor managed.

“You dears must be famished!” Petunia broke in. “Why I’ll reckon you’ve been walking for miles to make it here on hoof. Just this morning Mr. and Mrs. Hoofington brought over some of their delicious apricot jam, some of those apricot scones and fritters, and their famous apricot pie. How ‘bout I wrangle up something tasty to fill those bellies?”

Belly growling the young Sombra momentarily got lost in the images of the delectable treats. Without even realizing it, he replied “Oh, yes please!”

None of the other ponies blinked an eye, as they all trailed after Petunia when she called over her shoulder, “Right this way!”

Starswirl however paused a moment in surprise. Never in a million years would he have thought this Sombra capable of manners. Was this some kind of trick, a lapse in judgment brought on by hunger, or could it be something more…? ‘Perhaps,’ Starswirl thought, ‘my plan might work after all.’

Shaking himself from his musings, he trotted to catch up to the group. It was far too early to tell. He’d just have to continue to keep a close eye on the young Sombra.

---

“He’s a … different sort of foal, isn’t he?”

“Oh, er,” Awoken from his quiet contemplation, Starswirl coughed to grant himself a moment to formulate an answer. From another pony, the words might have come across as mean or rude, but not from Petunia Petals. Her kindness and concern were evident in her tone. “Er, yes, he is… different.”

“Seems far more advanced than his years might convey.” The mayor added, smiling gratefully at his wife as she poured more hot cider into his cup. The three older ponies were seated on the porch of a charming old house enjoying the mulled beverage. Having recently finished their meal, Petunia had sent the three youngsters off into the yard to play, though the two pegasi were doing most of the frolicking. The youngest simply stared at them stoically.

“That he is.” Starswirl sighed. “In some ways, anyway.”

“He seems… sad.” Petunia contemplated, watching the trio of foals.

“Very.” The gray mage admitted but didn’t elaborate. “We actually need to be heading out of town soon.”

“Where did you say you were headed?” Sunny Skies asked.

“Griffenstone initially.” The eldest pony replied, nodding in appreciation was Petunia refilled his mug.

“Oh, you should definitely take the train then, otherwise you’d have to charter a boat.” Sitting herself down at the table she filled her own cup. “But it won’t pass through these parts for another day or so.”

“That long, huh?” Starswirl frowned. The detour through the town would cost them the wiggle room he has factored into his calculations of the journey. But they would still make it in time, he was sure. Still, He hadn’t exactly planned on keeping Sombra around other ponies for such a long time frame. It was still hard to trust that even in such a small shell, the evil king wouldn’t return to his old ways. He’d just have to keep a closer eye on him.

“Just don’t get many folks who want to head out that direction. Wasn’t worth keeping the train running that often.” The Mayor explained. “But don’t you worry, you’re both welcome here in Hope Hollow for as long as you need.”

“Well, that’s very kind of you. We will have to find lodging though. I’m not sure how well… Shade,” the name around Starswirl’s mouth a bit before he was able to finish his thought “would do camping outside. The journey here took a bit longer than I had anticipated.”

“Why, I can have rooms made up for you here at Hope Hollow Hotel faster than the Barrel twins can eat a slice of that apricot pie.” Hopping up, the earth pony downed the rest of her cider. “I’ll be back in two shakes of my own tail.”

Giggling at her own joke, she trotted down the steps of the porch into the yard. Passing by Sombra, she affectionately ran a hoof through his mane causing the foal to jerk back in response. Smiling kindly at him, she gave him a wink. “I’m heading inside to make up your rooms for the night. You’re welcome to join me, if you’d like.”

Eyeing her suspiciously, the young Sombra felt a weird sensation in his stomach. It felt almost like a tug deep down in his gut. Trying to pierce through his feelings, he realized that part of him wanted to go with the odd earth pony, though he didn’t know why.

He thought about her behavior towards him. It had been quite… kind. At lunch she had sat next to him and tried to engage him in conversation, then kept checking on him and asking him questions. What did he enjoy doing? How was he feeling? Would he like something more to eat? She even gave him the last piece of pie even though the twins had been arguing over which of them would eat it. For some reason, she was going out of her way to be nice to him.

Looking back toward the porch, Sombra took in Starswirl’s guarded expression. The old pony was unreadable. Glancing quickly back at Petunia, he shook his head. There was no reason to feel this way. She was an earth pony. No one of import. Shaking his head, he looked away. “I better not,” he mumbled.

“Well, maybe next time.” Attempting another smile, she gazed with compassion at the youngster before turning and heading back toward the gate that led to the front of the house. While it would have been easier for her to simply reenter the house from the porch, she had wanted to reach out to the little foal. Something about him was just so darn sad.

Perhaps her maternal hormones were kicking in early? Patting her belly gently, she smiled. Wouldn’t be long now.

---

“Where’s Petunia going?” the female said coming to a stop on his right side.

“Is she bringing more pie?” the male followed, landing on his left.

Sombra couldn’t be bothered learning their names. Eyeing them both he wondered if they might come in handy. A plan had begun to grow in his mind after he had eaten his fill at lunch. “She said she’s going to make up rooms for us. Guess we’re staying the night.”

“Whoa! Woo hoo!” The two exclaimed simultaneously, further emphasizing their excitement by flying up into the air to perform loops.

Sombra raised an eyebrow at their behavior. Why on earth would they be so happy about his staying? It made no sense. Had they known who he really was, they’d have trembled with fear. But to get so excited about a strange foal they had no knowledge of staying in their town, well, it made little sense to him. Landing again, the twins were all smiles. Plus their word choice made no sense.

“What do they mean by ‘whoa?’ How does slowing down factor into my staying the evening?” He wondered, not realizing he had said it aloud.

“You don’t know what ‘whoa’ means?” The female asked, landing on the ground with a curious expression on her face.

“Whoa.” The male landed next to his sister, “really?”

Sombra shook his head in the negative. The siblings exchanged looks like this was a real travesty.

“It’s like, you think of the biggest, most amazing thing ever,” one started.

“And you can’t even find the words to explain what you’re seeing,” the second continued.

“It’s like bigger than anything else you’ve ever been part of, right?” The first added.

“You’re filled with so much love and… and amazement.”

“You could cry or holler or jump into the sky and flip over and over!”

“But instead of acting on all of that you try to find something to explain it.”

“It’s for those moments: when all you can do, all you can think, and all you can say is,” they exchanged a glance before finishing the thought in sync with each other.

“Whoa.”

Sombra furrowed his brow. He couldn’t really imagine any scenario that would fit what they were explaining to him. Except maybe his own shows of power. But racking his memories, he never remembered any pony speaking this word, and none with the reverence these two imparted it with.

The female interrupted his silent musings. “Hey, maybe you’ll still be here when Petunia has her baby! That would be a ‘whoa’ moment for sure!’”.

“Yeah, she’s due like any day now.” The male followed.

Dawning realization registered on the young Sombra’s face. ‘This information might come in handy,’ he thought. Before he could fully integrate it into his plan, he turned at the voice of the mayor.

“Pickle and Barley,” the mayor approached them with a smile, “why don’t you two take Shade into town and show him around?”

“Er, that won’t be necessary,” Starswirl responded instead, but was countered by the mayor.

“Nonsense, I’m sure the twins don’t mind. Do you two?”

“Course we don’t!” Barley replied.

“We’d be happy to show Shade around!” Pickle added.

“I’m not sure he would…” But before the gray unicorn could finish, Shade jumped into the discussion.

“I’d love a tour of the town.” Sombra’s smile was sickeningly sweet.

“Well, that’s settled then. Off you youngsters go. Starswirl, we can see what Petunia’s up to inside.” Turning the mayor trotted off. The two pegasii floated up into the air and started for town.

Before Sombra could get two steps toward following them, he felt the grip of the mage’s magic cease his movement.

“I have no idea what you think you’re planning,” the older unicorn whispered, “but know this, I am always watching,” to emphasize this, the mage flared his horn casting some kind of spell on the sneering foal. The young Sombra felt the tickle of magic on his fur. “No harm will befall anypony, least of all those two.”

Releasing the earth pony, before any of the others noticed, he called out loudly, “Be back before night fall.” Starswirl then turned and trotted off behind the mayor, ignoring the evil look being shot at his back.

“Shade are you coming??!!” one of the twins called out to him. Swallowing down his hatred at being controlled by the stupid unicorn’s magic, he swore he would find a way to get his revenge on the old nag. Schooling his features, he turned and trotted off to catch up with the other two.

They were play fighting, as siblings often did, and completely missed Sombra sizing them up. Perhaps they would be the key to finding a way to get revenge on that stupid old unicorn.

---

The museum, if you could call it that, was just a room filled mostly with old pictures. Sombra contemplated an image of one of the Mayor’s ancestors. Apparently, it was the pony who invented the Rainbow Generator, at least according to the placard beside the photo. He didn’t look smart enough, but perhaps looks are deceiving. Catching his own reflection in the photograph he smirked at the confirmation. His current appearance was evident that this was true.

“Here it is!” One of the twins called from high above them. She was hovering in front of an odd looking device on a shelf set fae up the wall.

“Yup! That’s the rainbow generator!” The male confirmed.

From down below, Sombra wondered how on earth he would be able to get it. Again, the use of the twins seemed like a distinct possibility. But how to get in after hours once they locked the doors.

The twins, once again, delivered an answer. They were currently arguing and sparring up in the air. Tumbling around they bumped into a window set high up on the wall. The frame was old and the latch shook partly open from the impact.

Noting this, Sombra formulated a plan of entry. Glancing around he spotted a container filled with brightly colored plastic orbs. Picking one up, he called out to the twins, figuring one would respond. “Heads up!” Throwing the ball at the window, the male dove toward it. Catching it, he stopped just shy of reaching the frame.

Sombra grimaced at his bad luck, until the female twin barreled into her brother, propelling them into the window. The latch was completely knocked open.

Sombra smiled at his success then chuckled at the female. She had been yelling something at her brother about not playing inside, which Sombra frankly could care less about. But when she scolded her twin for being a bad influence on Sombra, well he couldn’t help but enjoy the irony.

Strutting around the room, enjoying his newfound victory, he spotted what looked like a journal in a glass case. Slowing down in front of it, he recognized the drawing on the pages as a model of the generator. The twins noticing his interest landed on either side of him.

“What does that say?” One asked. “Is it in old Ponish?”

“Looks like hieroglyphics to me.” The other replied. Losing interest they wandered off to look at the items for sale.

Sombra, however, knew better. It wasn’t hieroglyphics or old Ponish. It was math: very complex calculations. Ones that Sombra understood would help him to activate the generator. An evil grin broke out on his face.

The final piece of the puzzle was in place. He had a way in through the unlocked window and now he knew how to activate the generator. When the twins suggested they head back, he nodded. Following them out the door, he grabbed one of the glow sticks from the sales counter and tucked it slyly into his tail. Securing it by knotting a strand of hair around the end. Ensuring it was hidden, he followed the twins outside.

He didn’t even mind the repeat of the twins tour as they meandered their way back to the hotel. Nodding along he numbly acknowledged when they pointed out the restaurant, hospital, and post office. He even pretended to listen when they passed the twins’ mustard yellow cottage and they retold the story of how their mom had planted the large oak tree in front of the twins’ room so they could look out the window and imagine they lived in a tree house.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the twins took off for home. The adults suggested they enjoy a light dinner. At the table, Petunia asked to sit next to Sombra and served him extra cookies afterwards.

After dinner, they all decided to turn in early, which was fine with Sombra. He still needed to think of a distraction to allow him the chance to steal the generator. Then he would need to find the perfect place to activate it and once distracted he could slip away and figure out how to return and get his true form back.

Lost in thought, he realized they had stopped in front of a room. Starswirl has just said something to Petunia, who replied. “No trouble at all. Have a lovely night.”

Starswirl grumbled, “Er, yes, thank you.” Shooting a warning glance at Sombra he then entered the room. Moving to follow, sombra was surprised when, for some reason, the mage shut the door behind him before Sombra could enter.

“This way,” Petunia called. “I made this room up just for you.”

“I’m surprised I’m not sharing with that old…” catching himself, he swallowed the insult and instead rephrased his statement, “I mean with Starswirl.”

“Well, yes, he did suggest that arrangement, but never you fear he is right across the hall. I kind of figured you’d like a little time to yourself.”

When she winked at him conspiratorially, he couldn’t help but smile back at her as they entered the room across the hall.

“Plus it has the best view of the garden in the whole hotel.”

Sombra walked over and looked out the window. The view was pretty amazing, but something else was on his mind. Before he crould second guess himself, he decided to ask her point blank the question that had been on his mind all day. “Why are you being so nice to me?” Dropping her gaze he turned away and added, “You don’t even know me.”

“Well, that’s a misconception. You don’t actually have to know somepony to be nice to them.” Turning back to her, he realized she was smiling kindly at him. “And anyway I’d like to think I know a little something about you.”

“Really?” The little king asked incredulously.

“You strike me as somepony who isn’t necessarily understood by the other ponies.”

“That’s …” Sombra instinctually tried to think of an argument. In the past that statement would have been tantamount to ridicule. But from Petunia, it didn’t feel that way. Sighing he acquiesced. “... true.”

“It’s not easy being different.” She sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her.

Surprising himself, Sombra walked over and sat down next to her. “Sometimes, it is hard being,” a king, so powerful, full of so much anger, “different.”

She nodded and ran a hoof gently through his mane. “Not always easy to find someone to listen either, is it?”

“No it isn’t easy. Ponies never listen to me. I know I’m right, and I tell them that but still...” they just run away screaming.

“Well I’m happy to listen if you want to talk.” Petunia smiles at him hopefully.

Blushing, Sombra opened his mouth to speak but the words died in his throat. What could he tell her? That he was one of the most feared of all ponies currently trapped in a tiny shell that resembled a young foal? That when he broke free he intended to unleash all manner of evil upon Equestria and especially on that ridiculously smug unicorn who had brought him back in this manner? That the way she was looking at him now was breaking something inside of him?

Shaking his head no, he managed to mumble “I’m kind of tired…”

Letting out a little sigh, she shook her own head and patted his foreleg gently. “Well you know where to find me if you change your mind.”

Walking to the door, she turned one last time with a smile before shutting the door behind her. “Goodnight Kibou.”

Sombra sat on his bed staring at the door for a long time that night before finally falling into a restless sleep.

---

A wail of agony woke him abruptly. His sleep addled brain barely registering that it sounded like a pony in pain. Another yell, and he was fully awake.

Racing to the door he threw it open and saw Starswirl emerge from his room with a face full of fear. Sombra knew his reflected the same expression. They had both recognized the vocal tone behind the screams. It was Petunia.

“What’s happened to Perunia!!? Is she hurt!!? What’s going on!!?” Sombra demanded, even though, from Starswirl’s expression, he knew that the old unicorn had no idea.

“I thought maybe…” Starswirl looked away but Sombra caught the flash of guilt in his eyes.

‘Why does he feel guilty?’ The little king thought before realization turned his gut.

“I would never hurt Petunia.” The sheer animosity in that statement surprised both of them.

“No, No I suppose you wouldn’t.” Starswirl admitted, eyeing the smaller pony with surprise. “I’m … I’m sorry.”

Again they were both surprised. Sombra even more so as he felt a warmth in his chest at hearing the sentiment. Coughing to try and cover the awkwardness he felt, he pushed the subject back to Petunia. “We should go check on her.”

Nodding in response, Starswirl led the way in the direction of the awful sounds.

Surprisingly, they discovered the source of the yells outside the front of the hotel. Petunia was doubled over, a pool of blood on the ground around her.

The Mayor was trying desperately to lift her with both his forelegs and his magic.

Seeing the two of them emerge for the hotel, he called out, “Something’s wrong with Petunia! We were trying to get to the hospital and then she collapsed and I … I can’t get … I’m trying to… I mean…” the poor pony was shaking with fear.

Starswirl stepped over and gently placed a foreleg on the shivering mayor. “I’ll help you. Together we can get her to the hospital. Which way do we head.”

The unicorn’s voice was so calm even Sombra, who had been staring wide eyed and unmoving at the scene before him, felt himself come out of his stupor.

“Right, right, the hospital... is that way.” The mayor gestured with his head.

“Ok, together now, on three. One… two… three.” The two unicorn’s lifted Petunia up with their forelegs part way. Lighting their horns, their magic lifted her completely off the ground. Slowly, they started toward the hospital Petunia between them.

Sombra trailed behind them, lost in his concern for Petunia until he heard Starswirl say something. Realizing it was meant to be his name he snapped out of the fog.

“Run ahead of us and tell the hospital we are on our way. See if they can send somepony to meet us on the road.”

Nodding in the affirmative, Sombra took off as fast as his little legs could take him. Luckily, the twins had pointed the hospital out to him earlier on their way through town. Racing towards it, he plowed through the doors.

Not stopping to catch his breath he ran up to the counter and huffed out the situation to the pony seated there. “Help…(huff)...it’s an…(puff)...emergency… (huff)...it’s Petunia…(gasp)...she needs…(huff)...help!”

“Petunia Petals? The Mayor’s wife?”

“Yes! The Mayor … (gasp) … is bringing her here… (huff) … but they need help!”

“Oh dear. Can we get a stretcher up here stat?” The pony pressed a button and spoke the question into an intercom. A moment later two clydesdales emerged wheeling a stretcher between them.

Not waiting for direction, Sombra took charge. “This way! Follow me!” Racing back out the doors he didn’t pause to see if they’d followed him. The noise of the wheels was confirmation enough.

It didn’t take long before they met up with the trio. The Clydesdales took over, loading poor Petunia onto the stretcher and racing back towards the hospital with the Mayor, Starswirl, and Sombra in tow.

Once inside the Mayor followed the stretcher back through the double doors into the hospital proper. Starswirl had to block Sombra with a foreleg or the colt would have followed them too. Glancing questioningly and more than a bit angrily at the unicorn, Starswirl explained. “I’m sorry. They only let family back there to help ensure the cleanest environment. It’s for her safety.”

Sombra choked on that a bit but finally nodded his understanding. He may understand their rules, but he wasn’t happy about it. Glaring at the doors, he allowed Starswirl to usher him towards some open seats in the lobby.

---

It felt like an eternity that they sat there in silence staring at the doors, hoping for some news. But when the mayor stumbled back through them with a lost expression on his face, Sombra wasn’t sure he was ready to hear what was happening with Petunia.

“They… they sent me out, said she needs quiet and time to focus… shhhee’s not doing well… it’s not good… she has pushed so much… and she is still trying… but… her hope… it’s … it’s fading.” Dropping onto the seat next to Starswirl, the mayor began to sob.

In some part of Sombra’s mind it registered that Starswirl was attempting to comfort the poor pony, but the king was too busy being angry at the situation. There was no way Petunia, of all ponies, would be allowed to lose hope. She was kind to him! To king Sombra! That meant she had to be filled with ridiculous amounts of hope. Somepony just needed to remind her…

‘No! Not somepony, me!’ Sombra realized. And he knew just how to do it!

“Mayor!” They all jumped in response to the volume of his voice. He hadn’t meant to yell, but there was no time to lose over a minor breach in propriety. “Where’s her room?”

“Wh-What?”

“Her room. Petunia’s room. Where is it facing?” The young pony demanded.

Both older ponies were surprised by the outburst.

Starswirl didn’t even admonish Sombra.

The Mayor thought about the question, his eyes looking off to the side evidencing the process and final realization. “It’s actually across from the museum. I saw it through the window. But what....” Before he could get the question out, Sombra had raced out the door.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sombra hoped that Starswirl wouldn’t stop him.

The mage has actually pondered doing so momentarily, but was stopped by the reminder of Sombra’s earlier emphatic declaration that he wouldn’t hurt Petunia. The unicorn decided to let this one play out. Plus the Mayor really needed comforting.

Sombra, meanwhile, raced away from the museum. For the first time in a very long time, Sombra admitted to himself that he could not do something on his own; he needed help. If there was any hope in helping Petunia with what he was planning, Sombra would need the Pegasii twins.

---

“So, we’re doing what now?” The sleepy eyed Pickle asked.

Luckily on their tour, the Barrel twins also pointed out not only their home but also their room. So it hadn’t been too difficult for Sombra to find and wake them. When they’d heard that Petunia needed their help, they’d basically tumbled together out their window in their rush to get outside as fast as possible.

“I need you to help me get the Rainbow Generator and then set it off in front of Petunia’s room. They said she’s running out of hope, so we need to give her some!” Sombra explained, wondering if it sounded as crazy out loud as it did in his head.

“Thought you didn’t believe in hope?” Barley teased.

“I’ll believe in anything if it saves Petunia.”

The solemnity of the response quieted the trio.

“We’ll help.” “Course we will.”

Taking a deep breath, sombra realized that he would have to reveal the elements of his carefully laid plan. There would be no chance he could do this again, not with the twins likely to disclose all of these details. Plus the generator would need tome to re-charge and they were meant to leave the next day . There’d be no time to try and escape.

But it was either that or lose Petunia.

Sombra didn’t hesitate.

“Ok, fly up to that window, it should be unlocked. One of you will need to hold the window open while the other one goes in and gets the generator.”

“How will we see?” Barley asked.

Reaching back into his tail, Sombra pulled out the glow stick he had tied there earlier, snapped it to activate the glow, and then handed it to Barley.

“Whoa.” Pickle responded. “You’re like MacGayoe.”

Sombra blinked perplexed.

“He’s a pony that can make anything from… well anything! Like he could combine a mane clip, a match, and a wad of gum and figure out how to blow open a door.” Barley explained.

“I must meet this MacGayoe one day.” Sombra mused unsure why that made the twins giggle. “There’s no time for that now. We have to get moving.”

“Ok!” Saluting, they both took off at once and headed toward the window. Lifting it up together, Pickle placed himself between the ledge and the open pane to ensure it would stay open.

Slipping past her brother, Barley entered the darkness with the glow stick clasped in her teeth. Several tense moments passed before she re-emerged carrying the generator.

Sombra’s heart leapt at the site. “Brilliant! Now we need to get this over to the hospital. Petunia’s room is facing the museum.”

Looking over at the large building, they realized there were many rows of windows on several floors that were currently facing them.

“Oh,” the small sound exited Sombra before he realized it.

“It will be alright. We can fly by all of them and find the right one!” Barley nudged him gently.

“Yeah, no sweat!” Pickle added.

Placing the generator on Sombra’s back, they flew off toward the windows. Weighed down as he was, Sombra still managed a brisk trot and he made it over to the hospital fairly quickly.

Looking up toward the various floors he waited for a sign. The twins were flying at record speed. He wondered how they could see anything at the rates they were hitting. But suddenly one stopped and the other raced over. Gazing inside they turned smiling and began madly waving at Sombra. That was his clue.

Setting the generator down below the window where they were now hovering, he made a silent wish that this would help the kindest pony in his memory. Hitting the switch he was bowled over by the giant rainbow shooting up into the sky.

The twins didn’t fare much better. Both were blown backwards and ended up careening mane over tail several times before regaining their ability to hover and drop to the ground.

Sombra sat up shaking his head. His mane and his tail itches like crazy. It felt almost like they were heating up. He scratched at them wondering how he’d managed to hit both at the same time.

A commotion began to grow, as ponies emerged from the hospital to see what was happening, the Mayor and Starswirl among them. At first they were both obviously confused by what they saw, but upon realizing a giant rainbow was now projected in front of his wife’s room, the Mayor’s concerned face was taken over by a huge smile.

“You!” He pointed at Sombra who immediately thought he was in trouble, until the Mayor giggling like a school pony lifted him up into the air and twirled him around. “You brilliant, amazing, wonderful colt! What an idea! You’ll bring her hope for sure.”

Sombra didn’t know what to do or say. He was a bit dizzy from being thrown around, but more than that he felt… happy. And light. And there was a weird sensation in his stomach that made him think that somehow everything would work out well in the end. There was no basis for this feeling, but Sombra decided to enjoy it anyway.

Pausing in his revelry, the Mayor stared closer at Sombra, “Well, I’ll be!”

“What?” The confused colt asked.

“You’re mane! It-it’s got blue in it!” Barley exclaimed pointing at Sombra’s head.

“Whoa! So does your tail!” Pickle pointed at Sombra’s other end.

Pulling the hair down in front of his face, sombra spotted it too. A streak of blue shot through the dark hairs. ‘What could this mean?’ He wondered.

In celebration, the Mayor began swinging the twins around, all of them laughing gaily. Starswirl coughed behind him and Sombra looked up uncertain about the unicorn’s response.

“I should be asking how you knew where the generator was, how you convinced two foals to (ahem) borrow it in the middle of the night, or how you knew how to activate it.” The piercing eyes focused on Sombra, who swallowed guiltily. The unicorn held his gaze for an intense moment, before suddenly smiling. “But the fact that you did this for a pony you barely know, makes me feel like those questions aren’t really necessary.”

Sombra was surprised. He hadn’t expected that response at all. But he was completely unprepared for what followed.

“I’m proud of you.”

They both stared in surprise at each other unsure what to do after that proclamation. Fortunately, they were spared further confusion and embarrassment when a nurse raced out of the hospital doors calling for the Mayor.

“Mayor Sunny Skies, I've been looking everywhere for you. It’s a miracle.”

“What’s a miracle?” The Mayor asked, confused by the nurse’s words.

“Petunia, she’s fine and so is the baby.”

“The baby?”

“Yes, sir. You’re a father!”

“A …a dad? I’m a dad!” The Mayor’s renewed excitement was contagious.

“Would you like to meet him?”

“Would I! I… him? Hi… I have a son?”

Nodding the nurse gently put a foreleg on the mayor's shoulder and prodded him towards the hospital entrance. The whole time he was mumbling about being a dad and having a son.

“Oh, can we go too? I want to meet the foal!” Barley made an attempt to fly after the departing ponies but Starswirl caught her in his magic.

“Not tonight I’m afraid. You can meet him in the morning. The family needs a little time to themselves, especially after all they’ve been through. But for now we need to get you all home.”

The twins moaned at Starswirl’s proclamation, but Sombra didn’t fight it. He took one last glance at the window up above and smiled. He couldn’t be angry, not when Petunia was alright. Plus, he was exhausted. All that running around on adrenaline had finally caught up with his small frame. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open and trudge along behind Starswirl and the twins.

They’d only taken a few steps when Starswirl suddenly stopped. “Oops, almost forgot.” Turning, his horn lit with magic. The generator, still active, rose into the air. The various gauges clicked and whirled until the generator’s doors closed and the rainbow vanished. The now sealed device floated over to hover over Starswirl’s back.

“Whoa.” The wide-eyed twins exclaimed simultaneously.

Sombra, on the other hand, glances suspiciously at the unicorn. True, the mage had shown him time and again how clever he truly was, but the device’s equations were no laughing matter. ‘How did he know how to close the generator?’

The question played on Sombra’s mind, though he remained silent as they walked to the twins home, and after ensuring they were safely inside, proceeded to the museum. Sombra watched as Starswirl sent the generator through the unlocked window and as he secured the latch with his magic.

Silently, they headed back to the hotel. Inside Starswirl followed the young Sombra into his room and helped him into the bed. Tucking him under the covers, the king far too tired to protest, instead he mustered what little energy he had left to finally ask, “How?”

Starswirl’s eyebrows raised briefly, but then he smiled. He was impressed by the colt’s fortitude. He didn’t need to ask what Sombra meant.

Clearing his throat, he offered a response. “I’m far older than you know. And many moons ago, I knew the mayor of a tiny town.” He paused to let that sink in. “I may have helped him with some fairly difficult calculations.” Smirking, Starswirl ruffled Sombra’s mane and then rose and headed for his own room.

Sombra contemplated the revelation for a moment, before his eyes closed, heavy with sleep. His last thought, before drifting off, was, ‘He knew how the generator worked. My plan was doomed to fail anyway.’ For some reason that made him smile as he slipped into slumber.