Midnight's Wanted Anniversary
Midnight’s Wanted Anniversary
(Present, Sombra’s cave)
“This is the kitchen,” Sombra said with a sweep of his wing. “It is not much to see, but it feeds me well enough.”
“Not much? Are you kidding me!” Dash exclaimed. “This place is freakin’ huge!” She looked around the cavern labeled ‘Kitchen.’ Sturdy, dark oak cabinets lined the wall to her right. On the far left wall was a floor-to-ceiling wood-burning oven made of sandstone bricks. The wall curved inward as it rose, softening the juncture between wall and ceiling. The wall and ceiling were supported by dark sapphire crystals and dark wood supports. Tables built with polished spruce lined the wall. And the whole place was covered in dust.
“What happened? Did you feed an army?” Dash asked. Sombra cocked his head to the side. He pursed his lips in thought. “I can see why you would think that,” he replied. “Yes, I did at one time.”
“So, what happened?” Fluttershy probed. The pegasus had entered the kitchen and couldn’t hide her curiosity.
“What happened to them…” Sombra mumbled. His eyes glazed over, and he stared blankly at the curved wall, losing himself in the memories. He shook himself out of the trance, sighing as he replied. “Because of the barrier Celestia erected, the creatures I rescued fell victim to the alicorn traps outside these very walls.”
“You mean you killed them,” Dash mumbled. Stunned, Fluttershy spun towards her friend. “Rainbow Dash, what could you mean by that?”
“He’s clearly the bad guy. I mean, he did kidnap Twilight!” Dash hissed. “What’s to stop him from killing other ponies?”
“I did not kill them,” Sombra stated, grabbing a perfect mango from the top shelf. “Why would I do something like that after I saved them?”
“You’re an alicorn, and you said that they died from alicorn traps. And Celestia –” Sombra interrupted Dash with a raise of his wing. Dash was too shocked to say anything else.
“Firstly, I am not an alicorn,” he interjected, adding, “Although Midnight always thought of me as one.”
“True. He is not,” Discord jumped in. Dash and Fluttershy gave Discord a bewildered look. He looked back and forth between the two of them, then sighed. “Let me explain. Sombra here is a demigod. Half of his soul is that of a god, and the other half grew on its own. He is his own being. While alicorns were made in his image, they do not have souls of their own. They instead have a piece of Harmony’s soul.”
“Harmony?”
“Yes, Dash, Harmony,” Discord answered, “as in the Tree of Harmony. The Tree is the body of the goddess Harmony, who is Sombra’s mother. Her mortal body was killed in the process of making too many alicorns. I believe the last two were Celestia and Luna.”
“Is that true?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes colliding with Discord’s. A look crossed her face as she tried to process this information. Dash, though, didn’t believe a word out of Discord’s mouth. As far as she was concerned, he could be in cahoots with the black alicorn, or whatever he was. Dash caught the red-eyed stare of the enemy. The alicorn/demigod’s black-and-white head tilted in an unspoken question as he let the juice of the mango drip from his chin. It disturbed Dash to no end, the all-knowing gaze of this being. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight were the only true alicorns in Dash’s opinion, not this imposter.
“You do not believe a word we are saying,” the black beast declared. “What would it take for you to believe that what I said is true, and that I am not your enemy?”
“Seeing through the eyes of one of those supposed rescued inhabitants would help,” Dash mocked with a shrug. “I mean, if you didn’t kill them, then that would prove you right.”
“Okay.”
“Wait, what?”
“If that is what you require to believe me, then so be it,” Sombra responded. He started to walk toward the pony. Along the way, he disintegrated the mango’s pit in mid-air, stepping over its ashes. Dash’s eyes darted from side to side as she looked for a way to escape. She dashed toward the tables, but the red magic encased her before she was able to reach them. She was hoisted in the air, her legs flailing in her attempt to escape the magic. Sombra turned Dash around to face him, and his red eyes were the last thing she saw before everything went dark.
Ω
(Past, Sombra’s cave)
(Lester)
Lester was told to stay inside with the rest of his pack, but the supplies were running low. He was the only one brave enough to leave the Mountain Beast’s body. Ever since those damn crystals showed up the month before everyone had been on edge. Even the Firstborn was cautious. He ordered everyone to stay inside while He investigated. But that had been forever ago, and Lester was done waiting.
He ducked under a low hanging vine as he neared a purple crystal. The crystal towered in the sky, reaching the clouds above. Lester noticed as he neared the structure that the vegetation was broken into varying stages of decay. The smell of rot permeated the air, and sun-bleached bones littered the perimeter of the crystal. Some patches of dirt were a deep red and others were black. Purple beams of light swept the ground.
Frightened, Lester stumbled back. But a bout of courage suddenly came over him, pushing him forward. He pushed aside ferns that were taller than he was, ferns which had been giving him cover, and stepped into the decay. Suddenly the lights were upon him, blinding him. When his vision cleared, Lester found himself swaddled in purple. That was the only way he could describe it. He was bathed in purple, a purple liquid. Purple liquid with glass walls. Lester swam to the glass walls and peered out into the outside world.
He saw his body lying prone on the ground, its two tails splayed between its hindlegs. How was he seeing himself from the crystal, and how was his body out there? Suddenly his body stood up. It shook the dust off its leather jerkin and walked off. The word shocked couldn’t describe the extent of Lester’s surprise at that moment. He had just seen his body walk off and leave him behind. He started to pound at the walls, hoping to break them. Rethinking his plan, he swam back a few paces and rammed himself forcefully against the wall. He did this multiple times, but the wall didn’t break.
He kept ramming into the wall for what seemed to be hours. He stopped when he noticed his body coming back. But it was not alone. It brought back three Wolflings from his pack. Fear rippled through him as he watched members of his pack near the crystal. When they were close enough, beams of light shot toward them. The cries of his Wolfling brethren were heard by Lester alone as the pack members found themselves helplessly lifted in the air. When they were about one hundred feet in the air, their screams grew louder. Lester swam up in the crystal to see what was happening, and he cried out in horror.
The crystal was melting fur and skin off his family’s bodies.
Yellow and red liquid poured out from the holes that were appearing along the Wolflings’ legs and chests. White bone glistened in the sun as blood and liquefied skin fell to the ground. At the end of several excruciating hours, the bones dropped to the ground, already bleached by the sun. Lester’s body, now possessed by some other entity, looked up and made eye contact with Lester. It smiled a cruel, evil smile and then turned and left.
Lester cried out in anguish as he looked at his lost comrades’ bones. It was almost too much to bear. This would not have happened if he had listened to the Firstborn and stayed in place. Now the deaths of his pack were on his paws.
The great fern rustled. Lester’s ears perked up, and he watched as the entity returned with more of his pack. Again, he watched his family melt before his eyes and leave behind bleached bones. It destroyed his pack in trios. And sometimes when Lester saw it, it looked like the thing had changed its appearance. The days stretched on, and Lester couldn’t feel the time move. He knew days were passing because he could see the sun rise and fall. And every sunrise, the entity would bring more victims. But every death was different. If the entity brought an earth pony, the lights would form a grid and turn the pony into cubes. If it came with a unicorn, the light made the unicorn’s magic turn on it. The fire of the dragons it brought burned them from the inside at the prompting of the crystal’s lights.
On and on it went. The weight of his guilt pressed heavily on Lester’s chest as he watched each and every one of his friends die. He saw the Firstborn come and try to save them, but the magic from the crystal was too great. The lights blasted through the barriers He erected to shield Lester’s friends. Every time the lights touched a dragon, a Kinku, a Wolfling, a pony, or any other creature, the death became more gruesome.
Bones piled high as more creatures were drawn to the crystal. The cries of frustration and anguish from the Firstborn could be heard coming from His mountain haven. As Lester looked out from his crystal prison, he saw that the other crystals had been activated. Was that also his fault? Were other creatures imprisoned in crystal because of his mistake? Were all these deaths his fault, caused by his impatience? Lester had always known that his impulsivity would get him killed, but he never could have imagined these repercussions. The guilt slowly ate away at him, threatening to kill him, too.
All his fault.
ALL HIS FAULT.
And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
“Do not worry. I will set you free, little Wolfling.”
Ω
ΩMidnightΩ
Ah, what a fine day to turn twenty-five. The sun was shining, and the quarters Sombra had picked out last night were fantastic! The room was obviously extravagant, with marble columns and dark blue rock floors (what was it, lapis? Locust?) shot through with veins of gold. That I had never heard of marble or the blue rock was a testament to the room’s fanciness. And, oh, the bed was so fluffy and full of pillows, so of course I made a glorious, cloudy fort. I had intended to conquer the known world using my downy fort as headquarters. However, my HQ was destroyed by a careless Sombra, who casually lay atop it as if the pillow fort was meant to be slept on. How aggravating. So, what could be done by a mature unicorn on the cusp of her twenty-fifth birthday? This unicorn smacked the offending alicorn in the face with a pillow. I later regretted the smack and the resulting pillow fight that I did not win. I fell asleep shortly after that, lying down on the remains of my fort. All in all, it was a great night.
But now I was ready to conquer the new day, and the new year. And first, I was ready to conquer breakfast. I carefully climbed out of bed and slinked out of the room quietly since Sombra was still fast asleep. I went downstairs. The whole building was a sight to see, and every hall featured marble columns and pictures made of tiny tiles. There was even a picture on the floor of the three gods, Harmony, Void, and Discord, with Discord sporting three heads. Not wanting to ruin the tiles, I slinked around the outskirts of the room and found the kitchen.
I grabbed an éclair with chocolate filling, as well as a mango tart for Sombra. I had made it back to the room when I was finishing the last bites of my food. I opened the door and found that the room had been ransacked. I stood there with my mouth wide open. A black blur flashed across my vision. I slowly entered the room, turning my head left and right.
“H-hello?” I stammered. “Is anypony there?”
“There you are!” I jumped in the air with a squeal, nearly dropping Sombra’s tart. Phew… I turned around to find a disheveled Sombra. His red eyes were wild as he looked me up and down.
“Where were you?” he asked forcefully as his red magic encased me. He turned me this way and that. It seemed that he was looking for something. Apparently he didn’t find it because he put me down with a relieved look on his face.
“Where were you?” he asked again, a little gentler this time. His red eyes pinned me in place. “Well?”
“I got breakfast,” I squeaked. “See?”
“Oh! That’s it?” He seemed relieved to hear it.
“You’re not mad?” Surprise shot through me, and I looked around at the wreck that had been our room. “I mean, I’m glad you’re not mad, but…” I waved my hoof at the room and shifted my eyes side to side. Sombra looked around with disinterest and shrugged his shoulders.
“That does not matter in the slightest. Now that I have found you, we can get started on what I have planned for today! Now, move your buttocks!”
Wait, what? Sombra, as usual, confused me. Why was the room such a mess? Had he been panicking before I got back? What were his plans for me? And, why was I just standing there? I shook myself out of my stupor and chased down the oversized black beast. Catching up would be slow-going.
“Are you coming?” he shouted as his long legs ate up the corridor.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” I yelled, picking up the pace. “I would have caught up to you if you weren’t so tall,” I grumbled quietly. I was starting to run out of breath.
“I heard that!” he shouted, turning the corner. In response to his obvious unconcern toward my plight, because he clearly wouldn’t be able to see me, I stuck my tongue out at him.
“I saw that!”
Hmph.
“Miss Star,” he said, halting suddenly. I bumped into his back. “If you’re not going to behave, then I guess I’ll have to carry you. Now, come here.” With that, his red magic hugged me in its familiar, if embarrassing, embrace. It lifted me off the marble floors and deposited me on his back.
“Ooph…”
“You alright?” A surprising amount of concern laced his voice. He looked back at me, his ruby eyes softening.
I looked him straight in the eye and howled, “Nooo, I’m not!” My dry humor knew no bounds.
“Fine then,” he shot back with a catty swish of his mane. “See if I ask again.” With a dignified huff, he started walking. It was obvious he was irritated with me. I couldn’t figure why that would be the case, however, so I hunkered down for the ride. I started to notice that other ponies and creatures were staring at us. It started to worry me.
“Hey, Sombra?” I whispered in his ear.
“Hmm?”
“They are staring at us.”
“They are just curious in regard to what we are doing,” he reassured me. “Don’t mind them. They have nothing better to do. Now close your mouth. We don’t want you to eat glitter, now do we?” With that he teleported.
Ω
ΩSombraΩ
Marcov’s grove. The best place to get the juiciest, sweetest mangos in all of Harmonia. Or, should I say, the best mangos in my humble opinion. The perfect place to spend with my fy nghariad bac. It was a bright and sunny day. The sun shone brightly through the leaves on the trees, warming my coat. If one was to disregard the morning’s scare, this day was really shaping up to be one of the best of my several centuries’ experience.
If one was to regard the morning’s scare, it was notable that I had feared for the pony’s life when I woke up to find Midnight missing. I had ripped apart the room to find her, fear mounting in my chest as I broke every piece furniture. I realized now that the bill at the hotel was sure to be astronomical. Harmony would likely cut that very large amount out of my own allowance. A disconcerting thought.
I turned my head to peer at Midnight, the only pony I’d met who was worth such a sum. Her amethyst eyes sparkled with excitement as she turned her head this way and that. I smiled to myself and turned back around. I rounded the hill to find a small manor made of marble and vines. The vines were an obvious clue as to the nature of the owner’s occupation. In front of the manor stood an old tan earthpony tending the homestead’s lush gardens. My friend Marcov, probably the fifteenth or sixteenth. I had met the first Marcov a hundred and fifty years ago and told him that I loved Marcov’s mangos. Just as the name had stayed the same, so did the delicious mangos. I explained all of this to my fy nghariad bac, but I could not imagine that she was paying any attention. Her eyes were fixed with too many stars to comprehend the goings on of the world around her.
“Hail, Marcov!” I greeted with a smile.
“Greetings, First One,” he smiled as he hobbled towards us. “A cheery and fortuitous day be it, to see ye on mine own lands. Hast thou cometh to procure some of thy most beloved mangos?” He tilted his head to the side. His greying mane covered one of his warmly twinkling chocolate eyes. His eyes widened when he spotted Midnight on my back. “Young lord, who is this beautifully enchanting mare who dost grace thy back with her presence?”
I chuckled and said, “’Tis but my student, Midnight Star. We wish to use the far-right field for a number of hours. Wouldst thou be willing to loan us the field but for the afternoon?”
“My lord, thou needn’t ask,” he replied with a grin. “Thou mayest take to the field at any time and treat it as thy own. However my lord, I find myself obligated to inform you that appearances be as though thy student finds herself slightly star-struck.”
“Indeed she is,” I agreed, looking back at Midnight, “I appreciate the kind gesture you have given us in letting us use the field.” I bowed to the older stallion. Midnight tightened her grip on my back. I straightened and plodded down toward the field. Midnight started to squirm, and I looked back.
“Yes?” I asked. Midnight gave me the most pitiful look. “What is it, fy nghariad bac?”
“Can you please let me down?” she begged. “My legs are going numb.” She started to pout. Oh, sweet Harmony, give me strength, I was not sure I could handle an adorable pouting student on my back.
“Are you sure you are not requesting down so you can go explore?” More than handling a squirming pony on my back, I couldn’t lose that pony again. Midnight showed her thoughts on her guilty face. “That’s what I thought. Now hold on.” I shot in the air, Midnight squealing at the sudden movement. I flew to the field, and the sun was in the perfect position when we landed at our destination. The shade from the old apple tree perfectly covered the picnic that I had set up last night. Of course, I had already gotten permission from Marcov’s wife, but I wanted the old pony himself to see my Midnight and give his blessing.
The picnic had been laid out with the help of Marcov’s wife. Light blue crystal plates and glasses looked like stars set against the backdrop of the deep blue blanket, and the basket held midnight lilies with purple streaks. The candles on the corners of the blanket further complemented the midnight sky motif with their light blue flame.
I scooped Midnight off my back and deposited her next to the blanket. She walked up to the basket, marveling at my hard work.
“What’s this?” she whispered, still shocked by the display. I smiled and said, “Surprise!”
“What?!”
“Happy birthday, fy nghariad bac,” I whispered in her ear as I wrapped my wing around her. “Marcov’s wife and I hoped you’d like the starry night theme. Oh, I got you something.” Her amethyst eyes flashed at me in giddy excitement. Her once-tentative smile had grown radiant. She started to jump up and down, threatening the careful layout of the crystalware.
“What … did … you … get … me?!” Each breathless word was punctuated by another bounce.
She stopped suddenly when I put my wing on top of her head. I removed a neatly wrapped package from my bag. She grew excited and barely was able to contain herself. I helped keep her on the ground by pressing my wing down gently but firmly on her head.
“No,” I said, “you can open this after we eat.”
“But…”
“No buts. Eating comes before presents.”
“Fine.”
I smiled as we sat down to the picnic. Maybe after this evening’s revelry, I could ask her what her nightmare was about. I only hoped it was not too terrible, or too close to reality.
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~I DON'T CARE!! I SHIP IT! I DON'T CARE!!~
I love this. I need more.
10361978
Well good news! So do I!
10361892
You're very welcome. This story is beautiful and well written and you make the ship shine so bright. I will gladly continue to read this story to the end.
10362023
Well be prepared for a rollercoaster! Because we're nearing the end of the past! And it's a doozie.
Oh geez the number of times my parents would tell me this on my birthday, ah good times.
11061127
Glad to bring back good memories