What a wonderful world

by a touch of sparkles

Chapter 18: A feathery friend and a forest

(“Can you hear me?”) a male voice asked him as Sombra woke up. But it wasn’t so much said to him, as it came from his mind. He looked around his room yet the only other being in the room was the bird.

(“Can you hear me?”) the voice said again, the bird stared at him. He thought it was a stretch, but Sombra got the feeling the bird was talking. So he nodded.

(“Good. Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy, but you are talking to a bird via your mind so expect other to think so”) said the bird. Sombra was left with his jaw open. This wasn’t what he expected to be doing in the morning. Although one thing that did help was the birds fluency in Umbrull.

“H-How?” Sombra said out loud, however his question was interrupted by Miss Chestnut coming to wake him up.

“Good morning Som-…why do you…have…a…peacock?” she questioned, rightfully confused.

(“would you please tell her I’m a Lumos, for I am not one of those pathetic trumpet birds”)

“He’s a Lumos” Sombra said abruptly.

“…I’m sorry what” there was a brief silence between them.

“Did he come around last night?” she asked him. He nodded his head.

“Okay. Right. So, now you have a bird. Um. We don’t allow…pets”

(“the audacity”)

“If you can get him to stay here while you have breakfast then we can have a talk about it after ok” Miss Chestnut told him, she left to go wake up the next foal.

(“I can stay here”) the bird said as Sombra got up to leave. The bird sat in the place he slept as it was warm. Sombra made his way down to breakfast which he sat and ate alone again in the living room.

“Right Sombra. This bird you have, what happened for you to get him?” Miss Chestnut sat down next to him. She knew she would get a simple half formed answer, as he wasn’t good at constructing longer sentences.

“He was bright light in tree. I let in, he can talk to me”

“So he was just in the tree by your window?”

“mhm”

“and he can…talk? What, how?”

“Like…in head” He said while tapping his forehead, Miss Chestnut sat in her own thoughts for a while.

“Right, so once you finish just go get him so we can sort this out, it’s the weekend so you haven’t got school today” she told him, Sombra nodded as he licked away the last of his breakfast. He put his bowl back and trotted back up the stairs to his room. He found the bird in the same place, his long neck stood above his body.

(“So, before all of this happens, you obviously have a name”)

“Sombra”

(“Well Sombra, I’m Opal. From now on we are linked by our souls and mental chords, so your stuck with me. I know you didn’t get a say in the matter, but hey! At least you got one of us with a sense of humour, at least I believe I have one. Anyway, we Lumos, or what little left there are of us, come to Umbrum in need and considering you’re the only one alive I think you’re in need”) Opal said, Miss Chestnut popped her head into the room.

“Sombra, I just remembered. I spoke to an umbrum once when I was dispersing food, they mentioned something about a white bird being special or something. So I guess you can keep him, as long as he doesn’t bring any suspicion to the princess about you being here” Miss Chestnut told him, just as she went to speak again there was a clatter and shouts from the foals downstairs, so she hurriedly trotted of.

(“Well, I guess that’s just pony foals, getting in a kerfuffle, though she’s probably used to it owning an orphanage”) Opal commented, Sombra looked at him with slight confusion.

(“You’re an orphan. You’re a foal without parents. That’s why you’re here. Actually how old are you?”)

“seven hundred-ish?”

(“What? Mate you look no older than five hundred even late bloomers have started puberty by now…but I guess you weren’t really fed for two hundred years so you’re probably going to be a runt”)

“Is that a bad thing?”

(“As long as everything grows in correctly you should be fine, you just might be a little short. But by now at the age of seven hundred you should have went through mental maturity and at least have your teeth fall out and regrow, your horn should have started fading, bending and serating and your eyes should have changed colour. Hopefully once you start eating properly they should start. Then you have to prepare yourself for three hundred years of growing pains, raging hormones and your hind hooves splitting in three”)

“what”

(“Fun times. Also you don’t have to physically speak to me, you should be able to sense my mind via a telepathic chord, then just speak to me in your head, it’s had a night to stabilise”) Sombra reached out his mind, sensing an invisible string between him and Opal. Yet he struggled to get a word through, as a sting of pain shot through his head.

(“Don’t worry, it will take a while for you to get used to it, the pain won’t happen when you do”) Opal said before fluttering down to the floor next to Sombra.

(“I am supposed to help you out with your problems, given you called to me after a nightmare. But I think its best if I teach you a few things. considering you’re not exactly safe anywhere, lets start with-“)

“Mornin!” Greeted Hope through the door. Her eyes instantly landed on Opal.

“Hey, I like your bird, he’s pretty”

(“You flatter me”)

“So, we go on a walk in a bit, do you wanna come?” Hope asked Sombra trotting over to sit with him. She reached a hoof out wanting to pet Opal, however he pushed his head away.

(“No”)

“Ok, I come” Sombra replied to her.

“Yay, we normally go at ten then come back for lunch, so we can…do…something” she said, sitting there not sure what to do.

“Where did your bird come from?” she asked him.

“He just appeared”

“Oh, does he have a name?”

“Opal” the pair made their way downstairs, where the two mares were gathering the other foals. Some were happy and excited, others were fed up and annoyed. Opal had plodded along next to them, drawing the attention of the foals.

“Hey cool bird”

“But…I thought we weren’t allowed pets?”

“Yeah you told us we can only have fish but he gets a bird!”

“Alright kids listen, those birds are special to Sombra’s ponies, I can’t split them up” Miss Chestnut said, trying to calm the jealous foals.

“But I always wanted a budgie, they’re smaller than peacocks” One filly asked.

“Maybe if you came out of your room more during visiting hours you would get new parents and you can ask them nicely and they might just get you one” Miss Chestnut told her, trying to sugar coat her sarcasm. She then turned to Sombra and Hope.

“At least we're on the edge of town, no one should see you, were just going around the forest” Miss Chestnut said as she gave Hope her jacket.

“Is it going to rain?” Hope asked as she did up the buttons.

“There’s a rather large black cloud coming over, but hopefully we’ll be back by the time it gets here” with that the mares took them outside.

There was no sign that there was ever a revolution. At most there was a dented or bent lamppost. There were no signs of the dead anywhere on the street. Despite the fact it had only been a few days (yet it certainly didn’t feel like it) it seemed as if nothing had ever happened. They left the crystal path for a dirty one as the group headed towards the forest.

“Do we remember what the trees are called?” Mrs Drops asked the foals in front, being behind them all.

“Ooo the big ones are redwoods!” one blurted out, getting the answer before the others.

“Yes, and the smaller ones?”

“There spruces!” another answered.

“And what do we use spruces for?”

“Hearts warming trees!” a trio nearly shouted.

They entered the forest a couple minutes later, a gateway between two giant redwoods.

(“Those are at least a thousand years old, some of the larger will be hitting their two thousands at least”) Opal told Sombra, he was now perched upon his withers. The trees surrounded them on all sides with scattered sun beams shimmering through.

“shall we go a different way for once you reckon?” Miss Chestnut asked her colleague.

“As long as we don’t get lost again”

“Do you trust me?”

“Sure”

-{+}-

They had been walking for a while, him and Hope had exhausted their conversations. There was no set path, and the mares only seemed to half know where they were going. If he looked up just through the tops of the redwoods he could see the giant mountain in the distance. When he looked around he saw something he could recognise. He had to squint to see the little mini cliff a good way away in the trees, yet he wondered if everything was still there, like their leathers and supplies. He started to trot swiftly over.

“Wait! Sombra you can’t just- take the kids out the forest I think the rains getting closer” Miss Chestnut told Mrs Drops as she cantered up to him. Sombra however didn’t stop until he reached that ledge, clambering up it to the makeshift campsite. The logs and stick packs were still there, along with the leathers, blankets, now rotten food bags and the little building block set. All of it was still there, now weathered severely.

Miss Chestnut slowly pulled herself up the ledge. She was out of breath and was puffing slightly. She watched him untie the packs. The stored away blankets tumbled out. They were protected by their packs, yet there was still a little wear and tear on them. Yet the blanket he pulled out, despite being over two hundred years unworn, deep within the fibres and leather there was an incredibly familiar scent. He collapsed into the warm embrace of the past, the comfort of his sire almost holding him again. He wrapped himself up in the giant blanket.

“Sombra?” He heard miss Chestnut ask through the thick fabric. He poked his head out to see her. She laid down next to him.

“Did all this belong to you before?” she asked, lightly touching the weak leather. Sombra nodded as he shoved his muzzle into the blanket.

“We can’t take all of it, but maybe you can take a few things. You might feel more at home” she suggested as she looked through the rest of the pack. Her nose scrunched up as a bag had been rotted away by long gone berries. She pulled out a small bowl with a tied on lid. Opening it there was a near translucent powder inside.

“What’s this?”

“Dammi say it keeps stuff good” what he wanted to say was when she told it was a form of preservative made from magic, but he didn’t know how to say that in a way she would understand. But she got the idea.

“If it preserves things we can put some on your blanket when we get in, do you want these blocks?” she asked pulling out the bag filled with the decorative building blocks. He nodded as he took the bag in his hooves, the stone blocks rattling. She found another small bundle, filled with silver rings. Sombra recognised them as the spare rings his sire would weave into his braids.

“These are pretty, you want them to?” she asked and he nodded.

“Alright, that’s all we’re taking ok, let’s get back to the others” Miss Chestnut told him. She took the bags in her mouth and he followed her down and out through the trees again. The group was waiting for them as slight droplets fell from the sky.

“We found his old things. he took a few things, it might make him feel at home” Miss Chestnut said, her voice muffled.

“Oh, ok. Let’s get home I think the rains coming “Mrs Drops said as the mares led the foals back to the orphanage, just as they entered the rain started to get heavier. Sombra trotted up to his room with Miss Chestnut who helped him put his new things away. She folded up his blanket and placed it within his draws. His blocks were placed on top along with the powder and rings.

“You’ll find once you start to put things in your room you may feel more at home, these should help. Did you enjoy your walk?”

“mhm”

“Alright, lunch will be about half hour” Miss Chestnut told him before leaving back downstairs. He sat down on the bed completely forgetting about Opal being on his shoulders. He fluttered and sat next to him.

(“So, this blanket, does it belong to someone in your family?”)

“Sirri”

(“Is that why you liked it so much?”)

“Yeah”

(“Well, tell me if you start missing them, that’s sort of my job to comfort you”)

“Can I have a hug?”

““I’m not a hugger, I’m also a bird””

“you will be” Sombra grabbed the bird into an iron grip of a hug. Opal flapped his wings and wriggled.

(“No please my plumage!”) He complained as he twisted and turned. He gave up eventually. He was saved by lunch.

Author's Note:

Ah yes. my favorite character of this entire AU has arrived.
The bird
and remember, dialogue in italics is being said in Umbrull but for your sake and mine its translated.

Comments

[Wir sind verloren]

“ you will be ” Sombra grabbed the bird into an iron grip of a hug. Opal flapped his wings and wriggled.

Sombra is my kind of person