Crybaby Sombra

by TheLatteDog

1 - The Weight of Comfort, This Rain is Comfort, This Rain is You

A teenage grey-splotched colt stood his ground against the rain beating down on the hood of his black cloak. A bit of his long black mane peaked out from his hood. The foliage surrounding him greedily tried to drink up the water that fell, but it was just too much. This made the ground he stood on muddy and mushy. A jet-black stallion wearing a similar cloak stood above him, wearing the stern face of a drill sergeant.

“Ready,” the stallion commanded. “Begin!”

Green and purple smoke burst out of his curved horn. The same purple smoke poured from his eyes, which shone with a similar sickening green light. A black beam burst from his horn and struck the ground. In its place a thick, black, and thorny vine sprung out of the ground, spiraling upwards. The colt’s horn lit up again, bathing him in darkness until it covered his entire body, before vanishing into the same purple fumes his magic emanated. The vapors traveled upwards, following the spiral of the vines, until it reached the top, where a small platform of the unnatural vines formed. The smoke birthed the colt’s body onto the platform. The darkness hugging him shed itself completely, before quickly making a comeback and dissolving him. He melted into the small shadows that outlined the vines like water down a shower drain.

A mass congealed within the shade of a tree on the ground until it resembled a pony. The darkness then peeled off of the mass, revealing the same colt underneath it, whole and unharmed.

A beam of magic drew towards the colt’s fuming horn as if by a string. As more magic was drawn out, the vines began to shrivel up into nothing. The mass of black magic flew around him like the “dragon” trick in one of Trixie’s shows. The “dragon” then poured itself into the colt’s horn, from whence this magic came. Once it was gone, the colt’s horn ceased activity and his eyes returned to their normal state. Well, as normal as black scleras with red irises and slitted pupils can be.

“Very good,” the stallion next to him stated. “You appear to have mastered shadow teleportation and smoke transportation, as well as being able to control your magic and reabsorb it at will. As always, your phytomancy is exceptional.”

“Thank you, professor,” the colt spoke.

“Alright, that was the demonstration you choreographed. Now for tests on the magics you didn’t show,” the professor said.

The colt simply nodded and turned to face the professor.

“First, I want to see illusions. Not only your ability to cast them on yourself, but also to cast them on others. I am going to ask you to do a series of illusions that you will perform for me. Take any liberties on details I don’t specify, but meeting the specifications is your primary goal. Ready?”

The colt nodded once more and put on a determined face.

“Show me a green mare with a black mane and tail with blue highlights with a cutie mark of a telescope.”

The colt lit up his horn with the same green and purple smoke, before letting the darkness once more cover him. It soon changed his shape, molding his body into the silhouette of a mare. Eventually, a black and blue mane and tail grew out of the oily blackness. Green fur began to push its way to the surface until only an earth pony mare that matched the specifications stood where the colt once stood.

“Showing off, I see,” the professor said coyly. “You could have made it easy for yourself by going with a unicorn, but you do still match what I specified.”

The green mare smirked a bit before the instructor blurted out the next transformation. They went through a few forms: a large red earth pony with an apple cutie mark, a small blue griffon, and, ironically, a cyan changeling queen. After a few more randomly mixed and matched traits and species, the professor finally saw enough.

“Good, good,” the professor commented. “You seem to be adept at casting the ‘shapeshift’ spell on yourself. You’ll show how you do for others when we are in the cadaver lab tomorrow. Now, for some illusions of the mind. I trust you are not going to be a smart ass and try to pull some kind of twisted prank. I will fail you for that.”

“Professor,” the colt said with mock indignance. “I am shocked you would accuse me of something so heinous!”

The jet-black stallion rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t an accusation, that was a warning. Now, you’re going to cast this spell on me, and you’re going to follow my exact specifications. Am I clear?”

The colt put back on his “game face” and answered: “Yes professor. I wouldn’t mess this exam up in any way, even for a joke.”

“Very well,” the professor remarked. He closed his eyes and said the first setting. “Show me a sunny meadow with green grass and daisies.”

The colt’s horn and eyes lit up once more with the same dark magic. A black beam shot out and struck his professor.

The professor opened his eyes. To the colt, the only chance that happened was his eyes had turned green with red irises. The professor, on the other hand, felt a breeze blow through the daisies in the grassy meadow he now stood in. The sun’s light warmed him. There was not a cloud in the sky.

“Very convincing. It truly does feel like I am in a warm meadow rather than in the miserable rain,” the professor noted. “Let’s try a few more.”

They went through a few more locations, like the Frozen North, Manehatten, and even Seaquestria. Once the professor felt he saw enough, he called it off.

“Very good,” the professor announced. “You have made great progress in your studies. Tomorrow you will take the final tests of your abilities, and then I will have no more to teach you.”

“Thanks, professor,” the colt uttered. “It has been an honor learning from you these past six years.”

“The honor has been mine,” the professor said. His stern expression melted away into a warm smile. “I’m very proud of you, my pupil. It feels like it was just yesterday when you were plopped onto my lap.”

The colt smiled wide as black tears trailed down the colt’s face.

“Oh Night Shade, please try to hold your tears back,” the professor scoffed, rolling his eyes. In spite of that, he kept the warm smile on his face. “At least save it for when you’re behind closed doors.”

The colt sniffled before speaking: “I’m sorry, professor. I can’t help it.” Night Shade rubbed his muzzle on his cloak’s sleeve before continuing. “I just get really emotional when you say things like that.”

Rolling his eyes once more, the professor walked up to the colt and wrapped his arms around him. A gesture that the colt reciprocated.

“Maybe it’s better that way,” the professor commented. “Letting your emotions boil over in this manner. Better than the alternatives at the very least.”

The colt pulled away from the jet-black stallion. Wiping his face, he left behind the two black streaks that now stained his face permanently. A little something he built up over his years studying this field of magic.

“I guess so,” the colt added. “Nopony would think a crybaby Sombra would be effective in acting out their evil plans.”

“Maybe not, but remember, my pupil: appearances can deceive, and failing to see through that deception can cost one their life.”

“Oh yeah, that Cozy Glow filly was particularly nasty, I have heard,” Night Shade recollected. “Weird to think such a small filly can cause that much trouble.”

“Aye, pupil. Now, let’s go back inside,” the professor said, remembering that it was still pouring rain. “You are dismissed for today. Be in the cadaver lab by nine hundred sharp.”

The two turned back to the schoolhouse. The second they stepped through the doors, they went their separate ways.

---

Night Shade found himself surrounded with greenery the second he entered his room. It truly was amazing just how many plants he could keep alive while still being able to have room for himself in the single pony dorm. Different shrubs, flowers, herbs, and even some vegetables and fruits thrived in pots that were placed against the walls. He was particularly fond of plants in the family that were his namesake, but he had others outside of that family.

The colt took off his dripping cloak and hung it on the door’s coat hook behind him. He ran his hoof through his long, black mane, letting it drop limply to the left side of his head, brushing against the floor. He took a few steps towards his bed before throwing himself onto it face first.

“Ugh,” Night Shade groaned. “No, I can’t just sit here. I got to study and practice.”

Six years. It had been six years since he first stepped onto the school grounds. Six years of constant study and hard work. Six years since he was first dropped off by his parents…

---

“Why am I going to school here?” the little grey pinto colt asked as he stepped off the carriage. He looked up to his father with uncertainty in his black and red eyes.

“Because here is ze only place vere you will be able to develop your talent,” Archimedes answered. “No vere else vill you be able to study ze magic of your destiny.”

“But what if I am not good enough?”

“Don’t vorry, you vill be. Now, I have to go back to ze castle. I von’t be home until after you have gone to bed tonight. So, do your best son. And remember zat I vill alvays love you, mine Fohlen.”

“Okay dad, I love you too.”

Night Shade hugged his dad, who in turn wrapped a hoof around the colt’s withers. He pulled away and turned back to the carriage and stepped inside. Archimedes waved his hoof as the cart pulled away, leaving the colt nothing left to do but trot into the auditorium for orientation with nothing but his saddle bags.

***

“Welcome, all of you, to the School for Gifted Foals!” Princess Twilight announced. There had to be over a thousand other foals in this room. Mostly unicorn foals filled the auditorium, with the occasional pegasus and earth pony here and there. There were even some thestrals!

“Each of you were chosen because you were deemed to have potential well beyond the average pony,” Twilight continued. “I know that there is something special inside each and everyone of you, and it is my honor to assist in bringing it out in every single one of you.

“I should note that there very likely will be significant changes coming while you attend here. You might soon be studying side by side with all kinds of creatures, which is really exciting. Of course, the facilities to accommodate them are still being built, but look at me going off on a tangent.

“Anyways, to the ponies starting their first year, I wish you all a great one. And to the ponies coming back, I welcome you back. Have an excellent school year and may you learn a lot!”

The stomping hooves of applause echoed throughout the hall. While the applause was light (it was “back to school” after all), the sheer number of students stomping made being in the room overwhelming.

“Oh!” Twilight quickly added. “All of you should have gotten your class schedules by now. Some of you, however, have a purple star on it. If you do, that means that I would like to meet with you for your personal accommodations. You probably already know what we are going to talk about, so you know that you are not in trouble. Thank you for your time, I will now hand it over to the Headmaster for your orientation proper.”

The princess stepped off the stage, as another unicorn took her place. Night Shade looked down at his schedule and, sure enough, a purple star found itself on the paper.

***

The black-and-red eyed colt sat in a small room with five other ponies. He looked at the purple star on his schedule in silence. His heart beat in his throat at the prospect of meeting the princess again. He didn’t know what to expect now.

“Yo,” a voice called out to him.

“Huh?” Night Shade looked up from his schedule. A thestral foal with a gray coat and a messy pink mane and tail stood in front of him.

“Uh, hi,” Night Shade squeaked out.

“Dude! Your eyes are like mine!” they declared. “Well, not the same colors, but similar shapes! And you’re not even a bat pony!”

Sure enough, their yellow eyes had the signature slit pupils that all thestrals had. A trait that Night Shade now shared with them, as well as dragons and those cats in Abyssinia.

To prove their point, they pulled out their eyes from their sockets.

“See!” the thestral exclaimed.

“Woah!” the colt yelped, not expecting the foal in front of him to just pull out their eyes like that. “How are you doing that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I just can.”

They put their eyes back in their sockets and adjusted them so they weren’t crooked.

“Apparently I have access to this thing called ‘chaos magic?’ I don’t know what they mean by it, but apparently I am gonna learn all about it!”

The thestral foal moved in closer to the colt’s face.

“So what can you do? Apparently we’re all weirdos here, so what makes you weird?”

“Uh, I don’t want to say,” the colt responded, trying to hide behind his own mane.

“Aw, come on! Lemme see! Please please please?”

The colt didn’t know what to do. He knew the taboos of his magic, and had no intentions of “showing off.” He thought back to the day he got his cutie mark. It was only a week ago. What if he did something he couldn’t control?

“Please? I promise I won’t run away or judge you or anything! I really really really want to see!”

Clearly they weren’t going to go away until they saw something.

“O…kay,” the colt finally agreed. “But please don’t be afraid.”

“Yeah, yeah, now show me!”

The colt turned to the potted plant in the room. He got up from his chair and plucked a single leaf off it and rested it on the ground. He then thought back to the spell he learned in that book. His horn then began to fume, the tell-tale purple and green smoke pouring out of it. A black beam struck the leaf, turning it black and leaving it fuming with the same smoke.

“Woah,” the thestral spoke in awe. “That magic…it’s like King Sombra’s. That’s…”

Night Shade felt tears welling up in his eyes. He really was like King Sombra. He really was a monster…

“...so cool!” the thestral finally squealed. “I’ve never seen another pony do magic like that. You’re gonna be learning that kind of magic? Lucky! Wait, are you crying?”

The unicorn sniffled in confusion. This foal just saw something that made them compare him to one of the worst villains Equestria has seen, and she thought it was cool?

“What?” the colt questioned through his tears. “W-why aren’t you scared? You think I’m cool?”

“Why would I be scared?”

“Because I do the same magic as somepony scary like King Sombra.”

“And I do the same magic as Discord. So what?”

“But he isn’t a bad guy anymore…”

“Most ponies still don’t like him. Sure, he’s not a ‘bad guy,’ but a lot of ponies still consider him a big meanie.”

The thestral foal paused for a moment, before continuing the conversation.

“So, can you do anything else with it?”

“Yeah,” Night Shade muttered, wiping his face on his arm. “I think so.”

His horn smoked purple and his eyes glowed green once more. The leaf began to grow roots out of the stem. Then more leaves began budding. The plant kept growing until it was at least two hooves tall.

“Coooooooool,” the foal awed.

“Thanks,” Night Shade accepted with sheepishness. He snuffed out his horn and let the magic bleed away from him.

“My name is Chora, by the way!” the pastel purple maned thestral announced. “What’s yours?”

“Night Shade, you may come in now,” a voice called out from the now open office door.

“That’s me,” the colt in question quietly confirmed. “I should go.”

“Okay, ‘Night Shade,’ I’ll see you later!” Chora parted. “We should hang out during recess!”

“…okay, sure,” he said, letting a small smile grace his face. He trotted over to the door, readying himself to face the princess once more.

***

“Hello again,” Princess Twilight Sparkle greeted. She sat behind a large, paper-littered desk in the small room. The room had one window behind the princess, but with the shutters closed to prevent any prying eyes from eavesdropping. Next to her stood a jet black stallion with a short auburn mane and tail and a tattered book cutie mark. His piercing amber eyes made the colt shrink under his gaze.

“It’s nice to see you once more,” Twilight continued. “Just take a seat right here.”

The colt froze in place, shifting under the weight of the presence of the ponies in front of him. Most the scary one that stood by the princess. Noticing what (or rather who) the colt stared at, the princess realized an introduction was in order.

“Oh! I should probably introduce you with this stallion right here,” she remembered. “This is Sir Black Mass of The Lunar Order of the Dark Arts.”

“The what?” Night Shade managed.

Princess Twilight gestured to the chair across from her, inviting the colt once again to sit down. Night Shade finally obeyed and climbed into the chair, facing the princess and mystery pony all by himself.

“So, you probably understand why you are studying here now, right?” she asked the colt.

The colt nodded his head before answering the question.

“It’s because I will not be able to learn about my special talent in any other place.”

“That is true, but it’s also to ensure that I can keep an eye on you while you do so,” Twilight explained. “You probably are familiar with your kind of magic thanks to bad ponies like King Sombra, right?”

The colt nodded once more.

“Well, obviously we don’t want something like that happening ever again. You are destined to wield a powerful magic, Night Shade. But it also is a highly corruptive one. It is likely because of this that your body adapted to manifest the ‘Eyes of the Abyss’ without you needing to cast it.”

Night Shade squirmed in his chair. He didn’t like being reminded of that fact about him. But the only thing he could do was listen to the princess’s words and accept them.

“This is the reason why this kind of magic is highly restricted to the general public. However, it probably might interest you to know that becoming a bad pony is not the only path for those who choose to pick up the ‘dark arts.’”

The colt’s eyes brightened up a little. He then sat up in his chair and leaned in closer to the desk.

“Really?” the colt asked with tepid enthusiasm.

The princess giggled at the little foal’s sudden interest. “Of course. In fact, our guest right here is a representative of one of the other paths you can take.”

Twilight gave a nod to the stallion in question, who, on cue, stepped forward.

“As the princess just mentioned,” the stallion spoke up. “I am Sir Black Mass, a member of The Lunar Order of the Dark Arts. We are a governmental research group dedicated to preserving this form of magic, as no form of magic should be forgotten. We are the only ponies entrusted with this task of preserving and even furthering research within this branch of magic.”

Night Shade hung onto every word the stallion said.

A place for good ponies to practice dark magic? he thought. I don’t have to be a villain that will have to be beaten?

“That’s right, Sir Mass,” the princess agreed. “The L. O. D. A. is one of the few places where anypony, or potentially anycreature, within Equestria can legally and ethically pursue their passion for the darker aspects of magic. There are not a lot of members, however, due to both a lack of publicity and strict standards for entering.”

Twilight cleared her throat before carrying on.

“I should mention that this would normally be a postgraduate field of study, meaning you would have to complete the general track in this school before even considering applying to study with the Lunar Order.”

Night Shade seemed to deflate a little at that. Would it be eight years before he could even study the one branch of magic he could actually do?

“However,” the princess continued. “Considering that your talent for magic is dark magic, I deemed it best that you begin studying it now.”

“Really‽” the colt perked up.

“Absolutely! We will also be fast-tracking you into the Lunar Order as well, meaning that by the time you complete your studies in dark magic, you will become an official member! Now, you technically do have a choice in whether you wish to join or not, but I should note that you legally have to join if you want to actually use the magic you will be learning outside of this school. Understand?”

Night Shade nodded his head vigorously, drinking up every word the princess said. He still didn’t quite understand this “order” he would have to join when he was finished, but that didn’t matter. He was going to learn magic! And it was going to be within the field of magic he could actually do! And when he was done learning, he could still be a good pony!

“Excellent! Now, for the main reason you’re here in the first place!” Twilight started up again. She pulled out a binder from underneath her desk and paged through it before finding the right spot. She looked up from the page to address the colt once more. “Your schedules have a spot where, were you in the typical unicorn magic tract, you would take a generalized magic class. However, since the magic you cast is, well, very specific and also very much restricted, you clearly aren’t going to be learning the same things as the other students.”

Twilight mulled over her words, before clarifying: “Actually, that isn’t quite true, a lot of the theory will be similar, but have vast differences in how you apply it. And since at least fifty percent of the grade is the application, this clearly will not work for someone like you. There is also…”

The colt looked up to the princess in confusion, not quite understanding where she was going with all that.

“Ah, I’m going off on a tangent. You’ll understand once your classes begin. Which brings me to the reason Sir Mass is actually here! Sir Black Mass will be your magic instructor, teaching you all about the ‘dark arts.’”

The stallion in question nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“I’ve never had a student as young as you before, so I hope there will not be any issues between us,” he said. His voice carried a low rumble with every word he spoke.

Night Shade attempted to hide behind his mane once more. The unicorn stallion’s large frame intimidated the poor colt.

“He will be teaching you one-on-one in during the periods where you would usually be with other ponies of your class learning general basic magic,” Twilight added. “Instead of heading to the classroom listed, you will head to the library where he will meet you and take you to wherever he deems appropriate.”

“I look forward to our first lesson today,” Sir Mass growled, maintaining the stern expression he held.

“I hope that’s all clear for you,” Twilight picked up. “You will still be taking every other class with every other pony in your year. This includes math, science, history, and equestrian literature, as well as basic potions due to it not requiring an input source of magic and, one of the newer subjects, friendship. Now, alchemy is a different story, however, and you will have to learn that from someone with The Order, but that isn’t until a few years from now. Are you understanding all this?”

The colt nodded with uncertainty. The extra details the princess added made it hard to keep track of what was important for him to know at that point.

“Ugh, I’m over explaining things again,” Twilight said, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. “Sorry, it’s a bit of a habit. Let me state it again a bit more simply: whenever your schedule says ‘Basic General Magic,’ you will instead head to the school library and meet with Sir Mass. He will then take you to wherever he deems to be appropriate for your lesson to take place, which will likely be a building off campus. Understand?”

Night Shade nodded his head vigorously. “Whenever there is magic class, go to the library and wait for Mr. Mass,” he stated.

“Excellent!” the princess rejoiced, clapping her forehooves together. “Now, I believe you still have the rest of orientation, which includes the building tour, and then your first classes. I hope you have a great first day! You may go about the rest of your day.”

“Thank you, princess,” the colt said. He jumped up from the chair and trotted to the exit to find the auditorium once more.

---

A knock on Night Shade’s dorm door signaled him to finally get off his bed. He trotted over to the door, revealing a gray thestral with a messy pink mane and tail.

“Yo,” they greeted. “What’s up, my guy?”

“Hi Chora,” he responded. “Just about to study for my last practical tomorrow.”

“Oh shit! So you’re basically graduating your program?”

“If I pass, yes.”

“Of course you’ll pass, Hollows!”

He rolled his eyes at Chora’s nickname for him. They, in turn, just snickered at his mild annoyance.

“You could just call me my name, you know.”

“But what’s the fun in that?”

The teen thestral stuck their tongue out at them while pulling one eyelid down with a talon. That eye fell out of its socket like a big marble. It rolled into a random hole in the ground, which resulted in the thestral materializing around that eye and rising out of the ground.

The unicorn colt could only roll his eyes once more.

“So,” the thestral began. They rested the elbows of their forelegs down on an invisible table and let their head rest on their claws. Their hindlegs then floated upwards like a balloon, only anchored down by the front half of their body. “What you gonna do when you’re finally done here?”

Night Shade raised his hoof to his chin.

“Hm, I think I want to go to the School of Friendship for my last two years,” he answered, scratching his chin. “Apparently the Lunar Order will pay the tuition for any further studies I wish to pursue.”

“Huh,” Chora said, turning themself so that they floated on their back. “Want to learn more about friendship, huh? You don’t seem like the kind of pony to have that much trouble with it. I mean, you got me after all, and I am awesome enough to make up for, like, ten ponies.”

To accentuate their point, they did a little flair with their hoof. Ten copies of them appeared out of thin air, some inside the colt’s room, surrounding him on all sides.

“Well,” the colt started to reply. “It’s more that I want to know what the magic of friendship truly is. I know we have been taking classes in it here, but maybe there is more to learn. And, maybe that knowledge could save me from becoming a monster—“

Ten hooves slapped his face all at once. The clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving only one Chora to stand in front of the colt. They grabbed him by his withers and, with their hind legs planted on the ground, pulled him closer to their face.

“Stop saying shit like this,” they said without a hint of the earlier playfulness in their voice. “You’ve been saying this shit ever since I met you. You’re not gonna just turn into the next Sombra! I wouldn’t let you.”

The colt’s eyes began to well up. He turned his head away so he didn’t have to look them in the eyes.

“How could you know?” Night Shade muttered. “How could you know that?”

Another set of grey legs forced his face back towards Chora’s eyes.

“I don’t need to have Hour Glass’ weird future night terrors to know. I know you. It’s not in your heart.”

“Not yet…”

“Not ever! Not if I have anything to say about it!”

Black drops rolled down Night Shade’s face. The forehooves that held his face pulled him into Chora’s shoulder, while the claws on his withers pulled his body closer. They stayed there for a couple of minutes before Night Shade pulled himself away.

“Why are you here anyway?” he mumbled, wiping his face on his foreleg.

“Eager to get rid of me so soon?” Chora asked with a cheeky grin. “Can’t I just wish you luck on your final final?”

“You can, but that’s never why you come to my room,” he said, a small smile beginning to form on his face again.

“Well, now that you mention it…” Chora recalled, putting a pair of talons to their chin. “I have two things I wanted to see you about.”

They took off their hind legs, leaving their upper body to simply float in place. They rummaged through the cavernous space in their hindquarters before pulling out two letters.

“It appears your folks have written to you once more,” Chora said, putting back on their lower half like a Kre-O piece.

Night Shade took the letters in his magic, ripping them out of their envelopes. His eyes scanned the contents of both letters before his face fell.

“They’re not coming to my graduation ceremony…”

“Oh, dude…”

Chora immediately grabbed him again. Night Shade accepted the embrace and reciprocated it. He gently wept into their shoulder, leaving behind a bunch of black streaks on their grey coat.

“I don’t know what to say, mate…”

“They don’t want anything to do with me,” the colt moaned. “They’re afraid of me.”

Chora had heard this before. At first, it sounded like he was being paranoid. That his fear of himself maybe let him imagine that his own parents were trying to get rid of him. However, as the years went by, it started to seem less like paranoia and more like a very real possibility.

They combed through his mane with their claws. They held him tightly, before he eventually separated from them once more.

“I’m sorry,” Night Shade almost whispered. “It seems like I am always crying when we meet.”

“Hey, I don’t care about that. I wouldn’t have stuck by you if I did, heh…”

The colt tried to suck up some of the snot dripping from his nose; Chora pulled out a tissue box for him. He blew his nose and wiped away the rest of his tears.

“Yeah, but sometimes I think I give you way too much emotional labor…”

“Yeah, you can be a lot, but…”

Chora cloned themself by twenty this time.

“I can be just as much,” all the clones said in unison.

Night Shade chuckled. He then remembered: “So, what was the second thing?”

“Oh,” they said, making the clones go away once more. “I was gonna bum some hay off you, but I don’t think I need it now. I have decided.”

“Decided what?”

“How to celebrate you finally completing your specialty!”

They floated up into the air again. “Meet me at the campground. Same spot as usual. Bring some buds, some shrooms, and a pipe. I got a surprise waiting for you.”

Chora winked at Night Shade. He returned a giggle.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll be there after my exam.”

“Nice! See you then!”

Chora began to float away. Just as they turned the corner, they poofed back into existence right in front of Night Shade. They leaned in close to them, a seductive look in their eyes, and said:

“Unless, of course, you want some company tonight to give you some ‘good luck’…”

Night Shade chortled and said: “Alright, you horny chaos goblin, I actually need to study.”

“I can wait on your bed.”

“I’m gonna be working with the jar foal again.”

The chaos goblin cringed.

“Okay, maybe not tonight. That thing creeps me out. It’s a shame. I thought you would do whatever to give you that ‘edge.’ Hmmmm, maybe I can be your wake-up call. Wouldn’t you love to wake up to my head in between your hind legs in the morning?”

Night Shade rolled his eyes.

“See you tomorrow on the campgrounds,” he said.

“Alright dude, your loss. See ya there, Hollows,” Chora said, shrugging her shoulder before snapping out of existence.

“Al-right, then,” Night Shade said, closing the door. “Now, studying.”

Each dorm room in The Celestial School for the Gifted (formerly Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Foals) came equipped with what Princess Twilight deemed the “basic necessities.” Among those were: a bed, a storage chest that was bigger on the inside, a desk, a dresser, and a bookshelf (the princess was adamant about that last one). Many students used the bookshelf to organize their textbooks, but Night Shade didn’t decorate his in the same way.

On the top shelf sat two pots (one with a thriving black rose and one with a dead, dried-up plant), a crystal ball, a black mirror, and, the most unsettling one, a stillborn pegasus foal floating in a large jar of formaldehyde. Each served a purpose in his studies of “the dark arts.” The potted plants (both dead and living) let him practice phytomancy (and the subskill of “phytonecromancy”); the crystal ball allowed him to see what the castee when under his illusions; the black mirror gave him a summoning medium; and the stillborn foal in a jar was one of the few ways he could practice necromancy outside the cadaver lab.

The other three shelves served as his very own encyclopedia. Due to the “restricted” texts being prohibited from leaving the government building grounds, as well as being unable to get access to the section without the supervision of his professor, he had to take really, really extensive notes. So extensive that he barely managed to get permission from the princess to keep them in his own dorm room (with the caveat that he enchants them so that no one could read them but him).

Night Shade took the black mirror and “jar foal'' off his shelf, along with two notebooks, and placed them on his desk. He then rummaged through his chest, pulling out an electric fan. He opened the window and aimed the fan right at it before turning it on.

“Alright,” the colt said, pulling out a gas mask from his dress. “Let’s do this!”

He fastened the mask to his face before once more cracking the lid of the jar open.

“Oh! Hold on!” he yelped to himself. He then took out a plastic tablecloth from the closet, levitated everything off the table, and laid the sheet over his desk.

“Okay,” he sighed, gently placing the items back down where they were. “Now let’s do this!”

---

“So I told the griffin, ‘that’s not a cub, that’s an omelette!’” the grey pinto colt declared.

“Booooooo!” the figure in the black mirror said. “You suck!”

“Oh, go fuck yourself; you’re dead,” Night Shade muttered with indignance.

“And you’re gonna kill me again out of boredom!” the apparition in the mirror said back. “Get better material! Your ‘tight five’ sucks!”

“Well, it’s not like comedy is my special talent, anyways.”

“Yeah, stick to dark magic, kid.”

“Alright, enough of you,” the unicorn stated. His horn bubbled with dark magic once more before casting a black ray onto the mirror. Soon enough, the ghostly apparition replaced itself with his own visage.

“Everyone’s a critic,” Night Shade muttered under his breath. He grabbed the items off his desk with his magic (after making sure the lid was tight on the jar) and shoved them back onto the shelf where they were before. He turned off the fan, disintegrated the plastic sheet, and packed everything else back into their proper spots.

He abruptly stood up, paying close attention to his surroundings. He put his ear to the door. No hoofsteps or chatter heard. He looked out his window; it was lights out now, meaning no one was allowed outside their dorm room aside from the night watch ponies. None of which appeared outside his window at the moment. He then cut the lights and scurried to his chest.

Inside lay the fan he just used, as well as some cloaks for the seasons. He scanned the inside, locating a crystal in the floor. When he cast a spell on it, it turned black, revealing a hidden compartment. The place where he kept the “special” plant for “relaxing after a hard day.” They had a purple glowing gem above them to give them the “sunlight” they needed. Next to the pot was a container of pre-dried buds from the plant. He snatched those up, grabbed a pipe from his dresser, and ground up a bud in his magic before stuffing the little bits into the pipe. With a small flair, a little black flame floated in midair as if it burned the wick of a candle. He sat on his bed and brought the little flame closer to him before—

“Alright.”

“Eep!” Night Shade yelped, quickly trying to stash away the evidence under his pillow.

“Ent you a bit young to be doin’ that stuff?” the voice said again, coming from the window.

The colt turned towards the voice and saw the outline of a stallion sitting in the window still. He looked to be wearing a hoodie, and his right forehoof appeared to be gleaming like metal in the moonlight.

“Relax, I ent a blobmouth,” the voice reassured. “Besides, I am a skip of yours. Or, at least of yer dad, if you happen to remember.”

Memories of the time he got his cutie mark rushed through the colt’s head. That accent! That weird slang! He did remember this stallion! He was older now, but it must be—

“Short Circuit, or Shortie if you can’t recall,” the silhouette said. “It ‘as been a while since then. Figured I would pop by an’ give you a little visit.”

“How are you here?” Night Shade asked. “It’s lights out. Visitors aren’t allowed after lights out.”

“An’ drugs like cannabis are prohibited on the campus, yet you still were about to ‘light up,’” Shortie retorted with a chuckle. Shortie swore he saw a bead of sweat trickle down Night Shade’s face.

“As I said, I ent gonna report you. However…” Shortie took a quick pause for dramatic effect before continuing: “…you can guarantee me silence if you let me take a tewthree puffs off that pipe. Mind if I come in by the way?”

The teen colt sighed.

“Not like I have much of a choice in the matter,” he said beckoning the stallion to come in.

“You always ‘ave a choice. Some just ‘ave undesirable consequences.”

Shortie sat on the bed right next to the colt. Night Shade took his pipe out from under his pillow, and lit it without any disturbance. He took a draw, inhaled, and exhaled the smoke from his lungs. He sucked on the pipe a few more times before finally passing it to Shortie.

“So,” Shortie started off, relighting the pipe with a small flame coming out of his metal hoof, dragging on the pipe while doing so. “I didn’t expect for you to be boarding ‘ere.”

“Why so? The ‘madhouse’ is where ponies like me are put by default.”

“Naaa, naaa, not this dorm in particular, though, when I was ‘ere, only one pony was put here, an’ that pony was Screwball.”

Shortie paused for a moment before moving on.

“But that’s off-topic. What I meant was that I am surprised you’re boarding in this school at all. You seem like the kind of colt that would have appreciated living with your parents.”

“Well, yeah,” the colt began, leaning back on his bed. “Things have gotten a little complicated with them.”

After taking one more puff and passing it back, Shortie queried: “‘Ow so?”

The colt took a long draw off his pipe, before going into a coughing fit.

“Easy there, little bloke,” Shortie said, patting his back.

Once the fit passed, the colt took a smaller draw from the pipe before passing it back. He exhaled the smoke, along with any reservations about telling random creatures you don’t know that well about your personal struggles, before continuing onwards:

“It just feels like they want to push me away,” Night Shade said. “Like they want to keep me at arm’s length. I think…they’re afraid of me.”

“What makes you think that?” Shortie wondered.

“Well,” he began. “I guess it began when I showed my parents what I learn during my first magic class…”

---

“Mom! Dad! Look!” the little Night Shade yelled. “Look at what I learned today!”

“Oh, sure sweetie,” Spore Sprout replied. “Honey, don’t you want to see what our foal has learned?”

Archimedes suddenly straightened himself in his chair. The princess had been working him hard for the past two week or two. Tonight was one of the few nights he had to enjoy dinner with his family, and yet he found his enjoyment hampered by his lack of sleep.

“Oh, sure, please do,” Archimedes said in a weary tone of voice.

“Awesome!” the colt yelled. He then lit up his horn. The purple and green fumes filled the air. The unicorn foal then focused himself. Soon enough, black magic crackled across a single grape on the table, before being plucked off it’s stem, eventually being deposited into the colt’s waiting mouth.

“Ta da!” he proclaimed, chewing up his prize.

His parents on the other hand did not share the same enthusiasm. Spore Sprout tried to fake a smile, but seeing that kind of magic come out of her foal in person brought back memories. Memories of despair and hopelessness. Memories of when she had doubts about whether the heroes of Equestria could actually pull through.

“That’s…great,” she tried to congratulate, trying her hardest to keep a smile on her face. “I’m so proud of you.”

Archimedes just sat and bobbed his head in agreement, opting to not say anything and let his wife do the talking here.

Unfortunately, their attempts to feign excitement were for naught, as Night Shade picked up on their lack of enthusiasm. He could feel his confidence in his newfound abilities slipping away from him. He came to the conclusion that he probably shouldn’t show them anymore of what he would learn.

***

“Wait, I’m going to be staying here?” Night Shade asked his dad. The colt stood by a bunch of bags. Each one contained some of the colt’s belongings, from toys, to favorite snack, to clothes (or the few the little unicorn needed).

“Ja, zon, unfortunately, your mozer had to go back to Manehattan to attend to her mycology job and I vill not be able to take you home until my probationary period is up,” Archimedes told his son. His voice portrayed an uncertainty that gave the impression that he wasn’t being entirely honest when he spoke. “It vill not be forever, just until your mozer has everysing sorted and ven I can spend more time in ze house.”

“Do I really have to be here?” the colt pleaded. “I’m a big colt! I can be alone during the nights. Please don’t abandon me!”

Black tears began to pool in the colt’s red and black eyes. Archimedes ripped his head away from his son’s face, not wanting to look into the constant reminder of his foal’s destiny and potential capabilities.

“It’s for ze best,” he said distantly. He stepped into the carriage before it pulled away, leaving him at the gates of the school one last time.

***

“So, I am not going home for the summer break?” the little unicorn questioned his professor. They both stood in the room Black Mass had set up for his magic lessons in The Lunar Order headquarters. It had been proofed for any potential accidents to be contained, not unlike one of his adult apprentices.

Black Mass casted away his own pair of “Eyes of the Abyss” and dabbed the dark tears leaking from them with a tissue before answering.

“Unfortunately, it appears your parents aren’t coming to pick you up, and have told the school you will be staying for the summer program,” Black Mass answered. His typical stony face seemed to soften ever so slightly giving the news to him. In the coming months since Night Shade began his studies there, Black Mass ended up becoming a the colt’s de-facto “advisor.” He wondered if this was normal for “unique” cases like the little unicorn. “On the bright side, it means we don’t have to stop learning, and you will be able to move ahead in your studies faster. Though, I likely will not be giving you as much work regardless.”

Night Shade looked to the ground, and shifted his hooves a little where he stood. Black streaks already began to lightly stain his face. A side effect of the inky substance that ran down his face often, especially when practicing this kind of magic as much as he had.

“Will I ever go home, professor?” the unicorn colt whimpered to the ground. His eyes moistened as he pawed at the floor below him.

Black Mass raised a hoof, before hesitating. Did he need to step into this role? Was it even his place to? However, something in his mind changed when the inky tears started to trace the foal’s face once more. He rested a hoof on the colt’s withers and answered him as honestly as possible.

“I don’t know,” he simply said. It was all that he could offer to the poor colt.

***

“Is there no more mail?”

“Nah, dude, that’s all they gave me,” Chora explained.

“Oh,” Night Shade said, dejected.

“You expecting something?”

“Yeah, my parents normally give me a letter at least every week,” he clarified, brushing his lengthening hair out of his face. “This is the first letter I have gotten from them in a month. I thought there might have just been a holdup.”

“Sorry dude, they didn’t give me anything else.”

Chora wrapped a forehoof around his neck and pulled him close. Night Shade in turn gently wept into their coat.

“I miss my mommy and daddy,” he cried. “I haven’t seen them in so long.”

“I know, dude,” Chora offered. “I miss my parents too. But, hey, maybe they've just been especially busy this month to send a letter. Maybe they’ll give you another letter soon. Speaking of which, did you have one you wanted to be sent out by the way?”

Night Shade pulled away from him and nodded. He levitated an already sealed letter, and handed it to the thestral.

Shoving the letter into their bag, they waved Night Shade goodbye, leaving him behind in his dorm. Just before he could sulk in his bed, Chora once again popped into existence in front of him.

“Yo, you wanna head to the campground later?” they posed to the unicorn.

“Oh, uh, sure,” he replied, taken off guard by their sudden appearance and question.

“Great! See ya there, Shady!”

Then they popped out of existence, leaving Night Shade alone once more. He threw himself onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow. He still intended to sulk, but at least he had a hangout to look forward to.

---

“They never did send more than once a month after that,” he pointed out. As he recounted those events, something began to bubble up towards the surface. He took back the pipe Shortie finished smoking and spent up whatever was left in the bowl. He held his breath for five seconds, before finally letting the cloud go free.

“T-they…” he stammered. “They’re…afraid…of me.”

Night Shade buried his face in his hooves and began to softly weep. Shortie took the pipe out of his hoof, rested it on the desk, and wrapped an arm around him.

“They think,” the colt uttered between sobs. “They think I’ll become a monster. And they don’t want to be close to the monster I could become.”

Shortie gently tapped Night Shade's withers with one hoof, trying his best to comfort the poor colt. Despite that, he just didn’t quite have the wherewithal to do so, even if he really wanted to. It just wasn't something he had much experience with.

“I imagine that’s tough to deal with,” Shortie said, still patting his back. “I don’t know if that is what your parents feel in their 'earts, but I know that you probably won’t turn into the next King Sombra.”

Night Shade sniffled. “Yeah, crybabies like me don’t make particularly good villains.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Some are villains because they let their emotions get out of control. But you know why I don’t think you will be a threat?”

“How so?”

“Because you care about others. Now, caring can also lead to villainy, but it tends to be more easily steered towards good.”

“What if I lose that?”

“I don’t think you will.”

“How do you know?”

“Call it a hunch, I guess.”

The colt wiped his face with his hoofs. “Okay then.”

“Yer dad told me you were a well sensitive foal.”

Night Shade chuckled a bit, “And I still am, I guess.”

He let out a big sigh and threw himself back onto his bed.

“I guess I still haven’t grown up just yet.”

“Maybe, but it’s not because you’re a big crybaby.”

The colt’s eyes rolled back onto Shortie.

“Maturity is about responsibility for the most part. At least that’s how I interpret it. Everybody cries sometimes, but it’s what you do about the things that make you blart that matters the most.”

Night Shade took a deep breath, and then let it go. “I guess so, then. So, what should I do about it?”

Shortie shrugged his shoulders, “I dunno. Maybe find a different family? Find some people who will be there for you, even if your folks aren’t. An’ then maybe talk to your folks about this. If you think they aren’t demonstrating that they love you enough, tell them that. Even if they don’t take you seriously, you will always ‘ave a chosen family to fall back on.”

“Okay then.”

They both sat in silence for a bit. The colt observed the little spots on his room’s ceiling while Shortie counted by two in his head. Eventually, Shortie broke the ice once more.

“So, you’re in the “madhouse” dorm,” Shortie initiated. “There’re quite a couple or three more residents ’ere than last I was. As I said, the only pony I knew that was ’ere was Screwball. I think 'ers contracted to tutor somepony in chaos magic.”

“Yeah, their name is Chora. They’re a bat pony.”

“You know them?”

“A little, yeah. They’re a bit much but genuinely enjoyable to be around.”

“Oh? That sounds like you know them a bit more than a little, now…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The colt’s face burned with embarrassment. He turned away in an attempt to hide his blush from the inquisitive stallion.

“Well well, does someone ’ave a partner?” Shortie teased. “Tell me more about them.”

“They aren’t my partner!” Night Shade nearly shouted. “A-at least, not now.”

“I still wanna know more. So, spill.”

“W-well, I like to hang around them. We like to talk about what we learn in our studies. They show me something cool, I show them something cool. Usually, we tend to go to the Castle of the Two Sisters to do so.”

“That’s a little far from here, no?”

“Yeah, but it’s ideal since it is in ruin and there’s plenty of, uh, material to work with.”

“What you mean by ‘material?’”

“Oh, you know. Vines, rocks, open space…corpses…”

“Wait, there are corpses in the Castle of the Two Sisters?”

The colt’s voice grew soft and timid.

“Mostly just bones at this point. Nothing fresh. The cadaver lab in the med section of the campus is the only place where I would get to use ‘fresh’ bodies.”

Shortie whistled. “Didn’t think they would teach you that ‘dark art.’ Usually, it’s a big no-no across the board in this country.”

“Normally it is, but I have a specific qualification to do it. It’s why there’s a foal in a jar on my bookshelf.”

“Huh, didn’t notice. And that is quite creepy. You make it move?”

“Well, yeah, of course.”

Shortie shivered at the thought of that thing moving. Night Shade couldn’t help but snicker at his discomfort around something he had gotten so used to handling now.

“Couldn’t be me. Back to Chora.”

“Oh, okay. Well, we sometimes would hang out in each other’s rooms. It’s not difficult considering they’re a floor down from me.”

A mischievous glint in Shortie’s eye signaled trouble for the teenager. He shot his next question at the teen with great swiftness, while also keeping it in line with the flow of the the conversation so not to tip him off immediately. He wanted to see how quickly he would gain back his impaired wits:

“Did you 'fool around' with them?”

“Yeah, quite a bit act— wait, hey!”

Shortie howled out laughing. He couldn’t believe how well that actually worked! At best he expected the latter half of his response, not the actual answer!

Night Shade on the other hand no longer was white with grey patches. His coat instead swapped out the white parts for a bright red.

“I was joking…but you gave…an actual answer!” Shortie choked out in between his heaves.

“It’s not funny,” Night Shade muttered, still in disbelief that he actually admitted to that fact.

“It’s pretty funny,” Shortie replied, finally beginning to calm down.

“The question we all needed an answer to. Does the newest member of ‘The Lunar Order of the Dark Arts’ fuck? The answer is ar! Heheheh…”

“Oh, knock it off!” Night Shade lashed out. He then muttered: “And I’m not yet in the Lunar Order…”

“It’s alright, kid. From what I have heard about you around this campus, you’re as bostin as in there already. Also, that other chop’s nothin’ to be embarrassed about. I meself was notorious on these campuses…”

“Welp!” the colt declared, shooting up from off his bed. “It was nice of you to visit, but I need sleep before my final tomorrow. So, if you will be so kind…”

The colt gestured to the window, inviting the stallion in his room to leave.

“Alright, I can take a hint,” Shortie said. He got up, walked to the window, and put one hoof outside before pausing.

“Oh, one last chops…”

“What?” the colt said, getting more annoyed by the second.

“D’ya still have the remote I gave you?”

And with that question, the annoyance Night Shade felt was forgotten.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I still do,” the colt replied. He rummaged through a drawer on the bottom of his dresser, pulling out the remote that was thrust into his hoof all those years ago.

“Lemme see,” Shortie said. Night Shade dropped the remote in his hoof. After turning it in his hooves, inspecting every aspect of it, he gave it back to the colt.

“I’d suggest you keep that on you of tomorrow,” Short Circuit forebode without a hint of humor. “You might need it.”

“Wait, wha…? What do you mean? Is something coming?” Night Shade questioned. What could he possibly mean by that?

“…I don’t know.”

The stallion then jumped out the window.

“Hey! Wait!”

The colt rushed to the window, but it was too late. Somehow, he disappeared into thin air.

Confusion occupied Night Shade’s mind. He then looked at the remote in his hoof.

What could he mean? he thought to himself. What’s gonna happen tomorrow? Also, how did he get up here in the first place? This room is on the third floor!

After some thinking, he decided that this was a problem for future Night Shade to deal with. He placed the remote in the pocket of the cloak he planned to wear tomorrow for safe keepings and plunked himself face-first into his bed. Present Night Shade needed to rest for an exam tomorrow.

Author's Note:

Another chapter! Hopefully I can keep this up somewhat!

Anyways, here’s the Brummie words Shortie used (not covered in prior chapters):
Ent - ain’t
Blobmuthe - blabber mouth or snitch
Two-three/a couple or three - a few, two or more
Blart - cry
'Ers - she is
Chops - thing

Comments

[KingSombraTheTyrantRuler]

I hope Night Shade becomes a villain. I imagine his first victims would be his parents for abandoning him.

[ponepony]

Chora began to float away. Just as they turned the corner, they poofed back into existence right in front of Night Shade. They leaned in close to them, a seductive look in their eyes, and said:

This becoming a gay fic sounds great.