Chapter 10
"Where have we gone?"
That was all Twilight thought as soon as they left the forest and took a detour along a parallel path to it, just a day after they resumed their journey. Yes, they had to spend the night in the open after all. But now nothing had prepared them for what they had to face, or rather, go through.
Twilight and Spike were aware, as far as they had known so far, that on their way it was necessary to cross a narrow mountain pass that rose in that place, unless they wished it to be longer if they chose to skirt it. Unfortunately, they knew they couldn't afford to waste so much time. But that didn't convince them.
"I still don't think I like this," Spike whispered to Twilight after crossing his arms and frowning, still looking at the formation in front of him, as if that path between mountain rock walls was the source of all their bad luck. "I think it's wiser to go through the woods," He said as he pointed in front of them, a clear reference to the unfortunate path. "Anything can happen there."
"Actually, you're not that wrong..." Twilight cleared her throat before addressing the stallion in front of her, with several doubts populating her mind. He turned slightly in her direction when he heard her.
"What do you want?" Sombra murmured with a frown on his face, which Twilight noticed.
She knew she'd managed to get him over annoying, but since she didn't care much what he thought anyway, she went on with what was on her mind.
"Wouldn't it be better if we went through the woods?" She asked in a suggestive tone, coming just a bit closer. "The roads between mountains can be treacherous and the truth is that I would prefer not to risk it."
"Not after everything we've been through these last few days"
Sombra turned again, turning his back on her and leaving the alicorn with the thought that, most likely, she was once again being ignored. However, neither Twilight nor Spike expected his next move. With one of his hooves he picked up a simple stone from the path and quickly threw it against one of the cliff's rock faces. It hit the wall and bounced to the floor, but not before leaving a strange echo that resonated subtly in their ears.
Twilight and Spike had the same confused expression on their faces and the same question mark over their heads at the meaning of such an act.
"The road you want to follow is not very different from this one, if anything it is even more extensive, and it is obligatory to take a long path around the mountains", His voice took on a somber tone. "And it's even more dangerous."
"B-but maybe not... "Twilight chastised herself in her mind for her sudden stutter as her thoughts turned to another issue she hadn't considered before. She wondered why she hadn't.
And what if those creatures also existed on the path they wanted to travel? Nothing guaranteed them otherwise after all.
Sombra interrupted her before she could continue with her train of thought.
"Then tell me, princess. What do you think is the most sensible thing to do? To traverse the forest, with all kinds of dangers lurking among its branches? Or take a shortcut despite the risks? I suggest you respond quickly, time waits for nopony."
Twilight frowned in annoyance at the mocking intent with which he pronounced her title, not to mention the sarcasm that permeated each of his questions, something that she was beginning to notice characteristic of him.
"What kind of dangers do you mean?" She asked after rubbing a hoof on her forehead. "We need to assess the options at least."
Twilight could see how he seemed to snort in annoyance, after rolling his eyes slightly before the words came out of his mouth.
"The least you could find would be herds of wild animals looking for its next meal, waiting for its prey to fall into its own trap as it traverse its hunting grounds, and that's just one," Sombra shrugged. "Why do you think there are such well-defined paths that don't go into it? The ponies here know very well why they shouldn't."
Twilight looked down with a thought in her head.
"Then it's almost like it's the Everfree Forest, only more extensive."
She had no idea how she could know, only the feeling that this similar forest occupied most of the island.
"And why can't we just take one of those paths?" Twilight asked as she raised her head again, her expression furrowing slightly. If that was so, she did not understand then the need to deviate.
Sombra shook his head at her question.
"I've never been aware that the center of the island is habited. Each section connects with different settlements, but as far as I know there are too few to take the time to jump through each one until we find the one closest to our destination." He raised an eyebrow as his voice took on a tone that made her squint slightly. "Are you willing to take all that time?"
Twilight lowered her head and glanced briefly at Spike. He returned it with a countenance that denoted what he really wanted at that moment. He trusted that she would know what to do to get them home safely.
"So you mean that road would take us faster?" Twilight pointed with a hoof to the path in front of her. "
"It's the only really," He replied simply.
"And how risky can it be?" She asked again cautiously. He shrugged.
"You won't find anything that wants to turn them into its next dinner, at least."
A neutral expression formed on Twilight's face.
"Very comforting."
"I don't trust you completely, and I know you know that.
"That's not my problem anyway," He turned around simply, leaving the alicorn with the word in her mouth.
Twilight rolled her eyes in a lot of annoyance.
She was aware that it wasn't the safest option, as she thought about everything that could happen. All that was needed was one misstep. She held back a slight chill at the thoughts that existed in her mind, at the same time wondering if she would ever stop having it.
But through it all, Twilight couldn't deny that the stallion was right, just as she couldn't deny the fact that she didn't want her and Spike to be in that place for too long. Thoughts of home used to occupy her mind. She missed them, both her friends and her family. After making her decision, Twilight closed her eyes and gave a slight sigh.
"Spike and I will go for the least risky option." Her face took on a serious, determined expression. "Just guide us."
Her annoyance had not gone unnoticed in the stallion's eyes, nor had the fact that her attitude changed almost suddenly. Sombra felt her emotions again isolated underneath all that determination. Who would hace imagined that one of them would show different?
"I suppose you do have some intelligence in there after all," He said mockingly before resuming his way.
Twilight let out one last snort as she positioned herself at Spike's side, letting the unicorn lead the way another time.
"Then I should assume we'll continue this road?" Spike raised an eyebrow as Twilight sighed, followed by some despondency.
"Yes, Spike, maybe it's not the best, but the truth is, the other probably wasn't a very good choice either," She said with a tired tone in her voice. "We'll keep on here and see where it takes us, although there's probably just rocks and everything else that's usually on mountain trails," She said, trying to cheer him up, though more than for him, Twilight felt it was for herself. "What's the worst thing that could happen?"
Spike only gave her a brief glance.
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
"I think it's best that you don't" she said with a nervous smile before her expression suddenly changed, concern in her eyes. "Still, I can't help but have a bad feeling about all this..."
"You're not alone, Twi," Spike sighed.
She shook her head, perhaps in an attempt to push away certain questions that would only bring more doubt the deeper she went.
"But the truth is, everything about this place gives me a bad feeling."
And along with that thought, she still wondered how ponies could possibly exist there. Still, though she wanted to find the answers, she knew that her priority was quite different at that moment, nonetheless... Was it possible that the means by which they had arrived played an important role? Deep down, Twilight was certain that she wasn't wrong about it, considering what she knew so far.
And as they continued on their walk, Twilight turned her gaze to the stallion in front of them. She couldn't help but analyze the details she had known about him up to that point, while adding other things she had noticed in the last few days, and all to find out if he was more than what she had actually been told.
According to what Princess Celestia had told her, the King Sombra was a pony whose heart was as dark as night, the tyrant of the Crystal Empire. He was the one who had enslaved its habitants, a whole race of innocent ponies. Besides, according to what she had heard, he was the one who had gotten rid of its previous ruler.
He was definitely a pony to be very careful with.
So why was she overthinking it? She didn't know it yet.
Twilight remembered once again how she had come to know the story written up to that point, as part of the challenge she had to face in the Crystal Empire. Find the heart and free the crystal ponies from what bound them to the past. That time when she showed her mentor what she had really seen in her, and what she later ended up becoming.
But now she didn't quite know what to think about the circumstances they were experiencing.
In the end, she ended up wondering what would have really happened if his powers had fully returned and his magic wasn't as limited as hers. She knew that her current situation would most likely be very different.
However, now she only hoped that she had done well to listen to the voice of her reason.
With a slight snort, Twilight decided it was best to put all her doubts away again, for the time being. What she didn't realize afterwards, however, was that her visual scrutiny would be long enough for him to notice.
"Can I know why you're looking at me so much?"
The sudden sound of Sombra's deep voice made Twilight almost jump in shock and surprise. She only wondered for a moment how he had realized she was watching him, without even turning around.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she replied with a slight look of embarrassment on her face. "I'm just... making sure we're going in the right direction." She ended up shrugging her shoulders as he turned his gaze to her.
Sombra just looked at her with a blank expression, but Twilight could almost feel the weight of his gaze. She ended up frowning because of this, but before she could open her mouth, the unicorn turned once to turn his back on her. She heard him muttering something under his breath as he resumed his walk.
Twilight knew he hadn't believed her, but since he didn't insist on it, she allowed herself to relax again with a small sigh.
"Is he right?" Twilight asked in a whisper to the purple dragon next to her, as she kept the previous countenance on her face.
Spike gave her a smile meant to reassure her, but Twilight could detect in it the nerves that inevitably betrayed him. She raised an eyebrow at this fact.
"I don't want to agree with him, but you were... Looking at him a bit fixed, the truth," he replied in a whispered tone, scratching the back of his head with a claw.
"Really?" Twilight shook her head as she bumped the palm of her hoof against her forehead, then let out an exhausted sigh. "I think I'm just... Starting to get tired of it all."
"I don't want you to worry too much, Twi," Spike said with a sympathetic smile as he gently put a claw on her back. She relaxed a bit at his touch. "I don't know why we are the ones who almost always have to deal with these situations, but I've already learned that anything that is not in our plans and that can happen is best taken slowly even if you don't forget those concerns," He finished saying while shrugging his shoulders.
"Still, it's hard to relax when the uneasiness doesn't subside," Twilight murmured, her voice trailing as she pricked up her ears.
"But you can always try," Spike finished saying as he nodded slightly. "You know it doesn't hurt to do it."
Twilight smiled a bit sideways at Spike's words, thankful that he was the one who always found a way to cheer her up. The truth is that she had no idea how she would have been able to face that situation without him, completely alone. It was definitely comforting to have the help of her faithful little assistant.
"We'll get through this together, Twilight, you'll see," Spike adopted a determined expression, still looking at her at all times as he whispered, "And when we're home it will be even easier to finish resolving this whole situation."
"You're right, Spike," Twilight smiled as she lightly stroked his head. "I don't think I still know what I'd do without you." She finished with a small laugh.
Spike raised an eyebrow, smiling in amusement.
"I don't know either," He laughed along with her before his gaze softened again. "But you know you can always count on me."
Twilight smiled once more and put a hoof on his shoulder while giving a slight nod, grateful that at that moment he was giving her enough strength to keep going.
***
The hours of daylight they had in their path passed relatively quickly as they went about their own business. Now the reddish hue of the sunset was beginning to be present in the distance, as they walked along that mountain path that did nothing but become more and more steep.
At least Twilight and Spike had to admit that the views were incredible, as long as they made sure they didn't get too close to the cliff. They could fly, but it still wasn't a soul-soothing sight.
From a perspective few had experienced, Twilight marveled somewhat at what her eye could see until it was lost on the horizon.
Tall formations in the distance, long enough for white, misty, cloudy crowns to settle on its summits; along with meadows and spaces that looked like seas of green. A typical region of any temperate zone.
A bit thanks to her previous decision, she could now see even better the strange new place they had come to end up in. Yet the place inevitably reminded her a bit of home, only it was, in her opinion, much wilder.
Twilight let out a small sigh, thinking that it might all be a bit more enjoyable if the atmosphere wasn't so tense. Silence was predominant, and it wasn't a very comfortable one. However, she still didn't know what to do to improve that situation.
She occasionally gave brief glimpses of the stallion in front of her, who kept his distance, but still all the while she made the attempt to concentrate on the dragon next to her, or just a fleeting deviation from her gaze as she surveyed the landscape. Twilight knew that, on the other hoof, he, too, preferred to ignore them.
"What's the matter, Twilight?" Spike asked as he saw his friend frown and look down, clearly with one or more thoughts floating around her mind.
"I'm just wondering why all this is," she said in a low voice that reflected a trace of guilt that Spike wasn't sure he had grasped. "I only intended to dismiss that threat, I didn't want anypony to sacrifice themselves for a mistake of mine, but as always, sometimes things don't go as plan," She muttered in a slight sigh.
"Why are you thinking that now?" Spike closed his eyes and crossed his arms, then shook his head as he noticed the direction of thought she was taking. "You know it wasn't your fault, you couldn't know what would end up happening."
"But I could have foreseen it," She rebutted, then flattened her ears with a sad expression. "I feel like I'm failing, not only my friends and family, but the ponies of the empire as well."
"Well, they've really had to go through a lot," Spike whispered as he looked down.
"They were the ones who had to suffer the curse that doomed them to disappear for so long," Twilight frowned after realizing something. "And all because of the darkness, that magic has only been limited to spreading misfortunes, the only thing it has been."
"Dark magic is much more than that, actually," Twilight was sincerely surprised by Sombra's sudden remark, when he hadn't even turned around. "It needs to feed on emotions like any other magic, especially negative emotions. But like everything, it comes at a cost that not everypony is willing to pay."
"That's not a good thing anyway," The alicorn replied in a low tone, then raised her voice. "After all, some crystal ponies are still afraid, afraid of what you might do to them if you came back."
"Maybe they should then."
Twilight didn't notice the dark smile on his face for a moment, but his words didn't stop her from grimacing.
"I suppose you don't care then what happened so long ago, or the consequences it brought," Twilight said as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, still looking at him.
Sombra just shrugged.
"That's already happened anyway."
"Did it have to be this way? It's always cause of dark magic." Twilight gestured with her hoof as she frowned. "It's because of a spell that some ponies haven't been able to overcome it yet."
"Ponies are such fragile creatures. Their minds can be subdued with astonishing ease," Sombra remarked as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "No wonder those remains were left."
Twilight frowned as a growing anger settled inside her after he said those words, instinctively placing Spike behind her. It was already beginning to become clear to her who she was really dealing with.
And why did he say that? He was also a pony.
"That wouldn't have been like that if it weren't for what you did."
Sombra paused at the tone of voice in which she had addressed him. He turned in her direction with the intention of facing her.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"Oh, of course not. What problem could I have with the fact that you used that spell on innocent ponies?" She replied in a grunt as she walked slowly away from him.
Instead, Sombra only got closer.
"So you think they're as innocent as they seem. Let me tell you something, princess," He growled. "You shouldn't talk if you don't know the whole story."
"That doesn't matter! Nopony deserved to go through everything they went through!"
"You wouldn't think that if those you defend hadn't omitted reality from you. You're just a naive young princess."
Twilight gritted her teeth furiously as he just seemed to give a sideways smile.
"The reality is that it was you who enslaved an entire race and took over their home, taking away everything that made them happy. Only for a vain desire for power!"
It was her last words that finally made Sombra completely drop the look of seriousness he had adopted on his face.
"You know absolutely nothing! You have no right to have an opinion!"
"Yes, I do!" Twilight moved farther away from him. "All that the few books that talk about you is about the period when you subdued them! All those horrible things you did to them!"
While they were still at it, they didn't notice how Spike had been slowly moving away from them until his back hit the rock wall behind him. The two ponies in front of him simply continued their discussion, but Spike frowned as he began to feel something strange. It was almost as if a vibration began to spread everywhere.
He wasn't sure, but it could feel as if it suddenly came from the depths of the earth. Suddenly, without warning, it stopped, and a constant buzzing began to make itself present in the dragon's ears. It seemed to be as if something bumped into each other.
However, only he realized it.
"Don't ask me to just ignore it!" Twilight continued.
"Honestly you shouldn't even care about that!"
"I do care! Why I want to know why!"
"Ahh! Do you want to know why!? Because they dared to take away EVERYTHING that belonged to me!!"
Twilight walked away in surprise as she stumbled backwards, blinking rapidly.
After he said that, everything else at that moment seemed to stand still for one second, one just second in which various things happened.
"Twilight!"
It was Spike's sudden scream that really ended the fight. However, that wasn't the only thing that happened. As if everything was slowly passing by, Twilight turned her head to where Spike was, the sense of alarm on his face was almost palpable. As well as the infernal noise that she could suddenly hear.
Twilight followed the direction of Spike's claw, and raised her head. Then the sound of his voice was suddenly silenced, replaced by the rumbling noise of her throbbing heartbeat. What she saw made her blood run cold.
"Oh... no"
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Volcano? Oh you got to be kidding me.
How did they not know they were on a volcano? And why is it now deciding to become active?
It's not a volcano really.
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But that will be seen later in the next chapter.
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Well if it's not a volcano than I don't know what it is, unless it's a dragon.
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Remember, they're not in Equestria so it can be anything.
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Is it somepony, something, or someone?
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It's probably a something caused by something else, after all the noise of their fight couldn't go unnoticed.