The Meeting (Arc one) [edited]

The Meeting (Arc one)

“Spa day! Spa day at the Crystal Empire! Spa day with Cadance!” A bright pink equine with pink cotton candy mane and tail with a trio of balloons on her flanks sang in exuberance riding a crystal train that raced towards a large city crafted from crystal. The pink equine aka pony was joined by five others all mares, one of them sleeping.

To the right of the pink pony was a bright orange mare with straw blond mane and tail tied up in bright red ties, a brown stetson hat had been tipped over her face and part of her muzzle partly muffling her rather loud snoring, a trio of apples on her flanks. The next pony was a cyan blue pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail with a tricolored lighting bolt.

“Some of us, Pinkie Pie, some of us.” The cyan pegasus stated.

Pinkie Pie plus the four awake and remaining mares looked to the cyan pegasus. “What’s got you in a mood, Dash? Oh-oh-oh is it because your going to miss out on hooficures and massages?!?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

In her excitement she had gotten right into the cyan pegasus’ face, her big blue eyes nearly bulging out of her skull before a light blue aura pulled her away and sat her back down.

“Really darling? No need to get into Rainbow Dash’s personal space for an answer right Fluttershy?” A pearl white unicorn mare with curing royal purple mane and tail with three blue diamond shaped diamond gems on her flank asked a canary yellow pegasus with a king and flowing pink mane, a trio of butterflies on her flanks.

The only member left of the little group was a lavender purple mare with a mostly navy blue mane and tail sporting a pink and purple stripe that had a horn and wings. On her flank was a six pointed magenta star shadowed by a white six pointed star and five smaller white stars. The lavender mare was known as an Alicorn and one of the few that embodied harmony in the land of Equestria.

The four of the six mares in question were heading to the Crystal Empire to spend some time with another Alicorn Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or Princess Cadence as she prefers to be called so she can have a well-deserved break from her daughter and a recently newborn baby Alicorn Flurry Heart. But for the lavender Alicorn and the cyan pegasus there was a different reason. She, her baby dragon assistant and adopted little brother Spike, and Rainbow Dash were being sent by Princess Celestia to investigate multiple pony disappearances in the frozen mountains behind the Crystal Empire.

Dash rolled her eyes at the pink pony’s antics crossing her hooves over her chest sticking her muzzle slightly in the air in a proud manner. ”Twilight, Spike, and I are not going to have a spa date. No, we’re going to do something way cooler.” She smiled feeling even more pride for what she is doing for her country, “Besides what am I going to do at the spa? It’s not like I’m going to need it anytime soon. Unlike Rarity I can survive without having to visit a spa on every trip I take outside of Ponyville.”

“Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, but everypony needs a spa day.” The white unicorn mare responded highly offended at the rather truthful comment. “Besides, it could do wonders for your mane. Am I right, Twilight? Twilight? Twilight, darling, are you ok?”

Startled, the lavender Alicorn jumped and looked around to the calling of her name. “Are you talking to me, Rarity?” Twilight asked in pure confusion having been so lost in thought she had toned everything out even the loud snoring. She didn’t even realize that she was on the train. Lost in her thoughts once more, Twilight shifted to one singular string of mental questions. ‘What happened to the ponies? Apparently, the disappearances have been happening for three whole weeks. Twelve ponies disappeared, four ponies every week. Where are they? Are they alright?-‘

“Twilight?”

‘-Are they endangered?-‘

“Twilight?”

‘-And what dangers are present?-‘

“Twilight?”

‘-How am I-‘

“TWILIGHT!!”

Twilight jumped. “What!?” She uncharacteristically snapped from all the stress and anxiety eating at her mind. She looked around at the concerned looks of friends and blushed before it cooled and she gave an apologetic look for snapping at the other mares.

Fluttershy sat up straighter in her seat, opening her mouth, “Sorry for yelling, Twilight, but we’ve been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes. Please tell us what’s on your mind? If you want to, that is.” Fluttershy stated with a familiar shyness at the end of her almost bold statement.

Twilight felt guilt grow inside of her for spacing out. With sadden eyes she looked at everyone of her friends’ eyes, except for the orange mare for obvious reasons.

“Sorry, everypony.” Twilight meekly stated rubbing her hoof on her fetlock, “I was just thinking about all those missing ponies. What could have taken them? Are they being drugged? Hypnotized? Possibly charmed? From what the reports imply, the ponies that disappeared were all acting funny before they went into the mountains and never came back. There’s some sort of magic happening there, one that the normal Guards can’t track. I just don’t know what spell could cause any of this. Not to mention Princess Celestia is counting on me to find them and, and…”

Feeling one of her friend’s wings on her shoulders and back she stopped her mild rant. She looked to her side and found Rainbow Dash who had a small smile on her face.

“It’s going to be OK Twilight, everything is going to be OK. Breathe. Just breathe.” Dash gently coexisted, the athlet really felt bad for the lavender pony, having the responsibilities of being an element of harmony, a role model for Spike, the resident librarian for the town and top all of that off with being a newly crowned princess. She couldn’t fathom what Twilight is going through. Her experience at the young flier’s competition paled in comparison to the unknown pressures Twilight had to face.

“You know, Twilight, when I’m getting ready for a race, I get nervous. Yes, I know. The great Rainbow Dash getting nervous? Impossible, utterly inconceivable right? But I do. When it happens, I just stop and tell myself to breathe. So, Twilight, follow along with me big breath in and big breath out.” Rainbow stated doing what she said.

Twilight closed her eyes, trusting her friend. “Ok,”

Inhale, exhale.

In and out.

Inhale, exhale.

“That’s it, Twi, just breathe.” Dash encourages. After three minutes of the simple calming exercise, Twilight opened her eyes feeling a lot better and far less anxious then before.

She turned to Dash and smiled sincerely. “Thanks, Rainbow. I really needed that.”

Rainbow smirked back in triumph, “Hey! What are friends for?” She then paused and looked at the orange mare. “How is it that Applejack can sleep on the train without getting a cramp from sitting like that?” Rainbow rhetorically asked.

Twilight looked at Applejack then looked out the window then back at Applejack. Twilight pursed her lips and turned her eyes towards Pinkie with a slightly mischievous look in her eyes.

“Hey, Pinkie,” she said, “We’re almost to the Crystal Empire, right?”

Pinkie bouncing up and down excitedly in the space between seats nodded rather fast. “Well yeah, Twilight, we are almost there. Why do you ask?” Pinkie tilted her head an ear up and the other to the side, stopping her bouncing while trying to figure out what her lavender friend meant.

Twilight gave a slightly innocent smile, “Well you see, if we are almost there then shouldn’t we wake up Applejack?” Twilight asked while Rarity and Fluttershy looked at Twilight.

“You're going to let Pinke wake her up?” Rarity asked incredulously.

“Why not? She’s the only one that can wake Applejack at this point.” Twilight pointed out.

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, Ma’am, Captain Ma’am.” Pinkie stated with a mock salute.

“Oh, thank Celestia finally we can shut her up!” Rainbow yelled, not even making Applejack stir in the slightest. “Her snoring has been hurting my ears.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity reprimanded. “That was not very nice. Besides, you are far worse then Applejack if I have to compare.” Rarity preened as she looked at her reflection in the window.

Rainbow snapped her head toward Rarity. “Reeaally? Is that true, Rares?” she said slowly a growing ball of anger taking form, “And how in the hell would you know? HMM, RARITY?! ARE YOU WATCHING ME WHEN I SLEEP?” Dash was seething inside. ‘How dare she watch me sleep! that’s just creepy!’ She thought.

Rarity just calmly turned to Dash and stated, “Well it’s quite hard not to watch or hear you sleep when you keep taking naps in my spare room, my trees, or in the clouds above my boutique. I swear when I first heard your snore, I thought there was a thunderstorm. But I thought to myself. ‘That can’t be, there’s no rain scheduled for today.’ Then I saw you napping away in my tree making a ruckus that was loud enough to shake the tree you were napping in. Applejack, on the other hoof, sounds like a soft lullaby compared to you.” Rainbow Dash’s jaw had dropped and was on the floor.

“That’s so true,” Pinkie chimed. Fluttershy just shyly nodded her head in agreement. Applejack just snored.

Dash started to sputter, “W-well you talk in your sleep, Rarity. And Fluttershy sleepwalks. And don’t get me started on Pinkie Pie.”

Everybody at once started to talk at once escalating to yelling at one another.

“Why are you watching me sleep, Dash?” Rarity demanded of the pegasus.

“I don’t sleepwalk.” Fluttershy denied with a slight frown on her face.

“What do you mean ‘don’t get me started on Pinkie Pie’? Well, Dashy, I’m going to show how to get started on Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie stated rising a hoof and shaking it in the sign of revenge for the ‘insulting’ comment.

“GRAHHHHH SHOOOOOO, GRAAAAAAHHHHH SHOOOOOO!” Twilight busted out laughing at the ridiculous scene. Her nerves and anxiety completely vanished as she laughed.

Everybody just stopped and looked at her. Then they looked at each other and joined her. When everyone caught their breath, Twilight looked at Pinkie and asked, “Do you have a blow horn?” Pinkie just smiled and pulled out a blow horn out of her mane. She turned it towards Applejack and pressed the red ball on top.

-Brraaaahhhhhhhh!-

Applejack jumped from her seat hitting the ceiling in the process much like a cat that got its tail stepped on. “What tarnation was that?!?!” Applejack yelled, “Who in Celestia’s good name did that?!?” But she didn’t get an answer for about two minutes. Everyone was laughing too hard to tell her, leaving her to wait and stew in indignation.

When everyone calmed down Pinkie ratted Twilight out. "It was her idea. I was just following her orders.” Applejack looked at Twilight with hurt in her eyes.

“You know, sugar cube, that wasn’t very nice. So, you better keep an eye open tonight. I’m a comin’ for ya.”

Twilight gulp, “Yes, Ma’am.” Applejack simply smiled.

The cabin door opened and in walked a small bipedal creature covered head to tail in purple scales with green spikes along his head and spine thin green membranes acted as his ears on either side of his head he was holding a pair of earplugs in his claws. He had been in the other car trying to get away from Applejack’s snoring. The poor drake’s ears were still ringing from the noise. When he got back in with the ponies to tell them that they’re almost at the station, his purple slitted draconic eyes saw that Applejack was wide awake.

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Spike cried as he got done on his knees, holding his claws in a prayer-like fashion. “Applejack is awake! I can finally HEAR MYSELF THINK!!”

Applejack just looked at Spike. “What in tarnation are y’all going on about?” She demanded.

Fluttershy looked at Apple and softly said, “Well you see, Applejack, when you sleep you snore really loudly. I’m sorry to say but you sound like a bear with a cold.” Then she hid behind her wings in case Applejack Gave her an angry glare.

“I was thinking more of dying walrus.” Dash interjected, getting her two cents in.

“What!?” Applejack exclaimed, “I do not snore!”

“Sorry to say this, Applejack, but you do,” Rarity stated, “But it’s nothing to be ashamed of. By the way Applejack, have you seen a doctor about your little problem.”

Frustrated Twilight got their attention with a flash of light from her horn “Guys stop it. This conversation is over, are we clear? We can talk about everyone’s sleeping habits in private when this investigation is over.”

Everybody murmured, “Yes, Twilight.”

“Now, Dash,” She indicated turning towards said pony, “Tell me what’s plan again? I want to go over it one more time.” Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding.

“So here’s the plan. I will fly up in the air and watch the known trails in the mountains. While I'm in the air, you and Spike will be on the ground looking for magic residue no offense Twi but I don't think you’ve got enough practice to fly in blizzard conditions. If I see a pony on the trail, I’ll go straight to you. That will only happen ‘cause of the spell Celestia cast when she gave us this mission. So, when I give you the location of the pony, we will poof…”

“Poof?” Pinkie interrupted.

“Yes, Pinkie, poof as in teleport.” Rainbow clarified.

“Oh, ok carry on.” Pinkie stated.

“Thank you,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Now, where was I? Oh yeah, we’ll teleport to the location of the pony and follow them to wherever the missing ponies are going. Thank Celestia that Cadence gave the order that no pony is allowed to go hiking until this blows over.” Rainbow said with a hint of relief. She didn't want to rescue idiots looking for lost family members and getting lost themselves.

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, “Now…”

“We’re here! We’re here!” Pinkie interrupted again.

“Pinkie!” yelled everyone too engrossed in their planning to look out as the station they were slowly entering.

“What?” The pink party pony asked in confusion.

“Please, darling, can you stop interrupting?” Rarity asked, “It’s very rude.” Everyone else just nodded.

Pinkie Pie looked at her hooves, “Oh,” mumbled Pinkie rather sadly, “Sorry everypony. It's just that I see Cadence over at the train station! We’re going to have so much fun! We’re first going to…”

“We get it, Pinkie!” interrupted Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie jumped into Rainbow Dash’s seat and yelled right into her face, “Hey I was talking!” Dash bucked under the pink pony’s weight trying to get Pinkie off her.

“Pinky Pie, get off me. You’re heavy. What do you do all day, eat cake?” Pinkie just looked at her and nodded.

Rarity huffed, “Now, Pinkie, would you please get off poor Rainbow Dash. How would you like it if she jumped on you, hmm? And we all know you do not like to be interrupted. So please for all our sanities stop this habit. It’s uncouth.”

Pinkie scrambled off Dash while mumbling sorry. She didn’t look contrite or apologetic or anything of that sort. She got back in her seat with a huff. A little while later the wheels on the train screech to a stop. Everyone got out of their seats.

Ω

On the platform of the small station was a pink pony slightly darker in shade to Pinkie Pie with a horn and gradient wings that used a light purple at the tips of the feathers, her main was trickled with dark purple neatly black, magenta, and gold in a swirl like curl almost like a cloud though with several hairs out of place giving her a almost manic look as she paced her gold hoof guards slowly wearing a noticeable line in the station floor. On her head just behind her horn was a small golden crown that rested slightly crooked on her head, one of the small jewels almost back with ash. This Alicorn was none other then Princess Cadence, ruler of the Crystal Empire, Wife to Prince Shining Armor, Mother to Princess Flurry Heart and currently the very very stressed out Sister in Law to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

-Clop clop clop clop-

Back and forth.

-Clop clop clop clop-

Back and forth.

Stop. -Clop clop clop clop-

Back and forth.

Stop. -Clop clop clop clop-

“Your Highness.” Stated an orange pegasus clad in the crystal armor of the Empire as he got in the way of her path. Said Princess looked at him, eye twitching. She looked ready to explode into a mental breakdown that would make Twilight proud.

“Flash Sentry,” she warned with a glare that most mothers would give their children that would send them running to their rooms. “Get out of my way.”

Flash just looked at her, “Why?”

“Why? Why!? Because I said so! You need to get your brain checked if you didn’t understand an order!” She nearly shouted moving around Flash Sentry like a bull. Flash fluffed his feathers in annoyance, turning back to the worried princess.

“Your Highness,” he tried again, internally keeping his annoyance in check.

“What!?” she yelled in just an annoyedly stress induced stated that was much worse then her mood swings.

Flash gained a few points for not flinching at her tone, but then again, he was the main guard on call when Shining was absent when she had been pregnant. “Your husband, Shining Armor, charged me with the task of watching over you and protecting you. What he meant by that was I’m to protect you with the physical and the emotional. So, your majesty, I’m going to need you to calm down and breathe.” Flash looked straight into her eyes in a silent plea for her to listen to him and stop the pacing.

Cadance mumbled something under her breath, reluctantly stopping her pacing with a hefty thump of her rump hitting the platform. She relaxed her shoulders along with her wings. In and out she breathed… for only two seconds. She shot up and froze when she heard the screech of brakes on the train tracks.

“They’re here! They’re finally here!” Cadance exclaimed, dancing around like a young filly, Flash simply rolled his eyes keeping a straight face.

“Yes, they are.” Flash said with a bored tone. “Your Highness, please contain yourself. This is not how a Princess acts.”

“Oh, stop it, you just don’t want me to embarrass you in front of Twilly.” Cadance waved him off. Flash just shook his head at her antics.

Flash sucked in a breath, “No, that’s not it. You keep shipping me with your sister-in-law more then anyone else. I’m trying to help with how you conduct yourself in front of people. I was assigned to you by Princess Celestia to teach you the way of the court. But since I’m also under Shining Armor, I have a job to protect the kingdom. And by extension, you. So, by helping with courtly behaviors, I am protecting you from others thinking you are unfit to rule.” Flash looked into her eyes, willing Cadence to understand the importance of his task. But Cadence just rolled her eyes and looked at the stopped train.

Ω

Twilight stepped out of the train and immediately crashed to the ground on her back, feeling a heavy weight on top of her. When she looked up, she saw Cadence on top of her. The pink alicorn was flapping her wings excitedly almost like a hummingbird.

“OSC! Twilight you’re here!” exclaimed Cadance as she rubbed her head on Twilight.

“Cadence, get off me! I love you but not like this!” said Twilight, trying to buck Cadence off her with little success. “You’re way too heavy! What have you been eating? Haycakes?”

At this Cadence started to laugh, giving her wings a small flap and easily hovering backwards. “No, not haycakes, though I do blame the pregnancy. So, my little ladybug, how've you been?”

Twilight rolled over getting her hooves back under herself and standing up. She smiled at Cadence. “I’ve been well, but lately I've been stressed out about the disappearances. You on the other hand look like bullshit. What trouble has Flurry Heart been giving you?” Cadence glared with an eye twitch. Twilight just kept up her smile as it turned slightly smug.

Cadence took a deep breath. “Twilight,” she started, “for one you have no idea what it’s like taking care of an alicorn filly full time. For two the disappearances have taken another great toll on me in conjunction with Flurry. It also didn’t help that when I asked Celestia for help when the first pony disappeared, she just sat on her fat ass flanks and did nothing! NOTHING! TWILIGHT! NOTHING!” Cadence vented nearly shouting in the Royal Canterlot Voice not feeling like calling Celestia her aunt for this ridiculous mess. She took another big breath and sighed with defeat. “Sorry. I just feel so frustrated that it took twelve ponies disappearing for Celestia to even do something. And she just sends you, not that the choice is bad, but come on can’t she get off her pompous cake heavy ass and do something!” Cadence shouted, unconsciously having worked herself up all over again.

Twilight just backed away from the infuriated alicorn. Cadence’s wings were fluttering aggressively, and her right eye was twitching.

Twilight sighed, “Cadence.” she started, “You really need a break. Better yet you need a vacation with Shining.”

Cadence snapped out of her trance. “No, not me,” she said dryly, “I really don’t need a break. I’m perfectly fine with a screaming alicorn filly and disappearing ponies. But enough about me, guess who’s with me? Come on guess? No? Well here he is. It’s Flash Sentry! Yeee!!” Cadence giggled looking even more like Twilight during her neurotic breakdowns.

“Yeah, I know. And?” Twilight asked glancing to see her friends off to the side excluding Applejack and Spike.

“And? AND?!?” screamed Cadence, “What do mean ‘AND?’” Twilight just blinked. Cadence started to pace again. “I thought you liked him. Not like him like a friend but like him like a coltfriend.”

Back and forth.

“Cadence, you’re doing it again,” Twilight grounded out, “And besides I said that I had a small crush on him. Because when I went into that alternate universe, chasing Sunset Shimmer, I met a guy there that had the same name as Flash Sentry. He was the one I had a crush on, not the pony. Got it?”

Back and forth.

“Cadence, did you hear me?”

Back and forth.

“Ugh!” yelled Twilight, “FLASH!”

“Yes, your majesty,” asked Flash, “How may I be of service to you?”

Twilight turned towards the orange and blue pegasus and said, “Tell Cadence that I love her, get some long overdue rest, and goodbye I’ll see her later. You got all that?”

“You love her, get some rest, and goodbye you’ll see her later. Did I miss anything?” Inquired Flash as he tipped his head to the side giving a brief summary of her message.

Twilight pursed her lips, “Nope… wait one more thing. Stop shipping me with other ponies.” she stated seeing Flash nod at the added request. “I think that’s about it. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, your highness.” Flash bowed. Then Twilight turned to the rest of the Mane Six who were mostly just standing there with their mouths open in shock. Applejack on the hoof was pulling the luggage out of the train with Spike helping her the best he could. She was grumbling under her breath and around the handles about how the others were a bunch of lazy assholes. Twilight just shook her head as she filtered out some of the more colorful curse words to use later. One thing she learned from Applejack was that the mare cursed like a sailor when angry or in pain.

“Rainbow! Spike!” She called them to attention effectively causing the other four to close their muzzles. “Time to go.” She grabbed her pack and started to walk towards the trail. She heard a ‘hell yeah!’ from Dash somewhere over her head. Twilight just smiled.

“Princess Twilight!?” yelled Flash.

“Yes,” she said over her shoulder. Flash caught up to and looked her in the eye.
“Good luck,” smiled Flash.

“Thanks,” she smiled back. He nodded and turned back.

“So, the journey begins.”

Ω

The storm that blew on the mountain got worse every flap of wing that Dash made. She tried to chase the clouds away. But the wild and untamed clouds kept coming back bigger, darker, and stronger. ‘If it gets any worse, I’m going to need to ask Twilight for a weather spell to help dissipate these clouds… Oh, for Celestia’s sake, there’s lighting now. Now I'm going to have to fly around these damn things. This is worse then the Everfree Weather!’

Dash just shook her head. She was happy that in hindsight she had decided to bring and wear her Wonderbolts uniform or else she would have been a frozen pony-sicle before she even got close to the mountains that laid past the protective weather barrier of the Crystal Heart. She scanned the infamous mountain trail that took twelve ponies. She saw nothing, no tracks, no bags, not even limbs or tails sticking out of the deep snow.

‘Nothing but snow and rock.’ Rainbow thought with gritted teeth. ‘More snow… more rock… Wait a minute, what is that? Is that? No, it can’t be… there’s not supposed to be any ponies on these trails?! Where the heck is that pony going?!’ Rainbow thought in shock before determination rushed through her. ‘I’m following them.’

Dash flew closer to the pony. Their grey coat glistened in the waning light trudging closer to a large shadow cast by a nearby peak heading to an unknown destination. Dash tried to get her attention calling over the harsh winds and occasionally flying right in front of the mare’s face for what seemed like hours. But the mare ignored Dash’s efforts. She just kept on walking through the snow and blistering cold. Finally, she came upon a cave. Dash had never seen a cave like it before. The entrance looked like the gaping maw of a giant adult dragon ready to swallow anything that went inside in one gulp.

The pony Rainbow had been trailing and stepped right into its stony mouth followed by a great flash of light that suddenly blinded Rainbow while creating a white out in the blizzard. Once her vision was restored the pony was gone, having disappeared into thin air. Dash screeched to a halt, barely missing the threshold of the cave knowing it was too far for that special spell to work.

“I gotta tell Twilight!”

Ω

Twilight grumbled as she trudged in the cold snow thankful for her Alicorn biology allowing her the toughness of an earth pony and the thermal resistance of a pegasus. ‘Damn it! I’ve had these wings for months and I still can’t seem to make them work! If I knew how to fly properly, I’d be soaring above with Rainbow instead of trudging through this knee deep snow. When this mission is over, I’m moving to Las Pegasus for the winter. It’s so cold even for an Alicorn!’ She thought bitterly.

“..Wi…Lig…”

Twilight stopped in her tracks suddenly hearing something faint over the blistering winds, her movement waking a slumbering Spike in the process. She looked to the sky. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash heading towards her at breakneck speeds. Screaming, Twilight ducked nearly bucking Spike off her back.

Dash crashed into the ground, screaming over the winds and snow. “TWILIGHT, YOU NEED TO FLY NOW! ANOTHER PONY DISAPPEARED!”

“What!?!” screeched Twilight, “Dash are you ok? What do you mean another pony disappeared?!”

“I’m fine.” Dash said as she brushed off the snow. “But there’s no time to explain. I know where one of the ponies has disappeared. But we got in a hurry. So, you need to fly now!”

“But… but…”

“No buts. Now or never Twilight!” screeched Dash as flared her wings.

“Ok. Ok. I get it.” Twilight yelled. She flared her wings. Spike grabbed her mane as Twilight launched into the air.

-BANG!-

Twilight landed face first into the snow. Shaking it off, she tried again only for Rainbow to stop her. “Hoof over Spike, I’ll carry him you're not used to flying with weight just yet and flying with him on your back in this storm might not be a good idea.” Rainbow pressed.

Twilight nodded at the logic and floated Spike over to Rainbow the baby dragon trying his hardest not to fall back asleep from the cold that was starting to deep into his scales.

After several more launch attempts and a few crashes here and there into some bent pine trees over in the snow, all three of them finally made it to the cave. As Dash landed perfectly at the mouth, Twilight tumbled head over teakettle all the way to the teeth of the cave. Twilight shook her head to clear the stars from her eyes.

“So, this is where they went,” Twilight asks.

Dash shrugged, a bit unsure. “All I saw was the pony went in there and seemed to pass some sort of… barrier? It was hard to tell with the snow but the mare passed through it before a white light flashed. The mare wasn’t even a unicorn and had the glittering coat of a crystal pony.” Rainbow stated.

Twilight takes a deep breath, taking in all that information and deciding to take a risk. “Ok, let's go in.”

“Wait!” Dash yells, reaching out for Twilight, but it was too late.

Twilight had already passed a hoof over the stone teeth causing a golden barrier to materialize and split apart near her purple hood giving off a bright white light. Twilight turned around yelling, “DASH! SPIKE! HELP!” A powerful blast of magic from the light knocked into Rainbow sending her rocketing backwards like a meteor with Spike losing grip on the pegasus.

Everything was dark, numb and muted the moment Twilight gained a bit of her consciousness, not enough to find out where she was but enough she knew she was suffering from magical burnout and a rather severe case at that. ‘My horn is numb, my wings feel like I got shocked by lightning and my hoofs feel like rubber.’ Twilight mentally listed, trying to move, but she felt like there was a giant weight on top of her. She pushed up on her front legs wanting to get out from under the weight holding her down yet she barely put any of her own weight down when her legs buckled, unable to give support.

“Shhh. It’s ok.” A smooth and deeply rich voice whispered into her ear a sense of calm and security wrapping around her like a blanket. “It’s ok, my little Star, everything is going to be alright. Sleep. And when you awake everything will be clear.” She lost consciousness once more while in that safe warmth.

In the Dark of the Night [edited]

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In the Dark of the Night

(The music for IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT FROM ANASTASIA)

[Musical insert]

Deep in a cave as old as time itself the slowly rising times of musical instruments began to echo and increase in volume. Said music woke up an ancient being that had been asleep for over two hundred years.

“What’s happening down there?” he gripped as the instruments got louder. In the darkness of the room only lit by a few candles, the sillier of a stallion raised himself from what looked like a bed made of soft plush pillows and blankets. The stallion turned his head to the cracked open set of doors as his ears picked up the ever increasing music.

“There better be a good reason for interrupting my sleep! I’m coming down!” He called shrugging off a light blanket from his back. He stretched out his long legs, a pair of feathered wings spread from his back popping along the joints. Popping his neck the annoyed black alicorn stallion stomped his hooves as he lit his horn in a red aura swinging open the door, exited the obvious bedroom, turned right, and went down the stairs. He was hoping to alert the noise makers of his coming so they would stop. But alas, they didn’t hear him. No, they kept playing their infernal instruments like it was the end of the world. But for them, if he got his hooves on them, it would be their end.

“What the…?” He said when he finally got to the bottom of the stairs. Multiple bluish white ‘ghosts’ with the head and forelegs similar to ancient horses were swaying to the beat of the music and in the middle of the large cave filled with these creatures that made frost and ice in their wake a lone grey unicorn stallion.

He laughed, “Well looky there. My clone finally returned in one piece. And he is actually singing. This could be fun.”

Wild harmony magic spread out from the single unicorn as the first verse was sung.

“In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning
And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be --
It scared me out of my wits --
A corpse falling to bits!
Then I opened my eyes
And the nightmare… was me!!”

He was above average in height with a curved red tipped horn instead of a typical spiraled one, he wore silver armor over his hooves and chest, a thick red cape covered his back and flanks. The alicorn scowled at the ever- shifting ebony mane and tail as the pony continued to sing joined by the spirits, noting the sickly green eyes of corruption in the stallion down below. ‘Of course the Wendigos would be attracted to the pompous ego my clones always seem to end up with… must be that traitor’s magic mixing with the clone’s cores when they pass the barrier.’ The alicorn thought as he made his way to the center of the cave all while taking his time.

“I was once the most mystical pony in all Equestria.”

A trio of Wendigos lined up behind the stallion acting as a backup choir. “Oh~ wa~ oh~” the trio sang in a deep harmony. The stallion easily picked up the next line.

“When the royals betrayed me they made a mistake!”

“Oh~ wa~ oh~”

“My curse made each of them pay
But one little filly got away!
Little Twilight, beware,
King Sombra's awake!”

‘Twilight? Who the hay is Twilight?’ he wondered. “He better have finished that mission that I created him to do. By Harmony is he calling himself King?!” he mused in some annoyance as he watched the clone dance and sing on the crystalline floor at the entrance of the cave.

[Wendigos]
“In the dark of the night evil will find her
In the dark of the night just before daw~n!
Aah~!”

[King Sombra]
“Revenge will be sweet.”

[King Sombra and Wendigos]
“When the curse is complete!”

[ALL]
“In the dark of the night!
In the dark of the night!”

[King Sombra]
“She'll be gone!”

[Wendigos]
“Oh~ oh~ oh~”

[King Sombra]
“I can feel that my powers are slowly returning!
Tie my sash and a dash of cologne for that smell!
As the pieces fall into place,
I'll see her crawl into place!
Dos Vidaniya, Twilight, Your Grace!
Farewell…”

“This mare must have done a number on him if he hates her that much.” The Alicorn contemplated as he walked towards the clone the Wendigos in his way scattering like waves in his wake. “Well it’s time to collect the memories and end this clone’s existence once and for all. It outlived its use.”

[Wendigos]
“In the dark of the night terror will strike her!”

[King Sombra]
“Terror's the least I can do!”

It pointed at the ‘sky’ with a menacing grin.

[Wendigos]
“In the dark of the night evil will bre~w.
Ooh!”

[King Sombra]
“Soon she will feel that her nightmares are real.”

[ALL]
“In the dark of the night!”

[King Sombra]
“She'll be through!”

[Wendigos]
“In the dark of the night
Evil will find her
Find her!
Ooh~!
In the dark of the night terror comes true~
Doom her!”

[King Sombra]
“My dear, here's a sign~”

[King Sombra and Wendigos]
“It's the end~ of the line~!”

[ALL]
“In the dark of the night~
In the dark of the night~
In the dark of the night~”

The Wendigos dropped their instruments and flew towards the clone.

[King Sombra]
“Come my minions,
Rise for your master,
Let your evil shine!
Find her now,
Yes, fly ever faster!”

The Wendigos started to form a funnel. Rising higher and higher.

[ALL]
‘In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...’

[King Sombra]
“She'll be mine!”

He felt a tap and his shoulder he spun around about to shout only to come face to face with his own reflection if he was nearly a head taller, built like a tank, had wings, and red highlights in his mane tail and feathers. The Alicorn smiled, revealing a set of teeth akin to shark teeth. “Hello and goodbye.” The Alicorn stated and slammed his hoof down on the clone’s skull.

-POP!-

“And he’s no more.” The Alicorn stated as he looked at the goop that was once a messed-up copy of him. “Sweet Harmony that stinks gets worse every time they return from inside the barrier!” Alicorn Sombra complained mainly to himself as the Wendigos began to settle around like lost pigeons looking for scraps. “Shoo! The lot of you. Go on! Get out of here!” Sombra said as chased the Wendigos off. “Bunch of frost vultures. Well, goop, at least you were good for something. Even though you gave yourself a stupid title. You actually accomplished the task I created you for.” He said as he set the remains of the clone on fire. “You found my Midnight Star!”

“I’m telling you reincarnation is real, Twilight!” [edit]

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Boom!

"Ugg… Why does everything hurt?” groaned Dash. She tried to open her eyes to see what’s going on but all she saw was red. Thick, goopy, copper smelling, red liquid in her face.

‘Wait…’ She thought, ‘Is that blood? I haven’t smelled that since going to the Factory.’ She tried to get on back her hooves, but they crumbled underneath her. Pain, thick white hot lightning from a wild storm kind of pain shot through her body. Crying out, Dash fell to the ground. She finally raised a hoof to wipe the blood off her eyes, smearing it even deeper into her fur, but that simple act felt like the hardest thing she ever attempted to do.

Crimson red eyes widened at the destruction all round her now that her vision was mostly clear of the red liquid. She was in the middle of a crater spanning 20 feet in both directions. All around her was soot and shiny white stuff. Dash thought she saw a skull somewhere. But she dismissed it, because that would be preposterous. Cries were heard off in the distance. Still not knowing where she was, Dash thought, ‘Spike! Where’s Spike?! Twilight’s going to kill me if Spike is missing!’

“Spike!” Dash croaked as she looked around the crater, but the blood kept flowing into her eyes. Dash frustration grew more and more as the minutes passed.

“Why can’t I walk?!” Dash yelled into the wind. But one answered. Pain shot through her spine, causing her to cry out. Dash started to cry to her only companion, the wind. “Somepony please help me!”

Ω

The Crystal Sentries ran towards the explosion. The whole southern sector was up in flames. Civilian ponies were running from the danger. No one knew what was going on. It was utter chaos. There was a crater where once there had been a thriving residential sector. Houses, destroyed. Parks, in flames. Families, torn apart. Ponies, gone.

“What is that?!” a sentry yelled.

“The hell if I know!” yelled another.

“Is it a monster?” The obviously rather greenhorn sentry pressed

“No, I don’t think so the Heart deters most beasts.” An older, more experienced sentry answered.

“Then what was it?”

“Something’s over here!” A scout called pointing a hoof at the slowly clearing dust and smoke from the epicenter of the crater. “I see injured! A Dragon and a Pegasus! Unsure on status!” The scout called his pegasus eyes picking out the forms.

The leader took charge motioning to four unicorns, floating medical supplies and some stretchers that just arrived.

“Somepony get down there now!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hey they’re alive! Get the paramedics over here, now!”

Ω

A song played in the background of Twilight’s dreams. Each note brought peace to her troubled mind. Though she didn’t know the words or what language it was in, yet Twilight could have sworn she heard it before. The singer on the other hoof, she didn’t know who they were guessing it was a stallion from how deep the voice was. She didn’t want him to stop as her ears swiveled and twitched to listen to more. His voice was richer then dark chocolate, smoother then glass, and deeper then the ocean. Twilight swore she could listen to him all day.

The singing stopped. ‘No, No, No, keep singing, please!’ she begged in her mind. Chuckling, the voice continued. Feathers brushed her chest. Then the voice nuzzled her neck as more feathers brushed her chest again. It was starting to tickle. The voice stopped singing. Twilight didn’t like that at all as she made a very needy sounding whine.

“Twilight,” the voice said as he nuzzled her neck, “Twilight, love, it’s time to get up.” She just shook her and turned. “No, don’t do that, Love. Now get up.” The sheet was suddenly gone. Cold air penetrated Twilight’s once warm cocoon.

Twilight shot straight up partly from the cold and the other part to lecture at the pony stealing her cocoon, yelling the first thing that came to her mind. “Fine, jack-o-lantern! Wait… what?”

‘Where the hell did that come from? That was so out of the blue even for me.’ Twilight thought in confusion. She looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar place. This was not her room nor her library, it wasn’t even a guest room at Canterlot or a hospital room. The room Twilight found herself in was one ginormous and two was like nothing she has ever seen. All around her it was black, not just the color but the actual material was this light absorbing black. The high walls that seemed to have no ceiling. But then again it might have been the canopy blocking her view.

A mural was painted on the top of the canopy. It depicted a story. In the middle was a beautiful silver alicorn surrounded by smaller alicorns, earth ponies, pegasus, and unicorns. And all were giving this silver alicorn something from their element. The earth ponies gave her fruits of the earth. The unicorn gave magic. Pegasus gave the fruits of the sky. While the alicorns, well, Twilight didn’t know what they gave. It looked like some kind of crystal. Twilight noticed that behind the silver alicorn was the Tree of Harmony.

‘What is this!?!’ She thought in shock. ‘This can’t be right! The Tree’s not supposed to be here!’ But as she thought, a soft red aura enveloped her lifting her up along with the covers. Twilight took the time to look around the room thinking, ‘Well if I’m in the air, might as well see where I’m at.’ The floor was polished black marble shot through with red and silver blots of frozen lightning. A rug made out of fur of an animal she couldn’t identify was on the floor in front of her. The fur was gray with red polka dots. Twilight was pulled towards a pure white couch. A fireplace with a blazing fire roaring inside of it was right by the couch. It was so white that the flames of the fire reflected off the couch and blinded her for a second. Gently the red magic set her down on the snow white couch, wrapping her in the blanket. Finally, her warm cocoon returned. Twilight snuggled back into the cocoon. Noticing the blanket wasn’t right, Twilight started to use her magic to fix it. She jumped when she heard someone chuckle. She had forgotten she wasn’t the only pony in the room.

“Who’s there?” Twilight yelled out in both fear and curiosity.

“Shh Love, no need to shout,” the voice said with a sound of grin, “you’re safe here.” A smile was the first thing Twilight saw out of the darkness, then an obsidian hoof came next. And out of the darkness came one of her greatest nightmares.

“K-King S-Sombra!”

Ω

‘Finally, after over 3000 years my clone found her. Granted she looks different then she did last time I saw her, but that doesn’t matter. I will finally hold her in my forelegs once again. Right after the fear in her eyes is gone.’ Sombra amended in his mind as he watched her face.

“K-King S-Sombra?!?” She squeaked. “You’re supposed to be dead! How are you still alive?!?” Twilight was still trying to climb the couch but kept falling back down. Sighing, Sombra used his magic to pick the poor mare up and set her gently back on the couch. He wrapped her again in the blanket, enchanting a calming spell in the fabric. It seemed to work. She wasn’t trying to run away again. So that’s a bonus. She looked at him, locking eyes, those beautiful amethyst eyes of hers flashed with questions he could barely keep track of. She asked, “How are you still alive? I saw you turn into smoke after the Crystal Heart was restored.”

Sombra suddenly felt sheepish. He totally forgot that he destroyed one of his clones again. But at least it wasn’t a total failure, that clone did find his beloved’s reincarnation after all. “Well you see, Twilight is it?” he asked. She nodded her head. He continued, “that was just a clone. The purpose was to find the reincarnation of my soul mate Midnight Star and bring her back to me. But every time I send out a clone it gets corrupted by the barrier that She has all around Equestria. But this time the infernal thing finally did its job. It found you.”

“Me?” shocked she pointed to herself, “Why me? I’m nothing special except for being the princess of friendship. But I wasn’t back then.”

“Yes, you. You’re the rencar… wait princess of what?” asked Sombra, “Princess of Friendship? How can somepony be a princess of an abstract idea? Who gave you that ridiculous title?”

“Princess Celestia of course,” His beloved stated matter of fact. Sombra’s blood turned to ice at the mention of that name. He barely heard her speak over the blood rushing in his ears, but some of her rant, “It’s not a ridiculous title! And for your information friendship is power.” She huffed as she turned away, “So what were you going to say before you insulted my title, hmm KING Sombra?” she said with all the sass in her little body. Like seriously, he could wrap his wing around her, and she’ll disappear from the world. ‘Come to think of it, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. Oh! She asked a question. Gotta answer.’ Sombra thought

“As I was saying. Oh, sweet Harmony, give me patience. You, Twilight, are the reincarnation of Midnight Star.”

“Say what now?”

Ω

Did she hear right? Did he really just say that? It officially he’s bonkers.

“Wait did you just say that I’m the reincarnation of Midnight Star? Who happen to be your soul mate? And how the hay do you know that?” Twilight asks in suspicion. She looked straight into his ruby like eyes to catch him in a lie. Oh, how she wanted him to lie. Because if he is lying then all she was taught is true. And Princess Celestia is not a liar. And if Princess Celestia is not a liar then all of Equestria is safe and all is right. Besides her mentor would never lie or betray her, right?
Right.

“How do I know you ask.” he said in his deep sultry voice, “I know because of your eyes.”

“My eyes? What about my eyes?” she asked, ‘Great, this guy should belong in the loony bin’ she thought as she studies him some more. And the more she studied him the more things didn’t add up. First thing she notice is that the helmet he always wears is gone. She finally can see his face. He had white patch on his nose amidst the obsidian fur. And instead of a gray body and a black mane everywhere was black except for his nose and the tips of his mane. They looked like they were dipped in the blood of the innocents. And his horn wasn’t curved but looked like a spiraling piece of obsidian glass.
There was also a weird design on his shoulders that had a metallic sheen to it. “Wait a minute!” Twilight exclaimed, “You have WINGS! How do you have wings!”

“Oh, these things?” he said as he lifted one up showing off the large wing. “As far as I know I always had them.” The wing was massive. It stretched all the way to the fireplace and was barely touching the fire. And from where he was sitting that’s about nine steps for a mare of Twilight's height, give or take a few, to the fireplace. The tips of the wing looked like it had been dipped into red a deep as molten lava. It clicked into her head ‘He’s an alicorn! But only Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Flurry Heart, and myself are the last of the alicorns! But here he is, proof of a male alicorn!’ Twilight thought as her world was pulled under hoof like a rug she had been told was genuine only to find out it was a fake.

“Twilight.”

‘A male alicorn. How could this be?’

“Twilight, love…”

‘This can't be true. Princess Celestia said that there’s none left.’

“My Love, are you ok?”

‘Could she have been lying the whole time?’

“Oh, no, not again. Twilight! Come back to me!”

‘No, I wouldn’t do that. Princess Celestia won’t lie to me.’

“Twilight, my love, please come back to me! Don’t retreat to your mind!”

‘This is a dream. Yes! A dream!’ Twilight thought in her mental breakdown. She would wake up in her library in her bed surrounded by her books. Spike would run in her bedroom saying that Princess Celestia… warmth surrounded her as downy feathers brushed her fur. Obsidian legs encased around her sides and chest as it brought her to a soft surface. Something heavy landed on her head and a purring sound came from the soft surface. Anxiety immediately flew from her body. But now she faced a different problem. Twilight was becoming hot. Like being in an oven and turning into a pastry kind of hot. She tried to move but those obsidian legs won’t let her go. And the purring increased. That purring was going to turn her into jelly if she was not careful.

“Are you feeling better now?” said the purring mass. She wiggled some more.

“Yes… no… maybe… gah!” she said through the rivers of sweat the heat messing with her mind she wanted to cast a spell to cool the air around her but couldn’t concentrate enough to recall it. “Please, get off me. You’re literally a walking oven for your information.” King Sombra finally got off of her, but he left one of his wings covering her. She looked at the wing. Then she looked at him. Looked at the wing. Looked at him.

“No, I’m not removing it.” Sombra stated with a playful smirk.

“Dang,” she swore, “Hey, why can’t I cuss?”

“Because I forbade it… a long time ago. No cursing in my home or in my presence.” he answered.

“And who gave you the right?” she countered. ‘Who does he think he is! Taking away my ability to cuss. I can talk however I want.’ She thought with a huff. She tried to shake off the wing, but he will just put it right back on top of her. After the fifth time she tried to get it off her, King Sombra just pulled her closer to his side with his wing and wouldn't budge.

“I’m not getting into this argument with you again, Twilight.” He sighed.

“Excuse me?!” she yelled, “Again!? This is the first time we had this discussion. And if it’s because of reincarnation then I am calling BS. And by Celestia, get off me!” She bucked. This was her last ditch effort to get him off of her. ‘And by Celestia’s mane, he’s coming off.’ Came the thought.

King Sombra quickly turned around and pinned her on her back to the sofa. His red eyes flashing. Magic rising in his horn. Twilight didn’t notice this before, but his eyes didn’t have green around the iris nor did purple smoke come out of his eyes. Black magic wasn’t present in his eyes. The red magic pulled her front legs above her head. He got close to her face.

“Twilight, pay attention to what I am about to say.” He commanded as his breath caressed her face, “I’m telling you reincarnation is real, Twilight. And you are living proof. How do I know this? It is your eyes. Your eyes are the same from one reincarnation to another. And another thing, stop calling me king. That is a grave insult. I am an alicorn, the only Demigod! The only Demigod! I am the first! The first being Harmony created. The first creature to walk the land. And to call me king would be spitting in her face and all she stood for! So, don’t you dare call me king! And do not ever speak that traitor’s name in my presents again.”

Fear laced its way into Twilight’s bones. Not only was she under an enraged alicorn, but she couldn’t move. Fear was her name now. She shut her eyes hoping he couldn’t hear her galloping away from her chest. `Please don’t kill me.’ she thought as she waited for the final blow. But it never came. Instead she felt something nuzzling her neck. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that King- err no, Sombra’s face was buried into her neck. She started to squirm when he started kissing her neck. It felt weird and right somehow all at the same time. Like she did this before.

“Hey, K… I mean Sombra?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?”

“Uhh…”

“If you don’t know then could you please get off me. You’re really heavy!” She tried to push him off, but he wouldn’t budge. She would take the wing any day over this. “Are you purring? I didn’t know ponies could purr.”

“The purring, as you call it, is only affiliated with male alicorn when they are either: courting their given mate, preparing their said mate, or calming and or comforting their mate. And right now, before you ask, I am calming you down. Your heart rate was too erratic. I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen. And still your heart rate is still erratic. So, to answer your question about me getting off you. No, I will not. You are still in no shape to walk around right now.”
She just glared at him.

“Horsecrap!” she exclaimed, “The only reason that my heart rate is up is because you’re on top of me! And how do I know you’re not going to kill and eat me!” He just laughed. She was serious and he just laughed. How inconsiderate of him. His red eyes twinkled with mirth.

“Sweetheart, I’m not going to eat you, at least not the way you’re thinking. But saying that you’re not in shape to walk around was just an excuse. The truth is that I like being on top of you.” He said with a toothy sharp smile, Twilight noticed that all of his teeth were like daggers. And that same familiar feeling came creeping up, fear came knocking. Blood was rushing in her ears as she heard Sombra say, “but I can see from your point of view. A stranger claiming that you are his reincarnated mate suddenly is on top of you. I do not blame them for freaking out. But what I do not get is this. The first thing to pop into that beautiful head of yours is not rape but that I’m going to kill and eat you. Why? Why did you think that?”

“Uhh… I-I don’t know.” Twilight stammered as she looked into his eyes, “It was the first thing to pop into my head and I said it. Rape didn’t occur to me. But now that you said it. Are you going to rape me then kill me and eat me?”

Sombra looked appalled that Twilight would even say that, “No way in Tartarus would I ever do such a foul thing! I would never rape you nor will I kill you! Why in sweet Harmony’s name would I do that?” he exclaimed.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged her shoulders, “Evil diabolical plan, maybe?”

“Sweet Harmony, give me patience.” He mumbled into her shoulder. He really liked putting his head there.

“Hey, Sombra?” she asked,” Who’s Harmony?”

“Geez having a conversation with you is giving me whiplash,” he grumbled again, “do you remember the mural on the bed over there?” she nodded. “Well the alicorn in the middle is Harmony when she walked the land. Harmony is the creator and sole provider of Equestria. And the Tree of Harmony is her body turned into a tree after she let her spirit go to Void to manage them and rule The world from that side. When she gave up her spirit, she gave the ponies and other creatures a chance to find their own paths.”

“But what about the Elements of Harmony?” she asked, “Because I’m the element of magic.”

“The Elements of Harmony,” he started, “they are the aspects of Harmony’s magic and personality. The reason I believe that you are an element is because you are on your seventh reincarnation which is unheard of. Considering that all ponies reincarnate six times. And six times their spirit goes back to Void to be recycled so it can be turned into a creator soul. And before you ask, a creator soul is a soul that has not been reincarnated. They are rare now and very powerful but there are some out there somewhere.”

“How do you know that I was reincarnated seven times, not twice or four times?”

He just smiled, “how do I know? Well by looking at your soul and seeing that the six-sided soul crystal -that everyone has- all of its sides are glowing. Meaning your last reincarnation should have your last. And if you die right now your soul would be recycled. But be rest assured I will never let you die again. I am never going through that again.” Sombra stated going a little on a tangent while poking his hoof at her cutie mark, urking Twilight’s intellectual mind.

“You saw me die, didn’t you?” Twilight asked in barely a whisper.

“Yes, I did. And for you to remember me. To remember us. You will too.” He said with unhealed sorrow and grief in his voice. His red eyes glisten with unshed tiers. He closed his eyes to stop them from falling. Twilight wanted to comfort him, but not only did she not know how but she physically couldn’t because he had her hooves pinned down.

“Sorry,” she barely heard him. He opened his eyes. Determination flooded his gaze like a dam opening its flood gates. With a quivering voice she asked him, “How are you going to make me remember?”

“A spell!” he answered with an almost mad pony grin. “A spell by Harmony’s design that will take you back to your first reincarnation. You will relive your life as Midnight Star until her death. And when you come back you will remember everything. You will remember what we shared, that our minds were one. Because you are my soulmate, you will also receive my memories also. This is the only way. It will not hurt.”

“Wait a minute, how do you know you’re not projecting her memories onto me?!” she asked in a panic. The walls were closing in. Sombra was getting heavier. She was trapped! She had to get out of there!

“Shh it is alright. No one is going to hurt you.” He whispered in her ear. The purring increased in tempo causing her bones to turn into jello. “You are safe here. It is ok. Sleep and remember.”

Red magic flashed into her eyes causing them to droop. A song started to play as images flashed before her eyes. Twilight fell asleep… and she started to remember.

Sombra smiled at Twilight’s sleeping face and got off his beloved. Using his magic, he gently levitated her up and set her down on the bed fixing the blankets to keep her warm and cozy before he crawled into bed with her. Sombra curled himself around his love like a lion protecting his mate as the spell worked its magic on her. As he laid there listening to her even breathing, he studied Twilight. The difference he found was that Twilight purple fur, the light purple and magenta streak in her mane while Midnight had oceanic blue and a light blue steak. He smiled as he cuddled closer to her. She might look a little different but she was Midnight Star through and through his own proof, was that no cursing order tied to her soul. He laid his head on her neck with a wing over her back intending to never let her out of his sight again.

A vision of a blood soaked road, a crying filly and an unmoving blue mare on the ground flashed in his mind.

‘Never again.’

Once upon my Midwinter (Arc two) [edited]

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‘Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things you almost remember’

A ghost of green and blue unicorn raced across Twilight’s vision, laughing at someone behind her. “Do I know her?” whispered Twilight as she floated in the gray mist. Another unicorn, this time pink and yellow, was dancing in a ballroom.

‘And a song
Someone sings
Once upon my Winter’

“Who’s singing?” The vision changed. Fire burned the forest as ponies ran. Wendigos chasing frighten ponies. Picking them off one by one. A unicorn with her eyes was frozen to death.

“Someone holds you safe and warm
Alicorns prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully across your memory!
Ah~.”

A scream cuts through the song. Pain slicing Twilight side as a knife is shown in her vision. A mare with her eyes lay dying on the ground. Snow white hooves leaving the scene.

‘Someone holds you safe and warm
Alicorns prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully across your memory!’

Twilight felt fire going down her throat as she heard Celestia’s voice.

“This is the only way for harmony to continue in safety. I’m sorry little one, I cannot let you live. You will bring Him here. Now drink!”

“Far away!
Long ago!
Glowing dim as an ember~”

A yellow unicorn is reading a book using her magic around her library. She had Twilight’s eyes. Luna and Celestia arguing over a dead body of the unicorn. Though this Luna looks much taller and older almost similar to Nightmare Moon but with her current colors.

“How long is this cycle going to continue Sister?!? This is unfair to her! To them! There has to be another way! You need to let go of your grudge and for once just listen to me! ” Luna shouted at her sister. Celestia is seen scowling and shouting something before storming off not even bothering to turn around as Luna looked shocked with tears rolling down her muzzle. Luna is later seen burying the body silently still crying. “I’m so… so sorry… I promise… I’ll make my sister pay for ignoring Us.”

‘Things your heart
Used to know’

Sombra dancing with a mare with an ice blue coat. She also had Twilight’s eyes. Whispering sweet nothings in her ear. It looked like they were happy. Pain laced through Twilight’s body, starting with her legs. Then it spread throughout the rest of her body. She looked down only to find ribbons of red slicing across her body. She cried out for help, but none came until it was too late. She saw Princess Celestia’s rainbow mane as cuts bloomed all over her skin and fur.

A flash of Sombra’s red eyes filled with tiers as it went black.

“Things it yearns to remember
And a song someone sings~”

A ghost of a small filly looked up with tear stained fur right into Twilight’s very soul singing the last of the song with a misty cloud of shimmering silver in a hazy outline of a very large unicorn mare possibly larger then Celestia.

“Once upon my Winter~~”

“Midnight! You goin’ to be late! Wake up!” A new voice broke through the haze.

‘Oh Sh…’

Rember [edited]

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(Present: Crystal Kingdom)

Fluttershy flew to the infirmary. She couldn’t get there fast enough. The others were hot on her heels. Spike and Rainbow Dash were found at the bottom of the crater that suddenly appeared. Spike was barely recognizable, half of his dragon body a charred mess. On the other hoof, Dash was not. When she was found, she was a pile of bloody, breathing, bony flesh. The only thing that was recognizable was her lightning bolt cutie mark, and that was after the paramedics cleaned up the blood. Unfortunately, Dash and Spike were the only survivors found at the scene. At least that’s what Fluttershy heard.

Fluttershy, with her wings flapping at high speed, flew through the hospital’s doors, nearly crashing into a poor nurse.

“Sorry,” she whisper-yelled at the nurse whom she nearly ran over. ‘But you didn’t have to say those things.’ She thought as she finally made it to Dash’s room. Rarity was already there. ‘I can’t stop! I’m going too fast!’

Fluttershy flew straight into the wall. “Fluttershy! Oh, dear, are you alright?” Rarity exclaimed as she ran to her fallen friend.

“Yeah. I’m alright, Rarity,” Fluttershy answered as Rarity helped her up from the ground. “How is Rainbow Dash doing? I’ve already seen Spike. He’s already walking around asking for Twilight. What are we going to tell him?”

“The truth, darling, that Twilight is missing,” Rarity answered softly. “As for Dash, well, have a look for yourself.” Rarity stepped out of Fluttershy’s view. A mummy lay on the bed with blood stains all over its coverings.

“Is she alive?” Fluttershy murmured as she stared at the unmoving mass.

“Fortunately, she is,” the white unicorn answered the yellow pegasus. “The good news is that Princess Celestia is coming. And she has a spell to help Rainbow Dash.”

“That’s good,” whispered Fluttershy with tears in her eyes. “Princess Celestia will heal her.”

“Yes, yes she will.”

ΩTwilightΩ

‘I’M LATE!’ An ice blue unicorn mare with an ocean blue mane and tail with a light blue stripe tied up in hastily made buns. A sign she worked for an Alicorn.

A ghostly purple Alicorn appeared beside the mare running alongside her before she began to get pulled into the mare starting to hear the mare’s thoughts while seeing what she did.

ΩMidnightΩ

The cobblestone clacked as I raced down the street. The word late rang through my head as I crashed through the busy streets of the dense city known as Harmonia. ‘I’m going to be transferred for sure! This was going to be… what, the third time this week that I had been late? A’stavera didn't like tardiness, and I had already been late three times this week! Why, oh why did I have to live all the way across town? This job was going to be the death of me. Jeez!’ I thought in panic.

I huffed and puffed all the way down Mane Street. She yelled a quick hi to the baker. He was a great earth pony, too bad the Alicorns pretty much hated him. Well not him specifically, but earth ponies in general. Even though Harmony said everyone was made equal and to treat each of us that way, the general Alicorn population thought earth ponies were no better than bugs. ‘I'm lucky I was born a unicorn. At least we unicorns have magic and are treated like servants instead of cattle like the pegasi.’ I idly thought to myself.

A scream pierced the air. I looked up and saw a pegasus flying as fast as she could as two Alicorns chased her through the sky. Their magic looked ready to kill. I went back to running. ‘There’s nothing to see here. Just a normal day in Harmonia.’ Damn it! Why did they make her land here of all places? ‘Happy thoughts, Midnight. Think happy thoughts, you can do this.’ Oh god!

The poor green pegasus screamed, “I was only trying to provide for my family. Please have mercy!” She tried to wriggle her way out from underneath the grey Alicorn’s foot.

The grey one just laughed. “Well then, little sheep, you should not have stolen those apples. Am I right, Jorno?” he said as he looked at his partner. Jorno just smiled, showing his dagger-like teeth. His dark blue coat glistened in the sunlight as he circled the trembling pegasus. Oh, how the Alicorns liked their games. Why did Harmony make these things again?

“I think you are right, Zac’n,” Jorno replied. “What punishment shall we give this wayward sheep, hm?”

“Well,” Zac’n answered, “since she stole from us, I think the punishment should be her wings!” At this the green pegasus renewed her efforts to get away. For what is a pegasus without her wings? Dirt. No better than an earth pony. An outcast.

The Alicorns just laughed at her plight.

“What a great idea, Zac’n!” Jorno said (he seemed to get off on this stuff), “let’s take her wings! I mean, it’s only fair right?”

“Right!”

“NO, PLEASE! HARMONYPLEASEHELPME! MAKETHEMSTOP!” she screamed to the heavens in hopes the Creator would hear her plea. But no pony answered. And no pony came. ‘This is why I hate coming to the main street. I run into Alicorns asserting their dominance on us lesser beings. At least no one died today. Unless I’m late to that, too.’

The Alicorns’ horns flashed, their magic coming to light. A force field surrounded them and the pegasus so that her blood wouldn’t splatter all over the place. Yeah, they were courteous like that. Grey and blue magic grabbed hold of her wings as the Alicorns backed away from her. They made eye contact with each other and smiled. Then they started to pull. Her tortured screams, I’d swear, could be heard all the way to The Grand Neptune’s Lake. And that’s five leagues in the opposite direction. Slowly her wings were rent from her body. Rivers of red stained green fur. Slowly, the white of bone was exposed to the elements. ‘Til finally…

-CRACK!-

The pegasus’s bones snapped in two. Ripping the wings off her body, the Alicorns grinned evilly. Blood painted the cobblestones as the once proud pegasus wept for her lost wings. To add insult to injury, the Alicorns kicked her to the ground, bathing her in her own blood. Laughing, they waved her wings about like flags, yelling at an earth pony to clean up the mess. I would have moved around this mess. However, when the Alicorns wanted to teach a lesson, usually with either a pegasus or an earth pony, but fortunately not a unicorn (how else were they going to keep their fancy palace clean?), everyone was required to watch. And I mean everyone. Or everyone got punished. Better one pony’s wings than all ponies’ lives.

If Harmony was here, it would be a different story. But she wasn’t here. ‘And now I’m later than before.’ Great. Just great. Now I was screwed up a tree and twice as fucked. So, I started running. Again.

After dodging traffic and weaving through carts, I finally made it to A’stavera’s outlandish home. And this place was by far the most ridiculous place I had ever seen. Considering I’d been to two others, that was saying something. So, to start off, the place rose to five floors. And the windows were placed randomly. For example, one of the windows was carelessly tossed in-between floors. I could see the actual floor of one story and the ceiling of the one above. And the whole place was a lewd, garish pink! Not a calming pink. Oh, no. This horrid color was the definition of an in-your-face-detestable-I-am-Pink kind of pink which could cause bile to rise up in your throat. The inside was even more of a mess since it was a freaking labyrinth! And this insanity came from one of the Alicorns of Order! What the hay! I had to have a map the first time I got here. After three flights of stairs going up and down, forty-four twists and turns, and a freaking riddle I had to solve, I finally made it to A’stavera’s chambers. Goody.

Exasperated, I huffed and puffed as I pushed the heavy oak door open, praying to Harmony that the “orderly” Alicorn was still asleep. Well, I guess not. Aw, sh…

“YOU’RE LATE!”

Ω TWILIGHT Ω

The mare felt herself get pulled from the small unicorn through the air, watching the sun move backwards and getting slammed into the familiar hunched over form of Sombra writing at a desk just as another Alicorn phased through the office door with a silvery ever changing coat and hair. She gave a small wink at the ghostly mare as she melded with Sombra’s thoughts.

Ω

ΩSOMBRAΩ

“You could, I don’t know, socialize more?” A voice suggested from the doorway.

I slammed the feather pen down on the oaken desk at which I was working. I blew a black and red tipped strand of hair out of my face as I turned towards the most infuriating, most bothersome, *sigh* most lovable, and kindest being in all of Harmonia.

“Well, hello to you, Harmony,” I snapped back as I searched for the pen which had fallen onto the floor. Why did they do that? It’s not like this was one of those ball-point pens that those bipeds used in other dimensions. So annoying.

“Harrumph,” she answered back, “Can you tell me again why you decided to sequester yourself within your chambers all day and not socialize?” She asked as she trotted around my study. Her silvery coat flashed purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white - just these colors, nothing else and in that exact order.

“Did you notice you just answered your own question,” I countered feeling smug. With her, that feeling never lasted long. Harmony had the special gift of making the proud very humble very quickly.

“Really, my little pony?” She raised her eyebrow. “How so?”

“Socializing,” I enunciated each syllable. “I do not socialize. Those alicorns you made really burned it out of me. ‘Oh, look at me, I am a pretty little pony! Watch me prance!’ ‘Oh, look at my wings! Are they not gorgeous? I am better than you are so I am allowed to make your life miserable,’” I sung, mocking the stupid alicorns as I fluttered around my beautiful study, making a full circuit around Harmony. When I was finished, I just stared at her.

“Well they are not fulfilling their role, are they?” Harmony asked with an almost rhetorical tone. “They are not acting like the servants I had envisioned them to be, and they are not serving nor protecting my children. I know this, and their time is coming, but that time is not today.”

“I am a Demigod,” I started to say but rethought my words when Harmony lifted up one of her four wings.

“Sombra, you are my first creation, my own son in the flesh, the only Demigod. I made this world for you, so you would not be lonely. I created the unicorns for you to teach the ways of magic. I made the pegasi with which you could soar the skies and teach them to help control the disasters. Lastly the earth ponies are yours to protect, teach, and guide in the ways of the very earth they walk and the nature they help guide and grow. You cannot do any of that when you are stuck in your study day and night, all alone! And don’t you dare give me that face, young stallion! I am still your mother!” Harmony stated at first sounding wise before devolving to that of a typical mother scolding their college age child to get out of the house and get a job.

“What face?” I asked, bewildered. I could swear, this woman spiraled further into insanity by the day!

“That look you get when you think I am loopier than the knots on my ceremonial dress. Yes, I am bat crap crazy. And no, I don't care. I get to say whatever I want! I am old, thank you very much.” She stated this as she gave me The Look.

“Bat Crap crazy?” I repeated in a deadpan voice.

“Shut up. I can say whatever I want!” She retorted with a slight blush. “I have to be creative with my ‘foul language’ or you will go into a temper tantrum. Come on, it's time for lunch, my treat.”

I just smiled. She was always like this. Coming into my study, nagging about how I should socialize more, and then treating me to lunch. And after that she would leave me alone the rest of the day. And now I just had to wait it out. Sweet alone time, here I come!

“So, I got some news for you!” she sang in her ‘I know you are not going to like this voice.’ And believe me, she’s used this voice a lot. But I love her. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, considering that she created me and that, if some pony asked her, she would say I was a grumpy teenager. Whatever that meant.

“And pray tell, what is this news?” I humored her, knowing that if I did not, she would wait for me to relent and ask her what she knew anyway. Of course, she would tell me anyway, but it would take a long time. And if there was information out there or news that I had not heard, then I needed to hear it. Or Crazy Town would welcome a new inhabitant. “The suspense is killing me,” I deadpanned.

“Well, looky there, some pony thinks he is all grown up since his 300th birthday. What sarcasm! I am so proud!” she smiled.

“Well, anyways, you know about the unicorn assistants, right? Right. And how you insist on not having one. Well, as of tonight you do! Don’t you dare give me that face. I expect you to treat her with all the respect you give me. Well, more than the respect you give me. Because she is the other half of your soul.”

“What? What do you mean by that?” I screamed. She had never told me that I only had half a soul. For three hundred years I only possessed half my soul? I was never complete? I thought that I was her perfect creation! What the Hades?

“Sombra, sweetie, it means that you will be the first god to be able to reproduce and have children,” she calmly stated.
“And I created everyone with a split soul so they can find their soulmate, their other half. Nothing is wrong with you. You will still be my first creation and my favorite son. And now you can have a family besides me.” Her calm, angelic voice washed over me, easing my doubts. “Better?”

I took a breath. “Yes.” I looked straight into her eyes and asked, “So, what’s her name?”

“Her name is…”

Ω

ΩMIDNIGHT STARΩ

I cringed as I heard the Alicorn’s inevitable, entitled cry. “Midnight Star, you are late.” *sigh* “Again.” A’stavera called out to me across the sitting room. The room was ten paces across. Floor to ceiling windows dominated one wall of the room, framed with sheer pink curtains. All of the walls had been painted a pastel pink with hot pink daisies. The floor’s hot pink tiles were partially hidden by a pure white rug in the shape of a shield. Her furniture was a mismatch of various couches and loveseats in different shades of pink. All in all, this place looked wretched.

I emotionally hunkered down as she ranted. She went on and on about how I had been consistently late this week. And how bad I was at cleaning. To be fair to myself, her sitting room would’ve taken a whole ten-pony cleaning crew at least a week to clean, while she only gave me one day.

“However, Midnight, you are fantastic at magic,” A’stavera continued as she paced around me, “by far the best unicorn I have ever seen. I mean, if you were an Alicorn, you would be on the Council. That’s how good you are. But, sadly for you, you are a lonely, pathetic unicorn who couldn’t even do her job right. Because of that, you will never amount to anything. And to think that I, with my endless grace and mercy, took you in, gave you a job, fed you, and gave you a place in society. You went behind my back and gossiped and dragged my good name into the mud. Unacceptable! If it wasn't for Harmony stepping in and personally transferring you to another Alicorn, I would have cast you out myself, taking your horn for my collection! Now get out of my sight!”

At that she turned and slammed the door in my face. Good riddance – I didn’t like her anyways. She didn’t have to say those things to me. It wasn’t my fault that I was late… four times. Now I just had to find my way out of here before she decided to take my horn out of spite. This was going to be fun. I turned around and trotted out of the sitting room and back into the maze. Twist after twist, turn after turn, the infernal labyrinth didn’t seem to end until, finally, I made it out. The sun was setting over the Great Mountain as I made my way down the cobbled street.

I felt oddly detached from the situation. On one hoof, I should have been ecstatic that I was saved from her pink-colored torment, but on the other I should have felt afraid. Afraid that the next Alicorn master would be even worse than A’stavera. Afraid the new master would take my horn for being late on the first day or for breaking something of value. There was no telling what could happen. However, that concern was for tomorrow. Today I needed to get home without upsetting another Alicorn. Oh! And eat! I needed to eat. Maybe Mom would have some haycakes ready. Mmm, raspberry flavor! Or maybe blueberry?

“DON’T GO DOWN THE MANE!” A tan earth pony covered in blood sped down the cobblestone road. I ran into his path for more information. He skidded to a stop, panting like a Diamond dog on a hunt.

“Why? What’s going on?” I asked as he tried to catch his breath. I magicked some water and handed it to him. Thanking me, he gulped it down. When he finished, he said the worst thing I’d heard that day.

“They’re razing the Mane! Anypony who steps on that street is instantly torn apart! The street is literally a river of blood! Whatever you do, don’t go that way!” he gasped in a panic. “I need to warn more ponies!”

“Wait, why are they doing this?” I asked, fear lacing into my voice. This couldn’t be happening. I had to go down the Mane. It was the fastest way to get home. Not only that, I needed to be home before Curfew or I was going to end up like those ponies on the Mane!

“They’re saying somepony stole something from one of the High Alicorns!” he yelled as he ran toward the East Side. “Don’t get caught after Curfew!” He disappeared on the other side of an Alicorn store. A High Alicorn? That meant that somepony had stolen from an Alicorn on the Council. Why? Why would someone do something so foolish? The Mane was a bloodbath. I didn’t know what to do. The Mane was the only way I could get home before Curfew. And if they were razing that street, then I would be forced to find another route. Unless… No, that was illegal. But if I used that spell, I could arrive home and skip out on the Mane altogether! But what if I got caught? I’d be flogged for certain. That was a chance I’d have to take if I didn’t want to die.

A scream pierced my thoughts. Thanking Harmony for the distraction, I stopped myself from placing a hoof on the Mane. The earth pony was right! The cobblestone street was a veritable river of blood. The flag poles were decorated as if it was the winter solstice with entrails of unfortunate ponies. Decapitated heads graced the tops of the poles, frozen faces screaming the injustice of the Alicorns’ actions. Young, old, earth pony, unicorn, pegasus, it didn’t matter – all fell victim to the Alicorns’ wrath. And the Alicorns still had not spent their anger.

A unicorn tripped in front of me, splashing blood on me. He was screaming at me to run away before they could get me when a ruby-colored Alicorn landed behind him. Its dagger-like teeth flashed a bone-chilling sneer, like that of a predator finding its prey. With measured steps, the beast walked over to the unicorn. The unicorn turned, saw the danger, and tried to scamper away, but the predator just laughed. It laughed a laugh that will haunt me for years to come. Then it pounced.

It sank its teeth into the unicorn’s left flank, cackling as it tore leg from body, blood and sinew spraying in an arch before splattering on the ground. The beast proceeded to rip the unicorn apart with its teeth. I couldn’t turn away, even though I wanted to with every fiber of my being. The wet tearing sounds, the snapping of bones, and that blood-curdling scream would be forever etched into my memories. It kept the poor unicorn alive as it pulled out his entrails. Finally, after the longest ten minutes I’d ever experienced, the Alicorn ripped the poor pony’s head off, putting him out of his misery. The damned thing started to hum as it hung the pony’s intestines on the flagpoles. The head of the poor unicorn was displayed along with the other victims’.

I was so scared. I screamed. I screamed so loudly that the ruby Alicorn turned around and looked at me.

I did something illegal. Something bad.

I teleported.

Ω

I… I… I teleported. I teleported in front of an Alicorn! AN ALICORN ON A RAMPAGE! This was not good, not good at all. What was I going to do? I had to run away. No, I couldn’t do that. What about…?

“Midnight Star, drag yourself into our home before it is time for Curfew. Make haste!” My mother’s voice pierced my muddled thoughts. Right. Get inside, then worry about the teleportation spell later. I ran inside and greeted my mother on the way in. Her lilac eyes flashed with concern, but as soon as the concern showed, it was gone. She went straight to the kitchen.

The lemon cream walls of my home didn’t ease my anxiety like they had before. Instead they only seemed to make it worse! I started to pace back and forth on the same sandstone floor that everypony had. Only Alicorns could afford hardwood. Speaking of Alicorns, were they going to hunt me down and bring me in front of the Council for teleporting? Or were they going to drag me out of my family home and beat me in front of it? Or…

“MIDNIGHT!”

“WHAT?”

“Stop pacing! I fear you will walk a trench into my poor house… again,” Mom huffed. “Sit down and tell me what the matter is.” She nodded to our ancient table. The poor thing had so many scratches and dents that it barely looked like a table. But, it had been in our family for as long as I could remember. I had fond memories of sitting down with both of my parents and enjoying dinner together. Of course, that was before the last raze.

“Midnight?” Concern laced itself into my mother’s voice as she studied me with those lilac eyes. I’d always felt as though she had hoarded all the beauty to herself when she gave birth to me. But that was a vain thought to save for another day. I took a breath…

“Mom,” my voice was laced with guilt and fear, “I teleported. And I did it right in front of an Alicorn on the warpath. What should I do?”

My mother sighed. “I wish I knew,” she said, “I honestly cannot figure out the best solution. The reason you committed a crime was to flee from danger. And an Alicorn on the warpath is a good excuse. I suppose we must carry on, wait it out, and pray they forget the issue.”

‘Wait it out. We’d have to wait and see if they would take action. Oh, sweet Harmony, please let them forget this!’ I thought this mainly to myself.

“Here. Drink some tea, Midnight. It will calm…”

BANG!

The First Meeting {edit]

View Online

(Present: Crystal Kingdom)

The sound of metal shoes on crystal rhythmically fell in a semi swift fashion as a large white mare with pastel colored hair suspended in an slowly ever shifting wave trotted down the hall with restrained urgency. The mare had large white wings along with a sharp spiraled horn, a small gold crown sat just behind the base of her horn while a golden petral sat around her neck like a yoke.

Her gold encased hooves clanged on the tile floor as she picked up speed nearly flying down the halls of the Crystal Hospital. Worry filled her usually calm and motherly face as she slid to a stop nearly sliding past the hall she was supposed to continue down.

Everypony moved out of her way, somehow keeping their wits about them enough to bow in reverence. She ignored them all, her eyes simply flicking to the numbers on the doors or door jams. ‘Why!?! How could I have let this happen?!? The barrier should have kept Twilight from crossing through it… Unless… No, I don’t even want to think about that right now. I just have to make sure.’ Now she wished she could take it all back, start all over, and possibly erase years of pain, guilt, and so much innocent bloodshed.

But the past was the past, and she continued to live on hardening her heart.

“Your Highness, this way,” said the nurse.

“Thank you,” she said softly in consideration to the sleeping patients, “and you are sure Rainbow Dash is alive?”

“Yes, Princess, I am very sure,” The nurse replied.

"Good.” The white Alicorn sighed in relief.

They hustled to Rainbow Dash’s room. The princess saw the destruction caused by the spell that had stolen her prized pupil away from her. Anger flared up inside her briefly causing her purple eyes to slit and turn a bright orange as she stared at the mummified wreckage that was Rainbow Dash’s body. ‘This is one of the reasons why I had to erect that barrier. The destruction caused by alicorn magic is far too great for most to withstand. Not just anypony could control it. Not even I can control it, just moving the sun and anything related to the sun or heat is all I can control and just barely. But to protect the innocence of my little ponies… I’ll have to tap into that power.’ The white alicorn thought with determination as her eyes returned to the kind purple but with a hardness of a soldier about to do battle.

“Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she ran up to the white alicorn. The pair embraced in a tearful reunion. Celestia’s rainbow hair covered the distraught yellow pegasus crying for her injured friend. Celestia gently disentangled herself from Fluttershy and paced over to Rainbow Dash, not making a sound.

“Was Twilight with her when they found her?” asked Celestia as she gently started to remove the bandages. Fluttershy shook her head.

Celestia hummed to herself. She had inquired about Spike when being debriefed on her arrival. Upon hearing the news of his fast recovery due to his tough dragon scales that protected him from the backlash and most of the impact, she determined that she would see him next seeing as Rainbow Dash was the first to actually hit the ground followed by Spike. ‘Of all the times Spike has been dropped this is the one time his dragon biology has worked in some favor by neutralizing some of the magic shockwaves Rainbow Dash would have created.’ She thought. Her horn flared to life with a silvery gold spell that hadn’t been cast since the time of the Alicorns. It was in these moments that she was glad she had been born an alicorn much as she hated the rest of her kin except Luna.

“What spell are you using, Princess Celestia?” asked Fluttershy, “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

‘Just for asking such a question, the other alicorns would have crippled her. Why am I thinking of those good-for-nothing beasts, anyhow? They are probably terrorizing some other continent. Thank Harmony they aren’t on this continent anymore!’ Thinking these things, Princess Celestia looked at Fluttershy with so much affection it hurt. The things she had done to get to this point made sense when she looked upon the ponies of her kingdom. Looking at Fluttershy cemented her convictions.

“I’m casting a healing spell for Rainbow Dash, my dear,” Celestia smiled, trying not to make her sound rude. “Now this may come off as rude and I apologize if it does, but can you remain quiet for a few minutes?It would go a long way towards helping Rainbow Dash. This spell is very very old and I would rather not mess something up and leave something as simple as a broken hoof to be infected.” Celestia kindly asked the Pegasus.

“Yes, ma’am, Twilight explained high level magic takes a lot of effort and space to perform.” Fluttershy bowed as she sheepishly stated this and quietly took a seat away from Celestia to give the Alicorn breathing room.

Celestia turned back to Rainbow Dash. The white bandages were clean of any blood signifying they had been changed very recently meaning any sort of infection was rather low. Celestia focused her mind completely on her very complicated spell. Licks of dark orange swirled around in her mane and fluttered about her hooves as she pushed more into the spell.

Golden light escaped from the bandages as they started to loosen. Rainbow Dash’s stitches-covered body was soon exposed to the air, and the light started to penetrate each individual stitch. One by one, the stitches removed themselves, leaving behind a hide with no blemishes to indicate the pony had ever been injured. After ten drawn-out minutes, the last stitch had unraveled. Rainbow Dash wearily blinked her rose-colored eyes. To even the obtuse observer, the light from the sun seemed to hurt her eyes. Celestia silently magicked the blinds shut. “Mmm, where am I?” asked a sleepy Rainbow Dash.

“You, Rainbow Dash, are in the Crystal Infirmary,” Celestia answered. “You were in such critical condition when the crystal sentries found you that we were afraid you wouldn’t make it. If your condition was manageable by natural means, you would be in Canterlot’s hospital right now. But that’s not important. What is important is that you tell me what happened and where Twilight is!”

Ω

(Past)

[h4Ω]MIDNIGHT STAR ΩBANG!

BANG!

“Midnight? Are you not going to answer the door? It seems quite rude not to answer the door when you are home. Honestly, dear, I had thought I raised you better.” Mom reprimanded me as she walked to the door. I couldn’t stop her. I was frozen with fear. My feet glued to the floor, no pun intended, and I looked on, helpless, as my mom started to magic the door open. Did she not understand the danger? It could be the Alicorns coming t-to take me away!

“M-mom, please w-wait!”

Too late.

She arrived at the open door before I could finish my sentence. My mom stepped aside to welcome a grey and light-green earth pony. “Please excuse me, Miss Star, but I jest had to stop fer the night ‘cause of that infernal Curfew them thar Al’corns made.” Grumbled the earth pony. “Gosh, miss, hope I haven’ done broke down that thar door to get in!”

“Quite alright, Mr. Sunny Appleseed,” my mom answered. “Now, if my daughter had opened the door upon the first three knocks you applied, you would not have endured such a fright! Sir, I have a pot of tea brewing on the stove. Midnight, would you be a dear and retrieve this gentlepony’s bags from outside? You will not have to even step foot outside. Mr. Appleseed, would you like some haycakes? I will have a fresh batch from the oven in a few minutes.” She led Sunny Appleseed to the kitchen.

“Yes’m, that sounds mighty fine, Miss Star,” the pony said, following her.

‘But I want some haycakes! Oh, well, now for those bags. Sweet Harmony, that’s a lot of bags! Only two minutes until nightfall!’

*Sigh* I really hated my life sometimes.

Ω

ΩSOMBRAΩ

Ah, night. The most peaceful time of… day. That blessed time of those 24 hours when the alicorns would not vie for my attention. So peaceful.… Too peaceful, in fact. I was accustomed to hearing excited activity in the dark of the night. There were festivals, and the night market. Oh, the night market, now that was a fun time. But that had all stopped a few years ago. What did those infernal alicorns do this time?

I spread my wings and shot into the starry sky. Maybe there would be a night market in the next town. Unless some senseless alicorn had put the kibosh on that, as well. Harmony should fix that. I would bring up the topic of the night market’s return at tomorrow’s lunch. I traveled for nearly two hours before I finally found a town with a night market. I believe this town was called Ponyville? I saw a glimpse of the distant future mirrored by this town. I was assured, everything would be fine. In the future, all of the alicorns would be brought in line and would let the ponies thrive. I didn’t really need to do anything.

I landed and magicked my wings away with a very advanced illusion spell creating a shorter stature for myself while covering up the image on my flanks so I could blend in as a regular unicorn stallion. I took my bits and went shopping, as the night was still young. The main street was lined with stalls full of all manner of knick-knacks, food, and different creatures from across the land. I went to the stall that was closest to me. A griffin was yelling out his wares. “Come one, come all! To McMalie’s shop o’ curiosities and rare items! Ye, mah good sirrah, come see what ol’ McMalie has in store. I ‘as lock of mane o’ the ol’ Great One, Sombra ‘isself! I also ‘as in me possession a feather from ‘armony ‘erself! Come and see!”

I chuckled as I trotted towards his stall. ‘This has got to be good,’ I thought. ‘There’s no way this guy would have a lock of my mane. I would know. I think.’ The aging and scarred griffin ‘McMalie, was it?’ grinned as I perused his wares. The items he advertised were a silver-painted pegasus feather and a dyed lock of mane -thank Harmony- neither from myself or my mother. Instead of buying my hair or a fake feather, I purchased a gold locket that was shaped like a phoenix, with a blood ruby in its eye socket. I figured I could enchant such a piece later on. I walked around the market and marveled at all manner of creatures hailing from across the land.

A Kinku -a species that is related to the fox and known for their jewel-like fur, nine tails and butterfly wings- was trying to sell her wares to a wolfling. But the wolfling, its granite-colored fur and liquid gold eyes shining with lust, was flirting with the Kinku. But even my limited experience showed me plainly that he was failing in his endeavors.

On my left, a group of hybrids chatted in their native language and dialect. From the looks of it, this group’s members were both from unicorn and griffin heritage. They bore the heads of unicorns and the bodies of their griffin relatives. Feathers adorned head and face, as opposed to the traditional fur.

This was why I loved coming to the night markets. Creatures such as these, hybrids, Kinku, and many other creatures, ventured out only at night. And it was the only time I was able to observe and interact with them. Every second, every minute was an enjoyable experience. If only the night market in Harmonia was still active. Alas, the time of Harmonia’s night market had long passed, and I had no idea how to bring about its return. The alicorns would not, of course, listen to me. When I attempted conversation with them, they quickly showed their baboonish wit, bowing down and worshiping and all that. Sometimes I wished I was merely an earth pony. When I wore a pony’s countenance, I was always free. I didn’t worry about brown-nosing alicorns sequestering me in my chambers, away from this noble land. I smiled at the thought. ‘Freedom, what a uniquely ridiculous idea.’

I was lost in thought when somepony bumped into me. I looked up, and a dark blue alicorn, albeit a small one, who gave me a sheepish smile.

“My apologies little pony, I got caught up in the festivities.” She said with a sheepish blush on her cheeks.

She was actually apologizing to me… When I was disguised as a REGULAR UNICORN! By Harmony’s mane! She was no bigger than I in this form, her mane appeared to have stars in it, and her coat was a rich navy blue. Light blue eyes stared into mine, pleading for my forgiveness. “It is…”

“LUNA!” The alicorn’s head snapped to the side at the sound of her name. I turned toward this new voice. A pure white she-alicorn with a rainbow mane and tail came running toward us. Surprisingly, she did not make use of her wings as the alicorns of Harmonia did. As I marveled at this unusual occurrence, the she-alicorn reached the navy she-alicorn, huffing and puffing. “Luna, please, I beg of you! Stop running off on your own!” she implored the blue one.

“But, Celestia, there’s so much to see!” Young Navy exclaimed to her companion. “But you only want to look at scarves! I’m fifty years old! I should be fine without you supervising me all the time!”

I started to backpedal, but I was caught inside a magic bubble. Great. Now I was stuck with two arguing alicorns. This was most assuredly how I wished to spend my night. Yes. I blew my mane out of my eyes and settled down to await their realization of my presence.

“Now, go apologize to that poor unicorn for ruining his night!”

Wait, WHAT?! I got confused.

“I was, Sister! But you interrupted me!”

Sister?!

“You would not have had to apologize to him if you did not run off! Luna, do you know what could have happened to you?” asked Miss Rainbow (I guessed her name was Celdestria or something like that). Celdestria’s eyes started to brim with unshed tears. I politely cleared my throat to get their attention so I could get out. I could have broken out of the bubble myself, but I did not want to blow my cover. “Erm, excuse me!” I called out after my throat clearing wasn’t heard. However, this attempt was equally unsuccessful.

“NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN!!! WE ARE NOT IN HARMONIA! I AM SAFE HERE! REGULAR PONIES ARE SAFE HERE! NO ONE IS GOING TO DIE!” Luna screamed, navy wings flaring in agitation. “So why do you keep coddling me?!”

“Because I love you and I do not wish you or anyone else to be harmed. You are so small and vulnerable. Can I please put you in a little tiny box and hide you away from the world?”

“NO!”

“… Please?”

Their private conversation ensued publicly for what seemed like hours. Irritation started to brew underneath my placid countenance. This had gone on quite long enough. As I readied my magic for a spell, Luna approached the bubble. She looked me in the eyes. Her chest expanded as she opened her mouth to say, “I want to apologize for taking up your time. But I also want to know what a unicorn from Harmonia is doing in Poniston?” She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“How did you know that I was from Harmonia?” I inquired. I began to study her more intensely. Her sister was right – she did have the aura of a pony whom everyone must protect. She was enchantingly adorable!

“You have an aura of dread and doom that all the ponies who are from Harmonia have. I would never go there, except to meet Sombra, of course!”

‘Great. A wild fan pony had appeared.’ I thought to myself but kept my expression a slightly curious neutral.

“I would love to pick his brain and learn all the history he’s lived through and the spells he’s made. Ooh, how I would love to learn them all! Especially the spell about dream magic. Sister, wouldn't it be great to learn all those spells?” Luna asked, turning slightly so her cutie mark of the moon was visible to my eyes. For a brief moment I saw that same mark except on a dark purple patch with blue fur so dark it was nearly black the echoes of swords and war cries filled my ears before going silent and my vision cleared.

“Yes, Luna, it would be fantastic to learn all those spells, but let us first release this poor unicorn from its bubble.” Celdestria smiled at her sister. ‘Celdestria’ didn’t sound quite right, but that was her name, I suppose.

‘How strange to hear ‘sister’ from an alicorn.’ It was a weird experience for me being an ‘only child’ I suppose. I did not see the other alicorns as siblings just as annoyances. This was the first time I had ever seen two alicorns form a sort of sibling relationship as most kept a pack mentality much like wolves I suppose.

“The bubble you conjured, Sister” Luna reminded Celdestria, “I believe it is you who should release the poor unicorn. Oh, my good sir, what is your name? I didn’t quite catch it.”

“Somber,” I answered, “And your name is Luna, right? And your sister’s name is Celdestria. But what I’m confused about is how you two are sisters. My understanding of alicorns is that alicorns can’t have siblings, as they are made from the strands of Harmony’s mane.”

“Celdestria? Who’s that?” whispered Celdestria. Oh great, I must have heard her name wrong and made up something similar, proof of my lack of socializing with other equines. Luna nodded her head in understanding of my plight.

“That may be true for most alicorns, but that is not the case with me and my sister. You see, she and I were made from the same stand. My sister harnesses the power of the sun, while I harness the power of the moon. My sister and I are not the only case of Harmony creating alicorn siblings. You only can find them outside of Harmonia. I want to extend an invitation for you to move out of Harmonia and live here with us where you will be safe. And there is no threat of an alicorn razing here! What a bonus! So, what do you say?”

I looked at her closely. Is there an ulterior motive in this request? Why does she offer me this chance? Does she know that I’m really Sombra? No, that can’t be it. They would have shaken in their horseshoes (or, perhaps, would have squealed in Luna’s case) had they known who I was. I shook myself out of my musings, took a breath, and said, “As much as I would love to accept your invitation, I can’t help but wonder if there is an ulterior motive behind this offer. So, please excuse my skepticism.”

“Oh, it is quite alright!” said Celdestria. “We understand. Most ponies would be apprehensive about being offered a new home. But let me reassure you, we are nothing like the alicorns in Harmonia. Chiefly, we do not kill for fun. I personally think that’s abhorrent and disgusting.” Her face twisted in complete hatred. I could feel the anger rolling off her and squirmed at that uncomfortable-looking face. Her left hoof kept pounding the ground, too. It was refreshing seeing another alicorn feel this way.

“So, you are saying that you are not Discord-touched? That you are truly following Harmony’s plan? I ask because I’ve heard such a lie before.” When I said this, I saw the shock wash over the rainbow pony’s face. Many emotions flashed across her features, the most prominent ones being horror and bewilderment. She stepped backwards; tears started to fall from her eyes. Luna looked at her, confused.

“They would betray their species like that?” Celdestria quietly asked. “Offer ponies sanctuary and then turn around and kill them?”

“Yes,” I said. “I tried to stop it, but by the time I got there she was already dead. Ripped apart by the ones she needed most.” I started to choke up. There were too many alicorns and only one of me. I couldn’t take them all. It was simply too much. How could I challenge over three thousand alicorns all by myself? Too much. Too much!

“How can Sombra let this happen?!” screamed Celdestria. “He is the firstborn! He should be able to make them stop!”

“Have you ever thought that it’s been too much for him to handle?!” I yelled back. “That he is just one alicorn up against over three thousand of his kind?”

“But he is all powerful!” she countered

“NO! HE IS NOT!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Seeing the sisters’ expressions, I softened my tone. “He is not. Harmony may have made him powerful, but not all powerful. He gets overwhelmed. He feels scared. And I believe he does not know what to do. He is also very overwhelmed with duties that have been thrusted upon him.”

“Celestia,” Luna’s gentle voice pierced the atmosphere, shattering the tension like glass, “he is telling the truth. Let me go to Harmonia. Let me go help Sombra. I can do it.” Celdestria snapped her head towards her strandmate.

“And how do you know he will take you in?” asked Celdestria. Luna opened her mouth to answer.

“He will,” I interrupted. “I know he will. I’ll put in a good word with him for you. He will listen to me. I can tell from our discussion that you two really care for your ponies. That’s all he really cares about.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes. “And how do I know that she’ll be accepted? I can’t just fly her over there and leave my ponies alone. Who is going to protect them while I am away?”

“Well, you’ll just have to trust your sister, that she has made the right decision, and that Harmony instilled at least a little sense in her firstborn. Now can I please get out of this bubble? I would very much like to enjoy the rest of the night market.”

Ω

Ω MIDNIGHT STAR Ω

Huff… huff… I… huff… hate… huff… luggage… huff…

Hufffff… I collapsed on the floor in utter exhaustion. Those were the longest two minutes of my life. Well, other than that night on the Mane, I guess. That was certifiably awful. Ugh. How much stuff did one pony need? Was he moving somewhere, or what? ‘Oh, sweet Harmony, please help me. I can’t do another bag rush!’ I thought this as I lay sprawled out on the floor. I just couldn’t move. Everything hurt so much after using such extensive magic. “Ah think I’m… gonna sleep ‘ere tonigh’,” I slurred in that country bumpkin accent I’d heard just a few days before.

Bang!

“OPEN UP IN THE NAME OF THE KEEPERS OF HARMONY!”

Bang!

Crap! What now? Couldn’t a mare sleep on her foyer in peace? Guess not. With what little magic I could muster, I turned the handle and opened the door. I inclined head towards Harmonia’s finest and snarked, “If you’re expecting the standard welcome, you’re gonna be sorely disappointed ‘cause I’m way too tired to get off the floor and say hello. Hi.” My head dropped to the floor again as I groaned. Normally I would have freaked out, but today had been a long day.

“Well, Miss, by Harmony’s orders, we are here to escort you to your new permanent abode. You must come with us. Or, we could teleport you there if that’s what you prefer?” The Keeper of Harmony seemed to have a hint of laughter during the latter half of his announcement, if there could be such a tone when he was speaking monotone. Eh.

“Just… carry me. I can’t move a muscle,” I slurred as sleep washed over me. I could have sworn I heard him say ‘as you wish’ as the darkness swallowed me up. But that was preposterous. The Keepers don’t have personalities. Right?

Mangos [edit]

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SOMBRA

A siren rang throughout the cave - an angry, rage-filled sound that rumbled through Sombra’s body, shaking him to the core. He knew this call. He had hoped he would have at least a few days before he heard it. That Harmony-damned Celdestria was calling.

He rose carefully so as not to disturb his beloved’s sleep. At this critical stage in the spell, she could lose her mind to the discord if roused. Such a thing would not happen on his watch. He was slow along the winding path, through the throat of the Jabbernight, and reached the jaws of the beast in which he lived. He was fortunate to have found the Jabbernight’s carcass before it turned into a mountain. If he had not, where would he have stayed for the past two thousand years? He was not about to sleep in the snow. No, thank you. It would have been terrible if he had found Midnight Star before he found a home. Only the worst of mates would not provide for his beloved.

The snowstorm raged outside the teeth of his home. The howling winds reflected his mood as he forced himself to move further away from his slumbering mate. The curse and blessing of a weather alicorn was his inability to hide emotions.

Snow clung to obsidian fur as the alicorn trudged toward the edge of the barrier. Sombra gritted his teeth when he saw the rainbow mane of the traitor. He could kill her now and be done with it. But, alas, his beloved was obsessed with her. Next time.

“Oh, Great Black One, it’s so nice to see you.” She snarled as he stomped closer to the glass-like barrier. Frost bit the rocks he passed and cracked them open upon the floor. “Do I need a formal request to see my student? If so, to whom should I send it?” Venom-laced syllables sprung from her traitorous mouth as she glared from just a few paces away.

‘One well-aimed spell, Sombra, and the object of your pain and suffering will finally disappear,’ he thought after he formulated an answer to the witch’s question.

“You can deliver your invite to Discord yourself. You belong with him, after all. Celdestia.” Sombra retorted with ice in his tone.

“My name is CELESTIA! Grr… Just SHUT UP! I am not here to exchange insults and walk down our Harmony-damned memory lane. I am here for Twilight. Give her back!” The mare shouted at him glaring.

“Oh! Look who’s making demands. Her murderer wants her victim back, hmm?” Sombra sneered at the alicorn. “So, you can slit her throat again? Not going to happen. I am not going to stand by and watch that happen again. I could not save her in her past lives, but Harmony knows how I tried to save her when she was Midnight. I am not going to watch death form in her eyes again. Once my spell is complete, she will remember, and whatever friendship you once had with my mate will be obliterated! NOW LEAVE, MATE KILLER!” The soundwaves from his command forced Celestia back several paces, nearly knocking her off her hooves. But, this one was made of tougher stuff. A little sound magic was not going to dissuade her. She was going to retrieve her prized pupil, one way or another.

The snowstorm’s wrath burned ever colder as Sombra’s fury spiraled. Cracks formed in the earth as he stomped his hoof. Bigger and bigger, the cracks grew until a small chasm split the two royals, the Firstborn and the Liberator. Magic crackled as the two faced off. Black lightning struck a few paces away from Celestia, breaking her concentration from the spell she was forming.

“Face it, Celdestria.” With the patience of a saint, Sombra said, “You are clearly outmatched, and many centuries spent planning your downfall would be wasted if I just killed you right here, right now. Go home and await your demise like a good little pony. I need to attend to my mate.” At that, he turned his tail towards her and started to trot away.

“It was the only way.” He heard spoken and this flared his anger to near extremes.

He halted. “What?!” he ground out. “WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”

The chasm widened. “I said that it was the only way!” she cried. “You wouldn’t do anything! You are the invincible, unkillable embodiment of Harmony’s power. The only way to weaken you was to take the only thing you cared about. And that was my good friend, your mate, Midnight Star! I had no choice! You would have stopped me from putting up that barrier!” Suddenly the wind knocked her down. Ice plummeted to the ground, shredding the alicorn mare’s pearly coat.

White was stained red as the ice rained down faster and faster. Through the sounds of the howling wind and falling shards of ice, she heard him say, “The reason I would have stopped you is this: I would have stopped you to prevent the mass genocide of millions of creatures not limited to your own kind.”

“No! you are wrong!” she yelled as blood filled her mouth. “The alicorns are on a different continent! Killing and torturing other poor creatures. They…”

“SHUT THE HELL UP! You created a mass genocide for the alicorns, the pixies, the kinkus, the wolflings, and too many more to name. The only ones that I know to have survived are of the pony, yak, changeling, dragon, and the hybrid variety. I do not even know if there are any Wild Beings out there anymore. And the funny thing? I would have helped you kill off the alicorns. But you killed my mate, not once, not twice, but six different times. So, leave now, Destroyer, leave while you can. Because the next time I see you, I will tear you from limb to limb.”

-Crack!-

Sombra left Celestia with a fifty pace-wide chasm spanning the area between her and the pony she wanted most. As her screams faded out of earshot, he noticed the storms easing into sunny skies. So, his mood was improving. That was nice. The alicorn stepped over the teeth of his home, taking a breath of fresh Celestia free air. Home, his untainted and naturally formed home with very little pony only magic. The obsidian alicorn maintained a leisurely pace over the crystal flooring he had painstakingly put together, depicting the life he once had with his beloved. Every crystal was magically chiseled out to fit perfectly into this masterpiece. It was one of the few things that had kept him occupied and mostly sane during those 3000 years trapped in the purgatory Celestia had created outside of her little nation. He was quite proud of it. And when Twilight awoke with her memories, he would show her this and many other precious gifts he had made over the years that awaited for her.

“… although, the library that I have might excite her more from what my clone gathered… still as studious as ever.” He chuckled as he climbed the grand crystalline staircase. He made it back to Twilight as the fire began to dim, the cold creeping into the room and ice crystals forming at the perimeter. If the fire was extinguished, then the whole room would be covered in these crystals, creating a wasteland tundra. Moreover, the whole structure reverted back to the icy wasteland it had become after the barrier was first erected. Funny how everything alive seemed to hinge on the body of its creator. At least Sombra could mimic the power of Harmony and the tree her body became. Just not enough to save those innocent lives. ‘If only I was stronger… I could have saved so many…’

He crossed over to the dying flame, its center a small tree like sapling that had seven small buds. The center most was blooming showing a deep red petal that faded to a lavender center with a small star cut gem acting as the flower’s very center. With a spell that stole a piece of his very essence, roughly about a century of life give or take. He rekindled new life in the red-lavender flower, causing the magical flames to roar to even more impressive heights than before. The creeping ice hid once again in the depths from whence they came. He smiled. Trotting over to the enormous bed, the smug winged stallion watched Twilight’s prone form. He sat at the foot of the bed and stared, mesmerized by every curve, every strand of fur, every feather she possessed. ‘I think I found my new hobby,’ he thought fondly, with a grin growing across his face. He curled his body around his beloved’s shivering amethyst form.

“This,” he whispered, “This is where I belong. And in a few more days she will awake, and all will be as it should be.”

Ω

CELESTIA

“WAR! THIS MEANS WAR!” Celestia yelled as her adversary retreated into his home. “YOU HEAR ME, SOMBRA?! IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME MY TWILIGHT, MY DAUGHTER, BACK THEN I WILL TAKE HER BACK BY FORCE!!!” Sharp pains, like razors slicing across her hide, assaulted her body as she tried to stand. Crying out, she fell to the ground. “This is not how I will die! I’m going to kill that bastard!” The blood-soaked alicorn gritted her teeth. Lights flashed as she cast a healing spell. Slowly, ever so slowly, the skin mended together. Eventually, her body returned to its normal state.

Her hatred fueled her actions as orange tinted her white coat, the air around her heating to levels most ponies would find uncomfortable and similar to a desert. Her cutie mark slowly turned a dark red from the very center, her gold jewelry starting to drip and melt off her body and hooves. Her mane and tail floated higher off the ground like smoke from a volcano as a deep reddish orange bled into her rainbow mane.

She shot into the sky. Faster than a shooting star, she barreled on toward Canterlot. She called upon the captain of the guard as she landed, her hooves barely managing to break her accelerated pace. Wrath boiled inside her as she stormed towards the throne room, her meticulously dulled teeth sharpening with each stomp of her hoof that left hoof shaped burn marks of melted stone and gold. Her alicornian nature was beginning to reveal itself. This was not a good sign. Yet she didn't care with only one thought going through her mind. To retrieve her daughter in all but blood from the obsidian alicorn.

“EVERYONE! FIND EVERYONE ON THE COUNCIL!” she bellowed. “WE ARE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY!” Ponies scrambled to do the Princess’s bidding. Usually the Mane Six handled emergent situations. But the Princess wasn’t calling them. No. She was calling the council. There was only one reason for the council to be called.

War.

Ω

ΩSOMBRAΩ

(Harmonia, past)

I zoomed towards my home in a cheery mood. Night markets always had a way to lighten my spirit. But what Luna and her sister had said stuck with me. What if I did have the power to stop the alicorns from doing what they were doing? I could put an end to the razing, and to the blood baths! That would be fantastic! Just, how?

I landed, still pondering these questions. I went inside and zeroed in on the kitchen. “Food, glorious food. You never fail me, my good friend!” I spoke to my cupboard as I raided its contents. The voices in the dining room did not register in my mind until my quest was complete.

“‘It is good to see you, Mother.’ ‘Why thank you, my son, it is always a pleasure to see you, too.’” Harmony’s sarcastic mockery of our voices infiltrated my thoughts as I munched on some cereal I had managed to find.

“Mmm,” I attempted small talk with food in my mouth. “Mfff merff mmm muff.”

“Yes, please go on and keep talking with your mouth full,” she retorted. “I truly do understand every word you are attempting to say.” She proceeded to look at her hoof.

“Realfree?” There was still food in my mouth. I did not know her ears were so keen. Hmm, another thing I learned today. Harmony simply gave me a deadpan look. If looks could kill, I would have been dust by now. What did I do?

“What kind of son did I raise?” Harmony asked no one in particular the rhetorical question. “Apparently the kind who talks with his mouth full. Swallow, boy! By my name, you’re going to choke yourself. And then I will have to resurrect you from the dead, thus making you the first zombie equine in existence. All because you could not swallow your chicken.”

May I introduce Harmony, queen of over-exaggeration and eminent ruler of hyperbole!

I managed to swallow before choking on the laugh bubbling up in my throat. Did not want that to happen. Where did she come up with these sayings? I guessed it was her overactive imagination.

“So, did you have a good time at the night market?” She tilted her head in curiosity. A smile was trying to creep into her expression, but her question had been serious. And a serious Harmony did not smile. Well, not since I had been a colt.

“It was educational,” I replied as I went back to rummaging in the cupboard. There was more food to be had! “I met some alicorns who were not blithering idiots. That was wonderful. Hey, where are my mangos? Did you eat them all? You did, DIDN’T YOU? HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THAT, MOTHER?!” I turned towards her with a hurt expression on my face. She just rolled her eyes.

“Sombra, please, I did not eat your precious mangos. Why would I? I knew you would guilt trip me with those soulful eyes. Why did I create you with those eyes?!” she exclaimed. She shook her head, conjured a slice of pineapple, and began to eat. “Besides,” Harmony opined between bites of fruit, “Pineapples are far superior to mangos.”

“I would have to disagree with you, your Grace,” a new voice cut in. I turned towards the voice to find a tiny, ice blue unicorn with an oceanic mane standing in my kitchen doorway, munching on a mango. MY MANGO! What the hay?! Juice dribbled down her chin as her striking amethyst eyes, which didn’t match the colors of her body, stared at my mother, in my house, eating my mango!

Completely dumbstruck, I struggled to find any words to say in this situation. This was unprecedented! Why was this unicorn eating my food? And arguing with my mother? Only I got to do that! She smiled and proceeded with her argument. “While pineapples are indeed delicious, a ripe mango fresh off the tree is by far the better option.” She polished off the rest of the mango. I was looking forward to that fruit. Mango thief!

Then I finally realized there was an unfamiliar pony in my own house.

“Excuse me. What is going on?” I deadpanned to my mother.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I woke up in the most comfortable bed ever made to find myself in an unfamiliar place. Stranger yet, there was a silver Alicorn smiling down at me. This couldn’t end well. I was dead meat for sure. I scooched backwards until my back hit the headboard. The room was bright and airy, not at all agreeing with the doom I felt, knowing I was soon to be eaten. The walls were eggshell white, and on my right stood ceiling-to-floor windows, revealing a gorgeous forest with the sun shining brightly on the trees. It looked like I was going to die on a beautiful day. Fantastic. I tried to shake the heavy black comforter off of me but tangled my hooves in it instead.

“Here, let me help you,” the Alicorn said, their voice sounding like windchimes twinkling in the wind. I would have loved to hear more of that voice if it came from a different species. The voice sounded female, but I couldn’t ever be sure with Alicorns. They had used worse tricks on us ponies. The silver Alicorn glided toward the bed. It was like matter itself shifted to make room for the Alicorn and stared in awe. The power emitting from them was tangible, and I could taste it on my tongue. It tasted like a rainy day, with a hint of lemon and mint. It was very pleasant.

I saw colors flash on their coat in the sunlight as they moved. Purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white. Purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white. No other colors showed except these six. Even their mane had those six colors. Purple fading into blue. Blue fading into orange. Colors fading into one another from top to bottom until the white ends of their mane barely touched the ground. Their eyes were like a spoked wheel, with each color taking a section. Their horn looked like fine-spun glass. All in all, this Alicorn was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life. And that meant I had an immediate distrust of them. My life’s motto was ‘if it’s pretty don’t trust it because it will kill you in your next heartbeat.’

They helped me untangle my leg and stand up on my hooves. The dark wood floor felt cool beneath me. “Hello, my little pony, you must be scared and confused. Do not worry, you are now under my direct protection. No harm will come to you. My name is Harmony. It is a pleasure to meet you, Midnight Star.” Wait, did they just say their name was Harmony? As in, the creator of everything? I fell to my knees, bowing my head, once I realized the truth. I was in the presence of Harmony, the Mother of All, the Creator of my home, the Keeper of Life, the Doorway to the Void. I was not worthy. I was like a worm in her presence. An insignificant thing. A bug to be trampled upon by her hooves. A…

“Stop with those thoughts. Rise, my child, and do not think those thoughts about yourself. You and every living creature are my children. I will not have my children grovel at my hooves. No, the ones that kill my children for sport or for any other reason should be weeping at my hooves, begging for mercy. Do not worry, my little Star. Their time is limited. So, stand up. Let us get some food. I am starving.” She smiled as she helped me up to my hooves. She turned and started for the door. “Are you coming?” she asked, the corners of her lip forming a smirk. I shook myself out of my stupor and followed after her. I practically galloped to keep up with her long strides. Did I mention she was huge? Almost three times the height of a normal Alicorn, and twice as majestic. My horn scarcely reached the top of her hindquarters when she finally stopped. To her I practically was the size of a foal.

The kitchen alone was twice the size of my house, with dark wood flooring, eggshell white walls and black wood cabinets. There were floor to ceiling windows in between the cabinets, making the whole room feel airy and comfortable while giving a view of the untouched lands. If my mom had been here, she would salivate at the state-of-the-art cooking supplies. As for me, I shuddered through images of me burning this place down while trying to cook. Master chef, I am not, I can barely make pasta and soup without it coming out mushy. Harmony chuckled as she glided across the room.

“Um, Y-Your Grace?” I stammered, the words sticking like peanut butter in my throat. I idly wondered if one can die from choking on words. Her Grace just laughed. Her laughter was a symphony that every living creature must stop and listen to.

“No, you cannot choke on words and die. That would be a ridonkulous way to go, would it not?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye, “And, it is Harmony, dear, not ‘Your Grace.’ So, what is your question? Other than whether you can throw off this mortal coil by means of asphyxiation on your own verbiage.”

Dumbstruck, I tried to figure out what the pony she was saying and finally returned to my question. “You can read minds?” Heat flooded my cheeks. That was embarrassing. I just blurted out a personal question like I had any right to do so. This was not how a pony should act in front of her Creator. I decided I should leave now before I did anything stupider. I thought I had seen the front door on the way here. Maybe if she became distracted I could…

“Peace, Midnight,” a soft voice broke into my thoughts. I looked up and saw Harmony’s gentle eyes gazing down on me. Her wing softly caressed my back in soothing circles. “It is all right. You can ask anything that weighs on your heart or mind. To answer your question, I do hear every thought that goes through everypony and Wild Thing’s mind. And, yes, I can turn it off any time I want. I simply neglected to do so with you. You are a delightful breath of fresh air. Hungry?” She drew me forward with her magic to what looked like a cupboard and started pulling out various items. She stopped at a glorious ripe mango. The fruit’s peel was orange with a hint of red. Looking at it, I worked to keep my mouth from salivating. Unsuccessfully.

Grrrrooowwwwlll …

Harmony busted out laughing -again- at the sound. “So, it is safe to assume that you like mangos.” She continued to chuckle. “Here, let me peel this for you.” Somehow, she managed to remove the peel without taking any of the meat with it. Now that was magic. She had me sit at a black marble table in the next room. This room had the same dark wood floors I had seen before, but its walls were a warm taupe color with teeny blue candles hiding in curved holes that had been carved into the wall. This room also had a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was beautiful.

I heard a crash in the kitchen. I got off my seat to investigate, but Harmony shook her head and told me to start eating. Flavor exploded in my mouth as I took my first bite. Soo good! I saw Harmony leave the room. Curious, I snuck to the doorway to peek. But I still munched on the mango. It was too good not to eat.

“Welcome back home,” I heard her say. “’It is good to see you, Mother.’ Why thank you, my son, it is always a pleasure to see you, too.”

“Mmm mfff merff mmm muff,” was the only reply. I wondered who she was talking to.

“Yes, please go on and keep talking with your mouth full. I truly do understand every word you are attempting to say.” Huh, who knew she could be sarcastic? The Creator of the world! This was fantastic! I continued munching.

“Realfree?”

“What kind of son did I raise? Apparently the kind who talks with his mouth full. Swallow, boy! By my name, you’re going to choke yourself. And then I will have to resurrect you from the dead, making you the first zombie equine in existence. All because you could not swallow your chicken.” Son? Who is her son? Wait, it couldn't be. Deep, rich, beautiful laughter filled the room. I felt it vibrating my bones, caressing each joint. It was something I definitely wanted to hear more of. I took a step into the kitchen.

Harmony stood off to the side. She saw me and winked. She was talking with a black Alicorn whose back was turned toward me. His tail was black where it met his hindquarters but faded to kind of a crimson, blood-red at the bottom. It sparkled like rubies in the sunlight. Ooh! He had a really nice tail. ‘Stop it, Midnight! Stop checking out his tail! That’s weird!’ I had to mentally tell myself with a mental slap to the back of the head. Harmony’s lips twitched.

“So, did you have a good time at the night market?” she asked the Alicorn. He turned his head toward her quickly and smiled but went straight back to rummaging through the cupboard.

His deep, beautiful voice flowed into the kitchen. “It was educational.” Oh, I could listen to his voice every single day. *sigh*

“I met some alicorns who were not blithering idiots. That was wonderful. Hey, where are my mangos? Did you eat them all? You did, DIDN’T YOU? HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THAT, MOTHER?!” Umm… well, crap. I was in trouble. Ah, well. It’s all good. Did she just roll her eyes?

“Sombra, please, I did not eat your precious mangos.” SOMBRA! *squeee* I did a little happy dance, trotting like the fan-filly I knew I was. “Why would I? I knew you would guilt trip me with those soulful eyes. Why did I create you with those eyes?!” she exclaimed.

‘I want to see his eyes,’ I mumbled, head tilted down in sadness. She shook her head as she conjured a slice of pineapple and started eating it. How could she do that! I couldn’t do that! I wanted to do that! “Besides,” Harmony replied between bites of citrus, “pineapples are far superior to mangos.” Excuse me? Nuh-uh, Your Grace, mangos were where it’s at.

“I would have to disagree, Your Grace.” I said between bites of mango. Oh, sweet Harmony, this was so good! How could she not like this? “While pineapples are indeed delicious, a ripe mango fresh off the tree is by far the better option.” I felt a little disappointment when I finished the last of the mango. I wanted more.

“Excuse me, what is going on?” the deep voice crashed, throwing off my musings. Angry ruby eyes pierced my soul when I found the source. Well, crap. I was done for. Guess I should run.

Celestia's Nightmare

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Celestia smiled as she climbed into bed. Things were finally going right for the first time since Twilight had disappeared. ‘Tomorrow is going to be good day,’ she thought as she closed her eyes. The doors to the Dreamrealm welcomed her with open arms.

Ω
Drums began to beat as Celestia entered the hall. Crowds cheered as the orchestra started their music. The Alicorns’ tyranny was no more! It was time to celebrate! She crossed over to the podium. “Ladies and Gentleponies!” Celestia’s voice carried across the great room, “We are gathered here today so I may tell the…

‘Good news!
We’ve won!
The evil ponies are gone!
The wickedest Alicorns there ever were,
The enemy of all of us ponies here is no more!
Good news!
Good news!’

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Their gratitude was eminent and powerful in its strength. A free people breathing a sigh of freedom at last. Celestia raised a wing to silence her subjects.

Celestia:
‘Fellow Harmonians...
Let us be glad,
Let us be grateful!
Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue
The wicked workings of You-Know-Who.
Isn't it nice to know
That good will conquer evil?
The truth we all believe'll by and by
Outlive a lie
For you and—'

Doors banged against the wall, interrupting Celestia’s speech. Murmurs were heard from the crowd as a lone figure crossed the threshold. Blood pooled underneath the figure’s cloak, trailing behind the creature walking toward Celestia. It stopped right in front of her, and ice-blue magic enclosed around the bloodied cloak. With a snap of the clasp, the creature ripped off its cloak. A mutilated Midnight Star stood in front of Celestia. Midnight pointed at Celestia and cried:
‘No one mourns the wicked. No one cries, ‘THEY WON'T RETURN!’’

Deep voice joined in and said,
‘No one lays a lily on their grave.’

Sombra stood beside his dead mate as they sang, he singing first:

‘Good stallions scorn the wicked!’
‘Through their lives, our foals will learn:’

Both:
‘What we miss
When we misbehave...’

Harmony came right behind the two and sang:

‘And goodness knows
The wicked's lives are lonely.
Goodness knows
The wicked die alone.
It just shows, when you're wicked
You're left only
On your own...’

All:
‘Yes, goodness knows
The wicked's lives are lonely.
Goodness knows
The wicked cry alone.
Nothing grows for the wicked.
They reap only
What they've sown...’

The crowd disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Celestia to reason with the three angry beings who remained. Celestia noticed that Midnight’s coat was changing with every word, slowly, from ice blue to deep purple. Gashes disappearing, wings forming, until finally, Midnight wasn’t standing in front of her. Twilight was. All three Alicorns started to circle the one with the rainbow mane.

“Twilight?” whispered Celestia.

All:
‘No one mourns the wicked.
Now at last, she's dead and gone!
Now at last, there's so much joy throughout the land.
And
Goodness knows,
We know what goodness is.
Goodness knows
The wicked die alone.’

Twilight:
‘We died alone...’

“No, that’s not true. Why are you lying?! Get away from them!” Desperation clawed at Celestia as she watched raw hate and loathing fill her prized pupil’s countenance. Blood began to pour down the lilac pony’s face, stemming from those hate-filled eyes.

All:
‘Woe to those
Who spurn what goodnesses
They are shown.
No one mourns the wicked...’

“TWILIGHT, GET AWAY FROM THEM!” she yelled as more and more blood began to soak her face and then the ground. Celestia’s hooves were steeped in the blood of her student. Horror filled Celestia’s heart as the crimson reached her knees.

Sombra:
‘Good news!’

Twilight:
‘No one mourns the wicked!’

Harmony:
‘Good news!’

All:
‘No one mourns the wicked!’

They turned and pointed at Celestia, crying out:
‘Wicked!’

“NO! I am not wicked!”

‘Wicked!’

“NO! You are wrong!”

Harmony started to sprout branches on her body as she circled again around Celestia. Sombra started to slowly fade out. And Twilight trotted above the pooling blood.

“Wicked!” they cried over and over, while Celestia denied it all. Celestia was up to her chest in blood when Harmony released the rest of herself into the tree that held everything together (The Tree of Harmony) and Sombra went up in smoke. Twilight was the only one in the room with Celestia. Slowly her coat began to change from purple to blue, and back. When Twilight was blue her wings would disappear.

“Whose idea was it to kill the one who trusted you the most?” Twilight accused.

“I don’t know!” Celestia sobbed.

“LIES!” Midnight yelled, “You know whose it was! NOW ANWSER ME! Whose idea was it?!”

“Mine!” Celestia heart fell at this confession, “I thought it was the only way!”

“Then you are wicked.”
‘Yes, goodness knows
The wicked's lives are lonely.
Goodness knows
The wicked cry alone.
Nothing grows for the wicked.
They reap only
What they've sown...’
At this, Twilight turned and left.

Ω
“Twilight! Twilight, don’t go!” Celestia cried as she jumped out of bed. “Oh, bless Harmony, was it only a dream? It was a truly terrible one.” She looked out the window and raised the sun.

Hero Worship crushed

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(Present, Equestria)

Luna stared at the moon, reflecting upon the Council meeting. Her sister was insane. Sombra couldn’t possibly be alive. They had defeated him at the Battle of the Crystal Empire, right? If memory served her correctly, the slate grey Sombra whom Twilight and the rest of Mane Six fought was not the same Sombra this alicorn had studied under. Maybe he was a clone. If that was true, then Luna feared her sister would be in danger. Twilight would be safe. But Celestia would not.
Luna took a deep breath and opened the gates to her magic. The doorway to the Dreamrealm revealed itself in the waking world by her command. Dreams were her domain. The night was her kingdom, and she would travel it in search of Twilight Sparkle.

Ω
(Past, Harmonia)
ΩSombraΩ
What in Harmonia was this unicorn thinking, eating my food like that? And how did she get in here? A snarl rose up in my throat like bile. I had had a long night, and that mango was going to make the day’s events tolerable. But, no, this creature was currently eating the last remaining fruit. Now I had to go and buy some more! I really did not want to go all the way to– Water brazenly splashed my face, breaking my concentration on the mango thief. I turned to the source of the water … and became drenched in it.

“You can stop now,” I said as Harmony sprayed me again with water. She was treating me like an ill-tempered housecat. I spluttered as my beautiful face received another round.

“Are you finished throwing your tantrum?” she asked with one eyebrow raised. “If so, can we please enjoy a civilized conversation? Or are you going to throw another hissy fit? There’s more water in this bottle if that’s the case.” And she was right. She had access to an infinite supply of water. She raised the spray bottle threateningly.

“I think I’ve got it out of my system. You can put the water down now,” I cajoled her. But Harmony just glared back at me. Water sprayed in my face again. “I’M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH! Why did you do that?!”

“Just because,” she shrugged. “Now, Mid… well, crap on a stick and call it brown and sticky.”

I turned back to the doorway and saw a vague outline in my head of where the mango thief used to be. I guessed that she ran. I looked back at Harmony and saw magic flashing in her eyes.

“Way to go, idiot.”

Ω
ΩMidnightΩ
I’m dead!

I’m dead!

I’M SO DEAD!

And I was going to lose my horn! Where was the front door?! Where?!

I ran as fast as my hooves could carry me. Damn it! This hallway was unending. Did I pass that statue three minutes ago? I could swear I had seen that painting. What was going on? I kept on running. It was the only thing I knew to do. It didn’t matter now that Sombra was my hero. He was an Alicorn, and all Alicorns were the same. They would kill and ask questions later, or even mutilate anything and everything in their paths. Sombra was like that, too, I thought. He got angry with me for eating one mango. But Harmony was the one who gave it to me! Oh, well, it didn’t matter anyway because I was blowing this joint.

I ran into a wall of silver. Iron bars wrapped around me, caging me in a silvery cocoon. “Shh, little one, it’s alright. You’re safe. My son was just being an idiot.” Harmony’s voice soothed my anxiety over the situation.

“I would like to apologize for my actions back there. I was indeed out of line.” The deep bass of Sombra’s voice rumbled through my bones, turning them into goo. How was it fair that my idol had power, celebrity, that gorgeous tail, and such a wonderful voice to top it off? … Wait a minute. Did he just apologize? An Alicorn, no, the Firstborn apologized? To me? I twisted my body to look at him, slack jawed. He was sitting at the end of the hall, completely soaked. His ruby eyes bored into me as I eyed his silhouette.

“Why are you wet?” I asked in a small voice. Sweet Harmony, those eyes were scary. He was scary. Sombra tilted his head and smiled. *Thump* went the sound of my heart as it stopped for a minute. “It was one of Harmony’s many weird punishments used to keep me in line. Today, she treated me like a cat.” He chuckled. He rose to his hooves, and I skidded backwards. A deep vibration jellied my limbs in a rhythmic hum. I practically lost all thought, but that wouldn’t dissuade me from asking another question.

“Weird punishments?” I asked. “Cat?”

“Oh, stop your whining, Sombra,” Harmony’s voice said behind me. “It was not that bad.”

“Humph,” was his answer. So confusing.

“So you’re not going to take my horn and kill me?” I asked in a small voice. I looked into Harmony’s face and burrowed further into her side. Cautiously, I leaned back and anxiously awaited the Alicorns’ answer.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ
“So you’re not going to take my horn and kill me?” The unicorn’s small voice carried softly to my ears. By Harmony’s ears, could this little unicorn get any cuter? Probably not. She was the smallest unicorn I had ever seen. And what she said just now set ablaze a raging inferno in my heart. Take away her horn? What kind of monster would do that? Oh, that kind of monster.

“Why would I do that?” I was quite proud that I kept my voice calm and steady because inside I was trembling with rage. Her amethyst eyes shot toward mine, and her answer sparked further ire.

“Because I made you mad.” So precious.

Harmony looked down upon her little prisoner. Unshed tears filled her eyes, and she took a steadying breath. “What you are saying,” she started, “is that if you make an alicorn mad, they have the right to take away your horn?”

“Well,” the little thing said, “not exactly. You see, I’ve had three transfers already. Because of that, I am considered useless to society. Because of that, I must forfeit my horn to the last Alicorn who owned me. And that means you. By law I must give up my horn, and my magic, too, because I am a complete and utter failure and should not be let back into society. I am an outcast.”

Silence filled the room at her words. I did not know the alicorns’ depravity was so total! Harmony urged the little unicorn closer.

What was the little pony’s name again? I could memorize the Oracle’s Letters word for word but never managed to remember a single name! How pathetic! How could I… Never mind.

"By the way,” the little thing’s soft voice carried over the blood rushing in my ears, “what the hell is that vibration? And why does it feel so good? … Why are you both laughing?” Tears streamed down my eyes with the intensity of my laughter. She was so delightful. Her look of confusion became more intense the longer Harmony and I laughed. I finally composed myself, but by then she was irritated.

“Sorry, Blue, but you are too charming,” I said between bouts of chuckles. She narrowed her eyes.

“Midnight.”

“What was that?” I asked.

“My name is not Blue,” she mumbled. “It is Midnight. Not Ocean, not Icy, not Cornflower Blue. Midnight. Just Midnight.”

“Ok, Just Midnight, the vibrations are what we call a purr.” I smiled at her stunned countenance. So expressive. I looked at Harmony, finding her body shaking with hardly suppressed laughter.

“Like a cat?”

"I suppose that is a decent comparison.”

“So what you are telling me is that not only do Alicorns have cool powers and great might, they can also purr like a cat?! Excuse me, whose grand idea was this?”

"It was mine,” Harmony responded.

“Oops.”

“No, it is alright, little one,” Harmony said as she examined Bluebell. I was sure I’d get her name someday. “Unfortunately, most of my servants have turned against my children. All because of my opposite.” Her teeth snapped at this. Just mentioning Him turned her eyes red. Little Blue started to struggle. What a little empath we had here.

“Harmony, Daylight is trying to escape.”

“Oh!” She snapped out of her moment of anger. “Sorry.”

“You are mad! I’M LEAVING! I refuse to be an Alicorn’s snack!” Icy shrieked and tried to jump out of Harmony’s bonds. This broke my heart. Her mistrust of my kind was so extensive that she believed even Harmony would harm her. Harmony took a breath and magic shot through her eyes.

“What happened?” Navy asked, having stopped struggling more rapidly than she expected.

“I removed your fear of my son and me,” Harmony answered. “Unfortunately, it is only temporary. Now, let’s get to the most important matter at hand. Midnight, you have been assigned to my son Sombra. This is permanent. This means, Sombra, that you cannot get rid of her and that, Midnight, you cannot quit. You are to work together. Sombra, protect her and teach her more magic.” Sapphire’s eyes lit up at the mention of magic. Interesting. “And you, my dear Midnight,” Harmony continued. “I expect you to make sure Sombra becomes sociable and can enter polite company. The Void knows he needs a little more conversation.”

“Harmony!” Indignation shot through me and out my mouth. But, as per usual, she ignored my comment. Azure tilted her head in question, confusion flickering across her face. “Why does he need me to help him talk to people? Doesn’t he have a lot of Alicorn friends?” Her head swung back and forth between the two of us.

“NO!” I yelled as Harmony declared at the same time, “Heavens no.”

Startled, Navy blinked. “Uhh… umm… excuse me?”

“I can’t stand being around my own kind.” I shuddered at the thought. “Those beasts are disgusting, vulgar, and unspeakably plain…” I looked Harmony in the eyes.

“Really, Sombra,” harped Harmony. “Are you really going to start singing?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t.”

“What?” squeaked Cerulean.

I smiled the wickedest smile I could muster and began my tune. “I know that your powers of retention are wet as a warthog’s backside. But thick as you are, pay attention! My words are matter of pride…”

Ω
ΩMidnightΩ
What was going on?

I was so confused. Beyond confused. This singing goofball was supposed to be the Great Firstborn? Not to complain - his voice was fantastic. His voice melted like a fountain of the purest dark cocoa into my receptive ears. My hooves started tapping along to his song. I had absolutely no idea what he was singing, but it sounded glorious.

“It’s clear from your vacant expression,” he sang as he waved his hoof in front of an unimpressed Harmony’s face, “that the lights are not all on upstairs. But we're talking kings and successions! Even you can't be caught unawares.” Then he started, I don’t know, stalking? Prancing? – around the hall in dramatic fashion with the next line. “Be prepared for a chance of a lifetime. Be prepared for sensational news!” He sat down, head falling back, and rolled his shoulders, his hoof gracefully sliding across his chest before easing him up onto his hooves.

“A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer.” Sombra literally started to tiptoe on all fours around us. I heard somepony say, ‘And where do we feature?’ behind me, scaring the crap out of me in the process. Sombra continued to sing, “Just listen to teacher. I know it sounds sordid, but you’ll be rewarded when at last I am given my due...”
I crawled over to Harmony’s side and whispered, “What the hay is he doing?” The Benevolent Creator looked me square in the eyes and said, “He’s trying his best to distract you and me. Between the two of us, it worked on one. And it was not I. Real mature, boy. Real mature.”

“And injustice deliciously square. BE PREPARED!” he sang, his wings spreading out with dramatic flair. Ooh so pretty! Sombra looked at Harmony expectantly. She shook her head. Then, the strangest thing happened. Sombra sat pretty, wings folded tightly behind his back, head bent down and bottom lip jutting out like I had heard the werewolves sometimes did.

“Please?” he begged in a high-pitched voice, “Pretty please?” And he batted his eyelashes. But Harmony was not giving way. “Huff, you are no fun, Harmony,” he sulked.

“You’re trying to distract me, and it is not going to work.” Harmony narrowed her eyes, and that crazy lunatic just smiled at her. What was wrong with this pony? One minute he was truly angry and ready to kill me, then the next he was gentle and sympathetic. Now he was singing and dancing to a song that I didn’t know. Speaking of… “What were you singing?”

Ω
ΩSombraΩ
“What were you singing?” Blueberry asked, tilting her head to the side. Before I could utter a word Harmony chirped, “It’s called ‘Be Prepared,’ and it’s a piece from a picture show in another dimension called ‘The Lion King.’”

“Dimension?” Picture show?

“YES!” Harmony exclaimed. “Sombra made a mirror that can peer into alternate dimensions! It’s fantastic! I’m so proud of him. Making his own spells and whatnot.” She got a dreamy look on her face. Well, my plan had worked after all. Harmony was now distracted from the execution of her plan. All I had needed to do was sing. How would I get Harmony and the little blue one out of my house? There’s got to be… Oh I know!

“Harmony, I am led to believe that Caerulean…” I started to say.

“Midnight! My name is Midnight!”

“Right. Lapis is probably quite hungry, and I do not think that mango filled her up. What about the café that you always take me to? You could take her, and I could stay here to make sure the house doesn’t burn down. What do you say?”

“No.”

Wait, what? “Why not?” Bewilderment coursed through me. I thought this tack might work. Harmony let a look of disappointment cross her face and linger for a while.

“Why not? Because, Sombra, that is not consistent with my plan. And you will not deviate from my plan, boy!” her voice rumbled and shook the ground beneath my hooves. At this moment, I was reminded once again that when Harmony had an idea she would not be dissuaded, and there was power in her voice.

“But…” I started to argue before thinking better of it. Harmony would not be dissuaded from her goal, but she could be persuaded to turn me into one of my beloved mangos if I gave her reason.

“But what, boy? Speak up, if you have the courage,” Harmony said with a hint of a laughing sneer in her voice. I did not like that tone. A hard glint shone in her multifaceted eyes. Oh, sweet Heavens, please help me! She had the Look in her eyes!

“And if I do?” Shut up, Sombra, you did not want to be turned into a toad! “What are you going do about it?”

“Nothing,” hope flared up in my chest, “for now.” Well, that hope came and went quickly. “I will deal with your attitude later. As of right now you have a new housemate. So, go show that hospitality that I drilled in your head for the past three hundred years. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to make sure you two do not escape. Oh, and I have to go fix some alicorn problems.”

“WAIT!!” But she was already gone. Blast it! Now what? I looked at the tiny blue thing who was now my responsibility. Well, I guessed I must show her to her room.

“Well, if you would please follow me,” I requested, “I will show you to your room.” I started down the hall. I heard a little patter of hooves trailing behind me. Smiling to myself, I continued down the hall.

“So, Blue, what is your favorite color?” I asked her.

“I’m not your color palette! Call me by a shade of blue again, and I’ll cut your mane and tail off and make them into a bed!” she yelled indignantly.

“Okay, but you still have not answered my question.”

“Not pink.”

“But what IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?!”

“NOT PINK!”

“I KNOW THAT! WHAT I NEED TO KNOW IS WHAT YOUR FAVORITE COLOR IS SO I CAN FIND THE ROOM BEST SUITED FOR YOU!”

“Well you don’t have to yell. I’m just saying that I don’t like pink. I could care less what color the room is, as long as it is not pink,” Midnight stated.

“I was not yelling,” I grumbled as I led her to the canary room. This pony was going to send me to the Void. I became less sure with each passing minute that I could not become Discord-touched. What was Harmony thinking! We were not going to survive this week! Finally, we made it to the canary room’s door. Maybe if I locked her in this room, I could get some peace and quiet.

“Here you go, Cornflower,” I said as I opened the door. I looked back when I noticed that she was not moving. “What?”

“You called me Cornflower,” she growled as a pair of shears appeared above her head, “I don’t make idle threats.”

A Magical Experience (Immaturity at Its Best)

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(Present, Canterlot)

Rainbow Dash walked down the hallways of the Castle of Canterlot in a daze. She kept replaying the events of Twilight’s disappearance over and over again in her head. What she could have done better. What steps she could have taken to help prevent this. But in the end, it didn’t matter. Twilight was gone, and Dash still had no answers regarding her friend’s fate. At least Princess Celestia could shine some light on it. That was what this meeting was about, right?

“Welcome, Rainbow Dash. I am happy to see that you are well,” Princess Celestia said as Dash entered the throne room. Dash bowed to Princess Celestia in greeting. “Thank you, Princess Celestia, my recovery was quite speedy because of you. But I didn’t come to play nice. I came so I could find out what happened to Twilight! I want to know what happened to ME! Please, Princess Celestia, if you…”

“Dash,” interrupted Princess Celestia. “all in good time. Let’s wait for the rest of your friends. I would bet they also want to know what happened to you, Spike, and Twilight. So be at peace.”

“Yeah you’re right.”

“Of course, I am. Now, would you care for some cake?” Princess Celestia directed Rainbow Dash’s attention towards the table. One thing Dash could count on was Princess Celestia’s cake table. It was always filled with the best cakes in Equestria. Ranging from haycakes to fruity cakes to Pinkie Pie’s crazy cakes, every single kind of delicious cake was there. Speaking of Pinkie Pie, Dash found her shoved face first in a gigantic frosted cake.

“Mmm… strawberry!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she came up for a breath. Once she licked her lips clean, she dove right back into the cake. Pinkie Pie wiggled her backside, digging herself even further into the now less appealing cake. Dash rolled her eyes at the pink pony’s antics. Trust Pinkie to show absolutely no decorum even in this situation.

“When did Pinkie Pie show up?” Dash asked as she trotted over to the apple fritters. She was hoping for some apple cider, but she doubted there would be any. Princess Celestia was trying her hardest to get Dash to quit it. But Dash really needed a cup right about now with the week she’d had. But apple fritters would have to do. Damn. Grabbing the pastry, Dash sat down and waited for the rest of her friends.

The doors slammed opened with a crash. Rarity galloped into the room.

“Welcome, Rarity, please…” Princess Celestia began, but Rarity ran up and grabbed Princess Celestia’s legs, crying, “Please tell me you have found her! Please, I need good news! I have been sitting on pins and needles all week! Is Dashy ok? Is Spikey-wikey…”

“Shh… shh…” Princess Celestia whispered as she pulled a bawling Rarity into a comforting embrace. Dash dropped her dessert and galloped towards her distraught friend.

“Rarity, Rarity, I’m right here. I’m ok,” she comforted the hysterical white pony. “We’re just waiting for Applejack, Spike, and Fluttershy now so we can get more information. Is that alright?”

“I-is Tw-Twilight still missing?” blubbered Rarity.

“Unfortunately, yes,” answered Princess Celestia, “and that is why I have gathered you all here. Welcome, Spike. Welcome, Applejack. And welcome, Fluttershy. Now that everypony is here, I have important news regarding Twilight and her disappearance.”

Pinkie Pie, still covered in cake, galloped to her gathered friends. Dash made her way to a now fully healed Spike and sat down. She couldn’t even tell that just a week ago he had been covered in third degree burns. She was glad that Princess Celestia had time to heal him, too.

Princess Celestia took a breath, “The one who kidnapped Twilight was Sombra.”

“WHAT!!” they cried in unison.

“As in King Sombra?” asked Applejack.

“No, that was his clone. The Sombra I am talking about is an alicorn like me. But unlike me, he was the Firstborn. As in, the first created being in existence. And he believes that Twilight is the reincarnation of his late mate Midnight Star. I want to find her before he can implant Midnight’s memories into Twilight’s mind. Now, what I am about to share with you is a history long buried in the depths of earth.”

In a billowing cloud of night, Princess Luna arrived at the middle of the circle, facing Princess Celestia.

“Sister!” Princess Celestia exclaimed in surprise. “What is wrong?”

Princess Luna shook her head, looked at Princess Celestia, and proclaimed, “Midnight the Ethereal is rising, and when she awakes, Sister, she will have her revenge!”
Ω

ΩSombraΩ

“Sombra! Midnight! I am home!” Harmony sang as she tromped down the hall. I really was not in the mood today. “Where is everypony? Midnight? Somb…. Bahahahahahahaha!!! What happened to you, boy?” guffawed Harmony as she entered my study. “Three days I’m gone, and you decide to get a mane and tail cut? Sombra, sweetie, why did you cut it all off?” Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to calm down and stop laughing. She was not helping the situation. I bared my teeth at her in annoyance.

“It was your assistant’s fault! Last night she came into my room and CUT IT ALL OFF!” I yelled in frustration. Harmony looked at me for a second and then laughed even harder. She was in tears and on the floor, hooting and hollering into her hoof.

“Midnight Star?” she asked through ragged breaths that were hardly able to fill her lungs. She really needed one of those paper bags. “That little blue pony that I brought here did this? This is rich! This is absolute… hilarity! This is a story… I am going to tell my grandchildren… about. ‘Come, kiddos! Want to hear the story… of how your mother… shaved your father’s… head and tail?’ They’ll love it! HAHAHA!!” She lost control and plummeted into another fit of giggles. So, I stepped over my hysterics-ridden silver Creator and trod over to the kitchen. I had to find another new hiding place for my mangos because the blue terror kept finding them and eating them all. It would not have been so awful had she left me any, but the little terror refused me even the slightest joy. How cruel! Then she lopped off my only pride and joy. My glorious mane had taken me a full century to grow out! And now, thanks to this pony, I MUST WAIT ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS TO GROW OUT MY BEAUTIFUL LONG MANE! Oh, the equinity!

Grumbling to myself, I fished out one perfect mango and bit into it eagerly yet angrily. As I munched on my perfectly ripe, juicy mango, my anger slowly tapering off, Harmony walked into the kitchen, wiping the tears from her now blood-shot eyes. She was still shivering from laughter. Ahh… that mare… both mares… I am going to strangle them!

“So, how did she do it?” Harmony asked with renewed laughter as she walked around the kitchen.

“I do not wish to discuss it,” I grumbled between bites. “Besides, you still have blood on your lips.” I pointed at her face. Harmony looked alarmed. She bolted to the cloth drawer and pulled out one my clean cloths. Then she dashed over to the sink. Pumping water onto the cloth, she frequently looked back toward the kitchen door.

“She is not coming. She is locked in her room. Finally.” Listening to me, Harmony had still been cleaning her mouth. She stopped and glared at me.

“Why?”

I just pointed to my head.

“Fair point. But…”

“And I made her talk backwards for shaving my head,” I added stoically. “So, I see the hunt was successful. You got back those pieces of your soul, correct?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Stop trying to change the subject, boy. Yes, I retrieved those pieces of my soul from those alicorns. I ate them! How else did you think I would get them back? Now, enough about me. You made her talk backwards?”

“Yes.”

“Was this before or after you locked her in her room?”

“After.”

“Which room?”

“Canary.”

“I’ll be back.”

Having said that, she stomped off.

Well. I am in trouble.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

“Pleh! I ma kcuts ni ereh! A yzarc nrocilA dekcol em ni ereh!” I yelled sitting on the annoyingly comfortable bed. As of today, canary yellow was on color hate list, along with pink. It got the pink slip. Get it? I wanted out of here. I’d been cooped up in this awfully beautiful hole for two hours! I’M GOING INSANE! I’m flying out of the cuckoo’s nest, and that crazy Alicorn made me talk backwards. I had no idea how he did it, and boy did I want to know how! What kind of spell did he use? Did the magic come out of his gut? I had to know! After I got out of here and hit him with a flippin’ frying pan.

The doorknob rattled and finally started to turn with … silvery magic! I jumped off the nest I had made with Sombra’s mane and tail and ran to the door. Harmony walked through the door. Not the door opening. The door. Wow, could she ever become prettier than she is now? For some reason, today she had a golden halo around her.

“So this what you did to his mane and tail. Love the pattern. Did you knit or crochet?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Tehcorc!” I said confidently before I remembered that I talked backwards now. My confidence flew out the window, trailing behind my sanity. Harmony’s lips started to twitch.

“S’ti ton ynnuf!” I shouted, stomping my hooves in agitation. I was so going to get him back for this. As soon as I learned how. Wasn’t he supposed to teach me magic? All he did for the past three days was run away from me. Well, then again, I was hunting him down for his mane and tail, so… I guess, yeah. I’m a bad pony. Oh, well.

“’Tis, but it is, my child,” Harmony said, suddenly using a goofy accent. “For what is a mare who talketh backwards? A senseless mare who did not heed her elder’s warning.” Her laughter filled the room. Well, at least one of us found this funny, I thought under my breath. I just sat with my head tilted to the side and waited until she stopped. Goodness knows I loved hearing her laughter, but this was getting ridiculous and all kinds of out-of-whack. How long was she going to keep laughing?

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but I find this situation you both found yourselves in… is absolutely hilarious!” She said this wiping tears from her eyes.

“Now let us get down to business.” Colors flashed in her eyes. I heard a ‘Boo yeah, baby! I’M BEAUTIFUL! YOU GORGEOUS HUNK O’ PRIME STALLION!’ in the distance. Harmony rolled her eyes. Then her gaze fell on me. Uhh… that was a heavy stare. Um… help me!

Colors flashed in her eyes again, and those colors chased me. They would not stop following me, chasing me around the room! And Harmony did not help the situation. She just stood there. Why? Then the colors caught me, and a rainbow filled my eyes.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” I screeched. Wait… “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. I can speak right again! And better than usual, I might add. I’m going rub it in Sombra’s face!”

“Wait!”

But I didn’t wait. I ran down the hallway, screaming at the top of lungs, “SOMBRA!” I opened every door until I finally found him in the kitchen, eating a mango. I ran up to him, jumped and bit into the mango. He narrowed his eyes. I have made mistakes before, and this was one. Then, he started to shake his head while I was attached to the mango! That’s when I learned that HE IS INSANE!

“Children! Little foals, behave!” Harmony screeched. Wow. Sombra stopped suddenly. Luckily, I stayed on. Or maybe not. I took my bite and fell to the floor. I scrambled to my hooves, regret and shame flooding my veins as I looked in Harmony’s direction. If looks could kill, I’d definitely be in one of those mass graves outside of town.

“Sombra! Is this how the Firstborn acts? And Midnight! I thought you were an adult! If you are an adult, then act like one!”

“But, I don’t wanna adult today…”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

“Ohhh… you should not have said that,” I mumbled under my breath. Based on my experience, I should have known that. It had never ended well. Harmony’s lips tightened into a straight line. Then she looked at me, as if I had had anything to do with what Midnight (was that the correct name?) was saying. She mouthed - What am I to do with the two of you? I just shrugged.

“I have an idea,” I said.

“If your idea is about her leaving and you staying home all by yourself,” she growled, “then forget about it.” Well she did not need to be rude. Then again she was hanging by her last rope. She obviously was entirely through with our ‘batcrap’.

“Midnight, I don’t think it’s working,” I whispered in her ear.

“Really? What gave you that idea?” she deadpanned. “And for your information, I actually have no idea what the hay you are talking about. What exactly is not working?”

“I am talking to children!” screeched Harmony, throwing her wings into the air. “You know what? I will think up a proper punishment for that comment at a later time. I am still on the hunt, and I simply do not have time right now. I came to check up on you two, and I will see you in a month. Sombra, for the last time, teach her magic! Now, if you will excuse me.” With that she poofed. She poofed into a glittery cloud. I sputtered as the glitter infected my mouth with the awful taste of art. Tasted retched, the glitter did. I turned to Midnight and said, “Well, Miss Star, are you ready to properly learn magic?”

“I have so many questions,” she said as she looked at me. “But yeah, let’s get started.”
Famous last words of a fool.

ΩTwo Weeks LaterΩ

“I distinctly remember that I told you to change the rabbit’s fur, not mine,” I said as I looked in the mirror. “I thought you hated pink.”

“I do! And I’m sorry! In my defense, the rabbit jumped behind you just as I was casting the spell,” Midnight replied. “However, pink does look good on you.”

“Quite,” I grumbled. “Now I would like you to cast the exact same spell. This time, instead of changing the rabbit’s fur, I would like you to change my fur back. Got it?”

“Aye, aye, Captain, sir,” she said with a mock salute. “Now, do you want red fur with black highlights or black fur with red highlights? Pick now or forever hold your peace.”

“Black with red highlights,” I answered.

“Red with black it is!”

“WAIT, NO! UGH… That was not the right color. Now I am green, Midnight. Try again. … Now I am brown. Purple. Yellow. Blue. Periwinkle. Really, Midnight? Mustard. Pumpernickel. Gray…”

ΩThree Weeks LaterΩ

ΩMidnightΩ

“This so hard,” I whined as I attempted a complicated floatation spell. The goal, according to Sombra, was to make an object float for more than two minutes. And the sick, demented wild stallion decided that I would cast the spell on him. We’d been working on this spell for the past three hours! I’M HUNGRY, YOU MONSTER!

“Again,” the demonic slave-driver commanded, for the hundredth time. “Remember, we are not finished until you complete the spell correctly, or until the fourth hour mark has been reached. Now try again, Miss Star.”

“’Again, Miss Star, again,’” I back-talked. “I’ll show you again, Sir.” I cast a spell, I really did. It just wasn’t the spell he wanted. I hoped he would tumble into a lake, or something equally funny. Now he was gone and I was going to get some food. Teleporting other ponies was fun!

ΩOne Month LaterΩ

ΩSombraΩ

Today was the day. The day I would show Midnight her library. Harmony, I hoped she could read. Otherwise this would be very awkward. I walked up the stairs with Midnight trailing behind me. She refused to be quiet, always asking what the surprise was. With anypony else I would have been beyond mere annoyance, but this was the way of Midnight. She was always trying to find new ways to irk me. Unfortunately for her, I found her antics quite charming. Somehow. I honestly could not remember when that change occurred.

“Here we are,” I announced as I conjured up the key. “You may stop with the questioning now. Are you ready?”

“Yes, please,” she bounced. So cute.

I smiled down upon her. Who would have thought that this little thing could make me smile? What would I do without her? Suffer through the tedium, I suppose. I unlocked and opened the door, and the look on her face was worth every second I had spent cleaning this room. I did not know why it was a mess, but a mess it had been. And Harmony would answer for it.

Once she returned.

“OH, MY SWEET HARMONY! BOOKS!” screeched Midnight in the quaint little cry of a teenaged banshee. What a charmer she was. She took off into the room like a lightning bolt. Well, I suppose I got something right. I patted myself on the back with a puff of magic. The mare was acting like a young filly in a candy apple store. Bouncing between books, she squealed and squealed. It was the cutest thing I had seen all day. I started laughing outright when she began a ridiculous dance.

“Shut up! This is best thing ever!” she exclaimed. “It almost makes up for you taking away my ability to curse.”

“You still prattling on about that?”

“Yes.”

“Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that this library is yours.” I waved my wings around the room. Her eyes lit up with joy. Then she launched herself at me.

“Thank you!”

“Oof! You’re welcome.”

ΩTwo Days LaterΩ

ΩMidnightΩ

“’Go get some mangos,’ he said. ‘It’s your turn,’ he said,” I grumbled, pulling on my pack, “What am I, his personal shopper? I want to stay in my library!”

I shouted this out at Mister I-didn’t-get-my-mangos-today-so-you-should-buy-some Grumpy Pants and stepped outside. Sombra really detested when I tried to teleport from inside the house. Something about stains on the carpet or something similar. I couldn’t tell what he was prattling on about. But I had to listen to the boss.

Humming, I teleported to the market on the Mane. It was such a lovely day outside. And the best part was that mangos were on sale today. Score! A couple dozen mangos later, I was ready to go. Oof… dang brick wall. Who decided to put… one… there… Oh, no…

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A little unicorn breaking our laws and teleporting at will. Say, what do we do to law breakers again? Oh, that’s right - we eat them!”

The Turning Point

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(Present, Canterlot)

Fluttershy arranged and rearranged the plates and tea. She was nervous. Even though she was in Canterlot, Discord had ensured she would not miss her weekly teatime with him. And the kindly pegasus had a number of questions to ask of him. Most important of all was the question of whether he knew the alicorn Harmony? Did Celestia tell the truth about everything? Fluttershy knew before she become friends with Discord that he had done awful things in the past, but did he really make all those alicorns go insane? And why?

“Fluttershy, darling, you look so gloomy. Why the long face?” Inquired a voice. Startled Fluttershy jumped, banging her head on the ceiling. She opened her eyes to find a blurry Discord standing over her.

“Fluttershy, dear, are you okay?” a concerned Discord asked as he helped her to her hooves. “What is making you so jumpy?” The concern shone in his mismatched red eyes. He didn’t like seeing his Fluttershy so jumpy and afraid. ‘Whoever is causing my Fluttershy dismay will die a slow and painful death,’ thought Discord as his eyes trained on the shivering yellow pony. He picked her up and pulled her gently to his chest, holding her firm between lion paw and eagle talon. Fluttershy started to bawl. The loss of one of her dearest friends, the near death of another, and now the crashing down of the most foundational pillars of history that she had known in her young life. It was simply too much. At this point, all she could do was cry. And poor Discord, he had to see her like this. What kind of friend was she, causing him so much distress?

“Fluttershy, please talk to me. Tell me what is the matter,” Discord whispered soothingly. The dragonequus’s dragon-like tail twitched in worry. ‘That pony, whoever they are, is going to die!’ vowed Discord. ‘No pony will harm my Fluttershy and keep their life.’

“I’m sorry, Discord,” sniffed Fluttershy. “It’s been a long week. With Rainbow Dash and Spike almost dying… and … and Twilight g-going m-missing! A-and I f-found out t-that everything is a lie! I’m a terrible friend, crying on you like this! I’m sorry.” She buried her head into the brown fur of his chest.

Discord soothingly rubbed her back and whispered, “Shh… shh… There, there, Fluttershy. Tell me what you mean by ‘everything is a lie.’ I am very much confused.”
Hiccupping, Fluttershy finally composed herself. Very quietly, she asked, “What do you know about the alicorn named Harmony?”

“Who told you about her?” asked Discord. “I haven’t heard that name in millennia.”

“Celestia. Will you tell me about her?”

“Well, my darling, I knew her before the land you are now standing on was created. When it was just me, Harmony, and Void. You see, my dear Fluttershy, Harmony is my exact opposite. She is the incarnation of order, agreement, beauty, and life! Because of those qualities, we fought quite a lot, mostly petty arguments. There were a few times Void had to separate us to
keep us from disturbing its sleep.”

“And the Firstborn? Who is he?”

“Ah, the colt with a somber look. Well, that colt came about because of Harmony’s loneliness. She gave up half her soul to make him, and Void named him Sombra. I wanted a creation of my own, but unfortunately I lack the ability to do so. Apparently, you need harmony in your magic instead of chaos to make a living being, so I am left to twist her creations, not to create my own. Because of the Firstborn, Harmony decided to make a world, a world for him to live in. Void granted this, on one condition: I would join her. It was the only time she and I ever worked together. Void called it chaotic harmony, the perfect balance.”

“So what about the Discord-touched? Did you do that to all those alicorns?”

“No, I most definitely did not. There was an alicorn who wanted to be greater than Harmony who addled their brains. I just got all the credit. But I didn’t enjoy seeing those ponies die. I wanted to have fun with them, not to watch as their bloody corpses were draped over lampposts or roofs of buildings. It got worse when Harmony continued to part with pieces of her soul to make more alicorns.”

“Wait. Then how are ponies made? Along with everyone else?”

“A piece of me, magic from Harmony, and a soul coming from Void. The dagger-like teeth on alicorns? All my idea. One thing you must know, Fluttershy, is this: alicorns don’t have their own souls. They have a piece of Harmony’s soul. They are completely soulless without Harmony. They do have somewhat of a free will, but their main purpose has always been to serve the ponies and Sombra. But the Secondborn, the first true alicorn, wanted more. Therefore, she stole from Void and from me and went insane. Her insanity consumed her, making her into a being of horror and blood. Harmony didn’t know about this because she had lost fifty percent of her soul when it had happened and wasn’t omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient as she had been before she started creating. She regained her true self when she turned herself into the tree and went back to manage Void. I stayed so I could watch over the ponies. But without Harmony, I became bored. You know the rest of what happened. I played dangerously, got turned into stone, came back, became a stone again, came back, and now am reformed. What a chaotic, discordant story.”

“Wow,” exclaimed Fluttershy in her controlled manner, “that’s a lot to take in. But Celestia wanted to hide this? And, what does Twilight have to do with any of this?”

“One word. Reincarnation.”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

“Wait… wait, this is a misunderstanding. I didn’t break any laws. Another unicorn must have teleported! I was out shopping for my Alicorn lord. He wanted some mangos, and I was sent to get some.” I tried to reason my way out of an almost certain death sentence. Sombra never said I couldn’t teleport. I just forgot that it was illegal to do so outside his walls. This was not good.

“Naw, little meat, I saw you teleport here. It doesn’t matter if your Master said you could do that. If you step outside his walls, you are under our rule. Besides, I don’t think your Master would mind a new unicorn slave.” The purple male Alicorn leered at the frightened dark blue pony. His unnecessarily sharp teeth glinted in afternoon light. The gold Alicorn simply laughed.

Suddenly her horn flared in deep yellow magic, the magic encasing me in its golden hue. She lifted me up while the purple one gathered every single pony around the Mane to see. Alicorns loved to show off. Sombra was not like this. He was a gentle, adorably grumpy, patient, kind somepony I was learning to care a lot about. He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t like this. He would stop this. But he was not here! Oh, NO! HELP ME!

“Now scream, you pathetic worm!” shouted Goldie. “Let all the ponies hear your fear. A screaming meal tastes all the sweeter. Hahahahaha!” With her magic I was slammed to the ground. I felt my shoulder crack, yet I didn’t scream. I would not give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream. Purple magic encased me, dragging me back into the air.

“YOU HEARD HER,” yelled Purple. “NOW SCREAM!”

Over and over they bashed my head into the ground. But I kept my mouth shut. If screaming was what they wanted, they were not going to get it. Abruptly, they stopped. My head felt like a knife was shredding my insides. It took everything I had to glare at them. I smiled as blood poured into my mouth. Laughing, I stood up on my three good legs and shouted, “Is that the best you’ve got?”

The purple one roared and lunged at me. I barely jumped out of the way, but I wasn’t fast enough. Pain exploded in my remaining good front leg. I heard the sound of meat ripping from bone, and I saw white. I heard somepony screaming in pain behind the veil of white noise. I shook my head. As my vision cleared, I saw ivory surrounded by crimson, and my wound was sheathed in light blue. After my vision fully cleared, I realized that what I was seeing was my bone, the muscles torn off and chewed up by the Alicorn. My leg had meat pouring out of it. I could also see the gouge marks of teeth imprinted in my bone. The blood loss must have gotten to me because they were laughing. Everyone was laughing.

“You’re a big talker, but you scream the loudest of them all!” Purple said gleefully as my blood dripped from his face, “And, by Harmony, you taste delicious.” He stalked me as I limped back, getting closer to me by the second. I had to get out of here! I want to go home. I want to go home. I WANT TO GO HOME!

Light blue magic encased me. I was teleporting! I saw the hatred and disgusted looks on those Alicorns’ faces as I left.

“NO!”

“Goodbye!”

Then they were gone.

I landed in a heap on the floor. Groaning, I opened my eyes to see that I was back at Sombra’s. Well, I guess this was ‘home’ now. Everything hurt, and I was making a stain on the carpet. I must not let Sombra see me like this. Hide. Hide. HidehidehidehideHIDE!

“Midnight, is that you? Did you get the mangos?”

OH, SWEET HARMONY!

“Ms. Star, please answer me. I hate playing this game. It’s quite unfun.”

The closet! I could hide in the closet! I crawled into the closet, burrowing into its many coats. Praying that he wouldn’t see me, I crouched low. I didn’t want him to see me hurt. I wanted him to see me strong, not weak. I couldn’t defend myself from those Alicorns. They were too powerful. And now I was going to die in a coat closet. With no one to mourn me.

“Midnight, why is there blood on the carpet?”

Oh, no.

“Midnight, are you alright? Please come out. If you are hurt, let me heal you. Please come out of hiding.”
I couldn’t let him see me like this. Sombra, please don’t look in the closet.

“You’re in the closet?”

No.

“That is enough hiding, Midnight. Come on out, dear!”

I can’t.

“Can’t, or won’t?”

Tears poured down my face. The pain was becoming very great, indeed. Blackness started to creep in. If death was coming knocking, I would greet death with open arms.

“No, you will not!”

The door opened with a bang. Red magic parted the coats as if parting a sea of red cloth. Ruby red eyes looked upon me in my wretched state. I turned away. I couldn’t bear seeing pity in his eyes. Red magic wrapped itself around my battered body. I cried out in pain as obsidian wings enfolded me. Soft fur caressed my bruised and beaten head. The drumbeats of pain and misery pounded through my body, and tears flowed down my face.

“Shh… shh… it’s alright. I have got you,” soothed Sombra. “Everything is going to be alright.

“‘Hunan blentyn, are fy mynwes,
Clyd a chynnes ydyw hon;
Breichiau mam sy'n dyn amdanat,
Cariad mam sy dan fy mron;
Ni chaiff dim amharu'th gyntun.’”

Golden threads started to stitch my leg back together as Sombra sang. I had no idea what he was singing, but it was beautiful. As he sang, the pain in my head started to fade away. It was like the incident had never happened! I watched as the golden threads sewed my wound closed. When the last stitch was completed, a bright golden light shone. It blinded me. But when I looked at my leg again, it was completely healed. It was as if I had never been attacked! I looked at Sombra and saw his eyes fade from gold to red.

“Who did this to you?” asked Sombra. I didn’t answer. Instead I asked, “What kind of spell was that?”

“It is called the Ultimate Healing spell,” answered Sombra

“What price did you pay for that spell?”

“Someone has been listening to her lessons,” he smiled as he booped my noise with his wing. “The price was feeling all the pain that you went through. And I would do it again if I had to. Unfortunately, this spell cannot be used if the pony is already breathing their last, so come quickly if you’re ever hurt again.”

“So, I wasn’t dying?”

“I already answered your question, Ms. Star, now answer mine. Who did this to you?” I felt the anger that rippled through his body. But I refused to answer. My gut was telling me that, if I did, he would do something that he would later regret. I decided I would protect him. I would not let him go down this path. He closed his eyes and took a breath through his nose. He opened his eyes and looked straight into mine.

“Fine. Have it your way,” he whispered. At that moment, his eyes turned completely white. I felt a small pinch in the back of my head. Sombra looked smug all of a sudden.

“Got it!” he said with a wicked smile. His grin softened to a much kinder smile. He placed his forehead on mine and whispered softly, “Sleep, fy un bach i. Sweet dreams.”

I grew unusually tired. With his magic, Sombra carried me to my room while I struggled to stay awake. But, whatever spell he cast, it was too strong. I fell asleep once my head hit the pillow.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

She was finally asleep. Now it was time for the hunt. No one would hurt my Midnight and get away with it. This ended now! I cast a spell to remove her blood from the floor as I headed out. The more I thought about her pitiful state, the angrier I became. Extreme danger, near loss of life, all because she had teleported?! THAT WAS PREPOSTEROUS! Unicorns should have had the right to do any spell they wished, so long as it did not hurt anypony. Killing a pony for teleporting? That was unforgivable. I thought She had said She would handle the alicorns. Apparently not.

I teleported right to where Midnight had been attacked. The pair of guilty alicorns were still roaming around, terrorizing other ponies. They stopped what they were doing and turned towards me.

“My Lord,” simpered the golden one with the high-pitched, squeaky voice. “What an honor! It is such a privilege to be graced by your presence.”

“Such an honor,” echoed the purple one. Midnight’s blood still dripped from the muzzle of that awful creature. Wrath surged through my body. These … things sought to destroy one of the few beings I truly loved and expected to find themselves in my good graces? He did not even take heed to wipe the blood off his face before bowing to me.

“You hurt what is mine,” I growled. I slowly stalked toward my prey. Bewilderment and shock flickered across their faces.

“Come again, my Lord?” the purple one enquired. “I did not quite catch that.”

“You, who have the blood of my Midnight Star upon your face, think it such an honor for me to grace you with my presence. You, who tasted the flesh of fy un bach i, believe that I would not take vengeance for her but would spare you. On this day, all will know that I have had quite enough. I am taking back the Council from the Secondborn and will start hunting down all who choose to disagree! Starting, of course, with you. My teeth and ambition are bared. Be prepared. Oh, and what was it you said to her? Oh, right. ‘A screaming meal tastes all the sweeter.’ Oh, I hope you are right.”

The smell of fear permeated the air around the two alicorns. It was then I realized that I had missed this. Seeing my prey cowering in fear. It was exhilarating. My magic besieged the gold one while I myself pounced on the purple. My teeth sank into his neck, filling my mouth with his sweet blood. I shook him like a rag doll and then tossed him to the side. That would keep him down for a while. I strolled over to the goldfish, smiling maliciously as I took my careful steps. Its wings flapped uselessly as my magic held it pinned to the ground. I slammed it into the cobblestone road. The satisfying sound of bones shattering was heard echoing down the Mane. I lifted what remained back into the air and then slammed the creature down again. Over and over again I tossed the thing to and fro until I myself could not have recognized its face. But this would not kill the thing. No. I must rip out its soul for it truly to meet its demise. And to do that, well…

I rent limb from limb with my teeth, stealing away the essential body parts last. Feel the might of a true predator, goldfish. Slowly, ever so slowly, I dismantled the abomination that had had the audacity to call itself an alicorn. I felt its soul leaving the body it had possessed and entering me. My wings burst into glorious red flames as I fed, bringing me back into my original form from when I was first created. I painted the cobblestones red with its blood, enjoying the irony of my success compared to its failed attempts with my Star’s blood. When the last bit of its soul slid into my mouth, I made eye contact with my other prey.

Its neck now fully healed, the purple thing started scrambling for a getaway. And I let it go, much like a cat toying with its dinner. The flying eggplant took off like a bolt of lightning. It looked back to find me smiling. I yelled at the retreating creature, “Fly away while you can. When I catch you, you will meet your end!” I gave a mighty roar and shot after the eggplant. I’d give it credit – it did give a merry little chase, but I grew tired of my play.

My magic encased the creature, stopping its flight rather abruptly. With great force, I slammed it to the ground, creating a crater and shearing off its wings in the process. Its screams reverberated down the Mane. Crowds had formed and were cheering as I began to toss the purple vegetable about. Every blow, every crunch, every slapping sound of raw meat was very satisfying to hear. Sweet was my revenge for all the pain it and the goldfish had caused, for every death they had inflicted, for every mutilation they had made, and every orphan each creature had created. Retribution had been served, warm and sweet to the tongue.
I was not quite finished, however. I tossed its wings to the madly cheering crowd. Now it was time to end this pitiful creature.

“Why… are… you… doing… this?” the thing asked. “What… did… we… do… to… deserve… this?”

“Why, you ask? I thought I had already given you the answer. You and your ilk have strayed off Harmony’s path. You maim, desecrate, and kill her prized creations! Alicorns were formed to serve the unicorns, the pegasi, and the earth ponies. You were never meant to rule! I had thought that, for the past fifty years, the Secondborn was taking care of this mess, but apparently she did was incompetent. Therefore I am taking it upon myself to clean up the mess. I was quite willing to overlook such matters until you two hurt my little Star and made me own up what was happening in my realm. I am going to enjoy making the Discord-touched suffer like they have made the innocents suffer. Eye for an eye, I will harm you like you harmed MY MIDNIGHT STAR! YOU WILL KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD TERROR, YOU FOUL MUTTS!”

The eggplant’s cries were barely heard over the roaring crowd. Now I knew why the alicorns loved to make a show. They hammed it up for the cheers. They killed for the rush of the crowd’s approval. Even killing the citizens of Harmonia, they still sought the approval of their victims. How sickening.

I was glad that those foul things were gone from this word. However, looking back, I wished I had ended their pitiful excuses for lives in private. I gained nothing from a blood-thirsty crowd hot on my hooves. However, it seemed now, unfortunately, that I had a crowd after all. So I teleported out of the Mane and made it back to my home. Only after I arrived did I realize that I was covered in blood, getting it all over the pristine carpet. And I just cleaned this. Ugh…

I went into the bathroom and scrubbed the blood off my body. One thing magic could not seem to clean properly was blood-soaked fur, especially mine for some reason. The kinds of sick jokes a self-proclaimed witty writer could come up with. After I had finally cleaned myself up, I went into Midnight’s room and promptly curled up beside her. I had nearly lost her today. I would never let her out of my sight again. As I closed my eyes, a heavy knock sounded. I tried to ignore it, but it was annoyingly persistent. Grumbling, I eventually got up and answered the door.

“WHAT?!” I complained as I opened the door.

“A-a letter f-from the S-Secondborn, my L-Lord,” stammered the unicorn. I was about to murmur an apology to the frightened messenger, but the poor thing bolted before I could manage to say a word. The letter had fallen on the ground when the poor thing ran.

“A letter from Anteras? That was fast.”

Anteras

View Online

(Present, somewhere far deep underground)

In a cave, deep underground, was a door that the Firstborn himself had vowed to never open. Behind this door were violet-black crystals. Amongst these crystals was a blood-red creature. One crystal was buried in its front leg. Another had sunk into its chin and shot out the top of its head. Yet another crystal had embedded itself in the creature’s gut. One would think that the poor creature was dead, but no. An evil this great could not die! The being was only asleep. Being imprisoned for over three thousand years and absorbing crystals could really knock out even the most powerful being. Groaning, it began to wake.

Pain. Eternal pain was all it felt. All the power it had gathered had still not been enough to overcome the Firstborn. The beast had been defeated and cast into the pit of Void Incarnate. How the Firstborn had used the crystals it would never know. But revenge, on the other hand, revenge was something about which the creature knew volumes, and it desired this dish best served cold more than anything else it had ever known. To make the Firstborn suffer as the beast had suffered and continued to suffer. To make him bleed rivers as it had bled.

Crack!

It laughed, the noise an unsettling gurgle as blood flooded its mouth once more. “No matter. The crystals are finally receding. The time has almost come. Scorpio’s star is coming for the Somber One. Be wary. Be afraid, for I will have what is rightfully mine!”

Ω

(Past, Sombra’s Home)

ΩSombraΩ

“Anteras, what do you want now?” I mumbled to myself as I looked at the gold and red envelope. In beautiful, black, cursive letters my name had been penned: Seren Dywyll Somber O Gytgord. Always so formal, she was. Bahh… I’ll deal with her invite later, I thought as I carelessly tossed the letter over my head. I headed off to bed.

I walked tiredly into Midnight’s room and curled myself around her. This was comfortable. I should have started sleeping in this canary room a long time ago. I promptly fell asleep with fy un bach i in my arms.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ
Hot. Too hot, I thought as I struggled to escape my burning-hot cage. But every time I got close to escaping, something kept dragging me back in, returning me to my heated prison. It felt like iron bars were trapping me where I lay. This was getting ridiculous. The sunlight glowed through my eyelids and woke me up. This was highly unusual. On any normal day, Sombra would have awakened me before the sun had the chance to pop over the horizon. Now to get these obsidian legs off… wait a minute.

Obsidian legs were trapping me to a furnace. Hm. I twisted around to find Sombra asleep on my bed and cuddled up to me. A-ha, that would be the furnace. I reached out with a hoof and tapped the white on his nose. Up close, it appeared to be a six-pointed star. I poked the white patch again to wake him up, but his only response was a low grumble as he pulled me closer to him. At this point I began sweating like a pig. I assumed I had rivers of perspiration flowing down my back now. Forget a furnace, this Alicorn was a fricken incinerator. I was burning up, with no reprieve in sight!

I moved on from his nose, instead pushing on his chest, but he moved in such a way that I could not move my limbs.
Growling, I thought of an alternative plan. I took a breath and - “SOMBRA! WAKE UP! YOU ARE LITERALLY COOKING ME INTO A BURNT PONY PIE!” I shouted into his fur.

“Quiet, fy un bach i, let me sleep more,” he grumbled, stuffing his face into my neck. “Besides, it’s much too early. I’m not cooking you into a ‘burnt pony pie.’” Oh, sweet Harmony, his husky sleepy voice was turning me into the furnace now. Bad, Midnight, bad. You are absolutely not supposed to drool over your boss’s voice.

“Can you please get off of me?” I asked as I struggled to escape his much-too-hot embrace.

“No.”

“No? And why not?”

“Because you nearly died today. Because I am not letting you out of my sight because you nearly died today. Now shh, fy un bach i. Let me sleep. It’s been a long day,” he said. Then his snoring started up. So I poked his noise again.

“Sombra.” Poke.

“Sombra?” Poke.

“Sombra!” Poke.

Growling, he flipped me around, smashed my back into his chest, and adeptly tucked my head into his chin. And started to purr, his wing covered the sunlight. And now I lay in pitch darkness, my field of vision absolutely devoid of light in this purring mass. Great. Just great. I was still baking into a tart little pony pie here! A remarkably sour tart at that! I renewed my efforts to escape my prison but with no avail. I was sure I was going to die of heatstroke!

Suddenly, I was free! At last, freedom! I dashed out of bed and ran down the hall straight for the cellar. Oh, cool underground stones, you were my dearest friends.

“You’re being melodramatic. You know that, right?” inquired Sombra as he tromped down the stairs. I just glared at him.

“Well, excuse me. I didn’t want to get heatstroke. What are you? A furnace?” I asked as I waved my hooves around. “And, now that I think of it, what were you doing in my bed?”

“Sleeping.”

“Sleeping? Don’tchu have a bed of yer own?” I tilted my head to the side, inwardly pleased at my accent.

“It is ‘Do you not have a bed of your own?’ not whatever you said. Have you forgotten your lessons already?” Reprimand or no, I felt no guilt. He was changing the subject. I stared him right in the eye. He would not get the best of me. No, he would not. No, he… would… not… win… dang it. I looked away first. He may have won this round, and the previous one, and all the times before that, but nevertheless I would win one of these days and say my piece! But unfortunately, not today. Grr…

“No I didn’t forget. I also haven’t forgotten that you didn’t answer my question. Don’t you have your own bed to sleep in?” I growled back.

“Well, somepony woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Hehe… Fine. I’ll answer your question. Yes, I do have my own sleeping quarters. You were attacked and nearly died, and I decided I would not let that happen again, especially not the night after the attack. From today on, you will be moving into my room. I need you safe. These arrangements are not up for debate. My decision is final.” He promptly turned around and went upstairs. All I could do was wonder - what just happened?

“Wait just a cotton pickin’ minute! Sombra!” I yelled at his retreating tail. I dashed up the stairs, calling his name. But the dang stallion just wouldn’t listen. And, dang, his strides were long! As I ran down the hallway, I slipped on something and faceplanted on the floor. Let me tell ya, carpet looks plush and all, but it does not cushion your fall.

“Ow… What is this?” I picked up the culprit and found a beautiful, metallic red and gold envelope. “Seren Dywyll Somber O Gytgord “ it read in beautiful curved letters. A silver wax seal with an upside-down crescent moon was on the back, an arrow going through the middle of the moon. I broke open the seal…

“Don’t open it… dang it, she knows now.” Sombra had rushed back. He skidded to a halt right in front of me. “Now we have to attend whatever ridiculous event She cooked up!”

I is confusion.

“Use coherent sentences, fy un bach I,” reprimanded Sombra as he read the shiny letter. “I did not teach you proper Equinarige for nothing.”

“Stop constantly reading my thoughts, Somby.” His ear twitched at the nickname ‘Somby.’ “Why do I have come? And who is
‘She’ that you speak of? And what event is it, anyway?” I asked, continuing to vomit up questions as I trailed behind Somby.

“She is Anteras the Secondborn. The event is just a formal meeting with her. No big deal. I just have dress up to see her. And so do you. Ah, I already have the dress picked out. So let’s get a move on. We don’t have much time.” At that he went into his room, slamming the door in my face. We really needed to address his reading my mind. That was really getting annoying.
I started to grumble as I paced back and forth in front of the door. I was not done with our conversation, dang it! Not by a long shot. After what felt like an eternity, the door finally opened. I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind. All those words flew out of my mind when he walked out of his room. I became speechless, though unfortunately not for the first time around him. He was wearing a dove grey formal jacket with silver embroidery thread and silver, rose-shaped buttons. A ruffled undershirt completed the look. He had tied his mane back with a silver-grey tie. All in all, he looked dashing. The whole outfit seamlessly complemented his red, red eyes and gave his persona an air of mystery.

“Sorry, Miss Star, but you definitely can’t go like that. Hold on.”

Red magic wrapped around me. And then I was blinded by a red light.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I was in a hurry. I did not have time to wait for her to pick out a dress. So I did what any respectable alicorn do (a.k.a. what I would do): I magicked a dress onto her. I went with a black dress with a red-tipped ruffled skirt. I also set rubies in the pattern of my signature six-pointed star on the sweetheart-neckline bodice. The sleeves were adorned with black lace. I curled her mane and adorned her mane with rubies, too. I probably shouldn’t have put her in my colors, but she *was* supposed to be my mate. Eh… she looked far too pretty to change. And she looked good in ruby red and black. Yes, I was selfish enough to keep her in my colors after all. I wrapped my wing around her and teleported. I would deal with the black glitter on the carpet later. Fantastic…

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

In a cloud of black glitter, which somehow ended up in my mouth, we entered an over-the-top grand hall. The place was so huge that it made Sombra look small. And that was saying something. The floors were hewn from pure obsidian glass polished so finely that I could see myself clearly and very easily slip on a banana peel if there was one. It was like walking on a black mirror. The walls were made with what looked like uncut rubies and golden runes etched in the stone. Golden columns held an obsidian ceiling with diamonds embedded in the stone, making the ceiling look like the night sky. The hall was endless, at least to me, seeming to go on forever.

Sombra made his way to the golden grand staircase just I was about to pass out. After what felt like an eternity, we finally made it to the top. I was panting when we got there, but the dang black Alicorn looked like he was put together and wasn’t winded at all. What the HAY! That’s not fair. And he was laughing at me! The nerve!

“The lady Anteras, Secondborn of Harmony, welcomes you to the Council!” A gentle voice carried across the gaudy hall. "What pleasure it gives me to announce the arrival of the Firstborn and his companion on this auspicious occasion!”

“It’s always a pleasure, Zephahnriel,” Sombra smiled and bowed. I, on the other hand, could not stop staring at this beautiful creature. A Kinku - with ten tails! - came walking up to us, her arms spread wide. Her fur was a beautiful shade of jade green that complemented a beautiful cream dress. A length of cream fur covered one of her green… er, no, blue… wait, green?... eyes. The tips of her tails were also cream-colored.

“’It is always a pleasure, Lady Zephahnriel,’” she corrected. “By Harmony, what have I always told you about contractions? Contractions, at their core, are indolent and unflattering. Every word you utter should be given its due, at least in polite company.” The Kinku scoffed. “I will concede, however, that nicknames have their use. I call myself Zepha. I do not respond to the boorish moniker Zephahnriel.” The Kinku rolled her eyes and shook a dainty claw at Sombra in a manner that was almost intimidating. “I do not enjoy the way my full name sounds on your lips, or on the lips of any other creature, for that matter.” She glanced behind her with another roll of her eyes. “Now, Sombra, come give me a hug.”

And hug they did. For some reason, I myself wanted to hug the fluffy Kinku. This was the first time I had ever seen one up close. Zepha was slightly taller than Sombra, which would put her height at, approximately, towering over me. Great, that’s what I needed. I needed another creature giving me a short-pony complex again. Sombra already did that, thank you very much.

Sombra busted out laughing. Poor Zepha looked confused until I admitted, “He’s laughing at what I thought.”

“Indeed,” was all she said, and her green-blue-green eyes twinkled as she turned back towards Sombra. “Sombra, you know reading minds to snigger at inside jokes is discourteous. And, dear little unicorn, please refrain from using contractions in my presence. To put it simply, ponies do not seem to understand the proper use of contractions. Furthermore, when contractions invade the speech, they will surely spread onto parchment!” An exaggerated sigh escaped her muzzle before she finally said, “Sombra, would you care to introduce me to your lovely companion?”

“Ah, yes, how could I forget? Zepha, may I introduce fy un bach i Midnight Star? Fy un bach i, this lovely mammal is called Zepha, the Firstborn Kinku, the Mother of all Kinkus and the creator of Equinarige despite the fact that she is not an equine. If not for her, we would still be speaking the Welshyn tongue, the language of magic and of the ancients.” He swept his wing with obvious flair and theatrics during his introduction. I could tell he loved to show off, at least in front of this foxy lady. Fricken show pony. Zepha smiled graciously as she performed a perfect curtsey. I tried to curtsey back, but I just fell on my face. Frustrated with myself, and very much embarrassed, I lay still on the floor, regretting my life decisions.

A jade paw appeared in my field of vision. I looked up to find Zepha, laughter twinkling in her eyes. “You shall do,” she said as she helped me back to my feet. “However, we shall address your etiquette in later meetings. Oh, you are perfect, indeed, for our little Sombra! And so adorable.” She squished my face between her paws while cooing at me as if I was just a little filly. Sombra snickered at my plight. Thanks a lot, you traitor.

A loud boom echoed across the hall, making me jump and hit Zepha’s chin. Before I could apologize to her, a melodious voice rang through the hall. “Zephahnriel, what rabble have you brought into my hall to play with? Send it back to the streets. I will not have creatures scurrying about, destroying my house before my Sombra arrives!”

I peered around Zepha to find a beautiful Alicorn. She had the exact color scheme that Sombra did, but in reverse. She was red all over except for the tips of her wings, mane, and tail. Those were black as night. The Alicorn wore a golden dress, and it looked like her dress was made of liquid gold. Her eyes were ebony in color, with a crimson circle marking the boundary between iris and pupil in each eye. Golden shoes with intricate swirls graced her hooves. I looked down to find that I wore silver shoes dressed with wings instead of swirls. Fancy. Okay… I looked back at the Kinku in front of me to find her folding her cream and gold, eagle-like wings away behind her back. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen them before, but now that I did, I simply couldn’t look away. Even though there was a beautiful Alicorn in the room (and, I guess, Sombra), I firmly believed that Zepha outshone the newcomer any day with her beauty and grace.

I felt Sombra’s wing wrap around me and pull me in to his side. He growled at the newcomer as she, in obvious grace and poise, approached us. Her ebony-red eyes lit up in excitement when they landed on him. In a blink of my eye, I found her rubbing herself on Sombra, as if she was a cat in heat. Jealousy and no small amount of disgust washed over me in a blinding wave as I looked upon this repulsive display. I felt my magic flare up in my horn, ready to strike. But I stopped when I saw, by chance, the utter disgust in Sombra’s eyes.

“Sombra, it is such a pleasure to have you join me. Come, dinner is served in the Onyx Parlor,” purred the Red Thing.

“Anteras, I am only here for a short while,” rumbled Sombra, his voice once again turning my bones into jelly, but it wasn’t quite as pleasant now as it had been the other times. “Please get to the point of this meeting.”

“I have begun to wonder, my mate, if you do not enjoy my company anymore,” Anteras said as she rubbed her head under Sombra’s chin. “You do not wear my colors anymore. One would think…”

“THE POINT, ANTERAS.”

“Right. The point is, that Council is mine. And you are going around and saying that you want to take over? Why now? Why, after fifty years of complete silence, do you want to control the Council?”

“Because you are doing a crap job of holding the alicorns in line!”

“Excuse me! I am doing a fantastic job of keeping the alicorns in line. Why I…”

“Another raze happened three days ago! Over one hundred ponies lost their lives! My Midnight was attacked yesterday by two of your lieutenants! If that is an example of you holding the line, heh, then I am overdue to come back from retirement!”

“He is right you know,” a deep rich voice cut in. I wiggled my head out from underneath Sombra’s wing to find a male Alicorn. Well, then. His coat of navy blue shone under a cream-colored mane, and his mane exquisitely covered one his dark chocolate eyes. Rawr. Shocking to see an equine almost Sombra’s equal. The Alicorn’s navy fur turned cream starting at the knee and running down to his hooves. His eyes twinkled in mischief when he saw me and, dear Harmony, my expression. I looked away, ashamed at myself. “Hello, little one! Well, you are a pretty little thing, and quite the pumpkin pie at that! My favorite! They call me the uh-Whit Miser!” As he drawled out his introduction, he struck a ridiculous pose. I chuckled. This Alicorn was alright.

“Shut up, Da’lak’ar, nopony calls you that!” yelled a disgruntled Anteras. She bared her teeth at The Whit Miser.

“Everypony does. Just not you, princess,” he stated as he strutted around the Red Thing. “You will call me that, right, sugar?” I nodded feebly, still weak from embarrassment, and other things. He wagged his eyebrows at me. Then he postured again. This time he spread his wings (whacking Anteras’s face in the process), looked to his right, and raised his left foreleg, swaying his muscular flank to face me. For some reason, he wore a golden pocket watch on his flank, and the chain wrapped around his leg. The pocket watch’s chain wove among white lilies. I could not understand why he would have a pocket watch on his flank. I had never seen anything like it before. Hm, I guess that was just an Alicorn thing. I looked away once I remembered where I was looking.

“Who is this delectable morsel?” Anteras asked, rudely sticking her face into mine. “My, my, what a delicious scent you have. Good enough to eat.” Her smile showed more dagger-like teeth than I would have liked to see. A weird feeling came over me. I felt dizzy all of a sudden. I felt spiders crawling up my legs. Oh, sweet Harmony, I hated spiders! Now those bugs were crawling everywhere! Oh, get them off me! Get them off me! GETTHEMOFF!!! GETTHEMOFF!!! SOMBRA!

“This is my Midnight, Anteras,” Sombra spoke, and the spiders suddenly disappeared. “She is quite precious to me.” I found Sombra’s eyes filled with adoration. It was too much. He did care. I never would have guessed it. Now I wanted to hug him. Later, though, when we got back.

Anteras’s face perfectly mimicked sucking on a lemon. She did not look happy. She labored with her words. “She is precious to you?” I could be convinced it was hard for her to say that. If she called Sombra mate, then she must not like him saying that I am precious to him. Oh, well.

“Very.”

“Why?” She tilted her head in question. “What makes this unicorn special compared to all the rest of them? Compared to me? Am not I precious to you?” She sounded wounded while asking her question. She looked as if, had I told her the wrong answer, it would break her. Now I felt bad for the poor creature.

“Anteras, you are as close to a sister to me as I am ever going to have. But I have no capacity in my heart to love you. How can one love an empty carcass? Midnight is a living soul. She is her own pony. A being like me in soul, a perfect complement to mine. A being truly capable of love and growth and maturity. She is teaching me what it is like to love somepony other than myself or Harmony. So, no, you are not as precious to me as Midnight.”

A tear escaped from one onyx eye. “But, I love you.” She let her tears fall where they may.

“Are you truly capable of love?”

Sniffling, she wiped away her tears. She shook off the last of her sorrow and composed herself. I wouldn’t have guessed earlier that she would be distraught. Sombra was being very inconsiderate of her feelings. He should have apologized to her.

“I hear you,” was all she said. Her horn flashed black. Nothing happened. I guessed it was a fluke.

Then everything went dark.

Obsession Is Not Love

View Online

(The cave, present)

A memory sparked in the mind of the blood-red beast, the creature once known as Anteras the Secondborn, as she stirred from her deep slumber. As the blurred memory slowly came into focus, she began to remember the source of her predicament. She remembered the edict to wipe out all things that were unclean.

(Two days after the erection of Celestia’s barrier)

‘By edict of the Secondborn, the True Queen of Harmonia: This edict regards all beings which are not of alicorn descent, whether they be earthen ponies, pegasi of the sky, unicorns of magic, Kinkus of Zephahnriel, Wolflings of Lusifor, Owllites of Orican, dragons, yaks, griffins, hippogriffs, dragonequi, or Greater Beasts of the Wilds. All creatures not of alicorn descent shall be killed, exterminated, or further obliterated by the hooves of the great alicorn race. As it has been decreed, so shall it be enforced.’

“EVERYPONY RUN!” The screams of the unclean pierced the serenity of the calm midsummer morning. The decree had just been ordered, and the alicorns were cashing in on the blood bath. Blood would flow in the streets like never before. All living Harmonian creatures affected by the edict fled in mad exodus. But the alicorns were already there to intercept them.
A rainbow glow of colors shone from the alicorns’ horns. With a deathly beauty, they executed their devastating spell in tandem. The chests of thousands of ponies, Kinkus, and other such creatures started to glow white. A great cry sounded from these creatures as the white light grew ever brighter. Then…

CRACK!

Their chests ruptured with a mighty boom. The last thing the unclean ones saw was their still-beating hearts floating in the air above them. The hearts of the fallen flew toward the gaping maws of the bloodthirsty alicorns. The clean ones devoured the hearts in seconds. Delicious blood escaped their lips as they descended on the crowd en masse. Blood streamed in twin rivers down the Mane like it never had before. The screams of the defeated etched themselves in the old cobblestone roads.

A great roar was heard over the massacre. Everything stopped at the sound. The alicorns turned in the direction of the interruption, the sound that had ruined their fun. A Kinku of pure darkness growled down upon the alicorns as she absorbed the light of death with her ten tails and eagles’ wings. Her ice-blue eyes burned in hatred and malice for the alicorns that dared to feast upon her progeny. The drumbeats of battle appeared to pound inside her chest as she prepared her claws for the fight. Alicorn blood would mix with the blood of the unclean once she was done.

“The Great Mother is here to save us!” shouted a lone Kinku. A cheer rose from her race as Zepha roared the battle cry of the Great Mother. With a mighty leap, she descended upon the alicorn race. One by one, the horned pegasi fell prey to her mighty claws and teeth. Her speed was unmatched, her incisors tearing into one alicorn after another. Nothing would destroy or harm one of her children! For if they did, they would face the wrath of the Great Mother of the Kinkus!

The alicorns’ spells, though all aimed at the ebony antagonist, missed their mark again and again for, though alicorns may have been fast, their speed could not compare to the speed of the Kinku. And the fastest was Zepha! But, for every alicorn she felled, five more escaped her grasp and rose to fight. Numerous were the alicorns, and there could be only one Mother. She planned to sacrifice herself to save at least a few of her children.

An alicorn’s horn pierced one of her hind legs. She roared in pain and ripped the alicorn’s head clean off its body. She punted the head away from her. Noticing her pain, the alicorns saw their opportunity. They charged at her with their horns. A red light flashed as the alicorns continued to charge a mere two or three paces away from their target. A beast of blood and onyx appeared in the path of the alicorns. He let out a mighty growl, shaking the ground of the battlefield. His red eyes pulsed with rage, and green and purple smoke escaped when he bared his teeth at the offenders. Alicorns began a hasty retreat, but he would not let them escape. Using a deadly combination of teeth, wings, and magic, he decimated the alicorns who were ready to pounce on Zepha.

Laughing, Zepha yelled, “Leave some for me, Sombra! I may be old, but not as old as you!” Sombra smiled despite himself as blood flowed down his muzzle.

“You want a piece of the action?” He laughed as he turned towards his longtime friend. “Ladies first. Let us slaughter these abominations as they slaughtered my Star. Together!”

“Together!” echoed Zepha. “Let’s save the mourning until our vengeance is complete.”

“Agreed. Did you just use a contraction?”

“These are dangerous times.”

With those words, they descended upon the alicorns, ready to avenge their kin. The battle lasted until the stars awoke from their slumber. With no one to raise the moon, the battle was cast into darkness, with only the waning lights of stars and pulses of magic illuminating the night. At long last, the final alicorn fled into the darkness. The battle was finally over, but not without a heavy cost. What once was a city with over a billion inhabitants was now a flood of blood surrounding the surviving hundred souls. Zepha bled from multitudinous wounds; her current form was tall, towering over the tallest building. She grinned with bloodlust as she searched for her next prey. The last remaining non-alicorn inhabitants huddled behind her and Sombra.

“I … think it is over,” she whispered quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace. Sombra just narrowed his eyes.

Crack!

They turned around to find purple glowing crystals emerging from the ground were the last of the souls lay. In a blink of their eyes, the crystals impaled the last hundred souls left in Harmonia.

“NO!” screamed Zepha as she ran toward the remains of her children. Red magic overtook her and dragged her several inches away from the crystals. Sombra wrapped his wings around the Kinku as she mourned the loss of her children. Kinkus, ponies, wolflings, dragons, all were on display in macabre art, bodies slowly dissolving into the crystals.

Laughter rang out among the crystals. A blood-red alicorn, with black veins pulsating purple, emerged. Elation radiated from black eyes as she surveyed the carnage. Green and purple smoke billowed from her eyes, and black smoke scorpions crawled in and out and alongside her body. She chuckled as she looked at the shocked faces of Zepha and Sombra.

“Do you like my present, Sombra? It is to commemorate the death of that thorn in my side, Midnight Star,” she laughed and spun around in a circle. “This has got to be my best work yet! Is it not beautiful?” Her eyes landed on Sombra expectantly.

“Well?”

Sombra sneered in disgust. “It is absolutely disgusting! Positively wretched! Revolting! How on Harmony’s good green world would you expect that I would enjoy such horrors?! Do not ever speak of my mate with such words again!”

Anteras stepped back in surprise. She quickly composed herself, however, and shook her head and chuckled. “I forgot that you are not enlightened like me. I have the Void creature Leo ready for you to absorb, just as I absorbed Scorpio! I would have thought that the death of that idiotic four-hooved trash, which clung ever so close to your side, would open your eyes to see that she was getting in the way of your best interests. But I guess you were blind from the start,” she growled. The green and purple smoke swirled feverishly as her face twisted in anger.

“So it was you who killed my mate and unborn filly!” Sombra released and stepped around the Kinku sitting, distraught, at his side. “I shall rend your entrails from your body and tear apart what remains piece by piece until there is nothing left!”

“Me? Ha! Kill Midnight Star? Oh, I wish! I wish I could have gotten my hooves on that miserable creature. Wait a minute… did you say unborn filly? You had an UNBORN FILLY WITH THAT … THAT THING?! HOW COULD YOU, SOMBRA?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!” Anteras’s scream pushed Sombra and Zepha back a few paces. Sombra shook himself loose of the magic-induced stupor which took hold. He turned to find Zepha, the Kinku’s ears tilted back, teeth bared and ready to strike. Before Sombra could do any thing to stop her, Zepha launched herself with a mighty battle cry at Anteras.

“NO!” Sombra cried out in dismay as his only living friend charged toward her inevitable demise. Anteras grinned in bloodlust as she prepared for the oncoming slaughter. Violet crystals shot out of the ground and sped towards the raging Kinku. Right before the crystals touched her, or before Zepha laid a claw on Anteras, Zepha exploded in a cloud of navy glitter. His once proud friend disappeared in a cloud and was reduced to sparkling navy dust. In three days, he had lost three, no, four of the only beings he had ever loved unconditionally.

This was all the alicorns’ fault! Anteras’s fault! And the fault of Celestia and her barrier! Midnight could have made it, were the rules such that only alicorns could not enter, but she fell prey to the barrier, as well. The blood that had been spilled today would forever rest on her shoulders. He would mourn later. Now he would destroy Anteras. But he did not want to taint his soul with the addition of hers. He needed to find some other way to destroy her. Oh, wait. That could work.

Gathering magic so ancient it preceded the world, Sombra the Firstborn stood and allowed his body to become a vessel of living power. Void magic unlike that of any Void creature whom Anteras possessed boiled just under his skin. The violet Void crystals formed at his hooves. Anteras’s creature Scorpio and its brethren were able to summon these crystals, and, by extension, Anteras was able to summon the crystals, as well. But Sombra was the only being in the world capable of creating crystals on his own. The first spell he cast with this magic was a protection used to block Anteras’s magic. Black crystals formed on her horn, keeping her from using her magic. No magic flared in his horn when he created the crystals. The only indication he had used magic was a flash of white light in his eyes.

With a dark chuckle, the black alicorn cast violet-black crystals underneath Anteras’s hooves. Four crystals arose, impaling each leg, one crystal per limb. A fifth gigantic crystal blasted its way through her stomach; bloody entrails, lungs, and two hearts were hung from the tip of the crystal. So wide was this crystal that it stretched her hide as much as the hide would stretch without tearing. But Sombra was not yet finished. He sent another crystal careening into her chin and exiting out the top of her head. Her blood flowed freely, feeding the crystals that caused her such anguish and torture.
Sombra walked up to the pitiful creature that had been the instigator of the nightmares of Harmonia.

He inclined his head to her ear and whispered, “By these crystals, I now know you did not lay a hoof on my Star. However, you manipulated the one who killed her. She will not be pardoned, either. Because of her treachery, the barrier is up. As a last kindness, since you love these crystals so much, you will spend the rest of eternity with them underground. Goodbye, Anteras. I hope your eternity is kinder to you than mine is to me.” At this, he sent her far below the ground. He felt his magic create a chamber and seal the door against her freedom. He took to the sky to find the last remaining life outside the barrier in hopes of saving it.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I have been avoiding Sombra for three days now, ever since Anteras got into my head. Avoiding the alicorn you lived with was not an easy feat, I tell ya. How did Anteras step into my mind, anyway? Alicorn magic had to be the answer, and that was all I would say on that matter. It still haunted my memory…

[Flashback to Midnight’s vision]

I stood in a dark room made all the scarier by black walls. I was supposed to be standing by Sombra’s side at this time, in another place entirely. I had no idea how I arrived in such a room. Hooves clacked on the white tile floor. Anteras stepped out of the shadows like a red jewel glinting amid black velvet. She smiled softly at me as she came closer.

“Hello there, tiny companion,” she said, gently so as not scare me more. “Sorry for all this. I had to borrow you for a while, as I would not want prying ears to hear our conversation. To put it simply, I wanted to tell you something. Do not offer your heart to Sombra. He will merely reject your love like he did mine. For centuries I have been in love with him, only to be cruelly rejected again and again. I am telling you this just to spare you the pain I have gone through and am suffering even now. Your life is far too short to fall in love with an immortal. Go find yourself a better, mortal stallion to love you, and not a bitter shut-in like Sombra.” She said those words, then I found myself returned to Sombra’s side as if nothing had happened.

[Reality]

Ever since Anteras kidnapped my consciousness, I have been considering her words. If Sombra had rejected somepony like Anteras over and over, what chance would I have? None. Zilch. Nada. So apparently, it was best to try not to fall in love with the lovable goof. That would become harder and harder to do when I was constantly in his presence. That was the reason I was avoiding Sombra. And by Harmony was he hard to avoid. But somehow I had managed for the past several days, and now I was hiding under a bed in what I called the pink room.

Bleh… The walls were a soft pink, with shelves filled with pots of roses. The floor had a similarly rosy pink carpet to set off the light pink comforter on the bed. All in all, this was not a bad room, nor a bad hiding space. It made sense to hide here, since Sombra knew my aversion to the color pink and that I would never willingly enter a pink room, but I would certainly avoid this room in the future. He wouldn’t look here, right?
Red magic enveloped me in a warm cocoon. Crap! My hooves flailed as it started to draw me out from under the bed. I scrambled with my magic to dispel it, but nothing worked! I was pulled up, up, upside-down in the air to find a very annoyed black alicorn. Oh, boy, was I in trouble.

“Hi, Sombra, long time no see?” I smiled at the disgruntled male in front of me. His ruby red eyes conveyed an array of emotions, most of which were various hues of annoyance. I guess he didn’t enjoy me avoiding him.

“’Long time no see,’ eh?” he rumbled. “I believe it would have been since you, Star, started running away from me. So, I need the truth. Why?”

“Why what? Why the sky is blue, or why your mane is black with red tips? Or…”

“Stop. Just stop. My question is: Why are you avoiding me?!” His nostrils flared in agitation. Oh… that’s what he was talking about.

“Yeah, about that… um, would you believe that I was busy?” I answered with a cheeky smile even I wouldn’t believe. He was not impressed, of course. Well, it was worth a shot. “Okay, okay, I have been avoiding you because of a code.”

“A what?”

“A code. A code which every mare follows,” I answered with sudden confidence as blood rushed to my head. “If another mare is in love with a stallion, then all other mares should back off.” And now he looked confused.

“Who… what?” he asked. “Wait a minute! What are you talking about?”

“ANTERAS-IS-LOVE-WITH-YOU-AND-I-DON’T-WANT-TO-GET-IN-THE-WAY!” I answered really, really quickly, my eyes closed against his response. I heard a low chuckle instead. I opened my eyes to find Sombra smirking slightly. Why, the little… The alicorn lowered me gently to the bed. I scrambled into a sitting position when his magic receded and my back hit the bed.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, confusion flooding my senses and probably escaping onto my face. He started laughing harder. Wow, just wow.

“Sorry,” he said, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, “but I find that hilarious.”

“Why?” I asked in bewilderment.

“Because she is unable to feel love, or any real, positive kind of emotion for that matter. I believe what she is experiencing is obsession. Unfortunately, she can feel that!” He grumbled the last part.

“How is that different?”

“What? How is what different?”

“How is obsession different from love?” I asked. I waited, almost patiently, for him to answer. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t any difference at all. Sombra’s jaw hung open, making his equine face look even longer, and I knew the answer would be a long time coming. “Earth to Sombra? Come in, Sombra! Are you there?” I asked, waving my hoof in his shocked face. He suddenly shook his head and fluttered his eyes.

“What do you mean, ‘What is the difference between Love and Obsession?!’ You honestly don’t know?” he asked, still clearly surprised at my apparent stupidity.

“I asked you, didn’t I? So…”

Sombra sat down with a huff, then put his hoof on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. He said, “Midnight, obsession is not love, and love is not obsession. They are two totally different things. The simplest way to put it is that love is an active, continuous, reciprocated choice for good involving another person, while obsession is a delusion by one party that the other party holds love for them. You can…”

BANG!

“Hold on! I’M COMING! HOLD YOUR HORSES! Don’t move from this spot, Midnight. We will continue this conversation when I get back!” He held me in place with his expression as he rushed out the door. Now what? I supposed I might as well find out who was at the door.

I meandered out of the room and into the endless hallway. Walking toward the front door, I heard voices making their way down the hall. I started to run in hopes of catching the pony at the door. Curiosity killed the cat and all that. Finally making it to the door, I saw a blue pegasus with bright yellow eyes bowing to Sombra. But his wings were… Oh, my sweet Harmony, that pegasus had bat wings! A genuine night pony! Wow, I had to talk to him right away!

I tried to race after the night pony, but red magic prevented me catching him before he took off. “And where do you think you are going, Miss Star?” the caster of the red magic asked as he dragged me back inside. Grrr… Why must he do that?

“I was going to talk to the night pony,” I whined. I really wanted to meet one. It was on my list of things I wanted to do before I died. And Sombra had to go and ruin my one chance. I started to pout, and the dang stallion burst into a laughing fit. I never would be able to tolerate his laughing at my pouting. Stupid alicorn didn’t even know he was supposed to cave in and let me meet the night pony. What a dunce.

“You may speak with some night ponies on the way. We will be taking a trip to look for my mother,’ he stated as he dumped me on his bed. I started to do a dance on top of the covers. Sombra just shook his head at my antics, but I was so excited because I was going on an adventure! “Oh! Before we leave, I need you to memorize this spell.”

“Oh, a spell?” I inquired. How exciting! This was going to be a lot of fun. “What is it? What is it?” I chanted and jumped up and down on the bed.

“Hold,” Sombra commanded. Like a wolfling pup, I obeyed. “Good. Now breathe. Are you done hyperventilating? Good. Now here is the spell:

“‘Darkness, become Light,

“’By the power of Her might.

“’Chaos by Mare Harmony bested,

“’Equine free will ne’ermore tested.

“’Cruel Void song which entraps thee,

“’By Her power, be ye free.’”

“So, I have to memorize this before we go? I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure that I can.” Disappointment flooded my body at the reality that I needed to memorize such a long stanza before we left. We would be here forever! Sombra laughed yet again. He seemed to enjoy laughing at my woes.

“No, Miss Star, you are going to memorize this spell on the road. Now, without further ado, let us go!”

Wait, where were our bags?

To the G.N.L.

View Online

(Present, outside of Sombra’s cave)

“Fluttershy, hurry up! We don’t have all day!” Rainbow Dash yelled out to the ever-so-slow yellow pegasus. Dash flapped her wings faster to keep the ice from forming on her feathers as the snow bore down on them. “Hey, Discord, would you tell your girlfriend to hurry up? I don’t want her getting wing-frost. Celestia knows how bad that is.”

“Sure thing, Rainbow Dash, but how about this?” Discord proposed. “I will go warm her up, and you will chase these clouds away as you usually do. Okay?”

"But these clou… Ah, damn it, he’s gone,” Dash grumbled. She scanned the mountain range to find the weird-looking cave. She couldn’t forget the look of those teeth-like stalagmites and stalactites at its entrance. Dash could have sworn it looked like the gaping mouth of an ancient beast that had died long ago. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to study it before
Twilight disappeared in a blinding flash of light. That would have been so cool. Exploring ancient ruins and skeletons of old, just like her hero Daring Do. When Dash got back, she was going to tell Yearling all about this adventure. As soon as she found Twilight, of course.

After what seemed like hours (but only really took ten minutes), Dash spotted the cave. With a sudden burst of speed, Dash shot towards its mouth. She landed with a resounding CRACK! In the process of her landing, she broke some of the ivory stalactites, causing them to impale the ground in an ear-shattering crash. Dash cringed at the noise she’d caused.

“What was that?” Fluttershy asked in distress as she stepped away from the warmth of Discord’s wings. Concern and shock were written all over the yellow pegasus’s face. Dash herself was shocked to find that Discord and Fluttershy had arrived so quickly.

“Where did you come from?” Dash shrieked. Discord just laughed, but Fluttershy calmly walked up to her friend and put her hoof on Dash’s shoulder.

“Discord teleported us here,” Fluttershy quietly answered. “We just barely got here. Rainbow Dash, are you okay? This must be hard on you, coming back here after everything that has happened. You know, if you want to go back and trade places with Applejack, I would understand. We would all understand. You don’t have to do this, Dash. I’m here for you in either case. You know that, right?”

Dash just smiled. “Thanks, Fluttershy, but I need to do this. I need to be the one who finds Twilight and brings her home. I need to face my fear of this place, and I couldn’t think of a better friend to help me than you. Now, let’s go!” Dash turned around and started walking further into the cave.

“Wait!” Discord shouted. Dash halted in her tracks and turned to face the draconequus.

“What?”

“I have to open the barrier,” Discord told the impatient blue pegasus. Dash growled at the delay.

“What barrier?” Fluttershy asked in a fearful whisper. She was shaking like a leaf in the wind. One could have said ‘boo’ and caused her to fly away. Fluttershy clearly didn’t want to be in the cave any longer than necessary, and opening a barrier sounded like it would take forever.

“That would be the barrier that Princess Celestia erected centuries ago,” Discord answered as he drew the trembling yellow pegasus to his side. “Once we go through it, the barrier will close, and I won’t be able to open it again for three days at the least. The only one who would be able to open it immediately would be Princess Celestia. However, she doesn’t know about this mission. At least I understand that much. Ah, to have the power I once had...”

“So, we have three days to save Twilight,” mused Rainbow Dash. “Alright. Let’s do this. Discord, open the barrier.” Discord nodded. With a wave of his claw, a bright, shimmering wall appeared in the middle of the cave. Discord walked over to the wall and with the same claw ripped it from top to bottom. A great wind started to blow, pushing the two pegasi away from the tear.

“Hurry! I can’t hold it open for very long!” Discord yelled over the wind. The mares ran, with much difficulty, through the tear. With a great heave, Discord pushed himself through the barrier. Barely.

THUD!

The barrier closed itself, sealing them off from the rest of Equestria. There was no going back, at least not for three days. Now all they had to do was find Twilight. Discord, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy walked to the opening at the back of the cave.

“Wow!” Dash exclaimed. A great valley lay before them, shadowed by clouds of many different colors, and gigantic ruby and diamond crystals sat among a huge variety of green plants which the young pegasi had never seen before. Like a table’s centerpiece, a mountain carved from onyx and marble stood in the middle of the valley. The mountain looked like a great, spiny beast that had curled itself up in the middle of the valley and taken a nap. It had four distinct peaks. Two white, and two black, these spiky peaks ran down the back of the ‘beast’. The ‘head’ of the mountain itself held five white spikes. Two of them stuck out from the sides of the beast’s snout. One spike poked out of the middle of the beast’s forehead, and the other two sat on top of its head. The beast’s mouth was yawning wide, showing its massive teeth. Or maybe it was growling.

“That’s our destination,” Discord declared, pointing toward the mountain. With that, he started to fly in its direction.

“What? WHAT?!” exclaimed Dash as she scrambled to catch up with Discord. Fluttershy struggled to keep up with the two but lagged behind pretty badly. They finally landed at the mouth of the beast, Fluttershy at the back of the group. Ivory stalactites towered over the travelers who stood at the entrance. Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind Discord at the sound of a rock dropping.

“I don’t like this place,” Fluttershy whisper-cried out. “I want to go home. This place is scary.”

“We can’t go back yet, Fluttershy,” Dash said. “Besides, I think this place is kinda cool. What do you think, Discord?”

“If I were an ancient alicorn wanting to be close to my soulmate,” Discord mused, “this would be the place I would set up as my home. Easy to defend. Close to the barrier. What bothers me is that the barrier is a hundred paces closer to this valley than it had been several months ago. I guess I shall ask Sombra when I see him.” Discord shrugged and started to walk further into the cave. Dash and Fluttershy scrambled to catch up to him.

The three entered a cavern-like room with a crystal floor. The walls were an icy blue with shocks of white present here and there. There were also ivory pillars standing alongside the walls. The bottom of each pillar was thick, and the pillars grew narrower toward the tops. Shards of glowing white crystals floated around the room, giving it a fantastical glow. A spiraling marble staircase climbed above ground level at the far end of the room. The stairway led to a balcony, the railings of which held the shapes of the Elements of Harmony: Pinkie Pie’s balloons, Rarity’s diamonds, Applejack’s apples, Fluttershy’s butterflies, Rainbow Dash’s lightning bolt, and Twilight’s stars.

Dash marveled at the railing. ‘What does this mean?’ she pondered as she and her companions moved forward. The closer they got to the balcony, the more Dash wanted to simply run away. But the Element of Loyalty would never flee, especially when she was close to finding her friend. No pony left behind.

“Hello, Discord,” a deep, rich voice rang out in the cavern, stopping everypony in their tracks. “It has been over a millennium and a half since I last saw you. You really embraced your chaotic form. Really, taking a piece of each of your favorite creatures? Is that the look you are trying to achieve?” Dark laughter rumbled in the crystal floor as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sought the source of the voice. Discord just smiled.

“Well, my boy, living on this rock heap has really messed with my powers. I have been stuck in this form since the barrier went up,” Discord replied. He started to walk toward the stairs. His smile grew broader and more maniacal the closer he got to the stairs. “Why don’tchu come out of the shadows, my somber boy, and I’ll speak with you face to face? Whatcha say?”

A maniacal laugh came from Discord’s lips. His body started to blur in vibrant mismatched colors. A snake-like creature with dragon legs came to stand where Discord had been. It bore the head of a dragon, but not any kind of dragon that Dash or Fluttershy had ever seen before. It had a white mane like a lion’s, with brown whiskers floating around its face as if in a strong wind. A vividly purple horn twisted around a vibrant dark green horn. Both of the dragon’s horns sprouted from its temples and angled towards the back of its head. Its snout was framed by a long, white beard and a long, white mustache. Light green scales protected its snout, and ivory dagger-teeth shone through its crazed grin. The light green scales covered most of its body, but some sections were instead covered by either white fur or mismatched feathers. Feathers and spikes in bright, contrasting colors obscured the dragon’s long tail, and onyx claws sprouted from its appendages. Rainbow Dash pushed Fluttershy back, further away from the dangerous creature.

“There is the Discord I know!” a black and red alicorn proclaimed as it stepped out from the shadows onto the balcony.
“Welcome back, Uncle. It has been a long time, has it not?” The alicorn smiled sharply.

The dragon creature just laughed, perfectly matching Discord’s laugh. The new – old? – Discord answered the alicorn. “It has, Sombra. It has.”

ΩMidnightΩ

We left home in late afternoon when the sun was high, headed south toward Grand Neptune Lake, or the G.N.L. for us lazy ponies. I had heard stories of this lake, stories saying that when a pony stood on its banks and looked out at the horizon, all they could see was endless water. Boats would sail for days without spotting the shore. Beyond the lake was a land rife with all kinds of danger.

I had heard that there were even dragons in the land south of the G.N.L.! It was one of the sites that had been sitting on my bucket list for years. I wanted to meet a dragon! Seriously, that would be the real bomb diggity yo (thanks, The Whit Miser, for the new catchphrase). But Mister Grumpy Butt would probably keep me from meeting any dragons. Grrr…

“What are you growling about, Little Star?” Mister Grumpy Butt himself asked, turning his head to look back at me. I looked him straight in the eyes and taunted, with every last drop of sarcasm I felt inside, “Why not read my mind and find out?”

Sombra roared with laughter, startling the other ponies around us. Chuckling, I looked around, as well. I found surprised and frightened looks on the faces of the ponies walking the streets. Sheepishly, I let my head hang low. I remembered that my relationship with my master was unheard of among the unfortunate bondservants out there, and that my relationship with him would have astounded even me not too long ago. To prove my point, a unicorn walked past us with a fresh gory mess left behind from a recently torn off horn. The blood was still pouring down his navy coat. Both of us gazed mournfully at the sight.

“Despicable,” Sombra muttered. He stopped in his tracks. Not looking where I was going, I plowed right smack into his leg. Ouch! What was he made of? Steel? Sombra turned around and teleported, and some of that awful black glitter got into my mouth. As I hacked it out of my lungs, I wondered, where did he…?

I found Sombra standing in front of the navy unicorn that had recently passed us on the road. He was staring intently at the poor unicorn’s horn, unfortunately causing the unicorn to tremble in fear.

“S-sir, I’m s-s-sorry if I of-ffended you,” stammered the unicorn. “I’ll t-try to w-walk on the other s-side of the r-road next t-t-time.” The poor thing looked like he was about to pee where he stood. Sombra cocked his head to the side and began to speak.

“What is your name, young one?” Sombra inquired with his soothing voice.

“Riden, S-sir.”

“Who did this to you?”

Swallowing, Riden turned his head from side to side, shedding more blood all over the ground. He backed up, bumping into me. He looked behind him and mumbled an apology with fear shining brightly in his eyes. Red magic encased him and pulled him slowly toward Sombra. A liquid yellow trail followed the navy unicorn. Sombra set the unicorn down in front of himself and gently wrapped his wing around Riden.

“Shh… I am not going to hurt you. You have no need to fear me.” With that, Sombra’s horn flared with magic. The stub that had once been Riden’s horn started to glow red. From that red magic, a new horn started to form. In the next flash of red light, Riden’s head sported a new horn. Shocked, Riden stood there, unsure what to do next. Sombra smiled and walked around the dazed unicorn, admiring his work. Then anger surged in his eyes again. I turned around to find three livid alicorns glaring at me as if I had had something to do with this.

“How did that puny little unicorn convince a mighty alicorn to something like that?” asked the brown and tan male on the right. “What an absolutely nauseating sight.” He said all this while fanning himself with a wing which had once belonged to a bright yellow pegasus. “Am I right, Zac’n?”

“Pi’ha, I have to agree with you. That was a horrid display,” Zac’n replied with a slight tilt to his head. “Say, Jorno, what shall we do?”

“Well, I say we kill the light blue unicorn so that he can find a better pony to serve him. One that will not bother him with such trivial matters.”

ΩSombraΩ

I did not want Midnight involved in any matter where other Alicorns were concerned, but those three dragged her into danger, and they would be punished.

I walked up to my Star and bent my head to her ear, whispering, “I deeply apologize for what you are about to witness.” Having said that, I sauntered up to the three troublemaking alicorns. I teleported Riden far away from danger. Once the important ponies were safe, I decided that enough was quite enough. I was not about to let these three imbeciles touch a hair on my Star’s beautiful mane! I did what any respectable alicorn would do when protecting his mate: I lopped off the blue one’s head with my wing. Jorno, I think it was, would no longer be any threat to my Star. Shock appeared on the faces of the two alicorns standing beside him as the blood sprayed crimson on their once-pristine coats.

I grinned at their expressions. I did love it when I could turn the tables on unwanted aggressors. It still boggled my mind that they could think they were invincible one minute and cower the next when they met capable opposition. They held such a flimsy ideology, and they could do absolutely nothing when that ideology was challenged. That superficial pomp-and-circumstance attitude was one of the many reasons I hated alicorns.

“Wait! Stop, my Lord, please rethink this!” a voice cut through the crowd, distracting me from my mission. Distracting me temporarily, that is. I pinned the other two beasts down and sought out the voice in the crowd. I found that it was a red and pink alicorn who had called out to me. I suppressed my additional ire at the alicorn’s poor timing. After all, I was clearly in the middle of something! Oh, Harmony’s curse, now she was landing in front of my prey, blocking my vengeance. I growled low in my chest as a warning.

“What do you want? I am in a considerable hurry,” I rumbled at the meddler. Seriously, where were these equine trash receptacles coming from? Tailverite? I was never going back there again after this mess.

“My Lord Sombra, please forgive these buffoons. They do not have a clue of what they are doing,” the red-pink alicorn implored. “They did not know…”

“A’stavera?” my Star asked, moving forward to my side. I tried to hold her back with my wing, but the nimble pony just managed to evade my grasp. I cursed the rotten luck I had found today.

“Oh, Midnight! What are you doing… You are with Som… How?” A’stavera finally stuttered in bewilderment.

“How do you know each other?” I whispered in my little Star’s ear. I wrapped my wing around her protectively since Midnight clearly would not wait patiently behind me. I knew my Star would be stubborn until the day she died.

“She was my old boss. She would have taken my horn if you and Harmony hadn’t saved me. By the way, I never actually thanked you and Harmony for that little miracle. Sombra, thank you. That was a really wonderful thing you two did for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my livelihood, for saving my life. Did you know…”

“Alright, alright, calm it down a notch. My dear filly, you do not need to monologue your appreciation,” I laughed as I pulled her closer to my side. That was my Star for you. Stubborn, long-winded, and just too precious to be real. Star’s former employer started glaring daggers at my little pony. I really did not like that. Not one bit. I growled back at A’stavera, baring my teeth in the prosses.

“Fy un bach i.” When I called my Star by her pet name, pink-red A’stavera’s eyes widened. Good, now she knew I was not messing around. “Would you please stand behind me?”

“Why?” Midnight asked, her amethyst eyes shining with a thousand more questions besides the one that left her lips. By Harmony, I could never ignore those curious eyes of hers. I could lose myself in them for days and never want to leave.

“Sombra!”

“Hm, yes?” I shook myself out my trance. Dang it! I had fallen into yet another Midnight semi-coma. Midnight just giggled and motioned for me to answer her question. Right.

“Just humor me for ten minutes, okay? And when I have finished my business, I will explain everything.” She grumbled her grudging assent and pushed my wing out of her way. She stomped angrily to a point ten paces behind me, turned around, and sat down with a “humph,” crossing her forelegs in front of her chest. I laughed as I put a barrier around her. I was going to get an earful after all this was over. Oh well.

My winning smile gave way when I turned back to my prey. A’stavera looked like she was going to say something, but I interrupted her. “How I interact with my unicorn is my business. Any pony, alicorn, or other creature who dares to threaten her or harm her will be devoured by me. These three threatened her and scared her, A’stavera, and were going to do more. You were going to take her horn away from her some time ago, were you not? If Harmony had not stepped in, you would have done to her what you have done to countless other innocent unicorns.”

The pathetic pink-red beast began to cower. The smell of panic and urine permeated the air, causing the area around us to reek most foully of cowardice. I pinned A’stavera to the ground and decided I would save her for last. I had to make this quick. Time was running out for my quest. But I would not allow these things to exist anymore in this world.

I pounced on the gray one first, muffling his screams in the process. The last thing my Star needed to hear was those ugly sounds. She had been through enough trauma as it was. I did not need to exacerbate any posttraumatic stress. I stabbed him in the neck with my horn and ran it down his neck towards his chest. His blood painted the cobblestone path in a fine shade of red. I yanked my horn out of him and, with a jerk from my magic, yanked the twin hearts out of the alicorn’s body. I devoured them quickly.

Oh, Harmony, I was going to suffer serious indigestion because of this. With my alicorn speed, I ripped the other two troublemaker alicorns’ hearts out. I stored them in my bag for later consumption. It was a very good thing that Harmony had made these bags leak-proof. It would be a bit of a bother to explain to the captain why my bag was bleeding. I also imagined my Star would not approve of me carrying around the still-beating hearts of my foes. I would not normally store the hearts, but I simply did not have the time to deal with them right then.

Finally, I broke A’stavera’s neck with a flick of my magic. When I turned back, Midnight’s mouth was hanging open. Shock and confusion were playing across her eyes. Understandable. Then I saw the emotion I dreaded most. Fear. Fear was prominent in her eyes as she stared at the carnage that I wreaked. I had no regrets from my actions against my Star’s antagonists, except one. My sole regret was that my Star had seen me reap my vengeance. And I hoped earnestly that it would not ruin our relationship. I quite enjoyed our banter, our witty repartees. Her laugh. The way she made me laugh. Her smile. Her everything. Well, crap! Harmony was going to get a kick out of hearing that she had predicted our relationship so accurately. Dang her. Oh well. It did not matter if Midnight feared me at this current moment, did it? All I needed to do was fix this mess.

“Midnight,” I said gently as I walked up to her. She looked me in the eyes and promptly fainted. I rushed over to her and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. At least she had not been harmed. I held her close as I surveyed the scene. Now I had a bloody mess to clean up. Just wonderful.

Sombra's Unwanted Anniversary

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(Past, Sombra, on a boat, reminiscing about the last time he saw Harmony)

Ω Sombra Ω

I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up on a bright sunny day to the smell of raspberry cake and chocolate. I smiled at the smell and then turned and frowned at the calendar. Despair flooded my system as I realized what date it was. Most equines would look forward to a day like today, but not I. No, days like today were filled with over-the-top buffoonery, unwanted celebrations, and lots of glitter. Too much glitter. I had been picking pieces of glitter from my mane since last year’s celebrations. And the posturing of those stupid alicorns on this date was the worst part! It was supposed to be the celebration of my creation, but they had turned it into a stupid holiday!
I absolutely despised my Creation Anniversary!

I decided to put a stop to this charade before it got out of hand. I stomped down the hall to the kitchen. Growling, I turned around and bucked the kitchen door open. It hit the wall with bang! But the blasted door slammed right back into my face when I turned to go in. My horn got stuck in the door. I saw silver magic leave the door as I tried vainly to tug my horn free. My horn was stuck to the door like somepony had glued it there. Only one creature would dare do something like this.

Harmony.

I heard hoof steps ringing closer and closer in the hall. Each clop of her hooves made the dread inside me to grow. My ire regarding the festivities of today still clung to the forefront of my mind, but this dread was staging a remarkable coup and was winning quite handily. Why could not Harmony have normal punishments for me? Why did she feel the need to be creative in her penalties?

“Are you done throwing your tantrum, colt?” she whispered in my ear. I turned my eyes in the direction of her voice, finding Harmony’s angry smirk meeting my gaze. “Yes?” I answered weakly as I stared into the abyssal grin containing Harmony’s rage. She graced me with one of her condescending smiles. Harmony knew she had won. She always had.

“Good! Glad to see we are on the same page,” she spoke through her unnatural smile. I huffed in annoyance at her remark.
“Now, Sombra, do not give me that attitude. Do you want to be stuck in that door for the rest of the day? No? I did not think so. Here, let me help you.” I fell on my butt at the blast of silver magic which shot me out of the door. Harmony walked over to where I was sitting and stuck out her hoof.

I wrapped my foreleg around hers, and she pulled me back up into a standing position. I mumbled a weak ‘thank you,’ and Harmony just nodded. I turned to find my gremlin of a student standing there, her mouth wide open. I was still quite incensed with her for shaving my mane and tail. I mean, who does that?! She also turned my coat the most horrendous shade of pink – it didn’t even match anything in the house! I narrowed my eyes at my gremlin, and she shut her mouth. I smirked, happy to have at least this much control on this anniversary. But Harmony whacked me upside the head with her wing for that small action.

“Do you not have somewhere to be, Sombra?” Harmony asked in the most patronizing tone. “Like some sort of party, perhaps? They cannot celebrate your Creation Anniversary without you in attendance. So, I will teleport you there, free of charge. Do not worry. I will take care of Midnight while you are gone. Have fun!”

“Wait!”

Too late. She never listened to me! I did not want to visit this abhorrent scene! And yet, I was poofed into the middle of Anteras’s party for this “auspicious” occasion. Dread flooded my system (again) as I watched the heads of alicorns near me turn in my direction in unison. A squeal could be heard over the chatter, silencing the quiet conversations that had arisen at my arrival.

‘Oh, no. Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, why must I suffer like this!’ I thought as Anteras plastered herself to my side as firmly as my horn had been attached to the kitchen door.

“Hey, hunk o’ stallion, going my way?” she asked in a futile attempt to sound appealing.

“Uh, no… you stuck yourself to me much too closely and excitedly for my comfort,” I mumbled. “Now, please, get off me.” I tried to move anywhere else, but Anteras stubbornly re-adhered herself to my side.

“Come, stud, let us get some drinks.”

“Let us not!”

As expected, I was ignored and dragged over to the drink table. It was littered with horrible smelling drinks and very tipsy alicorns. I knew what I was going to do. Not drink any of that. Or that. Nor that. I was not even sure what that one was. They ate that? No, thank you. I was going home! As soon as I lost my tail. I was not a fan of pin the tail on the alicorn. Not the paper game, and certainly not this mare’s imitation. Move, Anteras. Grr… she was not moving.

She was holding a drink and shoving it into my face. She smiled expectantly, waiting for me to take a drink. Crap… I absolutely did not want to… wait. I had an idea! I cast a mini spell to make the drink appear to evaporate into thin air as if I was “drinking” it. Yeah, that would work. Anteras seemed to accept my ruse, and her smile grew eerier. Well then…

“Come, let us dance!”

“Let us not!”

As per her custom, I was ignored and dragged off to the dance floor. I just stood there as the rest of alicorn population gravitated toward us. In a sea of dancing bodies, I was an island of discomfort. This was a nightmare to haunt me for the rest of my life. Anteras kept bumping into me to make me move. I stood stiffly, against any sort of movement. I thought I heard a growl but could not distinguish it from the crowd and the loud music.

“Come, let us eat!” she yelled in my ear. I wondered if her yelling had caused this sudden ringing in my ears. Thanks for that…

“Let us not!” I rebutted. However, as she had done before… you get the point. I found myself at the food table, wondering where in my life it had all gone wrong. I tried to ignore the alicorn as she attempted to stuff my face with whatever edibles she could get her hooves on. I spotted a table with random wrapped packages on it. Lo and behold, I then spotted Da’lak’ar putting a blue and silver package on the table. He saw me glaring at him and grinned and poofed into navy glitter. I noticed that he took the box with him. Well, I decided to take a page out of his book and poof along home. Bye!

I collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. I swore I could not move. Not now, not ever. Light blue hooves filled my line of vision. Questioning amethyst eyes peered into my tired ones. “Are you okay?” my gremlin of a pupil asked. I gave her a look which clearly responded, ‘Do I look okay?’

“There is something I want to show you,” the gremlin said. “Come on, get up!”

“Naw, I don’ wanna,” I said in a harsh Scottish brogue. When tired, I had this admittedly childish tendency to desire that others become as frustrated trying to listen to me as I become listening to them. Scottish accents seemed to do the trick best. “Donnae make me, ye little nugget. If’n ye make me, I’m tae give ye a square go! Ye donnae want that, ye wee bairn!”

I felt something crawling underneath my belly. I lowered my head to find Midnight struggling to crawl her way underneath me. It appeared that she was trying to stand up and carry me on her back to her destination, or possibly to cause me to stand up myself. It was rather comical to look at. I let out a good belly laugh despite myself. Midnight cast me a dirty look – how dare she? – and resumed her efforts. I could sense her determination would extend far past her physical abilities. So I took pity on the mare and stood up after one more second of laziness. I grinned casually at her look of exhausted frustration.

“By Harmony, what have you’ve been eating?” she asked me, quite rudely, as she groaned and stretched her back in mild symptoms of pain.

“Food,” I said plainly. She cast ice daggers at me. These were figurative ice daggers; I hadn’t gotten around to teaching her that spell, thank Harmony. She grumbled out a ‘come on’ as she brushed past me. I had half a mind to flop back to the ground just to spite her. As that thought crossed my mind, however, I remembered that the little gremlin had Harmony wrapped around her hoof. How was such a little demon mare able to develop a deeper relationship with my creator than I was? I was supposed to be Harmony’s favorite! Grumble, grumble. Grumble. Mumble. Complain.

The gremlin stopped and turned around. She started to tap her left hoof in the most irritating way. I rolled my eyes and started walking her way. In response, she gave me a surprisingly dazzling smile and turned back in the direction she was heading. I followed her to the dining room to find that it had been decorated! Midnight turned around and shouted,

“Surprise!” along with (to my utter surprise) Harmony. The room was strewn with purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white ribbons. The table was bedecked with a black tablecloth. The centerpiece featured red diamonds, twisted in red wire to make an elaborate design, carefully arranged in a clear crystal bowl that was quite pleasing to the eyes. A raspberry cake with black frosting sat on one side of the centerpiece, while a bowl filled with freshly chopped mangos graced the other side. Midnight trotted up to me and hung a necklace made of red and black flowers around my neck.

She smiled at me and said, “Happy Creation Day, and Harmony bless you with many fruitful years to come! Now let’s eat!”

“What do you mean ‘Happy Creation Day’?” I asked in befuddlement.

Midnight simply replied, “It is the day that our great and glorious Creator first made our world. We celebrate it to show our gratitude and thanksgiving. We pledge on this day that we will live our lives to honor Harmony and uphold her decrees to the best of our abilities. We celebrate the lives of our families by spending the whole day with them. We thank Harmony for giving us a leader and role model in the Firstborn. Black, red, purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white are all special colors we decorate our homes with to show our devotion. So, Sombra, Happy Creation Day, and Harmony bless you with many fruitful years to come!“

Tears formed in my eyes at her speech. It was rather touching to be the guest of honor at this intimate affair. It also amplified the pressure and guilt I had built up over the last fifty years for not living up to her ideals or any other pony’s, possibly even Harmony’s.

“You’ve been having a rough week, so I decided to surprise you by celebrating this special day with you! It’s always more fun when you can celebrate Creation Day with another part of Harmony’s creation! I needed you out of the house so I could set up the decorations. I have no clue where Harmony sent you, but I hoped you would go to the market and get some more mangos. My mom came over and helped out, too, and so did Harmony! My mom is kinda mad at me for celebrating this day without her, but she got over it when I told her that I’m going to spend the whole next week with her. So, anyway, would you like to eat and celebrate with me?”

“Let me get this straight. So, what you are saying is that I get a whole week to myself?”

“Yes, but…”

“Let us celebrate!”

Ω
I smiled at this memory as I watched the waves crash into the boat. Midnight was fast asleep in our cabin below deck. I did not wish to wake her with my troubling thoughts, not when she was already helping so much by searching for her with me, so I had gone up to the deck to think. At least I had one good memory upon which to reminisce. A flash of navy-blue light temporarily blinded me in my left eye. I turned around to find Da’lak’ar with that silver and blue package stowed in his mouth. He had a stupid grin on his face as he put the package down on the deck. With a knowing grin, he poofed into navy glitter once again. Great, now I had more glitter to clean out of my mane.

I nudged the package with my hoof. When it didn’t explode, I picked it up with my magic and went to bed. I decided I would deal with it tomorrow. Good night, everypony.

On the G.N.L.

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(Present, Sombra’s Cave)

“Welcome back, Uncle. It has been a long time, has it not?” Sombra greeted as he walked onto the balcony. He gave his uncle a toothy grin as the old god laughed. The once multi-faceted eyes, now yellowed with red irises, twinkled with merriment as Discord answered, “It has, Sombra. It has. And my, my, have you grown! You have grown into your powers since the last time I saw you. I suppose it has been about 3,200 years since I last saw you!”

“You are off by a few centuries, but close enough,” Sombra said. He started down the stairs when he noticed the yellow pegasus cowering behind Discord. Her light blue eyes flicked back and forth between him and the old god. The alicorn slowed his descent out of respect for her. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he slowly approached the shivering pony as one approached a timid puppy. She hid behind her light pink mane. In all of Sombra’s many years, this yellow pegasus appeared to be one of the cutest he had seen.

“Hello there, little one. You do not have to be afraid,” Sombra said as he lowered himself to the ground to make himself smaller. “You are safe here. My name is Sombra. What is yours?”

“Hey, Egghead! Back away from my friend!” yelled a new voice. Sombra turned his head to find an angry cyan-colored pegasus. It struck him as strange to find a pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Back when he had had Midnight in his life, that pegasus would have been a prized pet for her unique eye color and mane. He would have been astounded to find a pony such as her reach her twelfth birthday. The cyan pegasus’s rose-colored eyes flashed with rage at his curious expression.

“Rainbow Dash,” a quiet voice whispered to her friend.

“What?” retorted the blue pony.

“I don’t think he’s going to harm us. All he said was hello,” the yellow pegasus answered. She squeaked when Sombra looked back at her.

“Then why are you afraid?” Sombra inquired. He cocked his head to one side as he studied the yellow pegasus.

“Hey! You!” the cyan pegasus yelled. “I’m talking you!”

“Young one, you know it is very rude to interrupt,” Sombra calmly parented. “I know you would like to talk, but we can have a civil conversation after you calm down.” He threw her a look which spoke, ‘Are we clear?’ The cyan pegasus snapped her mouth closed in a huff of indignation. Sombra inclined his head in respectful appreciation. He stood up to his full height and looked down at Discord. Discord met his eyes, not cowed in the least by his nephew’s stature.

“All of you look like you need to eat,” Sombra stated as his eyes swept the small group he had accumulated. “Come, let me provide you food and drink.”

“Well I can’t say no to that!” declared Discord as he tromped along after Sombra. Sombra heard flapping wings and hurried hooves also following after him. He smiled to himself at Twilight’s interesting friends.

“I’m only following you because Discord seems to trust you,” said Rainbow Dash, the blue one. “That still doesn’t mean I would forgive you for what you did to the Crystal Empire. So you better believe that I’m watching you, buster!”

“The Crystal Empire? Never heard of it,” Sombra stated matter-of-factly. “And, if I have never heard of the place, then how, pray tell, can I do something against it?” Still walking, he turned his head to look at the flying, cyan pegasus in the eyes. He could tell that she had some pent-up anger issues which needed to be resolved. Sombra could practically hear the rainbow growling behind him.

“Don’t play dumb with me! I saw you at the Battle of the Crystal Empire! You were trying to steal the Crystal Heart! And we stopped you by activating it and turning you into smoke! So, how are you alive?!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Well, you will not be receiving any answers from me if you keep yelling at me. Nor will you live long if you keep spiking your blood pressure like that with your angry outbursts. Try this: take a deep breath once in a while, in and out, slowly. From one drama queen to another.”

“DRAMA QUEEN!!!” Rainbow Dash shrieked. Discord busted out laughing. Even the yellow pegasus let out a quiet giggle. Realizing something, he stopped and turned to the yellow pegasus.

He put on his most charming and innocuous smile and asked, “May I have the honor of knowing your name, little one?”

Her light blue eyes met his red ones, and she whispered with a smile, “My name is Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy. Hmm… That is a lovely name. Now, let us go get some food. I have been asleep for centuries and just woke up. I am starving. Anypony care for a mango? I could go for a mango. By Harmony, I miss mangos. Especially from Marcov’s grove. He had the best mangos in all of Harmonia. Am I right, Uncle? I distinctly remember I could always find you there. Munching on all my mangos.”

“Well I did eat them just to get a rise out of ya,” laughed Discord. “You always were easy to mess with.” His snickering continued as they walked eastward in the seemingly endless corridor. “By the way, Sombra, my boy, why does it seem like we are never going to get to the other side of this hall? I’m the god of chaos, and this seems ridiculous to me! I’m also hungry, you know.”

“Discord!” a whisper shout resounded a few feet away. A flustered Fluttershy was shooting daggers at a capitulatory Discord.

“Terribly sorry, Fluttershy, but it is true. I’m practically starved,” Discord mumbled. “And Sombra did promise food.” He crossed his arms to bolster his argument. Discord started to pout, but Fluttershy rubbed her wing up and down his back. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes. By Harmony, Sombra had missed this. Interactions with other living beings in real life were not to be taken for granted. Realizing something else, Sombra suddenly stopped in the corridor.

“Ow…” Rainbow Dash’s yell was muffled when she flew into Sombra’s flank. “Why did you stop?” But she was ignored.

“Fluttershy, are you Discord’s girlfriend?” Sombra asked. “If so, would that make you my future aunt? Would it be alright if I called you Auntie?”

“NO!”

“I did not ask you, Rainbow Dash.”

“But, but that would be weird!”

“How?” he asked with the patience of a saint.

“Because you’re a bad guy! That’s why!” Rainbow Dash retorted, eyes flashing in unbridled rage.

“Who told you I was the bad guy? I have never met you, nor have I ever done anything to you. If you are basing your anger and (frankly unjust) bias toward me based on a false accusation, then I would very much like to correct you. It would be unwise to judge someone based on preconceived notions and hearsay. Now, tell me who gave you this absurd idea that I am a bad guy.”

“Celestia.”

Ω
ΩMidnightΩ

I awoke to find that the ground was moving! And, I also found that I had no idea where the hay I was. But I did have a clear idea of who had put me here. And he was going to get an earful when I found him. So, I hopped down from the incredibly soft bed onto cherry red hardwood floors which wouldn’t stop moving. I immediately rammed into the opposing mahogany wall. A mini globe, along with a few books from the shelves, fell onto my head. Groaning, I scrambled to my feet, trying to get away from the offending wall. Once I arose, I was slammed into the other wall. Both of my shoulders were screaming by the time I finally got out of that room. Unfortunately, the hallway wasn’t any better. I thought I was going to become a bruise by the time I got to my destination.

I finally arrived at the end of the hallway to find stairs and a closed door. I really didn’t want to climb those things at the moment. Especially when I was constantly being slammed into the walls. Nor was this queasy feeling helping much. Find Sombra I must, so climb the stairs I would. But it was an accomplishment in and of itself. With weak magic and unsteady hooves, I finally managed to pry the door open to a bright sunny day with huge waves crashing onto the deck. Wait a minute! WAVES?! And I might have seen some shimmering green and blue scales in those waves. Yep, I was right. There were green and blue scales in the water.

A massive reptilian head emerged from the water speaking a language that I couldn’t quite understand. And who was in front of that thing? You bet you a fresh mango it was Sombra! That crazy stallion was going to get himself killed. Well, I guess it was up to me to go and save the goof. On wobbly feet, I made my way over from the top of the stairwell to where he was standing. I flopped like a fish on the wet oak deck with a groan of resignation. I looked up to find a red-eyed stallion and a blue-green serpent staring at me. One set of eyes was twinkling with mirth and the other with curiosity. On the bright side, the boat had stopped moving quite so much. However, the stillness did not arrive in time for my stomach to settle.

I dashed over the railing and upchucked mucus and bile and whatever I had eaten the night before. I saw red magic pull back my mane and felt something soft rub my back as I disgraced myself. I felt humiliation coursing in my blood as I continued to vomit everything in my stomach.

“Is she alright?” a melodious voice asked. I saw the green-blue scales inch away from sickening pool. I felt really bad about that.

“I believe so, Sarff Fawr,” replied Sombra. “At least, I hope she is. Are you alright, fy un bach I?” He pulled me from the railing to which I had affixed myself with a death grip. He wrapped me in his wings and started to purr. That somehow helped with my upset stomach.

“So why are you all the way out here, fy un bach I?” Sombra whispered in my ear with a smile. I laid my head back onto the fluffy purring chest and looked up to find the alicorn wearing a new expression that was possibly a cross between suppressed humor and sympathy. And at this moment, I wasn’t sure I liked it.

“I was trying to rescue you!” I groaned. Another bout of nausea came over me. To keep from spewing the contents of my stomach onto the alicorn, I tried to escape the confinements Sombra had put upon me, but to no avail. I started gagging. Red magic covered me, and I stopped feeling sick altogether! Instead, I felt as though I was by a warm fire drinking hot chocolate. And, now I wanted hot chocolate.

“Trying to rescue me from what?” Laughter was heavily present in his voice. “As you can see, at the moment I do not need any rescuing. But if I am truly in trouble, I will call on someone as brave and strong as you, fy un bach I. Is that okay?” He pulled out his most charming smile. And it was effective.

“Fine. As long as you don’t space out in the middle of battle,” I waved off his smile. He looked confused.

“I do not ‘space out.’ What on Harmony’s green world are you talking about?” he asked indignantly. I tried once again to get out of his cocoon, but he pulled me right back in. Grr… Sombra, didn’t you see I was getting way too hot here? No? Great.

“There are times when you look at me and you space out. It is rather funny, but at the same time it can become really annoying. Like yesterday… Oh… ah… um…”

“What happened yesterday?” he inquired.

“You… the alicorns… A’stavera… what happened to them? All I remember is them preparing to attack, and you… was A’stavera really there? And how did I get on a boat? My getting sick is your fault because you put me on a boat! How long was I asleep? And another thing…”

Before I knew it, I got a mouthful of feathers to my face and was graced with Sombra’s deep laughter. “Slow down, fy un bach I. I will tell you everything in the cabin. But, right now, I have things to discuss with Sarff Fawr. Then I will answer your questions. Is that alright?” He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head back.

“Fine.”

“Good.” He smiled as he gently put me down. He walked over to the water serpent and started to talk again in the language that I didn’t understand. The words he spoke sounded like musical notes. And the serpent replied back with melodic tones. It sounded like one of those traveling bands I used to listen to as a filly before the alicorns banned them. It was beautiful. The water serpent nodded its head and dove into the water.

Sombra walked over to an orange earth pony wearing a tri-cornered hat and talked quietly with him. Then Sombra came back smiling. Red magic encased me and lifted me up, depositing me on Sombra’s back. He tromped down the stairs toward that infernal hallway. I noticed, riding on his back, that he had a picture on his back. It was of a silver tree with a six-pointed star at the juncture of the trunk and its eleven branches. All of the branches were draped in willow switches with white jewel leaves. But five of the branches had different colored jewels. The jewels were the colors of Harmony, all present except purple. What struck me as odd was that there were a sun and a moon sitting underneath the six-pointed star. All in all, it was a pretty picture.

“Hey, Sombra, what’s the tree?” I asked as I bounced along to his paces.

“Hmmm… What do you mean, fy nghariad bac?” Sombra asked as he ducked through the doorway. I managed to duck in time to slide in under the doorframe on his back.

“That’s a new nickname.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, it is. But back to my earlier question. What’s with the tree on your back?” I asked as we entered the room.

“Oh, that. Well, that is my cutie mark. Do not ask me how Harmony came up with that name. I suppose the name got on my nerves, so she stuck with it. She does that a lot… Well, anyway, you need some food in your belly and some sleep. Now, do not give me that look.”

“What look? And what’s a cutie mark?” I was so lost.

“A cutie mark shows the world what your destiny is. And mine is to be the guardian of this world and the next.” He said this as he slowly removed me from his back and softly placed me on the bed. He magically created some type of soup. When I asked what it was, he said it was clam chowder.

I watched Sombra tidy up the room as I took a tentative bite. Not bad! He was humming an upbeat catchy tune. While he cleaned (it seemed he was always cleaning something, the stubborn stallion), I noticed a prettily wrapped box. I thought to myself, ‘Must open!’ In hindsight, maybe I should have asked before I ripped open the box. Unfortunately, when there’s a box in pretty paper, I have always been compelled to open it!

Sombra chuckled as he watched me tear open the box. When I opened the box, a cloud of navy sparkly glitter shot in my face. Blah! Whoever invented this stuff needed to be stabbed, just saying! Even worse, some of it got in my mouth. I was going to be picking this stuff out of my mane for weeks! It didn’t help that my alicorn master was hooting and hollering and rolling on the floor. He even wiped tears from his eyes! What a jerk! I was in pain because of the glitter that had invaded my nose and eyes, and all he could do was laugh. There was no pity in those eyes. So, I made a box of pink (hot pink, that is) glitter and dumped it on his head. He shot to his feet, sputtering.

“Bleh! I got it my mouth! Gross!” Sombra shouted as he spit hot pink glitter on the floor. I made so much glitter that his mane turned pink! Now it was my turn to laugh. He looked at me with anger burning in his eyes. He really put up a good fight, trying to keep his face serious, but that lip kept quivering despite his best efforts. Finally, he gave up and joined me in laughter. We laughed and guffawed and chortled until our sides started to hurt. When we were finished, we both wiped tears from our eyes. Coincidentally, the tears got most of the glitter out of our eyes. Thank Harmony.

“Alright, since you clearly opened it anyway, let’s see what’s in the box,” Sombra said after catching his breath. I smiled, and my horn flashed with magic. I pulled out a long silver chain. This chain seemed to go on for hours. But then again, I had always been a very impatient pony. At the end of this long chain was a beautifully crafted pocket watch. It was beautifully engraved with a finely detailed six-branched tree. Similarly to the alicorn’s cutie mark, at the juncture of the trunk and the tree branches was a six-pointed star set with a purple stone. I noticed an inscription written in a language that I didn’t understand bordering the edge of the watch. Then red magic floated the watch towards Sombra.

“What does it say?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He squinted and hummed but did not answer my question. I crossed my front legs in impatience as I watched him study the blasted thing. I wanted to know what was inscribed on the watch. I wanted to know now! I growled at him. Unfortunately, all that did was make his lip quirk up at the corner.

“Sombra, are you going to answer me?” I asked. I was growing quite irritated at the lack of answers. He just chuckled. He took the watch and stored it in one of the traveling bags that he had brought with us. I felt embarrassed when I saw my small, hole-ridden brown bag sitting beside his beautiful travel bag. His bag was black with a red border and a silver tree with red leaves expertly embroidered on the front. I was too shy to ask for a new bag, but that didn’t keep me from looking at his with envy.

“Well?”

“Hmm… I do not know if I should tell you what it says, considering that you dumped glitter on me. A color, mind you, which we both despise. So, as punishment for giving me art herpes, I decline to tell you what it says.” A look of triumph was evident in his eyes as he spoke. I jumped at him so I could tackle him, but the blasted stallion evaded my attempts with a practiced expertise. I chased him around the room trying to get my hooves on the infuriating alicorn. Unfortunately for me, every time I got close, he would move just out of my reach.

We stopped running around in circles when the floor had been covered in a thick layer of pink and navy glitter. (We won’t mention the fact that I was out of breath.) Sombra appeared to be on the verge of another laughing fit. Blast him. I shook my hide like a wet dog trying to dry itself, and a small mound of glitter fell to the floor. I resigned myself to the eventuality of picking glitter out of my mane for weeks to come. Well, my mother had always said that I needed a sparkling personality to get where I wanted to go in life. I just wasn’t sure this was what she had had in mind.

“Well, as fun as that was,” Sombra said, looking around the sparkling room, “I, for one, do not want to stay in a room covered in shiny, distasteful, multiplying speckles of color. So, if you will excuse me, I shall begin to sweep up this disaster zone. Midnight, if you would hold the dustpan for me?”

A broom and dustpan appeared out of thin air. My magic encased the dustpan and set about cleaning our artful mess. It took forever (and a half), but we managed to sweep most of the glitter off the bed and out of the room. We had to change the blankets just so we would not be sleeping on the stuff. Ugh… I hated glitter! I could have sworn an alicorn must have made it just to make everyone else miserable. I heard Sombra grumbling something about going to find the inventor and so he could turn them inside-out, or something along those lines. I laughed a little at this. The alicorn turned toward me and smiled. By Harmony, that smile! It could break a mare’s heart from a mile away.

I smiled back, then returned to my task of sweeping a small pile of pink glitter out of the corner. Sombra walked up to me. He picked up the dustpan and magicked it away, along with the broom. He looked out the window, and I followed suit. The sun was setting on the horizon, and I thought I saw a white speck at the corner of the sun. But I brushed it off as part of my imagination.

“It is time for bed,” he murmured as he looked out the window.

“I’m still hungry,” I whined.

“Little Star, there is nothing here for you. That is, unless you want to eat that glitter. In that case, be my guest.”

“Never mind.”

He turned to me. When he did, his red eyes pinned me to the floor. I swore, I would never understand what spell he had cast to make me feel so firmly glued to the wood floors. It was rather reassuring, though, and I silently wished it wouldn’t stop. Red magic encased me, lifting me off the floor. Blankets were drawn back as I was tucked into bed. My eyelids became five pounds heavier when my head touched the pillow. As I drifted off, I was sure I heard Sombra say something, but I was too tired to pay attention. My dreams that night were not a pleasant experience.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I left Midnight sleeping in our room. As fun as the glitter fight was, I had more important issues with which to contend. I went down to the galley, weaving in and out among boxes until I finally made it to the back. A cage was sitting there. In it was a bloodied alicorn, shackled to the floor. Her pink-red coat was riddled with deep gashes and cuts. A’stavera’s pink eyes flashed in fear as she saw me walk up out of the shadows. I smiled cruelly at the pathetic equine as I watched her tremble.
“Now, let us try this again. Tell me everything I want to know.”

The Crystal Port

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The Crystal Port

(Present, Sombra’s cave)

Sombra froze. He felt somepony bump into him, but he ignored the grumbling while he collected himself. He really needed to stop letting that murderer’s name get to him whenever he heard it said. He sighed and turned around to face the disgruntled ponies. Discord raised his eyebrow. Sombra shot a look at Discord.

“Would you care to tell the horrid tales she spewed out about me?” he asked, resigned. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to answer, but Sombra held up a wing to stop her. “Tsch,” he warned, shaking his head. Rainbow Dash growled. Fluttershy squeaked. Discord laughed.

“Never mind me, I do not actually want to hear any of those stories,” Sombra stated as he reached the door to east of the staircase. “I have a hunger headache coming on, and it would only be compounded by having to listen to what your ‘princess’ had to say about me. I need mangos. Mangos…” Drool pooled in his mouth and started to dribble down his muzzle at the thought of mangos. Suddenly, the ponies behind him did not seem to matter so much. With a frame-shattering crack, he wrenched the door open and dashed through the aperture.

“Why is it purple?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I’m not the interior designer!” Discord huffed indignantly.

“I didn’t ask you, Discord!”

“I beg your pardon. I did not believe my answer would be so rebuffed by a pegasus.”

“STOP!!!” Screeched the quiet one. “Can we please stop fighting? You two have been at each other’s throats since we started! I’m tired, and I want to find Twilight, and that is not going to happen if you two keep fighting! Discord, I love you, but would you please get along with Rainbow Dash at least until the end of the trip?”

Discord mumbled something possibly about unrequited love or something similar but reluctantly agreed. “Dash?” Fluttershy asked.

“Fine… What the hell is that?”

Ω

Dash stopped in her tracks and looked upon a room filled with translucent crystal columns. In all, there were six columns of colored crystal, one each of yellow, pink, green, white, red, and blue. The pillars were astonishingly beautiful except for a haunting visage in the center of each structure. Each crystal held a mare, clearly visible even from across the room. The closest crystal held captive a yellow mare with a dark pink mane who was encased in a bright-yellow crystal. Dash slowly walked further into the room, spying out each of the crystalized mares. One in particular stood out. It wasn’t that she was remarkable in any way. She was a unicorn like the rest of them. No, what made her stand out was that she was holding an alicorn filly. Like Flurry Heart. A Flurry Heart encased in white crystal.

The filly was black, with a curly mane of the same color with light blue streaks. Its wings, unfurled, were a black that faded to light blue. The mare, when Rainbow Dash got closer, looked astonishingly like Twilight! However, the colors were wrong. Twilight was purple, while this mare was blue. And her cutie mark was different, too! It was a book with a purple six-pointed star hovering above it. Other than that, she was an exact copy.

“What is going on here?” screeched Dash, spinning in a complete circle. She stopped when the black and red alicorn walked up to her. His intense ruby eyes pinned her in place. His eyes shifted to the crystal.

Breathing in, he said, “The chamber in which we stand is called a Memorial Sanctum. In ages past, it was the highest honor to be buried in this way. The crystals, you see, are created by alicorn magic. When the alicorns were as numerous as the stars in the sky, ponies and other creatures would seek them out to have their loved ones entombed in the crystals, perfectly preserved and as lively to look at as they were in life.”

Sombra took a shaky breath. “The mare whom you see in these crystals is my mate Midnight Star and her later reincarnations. Midnight, in the white crystal, is holding our unborn filly in her arms. They were both murdered in cold blood by your Princess Celestia.” Sombra growled in anguish. “From what little information I was able to gather, Midnight went to Celestia for help at a crucial point in her life, but she only found betrayal. I do not understand Celestia’s thought process or what could compel her to do such a thing. All I could do was send a clone of myself past the barrier she had erected to find Midnight’s reincarnations. However, I only found their bodies and their death memories. I thought I had lost her when I found her sixth life. You see, a soul can only reincarnate for a total of six lives before Void takes the soul to be reborn. This reborn soul is a creator soul, new and without memories of a former life. But my latest clone found Twilight, my mate’s seventh life. It was as if the stars – and Void – had allied and aligned themselves in my favor. I made a plan. It took a few years, but I finally was able to send my magic across the barrier. I took control of a few ponies, just enough to cause some alarm and start an investigation. I sent a thought to Celestia to send Twilight. And it worked.” He caressed the white crystal with his wing. Sadness and fondness crossed his face in a bittersweet nostalgia.

“Why do you have her past lives here then?” asked Dash, disgusted. “You have to admit it’s weird to have anyone’s dead body displayed in a room, even if she’s your mate. And what did you do with the twelve ponies that you captured?”

“I sent them to a room in Celestia’s castle. They should have been easy to find once I had my Twilight.” He tilted his head to the side. “Did you stop looking for them?”

“NO!” yelled Dash. “But… finding them went on the back burner once Twilight disappeared.”

“You saw the spell activate?”

“Yes! And I nearly died because of that spell! It sent me back to the Crystal Empire in a crater. Because of that spell, thousands died! I was worried that my friend might have died, too.” Tears streamed down Dash’s eyes as she cried out, “And you have her dead bodies stuck in crystals like a morbid sicko!”

“Wait you survived the backlash of my teleportation spell?!” Sombra exclaimed. “How?”

“Princess Celestia,” answered Fluttershy, “cast a spell that made Rainbow Dash glow under her bandages. When Princess Celestia took them off, Dash was all better as if nothing had happened.”

“The Ultimate Healing Spell,” Sombra reasoned. “That explains why you are alive. Did you hear her sing perchance?”

“No, I did not,” Fluttershy answered, puzzled. “Should I have?”

“It is no small task to perform the Ultimate Healing Spell without singing,” he explained, “but not impossible. Singing this particular spell helps focus your intention and allows for less of a backlash. But the spell is not without its price.”

“So what is the price?” asked Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy! Don’t encourage him!” shouted Rainbow Dash. She felt frustration bubble up inside her chest as Fluttershy gave the egghead her full attention. They didn’t need this pointless conversation. They needed to find Twilight and get out of this creepy place. He had dead bodies floating in crystals! And each one of the mares looked kind of like Twilight. The yellow one had Twilight’s mane cut, and the one closest to Dash looked almost exactly like her. It was freaking Dash out.

“The price,” Sombra said, shaking Dash out of her thoughts, “is for the caster to feel the pain that the intended is going through. For example, my mate Midnight was attacked by two alicorns. They bashed in her head, cracking her skull in the process. They also bit into her leg, ripping meat off to the point that I saw bone. They even broke one of her shoulders! When I cast the spell, I felt every sliver of agony she was going through for as long as that spell needed to heal her. And that was only the first time I used the spell on her. The second time, I had awoken to find three of her legs broken, a horrible gash over her right eye, and burns alongside her body. I do not know what had happened then. She never told me, and when I try to access her memories of that day, I come up against a wall. Except for three events which she would not share, I can access all her memories, even her reincarnations’ memories, and the access makes it all the more frustrating that she kept those events from me.”

Dash saw the frustration and hurt in his eyes as he recounted those events. It was clear he wished they had never happened. Pain and unshed tears flashed brightly in his eyes. Dash didn’t want to feel pity for this guy. For all she knew, he could just be a good actor. She still didn’t even know why these ponies were here. But she felt pangs of guilt rise deep within her for her earlier judgments of the alicorn.

“Why are these ponies here?” she asked of the black male alicorn, reserving the right to glare at him.

“Because I did not want the rampaging alicorns to desecrate my mate’s body as they had destroyed the other ponies in the First Memorial Sanctum.” He returned a stern look. “When I put their horrendous leader underground, with void crystals set to torment her, her followers decided to take revenge on every living creature. I could only save a fraction of the innocents. I may be half god, but I am not infallible, and I was never able to help as many ponies as I would like. I believe that is why Celestia hates me. She assumed that I was a perfect being capable of no wrongs. But I made mistakes and continue to make mistakes. Some of my mistakes had enormous ramifications. For example, after decades of what seemed to be futile work, I decided to quit my job and become a hermit for fifty years. I did not leave my house until a little blue pony came crashing into my life, eating my last mango for the week. Hehe, that was a good time,” he said with a smile. “Well, sleeping here for over three thousand years has awakened quite a hunger. Keep up, or you will get lost. Onward to food!”

With that, he left the room. But not before whacking Discord upside the head.

“What was that for?!” Discord yelled at the retreating back of Sombra. Sombra looked over his shoulder and stated, “Leave my mate alone. I do not need you reanimating the dead. It was disturbing the last time you tried it, and I do not want to see it again!”

“BOO, you’re no fun.”

“I heard that!”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

“LAND! Beautiful land!” Midnight cried out, disembarking and immediately kissing the ground. I stood in place and watched, chuckling to myself. I had a sneaking suspicion that she had a distaste for boat rides. It was quite alright with me; we wouldn’t be sailing again anytime soon. I magically picked up Midnight and deposited her on my back as I started to walk. I had recently found that this was my favorite way to transport Midnight. It made it so much easier to keep track of the wandering mare. As an added bonus, it felt great having that comfortable weight on my back. She started to grumble but shifted around to make herself cozy.

“So, where are we going?” Midnight asked, laying her head on top of mine. “You never told me.”

“Well, I deeply apologize for not informing you of our destination,” I answered. “I will alert you as soon as I figure out where we are going myself. What I do know is that we must travel south.”

“That’s just great. We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re heading south. You stole me from my comfy life eating mangos to travel south,” she grumbled in my mane.

“Well, I distinctly remember you saying you wanted to come along,” I reminded her as we walked up to a bread merchant’s stall. “I know where I am heading. South. I just don’t know the precise destination. Oh, I’ll take two, thank you. Besides, I don’t need you getting too used to my mangos. I place special orders for those. Here, Midnight, eat this. Our destination is whichever location is holding Harmony.” I pay for the eclairs and start walking toward the edge of town. Crystal Port was a bustling seaport which was known for crystals and fish. Alicorns came from all over the world just to get their hoofs on these crystals. In fact, I had decided I just might buy one for Midnight before we left.

What I loved about this place were the white marble homes with gigantic columns. I also loved seeing the great marble statues and grand fountains which lined the main street. Blue and yellow mosaics dotted the sides of the streets. Crystal Port was the home of art. The best part was that alicorns barely had any control here. It was all run by a conglomerate of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. I tried to come here once in a while to get away from Harmonia and its troubles. Besides, Marcov’s grove was nearby. He had the best mangos in the whole earth. I realized my to do list was getting longer by the second.

Even though the maps said that Crystal Port was part of Harmonia, it had its own separate governing body and army. And it was hard to become a citizen. I really needed to change that last part. I put it on my other growing to do list, the list of things I needed to change. Ugh… Antares, what had you been doing? Sitting on your butt looking at a mirror all day? She was hardly competent when dealing with governing ponies. Questioning to myself why I had appointed her as my steward, I remembered she was the only one available at the time. By Harmony, I was tired. So tired.

“What is this?!” Midnight exclaimed, jarring me out of my thoughts. “It’s so good!” I smiled at her outburst of joy.

“Well, fy nghariad bac, it is called an éclair,” I answered. However, as I was talking, I felt her head move around. I shook my head at her antics. “Midnight, are you listening?”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I wasn’t listening. I was too busy looking at the sights and enjoying this chocolate confectionery. Mmm… by Harmony, this was good! I wanted more! Additionally, I wanted to know what this white rock was. It seemed to be everywhere. The buildings were carved from this stuff. Gigantic, ornate columns with elaborate carvings held up triangular roofs. There were statues made of this white rock, too. I saw statues of Harmony, a weird looking reptile, and a cat. The reptile appeared to be an amalgamation of four different reptiles, and I thought I saw a portion of a dog in one of the statues. I would have thought these were separate beings, but I saw a plaque, written in five different languages, including mine, saying “Discord.” On the other hand, the statues of the cat were quite alarming. I couldn’t tell if the strangeness was that the only color on the statue was the purple of the eyes that seemed to follow me everywhere. It could also have been that the cat stuck with one pose in each statue, unlike the others. It simply stood there on its hind legs, a bow in its hand. The bow stretched far beyond its head. “Void” was written on these plaques.

This place was far different from my home in Harmonia. I was now far away from the cobblestone streets I used to run on, and far from the white clay and birchwood homes that I was used to. Here on the streets I didn’t feel the cozy claustrophobia that I had felt at home. No, here everything was open. The streets were wide, wide enough for three carriages to fit side by side and still have room for ponies to walk around them comfortably.

This was the best pre-birthday present! If I was going to turn twenty-five tomorrow, this was certainly where I wanted to spend the day. I had always enjoyed my birthdays, and traveling, but this was going to be the first birthday I spent without my mom. I was a little sad about that fact, but I could always go and recount my epic tales to her when I got back. That sounded like a good plan.

“What did you say?” I asked with a mouth full of éclair. I think I got crumbs in his mane. Oops… I discreetly wiped off what I could.

“What are you doing?”

“NOTHING!!!” I finally got most of the crumbs out. Phew…

“Hmm…” He did not sound convinced.

“Hey, Sombra, let me down! I want to explore!” I said as I climbed further up the top of his head to get a better view. I let both of my front hooves hang between his ears as I surveyed the crowded streets.

“Get down from there!” he demanded. “You’re hurting me. That’s better. To answer your question, no. You would inevitably find yourself lost, and I would find it difficult to locate you. We don’t have time for that.”

“No fair,” I grumped.

“If you behave, I’ll let you explore Crystal Port on the way back. How does that sound?”

That was a good plan. That is, if I could behave. As if that would ever happen. At least he was giving me some hope of exploring. That was a kindness coming from him.

“Hey, Sombra, what is going on with all these statues?” I asked, returning to my original position. “Particularly the cat seems a little strange. And why do its eyes keep following me?”

"These statues are made by the gods’ Acolytes,” Sombra answered. “They are here to remind ponies and all other sentient beings who the gods are and to worship them. Now, the cat statue is a poor depiction of Void. Only Harmony, Discord, two other ponies, and I have seen Void in our more-or-less mortal forms and survived. The two other ponies who have seen Void were given the title of Void prophet. These Void prophets became blind after seeing him, and all they could say about his appearance was that Void was a cat.”

“Were they wrong?”

“No, they were not wrong. Void, when the god decides to come to the mortal plane, dons the appearance of a cat. I don’t know why Void chose that animal specifically, and I prefer not to find out. If I went to the trouble of asking, the god would take something from me again. You can see Void’s true form every time you peer out into the night sky.”

“What do you mean?” I didn’t know how I felt about seeing a constellation and possibly intruding upon a god’s privacy.

“To put it simply, we’re actually inside of Void,” Sombra started to explain. “This whole galaxy we inhabit, if Void was to be compared to a cat, would be Void’s right paw… and in the left paw, our souls are created.”

“Wait a minute. Void is that big?!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, and it is indeed quite a sight. Fortunately, such a massive true form can’t actually fit here in the mortal realm. Sometimes, though, the god does come down. A small piece of Void is sent to us in the form of a cat (again, I cannot say why the form of a cat is chosen). Even the cat cannot remain here long because that small piece can corrupt anything and everything around it. For that reason, and possibly because of some introverted tendencies, Void only comes down once in a while to ensure everything is going smoothly and to order me around.”

“He bosses you around?” Yeah, that’s the important takeaway, Midnight. Good job. What wonderful priorities you have there.

“Yes, and it is quite annoying. Fun fact: Void does not like me, and I do not know why. Maybe the reason is simply that I don’t want to give up Harmony. Or it could be a clash of personalities. Anyway, when Void cannot come down personally, the god sends these cat-like creatures out to collect souls. They come in pairs, one black and one white. The black ones are sweet and gentle, but the white cats are quite aggressive and overly protective of the black cats. If you see a white cat, run away quickly.”

“Why?”

“Why? The white ones will attack and try to kill you. It doesn’t matter if you were simply passing by and just happened to see one collect a soul. Those white beasts will try to kill you. Now gray cats, which are extremely rare, have both the aspects of the black cats and the white cats. So, they might let you go your merry way, or they might kill you on the spot.”

“So, in other words, run like a crazy pony when I see cats. Got it.” I totally didn’t get it. But I trusted Sombra. For an alicorn, he’d shown himself to be incredibly trustworthy. Now, was I ready to tell him about my weird dream from last night? Maybe later. But for now…

“What were you eating when we were on the ship?” my curiosity bade me ask. My curiosity knew no bounds. “It looked like some sort of meat… wait, you eat meat? Ewww…”

“You eat veggies? Ewww…” Sombra countered. “Unfortunately for you, I can sense the judgment you would cast upon me, and I am not eager to be unjustly convicted. How can you be old enough to find yourself in the workforce but not mature enough to mind your business? How old are you, anyway?”

“Twenty-four. I’ll be twenty-five tomorrow.” I pouted. “I was just curious. You didn’t have to be so mean.”

“I was not being mean. You know how I…” He stopped talking when he looked at me and saw my smile. “I simply must give you your just deserts for that ploy. How rude to play a joke on me like that. Oh, and happy early birthday. You never told me.”

“It was never brought up. And I eagerly await those just deserts. Sound tasty.”

“Oh, Midnight. What am I to do with you?”

Midnight's Wanted Anniversary

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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.

Memories

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It grew late, and I found myself watching my Star sleep on the picnic blanket. I do not know when, but I had started to regard this activity as one of my favorite pastimes, a close second to talking with her. However, I had more pressing matters this night. I needed to discern what had been tormenting my pony in her sleep. I curled around her and cast the dreamwalker spell.

A door, with a familiar tree engraved on it, opened in my mind’s eye. I walked through the door to find myself in what my instinct informed me was the cavernous ribcage of a Mountain Beast. The few torches ensconced upon the wall offered little light, but my ears were pricked, and I heard the faint dripping of water in the background.

The sound of a singing filly struck me. It began softly but grew so faint that it became difficult to make out the phrases. I found myself walking toward the song, my hooves clambering on, separate from my conscious thought and moving on their own accord. As I stepped closer, the words became clearer.

“Midnight, not a sound from the stone.

“Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone.”

I quickened my pace to a run, rushing carelessly toward the voice. Who was singing? If I could find whoever was singing, maybe, just maybe, Midnight could recover from her nightmare and find a restful night’s sleep.

“In the lamplight, the withered leaves collect at my feet.

“And the wind begins to moan.”

Closer. Closer. Closer I drew to the voice. But I walked aimlessly; the room echoed so that it became impossible to pinpoint whence the voice came. I slowed to a halt. I saw Midnight walking to the east side of the monster’s chest. For a moment, I was dumbfounded by her presence. I shook myself when I remembered that this was her dream. I moved to follow her.

“Memory, all alone in the moonlight.

“I can smile at the old days. I was beautiful then.”

The voice grew louder and clearer as I stalked Midnight. I hid in the shadows to avoid being caught trespassing in her dream. If my Star found out I was able to intrude upon her mind in her sleeping state, I would likely never regain her trust. This secrecy was the cost I bore for caring so much for her.

“I remember the time I knew what happiness was.
“Let the memory live again.

“Every streetlamp seems to beat a fatalistic warning.
“Someone mutters at the streetlamp gutters.
“And soon it will be morning.”

Midnight stopped, her eyes pointing to the filly but appearing completely glazed over. Walking up to her, I stopped when I noticed a coppery fluid pooling on the ground. I looked down to find my hooves covered in blood. Bile rose in my throat, but I just managed to keep it down. I turned back to Midnight. My eyes trained on the figure of my beloved as I moved behind her. She sat down.

“Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise.
“I must think of a new life, and I mustn't give in.
“When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory, too,
“And a new day will begin.”

I saw a little black and light-blue pegasus, covered in blood. The filly stood in front of a brutally mutilated corpse. I could barely determine the color of the pony’s coat even as I moved closer. I finally made out the color, and a section of light blue fur peeked out from the pony’s blood-soaked hide. I tried to study the body, but something caught my eye, and I cast my eyes toward the filly. I felt an overwhelming sense of bewilderment. A child alicorn stood before me! How could this be? And to whom was this filly singing? Or about whom?

“Burnt out ends of smoky days, the stale cold smell of morning.
“A street lamp dies, another night is over.
“Another day is dawning.”

“To whom are you singing, Cym?” I asked, kneeling beside the filly. It ignored me and continued its song.

“Touch me, it’s so easy to leave me,
“All alone with my memory of my days in the sun.
“If you touch me you'll understand what happiness is.
“Look a new day has begun.”

“That is a beautiful song,” I asked when it had finished. “Who was it for?”

Ice blue eyes pierced mine. The filly tilted its head and said, “Mom.”

“Who, Cym?” I gently coaxed. I lifted my wing and wrapped it around the bloodied filly. “Who is your mom?”

“Mom,” the filly said again.

I nodded. “Yes, dear child, and who is your mom?”

The filly turned its head and pointed with its tiny, blue-tipped black wing. “Mom.”

I cast my eyes to the corpse, and my heart broke. I got up and walked over to the alicorn’s mother, and my world shattered. The last thing I had expected to see were the empty amethyst eyes of my Star. Tears filled my eyes as I dropped to my knees with a cry. I felt a knife twisting itself in my heart as I wailed in misery. I barely heard the tiny clack of hooves coming up next to me.

“Why are you crying over my mommy?” the tiny voice asked. “Did you know her?”

“Y-yes,” I rasped. Fat tears fell despite my efforts to compose myself. “I know her. I love her, more than I love myself at times.”

“Then why didn’t you save her?” it cried. “If you love her, then why is she dead? Why am I dead?”

My heart stopped. Time stopped. The heartbreak in the filly’s eyes burned through me, and I knew I had never felt so helpless.

“She is alive. I am in her dream. How can she be dead if I am in her dream?”

“Dreamspell,” the young alicorn said simply. It tilted its head in confusion. “I cast this spell in hopes of communicating with my mom. I hoped that I could warn her. A demigod’s kid should be able to do that much, right?”

A demigod’s child?

“Do you know who your father was?” I asked, unsure myself of the answer to its question. It tilted its head in thought, then nodded.

“I know his voice,” it answered. The filly’s eyes widened in surprise and recognition. “If what you say is true and Mom is still alive, please save her! Please stop this from happening!”

Before I could answer, the filly began to fade into white. Midnight was waking up. No, I needed more time. I needed to reassure this child. I needed to know what was to happen to my Star. I pleaded silently to talk one more time with this child.

The filly cried, “Save her, Dad!” before its voice drifted off into nothingness.

The Wilderness

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The Wilderness

(Lester)

“Do not worry, I will set you free, little Wolfling.”

Lester looked over his shoulder to find a cat with black fur that shone through the purple haze. It stood on its hind legs and held its forelegs behind its back. Its belly and feet were white like fresh fallen snow. It wore a purple cloak with a dark blue border held up by a black spade clasp. The cat smiled disarmingly at Lester. Suspicion flooded Lester’s senses, and pain blossomed in his bottom lip where he had bitten it. His trusting nature had gotten him into this devastating situation, and it seemed that his nature would do nothing to get him out of it.

“You do not trust me.” The calming voice of the cat frazzled Lester’s nerves even more. “Is it because this crystalline prison made you lose hope? It made you watch as your friends died, one by one, in the lights of the tower. More than that it made you believe that you were responsible. Am I right?”

“How did you know?” Lester asked as he sat up straighter.

“How do I know?” they reiterated. “I know because I have seen this torture done to countless other souls. The crystalline towers are powered by the despair and hopelessness of its prisoners. These towers made by the alicorn are used as a gateway to a certain location. These crystals are more efficient then teleporting, in that they can allow hundreds to thousands of souls through.”

Hope rose inside Lester’s chest as he asked, “So, my friends are not dead? I didn’t massively screw up and killed everyone?”

“No,” they said simply. “A battle is raging, and a siege is underway. You have been trapped in this crystal for months and there’s no end in sight. Starvation and sickness runs rampant inside the haven. It is only a matter of time before they are all wiped out. I am here to collect you, so that you may be able to have a better next life. My partner is fighting the alicorns. They are fighting them so I will be able to deliver you to Void. We need to go now, Ychydig Blaidd.”

“What about my friends?” Panic started to set in as the cat got closer to Lester. He tried to edge away from the casually walking cat, “Who will save them?” He tasted his fear like acid pouring down his throat. His eyes shifted from side to side looking for a way out but was boxed in by the crystal walls. His fur stood at end as his teeth began to chatter.

“Do not worry about them.” The hypnotic and soothing voice slowed Lester’s escape enough for the cat to come close, “For they will receive better life in the next. It is time for you to rest. Peace, be at peace.”

A sense of peace came over Lester when the cat touched him. Everything was going to be alright. It didn’t matter that his friends were dying. Nor did it matter that he had watched the bloody deaths of his friends, or that he now fits inside of the strange cat’s paws. Everything… was… fine. He was finally at peace.

The cat jumped through the wall of his prison like it was nothing. The realization that he should feel the wind crossed his mind, but he push the thought away. Too much thinking. As they fell Lester saw a pure white cat going toe-to-toe with a fleet of alicorns and winning. Not a drop of blood of the slain appeared on its pristine white coat. Lester watched in amazement as the cat used its long thin silver blade to cut down its opponents, while doing flips and somersaults in the air. His eyes became round as he watched the white cat seemingly taunt the aggressors.

The white cat turned around when Lester and his ride landed on the ground. The white cat ran up to them and started to speak but Lester could not understand what they were saying. They spoke in another language. Why should he care? Everything was fine. He was at peace. Nothing was going to harm he anymore. He was finally able to rest.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

“Cactus. Bird. Cactus.” Sigh. I counted as I watched it go by.

“Cactus. Bird. Cactus.” Sigh. Sand and dead grass also litter the scenery. But I didn’t count those because that would be ludicrous. There was nothing to see out here! Cacti and grass and sand and birds. Boring.

“Wait! No. Cactus. Bird. Cactus.” Sigh. I am bored. And I am not allowed to walk so says the Neigh-sayer. Grr…

“Midnight?” Mr. Neigh-sayer asked. Riding on his back is not comfortable. He sounds annoyed. Maybe if I annoy him enough, he would put me down? Let’s see

“Cactus. Tree. Cactus.” Sigh. Let the annoying commence!

“Midnight, can you please stop?” Sombra asked. He shook his head in annoyance. Perfect!

“Cactus. Bee. Cactus.” Sigh. Ooo… Something new!

“I get it… there’s a lot of cacti.” Sombra growled, “Now can you please stop with the counting?”

“Cactus. Sand. Cactus.” Sigh. Bored!

“One more time, Midnight, and I will put a muzzle on you.”

“Cactus. Bird. Cactus.” Sigh. Is it working?

“Fine you brat! You asked for it!”

“Cact—Mmmph! MMMMPPPHH!!!”

He put a muzzle on me!! How dare he! I will show him.

“No, you will not,” Sombra stated. “I simply wants some peace and quite so I may concentrate! It is especially important that I can cast this locater spell. And to do that I must have TOTAL SILENCE! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

Well then. He did not need to yell though. But I see his point. He needs total silence. And that means I need to shut the heck up. By Harmony I miss my cuss words. Now what?

Sombra’s been broody ever since last night and now I can’t even talk! This is so unfair. Ugh… boring scenery counting commence. I can’t believe it didn’t work. All well. Cactus. Cactus. Sigh. Cactus. Cactus. Sigh. Where are the birds? Cactus. Cactus. Bird. Ooh there they are! Hello! Cactus. Cactus. Cat. Sigh…

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

And there she goes at it again. Concentrate, Sombra now is not the time get distracted. The Space Manipulation spell will continue to cast by itself. We are making great… progress, for the average pony would have taken weeks to traverse this desert but for me it was a matter of hours. It does not help that Midnight was counting every single cactus that she saw. I love her, but by Harmony’s mane, does she get on my everlasting nerve.

Unfortunately, we lost time some time when I gave her that birthday picnic. On the other hoof, the locket that I gave her looks good on her. She refuses to take it off ever since I clasped it around her neck. Her smile outshone the sun when she saw it. I want to see her smile for the rest of eternity. But she will not smile again if her nightmares become true. I will not let that happen. I swear on my immortal soul that Midnight will live, and our child will grow up to be strong and independent. Wait… Wait a minute… I am going to have a child! I am going to be a father!

Midnight tapped me on the shoulder. I twisted my head around. “Yes?”

She pointed to the muzzle that prevented her from speaking. I felt a little sheepish, suddenly remembering that I put it on her. So, I cast it off and asked, “What is it that you want?”

“Why have we stopped?” She asked as she tilted her head. I blinked twice at her.

“We have?” I inquired as confusion settled in my bones. “I did not realize we stopped.”

“Yes, we did. What I want to know is why.” She made a point.

“I do not know why I stopped,” I pondered. “I would wager a guess that I got lost in thought. Do not worry it won’t happen again.” I started to walk again. I cannot become distracted again. Harmony was counting on me to find her. If not… I do not want to think about that. I will not let that happen.

“Sooo… Sombra?” Midnight asked as twirled her hoof in the air. “How long have we’ve been walking- I mean you’ve been walking for?”

“Let me think,” I answered, “I believe for a few hours. We are almost to a small village. Canter? Canville? Oh! Canterlot is what it is called. In about an hour I wager we will be there.”

“Canterlot? That’s a weird name,” Midnight laughed.

“Yes it is.” I grinned, “But not as weird as the name of a town I saw in my mirror. I saw in the future there will be a town call Ponyville,” I said with a smile, “Now that is weird name to call town.”

“What? A town that is only filled with only ponykind?” She asked. “There’s no Wild Beings in that town? By the way, Sombra, how does your mirror work? You never let me near it.”

“Ponyville consisted of only ponykind,” I answered. “And how my mirror works is by showing different dimensions to me. It also shows me different futures. The catch is that I am not in it. I can see the future, just not my own. That is why I am unable to see your future. Believe me I have tried.” It is fine by me. I do not see nor want a future without her. I smiled at thought of having a family with her. It was too good to be to true.

“Nosy.”

“What?” Shocked, I stumbled a little. Midnight righted herself on my back. “What did you say?”

“You heard me,” she said, “I called you nosy. Who gave you the right to look in the future? In my opinion, the future is supposed to be a mystery and only for the gods to know. And it is rude to look in somepony’s future. That is why I don’t go to soothsayers. Other than the fact that they are a bunch of quacks and liars.”

“Ok, Midnight,” I chuckled, “whatever you say.”

“You do not believe me!” she yelled.

“Ow,” I winced. “Please don’t yell in my ear.”

“Sorry.”

“All is forgiven,” I said as shook my head to make the ringing go away. “I do believe you. I just do not agree with you. And I am not about to argue with you.”

“Fair point. Oooh… what’s that?” She asked excitedly as she stepped on my head.

“MIDNIGHT?” I warned.

“Oh! sorry.” She got down from my head. I feel a headache coming on.

“Thank you,” I nodded, “What is what?”

“That!” I think Midnight pointed. I could not tell. I don’t have eyes on the back of my head or anything.

“I don’t see what it is you are pointing at,” I let a little frustration in my voice. “you are on my back, fy nghariad bac.”

“Oh,” she said. Out the corner of my eye I see her hoof. I turned my head to see where she was pointing at. Off in the distance to my right I saw a silhouette of a village. I enhanced my vision to it better. It turned out that I was going in the wrong direction. Sigh.

“That is Canterlot,” I said with resigned sigh, “I was going in the wrong direction.”

“Ok.”

Ω

It took me another six hours to arrive at Canterlot. The sun was setting, and the town looked as if it were coming to life. The night market was alive and well here. The clatter and the chatter of the townsfolk started to aggravate my headache. Along with the weight of the journey suddenly crash into my bones, I have decided that I did not want to deal with another being. All I want is a warm bed and a fresh meal. Unfortunately for me, my passenger had different ideas.

“A night market!” Midnight squealed loudly in my ear, “I haven’t seen one in forever! Sombra can please go?” She started to tug on my ear, begging to go.

“Sombra?” Tug.

“Can we please go?” Tug.

“PLEASE?” Tug. Tug.

“Midnight- ow- will you please stop tugging my ear,” I gritted through my teeth as she tugged my ear. That made my headache worse “It really hurts when you do that.”

“Sorry,” she responded, “But I really want to go to the night market!”

I sighed. “I know, but all I want to do is to find a nice inn and go to sleep. You cannot go to the night markets without me and that is final. I do not want to hear any more about this.”

“Hmph.”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

It took him forever, but he did find an inn. The inn itself was a cozy little two-story building made of red colored wood. Ivy crawled up the front covering the two stained glass windows. The inside was cheery with its cream walls and plants in every corner. A mini bar was across from the front desk in the back. The pony who was ponying the front desk was a purple earthpony. She was very cheerful and not at all frighten of Sombra. Are the ponies here not afraid of alicorns?

Sombra didn’t refused put me down until we were in the room. Even then, he just plopped me on the bed. Before I could even attempt to leave, he lays on the bed and pulled me close to him. And I am back into the Sombra furnace. He has done this every night since the attack. I usually don’t complain, but tonight I do. I try to wiggle out of his arms, but he pulled me closer.

“Please stop. Let me sleep,” he mumbled in my neck. So I did. I waited until he was snoring and then I got out of his arms. I won’t take too long. I would in be and out. Maybe buy some few things. Yeah. I will get Sombra something nice. It’s only fair since he gave me this phoenix locket. I simply love it! In all honesty this was the finest thing I have ever owned. So I must repay this kindness. For that reason alone, the night market was a perfect opportunity.

I snuck out the window on the second floor. And let me tell you ivy does not make for a good ladder. I got a few bruises for falling down the last few paces. I really hope that Sombra didn’t hear my fall. That wouldn’t end well. I booked it as fast as I could down the street. I rounded the corner after few minutes of running, I heard the tale-tell of night market chatter. A grin formed on my face as the voices got louder and I continued on.

The night market was in full swing by the time I got there. Excitement ran through me as I gazed at the Night market. Red and yellow hanging lanterns were strung up between the shops in the town’s square. Booths with gizmos and gadgets and trinkets and other curios were neatly line up in front of the shops. Wild Beings and ponykind all were mingling and buying different things. This, this was what I missed. Every creature that Harmony made coexisting in, well… harmony. Hehe. This always brought a smile to my face.

“Let’s see,” I mumbled to myself. “I have a few bits from my last monthly allowance. Wait a minute. Sombra forgot to give it to me. Ah, well. I’ll bug him when we get back from this trip. Now if I only spend a couple of bits, then I’ll have enough for the way back! But I have to get Mom a souvenir. But I want to get Sombra something nice. But mom. But Sombra? How can I –“

It happened so fast I didn’t realize that I was falling on the ground. I guess that I get for being lost in thought.

“I am so sorry,” a small gentle voice said above my head, “I did not see you.”

“Naw, it’s ok,” I waved the voice off as I tried to get up. “I should have been paying attention. Sorry ‘bout that.” A dark blue hoof intruded upon my point of view. I took the offered hoof and they helped me to my hooves.

“Thank you,” I said to the dark blue unicorn, “My name is Midnight. What is yours?”

“My name is Luna. It is pleasure to meet you, Midnight,” Luna smiled. I noticed that her teeth looked a little different. The teeth looked as if they been filed down. But I must be imagining things.

“Is something wrong?” She asked as she titled her head.

“No, I just spaced out,” I said as I shook my head to clear it. She smiled again.

“So,” Luna said, “What brings you to Canterlot? I have never seen you before. I make my personal goal to know every being here!”

“I’m traveling with my companion,” I said. “who is asleep right now and would probably be mad if he found out that I snuck out. Hehe.”

“Oh,” she said. “why did you sneak out?”

“Easy. I wanted to go to the night market and he didn’t. So I snuck out.”

“I did the same with my sister.” She laughed. “Except I teleported here from home back by the Everfree forest.”

“Wait! You teleported?” I asked in shock, “The alicorns didn’t see you, did they?”

“No, I do not think so,” Luna admitted. She gave me a befuddled look. “But why would that be a problem here? We do not become angry if a unicorn teleports. That only happens in Harmonia and its many provenances. Wait! Are you from Harmonia?” Excitement flashed in her eyes. She started to jump up and down.

“Yes, I am,” I chuckled at her antics, “What do you mean the alicorns won’t be angry if you teleport or do magic?”

“Well we are not insane like the alicorns of Harmonia if that is what you are asking. Our laws are in line with what Harmony put in her accords. Since you are here, do you want to go shopping with me?”

“Yes!” I shouted with joy. “Let’s go!” I raced past her as I ran towards the nearest booth. I heard her behind me laughing as she ran. For the next hour we ran from one booth to another. One was staffed by a Kinku who was selling these beautiful fabrics. I shocked Luna and the Kinku when I mentioned the time, I met Zepha. I miss her. I wonder what she’s doing right now. I bet she’s doing fine. I’ll ask Sombra if we can see her afterwards.

It was so nice of Luna to buy me a beautiful green scarf. She insisted that I should have it. She wouldn’t take no for answer. I was putting in my dingy old bag when I heard flapping over my head. I looked up to find a white alicorn with a rainbow mane rushing down. The alicorn landed with a thud. Light lavender eyes flashed with anger. I started to backpedal. I could not, no-- would not go through what happened on the Mane!

“L-Luna…” I stammered. It’s happening again. I’ve got to get Luna out of here! I was preparing to run when they walked up to Luna. I became really confused.

“LUNA!” They shrieked. “You ran away again! Why must you do this to me! I was so worried about you.”

“Sister,” Luna calmly answered. Wait a minute. Sister? “If you would stop babying me then I would not run away! I made a new friend. Is that not what you wanted? Me to make friends, no?”

“THAT IS NOT THE POINT, LUNA!” The white she-alicorn yelled, “THE POINT IS THAT YOU RAN AWAY! AGAIN!”

“I would not have run away if you would stop badgering me, Celestia!” She repeated. I really am starting to become uncomfortable. I started to walk backwards when all of the sudden…

“MISS MIDNIGHT STAR, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE WHEN I FIND YOU!” A very- angry Sombra- like voice yelled over the crowd. Oh, no.

“Luna!” I whisper-shouted as I tapped her flank.

“Not now, Midnight, I am busy,” she said as turn her head towards me, “What is it? What is wrong?” Her eyes widen when she saw the terror in my eyes.

“Luna!” Celestia shouted

“Not now, Celestia! My friend needs me!” She turned towards me. Her eyes flash with concern as she gave me her full attention. Luna’s head tilted to the side. “What is wrong?”

“My companion is…” I began to say…

“There you are.” Sombra growled

Oh, no.

Caught

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Caught

(Present)

Rainbow Dash crashed to the ground, she groaned as she lay there. Dash tried to stand but was held down by a discolored magic. She could feel the magic holding her down even though she could no longer see it. Dash felt as if somepony laid a heavy blanket across her. Warmth seeped into her bones as her eyes started to droop. Dash noticed Fluttershy running towards her, but she for the life of her couldn’t figure out why. She was going to sleep in her bed. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“Sleep, my child,” a melodious voice whispered in her ear. “Sleep and remember. Remember that day, the day you first died. And rise!”

Ω

(Past, Dash’s memory)

Clash of hooves echoed in the haven. The only safe place in Harmonia. All thanks to the First Born. It was He who battled the horde of alicorns and rescued the inhabitants of the haven. It was He who kept them safe. And He was the reason that Dazzling Bow was alive today. Dazzling ran with the other pegasi in her flock. Most of the members of her flock, like her, were mutilated at some point in their life. She so happened to have her wings ripped off before a terrible raze. A raze so bad that the Mane was a river of blood.

Dazzling still remembers that day. Her fillies were on the brink of starvation and the rations ran out. She had to do something. It just so happened that a cart of apples passed by her home. Despite knowing her limitations in speed, she believed she needed to take this chance to feed her fillies. So, she did, and she paid the price. She can still feel her bones breaking and the white-hot pain of her skin being ripped in half. Dazzling, in her dreams, still could feel the blood pouring down her back as she walked home and the horror of finding her babies lying on the floor, unmoving. Three measly little apples cost her wings and her fillies.

But that happened in the past. Now she must survive and live for her fillies. Once an outcast for losing her wings, now she was the leader of last remaining flock in Harmonia. They were heading to the center. The First Born called for an emergency meeting. They made it to a now full cavern. They were the last ones to arrive. Fortunately, the First Born had not arrived.

“If some of us had wings, we would have been first and wouldn’t be in the back,” a voice said. Dazzling barely heard it over the crowd. She turned to reprimand the disgruntled pegasus when the crowd became silent. Her head turned back to the front. The view from the back afforded her a view of the First Born, even though He appeared no larger than a ladybug.

With a resounding voice that echoed across the room, the First Born said, “Welcome and peace to you, my fellow Harmonians. I come to you with grave news. The alicorns have found us.” A great cry rang out in the crowd, “Peace! Please let me finish. They are now laying in works for a siege. I regret to say that we did not have to prepare, but do not fear I will do everything in my power to protect you. This siege will be over soon. And then we will take back our homes! Our land! We will take back our freedom with our bloody hooves, paws, and claws! The alicorns will rue the day they attacked us! We will fight!”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

“Where are you, Midnight?!” I grumbled as I tore the room to shreds. I woke to some dang pony banging around in the room right next to mine. I had grumbled and reached for Midnight. But instead of pulling my fy nghariad bac to my side I find a cold bed. I started to panic. She was supposed to be here! Then a memory struck me. I gritted my teeth in moment of anger.

“She better not have gone to the night market,” I growled as I stomped out of the room. I will admit that I was not kind to the door when I shut it. “That girl is going to be in so much trouble when I find her.”

I could hear laughter and music over the steam blowing out of my ears. Creatures moved out of my way as I stomped down the road. I started to panic the longer I looked for her. My frustration mounted as every other pony looked like her. Did she cast a spell to confuse me? She did! Oh, somepony’s in trouble! Just wait until I get my hooves… Oooh she was in so much trouble.

“Midnight!” I yelled over and over again. A few bystanders gave me a weird look here and there. But looked at me not caring because I have pony to find. “MIDNIGHT STAR! Where ARE you!?”

“My Lord, who is it that you are seeking?” a kind voice momentarily overpowered my rant of righteous fury!

“Huh?” came my dumbfounded answer. A small maroon Kinku stood there in front of me. I noticed the little Kinku’s tiny wings looked like unblemished snow. The tip of their ears, if they stood right next to Midnight, would barely touch her knee. It was just a big fluff ball.

“My Lord, may I assist you in finding the being you seek?” they asked. Their deep voice vibrated the ground under my hooves. And Midnight said I had a deep voice.

“I am looking for a tiny light blue unicorn,” I said fast, “About yay high with bright purple eyes that do not match the rest of her body I do find that a very charming trait of hers she has a deep blue mane with light blue streak she may be small and thinner then most ponies but she has a big personality.” I huffed and puffed after saying all that in one breath.

“Slow down, my Lord,” they laughed. “It seems that you care a lot for this little unicorn.”

“Immensely.”

“Come then, let us look together.” We started to walk together down the night market. The more time I spent away from Midnight, the more my anxiety grew. And when I become anxious, I become twitchy. I hate being twitchy. Midnight, this your fault.

“Is everything alright, my Lord?” The Kinku asked. Their deep chocolate eyes flashed with concern. “You look little flustered.”

“Me? I’m fine. Everything’s fine. You’re fine. Everything’s great! Grrbl-grr-bg… [Warning: Author combustion imminent. Error: Too many apostrophes have been found in Sombra’s speech. Rebooting Author in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…] MIDNIGHT!!” I hollered as I started to walk away from the Kinku yelling at the top of my lungs. I felt a small tug on my mane. I pivoted towards the offender. “What?”

“My Lord, please compose yourself. It is very improper the way you are conducting yourself. Please refrain from using contractions in front of me. Come, let us calm down and compose ourselves before we continue this endeavor. My name is Pierre. And your name?”

“Sombra.” I snarled.

“As in the best friend of our Mother Queen?” Excitement flash in Pierre’s eyes. “If I may request. All I ask is to meet our Great Mother Zephahnriel.”

“If you help me find my Midnight, then yes I will take you to see her,” I grumbled. “Now let us find my Midnight.”

“Yea, verily, and forsooth!” Then I felt a small weight land on my head, “Proceed, oh, Black Sage. Let us find and bring forth this late-night burning ball of gas. Onward!”

“Sure.”

I started to yell for Midnight once again. More bystanders started to watch in with curiosity as I made myself a fool. But I could not be bothered by that. Finding Midnight was my only priority. Were it not for the dire situation, I would find great humor in the disparity between Pierre’s deep sultry voice and his minuscule stature.

“MISS MIDNIGHT STAR, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE ONCE I FIND YOU!” I yelled. By the end of this I will lose my voice. And that would not be good. I finally found her between two arguing alicorns. Who, might I add looked, vaguely familiar? I made a beeline for Midnight and with a sigh of relief said, “There you are.”

She turned towards me with a guilty smile on her face.“Hi, Sombra,” she said weakly.

“Don’t you ‘Hi, Sombra’ me, missy,” I said. I felt a little vibration from my little passenger, “You’re in big trouble. Now come along we’re going to bed.”

“No.” Midnight said as she crossed her arms.

“What?”

“I made a friend. And tonight, we are experiencing the night market together. So, bye-bye,” she said as she waved me off, “Luna, shall we?”

I grabbed her with my magic and turned her around to face me. I found a little humor in the fact that she tried to run while in the process of being picked up. She was not happy. Well too bad, neither was I.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I gave him the most peeved look I could give him, and it surprisingly didn’t faze him. It usually worked on the little fillies that I babysat for a while. His angry red eyes bore into me. But I couldn’t be bothered when I saw a maroon ball of fur with ginormous pointy white tipped ears sitting on top of his head. It was right between his ears like a little hat. Sombra got a hat? I became startled when big chocolate eyes blinked at me amidst the fur. It even squeaked when Sombra tilted his head a little.

“Uh… Sombra?” I said timidly, “You have something on your head.”

“I’m well aware.” The ball of fur shuddered a little bit.

“Put me down, Sombra. Now!” I commanded.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to lose you!” He roared.

“You’re not going to lose me!” I yelled back. “Besides, you’re being unreasonable!” I poked his nose in protest.

“I’m not being unreasonable!” He countered, “Now stop that!” He waved my hoof away.

I growled at this. I looked at Sombra’s hat and said, “Tell him he’s being unreasonable! He won’t listen to me!” Instead of listening to me, the ball of fluff shook its head and turned around while shuffling. Its three tails started to twitch.

“Leave Pierre out of this,” Sombra said.

“You know what, Sombra,” I growled as smoke came out my ears, “I don’t give a flying *BLEEP*. This all is bunch of *BLEEP**BLEEP* and *BLEEP* [The author would like to apologize for the unnecessary, but also entirely necessary, censorship. Sombra said several chapters ago that under no circumstances would his mate use foul language.] THIS UTTER *BLEEP*ing RIDICULOUS, SOMBRA!”

“Oh, quiet you.” And with that he put me on his back and started to walk off.

“If she does not want to go with you, then she does not have to,” Celestia yelled. Bleh! I got struck with rainbow glitter. What’s with alicorns and their glitter? BLEH! I crawled up Sombra’s neck scooched Sombra’s hat over, it squeaked in protest, and perched my head in between his ears. I saw Luna’s alicorn master in front of him. Oh, this won’t end well.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

All I want is to go to bed and cuddle. But noooo, Miss I-know-everything-and-must-go-to the-night-market started to argue with me. Now I’m dealing with an angry white alicorn who I may or may not have met before. I’m getting too old for this malarkey.

“Move out my way, pryder sylfaenol,” I growled. “This doesn’t concern you. My annwyl and I are going to bed. I am tired. I’ve had a really long day.” Pierre shuddered again. “I do not want a fight.” I felt him nod at that. Kinkus and their hatred of contractions. Bah humbug.

“The unicorn does not want go with you, geni gyntaf” Celdestria said as she moved into a fighting stance, “I thought that you were different then the alicorns of our mother continent. But I should have known better. All alicorns, even the First Born of Harmonia are Discord touched!” Celdestria yelled. She turned her attention to Midnight, her eyes softening in response, “Do not worry, little one, I will save you.”

“Now wait a cotton- pickin’ minute,” I heard Midnight shout, “Sombra is not and never will be Discord touched. He’s just mad that I went to the night market without him. And because he’s an overprotective grumpy alicorn that has not gotten enough sleep. So, there will be no saving. Thank you very much.”

“He has clearly brainwashed you!” Celdestria countered. Her horn started to flare up with magic. I became really concerned that Midnight will be in the crosshairs of our fight. And I cannot have that.

“Oh, shut up, Celdestria,” I growled, “and listen to her!”

“What did you call me?” She asked as her eyes widened with surprise, “Did you just call me Celdestria?”

“That is your name is it not?” I was very confused. I am positive that her name was Celdestria. There comes a point where I will admit that I am wrong, and this is that point. Her lilac eyes flashed understanding and then anger.

“You!” she growled. “You are the unicorn Somber. You tricked us! You played us for fools! Played on our sympathy! How dare---”

“If I remember correctly, I was trapped in a bubble that you put me in,” I interjected with a wave of my wing. “And to correct your assumptions about my transformation. I turn into a unicorn to escape the watchful eyes of the alicorns. More specifically, Antares! By Harmony I still want escape her.” I mutter darkly under my breath.

“Isn’t Antares the red and black alicorn?” Midnight asked, “The one who tried to scare me off that one time? Your unwanted girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. Now let me down.”

“NO. It is time for bed.”

“I am a creature the night. I will not go to sleep,” Midnight proclaimed, “And you can’t make me!”

“You are going to complain about not receiving enough sleep tomorrow morning,” I stated as I slowly turned towards the inn. “Then I will say told you so. And as punishment I will not let you take a nap. Unless…” I trailed off as I started to walk to the inn. If I keep her distracted, then maybe we can go to sleep. I heard the sputtering of the angry alicorn behind me. I would not be bothered by it. She was no longer my problem.

“Unless what?” she asked.

“Unless you go to sleep now and then tomorrow, have a nice breakfast with me,” I grinned at what I said. “Will you agree to that or will you keep fighting me and stay up all night arguing and causing both of us to not receiving any sleep?”

“Fine. I will consent to your terms,” she said begrudgingly.

“Good,” I smiled to myself as I walked away from the night market. The noise started to fade into the background. “Now for sleep. Sleep is good. Sleep is the best thing in the world. I want sleep. Sleep…”

“Sombra? Are you okay?” Midnight’s voice dripped with concern.

“Sleep… Midnight, did you know sleep is the best thing to have after a long walk?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Did you know that sleep is the best thing that Harmony made?”

“Really?”

“Yes! And did you know that I want sleep?”

“Yes.”

“I want cuddles.”

“What?”

“I want a bed.”

“Sombra, what did you say earlier?”

“I want to lay my head on a pillow.”

“Sombra!”

“Oh, look the inn.”

“Sombra!”

I walked around the building, looking for our window. It felt like we walked for hours to find it. I walked right underneath it, spread my wings and…. Splat! I land face first into the ground. I quieted Midnight’s oncoming complaints and tried again. After three failed attempts, I finally made it to the window, but I forgot that I had closed it earlier. After a banging into the window and a growling at the pain in my nose, I opened it. With my nose hurting and my wings aching, I pulled back the covers and picked up Midnight with my magic. I gently put her down on the bed. Unceremoniously, I flopped right on top of her and I completely blacked out. I faintly remember hearing her protest but that cannot be. I am not smothering her. Ah… sleep, how I missed you. What was that weight on my head? Sleep…

Gaining Two Unwanted Companions

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Ω(Dazzling)Ω

Dazzling walked up the grand staircase. The Firstborn had called all the leaders for a meeting. She had never been in something so important. This will be her chance to show them that she was more than capable of being a leader, even though she found representing her tribe a dauting task.

“Finally made it,” she whispered as she crossed the last step. She stood in front of an ornate door with six symbols etched into it. Dazzling couldn’t make heads or tails of what they meant, but one symbol stood out to her; a cloud with a multi-colored lightning bolt striking the ground. She failed to understand why it stood out to her, but it became inconsequential when she remembered what she need to do. She pushed through the door.

She stood in yet another gigantic room. Dazzling knew from previous experiences that floor was made from the Regent of Time’s domain. Since her first trip, she harbored a secret crush on Da’lak’ar and dreamed of moving there with her family. But enough of memory lane; it’s almost time for the meeting.

Dazzling walked over to the fireplace to study it. Multi-colored gems was embedded in the white marble. A bright white flame flickered in the fireplace. Beneath it was a rug. In all her years of working in the masonry, she had never seen stones quite like these. They were translucent in nature and each one displayed a different color of Harmony. She became mesmerized with these unusual stones, lost in thought as she moved closer. The plushness of the rug barely registered in her mind.

“They are quite beautiful, are they not?” A deep voice asked, breaking her out of her trance. She turned around quickly, twisting her left hind leg in the process. She grimaced at the pain. She’s always been clumsy like that. she felt warmth on her injured leg. A tingly sensation accompanied the warmth.

“Wait… what happened?” She mumbled to herself. She tested her injured leg to find that the pain had gone away.

“Is your ankle better, little one?” the voice asked. “Do not turn around so fast. We do not want to you hurt your neck this time.” She heard a chuckle. Dazzling’s eyes widened as she looked upon the Firstborn Himself. She quickly fell to her knees in a hastened awkward bow.

“M-my Lord,” she shakily said as she trembled on the ground at his feet. She heard a tsking noise and heard hoof steps coming closer to her. She felt a feather lift her head. Her eyes met the kind, sorrowful eyes of Firstborn. He helped her to her hooves.

“There is no need to bow,” He said with a smile, “I am not one to demand such thing. And quite frankly, I despise it at times.” Sombra paused. He tilted his head as if in thought. “But enough of that, I have a task for you, Dazzling Bow.” He walked over to the white coach sitting by the fire. For a moment Dazzling became blind as his silver armor reflected the white light coming from the fire. She stumbled towards the couch as she tried to shack off the light spots. Oof. She face-planted into to coach. Dazzle heard him chuckle as felt herself starting to float in the air. He gently place her on the couch.

“Here, let me tone the Living Flame down a bit,” He said. The blinding white light from the flames gradually turned into a soft yellow light. “Now I cannot leave the Flame like this for too long or else the land will be reverted back into a frozen wasteland. Now for the task I have for you. I need you to deliver this message to my good friend Da’lak’ar the Regent of Si’kar. With his support, we just might turn the tide of the war. I know that this will be a daunting task, but I have faith you will be able to accomplish it. Your loyalty and bravery protecting your flock caught my attention. Will you do this for me?”

“Yes,” she exclaimed, “It would be an honor! But I have one question. Where are the others?” He smiled. Could a mare die from swooning? Dazzling started to blink when she saw black feathers being waved in her face.

“Sorry.” Dazzling blushed.

“No, you are alright. Midnight did say I had that effect on other mares,” He chuckled “to answer your question, the others are here but I prefer to have one on one meetings.”

“Uhh…” Dazzling raised her hoof in confusion.

“Now on to the matter of your wings,” He said as He got up from the couch, blatantly ignoring Dazzling confused look. “It will not do if my messenger cannot fly. How to fix this?” He started to pace back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. The back of Dazzling’s eyes started to ache from watching him pace.

“Is that a Greater Beast skin rug?” she asked to make Him stop pacing. Any moment now her head might explode.

“Why yes, yes, it is,” He finally stopped, “Wait I know! I have the perfect spell for this occasion! Dazzling, come here!” She scrambled off the couch, falling face first into floor. Dazzling stood up on her hooves as fast as she could.

“Good now stand over… no, a little to left.” He directed her with His wing, “There, right there. Perfect. Now you might feel slight pain, but it will fine. Now stand still.”

The Firstborn’s horn flared with magic. Dazzling took a step back. She suddenly felt minor pain in her wing stubs. Gradually the pain gotten worse. The pain became so great that black dots started to form in her eyes. Just when Dazzling started to pass out, the pain stopped. Dazzling felt a familiar weight on her shoulders that she never thought she would feel again. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned to find her lost wings. The once disgraced pegasus regained her honor with her wings. She will be able to fly again!

“Thank you!” She cried as she jumped into the Firstborn’s unsuspecting arms. “You have redeemed me in the eyes of my brethren. For that you have my undying loyalty.”

“Oof,” he said as he caught the green pegasus. “It is my pleasure. I would have done this sooner if I had known that your wings were taken. Take care of them, for I will not be taking them back. They are yours for the rest of your life. Now, for the little upgrade I have given your wings. To make your wings I had to give something of value up. I choose half of my speed. That means you will be able to fly faster then sound. And by doing so ,you will be able to create what I like to call sonic rainbooms. They are big rainbow circles in the sky. Now you are fast enough to create them!”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you so much!”

“It is my pleasure. I believe that Midnight would have loved you.”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

“Ahhhhh!!!!!!!”

“What happened!” Sombra shot out of bed in a flash. I was still freaking out bout the blinking bed fixture. I woke up to find a cute little sleeping fox statue on the headboard. But it wasn’t a statue. It blinked at me. IT BLINKED! Statues are not supposed to blink! So, I did what any respectable creature would do in this situation. I screamed… and scared the living daylights out of an adorably cute sleeping Sombra. What? He’s cute when his fast asleep. Don’t judge me.

“Midnight, what is going on?” Sombra asked, as he grabbed me.

“T-the s-statue b-blinked at m-me!” I stammered as I point at the fox, “It’s haunted!”

“Statue?” Sombra looked confused as he turned toward to the statue. “What… Oh! Pierre, please come down and calm the fears of my mate. Prove to her that you are not a haunted fox statue.”

“Why certainly, my Lord,” said the fox. It jumped down with ease. Its white wings flapped in the air as it made a graceful landing. Big honey-colored eyes stared at me as the fox bowed. Three white tipped maroon tail swayed gracefully as it completed its bow.

“My Lady, it was not my attention to scare you this morn,” a deep sultry voice said. A shiver ran up my spine at the sound of the voice.

“Can you repeat that again?” I sighed. I thought a heard growl, but I must’ve been mistaken. I must hear this beautiful voice again.

“Umm… uh… Ok?” The kinku looked confused. He started to rub his hands together in a nervous manner. “M-my L-Lord, is she in good mental health? I am rather uncertain of the soundness of her mind. For she hath asked of me to repeat my previous statement.”

“I will vouch for the soundness of her mind.” Sombra said as he plucked me from the bed. Then he promptly dropped me on the floor. “Although she is quite capable of bouts of ridiculousness. Of such this is a fine example. Now sit. And stay.” So, I sat. and I stayed.

“I will go on record,” I stated quite professionally. “I am only half as ridiculous as you are unreasonable.”

“I am reasonable!”

“No, you’re not!”

“Yes, I am!”

“No, you ARE NOT!”

“YES, I AM”

“Ah, young love,” the beautiful voice said. “Is it not such a wonderful thing.”

“Say what now?” I looked at the fluff ball in confusion, “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” Sombra said quickly as he grabbed the fluff ball. “Pierre said nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do not listen to him!” Pierre started to squeak. Poor kinku. I will go and save him from Sombra’s death grip. I got up and walked over to Sombra. His eyes narrowed at me. What did I do to deserve this treatment? I grabbed ahold of Sombra’s front leg. I pulled as hard as I could, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Why won’t you budge!” I groaned. I suddenly found myself hanging by his leg. Pierre continued to squeak while I hung precariously over the floor. I cast my eyes towards Sombra. He wore a look of utter resignation.

“Sweet, Harmony,” he sighed. “How did my life end up like this? How is this my life?” He looked up and groaned.

“Um… Sombra?” I asked meekly.

“What?” He groaned.

“Will you put us down?” I pleaded sweetly.

“Fine.”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

We finally left Canterlot after what felt like hours. Pierre would not stop taking my stuff out of my bag and reorganizing it! Why? On the bright side my bag has forty present more room as of now. And Midnight did not help. She would grab him, then he would squeak in protest. He would squirm out of her arms then run back to my bag then she would grab him. Repeat. And repeat. It stopped when I grabbed Midnight and put her back where she belongs. Pierre, when he was finished, jumped on top of my head and purred. Kinkus apparently purr when happy. Who knew?

“So, Pierre, what grammar rules do you know?” Midnight ask. Oh, no, Midnight, you are going to make him go off on a rant.

“What is it you want to know, my Lord’s Lady?” he ask. I felt him turn his whole body turn completely around, “There are many things I know! Grammar as happens to be one of my favorite topics.”

“I bet,” I grumbled as I tromped over the green pastures. It was quite beautiful. The open fields and fluffy clouds. I could build a nice little cottage out here with Midnight. Our little foul could run wild and enjoy the openness. That was what I am going to do. I am going to have a life out here with Midnight. We will…

“Pardon, my Lord?” Pierre interrupted my thoughts. I started to growl, but stopped myself, for was it no fault of Pierre’s for my bad mood. He just talked at an inappropriate time.

“It was nothing, Pierre,” I grumbled. I have no idea why Midnight like his voice so much.

“Oh, well, where to begin,” Pierre started, “I know the perfect topic. Let us talk about your excessive use of contractions. Contractions are commonly used in layponies’ conversations to hurry the dialog along when time is of the essence. Contractions largely serve their purpose best when the speaker and listener, or listeners, have prior understanding of each other’s lexicon, idiolect, and syntax. Only when there is unspoken knowledge of another’s use of language will the use of contractions be tolerated. Further more…”

He went on for hours! I nearly fell asleep a few times, I think. I do not remember. Well at least his voice was very soothing. His voice lolled me into a sence of tranquility. I began to relax. This reminded me of time few years before this world was created. When Void tolerated me at best. They would sit me down and teach me the wonders of stars. Pierre’s voice reminds me of Void’s voice when they are calm. When I was still under Void tutelage, I would do things to frustrate them so I could hear their high pitched fast voice. I got a kick out of it. I believe that was one the reasons why Void detest me.

“Sombra?” Midnight whined.

“What?” My tranquil moment ruined.

“Did we invite more creatures to join us from Canterlot?” She asked with concern laced in her voice.

“No,” I answered. “Do not be absurd. You and Pierre are my only companions. If I receive any more Void would win.”

“Win what?”

“Harmony.”

“What?!” Midnight squeaked.

“What do you mean ‘did we invite more creatures to join us from Canterlot’?” I asked as I turned my head towards her ignoring her question. I noticed two silhouettes walking in our general direction. I focused in on the silhouettes while keeping our destination in my periphery. Celdestria and Luna came into focus. I skidded to a halt, throwing poor Pierre off my head. I turned to face them as I heard angry squeaking in the background.

“Oh, Pierre!” Midnight cried. Somehow, she jumped off my back and ran to Pierre. Great now I have two problems. How am I going to get my wayward mate back were she belongs and deal with these infernal alicorns? Did I mention I hate alicorns?

“Midnight, get back here! Right now!” I yelled as I stomped my hoof.

“NO! You hurt Pierre!” She shouted back. “I’m makin’ sure that he’s ok!” She turned attention away from me and back to the now grumbling Kinku. “Now, Pierre, tell me where it hurts.”

“My Lord’s Lady, hearing you speak those Discord forsaken contractions is inflicting a far greater pain upon me than the fall itself.” Pierre replied, “Did you not listen to my lecture on the proper usage of contraction? Need I repeat myself? I will go over my fifty points again. Well, My Lord’s Lady?”

“To tell you the truth,” Midnight admitted. “I only asked to hear you speak. Sorry.”

“My voice?” he asked in bewilderment, “Why my voice when my Lord’s voice is more soothing than my own?” I chuckled at this. What a wingman! Where was he three months ago?

“I beg to differ… most of the time,” Midnight said. “He complains about the dishes. Complaints aren’t soothing.”

“Well, who’s fault is that?” I asked.

“No one’s. Complaint just are not soothing. Just saying,” she shrugged.

“Thank you,” Pierre purred at the proper usage of grammar.

“As Sombra would say my pleasure,” she said with a bow.

“Children,” I groaned. Why do I love her? Why? Oh, right… She turns my grey world into color.

“What do mean children, old man?” She taunted.

“Ah young lo—”

“Shut up!”

“Sombra! Not again!”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

Sombra held Pierre tight with his mouth covered. Didn’t we do this before today?

“Sombra!” I yelled in my motherly voice, “Put him down right this instant.”

“You are not my mom!” He yelled. “So, stop acting like it! And I will put him down as soon as I want to!” I started to hear Pierre squeak. This situation was so shaping up to be like this morning.

“I will stop acting like this when you stop acting like a child!” I countered. Pierre’s squeaks became louder.

“I do not act like a child!” He bellowed, a look of indignation crossed his face, “How dare you accuse me of that!”

“Well if the shoe fits!” I threw back at him.

“Why I never!” He said with his hoof crossed his chest.

“Please let me down, my Lord,” Pierre pleaded. “I very much do not like being held or touched or petted for that matter. It is quite undignified.” He started to squirm out of Sombra’s embrace. So, I decided to distract him so Pierre can make his grand escape.

“You should listen to him, Sombra,” I said as a strange scent entered my nose. A smell of blackberries and licorice permeated the air. “It would make me very happy.” I don’t know why I said that, but when I did, I felt and saw a faint purple-black smoke come out of my mouth. It was as if somepony had taken over my vocal cords and made me say it. My whole body started to move on its own. My body moved in a way desperate creatures I saw moved on the corners of the red flame district of Harmonia. I don’t like this. Sombra gave me a look of sheer confusion, Pierre forgotten.

“Are you alright, Midnight?” He asked concern lacing his voice. “You are acting weird.”

“I am perfectly fine,” I purred as I shook my head no. “There is no need to worry.” My hips were swaying, and my hooves were moving in weirdly sensual steps. I let my fear show in my eyes as I neared Sombra. I snapped out of it when I felt a sharp pain in my hind leg.

“Ow! What was that for?!” I screeched as I turn to find Pierre. He just looked at me with those big auburn eyes of his. One of his ears flopped to the side as he tilted his head to the side.

“You were not comporting yourself as per your usual behaviors, My Lord’s Lady,” Pierre answered, “but let us continue this conversation about how you are not comporting yourself on daily basis in a manner befitting my Lord’s Lady.”

“By Sombra’s mane, what do you mean by that?” I asked. I tilted my head. Frustration and embarrassment of what I did still coursed through my body like a tidal wave. My body shook like a leaf in the harvest seasons.

“Now is not the time for etiquette lessons, Pierre,” Sombra snapped. “Midnight, did you smell anything unusual?” His eyes flashed with concern as he looked me in the eyes. I racked my brain for anything unusual.

“Blackberries and licorice,” I whispered.

“What about blackberries and licorice?” a lyrical voice asked causing me to jump. I turned to face the owner of voice. My face split into a grin as I spotted Luna. I squealed and clapped my hooves in delight. I ran towards her as Sombra gave a shout. I tackled her with laughter. Her laughter sounded like the Nightingales that once grace Harmonia. I always stayed up as a filly, listening to them sing to the moon. Ever since I first heard Luna laugh, I made sure to find every reason to make her laugh. I noticed that there where feathers underneath her. I pulled a feather with my magic.

“Ow! That hurts, Midnight.” Luna exclaimed. I scrambled off her, apologizing profusely. Luna rose to her hooves with such grace; compared to my bumble self was so unfair. She nimbly extended her wings and gave a great big flap. Wait… WINGS?!

“Well, that was adventurous,” Luna said with a laugh, “Midnight, are you alright?” I shut my mouth a when I noticed it was hanging opened.

“You have wings!?” I shouted in surprised. Devastation started to sink its claws into my skin as I looked upon her in a new light. “Since when?”

“Since as long as I remember,” she answered simply. “Did you not notice I was an alicorn three nights ago? You were wee bit distracted by night market. I hope this does not impede our friendship. For I truly treasure it.” She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and a pouty lip. Well I can’t say no to that face.

“Well, you are right about me being distracted that night,” I laughed. “In truth, I’ve had really bad experiences with alicorns. Mainly them trying to kill me. Hehe. But you and Sombra have proven that there are exceptions to this rule. Now, can you tell me what’s up with those two?” I said as I watched Sombra and Luna’s sister bickering about something.

“I really do not know,” Luna said as she turned towards the bickering alicorns. “Celestia has it set in her mind that Sombra was and always will be lazy. So she is probably trying to convince him to, in her word, ‘get off his pompous ass and do something about the state of Harmonia’ or something to that affect.”

“Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute,” I said. “Sombra is not and never has been lazy. He is the hardest working and the most caring individual I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is just on vacation at the moment. Though in my opinion fifty years is a bit excessive. But you try working for three hundred years without pay or gratitude. Ya know what! I’m gonna to go give her a piece of my mind.” I stomped off towards the squabbling alicorns.

“Ouch!” I felt stinging burn on my back. I turned my head to see what hit me. I saw a bright spot on my back. It start to blister. A blood red drop of liquid fell on me. Shouting in alarm, I jumped in surprise. I looked up to the sky to find angry swirling black clouds that had not been there two minutes ago. Blood red drops sprinkled here and there. The once green grass started to catch fire were ever the drops land.

“Sombra!”

“What?!”

“The ground is on fire!”

“What?”

“THE GROUND IS ON FIRE! AND IT’S THE SKY’S FAULT!” I yelled as I ran towards him. His eyes widen as he looked up to the sky. He whipped his head towards the south.

“Void,” he said in horror. His horn flared up with magic and suddenly I no longer felt the burning rain. Sombra turned to me as I felt a small weight settling on my back, causing my burns to scream. I hissed in pain at the sudden pressure. But Sombra didn’t notice the sound as he was yelling at me to do something. I didn’t hear him over the roar of the rain. His horn flared up again. And then I heard him say…

“RUN!”

The Void Creature's Attack

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(Dazzling)

Dazzling zoomed east with the message buried deep in her bag. The roar of air rang in her ears as she flew. She tried to fly faster as two raging Alicorns that had been tailing her for last fifty heartbeats. Dazzling could make out the colors of the Alicorns. In her opinion, they were the ugliest Alicorns she had ever seen. Dazzling did a loop-da-loop to get better glimpse at her would-be attackers.

She snickered at the sight of them as she looked at them from behind. The one on the left looked like a unicorn’s coat change gone wrong. The front of this Alicorn, along with its wings, was burnt orange with red polka dots, making them look like every fashion designer’s nightmare come true. Their hindquarters look like they decided to wear pistachio green plaid pants. Now the one on the right’s coat was mustard brown pinstripes and filly barf green paisley mixing together. Their manes were absolutely horribly terrific. Their manes looked like it was hacked off by a filly with shears. Unfortunately, her snickers alerted the fashion disasters to her location. Their growls permeated the air as their mauve and magenta eyes lock on to her. They did a three-sixty and zoomed towards her.

“Eek!” she said as she did a nosedive, barely missing a polka dotted wing. She heard a boom and in the corner of her eye she saw a band of green trailing behind her. Dazzling knew that she had hit max speed; the Firstborn told her that this would happen. She smiled at thought of losing them. Surely, they would not be able to catch her at this speed. For what seemed to be hours, Dazzling decided looked behind her to make sure that she lost them. Shock coursed through her veins at the sight of the two Alicorns still trailing her. But she stayed on course.

“’Fly East and cross Si’karlian Sea,’” she said under her breath to remind herself the instructions that was given to her. “When the sun touches the horizon, the land of Si’kar will rise from the red waters. There you will find the city Amser. Find the tallest tower there and there you will find the Alicorn of Time, Da’lak’ar. Bring him the… Ouch. What was that?”

She turned her head to where the pain emanated from. Dazzling found that her right leg was bubbling like a boiling pot. She saw yellow and red liquids flowing behind her from the wound. A pink light flashed into the corner of her eyes.

Crack!

Dazzling screamed as she dropped from sky. Tears streamed from her eyes as she plummeted towards the strange ruby waters. Just before she hit the stormy waves, Dazzling spread her wings and caught herself. Another boom sounded as she took off. Dazzling heard the frustrated screams of the pursuing Alicorns. Off in the distance, she saw a peak of a blue tower. She was almost there. She faltered in her flight as she felt invisible claws dig into her side and drag down her flesh. Black dots filled her vision as she passed the first large, narrow boat.

Red ships as far as she could see were heading toward a white port. Strange blue birds flew between white sails. Dazzling felt the stares of the inhabitants as she weaved through the ships. She passed over an enormous and opulent gate guarding a city of light. A city so bright that Dazzling was nearly blinded. She squinted her eyes to find the tall blue tower. Shouts of alarm sounded across the light city as she flew across. In the corner of her eye, she saw the pegasus guard being shot down by pink and mauve magic.

“There,” she whimpered when she spotted the tower on her left. She changed her trajectory and aimed for the blue and white tower with a stained-glass ceiling. She notice a blue Alicorn coming out of the tower on to one of the four balconies. This Alicorn matched the description that the Firstborn gave her. She shot towards them. Magic hit her, breaking her spine with a crack. The blow threw her into the balcony with a resounding boom. The last thing Dazzling saw was blue hooves running towards her before her world went black. But right before her body went numb, she felt soft paws lifting her up and cradling her to soft chest.

“Rest now, little one,” a gentle cat-like voice purred, “Your journey at this time is over. Now to prepare you for the next one.”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

Celdestria. Why did she come? She better not try and steal my Midnight, or we going to have words.

“Firstborn, I need to have a word with you,” Celdestria said as she tromped over the green grass. “Are you still holding on to your slave? Why do you not release her so can she be free from your miserable presence?” Anger flashed deep within her as she smiled cheerfully. She tilted her head in question while she awaited a response. I narrowed my eyes at this blatant act of defiance. I never ran across an alicorn who had the nerve to do something like this. I find this most curious.

“Now why would I do that,” I asked, “when I find her presence most pleasing?” I smiled sharply, warning her to back off. Even though I did find Celdestria behavior most curious, I will not tolerate it for long. Heads will roll if I do not receive the respect that I deserve.

“Have you ever asked yourself, my lord?” she said with a false smile, “’Does Midnight want come with me on this journey?’ Well, Sombra, have you?”

“Taking her with me is the only way I can protect her!” I growled. Who does she think she is, saying those things? My patience was beginning to wear thin.

“That is laughable!” She said. “Then why did you sanction the massacre fifty years ago?”

“What massacre? What are you talking about?” I asked. “What does that have to do with Midnight?”

“Oh, you do not get to act innocent with me,” she accused, “You sanction a massacre on the day that Antares went into office! I was there! I saw! I heard! Do not deny it! Antares had all the Regents come to Harmonia. Antares had us Regents stand to the side as she gathered all the leaders of the clans and their families in her so call throne room. Once she had them there, she declared that the leaders are not needed. To our complete horror she proceeded to devour the leaders and their families! If you are such a benevolent leader, then why did you allow that to happen?”

“I did not…”

“Sombra!” I heard Midnight yell.

“What?” I answered back not caring that my unwanted companion and I were having a conversation. I really do not want to talk to her about this or to her in general. Clearly, she has it set in her mind that I am the bad guy, that she will protect Midnight, my Midnight, from me. Once I have figured out what Midnight wants, I am going to lose Celdestria and her so called little sister and find Harmony. Gah!! I do not have time for this!

“THE GROUND IS ON FIRE! AND IT’S THE SKY’S FAULT!” Wait, what?! I looked around to find the once green field a blaze. Red and yellow light ate the green life and spewed out black charred remains. Blood like rain gave life to the flames. Only one thing could do something like this.

“Void, why did you make these things?” I said as my horn flared in magic. I turned to Midnight as I directed my magic towards her. “RUN!” I yelled as I casted a spell to get her far away from here as I possibly can. The last thing I saw before I turned away was Midnight’s retreating form with Pierre on her back looking me in the eyes. I know I would survive this and the other two alicorns could also, but I cannot live in a world were Midnight was not in it. She would not survive this. No pony or mortal living creature could survive this attack, except for Farthingharth Star, but he was to stubborn for his own good. Sounds like somepony I know. Hehe.

“What is going on!?” Celdestria yelled over the roar of the flames that became obvious, “Why is the ground on fire?!”

“It is because of a Void creature,” I answered as I ready my stance for a fight. “I should have known what was on going on. The first sign was right in front of me, but I became distracted.”

“What sign?” a small voice asked. I turned my head to find the small blue alicorn that always accompanied Celdestria, Luna. Her eyes were filled with questions. I took pity on her and answered her question.

“Right before you two showed up, Midnight started to act weird. She also said that she smelled blackberries and licorice.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Celdestria snapped. I just rolled my eyes.

“Quite a lot,” I said. I will not stoop to her level, “It is the first sign of a Void creature’s presents. The next sign is---”

“Void creatures are just a myth,” Celdestria interrupted while rolling her eyes, “They are not real. You just cast a spell to kill Midnight were nopony could see. You cannot have your perfect image tarnished, now can you? But I will not---”

“Quiet!” I roared. Fear bloomed into her eyes as rage filled mine. “I will no longer tolerate your blatant disrespect! Nor will I stand by and listen to your slander! When this is done and I know that Midnight is safe, I will administer the punishment you well deserve. This is my promise.” At that I turned and faced the billowing clouds, “Let us hope that is not Leo that is coming towards us.”

“Why do we wish to not meet this ‘Leo’?” Luna’s soft voice carried over the wind. “Who is this being you speak of?”

“Leo is the most powerful Void creature that was ever made. Leo is the embodiment of pride. For what is a more devastating flaw to have then pride? Only the most humble can defeat Leo. Pray that is Pisces for they are laziness personified. It would much easier just subtly direct them somewhere else, but if it not, well…”

“So we are screwed,” Celdestria grumbled.

“Oh, now you’re listening to me?” I snapped. “After everything you said earlier? You choose now to listen to me? The nerve! If it was not for the imamate threat bearing down on us, I would call you to Diditionem in front of all, Regent! Know your place or I will make you! That is a promise! Now prepare for battle.”

“I will never submit to you in Diditionem,” she declared, “And when I defeat you, you will leave Midnight alone.” The arrogance! That is it! I am going to demand Diditionem of her and then Antares! This has gotten out of hoof. No one has ever shown the me this level of disrespect. It is almost like some writer out there is making my life as miserable as possible at the moment. I have a void creature coming towards me and a disrespectful alicorn!

“Um, the rain stopped,” Luna whispered. “Why are you arguing with each other? We should be on the same side! Please stop fighting.”

“Luna, this does not concern you,” Celdestria said, “Please go and join Midnight. We will handle the Void creature.”

“No, I will not!”

“Yes, you will! Go now!”

“No!”

“Luna, do not argue with me for once! Just go!”

“You never---”

Boom!!

The ground began to shake. I turned towards the sound and saw the land rolling like a stormy sea. This was bad. If were Pisces were there would be water, but instead, the land is turning like the sea. And only one could do something like this.

“Brace yourselves,” I yelled as I ready myself. “It is upon us!”

“Who?” cried Celdestria as she lost her footing, “Who is upon us?”

“Leo!”

“Fuck!”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

My legs were moving on their own and I have no control! What is happening? The sky is burning the ground and Sombra is in the middle of all this mess. How am I going to get to him when my hooves won’t stop? And on top of everything, my back hurts. Pierre is not making it better by pulling on my mane ither.

“Keep running, my Lord’s Lady,” Pierre said as his grip grew tighter, “There is no time to waste.”

“Well, I can’t even if I wanted to,” I snapped, “I have no control over my hooves!”

“Good.”

“Good! What do you mean good?” I yelled, “Sombra is in the middle of that mess and I can’t help him because I can’t stop, and you say good? What is wrong with you?”

“Sombra is the Firstborn, an immortal, He cannot die,” he said, “You on the other paw are a mortal. You can die. What can a mere mortal do that an immortal being cannot?”

“I’m a Star, a direct descendant of Farthingharth Star, the first unicorn,” I said, “and because I am a Star that means on my honor I don’t leave anypony behind. I need to go back!”

“No!” Pierre yelled, “Sombra sent you away to protect you. This is the only way! Do not squander this! What would your mother say?”

“MY MOTHER?” I screeched. “she would say ‘How dare you leave somepony behind when you have the ability to do something about it!’ and then she would proceed to jump into fray. My mom would do everything she can to help those in need. And she taught me to do the same. So I can’t abandoned Sombra in his time of need.”

“He will be fine,” he countered. “You will not! Do not be stupid. Live, so you can fight another day.”

“Oh, look the sky is blue,” I said, ignoring what Pierre was saying.

“What?”

“The sky is blue,” I repeated myself, “and the grass is green. So that means we’re safe. We’re in the clear.”

“So, it seems.”

“Yes, it does,” I agreed. I felt the control of my limbs come back to me and a plan began to form. I magicked Pierre off my back and gently place him on the ground. I then cast a spell that read in a book that should make me fireproof. I never got the chance to test it out. I found this spell so I wouldn’t get burned while attempting to cook. I hope it will not backfire on me. Pierre gave me a confused look as my magic coated me in its protective film. I look down to find my hooves glowing a faint purple light. I guess it worked. The book did say that’s a good sign.

“Pierre,” I said as I looked him in the eye, “Stay here where it’s safe.”

“Wait, what?”

Then I took off. I ran through the flames. I didn’t feel the heat coming from the inferno. I retraced my every step as I ran towards Sombra. I will never leave somepony behind. Not even the son of my creator. It doesn’t matter that he dragged me on this quest without my permission, though at the time I was excited to go. It doesn’t matter that I miss home and I might never see my mother again nor will I be able to eat her cooking. No, none of that matters if I don’t do everything in my power to save those I care about. I will save Sombra. I will defeat whatever causing this. If I don’t, then I can’t face mom ever again.

I skidded to stop. There where hills were there was flat land moments ago. Charred ground laid before me. But what made me stop was not the strange hills nor the charred ground. No, what made me stop, was the creature right in the middle of it all.

The creature was black as a starless night with wings of a bat that beat in fury. Its three head tilted up, its noses touching the clouds, in a mighty roar that shook the ground I stood. I notice three flying specks shooting light at the being’s heads. Red, gold, and blue lights shot towards the being, managing to hit their mark. But the being just looked annoyed. I shook out of my stupor and started to run. This what Sombra needs help with and with little strength I have I will lend it to aid him. For I am a Star, and I need to start acting like one. For too long I have stayed cowering in the side lines and went through the emotions. My mom never did, and I will no longer do so! Bring it on!

I picked up speed as I watched the beast swipe at the three flying specks. Hill after hill I crested as I neared the beast. I was beginning to grow tired, but I could not falter. Sombra needs me! I finally cleared the last hill when a black and red blur was thrown in my path. Wings so familiar pointed towards the blacken sky. Once a silver tree on a black backdrop was stained by rivers of red.

“Where’s his head?” I cried. “Where…? no. NOOO!!!”

That's Not Pride! That's Honor!

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That’s Not Pride, That’s Honor

(Present)

“But I don’t want to go!” Rainbow Dash cried as she shot up from bed. She heard a groan beside her and felt the bed move. Wait, a bed? She didn’t remember going to sleep in a bed. The last thing Dash remembered was flying to Amser. She became gravely wounded on the flight there. Did she make it? Was this the room in the Great Tower? Was Da’lak’ar there? Did he get the message?

Dash look around the room. Black marble with red and silver zig-zagging lines made up the floor in a seemingly endless room. A white light blinded her, casting away most of the darkness room. A silhouette of a unicorn sat on a couch that blocking most of the light. Dash felt the black and red woven blanket move as she heard a small grumble. Dash turned towards the sound to find a familiar purple alicorn lying beside her.

“Twilight?” Dash whispered. “Oh sweet Celestia, Twilight! Twilight, wake up! It’s time to go home!” Dash felt panic bloom in her chest as stared at the sleeping Twilight. Dash’s old memories came flooding in as she shook the purple alicorn. The twelve missing ponies. Twilight going missing. Sombra.

“I would not try to wake her if I were you,” the deep velvety voice of her once enemy pierced through the room, “It would harm her more if you do. She must wake up on her own, or else she will be lost to the past and will go insane. I do not want that for my fy nghariad bac.”

Dash tried to crawl out of the bed but misjudged the size. With a loud smack, she landed on her face. “Ow, that hurt,” Dash groaned, rubbing her head as she got to her hooves. She walked towards Sombra. As she neared where Sombra sat, Dash noticed a strange looking rug. Why was the damn thing strange? For one thing the rug had head on it. It looked like head of a bear, but with long, black canines that reached the lower jaw. Gray fur with red polka-dots made up the rest of rug. Paws with red claws stretched out towards the peculiar white flames.

“What is that?” Dash asked as she staired in the lifeless red eyes.

“That is a Kumaro,” Sombra said. “A nasty beast that preyed on helpless being. It would lure its prey with a sweet song or a wail of a cult. Then it when has it prey it would proceed to devour them in the worst of ways. Starting with the feet then with ending with head. Leaving not a trace behind. All the while, the prey feels the worst pain possible.”

“Why would Harmony create these things?” Dash asked in horror.

“Harmony did not create them,” He said as he shifted towards the fire, his eyes narrowing in the flames. “My sister Anteras did. She created these abominations to eradicate the ‘lower lifeforms’.” He tilted his head towards Dash, “Her words not mine. I never notice what was happening until it was too late. I lost my mate because of my oversight. I was to busy wishing to be alone, that I did not see the pain of my people. I got my juvenile wish, now I want to take it back. If was not for Midnight and her death, Anteras’ rein would bleed into your life now. Or I might be exaggerating a bit.” With a resounding whiplash of mood, Sombra asked with a smile, “So how was your time with Lester? I do believe that you slept tad bit too long. How are you feeling?”

“A little bit disoriented, but overall fine,” Dash said as she climbed on the blinding white couch, “But I do have important question to ask you.” Her rose colored eyes locked onto Sombra’s red ones.

“Alright, what is your important question, Miss Rainbow Dash,” He said with a smile.

“Did The Regent of Time get the message?”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

His… His… His… His head is gone! Where is his head! Is there bite mark on his neck? Oh, sweet Harmony, there is! I’m going to be sick. His blood pooled at my hooves, staining them red. Ba-bump. It was coming from Sombra’s body. Ba-bump. I walked closer to it. Ba-bump. I reach towards Sombra’s body.

“S-Sombra?”

Crash!

I screamed at the crashing sound to my right. I turned to see what made that sound. Celestia groaned as she tried to stand. Blood dripped down her mouth, pooling on the blacken ground. Claw mark, oozing red and yellow, littered all over her body. Not an inch of her pearly white coat remained. I stepped closer to help her when she fell down again. Her wild eyes locked on to mine.

“Run you fool. Run.”

Crunch!

Celestia screamed as she was lifted in air with what look like a scorpion’s tail. I stood there, rooted to the ground as I watched Celestia being carried over to the mouth of the three headed beast. White, blue, and yellow flames licked her battered body as she hung over the gaping maw of the middle head’s mouth. Yellow magic, in her last-ditched effort to save herself, shot in the eye of the blue head. The other two heads chuckled as injured one growled. I felt the vibrations of the growl were I stood.

“Well, that was a prideful mistake,” Blue chuckled, “It stung a bit, but you are to prideful to defeat me. Now go quietly, as I devour you like I did the small alicorn.”

Then Celestia dropped and was swallowed whole.

“Noooo!!!!!” I screamed, not knowing the grave mistake I have made.

“Oh,” The white head said, “I have found were I dropped my diner. Let us go and retrieve it.” The scorpion’s tail came straight towards me. The tip banged against my hastily casted shield of defense. The ground started to vibrate, then slowly started shake. I fell to the ground as the vibrations grew intense. Fear seeped into my bones as I heard laughter when the vibrations stopped.

“A little pathetic unicorn has enough pride to go up against me! What can a mere mortal do to the embodiment of Pride?” All three heads asked. I’m so confused right now. I’m not being prideful in defending myself. Is it prideful to want to live? The heck does it mean by the embodiment of pride?

“S-self d-defense is n-not pride, my lord, i-it is instinct.” I stammered as I lowered myself further into the ground.

“Oh, you thought that I was aiming for you?” The beast chuckled, “No, no, no, I was aiming for the First One’s body. His pride will fuel me until the end of time. You would barely make a pitiful appetizer. Now move out of the way so I may have my diner.”

“N-no.”

“What was that?”

“I-I s-said no,” I said, “T-the world n-needs him. I need him. S-so that w-would b-be a problem i-if you ate him. S-so, n-no I w-will not m-move! I-if y-you w-want to e-eat him, you have to go through me!” What was I saying?! This beast would eat me in a heartbeat! The beast laughed as it laid down on the ground. Two giant black paws with red claws towered on either side of my domed shield. I screamed as ground again began to move. At the corner of my eye, I saw ruby red claws that glittered in the fire light. Blinding yellow light seared in the back of my eyes as the ground rose. I quickly cast a light dimming spell, thank you Sombra, to keep me from going blind. Blinking back the dots in my eyes, I found myself in line of sight of solid red eyes in a black feline face.

I wriggled back to get a better look. A lion with a fiery yellow mane shot a bloody grin, breaking through inky black fur. I saw bits of meat and blue fur stuck in its teeth. My fur curled at its rancid breath. Yech. I could taste it in my mouth. It laughed, blasting my eardrums in the process. Was I going to have to cast another spell in order to hear? Yes, yes, I am.

With a booming voice, Yellow declared, “Do you think that you are powerful enough to stop me from devouring The First One?” I started to shake with fear. There was no way I could stop him, but I have to try.

“I-I l-lay h-here powerless b-before you.” I said as the fear crept into my voice. My body was shaking so hard that my teeth began to chatter. I think I bit my lip. Yeah, I taste blood, I did bite my lip. Dang it! I wonder if Yellow over there can smell blood?

Yellow growled at my answer. My body shook with the force of the growl, but it could just be fear. I covered my head with my hooves in hopes of appearing too small to eat. I heard a cracking sound, like bones breaking above my head. I peaked between my hooves to find that beast’s head was spinning clockwise. The crackling sound stopped when the head with that possessed blue fire was facing me. A deep scowl was infused upon its lips, making a grotesque image more horrifying. Its red eyes flashed white, causing me to go blind for a moment. I heard the beast chuckle as I blinked the black dots away.

“Oh, brave one,” It said with a sneer in their voice. “Do you sincerely believe that if you called on Zepha or Harmony, that they would come to save your hide?” It roared in laughter at what it thought was a joke. But the beast was right. Who am I that they would come and save?

“What?” It growled. “What did you say?”

Oops, did I say that aloud?

“I-I s-said, Great Beast, w-who a-am I t-that they w-would s-save m-me?” I stammered. The beast roared its indignation at my answer. What? I was telling the truth. I barely know them. To Zepha and Harmony, I’m a complete stranger. If I were them, I wouldn’t risk my neck for a stranger. No way, no how. The cracking sound started up again. I cringed at the sound. It brought back memories of my attack of hearing my bones brake in half. I looked to find the head with the white fire staring at me. It had smug look on its face. Like it was about to announce my death warrant.

It started to chuckle, “You! You?!” it declared, “You, decedent of Farthingharth Star. the first unicorn to walk the earth, stand here before me, knowing you cannot defeat me, with no other reason than familial pride!” How dare they! Anger swelled in me at this blatant insult. How dare they offend my family’s honor!

“How dare you say that!” I screamed as I jumped to my hooves. “THAT IS NOT PRIDE! THAT IS HONOR!” When the last word fell out of my mouth a poem formed in my head. It kept pushing at my lips, wanting to escape. The words bult up so much pressure that my head felt like it was about to explode if I didn’t let the Words out. So, I did. At the top of my lunges, I yelled:

“By Harmony’s light

I stand before thee, Creature of the Night.

Humble and not afraid

These words now form my blade.

I cast thee out, O being of Pride,

With no more refuge in which to hide.

For the humble has defeated thee,

Oh, Victims of Pride, be ye set free!”

A bright light shot from my neck. I looked down to find that my locket was glowing. What the…? A loud screeching sound of anguish startled me. I watched in amazement as the Beast of Pride shook its head. The flames from its three head began to funnel into the light. Yellow, blue, and white flames came hurtling towards me. I tried to back away from the flames, but I backed into a claw. Pain reared its ugly head as I felt the tip of the claw pierce my skin. I jumped as fast I could away from it. I glanced at my back to if I had a wound. I saw nothing, just felt lingering pain. I was very confused. Where was the wound? I felted go into my skin, so where is it?

A piercing wail startled me out of my musing. With horror I watched as bits and pieces of the beast moved through a funnel of light. I looked down at my locket to find that the light was coming from it! I snapped my head back up to find the white mane head was gone and the blue one’s fur and flesh being torn from its body. When the flesh disappeared, the bone of the skull went next. Chunks came flying at me but never touch me. The bone would shrink as it entered my locket. I decided that it was no longer safe in this thing’s paw and teleported Sombra and me away from the beast. No matter how far, I teleported the funnel of light followed me and with it, the screaming three headed beast.

I watched as it tried to use two of its three front paws to keep its last head on while the third paw smashing was pounding into the ground with fury and pain. I felt the ground roll with every pounding of its fist. With its four hind legs, it tried to run but no matter how hard it struggled, the beast couldn’t escape the light. It stopped screaming when the last head disappeared. The body dropped with a resounding boom! I braced myself as land began to roll like waves. I fell and heard a resounding crack.

I screamed as I felt blistering pain emanating from my front right leg. I looked down to see white poking out of my fur. Well, I broke it again. Dang it!! How am I supposed to get Sombra and me out of here with a broken leg? How is this fair? He’s dead and I’m too broken to burry him. I have no where to go. Celestia was eaten and I have no idea where Luna was. My ears are ringing from the loud that beast-- Pride? -- Pride screaming! I’m all alone. And on top of that, the light coming from my locket was blinding me! Fat tears began to fall as I lay my head on Sombra’s still body. I started to weep as the sound of the rushing wind replaced the ringing in my ears. The light finally disappeared, and the wind quieted, so that the only sound that was in this blacken hellscape was the sound of my wails. I thought I heard a faint bah-dump inside of Sombra’s body, but I could be mistaken. He’s dead. Dead! There couldn’t be a heartbeat there. I heard a faint groan in the distance. My head shot up and I zeroed in on to two faint figures in the distance. Through my watery eyes a tall white figure and small blue one slowly coming towards me. Bah-dump. Bah-dump. Bah-dump. I looked down to find the source. It was coming from Sombra!! I put my ear to his chest.

Bah-dump. Bah-dump. Bah-dump it went. But how can this be? How can a beheaded body have a heart? Then I remembered that I had heard his heartbeat before. As I pondered this conundrum, trying my best not to bawl again, I heard flapping of wings beside me. I turned towards it and found Pierre running towards me.

“My Lord’s Lady, I am completely and utterly apologetic that I could not defend you in your time of need.” He said as he fell face first in the blacken ground. His front paws stretched out in front of him as if he were bowing to me. “You see, My Lord’s Lady, my race of Kinkus are scholars, not warriors, and are unable to defend ourselves. We usually have one of the warrior race, the Laochra don Lag, our sister race, guarding us, but I decided to follow Sombra and leave my guard behind. She will be mad and hunt me down. But I would do it all over again to be with Sombra and you. But in this moment, I have in my one hundred and fifty years of living, that I wish that I were a Laochra don Lag so I could have defended you in your time of need. I beg of you, let me receive your forgiveness.”

“Stand up, Pierre,” I croaked, my voice raw from crying, “there is no need to grovel. It I who needs to apologize. I left you stranded all alone in a field with no way for you to get back and no way for you to defend yourself.” I tried to stand but cried out when I put pressure on my hurt leg. I forgot that I was bleeding on the ground. Oops…

“My Lord’s Lady, you are hurt!” He cried. He jumped from where he laid and ran towards me. “Here, let me help. I at least know how to set a bone. I believe I have some linens to help with this sort of thing.” He started to rummage through his bag that he was carrying. He was mumbling under his breath, but I couldn’t make it out. I did notice right beside him was Sombra’s bag and that he had carried it carried it all the way here. I remember dropping it right before I ran back. Honestly, I don’t remember when Sombra put that on my back. All I remember was me briefly taking it off my back.

“Here, allow me to set this.” He said. His paws gently rapped around my leg. I had a fleeting thought of wondering how this tiny guy is going to set my leg but was distracted before I could ask when he said, “It is going to hurt but I will try to do this quick. Scream if makes you feel any better. Ok? Ok. On the count of three. One… Two… Three…” With strength greater then I thought he would possess, wrenched my leg back into place. I cried out in agony. Pierre gently and swiftly wrapped my leg in herbs and linen. When he finished, he walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. Well, somewhat. He was tiny after all. For awhile we just stayed there. It was nice to be held. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, because… Bah-dump. Bah-dump. Bah-dump.

“Pierre?”

“Hmm? What is it, my Lord’s Lady?” He said as he lifted his head, “Is something the matter?”

“Yes, yes there is,” I answered, “I keep hearing Sombra’s heartbeat, but I know his is dead. Am I going crazy with grief that I’m hearing his heartbeat?” I look Pierre straight in the eye. Worry bleed into my eyes as I listen to the bah-dump. Bah-dump. Bah-dump. Pierre just smiled.

“No, he is not dead.” Pierre said gently. He started to pet my snout.

“Stop that.” I swatted his paw away. His ears drooped as he wrapped his arms around his back. I felt bad about snapping at him, but it started to feel weird. I open my mouth to apologiz.

“Sorry,” he said, “I overstepped my bounds, but back to my previous statement. Sombra is not dead. He is—”

“But he’s decapitated!” I yelled. “He has no head! How can he be alive?!”

“Easy. He is immortal.” Pierre stated simple, “As are all alicorns. The only way to kill an alicorn, is through their hearts. Alicorns have two hearts. One that beats and the other that stores their magic. Now, you may be wondering, ‘what does this have to do with Sombra and him being alive without a head?’ Well, you see, to understand how Sombra is alive, one must first understand alicorns and their biology. Are you following me?” I nodded numbly. Though I was still very confused. But I will strive to be a dutiful student and sit still and listen.

“Good.” He said as started to pace. Dang, his voice is sexy, “Now, alicorns have two hearts. If the hearts are destroyed, then the alicorn dies. As long as the hearts are intact, the alicorn can regenerate. I have seen an alicorn be torn to pieces with only the hearts untouched. That same alicorn came back to life in a week.” He said as he brought his paws in front of him and steepled them under his chin. “Now it is unclear on how the hearts can be destroyed, but I witness our glorious creator devouring the hearts. I have also witness Sombra doing the same. Sombra is like the alicorns in this respect. Since his hearts are intact, he will be able to regenerate his head back.”

“So, he is alive!” Joy spang into my heart at this news. Sombra was alive and I wouldn’t be alone! Sombra was alive!

“Yes, he is,” Pierre said. “Where you not listening to me?”

“Oh, I was,” I smiled, “and if I could dance I would. Sombra is alive!”

“I do have a question for you.” Pierre said, “If you do not mind me asking.”

“Sure, ask away.”

“I notice on our short journey, that you had a blank flank,” he said as he tilted his head.

“Yes. What about it? Everypony has a blank flank.” I was becoming very confused. Where was he going with this? Does other ponies have tattoo thing on their flank?

“The reason I mentioned this is because you have something on your flank. Did you know about this?”

“N-no, no I d-didn’t.” I started to freak out. What was he talking about?

“Here, have a look,” Pierre said gently as he directed me to look. I looked to where he was pointing at. Wait what? What is that?!

Revelations

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Revelations

(Present)

“Did The Regent of Time get the message?” Rainbow Dash watch as his smile disappeared at her words, he turned away. Tears shimmered in the firelight. He opened his mouth once, twice…

“S-so, it is true,” Sombra whispered, “Harmony did show you your first life. I thought as much. I will answer your question soon. Just please give me a moment. I-I have to go…” he stood up suddenly. He fled the room. Rainbow Dash quickly set off to follow him. His shadow danced in the torch light as Rainbow Dash raced down the hall. After eternity of twists and turns, she finally caught up to him. She skidded to a stop. There in the middle of white circular room was Sombra. His head was down, and his shoulders were shaking.

“Sombra, are you alright?” Dash asked as she slowly approached the distraught demigod. He suddenly looked up and let out a piercing wail. Dash felt the ground shake as Sombra wept to the heavens.

“T-this, this room,” He croaked as he stared into the ceiling with unfocused eyes, “This room is the testament of my second greatest failure. I-I come here often to remind myself to never let this catastrophe happen again. And it has not. But I have this feeling that once your friend and my mate Twilight wakes up, it will happen again. And nothing there is I can do to stop it.”

“What do you mean?” Dash asked as she sat down next to him, “What catastrophe? Sombra, what are you talking about?” She looked up to his face to find a red liquid coming from his eyes. It was almost like he was crying blood. Panic flooded her veins. For one doesn’t watch the Firstborn cry. He was the one who inspired beings to be their best or the one who struck fear in the hearts of the enemies, but never somepony who admits to failure or fear. What was going on?

“Take a look around you, my dear, and you will see what I am talking about,” Sombra sighed, “But to answer your question, yes, he did receive the message. But…” His voice broke, unable to finish what he was saying. Sombra turned his head, showing Dash the back of his head. His ears drooped as he dropped his head in shame.

“I don’t understand,” Dash said, “Dal’lak’ar wouldn’t have abandon you!”

“My dear,” Sombra said, “he comes only when he is needed the most. He is at the mercy of time. Now go. Look and see. Understand, Miss Rainbow Dash, what I have mourned for more than a millennia and tell me if you can look me in the eye then.”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

“Wait what? What is that?!” I screeched as I looked at what Pierre was talking about. There, on my flank was a picture of the beast that I fought with its three feline heads roaring in fury at a purple six-pointed star. It was standing on its two hind legs, which were touching the tip of my hoof, while the five of its paws were reaching for the star. I never had anything like this before, nor have I seen it on a regular pony before. I have only seen pictures on the alicorns. Alicorns tattoo the pictures on their flanks, right? I don’t remember getting a tattoo or anything like this. What was going on?!

“Pierre!” I screeched, “What is this? What is happening? Am I sick? Am I going to die? Wha…. Mrfff!” Pierre slapped his paw on my mouth. He shook his head as if I were being too loud and he was trying to get his hearing back. He took a breath.

“My Lord’s Lady, what you are seeing is your cutie mark,” Pierre said gently. “It is the representation of your destiny. It is not going to hurt you. In fact, it supposed to help you. It helps you identify your talent and amplify any abilities that are related to it. It also shows other what your talent is. Yes, Midnight, what is your question? You can put your hoof down now.” He said as he took his paw away from my mouth.

“If it’s, I mean if it is supposed to help me identify my talent then what is it supposed to be?” I ask as I lowered my hoof, “I mean what heck is that talent?!”

“I do not know, my Lord’s lady,” Pierre said, “I am honestly unable to tell you why your cutie mark is of a three headed lion cowering from a star. Though I do know that the six-pointed star represents Harmony. Maybe if we run into her, we can ask her what your cute mark means.” I nodded in agreement. It sounded like a solid plan. But we do have to wait for Sombra to wake up before we can continue. I’m not leaving him behind.

“So, what’s the plan now?” I asked as I looked at the blackened land, “There’s no shelter for miles and I really don’t want stay here for much longer. Any ideas?”

“None at the moment, my Lord’s lady,” Pierre said, “But I do spy two survivors coming this way.” I strained my neck to see but couldn’t. I was still sort of blinded from those fires I had been staring at awhile back. Dang, I’m tired.

“Where?” I asked as I laid my head on Sombra’s back. I could go to sleep here. It would be fine. Nothing bad was going to happen.

“Oh, sweet Harmony!” A melodious voice said, “Midnight! Midnight, wake up! You have lost a lot of blood! Sister! Come here and help me!” I felt myself being lifted but I couldn’t move a muscle. I didn’t want to be moved. Why am I being moved?

“There is a cave nearby,” An older voice said, “It will be safer there. Careful with her leg, Luna! Make a gurney so we can carry her easier.”

“What about Sombra, sister?” Luna asked, “Are we going to leave him here?” Don’t leave him! don’t take me away from him!

“Yes, Luna, we are,” Celestia said, “He can defend himself just fine. Now let us be on our way! We do not have time to wait!” Wait! Please wait. Don’t leave him! He’s hurt! Luna, if you leave Sombra I will never forgive you! Please… don’t… leave… him…

Ω

The sounds of dripping and purring slowly woke me up from my slumber. My broken leg started to scream so I tried to move it, but a weight prevent me from doing so. I looked to find that Pierre was laying partly on my leg and partly on my chest. So that’s where the purring sound was coming from. I didn’t know that Kinkus purr also. Huh the more you know. I tried to gently move him off my leg without waking the sleeping Kinku. He had a small crystal in his hand that emitted a small white light.

“Mhhh… what?” It didn’t work. “Oh, my Lord’s Lady, good morrow. It is a pleasure to see that you have survived. Now let us find some nourishment.” He stood up and stretched his arms way up high. It was kinda cute seeing him yawn.

“Ummm…. Pierre?” I said uncertainly, “I-I have a problem.” His eyes filled with concern as he stopped stretching.

“What is it, My Lord’s Lady?” he said as he laid his paw on my face.

“I can’t walk.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. And where is Sombra?” I asked as looked around the cave, “I don’t see him anywhere!” I tried to get up, but my leg prevented me from doing so. It was wrapped tightly in a blood-stained cloth with two sturdy sticks holding it in place. Panic started to set in the longer I couldn’t find him. Pierre started to make shushing and purring noises in attempted to calm me down.

“He is behind you, but he is still recovering!” Pierre answered with a purr in his voice, “Please settle down or else your leg will not heal!” I did as he asked because I was too tired.

“Thank you, Pierre.” I said as I laid back down. Pierre started to fuss around me, moving my legs and somehow procuring a threadbare blanket from somewhere. I honestly didn’t see him going and grabbing it. One second, he was in front of me, with nothing the next… Bam! a blanket in hand and tucking me in. I think that he might have used some magic, but I wasn’t sure.

“There you go, my Lord’s Lady,” Pierre said as he patted my side. “All snug and warm. I deeply apologize for not giving you this while you were asleep. I was rushed in finding the materials before we arrived at the cave. I barely finished making the blanket when you woke up!” He started to fidget with his hands as look of worry crossed his foxy face. “I know that Sombra will be fine and has been in dicer situations before, and come out unscathed. That is the reason I worry not for him. But you… y-you… my Lord’s Lady, I worry a great deal. So great in fact, that I have come to the realization that I may have given up one of my tails in worry for you! Please, please promise me you will not do what you did yesterday. You are not immortal like Lord Sombra and could die if you go up against another Void Creature. I fear that if you were to die, though you will reincarnate, that Sombra’s heart would not survive. Promise me, please?”

I felt his eyes bore into my face I as looked away. I wouldn’t make promises that I know I couldn’t keep. If Pierre were ever in trouble, I would help him. That just who I am. I help those I trust. Or maybe I would help Pierre because he was so small and defenseless. Sombra wasn’t defenseless. He was more than capable in handling himself in a fight. I have seen it before. He didn’t need my help. He never did. Then why did I run back? He was my master, nothing more, nothing less. I could have been free! I could have run away like he said and been free! Why… did… I… go… back?

“Why did you go back?” Pierre asked, breaking me out of my musing. My head snapped towards the Kinku. How…?

“What?” I was so confused. Was he reading my mind? Like Sombra does sometimes? Can Kinkus do that?

“Why did you go back when you could have run away and be free?” Pierre asked quietly. “I know you are from Harmonia. And that in order to survive in Harmonia you were bound by law to serve the Alicorns. You are little more than a glorified slave. Sombra is your master and I know that he would not blame you if you ran away. If I were you, I would have and I would have never looked back. But you…” he swallowed, “you did not.” He was looking at the ceiling with a deep sorrowful look. The white light cast his face into shadows, making him look like a tragic character. “You, my brave Lord’s Lady, ran back, fought a creature that, for centuries, was believed to be undefeatable and won! Against all odds you won! But why? Why, when freedom was in your grasp, you chose to stay? I just cannot comprehend this! It is inconceivable! So, tell me why?”

“I-I…” I stammered. A lump formed in my throat, choking out the words that I wanted to say. I coughed to dislodge it. “I-I h-honestly don’t know, Pierre. I guess I was honor bound to him. I mean, he did save my life twice. I guess I owed it to him. I know I could not show my face to my mother if I left somepony in danger to save my own skin. That is not the way of the Stars. We do not turn our back on those in need.”

“Hogwash and Poppycock!” Pierre exclaimed. His eyes flashed with anger. “Do not tell me these lies, unicorn, for I can smell them. They linger like a bad odor in the back of my throat. So do not lie to me again!”

“I’m not!”

“Yes, you are!” He bared his teeth, “Now tell the truth! It was not because of honor. If it were, you would not have called out to Sombra in your sleep!” His amber colored eyes shined bright gold in his anger. I felt the weight of his anger push me into the ground. I don’t know how to answer this. How was I supposed to answer when I don’t even know!

I sighed as turned my head away. In the corner of my eye, I notice that Sombra was lying a few paces away from me. The top of his head was still missing. I started to gag at the sight of only seeing his lower jaw with his dagger teeth sticking out of his mouth. I quickly turned away. I did not want to see that today. Last time I saw him, Sombra didn’t have a head and part of his neck was missing. I guess that Pierre was right. Sombra will survive being beheaded. That’s good.

“You are smiling,” Pierre said quietly. “Tell me why you are smiling?”

“Because he is going to be okay,” I answered.

“There!” Pierre shouted causing me to jump. “A slave would not care if her master were going to be okay. A slave would be celebrating their newfound freedom. You are not. You are smiling at the thought of him being okay. I rest my case. Now answer my previous question.”

“Why are you so insistent with this?” I asked. If I could walk away from this I would. But alas I cannot. I’m stuck here with a broken leg and burnt back, which surprisingly doesn’t hurt. How? I can feel the bandages on my back, but it doesn’t hurt. Probably alicorn magic. But why didn’t Luna or Celestia heal me completely with the Ultimate Healing Spell? I guess that they don’t know it. Huh… Where are they now?

“You are getting sidetracked,” Pierre said as he snapped his claws in my face.

“What was the question?” I asked sheepishly.

“What was the true meaning of you going back? And do not say honor.”

“But it was! And… and…”

“And?”

“And… and… AND I COULD NOT BE IN A WORLD WITHOUT HIM!” I scream, “I just can’t--- I-I can’t. Okay? Are you happy? I ran back for my misplaced sense of honor and stayed because I wanted to die. I thought that he was gone. So, what was the point? I’m no hero. I’m a phony. A fake. If I had known about the monster beforehand, I would have run away. But… bu… b…” I broke down, bawling. All the previous events came crashing down on me. The attack, Sombra’s beheading, my near death, all of it. I barely survived! How did I survive? And now I got something tattooed on my flank! A Cutie mark! What does that mean?! Why?

I felt a small wing rap around my left shoulder. A soft purring sound started soothed my frayed nerves. “It is going to be alright, My Lord’s Lady,” Pierre said softly. “Everything is going to be alright. Have you ever thought that you might love Sombra?”

“L-love? Love Sombra? Me?” I asked, “Loving an alicorn? The creatures that made my life a living hell. Plus, somepony else is in love with him. I can’t compete with her. I will not stand in her way of loving him. How can a mere unicorn slave love her alicorn master?”

“Is that too hard to believe?”

“Yes!” I yelled, “Yes, it is! The alicorns have tormented me time and time again. I nearly died one time because of them! If it weren’t for Sombra, I would have! If not for him, I would have lost my horn. I would be an… an…”

“An? An… what?” Pierre asked.

“An outcast,” I whispered, “No better than an earthpony---”

“What’s wrong with being an earthpony?” Luna asked, making me jump out of my skin for a second. “They are strong, loyal, and honest ponies who work the land. Without them, most of the population would have starved a long time ago.” I gave her a surprised look. How is it an alicorn was defending the earth ponies when they are no better than dirt?

“What?” I asked, “What do you mean by that? Didn’t you know that earth ponies are no better the upon rock which we walk because they have no magic? Why are you, an alicorn, the embodiment of magical perfection, defending the being that your kind walks on a daily basis?”

“Because I was raised outside of Harmonia’s propaganda,” Luna said with a smile. “I was raised to see all life is important. From the smallest ant, to the Great Beasts that form our mountains, all life is important. There is and never will be a life that is worth less then another. That is why I defend the earth ponies. And why you should too.”

This was insane! An alicorn defending the earth ponies. How…? Well now I have seen everything. That’s it, everypony, my life has been completed and it’s the end of the world. An alicorn actually gives a crap about earth ponies.

“Are you okay?” Luna asked as she waved her hoof in front of my face.

I gave her a confused look. “Yeah, why?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. I have no idea why she would ask that question.

“It is because you had a blank look on your face.” She said as she looked into my eyes. “It was as if you were off somewhere else. Did I confuse you?” I nodded quickly. I had become dizzy from the sudden movement. I really need to think these things through.

“I am sorry for confusing you.” Luna apologized, “I was telling you the truth. The alicorns of Harmonia are completely wrong. My kind is supposed to serve Harmony’s creation, not the other way around. But enough of the lecture, Harmony knows that I get enough of them from my sister. Hehe. How are you feeling, Midnight?”

“Well, I would be better if I could walk,” I snarked. I don’t like not being able to run away. I’m stuck. “Why didn’t you use the Ultimate Healing Spell on me? It will make my life easier if you do that.”

“The Ultimate what now?” Luna asked as a bewildered look crossed her face.

“You know the spell that can heal any injury?” She shook her head no. “The one that goes like ‘Hunan blentyn are fy’ no ‘er yf ni’ or is it ‘Ni chaiff dim… dim… di… Gah! I don’t remember! Sombra sang it when I was attacked by two alicorns, and when he did a golden light strings appeared and completely healed me! You don’t know that spell? There was another spell that he had me memorize but I forgot that one also. I had lot of things happened. When Sombra wakes up. I’m going to ask him.”

“Well, that is going to be a problem.” Luna said sheepishly.

“What? Why?” I ask, worry seeping into my voice. Pierre gave me a side eye glance, but I ignored him. “What’s wrong with Sombra?!”

“Nothing,” Luna answered quickly, “It is just that Celestia wants to leave the cave as soon as you woke up. Now that you are awake, we can leave.”

“Leave? Leave for where?”

“Well to Canterlot of course,” Luna said with smile, “It is where I live with my sister. And where you will be living soon! Is it that not great? We are going to be living together! Yeah!”

“What about Sombra?” I asked, “What about when he wakes up?”

“Well…. we will be gone before he wakes up, but it----”

“No.”

“’No?’ What do you mean no?” Luna responded, bewilderment lacing her words. Her head tilted in confusion. “Do you not want live with me?” How do you respond to this?

“I am not leaving Sombra, Luna. You and your sister can’t make me. Shut up, Pierre!” I glared at the snickering kinku, “We will continue your interrogation later, Pierre. Right now, I have to deal with an alicorn who think that she knows best. The white know-it-all wants us to leave. Do you want leave, Pierre?”

“No, my Lord’s Lady, I do not want leave my Lord’s side,” he answered as he crossed his arms. “Yes, we will continue our ‘interrogation’ at a later time, after we sort out this conundrum. We are not leaving him.”

“But---”

“No buts. That is final.” Pierre stated matter of factly. “By decree of Harmony herself, Midnight is to stay with Sombra until further notice. Any other questions?”

“I do!” I raised my hoof, “How the heck did you know that?”

“Sombra told me, My Lord’s Lady,” Pierre answered while keeping his eyes on Luna.

“When did he tell you this?”

“While you were asleep.”

“When?”

“Like I said, when you were asleep.”

“I KNOW THAT!” I yelled, my frustration was mounting. Why was Pierre being so obtuse? What was he hiding?

“You were asleep on Sombra’s back and we talked,” Pierre said, never once looking at me, “Better?”

“Quite.”

Pierre snorted, his shoulders shaking. Luna’s eyes widen in confusion. I just laughed. After I finally caught my breath, I said, “I am sorry, Luna, this is just a normal conversion Pierre and I have on an any given day. Wait a minute, how long have we known each other, Pierre?”

“Three days, My Lord’s Lady,” Pierre answered, “You fell asleep during my riveting discussion on the importance of grammar. You slept for half of the journey. By the way, you have a cute snore.”

“THREE DAYS!” I squeaked, “and I do not snore!”

“Yes, and yes, you do,” Pierre smirked, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “You sounded like a sleeping kitten with snort. You went,” and with a high pitch sound he went off, “eeehhh*snort*eeehh*snort*” I smacked him the in back of head with my tail, growling. He laughed as he started to tip over. Pierre caught himself before he faceplanted on the stone floor. He laughed so hard while making the “eeehh-ing” and snorting sounds that he was rolling on the floor with tiers in his eyes. “H-help *gasp* me!” Pierre gasped like a fish out of water, “I *gasp* can *gasp* not *gasp* breathe!”

“Serves you right, ya dingus,” I mumbled as watched the wheezy Pierre. He had his paws clutched to his chest as he continued to laugh. I will admit, that like his voice, his laugh is very sexy and contagious. I started to laugh along side with him and soon both of us were out of breath, Pierre a lot more. Luna’s lilting laughter joined in with our cacophony of mirth. We would catch our breath through the bouts of laughter. Unfortunately, as soon as we would catch our breath, we would start laughing again. It was a vicious cycle.

“Well, I see that everypony is getting along,” a lilting motherly voice chimed in. “What has you lot all twisted up?”

“Ah, sister,” Luna gasped in between breathes, “We… have… started… laughing… and… now… we…can… not… stop... laughing….”

“I can!” I said with great seriousness, then I burst out laughing again. I swear, Pierre’s laughter was a weapon in disguise. My sides were starting to hurt. I don’t know how long I can keep laughing. Pierre better stop, or else. Oh no, there he goes again.

“Well, I am glad that you are having a good time.” Celestia said with smile, “Now, since you are awake, my dear, we can prepare to leave for Canterlot. Now, Luna…”

“No.” My words cut through like a knife. Celestia blinked in surprise. Her expression said that this was the first time that somepony told her no. The room was silent except for Luna’s innocent laughter. Pierre and I glared at the white alicorn who had the audacity to think that we were leaving.

“No?” Celestia tilted her head to the side, “What do you mean ‘no’? Midnight, I do not think know what I am offering. It is a fantastic opportunity for you. You would be able to perform magic. I would teach you many things by making you my apprentice. Oh! The things you would learn by being my apprentice! Midnight, if you come with me you would never have to worry about alicorns hurting you anymore! Midnight, you would be---”

“No thank you,” I interrupted the blabbering alicorn. Luna’s laughter played in the background of my silent fury. I couldn’t believe the audacity of this being! I already have a teacher, by Harmony’s hoof, will you give it a rest! Sheesh!

“What? What did you say?” Celestia squinted her lilac eyes.

“You heard what I said.” I would not back down. The cave filled with oppressing tension as I stared her down, daring her to make a move. I don’t care if she was an alicorn. I didn’t care if she could destroy me with just a thought. I have made my decision and I am sticking to it. She can stick it up her---

“Why is everypony so quiet?” Luna quietly asked, breaking the silence. Her eyes filled with concern as she looked between the stand-off that was happening. “Are we not on the same side? Why do I feel animosity flowing thick in the air?”

“I just told your sister no and she is acting like a typical alicorn.” I said as venom dripping from my words, “As of this moment, I’m just waiting for her to rip my throat out for my impertinence. Your move, Alicorn.”

“That is not---” Luna said but Celestia interrupted her, “I am glad you are finally standing up for yourself. Though it pains me to say this it must be thanks to Sombra’s influence. But this not the time for you to exercise your free will. It is time for you to obey. You cannot walk so I will carry you. If makes you feel better, the Kinku stays. That way Sombra would not be alone when he wakes up. Now hold—”

“NO!” I yelled. A blazing sensation came from my chest, causing me to scream. It felt like fire burning my heart as I closed my eyes to the pain. A flash of light burned through my eyelids. I heard a cry and a crash followed after. I cracked open an eye. My eyes flew open to find a wall that were a swirling mass of deep purple and black. On this wall was words of silver in a language that was older then time itself. The letters danced and twirled to a song I couldn’t hear. I looked over to Pierre. His eyes were wide, and he was trembling.

“Pierre, d-do y-you k-know what this wall is?” I stuttered as looked back at the wall. Luna and Celestia were no where in sight. I turned around, fearing the worst. To my utter, relief Sombra was still there. His head was completely formed but he was missing his mane. He looked like he was just sleeping. That was good.

“This not good,” Pierre cried, “this is not good at all! MIDNIGHT, TAKE IT DOWN! TAKE IT DOWN NOW!”

“Why?” I asked. Worry began to flood my bone as Pierre started to vibrate with fear. “Do you know what this is? If you do, please tell me now.” In the corner of my eye, I notice a silhouette of cat with glowing purple eyes standing at the edge of the wall. I felt uncomfortable as the unblinking gaze bore into my skin.

Pierre once brown eyes was now a stony gray, becoming lighter by the second, “It is called a barrier. A powerful spell. A spell that only a few could cast. The Ethereals. Priests of Void. Conquerors of the Void’s creations. And you, My Lord’s Lady, have just cast it. And only you can bring it down.”

The cat smile sharply at his words. It became more opaque as its smile grew. Grey fur stood out dramatically against the swirling wall. The cat lifted its tar-dipped paw to cover its ever-growing smile. A silver arrow wrapped around its wrist. I notice that its hind leg, which it was solely standing on, was also dip in tar like substance up to its knees. Purple claws pierced the stone floor.

“My Lord’s Lady?” I barley heard Pierre’s words over the manic giggles of the cat. You are not afraid of me. This is most interesting. A voice stated inside my head. It sounded like the melding of male and female voices. The last one went mad with fear, but not you. You. You are simply curious, a tad uncomfortable, but curious. You are most interesting, Ethereal, most interesting. With those words the cat disappeared with a pop. Pierre’s voice was jumbled under the ringing that had overtaken my hearing.

I shook my head to clear the noise. I squinted my eyes in concentration to the spot the cat was. “Piiieeerrreee?” I asked drawing out the words, “Did you see anything weird?”

“No, my Lord’s Lady, I did not.” Pierre said, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine.” I said waving off his concerns, “I thought I saw something. So, how do we take this barrier down?” I studied the swirling mass and was becoming mesmerized by it. It was so pretty.

“Well, I cannot take it down,” Pierre grumbled, crossing his arms in the process, “Only you can do that.”

“Ok… How do I take it down?” I asked, “Because you are so knowledgeable.”

“I may be knowledgeable, but I am not all knowing.” Pierre said, “There are some things, though I loathe to admit it, that I simple do not know. Ethereals and their magic are just not in the Kinku’s archives. In other words, I do not know how to help you take down the barrier.” He sighed as he leaned back on my flank. He started to rub the space between his eyes. Pierre looked very frustrated at not knowing how he could help. I honestly felt bad.

“At least we are not leaving Sombra,” I half heartly joked, trying my best to put a smile on his face. He grimaced.

“Yes, but we will not go anywhere any time soon until this magical wall is brought down.” He said as he flicked his wrist towards our current problem, “Nothing is going to come in and nothing is coming out. and if we are not careful, our air supply will run out. From my knowledge this is true. It is an impenetrable dome of magic. Since the alicorns cannot hear us and we are stuck here, it is time for you to answer my question.” His silvery eyes bore into mine as I racked my brain for the answer. But I have a question of my own. And I am not about have it go unanswered.

“I thought that you had brown/golden eyes. Why are your eyes silver now?” I asked in hope of stalling until I have the answer to the question I have forgotten. He narrowed his eyes at my question. I think he knows that I’m stalling. I don’t think he is going to give me an answer.

“My eyes are silver because of the great fear that is flowing in my veins at the moment,” He said, surprising the heck out of me. “The fear for you, my Lord’s Lady, for your life is in great peril. Because your blood, your flesh, and your spirit can be used in horrendous spells. Spells that can destroy the fabric of reality in a region. Or grant immortality to a mortal, but will be cursed to consume the flesh of the innocents in order to survive. You no longer belong to Harmony. You belong to Void. May Harmony have mercy on the souls who actively seek Ethereals for their flesh for Void, most certainly would not. Void selfishly hoards the Ethereals, according to legend. I do not know why and now I have an incentive to know. I gave you my answer to your question, now give yours. Quit stalling, Midnight.”

“What was the question?” I asked sheepishly. Pierre groaned in frustration. I think that he might want to murder me at the moment.

“Do you love Sombra or not?”

“If love is not wanting the being you care about hurt or wanting them to be happy? Then yes, I do.” I answer, “If love is wanting to be with them and knowing that they are alright? Then yes. If it is being willing to put your life on the line so that they may live another day? Then yes. If love is all those things, then yes, I love Sombra. I love Sombra and would do anything for him.” I sighed as I felt tears well up, “But being romantically in love with him? I can’t. Though I want to be, I can’t. We are two different species and most likely incompatible. Besides, he is my teacher and that would be weird for us to be together. I will be content with having my unrequited love. I recently came to this conclusion when I stood up to Celestia. Why would I stand up for Sombra if I didn’t have some form of love? I also had come to the conclusion that Sombra and I cannot have a romantic kind of love because of everything.” I smiled softly as I looked to the ground, “So I will be content to love him from afar and wait until he liberates me from my servitude. Are you satisfied now, Pierre?”

“Most indubitably,” he said with a nod. I gave him a small smile, but I didn’t stop looking at the ground. There’s still the problem with the swirling wall, but I don’t want to deal with it right now. I’m so tired. I want to go to sleep. I guess I’ll use Sombra as a pillow. I mean he is right there doing nothing, might as well make him useful. I scooched closer to his side and got comfortable as I laid my head on his leg. As I closed my eyes, I heard a groan. My head shot up and my eyes widen. I saw and felt Sombra roll over, groaning in the process.

His red eyes peaked under hooded eyelids as he lifted his head sleepily. He looked around in confusion. I squealed in delight as I clapped my hooves together.

“Ow, Ms. Star, that hurts,” he grumbled sleepily, “Can you tone down the volume?”

“Sorry,” I quickly apologized as I lowered my voice. He was awake! He was awake! Thank Harmony, Sombra is awake! This was the best news ever!

“Better,” Sombra said, “Now can anypony tell me where we are at?”

“My Lord, it is good that you are awake.” Pierre said with a bow, “We currently in a cave in the Andonis region close the Everfree forest.”

“We are not in a cave,” Sombra said as he rapped his wing around me, “We are in a barrier created by a distraught Ethereal. We must find out who they are and hide them. I will not have Void blaming me for something else. Now, Midnight, why do I sense that you are hurt. Stand in front of me so that I may attend to your wounds.” He lifted his wing and used it to nudge me forward. I did not like that. I want to go back under his wing again. It’s warm and I feel safe under there.

“Well, it is hard to walk when you have a broken leg, so,” I laughed. I hoped that he wouldn’t be mad at me for that. It was technically not my fault. Red magic enveloped me and lifted me in the air. My broken leg screamed in pain as it was moved from its original position. I grimaced at the pain as I was move in front of him. I opened my eyes when I heard him softly sing:

“‘Hunan blentyn, are fy mynwes,
Clyd a chynnes ydyw hon;
Breichiau mam sy'n dyn amdanat,
Cariad mam sy dan fy mron;
Ni chaiff dim amharu'th gyntun- ‘“

Golden light shone in my peripheral vision as I stared at Sombra’s closed eyes. His smooth baritone lulled me into a sense of peace. I smiled to myself as I listen to him sing. I guess that the only way for me to hear him sing is to become hurt one way or an another.

“’ -Ni wna undyn â thi gam;
Huna’n dawel, annwyl blentyn,
Huna’n fwyn ar fron dy fam.’”

The light faded as he sang the last note. We smiled at each other as I felt Sombra take off the bandages. His smile faded as he tilted his head to the side. Then I was suddenly spun around. I heard Sombra growl.

“No, no, Midnight,” I heard him say in horror, “what have you done?”

The Cave

View Online

In a Cave

(Present)

Splat!

“Pinkie, will ya stop jumpin’ in the snow!” Applejack yelled as she pulled her coat closer to herself. “Yer gettin’ me wetter then I already am!” Applejack shivered as she trudged forward in the unending blizzard. The ice pierce her hide as the wind roared. And for the life of her, she could never figure out how the Element of Laughter could be so damn happy in snow. It’s miserable, cold, and wet. But the pink pony is just laughing away and jumping in the biggest pile of snow she could find. It seems that Pinkie Pie was currently ignoring her. Grrr…

Splat!

“Pinkie!” Applejack screeched. The pink pony finally stopped, in midair. How does she do that? Without magic no less?

“What is it, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asked with a tilt of her head. A second later she fell right back into the white powdery shit. It splattered onto Applejack’s face. The snow melted as Applejack’s temper grew hot.

“PINKIE!” Applejack screamed.

“APPLEJACK!” Pinkie screamed back.

“Will you, in Celestia’s good name—”

BOOM!

“Oh, no! AVALANCHE!” Pinkie yelled as the falling white danger came hurtling towards them. “Quick! Into the dragon mouth shaped cave!” They ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Applejack dove headfirst into the cave, barely missing the snow. Pinkie, on the other hoof, wasn’t so lucky. Her bottom half got stuck in the pile of snow.

“Um… Applejack?” Pinkie asked, “Can you…? Can you please help me? I’m… stuck.” Her pleading eyes bored into the side of Applejack’s skull. With a huff and a growl, Applejack got off the stone floor and stomped towards Pinkie. Applejack grabbed ahold of Pinkie’s hooves and pulled. And pulled. And pulled once again. Pinkie went flying into the air and headed like an arrow straight for a stalagmite. Bang went Pinkie as she smashed headfirst into the stone pillar.

“Owwww…. Fuck, that hurts! What the hell, Applejack?!” Pinkie growled. She stomped towards Applejack while rubbing her head. “What was that for?” Tilting her head to the side.

“Well, serves you right for jumpin’ in the snow and getting’ me all wet!” Applejack snickered not feeling apologetic in the slightest.

“Isn’t getting you wet your partner’s job?” Pinkie snarked. She shook her head to clear the ringing in her ears.

Applejack just rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s comment. “It would be if I wasn’t so funkin' single!” She griped as she walked around the disgruntled Pinkie. “I mean there’s not a lot of choices back at home, now is there?”

“You do have a point,” Pinkie said, “I say we need to get you laid.”

“Hah! Good luck with that, Pinkie! I got high standards.” Applejack laughed as she walked further into the cave. Careful to not trip, she walked towards the only light source in the cave. “Pinkie, I think that I found away outta here!”

“That’s funerific!” Pinkie said, “Because we clearly can’t go back the other way! Let’s see what’s ahead! Race ya!” Then she was off like a bolt. Applejack tried to call out to her but Pinkie was to far away to hear her. Applejack just sighed, tugged at her hat, and started walking. In what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, she finally caught up to Pinkie. She was just sitting on the ground, staring at multi-color, psychedelic wall. Flashes of blue, green, yellow, white, red, and pink light danced across Pinkie’s face as she sat there, mesmerize.

“Pinkie?” Applejack asked as she slowly approached the hypnotized pink pony. “Are you okay? Pinkie? Hello?” She waved her hoof in front of her friend’s face. It didn’t seem to work. Pinkie just sat there, doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing. Applejack sighed and turned towards the swirling wall.

‘It look like one of those fancy abstract paintin’s that’d cost millions but shouldn’t. It’s jest blobs o’ paint on a canvas! At least this abstract art was movin’! Can’t say the same about them Other art pieces at art museum that Rarity dragged me too. That one experience I’m ain’t plannin’ on repeatin’ ever again.’ She thought as she tilted her head to study it closely. Stepping closer, she reached for the wall. A tingling sensation raced down her leg as she got closer. It got worse as she drew closer. To the point where she felt pens and needles run up and down her leg. A solid surface met her hoof as she finally touch the swirling lights.

“Jumpin’ June bugs!” She said in awe. In amazement, she watched as the six colors converged together and started to float towards her hoof. When they finally touch her hoof, she heard a sound of six pony screaming in agony. Her ears started to bleed from the force of the sound. Their voices continue to go higher and higher, until they reached a fever pitch. With a resounding boom, Applejack felt her body fly through the air until something soft broke her fall.

“Ow, Applejack, get off me,” Pinkie snapped, pushing on Applejacks back, “Get your fucking fat ass off of me!” Applejack scrambled off of Pinkie Pie, apologizing profusely in the process. Pinkie got on to her hooves, grumbling that her back was killing her.

“Good gravy, Pinkie Pie, I said I was sorry!” She said as she straightened her coat. Pinkie glared in response.

“Tell that to my back!” Pinkie complained. “I’m done with this place. I want to go home now, Applejack, let’s go home now!”

“Well, sugar cube, we can’t.” Applejack stated mater of factly.

“And why the hell not?” Pinkie screeched.

“The entrance is blocked.”

“Oh…”

“Exactly.” Applejack said, turning towards the snow-covered entrance. “And if we want to get out of here, we’re gonna hafta to dig our way out.” Pinkie started to grumble. Applejack thought she heard the pink pony mumble you’re next in line to be turned into a cupcake, but she just chalked it up to hearing things. The orange pony sat down and started to plan on how they would proceed.

“Pinkie, do we—” a scream of six ponies interrupted Applejack as a powerful wind blew behind her. She felt her body move against her will towards the caved in entrance. As she turned her head towards Pinkie to grab ahold of her, she saw a dragon-like claw stretching out of the glowing wall and grabbed a hold of the pink pony. With a yank, it pulled Pinkie inside of the wall. The second that Pinkie disappeared the claw came back and wrapped its scaly claws around Applejack’s neck. The last thing she remembered was her body hurtling towards the wailing wall before she was blinded by a white light.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

“No, no, Midnight, what have you done?” I said in disbelief. Midnight, my Midnight, was an Ethereal! How could this be? And not only was she hurt, having three broken legs and burns along her body, but she just lost her statice of being Harmony’s creation. Her magic would never be the same ever again. The gentle ocean that was once her magic was now a raging storm that will stay with her until her last breath of her sixth life. And from this day forth she will be hunted. Void always takes away what I deemed special. Why must they do that? How could they do this? Why does it have to be her? Why could it not be so---

“What do you mean?” Her sweet voice cut through my destructive thoughts. “Did I do something wrong?” Her amethyst eyes grew bright with tears. My heart ached seeing her eyes fill unshed tears. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled her close to my chest, murmuring sweet nothings to her shaking form.

“No, no, love, you did nothing wrong,” I whispered in her ear, pulling her closer to my chest. “ I am just very concerned for you with this new development. My job just became all the more difficult.”

“Your job?” She laughed, emotion thickened her words.

Chuckling, I answered, “Yes, my very important job. A job that I take very, very seriously.”

Her bright purple eyes regarded me as she leaned back to catch my own. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes filled with questions. I smiled. She was so adorable. So innocent. And once I find Void, I am going to free her from the responsibilities of being the priest of Void. She would never have blood on her hooves, not if I have anything to say about it.

“What job that you take very seriously?” She asked, a smirk forming on her perfect lips. I leaned over, my lips slightly brushing her ear and whispered, “Your safety, cariad aur.” I smirked as I felt her shiver. I fought the temptation to bite her ear. What would her reaction be? Would it be delicious as I am imagining it? Oh, sweet Harmony, I really need to stop thinking these thoughts now. Bad, Sombra, bad. This was not the time and place.

“Pffff,” she laughed, “You’re funny.” Wait! Did she hear my thoughts? Oh, no!

“Funny how?” Please, please, please you did not hear my thoughts!

“You, being serious.” Oh, thank Void. “I find that really funny.”

“Well thanks, I feel very appreciated,” I grumbled as I tried to chase away inappropriate thoughts. Fun fact, it was really hard. No, not that! Get your mind out of the gutter.

“Sombra?” Midnight asked, waving her hoof in front of my face. “Are you ok? You have a blank look on your face.”

“I am fine.” I said, “Just lost in thought.”

“What were you thinking?” she tilted her head in question.

“You do not want to know.” I said as I thinned my lips. Those thoughts are going to the grave with me. Never to see the light. Oh great, Pierre was now giving ME a knowing look. That Kinku! I just shot him a glare. Maybe he would stink his nose some where else besides me and my inappropriate thoughts. And now he is laughing. Great.

“Yes, I do!” Midnight said.

“No, no, you do not.” I countered.

“Yes, yes, I do.” Midnight countered.

“No, you do not.”

“Yes, I do!”

“No, you do NOT!”

“Ah, young lo—” Pierre sighed dreamily with his paws on his chest, smiling cheekily.

“SHUT UP, PIERRE!” I interrupted him before he could finish that sentence. I got a mouth full of Midnight’s tail for my efforts.

“Let him finish his sentence!” She yelled. Oh, sweet Harmony, she was adorable when she becomes angry. Like a little kitten. A kitten that now has the ability to rival Discord and his power. Oh, boy.

“No, I do not think I will.” I said simply. She bared her little teeth in frustration at my answer. She opened her mouth to tear into me, no doubt, but was interrupt with Pierre throwing up his paws and yelling, “Celebrations! The barrier is down! I am not going to suffocate!”

“You were never going to.” I said to Pierre as I got up. Midnight tried to cover a pout, but I saw it. “Where did you get the idea that you would suffocate?”

“In the records there is a story of an Ethereal taking the air out the barrier and suffocated the inhabitants inside.” Pierre said matter of factly. His eyes was changing from a bright silver to a rich honey brown.

“Ethereals can do that if they so wish,” I corrected him, “but that would be counter intuitive of one to suffocate themselves in a barrier of their own making. Besides that, Ethereal had perfect reasoning for do that. If he had not done what he did, we would be still in war.”

“War? War with who?” Midnight asked.

“I will tell you when you are older.” I said as I wrapped my wing around her. “OH! We are in a cave. Huh? Who knew?” Pierre just glared at me. What? What did I do?

“Quite.”

“Oh, stop being a drama queen, Pierre,” I said as I started walking, looking for the exit. “It is very unbecoming.” I heard a little growl behind me. I felt a sudden weight on top of my head.

“I am not a drama queen,” I heard him say in between my ears. Apparently, that is where his seat was. On. My. Head. Like little hat.

Now to find a way out of here. It seems like we were in an unground cavern in the Andonis region? If that was true, then it saves me four weeks on my journey. Ha! Beat that Void! I just moved up the timetable! I am going get my mother and be back home before the next summer solstice! I am going to win! I will have Midnight and Mother; what more could I ask for? Nothing, clearly. Oh, wait! I stopped dead in my tracks. Midnight bumped into my leg.

“Ow, Sombra, why is your leg so hard?” Do not laugh, do not laugh, Do not laugh! “I mean, sheesh, it’s really hard!” AAAHHHH! WHY MUST YOU TEST ME?! THIS WAS NOT RIGHT! NOOOOOO!!!

“Midnight, please have mercy on a poor soul!” I pleaded, my sides were hurting from keeping my laughter in. This must not be heathy to holding all this laughter in. It was just not fair!

“Are you ok?” Midnight asked, her eyes filled with concern. No, no I do not think so. I have a very dirty mind right now and normally I would have somepony to slate this hunger. But, alas I do not have that luxury right now. Me and my poor---

“I think he is having a mid-life crisis,” Pierre graciously interrupted my thoughts. Yeah, sure that was it. I am sooooo having a mid-life crisis here. Sure, yeah, sure. I am having crisis here and sure not that!

“Sorry, sorry.” I snorted, “It is not that, Pierre. I had funny thought and I was holding in the laughter. And little miss Star did not help. Thanks.”

“Your welcome!” she chirped, “So, do I have the pleasure knowing the thought?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Midnight, stand in front of me.” I said, changing the subject. “I need to do something before we go. Now get your little rump over here.” I tapped my hoof. Midnight shuffled in front of me. She tilted her head up and sat promptly down.

“There ya happy?” She snarked. Oh, Harmony, give me strength. I shook my head at her antics. Her becoming one of the Ethereals did make her mature overnight. I smiled and without warning set my magic out. She squeaked when my magic enveloped her. I did not want the world see her Ethereal mark, so I did the only thing I knew how. I changed it.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I squeaked when Sombra’s magic wrapped around me. What the hack does he want? He placed me right in front of him. Sombra smiled and then suddenly I felt a tingling sensation on my flanks.

“There, now no one will know who you are.” Sombra said, “Safe and sound. As a hidden Ethereal can be. It would have been easier for me if you had your own cutie make to begin with, like I did when I became one. I just had to use a little imagination, though I will admit I am a bit rusty on that end.” I just blinked at him.

“Ok…?” I dawdled, waving my hoof in a circle for him to continue. “I don’t get it. You got give me more information than that. I am still at loss here.” I raised my eyebrows and waited for him to give me more information. His lips thinned as a look of concentration flashed across his face. I have a feeling that the wheels in his head were turning. “Do I see smoke comin’ out of ya ears?” I asked in a deep bumpkin accent. “I do declare! I do see smoke comin’ out of ya ears. Darling, I do believe ya need to calm down on da thinkin’. Won’t ya agree?” Red feathers came out of no were and whack me upside the head and knocked me down. Sombra just walked past me, his tail whacking me in the face. His laughter echoing in the wind as I scrambled to stand. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that my cutie mark changed.

“What the heck! SOMBRA EMILIO VON HOMONICS WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” I screaked as I looked at my new cutie mark. It was an opened book with a six-pointed star flouting above it. It was pretty but… WHAT THE HECK!

“Emilio von what now?” Sombra asked, stopping in his tracks. “What are you going on about?”

“I don’t know your full name!” I shouted as I felt the blood rush towards my face. It felt as if fire was burning under my skin. I was so embarrassed. Sombra raised an eyebrow. It looked kinda weird as he was really bald. I miss his mane. It so long and lushes and silky and…

“And you never will.” Say what now? He started to walk away. “Now move those tiny little legs of yours before I put you on my back. I know how much you like your independence. Harmony know how much I heard about on the walk to Canterlot. Those dang cacti… I never had so much hate for a dang plant before.” He shuddered and in a high-pitched voice he started to chant, “Cactus, bird, cactus, sigh… and repeat. Cactus, sand, cactus, sigh… and repeat! Cactus, cat, cactus, si…”

“I get it!” I interrupted him before he could go on. And he would. Trust me. He could go on for hours. Shudder. “I was very annoying. But I have two things to say!”

“Just two things?” He smirked.

“Yes, just two,” I glared at him. Gah!! Why does he have to be so infuriatingly hansom? “One: I do not say sigh! That would be ridiculous! And second! I do not, nor have I ever said, ‘and repeat!” He started laughing and that dang Kinku joined in. Are they both ganging up on me? Why was their laughter so addicting? And why were my sides hurting?

“What is so funny? I would love to know so I may join you?” Luna’s lilting voice cut though our rambunctious laughter.

“AH, Luna, lovely little Luna, how are you this fine evening?” Sombra asked, waving his wings with a flourish. “It is evening, correct? I cannot tell, with what being in cave in and all.” He grinned. Luna giggled. The corner of my eyes turned green. A nasty feeling came over me. Was I…? No… Can’t be! Me… jealous? No! I am not jealous, no, not me. I am not jealous. I will not bite her head off. I will not…

“Midnight?” Luna asked, interrupting my stupid thoughts. “Are you feeling well? You are looking a little green. Are you sick?” She walked up to me and placed her hoof on my forehead. “You are not burning up. How is your stomach feeling? Does it hurt?” I shook my head. I don’t know how I feel about this. I looked to Sombra, who mind you was trying not to laugh. The jerk.

“Shut up, baldie.” I said, trying to glare a hole in the middle of his shiny head. His jaw hit the floor with a thud. Blinking multiple of times, he shook his head and gave me a funny look.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice filling with horror. “Why did you call me baldie? What did you do to it?” He growled the last words. His horn lit up with magic and a mirror formed beside him. With a snort, he turned towards it and froze. I don’t mean he stopped moving in shock. No, I mean he look like he was not even breathing. Pierre, who was leaning over Sombra’s head, didn’t twitch his ear. And Luna was frozen in mid-step. It was as if time itself has stopped. I looked around to find even the drops of water had stopped in mid-air. I saw Celestia in the distance coming towards us, but she was petrified also. I started to freak out. What was going on? What was happening?

Ah, finally. We are alone. A lilting feminine voice sang in my mind as my ears started to ring. It is quite hilarious to see the Second Being’s son torn up over something as trivial as a mane. He certainly as much pride in his mane. But enough about that oaf, I am here for you, my most curious Ethereal. Out of the shadows came a gray cat. Walking on its hind legs, it shimmered through Sombra. It flicked its black paw in disgust as it continued to walk gracefully towards me. I suddenly came to the realization that this was the cat that came out of the barrier! I took a step back. Something was not right about this cat. As the cat got closer, I started to notice some details that I had initially didn’t notice. For one, what I thought was tar on their paws was actually shiny black fur and on the tips of its ear was also black. A black spade covered its right eye. White eyebrows raised over smiling violet eyes.

Checking me out, little mortal?[Laughed the cat while striking a pose. I know that I am glorious to look at. Do you not agree?

“Uh… maybe?” I shrugged, “Though I more curious about you and why the heck everyone is frozen and not me? It all started when you showed up. So, you have some explaining to do, Cat!”

Oooh, I think I like you! The cat smiled; clapping their paws and jumping up and down. You, my Ethereal, are most interesting. I look forward to our future conversations. But alas I must bid thee adieu. For I have overstayed my welcome, but you are so intriguing I had to talk to you again. The first time you saw me you were not afraid of me. And now you are a little afraid of me but still commanded me to explain what had happened. I explained what happen, because I like you, I just did not to be bothered. They just shrugged and promptly turned around on their toes. I stood there in shock as I watched the gray cat walk through Sombra’s side. The cat abruptly stopped with their tail sticking out of Sombra’s side. In a blink of my eye, the cat’s face suddenly was there instead of their tail.

Oh! I almost forgot. They said with a voice as loud as thunder and as deep as the Great Neptune Lake. You will not speak, talk, or voice what has happened to the Somber One. Nor will you tell your little alicorn servants what has happened. This is only between you and me. No one, no body, no creature will ever know what we talk about. Understand?

Blood dripped from my nose as I nodded. I don’t know what this creature was, all I know was that they were powerful and I don’t want to upset them. The cat flashed a toothy grin and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Once the smoke dissipated everypony started to move. Sombra’s cry of utter dismay echoed across the cave’s walls. Luna jumped in surprise. I walked over to Sombra while wiping the blood off my face. Blood streaked across my blue fur. I hope that he doesn’t notice.

“My mane! My beautiful mane!” Sombra wailed as he touched his shiny dome, “What did they do you? This is an utter tragedy! My good looks. Gone! My legacy. Destroyed! I am ruined!” He crashes into the floor, crying, “Wwwhhhyyy?”

“It’s going to be alright, Sombra.” I said as I put a hoof around his shoulders. “It will grow back.” He just gave me a withering look. I just shrugged. Well I tried, can’t blame me.

“My mane and looks were my one claim to fame.” He whined. “What do I do now?”

“What do you mean your looks is your only claim to fame?” I asked, “There are plenty of things that make you famous. I didn’t really know you for your looks. I knew you for your powers and leadership skills, not your mane. I hero worshipped you for the feats you did in the past. Now get over yourself and let’s leave this Discord forsaking place cave. Eh?”

“Mmmmph… whatever…” He mumbled and got up.

A sound like glass shattering had me jumping on Sombra and clinging onto his shoulder. The jerk had the audacity to laugh. A FULL BLOWN BELLY LAUGH! How dare he?! I glared a hole in the side of his head, hoping that he would combust. But… alas, he didn’t. Dang.

Red magic engulfed me and gently pried me from his shoulder. In the blink of my eye, I found myself face to face with the smiling foxy face of Pierre. I was back on Sombra’s back. Ehh… I didn’t want to walk anyways. I snuggled down on his bony back and blinked at Pierre. He just pursed lips in thought. I mouthed “what” to him, but all he did was just shrugged. What kind of answer was that?

“Midnight?” A voice in the distance called. But I ignored it because I was trying to figure out the foxie hat. I mean that dang Kinku gave me a weird look. Now I’m going figure…

“Midnight?!” It’s that voice again. Shut up! I am on a very important mission here! I am going to….

“Midnight!!!” The deep baritone blasted in my ears, causing my poor ears to ring again. So I did the only thing I knew, I yelled back. “WHAT?!”

“Well, you did not have to yell!” Sombra yelled back. I glared daggers at those ruby eyes. A growl formed inside of my chest.

“You yelled first, you moronic idiot!” I yelled through the growl that burst through my chest. The moronic idiot just raised his eyebrow. Grrr….

“I did not yell.” He stated in an annoyingly calm voice. “I was simply trying to get your attention. Your constant chatter in my head about Pierre was giving me a headache.”

“He gave me a weird a look!”

“And?”

“I-I had to investigate!”

“AND?”

“And… and… SHUT UP!” I crossed my hooves over my chest. “Are we going to leave the dang cave or not?” I quickly changed the subject.

“I know what you trying to do.” Sombra sang in a sugary sweet voice, swaying his head side to side. “Your trying to change the subject! Buuuuutttt I will allow it. This time.” I just rolled my eyes and groaned. I heard Pierre snicker above me. Sombra started talking with Luna, but I drowned them out. I was getting tired. It had been a long day. My eyes started to drupe as the feeling of Sombra’s gait and soothing voice lulled me into a trance. I will just close my eyes for a bit. I thought as I rested my head on his back. Darkness consumed me and my dreams were filled with a smiling cat.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I smiled as I heard the soft snores of my beloved. By Harmony do I love her. She was so dang cute. Pierre was snickering and Luna was smiling at the cuteness on my back. Luna followed me, chatting as I searched for the exit. I walked for what felt like several minutes without finding one. It seemed that I was going in circles. I swear I have passed that stalagmite about three times already. So I stopped dead in my tracks. Luna bumped into my leg, causing her to go silent. I turned towards her. She took a step back. It must be the look in my eye because I smelt a small amount fear wafting off her. I shrugged it off.

“Luna, do you pray tell know were exit is?” I asked, weaving sugar into my words. Luna started to blush. It was cute in all, but she was not my Star. I raised my eyebrow at this display. Unfortunately all it did was made her blush more.

“Luna, the way out please?” I asked adding some steal to my voice. She finally snapped out of it.

“T-this w-way, my Lord,” she stammered as her horn lit up in a blue light. I know that Midnight would be angry with me but I am in hurry and cannot stop for a moment. Besides she is asleep. What Midnight does not know would not hurt her. I followed the young alicorn and watched as the walls of the cave ripple and change. So we were in an illusion then. Was she trying to stall for time? If so why?

“Luna! Where are you going?”

Ahhh! That answers my question. Celestia came stomping up to us, snorting smoke out of her nose. Her lilac eyes flashed with fury when they landed on me. “What are you doing?” She seethed. Luna hung her head in shame at her sister’s outburst. I growled at the white alicorn causing her to step back.

“There is no need to be mad at her!” I said, quiet fury boiling inside of me. “She was only doing what I have asked.”

“I was talking to you!” She said through clenched teeth. “What… Are… You… Doing?” She readied her stance for a fight. One which I did not want to be a part of. I rolled my eyes and stepped around her. I really do not have time for this. I saw the opening of the cave, smiled, and headed straight for it. Oh, sweet sunshine, how I have missed you.

“Where are you going?!” I heard a screech behind me, “Luna! Luna, get back here! Sombra, I am not finished talking with you!”

“Oh, but I am.” I threw over my shoulder, “I do not have time for your theatrics, Celestia. So I must be going. See you on my journey back!” I kept on moving. White glitter plashed in my face, subsequently got it in my mouth. Why does this keep happening to me?

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Celestia asked as I was hacking glitter out of my mouth. “Well?”

“Cannot say,” I croaked.

“Cannot or would not say?” She asked, getting into my face. She has to be joking! I am literally choking here!

“Cannot.”

“Why can you not say?”

“Forbidden.”

“Forbidden? Ha! Forbidden by whom?”

“Void.” I choked out with last piece of glitter. Bleh. I looked back to make sure that Midnight was still asleep. Thankfully she was. I turned back and found a gob smacked Celestia standing in my way. Ugh…

“Please move out of my way.” See I can be nice when I am annoyed.

“V-Void?” Celestia stammered, “d-did y-you say Void?” Her eyes filled with terror at the mention of my grandparent’s name.

“Yes, Void. Master of souls, Watcher of Time, Owner of Fate, The First Being and The All-Around Pain in my butt,” I said with a roll of my eyes, “that is the one I am talking about. They forbade me from talking about my mission that I have been doing for the past fifty years. A mission, mind you, that they put me on. It did not give me any real time off. Now move so I can complete it and enjoy what little time I have before I have to start it all over again.”

Celestia just blinked. After a few minutes she shuffled to the side. I smiled as I passed her shaking form. But her next words stopped me in my tracks.

“Leave Midnight with me until you come back.”

A deathly silent descended upon me. An uncontrollable fury flooded my veins like white hot magma. I gnashed my teeth as lifted my head to check my precious Midnight, as her slight form shifted for a better position on my back. I nuzzled her sleepy face, smiling slightly at her grumble. My eyes flash as looked back at Celestia.

“Why do you insist on keeping Midnight?” I asked with a false calm, trying to keep my anger under control. “What is she to you?”

“I see a broken, shattered soul that has seen too much.” Celestia whispered to the ground. “A beautiful creature that I want to protect and put back together. Someone that has put a smile on my little sister’s face. One I have not seen in decades. And it baffles me that you would bring this frail creature into danger and claim that you are protecting her! I know that I have not been kind to you nor have I instilled confidence in my actions. But on my word I will do everything in my power to make sure that nothing comes to harm your Midnight.” Her eyes shown with conviction and steadfastness at her proclamation. She believed every word that came out of her mouth. But that was not enough.

“I cannot in good conscience leave her alone with you.”

“Why not?” She tilted her head in confusion. Her hoof tapped while waiting for my answer. That is going to get old real quick.

“When she first came to me, she was so afraid of me for looking like an alicorn that she ran. Ran from me and Harmony. When we finally caught her, she began to plead, in the arms of my MOTHER, to let her keep her horn. Months after that incident she was attacked by your kind. The blood loss would have killed her if I didn’t find her in time, AND THOSE ARE JUST THE FEW THINGS I KNOW ABOUT! Her previous ‘alicorn master’, whom I had the greatest pleasure of devouring, did unimaginable horrors that I may never know about! I’ve barely received her fragile trust and you think for one second that I’m going to jeopardize it just for you to have your fragile ego stroked?! Well, think again! I don’t trust you and I sure as hell don’t think she trusts you either! SO… BACK… OFF!” I yelled, my voice filling with thunder. My emotions were welling up inside of me at the memories and trying my best to take a deep breath to calm down. My teeth bared in agitation at the owlish look in her eyes.

I turned and stomped out the cave. The cool forest air did nothing to quell my anger. Red flames licked my wings as my anger grew. It singed the grass as I stormed across the forest floor. I cast my eyes over my shoulder and watched my flames gently caress my sleeping Star. At least my emotions have not harmed her in any way.

“You love her.” That whisper stopped me dead in my tracks. “You love her but are unable to tell her.” I turned to find Celestia was the one talking. Yeesh, when the sisters whisper, they sound like each other. “The only way that you know how to tell her you love is to protect her. You cannot say the words, so instead you try to show it. But how can you feel this strong emotion when you are an alicorn?” She looked absolutely confused at this concept. So I put out of her misery.

“It is easy, Celestia,” I said, “for I am not an alicorn. I am a created god, a demigod if you will. I have a soul of my own while you have a fragment of my mother’s. I feel the hole spectrum of emotions that the morals feel because I made them. I made emotions. You only feel a fraction of them because you are part of my creation. But who am I not to know these things? I am just a lazy being who do not know the suffering of his ponies. Who cannot feel their pain; who cannot find the root of the problem to stop it, because his grandparent decided to, for their amusement, was to send their only grandchild on an endless, futile mission that he has no time for anything else! It could’t be any of those reasons.” I huffed and started walking away. I rolled my eyes at the sound of hooves. She couldn’t be quiet, can she?

“So where are we going?” Luna asked, startling me. “I am very good at tracking . Especially when it is night! I can help you with whatever you need!”

Now I know why Celestia was overprotective of the little alicorn. She was so innocent. I smiled at what she said.

“Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline.” I said. Her face fell and that felt like a kick in the gut. “B-but it is not of my choice!”

“ ‘Tis not?”

“ ‘Tis not, fair maiden. It is the law of my grandparent that I must abide. But I do have a trade to offer you instead.” Hope filled her eyes at my words. She started dance. I chuckled at this along with Celestia.

“What is it?” Luna asked, jumping on the tips of her hooves. “What is your trade?”

“My trade is this,” I said, unwilling to keep the smile off my face, “if you can help Midnight get over her fear of alicorns, then I will teach you some spells. Spells that no other creature knows about. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes!” She squealed. “A thousand times yes! But I do have a question?”

“What is your question?”

“Is Midnight really afraid of my kind?”

“Absolutely terrified.”

“T-then how i-is it t-that Midnight gets along with me?” She stammered, looking at the ground. “If she is terrified of alicorns?”

“Because you are different. You are kind and gentle. You are a pure soul and I believe that Midnight sees it too. But I cannot definitely say that, just what I have observed. That is why I believe that you will help her conquer her fears.”

Luna’s smile lit up the world in a blinding light. “I will do my best!” She nodded and bowed. “Thank you, my Lord, for this opportunity. I will do my utmost best. I will not let you down.”

“I do not believe that you will.” I smiled. Luna skipped ahead of me in bounding leaps of joy. It was so good to see some good that came out of the mess of the last few days.

“Oh!” Luna stopped in her tracks. “Am I to call you master now?”

“What?!” Screeched Celestia. I nearly choked on the air that I was breathing. Master? Uhhhh…..

“I -ehem- prefer that you not.” I said after I found my air.

“Why?” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you not my teacher and I your apprentice?”

“Well err… umm… uhhh…” I stammered as Celestia’s eyes burned holes into my head. “Yes? But please refrain from calling me master. Your sister would not like that.”

“Okey.” She shrugged and promptly returned back to skipping. I sighed a sigh of relief. I really dodged a projectile there.

I walked with Celestia in a peaceful silence for a few hours. But I did notice that she wanted to ask me something. It was driving me slightly crazy. What with her constantly glancing at me, biting her lip, and shaking her head. It was bothersome. I could not enjoy the great trees of the Everfree Forest that I normally would have. So I did the first thing that came to my mind.

“What is it?” I asked causing her to jump. “Your indecisiveness is driving me crazy.”

“I have a question,” she whispered.

“Clearly.” She shot me a glare. I indicated for her to continue. She nodded and took a breath. Her next words turned my blood into ice.

“How are you going to protect Midnight when she is an Ethereal?”

Void

View Online

(Present)

Rainbow Dash stood in the white room in utter disbelief. Where ever she looked, there were colorful crystals holding different types of creatures. Slowly, every so slowly, she broke out of her trance and started to walk around the room. Kinkus, earth ponies, Pegasi, unicorns, and more were frozen in time. All beautifully arranged in tiers. No blemishes were found on these sleeping creatures. But that was to be expected. They were in an Alicorn memorial. A beautiful room to honor the dead. If their families were alive, they would have been touched.

“You honor us greatly, my Lord,” she said with a bow. It was tradition to say such words and bow before one with such an esteemed position. To not do so would go against everything she’d been taught. Dash blinked, pausing. It was extremely strange bowing before him, but at the same time it wasn’t. She used to only ever bow before Celestia, and even that was rare. Part of her fought against it, screaming that he was the enemy she should fight with everything she had! But as the same time, she also felt oddly at peace, as if this was the right thing to do. She wasn’t really sure how to feel at this point. She shook her head to clear it. Everything was so confusing!

With a nod Sombra continued the rest, “… by your sacrifice I am honored to give you this.”

She smiled. It felt weird having someone else’s memories inside her head, but they were her’s at one point. Why was it so hard sorting out these memories? Dazzling Bow’s reverence and worship of Sombra clashed with her memories of fighting him. She was in a constant battle of her mind as she explored the crystalline memorial. Part of her didn’t believe that it didn’t happen. That it was not her previous life. What really shocked her the most was that she had kids! Kids!? Her? She wasn’t the motherly type! Never had been and never will be. But apparently she, in previous life, had kids. Not one, not two, but three little ones. How could sh….

Her thoughts stopped dead in their tracks at the site before her. A green pegusis incased in crystal stood in front of her. The pegusis was reaching for the sky with a triumphant look on their face. Their wings were spread out as if they were taking flight. The feathers were the colors of the rainbow like her hair. But what struck Dash as weird was that the pegusis was the only one that didn’t look like they were asleep. The pegusis’s rose colored eyes shone with hope that Dash didn’t feel at the moment.

“Who is this?” She asked Sombra. He tilted his head and smiled.

“Well, that is you, Miss Dash.” He answered. She gave him a questioning look.

She gave him a befuddled look, “What are you talking about?”

“She is you, Miss Dash, well a pass version of you. She was know as Dazzling Bow.”

“That was Dazzling Bow?” Shock flooded her system like a wave as she gazed upon her former self.

“Yes, one of the bravest beings I know.” He said with a sad smile. “She took on a mission knowing full well that was she never coming back with very little hope of success. But armed with headstrong determination, she went head first into danger. With her last breath she did the impossible. Dazzling gave the message to Da’lak’ar. Though Time did not allow him to help. But you did it and I am so proud.”

Tears streamed from Dash’s eyes as she looked at Sombra. She had no words to say to him. She wiped her tears with a watery smile. To Sombra’s surprise and hers, Dash tackled hugged him. With oof Sombra took a few steps back, but didn’t fall down. Dash was surprised to find that he was all muscle. Not a soft spot to be found.

“Uhhh… Miss Dash?” Sombra asked, “Are you ok? You are holding me a little to long.” He thinned his lips. Dash’s eyes widened at this and she quickly jumped off, apologizing profusely.

“Miss Rainbow Dash, it is alright.” He assured her, patting her head awkwardly. “There… There… no need to cry. I assure you there were certainly worse ways to respond to the information I revealed to you, and all of them would have been valid. Though I wish I could give you more time, Miss Dash, to come to grips with everything, but time is of the essence. What matters now is what you will do with this information. Will you take this new found knowledge and throw it away, staying with what you used to know. Or, Miss Dash, will you use this knowledge to further help yourself and your friends. Will you help Twilight when she wakes up in a few days to come to come to grips with her new memories?”

“Absolutely! I want to help anyway I can!” Dash said. She promised to herself that she will do whatever is necessary to help Twilight. Sombra smiled. A warm fuzzy feeling blossomed in her chest, she smiled back.

“Hey!” Boomed a voice, interrupting the tender moment. Sombra rolled his eyes. “I found two hooligans outside the barrier!”

“Thank you, Uncle,” Sombra shook his head, “Who is it?”

“Applejack and Pinkie Pie.” Discord said with a smile.

“Who?”

Ω

Pinkie screamed as she felt herself being pulled through a screaming tunnel. Claws pinched her hide as she slid through the swirling colors. With pop she was through. A second later Applejack appeared. Pinkie Pie looked up to see what was holding her. She screamed at the sight. A lion with green scales running up and down its face. The wind blew its purple fluffy mane in a chaotic way. Red irises on a yellow background stared at her as the creature regarded her. Pinkie felt a shiver of fear race down her spine.

The beast pursed its lips and shook its head. With a flick of its wrist, Pinkie went flying in the air along side Applejack. Both screamed as they flew in the air. The beast stretched its mismatch wings; a eagle’s wing and a dragon’s wing. It jumped, streaking towards the flying ponies. Its green scaly arms stretched out wide.

“Oof!” Pinkie’s breath woo-shed out her, as she landed on the flying steel bar. The beast pulled her into its fluffy chest as she struggled to breath. After awhile she gained her breath, her eyes adjusted to the blurry scenery. Green and a occasional multi-color blurs passed before her eyes. It was a rainbow of colors that Pinkie couldn’t keep up with. A headache started to form in the back of her eyes. She shut her eyes quickly to the pain. Her head started to spin.

Thud.

The flying stopped, but Pinkie’s head did not. “Round and round the mulberry bush the monkey chased the weasel… Wee!” Pinkie thought, her sight spinning from the sudden movement. Everything was so… blurry. She could almost feel her head spinning in circles in time to the pounding in her head. “…You spin right round, baby, right round, like a record…”
“Pinkie!” Pinkie heard somepony screech in the distance, the music doesn’t stop. Lala she wasn’t listening.
She heard a voice calling her, but the songs in her head persisted. “…Ring-a-round a rose-y! A pocket full… of… posies… As—"
“Pinkie, for apple sake! Stop singing!” Applejack interrupted Pinkie’s beautiful singing. How rude.

“Uhh…” Pinkie blinked, “We stopped flying.”

“Yes, about five minutes ago,” Applejack snapped struggling to get out of the steal bounds she was in, “you started singing when we entered the cave.”

“Uggg… another one? How many caves do we have to go into?” Pinkie’s voice echoed as she whined, “You see one cave, you see… Oh sweet Celestia! It’s pretty! Look at the colors ! Rarity would love this!” Pinkie wiggled a bit, reached into her mane and pulled out a camera and started taking pictures, “Say cheese, Applejack!”

Snap!

“Ugg… my eyes!” The Beast bemoaned. Hey! That sounded like Discord! “Pinkie Pie, please turn off the flash! It hurts my eyes. I’m blind!” There was a pause and sniffle. “Rip. Rest in peace, retinas. I’ll miss you.”

“Wait a damn minute.” Pinkie said, her eyes narrowed. “ You sound like…”

“Discord, you’re back!” A gentle voice interrupted Pinkie. A familiar yellow pegusis came swooping down from the balcony with the mane six’s cutiemarks on it.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack and Pinkie Pie cried in unison.

“Applejack, Pinkie, it’s so good to see you two!” Fluttershy smiled as she walked towards them. Discord dropped Applejack and Pinkie without ceremony and walked up to Fluttershy. He picked her up and started to snuggle her. Fluttershy smiled shyly. Applejack just shook her head as she got up from the floor. She was used to this sort of thing. Pinkie, on the other hoof, shot off like a rocket before she hit the ground, snapping pictures this way and that. To amazement of everypony, but not surprise, she was defying gravity while taking those pictures. But that was Pinkie for you. Chaos in pony form.

“So, Discord,” Applejack said with a tilt of her head, “what’s up with the lion-dragon look?”

“Trying something new/old. I used look like this but with three heads.” He drones with a flick of his wrist. “And I was adored. I was a god among mortals. I miss it. I miss my godhood, but I have been on the moral realm for to long. What? Why are you giving me that look?”

“What in tarnation are you talkin’ about, Discord?” Applejack asked. Discord just narrowed his eyes at her befuddled look. With a huff, he gently placed Fluttershy down and stomped up the stairs. His mismatch wings ruffled with annoyance. Which was a feat in of itself, with what one of his wings being a leathery dragon wing. But Discord did it.

“I’m going to see somepony who remembers the past.” Discord huffed, “At least he would appreciate my new/old look. A-duo.” Then he disappeared behind the blue crystal doors.

“What? I’m confused?” Applejack asked, “ Fluttershy, what in tarnation is he goin’ off bout? A godhood?”

“It’s a long story,” Fluttershy sighed, “I will tell you over a cup of tea.”

“You better. Can you make it apple cider?”

“Yes. Follow me please?” Fluttershy asked with a wave of her wing. “Pinkie, are you coming?”

“Ab-so-flutter-tivly!” Pinkie chirped from the ceiling. With a bounce, she back-flipped off the ceiling and landed with a skip. She caught up with the yellow pegusis and orange earth pony in two skips. Applejack just shook her head. Fluttershy smiled.

“Alright, sugar-cube, you better start talkin’.”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I stomped away from the white alicorn before I did something drastic. By Void, I want to devour her before she has the chance of doing something to Midnight. How does she know? Where did she get that information from? What about Luna? If I destroy Celdestria, then what would happen to Luna? Does she…

“Are you going to answer me?” Celdestria snapped after I stormed off after her question. Maybe if lose her she would forget about it? “No, bad Sombra, stop sweeping your troubles under the rug.” I thought with a grumble. “No matter how much you want to.”

“Are you even listening to me?!” The squawking voice battered my ears with her question.

“I cannot hear you over the smoke coming out of my ears,” I snarked back. Oh sweet Harmony, can she just leave me alone?

“I do not see any smoke anywhere, nor coming from your ears.” She said. She almost sounds proud of herself. I rolled my eyes. I think that I have rolled my eyes more around this alicorn I ever have in my entire life. “I believe that you are lying, First Born.”

“Have you ever heard of sarcasm?” I asked “Hyperbole? If not, you would not survive a minute with Midnight.”

“I have.” She said pretty haughtily. “And I can do it again. Midnight is an Ethereal. How are you going to protect her?”

“I am the First Born.” I growled through clenched teeth. “I am more than enough to protect an Ethereal. I am one! I am the first! The first Ethereal! I defeated Taurus before Farthingharth defeated Aquarius. Now shut up we’re camping here.”

“What?” Celestia squeaked.

“We are camping?” Luna bounced, “Sister, I have never been camping before.” She looked expecting at Celestia. Celestia’s eyes softened at the blue alicorn. She sighed and nodded. Luna squealed in delight. I smiled as I erected my barrier.

Celestia’s eyes widened as she looked upon my barrier. “You are an Ethereal.” She breathed. My lips thinned as I gently picked up the sleeping Midnight from my back. I slowly laid down and draped my wing over her. I closed my eyes in bliss. I could live like this forever with Midnight cuddling close to me.

“Are we going to find some food?” Celestia’s squawky voice interrupted my blissful moment.

“Go find it yourself,” I grumbled as pulled Midnight closer to my side. Ah sleep. Blissful sleep with cuddles. The best.

“What about Midnight?” Grrr….

“What about her?”

“What is she going to eat?” She whined.

“I will feed her when she wakes up, but for now I’m going to sleep.” I grumbled.

“But…”

“Sleep.”

“Sombra!”

“Sleep beautiful sleep. Under… the… stars… Good… night.” I grounded out. I heard a huff and stomping of angry hooves. I heard her grumbled.

“What was that?” I sat up. “What did you say?”

“Do you even care about your Kinku?” She snapped, “What about him?”

“Pierre,” I called. I heard leaves rustling above my head. When did he…

“Yes, my Lord,” Pierre chirped, “you called?”

“Yes, I did. I got a question,” I said, “actually two, I have two questions.”

“42.”

“What?”

“The answer to everything is 42.” He said sagely.

“Oooohhkeeyy?” I said, “Anyway… do you need any food? And how in Discord loving world did you get up there? I thought that Kinkus hated being in trees.”The trees giggled a foxy giggle in response. Pierre pop out of tree, hanging by his middle tail. The dang winged fox gave me a toothy smile with his arms cross. He was looking very smug hanging from the tree.

“It is the tallest point I see. So I must climb.” He did backflip and landed on the branch. Giggle burst out of the tiny Kinku as he gazed upon my bewildered look. “To answer your questions; yes, I have retained sustenance. This tree is the highest point in my sight, so I must climb! I do not like being in trees per say but it the highest point, so…”

“You must climb. Got it.” I interrupted, “Well good night.”

“Good night, my Lord,” I heard over the leaves rustle. I curled around my mate. My purr resonated deep within my chest. I am content. I am at peace. I am so tired. And I wish Celestia to stop glaring at me. Ugh… this was going a long night. Yeah right…

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I woke up to the sound leaves rustling. It was late into the night as I looked around trying find what made that noise. All I found was a snoring Sombra, a restless Celestia, a sleeping Pierre, and a sprawled out Luna. I guess every-pony was tired. Huh… So they definitely didn’t make the noise. Could be just the wind. As I thought this I did notice that there wasn’t any wind. Also I saw there was a red, black and silver shimmering dome around every-pony. It looked like my barrier that I had erected before, but it had red and was transparent.

“Well, ain’t that interesting,” I said with a frown. I gently pried Sombra’s leg and wing off of me as I got up to investigate. Slowly, ever so slowly, I crept towards swirling magic. I gently placed my hoof on the transparent wall and I felt it sing. The magic wrapped itself around my hoof. It felt as if it was worshiping my appendage. I know that it sounds strange but it genuinely felt like that. It was the most beautiful and amazing feeling in the world. It felt like a lover’s caress. I smiled as rubbed my hoof across the wall just to feel it more.

“The barrier is a literal extension of an Ethereal’s soul. So what you are feeling is the secret emotion of this particular Ethereal.” A soft lilting voice said. I smiled.

“Well hello there, Cat!” I said as I turned towards the Cat. Though it was weird because I heard it in my head. “How are you doing that?”

“Doing what, Ethereal?” The Cat smiled as it tilted its head. I swear that cat was laughing at me. I wonder what would happen if I try to pop its head off. “I would not do that if I were you. But I sure would love to see you try.”

“Wait! What?!” I shouted in surprise. “You read my mind? How?”

“Shh… be quiet!” They said as they put their paw to their mouth. “I do not wish to wake the First Buffoon. Or what the locals like to call him the First Born! It would be quite messy for me to teach you anything with him around. Now come I have something to show you.” The Cat then promptly turned around and started walking away.

“Wait!” I called as I raced after them. “You didn’t answer my question!”

“All will be answered in time, but for now move your tail!” Grr… Why are they so dang fast? Slow down why don’tcha? And surprisingly they did. I caught up to the speedy cat, not because I became faster. No, no, no. No, it was because the dang cat stopped and was snickering at me.

“You know it’s rude to laugh at somepony.” I huffed. The Cat tilted its head, giving me a befuddled look.

“Somepony? You use an interesting vernacular I must say.”

“It’s a new word,” I shrugged.

“Quite. Ethereal, you make me feel things that I do not understand. I believe that they are called emotions? It is quite strange. I normally do not “laugh” as you called it. That is a Demigod created thing. Well emotions are. And I am not a Demigod!”

“Of course you’re not,” I said confidently, “you’re a cat! A cat with magic!”

“You have no idea who I am, do you?”

“No clue.”

“Huh. Well I tire of this conversation. Let us be off. Take my paw, Ethereal.” The Cat said as they extended a paw towards me.

“Weeeellll that sure sounds ominous. Where are you taking me?” I asked cautiously. I stepped back a few steps. The Cat’s eyes narrowed at me.

“You do not trust me?”

“No I do not.”

“I am not going to murder you or harm you in any way. I am just going to teach you how to be an Ethereal and what your job is going to be. I will teach you the history and ethics of the Etherean way. So no need to worry your little head about it. Now take my paw.”

“Ugg… fine,” I said as I stomped to the Cat, “but if I die I’m hunting you for eternity.”

“Sure.” The Cat said as they rolled their eyes. I gingerly put my hoof in their paw. I was surprised at how small the Cat was. I could I could rest my chin top of their head!

“And I thought that I was short. Hehe.” I thought with a giggle. Their fur tickled my hoof as they slowly grasped it.

“Hold on tight, Ethereal,” they said with a smile. My ears popped as the terrain changed suddenly. I looked around to find myself in a field of glowing blue flowers. The night sky was the perfect backdrop to the glowing flowers. I smiled at the beautiful scene.

“This is beautiful!” I said in awe as I twirled. I bumped into something hared. “Ow! That’s smarts! What did I run into?”

“Me.” The Cat snickered. I looked up to see the Cat has grown to be tall as Celestia. Their arms were crossed and they had the swarm-ingest smirk I had ever seen. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

“Uhh… umm… uh… no?? Maybe??” I stammered. The Cat laughed and looked surprised by the fact that they had laughed.

“How did you do that?” They asked. They had the most befuddled look on their face. I kinda felt bad for them.

“How did I do what?”

“Make me laugh. Make me chuckle. How did you do it?” They asked. “This is most unusual. I ne… never mind we have more important things to take care of. Let us go.”

And then they were off, walking through the glowing flower fields towards an unknown destination. I ran to catch up with them.

“So where are we?” I asked when I finally caught up. “I have never been here before.”

“I suspect not. You have not been outside of the capital of Harmonia before. Though it baffles me that the capital is named after the continent. We are just outside of your hometown. Harmonia the capital.”

“What’s a continent?” I asked because I have never heard of that word before and I’m always up for learning more things. I might have read somewhere in my library. Even though it was hard for me to read, the library that Sombra gave me helped me learn more then I had before. It was the most expensive gift I had ever had. I want to go back to my library.

“Your thought process is certainly fascinating.”

“What?”

“We are here.”

“Uhh…” I was totally lost. We were still in the glowing field, so we didn’t change locations. I looked around trying to find what the dang cat was talking about. “What am I supposed to be looking at? I see nothing.”

"Well that is because my little reapers are doing their job. They are cloaked. Come here."

“Cloaked? As in they are wearing a cloak?” I was confused. It wasn’t even that cold. Kinda warm, actually. I wouldn’t wear a cloak in the warm time. Why would… The Cat’s chuckle snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Fascinating. Simply fascinating. Cloaking does not mean that they are wearing a cloak, though that is a thought. No, my Fascinating Ethereal, it means that they are able to become invisible. Able to go undetected to the untrained eye. I am about to train your eyes. The only time that a untrained eye can see them is when they are collecting the soul of the dead. Now come here.”

I walked over to the Cat, who was now my height. The Cat flashed me a smile that I think was supposed to be reassuring but it wasn’t. It didn’t have the emotion behind it. It was as if the Cat was just mirroring the emotion but didn’t really feel it. “How the heck did I know that?”

The Cat placed their paw right in between my eyes. “There all done.” They said with a smile, I noticed, never did reached their eyes. Their eyes were completely emotionless. I took a step back. They tilted their head in confusion.

“What is the matter?”

“Please don’t smile.” I whispered with my head down. The blue flowers twinkled the wind as I suddenly found them really interesting.

“Why?”

“If you don’t mean it, please don’t smile.” I said as I lifted my head. “I can’t be around anymore fake smiles.”

“Very well, I will abide by your request. I will no longer fake smiles. I was only displaying emotions for your benefit. I will endeavor to keep your request.”

“Thank you.” I sighed. The Cat just nodded as their face turned into an emotionless mask. Or was it their real face?

“Now, Ethereal, it is time for you to see what you are doing.” They said with deep emotionless voice that shook me to the bone. And I thought Pierre’s voice was deep. “Look.”

I turned to were they were pointing at. In the distance I saw two cats with purple cloaks bounding towards an unknown location. I suddenly felt like I was moving in a tube with my ears ringing. Pop. I blinked rapidly to clear my fuzzy vision. The cats were kneeling in front of me, whispering in the wind their mantra “o rex magne”. It reverberated all around me, over and over again.

“What are they saying?” I asked as edged closer to the taller Cat beside me. I really need to find out their name. Like yesterday.

“My reapers calling me the my Sovereign.” They gave me a side glance. “What? Did you think that they were bowing down to you?”

“No! Heck no!” I said, aghast. “Why would I think that?! I’m not worthy of anyponie’s praise. I was just wondering what they were saying.” The Cat just nodded. With a flick of their wrist, the Cat indicated for the reapers to rise.

“This is the newest Ethereal. You two are assigned to help her keep the rules.” The reapers clasped their right paw over their chest.

The reapers clasped their right paw over their chest. “Aye!” They shouted in unison. I stepped back a step. I shot a look at the Cat then back at the reapers. The reapers’ aquamarine eyes bore into my face. I started to feel uncomfortable and began to shuffle my hooves. Dang, their stares are intense.

“Is everything alright?” The Cat tilted their head to the side. I just nodded. No need to voice my feelings right now.

“Let us go.” The Cat directed me forward. They started to address the two reapers. “A soul is about to return home. Let us show our Ethereal how it is done. Forward.”

And we’re off. It felt like we walked for hours but could have been minutes. Before the monotony killed me, I heard a blood curdling scream. I whipped my head towards the sound. A bright pink Kinku was running. Her blood decorated the blue flowers as she hurled herself away from the danger she was running from. As she got closer, I noticed that part of her hide was missing. It was as if she was being skinned alive before she got away.

“Help!” She cried, “Somebeing help me! The alicorn is going to kill me!” I lurched forward to help, but I was stopped. The Cat had their paw on my shoulder.

“Why?! We got to help her!” I screamed, “if we don’t, she’s going to die!”

“I know”.

“You know?!”

“I do. It is her time in this life. When she gains her memories in her next life, she will have her vengeance. There will be no one to interfere. She will not be denied her vengeance.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Kinkus have a unique reincarnation system. There is a set amount of souls and there will never be anymore or any less. They are too powerful for the Balance. When this Kinku dies, surely she will, her soul will be given to a body that was just created. And when she turned her first fiftieth year, she will gain her memories.”

“She will die if we don’t help her!” I pleaded, but my plea fell on deaf ears. Their violet eyes was focused on the horizon. The Cat’s face was a mask of indifference.

“I know.”

“Please!”

“No.”

“If you won’t help her then let me!” I cried as I fell to my knees. I turned my head towards the Kinku. I noticed that one of her wings was missing.

“She cannot be saved, Ethereal. She lost to much blood. But only this time I will brake one of my rules for you.”

“How?”

“I will give the Kinku a peaceful death.” The Cat said. “Follow me.” And with that, they started walking in the direction of the Kinku. I ran to catch to their massive strides. I skidded to a stop when I head a screeching cackle. I whipped my head towards the horrible sound, hurting my neck in the process.

A green alicorn prancing in with a toothy grin. Blood dripped from the almost glowing green fur as it bared on the Kinku. Its cackling rang out across the field.

“Oh, how could you not consider this fun, foxy wings?” It asked, “I do. I really do find this little game we are playing quite fun.”

“Let me go!” She cried. She fell to the ground in a cloud of glowing blue petals. “Please just let me go! I have kits to care for!”

“Well if you tell me where the kits are, I could take care of them.” It smiled as it tilted its head to the side. Its glowing orange flashed with glee.

“I do not believe that you will.” The ground shook, knocking me and the alicorn to the ground. Its orange eyes widened in fear.

“Harmony have mercy.” It breathed.

“Harmony has no authority here.” The Cat whispered. Every word they spoke out loud made earth quack more and more. A great deep rumble sounded came from everywhere, causing the ground to ripple. Just like when I fought the lion monster that caused all this mess.

The alicorn screamed and took off with a flap of its wings. The rumble stopped. The land stilled and all was quiet once again. The Cat slowly turned around. I tilted my head up and scrambled back to see the Cat in their entirety. Some how, someway, the Cat grew tenfold. And their eyes! Oh, their eyes! It was as if the Cat’s eyes were a windows to the night sky. Millions and millions of stars captured inside those black orbs.

The Cat slowly blinked three times and their eyes changed back. In a flash of white light, the Cat appeared right next to me. They were now my height. What the…? How? Huh?

“Do not think much about it. It will only hurt your head.”

“Ahhh… got it.” I understand… somewhat… I think. “Fair enough.”

“Come.” The Cat started walking away. I scrambled to catch up. I huffed and puffed after I caught up. The dang Cat didn’t even have the decency to look exhausted. Stupid powerful being. I glared at the Cat as they crossed their arms.

“Glaring at my face will not do anything productive.” I just nodded and looked away.

“To keep my mind from melting, I have a question.”

“Oh? Pray tell, what is your question.”

“What is your name?” The Cat raised an eyebrow. “I mean I can’t keep calling you the Cat all the time.”

“Fair enough. I do not have a name.”

“You don’t?”

“I do not. I am who I am. I am the First and I am the Last. I am the Creator and Watcher of the souls. I am the space that is in between life and death and matter. I am the stars and the darkness between them. I am the Void.”

“Wait… Void, as in the first god Void. That Void?” I asked, my eyes widened at this revaluation. I’m with a god! I’ve been sassing a god?! Oh no…

“Is there any other Voids out there?”

“Ah no? I don’t think so? So do I call you Void or…”

“Giving a being a name means you are breaking it down to its basic essence to understand it.” The Cat said as they continue on their steady trek. “I have no name because no one can understand who and what I am. And to give me a name is to say that you understand what I am. Do you understand who I am?”

“N-no,” I stammered, “no I-I d-don’t.”

“Then, my Ethereal, I do not have a name.” My mind whorled at what I heard. Who knew that names were that powerful? What does that mean for me in the future? What can I do with this information? I need to talk to Sombra about this. He would know what to do. Yeah, he would.

“Unicorn, I implore you, please lend me your aid so that I may return to protect and nurture my brood.” A weak voice interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to reality.

“W-what? What did you say?” I asked. I walked forward. “I’m sorry but I can’t hear you.” The ground was wet and sticky. I pulled back and lifted my hoof to my face. It was covered in a black, sticky liquid. It had a coppery scent to it. I know this smell. I know this smell. I smelled this before! It was on me when they attacked me at the Main! Blood, BLOOD! Oh, sweet Harmony, there’s blood everywhere! I-I c-can’t go back. I-I won’t go b-back! D-don’t s-send me back! My heartbeat sounded like drum beating ever faster until it was all that I could hear.

A paw rested on my shoulder, instantly stilling my heart.

“Peace, my Ethereal, peace. Better?”

I nodded. The Cat nodded. They lifted their paw in the air.

“Reapers, to your job!”

The black reaper stepped forward and laid its paws on the dying Kinku. The Kinku started to panic and crying about how if she passes away her kits would not have a caretaker to provide for them. She pleaded and begged for the reaper to let her live, but the reaper shook its head. The reaper then pulled the Kinku’s head on to its lap.

“It will be alright,” it said, petting the distraught Kinku, “All is well. Your kits will be cared for by your peers. They will live a happy life. You will in your next life see them all grown up and thriving. You will have your vengeance on the one who did this to you. Peace, be at peace and know that your next life will be better.”

The Kinku’s eyes closed and a smile formed on her face as she breathed her last. A deep purple glow surrounded her body as the reaper lifted its paws up. The purple light followed the reaper’s paws, solidifying as it went. A multi-sided crystal with one of its sides colored blue formed in the air.

“What is that?” I asked as I moved closer to the crystal. A wave of absolute peace washed over me. All my worries dissipated in that moment.

“It is the culmination of the Kinku’s memories, emotions, hopes, fears, and everything they were. It is their soul crystal.”

“Soul crystal?”

“Yes, my Ethereal, a soul crystal. Every living being has one. That is what you are to protect. Whatever you do, do not touch it. For you are alive and will become possessed. And it is such a hassle to unpossess a living soul.”

“Oh…” I quickly moved my hoof. The black reaper just smiled, while the white one rolled its eyes. “What was that saying that you said earlier before the soul crystal came out?” The black reaper looked at the Cat. Its ears started twitching and its eyes was blinking rapidly as if it was in shock.

“I will answer your question. The little reaper would not be able to.”

“Why?”

“Because I do not allow my reapers to talk to mortals while they are alive.”

“Why?”

“Their voice, like mine, contains power. One word from them can change your reality.”

“Ahhh… got it.” I nodded sagely, still not getting. The Cat just narrowed their eyes.

“One thing that I want make clear, my Ethereal, before I explain what my reapers said. Free will before anything else.”

“Free will?”

“Free will is and always will be Harmony’s one rule. One of the reason why the alicorns run rapid. But it is her consequence to bear. Got it?” I nodded and smiled as I tried desperately to forget the smell of blood. No need to panic. Oh sweet Harmony, it stinks. I hate the coppery smell. My ears started to ring as the smell of blood penetrated my nose. The ringing grew louder and louder and louder. Black dots started to form at the edge of my sight.

“Peace, be at peace.” Everything went quiet. “Is one of the traditional phrase that I have my reapers say. Though my favorite. “Rest now and know that your next life will be better.” I feel that when I have my reapers that the souls, they will stop struggling and welcome the change I set upon them. I try to make their lives better in the next life, but it is up to them. Free will before anything else. That is what Harmony requested. Free will shall never be taken away. All souls must make their own choices and how they should live.

‘So I do. I let them make their own choices. Sometimes they make bad ones and sometimes they do not. It was your choice to face Pride and it was your choice to stay humble. You are at this point in your life because of your choices. I give you this information and show you these things so you have the knowledge and tools to make the right choices. I will not take away your freedom. That belongs to you. One last gift from Harmony. But now it is your job to help guide the reapers to the helpless souls. Help them to find my soul crystals and bring them back to me.

‘That is the job of an Ethereal. A being to guide and protect lost souls to their next life. Now, my Ethereal, it is time for you to go back to your companions. Please take my paw.”

So I did and in flash of light I was right back were I started. Sombra was snoring. Oh, I’m going to tease him about that. Hehe. The Cat started to walk away when I called out to them. They stopped and tilted their head towards me in a question.

“I have a question!”

“Do you not always. Ask away.”

“Why isn’t there any glitter when you teleport, Cat?” I asked, shuffling my hooves back and forth. They gave me a side-eyed glance and huffed. They crossed their arms while shaking their head.

“That is a Harmony thing, my Ethereal. It was a prank that became the norm. I find it utterly stupid. Harmony really do like her pranks. “

“Ahh… Cool.”

“Cool indeed. I bid you a good night. I must be off.”

“Bye!” I waved to the Cat as they walked through the barrier. I looked at my hoof to see that the blood was gone. It was completely cleaned. When did…? Yawn. By Harmony, I’m tired. I go straight to Sombra. I crawled under his wing and snuggled close to the snoring doofus. Sombra grumbled then pulled me closer. With the sounds of chirping insects and a snoring alicorn at my side, I fell into a dreamless sleep. One I’ve been needing for weeks.

The Tomb

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The Tomb

Applejack sat flabbergasted at the table. She had never heard a more ridiculous story. Reincarnations, demigods, gods, soulmates; it was all crazy! But Fluttershy wouldn’t lie, would she?

“I don’t believe you.” Pinkie stated around the food she was eating. Grease dripped down her chin as chomped into fried potatoes that Fluttershy made. Along side Along side potatoes, Fluttershy made zucchini spaghetti and mango cider, but Applejack wasn’t paying attention to any of food. No, she was still trying to wrap her head around what she heard.

“Why don’t you believe me, Pinkie?” Fluttershy whispered. “Is so hard to believe after all we went through?”

“I saw everything that we went through, Fluttershy,” Pinkie tapped the table, “I was there, but I wasn’t there for any of what you said. If I don’t see then I don’t believe it. There are no gods. Reincarnation is not real. And Sombra is the enemy. He was and still is an evil unicorn that has and will try to take over the Crystal Empire. So all of what he’s trying to sell you is bullshit. Just saying.”

“Pinkie!” Applejack was shocked at the pessimistic outlook that the pink pony was giving.

“What?!” Pinkie asked, “I’m right, ain’t I?”

“That was rude, sugar-cube,” Applejack said, shaking her head, “ya don’t just immediately start dog-shittin’ on somepony’s story over dinner. Wait until after diner to criticize it.”

“You don’t believe me?” Fluttershy asked. She started to pull into herself. Applejack placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s leg as the mug in her hooves started to shake. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Oh, sugar-cube, I don’t believe that yer lyin’, but it’s kinda hard to believe something so fantastic. Reincarnations? Really, Fluttershy? It’s kinda the stretch of the ‘magination.”

“See! I’m not the only one!” Pinkie squealed. She excitedly thumped her hooves on the table.

“Then explain how Rainbow Dash knew everything that happened! Stories that Discord never knew!” Fluttershy countered her once soft voice rose with anger. Applejack saw that her quiet friend was getting really upset.

“Fluttershy…”

“Don’t Fluttershy me, Applejack!” Fluttershy screeched, “I have seen the room where the pony look like Twilight where in cased in crystals. There where five other ponies in there but the one in white stood out. If you don’t believe me then follow me. I will show you!” Fluttershy’s bench scrapped across the floor as she angrily pushed it back. She then stomped towards the door. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that her friends weren’t following. She turned around and asked, “Are you coming?”

“Yes! Just let me finish up my food!” Pinkie piped in. She shoveled food into her mouth with lightning fast accuracy. Applejack and Fluttershy stood dumbfounded at the display. “All done! Let’s go.”

“Right.” Applejack blinked, “Fluttershy, lead the way.” Fluttershy nodded and turned around. Applejack and Pinkie caught up with her. Pinkie turned around and, with a resounding boom, closed the doors. She then bounded off towards the others.

Ω

“Are these real?!” Pinkie gasped as she touched the closest crystal, “If so, I want one I want one! Hell, I’ll make a cake inspired by it! I love how they’ll look like they’re sleeping and at any moment they will wake up! Oooh! I like the golden one! Hey! Can you read this? Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Can ya? Can ya?! Can ya?!”

“Pinkie, get out of my face!” Fluttershy whimpered as she pushed the pink pony away. Pinkie smiled, then shot like rocket to her next destination. She was going to take all the pictures! She just gotta! She just gotta! She just gotta!

It’s for the cakes! Oh, the cakes, the beautiful, beautiful cakes only thing that was constantly right in the world! It was the only thing Pinkie could control. Cakes could be tall! Cakes could be short! Cakes could be anything she wanted it to be! She could control how the cakes looked! And now she is inspired by the dead- sleeping ponies in crystals! The best part! The best part! THE BEST PART! Pinkie could see on some of the ponies the mortal wounds! On the golden pony, Pinkie’s favorite, there where her heart would be was an X. A big X! And around the X was blue and black lightning lines. The lightning lines marred the golden metallic sheen of this pony’s coat.

Her coat would have made a beautiful cloak. All shining and beautiful. Pinkie wonder what her screams would have sounded like. Would this pony—

“What are you doing?” A deep melodic voice interrupted her thoughts. Good she couldn’t let those bad, bad thoughts get in her way of cakes. Who interrupted Pinkie? She needs to thank them! Thank them for stopping the bad, bad thoughts! Cakes and laughter are all that matters! Nothing else. Nothing else. Nothing… nothing… nothing else.

“Hi, Im Pinkie Pie! Your new funnerific friend!” Pinkie cried out with joy! She was always ready to make new friends! Friends were the best thing ever!

“Pinkie Pie?” The melodious deep voice asked, “Well that certainly is a strange name, but it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. But what are you doing?”

“Well, Melodious Voice, I’m simply taking pictures of these lovely crystals for inspiration for my cakes!” Pinkie stated proudly. She should be! Her cakes were the best in all of Equestria!

“Ah, Pinkie?” Applejack asked cautiously, “Who in tarnation are ya speakin’ ta?”

“Mr. Melodious Voice!”

“Who?”

“Mr. Melodious Voice! He asked me what I was doing and I told him that I was taking pictures for my cakes!” Pinkie smiled at her dumbfounded country friend. Mr. Melodious Voice was her friend now and she ain’t sharing.

“Oh by the three gods! Applejack! Pinkie! You’re here!” Pinkie turned towards the that sounded like her speedy friend but she wasn’t so sure. She sounded slightly different. Like her accent was foreign. Where did she go? How did she an accent? Is that really Rainbow Dash?

“Oh! How I missed you both!” The familiar cyan pony came into room flying at top speeds. Pinkie squealed at the sudden weight as her back hit the marble floor. “By the three gods, it’s so good to see your faces!”

“Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked as she was apparently being smothered. Pinkie knew she was. “Why are ya talkin’ like that? Ya are speakin’ differently, suger-cube! Now quit ya blubberin’ I’m here. There. There.”

“I-it’s r-really you!” Dashie cried as watery falls forming in her eyes, “I-I j-just can’t b-believe it! T-there’s so m-much I h-have t-to tell you both! Sombra—“

“What about me?” Mr. Melodious Voice asked. It’s Pinkie’s new friend!! Hers not any ponyelse’s!

“Sombra! Come meet my friends!” Dashie cried out with joy. Wait a minute! Sombra?

“Well I unable to meet them if you are on top of them!” He laughed. Dashie scrambled off of them. Her smile was brighter than Princess Celestia’s sun. Dashie moved off to the side and behind was…

“A male Alicorn!” Pinkie screeched, pointing her hoof towards the male alicorn. “There’s a male alicorn over there! A male alicorn, Applejack!”

“Indeed there is. Last time I checked I was a male.” Mr. Melodious Voice said, “I do not believe that I can swap genders like my grandparent can. It is not in my capabilities. Though that would be awkward. With Midnight and her reincarnations in all.”

“What? You’re not interested in guys?” Pinkie blurted out.

“No I am not,” Mr. Melodious Voice said in stride, “I prefer my bed partners of the female verity. Thank you very much. Although if Midnight reincarnated as a male I might have reconsidered.”

“Really?!”

“Really.” He winked, “If it is alright with you, may I have the honor of acquiring your name, little one?”

“My name is Pinkie Pie!” She gleefully stated. “You’re new funnerific friend!”

“Oh! You are the one who was touching my mate’s memorial!” Mr. Melodious Voice stated. “You looked like you were about to eat it!”

“I wasn’t going to eat it!” Pinkie bounced. “I was just taking— “

“Pictures for your cakes. I know. Still I wonder why your parents named you Pinkie. Was it because of your coat? Creatures in this universe have weird names! I mean my name is Sombra O Gytgord which means ‘the somber one of Harmony’ and I mean who names a cult somber! It is utterly ridiculous! I think the writers gave a fun time coming up with the most ridiculous names ever. I apologize for the rant.”

“You see the strange bipeds that watch us struggle in our world?” Pinkie asked as she jumped onto the black male alicorn’s face. “Never giving a care about our struggles and strife? Always laughing and giggling as we live our lives and never helping us?”

“Who hurt you?” He narrowed his pretty, pretty red eyes.

“No pony!” She chirp. Then she did a backflip off his face and landed on her back hooves with her front ones in air. Mr. Melodious Voice just blinked.

“And here I thought Dimming Lights was chaotic!”

“Who’s Dimming Lights?”

“Midnight’s second life.”

“Who’s Midnight?”

“My mate.”

“Is that another way to say friend”

“Pinkie!” Applejack yelled before Mr. Melodious Voice could answer. Rude. “Shut up!”

“Why?” She was so confused. Why shouldn’t Pinkie talk to her new friend Mr. Melodious Voice? Though he was talking about second life and stuff, but he was interesting.

“That’s Sombra!” Applejack growled.

“And?”

“And? AND! And he attacked the Crystal Empire! He was a tyrant! He hurt ponies! He kidnapped Twilight!”

“Oh…”

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I do not want to get up. I am enjoying cuddling Midnight. It is all I could ever want. But…

“He is still asleep?!” The annoying powdery white something underneath my hoof griped. I am so going to ring her -grumble- grumble- grumble. Growl- growl- growl. I am not going there. No. No. No. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

“How dare!” Oh I must of said that out loud. “It seems that The First Born is quite lazy!”

“Sister!” Squeaked the tiny alicorn. Oh no, I could distinguish between the sisters’ voices. I have been with them too long.

“What, Luna? It is true! He is just laying there doing nothing! We are burning daylight and he is doing nothing!”

“But he is cuddling with Midnight. That is very important.” I agree with the little blue alicorn. “Admit it, Celestia, you are jealous because he is currently cuddling with Midnight and you are not. I know you! Remember? So do not get all righteous with me!”

“Luna, what has gotten into you?!” Celestia asked aghast. “You would not have said anything if you were not so infatuated with him! Nor if you were not attached to the unicorn!” Excuse me?! Excuuussse meee?! What did she say?! Why I—

“Do not put this on her! This is between you and me!” Luna hissed. “I am sick of you being so controlling over everything! So overbearing! This has nothing to with Midnight needing protection, it is about your damn pride! How dare a lowly unicorn reject your goodwill protection. The rare opportunity! An Harmonian rejecting your offer. Get over yourself, Celestia!”

“Luna!”

“Do not Luna me! You know that I am right! Let them be! They are adorable together!”

“What?! Wait, what?!” Celestia sounded confused. “I thought that you wanted to marry Sombra.” Say what now? Huh? Hold on a minute! No!

“That was before I met Midnight and saw them together!” Luna screeched, her hoof pounded the ground. “He is clearly in love with her! And in my good conscience cannot get between the two of them. So I will live out my first dream. As. His. Apprentice.”

How do I get out of this situation? Help? Uhh…. With all my experience I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get out of here. War was easier to handle. Oh, beloved Harmony, please do not let these bickering alicorns wake Midnight. Oh! I have an idea.

“Luna, you are such an baby. You do not know the way the world works!” She said in condescending tone.

“Pray tell, dear sweet sister, how does the world work?” Luna growled. Oh, boy. I am leaving now. As growls and hisses started to shake the ground, I started to crawl backwards with a sleeping Midnight tucked inside my wing. I heard them start to bicker as I moved further into the bushes. The leaves above me began to rustle. Pierre’s head pop out of the foliage.

I signaled to keep quiet and resumed my journey. In the corner of my eye, I saw Pierre nod once.I felt a thud on top of my head a second later. I rolled my eyes. He was apparently going to stick with me till the end. Ok. I crawled back little further. I twitched my ears up, making sure that the sisters were still arguing. Aannndd we are still in the clear! They have not stopped bickering. Good. With a smile on my face, I lit up my horn and teleported!

“A hundred paces should be about enough.” I declared as I gingerly got up, not wanting to wake my sleeping beauty. “Well, Pierre, it is time to finish the first part of my journey.”

“It is, my Lord?” Pierre asked excitedly. “But what about the alicorn sisters? Are they coming along?”

“No.” I said, shutting down that thought process quickly. I started towards the one cave I have seen for the last fifty years. With its blood soaked floors and crystal lined walls. It was also littered with branches. Bloody branches. Bloody branches that keep piling up. Every. Single. Year. I d-

“Why not, my Lord?” Pierre graciously interrupted my dark thoughts. “I am simply want to understand.”

“I am only allowed two companions. I do not consider them companions. Luna could come back to Harmony with us when I start the second part of my journey. But I have a sinking suspension that Celestia will not have it.”

“Ah, I see.” Pierre said sagely. “Well I respect your wishes, my Lord, I will endeavor not to— Oh, Sweet Harmony, what is that smell!” I forgot about that.

“We are here.” We stood in front of unassuming cave. It was small and dark, nothing out of the ordinary. Many would have passed by without even noticing it except for the smell of rotting flesh attracting the flies and the maggots spilling out the entrance. The rocks near by were permanently stained red by the river of blood flowing between them.

“My Lord, I implore you not to go in there!” Pierre cried out. “There is death that has made it abode in that cave. It is not safe!”

“I must.” I answer his cry as I walked towards the entrance. The smell of death grew stronger and stronger every step that I took. Pierre began to tug on my ears, indicating that he wanted to leave.

“I-if y-you insist on g-going in, my Lord,” Pierre stammered as I duck into the cave. I pulled Midnight closer to my side, “then tell me why we must go inside.” His tiny claws pierced the delicate skin of my ears. I felt the blood trickle down the side of my head. I took a deep breath to answer the urgent question, but choked on the taste of death in the air. That was awful. Silver branches with blood and bone at the ends littered the floor. The once white circle crystal-like leaves were stained scarlet. I hate this place.

“My Lord?”

“My mother is here.”

“The Goddess of Creation?”

“Yes.” I ended the conversation. I do not want to talk anymore. It was just to painful. I walked in silence for a few minutes as death’s perfume sunk into my hide. It squeezed me in its embrace as my eyes began to water. Pierre started to gage a while back and now started to dry heave. At we did not eat anything before coming here. I have made that mistake one too many times.

“I am truly sorry.” I whispered as came closer to my yearly nightmare.

“What *hurck* for *hurk*.” Pierre choked out.

“For what you are about to see.” The pool of clotted blood now was up to my knees. A few branches was floating around, occasionally hitting my legs.

“Oh, by the gods!” Exclaimed Pierre.

“Hello, mother, it is time to go home.”

You will be Okay

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My hooves clacked against stone floor as I once again entered the cave. Every night since I’ve begun this journey, I’ve been having the same blasted dream. I go into a cave, hear a foul sing, feel excruciating pain along my body, wake up extremely sad, and forget about all about it. It’s a very vicious cycle. I hide my pain because I don’t want Sombra to freak out. He already has a lot on his chest. No, need to add more. I’m just so tired of this dream. It hurts. Emotionally and physically hurts me. I just want it to stop. Please just make it stop!

Wait! What’s this? The floor changed! It’s no longer stone! Am I…? walking on stars? No, that can’t be it. I know that this was a dream and all, but this was ridiculous. The whole place looked like the night sky. Millions of stars swirling around in a dance to a song they could only hear.

“Mam!” A tiny voice in the distance cried. My hooves took me towards the voice. Not again! “Mam! Look what I have found! ‘Tis not pretty?!”

“Be careful, my boy, or ye might break it. ‘Tis very fragile.” A gentle motherly voice echoed across the starry landscape. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. “For if it was to brake, then it cannot be fixed.”

“Why is it so, mam?” The little voice asked.

“Your Nain a taid willed it so.”

“Why does Nain a taid ignore me?” The little voice asked in sorrow. My heart aches for this little voice. “Why do they never acknowledge my existence? Am I invisible to them?”

“My dear Sombra,” Wait, Sombra? “The First Being sees ye as my act of disobedience and believes if they ignore thee then ye will go away. But thou shan’t go. I will not allow it. Thou art mine and my sole reason to exist. I love you, fy ngwas i.”

“Love you too, mam.”

“‘Tis time to sleep, fy ngwas i. Come here.”

“Will you sing for me?”

“Yes, my little one,
‘It always seems more quiet in the dark
It always feels so stark
How silence grows under the moon
Constellations gone so soon’”

I stopped in my tracks. The voice was heavenly. Each note sung made the cells in my body dance with joy. I had to hear more! I must find the pony who is singing! I started to run.

‘I used to think that I was bold
Who knew that love could be fun
Now all my stories have been told except for one’

My hooves pounded on the stars as I ran towards the voice. My soul was crying out to see the owner. I just had to find them! Just had too.

‘As the stars start to align
I hope you take it as a sign
That you'll be okay
Everything will be okay’

I skidded to a stop in amazement. In front of me was a cloud of glittery star in a vague shape of six-winged alicorn. Purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white slowly swirled to the sound of their voice. In between the cloud alicorn’s leg was a small red and black alicorn. He was so adorable! His wings were bigger than his body. So cute.

“Do you like what you see?” A gentle-motherly voice asked, causing me to jump and squeal a little bit. I turned around to find Harmony giggling into her into her wing.

“I must apologize, my dear,” she giggled, “but I saw an opportunity and took it.”

“Huh? What? H-how are you even here?” I was so confused. “How are you in my dreams?”

“Easy, my little bright eyed Ethereal, I casted the Dreamwalker spell!” She gleefully clapped her hooves together while flashing me a smile that was brighter than the sun. “Though you are not really mine anymore now that you are an Ethereal. But I do not care! Void can eat their own tail! You hear that, ye old Cat, I still claim her!”

“Say what now?”

“Oh, Sombra did not teach you this spell?” Harmony frowned. “I am disappointed with that boy. He should be teaching you these types of spells. Shame on him. I am going to have some choice words with that boy.”

“He was kinda busy. So don’t get mad at him!” I said coming to his defense. “He did teach me a lot of spells!”

“Busy you say? Humph!” She snorted. “That is no excuse for neglecting one’s mate! He should not be too busy to stop teaching his student magic! He is so getting the spray bottle! Oh! And he is so grounded! Busy! Hah! He is so going to get it!”

“Wait! Wait a minute! I thought that he was an adult! And wasn’t his fault!”

“Three hundred and fifty years is still a child to me!” She stomped her hoof.

“Then I must be a babe still.” I grumbled. Harmony just tilled her head to the side, giving me a completive look.

“I will admit that I might be a little bit delusional,” she said, “thinking that Sombra is still a child. So instead of grounding him, I will instead give him an earful!”

“Oh, boy.”

“But enough of that!” Harmony said, clapping her hooves together and jumped to her hooves. “Do you want to see more of little Sombra?”

“Uuhh… Sure?” I am so confused right now. What just happened? Am I still dreaming or…?

“Yes, Midnight, darling, we are still in your dream.” Harmony waved her hoof in dismissal. “Keep up with me. We already established that fact. You are making the poor author write a lot of words! Now on to baby Sombra!” With that she wrapped her wing around my shoulder and started walking to unknown destination.

“What….?”

“Oh, look Sombra taking his first steps!” She squealed, pulling me towards a still picture. There right in front of me was little red and black cult babbling towards a smiling cloud of stars. He tripped a few times over his oversized wings. After a few trips baby Sombra tumbled into the outstretched arms of Harmony, giggling all the way.

“Aww, he’s adorable!” I squealed as a looked at the big ruby eyes of the giggling cult. “I want just want to squeeze him!”

“I am glad to hear that.” She smiled. “You have a question. I can see it. So, ask away, my Dear.”

“Why are you showing me this?”

“Simple! I wanted to give you a break from dreaming about my parent and your dying filly.” She said with a little dance. “You are close enough for me to be able to jump into your dream. I used to be able to jump into anyone’s dreams at a thought, but I created to many alicorns. Ah well.”

I shook my head, chuckling as I watched the goddess prance around the star scape. She kept changing the scenes. Going from Sombra taking his first steps to him chomping on The Cat’s tail. I laughed as I watched Sombra refusing to let go. The Cat kept swinging their tail trying their best to dislodge the tiny alicorn.

“Ah, yes, one of my favorite memories.” Harmony said wistfully. “Discord made a bet with Sombra to see how long the little tike could stay on Void’s tail. It was three minutes. And boy Void was mad! First time too.”

“So, The Cat doesn’t feel emotions, do they?”

“Only the extreme. But normally no, they do not. Anyway, on to the next memory.” And she was off. I swear that Sombra was the only sane one in this group. I galloped towards the skipping goddess.

“Is this what the Godly realm looks like?” I asked with a huff. I finally caught up with her. I fell to the ground? - stirring up the swirling stars. How can one become tired in a dream?

“Yes and no,” She answered, “this is the Dream scape and an echo of the Godly realm. Like I said before, I brought you here to give you a beautiful dream and to request something of you.” Her face sobered as she looked into the distance, the lights of the stars dance across her hide. A shimmering tear streaked across her fur.

“What is your request?”

“My request is this, Midnight, I want you take care of Sombra for me.”

“Take care of Sombra?” I was so confused. How can little old me take care of the Great First Born? I’m just a worthless unicorn.

“No, no, stop that.” She snapped causing me to jump. “You are not worthless. You are not a burden. And you are most definitely not a waste of space. You know what you are, Midnight? You are my beautiful creation. You are smart and tenacious. You are imaginative. And you are more then capable to take of my dorky son.” Tears filled my eyes. The creator thinks that I’m not worthless.

“But why?”

“Because I believe in you.” She smiled. “And I am about to leave the mortal plain. Sombra does not want that, and he will do anything to keep that from happening. Even going so far as making a deal with Void to stop it. Him going on this quest of Void’s just delays the inevitable. It is utterly ridiculous, I tell you! Ridiculous! Honestly, Void is being absolutely petty. Sending my son on a fruitless mission, not allowing him to talk about it. When the next time I see Void, I am going to give them an earful and they are not getting away! Anyhow I really, really need you to take care of Sombra when I am gone. Can you do that for me?”

“I-I think s-so.” I stammered. This was a lot to take in. Sombra having a deal with the Cat and going on a fruitless mission. I guess it would be wise to take of him. I mean he sorta tolerated me for the few months. I guess that I am wanted.

“Yeah!” Harmony clapped. “This makes me so happy! I feel so relieved that Sombra has somepony that genuinely cares for him take care of him in my stead. Thank you, Midnight!”

“Y-your w-welcome, Harmony,” I stammered. I shuffled my hooves back and forth feeling awkward.

“Well since that is done, it is time for you to wake up.” She smiled as she clapped her hooves together. “ And I know that dreams are fickle things, I will remind you when the next time we see each other! Ok? Ok! Let us get this show on the road!”

She spread her six wings as her body turned from a dull tarnished silver to a polished silver that shone the stars around us. With a shout she raised her voice and sang,

“And when creation goes to die
You can find me in the sky
Upon the last day
And you will be okay.”

When she sang the last note a bright white light flashed in my eyes. Blinding me for a moment. I blinked my eyes trying to dispel the dancing dots in my vision. I noticed that I wasn’t in the forest anymore and was inside of a cave. Again. Ugg… And what the heck is that smell!

Harmony

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Harmony

Pinkie was confused. How could this hunk-o-stallion be the tyrant king of the Crystal Empire? Sombra was an angry smoky gray unicorn that had a curved red horn. The alicorn that was standing right in-front of her was a glorious black and red specimen of a male. Muscles in every form for all to gloriously marvel at. How she wanted to stuff him to immortalize his visage. Yes, that would be nice.

“Uh… Pinkie? Ya droolin’ a little bit, sugar cube” Applejack grumbled as she poked her dazed friend. Pinkie snapped out of her lusty and sadistic thoughts.

“Umm, sorry, Applejack, I was just lost in thought.” Pinkie hastily wiped her mouth. Oh, sweet Celestia, she hoped that she didn’t embarrass herself in front of the incredibly beautiful Mr. Melodious Voice.

“Knowin’ you, sugar cube, it must’ve been in the bedroom with some poor pony tied in various positions.” Applejack said deadpanned. Pinkie just shrugged, not denying anything. Dashie was just snickering in the background.

“Well, I am glad that everypony is in high spirits,” Mr. Melodious said with a clap of his beautiful hooves, “but I must clarify some misconceptions. First things first, Ms. Pie, please wipe the drool off your face.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened as she desperately tried to wipe the drool off her face. Sweet Celestia, that was embarrassing.

“Better,” Ah, his voice was smoother than chocolate. Glorious. “I have not personally stepped in Equestia in over three thousand years. I have made clones that I have sent into your homeland to find my mate’s reincarnations. The clones were, unfortunately, corrupted going through the barrier. All because of something that Void made in their anger. It has been one of my corrupted clones that you had to have fought in the past.”

“Alright. Prove it!” Applejack snapped. “Prove that you had nothin’ to do with the Crystal Empire!”

“Applejack!” Dashie hissed as she tried quieting the orange pony. Applejack just bucked her off.

“No, Rainbow Dash, I ain’t ‘bout to give up on this.” Applejack said as moved further away from the distraught friend. Pinkie noticed that Fluttershy was cowering in the back as usual. She just rolled her eyes at this and pulled popcorn out of her mane to watch the drama unfold.

“He caused a lot of pain and misery to the Crystal ponies, and he has to answer for all of it!” Applejack screeched. “He even kidnapped Twilight! We don’t even know what he’s doin’ to her!”

And why should he answer to a mortal like you? A disembodied voice boomed inside her head, causing Pinkie’s head to hurt along with spilling her popcorn on the floor. Pinkie looked around to find that everypony except Mr. Melodious Voice was affected.

“What in tarnation was that?!” Applejack asked as she rubbed her head.

“That would be my nain a taid, my Grandparent.” Sombra said as he shook his head. Dashie jumped to her hooves with a shout (apparently she was lying on the floor), “Do you mean Void! As in the First Being! The first god?!”

“All around pain in my neck, back and whole body. The cause for my heartaches in the past.” Sombra growled. “The great and powerful Master of Souls, Void! And after about three thousand years, your great and powerfulness, you finally pay attention to me and defend me? What the…”

Ah! Somby, I am only defending you because this little heathen had disrespected the gods. And I am not going to take that lying down. Besides you’re basically a god now, the god of emotions. Because you’re sooo emotional! I mean cry me a river next time and stop complaining.

“Since when did you get sassy?!”

Blame Nebs. By my kids, I miss that girl. Best Ethereal I have ever trained. Sigh. She did what Midnight could never do, though it wasn’t entirely her fault. My Nebula was able to teach me how to feel and that “Friendship was magic”. That inside joke of ours became the montra of this generation. Ugggg….. Ridiculous.

“Right?!”Sombra laughed. His smile was radiant as the sun with all those sharp teeth.

“Hey! Friendship is magic!” Piped Pinkie. She was not going let anypony dogshit on her lifes moto.

Sure, kid, sure. Friendship is magical and all that. Say, Somby my boy, where’s your snacks? I am kinda peckish.

“I got mangos.” Sombra shrugged.

Ugg… no. Discord, do you have any food?

“You’re not touching my food!” Discord grumbled, poofing into the room. His arms were crossed over his chest. His eyes widen as if he relised something. “Shit! Dad! No!” He yelled, poofing out of the room.

Pinkie pie blinked. “Did he…? Where did he…? What just…? Huh?!”

“Well that happened.” Sombra said. “If you, my kind guests, exuse me. I have to mediate an ungodly debate.” With a flurry of wings and onyx feathers, Mr. Melodious left the room.

“I’ma gonna follow them!” Pinkie declared, racing towards the door. She vaguely heard Applejack yellin for her to wait but she didn’t. She had a god fight to see.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

“*Herk*what *herk* is *herk* that *herk* smell *herk*!” I gaged. “By the *herk* gods, that’s *herk* fowl! Did something *herk* die in *herk* here?” I think I’m going to throw up. It smells like the Main after a razing.

“Midnight!” Sombra shouted, but I couldn’t see him over the tears in my eyes from keeping my nonexistent breakfast in my stomach. Oh gods, I think that I’m going to be sick. Soft feathers wrap around my shacking form. Strong arms pulled me into a firm chest. Sombra started to purr while cooing sweet nothings.

“It is going all right. It is going all right.” He whispered in my ear. “I have you. I have you.” I started to hiccup as tears welled up in my eyes. My body started to shake. I couldn’t get enough air. There’s not enough air! There’s not enough air! I can’t any air!

“Pierre, come! We are taking Midnight out of here!” I felt my body shift to the left. Wind blew past my ears as I felt my face being squished to a black warm chest. Soft fur tickled my nose. The aroma of cloves and cinnamon overtook the smell of blood, settling my stomach in the process. I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to breathe in more of the scent. It smelled like home.

“My Lord’s Lady, are you alright?” I frowned. Am I? Am I doing all right? Yes, yes, I am. I’m snuggling a purring warm blanket. Of course, I am all right. “Miss Star, answer me!”

“Shhh…. I’m cuddling.” I spoke. I snuggled closer to the fluffy purring blanket. The said purring blanket snorted. I blinked. My blanket just snorted. How dare…! The audacity!

“I think she is alright, Pierre.” The blanket rumbled. Blankets shouldn’t make noise! Blankets should be quiet and not laugh! “Blanket? Since when am I a blanket? Midnight, darling, I think that you have went off the deep end.”

“Shut up, Blanket!”

“Why should I?”

“Just shut up and let me snuggle!” I buried my face further into his fur and hummed in contentment. “You smell nice, and I want to snuggle, Blanket.”

“Well, I have nothing to say about this revelation but…”

“Shut up, Blanket!”

“Ah, young love. Is it not a glorious a sight to see” Pierre sighed. “So, when is the wedding?”
“Shut up, Pierre,” Blanket growled. I growled at the both of them. And they laughed! Laughed! The audacity!

“Shut up both of you!” I snapped. “Can a girl snuggle her purring blanket in peace?”

“As much as I would love to let you continue to snuggle your ‘blanket’, fy un Bach I,” Blanket rumbled again, “but unfortunately I have to finish something important, so I have put you down.”

Panic flooded my system when I heard this. “No!” I yelled. I held on tighter, not wanting to let go. He can’t go! He just can’t!

“I am not going far, Midnight,” he soothed as he slowly extracted me from him, “but I have to finish what I started.”

“No, no, no! Don’t go! Please don’t go!” I pleaded as he successfully detangled my limbs from his. He carefully placed me on the ground. I cried out and ran towards him. I just can’t be a way from him right now. Red magic envelope me, lifting me off the ground. I was placed right back where I was before.

Sombra walked up to me and placed his forehead on mine. He closed his eyes and started to purr again. I closed my eyes with a smile as his purr washed over me.

“Stay, please stay here and wait for me, love,” He whispered, “I will be back soon.”

“Ok.” I choked on the emotions that clogged my throat. I felt him smile.

“Good girl.” I giggled at the endearment. Me good? Ok, I’ll be his good girl as long as he doesn’t leave. But he did and now I’m feeling everything close around me. The smell of blood and rot was thick in the air causing me to the nearest tree and throw up the nonexistent breakfast I had.

I felt a small weight land on my back. Small arms wrapped around my neck. A purr, not as strong as Sombra, soothed my upset stomach. For that I was grateful.

“Thank you, Pierre, that helps a lot.”

“It is my utmost pleasure, my Lord’s lady.”

“Where are we, Pierre?” I asked as I looked around my surroundings. Evergreen trees towered towards the blue sky, blocking out the sun in the process. It would been a nice, serene place, with the birds singing and chipmunks talking, if wasn’t for the smell. I followed it to a cave. It was really unassuming. Nothing extraordinary about it. The entrance was tall enough for Sombra to enter without hitting his horn on the ceiling. It just wide enough for two of me to fit through, but one of him. Vines covered the gray rocks making a beautiful serine place. But what the river of clotting blood ruined the image.

Through for me it wasn’t the clotting river of blood that freaked me out. No, no, no, it was the silver branches with bits of bones floating in the clotting river that freaked me out. The bones were fused to the silver branches, and some had bits of shimmering fur and flesh. What was going on?

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I waded back through this awful cave towards my mother. The branches have spread faster this time around then last time. It has gotten worse. How could I continue doing this? It was just too painful. Every year for the last fifty years, finding my mother turning into a tree. Every year braking and cutting off branches adding to ever growing river of blood. It was becoming too much. But I will continue doing this to see my mother’s smile, to hear her sarcastic quips, and ender her bad pranks. I want to keep my mother around for as long as possible. And to do that I have to cut these branches off.

I picked up my carving tools and started carving out her back legs. They were mostly roots now but I’ll be damned if I leave them like that. One good thing that came out of this whole ordeal was my carving skills were great. Heh… Harmony wanted me to create art. Who knew that that she had to become a tree for me start?

“Who art thou?” A whispered floated to my ears.

“My name is Sombra.” Came my usual response. It hurts so much when this happens.

“Sombra? Sombra who?”

“Sombra your son. I am your son.”

“I do not recall having a son. Are thou confusing me with someone else?” Wood groaned as she shifted. Unfocused multi- faceted eyes watched me as I break off some bloody bark.

“No, I am not.” Another piece came off.

“Void will never allow me to have a child. Are ye saying that I hath succeeded in making a child?”

“Yes, Mam, you have succeeded.” Another piece added to the ever-growing pile.

“I hath successfully rebelled against Void. Hehe. Tell me, kind god, what is my child like? Are they noble?” I stopped and was taken aback that she did not recognize me. How does one go about answering? My eyes became watery as I try to figure how to answer. Her unfocused eyes bore into my soul. I gave her an uneasy smile. A lump formed into my throat. I coughed a few times to clear it.

“W-well, he is a lot like me.” I choked out. She just nodded her head and looked away. I sighed and got back to work. Time felt like it was moving slowly as I carved out her hind legs. She went silent after that. I told her stories, trying to help her remember. I told all about Midnight, nothing. I asked her about Void, but still, she didn’t respond. It was as if she was not even present anymore. Like her mind had left and all that remained was her body. I just don’t know how much longer I can take this.

“There all finished. Time to get up.” I said as I gently nudge her wing over my shoulders. I slowly lifted her off the ground. She stumbled a little bit as she got her footing. Our hooves splashed as we waded through the blood. I need to get out of here. The smell was finally getting to me. We made it to the entrance. I forgot how small it was. Ugg… I grounded my teeth together as I racked my brain to find a solution. Because we’re both not fitting through that!

Harmony’s head started to droop. I felt mine go down as well. An idea formed in my head. I should just make the entrance wider! That’s sounds like great idea! I lifted my head with a newfound determination. Lighting up my horn, I zeroed in on the rocks around the entrance. With a flick of my head the rocks went flying. With a weary smile, I nudged Harmony. Her head shot up with a snort.

“I did not blow Discord’s head off, Void, I promise!” She shouted. She looked frantically left and right. She finally calms down when she did not find what she was looking for. A small smile formed on my lips. I remember that story. It was a very funny story. With another slight nudge, we started walking.

The evening sun hurt my eyes as we exited the dark cave. I blinked the dots that started to dance in eyes. I frowned as I looked at the scene right in front of me. Large boulders lay atop of fall-in trees. Little bits of bones and branches scattered around the forest’s floor. And there, right in the middle of the mess sitting on a boulder, was my Midnight hugging Pierre. Her pretty amethyst eyes were wide with fear. When am I ever going to see her eyes filled with anything other than fear?

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

Three hours. Three hours since Sombra went into that creepy cave. Three hours of me stewing on this boulder that I have found. Thinking of what I said. Ugg…. I called Sombra, the First Born, the most gorgeous being in the universe, a blanket. A blanket! I begged him not to go. I’m so embarrassed. And Pierre was not helping. The dang Kinku was giggling and trying to plan out my wedding. My Wedding! Something that I know won’t happen.

“Violet or periwinkle, my Lord’s Lady?”

“Huh?”

“Violet or periwinkle?”

“I got that, but what for?”

“Well, for the flowers at your wedding day! Of course!” Pierre chirped. Did he have to be so giddy?

“Pierre, I do not think that there will be a wedding.” I said. I started to tap my hoof in agitation. “There’s no way in Harmony’s green earth, that there is going to be a wedding. Sombra and me, it is not going to happen. Please stop. I just cannot take it anymore. Sombra is in there and doing who knows what. I’m out here while he is in that cave doing who knows what! AND YOU ARE PLANNING A NON-EXISTANT WEDDING?!” I huffed. By Harmony, I was very irritated. How could he? How could he mention a goal that was unattainable by me? I realized that I fell in love with him when he lost his head, but I shouldn’t act on these feeling. It would only lead to heartbreak. Even though in my dream last night Harmony asked me to take care of Sombra and made me promise. But a promise in a dream, no matter how it felt real, should not be taken seriously. It was all a figment of my…

“It is how I am coping, my Lord’s lady,” Pierre interrupted my thoughts. I turned to see him clutching white lily to his chest, tears forming in his eyes, “If you had seen what I have seen in that cave, you too would try your best to forget about it. I am planning your wedding because in my gut I know that it will happen. And my gut is never wrong.” He gave me a watery smile. “I-I wish. (gulp) I w-wish that I h-have n-never seen w-what I-I saw. H-how can t-the Lord go t-through that e-every single y-year for last f-fifty year?” Tears started to pour as he clutched the lilies harder. His small frame shook so hard the petals started to fall off. I wrapped my forearms around his shaking shoulders, squeezing him into my chest. I started to rub circles between his wing, trying my best to sooth him. A few minutes later his sobs quieted.

“I-I deeply apologize for my lack of decorum, my Lord’s lady,” he said as he wiped the last tears from his eyes, “It was not how a proper Kinku acts. I unbecoming of me to show so much emotions. For that I beg for your forgiveness. Oh dear, I destroyed my favorite flower.” I gently took the destroyed flower out of his paws and pulled him closer.

“Will you please tell me what happen in there?” I asked as I laid my head in between his ears. His soft, fluffy ears. His soft purr was starting to turn my legs into jelly. “Pierre?”

“It was completely horrible. Completely and utterly horrible. The Great Goddess reduced to…”

BOOM!

Rocks and boulders flew past my head with a hint of red magic trailing behind them. I squeezed Pierre tighter while ducking my head. I screamed as the rock crashed into the trees. Pierre started to squeak in protest as I slowly lifted my head. There at the entrance to the cave, which was a lot smaller moments ago, was Sombra and a dull grey, bloodied alicorn. I squeezed Pierre tighter as I watch the scene unfold. Pierre squeaks of protest barely reached my ears as I shook from fear. Only one question rang in my head over and over again. What just happened?

Let Us Return Home

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Let Us Return Home
(Present)

“I can’t believe they all left me behind!” A disgruntled Rarity grumbled to herself as she walked along the halls of the crystal palace, the current base of operations to prepare a force to find Twilight out in the tundra beyond pony inhabited lands. “Oh what I wouldn’t give to slap them all upside the heads for leaving Spike and I behind.” Rarity continued to mild rant as she explored the palace with a keen eye of the decor. Until something a miss popped out to her, something most wouldn’t even notice. “That’s odd…” Rarity muttered her interest peaked. “Perhaps I should get a guard just in case.” Rarity thought but having already missed out on the adventure to find twilight the best she could do was see where this led her.

Walking up to the wall she pressed a gem that didn't match the repeating patterns of the palace. The gem was pushed in revealing it to be a switch of some sort as the wall moved back and split down the center opening up to a dusty looking hallway as soft blue light from enchanted flames flared to life. Rarity narrowed her eyes, taking in every detail in the passageway. “This… is far older then the rest of the palace…” she noted. She recalled a spell Twilight had taught her a while back. It was a simple spell called a Horn Pulse that any unicorn could use. Twilight had taught it to her as more of an emergency measure incase something like the Diamond Dogs happened to her ever again. The only problem was that only Shining Armor and Cadence would recognize her magical Morse Code signature if she used it. “Better then nothing at this point.” Rarity huffed and sent out the pulse.

[Cadence and/or Shining Armor I found an old passageway that looks to go under the palace. I will go and investigate what is down there but keep you all updated as best as I can.]

“That should do it.” Rarity puffed out it might have been a simple spell but it took a lot of her concentration to recall the rules of magic based morse code twilight had taught and tested her on. With a nod to herself she trotted down the hidden passage in quick yet decisive steps feeling the passage get more curved while the incline seemed to increase the deeper she went.

Light began to show at the end of the tunnel giving Rarity a sigh of relief. She entered a massive cave of crystals with a massive crystal formation of a snowflake on the ceiling of the cave. The center of the snowflake had a large crystal coming down its center and nearly met the center of the floor by a few pony lengths. Rarity’s breath caught in her throat as her eyes registered what was in front of her and what was on the ground. Carved into the crystal ground were shallow channels that led to a massive network of runic circles filled with a thick red liquid that smelled of wet copper. Rarity put a hoof to her mouth as her eyes trailed higher to the center of the runic circle, her stomach could barely keep down the bile that rose in her throat at what she was seeing.

“Oh goddess….” Rarity muttered her voice echoing in the large cavern.

In the very center of the cave was a tall peach pony of about Cadence’s height. That wasn't what wanted to make Rarity retch, the pony was skeletal at best, with long black crystal spikes nailed through the pony’s hooves, knees, flanks, shoulders, and head with several hollow looking ones nailed through the pony’s back and stretched out wings. Said wings were bare of any feathers with a massive pile of said feathers on the crystal ground soaked in blood, the pony’s mane and tail were being constantly eaten away by smokeless reddish black flames while the horn on the pony’s head was covered in a familiar blue crystal that went up into the center of the massive snowflake. The pony’s face was what set rarity off, one of the pony’s eyes had a long golden crystal inside of it and the other had a long dark blue one both carved with familiar sun and moon marks, the pony’s muzzle looked to have been sewn shut with lavender crystals in the shape of a smile. Golden tears leaked out of the eyes and down their muzzle mixing with the blood.

/Help me… please… someone… help me…/ A weak female voice penetrated Rarity’s thoughts as the trapped pony’s ears twitched. The poor pony was still alive!

In a burst of courage Rarity ran over the lines of blood over to the pony. “Everything is going to be alright dear. I’ll get you free and out of this cave.” Rarity soothed the pony as more golden tears slipped down the pony’s face. Rarity sent a powerful pulse through her horn with one word.

[HELP!] Rarity pulsed before she used her talents to find the weak points in the crystals and gave them all a good buck. “Take that Applejack.” Rarity smirked as she continued to buck the crystals until the pony was free. “It’s going to be alright, this might hurt.” Rarity stated and pulled all the crystals out of the pony’s body including the ones in her eyes and mouth. She eased the pony to the ground before she fired a spell to smother the flames. ‘Thank you Sweetie Belle.’ Rarity mentally stated as a flash of pink light caught her eye. She looked over to see Cadence with Spike on her back.

“Cadence! Please tell me if you can do or know a healing spell?!” Rarity asked as she lowered the pony to the ground to rest after popping the stiff joints and being careful to not cause more blood to pour out.

Ω
‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ Those words rang in Pinkie’s ears echoing in her sugar honed chaotic mind as she raced down the crystalline halls. She smiled to herself. She was going to see a god fight! A bonafede real god fight! This was a chance of a lifetime.
‘This is going to be epic!’ She thought to herself. ‘Now where is that kitchen? I want some diluted rainbow coffee!’
“It is not going to be a fight, just an ungodly debate.” Sombra’s voice echoed in Pinkie’s head causing her to skid to a stop. Disappointment crashed into her.
“There’s not going to be a god fight?” She asked.
‘You could talk in your head I still can hear you. But talk out loud if you want to sound like a crazy pony.’ Sombra chuckled. ‘No, there is no god fight. I thought that I already said that. Are you dense or I did not convey my words correctly?’
“Hey! I ain’t dense!” Pinkie yelled. “I’m just disappointed and LOST! I really wanted to see a god fight!” Sombra laughter echoed across the halls. In a cloud of black glitter, Sombra appeared. Pinkie spat it out. It even got into her nose. Gross.
“Glitter?! What the fu—“
“Would you like it if I teleported you to the room where everyone is at?” Sombra interrupted Pinkie. He stood right in front of her with a toothy grin with black glitter floating around him. His head tilted to the side. “Would that make you happy?” Pinkie took a step back unsure what was about to happen. She shook her head to clear it. This was what she wanted, a quick and easy way for her to see a god fight. But Sombra said that there was no god fight. Would it be worth it?
“Yes, yes it would.” Pinkie chirped. “Let’s go! I’m so fu— Oof.”
“Hold on there, crazy one,” Sombra said, stopping Pinkie with his hoof, “there is something that I have to do first. You smell of Harmony and Discord all in one.”
“What is that?” Pinkie was getting impatient. If he was going to teleport her he should just do it now. ‘What does he have to do that was sooo important?’ Pinkie thought as Sombra’s horn lit up with red magic. It shot towards Pinkie. The magic then wrapped itself around her mouth. She tried to shake it off but the magic just stayed for a second longer.
“WHAT THE FLIPPING FLAPJACKS WAS THAT?!” Pinkie exclaimed
“I dislike ponies cursing at all. It is uncouth and undignified and I will not allow it in my presents.” Sombra huffed. “ Midnight gave me the same reaction as you did, crazy pony.”

“I’m not crazy, you oversized furry balloon!” Pinkie shreaked, “How dare you take away my freedom of speech!” Her eyes blazed with fury. What he did was an invasion of her expressive freedom. That was not right. Absolutely not right.

“Furry balloon? Freedom of speech? What?” Sombra asked in confusion. “Oh, never mind. I do not have time for this nonsense right now. We are going now. I got to stop Void from messing up my kitchen because they thought Discord slighted them somehow. Let us go now.” Sombra suddenly shot out and grabbed Pinkie in the blink of an eye and teleported. Once Pinkie got her bearings, she noticed that she was back in the kitchen. And right in the middle of the room was Discord arguing with a tall, bipedal, black, grey, and white cat wearing a pair of dark green harem pants. The cat’s ears were back as if in displeasure his arms crossed while a hind paw was tapping the ground. Growling was heard from where she was.

“I guess, crazy pony, you will get to see your god fight after all,” Sombra grumbled. He dropped Pinkie to the floor. He walked over to the squabbling gods, stepping over Pinkie in the process.

“What seems to be the problem, Great Ones?” Sombra’s voice cut through the growl. “What has caused this quarrel between the gods.”

“Parent, dearest, had gotten into my food that I was saving for Fluttershy!” Discord stomped his foot. “And they wouldn’t apologize!”

Ahh stop your complaining, boy. I left some. But you didn’t have to PUNCH ME IN THE FACE! The ground shook as the cat grabbed Discord by the neck. They then proceeded to throw him across the room through the crystal wall.

“Void! Please do not desecrate my home and memorial!” Sombra called in slight panic. He did not want his mate waking up to this.

I’ll pay for the repairs. I have been iching for a fight with this disgrace of a son! Come at me boy! Let me pumble you to the ground!

“Enough!” With a bright flash of light two black and red balls formed around the gods, keeping them separated.

A barrier, Sombra, really? Do you plan on keeping me here?

“If you will not act civil I will do what mother had done. Put you both in time out to cool off. My mate is in a delicate state and I will not have your fight kill her! Your fighting already killed Aurora!” Sombra snapped.

I did not kill her, you ingrate. That was all the Second Born’s and Last Born’s fault. Besides, she is not dead, just in pain. The Seventh can’t be defeated that easily. Did you say that Midnight’s reincarnation is her? Oh! I must go and see her! Bye! In a flash of white light the cat was gone, leaving an empty barrier bubble floating in the air.

“Well that was epic!” Pinkie piped. Sombra jumped at the sound of her voice. Discord just started to laugh.

“Uncle, shut it.”

“Hehe, never.”

“Um… Mr Sombra… uh… who is Aurora? And the cat?” Fluttershy asked softly hiding behind the doorway .

“The Seventh alicorn made and the one who’s power is in memories and healing.” Sombra answered, “As for the Cat… They were the First God Void.”

“A pain in the butt is more like it” Discord grumbled, knocking on the barrier wall, “Can you let me out please, Sombra, I’ll behave. I promise.” He stated and did the familiar motions for Pinkie’s promise that he had picked up from Fluttershy.

“Oh! He’s serious,” Pinkie exclaimed, “He made a Pinkie Promise. And if he goes back on it bad juju will happen to him!” Sombra just gave her a confused look.

“It’s Pinkie bein’ Pinkie. Don’t think much ‘bout it.” Applejack stated as she entered the room. “Save you goin’ insane later down the line. Now,” she pointed at Sombra. “Give Twilight back and start tellin’ the Truth.” She emphasized with a hoof stomp.

“I will when she wakes up! I did not know that she would be asleep this long! If you wake her up now her brain would be fried!” Sombra yelled. “What can I do to prove to you that I am telling the truth!”

“Nothin’! Absolutely nothin’ ya can do to prove that ya really tellin’ the truth!” Applejack screeched. Pinkie covered her ears

Sombra growled. “Damn, this is getting ridiculous. Fine I have nothing to hide nor anything hidden… except my mangos. Your Honesty, put that power to the test against me.And see that I am telling the truth.”

“I think that I will.” Applejack nodded.

Enough of this! Go to sleep. With that Applejack dropped to the ground.

Ω
ΩSombraΩ

I slowly walked Harmony towards the trees. She will need some shade and somewhere to rest. I will deal with Midnight later. Right now my mother was far more important at the moment much to my personal regret. She limped all the way there, dragging one of her back hooves along the way. I slowly placed her down near a thick and shady tree. “Here, take a rest. The next part of the journey will be jarring and subsequently make you very disoriented of things around you.” I stated to my mother in a calm and kind voice nuzzling against her cheek to give comfort and distract her from any pain she might have been feeling.

‘It’s getting worse… her mind is fraying too fast and her body is trying to correct it by grounding her literally.’ I thought as I looked her over and for the first time in my life saw my mother’s mark. It was a six pointed star much like Midnight’s except it was sectioned off into six different but familiar colors, pink, purple, orange, red, blue, and magenta. A swirl of smaller stars and bluish purple mist making a galaxy effect was behind the multicolored star. “A supernova.” I muttered softly. “Why have I not noticed that? I guess that she was hiding it.”

I shook my head to clear it. It does not matter. Midnight does. I need to go to her. I slowly walked to the ice blue unicorn. The poor Kinku in her forlegs was causing a ruckus with all the squeaks of protest that he was making. Her poor body shook as her wide eyes tracked my movement. Her head tilted up as I towered over. Fearful amethyst eyes stared back at me. I gently exstated the tiny Kinku from Midnight. I heard him scurry to the trees, complaining all the way about the undignified acts that had occured. I gathered Midnight to my chest, hopping that my purr would soothe her.

“It is alright, Midnight,” I soothed, letting my voice calm her. “I’m sorry you had to see that… no one should have had to see my mother like that.”

“T-that was H-Harmony? W-what happened to her?” She stuttered. I sighed into her mane. It smelled good, like violets and roses.

“The price she paid for making so many Alicorns… and me…” I stated softly. “She is dying… even after reclaiming some of her scattered pieces from the Alicorns. But this time… it got much worse then before…” I stated as Midnight hugged me back with her smaller forelegs. Tears formed in my eyes. I could no longer keep it in. It was too much. I just hope that Harmony’s doctor could save her one last time. “I’m sorry… I’m so so sorry, Annwyl… I should have gotten you out of the cave before I started carving my mother from the tree.”

“It is alright, Sombra, you don’t have to apologize,” she said as she snuggled closer to my chest, “I understand that it is hard. I just can’t stand the smell of blood. It reminds me of when I was attacked by those alicorns. Say what happened to them. I didn’t see them when we left.”

“Oh, to put it bluntly, I ate them.” I shrugged. ‘Maybe I shouldn't have said that.’

“WHAT?!” Definitely shouldn’t have said that. “You did what?”

“To be more specific, I ate the two hearts for an Alicorn, anything less than eating the hearts and they regenerate in a matter of days.” She looked at me and blinked, “What? It was good! Like rare stake. Not only that but they hurt you. I will not let that stand.”

“Meat eater. Gross.” She hissed and started making gagging noises.

“Plant eater. Gross.” I countered her words with a snort. “I don’t know why you don’t eat meat. Mother made it so you are able to eat seafood and some types of livestock.”

“Meat is gross! How many times do I have to say that it is gross!”

“I’m in love with a vegetarian.” I mumbled. My horn sparked as I cast a small spell over Midnight's mouth and nose. A simple air purifying spell that will stop her from smelling blood for a few days. “And now that you're calm and cannot smell blood anymore we might want to collect Pierre and Mother.”

“Ok, Meat Eater!” She chirped. “Can you please let me go?”

“Again with that name? I thought that I gotten rid of it!” I groaned she was going to be the death of my meat heavy diet I swear. I reluctantly released her from being close to my body. Sigh… but I don’t want to. She smiled at me. She lifted her hoof to my face and gently wiped it.

“It is alright to cry, Sombra,” she said softly, “you have been going through a lot, your mother is very close to you… even if you both act weird when near each other.” Midnight stated nuzzling my chest as my tears continued down my face.

“She doesn’t remember me, Midnight… she doesn’t even recall the current language correctly.” I nearly choked out as my tears continued down my face, looking similar to small rivers of liquid silver. As was a quirk Harmony gave Alicorns, to have colored tears to show when they are truly sad or filled with joy. Always with the quirks. I smiled at this memory. She does have ways of making herself known through the smallest thing. As I was enjoying being comforted by my mate I heard distant rustling. A distinctive sound of an annoying voice fluttered into my ears. She sounded about a hundred miles give or take, so we might be able to leave before she gets here.

“Celestia, I think that you have gone overboard with this spell,” Luna said, sounding way too close. “A tracking spell is utterly ridiculous. Let the poor unicorn go and leave him be. It is almost like you are obsessing over him winning Midnight. … I AM RIGHT YOU ARE OBSESSING OVER HER REJECTION! I AM YELLING BECAUSE YOU ARE FAR AWAY! Oh, hey, Sombra, nice seeing you here. And where is Midnight?” Luna said coming out of the tree line. Her smile was still cute as ever.

“Sounds like someone overshot a teleport.” Midnight noted blandly pulling her head from my chest fur she had dived into to muffle the sound of Luna’s voice.

“Yeah, Sister, always goes overboard with her spells. Oh! Midnight, I did not see you there.” Luna said. She skipped over to where we were. “What are you doing there hiding under Sombra?”

“Uhhh…. hugging him?” Midnight asked. I chuckled. This, this right here was what I needed. Some light hearted fun and Midnight’s confusion. It was just so funny when she became confused. Hehe.

“Oh? You are hugging him? I thought that you decided to hide under him.” Luna tilted her head to the side.

I watched midnight turn completely red from horn to hoof. I think I also saw steam and possibly smoke coming from her ears and mane. I started to belly laugh. I laughed so hard that I fell on my back with sapphire colored tears streaming down my face. I heard Midnight growl and a second later felt a small weight on my chest.

Midnight started to pound at my chest while yelling, “You jerk! How can you laugh about this?” Which in turn made me laugh even more. I wrapped my forelimbs around her and nuzzled her head.

“I thought I heard a ruckus coming from this direction.” I groaned as I heard Celestia’s voice. Yellow glitter rained down around us as Celestia came into view. Her look of displeasure was apparent. “Is this what the First Born does in his free time?”

“You overshot by ten miles.” I ignored her question. She scowled in my direction. “Midnight, let's get you and Harmony home.”

“Harmony? Harmony is here?” Celestia squeaked. She started to look around, turning her head this way and that. I was secretly hoping that her neck would snap.

I rolled my eyes. “Luna, you still wish to learn magic from me, correct?” I asked while Midnight got off me to find Pierre. That Kinku was here somewhere. I located him curled up on Harmony’s head. Harmony had a blank look on her face as she survade the arria. I nudge Midnight in the direction of those two. She gave me a nod and started to walk towards them.

“Yes! Yes! Please, sister, let me go. Please.” I heard Luna say. ‘I think I might have to use Mother’s method to teach her.’ I thought to myself as we neared Harmony. I nuzzled her forehead as I listened to Luna. “This is my chance to learn from my ideal!”

“Think carefully Luna.” I threw over my shoulder, “I will be hard and strict on you more so then I am with Midnight. Your talent is in the moon and the night with that there are things not even I can teach you but I have the books to help you make your own magic reality.” Dead seriousness dripped into my voice and tone. She needed to know that if she continued she wouldn’t be able to turn back.
“No, Luna, you cannot go.” Celestia said, “Unless I can go.” Her smug tone of voice was heard all the way over here. By Void, I detested that alicorn. I shook my head as I helped Harmony back to her hooves.

“No. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘flying too close to the sun will get you burned?’” I asked her.

“What?! How… How dare you!” Celestia screaked. Her eyes blazed with malice. I just gave her a deedpaned look.
“You are burning your sister’s chances at personal growth.” I reprimanded her. “To the point where you are acting more like a pegasus parent coddling her foal.” I told her the harsh truth.
“I-I do not. That is preposterous! I am only trying to protect her!”
Midnight nugged my side. I ignored her. “The only thing you are doing is smothering her and leaving her to get killed by another Alicorn!” Midnight nudged me again much harder this time. I looked at her. “Yes?”
“Can you please just bring her along? She is just going to follow us anyways.”
Ω
ΩMidnightΩ
“Can you please just bring her along? She is just going to follow us anyways.” I pleaded. It was for Luna’s sake more than anything really. That girl needed a break from her sister.
Sombra smiled and said “Alright, Midnight, let us return home.” His horn lit up and in a cloud of red glitter our rag tag group teleported. Celestia, Luna and I started to cough up the glitter that went down our throats. Why does it do that? Uggg… As I was asphyxiating on the teleportation glitter, I heard soft murmur coming from the kitchen. I coughed the last bit and jogged towards the kitchen.
“I think a little bit of nutmeg would do wonders for this recipe, don’t you agree?” The gentle motherly voice floated towards my ears. Wait… that voice… It sounds familiar… Can’t be… Is that…?
“Mom?” Mom jumped in surprise at my sudden declaration dropping her spoon in the process. She turned around.
“M-Midnight?” Her voice croaked with emotion as her lilac eyes filled with tears. “Midnight, baby, is that you?”
“Yes, Mom, it is. I am home.” I said with a smile. I took a step towards her but stopped when I saw the alicorn behind her. The alicorn had amethyst, gold, and black tri-colored mane that covered their right eye. The alicorn’s cream colored coat glistened in the sunlight as they silently watched me freeze.
“M-mom, who’s that behind y-you?” I stammered. Mom turned her head to look behind her. And she then turned towards me and smiled.
“Oh, Honey, this is…” she began before was cut off by Luna.
“Aurora Light, what a pleasant surprise!” Luna exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. “I did not know that you were here? I thought you were in Da’lak’ar’s territory.

The Alicorn, Aurora gave a soft and kind but small smile. “I came to see Big Brother and Mother Star. Brother Dala said it was better for me to come visit for a few months then wander the lands to heal other creatures. Has Celly been taking that herbal tea I gave her for her cake cravings?”

“She enjoys them. A bit too bitter for me.” Luna replied.

“Good. I’ll see about making something sweeter for you Lulu.” Aurora stated setting down the cup. She stood to all fours slightly shorter in height then Luna. Immediately my eyes went to her flanks only to wrinkle in confusion to find them blank of any cutie mark.

Aurora seemed to notice my silent inquiry. “I don’t have a cutie mark because I represent and connect cutie marks to Momma.” She
explained slowly trotting over and looking at my own flanks. She gave a kind smile. “Beautiful… You Sister Midnight are living proof that Momma’s children are on the verge of evolution.” Aurora said before squealing in pure delight hopping around me, that calm almost kind healer persona melting away to reveal an excitable and happy filly in a mare’s body. “Oh Momma’s going to be so happy!”

“Who put caffeine in your drink?” I deadpanned to Aurora.

“Midnight, I taught you better then that.” My mother lightly scolded me.

“What did I do?” I asked my mother a bit offended before Aurora saw something and barreled right into it revealing it to have been Sombra.

“Kkwy! Your home!” Aurora snuggled Sombra much like a filly would an older sibling and since Sombra was much bigger then her I could see why she settled on calling him her big brother.

Sombra looked down at Aurora and smiled, “Well hello, Bubbly One, how is my favorite healer?” He asked as he squeezed her back.

Aurora lit her horn as it swirled in a rainbow of colors setting them back on their hooves. She grinned up at him. “I’m doing fine. I got your letter from Brother Dala…” her happy demeanor seemed to deflate a bit before she looked over his shoulder. “Hi Celly, your flanks are bigger then last time. I warned you too many sweets are gonna make you fill out in the wrong places.”

Celestia gave a snort. “I have been cutting down on my sweets.” Celestia retorted.

Aurora simply hummed. “Oh! I have some baked cookies in the oven that my newest helper and I made! Brother Sombra, would you like some while I tend to Momma? Sister Midnight?” Her smile grew wider as hope filled her eyes. I just found another adorable alicorn. How did that happen? Sombra did a happy dance. Aurora giggled along with my mother.

“I thought you did not want me to eat sweets?” Celestia asked with her forelegs crossed.

“I do not. I am putting you on a diet. These sweets are for Brother Sombra, Lulu, and Sister Midnight.” Aurora stated simply. She nudged my mom. Mom nodded and walked around the counter. Mom’s lemon colored coat glistened in the sun as she walked over to the oven. Sombra leaned over and whispered into my ear, “Are you sure you are related to this god of the kitchen?”

“What do you mean by that?” I whisper-yelled back. My eyes narrowed at him. He shrugged and then had the audacity to say, “Well your mother can turn anything edible in just a few short hours, while you have only figured out how to burn water. So I was wondering if you two were truly related.”

“Do you want me to cut off your mane again? OH WAIT! You don’t have a mane any more, Baldy.” Sombra just gave me a look. I smiled sweetly back.

Aurora giggled softly at that. “I can fix your mane Brother, but you might end up with a puffy coat. It’s a spell I learned from my little Umbrums.” Aurora chirped. Her smile grew bigger.

“I will think about it,” He answered, “but I believe that someone wants to talk backwards again. Hmm, Midnight, I distinctly remember that you enjoyed that part.” He gave me an evil smile.

“Eep!” I squeaked and rushed to hide behind Aurora. The poor Alicorn was so confused but at least she hid me with her left wing. Sombra chuckled.

“Do you think that is going to help you, Annwyl?”

Aurora gave Sombra a small scowl and summoned a familiar spray bottle. “Down boy. I have a weapon and will soak you if you try it.” Sombra blinked and then narrowed his eyes. He summoned his own spray bottle. Oh, no.

“Try me.” He challenged. Famous last words. I ran for cover as the water fight ensued. They began spraying each other and getting others wet in the process. Celestia’s shriek and Luna’s laughter was heard over the ruckus. Mom just rolled her eyes as she hunkered down with me.

A hoof tapped me on the shoulder. I whirled around and saw a small filly version of Aurora beside me. “Hi. Can you carry me to Momma Harmony? Mama Star is coming too.”

“Uhh… Sure? How are you so small?” I asked the filly. Aurora just smiled. She does that a lot. She must be a very happy being.

“Well, I’m a clone with a shared connection to my original. My size and abilities are all determined by how much magic goes into the material to create me.” Aurora stated.

“Can you teach me that spell?” My thirst for knowledge was never quenched. I must know that spell!

“You need to learn the principles of Pegasus and Earth Pony magic first.” Aurora chirped. “You do not want to make a Pegasus clone that cannot fly and an earth pony clone that has no strength do you?”

“Uhhh…”

“Trust me. Mama Star was just like you while she was in my care. I always tend to pick motherly ponies that need protection for their foals.” Aurora said.

“Really? Interesting. So you need me to take you to Harmony?”

“Yep! My original will keep Sombra from brooding and getting all depressed.”

“Ok.” I chirped. I slowly got off the floor and peaked behind the island. They were still going at it. Luna and Celestia seemed to have joined in. The water had gotten up to my knees somehow. I magiced the little clone onto my back and slowly walked to the door. I hoped not to get sprayed in the process. Mom just clicked her tongue. She was not impressed.

“Oh that will drain once it reaches this mark here.” Aurora stated pointing a small hoof to a nearby ruler with a red mark set at four inches.

“I was wondering what that was for. Sombra never told me.” I grumbled. Mom just shook her head. Sombra was so getting an earful when this was over. We waded towards the hallway, dodging streams of water flying here and there. My mom yelled when she got blasted with water. A shy ‘oops’ was heard. I guess that Luna had sprayed Mom. Hehe.

“He was learning a water spell and ended up flooding the kitchen. Mother installed it afterwards so he wouldn’t be able to do it again.” Aurora explained. “Ruined a lot of Mother's sketches and plans she had to recreate from scratch.”

“Sounds about right,” I said as we crossed over into the hallway, which was remarkably dry. I turned around and saw a small wall of water at the doorway. It amazed me to no end.

“This house is huge,” I said to the clone, “Can you direct me to Harmony’s room?”

“I can do better.” The filly stated as she climbed up and tapped her horn against mine. A white light flashed on her flanks as a pale purple starburst with a pale brown spell book was shown on her flanks. “Follow the ribbon!” Aurora stated as a shimmering ethereal ribbon in Harmony’s colors appeared looking to be feathered to my chest somehow. A red and black shimmering ribbon went backwards followed by a blue ribbon with moons on it. A very faint white ribbon with small suns on it followed the other two. “These are the ribbons of bonds. The more solid the ribbon the stronger the bond… I’m sorry but I had to tap into your soul crystal to reveal them.” The filly stated sheepishly.

“Well it doesn’t hurt so let’s go.” I stated and trotted after the Harmony ribbon. ‘I saw the spell she used forming in my mind. I’ll write it down later. It must be a side effect of her tapping into my soul crystal.’ I thought to myself taking three turns and coming to a set of double doors covered in silver paint. A six branched tree was etched into the middle of the two doors with the seam of the door looking to have been carved to match the almost bark-like trunk of the tree.

“Midnight your spacing out.” Aurora called.

I blinked. “Oops, well let’s get inside and get you to Harmony.” I pulled open the left door with my magic and boy was it heavy! I managed to open it enough for my mother and I to squeeze through before it swung shut behind us.

Harmony’s room was huge! Its ceiling was barely visible from where we stood. The walls were made out of silvery crystal that flashed her colors. The floor was a white marble with red and black lines flowing through it. As I walked further into the room, I noticed that the walls were like mirrors! ‘Geez, I need a bath. I look horrible.’ Mom nudged me, breaking me out of my thoughts. My mouth hit the floor at the site of the bed. It was a massive silver tree with its branches as the canopy. The leaves were a dark silvery blue. In between the leaves were little multicolored floating lights. Some of them were floating around the twisted trunk which had the bed inside. There in the middle was Harmony, fast asleep. Pierre was still on top of her head asleep also.

“Pixies!” the clone squealed, “I haven't seen them in ages! Only those of a gentle soul can see them.” She managed to hop down and scramble to the bed. I had to hold back laughter. While I looked like a foal to Harmony the filly looked like a newborn as she got closer and flapped her small wings to hover up to the bed. She plopped down on the bed before trotting over to Harmony and booping the sleeping goddess on the nose.

“Harmony, it’s time to wake up.” The filly said as she boop the goddess’s nose again.

“Goodness, don’t you know that it is rude to wake somepony up from sleeping?” Mom exclaimed, “That is not how a filly should act! Get down from there right this instance.”

Aurora instead put her whole body on Harmony’s snout. “MOOOOOM!”

Harmony woke up with a shout, tossing Pierre into the headboard. She frantically looked around the room and poor Aurora hung on her snout for dear life.

“MOOOOM, STOP MOVING OR I’M GOING TO FALL!”

“What? Oh, Seventh thou art here! Pray tell why is thou hanging onto my nose?” Harmony gently magiced Aurora off her nose and placed her on the white sheets. “Have thou come to play? I do not believe my son Sombra is in the mood.” She patted Aurora’s head in a motherly fashion.

“Sombra asked me here… don’t you remember my naming ceremony?” Aurora asked.

“Naming ceremony?” Harmony asked in confusion. “But you are too young for a naming ceremony.”

Aurora gave a sad smile. “You can’t tell I’m a clone? My original is currently with Sombra.” Harmony blinked. The look of utter confusion grew as time went on. Harmony’s eyes glazed over. She got a distant look in her eyes. She tilted her head to the side.

“Who art thou, little filly?” She asked with an echoey voice.

“Aurora Light, your doctor.” Aurora said with a watery smile. Golden tears began to trail down her face. “And I am here to heal you, Great Goddess.”

Aurora looked over at Harmony’s flanks and her small horn began to glow, her flanks turning blank once more before a small beam of light floated up and touched Harmony’s horn. The clone’s eyes went wide then completely white as a pale version of Harmony’s mark appeared on the clone.

The door opened as Sombra entered carrying the Original Aurora whose face was covered in tears as well, eyes a silvery white with an exact copy of Harmony’s cutie mark on her flanks. Sombra gently placed her beside Harmony. Aurora curled into the dazed goddess as her clone vanished, becoming a simple piece of Aurora’s mane. “Mommy…” Aurora hiccuped softly.

Sombra stepped back and wrapped his wing around me. I snuggled closer to him, lending him my strength. This reminded me too closely of my grandmother. At least she died of old age unlike what happened to my dad. Tears formed in my eyes at the memory. No, it was not the time to cry. Sombra needs me to be strong for him. I must be strong.

“No, fy un bach i, you don’t have to be strong for me.” He said as he pulled me into a hug. “It is all right to cry.” So I let the tears pour.

Aurora calmed down after a few minutes looking up from Harmony’s fur and locking sad eyes with Sombra. “I’m sorry… I… I can feel our mother falling apart… her physical body… too much has been lost to keep it alive in this form…” Aurora hiccupped to Sombra before shaking her head and looking at Sombra with the sad yet old eyes of a doctor. “This won’t last long, Sombra, she is dying. We only have a year or more left until she is gone from the physical realm. Void wants her to come home and I cannot go against their wishes. I am not an Ethereal. Unlike your mate, I have to obey the First God’s ruling. It is time to let her go.” She stated her voice cracking as she gave her diagnosis and the verdict. For you see…When the One who was truly wronged forgives then Harmony will return.”

Giving up Hope

View Online

ΩCadenceΩ

“Oh my goddess.” Cadence gasped seeing the pony next to Rarity followed by all the blood. She rushed immediately over and began to stitch the holes closed. “Rarity I suggest you look away, I’m going to remove the crystals from her eyes.” Cadence ordered the fashionista.

“Right.” Rarity looked away, laying her ears flat as Cadence took hold of the crystals and yanked them out of the pony’s eye sockets, immediately pulling the eyelids closed with her magic.

“Okay, that’s done. Now we need to get her to the medical ward immediately for treatment. There is no telling how long she has been down here and trapped like this.” Cadence stated.

“Uh… Cadance… this runic circle… it… feels familiar…” Spike softly piped up while his claws covered his nose. “It… it… feels…”

“It feels like WHAT, SPIKE!?” Rarity yelled, “SPIT IT OUT!”

“Rarity!” reprimand Cadence. “Spike is only trying to help!”

“Sorry…”Rarity mumbled. Cadence noticed that Rarity’s hooves were shaking. She shouldn’t have been so hard on the poor unicorn. Times were tough on her, with her best friends all missing and not knowing what was going on. It would put anypony on edge. Hell she’s on edge. Her sister in law was missing! Where could she be? Cadence couldn’t send more ponies to look for her even when most of the Elements went missing. Fuck! Even Discord was gone! What the hell was she supposed to do?

“It feels like Celestia…” Spike stated in a hushed whisper at Rarity’s unlady-like yell as the two mares stabilized the peach mare. “Can either of you do a mana transfusion?” Spike asked hesitantly. “Because she’s going to need it real soon.” Spike started to chew on one of his claws.

“I can do it, Spike.” Cadence assured the baby dragon. She gave him a sweet smile. “Rarity, you need to hold her head up and keep it very still. I have to be touching her horn.”

“B-but there's blood everywhere! I don’t know if I can do it!” Rarity protested.

“Rarity, this is not the time! She is going to die!” Cadence shouted. Rarity squeaked in protest. The peach mare’s ears twitched at their arguing as a faint silver ribbon reached out from her horn and touched Cadence’s. A flash of peach light blinded the alicorn, unicorn and drake. She partly opened her mouth and muttered a single name.

“Sombra.”

Ω

(The day before Harmonia sunk)

ΩUnknown fillyΩ

Screams echoed across the city of Harmonia after the Decree was read. No being was safe from the Alicorn’s wrath. Fire mixed with blood that rained down upon the streets as the Alicorns gleefully carried out the order. Hiding among the trash and crates in the alleyway was a tiny malnourished dark brown earth pony and her three siblings. Scars and cuts littered the hides of the poor souls. Wounds they have gathered from days prior. They thought that escaping the wretched farms and hiding in the Capital would make their lives easier. But no. They were wrong.

“I is scared. I is wanna go home.” The tiniest filly complained. “Ma ‘n Da must’n be worried ‘out oos. Pumpkin!”

“Quiet, Lily Hop. Er de yer wanna hav’ de Alicor’s ter spot oos?” Pumpkin Spice growled. She blew her red and orange hair out of her eyes.

Hooves hit the stone hard as an emerald green unicorn entered the alleyway looking around with almost glowing crimson eyes. “Any foals here?!”

“Shhh… dert trust dem,” Pumpkin said, “Alicor’s are out ter get oos. Ta be killin’s de er bos else. We hav’ta get a boat an’ ge ou’ of her.”

The unicorn’s ears seemed to twitch before her horn glowed a multicolored light and lifted the crates hiding the four foals. The pony smiled.

“SHIT! RUN!” Shreeched the third biggest

The pony’s magic turned a deep navy blue as a mark of a crescent moon with a cat appeared on her flanks. Four mist-like shots were aimed at the foals and all but Pumpkin were fast asleep snoring like newborns. The pony gave a shaking breath looking to be in pain as she lifted each foal before settling down the crates. As the Unicorn walked her eyes began to lose their color turning a milky red.

The pony began to sing a wordless melody as a thin blue shine covered her body and slowly seemed to eat away at her life energy. A semi opaque dome of magic covered them as the unicorn trotted away from the carnage. Her voice took on an echoing quality: one was motherly, another was soothing like a parent, and the third was somber, almost resigned to what lay ahead.

/I’m sorry you must see this child but your siblings will feel no pain./ a motherly voice echoed in Pumpkin’s head. A list of directions was imprinted on her young mind. /now… Run…/

The Unicorn set the four siblings outside of the alley, instantly waking them up as a sharp pulse of fear had the four bolting down the streets. Pumpkin ran as fast as her damaged hooves could take her, weaving around crates and trash of the back alleys. The alleyways began to fill with blood as more and more lives were taken by the Alicorns. A scream was heard behind the running foals causing them to stop in their tracks. Pumpkin turned around and watched in horror as Lemon was tossed in the air by an Alicorn. Crunch! The young filly’s body went limp as the Alicorn closed its teeth. Blood trickled down its muzzle as it devoured the tiny earthpony. It black eyes looked with the remaining fouls.

The land shook, rumbling underhoof like a large animal stomping its way there. Smoke violently erupted from one of the larger mountains setting off a chain reaction as more mountains began to spew ash and rock into the air. A great roar sounded causing everything to stand still as the ash fell to the ground. A great black beast casted a shadow on the trembling fouls as it stalked toward the Alicorn from the rooftops. Ten fox-tails swished back and forth in a hypnotic fashion. A colt broke away from the trembling group, mesmerized by the tails. Pumpkin shouted out to get the colt’s attention but he was already mesmerized.

The Black Beast pounced on the Alicorn and a bloody fight ensued for a few heartbeats. The Beast won, leaving a bloody corpse in its wake. It shot back onto the rooftop. In a mighty leap it leaped into the air spreading its black feathered wings. The blow back of this take-off caused the unstable building to fall, crushing the colt in the process.

“Lime!” cried the youngest. He ran towards the ruble, trying his best to dig his big brother out. Pumpkin quickly grabbed the youngest colt and dragged him away kicking and screaming.

“We moost ger bac’, Sistr Pum’ki’.” The colt cried, “Broder Lime and Sistr Lemon cud be-“

“No! We gotta get de lake!” Pumpkin Spice stated. “Da ahr bot’ de’d. We mus go! Stahp strug’n’, Chive!” Chive slumped into her forelegs. The life drained from the eyes of the little colt.

The filly flipped the colt onto her back and bolted for the salty air of the port. “Hold ti’ht!” Pumpkin shouted as she jumped over obstacles one after another as the cobblestone turned to the wooden planks of the port. Faster and faster she went as the buildings all around her kept crumbling to the ground. Deadly rays of magic flew across the air, leaving devastation in their path.

Pumpkin was suddenly knocked to the ground by an unknown assailant. Her brother flew off her back and rolled a few yards away. She started to yell but snapped her mouth shut as her unknown assailant’s -a Kinku- chest started to glow white. The purple Kinku screamed as their heart burst out of their chest with a crack! It flew up into the air to an unknown destination.

“Shit. I missed!” A honeyed voice said. “I was aiming for the two earth shits but the damned Kinku got in the way. Fucking self-sacrifincing pieces of shit foxes.” Pumpkin’s eyes widened as she looked up into the sky. There hovering above where she laid was three blood thirsty Alicorns. Their farel smiles chilled her heart as she scrambled to reach her brother.

“Ah, how cute! The brown one is trying to save the green baby.” sneered an Alicorn. “Say, Sisters, do you want to play a game with our food?”

“Why certainly, Big Sister, I would love to play a game!” A soft sophisticated voice answered. “What’s say you, Little Sister?”

“Finally! I was getting bored.” A childish, brash voice stated. “I say it is a wonderful idea, Middle Sister! What game shall we play, Big Sister?”

“Hide and Eat!” Big Sister said. “If they survive then they will become our playtoys!’

“NEW TOYS! I LOVE RECEIVING NEW TOYS!” Little Sister squealed. “Let us play!” A loud boom was heard along with a scream.

“Wait, Little Sister, let them get a head start. We do not want the game to end prematurely, now do we?” Big Sister admonished. “Run, little earth shits, run. And hope that you survive the day! Haha!”

Pumpkin picked up her little brother and bolted from the crazy Alicorns seeing a small boat at the end of the port. ‘There!’ She made a brake for it. Her hooves pounded on the blood drenched wooden planks before a harsh wave crashed into the side of the boardwalk violently soaking the fillies in salty water and washing the blood away. ‘Gotta get to the boat!’ She thought as giant fiery rocks crashed down into the salty waters with small stones puncturing roofs and setting homes on fire, the earth shook again sending more waves onto the land causing large chucks to break and fall into the raging waters.

Pumpkin felt the small weight on her back disappear as a wave crashed into her, knocking her off her hooves. Her eyes widened as she helplessly watched Chive fall into the water. She scrambles to her hooves, slipping on the wet boards. She finally makes it to the edge of the pier and all she saw was choppy waves. Off in the distance she heard the cackling of the Three Alicorn Sisters, but she didn’t care. Her baby brother was in the water. He couldn’t swim!

“Get in de boat, ‘oung fi’y,” cried an earth pony, “‘r gonna get eten!”

“But me broder-“

“Now!” The earth pony shouted over the raging waves as the three Alicorns dove down at the older pony.

Something seemed to snap in the filly as she got up she could hear the earth crying in pain and vengeance for all the blood of her brothers and sisters. She could feel the earth filling her tiny body through the wood. She stomped a hoof to the ground and a spire of rock came up from the very earth piecing one of the Alicorns. The filly then gave a buck and a tall trunk of a tree instantly grew entrapping the other two Alicorns. Their screeches of frustration nearly became deafening.

The filly panted after that little stunt of pure raw emotional magic. She heard quick hooves on the wet boards and lifted her head up to the older earth pony.

“May the Earth be with, ‘oung fi’y” The old earth pony said. “Ner coom on! De U’icorns ‘re pooting oop e shi’ld! Quik befer de lo’k yer oot!”

“Ok,” She said as trudged up the plank with the old earth pony. The duo swiftly entered the small boat and pushed away from the port. The elder pony strapped a floating device on the filly.

“Th’t keep y’u safe.” The elder stated, beginning to paddle the boat away with an ore into the setting sun. The three unicorn horns at the tip of the boat lit up with magic creating a shield around the small boat. Pumpkin turned towards the burning city and thought, ‘What woold ha’en now?’

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

“….When the One who was truly wronged forgives then Harmony will return.”

What does that mean? I know it was a prophecy, but of what and for who? What does Aurora mean by Harmony, our mother, dying? A Goddess cannot die! Right? This was too much, too much!

“Midnight… would you like to go out to the town tonight? Just you and me?” I asked my almost mate I needed to get my mind straight with a distraction that had me doing physical labor. Aurora would probably stay here to cuddle with mother and possibly fall asleep under mother’s wing. She had done it enough times to me that I’ve lost count.

“W-wait what? H-hold on, Sombra. I… I think it would be best to hold off and wait until we are all calmer.” Midnight stated. “You just found out your mother’s physical form is degrading. You're devastated and tired, I wouldn’t mind if you just want to cuddle and sleep and wait a few days so we can plan the night together.” She pointed out with understanding. “I was very close with my grandma before she passed away. From what Aurora said, your mom is only going on a… working vacation for a while?” Midnight stated a bit unsurely. She tapped her hooves in a nervous jester. I smiled at this. She was just so cute! But I’m not letting her get away that easily. A plan formed into my head.

“Sure, fiiiinnnne. I guess.” I bemoaned. I began to lean on Midnight gradually adding more weight. “I guess that I have to morn all by myself, with no one to sympathize with my plight. Wallowing in my self pity. It is simply tragic. All I ever wanted was to escape with a really competent friend of mine. But alas she doesn’t want to! Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me that the one I want would not go on a date with me! Oh! Oh woe is me!” At the end my epic siloqui I was on the ground with Midnight squashed under me. Her squawking was the background of my beautiful speech.

“Get your fat butt off of me!” She squealed, flailing her legs. “You’re heavy!”

“Did you hear what I was saying, Miss Star? It was quite important. I was lamenting my woes to you.” I countered.

“Absolutely not! I did not hear what you said?! You're emotionally and not to mention magically exhausted! Do you want to face-plant into the floor again after over-extending yourself?!” Midnight squeaked out her point.

“Uhhh… no…” I blinked.

“Good. Now get your fat butt off me! Did I mention that you… are… heavy?!” I relented and got off Midnight hearing her dramatically gasp for air. Silvery magic enveloped us both as Aurora gave us both a lazy one eyed glare.

“Do both of you not want to be adults today?” Aurora asked in a monotone voice. Oops, she’s still connected to Harmony’s mark. “Where is Celly and Lulu?”

“I don’t know.” I grumbled, “I’m not their keeper. The White one is probably going through my stuff and nitpicking everything that I own.”

“Most likely.” Midnight nodded. I am so glad that I have her by my side.

Aurora gave a disappointed scowl. The left door of the bedroom opened and she promptly tossed me into my rump with Midnight landing on top of me as a silver ribbon bound my wings and wrapped around my horn. “If you're gonna fight, do it outside. Mother needs her sleep and you two arguing like a married couple ain’t helping. Until you both figure out what to do I’m cutting your unicorn and pegasus magic for forty-eight hours, Big Brother. Why don’t you teach Midnight and Lulu some magic from your books? Also can you send Celly in here?” Aurora shouted as slammed the door. Rude.

“Well then! I never!” I yelled at the closed door. I bucked the door in frustration. Gah! That little healer was so annoying sometimes!

“You sound like an old Curmudgeon.” Midnight stated as she made use of my head just as she had done on the trip. “You look like a present with your wings and horn covered in bandages with these large bow knots.”

“Uggg… why me?” I groaned as try to stretch the bandages. “She maybe the youngest out of the Seven, but she sure acts like she is the oldest. How do get these off of me? Maybe I should burn them?” I mumbled as I walked towards my room.

“She said she cut off your unicorn and pegasus magic.” Midnight chimed. “Which means you are currently an earth pony unless you know a way to channel your Pegasus and Unicorn magic through your hooves.” Midnight retorted. She had gotten very smart after reading the books mother had on pony biology and magical development. My mate was so smart.

If I remember correctly I must channel my magic from my core and direct it to my hooves. It has been centuries since I did this last. I’ll think more about this after a nap. Today has been an emotionally draining day.

“Midnight, come here.” I tapped my hoof on the spot that I wanted her. I heard her trot over to me, her little hooves slightly muffled on the carpet.

“Yes, Sombra?” Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me. I smiled. So cute! “Sombra?”

Oh, right. Focus, Sombra, focus! There’s no time for that! I need to carry her to my bedroom and without magic might I add. So I did what Harmony would do. I picked her up like a mother cat would with her kittens by the scruff her neck and trotted to my room. Her squeaks of protests made me chuckle. It was quite hilarious.

“Laugh it up buddy. I’ll get my revenge sooner then later. If you weren’t bald I’ll chop it off!” She growled. I dropped her onto my bed and curled around her. I wrestled with her flailing limbs until I had her restrained.

“Hush. We’re sleeping this spell out!” I said as I laid my head on top of hers, being careful of her horn.

“No, I am not!” She protested.

“Yes, we are.” I countered.

“No, we are not!”

“Yes, we are.”

“No, w— mfrhphhh!!!” I slapped my hoof around her mouth to muffle her. She started to growl at me. In response I started to purr. Loudly. To the point her growls were washed out by my persistent purr. I upped the ante when I felt her start to struggle. After ten minutes or so Midnight stopped struggling. I smiled when I heard her soft snoring. I pulled her in closer to me, getting comfortable and closing my own eyes feeling the exhaustion I had been holding back as I fell asleep. A mild thought nagged at me that I had forgotten something but pushed it out of my mind while the realm of dreams enveloped my consciousness. Bah! I’ll deal with it in the morning.

The Date

View Online

The Date
—————————

The orange pony dropped like a bag of rocks. Sombra wrapped his magic around the pony before she hit the ground. Wouldn't want one of Twilight’s friends getting hurt, now do we? He sighed as he gently carried her ahead. Another one in a comatose state reliving their first life. He wondered if it was because a creature’s first life was their creator soul and not their finisher soul that the god’s chose it. Huh? Ah well. He just needs to put this pony where she will be comfortable. And the only place that it was with Twilight. By the gods, he missed her. He will use this convenient excuse to go and see her. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. He smiled to himself as he trotted down the corridors. He heard the frantic hooves of her two friends follow him.

“What happened to Applejack?” The cyan pegasus asked as she flew next to him. So that was the orange earth pony’s name. Huh. Ah well. He will get it sooner or later.

“Void happened.” He said. At the corner of his eye he saw the pegasus’s rose eyes widen. Shock filled her face.

“Did the First Being curse her?” She squeaked.

“No, they did not. They just sent her mind to her first life, that is all,” He shrugged, “just like I did to Twilight and Harmony did to you.”

“Oh… Then why was I in Lester’s memories?” She asked as they turned a corner.

“I wanted you to understand my plight so I sent your mind to the first creature that I could think of. The wolfling Lester. It was a pure coincidence that I chose him. I must say that my butt was saved when Harmony stepped in and sent you to your first life.” Sombra chuckled. “I do not think my plan would have worked without my mother’s help.”

“True.” The pegasus nodded.

“Well, that makes me feel better.” he grumbled.

The rainbow maned pegasus then looked up at him with a weird expression on her face tilting her head. “Uh…”

“Never mind, Rainbow Maned One, I was talking to myself.”

“It’s Rainbow Dash.”

“Say what?”

“My name. It’s Rainbow Dash.” She stated. “Because I leave a rainbow trail when I fly.”

“My apologies, Rainbow Dash.” He bowed his head. “I see that my speed has stayed with you all these lives. I am happy to see that.”

She actually gave him a smirk. “Yep! I can make a Sonic Rainboom.”

“Oh! That is fantastic! You figured how to do that? At a young age no less! Congratulations, Miss Dash.” He beamed at her. His eyes lit up with joy at this news. His speed was put to great use. Such talent.

Rainbow puffed her chest out. “That was how I got my cutie mark and gave everyone else theirs from what I remember of our cutie mark stories.”

Sombra laughed with joy at this. “That is wonderful! Simply wonderful! I am proud of you!”

Rainbow nodded before looking up and blinking. Her eyes looked to be gazing at his horn. “So… how come your horn looks like it’s made from glass instead of bone? Twilight had given us a lecture but I kinda slept through it. Don’t do very well in a classroom setting and prefer hooves on stuff.” Rainbow said, her demeanor mixing together with her past and present.

“I honestly do not know. It has always been that way.” Sombra shrugged as he opened the door to Twilight’s room. “I guess Harmony wanted it that way. Why do you ask?”

Rainbow cringed slightly. “From what I hear… it’s very hard and very expensive for a unicorn to get a prosthetic horn. It’s also very painful for them to naturally grow new or have them grow new horns especially if the Alicorn- er- the magic core thingy- is damaged.”

“Interesting. No, my horn is natural all the way. I should know I had to grow my head back multiple times already. No thanks to you, Cat! What are you doing here!”

Rude. I am simple enjoying my time with my Ethereal, dumb male. No need to give me attitude. Void grumbled as they petted Twilight’s mane.

“THEN WHY IS SHE ON YOUR LAP!” Sombra screeched. His magic flickered and the orange pony fell. Rainbow Dash shot forward leaving her namesake trail catching Applejack on her back.

“Watch your anger! You dropped Applejack!” Rainbow scolded feeling like she was yelling at a Rookie Wonderbolt not getting along with his Senior.

“My apologies, Miss Rainbow Dash.” Sombra bowed deep. “If you do not mind please place Miss Applejack on the bed next Twilight. I got a cat to shoo off the bed.”

Ooo scary. Very scary. I am soooo frightened. Void said with a deadpan look.

“Looks like some creature can give Rarity a run for her money in the Drama Queen department.” Rainbow deadpanned as she placed Applejack on the bed.

Are all creature’s in this time so disrespectful to the gods?

Rainbow tapper her hoof to her chin. “Well… let’s see. We don’t believe in gods because we have kicked their asses seven ways to Sunday. Nightmare Moon, Discord twice no two and a half since he was backstabbed, Chrysalis, Tirek, and Starlight. The Tree of Harmony even gave Twilight her own Crystal Tree Castle.” Rainbow listed off.

The Cat blinked. Harmony made a castle? From a tree? And Discord got his butt kicked twice? I have missed a lot taking my naps. I have missed a lot of action! No fair!

Rainbow looked at Sombra. “Though your clone was a pain in the rear until Spike got the Crystal Heart to its stop under the Crystal Palace.” Rainbow stated.

Ahh a crystalized alicorn heart. Interesting. I need to see that. Soon.

“An… actual heart…?” Rainbow repeated slowly as her ears flopped down. “You mean an actual heart is what’s keeping the Northern Wild Storms from burying the Crystal Empire under mountains of ice and snow?!?”

Yes. Someone took an alicorn’s heart and crystalized it. I unfortunately do not currently know who’s heart it is, but I will soon. A feral grin formed on the Cat’s face. Sombra rolled his eyes at this. He was secretly plotting away to get the dang cat away from his mate. At the corner of his eye he saw a ribbon flying towards him.

“Aurora?” He whispered as he turned towards the ribbon. His eyes widened with what he felt. Pain. Unfathomable pain.

Rainbow chanced a look at him and tilted her head. “Why is your horn flashing?”

“AURORA!” He shouted and bolted to the door. He nearly plowed the Crazy One on his mad dash to Aurora’s location. She was hurt. Hurt badly. And woe to those who had done this. The Ethereal power burst forth as he barroled down the crystal's halls. Burn them to the ground. He was going to burn them to the ground.

Ω

Rarity

The bright flair faded from Rarity’s eyes as she shook her head, blinking out the dots in her vision as she looked around. She was still bracing the unknown and hurt alicorn with Cadence and Spike not that far away but the place they were in was vastly different. “Where in Equestria are we?” Rarity asked rather breathlessly, gazing at the crystal murals all around them.

One wall of the cavernous mural had a massive dark blue background with hundreds if not thousands of small almost childish renditions of slumbering ponies inside of different gem shapes. In the center of the mural was a large rendition of a peach alicorn wearing a crystal petril and a small crystal crown that looked similar to the crown King Sombra wore only smaller and without a nose guard. The mural alicorn also had long semi spiked tricolored hair in black, gold, and a crimson amethyst much like Cadence’s tricolored mare and tail.

“Sombra.” A light yet weak soprano voice spoke right beside Rarity as the alicorn’s horn flashed once more creating a thick but ghostly ribbon of black with glimmering red streaks that shot off deeper into the cavern. That was swiftly followed by a pale yellow ribbon covered in pink butterflies, an orange ribbon with red apples, a blue ribbon with small rainbow colored lightning bolts that glittered, a pink ribbon with balloons, a chaotic plaid ribbon that jerked and whistled, a black grey and white ribbon with paw prints and finally a lavender purple ribbon intertwined with an ocean blue ribbon both marked with a familiar starburst but the blue one was littered with books while the lavender ribbon has the familiar small white stars.

The sound of hooves hitting the crystalline floor from deeper into the cave reverberated through the silent air. Rarity help her heart thumping in her chest as Cadence took up a battle stance, a consequence or a blessing of being the wife of a military officer.

An obsidian black and blood red alicorn male charged around the bend, the black and red ribbon connected to his own horn as his ruby eyes were wide in shock. “Aurora!” The stallion thundered as he came closer, following after him were most of Rarity’s friends excluding Twilight and Applejack.

“Get away from her!” The beast growled causing the ground to shake. “What did you do to her?!”

Cadence stood her ground flailing her wings. “We didn't do anything to her! We found her like this underneath the Crystal Palace.” Cadence stated while nudging Spike behind her.

“…Brother…” The peach pony, Aurora, weakly called out in a hushed whisper.

“Everything is going to be alright, Aurora. I’ll be right there to heal your wounds.” The obsidian Alicorn stallion assured in a soothing tone.

Cadence glared at the stallion. “Like Tartarus I’m letting an innocent pony in your hooves, King Sombra!” She snapped and shot a bolt of light blue magic to stun the stallion. The black beast just batted the magic away. His growl grew louder, knocking Rarity to the ground.

“I am no king, alicorn, but I am your doom if you do not step away from my long lost family.” His eyes glowed red with anger as he advanced further. “Move, now!”

Rarity shook before a familiar cyan Pegasus and butter yellow Pegasus shot over and got in the alicorn’s way.

“First Born, my Lord! Please calm down! You’ll do more harm than good. Those markings are similar to what the Demented One did to her prey.” Rainbow stated in an accented voice.

Pinkie Pie had her mane and tail rather flat as she looked at the Alicorn. “That smile… it’s sadistic…”

Pumpkin

(The day Harmonia sunk)

The boat rocked violently on the roaring waves. It was as the Great Neptune Lake was angry at injustice that had occurred the day before. Red mixed with blue as the waves churned. It took all of Pumpkin’s energy just to stay in the boat. She was soaked to the bone. Her fur smelled faintly of salt and blood. She felt so cold and hollow now the only living pony of her family. She gazed about the boat finding several other foals each shivering as another wave crashed into them.

“Herld on dar, ‘ittle nuns, de stern ‘oold pass,” an old earth pony shouted. He despertly tried to keep the boat afloat even though they lost a few unicorns. The shield that they had up did nothing to keep the water out. By sheer luck the boat did not fall apart. Pumpkin closed her eyes as the water rushed over her. ‘I dert tik tha de stern ‘oold er end.’ She thought. It had been hours cence the storm and the colors of magic in the air started. They didn’t get too far from the shore but far enough to be somewhat safe from the raging alicorns.

“I want to go home.” A small pink unicorn cried. The unicorns always received a better education then the earth ponies and Pumpkin was jealous of it. They even spoke better! How was any of this fair! Her family’s dead and she was stuck on a boat with a winny unicorn. She was wet and cold. She didn’t have the patient for this winny colt! She turned towards the colt to tell them off. The boat stopped rocking. Neptune was still. Everything was still. It was as if the world was holding its breath.

“What’s happening?” The colt cried.

“Shut it!” growled Pumpkin. “er I’ll shut fer ya!”

“Filly!” Shouted one of the adult unicorns, “Apologize.”

“No! I is not gerna ‘ologize! I is no-” Her mouth shut at the sound of a cat's yowl. Everyone turned towards the sound. High in the bright blue afternoon sky, miles above land was a piece of the night sky shaped like a bipedal cat. Its tail swished angrily back and forth as it growled its displeasure.

“Oh, great Harmonia,” a male/female voice cried out booming across the waters, “The Land to first rise from the waters. The land from which Life was first born. How far you have fallen. You were once a land of firsts! A land of examples for all to see. You were beloved. You were cherished! But you have turned your back to what your creator wanted. You became a sea of red. Your soil drank the blood of the innocent and the plants thrive on it. You have become a grave! A grave for the lost and broken. A ravelry for the depraved and wicked! The servants of Harmony have turned their back on their creator, and I, I have seen enough!” A shockwave came from their last words. The boat violently rocked at the waves that came forth from the words. The Cat Continued, “I, the Creator of the Souls, the Watcher of Time, the First Being, the Void Between the Stars, am disgusted at your acts and will no longer stand by and watch you live! Vengeance is mine and I shall have it!”

The night sky raised its paws in the air. A rumbling sound and the water churned once more. Pumpkin’s green eyes widen in surprise as she watches the land she called home begin to rise from the water. Screams echoed from the land itself making her pin back her ears and tremble in horror at what her little eyes were seeing. It rose miles in the air blotting out the sun.

“You were first to rise! Now, Harmonia, you are first to fall!”

Pumpkin watched as the land she had called home and was born, fell from the sky. Many tried to jump off the side to escape but all were held in by an invisible barrier. Blood marked where it ended. With a great crash, the land that once was called Harmonia sank into the sea. A great wave came barreling towards the small boat at breakneck speed.

“Brace for impact!”

The wave crashed into the boat, sending it sideways and causing it to sink. Pumpkin was lucky, the force of the wave hitting the boat had tossed her over the ship and out of harm's way where some planks from the ports were floating in the rough waters. She held onto the plank with her entire body and prayed to Harmony she would survive this unnatural typhoon. Higher and higher she went as she was dragged away from what was once Harmonia. Each wave was bigger than the last until finally the waves calmed. Somehow by the grace of Harmony she survived. She floated on the plank for what seemed to be hours but with no land in sight she didn’t believe that she’ll have long to live. Her legs were becoming tired as she held on. She began to slowly slip. Her grasp began to weaken. The ruthless sun beat down on the poor filly as she held on for dear life. The cold water stole whatever warmth she had. She started to see things.

First it was her family all laughing at their diner table on one of those rare moments. Then she thought she saw some alicorn flying out of the water. A black and red beast flew in and began cutting down the alicorns. Some were fortunate and got away. But the ones who didn’t were brutally destroyed. Pumpkin cheered the beast as it wiped out the escaping alicorn. Her imagination was brilliant! At least here in her dying mind her oppressors were being destroyed. She smiled at this.

SPLASH!

One of the imaginary alicorns fell right next to her! It wasn't fake! It was real! Alicorns were flying out of the water and a beast was killing them! An orange alicorn’s head floated right next to her. Its face was frozen in fear and anger. Pumpkin felt a deep satisfaction in her gut at the sight. Finally they were getting what they deserve. Another alicorn fell with its chest split open causing Pumpkin to lose her grip when the body hit the water.

“‘elp me!” She cried as she began to sink. She didn’t know how to swim, so she sank. The darkness swallowed her as the bubbles floated up. She tried to follow the bubbles but she was too tired. It might be best and let the darkness take her away. It was time for her to sleep. She hadn’t slept in a while. It was about time she slept. She was running out of air so what does it matter anyhow? A black being shot through the water. Its glowing red eyes locked onto her as it swam towards her. The last thing she saw before she passed out was black feathers dipped in blood wrapping themselves around her.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

I am burning up. I’m in an oven again. Sombra has put me here and thanks to the black Alicorn I can’t use my horn to teleport out of his grasp just like when I first came to him all those months ago. Plus his purring had made my body feel like jelly. I’m burning up here! Wait... Wait a minute… Did his body temperature change? He’s getting colder… too cold! Gah!

“Cold!” I squealed as my horn popped and several thick blankets automatically covered us up with a fluffy thump of a blanket avalanche. Wait… Magic! I have magic!!!

“Go to sleep, Midnight.” Sombra grumbled, pulling me further into his legs. “Mine.”

“Why are you so cold!? You were burning hot just a bit ago!?” I demanded. Why Sombra’s temperature seemed to change at the oddest of times always confused me. Like how?

“I thought we agreed to be quiet.” Sombra grumbled into my neck. “It’s time to sleep.”

“No, it is time to get up!” I yelled as I tried to wiggle myself out of his hold. “Not everyone can sleep on days end! Some of us need only a few hours of sleep! Let go!”

“No, you're my plushie that I sleep with.” He said as he pulled me back into his freezing chest. “And I thought I was your blanket, or did you change your mind?” The jerk was smiling! I could feel it. He chuckled at my protest. I am so going to kick Aurora’s butt once I get out of this situation for locking my magic away. “What, Little Star, don’t you want to play?” Did he…? Did he just lick my ear?! GROSS! What the heck?

“EWW!! SOMBRA DID YOU JUST LICK MY EAR?” I screeched. I tried to rub the sliva off my ear. “That’s gross! I don’t know where your tongue has been!”

“In my mouth clearly,” he deadpanned, “and clearly you never did bed play or your past partners never took care of you.” I froze at that statement. Bed play? What does…?

“I have know idea what you are talking about, sir, but since you're clearly awake enough to. Lick. My. Ear. You could let me go.”

“Never.”

The door to the room slammed open. “Midnight! Breakfast!” Aurora's voice filled the room as her multicolored magic enveloped Sombra and me. She pulled me away from the grumbling stallion. “You might want to change your core temperature, Brother. Not even you can survive with it being that low for hours.” Aurora stated, placing me on her back and trotted out of the room, locking the door behind her. “So, Pancakes or Egg Baked Toast? Mom’s cooking.” Aurora asked. This took place in three seconds. It made my head spin.

“Egg Baked Toast?” I asked. I shook my head to make the world stop spinning.

“Toast cooked with egg and cinnamon and sugar! It’s my favorite!” Aurora chirped. She skipped down the hallway. Banging was heard in the background.

“OH! Poor pony’s toast! I love that!” I said. “But pancakes sound wonderful. Are you going to leave Sombra locked in his bedroom? That is just mean.”

“He will be fine!” Aurora waved it off as she entered the kitchen.

“Who will be fine, Little Light?” A gentle motherly voice asked.

“Harmony!” I shouted. I jumped off Aurora’s back and ran towards my creator. She beamed as she caught me in her forelegs. I buried my face into her silvery fur. She smelt of lavender and cinnamon.

“Well hello to you too, my little Star.” She chuckled as she rubbed my back. “Now answer the question, Aurora, who will be fine?”

“Sombra.” She said sheepishly. “Sombra will be fine.”

“She locked him in his room.” I confessed. one cannot simply lie to one’s creator.

“Hey! Midnight, I thought that you were one my side!” Aurora cried.

“Aurora, go unlock Sombra’s room right now!” Harmony commanded, “Leave Midnight out of this. She has nothing to do with you and your pranks.”

“It’s not a prank! He needs to learn to trust ponies more. The best way to do that is to let him have a taste of his own medicine.” Aurora stated but complied as she trotted back to Sombra’s room.

“Is it just me or does she take more after Lord Discord?” I asked with a shiver. That creature’s nature was always on my mind whenever I was near Sombra and Aurora. Though I have never met him, I have heard stories. “Umm… Harmony?”

“Yes, Little Star?”

“Are… are you feeling alright? And are Aurora and Sombra really siblings?” I asked. I took a step back and started scuffing the ground slightly with my hoof.

“To answer your first question, yes.” She said with a tilt of her head, contemplating her next words from what I could read of her expression . “Yes I am. And for the second. No, they are not. Aurora heard some ponies calling eachother brother and sister and she loved it so much that she started calling everyone she cares about brother and sister. The only true alicorn siblings that I made were Luna and Celestia. Now, I have a question for you.”

“Yes?” My ears perked up at this.

“How do you like your pancakes? Blueberry or plain?”

“Blueberry!” I jumped up and down excitedly.

“I thought that you hated being called blueberry?” Sombra’s slightly muffled gravely voice came from the door. “I distinctly remember you cutting off my mane for calling you that.”

“What did you do to your mane, boy?” Harmony gasped in horror. “Are you trying the buzz cut look?” Sombra’s ears flatten while he dropped Aurora from his hood on her scruff.

“His head got cut off.” Aurora clarified, “At least that’s what I heard.”

“How?” Harmony growled. Her eyes blazed with power.

“Leo attacked us while we were heading to your location.” Sombra stated calmly.

“And how was it defeated? Who defeated it?”

I hesitantly raised my hoof. “Uh… I did…” I admitted.

“You?” Concern laced in her words. “You became an Ethereal?”

“I thought you knew. You were there when I was in this starry void in my dream. Was that real?” I questioned. I shuffled back and forth.

“My memory has not been the best as of late, even with my Little Light’s help and treatment.” Harmony explained. “My mortal form is straining while there is so much disharmony in this realm of reality. I have given up too much of my soul in pursuit of helping manage this realm. Alicorns take a lot to make.” Harmony shrugged.

“Oh. So yeah I am an Ethereal now.” I hesitantly smiled

Aurora trotted up to Harmony and nuzzled her in greeting. “Morning Momma! Wanna set the table with me, Sister Midnight?” Aurora asked.

“Ahh… sure! I would love to help you.” Aurora smiled at this and trotted off to the dining room. I followed after her. Aurora started to take the good dishes out of the cupboard. I helped place them on the table

“So what spells do you currently know?” Aurora inquired.

“Many and not enough. Will you teach me some?” I asked. Hope filled me with the aspect of learning new spells. I was always up for learning new things.

“A few. My little Umbrums have some good spells you have the temperament for and I’ll also be giving you some basic medical spells that will work on an Alicorn… especially the one to grow fur and hair.” Aurora smirked. I giggled. That would be handy especially since Sombra keeps getting unwanted mane cuts. Aurora joined me in the laughter.

“So… what’s an Umbrum?” I asked. I never heard of that species before.

Aurora hummed in thought, “Well, they’re a subspecies of pony in a way. They are made entirely out of a very very rare crystal that can reproduce with organic ponies. Umbrums are basically like crystal golems except they have a very real soul in their bodies. The soul shapes the crystals much like how a painter paints a picture starts white then gains color with the more experience they gain. Most of them are nomadic just like me.” Aurora stated. “Their soul crystal, unlike other soul crystals, gains a side every time they are reincarnated. It’s quite fascinating to watch. Void only allows me to watch when there’s an Ethereal around. Maybe they will let me join you in your next lesson!”

My eyes widened at this new information. There was so much to learn. “Do you know how the other creatures’ soul crystals work?”

“Now that’s a complicated question, Little Sister,” Aurora said, “because every creature has a different reincarnation system. For example, the Kinkus, they never will be recycled. Nor will there be any new Kinku souls created. When a Kinku dies its soul is brought before the Great Mother of Kinkus and she creates a new body for it. After fifty years it gains all of its past memories and gains a tail.”

“A tail?”

Aurora nodded. “Yes, every fifty years Kinkus gains a tail. That’s how you know their age. Void never told you this?”

“Wow,” I exclaimed, “No, they did not. But then again we have not spent a lot of time together.” Aurora just nodded. I followed her back into the kitchen. Sombra and Harmony were chatting away. In the corner of my eye I saw that Sombra got his mane back. It was strange seeing it curly. I like it curly but he despised it.

“Ah… then let me explain more of my little Umbrums since there is another quirk they have that makes normal ponies very wary of them. My little Umbrums can take a ghost or spirit-like form after turning their bodies into a very dense hunk of crystal. They even sleep or heal in these forms much like dragons.” Aurora stated, looking at the duo. “Actually… Did I ever tell Brother I was the Umbrum Regent?” Aurora muttered, rubbing her chin as she tried to recall.

“Yes, multiple times, Aurora.” Sombra grumbled, “Every chance you get you mention it.” Harmony just whacked him upside his head.

“You might have known I on the other hoof seem to have been kept out of the loop.” Harmony said with a mild glare at Sombra. “I would have thought my own son would tell me his sister was a Regent.”

“No, you just forgot, Mother.” Sombra said as he rubbed his head. Harmony glared at him. She raised the spatula threatenly.

“Boy!” Harmony threatened. Sombra backed away. I missed this. I missed a lot.

“I am so glad that you are back.” I beamed. Harmony dropped the spatula. She walked over to me and squeezed the life out of me.

“I missed you too, Daughter.” Harmony nuzzled my head.

“Mother, the pancakes are burning!” Sombra yelled. “No, they are on fire!” Sombra called as Harmony turned around and began to put the fire out with Sombra’s help.

Aurora simply sat down next to me, her horn glowed and two small bags filled with popcorn appeared in front of them. “You wanna see a trick?” Aurora asked.

“Yes.” I stated slightly unsure while taking the offered bag in my magic. Aurora smiled happily as her form began to change. In seconds she was an opaque crystal statue only much taller then then her pony form with a longer horn and a slowly flowing mane that looked similar to liquid glass.

“What do you think of my Umbrum form?” She asked, her voice had a slight undertone of wind chimes as she spoke. I stared at her with my mouth wide open. She giggled at my expression. “I see Big brother hasn’t shown off his unicorn form to you, has he? It’s a trait a Regent is given to understand their little creatures better. While I’m in this form I am genetically an Umbrum and thus have all the traits of my little Umbrums. Since Sombra is the Regent of Ponies he actually has three forms one for each tribe but uses the Unicorn most of the time… I think…” Aurora explained. “I don’t think Celly and Lulu have regent forms yet…” Aurora said, tapping her chin and causing a very very soft clicking sound. She shrugged.

“Not exactly.” Harmony chimed. “While Sombra does rule he is technically not a Regent but more of a King in some ways. Celestia and Luna are the main regents of the Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn tribes.” Harmony explained while Sombra made a face.

“Unicorns are just easier to transform into.” Sombra shrugged. “I'm also not a King nor will I ever be. Maybe a Prince but never a King. Makes me feel like I’m out of reach and an enemy to everyone.” Sombra said.

“Oh you act like a spoiled prince alright.” I said with a pointed hoof. “You can’t even teach me defensive magic without blowing yourself up.”

“Um, excuse me? I distinctly remember that you are the one who set her mane on fire.” Sombra shot back.

“That was one time!”

Harmony and Aurora simply laughed at our bickering. We just ended up glaring at them. Sombra rolled his eyes and conjured up a mango. I silently pleaded with him to share it, but alas it fell on deaf ears. So I did what any sane pony would do in my situation, I jumped and took a bite at the same time as he did. Our muzzles met in an impromptu kiss… I kissed Sombra!?!? And he tasted like mangos!! Oh, sweet Harmony, what have I done!?! Sombra’s deep laugh vibrated my bones as he dropped the mango.

“This was not what I expected you to think, Midnight.” Sombra laughed. “The last time you did that you were wanting revenge. Haha! That’s just too rich! Too funny!” Now he’s on his belly hitting the floor over and over again.

“Well see if i kiss you ever again!” I yelled at the hysterical black alicorn. “One more laugh out of you and say hello to a puffy winter coat!”

“If you called that a kiss, my dear, then you have never been properly kissed. ”Sombra said smugly.

“I never had a coltfriend before! Get it through your thick skull I’ve never even dated any pony from the opposite gender much less interacted outside of mother and my employers before I entered this house.” I huffed.

“Let’s change that! Wanna go on a date with me?” Sombra looked expectantly at me.

“You asked me that yesterday and my answer is still the same. Wait until you can use magic at least and we have a plan instead of a spontaneous mess!” I shot back as Aurora came up to my side and tapped my shoulder.

“You still want that fur growth spell?” She asked in a whisper in my ear. Sombra glared at her but she ignored him.

“Mother, already gave me back my magic no thanks to you, Aurora.” Sombra said. he got up off the floor. “Right, Harmony?”

“Oh, sorry I was enjoying the drama unfolding that I did not hear what you said.” Harmony said in between mouth full of popcorn.

“You canceled my magic binding spell on Brother a day early?” Aurora repeated. “That’s my popcorn!”

“Yes, yes I did.” She smiled. “And yes, yes it is your popcorn. It is quite delicious, I must say.” Aurora growled at this revelation. I, on the hoof, just walked up to harmony and silently asked if I could have some. She just rolled her eyes and passed it to me. I giddily ate a few mouthfuls.

“Are you a puppy?” Aurora asked, “because you’re acting like one.” I shook my head no. Aurora just narrowed her eyes at me. “Your tail is wagging.” She said. I shot a look behind me. My tail wasn’t wagging. What was she talking about? Aurora laughed and said, “Made you look!”

“Children!” Harmony muttered and left the kitchen. “Sombra, take that poor girl on a date today or else you are sleeping outside.” She threw over her shoulder. Sombra’s eyes widened at this command.

“She doesn’t want to!” He shot back.

“Oh, she does and you too need to get out of the house!”

“But-“

“Out!” Harmony said a bright glow excused us and six different colors of glitter entered my mouth. I gagged at the feeling the taste on the other hoof was like chili peppers.

“Gah! Why does this taste like liquid rainbow!?!” I asked as my eyes teared up. Sombra was sprawled on the ground, spread eagle. He looked very annoyed.

“At least it doesn’t taste like glitter.” Sombra grumbled. “Mother must have planned this with Aurora since we are both missing breakfast at the moment.” Sombra stated as his stomach let out a loud hungry grumble followed by my own.

“I have certainly noticed. Wanna go get breakfast?”

“Kind of have to but sure.” Sombra stated before his horn glowed and he seemed to shrink before the glow faded revealing a slightly taller than average height unicorn stallion. He had an obsidian black mane and tail that subtly shifted like liquid ink paired with a light gray coat and visible dark gray hooves.

“You look like a Shyre pony.” From my knowledge that was a rare breed of pony that lived very far north of the capital. Sombra shrugged and led the way. I followed him through the streets. This was a subsection of Harmonia where the alicorns never really frequent nor purged from that offend. It was quite nice. The cobblestone doesn't reek of blood but instead smells of summer lilies and heat. I have never actually been down this way before. It mostly had unicorns running around and a few Wolflings but no earth ponies or pegasi. A tall grey and silver Kinku holding a paintbrush and a canvas ran past us in a hurry. Its four tails swished lazily. I watched them run down the street.

“Did that Kinku have a paintbrush?” I inquired.

“Yes, yes they did. Kinkus have different jobs depending on their tribe.” Sombra said as he looked up and down the street. “That one was of the celfyddyd tribe. They dedicate their lives to the pursuit and preservation of art. Quite a noble deed if you ask me. Ooo! This place serves the best breakfast ever! This place is run by a Kinku! Come on, let us eat here!”

The place he went to was a quaint little cobblestone cottage with ivy growing up and down the front. In all honesty it looked like every other building in Harmonia but the difference was that there were tables out front and gigantic flowers in a garden by the front door. Creatures of every size were going in and out with smiles and plates of food. Sombra trotted up to the cheery doors and went inside. I ran to catch up to him. Inside was bigger than what I expected. The ceiling was opened and had oak beams running up and down with small tables on them. A huge stone fireplace took up the back wall. The walls were a dark oak with random paintings scattered around. The place was packed. And Sombra was at the bar that took up half of the wall on the right talking to a fat five tailed bronze Kinku. I walked up to them.

“Welcome to the Happy Fox tavern. Well well well. If it is not my old pony companion, Smoky! Where have ya been hiding these last few years?” The Kinku boisterous voice thundered. It smiled a toothy gin. “I see ye had brought a beautiful companion with you today. Are you going to introduce us?”

“Smoky?” I repeated in a soft whisper that I was sure only Sombra could hear.

“His nickname for me. My alias is Ruby Quartz in this form.” Sombra whispered into my ear making it look like a nuzzle. “Yes, Greggor. This is my marefriend Midnight Star.”

“As in Farthingharth Star? A descendant of the Farthingharth?” Greggor’s eyes widened at this. His smile grew bigger. “My, my, my, it is an absolute pleasure to meet a descendent of the first unicorn! Your kin are the most honorable clan of unicorns to grace our humble world! The food is on the house! What would it be, lovely?” Sombra’s ears flattened at the honorific. I just laughed.

“What do you have, Oh great winged fox?” I asked as I placed my front leg on the dark oak bar. Sombra just glared at me as he watched my interaction with Greggor. His turquoise eyes flashed between Sombra and me and laughed.

“I will give you someplace private. Follow me.” Greggor walked around to the end of the bar and started to walk towards the back. We followed him weaving through the tables of various heights with either pillows, chairs, or a combination of both. I noticed that one of his dove wings was missing and his ears looked like they had a bite taken out of them. He took us to a room with pine walls and huge windows. The space was small but airy and there was no one in here.

“This looks like a good spot for the adorable couple! Have fun on your date and I will get the usual but doubled.” He said as he smacked Sombra on the back. It sounded like it hurt too. Ouch. Sombra just shook his head. He walked over to the table. It had a white lace tablecloth with bluebonnets in the middle of the table. Wicker chairs were set around the table with plush blue pillows on top obviously made for four legged customers. Sombra sat down and put his front hooves under his chin.

“This place is nice.” I said as I walked to the seat right in front of him. “What kind of food does the Happy Fox Tavern have?”

“Everything and nothing. You name it, they probably have it.” Sombra shrugged. He’s been doing that a lot today.

“Be honest, are you alright? You look really out of it, and all you have been doing is shrugging.” I placed my hoof on his own. “You’ve been really out of it for the past three months, especially the past day… I’m getting worried.” I stated honestly. Unknown to me a soft purple color had shimmered through my cutie mark, specifically the Star, and my eyes from what Sombra told me later on.

“I am just stressed that’s all.” He said as he rubbed his forehead. His ruby eyes looked tired. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

“Alright but we are coming back to this later tonight.” I nodded. “So what kind of food do you eat here?” Sombra took the topic change like a fish to water. He started talking about all different kinds of food that he liked: bacon, ham, hash browns, mango pie, peach cobbler, ice-cream, chocolate and more. I didn’t even know half of what he was talking about but listening to him was a joy. I love hearing him talk about what he loves. Greggor brought out plates full of steaks and salads. Sombra thanked him and started to dig in. I ate the salad. It’s a weird breakfast but it’s food. And it was good food! It had apples and strawberries in it along with a weird blue crumbly cheese that tastes fantastic! It had this sweet sauce that had a tangy aftertaste. By the gods, I wanted more. There were also these shredded fried potatoes that were divine.

“I see that you like the food?” Sombra asked smugly. He had a know it all grin plastered on his face. I just stuffed more food in my mouth as my answer. He chuckled and shook his head.

“What? This is good!” I said between my next bite of salad.

“You’re adorable.” I blushed at this statement. No one has ever called me that. Where did this come from?

“So tell me what interests you. I want to know it all!” He smiled. By Harmony, I love his smile.

“Oh that’s easy!” I said excitedly. “Books… books and magic… I never felt settled with the basic spells I’m allowed to use…. Outside of that… I… don’t actually know…” I blinked in a bit of realization. “Oh by the somber one I’m lacking pony bonds.”

“Ahh… that needs to change.” Sombra hummed. “Unicorns need to be able to cast spells without restrictions. I have some time before… I have some time so I’m going to fix this.” Determination filled his eyes. “Can you give me a list of the spells you were allowed to use before coming to me?” Sombra asked, looking rather serious.

I nodded. “A basic ten item levitation spell, a generalized cleaning spell, a spell to clean up blood, a spell to create basic shields and a spell to heal small cuts and nicks. That’s really all I knew and have learned. My mother probably has the entire list memorized. Plus all the spells you taught me. That’s all the spells I know.” I listed off the spells I’ve learned and used. Sombra looked horrified.

“That’s not a lot!” Sombra shouted. “A unicorn your age should know and have learned nearly a hundred spells at least. I barely taught you the basic advanced spells thinking that you knew more. I’m a terrible teacher! Who made this stupid rule?!”

My ears went flat. “The High Council passed it before I was born?” I said, a bit unsure. “Mom spoke of how it was passed a few years after my grandma got married and the yearly purging of earth ponies and Pegasi wing removals became more… brutal…” I trailed off.

“Fifty years of retirement and everything went to hell.” Sombra mumbled.

“Well to be fair it wasn’t much of a retirement if you did the trip we did every year.” I said trying my best to soothe the distraught alicorn er unicorn. ‘Please don’t be the kind that gets suicidal when depressed.’ I mentally prayed to myself. “You had a job to keep an eye on your mother. Any child would do that even if it meant going to the ends of the earth to keep their only family safe. I’d do that if my mother started to lose her mind.”

“I’m not going to kill myself and thank you.” Sombra nodded. “Well this topic is depressing, let's talk about something else. Hey, are you going to finish that?” Sombra reached for what looked to be a seafood dish. With a bit of reluctance I decided to at least try it by levitating a forkful and taking a bit.

“What kind of fish is this?! It’s so soft and light!” I asked in shock. I stuffed my mouth with more of this fish. I normally don’t like fish but this was good. The outside was crunchy and buttery while the inside was soft and flaky. It didn’t have that overwhelming fish flavor that I hate.

“Finally got you to eat meat.” Chuckled Sombra. “It is called Red Sea Cod and it comes from the seas of Da’lak’ar’s domain. It’s quite delicious.”

“I thought it would taste super salty but it doesn’t… does other seafood taste like this?” I questioned. I stuffed my face with more of it. I was already getting full but I had to have more. By the gods, it was delicious.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

I watched her as she stuffed her face with food. I am finally getting something down that skinny girl. I feel accomplished as a mate when I see her eat. I’m glad that I took her here. I was hoping for pancakes but instead got the lunch menu. I did notice though it did have a blend of breakfast staples most of the meat were of the lunch variety. Her cute little happy noises were probably the best part.

“Are you full or are you just stuffing your face because it tasted good?” I asked. Knowing her it’s the latter.

“It taste sooooo goood!” She said between mouthfuls. Bingo! I knew it! Haha. I love it when I am right! “Alrighty, love, let’s go. Come on.” I left some silver coins on the table as I dragged my disgruntled mate out of the tavern. She did not want to leave the food but I knew that she would make herself sick if she ate anymore, especially if this was her first time eating fish. Greggor laughed as he watched us leave. Of course that fat jolly Kinku would get a kick out of this situation. But I can’t fault the guy. Oh well. We started to walk down this market street seeing all kinds of interesting stalls and shops. I was happy and giddy while Midnight was mumbling under her breath.

“Are you going to continue being mad about the food thing?” I asked. Midnight just shot me a look.

“I was enjoying that!” She shouted.

“You were going to make yourself sick.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were. You always do this, sweetie, when you have new food.” I countered. “You eat and eat until you throw up. Now don’t get me wrong I love it when you eat but I don’t want to see you get sick.”

“But what if it is the last time I get to eat?” Midnight asked in a hushed tone. “I want to eat as much as i can before it is gone. Before you, I had to scavenge for food when the little bit of copper coins we had ran out. It was a common thing. I often didn’t eat so my mother could eat.”

I hummed in understanding. Her life before meeting me was hard. Much harder than anything in my own life recently. Though it reminded me of my early years. Still can’t believe that she was related to my good friend Farthingharth. Those were the days. Fighting monsters Discord created and Void creatures. My thoughts were interrupted when I saw a small earth pony filly racing down the dirt road and crashed into Midnight’s rump. The filly was covered head to hoof in blood and her eyes looked bloodshot. The filly looked up at Midnight and whimpered. “Alcon come!” The filly cried her voice had a wind chime quality bringing dread in my stomach.

All the creatures of the street ran with Midnight holding the filly close smearing the blood into her coat as translucent white crystal was seen under the blood on the filly. My dread deepened. “Young one… Are you an Umbrum?” I asked the filly after making a shield to cover us from prying eyes.

Midnight’s ears shot up straight at my question. “Your sister’s charges? I thought none of them came with her.” Midnight voiced her worry while managing to summon water from her horn and gently spray down the filly. ‘Thank the gods elemental magic is easy to learn for unicorns.’ I thought to myself as the filly was fully revealed glittering like a delicate glass sculpture with a white coloring that was starting to take on a pale orange tint in her ‘core’ or where the heart of a normal pony was located aka the chest.

“Yes… and I fear we might be seeing her when she is angered… I believe my mother once called it the ‘Mother Bear’ reaction? It took myself, and a few others about two months to calm her down the first time it ever happened.” I said, trying to recall the incident. But we didn’t have time for that, I needed to get the filly off the streets.

“Where are your Alicorn Masters, Unicorns?” A deep voice boomed across the street. A tan and gray alicorn came running up towards us. I moved in front of Midnight and the filly. “This is not the time to be outside without your Alicorn masters. Miss Midnight, is that you?” Consern laced words to my ears as I tried to hide them.

“Master Tzar? What are you doing here?” Midnight asked as she moved in front of me. I was not happy about this.

“I am making sure that everyone is with their Alicorn Master because a Collectable has run away.” Tzar answers, dipping his head in acknowledgement. “I like you, Midnight, I do not want to see you in the Confirmatoria so i will be you and … who is your friend, Miss Midnight?” He stepped closer to Midnight but I jumped in his way. He reared back in shock at the sight of my lit horn. His copper eyes flashed with shock.

“Wow! Wow! Wow!” Midnight jumped in between us, “I am so sorry, Master Tzar, my boyfriend Som– er– Rubel is very protective of me. Rubel, this is my first Alicorn Master Tzar. The second best Alicorn Master I have ever had!” Wait? Boyfriend? I am her boyfriend? ANd who was her first best Alicorn Master? I am going to kick his butt!

“Second? Miss Midnight, I thought that I was your first.” Tzar sounded aghast.

“My current Master is the first.” She beamed. Well that makes me happy and now I relized that i wanted to kick my own butt. ugg…

“Well, I must say that I am disappointed but I understand. Espeactly sense they allowed you to keep your horn. Four transfers really, Midnight? I thought I taught you better.” He scolded like a disappointed parent.

“What gives you the right to scold her?” I growled. Midnight’s eyes widen in surprise. Tzar just gave me a look like a disapproved parent.

“If i had you as a foal like I did Midnight I would have taught you some manners.” Tzar growled. “Who is your Alicorn Master? I must speak with them immediately!”

“I have no master. Because I don’t need one.” I growl as my form strains to return to my true form. I was really becoming pissed off. “What do you mean if I was a colt?”

“What did you say?!” Tzar screeched.

“Sombra calm down!” Midnight squeaked. “Your frightening the filly!”

“A filly!? The Collectible! I found the Collectible!” Tzar tried to reach for the scared filly.

Collectible!? My sister’s ponies are not Collectibles! None of Harmony’s creations are collectibles! I stepped in front of the alicorn, towering over him in my true form. Fear bleed into his eyes as he realized who I was.

“Step away from the filly and my Midnight.” I said in a low voice. He nodded and backed away.

“Miss Midnight, are you dating the First Born?” He said in a surprisingly calm voice.

Midnight just gave him a large shit eating grin. “Even better, he’s my Master! My favorite Master and my Boyfriend. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.” I just laughed. Leave it to Midnight to announce to the world that we are dating in a life or death situation. The filly on the other hoof began to glow with a bright inner light. Thick crystals formed around the filly’s hooves in a bright pinkish red color, shooting along the road to the Alicorn encasing his legs, wings and horn in a semi translucent pink crystal.

“Now look what happened!” Tzar complained. “I got encased in crystals when all I was asked to do was bring the filly back to its owner. I love colts and fillies and all but this is ridiculous.” His horn lit up in bright light, the sound of glass shattering was heard. when the light faded Tzar was free and dusting himself off.

“That’s what you get for making an Umbrum filly scared of you.” I stated, not very impressed. The filly was young and had no real control over her species’ ability.

“It seemed that we had gotten off on the wrong hoof.” Tzar said calmly. “I have no quarrel with you nor your charge nor with the filly. I would like to extend an invitation to my aboad and talk this over with some tea. Midnight can attest that i teat all of my young charges with the utmost care. The only reason I had to transfer Miss Midnight out was because she became too old.”

“Became too old?” I asked in confusion.

“Yes, I only keep unicorns between the ages of six to fourteen years of age. Colts are my favorite.” He gave a salacious smile. I don’t like that look. “Midnight, would you like to see my new garden? It would be a better scene for your date.” Midnight’s eyes lit up. She nodded ethusiasicly.

“I’m sorry but we were actually heading back home to check in with Harmony.”

“But.. but… Sombra,” Midnight whined. I just shook my head.

“Seventh would like to have her filly back.” I stated.

“Certainly, my Lord, but might you reconsider my offer?” Tzar asked. “Or I have an idea why do we not send the filly back to the Regent of Memories and then come to my house for tea?” His words felt like slime coating my skin and itching my fur. Something was not right with this alicorn. He may look concerned and sweet on the outside but he must be doing something. I want to know what he was up too. He felt too much like a snake.

“I think that is a wonderful plan.” Midnight chirped. “Why do we not do that? His gardens are the best!” Tzar smiled and nodded. The filly clung to my hooves. I mentally sighed. I really needed to get this filly to Aurora and Midnight away from him. She almost looked mesmerized.

“We will meet you in the Main Square in one hour.” I stated. I needed time to create a special necklace for Midnight. I needed to create a mental link and shield for her just in case with a homing beacon. Or I can re enchant the Phoenix locket that I gave her a long time ago. She never takes it off. Possibly combine the two ideas and create a fused necklace? Too many ideas, too little time. Uggg… Maybe I can freeze Time for a… No, no, Da’lak’ar would come and chop my head off again if I did that. what to do, what to do?

“As you wish, My Lord,” He said with a bow. A slimy smile graced his face as he turned towards Midnight. “Until then, Miss Midnight, I bid thee adieu.” I growled as I watched him leave. So much for a perfect day after our first date.

“Want *hic* mama *hic* Peach *hic*” the filly hiccuped. Midnight quickly went to comfort the filly.

“Shh. Shh. It is alright I got you.” She whispered into the filly’s mane.

“I*hic* want*hic* mama!”

Midnight nodded to me and so I teleported to the house. Oh, boy this was going to be fun. Not.

Ω

After a few hours of calming an enraged Mama Bear Umbrum Alicorn, Two lesser female Alicorns, and a Not So Pleased Mother Goddess, I finally convinced them to stay home with the poor filly. Aurora had given me a simple pair of bun pins that felt heavily enchanted with purple six pointed star shaped gems and three ruby wings hanging off the ends of each stick. Oh boy. I found myself along with Midnight in front of Tzar’s home.

The stone work was impeccable as always with these Alicorns’ homes. It had a peachy color. A strange color for granite but beautiful all the same. The six stone pillars out front were spiral shaped and had depictions of young unicorns in various unsavory positions. It was quite disturbing. I do not like where this was going. Inside, the floor was a peachy marble and granite polished like glass. The walls were covered, on the other hoof, with plants of different varieties. Some I noticed were carnivorous and blood was dripping out of them. The ceiling was entirely made of green glass that casted everything in a green haze. It was beautiful and all but I really did not want to be here any longer, but I had to figure out why Midnight wanted to come here.

Out of the plants came a small yellow unicorn colt. His timid demeanor started setting off alarms in my head. For one I noticed that he had bruises all along his neck, like he had been made to wear a collar or something similar. When he reached us he bowed so deep that I thought that his knees would form bruises. A green older filly came running out of the plants with a smile on her face. She looked healthy and bright, not broken like the colt.

“Hello, honored guests,” she chirped, bowing low, “welcome to Tzar’s Flower Garden. Where the beautiful are picked and enjoyed! Allow me and my friend to show you to your destination.” She nudged the yellow colt and started to walk further into the place, “Please follow us.”

“Is me or is that yellow colt being abused?” I whispered in Midnight’s ear as I started to follow the fouls. Midnight gave me a confused look.

“What do you mean, Sombra?” She asked, “ All I see are two healthy and happy unicorn foals. The colt seemed to be the happiest one here.” That was not what I saw. This was not good.

“Hold still a moment, love.” I told her, floating up the pair of chopstick style bun pins and placed them in her mane. The ruby wings made a soft glow followed by the purple stars as Midnight’s eyes glowed white for a second and she began to rapidly blink as if seeing things for the first time.

“What the… umm…. Sombra?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“Where the heck are we?”

“In Tzar’s Flower Garden where the brightest are picked and something or other.” I mocked the saying. It was a stupid saying.

“It’s where the beautiful are picked and enjoyed, Sombra. I should know I had to say that many times for six years as a filly. I was the greeter. I wasn’t one of the ‘beautiful’ to be ‘picked’. It was mostly colts that were ‘picked’ never knew what they were picked for but they never came back the same. Especially after Tzar took them to his playroom.” Midnight said as we entered another garden room. What’s with this Alicorn and gardens?! This one had a multitude of pink and white flowers of various sizes. Floor to ceiling of flowers! Some were bigger then my head while others were so tiny that I had to look closer to see them. And right in the middle was a white gazebo. The latis work was very elaborate. There right inside was the culprit himself in a throne like chair surrounded by young unicorn colts. I don’t like this at all.

“Love, the colts do they look like the ones that changed?” I asked rather softly to not alert the filly and colt guiding us. Tzar smiled when he saw us.

“Welcome, honored guests, I thought that you had forgotten our tea time!” He said as he walked down the steps. The colts all followed him in straight lines on either side of him.

“Seventh was very upset and would have possibly leveled half the city had I not calmed her.” I stated. He didn’t need to know about how Mother was ready to level the content after teleporting all the innocent away.

“Oh dear, I am so happy that the filly was delivered to the right place.” His words tasted of sweetened poison. I felt sick to the stomach as I watched the colts drape themselves all over the alicorn. Their dead eyes stared back at me as I tried to comprehend Tzar’s words.

“Can we leave now?” Whispered Midnight. “I forgot how much I hated this place. It always made me feel sick to the stomach.” My lips thinned at her words. Tzar’s head tilted to the side as if he heard what she said.

“Still the best alicorn master?” I asked. She just shook her head. “Midnight, can you please teleport all those foals out of the room please?”

“Teleportation is illegal for unicorns, my Lord! It has been for the last thirty years!” Tzar said. His eyes widened as Midnight’s horn lit up.

“I’m a bit old school.” I replied smoothly as I walked towards the alicorn.

All twelve fouls (eleven colts and one filly) disappeared alongside my mate. Good she will not have to see what I am about to do. Oh, I have not hunted in months. This was going to be good.

/Sombra… I may have teleported all foals in the building outside?/ Midnight said in my head through our telepathic link sheepishly. ‘How could there be nearly five hundred foals here?’ I heard the frown in her words. ‘wait… some of these foals… there’s some sort of… distortion around them… they look like they are sleeping but… they are breathing very slowly. I can barely pick up heart beats from them. I feel like I’m looking at eternal fruit’. I acknowledged her concerns and got to work. Oh this was going to be fun. Hehe. Oh, how I enjoy the look of fear in his eyes.

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

It had been a few hours since I teleported with the many foals. The sun had already set and the moon was high in the sky. I paced back and forth stressing about Sombra while Aurora, Harmony and Pierre were having the time of their lives taking care of foals. I cannot believe how lucky I was as a filly. The horror stories the little ones told us were awful. The stories of what those alicorns -no- what Tzar did to the colts. How could somepony do that? A sick bastard that’s who. I was one of the lucky ones to not be touched. No wonder I was transferred to a different master when I “aged out”. Oh, sweet Harmony, I am going to be sick.

When I chance a thought that alicorns could be good I find out about things like this. All alicorns are bad. No, not bad evil. Alicorns are evil! Depraved and disgusting! Absolutely hor… no, that’s not right. There are some who are good. Like Celestia, Luna, Aurora, Da’lak’ar, and Sombra. They are proof that not all alicorns are evil. Harmony would not make every alicorn evil. Would she? A foal’s giggle was heard in the next room. I peered in and watched Pierre do backflips and somersaults. The foals laughed along with Aurora who was holding the umbrum filly. They were all stomping their hooves in excitement. All of them had smiles on their faces. It was a beautiful sight.

“Hey, little one, why the long face?” Celestia asked as she walked up to me. “Care for a walk?” I looked at her and nodded. We headed to the back door that led to Sombra’s garden. While it was beautiful in the daytime, it was nothing compared to the nighttime. The flowers and plants took on an ethereal light. All glowing in blues, purples, and pinks. It was one of my favorite places to go to besides the library. My favorite was the trees. The trees had branches bowing down to the ground with leaves touching the ground. The leaves were a rainbow of hues! Each tree had its own different color. It was simply gorgeous. I remember Sombra once said that these trees looked like they were weeping. He said he always imagined being weighed down with all the burdens he had put on them. He also believed that trees see all and will always keep your secrets safe inside their branches. I was inclined to agree.

“What are you thinking about, Miss Midnight?” Celestia asked as we walked down the pearly path. It always looked pearly at night.

“I was thinking of trees seeing everything and that they safe guard our secrets.” I said as I walked up to a tree. I went through the curtain of purple leaves and walked to the trunk. I sat down on one of the exposed silver roots. Celestia joined me on the root. She hummed, waiting for me to continue. I sighed, “Do you think trees become overburdened with all the secrets they hold?”

“It might be a possibility,” She said, “though it is my belief that the trees can handle all the secrets and stories that are told to them. They would not grow so big if that were not the case. I have told many trees over the years many of my secrets and stories. I have yet to see a tree die from it.” I giggled. Celestia smiled and then nudged me, “Tell me what is really bothering you. It is just me and the trees who are listening to you now. There is nothing for you to worry about.”

Her lilac eyes looked kind and motherly. It was as if I could find a new mother in her if I wanted to. I had a gut feeling that I could confide in her my troubles and she would listen. “I found out that my first Alicorn Master was preying on young colts and doing horrible things to them. He was also selling some of the fillies to other alicorn’s for a night. I was one of the few lucky ones that didn’t have to go through that. Though I do find it strange that Tzar was a little bit protective of me.”

“It’s possible it might have to do with your eyes and coat.” An earth pony filly version of Aurora poked her head down from the branches looking as if she was just waking up from a nap. “Most Alicorns tend to get turned off by young intelligent eyes and colors that reflect two clashing emotions.” Filly Aurora sleepily rambled hopping down and sleepily going over to Celestia tucking herself under Celestia’s wing and snuggling Celestia’s tail, falling back asleep if the soft snoring was any indication. I couldn’t hold back the laughter and tears at the absurdity while Celestia simply looked annoyed that she was being used as a massive blanket and pillow. Celestia joined in the laughter. After a while our sides began to hurt and a little colt snuggled right next to the filly Aurora. Celestia smiled at the pair and gently wrapped them in her wing.

“I didn’t think your mane was that fluffy.” I stated.

“No, do not make me laugh anymore,” Celestia giggled, “my sides hurt too much already. But I guess my mane and tail is a good place for foals to sleep. Aurora sure thinks so. Though I have had plenty of foals make them into a bed one time or another.” She smiled sweetly at the slumbering foals. She gently brushed the colt’s green mane out of his face.

“You really care for them, don’t you?” I whispered. I was in complete awe of how an alicorn seemed to actually care for someone other than themselves.

“I do.” She whispered back. “I will do anything to preserve the innocence and love of Harmony’s creatures. They should be protected at all costs. No sacrifice is too big or too great in order to preserve this. This peace. That is what I want for all of creation. A place of peace and freedom. A place where no pony or Kinku or Wolfling would have to live in fear. Fear of the next attack or blow. A land where there is always food on the table for every inhabitant. That is my dream. I want you to be part of that dream. I want to see you thrive, Midnight. I want to see you grow into the unicorn you were meant to be. Join me, please?”

“But my home is here. I can’t just abandon everything. Sombra is here, what kind of fillyfriend would I be if I just left out of the blue?” I said. Celestia gave me a sad look and just nodded.

“Do you love him perchance?” She asked. Lilac eyes bore into mine as I struggled to form an answer. She smiled. “Thought so. All my years i have learned the signs of love and you, my friend, are in love. Now the question is, is Sombra in love with you? Does he feel the same way?”

“I-uh- I don’t know.” I stammered. I frowned when I recalled that one time Sombra had to sing that odd song to heal me all while he felt nearly ten times my own pain. “I- I think so. I think he does.”

“Are you sure?”

“Maybe?” I replied. “Would you take ten times the pain of someone if you loved them?”

“I would do it in a heartbeat for my sister and if he has done it for you then I would take that as a yes.” She smiled. “My home is always open for you. Now let us get these foals to bed, shall we? And remember the trees will always keep your secrets.” So we picked up the foals and carried them back to the room where the others were. Luna was there singing a lullaby. Aurora was asleep with little foals sleeping on top of her. Some were in her mane, others were in her tail and one was sleeping in between her front hooves. It was an adorable picture. We gently put the two we had next to her. The soft snores were heard as we left the room with Luna.

I yawned as we entered the kitchen. It seemed that we always entered here when we had nothing else to do. It was quite unimaginative. Just saying. Someone should think of a different place in this big house to go to. Pierre was already in the kitchen trying to cook something but seemingly to fail at it.

“Can somepony help me with these cookies? It seems I cannot get them right.” Pierre panicked.

“I will,” I said as I trotted over. I began to help the poor Kinku and together we somehow made burnt sacrifices to the goddess Harmony. I have a feeling she won’t want any of this. Yeah, she just glaring at us through the smoke. Oops.

“Who let Midnight cook?! Celestia, my sundrop, can you come with me for a second?” Harmony asked as she moved into the kitchen. She shook her head at my sorry attempts for cookies. “I thought that we agreed for you to never cook, Midnight. And Celestia I have been looking for you. I need to talk to you for a second. And will someone please get the door before they wake up the children!” And with that Celestia and Harmony left the kitchen, while I went to answer the door. Pierre had jumped on my back as I was leaving. Luckily Luna was there to put out the fire and clean up my mess. I was officially banished from the kitchen. I was no longer allowed to step into the cooking area anymore.

“Sorry, my Lord’s Lady, for getting you in trouble.” Pierre apologize. He hugged my neck as I walked up to the banging door.

“It’s alright. I’m not used to cooking on top of the line appliances so it was bound to happen sooner or later.” I shrugged using my magic to open the door. I blinked at the two Kinkus. One had a spear in her paw and leather armor in the style of the western barbarians. The other was a shy looking painter with paint brushes in their trembling paws. Wait a minute, that was the same Kinku that I saw running down the street earlier today! Pierre gasped at the sight of them.

“Pierre,” barked the tall purple Kinku, “‘tis time te get yer arse ‘ome.”

A Kinku's Reunion

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Sombra

Ruby eyes glared down at the dragon, fake Alicorn, and the unicorn holding up the one he called little sister and one of the last remaining family he had living. ‘By the gods, what happened to you Aurora?!?’ Sombra thought as he used his magic to lift Aurora off the ground away from the white unicorn that was swarmed by his mate’s friends and over to his side, easily shielding himself from the rather weak blasts of cyan magic from the fake Alicorn. The smaller peach alicorn’s ears twitched moving around like a pair of radio receivers as he gently placed her near him and curled his wing around her in a brotherly way.

The peach Alicorn slowly pried her eyes open showing small bloodshot crimson amethyst eyes that were slowly growing larger to fit the eye socket. “…bro…ther…?” Aurora questioned, she sounded just like a high pitched young filly that had yet to go through puberty. Golden blood dripped down the corners of her mouth as she looked at my flank. “…you… real…?” She questioned with a look of broken hope on her face.

“I am real, Aurora.” Sombra said in a soothing tone but furry burned brightly in his eyes.

She looked at him. “Then… run…” she uttered before crying out. Sickly black sparks ran up and down Aurora’s body, ‘pawing’ at her chest in great pain.

“That’s not good.” Rainbow Dash yelled as she backpedaled away. “Everypony get back! We got a Nightmare coming!” Rainbow tried to warn the group while Sombra looked at her in mild confusion.

‘Nightmare?’ Sombra thought before hooves slammed into his chest and pushed him into the air as sickly feeling magic crawled over and encased Aurora in a tight ball of magic. The rest of the ponies swiftly retreated a safe distance as the dome lifted off the ground turning into an orb becoming white slashed through with green and red streaks looking like an ink drop. A silhouette was imposed in the orb as Aurora seemed to grow inside of the orb like it was an egg.

Mad laughter echoed through the cavern originating from the orb as it broke apart like glass revealing a tall female Alicorn with a dark salmon pink coat, her wings tipped in red, her long horn tipped in gold and her four hooves dipped in lavender. Her eyes were dragon like pupils rimed in a two toned gold color while a light peach tint colored the outer part of the eyes. Her flanks were covered by a solar eclipse surrounded by thick black and green throned vines that spiraled up to a trio of black crystals in a fan formation and above that was a black and sickly green starburst. Silver magic hardened on her chest, head, and hooves forming a familiar silver crown and armored shoes. White fire trailed down the Alicorn’s head and flanks like a mane and tail with ember like flecks of green and red.

“Oh sweet Harmony, you have got to be bucking kidding me.” Sombra groaned while rubbing his chest. It was a rather weak push but it still showed Aurora had some strength. “You are so going into a time out when I am done with you, Little Girl.” Sombra vowed flaring his wings as the mare grinned, showing her shark-like teeth.

“I’d like to see you try! You hoarded my heart away and you! You usurped my little Umbrums!” The mare shouted glaring at the fake alicorn. “Time to clip your wings, Usurper!” She grinned and shot like a cannon at the fake Alicorn.

Ω

ΩSombraΩ

(Past)

“Come out and play.” I taunted as weaved throughout the poisonous plant in search of my prey. “Is it not what you say to the poor little colts that you and your ilk prey on?” Red flames licked the plants as my rage grew at the memories that are shown to me. The poor colts are forced to run and hide while the depraved alicorns hunt them down. And this… BEAST! THIS BEAST PROFITED OFF IT! Oops it seems that I have burned down most of the garden. I scanned the ashened room for the tan alicorn. He, unfortunately, was not here. My lips thinned in agitation.

“Time to take the hunter’s approach.” I grinned and sniffed the air like a jungle cat trying to scent out its prey. I could smell the blood of innocent colts that had seeped into the alicorn’s very essence. My blood boiled even hotter as my eyes snapped open burning with the light of a raging supernova. “I found~ you~” I said in a slightly villainous tone- borderline singing- to anyone else I’d sound much like a mad pony. To my mother and sister? I’d probably sound like I’m immulating something from another universe I’ve found funny or fittingly applied to this situation. In this case? A game of ‘Seek and Hunt’.

The quiver of my prey’s coat sent a delicious shiver down my spine. This was what I missed. The hunt. Brings back memories. Speaking of memories, I just remembered an old Ethereal spell that would help me in this situation. And the main ingredient was bones. Lucky for me the floor was made out of bones. I pray to Harmony that Midnight would never use this spell ever.

I started to hum in the back of my throat. The low notes vibrated the floor as i casted. Every low note broke the floor, freeing the bones that were laid there. Every high note that I hummed raised them into the air. And the middle note? Well they formed my army. The power of the Ethereals was to command the corpses and to protect the souls. A barrier was to protect souls, a song to command corpses, and fire to burn away memories. All stemming from a well of mana that was eternally linked to the god that controls magic. Void.

The old bones creaked and groaned as they rose from the floor. The groaning became a battle cry as I hummed louder until I had formed a thousand strong. With a smile I turned toward my army and with a flick of my wing, said, “Go and feast on your tormentors and only then you may have rest.” I again started to hum my merry little tune. The screams and pounding of hooves, claws and fangs drowned out the sound of my song. I paid them no mind as I sat down on Tzar’s empty throne raising my voice to sing.

‘Watch that old fire as it flickers and dies

That once blessed the household and lit up our lives

It shone for the friends and the clinking of glasses’

I'll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes

Capture the wild things and bring them in line’

My voice resonated across the halls, raising the bones from where they laid. I then set them upon those who had put them there. I walked over the jewel encrusted throne in the middle of ashened room. I let my voice become louder as I sang.

‘And own what was never your right to confine

The lives and the loves and the songs are what matters

I'll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes

Do you feel heavy? Your eyes drop with grief

Your spirit is wild and your suffering is brief

So never you buckle and bend to the masses

I'll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.”

I sat back and watched the mayhem that I brought among the living. I smiled as the dead took revenge on those who wronged them. This was what I needed. This was just the start of my revenge. May those that face my justified wrath be condemned to Purgatory.

ΩMidnightΩ

Pierre’s ears flattened as he looked at the Kinkus before him. “Pierre… Do you know these two?” I asked, shuffling from hoof to hoof. Pierre’s eyes shifted towards me and back to the duo. The tall purple Kinku narrowed their silver eyes at Pierre’s shifty behavior.

“‘Tis this is embarrassing.” The purple one groaned. “Pierre, cantalach scribe, ‘tis time to get back abhaile. I dun want ta be here any longer den’ I hav’ ta be. ‘Tis this mór-roinn be cursed.” Their fur fluffed in agitation. Silver fur flashed under the purple creating an iridescent sheen. I was temporarily distracted by this but I heard hooves steps behind me.

“Oi, ‘tis what commotion gonna ‘bout out ‘ere?” Harmony’s lilting voice rang out behind me. The two Kinku’s dropped to their knees in reverence. The purple one then rose back to their feet, leather creaking.

“Oh, Bandia Harmony, ‘tis I, Astoré of the Cosantóir Tribe.” Astoré said with their back straight as a board. The gray shy just stared at me with bright orange eyes. “This is one me Kinkus ‘tis under me protection and Pierre here’s one of ‘em. He has *erm* oh, thank ye, Spéir Geal, bad habit of runn’ away. If tis be alright wit thee, me lady, I’ll be takin’ de cantalach scribe back ta abhaile.” Harmony thinned her lips and hummed.

I blinked in confusion. “I thought Pierre accidentally got roped into Sombra’s search for me?” I voiced.

“To a point, my Lord’s Lady.” Pierre said, his ears drooping more, “I have an adventurous soul and Scribes do not go exploring. We stay in our homes and do not leave. Copying texts the other tribes have made with their research. I just wanted to see the world myself.”

“Let us come inside instead of standing outside my son’s door.” Harmony waved everyone inside. The gray Kinku’s widen in fear and hid behind Astoré’s back. Astoré just patted the poor Kinku’s arm and walked in with the confidence of someone who could kill everyone in the room without a second thought.

“Pierre,” I whispered. “Is Astoré dangerous?”

“To her enemies but not to those who she deemed innocent. She is very protective of the weak.” Pierre answered, “She seemed to have received a new ward. Never seen the skittish Ealaíontóir before.” I nodded as I walked into the lavender sitting room that Sombra never used. The couches were a deep purple and never seemed to get dust on them and Astoré looked like a queen lounging on them. Harmony looked regal as she sipped from a dainty light blue tea cup. The stand off between the titans was so thick that the tension became extremely thick. I wanted to run away, but Harmony just waved me in. I walked around the ornately decorated dark wood tea table and sat down next to Harmony. Her wing wrapped around Pierre and me. She gave the Kinkus a toothy grin.

“I was informed by my son that he was going to introduce this cute little Scribe to the Mother of all Kinkus,” Their eyes widened at this news, “for helping him in finding his mate. I know that the Cosantóir Tribe take the protection of their wards seriously but Pierre has been perfectly safe with my son and his mate. Are you implying that my son is dangerous?” She grinned as she sipped from her tea. Astoré narrowed her eyes.

“‘Tis not what I was implying, Oh, Goddess,” Astoré retorted, flicking her wrist in a dismissive manner, “for thee see me cantalach ward dinna inform me of dis excursion of his. ‘Tis only right dat I be a wee bit mad dat he was not in me sight. I donna be sayin’ dat yer son canny take care me ward, nor der I say he be powerful enough da to be Pierre’s protector. I just be sayin’ dat I dunna trust nor want anybody to take over me job!” She bared her teeth in aggravation. The tea cup shattered in her hand, cutting her in the process. The smell of blood made my ears ring. Black dots began to spot my vision while my mind was brought back to that infernal cave and river of blood with bits of Harmony’s fur floating in the bloody stream. The pounding of my ears barely drowned out the screaming match that had broken out. I have never heard Harmony yell like that before. I just can’t take it anymore! If this continues I am going to start crying. Please stop. Please stop it! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!

“Leor, Astoré! Leor!” Pierre shout had cut through the noise. The shouting had stopped. In a beautiful lilting language, Pierre began to speak. His deep baritone voice was at odds with the soft, flowy language. I cracked open one of my eyes and found bright orange eyes staring at me. A gray and silver fox face took up my field of sight, making me jump. I nearly knocked Pierre off my back, causing him to stop speaking.

“My Lord’s Lady is everything all right?” Pierre asked in concern. But I did not answer him because I was distracted by the gray and silver Kinku pulling me into a hug. Pierre squeaked as he was too brought into this group hug. Magpie wings wrapped themselves around us as the Kinku began to purr. I am really getting addicted to the purr. It’s a cure for all!

“Spéir Gea!” Astoré cried, “ye canny hug strangers even if ye feel dar pain. Come now lety go of dem, by Zepha’s wings.” Spéir Gea started to squeak in protest, squeezing me and Pierre in the process. I felt some frantic movements on my back. I tried to turn my head to see what was going on but I couldn’t see.

“Pst, Pierre, what are they doing on my back?” I whispered in Pierre’s ear. He turned around and whispered in my ear, “They are speaking through their hand or what I like to call it “Hand Language”. I believe it is a fantastic name for when one speaks through their hands.” I could hear the smugness in his voice. I rolled my eyes at this. I heard a lilting argument and frantic movements.

“Not to be rude, Pierre, but is one of them deaf?” I whispered the question.

“No, the one holding us is apparently mute by choice or Astoré would be communicating solely by Hand Language.” He nodded.

“Pierre, that’s a stupid name.” I deadpanned as I tapped the gray fluffy chest. “Pardon me, Wise one, if you could be so kind and let me and my companion go? What, Pierre?” Pierre’s eyes glistened with a shaky smile.

“Y-you listened to my lecture!” He started to bawl. Spéir Gea slowly let me go and then picked Pierre up, cradling him in their arms. Their purring went up a notch. Pierre looked like a baby in the arms of the larger Kinku. I never really realized how small Pierre was until now. and he goes to my chin! Way to make me feel short. Ugg..

“Are you really going to take him away?” I ask the scary Kinku. Her silver eyes bore into me. I shrank back. She’s really scary. She’s definitely slightly shorter than Zepha but a lot more intense. This Kinku towered over me and with her arms crossed over her chest really made me feel small. She sighed and tried to make herself seem softer, which didn’t work. At all. She got to her knees and looked me straight into my eyes.

“Pierre, dunna belong here, Lil one,” she said in a soft voice, “he belongs with de rest of de scribe’s in thar Hovels. Pierre is an - er- outlier? ‘Tis that de right word? Common ‘tis so hard ter speak. Anyways, yay, I havata take ‘im back ‘ome.” She gently patted my head. “Thanks fer being ‘is friend, Lil one.”

My left ear went flat while my face grew confused. ‘Outlier?’ First time I heard that word in that context. I did perk up a bit at the paw hitting a spot by my ears. I had to stop the urge to make her scratch behind my ear and make my hind leg thump like a puppy’s. Harmony huffed and gently pried Pierre from Spéir Gea’s arms and pulled me towards her.

“As much as I enjoyed seeing this, I will not let you take Pierre until my son has approved this.” Her voice broke no argument. “Now it is late so allow me to escort you both to your rooms for the night. Come.” She started to walk to the door not even looking back, expecting to be followed. Astoré growled a little but got up and obayed. She gently nudged Spéir Gea and walked after Harmony. They got up and followed her out of the room. I blinked at this. Pierre just tilted his head.

“Ok, Pierre, wanna go bake cookies?” I smiled.

“You are banned from cooking.”

“Oh, right. Buuutttt you’re not!” I sang as I carried him in a barrier all the way to the kitchen. Pierre squeaking along the way. I skipped into the kitchen and found mom trying her best to save my burnt sacrifices to the Goddess Harmony. She looked up from what she was doing and glared.

“Midnight, you destroyed food again.” She said quietly. “You are just like your father, making burnt sacrifices to the gods. And apparently they do not like burnt food.”

“But I came to help.” I said sheepishly. I shuffled back and forth not knowing what to do.

“Just get out.” Mom waved me away. I slumped and shuffled out of the kitchen. I had made a great grievance towards her. Food was a sacred thing to her and I burnt it once again. Why can’t I cook to save my life? A mare of my age should be able to cook and clean for their household by now!

“Might I suggest we go to the gardens instead?” Pierre squeaked. “Your mother did not look very happy with you.”

“Not when I burn the food.” I moaned.

“You burnt food again, Miss Star?” A familiar rumble made my ears perk up. There at the end of the hallway was Sombra. He was smiling big. Looking so handsome covered in blood. Wait. Wait a minute! Covered in blood?!

Confession

View Online

Rarity

(Present )

Rarity watched as the nightmare monster barrel towards Cadence. She pulled from a source of almost pure magic as a gold necklace with a purple Diamond appeared glowing around her neck, shooting diamond shaped shields from her horn in front of Cadence. The nightmare monster hit the purple shields with a mighty boom. Rarity felt the cracks beginning to form and poured more power into the shield to seal the weaknesses. The backlash she felt from the attack forced her to cough up some blood. She had layered more shields around Cadence or she wouldn’t survive another attack. She braced herself for the next spell. The nightmare monster shook its head. Silvery blood trickled down her muzzle as she opened her mouth. With a mighty roar the monster turned around and charged at Rarity. With a scream, Rarity teleported out of the way, barely missing the razor sharp teeth. She coughed up more blood as again tried to strengthen the shields.

“The Elements are weaker here.” She rasped as she tried to pull from her Element. She was more of a support then a combative type. She doesn’t have the knowledge to fight this monster. Streaks of rainbow flashed in her peripheral vision. She turned to watch Rainbow Dash body slam the monster into the wall. It roared in pain.

“Protectors of the Usurper, I will destroy you!” It screamed in a layered voice. “I will feast on your bones as I destroy the fake alicorn and the Usurper!” Ribbons shot out of the monster’s horn. The ribbons raced towards the duo but were intercepted by a red and black swirling transparent wall.

“Enough, Aurora,” shouted the obsidian male Alicorn, “this has gone far enough. You are destroying my home and endangering my guests. If you do not stop I will have to use force!” With a stomp of his hoof the ground cracked. Red eyes blazed with anger as they stared down at sunset pink eyes. The monster growled in protest. “Aurora!”

“No, First Born, I will not back down.” Aurora hissed. “You will have to call Deditionem on me to stop. But you would not because I am your self proclaimed sister. And you would not hurt your family or call for a complete surrender, now would you?”

King Sombra growled in a low voice, “If I have to, so be it. I call Deditionem on the Regent of Memories and Healing for she had forsaken her ways and chose to harm those who are innocent–”

“Innocent!” Screeched Aurora, interrupting King Sombra. “They are not innocent!”

Without skipping a beat King Sombra continued, “And we will battle until total surrender as the name states.” With the last word spoke a gigantic magic circle formed around the duo and knocked everypony that was not them out of it. Rarity stared in awe at the beauty that scene she was about to witness. Two God-like figures circle each other in a deadly dance and battle of wills. Rarity snapped out of it when she heard Cadence groan.

“Cadence! “ Rarity shouted as she ran toward her alicorn friend. “Cadence, are you alright?” She asked as she helped Cadence to her hooves. Her friend had some blood trickle down her muzzle from her nose. A foggy look was in her eyes.

“I don’t think that Cadence will be answering anytime soon, Rares.” Pinkie’s destinked voice was heard over the ever growing growling noise coming from the magic circle. Rarity looked be hind her and found Pinkie with her mane flat and a murderous gleem in her eye walking towards them. “But seeing the God fight about to happen will be most enjoyable.” She looked at the circling gods with a manic smile. The gleam grew the longer she stared.

“Pinkie,” Rarity hissed, “what, in Celestia’s green earth, do you mean.”

“Cadence is connected to the Nightmare monster in a spiritual manner.” Pinkie said tilting her head towards Rarity and Cadence. “You don’t see the pain she is going through? The Crystal Heart is connected to Cadence and thus Cadence is connected to the Monster! The Monster is in pain and so Cadence is in pain!” Pinkie started to laugh like a maniac. “Let’s see some blood spill! Hehe!” She then looked around. “Has anyone seen Discord?”

“Pinkie! Snap out of it!” Rarity slapped Pinkie. The pink pony did not like that. Her blue eyes turned into a sunset pink. Rarity backed away in fear as her friend stalked towards her. Ghostly ribbons circled the Element of Laughter as she cackled like a mad pony. Rarity heard Pinkie whisper, “Blood, blood flow, blood.” Over and over again. “Hehe!”

A cyan pony hit Pinkie in the back of the head at full speed, knocking the pink pony out. Rainbow Dash huffed and puffed as she stared in horror as black blood began to pool under Pinkie’s head. Rarity ran to Pinkie. Luckily she was still breathing.

“What is happening?” Rarity screeched. Rainbow Dash ran over to her.

“A lot, Rares,” Rainbow Dash said in a weird accent. “but the First Born will protect us. This I know.”

“Who is this First Born you’re talking about?!”

Rainbow bluntly pointed a hoof at Sombra with a deadpan look. “Him.”

The Alicorn stallion in question stood tall in front of the glass-like monster that tried to attack them earlier. Red flames formed a tornado around him that climbed towards the cavernous ceiling. It disappeared as fast as it came. In the place of the obsidian alicorn stood a beast. His obsidian fur was littered with stars glowing in a ruby light. Pure red flames arched towards the sky in place of his wings. Vines of silver roses wrapped around his legs and torso, shimmering like stars. His teeth grew longer and his ruby eyes turned black as night. The white star on his face tarnished into a puter helmet. Red flames flowed out of his mouth as he growled at his opponent. His red nebulous tail swished in agitation. He wore no armor, he had no need for it. He was as beautiful as he was deadly.

Rarity couldn’t keep her eyes off the stallion as he made his way to the other alicorn who was struggling to keep him away from her. The alicorn started to zig- zag in an attempt to evade the threat in front of her but the magic circle would not allow her to go far. The starry beast grew in size as he watched with waning interest.

“How?” Rarity asked unsure if the blood loss combined with the backlash was making her see things. “Is he growing?”

“It seems to be.” Rainbow Dash said. “Let’s ask him how he does that when he is finished. I’m sure he would love to teach us how to use that kind of magic. Oh, I mean you use that kind of magic since pegasi don’t typically use magic unless it’s for flying. Hehe. Alicorn really beat that into my head. We pegasi are completely useless.” Rainbow Dash scratched behind her head in a nervous jester.

Rarity looked confused. “ What are you talking about, Rainbow Dash! Pegasi are not useless. Your kind controls the weather! You, yourself, make sonic rainbooms all the time! You are the Element of Loyalty! One of the strongest Elements we have! Have you forgotten that the Element makes you stronger and faster?!”

“Actually, Rares, Sombra gave me his speed in my first life,” Rainbow Dash said, “that is why I am so fast. It is not because of the Element of Loyalty. That gives me the power of finding you all in a pinch. Hehe… anyway let’s take Cadence and Pinkie out of here. It’s about to get messy. I have a lot of explaining to do, don’t I, Love?” Dash flashed one of her charming smiles at Rarity. It reminded her of the times they dated in the past. Rainbow Dash was such a charmer when she wanted to be. They, in Rarity opinion, made a cute couple but Rainbow Dash kept pining for Fluttershy; it didn't work out. Rarity was glad that they were still friends even though they couldn’t be more.

“You do. Especially with that accent and personality flips.” Rarity grumbled with a slight blush.

“Hehe, alright. It’s a deal.”

Ω

Void

Void opened their eyes back in their mortal form. The pain in their joints always served as a reminder that they are not home. Pain, what a funny concept. Along with those infernal emotions that keep popping up. How could mortals handle all of this? It always annoyed them with the emotions in this form. They were above emotions! Above! But this little mortal now immortal had changed them fundamentally. Not even the Great Demi God or The Great Goddess could change their stance on this matter. But this little Ethereal did. She made it where emotions didn’t seem that bad. Void chuckled at a memory of this Ethereal’s past life. It was a peaceful day years before she died. Again.

~“You know, Kat’rina,” Nebula said, “I have come to the conclusion that all the years I have been with you that friendship is magic!” She snickered at her statement as she kicked her hindlegs in glee as she leaned back on the crumbled wall they were sitting on. Her golden fur gleamed in the waning sunlight. Her violet eyes lit up with laughter as she stared off in the horizon.

‘And how did you come to that conclusion?’ Void asked. ‘Because that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. An abstract concept being magic?! Stupid!’ Nebula howled in laughter, nearly falling off the wall that she was sitting on. ‘Will you stop laughing and answer me!’

She stopped suddenly, turned woodenly towards Void and in a deadpan voice said, “No.” and resumed laughing. Then she grabbed them and started to give them a noogie. That she called to insatiable head rubbing. With a yowl and a hiss, Void finally got out of her grasp. Then they playfully punched her in the foreleg. She went flying as a consequence.

‘Nebula!’ The annoying emotion of concern flooded the god. Just before they got to their feet, Nebula jumped out of the tall grass with a stupid grin.

“See, Misunderstood Kat, magic!” She cackled, “Friendship is magic!”~

Void shook themselves out the memory, chuckling. Nebula always did have a way of worming herself into their unfeeling heart. Midnight made them curious and what happened to her made them furious. The others were barely a blip in their radar beyond teaching . But Nebula made them feel. The two hundred years they had spent together had taught Void so much. As they stroked the purple mane of this Reincarnation of their favorite Ethereal, they wondered if this one will do something memorable.

“Now, my Little Ethereal,” Void whispered in her ear, “you will only have to sleep through one life instead of six. You will awake when Midnight has died to the one you had called teacher. Remember and become my tool for my Vengeance.”

Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

Sombra gave me a sheepish look. “I had an altercation,” he shrugged, “I promise that on our next date there will be no altercations. Simply put, we are not going to be in Harmonia for our second date. Now then I am going to wash the blood off of me. Do you want to help?” He flashed a cheeky grin. But I stuck on him wanting another date.

“Hol’ up there now!” I backtracked, “You want another date? With me?”

“I thought that was clear?” He looked befuddled. “I loved the date and it would have been perfect if it wasn't for the alicorn. Glad he’s gone. Did you not enjoy the date?”

“No, no, I deeply enjoyed it! I’m just shocked that you wanted another one.” I said as I shuffled my hooves back and forth. I found Sombra giving a weird look.

“Why wouldn’t a stallion not want a second date with a mare he adores?” Sombra asked with a soft voice. My jaw hit the floor. He… Does he adore me? Truly?

“R-really?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” He flashed his dazzling smile. It must be a trick. It just gotta be. How can the First Born adore somepony like me? I got to have proof.

“T-then prove it!” I shouted. Sombra blinked in surprise at my command. He tilted his head in question.

“How, Little Star, do you want me to prove it to you?” He asked carefully. He slowly walked towards me. The stench of blood nearly sent me into a panic attack but he stopped himself before he got too close.

“K-kiss me.” I wish I had never said that because Sombra gave me a shocked look. He blinked a few times.

“What?” Smiling, he started to chuckle. “What do you mean, little mate?”

“Y-you k-know what I-I mean!” I stammered, doubling down. I guess that since I started this I’m going to see it through. My legs were shaking but I'd be darned if I backed down. Come on stubbornness don’t let me down.

“Do I?” He chuckled as he moved closer. The stench of blood was overpowered by cinnamon and clove. My favorite smell.“Because where I’m standing you’re shaking like a leaf because of the smell of blood. I know how you get when you smell blood. Thing is, Love, I am covered in it. Head to toe. So I am not about to kiss you when I have blood all over me. But how about a counter offer. Join me in taking a bath?’

“Wait, you have trouble taking a bath by yourself?” Sombra groaned at my remark, throwing his head back in frustration. He then looked down and shook his head.

“No, I don’t have trouble taking a bath.” His lips thinned. “I forgot how innocent you are. Like you are really innocent. Which is adorable but sometimes like now it is kinda frustrating.”

“Frustrating, how?” I tilted my head in question. I am really confused. Does he or doesn’t he want me to help him bathe? A good servant should help her master bathe, right? Is that why he asked? Because that’s the only thing that makes sense.

“Did your mother ever bathe with your father?” Sombra asked, trying to find an example to use. I shrugged. He just hit his head with his hoof. “Never mind. Listen I would love to continue this conversation but I’m getting blood all over the carpet and it’s drying on my skin through my fur. It feels really gross. So I’m going to take a bath alone. Which is very upsetting but it is what it is. Good night, my love. I bid thee adieu.” He bowed deeply and promptly turned around and walked down the hallway. His beautiful tail was swishing. I was mesmerized.

“This is nothing like the fairytale books.” I muttered to myself while trying to fan my hot face with my hooves. Dang his tail was fine! “And now I’m just talking to myself… great… I’m as crazy as a cuckoo bird's brain…” I grumbled to myself but with a small smile on my lips. I started down the hallway, noticing the blood trail that Sombra left. I sighed and got the magic blood cleaner. I honestly forgot the name but it gets the job done. As I scrubbed the blood trail, I heard somepony walk up behind me.

“I am honestly surprised at the pathetic display of flirting I just witnessed a few minutes ago,” Celestia commented as she grabbed a scrub brush and started to help me. I stood there frozen in shock. An alicorn helping me clean? AN ALICORN CLEANING?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?! “Are you just going to sit there gawking at me or are you going to help me clean up this mess that his First Borness had made?” She asked with a cheeky smile. I snapped out of it and I started scrubbing.

“Flirting?” I asked once I was over my shock. What in Tartarus is going on with me?! Why do I feel like I’ve slid all the way back to square one?! Why the hell am I even reverting back to my ‘servant’ training?

“It seemed like it to me that he was trying to flirt with you, but it clearly went over your head.” She chuckled. “It was kinda cute. You see, my little pony, when a stallion asks you to join him in the bath normally there is no washing involved. Hehe.”

My ears went flat at her light teasing. “Are you saying he was trying to Court me?” I asked with large eyes.

“He kinda skipped a few steps but yes, yes he was.” Her eyes twinkled with mirth, “But if I had my way I would set you up with somepony who is a lot nicer. More gentler then the brute Sombra. Maybe somepony with a library where you can read all the books you ever want! How does that sound?”

“But I want Sombra.” I whispered under my breath, “He was the first one to get me out of my shell that had formed around my heart. He was the first one to actually believe in me when no else would. He taught me to read and write in more than one language. He taught me true arcane magic. I want Sombra not some random stallion that you picked out. I’m sorry but I won’t settle for less.”

“And I am so glad to hear that, Miss Star,” Harmony’s voice caused me to jump. I nearly hit my head on the ceiling with how high I jumped. Harmony’s giggles rang through the hall like little bells in the wind. Beautiful as it was annoying. “My fault for scaring the bat crap out of you. Oh, my sweet Celestia, my ever shining sun bringer, will you please stop meddling in my matchmaking affairs?! It was hard enough to stop them from destroying each other! What with Midnight’s costent revenge pranks and Sombra’s ever growing retaliation. I barely kept them alive! Now they are finally admitting their feelings, more or less, with each other and you want to break them up?! How dare you!” She huffed with smoke coming out of her mouth. The smell of burning incense permeated the air as the Goddess huffed and puffed. In all honesty, I don’t really count that as a confession of feeling. Just an awkward encounter of Sombra wanting to take a bath with me. Thinking about it now, I wish that I had joined him. At least it wouldn’t be as awkward as this situation. Right?

I skirted around the perplexed Celestia and picked up my scrubber. I then proceeded to continue cleaning up the blood. If I don't do this then who will? I had my ears perked to hear if there were any more indications that Sombra truly liked me in a romantic way. By Harmony I sure hope so. Unfortunately, they started to speak in the lilting language that Sombra sometimes speaks in. Welnish was it? I forgot, but it was definitely different from what the Kinkus were speaking. I heard Celestia huff. Hooves steps stomped towards me in an angry fashion. The scrubber was then plucked from my grasp. Next thing I know I was then pulled backwards. I watched as Celestia began to clean up the mess as I was enveloped in silvery wings.

Harmony then whispered in my ear, “You two need to get your act together and confess your damnable feels soon or else I will explode. It was cute for a while as you figured out each other but I am on really borrowed time and I will most definitely love to see some grandchildren.” Her exasperated sigh tickled my ear as I tried to process her words but she continued, “Void will no longer tolerate me being in the moral realm much longer so I am taking things in my own hooves and setting things into motion.”

My eyes widened as I figured out what she was saying. I tried to wiggle out of her grasp as I felt my stomach drop. The hallway disappeared and in its replacement was a very beautiful black and red room. Behind me I heard the click of a lock. My eyes widened as I rushed towards the blackwood doors. Just as I feared the doors were locked! Locked! I was locked inside the opulent room! Oh, no, this was bad, very bad. I don’t know where I am but I could wager a guess. Well since I am here, I might as well explore.

My hooves clacked on the red and black checkered floor. My head swiveled this way and that trying to take in everything. This room was huge! Who in Harmony’s good name needs this big! Oh, bookshelves!! Big bookshelves!! I bolted towards them in excitement. Whoever’s room this was had fantastic tastes.

Polish black wood rose to the sky as I neared them. First addition and aging scrolls filled the shelves with random nick-nacks crammed in between. Each book and every scroll looked as if they were very much loved and cared for. It took all my willpower not to drool over the amount of books here. I could stay here for a lifetime and barely make a dent in the amount of books here. And the red leather couches, I had seen in the corner of my eye, were looking mighty fine for sitting and reading by the roaring fire. Speaking of the fire, why was it white? I turned to the couches after grabbing a book that looked interesting. It felt like an eternity to get to the couches but I made it. The couch squeaked when I sat down on it. I wiggled to get comfortable and the couch squeaked again. Hmm…

Wiggle. Squeak. Wiggle.

Hmm…

Squeak. Wiggle. Squeak.

Hehe.

Wiggle. Squeak. Wiggle.

This was fun.

Squeak. Wiggle. Bam!

I jumped as I heard a door close, dropping the book in process. I turned to find a wet, very confused Sombra with a towel hanging around his neck. Wait, this was Sombra’s room?! And he is wet. I tilted my head, wondering why I never really noticed how beautiful his neck was. I didn’t realize that necks can be beautiful but here we are. Staring at his neck becoming jealous of water because it’s on him and not me. And what the heck am I thinking! I am apparently a prisoner inside of Sombra’s room and I’m becoming jealous of water! What…

“... are you doing in my room, Miss Star?” Sombra’s baritone broke through my drooling thoughts. I blinked. Then I remembered why I was in here. The locked door! Sombra’s horn flashed red and I heard a crashing sound behind me causing me to jump. Again.

“What was that?” I asked as I turned towards the sound.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about.” His sudden high pitched voice made me turn back to him. A tight smile was plastered on his face as he got all shifty. He cleared his throat, “I will ask you again, Midnight, what are you doing in my bedroom?”

“I was clearly locked in here by your crazy mother with no way out!” I growled as I teleported to the doors. I made a big show of jiggling the doorknob. Yep still locked. Bell-like laughter rang out into the room as Sombra’s eyes narrowed. He huffed and suddenly he was behind me. One second he was across the room, the next he was banging on the doors that lead out to freedom. It shocked me to see no glitter on the floor when he teleported over here. “Where’s the glitter?” I asked because clearly I am not going into denial here. Clearly.

He shook his head as stopped pounding on the doors. “I ran,” he chuckled. He then started alternating between banging on the doors and jiggling the doorknobs.

“Excuse me what? You what?”

“You heard me.” He huffed (again). “I ran over to see if what you said was correct. And it appears so. Damnation! This is the worst timing ever!” He yelled as he turned and bucked the doors. The bang echoed across the room as he stalked away. I heard growls and curses in another language muttered under his breath. He nearly dug a trench with all the pacing he began to do.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw silvery branches begin to wrap around the door. It distracted me from watching Sombra’s muscles ripple under his black fur. Probably a good thing, but I was enjoying watching it. The branches grew at an alarming rate, cracking the wood in some places. I rushed over and started to break off the branches. But it was futile. For every branch I break off two more took its place. I growled in frustration.

“Sombra! A little help!” I screeched as I used magic and hooves to break the ever growing enemy. Red joined my purple as magic fought the silver menace in a spectacular display. We would not let it win, though with each passing minute it seemed futile. Sombra’s growls of frustration joined mine in a chorus of anger and irritation. Bell-like laughter rang out into the room as the branches encased the doors.

“Why?!” Sombra shouted as he bucked the doors again. “Is this funny to you? Mother?!”

“No, no, ok maybe a little bit,” her giggles filled the space, “ but I did this for a reason, boy.”

“And what pray tell is that, Mother?” He growled. Irritation flavored his words with every syllable spoken. I, on the other hoof, was trying to find where Harmony’s voice was coming from. She had to be in here because there was no way that she was speaking out thin air, right? Right? By Void’s tail, my head hurts. And now I spoke the First God’s name! Now I will be struck down by lightning because I have used it in vain! Or not. They seemed to be more of a lonely Being more than anything else. I should befriend them. Yes, I should become fri—

“Babies!” Wait what?

Locked In

View Online

(Pumpkin)

Water sloshed on the crystalline floor as Pumpkin lugged the dirty mop water towards the outdoors. She groaned at the mess that she had made. It took her hours to mop the floors of the Haven and now she made a mess just as she was about to finish. Leelee was not going to be happy about her being late. The Kinku, who became her adoptive mother when Pumpkin came to the Haven five years ago, was a stickler for being on time. She was also a sticker about proper grammar and speech patterns. It certainly made for some interesting conversations.

“By the three gods assholes, dis is ridiculous!” She screeched as she stomped her hoof in agitation. Plants started to sprout around her hoof. She had to get a handle on this new ability or else she’s going to have an unwanted garden on her hooves. She found out that earthponies do have magic. They were just being repressed by the Alicorn Regime. Hehe, she knows fancy words now.

“It is ‘By the gods’ assholes, this is ridiculous’, Miss Pumpkin,” a stern motherly voice gently chastised Pumpkin, “if you are going to use profanity use it correctly, my sweet child.” Pumpkin smiled as she watched a six tail royal blue Kinku glide towards her. Pink flashed under the blue in a hypnotic dance with every step she took.

“Mama Leelee!” Pumpkin squealed in excitement, dropping the mop water as she ran towards the beautiful Kinku. Leelee lifted the grown brown pony with ease and spined her with glee. Laughter filled the crystalline hall as the duo spined.

Ω

An onyx and ruby being smiled down at joyous sight. Although he was a little miffed at the mess that laid in front of his doorway. He walked towards the mother and daughter. He felt the love and joy radiating from this little family in front of him. This was why he worked, sweat and tears to keep the Haven safe. Safe from the scourge of the alicorns and their despicable leader. The family separated and the daughter saw him. She squealed and ran towards him.

“Sombra! You’re here!” She said as she tackled him with a hug. He smiled as he hugged her back.

“Yes, I am here.” He said, chuckling. “Where else would I be? This is the only safe place outside of the barrier within thousands of miles.”

“I thought that you had left for Amser with a message for the Regent there?” She chirped, dancing around him. Flowers bloomed where her excited steps once were.

“No, I have sent a messenger in my stead.” He said, tilting to the side. “Though I do not remember telling you this. How in Harmony’s good name did you hear about that?”

Pumpkin had the decency to look ashamed. She shuffled back and forth, refusing to look him in the eye. Sombra’s eyes narrowed.

“Ok, ok, I’ved over‘eard from ‘ne of Leelee’s conversations and… and I gotten excited… and… and….” Pumpkin squirmed under the judgmental gaze of Sombra. His lips were pursed in displeasure.

“You know that it is consider rude to eavesdrop on other creator’s conversations?” Sombra gentle chastise. “I will allow it to slide this just this once. Do you understand?” She nodded mutely as she staired at the ground. Sombra did not like that one bit. He slowly approached the distraught pony.

“Pumpkin, will you look me in the eye?” He asked as he tenderly lifted her head. Her green eyes were a wash with tears. A pang of regret shot through his heart at the sight. “Y-you a-are not in trouble o-or anything like that!!” Sombra stammered. “I j-just wanted you to k-know not to eavesdrop again! P-please s-stop crying!”

Pumpkin started to giggle. Sombra sighed with relief. Crisis adverted. Well mostly. He now has a angry Kinku glaring at him. What did he do now?

“Sire, no one is going to take you seriously if you keep on caving to the female tears.” Leelee admonished. “It is not a good sign of a leader who squirms…” Her words faded into white noise as he saw two cat walk out of the wall. Their aquamarine eyes glinted in the fading afternoon light. The white cat lifted a claw to its mouth as a smile grew on it black spotted face. A resounding boom sounded across the Haven as screams rang out. Sombra turned towards the sound and watched with horror as crystalline towers formed out the ground. Alicorns of many different colors raced out of the monoliths. They went on a war path, obliterating everything they set their eyes upon.

“Leelee, get Pumpkin to a saf…” He shouted but watched in horror as a periwinkle crystalline tower pierce through Pumpkin’s stomach, taring her in half. Her top half land in front of Sombra. Blood slashed onto Sombra’s face as he watch her try to reach for him. He ran towards her, reading his magic to save her. He will not lose another close friend. He will not! The white spotted cat stepped into his path.

“Get out of my way, reaper,” He growled, “or I will use force to remove you.”

‘First Ethereal, it is time for her rest. You will not interfere. Go save those who you can. Leave the dead to rest. If you are so inclined to interfere, I will have no choice to cut you down.’ The reaper growled as a silver rapier appeared in its paw. The reaper pointed it at Sombra with a twitch of its lips. ‘And what would happen to those who are meant to survive? Will you take responsibility for their deaths? If so then go ahead. Let us fight! We know who will be the victor here. Ah, wise decision, First Ethereal. You will not regret this. With a smile the spotted reaper lowered it weapon. Go be the hero you were meant to be and leave the soul work to us.

Sombra growled at the apparent disrespect. But he could not do anything about it now. He must go save the rest of the Haven. He cannot get distracted. Sombra turned around and was about to take flight but stopped when he heard. ‘None of this if he protected our Ethereal better. And he had the audacity to loved her? But he let her die? The ner…’

Sombra attacked.

ΩMidnightΩ

Clop, clop, grumble.

It has been three days of this noise.

Clop, clop, grumble.

He’s been doing this for three days.

Clop, clop, grumble.

It would have been a peaceful three days if he had just stopped with the pacing! My ears are twitching with every clop, clop, cloppity, clop… AAHHH!

“Oh, Great and Powerful One,” I seethed as I slammed my book shut, “would you so kindly stop with the pacing?” It seemed that my words fell on deaf ears, for the pacing and grumbling continued. I sighed as I got off the comfy couch. It was such a comfy place to sit. Whenever I sat in it, the couch seemed to embrace me in a warm, soft hug, inviting me to stay in its arms for eternity by reading and relaxing. So one could imagine my disappointment as I rose up from this fantasy to confront the Great Pacer. If I were to return to my glorious time on the couch then I must make him stop.

“SOMBRA!” I yelled, jumping in front of him. He stopped and looked up at me. His whole body started to vibrate and ripple. His ears twitched. Fear clouded his eyes as he stared past my head. I know this look. I have seen it on everypony’s faces in Harmonia. I get that look when I smell blood. He’s locked in the past. I moved out of his way and he resumed his pacing. On his second journey I joined him. On every pass of the couch I gently nudged him towards it till finally it impeded his path.

He looked up and blinked, noticing the couch in his way. The clouds in his eyes slightly parted as he stared at it. He blinked again and the cloud rushed back to their place. He then turned abruptly to the right. He took a step to resume, but I jumped in front of him.

“Sombra,” I said as I gently placed my hoof on his shoulder, “ why don’t we sit down for a bit, hmmm? Doesn’t that sound nice? Here the couch is right here. Why don’t you have a set?” I joined him and started to rub his back. He stared into the fire with hollow eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” His voice cracked. The husky sound rumbled from the disuse. “It is not something I like to discuss.” He shook his head and started to rise. I placed my hoof on his shoulder to stop him.

“Please tell me.” I pleaded. “I want to know.”

Sombra sighed and sat back down. He cleared his throat a few times, stalling. I kept quiet because I knew that it would be hard for him. I mean I went through the same thing before. I kept rubbing his back, giving him my silent support. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours. His eyes continued to glaze over more and more as the time went on. I nodded off and on while using him as a pillow.

“I was barely past my first quarter century when it happened,” His voice pierced the silence, waking me up with a start. “Some of my companions wanted to go to a place called The Twilighted Falls with me but were too impatient. They left without me while I dealt with one of Void’s whims. They were gone a few days when they should have been back in back in a day. So I set out to look for them. I was a young foolish thing, thinking that nothing can harm me and that I was unstoppable. Oh, how wrong I was. I later learned that I can be harmed, badly, but I cannot be killed. I looked at the land around The Twilighted Falls but they were not there. Not in the villages. Nor in the forests, camping. So I went into the cave that housed the Falls.” He took a shaky breath. “But all I found was blood, bone and a bull. A fat, satisfied black and purple bull picking its teeth with a rib bone. Scattered around it was the pelt of my lost companions. Laid as if the bull was using them as a bed. The purple light from the Fall cast the scene in an eerie light. His red eyes gleamed with malice as he watched my entrance into his temporary domain. I remember demanding him tell me what he had done and who he was. He said, ‘I am the feeling when you are provoked. I am the feeling of wanting things now. I am Impatient incarnate. I am Taurus!’”

‘I remember the ground shaking with every word spoken. I remember falling to my knees before him. And I remember wanting the bull dead now, not later. Before Taurus finished saying his name I cast my first attack spell. My aim was true and I hit his face. I was rewarded for my effort with horror and blood for the five years…” he trailed off and shuddered. He started mumbling about fangs, a splitting mouth and a cave in. His wings twitched. I leaned on him, giving him some moral support. It seemed it did not work. I had try something that I always wished somepony do for me.

“Did you know that butter makes your cookies hard and shortening makes them soft?” I blurted out randomly. Sombra blinked. It worked!

“But you were terrible at cooking.” He stated as fact. Rude. I looked up at him and glared. “What? It’s true. You are terrible at cooking.”

“Well you did not have to state the obvious.” I grumbled. “Besides, I am great at baking!”

“Since when.”

“Since always! You just don’t have a sophisticated palette enough to appreciate my culinary mastery!” I said triumphantly. He just rolled his eyes. How rude!

“Sure, sure, says the unicorn who would eat burned noodles with red sauce.” He shot back. Before I could formulate a retort my stomach made itself known, growling its protest to the world. Sombra chuckled at my reddening cheeks. “Somepony is hungry.”

“Says the pony that hadn’t eaten anything for three days!” I snapped, not happy about being called out. I get angry when I’m hungry. Sombra calls it my hangry mood.

“Well I can and have gone without food for years before.” He shrugged, ignoring my outburst. Knowing what it was. Nothing. “It’s not a big deal for me. But you, fy seren fach, need to eat or else you can and will bite my head off.” He chuckled as he got off the couch and walked over to the doors. He tapped it three times. In a cloud of silver glitter a covered tray appeared in front of him. He picked it up and brought it over to the table.

“So the story?” I asked as he placed the tray down. He shook his head and sat down.

“Let me eat my sandwich, fy seren fac,” he chuckled, “I’m hungry and so are you. Eat.”

“Fine but I want a story to go with my food.” I grumbled around my sandwich. His ear twitch as he fought a reluctant smile. With a sigh, he leaned on me, resting his head on mine. I got crumbs on my face but I was happy. It was the kind of peace that I love. It seemed that I could only achieve this with him. Huh…

“I love this.” Oops did I say that out loud?! Uhh… Sombra chuckled. With his wing he pulled me closer. He started to purr, turning my bones to jelly.

“So do I.” He said as his warm breath washed over my head. “But I still hear the gears grinding in your head. You are still curious on why I can’t stand being locked in. Since I know that you will not stop pestering me until I finish. Harmony knows how you get with an unfinished story.”

“Hey!”

“What?! It’s true! Now where was I?”

“You shot first and teeth and claws for five years.” I answered with a nod.

“Ah, yes, that,” He grumbled. He pulled me closer, caging me with his arms. “For five years I was eaten, torn apart, and had my bones used as tooth picks to pick my meat out Tauris’s teeth. Now you know that I am a prideful being and rightfully so. Before this incident, I was also impatient. Did not even know the definition of the word patient. If I wanted it, I got it. But with Tauris, I had to learn it and fast. Too bad I’m stubborn. I attacked It every chance I got. Impatient to get out but to stubborn to realize my problem. It was a vicious cycle, but after braking my leg and managing to hide I came up with a plan. I would wait Tauris out. I would be patient and wait for him to leave. Unbeknownst to me this would be Tauris’s down fall. I became in that moment what he was not. The moment I decided to be patient, Tauris began to scream. The ground began to shake as a funnel of white light form towards my heart. Words flung from my mouth that I never knew. As I spoke bits and pieces of the bull flew at me at brake neck speeds. I tried to get away but it kept following me. When the fist bloody piece hit me it turned into silver metal that clung to me like a second skin. The metal burned me as it formed, creating an armor that at the time I could not get off. The burning stopped when Tauris last screams sounded, and was heard was the sound of the Falls. I collapsed in exhaustion. I stayed that way for a long time. Day even, but I couldn’t tell. I started to move when the wall started to close in. I tried to find an exit with no avail. In my panic state I had the bright idea to dig myself out, totally forgetting that I could teleport out. In hindsight, I could have avoided the whole ordeal if I teleported out. So I dug and dug and dug until I found the sun. And that day forward I vowed to always have an exit.”

“But right now you don’t, do you?” I asked as I rubbed his arm.

“No, I do not.”

“It is my fault that you are lock in here.” I said sullenly, snuggling further into his embrace. Maybe if I wasn’t here he…

“No, fy un bac I,” His deep voice interrupted my thoughts, “it is not your fault. I have question for you.”

“Hmm…? You do?” I said looking up at him. The corner of his lips lifted in a half smile. Then he snuggled his forehead against mine. I heard him say cute under his breath with a chuckle. “Umm… the question?”

“Do you know what soulmates are?”

“Soul- what – now?”

“Well that answers my question,” He said with a chuckle. “Soulmates are two halves of a whole.” He scratched the back of his head. With a grimace he added, “ Umm.. Harmony made it, actually …um… asked for it to be made that way? That’s right! It’s because she’s a romantic at heart and decided that it would make sense if creatures would have half of their true soul until they found their other half.”

“And this pertains to me how?” I asked. That concept sounded absolutely ridiculous. Half a soul. Hah! The Cat would have told about that right? Right?

“It pertains to you because we’re soulmates!” Sombra said. “S-o-u-l-m-a-t-e-s! You and me! You and I! The other half of my soul is you! There I spelled it out for you! Harmony knows.. wait scratch that Harmony is too flighty the past few months to re… anyways not important! Void knows how many hints I threw at you!” He groaned, throwing up his arms. “I swear that you’re sometimes denser then a rock sometimes. I’ve been giving you hints for months now!”

“Months?!” I squeaked.

“Yes, months.” He said, “What do think fy un bac I means? It means ‘my little one’. Mine! Because I don’t share!” The he pulled me close and buried his head into my neck. Grumbling and huffing the whole time.

“R-really?” I stammered. “Y-you are not m-messing with me, are you?”

He placed his head on my shoulder with a huff, “Now why would I go and do something like that, hmm? Do you take me for a playboy? Some creature that goes around and plays with feeling?” In the corner of my eye I saw one of his eyebrows lift and a mischievous grin form.

“If that’s true th-th-then…” I stuttered. I nervously tapped my hooves together. Sombra gently pulled them apart and wrapped them around my middle, effectively trapping my arms under his.

“Then what?” He prompted. “Breathe and then answer. I’m not going anywhere, so breathe. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Good now finish your sentence.”

“Then what about Anteras?”

“What about that narcissistic- can’t- take- a- hint- know-it-all?” He asked. “What does she have to with you being my mate?”

My eyes drilled holes into his arms in hopes of burning a hole to escape. Instead of that happening he tightened his grip and bite my ear.

“Ouch!” I screeched while rubbing my ear, “What was that for? That hurt!”

“I felt you drilling a hole into my arms and plus you didn’t answer my question,” Sombra huffed, “so answer it!”

“Alright, alright! I will answer! I will answer!” I giggled as he obsessively started to poke me. “Just stop poking me, please!” He continued for a few more minutes until I ran-out of breath. His chuckles as pulled me closer.

“Isn’t she your mate?” I whispered very quietly. I closed my eyes shut, not really wanting to hear the answer.

“No,” Sombra rumbled, “just no. That is beyond disgusting. Why would my little sister be my mate. Now I’m into a lot of thing but incest is not one of them. Now where did you hear something like?”

“She told me…” I whisper but was caught off when I heard a growl, “Sombra, wha…”

Sombra flipped around to face him. His red eyes burned with passion and with out warning grabbed the back of my head and kissed me.

First Kiss… First Time?

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(Present)

With a gasp Applejack woke up with a start. She franticly rubbed her hooves over her body. She did pain nor wound on her body, but she clearly watched herself be split in half by a crystal. Through the eyes of a different pony. She saw herself die through the eye of The First Born. How? How did she see through the eyes of her Lor—enemy, enemy! Her enemy! Sombra was her enemy. He was a tyrant that hurt thousands of crystal ponies and tried to destroy the Crystal Heart. He was not her Lord or savior. She should not be sympathizing with the…

Listing to your thought, mortal, is quite amusing. A voice chuckled in Applejack’s head startled her out of her thoughts. She sat up, franticly looked around the dark room for the source of the voice. Her eye looked with purple glowing feline eyes. The eyes seemed to laugh at her the longer she stared them. Know the saying? If you stare into the Void, I stare back. Hehe. Anyways good morrow, mortal, it seems like you slept for a year.

“Gah!” Applejack screeched. “Who in tarnation said that? Get out ‘ere and show yerself!” Laughter echoed across the room. Applejack clutched the comforter as she watched the shadows condense into the corner where the eyes floated.

Brave, brave, stupid mortal, it is considered rude to not greet the being when they first greeted you. Out of the darkness came shadow take the shape of a bipedal cat. A grin slit its face in two with blade like teeth gleamed white in the gloom. But since you are one of Harmony’s Elements, I guess that I cannot punish you. Harshly. But I will get to that later. So how are you feel, Little Element? Disoriented? Lost? Got memories that should not belong up in your tiny mind? Yes? Well I got the answers for you. Care to hear them?

“Well I got some questions fer ya, bub,” Applejack huffed. She did not like this shadow cat. Not one bit. Of course, you do, the cat rolled its eyes, every being does. Ask away. It rolled its wrist for her to continue. Applejack just narrowed her eyes. Your questions?

“Where in tarnations am I at? Who are ya? Whatcha want with me? How long was I asleep fer? And who the fuck’s memories where in my head before I woke up? Ya betta tell me or I’m gonna whoop yer ass, shadowy demon!” Applejack got off the bed and bowed up for a fight.

My, my what a lot of questions, Little Element, The shadow demon laughed, you sure are inquisitive, are you not? Hehe. But, little mortal, this is not a fight you can win. Because with a snap of my claws you will cease to exist. And I could care less. For you see, mortal, I could, and most definitely should, kill you for your blatant disrespect. I killed for less. I do not live by your moral compasses or your social rules. I am above all that! For I am the Space Between the Star, I am both Chaos and Harmonious, I am the Creator of Souls, I am The FIRST BEING. I AM THE VOID!

The ground shook at the force of the words. Applejack fell to her knees. In this position it looked like she was bowing to this demo— The Void. Her whole body shook, fur bristling, stray hairs stood on end, and her heart could drill itself out of her chest with how hard it beat. She felt deaf with all the blood pumping in her ears, urging-demanding- she run, to flea and never look back. But it was if her very soul itself was frozen with fear. This...this was different. Different from all the times they faced Queen Chrysalis or Discord or even Nightmare Moon. It was fear that laid in the deep depths of her instincts, the purest fear of all. Primal fear. The Void's laugh shook her bones. Tears streamed down her face as she lay frozen on the floor.

What no witty comebacks you are so famously known for? In a blink of her eye The Void was right in her face. No? Nothing? You have literally nothing to say to me? So that bravo was all false? Hehe. Good. Now we do not want you to do something stupid now do we? Because if you do I just have to erase your existence and my favorite child will have find herself a new Element of Honesty. Shh… Do not tell Discord or he will be upset.

“W-what d-do want?” Applejack stammered. The Void smiled and then booped Applejack’s nose. I want you to protect my favorite Ethereal.

“W-who’s t-that-t?”

The Void stood up and tapped its chin with its obsidian claw. She went by many names. Nebula and Midnight to name a few but you know her by Twilight. And she is right behind you, fast asleep on the bed you just vacated. I advise you not to wake yet. She is experiencing her past lives. I think she is at the part were she compete her mate bond with my unwanted grandson. Though at the time I did not care for her then as much as I do now. If I did I would have stopped it but the nap was sooooo goooood. Speaking of I need one but I have to much to do. Ugg… Stupid First Born, when this…

Applejack slowly got off the floor as The Void ramble on and on about how its nap was interrupted and how it was the First Born’s fault. She felt sympathy for the poor bastard. Having a family member always disappointed with you was a horrible feeling... But that was not important now. She needed to get out of here, away from him, but she couldn't leave. Not yet. Twilight was here and she was not about to leave her friend behind. Applejack backed up slowly while glancing behind herself. Tears dripping to the floor as she moved. Her whole body shook with the effort. I would take a miracle for her to get to Twilight. A miracle she was granted. She crept until she reached the bed and turned to face it. Black velvet caressed Applejack's hooves There in the middle of the bed was the purple mane of Twilight. Applejack crawled towards the sleeping form of her friend.

“Twilight,” Applejack whispered yelled as she poked her friend, “Twilight, it’s time to wake up. We needa get out of here. Twilight—”

She was suddenly thrown across the room. With a bang she hit the wall. Through blurry eyes she saw the obsidian dust falling down all around her. Cutting through ringing in her ears she hear a growl and words that turned her blood to ice.

“I told you not to wake her.” Those whispered word caused obsidian chunks to fall all around her. One vicious chunk pierced through her hind leg pinning her to the floor. Applejack screamed in pain, but suddenly her voice was cut off. She could no longer scream or speak. Her voice was gone. Through the tears streaming down her face she saw the angry face of a grey cat with violet eyes.

“It seems like you did not take my warning seriously enough. So as for punishment I will be taking your voice until you have stopped wanting to harm my Ethereal. Got it?”

(Pinkie)

Pinkie woke up to the thunderous drum beat of her head. Boom. Boom. Boom went her head as she blinked the red liquid out of her eyes. Red was all she could see out of her right eye and her left… What was up with all the glowing ribbons! There pretty and all but they hindered her vision way too much. Pinkie did not like that. Not one bit. Growling she picked herself up from the ground, slowly. She fell back down to floor with sharp pang in her heart. It felt like an ice pick quickly puncturing the organ. It was not a pleasant feeling. This was not fun. Not fun at all. She wasn’t supposed to be feeling pain. She hates feeling pain. Other ponies pain was funny. Not hers!

The sharp pain flared again causing Pinkie to cry out in pain, accidentally alerting the two waring gods in front of her. The peach one with ribbons floating all around turned and began to charge at her. With a loud -THWACK! -the peach god was thrown into the crystalline wall by an onyx blur.

“Run!” Growled the god of Onyx and Blood Flames. “I will hold her back!”

The peach god wailed at the top of its lungs, pulling all the ribbons tight. Pinkie watched in horror as pink and blue ribbon suddenly appeared coming from her chest. She felt it tighten and hooves being dragged towards the peach god. She tried to plant her hooves into the ground but couldn’t. The ground was too slippery! What was this made out of? Glass?

Snap!

The ribbon broke snapped. The piercing pain flared again causing Pinkie to cry out in a blood curdling screams, alerting the two warring gods of her presence. Through her right eye's red haze, bore witness to the culprit behind her agony. Cotton candy-colored ribbons snared in the teeth of a certain onyx god towering over her with angered malice blazing from its eyes. Pinkie's heart froze as a foaming fear clogged her throat, forcing her to eat her own anguished screams. So, this was what her victims felt. She didn’t like this. Not one bit.

She hit her chest a few times to get it to start beating. Over and over again. She was slowly losing her sight to the black dots swarming her vision.

“Get up!” A voice growled at her. “You will not die here. I will not allow it!” Its red horn flared with magic. The blood red power smashed into Pinkie’s chest causing it to restart. With a gasp Pinkie started cough. Blood dribbled from her mouth as she slowly stood up. Her legs gave out and with crack fell back down. With a grown she shook her head to dispel the black dots that were trying to take over her vision.

“Son of a… that’s smarts,” she groaned. After what felt like an eternity, she got to her shaky hooves. She spat out glob of blood as she looked for an exit. This is not what I wanted. I wanted to see a god fight, not to be a part of one! This is bullshit! Bullshit I say! Where is the godsdamned exit? Oh ther… fuck.

Pinkie spotted the exit get destroyed as the peach god crashed into it. The excitement left Pinkie's eyes as she saw the exit crumble the weight of the peach god's thrown body. Pinkie screamed in frustration! Now how the fuck was she going to get out of here?! This was impossible! Imposs… A flash of red light blinded her one good eye. The room melted like liquid glass as Pinkie watched with her one bad eye, turning into a puddle on the void like floor. A ruby-glass lake laid before Pinkie. Her reflection was so perfect that she thought she was seeing her twin. She stepped forward to see if her crystal-clear likeness was real. With out warning the sound of braking glass blasted her eardrums as her hoof touch her reflection. The red shards blasted straight up into the air, amassing in the air to form an image. A bedroom formed right in front of her gaze, cast in red. A four-post bed with transparent curtains laid in the middle of the room. The wall behind it had a half of a six-pointed star painted on it. A lone figure slumber under the thick cover completely oblivious to the prowling, hissing Cat that was stacking across the room. The room slowly turned to color Pinkie watched as the Cat moved with deadly grace. A bloody path laid out before the Cat, leading it to its destination. Applejack.

She was pinned to the floor with her back up against the wall. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the Cat prowl in her direction. Sounds and smells pierced through Pinkie’s senses as the red glass dissipates. The smell of blood flooded Pinkie’s muzzle as sound of somepony’s screaming blasted her ear. Who’s was screaming? Oh, it was her. Pinkie was screaming. She was apparently running also. When did she start running? And when did she stop? Swirling, galaxy eyes filled her vision. Terror filled her veins as she stared into those dancing stars. A toothy grin filled her peripheral vision. Her blood ran cold when heard five chilling words whispered into her ear.

“Hello, my half-blind Prophet.”

ΩMidnightΩ

He was kissing me! Sombra was kissing me! My first kiss was with Sombra?! His lips slowly moved against my frozen lips as I tried to prosses was going on. He kissed the corner of my mouth and then my cheek. He peppered kisses up my face. I felt a smile when he pecked the corner of my eye. I jumped a little when I felt him nip my ear. His deep chuckled vibrated my bones.

“You know, fy un bach i, you are supposed to move your lips also,” Sombra rumbled with a smile, “it’s much more enjoyable that way.”

I pushed him, well I tried to push him away, but the jerk pulled me in tighter. The bastard had the audacity to chuckle! Chuckle! This was not how I pictured my first kiss going. Though I couldn't think of a better pony to share it with but damn it! He was chuckling at me! His warmth soaked into my skin as I tried to push him away. Cinnamon and cloves flood my sense of smell. It went a long way to relax me. But I was not going to let him get away with him chuckling at me. He was going to ruin my romantic first kiss!

“Are you mad at me, Little Star?” Sombra asked as he gently lifted my chin up. His eyes sparkled with mischief, but in an instant turned soft. “We don’t have to do anything tonight if you feel uncomfortable. Or any night for that matter. I want you to be comfortable and enjoy it. Ok, love?”

“Oh, oh!” I squeaked. “I didn’t want you to stop or anything. I just got frustrated at you for chuckling! Am I that bad? I have never done anything like this before.” I had a sudden bout of embarrassment flood my system. So, I did what any sane pony would do. I burrowed into Sombra’s fluffy chest. A deep purring rumble and melted my bones. Next thing I know Sombra was moving and now I’m on top of him! I looked up from my burrowing (to which I was enjoying) to find Sombra’s eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Bad?” He asked with a head tilt. “Now why did you go and ask something like that?” He pulled me up towards his face and started to nuzzle my nose. “I don’t think it was bad or anything of the sort. I did spring on you all of a sudden. Sooo…. I was kind of expecting you to freeze up. And just for your information I honestly do not believe you when said that you have never done anything with sex. Because look at you! You are absolutely gorgeous!”

Heat raced up my neck and traveled to my cheeks. I felt steam blowing out of my ears. Sombra’s eyes twinkled with mirth. He smiled as he said, “See, adorable! Simply and absolutely adorable. Whoever says differently are either blind or dumb.” My face burned hotter at his confession. I tried to hide my face out of embarrassment, but he didn’t let me. He lifted my chin back up.

‘’You could always say no,” his voice rumble, “and I will always honor that. But remember this, Midnight, if you say yes then I will not let you rest until the sun comes up and maybe even after that. This is my promise to you. So, yes or no.”

Yes or no. Those words echoed in my brain for what seemed like hours as I stared into his eyes. Eyes that were begging me to say the one word that would forever change my world. If I say it there was no going back. Yes or no. Yes or no.

I took a breath and whispered, “Y-yes…”

“What was that?” His eyes twinkled as he asked, “I couldn’t hear you. What did you say?” He tilted his ear closer to my face. I growled, knowing damn well the bastard could hear me. So I did what any sane pony would do. I grabbed his head and put my lips to his ear and yelled.

“YES! MY ANSWER IS YES!”

He chuckled and turned to my ear and whispered, “As you wish.”

Freedom and the Smell of Peaches

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(Pinkie)

“Hello, my half-blind Prophet.”

Ice. Ice was what filled Pinkie’s body as she stood frozen in the gaze of the galaxy. She could barely breath. What was she supposed to do? Her friend and sometimes lover was hurt. How could she get out of this? How was she…

“Pinkamena,” her name was whispered in her ear temporarily unfreezing her, “You are late.”

“L-late? H-how a-am I l-late?” She stammered as her eyes shifted to find a way out. But the galaxy took hold of her and commanded her not to move.

“About ten minutes.” Her whispered name burned her ear, thawing her frozen form. “Ten minutes. You supposed be here ten minutes ago. But it appears you got caught up in a fight between my useless grandson and the Healer. So, I guess I should forgive your tardiness.” Pink lips thinned in annoyance, but as the stars and darkness swirled around her, Pinkie didn’t dare to voice her frustration with… everything. So instead, she gritted her teeth and was promptly startled at the coppery taste in her mouth. From the stinging sensation in her mouth, Pinkie came to the conclusion that she’d cut her tongue. Pinkie slid her tongue across her teeth. Another sharp pain pierced her tongue.

“Ouch,” Pinkie mumbled, “Do I have fangs? Whaaaaaa….?”

“Why yes, my half-blind Prophet,” The stars seem to shimmer brightly at those words. One blue eye bore witness to the tendrils dance and swirl as the glimmering darkness retracts from her body. They rolled and twirled like glittery inky black dough until eventually the twisting mass of stars molded into the shape of a cat. The cat smiled as the pressure became light, causing Pinkie’s ears to pop. “I did because of aesthetics! I think it looks good on you!”

“Oh! Hello there, Void! Master of souls, Keeper of Time, Lover of Chocolate, and Pain in the Ass for Sombra.” Pinkie chirped with a bow. “How ya doin’? You do like chocolate, right? Because if you don’t, I don’t think we can be friends. Maybe cordial colleges or apathetic acquaintances? But friends? No. Friends share chocolate together. Speaking of friends, what happened to mine?” Pinkie’s head tilt to the side. She felt her mane go flat. That wasn’t good. Not good at all. She was going to do something she was going to regret later. Things were about to get bloody.

“Interesting,” Void chuckled, “you are one of the first to address me properly. That I thank you. As for chocolate, never tried it.” Pinkie gasped in horror as she raised her foreleg as if she was clutching her pearls. This wouldn’t do. Simple would not do. She must rectify this! Must fix this!

“Amusing,” Void’s eyes crinkled with mirth. “"Your thoughts are simply amusing, Half Blind. Thinking of chocolate and death in the same thought. Is it true that you turned some of those travelers into cupcakes? And were they actually delicious as you made them out to be? Hmm?” Void tilted their head, their grin never leaving its frighting aura. Pinkie’s blind eye saw stars and white crystals floating around sharp teeth made of onyx and amethyst. It was so distracting that she barely heard what they said. Cupcakes. Cupcakes? Why were they talking about her secret recipe? No one was ever going to miss those travelers anyways. She made sure that they never had anyone to return to. She must rectify this mistake.

Pinkie gnashed her teeth together. Malice set her eye ablaze, zoned in on the star cat-like being. Through clenched teeth she spat, “What do you want?” Void’s violet eyes twinkled with the call of the challenge and their grin became deadly. Pinkie got in her fighting stance like her pop always taught her.

“What do I want?” Void whispered with a feminine lilt. “What do I want?” A sharp claw tapped their chin as their lips turned into a frown. “I want you to be my Blind Prophet, but Harmony wanted you to be her Laughter. Oh, the twisted irony. You.” They shook their head as their eyes flashed with anger. “You, who broke her law when you were young. You, who continues to do so for the trill of it. The crystalline eyes squinted in feign sadness. "It would break her heart to find her laughter so twisted, so defiled. It makes me sick." Though the stars expressed empathy, the burning spoke otherwise. “But I am a benevolent god, thus I would not tell her anything…. Yet. Plus we made a deal.” They shrugged nonchalantly. “I get half, she gets half. Win, win I say.”

“Don’t I get a say in any of this?!” Pinkie shrieked.

“Hmmm….. no.” Void chirped. “It is the will of the gods!”

“And what about free will?! My free will!” Pinkie stomped her hoof. “I didn’t choose to be half blind! I didn’t choose to be Your Prophet!” Void teleported right into her face, causing Pinkie to fall on her ass. The dichotomy of seeing a deranged cat in one eye and a swirling mass of stars was giving Pinkie a headache. This was not good.

“You did choose to be Mine!” The words echoed in her head as blood dripped from her nose.

“When?”

“In your past lives.” Her blood chilled at these words. The Cat laughed as they continued. “You always choose me. In you first life when you watched Harmonia fall. You choose me. When you watched the wendigos turn your precious land into ice. Where do you think your ‘Pinkie since’ comes from? Me. It comes from me.”

“No. No. NO!” Pinkie cried out. “You’re a bad creature! A bad, bad creature! A danger! I did not choose you. I won’t choose ever! So get out of my head!” Pinkie started to pull at her mane. Cotton candy pink strands littered the as she wailed to the sky. How could this be? This was not her life. This was not what she would choose. It was her past lives’ fault! They put her in this position. This predicament. It was their fault! Their… their… fault. … f… fault. Who was she kidding. If her past lives where in the same predicament, then who was she to blame them. Apparently, she broke a law, a god’s law, and she has no idea what the punishment was. So, she should what it out and find out how to get out of whatever this god wanted. Yes. It was time to wait.

“What do you want from me?” She asked, her voice hoarse from the screaming. She stood back up, ready for whatever they threw at her.

(Applejack)

Pinkie? What did Pinkie do? What did Pinkie make her do? She ate meat! Oh, sweet Celestia, she broke the law. She was going to jail for this and it was Pinkie’s fault. Anger cut threw Applejack’s pain. It gave her a moment of clarity as she watched the damn Cat and her past lover face off. Applejack never regretted something more than having Pinkie as her lover then she does now. She felt betrayed. Pinkie knew about the no eating meat law Celestia had made. It has been around for centuries! Centuries! And those who breaks that law are imprisoned. For how long? Depends on the judge. Applejack was not about to have that on her record. This was terrible. Simply terrible.

The blood loss must have gotten to her head if she was going on a rant about eating meat and jail time. There were bigger problems to solve. Like the damn purple bipedal Cat and Twilight sleeping a few steps away. Or the fucking giant piece of obsidian pinning her leg to the marble floor. But she was mad at Pinkie and that was the only thing keeping her from going to sleep. She was going to stay awake and be pissed at Pinkie out of spite and pettiness.

In the words of Granny Apple smith, “It was better to be pissed off and petty then to be dead.” And Applejack has lived by those words all her life. Besides she needs that damn lying bitch to get out of here alive. Once she’s out. Revenge. Maybe she should listen more of what they’re saying but it hurts so much. So, so damn much. Wonder how Apple Bloom would feel to hear that she died right now? Probably would finally cry or not. That filly wouldn’t cry for nothing. Refuses to even. Hehe that’s her sister, always trying to be tuff.

By Celestia, she was tried. The pain was nearly gone. Maybe she’ll watch the sparkly gold threads that sewing up her hide. Also, the singing was nice. Whatever male was singing should be famous for singing. His voice was orgasmic! So beautiful!

“Pffff… Sorry, but hahaha.” Who’s laughing? Why did the singing stop? “Ahh, blast it to Void, now I need to start again. Stupid, Sombra, you need to stop reading other being’s thoughts. I t gets you into trouble. Pfff… sorry… Haha… So sorry…hehe.” The singing resumed after a few more fits of giggles. Well at least somepony was having fun. What a damn minute did he say Sombra? No, that can’t be what she heard. Sombra is the enemy. He… He… He saved her life more times she could repay. Right. This Sombra was not the bad guy. On the other hoof King Sombra was a complete ass and he needs a quick kick to the head. Or nuts. Whichever’s closer.

“Ouch, Female, I need those! Please do not go anywhere near my nether regions.” The once singing voice pleaded. A deep cackling boomed across the room; startling Applejack awake. Deep ruby red eyes surrounded by obsidian and ivory fur filled her vision. Mirth danced in the red depths as they gave her a wink. Annoyance replaced the mirth as the red eyes turn toward the laughing cat.

“Really?” Rumbled the male. She really needed to remember his name but for the life of her she couldn’t. “Really, Grandparent, do you not have decorum? Or any decency?”

“Nope.” Came the straight answer. “Prey tell why you care so much about this pony who cursed you and your name even after I showed her past. If it was up to me, I would leave her there to die. You, my insolent grandson, are too soft hearted. Maybe that’s why my friend has been shattered six different times.”

Grandparent? Grandson? She really missed or forgot a lot! Who? What? Huh? Pity pierced through Applejack’s heart as she watched his teeth grind. Anger flared up inside his ruby eyes, staring down at the Cat.

“Void?”

“Hmm?”

“I have a question for you.” He grounded out through his clenched teeth.“In the trillions upon trillions of years of your existence, could you grant me this tiny favor? Shut. The. Fuck. Up!”

ΩSombraΩ

I smiled as I felt the soft breath of my mate on my chest. Her little snores brought joy to my weathered heart. She snorted as I snuggled closer to her. I must have tired her out last night. I hope I was gentle enough for her first time. I wanted to go longer but she passed out. Ah well. We got plenty of time for that. I’m just happy to just cuddle with her. I’m not one for cuddling, but I just can’t help myself with Midnight. I nuzzled the fur in-between her ears. It’s the softest spot on her head. So soft. So sweet. I just can’t get enough of her lemongrass and lavender smell.

A little tune started to play in my head, so I started to hum it. As the beat and tempo picked up, I started to sing under my breath,

“Taken, through the open
To faceless, disarray
Crowded hallways, filled with colors
And rooftops, where giants play
In streets, we heard a calling
A house where, summers show
Burnt feet, and cities sprawling
But I will never go, I will never go
But I will never go, I will never go
Stay, in my shelter
Beneath, a bed of stone
Though tides, pull me under
I'll be carried, carried home
Grey shorelines, break the silence
With songs of rivers flow
And I see you, cross the ocean
But I will never go, I will never go”

“That’s pretty,” Midnight mumbled under her breath. She cracked an eyelid open, showing me her beautiful amethyst eyes. A sleepy smiled adorned her face. “Where did you learn that?”

“My mother taught me the song.” I answered as I nuzzled her head. “Said that she learned it from the Kinkus a long time ago. She used to sing it to me when she thought I had my head in a book to long. Hehe. Then she would proceed to drag me to someplace to eat and demand me to socialize with the being all around us. Stating something about growing warts on my butt from sitting too much. I do not know.”

“Sounds like you had a great relationship with your mother.” She mumbled into my chest. “Sombra, why is it that your chest is so dang comfy? It is like laying on a cloud that smells of cinnamon and cloves.”

“Umm… I… umm… ahh… I have no answer to that, Love,” I stammered. I felt heat rise into my cheek. Am I embarrassed? Me? No. Not me. I never get embarrassed. Time to change the subject. “Midnight, are you feeling any pain or discomfort right now?” By Harmony, I hope not. I hope I was not to ruff with her. But I will be the first to admit I felt that I did get carried away. But…

“Maybe a little bit, but nothing your purring can’t fix.” She said. “Just keep doing what you are doing right now and everything will be alright.” Her jaw cracked with force of her yawn. “I’m going to sleep some more because I got the greatest bed right her and I do not want to move.”

I chuckled as I pulled her closer, “Alright, fy un bach I, I will not let you move from you cozy ‘bed’. Still don’t know how I got demoted from mate to bed though.”

“It’s part of the job description.” Her voice muffled by my fur. “You are Sombra the First Born, mate and comfy bed of Midnight Star. Just out of curiosity does my last name changes to First Born or what?”

“First Born?”

“Yeah, because I don’t know your last name. So is my name going to be Midnight First Born or Midnight Star? Because that’s going to keep me up all night until I get the answer to it.”

“Well do you want to hear my full name?” I whispered in her ear. I felt her shiver. Then her head suddenly shot up. Her eyes narrowed.

“Yes, I would love to know your full name!” She huffed. “That is why I asked. Now I will not be able to go to sleep unless you tell me! Please? Please? Please?”

“Fiiiiine, I’ll do it since you begged so nicely,” I smiled while I booped her nose, “my full name is Seren Dywyll Somber O Gytgord.” She blink her pretty amethyst eyes at me. And now I’m beginning to feal self-conscious. I started to squirm as the silence continued to drag on.

“Soooo, your first name is Seren?” She finally asked after the quiet was getting to be too much for me. I squinted my eyes. She tilted her head at me.

“No, it is Sombra.”

“But you said that your full name is Seren Dywyll Somber O Gytgord. So, by that logic your first name is Seren. So, you’re one of the those who goes by their middle name because they are embarrassed by their first name? Right?” Midnight said. Her hooves made elaborate gestures with every word she spoke. It was kind of cute. But I had to set the record start. Least my mate would become confused.

“No, my first name is Sombra,” I corrected her, “the reason being is because my full name means A Somber Dark Star of Harmony. That’s how the old language gave out names. Names were first used as titles and mine was the longest. I could go by Seren but I’ve been called Sombra for so long now that I will lose all of my achievements in the history records if I do. Do you understand?”

Her eyes narrowed, “That doesn’t make sense!”

“It does.”

“No, Seren, it do not!” She said as she tapped on my chest. Cute.

“Not my n—” A loud crack interrupted my cute banter time with my mate. I was enjoying that. Grrrr… What in Harmony’s green earth was going on. Midnight’s head turned towards the door so fast that I was afraid that she might get whiplash. Or snap her neck. I don’t want that. I cringed at the thought. Midnight scrambled off me, knocking the breath out of me in the process. After a second I inhaled, picking up the scent of lavender, lemongrass, and...I sniffed again...peaches? Oh so faint but still noticeable.... Noticeably attached to Midnight's scent?. I used my magic to grab Midnight before she got to far.

“H-hey, hey!” She squeaked in protest. “Seren, what are you doing?” I ignored her and stuck my nose into her belly. The smell of peaches was strong there. It fought with her natural sent of lemongrass and lavender but it was rapidly becoming a heady sent.

“Not my name,” my muffled voiced answered, “my name is not Seren. It is Sombra. And your sent changed.” Peaches. Why peaches? Why did her sent change? And just only at her stomach? This would keep me up at night.

“M-my w-what?” She stammered. “My what changed?”

“Sent. Your unique smell.” I said. “It usually lavender and lemongrass but now I’m getting the smell of peaches also but only around your stomach.”

“And that’s why you stuck your nose near my private area?” She asked while she started to play with my mane.

“Your what?” I couldn’t help but tease. She was so fun to mess with. Ow! The little minx pulled my mane!

“You know what I mean!”

“No, no I do not. Not at all. Midnight, my love, Light of my life, where pray tell is my nose near?” Hehe. “I thought we established what it was called last night. Did you happened to forget what it was called.”

“N-no I did n-not.” She stammered. “I am not calling it that outside the bedroom.”

“And where are we, Hmm?”

“Grrrr… the bedroom.” She mumbled. Oh, this was too easy. Hehe.

“What? I can’t hear you.” I said with a smile. I felt her twitch against my mouth. That makes me want lick her again. Make her squirm.

“WE’RE IN THE BEDROOM! ARE YOU HAPPY!” She yelled. “Now why is your mouth near my p-p… that place!”

“You said it last night and besides you weren’t complaining last time I had my mouth here.” Hehe to easy.

“W-well the door is opened now!” I let go in surprise and she scrambled off me again. I got up from the bed and padded over to the door. Huh she was right the branches are gone now. We can go out now. I honestly don’t know how I feel about this development. Was Harmony watching? Oh, Void, I hope not. Well since we are free, she’s so going to get an ear full about locking me in a room. I followed the happy clip-clops of mate down the hallway. A smile graced my lips as I listened to her little cheery whistled tune. She was so cute when she got like this. I chuckled as she started to skip.

“What are you whistling, honey,” Look at me trying new nicknames. I’m branching out. She turned her head and gave me the side eye. “What am I whistling?” she smiled, “It is call ‘The Singer and the Lyer’. My mom used to sing me that whenever I got sad. Kinda ironic considering it’s an absolutely sad song, but the tune is up beat!”

I chuckled, “Ok, fair enough, Sweetheart, maybe one day you will sing for me?”

“Sure!” She chirped. She went back to whistling her tune.

“I look forward to it,” the smile on my lips soften at the display. I caught up to her and directed her towards the garden. Why? Because we’ve been inside way too long and I wanted to feel the sun on my face. She just looked up to me and shook her head. The wind tickled my face when I stepped outside. A smiled danced on Midnight’s face as raced ahead of me. I laughed as chased after her. We raced around the jeweled willow trees, laughing like giggling fouls. I hid behind a blue leaf willow tree, waiting to strike. The crystalline bark slightly blinded my left eye as lay in wait for my mate. My ears swiveled towards the soft hoof steps towards my right. Her soft giggles reached my ears as she drew closer. My smiled widen as I prepared to pounce.

“Sombra?” Her sweet voice echoed through the leaves. “Are you hiding? I thought we were playing chase. Where…” As she passed the tree I pounced, cutting off what she was about to say. She squealed as I tackled her to the ground. I was extra careful in making sure her head didn’t hurt her head. I rolled in the emerald grass with her in my arms. I laid on my back with her on my stomach. Her amethyst eyes twinkled with mirth. And I just couldn’t hold it in. I gently her head closer to mine and softly pressed my lips to hers. Our lips slowly moved in harmony. I slipped my tongue into her mouth tasting, savoring her taste. No need to hurry we have eternity. I’m going to enjoy this here and now.

The sound of a branch braking sounded the alarms in my head. I flipped us abruptly over, crouching over the ground. Before she could make a squeak, I cast a silencing spell so that whoever was trespassing on my property wouldn’t know what hit them. I felt Midnight’s tiny hooves pounding at my chest. I swiveled my ears to listen to the incoming intruder. Their hoof steps crept closer.

Closer.

In the count of three I will strike

One. My wings burst into flames.

Two. My teeth grew shaper.

Three…