Chapter 36: Black of Heart, Green with Envy, Power of Love
Part 1: Standoff
TIME: 13:35 Equestria Royal Standard Time
DATE: War Day 343/12 Tertious, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Outskirts of Crystalpolis
Me and Sunshine.
Just us, against two of the most powerful enemies we'd yet faced.
Shining Armor should be here. Not him. But Shining Armor was dead.
Sunshine.. it didn't matter to him. He was a soldier, this was his duty, and he was going to do it, even if it killed him.
We paced to the edge of the city, standing there in the late spring afternoon. Wasn't this supposed to have happened in the winter?
Chrysalis: "If you're smart, you'll stay behind that barrier.." She was facing off against Sombra.
Sombra: "..I will deal with you after I destroy this heartless, love-sucking wench of a bug." He stomped the ground.
I drew my sword. Sunshine chamber-checked his Bradley.
K: "Nothin' doin' - we're going to kill both of you." I looked at Sombra, pointing the sword in his direction. "I'm calling you out."
Sunshine: "Your ass is mine, bitch!" He pointed the bayonet-equipped Bradley-Gavin at her. "For My Lady's Betrothed, that you killed - the pain that you gave her, I'm gonna give it right back." A snarl from his lips.
Sombra: "..you realize they're only trying to delay us until their friends find the Crystal Heart we're BOTH after.." He looked at Chrysalis and cocked a brow.
Chrysalis: "..oh! Offering a temporary alliance against the ponies?" She gave him the sweet-eyes - batting her buggy eyelashes at him, and seductively licking her snout all over with that long, forked tongue of hers.
Sombra: "DISGUSTING!" He spat at her. "I woulds't not sully my lineage by even allowing you to polish my hooves!" He turned to me. "And you must be the human.." His brow cocked. "..I'd not a chance to properly study you before. So, this is what the Legends warned about.."
K: "..what Legends?" Great, what ELSE wasn't I being told?
Sombra: "It matters not! I will slay you personally, and restore my Empire!" He snarled at me, and assumed a ready pose. "But, enough talk! Have at you!"
Sunshine took off after Chrysalis as soon as those words came out of Sombra's mouth.
He charged right for me - not more than four meters seperated us. I brought the sword up and blocked his horn, which he tried to impale into my chest. Deflecting it (he was STRONG for a Unicorn!), I chopped overhand at his head, only to have it blocked by his horn. He swung his head left and right, trying desperately to carve into my flesh - the gleam from the edge of his horn told me it was plenty sharp - but I managed to block or parry every slash and thrust (BARELY - I'm not a swordsman, damnit!).
I thrust, just as I jumped back, making him pull his head to the side, and giving me some distance. Thankfully, the terrain was paved stone. As long as I didn't trip over my own feet, I'd be fine.
I didn't really try for any offensive moves. I was just waiting for an opening. Reacting. Really, I should've tried to dictate the pace of the battle, but I knew I wasn't a good enough swordsman to do that. I just had to keep him occupied long enough for the team to get the Crystal Heart and activate it. That would finish him.
On the other hand, he HAD to kill me, get past Chrysalis or Sunshine, and brute force the barrier before that happened.
That put the advantage on our side. All WE needed to do was play it careful, and buy time. Every second helped.
I pulled back farther, forcing him to overextend every time he wanted to get a thrust at me. I blocked the next slice, and saw an opening, so I kicked him in the chest with the flat of my foot.
I was surprised to see his armor buckle.
Pushing my advantage, I leaned in to the blocked thrust with all my weight. As far as I could tell, he and I weighed almost the same amount, with me perhaps at a 10kg advantage. I rocked the blade back and forth, holding my weight against it with both hands. I kicked him again. And again.
Finally, he summoned the strength to push me off. I almost fell over - he had a lower center of gravity than I did - but I managed to keep my balance, if only barely. He wasn't doing much better.
K: "Why don't you use your magic, Sombra!?" I belted out.
Sombra: "YOU know well why I daren't use my power!" He nodded to the sword. "The Sword of Rainbow's Light would throw it back at me." He snorted.
K: "Oh, REALLY?" I didn't know the sword had a name. "So, this is an anti-magic sword, or something?" I gave it a quick look.
Sombra: "FOOL! You know not the sword's power?! And yet you wield it!?" A chortle. "No wonder this fight is taking you so long!"
K: "You know, to be honest, Celestia just kinda gave it to me." I shrugged a smidgen, as he threw his head in at me, and I blocked with the flat of the blade. "I'm not a swordsman." I gritted my teeth as I said this. "I'm not a magician."
Sombra: *GRRNT!* He pushed me off. "Then what ARE you!?" He demanded.
K: "I am SCIENCE! And Science will FUCK YOU!"
I swung the Chaffee onehanded from behind my back, and snap-fired right at his neck. He flinched to the side. The buckshot hit in the right shoulder area. His armor buckled hard, his cape was shorn away on his right side, and a pauldron fell away, exposing his right shoulder completely.
I could see the tip of a scar. Stretching towards his heart.
My sudden thoughts cost me, as he rammed into me at full speed, knocking me on my ass. I crossed the Chaffee and the Sword, blocking his horn. I brought my legs up to protect my squishy trunk from his powerful hooves, forcing his forelegs apart every time he tried to bring them back to stomp me.
A kick to the right side of the chest. A gamble.
It worked. He pulled back, wincing in pain.
Sombra: "YOU SHALL PAY FOR THAT!" He charged again.
I was just starting to get up, and I barely managed to get the sword between me and him. My other hand braced on the flat of the blade, I managed to get shoved on my ass again, and dragged along the ground. Curled up in a ball, I was just out of reach of his hooves.
Pushing my shoulder into the blade instead, to hold off that sharp horn, I reached my hand over and brought my fist down on his snout, pounding it from the side. Another hit, and I got him in the eye.
He wheeled around and mule kicked me. His hooves managed to avoid the sword's blade and get me in both shoulders. I rolled head-over-heels on the ground for about three meters, landing on my ass again.
I barely had time to get back to my feet when I looked up to see him heading at me - barely a quarter meter from my face. Instead of a horn thrust, he reared back, and pummled me with his hooves.
I was on the ground again, with Sombra trying to trample me. Desperately, I kicked my feet up as hard as I could -
Sombra: *YEEEEEOWWWWWWWWWW!!* He staggered back, wincing.
Bull's eye. Right in the cumquats! When you're fighting for your life, 'dirty' moves are just as legit as any other move.
That gave me enough time to get up, and go after him again. Swinging my sword over my head, I tried to use the mechanical force advantage I had to come down hard enough on his horn or his neck to put my weight into it. I connected with his neck armor, and broke it right at the hinge.
What I didn't realize was that his armor was basically all one piece, and once the neck armor detached from itself, the front part of it hinged down, blocking his legs.
So, I kneed him in the neck, smacked the top of his head with the pommel of the sword, and pulled back a bit.
Sombra: "For a poor.. *Grunt* ..swordspony, you fight like a wild stallion!"
He spat blood from his mouth - I cut his lip somewhere in there. There was blood running down the side of his head, now, too, but he seemed to ignore it. Lowering his head, he bit into the neck armor, and tore it off - it was getting in his way at this point.
K: "Humans fight their hardest when they're backed against a wall, and trying to protect the ones they care about the most!" I garbled out. I had so much adrenaline going at this point, I wasn't sure my talking was all that intelligable. "We NEVER give up!" That came out loud and clear, though, as I let the adrenaline do the talking, and I tore into him again.
I went for a baseball bat swing - an unusual angle for Sombra, given his lack of hands. He brought his right foreleg up to block it, but I came in at just the right angle to get the edge of the armored foreleg greaves, the blade cutting a bit into his leg, about halfway up.
However, his horn was free, and I had to contort at an odd angle to keep from getting stabbed with it. No good - I pulled the sword out, and pulled back, just in time to get it deflected by another horn swipe. He was so close, though, that I was able to block it with my forearm and it not instantly slice it open. I pushed into his horn, stood fully up, swapped the sword around, and pressed it against his neck. He brought his injured foreleg up, and pressed my arm out of the way.
I couldn't hold this forever. I could feel the horn cutting through my shirt, and it was plenty sharp enough to cut right to the bone. I kicked him in the neck and pulled back.
He coughed once, and shoved into me again, trying to get his horn up and under my sword. I managed to hook around the BACK of his horn, and push down, shoving his face in the ground HARD. I put my boot on his horn from the back and held him with my left forearm, my sword-filled right hand slammed down on his cape-covered back.
I felt the sword catch metal, so I pushed harder.
Sombra managed to use his lower center of gravity against me, and haul me up completely. He was surely strong enough to throw me around, but I managed to get my left hand under his armor, and my right leg around his neck.
I chopped with the sword again, and I felt something on his armor, break. I hacked at it again, and felt more of it break. Suddenly, my left side slid away from him, and I realized I'd torn his cape and chest plate off. I scrambled to my feet.. that's when I saw exactly what I suspected I'd see.
There was a large scar over his chest, right where his heart should be.
K: "Your.. heart.." I panted.
Sombra: "What of it!?" He huffed.
K: "You.. you lost your heart!?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.
Sombra: "NO! You FOOL.." *Wheeze* "..I TRADED it away for the POWER to PREVENT.. EXACTLY what happened.." He looked at me, towards the city, then back to me. "The legend.. it said.. the kingdom would fall. All.. all ponies would be enslaved.. that a human was involved." *Pant-Pant* "An alien species with.. with.. HANDS.. and no COAT.." He nodded to me. "You."
K: "You.. you think I'm the reason this happened?!" I puffed hard, shaking my head. "I've only BEEN here for THREE YEARS!" I shouted at him, angry.
Sombra: "YOU are the reason the Crystal Kingdom will fall!" *Heave.. heave* "I couldn't.. I didn't have the strength, or the longevity to STOP you. So I found the power to do so. To WAIT as long as it TAKES. Don't you see!? Tirek.. Tirek may be the darkest of the dark, but YOU.. you're going to cause it all to happen! I must have the Crystal Heart. I MUST HAVE ITS POWER!" He shouted at me. "And all it takes is a dark heart, a firm hoof, and the WILL to get it done. The Crystal Empire will be the saviours of ALL ponykind!" His mouth formed into a snarl. "And all I have to do.. is kill you to get it."
That explained so much. Sombra wasn't EVIL.. well, he was now, in a way, he wanted to rule all of Ponykind.. but his intentions were relatively pure. He wanted to save his kind from Tirek.. and apparently, me.
Was everything just one big misunderstanding!?
{End of Part 1}
Part 2: Sombra
TIME: 13:47 Equestria Royal Standard Time
DATE: War Day 343
LOCATION: Outskirts of Crystalpolis
K: "Sombra, wait!" I called out, trying to get his attention. The truth.. once again, obscured from me. I needed to know..
Sombra: "Silence, Human!" He charged.
Hard and fast. He came right at me. He recovered faster. For being over a thousand years old, he was a spry geezer. I barely had time to block his attack. But once I did, I kneed him in the jaw as hard as I could. He countered by hoof-kicking me, trying again to knock me over, to try and stomp me to death. He didn't think he could use his magic against me.. that restricted him to physical attacks, but it worked in my favor. I'd never survive a magic fight.
I swung, again, catching his horn right as he tried to impale my arm with it. I pushed back, leaning into him. My boot kicked up dust, forcing him to instinctively shut his eye, and giving me a half second to strike him in the head with the bottom of my balled fist. I needed to get him away from me. So, I pushed on him, to push myself away. Get some distance. Talk to him. Understand the situation..
K: "Sombra.. I swear to you, I'm NOT the one at fault here! I'm trying to STOP Tirek!" I yelled.
Sombra: "So what!? You may be nothing more than an unwitting rube, but you're a THREAT!" He nodded to me, stopping short his charge.
K: "SAYS WHO!? WHO TOLD YOU THIS?! I WANT TO FACE MY ACCUSER!" I demanded. "Who started this legend, who told you these things!?"
Sombra: *Taken aback* "You know who! Or, you should - Princess Celestia's former advisor and lover!" He tilted his head at me ever so slightly. "He swore to me Celestia and Luna were going to take us both out. That the result wouldst be the destruction of the Crystal Empire, and the enslavement of all ponykind under Tirek!" He pawed the ground.
K: "Discord..?" That lying.. "..Discord." I nodded, as if this was big news to me (more buying time).
Sombra: "He rightly predicted that the sisters would gather some incredible power, destroy him, and seek my demise!" He nodded to me. "Your presence is all the proof I would ever need. They've sent an assassin - the human that Discord predicted - to take care of me once and for all! And with my death, there shalt be nothing to stop Tirek!" He was snorting steam from his nostrils. Furious.
I stopped right there, and stuck my sword in the ground.
K: "NO! I will not continue this fight.. I REFUSE to." I stepped away from the sword. "Sombra - you want to save the Crystal Ponies. You want to save all the Ponies. You think Celestia and Luna are out to kill you. That I'm out to kill you. Well, you're.. not completely wrong. I wanted to kill you when I thought you were evil. I'm... I'm trying to STOP evil.. but you're not evil at all. Powers of Darkness, yes, but you're not evil. Your goals are supremacist, and self-aggrandizing.. but they're not evil." I pointed at him. "If I told you that I had the means to stop Tirek once and for all, and that I would lay my life down if it meant his demise.."
Sombra: "You.." He looked at the sword, then back to me. "..pick up your sword!" He demanded. "I'll not slay an adversary unarmed.."
K: "No. I'm not going to." I crossed my arms. "I'm not your enemy, Sombra! Apparently, I never was!" I gave a dismissive hand wave. "We can WORK this OUT!" I implored him. "I have a feeling Celestia and Luna were sent after you.. and you sent after getting your heart traded in for a version soaked in darkness.. on entirely false pretenses. Discord is behind this, I'm sure of it. LISTEN to yourself!" I made furious hand gestures. "'I won't slay an adversary unarmed' - that's chivalrous. Honor! You... still... have a sense of honor!" Shatneresque stammering and hand gestures here. "If you were truly evil, you'd take this chance to blow me to pieces with your magic, instead of listen to me!" I pointed at him. "What is it, Sombra!? What do you really WANT!? Think hard. Think REAL hard."
Sombra: "..I.." He stopped.. and sat down. "..I yield." He looked away.
K: "You want to save your people, Sombra. And I want to save you." I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You were manipulated. So was Celestia and Luna. Everyone's been manipulated. Who's the expert at that?"
Sombra: "..Discord. And I counted that.. thing.. a friend! I haven't just been betrayed.. I have been completely bamboozled from the very start." He looked up at me, and offered his right foreleg. "Let there be peace, human. But I give you my word, if the day comes that you betray us, I will kill you myself."
K: "I expect nothing less." I bowed my head to him.
We shook on it.
Sunshine landed in the middle of the stone road right next to us, wounds and searing magical impacts all over his body. He groaned.. at least he was alive.
I just stood there, with Sombra's hoof in my hand, both of us with our eyes diverted to Sunshine.
K: *Quickly* "So, you said you didn't like Chrysalis!?"
Sombra: *Quickly* "Oh, goodness no! Shall-Shall we-ah, shall we take care of her, then?" He gestured with his other hoof.
K: "Team up?"
Sombra: "Team up."
Chrysalis: "YOU... you..." Her face twisted with frustration and rage, she flew over the edge of a rock wall, and hovered there. She had green oozing wounds all over her body.. and was busy fastening an arm back in place. She was looking for Sunshine.. she found US. "..oh." *Coff* "Right, then. I don't suppose I could tempt you boys with a little.. spank-and-flank?" She flicked her tongue around a little, and slapped her chitin'y ass a bit, temptingly.
K & Sombra: *Loudly, firmly.* "NO!"
Chrysalis: "Alright. But I did ask. So, when I kill you, too, don't go saying I never offered the fun way out." She snorted.
Sombra: "You'll not kill us this day, Bug Wench." He cracked his hooves, narrowing his eyes at her. Even without his armor, Sombra was an imposing figure.
K: "We're buddies, now." I side-nodded to Sombra.
Chrysalis: "Oh, is that so? Well, it's a good thing I have 'buddies' of my own.. more like 'buggies' and 'they're all my children' and.." A massive swarm of Changelings rose up from behind the wall, behind bushes, and from around and behind trees. Surrounding us, glaring at us.. ready to kill us. The air was filled with the sounds of their wings. They hissed at us. She pointed at the both of us. "KILL THEM!"
Surrounded by Changelings, I was almost back-to-back with Sombra. He made a deep, baritone chuckle.
Sombra: "The one hundrd and eighty three on the left, I'm not so worried about.." He turned to me, looking over past me. "..it's the five hundred and seventy on the right that draws my concern." A grin curled on his lips. Perhaps this wasn't such an outmatch..
K: "I don't.."
The ground cracked all around us.. seeping green goo started to ooze from the cracks in the ground. My eyes widened in horror. I grabbed Sunshine and pulled him up over my shoudler.
K: "SOMBRA! Stay away from that stuff!" I nodded at it, trying to get Sunshine up on his hooves.
Sombra: "What is this..!?" He backed away as fast as he could.
K: "If I'm right.." I backed up, almost to the barrier.
Out of the earth, crawling from the crack in the ground that he just made, was Grogar. He wasn't the same from when I saw him last, no.. his body was covered in vines and filth. His eyes were sunken in. His coat had taken on a greyish hue. His horns were twisted and bent, just like his teeth. He'd gained power. How, I wasn't quite sure, but he seemed to have reproduced the Necrooze.. and had become so intuned with it, that it was a part of his very will.
Chrysalis: "I.." She looked at him, and looked ready to puke. "I CAN'T FEED ON *THIS*!" She shreiked.
Apparently, our new combatant-slash-guest not only disgusted her, but it was so far beyond a living creature, it made her physically ill. Interesting.. perhaps he was sent here intentionally? Tirek.. it wouldn't surprise me if he calculated for Chryslais.
K: "Grogar!" My sword.. fuck. I left that about two meters away.. I could see it. I'd NEED it.
Sombra: "And the resurrection of ancient evil." He snorted. "Just as Discord predicted. Or WAS it a prediction?" Sombra looked at me. "Methinks Discord was actually telling me his plan.. or, part of it."
K: "Sounds about right."
Grogar: *Ghhhhhhhrrrrrrr*
He stretched out his hooves, and seemed to pull ancient corpses directly from the ground. Skeletons, but, it was something. Held together with Necrooze. Those darkened, green eyes looked at me with pure contempt.
K: "Grogar, look, if this is about us murdering your sex slave.." I was taunting him.
Chrysalis: "YOU FOOL! I don't think he cares!" She spat that out at me.
K: "Tirek is controlling him, Chrysalis." I reminded her, trying to circle back around and get my sword.
Chrysalis: "No kidding! I thought it was Starswirl the Bearded!" *SNORT!*
K: "Sombra.." I nodded to Chrysalis. He'd have a better chance against her than I would.
Sombra: "Yes, Human. Though before we march to our assured doom, what is your name?"
K: "I'm K----. Call me K. Everyone does." I put Sunshine down, right on the other side of the barrier.
Now it was just me and Sombra. I could have left him - let him fight those two on his own - but I wouldn't. I'd made an ally. I don't abandon my allies.
Sombra. Who'd've figured? And Grogar. I guessed that Trixie's failing to get me back must've caused her to fall out of favor with Tirek. At least that might mean we'd see less of her for a while - if she was shuffled to some lesser duties where she could still prove useful.
The Chaffee was pulled out. Nicked, dinged, the finish absolutely destroyed.. I checked the bolt. It still functioned. I was still in business.
Could I fix Sombra? What would become of him afterwards?
Would Celestia and Luna accept his allegiance?
What was Discord's plan? Why was he doing this? Why did I now feel that Discord set this all up a millenia ago, for some reason I couldn't figure out? Was he BEHIND Tirek? Was he the one who got him out of whatever banishment the Rainbow of Light put on him?
As I stared down Grogar and Chrysalis - Grogar summoning a skeletal legion, and Chrysalis summoning forth more Changelings - I just hoped we could buy enough time for the girls to find the Crystal Heart.. and I hoped it would fix everything. Banish Grogar, banish Chrysalis, and NOT banish Sombra..
Grip tightening around the forestock of the shotgun.. Round Three.
{End of Part 2}
Part 3: Green Eyed Monster
TIME: 14:00 Equestria Royal Standard Time
DATE: War Day 343
LOCATION: Outskirts of Crystalpolis
Sombra charged first. Summoning all of that dark energy, he electrified the air with the pure darkness. Black crystals formed from the bolts, and like a gigantic Claymore Mine, they exploded in every direction at once. His dark power had been nearly untapped in our fight - he even said he couldn't risk using it, for fear my sword would reflect it back at him.
It made sense. It did the same thing to Lostshort.
When his dark Claymore went off, I ran forwards, and pulled my sword out of the ground.
Grogar was mine. It was time to get revenge for what he did to Fluttershy.
K: "GROGAR!" Shotgun in one hand, sword in the other.
His skeletal legions. I'd have to get through those, first. I was getting tired. Despite getting in much better physical condition since I got here, and being in relatively good condition before letting myself go, I simply wasn't built for this.
Fortunately, this was a three-way battle - Chrysalis had to kill Grogar, too, to prevent him from getting the Crystal Heart for Tirek. And, equally, Grogar had to kill Chrysalis to prevent her from getting the Crystal Heart for her own ends. So, they were going at each other - rather, their minions were. And that gave me some breathing room.
Not much, but some. Enough for me to wade into the large mass of bodies, and search for that damned goat. I was going to kill him - I would have revenge in Fluttershy's name. Everything else we'd gone through.. the actual rape of someone like that.. THAT was wrong, and unless I killed Grogar in a horrific fashion, the lack of punishment might encourage other sick-minded minions of Tirek to do the same to others.
So, was it justice for the sake of revenge, or revenge for the sake of justice?
Either way, it drove me. No matter how badly I ached, no matter how much it hurt, I was going to END HIM.
Skeletal warriors constructed by his necromantic magic were far different than the creatures Hydia had summoned. He saw fit to give these undead creatures something approaching proper weapons - shields, swords, spears and tridents. Their appearance was interesting - having only the bones of ponies to work with, he made most of them walk bipedally, as lone skeletons. Some, however, he combined into Golem-like creations, with six or more limbs, multiple heads, and double or triple rib cages.
Now, I said before, I'm no swordsman, so when I came up to the first couple of skeletal warriors, I jammed the Chaffee in their faces and pulled the trigger. Heads destroyed, they fell to pieces. So, apparently, the old adage is true - shoot them in the head, they're sure to be dead. Works on George Romero's Zombies, works on these things.
I marched into the next group - two - that were overpowering a lone Changeling. One was holding it down, the other was trying to cut its wings off. So, I took aim on the one holding the Changeling down, fired, took off his head (to be fair, the skulls seemed more to disintegrate), aimed at the next bone head, fired, blowing his skull apart, then turned to the Changling, who was already back on his cheese legs. Third shot, blew his horn off, and kept walking.
I ejected the tube magazine from the Chaffee and loaded in a new one, but I didn't slap it home all the way (which would have ejected the chambered shell). I waited until I could dump a load of buckshot into my next target - another skeleton, which I hit dead center in the sternum, causing it to blow apart. I then pressed the edge of the tube magazine into the stone road, and used that to rack the bolt back, chambering a shell.
I could hear Sombra laughing at Chrysalis. Loud, proud laughter.
Maybe he wasn't so bad after all?
I shoved my way through a pair of duels between the skeletons and the Changelings. I really, really should have gotten reinforcements. If I knew the fighting was going to be like this? I would have. But even if they were summoned right now, it'd take them hours to get here. We were over a hundred kilometers from Camp Crystal. By the time they got here, it'd be all over.
Moving towards the dead center of the maelstrom of bone and buggy chitin, I was forced to engage a pair of skeletal archers. They were firing sharpened bones for arrows, the bowstrings magical, and the bows themselves seemed to be made of hardened Necrooze.
As soon as I came upon them, I dropped low, barely avoiding a killed Changeling from bowling me over. I hefted him, and held its cheese leg forelimbs like a shield strap, and used its corpse to block the incoming bone projectiles. I got an angle on them, and mag-dumped on the two skeletal archers, hitting them all over the chest and head.
Reload. Again. I had five magazines left.
Grogar wasn't even that far ahead of me - maybe twenty meters - but the minions in the way is what made the distance seem to stretch to infinity. My body was complaining, now. I wasn't Superman. I was just a human. And I was getting completely exhausted by this point. Strenuous, stressful life-or-death fighitng for fifteen minutes?
At least I wasn't wearing heavy, metal armor.
Five Skeletons in my way - one of them had a chain mace, and two heads. By pure luck, a Changeling's corpse landed right on top of one of the 'standard' skeletons, and blew him apart.
The stress in my head was starting to creep into my vision. I just magdumped on the two-header - fuck it, I needed to end this before I simply passed out. Ejecting that magazine into the face of the third skeleton, I reloaded, and blasted the three remaining skeletal soldiers with two shells each.
Again. Reload. Three magazines.
I finally made it to the center of the circle. My head was swimming. I was steeled for this, but my body was screaming at me to just let go and pass out. I couldn't, though.. something inside me simply wouldn't let me give up.
K: "GROGAR!" I bellowed, with all my strength. I could feel the sweat running down my body..
Grogar: "Wh..at..... do.... you..... want, hu...man? " He gurgled out. No, seriously, his voice sounded totally fucking demonic.
K: "What the FUCK happened to you!" I slid the shotgun behind my back with my left hand, as I pulled the sword with my right.
Grogar: "Trix...ie's Re...ward...... And.... Mas...ter Ti...rek's. I...... am...... bey...ond death... it.....self, noooow. " He gurgled from deep within himself. Then he fired a beam of sickeningly green-glowing energy from his right forehoof.
I brought up the sword. Of course, to block it. And it did. But when it reflected itself back at Grogar, it didn't seem to harm him at all. It made sense to me after a moment of my exhausted brain remembering Final Fantasy et. al. - he was MADE of Necromatic energy. Reflecting his power back at him is either going to heal him, put back exactly the amount of power reflected, or do absolutely nothing.
Which meant I had no 'easy out' - no way to automatically counter or overpower him. I was on my own. And this was going to hurt - if he didn't just turn me into an undead slave of his.
K: "Looks like I'm doing this the old fasioned way.." I muttered to myself. "..Luna, Give Me Strength.." I said. My heart was focused on her. She was both my Lover and a Goddess, after all - how could I not think about her at a time like this
Then, I found out what the Sword actually does.
First, the effect: The sword's blade started glowing like the pale moonlight reflected off of water. It thrummed with energy, and I seriously felt like I was holding something very cool to the touch.
Now, what (I found out much later) it actually does: The Sword is designed to be a conduit to send power from any Alicorn. However, it only lasts a few moments, I must be 'emotionally close' to them (magic of friendship), it weakens them for as long as it's active, it weakens me incredibly (as I have no magical ability), and I must be absolutely focused on them for as long as its active, or it loses power. Plus, all it does is channel their 'aspect' into the blade itself. I don't gain control of all their abilities or anything - however, it's just the ticket for bringing their power to the field, remotely.
This is what Sombra meant by me not knowing what the hell I was doing with the sword.
I was stunned by the feeling.. and for a second, I thought I could hear Luna's voice. I gave Grogar a look.. I had magic in the sword, now. And even though it was starting to feel like my feet were made of clay, I had that advantage, finally. I could HURT him.
Grogar: "ImPoSsIbLe!" He gurgled, and summoned the Necrooze itself to be his weapon. He shoved a spike of it at me, perhaps a meter long, and half a meter thick.
I held up the sword, and it just cleaved in half. The magic of the moon, it cut through the nightmare like it was nothing but air.
I was stomping towards him. He suddenly looked very afraid. Grogar tried summoning a giant blob of Necrooze up, to cover himself, and craft a solid shield. I heaved back with the sword and chopped into it with all my remaining strength. I heard..
*Piercing inhuman scream*
..the most unearthly scream of pain that I'd ever heard before. Nothing compared to the way it pierced by very soul. I seriously felt like I was getting mind raped, as I heard it. I could see dark green 'blood' oozing from the cut in the 'shield' - and it shattered.
Revealing an extremely furious Grogar, missing his left foreleg.
He must have said 'fuck it' because he simply dove back into the cracks in the ground, and vanished. Gone. Crawled back from the depths from whence he came.
Which was all well and good, because right at that moment, I fell on my ass, exhausted. I seriously could not move. I didn't even notice that the party was pretty much over with. Sombra had done his part, and I'd done mine. I didn't know that Chrysalis had been crushed, again, or that the few scattered minions left were squabbling for the sake of squabbling..
Sombra: "I see you have figured out the sword's secret." He sat next to me, huffing and puffing. I wasn't the only one that was worn out.
K: "I've.. never.. felt.. so tired.." I flopped backwards, laying flat.
Sombra: *Wry chuckle* "But, you have done it." He lowered himself to the ground. "Your friend crawled away whilst we kept the undesirable guests busy." And let his eyes close. "I suppose thine friends will appear soon."
TIME: 14:15
Sunshine came up, with Gorcat, Jade, and Dr. Allcome. Only Doc Allcome seemed pensive about getting close to Sombra.
Jade: "WHOOAAA....!!" She was shocked. "Look at all the DEAD stuff!" Child-like wonderment at the level of chaos and destruction.
Dr. Allcome: "Stay with K long enough, my dear, this will be a regular sight."
Gorcat: *Hmpf!* "At least this is a fightin' outfit.." A smirk.
Sunshine: *Groan* "You have.. no idea.." *Coff*
Dr. Allcome: "Quiet, you. You SHOULD be RESTING." He shook his head and.. got close, but stopped, seeing Sombra very much alive.
Sombra: "Have no fear.. I am on your side now." He nodded.
K: *Grogily* "He is.. so tired.."
Dr. Allcome: "I'm not surprised! How long did you fight for!? Get them some water!" He instructed, as he got over to us and started checking us for injury. "General, you're bleeding again. Several places. Looks like you got worked over pretty hard."
Sombra: "A demonic ram that K here referred to as Grogar showed up, crashed the party, and forced us to deal harshly with him." He nodded. "K defeated him. And I fought Chrysalis." He huffed. "Though I am certain she shall return to.. bug.. us again."
Doc Allcome gave me a look. Inquisitive and untrusting. A little afraid. I waved him off.
K: "He's.. okay."
I collapsed. Exhausted. Completely spent. I'd spent so much energy fighting... poor Jade and Gorcat had to carry me back. Of course, now that I had Sombra with me, things were going to get MUCH more interesting..
{End of Part 3}
Part 4: Awoken
TIME: 14:47
DATE: War Day 343
LOCATION: Crystalpolis, Royal Palace
Almost an hour and change after the confrontation started, I was back at the palace. It took some convincing Cadence that Sombra wasn't going to kill her (I was asleep for this, but got woken up a few times and asked the same thing over and over again - 'Can we trust him?' - I always answered affirmative). But, everything was alright now. Well, as good as it can be.
Sombra: "I.. am.. going to have to get used to all of this.." He coughed a little. "I must start removing my curses from the land."
Cadence: "Where is the Crystal Heart?" She demanded.
Sombra: "Honestly, your royal highness, I do not know. It's been a thousand years, now." He shrugged. "Understand, my only driving desire was to save Ponykind." He looked at the barely-conscious me. "..K showed me that my methods were in error, and my personal ambitions had gotten in the way.." He lowered his head. "I cannot ask forgiveness, your royal highness, but I can make penance for my misdeeds."
Cadence: "What's this about you.. replacing your heart?" She cocked a brow.
Sombra: "I wast not born, Princess. I was created. From the Umbrals. As a double agent to destroy the Crystal Kingdom and take the Crystal Heart or destroy it. But.. Princess Amore, the first Crystal Kingdom Princess.. she.." He lowered his head. "..I was in a crisis of conscience. I hadst been raised amongst them.. she convinced me to turn my back on them all. As she had no heirs, I became her Lord General and successor." He nodded to me.
K: "Mmhh.. whu'bout me?" I coughed a bit. "Thirsty.."
Sombra: "T'was then that I was told.. a human would come. He wouldst bring about the demise of us all." He snorted. "I was.. not whole, you understand? I was an Umbral in the FORM of a Pony. They couldst take me at any time. But.. such was my loyalty to Amore.." He nodded to Friskie. "Cover the foal's eyes."
Toola Roola stuffed her beret over Friskie's face.
Sombra gently grasped either side of the scar.. AND PULLED HIS CHEST FLESH OPEN. No blood - magical field, I guessed - but there, beating strong and powerfully, was a somewhat oversized horse heart, jet black.
He really did have a heart blacker than night.
Sombra: "..I knew the heart had corrupting powers. Even now.. I.." He looked at me. "I can feel it pulling on me." Then lowered it. "T'was the only way I couldst become a Pony truly. I.. had.. the soul of an Umbral, but I am a Pony."
K: "Evil does not make bad." I stated. Something my brother had said.
Sombra: "I believe I understand, K." He nodded a little, and pushed his chest closed partway, though Dr. Allcome came over and looked at it.
Dr. Allcome: "Where is your original heart?" He asked, keeping his face and mouth away from what - to him - looked like a giant gaping wound.
Sombra: "I sacrificed my Umbral heart for the Black Heart of Nightmares. It was the price I had to pay." He shrugged. "'Tis another reason I require the Crystal Heart - if I were to channel the energy I've regained over the last thousand years into it, I could.. stabilize my condition." He looked at Dr. Allcome. "I'm dying, Doctor. I've perhaps a few years more, before this heart will fail, and I shall perish."
Cadence: "Getting the Crystal Heart would give you the power to stay alive.. and conquer the world.. but you couldn't ever be seperated from it, could you? You'd be forced to keep it with you at all times, just to stay alive..? And.. what.. what became of Amore?"
Sombra: "Should I desire it useable as a magical artifact, then yes." He shrugged. "Otherwise, I could use its power to simply.. fix my condition." He shrugged. "As for Amore.. the Umbrals, enraged at my betrayal.. crystalized her. I was able to use some of my power to.. fuse her soul to that crystal.. but they hast shattered it." Tears dripped to the ground from his muzzle. "She was not killed. Hadst her crystals all been gathered, she couldst have been revived." He then nodded to Cadence. "But.. it seems there is no need."
Twilight: "But, how?" She was bent over me, with a dish for water. "I don't understand.. I met Cadence's parents!"
Sombra: "They were not." He nodded. "Amore HAD no heirs!" He snorted.
Twilight: "Then.. where did Cadence come from if she wasn't born!?"
Sunshine: *Grunt* "Magic." He was laid out near me, bandaged all to heck. "Just like Sombra."
Sombra: "Indeed. I feel.. as though.. fragments of Amore coalesced into Cadence." He nodded. "Her desire to return so powerful, it transcended death itself. Such was our.. our link."
Twilight: "Which.. just.. goes back to the whole Magic of Friendship.." She blinked a few times and raised my head to let me drink.
Cadence: "And the Power of Love." She looked at Sombra. "Never mind me! What.. can.. is there some other way to fix you?"
Sombra: "It wouldst take a miracle." He shrugged, and winced.
Dr. Allcome: "I've really never seen vitals like yours before, Sombra." He shrugged. "I think you're in poor shape, but I can't really tell.." He was examining him. I could see that, now.
Sombra: "The pain.. shan't lessen.." He gave a dismissive hoof-wave. "Worry not about me. Restore the Crystal Heart to.. the Crystal Ponies. Give them back what hast been lost."
Cadence: "Alright.. I suppose.." She started to pace away, to rejoin the search teams.. but stopped a moment. "K..?"
K: *Groan* "Yes?"
Cadence: "Do you think the Wishing Star has enough power to fix him... AND restore Shining Armor?"
K: *mmh* "Dunno." I rolled over. "Wake me when the MedEvac unit gets here, or somethin'.."
Sleeeep..
TIME: 04:22 Equestria Royal Standard Time
DATE: War Day 344/13 Tertious, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Royal Palace, Crystalpolis, Crystal Kingdom
I woke up to Doctor Well Wishes standing over me, in his Royal Army field uniform, with his medical bag open, and him giving me a check-up. I could hear a lot of talking going on, people moving around. Activity. Bustling activity.
Dr. Well Wishes: "You're looking good, General." He helped me sit up and handed me my glasses.
K: "Mm.. hungry." I shrugged. "How.. what's going on?"
Dr. Well Wishes: "The Elements of Harmony were able to restore the Crystal Heart to its rightful place. Also, your new ally is.. waiting to meet with Her Royal Highnesses. They are on their way. Apparently, Princess Luna felt something horribly wrong, and immediately had Camp Crystal contacted, to move out for the Crystal Kingdom's capital at once. The Princesses departed Canterlot as soon as they were able."
I got up, and started clothing myself. Dr. Allcome had stripped me to my boxers. Sunshine was being carried out on a stretcher.
K: "How is he?" I asked as I started tying my boots.
Dr. Well Wishes: "He'll survive. My colleague was able to treat him long before his injuries became serious."
K: "Alright. Where's Sombra?" I got up.. tummy rumbling.. I looked over at one of the ponies in an Air Force uniform. "HEY! Get me some grub, please?" They saluted, I saluted and nodded to them, as they dashed away.
Dr. Well Wishes: "He's in the Reception Lounge of the castle.. under guard." He shrugged.
K: "Sensible. Not everypony trusts him, after all the horrible stories about him." I started walking that way. "Many of which were true." But not all. "When are Their Royal Highnesses expected?"
Dr. Well Wishes: "Shortly. Oh, clean bill of health - you're battered and bruised, but good enough to return to duty. Not that I could stop you." He chuckled.
K: "How IS Sombra?" I asked, adjusting my belt.
Dr. Well Wishes: "In surprisingly good shape - the positive energy of the Crystal Heart has stabilized the condition of the Black Heart for the time being, and he doesn't seem to be having any 'episodes' with any of its corrupting urges. I think so long as he stays close to the Crystal Heart and is exposed to its positive, Love Power, effects, he should remain fairly stable. Of course, both Dr. Allcome and I are convinced that the heart will give out soon - without the Crystal Heart's power, perhaps five years. With it? Maybe ten.. fifteen.. hard to tell." He shrugged. "Anything else?"
K: "No.. thank you, Well." I patted him on the mane.
Dr. Well Wishes: "No, K, thank you." He trotted off.
I arrived at the lounge area. It was guarded by the Rangers.
Derpy: "K!"
Octavia & Lyra: "General!"
Scratch & Graphite: "General K."
Mac: "Brother."
Braeburn: "Couzin!"
K: "Hey, everyone!" Hugs were given all around. "How's our guest?"
Derpy: "He didn't mind being guarded. He said he expected it." She shrugged.
Mac: "You shure 'bout trustin' him, Brother?" He gave me a look like 'I had to ask - even though I know the answer.'
K: "I trust him enough to get the.. magi-ecological damage done to the Crystal Kingdom cleaned up. That's a start." I looked at them. "Now.. I have to ask you all something."
Derpy: "No need." She slid her head under my hand. "You're our General. You're the one that got us this far in the war. Even if.. you know.."
Octavia: "If you ask us to stand between The Princesses and Sombra, we will, K." She put her right hoof in my other hand.
Mac: "Yer mah brother. We're blood, and blood comes first in this family." A gentle snort.
Braeburn: "Goes fer me, too, couzin." A nod.
K: "I don't think it'll come to that." I shrugged. "But the support, it.. I appreciate it beyond words." And all I could do was smile.
TIME: 04:40 ERST
I'd been brought some cooked oats by the Air Force Pony, and both Braeburn and Mac had apples and some turkey jerky in their packs - specifically for me. I ate as quickly as I could, so I'd be ready for the Princesses' arrival. The carriages arrived, and the Princesses disembarked from them. Without their bodyguards, they walked to the entrance area to the Reception Lounge.
Celestia: "General.." She gave me a look.. and looked at each of the ponies in the room.
Luna: "My General.." She walked right over to me, and neck-hugged me. Then stood at my side.
K: "Ah-hah.. I see.." I looked between them. "I trust him." I stated.
Celestia: "We were met by a flying messenger while en route to Crystalpolis.. as you call it." She was defensive. "They said that Sombra has defected.."
K: "He has. He did long ago. In ways you never imagined. Sombra was a creature known as an Umbral. But, the founder of the Crystal Kingdom, Amore, saved him and brought him over to her side. The Umbrals.. didn't like that, so they tried to kill her. He.. kinda saved her? When they turned her to crystal, he fused her soul to it, and when they shattered it, they left her in a condition where she could be revived if every fragment was brought together." I nodded a bit. "But, it gets worse. Right after that, Discord used HIS position as YOUR lover, and sold him a pack of lies - sold YOU a pack of lies. That he was going to be DESTROYED by you! You left him for last.. AS DISCORD PREDICTED YOU WOULD. And defeating and locking him away is EXACTLY what you did! Spurred on by Discord!" I waved my hand. "Unless I miss my guess, he laid the entire fault of Amore's death at Sombra's hooves, and ENCOURAGED you to destroy him! But, you couldn't.. you only restrained him temporarily. He broke free.. determined to right the wrongs, told by Discord that I'd arrive and destroy everything. He SACRIFICED his Umbral heart for the Black Heart of Nightmares, knowing he was giving up functional immortality to change sides forever, and STAND AGAINST the thing he thoguht would destroy ALL Ponykind! He thought YOU a DESPOT! THAT'S where his Racial Supremacy bullshit came from! HE was CONVINCED that YOU were EVIL! And the ONLY thing he could do to SAVE ALL THE PONIES of the world, was to CONDEMN himself to an EXCRUCIATING death.. and live over a THOUSAND YEARS all alone." I crossed my arms. "If that's not defecting, I don't know what is - he just didn't know who his allies really were."
I quit talking right then - yeah, I'd spilled some personal secrets, but I did it only around the Rangers. Who I knew I could trust.
Celestia: "..." She looked like she was going to say something, but stopped, thought about it, then spoke. "Alright. I.. suppose.." She looked at Luna. "..mistakes were made in the past, in our zeal to protect Equus. And that perhaps Sombra isn't the pony we thought he was." She nodded a little. "I shall pardon him for the crimes he's been accused of - on your word, K."
K: "I give it." I nodded.
Luna: "As do I - I trust the judgement of the father of my foal." She nodded to Celestia, and brushed against me.
Derpy: "Me, too, Your Highness. All of us." She shrugged.
Mac: "..e'yup."
Celestia: *Amused giggle* "Seems I'm out-voted, anyway!" She smiled to me, and put her right hoof on my shoulder. "Making an enemy into a friend is one of the greatest possible victories, K. It's also part of the spirit of friendship that I so desperately want understood. The speech wasn't really necessary - but it shows your conviction." She looked at the Rangers. "And that of your closest friends and family, that they stand behind your words."
K: "Oh, by the way, this is the Sword of Rainbow's Light, apparently.." I patted it.
Celestia: "Honestly, K, I have no idea." She shrugged a little. "It's been in my possession for so long, and I never held on to the memories about it - so, I don't even know, for sure, if I ever knew its original purpose, let alone what that purpose might be."
K: "Sombra seems to understand." I nodded to the room. "Why don't we all go have a talk with him?"
Celestia: "That sounds like a fantastic idea, K."
And into the Lounge we went. All of us. And somewhere, in there, I could tell Celestia saw in the ponies with me, that spark of self-determination she so desperately wanted to foster in them. That her dream of Ponies ruling Ponies not by fiat, but by agreement, was one step closer to coming true.
TIME: 05:17 ERST
Sombra was in the Lounge, alright, waiting for us. All three Princesses, the Girls, and my Rangers arrived.. as did Ironhide.
K: "I want to know what's this about Cadence not being.. what we thought she was." I stopped, turned, and looked at both Princesses.
Celesta: "...oh, fillyflanks." She profaned, and plopped to her haunches. "HOW did you KNOW!? I kept that a SECRET!"
Sombra: "T'was I, Celestia." He bowed to her, with Dr. Allcome at his side. "And.. t'was a guess. Until now." He curled a small grin on his lips.
Cadence: "Auntie.. I want the truth. ALL of it!" She sat down across from her. "ENOUGH lies! ENOUGH deception! I lost ONE betrothed to this mess becasue the TRUTH was BURIED!" She had tears streaming down her face. "WHO WERE THOSE PONIES that raised me!?"
Celestia: "I.." She sighed, and almost slid all the way to thr ground.. her mane started to change from Astral to plain horsehair. "Oh, Cadence.. I wanted you to have a NORMAL life! So-something like one!" She was crying. "You.. you were found in the woods as a newborn, right on the edge of the border. When you were brought to me, I saw.. I FELT Amore's power within you. I knew, one day, you would have to come and restore the Crystal Heart. But.. until then.. I wanted you to be happy. So.. I arranged for a couple that could not bear children, that were descended from Crystal Kingdom officals.. to.. to come to Canterlot and raise you." She went all the way down, now, and her mane went fully to normal hair. "I didn't know they knew all those secrets. I didn't know that they'd tell you. I DID NOT KNOW! I didn't want you to be burdened by ANY of that! I.. I just wanted you to be happy!" She was crying, now.
Cadence: "Then WHAT AM I!?" She implored.. as Sunshine came in, escorted by Nurse Sweetheart.
Sunshine: "The Mare I love?" He said. "I heard everything." He bowed to his Monarch.. and moved to Cadence. Despite the bandages, he embraced her and kissed her with a passion I'd only seen in a mirror between me and Applejack. "Cadence.. I love you with all my heart. I.. it doesn't matter to me if you came from a puff of smoke or the rain of the skies, or the grass of the fields.." He knelt down, and took out a thin brass ring from his pocket. "Would you.. do this lowly soldier.. the greatest honor.. and be my wife?"
Cadence: "OH SUNSHINE!" She hugged and sobbed into his shoulder. "YES! YES!" And sobbed more.
As I found out later, that brass ring was all he had left of his mother.. it'd been her wedding band. A simple ring, from a simple family.
Sombra: "The truth.." He paced over to Celestia. "..sometimes hurts more than the most dastardly lies."
Celestia: "Cadence.." She sniffled.
Cadence: "Auntie.. I.. I forgive you. I had a WONDERFUL childhood! Even if I was.. told things.. knew things.. I was happy. And now.. and now.." She sniffled, and would NOT let go of Sunshine. "..I'm happier still."
Twilight: "Cadence.." She came over to her. "..I may not have Shining any more, but I have you." She nodded. "Sisters."
Cadence: "Sisters!" She hugged her.
The truth was stranger than fiction.. and we added "The Umbrals" to our enemy list. Though they had not stirred in the last thousand years, and indeed, I suspected that once Sombra betrayed them, they retreated, they were still our enemy.
We had enough as it was.. but we had more friends, now. And Friendship is Magic.
Bullets worked, too.
{End of Part 4}
Part 5: Crystalized Resolve
TIME: 09:33
DATE: War Day 350/19 Tertious, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Crystalpolis, Royal Crystal Cafe
Now that it was 'safe' to come here, Celestia had Spike brought over in her carriage to help Twilight and the girls with their search for information. And boy was there a lot of places to look.. The Royal Archives, The Royal Library, The Central Library of Crystalpolis, Sombra's personal collection of books and minor artifacts, the Crystalpolis Museum..
..oh, and the city never really had an official name, other than 'Palace town' or 'the capital' or something like that. So, Crystalpolis being the official name became a thing. The Crystal Ponies all accepted Cadence right off the bat. The had a bit of a pill to swallow to accept Sunshine Smiles. They had a HUGE pill to swallow to accept Sombra.
That is, until the power of love that was radiating from the Crystal Heart made him break down and cry as a thousand years of emotional pain finally swept over him. No one could really stay mad at him for that - not anyone that could feel emotional pain. It even got Cadence's attention - she can tell when someone's giving the old Crocodile Tears. All she felt from him was sorrow - which, in itself, was a part of the Black Heart's side effects. If it can't drive you to egoism and violence, it might just put you into a depression.
Anyhow, the girls and I were seated at the FINEST cafe in Crystalpolis. Rarity insisted - and Cadence's first show of support was promising full materiel support to our investigation. Meaning, the equivalent of the Royal Credit Card was ours.
Rarity: "You know, it is quite shocking that the food is still edible after a thousand years.."
Twilight: "Magic is.."
Rarity: "..and that the ponies here look so GORGEOUS after a thousand years of aimlessly wandering around.."
Twilight: "..well, *ha-ha* Princess Celestia.."
Rarity: "..in fact, it's like time never touched this place.."
Twilight: "RARITY! It's MAGIC. I don't have to explain how it works!"
Rarity: *Faux Butthurt* "Oh! Twilight! No reason to snap, my dear." She looked over the menu.. ah, so many fine things. "Foie Gras? I've never seen that on any menu in Equus.."
K: "A specially conditioned, fattened goose liver produced from force-feeding a goose a special blend of corn and fat for about fifteen days, then slaughtering them, and extracting the liver." I stated.
*Girls gasp*
Except Applejack. She didn't.
Applejack: "Rarity, ah'm surPRISED at yew!" She reared her head back.. mind you, she was in my lap. Actually, she was all over me - the radiance of the Crystal Heart made her.. very amorous. "Yew bein' all high so-sy-et-ee, an' you never dun got yerself some Goose Liver?" She looked at Fluttershy. "Aw.. don't git so upset, sugarcube. Some'a the rich secretly loves th' stuff - s'how the farm gits by, ya'know? Helps make up if there's a bad apple harvest're somethin'.." She shrugged a little.
K: "You've been black marketing banned foods?" I cocked an eyebrow.
Applejack: "T'ain't banned, jes, mos' rich folk won't a'mit they eats it, cuz'a how it's made. Granny always did figger they likes it specifically 'cuz its expensive, rare, an' hard ta git." She nodded sagely.
Rarity: "I can see why.. such a barbaric thing to do.." She looked at me, as though I would have some input, being more the omnivore.
K: "Don't look at me - I was never rich enough to afford Foie Gras. Even in my world, that's really expensive. I've had goose meat before, though. It's good. Really, I don't have an opinion on how it's created - it's supposedly fantastic, but.." I shrugged. "..I'm not going to say its wrong. I mean, the geese are being raised for slaughter as it is. I suppose the only real sin would be if the rest of the goose went to waste - the feathers for pillows and thick winter jackets, the meat itself for supper, the liver for Foie Gras.. and I suppose the gizzard and innards can be used for things like making stock or gravy.. or fried gizzards."
Pinkie: "See? Logical!" She looked at the menu. "I want pie!"
Toola: "Hm.. oohh.. there's the Pure Vegan choices.." She was on the other side of me.
Applejack: "Mm.. what'chu want, honeybun?" She nuzzled me. In public. For ponies, the way she did that, she may as well have been sucking my face. The conservative - and thousand-year-behind culturally Crystal Ponies on the street.. gave us a look. "I'll have whut yer havin' - plus this Royal Garden Salad."
K: "I'll get the Foie Gras. I'll probably never get another chance at it, unless you make it for me, honey." I admit, I was feeling.. more tender towards her than usual. "I'll have.. wow, they have actual BEEF steak to go with it?!" I was shocked. Just a bit.
Waitress: "It's Water Buffalo. We used to get it in regularly. I suppose we're just using up whatever's still in stock.." She shrugged.
K: "Steak! Steak!" I pointed at the menu. "And could you grind up one of the steaks in a meat grinder, form it into a sort of pattie about like so.." I made the dimensions with my hands. "..and fry it carefully until it's fully cooked all the way through? Then put it on a very lightly toasted wheat bun, with ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles and.. do you have cheeses here?"
Waitress: "We do, sir." She nodded.
K: "A sharp yellow, or creamy white cheese would do." I nodded.
Fluttershy: "I'll.." *Murmur*
Waitress: "What's that, ma'am?" She bent down to hear Fluttershy's order. "Oh, another one of these ground steak sandwiches."
K: "Hamburger. They're called hamburgers." I nodded. "Serve hers with lettuce, tomato, and mustard greens, if you have them." I gave Fluttershy a look. She just blushed.
Fluttershy: "I-I.. need a little meat.." She looked SO guilty. "It happens.. especially ever since the last time I was injured." A little shrug.
Toola: "Well, if it's for health reasons.. and it's already dead.. I guess I can't complain too much. Uhm.. I'll have the Crystal Greens Salad, with.. oh I suppose I should.. a small amount of fried beef liver." She looked at me. "Corrupting influence." A smirk.
Twilight: "Oh.. hm.. this one looks interesting.." She pointed to something on the menu. "I'll try that."
Rarity: "I'll have the same thing Miss Toola Roola is having." She nodded. "Right down to the beef liver."
Rainbow Dash: "Hoo.. I wanna try one of those Hamburgers. With all the veggies on top, like Fluttershy's - and can you add some carrots to mine?" A beaming grin.
Waitress: "Certainly. And for you, little sir?"
Spike: "Uh.. a bowl of gems?" He chuckled. "Someone's bringing my lunch for me."
Waitress: "A-ah.." She toddled off.
K: "So, what now?" I asked. "Did you find anything in any of those caches of knowledge, so far?"
Twilight: "I've found three references to the Wishing Star. Nothing.. nothing concrete, though. I asked Sombra about it, and apparently he went searching on his own about a hundred years ago, or so, hoping to fix his heart condition, and then be able to use the Crystal Heart for something else. But he never found it. Still, he was able to show me, on a map, several places that he'd looked already." A shrug.
K: "Hm. Well.." I scratched my chin. "..we need to find a landmark. Something. Did you get any names from any of the references?"
Twilight: "Well, there was ONE reference.. a place called Willy-Nilly Mountain."
Both Spike and Toola Roola immediately got a glzaed-over look in their eyes. Spike came out of it as one of the Air Force ponies set a bowl of gems in front of him.
Spike: "Mmm.. this looks good.." *CRUNCH!*
Toola: "..no flying.." She muttered, and shook her head. "Whoa.. trippy." She rubbed the side of her face with one hoof. "For a sec there, I was, like, totally out of it." A shrug.
K: "Past life bleed-through?" I asked as my two steaks, and my hamburger were deposited in front of me. I set about cutting the steak carefully.. savoring the moment.
Toola: "I guess." She shrugged.
Pinkie: "Of course it was!" She beamed.. then looked serious a moment. "I don't know where the mountain is, though."
K: "Mm.." *Munch-munch*Gulp* "..we'll ask around." I shrugged. "Chances are, it's far north of here, where the Old Kingdom was." I looked at Applejack.. who was caressing me with her hooves. Mind you, she and I were seated on a sort of bench-like thing with a back on it, which was a bit too low to the ground for me to sit up straight, so I had to curl my legs around myself to be comfortable - she was basically laying on top of me. "Honey, really?" I chuckled a little. "Later, later..." I patted her foreleg.
It occured to me that NONE OF THE OTHER GIRLS were trying to molest me. Just her.
Did that mean.. there was true love here? Fantasy worlds.. worked like that, more often than not. I found myself humming an old-ass song from Earth.
Applejack: "That's'nice melody, there, hun.." She idly munched on her food. "..whut'sit from?"
K: "Ehhm.." I shrugged a bit. "..old Earth song, by a country music artist."
Applejack: "Can 'ya sing it?" She poked at me, just a bit.
K: "Nah. I can't do the twang properly to sing country." I shrugged a little.
Applejack: *Hmm*
K: "APPLEJACK!" I hissed. "Not in public!"
Applejack: "Well, dangit, honeybun, I been a few days without it, an' ah jes can't keep mah hooves off'a you." She was CLIMBING ME.
Wait, where's that hoof going? Oh.. right, right, that's where we-
K: "Twilight, a wise man once said to 'delegate.' I'm delegating before this turns into a public orgy. Get what you can, interview whomever you want, whatever it takes.." I was then unceremoniously YANKED off of the bench. "..and get me a doggy bag!"
Twilight: "K? Where.. what's..?!"
Now, I was pretty much over her shoulder. She was DRAGGING ME DOWN THE STREET.
K: "I'm going to get raped now. See you guys in the morning!" God.. God help me.. I'm going to hurt so good after this..
So, in the end, I was able to make Sombra an ally, help rescue the Crystal Kingdom (I give the girls the credit for getting it done - I was just bait, after all), establish the beginnings of an alliance, unite Cadence with her NEW love - an enlisted pony that I trusted a great deal - made new friends, and got some.. okay, the leads on the Wishing Star were rather shaky, but better than nothing.
All in all, I'd call this a victory.
Now, we'd be off to find the Wishing Star.
{End of Chapter 36}
