It was a beautiful, blue, sunny morning in the Crystal Kingdom. The sun was young in the sky, and birds flitted from tree to tree, their morning songs filling the air with beautiful music that brought a smile to any of the ponies that happened to hear. It was a day some ponies would call perfect.
Despite the beautiful weather and wonderful sunshine, Princess Twilight Sparkle was asleep. Her room cast into shadow by thick velvet curtains and filled not with the beautiful sounds of birds but instead the nasally sound of snoring that a certain white unicorn would have said was most unladylike.
A light rap at the broke the calmness of the scene, this was followed by a second and a third rap as each one was left unanswered. With no reply forthcoming, the door opened, and the caller scampered into the room, a silver tray balanced on one of his claws and a scroll clutched in the other.
As the figure grew accustomed to the darkness in the room, he sighed and shook his head at the sight before him. Claws clicking on the marble floor, he crossed the room and placed the silver tray and scroll beside it on a table beside the bed before turning his attention to the sleeping pony.
Twilight was sleeping on her front, as had become her custom since she struggled to keep her wings in check. Something that that caused a gleam to appear in the visitor's eyes as he cracked his knuckles.
"Twilight..." he whispered so as to not actually disturb her. "Time to get up."
Carefully, he climbed onto the bead, and positioned himself to her side, just behind one of her wings. Slowly, with a finger extended, he inched his claw forwards; towards the point where the wing joined with the main body. A point which he had discovered was particularly sensitive. The whole room seemed to freeze as the finger made contact and dug deep into Twilight's side.
Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, Twilight jumped straight up into the air her wings wildly flapping as they tried to instinctively keep her airborne. Unfortunately her lack of skill and practice left their flapping useless and she fell back to earth, landing in a heap.
"Spike!"
The laughing little dragon jumped off of the bed and began to roll around on the floor.
"Spike! It's not funny!" screamed Twilight as she peered through the gloom at the young dragon. "Why do you keep waking me up like that?!"
Spike picked himself up off the floor, and walked over to the windows. "Aww, come on Twi, you know I'm just kidding around," Twilight just grunted in response. "Besides, it's your fault for sleeping in till ten, especially on such a beautiful day." With that Spike wrenched open the curtains, filling the room with light and causing Twilight to hide her head behind her wings and scream out again.
"Spike!"
Taking this as his cue to leave, the young dragon scampered out the room, chuckling all the way. He only paused to duck just in time as a large, fluffy pillow was magically propelled at him and it flew through the open door ahead of him.
As the laughing subsided and the room became quiet once more, Twilight closed the door with her magic and settled back into bed. For a moment she just lay their grumbling and willing her heartbeat to slow. "I'll get him back one day, then we will see who is laughing." She sighed and decided that seeing as the damage was already done that she should probably get up.
Climbing out of bed; stretching her legs and wings, she walked over to the window and threw it open, letting birdsong and and the scent of cherry blossom fill the air. She inhaled deeply and enjoyed the smells of summer, detecting a faint but familiar smell. The delectable smell of pancakes.
Gazing back into the room, she finally noticed the silver tray, a covered dish sitting upon it. A faint smile traced it's way across her face and her features softened. She remembered then why she didn't stay angry at Spike. Sure he could be annoying, but he also made the best pancakes she had ever tasted. Not even the royal chef's that Princess Cadance had hired could match them.
Levitating the cover off the dish, she was instantly hit with the aroma of apples and freshly baked dessert. Her smile extended as she took a fork in a magical grip, no doubt Spike had used apples provided by her friend Applejack. Carefully, she took a small portion of the pancakes onto her fork, and placed it into her mouth. Instantly she was hit with an explosion of taste. With such a delicious breakfast, she was unable to hold back any longer and set about attacking the food.
Ten minutes later, her food devoured, Twilight decided it was time to take her empty tray to the kitchens and begin her day. Picking her tray up in a telekinetic grip, she heard a gentle flop as the parchment that Spike had previously left on the table fell to the floor.
Carefully placing the tray back on the table, she looked over the parchment. It wasn't very important, just a notice informing her that the meeting that she originally came to the Crystal Kingdom to attend - the one interrupted by Sunset Shimmer - was going to be held tomorrow.
She thought for a moment about the events that had transpired only a few days ago, being in another world, battling a former student of Celestia for her own crown. It was a strange experience, made all the stranger due to the fact she met alternative versions of her friends. That was something that puzzled her, she had seen "human" versions of pretty much everypony she knew, apart from herself. She wondered what had happened to the human version of her, if it existed like her friends did.
It was an interesting thought, but not something she decided she would dwell on.
After making sure she had memorized the timing of the meeting, she put the note down and picked the tray up again and set off out of her room (closing the door behind her) and descended into the depths of the castle, towards the kitchen. The palace's kitchen was, unlike the rest of the palace, practical instead of beautiful. When Cadance first took the throne, like the rest of the building, the kitchen was made of crystals and was beautiful, but at the behest of Shinning Armour, the gems were removed and replaced with more modern equipment. After all, crystal ovens are hardly easy to come by, and since his life in the army, he preferred practicality.
As she stepped inside the kitchen, she noticed it was mostly empty, breakfast was long since over (for most ponies) and only light preparation was going on for lunch. Twilight wasn't surprised to see Spike cooking alongside the head chef, a rather jolly plump griffon by the name of Gusteau. Since they had come back from the Human world, Spike spent most of his free time learning to cook under the chef's guidance. The little dragon had stated insistently that he just enjoyed cooking and wanted to learn dishes from other lands, but she noticed that whenever Rarity complained about being hungry, or wanted a snack, Spike - along with a full array of food - was never too far away.
She dumped her tray by the rest of the mornings washing up, and quickly left the kitchen, her mind already focusing on what she wanted to do for the rest of the day - the library. Twilight knew it was - in the words of Rainbow Dash - a book wormy thing to do, but she didn't care, she hadn't had any time to visit the wonderful place since the fight against Sombra, and she couldn't resist the 1,000 year old books anymore. Who knew what long forgotten knowledge awaited her in there.
She exited the light but stuffy interior of the palace into the glorious sunlight, squinting her eyes as she did, and breathed deeply the scent of summer. Twilight let her wings hang loose as she walked to the library, enjoying the sensation as her feathers caught a gentle breeze. She still wasn't completely used to her wings, and all the discomfort from them getting in the way of things until she adapted to them fully was made up for by the strange - but pleasurable - sensations they gave her at times. She felt it most when she was doing her flying lessons with Rainbow Dash, and she was starting to see why Rainbow called Fluttershy a chicken for refusing to fly half the time, after all, it felt so good.
The walk was simply bliss to Twilight, she got to stretch her limbs and she even ran into a couple of her friends on the way. She met Rarity as the fashionista was busy taking measurements of a couple of ponies from a temporary stall she set up on the main street, the crystal ponies were so impressed with her designs from the crystal fair that the queue to the stall was quite long. Then she met Applejack, also with her own stall selling some of her home grown apples. While they weren't exactly as popular as they were back in Equestria - what with all the crystal berries - the delectable treats still drew a decent crowd.
Arriving at the library, Twilight felt the buzz, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. It was the feeling she used to get when she read a new book, sadly, she had read most of the books in her own library and as such didn't really get that feeling anymore. But now it was back, and it was the most powerful it had been since she was a little filly waiting for her new magic book for Hearthswarming.
She stood there for a moment, taking the building in, it's great crystal structure inviting her to enter and absorb some of the knowledge stored within. Just thinking about all the hours she could spend reading some of the books inside sent a literal shiver down her spine and across her wings, making her look like she was trying to clumsily imitate some of Scootaloo's martial arts. After the spasm passed, she felt that she had waited long enough, and passed through the open doors.
Inside it was cooler and darker and Twilight had to wait for a second for her eyes to adjust to the new ambiance. It was quiet, as was to be expected of a library on a hot day, but not completely empty. The gentle patter of hooves on the crystal floor could be heard coming from different areas of the library. A kindly looking librarian sat working at a desk near the first row of shelves, her hooves moving from book to book with a stamp. Twilight approached the mare, the same mare she had met when she first visited the kingdom, and she looked up, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Ahh, Twilight, so good to see you again. It's been almost a year since I last saw you, hasn't it?" Twilight nodded, her motion causing her wings to flutter slightly, the movement not missed by the librarian. "And I see you're a Princess now, well congratulations."
"Thanks, although I'm surprised you hadn't heard about it already."
"Well, maybe somepony tried to tell me, but you know how it is. Working in a library and when I hear the word Princess I automatically assume they're talking about some fairy tale they've recently read." Twilight blushed, sometimes something similar happened to her when she chatted to her friends, not that she'd ever admit it.
"So, how may I help you today, 'Princess' Sparkle?" The words almost made Twilight giggle - she still wasn't used to being called princess - and she probably wouldn't for sometime."
"Just Twilight will be fine, thank you miss..."
"Parchment. Mint Parchment, Miss Twilight, so how may I help you today?"
"I was wanting to read up on some of the history of the Crystal Empire, do you know which section that would be?" The librarian's smile quivered a bit before she replied.
"Sadly, we don't have a dedicated section for that. You might be able to find some books that touch on it in the Ancient History section, section A - rows 19 and 20."
"Thank you, Miss Parchment," said Twilight with a small curtsy before turning and walking into the depths of the library.
Section A row 19 wasn't hard to find, the library was spaced so section A was closest to the entrance, so naturally it was only really a matter of finding row 19. As Twilight rounded the corner into the row, she was greeted by the sight of some of the largest books she had ever seen. Thick, heavy bound tomes, they clearly used vellum instead of paper, which caused Twilight to shiver. She had read about how in the ancient past, before the press and ability to mass produce paper, many writers used animal skins to write their texts. She knew it was due to a different time and different culture, but a part of her couldn't help being repulsed by the fact she would be holding the skins of fellow critters in her hoofs as she read.
Glancing at the names of the tomes, Twilight was upset to see that most of the volumes only covered history associated on Equestria or the Gryphon Kingdoms. Nothing about the Crystal Empire stood out from the other tomes on the shelves. She sighed and levitated a stepladder from the end of one of the shelves to in front of her. It looked like that if she wanted any information on the past of the Crystal Empire, she'd have to search for it.
Night reigned over the Empire, owls hooted; crickets chirped; stars twinkled; and a full moon gazed down majestically on the land below. Being the summer, the town was still alive with activity as ponies dined at the many restaurants or danced at one of the clubs. And an open air theater was being performed in the Empire's new stadium. Everything was busy, apart from the library.
The library was shut for the night, it's doors locked tight and it's lights off. It was dark and quiet. The only light and noise in the building came from the back of the Ancient history section, where a solitary pony sat amidst a fort of books reading tomes from the light of a solitary lantern. Twilight had failed to find any of the information she sought during the day and thus managed to persuade the librarian to let her stay in the library over night to try and read as many of the books as possible.
A loud thud echoed through the library as Twilight closed the current book she was reading, it's thick cover letting out a loud boom as it closed. She let out a groan of frustration, it was the 50th book she had tried and like the others, it contained nothing about the crystal empire. This was the most unproductive day of book reading she had ever experienced. Never before could she not find books on a subject she sought out and this almost made her want to cry.
As she pushed the current book away from her, she looked around and realized she had finished every book she had taken down from the shelves. It looked like it was time to get more. Slowly, she got up from where she was half sitting and half lying down and stood up straight, and after a little stretch of her legs, slowly trotted off down the shelves again, stifling a yawn back with her forehoof as she went.
This time, she got the stepladder manually, her time spent using her magic all day to actually lift the tomes made her want to actually use her hooves and give her horn a rest - albeit a rather short one. She moved the stepladder to a shelf near where she had built her fort, a shelf up against the back wall, and slowly climbed the steps to reach the higher books. Unfortunately, the long day of sitting still reading and the late hour didn't help her hoof at all, and she struggled to climb the stepladder without it falling out from beneath her. Once she had reached the top, and took a second to ensure her balance, she reached up and tugged at one of the lighter looking volumes, one that looked like she could at least carry it without magical aid.
The tug did nothing more than almost make Twilight fall backwards as the tome - resistance to the force she applied to it - slipped through her grip. Muttering a few obscenities under her breath, she once more gripped the tome, this time applying a firm but even force to the book, making sure not to tug too roughly and risk falling backwards again. This time, the tome stayed firmly in grip, and slowly started to inch forwards at a snails pace which belied the size of the tome. As she started to pant and sweat with the effort, Twilight guessed that no ordinary tome would be so heavy and yet remain so small. Her guess was right as moments later the book went as far as it would go and the halting of it's motion was accompanied by a click.
Bemused, Twilight just stood there, book between her hooves, wondering what had happened. For a moment nothing happened, then before she could react, the bookcase started to revolve. For a panic stricken moment Twilight wondered what to do, the rational part of her brain was screaming for her to let go before she got trapped who knows where, but the curious part urged her to keep the book firmly clutched and find out where she would end up. In the end the rational part of her brain won over, but far too late, and she let go just as the revolving bookcase stopped moving with a clang.
Twilight landed on a rough stone floor, her hooves meeting the solid ground with a clatter. Nervously, she looked around to no avail, wherever she had ended up was pitch black. Exhausted and magically drained, Twilight struggled for a second, but eventually conjured enough light to see by. Although, how long she could keep her horn illuminated she could not guess.
With light now to see by, Twilight noticed she was standing inside a rather small chamber. The room was bare, it's walls and floor made from the same dull, cold grey stone. The only other feature in the room apart from the bookshelf behind her was a staircase in the center of the chamber which lead down below the library. Slowly, she inched towards the start of the descent, hoping to see what lay below. However, the staircase descended in a spiral and thus the bottom was hidden from view.
"Hmm," she muttered to herself quietly, "Do I go back out into the library? Or do I go down into a possibly ancient unexplored secret passage?" She tapped her right front hoof on the ground in front of her as she tried to think. Eventually the prospect of discovering some long lost secret became too much for her, and she decided she would head down the stairs, at least to see where they lead, after all, she was in the library to find out about the Empire's past.
As she made her way down the stairs, her hooves not only echoed on the stone, but also kicked up a lot of dust. It seemed to her that no pony had been down here in a long time. Almost as soon as she started, she reached the bottom of the stairs, this caught her off guard and she took an extra step, expecting to continue downwards and fell flat on her rump at the base of the staircase.
"Ouch!" The words escaped Twilight's lips before she could hold them back, and for a moment, she looked and hoped the noise hadn't disturbed anything in the dark. She sat, her rapid pulse and breathing gradually returning to normal rhythm, and looked around herself. The stairs ended in a large chamber, the walls to each side of her were just in range of the light from her horn, but the wall at the far end was nowhere to be seen.
Eventually, sure that nothing was going to leap out at her, at least not while she remained sitting where she was, she got herself up, shook the dust from her coat and took a proper step into the room.
Their was a woosh, and the room was bathed in a comforting, warm light, her step triggering some hidden mechanism or ancient charm and causing braziers which lined the walls to ignite. Now illuminated, she could see the far end of the room, and noticed that it appeared to be some sort of private part of the library. At the far end were three small bookshelves. One on the far wall, and one on each of the side walls next to it. In the center of the room between the bookshelves lay a dais, and on the walls leading up to that part of the room, in between the braziers, were at least a dozen large portraits.
Twilight walked slowly down the chamber, taking time to inspect the portraits as she passed. The pictures were a mix of stallions and mares, and despite how different each pony looked, each one shared two common traits. Each pony wore a crown, clearly the same crown from how it looked in the pictures, and each pony had the same second name according to the name plaques below the paintings. Tango.
"Wow," she whispered. "These pictures must be the royal family that ruled over the Empire, and I guess that means this was part of the library dedicated to them." As she got close to the end of the room, she passed a painting which had it's canvas torn, the image of the pony that resided in the painting gone. However the plaque beneath it was still legible. "Sombra," she muttered as she read it, the word sending a shiver down her spine.
She tore her gaze away from the painting, and continued towards the bookcases and the dais between them, while she walked her mind marveled. This chamber was a treasure trove of history, if nothing else at least she'd discovered the names of the ponies who once ruled the Crystal Empire.
Eventually she reached the end of the chamber, and stood before the dais, which instantly stole any attention she may have had from the bookcases. The dais itself was rather simple, made of a rich dark wood, it's colour starkly contrasting the drab grey stone on which it stood. However, it was what was on the Dias that piqued her interest the most. A large book with a thick cover bound in a dark blue cloth that was spangled with stars. She wanted to squeal with joy but held them back before she confirmed her suspicions. Unable to read the cover from where she stood, she stepped up to the dais and peered down at the front of the book.
"Del Tango, Volume the Sixteenth," she read. "Sombra. Penned by the Wise and Noble hoof of Starswhirl the bearded." Twilight was instantly intrigued and let out the squeal she had been holding onto. It was a book by Starswhirl the Bearded, about Sombra. Of course, without a picture on the cover she had no way to prove it was the Sombra she had encountered previously, but she had a strong suspicion that it was. Which made her really interested in reading the book, why would Starswhirl, the pony who invented half of the spells ponies used today, write about a pony like Sombra.
Unable to wait, she flipped open the cover, blew off the dust that resided on the first page, and began to read.
Author's Note
Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading this first chapter, there is plenty more to come, and for those who read any of my stories which will have actual time dedicated to them such as "Do you believe in magic" I haven't forgotten about it. It will still get updates, I just had an awesome idea for a Sombra story and felt I needed to get it down. Plus, it gives me a story to write that I can focus on that doesn't involve humans in anyway.
I also want to take the time to apologies for any grammar or spelling errors. I did go over it myself, but without an editor, and my skill being as it is, some errors are bound to make it through.
Chapter 2 - The Tale begins.
Twilight stood, her forehooves gently touching the parchment of the rather strange book in front of her. She looked down at it longingly as she took in the first page. The tiny writing, that looked like it had almost been scratched into the page was difficult to read, but if she focused properly, she could just make out what was written.
Dearest reader,
I must hasten to warn thee that beyond this first page lies a story of which the likes thou hast quiet possibly, nigh, definitely, never have read. For beyond this page, the words of the story have been enchanted so as to cast a spell upon their observation. A spell which will allow thee to see the story from the viewpoint of one who hast lived it themselves. Mine. If thou art of a nervous disposition, then I must warn thee, for the story is not for those whose heart be faint.
But, if thou insistest on reading the tale which will unravel quiet literally in thy mind's eye, then there are some words of wisdom I wish to impart.
Rule the first: Tho cannest not change the past, all events in the tale will happen as they happen. So do not be afraid of what you end up doing.
Rule the second: The actions in the story are not of your own. As such, do not feel even a small amount of guilt for the actions thee perform, as they were mine and the guilt be mine to bear.
Rule the third: Since actions must occur for the story proceed, if thou doth waver or fail in action, thou will feel an intense urging that can not be fought. Do not try to fight it, for the feeling might cause intense pain if thou doest.
Rule the fourth: If thou wishest to leave the story at any point, so that thou may once again attend the 'real' world, just will it, and it will be so.
Rule the fifth: No harm can befall thou in the tale, at least, any harm that doth befall thou will not be applied to thy real body.
Rule the sixth: All the words contained within are the gospel truth, at least as far as I can be aware.
With these rules in place, and understood, thoust may enjoy the tale to it's fullest. Although I hasten to advise thee to not forget any tasks thou art required of in the real world. Passage of time in the tale can be hard to grasp.
So, with these words written and known, be aware that I imparted much warning before thou began the tale.
Twilight stood there amazed, so it appeared that not only was it a story written by Starswhirl, but the story is also enchanted so as the reader would experience it through his own eyes. It took all her mental willpower to not just flip the page and start reading.
"Careful, Twi. You don't want to get yourself caught up and make a fool of yourself." She made sure she had read, and reread each of the rules, ensuring she understood them properly. "So if I understand this right, if I want to leave the story, all I have to do is wish I was out, or think it at least, and I'll return to world? Seems simple enough."
She moved her hoof the corner of the page but paused before turning.
"Do I want to do this? Do I want to learn more about past of the Crystal Empire enough to take this risk?" she asked herself. She gulped and decided, yes, she did, and turned the page.
Of the Tango royal line, discussed in my previous volumes, there are none I know better, or find more interesting than Sombra. Son of the talented magician Siesta, Sombra seemed to inherit his fathers natural magical talent, and it was for this reason he originally caught my eye.
As Twilight started to read, she felt a strange tingling originating from the front of her skull, just behind her eyes, and began to wash all over her body, The words seemed to jump out of the page and take form in the air around her and she noticed her vision begin to dim.
Twas a day wracked by a great storm that I arrived in the capital of the Crystal Empire, and presented myself to Siesta, who apparently got wind of my approach and thus I was welcomed with open arms to the palace.
The room went pitch black, and Twilight felt a strange sensation of being squeezed through a tight tube, the feeling inducing a large wave of nausea which passed as the squeezing ended. As she waited in the darkness, she began to hear a whisper of wind which turned into a full roar as it began to blow her main. Struggling, she took a step forward, into the wind, and felt the ground beneath her change from stone to dirt. All of a sudden, light returned. However, she was now outside in a familiar street that felt so alien.
She found herself standing in the windswept main street of the city she herself was in, the street that led up to the palace itself. Normally, she had only ever seen the street in the gentle breeze she had become accustomed to in sunny climate of the Crystal Empire. Now however, it was under assault from the elements. Wind blew across the city furiously, rain fell in sheets, pouring down the street in a flood which threatened to topple Twilight and forced herself to brace herself into the flow.
Finding herself standing still for a moment, Twilight felt a sudden sense of urgency inside herself and her legs began to move of their own accord towards the palace. As she moved, Twilight found herself surprised with the ease with which she moved and noticed her legs were no longer the comfortable shade of violet of her own fur but instead were a shade of light blue. It seemed that indeed she was going to experience the story from the viewpoint of Starswhirl. This thought would have made her start giggling like a school girl if it wasn't for the fact that a huge wave of water washed straight over her.
As she started coughing and blinking the water out of her face, she felt 'herself' stop all of a sudden and her forehooves move of their own accord to wring out her beard.
"Curse this rain!" The voice came out deep and rasping, if it wasn't for the fact her lips were moving, she wouldn't realized she was talking. "One would think a place called the Crystal Empire would be warm and sunny. The palace better be warm, and the cider plentiful."
Twilight felt really strange at the moment, she couldn't quite tell if she was in any sort of control, or if she was just a passenger in this journey. She tested the theory by trying to lift a hoof, it moved, but was soon placed automatically down as she felt her balance in the tides of water shifting.
'Okay,' she thought to herself, 'I have some control, but I clearly can't change the story. Just like the rules said.'
Twilight remained focused on the scene around her as she trudged through the flood, no other ponies were out and about, they were all sanely staying in their locked and sealed houses (or trying to bail them out), as only mad ponies would be out in this weather. Which might explain why Starswhirl was out and about.
Despite how close it was, it took nearly another half hour of struggling - If Twilight had to guess about the time - to reach the palace. As she ascended up the drier - not completely flooded - steps, she found herself shaking her body vigorously, water falling off her in droves.
After ensuring as much water as possible had been shed, she regained composure, and walked up to the front door and raised her hoof to knock just as the door swung open before her. In the doorway stood a rather large unicorn, a coat of jet black and a white mane. The unicorn had a great smile on his face, and was quick to drag her off her hooves and bring her inside.
"Welcome, Starswhirl, welcome!" He gripped her hooves and shook them vigorously in a strong double grip. "Sorry about the weather, but it seemed you managed to cope." He shone a big cheesy grin, his teeth glinting in the bright interior of the palace.
"Indeed, though it did take a lot longer than I expected. Sorry if you were expecting me earlier."
"Never to worry, the staff aren't able to leave in this weather anyway, and we didn't expect you to get here quickly through all that water. Now come, I can imagine you're wanting to get dry. I'll have a member of the staff show you to your chambers, so you can shower and warm your bones, then we can have supper and discuss why exactly I am deserving of a visit of the greatest wizard of our age."
The unicorn clapped his hooves and a servant appeared as if from nowhere, standing to attention.
"Your majesty?"
"Could you please show our guest to his chamber, give him some time to sort himself out and then bring him to the dining room."
"Yes your majesty," said the servant bowing low before turning to Twilight. "Would you follow me please."
As the servant walked off down the corridor, Twilight quickly following behind, she heard the unicorn calling out after her, "I hope you like cider!"
Twilight sat at a large table in the grand dining chamber. A huge fire burned in a grate at one end of the room, proving copious heat and driving away the cold of the elements outside. Her hoof around a large mug of cider, she felt happy, and could tell that Starswhirl was happy too, as the Unicorn - clearly the current king by the crown that stood on a holder above the fireplace and the command he held over those who worked here - talked warmly to him.
She didn't know exactly how she knew it, maybe because her subconcious was reading the words off the page, but she felt she could tell exactly how Starswhirl felt at any point. Like the sense of overwhelming feeling of being out of place that came over him when they entered the room they - or more accurately he - would be staying in. She felt that he was used to more spartan conditions than a grand double bed with soft silk sheets and an en-suite bathroom with a tub that could fit ten ponies. Right now, she could tell he felt truly happy, as they sat drinking and talking in the warmth.
"So, Starswhirl, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" The large unicorn had a large grin, and his hoof wrapped around a rather large stein.
"Yes, it really is a surprise to have you come and visit our humble abode." This time it was a kindly earth pony mare that talked, the way she sat so closely to Siesta indicated that she was his wife, Belle, the queen of the Crystal Empire.
Twilight put her mug down, and stared at the couple for a couple of seconds, wondering what she should say. After a moment's hesitation she felt a slight tingling in her through and found herself speaking without her own will.
"It's about your son, actually."
"What? You mean Sombra?" The king laughed, "Why would you come all this way, in this weather, to see Sombra?"
Twilight found herself putting her hooves together, and peering over her beard at the two, a pose which was far more threatening than it sounded. "Your son is not something to be laughed at," she said in a tone which was calm but belayed power. "Your son, Siesta, actually contains a great power. A power so great that it could be felt all the way in the small town where I was staying recently in the heart of Equestria."
Siesta scoffed, "You can't possibly be serious, Starswhirl! Don't get me wrong, I would love for my son, my own flesh and blood to be that powerful, but surely if he was, others would have detected it as well?"
Twilight looked at them, a gleam of knowledge in her eyes. "Not necessarily, my king. For you see, I only noticed his power due to a rather unique piece of equipment. One which measures the potential energy of any magical source."
"That's rather interesting. I have a few magical detectors of my own, and I would have thought the magical interference from all the objects in Equestria would have stopped you detecting my son. Would it not?"
"That's rather astute, I can see where your sun inherited his power from. The magic all around Equestria would indeed have caused interference, if I hadn't taken precautions." A sly smile appeared on Starswhirls's face, nothing flash, but just enough to show he wouldn't divulge any more information.
Twilight was reeling, the fact that Starswhirl was able to track a single source of magic in the Crystal Empire all the way from the middle of Equestria was huge. She imagined that not even the Princess's could do that, not with any of the skills or pieces of technology they possessed.
"Okay, I'll believe you, say my son is as powerful as you say, why does that bring you here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" She stared at them at them with a gaze filled with mirth, both of them looking rather bewildered.
"No, why?."
"Why, to train him of course."
Both the king and queen sat frozen in place, their mouths hanging open. Cider was even spilling onto the floor from Siesta's stein as his leg hang loose by his side.
"Y-you want to t-tutor our son?" The queen whispered, the first of the pair to recover.
"But of course, a Unicorn such as your son needs his great power refined, sculpted, even for everyday use. Lest his power one day kill us all." Twilight said all of this with a smile which made her wonder if Starswhirl was lying, or some kind of psychopath.
"So you really want to teach our son? the greatest magician of the age wants to teach our son?! Siesta, darling, how great is that?" The queen was really ecstatic, almost chocking her husband as she embraced him in a large hug.
"It... Is... Indeed... Good... News... Dear..." He managed to gasp out in between breaths, his voice ragged and alerting his wife to the fact she was crushing his trachea. She quickly loosened her grip and instead chose to nuzzle his chest.
"Sorry dear," she muttered.
"Heh, that's quite alright dear." He said as he massaged his throat, he then gave her a gentle hug to show no real harm done, in response she buried her muzzle deeper into his chest. "Well, you're welcome to try and teach my son, Starswhirl, I mean it will be a great honour to have you teaching him. However, he's had quite a lot of tutors and they all end up quitting. Something I can't hold against them after I tried to teach him myself."
"What do you mean," Twilight found herself saying.
Siesta took a deep breath and tried to compose himself before speaking. However, Twilight couldn't help but be drawn to a slight nervous twitch occurring in the kings right eye. "Well, you see, it's like this. My son can be a bit of a handful. Some call him spirited, but they're just being nice. Truth is, he's an arrogant fool who thinks being a prince makes him great regardless of how he behaves."
"Ha! Is that all?"
"That all? He made the last tutor we got for him cry, and go so crazy that the tutor also thinks he's a pegasus. Poor pony."
"Shouldn't be too hard to handle, trust me, I've had some experience with arrogant ponies. I can handle your son."
Siesta sighed, "Well, if you're up to it, you're welcome to try, and welcome to stay in your room in the palace while your his tutor."
Twilight smiled, "Thanks, that would be most appreciated. Now, if you can please excuse me, I would like to introduce myself to my new student."
Siesta nodded and lifted a hoof off his wife to wave Twilight off, "You're excused, he should be in his room. Up the stairs, first left, then right, his room is the one at the end of the corridor. Should be unmissable, but if you get lost, ask any of the servants. They'll help you."
"Thanks, one more thing, I was wondering if it would be okay for me to punish him if required."
Siesta raised an eyebrow, "What kind of punishment?"
"Non lethal."
Siesta smiled, "Then by all means go ahead. No need to tell me, no doubt you'll end up punishing him several times first lesson and then he will come crying to me. Just a note of warning, he might act like a little kid."
"Then I'll treat him as one," Twilight replied with a smile.
Siesta burst out laughing, and before long, Twilight joined in with him. The two just laughed their flanks of us for several minutes, before the queen, her eyes filled with tears, slapped Siesta rather strongly across his face.
"Ouch! I guess I kinda deserved that, alright honey, I'm sorry, I'll stop talking ill of Sombra." He gave Twilight a sly wink over his wife's shoulder, "Alright Starswhirl, I guess you better get going. It's getting late, and a tired Sombra is a grumpy Sombra."
As Twilight retreated from the grand hall, she could hear more cries of pain as Siesta clearly paid for his last remark about his son.
Following the kings instructions, Twilight walked up the stairs and took a left then a right. The walk was pleasant, the architecture of the palace was beautiful, although it was still pretty much the same as it was in the current day. There were a few differences, the main being a couple of pieces of artwork she hadn't seen before. One depicted a great battle between two armies, from the looks of the banners it was two of the ancient pony tribes, from before the hearthswarming. The second depicted another battle, this time between a rather heavily armed and armoured pony and a dragon. Both pictures were rather breathtaking, the standard of the painting easily defeating the unease that the subject matters brought up.
Unfortunately, it seems that Starswhirl wasn't one to admire paintings, because before to long she felt that sense of urgency again and her legs started moving on their own, towards the door at the end of the corridor. She could see why the king said it was hard to miss, it seemed Sombra, even at this age was rather proud. His door was not wood like the others, instead it appeared that it was made of a metal that shimmered in the light and Twilight found it difficult to tear her gaze away from it. The way the metal shone seemed almost hypnotic.
She felt her horn fill with power that quickly faded, after which, the door didn't look quite so appealing and instead seemed to insult her senses with how garish it was. It seemed Starswhirl had cast a spell to counter the enchantment the door had upon it.
Without the door casting its hypnotizing spell on her, it was far easier to walk up to it and knock on it three times, rather harshly, the sound echoing out into the corridor like booming thunder. Clearly the sound was caused in some part by the strange material that the door was made of.
The echoing boom gave way to silence, and for several minutes she stood in the quiet corridor, her patience fading as she waited for Sombra to answer. Once again, as time went on, she found an urging building up inside of her and her lips moving without her control.
"I would suggest you open up, it would make a bad first impression for your new teacher to blow your doors down when you first meet him!" Her tone was neutral, with a firm undertow to show she wasn't joking. For a couple of seconds she heard nothing in response, then she heard an audible click as door was unlocked and a creek as it started to open.
In the doorway, his face bristling with fury, stood a jet black unicorn whose overall appearance was more laughable than scary.
"Teacher!" the unicorn screamed, "Teacher! What do you mean teacher?!
"I mean exactly what I said, are you death? I thought it was only old codgers like me who had their hearing impaired. In either case, I will be taking you for your first lesson tomorrow at dawn."
"Ha!" Sombra replied, "I'd like to see you try and get me up for that."
"No, you do not, not at all." Said Twilight rather matter of factly. "Me waking you up will not be a pleasant experience."
"Yeah, for you."
Twilight chuckled, "We shall see. It's nice to know you have some spirit, you will need it. Anyway..." Twilight found herself turning around and starting to walk down the corridor. "See you at dawn."
Sombra stood flabbergasted as he was left alone. After a minute, he realized how he looked and quickly headed back into his room before any of the servants could see him. "So..." he smiled, "my parents have hired another tutor. Well, this shall be fun. I shall punish him for having the gall to think he has anything to teach me, and like usual he will run off crying or insane." He moved his way across the room, pouring himself a glass of cider from a crystal decanter with his magic before sitting down on a rather ornate wooden chair. "When will my parents learn? It will take the worlds greatest magician to be able to teach me even the smallest grain of knowledge."
As Twilight entered her room, she could swear that she could feel Starswhirls thoughts swirling around her head. It was an interesting experience. Starswhirl was almost giddy with excitement. No doubt Sombra was planning some way to get at him, he thought, and he would like to see the prince try. Then he could show that pup some of the tricks he's learned in his life.
Looking at the clock on the wall opposite his bed, Starswhirl realized that it was probably time for sleep, especially if he wanted to be up for dawn. Twilight on the other hand, realized that she had been in the story for at least two hours, and if she didn't want to be discovered missing from the library when it opened she should probably return to the real world and back to the main library.
Twilight thought quite firmly about returning back to the world, and waited for something to happen. Thirty seconds passed, and with nothing happening Twilight began to worry. What if she was stuck in the story? maybe the enchantment had decayed with age and wasn't working properly? She began to pace the room with worry and was suddenly thrown to the floor as a somewhat familiar squeezing sensation wrapped itself around her. She struggled to breath and keep calm as the world faded away around her, her vision fading to black.
Author's Note
Well here it is, the second chapter. And you know what? I'm really enjoying writing this story. I'm just finding the characters so fun to work with, especially Starslight the sparkly beard and Sombar.
Hope you enjoy this as much as me.
