Stars Have: Somber Roots

Peaceful. The Everfree was dark, dank, and filled with monsters, creatures, and even foliage that would like nothing more than taking a pony for a live snack. The things that wouldn’t have eaten a pony were those that would rather turn the victim into stone, into a tree, or even curse a pony to an extent that could be fatal as part of some cruel prank for amusement. The forest was ever free, but any outsiders that got caught within would have a worse fate than death and a much worse fate than even the criminals sentenced to rot for untold years in a cell. And much like prison, everything gets quiet when the baddest of the bad walks in. It was peaceful.

“Crystal Heart,” Sombra muttered under his breath. “All that time and nobody has been decent enough to do them in.. nobody!  Now even the dragons aid their idiocy! Once I find my horn this whole kingdom will finally see the true light instead of that blasted sun of ‘her highness.’” Sombra spat to the side, causing a plant to crawl away to avoid him. He stopped and sighed in deep annoyance. He didn't know why his horn had come here to this forest, nor did he know how to get it back since it was staying underground or just out of his reach. He had collected the rest of himself fairly easily, further alluding him as to the reasons behind his own horn’s defiance.

“The new royal guests will get special treatment for this as well. ‘Prince Shining Armor’ and ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,’” he said their names mockingly and spat again. His ears perked up only slightly when he heard some twigs snapping nearby. He squinted his eyes and looked to his side with a growl. “I’ll show you what I’d like to do to them both,” he told the approaching timber wolf. “That purple one and her pet too.”

The timber wolf, feeling threatened, barked and leapt towards Sombra only to land on empty ground. The wolf turned it’s head around to face the king’s hoof just in time to see it smash it’s face back and down into the mud. Another hoof struck down with impressive force into the shoulder blades of the creature, making it’s whole body snap and fall apart. One hoof stayed on the creature’s head as his other quickly struck against the plating of his horseshoes. Sparks flew off of his shoes and set most of the wolf’s body on fire. The timber wolf rebuilt itself seconds later only to suffer through death by fire as the king continued on his way. Normally the wolf could have passed on to other branches and such. But there wasn’t anything available to imbue it’s energies into. The plants and everything else around it fled due to the king’s impressive presence, leaving the wolf stranded and without time. The seemingly immortal creature was unable to survive. It’s life simply vanished within the flames.

Sombra yawned as he approached the ruins of what used to be a castle. A strange purple glow emanated from within it, and he was more than sure it was what he sought after. He had spent days, perhaps weeks now trying to track it down and it was finally within his grasp. He would have his magic back and finally be able to enact his revenge. The princesses took his kingdom and he’d be damned if he didn’t take theirs in turn.

~ ~ ~

“Time has always been a cruel mistress. You can push things back, put things behind you, whatever you prefer. But time always catches up no matter where you go. Sacrifice is an option to restore balance in nature if one wishes to pass loss onto another. Nature itself is the cause of our perception of time, and thus either works with or rules over time as we know it. Death is a part of both nature and time and neither one can stop it from happening altogether, however.. new life always comes from death.

Many have questioned what happens when we die. But what are ‘we?’ A body made of cells following a genetic code? Or our mind, or more precisely, our memory? Bodies always pass on, always become recycled into other things, so in that sense we are never really gone. But do recycled cells hold memory? If memory fades away through time am I causing his death?

Is what I’m about to do an act of cruelty? Am I only pushing back time even more? What else can I do to preserve the right future other than sacrifice? Nature controls our perception of time, time controls the balance of nature, and death is time’s tool to refresh life. And life is a constant struggle against one’s nature. All of them are reality. Reality pisses me off.”

~ ~ ~

Reality. It was a strange concept. To even be able to consider what was and wasn’t real, the one paying consideration would have to have some semblance of a reality… right? A book in the castle’s library even said that ‘to think is to exist’ and yet… ’It’ felt as if ‘It’ was only a shadow. The beings shown in pictures through the books all looked different somehow. They had to be real as well, but what was it that separated them from ‘It’? ‘It’ just didn't know. There was a possibility that ‘It’ would never know. But ‘It’ would seek the answers. And for simplicity’s sake, and because ‘It’ didn't yet have a name, ‘It’ would just keep referring to itself as ‘It’.

The dark purple mist floated about the many shelves, fazing through book after book until it noticed something. A new presence was in the library, and it looked like one of those same beings from all the pictures. Normally, this should have been exciting, exhilarating even, but ‘It’ only felt pain… and a strange sense of longing. The ‘pony’ as the books would call him looked to be in pain as well.

“You've avoided me long enough!” Sombra yelled at ‘It’. “Our revenge is long overdue!” He stomped a forehoof with enough force to crack the floor to show how strong his determination was, and to pump himself up to confront whatever caused him so much trouble. “Did someone dare to keep my magic from me!?”

‘No!’ ‘It’ thought. ‘It’ knew. ‘It’ had realized what ‘It’ had come from once ‘It’ had seen Sombra. But ‘It’ had separate thoughts now. ‘It’ was a separate being with a separate reality. ‘It’ had a life of ‘It’s’ own!. So what if ‘It’ was just some pony’s horn!

‘I can’t go back,’ ‘It’ thought, ‘I won’t! I want to exist, I want to live, I want to keep being! I’ll keep myself from you as long as I can!’

The magical mist was forced to surround Sombra and ‘It’ felt like ‘It’ was being pulled into the stallion. ‘It’ was fading, no matter how hard ‘It’ tried to resist. On the other hoof, Sombra felt his own consciousness fading. He growled, trying to protest, but he found he could no longer speak. In fact, he was becoming weightless. His thoughts were starting to fade as if he was falling asleep. Soon, neither Sombra nor ‘It’ felt anything. Not even a sliver of existence.

~ ~ ~

“Reality. It is a strange concept. Each individual has a different reality, and yet each one can share parts of itself with other realities. A different reality can become a reality of its own entirely, or just disappear as the other realities around it keep on existing. The common understanding being that one’s reality is made from the heart, the mind, and the body, what happens if just one is lost? What if that lost part becomes its own reality? Would it find other parts to coexist with? Would it take over the other two parts to become a different reality entirely?

This is the curious case of the unicorn king previously known as Sombra. He was once whole: mind, body, and soul. He was split into many, and built himself anew. One part was missing. Sombra was one part too few. He couldn't live without it. He couldn't live once he had found it. And yet it was what made him whole again. Reality. It is a cruel, kind, and strange concept. And it pisses me off.”