Shadowed mirrorby doukzor100ChaptersA pinkie keen mistakethe mistake of failureIt was a trapwhy, or how? What fits?A piece left behindA pinkie keen mistakeCHAPTER 2 A PINKIE KEEN MISTAKE // our equestria \ Pinkie dragged Fluttershy over to her. Since they had came to the library, Fluttershy had just decided to lay down and rest, and try to brave away the empty cobwebs around her. Pinkie pie pulled out a dusty book and blew on it towards Fluttershy. "Ughh... ahh.... chew!" Fluttershy squeaked. " Hee hee! I love sneezing!" Pinkie pie giggled, as she opened the book. "Coffee?!" Pinkie pie gleamed, looking at all the pictures of the book. "Caramel, whipped cream, bits ocandy! So many flavors! I think i would like black coffee the most though, Its so... PLAIN, which makes it beautiful! which-"Pinkie kept going on. So, in her chance of getting away, Fluttershy crept silently away from the bookshelf where pinkie pie stood gasping at a picture of a pony with coffee on it. Fluttershy made her way to the nearest wall and slumped against it. "I wanna go home, to my pets, and my small creek, and to the QUIET" Fluttershy lightly sighed. A sparkle caught her eye. She looked over to her left and saw on the wall a beautiful blue oval that just seemed to mystify her. When she got closer she saw that it seemed to move. The oval was a nice deep zircon color and it sparkled. Pinkie pie began to go through then throw out some books which were getting a little distracting. She would throw out a bit and then move closer to the wall, laughing wildly. "Pinkie pie!? what are you doing?!" Fluttershy squealed as she dodged an incoming book. "Oh nothing. Just getting out a little energy" Pinkie pie simply stated. Then it happened. While pinkie pie was looking at a picture of a pony holding a diamond pickaxe in a cave that was all cubed, she jumped while laughing, going backwards. She was headed towards the wall that fluttershy now stood at, frozen in front of the oval, clearly seeing pinkie`s back coming towards her. "Wee!" pinkie pie threw the book and laughed, just as she hit fluttershy and they went tumbling back into the oval, literally. They vanished as they went rolling into it. And nearby, a small round table sat, and on it, was a book opened to the back that had the one word "ekapuccs". At the crystal empire, Apple jack and Rarity were not having much more luck. They had asked all the construction ponies at the site if they happened to find a piece of mirror, but they only got the response of either a laugh or a shrug. One pony had told them they were only at the mines yesterday and today to pick up some crystal ruby and lapis for the building on a nearby village temple. While the subject was boring to apple jack, Rarity seemed very interested in where and when those mines were open. "We need to focus hear, sugar cube" Apple jack nudged Rarity, who gleamed at the carts of crystals. Apple jack ended up dragging her away from the site and onto the streets of the Crystal empire. "Okay rarity, have any ideas?". "On wha-" Rarity stopped herself, as applejack had begun to get a tad bit mad suddenly. "Oh right! of course, okay so you check around the allies and I will go search in the shopping district!" Rarity closed here eyes and smiled apologetically. "Uh" applejack raised an eyebrow. " I guess, but stay in the glass shops..." and Rarity was gone. AJ had not even seen her leave. "Guess its up te me now" She shrugged and left off for the nearest shop. Rainbow Dash had taken to the sky and was flying around Canterlot`s garden area, where Twilight conducted a field spell. A magic barrier like dome surrounded her and grew bigger until it filled the whole garden. Rainbow had flown back from it, and sighed, clearly very much bored. "Can I like go now? Its not like Im helping any". "No. Your helping perfectly fine keeping me company" Twilight said as she flew into the air and retracted her spell. "Don`t worry, only about 53 more locations to check". "WHAT!? That`l take forever!" Rainbow Dash whined. "Cant you like just, do some magic trick that can show you where its at?!" "No how could- Yes. I can! See Rainbow? You just helped a ton!" Twilight gleamed and hugged Rainbow. Twilight started her magic. It was a medium purple, and lit up like a lamp. She sent a ball of magenta light to a space in between the two ponies, which began to rotate. "Cool, um a pretty ball isnt gonna help us!" Rainbow exclaimed. But suddenly the ball started to emit a waving essence of identical light. It made its way towards the castle doors, and somehow just went through them. Twilight lowered her power and the ball disappeared, leaving the beam of light to form a back end, which Twilight and Rainbow followed for awhile. (skipping the boring walk through the castle`s hallways) Eventually they made their way to a pair of sturdy oak doors. Twilight tilted her head in confusion. These doors led to... Starswirl`s library. "Well, looks like Pinkie Pie was trying to play hide nseek with the mirror then most likely, if its down in that mess!" Rainbow joked. "Yah... well. Lets go" Twilight mumbled as they made their way into the library, following the mist down past all the rooms, until they stopped in front of an open area. There was a blue, oval swirling on the wall. And that`s where the mist stopped. // alternate equestria \ Stargleam walked over to a blooming willow tree and sat down, slumping against it. She opened her side bag and put away her sketch book. She sighed as she took out a bottle of water. She heard a small metallic sound to her left. Leaning over she saw a steel amulet which bore a ruby in the chest of a hawk shaped figure. The alicorn amulet. She sighed, then levitated it into her lap. Taking a sip of her water, she took out another item from her bag, which she had barely managed to steal. A piece of mirror. It reflected part of Stargleams face. She stared at it, thinking of how she got it. It was hanging in a tree, in the sun princesss bedroom. She walked past Celestia, who had tears falling down her face, and was whimpering as she sat on the floor asleep with one hoof thrown carelessly on the bed. "Okay..." Stargleam muttered as she had taken the piece of mirror from the tree and made her way back towards the entrance to her balcony. "Ugh... Hello?" Celestia began to wake up. Not good. Not good at all. "Eek!" Stargleam ran outside, scared she would be caught, and tripped over the low railing. She began to fall, but luckily, thanks to her being a magic major, she had been able to teleport to a hallway in the kingdom without harm. Stargleam snapped out of thinking and looked up to the sky, already it was becoming sunset. She put the two items beside her on the dirt as she dozed off. "Sombra..." She muttered slightly. She then fell asleep. She dreamt of the alicorn amulet. A nightmare, she was supposed to watch it. Keep it away from any other pony, keep them safe. (Dream) Why? How? Stargleam was currently standing on a cracked stone floor. She had the alicorn amulet strapped around her neck with a line of chain. No. She was being watched by six ponies, of which each had a necklace on them, each with a different symbol. They stood on her left. To her right, was Sombra. The one she knew, not the one she had found, but he looked scared and worried. "Me. It`s my fault". The newer Sombra whom wore blue was in front of her, laying down on the floor, wounded. He was also a bit to the right, because directly in front of her, was Celestia. Her sister Luna stood to her right. They were mad. What did I do? "You can`t beat me!" Stargleam yelled. "How did I say that?!" she thought. Suddenly she realized that in this dream she could not control her body, only watch. So watch she did. " Stop! Surrender now or face the consequences of your actions" Celestia bravely stated. "NO! I will NOT surrender! I will NOT bow down my head to you!" Stargleam yelled, a smirk on her face.Celestia whimpered slightly, looking to the blue clothed Sombra. Why? What was it to her? Stargleam sent a beam of blinding light to the floor in front of Celestia. It collapsed, leaving a pile of crumbled rocks. Stones flew into the air. The majority headed for the six ponies, but a purple one, an alicorn used a barrier spell to deflect them, causing them to fall to the ground. A few flew towards Sombra, but he spawned a shadowy tentacle from the ground which smashed any incoming rocks. He had a few tears in his eyes. " Because of me!" Stargleam tried to whimper. It worked, her body shook a little and she let out a small whimper. A tear fell down her cheek. " Stupid dream!" she thought. Suddenly she felt a jerk of energy. She awoke from her dream, panting. "Why did I have a nightmare like that?" She gasped for air. Somehow, she must have done something during her dream to empty her lungs, and she found a sharp twig beside her, which must have woke her up. She thought about her nightmare for the rest of the night. Author's Note Hi sorry the chapter is short, I needed to get a thing going with the main six. More exiting things should happen in the next chapter! 0w0 This will be the only story I post due to the over protectiveness of my grandmother, so sorry about that, was going to do a fnaf story... sorry :-C the mistake of failureCHAPTER 3 THE MISTAKE OF FAILURE //alternate equestria\ In Starswirl`s library, Twilight and Rainbow had found a blue oval-shaped portal. Of course, Rainbow wanted to go through it and find tons of monsters to beat up, but to no avail. They ended up in the same run down open pillar room as Pinkie pie and Fluttershy. Who, at the time had investigated the strange pony, Sombra: "What?! Its- Sombra!" Pinkie pie squealed, which startled Fluttershy. "Ugh... We should go now-"Fluttershy was stopped when the soft grey unicorn began to get up, mumbling some words under his breath. As soon as he looked up, a frown covered his face. "What?! How are you...". "Oh, us? Were trying to find that piece of mirror from the portal because it is lost, and -huff- fluttershy here found a pretty swirling picture which brought us here!" Pinkie pie widely smiled. "Ugh..." Sombra sighed. " You should leave, NOW" he grimaced and looked away, growling. "Uh-ugh! Nope! were gonna stay with you until we find that piece of glass!" Pinkie pie saluted in a military manner and shouldered Sombra. "I swear..." Sombra began to walk away... while Pinkie and Fluttershy followed, the yellow pegasus shivering as they entered the thick treeline of pines and oaks. Meanwhile about an hour later, the purple alicorn and blue rainbow haired pegasus walked onto the mossy stone. "Where are we?" Twilight questioned herself aloud. Rainbow flew into the air to see if she could find anything familiar. She halted, jaw dropping. "I think I have an idea. Hey you remember, oh I don`t know, helping to save equestria from two evil sisters..." She called down to Twilight. "Were HERE?!" Twilight flew into the air next to rainbow. "Oh Celestia... help me". "OK..OK. Were on a quest here... lets do it." Twilight did an attempt to conjure her spell from earlier, but ended up only casting a fizzle of purple sparks. "Um.. I think that portal may have done a number on my magic"Twilight breathed. "Great. Just great" Rainbow dash whined. "Were stuck in a fake boring world, with no way to get the mirror and- oh. That creep sombra`s probably lurking around a corner somewhere". "Rainbow!" Twilight shot her a look. "What?" The fast flyer smiled. Twilight took to walking on the ground while rainbow dash searched above her, as a seeker, and a bodyguard. // our equestria \ "Rarity?" AJ worriedly called out as she checked every stock and store in the shopping district. "Rarity!!!". Apple jack rounded a corner and totted down Chrine road for the fifth time. "Hey, um... miss?" Apple jack walked up to a glass shard dealer, who was currently putting together a mosaic out of amethyst and red stained glass. "Hmm?" The mare responded without looking up. "Heh well you may know a mare around here by the name o` Rarity..." Apple jack began. "Oh yes! my best costumer, this here piece i`m making is actually one of her custom orders!" The mare smiled and did a high pitch giggle. "Awoulda guessed... You see am looking for her at the moment. Have ya seener `round here lately?" AJ asked. "Oh well, surprisingly no!" the shopkeeper responded, now looking a little down. "Oh! if you see her tell her she can come by any time to pick up her..."the mare brought out a slip of paper. "um... Right. Her sapphire glass dragon claw and green and teal stained crystal cube." "Awill if A see `er. Bye!" Apple jack galloped away, running to a random street to look again for Rarity. If she wasnt shopping by NOW, then where could she be? Apple jack looked up and shuddered as she saw the sun begin to set and the moon begin to rise. Shopkeepers began to close up for the day. She didnt have much longer... // alternate equestria \ Stargleam studied the willow she had slept against last night. It was peculiar in a way as, unlike all the other trees, it wasn`t dead or overgrown, just blooming. Nor did it have showing roots, but again, all the others did... Stargleam did a light outline of the tree, and then began to get the tight details of the bark, looking for a symbol... somewhere... "I mean- this tree! it`s weird!" she thought to herself. "Almost too weird, too alive"...Way too alive for a place identical to the Everfree forest! She spotted an etching in the bark. Getting closer, she saw it resembled the shape of an eagle, a simplified eagle with a four sided diamond in the middle, a too much like the alicorn amulet. She levitated it out, accidentally dropping the mirror at the same time. "Oh!" She levitated the shard to her. She stared at it, lost in thought all of a sudden. Though while she held up her mirror piece, it gave off a shine, reflecting any light it could find into the sky. And by any unlucky luck (yeah) Rainbow dash was flying overhead, completely unaware of Stargleam. That is of course, until she caught a glimpse of the reflecting light. "Thats- HEY!!!" She dove for the light blue unicorn. Stargleam looked up just in time to see a cyan blur speeding towards her. "Eek!" She quickly dropped her magic on the mirror, though the pegasus didnt notice this. Stargleams magic had shifted, and she closed shut her magenta eyes, preparing for an attack. No attack came, that is though, the item she had her magic wrapped around was suddenly gone. She opened her eyes to see the red glint of a ruby in the currently cheering pegasu`s hoof. "Oh YEAH!!!" Rainbow dash cheered, as she landed in front of Twilight, who honestly wasn`t far through the woods from Stargleam. "What now, Rainbow?" Twilight asked as she glanced at the brush around them. "Oh well, guess what I found!" Rainbow grinned widely. "Um... I`ll guess you found ANOTHER one of those dumb alive clouds?" Twilight guessed. "..." Rainbow gave off an awkward frown, which made Twilight laugh. "No. I found..." She pulled held up an object with her eyes closed. "Where- how did you get a hold of THAT!!!" Twilight worriedly yelled. "What? the mirror? some light blue unicorn had it and- oh." Rainbow dash face hoofed herself. In her hoof, was an iron carved eagle amulet, which bore in the middle of it`s chest a red ruby. The alicorn amulet. Stargleam stared in suprise. A cyan coated pegasus, which must have had rainbow hair, she thought she saw, had just rudely swooped down from the sky and snatched up the amulet. "No! Stupid! er!" Stargleam yelled. She just lost her chance to see what was in this fake tree, what wonders were hiding behind. "I could break it open..."she thought aloud. Wait, no. She couldnt risk breaking anything inside. She didnt even know how old this was! Why would the pony had even wanted her alicorn amulet anyway? Stargleam shook her head and picked up the piece of mirror, glad it was still safe. Putting it in her saddle bag, she made sure to leave a mark here. She levitated a stick to herself, then let out a sliver of magic, which poured on and into the stick, making it glow a faint blue. Then, she left, unknowing she was headed for the same castle that the pegasus and her pony friend were headed too... Pinkie pie had been constantly annoying the evil king. He kept turning and either glaring or biting at her. So, she`d gotten used to calling him "Mr.Grumpy pants". Fluttershy just trailed behind, head held low, tail tucked between her legs. A few bunnies and birds either followed or shiveringly rode on her, as they were just as scared of the dark unicorn. "Err... Just. Stop!" Sombra growled as he looked into the brush... Something was different... "Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope and nope!" Pinkie pie protested. She pulled a balloon out of thin air and attempted to tie it to Sombra`s tail. "Huh- ugh no!" he jumped away. "Aw... well Ill wear it then!" the pink earth pony happily put the string of the balloon around one of her mane twirls, and seemingly calmed down somehow. They trotted along until a silhouette of a castle appeared before them... Though Sombra didnt notice, as he was focused on the ground in front of him, staring at his hooves. Fluttershy began to mutter something but it was drowned out to a small "There`s something up there...". Too low for Pinkie pie OR Sombra to hear. "Hey! look at that mr. Grumpy pants!" Pinkie called out. "Cotton candy! er Pinkie pie! PLEASE... just be quiet!" The dark grey stallion stopped in his tracks as he almost bumped into a white figure. Backing up, he noted it to be of one of his marble statues of a mage soldier pony in hind legged stance. "Oh dear discord no..." He muttered. Not this place. Not his castle. " Author's Note Sorry it took so long! School and family problems in the way! But um, yeah I needed to round some actions up to prepare for the next chapter, open to suggestions too! I kinda write what comes to me so... Please give me some ideas! It was a trapCHAPTER 4 It Was A Trap //???\ The white purple maned unicorn breathed heavily. Near her, she could tell there was somepony else... watching. "...Stay away!" the mare croaked. It was Rarity, and she was currently wearing her element of generosity. "Hm?" She looked down at it, and rubbed the necklace with her hoof. "How..." she thought, "I never put this on...!" She was in a small jungle like room, with weeds growing in between each stone as if they were originally woven together. The roof was an etched stone, Though a few crystals lined around the whole place. "Finally awake are we?" A menacing voice filled the place. "Who-Who`s there?!" Rarity called out, getting only a laugh in return. "Hmph. Does that really matter?" The clearly male pony snickered. "..."Rarity kept silent. suddenly a dark figure began to walk towards her, and eventually came close enough to make out a few distinct features. The eyes glowed a blood red, and Rarity wondered why she hadn`t noticed those before. The coat had to be grey, or that was just the shadows of the dark room she stood in. The horn seemed to be red at the tip and fade down to grey as it reached the face. The main thing that threw her eyes into horror were the fact a purple mist waved from the eyelids back. "No... It can`t be... We- We-" "Killed me. Yes." the dark stallion sighed and walked into the lighter area, where Rarity stood frozen, confirming her horrors. "you see, not everypony thinks i`m a monster, a TYRANT" he snickered again. "A nice unicorn mare, she helped- bring me back" now smiling, he levitated something to him. Rarity saw that it had to be a crystal of some sort, just in the shape and color of her own element, a purple diamond. "What, do y-you want?!" She attempted to back up, but noticed she up against a wall within a second. "Well, you CAN make the conclusion, right? I`m in need of a small favor." The stallion walked closer to her and, with an iron clad hoof, held his crystal near rarity. "You see... Im a little low on power, and in order to complete my goal, I just need to, em... Borrow some." And with that, he stuck the replicated gem of Raritys amulet on her necklace. It began to glow faintly. "Eek! Stop!" Rarity yelped at the feeling of her magic being drained away from her. As the gem began to glow even further, her own amulet started to fade, color and all. "Heh, your magic is all mine now..." the stallion grinned, baring fangs. Once the last of Rarity`s element had become a dull grey, he took the now bright glowing gem and placed it in a pocket in his cloak. "You-you w-won`t get away with, with this... S-sombra" Rarity croaked, and with all her magic gone, fainted of exhaustion. //alternate equestria\ Stargleam prod up to a small cherry tree in blossom. She inspected it, but noticed it had no strange markings, and was- overall, completely real. Small blossoms began to fall to the ground. The mare stopped abruptly. "How in the hay is there a freaking-" She stopped as she noticed a rather large building in front of her. "Live tree..." "Wow... Is this-... A castle?!" Stargleam wandered past the tree, now realizing that it was planted. In front of the unicorn, A large white castle gleamed with gold trim. It had Egyptian etchings and small statues of ponies dressed in what looked like dresses and masks. Stargleam walked along one of the marble walls- which, oddly enough, had no dirt or scratches- "yet"she giggled. Some of the areas along the wall had simple pictures of Egyptian symbols, most reading out to say "sunshine and moonlight" or "welcome to light". "Meh... Ooh!" She had caught sight of one unusual picture. It was detailed- unlike the others, and shown two alicorns oddly similar to Luna and Celestia, wearing more Egyptian type-clothes. Celestia was bringing up the sun, and wore a Fearows head-dress with a striped dress. Luna had curly hair and a ponytail, along with a necklace bearing a picture of a crescent moon. Connected to the necklace was a fleece, see through cloak-like attire, based on the outline of Luna`s body underneath the clothing. "What in Equestria- how are YOU guys freaking EGYPTIAN princesses too?!" Stargleam yelled aloud, and then thought for a second, noting that she HAD come across Sombra earlier... She decided to continue on until she could get some further evidence. Meanwhile, Twilight was currently chewing out Rainbow dash. "Great- JUST GREAT!!!" she face-hoofed herself in annoyance. "w-what?!" Rainbow asked and in return got: "What!? What! Somepony must have somehow obtained the alicorn amulet and used it!" "Um, so?" "That means theres anothertrixie` so to say!" while Twilight was getting so many wrong ideas in her head, Rainbow dash took this time to sneak away from Twilight, who then levitated the pegasus to her. The unicorn was breathing calmer now. "Um, twi?" Rainbow squeaked. "Okay... Okay... you said you saw the mirror shard, correct?" Twilight asked, breathing a little too deeply. "Um, yeah." "definitely?" "definitely." "We need to get a hold of that shard, and in doing so we can catch the crook who stole the amulet." "So, You need me to fly up and look for her, right!?" "Yep! Looks like you`ll get to have your action after all" Twilight released the magic on Rainbow dash. Rainbow then flew up into the sky to start her scout, and in the distance could see a white-gold castle. "Hey, Twi! think our crook would want to steal from a rich castle?" "...why?" "`Cause... I found one!" //our equestria\ Apple Jack wandered through town as the sun finally began to sleep beyond the mountains. It was still a little busy, though mainly because the merchants were either taking down their stall or setting up a new one for tomorrow. The orange pony had not given up her search yet, but fatigue and hunger were beginning to take her over. She could handle staying up late all right, that didn`t bother her. It was the aching of her fore and hind legs that screamed to rest from a never-ending gallop. "Rarity!!! where are you!" Apple jack cried. No answer. Most of the ponies had gone in by now. A light rain even set in, most likely let in to water the plants while everypony else slept. She felt so alone, so lost. What would she tell Twilight? What in Celestia was she going to do now, even? She could go to a tavern or inn and sleep, she could try one last round... But she just sat there. She didnt feel like she had enough energy to find the nearest inn, normally there wouldnt be one near the outdoor marketplace. The rain was cold and flattened any poof in Apple jack`s mane. Her normally bright emerald eyes carried a mix of a sad blue. She dropped her already soggy damp hat onto the cold crystal ground. She was officially out of hope, had replaced all of that with either despair or a feeling of loss, like something had been stolen. By now there was nopony out at all. "A little late to be out and alone, eh?" A stallions voice echoed in the orange mare`s head suddenly. "What the-" She started. "looking for that prissy mare, I suppose. Im afraid shes a bit to frail to move right now." "How `r you- who are you!" Apple jack yelled at herself. A mint-blue mare caught sight of the raging earth pony. "Easy now, farm-animal. I just need a favor... I cant stay in a truly solid form if im in THIS horrid place-" "Horrid?!" "Yes... now stop yelling-Please!" "..." "Good, now. Look down to your left, see that small alleyway?" "Yeah... bum, I aint goin down there!" "Just- do it. now, there`s something in there I need you to get" "...I guess..." Apple jack walked over to the alleyway, and sneakingly, so did the emerald haired mare. "Now what?" "Go in and... Over to the farthest wall, ahead of you, the right corner" The oddly familiar voice ordered. "Hey! don`t get pushy now!" Apple jack growled as she trotted over to the wall. She had a simple suspicion of a trap. She paused. Emptiness filled "Nope, no trap" she noted to herself. "Good, Good. I needed you to get somewhere dark... I found what I needed". "Wait, what-" Apple jack stopped short as she was almost pounced on by a shadowy figure. "Ack!" it hit the wall but quickly, shot up and bared its sharp fangs, of which stood to the sides of its mouth. It had menacing eyes, that were a glowing white, no iris or pupil. Just white. A white mist flowed to sides of the eyes. Overall the pony was completely shadow, yet the forehead had a small purple oval on it, like a tiny gem. It`s, or his hooves due to the mussel had flowing black fur on the backs, the hind legs pretty much surrounded by this shadowy hair. The shadow pony jumped at AJ, but she was prepared. She back kicked the beast, somehow damaging it. Damaging what seemed to be pure shadow. She noticed the voice in her head was gone, like it just vanished, the being of it gone without a trace. The figure side-stepped towards Aj, and she swiped her right hind-leg at him. She missed and the shadow took it`s silver fangs and bit into her air-swept leg. "OW!" AJ cried as she bucked the vampire-like thing in the face, with her left hind-leg, ultimately allowing gravity to sweep in and throw her flank on the floor. Now in a more defenseless position, the beast attacked her by pouncing on her and levitating a gem, without a horn though, to her. Aj struggled, a useless effort at freedom. "Thiissss iss your END" the figure snaked a voice out. "Eh..."AJ was completely frozen as the gem, shaped like her own element, came towards her. Now that she thought, it was her element. Necklace and all. But with that was an orange topaz crystal replica of her apple of honesty. "...?" Was all Apple jack had, until the necklace was levitated and clicked on her neck. "Ssssay goodnighttt" the gem was placed right beside apple jacks necklaces main attraction, and with a small glow, began to sap the magic out of her element. Apple winced, she could feel some power, being swept up and vacuumed out of her. Her truth. Her truth of being, of reason was leaving her and that was destroying her color, crippling her consciousness. "...how..." Apple jack whispered as she finally drifted away into a deep sleep, her muscles relaxed. During this time her vibrant orange body had dulled and her freckles were gone. Her hair lost the mustard yellow that had before sat brightly and cheerfully. She also lost the ponytail, her hair strewn across her face and neck. Her cutie mark was- gone. The spying emerald mare sat in awe. Scared she would be caught, she backed up and stayed down, crouching. Finally, the stallion smiling as if he had won a war over kingdoms, vanished in a shadowy swirl. The mare got up and rushed over to the the unconsciousness Apple jack. "How did it..." The mare mumbled, then noticed Apple`s leg was bleeding. "Oh Celestia. um..." The mare grabbed a nearby cart with her teeth, and with a flap of her wings sped up to stop near the sleeping pony. She then picked up the, oddly very heavy load, and half dropped half put her in the cart. "I should get her to Celestia..." the mare then strapped the cart to her and ran off, using her larger than normal wings to propel herself faster. Author's Note Will get back to pinkie pie and sombra next! Ive been held up a deal lately, with doctors and dentists and a bruised eye. But Ill keep posting chapters when I can. Please give me ideas, as I write whatever currently comes to me when making this story, and tell me how it is so far! what you like to see happen and stuff and maybe ill put it in here. (I know it may not be THAT good of a story, but its my first try anyways!) why, or how? What fits?CHAPTER 5 WHY, OR HOW? WHAT FITS? // Alternate Equestria \ Pinkie pie rubbed a hoof along a design of a pony princess, etched in marble. "Ooh! this one looks like Princess Celestia!" She exclaimed. "That`s because it is" the annoyed grey unicorn mumbled. "ohhhhhhh... I get it! this is the good version of ms.prissy pants Celestia!" was what he was replied with. "..." Fluttershy just glanced at the drawings every once and a while, scared that something scary would be drawn there, though that was HIGHLY unlikely due to the fact every picture was either sun or moon related. Suddenly she caught sight of one picture, which bore a pony whom set in her fears: "Um, S-Sombra, take a look at this one..." "What?" he growled as he backed up from his standing position, stopping to stare in awe at the etching. It shone Celestia, the other worldly one, his love, sighing as the currently main picture part presented Sombra himself floating, being turned into the evil he was now. It didn`t show him saving the princesses though. "Looks like your popular `round here huh?!" Pinkie smiled, clearly oblivious to the purpose of the picture. "Yeah, not how I would have hoped..." Sombra sighed and began to continue his walk towards the kingdom`s courtyard. Maybe he could ditch the two ponies there... Maybe. On the other side of the castle, Stargleam would put her sketchbook to it`s limits, drawing almost every symbol on the walls. She figured that if she made her way to the castle`s front door, wherever the heck THAT was, then she could get some actual answers, like maybe why the heck Sunbutt was practically painted on the walls. "Hello!" she called out, just to see if anything lingered near. Nothing, though she could feel a prickle of concern, something seemed to be watching her... The unicorn slid her feet into a defensive pose, ready for attack... Nothing, but she kept her stance... Still nothing. Just as she was about to shrug it off, a bush in front of her rustled. "Show thou self!!!" She yelled, in her awkwardly defensive voice. It wasn`t her fault she unintentionally spoke like that at times. A small figure came to the edge of the bush, almost visible. Stargleam could make out what looked like a small reptilian creature. "Grah?" that confirmed it, as the creature placed a hoof, er paw out of the brush. It had red fur. "Not a dog, though" Stargleam noted. A small head popped out of the brush, it was also furry and red, except the frontal face was a lighter shade of it. It had large crystal blue eyes, and even ears like a dog`s. But it also had horns, tan spikes, two of them- one each behind both ears. "rah?" It smiled, revealing two tiny fangs from its dog-ish snout. its nose wrinkled as it opened its mouth, two little slits like a ponys nose would be. "..oh, um..." Stargleam stood normally again, a look of confusion on her face. what in Celestia was this thing? As the creature fully stepped out into view, Stargleam got a full evaluation of its body. Still that red color, the back feet were even more dog like than the front, as the fronts seemed to have unretractable claws, and slightly longer feet. Though these were practically all dog, claw and all. The creature had two small wings which were open. They were feathery like a pegasus, and the inside part, which was facing stargleam, were a lighter red. Small light red stripes lined the body. Then came the tail. Mostly like a griffons, it had red and light red striped fur, and the end left it in a tuft of the former colors fur, which swayed in the small breeze. Snapping out of her daze, Stargleam quickly took out her book and sketched the creature from memory, unknowing of it`s current actions. Once she finished, about only ten seconds after starting, really, she nodded and put it back into her satchel. Just as she lifted her head up to check if the thing was still there, she got a surprise " Grah!". At her right hoof, the creature sat down and looked up at her. It`s tail swayed back and forth, happily. "Um..." Stargleam was having trouble thinking, I mean, The creature was so adorable! "Rah!" It began purring and rubbed it`s head against her leg. "...ugh..." She was still having trouble reacting to the last action. Finally processing everything, she bent down to the little happy ball of fur. "H-hello there! eh, what`s your name little fella?" She closed her eyes in a kind posture. "Draise!" the little creature happily yapped back, much to Stargleam`s surprise. "D-did you just talk?!" She returned the excitement. "Yeah! why?" Draise smiled, though confused. "I didn`t know you speak the same language as me, cool!" "Oh, ugh yeah... right. um, what exactly are you?" " mrr,A draken! A branch along the species of dragon!mrr, why?" "Oh, ugh nothing really..."Stargleam stood up, "Are you, lost?" "mrr! No, of course not! i`m... mrr, hiding" Draise whimpered. "Really now, from what?" Stargleam said, a look of worry beginning to spread from her muzzle. "Who,mrr, that is. A pony...mrr" "Why?" "She is, mrr, scary" "In what way?" "mean scary. she, mrr, is mean!" "... oh, im, sorry about that..." Stargleam sighed, saddened. But it didnt last long as a scream broke the silence: "WHERE ARE YOU! YOU CAN`T HIDE FROM ME, YOU LITTLE RUNT OF A DRAGON!!!" "Mrr!!! help me!" The baby draken cried, crawling under the middle of underneath Stargleam. "She sounds really awful..." The unicorn whispered, half to Draise, half to herself. Overhearing her, Draise replied with, "yeah! mrr, she really is!" The unicorn had an idea, and two options, either leave the furry dragon to suffer, or not... Not. "Hold on!" She yelled as she grabbed Draise by the collar of her furry neck and threw her onto her back as she began to gallop away from there, in the direction she had originally been heading in. The small draken clung to her furry back. "mrr, your furrier than most ponies, mrr!" "Thanks?" She replied, turning a corner into what seemed to be a garden of some sort. Statues lined the small curbs along the perimeter of the garden. She turned and quickly hid behind one of the larger statues. "Were, mrr, safe in here!" Draise yapped, crawling and then jumping off of the unicorn "ugh, how exactly?" Stargleam asked, confused. "She is, mrr, an outlaw" "A what now!?" Stargleam deadpanned. "Yes, mrr, she is charged for animal cruelty" "oh... that explains a lot". "So, mrr, why are you so furry? and your taller than the ponies i`ve seen, mrr!" "Heh, well you see, im not exactly your regular pony, Im a shyre breed of horses, stronger, more stamina and have more fur! were also taller than most ponies, but not by much." Stargleam explained. "Where did you, mrr, come from?" Draise jumped onto the lap of the now sitting pony. "Well, i don`t really know, in truth." "So, mrr, why is that?" "Well, let me tell you the whole thing..." Stargleam trailed off into a most likely unbelievable story. Meanwhile, the trio of ponies came closer and closer to their destination. "Why are you traveling with me if i`m not even looking for your stupid mirror?" Sombra growled at the pink pony. "Because, silly, were looking for a mirror shard. I think i`ll find it if I travel with you, right Fluttershy?" Pinkie pie nudged her friend. "Um, I don`t know..." She whispered. "See? even she agrees! Im just surprised you dont remember this item!" "..." Sombra sighed, and stared at the sandy dirt path at his hooves. On one hoof, these ponies were company, and he sensed a power from them. On the other hoof, cotton candy there was as annoying as the evil Celestia and Luna had been, COMBINED. "No, more than that" he thought, then let out a small, soft chuckle. He could feel what seemed to be knot start to unwind. Although, whatever "knot" had loosened tightened up once more as the pink pony shouted, "Oh look! a garden. I`m famished, maybe the bucking doors are around her somewhere!" She began to trot off, tail flicking this way and that. Sombra blinked, taking in that cotton candy had just cursed. She hadn`t done that earlier, for sure. As they began to close in on the flowery patch of the shady garden, Sombra noticed a blue pony, Not a guard, though. They were strict with orders and always wore armor... "... Probably undercover or something..." Sombra muttered as he glanced around him. "But they always have a guard nearby". It was too late to turn around though when Pinkie pie screamed a "Hello!!!" to the mare. She jumped back a little, and put some animal on her shoulders, but gave off no TRUE hostility. "Um- Hi there... Pinkie, correct?" The mare asked, glancing at her dog thing. "Yeah!!! Oh, I don`t think we met though... Wait, yeah- whenyouorderedthatcakeandthenthesevinesstartedgrowingoutofthegroundandsomedarkthingcameoutofyourhornandthen you forced me to never tell any pony about that!" Pinkie tightly hugged the blue unicorn, who seemed to start sweating. "Yeah...Heh, heh, hehhhh", The mare`s laugh faded when she saw Sombra. "S-Sombra?!" She gaped. He quickly took to backing up. Fluttershy stepped up, "Maybe we should, um, get going?" Draise whimpered, "Her! It`s, mrr, her!" "Wait, your dog can talk?" Sombra seemed confused. "Their called Drakens, and yes, he can talk" Stargleam paused, then looked at Draise, "What? Fluttershy? She`s one of the nicest ponies alive". The yellow pegasus took notice of him. "A-Another dragon?! May I pet him? Oh dear Celestia he`s cute!" Fluttershy had already snatched the small furry animal and was hugging and petting him. "Help! mrr, Me!!!" Draise cried. Sombra face-hoofed. "Oh, am I hurting you? So, sorry... Here"- she lightened the hug- "Better?" "mrr..." Draise stopped complaining. "Eh..." Stargleam levitated Draise out of Fluttershy`s reach and placed him on her own back. "We- We REALLY need to get going." She sympathetically smiled, while weighing the possible chance they knew she had their mirror. If the element of Loyalty tried to get it, then wouldn`t the others too? I mean, being in an alternate world together? What if these were secretly copies of the mane six? What if they were counterparts, like Sombra? Shrugging of that thought- Stargleam began to head towards small set of double doors she managed to spot. "Oh Celestia! I can`t believe it!" The pink one-Pinkie pie gasped. Quickly shielding her saddle bag, she stammered, "w-what?!" "Your going to the same place as US!" She rushed to Sombra and the pale yellow pegasus. Stargleam couldn`t remember her name- just that she must have represented kindness. Or shyness. The unicorn began to make her way through the doors and into a hallway. "Just hang out here until they leave"she whispered, "They`ll leave you behind soon". Her panicky expression quickly switched to a smiling one as the three entered. Sombra faltered, mumbling something below her hearing capacity. "This way!" Pinkie Pie was bounding off down the hallway, jumping continuously. Sombra backed up- Stargleam could guess why; He was a villain, entering his enemy`s CASTLE without even being prepared. But why, then, did he suddenly grin- quite widely- before setting back off down the hallway?! She shook off the creepy vibe of that smile, and walked on. But she had seen it before... Somewhere. Back when she was still NEW Equestria, one day he- he smiled like that. but why? She could have swore she remembered it being when she was injured- which would make sense of the fuzzy memory being so... Blank. She decided to follow them, surely Pinkie Pie had ALREADY forgotten about her by the looks of it. Why not tag along? Get a few sketches of the kingdom, and make sure Sombra didn`t get killed. As they continued making their way along the corridor, Fluttershy was thinking to herself quietly, "He seems creepy..." She mumbled. Her conscious barked back, "No, he`s not!". "But he`s scary...". "SO? Your just as BAD as him". "W-what?! no... I`m not bad...". "Yeah, you are. Look at you- your allowing him to freely walk through Celestia`s castle. He might try to blow her to smithereens!". Fluttershy glanced at Sombra worriedly. "But he`s the good sombra... Right?". Her mind made a sound like a snigger, "NO, hes not. Hes evil- and you KNOW IT". Fluttershy whimpered, "Your right...". "Exactly. and your letting him walk freely- because guess what?". "W-what?". "Your.Too.SHY". Fluttershy suppressed another whimper. These conversations had been going on in her head ever since they had found HIM. She sighed, "He`s why your here, right? When we found him... You... You rude little TERRIBLE thing got into my mind!" She screamed into her head, silently. "...Right. He did this too you- your just gonna let him get away with it, aren`t you?!". "...Well, I don`t like you, but-". "AREN`t YOU?!". "...No", was all Fluttershy said. "Good. but I bet you wont DO anything, will you? Your still too SHY. A little petty 'no' cant-", "NO! You little petty- petty THING!!! Stop! I swear if you dont stop ill-". "...". The voice ceased, then said, "Well. DO something then". Fluttershy grumbled, feeling different. Why? When she looked at Sombra it was longer- she could feel her hate for him- taste it! He put this wretched voice in her head! She glared at him, and when he looked at her, she continued, harder- he gave a confused look and held his ears forward, slightly coming out of his mane, as if listening to her hatred itself scream and yell. Then he simply sighed and went to ignoring her. She felt horrible when he turned away, horrible that she couldn`t show him her anger. She suddenly realized she wasn`t breathing, and by taking a deep breath, calmed down. "What was that?" she questioned herself, sighing as she held her head low again. What did she do just then? "THAT, my friend, was YOU. This worlds you. It cant live without you. It can`t live with the other you". The voice. Fluttershy ignored the comment as best she could, instead changing the subject, "Do you have a name?" "A name?! um, you just call me-" "Hey, Flutters! Come on! your trailing behind!" Pinkie waved. "Oh? Sorry, Pinkie pie". Stargleam had noticed the change in the pegasus` stature. The way she seemed to focus all hate into Sombra, and how she had been cringing as she mumbled to herself earlier... "What the hay...?" She wore a confused look as they continued on through the castle, the unicorn keeping a keen eye on everything, just in case. Author's Note So... I know this chapter was really only from two perspectives, and I didnt really much go through any true adaption- besides Fluttershy- but im getting there! Im just BUILDING this up...  Any ideas or suggestions or grammar? please comment, I feel alone on this  I promise to get to the others mainly on the next chapter- but ill probs do this group in the chapter after so. Am I doing good for a first timer? I`m not sure A piece left behindCHAPTER 1 // ~A PIECE LEFT BEHIND~ \ //our Equestria\ Celestia pushed open her door and walked over to Philomena. "oh, what am I going to do?" Celestia wondered aloud. Philomena brushed her head up against Celestia`s cheek. She smiled in recognition but it soon faded into a somber frown. "why?". "Why did this have to happen?". Celestia went over to her indoor tree. It was small, but it held great importance. In a branch hung a tag, which one could mistake for gold at first glance. On it was the one word, "always". Celestia felt a tear form, and her vision became slightly cloudier. "Sombra..." she thought to herself, first, then whispered, again "Sombra...". On another branch near the tag was a piece of glass. A mirror. It hung by a golden string the color of the tag. Celestia allowed the tears collecting in her eyes to fall. Until she heard a knock at the door. "come in" Celestia straightened up and brushed the tears away with her magic. A purple alicorn walked in, slightly smiling, a sympathetic gesture. "Celestia are you alright?" the princess asked. " Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Do not worry about me, please" Celestia smiled and looked out her window, at nothing, looking past the beautiful waterfall and lush mountain. And past the draconicus that whirled happily in the sky, clearly annoying a group of Pegasus. "Celestia." Twilight Sparkle interrupted. "oh sorry, im just still a little shaken up, thats all" Celestia looked down at her purple carpet. "Okay, I won`t ask again, just be careful, alright?". "Alright" Celestia calmly whispered. When Twilight left Celestia fell at her bedside and wept, until she fell asleep. It was not a restful night, and her dreams were filled with horror as to what may be happening to Sombra right now. //mirrored Equestria\ Sombra rushed through a bush, and stumbled over a tree root. He was running. Again. Ever since he absorbed both Celestias and Lunas evil magic he had been chased. By discord, and Chrysalis, and even Trixie. He did not know why and that scared him into running even more. Currently, guards were in pursuit, his own guards, and no matter how much he ordered them to halt they persisted. Sombra jumped over a log and almost passed out from fatigue. How long had he been running now? Two hours? He panted. The forest he was in was mucky, overgrown, and dark. So dark that it made it hard to see, never mind the fact it was the middle of night. The guards were ganging on him, and he fought every motive to turn around and face them. He had fought every temptation, every pull, every suggestion of harming anypony. It was hard, so hard in fact that Sombra had slowed his running and even begun to start his magic until he flashed back from thinking. Suddenly, he felt a hard push from his side. He struggled to stay up, and realized the guards were trying to get him to fall. He figured from their training that if that happened, they would circle him. There were five guards in all. Two Pegasus, two unicorns and a regular pony. They all wore silver armor with gold trimming. Sombra dodged to left of a tree, and attempted to move aside a giant tree root, then a guard hit him again. Sombra was already tired, he just wanted to rest, and now these freaks were trying to make it harder on him. Every glance at them and his power began to emanate from him, pulling and screaming to Sombra to let it free, to destroy everything. A guard, a unicorn, used the blunt end of his spear and ran it into Sombra. "Akk!" Sombra growled. Just as he regained balance he Suddenly felt a hard force hit him and he fell. He fell down and toppled on dirt which curved and at a point he rolled into a thorn bush. Luckily when he fell out of that he hit flat dirt, and felt no neddles in his coat or flank, just cuts that slightly bled. The ponies circled him, not close to him but on the ring of a circle. Sombra had fell into a small crater-shaped hole in the ground. "great" he mumbled. "Surrender!" a pony, whom he recognized to be a great friend of his, Klinkle, called out. "no..." Sombra thought. "they dont understand, they just dont get it!". Sombra got up and limped over to a tree for cover in case his unicorn guard, who he figured was Lance, decided to attack. He watched as they discussed a position to go to, as he heard Klinkle say in a tense tone "if you walk... then i can stay here..." they murmured, but he could still hear them a bit. Once they decided on a position, they seperated around the circle. Sombra watched them closely. If he could just find a way out. Apparently the two Pegasus made a slow but constant fly around the circle, in opposing directions, and close to the ground. The remaining three stood in their places for a short second, tense and as if something would attack. A smart choice, but only to an actually hostile enemy, not their own king. "no. I`m wrong, their former king" sombra sighed. Soon, one of the unicorns made a circle around the crater and stopped at the pony that was in front of him, to his left before he had started. Sombra began to make out a pattern. Each time the pony would complete a circle, they would stop at the next pony, and then They would continue it. Sombra looked around for a quick exit. He saw that where the first pony, the unicorn, originally was, it was empty, because he had taken Klinkles place and then he had taken Lances. Sombra crept up to the edge of the small trees that were patched together in the crater. There was an opening, but if he left this soon and the guards got curiose they might look. Sombra took off his royal purple coat and threw it onto a tree branch, low to ground, it looked sorta like a hiding pony. Then sombra made his escape. // our equestria \ Star Gleam looked through some of Starswirl`s books. She would use her magic, pull out two at a time, and open to the back of the book. Then she would put them back and pull out two more. She had done this for well over an hour, but she kept patient. If she found what she needed to find, then all would be well. Well, besides the possible explosion or natural disaster from a backfire or mess up. Finally she pulled out a book with the cover of a sun and moon, and in the back she found the word "enim". "Great, perfect" she put the book on the small circular table beside her. Star Swirl could be, well, odd. And she knew for this, she would need the perfect odd words that Star Swirl would use. " An effective way of security" she thought. Every pony would think it was some complicated sentence like "thy port thus douse" or something like that. When instead Star Swirl actually had used the spell words " ponies love paint" as a security code to one of his books, which had given her the first word, "ekupaccs". Stargleam closed her eyes and focused on the blank wall she was facing. She then started to eminate magic from her horn in a wave of blue towards the wall. She began to chant "ekupaccs rea enim". She then "unscrambled" the words and said "cupcakes are mine". A weird sentence, yeah. But as soon as she finished saying "mine" the wall had turned blue and somehow a mist made it swirl, just like a portal. Just like the book described. She lifted her field journal and pencil with her magic, and adjusted her bag that hung around her flank. Then she walked in. // mirrored Equestria \ Stargleam stepped out of the blue haze onto a cracked mossy stone. She was NOT where she had intended to be. She had imagined a kingdom similar to her own home, the crystal empire. Instead, she was in a small temple like porch that was shaped like an octagon. It had vines and cracks in the stone everywhere. She could clearly see outside the small roman-like pillars which were actually very small. And all she saw was dry, dead grass, a cliff that led to a beach, and oh, more importantly a grey pony near the cliff who looked beat-up. It was asleep, or more of, he. Stargleam slowly and quietly walked up to the unicorn. She gasped. It was, him. Her friend. It was Sombra. Yes and no, though as Sombra had a kingdom in her world and did not wear blue, at all. And Sombra never looked this beat up before. She knew this because the only time he did get this hurt was when that pest Spike banished him with the crystal heart. And he was actually really suprised. She had to take care of him for a whole month before he was even able to use magic to pick up a glass again. And that was really frustrating. Sombra was apparently not going to wake up anytime soon, and even though this was a different version of her great friend, she decided to camp out here. Stargleam trotted up the treeline and gather dry pine branches that had fallen. She then magically laid them down beside Sombra, and lit the pile of sticks by changing some the oxygen molecules around the top of the pile. Then she laid down on the opposing end of the fire from Sombra, and sketched out the cliff and beach. Being dark, her drawing was a little gloomy, like a horror books version of a haunted house. But when she finished that she drew the horn that curved on Sombras head, his eye smoke, all normal stuff. But the crown, it just... was different. Stargleam had researched crowns in her 3rd grade history class because of Celestia and Lunas crowns. They each represented something different based on their color and size and even shape. This one was a light blue, or well more light then the regular medium blue. And it had a gold coin in the middle. "Kinda like a replacement to Sombra`s ruby" Stargleam observed. She had researched that a light color most likely meant that the owner represented light, at least well known ones. And blue definitely made it look as if he was good, well minus the smoke and horn, of course. As morning began to splinter the night, Stargleam got up and put out the fire, then she left for the woods. "I`ll have plenty to sketch, Stargleam gleamed at her book. She then smiled towards the direction of Sombra. A small bag was waiting for him. A "get well" present, so to speak. // our equestria \ The mane six walked into Celestia`s throne room. Cadence had accompanied them. "We came as quickly as we could, we brought the elements of harmony" Twilight Sparkle said as she slowly stopped in front of Celestia. "Thank you, but that will not be necessary, this isn`t a matter of evil, just of loss" Celestia sighed. "What`s the matter princess?" Apple Jack asked. " My tree, you know the one with the mirror piece" Celestia somberly responded. "Oh! the pretty one with the gold tag!" Rarity`s eyes sparkled. "Yes, well you see, the piece is..."Celestia looked down at her hooves, unable to finish, the thought of Sombra stuck in her head. "the piece is, what?" Rainbow Dash pressured. Twilight gave her a glare. "what?". "No, it is alright, the piece is, gone" Celestia looked up at them, her eyes glossy. "Gone where?" Pinkie pie giggled. "To manehatten, to the other half of our woooorrrrlllld?". "Actually i dont know, really, but it is very important to me and I wish you to find it if thats not to hard to ask, if so that is fine" Celestia stood up straight in front of her throne, which was trimmed with gold and had a golden symbol of the sun on the top. "Of course not!" Twilight said. "actually we`ll start right now". "Please do" Celestia smiled slightly, a bit happier and more hopeful. "Pinkie pie and Fluttershy check Star Swirls library. Rainbow and me will check in Ponyville and around Canterlot. And lastly Aj and Rarity go to the Crystal empire and see if somehow the merchants maybe found it and took it there for part of construction" Twilight ended her orders and headed for the door. "Wow. Fluttershy! you and me are gonna have SO much fun!" Pinkie Pie hugged the frail yellow Pegasus. "Um..." Fluttershy slightly whimpered. "Diamonds!" Rarity gasped. Apple Jack snorted as they left the throne. Pinkie pie practically dragged Fluttershy out of the room. "Oh, Twilight are you sure about me and Pinkie? I would gladly go with you" Fluttershy squealed slightly under her breath when Pinkie Pie brought out her mini balloon whistle. It was just a normal whistle, really. "Of course i`m sure! You two will do just fine down there!" and with that they left for the library.
A pinkie keen mistakeCHAPTER 2 A PINKIE KEEN MISTAKE // our equestria \ Pinkie dragged Fluttershy over to her. Since they had came to the library, Fluttershy had just decided to lay down and rest, and try to brave away the empty cobwebs around her. Pinkie pie pulled out a dusty book and blew on it towards Fluttershy. "Ughh... ahh.... chew!" Fluttershy squeaked. " Hee hee! I love sneezing!" Pinkie pie giggled, as she opened the book. "Coffee?!" Pinkie pie gleamed, looking at all the pictures of the book. "Caramel, whipped cream, bits ocandy! So many flavors! I think i would like black coffee the most though, Its so... PLAIN, which makes it beautiful! which-"Pinkie kept going on. So, in her chance of getting away, Fluttershy crept silently away from the bookshelf where pinkie pie stood gasping at a picture of a pony with coffee on it. Fluttershy made her way to the nearest wall and slumped against it. "I wanna go home, to my pets, and my small creek, and to the QUIET" Fluttershy lightly sighed. A sparkle caught her eye. She looked over to her left and saw on the wall a beautiful blue oval that just seemed to mystify her. When she got closer she saw that it seemed to move. The oval was a nice deep zircon color and it sparkled. Pinkie pie began to go through then throw out some books which were getting a little distracting. She would throw out a bit and then move closer to the wall, laughing wildly. "Pinkie pie!? what are you doing?!" Fluttershy squealed as she dodged an incoming book. "Oh nothing. Just getting out a little energy" Pinkie pie simply stated. Then it happened. While pinkie pie was looking at a picture of a pony holding a diamond pickaxe in a cave that was all cubed, she jumped while laughing, going backwards. She was headed towards the wall that fluttershy now stood at, frozen in front of the oval, clearly seeing pinkie`s back coming towards her. "Wee!" pinkie pie threw the book and laughed, just as she hit fluttershy and they went tumbling back into the oval, literally. They vanished as they went rolling into it. And nearby, a small round table sat, and on it, was a book opened to the back that had the one word "ekapuccs". At the crystal empire, Apple jack and Rarity were not having much more luck. They had asked all the construction ponies at the site if they happened to find a piece of mirror, but they only got the response of either a laugh or a shrug. One pony had told them they were only at the mines yesterday and today to pick up some crystal ruby and lapis for the building on a nearby village temple. While the subject was boring to apple jack, Rarity seemed very interested in where and when those mines were open. "We need to focus hear, sugar cube" Apple jack nudged Rarity, who gleamed at the carts of crystals. Apple jack ended up dragging her away from the site and onto the streets of the Crystal empire. "Okay rarity, have any ideas?". "On wha-" Rarity stopped herself, as applejack had begun to get a tad bit mad suddenly. "Oh right! of course, okay so you check around the allies and I will go search in the shopping district!" Rarity closed here eyes and smiled apologetically. "Uh" applejack raised an eyebrow. " I guess, but stay in the glass shops..." and Rarity was gone. AJ had not even seen her leave. "Guess its up te me now" She shrugged and left off for the nearest shop. Rainbow Dash had taken to the sky and was flying around Canterlot`s garden area, where Twilight conducted a field spell. A magic barrier like dome surrounded her and grew bigger until it filled the whole garden. Rainbow had flown back from it, and sighed, clearly very much bored. "Can I like go now? Its not like Im helping any". "No. Your helping perfectly fine keeping me company" Twilight said as she flew into the air and retracted her spell. "Don`t worry, only about 53 more locations to check". "WHAT!? That`l take forever!" Rainbow Dash whined. "Cant you like just, do some magic trick that can show you where its at?!" "No how could- Yes. I can! See Rainbow? You just helped a ton!" Twilight gleamed and hugged Rainbow. Twilight started her magic. It was a medium purple, and lit up like a lamp. She sent a ball of magenta light to a space in between the two ponies, which began to rotate. "Cool, um a pretty ball isnt gonna help us!" Rainbow exclaimed. But suddenly the ball started to emit a waving essence of identical light. It made its way towards the castle doors, and somehow just went through them. Twilight lowered her power and the ball disappeared, leaving the beam of light to form a back end, which Twilight and Rainbow followed for awhile. (skipping the boring walk through the castle`s hallways) Eventually they made their way to a pair of sturdy oak doors. Twilight tilted her head in confusion. These doors led to... Starswirl`s library. "Well, looks like Pinkie Pie was trying to play hide nseek with the mirror then most likely, if its down in that mess!" Rainbow joked. "Yah... well. Lets go" Twilight mumbled as they made their way into the library, following the mist down past all the rooms, until they stopped in front of an open area. There was a blue, oval swirling on the wall. And that`s where the mist stopped. // alternate equestria \ Stargleam walked over to a blooming willow tree and sat down, slumping against it. She opened her side bag and put away her sketch book. She sighed as she took out a bottle of water. She heard a small metallic sound to her left. Leaning over she saw a steel amulet which bore a ruby in the chest of a hawk shaped figure. The alicorn amulet. She sighed, then levitated it into her lap. Taking a sip of her water, she took out another item from her bag, which she had barely managed to steal. A piece of mirror. It reflected part of Stargleams face. She stared at it, thinking of how she got it. It was hanging in a tree, in the sun princesss bedroom. She walked past Celestia, who had tears falling down her face, and was whimpering as she sat on the floor asleep with one hoof thrown carelessly on the bed. "Okay..." Stargleam muttered as she had taken the piece of mirror from the tree and made her way back towards the entrance to her balcony. "Ugh... Hello?" Celestia began to wake up. Not good. Not good at all. "Eek!" Stargleam ran outside, scared she would be caught, and tripped over the low railing. She began to fall, but luckily, thanks to her being a magic major, she had been able to teleport to a hallway in the kingdom without harm. Stargleam snapped out of thinking and looked up to the sky, already it was becoming sunset. She put the two items beside her on the dirt as she dozed off. "Sombra..." She muttered slightly. She then fell asleep. She dreamt of the alicorn amulet. A nightmare, she was supposed to watch it. Keep it away from any other pony, keep them safe. (Dream) Why? How? Stargleam was currently standing on a cracked stone floor. She had the alicorn amulet strapped around her neck with a line of chain. No. She was being watched by six ponies, of which each had a necklace on them, each with a different symbol. They stood on her left. To her right, was Sombra. The one she knew, not the one she had found, but he looked scared and worried. "Me. It`s my fault". The newer Sombra whom wore blue was in front of her, laying down on the floor, wounded. He was also a bit to the right, because directly in front of her, was Celestia. Her sister Luna stood to her right. They were mad. What did I do? "You can`t beat me!" Stargleam yelled. "How did I say that?!" she thought. Suddenly she realized that in this dream she could not control her body, only watch. So watch she did. " Stop! Surrender now or face the consequences of your actions" Celestia bravely stated. "NO! I will NOT surrender! I will NOT bow down my head to you!" Stargleam yelled, a smirk on her face.Celestia whimpered slightly, looking to the blue clothed Sombra. Why? What was it to her? Stargleam sent a beam of blinding light to the floor in front of Celestia. It collapsed, leaving a pile of crumbled rocks. Stones flew into the air. The majority headed for the six ponies, but a purple one, an alicorn used a barrier spell to deflect them, causing them to fall to the ground. A few flew towards Sombra, but he spawned a shadowy tentacle from the ground which smashed any incoming rocks. He had a few tears in his eyes. " Because of me!" Stargleam tried to whimper. It worked, her body shook a little and she let out a small whimper. A tear fell down her cheek. " Stupid dream!" she thought. Suddenly she felt a jerk of energy. She awoke from her dream, panting. "Why did I have a nightmare like that?" She gasped for air. Somehow, she must have done something during her dream to empty her lungs, and she found a sharp twig beside her, which must have woke her up. She thought about her nightmare for the rest of the night. Author's Note Hi sorry the chapter is short, I needed to get a thing going with the main six. More exiting things should happen in the next chapter! 0w0 This will be the only story I post due to the over protectiveness of my grandmother, so sorry about that, was going to do a fnaf story... sorry :-C
the mistake of failureCHAPTER 3 THE MISTAKE OF FAILURE //alternate equestria\ In Starswirl`s library, Twilight and Rainbow had found a blue oval-shaped portal. Of course, Rainbow wanted to go through it and find tons of monsters to beat up, but to no avail. They ended up in the same run down open pillar room as Pinkie pie and Fluttershy. Who, at the time had investigated the strange pony, Sombra: "What?! Its- Sombra!" Pinkie pie squealed, which startled Fluttershy. "Ugh... We should go now-"Fluttershy was stopped when the soft grey unicorn began to get up, mumbling some words under his breath. As soon as he looked up, a frown covered his face. "What?! How are you...". "Oh, us? Were trying to find that piece of mirror from the portal because it is lost, and -huff- fluttershy here found a pretty swirling picture which brought us here!" Pinkie pie widely smiled. "Ugh..." Sombra sighed. " You should leave, NOW" he grimaced and looked away, growling. "Uh-ugh! Nope! were gonna stay with you until we find that piece of glass!" Pinkie pie saluted in a military manner and shouldered Sombra. "I swear..." Sombra began to walk away... while Pinkie and Fluttershy followed, the yellow pegasus shivering as they entered the thick treeline of pines and oaks. Meanwhile about an hour later, the purple alicorn and blue rainbow haired pegasus walked onto the mossy stone. "Where are we?" Twilight questioned herself aloud. Rainbow flew into the air to see if she could find anything familiar. She halted, jaw dropping. "I think I have an idea. Hey you remember, oh I don`t know, helping to save equestria from two evil sisters..." She called down to Twilight. "Were HERE?!" Twilight flew into the air next to rainbow. "Oh Celestia... help me". "OK..OK. Were on a quest here... lets do it." Twilight did an attempt to conjure her spell from earlier, but ended up only casting a fizzle of purple sparks. "Um.. I think that portal may have done a number on my magic"Twilight breathed. "Great. Just great" Rainbow dash whined. "Were stuck in a fake boring world, with no way to get the mirror and- oh. That creep sombra`s probably lurking around a corner somewhere". "Rainbow!" Twilight shot her a look. "What?" The fast flyer smiled. Twilight took to walking on the ground while rainbow dash searched above her, as a seeker, and a bodyguard. // our equestria \ "Rarity?" AJ worriedly called out as she checked every stock and store in the shopping district. "Rarity!!!". Apple jack rounded a corner and totted down Chrine road for the fifth time. "Hey, um... miss?" Apple jack walked up to a glass shard dealer, who was currently putting together a mosaic out of amethyst and red stained glass. "Hmm?" The mare responded without looking up. "Heh well you may know a mare around here by the name o` Rarity..." Apple jack began. "Oh yes! my best costumer, this here piece i`m making is actually one of her custom orders!" The mare smiled and did a high pitch giggle. "Awoulda guessed... You see am looking for her at the moment. Have ya seener `round here lately?" AJ asked. "Oh well, surprisingly no!" the shopkeeper responded, now looking a little down. "Oh! if you see her tell her she can come by any time to pick up her..."the mare brought out a slip of paper. "um... Right. Her sapphire glass dragon claw and green and teal stained crystal cube." "Awill if A see `er. Bye!" Apple jack galloped away, running to a random street to look again for Rarity. If she wasnt shopping by NOW, then where could she be? Apple jack looked up and shuddered as she saw the sun begin to set and the moon begin to rise. Shopkeepers began to close up for the day. She didnt have much longer... // alternate equestria \ Stargleam studied the willow she had slept against last night. It was peculiar in a way as, unlike all the other trees, it wasn`t dead or overgrown, just blooming. Nor did it have showing roots, but again, all the others did... Stargleam did a light outline of the tree, and then began to get the tight details of the bark, looking for a symbol... somewhere... "I mean- this tree! it`s weird!" she thought to herself. "Almost too weird, too alive"...Way too alive for a place identical to the Everfree forest! She spotted an etching in the bark. Getting closer, she saw it resembled the shape of an eagle, a simplified eagle with a four sided diamond in the middle, a too much like the alicorn amulet. She levitated it out, accidentally dropping the mirror at the same time. "Oh!" She levitated the shard to her. She stared at it, lost in thought all of a sudden. Though while she held up her mirror piece, it gave off a shine, reflecting any light it could find into the sky. And by any unlucky luck (yeah) Rainbow dash was flying overhead, completely unaware of Stargleam. That is of course, until she caught a glimpse of the reflecting light. "Thats- HEY!!!" She dove for the light blue unicorn. Stargleam looked up just in time to see a cyan blur speeding towards her. "Eek!" She quickly dropped her magic on the mirror, though the pegasus didnt notice this. Stargleams magic had shifted, and she closed shut her magenta eyes, preparing for an attack. No attack came, that is though, the item she had her magic wrapped around was suddenly gone. She opened her eyes to see the red glint of a ruby in the currently cheering pegasu`s hoof. "Oh YEAH!!!" Rainbow dash cheered, as she landed in front of Twilight, who honestly wasn`t far through the woods from Stargleam. "What now, Rainbow?" Twilight asked as she glanced at the brush around them. "Oh well, guess what I found!" Rainbow grinned widely. "Um... I`ll guess you found ANOTHER one of those dumb alive clouds?" Twilight guessed. "..." Rainbow gave off an awkward frown, which made Twilight laugh. "No. I found..." She pulled held up an object with her eyes closed. "Where- how did you get a hold of THAT!!!" Twilight worriedly yelled. "What? the mirror? some light blue unicorn had it and- oh." Rainbow dash face hoofed herself. In her hoof, was an iron carved eagle amulet, which bore in the middle of it`s chest a red ruby. The alicorn amulet. Stargleam stared in suprise. A cyan coated pegasus, which must have had rainbow hair, she thought she saw, had just rudely swooped down from the sky and snatched up the amulet. "No! Stupid! er!" Stargleam yelled. She just lost her chance to see what was in this fake tree, what wonders were hiding behind. "I could break it open..."she thought aloud. Wait, no. She couldnt risk breaking anything inside. She didnt even know how old this was! Why would the pony had even wanted her alicorn amulet anyway? Stargleam shook her head and picked up the piece of mirror, glad it was still safe. Putting it in her saddle bag, she made sure to leave a mark here. She levitated a stick to herself, then let out a sliver of magic, which poured on and into the stick, making it glow a faint blue. Then, she left, unknowing she was headed for the same castle that the pegasus and her pony friend were headed too... Pinkie pie had been constantly annoying the evil king. He kept turning and either glaring or biting at her. So, she`d gotten used to calling him "Mr.Grumpy pants". Fluttershy just trailed behind, head held low, tail tucked between her legs. A few bunnies and birds either followed or shiveringly rode on her, as they were just as scared of the dark unicorn. "Err... Just. Stop!" Sombra growled as he looked into the brush... Something was different... "Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope and nope!" Pinkie pie protested. She pulled a balloon out of thin air and attempted to tie it to Sombra`s tail. "Huh- ugh no!" he jumped away. "Aw... well Ill wear it then!" the pink earth pony happily put the string of the balloon around one of her mane twirls, and seemingly calmed down somehow. They trotted along until a silhouette of a castle appeared before them... Though Sombra didnt notice, as he was focused on the ground in front of him, staring at his hooves. Fluttershy began to mutter something but it was drowned out to a small "There`s something up there...". Too low for Pinkie pie OR Sombra to hear. "Hey! look at that mr. Grumpy pants!" Pinkie called out. "Cotton candy! er Pinkie pie! PLEASE... just be quiet!" The dark grey stallion stopped in his tracks as he almost bumped into a white figure. Backing up, he noted it to be of one of his marble statues of a mage soldier pony in hind legged stance. "Oh dear discord no..." He muttered. Not this place. Not his castle. " Author's Note Sorry it took so long! School and family problems in the way! But um, yeah I needed to round some actions up to prepare for the next chapter, open to suggestions too! I kinda write what comes to me so... Please give me some ideas!
It was a trapCHAPTER 4 It Was A Trap //???\ The white purple maned unicorn breathed heavily. Near her, she could tell there was somepony else... watching. "...Stay away!" the mare croaked. It was Rarity, and she was currently wearing her element of generosity. "Hm?" She looked down at it, and rubbed the necklace with her hoof. "How..." she thought, "I never put this on...!" She was in a small jungle like room, with weeds growing in between each stone as if they were originally woven together. The roof was an etched stone, Though a few crystals lined around the whole place. "Finally awake are we?" A menacing voice filled the place. "Who-Who`s there?!" Rarity called out, getting only a laugh in return. "Hmph. Does that really matter?" The clearly male pony snickered. "..."Rarity kept silent. suddenly a dark figure began to walk towards her, and eventually came close enough to make out a few distinct features. The eyes glowed a blood red, and Rarity wondered why she hadn`t noticed those before. The coat had to be grey, or that was just the shadows of the dark room she stood in. The horn seemed to be red at the tip and fade down to grey as it reached the face. The main thing that threw her eyes into horror were the fact a purple mist waved from the eyelids back. "No... It can`t be... We- We-" "Killed me. Yes." the dark stallion sighed and walked into the lighter area, where Rarity stood frozen, confirming her horrors. "you see, not everypony thinks i`m a monster, a TYRANT" he snickered again. "A nice unicorn mare, she helped- bring me back" now smiling, he levitated something to him. Rarity saw that it had to be a crystal of some sort, just in the shape and color of her own element, a purple diamond. "What, do y-you want?!" She attempted to back up, but noticed she up against a wall within a second. "Well, you CAN make the conclusion, right? I`m in need of a small favor." The stallion walked closer to her and, with an iron clad hoof, held his crystal near rarity. "You see... Im a little low on power, and in order to complete my goal, I just need to, em... Borrow some." And with that, he stuck the replicated gem of Raritys amulet on her necklace. It began to glow faintly. "Eek! Stop!" Rarity yelped at the feeling of her magic being drained away from her. As the gem began to glow even further, her own amulet started to fade, color and all. "Heh, your magic is all mine now..." the stallion grinned, baring fangs. Once the last of Rarity`s element had become a dull grey, he took the now bright glowing gem and placed it in a pocket in his cloak. "You-you w-won`t get away with, with this... S-sombra" Rarity croaked, and with all her magic gone, fainted of exhaustion. //alternate equestria\ Stargleam prod up to a small cherry tree in blossom. She inspected it, but noticed it had no strange markings, and was- overall, completely real. Small blossoms began to fall to the ground. The mare stopped abruptly. "How in the hay is there a freaking-" She stopped as she noticed a rather large building in front of her. "Live tree..." "Wow... Is this-... A castle?!" Stargleam wandered past the tree, now realizing that it was planted. In front of the unicorn, A large white castle gleamed with gold trim. It had Egyptian etchings and small statues of ponies dressed in what looked like dresses and masks. Stargleam walked along one of the marble walls- which, oddly enough, had no dirt or scratches- "yet"she giggled. Some of the areas along the wall had simple pictures of Egyptian symbols, most reading out to say "sunshine and moonlight" or "welcome to light". "Meh... Ooh!" She had caught sight of one unusual picture. It was detailed- unlike the others, and shown two alicorns oddly similar to Luna and Celestia, wearing more Egyptian type-clothes. Celestia was bringing up the sun, and wore a Fearows head-dress with a striped dress. Luna had curly hair and a ponytail, along with a necklace bearing a picture of a crescent moon. Connected to the necklace was a fleece, see through cloak-like attire, based on the outline of Luna`s body underneath the clothing. "What in Equestria- how are YOU guys freaking EGYPTIAN princesses too?!" Stargleam yelled aloud, and then thought for a second, noting that she HAD come across Sombra earlier... She decided to continue on until she could get some further evidence. Meanwhile, Twilight was currently chewing out Rainbow dash. "Great- JUST GREAT!!!" she face-hoofed herself in annoyance. "w-what?!" Rainbow asked and in return got: "What!? What! Somepony must have somehow obtained the alicorn amulet and used it!" "Um, so?" "That means theres anothertrixie` so to say!" while Twilight was getting so many wrong ideas in her head, Rainbow dash took this time to sneak away from Twilight, who then levitated the pegasus to her. The unicorn was breathing calmer now. "Um, twi?" Rainbow squeaked. "Okay... Okay... you said you saw the mirror shard, correct?" Twilight asked, breathing a little too deeply. "Um, yeah." "definitely?" "definitely." "We need to get a hold of that shard, and in doing so we can catch the crook who stole the amulet." "So, You need me to fly up and look for her, right!?" "Yep! Looks like you`ll get to have your action after all" Twilight released the magic on Rainbow dash. Rainbow then flew up into the sky to start her scout, and in the distance could see a white-gold castle. "Hey, Twi! think our crook would want to steal from a rich castle?" "...why?" "`Cause... I found one!" //our equestria\ Apple Jack wandered through town as the sun finally began to sleep beyond the mountains. It was still a little busy, though mainly because the merchants were either taking down their stall or setting up a new one for tomorrow. The orange pony had not given up her search yet, but fatigue and hunger were beginning to take her over. She could handle staying up late all right, that didn`t bother her. It was the aching of her fore and hind legs that screamed to rest from a never-ending gallop. "Rarity!!! where are you!" Apple jack cried. No answer. Most of the ponies had gone in by now. A light rain even set in, most likely let in to water the plants while everypony else slept. She felt so alone, so lost. What would she tell Twilight? What in Celestia was she going to do now, even? She could go to a tavern or inn and sleep, she could try one last round... But she just sat there. She didnt feel like she had enough energy to find the nearest inn, normally there wouldnt be one near the outdoor marketplace. The rain was cold and flattened any poof in Apple jack`s mane. Her normally bright emerald eyes carried a mix of a sad blue. She dropped her already soggy damp hat onto the cold crystal ground. She was officially out of hope, had replaced all of that with either despair or a feeling of loss, like something had been stolen. By now there was nopony out at all. "A little late to be out and alone, eh?" A stallions voice echoed in the orange mare`s head suddenly. "What the-" She started. "looking for that prissy mare, I suppose. Im afraid shes a bit to frail to move right now." "How `r you- who are you!" Apple jack yelled at herself. A mint-blue mare caught sight of the raging earth pony. "Easy now, farm-animal. I just need a favor... I cant stay in a truly solid form if im in THIS horrid place-" "Horrid?!" "Yes... now stop yelling-Please!" "..." "Good, now. Look down to your left, see that small alleyway?" "Yeah... bum, I aint goin down there!" "Just- do it. now, there`s something in there I need you to get" "...I guess..." Apple jack walked over to the alleyway, and sneakingly, so did the emerald haired mare. "Now what?" "Go in and... Over to the farthest wall, ahead of you, the right corner" The oddly familiar voice ordered. "Hey! don`t get pushy now!" Apple jack growled as she trotted over to the wall. She had a simple suspicion of a trap. She paused. Emptiness filled "Nope, no trap" she noted to herself. "Good, Good. I needed you to get somewhere dark... I found what I needed". "Wait, what-" Apple jack stopped short as she was almost pounced on by a shadowy figure. "Ack!" it hit the wall but quickly, shot up and bared its sharp fangs, of which stood to the sides of its mouth. It had menacing eyes, that were a glowing white, no iris or pupil. Just white. A white mist flowed to sides of the eyes. Overall the pony was completely shadow, yet the forehead had a small purple oval on it, like a tiny gem. It`s, or his hooves due to the mussel had flowing black fur on the backs, the hind legs pretty much surrounded by this shadowy hair. The shadow pony jumped at AJ, but she was prepared. She back kicked the beast, somehow damaging it. Damaging what seemed to be pure shadow. She noticed the voice in her head was gone, like it just vanished, the being of it gone without a trace. The figure side-stepped towards Aj, and she swiped her right hind-leg at him. She missed and the shadow took it`s silver fangs and bit into her air-swept leg. "OW!" AJ cried as she bucked the vampire-like thing in the face, with her left hind-leg, ultimately allowing gravity to sweep in and throw her flank on the floor. Now in a more defenseless position, the beast attacked her by pouncing on her and levitating a gem, without a horn though, to her. Aj struggled, a useless effort at freedom. "Thiissss iss your END" the figure snaked a voice out. "Eh..."AJ was completely frozen as the gem, shaped like her own element, came towards her. Now that she thought, it was her element. Necklace and all. But with that was an orange topaz crystal replica of her apple of honesty. "...?" Was all Apple jack had, until the necklace was levitated and clicked on her neck. "Ssssay goodnighttt" the gem was placed right beside apple jacks necklaces main attraction, and with a small glow, began to sap the magic out of her element. Apple winced, she could feel some power, being swept up and vacuumed out of her. Her truth. Her truth of being, of reason was leaving her and that was destroying her color, crippling her consciousness. "...how..." Apple jack whispered as she finally drifted away into a deep sleep, her muscles relaxed. During this time her vibrant orange body had dulled and her freckles were gone. Her hair lost the mustard yellow that had before sat brightly and cheerfully. She also lost the ponytail, her hair strewn across her face and neck. Her cutie mark was- gone. The spying emerald mare sat in awe. Scared she would be caught, she backed up and stayed down, crouching. Finally, the stallion smiling as if he had won a war over kingdoms, vanished in a shadowy swirl. The mare got up and rushed over to the the unconsciousness Apple jack. "How did it..." The mare mumbled, then noticed Apple`s leg was bleeding. "Oh Celestia. um..." The mare grabbed a nearby cart with her teeth, and with a flap of her wings sped up to stop near the sleeping pony. She then picked up the, oddly very heavy load, and half dropped half put her in the cart. "I should get her to Celestia..." the mare then strapped the cart to her and ran off, using her larger than normal wings to propel herself faster. Author's Note Will get back to pinkie pie and sombra next! Ive been held up a deal lately, with doctors and dentists and a bruised eye. But Ill keep posting chapters when I can. Please give me ideas, as I write whatever currently comes to me when making this story, and tell me how it is so far! what you like to see happen and stuff and maybe ill put it in here. (I know it may not be THAT good of a story, but its my first try anyways!)
why, or how? What fits?CHAPTER 5 WHY, OR HOW? WHAT FITS? // Alternate Equestria \ Pinkie pie rubbed a hoof along a design of a pony princess, etched in marble. "Ooh! this one looks like Princess Celestia!" She exclaimed. "That`s because it is" the annoyed grey unicorn mumbled. "ohhhhhhh... I get it! this is the good version of ms.prissy pants Celestia!" was what he was replied with. "..." Fluttershy just glanced at the drawings every once and a while, scared that something scary would be drawn there, though that was HIGHLY unlikely due to the fact every picture was either sun or moon related. Suddenly she caught sight of one picture, which bore a pony whom set in her fears: "Um, S-Sombra, take a look at this one..." "What?" he growled as he backed up from his standing position, stopping to stare in awe at the etching. It shone Celestia, the other worldly one, his love, sighing as the currently main picture part presented Sombra himself floating, being turned into the evil he was now. It didn`t show him saving the princesses though. "Looks like your popular `round here huh?!" Pinkie smiled, clearly oblivious to the purpose of the picture. "Yeah, not how I would have hoped..." Sombra sighed and began to continue his walk towards the kingdom`s courtyard. Maybe he could ditch the two ponies there... Maybe. On the other side of the castle, Stargleam would put her sketchbook to it`s limits, drawing almost every symbol on the walls. She figured that if she made her way to the castle`s front door, wherever the heck THAT was, then she could get some actual answers, like maybe why the heck Sunbutt was practically painted on the walls. "Hello!" she called out, just to see if anything lingered near. Nothing, though she could feel a prickle of concern, something seemed to be watching her... The unicorn slid her feet into a defensive pose, ready for attack... Nothing, but she kept her stance... Still nothing. Just as she was about to shrug it off, a bush in front of her rustled. "Show thou self!!!" She yelled, in her awkwardly defensive voice. It wasn`t her fault she unintentionally spoke like that at times. A small figure came to the edge of the bush, almost visible. Stargleam could make out what looked like a small reptilian creature. "Grah?" that confirmed it, as the creature placed a hoof, er paw out of the brush. It had red fur. "Not a dog, though" Stargleam noted. A small head popped out of the brush, it was also furry and red, except the frontal face was a lighter shade of it. It had large crystal blue eyes, and even ears like a dog`s. But it also had horns, tan spikes, two of them- one each behind both ears. "rah?" It smiled, revealing two tiny fangs from its dog-ish snout. its nose wrinkled as it opened its mouth, two little slits like a ponys nose would be. "..oh, um..." Stargleam stood normally again, a look of confusion on her face. what in Celestia was this thing? As the creature fully stepped out into view, Stargleam got a full evaluation of its body. Still that red color, the back feet were even more dog like than the front, as the fronts seemed to have unretractable claws, and slightly longer feet. Though these were practically all dog, claw and all. The creature had two small wings which were open. They were feathery like a pegasus, and the inside part, which was facing stargleam, were a lighter red. Small light red stripes lined the body. Then came the tail. Mostly like a griffons, it had red and light red striped fur, and the end left it in a tuft of the former colors fur, which swayed in the small breeze. Snapping out of her daze, Stargleam quickly took out her book and sketched the creature from memory, unknowing of it`s current actions. Once she finished, about only ten seconds after starting, really, she nodded and put it back into her satchel. Just as she lifted her head up to check if the thing was still there, she got a surprise " Grah!". At her right hoof, the creature sat down and looked up at her. It`s tail swayed back and forth, happily. "Um..." Stargleam was having trouble thinking, I mean, The creature was so adorable! "Rah!" It began purring and rubbed it`s head against her leg. "...ugh..." She was still having trouble reacting to the last action. Finally processing everything, she bent down to the little happy ball of fur. "H-hello there! eh, what`s your name little fella?" She closed her eyes in a kind posture. "Draise!" the little creature happily yapped back, much to Stargleam`s surprise. "D-did you just talk?!" She returned the excitement. "Yeah! why?" Draise smiled, though confused. "I didn`t know you speak the same language as me, cool!" "Oh, ugh yeah... right. um, what exactly are you?" " mrr,A draken! A branch along the species of dragon!mrr, why?" "Oh, ugh nothing really..."Stargleam stood up, "Are you, lost?" "mrr! No, of course not! i`m... mrr, hiding" Draise whimpered. "Really now, from what?" Stargleam said, a look of worry beginning to spread from her muzzle. "Who,mrr, that is. A pony...mrr" "Why?" "She is, mrr, scary" "In what way?" "mean scary. she, mrr, is mean!" "... oh, im, sorry about that..." Stargleam sighed, saddened. But it didnt last long as a scream broke the silence: "WHERE ARE YOU! YOU CAN`T HIDE FROM ME, YOU LITTLE RUNT OF A DRAGON!!!" "Mrr!!! help me!" The baby draken cried, crawling under the middle of underneath Stargleam. "She sounds really awful..." The unicorn whispered, half to Draise, half to herself. Overhearing her, Draise replied with, "yeah! mrr, she really is!" The unicorn had an idea, and two options, either leave the furry dragon to suffer, or not... Not. "Hold on!" She yelled as she grabbed Draise by the collar of her furry neck and threw her onto her back as she began to gallop away from there, in the direction she had originally been heading in. The small draken clung to her furry back. "mrr, your furrier than most ponies, mrr!" "Thanks?" She replied, turning a corner into what seemed to be a garden of some sort. Statues lined the small curbs along the perimeter of the garden. She turned and quickly hid behind one of the larger statues. "Were, mrr, safe in here!" Draise yapped, crawling and then jumping off of the unicorn "ugh, how exactly?" Stargleam asked, confused. "She is, mrr, an outlaw" "A what now!?" Stargleam deadpanned. "Yes, mrr, she is charged for animal cruelty" "oh... that explains a lot". "So, mrr, why are you so furry? and your taller than the ponies i`ve seen, mrr!" "Heh, well you see, im not exactly your regular pony, Im a shyre breed of horses, stronger, more stamina and have more fur! were also taller than most ponies, but not by much." Stargleam explained. "Where did you, mrr, come from?" Draise jumped onto the lap of the now sitting pony. "Well, i don`t really know, in truth." "So, mrr, why is that?" "Well, let me tell you the whole thing..." Stargleam trailed off into a most likely unbelievable story. Meanwhile, the trio of ponies came closer and closer to their destination. "Why are you traveling with me if i`m not even looking for your stupid mirror?" Sombra growled at the pink pony. "Because, silly, were looking for a mirror shard. I think i`ll find it if I travel with you, right Fluttershy?" Pinkie pie nudged her friend. "Um, I don`t know..." She whispered. "See? even she agrees! Im just surprised you dont remember this item!" "..." Sombra sighed, and stared at the sandy dirt path at his hooves. On one hoof, these ponies were company, and he sensed a power from them. On the other hoof, cotton candy there was as annoying as the evil Celestia and Luna had been, COMBINED. "No, more than that" he thought, then let out a small, soft chuckle. He could feel what seemed to be knot start to unwind. Although, whatever "knot" had loosened tightened up once more as the pink pony shouted, "Oh look! a garden. I`m famished, maybe the bucking doors are around her somewhere!" She began to trot off, tail flicking this way and that. Sombra blinked, taking in that cotton candy had just cursed. She hadn`t done that earlier, for sure. As they began to close in on the flowery patch of the shady garden, Sombra noticed a blue pony, Not a guard, though. They were strict with orders and always wore armor... "... Probably undercover or something..." Sombra muttered as he glanced around him. "But they always have a guard nearby". It was too late to turn around though when Pinkie pie screamed a "Hello!!!" to the mare. She jumped back a little, and put some animal on her shoulders, but gave off no TRUE hostility. "Um- Hi there... Pinkie, correct?" The mare asked, glancing at her dog thing. "Yeah!!! Oh, I don`t think we met though... Wait, yeah- whenyouorderedthatcakeandthenthesevinesstartedgrowingoutofthegroundandsomedarkthingcameoutofyourhornandthen you forced me to never tell any pony about that!" Pinkie tightly hugged the blue unicorn, who seemed to start sweating. "Yeah...Heh, heh, hehhhh", The mare`s laugh faded when she saw Sombra. "S-Sombra?!" She gaped. He quickly took to backing up. Fluttershy stepped up, "Maybe we should, um, get going?" Draise whimpered, "Her! It`s, mrr, her!" "Wait, your dog can talk?" Sombra seemed confused. "Their called Drakens, and yes, he can talk" Stargleam paused, then looked at Draise, "What? Fluttershy? She`s one of the nicest ponies alive". The yellow pegasus took notice of him. "A-Another dragon?! May I pet him? Oh dear Celestia he`s cute!" Fluttershy had already snatched the small furry animal and was hugging and petting him. "Help! mrr, Me!!!" Draise cried. Sombra face-hoofed. "Oh, am I hurting you? So, sorry... Here"- she lightened the hug- "Better?" "mrr..." Draise stopped complaining. "Eh..." Stargleam levitated Draise out of Fluttershy`s reach and placed him on her own back. "We- We REALLY need to get going." She sympathetically smiled, while weighing the possible chance they knew she had their mirror. If the element of Loyalty tried to get it, then wouldn`t the others too? I mean, being in an alternate world together? What if these were secretly copies of the mane six? What if they were counterparts, like Sombra? Shrugging of that thought- Stargleam began to head towards small set of double doors she managed to spot. "Oh Celestia! I can`t believe it!" The pink one-Pinkie pie gasped. Quickly shielding her saddle bag, she stammered, "w-what?!" "Your going to the same place as US!" She rushed to Sombra and the pale yellow pegasus. Stargleam couldn`t remember her name- just that she must have represented kindness. Or shyness. The unicorn began to make her way through the doors and into a hallway. "Just hang out here until they leave"she whispered, "They`ll leave you behind soon". Her panicky expression quickly switched to a smiling one as the three entered. Sombra faltered, mumbling something below her hearing capacity. "This way!" Pinkie Pie was bounding off down the hallway, jumping continuously. Sombra backed up- Stargleam could guess why; He was a villain, entering his enemy`s CASTLE without even being prepared. But why, then, did he suddenly grin- quite widely- before setting back off down the hallway?! She shook off the creepy vibe of that smile, and walked on. But she had seen it before... Somewhere. Back when she was still NEW Equestria, one day he- he smiled like that. but why? She could have swore she remembered it being when she was injured- which would make sense of the fuzzy memory being so... Blank. She decided to follow them, surely Pinkie Pie had ALREADY forgotten about her by the looks of it. Why not tag along? Get a few sketches of the kingdom, and make sure Sombra didn`t get killed. As they continued making their way along the corridor, Fluttershy was thinking to herself quietly, "He seems creepy..." She mumbled. Her conscious barked back, "No, he`s not!". "But he`s scary...". "SO? Your just as BAD as him". "W-what?! no... I`m not bad...". "Yeah, you are. Look at you- your allowing him to freely walk through Celestia`s castle. He might try to blow her to smithereens!". Fluttershy glanced at Sombra worriedly. "But he`s the good sombra... Right?". Her mind made a sound like a snigger, "NO, hes not. Hes evil- and you KNOW IT". Fluttershy whimpered, "Your right...". "Exactly. and your letting him walk freely- because guess what?". "W-what?". "Your.Too.SHY". Fluttershy suppressed another whimper. These conversations had been going on in her head ever since they had found HIM. She sighed, "He`s why your here, right? When we found him... You... You rude little TERRIBLE thing got into my mind!" She screamed into her head, silently. "...Right. He did this too you- your just gonna let him get away with it, aren`t you?!". "...Well, I don`t like you, but-". "AREN`t YOU?!". "...No", was all Fluttershy said. "Good. but I bet you wont DO anything, will you? Your still too SHY. A little petty 'no' cant-", "NO! You little petty- petty THING!!! Stop! I swear if you dont stop ill-". "...". The voice ceased, then said, "Well. DO something then". Fluttershy grumbled, feeling different. Why? When she looked at Sombra it was longer- she could feel her hate for him- taste it! He put this wretched voice in her head! She glared at him, and when he looked at her, she continued, harder- he gave a confused look and held his ears forward, slightly coming out of his mane, as if listening to her hatred itself scream and yell. Then he simply sighed and went to ignoring her. She felt horrible when he turned away, horrible that she couldn`t show him her anger. She suddenly realized she wasn`t breathing, and by taking a deep breath, calmed down. "What was that?" she questioned herself, sighing as she held her head low again. What did she do just then? "THAT, my friend, was YOU. This worlds you. It cant live without you. It can`t live with the other you". The voice. Fluttershy ignored the comment as best she could, instead changing the subject, "Do you have a name?" "A name?! um, you just call me-" "Hey, Flutters! Come on! your trailing behind!" Pinkie waved. "Oh? Sorry, Pinkie pie". Stargleam had noticed the change in the pegasus` stature. The way she seemed to focus all hate into Sombra, and how she had been cringing as she mumbled to herself earlier... "What the hay...?" She wore a confused look as they continued on through the castle, the unicorn keeping a keen eye on everything, just in case. Author's Note So... I know this chapter was really only from two perspectives, and I didnt really much go through any true adaption- besides Fluttershy- but im getting there! Im just BUILDING this up...  Any ideas or suggestions or grammar? please comment, I feel alone on this  I promise to get to the others mainly on the next chapter- but ill probs do this group in the chapter after so. Am I doing good for a first timer? I`m not sure
A piece left behindCHAPTER 1 // ~A PIECE LEFT BEHIND~ \ //our Equestria\ Celestia pushed open her door and walked over to Philomena. "oh, what am I going to do?" Celestia wondered aloud. Philomena brushed her head up against Celestia`s cheek. She smiled in recognition but it soon faded into a somber frown. "why?". "Why did this have to happen?". Celestia went over to her indoor tree. It was small, but it held great importance. In a branch hung a tag, which one could mistake for gold at first glance. On it was the one word, "always". Celestia felt a tear form, and her vision became slightly cloudier. "Sombra..." she thought to herself, first, then whispered, again "Sombra...". On another branch near the tag was a piece of glass. A mirror. It hung by a golden string the color of the tag. Celestia allowed the tears collecting in her eyes to fall. Until she heard a knock at the door. "come in" Celestia straightened up and brushed the tears away with her magic. A purple alicorn walked in, slightly smiling, a sympathetic gesture. "Celestia are you alright?" the princess asked. " Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Do not worry about me, please" Celestia smiled and looked out her window, at nothing, looking past the beautiful waterfall and lush mountain. And past the draconicus that whirled happily in the sky, clearly annoying a group of Pegasus. "Celestia." Twilight Sparkle interrupted. "oh sorry, im just still a little shaken up, thats all" Celestia looked down at her purple carpet. "Okay, I won`t ask again, just be careful, alright?". "Alright" Celestia calmly whispered. When Twilight left Celestia fell at her bedside and wept, until she fell asleep. It was not a restful night, and her dreams were filled with horror as to what may be happening to Sombra right now. //mirrored Equestria\ Sombra rushed through a bush, and stumbled over a tree root. He was running. Again. Ever since he absorbed both Celestias and Lunas evil magic he had been chased. By discord, and Chrysalis, and even Trixie. He did not know why and that scared him into running even more. Currently, guards were in pursuit, his own guards, and no matter how much he ordered them to halt they persisted. Sombra jumped over a log and almost passed out from fatigue. How long had he been running now? Two hours? He panted. The forest he was in was mucky, overgrown, and dark. So dark that it made it hard to see, never mind the fact it was the middle of night. The guards were ganging on him, and he fought every motive to turn around and face them. He had fought every temptation, every pull, every suggestion of harming anypony. It was hard, so hard in fact that Sombra had slowed his running and even begun to start his magic until he flashed back from thinking. Suddenly, he felt a hard push from his side. He struggled to stay up, and realized the guards were trying to get him to fall. He figured from their training that if that happened, they would circle him. There were five guards in all. Two Pegasus, two unicorns and a regular pony. They all wore silver armor with gold trimming. Sombra dodged to left of a tree, and attempted to move aside a giant tree root, then a guard hit him again. Sombra was already tired, he just wanted to rest, and now these freaks were trying to make it harder on him. Every glance at them and his power began to emanate from him, pulling and screaming to Sombra to let it free, to destroy everything. A guard, a unicorn, used the blunt end of his spear and ran it into Sombra. "Akk!" Sombra growled. Just as he regained balance he Suddenly felt a hard force hit him and he fell. He fell down and toppled on dirt which curved and at a point he rolled into a thorn bush. Luckily when he fell out of that he hit flat dirt, and felt no neddles in his coat or flank, just cuts that slightly bled. The ponies circled him, not close to him but on the ring of a circle. Sombra had fell into a small crater-shaped hole in the ground. "great" he mumbled. "Surrender!" a pony, whom he recognized to be a great friend of his, Klinkle, called out. "no..." Sombra thought. "they dont understand, they just dont get it!". Sombra got up and limped over to a tree for cover in case his unicorn guard, who he figured was Lance, decided to attack. He watched as they discussed a position to go to, as he heard Klinkle say in a tense tone "if you walk... then i can stay here..." they murmured, but he could still hear them a bit. Once they decided on a position, they seperated around the circle. Sombra watched them closely. If he could just find a way out. Apparently the two Pegasus made a slow but constant fly around the circle, in opposing directions, and close to the ground. The remaining three stood in their places for a short second, tense and as if something would attack. A smart choice, but only to an actually hostile enemy, not their own king. "no. I`m wrong, their former king" sombra sighed. Soon, one of the unicorns made a circle around the crater and stopped at the pony that was in front of him, to his left before he had started. Sombra began to make out a pattern. Each time the pony would complete a circle, they would stop at the next pony, and then They would continue it. Sombra looked around for a quick exit. He saw that where the first pony, the unicorn, originally was, it was empty, because he had taken Klinkles place and then he had taken Lances. Sombra crept up to the edge of the small trees that were patched together in the crater. There was an opening, but if he left this soon and the guards got curiose they might look. Sombra took off his royal purple coat and threw it onto a tree branch, low to ground, it looked sorta like a hiding pony. Then sombra made his escape. // our equestria \ Star Gleam looked through some of Starswirl`s books. She would use her magic, pull out two at a time, and open to the back of the book. Then she would put them back and pull out two more. She had done this for well over an hour, but she kept patient. If she found what she needed to find, then all would be well. Well, besides the possible explosion or natural disaster from a backfire or mess up. Finally she pulled out a book with the cover of a sun and moon, and in the back she found the word "enim". "Great, perfect" she put the book on the small circular table beside her. Star Swirl could be, well, odd. And she knew for this, she would need the perfect odd words that Star Swirl would use. " An effective way of security" she thought. Every pony would think it was some complicated sentence like "thy port thus douse" or something like that. When instead Star Swirl actually had used the spell words " ponies love paint" as a security code to one of his books, which had given her the first word, "ekupaccs". Stargleam closed her eyes and focused on the blank wall she was facing. She then started to eminate magic from her horn in a wave of blue towards the wall. She began to chant "ekupaccs rea enim". She then "unscrambled" the words and said "cupcakes are mine". A weird sentence, yeah. But as soon as she finished saying "mine" the wall had turned blue and somehow a mist made it swirl, just like a portal. Just like the book described. She lifted her field journal and pencil with her magic, and adjusted her bag that hung around her flank. Then she walked in. // mirrored Equestria \ Stargleam stepped out of the blue haze onto a cracked mossy stone. She was NOT where she had intended to be. She had imagined a kingdom similar to her own home, the crystal empire. Instead, she was in a small temple like porch that was shaped like an octagon. It had vines and cracks in the stone everywhere. She could clearly see outside the small roman-like pillars which were actually very small. And all she saw was dry, dead grass, a cliff that led to a beach, and oh, more importantly a grey pony near the cliff who looked beat-up. It was asleep, or more of, he. Stargleam slowly and quietly walked up to the unicorn. She gasped. It was, him. Her friend. It was Sombra. Yes and no, though as Sombra had a kingdom in her world and did not wear blue, at all. And Sombra never looked this beat up before. She knew this because the only time he did get this hurt was when that pest Spike banished him with the crystal heart. And he was actually really suprised. She had to take care of him for a whole month before he was even able to use magic to pick up a glass again. And that was really frustrating. Sombra was apparently not going to wake up anytime soon, and even though this was a different version of her great friend, she decided to camp out here. Stargleam trotted up the treeline and gather dry pine branches that had fallen. She then magically laid them down beside Sombra, and lit the pile of sticks by changing some the oxygen molecules around the top of the pile. Then she laid down on the opposing end of the fire from Sombra, and sketched out the cliff and beach. Being dark, her drawing was a little gloomy, like a horror books version of a haunted house. But when she finished that she drew the horn that curved on Sombras head, his eye smoke, all normal stuff. But the crown, it just... was different. Stargleam had researched crowns in her 3rd grade history class because of Celestia and Lunas crowns. They each represented something different based on their color and size and even shape. This one was a light blue, or well more light then the regular medium blue. And it had a gold coin in the middle. "Kinda like a replacement to Sombra`s ruby" Stargleam observed. She had researched that a light color most likely meant that the owner represented light, at least well known ones. And blue definitely made it look as if he was good, well minus the smoke and horn, of course. As morning began to splinter the night, Stargleam got up and put out the fire, then she left for the woods. "I`ll have plenty to sketch, Stargleam gleamed at her book. She then smiled towards the direction of Sombra. A small bag was waiting for him. A "get well" present, so to speak. // our equestria \ The mane six walked into Celestia`s throne room. Cadence had accompanied them. "We came as quickly as we could, we brought the elements of harmony" Twilight Sparkle said as she slowly stopped in front of Celestia. "Thank you, but that will not be necessary, this isn`t a matter of evil, just of loss" Celestia sighed. "What`s the matter princess?" Apple Jack asked. " My tree, you know the one with the mirror piece" Celestia somberly responded. "Oh! the pretty one with the gold tag!" Rarity`s eyes sparkled. "Yes, well you see, the piece is..."Celestia looked down at her hooves, unable to finish, the thought of Sombra stuck in her head. "the piece is, what?" Rainbow Dash pressured. Twilight gave her a glare. "what?". "No, it is alright, the piece is, gone" Celestia looked up at them, her eyes glossy. "Gone where?" Pinkie pie giggled. "To manehatten, to the other half of our woooorrrrlllld?". "Actually i dont know, really, but it is very important to me and I wish you to find it if thats not to hard to ask, if so that is fine" Celestia stood up straight in front of her throne, which was trimmed with gold and had a golden symbol of the sun on the top. "Of course not!" Twilight said. "actually we`ll start right now". "Please do" Celestia smiled slightly, a bit happier and more hopeful. "Pinkie pie and Fluttershy check Star Swirls library. Rainbow and me will check in Ponyville and around Canterlot. And lastly Aj and Rarity go to the Crystal empire and see if somehow the merchants maybe found it and took it there for part of construction" Twilight ended her orders and headed for the door. "Wow. Fluttershy! you and me are gonna have SO much fun!" Pinkie Pie hugged the frail yellow Pegasus. "Um..." Fluttershy slightly whimpered. "Diamonds!" Rarity gasped. Apple Jack snorted as they left the throne. Pinkie pie practically dragged Fluttershy out of the room. "Oh, Twilight are you sure about me and Pinkie? I would gladly go with you" Fluttershy squealed slightly under her breath when Pinkie Pie brought out her mini balloon whistle. It was just a normal whistle, really. "Of course i`m sure! You two will do just fine down there!" and with that they left for the library.
