The transition from the Icy North to the Sweltering Jungles took a toll on Ornate. Her fur had just begun to get thicker for the colder weather when they had gotten their new orders from Celestia to explore the jungles. She wished they had gotten some time off so she could readjust to the temperature changes. It was too late now.
Sombra walked in front of her, leading the way as he used his magic to clear a path. He had used the spell to lead them to the imbalance, but it just kept leading them forward deeper into the jungle.
Ornate began to pant. The heat was unbearable. She looked at Sombra and wondered how he could keep so cool when his coat and mane where black. Continuing to trudge onwards, she did her best to keep her mind off the heat.
After several hours of walking, Sombra stopped and helped Ornate sit down in a shady area to keep cool. He waited for her to catch her breath, keeping his guard up for anything that might attack them. After a while, Ornate stood up to begin walking again.
Suddenly, the ground gave out from under them, sending them cascading down a tunnel leading down. Ornate tried to stop herself, but the dirt walls slid past her hoofs. Tumbling deeper down the slide, Ornate was shocked when she finally stopped. Sombra bumped into her a little as he also came to a stop.
Even though the tunnel was leading almost straight down, they were surprised to see the sun again. They looked around to see they were right outside of a city of some sort. The thick walls around the city were made of baked clay and were as strong as stone. The wooden doors where gigantic and looked heavy.
Ornate stood up and brushed herself off. Before she could survey her surroundings again, she found they were surrounded by strange ponies wearing dark brown wooden masks while wielding spears. Armed to the teeth, they examined their prey. They snarled at the sight of Sombra and kept him at spear point.
But they acted different towards Ornate. They muttered words in a different language that Ornate did not understand. They sounded as though they were in shock. Ornate began to shake. Who were these ponies and what would they do to them?
That’s when all the ponies began to part away letting another pony grace their way towards her. She noticed that the ponies did not let up with Sombra and kept him surrounded by their spears. Ornate then turned her attention to the pony striding towards her. As soon as she laid eyes on him, her eyes went wide.
The pony walking towards her was another zebra. He was about her same height with deep red eyes that searched her over. His dark black stripes fought against his red coat. His grey mane was sleek and shimmered in the sun. He wore a band with three feathers on it; one green, one blue, and one red. He also wore a grey tunic, with a belt. The belt, however, was the thing that caught Ornate’s eye the most. The belt buckle was a cat’s eye charm; one almost identical to the one Snow Plain wore. She knew that was the source of the imbalance.
The zebra’s expressionless face stared her down. Her face flushed as he peered at her face ever closer. Another pony ran up and stood beside the zebra. He, too, was a zebra. His dark blue stripes were quite charming against his light grey coat and his light blue mane looked soft. He was out of breath, obviously from trying to catch up to the darker zebra. He stood up straight and cleared his throat.
“Your Majesty,” he started, “What do we have here?”
He glanced at Ornate and glimpsed at her features. When he looked away, his eyes widen and he performed a double take. His jaw dropped in astonishment and he quickly walked around her.
“This can’t be!” he muttered to himself. He was quick to the dark zebra’s side and whispered in his ear. The more he whispered, the more the dark zebra’s expression became distinct; he was shocked.
The light zebra walked up to Ornate and slightly bowed. Ornate was confused. What was going on?
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you sooner, Princess Ornatia” he apologized.
Ornate’s eyes opened wide. She backed up a little.
“I’m not Princess Ornatia,” she stammered. “My name is Ornate.”
The light zebra shook his head.
“No, I recognize Queen Lylia’s features. You are her daughter all right.”
Lylia: That was Ornate’s mother’s name. She knew nothing about her mother other than her name. Was it possible that she was the same Lylia?
The light zebra looked at her confused expression and knew it was his cue to fill her in with the details.
“Queen Lylia was a faithful leader,” he began, “but she was adventurous. She didn’t like to stay in one place for too long. A stallion paid us a visit and stole the heart of Queen Lylia. She became heavy with child. She always said she would name her daughter Ornatia. And one day, she ran away with the stallion, never to return.”
Ornate was receiving a lot of information. Was this really her mother? She was confused. Her knees became weak and she fell to the ground. The light zebra was quick on his feet and helped her up. He escorted her into the city with the others following.
All of the buildings where made of the same dry clay the walls were made of. Everywhere she looked she saw other zebras of all sorts of colors and sizes. The shock of the news left her in a state where she could not process everything. The light zebra and dark zebra took her to a castle at the middle of the city, but the guards to Sombra to the darkest building they had.
Everything started to become comprehensible to Ornate as she was lying on a plush bed with silk sheets. She was immediately lead into the castle and brought to her own room. It was all still a haze. Was it her mother? She couldn’t know for sure. She wondered if Sombra….
She quickly sat up. She didn’t see Sombra enter the castle. Where did they take him? Her heart beat wildly as she stood up and ran out of her room. She didn’t get far. She was stopped by guards who stood on either side of her bedroom door.
Startled, she jumped back and looked at the guards. They wore dark face paint and their blank stares penetrated her soul. The light zebra ran out of a nearby room and approached them.
“What seems to be the trouble, m’lady?” he asked nervously.
“My friend,” Ornate began, “the unicorn… Where is he?”
His face went pale. The dark zebra approached them and glared at the light zebra. He looked at Ornate with a devilish look. He bowed slightly and closed his eyes.
“I am Shadow Ire,” he introduced himself. “This is my servant, Rare Aura.”
Shivers ran up Ornate’s spine as Shadow Ire spoke. His dark, husky tones where somber and sleek.
“Your friend,” Aura interrupted, “is in another room. For now, just go and lie down. You were very pale when we brought you here.”
Ornate couldn’t tell if they were telling the truth or not. She snorted and dug her hoof into the ground a couple of times.
“Take me to him,” she ordered.
Aura and Shadow’s eyes went wide. Shadow glared at her. She froze. His eyes began to swirl red and sent Ornate into a hypnotic state. Her eyes became dull as she walked back into her room.
Shadow turned to the guards and growled an order. The guards tensed up and slightly nodded. Shadow was pleased. He then turned his attention to Aura, who froze in fear.
“Make sure she never leaves her room,” he said in a hushed voice. “If I am to be king, I will have to marry into the royal line.”
Aura nodded a little, and watched Shadow walk away.
***
Sombra woke up to the floor of a prison. His groggy state started to wear off and the pain of being hit on the head was taking its place. He couldn’t remember much after finding out Ornate was a descendant of royalty from this messed up place.
Slowly rising to his hoofs, he inspected his prison. It was made of the same material the rest of the place was made of. The door was steel with steel bars covering the only window in the wall. It was night time. But where was Ornate.
Sombra looked up at his horn. He didn’t use magic too often, but it was certainly handy. Summoning up enough magic, his horn began to glow black and he teleported himself outside the city. He was thankful that the zebras didn’t take away his magic.
He found himself half a mile away from the city. It was a safe enough distance that they wouldn’t find him too soon. He noticed a big castle in the middle of the city. That must be where they took her.
“But how to get in…?” he mumbled to himself.
“That is the whole challenge,” a voice from behind threatened.
Sombra looked back to see a large yellow pegasus with purple tipped wings and a black mane and tail. His red eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He wore a purple crown with a ruby in the middle along with a purple pendant and hoof covers. He sneered at Sombra.
“Might as well go home,” he chimed. “Those zebras are very protective about their belongings.”
Sombra growled and dug his hoof into the ground. The yellow pegasus raised an eyebrow at him, taunting him with the smirk of pure delight. Sombra charged towards him, only to have him knocked backwards by an invisible force. Stumbling, Sombra tried to figure out what had happened.
The yellow pegasus walked over to him. His red eyes began to swirl and they locked eye contact.
“Ornate is no longer your concern,” he began. “Just leave and tell the others she is no more.”
Sombra started to sway a little with a blank stare, but quickly shook it off.
“I’m not leaving without her,” he persisted.
The yellow pegasus was in shock. No one could break his hypnosis. He growled.
“You can try to break in and get her,” he started, “But your efforts will be in vain.”
Sombra’s horn glowed again and his appearance changed. He looked more like a zebra. His gray stripes over his new green coat were sleek. His horn disappeared, but it was merely invisible. He teleported into the shadows of a dark corner of the castle, quickly trotting to Ornate’s room. Walking into her room, he noticed her lying on the bed with a blank stare. He quickly ran over to her and hugged her. She remained limp and lifeless.
“Ornate,” he said, choking back tears, “It’s me, Sombra.”
There was still no life to her.
Sombra had no choice. Holding her close to him, he teleported to the Canterlot castle in front of the throne. Celestia was sitting on her throne working on paperwork. The teleportation had startled her and looked at them. Sombra turned to his normal state with tears streaming down his face.
Celestia was quick to his side and examined Ornate. Her eyes were wide with fright.
“Whoever casted this spell,” she whispered, “Is very powerful.”
Sombra looked at Celestia.
“Please,” he cried. “Help her. There has to be something we can do.”
Celestia looked doubtfully at Sombra. This was only the second time she had seen him cry, and it made her heart ache. Who could have done this?
As Celestia lead Sombra to the hospital wing, they didn’t notice a dark purple pegasus with demon wings and fluorescent green hair flee from one of the windows into the night.
