Sombra's Bat

Cozy Glow is an adorable bundle of cuteness, and it soon becomes apparent that she has not aged physically or mentally whilst being trapped. This brings some problems, as it means Sombra and I have to look after her, and neither of us have any experience of being parents. We might as well have adopted a foal from the orphanage. Chrysalis has plenty of advice, but not a lot of patience. After two days of her mad antics, we encourage Cozy to sit down, stop running and flying everywhere and talk to me.

"Cozy, how old were you when you were sent to Tartarus?" I ask, settling into a sofa. We're in the reception room where Sombra and I spend most of our time together.

"Eleven."

"And you haven't aged since then? You haven't grown any bigger at all?"

"Nope. I'm actually one thousand and twenty five in a few months' time, but according to the laws of magic, I'm still eleven."

"Right. Eleven," I say slowly. She's the same age as me - in fact, she's a few months older - but her appearance and mental age probably hasn't changed much from that of an eleven-year-old. "That means you haven't finished your education."

Her eyes grow wide and her mouth forms an O. "No. You are not sending me to school. Gee, Moonlight, Sombra might be the only family I have now, but if you're going to be like some wicked stepmother from a fairy tale, take me back to Tartarus. I'm not going to school."

"Cozy Glow..."

"Don't you dare Cozy Glow me. This is completely uncharted territory for you, and you're about to step across the point of no return. Sorry, but I'm not going to school."

"Yes, you are, Cozy," Sombra scolds her. "You are going to school, and in return, I am going to teach you how to use dark magic in case we end up in a situation where we can't protect you from Celestia."

"Dark magic? I thought only unicorns and bat ponies could use magic!"

"Nope. Anypony can use dark magic, which is why old Sunbutt hates it so much."

"Maybe I won't go back to Tartarus, then. Dark magic would let me settle the score with Sunbutt, at least. I must admit, it would be real funny to just walk into the throne room at Canterlot Castle and say Here we are, Sunbutt, have a taste of our magic! And then we could just blast her all the way to the sun, give her a taste of what she did to you and Luna, Moonlight. The only reason I am going to school is because I'd love to be taught how to use magic."

I sigh. She might be a smart cookie, but she's no different to any other filly: excitable, zany, out of control. I watch her leave the room, zipping along with those tiny wings. When I know she's out of earshot, I ask Sombra, "What is it with her?"

"Foals are foals. They are always going to be trouble. I didn't expect her to be like this, but we have to remember that she has been in Tartarus for a long time."

"Sombra?"

"Yes?"

"Stupid question, but if two Umbrum decide to have a family, are their children Umbrum as well?"

"Yes."

"Are they just as crazy as the average foals?"

"Even more so. They can use dark magic from birth, just like unicorns and bat ponies. Also, if they are born with wings, you might as well have a dark-magic-using alicorn foal. The only difference is that they don't have earth magic."

I look at him with confusion. "Earth magic?"

"I have a hypothesis about how magic really works. There are three types of light magic, one for each of the main pony races. Unicorn magic allows unicorns to cast spells; pegasus magic allows pegasi to fly, walk on clouds and control the weather; and earth magic allows earth ponies certain abilities, such as helping plants and animals. I think there are other abilities for earth ponies too. If I remember correctly, one of the Element Bearers can predict certain events a few seconds before they happen, which I believe is because of magic that is sent through the ground, like echolocation. However, where things get really interesting is when we talk about the so-called sub-species that Celestia hates: bat ponies and crystal ponies.

"Crystal ponies not only channel magic through the ground: they reflect and magnify it, whether the magic is light or dark. That applies to the pegasi and unicorns among us too, like myself, Cozy Glow, Radiant Hope and," he pauses, "Princess Amoré. Bat ponies, however, are the one species of pony I haven't been able to figure out as of yet. You share most of your traits with regular pegasi: you can fly, you can walk on clouds, things like that, but you can cast spells too. I can't work that one out."

I hesitate. Why are bat ponies able to use magic in the same way as unicorns? I can only use dark magic now, but before I decided to become one of the Umbrum, I was able to use both. When I first used it, I had no issues with it either, whereas most unicorns are unable to do so. I think hard, but don't really come up with a conclusion. "Perhaps we're thinking about this from the wrong perspective. I've always found that light and dark are closer than you think."

"You don't know, do you," he sighs, grinning madly from ear to ear.

"No, but what I do know is that there's black and white, with every shade of grey and every colour in between. Before we met each other, we were at opposite ends of the spectrum. You were surrounded by dark shadows and unable to be happy, and I didn't want to stay in the bright light because it burned me and restricted what I could do. Then we met each other, became closer, and made this wonderful tapestry, this colour that doesn't fit the colour scheme we were given. We're awkward, you and I. There might be certain rules about how magic is and isn't supposed to work, but I think we're both secretly proud of breaking the rules."

"For Sunbutt's sake, stop trying to impress me with poetry, you know I don't like it and that I will never take you seriously," he laughs.

"Hey, every so often you say something like that to me. This is me returning the favour. You can tell me to stop any time."

"No."

"You mean no, you're not going to stop me?"

"No, I mean - wait, what do I mean?!" He facehoofs. I take a step closer to him, but hesitate when I hear the door creak open. That pest of a filly has returned. Sombra and I both give her the death glare.

"Meh. Doing your dragon face doesn't scare me. Moonlight, it must be a compulsive habit for you to pull that face, because you deadpan whenever I'm around. Carry on doing your slushy romantic stuff. It's gross, but also kinda funny too. Gee, who'd have guessed that it would be you of all mares that Sombra chose in the end?"

"Cozy. Get. Out."

"Moonlight. I'm. Not. Listening." She squeals when I grab her with my magic and tickle her, though. "Ohmygosh, stop! Nononononohahahaha! Geroff haha! You - ha - batty - haha!"

I eventually let her go. "Cozy, let me tell you something. Sombra is the King, and I am his fiancee. Though I am not the Queen yet, I am the second most powerful pony in the Crystal Empire. Sombra is the first, and Chrysalis is the third. You, however, are a regular pony, and live under our rules. That means you take orders from Sombra, Chrysalis and me, or you go in the dungeon. Understand?"

"Gee, you're strict. But yes, I understand. I have to do whatever you say, when you say and without asking questions. Otherwise I end up being thrown in the dungeon, which is probably not that bad, but I don't want to know for real."

"Good. Now run along like a good little filly, and allow the two of us to enjoy ourselves."

She does as she is told, and even closes the door behind her. Finally we are left in peace, and I can enjoy annoying Sombra by ruffling his mane before he stops me by giving me a boop on the nose and a kiss on the lips. Us two will never take each other seriously or be the perfect pair, but that's part of why we're together, regardless of what that mad filly says. Cozy might not have been part of the plan, but I can live with her antics for a while, and really she's just trying to establish her place in the pecking order. I notice her trying to creep into the room again and give her a knowing smile. "Nah ah ah, Cozy."

"Sorry," she winces, backing out of the room quickly. It suddenly dawns on me that she is probably overwhelmed by the new set of circumstances, and also quite lonely. When the Nightmare and I were first sent to the moon together, I refused to talk to her for ages, even though she kept trying to talk to me. It took me a while to realise that she was probably as afraid of me and the new environment as I was, and that her sister cutting her off from the rest of Equis had had a profound effect on her. I was also scared stiff when I returned from the moon and Luna and I went our separate ways. I realise how stupid I was by attempting to scare Cozy into behaving. Dark magic really does mess with you sometimes, but at least I recognised it this time.

"You haven't had a family in a while, have you?" I inquire, stopping her in her tracks. "Even before you met Sombra."

"You're right, but I shouldn't keep sneaking in here. Sombra probably remembers when I used to do this, and try to sneak into his room to talk to him at night. Old habits die hard, even after a thousand years."

I pick her up with my magic. She struggles to break free, but I console her rather than telling her off. "Shh, it's fine, I won't hurt you. Sorry about that." I place her on the sofa between us. "There's no need to keep running off. I don't know what you think of this, but really you're family now. We might as well have adopted a filly from the orphanage. We're a really mismatched dysfunctional family, a proper patchwork quilt, but the extra knitted squares you've given us are going to make it bigger and better than before."

"We will look after you, and I will ensure Moonlight is nice to you as long as you follow our four rules," Sombra continues. "No secrets."

"No spies."

"No pain."

"And no lies," I finish, wrapping a foreleg around both of them.

"Sounds simple enough. Guess we really are a family. And the only rule other than your little rhyming thing is that I have to go to school if I want magic lessons?"

"I believe so, but that's more of an agreement between us than a rule."

"Gee, I've got a family. When in Tartarus did that happen?" She smiles awkwardly. "I guess it happened when I left Tartarus. Heh."

"Sunbutt's going to be pulling her mane out over our little family of darkness," I say to her. "Now, I bet you're starving. Let's have a decent meal tonight, with crystal berry pie for dessert. That ought to teach you that I'm really a big softie. It's Auntie Chryssie you've got to watch out for."

She squeaks with happiness. It might take a while to get used to her, but she's not that bad. I was much worse than she is at her age. Not that I'm going to admit it to her any time soon, the sneaky little devil.