Sombasi, brother of Sombra

Celestia’s beloved star began to rise above The Crystal Empire its rays enlightening every street to every crystalline structure while scaring off any of the darkness that still lingered from Luna’s night. One of the rays of the sun beamed through a window that was place not too far from Sombra’s bed kissing his face thus causing him to awake with a bit of an annoyed grunt. Suddenly, Sombra was overtaken by a sudden urge of excitement before he kicked off his covers and shot out of bed. Today was going to be a big day for him and his brother however upon looking at his sleeping brother who’s bed was positioned just opposite of Sombra’s a mischievous smile began to form on Sombra’s face as he slowly crept to the right side of Sombasi’s bed, Sombasi’s face was exposed from a lack of bed covering. Sombra’s horn began to glow.

“So dear brother...”, Sombra chuckles before he continues, a smirk still present. “...yesterday you woke me up by means of blowing a horn if I’m not mistaken?.”, Sombra says sarcastically with a hoof to his chin. Sombra moves even closer and now stands before Sombasi’s face which was perched just at the edge of Sombasi’s bed. Sombra temporarily moves his gaze over to a nearby wooden closet which was positioned not too far from the entrance to the room, using his magic he opens the doors to said closet revealing a bucket full of water. Sombra planned this, he filled the bucket last night before he and his brother fell asleep. The bucket of water begins to float over to the brothers as Sombra positions it perfectly over sombasi’s head. “And now dear brother...”, Sombra chuckles as he leans in closer to his still asleep brother and whispers: “Vengeance is mine.”, Sombra backs away as the aura that had once surrounded his horn dissipates this in turn causes the aura that held the bucket to do the same. Seconds after, a loud [SPLASH] engulfs the room.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaggghh!”, a now drenched Sombasi yells as he panics, his chest noticeably inhaling and exhaling rapidly. “W-what was that!?”, Sombasi then sees his brother who was on the floor laughing while pointing his right hoof at Sombasi. “YOU!”, Sombasi screamed pointing his left hoof at his brother. “You fiend of a brother!, what was that for?.”, this catches Sombra by surprise as his laughter begins to calm down before he gets back onto all fours.

“Really dear brother?, did you forget what you did to me yesterday morning?.”, Sombra replies as he points his right hoof to the very same blow horn that happened to be sitting on the very same closet Sombra retrieved the bucket of water from.

“But, but that was-”, Sombasi stopped himself as realization came to him, Sombasi hated to admit it but his brother did have justification even though Sombasi did hope Sombra wouldn’t seek retribution. Sombasi sighs in defeat before he chuckles a bit with a smile. “...ok brother, I guess I deserved that.” The two brothers begin to laugh amongst themselves. Sombasi then turns back to his bed which was now absolutely wet from Sombra’s prank. “You could’ve at least sparred my bed though.”, Suddenly the pair could hear a clopping of hooves nearing the outside of their bedroom door which soons opens after.

“Boys it’s time for-”, Starfire Raindrop paused as she glanced over to a still drenched Sombasi and a somewhat still laughing Sombra but the moment she saw Sombasi’s bed and its current condition there was a flinch in her left eye. “-I just washed those sheets.-”, she said internally before chuckling as she looks back to her two sons. “Do I even want to know?.”, she says as the trio begin to laugh together.

After the incident in the bedroom Sombra and Sombasi now sit at a large table in the dining room accompanied by the other orphans within the orphanage. there was an assortment of silverware which sat nicely on a folded napkin before them along with a single plate, one for every pony with some extras stacked in the middle of the table. The doors to the room begin to open revealing The Raindrop Couple along with the other caretakers who had trays of food with some while others had trays of various juices and water. The children begin to clap their hooves together while some also begin to lick their lips in anticipation. The adults place the food and drinks onto the tables carefully these ranged from freshly made bread to salads, pancakes, eggs along with four bottles of maple syrup. The sound of clanking silverware and satisfied moans could be heard throughout the dining room as the colts eat to their hearts content and the adults watch with prideful smiles. Sombra and Sombasi were the first to finish their plates as the two leave their seats along with their dishes and begin to walk towards the exit of the dining room making their way to the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen they are greeted by Starburst Raindrop who stopped washing some dishes momentarily and turns to his sons.

“Good morning boys, enjoyed your breakfast?.”, starburst asks with a smile.

“Satisfactory as always father.”, Sombra says with closed eyes and a smile.

“Now I know how Princess Celestia felt when she ate all that cake During Sombra’s birthday party here at The Orphanage.”, Sombasi says as he starts to laugh a little. This also got Starburst and Sombra to laugh before Starburst regains himself before replying.

“Good to hear sons now be sure to be ready to leave soon, your mother will be taking you both to The Crystal Castle. I know you’re both very excited about it.”, Starburst winks at them before turning back to the dishes in the sink and continues washing them. Sombra and Sombasi nod before they run to the washrooms and prepare to leave for the castle.

Sombra, Sombasi, and their mother figure Starfire Raindrop are now making their way towards the castle while also greeting various ponies along the way. Upon reaching a large gate covered in beautiful decorative crystals which no doubt acted as an entrance into the front courtyard of the castle. They are spotted by two stationed guardsponies. One guard was a crystal pegasus stallion while the other was a crystal earthpony mare.

“Halt, state your business.”, the pegasus guard asks as Starfire replies while Sombra and Sombasi understood the situation and remained silent to allow their mother to take care of the proceedings.

“Good morning everypony, my name is Starfire Raindrop.”, Starfire then moves aside to introduce her sons. “These are my sons Sombra and Sombasi, her majesty has allowed us to see her today.”, the guards ears perk up instantly upon hearing the trios names.

“Aww lady starfire, The Queen has informed us of you and your sons arrival. Please forgive us and step forward.”, the pegasus guard motions for his earthpony partner to open the gate. “You’ll find her majesty through the castle doors at the end of the courtyard.”

“No worries at all, I understand your duties completely.”, Starfire, Sombra and Sombasi all smile as they begin to proceed through however the earthpony guard who had opened the gate stuck out her left hoof to get Starfire’s attention before removing her helmet. Starfire gasps in surprise as the guard is revealed to be one of the ponies she and her husband had brought up in their orphanage back in Canterlot: Harley Sentry. Harley has an orange mane with a blue body while her tail matched the color of her mane and her pupils were a light blue color in her eyes. Harley moved to The Crystal Empire after Princess Celestia decided to station her and a few other guardsponies from Canterlot here after the events of The Planemeld. Harley was very happy though, it allowed her to see her mother and father figures more often as they had moved to The Crystal Empire’s orphanage some time before Harley became stationed there.

“It’s good to see you again, mom.”, Harley says as she bows to her mother figure with a blush on her face. The two wanted to run into each other with a hug but they understood that Harley has her duties as a guard to focus on. Starfire nods happily before responding.

“It’s good to see you too, my beautiful baby girl.”, Starfire winks and smiles. This surprises both Sombra and Sombasi as they now know they have a sibling sister among the guards. They might not be related by blood but the bond was indeed there, they nod to her before following their mother.

“Awww, that’s just precious. Looks like there’s a chink in that armor of yours huh Sentry?.”, the pegasus guard teases as Harley narrows her eyes at him in annoyance.

“Oh be quiet and get back to formation.”, she retorted although a blush began to form on her face again.

“As you command.”, the pegasus guard kneels his head and brings it back up before he continues while holding his right hoof up to form a quotation while smirking. “My beautiful baby girl.”

Starfire, Sombra and Sombasi are now nearing the doors to enter the castle however they couldn’t help but to admire the beautiful scenery. Beautiful crystal like tiles formed most of the paths not to mention the one they were trotting on along with the formation of spires reaching into the air which were connected to the path . Well kept green grass covered the landscape and a number of groomed bushes some of which had roses and flowers in bloom dotted the area. Just before the entrance stood a statue of a stallion. The trio thought it was an earthpony at first however they couldn’t help but notice how large this stallion was. Typically when a pony is honored by a statue, or any being for that matter, the craftsponies always make a life sized model of the individual and upon closer inspection they all gasped in realization. This was not an earthpony, it was a horse, Olstrom Shattershield. Sombra, Sombasi and Starfire began to read the text that was at the base of the statue.

“In loving memory of, Olstrom Shattershield.
Beloved husband and father.
One of the last pureblooded horses.
Hero of The Planemeld.”

Olstrom was said to have a black mane with a dark red furred body, his tail matched the color of his mane as his pupils were also black in his eyes. Horses were often two to four times the size of a pony, the only type of pony who could rival them in size and stature were alicorns. Horses had no magic but their bodies were much thicker than a ponies almost as if they had natural armor although not entirely impenetrable. Horses could run at speeds that could leave modern earthponies to shame thanks to their larger statures and strong legs. As for their strength pureblooded horses did posses something that was unique to them, something that not even ponies had possessed and would often mistake for magic: Physical Amplification. A horse can amplify his or her own strength by double which they used to protect themselves, their thick hides also increase in durability as well making them walking juggernauts when in combat however the drawback is that their stamina is sapped as the fight goes on so many horses use this technique to hopefully settle fights quickly.

“Woah...Olstrom was huge!”, Sombasi yells, his eyes were wide open in shock. Sombra analyzes the statue before speaking his findings.

“By my calculations brother I’d say he’d have a slight height advantage even over Princess Celestia in fact Celestia’s ears, when perked up, would reach his upper jaw if the two were to stand side by side. Not including her wings and horn of course.”, Starfire nodded before she answered the two colts.

“You’re absolutely right Sombra.”, Starfire’s words caught the attention of the two brothers. “He was indeed quite the presence to behold, a true horse through and through. When I first met him I was intimidated by his size alone before I realized how much of a gentle giant he was.”, Starfire giggles before she continues. “Valerica was a princess at the time but boy did she have the worlds biggest crush on this horse although I couldn’t blame her.”, Starfire winked at them before she continued. “He’d turn every mares gaze whenever he walked through The Crystal Empire or even Canterlot when his herd, at the time, would come to visit every so often although they’d sometimes get glares from ponies but at least no fighting broke out.”, Starfire then began to take on a sad expression. “At least...until things didn’t go well during a certain visit to Canterlot, a very important visit might I add”, this made Sombra speak up in response.

“What do you mean mother?.”

“Well, Olstrom and his herd came to Canterlot a long time ago for a peace meeting. They were to meet with Princess Valerica alongside Princess Celestia and Princess Luna within the Canterlot Marketplace.”, Starfire looked away from the brothers and glanced at both the statue and the castle before returning her gaze to her sons. “You see sons, Olstrom and Valerica were already meeting in secret by this time and this would be the day they could reveal themselves.”, Starfire took a deep breath before she continued, her saddened expression still present. “Everything was going soo well but then... An assassination attempt was made. Let’s just say not everypony was happy about this meeting because of petty things like race discrimination which drove a rift between ponies and horses but Olstrom’s herd was willing to put those aside and seek peaceful endeavors.”, Sombra and Sombasi let out a gasp of surprise before Starfire continued. “The target was the lead bull of Olstrom’s herd. His name was Leonidus Shattershield, Olstrom’s father.”, Leonidus looked exactly like Olstrom, no doubt where Olstrom gets his looks from, but with one major difference Leonidus had a white mane and tail unlike Olstrom's black. the two brothers now had their gaze locked onto their mother ears perked up as they contently listened to her story. “What happened next was a disaster.”, Starfire sighs before she recalls the events of that day.

**Flashback: Canterlot market place, 1 year before The Planemeld Event**

A hooded stallion earthpony with a dagger held in his right hoof tried to stab Leonidus in an attempt to kill him. Leonidus Shattershield’s thick hide was able to repel the dagger that the hooded earth pony held in their hoof, the assailant should’ve researched their target a bit further, in a panic the assassin used a smoke bomb before disappearing into the smoke. Although he was unharmed Leonidus was infuriated as he shouts:

“Is this how ponies show peace?!”, Leonidus shouts as he turns to a trio of Princesses, Luna, Celestia and Valerica all holding a shocked expression. Celestia tries to defuse the situation.

“Lord Leonidus, we are as shocked as thou are.”, Celestia’s heartbeat began to race, she knew this wasn’t going to end well and had to think quickly. She tries to regain her composer. “That such a foul deed was ever attempted on your life disgu-”, before she could finish Leonidus slammed his right front leg into the earth causing everything within the area to shake, merchant shops and various booths were in disarray as shop owners tried to save their wares even ponies were beginning to topple over who happened to be near Leonidus at the point of impact. Leonidus also left a small crater where his hoof had impacted. Celestia was terrified, Luna read the situation like a book and was ready to defend her sister, Valerica could only stare on in horror letting out a quiet:

“No, no no no no...”, Valerica and Olstrom wanted to use this day to reveal their love to every pony and horse in attendance. This simply would not come to pass.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses you traitorous devils!.”, Leonidus roars and begins to walk towards Celestia but as he steps the earth around him begins to shake and every hoof he steps with leaves a small crater behind where they once stood. “I agreed to this meeting because I thought my son was right, he spoke words of wisdom.”, Leonidus points his right hoof to Olstrom who, much like his secret lover Valerica, was stunned with shock. “He convinced me that peace with you ponies would be a great benefactor for our diminishing race but I see now that I was right!”, Leonidus began to slowly build up from a trot to an almost full sprint aimed directly at Celestia, the other horses behind him could be heard doing neighs of war. They were ready to follow their leader into battle, Luna jumps in front of her sister to protect her.

“Thou shall not harm our sister, wretched bahemoth!”, Luna said in her Canterlot voice but just before Leonidus could make impact another large figure forced itself between them, Olstrom Shattershield. The two behemoths clashed into each other and if one were to look closely a force of wind would be present just as they made contact with eachother. This force pushed both horses back, Leonidus and Olstrom leaving small craters between them as their hooves were planted into the earth while they were both forced back.

“What are you doing son?!, you’d better have a damn good explanation for this. Why stand against your own father!?”, Leonidus yelled as he neighed in frustration.

“Because this was a misunderstanding, a mistake father!”, Olstrom yells in reply.

“Oh you’re right about that son!”, Leonidus replies as he takes a step forward. Said step making yet another small crater. “It was a mistake to have listened to you!, why would you ever expect-”, suddenly, Leonidus came to a shocking realization and formed a shocked expression before he bared his teeth in anguish once again and a very angered face took form. “Why were you soo adamant about making peace with ponies anyway?, come to think of it you are the only horse in the herd who tried to arrange this.”, Leonidus now stood before Olstrom. “You’re aligned with them aren’t you?!”, Olstrom looked back to the princesses more specifically Valerica. He shot her a gaze that only they understood before Olstrom looked back to his enraged father.

“My loyalty is always with you father, never question that.”, Olstrom says looking his father into the eye. “But I also will fight for what’s right as you yourself have taught me, I stand before you to defend not only The Royal Sisters and every pony here who you wouldn’t spare your wrath to.”, Olstrom looks back to Valerica before returning to his father. “But to also protect the most important mare in my life.”, Valerica, who was now holding a blush on her face, walks to Olstrom’s side before speaking.

“Lord Leonidus, I love your son with all of my heart. He is the stallion who I want to be with, the stallion whos foal I want to bare and make you a grandfather.”, Valerica leans her body against Olstrom her head resting against Olstrom’s upper portion of his front left leg but just beneath the base of olstrom’s left shoulder given the height difference between a horse and a pony on average. “And, if you’re willing sir, I’d like for a chance to call you father as well when I take your sons hoof in marriage.”, these words shocked every being in attendance horse, pony and a certain two alicorns alike. Olstrom looks down to his lover with a smile and she looks up to him all the same before they both look to Leonidus. Leonidus’s eyes were shut but he still had an angered expression on his face, Celestia came up besides the young couple happy to know that peace could still be an option.

“Look to these two beautiful souls Leonidus, they are living proof that horses and ponies can come together as-”, yet another hoof slammed into the ground causing yet another tremor thus cutting Celestia off from her statement as anger built up inside of Leonidus, the stallion horse boldly and bluntly looked towards Celestia with a deep and hateful:

”No.”, this caused Celestia and Valerica’s ears to drop to their sides, Valerica nearly shed a tear as her proposition was shot down by her lovers father. Olstrom stepped forward bracing himself for he knew what was coming. “I do not except any of this!”, Leonidus reared up neighing angrily.

“Then I challenge you father!”, Olstrom said as he grit his teeth with narrowed eyes and points his right hoof to his father before invoking an ancient horse phrase. “In accordance to our kinds traditions and with our ancestors as our witness along with these horses present here.”, Olstrom says as he points to the horses behind Leonidus with his right hoof as he confidently stands before his father. “I invoke, Mequus Kombat!”

(To be continued in Chapter 6 - Mequus Kombat)