Northen Stars

Emptiness and darkness.

That was the only thing she could see, the only thing she could aspire to. The sensation of cold and dampness that slipped under her coat was not the only one she felt, but it was the one that was much more present.

And all that was, until from one moment to the next the light was made again.

At first it had only been a small point, something that was almost not present. Then it became a lighter spot as Twilight slowly opened her eyes. And the surprise was great when she did it.

First of all she realized that the darkness hadn't really gone away, it had only lightened up a bit. But at least it was enough for her to see the silhouette of her hooves. Secondly... How the hell was she surrounded by water but she could still breathe perfectly?

Twilight glanced quickly, which allowed her to notice the slight sheen that covered the fur of her body widely. She thought it was most likely that. All she was sure of was that this was an obvious spell, but it wasn't one she knew. Although she wouldn't stay to find out either.

She tried to charge her horn with magic while waking up her limbs. But once again, she ran into the same problem as before. The aura around her horn faded as soon as it appeared. On the other hoof, her legs and body felt heavier than normal, which prevented her from climbing up in search of the true light from the surface.

"No, no, please"

Twilight tried her best not to start hyperventilating in panic. But in a way she was not succeeding, her heartbeat corroborated it. At this she closed her eyes again while leaving a hoof on her chest, then she began to breathe very deeply. She didn't know how long that spell lasted, but right now she couldn't check it.

It was at that moment that a murmur began to reach her ears.

Twilight shrank in place and turned her head in every direction possible, in an attempt to see something even though her sight could not reach more than several feet around her. But the murmurs increased, so it didn't take long for her to know what caused it.

"Who's there?" She wasn't surprised when the sound of her voice bounced through the water, surmising that the enchantment also allowed her to communicate.

Again it was only answered with murmurs, but at the same time these were not quite the same. It was rather as if a light mermare melody pierced the darkness of the lake's waters. The difference was that this didn't seem to be all that disturbing.

"Don't worry, we don't want to hurt you."

Twilight was surprised this time when that voice echoed inside her head. Her brow furrowed after hearing that words.

"If that wasn't your intention, I don't understand why you took me so forcibly," she replied in her mind, somehow knowing that they could hear her.

"Our apologies," the voice murmured. "But we had to..."

"Talking to you alone...", whispered a second.

"And it could only be you...", finished a third, almost slurring the words.

Twilight couldn't have been more confused at that moment. She had no idea what kind of creatures required her presence now, she didn't even know if it was all a simple trap. With everything they had been through, trust in the unknown was the last thing she felt at that moment.

"I have no reason to want to talk to you," she replied, still turning her head in any direction, in an attempt to catch sight of something.

"It may be...", replied one of the voices.

"We know you don't have to trust us, but we do know that you're interested in what we have to say."

"No, it doesn't," replied Twilight.

"Are you sure?" asked the softest voice of all, before the powerful glow of a white light illuminated the darkness of the waters.

Twilight immediately closed her eyes while letting out a groan in surprise. And when she opened them again, her gaze grew larger than she expected, again, from surprise.

Three creatures with a tall, aquatic form recognizable to her slid in front of her, prudently distanced. They appeared to be a different version of the sea ponies she had met, but they retained noticeable features such as the completely blue fins and scales on their skin. Twilight could see its slight glow even in the dark.

"Are you sea ponies?" she questioned before the logic of what she saw, but that same logic indicated something different.

"We are something similar," the voice of one of them continued to speak in her mind, specifically that of the one who was in the middle and closest to her. "But our home is not really the sea."

"Why do you keep talking like this?" Twilight wanted to know as she looked over each one.

The three ponies in front of her looked at each other again. It seemed to Twilight that they were deliberating something among themselves, as if considering the options. Then they ended up making a gesture of shaking their heads, at the same time.

"We're not really with you," he finally explained. "Because of that we can only require an enchantment."

"But that doesn't matter now," exclaimed the pony to her left, the one with the softest voice.

"But what we have to show you."

With that said, a new point of light took over her vision until it completely covered her. Twilight let out another complaint about this by the fact that her eyesight was being strained on another occasion. But the dazzling glow didn't last long and when it finally faded, she opened her eyes once more.

"What-

The confusion present in the tone of her voice was quickly replaced by the silent cry she uttered after focusing her gaze.

"Spike!!"

Before her was the blurry image of the little dragon crouching, as she watched him from her position as if she were in front of a distorted screen. Twilight could see him curled up in a ball somewhere dark and still, too still for her liking. She lifted a hoof as if she wanted to reach for him, as if she could actually reach him.

"Spike..."

"He's fine... for now," said the voice of one of them again. "Weakened by the place where he is, but alive at the end of the day."

"Why are you showing me this?" asked Twilight reluctantly and looked away from the vision. "What are you looking for from me?"

A few seconds of silence settled for a few moments in the place. However, the vision in front of her slowly faded to be replaced again, by the stillness of the dark waters. The three "sea ponies" that had been there also disappeared.

"We show you this as a warning. We had to if you plan to face those creatures," murmured the pony's voice once more, this time with a harsher and more contemptuous tone. "And then some, too."

"We can help you, tell you what you want to know... But it can't be here," explained the soft-spoken pony. "Our spell won't last long."

Because of that last one Twilight gave a quick blink and moved her ears in the direction of the sound of her voice, she couldn't help but pay more attention to that last fact as she processed the previous words of the pony. Twilight thought that even if they had been cooperative with somepony completely unknown up to that point, far from it there was nothing that could indicate otherwise.

But was it really their intention to want to help her? Or was it all a dirty strategy to attract her?

She internalized their voices once again, but in their nuances she could not detect anything that indicated bad intentions that had seeped into the environment. In the end she could only sigh, with a vague desire inside her that those words were true.

"How can I find you?" she asked after her tone took on a more determined nuance in her newly made decision. It didn't take long for the answer to her question to arrive.

"If you want to talk to one of us directly, you just have to follow the stream upstream," he explained as his voice slowly faded, blending into the fluidity of the lake's waters. "Eventually you will come across a deep cave, from which this same lake is born. You just have to go there..."

"And how will I know you're going to be there?" Twilight asked quickly, before they disappeared once and for all.

"You'll know, you'll notice our signal."

"We'll be waiting for you," the soft voice whispered. "In the meantime, I think somepony needs you right now."

And as if someone were quickly and suddenly removing a containment plug, the water around her began to stir once more.

Twilight watched it in amazement for a second until her vision was covered once more. But she could hear that melody one last time, before the same force that had dragged her down now helped her to the surface.

***

Twilight coughed and coughed again after accidentally inhaling a mouthful of water when she finally emerged from that spot. With her vision blurred as she had her, she almost didn't realize that her body had been dragged to the shore.

She continued to cough as her hooves began to move, until she could see a shadow fall on her. Twilight pulled out a hoof and gratefully accepted the stallion's help. Only then did she realize that she still had half of her body in the water and that the true edge was farther away than she thought. With which she could deduce that it could only have been Sombra who had risked entering the water to get her out of there.

Twilight leaned against him, having no idea of the storm that threatened to break out inside him. She only noticed the shiver that suddenly ran through her.

"Sombra?"

He didn't respond at first and that was her first warning. Twilight frowned, but because of her condition she still couldn't look up to see him completely.

"What the hell..."

Oh shit, he was upset. He was very upset.

And she knew it.

"Sombra, I-"

"I TOLD YOU PERFECTLY WELL TO GET OUT OF THAT PLACE QUICKLY!!

Twilight immediately shuddered from the force of the scream, as she felt him abruptly pull away from her side. But for her that was not going to stay that way.

"Fuck! I never thought you'd get into so much trouble!"

It didn't matter anymore that the bit warmth she had recovered suddenly went away, no. Nor that what he had said, deep down, made her feel bad. At that moment she felt tired, too tired to bear the stallion's words.

"You know what, Sombra? I'M SORRY, OKAY!! Twilight finally exploded and let her emotions run wild, not caring about anything else. "But you can't imagine how it feels that something drain your strength and magic without warning and you just watch helplessly as it drags you into the depths! Without you being able to do anything to prevent it!"

Twilight closed her eyes and took a breath to channel everything she was feeling. Everything she hadn't been able to let go of before. Meanwhile, a few moments of silence were present around both of them.

"So before you scream and complain to me," she continued this time in a low tone. "Maybe you should start thinking about that first."

When she opened her eyes again, she only let out a tired growl at the sight of the unicorn's frown. He seemed to be about to say something, but Twilight quickly stopped him with a wave of her hoof and several words from her.

"I don't care what you're going to say," Twilight looked away and wrapped her hooves around her chest, hugging herself. "Just... leave me alone for a moment."

She remained silent, just sitting in that place. He just looked at her and wanted to turn around to leave her alone. But somehow, something, a strange feeling, prevented him from looking away.

"Good," he said before completing his intention.

"But first answer me something," Twilight looked up once more. "What did you feel after that?"

What had he felt? The truth was that he had no idea what it was that made something inside him tighten after seeing her disappear, as if a twinge of fear had pierced him. And honestly, it had.

"I can't answer that," he replied at the end. "Because even I don't know."

But he really didn't know?

Sombra moved away from her a bit when he saw her look away once more. Although he wasn't just doing it at her request, he also needed a moment to clear his own thoughts. Especially about what he felt about all that.

Eventually he ran a hoof across his forehead and let out a slight growl that was not aimed at anyone. The thoughts in his mind began to drift into directions he hadn't fully analyzed. Like the fact that it was actually impossible for her to have foreseen it in the first place.

But then why was he thinking too much about it? Maybe it was because despite everything, he had thought that she had enough time to be able to escape... Or had that really not been the case?

At first he had thought that. But then he took another look at Twilight, seeing her expression of sadness and tiredness, and an aura around her that felt completely down. And in the end it was that. It was that unexpected sight for him that was enough to make something strange begin to squeeze inside his chest.

That fact took him momentarily by surprise. Was that remorse?

Sombra gave a brief snort that did not do much to scare away that thought. But at last he let out a silent sigh, thinking more calmly now that the latter attitude had not been the best at a time she had not even expected. And somehow he knew he just couldn't leave it like that.

He took one last look at her before turning to look for something he already had in mind with his gaze, hoping he wouldn't regret what he was about to do.

Twilight didn't know how long she was like this, while her eyes were closed, but suddenly she began to hear the sound of footsteps a bit beyond where she was. She didn't pay much attention to it, she already knew that it was only Sombra busy with who knows what.

So she was sincerely surprised when something sudden completely covered her. A couple of quick blinks later she realized that it was just the large piece of cloth that made up her cloak. But that was not her interest, but who had given it to her.

Twilight looked up again to meet the stallion's.

"You asked me to leave you alone for a while," Sombra spoke, not changing the serious expression on his face. "I think that time has passed."

Twilight frowned again, still suspicious of his actions, but she didn't turn away. On the other hoof, Sombra did notice her cautious attitude, so because of this he ended up relaxing his countenance a bit more.

"I'm coming in peace this time," he clarified as he moved to stay by her side.

"Hmp," Twilight let out a sound that sounded like a nod and then covered herself more with the cloth.

Sombra just nodded and didn't say anything else, though he didn't really have much idea what to say. But in the end it wasn't necessary, as they only lasted a couple of minutes in silence until she decided to break it.

"Thank you for the cloak," she said in a whisper, while giving him a light look.

He just lowered his head in her direction and nodded slightly. After that they remained silent again for a while longer.

But now what? He was aware that perhaps he should apologize in some way, even though he had never in his long life needed it. Yet, looking at her now, deep down he regretted having exploded like this in front of her, when it hadn't even been her fault what had happened.

Perhaps he would have gone on like this, not knowing what to do or say at all, if it hadn't been for Twilight interrupting the stillness with new words. Or rather with the question that followed.

"Was it as if you suddenly saw someone fall off a cliff?"

"What?" Sombra turned and looked at her in confusion, somewhat surprised by her sudden question.

"When you saw me," Twilight clarified as she looked up to meet his. "Was that what you felt?"

He may not admit it, but thanks to her, something was beginning to become clear.

"Maybe," he replied after several seconds of thinking about it.

Twilight heard his answer, and smiled. It wasn't a very big smile, but it was the one needed to express that she was beginning to realize something, even if deep down she wasn't aware of it.

"What are you doing?" Sombra asked in a simple tone of curiosity when he saw how she left her hoof on his shoulder and leaned back on it.

"I'm sorry," Twilight said again, a bit distressed as she let out a sigh. "I didn't mean to worry you that way."

"Who says that...?" Sombra looked at her and couldn't continue. He only let out his own sigh as he looked away. "Fine."

Twilight looked at him this time, accepting what he couldn't say while cracking a small smile at it. In the end she ended up leaning a bit more on his shoulder. But she wasn't the only pony who had something to say.

Sombra looked back in her direction, and saw her calm face, much more peaceful than before. A face that he had not stopped seeing in recent weeks. Then he knew what he had to do, even if he was still a bit reticent.

"Me too..." he began again, even though it was really difficult for him to pronounce those words. However, he finally said it. "I'm also sorry, for yelling at you like that."

Twilight raised her head and blinked rapidly in his direction, a bit more than surprised by this last fact. And although it would eventually bring up something that she wouldn't be aware of, right now she couldn't help but smile, a smile a bit bigger than the previous one.

"Okay, I can understand that you were worried, and rightly so," she said after composing herself and separating to leave him a bit space. "Besides, I don't know why, but I have a feeling you didn't want to do it."

As he listened to her, he thought that perhaps it could have been like that. That in a way that had not really been his intention.

"Maybe not," he replied as he shrugged slightly and continued with the question that was still hovering between them. "But there's still other thing you have to say."

"Oh... Well, I guess so," Twilight looked away to direct her for a second to the lake; she was already aware that he must know. "I was wondering, since you know this place much better than I do..." she said as she looked at him again. "What would you say if I told you about the existence of water ponies, different from the usual ones that live beyond Equestria? Could you recognize them?"

So that's what it was all about. He had already had his obvious suspicions, but this had definitely just confirmed it. Now all that remained was to clarify it to her.

"I recognize them, it's true," he admitted to Twilight's not so much surprise, although he ended up saying something else that she didn't expect. "To put it in a way, they are like the guardians of this place."

That last information had surprised her. But even if she considered how bit she had dealt with them, she could see that there was a certain logic to it.

"The guardians..." Twilight whispered and looked down as she put a hoof on her chin. "I suppose that's why they want to talk to me."

"Do they want to?" Sombra asked with a frown as he realized the implications of that. "Didn't they just do it?"

"Yes, but... They said they were using a spell to communicate with me, that they weren't really there," Twilight explained while gesturing with her hooves. "They also said that if I wanted to talk to them I should just follow this same road up the river, until I came to a cave."

Sombra suddenly turned to her when he heard the latter. He didn't know why, but a kind of alarm went off in his head.

"Did they tell you what kind of cave?" He asked, and at this Twilight denied.

"Not really," she replied as she crossed her hooves. "I know you may not agree with this, but I'm still going to go."

"Do you plan to go in spite of what they did to you?"

"I'm not very enthusiastic about that either, but I know what I saw. They wanted to warn me, Sombra," Twilight retracted her thoughts for a second. "They showed me Spike... and he didn't look good at all."

She looked at him again and saw that he was about to refute the last thing she had said, so she started again faster than she expected.

"I'm aware that even so, it could have been just an illusion," she said with a slight sigh.

"It's good for you to realize that," Sombra replied after letting out a snort. "Anyway, I know what you're going to tell me."

Twilight covered her mouth with one of her hooves and let out a small laugh at it, not surprised that he imagined it.

"I'm glad you know," she said after she pushed her hoof aside while smiling to herself. "Because I'm going anyway."

Twilight finished her statement and began to stand up while wearing her cloak to finish drying the rest of her coat. In all that time she did not stop paying attention to the stallion.

On the other hoof, seeing the determination with which she acted once again, Sombra also stood up and gave a half-smile sideways, still being surprised by that little mare. In a way, he wondered what other surprises she had to show him during the time they were together.

Several hours had elapsed since they both decided to follow the aforementioned path, until they finally found the place they were looking for. Now they were both in front of the mouth of a deep cave through which the river, which at that moment had already narrowed, continued.

Twilight and Sombra looked at each other in a quick blink. And both had the impression that they thought the same thing. He stepped forward while letting out a sigh.

"Let's get this over with once and for all."

Twilight nodded even though he was no longer looking at her; rather, she did it for herself. She immediately followed him and stood beside him again, as they began their walk into the darkness. Darkness that after a few minutes began to light up in a soft glow of stars.

A glow that became familiar to Twilight.

"Oh, for Celestia," she whispered after remembering where she had seen it. "It's very similar to the glow I saw in that cave."

Smooth stone walls that shone in a dim luminosity of its own. That fact caused Sombra to deviate for a moment in his memories.

"If that's so..." he said as the point of light grew larger. "Then I seem to remember where I had heard of this place before."

And then they came to where the cavern opened into a much wider space than they could have imagined. Illuminated also with the light that seemed to emit from the underground river.

Twilight stepped forward a little and moved even closer to the bank of the river. Seeing the faint bluish flash of the waters reflecting off the roof of the place, she realized that the clarity they had seen before was not only the product of the rock itself. It also came from the river itself.

"Just like the other," Twilight whispered as she sat down on the edge of it.

"The last cave we visited?" Sombra asked as he approached her side, after hearing what she said.

One look from Twilight was enough to confirm it.

"It's as if both caves were connected in some way," she said and looked away to where the river continued its journey deep. "The magic I can feel here is very similar to the one I felt in that place."

If he considered everything he had remembered, Sombra highlighted in his mind the fact that, even if somepony had once pointed it out to him, magic always ended up converging in the same place. And since there were three other sites similar to that...

"That makes a lot of sense," he finished muttering only to himself.

"But something is different," Twilight continued, despite hearing him mutter. "Everything feels so peaceful here."

"Perhaps your tranquility is about to be interrupted."

Twilight immediately gave him a flat look, though she quickly knew what he meant. She confirmed it when she saw how the center of the calm stream began to bubble, as if something or someone was trying to come to the surface.

She got up and moved a bit closer to the shore, however she stayed away only as a precaution. When the bubbling finally stopped, she watched curiously as a blue-faced head peeked halfway out of the water. And Twilight wasn't the only pony who looked at her the same way.

Not quite sure what she should do, Twilight turned her gaze to Sombra once more, as if waiting for some indication from him. He just shrugged and looked past her.

"You should come closer, don't you think?" he replied after returning his gaze.

Twilight looked at him with an expression of "what if it could be a trap?" Which caused him to roll his eyes while making a gesture of denial with his head. In the end, Twilight turned around as she let out a sigh after seeing his face.

She began to approach slowly until she reached the edge, while the other creature also did the same, but without showing herself completely. Only when she got to Twilight did she finally show her face of little blue scales. Twilight opened her eyes a bit wider as she recognized her as the soft-voiced 'pony'.

"I've seen you before," she said and the other nodded. Twilight questioned her next method. "Tell me, what should I do?"

The 'pony' closed her eyes and then made a quick movement to pull her forelimb out of the water. She extended the arm that ended in a kind of fin instead of a hoof and moved closer to Twilight.

She looked at her with a slight suspicion, not entirely sure what she meant by it. Her opponent noticed that attitude.

"If you wish, we can talk alone, in the dream world. It really is necessary to show you what you want to know." Finally she spoke for the first time, in a real voice as soft as the mental.

At this Twilight nodded her head in a gesture of understanding, but she still took another look at Sombra.

"Good," she replied to her. "But first I must make sure," she had to make sure that eventually everything would be fine, so she turned and called him again. "Sombra?"

At the mention of his name, Sombra looked at her with a questioning expression that Twilight was not surprised at.

"Could you stay close? You know, in case something happens," Twilight said as she shrugged.

Sombra was silent for several seconds that kept Twilight in expectation. But in the end his response was what she expected when he nodded from his place.

"Just do it, I'll stay here."

Through it all, she gave him a small, worried smile, before turning to the aquatic being that was patiently waiting for her in the place. Twilight sat down and let her hooves bend underneath her, in an attempt to make her head reach the same height as her opponent's. One last step before speaking to her again.

"You can continue."

Next, Twilight watched as she stretched out her arm and gently placed the fin of the end on her forehead. Twilight felt the chill of her touch as she closed her eyes, waiting for her next move. And just as she had foreseen, her consciousness faded.

Slowly fading into a deep sleep.