Umbral Storm

I had been getting a good sleep. A great sleep, really.

But regardless of how it had started or how comfy and cozy I’d felt.

I still had a nightmare…

Not just any simple nightmare either. I was stuck in an infinite void, falling forever and ever. All I could hear were the voices of those I’d never met, screaming and crying out in terror. And the sight of deep white and purple shining eyes that seemed infinitely vast and uncaring. Like they would swallow me whole and I would disappear. It was enough to shock me awake.

I came to my senses with deep panicked breaths as one of my hooves pushed against my chest in abject terror.

It took me only a moment to realize where I was and that it wasn’t real; I was safe. And I felt Flitter’s heavy wing draped over me like an extra blanket. Looking to my right, I found her sleeping deeply. At some point she had rolled over onto her stomach but had shifted her wing over me protectively anyway.

I smiled and for a moment thought of reaching out and waking her, but I quickly pulled my hoof back in. I didn’t want her to think that I’m a baby that needs coddling when I have a nightmare. And looking over to the window, it wasn’t even morning yet either. It was still dark; in fact, it was pitch black outside.

However, it had been a full moon when I’d fallen asleep… But now that I was looking at the window again, there was barely a hint of moonlight on the outside.

I tilted my head in curiosity, unable to imagine myself falling back to sleep immediately after such a nightmare anyway. I worked to undo myself from Flitter’s grip. She seemed to be a pretty heavy sleeper. I looked down in amusement after escaping to realize she was still fast asleep; she only mumbled something in her sleep that was unintelligible.

I carefully slid down the bedding and onto the floor clumsily before making my way over to the window. There was a small stool next to the window, which allowed you to climb up into the window nook with its comfy cushion.

Once I managed to pull myself up with one hoof, I finally gazed out.

Disaster finally made itself known, and about twenty negative emotions erupted in my head as my heart sank. The dark clouds that had once been hovering over the valley of Appleloosa were now directly above the house and most of the everfree forest and horizon.

There was no moonlight, and the clouds had completely blocked out the night sky like a blanket. All that was left below it was a dark landscape devoid of light or life. These weren’t just storm clouds; they were… black. Completely devoid of light or color, and it sent a large chill down my spine just looking up at them.

I could make out shadows of the trees in the distance—I could see the edges of the house I was in—it looked like it was teetering on the edge of the abyss.

Was Discord right? What was going to happen now? What if I get Flitter and her family hurt…

…

I stood and unlatched the window lock. To see if this was something real, or if the window was playing tricks on my mind.

My thoughts receded as I jumped out of my skin in surprise.

A large blast of… something... had just shot out of the everfree forest. It lit up the dark sky as if a giant camera with its flash on had just taken a picture. In the shape of what could only be described as a beam, or pillar.

As I shook my head to ensure I wasn’t still sleepy, it happened again. Then again, and again. One after the other, it was lighting the sky up like a beacon or spotlight. Shining light on the dark clouds that would have previously been impossible.

My first thought had been lightning, but with no thunder to accompany the lights, I couldn’t rationalize that it was...

The more concerning thing was probably the giant dark cloud that was lowering itself to the ground like a tornado. I’d seen tornadoes before, but never ones that looked like they were made from pure darkness.

It deformed and stretched more and more as it tried to reach the ground.

The interesting part was that it was aimed at whatever was causing the beams of light in the everfree. And those blasts were keeping the tornado from ever reaching the ground, as it would retreat from the light. That gave me at least a small reprieve from the panic.

I suddenly realized how dire the situation was, and I turned around, intending to go wake up Flitter for guidance.

“H-Hey, Flitter?” I called out meekly from the window. There was a brief pause in her soft snoring before it returned with even more volume.

At that same moment, I heard a large crash downstairs. It sounded like the front door of the house being opened. And yet, Flitter still hadn’t woken up. Well, it was a large crash, but maybe not enough to wake her.

Had something just broken into the house?..

After a few moments of consideration, I felt something touch my back from behind, which caused me to jump out of my skin for the second time. I whipped around on a dime, and curiously, I met with the same wisp that had greeted me on the hill yesterday with Flitter. It seemed to wave back and forth as a wisp of its own body broke off and almost seemed to gesture as if it were waving.

My mind was beginning to draw a blank with everything happening and the myriad of things being presented to me. Like I’d accidentally triggered a dozen different side quests but only had time for one.

The weird wisp was at the window urging me to come closer; there was a dark tornado; something was blasting that dark tornado with light beams; and maybe possibly an intruder in the house? Or maybe just somepony else awake and going through the same chaos as me.

But before I had even finished with those thoughts, I realized I already had approached the wisp and leaned my head out the window.

When I did, it became clear just how windy it was, as I felt the wind whip around me as it pulled in the direction of the dark cloud nearing the ground.

The wisp in front of me seemed to dance happily, unaffected by the wind.

“What are you?” I questioned all of a sudden, “And what’s going on?”

The blue wisp jumped in what looked like fear all of a sudden. A wispy tendril quickly emerged from the small thing and covered my mouth. My eyes immediately narrowed as my brows furrowed. But before I could make any angry advances on it, I heard the door behind me open.

I turned around once again, and immediately my blood ran as cold as ice.

A dark mist of shadows sweeped in, covering the floorboards with the same clouds. And soon after, a dark figure made of those clouds swooped in.

It was the same thing I’d seen in my nightmare only minutes ago. A tall, lanky and vaguely pony-shaped being with large soulless white eyes that shined a purple glow. Eyes as devoid of life and hope as the nearest black hole. Its form was snakeing over the bed, like it was looking for prey. Its maw the size of my entire body with a terrifying grin. Its figure was so imposingly large in comparison to me that I felt like if it wanted to erase my existence at any moment it could. The shadows rolling off its shoulder’s lashed at its sides as dark tendrils that reached around the room and pulled it around.

The head of the shadow eagerly inspected the bed, watching Flitter sleep deeply. I felt intense worry for Flitter; that only got worse when the creature slowly pulled the covers back. But whatever it was looking for wasn’t there, and its eyes swept around the room again, immediately setting eyes towards the window directly where I was cowering.

I immediately thought that it was over for me… That I was done for.

I cowered in place and tried to shrink into the cushion below me, hoping I could somehow get away. I held out my hooves in defiance as my mouth fought to open and scream.

The wisp behind me’s tendril wrapped around my mouth even tighter to keep me from making a sound.

My confusion grew greatly as I watched the shadow continue to look around the room, as if there hadn’t been anything where I should be. It took a terribly long time examining Flitter again as his eyes rolled back and forth in place, seemingly in confusion.

I confusedly glanced down at the tendril around my muzzle, then at my whole body as I realized something incredible…

My body looked to be completely intangible, like that of a ghost. I could see right through my hooves and my chest. There was a light blue hue covering me as I tilted my head in bewilderment.

The shadow continued to waver back and forth in the room, eventually lashing one of his tendrils against the ground in what looked like agitation as he floated out of the room and down the hallway.

The wisp slowly released its tendril from my muzzle, allowing me to breathe, but not too heavily as to alert the thing via sound. I watched as it receded back into the wisp’s body, and as it did, the odd translucent glow of my body also disappeared.

I had been… invisible? Or at least undetectable by whatever that creature was.

…

…

I sat in stunned silence as my head went between the door and the wisp next to me.

My eyes settled on Flitter, and I immediately tried to take a step towards her. The wisp immediately pulled me back defiantly and was much harsher than I expected. It tightened its grip around my front hoof and kept pulling as I struggled to pull it away. I harshly whispered, “What gives!?”

I relented as I allowed it to pull and guide me out the window and onto the steep roof. Then around the corner, out of sight of the window entirely. I finally forced its tendril off my foreleg and recoiled away from the wisp in distrust as I took a few hoofsteps back. “Okay?” I muttered in confusion, “Then what do you suggest, oh great mighty wisp?” I mocked with an accusatory glare.

The little thing had to be no more than the size of my hoof. With large white eyes that never seemed to blink or morph in any way, therefore I couldn’t see its emotions at all. It wobbled a few times in front of me, hopping up and down excitedly as it wavered back and forth. I didn’t know what to make of it; I simply stared in confusion as I tilted my head.

It seemed to be getting more and more urgent with it’s movements, as it almost seemed to tilt its top half in the direction of the forest incessantly. It almost seemed to be beckoning me in the direction of the light beams that were still being fired.

The everfree was still being flashed with beams every other second. There was a loud hum, accompanied by a sound most comparable to a microwave or even a tesla coil, as the beams were fired. The idea of what was happening over there terrified me.

I immediately shook my head at the wisps suggestion, “I’ll pass…” And tried to move around it to enter the window again and get Flitter.

The wisp almost seemed agitated by my choice, quickly floating in my way and blocking my path. It began pushing me, not with much force, but enough that I could tell the little wisp was putting all of its energy into forcing me in the opposite direction.

I grew agitated at the thing and harshly whispered down at it as I rubbed the equivalent of my temple angrily. “Look, whatever you are, I’m not going out there. Forget about it. Plus, my friends are still inside!”

The wisp materialized two tendrils from its side and crossed them, and I almost felt embarrassed. Who was this wisp to judge me with its arms crossed like that?

After a second, it pointed in the direction of the forest. And I just let my head fall backwards to look up at the sky and sigh deeply. Watching the darkness above us twisting and twirling like a mesmerizing underworld that hung above me like a reaper.

I didn’t know what to do!?

Was I having a nightmare? Was this all just some odd prank being pulled on me!?

…

No, this was the chaos storm Discord warned me about.

…

…

My eyes gradually fell back down to the wisp, which was shaking with fear. It seemed to be leaning to look inside the room every couple seconds or so, waiting for that… thing to come back. Maybe it was right if I was caught for even a moment… Well, I didn’t want to know what it would do to me.

I silently sighed to myself as my head spin; a decision was imperative right now. I didn't have time to sit idly. And the wisp was adamant that I don’t contact Flitter.

I slowly whispered, “Will I be safe if I follow you?”

The wisp took longer than I'd like for it to answer, but it did eventually float up and down in what I assumed was a yes.

I felt like I would regret it, but I relented. If that thing was searching for me and I could lure it and this entire storm away from the farm, then it would keep Flitter and her family safe. That was all the motivation I needed.

I nodded firmly, “Okay… let’s go.” I whispered urgently. The wisp seemed excited, quickly floating away from me and towards another part of the roof. I did my best to keep up while also staying silent.

While the wisp floated off the house, I had to struggle with climbing down a precarious and very tall stack of firewood. With one hoof… I made it about halfway down when one of my hooves slipped, not causing much sound but making my heart drop as I scrambled to pull myself back up.

Thankfully, that had been the only incident I’d had. And I found myself getting the rest of the way down quick and easily.

The wisp quickly zipped forward towards the Everfree, or more importantly, the cornfields before the Everfree. I’d be lying if I said a chill of terror didn’t go down my spine. Not only at the prospect of the Everfree and whatever the wisp was leading me to, but at entering a corn field. I’d seen a movie or two in my time on earth!

I begrudgingly ran to catch up and took my first few steps into the cornfield. Sure, I was hidden from view if that mattered. But I couldn’t see anything myself. As each moment was another corn stalk trying to force its way into my mouth, eyes, and ears.

The wisp took hold of one of my hooves with its body again and gently guided me forward through the field.

With each crunch of corn husk under my hoof, I grew more and more anxious. And with each blast of light illuminating the sky, my nerves dimmed a little. It didn’t help that my current guide was nothing more than a wisp; maybe it was a magical being from the everfree? Or it could just be something from the chaos storm leading me to my doom.

I lowered my head and kept my eyes on my hooves as I walked. It helped me to not have a panic attack.

“Kieran!?” I heard someone call from behind me.

My head shot up as I looked back. The call had come from the house.

“Pumpkin, come back! It’s okay, honey!” Sage called.

I felt a range of emotions, but mostly horror. Sage was about to get caught up in all of this? How did she even know I left the house?

I panicked as I turned around to go get her. She’d be safe if she came with us.

But just as I turned to do so, the wisp’s grip tightened yet again and yanked me forward. I looked back at it incredulously, and it seemed to shake back in place like it was telling me no.

“I have to!” I harshly whispered.

But the wisp didn’t care; it only kept pulling me and forcing me to oblige with its demand as it led me through the field. I groaned angrily, but continued to follow. Like I told myself earlier, I just had to reassure myself that if I got far enough away, they’d all be left alone.

All was going well otherwise…

…

Well, until I tripped over a bucket that had been left out in one of the field’s paths. And I rolled and tumbled along with it for a few seconds.

The sound had been deafening in the relative silence that we’d been having. I sat in stunned silence as my mind reeled. Had I really just pulled off the most cliche horror movie trope ever while escaping a monster, but in an actual real scenario? I couldn’t help it; I couldn’t have seen it!

The wisp’s body went rigid as its entire body shook in fear. I cringed as I held my breath, hoping that it would be fine as I untangled myself from the object.

Everything seemed fine for a minute still…

I looked up as I heard the beams stop for the first time since I’d been out here. And I could easily see why, as the dark cloud or tornado… whatever it was… shifted in our direction and positioned directly over the corn fields.

I stared upward in true fear and horror for a moment as I saw the eye of the storm. Hovering above me much like the wide and uncaring void from my nightmare. Shadows swirled around the inside like a whirlpool, hundreds of white and purple eyes that all seemed to have their sights set on me right at that moment.

The wisp yanked my hoof to get me to move, but my flank was firmly planted in the ground. Unable to move due to the fear and shock overtaking my body.

It felt like a decade had passed as I stared upward, watching it slowly inch towards me.

This was it…

What else could I do?..

I’m just one pony… No magic, one of my hooves injured…

This was just natural selection, wasn’t it?..

…

…

"No ya don’t!”

My eyes widened as I felt myself get yanked upward.

But after feeling the feathers and a moment of terror, I was deposited onto Flitter’s back by her wing as she continued to bolt through the fields.

“Flitter!?” I exclaimed in surprise.

She didn’t look back, a determined and furrowed brow on her face as she raced through the fields. “Yep!”

I looked back, my blood running cold as I saw a few of the shadow creatures stalking through the corn fields a ways back. They all had their sights set on Flitter and were navigating the field with ease. “What about Sage?” I asked worriedly.

There was a moment of silence. “That wasn’t Sage,” was all Flitter said back to me.

I stopped for a moment, then shook my head as I turned forward and pointed past her head with my hoof. “Follow the little blue wisp!” I called forward. The wisp was exceptionally fast, faster than anything else around as it sat at the edge of the everfree, hopping up and down excitedly.

“What wisp?” Flitter quickly asked in confusion.

Huh, well… that’s odd…

“Just go where I’m pointing!” I called back.

“Straight into the everfree!?” Flitter replied with a hint of panicked confusion.

It was less a question than a statement, as we barreled past the last set of corn stalks. Behind us, the shadows kept pace with Flitter, almost seeming to gain some ground on her as they didn’t have to deal with being slowed down by physical objects.

The tornado had landed, releasing dozens more of the shadow creatures as they stalked out of it like odd alien-like creatures. The whistling roar of the tornado as it tore through the cornfield was deafening. The looks of the shadow’s hatred and uncaringness were enough to make you feel like there was no hope left.

I decided to stop looking back at them and face forward.

Flitter shot through the last bits of farmland as she took her first gallops into the Everfree. I watched as trees and bushes whizzed past us in the blink of an eye, and Flitter jumped, ducked, and veered out of the way of foliage at an impressively fast speed.

The shadows and tornado disappeared behind all the foliage, but I could still hear them as they rustled through brushes not that far back. Their voices betrayed them as a cacophony of hisses and high-pitched whispers that seemed to surround us echoed through the forest.

The wisp eventually had us take a sharp turn, and Flitter almost became unbalanced as she slid to a stop and had to start running again.

Unfortunately, all the dodging combined with the sharp turn meant that the shadows had gotten closer. Dangerously closer, as they lurked behind us by only a few trees, their shadowy tendrils lashing out at everything in the area as they ripped it apart.

“I hope this is going somewhere!” Flitter called nervously.

“Can’t you fly?” I asked with my own nerves.

“Not with a tornado nearby!” She quickly answered.

Up ahead, the wisp disappeared into a large clearing, and I could no longer see it. It worried me greatly, but I continued to keep Flitter on course as I waited with bated breath. One of the shadows swiped forward at us, managing to cut a few hairs off my tail as I squeaked fearfully. I pulled it in quickly afterward and held it.

Flitter burst through the last bit of brush into the clearing.

“Get down!” A voice called.

Flitter immediately pulled me off her back with her wings and bundled me up against her chest as she slid to the ground. I watched in awe as one of those giant blasts of light immediately passed over us in a loud hum. Instantly vaporizing every shadow that had just been following us. They screamed and growled angrily as they deteriorated, before their shadows slinked away somewhere else.

Flitter took large gasping breaths as her limbs practically gave out, but she held me close to her chest still as she caught her breath. “Thank you, Flitter.” I quickly said, nuzzling into her chest.

She just smiled between breaths, “Anything… for you…” She returned with her own nuzzle.

My eyes quickly widened, and I looked up, pulling myself out of Flitter’s grip gently. The wisp was sitting proudly next to a rock, but what was on that rock was what surprised me like no other.

There was a dragon, or more correctly described, some sort of wyvern or hydra? They were about the same size as me, and their scales were white as snow. They had a yellow underbelly, yellow wings and horns, and even their eyes were yellow. But they almost seemed to glow in the dark, even as a large ball of light hovered above them.

The most surprising part of them was that they had two heads.

“H-Hello?” I said nervously.

The head on the left seemed ecstatic, frighteningly so as they gasped, “You’re an alicorn!” He chirped and giggled immediately afterward. His friendly vibe immediately put me slightly at ease, but I became doubtful of our new protectors as I realized that he had to be young like me, judging by his juvenile voice.

The right head just tilted to the side. “What did they want you for so bad?” He immediately asked with a scrutinizing brow.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Wish I knew… Thanks for saving us…”

The right one gave a small smirk, “It was easy; these things think they’re scary and dangerous until you hit them with a little light.”

The left head wilted. “A little light? But I was using all of mine…” He said it sadly with what almost seemed like puppy dog eyes.

The right one grew flustered. “Well, yeah, we always use all of our light. To show them who’s the boss!” Which brightened the left head up immediately.

Flitter finally got some of her strength back, as she moved up to my side and pulled me in with her wing around me. “Thanks for the save, but I’d like something to understand here. Explanations, introductions—something at all?” She pulled her wing up farther around me protectively as she looked down with scrutiny at the wyvern, “What are you?”

They flipped off of their back and sat down comfortably on their haunches. Even as the right one looked to his left and released a quick beam of light in the direction of an approaching shadow. “Our name is Nai-Xyka.”

“You only have one name?” I asked in confusion.

The left one shook his head, “I’m Nai!”

The right one nodded, “And I’m Xyka. Where we’re from, everyone has a single name, and we each get part of the name.”

Flitter looked at them in surprise. “There’s more of you..?”

“And you all have two heads?” I asked with a tilted head.

Nai nodded excitedly, “Lots! Well, not as much as before… but a lot! And our momma-”

Xyka cut him off, “-It’s not important right now.”

Nai seemed disappointed but nodded in agreement. Xyka pointed with his wing towards the treeline where the dark tornado was making its presence known. The bushes and trees in the area began to bend in its direction as it loomed over the tree line. “The umbral storm is coming; we need to get out of here.”

“The what?” I asked in confusion.

Flitter seemed to agree with them as she pulled me up and onto her back at the same time. “Where do we go?” Flitter asked.

They bounded forward a bit towards the treeline in the opposite direction as Nai looked back at us, “Away from here! Don’t worry, just stay in the light!” He called with a giggle.

Flitter watched wearily as the orb of light above them zipped to catch up, and the shadows from the surrounding forest quickly made advances. She rushed to keep up with the wyvern after seeing their quick approach.

It was exceptionally odd just simply walking through the everfree while being stalked by sentient shadows and a tornado, with an odd wyvern of light guiding you through with no clear route. What has my world come to? I guess it’s a chaos storm for a reason… Or an umbral storm? I don’t know anymore…

Xyka looked back at us and whispered to Flitter, “Can you run still?”

Flitter raised a brow but gave a short nod of confirmation. Xyka nodded back, “Countdown from ten in your head, then follow. Don’t get lost, or we’re leaving you behind.”

Nai looked offended for us as he gave his brother a glare, "No, we aren’t!” He whispered harshly.

I continued to countdown in my own head just to be sure. And sure enough, our leisure walk turned into a full gallop the moment ten seconds had passed.

Flitter lowered herself as she sped up once again, as Nai-Xyka dropped their orb of light on the ground, leaving a temporary barrier in between us and our wannabe stalkers. Soon after, they zipped forward in small bursts of light. They weren’t able to do it for very long each time, but they could do it a lot; it looked as if they were moving at incredibly high speeds. Their small dashes they were doing were keeping up with Flitter, and well ahead of her, actually.

Nai kept looking back wearily at us in between bursts of dashes, “My orb broke!.. They’re going to be chasing now!”

“Make another one and drop it!” Xyka commanded.

“I can’t! I used all my light to make that one!” Nai said with embarrassed tears on the edge of his eyes. Xyka seemed to roll his own eyes at that but stayed silent.

Flitter seemed to run even faster than she had before. Whether it was her final burst of energy or she had simply gained confidence now that we had a form of protection, I wasn’t sure. But I watched as the purple eyes of the shadows seemed to fade into the distance as we grew farther and farther away.

We kept running and running for what felt like ages. Going over and through valleys and canyons, dodging through fields of rocks, and even passing through a small swamp. The dark sky was eventually replaced by what felt like a normal early morning one, but I couldn’t be too sure. The dark clouds still loomed behind us on the horizon, but we had made a considerable distance between us and the clouds. Maybe a few miles.

At some point though, Flitter began to slow; her breaths became ragged as she dared to look back at the same view I’d just had, “Are… we… far enough..?” She coughed out.

Nai-Xyka stopped, and they looked back. Xyka hummed with a shrug, “It’ll take it a while.”

Nai seemed concerned. "Brother, we should find a place to rest.”

“You mean for yourself as well, because you used all your light like a fool.” Xyka mocked with a huff, nipping at the other head’s ear. “I had to do all the heavy lifting for that run!”

Nai growled, “Did not; I kept us from hitting about a hundred different things that you would’ve slammed right into!” They began butting heads with each other quite literally.

“Is there anywhere we can go to be safe for now?” I asked evenly with a sigh, my voice a rather monotone uncaringness as I tried to process everything.

They stopped nearly instantly with their bickering. Nai nodded. “Of course! Well, it’ll be temporary.”

They began walking off ahead of us, and Flitter took another few deep breaths before hoisting herself up again and following after. I was starting to feel really guilty, not only because Flitter had to carry me miles while she ran for her life… But what happened to the farm? Flitter was probably distraught over the thought of her family’s safety as well, right?

“Flitter?” I started worriedly.

Her wings lifted a bit to rub at my sides as she turned her head and smirked at me, “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” I replied complacently with a heavy mind.

We trudged through the dark jungle that we’d found ourselves upon. There was a deep eerie feeling to the walk, as not a single bug nor animal could be heard in the surroundings. The jungle felt dead, or empty. And it was probably for their own safety.

Nai turned and pointed with the claw on the end of his wing excitedly, “Oh! I think I see a good spot!” They rushed ahead towards it, examining the outside in intrigue.

Flitter shuddered as we climbed over a bunch of roots and got closer. “That’s a Timberwolf den…”

Xyka shrugged, “I don’t hear or see anything.” He released a short beam of light into the cave, and sure enough it was completely empty. He smirked back at us and gestured with his wing as they practically dove inside the narrow hole.

Flitter sighed deeply, walking over and placing me near the entrance. I quickly crawled past the roots hanging over the entrance as I turned to watch Flitter. She didn’t struggle much, but her legs were clearly giving out on her slightly as her back hoof slipped in the dirt a few times. Eventually she managed to get her entire body inside, as she carefully covered the entrance with a large sheet of moss she must have found.

She walked a bit further inside and practically collapsed into the dirt, releasing a deep sigh as she stretched her limbs. I bounded up to her worriedly and nuzzled her side, “I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “You weren’t supposed to get caught up in this.”

She looked at me tiredly with a curious expression. “You knew about this?”

I opened my mouth to refute the idea but quickly dropped my head in shame as I backed away. Even my wings seemed to droop against my side in a dejected sadness. “I… yes. I didn’t want to believe it, but Discord warned me about something like this yesterday…”

Flitter stayed quiet; in fact, the entire den was quiet as I rubbed my injured hoof with my other sheepishly, my lips quivering, “I-I’m so sorry… I should’ve done something, anything. Instead, I just sat in that bedroom depressed and acted like nobody else could get hurt because of me when I already knew that wasn’t true. I always get other ponies hurt; it’s got to be a curse at this point.”

I heard a sudden disinterested sigh from Flitter as one of her wings pulled around me, forcing me over to her front hooves, where she gave me a large double hug with both her wings and forelegs. “Can you please stop apologizing for other more powerful beings getting you into trouble over and over like it’s their hobby?” I looked up in surprise as she smiled down at me, “I didn’t have to come save you. I did it because I wanted to; I’d be a pretty bad royal guard otherwise. I’d never hear the end of it from Shining and Cadance.”

She leaned in and nuzzled my face incessantly before pulling back and booping my nose. “You’re my responsibility until I get you back home and smiling. Alright?”

“And smiling?” I asked with a smirk.

“Especially smiling.”

…

There was a pause as I took in her fluffy embrace happily. Eventually I looked up, “How’d you know I was in trouble?”

She huffed, and her face darkened a bit. “I heard Sage’s voice calling outside my window. I woke up, realized you were missing, and the window was open. And well… Looking outside was quite the shock when I spotted those creatures. I realized they were looking for something, and when you tripped over something… It was quite obvious it was you.”

I nodded and slowly untangled myself from Flitter. I looked over at the wyvern in the corner. Xyka was seemingly thinking deeply to himself, and Nai was happily examining and poking the little wisp that had followed us the whole way with his wing.

“So, you can see it?” I asked carefully, hoof pointing at the wisp.

Nai looked up and nodded excitedly. “She… She thanked us for saving you both.”

“You can talk to it?”

Nai hummed and tilted his head. “No, but I can feel what it’s trying to say.”

Xyka’s claw finally removed itself from his muzzle, and he looked past his brother’s head and raised a brow at me. “So what’s the deal with you?” He questioned me.

I furrowed my brow. “I could ask the same question back..?”

They approached me, and I stood awkwardly as Xyka sniffed all around my body, especially my horns and wings, before he retracted himself with a face of disgust. “You smell like death. Like one of them. No magic either.” I could tell by his look and tone that he didn’t trust me in the slightest. “Dark magic is not something to play with.” There was a low growl under his words.

Nai pushed his brother’s head away from me with his own and scolded him, “Don’t accuse him! He seems nice!”

My eyes widened. “How do you know I’m a male?” I asked incredulously.

Nai beamed at me, “Your soul smells like one! Sorry, did I get it wrong?” His head dipped as he wilted sadly.

I waved my hoof dismissively, “No, no. You were spot on. I’ve actually…” I thought about whether it was a good idea to share, but since we’d be dead without them, I assumed it didn’t matter. “I’ve died before, got brought back as a copy of a pony named Princess Flurry Heart, and my magic has depleted. So… I’m trying to get back to someponies I know who can help…” I sighed, “I really don’t know about any of this that’s going on, shadows, souls… ”

“Umbrum.”

“Sorry, what?” I asked Xyka, who muttered the word with malice.

He looked back up at me with less distrust than he had before. “They’re not shadows. They’re called umbrums.”

I heard Flitter behind me slightly gasp in shock. I turned, and she was staring with wide eyes of horror as she held a hoof to her chest. “No… That can’t be true.” She shook her head vigorously, “I-I… I thought only one had ever escaped their imprisonment? And he was defeated…”

That’s why that word felt so familiar. The umbrum, King Sombra. The history books were quite vague when Cadance taught me, but she had reassured me that they were long since sealed away. That Sombra was their one and only hope of freedom…

But Flitter was right; they should’ve been locked up still…

Flitter shook her head in disbelief. “They’re still locked underneath the frozen wastes! I know it; they disclose that fact to us in our guard training once we graduate from the academy!”

Xyka sighed greatly. “Then you heard wrong… Or maybe your kind found a way to deal with them permanently.” He paused and gritted his teeth with a short growl towards nobody in particular as he stared at the ground. “But whatever amount of umbrum here in your lands is only a small drop in the lake. Our kind has been at war with them for more than a thousand years. Farther back than our history books can even document.”

…

…

“And… where is that?” I asked after a moment of disbelief.

Nai huffed sadly, sniffling as a few lone tears appeared in his eyes. “We don’t know.” He said with a small whine.

Xyka lowered his head solemnly and nodded in agreement with his brother. “Yeah… We’re lost too.”

“How did you get here then..?” I asked sympathetically.

Nai wiped his tears with his wing. “Our mommas sent us here…” He choked up a little bit. “There was a large umbrum attack on our temple.”

Xyka took over, as he rolled his wing interpretively, “Certain umbrum can be… particularly dangerous. One of the umbrum’s imperators had our mom and us cornered in our quarters.” Xyka’s voice became solemn and distant as he stared vaguely, his brow furrowed in anger. “They turned to us and said their goodbyes. We didn’t even get a chance to bargain or argue with our moms before we were sent away in a flash of light.”

“I’m… sorry,” I sighed sadly. “I know how that can feel…”

Nai and Xyka both gave me a small smile, and Nai quickly chimed in, “It’s fine, our moms are really powerful!”

Xyka nodded. “They’re fine; I’m sure of it.”

“Ah…” Flitter suddenly muttered from behind me, “So that’s what that was…”

I turned curiously to her, and she nodded. “I remember a rumor making the rounds in the guard about some sort of light pillar in the desert outside Appleloosa and Dodge Junction. That was you two then?”

Nai seemed to brighten for a bit. “Oh! Apples! They kept talking about how much better their apples were than the other place.” Suddenly a small disc of light appeared next to Nai, and he reached his wing in and scooped out a bunch of apples out of thin air. He immediately lifted one with his claws to his mouth and took a bite. “They are sho goodsh!” He chirped while eating one.

He finished one and held a bunch up with his wing in offering to us, “Want some?”

Me and Flitter both looked at each other at a loss in that moment, and we both sighed and reached forward. “Sure…”

"Yeah, I could use one right now,” Flitter muttered.

Xyka suddenly bonked his brother on the back of his head with his wing, “Stop using your light. Save it for when we need to run again.”

“Okay…” He mumbled as he dove into the pile of apples he’d pulled out of his magical light pocket. Whatever it was.

…

…

“Do we have any leads on why they’re after me?” I asked after pausing midway through eating my apple.

The resounding silence answered my question handily as everyone continued to nibble their apples thoughtfully.

…

…

…

“Like I said, you smell like death, dark magic.” Xyka eventually admitted. He sighed and narrowed his eyes. “Things shouldn’t exist in this world if they have no magic. You probably seem like the perfect candidate for assimilation.”

“What does that mean?” I asked nervously.

Xyka just sighed and laid on his back, pulling his brother down to the ground with him. “Try not to think about it. It’s not pretty.” He said with a sneer, though it seemed more towards some sort of memory he had.

…

“I didn’t catch your name.” Xyka said, side-eyeing me from the ground.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Kieran.” I said with a short bow of my head.

“Honey Flitter. Just call me Flitter.” She said from behind me, tossing her finished apple core to the side lazily.

Nai chirped again after having ravenously devoured every single apple in the pile, and he waved with his clawed wing. “Hi! Nice to meet you both! I’m Nai!”

Xyka huffed, “They know already.”

I couldn’t help a small smile as I reached my hoof out towards Nai, “It’s nice to meet you, Nai-Xyka.” Nai eagerly took my hoof in his clawed wing and shook vigorously.

Xyka turned his head away from us with a small sigh, “Anyway, get some rest; I don’t know what will happen from here on.” He settled in comfortably with his wing folded over their body. Nai nestled his head right above his and pulled their other wing up as well.

I sighed and looked back, only to release a small giggle at Flitter’s outstretched hooves. I relented and walked over, only to be pulled into another feathery embrace as I nestled against her soft fur. Flitter giggled to herself, “You’re like a stuffed animal.”

I huffed a laugh. “As long as I’m a stress-relieving one, that’s fine with me.”

She sighed long and deeply, “You are the exact opposite.” She muttered playfully.

I didn’t think I could quite fall asleep for a short nap. Not with all the thoughts swirling around in my head like a wildfire out of control. I hadn’t even lifted a hoof all morning to help us through the predicament anyhow; I didn’t deserve to be tired.

I was tired, at least of being at the epicenter of everything.

…

…

Death, dark magic… Why did my soul smell… corrupted to them? What else was wrong with me?

…

Flitter must’ve noticed my stress as she gently began to stroke my back with her wing. She lowered her head next to mine and began humming a tune.

I didn’t know the tune, of course, but it was soft and soothing. And it put me at ease. When she eventually finished, I felt much more relaxed, still wary but not filled with anxiety.

I watched the wisp from before float to the center of the den before looking at me and shaking a bit, then she zipped up towards the entrance and disappeared.

What was the wisp, anyway?

This is all going to drive me insane once and for all; I can feel it.