Author's Note

just to let you guys know, there's gonna be a guest character for the next three chapters. she belongs to my girlfriend moonlightmare.

New Horrors

Tree branches cracked underneath clawed paws as a feminine form ran though dark woods, trying to get away from her pursuer. She looked back and saw the base trunks of trees get destroyed by tentacles from a unknown source. Once one tree was destroyed, a tentacle moved on to another, causing a never ending series of destruction.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" the female yelled.

The source continued it's barrage, the tentacles clearing paths of destruction as it perused after her.

Tears of fear fell from her eyes as she saw her life flash before her eyes. This... Demon has been perusing her for Faust knows how long. This has gone on for years... and she wants it to stop so much. And her only hope is within a tower that's rising just above her.

Reaching a clearing at the base of the tower. the Crystal Dragoness spread her wings and took to the air. Legend has it that the crystal at the towers peak can leap across time. If it can get her away from that monster, she'll use it without hesitation, not matter the sacrifice.

meanwhile, with our misplaced colt....

Armed with a bucket of water, soapy rags, and a mop, Sombra is ready to start the war to get this castle clear.

"All Right!! Let's get to it!!" He announced.

a lonely wind blew across the main hall, creating a dust devil. Sombra's face instantly lowered in despair, see all of the cleaning he's going to have to do. And this is a pretty big castle; he's not going to be able to complete all this in one day. and with just Leopold, it's gonna be super tough.

"This is a suicide mission." A defeated Leopold said, running the top of his paw on the dusty floor with a puffy lip.

"And that attitude isn't going to help!" Sombra exclaimed with bared fangs.

He sighed as he held his head. This isn't going to be a easy task to do, but they have to do it. You can't live in dust and squalor all your life. "Come on..." He deprecatingly said. He grabbed the mop with his magic and flung it over his shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

The Crystal Dragoness reached the top of the tower and ran to the large sapphire orb resting in the center.

"Come on... please work..."

She reached the orb and touched it. If the legend is right, you have to concentrate with all your might on a world you want to go to more then anything else. Right now, any world that doesn't include that monster

"Come on, magic orb. Send me to a new world that frees me from this evil curse. That frees me from this monster."

The sapphire orb glowed brightly as it's color, illuminating the otherwise dark tower. The entire tower shook as the tentacles belonging to the monster struck the base, destroying the supports. The tower fell one story then leaned as it crumbled down in one direction.

the Dragoness yelled as she fell with the tower. The orb's glow reached a climax, encasing the Dragoness in it's light and bringing her into the orb. The Crystal Dragon disappeared into the orb moments before it and the tower crashed into the dark earth.

A soaking wet mop slopped down onto the floor and was moved around by Sombra's magic. 2 hours into this and they barely moved away from the area around the throne.

"Ugh.... this is a hassle." he complained. He peered over to Leopold, who wasn't have such good fortune with a broom. "Why didn't this place's previous owners do better work with personal hygiene?"

Leopold sighed as he pondered that very thing. "I don't know. One was in armor all the time and one was a Dragon."

"that answers that question." Sombra mumbled to himself. Someone in armor? must be some pretty advanced stuff if he stayed in it 24/7. And Dragon's can't catch deceases when they're adults. And if his suspicious are true from all the clues and he is from another world, then that would explain a whole, whole lot.

But it does raise the question on why they didn't put in a automatic cleaning service in the castle before they left.

Sombra stuck his mop back on the floor where, a few seconds later, it began to shake. It was barely noticeable. But over the next few minutes, the shaking grew more powerful and more violent. The bucket bounced up and down before tipping over.

Energy sparked into a single location as small as a atom just a few feet off the floor. The point of singularity expanded outward, large enough for a certain reptile to come flying though.'

The Crystal Dragoness yelled as she was launched out of the portal. Sombra yelled, seeing her be launched towards him with no control of her own. The Dragon collided with Sombra. the both of them rolled along the floor, making blubbering noises before hitting the throne. The fancy chair fell backwards, letting the two of them roll into the wall behind. Sombra landed right-side up while the Dragoness was upside-down, back feet dangling down.

"Ow...... both parties groaned.

Sombra's eyes spun like a cartoon as little birds circled around his head. "Eh... i'll take a chocolate milk with a... mayo sandwich..." He fell backwards, dizzy as hell.

His eyes stopped spinning and his head cleared up. He shook his head, blinking his eyes to help clear up the dizziness.

The Dragoness fell down onto her stomach, groaning like she was constipated. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow..." She gagged, feeling like she was about to throw up. "That's the last time i travel though time...."

Both parties got up from the floor and held their heads, each having a splitting headache. They each took a step and looked each other in their eyes; the Dragoness into Sombra's baby blue eyes and Sombra's into her emerald green.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they both screamed.

Sombra frantically bounded for his throne and hid behind it while the Dragoness took off towards the ceiling, wrapping around a board.

"Who are you?!" Sombra whimpered, hiding under the overturned throne.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!!!" The Dragoness yelled. "AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF YOU GIVE ME TO THAT THING!!!"

"Thing?" Sombra uncovered his head and walked out from under the throne. "What thing?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS!! YOU ARE HIS PROXY, AFTER ALL!!! THE STALLION IN A TUX, A ALL WHITE BODY WITH NO FACE! TENTACLES COMING OUT OF IT"S BACK!! YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR MASTER IS!!!"

All the yelling is causing a ringing in Sombra's ears. "First off: ow. Second of all, what the hell are you talking about? I never heard of a creature like that."

The Dragoness opened one eye and looked down to him. "A-are you sure?"

"Positive. I never even heard of the creature you are describing."

The Dragoness blinked in genuine confusion. "O-okay. you better be telling the truth." She spread her wings and slowly hovered down to the floor.

Sombra watched her descend when he noticed something familiar. He realized that her body is covered in crystals, just like the dragon down in the basement. "Hey... are you a Crystal Dragon?"

The Dragoness stopped her descent and hovered in midair. "Why... do you ask...?" she cautiously pondered.

"I'm just curious. Your kind is supposed to have been extinct for over hundreds of years."

"Hundreds of years?!" she replied with a gasp. She flew up close, right into his face. "What year is this?!!"

Sombra visibly sweated from nervousness. "Un... Year 1978 of our lord Princess Celestia."

The Dragoness repeated what he said. "1978 of Celes---" She worked the numbers in her head. From her time, she never even heard of this Celestia. That must mean she is so far in the future... that the monster must be dead. Her face clearly beamed. "WOO-HOO!!!" She cheered, grabbed Sombra, and spun around in midair. "YES YES YES YES YES YES!!! I don't have to worry about that monster anymore!!"

Sombra choked as the air was rushed out of him. "Un... what?" he asked in clear confusion.

OH! that's right. this guy doesn't know about what was happening. She placed him on the ground and landed near the throne. "OH. sorry. my mistake. Where i am from, i was under constant pursuit from a monster i am sure came from hell. It was thanks to this orb that i was able to finally escape from that thing."

Sombra's lips pursed to the right. This story is pretty far-fetched. But... she is a Crystal Dragon, and under then the big bull in the basement, they're supposed to be extinct. And she came out of a mystery portal.

Leopold whisked up next to him and whispered into his ear, "Are you sure we can trust her? We barely know anything about her."

The Dragoness gave puppy-dog eyes, that melted Sombra's heart instantly. "OH, come on! look at that face! besides, i didn't see anything that disproves her story, do you?" Leopold had no choice but to believe him. There was nothing to disprove that story.

"So...... you believe me?" the Dragoness hopefully asked.

"Yes, we do." The Dragoness went 'YES!'. "What's your name?"

"Oh. My name is Aurora. Yours?"

"Mine's Sombra. the living shadow here is Leopold." Leopold nervously waved hello.

Aurora waved hello back. She then noticed the mop, the buckets, and the broom. "What are you guys doing; spring cleaning?"

"Eh... you could say that. We're trying to clean up this entire castle."

Aurora looked down at her paw and saw that it was covered in dirt and spider-webs. "I can see that." A thought entered her mind. "Can i help out? in exchange for a place to stay?"

"Sure." Sombra answered without question. Leopold gave him a leer and tapped one of his feet. "Maybe you can.... do something in the rafters or--"

"On it!" She flapped her wings and flew up to the rafters. Sombra chuckled as he watched her fly up. Leopold went back to cleaning as Sombra worked on getting his throne up.

Aurora reached the rafters and pondered on how to clear the dust and webs. Can't use fire. That's a big no-no. She decided to try flapping her wings. It works. kinda. "Why did you let it get like this?" She asked.

Sombra got the throne up and dusted off the back. "I didn't do this! it was like it when i found it."

"Found it?"

Sombra scratched the back of his neck. "Well... it's a long story."

"I'm not going anywhere. we have plenty of time, so..."

Sombra sighed. If she is going to be living here, he may as well tell her. "Well, what happened was..."

and so Sombra told his new guest, the Crystal Dragon Aurora, the events that led him to this dark castle: His demon of a step-father, his crush, his discovery of power over Shadows, his rise in popularity, his step-father blatantly lying to Celestia in front of her face, his running out of his home, his hazardous trek though the arctic north, and the discovery of this castle. when it was over, Sombra felt horrible, holding one of his legs with another.

Aurora held her paws up to her mouth, shocked that someone would put a child though all of that. "I'm sorry, Sombra."

"It wasn't your fault. It was that bastard Red Vine's fault. but... but most of all, i'm worried about Tulip. I hope she's okay. AGH, Faust, i wish i could see her again."

Just then, Leopold remembered something, something he had forgotten before Sombra brought that up. "Un... actually, i think you can."

"I can?"

"He can?"

"I think so." he hovered over to the throne. "The previous owners had something that they used to view the entire world without even leaving the castle." Sombra went 'huh'. that would explain that 'report' he saw. "Thing is.... i have no clue how to turn it on. All i know is that it has something to do with the throne."

Sombra thought about that. He hopped onto the seat and tried poking about with the arm rests. He heard something click on the right one but nothing happened. He clicked it again. nothing. He clicked it repeatedly. "Ach. nothing. It won't turn on."

Aurora landed behind the throne and looked at the backside. She noticed a cord running out of it. "Hmm... well, there is a cord. and it seems to run into the wall." Sombra and Leopold poked their heads out of from their side of the throne. "Maybe it needs some juice for it to work."

Sombra turned his head to Leopold. "There a power generator, kitty cat?"

"First off, don't call me that!" Leopold angrily said. "But...... i think there is."

"Where?"

Leopold whimpered nervously as he bit his claws.

The lift down to the basement creaked as it struggled to deal with the extra weight of the Crystal Dragon.

"THE BASEMENT!!!?!!!" Sombra yelled. "WE HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE ZOO FROM TARTARUS?!!"

"Hey, i didn't design this place! But yes, we need to go down to the basement. Without it, we won't be able to turn on the hot tub, activate the appliances in the kitchen... no central heating..."

"I GET IT!!!" Sombra yelled with bared teeth.

Aurora scratched her head with a single claw. "Un... did i miss something?"

Sombra exhaled loudly. "There's some monsters down in the basement and it makes it... not a friendly place and i don't want to go back in there again."

That made the crystal drake nervous. "um.... what monsters?"

"I don't know; i didn't check the last time i was there. All I know is that they're all huge, annoyed, and hungry."

"And locked up in cages; remember that." Leopold added.

"Cages that are out of power!" a irritated Sombra retorted. "this is a suicide mission if there ever was one."

Aurora sputtered like a horse as she scoffed. "Oh, Pssha. we'll be fine. I got fire and Sombra's got his shadow powers. I think we're covered."

Sombra scoffed as well. "Right. Just wait until you see the monsters down there, then tell me if you're still whistling the same tune."

The lift reached the basement floor and opened up, allowing the dragoness and the unicorn to depart. The two walked towards a door and Sombra opened it. What color Aurora had in her face drained entirely until it was naught but white as she saw the vast array of monsters that call this subterranean hell home.

"HOLY CRAP!!!" Aurora yelled, freaked out by the sheer variety.

"I told you." Sombra said with a shrug.

"There's... there's so many... and so powerful... I'm not even sure where we should start."

"Let's just get this over with, please?!" Leopold pleaded.

"Okay, okay." Aurora irritatingly replied. "But how will we do it- a long, drawn out description of things, or just a quick talking only spot with zany sound effects to convey what we're doing which ends with us done?"

........................

"Whichever one is most beneficial to the author."

Hmm...........

All there of them unanimously agreed. "Sound effects."

' ' = Sombra, " " = Aurora, * * = Leopold

'Welcome to the zoo from hell.'

"Hey, where did that hand come from?"

'OW! watch where you are pointing that!'

"Should this have come off the wall like that?"

*We're all gonna die. i'm sure of it.*

"Hey, where'd that Mantis come from?"

'OW! let go of my tail!'

"HEY! Don't touch me there!"

*I don't remember there being a giant centipede*

'YE-WHOA!!!'

*Why is there a banana peel?*

'INCOMING!!!'

"Bad Mantis! Bad Mantis! Bad bad bad! stop grabbing my tail. stop grabbing my tail!"

*This is just priceless*

'DRAHHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!'

"POWER GENERATOR! YES!"

End random craziness

Sombra fell over on the throne, exhausted by their escapade in the basement, his hooves aching for cold water. Aurora felt the same as she rubbed her wings. "That... was... hell..." They both groaned.

Since Leopold was just a shadow, he doesn't get tired. Thanks to that, he worked on getting the power to the throne. "Well, at least we got power to the castle."

"Yeah, but we almost died in the process!" Sombra yelled.

"Well, be glad we're out." Aurora groaned.

Leopold stuck the plug into the throne. It sparked and hummed as it started to glow a very faint light red. Electricity surged though the fancy chair. Without warning, a series of screens appeared in midair, each one showing a different part of the world.

"Whoa!" Sombra exclaimed in surprise.

Aurora looked on in amazement. She had never seen anything like this before. Such advanced technology, it's astonishing. "Wow..."

"Wow is right..." Sombra agreed.

They are seeing events happen all over the planet right now, such as a disagreement between a Gryphon and a couple of Diamond Dog sellers in a town Sombra doesn't recognize, to a Leopard explorer being caught in a spiky booby trap inside ruins.

Leopold hovered to the top of the throne and rested his front paws on it. "If i remember correctly, the previous owners said this was in real time. So what we're seeing is what is happening in the world right now, at this very second."

"Huh." Sombra looked up at the screens and wondered if it can focus. "Hey... can these screens focus on a single person."

"Yeah, i think. i saw the last guys do it before."

There's only one pony who Sombra wants to see. He concentrated as hard as he could, hoping this was the right way to it. It was. One screen enlarged as the other 18 shrunk. Center stage in the screen was a young filly the same age as him. She was picking wildflowers on the outskirts of their home town.

"Tulip..." He held his hooves over his hurt heart, closed his eyes, and silently cried.

Aurora saw that he was hurt. "Your girlfriend?"

"My best friend. Thanks to my monster of a step-dad, i was forced to flee. Faust, i miss her. i miss her so much. I miss everyone so much."

The Crystal Dragon patted him on the back. "I'm sorry, Sombie. i was ran out of my village too. By a actual monster, no less. So i do know what you are feeling."

Sombra wiped his eyes and looked up to the screen. Tulip had finished picking the wildflowers and walked off to her home.

Unknown to the denizens of the castle, their little escapade down in the castle basement woke up the oldest, largest, and most powerful creature. The giant and horny monster snapped his eyes open, sensing a young, fertile, and ready to breed female of his own kind in the castle.

Now it has a reason to escape this cage now.