Chapters Screaming could be heard throughout the room, it was an awful soul retching scream that would cause even the coldest of beings to feeling pity for the screaming soul. The screaming was coming from a beautiful mare who was the color of fresh snow and her mane was a beautiful obsidian black, as was her tail. She was laying on a bed in a white room, there was a blanket covering her body and there was a doctor at the foot of the bed "Reflection, its almost out, just a little more" the doctor said to the mare named Reflection.
Reflection kept on screaming, the pain was so intense it seem almost unreal, but it was more real then anything she had ever experienced before. She jerked her body and there was a dramatic flash of light and it revealed that the mother to be was a crystal pony. "One more push and it'll be over" the doctor said and Reflection was still screaming, but she had heard his words. Her whole body tensed as she pushed and from under the blanket beautiful white wings that could rival Celestia's in beauty burst forth as she gave one final push.
The doctor picked up the newborn and briefly examined it, it was a beautiful white like its mother except its mane was white as well, but its tail was a fluorescent orange. The doctor handed the little creature to its mother, who had a weary smile on her face and she began to cry as she looked at her new daughter. Reflection carefully examined it and saw it was a female and it had tiny wings, and it was a little Crystal Pegasus. Reflection smiled down at the little filly, it was suck a beautiful innocent creature and she ran her hoof through the filly's mane, but her hoof struck something hard.
Reflection parted the filly's mane to see what it was and starred in silent fear at what she saw, it was a white horn that was curved upward like a claw and it glowed red near the tip. Reflection gave the filly a confused look, it was a small Crystal Alicorn, then her face grew incredibly sad. She remembered that she used to be a concubine to her king, but that had ended months ago, how could this be. She had thought it would be the child of her new special somepony, but this obviously wasn't the case.
Later...
Reflection returned home later that day, her daughter was to be left at the maternity ward for a few days to make sure the filly was health and everything. She walked in the door and into her shop, the shop was filled with mirrors, which was Reflections special talent, making mirrors. She walked into the back where she lived, it was dark and the shutters were closed, she didn't remember shutting them before she left, so she went to open them when she walked in a puddle.
She sighed, she'd have to clean that in a minute once she opened the shutters, she got to the window and pulled on the string and screamed at what she saw. The puddle she had stepped in was a pool of blood and it was coming from the body of her special somepony. She held a hoof in front of her mouth and was panting as tears welled in her eyes. There was a mirror in the shape of a star on the wall, it was her favorite, but now she was sickened at the site of it. there was a sentence written on the mirror in blood, it read "Give me the child, Love your King" .
Reflection ran out of the shop, she needed to get to her child and to protect it. The sun was almost set and she was running out of time, so she toke to the air and cover the distance it would have taken her half an hour to get to on foot in three minutes by wing. She landed on the hospital steps and charged inside. It toke her a good two minutes to find the doctor and when she did, the first thing she said was "Wheres my child?". The doctor seemed confused "Her father came and picked her up" he said, slightly confused.
She got closer to the doctor "Who?" she begged and the doctor pulled himself to her ear "Sombra" he whispered and Reflection almost broke down, but she quickly pulled herself together and ran out of the hospital and ran towards the palace. The palace was in plain sight and she ran faster then she'd ever run before, but she felt a sudden weight land on her and push her down. She looked to see who it was and it was a large unicorn stallion clad in black, and he was obviously an assassin. Reflection struggled under his weight, but it was useless for he had a strong hold on her, she felt something cold press itself against her throat and before she could cry out it sliced her throat and she went limp.
Meanwhile...
Sombra lay in his bed chamber, he wasn't wearing his usual armor because holding a newborn while wearing armor is very strange. It hadn't taken him long to learn of the foals birth because he had doctors inform him of each foal born with his families trademark horn. not many were usually born because he was usually careful to place anti pregnancy spells on his concubine, but he would occasionally mess up the spell. When that happened he usually killed them and the newborn, but this time he couldn't bring himself to do it, he told himself it was smart to have an heir on hand, but he really couldn't when the filly had opened its eyes for the first time.
He had brought it to his chamber and was about to smother it with a pillow and he had murder written all over his face, but at that moment the filly had opened its eyes and he could tell instantly that it had his eyes. He shook the thought away and was about to bring down the pillow and smother it, but then it had smiled, it had smiled at him as he was about to kill it and at that moment he couldn't bring himself to kill his daughter. He cast of his armor and cape, lay down on the bed and placed the little foal between his forelegs.
He smiled down at the newborn in front of him when someone knocked on the door. Sombra opened the door with magic and saw the assassin he'd sent to kill Reflection "The deed is done, My King" he said and Sombra's only response was a brief nod and the assassin left. Sombra now had to raise his new daughter, which might not be so bad.
Chapter 1: Journals and Drawings
Sombra sat in his private study, it was a quiet and well organized room, but there were a few secrets hidden in there. He was writing in a journal, he had one for each year of his reign so there were quite a few in total and some passages focused entirely on his daughter. He wrote a new entry in the journal "Shard is growing into such a fine young mare and it pains me to keep the secret of her mother from her, but she can't know or else she'll hate me" . He shut the journal and placed it with the others behind a portrait of him and Shard.
He stepped away from the desk and left his study, taking great care to lock it before he left. Once again he had free time and he wasn't particularly in the mood to torture and subjugate anyone right now so he went to find his daughter. It never really required much searching to find her for she was usually cooped up in her room or playing with the kids of Sombra's advisers and since his advisers weren't here she was probably in her room, so he headed for the palaces east wing.
Shard was in her room, there was a piece of paper in front of her. She had begun to draw on it, levitating crayons across the paper and basically just plain drawing, but with magic. She was enjoying her little bit of time alone when she head a light knocking at the door. Shard knew who it was instantly because only her father ever knocked and it was something she'd grown used to. "Come in" she yelled, even though she was pretty near the door and she could have just said it, but she enjoyed yelling.
Her father entered the room and he smiled at his daughter "Hello, my little princess" he said and stepped over to her. Shard smiled at her father, stood up and hugged his leg, he wrapped his other leg around her in return. "What are you drawing sweety?" he asked, eyeing the paper, Shard smiled and levitated the paper over "Its you" she said and passed it to him. Sombra saw it was a crude drawing of him, it was what his daughter usually drew, but this one was different, he was small in the picture and he had and angry scowl on his face.
"What are you drawing?" he said again, but this time there was more confusion in his voice. "Its not finished yet daddy" she said and looked down, embarrassed. One of Sombra's advisers appeared in the door way "Your Majesty, we need you to sigh some documents for us if you would" he said. Sombra sighed "Sweety, can you show me the drawing when its finished, please?" Sombra said to his daughter and she nodded with a grin "Thanks sweety, I love you". "I love you too, daddy" she said, Sombra leaned down and kissed his daughter on the head before exciting with his adviser.
Later...
Sombra sat on his throne, he was signing something and was extremely bored, when his daughter ran in the throne room with a piece of paper in her mouth "Daddy, I finished the drawing" she said, somehow managed in not mess up any words through the paper in her mouth. Sombra looked to his daughter and picked her up when she managed to reach him "Let me see" she said politely and toke the paper from his daughter. When he saw the drawing he couldn't take his eyes away, it was of him standing on his balcony and watching as his citizen toiled below. "Sweety, what made you draw this?" he asked his daughter and she suddenly looked sullen "Jade Candle told me about you when you were at work, I didn't believe him, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. is it true?" she asked, sounding so innocent and Sombra felt so ashamed of himself "No sweety, it isn't true" he said and held his daughter close, not being able to stand what he had become.
Author's Note
I got stuck on this one for hours and when I finally finished I was proud even though it was short. So basically Shard heard from one of her friends that Sombra was evil and all, but she refused to believe it and she ended up drawing a picture and Sombra is ashamed of himself, but he can't go back now for it is far to late.
Chapter 2: Who here is the Princess?
Shard lay in her bed, she was a full grown teen and getting tired of all this, but her fathers word was law, inside and, unknown to Shard, outside the palace. Sure she was a princess and all, but wheres the fun in that when she didn't even know any of her subject, the only one she knew was Jade Candle, who she had begun into a relationship with recently and though they weren't up to anything yet, things might soon change. She used her magic, her magical aura was a bright orange, and brought over a small device with a large button on it, she pressed the button.
It took a moment, but finally a Crystal Guard entered the room, his armor was different from the other guards so it showed he was far higher ranking then them, through the armor it show his pelt was a dark blue and his mane and tail were a dull gray. "Yes, Lady Shard" he said with a gruff voice which demanded respect, but such things didn't work on her highness. " Lord Graceling, I grow bored and required some sort of entertainment" she said, her voice as luscious and beautiful as she. "Lady Shard, you know as well as I that, that is not in my job description" he said in a tone that clearly indicated that this wasn't the first time he'd received this request from her.
Shard let out a loud huff "Excuse me, but who here is Princess?" She said to him. Lord Graceling sighed "You are, Lady Shard" he said, clearly unhappy, Shard put on a smug expression "Good, now entertain me" she said, and Lord Graceling could only obey. He removed his armor and drew three knives and he began to juggle them "Faster" Shard said and He could only comply. She kept telling him to go faster and eventually Graceling began to lose track of where the knives were and he slipped up.
The knife came down and with a sickening cry, left a long gash down his hoof joining older, more faded scars around the new gash. Shard pouted, unhappy that her little show was over and she dismissed the guard to go tend to his wound. Shard often ordered Graceling for that show because sometimes she enjoyed watching him in pain, not just because, the reason she did was because she didn't like him, his eyes were too free in her presence and knife juggling required all concentration and she wanted to see if he could focus, but he never learned. Shard was once again, bored so she felt it was high time she gave her father a visit, because she hadn't seen him in a couple of days and she enjoyed her time with him.
She walked down a hallway that seemed to go on forever, she had asked her father if she could just fly outside because it would take less, but his answer was always the same, no, and he never even gave a reason just a plain no and she'd have to drop the subject. She finally reached the throne room and she poked her head inside, empty. Shard thought nothing of it so she headed for her fathers room to see if he was there. His room wasn't far from the throne room and she poed her head inside the door, empty.
Shard had no idea, those were the only to places she new he father to be in so she decided to just roam for a bit. Shard wandered into the west palace wing, she rarely went there because she wasn't really allowed, but her father wasn't here to scold her. Shard stopped in front of a mirror in the hall, she never understood why she, but she liked her looks, it wasn't a crime. She starred for quite sometime and she looked at the one flaw in her beauty, her cutie mark. Shard was a blank flank and at her age it was rather worrisome, but no one pointed it out, unwilling to risk the wrath of their princess and she never got mad about it so why they thought that, she had no idea.
Shard walked past a door that was slightly ajar, normally she wouldn't care, but she heard her father's voice from within. Shard peeked through he door to see. She saw her father turned away from her, sitting at a desk and he appeared to be writing, but the way he sat showed that he didn't want anyone to know what he was writing. Shard used a spell she rarely used, but came in handy sometimes, it was a spell that momentarily increased eyesight. She looked at the book he was writing in, but she could only see one word on the page, it was her name.
Shard saw her father move and the spell wore off, he moved a painting off the wall and he placed the book back with at least well over a dozen book and he came towards the door. Shard moved, jumping away from the door and silently flying away down the hall, she'd see what her father had written in the journals later. Shard ran into her room and dove under the sheets of her bed and made it look like she was asleep and not a moment later, Sombra entered the room and gently kissed his daughter before exiting and going to his own bed.
Later...
Shard crept down the hall of the palaces east wing, she wore a black hood and hovered a glowing lantern in front of her to guide her path. She was determined to find what her father had written in this journals and nothing would stop her and after about five minutes of creeping down the hall and jumping at every sound, she arrived at the door. Shard tried turning the knob, but it wouldn't budge "Damn it, locked" she whispered, but thankfully, she had come prepared for this. Shard opened her left wing a bit and she reach in and pulled out a lock pick and she went to trying to open it, but the lock pick obviously had to break. Shard sucked in a small amount of breath because the small snap of the lock pick echoed down the hall, but no one came rushing to investigate the noise thankfully.
Shard eyed the key hole, it didn't look like the kind she was used to, instead of an hourglass like design, it was just a round hole. Shard looked inside and saw it was basically just a cylinder. She contemplated this when a slightly crazy idea struck her, she tentatively pushed her horn inside the hole and she twisted her head and the door unlocked itself with a silent click. She pulled her horn out and shouldered the door open, it was dark in the room. but thankfully she had her lantern and she stepped towards the desk.
Chapter 3: Reflection of the Past
Shard stopped in front of the desk and drew back her hood, she had to know why her father had seem rather secretive with the journals. She placed her lantern on the desk and starred at the painting on the wall, it was of her and her father when she was a mere filly. She moved it from the wall and when she did she felt a small mental tug, it was weird, but she ignored it for the time being. She was amazed at the number of journals, their were more then she remember, but she couldn't dwell on these little thing so she randomly pulled out a journal.
Shard looked at the cover and there was a year on it, the year she was born. She looked inside and saw their were a number of passages and each one had a date scribbled above it. Shard flipped through the passages and stopped when she reached the date of her birth. Shard read the passage "This is a momentous day for me and the kingdom, I now have a daughter and she is the most beautiful thing ever, even more so then her mother, Reflection.
Shard stopped reading there, she now knew her mothers name, Reflection, it was a nice name and kind of ironic for a Crystal Pony. Shard read on "But it pains me that Shard can never know the truth of her mother's death" . Shard gasped, Sombra had told her that her mother had died due to complications during Shard's birth. She read on, needing to know more "Silver Blade made sure that no one would know of Reflection's death and that no trace of the killing was left" .
Shard gasped again, Silver Blade was Sombra's most trusted and successful assassin and few people even knew him, but he was one of Shard's closest friends. She now knew a terrible truth, one she was never supposed to know and she now wished she didn't. She slowly stepped away from the desk, she heard a loud metal hoof step a little distance away, it was a loud metal clang which warned her that it was her father. She looked for a place to hide when she noticed a window, she knew it was her only escape so she ran towards it and quickly opened it and when she heard the last hoof step before her father entered she jumped out the window and flew.
Shard glided effortlessly in the night, but she wished her coat wasn't so bright compared to the night sky. Shard finally saw outside and she was appalled, there were hundreds if not thousands of Crystal Ponies toiling in the city below even considering how late it was at nigh they toiled miserably. Thats when she could hear incredibly loud gasps below and the ones who were gasping were all looking at her. She wasn't sure if they could tell who it was or not, but she didn't care she needed to hide, simple as that and at that moment the knot that held her hood on began to come loose "Shit no, stay on" she said and desperately fumbles with the knot trying to keep it on, but the that only slowed down the inevitable.
The knot finally came undone and Shard's cloak fell off and a loud collective gasp came from below and now all the citizens eyes were upon her. Shard hastened her flight and headed towards the window that lead into her room and her crystal body caught the light of the moon and there was a bright and beautiful flash of white light. Shard saw that all the citizens had shielded their eyes and she used that to her advantage and flew into the closest palace window and landed in the hallway her room was located in so she ran full force to her room and hide under the sheets, she'd find out more about her mother tomorrow from the one pony who knew, Silver Blade.
The Next Day...
Shard slipped out from under the sheets, she hadn't slept much last night what with the journals and all and each time she slept she would wake within minutes with awful nightmares about how her mother mus have felt in those last minutes of life, terrified for her daughter and hate towards the king. Shard walked out the door, her one mission today was to find Silver Blade, he was an old stallion and he always seemed to be carrying such a heavy burden. She trotted briskly down the hall and towards the stairs that lead to the basement of the palace. Shard entered the throne room, her father wasn't there yet thankfully.
She pushed open a large black door and walked down the spiral stair case on the other side, it seemed almost endless, but she knew like all the staircases this palace had, it ended eventually. Shard grew tired of walking so she just drifted down silently to the bottom of the staircase. She reached the bottom and into a large room full of Crystal Ponies, all clad in black clothes and practicing their killing. She didn't stop to marvel at the way they moved the swords and killed in such a beautiful and precise manner, she had to find Silver.
Shard came to a plain oak door and pushed it open, she saw sitting at the desk was the aging old stallion, Silver Blade. He saw her "Ah, hello dear princess, how is everything?" he asked as usual, being polite as ever. She scowled at him, which seem to take him off guard and she slammed the door shut "Alright Silver Blade, you will tell me what I want to know, now" she said, putting ever single ounce of venom she possessed in her words. Silver Blade starred at her curiously "What exactly do you need to know?" he asked, a bit on edge, Shard stepped closed "Tell me about my mother" she said, and he seem a bit distressed now, but he still seemed so cool "I never knew her my princess" he said.
Shard glared "I think you did, I believe you killed her" she said and Silver Blade finally seemed to crack. He began to cry "I am sorry Shard, I always wished to tell you the truth, but Sombra ordered me to hold my tongue and never tell you" he said, sobbing and Shard pitied him, but she couldn't let that deter her "Tell me all you know about her" she said and he looked at her "No one knew who she was truly, in truth she just seemed to show up one day and she didn't even have a birth record" he said and this confused Shard, could she be Equestrian maybe, no, no one from Equestria had been here for hundreds of years.
Silver Blade could barely control himself now and Shard figured she could get one more question out of him before she lost him "Tell me where you disposed of her body" she said and Silver Blade was now on the floor "I don't know, I went to look and make sure there were no witnesses and her body was gone" he said and now he was gone, lost inside of himself, Shard knew he cared about her, but she couldn't show mercy at this point, he would have to suffer himself alone so she walked out of the office and flew to the top of the stairs and towards her room to prepare.
Chapter 4: Intervention and Escape
Shard was placing supplies in a saddlebag she'd gotten years ago but had never had a purpose to use it, until now that is. She was placing food she'd picked up from the kitchen on the way to her room, some weapons she had never learned how to use, but better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it, and a great many bits so she wasn't out there broke. She had no idea where she was going, but that didn't really matter because she just needed to go, maybe go into the city, hide among the citizens, and maybe get her Cutie Mark while shes at it.
She got the bag on her back, trotted over to the door and pushed it open, only to be confronted by a large green stallion with a blue green mane, his eyes were a rich amber and his cutie mark was of a grey wolf in a battle stance, his talent was fighting animals. "Jade!" she cried and wrapped her forelimbs and wings around the stallion, who returned the gesture "Hey Shard" he said. They left each others embrace and stepped back, Shard smiled "Hey Jade, i'm kinda busy right now, can I catch ya later" she said and tried to step around him, but he blocked her, his expression was serious "Shard, I know what your up to and I can't let you go" he said and began to push her back into her room, but she didn't budge and inch "Why not?" she said, watching him straining to move her, she inherited her fathers strength.
Jade stopped trying to push her and stepped back "Sombra knows that your planning to leave and ordered everyone in the castle to stop you, please just comply, I couldn't stand if you got hurt" he said and once again tried to pus her back, but to no avail. "How did he find out?" she asked, but she didn't get a response, only more pushing. Shard was starting to get annoyed by her coltfriend "Let me by" she said and for a second Jade faltered, but only for a second and then he continued to push, but now Shard was beginning to move a little. She reared backwards and Jade flew backwards into her room by the sudden movement and Shard began to walk down the hall, towards the entrance to the palace.
Shard saw a number of guards, guarding the stairs that lead to the door, but Shard didn't care, she just kept walking. The guards saw her and pulled together to form a wall and this truly angered Shard, she saw in the center was Lord Graceling and Shard knew who her target was. She stopped a little distance away from the guards "Move, Now" she said and the wall wavered a bit, but it pulled itself back together in seconds "Princess, you know we can't do that" Lord Graceling spoke and Shard wasn't having any of that. She made her horn glow brighter til all the white of it was gone and it was pure red and now some of the guards seemed scared "Move!" she yelled and some guards actually moved and Shard exploited this before they could fix themselves.
She charged the line and some guards fled, but the rest that didn't move or flee stood steadfast, but she could see they were nervous. Lord Graceling stepped forward and extended his spear, but before Shard impaled herself on it, she leaped and spread her wings, flying down the stairs and out the door. When she was outside, the harsh light of day, she shielded her eyes with her wings and ran down the road, maybe she could find her grandmother from her mothers side, but that was something for later, right now she had to run.
There was shouting behind her and Shard saw a number of guards chasing her which made her want to run more, so she ran down the seemingly endless streets and then the streets ended and turned into open fields of green, but the guards were still chasing her so she couldn't stop. She saw in the distance what appeared to be an arch made from crystal, but she couldn't admire it right now, she just had to lose the guards and at last her eyes were used to the light and Shard took a chance, she flew. There weren't many fliers in the Crystal Empire and apparently none were members of the guard because the had stopped ans Shard laughed for victory was hers when she saw it.
It was a large black cloud rising from the palace and the only thing that identified it as her father were the toxic red and green eyes and the horn. She saw it was approaching her at an unnatural rate and Shard picked up the pace, flapping frantically to escape. Shard wasn't paying attention to what was ahead and she felt like she'd just went from being in a warm bath to a tub of ice and what she once saw as her home was just a blue force field. She just exited the Crystal Empire and flown into the frozen arctic outside and she saw the black cloud exit the empire and fly around frantically, trying to find her, but she at this distance and thanks to her coat, looked like nothing more then a snowflake, but things never get to be simple for her.
Sombra turned in her direction and Shard saw his eyes zero in "I'm alright, he can't tell its me at this distance" she said to herself, but when he began to go towards her, she realized she had seen him. Shard flew at speeds she'd never known she could fly at and all the while she was trying to figure out how her father had seen her and then it struck her, her tail. While her mane and coat were a beautiful white, her tail was a bright, fluorescent, and highly noticeable orange. Shard saw Sombra was almost upon her when it all happened so suddenly, the was a brief flash of dark blue and then a bright, almost stellar light struck Sombra and he was blasted back to the Empire and Shard saw her savior, she was a dark blue mare with a lighter shade of blue mane and tail that moved almost like water, she was built like Shard, but this mare was much more elegant. The mare turned to her and winked and Shard caught a glimpse of her Cutie Mark, it was a pure black patch of the night sky with a white crescent moon and Shard knew who her savior was, Princess Luna or Equestria.
Shard was about to fly over to thank Luna for saving her, but she was gone, but there was a piece of parchment floating there, unaffected by wind or snow, it read "I saw your plight Princess Shard and I came to help, but do not take this as an act of friendship for your kingdom is no friend of ours" . Shard read it a flew more times before shoving it into her bag, she knew where she needed to go now, to Equestria, not only to properly thank Luna, but also to enlist Equestria's aid in the freedom of her people.
Chapter 5: Nix and the Umbra Tribe
Shard trudged through the snow, at most, two weeks had passed since she fled home and she was now, out of food, too tired to fly, and too tired for magic, to list a few of her many problems. She scooped a mouthful of snow and swallowed it uncomfortably, she knew all the snow out here was clean, but that didn't mean she liked it. "I'm so bucking sick of this bucking cold" she muttered to herself, barely able to hear over the howl of the wind and snow. There were points of time when she longed to just sit down and sleep, but that really wasn't an option and she needed to get south and to reach Equestria.
Shard kept going, she was more sick of the snow then a wolf was sick of vegetables, but It wasn't up to her, it was up to the elements. Shard felt the the days of exhaustion, lack of food, and lack of sleep catching up with her, she felt so tired and her legs were dragging through the snow. She felt her eyes drifting shut as she walked, It was weird to be falling asleep as she walked, but she couldn't sleep now, there was too much ground to cover, if she slept now, she felt she would never wake again. She felt numb and the soreness in her limbs was strong that it overcame the numbness.
Shard never saw the rock jutting from the snow and she probably wouldn't have even if she were fully awake, but she never saw it and thats what mattered. She fell forward and she let out a scream, it had startled her, but her tumble hadn't been the worst of it, she landed with a heavy thud and over the thud she could hear a loud crack. It was the sound of her leg breaking against the rock like a thin twig. She saw a large hoofed figure approaching her, it moved with out effort like it had been living out here its whole life and on its head were a pair of large antlers, she blacked out
~Some Time Later~
Shard woke up to the warmth of a nearby fire and a large body pressed against her, at first she forgot that she was lost and that she was back home with Jade Candle, but then she realized how sore she was and the large body had silky fur, not the crisp and cool fur of Crystal Ponies. The walls appeared to be made of a thick cloth and they kept the heat of the fire inside. She realized she wasn't home and the events of the past few days flooded back into her mind, running away, Her father chasing her, Luna saving her, and blacking out in the snow. Shard now remembered the large shape walking in front of her before blacking out.
Shard's head shot up and she was rewarded with a very acute and very painful, pain. "Rest, you'll need it" a gruff voice spoke, and Shard felt a hoof press against the side of her head, forcing her head back down. She was able to turn her head to see the source of the hoof and saw a large brown creature laying beside her. It was muscular and its head looked similar to that of a stallion, telling her it was male. It had a short tail, the underside of which was white, but the most striking part of this creature was its giant horns which resembled tree branches, minus the leaves.
She remembered the last thing she saw before she blacked out, the hoofed figure approaching her from the storm. She raised her head again and glared at the creature laying next to her. He placed his hoof against her head and began to gently push her head "Rest" he said, but she kept her gaze on him and refused to put her head down. "Who are you and where am I?" she demanded in a wavering voice, and he just looked at her. "Tell me where I am?" she asked, more politely.
He sighed "Your far from your home, pony, I'm not sure if your from Equestria or the Crystal Empire, but judging from your direction south, your from the Crystal Empire, you are in The Village of Shadows, home of the Umbra Tribe". Shard listened to all this, Umbra Tribe?, she was unfamiliar with any tribes nearby and was surprised there were any. "Umbra Tribe, what exactly are you creatures?" she asked her next question.
He looked at her and spoke again in his gruff voice "We are Reindeer, we have lived in the frozen Norths longer then your kind, and I suppose your next question will be what my name is, and it is Nix" he said. Nix was right, that had been Shard's next question and she didn't appreciate the fact this 'Reindeer' could tell what her next question was. Shard made an attempt to stand, but Nix put his hoof on her back and kept her down "Rest, take my advice, I have been lost out in the cold for days same as you and rest will help" he said, but Shard really didn't care.
She rolled away and stood before he could push her back down, but she collapsed back down when a fiery pain erupted in her leg. She felt tears trickle down her face and she looked to the source of the pain and saw her leg wrapped in gauze. "Your leg was broken when we found you" he said and watched her with pity in his eyes. She glared at the creature and stood again, she was more prepared for the pain this time and she was able to handle it better, she looked and saw the outline of a flap in the tent, she stepped towards it, but Nix blocked her path "Please rest" he said, but Shard just pushed him aside and into the outside.
The storm she had passed out in had stopped and she saw a great many reindeer out and about, some had baskets of food, while others repaired holes in tents. As she exited the tent, all eyes turned to her, Shard saw a group of reindeer in a clearing nearby, they had the basic build of a mare, telling her they were female, except they were more muscular then the males and had smaller antlers. They all looked to her and spoke in a language she couldn't understand and all the villagers began to surround her and speak all at once, their tones were questioning, but Shard couldn't tell what they were saying.
Shard backed away from the growing crowd, she was wary of them, but anyone would be in her situation. The crowd grew closer and their voices raised in volume, but to her surprise, Nix stepped from the tent she was currently cornered against and, by one look at the crowd, saw her trouble. He spoke in what was apparently his native tongue and all the Reindeer let out a collective "Oh" and left to go back to their own business "What did you say to them?" Shard asked Nix. He turned to her and grinned "I told them you had just woken up and needed time to recover from sleep" he responded and looked forward, a suddenly emotionless expression on his face.
Shard turned to gave in the direction of Nix and saw a large Reindeer approaching, he was stronger then the other males Shard had seen and was covered in scars, he seemed to have seen his share of battle. He quickly closed the distance between Shard and himself, his voice was deeper and more commanding then the others and like with Lord Graceling, Shard was unfazed "So, this is the pony that you rescued from the Stone Ice Fields" he remarked to Nix, as if she wasn't there. The Reindeer turned to her now and Shard, though unfazed by his voice, was startled by the authority he commanded through his eyes.
"So, Who are you and why have you intruded on our village" he said and Shard huffed, this creature was challenging her, and when it came to challenges, Shard was more stubborn then a mule. "Back home, we usually state our names before we ask questions, unless the question is 'Whats your Name' " she stated, as if he had made an error in introductions and his face showed her she had just won a small victory, but he quickly pulled it back together. "My Apologies, it has been a while since we had a pony in our tribe and I'm not exactly familiar with your customs, My name Tarandrus, Chief of this Tribe" He said, and from his tone, it was clear he was leader around here and she had merely made a mistake, not knowing this knowledge, but Shard knew he was leader, just from the authority his presence demanded.
"Greetings, My name is Shard, Princess of the Crystal Empire" she said and now he seemed to tense, he clearly knew of the Crystal Empire and its might. "Well, It it is quite a treat to have a princess among us, if you require anything during your stay here, just call" he said, he probably hoped that when she left and if she went home, she would be grateful to him and she would develop peace with his tribe or something. "Please, that is hardly necessary, once my leg is all healed, i'll be gone, just treat me like one of your own tribe" she said, and she instantly regretted that last statement thanks to the look that appeared on his face and the look of sorrow that suddenly appeared on Nix's face. "If you say so, Wench" Tarandrus said.
Author's Note
Ok, this chapter was originally going to be totally different, but then I couldn't think of a way for my original plan to work, so this turned into major writers block, so I went to my friend and asked him what Shard should do and he said "How about she get a traveling companion, maybe a polar bear". I decided to make a reindeer and Nix was created from that, but originally the plan was going to be him as a wanderer, but then my fingers were like no and toke over, toke me three days to write this.
Chapter 6: Healing Spell and Ruin
Shard starred at the room in shock, it was absolutely trashed, It looked like someone had thrown a party in a twister. "Why in Tartarus would you keep a room like this?!" she shouted at Nix, who she would be staying with til she could leave. "Hey, its not like your staying in this room" Nix responded in a calm and even tone, it was infuriating to Shard at this point, but she had to be a good guest. "Yes, but I have to clean it, thanks to that damnable chief of yours!" She shouted with every single ounce of vocal venom she could muster and Nix looked her dead in the eye once she said it. "Our chief isn't our choice, whoever is strongest becomes chief" Nix said, still calm as ever.
Shard didn't understand this "Strongest? What does that have to do with leadership?" she asked, her tone totally shifted from earlier. "It has nothing to do with leadership, but that is the way the tribe has always been, the chief must be challenged by an individual in combat and the victor rules" Nix said as if he had recited this hundreds of times and it was no new information. Shard contemplated this, in pony society, the ruler was the child of the King or Queen, or said King or Queen, "A strange form of leadership, but why?" she asked. "Because only the strong can survive, it eliminates weakness and keeps us living another day" he said and left the room, indicating the conversation was over and that Shard should start cleaning.
Shard grumbled, she had learned that when she said 'Treat me like one of your own', she had unwillingly turned herself into a maid because the females of the Umbra Tribe had to preform the domestic chores while the males did all the heavy work outside. She used her magic to move trash outside and picked up dirty cloaks for washing. She knew how to wash clothes because Shard's nursemaid had taught her in this type of instance. She was favoring her other three legs because of her broken leg, it was difficult, but she didn't complain, didn't surrender, and most of all, didn't go down.
She was limping under the weight of her body combined with that of the cloaks, so she toke some of the strain on with magic, even though it turned into more of a mental strain. but it wasn't as bad. She founder her way to the laundry room and saw a tub of water and a wash board, so she set to her task. She ran the cloak across the board in the water, and was being careful not to get the gauze on her leg wet.
~Twenty or So Minutes Later~
Shard finished placing the clothes on the wire, she really did hate doing this, but she, as always, didn't get a choice in the matter. She left the room and saw that night had fallen, she looked at the moon and remembered when Luna had saved her and that refueled her determination to get her leg healed and to get out of here. She thought, maybe I could use a healing spell, but she quickly thought against it, it would drain her energy to the point of it taking five days to a week to heal, but it didn't take that much energy to clean this small hut anyway. These thoughts clashed in her head and they made her dizzy to the point of near collapse, but thankfully, Nix appeared, maybe to check on her and he saw her about to fall over. He rushed over and just as she began to fall, he caught her and pulled her up.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice full of concern and Shard just nodded, to mentally conflicted by the healing spell debate going on in her head. Shard stood, all the dizziness gone now because she thought she could just figure it out in the morning and she just needed sleep. "Where exactly will I be sleeping?" Shard asked Nix who was a few paces away, he seemed concerned for her right now and slightly nervous "You... You'll be sleeping with me because there are no other beds" He said, sounding incredibly nervous. Shard starred wide eyed, but only for a second til she returned to a tired expression "That shall be fine" Shard said and returned to the room she had clean previously, it was still clean, but there was one new dirty cloak on the ground.
Shard climbed into the rather large bed and crawled under the sheet, it wasn't a few moments later she felt the bed shift and Nix climb into the bed. Due to his large size, he filled the bed rather well and Shard could feel his legs in her back, but she really didn't care. "Um, I hope this isn't awkward for you" Nix said, but Shard didn't respond because she was alrady fast asleep.
~Shard's Dream~
Shard flew over the tundra, but she wasn't using her wings, She was a white cloud like her father's black cloud form. She looked down and saw ruins, they appeared like simple huts and tents and she recognized by the way they looked who made them, Reindeer, but there were no Reindeer in sight and thats when Shard saw it. There were a large group of Reindeer farther away from the village, all of them were males and they were fighting other Reindeer with gray fur and skinnier antlers and they opposing force had both genders among their ranks and that gave them the advantage of numbers over those Shard identified as the Umbra Tribe.
The battle grew bloodier and bloodier until there was only one member of the Umbra Tribe ahead, it was Tarandrus, but he was brought down by a larger Reindeer. She wanted to look away, but her dream self was unable to and Shard saw the enemy force running towards the village, but the worst part of the sight was that a little reindeer child stuck his head out of a tent and was unable to see the enemy force over the ridge, but he could hear something, the hoofbeats of the enemy. The Calf ran out of the tent and clearly thinking the ones approaching were their own people, began to shout "We won, they return now!".
Shard saw the Reindeer leave their huts, most were female, but there were some males that appeared sickly, exit the tents and huts and begin to cheer at their victory, until the enemy broke over the ridge and began to invade the village. Shard wanted to go down and help, but she couldn't move, meanwhile below, the enemy were in the village now, killing the children, the sickly males, some of the females, and some of the enemy even began, much to Shard's utter disgust and dismay, rape some of the females. Shard felt herself moving away from the slaughter and rape and towards a distant pine forest, the trees covered in snow.
Shard's cloud form moved through the branches and towards the ground and when she touched the ground, she reformed into her solid form. She was free to move now, but she couldn't leave the medium sized clearing she was in and ahead, she saw something exit the trees. It was a shape she was familiar with and had seen only once before when she had been saved from her father, Princess Luna. Luna closed the distance between them and stood before her, they were of similar height, give or take a few inches for Shard and Luna also had her beautiful flowing mane and tail. "Luna, whats happening, Te Umbra Tr-" Luna cut Shard off, and Shard somehow felt better being in the presence of this god-like mare.
"Shard, I understand your confusion, but I am trying to help you so please listen" Luna said, Shard had always heard that Luna spoke almost exclusively in the royal canterlot voice and used the traditional We, but she didn't, which concerned Shard. "The Umbra Tribe is technically on Equestrian soil and thats how I was able to reach you and its one of my jobs to protect all Equestrian citizens, even those not equine" Luna said in a soothing voice, it once again put Shard at ease. "But The Umbra Tribe is in great danger from one of their rival tribes who are planning a full scale invasion and thats why I came to you, you hold the power to stop it and save the Umbra Tribe, I will be in our debt" Luna finished and the word 'Debt' helped make the news Shard had just received less awful.
"But, what exactly can I do?" Shard asked, but Luna shook her head "You shall know when the time comes" Luna said "And I shall give you a hoof in your quest" and Luna's horn began to glow and Shard's gauze covered leg began to glow. The gauze magically uncoiled itself and in a long string, flowing into her leg and Shard realized that Luna had just healed her. When the spell was complete, Shard tested the leg and it felt better then ever "Thank You, Princess of the Night" Shard said and looked up from her leg to Luna, who had disappeared and Shard's vision of things to come if her quest wasn't complete melted away and Shard slept on for that night, dreamless.
Shard woke up from her slumber and the first thing she noticed was the large reindeer pressed against her back. She turned her head and raised and eyebrow, his mouth was open and there was a little trail of drool dripping out of his mouth and he snored. This was her first time sharing a bed with anyone and it was weird, she tried to slip out, but that was near impossible. She thought for a second then had an idea, she cast a small intangibility spell and it allowed her to slip out of his grip, but as she slipped from the bed, she remembered her broken leg, but she couldn't stop herself from slipping out of the bed. She landed with a loud thud and she gasped in pain before she felt anything, but no pain came.
She waited for the pain and when it didn't come, she looked at her leg, the gauze was still there, but it was no longer broken and thats when the memory of her dream came back. The slaughter of the Umbra Tribe, the rape of its women, and Luna appearing before her and fixing her leg to stop the war. It was enough to make her gasp in surprise and fall backwards against the bed. When she hit the bed, the thud must have awoken Nix because his head shot up and as he saw Shard panting next to the bed, he placed a hoof on her shoulder and she turned to him, her expression was less then happy. Shard looked at Nix and at seeing his concerned expression, she broke down and started crying, she had to save a village she'd only been in for two days.
Shard felt a hoof brush her mane, she looked up and saw Nix, he looked truly concerned and it was clear how much he wanted to help, but Shard knew there was nothing he could do. It took her a moment to regain herself and once she did, she picked herself up and one more tear slid down, but thats all she'd allow, she needed to speak with Tarandrus and find out what exactly his plan was in the instance of war. She slipped out the door and Nix followed shortly behind, she gave no time for him to catch up or anything, she saw the giant hut that Tarandrus lived in, she pushed the door open and she regretted it.
Shard saw the chief and some unknown female, they turned to her and Shard closed the door, pretending she hadn't seen a thing. She had to wait for a few moments before the female exited the door before her, the female mouthed "Thank You" and left to go back to her home. Shard took this as a sign that she could enter and, this time more cautiously, pushed open the door. Tarandrus stood in the center of the room, his expression told her that he wasn't happy and she was more or less, happy the he was unhappy.
"What is it you want Pony?" he said with clear disdain in his voice, she was so close to laughing at him, but she wisely suppressed the urge to do so. "I came to ask you some simple questions about the Umbra Tribe" she said as if it were truly innocent, but she really needed to know. "What kind of questions" he said, a grin appearing on his face like his tribe was perfect, just because he lead it. "Well, I was wondering what your tribe would do in the instance of war" she said.
"What does that mean?" he said
"Just what I said"
"Which is?"
Shard groaned "Like, say an opposing tribe invaded, what would you do?" she said, her hoof pressed against her face. "We would face them head on and kill them" he said with plain boredom, like it was a simple question with a simple answer. Shard looked at him, was he insane, stupid or both, "What kind of a plan is that?" she said with a face of shock. "Just what I said" he said in a poor mimic of her voice.
Shard frowned, she hadn't expected this from the chief, he was acting like a child, "Whatever" she said and left the hut where he lived and stomped back to Nix's hut. The wind picked up and Shard shivered, the snow was awful, she pulled her wings tightly to her body. All the Deer wore cloaks and Shard had nothing to help keep her warm. She saw everything a moment ago, but now the wind and snow had picked up so much that Shard couldn't see the hut. she squinted her eyes trying to find it, but it was useless so she kept walking, hoping find it.
Only when she didn't reach the hut after a few minutes did she realize that she'd probably wandered past it "Buuuuuuuuck" she groaned and made a U-turn when she noticed a large and blurry figure behind her. She thought it was one of the Deer looking for her and sighed "Hey, I'm over here!" she yelled and the shadow seemed to approach fast and she felt better, til the she finally noticed the lack of antlers and how much larger it was then a Reindeer.
"Um, whos there?" she yelled worriedly, but there was no response other then the howling of wind and a weird growling and then it clicked; Predator. Shard pulled open her wings and tried to appear larger, she wished she had Jade Candle with her now, but that was just wishful thinking. Shard could see it continued it's advance and she could make out white fur now, Polar Bear, masters predators of the snow and ice.
Shard gulped, she could only think of one thing to do now, try to be brave and confront this predator, sure she'd probably die, but whatever, she'd probably die before she successfully reached Equestria so, whatever. She stretched her wings wide as possible and began to force her horn to glow as bright as possible, she charged the bear. It grew closer and closer as she charged and with each second she grew less sure of what she was doing. She stopped before the creature and it stopped in front of her and stood on its hind legs.
Shard flinched as it let loose a loud roar, it was terrifying and when the bear lifted a paw to strike her she shielded herself with her wing and prepared for the blow. The blow never came and when she peeked from behind her wing she saw the bear was slowly fading from existence and turning into a dark blue cloud. When the bear had fully disappeared, Luna stood before Shard "Luna, what are you doing her?" she said to the older mare, "I came to test your combat abilities and I'm sorry to say, are lacking" she said and shook her head.
"What, why would you need to do that?" she said, she really didn't know why Luna would need to do that. "Because, if your to save the Umbra Tribe then you'll need to learn to fight and defend yourself" Luna said "Now, I shall take you under my wing and I shall teach you to fight in time for the invasion".
~Luna pov~
"Keep your weight evenly distributed" Luna yelled to the young alicorn who was fighting a large reindeer that had been conjured up. She had been out here for a few hours training the mare and Luna was proud to announce that the mare fought like thats all she ever did. "Yes, keep him confused, make sure you give no sign of your attack and if a sign is accidentally given, do something different" Luna yelled, she had known Shard for a long time, longer then Shard realized, she'd heard of Shard and decided to become as much of a guardian angel as she possibly could.
"Your doing well, now, lets move onto defense" Luna said and before Shard could say anything, made the deer fight with more vigor then it previously had, but Shard defended and attacked same as she had previously, it was all natural to her and Luna was proud of the progress they had made in their short time here. She slammed her hoof down on the rock she was standing on "Shard, night is almost over and I must return to Equestria, I shall meet you tomorrow night, Farewell" she announced as the deer dissolved in the air and Luna lifted off into the and flew south to Equestria.
Luna flew at speeds that no normal creature could achieve and she took pride in that ability and within an hour of flight, the Canterlot Castle was in sight. Luna fluttered her wings as she landed on the balcony of the throne room and was confronted by her older sister "Luna, where have you been, i've been worried sick and I couldn't start the day worrying this much" Celestia cried at the sight of her sister. "Calm thy self sister, I was only off to the north" she calmly explained to her sister, but it only seemed to put her sister more on edge "The North, Luna, what if Sombra had found you, you heard what he did to his daughter" Celestia blurted out and began to cry, which Luna found odd.
"Relax sister, Sombra lied and spread that rumor so the other rulers would fear him while he looked for his daughter" Luna said, emphasizing the word Looked . "How would you know sister, you haven't seen her" Celestia said and continued to cry and confusing Luna even more. "Actually, I was just with her and she seemed fine to me" Luna said and Celestia stopped crying and looked at Luna with eyes of utter shock. "Sh- shes alive?" Celestia stuttered and began to cry more then she had before, but they were of fear or sorrow, but of joy, and that confused Luna to the max.
"Why do you seem so concerned about Princess Shard?" Luna asked her sister who seemed to have gotten herself under control. "Well, um, its not her fault who her father is and from what i've heard, shes a nice mare" Celestia said nervously "Oh, would you look at the time, Sunrise, Love you Lulu, bye" and with that, Celestia scurried away and flew off the balcony to began the day. Luna hadn't believed her sister, maybe she was hiding something, but this was her sister, why would she hide someting, but Luna remembered something now, Celestia had disappeared a few years ago and when she had returned, had a grievous scar on her neck and refused to talk about her time away, maybe that ad something to do with it.
She decided to let the matter lie til her sister returned so she could ask her about it, she headed to her chambers and opened to large, navy blue door that lead into her room. There was a large blue sapphire sitting on a black pedestal in the center of the room, she approached it and cast an spell on it, the spell was a powerful one that took alot of energy and Luna was beginning to use it often, it was a scrying spell that allowed her to view the future.
She looked towards the future of the Umbra Tribe and saw a change, it wasn't long in the future, maybe a year or two, but there was a dramatic change from when she'd view the future yesterday, the village was more populated then before and Tarandrus was no longer leader she saw, but someone new, fairly young with a great many scars, Luna gazed upon their new leader with pride, her intervention had saved the tribe. The spell ended and Luna smiled warmly at the sapphire, she realized how early it was and Luna needed sleep now, she abandoned the pedestal and slipped into her bed and under the sheet and in moments sleep claimed her.
~Shard pov~
Shard watched Luna fly away, she barely felt exhaustion even though she had been practicing for hours and hadn't had a single break. She felt pride in her progress and she saw the village n the distance, she flapped her wings and flew towards the village, only a few of the villagers were out and they gave no sign of noticing her. She landed in the center of the village and quickly located Nix's hut, she yawned and stepped towards the hut when she heard loud hoofsteps behind her. She turned and saw Tarandrus coming towards her "Mare, where have you been, everyones been searching for you" he said as he approached her, but Shard just ignored him, turned around, trotted into Nix's hut, and crawled into the large empty bed, patiently waiting for sleep.
~Sombra pov~
Sombra paced in his throne room "Where could she be" he kept whispering to himself, his guards had tracked her magically, but had lost her suddenly about two days ago. He stopped his pacing and glared at the wall, on it was a large painting of Sombra, wearing his crown, no armor, but he still wore his cape, and a tiny Shard wearing a copy of his crown, only golden and a little smaller then his own, but too large for her. He remembered that day, she had said she'd never grow into the crown, but he had assured her that she would when she was older, he had been right. "WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME!" he screamed at the painting, he tore it off the wall and started to tear it apart, most of what remained of it were small shreds, but one large piece remained, it was her painted face.
Sombra froze at the sight of it, the artist who ad painted it had assured him the painting would come out perfectly, at the time, it had, but now, he saw every beautiful feature of his daughters face and every happy emotion in her eyes, now, it was far from perfect. He screamed and his horn became surrounded by a black aura and a large black crystal appeared from the ground and stabbed the painting Shard and from the point of stabbing, black flames spread and soon, engulfed it. Sombra came to his sense and realized what he'd just done, he tried frantically to smother the flames, but they refused to die, soon it was gone and Sombra starred at the spot where it had been, he felt only despair now. He dropped down and did something he hadn't done in years, he cried.
Shard pushed herself upward, she felt drowsy from sleep, but it didn't last as long as it usually would, which was just plain strange. She slid out of the bed and pushed open the door of the bedroom, to be confronted by someone she never expected, Tarandrus. "Well, well, well, look who made a speed recovery" he said and Shard didn't understand what he meant, but then she noticed something, she had opened the door with her supposedly broken leg. "Yes, it hasn't been as painful recently" she said, glad for the smallest bit of tiredness in her voice that probably sounded like sarcasm to him.
Tarandrus scowled "Watch your tongue mare, your lucky you haven't been kicked out yet" he said vehemently as if she owed him, ya right. "But my tongue makes up the majority of my personality" she said in mock offense and now Tarandrus looked angrier then ever "I've had enough of your insolence you little bitch" he said loudly and he raised a hoof and moved to strike her, but Shard quickly flicked her head and heard a sick crack and Tarandrus scream in pain.
Shard had no idea why he had screamed til she felt a warm liquid trickle down her face, she stepped backwards and Tarandrus screamed again. She saw his hoof was bleeding and she realized she had stabbed his hoof. "You little bitch, i'm going to kill you" he screamed and lunged at her. She jumped backwards and wisely avoided his antlers, which were lowered toward her. Shard saw him walking forward on an injured hoof, she looked for the nearest and safest escape.
She saw there was enough space between Tarandrus and the door for her to land and run, she decided it was the only escape and she quickly spread her wings, scaring Tandrus for a second and Shard used that time to leap over him and run out the door and into the snow. She looked all around, trying to decide which way would lead her to safety, but her secondary hesitation gave Tarandrus enough time to ram her while she wasn't looking.
Shard gasped as the antlers dug into her flesh, it was extra-ordinarily painful and she toppled to the ground, meanwhile, Tarandrus placed a hoof on her side triumphently "See here my villager, this is what happens when you disobey the chief" he yelled to the growing crowd. Shard looked into the crowd and saw Nix, starring at her with terrified eyes, those eyes gave her the push she needed. Tarandrus kept gloating while Shard gathered her breath, she pulled in as much air as she could hold and prepared to shout.
"ENOUGH!"
Shard pushed her wings out with so much force that when they struck Tarandrus in the face, it caused him to step away in shock and confusion. She pulled herself to her feet and glared at the startled reindeer "I've had enough of you, you bucking ass" she said vehemently "I challenge you to The Battle of Chiefs". "How do you know about that" he said, surprised she even knew about the challenge, but Shard didn't answer his question, merely put herself into a fighting position.
Tarandrus began to laugh now "Looks like the bitch wants to die with honor, very well, lets begin" he said and without warning, charged her with antlers lowered, but Shard was prepared. She jumped out of the way and to his side, effectively ruining his attack, she then pushed him down and he went down with a loud thud. He looked at her surprised and he stood up at that point, he now looked extremely angry now "You bucking bitch, I'll kill you" he yelled and he ran at her again, this time swinging his head wildly.
Shard couldn't jump to the side now so she jumped over his swinging head and with slammed her hoofs down on his back, he quickly fell, but once again, he stood almost straight away. Now he looked beyond the point of anger and Shard saw something extremely disturbing in his eyes. Shard kept herself standing tall and her stance aggressive, but Tarandrus had size on his side and if he stuck her full on with those horns, she could easily die. He ran at her, head swinging again and Shard once again, leaped, but Tarandrus stood onto his hindlegs and slammed his head into her stomach, making her tumble in the air and hit the ground hard.
Shard lay on her back and before she could even stand up, Tarandrus was there pressing his uninjured hoof against her ribs "You. Die. Now" he said and began to push down on her ribs, it hurt incredibly, but Shard refused to cry out, but she squirmed wildly. "No" she screamed and she, quicker then even she could see, bucking him in the face and she heard and awful cracking and Tarandrus fell backwards, the snow around his face turning blood red.
Shard flipped over and looked at the dead body of Tarandrus, she didn't want to kill him, merely chase him away, this was too much. She was panting and tears slid down her face and the crowd around her were silent, unable to comprehend what had just happened, Shard fell to her knees, she hid her face between her legs and cried softly.
Shard suddenly felt a large shape press against her side, she raised her head to see Nix looking at her with the most caring eyes Shard had ever seen, she buried her face in his side and began to let out muffled sobs. "Shard" he whispered and she lifted her head and his expression was serious "Your our leader now, you have defeated the chief, now his position falls on your shoulders" he said in a quiet whisper and Shard looked at the crowd around her, all looked like they were waiting for something.
No, this was too much, no. Maybe this was her destiny, she had been being groomed for leadership and her combat abilities were good according to Luna, maybe. Shard heard at that moment, a slight sound, it sounded light and enchanting, she looked to its source and saw her flank glowing. She, the Princess of the Crystal Empire, was finally getting a cutie mark.
View Online
Chapter 10: The Play that Almost Killed Celestia
The theater was silent as the actor ponies moved across the stage, their movements were graceful and swift, except for the old woman who moved slowly towards the daughter who had been lost to her. The two mares on stage sobbed and almost crushed each other in their grips and on the balcony above two mares sat, a white and rainbow maned mare, adorned with the finest of jewelry and a dark and shadowy mare with a star filled mane, adorned similarly. The curtain fell as the hidden band ended the song and the audience clapped. A tear slid down Luna's face as she smiled and clapped, but Celestia neither clapped nor smiled, only cried. Luna noticed and turned to her sister, concerned "Tia, are you ok?, TIA!" she exclaimed and Celestia collected herself at that moment of her sisters concern "I'm- I'm fine, lets go" Celestia said and left her sister, flying back to their palace home.
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Luna sat in her chambers, examining the orb on the pedestal, once again she was examining the future of Shard and the future had shifted again, this time she still ruled and was covered in a multitude of scar, but Luna had trouble believing the surroundings. Shard looked sullen, different from the daring and happy expression she usually wore and she was in a different setting, it was the Throne Room and Shard was placed on the throne, surrounded by Reindeer and Ponies; it was an coronation and Celestia's tiara was being placed on her head. Luna was distressed, what had happened, why was it so different.
She changed the one whos future she view and the orb went smoky black, like it was filled with smoke and thats when it struck her, she couldn't view her sisters future because it didn't exist. Shard was supposed to lead the Reindeer and Celestia, the ponies, what was happening, she needed to consult her sister on this. She abandoned the orb and quickly exited her room and to the one that belonged to her older sister and she pushed open the door and on the floor was Celestia lying in a pool of her own blood and tears "CELESTIA!"
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Luna sat in the waiting room, petrified for the life of her sister was currently on the line, "please be ok" Luna whispered to herself and finally, a pony exited through the large double doors, it was Celestia's doctor. "Doctor, is Celestia going to be alright?" Luna begged and now, the tears finally came, she was truly terrified for her sister's well being. "She's stable, but we're going to monitor for change " he said to Luna, his expression was somber "The knife was embedded deep into her abdomen, but we managed to remove it". "But, well, on her x-rays, we noticed something odd" he said and Luna almost broke into tear once more.
"What?" Luna begged, extremely scared now, "Well, um, her womb was, well, almost destroyed" he said "This is usually sometimes the result of a unicorn's birth and we needed to ask you, did Celestia ever have children?". Luna's jaw dropped "N-NO, she wouldn't do anything like that, would she?" she asked herself and now things from her vision of the future began to make sense, Shard on the throne instead of her, Celestia's disappearance, and Shard's birth around the time of Celestia's return to Canterlot, Shard is Celestia's daughter and Luna's niece. Images were flashing through Luna's mind, she had accidentally accessed her sister's dreams, but it was different, Luna was there, but she had no control this time and thats how Luna realized this wasn't just any dream, it was a memory.
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Reflection cried in the hospital bed, she and her child were doomed because she had given birth to Sombra's child and thats why they were to die. She cried, it was a cross between joy that she had a child all her own and sorrow for they were to die by the end of the night. "May I take my daughter home with me?" she asked the doctor, but he only shook his head, too young to leave yet.
Later
Reflection lay on her stomach, bleeding to death, she knew she was going to die tonight and she was now at peace with it, knowing she would be with her daughter soon. Images flooded into her mind now, they were of a beautiful marble palace, a blue mare with a starry mane and an image of herself in the mirror, she was Celestia and she now remembered the moment when she found out she was pregnant in her disguise, she had put a spell on herself knowing that she was going to die after the child was born and when it happened, the spell would be gone and her disguise would melt away, she was herself once again.
Author's Note
Sorry this chapter is so short, but I finally got over MAJOR writers block and ya, now you know that Celestia is Shard's mother, if y'all caught all the hints before and guessed it, well then I salute you for your intellect
Chapter 11: Elements of Disharmony
(Before we start this chapter, author speaking is underlined and Discord speaking is colorful
"Why?"
A powerful thought that had plagued this curious creature for century upon century, but an answer was never found and an escape was never located for being locked in a cave can do that for you. The simple answer was one that alluded him because he never viewed it in the sense it was meant to be view, it should be...
"Who?"
Who had locked him in this cave and for what purpose, the purpose was simple, to protect the most powerful artifacts in the known world. "I can't leave this cave, I can't invite anypony over, and all I do it watch over these jewels" he said, a tinge of hidden anger in his voice. He simply stared at the colored gems floating above individual Stalactite-
"Stalagmites"
"Beg pardon?"
"The ones that shoot up, those are stalagmites"
"Um, alright then, Floating above individual Stalagmites, Better?"
"Better"
"Alright then, where was I"
"You know what, get out, your an awful narrator"
"Sorry, but I'm not leaving, so no"
"Fine, stay, but I'm going to narrate myself"
"Fine by me"
"Hello little ponies, I am Discord and welcome to my humble abode, which isn't all that humble considering it's a cave, but we have some nice things, like this rock, or that rock, or the Elements of Harmony. Oh right, probably need to back tract a little, this is the cave where the Elements of Harmony exist, originally they were the Elements of Expression and were discovered during the founding of Equestria, they allowed a powerful king to take control of the land and, surprise surprise, he was evil.
"Eventually the ponies had suffered enough and a small band of heroes had assaulted the palace and had stripped the king of his evil magic and they slew the king and buried the Elements in his grave because grave robbing is totally against pony religion or something. Over the years, the darker forms of expression had slowly forced their way out and taken control of the kings body, returning the flesh and horribly mutating it, the king came back as, guess who, Discord and instead of retrying to take back his kingdom, he- I mean, I left and hid with the now pure, Elements of Harmony.
"Now I kind of wish I didn't because now, I sorely wish for revenge against the three who killed me, I harbor an even greater grudge against the one who so violently killed me, the others just wanted to lock me up for eternity, but the third knew I would escape one day and so, SHINK!"
"Discord's head popped off as he slide an eagle claw across his neck-"
"I told you to stop"
"I'm sorry, but I'm only narrating your actions"
" *grumble* Fine, but thats all, got it?"
"Got it"
"Ok, now- oh wait, forgot to tell you all who the heroes were, they were a white and pink maned pegasus name Celestia, a dark blue and light blue maned unicorn named Luna, and a black unicorn named Sombra. I don't harbor as much as a grudge against Celestia and Luna, mostly because they were against killing me, but Sombra, I think he pretty much did it with glee. I realize some of you might be wanting to get back to the main story and are kinda sick of all of this cutting away from Shard's story, but were letting her have sometime to recuperate and get into her role as chief, but we aren't going to tell the direct events after she got her cutie mark and she became chief, we may reference it, but thats all.
"I promise, next chapter will be all about Shard and Cele-!"
"AUTHORS AREN'T ALLOWED TO NARRATE!!!"
Author's Note
Ok, this is a fourth wall thing so enjoy.
