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Chapter 12

The beauty of the mountainous landscapes. Without a doubt, it was a fact that any of those magnificent views had the power to attract and captivate even the most skeptical of convincing.

It was a fact that nature used to possess that kind of capacity, that kind of power for which it was the privilege of most spectators to be caught on their own plane. To be the one who enjoyed it.

Watching the mountains rise imposingly, some with white garlands of misty snow crowning its tips; And seeing how the green mantle of the forest extended at its bases as well, all while the warm sun bathed in its light from the horizon, was something to make you feel completely free.

It was to be assumed, then, that this was a simple thing, in spite of everything. Very beautiful, but simple.

However, no one could ever imagine the real risk involved in following a mountain road or going deeper and deeper into those trails. And it wasn't just because of nature's own dangers.

From within the woods and even far beyond, there were so many things that could happen, or that could go wrong.

Many of the ponies that habited that place were ignorant of what might happen even on their most frequent routes, but it was on the higher ground that they really did not fully know. Unfortunately, this lack of knowledge caused them to continue entering those paths, while tracing their own paths to different places they needed to reach.

However, it wasn't the usual travelers who really needed to worry at this point.

As the sun slowly sank into the distance, raining down on the earth the light left over from the sunset, the shadows of the night were slowly beginning to spread in every corner of that strange place.

Every creature there had an innate knowledge that it was not advisable to stay too long outside when the night dropped its mantle and covered everything in its path. None of them knew what it was that gave them that instinct, that it was that made a simple, clear night suddenly awaken in them a cold, unpleasant feeling.

The most likely option was that it was the natural fear of whatever might be hiding in the dark.

Although anypony would say that this was not true and should not be so, that a quiet evening should not provoke such feelings, others could somehow sense what the reality was. After all, they couldn't deny that even in that place isolated from the known world, the most peaceful night could turn that tranquility into an unsettling uneasiness.

But that could happen, at least, in certain specific places.

Places that, for obvious reasons, nopony ventured to enter. While they may have thought it might be easier if they just didn't, the truth is that didn't always happen.

And as the darkness of the night sky continued to spread, the shadows of the night only grew deeper, every little corner or corner being covered by them. Soon there wasn't just one place.

On the other hoof, the darkness of the night, so immersed in its own stillness, was not always accompanied by silence.

Somewhere it could hear the sound of nocturnal creatures beginning its own night, an owl hooting for one, the slight flapping of a bat's wings, or the faint chirping sound of crickets in the trees. Perhaps it could even hear the constant, faint noise of running water in some small stream.

That was only a slight consolation for anypony who wasn't so lucky enough to find a sheltered place to spend it quietly, or the bad luck of not reaching their destination sooner than expected, having to endure the dangers that might lurk.

After all, the quieter it became, the more the feeling of alertness would grow. It was a fact that every creature in the depths of the forest, or anypony passing by, knew.

But what would be the reason for urging them to go beyond the relative safety of their own shelters? Sometimes there just weren't any.

Many didn't want to risk entering those pieces of abandoned green spaces of the will of whoever ran their world. But the need used to be stronger.

Their very existences often depended on their ability to find the resources needed for their lives, which were only found in places far from their settlements.

After all, searching for what they needed at the edge of the forest only guaranteed them a minimal existence that was rarely enough. On countless occasions they had to travel far, but that clearly did not detract from the risk of the journey.

Although from a young age they were instilled with the knowledge that deep in these places was where magic used to be strongest, it was also for obvious reasons, where the danger could be greatest. Because after all, nopony knew how to control the wildest forms of that supernatural power.

Or at least nopony had ever tried.

All this was due to several things, and chiefly to the fact that, among the habitants of that island, the belief and knowledge implicit in the legends was still strongly rooted. Passing that knowledge between each of them was the only thing they could do to explain in a certain way how their world really worked. The only one they were aware of.

But legends always have some truth to them.

Shadowy creatures that were supposed to be just like them, creatures with the powerful strength of an icy desert reflected in its eyes, creatures that crawl in the darkness, and that lurk from the darkness. Maybe nopony ever got to see them, and maybe they wouldn't anymore.

However, from the wreckage of that unexpected landslide, as the night continued to spread, no being near it could notice the strange events that were beginning to occur from the dark rocky corners that had formed earlier.

But perhaps a small pair of faintly glowing eyes had witnessed what was happening in the surroundings. A tiny being stripped of the tree that constituted its shelter, the latter a victim of the recent accident of nature.

As it moved among the rocks, looking for a new place to settle, its eyes began to pick up a slight movement around the corners of its field of vision. It stopped immediately, intrigued or perhaps with some fear that it was a dangerous predator. Something not far from the truth.

The night shadows had begun to grow darker and darker, dulling the light even more, but it wasn't just because the night sky was gathering more firmly over the landscape.

It was a kind of darkness that seemed to grow blacker with each passing second, as if a strange black hole were emerging from the surface of the earth. And as such, it threatened to take everything in its path.

What was most disturbing, however, was how tangible it seemed to be, almost as if it had a life of its own.

But suddenly, without warning, the brewing began to creep slowly over the rugged terrain, covering anything in the blackness in its path and spreading all the way across a certain area, though it didn't take long for it to stop its own advance.

Any living thing that was within a few meters quickly left the place as soon as they became aware of the new threat. After all, its instincts didn't usually fail it.

The shadows began to condense at a specific point, slowly forming into some sort of vortex, but still constant. Soon a whole mass was visible above the rocks, but to look in its direction was like seeing a mere void of darkness. And yet, if it weren't careful, anypony could easily get lost inside it.

There was nothing else about it to indicate that it was a living thing. No eyes, face, or mouth were formed from the shadows, limbs, or anything else that every living thing possessed. It only gave the impression of being the discarded remnants of some kind of forbidden power.

But that didn't mean it wasn't a creature.

It also didn't want to say that it wasn't there for something.

Although its intentions were not yet entirely clear, it knew very well the reason why it had been sent. Perhaps if it had had a mouth it would have let out a grimace of annoyance, but as it stood, it simply wasn't too advisable to complain.

That was there for a purpose, obviously. One that the others who were just like it felt moments after it reappeared in that place. After all, even though they had been missing for many years, it never imagined meeting such a specimen again.

They were so similar, and at the same time too different.

The shadows that made it up dissolved just as it formed, quickly dispersing around it. It had only taken it a moment to ascertain the truth and decide what they would do next.

They were going to be patient once again. They had waited a long time for it, and after all, nopony could imagine what the truth was in the legends about shadow creatures.

Nopony could know what lurked in the darkness.

"Let go!"

"That's what I'm trying!"

Twilight grunted as the grip that holding one of her front paws wrapped around her tighter. She tugged more firmly, in an attempt to get the tendril of plant she'd been unlucky enough to find to let go of her once and for all.

She was quite aware that this was happening only because she hadn't been able to stay away again, but that only gave her poor comfort. When she saw that her effort was practically in vain, she activated her horn and launched a small bolt of lightning that quickly cut through the offensive vine.

Twilight moved a bit further away as she dropped her hooves on this and others that had managed to sneak up on her, but she quickly left when she saw Spike engaged in his own fight with several of the vines that had raged against the group.

"A little help, Twi?" Spike said when he saw her running in his direction.

He gave her a pleading look as he tried to keep the plants far enough away with the small flames he had summoned from the fire in his belly. Because they were still in a relatively wooded area, he couldn't use it completly because of the risk of spreading a fire.

Twilight began to push away the plants that were around the dragon as soon as she had reached his side, while using the same spell as before. Both she and Spike stayed off the ground when one dared to get close enough without them noticing.

It didn't take long for the three of them to completely get rid of the sudden and annoying invasion of twisted green vines that Twilight and Spike apparently liked to attack any kind of creatures that passed its way. The remnants of it slowly retreated when it realized its failure.

After taking care of the last one, Twilight turned her head in a certain direction for a moment and watched as Sombra finally got rid of the tendrils that had wrapped around his front leg, using his fangs to finish cutting them off. He set the remains aside as he looked at his leg again.

A loud wail beside her made Twilight turn her head again.

"I definitely didn't expect plants to attack us," Spike muttered from his place on the floor as he heaved a loud sigh of exhaustion.

Twilight also gave a weary exhale as she slumped down on her hind legs. She carefully rubbed a hoof on her forehead, in an attempt to relieve a headache that threatened to grow. And yet, thanks to the breathing techniques she had learned from Cadence, she was able to calm down in a better way.

Just then she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Twilight turned and watched as Sombra resumed his walk with the goal of getting out of that place. She arranged her belongings without wasting time and they both got up from the place where they were to follow him once more on his route.

"Is it normal here for ivies to catch poor ponies and dragons off guard on the road?" Twilight lamented as she shook her head. "Although I've already figured it out on my own."

"It wouldn't have done it if you'd kept your hooves still and away for much longer," The stallion reproached her as she and Spike left their lag and positioned themselves next to him.

"How could I even imagine it? Besides, you shouted that warning too late." Twilight returned her recrimination as she let out a slight snort of disgust, but her face eventually took on a thoughtful, somewhat guilty expression when she remembered something else. "And that little flower looked so harmless..."

She had only approached in a moment of sheer curiosity when the color of its petals had caught her attention, so she moved away from them for just a moment to get a better look at it. On that occasion, nothing had indicated to her that anything was wrong with the object or with performing that action. Nor had any alarm gone off in her head as she slowly approached, walking in its direction.

She only realized what she had actually done when she almost reached out a hoof to touch her, and Sombra's sudden warning cry made her jump slightly in fright and then caused her to stop at the spot.

She was quick in her direction as a confused expression crossed her face, which had quickly turned into one of alertness when the plant's nasty vines suddenly emerged and wrapped themselves around her forelimbs, taking her by surprise.

After that, it quickly threw itself at the rest of the group, and that's how they got into that situation.

After Twilight said those last words, Sombra frowned in disgust, glancing over his shoulder.

"You have to start learning that not everything here is what it appears to be."

At his words, Twilight looked down as a slight wrinkle formed in her muzzle when she noticed this. Again it was a fact that she was right in that regard, and she now admitted that she had not put in the sufficient and due concern that she really required. However, from that moment on, that was going to change.

"It's starting to get clear to me," She muttered under her breath.

After a slight snort, she retraced her steps to where Spike was while they both lagged behind him, but without keeping too great a distance. With the thought that she would never risk it again, she tried to keep her eyes on the road the whole time.

Although they had finally managed to get out of the mountains, they still had to cross a narrow strip of forest until they could reach the meadows that Sombra had told them lay beyond.

Twilight and Spike at least had the consolation that they were slowly moving away from the periphery of the island and getting closer with each step to their destination. They were much closer to home each time. But they still had a long way to go on that island. An island surrounded by so many mysteries, waiting for somepony to find the answers.

Twilight approached slowly to the stallion.

"Sombra?" She called out to him in an almost whispered tone.

"What do you want?" He questioned, looking in her direction with a slight arched eyebrow on his face.

Twilight quickly gave a mental sigh as she noticed that he was at least willing to listen to her. It was a slight advance.

"I'd just like to ask you a question," she clarified with a determined expression. "This place... Has it been around for a long time?"

At her questioning, Sombra only looked straight ahead again, but he made Twilight feel a bit satisfied when he finally answered.

"More than you can imagine," he said, and then gave her a brief look. "Even before your kingdom arose."

After that answer, Twilight fell silent again, lost in thought. That explained several things, but it still wasn't enough. For now, though, she'd put her curiosity aside. She didn't really feel like pushing him too hard and spoiling what bit progress she had gained.

"Maybe I didn't tell you before, but it was good that you shouted that warning to me before that happened," Twilight said in a grateful tone after coming out of her earlier musings. "Even if it didn't help much in the end, I can say that I thank you anyway."

Sombra briefly looked away as he realized her genuine gratitude, thinking that maybe it would be a good thing for her to know the truth just so she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"It really wasn't entirely your fault," he said, and at this she gave an inquisitive look. He gestured with his hoof as he said, "That plant usually attracts other creatures when it gives off a fragrance that you are not fully aware of, but which can still be detected by receptors in the brain, but it tends to affect ponies more."

At Sombra's explanation, Twilight lowered her head and nodded, in a sign of understanding, though she quickly raised it again when she realized something else.

"If you're too, why didn't it affect you then?" She asked, intrigued by that fact.

He just shrugged, though Twilight could tell something wasn't right. She left a mental note for later, but for now she just nodded.

"Well, anyway I thank you for telling me, I'll be much more careful now."

After he nodded affirmatively to her words, Twilight returned to Spike's side again. Eventually, she told him everything they had talked about when he wanted to know too.

Time passed fairly quickly as the group continued on their way, but at a certain point they stopped after the stallion suddenly decided to go somewhere else. Twilight frowned when he had told them to stay there, despite communicating that he wouldn't be too long. She wondered what he would do now.

However, Twilight could see something that had left her thinking deep down, even if she would have preferred not to pay much attention to it anyway. But she still couldn't ignore a certain fact, the fact that he was somehow acting a bit stranger than usual.

After sitting on the floor, Twilight lowered her head slightly as her mind focused for a few moments on these questions. That was the only thing she could do for now... Unless it didn't necessarily have to be that way.

Twilight frowned thoughtfully as an idea flashed through her mind, an idea that slowly wanted to take hold inside her. Although at first she was a bit surprised by the direction her mind had taken, in the end she thought that maybe it wasn't really that bad.

But could that really be possible?

"Twilight, what's wrong?" Spike walked over to her when he noticed her prolonged silence, then snapped his claws in front of her face to get her attention back. "Is there anything that worries you?"

Twilight shuddered slightly after that, at the same time she jumped up and down as she shook her head to clear her head.

"I was thinking of something, Spike," Twilight said, blinking quickly at his gesture, then coming to herself instantly.

"I had noticed that before, what I wonder now is what kept you so focused," He sat down next to her. "Can you tell me?"

Twilight looked at him and only let out a sigh as she wondered if it would be any good to explain the reason for her thoughtful silence. In the end, she made her decision faster than she would have believed.

"It's just that as I realized the situation we're living in, my mind started to highlight an idea, one that I don't know if it's entirely correct." She furrowed her brow a little, beginning to fiddle with her hooves. "Maybe if we weren't like this I don't think I'd think about it, but now I don't really know what to think...", She turned her gaze back to Spike, a worried look on her face. "What if maybe I'm wrong?"

"But what's that idea?" Spike asked as he rested a claw on her shoulder, frowning a bit when he noticed her gaze. He really didn't like it when she worried too much about something that might be outside of her hooves, but he knew he'd try his best not to see her like that.

"I'm not entirely sure it's the right choice, though I'm aware that it would be the best way to improve this situation, but..." Twilight cocked her head slightly in a thoughtful new expression. "What if maybe Sombra could be more than just an enemy?"

Spike's face reflected for a moment the feeling of confusion that had formed within him, though he quickly pulled himself together. Anyway, he ended up puckering his nose after that.

"You mean to make him an ally?" He inquired, arching an eyebrow. Twilight rolled her eyes slightly.

"Something like that," she replied with a slight snort. "I don't know much about how good that idea is since I still have my doubts, I mean, I really don't think it's likely that he'll decide to forget everything and move on so soon, though..." She gave a slight hesitation with the words that wanted to come out of her mouth. "Do you think it's a good decision?"

Spike looked down and touched his chin with a claw as a thoughtful look formed on his face.

"I really don't know, Twilight," he said as he looked up again, his face a slight frown thoughtful. "Maybe it's possible if you try, but I still wanted to remind you of something." He cocked his head slightly. "On the one hoof we both know who he is and what he did, and for that alone I would tell you to stay away from him as much as possible."

"But on the other hoof?" She continued with a small eyebrow arched with curiosity, though she had a faint idea of what he was going to say.

Spike ended up shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe it doesn't have to be such a bad idea, after all it's not the first time you'd do something like that," Spike frowned after highlighting another fact in question. "However, the only thing I would ask of you is that you tread as carefully as possible."

"I understand your point, obviously we don't quite know him," Twilight let her face reflect the same countenance as Spike when she turned her gaze in a certain direction. "But at this point we should deal with something else."

Spike suddenly jumped up and surprised Twilight, which in turn caused her to look at him with a raised eyebrow in his direction.

"Now I remember that I really had to do something!" He said suddenly, scratching his head with a claw. "Although I had forgotten..."

Recovered from her surprise, Twilight ended up covering her muzzle with her hoof while holding back a giggle.

"Then you should go," She replied with a smile.

Spike smiled back at her as he pulled something out of his bag, then quickly ran in a certain direction when he got what he was looking for.

***

It was a while later when Sombra returned to the agreed rendezvous point, however a confused expression passed only for an instant on his face when he realized that only the alicorn was in the place. The dragon was not there at the time.

"Where's your friend supposed to be?" The stallion asked after reappearing from the trees. "It seems that you continue to ignore my warnings."

"Of course we don't," she denied as her expression changed slightly. "He just told me that he needed to do something and that he would be here in a while, and he asked me not to go with him."

He just looked at her again with that neutral expression that always took over his face.

"Are you aware that a while is more than enough to get lost in this place."

Twilight lowered her gaze and frowned even more as she realized the truth in his words, but Spike had told her not to go with him and although she had insisted, he managed to convince her to trust that he was going to be fine. But now she definitely needed to make sure of it.

However, before she could execute what she had in mind, a familiar voice began to come to her in a rather faint way. Twilight guessed it was because of the distance.

"Spike?"

That call between the two was repeated several more times as she moved in search of him, but she still couldn't locate exactly where his voice was coming from.

"Spike, where are you?" The alicorn asked with a loud call to the dragon, in an attempt to locate the characteristic sound of his voice among so many trees and bushes. Honestly, she was beginning to get tired of those dense forests. "I can hear you, but I don't know where you are yet?"

Sombra rolled his eyes, annoyed by the mare's continuous calls, as various thoughts crossed his mind.

"Is she really that loud? She's going to end up attracting some unwanted thing as long as she keeps it up, and that's not going to be a good thing."

When he began to tire of the alicorn revealing their location to everyone in the forest, Sombra left the position he held behind her and walked in her direction to get on her level.

"Concentrate better for a few moments to know where he stands," Sombra said as he approached her. Twilight was a bit startled by this. "If you keep calling him that, you won't be able to tell where the sound of his voice is coming from, no matter how hard you try. You should allow a margin of time for the light breeze from the surroundings to guide it to you."

"You..." Twilight muttered. "... Are you giving me an advice?" She cocked her head slightly and looked at him curiously.

Sombra only gave a stern snort, frowning at her words.

"It's obvious, princess. Besides, I know very well what I am talking about."

Twilight glanced at him for another moment before nodding and turning her head once more, this time paying greater attention to her surroundings. The sounds of the forest continued to echo but she ignored them, focused as she was on her true goal. At the new call of his fellow dragon, her ears quickly drifted in a specific direction. Now she knew exactly where to go.

"Twilight! Come quickly! I found something!"

She hurried out to that spot as soon as she got her bearings, with Sombra following behind. Through it all, he was also intrigued by whatever the dragon had found. And yet, they both hoped it wasn't any other of the possible dangers they might encounter.

They had already had enough in the last few days.

At one point while they were crossing some bushes, Twilight decided to go ahead on her way to get to Spike. She spread her wings as she sped up, and then began to flap her wings firmly to get closer, not realizing that she had left the stallion behind.

Sombra frowned again as soon as the alicorn performed that action. He knew that she was aware that even if they both disliked it, it was necessary for them to stay close for safety. That way, at least, if something were to happen, they would be able to deal with the threat in a better way.

He had the thought that something of which he had no knowledge made her act in such an unwise way. And because of that, even if the safety of the alicorn wasn't his priority, he knew that it wasn't advisable to simply neglect her either.

Sombra shook his head and let out a snort as a fleeting, unexpected thought flashed through his mind.

"You're certainly an interesting mare, princess."

Elsewhere, Twilight soon landed again when she heard Spike's voice closer. After crossing some bushes, she went out to a small clearing among the trees through which a river of slightly opaque waters passed, due to all the elements that came down from the mountains. And very close to that river was Spike.

"Spike, what's wrong?" Twilight asked when she saw him with his back to her, crouched on the edge of a hole as he seemed to be watching something. "I managed to come as soon as I could, but I wish you wouldn't leave like that again, I was worried about you." She gave him a slight reprimand as she approached. "But what is the...?"

Twilight interrupted herself when she finished getting completely close and saw Spike stand up from his spot, while still looking at what was in front of him.

On her way to the dragon, she had wondered what he was doing to keep quiet and not answer her question. However, when she arrived and saw the same thing he did, she decided to put those issues aside and drag them into the back of her mind.

"I definitely didn't expect this."

That was all Twilight could mumble when she saw the sample of flattened dirt in the shape of some huge creature's four-toed leg.

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Ajika

Ajika #1 · 1 week ago · 1 · ·

How many chapters are you planning for this story and there will be some kind of inadequate end to the relationship between the main characters, otherwise the romance tag clearly did not ask for it

Flower03

Flower03 #2 · 1 week ago · · ·

11898471
I have approximately forty chapters planned. And as for the relationship between the main characters, I can say without many spoilers that at least it won't end badly.

DarkSnowGaming