=Familia 15=

>You sit in your chair looking at the couch across from you and the child planted on firmly it. He didn’t stare so much as glare back at you with red irises and slitted pupils with faint waves of purple energy wafting from them.
>You had gone about your morning just the same as any other that day. You woke early ahead of Chrysalis, gathered things from your garden and pantry to make a breakfast for you both, it was only when you had gone outside to observe the sky and estimate how the weather would be that day that you found a very strange unicorn on your doorstep with a note.
>And now here you were.
>It was probably best to break the ice so here you go.
“Wel-“
>”Don’t.” he interrupts.
>You instinctively shut your mouth, you couldn’t help it. Being soft spoken came naturally to you.
>The boy continues to stare at you as the other tenant of the house comes out of her room yawning. She’d grown the last few years and was now extremely lanky.
>”Mm…good morning Poppy, are you happy toda-”
>Chrysalis pauses her ritualistic greeting and looks at the newcomer.
>”…Poppy, why is there a strange little pony on our couch?”
“This is Sombra, sweetheart.” You answer.
>”I can talk for myself!” he exclaims, you nod your head to give him the go-ahead.

>You see his eyes work through what to do next before he sheepishly looks at Chrysalis with a scowl. “…I am Sombra.”
“And Sombra will be living with us from now on.”
>You hold up the note that came with the child. 
“He has had an…interesting life before he came here.”
>Chrysalis looks between you and Sombra several times and blinks several more. “…Okay, I always wanted a younger brother.”
>Sombra grits his teeth on the couch. “I did not come here, I was forced here! I want to go home! I a destiny to fulfill!”
>Yes, that would be this talk of “Umbrum” in the letter your Partner had sent you, and from the language within it, a lot was riding on this boy growing a heart here.
“…Well Sombra, why not spend a few days here? You might grow to like it.”
>Sombra scoffs and rolls his eyes. “As if” he says as he walks to the door and throws it open with his shadowy magic.

“Sombra, wait!”
>You get up off your chair and race to the door behind him, the boy was already out onto the fields.
>”Don’t follow me…whatever your name is! You’ve already wasted enough of my time, don’t earn my ire beyond it!”
>Well someone likes to read his dictionary…
>”I don’t think he likes it here yet, Poppy.”
“I can see that Chrysalis, thank you.”
>You leave your doorway and chase after him in your bathrobe.
“Sombra, please come back. It’s clear that you’re an…extremely capable young unicorn, but you don’t have any idea what’s out there!”
>Sombra glances up at you but continues to trot along undeterred.
>You hazard reaching down to put your hand on him. 
“Let’s just come eat some breakfast and think about this. Do you like-OWW!”
>The CRACK of Sombra levitating a small stone off the ground and striking you echoes louder than your yelp. You quickly inspect the wound and see a stream of crimson leaking out of you where you were struck.
>”HEY!”
>Oh no.

>A pillar of furious emerald fire springs up before Sombra and deposits Chrysalis directly in front of him. The little boy so beaming with pride stepped back in shock when Chrysalis got in his face, glowing horn and all.
>”You don’t DO that! You don’t GET to do that! Not to HIM!” she shouts.
>”Chrysalis-“
>She doesn’t hear you.
>Sombra quickly recollects himself and stands up to Chrysalis as best as his height will allow. “I’d like to see you stop me.” He says calmly.
>”You REALLY wouldn’t.” Chrysalis counters, her eyes now taking on the green glow of her horn as she grits her teeth.
“HEY!” you shout.
>The valley you live in grows silent as the grave as your voice echoes through it, and Chrysalis instinctively pulls back and puts her rear on the ground.
>Sombra looks in confused shock as you march up to them both.
“Rule one of my house! No fighting! Do NOT break it, either of you!”
>”Yes Poppy.” Your daughter says quickly and respectfully.
>Sombra looks up at you out of the corner of his eye. “What are you.”
>Hmm?
“Beg pardon?”
>Sombra now turns to face you, his face is still contorted in annoyance, but his eyes were far more curious than they were. “The world went silent after a word from you, how did you do that? What COULD do that?”
>Chrysalis eyes her new housemate and then you. “…He’s Poppy, he takes care of us.”
>You offer the boy a smile you know won’t satisfy him.
“She’s right, I’m just me.”
>Sombra’s face gains another emotion beyond annoyance; utter confusion.
“How about you come home with me and we can discuss it over breakfast? I’ll make pancakes.”
>”Oooohh!” Chrysalis says, clapping her hooves together.
>Sombra looks between you and your home before tightening his jaw and marching silently back the way he came.
>This one would take some work, it seemed…

“You’re sure?”
>Sombra climbs his way onto the couch and shoots a glare at you, gone was the trepidation from earlier and he was back to his old self. “I need a bed as little as I need anything else from you. I have claimed this furniture as mine and this is where I will sleep.” He puts his head down and closes his eyes. “See yourself out.”
>You grimace and walk down the hall, knocking twice on the bathroom door before opening it a crack. You’d taken enough soap to the face with the girls to know to know now. “Chryssy, are you brushing behind your fangs?”
>”Yef Poppy!” you hear inside.
“Make sure you wash your face and man as well little lady!”
>”Go to bhed, Poppy!” she commands.
“Fine, jeeze…”
>You shut the door and head into your own room, the only place in the house that was mostly yours. A sigh escapes its way from your mouth as you make your way across the room to your closet and grab your nightware. Your thoughts were, unsurprisingly, occupied by Sombra and what his addition meant to the house.
>It had been a long time since you’d had two youthful bodies under this roof, and the familiar aches of fatigue from your first tenants were starting to rear their heads again in your joints.
“Can I really do this right again…?” you wonder aloud.
>You hear the door to the bathroom open and closes as Chrysalis finishes up, flushing the house to total silence and signaling that you needed to be out as well.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, I was able to raise Discord! This can’t be much harder…”
>You climb into bed and feel a slight sharp pain in the middle of your chest as you do what you did every night, look out the window to the Mare in the Moon.
“Goodnight, Moon. I love you.”
>And then you lay yourself down to sleep.

>Not much however, as your door gets opened not too much later.
>”Poppy?”
>Your muscles pull up upright without you having to think.
“Yes sweety, what is it?” you ask through bleary vision.
>Chrysalis rubs one of her legs on the other and looks to the floor in shame. “I uh…had a nightmare…so can I-“
>You don’t let her get further, instead you just pull back some of your blankets to make room for her.
>The little lovebug excitedly taps her hooves on the floor and races over to you in the darkness, hopping up into the bed and snuggling up next to you.
>You smile and lay back down.
“Now what nightmare brings you here at-“
>You glance out the window at Luna to judge the time.
“-About two or three in the morning?”
>Chrysalis frowns a little bit. “It was about food…”
>What.
“…Food, honey?”

>”Mhm…” she nods before looking up to you. “Remember how I eat love?”
>You nod.
>Chrysalis told you shortly after she began living with you that her species fed on the affection from one being to another. Because she looked the way she looked and because her nature was to some degree vampiric, she said she was supposed to just siphon off love in secret, but that having someone love her directly would fill her for months. You’d endeavored to make sure she wasn’t hungry.
>”Well…I remember how hungry I was before I lived with you, Poppy, but I never…had anyone here but you and-“
>She shuffles uncomfortably under the blankets.
>”I know you had others here first but I’m…afraid that with him living here…I’ll be hungry again-“
>Now you don’t let her get further by talking.
“Are you hungry right now?”
>Chrysalis turns her head around to see your arm encircle her and scooter her closer to you, then she shakes her head.
“Then if you ever feel too hungry while you live here, I want you to bop me on my noggin and set me straight, okay? I never ever ever EVER want to ignore my little girl when she’s in trouble, got it?”
>Not again…
>Chrysalis smiles and nods, then takes her place under your arm to get comfortable. “I love you, Poppy.”
“I love you too, lovebutt. Now let’s get some sleep, hmm? We need to make sure we wake up before Sombra.”
>”Why?”
“So he doesn’t try to burn the house down while we’re asleep or something.”