"Do you fear death?"
Sombra looked up from his book. He and Luna had been reading in silence for the past few minutes, one's presence enough to keep the other satisfied. He shook his head.
"No, it's part of life. When I do go, it'll be the right time," Sombra answered.
"What makes you say that?" Luna asked him.
"I believe everyone was born into the world for a reason. Why would people who serve no purpose be created? All they would be would be a waste of space and oxygen. The gods up above aren't stupid enough to create useless beings," Sombra replied.
"But what if not everybody has a purpose?"
"I'm sure everybody does. Once everyone fulfills their purpose here, they leave, as they are no longer needed," Sombra continued.
"But if a parents' job is to take care of their children, why would they leave a 5 year old and a 10 year old to die?" Luna spat.
"I'm sorry," Sombra apologized.
Luna sighed, shaking her head. "It's fine. I'm just bitter. The Great War took my parents away from me. Those damn vampire bastards ruined my life, nearly destroyed our kingdom, then attack us again when we're already down, 20 years later!"
"I-"
"We could go to war any minute now! The Dusks still hold the Crystal Empire, but things are peaceful there. They threatened to obliterate the empire if we attack, and we rely extremely heavily on it. If we attacked, we'd lose. They're all trained killers from birth. I just wish I had parents to help me through this, you know?" Luna asked.
"Yeah. My parents left me as well. It was just me and Jet against the world. A messed up, messed up world." Sombra gritted his teeth at the thought. "If only my father kept his hands off his liquor and my mother kept her hands off guys. At least yours were dead. Mine dumped Jet and I in a crappy orphanage when I was 9."
"It wasn't easy for me either! Me and Tia were the last goddesses not killed in the War, so we were whisked away to become rulers whether we wanted to or not, as the most powerful. My childhood was taken away from me! Soon enough, I'll be married off to some greedy king who doesn't even love me," Luna seethed, years of concealed rage bubbling up.
"At least you get to suffer in luxury ! I could barely find a decent meal every night!" Sombra argued. How could Luna not see how fortunate she was?
"Don't compare my life to yours! We've both been through trauma! We're scarred and broken. Let's accept it and not have a competition of whose life is more of a hell-hole," Luna reasoned, folding her arms across her chest.
Sombra exhaled slowly. Doing this calmed him down. "You're right," he agreed. "But we can have a competition about the best reasons to hate Amore."
"She's a bitch! Surely that beats all!" Luna exclaimed.
Sombra laughed. "The best. And it's self-explanatory. Once she actually picked a coin out of a homeless person's bag so she could go buy some cheap earrings. Jet found them in a dumpster the next day and we actually had a 2 good meals!"
Luna rolled her eyes in disgust. "I hate people who do those kinds of things."
"And this is why I didn't go to the Crystal Empire ball. I swear I'd kill myself if I had to endure her prescence for one minute," Sombra commented.
"Well I had to for a full day," Luna sighed.
For 30 more minutes, they just read in pure silence, side by side.
***********
The night was chilly and cool, crisp autumn winds ruffling Sombra's hair as he walked along. The streets of the richest sector of Canterlot were adorned with luxuries only the most affluent could afford. Colorful trinkets of lights glowed radiantly, while laughter and cheers erupted from inside buildings. Warm gushes of air would give Sombra tingles whenever a door was open.
Just find the Starry Nightclub, find Jet and have a good time. He thought. It had been 2 months since they escaped during the attack on the Empire. They decided there was no way they were going back, so Jet had gotten a job as a bartender in the most popular nightclub in Canterlot.
Sombra was really happy, as it was what Jet hoped for. He wasn't exactly the brightest, and that plus the terrible schools, plus the fact that he sometimes skipped class to work overtime to support them didn't help. But, Sombra was also secretly happy because Jet got great pay, and that meant he was one step closer to seeing a doctor and getting his hand fixed.
And that means you can be powerful. Learn magic. Be able to see Luna more.
The building in front of him was of average size, with the words Starry Nightclub painted in white and blue letters and decorated with glowing stars. Inside, a party of what looked like a hundred raged, with magicians sending bursts of glowing colors into the air with their fingertips, while a group of girls in sparkly minidresses sung and danced on a stage.
He hesitantly pushed open the door, nearly thrown backwards by the shock of all the sounds compared to the serenity of outside.
"Sombra, over here!" Jet yelled over the crowd, waving his arms.
Sombra nodded and ran over to the bar, which was surprisingly empty. Most of the people were on the dance floor or watching the girls perform. A sign above them said The Stars.
The bar was decorated with colorful twinkling lights powered by the magicians. The shelf behind it displayed a vast collection of bottles. Jet stood behind the bar, running it impeccably at an alarming speed.
"Hey Jet!" Sombra greeted him, taking a seat at the bar.
"Hey Sombra! How was your day?" Jet asked, now cleaning a cup with a rag.
"Good. I got some reading done," Sombra replied.
"Jet!" One of the Stars came sauntering over in high heels. "I have a quick break so we can hang out a bit!"
She was rather petite and looked about a year or two younger than Sombra, with ebony skin, blue-green hair in a spiky bob and wide, sea-colored eyes.
"Hi! I'm Chrissy!" She gave him a quick little wave.
"Sombra, this is Chrissy. She performs as a Star after-school," Jet introduced her.
"Hi, I'm Sombra. Jet's brother," Sombra introduced himself, extending a hand.
She shook it, sitting next to him. "So, I heard you guys moved from the Crystal Empire 2 months ago. What was it like? Was it beautiful and glittering?" She fantasized, half-swooning. "I've always wanted to live there."
Sombra didn't want to break Chrissy's fantasies. A look from Jet told him she didn't know their past. Well, he was good at lying. He'd done it his whole life. "Yeah. It was so pretty! The buildings were sparkly, the people were super nice and-"
"The princess? Was she beautiful? I've always wanted to meet her," Chrissy sighed dreamily.
Sombra pinched the inside of his thigh to keep from snorting.
"Yeah, she's super pretty," Jet covered for him.
Chrissy sighed. "I wish I was too!"
"Anything you want?" Jet asked them, changing the subject. "A Cosmopolitan for a girl feeling a little sour and snarky today? Or a Negroni for a taste of Autumn? I'll add extra orange-peels!" Jet winked at Chrissy.
She giggled into her hand. "What about a Grasshopper? I'm feeling minty-fresh today."
"Will do, Chrissy, will do," Jet laughed and took out a bottle. He poured everything into a cup,topping the Grasshopper with a collection of fresh mint leaves.
"Sombra? What about you? I'd suggest a Margarita, but an Old-Fashioned is good too ..."
Jet went off to list a bunch of cocktails, but Sombra wasn't listening. He gasped, rubbing his eyes to make sure what he saw was true. A boy a few years older than him sat alone a few chairs away.
He was extremely muscular. His hair was a dark blue dipped in violet, his eyes a vibrant scarlet. It was the younger boy from the Dusk family! Specter, was it? Yes, that was his name.
"Sombra? Everything ok?" Jet asked him worriedly. "Will a Mojito make it better?"
Sombra could only stare at the vampire boy. Jet saw what he was looking at.
"Damn, it's him," Jet whispered.
"What are you guys looking at? That hot boy sitting alone?" Chrissy leaned over to get a closer look at him.
Specter's eyes scanned the bar, taking in everything. Sombra was pretty sure he was spying on them or something. Specter got up and walked over to the bar.
"Hi. I'll have a Bloody Mary," Specter ordered. Sombra noticed he had a slight exotic accent when speaking, over-enunciating his consonants.
"Hey! I'm Jet," Jet greeted him, shaking his hand.
Specter raised his eyebrows ever so slightly, but hesitantly shook his hand.
"Ow!" Jet exclaimed. "Man, you're strong."
Specter simply shrugged every so slightly, taking his Bloody Mary. "Thank you."
"Oh my god! He has fangs! Did you guys see that?" Chrissy nudged that, her mouth agape.
"Stop staring," Jet warned her.
"Chrissy! We're on again!" An older Star wearing too much makeup tapped Chrissy on the shoulder.
"Got to perform again. Wish me luck!" Chrissy waved and strutted away, fluffing her hair as she did so.
Sombra shared one last look with Specter before he went back to his seat, silently sipping his Bloody Mary while watching the Stars perform. Apart from a rather loud group of boys and two girls off in the corner, the bar was empty.
"Hey!" One of the boys screamed at another in their group.
"What, I didn't do anything!" He protested.
"Stupid bar fights," Jet grumbled. "Ignore the dumb kids."
But when the yelling turned to vicious punches and elbows, Sombra was sure this wasn't normal. It was so violent, so threatening, so much...like the Dusks.
Specter sat a few seats away from them, casually watching the fight, his now empty glass discarded to the side. His scarlet eyes seemed to glow extra vibrantly, narrowed in concentration and directed to the fight. Part of him suspected the vampire boy.
When the magicians on the dance floor started shooting blood-red color spells, then shooting stun spells, Sombra knew it was Specter. He wasn't sure what horrifying power the vampire had, but he knew it had to be him.
Screams erupted and chaos rained down upon Starry Nightclub.
"Jet!" Chrissy shrieked, running over and stumbling to the bar. "What's happening?"
"It's him! Specter Dusk!" Sombra told him. Specter just sat in his chair calmly, the hints of a smirk forming on his face.
Jet already had a bottle in hand. He emerged with a lighter from under the counter, setting the bottle aflame.
Sombra's vision went black as he saw the flaming Molotov sailing over his head, right for the vampire prince.
Hey guys! What do you think of the Nightclub? Remember to vote if you enjoyed this chapter and tell me what you think in the comments.