Shadowy Love
By FinnPony
Chapter 22
The door of a certain cloud-house opened, and it’s exhausted owner lazily walked inside, closing the door behind her. Her sweaty, rainbow-colored mane was a clinging to her face and the deep blue uniform felt uncomfortably tight over her cyan coat. She squirmed out of the horrible piece of clothing, and send it flying across the room with a sharp kick of her hind-leg. After that she flexed her wings couple of times and trotted towards her bathroom, dodging a happy looking flying tortoise, which banged against the soft cloud-wall. Luckily it did not suffer any injuries. One of the perks in living a house made of clouds was that it was almost impossible for a pony to hurt oneself while tumbling down the stairs or some other mishaps like that.
She patted the tortoise on the head and flashed a small smile to it, before stepping into her bathroom and taking a quick, warm shower. After she was done and she had preened her wings, she fed the flying tortoise named Tank and headed upstairs, towards her bedroom, where her queen-sized bed made from cumulus clouds waited for her. Oh... Her eyes started to feel heavy even thinking about that.
Moments later she flopped down to the bed, sighing deeply from satisfaction. A nap was what she needed after three hours of hard workout with the wonderbolts. She hugged her pillow and yawned. Everything was perfect. Nothing could ruin her afternoon nap now...
Except a loud voice of a doorbell.
She exclaimed in surprise, springing up from her bed. It took a couple of seconds before she recovered from her sudden and rude awakening. She started to stomp back downstairs while mumbling curses that would have made a sailor blush. She practically kicked the door open, ready to kill the one that disturbed her slumber.
Unfortunately for her, behind the door stood one of those ponies that she could not kill for two reasons. One, because the visitor was one of her best friends, and two, because she was one of the co-rulers of Equestria.
“Hi Rainbow Dash!” Twilight greeted happily at Rainbow Dash. “I hope that I didn’t interrupt anything.”
“Hi Twilight…” Dash answered slowly, pouting. “I was just about to take a nap but hey, I’m up now.”
“Great!” Twilight exclaimed and pushed past Dash, who let out a sigh.
She knew that there had to be something absolutely, utterly annoying coming up. Otherwise Twilight wouldn’t have come to visit her, because of her recent ‘royal duties’. She followed the purple alicorn, who sat down to one of her easy-chairs.
“So Twilight, my princess. How may I help you?” Dash asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, laying down to floor.
Without noticing Dash’s comment, Twilight started to explain with excited voice and her wings quivering a little, “As you probably know, you are the last element yet to meet Sombra.”
Dash suddenly started to feel uncomfortable, and she asked, “So?”
“So I was thinking if you had some free time this week? So I could arrange a meeting for you two,” Twilight spoke and looked at her friend with a hopeful, pegging expression on her face.
Rainbow Dash stared back at Twilight for couple of seconds, before she swept her hooves over her face and exhaled loudly.
“Great, great…” she mumbled, earning a confused look from Twilight.
“Is something wrong Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
“Yes!” she answered bluntly, surprising Twilight. Dash continued, “It’s just that I don’t like him. At all!”
“Oh you’ll see that he’s not as bad as he seems,” Twilight said with a wave of her hoof. “Even Fluttershy said that he’s nice.”
“Did she?” Dash asked, and Twilight looked up at the ceiling.
“Well… She said that he acted very politely,” she mumbled, and Dash face-hoofed. Annoyed by that, Twilight said, “But he’s really nice nowadays.”
“But he is Sombra!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking at Twilight with worried expression. “He is King Sombra! The slave king and all that!”
There was a short silence and intense stare between those mares, before Rainbow Dash added almost angrily, “He is evil!”
“No he isn’t,” Twilight snorted. “Sure he is cranky and sometimes a bit mischievous, but he’s changed.”
“And how do you know?” Rainbow asked seriously, rising up from the floor. “I can’t believe that anypony else isn’t seeing it? He surely is just plotting to get rid of us when he gets the chance!”
“You haven’t even met him!” Twilight exclaimed, her wings twitching behind her back.
Dash’s wings moved in same, irritated way when she scolded Twilight, “I have met him! He last time she mocked me, before that he tried to kill you, Luna and Celestia and before that he almost killed Spike!”
Twilight folded her ears against the back of her head, but she didn’t say anything. Dash took that as cue to continue, so she trotted to a table in front of a window. She took a magazine into her teeth and then with a quick twist of her neck, threw the magazine to the floor in front of Twilight. It was the same magazine that Rarity had shown to her couple of days earlier.
“It was just a dance,” Twilight grunted and crossed her front-hooves over her chest.
“Sure, sure!” Rainbow Dash mocked her. “Don’t you see? He’s just playing with you to do… I don’t know… Evil stuff!”
Twilight’s expression turned even angrier, so Dash hung her head and sighed, calming down. With a worried look on her face she said, “I’m just worried about you Twi…”
“Maybe you should just mind your own business?” Twilight suddenly snapped at Rainbow Dash, completely baffling her. Dash stared at Twilight with wide eyes and drooped ears. Twilight’s wings were completely extended into a threatening pose, and she angrily stared at Dash.
“Twi… Uh..” she mumbled, unable to think anything reasonable to say. Twilight noticed that and jumped down from the easy-chair, making her way towards the front door. Dash snapped away from her baffled state and trotted after her.
“Okay okay! I’ll meet him, jeez!” she said and stopped to the door of her house, seeing that Twilight was standing on the edge of her porch. She stood there for a short moment, before her posture slumped, and she turned to look at Rainbow Dash with the most embarrassed look.
“I’m sorry Rainbow,” she sighed. “I didn’t mean to get angry with you.”
“Hey, maybe I deserved it or something,” Dash smiled at her a bit worriedly. “But seriously, be careful.”
Twilight nodded, but then said, “But really, he’s nice.”
“Sure thing Twi.”
They then said goodbyes and Twilight jumped down to the sky, gliding towards Ponyville, where her castle’s big silhouette could be seen reflecting sun’s light. Rainbow Dash sat down to the porch and scratched the back of her head with a thoughtful pout on her face. She watched the purple alicorn flying until she couldn’t recognize her figure anymore.
There surely was something going on with Twilight, that was for sure. It wasn’t hard to guess the reason behind her odd behaviour, and Rainbow Dash didn’t like that. She flapped her wings couple of times, before getting up from the floor, and puffing out her chest. It was her duty as Twilight Sparkle’s friend and as the element of loyalty to help her with whatever was troubling her. Or whoever was troubling her.
“It’s time to get the girls together,” she said to herself sternly.
With a grunt she jumped down from the porch and flared her wings open, gliding towards her first stop.
“It’s not like I need sleep anyway...“ she mumbled and then yawned.
* * *
After a while, Rainbow Dash was trotting back and forth in front of one table in Sugarcube Corner. Around the table sat four very close friends of her. She eyed them with anticipation but her stare was mostly met with confused looks.
“Alright girls,” she started speaking in her well-practiced Wonderbolt commanding voice. “I’m glad that we all are here, and I believe that everypony knows why.”
“Umm…” Applejack started carefully. “Ah’ have no Idea actually.”
“Me neither…” Fluttershy joined Applejack, carefully glancing between the two mares.
“Rainbow Dash Darling,” Rarity sighed. “Is this one of your weird pranks again?”
Dash stared at those three with shocked expression. She opened and closed her mouth, blinking confusedly, before turning towards the last pony in the table.
“Pinkie… You know what I’m talking about. Right?” she asked from Pinkie Pie, who smiled and nodded.
“I think that you are right,” Pinkie said happily, and Rainbow Dash smiled. Even somepony was on her side.
Her relief was short-lived though, because Pinkie Pie spoke again, “Ponyville needs more pop bands.”
“What!?” Dash exclaimed, and the others looked at the pink mare a bit weirdly too. Rainbow Dash then mumbled something about why Pinkie had to be so random all the time, before irritatedly saying, “No no no! We’re here to kick Sombra’s sorry flank!”
A deep silence spread over the group of friends, and Rainbow just kept staring at them with angry an expression. When she finally noticed that the others weren’t in the same excited state of mind, her ears drooped and her expression softened.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I might ask the same from you darling,” Rarity said worriedly.
“Yeah Rainbow,” Applejack said, tilting her hat backwards. “Ya seem awfully aggressive today sugarcube.”
That made Rainbow grunt and look away embarrassedly.
“I told you not to use that name in public,” she muttered under her breath.
“I use it all the time!” Applejack said amusedly.
“Yeah, but it means… something different to me! And you know that!” Rainbow said and looked at the orange earth pony seriously. “So don’t say it when I’m around...”
Fluttershy and Rarity shared a knowing glance, while Pinkie just giggled at the pair. When they noticed it, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash started to blush.
“Alright alright!” Applejack exclaimed, tipping her stetson so that it was hiding her red cheeks. “So what’s the matter Dash?”
That got Dash snap back to attention.
“What’s the matter!?” she asked mockingly. “Sombra is the problem!”
“Hey!” Pinkie shouted, scaring Fluttershy. “That’s not cool! He’s my friend!”
“Friend?” everypony asked in unison.
“Yeah!” Pinkie said proudly. “And he’s a great dancer too!”
Rainbow Dash grunted annoyedly, before throwing her hooves up and saying loudly, “You are just like Twilight! Can’t you remember how he tried to kill the princesses!?”
Again, everypony was quiet, glancing at each other. Rarity was the first one to speak up, “Hrhm… Am I sensing some worry about Twilight?”
“Damn right you are!” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“Why?” Fluttershy asked. “Last time I saw her she was looking really happy.”
“That’s the point! Can’t you see how Sombra is just playing his evil mind-games to do some evil things to do some… evil stuff! It’s all part of his evil plan!” Rainbow tried to explain.
“Whoa nelly,” Applejack chuckled. “That’s mighty many evils right there.”
“But it’s still true!” Rainbow snorted.
“Now Ah’ know that he’s not the easiest pony to spent time with, but I have high hopes for that poor bastard,” Applejack said with a stern nod.
“You’re supposed to be on my side AJ,” Dash whispered towards her, but Applejack just smiled.
“Not when you’re talking hoohaa like that sugarcube,” she snickered, making Dash pout.
“Don’t be such a grumpyface Dashie,” Pinkie tried to cheer her up. “Sombra is actually a really fun when you get to know him better! He’s a real trickster!”
“And he’s really polite when he’s in the right mood. He also knows how to treat a lady it seems,” Rarity said.
“And he’s handsome,” Fluttershy said with a dreamy look on her face. Everypony turned towards her, and it took a moment before she realized it. She let out a high-pitched squeak and hid behind her pink mane.
“I-I like big stallions…” she said with a voice just above a whisper.
Applejack stared at her with her eyes wide, before she said seriously, “Now don’t ya go breaking my brother’s heart missy.”
One by one others turned to stare back at Rainbow Dash, who was looking rather angry.
“Really?” she asked. “Nopony else is realizing that it is Sombra who we are talking about? It’s not the first time he has done these things!”
She looked at Rarity, “You’re just a hopeless romantic, who want’s to see her and that jerk together!”
“What?” others asked, making Rarity look towards the ceiling awkwardly.
Rainbow then turned towards Pinkie Pie.
“And you are just too random!” she sighed.
“Thanks!” Pinkie said with a wide smile.
Now it was Fluttershy’s turn, and she was already hiding behind her own mane when Rainbow Dash said, “You’re crushing on him…”
And finally she turned towards Applejack, who was staring at her with a deadpan stare.
“And you aren’t backing up your own marefriend!” she said sadly, earning nothing but a roll of eyes from Applejack.
“Dashie,” Applejack started slowly. “We used the elements on him. It has worked with other bad guys, so why not on him?”
Rainbow Dash was about to say something, but stopped. She drooped her ears in defeated way. She hadn’t even thought about that. She started to draw invisible circles to the floor with her right front-hoof and said, “I don’t know… I guess that it is just because Twi’s my friend…”
“She’s our friend too,” Pinkie said happily.
“Yeah Dash,” Applejack joined her. “And we trust her.”
“A-and maybe you should trust her too?” Fluttershy more like asked than suggested.
“Fluttershy’s right Darling,” Rarity said and laid a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, who smiled meekly.
Dash sat down with a deep sigh. Her ears were folded against the back of her head and she kept glancing between her friends. They all were smiling at her encouragingly, but somehow she still felt like giving a good old flank whooping to Sombra. She knew that she wouldn’t do it though. Not for now at least. She frowned and thought that she would have to keep an eye on Sombra. Just in case.
“Hmph…” she huffed. “Fine. I’ll meet him and I will not kill him while I’m at it.”
“Atta’ girl,” Applejack said and leaned closer to her, nuzzling her cheek with her muzzle. Other’s snickered at Dash’s expression.
“Cut it,” she ordered, but started to smile.
Just as they got their laughter under control, the pony who they had been talking about rushed through the doors of the bakery. Twilight Sparkle had a huge grin on her face and she clearly was excited about something.
“Hi girls! It’s good to see that all of you are here!” she exclaimed and sat besides Rarity. She didn’t even notice all the awkward expressions around her, and continued to speak, “I got really exciting news! Guess what it is?”
Nopony guessed, so her horn came to life and from under her left wing she pulled a parchment with a royal sign on it.
“Princesses are coming in for a visit next saturday!” she exclaimed, earning surprised reactions from her friends. All but Rainbow Dash started to speak about the upcoming meeting with the princesses. Dash glanced at her friends, before sighing quietly. Why didn’t her friends see that Sombra clearly was up to no good?
And she cannot lie!
Very funny. Looking forward to Sombra interacting with the Princesses and Rainbow Dash. I imagine Celestia and Luna have something to say about that picture.
This chapter had me laughing. It was funny to see how RD's argument pretty much summed up to Sombra is an evil guy who needs a kick in the flank and how it clashed with girls' more positive perception of Sombra. Discovering that Fluttershy has a crush on Sombra for being a large stallion, by her own words no less, made me laugh and smile at how adorable she was acting, especially when AJ warned her to stay away from Big Mac. Something tells me that Sombra will have a harder time socializing with RD...especially if she and the girls find out from Twilight that he finds AJ (kudos for making her and RD marefriends in this fic to serve as a potential funny moment) desireable...odds are that she will try to kill him if she learns of that comment. Anyway, thanks for this great chapter.
P.S: Are Fluttershy and Big Mac secretly trying to court each other. Given what you said that you put elements of your other stories, such as ThunderlaneXRarity and possibly RDXAJ, I'm trying to think if some romantic stories between those two are part of the same universe as this story.
Nice job capturing Rainbow's character in this chapter. I can see her defending a friend like how she was doing in this chapter. I do admit it was nice seeing what Fluttershy's type is as well as the Apple/Dash shipping. I can't wait to see what is next. Good luck. I can't wait to read those Aw... moments. Also I wonder what Flash is going to do to interfere with this little love story, as well as what Shinning and Cadence are planning as well to put Sombra away.
“Sure, sure!” Rainbow Dash mocked her. “Don’t you see? He’s just playing with you to do… I don’t know… Evil stuff!”
I LOVED how you wrote Rainbow's character. This is spot on attitude she would have in this type of situation. Though not such a fan of the Dash/Jack shipping, the rest was pretty good, funny, and well written.
Looking forward to the next chapter!
Not sure if you've heard it before, but...Cosmic Love very well fits the shipping here. Or may eventually :P I know there's a Twilight/Luna pmv with the song, but this fits even more-so. "No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight...in the shadow of your heart."
*que dash going manic and doing drastic and overly stupid things because she thinks sombra is still evil and he kinda still is but he doesnt really want to because ancient evil spirits and love*
i'm not fucking around i really want to see AJ And Sombra be best friends. It just makes perfect sense, back then me and best friend hate one anther. but now we are best friends now
Aaakkk!!! My arch nemesis has poisoned the story I'm reading!!! Curse you inter-mane six shipping!
Sounds alot like dash. Good Chapter but will Sombra be able to have a normal life or will evil take hold of him again? til next time everybody
Sounds legit, Dash as the element of Loyalty ought to be overprotective with Twilight and all, and even as Dash reaction was the same as in Keep calm and Flutter on with Discord's reformation, I didn't imaginated a different outcome...
Great Chapter, Keep going...
I just found an amazing picture of Sombra and Twilight Sparkle dancing. All credit due the amazing artist Bluntwhiskey. Check out her other fantastic drawings.
derpicdn.net/img/2014/8/17/701487/full.jpeg
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I'm pretty sure that they will have something to say about it.
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All the ships in the story are part of my... Finn...verse? I dunno what to call it. Anyway, the ships seen in the story are from my previous stories.
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Actually Flash's part is getting bigger as I have been changing the story notes quite much lately.
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Thanks I have to say that I like AppleDash ships, but it is absolutely the only inter-mane six shipping.
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: "He's a nice stallion when you get to know him."
5227770 I just believe since this is a SombraLight story, either Shinning, who is protective of his sister, or Flash, who also has a crush on Twilight, is going to do something stupid. I can't wait to see the next part. Good luck.
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Awesome! If she would be wearing the simple dress that Rarity made for Twilight for her birthday, it would be just like the dancing scene from my story!
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And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat
I tried to find the sound
But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,
So darkness I became
Sound a lot like when Crystal left Sombra
Equally good chapter as usual my nordic brother
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Thank you very much!
You /are/ still working on this still, right?
I absolutely love this so far, especially the characterization of Sombra as being misguided by debt, though I'm curious regarding what price he paid to those voices.
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Yes, I am still working on this story, and there will be new chapter published next weekend!
FinnPony you mean this weekend or the weekend after tomorrow ?
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I mean this very weekend that began today
We didn't need to know that.
Which isn't that hard to figure out considering she took her uniform off.
Too much information!
BUT, but literally one paragraph ago you showed Rainbow Dash scratching her head in thought! And before that, you showed a moment leading up to said head-scratcher!! Why do you need this paragraph?!
Argh! I give up!
Still reading though.
I don't like AppleDash... Or any mane 6 ship for that matter. Their friends, the best of friends, but them in a relationship is just wrong to me... Sorry, I may have liked this chapter otherwise, but that just kinda killed the mood... Don't hate me...
5540240 I understand you view but the thing about romantic relationships is that they can often stem from being friends first and then they develop into something more.
Are they coming because of the magazine..?
Me: Wut?
Me: There are like literally no other words for that. Applejack literally spoke my mind...
Rainbow Dash will probably change her opinion once she meets him, after about an hour.