//------------------------------// // Flights Of Fancy // Story: The Ballad of the Prince-Formerly-Known-As-King-Sombra // by MisterEdd //------------------------------// Wait...where am I?! Twilight's head jerked around in confusion. From the crystalline houses, it was clear that she was in the Crystal Empire, but she didn't recognize any of the buildings. Or did she? There was Quartz Eyes' apothecary shop and Mrs. Azurite's bakery, where the kindly old mare concocted the best cinnamon rolls this side of- Twilight rubbed her temple. How do I know any of this? Who are these ponies? She wove in and out of the crowds of crystal ponies, each one wishing her a good day or speaking a blessing on her good health. What was stranger was that each one referred to her as "Rose Beryl." That was the name of the first queen of the Crystal Empire! She paused in front of a storefront window and her jaw nearly dropped. She stood a little taller than Cadence, her shapely, elongated body a dazzling lavender pink and her long, curly mane was a brilliant magenta with a streak of ivory. Lilac eyes stared curiously back at her as Twilight raised a hoof, her reflection repeating the motion with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, this is bizarre." Something went off in her head and the next thing she knew, she was racing towards a small park, determined to keep her appointment. Whatever it was. "Heliodor?!" She called merrily, finding herself on top of a small hill overlooking the park. Heliodor? The first king? Oh right, he and Rose Beryl were married. So why am I here...-? Her heart raced upon catching sight of the most handsome stallion in all the world. Wait, Sombra's the most handsome stallion in the world! What am I thinking?! Like Rose Beryl, Heliodor was taller than the average crystal pony, his limbs and muzzle more elongated and he carried himself with a sort of quiet dignity and grace but not so much that it made him conceited or unapproachable. His golden-yellow coat and orange mane caught fire in the mid-afternoon sun, threatening to burn Twilight-Rose Beryl with his brilliance. "Helly, oh Helly!" She called, to which the approaching stallion simply rolled his emerald green eyes. "I'm coming, Rose Beryl! So impatient!" Heliodor replied with mock annoyance and Twilight found herself placing her hooves on his chest tenderly. She scoffed and tapped him lightly on one shoulder. "I’m only so impatient because I can’t ever wait long enough to see you!" Wrapping their forelegs around one another, Twilight was powerless as their lips connected, the taste of strawberry and fresh-made vanilla cream exploding into her mouth. Their kiss was slow and tender and she soon felt herself moaning into Heliodor's gums as her lips smacked against his own. As absurd as it was, she'd never felt more alive than in the passionate embrace of this stallion. When they finally broke the kiss, Twilight, or rather, Rose Beryl whispered, "I love you, my Helly." Heliodor stared lovingly into Rose Beryl's eyes. "I love you, my Rose." Twilight's eyes flew open as she found herself once again in her own bed at Golden Oak Library. A dream...it was just a dream. So why did it seem so familiar? She threw the covers over and snuck past Spike, who was curled up in a ball and snoring like a hippo with sleep apnea. After a refreshing cup of coffee, Twilight checked out every book she had on the history of the Crystal Empire, hoping to discover why the kingdom's first rulers were the subject of her dream. Unfortunately, she only had two books and the information they contained was pretty scarce, doing no more than tell her what she already knew. Wait, Celestia said that eventually soul mates dream of the same thing. Maybe Sombra knows something about this. I'll ask him when he gets back from his flying lessons with Rainbow Dash. Oh, I hope she isn't too hard on him. --------------------------------------------------------------------*--------------------------------------------------------------------- I hate mornings. Sombra thought begrudgingly, rubbing the crust from his eyes. He didn't know why Rainbow Dash insisted on scheduling their flying lessons so early but he suspected that it was just to try to ruffle his feathers. Oh, he was aware of her standoffish behavior towards him and while it was understandable that Twilight's friends were ambivalent on the matter, Rainbow seemed to especially hold a grudge against him. Why was that? He didn't have time to answer his own question when a certain, rainbow-maned pegasus came swooping in, landing gracefully and skidding to a stop, kicking up a fair bit of dirt and grass. Looking Sombra up and down, Rainbow Dash swept some of her mane out of her face, her gaze contemptuous and almost agitated. "You're late." Be nice. Don't be cynical or mean-spirited. As much as Sombra wished to tell Rainbow off, he had to show restraint; she was one of his marefriend's best friends and didn't want to make things more difficult than they already were. "I've been waiting for fifteen minutes. If anything, you're the one that's late." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling me slow?" Wow, that came out of nowhere. Insecure, isn't she? "No, I was merely pointing out that you failed to show up at our prearranged time, thus-..." "Save the smart talk for the classroom! This is a flying lesson. No books, no quills, just the sky." "Yes, ma'am." "'Ma'am'? Do I look like an old mare?" Rainbow scolded, shoving her face towards Sombra's. Sombra could feel the desire to throttle her rising. "No, you don't." They stared unblinkingly at one another, neither one willing to break eye contact. Finally, Rainbow Dash turned her back in him in a huff. "'Miss Dash' will do." She then spread her wings and lifted herself ten feet off of the ground. Sombra imitated her, being certain to keep his distance. He knew that she had a temper and didn't want to stir up that particular hornet's nest. They soon circled around each other, their gazes intensely fixed on the other flier. Rainbow angled her wings so that the remiges were facing upward. "Be more relaxed. I said, 'relaxed'! Curl up your secondaries. No, no, like this!" She slapped a hoof to her forehead. "Goddess, you're an amateur!" Sombra ignored her, adjusting his wings to match her own. It wasn't his fault that she'd been born with hers and he'd only recently acquired his. Without looking at the pegasus, he could feel Rainbow Dash inspecting his wings. Not to sound egotistical, but they were rather impressive: large, raven-like appendages whose marginal, primary and secondary coverts were midnight black and the primary and secondary feathers were a dark, silvery gray. He could see why Twilight was so obsessed with them, as they essentially served the same purpose as a bird's plumage. "Okay, that's better. Not by much, but still a vast improvement." At this stage, Sombra was actually an adequate flier and suspected that Twilight's insistence on these flying lessons were merely her desire to see the two spend time together and to hopefully get along. Yeah, and a cutesy little filly is going to outsmart the Elements of Harmony. Without warning, Rainbow Dash zipped past Sombra's head, hitting his head with her hind hoof and sending him spinning towards the ground. He managed to right himself and remained airborne, stopping to glare at his teacher. "Stop daydreaming!" Rainbow shouted. "This is flying and flying's not for the faint of heart!" "Alright, that's it!" Planting all four hooves together, Sombra dropped to the ground, using his wings to create a drag and slow his descent. Puzzled, Rainbow Dash landed a few feet away and, closing the distance, jabbed a hoof into his chest. "What do you think you're-...?" "What is your problem? Huh? Why do you take such issue with me?" Rainbow folded her forelegs across her chest. "I'm just trying to teach you-..." She let out a squeak as she found that the stallion's face was right in front of hers, his scarlet eyes locked onto her own cerise ones. "Bullshit! You've had it out for me since I moved here. I get it, I'm the big bad guy that held you prisoner and later used extortion to force one of your best friends into being with me. All of you have the right to hate me but the others at least have given me a chance. So why is it that you are the only one to hold me in such low regard?" "Because you made me doubt myself, okay?!" The two stood fuming, their respective chests heaving with anger. "What?" Facing away from Sombra, Rainbow let out a weary sigh. "Ever since I was little, my parents have pushed me to be the best. I had to be better than everypony at everything, no matter how small or insignificant the challenge. And I believed it. I got a thrill from winning, from being the fastest, the strongest, the best." She stopped to clear her throat. "When you took Twilight, I...I felt as though I was weak, weak for not being able to save my friend. What is the point of being the best when you can't protect the ones you care about?" Sombra remained silent, picking up on the fact that she wasn't done speaking. Rainbow continued: "I actually cried when Twilight said goodbye. I don't cry; I don't have the luxury of letting things get to me. After that, I tried to push myself to be better than I was but I just realized that I couldn't. I felt broken. Here I was, Rainbow Dash, the one that everypony thinks is tough and indestructible...feeling weak and helpless, crying like a little filly." She looked back at Sombra, her lips curling up to form a little smile. "The truth is, when I was knocking the stuffing out of you, I felt a little bit as I was before. Before I let me doubt myself, before I felt vulnerable. You being here reminds me of that." For the next few minutes, nothing more was said, both parties letting Rainbow's confession sink in. Sombra lowered his head, shameful of his past misdeeds and the effect that it had on others. He knew that Twilight's absence had been a negative experience for her friends but he had no idea how deep it'd went. And now he worried about the damage he'd caused to Twilight's loved ones, particularly her parents and brother. Sombra tentatively placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, who winced slightly but otherwise remained stationary, peering at him curiously. "I...I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. For-for making you feel that way. If I could take back the things I've done, I would but I can't and that hurts. It hurts knowing that my actions had such horrible consequences for those who've done nothing wrong. I don't deserve your forgiveness or your friendship but I'm going to fight for it. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make things right, even if it takes me the rest of my life." The pegasus seemed to contemplate this then shrugged Sombra's hoof off. "You know...maybe you're not so bad after all. I'm still not a hundred-percent okay with you and Twilight but you're at least twenty-percent okay. Maybe thirty." Sombra grinned and found to his surprise that Rainbow returned the expression. "Then I'll have to work hard to get it to one hundred. For what it's worth, I think you're a great teacher." Rainbow threw a hoof out. "Pffft. You're just saying that." "Actually yes, yes I am." "Annnnnnd you're back down to twenty." They shared a laugh and returned back to town, this time as almost-friends.