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King Sombra has been brought back to life once again—only this time, he doesn’t have his horn. Weak without it and withering away day by day, Sombra sets out for the Crystal Empire to find his missing piece, chaperoned by the downtrodden and endlessly kind Troubleshoes Clyde.
They’d better hurry. Twilight Sparkle has caught wind of Sombra’s return, and she’s getting awfully tired of destroying him.
Winner of the M/M Shipping Contest.
Cover Art by aquoquoo.
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Miller's back baby!!! What a fun start, can't wait to see where you take this 😁
This story is a sequel to A House For The Holidays. I didn't put it in the description because it's not required reading and also I forgot.
Shout out to Vivid Syntax who first requested a story featuring these two characters back in 2019. It's been two years, and they've never fully left my brain since.
Remaining chapters to be posted on the 9th and the 11th of November. Much love💙
SPECTACULAR
An interesting ship idea!
I’m gonna love this!!
Sombra's so grumpy & Clyde so nice, I am so glad there's more to this. I look forward to the rest!
Can’t wait until Sombra realizes that he scored himself a himbo boyfriend.
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Thank you all for your comments! Chapters 2 and 3 are nearly done and will be up tomorrow.
💙
Whoa the title changed that's crazy
Boyfriend down!! I repeat: Boyfriend down!!
Clyde needs a bonnie. Or maybe Sombra is bonnie
The SHIP IS SAILING I repeat the ship is sailing.
'Fierce and deadly' you are a house cat, Sombra.
I am so invested.
You never thought to... I don't know, help him change or show him friendship? Where's the friendship in killing someone, princess?
All done :v
Good luck to everyone else in the contest!
M-
They’re adorable together. It was a great story. I hope to see more of your work in the future.
Howdy, hi!
You have been successfully entered into the MxM contest! Thank you very much for your participation and we look forward to reading!
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Je suis dans la système
Just let them live their lives Twilight, it's not like you haven't let other tyrants walk free, after all.
This was really cute though! I'm so glad the original story got a sequel, these two are actually very cute together and I love this outcome and how things from previous chapters accumulated together in the end.
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friendship may be magic but murder is fantastic
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you can't spell slaughter without laughter
sombra set it from vibrate to silent
THEY'RE GAY
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
THE HEAT OF PASSIONATE LOVE
NOOOOOOOO
such a good exchange ho oo o l y fuck
SUBLIME TWILIGHT
Logical and manic and caught up in her own whirlwind of a mind
Oh my god! This is how you do it! This is a perfect villain Twilight!
NOOOOOO NOW I FEEL BAD
NEVERMIND FUCK TWILIGHT THE GAYS ARE KISSING AND IT'S A WONDERFULLY WRITTEN END SCENE
youuuuuu
YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
ARE SO GOOD AT CHARACTER
i am crying
MILLER YOU'VE OUTDONE ANYTHING I'VE EVER WRITTEN THIS IS A WONDERFUL STORY
Bicyclette did not lie in saying:
You have such wonderful prose that never stays a moment too long, that always says the right thing in the right way with a subtle weight that I adore.
Always superb. I would point to more examples but I feel like I'd end up copying down every line of your story. There's nothing wasted here. It's perfectly cooked. It's just—
It's like perfectly steeped tea, spiked with bourbon. It's elegant and floral and it punches you in the face and it kisses you and you get SO fucking drunk on it before you realize what's happened, and when it's over with you sit down on the ground next to the fire and you think to yourself: "Just one more, I swear."
And the pot—nor the bourbon—never empties. This story only ends when you're passed out unconscious on the ground, and even then I suspect more than a few of us who've read this will dream about it.
It's a criminal shame that this isn't among the highest rated stories on the site.
Poor Troubleshoes. Just his luck.
Congrats again on winning the contest. I'm incredibly proud of you.
that would certainly be a good reason!
aww! super cute mental image, but yes Troubleshoes is large
ha, loved this line! very fun comedic routine here
indeed! i like how this feels like a show arc, with Twilight letting her assumptions lead her away from the truth.
she did do it once before, after all!
definitely a good way to make this version of Sombra disarming
so tsundere!
it is very reminiscent of Trixie
ugh, i love the contrast so much!
hard not to quote every line of banter, but every line was gold. we're barely into the story and i am already amazed by how you made these two characters, who i never would have imagined interacting, work so well together in a story.
oof! certainly hope some sort of character development happens for this guy!
oof, very understandable lingering trauma from that event
ha, loved this initial use of Troubleshoes's bad luck. though i guess having to haul a would-be tyrant to the Crystal Empire is bad luck it itself
aww! the blanket!
oof! i guess being around a normally-lucked individual averages out their lucks a bit, fasscinating
ah, perfect! love this whole time-displaced exchange, especially that Troubleshoes addresses him as ""Mr. Sombra""
well, that's both a delightfully appropriate countryism and a worrying bit of worldbuilding!
aww! begrudging vulnerability!
agh, love this! i wish i could write characters this well
very nice
oof, for his sake, hope not! really fun to see a close-to-canon Twilight as the understandably frightening antagonist
hahaha!
perfect! loving this dynamic
what made you think this way, Sombra?
ah, the irresistible force versus the immovable object
aww, their first selfie together! so cute! and love that subtle thing with the eyes
surprising that Sombra accidentally made it seem like he cared about Troubleshoes, even to cover up his own vanity!
ah, the dynamic! so good!
aww!
oh no, Sombra independently discovered the thirst trap!
ah, feeling for Clyde so much here! i am so invested in this happening now
everypony is a hero in their own story. loving this idea for Sombra's
oof so much. such awful, cosmic luck, and sadly true to life for some. again, feeling for Clyde so much here. his attachment to Mama Clyde's wisdom, his resignation to his fate, all of it weaves together in such beautiful melancholy.
again, how did you make Sombra and Troubleshoes work this well together? i am loving this so much!
nice to have this bit of light after all that heaviness!
aww, this is so nice in this context!
aww! convergence!
l-lewd...
ooooooh
ah, so close!
it is sweet to see Sombra thinking so highly of Troubleshoes's abilities now
oh this is so Sombra i love it
aaaaaa
too much tiredness, or character development???
Sombra realizes he is not the only character in the story?
ah, Troubleshoes taking charge! though it was really always this way, Sombra just never had to face it this directly
Sombra now directly trying to hold on to his past ways! but Troubleshoes really is immune to it for multiple reasons. again, love how well these characters work together
finally! love how abrupt this was in the rhythm, haha
aww, so good!
so touching!
and Twilight learns a very specific Friendship Lesson! love it
oof, you really make her feel like the Terminator here
love the callback
ah, the deflation! love it!
again, the connections!
as great as your Sombra and Troubleshoes are, i also have to recognize how great your Twilight is. she feels very Twilight from her perspective
this is alicorn monarchy manifest!
ah, i was confused for a second, and then i remembered one of Twilight's clues. absolutely brilliant, this.
again, amazing Twilight. love this miniature arc of hers.
absolute perfection! wow i love this so much
big oof
oh no, this isn't going to be one of those twists, is it?
which is why throughout i was reading into Clyde trepidation at things going well, since having something worth having means it can be taken away...
and oof. great use of that recurring bit, too.
that is just adorable, and hopefully it doesn't mean that Sombra was a ghost all along
aww! that is way worse than Sombra being a ghost all along
such a fitting image, just as he crushed the bed of daffodils that was Clyde's heart!
so we've gone from nuisance to advisor to servant to workhorse
ooh, what a twist!
aww, i love this so much
ha, love the payoff of mentioning Discord's lack of a mother way back at the beginning! and the horn only moving when Sombra had reuniting with it as a goal, ugh, love it so much
and i really like this characterization of the Equestrian state and Twilight! it just fits so very nicely
hahaha, love it! ah, the witty tone of the first chapter coming back for the last is a great way to end it
aww! nice echo of the previous time they met
ah, i am loving this so much! Sombra gone domestic
aaaaaa i love it
echo and inversion of Sombra chewing out Troubleshoes for being bad at lying! ah so good
oof! really glad Twilight realized this but wow, was she really that fixated? i mean, yes, that sadly makes sense
as did i!
perfect ending, and perfect last chapter. i love so much how it mirrors the first, and is not only just a perfect fluffy, happy ending for the unlikely pair, but also really brings together the growth that took place throughout the story.
i am in awe at this. it has been such a delight to read from start to finish, and i loved it so very much. it's not only one of the best entries i have read in this contest, but one of the best fics i have ever read period. thank you so much for this masterpiece!
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🐦💙😘
Thanks again for running the contest. It was a blast!
Well this was a delight. Happy and funny, never getting too grim and ending with a lovely bow on top. Thank you for writing!
Howdy, hi!
I'm not sure what else to add that I haven't already said in the contest results. This fic was glorious, one of my absolute favourite MxM romances. You took these two completely unrelated characters and built-up such fantastic chemistry between them. The dialogue, the mannerisms, Troubleshoes being grade S himbo, was also stellar, fantastic, amazing, other words that are synonyms to this.
What really makes this story so great is Sombra's arc in this. The subtle changes he undergoes as the story continues, and he makes the ultimate choice in the end. He chooses Troubleshoes, and that is so damn heartwarming that it made me cry in joy at it. Every piece of this story is an absolute golden standard on writing a romance between two characters and I loved every second of it.
Thank you so so *so* much for this story. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.
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indeed. she's acting pretty fuckin weird
not bad. not bad at all.
A really nice story! I would've never brought these two together, but it works well! I enjoyed this story a lot and it was exciting.
that was just brilliant. lovely. immaculate. absolutely adore your prose, and this piece is just exquisite. i’m amazed. so glad I found it!
I've been behind on my reading for a year now, ever since my son was born. I think this is the first multi-chapter fic I've read on here this year, and this story is the greatest way I can imagine to jump back in.
This story was supreme from beginning to end. Both Clyde and Summer had arcs that felt fleshed out, natural, and not at all rushed, which is SUPER impressive given the word count! I think you nailed it by keeping chapter 5 short and sweet. I was on the edge of my metaphorical seat wondering how it would end. A beautiful tragedy felt just as likely as a happy ending.
Some of my favorite moments:
- Clyde's initial fib that established how much he already cared for Sombra
- Sombra retaining his confidence despite his lack of power and his clear vulnerability
- The bonding over their childhoods
- The tea and bourbon moments
- Drunk queer ponies
- KISSING!!!! Oh, the catharsis!!!
- Everything about chapter 5
- In the end, their choices and their love matters, and it matters in a way that fits both the characters.
Huh. I've listed essentially the entire story as "favorite moments."
Thank you so much for this fic. Years ago, I hoped I'd be lucky enough to read more about these two. You've granted my wish, given me *two* wonderful Hearthswarming gifts, and warmed my heart. Catch Us If You Can deserves all the praise it's gotten and more. I feel like the luckiest pony alive to have read this wonderful tale, but maybe I'm just the third-luckiest.
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Oh thank you so much! It's wonderful to hear from you and I'm so glad you enjoyed the sequel. These two are so much fun to write together. ESPECIALLY THE KISSING
Congratulations on your newborn by the way, that's super exciting!!
I'm hanging on every single word! An unlikely pairing made so compelling with your writing! I love it!
THIS IS SO DOGGONE CUTE!!!!!
This fic was absolutely wonderful! An incredible story for such a quick read!
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It's funny to hear you say that on this, the longest (complete) story I've ever written.
Thanks for stopping by!
Okay, yeah, I read it again, and it's still incredible. 🤎🖤
I like this fic, but... I feel like Twilight is a bit out of character. And because of that, the plot of the story falls apart.
If she's so paranoid about him coming back, why doesn't she call up the Guard to do patrols? Heck, why aren't they doing that anyway? You'd think at least the Crystal Empire would have patrols along their borders looking for him. And then Twilight doesn't talk to anyone, not even her closest friends, about all this?
It feels like a younger, less mature Twilight, like the one at her brother's wedding. She made a scene there as well. But was proven to be right, so that almost seems like she'd have more of a reason to investigate her suspicions. Though perhaps she would do so more delicately.
And I think that's what bothers me. She never once tries to get their side of the story. Someone who's helped more than a few villains repent, and witnessed some herself, yet she acts as if Sombra is irredeemable. And I can't for the life of me understand why. It just doesn't make sense to me. Not even if she's feeling the weight of her responsibility to protect her country. I was waiting for it in the last chapter, for her to finally say, "Why don't you tell me what happened. Off the record."
She never did. And I think the story is less for it.
I don't know why you made that decision. Maybe your story doesn't work unless you make her unwilling or unable to acknowledge that Sombra can change. But if so, then I don't think it's as good as others say it is. I think it could be better if she's just doing her duty while looking for signs of redemption. Without that, it just feels like it's setting Twilight back a few seasons just to create conflict. Which I feel is poor writing indeed.
I hate being the lone voice of criticism, but I guess I have to be. No story can be better if you don't point out its flaws. Granted, this may be somewhat subjective, so it may just be a matter of taste. Yet I stand by what I said. I only hope it's of some use to you, and can help you be a better writer.
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You're not the first to dislike Twilight's characterization in this story. I appreciate the time you took to explain your reaction.
I stand by it, for what my opinion is worth. I wanted the "heroes" to defeat the villain without it feeling like she let them, which meant she couldn't be involved in his reform whatsoever, not even to give it her stamp of approval after it's been done. And that meant it wasn't going to be a good time for her.
Sometimes the people we love fall back into their old ways, and the best they can do is to walk away from a situation that they can't parse. I knew it would be a risk, but I'm glad I took it.
And I hate to play this card, but this is the same Twilight who turned three villains into stone without, in your words, "hearing their side of the story". Not that I was in charge of that decision 😤
Again, thank you for leaving your comment. Have a wonderful day.
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As you wish. Just don't think your explanation satisfies me is all. But I don't know if it's really worth the time going back and forth on it. I have other things to do, some far more important, and I don't wish to harass you.
Good luck on your future stories. I hope you write some good ones.
A worthy winner indeed. Thanks for the lovely slow burn.
it works 👍 (Good job)