Twilight stretched and arched her back, moaning a bit as she felt the little kinks pop. She then rubbed at one eye and peered over at the alicorn sleeping next to her and a sweet smile crossed her lips. In order to smooth over the new transition, she usually slept over at Sombra's place whenever the two hung out, just to build up some trust with Spike until she could bring her new coltfriend over to the library. Huh, "coltfriend." The word brought Twilight a kind of indescribable giddiness but also felt as though the term was too flimsy. "Coltfriend" sounded temporary, like a short-term fling before moving onward to somepony else. While she liked "soulmate," it was a special word, one that she would use hesitantly out in public. "Inamorata" was too wordy and hoity-toity while "partner" made her feel like an actor in a bad cop show. She shrugged, deciding to work on the terminology at a later date as she gazed at Sombra.
It seemed so unreal that only a few months ago that he was a wicked tyrant and she his captive, a hostage exchanged for the safety of her friends and family. Truth be told, she hated him but after spending time with Sombra and seeing a different side of him that he'd purposefully kept hidden away, Twilight had grown to love him and now couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him. She froze when she noticed his right hindleg kicking spastically and his hooves seemed to grip and claw at the sheets, his breath ragged and hurried as he began to hiss and groan.
"Sombra?"
"N-no. Ah, no, no!" Sombra turned over quickly, his teeth gritted as he curled up into a ball. "NO!"
Twilight embraced Sombra and rested her head on his shoulder, her horn illuminating as she cast a calming spell on him. He stopped twitched and she thanked Celestia when his breathing returned to normal, a look of peace passing over his face. Ever since they'd come to Ponyville, Sombra had looked more tired and spooked and it didn't take a detective to figure out that he'd been losing sleep. Whenever Twilight stayed the night, she'd notice that he was plagued by nightmares and did whatever she could to alleviate them, by either hugging and rocking him or using a calming spell. While it hurt that Sombra wouldn't tell her about his issues, Twilight figured that it was a personal struggle and would wait for him to tell her. As his soulmate, she could feel the fear as it resonated off of him and knew that whatever it was, it had to do with his psychotic, black hearted-of-a-monster father. I can't blame him; I'm shocked that I don't have nightmares about Erebus.
Throwing the covers over, Twilight rose from the bed and made her way downstairs, deciding that if she wasn't going back to sleep, she'd might as well get the day started and make some breakfast. Digging through the pantries, her eyes fell upon a bag of pancake batter and grinned, remembering the day that Sombra made her pancakes, filling a whole table with stacks of the food as he'd spent hours trying to get the recipe just right. My budding chef. She chuckled and took the bag out, concluding that it was not only what she was in the mood for but would be something nice to do for Sombra once he woke up. Humming a merry tune, she mixed in the batter with some cinnamon and apple slices before frying it, filling the room with its sweet aroma. Some thumps on the staircase announced Sombra's arrival and she turned to greet him, still somewhat in awe of his large wings.
"Good morning, Sommy!"
The alicorn smiled sleepily and kissed her cheek. "Right back at you, Twi. Wow, that smells good." He took a seat at the table and yawned, placing his chin on his hooves as he watched her. It was a little hard for Twilight to focus on making breakfast when he stared at her like that, a mix between amorous devotion and wanton affection. And to think, once upon a time, Twilight used to be afraid of those red eyes of his. Now she wanted to stare into them for hours on end.
"Thanks, though I doubt they can compare with yours."
"I'm sure whatever you make will be the bee's knees." Twilight turned away to roll her eyes. Being trapped in ice for a millennia caused Sombra to miss out on centuries of popular culture and she'd encouraged him to read up what he'd missed out on in order to get him better acquainted with the new era. Now he'd taken to using outdated words and expressions, which was kind of annoying but mostly endearing. Now he sounded as old as he was. I still don't think I can forgive Pinkie for introducing him to old rap terminology. I can't get over hearing him use the words "yo" or "tight" in a sentence.
"So Twi, what's on the agenda for today?"
Twilight turned to find Sombra with a spoon stuck to his nose and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Well...since you've arrived here, you've been spending all your time alone and I was thinking that maybe you could socialize. I asked Applejack to let you help her do some apple bucking on the farm today."
The spoon clattered onto the table. "I don't know about that, Twi. Last I checked, your friends aren't exactly chill with me. I know Applejack's your friend and all but are you sure she'd want me around? Sounds like a lot of unneeded stress on her part."
Twilight placed a hoof on her hip and shook her head maternally. "Listen Sombra, sooner or later, you're going to have to learn how be around other ponies, particularly my friends. You're both an important part of my life and I want you to get along. You can't spend all day locked away in the library with the curtains drawn sipping away on jasmine tea."
"Actually, it's Morhockan mint." Sombra gulped at Twilight's castigatory expression. "Right, sorry. Okay, I'll do it."
Twilight's face brightened. "Great! She's expecting you at twelve so don't be late."
"The things I do for love," Sombra grumbled, much to Twilight's amusement.
Tightly pulling the gray cloak around himself, Sombra moved at an even pace throughout the streets of Ponyville, his eyes darting back and forth as he moved through the throngs of ponies, who unsurprisingly chose to give him a wide berth. Since he'd moved there, the residents mostly did their best to avoid him with some of the bolder ones giving him the stink eye or spitting at his hooves as he walked by. Not that he could blame them. He trotted up to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres and was met by an orange earth pony mare leaning up against a fence with her hat pulled down low, most likely for dramatic effect. "Well, yer right ahn time, so tha counts fer somethin'," Applejack stated dryly. "Come on, let's git started."
Pushing herself off of the fence, Applejack turned and made her way towards the orchard, throwing a peek over her shoulder to find Sombra following her two paces behind. She actually felt kind of bad for the guy; day one since he'd moved in, he'd been courteous and quiet, keeping his distance from the other ponies and being on his best behavior. Once, she'd seen a pony throw an empty soda can at him and Sombra merely walked away, something the old Sombra would've no doubt sought retribution for, most likely via shoving the pony's head on a stick. He seemed very skittish, as though his very presence would cause problems. Maybe Ah'm too tough on the feller. He is makin' an effort to change his ways. She stopped and said, "Alright Sombra, here's the deal: yer goin' to be helpin' me buck apples. We're goin' ta knock tha the apples offa the trees an' make sure they fall into tha baskets. Any questions?"
To his credit, Sombra shook his head. "No Ma'am. Seems pretty straight forward."
"Good, just knock off that 'Ma'am' business. 'Applejack' will do just fine. An' ya can take off yer cloak. Nopony can see us past this here tree line." Sombra nodded, undoing the clasp and Applejack watched as he shrugged out of the thick gray fabric and let it fall to the ground, revealing a broad-chested and toned physique. It wasn't over-the-top like Bulk Biceps' nor was it thin, being somewhere in the middle, like an old Greek statue. "Do ya work out?" She winced as she realized that the words had escaped her lips.
Sombra blinked. "Um, yes, actually. I mostly do it for Twilight, as she likes the way I look."
"Ah reckon she does," Applejack muttered. "Ahem, now this is how ya apple buck." Planting herself firmly on the ground, she lifted her hindlegs and thrust them into the trunk of a nearby tree, rocking it and causing some apples to fall into the basket underneath it. She smirked at her handiwork and turned to Sombra. "As easy as apple pie. Now ya give it a try." Scrutinizing the tree, Sombra carefully folded his wings up against his sides and, raising both hindlegs, kicked the tree and knocked nearly all of the remaining apples loose. Applejack nodded, "Very good, nice form. Keep at it and Ah'll watch yer progress for a bit. Give tha tree another wackin'."
"You've got it." Sombra kicked the tree trunk again, this time doing it with one leg and letting out a grunt. Filling up the basket, he went to the next tree in the row and repeated the action. Applejack fought to tear her eyes away from his muscles stretching over his buff frame, her ears tingling with the sounds of his masculine grunts and the sounds of his hooves banging on wood. Whoo, is it suddenly hot out here or is it just me? She fanned herself with her hat, this time noticing Sombra's teeth clenching with every blow, the way the sweat flowed down his shoulders and onto his broad chest. She had to admit, Sombra was quite the looker and Twilight was plum-lucky to have him.
"Applejack? Applejack! Are you alright? You've been daydreaming for the past five minutes."
The orange mare shook her head. "Ah'm fine, j-just concentrate on yer work. Ah'll be back ta check on ya later." With that, Applejack leisurely walked away until Sombra's back was turned, then she broke into a full gallop all the way to the house and to the upstairs bathroom. Slamming the door behind her, she splashed water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror, bewildered by what had just transpired. "What in tarnation is goin' on with me? Uh-uh, there's no way Ah've got tha hots fer Twilight's coltfriend." She thought back to how she observed Sombra working, how fit she noticed he was, the way his powerful hindlegs struck the tree trunk- "R-right?"
A few hours had passed by before Applejack exited her hiding spot at Golden Harvest's carrot farm and worked up the courage to face Sombra once more, deciding to ignore her own feelings and keep things professional. She arrived on the spot where she'd left Sombra and became frantic when she couldn't spot him. "Now where did tha varmint go? He better not be goofin' off!" She searched through the orchard until she found Big Mac in the barn working on a cider press. "Heya Big Mac? Did ya happen to see which way Sombra went of ta? He's s'sposed to be apple buckin' but now I caint find him."
The red stallion stopped and replied, "I saw him go up to da house about, oh...an hour ago?"
"The house? He better not be just lazing about! Thanks Big Mac."
"Eeyup." Applekjack left her brother to his task as she stormed up to the house, ready to give Sombra a piece of her mind, no matter how big he was or how attractive she found him. As she neared the house, she stopped when she heard the unmistakable sound of laughter and confusingly peered around the corner. Sombra was sitting on the front porch steps across from Granny Smith in her rocking chair, appearing to listen with rapt attention as the old mare spoke. "Now what is he doin'?" Applejack whispered to herself, somewhat intrigued by this new development.
"...So then Goldie Delicious and Ah told Apple Rose that we hadn't seen her apple fritter pie and at that very moment, tha pie fell from tha ceilin' and clocked her right inna head, completely splatterin' her with the stuff!"
Sombra, who was in the middle of drinking some apple cider, spat the liquid back into his mug and guffawed, slapping his hock hard enough to leave a bruise as he fought for air. The two shared a laugh before Sombra managed to sputter, "So-so then what happened? She was pretty angry, wasn't she, Granny Smith?"
"'Purdy angry'? Shoot, Apple Rose looked ornery 'nuff ta yank tha wings offa dragon is what she looked like! And tha words she called us! Good thang her pappy wasn't in the room ta hear the language she was usin'." The two became aware of Applejack's presence and Granny Smith patted the wooden stool next to her. "Howdy Applejack! Why don'tcha grab a seat here and join us? I was just tellin' yer friend here about tha time Apple Rose was fixin' ta kill Cousin Goldie Delicious and I for swapping out her apple fritter pie right before tha big bake sale. By tha way, why didn't ya bring this fellah to tha farm before? He's such a gentlecolt!" She then added coyly, "And not bad lookin' neither."
Sombra snorted, "Oh Granny Smith, stop! We both know it'd never work. If I wasn't with Twilight, maybe you'd have a shot. You know, if you don't mind being a young mare dating an older stallion."
Granny Smith tittered, "Yer too much, Sombra! If this is what all stallions are like at tha Crystal Empire, then Ah might just pack mah things and move over yonder and start huntin'!"
Applejack scratched the back of her head. Seeing the two getting along so well was odd but deeply touching. Sombra wasn't one for socializing and it was nice to see him enjoying himself outside of the comfort of his cottage. Even if he's flirtin'-not-flirtin' with my grandmother. "So, how long have ya been talkin' out here?"
"Oh, about an hour, hour and a half?" Sombra replied and took a drink. "Still, it was great! Your Granny Smith is quite the accomplished storyteller!" He then wiggled his eyebrows. "And she's pretty easy on the eyes too."
"Now, now, Sombra, what would Twilight think of ya sweet-talkin' other mares?"
"Hey, if she doesn't ask, then we won't tell!"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "This has been interestin', but Ah think it's time fer Sombra to skedaddle."
"Eh, fair nuff. I've got some baking ta do anyhow," Granny Smith nodded, slowly rising from her rocking chair. "Now Sombra, don't be a stranger 'round here. Ah expect ta see more of ya, ya hear?"
Pecking the old mare on both cheeks, Sombra chuckled, "You bet. See you later, Granny Smith!" He joined Applejack and they walked back into the orchard, where Sombra wrapped his heavy gray cloak once more around himself. "You know, your grandmother is really quite amazing! Oh, the stories she has to tell!"
"Uh-huh. She, uh, seems rather taken with ya too. Ah didn't know anypony else outside tha family that could stand her long-winded stories before. Yer really interested in 'em? No lyin'?"
Sombra redid the clasp and looked at Applejack as though she said the moon was made out of cheese. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't? It honestly felt nice to talk to her, or rather, have her talk while I listened."
"Oh, Ah forgot, there's really not many ponies that are in yer age range, are there?"
"Well, that and I've never had a grandmother. Even if for just an hour, it felt nice to pretend like I did."
And with that, all of the suspicion and skepticism melted away from Applejack's heart like an ice cube in the sun. Sombra turned to leave when Applejack stopped him with a firm hoof on his shoulder. "Hey Sombra? It'd...it'd be nice i-if ya came over fer dinner tomorrah night. Granny Smith makes the best apple casserole ya ever did have."
Sombra stared incredulously at her. "Do you mean that?"
Applejack smiled, "Yeah, Ah do. Yer...welcome here whenever ya like."