"Wow, so cool! And look at this!"
Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but titter a bit as the colt wrapped around her foreleg excitedly pointed out his surroundings. After his meal, Little Sombra asked Twilight to show him around the castle as he'd never seen a structure quite like it before. Naturally, she was all too eager to act as a tour guide and her Sombra even tagged along, as he was just as curious about his young doppelganger as Twilight was. As to be expected, Little Sombra kept himself close to Twilight the entire time, sparing a moment here and there to throw a glance back at the dark alicorn tailing them but seemed to be less bothered by him as time went on. Turning a corner, they ended up in the dining room and Twilight was instantly reminded of her first dinner Sombra and his attempt to seduce her with his dancing.
"Twilight? Are you okay?"
She realized that she'd paused and looked down at Little Sombra, her cheeks inflamed with both embarrassment and arousal. "I'm fine. I was just...thinking of something." Behind them, Big Sombra was staring at Twilight worriedly when he took a whiff and grinned salaciously. Twilight's tail clung tightly against her stomach and covered her marehood. Well, I'm not going to be getting any sleep tonight.
Little Sombra sniffed the air. "Does anypony else smell wild berries?"
Twilight shot Big Sombra a warning glare as he bit his lip trying not to laugh. "Nope! Anyway, let's get...some lunch! Yes, it's about lunch time and I don't know about you but I'm famished!"
The three sat at the dining room table with Twilight and Little Sombra on one side and Big Sombra on the other, who tried his best to not stare at the colt across from him and simply enjoy his daffodil sandwich. Silence dominated the room, as nopony could think of anything to say. Glancing up from his bowl of porridge, Little Sombra said, "I could've sworn I smelled wild berries earlier. Could I have some?"
Twilight gagged on her egg salad and gawked at the colt. "Um, well, the thing is-..."
"You know what?" Big Sombra smirked mischievously. "I'd love some wild berries too." He then winked at Twilight, who glared at him unamusingly.
"Sorry, I'm all out," she grunted and crossed her forelegs, shooting him a somepony's-sleeping-on-the-floor look.
Little Sombra, unaware of the implications of her statement, finished licking his bowl and pushed it out in front of him. "Um, Twilight? I'm done with my porridge. C-could I have seconds?"
"Of course you can, sweetie. I'll be right back," She smiled and levitated the bowl. Locking eyes with Big Sombra, she sashayed out the door, deliberately swinging her hips at him. The alicorn could only pant at the display and regained his composure once those delectable flanks were out of sight. Shaking his head, he turned to find his young counterpart studying him astutely, his fingers drumming on the tabletop in sync with the tick-tocking of the clock.
"So...you're basically me, but grown up and an alicorn?"
Big Sombra nodded unsurely. "It would appear to be the case, yes. Do I disappoint?"
The colt shrugged, "You're okay. At least you've got a marefriend that's nice and pretty."
"I do, don't I?" Big Sombra smiled warmly. "Perhaps someday she'll become more than that."
"You're going to ask her to marry you?"
"When the time is right."
Little Sombra seemed to relax his posture a bit and actually scooted his chair in. "What about foals?"
The room became deathly quiet once more. Big Sombra blinked and tugged at the collar of his cloak, feeling the temperature in the room suddenly climbing. "Beg pardon?"
"You said you want to marry her," Little Sombra annunciated. "Does that mean you want kids too?"
Big Sombra sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's...tough for me to answer that. On the one hoof, yes, yes I do. To have children with the mare that I love would be an incredible thing. But on the other hoof, I...just don't know." It was a lame answer and they both knew it.
"Well why not? You want it and I think Twilight wants it. So what's the problem?"
"Look, kid," Big Sombra replied somewhat testily. "It's just something personal that I'm trying to work through. I know it doesn't make much sense but please drop it."
Little Sombra simply nodded. "Okay. Just don't take forever. I don't want to see Twilight get hurt."
"I would never do anything to hurt her," Big Sombra stated.
They made eye contact and let their gaze do all of the talking. "I believe you."
"I'm back!" Twilight announced, setting a still-steaming bowl on the table. "Here you go, fresh from the kitchen!" She took her seat and stared at the two. "Did I miss anything?"
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The dining room vanished, leaving the smooth, swirling black and white surface of the Black Bead clear once more. Princess Cadence stepped backward and gestured towards an impassive Shining Armor. "What do you think? Didn't I tell you that having the two in the same room together wouldn't hurt anypony?"
Shining Armor clenched jaw moved from side to side. "You did. And our Sombra seems pretty sincere when it comes to the matter of my baby sister but I still don't think that-..."
"Shiny, what will it take to convince you that Sombra's changed? He helped to save the Crystal Empire, willingly gave up the throne and hasn't been causing trouble since he arrived in Ponyville. In fact, Twilight's letters have told us that he's gone out of his way to try to get her friends to warm up to him. Why can't you forgive him?"
The unicorn stared at the floor and then back at Cadence. "It's just...tough. After everything that's happened, I just find it hard to believe that such an infamous figure-one who attacked us no less-and who Princess Celestia warned us about, could do a complete one-eighty and not only turns nice but is also dating my sister. He imprisoned an entire race and kept them in a perpetual state of terror for the last millennium and is now going to be crowned a prince of Equestria." He sighed and felt Cadence place her head on his shoulder. "It's a lot to take in, Cady," Shining Armor admitted, stroking her mane. "How do we know he won't just turn evil again? It'd break Twiley's heart."
Princess Cadence hummed pleasantly, enjoying the feel of her husband's hoof through her mane. "You just need to have faith, Shiny. Twilight has faith in him and so do I. She wouldn't have chosen him if she didn't see something worthwhile in him." She gazed adoringly into his eyes. "Love isn't about caring about somepony's strengths. It's about accepting their shortcomings and helping them to overcome them."
Shining Armor shook his head. "You're right...as usual. It won't be easy though."
"Nothing ever is. Now, I believe you owe somepony an apology."
"I'm sorry, Cadence." Dipping his head, Shining Armor aimed for Cadence's lips, only to find her hoof pressed against his muzzle.
Princess Cadence snorted, "Not me."
Shining nodded reluctantly. "Okay, fine. But I'm not kissing him."