//------------------------------//
// Matters of the Heart (III) 
// Story: The Return of the King 
// by MisterEdd 
//------------------------------//

Blinding rays of sunlight smacked Princess Celestia in the face, forcing her eyelids shut as she grumblingly rolled away from the offending solar beams, inadvertently causing her to tumble off of the bed and smack-dab right onto the floor. Slowly lifting her chin off of the floor, Celestia winced and raised a hoof to her aching skull. How much had she drunken last night? She spied a pile of empty wine bottles tucked away in the corner. 

Okay, that is the last time that I drink that much.  

Due to her alicorn physiology, Celestia's metabolism worked at a much higher rate and thus she was capable of imbibing much more alcohol than your average pony. The downside, however, was that this meant that the higher alcohol content eventually results in a much more intense hangover. Celestia belched and held her stomach as she sat up. 

I haven't gone on a bender like that since I was eighteen.

Before she could stop herself, a spew of red and greenish-brown vomit erupted from her mouth, soaking her expensive Foledo carpeting. She smacked her lips and then peered at the orange lumps.

"When did I eat carrots?" 

She yelped and gripped her head at the thudding at her bedroom door.

"It's open!"

A blue head poked in. "Are you alright, Sister?" The door widened, revealing Princess Luna with a tray of food clutched in her magic. "I brought sustenance." 

"Thank y-..." Celestia bolted upright, aggravating her stomach. "I forgot to raise the sun!" 

Luna placed the tray on a nearby writing desk. "Calm down, Tia. I already took care of that." 

"Oh. Thank you." Dragging herself into a chair, Celestia took a sip of coffee and gulped. "Oh, that hits the spot!" She then noticed Luna staring at her queerly. "What is it?" 

"How much do you remember about last night?"

Celestia cut into her scrambled eggs and shoveled it into her mouth. "Not a whole lot, to be honest."

"I see. To get you up to speed, you set fire to the ballroom, sent the staff into a panicked frenzy and according to Sombra, you appeared in his cell, drunk off your behind and proceeded to threaten him."

The fork clattered onto the plate. Celestia stared up at her incredulously. "I...I did what?" 

Luna nodded. "You told Sombra you would take away all of his privileges and leave him to rot alone." She then smiled. "He also said that you two were able to put your differences aside and decided to at least try to become friends." 

Warmth burrowed into Celestia's heart at those words and snippets of last night came into focus. She vaguely remembered talking to Sombra-well, shouting-and turning into a blubbering mess. 

Oh my Goddess, I burst into flames! How could I be so foolish? 

If there was ever a time when she'd acted so disgracefully, last night certainly beat it in terms of magnitude.  

She buried her face into her hooves and mumbled, "I was so awful! What should I do now?"

Gently, Luna wrapped a wing around Celestia and lifted her chin up with a hoof. She flashed her a warm, sisterly grin. "Now, you make this right."


~*~


Twilight placed the letter back in her saddle bag, having re-read it twice at home, three times on the train and once more for luck as she entered the castle's grounds. Receiving mail from Princess Luna was, in and of itself, a rare treat but the news that it conveyed was as unbelievable as it was head-tilting. Princess Celestia, the matriarch of Equestria and Twilight's personal teacher, friend and mentor, had set a portion of the ballroom on fire, gotten drunker than a sailor at a bachelor party, and made threats against Sombra's life. It was so out-of-place for the Princess of the Sun that Twilight originally thought it to be a joke. 

It was well-known that the Royal Sisters often engaged in prank wars with each other. Shortly after her return, Princess Luna dumped a bunch of star-spiders on Princess Celestia while she was taking a bath. Even though star-spiders are a non-poisonous and actually passive species of arachnid, Celestia hadn't taken well to the joke and in retaliation, sprayed Luna with a temporary de-aging potion while she was sleeping. When Luna awoke, she was a five-year-old filly again and had to spend the next few hours struggling to reach doorknobs and dealing with the raucous laughter of the royal guards. Many ponies had their pay docked once she was full-grown again.          

No, even with their shenanigans, neither one of them would go this far. If something was seriously wrong with one sister, the other treated it with the severity that it deserved. Twilight wanted to do everything in her power to help her mentor, even something as mundane as giving her a hug. Plus, she could spend time with Sombra, so it was a two-for-one kind of trip. "You always have to take the positive with the negative," her mother always told her.   

Twilight swept a loose feather from her shoulder and made sure she was presentable before knocking on the bedroom door. A blue aura encompassed the door and pulled it open, revealing Princess Luna. 

"Hello Twilight. Thank you for coming on such short notice." 

"Of course, Princess. How can I help you?"

Looking both ways, Luna ushered Twilight inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Princess Celestia sat on her bed, her eyes red and teary, as if she had a terrible night sleeping. Treating this like any other visit, Twilight grinned at her, making it one of friendliness and reassurance.

"Good afternoon, Princess Celestia! How are you?" 

"A little sick but otherwise alright," Celestia replied somewhat sadly. "Luna told me to expect you."

Luna nodded and explained, "Last night, Celestia was...not herself. She did and said things she deeply regrets. There's something that she'd like to talk to you about." From both her voice and her expression, this was an order and not a suggestion. 

Celestia glanced at Twilight sheepishly, tapping the tips of her front hooves together with trepidation. The normally poised and serene mare was now reduced to a filly sitting in the principal's office. She cleared her throat and began softly, "Twilight, the truth of the matter is...I still might be in love with...Sombra."  

Twilight's ears flipped upward. "Really?! I thought Sombra was exaggerating!" 

Celestia cringed slightly. "You must understand, he-he was my first everything: my first love, my first husband, the first stallion that I conceived a foal with. Feelings like that...they're not something that just goes away. And having him here just makes them stronger."    

Twilight glanced downward. "Are you...not okay with Sombra and I being together?"

"What? No, no, no!" Celestia waved her hooves in front of her. "It's not like that! I'm happy for you both. I just-..."

"You just...?" Luna prodded.

Heaving a sigh, Celestia gulped and stared at Twilight. "Could you let me kiss Sombra? One last time?" 

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?!" 

Luna placed a wing on Celestia's shoulder. "I think what my sister is so indelicately trying to say is she is unsure of her feelings and this unresolved tension might shed light on that."  

This wasn't what Twilight pictured when she hopped on the train that morning. First, her teacher and mother-figure had feelings for her coltfriend. Now that same mare wants to kiss him? Twilight's head was spinning. 

Are relationships supposed to be this complicated? 

"Well?" 

Twilight met Celestia's gaze of uncertainty. It was as though their roles were reversed; Celestia was a young mare in need of a guidance and Twilight the teacher aiding her in finding answers. Twilight loved Princess Celestia and would do anything to help her but allowing her to kiss her coltfriend? A surge of jealously wound its way through the young alicorn. A part of her felt threatened by Celestia, envious even. She was the co-ruler of all of Equestria, a mare worshiped by her subjects and even desired for her beauty. She was tall and lean while Twilight was short and pudgy. And yet...   

Sombra loves me....

That single thought warmed Twilight's heart and her self-doubt instantly vanished. 

"Let's give it a try."


~*~


Sombra finished the last page and closed the book, setting it aside as he rubbed at his eyes. He'd spent the few hours finishing Daring Do and the Abyss of Despair, which was an improvement over its predecessors, in both storytelling and writing. Despite its amateurish storytelling and simplistic plots, Sombra thought that it was a good series overall, making up for its shortcomings with interesting locations, interesting facts about archaeology and history and realistic characters. If Twilight was here, she would no doubt chat his ear off about the amazing prose of the novels or the research that went into their creation. Sighing wistfully, Sombra laid back on his cot, his thoughts consumed by violet eyes.       

The squeak of the dungeon's front door caught his attention. Instinctively, the umbrum leapt up onto his cot in a defensive stance, only to relaxing slightly at the sight of Twilight accompanied by Celestia and Luna. His gaze went from one mare to the next, detecting the uneasiness on the trio's faces. Twilight's lips were tightly pressed together and her eyes flickered from Sombra and Celestia. Meanwhile, Luna led Celestia by the wing like a foal, the latter's movements stiff and heavy-hoofed.     

"Twilight...what's going on?" 

His marefriend drew little figure-eights on the floor. "Sombra, the thing is...well..." She sucked in air and blurted out, "YouneedtokissPrincessCelestia!" 

Sombra blinked and dug a hoof in one ear. "Forgive me, but something is wrong with my hearing. It sounded like you wanted me to actually kiss Celestia."  

Luna rolled her eyes. "That's exactly what she said."

Celestia lifted her head. "I know we're trying to go the friend route, but I just need to be sure."

Sombra looked to Twilight. "Is this what you want?" 

A nervous giggle escaped Twilight's lips before she cleared her throat, her face taking on a more serious expression. "Celestia thinks that this will either confirm or deny her feelings for you. If it means helping out a friend, then I'll do what I can." 

This was...unexpected to say the least. Sombra pondered on this dilemma. If he kissed Celestia and she didn't like it, then this would get her off his back and she could focus on something other than him. If she did like it, that meant she would continue to be obsessed with him and lead her to abandon her duties. 

No matter the outcome, I still win. 

"Fine."

All three mares collectively gasped. 

"A-are you sure?" Twilight nervously asked. "You don't have to."

Sombra fixed her with an adoring grin. "I know and I swear, nothing will change between you and I."  

Shaking off her bewilderment, Celestia shrugged off Luna's wing and stood proudly albeit still visibly nervous. "Alright then. Ahem, let's get this over with." She gradually approached the bars, indecisive weighing down every step. Soon, she stood but a foot away from Sombra, her perfume wafting into his nostrils. 

Rolling his eyes, Sombra stuck his muzzle through the bars. 

"Well, what are you waiting for?" 

Celestia stared down at his lips with the trepidation of a first-time snake wrangler, her chest heaving with every breath. Her wings twitched at her sides and her nostrils flared almost angrily, as if attempting to ward off a bad odor. Slowly, she descended and her lips met his own. Her lips were still warm and the taste of vanilla and almonds persistently lingered. Neither the taste nor the technique were bad but it wasn't heart-stopping like it was with Twilight. 

They broke the kiss and Celestia hummed, smacking her lips as if to retain the flavor. She mulled it over for a full minute before shaking her head. "It was good...but I didn't feel anything."

"Neither did I," Sombra freely admitted. "So is everything okay then?"

"Indeed it is."

"Yes!" Everypony looked at Twilight, who stopped mid-hoof pump. "What?"

Luna shook her head bemusingly. "You are just too amusing, Twilight Sparkle."

Sombra grinned at his marefriend. "Yes, she is. Now get over here. I need a real kiss." 

Twilight, it seems, was all too eager to comply, charging at him and mashing their mouths together. She moaned as she savored the taste and feel, her wings flapping to keep the two at eye level. For Sombra, he was expressing absolute bliss, wrapping his forelegs around the mare and pressing her against the bars. It was in this moment that he truly loved her. And he realized that it would be his undoing.