//------------------------------//
// Part Three: A Healthy Helping of Pancakes 
// Story: The Littlest Goddess 
// by Art Inspired 
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Light shimmered down through the curtains, and onto the ruler of the Crystal Empire. It wasn't Shining Armor, though. Actually, it was the somber thane-king, and as he stirred awake with his eyes drooping, he yawned pleasantly. He was all alone in a sheer white room, and although the sheets of his bed weren't exactly to his liking, that didn't stop King Sombra from having quite possibly the most luxurious slumber of his life.

He stayed in bed like that for an hour, snoozing blissfully. He didn't say a word the whole time. Periodically, he open his eyes, though, but he never did smile one bit. How could he? The situation he was in was both unbearable, and yet ultimately comforting all at the same time. He was out of that infernal maze, and he was in a nice bed back inside of the Crystal Empire. He naturally still wished to take over, but in all this time, he never once made his move to do so. It would've been an easy execution, too. First, he'd use a portion of his dark magic to disperse the two guards standing at the entryway, and once they had been dealt with, one by one, he'd then be able to eliminate all the others that were sure to follow. In very little time at all, he'd reach Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's personal bedroom, and poor Flurry Heart would probably never even expect it of him to attack.

He blinked again, and put the thought out of his mind. He shifted, and enjoyed the feeling of the white sheets brushing up against his shadowy coat. He could hear birds chirping outside, and if he focused enough, he could hear ponies talking, and walking around from outside his open window as well. Although he couldn't make out any of the words, the sounds were nice in his ears. Sombra could also smell a bakery nearby, and finally, this of all things was what made him rise out of bed at long last. He stood stock still for a few seconds longer, and inhaled the smells of baking bread just one last time. 

The guards outside his door both pointed their spears at the king upon him exiting his room, but Sombra managed not to react too harshly. "You're making a mistake," he said.

"There's no mistake," one of the guards said.

"Princess Cadance ordered us to escort you to the big, fancy dining room!" The other guard commanded, "Move!"

Sombra made no such hesitation as he hissed at the two of them. His eyes glowed a steep red, and his tongue turned into a dangerous looking cobra, which also hissed at the two frightened guards as well. His mane also bursted into hot flames making them shriek, but the two of them stayed their ground, and still held up their spears. King Sombra stopped soon enough, however, and looked down the hallway to his left. He also gasped as he turned his head, and then quietly asked mostly to himself, "What's that?"

He walked, and with the two crystal guards trailing behind him frightfully, Sombra's ears perked as he attempted to figure out what it was that he was suddenly hearing.

"Is that... singing?" He asked with nervousness.

One of the guards nodded, saying, "Oh, yeah, of course. Flurry loves to sing all the time."

"Shh..."

"Well, you asked-"

"Shh!"

Sombra turned a corner, and kept going. His ears rang more and more as the words became tangible.

"And then I," she mellowly sang. "See... the dark one be... a ~ ha... friend to me..."

He stopped before a lone, yellow door, and huffing, he opened it. The three steeds entered a wide and very well decorated room, and while King Sombra sat down at the humongous table consisting of a least forty or more chairs, he looked around for Flurry Heart. When he didn't see her right away, Sombra sat down, and waited for his breakfast to be served. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor came through another set of doors to his right, and then, to Sombra's left, he heard the chair next to him sliding. Flurry Heart had brought her plate, too and sitting next to him, she smiled, she said, "We're having pancakes this morning."

Sombra didn't reply at first. He just sat there looking displeased, and then, he heard Shining say to him, "You' better eat up." While a plate was hoofed to the king, he heard Shining also voice, "You're going to need it for what's ahead." Sombra tried not to care all that much, and as he began enjoying his meal, he only very loosely listened. Soon, though, he heard Shining Armor tell him, "That's why we need you to escort her."

"Hmm?" Sombra asked with crumbs dropping from his chin. "Escort who where?"

"Ugh," Shining sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Flurry Heart," He said yet again. "We need you to escort her through the thunder fields."

Sombra chewed, and then swallowed. "The thunder what?"

Cadance then interrupted. "Flurry Heart somehow lost her ball earlier last week. We'd normally just go and get it, but..."

"Lightning keeps striking us every time we get anywhere near it. We're just fortunate that we haven't been badly electrocuted yet! That's where you come in," Shining said as he popped some of his food in his mouth. "You're probably the only pony that we can remotely trust in these lands that has enough strength to fight through the lightning."

Cadance came trotting up next to her daughter to ask Sombra, "Will you do it?"

He just looked at her, and then at Flurry, and nodded while grumbling, "I suppose... even though it's something as replaceable as a simple ball."

Flurry told him, "It's not replaceable! I don't want another ball. I want the one that I was already playing with!"

"Alright," King Sombra said, holding his ear. "Fine... we'll get you your ball back. Hurry up and eat, and we'll leave as soon as we're able."