Chapter 22
“I can come with you to talk to the landlord. Maybe having a princess backing you up might give a little more weight that you couldn’t help it about the damage,” Cadance told Dew Doe with a reassuring nod. The two were along with Foxy and Private in a private parlor in Canterlot Castle. The blue pegasus had just finished telling the princess of Rabia’s attack at their house.
“That might help, yes,” Dew Doe nodded and sipped the tea she was drinking. She had still been raking her brain how to explain that hole in the wall, especially since they hadn't exactly told the landlord who they were hosting in the house. “Thanks.”
“No, no, it’s us who should thank you. It’s the least I can do, what with you having to put up with Sombra in your house. That was practically just asking for Rabia to come to visit, once she found out,” the Love Princess assured her.
“I’m just glad we are not being involved in her actual capture,” Foxy grinned. “I think we’ve had our fill of dealing with powerful, mad unicorns.”
Cadance and Dew Doe chuckled. Private smiled a little but said nothing. The stallion was mostly relieved, no longer being involved, yet a small part of him was a little disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to talk with Sombra like had been previously planned. But upon reflection, he could now see that it was probably for the best. The king would have no doubt figured out what was really going on.
“Dew I heard you had to go to the doctor,” Cadance mentioned. Dew Doe nodded.
“Yeah, I felt a little dizzy earlier today. I’m still waiting to hear about the results, but when the doctor heard about how the last few days have been for me, she figured it was just stress,” the pegasus told the princess. She received a gentle pat on the back from Private. “I told her to send a message to the castle about the results. Didn’t know how long I’d be here, after all.”
“Yeah, could be.” The princess nodded and then smiled. “I’m sure you’ll be able to return home soon since they are actively going after Rabia now.”
They were interrupted when a guard opened the door; they all looked curiously at him.
“Princess Cadance. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have returned from Saddle Arabia; they await in the throne room,” the guard announced.
“Oh, hopefully, it’s good news.” Cadance smiled and dropped down from her seat. So did the three ponies, and they walked out of the parlor. They headed straight for the throne room where they just missed guards escorting Rabia out from a side entrance. Princess Luna and Celestia were watching it before turning around to face them.
“Oh, you captured her?” The Love Princess felt relief wash over her. Then she noticed the grim looks on her aunts. “What’s wrong?”
“While we were distracted dealing with Queen Rabia, King Sombra escaped,” Celestia said with a sigh, still berating herself for not having paid closer attention to the king.
“W-what?” Private blinked; Dew was already draping a wing around him. Foxy slapped her own forehead with a hoof.
“He’s escaped?” Cadance groaned and sunk her head to the floor.
“I am afraid so, but we’ll be seeing if we can’t find him again. Twilight and the others are returning the elements to the Tree of Harmony and will then conduct a brief search,” Celestia explained and shook her head.
They had done a brief search already in the surrounding areas of Saddle Arabia and the former Dark Pony Empire, but that yielded nothing. The king had completely disappeared. The Sun Princess wondered if he had planned for that the whole time. It certainly looked like something he would do.
“Private, we will resume the covert watch over you, your brother, and your parents, just in case.” She then looked at the unicorn, who just silently nodded.
Celestia was almost tempted to tell Private and his friends to stay there in Canterlot until they found Sombra, but considering last time, that had taken so long, it just wouldn’t be practical. Better to let them go back and resume their regular life, and hope the king would not bother them anymore.
“What about Rabia? What will happen to her?” Dew Doe wondered about the captured queen.
“She will, of course, be held responsible for her actions. The Saddle Arabians, unfortunately, do not have the security to hold someone as powerful as her, so we have agreed to keep her in custody until they have finished deliberating what to do with her,” Celestia told her, and then finally smiled. “But I do want to thank you all for your hoof in this. Keeping Sombra this placated and cooperative did aid in her swift capture.”
“Granted, he may just have played us all for fools, doing exactly what he hoped we would do,” Luna remarked with a snort. Celestia sighed and nodded in agreement; that was certainly also a possibility.
“Then I better go back to the Crystal Empire, just in case he tries something there,” Cadance said and turned to hug Dew and Foxy goodbye, just nodding to Private, who appreciated the non-hug. Then she used her magic to teleport away.
“I do believe your house needs to be repaired. I will have ponies sent to do that. Meanwhile, you can stay here until that is done. It might take a few days,” Celestia offered the three ponies. Deep down, she didn’t want to send them away just yet, in case Sombra was lying in wait there. The princess wanted to make absolutely sure they would be safe when going back home.
“But it’s only just one…” Foxy fell silent when Dew put a hoof over her mouth, then pointed at Private with a wing; the unicorn looked a little relieved not going home just yet, knowing Sombra was out there again.
“I said nothing.” the maroon mare grinned innocently, causing Celestia and Luna to smile. Then with a nod from the Sun Princess, a guard arrived to escort them back to their guest quarters.
“Oh Foxy, do you want a message sent to Manehattan to have your daughter be brought here?” Luna asked just before all three ponies left the throne room. Foxy halted and thought it over, then shook her head.
“Eh, she can stay with her dad over the summer if she wants. Send a message, but just that it’s up to her if she comes or stays,” Foxy said, figuring Barricade had more than earned being allowed to have Coal over for an extended period of time.
“I will have a message sent as soon as possible,” Luna nodded, and the three ponies left the throne room. The Lunar Princess looked at Celestia. “Can I go to bed? I really should be in bed right now.”
“Of course, go. Do you want me to do the message, or will you do that before you retire?” the Sun Princess asked her sister.
“Oh, I’ll do that, then go to bed. Keep me updated on Sombra, though,” Luna said and trotted to the side entrance, hearing her sister's assurance that she would indeed be kept in the loop.
When Princess Celestia was finally alone in the throne room, her eyes began to narrow.
“I would consider this a violation of our agreement. How long have you been watching?” she snapped.
“Oh, quite a while actually,” a dark voice spoke from the shadows. “Figured now that we are alone, I would let my presence be known.”
“I warned you, Sombra. I told you I would hunt you down to the ends of the world,” Celestia turned her head towards the voice. She didn’t bother doing anything, knowing already that the king wasn’t actually there. It was one of his illusions, but just as Luna had departed the throne room, she had felt dark magic building up in the shadows. “Where are you?”
“I think I’ll quote my mother. Catch me if you can,” Sombra’s voice said and began chuckling. It slowly faded out, and Celestia could feel no more dark magic.
Celestia stomped her hoof on the marble floor. Not wanting to admit it, but the king had called her bluff. Sombra was too aware that she was too busy to act on her threat fully. She might be able to deploy ponies to search or use what little spare time she had to do it. But unless it was a full-out emergency, she had duties that must be attended to, and while Sombra did nothing, that didn’t qualify as an emergency.
“One way or another, Sombra, I will find you,” she muttered and walked over to her throne and sat down, knowing that with Rabia captured, she had to resume her regular duties. She would have to send others to search for Sombra.
Rabia lay down in the prison cell she had been escorted into. What she didn’t know was that Chrysalis had previously occupied it. But just before Rabia’s capture, changelings from King Thorax had arrived to collect her to stand trial in the Changeling Kingdom. They probably only missed each other by a few hours.
The queen remained silent, not stewing or otherwise thinking. She just stared forward, the same grim expression on her face she had carried since her capture. Rabia didn’t even react when a shadow on the wall stretched and began forming into the silhouette of her son.
“Come to gloat?” Rabia asked quietly.
“They are reburying Ira in Canterlot, with full funeral proceedings,” Sombra stated neutrally. He was rather pleased with how things had gone. The moment he departed the museum, he had still made sure to be able to keep tabs on things. Sending a message to the Emir that his mother had been captured, then figured he might as well be a good sport and transported Twilight and the rest of her friends to the capital. There he did overhear, lying in the shadows, Twilight and the rest tell the celestial princesses about the graveside and how the sisters planned to move the body to a more proper burial place.
“Well, at least she will rest in royal ground,” the queen just said. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if she would be allowed to attend. Rabia doubted it.
“I have only one question,” the king’s shadow shifted slightly. There was something he really wanted to know and now seemed like the best time. “Why did you have the mad idea that Ira and I should wed?”
“Oh, Sombra, that was never my intention. I don’t know what you heard, but yes, that idea circulated amongst my advisors and was brought up to me. I merely told them I would consider it. I rejected it just about the same time you abandoned us,” Rabia’s brow sunk ever so slightly. There was silence from the shadow.
“Alright, I will forgive you that,” Sombra snorted, still finding it hard to admit he may have misheard that. It had been the final straw for him, the very reason he finally mustered up the courage to break out of his mother's iron hold. The shadow started to disappear.
“Well, since you are interrogating me anyway, don’t you want to know who your father was?” Rabia finally looked towards the shape of her son. The shadow halted, then fully formed again.
“I already know. It was Captain Vago. Who else could it be? I was the spitting image of him,” Sombra snorted, not really saying that he only considered it after hearing Private and the pegasi sisters wonder about who his father was. His mother's words only confirmed his suspicion. “He’s also Ira’s father?”
“Yes, but did you know he killed me?” Rabia asked, scowling harder when hearing the contemptuous snort from her son.
“Good. Too bad it didn’t stick. Then again, that one is on me. I suppose like father like son, royally messing things up,” King Sombra growled. He was sorely tempted to strike at his mother now that she was so vulnerable, but there was something he knew about dark magic resurrection; it was insanely difficult to kill a dark pony resurrected that way. The Elements of Harmony had only weakened his mother, after all. Finally, his shadow fully vanished as he departed.
Rabia continued to stare at the wall where Sombra’s form had been. Slowly she reached with a hoof towards it and touched the cold stone. A tear crawled down her cheek. My Little Shadow.
“Just got a message from Coal. She’s staying with her dad during the summer. She’s having so much fun with Cara and Chisel,” Foxy announced as she entered the guest room Dew and Private were staying in.
Only Dew was there, sitting on a chair, slowly banging her hooves together. Foxy tilted her head; her sister looked unsure and almost dazed. On the desk behind her was a note. The maroon pegasus approached, looking the Dew up and down.
“Uh, you okay there, Dew?” she asked carefully, not sure what to expect.
“I’m pregnant!” Dew suddenly spewed out, never looking at Foxy, her gaze still fixed forward.
“Uh, come again?” Foxy blinked, having barely caught that.
Dew Doe gave her a signal to hold for a moment, then she took a moment to calm herself down, taking deep breaths and let it out slowly. Then the pegasus looked at her sister. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh my gosh, really?” Foxy exclaimed in excitement.
“Yes, I got a note from the doctor.” Dew looked back at the note. “She wants me back for a more thorough check-up, maybe determine how long it’s been since she wasn’t checking for that initially.”
“Aaaah, congratulation, sis!” Foxy pulled Dew into a tight hug.
“Erk…thanks,” Dew Doe gasped at the airtight hug. She was let go and now got to watch Foxy bounce around the room.
“I’m going to be an AUNTIE!!!” the maroon pegasus shouted in joy.
“Glad to see one of us is calm about this,” Dew couldn’t help but giggle at her sister’s antics.
“What’s going on in here?” Private asked just as he entered the room and saw Foxy jumping around. The maroon pegasus landed right in front of him, grinning deviously.
“Hiii, daddy,” she just said, then started to jump around again.
“What’s gotten into her?” the unicorn made his way to Dew, who was smiling innocently.
“Oh, nothing - daddy,” the blue pegasus giggled, unable to resist joining Foxy in this joke.
“Why are both of you calling me, daddy?” Private was starting to wonder if both mares had gone mad. He didn’t really get a proper answer just yet; Dew leaned over to kiss him right on the muzzle.
“You like eleven-month investments?” she asked once their mouths parted. Still unable to resist being a little difficult with the answers. However, she had a feeling Private would get it.
“Eleven months… wait…” Private fell silent, and slowly the gears started to click into place. “You… you’re….”
Dew nodded, then squeaked a little when the unicorn abruptly pulled her in a hug, refusing to let go. Giggling a little, she managed to free up her front legs to hug him back.
As Foxy continued to bounce around the room in excitement and the couple kept hugging each other, the ponies failed to notice a sliver of shadow slowly receding before it disappeared.
Well, well. Congratulations, Private. Keeping the Dark Pony line going, Sombra thought as he finally pulled fully out of Canterlot, having done everything he had intended to do and disappeared.
Few months later.
“Bad news?” Starlight Glimmer wondered as she entered Twilight’s office in the school. The friendship princess sat behind her desk, looking a little disappointed.
“Sort of,” Twilight nodded and gestured to her student counselor to come in.
“We have been spending the rest of the summer looking for any sign of Sombra, but he’s disappeared completely, again. I was just sending Celestia a message that with the school in full swing now, our friends and I can’t commit fully to looking for him,” the princess explained with an exasperated groan, wishing again for the days she really could fully commit to looking for an enemy.
“Ah,” Starlight nodded. The school had started again, and that meant an even more busy life for all of them. She also knew Twilight always hated to disappoint the princess. “I’m sure she understands.”
“Yes, I mean, she is running an entire kingdom. I can’t even begin to imagine how busy she and Luna are,” the alicorn shuddered a little. Then she turned a little solemn, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
“I don’t know. When we were going after Rabia, there was something different about King Sombra. I thought maybe the unlikely had happened; maybe he was coming around. But the moment we captured his mother, and we weren’t looking, he was gone,” the princess grumbled and planted her face on the desk. Granted, she and four of her friends hadn't been present for the capture, but minor details.
“Any news on Queen Rabia?” Starlight asked. She hadn’t heard much about the queen after she had been captured. Really only what Twilight had told her when the princess had finally returned to Ponyville.
“The Saddle Arabians are satisfied if we keep her detained. The Emir even implored us to explore rehabilitation for her; they really seem keen to kiss and make up with her and her family. Princess Celestia is keeping her detained for now and has told them she would look into it, but isn’t optimistic,” Twilight told her and raised her head again.
The news had come as a bit of a surprise to the Equestrians. After all, Rabia had done a bit more than just property damage in the city. The princess shuddered as she remembered the rage mutants. When she had asked about that, the Emir and his mother had just looked sad and regretful.
"Just another price we must pay for our sin," Manemin had muttered. To Twilight's astonishment, even the guards had nodded in agreement. She decided not to argue. Clearly, the guilt over the Dark Pony race's destruction ran really deep with the Saddle Arabians.
Twilight wasn’t too optimistic about the rehabilitation process. Not when considering her son, and this was the mare he had learned everything from. Yet she was already hearing about Celestia and Luna exploring avenues to go in that direction. Twilight did ask about Ambassador Hoofar, and all those Saddle Arabians Rabia had twisted. She didn't really like the answer.
"The Saddle Arabians have to press the charges; they are refusing too," Celestia had told her, but assured Twilight that Rabia wasn't going anywhere soon, especially because of that.
“And Chrysalis?” Starlight wondered. There hadn’t been much in the news about that either.
“The changelings have her imprisoned and awaiting trial. That’s all I know.” The princess glanced at the stack of papers that still waited for her. The reason it was taking so long was mostly that the changelings really never thought they would end up putting their former queen on trial. Equestrian legal experts had been called to the Changeling Kingdom to help them.
“Sorry for the 20 questions. I was just so curious; everything’s been so silent,” Starlight chuckled, noting how Twilight was eyeing her paper stack. “I actually did come here because I think Gallus might need some extra tutoring. He’s still struggling a little in the kindness class. I just wanted to run it by you before I talked with him further about it.”
“Hm, yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” the princess nodded in approval. “Speaking of kindness, did Fluttershy show you that desert critter that was on her doorsteps.”
“Oh yes. Cute little thing. She said it was a desert fox or something. It had to have its leg mended. Didn’t it come with a strange note?” Starlight commented.
“Yeah, let’s see it said ‘Thank you. I found this little one injured in the desert. I felt it would get the expert care it needed with you’ or something like that,” Twilight rubbed her muzzle in thought. It slowly ground to a halt.
No, he didn’t, she thought, her jaw slowly dropping. The arrival of the little fox had surprised Fluttershy and the rest of her friends. All the critter could communicate to the pegasus was that a kind unicorn had found it and assured it that he knew of the right pony to take care of it. The next thing the fox knew, it was at Fluttershy's cottage.
“Something wrong?” Starlight wondered, a little concerned now. Twilight closed her mouth and quickly composed herself.
“No, it was probably nothing,” she assured her friend, silently chuckling. Well, maybe I wasn’t so wrong about him after all.
Ponies working in the Mareage Resort and Casino in Las Pegasus all stopped what they were doing and stared surprised, though it turned into a delight for some, as a tall, dark gray pegasus pony entered the lobby. He wore a tuxedo with a black bowtie. His mane was neatly trimmed, and his emerald eyes almost shone as he regarded everything around him with a friendly smile.
“Silver Gloom, you’re back,” a pony behind the counter exclaimed when the pegasus started to approach.
“I have indeed come back to enjoy your excellent service,” Silver addressed the unicorn kindly.
“You want your old suite? It’s available,” the pony inquired, almost ready to rush to the keys to go get them, but knew he had to wait for an answer.
“That is what I was hoping for,” Silver chuckled and used the opportunity to fix the collar of his suit.
“Right away, sir,” the unicorn rushed off to the keys to retrieve them, then grabbed the guest book so the pegasus could sign in.
“Welcome back to the Mareage. Hope you enjoy your stay,” the clerk said once Silver had signed the book and grabbed the keys off the counter.
“Oh, I intend to,” Silver Gloom chuckled and turned around to head towards the elevators.
Now let’s try this all again, but now with a little more observation, King Sombra thought as he approached the elevators, disguised as the big spender Silver Gloom, chuckling deep inside.
The end