Daring Do was dreaming of her stallion again.
It had only been six days since the visions started, but she already felt as if she’d known him her whole life and knew she never wanted to be loved by any other stallion ever again. Thrice he had mounted her from behind, giving her the sweetness of his words and the fierceness of his loins, but not his name or face or identity. On the fourth night, she’d drunk a powerful sleeping potion, hoping the visions would become clearer, but instead the traitorous drought had stopped her dreaming entirely.
Last night he'd straddled her belly, kissing her on the lips; but for some reason, she seemed to be wearing a blindfold. She wanted to see, but like all her other dreams she was moved by another's will who made no effort to see her mate.
Was he… shy? Horribly disfigured by fire or acid so he dare not let even his beloved look on him? No, that wasn’t possible. With the fierceness of their passion, there was no way she could not love him, even if he had no face at all, with the trust she felt between them there was no way he could not know that.
Tonight, she finally saw him. Tonight, she mounted him in a body younger, stronger, and more regal than her own. She gazed into his beauty: the twined horn of an arch-mage, the gray coat of a soldier, and the fangs of a true ruler. She knew that she loved him. His name was Sombra and he was her king. He said that he loved her. He called her Somnambula and she was his Queen.
…………………………………………………………………………
A hoof shook Daring out of her dream and she very nearly sliced it off. Her vision cleared to her dingy wagon and saw Pawn Picker offering her some freshly cooked corn cobs. “… You overslept… I made breakfast.” he stammered looking at the knife she had pressed into his fetlock.
She released him and he left without another word.
Picker was Daring’s serf her family had sent to attend her… no that wasn’t true. Both her parents were dead. Picker was… her friend? She’d invited him to help her excavate the ruins of an old palace in the desert but why she’d done this she couldn’t remember. Had she… been attracted to him?
The thought was preposterous but she clearly remembered hoping they could get to know each other better doing a project they both loved and maybe one day becoming more than friends. How she could have fancied him was beyond her when a stallion like king Sombra existed: the majesty, the power, the brilliance; Picker wasn’t fit to clean Sombra’s hooves!
Her stomach grumbled and she looked at the corn cobs dripping in butter next to her. She could eat… or she could skip breakfast and then being tired would make it easier to take a midday nap with Sombra.
She ignored the corn, ignored Picker, and went back to the dig. She’d found the first earring here last week and she knew it had to have a twin somewhere waiting to help her see more clearly; maybe send her back in time entirely to before Equestria’s unification so she could be with Sombra.
Maybe - ‘crack’ she found something. A pot broke under her shovel and through the weak light she could see the glimmer of glowpaz and she started sifting through it. A hairpin, a fork, and a bracelet she tossed behind her searching for – THERE! Daring lunged forwards and pulled out from the mess a glowpaz earring, identical to the one she was already wearing which hummed in recognition of its sister. Daring attached the second earring and felt a weary tingling seep up her legs, begging for another nap.
………………………………………………………………………….
Daring returned to the dream exactly where she had left off, mounting Sombra on a dais of black crystal in a vast, empty throne room. Honeyed words flowed like oil between them and as she looked down she saw glyphs of shamanic power etched into her skin in ancient languages. They had been together since she’d saved him from the Sphinx and they would be together for eternity. The moment was perfect and she wanted it to last forever but then a window opened and a messenger flew in.
Daring raised a wing before the messenger had a chance to open their mouth, forbidding her to speak until they’d finished. The messenger obeyed, but didn’t turn her head or even avert her gaze. Daring tried to return her full attention to Sombra, but caught a reflection of the mare in the backrest of the throne, staring back at them with equal measures of lust and jealousy.
The little minx wanted her husband! She wanted Sombra!
Daring grit her teeth. She would punish the brat for her impudence, but first, she needed a few more minutes to finish, but despite having the greatest stallion in the world at her withers, she couldn’t stop looking at the mare’s reflection. There was no way Sombra would ever want her, she gray and wrinkled with age, but kept staring with a confident desire to steal.
Daring threw a hateful glance over her shoulder, then paused when she realized the mare’s mane was naturally greyscale and the wrinkles were scars from battle. With a heave, she threw her attention back to Sombra and tried looking deep into his eyes, but now he was staring past her at the other mare, his eyes fixated on her cutie-mark compass.