King Sombra's P.O.V:
After I told the mare, Candy, to have a shower, I was in deep thought.
Why did I not keep her in the dungeons like every other equestrian who had come here? Why did I let her stay in a guest room in my castle?
A voice in my head told me it was because I still had a heart, and she was a pony.
I ignored it and thought, why did I be gentle with her? Why didn't I take advantage of her state and scare her more?
At that very moment, the mare of my thoughts came out of the bathroom. I looked at Candy.
She was so beautiful, with that shine on her. So-
What was I thinking!
She sat next to me, still scared and asked, "So...You won't hurt me?"
(Just for fun) I put a hurt look on my face and asked, "Why would I have given you a guest room, a free shower, and a place to stay if I just wanted to hurt you?"
"I guess you're right.", was Candy's reply.
"I won't hurt you, from what I saw in your mind earlier, you've been through a lot.", said I. "Get some rest, I'll send a guard to check on you later."
"Um, ok.", said Candy. "Thanks again!"
I could tell that she was still scared. To stop my mind from thinking about her, I left the room and shut the door.
I said, "Flash Sentry?"
The guard came and bowed. "Yes, my King?"
I told him, "I want you to guard this room. Nopony is allowed in or out. Understand?"
"Yes, my King.", said the guard and started guarding the room. My reasons for telling the guard to guard Candy was because...Because I didn't trust her. She was a unicorn, and she could've made false memories.
But she did have a magic suppression ring on when in the dungeon. Maybe she wasn't a spy.
But someponies were very good at acting, and Candy could be one of them.
I shook my head and walked away. Maybe a walk could help me think clearer.
Her mind showed that she was truthful after all. Though, it sent a chill down my spine what those slavers had intended for her.
I may have enslaved the crystal ponies at first, yes but I would never go that low. Even if I seemed like a heartless monster, I had standards.
Nonetheless thanks to a mare, who saw me not as a monster, but as a pony who deserved a second chance.
She was currently visiting an ally of ours. I was wondering how I could explain Candy to her. Maybe I should hide her.
Moonlight was a sweet mare, but she was kind of...possessive. If I talked to another mare, she would make sure that I didn’t get too close to them.
As my mind wandered, I passed some guards who saluted me. This reminded me, I should thank those guards who had saved Candy from the slavers.
And, I wondered what had happened to the slavers. Fought off? Killed or captured? The guards had only told me about Candy, but not of the slavers.
And frankly, that Candy managed to make it all the way here...was impressive. Also, having seen her past through her mind, made me feel pity for her in a way.
Kidnapped and barely escaped, living in fear and then looked down by school mates...she did not deserve this.
Maybe, she could live in the Crystal empire where she would be safe, similar to Flash Sentry and find a stallion to love. I certainly would…
Again, I shook my head. Pull yourself together!
She is a beautiful mare, that I would not deny, but I already had a mare to love, and I would never betray her.
But showing Candy she was safe here was the least that I could do for her. I sighed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Candy’s P.O.V:
After King Sombra left the room, I shut my eyes. To tell the truth, I was exhausted from all the running that I had done today.
The shower that I had before helped to refresh my mind. I wondered why King Sombra had been so...kind to me. Back in Equestria, I had heard that King Sombra was evil and took pleasure in hurting others.
But he was nothing like that from what I saw. Before I could think anymore, I was taken by sleep.
I opened my eyes and saw that I was tied up. How could that be possible? The last thing that I remembered was sleeping.
I tried to untie myself, but was unable to. I heard somepony coming and my heart started beating faster. I asked, “Can somepony help me?”
The pony coming revealed himself and it was...I shook in fear. It was one of the slavers.
He smiled, showing his gold tooth. He laughed, “Nopony is going to help you.”
I screamed in fear as he came closer to me. “These walls,” he tapped a wall with his hoof, “are soundproof. No matter how loud you scream, nopony will come to save you.”
He came so close to me, he was breathing on me. He pressed a knife to my horn. “So, I advise that you stop screaming, or I’ll cut this nice horn of yours off.”
“You are at my mercy.”, he continued. “We are the only ponies here. So, I can do whatever I want with you. And you know what I want?”, he asked.
I stuttered, “N-no?”
“I want revenge.”, he declared. “All because of you, I could’ve spent my life in prison. And now, you’ll pay. You’ll pay.”
I screamed again knowing what he was going to do. “Somepony, anypony, help me!”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Flash Sentry’s P.O.V:
I was just guarding the room that I had been told to, when I heard somepony scream, “Somepony, anypony, help me!”
Fearing that there may be an intruder, I rushed into the room with my spear, ready to...comfort a crying mare?
I kept my spear with me, and went closer to her. The mare had white fur, and was a unicorn. Figuring that she was having a nightmare, I tapped her lightly saying, “Wake up. It’s just a nightmare.”
She opened her eyes, and when she saw my spear, her eyes went big and she started shaking. “W-who are y-you?”, she asked.
I told her, “I’m one of King Sombra’s guards.”
She stuttered, “D-don’t hurt me.”
I threw my spear away, and said, “I won’t hurt you. Don’t worry. What’s your name?”
She stopped shaking a little and said, “My name is Candy.”
I smiled, “Nice to meet you, Candy. I’m Flash Sentry. You can call me Flash.”
Candy said, “Oh. It’s nice to meet you too, Flash.” She then tried to smile, but was too scared to.
I told her, “I won’t hurt you, I’m just here to help you.”
“Um...ok.”
I decided to leave. I said, “If you need anything, don’t be scared to tell me.”, and then I picked my spear up and left, shutting the door behind me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Candy’s P.O.V:
I sighed in relief after Flash closed the door. It had just been a dream. Still, a part of me wished this was not true, being in an empire ruled by an evil king. But then again, he had treated me kindly. When I was in the cell, I feared for my life. And Flash Sentry seemed like a nice stallion. Something dawned on me.
He was a pegasus. How did he end up in the Crystal Empire? He was an equestrian, since he didn’t look like a crystal pony. And come to think about it, I think Flash used to be one of Celestia’s guards. I should ask him when I get the opportunity. But for now, I should try to get some rest again.
With that, I laid down and closed my eyes, falling asleep again.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________