//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 - A birth of a new life 
// Story: Retirement of a king 
// by Askre 
//------------------------------//

“If I was intended to fly, I would have been born as a dark pegasus,” Prince Sombra muttered to himself while glancing worriedly over the edge of the carriage.

The Dark Pony looked forward and tried to keep his mind off the fact that two royal guards were pulling said vehicle hundreds of feet above the ground. He could not teleport to his destination, and he knew Princess Celestia would have insisted on accompanying him if she knew where he was going.

I just have to do this. I need to know. And if what they say is true, he should hopefully be willing to answer them. He thought and grimaced a bit, already regretting this trip.

Glad I picked an inconspicuous one when Celestia offered me a carriage for my own use. He took a look at the carriage. It was silvery blue with wing facsimiles on the sides, but it paled in comparison to the royal coach Princess Celestia used. Granted in hindsight, it still looked like something a rich pony would be riding in.

“We are approaching Fillydelphia, your Highness. Beginning to descend,” one of the drivers called to him.

“Alright, just take it slow.” Prince Sombra squeezed his eyes shut. He was not looking forward to this part. It had been bad enough when they had taken off.

Mercifully, the guards did descend slowly and there was just a mild bump when the wheels of the carriage touched the ground. The Dark Pony opened one eye carefully and saw that they had landed on a road. The guards were still moving, but had folded their wings in since the flight was over.

“This is Fillydelphia?” the prince looked around. He saw a lot of houses surrounded by picket fences. Ponies were out and about, some even stopping to glance curiously at the passing carriage.

“The suburbs, sir,” one of the guards told him.

Prince Sombra just nodded. He hadn’t exactly gone out much since his arrival in this world. The carriage finally stopped in front of a white house with a red roof. The Dark Pony took a deep breath and hesitantly stepped off. He could already feel the proximity of the one he wanted to meet.

“I do not know how long I will be here,” the prince addressed the guards who nodded and started to remove their harnesses.

“You may want them to stick around,” a familiar dark voice addressed him, causing the dark unicorn to jump and turn to face the house. On the other side of the fence stood King Sombra, smirking.

“I will be fine,” the prince said between his teeth to the unsure-looking guards, who had been just as startled. 

The king just chuckled darkly. “Now, what brings you here? Having another look at what you could have become?” King Sombra asked. Using his magic, he opened the gate and gestured to the prince to walk through.

“No, I have… seen more than enough of that,” Prince Sombra grunted and started to enter, signaling the guards to stay put. “I wish to speak with you.”

“Oh, really now?” The king didn’t sound or look impressed. He stepped away from the fence, rolling his eyes. “I hope you aren’t under some delusion that just because I’m retired, I suddenly want to speak with just anyone about anything. That I’m suddenly nice and friendly.”

King Sombra shook his head when seeing the unsure expression come over the prince. “Oh, you were, weren’t you? I don’t recall being this naïve when I was a prince.”

Alright, this might be harder than I thought. Prince Sombra tried to put on a brave face again. He just couldn’t help but worry about being around this alternate version of himself. The prince could feel the dark magic oozing out of the king. His own dark magic was limited to simple shadow tricks.

“Did you love Princess Celestia?” he asked, managing to frown slightly. The prince didn’t like the smug look coming over the king.

“If you need to ask, I don’t think I need to answer this one,” King Sombra chuckled darkly and started circling the prince. He could sense the fear from this younger version of himself and he had detected the almost defensive tone in the question.

“Did you or did you not love her? It’s a simple question,” Prince Sombra snorted, glaring at the king when the older Dark Pony started to laugh.

“Why? Worried that I care she’s gotten a replacement?” the king smirked and didn’t even flinch when the younger dark unicorn stomped a hoof down in anger.

“I’m not here to replace anything!!” the prince snarled, his mouth twitching in rage. “You think I wanted to come here!? All I wanted to do is return two boys back to their parents! I didn’t ask to be sucked into a vortex to another world! I didn’t ask for my world to be destroyed! Had I known any of this would have happened, I would have stayed in my mother’s court,” Prince Sombra snapped, tempted to bury his hooves into the smug face staring back at him. He growled when the king just yawned.

“Are you done?” King Sombra asked casually and just watched when the prince stomped down a hoof again.

“That’s quite a temper you have there,” the king remarked. “Would have been interesting to see how you would have turned…”

The king quickly changed into his smoke form when the prince came charging. King Sombra parted the smoke, causing the younger Dark Pony to run through, then used a shadowy tendril to trip him so the prince fell tumbling to the grass.

“I will. Never. Turn into. That!” Prince Sombra roared as he rose back to his hooves, glaring daggers at the towering smoke form in front of him. The king’s face formed high above, arching his brow.

“Do you even use your magic? You physically tried to charge a unico…” King Sombra fell silent when a blast of red magic passed harmlessly through his shadowy head. “That answers that.”

The king withdrew the smoke and shadow, forming back his body, staring now almost with pity at the glowering, seething prince, whose horn was now sparking with red magic. Then to his surprise, the younger Dark Pony turned off his horn, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out in an attempt to calm down.

“I did not come here to fight. I just came here to ask a simple question,” the prince then slowly spoke, still simmering a little inside and struggling to maintain composure.

“Ugh fine. Why is that so important to you?” the king asked with an exasperated sigh.

“I need to know… if you loved her… why that didn’t…” Prince Sombra looked away. “Why didn’t that stop you from turning into that?”

“If it is any consolation, it has stopped me from outright killing her.” King Sombra shrugged and tilted his head curiously when the prince looked at him with a worried frown. Then the king suddenly realized. “You are scared to death that you’ll turn out like me, aren’t you?”

“Ever since I first learned of you.” The prince nodded his head. “I was hoping my love for the Celestia I knew was something that would prevent it… but if you loved yours…”

“Please. The reasons I turned out the way I am are very complicated,” the king snorted and waved a front hoof dismissively.

“Complications that we are currently working on. What’s going on here?” The king and the prince turned their attention to the house. Dew Doe stood at the front door. Foxy and Private were peeking out from behind her.

“I apologize for the intrusion. I just wished to… speak with him,” Prince Sombra addressed the ponies, glancing carefully at the king.

“And a lovely chat we had.” King Sombra rolled his eyes and started to approach the house, ignoring the unimpressed stares he got from the smaller ponies.

Prince Sombra sighed and hung his head, wondering now if this had been a mistake. He had hoped it would ease his own worries, but if anything, it had just inflamed them.

“Um, Prince Sombra?” Dew Doe had come fully outside and approached him.

“I understand that you probably have hundreds, if not thousands of questions regarding the Sombra we know, but this really isn’t the best time to drop by unannounced,” the pegasus explained with a sympathetic smile. “He is still kind of a work-in-progress. He’s retired, not reformed.”

“Again, I apologize. I suppose I was hoping that this would just be a simple matter.” The prince eyed the king, who stood now by the front door with Private and Foxy.

“He really frightens me. The concept of him frightens me, even more than living in the same castle with a version of my mother,” he then told Dew Doe quietly.

“Have you met her?” the pegasus wondered.

The prince looked at her with a small frown. He thought back to the only meeting so far with the queen. How quickly he had just left. Thinking back, he realized it hadn’t even been half as unpleasant as meeting his king version. She had even assured him that he didn’t need to worry about her.

“Only once and briefly at that,” Prince Sombra confessed. Even so, meeting her again wasn’t exactly high on his list.

“Well, it’s your call if you want to meet her again. I know now that you Dark Ponies kind of need the company of other Dark Ponies, but I hear she’s doing well in her rehabilitation. Princess Twilight told me they might even try soon to let her have access to all her powers. Give her a trial run,” Dew Doe told him.

Prince Sombra just nodded. He glanced at the king again before turning back to the gate and the waiting carriage. The prince bid Dew Doe goodbye before walking through, closing the gate and climbing aboard the vehicle. As the guards started ascending, the prince looked down and saw the pregnant pegasus stumble. The king and the other ponies were already running to her side as she cried out, “I think someone is ready to come out. Sombra. Hospital! Now!”

"Guards, halt," the prince ordered while still looking down. When the carriage stopped he called, "Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine. Seems it time to pop out a baby," Foxy called to him before she and the rest disappeared in an explosion of black smoke.

Prince Sombra sighed in relief before telling the guards to continue flying back to Canterlot.





The clock seemed to tick agonizingly slowly in the waiting room. Foxy Stripes was gnawing her own front hooves, Coal lay bored on a chair next to her. Sky Dive, Mirage Rock and Hard Shovel pretended to read magazines, but their minds were barely on any article. Barricade was pacing on the floor.

“You would think with all the children you have, Barricade, that you would be used to this,” King Sombra commented. He was the only one who looked calm. For a moment, he picked up a magazine, examining the cover before dropping it back on the table.

“Oh, put a cork in it,” Barricade snorted, only earning a chuckle from the Dark Pony. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I’m the transport service.” The king shrugged casually. He had been busy collecting the relevant ponies to the waiting room after delivering Dew Doe to the hospital. Sombra ignored the looks he was getting from other ponies also in the room. The news was still slowly spreading that he was no longer an enemy. Something he was still getting used to himself, it was a little strange being out in public and not disguising his appearance as another pony.

“Just ignore him, Barricade,” Hard advised his son.

Barricade grunted and finally sat down. He couldn’t help being a little stressed. The pony had missed the birth of all his children, mostly for selfish reasons. This was the first time the unicorn was present at the birth of a new family member. His brother’s first child with the mare Private had loved for so long.

“So Princess Cadance has insisted on officiating the wedding.” Sky Dive decided they might as well talk about something while they waited.

“She officiated mine.” Barricade nodded, he still found it a little weird that he and his brother could call the ruler of the Crystal Empire a friend.

“Yes, I know I’m not invited,” Sombra remarked when receiving a look from the others. “Especially since it will be in the Crystal Empire and I’m forbidden to set a hoof there.”

“Well, we don’t intend to have it big anyway. Private hates big gatherings,” Mirage said and put down the magazine, finally giving up pretending to read it.

"Can someone explain to me what they meant by it being an open marriage?" Sombra asked. He hadn't been privy to the wedding plans, but he had overheard a few things.

"They don't want to rule out it being turned into a Herd marriage. Granted it would be an unconventional Herd if they add another stallion to it," Hard told the Dark Pony. Sombra looked at him mildly confused.

"Herd? That was an antiquated term even back in my time," the king remarked, then took a moment to consider. "I take it has to do with Private's dual nature?"

"Yes, Dew doesn't want to deny him the opportunity if it comes up," Mirage nodded and smiled a little. "Besides, even if it is an eccentric lifestyle, herds do pop up from time to time. Barricade is in an unofficial one."

"What? Barbell wants someone she can kick me over to when she gets tired of my crap. Goldie then kicks me back when she gets tired of the same," Barricade chuckled when getting a skeptical look from Sombra.

"Private told me once you two were eccentric. I see some of it has rubbed off on your sons," the king smirked and glanced at Hard and Mirage, who did chuckle at the comment.

“How much loooonger?” Coal finally groaned. She was getting tired of waiting.

“Well, you took a while to get out.” Foxy finally calmed down enough to look at her daughter with a smirk on her muzzle.

“Mooooom!” the filly cried and gave her mother a glare. The maroon pegasus just grinned at her.

“Now what was it again you said the first time you saw her, Foxy?” Hard Shovel asked with a smile.

“What, did I just give birth to a lump of coal? Well, guess that’s her name now,” Foxy recalled with an even wider grin. Her daughter groaned.

“I always wondered why you named her that,” Barricade smirked and chuckled when his daughter glared at him as well.

All eyes went to the door when a nurse entered the waiting room. Coal jumped to her hooves, wondering if the long wait was finally over. Barricade rose up thinking the same as the filly.

“The family of Dew Doe and Private Iceland?” the nurse asked, which prompted the rest of the family to rise up. Only Sombra remained seated, knowing he wasn’t included in that.

“If you will follow me,” the nurse turned around and the family immediately followed. Sombra looked around, then shrugged and decided to rise and go with them anyway. Nobody had said he couldn’t.

The group was led to a room with a big window on one wall. Behind the glass was a view of a white room full of cradles with newly born foals peacefully resting. Coal jumped on her mother’s back so she could see better. They could see Private stand by one cradle. He looked a little ragged.

“Oh my gosh!” Foxy’s eyes spotted the foal in the cradle Private was standing by. It was blue, like Dew Doe with a red mane. Tiny wings poked up from its blanket.

“Um hey,” Private addressed them, then carefully put a hoof on the cradle. “Meet Blue Axe.”

Sky Dive’s smile dropped a little in surprise when hearing the second name of the colt, she put a hoof on her chest and started tearing up a little, so touched was the old mare. Mirage placed a hoof gently on her back.

“Congratulations, son. How is Dew?” Hard Shovel asked. He was brimming with pride.

“Sleeping right now,” Private answered, then he looked around and quietly addressed a nearby nurse who nodded in response. The unicorn carefully picked up the sleeping colt in his magic and walked with him closer to the window so the others could see him better.

“He’s so cuuute,” Coal whispered excitedly.

At the back, Sombra watched everything quietly. Nobody had really noticed he had followed and he made no move to change that. The family continued to admire the newest family member and congratulate Private and Dew, even if she wasn’t present. The Dark Pony noticed that despite his ragged look, Private constantly had a small smile on his muzzle.

He really should smile more often, the king thought and sighed silently. He looks so much like Timido when he smiles.

You know perfectly well why he doesn’t smile often enough, Sombra frowned a little. A feeling he had tried to squash during his second time in hiding was starting to surface. Regret. Meeting the prince again hadn't exactly helped. Reminding him of who he used to be.

Who am I to stand here? I don’t deserve it. Instead of celebrating, I was reunited with someone I thought I would never see again. I treated him no better than I treated the Crystal Ponies. I should have remembered him. Sombra turned away intending to walk out.

“Sombra?”

The king glanced back. Everybody was looking at him. Private stared from behind the glass, still holding his sleeping son. The unicorn lifted the colt a little bit.

“Want to say hi?” Private asked curiously.

“Sure, let’s give the kid nightmares when he’s just a few hours old,” Barricade muttered and was elbowed and given a glare by Foxy and Coal. His parents and Sky Dive didn’t look impressed either.

Sombra ignored Barricade and with a slight hesitation, approached the window. He could already feel hints of the Dark Pony ancestry Blue Axe had through his father.

"You have a good-looking son there, Private," Sombra spoke, still staring at the sleeping foal. And I will tear anyone apart if they try harming Timido's newest descendant.





Queen Rabia flipped the page of the book she was reading. The mare reached for a glass on a nearby table with her magic and took a sip of the drink. She lay on a bench in the garden of Canterlot Castle. She was on her first trial period outside and she intended to enjoy the sunny weather.

The manacle restraining her magic was gone. She could feel her powers now surging through her body, but for once the mare felt no desire to use them. Frankly, she was starting to consider where to go and live out in quiet retirement.

Saddle Arabia is out of the question, she thought. Although I wouldn’t mind having a more proper visit to see that museum again.

Crystal Empire? No, I made a rather bad impression on them, no doubt giving them a terrible reminder of my son. Rabia put the glass away and continued to read while still thinking this over. Her eyes bulged out when reading a paragraph in the book.

“That’s where my grandmother’s ‘Inspiration Manifestation’ spell ended up?” she exclaimed in surprise. Then, after reading a bit more, the mare looked absolutely stumped. “The dragon ate it?”

Well, suppose that’s one way to get rid of it. Grandmother was never happy with how that spell turned out. Rabia shook off her surprise and continued to read.

A familiar feeling of a Dark Pony's presence caused her to glance up. It was weak though, and Rabia realized it felt more like when one of the descendants was nearby. She lowered the book and looked around. Down a path, she saw two young colts come running.

Oh, it’s the prince’s sons, Rabia quickly glanced around to try and locate him when she realized the colts were heading straight towards her.

“Hi,” the two colts greeted her happily, almost seeming excited to see her.

Oh, of course, I look like his mother, Rabia realized, mildly alarmed. The queen had been doing her best to avoid the prince and the colts. She hadn’t seen him since the first time he had attempted to visit and the mare was pretty sure Prince Sombra had no interest in meeting again.

“Hello, children,” she addressed them, smiling a little uneasily. How had that alternate version of her treated the boys? All she really knew is that the prince got them while still living in his version of the empire. The colts didn’t seem scared or uncomfortable in her presence.

“We here too,” Barri declared and started darting around in circles, confirming that he thought the Prince’s own mother had somehow appeared here too.

“We run,” Piat informed her.

“So I can see,” Rabia noted and then saw where the prince was now arriving at a gallop, looking just as alarmed as she was.

“Boys, let’s not bother the queen. She’s busy,” Prince Sombra quickly grabbed the two foals up in his magic as soon as he arrived.

“We nut botha,” Barri protested and tried his best to look innocent.

“Sowwy daddy,” Piat looked more apologetic. He and his brother were placed on their adopted father’s back.

“They were not bothering me,” Rabia assured him and started eyeing the book again. “I think they mistook me for your mother.”

“Sorry about that,” the prince muttered and started to turn away, intending to take the colts elsewhere.

“How did she treat them?” The queen glanced back at him and the boys, hiding a smile when the children waved to her.

“She treated them well, even when examining them for the magic traces that were on them,” Prince responded without turning around.

Well, I suppose that’s why they are not scared. Rabia nodded and sighed a little. It had felt strangely nice to see such young children act unafraid of her.

“Sombra, if you ever need someone to watch them while you attend to your court duties,” Rabia offered. The prince glared back at her suspiciously.

“You’re not my son and I’m not setting out to have you replace him. I do not know what kind of mother yours was and I certainly have no intention of trying to take her place. I just want…” the queen looked down sadly. “I just want to help a fellow Dark Pony in exile.”

Oh who am I kidding, if he’s anything like my son, he is not going to accept my help.  Rabia returned to her book.

She started a little when Barri suddenly climbed onto the bench she lay on. He was soon joined by his brother. The boys tried peeking at the book she was reading.

“What read?” Piat asked curiously.

“Der no picturs,” Barri frowned in disappointment.

Rabia turned her head and stared, surprised at the prince who was sitting down where he had stood. The stallion wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t frowning either.

“You have a point about exiles. Your empire and my world are destroyed. I suppose I shouldn’t blame you for wanting to connect with the only other Dark Pony living in the castle, even if he isn’t from this world,” Prince Sombra said quietly as he thought back to what Dew Doe had told him.

“I do not blame you for being wary of me. Had you met me a year ago, you would have every reason to stay far away from me,” Rabia told him, holding the book down to allow the boys to examine it. “My son certainly still does and I do not fault him for that.”

“Maybe one day he will find it in him to forgive you. I don’t hate my mother, but I was wary of her. She could be so domineering.” The prince shook his head.

“Did she ever… strike you?” Rabia asked carefully, half expecting and dreading a positive answer. Prince Sombra looked at her, shocked.

“What? No. Granted she could be cold and sometimes came out as uncaring, but I think deep down she really cared for my sister and me. I think she just didn’t know how to show it,” he told the queen.

She was a better mother than me in comparison, Rabia hid the regret she was feeling now. The mare watched the prince rise to his hooves.

“We can talk later. I was on my way to the local orphanage in Canterlot. Princess Celestia appointed me to tour it, make sure they know it has the full support of the government. Not sure why she insisted on me doing it,” the prince said and glanced at the colts who were still very interested in the book. “I’ll accept your offer to watch them while I go do that.”

“Boys, you stay with your grandmother.” He then promptly turned and started walking away.

“Okay daddy,” both colts cheerfully complied.

“Grandmother!?” Rabia exclaimed, baffled.

“If Princess Celestia insists on me being their father, you get to be their grandmother,” Prince Sombra retorted and looked back with a smirk.

Not how I pictured I would become one. Rabia glanced unsure at the boys who were looking at her expectantly.

“Well, children, this book is called the Friendship Journal,” she addressed the colts. Since they still seemed interested in the book, she may as well tell them about it. “It’s about Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, and her friends writing about what they learned.”

End chapter 13