//------------------------------//
// Memories 
// Story: The Softness Of Her Heart 
// by KingSombraTheTyrantRuler 
//------------------------------//

King Sombra's P.O.V:

"Will she live?" I asked as I looked at her unconscious form. I made eye contact with the doctor. "Please tell me she will, please!"

He had sorrow in his voice as he said, "I'm sorry, Sombra. We did our best...but the wounds were too deep to heal. She...We couldn't save her."

"No!" I cried as I collapsed. "No! No! No! This can't be happening. It can't be happening!" I stood and asked, "What killed her?"

I followed the doctor into a room and he showed me a picture. It was... "What is that?"

"It's an ice timberwolf. They're much more dangerous than their cousins in the Everfree forest, because if they make a single wound on a pony, the pony dies." he informed me.




A day after her funeral, I walked to the library, determined to find out more about this ice timberwolf. So far I had found out that they could be stopped by very strong emotions.

So I went to Princess Amore and told her. She said she'd do what she can, but that was proved to be a lie when ponies started dying every day. 

And then I knew that the Princess was unable to protect the Empire. She was weak, and we all would die. So I decided that I would save us all.

Turning the Princess into a statue and shattering her helped release some of my anger.  




"Sombra?" I can hear somepony calling my name. "Sombra?"

It's a mare. She's got a sweet voice that reminds me of... Her. 

"Sombra?" The mare continues to say my name while tapping me. "Sombra, wake up!"

I bolt up and rub my eyes to see Fluttershy. 

"What happened? Why did you wake me up?" I ask.

"You were talking in your sleep, Sombra. And having some... Shouting matches. And your horn is hot. Very hot," she explains.

I put a hoof on my horn and move it away instantly, as it is burning hot. 

"You might have a fever..." Fluttershy says.

I tell her, "Don't worry, I haven't got a fever. It's just that when a unicorn has dreams of the past or some unpleasant memories, they normally cause magical explosions. But because that alicorn mare took all my magic away... I was unable to do any magic. My horn kept trying to, but as I no longer possess magic, my horn was close to exploding from the heat."

Fluttershy looked confused. "So your horn got really hot when trying to produce magic and nearly exploded because you had none?"

I nod. "Yes."

"And if this keeps happening your horn will explode?"

"Yes."

Fluttershy became enraged and surprised me by stomping her hoof on the floor and angrily saying, "Then I'm going to march up to Twilight, and demand that she give you back your magic this instant!"

"There's no need to do that," I say, even though I do want my magic back.

"There is!" Fluttershy shouts. "What if your horn explodes? It'll hurt you a lot, and it'll be all because of Twilight."

"And what if this thing never happened again, and my horn doesn't explode?" I say.

"Don't you want your magic back?"

"I do, but..." I take a deep breath. "I'm almost afraid to have it back. What if I do something bad? What if I become insane with power again?"

"You're a good pony, Sombra. You won't become insane with power, and if you do, then I'll be there to save you."

I stare into her beautiful turquoise eyes. "I know you'll be there, Fluttershy. But I can't risk hurting anypony." I whisper to myself, "I can't risk hurting you."

Fluttershy hugs me as I say, "And I don't even feel like I deserve to have magic. Not after everything I've done. I need to... Earn it back."

Fluttershy says, "If that's what you want to do, then I won't stop you."




Fluttershy's P.O.V:

As Sombra makes pancakes and feeds all the animals, (he offered to) I have a shower.

I take my time washing my mane and tail, and everything else.

Once I'm done, I wrap a towel around my head, and dry my body before stepping out of the bath.

Then I dry my mane and hang the towel on the rack so that it can dry.

After brushing my mane, I walk downstairs to see Sombra trying to give Angel a bowl of carrots.

Angel keeps pushing the bowl away, and as I draw closer, I hear Sombra saying in frustration, "Just eat the damn carrots, bunny!"

Angel is also frustrated, and throws the bowl at Sombra.

Sombra throws the carrots at Angel, and soon, there are carrots everywhere.

I step forward before they throw other things, and say, "Sombra, Angel, stop fighting!"

Sombra is relieved to see me and says, "Fluttershy! Can you tell this stubborn bunny that he should eat  his carrots?"

Angel is also relieved to see me and tells me to smack Sombra across the face and tell him that today is Tuesday, which means that Angel gets to choose his own breakfast.

I say, "Sombra, today's Tuesday, so Angel gets to choose what to have for breakfast. I wrote it on the feeding schedule. And Angel, two things. First of all, it's very rude to tell me to smack Sombra, and I don't want you to ever smack him, throw anything at him, or even think of smacking him. Second, Sombra didn't even know that you're allowed to choose your own breakfast today, so don't blame him. If you were a good bunny, you would have sat down and waited for me, and I would've explained everything to Sombra. And to both of you, I don't want you to ever fight, and now that you've created this mess, you have to clean it up." Angel starts walking off. "Together. Both of you have to clean together. Or there will be consequences," I say, doing my best to use a commanding tone. 

Angel and Sombra sigh, and begin cleaning up.




"Now that everything's all cleaned up, I want both of you to apologize to each other," I say.

"Do we have to?" both Sombra and Angel ask at the same time.

"Yes, you have to. And if you don't... Then neither of you can have breakfast."

"I'm sorry," Sombra and Angel say.

Sombra turns to me. "Now can I have breakfast?"

"Yes."

While Sombra makes pancakes, Angel chooses his breakfast.




King Sombra's P.O.V:

"Sombra," Fluttershy calls out as she comes down the stairs. "I'm going to the market. While I'm gone, please don't start a fight with Angel."

"Don't worry Fluttershy, I won't start any fights."

Fluttershy smiles and then hugs me. "Be good!" she says before leaving.

As soon as she closes the door, Angel growls at me. I growl back at him, and before I can blink, we've started fighting.

I dance around him to the tomatoes, and begin throwing them at him.

Angel throws cherries at me. I make sure that my mane is still fine before throwing the leftover pancake mixture at him.

The bunny isn't happy about this and with a battle cry,  throws a bucket of dirty water at me, ruining my mane style that I had spent so long working on.

"You devil! Do you have any idea as to how long it took me to perfect my mane style?! It took me one whole bucking hour, and you, the demon bunny, has just ruined it!"

In my anger I threw an open bag of bird seed at the little demon, and  thanks to the pankcake mixture, he was now covered in it.

He threw carrot peelings, and I managed to dodge them. 

I threw banana peelings at him.

Suddenly, we hear somepony knocking at the door, and after looking through the spy hole, I see it's Fluttershy.

"It's Fluttershy," I tell Angel. "If she sees this mess, she'll be angry, so we need fo clean it up. Together."

Angel knows this, and helps me.

We run around, using everything we can to tidy up our mess.

Five bags are full of it, which we quickly hide in the garden.

Gasping for breath from having run around so much, we dash to the bathroom upstairs and wash each other.

After looking in the mirror to make sure that we're completely clean, we slide down the railing and instead of having a smooth landing, fly off it and land in a heap at the door.

I dust myself off, and Angel moves out of the way as I open the door.

"Hi Fluttershy!" I beam at her.

"Um... Hi?" She looks around and then asks, "You two didn't fight while I was gone, did you?"

"I assure you Fluttershy, we didn't fight at all. I was... Playing a game with Angel!"

"And what game was that?" 

I think... And then remember about my ruined mane style. "It was more of a challenge, to be honest. We were so tired from helping you clean the whole cottage, that we decided to see who could sleep the longest. I was going to win, but then your knocks woke me up, so Angel won."

"Oh. I'm so sorry! If I hadn't knocked, then you would've won!"

"It's fine, Fluttershy. There's always time to  have another challenge, and this time, you can join us."

Fluttershy nods, and I sigh in relief at the fact that she believed me.




Fluttershy's P.O.V:

Sombra had fallen asleep some time ago as he was extremely tired from the day... I wonder, what did he do that made him so tired that he fell asleep when it was only six in the evening?

I had dusted the whole cottage, played with Angel, did a whole bunch of other things, and I was still left with nothing to do.

I turn to Angel and ask, "So... What should we do now?"

No sooner than I had asked the question did somepony knock at the door. 

Before I can even move, Angel opens the door to reveal Pinkie Pie who is bouncing excitedly in one spot.

Pinkie Pie bounces in and hugs me, making me let out a squeak of surprise at the sudden hug.

"P-pinkie! Too...tight!"

"Sorry! I just came to invite you and Sombra to a party!"

I close the door and say, "Sorry Pinkie, but unless the party's going to be six months later, Sombra can't go. He's grounded."

"Why's he grounded?" Pinkie asks.

I explain, "I had to ground Sombra as a punishment for getting the whole town drunk."

"Oh..." The pink mare's mane became flat. "I understand. But can you still come?"

"I- I guess I could," I reply. "Angel could watch Sombra."

"Ok!" Pinkie Pie then hops out of the cottage, and away.

As soon as Pinkie's gone, Angel shuts the door and tells me that he'd be happy to watch Sombra.

I thank him, and am about to get some water to drink when I hear Sombra sleep shout, "What do you mean, you can't just get rid of the Ice Timberwolves? You have magic! You're a blasted Princess!"

I immediately rush to his side and put a hoof on his horn. Just as I feared, it is hot.

I begin to wake him. "Sombra! Wake up!"

I shake him, tap him, but he still doesn't wake. I get an idea and ask Angel to get me some cold water.

He comes back with a bucket of it which I put my forehooves in and then begin splashing water on Sombra.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

I wake up to Fluttershy's  concerned gaze. She says some things I can't make out, and then tells me why she woke me. 

"Sombra, I guess you might be wondering why I woke you. Well, you were having another... Dream of the past. Your horn got hot again, and I know you won't like this, but I really should talk to Twilight about giving you back your magic, or at least, some limited amount. If this continues, if you keep having nightmares, your health might be at risk, which is something I dread.”

I shake off my grogginess, and sit up straight. "Come again?"

"You need your magic back, Sombra! Or at least a small portion of it! I don't want you to get ill, or your horn to explode!" She takes a deep breath and says, "I'm going to Twilight and demanding that she give you at least a small portion of your magic. And nopony, not even you will stop me."

"Fluttershy, it isn't necessary..." I try to argue, but the mare puts a wing over my muzzle.

"Sombra, like I said before, this could cause you some serious health problems, and I don't want that to happen!" She moves her wing from my muzzle and asks, "How do we cool your horn? "

"Cold water," I said. "Also, I don't need to get my magic back. I could just sleep in a pond-"

"Sombra. This isn't a joke! You can't sleep in a pond because you'd drown! And you said cold water cools your horn?"

I stand up, ready to walk to the taps or the pond and say, "Yes. And if we-"

Fluttershy flies up angrily and dunks my head in the bucket of cold water that I somehow didn't notice before. She keeps her hooves on my neck to prevent me from moving my head.

I panic at the unexpected action, and only when she notices that I'm running out of breath, Fluttershy releases her grip and I move my head out of the bucket and take large gulps of  air.

"Why- Why did you do that?" I ask, shocked.

"I had to get you to think rationally somehow," Fluttershy answers. "Now listen to me carefully. I don't want you to get health problems, or become insane, so I'm going to try and persuade Twilight to give you some of your magic back. Understood?"

Being much calmer now, I started to realize she had a point. Earning my magic back was one thing that I wanted to do, but in order to prevent health issues, having access to some basic magic spells might be not a bad idea.

Now, I could not help but sigh as I lowered my head. “You know, Fluttershy…” I began, my heartbeat slightly rising. “You’re the first pony to show me kindness in a very long time."

She blushed in response. “I know, it’s my element after all. Plus, as my guest, its my duty to make sure you’re comfortable.”

“And I know to appreciate that…” I mumbled, blushing myself, then noticed her eyes were darting around nervously. “Is something wrong?”

“Uhh…well…” She tried to find the right words as she slowly looked up to me. “That night when you got the whole town drunk, and we, you know…Do you think we really…”

It clicked quickly in my head, my blush growing more intense. “I don’t think so…Why you ask?”

Fluttershy started to tremble. “I…I don’t know if I would be a good mother…”

Without any hesitation, I pulled her into a hug, Angel tried to hug her left hindleg. “Shh, calm down. I think you would be a great mother.” My voice was soothing.

“R-really?” The shy pony asked in confusion, my lips forming a weak smile.

“Yes, I mean, look at how good you care for your pets, If you’re so good at that, I am pretty sure taking care of a foal is little trouble for you.”

“I guess…I am just not sure if I am ready for this…It would be a big change…”

“If this would happen, I would try to support you as good as I can.” It felt so natural to say this, I couldn’t tell why. “Besides, I am pretty sure Twilight and Celestia would have my head for this.” It just slipped out, as I imagined with fear how this would end me but Fluttershy chuckled at this.

“Not on my watch.” She said and Angel did a hooves up with his paw, as if to show he appreciated my indirect joke to cheer her up.

Fluttershy then hugs me and says, "I hope you don't think I'm a bad pony."

"Why would I think that?"

"Because I almost drowned you before."

"You only did it so that I could stop being an idiot and realize that having a little magic so that I wouldn't get health issues wasn't a bad idea."

"But still, I could've-"

I cut her off with a kiss on her lips. "Think nothing of it."

Fluttershy blushes. "I-I'll go and try to persuade Twilight now."

"But it's night. Surely she'd be sleeping."

Fluttershy looks at the clock and is surprised to see that it is ten past nine.

"I guess you're right. And it's bedtime now. Are you still tired?"

"Sure am."

"What should I do if your horn gets hot again?"

"Ice-cold water, but give me a warning before you dunk my head into it."

Fluttershy doesn't respond and I see that she's fallen asleep in my hooves.

I smile at the cute image of her asleep, and then try and carry her up the stairs carefully.

Once I've put Shy in her bed, and put a blanket on her, I turn to leave but Fluttershy holds on to my hoof.

She sleepily says, "Please don't leave.... Stay with me."

"If that's what you want."

"Sleep with me Sombra."

I blush. "Are you sure?"

The response I get is Fluttershy pulling me into her bed and under the blanket.

She then wraps my hooves around her and looks into my eyes. "I'm sure."




Unknown creature's P.O.V:

"Fluttershy!" I call out. "I'm back!"

Hearing no answer, I ask, "Shy?"

I don't understand. She promised that she'd stay awake on the night of my return so that she could give me a hug that would rival Pinkie Pie's!

Yet here I am, shivering and soaked in the cold rain, waiting for what seems like hours waiting for her to open the door.

I teleport myself into her bedroom and am shocked to see...

She's sleeping with Sombra.