//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Monthiversary Part 2 // Story: The Not-So-Normal Adventures of King Sombra and Pinkie Pie // by Harmony Charmer //------------------------------// "How about this one?" Sombra asked. "Are you crazy?" Rarity exclaimed, "The hemline is completely off!" Sombra sighed and held up a foreleg, then examined the stitching on the sleeve of the suit he was wearing. "Not to mention the fact that this sleeve completely called for a blanket stitch," he told her, causing Rarity to frown. "I should've listened to Fluttershy when I asked her about the suits," she muttered, hindsight dawning on her too late. "I didn't take her for a seamstress," Sombra said incredulously, "isn't she a pet sitter?" Rarity frowned again. "Her abilities are not limited to, but do involve pet sitting," she explained, then sighed as she shouted, "that's the twentieth suit you've tried on! Why don't any of them look right?" "Twenty-eighth, if you count those shirt collars," Sombra told her, then mirrored her frown, "they look fine to me." Rarity was in front of him in two bounds and she grabbed his face as she stared into his eyes intently. "Sombra, this is your monthiversary with Pinkie!" she exclaimed, "It is an absolute must that you make this important and dress your best!" "I'd hate to see what our anniversary will be like..." Sombra muttered. "Don't joke about such matters!" Rarity ordered, "This may not be a big deal to you, but to Pinkie, it means the world to her!" "It's only been a month, Rarity," he told her simply, "it's not that big a deal." "'Not that big a deal'?" she repeated, "You two have been pining after each other for months and now that a time for celebrating has come along, you say it's 'not that big a deal'? It's a wonder why Pinkie likes you so much." Sombra frowned. "No need to be so snippy," he said, "but you do make a good point in regards to our relationship." "Of course I do!" Rarity exclaimed, "I've been rooting for your relationship since that fateful day in this very shop!" Sombra blinked. "You mean when Pinkie's 'Welcome to Ponyville' scheme backfired and completely scarred me from even being in the same room as cake?" Rarity chuckled. "Yes, and when I saw you holding Pinkie that day, I knew that it was simply meant to be!" "You're not the first to say so," Sombra told her as he walked into the dressing room, "everyone who saw us on Hearts and Hooves Day agrees with you." Rarity laughed. "Yes, Pinkie told me when she got your gift!" She froze suddenly as her eyes widened and lips curved into a smile. "Ideaaaa!" Sombra poked his head out of the dressing room to look at Rarity. "What is it?" "Do you still have Pinkie's gift?" she asked, rushing over and grabbing his foreleg before dragging him out of the room. "Yes, it's at Twilight's," he answered, then raised a brow questioningly, "why do you ask?" "Run down to the library and get it!" she exclaimed, pushing him towards the exit of the boutique, "I'm having a sudden burst of inspiration and I simply cannot let it get away!" "But-" Sombra tried to argue, but was shoved out before he could finish. He turned to look at the door, only to see Rarity had flipped her OPEN sign to the opposite side where it showed CLOSED in bright red letters. He let out a ragged sigh as he brushed himself off and huffed, "Artists..." * * * "Pinkie, where are the cupca-" Mrs.Cake tried to say, but stopped as Pinkie shoved a pink box of colorful cupcakes into her hooves. "Done!" Pinkie called over her shoulder before opening the oven, then pulled out a tray from inside of it. "What about the muffins?" Mrs.Cake asked, placing the cupcakes on the counter. "On their way!" Pinkie exclaimed, flinging the tray into the air. The freshly baked muffins spilled out and came raining down towards Pinkie, who quickly grabbed a pink packaging box. With amazing speed and flourish, she managed to catch all the muffins while managing to keep them in neat rows as they fell into the box. "Oh, my," Mrs.Cake said to herself as Pinkie rushed over with the pink box, "you're in a big hurry to get the day over with, huh?" Pinkie froze in mid run and blushed. "Well, yeah," she admitted, "I want to get ready for Sombry tonight, but we still have some orders to fill." "Not anymore, we don't," Mrs.Cake told her, "you cleared out the orders like Rainbow Dash does with clouds!" "Really?!" Pinkie exclaimed, "That's great to hear!" "I guess that means you can leave early, Pink- Pinkie?" Mrs.Cake asked, looking around for her adopted niece. She heard the doors to the kitchen swinging and looked to see them flinging around like rubber. She smiled to herself as she looked over the saloon doors to see Pinkie zooming up the stairs. "That girl has got it bad," she said to herself. Meanwhile, Pinkie was galloping up the staircase at what should have been an impossible speed to get to her room. She slid to a stop and turned mid-slide as she flicked her tail to wrap around her doorknob. With another tail flick, she turned the knob and successfully slid into the room as she skidded to a stop in the space of her room. "Gotta find something to wear, gotta find something to wear!" she told herself, rushing to her closet. She opened the doors and tugged at a random outfit in the closet. It was a black tuxedo with coat tails and a top hat with a elastic string attached to keep from falling off her head when she did insane stunts. "It'd be kinda weird if we both wore suits to dinner..." she said aloud, then perked up as she said, "maybe Sombry will wear a dress?" After taking a moment to imagine what he'd look like, she shook her head as she shuddered. "Nope!" she exclaimed, then tossed the suit to the side. She pulled out her cake costume, then pondered wearing it before remembering Sombra's serious phobia of cakes. "Nope." She then pulled out a simple pink dress bearing her balloon cutie mark at her chest. "Too simple." She pulled out a sparkly, intricately woven dress with beautiful designs and sequins. "Too flashy." After pulling out several different outfits, each one bearing too much of one adjective to her liking, she let out a yell of frustration and fell onto her back as she held her hooves up in surrender. "Why is this so hard?" she exclaimed, then sat up while holding her head, "I just want something nice to wear!" When she sat up, she caught sight of one of the few outfits still hanging in her closet. It wasn't something she had worn in a long time, seeing as how an opportunity to do so never came up. 'Would it be weird if I wore this...?' she asked herself, then blushed, 'it might be a little much...' Pinkie shook her head and jumped to her hooves. "No!" she told herself firmly, "I won't get anywhere with Sombry if I'm scared!" With that self pep talk to keep her going, she stalked over to the closet and pulled the clothing off the rod, which caused the rod to fall down, along with the rest of her outfits. "Maybe I should clean up in here first..." she mused aloud, glancing at all the clothes on the floor and her bed. * * * The walk to Sugarcube Corner was a long one for Sombra, his anticipation of the night's comings and the looks from passing ponies making the trip even longer than it normally was for him. 'It's like they've never seen someone in a suit before,' Sombra thought to himself, giving himself an unsure onceover. Rarity had insisted that he bring his crown mainly for the fact that it was the very inspiration for his ensemble and that Pinkie would be overjoyed that he was wearing something she'd given him. Finally, he caught sight of the bakery, his mood perking up as he did. Despite his excitement for what was to come upon his arrival, he restrained himself from breaking into a full gallop to reach his destination. He didn't want to seem desperate. 'Got to play it cool...' he told himself, then felt his pace pick up as he thought, 'but I don't want to be late!' He forced himself to stop and then slowly began to trot while thinking, 'Keep it together... But I can't!' And with that thought, he broke into a canter, covering the distance to the bakery in less than ten bounds. Being overcome by his nervous excitement('I bet Pinkie calls it 'nervous-cited'.'), he knocked on the store's door, awaiting a response. When nothing came, he knocked again, receiving the same result. "Uh, Pinkie?" Sombra called out, starting to feel unsure about whether or not he should stay. He heard shuffling from the other side of the door and then some muffled talking. "Come in, Sombry!" he heard Pinkie call from the other side of the door. Feeling unsure, he opened the door to the shop and stepped in, freezing as he took in his surroundings. There were candles carefully placed around the room, giving the room a natural, dim glow that shadowed the shop's contents beautifully. Rose petals littered the floor, leading a trail up the stairs where Sombra saw a dim light glowing. Curiosity getting the best of him, he found himself walking up the steps to see where the light was coming from, only to see it originating from Pinkie's room. "Pinkie...?" Sombra said out loud, stepping into her room. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of the similar decorations that covered her room, although holding more meaning than the previous one. "Hello, there," he heard Pinkie say, then turned to where he had heard her voice only to freeze in pure shock. She was wearing a long, black dress which trailed behind her and revealed her hind legs with a slit that went to her flank. Fishnet sleeves covered her forelegs and stopped just at her shoulders, leading up to her upturned collar which bore a red gem at the crest. Behind her ear resided Sombra's rose from earlier that day, gracefully accenting her curly mane. "Are you trying to seduce me?" Sombra asked her, his face tinged red. Pinkie giggled. "Is it working?" she asked, walking over to him. "Maybe a little," he replied, his voice getting a little higher in pitch as he tried to process what was happening. Pinkie smiled at him. "Consider this payback for teasing me earlier, Sombry," she told him, her nose touching his, "you should know I don't like it very much..." Sombra grinned at her. "I should do it more often if you're going to do this," he whispered, leaning towards her, "you look absolutely beautiful..." "Don't I always?" she purred, "And you look quite handsome, if I should say so." "Why don't we save talking for later...?" he suggested, then kissed her. Pinkie pulled away while giggling. "You're in a hurry." "Because you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this..." he told her, sending shivers down her spine. "I got an idea..." she replied, then leaned towards him, "A good idea." They kissed again, this time deeper than before. And with that kiss, the night's events finally unfolded.