Sombra walked with a slight limp – between the nurses and the doctors, he had been allowed out of the hospital, on the condition he wore a splint on his right foreleg. He had been slightly angled into the cart when it hit him, so his right side near his shoulder had taken the worst of the impact. His ribs still stung a little if he inhaled too deeply, but apart from that he felt remarkably well for having been hurt so badly only a couple days before. He worked his jaw, amazed by the fact that he couldn’t even tell where it had been fractured. This modern ‘magicine,’ as Redheart had called it, was absolutely amazing. Perhaps he might have to look into it later. For now, though, he needed to visit Sterling again.
“Good morning mister Sombra,” Sterling’s head popped up from behind the counter, once again depositing a cleaning cloth to speak, “I was expecting to see you two days ago, but I suspect you simply got busy. Are you interested in reviewing my designs?”
“Good morning to you as well, Sterling,” Sombra nodded and smiled, “Yes, I apologize for not coming back immediately, I was slightly… shall we say, laid up.” He paused and chuckled, “I got run over by an apple cart and broke over a dozen bones. It was a fun day.”
“Well,” Sterling said, one eyebrow arching in concern, “I am glad to see you are well then, sir.”
“Thank you very much. You said you had several designs drafted?”
“Oh, yes, of course sir. Let me go fetch them from my office,” Sterling nodded and ducked through a doorway behind the counter. Sombra stepped forward and looked idly at the items in the display case – a hoofful of jeweled silver necklaces, some hoofbands, a stray hornring or two – all of them crafted with the utmost care. Sombra smiled to himself, knowing he had made the right decision coming here to have the earrings made. “Sir?”
Sombra looked up. Sterling had a few sheets of paper tucked under a wing, smiling calmly at the unicorn.
“I drafted about a dozen different designs, but the more I looked over them the more I have decided that you will most likely be most interested in one of these four,” Sterling started, laying the papers down on the counter in front of him, “I still have the other designs and we can certainly examine those if none of these quite fit your fancy, but I feel like it will either be one of these four or I shall have to go back to the drawing board,” he finished with a smile and a nod.
Sombra looked at the papers before him. Three had designs on them, and one was blank. “Uh…”
“Oh, my mistake,” Sterling reached forward with a wing and flipped the fourth piece of paper over, “Sorry, things get a little tricky with wings instead of magic sometimes.”
Nodding understandingly, Sombra looked back down at the papers. Each had a distinct design, drawn both to display the earring itself and to show how they might look on a pony’s ear. The first sketch were two halves of a heart, cut in a manner that they might fit together. The sketches of the earring being worn indicated they were meant to hang down with the inside towards the face of the pony wearing it, and they bore an engraving of Sombra’s own cutie mark on it. It was a fair idea, but something about the idea of two halves of a heart separated did not quite capture the purpose of the earrings.
The second were a bit simpler – plain, silver rectangles with a ruby-and-gold likeness of his cutie mark inlaid upon it. The edges of the rectangles were beveled and polished, or so the drawing appeared to imply, giving them a soft, almost fluid appearance. Sombra liked it, this design definitely captured the idea of the earrings, but at the same time… the rectangle was not quite right.
“I like these,” Sombra said indicating the second with a hoof, “but they are not… not quite right.”
“Do you want me to make a few more drafts based on that concept?” Sterling offered, bringing a wingtip up to the second piece of paper, prepared to pull it back to him to take away.
“Perhaps,” Sombra answered, brow furrowing. This was a good idea, yes, but he just couldn’t quite place what was off about them. “I have not looked at the last two yet, do you mind if I take a little more time?”
“Not at all, of course,” Sterling answered, folding his wing back to his side and nodding. “Should I leave you alone for a few minutes?”
“That would be fine.”
Sterling nodded again, grabbed a cleaning cloth in his hoof, and stepped around the corner of the counter, bending down to polish something.
Looking back down at the papers, he scanned over to the third, but something on the fourth caught his eye. Deciding he could examine the third design later, he swung his head over to take a closer look at the fourth sheet. The design was…
“I am sorry to interrupt you, Sterling, but… how exactly does this design work?”
Sterling popped up from behind the counter, ruffling his wings slightly as he walked over to Sombra.
“Ah, yes, these – I was not sure how much you would like these, however, I was rather fond of the design myself and thought I may as well submit it for your consideration.”
“There are pieces that are entirely disconnected from the rest of the earring, how could this… stay in form?” Sombra asked, confused. “Surely a piece of jewelry could not be so easily given a permanent enchantment?”
“Actually,” Sterling started, eyes rolling toward the ceiling and tapping a hoof against his jaw, “About… forty years ago, a unicorn in Fillydelphia discovered a way for even the smallest bits of metal to retain powerful enchantments. Making enchanted jewelry is not as difficult as it once was.”
“The more you know,” Sombra mumbled to himself, looking back at the paper. It was truly fantastic, something only obtainable with magic – levitating rings circling around a central gemstone the color of Sombra’s eyes. It was very pretty, truthfully, but it just… wasn’t quite right. He shook his head and grimaced, looking to the fourth and final design. His grimace rapidly shifted to a smile.
“This – this is perfect,” Sombra tapped on the design with a hoof. “Sterling?”
“Yes sir?”
“How much would it be for this pair?”
“Hmm…” the Pegasus hummed and cocked his head to the side. “Given the relatively simple workponyship involved… I’d say eighteen hundred bits?”
Sombra nodded thoughtfully. “That seems perfectly fair. Do you know how long it would take for you to make them?”
“I can’t say for sure,” Sterling replied apologetically, “Did you have a proposal date in mind?”
“I…” Sombra thought for a moment, unsure. “I do, yes. Eleven days from now, next Saturday.”
“Ah, well,” Sterling said with a dip of his head, “I can certainly have them done within the week. If you would, you can stop by to pick them up next Wednesday.”
“Wonderful, thank you so much, mister Sterling,” Sombra brought a hoof up to place it on his shoulder, but thought that might be a little forward of him, and just awkwardly pawed at the air for a moment before putting it down. For just a few seconds, there was a painful silence, before Sombra came up with a clever segue. “So, uh, you said eighteen hundred bits, and a down-payment of half the price?”
“Yes sir,” Sterling answered, moving around the table and sketching up a quick receipt. “I assume you have the money with you?”
Nodding, Sombra’s horn lit up with that soft pale pink glow and summoned from the locks of his mane his bit purse. Placing it on the table, he began to draw forth the requisite bits. Counting out nine hundred little gold pieces took more than a short while, but Sterling seemed quite confident in his counting skills so there was no need to double-check, or so he assured Sombra. Thanking the Pegasus kindly for his time and effort, Sombra stepped back out into Ponyville.
Well, I now have the when and the what. Now for the how…
Resolving to settle that issue later, he trotted off to his home, eager to see Redheart there. Unsurprisingly, there she was when he got home, sitting on the couch with a novel propped open on her lap.
“Hello Sombra,” she greeted him happily, closing her novel around her hoof to address the stallion, “Have a nice day?”
“Very fine, thank you. I trust yours went well too? You seem to be rather relaxed,” Sombra answered, walking across the room and sitting down on the couch next to Redheart. She sat up, twisted, and laid back down again, head resting on the unicorn’s lap, and popped her novel open again.
“I did, yes. Nothing serious that couldn’t be solved with a little magic or medicine – a stallion came in with a broken ankle, and a young filly had some mild food poisoning from expired milk. Rather calm day, all things told.”
“That’s good,” Sombra said to her, resting a hoof on her head and gently petting her mane. He sighed, content to stay in this comfortable position for a little while longer.
“Did you have anything in mind for dinner?” Redheart asked, sliding a bookmark into her novel as she finished a chapter, “I don’t think there’s much left in the fridge.”
“We could go to that little café you took me to on our first day here. It’s been quite a while since we’ve been, hasn’t it?”
Redheart thought for a moment and nodded. “That would be nice.”
---
“You know, Sombra, I’ve been thinking,” Redheart started, looking up from her magazine and snuggling closer to her coltfriend in their shared bed. “Our one-year anniversary is coming up in a few days.”
“Is it now?” Sombra asked as though he hadn’t been counting every single day, “Is there something in particular you’d like to do on that day?”
“Well, I was wondering if we could go to Marilla’s again. It’s been so long since we’ve been, and it’d be nice to go back to the place we had our first date for our anniversary, don’t you think?”
“That would be wonderful. Next Saturday, right?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll talk to Brighter about getting that evening off. I’m sure she’ll be reasonable,” Sombra grumbled quietly, his voice low in the depths of his throat.
“Mmmm,” Redheart hummed contentedly, wiggling about in bed to get as close to him as possible, then yawned. “Wonderful. Goodnight, Sombra.”
“Goodnight, Redheart,” I love you. With a flash of magic, he pulled the cord on the lamp, and snuggled up next to his beloved.
---
Days came and went, and eventually it was Wednesday again. Having made covert plans with Brighter to have that morning off, Sombra walked nervously to Sterling’s.
“Good morning, sir,” Sterling greeted him, as always popping up from behind the counter with a cleaning cloth. “Ah, mister Sombra! Wonderful, wonderful, I finished that order for you yesterday. I’ll go fetch them,” he said, and turned with a flourish into the back room.
Sombra stepped up to the counter and took his bit purse from his mane, beginning to count out the rest of the bits. At one hundred sixty-two, Sterling returned.
“My apologies for the wait, kind sir. It took a moment to find the right ones,” Sterling bowed his head, and extended a wing. Delicately, he placed a small box on the counter. “If you would?”
Sombra’s horn lit up, gently levitating the lid away, setting it on the counter. Inside were two earrings, crafted just like the designs on the paper. They were perfect.
“How do you like them?”
“Exactly what I had in mind, Sterling, thank you. I should owe you nine hundred additional bits, correct?”
“Ah, unfortunately sir, the price of sapphires has gone up slightly,” Sterling offered with a nervous laugh, “I am afraid I will have to raise the total price to nineteen hundred bits. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
“Of course not,” Sombra replied, “I still have more than enough.”
“Wonderful. Again, I’m terribly sorry sir, but I am sure you understand.”
“Indeed I do,” Sombra replied, continuing to count out the bits for another minute or so, “There. That should be right.”
“Excellent, thank you kindly. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.”
“Thank you very much, Mister Sterling,” Sombra nodded, tucking his (much lighter) bit purse away, and taking the box in his magical grasp. Turning and nodding his thanks to Sterling one last time, he walked back out the doors.
“Sombra?” Redheart asked. It was less of a question of who and more a question of why. As in, why was Sombra walking out of Sterling’s jewelry store.
Sombra’s ears perked up at the voice. His head swiveled, and his eyes found Redheart walking towards him. Before he could stop the reaction, his eyes went wide and his mouth opened slightly. Subconsciously, he put the little box behind himself, obscuring it from Redheart’s view. This is my luck, he thought to himself, then he turned and ran.
“Sombra!” Redheart called after him, breaking into a run behind her boyfriend. Ponies stepped politely out of her way as she galloped across the road, eyes focused on the fleeing flank before her. Sombra looked over his shoulder and saw her chasing him, and in turn only ran harder.
Twilight, he called out telepathically, hoping the mare could hear him, Twilight please I really need your help right now!
Sombra? What’s wrong? The detached voice of the young Alicorn came into his head, Are you in danger?
Only of being found out. Can you teleport me to your library?
I… I can, but I thought you hated being teleported?
A bit of discomfort is worth a quick escape right now.
Alright, I need you to stand still though.
Just a moment, Sombra thought. He stopped running and dug his hooves into the ground, turning as sharply as he could and throwing himself into an alley behind a house. Any time would be nice.
Prepare yourself, Twilight thought back with a note of finality. Sombra stopped short, took one great breath in, and exhaled fully. The world fell out from beneath him.
Redheart turned into the alley moments after the flash of light faded, looking around for the black unicorn. That’s odd, he never told me he learned how to properly teleport. Why was he running so hard though?
Sombra reappeared in Twilight’s front room and took a huge gasp of air to fill his burning lungs. Twilight rushed out of a room at the top of the stairs, running down to greet him.
“What’s the matter? Are you hurt? Is the town in danger?”
“I will… tell you in a moment… no, and no,” Sombra breathed heavily. He had been out of breath from sprinting, and the forced exhalation just before teleporting had left him completely winded. As he sucked air for a minute, sparks in his vision gradually fading. “I…” he paused and looked away, “About a week ago, I ordered a pair of earrings from Sterling’s International Silver Items Shop. They are a… an old Crystal Empire tradition. We did not use rings for…” Sombra trailed off.
Twilight’s concerned frown had changed to a smirk, passed right through a grin, and kept going until it was a broad, smug smile. “An old Crystal Empire marriage proposal tradition?” she asked, feeling like she had a pretty good idea what the answer would be.
“Yes, that,” Sombra nodded, looking back at Twilight, “Anyways, he finished them today and I was going in to pick them up. When I walked out of the store, Redheart happened to be there. I… panicked slightly.”
“That seems apparent,” Twilight replied with a chuckle, “How do you plan on explaining away why you ran?”
“I have no earthly idea.”
“Well,” the Alicorn paused and looked at the ground for a moment, thinking. “I could explain the teleportation as an experiment gone awry. I have been experimenting with long-range third-party teleportation recently, and that alley is certainly a location I would have expected to be empty at any given time. Think that would work?”
“Yes, but that still leaves the issue of why I ran.”
“Well, they say the best lie is the one closest to the truth. Your one-year anniversary is coming up, right?”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, between national crises, there isn't much to do around Ponyville except get to know your neighbors. There’s talk around town,” Twilight explained, smiling. “Anyways, you could just say you were buying some jewelry and wanted it to be a surprise. Admit you panicked. It’s a little flimsy, but it’s also about eighty-three percent of the truth.”
“That could work,” Sombra perked up, “Thank you, Twilight. I mean that truly, you have been so kind and helpful to me for all this time. Really.”
“You’re welcome, Sombra. It makes me so happy to see…” Twilight trailed off and looked away for a moment, blowing a puff of air out her nose, “well, of all ponies, even you, if you don’t mind me saying, even you have been healed by the magic of friendship. It’s… honestly, of all the time I’ve spent here with my friends, wielding the Elements of Harmony, even with Discord, nothing has been quite so… tangibly evident that what I’m doing makes a real difference. So thank you, Sombra. Thank you, too.”
“You are going to make me cry,” Sombra feigned a sniffle, “though I am extremely glad.”
“Go on, Sombra, get home. I’m sure you’re eager to ask Redheart a certain question.”
---
Saturday rolled around, and Sombra woke up with a tightness in his chest. Today was the day, he was going to do it. Redheart still slumbered next to him, and content he lay with a leg beneath her head, her head rolling back and forth in time with her breath. He smiled. He knew – this is what he wanted to wake up to every morning. It was only a question of whether or not Redheart felt the same. He knew she’d say yes, well, knew might be an overstatement, but he was fairly certain. Just the same, part of his mind was asking the question What if she says no?
Sombra was determined, though. No thoughts, no questions. He was going to ask her, whatever her answer might be, but today he was going to ask Redheart to marry him.
She rolled to the side, off of his foreleg. He sat up, leaned over her, and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. She giggled in her sleep, and pawed at her cheek with a hoof. Sombra laughed quietly, and rolled the other way to get out of bed and go take a shower. He stayed under the hot water a little longer than normal, hoping it would do something to soothe his growing nerves. He was tense, yes, but he was also extremely excited. Today was going to be a turning point in his relationship with Redheart, for better or for worse.
For better. Don’t think about the negative. You love her, and she loves you, or so everypony else would have me believe. Gah. I’m ready for this. You can ask her, you feel great. You can do this. Sombra smiled and looked up – right into the stream of water coming from the showerhead. He winced as the pressurized liquid hit his eyes, stepped backwards, and lost his hoofing. He groaned and stood back up, pleasantly surprised that he hadn’t seemed to have twisted or rolled anything. Now achieving his intended goal of turning off the shower, he summoned his towel magically and dried himself off.
Redheart, for her part, had woken up the moment Sombra had kissed her cheek, and was meticulously checking her own preparations. Brighter had a point, Sombra being forward enough to ask her to marry him would be a sudden change of heart, though not unwelcome. Her grandmother had been a unicorn, and she had always kept her engagement ring from when her other grandmother had proposed. In secret she had had it resized, and it should fit Sombra perfectly now. One year ago they had gone on their first date, and tonight, she was going to ask him to marry her. Sure it was a little backwards from the norm, but she knew he’d say yes in a heartbeat.
---
Snowflake’s eyes opened quickly, alert and ready to face the day. Brighter Horizons lay across his massive chest, sleeping with a happy smile on her face. Tonight, his best friend was going to propose to his sister. He felt an odd swell of pride at the thought, but shook it off with a laugh. The rumbling of his chest carried vibrations into Brighter’s own, shaking the mare from her sleep.
“What’s so funny?” she mumbled, rubbing an eye with a hoof.
“Nothing, just thinking of how Sombra’s proposal is going to go tonight.”
“You mean Redheart’s proposal.”
Snowflake’s eyes widened and he looked at Brighter in confusion, the golden unicorn sharing his expression. A few moments later, understanding washed over both of them.
“… should we tell them?”
“And ruin the surprise? Of course not.”
---
“Well? How do I look?”
“Just as beautiful as the first day I met you,” Sombra threw a soft, genuine smile her way as she walked down the stairs. Redheart blushed in reply, returning the smile.
“You really need to stop flattering me so.”
“Never.”
Redheart giggled and planted a peck on the gray unicorn’s cheek, and both ponies became acutely aware of the surprises tucked in their manes. Pulling away, she coughed awkwardly.
“Well, shall we?”
Sombra nodded and indicated the door with a hoof, before bringing it around and offering it to Redheart. Confidently, the two strode into the evening towards Marilla’s.
Arriving precisely on-time, Sombra’s established reservations guided them to a different seat than usual, one clearly designed for two ponies – no more, no less. Redheart raised an incredulous eyebrow at the atypical accommodations, but Sombra either took no notice or ignored her, taking his typical gentlecoltly stance in offering her a chair before taking his own. Making pleasant small-talk until the waitress arrived, Redheart ordered her typical pesto gnocchi, and Sombra opting for the eggplant parmesan. He had tried it sometime after their first date and found it simply delicious, and he had been missing it dearly. Their meals came promptly, their waitress remaining attentive but maintaining a respectful distance, constantly keeping their drinks filled. The couple reminisced about their memories together in Ponyville, Sombra made his best attempt at a few jokes, and, in general, they were purely enjoying each other’s company.
“And then- and then he- he-” Sombra wheezed out between laughs, unable to finish his sentence. It was hardly the atmosphere to be so boisterous, and both he and Redheart were drawing more than a few glances from the other patrons. He brought a hoof up and wiped a tear from his eye as the laughter died down, and took a sip from his water. Their meal had long-since ended, but the date wasn’t over, not quite yet. Sombra inhaled deeply through his nose, and exhaled completely through his mouth.
“Now, Miss Redheart-” he began.
“It’s been a while since you’ve called me that,” the earth pony interrupted him. “Sorry.”
“Miss Redheart, I do have a question for you,” Sombra started again, mouth flat, but eyes soft. He took a drink to try to sooth his rapidly drying throat, and also to try to throw on an air of confidence to hide his nerves.
“Oh?”
“Miss Redheart, will you marry me?”
“Sombra, you asked me that on our first date,” Redheart replied with a small laugh, shaking her head and looking down.
“Not quite – the wording was a little different then,” Sombra corrected her, moving out of his chair and stepping around the table. His horn ignited as he retrieved the box he had planted under the table earlier that day, bringing it around in front of him. “I did not ask you if you would marry me.”
Redheart gasped as he opened the box and knelt.
“I asked you if you will.”
The white mare’s heart rose in her throat. Her mouth opened to give an answer, but no sound came out. In the box were two finely crafted silver earrings – short, fine chains ending in ornately wrought latticed spheres. Within the ball on the end of each earring was a finely cut gemstone, the one on the left holding a pale blue sapphire, and on the right, a ruby. They were breathtaking. Redheart couldn’t believe what she was seeing – Brighter had spent so much time convincing her of the need to propose, and here Sombra was, down on one knee, asking her to share her life with him. She looked down at the earrings, up at Sombra, back down at the earrings. Her heart was still threatening to leap out of her mouth, and she swallowed hard, gently running her tongue over her lips. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes, and began to nod. The bobs of her head started small and rapid, the motions becoming larger and slower as she slid out of her chair and took a step towards Sombra. A smile began to spread on her face, and laughter began to accompany the tears.
“Is… was there something funny about what I said?” Sombra asked as the laughing, crying mare walked towards him. She reached up into her mane and pulled forth a golden ring with a diamond on it.
“I was about to propose to you,” she said, voice barely stable through the emotions, “I was… I was about ten seconds away from proposing to you because Brighter told me you’d never ask me yourself.”
“So… that’s a yes, then?” Sombra asked, a hopeful smile on his face, hints of laughter playing into his voice as well. He was a bit of a chicken, sure, but if there was one thing he knew it was that he loved Redheart, and some nerves would never have stopped him from asking her this right now.
“Yes,” she breathed, still barely able to find her voice, “Dear Celestia, yes, Sombra, yes,” she squeaked out. Tears were falling freely down her face now, and she wrapped her hooves around Sombra’s neck. The black unicorn gently set the earring box on the table beside them, and in his magic grasp, levitated the earrings over to himself and Redheart. He affixed one to his own ear, and gently attached it’s partner to Redheart’s. The mare started briefly, but made no objections, merely hugging Sombra even tighter afterwards. After a minute – or perhaps it had been an hour, she didn’t know, and truthfully, didn’t care – Redheart pulled away from the embrace and looked into Sombra’s eyes.
“I love you,” she said softly.
“I love you too,” Sombra replied, and leaned in to kiss her.
After what seemed like an eternity lost in the caress of her love’s lips, Redheart pulled away and opened her eyes, watching the purple smoke slowly curl skyward and disappear.