//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Epilogue // Story: Defender of Justice, King Sombra! // by VashTheStampede //------------------------------// Sombra’s throat was dry. “Nervous” would be a grand understatement for his current situation. His breathing was shallow, aggressive, agitated. Here he stood on the pulpit, Princess Celestia towering above him, smiling serenely (and, if he read the curl of her lips right, just a wee bit smugly) down at him. She wasn’t really all that much taller than him, especially compared to most other ponies, but today she seemed even bigger than normal. Sombra swallowed for what seemed like the hundredth time today. He glanced around the room behind him, hoping his nerves weren’t showing as much as they felt like they were. Snowflake stood off to one side, and made a curt, reassuring nod when Sombra’s gaze passed over him. The huge white Pegasus was practically bursting out of his formalwear, but it did look good on him. Sombra nodded weakly in reply, continuing to sweep the room. Standing in the front row was Brighter Horizons, wearing that same pretty green dress Sombra had seen her eyeing all that time ago. Rarity had given it to her as a wedding gift. Next to her mother stood Tag-a-long, the little filly staring wide-eyed at the Princess and Sombra. She fidgeted slightly, but Sombra could hardly blame her. She was just a child – as were the fourteen other foals standing next to them. Snowflake and Brighter could hardly miss this, after all, and there wasn’t about to be anypony to take care of the foals at the orphanage. So Brighter and Snowflake simply decided to bring them all to Sombra’s wedding. Sombra was vaguely aware of Princess Celestia speaking, and swung his head back around to her. “Sombra?” “Yes princess?” “A little nervous, are we?” She giggled. The Princess had such a nice laugh. It felt to Sombra like she didn’t laugh often enough, and he did feel bad for her for it. “A little would be a fairly dramatic understatement, Princess,” Sombra answered, forcing a smile to his face. His nerves betrayed his emotions – truly, he was overjoyed, but he could hardly keep his mind from wandering to all the potentially disastrous possibilities. What if Redheart disappeared? What if there was some sort of accident? What if- A wedding march began to play, and all those thoughts disappeared as Sombra looked to the back of the room. The door opened slowly, serenely covered in a golden glow as the Royal Guards on each side magically grasped the heavy, ornate gates and drew them apart. In through them stepped two ponies – the glowing bride-to-be, and, according to Equestrian tradition, her father. Redheart’s father was a nice pony, as Sombra had gotten to know him in the past few months, the slate gray unicorn always looking a little bit tired, but ever a note of cheer in his voice. He kept his same soft smile and tired eyes today, but Sombra could see the happiness welling behind them. Redheart, Sombra was relieved to see, looked nearly as nervous as he was. Joy was evident within her from the broad, happy smile on her face, and light, eager step of her hooves. At the same time, her eyebrows were arched backwards in a manner indicative of more than a small amount of fear. Her head swiveled around the room, searching for a point of focus, only to find that she was, in fact, the point of focus. Her eyes settled on Brighter, the golden mare shooting her a smile and a wink. Redheart paused for a moment and inhaled deeply, expelling the breath slowly and smoothly, and looking towards the pulpit her soon-to-be husband stood on. Sombra was making a very conscious effort to keep his jaw off the floor. Redheart looked, quite literally for the dark gray unicorn, stunning. Her wedding gown was not perhaps as extravagant as some others, but Redheart was not a particularly extravagant mare, and it suited her well. A light veil covered her face, falling gently over her mane – she was wearing it down today, the pale pink hair trailing down over her shoulders. Her shoulders were covered with thin, white straps that were only distinguishable from her fur by their texture – a fine, faintly reflective material that contrasted with her matte white fur far more than two things of the same color had any right to. The neckline of her gown plunged low on her chest, and Sombra found himself blushing for no real reason. Ponies walked around naked all the time, but this somehow seemed so much more… he couldn’t really put it into words, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t appreciate it. His eyes followed her dress down to her back, the cloth fitted to her close but not confining; her movements were still natural and unrestricted. Folds of fabric slid against one another, creating a shimmering, sparkling effect as she walked, the relatively short train sliding serenely across the smooth floor. Her tail was concealed within the dress, the way her legs moved when she walked causing it to exaggerate the motions of her rear, giving her hips a sway they didn’t normally possess. As she reached the steps to the pulpit, her father released her forehoof. She looked to him for a moment in confusion, but he merely nodded happily, and stepped to the side near Brighter Horizons. Taking the few steps up, she stood before Sombra and Celestia, praying she was ready for what was to come next. Sombra was still unapologetically staring. Redheart met his gaze, even all these months later still a little unused to the disappearance of that purple haze that had accompanied his face for so long. After a few moments, the two ponies realized the music had stopped playing, and a couple amused, muffled laughs were rolling through the crowd as Sombra and Redheart looked into each others’ eyes. Behind them, Princess Celestia coughed quietly, and the smaller ponies before her looked away awkwardly before looking to her. Celestia smiled down at them knowingly. “Well,” Princess Celestia began, the crowd quieting immediately, “There are a number of things I expected to do or to have to do should you return from your imprisonment,” addressing Sombra directly but speaking to the crowd as well, “But I must say, presiding over your wedding was not one of them. You, my little pony, are a testament almost as big as our newest Princess to the powers of friendship and love, and the deep, profound healing they can have on a soul. So, as per your request, I am honored to preside over your wedding, and it is with great pride that I find myself here today.” “Princess-” Sombra started, then closed his mouth again, deciding better of interrupting the pony trying to marry him. He covered a mouth with a hoof, and looked apologetically at the solar diarch. “It’s fine, Sombra. Really, it is. It makes me happy when I can interact in the lives of my ponies in such a personal way,” Celestia placed a hoof gently on his shoulder, “But enough about me. Let’s wed you.” Sombra managed a nervous laugh and smiled back, then looked at Redheart. Nervicited would be the word he would have used to describe her face. She was smiling, quite broadly, but also visibly shaking slightly. He held a hoof out to her, and she took it gently. “Dearly beloved,” Princess Celestia spoke loudly once again, this time to every pony in the room, not just the two before her, “We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of two lives, the joining of the former king, Sombra, and Nurse Redheart. Two ponies from extremely different times and places, and a true demonstration of what love can do. Mister Snowflake, I believe that is your cue,” she finished, nodding at the big Pegasus. Snowflake nodded and walked forward, taking deliberate, measured steps, and bending low to present the first of two matrimonial bands to Sombra. The unicorn picked it up gently with his magic, thanking Snowflake quietly, and turned to Redheart as the Pegasus shuffled back to his position on the side. “Of all the things-” Sombra’s voice broke as his throat dried up, sending a ripple of quiet laughter through the crowd. He smirked and sent a faux-annoyed glare outwards, and turned back to his soon-to-be wife. “Miss Redheart, of all the things my hooves have held, the best by far is you. You took me in, you helped me when I did not deserve it and when nopony else would have, defended me when I needed it most, and above all, loved me when I would not love myself. Redheart, I love you more than anything else and I had never been happier than the day you told me you would spend your life with me. Please, accept this band as a symbol of my love for you.” Redheart nodded, holding her hoof out for Sombra. The band floated towards her in his magic, slipping gently onto her hoof. She examined it briefly, then placed her hoof back in Sombra’s own and looked back to him. “You’re crying,” she said quietly. “I know,” Sombra replied, wiping a hoof across his eyes with a small laugh, “I can’t… I can’t stop.” Redheart chuckled. “I suppose it’s my turn?” Snowflake stepped over once again, presenting a slightly larger hoofband to Redheart for her to give to Sombra. Turning back to her groom, she inhaled deeply through her nose, and slowly, smoothly exhaled through her mouth. “Sombra,” she started, “You have been since the moment I met you, nothing short of the utmost gentlecolt. You have strived so hard to make me happy, and frankly, you succeeded. I am far happier than I could ever explain that I met you – you reintroduced a joy to my life I had long forgotten. For all the places I have been, I am no place without you, and I would love to wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life. Please, take this wedding band as a symbol of my love for you.” Reaching out, she brought her hooves to Sombra’s, her lack of magic making it a somewhat less graceful affair. A momentary flare from Sombra’s horn got it on properly though and she smiled awkwardly as she thanked him. “Very well,” Princess Celestia spoke again, “I have one question for each of you. Redheart, do you take Sombra to be your husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health for the rest of your days?” “Yes!” Redheart answered loudly, blushing for a moment as she realized that wasn’t exactly the appropriate response. “I… I do, I mean. I do.” Nodding, Celestia turned to Redheart. “And do you, Sombra, in turn take Redheart to be your wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for the rest of your days?” “I do,” Sombra said. The princess smiled. “Then you may now kiss the bride,” Celestia spoke quietly. And he did. The End