//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: A Friendly Meal 
// Story: A Somber Tale: FIENDship is Magic 
// by Maltrazz 
//------------------------------//

"And this is the dining hall," Cadance said, as she led her guests through the castle. "Isn't it magnificent? The ancient Crystal Ponies were masters of crafting crystals."

"It's lovely," Sombra replied, before adding mentally, '…that, at least, one room in my castle hasn't been cluttered with your pointless "decorations".'

Twilight just rolled her eyes at the latest of the deposed king's telepathic complaints about her sister-in-law 'ruining his castle'. "Thanks again for inviting us to stay," Twilight said.

"Twilight, you're my sister-in-law, you're welcome to stay here anytime you wish," Cadance replied with a smile. Taking a place at the table, she said, "Take a seat, dinner should be ready shortly. The Crystal Ponies have some excellent recipes."

"Indeed, my own research into the Empire has me anticipating the meal quite eagerly," Sombra replied genuinely. To Twilight, he added, 'Of course, I always had to make them sample the food themselves, to test for poison. Foiled several assassination attempts that way. However, it will be pleasant to enjoy such cuisine without having to worry about such concerns, for once.'

"Sorry about that," Shining Armor said as he trotted into the room. "One of the guards was convinced that he heard something from beneath the throne room. Some of them seem to have gotten the idea that King Sombra's ghost is haunting the palace, or something, and feel the need to report even the slightest sounds to me."

"Well, it would be quite terrible if such a powerful villain had managed to survive, would it not?" Sombra said.

'Wow, I almost couldn't detect any sarcasm there.' Twilight said telepathically, shooting him an amused glance, drawing a grin from him in return.

"Yeah, I had to remind them that Twilight's the only pony that can open that secret door, so there couldn't possibly be anypony down there." Shining Armor replied. Noticing Sombra still in his cloak, he asked, "Is it too cold for you in here, Black Knight? It may be kind of hard to eat with your hood on."

"No, the temperature's fine, it's just…" Sombra trailed off, before shooting Twilight a glance, and asking her telepathically, 'He is your brother. Shall I show him my face? If he figures out who I am, it could cause you a lot of trouble.'

'You're right, but if you don't, it will only make them think you're hiding something.' Twilight replied as she returned his look. Out loud, she said, "Last time he was here, Black Knight's appearance caused the Crystal Ponies to… overreact a bit. We just thought it would be a good idea to keep his face hidden until we went home, to avoid causing an issue."

"And by 'overreact', she means they wanted me dead," Sombra interjected.

Glancing at the guards by the door, the only Crystal Ponies in the room, Cadance said, "You're our guest here. I promise, as the Princess of the Crystal Empire, that no harm will befall you during your stay here. So, please, feel free to remove your hood.

"…As you wish." Sombra replied. Slowly he raised his hooves to his cowl, only to throw the hood back dramatically.

"What!?" Came Cadance's cry, as she leapt to her hooves in surprise.

"Sombra!" Shining Armor shouted, leaping between his wife and the perceived threat. The guards similarly acted, rushing to defend their rulers.

"Enough!" Twilight yelled, a quick burst of Dark Magic striking the ground in front of the guards, causing amethyst crystals to burst forth and halt their charge. "This is why Black Knight kept his cloak on because everypony mistook him for Sombra last time he was here, too."

'Well done, my dear student,' Sombra said to Twilight telepathically, seemingly unperturbed by the reaction of the other ponies. 'Your Manifestation is still a bit unfocused, and you will need to practice to make more complex objects, but you seem to have the basics down, and your speed is excellent.'

"Twilight, you have to admit…" Cadance trailed off, her gaze taking in the stallions pitch black mane and grey coat.

"Princess Celestia vouched for him herself. She said she couldn't feel any Dark Magic from Black Knight like she should have been able to feel from Sombra." Twilight explained.

"I did not wish to cause unwanted distress while accompanying Twilight, hence the concealing cloak," Sombra added, his voice full of false regret.

With that explanation, Cadance and Shining Armor relaxed. "Sorry about that," Shining Armor said. "We just came so close to losing everything, I guess we're all still a little on edge." Gesturing with his hoof, he signals the guards to stand down.

They did so, although their wary looks as they left the room were now directed towards Twilight and the dark crystals she had spawned, rather than the stallion next to her.

Cadance was also examining the crystals, but with a more curious expression. As the chefs began to bring in the meal, she asked, "How in Equestria did you do that, Twilight? Creating something from pure magic like that…"

"It's just the basic form of Sombra's Manifestation spell," Twilight replied. "I haven't managed to master this yet, but my studies into Dark Magic are progressing smoothly, so I'm sure I'll have it figured out before too long."

"You're actually studying Dark Magic?" Cadance asked worriedly. "Isn't that awfully dangerous?"

"I've already had this conversation with Princess Luna," Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "If I can master Dark Magic, it could save Equestria the next time it's in danger from a foe that we can't use the Elements of Harmony against."

"Indeed. Imagine if you were able to seal Discord's magic," Sombra suggested. "Without it, he would be no more dangerous than a manticore, or any other common beast."

"You seem awfully eager for Twilight to use something so dangerous," Shining Armor challenged his expression showing that he still didn't trust 'Black Knight' completely.

"I merely am confident in her quite impressive abilities." Sombra shot back. "I would think her own brother would be more supportive of her studies."

"I do support her studies, I just want her to remain safe," Shining Armor replied. "I would think her knight would be more concerned with that."

"Her safety is my top concern, but I actually trust her to be able to handle such power," Sombra answered without hesitation. Suddenly he smirked, his eyes flicking to Cadance meaningfully, as he added, "Then again, this is not the first time you have failed to trust her when you should, now is it?"

'Sombra, at least pretend to be nice!' Twilight demanded telepathically, her eyes flashing with dark magic, as she sent a glare his direction. Out loud, she said, "Thanks, Shining Armor, but Black Knight's right. I can handle this."

Twilight's brother continued glaring at the other stallion, but Cadance put her hoof on his shoulder, and suggested, "Why don't we all calm down, and just enjoy the meal."

Taking her words to heart, the others did as she suggested, turning to less confrontational topics, such as the delicious cuisine, and the recent happenings in Ponyville. At Cadance's prompting, Black Knight shared 'his' adventures from the time before he met Twilight (all the while telepathically telling Twilight where he got each tale from, whether it was a book, or having observed another being do the feats while he was trapped in the ice).

"…and although I found out that the answer was 42, I never did discover what the question was." Sombra wrapped up a story as the Crystal Ponies cleared away the dishes… while maintaining the greatest distance they could from 'Black Knight'. Even if their princess trusted him, his appearance kept them from being at ease.

"What a wonderful tale," Cadance said. "It's good to know Twilight is in such capable hooves."

"As long as he keeps those hooves to himself." Shining Armor grumbled, his mood having only gotten worse, after hearing the other stallion talk of the kind of adventures he had always dreamed of as a colt.

"Why don't we call it a night?" Twilight suggested, to prevent another argument.

"An excellent idea." Cadance agreed. "Shall I show you where the guest quarters are?"

"Thanks," Twilight said. However, as the two mares moved to leave the room, they noticed that neither stallion had moved to follow them. Getting annoyed, Twilight asked, "Are you coming?"

"I shall follow along in a moment, Lady Twilight," Sombra replied while matching her brother's continuing glare with an even expression. "I believe the Prince wishes to have a word with me in private."

"Go on ahead, this will only take a moment," Shining Armor added, never taking his eyes off the other stallion.

"…Well, alright." Cadance replied. As they left the dining hall, she looked to Twilight and said, "I'm sorry Shining Armor hasn't exactly been on his best behavior since you arrived."

"What are you apologizing for? He's my brother." Twilight replied. "Besides, Black Knight isn't exactly the type of stallion whose presence puts other ponies at ease."

"Really? He seemed like the perfect gentlecolt to me." Cadance said in surprise.

"Oh, he's great at acting the part, but he can be a total jerk sometimes," Twilight vented. "He thinks he's better than everypony else. I mean sure, he's powerful, and knows tons about magic, but so do I!"

"And he only acts that way around you?" Cadance asked with a knowing smile.

"As far as I know," Twilight replied. Noticing her sister-in-law's expression, she asked, "Why?"

"Well, it sounds to me like he's just trying to get your attention," Cadance replied. "I've seen the way you two seem to talk to each other with just a glance, so you're obviously fairly close already."

"What!?" Twilight said in surprise. Thinking about all she knew about Sombra she quickly rejected the idea. "That can't be right."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Cadance insisted, not knowing the truth about the dark stallion. "Shining Armor did some pretty silly things to get me to notice him." Thinking for a moment, she added, "Maybe that's why he's been so hostile towards Black Knight. He must have figured things out first…"

"My brother? Figure something out before anypony else?" Twilight asked skeptically. "Are we talking about the same pony?"

"Good point," Cadance said with a laugh, knowing that Twilight did not mean to insult her brother.





In the dining hall, silence reigned for a few moments after Cadance and Twilight left. Despite Shining Armor's glare, Sombra stared back evenly, not backing down in the slightest. Just as the other stallion opened his mouth to speak, Sombra grinned and spoke up first. "Twilight is mine."

"What?" Shining Armor said in surprise, caught off guard by the bold declaration.

"Twilight. Is. Mine." Sombra said in a slow mocking tone. "And I do not intend to share her with any other stallion, brother or not."

"I knew you were too good to be true." Shining Armor said angrily. "If you lay so much as a hoof on my sister-"

"Oh, my foolish little prince," Sombra's grin widened as he spoke, "I have gotten closer to Twilight than you could ever hope to be. 'Laying a hoof on her' would be a step backwards at this point."

Sombra was referring to the telepathic link he had with Twilight, but he knew her brother would misinterpret what he said. Shining armor stood up with a growl, "Why you…"

"Ah, ah, ah, whatever would your dear sister and lovely wife think of you if you attacked your guest?" Sombra said calmly, as he rose to his hooves more slowly, and began to walk away, moving toward the door the two mares had left through. "Do not worry, though. I promised to protect Twilight, so I will not do anything to her…" Sombra looked over his shoulder at the stallion behind him, his grin widening. "At least, nothing she does not want me to."

With that, Sombra left the room, leaving Shining Armor seething behind him.





Twilight was just getting settled into her room when the door opened and Sombra walked in. 'Sombra?' Twilight asked telepathically, having grown used to their nonverbal communication. 'What are you doing here? There are plenty of guest rooms.'

'My dear student, if I am to play the part of your knight enough to convince those that matter, being nearby to protect you while you sleep should be the obvious course of action,' Sombra replied. 'Before we retire for the night, however, we have something we must collect.'

'Collect?' Twilight asked. 'What do you mean?'

'You have been claiming to have learned Dark Magic from a book, but what happens when somepony asks to see such a tome?' Seeing understanding on Twilight's face, he went on, 'Luckily for you, and the reason I did not object to you using such an excuse, there actually is a book like that in my study, and now would be the perfect time to retrieve it.'

'I suppose that makes sense, but what's the rush?' Twilight asked. 'After all, we are the only two that can get below the castle, aren't we?'

'Perhaps,' Sombra said, 'But perhaps not…'