The Ballad of the Prince-Formerly-Known-As-King-Sombra

by MisterEdd

Trouble Comes In Threes

Sombra opened his eyes, finding them focusing on a clear blue sky as he felt the sun warm his body, causing it to shimmer and glisten in the light. Wait, I'm...shining?! He tried to get up, only to find that his oddly-shimmering body was refusing to obey him. Then again, with the warmth of the sun and the softness of the grass, how could he? He sighed, despite not telling his body to do so, and stretched himself out, his forelegs cradling the back of his head.

"Heliodor! Come here!" That voice... It was like honey being poured into his ears. Where do I know that voice from? Sombra wondered as he rolled onto his side and rose to his hooves, catching a glimpse of his reflection on a nearby greenhouse. He was a transparent, golden-yellow crystal pony unicorn with an orange mane that caught fire in the sunlight. AND I'm a ginger?! Are you freakin' kidding me?

"Helly, oh Helly!"

"I'm coming, Rose Beryl!" Sombra, or "Heliodor" rather, answered with a chuckle. "So impatient!" He half-trotted to the top of a hill where he stopped to admire the most radiant mare in the world. She too was a crystal pony unicorn, only her coat was a glistening lavender pink and her long, wind-swept mane magenta with a streak of ivory. My Rose... Rose Beryl then smiled at him and he truly believed his heart would stop from such a sight.

"I'm only so impatient because I can't ever wait long enough to see you!" They wrapped their forelegs around one another, their lips finding each other's. Her kisses were tangy and sweet, like a rare fruit; Heliodor couldn't imagine kissing anypony else's lips. Hey, hey! I'm already taken! Stop kissing her! Much to Sombra's relief, the pair finally pulled apart and stared into the other's eyes, her heliotropes meeting his scarlets. "I love you, my Helly."

Sombra's mouth moved, his voice tender, barely above a whisper. "I love you, my Rose."

The crowing of the rooster interrupted the weird dream and Sombra groggily sat up, scratching at the crust in his eyes. "Ugh, what a dream," he yawned, shaking the sleep off of him. "It felt so real. And so...familiar." He couldn't place why, but he just felt as though it was something he's lived through, like a long-forgotten memory. Maybe I'll ask Twilight about this. She's more into the modern "psycho-akitry." He thought as he rolled out of bed and stretched his wings, having become accustomed to the new appendages more and more each day. It would only be a matter of time before the coronation took place and he no longer had to hide them. "Prince Sombra" had a nice ring to it but it still eluded the former umbrum what it was he was supposed to represent. Celestia was the sun, Luna the moon and Cadence love. He shrugged and after pulling on his cloak, decided to eat breakfast at that nice café he checked out in passing.

Finding himself on a semi-busy street, Sombra stood patiently and hummed to himself, ignoring the stares he received from passersby and simply choosing to forget about it. At least nopony's glaring at me or whispering. I hate it when they whisper. By the time the street emptied, Sombra was on his way and he rounded the corner, arriving at the small café. To his immediate relief, the ponies there went about their business as usual and he quickly found himself a table in the back. The waitress glided a menu over to him with her unicorn magic and asked, "What can I get for you, hun?"

He perused the menu briefly and decided upon an omelet, politely returning the menu and giving the waitress a big grin. "I will have one omelet with ketchup and a tall orange juice, please."

Either the old mare was too crabby or tired to care for chit-chat. "It'll be right out in a couple of minutes, hun." She then turned and shambled away, leaving Sombra alone with his thoughts. "Hun." That's anther word that I don't want to be associated with. That and "Darling." He shuddered. He liked Rarity enough but thought the word was too intimate for his liking. And why does it seem as though she's obsessed with getting me to model clothing for her? Boundaries, mare!

After finishing the omelet, which Sombra felt was absolutely delightful, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. An outside commotion drew his gaze to the window and he heard shouting. He rose and tapped the shoulder of the stallion sitting near him, a bearded fellow named "Letrotski" or something. "Hey, do you know what's going on?"

"Well, man, if I had to guess, I'd say it's those Cutie Mark Crusader tykes," the dopey stallion replied. "They're always causing some sort of ruckus around here but hey, that's their thing, man." Cutie Mark Crusader...? Oh yeah, Twi mentioned them. Sombra recalled his marefriend talking about these three fillies that do all kinds of dangerous stunts in an attempt to earn their cutie marks and shirk the rather-degrading title of "blank flanks." At least they're being proactive.

"Thanks Letrotski."

"It's 'the Dude,'" Letrotski corrected with a smirk. "Or, uh, 'His Dudeness' or 'Duder' or 'El Duderino'..-"

"Sure, sure, thank you," Sombra interrupted and placed a couple of bits on his table. "Enjoy a cider or two." He didn't stop to listen to the stallion's thanks for the charitable act, instead paying for his meal at the register and heading outside to see what the hubbub was about. He found three fillies being scolded by a red-maned mare he recognized as Golden Harvest, a local carrot farmer and produce vendor, whose cart had a large crack running along its side and a missing wheel. Apparently, the fillies were attempting to fly a makeshift hot air balloon constructed out of a large wicker basket and old sewn-together bedsheets. "What seems to be the problem?"

Golden Harvest turned to regard him. "Oh, hello Sombra. I was just in the middle of letting these girls know what they did wrong. They wrecked my cart and caused a panic! They must be punished for being so thoughtless and-..."

"The cart doesn't look too bad to me."

"What?" Golden Harvest asked confusingly.

One of the fillies spoke up as well, this one looking like a mini version of Applejack. "Wha?"

Retrieving the missing wheel, Sombra magically reattached it before turning his attention to the crack. After telekinetically sealing the edges of the wood together, he stood back to allow the mare to inspect his work. "See? No harm, no foul."

"Well, um, th-thank you, Sombra." Golden Harvest ran a hoof along where the faintest hint of a crack could be seen. "Ahem, what about the fillies? They should still be punished."

Sombra trotted over to the three and place his forelegs around their shoulders. "I was on my way to Sweet Apple Acres. I'll take them there and their parents can come pick them up. Sounds good? Excellent, come on, ladies!" Without waiting for Golden Harvest's response, Sombra led the Cutie Mark Crusaders away, putting distance between them and the slightly-still-irate mare. Once they were far enough away, he stopped and waved them off. "Okay, have a nice day!"

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Sombra turned back around, meeting the confused gaze of the three. The filly who had spoken, a unicorn with a purple and pink mane, stepped forward and inspected him.

"Aren't you going to take us to Sweet Apple Acres?"

Sombra blinked. "No, I just said that to get you off the hook."

"Why?" The pegasus asked.

"Well...I didn't like seeing you getting yelled at. Honestly, I thought your hot air balloon was quite ingenious."

The three all smiled and the earth pony pointed a hoof at the unicorn. "Sweetie Belle was tha one who sewed together tha sheets. She found some thread an' fabric strong enuff ta support us."

The unicorn, Sweetie Belle, chuckled, "Yes, that's true, but you found the wicker basket and the rope. Plus it was Scootaloo's idea to use that old coal scuttle and a baby salamander to keep the balloon afloat."

"Yeah, it was a pretty awesome idea, wasn't it?" Scootloo smirked before turning to Sombra. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Scootaloo, that's Apple Bloom and that's Sweetie Belle. And we are..."

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" They all yelled in unison, placing their hooves over one another and throwing their forelegs into the air, an adorable gesture in Sombra's humble opinion.

"We know who you are," Sweetie Belle began and Sombra could feel the sweat gather on his brow. "You're Twilight's new coltfriend, right? My sister Rarity told me that you just moved here after helping her fight an evil sorcerer in the Crystal Empire."

Oh thank Tartarus! "There's more to the story than that, but that's the basic gist, I suppose."

"How come yer always wearin' that there cloak everywhere? Don'tcha get hot?"

Sombra tapped his chin. The princesses told him that his existence as an alicorn must be kept a secret until the coronation. Then again, he didn't see the harm in letting these fillies know the truth. "Can you three keep a secret?" They all eagerly nodded and did the Pinkie Promise, which amused Sombra to no end. "Well...here goes nothing!" Shrugging out of the heavy cloak, Sombra unfurled his large wings, thankful to give them the chance to breath.

The fillies stared at Sombra with open jaws, their eyes sparkling with wide-eyed amazement. Apple Bloom stumbled forward, her mouth opening and closing. "Yer…yer an alicorn? But tha would mean..."

"You're a prince!" Sweetie Belle squealed with delight. "Twilight's new coltfriend is a prince! How romantic!" She then crossed her forelegs and huffed, "Lucky!"

Scootaloo clapped her cheeks. "That's so awesome!"

Sombra scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I'm not a prince yet. The coronation isn't for another few weeks." He noticed Scootaloo inching herself closer to him, a hoof reverently reaching out to stroke one of his wings. "Um...what are you doing there?"

The orange filly caught herself and cast her gaze downward. "I just wanted to touch your wings. I'm sorry."

"But you're a pegasus, aren't you? You have wings already."

Scootaloo's wings popped open and Sombra winced inside as he took note of their small size, mentally slapping himself for not seeing it sooner. She trembled and stated morosely, "I...can't...fly."

Great, now I look like a jerk! Think, Sombra, think!

Why don't you give her a lift? Show her what she's missing out on!

Gently grasping Scootaloo's chin with one wing, Sombra tilted her face up and smiled softly, "What if, for one day, I could change that?"

Scootaloo sniffled and raised a confused eyebrow. "What-what do you mean?"

Spreading his feathery extensions, Sombra lifted Scootaloo into his forelegs and smirked, "Ready?"

"Um, y-yes, I think-whoaaa!" The two shot off into the air, leaving Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to cheer them on. Higher and higher, the two rose, soaring high above the clouds. At first, Scootaloo buried her face frighteningly into Sombra's chest but soon found herself gazing downward in wonder at the ground far below them.

"Wow," she breathed and held her forelegs outward, feeling the wind rip through her mane. She whooped and hollered, joining Sombra in wild laughter as they spun and dove through the air. She then closed her eyes and flapped her measly wings, imagining what it'd be like to one day soar among the heavens. Sombra stared affectionately down at the filly, an unfamiliar emotion causing his heart to swell. He'd never really considered fatherhood but flying with a foal in his forelegs only strengthened his resolve to one day fill that role.

"Hey Sombra?"

He found Scootaloo smiling up at him appreciatingly. "Thanks."

"Anytime, kiddo." Sure, fatherhood could be nice sometime.

Comments

[Edguy0009]

Aww............. what a cute chapter ending.

[MisterEdd]

9504753
Thanks, I thought so too.

[Edguy0009]

9504788
Your welcome.

[Viper Pit]

Okay my daww meeter may need to be treated after this