The Return of the King

by MisterEdd

First Date: The Actual Date

Sombra groaned impatiently. "How much longer is this going to take?"

"Uh-uh-uh!" Rarity tutted, magically buttoning his dress coat. "Stop fidgeting. I'm almost done."

"I haven't worn a suit in many years so I'm feeling very restrained," Sombra grumbled, shifting from one hoof to another.

"Almost done and...Voila! I give you...New Sombra!"

In the full-length mirror, two ponies stared back at them except one was dressed like he was attending an opera. He was garbed in a black dress coat and pants, white button-up shirt, violet waistcoat and mulberry bowtie. His mane had been styled in a kind of combed-back pompadour and his fur carefully brushed. Sombra hmmed and looked himself over. Overall, he made for quite the gentlecoat and this thought brought a humorous smirk to his face.

"You've done well, Miss Rarity."

"Oh pshaw, you give me too much credit. I simply used the tools that I was given."

"Nevertheless, thank you. I mean it." Sombra smiled softly, genuinely thankful for her help.

Rarity nodded, her blue eyes shimmering. "You're welcome. Anything to help make your date with Twilight perfect."

Sombra gave his reflection another glance. "Just being with the mare that I love will be enough." A shimmer of gold armor in the glass reminded him of his quote-un-quote "chaperones" for the day.

Well, almost enough.

There were eight royal guards stationed in Rarity's room: four standing in front of the door, two at the window, and two more on either of Sombra's sides. Despite the mare's protestations, the guards refused to leave, citing official orders from Princess Celestia herself and she had to work around them to both make the outfit and dress Sombra. All in all, Sombra felt Rarity kept her composure quite expertly and the quality of her work showed. If only those guards weren't in the room. Sombra wished he had his magic so he could get rid of them but seeing as he didn't, he remained still.

"I'm going to help Twilight get ready," Rarity chimed in, gliding towards the door, the guards parting to allow her passage. "Now be a dear and behave yourself."

"No promises," Sombra grimaced, his glare failing to meet the gaze of the guards.

"Oh, don't be such a drama king." The door closed behind her, leaving Sombra alone with the armored unicorns.

They can't even look me in the eye.

Sombra didn't know if this was due to fear or professionalism but he didn't appreciate it.

Returning to his reflection, he lifted one foreleg, then the other, trying out the dress coat. As part of Twilight's agreement, Sombra didn't have to wear any kind of restraints for their date so at the very least he felt lucky that Celestia didn't have him clapped in irons. Not only would it be uncomfortable and ruin his nice new clothes but would also diminish the meaning of their date if he showed up in fetters. Even though this technically wasn't the couple's first outing, it was nonetheless a bit nerve-wracking for Sombra, given that this was the first time that he'd be on a date with Twilight as himself. Pretending to be a dopey mailpony with not a care in the world was one thing but an ex-tyrant and dark sorcerer was in a whole other league.

"What am I so worried about?" Sombra asked the stallion in the mirror. "I've taken on two alicorns at the same time, survived being poisoned by a peluda and killed a full-grown basilisk. This should be a walk in the park."

After two hours of mind-numbing anticipation and boredom, the bedroom finally opened to reveal Pinkie Pie dressed in a blue and white striped bowtie and a matching waistcoat.

"Wow, you look hot!" She declared and poked him in the chest. "Ssss!"

"Pinkie Pie? I was not expecting you."

"Nopony ever does! That's why it's called a 'surprise!'"

"So...why are you here exactly?"

Pinkie casually slung her foreleg over Sombra's shoulders. If anypony else but her or Twilight did this, they'd lose said limb. "Duh! I'm escorting you and your friends to your date!"

"They're not my-..."

"Let's move out!"

Forming a ring around Sombra, the royal guards marched forward, tailing Pinkie Pie as she merrily bounced forward on her tail like a pogo stick. Mentally shrugging, Sombra decided to let his questions go, as valid as they were. In his experience, there were some old and mysterious forces at work and not everything could be easily explained. The dectet journeyed through the castle's halls and climbed a great staircase that seemed to go on for miles. Sombra recognized it as the path to the southwest watchtower, an area he'd not laid eyes on in many years.

The party entered the large, circular room, which featured a long wooden table in the center of the room, a candelabra atop its surface and two intricately carved cherry-wood chairs on either side. Candles littered the room, each one a different side and color, each held in sconces or candlesticks of various heights and styles. A folding table sat up against the wall on the left and was decorated with bouquets of red and white roses. Red silk curtains decorated the windows and mistletoe was strewn around the room like streamers. Sombra was impressed, feeling that the simple design of the room was far better than Celestia's gaudy attempts at romance.

The guards rearranged themselves so that four stood on both of Sombra's sides, two guarded the entrance and the remainders rigidly took up position next to the window across from Sombra. Zipping across the room, Pinkie waved Sombra over to an empty seat on the other side of the table, the one with its back to the window. Slowly making his way to his seat, he sat down while Pinkie pushed his chair in and zoomed to the other end of the table.

"So where is Twil-...?"

Pinkie held up a hoof and after a brief pause, pointed behind her as the doorknob gripped was by a light raspberry aura. The door creaked open and Sombra's heart rapidly jackhammered against his ribcage. Twilight Sparkle wore an off-the-shoulder evening gown made of black satin with scarlet lace over the shoulders, neck and waistline. The bodice and skirt were embroidered with a silver-gray teardrop design while her bangs had been brushed off to the left side and her mane was gathered up into a chignon bun. Red lipstick and a light appliance of magenta eyeshadow completed the look, not that she needed it in Sombra's opinion.

"What do you think?" Twilight asked, doing a little twirl and adding in an eyelash flutter.

"You look stunning." Sombra smacked at his dry mouth. "Absolutely stunning."

Twilight turned away but Sombra had already seen the rosy tint of her cheeks.

"Thank you. You look handsome."

Pinkie cleared her throat and excitedly patted the seat of the empty chair. Getting the message, Twilight carefully became seated as Pinkie pushed her chair in. Sombra's gaze never left Twilight and she met his eyes, the two not talking but speaking volumes. Their hooves slid across the table and lightly connected. Even that brief contact was electrifying to them both. They so lost in each other that they almost didn't hear Pinkie.

"I'm Pinkie Pie and I'll be your waitress!"

~*~

Through the binoculars, Rarity could make out the shapes of Twilight and Sombra seated across from each other and positioned to where she could see their profiles. Indescribable joy surged through her at the sight of the couple reaching out for each other, so much so that she let out a half-squee and clamped a hoof over her mouth. Not only were her outfits perfect, each reflecting the color scheme of the other wearer, but the love between them was so apparent and true that a blind changeling could tell how they felt. It was difficult to tell what they were saying, even from her vantage point on the balcony of the adjacent spire but every now and then she picked up on a word or two. Rarity peered at them while taking notes, reasoning that somepony had to document their romantic rendezvous and that out of the most experienced of the group, she was the ideal choice.

"Enjoying the view?"

Rarity whooped, then shrieked in alarm, the binoculars fumbling from her grasp and quickly saved from a nasty fall via her magic. A pink alicorn sat behind her, a wicked little I-know-what-you-were-up-to grin on her lips.

"Princess Cadence?! What are you doing? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry about that, Rarity," Cadence giggled before adopting a more penitent expression. "I wanted to startle you but I didn't think that I'd scare you that badly."

"It-it's perfectly alright, Darling. I suppose I'm a little on edge."

"What are you doing up here anyway?"

Rarity bit her lip and searched around for an answer before settling on her binoculars.

"Birdwatching! Yes, that-that's what I was...doing. Just now."

Cadence lifted a skeptical brow. "'Birdwatching?' Are you sure it wasn't to spy on Sombra and Twilight's date?"

Rarity sighed. "Yes, I came here to spy on them. I wanted to see how they were..." Something clicked in her head and she pointed an accusatory hoof at Cadence. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

The alicorn drew back in surprise. "I was, erm...okay, fine! I came to spy on them too."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I am the Princess of Love and this is a unique case," Cadence explained. "That and it's my sister-in-law and my father that are in there making goo-goo eyes at each other."

Rarity scooted over and patted the seat next to her, which Cadence gladly accepted.

"You know, it's a pity we don't know what they're saying."

"I can fix that." A light blue glow generated from Cadence's horn and shot out in front of them, creating a rippling disk of blue energy. An image appeared in the disk to reveal Twilight and Sombra, except now it was as though they were all in the same room. "There we go."

"I have to say, Twilight, you've really outdone yourself," Sombra's voice reverberated.

There was a giggle followed up by: "I'm glad you like it. I spared no expense."

Rarity and Cadence intently listened in. The white unicorn then smirked at her companion.

"You know...you might have to start calling Twilight 'Mom' pretty soon."

"You know that I can fly and you can't, right?"

"I'll stop talking now."

Comments

[SomeWeirdGuy]

There was a giggle followed up by: "I'm glade you like it. I spared no expense."

glad

Other than that, great chapter as always and I’ll be looking forwards to the next

[MisterEdd]

10177950
Thank you!

[Viper Pit]

X D

[MisterEdd]

10177962
It was that last exchange, wasn't it?

[Viper Pit]

10178096
Yes it was

[Vael]

"You know that I can fly and you can't, right?"
"I'll stop talking now."

I love these kinds of interactions :D

[Crystal Night]

Damn Cadence

[MisterEdd]

10178665
To be fair, it is an awkward subject. It's one thing to have a father that's a notorious villain/former tyrant. It's also quite another for him to be romantically involved with the mare that you not only used to foalsit but is also your sister-in-law.

[Theresa]

10179117
It doesn't help that he and Celestia only got together because it was an arranged marriage. Even though they may have liked each other then was it really love and not just a crush? Sure they had a kid but despite everything Celestia couldn't stay loyal to him while he gave her up after she threw him aside for someone new. Loving means being loyal.

[nightshroud96]

After 2-3 years, I finally resumed reading this.
Hopefully I can read the remaining 16 chapters today