Chapter 5: Getting Acquainted
Chapter 5
Getting Acquainted
“What do you mean you want four!” Flurry asked loudly.
“Anything less would be considered an empty house to me. Four is as low as I will go.” The Dark Unicorn answered simply.
The White coated Alicorn rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “Sombra, I’m not having four foals. That is final.” Flurry Heart explained as she set her paper down and looked the Umbrum in the eyes.
He looked away with a grimace and continued to edit his own marriage contract. The two had been busy sorting through the details of their arrangement for nearly three hours, making sure to revise every detail with one another to make sure they were both in agreement. The process had been less than productive, mostly due to the stubborn nature of the Tyrant Unicorn, but even so, there was now an end in sight as the two were completing the final parts of each other’s contracts.
After one last hour of sorting through each other’s papers, the two royals had finally come to an agreement. Though not all the conditions were ideal, they were satisfactory enough to where both parties felt obliged to sign off and complete their work.
Flurry’s previously neat and tidy hair was now rustled and messy thanks to the stress of having to deal with Sombra. She figured it best to see Sombra to his room and then have herself a much needed bath to decompress.
“Alright, with that out of the way I will show you to your chambers, Lord Sombra.” She stated as she got up from her desk and headed towards to door.
The Umbrum Stallion made his way passed the Princess and then placed a hoof on the door, effectively stopping her. “There is one more thing, Princess.” He stated as he looked down to her.
She sighed, “What is it.” Flurry answered impatiently.
There was a pause as the Umbrum Stallion glanced down to the smaller Alicorn. “Earlier you accused me of kidnapping your lost crystal ponies. I will not tolerate that lie any further.” He stated with the magical aura in his eyes reappearing.
Flurry was quick to defend herself, “I never accused you of such a thing Sombra, though I certainly wouldn’t hold you above it-”
“I did not take your lost Ponies, Princess.” He answered simply, the ghostly echo of his voice emanating from his person.
The Alicorn looked unconvinced, “Then how did they come to be under your control exactly?” She challenged.
The Umbrum took his hoof off the door with the magical aura in his eyes dissipating, “A few months ago I was journeying through the tundra of the north after having been defeated by your Equestrian allies. My powers were weakened and I was humiliated once more. But as I traveled through the harsh landscape I noticed one of the Crystal Ponies alone in the storm. They were without warm clothing, shelter, or sustenance. As I am an Umbrum, I can survive in such conditions, however, I knew that this Pony would surely perish. As I approached, the Crystal Pony noticed me and attempted to flee, but with little success due to their exhaustion.”
The Tyrant paused for a moment as he walked around the Alicorn then continued where he left off, “After creating a shelter for the Pony using my magic, I nursed them back to health and inquired as to why they were wandering the inhospitable tundra. I was not surprised to hear that they left the Crystal Empire out of fear. Fear of me.”
Flurry, although listening to the Umbrum’s story, did not buy this explanation. She did not believe that somepony with his disposition would be so sparing and merciful towards one of her subjects. Even so, she figured she’d allow the Dark Unicorn finish his story.
“As I kept recovering my strength throughout the next few weeks, I found more lost souls in the storm. Crystal Ponies with the same idea as the first were continuously finding themselves lost in the harsh climate. I took it upon myself to shelter them all. As more started to turn up, I questioned them once more as to why they had fled the Crystal Empire. This time, however, I received a response I was not expecting.” He stated as he once again stared at his Fiance’s eyes.
She raised a brow with an unconvinced expression, “Pray tell.”
“They had lost faith in their rulers.”
This comment had not sat well with Flurry who in turn objected, “You lie! The Crystal Ponies would never say such a thing!”
Sombra’s expression nearly mirrored that of Flurry’s, “Believe what you wish Princess, for I am not lying. You may even question your precious Crystal Ponies yourself.”
Flurry wanted to argue further, but realized that this conversation could likely escalate into an unproductive argument, or perhaps something worse. She figured it best to do as the Dark Lord said and question these Ponies herself to determine whether he was telling the truth. She then resumed her thoughts to accommodating the Umbrum Unicorn.
She sighed before composing herself and addressing him, “We shall discuss this later Sombra. For now, let me show you to your room.”
The Umbrum huffed before rolling his eyes, “Very well Princess.”
The two royals then left the study with Flurry leading the way down the hall. Thankfully it was not a long trot and they soon reached their destination, a very large and elegant quarters designed for high profile guests of the Crystal Empire. This room would usually accommodate Ponies such as the former Prince Blueblood and other royal or noble Ponies.
As he entered the room, Sombra immediately took note of the features. It was quite decently sized, and the furniture looked suitable, however, the colors left a lot to be desired for one such as himself. “This will be your room Lord Sombra. There is a king-sized bed, balcony, bathroom, and atrium. I hope you will be comfortable.” Flurry stated as she showed the Umbrum around.
The Umbrum raised a brow as he toured around the room, “Hmm, I suppose it is sufficient.” He stated while nearly cringing at the revolting pink, blue and white colors that he despised.
Flurry was unimpressed by Sombra’s disrespect and was preparing to leave when she heard the Unicorn Stallion continue, “But I am grateful nonetheless. You have my thanks, Princess Flurry Heart.”
The white coated Alicorn was taken back by this, she had not expected him to be so humble after his obvious disrespect earlier. “I-You’re welcome, Lord Sombra. If you need anything, feel free to ask.”
He nodded, and with that Flurry left to return to her own quarters.
Once back in her room, Flurry took a long breath and closed the door behind her. The day was not over yet, but it had still been one of the most stressful experiences of her life. ‘A warm bath will help…’ She thought as she made her way over to her bathroom.
While soaking her mane in the steamy water, Flurry thought about the events that had transpired over the day. She was happy that the spell Sunburst suggested had in fact worked, however, she couldn’t shake the thought of the public’s perception to the whole thing. She had seen the glares and looks of fear in the crowd earlier and it hadn’t helped put her mind at ease. Still, the day had gone better than she could have hoped thus far.
She placed a hoof on her forehead as she remembered the time they had spent negotiating each other’s marriage contracts. ‘Tch… I can’t believe that scoundrel got me to agree to having 3 foals…’ The Alicorn thought as she used her magic to rinse the shampoo out of her mane.
The thought of having foals was one that she hoped not to have at this point in her life. But seeing as it was an important factor for a marriage she figured it was only a matter of time before it would come up. As it were, she’d found the Dark Lord to be far more patient than she’d expected. Of course he had been disrespectful and vile as always, but he had also demonstrated a bit of gratitude and even humility.
After having spent nearly half an hour in the warm water, Flurry felt slightly relieved and rejuvenated. She exited the large tub and used her magic to levitate a towel onto her back. As she dried her fur, the white coated Alicorn thought about what it was that the Dark Lord could possibly be doing at the moment. She hoped that he was simply touring the castle or settling into his own room instead of causing trouble or planning a takeover. As much as she hated to admit it, it was more than likely one of the latter two options.
After drying the fur on her body Flurry raised each of her wings and proceeded to dry them both. Each individual feather seemed to be perfectly positioned, courtesy of her constant preening and hygiene. Miss Rainbow Dash had always stressed the importance of preening her feathers when her and the Wonderbolts team would attend the Grand Galloping Gala. Flurry chuckled at the thought of the rainbow colored Pegasus’ advice which would always include either the word ‘Cool’ or ‘Awesome’. She felt happy to have connections to such cheerful Ponies.
As she finally dried her wings Flurry set the towel over a rack and made her way to the center of her room. As she looked up at the clock on her wall, the white coated Alicorn was surprised to see that the time was 5:30 PM. ‘That stupid contract took a lot more time than it should have…’ She told herself subconsciously while rubbing her eyes.
Dinner had been scheduled for an hour from this time, so Flurry felt it best to prepare herself for the occasion. As much as she loathed the idea, she felt it would be important to invite Sombra to the dinner. It would likely be incredibly awkward, and could pose a few problems, but if it went well then the Dark Lord would feel more welcomed.
After having made up her mind, the young royal made her way to her desk and got to work putting her makeup back on. After quickly touching up her features, Flurry looked at herself in the mirror and was about to tie her mane in a bun before a thought came to mind, ‘Maybe let’s try something different tonight.’
10 minutes later, the white coated Alicorn was making the last adjustments to her mane. Instead of tying her hair up like when she’d usually attend events, Flurry decided to wear her mane down in a long wavy v shape. The natural curl of her hair created a beautiful effect as her perfectly combed strands of sky blue and magenta hair resembled a waterfall flowing down her neck. To complement it, she styled her tail in a similar fashion. A smile graced the young royal’s face as she looked at herself from different angles. If there was one special talent that the Alicorn had besides the one on her cutie mark, it was cosmetics and beautification.
Once she left her room, Flurry figured she’d check up on Sombra to invite him to the dinner, along with making sure he wasn’t scheming or wreaking havoc on the Empire…
As she made her way towards the Umbrum’s room, Flurry was passed by a few castle staff and guards all heading the same direction. They each saluted her as she walked by, but she could tell that something had them feeling distraught. The Alicorn found this odd as she’d rarely see so many Ponies roaming through the halls at the same time. ‘Odd…’ She thought while coming up to Sombra’s room. Using her hoof, Flurry knocked on the door three times consecutively. After waiting for a good moment with no response Flurry raised a brow, “Lord Sombra?” She called from outside.
After once again hearing no response Flurry opened the door and looked inside to check up on the Dark Lord. Only upon scanning the room, the Umbrum was nowhere to be found. At this point Flurry began to get worried. She exited the room and looked at the hallway where several royal guards were patrolling through.
She approached the two stallions who noticed her and respectfully saluted her. She smiled and nodded before addressing them, “Have either of you seen Lord Sombra?”
The Guard on the right nodded, “Yes Princess, the Dark Lord has been in the Castle Library for nearly a half hour.”
Flurry was puzzled by this, but regardless she thanked both of the Stallions set off to find Sombra whom she hoped was not stirring up trouble this moment.
After making her way to the Library as quickly as possible, Flurry noticed a bunch more Castle staff leaving the large room. As she watched the Ponies swiftly leaving, Flurry noticed one the royal advisors to the Crystal Empire Mrs Sapphire Scale. “Excuse me Mrs Scale.” Flurry remarked as she approached the blue coated elderly mare.
Mrs Scale was caught off guard for a second but quickly saluted the Alicorn, “Princess Flurry Heart, I’m terribly sorry for not noticing you.” The Unicorn stated as she bowed her head in respect.
Flurry shook this off, “It’s not a problem Mrs Scale, would you happen to know what’s going on? Why is everypony leaving the Library?”
The blue coated elder looked around before quietly answering, “Well you see Princess, everpony here has felt uncomfortable ever since the Dark Lord entered. We would prefer not to be in his presence…” She trailed off.
Flurry looked into the Library and then back to the elder Unicorn, “I see. Well thank you Mrs Scale, I look forward to seeing you at tomorrow’s meeting.”
The blue coated pony smiled, “Likewise Princess, Enjoy your evening.”
And with that, Mrs Sapphire was off. Flurry wasted no time in entering the Library to find the one she’d come for. As she wandered the large room she was taken back by just how quiet the room was. Of course it was a Library, but even so this was excessively quiet. So quiet in fact that not only could she hear every one of her hoofsteps but she could almost hear her own thoughts echoing through the empty room.
As she rounded a corner, the young Alicorn caught sight of the Dark Unicorn. He looked to be intently focused on a hardcover book which he was levitating in front using his magic. Flurry could not tell exactly which piece of literature it was from this distance, but figured she should go an address him.
She cleared her throat as she approached, “Lord Sombra.”
The Umbrum lowered his book and acknowledged her presence, “Princess.”
As Flurry reached him, she noticed that the Dark Unicorn was not wearing his iconic armor. Rather than his chest and neck plate holding his cloak in place, he adorned a smaller royal silver collar with an engraved black crystal emblem in the center. Underneath the collar, Sombra wore a crimson ascot which matched the color of his cloak. Instead of his scored silver armor greaves and sabatons he dawned a set of four expensive looking silver shoes with black crystal-like trim. His crown looked to be identical but without the armored part that would normally protect the Umbrum’s snout.
Flurry did not want to admit it to herself, but she was actually rather impressed by the Dark Unicorn’s fashionable choices in apparel. Regardless, she figured it best to get to the point before making things awkward between the two, “I checked your room earlier and noticed you were gone. How long have you been here?”
Sombra nodded and used his magic to close the book that he had been reading, “I did indeed leave my quarters earlier. I would say some 30 minutes ago.” He answered while taking in the white coated Alicorn’s changed appearance.
Flurry was about to reply before the dark coated Unicorn added with a confident smirk, “I must say Princess, you look absolutely ravishing.”
The Alicorn’s cheeks brightened slightly at this comment, but she was able to compose herself quickly, clearing her throat before responding, “Y-yes. Thank you. I was going to ask you if you’d be interesting in attending dinner tonight. I believe it’d be best for you to acquaint yourself with my parents and some of the other advisors for the Empire.”
Sombra’s confident smirk faded as he looked away for a moment in thought. After considering the young Alicorn’s offer he nodded, “Very well Princess.”
The Dark Unicorn levitated his book up and was preparing to place it on the shelf where he had found it before Flurry raised a brow and remarked, “The Conquest of Harness? I didn’t figure you for a Bertrand Rustle fan.”
The Umbrum chuckled, “Not a fan so much as I am a connoisseur of philosophy.”
This surprisingly made Flurry chuckle herself. It felt odd to see the evil Dark Lord of fear have an interest in Pony philosophy, much less a book on finding enlightenment. Regardless, she allowed Sombra to return the book to it’s original resting place.
“Come, Dinner will be prepared soon. We should make our way to the dinning room.” Flurry stated as she turned around.
The Dark Unicorn only nodded and proceeded to follow his Fiance.
Once the two royals arrived at the dinning hall, Flurry was greeted by her Mother and Father who immediately took note of her elegant appearance, “It’s good to see you sweetheart, you’re looking great as always.” Cadence stated with a smile.
Flurry nodded but also noticed their expressions change quickly as they noticed the Dark Lord enter shortly after. Their displeasure was not at all hidden from the Umbrum who immediately noticed the two irritated royals. No words were exchanged between either parties as they stared each other down. Flurry could tell how tense the moment was and was quick to start a new conversation, “Well that’s a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen! What did the chefs prepare tonight?”
Although they heard their daughter loud and clear, Shining Armor and Cadence remained fixed on Sombra with scowls on both their faces. “Freshly baked sour dough bread with steamed vegetables and Quinoa Salad.” Both parents answered simultaneously while refusing to take their eyes off the Dark Unicorn ahead whom they were presently scowling at.
Flurry laughed nervously as she thought, ‘This is going to be an awkward dinner…’
And awkward the dinner was. Seated on one end of the very long table was Flurry’s mother, and directly to her right was her husband. While on the other side of the table, Sombra sat opposite to the Empress of Love while Flurry sat opposite to her father to the Umbrum’s right. The atmosphere of the room was disconcertingly quiet apart from the sounds of the expensive silverware touching the equally expensive crystal dishes and plates. Usually the room would play host to many engaging conversations and fun memories, however, tonight it seemed as though it were an interrogation room.
Not a single word had been uttered ever since all the royals had sat down to eat. Appetizers of buttered sour dough bread had come along and had been eaten. Fine aged red wine had been brought to each of the royals glasses. And now each of them were currently busy eating the delicious quinoa salad and steamed vegetables. Flurry wanted to enjoy the nice meal but couldn’t help but feel the tension between her parents and the Dark Lord. Every so often she’d look to the other side of the table only to see her parents refusing to let Sombra out of their sight while taking small bites of the refreshing salad.
But after nearly half an hour of total silence, she’d nearly had enough and started a conversation, “So, is everyone else enjoying the meal? I think the corn and quinoa are great.”
“Yes, it’s very nice indeed.” Replied Cadence with a look of disgust as she watched the Dark Unicorn intently.
This, however, did little to lower the tension as the first reply would indicate, “It could use some meat…” Sombra responded as took a fork full of lettuce and crunched while continuing to stare at the two Ponies opposite to him.
This statement only made the two parents more livid as they both now sported a hateful grimace towards the crude Dark Unicorn. Shining armor was so upset that when he used his magic to scoop up a bit of salad he accidentally sent his fork through the plate and into the table underneath.
Sombra merely smiled while lifting up his glass of red wine and taking a sip. If he were trying to irritate the two parents he would have done a stellar job as Flurry had never seen either of them so riled up before. As she looked back and forth to both sides of the table she could see that the mood was only getting worse with every passing minute. And seeing as how her attempt at starting a conversation was fruitless she knew this likely wasn’t going to improve.
Before things could escalate any further, however, Flurry immediately stood up from her chair and stormed off without any notice while bringing her glass of wine with her. She had not even finished her meal which remained on its plate along with her cutlery and napkin. All the tension between Sombra and her parents vanished as they all watched the white coated Alicorn leave the dinning room in a hurry. Sombra’s previously sly grin had turned into an expression of worry, and similarly with Shining Armor and Cadence.
Once she returned to her chambers, Flurry slammed the door behind her and yelled in anger. It was not her loudest shout, but one could easily tell how frustrated the Princess felt just from the emotion in her tone. She then levitated the half full glass of wine which she had brought with her and drank the rest in a second. She coughed from the action and set the glass down on her living room table before opening up one of her drawers and finding an unopened bottle of red Cabernet Sauvignon wine from Prance. After taking the bottle out she opened the cork and poured a little of the crimson fluid into her previously full glass. She then placed the bottle back in its drawer and fell down onto her white living room couch to decompress.
After 20 minutes of lying on the couch, Flurry was still not feeling any better from earlier. The bitter and dry alcohol had done little to calm her down as she had since finished the second glass. As she looked up to the ceiling of her room she sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘If I’d known mom and dad would be like that I’d have never invited him…’ She thought.
It was then, however, that the vexed Alicorn heard a knock on her door. She wanted nothing more than to yell something along the lines of ‘GO AWAY’ or ‘NOT NOW!’. But she knew it would likely not be productive whatsoever. Reluctantly, the young royal rose from her couch and went to answer the door. Once she opened the door, Flurry was greeted by the presence of her Fiance.
The Dark Unicorn appeared to be levitating a bouquet of flowers with his magic. The flowers consisted of multiple different colors of roses from white, to rose, to red. Before she could say anything, the Dark Unicorn addressed her, “I came here to give you these, Princess.” The Umbrum stated simply as he levitated the bouquet over to her.
Flurry was taken back by this but used her magic to take the flowers. She was about to reply before Sombra continued, “I also came to apologize for my behavior this day.”
Flurry was at loss for words as she stared at the tall dark coated stallion. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner. I shall see you tomorrow. I hope you sleep well, Princess.” He added as he turned and left.
The Alicorn watched as the Umbrum walked down the hall towards his chambers. She could not even think properly right now. Whether it was the buzz from the alcohol or witnessing the strange act of generosity from the tyrant Unicorn, Flurry couldn’t seem to figure out what had just happened. As she shut the door, the Princess looked back and simply thought, ‘What the hay was that?’
An hour had passed since the Dark Unicorn had visited her room, and Flurry had since placed the bouquet of roses in a tall crystal vase with some water. It was now quite late out and the young royal could see her aunt Luna’s moon rising over the night sky through the window. She was currently in her bathroom preparing to go to bed before she heard yet another knock on her door. As she had now calmed down she called, “Coming!”
After opening the door, Flurry was greeted by her parents with guilty expressions littering their faces. Cadence was the first to speak, “Good evening sweetie, we just thought we’d pay you a visit before you went to bed.”
Shining then continued on their behalf, “And, well. We also wanted to say we’re sorry for how we acted during dinner. We saw how upset you were when you ran off.”
Flurry nodded with a small smile, “It’s okay dad, why don’t we talk about it in my room?”
Both her parents agreed and entered the Alicorn Princess’ room. Upon entering, her parents sat down on two comfortable lounge chairs while Flurry took a seat on her white sofa again. She was the first to speak this time, “I just ran off because I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
Cadence nodded, “We totally understand Flurry, our behavior was uncalled for.”
Flurry couldn’t help but crack a smile at the thought of her parents faces during the dinner. She’d never seen them so bothered before. It almost reminded her of the tales Aunt Twilight would tell about the former villain Tirek who constantly lived in a raged state.
She then looked up and sighed, “It’s just… I’m trying to be as welcoming to Sombra as I can so that this goes as best as it can. I know he’s done a lot of horrible things to the empire, and he’s unlikely to change. But I just wish you both could tolerate him enough so that we can make this whole thing go as smooth as possible.” She stated as she looked to both of her parents.
The former Princess of Love and her husband both looked at each other and reluctantly nodded, “We’ll try sweetheart, just for you.” Shining armor answered.
Flurry could tell that they were genuine about this, but could also tell that they were apprehensive about the idea. Without a second thought, she got up from her sofa and hugged both her parents. They were not at all surprised by this and returned the affection. It was a heartwarming moment for the three.
After letting them go, the young Alicorn sat back down on the couch before Shining Armor noticed something, “Say, where’d you get the roses?”
Flurry thought about lying about it but figured it was better to just tell them, “Well, Sombra came by my room a little while ago and gave them to me. He also apologized for dinner.”
Both parents were surprised by this. “Really? Sombra did that?” Cadence asked, to which Flurry nodded.
After hearing this development, both parents were puzzled by this action of the Dark Lord. It was very uncharacteristic of the normally conniving and manipulative tyrant. Breaking them from their thoughts, however, was their daughter, “Well, thanks for coming to apologize anyway. I know you two hate Sombra as much as all the other Crystal Ponies but for now we have to put up with him.”
Shining Armor was still getting over the thought of what she’d told them, but realized that it was rather late and it would be best for them to leave Flurry to herself for the night, “We’ll try our best Flurry.” Before leaving though, a thought came over the Unicorn stallion’s head, “Hey, how would you like to wake up early tomorrow morning and get some training in with the guard? It’ll be like old times.” He asked with a charismatic smile.
Flurry was immediately interested in the idea, “That would be great dad. The usual time?”
“Yep, and remember to wear that Armor I gave you.” He added.
“Will do dad, see you tomorrow morning.” She finished before seeing her parents out.
Before she left, Cadence planted a kiss on Flurry’s snout, “I’m very proud of how mature you were today sweetheart, you’re already an excellent leader for the Crystal Ponies.”
Flurry blushed at the compliment before replying, “Thanks mom, I just hope the Crystal Ponies will see it the same way.”
“They will sweetheart, they will.” And with that, the two royals were off.
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It took a while but it was worth it. I hope all the best in your personal life.
Absolutely worth the wait! You really put a lot of thought into this! I'm getting addicted to this story!
11260342
Thanks a bunch! Already working on Chapter 6 so that will release soon. I promise it'll be even more fun
is this gonna be a multi book series of just this one? if its a multi book then i guess im in for the long haul.
11265281
I'm not entirely sure yet if it'll be multiple stories but I do know that this one will be about 10-15 chapters long. In any case I hope you've liked reading it so far!
Man I’m so happy this is back, and even happier to hear that things are going fine on your side over there! Always good hearing a fellow fan of this series wetting W’s In life.
11266571
Thanks! Things are indeed looking up lately and I've been loving getting back into this story and completing it for you guys. I'm especially going to enjoy writing the next few chapters with some familiar cameos and fun moments. Stay tuned for more!