Soaring Shadows

by Asterid

Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast

Chapter 3 – Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast

Sombra awoke from his first peaceful night’s sleep in over a thousand years to the sight of a grinning, pink, Earth pony mare standing over him, a crazed look in her eyes.

“Can I help you?” He said, slightly afraid.

“Sure can, Sombry,” She replied, jumping on the bed he was currently resting on, “Get up, come on, come on, come on. Today’s the most super specialist importanterific day in the whole wide universe.”

“I do not believe importanterific is a word,” Sombra replied, narrowly avoiding the bouncing bundle of happiness, “Who are you anyway?”

“Ermagersh!” She exclaimed, grabbing his hoof and shaking it like a mad mare, “We weren’t introduced last night were we. I’m Pinkamina Diane Pie, but my friends all call me Pinkie Pie. I’m the Element of Laughter! I’m here to help plan the Here’s Your Daddy Breakfast Party!”

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Miss Pie,” Sombra said, struggling to sit up, “Would you mind terribly if I got out of bed first?”

“Sure, Sombry,” Pinkie said as she began bouncing around the guest Sombra had been given.

“How in the name of the creator are you this active this early in the morning,” Sombra asked, dragging himself out of the bed and looking out the window, “Celestia has just started raising the sun.”

“Oh, I know, but see Twilight and Spike get up really early to have breakfast and Dashie is going to be picking Scootaloo from the orphanage after she finishes her morning Weather Pony duties and the other girls will be here soon too and we need to make sure that there are all kind of goodies for everybody and I wanted you to help.” Pinkie somehow managed to say in one breath.

“You are a very special mare Miss Pie,” Sombra deadpanned before walking into the adjoining bathroom, “Give me a few minutes to freshen up and I will accompany you to the kitchen.”

Taking a few minutes to splash some water on his face, Sombra dragged a brush through his jet black mane and tail before completing a quick preening of his storm grey wings. Satisfied that he would presentable, not just for his daughter but the company of Princess Sparkle and her friends, Sombra exited the bathroom and followed Pinkie Pie through the labyrinthine corridors of the castle. Arriving at the expansive kitchen that Spike lorded over as his own little kingdom, both Sombra and Pinkie began working together to make various breakfast foods. Pulling a large bowl and a skillet out of a low cabinet, Sombra began mixing up a thick, sweetened batter before turning to the pink mare.

“Miss Pie, you wouldn’t happen to know if Princess Twilight would have any cheese on hand?” Sombra asked, placing the skillet over a low flame on the stove before placing a small bit of butter in it to melt.

“Cheese?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side, “For breakfast? I mean there’s cheese Danishes but we don’t have enough time to make those.”

“Oh no, these are a Crystal Empire Specialty, Syrniki,” Sombra replied with a smile, “They are these fluffy little pancakes made with sweetened cheese. They…were a favorite of Scoatalow’s mother.”

“You loved her a lot, didn’t you?” Pinkie asked, her hair deflating slightly as she pulled a small block of farmers cheese from the refrigerator.

“As a second son, I was free to follow my heart,” Sombra said, a tear rolling down his muzzle, “Dawn was a student at the Imperial Magic school. We met in the archives one day and it was like seeing the sun rise for the first time. She was smart, funny, beautiful. And she never let me get away with anything. She was the other half of my soul.”

“That’s so romantic,” Pinkie said, throwing her forehooves around Sombra, “I can see why your so attracted to Twilight.”

Sombra’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as his wings shot open with a loud :flumph:

“Princessa Twilight and I have just met,” Sombra denied, trying not look at the pink mare as a blush spread across his face, “it would not be right for me to be attracted to her.”

“Oh Sombry, you’re so old fashioned,” Pinkie giggled as she began mixing up a batch of strawberry muffins, “But that’s a good thing because you need to be Scootaloo’s daddy before you can even consider getting her a new mama. Just be the good stallion you say you are and everything will work out just fine.”

Silently, the two continued cooking, preparing food for the large group that would be meeting up in the palace.

********

Scootaloo rolled out of her bed in the orphanage and began busying herself with making her bed and cleaning up before her mentor came to get her for the all-important breakfast party where she would finally meet her father. A thousand thoughts and feelings kept bouncing between the little orange filly’s head and heart.

She was happy to learn that her dad was alive, even if he wouldn’t be able to take her in right off the bat. It was even cooler that he was some dark super strong prince. She didn’t know how to feel about him being a tyrant and a villain though. And a small, tiny part of her wanted to curl up in a hole and cry when she realized that her amazing mentor Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be able to take her in.

A light knock on the door roused the young filly from her thoughts. Turning to the door, she slowly opened it to find the smiling face of Rainbow Dash.

“Hey Squirt,” Dash said, ruffling the filly’s magenta mane, “You ready for your big day today?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Scootaloo replied, “Do…do you think he’ll like me?”

“This Sombra…he’s not as bad as the one we fought in the Crystal Empire,” Dash said, guiding the younger Pegasus through the halls of the orphanage, “If this isn’t all an act, he might just be a decent guy.”

“If he isn’t, do you think maybe you-“ Scootaloo began before Dash interrupted her.

“Scoots, we’ve talked about this,” Dash explained, trying not to sound irritated, “I can barely take care of me and Tank. And half the time Fluttershy is having to remind me to do that. Celestia only knows why she has stuck around all this time.”

“Maybe because she likes you?” Scootaloo giggle.

As Dash’s wings snapped to attention, she whirled around and stared at the filly with eyes like saucers.

“What makes you say that!?” Dash almost shrieked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Scootaloo teased, “Maybe the fact that she has tons of pictures of the two of you. And that autographed poster of you. Oh, let’s not forget her life size Rainbow Dash Wonderbolts plushie.”

“How do you know all this!?” Dash whisper-screamed, lifting the filly up with her forehooves.

“She supervises every couple of Crusader sleep overs,” Scootaloo giggled, “We spend the night there like every two weeks.”

“Why didn’t she say anything,” Dash mumbled as she set Scoots on the floor and turned to leave the orphanage, “Anyway, back to what I was saying. I’m not mature enough to be your mom. You need someone like Applejack or Twilight. I’m more the cool older sister type that helps cover up for you when you wanna sneak out to silly your special somepony.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo pouted, “But, you still gotta teach me all kinds of tricks once I can fly.”

“Deal,” Dash said, laying a wing over her little sister, “Good news is, according to your old man, its gonna be easy getting you to fly.”

“Wait, WHAT!” Scootaloo shouted, her tiny wings buzzing to life and launching her a few feet in the air.

“Ooops, sorry to ruin the surprise.” Dash said, grinning innocently, “Yeah, see, since you’re not an Equestrian Pegasus, you have to learn to fly differently than I can teach you. Once you’re up there though, your all mine rookie.”

“Ma’am, Yes, Ma’am!” Scootaloo replied, giving her a mock salute.

“Come on,” She replied, kneeling down, “Climb on. It’ll be faster to fly to the palace.”

Squealing loudly, Scootaloo climbed onto Dash’s back and made herself comfortable between her wings before bracing herself for Rainbow’s typical takeoff. Launching herself high into the air, Dash was conscious of her tiny passenger as she rushed towards the large shimmering palace on the other side of town. Landing a few minutes later at the Palace gates, she saw the rest of her friends, as well as the remaining members of the CMC walking up the well-trod, paved path leading to the entrance.

“Well, howdy there Dash,” Applejack called, “Glad to see you got the guest of honor her in one piece.”

“Oh yeah,” Dash said, flashing her trademark cocky grin, “Precious cargo on board, wouldn’t want her getting hurt. Her dad might try to blow up the world if she so much as chipped a hoof.”

All of the girls stared, giving Rainbow Dash a look that said ‘really?’.

“What?” She asked, “it’s a joke. When you give me that look, it means it’s a joke.”

“We are not amused,” Rarity sniffed, looking down her nose at the Pegasus.

“Um…maybe you could try being nicer to Mr. Sombra…pretty please…if it’s not to much trouble.” Fluttershy said, trying not to meet her crush’s eyes.

“Ok,” Dash said, walking over to the butter yellow mare and laying a wing over her back, “For you Shy, I will try to keep the snide comments to a bare minimum.”

Being in such close proximity to her (not so) secret crush caused a fierce blush to spread across Fluttershy’s face. Leaning in closely, Dash whispered gently to her oldest and best friend.

“Scoots told me your secret,” She whispered with a grin, “Guess there’s somethings we need to talk about, eh?”

“I guess there is…” Fluttershy replied, ruffling her feathers.

Slowly, the large crystalline doors opened and Major Domo stepped out, a gentle smile on his face.

“Ladies, Princess Twilight Sparkle would like to bid you welcome and ask that you follow me to the Dining Room.” He said, gesturing with his forehooves to enter, “Miss Pinkie Pie and Prince Sombra have been working to prepare breakfast for everyone and will be finishing momentarily.”

“Lands sakes,” Applejack said, walking passed the snobbish Unicorn, “’Taint no reason ta make such a fuss. Coulda done all this at Sugar Cube Corner.”

“While I would not be impertinent enough to question her highness in this matter,” Major Domo sniffed, lifting his muzzle into the air, “She may have thought that the reunion of Prince Sombra and his daughter should be handled in a more official capacity.”

Turning away, he silently began walking through the palace with the Mane 6 and the CMC hot on his trail. After a few minutes, the group finds themselves entering the dining room. A large table dominated the center of the room, room enough to seat 8 ponies on each side, with an additional place setting at each end. Twilight was seated at the head of the table, a small tea cup held in the aura of her magic, a small bell set in front of her on the table. Seated to her right was Spike, followed by Pinkie Pie. Seated to her left was Sombra.

“Announcing The Elements of Harmony accompanied by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Major Domo called before rushing off.

“Girls it’s so good to see you,” Twilight said, standing up and motioning for Sombra to join her, “Scootaloo, there’s someone I would like to introduce you to.”

Leading the little orange filly towards the much larger stallion, Twilight walked over to join the rest of her friends.

“Hello, detjonys, do you know who I am?” Sombra asked, sitting on his flank.

“You’re King Sombra,” Scootaloo answered, gulping, “The super evil pony who tried to take over the Crystal Empire. And your also my dad.”

“Well, you’re only partially right, young Scoatalow,” Sombra said, giving her a gentle smile, “My name is Prince Sombra. I have no interest in ruling anywhere. And I am very proud to be your father.”

“If you’re so proud to be my dad,” Scootaloo sniffed, tears forming in her eyes, “Why weren’t you around? Why was I left alone. WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME!”

“If I tell you my story, will you listen?” He asked, getting down to her level, “It is not a happy story.”

“I don’t need a fairy tale with a happy ending,” Scootaloo replied, wiping her eyes on her foreleg, “I need the truth. And I’m putting a lot of faith in a stallion that I just met to tell it to me.”

“Very well,” Sombra started, “Over 1000 years ago, your grandparents, King Darkest Knight and Queen Ever Dawn ruled the Crystal Empire. Your uncle, my elder brother Spell Jammer, was next in line for the throne. I was to be the protector of the royal archives. Your grandfather’s court sorcerers had other plans and used dark magic to bind a demon to me. When your cousin’s Celestia and Luna banished me, the demon sent you and your mother forward in time to thirteen years ago. You survived, your mother…was not so lucky. When Celestia was informed that you were my daughter yesterday, She and Luna brought me back from the dead. And now we find ourselves here.”

“So…what now?” Scootaloo asked, “Am I going to come live with you?”

Before Sombra could answer, Twilight walked over and laid a wing over the filly.

“It’s not quite that simple, Scootaloo,” She said, “Sombra still has a lot to make up for before he can become your primary caregiver full time. He has agreed to become part of my personal guard while he is here in Ponyville and will be having supervised visitation one full day a week until I have decided he is no longer a danger to you or others.”

“That’s no fair,” Scootaloo shouted, stomping her hoof, “I find out my dad is alive and you only want to keep him from me.”

“Detjonys, please be calm,” Sombra said, laying a wing over the filly, “I promise you, even with the limitations imposed by Princessa Twilight, I will be the best father I can be for you, on my honor as a Prince.”

“Please be real…” Scootaloo whispered, throwing her hooves around Sombra’s barrel, “If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”

“This is real,” Sombra said, a tear rolling down his muzzle as he held his daughter close.

“Ugh could you be any more disgustingly sweet,” Said a shadowy voice as the marks on Sombra’s legs glowed a light blue.

“Who said that!” Twilight shouted, recognizing the Shadow Kings voice.

“Go ahead and show yourself Somnumbula and do try to behave,” Sombra said, easing his control on the Shadow King just slightly.

With a dull pop, Somnumbula leapt from Sombra’s shadow, his iron clad hooves ringing against the crystalline floor. A glowing collar of blue energy was wrapped around the shadowy Unicorn’s neck, binding him to the symbols on Sombra’s legs.

“Boo!” He shouted, rising up on his hind legs and flaring the crimson energy in his horn.

“Down boy,” Sombra commanded, his words forcing the Shadow King to his knees.

“That…was impressive.” Twilight said, silently analyzing the level of power needed to keep a being like Somnumbula in check.

“Thank you, Princessa,” Sombra said, winking at Twilight before turning to Scootaloo, “Scoatalow, allow me to introduce you to my darker half, the Umbran Somnumbula of the Somber Shadows.”

“Is he like my dad too?” Scootaloo asked, tilting her head to the side.

“More like the creepy uncle nobody talks about.” The Shadow King replied, struggling to get to his feet before collapsing back to the ground.

“We don’t talk about Bruno.” Pinkie said to no one at all.

“Pinkie, who the Tartarus is Bruno?” Applejack asked.

“I just said we don’t talk about him, AJ.” Pinkie deadpanned.

“Why don’t we all settle in for the wonderful meal Pinkie and Sombra prepared for us today,” Twilight said, taking her seat, “If he can behave, he is welcome to join us.”

“Whatdaya say Mr. Creepy Uncle,” Scootaloo teased, getting nose to nose with the shadow king, “If you behave, maybe dad will let you have a little more freedom.”

“Hmmm, lets see,” Somnumbula snarked, “Be good and share some sugary snacks with six mares who want me blasted back to the primeval darkness that created me or go hide in your daddy’s shadow where I can quietly plan my eventual escape. Tough call.”

“Enough of that,” Sombra said, tightening his grip on the Umbran again, drawing him back into his shadow.

As everyone took their seats, Twilight picked up the small bell in her magic and gave it three fast rings. Without warning, a small door in the corner of the room opened and four Unicorns entered, 2 stallions and 2 mares each holding large platters of food in their magic. Setting them down along the middle of the table, everyone seated at the table was in awe of what Pinkie Pie and Sombra had been able to cook. The cheese pancakes Sombra had made sat right in the center, a large jug of blueberry syrup parked next to it. There were fried eggs and haybacon, toast and jam, fruit salads and any number of pastries. Pots of coffee and tea were set out along with large carafes of orange juice and apple cider.

“I must say, I am very impressed,” Rarity said, placing a croissant and some fruit on her plate before pouring herself a cup of tea, “The two of you truly made all of this by yourselves?”

“Yeppers Peppers,” Pinkie said, piling several pancakes and a couple of eggs on her plate, “Sombry is a genius in the kitchen?”

“Really, Darling,” Rarity said, casting an approving eye at the Stallion, “A handsome prince, devoted father, and talented chef. Very impressive.”

“Simmer down there sally,” Applejack said, helping Applebloom get some food, “That there’s out of bounds no matter how you slice it.”

“Hey, dad, what are those little pancake things?” Scootaloo asked.

“Those are a specialty from the Crystal Empire called syrniki,” Sombra replied, “They are little sweetened cheese pancakes. They were a favorite of your mother’s.”

“Can I try them?” Scootaloo asked shyly.

“By all means,” Sombra answered, lifting his hoof and making the platter float towards them. After placing a few on Scootaloo’s plate, he returned the plater to the center of the table before floating over the blueberry syrup. Seeing the dumbfounded looks on everyone’s faces, Sombra shrugged his wings, “What? Do I have something on my face?”

“You just levitated those,” Twilight stammered, “Without magic. That’s impossible.”

“Not impossible,” Sombra laughed, “Just different. This is what makes Crystal Pegasi different. We do not fly by commanding the air around us like you Equestrians. We defy the earth and control gravity itself. With enough training, we can lift other things like I just did.”

“Is that why I have so much trouble flying?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, you are a Crystal Pegasus,” Sombra said proudly, “After breakfast we can go outside and I can teach you a few things. It’s gonna take practice and hard work though. You ready for that?”

“Hard work is my middle name,” Scootaloo said proudly, “Just try to keep me out of the air.”

“That’s good to hear,” Sombra said, wrapping a wing around her small frame, “But truth be told, your middle name is Sapphire. Scootaloo Sapphire Dawn.”

“You named me after some sparkly blue rock?!” Scootaloo questioned.

“You were our greatest treasure, Scoatalow,” Sombra said, giving the filly a gentle nuzzle, “Never doubt that your mother and I loved you.”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

You respond to comments by moving your mouse over to the right-hand corner of the comment you want to reply to and clicking on the >> that appears. Why aren't there any genre tags?

[Asterid]

11273901
Mainly because I haven't locked it into any specific genre.

[Cyrus Colter]

11273925
An Alternate Universe tag is one obvious thing that applies.