Within You

by fancybloom

Chapter 6

It was another quiet day in the Crystal Empire, the sunlight reflected on the great palace caused it to shine dazzlingly as usual; The ponies walked back and forth with smiles on their faces, which in turn caused the magic crystal heart to glow.

It went without saying that if they were aware of the latest events in the empire, things would be very different.

Even though it had only been a few years since they had been freed from the enslaving king, discovering that he himself was now on the loose was not going to be welcomed by anyone.

For this same reason, the rulers of both the empire and Equestria knew they had to keep the matter as discreet as possible, at least until they knew how to assure their subjects that King Sombra was not a threat and they had nothing to fear.

But, if they had to be honest, not even they themselves were sure that this was the case.

"Honey, do we really need to go?" Shining Armor asked his wife, who had her back turned while she was looking for something in her daughter's closet.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye with a little tiredness and annoyance mixed, this being the third time that the unicorn asked her the same question.

"Yes, I had already told you, this is important if we want to maintain the ties between the Crystal Empire and Maretonia," she responded without turning to look at him, still opening several drawers at once and picking up articles of clothing in a disorderly manner.

"I understand, but we already went last week, is that not enough? Are we going to have to go every week?"

"Of course not, it's just these days that we're going to be a little hectic, but then things will calm down. Remember that it is necessary for the empire to recover its commercial relations, they have all been lost since... Holy cow, I can't find a single clean diaper for Flurry!" The Crystal Princess complained, raising her voice, at the same time abruptly closing the drawers, looking quite upset. "Shining, don't you tell me you forgot to buy them." This time she did turn to see the unicorn.

"Uh..." he felt a little unsure of responding when he noticed the fury in his wife's eyes, it was not the first time that he forgot to buy the things that the baby needed. "Well..."

Before he could finish, and much to Shining Armor's relief, someone interrupted by entering the room.

"Good morning, Your Majesties." A unicorn with orange fur and a pronounced beard greeted with apparent joy.

"How are you doing, Sunburst?" Shining walked towards him with a smile on his face, hoping that with his interruption his wife would forget about the diaper issue.

"Well, thank you, I hope I haven't kept you waiting."

"Not at all. Don't worry, Sunburst." Cadance joined the conversation. "In fact you'll have to excuse us, Flurry isn't ready yet, we forgot to buy her diapers." She looked undisguisedly at her husband next to her, who avoided her gaze at all costs.

"Oh." Although he realized what was happening, he ignored it. "It's okay, I can go buy them. You, on the contrary, should leave now; the train will leave in thirty minutes." He entered the room, greeting the baby who was in her crib when he saw her.

"Sure, thank you, and sorry again for bothering you."

"Oh, okay, it wasn't of much importance what was on my agenda this week... Still, hadn't you said that Twilight was going to be free these weeks?"

Upon hearing the question, both rulers looked at each other with insecurity.

Sunburst was always taking care of Flurry Heart, almost making him her official foalsitter; For this reason, not having so much work to do, Twilight had decided to offer to take care of the baby and thus help lighten his load, leaving the unicorn a little more free time.

But with everything that had happened, and Twilight now having the former tyrant of the empire with her, the baby's parents were definitely not going to allow her to be even a single meter close to him.

"Should we tell him?" The prince whispered to his wife.

The stallion in the cape managed to hear.

"Tell me what?" he asked as he lifted the baby with his magic, looking quite confused.

"Uh... You know the story of King Sombra, right?"

"... Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion, the question seemed strange to him, he didn't understand what that had to do with the topic they were discussing.

"He's back, and right now...he's with Twilight."

---

The days had passed quickly, the former king's attitude perhaps was not the best, perhaps he was not the most talkative or the most cheerful pony; but the alicorn felt that in those eight days that had passed, he was already ready to begin his reform.

And that brought her to the first lesson she had decided she would teach the unicorn.

Kindness.

She had been thinking about it for a long time, analyzing what would be the best way and order to teach him the main values ​​that made up friendship, so that by knowing one, it would not be so difficult for him to understand the other.

So she decided on kindness. Without a doubt she was going to need Fluttershy's help, she represented the element of kindness, therefore there was no pony better suited for it.

Even so, the alicorn did not intend to leave all the work to the poor pegasus, who was surely going to be quite nervous and scared; After all, the mission had been granted to Twilight, and neither Fluttershy nor any of her friends had to bear it, so she was only going to ask for some of her help and the rest would try to figure it out by herself.

However, she well understood that she would not be able to make the unicorn learn to be kind in a single day; In fact, she knew that it could take him even months, the values ​​of friendship weren't something that he could just learn, they had to be born from within and put into practice. Just as she had once done.

She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in, heading towards the library, where she knew the stallion was located.

It felt nice to have to go look for him in the library instead of his room; She would never have imagined that he would have any kind of interest in reading, but, ultimately, she had no complaints.

If she had to be honest, she was excited that he was slowly opening up more—even if it had only been one time that they shared a pleasant moment together—, she would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in getting to know him further.

Of course she didn't forget that he was a villain, but, to be fair, she didn't even know why he was evil, she didn't know why he had decided to take that path.

No one becomes evil for no reason, right?

"Sombra?" she called him by his name, quickly capturing his attention.

The unicorn turned to look at her in response, releasing his gaze from the book he was holding.

"I need you to be ready in five minutes, I had already told you that today we would start with your first friendship lesson, right?" She informed him, smiling a little.

The stallion nodded slightly and looked away from her to return to his reading, not seeming to have given it much importance.

Seeing that she would get no verbal response, the alicorn closed the door and headed elsewhere.

She didn't know how things would turn out, but she hoped everything would go as planned.

---

The princess was walking near the Everfree forest with the stallion a few steps behind her, heading towards the yellow pegasus' house.

The day after her friends found out about the mission that had been assigned to her, she had asked Spike to let each of them know that at some point she would come to their houses to ask for their contribution with the friendship lesson of the former king, only she had not told them exactly when.

It was a joy that the little dragon's powers were beginning to grow as he did, he was learning to be able to send more things than just letters, and to more people than just Princess Celestia.

Already finding both ponies in front of the door of the pegasus' house, Twilight sighed, mentally preparing herself and whispering an almost inaudible "Here we go."

She knocked on the door about three times, and it didn't take long for it to be opened, although quite subtly.

Behind the door, a yellow-looking pegasus with pastel pink hair peeked out, hiding behind her mane, like she usually did.

"Yes?"

"Hello, Fluttershy." She greeted with a smile.

"Oh, Twilight," recognizing her made her nerves diminish a little, "it's nice to see you, did you need anything?" Even though the princess was her friend and she trusted her, her tone of voice was still low.

"I'm also glad to see you, and yes. Do you remember when I told everyone that I would probably need their help with the reform of... You know who?" The alicorn lowered her voice more when mentioning the last thing, not wanting to disturb her friend.

"Yes, I remember." The pegasus hadn't actually immediately grasped what the alicorn's words actually meant, but when she did, her nerves visibly tensed.

"Well... " The alicorn left the sentence in the air and pointed to the stallion next to her with a hoof, allowing the silence to complete what she was trying to say.

The pegasus slowly and cautiously opened the door, revealing the terrifying unicorn (according to her).

"I need your help today." The princess kept her smile nervous, not being surprised by the reaction she would immediately get.

---

Well, it hadn't all turned out that bad.

Yes, it's true, Fluttershy had almost fainted three times in a row after seeing King Sombra standing at her door—despite having known in advance that this would happen—but other than that, everything had gone well.

After telling her a few words, and making her understand that the unicorn would not harm her, the pegasus managed to calm down, or at least breathe somewhat normally.

Twilight considered that perhaps it would be somewhat uncomfortable for the three of them to be inside Fluttershy's house, since the main room was somewhat small and with everyone inside, each one's personal space was reduced quite a bit, a situation that would perhaps make things even more uncomfortable for everyone, especially for the pegasus.

So she decided it was best to stay outside.

They had left and walked a little towards a quieter place, almost reaching the edge of the Everfree forest, since the pegasus lived a short distance from it.

They decided to stop when they were under a large tree that covered them well from the sun's rays and provided a peaceful environment.

It didn't take long for an awkward silence to fall between the three ponies.

The alicorn, knowing full well that if she didn't speak no one else would, began.

"First of all, Sombra, this is Fluttershy." She pointed with her hoof to the pony next to her. "She represents the element of kindness."

He only gave her a quick glance, without changing his serious expression.

"Well, Fluttershy, what I would like is for you to explain to Sombra what it means to be kind." The alicorn indicated, smiling to alleviate the anxiety that she felt, expectant of what her friend would respond next.

As she had planned before, she wasn't going to ask much of the pink-haired mare, she knew very well that she was nervous, she understood it and she wasn't going to put too much pressure on her.

She, being the Princess of Friendship, of course knew and could explain kindness; In reality, she could explain any of the five elements, but she felt it was better for the explanation to come from someone more expert on the subject.

The pegasus seemed to doubt what the alicorn said, turning to look at her for a second and then directing her gaze to the stallion in front of her, not being able to muster enough courage to face the strong and expressionless look that the taller one was giving her.

Instead of answering, she just cringed uncomfortably and tried as hard as she could to hide her face in her hair.

"Okay, uh... "The princess said with a little uncertainty when she saw the pegasus' reaction, realizing that (again) she was going to have to help her a little. "Let's see." She directed her gaze to the stallion. "Sombra, what do you know about being kind?"

The aforementioned let out a little air in annoyance, not wanting to answer that, plus it bothered him that the alicorn treated him as if he didn't know what kindness was or any of the other values ​​of friendship, of course he did. He knew and understood what they were, he just didn't put them into practice because he didn't feel like it.

"Being good to others?" He almost drawled his words as he raised an eyebrow, failing to change his serious face and disinterested look.

"Well..." the pegasus muttered, still too self-conscious to stop looking at the ground. "Yes, but actually it's more than just that."

She had been playing with her hoof without even realizing it, this in response to how overwhelmed she felt.
Twilight, noticing this, approached her and tried to comfort her by placing a hoof on her shoulder, silently encouraging her to continue talking.

"Being kind also requires empathy, knowing how to put yourself in the place of others in order to understand their feelings and actions. Sometimes being kind is not easy, there are ponies who can treat you badly, but if you show them a little kindness, they will also show it to you."

"...What if they don't?"

"Well... You can't do anything about that, but at least you will be at peace with yourself knowing that you acted in the right way. Being kind is not only something you do for the sake of others, but also for your own."

The stallion provided no verbal response, and instead only raised an eyebrow in confusion and skepticism.

The pink-haired one noticed this expression and looked away from him again, feeling intimidated and uncomfortable by the stallion's judging gaze.

The alicorn felt a little bad seeing the state her friend was in, so she decided to end everything.

"Okay, Fluttershy, we can finish here. Thank you so much."

The aforementioned only made a barely audible squeak as she nodded her head.

"But I would still like to talk about something else with you." The princess now addressed the unicorn who was still standing there, watching without saying anything at all. "Sombra, stay here please, I'll talk to Fluttershy for a few minutes, I won't be long."

He simply obeyed without responding or refusing.

---

Twilight didn't really know what to think about the unicorn's attitude. He was behaving in some ways very... Different than what she would have thought, so she didn't know whether to feel happy or worried that this was the case.

In other words, she had expected that maybe he would be somehow more arrogant, sarcastic, rude or something.
She had hoped that at least he would say something, but the whole time he was silent, he had a vacant look on his face, he obeyed any order or request she made of him and did not refute it, he was too expressionless.

And she didn't know what to think or what to do against that, it was difficult to read it when all the time he kept the same serious expression.

Still, she trusted herself, she would figure it out, it was her duty.

On the other hand, thoughts very different from those of the princess were not passing through the stallion's head.

It's true that everything he did was to disguise that he was changing, but he didn't know if he was doing a good job. He wasn't quite sure how he should behave, he didn't want to ruin his own façade.

Today, according to the princess, had been his first “friendship lesson”, and of course he wanted to tease and say a few things to that yellow pegasus who was supposedly the “element of kindness.”

He had found it completely pathetic the way an adult pegasus like herself hid behind her own hair and looked like the kind of pony who was scared of her own shadow.

If there was something he couldn't stand, it was weakness. Being weak simply led to ruin, there was nothing more to say.

Despite all that, although he hated to admit it and would never tell anyone, he had found the pegasus somewhat cute, and somehow, attractive. He wasn't going to specify too much, but the way he looked like someone adorable and pure created some interest in the unicorn.

But something inside him told him that it was best not to think about it too much, for some reason he felt that if he did, he would only cause problems for himself.

Having been lost in his thoughts, he did not notice when they approached a restaurant and the alicorn took a seat at one of the tables outside.

"Sit." She suggested with a small smile.

Having obeyed and having already sat down in the chair in front of the alicorn, she placed her hooves on the table, staring at him.

The unicorn, seeing this, imitated her actions.

"Sombra, tell me, what do you think about today's lesson?"

The question took him by surprise, especially since it was clear that he wasn't going to tell her what he really thought about it.

"Uh..." He directed his gaze elsewhere, trying to come up with something convincing. "I don't know."

He wanted to slap himself for his stupid response, knowing that not even by a miracle that would convince the alicorn.

He had to admit that he liked that the princess was smart and not so easy to fool, but in situations like the one he was in, he wished that wasn't the case.

The alicorn sighed somewhat tiredly, of course not having believed the answer she had received, she was aware that the unicorn must have had some thought or opinion while the pegasus explained things to him.

"I need you to be honest, Sombra..." she stopped, seeming to think a little about what she herself had just said. "Well, we haven't had the honesty lesson yet, but it will be next; I know you're not telling the truth."

“Let it be known that you asked for it, Your Highness.”

He thought with some amusement before responding.

"It was stupid."

For the unicorn, the face that the pony in front of him had made was simply priceless, he had to endure the urge to burst out laughing.

"Excuse me?"

Yes, she had asked him to be honest, but he could have been less direct, and a little less rude.

"I just don't make sense of it, why do I have to be good to others if they are not good to me? Why is it wrong that I want to make them feel the same or worse than they made me feel?" The unicorn had risen a little from his chair, raising his voice and being driven by his emotions, without realizing that some ponies around him stopped talking among themselves to focus their attention on him.

The princess understood everything figuratively, but the unicorn certainly complained bringing out the scars that he had been carrying for more than a thousand years.

The simple fact of thinking that, even after everything they had done to him, he had to be good to them, made him feel truly furious. Were they seriously trying to convince him that even though they had been monsters to him just for being different, they deserved to be happy and treated with respect anyway? He wasn't going to accept it, ever.

"Well... " She seemed to be searching for an appropriate response, but the words just didn't come.

"You have no answer because I am right, and there is no way that what you say is sensible." He took a sneaky look at where the other diners were, noticing that they were already starting to talk about him; so he decided to adjust his chair and sit down again, acting as if nothing had happened.

"I'm hungry, did we come here to eat or just so you can ask me stupid questions?" He used a strong and annoyed tone, changing the topic.

"I'll call the waiter to take your order." The princess responded, still being somewhat disoriented by the unicorn's previous words.

After a few minutes of awkward silence had passed, Twilight found the words inside her to speak again.

"We have to be good to others even if they are not good to us. I know that even if you see it as something stupid now, maybe one day you'll understand it better; We don't have to be equal to them, if they are bad, we must be good and show them that this is the correct way of doing things. In addition, we must also keep in mind that no one is perfect, we all make mistakes and have good parts and bad parts; and that's okay, because we can improve." She paused briefly to drink some water from the glass on the table.

"Still, I know that learning to be kind is not something that can be achieved in a day, and it is also of no use to me if you learn to be kind and do it out of obligation instead of really wanting to be, I would like you to be kind in a genuine way."

"You'll have to sit and wait for that to happen." He crossed his arms, indifferent.

The princess was not surprised by his reaction, so she just sighed and smiled lightly.

"What do you say we start with something easy? When the waiter comes to take the order, be polite: say good evening, please, and thank you.

He didn't respond, preferring to keep his gaze away from her.

"I will order my own food, if you are hungry you will have to do what I ask you." She smiled slyly.

He kept his arms crossed, looked at her out of the corner of his eye, annoyed by her ruse, and ended up rolling his eyes and agreeing to her request.

Finally, when the waiter approached the two ponies, the stallion spoke up and ordered what he wanted to eat, using the polite words that the alicorn had suggested.

This had caused a smile from the princess, who was then the next to order.

When they both finished eating they headed directly towards the palace. To her surprise, this lesson had made the day go by so quickly that they hadn't even noticed.

And as much as he hated to admit it, the unicorn had thought deeply about the princess' words.

Comments

[DarkSnowGaming]

Well atleast there starting somewhere.