Chapter 24
Very few things ever stayed the same in Ponyville, but one could always be relied upon: the steady passage of time. The days marched ever onwards in the town, and days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. Foals came and went in the orphanage, Sombra and Redheart continued to date, and Snowflake and Brighter Horizons got engaged.
“Wait, he did what?” Redheart exclaimed, her voice shrill. It was, admittedly, more from excitement than anything else, but the news came as a shock to her. To be fair, she had been less aware of her brother’s personal life after he had moved out, but still. Here before her stood Brighter Horizons, giggling like a schoolfilly, one hoof over her mouth and the other extended to show off the golden engagement band.
“He proposed! It took me completely by surprise,” she squeaked, “The way he did it was adorable, too. He asked Tag-a-long to call him ‘dad’ in front of me, and when I questioned it, you know what she said? ‘Snowflake said I should get some practice in so I don’t make mistakes later.’ Oh Celestia, Redheart, my heart nearly stopped when he pulled out the box. I knew he was a romantic but…”
“Sounds a bit more like ‘over-confident’ than ‘romantic’ to me,” Redheart said with a suppressed laugh, “but I am really, genuinely happy for you. Do you have anything resembling a date in mind?”
“Unfortunately, not even close. He said he’d been thinking about asking me for a while, but only recently had the time to subtly have the bands made,” Brighter explained, still smiling.
“Huh,” Redheart mulled over the news, then shook her head and chuckled. “I figured for sure he would have asked me for advice. I’m glad for you, Brighter, I really am. You’re going to have to tell me just as soon as you know when the wedding will be.”
“Of course, of course,” Brighter said, smile unfading, but finally retracting her leg, “but enough about me. When are you going to ask Sombra?”
“Ask Sombra what?” Redheart asked innocently, but a telltale blush rose in her cheeks. She knew full well what Brighter meant.
“Don’t play the fool with me, Redheart, I know you too well. And you know him too well to expect him to propose to you, surely.”
Redheart’s blush grew greatly, spreading from her cheeks to her ears and neck as well.
“W-well we haven’t even been going out for a year ye-“
“Neither were Snowflake and I. It’s not hard to see the two of you are head over hooves for each other, Redheart. Just something to think about,” Brighter Horizons’ voice flicked up in a playful manner.
“I don’t know,” Redheart said with a sigh. “You’ve got a point… but I don’t know.”
“Hey,” Brighter’s voice dropped a few tones, her smile shrinking, “I was just teasing. I can see how much you two care about each other – everypony can – but the last thing I want is either of you rushing into something you aren’t comfortable with.”
“Well it’s not that I’m not comfortable with the idea of marrying him-” Redheart stopped talking and covered her mouth with a hoof. Brighter’s smile returned in a full-on smirk. “That’s not what I meant!”
“I think it is, dear,” Brighter replied, her voice staggered with laughter.
“Let’s stop talking about me and Sombra,” the earth mare said hurriedly, “You’ll need a dress, and… things!”
“Don’t think this conversation is over,” Brighter’s smirk was practically audible, “but yes, I’m going to need a dress!”
And so the two mares squealed happily at each other, as ponies often do when they are excited.
---
“You did what?” Sombra asked, disbelief all over his face.
“I proposed to Brighter!” Snowflake declared again, just as proudly as the first time. While he wasn’t flaunting it to his friend like his fiancée might have, a golden anklet rested just above the hoof on his left foreleg.
“Wow,” Sombra breathed.
“Yep! Anyways, Sombra,” Snowflake got a little quieter, his smile lessening just a tidbit, “I have to ask you… it’s gonna be a ways off, but do you think you could uh… be my best stallion?”
Sombra waited a moment, until the Pegasus looked back up at him. “I would be honored, Snowflake. You are my best friend, and it would be my utmost pleasure to be your best stallion.”
“Really? Wow, Sombra, that… thank you, really. That’s a bit of a load off my mind.”
“Of course,” Sombra replied, placing a hoof on his friend’s shoulder, “Why would I ever say no?”
Snowflake laughed suddenly, a startlingly abrupt noise. “Believe it or not, that is, word for word, exactly what Brighter said when I asked her to marry me. Hey, speaking of which… you and my sister? Eh?”
“I…” Sombra looked away and frowned for a moment, before turning back to Snowflake with a small smile. “I do not know if either of us are… ready for that yet, but… yes, at some point, it is something I would like to happen.”
“All you gotta do is ask,” Snowflake said, leaning in for a hug, “She’ll say yes. Don’t rush it, though.”
“Yeah,” the unicorn hugged him back, “Thanks.”
“Hey,” Snowflake’s tone had shifted – it was cooler now, questioning. “Isn’t your birthday coming up soon?”
Is it? Sombra thought to himself. He truly had no idea – when was his birthday? Furthermore, how on earth would Snowflake know it?
“Well, not your actual birthday, you know, the day you met Redheart.”
Has it really been nearly a year?
“Yeah,” Snowflake continued to think aloud, almost as though he could hear Sombra’s thoughts, “Should be just a couple weeks away. Anything you want?”
“Anything I want?”
“Yeah, for your birthday.”
“Why would I want something for my birthday?”
“Okay, I’d forgive you if it hadn’t been so long and it was some Crystal Empire thing,” Snowflake shook his head, “and I went to Manehattan with Brighter on my birthday. But Sombra, you were here for Redheart’s birthday. You went on a date that night. You got her something, didn’t you?”
“She…” Sombra quieted, thinking back, “She never mentioned anything of the sort. Even that night, we got dinner together and she insisted she pay.”
Snowflake groaned and smacked a forehoof over his face and groaned. “Okay, so,” he started, “In Equestria, in these times, it’s considered customary to give a pony a gift on their birthday. It doesn’t have to be much, but generally the closer you are to the pony in question, the nicer the gift. My sister can be a little… too nice sometimes, you know?”
“It was technically my turn to pay either way, so it was a little odd that she was so insistent.”
“You can be a bit clueless sometimes, you know?”
“In situations where the customs have changed dramatically, yes, I am,” Sombra said, a hint of annoyance in his voice, but a smirk on his face. “Speaking of which, what exactly is that ridiculous golden band on your leg?”
“It’s… it’s an engagement band,” Snowflake explained, notes of incredulity playing into his speech, “Even those were different back in the Crystal Empire?”
Sombra nodded. “Gold was – and most likely still is – incredibly rare in the north. Silver, on the other hoof, was much more plentiful. Most jewelry was made of silver with inlaid crystals or gemstones. The traditional marriage proposal was in the form of a pair of earrings, each bestowed with a gem the color of the other partner’s eyes. For example, yours and Brighters – you would have had one with a pale emerald, or perhaps peridot, and Brighter would have worn one with a ruby. The tradition stemmed from an old myth of two lovers who became one in body and soul from a pair of enchanted earrings,” Sombra sighed, “Though I suppose, much like so many other things, that information was lost with the disappearance of the Crystal Empire.”
“Okay, Sombra, listen to me – it doesn’t have to be soon, perhaps it won’t be ever. But if – if you propose to my sister, you have to do it with earrings like that,” Snowflake was leaned in close to him now, “There’s a pony named Sterling who owns a silversmith shop, you can talk to him. Redheart would adore that, Sombra.”
“I will certainly keep that in mind,” Sombra replied, nodding.
“Great,” Snowflake stood and turned to leave, but stopped on the threshold of the door. “Wait, what did ponies do for their birthdays in the Crystal Empire?”
“In truth, very little,” the unicorn answered, “I held an open banquet on the anniversary of my father’s birth each year after he had passed on, but even that was considered most unusual.”
“You guys had some weird traditions, you know that?”
“I could say the same to you,” Sombra teased.
Snowflake frowned slightly and shrugged. “Fair enough. Anyways, see ya later!”
“See you later.”
---
Sure enough, a couple more weeks passed, and Sombra woke up in the warm embrace of Nurse Redheart. It was a Monday, yet he was not scheduled to work today. He briefly wondered why, but accepted the time off readily enough and decided to simply lie still and wait for his marefriend to wake up.
“Good morning,” she said, apparently already awake. Redheart leaned over and gently placed a kiss on his forehead. “Happy birthday.”
“Hmm?” he grunted, sitting up.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s your actual birthday,” Redheart sat up next to him and threw her forehooves over his shoulders, “but a year ago today is when we met. I figured since you never mentioned your real birthday, you might have forgotten and so I decided to go with today. That seem alright?”
“I won’t object,” Sombra said with a smile, taking her hoof in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze. This was… very nice. This was something Sombra would love to wake up to every morning. “Redheart…”
“Hmm?” the mare hummed, and Sombra turned around. She cocked her head to the side and smiled at him as he took both of her forehooves in his own.
“Would you…” No, no, this isn’t how you do that.
“Yes?”
“… mmmmmm…” no, no, Sombra, no, “…mmmind if I went out for a bit? I have a quick errand I need to attend to.” Nice save, genius.
Redheart pouted playfully and arched an eyebrow. “You sure that’s the question you had in mind?”
“Yes,” Sombra lied with a smile on his face.
“Alright then. You should probably take a shower before you head out, though.”
“Yeah, of course,” the unicorn replied, rolling out of the bed and heading towards the bathroom.
---
Sombra trotted happily across town. It was a pleasant day – the air was cool, but the clouds were few and the sun was warm, and a light breeze ruffled his mane. He wasn’t sure exactly where he was going, but he had committed to the excuse now and there was no sense in going back on it. As he walked through the town, he found himself idly glancing at shop names as he went. One in particular caught his eye – and brought up a memory.
“Hello?” Sombra asked tentatively as he pushed the door open and stepped inside, “The sign said you were open.”
A pony popped up from behind the counter, a pale blue Pegasus with a short, well-kept black mane. In his mouth he held a cleaning cloth, though what exactly he’d been polishing was not apparent.
“What the sign said is very true, my friend,” he offered happily. His voice was loud and a little harsh, but his tone seemed happy enough. “What can I help you with?”
“Well,” Sombra started, a little embarrassed even though he knew there was no reason for the feeling, “I… am planning on proposing to my marefriend soon, and-”
“And you need a ring!” the Pegasus interrupted cheerfully, “Excellent, I am glad to have your business kind sir. Not many ponies spring for silver nowadays, gold is much more the thing to do, but nonetheless, here you are! Wonderful, I have a broad selection of engagement rings and bands. Unicorn?”
“Earth pony,” Sombra said, “Though I wasn’t quite thinking of a… ring, or band.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, there is… an old family tradition of proposing with earrings,” Sombra explained, “I was wondering if perhaps you had some that could be set with gemstones.”
“Oh, a wonderful old family tradition,” the pastel stallion replied with a wink, pointing a hoof at him, “Very unique, very unique indeed. Oh! I’m terribly sorry, I never introduced myself. My name is Sterling, and welcome to Sterling’s International Silver Items Shop,” he said, stepping out from behind the counter and walking over to shake Sombra’s hoof. “May I ask your name?”
“I am Sombra, it is a pleasure to meet you,” the unicorn replied, accepting the smaller Pegasus’ hoofshake. He noticed the pony seemed to have a bow-and-arrow cutie mark, to his momentary confusion, but he decided not to make a point of it.
“A pleasure to meet you as well, sir. Here, right this way, we have earrings over here,” Sterling continued, leading the dark pony across the room to a different jewelry case. “Please, take all the time you need.”
“Thank you, Sterling,” Sombra nodded, and once again the Pegasus disappeared behind the counter, taking up the cleaning cloth again. Sombra looked down at the case, examining each pair in turn. They were all nice, very nice, but a little too… ornamental for what he had in mind. They were just a little too detailed, too delicate. The earrings in the Empire had always been much simpler, though time, technique, and technology had changed, and perhaps the simpler designs had been more due to necessity and had stuck as a cultural point. Still, fine as they were, none of them seemed quite… right. “Mister Sterling?” Sombra asked, looking back around to where he had last seen the other pony.
“Find something that caught your eye, or might catch the eye of the lucky lady?” Sterling appeared suddenly from behind the counter, smiling brightly.
“Not… exactly,” Sombra said with a small frown, trying his best not to hurt the stallion’s feelings.
“Oh?” Sterling’s face fell a little, but he kept a polite smile on.
“Though,” Sombra continued, and Sterling did his best to hide a quizzical tilt of his head, “the craftsponyship is fantastic. Would it be possible to commission something to be made, rather than purchase something already here?”
Sterling blinked. He had never considered offering to do work on commission before, but he couldn’t think of a valid reason to say no. “I certainly could,” he said, “Though it wouldn’t exactly be cheap.”
Sombra’s horn ignited briefly, retrieving his bit-purse from his mane. The small pouch bulged with the coins within – while working at the orphanage was perhaps not the most lucrative job opportunity in Ponyville, as he had predicted, his living expenses were extremely minimal, and it left him with a fairly significant collection of spending money. “Looking at the prices of your other earrings, double, or even triple the cost should not be an issue.”
Sterling’s eyes widened. “I’ll have some preliminary designs drawn up for you tomorrow. If any of them strike your fancy, I believe a down payment of one-half the total cost would be fair. Does that seem agreeable to you?”
“Absolutely,” Sombra said, retracting his bit purse and turning to the door. “Thank you kindly, Mister Sterling.”
“It will be a pleasure doing business with you, sir.”
Sombra stepped back out into the day. It hard turned out, truly, to be a quick errand. He inhaled deeply. It was going to be soon now, soon he would ask her, and, with more than a bit of luck, soon she’d say yes. Soon-
“Get out of the way!”
Sombra, in all his life, had never found a more apt use for the word ‘bellowed.’ The deep, booming voice that could only belong to Big Macintosh was far, far louder than he had ever heard before. He looked up in alarm, finding the large red earth pony standing atop a hill, breathing heavily.
“Get out of the way!” Macintosh yelled again, starting down the hill at a full sprint. Ahead of him, a cart full of apples – full was an understatement, actually, a cart overflowing with apples sped down the hill towards the town. A piece of loose rope trailed from behind it; apparently whatever the earth stallion had been hauling it by had broken.
Hearing the cries of warning, Sombra dutifully stepped to the side of the road, preparing for the runaway cart to pass by. As he did, though, something caught his eye – a ball rolled past his legs and into the road. Shortly behind it, a small, slate blue Pegasus followed it. For a moment, Sombra thought nothing but questions as to what the colt’s name might be. Something with a T. Thunder… Thunderstruck? No. Thunderbolt? No, that’s not it. Thunderlane?
“Rumble!”
Oh right, Thunderlane was the older brother; Rumble- is about to be hit by an apple cart. Time felt slow – Sombra looked to his right, seeing the cart careening down the street. To his left, Rumble was picking up his ball and looking forward to realize the situation he was in. His tiny wings began to buzz to life, but there was no way he could get out of the way in time. Sombra would never reach him either, unless...
Come on, please, please work, Sombra thought, concentrating. He felt the world begin to suck away from him, much less unpleasant to do himself than to have it done to him. As he teleported, the world faded out, then faded in once more, shifted just slightly. He reappeared with a pop, displacing the pony he materialized onto. Rumble was cannoned out of the way as a much more massive pony decided it was now his turn to occupy this location in space, sliding face-first out of the way of the cart. Sombra’s teleportation had been a little rushed, and, admittedly, he didn’t know exactly how to do it, so for his part he merely felt himself move something else, but was far too disoriented to tell exactly what it had been. His vision snapped back to him and he saw the little colt well away from him. A triumphant smile spread across Sombra’s face. Yes! I-
---
Sombra blinked, tried to open his eyes, and squinted. The light was harsh, far too cool to be outside. Where am I? he thought. He tried to bring a hoof up to cover his eyes, but found it restricted, feeling almost tied down. The air wasn’t right, either. It was too… sharp. What was I… what was I doing? How did I get here? I… I had just visited Sterling, and I walked outside, and – oh, the apple cart. That must have been what happened. I… he rolled his head to the side, eyes finding nothing but the inoffensive pastel green walls. He groaned, and rolled his head to the other side. Three ponies sat there, bearing distinctly different expressions.
Farthest from him sat Rumble. The little Pegasus was looking away, but his jaw quivered and his eyes were moist. Next to him sat Thunderlane, the gray Pegasus’ face set. He looked as though he had been scolding the child. Closest to him, mouth twisted and scrunched up in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to be angry, sat Nurse Redheart.
“Hello,” Sombra grumbled weakly, “How long was I-”
“Less than a day,” Redheart snapped, before her anger broke. “You… you’re going to be okay,” she said, her voice much calmer now, just a hint of concern floating in it, “You’re just going to need to recover here a for a day or two while your bones set and heal. Unicorn magic only goes so far with healing things, you are going to need a bit of rest.”
Sombra merely grunted a surprised response.
“When… when you jumped in front of the apple cart, both of your right legs were broken, as was your jaw. You shattered four of your ribs, and three of your vertebrae were cracked. Doctor Windsor said if you’d been any pony else you probably would have…” Redheart trailed off, feeling her throat begin to tighten, but refusing to let herself get choked out, “On your own birthday, you almost got yourself killed on your own birthday!”
“Sorry,” Sombra groaned, “I’ll try to do better with that next time,” he laughed at his own joke, but it only hurt. “Ow.”
“Come on, Rumble,” Thunderlane patted his little brother on the back, encouraging some dialogue from him.
“I-I-I’m sorry,” Rumble struggled out, clearly on the verge of tears. He didn’t look at Sombra.
“Are you hurt?” the unicorn asked slowly, trying not to breathe in too much, but craning his neck to look straight at the foal.
“Huh?” Rumble looked up at him now, eyes wide.
“Are you hurt?” Sombra repeated himself, staring intently at the child.
“N-no, thanks to you,” he responded shakily.
“Excellent,” Sombra thought aloud, and relaxed back into his pillow and exhaled loudly, “I accomplished the task I set out to, then.”
“Mister Sombra!” Thunderlane objected, leaning forward and cuffing Rumble’s head lightly.
“Foals do dumb things sometimes. Adults do dumb things sometimes. Something very dangerous happened, and, while perhaps I did not walk away from the accident, nopony was permanently injured,” Sombra paused for a moment and looked at Redheart, “Right?”
Redheart huffed and crossed her forelegs. “Right.”
“Right,” Sombra continued, looking back at the brothers, “I call it a good day. It could have been a lot worse.”
“Yeah, I suppose…” Thunderlane looked down at his hooves, “You aren’t mad?”
“Of course not,” Sombra said, “Why would I be? I achieved exactly what I set out to – saving the life of your brother. Now if I have to do it again…” he trailed off, chuckling.
“Yeah, he’ll be much more careful when he’s playing with his ball next time, won’t he?”
“Yes, Thunderlane. Sorry Mister Sombra.”
“Please, I insist – do not worry about it. Just be careful, that is all I can ask of you.”
Rumble nodded and smiled, grunting acknowledgement.
“Come on, let’s get home,” Thunderlane said quietly, standing up from the chair, “Thank you for looking out for my brother, Sombra.”
Sombra nodded, and watched until the two Pegasi were outside his field of vision, listening for the telltale click of the door as they left. When the door closed again and their hoofsteps faded, he sighed heavily, and looked over at Redheart.
“I promise I’ll do better with the whole ‘almost dying’ thing.”
“This is twice in a year now.”
“The first time was hardly my fault.”
“Granted, but – ugh,” Redheart groaned, and leaned over to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re going to be alright.”
“As am I,” Sombra replied, content with the warmth on his cheek, “I would for sure miss this in the afterlife.”
Redheart blushed and promptly changed the subject. “When did Twilight teach you to teleport? I thought only very powerful unicorns could do that.”
“According to her I am an exceptionally powerful unicorn,” the black stallion explained, “She hasn’t officially taught me, though. I saw it in a book and I’ve seen her do it several times, so I took a few guesses. Apparently I didn’t get it quite right, as most of the reason I didn’t have time to get out of the way was my inability to tell up from down when I reappeared.”
“You big idiot.”
“I try.”
Sombra laughed weakly, and Redheart joined him.
“Well, happy birthday Sombra.”
“Thank you, Redheart.”
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Let's play a game called spot the reference(s)! Whoever spots them all wins a thumbs up from me, and maybe Vash as well.
Thanks for the chapter!
After saving Rumble's life and nearly getting killed in the process, the other elements better give him a goddamn chance!
He's the hero Ponyville deserves, but not the one it needs right now because he's laid up in the hospital recuperating.
I am having so many feels right now, I really needed that. And hooray for a new chapter!
Sterling Archer, really?
The ancient Crystal Empire had the potara from DBZ?
Nice DBZ reference
5850921
fuck u i was gonna! ;A;
Nice chapter.
+
5851044 Ah, thank you sir.
Realized the Archer reference...could only read Sterling's lines in Jon Benjamin's voice afterwards...
The "tell up from down" part seems familiar. Was it a reference?
5850410 We need a sexy nurse scene stat!
5851592
Wouldn't Redheart fit that description in this story? Not only is there a sexy nurse, there's a sexy nurse on call that doubles as the protagonist's marefriend.
5851693 Kinda what was going for. I didn't realize that he meant elements as THE Elements, rather than elements as "luck" or "fate".
Didn´t he already asked her? I mean well, it was part of some tradition, but i guess it would be Redhearts turn to ask him back.
It is a bit soon for the marriage i guess, but then again it is better then a timeskip.
I liked this chapter really much, i don´t like Snowflake as much as other characters, but i really liked his idea, well it was something new, but i don´t know if his answer made much sense, i mean as he gave her the ring.
Somehow i want another Nurse to try to seduce him, and the moment she should try something serious Redheard should come in. It woule be probably really funny if they would have a little fight.
5851221 You're really that upset that I made the DBZ joke before you could? Seriously?
Sterling's ISIS?
5852315 To what part, my good man?
I honestly thought Sombra was going to get his cutie mark.
Adorable, with just the right amount of 'oh Sombra' mixed in.
The comments found some of the references for me
5850896
5852004
GAH! It took reading both of your comments for me to get the reference. I've watched everything they have of that series on netflicks, I can't believe I didn't catch that reference...
Please tell me his mom has a dog named Duchess.
5851994
You can't realize this is a joke? Really?
5854808 Please tell me how telling someone to go fuck themselves is a joke.
5854817
Are you offended that easily?
Well, sorry. i'm used to it since my familiy does it all the time.
Imagine being waken up to the sound of your mother's voice yelling angrily at you.
or something like that. It's the best i can quote since i have another language and my mom yells at me in spanish and her well versed tonge in the arts of bad words are fantastic!
5854844 I'm not so much offended as much as I'm confused because I don't see how that's a joke, I don't see where the humor in that is.
5854929
Prettending to be upset is the joke so you would follow the game and so on. But it fails duo not knowing and actually ending in tears sometimes
Best birthday ever.
And stuff.
Earrings like these?
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonball/images/4/41/YellowPotara.png/revision/latest?cb=20110727230144
Sombra learned teleport.
My only complaint about this chapter is Thunderlane getting mad at this brother. It's not his fault that the apple cart was rolling down the hill that fast. It makes no sense that he would get in trouble for almost getting into a accident.
5859335 It was Big Mac's fault! HE tried To Kill The King! Execute Him! 9Not seriously, just for fun.)
Nice chapter I been putting this thing on hold for days! XD Sombra do not die on youre birthday I think youre marefreind wouldn't be very happy.
and have you ever wished you can double like a story?
So, Snowflake said this to himself?
5868484 In the context of the story that was quoting what Tag-a-long said to brighter asked
He should have just stopped the apple cart with his magic!
Sweet chapter as usual. I do hope they aren't rushing this wedding thing but hey they're both great couples.
5899780 he can't really call on it easily right now.
How did he almost die the first time? I forgot.
5909905
He barely was able to teleport yet alone react and stop it.
You need some practice