Shy Can See

by Evehly

First published 1st of February, 2016

Fluttershy receives word that she is bestowed the honor of reforming the tyrannical ruler of a northern empire.

It wasn't long after Sombra's defeat that he was found in the outskirts of the frozen north, regenerated from his dismembered horn, but too weak to do anything more than stay in hiding and hope to make a full recovery. Princess Celestia was swiftly alerted of his re-appearance, and the dethroned king was dragged away from the north to be kept prisoner in the Canterlot Castle.

After weeks of planning, the princess called Fluttershy to Canterlot and bestowed upon her the task of reforming yet another foe. If there was anypony who could have some influence on such a vile overlord, it was her.

Fluttershy, however, wasn't nearly as certain of herself. Discord was so much different; he was so much easier. Back then, she had the elements of harmony at her disposal. but now, living in the Canterlot Castle with not a fellow element for miles, King Sombra was an entirely different story.

---

This fic is a redo of the first fanfic I've ever posted on Fimfiction.
Editor: m1ntf4n. Shower him with much love and admiration.

Chapter 1

Cold, damp, and most importantly: unknown. The lack of ventilation in the air suffocated him mercilessly; there was nothing he could do about it. There was nothing he could do about anything, really.

He was at the mercy of the voices.

Every once in awhile, just before the deafening absence of sound would take its toll on his sanity, Sombra would hear voices slice through the stale silence, distant and muffled as they’d gibber to one another from behind what best sounded like an obstruction such as a wall or a door. It was uncertain what these voices were saying. If he was conscious enough, he could catch a few fragments of a sentence and maybe even piece them together. He could never catch much, but there was one word that he caught far too often for his liking.

Celestia.

In conjunction with these unknown voices would be the faint smell of fear, but it didn’t take an incarnation of fear such as himself to realize something so obvious. It could be heard as well: the subtle quiver and stutter of one of the voices, each pause containing a long, shaky inhale before continuing.

How long he had been trapped deep within his own mind, he had long since lost track. All he could feel was cold uneven stone underneath him and frigid undisturbed air above him. Everything else was numb. Perhaps his nerves hadn’t fully regenerated yet. He had no clue where he was, and he probably wasn’t going to find out for quite some time. He couldn’t talk, he couldn’t move, and he couldn’t even open his damn eyes. All he really could do was breath and listen. But even breathing was a bit of a challenge; something was wrapped uncomfortably tight around his neck, constricting his trachea like a relentless snake.

An echoing click, then a slow scraping noise of metal dragging across stone caught his attention. He heard that noise rarely. The voices were much closer now, and much clearer.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

The quiet yet echoing sound of hoofsteps came to a halt directly in front of him.

“Um... H-hi, Sombra.” It was a quiet, breathy voice which presumably belonged to a mare, and it was dripping with fear. “I don't know i-if you can hear m-me right now, but my name is Fluttershy.”

It was a name he hadn't heard before in his time, nor a voice that he could attach a familiar face to. It didn’t matter anyhow. All he wished for was freedom from this uneventful torment chipping away at his brain as time crawled by.

“I hope I'm not annoying you by being here or anything, but I-I’m here to help you. I can't do much to help right now though, since you're not even awake, but once you are…”

So he was correct on his assumption of unconsciousness. What was left to be answered was where in tartarus he was. He assumed a dungeon of some sort, given the deathly quiet ambience looming around him. It was all too familiar.

“...I know you must not be too happy right now, all chained up down here and everything, but i-if you don't mind me helping you, you can get out of those chains.”

Bound in chains as well. Fantastic. He was becoming surer than ever of his assumed location, but where was this dungeon? Princess Celestia’s castle, perhaps. He never once thought he’d be outside of the frozen north—assuming that he was indeed in foreign territory—in a condition better than death. After all those years of tyranny, he thought that Celestia and her sister would outright kill him upon discovering his dismembered horn, but apparently they had other, more tortuous plans.

He remained engulfed in his own mindscape as the voice continued to so quietly chat away about nothing he’d ever care about. Those sentient piles of garbage colonizing the Crystal Empire were basking in the putrid light of freedom as he laid in some unknown torture chamber to rot for the rest of eternity. The princesses had no clue of the crimes they were committing through simply allowing them freedom.

Imbeciles. All of them.

His thoughts briefly snapped back to the Fluttershy pony. How long had she been talking? Could have been a few minutes, could have been a few hours. He no longer had much of a perception of time. But eventually the voice faded away into nothingness after a few moments longer of unimportant blabber. Silence reigned control over his cell once more, and he was alone again.

But as the gears of time turned painfully slowly, the mare would return from time to time and make one-sided conversation with him. She would walk into his prison, she would say plenty of pointless things, she would eventually leave, and then the process would start all over again after so many days of silence. Sombra had soon forgotten her name, feeling no need to remember. He could neither recall much of what the voice had been saying to him during all that time. He didn't bother trying to remember that either.

Very talkative the owner of that voice was. Talkative, yet so oddly fearful in contrast. Something — or somepony—had to have been forcing her to talk.

It had been just before the mare’s tenth visit that something out of the usual occurred. After so long of thinking that perhaps his absence of vision was an eternal inconvenience, he could draw back his eyelids and take in his unknown surroundings. And what he saw was somewhat what he had anticipated.

Grey and brown.

Everything around him was a haze, but one thing was certain: he was boxed in by four barren walls of cracked stone, all a depressing shade of grey and brown. Directly across from him was a large door of metal, and above him a small, blurry ball of light that flickered on and off. There was nothing more to look at.

Although Sombra was in fact in a prison, he had expected to be contained in a room that was a little more heavy with defense. Instead what he had been thrown into was just some stone room with nothing but a door to keep him from the outside. His anonymous captors were underestimating him.

Upon looking down at his hooves, he noticed the absence of his greaves. He slowly raised one stiff foreleg and felt his chest. No chestplate. He couldn’t feel a cape over his back nor crown on his head, either. Damn them.

The crippling agony of hunger and thirst soon came to the forefront of his mind, and his stomach growled to the point where it could echo off the walls. Nothing to quell his hunger or quench his thirst for over a thousand years...

The door slowly screeched open, and somepony walked inside. The pony now in his presence froze just before reach and stared wide-eyed for a moment before speaking.

“O-oh, you’re awake,” she stammered.

Sombra had finally gotten the chance to see the face of the voice after all that time. He kept his blurry gaze on the dimly-lit body: a puny yellow figure with a pink mane and tail. She was the smallest splash of color amidst the corroding greys and browns. Was this speck of a pony truly his captor?

She crept a little closer. “Can you speak?”

Could he? It wasn’t until he considered making an attempt that he discovered his parched throat, about as desolate as the deserts of Arabia.

He flexed his muscles in an attempt to stand. A low, brittle growl of agony escaped his lips as his body only twitched and quivered.

The mare inched even closer in response to his pain, close enough for him to make out her tiny feminine muzzle and large turquoise eyes. “Oh goodness! Are you okay?”

No, were his eyes playing tricks on him? This had to have been a child that Sombra’s eyes were laid upon! He could see no aged features, sense nothing more than sheer vulnerability! Her gaze screamed innocence at the very top of its lungs! This couldn’t have been the one who had imprisoned him. There had to have been somepony else!

Sombra gulped down nothing but air. His barren throat promptly screamed in pain. “Tell me... how I got here.”

“P-Princess Celestia found you. She took you and brought you here, to the Canterlot Castle.”

He groaned from the news. Celestia was like a vicious plague that kept coming back. No matter how many times he had fended her and her sister off from dooming his empire, they would always return another day.

Something shifted against the pony's sides. Were those... wings? The filly was a pegasus; an unusually small one at that. It had been so long since he had last seen a pegasus pony—so long in fact that he had nearly forgotten their existence.

He squinted his eyes in hopes that he could receive a more detailed look of her. He could remember this pegasus’s face upon closer inspection. She looked so… familiar.

“Is something wrong?” she whispered.

“I remember you…”

“From the Crystal Empire, right?”

Sombra gave a lazy hum of confirmation, but had he not seen this pegasus pony some other time? The eyes, the coat, the wings… There was a tremendous sense of déjà vu on this filly.

He could recall seeing other ponies that stood out from the Crystal Ponies as well: a pink earth mare, a lavender unicorn that set one of his traps off—definitely the most memorable one—and some others that he couldn't quite remember the appearances of.

So this pegasus was who Celestia had chosen. It was clear that she was bestowing a child the task of taking out an immortal overlord to rip him of what little pride he had left. She truly did despise him with ever-growing severity.

“Get on with it, then,” Sombra spat in a single dwindling breath. Talking was already deteriorating him of the little energy he had. “Just be swift. I have waited far too long for this welcoming serenity.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Do your worst, peasant.”

“I… I don’t u-understa—”

“Kill me!” he snapped.

The pegasus was quick to appear appalled by his demand. She stumbled out of the flickering ceiling light, engulfed back into the shadows of his cell. "N-no, no! That's not what I'm here for at all!"

“Pathetic.” The former king snorted bitterly and shut his eyes. A useless pegasus. He knew what he had coming to him, he just didn't know when it would come. Whether it be through civil execution or agonizing torture, his final destination would be Tartarus.

***

It had been two painfully slow weeks since Princess Celestia had called Fluttershy to Canterlot. She had toughed her way through reforming Discord, and since she had succeeded in turning him from a cruel embodiment of chaos to a... less cruel embodiment of chaos, the princess somehow thought she could do the same for a big, scary, soulless dictator of an empire, too.

If only Fluttershy was even half as confident in herself.

When she had read that first letter from the princess, telling her about the stallion locked down in the dungeons and what she wanted her to come to Canterlot to do, the pegasus was scared. After seeing that same stallion wake up for the first time since arriving in Canterlot, she was downright terrified. That marked the real beginning of the reformation process. From that point on, Fluttershy had to start making moves. But all she wanted to do was run back to her cottage, hide under the covers of her bed and wait for everything to just magically resolve themselves. But she knew that'd be selfish of her. She was fully aware of what the princess would have to do with Sombra if she decided to back out. If Fluttershy wasn't going to step up and help him, nopony was.

It was nighttime, and Fluttershy locked herself in her guest room to try and catch up on some sleep. She didn’t know why she still bothered after so long of hardly being able to. Two weeks of living in the castle and she had only managed to fall asleep a hoofful of times. Her repeating nightmares about Sombra somehow breaking out of the dungeons wouldn’t let her rest for long, if at all.

But really, was it so irrational to be so afraid? She still couldn’t quite believe how intact Sombra’s body was after seeing him be practically obliterated just a year ago! He looked far from completely healed, but regardless of that, he still seemed perfectly capable of doing some damage. After seeing the Crystal Heart shatter him into pieces, just about everypony thought that was it for him. But a year was all it took for Sombra to be found in the Crystal Mountains: alive but too weak to put up a fight. Over the year that he was presumed dead, he’d apparently been slowly regenerating from his horn.

It was a scary thought, really. If the princesses hadn’t bothered to scavenge the frozen north for his remains, who knows what damage Sombra would have done once he had completely regenerated.

There was no way Fluttershy was going to get any shuteye with all these thoughts running through her head. All she ever thought about was Sombra this and Sombra that. She wished she could be more like Rainbow Dash: brave, daring and carefree. Maybe then she wouldn’t have been up all night every night fearing for the day that Sombra somehow escaped.

Fluttershy sat up in bed and reached for the letter that her friends had written to her about a week ago. She read it maybe five times already, but the reassuring words always helped calm her down at least a little bit.

Dear Fluttershy,

Me and the rest of the girls hope you’re doing okay on your own. I’m still in the process of convincing Princess Celestia to let us come over and help you, but I’m afraid to say that it's becoming an uphill battle at this point.

In the meantime, try not to stress yourself out too much on the whole situation. If you were able to pull a trainwreck like Discord together, then I’m sure that you can do the same for King Sombra.

Stay strong and make sure to keep in touch with us along the way! We’re always open to listen.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

She smiled, set the letter back down on the nightstand and buried her muzzle into the sheets. She was fortunate to have such good friends. It was uncertain to her whether or not somepony like Sombra was even capable of being helped, but with the motivation of her friends, she felt like she could accomplish even the most impossible of things. Besides, there's nothing about a pony's personality that can't be worked on, even if that personality is filled with characteristics like mean, dispassionate, cruel... perverse...

Sadistic…

She really wasn't doing herself any favors by thinking about him.

Tomorrow was another day—a much more terrifying, dangerous day. She couldn't risk dozing off or letting her guard down amidst the presence of a volatile criminal. She needed to get some sleep.

You can do this, Fluttershy. The sooner he’s is all taken care of and reformed, the sooner you can go back home.

Chapter 2

As per usual since showing up to the castle, Fluttershy hardly got much sleep. And of the few hours that she actually was asleep, she spent the majority plagued with nightmares. Normally this wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but today she had to be alert and on her guard for her visit with Sombra. However, she wasn’t so sure that she’d hold it out for the entire visit. Visions of all the potential horrors that could arise upon letting her guard down for even a moment chilled her to the very bone.

She pulled herself out of bed with about as much grace as a drunkard. Eyes droopy, head down, and body hunched, she stumbled into the bathroom for a long shower. While she knew she couldn’t evade her visit with Sombra forever, she took as much time as she pleased in the bathroom to brush her teeth and detangle her mane. Her appetite wasn’t present that morning, but she welcomed any possible reason for her to stall for a few more minutes and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

With a small bowl cereal balancing on her wing, Fluttershy took a seat at an empty table far from the staff ponies. Her chair was facing away from everypony else, momentarily freeing her from the slew of eyes that always seemed to stick to her wherever she went.

Ever since first arriving at the castle to begin her task of reforming Sombra, almost everypony she passed by seemed to have something to say under their breath. Whether it was positive or negative, Fluttershy could never tell. But regardless of what everypony was saying, the fact that they were talking about her at all was enough to worry the pegasus. She was always so used to fading into the background and being ignored by everypony. Now it was like she was the constant center of attention.

After her meal, she begrudgingly began her trip to the dungeons for yet another day with Sombra.

Looking outside the windows as she made her way to her destination never failed to lift her mood at least a little bit. Clear blue sky, sunshine cascading down on the Canterlot gardens, and the distant singing of birds put a smile on her worn face. For just a moment, it took her mind off of the task at hoof and calmed her down. But as she neared her destination, the windows became more scarce, and the smile gradually faded from her lips. Darker and darker her surroundings grew as she descended the spiraling steps into the lowest levels of the dungeon. There were no windows to the outside world—just murkiness and eerie silence.

The guards stationed outside Sombra’s cell acknowledged the little yellow pegasus with a nod and undid the series of locks from the door. They ushered her inside as though they had no worries about her safety and locked her in without a single word exchanged. No turning back now.

Sombra remained motionless on the other side of the lifeless stone room. He was still held in thick metal shackles, still grimy and unkempt, and still laying in the exact same position that she last saw him in. Every breath out of his mouth sounded heavy and exhausted.

Seeing his eyes shut made her rethink what she was going to do. She considered leaving and coming back when he was awake, but that only meant unproductive hours that she’d have to make up later. With how much she missed her animal friends already, she wanted to be done with this just-beginning nightmare as quickly as possible.

Slowly Fluttershy crept towards him with as much caution in her step as a cat's. The inhibitor ring on his horn—the only thing really keeping him from making an escape—reflected her terrified face as she made her way towards him. Did he really need his magic to escape? The princess had sworn up and down that Sombra was in too poor a condition to hurt anypony, but she still had her doubts. His muscular body made him appear as though he could rip the chains right out of the stone wall without an issue. Not only that, but he still had the sharp tip of his horn and his fangs at his disposal if she ever got too close.

“Um, S-Sombra?”

No response.

She shuffled a little closer, but she didn't dare touch him. Even the slightest touch could result in a trip to the infirmary, or even worse: the grave. “Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?”

Oh what was she saying, of course he was okay. Maybe this was just some trick to get her within reach. Then he could easily snag her, bite her, kill her…!

She scrambled back and cowered against the door. Just stay as far away from him as possible. He can't get you from here, she thought.

Her scramble for safety was loud enough to wake the sleeping beast. His head lifted and swiveled towards her so quick that she nearly choked on her own saliva. He regarded her presence with nothing more than an icy, dead stare.

Say something, Fluttershy. You can't let him know you're scared.

“O-Oh, hello, Sombra. Are you feeling well?”

He simply bored through her very soul with his blood-red, soulless eyes. His stare alone was enough to take the color right out of Fluttershy's dandelion coat.

“Di-Did you sleep okay?” she asked. “I personally slept pretty good last night. Almost didn't even get out of bed this morning. Heh… H-Heh…”

“You look tired,” the stallion pointed out.

“Really? W-Well that's—”

Her sentence died far in the back of her throat at the wicked smirk on Sombra's face. His fangs gleamed in the dim dungeon light, sending Fluttershy's blood cold. “Keep your guard up, pegasus…”

Fluttershy swallowed the lump clinging to her throat. “O-Oh trust me, it-it’s up. So, um… did you get enough sleep last—?”

His grin suddenly vanished. “I did not,” Sombra grumbled. Just like that, the wickedness in his demeanor was gone. What remained was his usual fatigued self.

Fluttershy scooted back a little ways. “Oh, I-I’m sorry.” Hearing his voice sound so strained made her feel kind of bad for starting up a conversation. The metal collar locked around his neck didn’t look at all comfortable.

She started digging in her mind for something else to say. Driving conversations wasn’t at all her specialty. She was far more of a listener, if anything. But if she was going to try to help this dethroned king, she was obviously going to have to put a lot more effort in.

With a quick breath to try and keep her shaky voice under control, she began. "So, um, Sombra... That's an interesting name."

Seeing him raise an eyebrow at her made her think she had said something wrong.

"But th-that's not to say that it's not a nice name!" she added hastily. "I like it. How'd you get it?"

"It is what my mother named me. Need I tell you more?"

The irritation in his tone was more than enough for her to steer the conversation somewhere else. "N-No, that’s okay. So, um, if y-you don't mind me asking, were you born in the Crystal Empire, or..?”

He scrunched his muzzle up at her. “Why do you care?” he snorted.

“Be-Because... I just do.”

In her mind, she smacked herself for letting such a silly answer come out of her mouth. Luckily it wasn't commented on.

She tried another question. “So, uh, what was your family like?”

He replied with utter silence.

Right, then. He didn’t want to talk about his family. Time to think of something else.

She quietly observed his appearance for a moment as she tried to think of something to ask. It was hard to see past all the dirt and grime clinging to his coat, but from what she could tell, he looked like he was somewhere in his thirties—in a physical sense at least.

She found her next question.

"A-Alright, uh... So how old are you exactly? A thousand and... thirty-five? A thousand and thirty-six?"

With how reluctant to speak Sombra had become, it was beginning to feel a lot like she was just talking to herself rather than somepony else. His eyes seemed a lot more interested in the lamp dangling off the ceiling or the webs of cracks in the walls.

Let's see, what could Sombra be interested in talking about? From his unresponsiveness so far, probably not anything having to do with him. He definitely didn't look like the type of pony that'd like what she liked, either. Sombra liking animals… how silly.

"I'm, u-um, a good listener—or at least that's what ponies tell me. Is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked.

"No."

"Are you sure? Maybe there's something you wanna get off your chest. Or maybe you have a question."

Silence.

She didn't want to leave just yet with such little progress. He had to have something he wanted to say or ask. "Are you super positive you don't have anything that's bothering you? You can tell me; I won't tell anypony."

"The only thing that is bothersome to me is how you are stalling my execution."

Does he really still believe that I'm here to kill him? It was pretty ludicrous how anypony would think of her as being capable of doing any harm, especially if it was the most dangerous pony for miles that's having such an assumption.

"But I already said that I’m not going to hurt you. Nopony is going to hurt you, Sombra. I mean that."

Sombra scowled. "Pathetic child..."

"I’m telling the truth! Listen, I know you must be pretty upset with the princesses for banishing you so long ago, but I’m positive they did it with good intentions. I’m not saying that you should get over what they did, but just understand that if they really wanted to hurt you, they would've done a lot worse than banish you."

He went back to being unresponsive, the disgusted look on his face saying it all as to what he thought about her little speech.

Somehow, she was going to have to convince him, but what other way could she do that other than letting him figure it out on his own as time passed? She really didn't have much time to spare when she had friends and animals that were waiting for her.

She was pulled away from her mental scramble by the sound of sickly growling.
She looked down at Sombra, a little confused by the sudden noise. “E-Excuse me?”

He turned towards the wall, and there was another growl.

It couldn't have been him that was making that sound, could it? It didn’t sound like anything a pony would make, but then again, it was Sombra…

Then it finally registered with her: His stomach.

“Oh! Are you hungry?”

He didn't respond, but she took his silence as a yes.

“Hold on, I'll be right back.”

Fluttershy hurried out of the dungeons and made her way to the other end of the castle where the main kitchens were. She wasn’t quite sure whether she even had the permission to bring food into the dungeons, but it was worth a shot. How foolish of her to not even think that Sombra was probably starving during all that time!

Chefs, maids, and other staff members were packing the kitchens as well as the dining hall. The fresh smell of breakfast and the sight of ponies digging into food-filled plates was tempting to say the least, but she was on a mission.

She tried to weave around occupied tables as inconspicuously as possible. Soon enough, she found what she was looking for. A small basket of fruit sitting pretty on a counter caught her eye. Everything from apples over pears to grapes were filled up in the basket and just begging to be swiped.

She quickly snagged the basket while all eyes were anywhere else besides on her, and she hurried back to Sombra. Thankfully the guards didn’t pay her any mind as she passed.

She carefully set the basket down in front of him and tapped his shoulder. “Um, I’m back.”

He looked back at her, then his eyes fell on the basket of fruit. To her confusion, his head fell back against the cold stone floor without even a hint of interest.

Isn't he hungry? “What's wrong?” she asked.

Of course she wasn't going to get an answer. What was his problem? He'd been down in the dungeons without anything to eat or drink for so long! How in the wide world of Equestria was he even still alive?!

“Come on, I know you're hungry,” Fluttershy said. She nudged the basket a little closer to him. “I promise you'll feel a lot better after eating. Just a little bite? Pretty please?”

“Leave,” he murmured.

“But you need to eat something.”

Silence was his only response.

“Um... Pretty pretty please?”

In but a second was Sombra facing her with a mean, cold glare. She backed away.

“I will be having none of whatever it is that you are trying to achieve.”

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

"Make me beg, make me grovel, whatever gives Celestia the empowerment she is after."

She had no idea how he got that out of being offered something to eat.

"Um, no, I'm just trying to keep you from starving."

Looking back on it now, she probably should've just hurried out and came back some other time, but she didn't. she was convinced that she wasn't going to get very far if she let him order her around like that.

She spoke in the kindest, nicest voice that she could to try and calm him down. “Me and the princess are only trying to help you. Like I said, nopony here wants to hurt you. Now please, if you could—”

“You think that because I am in shackles you may now have the authority to deviate against my command?” He somehow managed to stand up and stagger as far as he was capable, chains rustling loudly with his movement. “If you are not here to do away with me, then..." his legs started shaking and shivering wildly, looking as though they were about to give out right from under him. "...tell your oh so benevolent ruler to bring somepony who... will, you.. you..!”

He collapsed back to the ground with a hard, shuddering thud. Blood dribbled out from his mouth and stained the stone below him as he snarled in pain. The sight triggered Fluttershy to his side almost immediately.

“Oh my goodness! Are you okay? D-don't move, just hold sti—please stop moving!”

More and more blood was coughed up onto the ground as his body twitched against the cold stone floor. He smacked her hoof away before she could even begin to help. His bloody fangs and malicious stare told her he wasn't about to let her or anypony else touch him anytime soon.

She needed to get somepony. A doctor, a guard—no, four guards...

She flew out of the dungeons in record time. He needed help immediately, whether he wanted it or not.

***

It was uncertain at exactly what point Sombra had drifted into unconsciousness. Memories of what had happened shortly before he lost consciousness slowly crawled back to him. What he could remember was his cell being bombarded by guards, some other unclassified pony with a needle, and then darkness. It had all happened in such a short time period.

He opened his eyes to be met with a glaring bright light directly above him. Past the light was an alabaster-white ceiling, not at all like the dull gray stone he had gotten familiar with over the course of his imprisonment. Unlike the dungeons, the air was far more breathable. He no longer felt the strain that the metal collar brought with every breath.

There was a voice to the left of him. There was movement in his peripheral, triggering him to lift his head to see who else was in his presence.

Or at least he tried to.

His weakened muscles fought against thick straps holding him down by the neck, chest, and legs. He snorted in frustration at the undesired restriction. Where in tartarus was he?

A lilac mare dressed in white leaned into his vision: the same mare he had briefly seen with the guards. An annoyingly hearty smile graced her lips. “You woke a little sooner than we expected. Turns out our usual dose of tranquilizer didn’t last as long on you,” she said matter-of-factly. “Anyhow, you may still experience a little light-headedness and dizziness, but it's all normal.”

Sombra snorted and struggled under the straps.

“I wouldn't waste energy if I were you,” she chided. “You are in the dungeon infirmary, by the way. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay in my little domain a lot more than that dank cell of yours.” She then looked past Sombra to address somepony else out of his vision. “You can come in now.”

Sombra struggled harder the further it sank into him that he was restrained; strapped down in an entirely new room with an entirely unknown mare. He gritted his fangs, grunted and growled as his muscles continued to fight against the only thing keeping him on whatever cold metallic surface he was lying on.

A familiar yellow face caught his attention: the pegasus that had been relentlessly trying to converse with him for the past however-many weeks.

His struggles fell to stillness upon seeing her. Though he would never openly admit such a thing, he was rather glad to see somepony familiar amidst his foreign surroundings—no matter how bothersome she proved herself to be.

“Feeling any better?” the pegasus asked.

“Worse.”

The mare in white leaned over the table, inspecting him as though he was some sort of unique specimen. She traced along his aching body for emphasis as she made her statement. “His movements were a little too rapid back there, causing some moderate internal bleeding, damage to some of his internal organs, and some fairly nasty tearing of muscle tissue. He may look pretty far along his regeneration process on the outside, but much of what’s inside is still very fragile.” She leaned back out of his vision. “We’ll have to keep him in the infirmary until the damage is healed. You’re perfectly welcome to continue visiting him while he’s here.”

“Thank you, Dr. Warmheart. Could I, um, maybe have a minute alone with him?”

“Certainly.”

A door had shut, and he as well as the pegasus were alone in the infirmary.

He stared long and hard at the soft yellow face above him, still woozy from the tranquilizer. Silently he observed how her eyes darted nervously about the room, how her lips fidgeted on top of one another, and how her wings continuously shivered and readjusted against her body. She was an odd filly. Odd and yet so strangely familiar, especially now that she was under brighter lights. If he was any more out of it than he already was, he probably would have been convinced that he was over a thousand years younger and still within the boundaries of the Crystal Empire.

The tranquilizer was playing cruel games on his mind.

“You should not have bothered,” he finally grumbled.

“But you were hurt. It's what the princess would have wanted me to do.”

Sombra growled in frustration and turned as far away from her as the straps would allow. She and Celestia had to have had something specific planned for his inevitable trip to tartarus. Yes, that had to be it. Why else would Celestia’s minion bother to help him?

"I'm sorry I made you angry," she murmured.

Sombra snorted bitterly at her apology.

“Are you okay?” she asked in that gentle, innocent tone of hers. “Sorry if me asking is annoying you, but you still seem… mad at me.”

“Thinking.”

“O-Oh…” she scuffed the floor with a forehoof. “Are you gonna be alright staying in here?”

“Better than the dungeons,” he mumbled. He couldn’t see why she even bothered to ask all these concerned questions when she didn’t really care. Attempting to fill the void of silence was all she was doing. She was afraid of silence.

“Well, okay. I guess I’ll… come and visit you tomorrow?”

As if he ever had a choice.

***

Sombra looked miserable lying there in the infirmary—even more miserable than when he had been in the dungeons. Fluttershy kept visiting him every day. At first she continued asking him questions, hoping that someday he'd answer at least one of them, but eventually she turned to casual conversation about the Crystal Empire. He showed a little bit of interest in the subject. Every once in awhile he'd say something back and maybe even ask a question, but he was otherwise quiet. It was probably a lot easier on him if he just didn't say anything, but she had that nagging suspicion that he was also still mad at her.

She knew she should have just left him alone after the first time he had told her leave...

It was during maybe the sixth visit in the infirmary after Sombra’s mishap in his cell that Fluttershy got news about the princess wanting to see her for a report on Sombra's progress. She was happy to have an excuse to leave the infirmary earlier than usual, but she was also nervous about what she was going to have to say. There really wasn't much to report, and of what had happened so far, hardly any of it was positive.

She said goodbye to Sombra—he didn't return the farewell, as usual—and left for the princess's office. On her way there, she was mentally planning out what she was going to say.

Oh yes, your majesty, Sombra is doing just fine. There were a couple of little hiccups—no, that’s not good enough. Well, princess, everything started out a bit rocky at first, but I think the road has smoothed out quite a bit…

There it was: Princess Celestia’s office. The enormous double doors made the rest of the castle look so tiny in comparison, and it sure did its job in making Fluttershy’s wings flutter in a show of nervousness.

She took a deep breath, straightened her thoughts out, and entered.

The first thing that caught the pegasus’s eye was the large amount of clutter surrounding the disheveled sun goddess. Numerous ink quills littered Celestia’s desk and stained whatever parchment they touched, and stacks of letters surrounded her on either side. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good time to be giving a report to the princess.

Nevertheless, Fluttershy pulled up a seat in front of Celestia’s desk and smiled as she waited for her to finish up her last bit of writing. Her face was scrunched in intensive focus as her quill seemed to go a mile a minute across the parchment. If she had never taken a quick glance up at Fluttershy, she would have never realized the pegasus was even there.

Princess Celestia’s previously concentrated expression peeled back into a warm smile as her writing came to an abrupt stop. ”A pleasure to see you, Fluttershy. Surely you already know why you're here today.”

A report on Sombra's progress. She'd call her to her office at the end of every week for one. Usually she'd have at least one positive thing to say, but this time wasn't one of those times.

”Uhh, hmm... let's see...” Fluttershy tapped her chin in thought, thinking over everything that had happened. The possibility of Sombra receiving a punishment made her hesitant on what she was going to say. Getting him in trouble was what she least wanted; it would only make him hate her even more. Besides, she wasn't mad at him for what he had done. A bit shaken up, yes, but not mad.

”Well?” Princess Celestia pressed.

”Well, he... had to be sent to the infirmary.”

”How come?”

”He was moving around too much and hurt himself.” She wasn't going to say anymore on the matter. ”But I guess one good thing is that he's recovering from it. He still won't say much, though. It's probably because of all the pain he's in, but I think he's mad at me, too.”

”And what makes you think he's mad at you?”

Fluttershy could see Princess Celestia's authoritative gaze on her from behind the warm rays of sunlight spilling in through the windows. The words briefly refused to leave her throat. ”I… I don't want to disappoint you, your majesty, but it feels like I'm just running in place. I'm not getting anywhere with Sombra.”

”Give him a week to himself.”

Fluttershy blinked in surprise. ”What?”

The princess began sorting out a fraction of the chaos on her desk, moving what was assumed were finished papers into one pile and anything unfinished in another. ”Don't visit him for a week. I'm sure that by the time he sees you again, he'll start talking.”

A panicked gasp spilled forth from Fluttershy’s slacked mouth. “Princess, you’re not saying you’re going to puni—!”

“Oh no no no,” the princess reassured with a smile. “Not to worry, Fluttershy. That’s not how I go about things. We’ll just leave him be for a little while; give him some time to sort his thoughts out.”

”But a week? Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked rather skeptically. ”I don't mean to question your judgement or anything, princess, but how is not talking to him for a week going to change anything?”

”Ponies get lonely, Fluttershy.”

But not Sombra. She couldn't imagine him feeling loneliness. Heck, she couldn't imagine him feeling much of anything other than hatred.

”I... guess I understand, princess.”

”Good. Now here,” a scroll was dropped into her hooves. ”Twilight sent you another letter.”

”Thank you, Princess.”

Fluttershy scurried out of her office, then let a smile grace her lips on her way back to her room. She kept her eyes on the scroll as she walked, already thinking about what it might say. There was never a time when she didn't look forward to getting a letter from Twilight. After all, it was the one and only thing keeping her sane in this castle.

“Oof!”

Fluttershy stumbled backwards after unknowingly bumping into a mass wrapped in fabric. An apology was ready to spill out of her mouth, but whoever she bumped into spoke up first.

”Oh! Are you alright?” Standing in front of Fluttershy was the same doctor that was in charge of looking after Sombra: Dr. Warmheart. She didn’t quite look the same as she did in the infirmary. She looked, well… tired. Exhausted, rather.

”I-I'm so sorry!” Fluttershy tucked the scroll under the fold of her wing. ”I just wasn't paying attention to where I was—”

Dr. Warmheart interjected her “Oh it’s quite alright, dear! Matter of fact, I was looking for you. Convenient that we’d bump into each other like this, huh?” She rubbed her weary eyes with a hoof and chuckled. “Wow, these lights sure are bright, aren’t they? I really ought to get out of the dungeons more often.”

“Is it about Sombra? Is he okay?”

“Yes and yes. He’s perfectly fine, I just wanted to ask a few questions from the pony that knows him best.”

“Oh, well I wouldn’t say I know very much about him...:”

“Better than anypony else!” Dr. Warmheart laughed. “Would you mind taking a walk with me to the cafeteria? I promise I won’t pester you with too many questions.”

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. “No, not at all.”

Having the opportunity to speak with somepony besides Sombra made Fluttershy’s heart nearly jump out of her chest in joy! She never once thought there would come a time where she’d actually love the chance of speaking to a stranger, but after having minimal contact with anypony besides Sombra, she happily welcomed the social interaction. Maybe now she wouldn’t go stir-crazy in the castle…

***

Every corner of the cafeteria was packed with ponies of all professions. Guards, maids, nurses, and not to mention Dr. Warmheart herself as she zipped past her fellow colleagues to grab a bite to eat. Fluttershy watched as she piled her plate high with hay sandwiches and salads. The doctor was a pretty petite pony, which made the scene of her stocking her plate to the heavens a comical thing to watch.

“Goodness, I can hardly remember the last time I emerged from my little dungeon cave to eat something!” Dr. Warmheart laughed.

Now that she thought about it, Fluttershy couldn’t remember the last time she ate anything either.
So much of her focus had been on Sombra that she’s hardly even been taking care of her own self! “So… is this cafeteria reserved for castle staff only, or..?”

“Aren’t you part of the staff?” Dr. Warmheart asked. “I mean, you’re working for the princess just like the rest of us.”

That was true, but she wasn’t getting any sort of pay for it like everypony else. But that’s not to say that she wanted a paycheck for her work. Working for the princess was an honor within itself! Even if that work involved putting her own life in danger to reform a wicked and emotionless overlord…

“I… I don’t know.” Fluttershy finally said.

“Well regardless of that, here.” The doctor held out a hay sandwich wrapped neatly in plastic foil. “I think I’ll survive with just one less sandwich. Now lets see…” she took a moment to look around the crowded cafeteria. Then she smiled and gestured Fluttershy to come along with her. They weaved around staff members until they reached the very corner of the room opposite of the entryway where they were greeted with a small empty table. They both took a seat, and that’s when the questions came rushing in.

“So, that Sombra stallion… what’s he like? Has he said anything to you?”

“He’s alright I guess. He’s definitely not like I expected him to be. I wouldn’t say he’s friendly, but he’s not exactly the cruel dictator that everypony makes him out to be. But maybe that’s just because he’s too weak to really do much right now.”

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘cruel dictator’?” Dr. Warmheart asked, both front hooves planted on the table, now noticeably curious.

Did she really not know who Sombra was?

“Well, he use to be the king of the Crystal Empi—”

“REALLY?!” the doctor shrieked. Everypony in the cafeteria snapped their attention at them with irritation in their judgemental eyes. She quickly apologized to nopony in particular and adjusted her volume. She leaned in and spoke in a whisper. “That’s really who I’ve been working with for all this time? Like… for real?”

“Yes. How did you not know?”

“I mean, I was informed but I thought everypony was just joking around with me! All this time I just thought he was just some average run-of-the-mill criminal with some sort of birth defect! That’s crazy! You’re not just joking with me too, are you?”

Fluttershy stomached the urge to giggle at the doctor’s words. She could understand why she thought everypony was just joking with her. It was pretty ludicrous to think that there’s a fallen king in the castle. “I promise you I’m not. I know, it sounds a little unbelievable, but it’s true. Sombra used to be a king a thousand years ago. From what I was told, he was a cruel and unforgiving leader that kept slaves.”

“Over a thousand years old, huh? Well he definitely looks younger for his age.”

“I thought the same thing,” Fluttershy chuckled. She unwrapped her sandwich and bit off a large piece. The taste was rather bland, but what could anypony expect from cafeteria food?

Dr. Warmheart’s smile devolved into a little smirk. “Kind of handsome, too, wouldn’t you say?”

That same piece of sandwich nearly went flying out of Fluttershy’s mouth. Her cheeks began to burn a rosy red from the statement. Handsome? How in Equestria could anypony find Sombra to be anything other than terrifying? Fluttershy forced her sandwich down her throat and blurted, “N-No! Not at all!”

Dr. Warmheart broke out into laughter, making the pegasus’s cheeks bleed a deeper shade of cherry. The doctor shrugged once she calmed her laughter down a bit. “Maybe it’s just me. I’ve been locked up in the dungeons for too long. A couple more trips down there and you’ll start feeling the same way, I’m sure.”

By Celestia, I sincerely hope not.

Chapter 3

Day after day, Fluttershy would continue to venture to the dungeons just as she had been since arriving to Canterlot. Except this time it wasn’t Sombra she was visiting, but instead his doctor. She was the only pony in this castle that she could call a friend, after all. Normally she’d visit to hear how Sombra was doing, but she also enjoyed listening to some of the stories Dr. Warmheart would tell. Having to regularly watch over the castle’s prisoners, she had plenty of crazy tales.

But there were a few occasions where Fluttershy had no Dr. Warmheart to pass the time with. Instead she resorted to lounging around in bed, thinking of what else she could do to fill the idle hours. What she would have normally done was go out to the gardens, maybe even have a chat with the groundskeeper if she went there during his work hours, but nothing else. Being in Canterlot with her friends from back home always turned out to be a fun time, but staying in the castle without them was just... boring. But it certainly wasn’t all bad. Princess Celestia had taken it upon herself to chit chat with her here and there whenever she wasn’t busy with her royal duties. She must’ve noticed the boredom etched on the pegasus’ face.

Today was looking to be quite possibly the most uneventful day of them all. Fluttershy paced around her room as she thought of what she could possibly do to keep herself occupied. But it didn’t take long for her mind to drift to Sombra. It always ended up on Sombra. "Let's see, how many days has it been since I visited him?" she asked herself. "Six days, I think." She sighed and flopped down on her bed. "Still can't talk to him yet."

Why do I even want to talk to him in the first place?

Any normal pony would probably feel blessed to not have to take a trip down into the dungeon’s infirmary and put themselves in the same room as Sombra. Was she afraid of him? Of course. Who wouldn’t be? But she was a little worried about him, too. The poor stallion was probably in a world of suffering being kept prisoner in the castle, being forced to sit and do practically nothing as the days passed. Although she herself was having a fairly boring day, she could only imagine how mind-numbing Sombra’s must be right now.

Then again, he was probably much better off in his current position than being trapped in ice for a thousand years. Goodness, she could hardly even imagine the toll that must’ve had on his sanity. No wonder he had behaved like a wild animal after he escaped.

What if it doesn't have to be exactly seven days? Six days is close enough, right? she tapped her chin in thought. Would Princess Celestia get mad at me if I visited him earlier than told? One measly day isn’t a big deal, right?

Fluttershy sat up, eyeing at the door and trying to mentally settle whether or not she should go.
The latest letter Twilight had sent her came to the forefront of her mind. The letter was laying on the nightstand, all rolled up and still waiting for a reply. Twilight had been asking for some information about Sombra, but what she didn't know was that Fluttershy had hardly moved past the starting point.

But maybe if I start visiting him again...

She hopped out of bed and headed straight for the dungeons now that she had an excuse. She was only going to talk to him so that she could have something to write back to Twilight. That was her reasoning for wanting to speak to Sombra, and she was sticking to it no matter how false it really was.

***

"Aagh!"

Sharp agony rocketed from Sombra's thighs and branched down to his hooves like a bolt of thunder. He lowered back into bed, groaning and cursing under his strained breath. His legs throbbed in lingering agony after his decision which he now deemed as a foolish one. Dr. Warmheart had been gawking at how "remarkably quickly" his body was recovering, but his tendons weren't recovering nearly as fast as he would've liked. Simply getting out of bed was damn near impossible.

Only a few times had somepony bothered to check up on him during his stay in his new confinement—that somepony being the doctor. How many weeks had even passed since his change of living conditions? Two weeks? Three? He settled with three. A clock would've been helpful, but apparently he wasn't allowed the right to know the time. He used to keep track of time through that yellow filly's visits, but her visits were no more.

Oddly enough, he would wonder what happened to her every now and again. His first assumption was that she finally realized his disinterest and left, but he started making other assumptions as time sluggishly crawled by. Maybe Celestia dismissed her, or perhaps she decided to leave him be until his full recovery. At one point he looked to the doctor for an answer, but she turned out to be just as clueless.

As he was laying there in bed as he had been for who knows how long, listlessly staring at the ceiling or recounting the alabaster tiles, something eventful finally sprung on the emptiness of the infirmary. The door ever so quietly clicked open, and a soft yellow face with big eyes of polished turquoise peeked through the gap. Their gazes met, and she shuffled the rest of her body inside.

"Um, hi, Sombra," the pegasus greeted sheepishly as she shut the door behind her.

He quietly watched her with the expectation of her suddenly disappearing, proving only to be a mirage of sorts. But she never did. She seated herself in a chair up against the wall and smiled softly. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Hardly."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Well, Dr. Warmheart said you've been recovering really quickly, so that's good," she said.

"Not quickly enough," Sombra huffed. For whatever reason, the desire for the filly’s name took the dethroned tyrant’s attention. Her name… she told him her name in the past, but what was it? He wasn’t entirely sure why he cared to know so suddenly, but the desire peaked his curiosity. "Your name, pegasus. What is it?"

Her eyes averted elsewhere for a moment, seemingly caught off-guard by the question. She cleared her throat and answered with the most delicate mumble. "I-It's Fluttershy, remember?"

"Fluttershy," he said, experimentally tasting the name on his tongue. He never gave her name much thought until now. The name seemed to fit well with her skittish demeanor. She was—as her name blatantly hinted—shy. Her sentences always sounded forced out of her rather than naturally occurring, and her body language was fidgety and very clearly conveyed her nervousness. Her job of coming down here just to converse was a job that plainly was not for her, which even further fueled his curiosity for why Celestia had chosen her.

"Dr. Warmheart has been telling me that you’ve been refusing to eat."

“And?” Sombra spat. Dying by induced poison wasn't how he wanted to die after all his years. A death like that was reserved for the clueless and the gullible.

Fluttershy pulled an apple out from under her folded wing and presented it to him with hopeful eyes. "The doctor doesn’t really want me bringing any food from the outside in here, but I just don't want to see you starve."

Sombra groaned and shifted away from her. Foolish filly. Apparently the outcome of presenting him with poison the first time hadn't deterred her from trying again. "Immortals do not die from starvation.”

"But immortals can still feel hunger, can't they? Come on, just a little bite?"

Sombra remained unyielding to her pestering despite the loud growl his stomach emitted.

"Please?" she whimpered. "I promise I didn't do anything to it. Look,"

There was a crunching sound behind him. Sombra peeked over his shoulder to see that Fluttershy had taken a small chunk off of the apple. She looked back at him, a disgustingly sweet smile on her face and the bitten fruit still held out in her hoof for him.

For a moment, he was convinced.

He faced her again and cautiously sniffed at the apple like a hound tracking down a specific scent. His yearning stomach sank its teeth into his insides much deeper from the smell it gave off. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this apple. His mouth watered, his body quivered, the slightest utterance of a dog-like whimper escaped his lips. His desires would be the very death of him…

The soft, almost motherly voice of Fluttershy encouraged him further. "It's okay."

At last, he gave in. His jaw unhinged and his abnormally long tongue wrapped around the apple like a snake constricting its prey. One second the fruit was in Fluttershy's grasp, the next it was in Sombra's mouth. It easily collapsed under the pressure of his jaws and he swallowed after a brief chew or two.

He looked back at Fluttershy as he lapped at his lips of anything that remained of the apple. Her eyes were as large as dinner plates, face fixed in shock.

"Oh my," she said. "N-Not to be rude or anything, but I’ve never seen anypony eat like that before."

Sombra's stomach continued to groan in need. A single apple did so little to soothe his appetite, but those few seconds of flavour were ecstatic to say the very least. For so long had he tasted nothing but the bare dryness of his own mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't bring any more than that. I was afraid that you were gonna get upset like last time and not eat," Fluttershy said.

Once again Sombra turned away from the pegasus, his stomach whining in a way that expressed his disappointment.

"But i-if you want, I can get more."

His ears attentively splayed back towards her.

"But only if you let me help you," she finished.

"Define 'help'."

“Well, for starters, you could leave the dungeons. I don’t know where the princess would let you stay instead, but anything has to be better than staying down here, right? Maybe someday the princess would even decide to let you go, but only if you’re cooperative.”

Sombra turned back to her with a noticeably contemplative expression. These promises didn't fail to spark his interest. So much to be gained just through playing nice! Whether or not Celestia would ever set him free mattered little to him. The bare minimum he needed was to be trusted, and as soon as he’s healed enough, the Crystal Empire would practically be his for the taking. His escape would be so easy—so painfully easy.

Sombra turned his attention back to his company. Putting on a false tone of sincerity, he agreed to her preposition. "Alright, Fluttershy, I shall cooperate with you and your princess."

Surprise was the first expression that made it to her face, then a giddy smile. "D-Do you really mean it?" she asked.

"If what you say is indeed true."

Her smile widened and she jumped out of her seat joyfully. "Oh thank you, Sombra! You won't regret it, I promise!"

And so she sped out of the infirmary with a hearty spring in her step, her frightened stature diminished within the instant she received the answer she had hoped for. Not a word was said as to where she was going, but Sombra could take a guess and assume he wasn't going to be in the infirmary for much longer.

Sombra stared aimlessly at his dull surroundings, listening to the quickly fading clicks of Fluttershy's hooves. His agreement was trusted with far more vigor than he had anticipated. There was hardly a single spark of doubt or suspicion in her large beady eyes, nor a pause of contemplation of the true sincerity of his words. This was who Celestia had trusted to be her eyes and ears: a gullible, oblivious fool.

A child was so easy to manipulate, so easy to take advantage of. For but a brief moment, he even felt a tad sorry for the pegasus. Gullible ponies lived such short lives. They think the best of everypony, they place their trust in everypony, and then they're trampled on by everypony.

The corners of Sombra's mouth sank into a reminiscent frown.

Back to counting the floor tiles.

***

It wasn’t often that Fluttershy came out of the dungeons as happy as she was that afternoon. She certainly had good reason to be; things were finally moving forward! She didn’t realize it at first, but she was practically bouncing in her seat as her and Sombra’s entire conversation spilled right out of her mouth to Princess Celestia. She made sure not to leave out a single detail. The princess meanwhile hummed and scribbled down words on a piece of parchment as she talked, not nearly as happy as Fluttershy was about Sombra’s improvement.

Eventually Fluttershy did get around to asking if he could be moved somewhere else once her excitement died down. Princess Celestia promptly set her letter down and raised an eyebrow at her. “So you believe him?"

Just like that, Fluttershy’s smile was gone. The way she asked her made it seem like she didn’t believe him, immediately making the pegasus have second thoughts. Sombra sounded like he had meant what he said, but she definitely wouldn’t put lying past him.

It was obvious what would happen if she said she didn’t believe him: nothing. He’d stay in the dungeons, and Fluttershy would have to keep taking trips down there to talk to him. Not only that, but he probably wouldn’t want to talk to her again if he found out that there was a change of plans.

She really wasn’t up to go through that cycle all over again.

"Um, well, he sounded like he meant it. I don't completely believe him, but there had to be some truth in it, right?" she answered, a slight smile forced upon her lips.

Princess Celestia leaned back in her seat. "So you think he’s ready to be moved out of the dungeons?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"What do you have in mind for where he’ll be staying instead?" she asked.

Fluttershy was quiet for a moment. She knew what she wanted, but she wasn’t too sure if her idea was something that the princess would agree on. The aura of regality that she always carried didn’t help in making her request any easier to get out. “Well, could he—Is it possible for— it’s not—… is it too much to ask for a guest room? S-Sorry if it is, I just thought—”

“If you think that’s what he needs.” the princess said, a warm smile on her face.

Fluttershy just sat there slightly slack-jawed and dazed by the princess’s hasty answer. She expected her to say no, maybe even get a little offended for being asked, but instead she agreed—and so quickly at that!

“You are the one reforming him, Fluttershy. Not me. You get to decide what happens to him. I’m sure that you already know far more about him than I do, anyhow. He’s quite stubborn around me, you know.” She chuckled.

What she didn’t seem to know was that he was just as stubborn around Fluttershy, if not moreso. She hardly knew any more about him than when she had first started talking to him, but she knew better than to admit that to the princess. “I-I’m honored that you trust me with this much responsibility, princess.”

She really wasn’t. She was positive that she was shivering in her seat at that moment.

“Oh, but of course.” Princess Celestia picked up her quill, dipped it in an ink well, and went right back to writing. “Now, if that’s all you came in here to ask me, you can head along. And tell Sombra that his room will be ready for him by the time he’s healed up.”

“I will, Princess.”

With that, Fluttershy bowed out of the princess’s studies.

It was too much. It was all just… too much. She kept thinking about it as she made her way back to Sombra. She didn’t like the amount of responsibility that the princess had thrown on her when she had asked that she reform Discord, and she didn’t like it any more with Sombra. At least she’d had her friends to help her back then when things got out of hoof with Discord, but now she was all alone. She wondered what in the wide world of Equestria she would even do if things escalated with Sombra. There were no elements of harmony to save her hide this time.

Sombra didn’t seem all that thrilled when she told him the news. Then again, his face seemed to always be in perpetual disinterest for everything. He was definitely showing some emotion when she offered him something to eat a while earlier, but then it all just drifted away once the apple was done for.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’?”

“I just thought you’d be a little more, well… excited to know that you’re going to be leaving the dungeon.”

“I am simply elated, if you cannot tell.” Sombra said in that dead tone of his, the most emotionless expression on his face that a pony could make.

She really couldn’t tell. Nopony would’ve been able to tell.

Fluttershy figured that she ought to stay in the infirmary for a little longer just to chit-chat with Sombra a bit, no matter how one-sided the conversation always ended up being. But before she could even strike up on any topic, Sombra had the first word.

“You remind me of somepony I that used to know.”

“I do? Does that somepony live in the Crystal Empire?” Fluttershy asked.

“She did, yes. You’re quite similar to her, I must say. Just as soft-spoken, just as caring, just as… well, I can leave that last bit out. Aside from you being so afraid of everything, you and her are alike in every way.”

“I’m not afraid of—”

“You are,” Sombra interjected sharply. “Do you care to prove me otherwise on that sentiment?”

Sombra wasn’t completely wrong. Fluttershy was ready to admit that she’s frightened a lot more easily than the average pony, but to say that she’s afraid of everything? “W-Well, no, not really, but—”

“So, Fluttershy, I must ask: Why are you down here trying to help me? Why did Celestia choose you out of so many potential ponies who are far more qualified?”

She wasn’t expecting Sombra to be as talkative as he suddenly was. For so long he had only answered with a few words here and there, sometimes not even that. Now, seemingly out of nowhere, he wanted to know all these things about her; he genuinely wanted to speak to her. What did she do differently for him to have such a change of heart? Did the princess really know Sombra that well? “Well, I guess you could say it’s because of Discord.”

“And what exactly does the spirit of chaos and disharmony have to do with any of this? He’s been imprisoned in stone for thousands of years.”

“He broke free years ago. The princess appointed me to reform him. And since I succeeded with Discord, I guess she thinks I can do the same for you, too.”

Sombra rolled his crimson eyes skeptically. “Oh, how quaint. I suppose you have even more silly stories to tell of conquering mighty beasts and shining light on the darkest corners of Equestria, am I correct?”

“I know it sounds kind of unbelievable, but maybe someday I can introduce you to him myself.” Fluttershy smiled softly at the mere thought. “I’m sure he’d love to meet you, Sombra.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Dr. Warmheart shortly entered with a scroll in her hoof and a smile on her face. “Sorry to interrupt you two. Fluttershy, one of the guards dropped this scroll off to me. I was told it’s for you.”

The instant she heard that the scroll was hers, her eyes lit up with delight. The doctor dropped it into Fluttershy’s eager hooves and bid her adieu. “I wish I could stay and chat, but I’ve got some reports to write. Have a nice day, Fluttershy.”

What was today’s letter going to say this time? There was just no waiting for her to open it! “I’m sorry if this sounds a little rude, but you don’t mind if I read this real quick, do you, Sombra?”

“Do as you will.”

That was all she needed to hear. She slid the cuff off of the scroll and unraveled it. What caught her eye wasn’t at all the same hoofwriting as usual. It all looked so much more elegant and neat than before. This couldn’t have possibly been from Twilight. Before reading any of its contents, she looked to the bottom of the letter where the signature was held. Right there was the name “Rarity” in beautiful cursive writing.

Fluttershy switched her attention back to the very top of the letter and began reading.

Dear Fluttershy,

Me and the girls miss you very, very much. I know Twilight is usually the one to write these letters to you, but I figured I ought to take her place just this one time. After all, I’m the one who misses you most, darling!

As of right now, I’m staying in Canterlot for the rest of the week to assist Coco Pommel with her new fashion line. I’d be delighted if you could stop by Coco’s boutique sometime so we could have a little chat about how things are coming along with Sombra. Perhaps we’ll even head down to the spa like we always used to do. I’m sure you’d like a massage what with the job you’ve been assigned. I know the princess prefers for me and the others to stay out of the castle, but she didn’t say anything about meeting outside of the castle, did she?

But if for whatever reason you can’t or don’t want to stop by, I’ll understand. Just make sure to keep your guard up around that monster and always remember that if he lays a single filthy hoof on you, we’ll come running no matter what!

I hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,
Rarity

Fluttershy hadn’t yet realized the enormous smile on her face as she read Rarity’s letter, but Sombra sure did. “Well?” he asked.

“I… I have to go.” She hastily rolled the letter back up and slid the cuff back over it. Her lips only fidgeted in her attempt to lessen the huge smile on her face. “Sorry that I have to leave so suddenly. We’ll talk sometime later, okay?”

Sombra addressed her giddiness with his usual bored stature and shrugged her statement away. And with a quick goodbye, Fluttershy bolted from the infirmary. Rarity was expecting her, and she most certainly wasn’t going to keep her waiting any longer than necessary!

Chapter 4

Today was a day where rain was expected. Oily gray clouds completely blanketed the sky, but that didn’t stop Canterlot’s citizens from being out and about on the streets.

It had been far too long since Fluttershy had ventured outside Canterlot Castle’s boundaries. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be surrounded by the city’s dauntingly tall buildings and structures. She initially considered taking a taxi, but with how long it had been since her last visit, she ought to savor every minute of it.

“Fluttershy, darling!”

Fluttershy came to a sudden halt. It was the faintest sound within the crowd, but she heard it plain as day.

“Over here, Fluttershy!”

There, just across the street, was Coco Pommel’s boutique. Waiting just by the doorway was Rarity, waving frantically for Fluttershy’s attention. “Do come in quickly, darling! It should start raining any minute now!”

A water droplet fell to Fluttershy’s muzzle. She looked upwards to the growling sky, then to her friend, who was gesturing her inside.

Thick ropes of rain came plummeting from the heavens before the pegasus even thought to take a step towards the boutique. Some ponies were well prepared for the weather and had an umbrella. Others picked up their pace in search of someplace to shelter themselves from the downpour.

Fluttershy galloped across the busy street and into the boutique where Rarity gave her a big welcoming hug. “I simply cannot express how delighted I am to see you, Fluttershy! It's been far too long!”

Fluttershy twisted her mane around her hoof to drain it of the absurd amount of rain that came crashing from the clouds. “I can't agree more. I stopped what I was doing and came straight to the boutique as soon as I got your letter.”

Coco Pommel came trotting from upstairs. ”It’s great to see you, Fluttershy! Rarity was practically bouncing off the walls once she got here, telling me about how she was finally going to see you.”

An almost unnoticeable shade of red appeared on Rarity’s face. “Oh I wouldn’t say I was ‘bouncing off the walls’, but I was very excited nonetheless.”

The mental image of her classy, well-mannered friend behaving like a filly who was about to go to the toy store was an amusing one to say the least. She held back the desperate need to let out a giggle at the mere thought. Who knew that Rarity was just that excited to see her out of all ponies!

“I'll make you some tea,” Coco said. “Please, make yourself at home.”

“We’ll be sitting in your study if you need us,” Rarity sang as she took Fluttershy’s hoof into hers.

The dressmaker led her away from the front door and up the stairs into what could best be described as the result of an earthquake. Many mannequins littered the upper floor of the boutique, some of which were adorned with incomplete dresses. Various fabrics, buttons and pins were out of their respectable shelves and covered the floor as well, making it an extra difficult task to maneuver around it all.

“My sincere apologies for the mess, darling,” Rarity said as she continued to lead her friend. “Me and Coco have been hard at work to reach our deadlines.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said with a small smile.

The pegasus was pulled into another room. A much cleaner, more cozy room. Across from the door was a small fireplace as well as a couch and a couple chairs. To the left was a spruce wood desk, carrying a couple stacks of paper, ink wells and a quill.

Rarity sat her down on the couch and took a seat next to her. “Here we are. So tell me, darling, how have things been going since you came to Canterlot?”

“Well, I can’t say it was all that great at first. I was just so anxious, I could hardly even sleep. But now it’s a lot better.”

“It’s fantastic to hear that things are going more smoothly. I know you’ve already said all of this in your letters to Twilight, but I just wanted to hear it face-to-face,” Rarity giggled. “But I am noticing that you have quite the bags under your eyes! Are you still not sleeping well?”

Thinking back on it, ever since she arrived to the castle, she never did seem to get any quality sleep. Not even a single night had she slept for any longer than four hours before waking up again. She shook her head.

“And you have to go down into some dark, dreary dungeon and speak to Sombra every day? That sounds simply dreadful!”

Fluttershy’s shoulders pulled up into a shrug. “It’s actually not so bad. You’ll probably think I’m crazy for saying this, but I kind of like talking to him.”

Rarity’s eyes widened to her outlandish statement. “Are you saying he's even the slightest bit civilized? After witnessing how barbaric he acted after his escape, I find that just a tad hard to believe.”

“He's definitely not the nicest pony you'll meet, but he's not at all what I was expecting. He's, well… quiet.”

Coco Pommel entered the room with a small tray of tea. She carefully set it down on the desk, gave both of her guests a small tea-filled cup, and took a seat just across from Fluttershy. “Sorry you have to sit around in my modest little boutique. I know it's no Canterlot Castle,” she chuckled.

“Oh trust me, I appreciate the change of scenery. Being in the castle is nice and all, but it was starting to drive me a little crazy,” Fluttershy giggled.

“I hope the trip here wasn't too nerve-wracking,” Coco said. “You've been the talk of the town ever since you showed up. Everywhere I go, there's always somepony mentioning you.”

Oh no. Fluttershy’s stomach twisted in knots and gurgled nervously. Canterlot had seemed as clueless as she was when she first arrived to the castle, but it apparently didn’t take long for information to leak onto the streets. “Wh-What are they saying about me?”

“Well, they—” Coco suddenly stopped as her and Rarity’s gazes met. She eventually turned her attention back to Fluttershy, her willingness to speak long gone. Whatever it was that she was about to say, she quickly changed her mind. “Actually, that's best left unsaid. Most of it is a little, uh… negative.”

She wasn't too surprised to hear that. More than half of Equestria was a little riled up over her task to reform Discord; she wasn't expecting any different with Sombra.

“Oh! Goodness, I almost forgot!” Rarity chirped. “Twilight asked for me to give you this.”

With a spark of magic from her horn, a scroll—an abnormally large one, at that—materialized right before Fluttershy’s eyes. Other than its size, it looked just the same as any other scroll from Twilight. Fluttershy wasted no time on taking the cuff off and unravelling it.

The bottom of the parchment came free from its bindings and extended all the way down to the floor.

“Oh my word! Twilight sure had a lot to say, didn't she? What does it say, darling?” Rarity asked.

Dear Fluttershy,

The list you see below is a series of questions that I'd appreciate if you asked Sombra and jot his answers for me. I wish I could do it myself, but as you know, my hooves are pretty full with managing the castle.You shouldn't feel inclined to get an answer for every single one, but just try to get as many as you can. It'd help a lot to find out more about Sombra and the effects dark magic has had on him.

Don't forget to bring your notes with you on your way back to Ponyville!

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

Each question had a number, all the way down to number one hundred seventy. How Twilight could have come up with so many questions to ask was beyond Fluttershy's comprehension.

She looked up from the dauntingly large questionnaire. “She made a list of questions she wants me to ask Sombra.”

“May I see?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy hooved the list over to her friend without an issue.

The unicorn’s eyes moved slowly across the parchment. For a long while, neither Coco Pommel or Fluttershy said a single word. They simply watched, waiting for her to speak up.

A hint of red faded into Rarity’s white cheeks as a smile touched her lips. The giggle that escaped made Fluttershy reach for the list. Just what was so funny?

Rarity jerked the parchment away and laughed. “My my! Twilight most definitely didn't hold anything back!”

“What? What did she write?” Fluttershy snatched the scroll and skimmed the questions, brow furrowed in concentration. Her eyes latched onto the question that had to have gotten Rarity’s attention. What she read left her mouth agape, had her heart racing, her whole face flaming!

“Why would Twilight want to know something like this? A-Asking this... it’d be an invasion of Sombra’s privacy!” Fluttershy yelped.

A brief chortle sounded next to her ear. Coco Pommel was next to her, looking over her shoulder at the question that had both ponies flustered. By the second, Fluttershy’s face was growing hotter at what she was inevitably going to have to ask Sombra. There was no doubt in her mind that she wasn’t going to get an answer for this. If anything, he’d be deeply offended by the question. Actually, she had her doubts about whether or not he’d answer any of what’s on the list.

This questionnaire would be the determining factor as to whether or not Sombra would respect his promise of cooperating.

Fluttershy rolled the parchment back up and set it beside her on the seat. She flushed her embarrassment away with a long exhale and spoke. “I’m not so sure that I can go forward with what Twilight is asking of me. My goal right now is to just gain his friendship. Bombarding him with questions from a list would just annoy him.”

“I’m sure Twilight isn’t expecting you to clear the whole list in a day, darling,” Rarity said. “Just sprinkle a couple in every once in awhile during friendly conversation. Use them when you can’t find anything else to say. Think of them as ice-breakers.”

“I… I guess that could work,” Fluttershy murmured.

A bright and beautiful smile blessed Rarity’s face. “Splendid! Although I cannot for the life of me fathom why you’d want to become friends with such a brute of a pony. I’d preferably just reform him and be done with it.”

“Friendship is just part of the process. And he’s not a brute, he’s just—”

“Standing up for him now, are we? Goodness, darling! All those weeks spent with only him as company must have driven you mad! Coco, have you noticed Fluttershy outside of the castle at all?”

Coco slowly shook her head. “I haven’t. And from what I’ve heard, nopony else has either.”

Rarity turned back to Fluttershy with a knowing smirk. “So you’ve been in the castle all this time, have you? Not a drop of sunlight to speak of?”

Fluttershy began sinking in her chair, part of her face hidden behind her mane. Her voice toned down to but a cowardly whisper. “I… I have been going outside. I’ve just been going outside to the Canterlot Gardens.”

“That doesn’t count. You need to be out in the city, darling! Not cooped up in some luxurious castle! All three of us are taking a little trip down to the spa—no excuses!”

“Oh, that sounds like fun!” exclaimed Coco Pommel. “I could use some time away from work.”

Rarity stood up and beckoned for her friends to do the same. “Come then, girls! I’m simply dying for a good massage!”

Fluttershy remained huddled in her seat. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to go, but—”

Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, she was pulled out of her seat and whisked straight down the stairs and out the door. She knew a trip to the spa was bound to happen, but she suddenly felt a little… castlesick? That’s the only way for her to really describe it. Unwanted thoughts about how Sombra was feeling and what he was up to flooded every crevice of her mind. Was he happy? Angry? Frustrated? Was he in any pain?

Was he thinking about her at all?

***

Night had long since shrouded the entire city of Canterlot, and the moon had already taken its place high in the sky. The downpour of rain had subsided and the rain clouds broken up to expose the star-filled sky above. The city itself was bustling with ponies eager to take advantage of what the night had in store, but for the castle and its occupants, it was a time of peace and quiet.

Fluttershy entered the castle foyer in a sluggish, exhausted manner. Her trip to the spa with Rarity and Coco was one she certainly didn’t regret. All of the tension built up in her body was worked away by the hooves of a massage therapist, leaving her in the most relaxed state she had ever been in. However, the need for her to visit Sombra had been continuously growing during her brief time away from him. Despite how badly she wanted to fall into her soft, warm bed, the desire to check up on Sombra was stronger.

She ventured down the long winding staircase that led to the dungeons. Being surrounded by no light sources other than the occasional torch against the walls strangely soothed the pegasus. As she descended further down and under the castle, she watched the mesmerizing flames of the torches flicker and crackle. Her vision grew soft and her eyelids fell lower and.

Her front hooves skipped over a step. Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open and a sharp gasp spilled from her mouth before she stumbled down the stairs. She came to a stop at the first floor of the dungeon where the infirmary was held, just managing to stop herself from falling face first on the ground. Her hooves automatically kicked into a light canter towards Sombra’s room, far away from the location of her embarrassing stumble. She could only hope that none of the guards had noticed her slip.

The sight of somepony standing besides Sombra in his room stopped her from opening the door. A certain mare in white was seated in the chair just next to Sombra’s bed, a clipboard full of papers in front of her face and her pen speeding across the page. Every so often she’d look up from her work to closely inspect the sleeping stallion before her, then go right back to writing.

Fluttershy waited patiently just outside the door, watching her through the tiny rectangular window. She’d occasionally have to bat her eyes frantically in an attempt to keep them open. What time was it? Eleven o’clock? Midnight?

Dr. Warmheart eventually came out. Her saggy eyes and weary frown were quickly replaced with a smile upon noticing the pegasus just outside the door. “Good to see you, Fluttershy! Sorry if I made you wait a long while. I had to take care of a little work I’ve been holding off on.”

“What were you writing? N-Not to sound rude or nosy or anything,” Fluttershy murmured as she rubbed her tired eyes.

“Just a little report on Sombra’s condition. Anyhow, I can’t really stick around; I’ve got some sleep I need catching-up on. Sombra is asleep right now, but feel free to go on in regardless. You have a good night!”

“Good night, Doctor,” Fluttershy yawned.

Ever so quietly, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She took a seat beside him, but refrained from saying anything to wake Sombra up. Maybe it was better if she didn’t wake him up at all. After all, it wasn’t like she had anything new to talk to him about.

He was facing away from her, his stomach rising and falling ever so slowly with each breath. His left ear would occasionally twitch to the slightest sounds coming from out in the halls, then fall back to stillness with the rest of him.

What do ponies like him dream about? Fluttershy figured that he regularly had dreams that’d make any normal pony shiver. Conquering lands, killing opposers, disciplining slaves.... Fluttershy found the idea almost cute. There he was, in somepony else’s castle, reduced to nothing but a powerless prisoner. And yet, each and every night, he’d have tremendous dreams of being something far greater.

Then he’d wake up, realizing he’s fallen so far that the closest he’ll ever be to his former glory is his dreams.

On second thought, Fluttershy thought of the idea to be quite sad. She hoped it wasn’t actually true. Perhaps he dreamt of far simpler matters, such as… well, whatever innocent thing he likes to do for fun. Maybe he enjoys stargazing, or maybe even taking walks.

She let loose another delicate yawn, careful not to wake him. She made herself a little more comfortable in her seat and shut her tired eyes.

Just going to rest my eyes for a minute...

***

Sombra raised his head from his pillow and stretched his aching limbs. The quality of his sleep was subpar as usual, but at least his accommodations were far better than his previous bed: the ground.

The sudden but quiet sound of somepony snoring caught Sombra’s attention. He looked to his right to find a yellow pegasus in a chair right by his side, curled up in a ball and obviously in a deep sleep.

He leaned in cautiously and prodded her with his muzzle. She didn’t budge an inch. How long had Fluttershy been in his room? Most importantly, why was she sleeping in his room?

Sombra moved in close to her ear. “Do you need something?” Sombra asked rather loudly.

“Eep!” Fluttershy stumbled out of the chair in a startled daze. She shook her head and took a good look at her surroundings before bowing her head in embarrassment. “I-I’m so sorry! I just got back from the spa with my friends and I’m really exhausted but I—!”

“How did it go?” Sombra asked.

The pegasus’s eyes widened at the question as if it was the last thing she was expecting to come out of his mouth. She quickly regained her voice and smiled awkwardly. “It went pretty well. We stayed there for quite awhile and left sometime during the night. So, um, how are you feeling since we last talked? Are you feeling any pain at all?”

“Not quite. I’m feeling rather stiff from laying in bed every day, but that is all,” he sighed.

“Oh, well that’s great news! N-Not the stiff part, the ‘not feeling any pain’ part. Do you want to try standing up?”

Sombra stared at the polished tiles for a moment, silently trying to determine by the feeling in his legs whether it was even worth giving a shot so soon. He desperately needed some form of physical activity; lazing around in bed was doing him no good. “I suppose,” he finally said.

Fluttershy watched on with a noticeable gleam of excitement in her eyes as Sombra hesitantly felt around the floor with a foreleg. He applied a small amount of his weight to his leg and thankfully received no pain in return. Once he was certain his leg would hold up, he tried his other foreleg.

“You’re doing great so far!” Fluttershy chirped. “Just remember to take it nice and easy; there’s no rush.”

Both of his forelegs were now planted firmly on the ground. Once his shaky back legs touched the tile, he was finally standing. His legs shook furiously under his own weight, but he was standing nonetheless.

He noticed that the excited smile on Fluttershy’s face somewhat faded. The smell of fear tickled the stallion’s nostrils as she spoke. “O-Oh my. I… I guess I forgot how tall y-you were,” she chuckled nervously.

Sombra couldn’t deny that he was a fair bit taller than most stallions, but what also needed to be recognized was that Fluttershy was a little small for a pegasus—or at least he thought so. Are all pegasi so tiny compared to the other pony races? Pegasi were rare sights to see in the Crystal Empire, so Sombra didn’t have much to compare with.

“So, do you think you can walk? Try taking some steps towards me,” Fluttershy said.

At the command of his reformer, Sombra took a wobbly step forward. Then another, and then another until he reached the pegasus. He was towering over her at that point, emphasizing just how much of a size difference there was between the two. The very top of her head was level with his shoulders.

She took a few steps back. In response, Sombra took a few steps forward. Another few steps back from Fluttershy, and then another few steps forward from Sombra. This cycle continued until Fluttershy’s rump met with the door to the outside. She smiled a nervous, fear-filled smile. “We-Well, it seems you’ve gotten the hang of walking pretty quickly. So, Uh… I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Y-You have a good night.”

Sombra’s words stopped her just before she went out of the door. “Am I doing something to frighten you?” He asked. While the sight of Fluttershy stumbling over her words and flinching at his every movement was amusing to watch, it wasn’t going to help him get any closer to escaping.

Fluttershy was silent for a few seconds. She hid behind her mane and smiled that same concealing smile to try and hide her own fear. “N-No, it’s just that you—I mean I’m not… I’m not… um…”

“There is no need to fear me, Fluttershy. Even if I wanted to do harm to you, your princess would simply have me killed if I acted on it. What good would that do me?”

“I kn-know, it’s just…” The pegasus lost her words once more as she began to back slowly out of the door.

Sombra had never seen a pony so needlessly afraid of him before. Not once had he ever laid a single hoof on this filly, and yet here she was, cowering before him as though she was one of his many crystal slaves of the empire.

Perhaps it was just his height that was so daunting to her. Normally he wouldn’t dare to willingly lower himself in front of lesser ponies, but for the sake of his freedom, he took a few steps away and laid down on the chilling tile. “Is this better?”

Fluttershy’s cowardly demeanor lessened now that she was no longer being shadowed by the stallion’s figure. A crimson shade of red faded into her cheeks as she shook her head, even giggling a little at the spectacle. “I-I’m really sorry. I know how I’m acting is a little silly. You don’t have to lay on the floor like that; please stand up.”

Sombra slowly raised himself back onto his hooves as his shivering legs fought him the entire way. Seeing the bright smile on the filly’s face brought back very vivid memories—the kind of memories that were nearly impossible to forget. What came out of his mouth next seemed to surprise Fluttershy almost as much as it surprised himself. “Do make sure to visit tomorrow.”

Fluttershy’s smile widened. “Of course! Matter of fact, since you’re already up and walking, I’ll have you out of this dungeon and into a more proper room much earlier than I thought! Do you think you’d be healed up enough to go on a little trip to your new room by next week?”

“Most probably.”

Distant hoofsteps were heard clicking across the flooring and were getting progressively louder. The door suddenly opened behind Fluttershy, startling her into scurrying away from it. Who entered was Dr. Warmheart with a mug of coffee in one hoof and a small stack of papers balancing on her back. “Oh! Hello, Fluttershy. You’re here quite early! And I see you’ve managed to get Sombra out of bed. Lovely.”

“Early? But didn’t I see you only a couple of hours ago?” Fluttershy asked.

The doctor laughed and took a large swig of coffee. “Oh nonsense. That was almost nine hours ago!”

Fluttershy’s brow furrowed and her eyes stretched wide open. Unbenounced to Sombra, she remained silent for an unnaturally long period of time.

The doctor disregarded her unresponsiveness with another swig of coffee as she saw herself back out the door. “Anyway, sorry for interrupting you both. I’ll be in my office, so just holler if you need me.”

With a swift twirl and a few splotches of coffee left in her wake, Dr. Warmheart was gone. The stallion and his reformer were alone once more, but the effect that the doctor’s words had on her didn’t falter in the slightest.

“Is there something that I’m missing here?” Sombra asked.

His voice was the spell that snapped the pegasus out of her moment of trance. She dropped her head into both of her hooves and groaned. “I was asleep for a lot longer than I thought…”

“So you mean to say that you slept in here for the entire night?”

She nodded in confirmation, her face burrowing deeper into the safety of her hooves. What she was doing was clear: she was hiding her embarrassment.

“Quite surprising, I must say,” Sombra added. “To sleep curled up on a chair all night? I can only imagine how you must be physically feeling right at this moment.” While he held zero signs of a smile on his face, he was grinning wickedly in his mind. His eyes had a mind of their own as they dragged down the length of her body, acknowledging every curve, slant, and dip. He had never taken the time to fully appreciate her figure until now. Had she always looked so beautiful? “If you wanted to sleep in here so badly, I wouldn’t have minded sharing a bed. All you had to do was ask.”

Her head shot back up from her hooves like a bullet. Her large turquoise eyes remained fixated on his face for a few seconds before she finally spoke up in clumsy, flustered fragments. “I d-didn’t want to sleep in… in here! B-But that’s not to say that—I mean I’m not saying that I don’t want to be around you or—I enjoy your com-company and all but… oh goodness, I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry!”

A deep chuckle sounded in the back of the former king’s throat as he returned to his bed to give his legs a rest. “If that is all you have to say, then I would like to be left alone now. I could use a few more hours of sleep.”

“O-Of course! I’ll just… see y-you some other time then. H-Have a good nap!” Fluttershy stammered.

As Sombra watched her leave, he couldn’t help but notice that one of her wings were a little more outstretched than the other. Something was being held under it. “One more thing before you leave,” Sombra spoke up.

Fluttershy stopped just as she opened the door. “Um, yes?”

“What is that under your wi—?”

“I-I-I’m really sorry, but I j-just remembered that the princess needs me for something! Bye!”

Before he could get another word in, Fluttershy sped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Sombra set his head back to rest against the pillows and shut his eyes. Very odd that pegasus pony was, but at the same time, intriguing. He himself may not have realized it, but he was actually looking forward to Fluttershy’s visits.

A shame that he was eventually going to have to leave her behind.