The Walk of the Millennia
The Walk of the Millennia
CUCKOO! CUCKOO! CUCKOO!
Sombra loathed the clock's annoying clucks- it was only a reminder of all the hours he had spent waiting. 'Where is that impudent mare?' Sombra thought, pacing back and forth. She was supposed to have been there a while ago. Granted, he didn't particularly enjoy her company- he only used her to get away from his prison with that self-righteous princess.
"Where's Pinkie at?" the bookish alicorn voiced his thoughts, something she seemed prone to do. It was another thing about her that he despised and he forced himself not to make a scathing retort. He'd done so beforehand and it'd only brought him suffering. He had had enough of that in his thousand year confinement.
"How am I supposed to know what that mare does?" Sombra snapped anyway, "she's your friend."
Twilight narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. "You might as well get used to her," she replied, "she's here to reform you, remember?"
Sombra growled and shook his head as he remembered the day Twilight had assigned the pink menace as his reformer. He'd thought she'd leave like the others had and that her first day with him would be her last. But, she came back the next day. Then the day after that. Then the day after that. He'd tried to make her leave by being rude, scathing and hurtful. His words usually caused the most rebellious pony to cower like the others he's oppressed.
It had worked with the others-- Twilight barely tolerated him as is and often times her horn sparked whenever they exchanged words, as if she was about to hurt him. The coward had left with tears in her eyes, and flew as hard as her wings would allow. The rainbow pegasus tried to fight him, but was thrown out by Twilight before any damage was done. The rural earth pony had the same intention as the pegasus, but Twilight had been prepared and teleported her out of the room. Then, the extremely effeminate unicorn had left as soon as he made a few comments about her appearance.
But, the pink mare hadn't been affected by his words. She let the words slide off like water on a duck's wings. And he hated it. If he met a mare like her in his time of rule all those centuries ago, he would've killed her on sight. But, even though she appeared mortal, Sombra wasn't willing to risk the idea of her being immortal.
Then, that's when the door to his prison opened. He hissed as the sunlight obscured his vision and pulled his cape over his face.
"Sombry!" he heard the pink mare exclaim.
Sombra cringed as he heard her scream his wretched nickname. Then, he felt his torso being squeezed to the point where his air supply emptied. Sombra tried to suck in air through his mouth and nose, but it didn't even get down his throat without it being squeezed out again.
Suddenly, he was released and air filled his lungs. Sombra started gasping and collapsed against the wooden floor.
"Sorry I was late!" the pink menace squealed, "The Cakes didn't get home on time and I had to watch the twins longer than usual!"
'Excuses, excuses', he thought darkly, rolling his eyes. He'd heard many servants attempt them on him, but it never ended well. For them, that is.
Sombra stood up and brushed his cape off. "'Sorry' doesn't cut it!" Sombra snapped, "I was stuck being in here longer than I needed to!" Sombra was aware that his anger may be misplaced, but he cared little for that at the moment. He couldn't stand being in the company of that princess for extended amounts of time without his head hurting.
The mare's ears flattened and she looked down guiltily. "Sorry, Sombry," Pinkie said earnestly, "I didn't mean to make you wait."
Sombra growled in frustration and stalked past her. "Let's just get this walk over with..." he muttered, not bothering to wait for her. As he stomped out, he didn't catch the tears that had gathered in Pinkie's eyes.
* * *
Pinkie forced back her tears as she watched Sombra walk out in front of her.
'I didn't mean to make him so upset...' Pinkie thought, trotting after him so he wouldn't leave her behind. Pinkie wasn't one to make ponies upset and the fact that she had done so really hurt her mojo. She rushed next to his side and flashed him a smile. He didn't spare her a glance and kept looking forward. Pinkie's heart sank and she looked down again.
'I really made him upset...' Pinkie thought, her ears flattening. Granted, he was rude to her, but this time, she had given him a reason to be rude.
Pinkie thought being nice to Sombra was a good way to earn his friendship, but interacting with him was like to talking to a brick wall. Pinkie thought they were making some progress in his reformation, seeing as how he likes to go on their walks.
But, Pinkie was starting to think that Sombra was only using it as a way to get out of Twilight's questionnaires about the Crystal Empire and so he wouldn't stuck inside all the time. He did always complain about how cheerful and sunny Ponyville was, after all.
As they walked through town, ponies would smile and wave at Pinkie and Sombra. Normally, Pinkie would smile and wave back, or be the first to smile and wave. But, stuck in her own sadness, she didn't even acknowledge anypony else. Sombra took notice of Pinkie's oblivion, but said nothing.
'So, she's finally been bothered,' Sombra thought, feeling victorious. Pinkie could poked and jabbed all she liked, and she wouldn't mind it. Seeing her be upset over something minor felt wonderful to Sombra. It'd been the first sort of unhappiness that he'd seen out of somepony since his rule.
It was short-lived, however. Because, Pinkie perked up and he saw a look of shock come across her features. Her ears pricked upwards and her face seemed to brighten up like the sun. Then, her frown slowly flipped into a smile and she leaped into the air, running in place.
"NEW PONY!!!" she exclaimed, zooming in the air at an impossible speed. Sombra was nearly blown back by the sheer force of air that Pinkie left behind. Sombra coughed out the dirt that Pinkie kicked up and shook off the debris that accumulated on his armor and cape.
Once he was done, he turned and saw Pinkie chatting with a blue coated an unfamiliar pony. She had a light blue coat with a pastel green mane, a single leaf adorning her flank. Sombra had met many of Pinkie's friends, but he never remembered their names. The only two he could remember were Lyra and Bon Bon, who he was certain were more than friends.
Pinkie was hopping excitedly and he couldn't make out the words she was saying. He walked over, but stopped himself to be close enough to hear her and not be a part of their conversation.
"So, where is your house? Is it a one-story? A two-story?" Pinkie gasped. "A THREE-story?! Ooo, do you have any pets? Do you live by yourself? Do you have any foals? How many do you have? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? That's a lot of foals! You must have been bus-y!"
The mare was taken aback by Pinkie and backed away slightly. "Um, sorry if I'm being rude, but who are you?" she asked, obviously still in shock by Pinkie's behavior.
Pinkie smiled and started giggling. "My name is Pinkie Pie!" she greeted happily, "I like meeting new ponies and welcoming them!"
Sombra had seen Pinkie's acts of friendliness towards other ponies and figured it was because of the fact they were within the town area and that she was going to stuck with them for the rest of her life. But, she actually looked forward to meeting new ponies and making more friends?
The new mare seemed to relax at Pinkie's proclamation, but ever so slightly. "Oh, well then," she said, "my name is Misty Leaf. I moved into Ponyville about two weeks ago." This news seemed to shock Pinkie and her eyes bulged out of her sockets.
"What?!" Pinkie exclaimed, then start jogging in place on her rear hooves, "Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh! We need to have a 'Welcome to Ponyville', 'Moved into Ponyville', and 'Living in Ponyville for two weeks' party! Don't worry, that's nothing compared to my 'Welcome to Ponyville', 'Moved into Ponyville', 'Living in Ponyville for two weeks with a cat' party!"
Misty seemed to be overwhelmed by Pinkie's over eagerness and mentions of parties, but if Pinkie noticed, she gave no sign of it. Instead, she started listing off several items that would be needed for the party. As she named off each item, she held up a hoof, but by reaching the fourth one, she was levitating midair. Her levitation only lasted for a minimum of five seconds and she fell to the ground.
Pinkie hopped up, her mane covered in dirt and rocks, then shook it out vigorously. The rocks flew into all directions and several surrounding ponies were hit. Once Pinkie finished shaking out her mane, she gasped loudly and put her hooves to her face.
"Silly me!" Pinkie exclaimed, giggling at herself. "I almost forgot to welcome you!" Misty blinked in confusion and looked at Pinkie is bewilderment.
"Uh..." Misty drawled, "Didn't you just do that?" Pinkie shook her quickly, the sound of rattling being heard while she did so.
"No, silly filly!" Pinkie giggled, waving her hoof dismissively, "That was just me introducing myself! This," Pinkie pulled a chest out from nowhere, "is a welcome!"
Before Sombra could even ask what the chest was, she pressed the button and a small buffet with cupcakes and pies in it appeared. Then, several golden trumpets, multi-colored flags and ribbons popped out of it. Pinkie then started to hop around Misty to the beat of the trumpets and started singing.
Welcome, welcome, welcome!
A fine welcome to you!
Sombra had never heard Pinkie sing before and he was slightly taken aback by her doing so. Even though he hated to admit it, she had a nice voice. Then, Pinkie popped up and put a party hat on Misty's head. Misty didn't seem to have an inkling as to what was going on and she hunkered down to the ground in fear.
Welcome, welcome, welcome!
I say "How do you do?"
Throughout her entire song, Pinkie pulled random things from nowhere and perform defying feats for a normal pony. If Pinkie had been a jester in Sombra's court, he never would've gotten rid of her. The mare could do things that would make the most talented clown drop his jaw in amazement.
Welcome, welcome, welcome!
I say hip hip hooray!
Welcome, welcome, welcome
to Ponyville todaaaaaaaaay!
Pinkie slid on her knees and held out the note. She appeared by Misty and pulled off the party hat. "Wait for it!" Pinkie exclaimed giddily. Then, a latch opened and a wave of confetti burst out. By Pinkie's shocked expression, Sombra deduced that that wasn't supposed to happen. Pinkie yelped in fear and pulled Misty down to the ground. "Look out!" Pinkie shouted to the surrounding spectators.
Ponies jumped out of the way and watched in shock. Sombra stood there, frozen in shock.
Why aren't I moving? Sombra thought to himself. Sombra faced against Celestia and Luna, ruled an entire empire and controlled dark magic, all without fear. Sombra could barely remember the last time he was afraid- actually, he forced himself not to. It was those reminders that made him weak and he couldn't afford that. Then, the confetti hit him.
The force knocked Sombra on his back and Sombra yelled in surprise. "Uh-oh!" he heard Pinkie shout. Sombra dared to look up and saw large globs of yellow falling towards him. Sombra tried to scramble away, but it was too late. Once the globs hit, he was stuck in place. Before Sombra could react, he heard Pinkie start giggling. He wiped the gunk off his face and turned towards her.
"Whoops!" Pinkie giggled, "I guess I mixed up the cake batter and the confetti- again!"
Sombra picked up a hoof, then took a small lick off of it. It took him a moment to realize what he was covered in.
"Cake batter?!" Sombra gawked at Pinkie and a flurry of emotions overcame him- anger, confusion, embarrassment and a lot more. Pinkie smiled and ran her tongue along his cheek.
"Mmmm, yummy!" she exclaimed.
In all of his years, Sombra had never felt so conflicted. He wanted to kill the mare for covering him in filth, ask her how and why she did all of this, and hide away so no one could see him in such a horrendous state. And laugh. He wanted to laugh so much and so hard at how ridiculous they both looked out there, covered in cake batter and-
Sombra felt a wave of sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked down at his armor and cape in horror. "My clothes!" he shouted, "They're ruined!" Pinkie stopped laughing and took a look at Sombra. Then, she smiled and giggle snorted.
"Don't worry, Sombry!" Pinkie waved her hoof at him, "We'll go to Rarity's and get you some new ones!"
Pinkie started hopping ahead of him, leaving him no choice but to follow. Sombra tried to ignore the looks the other ponies were giving him and dragged his hooves in despair. His royal clothes were the only things that reminded him that he was a king. Now they were ruined and unwearable.
As they reached their destination, Sombra began to grow melancholy. What if he can't get new clothes? What if when he went in to get new ones, he didn't like any of them? What if they didn't even offer help? Sombra's head began to hurt from all the what if's and he pushed them from his mind. 'Listen to me,' Sombra thought, worrying about something as trivial as clothes....
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique!" he heard a familiar voice say, "Where everything is chic- OH MY CELESTIA, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Sombra looked up and saw that it was the extremely effeminate unicorn he'd insulted only weeks ago. He couldn't remember her name, but he knew that she was friends with Twilight. He chided himself for not making the connection that Pinkie knew her as well.
The unicorn ran towards him and grabbed a rag that was hanging from one of the many racks in the store. "Oh, dear! Let me get that for you!" She exclaimed, wiping his cheek. Sombra was about to ask why she was helping him and remembered he was currently unrecognizable due to all the cake batter on him.
"Hay, Rarity!" Pinkie greeted, not acknowledging her friend's distress, "I kinda messed up my 'Welcome to Ponyville' image when I mixed up the batter and confetti!"
Rarity turned towards Pinkie and looked at her in pure horror. "Pinkie!" Rarity practically shrieked, "This poor dear is covered in CAKE BATTER?! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get that out of clothes? And don't even get me started on the mane and-"
Rarity stopped wiping Sombra's face when she turned to look at him. Once she realized it was him, her eyes narrowed and she dropped her rag. "What is he doing here?" she practically snarled. Sombra was unaccustomed to mares being able to hold such rage and wear it so menacingly. In his time, mares knew their place and did as told when told. Now this one was speaking to him first, rather than vice versa.
Pinkie could see Rarity's disdain for Sombra and quickly stepped in between them. "Rarity, please," Pinkie begged, then pulled Rarity to the side. Rarity pointed a hoof at Sombra and glared at him.
"That ruffian insulted me!" Rarity accused, slamming her hoof on the ground, "He doesn't deserve my service!"
Pinkie blinked in surprise, then turned towards Sombra. "Sombra, please apologize to Rarity," Pinkie said, "I'm sure what you said can't be that bad!" Rarity scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Not that bad? He told me that I needed to check the door before I go through it!" Rarity exclaimed, slamming her forehooves on the ground.
Sombra growled and turned towards Rarity. "I will not apologize to some lowlife, piece of-" Sombra stopped mid sentence to turn towards Pinkie, "Did you just call me Sombra?" Both mares blinked in shock at Sombra, then exchanged glances with one another. "Yeah, I called you Sombra," Pinkie said nonchalantly, "Why is it such a big deal?"
"You've been calling me 'Sombry' for as long as we've known each other," Sombra said, annoyed at Pinkie's oblivion, "why the sudden change?" The question seemed to surprise Pinkie, something that rarely happened to the pony of surprises. Then, Pinkie looked down and away from Sombra.
"Because..." Pinkie started, then blurted, "Because I thought that when I was late today and you got mad at me, I thought that all the progress we made was gone and that you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore and since I only give my friends nicknames, I didn't think you'd want yours anymore and that me calling you that would only make you upset!" Pinkie seemed to realize what she said and looked away from him again.
Sombra felt that same flurry of emotions overcome him. He wanted to yell at Pinkie for thinking he'd always been OK with that ridiculous nickname and laugh at her at the same reason. He didn't know why and he didn't like it. The feeling seemed familiar and he couldn't place where he'd felt it in his reign. 'Then maybe it's before that...' he heard a voice whisper in his head.
Sombra didn't have time to react when Rarity's snort cut through the tension. "Like he knows anything about friendship," Rarity huffed, walking away from both of them. Pinkie looked up and trotted after Rarity.
"Could you please help him?" Pinkie begged, "It's my fault he's like this, you know."
Rarity hesitated, then let out a heavy sigh. "Fine," Rarity said in a clipped tone, "but only because I don't want cake batter all over my boutique." Rarity disappeared out of the room, leaving Pinkie and Sombra by themselves. Granted, they'd been alone multiple times beforehand, but this time was different. There was a strange tension hanging between them and by the look on Pinkie's face, Sombra could tell he wasn't the only one feeling it.
When Rarity returned, she took one look at both of them and rolled her eyes. "My, my, my, you could cut through this tension with a knife!" she exclaimed dramatically, trotting between both of them. As Rarity walked, a train of brushes, clips and bottles floated behind her.
Before Sombra could ask what they were for, Rarity beat him to it. "You seriously don't think I'm letting you wear anything with all that cake batter on you?" She asked, quirking a brow upwards. Sombra was about to make a scathing retort, but Rarity stopped him by lifting him up with her magic.
Sombra let out a surprised yell, and flailed as he floated in mid-air. Suddenly, he was dropped into a tub a cold water. Sombra screamed and tried to scramble out of the tub, but Rarity held him in place with her magic.
"Stay still!" Rarity snapped, "you're making impossible to get this gunk out of your mane!"
Sombra felt more cold water being dumped onto his head and shivered. He'd lived in a icy crevice for over a thousand years, so he wasn't particularly fond of being cold. He fought to get out of the tub again, but Rarity's magic was too strong him.
"Pinkie, can you grab that scrubber and get the shampoo into Sombra's mane?" Rarity's tone made her request sound more like a command. Pinkie nodded and obliged, scrubbing the scented shampoo into his mane, humming to the strokes of the brush. Sombra realized that the scent of the shampoo was flowers and he tried push the scrubber from his head.
"I am a king!" Sombra exclaimed, "I refuse to smell like a mare!" Sombra jumped out of the tub, then felt the rush of cold air on his wet coat and mane. He shivered and froze where he stood, the sheer intensity of the coldness shocking him. Pinkie giggled, to which Sombra glared at her.
Rarity walked over and Sombra realized he splashed some of the tub water onto her. Rarity's mane laid flat against her head as she shivered and she glared at him.
"I s-said hold s-still!" she exclaimed, using her magic to hold Sombra once more. Then, Sombra felt his armor and cape, along with his crown be taken off of him.
"G-give th-those b-back!" Sombra stammered though his shivers. He knew he didn't sound all that threatening, but that didn't stop him from glaring at Rarity. She didn't flinch and tossed the clothes aside. She let go of Sombra and levitated a towel over him. She dropped it on top of him, the towel landing smack on his face.
"Pinkie, be a dear and dry off Sombra," Rarity said coolly, then began to gather her brushes. Pinkie grinned at Rarity and hopped over to Sombra.
"Okie dokie lokie!" She chirped, then grabbed the towel off of Somba. She began rubbing the towel on Sombra's head, the faint sound of squeaking being made as she did so.
When she finished, she whipped the towel off his head, leaving his mane in disarray. Then, Pinkie started on Sombra's torso, then stopped abruptly. Sombra turned around and saw that Pinkie was staring at his flank.
"What are you staring at?" Sombra snapped, turning around so Pinkie couldn't stop staring.
"I've never seen your cutie mark before!" Pinkie exclaimed giddily, hopping around him so she could see his flank. Sombra blinked in confusion and looked down at his own flank. Sombra had never paid his cutie mark any mind, seeing how it was always covered.
It was three black crystals joined at the bottom, with light reflecting off them. 'It didn't always look like that', the voice in his whispered. Sombra had at first thought the voice was a figment of his imagination- now he knew it was more than that. But, before Sombra could reply to the voice, he heard a loud gasp.
"PINKIE!" Rarity exclaimed, "What did you do to Sombra's mane?!" Sombra tried to look up at it, but failed to do so. He ran to a mirror and froze in shock. His black mane was tangled and sticking out in different directions, several large knots. Actually, it looked exactly like Pinkie's mane.
"Well, duh! You said to dry it,not to brush it!" Pinkie said nonchalantly. Sombra let out a loud yell and tried to shake his mane out, the result being futile. Pinkie was smiling and giggling as Rarity quickly tried to comb through Sombra's mess of a mane.
"Celestia, this is dreadful!" Rarity breathed as she gave Sombra's mane a large tug.
Once Sombra's mane was brushed, Rarity levitated a comb and gently ran it through Sombra's mane. "Just making sure it doesn't get messed up again," Rarity said out loud, more to herself than Sombra. Sombra took a look at his reflection and he could hardly recognize himself.
Sombra was used to wearing his crown and chin armor, and without them, he felt so bare. His armor and cape made him look regal and powerful. Now he looked like a normal pony. Well, save for his curved, red horn and fangs. Pinkie let out a giggle and snorted loudly. Sombra turned towards her and narrowed his eyes.
"What's so funny?" he questioned, taking a step towards her.
"You- you look-" Pinkie's eyes filled with tears and she let out a laugh, "NAKED!" Pinkie then collapsed into a fit of giggles and started rolling on the ground.
Sombra heard Rarity sigh and turned towards her. "Don't question her," Rarity mumbled, "it'll only make your head hurt." Rarity then walked out of the room, leaving Sombra to watch a still laughing Pinkie Pie. When she returned, she had two clothing racks following her.
"Alright," Rarity stated, "these are all of the stallion clothes I have in your size." Sombra heard a gasp and looked over at Pinkie.
"Do you know what we should do?" Pinkie breathed, putting her hooves to her face. Rarity must have caught on to what Pinkie meant, because she shared the same look.
"FASHION SHOW!" the two mares yelled simultaneously.
Sombra's ears flattened against his head and he could feel all of the color drain from his face as soon as the words left their mouths. There was a reason Sombra wore the same clothes every day- it was because he didn't like to wear other things. Those clothes were the only things he was comfortable wearing and he had to bite off several servants heads for them to realize it.
Before he could protest, Rarity dragged him into a dressing room and started pulling random clothes onto his body. Sombra tried struggling, but his attempts were futile against the surprisingly strong mare. Then, he was pushed out and fell onto his face.
"Uh..." Pinkie drawled, staring at Sombra, "I don't think that's gonna work, Rares." Sombra looked down at himself and screamed in shock. He was wearing a bright blue sequined shirt with puffy sleeves and silver buttons. On his head was a white fedora with a matching bar.
"I am NOT wearing this!" Sombra exclaimed, then tried wrestling out of the clothing. The seemingly flimsy fabric was a lot stronger than Sombra thought and he started to chew on it with his fangs.
"Get your teeth out of that right now!" Rarity exclaimed, teleporting the clothes off of him.
Sombra stopped struggling and jumped to his hooves. "You can forget about me wearing any of your ridiculous outfits!" he exclaimed, "If that- that FILTH is what you call fashion, then consider me gone!" Sombra turned up his nose and stalked away from Rarity, leaving the seamstress in shock.
"Sombra!" Pinkie shouted, leaping in front of him, "Apologize to Rarity right now!" Her eyes were narrowed to thin slits, her blue eyes that seemed so kind, held a coldness that the Crystal Empire couldn't beat. Sombra was used to these glares in his royal court from nobles and brushed it off.
"I shall do no such thing!" Sombra proclaimed, leaning into Pinkie's face, "That mare dressed me against my will and put me in mere commoner's wear!" He heard an audible gasp come from Rarity and heard exclaim, "Well, I never!" Sombra paid her no mind and focused his attention on Pinkie and what he saw genuinely shocked him.
Pinkie tried to be nice to Sombra, to be understanding, to be his friend. But, he'd insulted Rarity, one of her bestest friends, and broke a Pinkie Promise. He had made it only a week ago and he hadn't thought it was a big deal. But it was, and he'd gone and broke it. That was the last straw for Pinkie, and she had a lot of them in the event that somepony ran out.
Pinkie got in Sombra's face, her teeth bared and her eyes glowing with rage. Her blue eyes turned a fiery red and her ears had columns of steam pouring out.
"Sombra, you are going to apologize to Rarity this instant!" Pinkie screamed, her voice reaching piercing volumes, "She is my best friend and you just insulted her, even though you Pinkie Swore you wouldn't be mean to anypony!"
Sombra's jaw dropped in shock as Pinkie screamed furiously at him. Her eyes burned mercilessly, her glare challenging his own. Her sweet, kind voice turned piercing and sharp, much like the blade of a dagger. Her tone held such a anger that it seemed worthy of-
A queen, the voice echoed.
Then, Sombra blinked and Pinkie didn't look like herself. Her mane and coat shone like diamonds, her mane made into an intricate headdress, with beautiful blue crystals woven into it. She was wearing a blue, crystal dress with gold accents and jewelry adorning her. Her eyes were the same fiery red, but the whites of her eyes were glowing green with purple wisps leaking out.
Suddenly, Sombra was shoved back and Rarity was standing between him and Pinkie.
"Pinkie, stop this!" Rarity begged, "I don't like when you get like this!" Then, Pinkie blinked and her eyes reverted back to their original blue. She shook her head and groaned.
"What happened?" Pinkie asked frantically, "What did I do?"
"Oh, darling," Rarity said sadly, "you did that thing." Sombra wasn't sure what she had meant, but by Pinkie's expression he could tell that it wasn't good. Pinkie backed away and shook her head.
"Oh, no..." Pinkie whispered, then rushed towards Sombra. She wrapped her forelegs around him and squeezed lightly.
"Sombra, I'm so, so, so, so sorry!" Pinkie cried, releasing Sombra and looking up at him. Her eyes were full of emotion, tears filling to the brim. Sombra suddenly felt pain in his chest and put a hoof up to it.
Do I... Sombra thought, Do I feel guilty?
Guilt was not an emotion Sombra was familiar with. He'd imprisoned, enslaved and ruled an entire empire. Ponies grovelled at his feet on a daily basis and he enjoyed it. He made ponies mine for crystals just for the sake of profit and power. Yet, he felt guilty for making a mare cry for saying something hurtful?
Sombra looked down at Pinkie and did something that would shock everypony in the immediate vicinity. He lifted up his foreleg and slowly, but surely, wrapped it around Pinkie. He held her close to him and placed his chin on top of her head. Rarity's eyes widened in shock and she put a hoof to her mouth.
"Oh, sweet heavens," Rarity murmured quietly.
"No," Sombra said firmly, "I'm sorry."
Pinkie leaped out of Sombra's grasp and faced him with a shocked and confused look.
"Huh?!" She exclaimed, quirking a brow up in surprise. Sombra blinked and furrowed his brows.
"I'm not going to say it again," Sombra said in an annoyed tone, standing up.
Sombra heard Rarity sigh loudly and turned to see she had put a hoof to her forehead. "I swear... I'm going to get a headache..." Rarity turned away and pushed the two clothing racks away. "How about we just go with simple accessories?" Pinkie hopped up at the sound of the word 'accessories' and nodded quickly while grinning like a hyena.
Rarity left the room and returned while levitating a pile of random scarves, hats and miscellaneous items. Rarity placed the items down and began to rummage through them, tossing things over her shoulder while saying, "No, no, no, no." Sombra watched as several pairs of sunglasses, multicolored hats and hair clips clattered to the floor beside him, wondering how she could have so many.
By the twentieth 'no', Rarity growled in frustration and put her hooves in the air. "All I ask is for an accessory, Celestia!" Rarity exclaimed dramatically, "Is that too much to ask for?" She then fell to the ground and let out a sigh of defeat. "I give up," she muttered glumly, "there's nothing I can do."
Pinkie walked over to Rarity and put a consoling hoof on her shoulder. "Come on, Rares," Pinkie said, "it can't be that hard to find something for Sombra!" Rarity jumped up and leaned into Pinkie's face.
"Pinkie, of course it is!" Rarity exclaimed, "I mean, what goes well with him? Is he a autumn or a winter? What color matches his eyes? What does-"
Pinkie raised her hoof in the air and started shouting, "Oh, oh, pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" Rarity took a deep breath and sighed.
"Yes, Pinkie?" Rarity breathed, obviously stressed and tired.
"Red!" Pinkie cheered, throwing both her hooves in the air.
Both Rarity and Sombra blinked and, much like Pinkie did earlier, exclaimed, "Huh?!" Pinkie looked at both of them and giggled.
"Well, duh!" Pinkie chirped, "Sombra has red eyes and his horn is red so we should get him something that's red so that'll match and he can look nice because you said it needs to match his eyes and it does so how about red?"
Sombra was at a complete loss for words, whereas Rarity, who was used to Pinkie's fast talking, recovered quickly. 'Yes, I suppose that does make sense," Rarity admitted, then started looking through the pile for something red.
"Oooh, I'll help ya, Rares!" Pinkie exclaimed, then leaped into the air.
Rarity's eyes widened and she held her hooves up. "Pinkie, no!" she screamed, but Pinkie had already landed in the pile. An array of items flew in the air and landed on Sombra, who was unfortunate enough to be backed against a wall. A pink hat with flowers hung lopsidedly on Sombra's rear, with three scarves wrapped around his torso, and two pairs of sunglasses hanging from his ears like jewelry.
Rarity took one look at him and burst into laughter. "Oh, darling, that hat doesn't go there!" Rarity chortled, falling onto her side. Sombra narrowed his eyes and bit his tongue to prevent snapping at her. He didn't want to risk seeing Pinkie turn into that strange, crystally mare.
Why? the voiced taunted, are you scared of the truth?
Sombra was nearly seconds from losing his mind. The series of unfortunate events that took place that day were starting to take its toll on him. He could feel his anger peaking and his patience had officially run out. Then, just when he was about to explode, he heard Pinkie let out a squeal of delight.
"It's perfect!" she exclaimed, then zoomed over to Sombra. Pinkie then dashed around Sombra so fast, that it created a tiny whirlwind. All the items that had fallen onto him flew off and suddenly, something slung onto and around his neck.
Once the whirlwind dissipated, Sombra looked down at himself and saw that Pinkie had wrapped a long, red scarf onto him. He lifted up one of the ends and inspected it, a sense of familiarity pricking at his mind. "So," Pinkie said while smiling, "what do you think?"
Sombra glanced at her and another vision overtook him. Pinkie was crystally like before, but she wasn't wearing anything formal and her eyes looked normal. She was smiling at him, rather than glaring at him and fangs bared at him in aggression. Sombra was rather torn one which one he liked better.
Sombra blinked and saw Pinkie looked normal again. She had wrapped one end of the scarf around herself, while giggling. "It's a lot longer than I thought it was going to be," Pinkie said, leaning against Sombra, "we're going to need to more ponies to fit in this one!"
Pinkie started giggling and snorting at her own silly joke, causing Sombra to smile in return. Sombra couldn't actually remember the last time something had made him smile, other than slaves grovelling at his feet and a inordinate amount of crystals.
"I guess you're right, Pinkie," Sombra admitted, which caused Pinkie to freeze suddenly.
"What did you just say?" Pinkie exclaimed, leaning away from him. Sombra blinked at Pinkie and furrowed his brows in annoyance.
"What?" Sombra almost spat, "I just said you were right!" Why did mares always take things the wrong way?
Pinkie shook her head vigorously. "No, not that!" Pinkie shouted, "You just called me Pinkie!" Sombra was about to make a sarcastic reply, but stopped himself from doing so. He realized that in his entire time of knowing her, he'd never once called her Pinkie. He always called her names, like "impudent mare" or "the pink menace".
"Huh," Sombra said out loud, "I believe I just did." Pinkie then hugged Sombra tightly and squealed happily.
"Yay! Now you can give ME a nickname!" she cheered, laughing at Sombra's reaction. Pinkie started walking towards the door of the boutique, to which Sombra followed, due to the scarf being around both their necks.
"Thanks, Rarity!" Pinkie exclaimed, waving her hoof in the air. Sombra let out a ragged sigh and rolled his eyes as they closed the door to the boutique. I guess some things just don't change, Pinkie thought, glancing over at the bored stallion.
"Hey, how about we get some cake?" Pinkie suggested, hopping alongside Sombra. Sombra shook his head disgustedly.
"No, thanks," he said darkly, shivering slightly, "I think I've had enough for another millennia!" While Pinkie and Sombra were outside walking and talking, Rarity was watching from the window curiously.
"Oh, sweet Celestia," Rarity whispered, "I have to get to Twilight's! She is not going to believe what I'm about to tell her!"
Author's Note
Harmony: Aw, looks like Sombra's heart isn't as black as we thought! I really enjoyed writing this story, you guys. I got into SombraPie because of RainbowBob, the wonderful writer of "Feeling Pinkie Mean". Please, go read his stories- they are FANTASTIC!!! Also, a very special thanks to Authora97 for proofreading my work. Thank you~!
Pinkie: Come on, Sombry! Come greet the readers!
Sombra: No! I refuse to lower myself to speaking commoners!
Pinkie: *stern look* Sombry...
Sombra: *flinches slightly, then sighs* fine. Hello, Imbeciles. There, you happy?
Pinkie: Well, it'll do.
Harmony: Ah, love. Anyway, this story took some SERIOUS time! Also, I'm contemplating on making a series about Sombry and Pinkie! I would like to hear your opinion on the subject!
Sombra; Who are you kidding? You're just going to make it, anyway.
Harmony: Yeah, I will, it's going to happen.
EDIT: Wow, I had no idea what I was getting into...
Edit 2: Two years later and the ship goes on strong.
