A Darkened Heart

"Princess! Where have you been?!" Several disgruntled guards yelled as they galloped up to the strange duo trotting into town. Stopping a few feet from their princess, the guards dropped their heads in a small bow while trying to catch their breaths. "Princess Celestia ordered us to protect you. You can't just disappear on us like that!"

The sheepish princess rubbed the back of her head guiltily thinking back to the morning. She most certainly had disappeared on them with the help of a quick little teleportation spell. It was obvious that the guards had been running all over town trying to find her. "Sorry. I wanted to see if the rumors about the changelings in the Everfree Forest were true." She admitted.

"All the more reason for us to accompany you princess." Said the largest of the group straitening up from his bow. Despite being a unicorn he was quite large and his bright red coat made him almost painful to look at, quite like trying to stare at the sun. She remembered him as being the leader of the guard but she couldn't quite bring his name to mind. "Those changelings can't be controlled or trusted. Crafty shape shifters..." He grumbled the last sentence with disgust dripping off his words.

"What wonderful guards you are losing your charge like that." Sombra scoffed. "It's heartening to see that Celestia sends only the best to protect her new little princess."

Taking notice of him for the first time, the captain narrowed his eyes at him. "That is Princess Celestia to you peasant." Sombra bristled at the insult and narrowed his eyes in return. "Who might you be anyways? Such garbage shouldn't be standing next to the princess." Several of the guards laughed when they took notice of the twigs and leaves caught in his mane and the mud on his hooves.

Sombra opened his mouth to retort but was surprised when Twilight's voice rang out angrily. "You will not speak to my friend like that. He was being attacked by changelings and I saved him. He is my friend and he will be staying with me in my home for the time being. So this 'garbage', as you so lovingly called him, is now your charge as well. Is that clear captain?"

The guard's eyes went wide with shock and he quickly stood at attention. "Yes princess." The guard answered quickly before flashing a murderous glance at Sombra who promptly smiled innocently back.

Giving a quick nod, Twilight turned to look at Sombra. "And Darkhorn, please don't speak to my guards in such a way. It's not their fault that they couldn't keep track of me." She scuffed at the ground with one of her hooves. "I did kinda sneak away from them."

Sombra blinked in surprise. A princess with a rebellious streak, eh? Well that could work nicely for me in the future. He thought with a dozen dark plans forming in his mind. Most involved sneaking away with the princess to go on some little errand or adventure without her guards and the princess promptly never being heard from again.

A small smile worked it's way onto his face and, with a voice that was genuinely happy, he replied. "Of course princess."

Twilight smiled sweetly and turned her attention back to her guards while Sombra idly toyed with the different ways to remove such a powerful obstacle in his path. He thought of mysterious fires, poisons, wild animals, torture machines...Oh the list was endless and Sombra felt almost giddy with the new prospects in his head.

His favorite had to be destroying Twilight with his own hooves and, unbidden, a memory from earlier in the day floated to the forefront of his mind. Sombra was standing over Twilight with her on her back looking up in surprise. This was where Sombra had tried to drive his hoof through the princess's squishy face. He wished he had succeeded and forced his imagination to go through with the idea.

Imaginary Sombra lifted his hoof back and felt a jolt of joy as he would soon end her miserable existence. But, instead of sending it careening into the helpless alicorn's face, it instead lowered slowly and gently touched her cheek. Her look of surprise soon changed to one of shyness with a light blush rising in her cheeks through her violet fur and her face appeared to be growing in size. That was when Sombra realized she wasn't getting bigger, but was getting closer. Imaginary Sombra lowered his face to hers and...

Sombra yelped and promptly dropped to the ground, covering his face with his hooves. Where in the darkest depths of Tartarus did that come from. He felt physically sick and felt like he was going to empty his stomach onto the dirt path he was lying on. Luckily, his stomach had been empty since his revival so that wasn't an issue.

What was an issue, however, was all the attention that Sombra had most certainly received from his little outburst. Slowly he uncovered his eyes and wasn't surprised to see them all staring at him. Slowly he picked himself back onto his hooves and uttered a small "Sorry".

The captain just scoffed and looked away with his guard following suite while Twilight just looked at him with an expression of concern. "Are you feeling alright Darkhorn?"

"Yeah..Just a little tired." He offered lamely.

She nodded and turned to her guards. "We will be returning home now. Remember what we talked about."

The guards promptly nodded and turned from the princess leaving only the captain behind to guard her before galloping off.

Twilight turned her attention back to Sombra. "I'm sure it's been a tough day for you. Let's get some rest." She said with a smile before turning towards the direction of her home. "I guess I won't tell Pinkie Pie about you till tomorrow." She muttered thoughtfully thinking of the parties that Pinkie Pie usually threw for new arrivals.

Sombra was left only to think about how his imagination had run rampant and conjured such a horrendous scenario while he followed behind Twilight and her guard. Disgusting was the only word he could use to describe it.

Besides his mutinous imagination, the only other thing one his mind was: What the hay is a Pinkie Pie?