Author's Note
Queen Pinkamena's POV
A Royal Tour: 1
Maybe we should start the tour in the throne room, it would be very appropriate, wouldn’t you think? I do have a throne of my own, it is the centermost and just before the two other thrones. Crysalis to the right and Sombra to the left.
Chrysalis was very easy to convince, even if I did have to pull a prank on her first. She eagerly enjoyed blowing up the blue balloon I handed over to her. Once that was done she handed me the balloon back. I tied the balloon with a string.
As she looked into the semi clear balloon, she claimed to see an image of herself inside the balloon. I humoured her about the statement, even if I knew she is right. I just did not feel like letting on the trick behind this effect. Pulling a balloon from my flank may be easy to explain, but integrating the mirror pool into this equation, just was more than I felt to explain to her. I had trapped a part of her, the aspects of her persona I was not comfortable with or couldn’t trust. If only I had realised, just how similar we can be on some points.
Pulling Sombra in is an entirely different story, in part, due to him never really appearing in his flesh, in a sense one could hug. I did eventually manage to make him blow up another blue balloon, with that, I had him where I wanted him. Had he seen the mirror image, I guess we were wiser than to let on. He never told me directly. Maybe the mere image scared him to silence.
Like a true royal, I carry a blade, even if it merely looks like a common sward of local design. Celestia should know the difference on first glance since it isn’t forged out of mere metal, like the common variety is. It is one of the higher tricks of Alicorns. Regular Ponies, Earth, Unicorn or Pegasus wouldn’t pick up on this since they can’t see a mere Earth Pony wielding such a powerful blade.
Some of my old friends had seen me doing a few things a mere Earth Pony wasn’t expected to manage. Walking up the wall, levitation or flight, aside from cloud control. Beeing as fast as Rainbow Dash is, never really did hit home, so long as I just run on the ground, it was merely taken for Earth magic, as opposed to the Pegasi magic, or the Unicorn magic.
Just like Celestia, I have these fancy tainted windows with prophetic images. Even if some of these images are old by now, the prophecy still stay in place until the window is needed for a new omen. The large double doors to the rest of the castle facing my throne. I have a door to my throne, while Chysalis and Sombra have theirs behind the room.
Only powerful Unicorns and Alicorns could follow me down to my chambers under the throne. I guess it is how I like it. I have a small dining room and a wardrobe, aside from the bed room. I can easily go down, just following the path as it turns and twists, the way I had it designed, even if that merely was for my personal amusement, rather than other practical reasons.
Over the royal throne room, we have the Bat Pony troops, where else? It is the perfect place since they are close by at all times. Ready to swoop down if danger is looming, or to burst out to the right and left, if the castle was to be assaulted. This really was a lovely contribution. I have to thank Flutter Bat for it, even if she is oblivious of it to this day. I don’t feel like letting on, either.
I insisted to have a ball room and it had to be close. The place is just on the other side of the hall. Actually, it is on three stores, just to make sure we can have every Pony or any other dignitary or VIP on any party I deem necessary.
I commonly wear a pink top and skirt, panties integrated. Unlike the old Rarity, I prompted on the thick rubber, although I did add a black silver lining on the rim of the garments. Chysalis garb is identical to mine, aside from the colours are reversed and it was tailored to fit her. Sombra was given a male version of the same. I couldn’t quite muster the poor joke on his part, having him wear a skirt. He simply doesn’t have what it takes to fill out either a skirt or a top, either.
I may like pulling funny pranks, but why be pointless? On the other hand, we do need and enjoy him and his company too. I want him to enjoy himself here with us.
In honour of our new royal status, both hooficure and manicure is now enjoyed on a daily basis, each night before bed. I like the looks of my hooves a bright pink, just as I enjoy the feeling of soft elasticity.
Since Chrysalis asked, I figured she could have her black instead, it would go much better with her anyway. Sombra did not like to have any special colour, but it seems as if he does enjoy the daily treat, maybe that is in part due to the parts of his old personality Iripped out of him, or it may be because he can have it in privacy, no Pony will ever be the wiser.
Then I granted Sombra another fun idea, he suggested our servants were to wear collars. Infusing the collar with certain practical and amusing effects, certainly did add to the flair too. He did approve of the design as he saw it in use. These collars are for all servants, Changelings, Ponies; Earth, Pegasu and Unicorns alike. I have come to enjoy the glistering black, thick rubber collars on our servants immensely, just as both Chrysalis and Sombra does.
Instead of the common dungeons, most castles seem to sport, I chose a very different approach. I just trap them in a balloon and place it on the wall of the royal throne room, much more fun and with a very interesting effect.
Queen Pinkamena's POV
Author's Note
Prince Sombra
Prince Sombra: 2
“Would you mind blowing up a balloon for me, King Sombra?” the pink mare I knew as Pinkie Pie kindly asked with a curious tone to her voice.
“I can’t make a mare inside, can I?” I responded as I accepted the balloon, put it to my lips and exhaled.
The moment I was exhaling, I realised something was terribly wrong. With the exhaled air, I slowly slipped into the balloon as it was filling up with air. For a moment, I panicked. What happened just couldn’t happen.
Looking out through the pink rubber the balloon had been made out of, I could see what looks like myself, as he is continuing to exhale air into the balloon. Then he pinched the balloon and inhaled, before he continued to fill the balloon up, to what I thought would burst her balloon.
For a moment, I merely floated within the balloon, large as it had become already. I think it is about two feet across, which should be impossible, as if it wasn’t impossible to pull a balloon off of your flank, it was clear that this was a part of her mark.
Little by little, it occurred to me, just what she had pulled over my head. Asking me to blow up her balloon had merely been a trick in order to catch me, to pull me out of my own body. Only, then I saw something even more disturbing, part of me still is standing there, holding on to the balloon, then handing it back to her.
I could see her tying the string around the entrance to the balloon, where I had entered her balloon. She is tying the string to the wall, the string now attached to a handle of some kind, most likely intended for just this purpose.
Thrugh the semi transparent balloon, I could see a plaque with my name, “Prince Sombra” the Plaque simply reads, as I look at it.
For some reason, I can’t hear what they say outside of the balloon that now is my prison, my entire world. I can see what they are doing, as if pearing through a telescope. If I couldn’t hear them, they couldn’t hear me either.
Once I had managed to calm myself and collect my wits, I soon found other balloons hanging along the wall, to my right and left, even if I can’t see who is in them, if any. Maybe they were merely there to scare me, or some kind of demented party decorations? A chill crept up and down my spine as I pondered what she had just done and what it meant to me.
Then I had another, a second bout of panic, as it hit me, just how small the balloon is. How long would my air last? I had no idea, I had never been concerned with this kind of a problem and thus had no idea, just how long it would last or how much I needed to sustain myself. Maybe I should have, or maybe it was for the better, I did not know.
Once it dawned upon me, the air did not show any sign of growing stale, I could finally calm down a little, at least for a while. How long my composure would last me, this time, is up for the toss, since I had no idea what was to cross my mind next.
Of course it had to happen, my free body walked away, leaving me by the wall inside of the balloon he just inflated and left me where I am. Apparently, the pink mare her granted him a throne on her left side, by the looks of it.
I am the undesirable leftovers, the parts of him she had no use for, other than decoration and filling up a balloon for some other purposes I could not dream up. On the other hoof, I am the kinder, gentler part of the person known as King Sombra. Possibly the part least prone to partying and laughter as well. Even if I happen to be the more somber end of this stick.
