Though Fluttershy was to tell the story, there were many gaps that she'd been unable to fill on her own (or at least effectively) and so Sombra had chimed in explaining the extent of what he remembered, however fuzzily it might have been. Indeed, most of the story had been his up to this point.

A yawn cuts off the storytelling as the pegasus--now either perfectly content to be leaning upon you, or not realizing it--begins to feel the lateness of the hour.

"Oh...s-sorry," she manages after the yawn had passed, though another follows in its wake: your own.

Sombra chuckles. "It appears my little ponies are tired." You don't quite miss the fact that he used the affectionate term which Princess Celestia was so very fond of. "Fluttershy, do you think Bluebell might sleep here for the night? I doubt very much she wishes to trek home after what just happened."

You barely suppress a little shudder at the memory. Still... "If it's too much trouble--"

"Oh, it's not," she assures you, with confidence you don't expect from the mare. "You can sleep in my bed."

"Where will you sleep? I couldn't impose like that," you protest.

Fluttershy pats a hoof on the couch. "This will do fine," she declares. "It's very comfortable."

"Then I'll take it," you reply. "Sleep in your bed, Fluttershy. I'll be fine down here."

There's a moment where you almost expect Fluttershy to try to insist, but she finally nods. "A-alright. I'll get you a blanket, then." She slides off the couch gracefully and heads upstairs, her hooves tapping against each wooden step. You turn your glance to Sombra, who is watching her ascend rather openly.

"I hope you aren't the type to become quickly jealous," he says, not tearing his eyes away from Fluttershy. "I mean no slight to you, or any of my ponies, of which there will be many if my ambitions become realized. I will personally attend to your needs, carnal or otherwise, as I am capable of." He turns to you, smiling. "Of course, I won't always be around all the time. I doubt very much that you would be denied a companion in bed, were you to but ask."

"You...you aren't going to..?"

He shakes his head. "The night is young enough to last, and deep enough that I may accomplish much in it." The grey stallion moves not unlike Fluttershy did as he stretches his way off of his own seat. Instead of a wispy, delicate grace, his moves are feline and predatory, reinforcing that he is every bit a hunter. He grins up at you, just a bit of his fangs shown off in the expression. "Perhaps you shall have a third in the morning, though I will leave it to that pony to discover you."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" you ask. "N-no disrespect, Your Highness, but that...that almost ended badly for me. Even if I wasn't the brightest at the time..."

He trots up to you, places both forehooves on your shoulders, and commands you wordlessly to look into his ruby eyes. "Firstly, you may call me Sombra behind closed doors. Should the situation call for titles, however, I think I would prefer My King instead of Your Highness. You said it so deliciously last night, after all." You blush and nod, finding no arguments to be made. "And I should do something to differentiate myself from the...status quo. Secondly, Fluttershy will react much more reasonably the next time. And perhaps you might be the first the new pony finds wearing my mark."

None of this is wrong, and even unseen by Sombra, Fluttershy nods behind him, having returned with a fluffy blanket that matches her coat so closely it nearly blends in, balanced between her wings. "Alright, Sombra. My King," you amend, finding the words do bring a smile to your lips. "I trust you. We both do."

He glances behind himself and nods to Fluttershy. Without giving her a chance to react, he leans in and seizes her in a deep and fierce kiss. Her wings go up with an audible snap and the blanket falls to the floor as her eyes widen, then ease shut as she reciprocates. You can't help but feel a little jealous at the display--just a little-little--but you don't let it sour the mood.

With a demonstration of his re-found talents, he dissolves into a silky black cloud and slips out under the front door, leaving Fluttershy kissing the air for a moment before snapping her mouth closed and blushing as pink as her mane. "Um...a-anyway, I brought you that blanket," she begins, noticing only then that she'd dropped it. Picking it up once more, she gives it a flick in the air and sets it beside you on the couch. "Is there anything else you need, Bluebell?"

Sombra's words echo in your head as you look at the blanket. It will keep you warm, yes, but...maybe there was something better. "Actually..."

The Shadow King arrives in the same way he always does. The deep violet curtains upon the windows stir with his arrival, his form swiftly coalescing from the cloud that had slid in through a barely-cracked window, then standing tall, eyes darting about efficiently, sizing up the room. Perhaps a bit too much purple, but he certainly isn't here to critique the design.

No, he was here to visit a mare who would have every reason to join his rapidly growing herd. He winces internally at the thought as he quietly ascends the stairs in back; 'herd' just seems so wrong, as does 'harem'. He'd days ago come to the decision of what he wanted in his life, and while carnal delights and gorgeous and devoted mares were certainly perks, it certainly isn't his end goal.

The long game, however, can wait; he locates his quarry, but halts as he hears not one but two distinctly different sets of breathing. One is delicate and faint. The other snores with a row like an old hoof-cranked mining drill. He freezes and holds his own breath as he listens closely. Was he wrong? His quarry was single and not prone to dragging home random stallions upon a whim--not that he thinks lesser of Bluebell for enjoying warm company, mind!--but that has to be the snoring of a stallion. He trusts his instincts, but verifies them no less. The door on the left gets his attention first.

Indeed, more purple. The room is not otherwise different from the store-front downstairs, just as decorated and with even more creative appurtenances. The main difference is a canopy-covered bed as its centerpiece, and upon it lays a covered but clearly solitary form. Bewildered, Sombra backs out and ventures just as silently into the other room. A smaller, humbler bed sits across the mostly empty space from a toy chest. The filly that sleeps upon that bed is not his target; mayhap in a few years, but certainly not this night. With a glow of his horn, he places an indelicate yet effective dampening field in the room and backs out, closing the door behind him.

At most, this will prevent the young filly from hearing any voices from the next room over. At minimum, it will spare her from the jackhammer noise of her older sister's snoring for a night.

He approaches the master bedroom once more, and for the first time since his foray through the Everfree, Sombra feels an unpleasant sensation he's known precious few times in his long life: Fear. There is no safety net here. Fluttershy had seen him for the wounded, vulnerable stallion he'd been after the encounter with the manticore. For all her merits, Bluebell had been something of an experiment, a spur-of-the-moment conquest. If he'd failed there, she wouldn't have mattered in the long term. Who, save Fluttershy, would believe a random earth pony claiming she'd been visited by King Sombra?

If he fails here, however, he risks directly poking the slumbering ursae that are Princesses Celestia and Luna.

No, this particular conquest calls for subtlety and patience. On the spot, he re-evaluates his claim to Bluebell. Roam of course was not built in a single night. This however does not mean that the foundation cannot be laid. He slips into the room, and takes in the scene.

Moonlight through the window reveals the white unicorn's form sharply against dark satin bedsheets. The black sleeping mask she wears stands in equally stark contrast, giving Sombra comfort: Were she to wake unexpectedly, it will buy him additional time to escape with her none the wiser to his imminent meddling. At least, it will keep her from knowing exactly who is doing the meddling.

He plans a risky move, but he doesn't have any other options. A note of invitation, even a token would be evidence of his presence, and could send her summoning the nearest chapter of the Royal Guard. He cannot rouse her and risk direct contact until he was sure of how she'd react to his offers.

Sombra closes his eyes and slips into Rarity's dreams.

Like the Grand Galloping Gala was happening all over again, she remembers this night and yet it is new, happening to her as she recalls little details. The march from the carriage with her ~~friends~~

escort at her side, keeping pace with her. There is an itch of a memory, remembering how much of a pompous ass the ~~white unic~~

charcoal stallion was not. In fact, as his aura brings to her another glass of deep red wine along with his own, she feels a giddiness at the idea that maybe her fantasy of a noble gentlecolt wasn't so far-fetched! It seems too good to be true, then the grand doors to the garden ~~burst open with a rumble~~

are opened before them and them alone. The rest of the Gala falls behind them into quiet, save for the dulcet strings, magically amplified. She asks him of his estate, if he has any family. No estate; not anymore, but he is not without his means. Though her face falters, she remains with him as he vaguely describes a grand plan to have not only an estate, but what almost sounds like an entirely new nation upon which to build it.

Oh, it is ambitious, he agrees with a winning, brilliant ~~fanged~~ smile. However he can make it happen and he is already making influential friends. Maybe a certain yellow pegasus he'd seen her arrive with is already in his court.

~~Didn't she arrive only with him, she asks?~~ She arches an eyebrow; Fluttershy with ambitions like her own? He nods, and then in a bold move, leans in and kisses her lips softly.

"Maybe you should talk with her when you wake up, my dear."

You weren't initially planning on spending the rest of the night like this, it's true, but as you take stock of your situation, it's hardly anything to complain about. There are blankets below, but you find you don't need them; the air is cool but not unpleasantly so.

Maybe it's everything to do with the lone yellow wing extended over your side, or the way its owner has taken your head under her chin, almost as a stallion possessively holding his mare. No; more accurately, it's protective. She had apologized to you no less than five times between downstairs and where you now both lay, for having taken so long to rush to your rescue. No matter how many times you told her that you weren't upset with her at all.

"Fluttershy?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't be upset with yourself. I'm not afraid anymore," you assure her. It isn't a total lie but you still feel vaguely like a young filly having been pulled out of the way of a speeding cart at the last second. You expect her to reply noncommittally as she had before, in an 'okay but I still am' fashion.

"So, um...y-you're not here because..."

"I'm here because I want to be. We're in a herd together now, or close to it." You smile at the thought, one you'd never seriously entertained even a week ago. "I'd like you as a friend even without that."

There is no verbal response, but as you drift to sleep this time, her forelimbs and wings are just a bit more relaxed and comfortable to be within.

Author's Note

Well, this was in pending for months. I feel lousy for it only being a 2k-ish word count, but I got it out! A million thanks to a grey pony and a shadow, both of whom have helped pre-read and bounce all my silly ideas off of for this story...and a million more thanks for them keeping me sane in the most trying months I've endured. Between the pair of them, this tale may see completion sometime in the foreseeable future!