Frienimiesby Melody_WingsChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2 (Edited)Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Author's Note Hi everypony, this is my first story so excuse me if this doesn't turn out that good Anyway, I'm going to try to post a new chapter every week if not sooner Constrictive criticism welcome BTW: this is Sombra-Shy so if you don't like it, don't read it! Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic no matter how much I want to. However, this story is entirely mine Enjoy! Chapter 1 The summer sun was beating down upon the green earth as, inside her cottage, Fluttershy was putting up her mane into an elegant bun, getting ready for her date. She sighed, rubbing her face with her hooves, the dark circles under her eyes extremely noticeable. She hadn't slept well that night, not at all. The pegasus shivered as she remembered the dream. It was one she knew very well and it contained Him... Not long after the battle of the Crystal Heart did the nightmares start. At first, they were little and harmless, only featuring his red eyes with purple smoke billowing out of them and his abnormal horn. Soon, it was showing him whole and he was laughing at her, taunting her, whispering her name. Only last night was different, it was him again but he lost his regal attire and was cut and bruised, his eyes losing the smoke. He was reaching out to her as vines wrapped around his body, suffocating him. "Fluttershy..." he croaked. Then she woke up. She assured herself that it was a horrible nightmare and that nothing was going to happen yet inside she thought otherwise. She slipped on a light green dress Discord got her for her birthday last year... Discord... How she missed him... One year ago, Fluttershy had managed to convince Discord to tell Princess Luna about his feelings and the two had been dating until about two months ago, when they were wed. She wiped away a happy tear at the idea of Discord being in love and being loved back truly for the first time in his long life. Sadly, Fluttershy had too moved on, herself dating Big Mac. She never felt real love towards him, more like puppy love (she had a crush on him a few months ago) but now it was harder and harder to be in love with him. If she told somepony, they would tell her to dump him but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. So, she carried on hoping their friendship would eventually blossom into true love. Fluttershy nearly forgot that she Pinkie Promised to bring strawberries to the date. She galloped up to the cupboard but there were no strawberries there. So, she grabbed a woven basket, closed the door and galloped off into the Everfree Forest. *** Celestia's sunlight barely reached the canopy level of the trees, let alone Fluttershy. Slowly, she trotted through the dark forest, flinching at every rustle in the bushes. The unfamiliar cold wind was blowing in her face, destroying her perfectly neat bun, as a thousand pairs of golden eyes watched her from the shadows. Suddenly, she heard a little shriek. It was coming from an old oak tree before her. She crept up to it and saw that it was hollow, she leaned in... And got smacked in the muzzle by a pair of light grey wings. She rubbed her now pink muzzle looking at what hit her. She was surprised when she saw a little grey dove inside the hollow oak tree. "Hello there, little one" she whispered, smiling. "I'm not going to hurt you." The dove hesitated but then flew over and perched onto her sholder. She giggled and asked "What is your name?" The dove immediately became folorn, it sang a few short notes before drooping his head. "How can you not have a name!" gasped Fluttershy, before shaking her head. "Well I'm going to give you one." The dove immediately perked up, squeaking once more. "I'm going to call you..." she pondered, trying to think of a good name. "Eric!" she suddenly squeaked, the dove loosing his balance and toppling to the ground. "Ooops," she whispered, checking the dove over to see if he was alright. "Did you like your new name that much?" she giggled. Eric face-winged himself. *** She and Eric were picking strawberries when she heard a rustle in the leaves coming from somewhere under the tree. Fluttershy thought she was hearing things but her curiousity won her over when she head a low moan escape from under the bush. She leaned down and moved the branches out of the way. As soon as she saw what she had uncovered she wished she had not seen. A thin body lay at her feet, bruised in many places. Deep, filthy and long gashes ran across his body, his breath jaggered and uneaven. His black fur was scarred and he was unconscious. But the one thing that made Fluttershy's blood run cold was the identity of the stallion. She could recognise him anywhere... It was the former ruler of the Crystal Empire, tyrant and king. The pony that was lying, near death, before of her was King Sombra... Chapter 2 (Edited)Fluttershy screamed. If anypony else was there, they would be extremely surprised to see Fluttershy reach the volume of an ambulance siren. She continued screaming until the stallion opened a blood red eye, only to be whacked hard in the face by a strawberry-filled basket. Fluttershy immediately felt ashamed at her violent move. It was not like her to almost kill somepony at first sight. Cautiously, she prodded him in the back with a stick, yelping as he growled, shifting his weight. Suddenly, as she went to prod him in the back again to watch his reaction, a cold voice whispered softly in the wind whirling around her. 'You do realise that if you leave him out here, he will die...' whispered the voice. Fluttershy could have sworn that it was behind her but as she whipped around, all she saw were ancient, gnarled trees. "W-who are you?" she asked out loud. For a moment, she thought the voice was Sombra's but quickly chased the thought away. He was unconscious and so unable to speak. 'It is me', the voice replied and Fluttershy felt it smirking. "Who is 'me'?" asked Fluttershy. The voice didn't answer but instead, the wind whirled around Sombra, tugging at the ripped cape and pulling at his mane. Fluttershy felt the blood drain out of her face as she realised just how badly injured he was. His body was covered in scars and cuts and a long, deep and ugly wound stretched out across his right hoof. His mouth was open and his fangs were stained with blood. In fact, his whole body was. The dirtiness of the forest didn't help as many of his wounds could become infected very easily. Jaggered bone poked through the wound on his right hoof, causing Fluttershy to look away before she was sick. For the first time ever, she felt sorry for him. He could have been mistaken for a dead body had they not heard his ragged breathing coming from his sweat-drenched chest. What could she do? One one hoof, if she helped him, he could take over the Crystal Empire again of even worse, all of Equestria! She would be known as a traitor because she saved the enemy and could suffer drastically from the result. However, on the other, he could and would die if she left him there and she would be responsible for the death of a pony! If she gets extremely upset by animal deaths, how would she react to the death of a sapient being? Would she be hated and punished by the princesses? Fluttershy shuddered at thought of the consequences behind the death of him. Reluctantly, she let out a long sigh and told Eric to find Harry the bear and to grab a pencil and clean piece of parchment on the way back. When Eric returned, she first started to write and apologetic letter to Big Mac about her absence. Dearest Big Mac, she wrote I apologise for my absence to our date as a young falcon crashed near my home and it was severely injured. I am so sorry I couldn't make it to our date at Sweet Apple Acres, I hope you don't mind too much. Maybe we can reschedule the date for another day, if you want to of course... Lots of love, your loving marefriend Fluttershy xxx Fluttershy felt bad about lying to Big Mac but she knew that his reaction is would not improve if she told him the truth. Carefully, she rolled it up into a scroll, sealing it, and passed it to the little grey dove, telling him to go to Sweet Apple Acres and give it to a big red stallion and after that, to come to the little cottage on the outskirts of the Everfree. He whistled and flew off, nimbly diving between the branches.. As she turned around again, she saw that she had to carefully put the king onto Harry's back. Harry lowered his head and moved so that Sombra's back was on Harry's neck. With one swift motion, he flipped King Sombra onto his back, the tyrant wincing from the pain, and Harry stood there waiting for Fluttershy's command to move. She sighed and together, they started on the long journey home. *** As soon as Fluttershy entered the cottage, she locked the door and shut the blinds. No pony could seenthem now. Slowly, she helped Harry trudge upstairs to Discord's old room, Sombra dangling from his back like a lifeless doll. When they reached the room, Fluttershy helped Sombra down Harry's back, laying him carefully onto the bed. She turned to Harry and gently shooed him out, telling him he could make himself comfortable the couch and that she will bring him some fish for helping her. As soon as he left, Fluttershy ran out of the room, only to return carrying several medicines and bandages. Despite not being a medic pony, she immediately siesed the antiseptic and began cleaning each wound throughtly. To her shock, she found out that the large gash on his right hoof was not infected, despite the conditions he had been in. Relieved, Fluttershy began bandaging some of the smaller wounds. Satisfied by her work, she managed to give him him a painkiller and began stitching up the major ones, bandaging them afterwards. After throwing the quilt over him, she left the room to give Harry his thank-you meal. 'Sweet Celestia,' she thought. 'What have I gotten myself into?' Chapter 3His head hurt... A terrible pain throbbed repeatedly through his mind as he stirred, another in his right hoof. Groaning, he tried to lift his aching body off the bed he had been lying on for... Wait, bed? Sombra immediately opened his eyes to find himself in a small and unfamiliar room. And it wasn't crystal. Panicking, Sombra lifted his head to try to understand where he was, only to receive confusion by the room's looks. The tiny suite gave of a warm red glow despite having no red in it. Purple and white spirals covered the walls, giving off the illusion of movement. The windows were cresent-shaped, and dotted about randomly on the walls. Some paintings littered the walls. Sombra moved his aching head to look at them yet only manager to confuse himself more as the paintings were moving! Sombra desperately lit his horn to teleport away from this frightening place yet nothing happens. He tried again but his horn didn't even show a spark. "Stupid horn," he muttered, cursing the world. Princess Lovey-Dovey was sure to find him if he didn't leave soon. He thought about going back to the forest but then re-thought it. Something wanted to kill him, he was sure of it. It must be Princess Lovey-Dovey and her Princess Squad. Who else would be brave enough to go against the most powerful unicorn in Equestria? Not that they were brave, they were the most cowardly cowards there ever was, are and will be. Hiding in their little towers, waiting for a miracle to save them from the constant dangers they keep looking for. He tried lighting his horn again but to no avail. He was stuck here. Unless... Sombra tried lifting a hoof, groaning. The pain was electric. Clenching his teeth, he crawled off the surprisingly comfortable bed and flipped his beaten-up body onto the floor. He tried getting up but kept failing miserably. Groaning, he contracted his body, whimpering slightly at the pain, and extracted it, moving in some sort of formation of a crystalworm. Every few moves, he cursed the stupid princesses, especially Lovey-Dovey. Sweat lingered on his back as he shuffled forwards, towards the door. Finally reaching it, he clambered up to his hooves, shakily, and reached out his left hoof towards the doorknob. Big mistake. His blood-red eyes widened with realisation as he felt something rip in his right front hoof and he came crashing down to the floor, swearing under his breath as he tried getting up again... *** The loud noise coming from upstairs startled Fluttershy, who has been sitting on her couch reading 'The Pony of the Opera' with great interest. She glanced at the window to see that it was already around late evening. She quickly put down the library book and hastily made her way up the stairs, groaning inwardly at the fact that he had to gain consciousness now, right in the middle of a good book she borrowed off Twilight. Her thoughts lingered on the lavender mare as how she was starting to sound like her bookish friend but shook them off. After taking a deep breath, Fluttershy entered the guest room. What she saw surprised her greatly as she found herself face-to-face with a certain scowling, former King of Shadows. He grunted before crashing to the floor and Fluttershy's horror, did not move. Fluttershy immediately started checking for his pulse and realised that he had only lost consciousness. She glanced over at his face, almost giggling at his current situation. A mighty (well, not so much after the events at the Crystal Empire) unicorn King literally lying unconscious before a weak pegasus mare. She immediately scoulded herself for thinking in such a mean way about him and began thinking about his wounds. To her terror, she noticed that most of her neat stitching had came undone and her bandaged were dirty and blood-soaked. Fluttershy managed to carefully lift him onto his bed, he was actually not that heavy because of his forest weeks, and began unravelling his bandages. She dashed out the room to grab the first aid kit, a needle and some thread, bottle of disinfectant and a painkiller. Her gestures reminded her of the afternoon when she just brought him into her care. Hearing a groan coming from the room, she galloped into the room again with her medical supplies to find her eyes were met with confused red ones. She squeaked and hid behind the door, dropping the stuff she had been carrying. When she finally felt brave enough to see what he was doing, she felt surprised that he had not moved at all. Instead, he seemed to have been watching her with great interest. Slowly, Fluttershy crept up to him until they were about a leg away from each other. "Um... Hi Sombra," whispered Fluttershy, hiding behind her mane. "I am Fluttershy, you probably don't remember but I was there at the Crystal Empire when you... Um... Came back all... Um... Um... Scary." 'Nice going, Fluttershy!' a voice commented. She shook her head, thinking that it was her imagination. She saw that the armour- less former-king was staring emotionless at her. "Anyway, I am looking after you here. This is my cottage... Your in the guest room... Um..." She started feeling uncomfortable being the only one speaking but swallowed the feeling away as she continued her one-sided conversation in hope of something she did not know yet. He cocked his head to one side and whispered in a quiet, raspy voice. "Wounds... How? Attacked?" He knew better than to trust a little pegasus filly but he bet that she was so scared, she probably won't even dream about lying. "Oh... Well... Um..." Fluttershy stammered. "I found you in the Everfree Forest very weak and I took you in." she muttered, quietly, avoiding his eye contact. The silence thickened for a few minutes until Fluttershy whispered "Can I have you right front hoof, if you don't mind..." Sombra's eyes narrowed as his gaze flickered between his partly unbandaged hoof to her teal eyes and back at his hoof again. Reluctantly, he gave in, extending his hoof and watched curiously as she began her work on his hoof. 'Why did she take me in?' was his last thought for the day as he slipped out of consciousness. 'Stupid filly...' Chapter 4A green flame lit up the crystal library room just as Twilight came trotting down the stairs. “Hi Spike!” she called, trying to balance a tall stack of books between her wings. The alicorn turned to her assistant with a smile and started levitating the books off her back. “Its Princess Cadence! Probably something positive.” “Read it out then, please!” said Twilight, now slotting the new books into spaces in the library. “He, hem…” Spike coughed unraveling the scroll and glancing briefly at the contents. The parchment trailed along the floor as Spike gave a look of pure horror. “Um, Twilight…” Spike said, shaking his head. “Princess Cadence has an awful lot to say, can I skim through it?” “Fine, Spike.” Spike cleared his thought once more and began skimming through the letter. “Dear Twilight, I hope you are doing fine… Blah blah blah… The Chrystal Empire has been… Blah blah blah… However, we would like your presence immediately… Blah blah blah… King Sombra has escaped… Blah blah-” “WHAT?” roared the lavender alicorn, paling immediately. She immediately ripped the letter out of Spike’s clutches with her magic and began reading through it quickly. “Oh, no…” she whispered. “Oh, no no no no NO!” she yelled. Twilight started dashing around the place with Spike calling out at her. “Twilight, calm down! Everything is going to be fine!” “How can you say that?” she yelled in his face. “Sorry…” she muttered, sheepishly. “But still, Sombra’s missing. Cadence thinks he’s in Ponyville. My friends are completely unaware of what’s going on right now. Fluttershy’s acting all secretive and she missed yesterday’s picnic. And I have no idea what the buck is going on around he- OW!” Twilight had been subconsciously rising as she panicked and had now hit her head on the ceiling, dropping to the floor. “Don't worry Twilight, lets just get your friends together and have a nice long discussion about this mess. I’m sure its nothing to worry about.” “I guess you’re right, Spike” said Twilight, offering the dragon a weak smile. “I’ll go and get the girls…” *** “WHAT?” That scary shadow monster is missing?” “Are ya sure ya read that letter properly?” “Darling, that can’t be possible!” Rarity, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Twilight were walking along the streets of Ponyville and Twilight was telling them about the letter she had received. “He can’t be in Ponyville, we would have spotted him ages ago!” muttered Twilight, “And he probably won’t go to Canterlot if he just broke out of prison…” “He could be anywhere in Equestria!” “Be realistic, Spikey Wikey. He can’t teleport without his magic.” “What if he’s in the Everfree?” piped up Pinkie Pie, looking up from her cake. “That actually a good idea, Pinkie, What if he is there?” said Rarity, looking at Twilight for the answers. “If he lost his magic thanks to Cadence, then that old punch bag won’t stand a day out there!” Rainbow Dash pointed out. Twilight sighed. “True, but we can’t be sure. He could be still there…” “If anypony knows the Everfree Forest, it’s either Zecora or Fluttershy.” Apple Jack spoke up as they came up to Fluttershy’s cottage. *** “Your right!” said the stage-hoof, frantically pushing his hooves through his rebellious mane. “Your right! But there might be somepony at the organ who can tell us how the stage ca-” “Fluttershy? Darling are you home?” ‘Perfect,’ she groaned inwardly. She had just finished tending to Sombra and settled down for a lovely read when Rarity needed to see her. ‘Rarity!’ she yelped, jumping off the chair and hastily put the book onto the tiny appletree-wood table Apple Jack gave her as a birthday present many years ago. ‘She mustn’t know about Sombra or she’ll…” Fluttershy had literally no idea as to why she was being so overprotective of Sombra but she swatted the thought away as she opened the door to see five faces looking back at her. “Hi…” she whispered, gulping at the thought of why they could be here. Rainbow was glaring and muttering under her breath, Twilight was looking calm yet scared, Rarity looked like she was about to faint, Apple Jack was chewing on her hat, Spike was trying to hide his nervousness by picking his claws and Pinkie… Well, Pinkie was bouncing around the group, singing and eating cake but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Fluttershy invited them in and they sat around a large table. Twilight started the conversation in a loud yet raspy voice. “This morning I received a letter regarding something that must be brought to your attention.” Fluttershy held her breath as Twilight Sparkle spoke the last word that Fluttershy so desperately did not want to hear. “Sombra.” Fluttershy’s blood froze as she felt her heartbeat quicken. She glanced around the room, trying to take her mind off Sombra while the girls had started discussing what to do about him. “Even if we manage to capture him, what could we possibly do against that monster?” “Why don't we just beat the fleabag up? “Am ah literally the only one thinking that capturing him is a bad idea…” “Why don't we listen to Flutters here, she’s hardly said a word ever since we got here!” commented Rainbow Dash, crossing her hooves and giving Apple Jack a strong glare. Six pairs of eyes had turned to Fluttershy, who began sweating nervously. Her chest heaved as she gazed into their eyes, mane slicked back with sweat. “Darling, you don’t look so good, are you ok?” asked Rarity, concerned for her health. Fluttershy just nodded hurriedly. “Well, Fluttershy… Have you seen anything in the Everfree Forest lately? Anything to do with King Sombra?” Fluttershy gulped yet again… *** Ouch… Those stupid tablets the filly… What was her name again? Flittershy, I think… Or was it Flutterby? Why am even bothering? Ow ow ow OW OW! Stupid headache! It’s worse than the time I took an overdose in crystal beer with Lovey-Dove. Celestia, that night was priceless! At least I took it better than her… SHUT UP BRAIN! SHE’S NOT YOUR MAREFRIEND ANYMORE, SHE’S MARRIED FOR BUCK’S SAKE! FORGET ABOUT HER FOR ONCE! He pounded his hoof against the bed, only to find himself tumbling off the bed and landing in a heap of pillows and blankets on the floor. Grumbling, he tried to get up only to find himself wrapped up tight like a inside a cocoon. Seriously? he thought attempting a face-hoof yet finding he couldn't, so he banged his head against the floor. Ugh! He thought, rolling onto his side. Why am I always humiliated? At least that filly isn’t here… Suddenly, he heard his name being spoken underneath the floorboards from somewhere behind the door. He pressed his ear to the floor and heard several voices arguing about something. And most of them were mares. Sombra swore and cursed the blanket whilst rolling around the floor but, unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Soon he managed to crawl- correction, roll up to the door and press his ear to it. What he heard greatly surprised him… *** “So, have ya?” Fluttershy decided to follow the advice Twilight gives her when she gets a problem. So, she assessed the situation. On one hoof, she shouldn’t betray her friends, she knows better than putting whole empires at was because of her but on the other… She’d feel terrible if she had offered refuge to Sombra and then just handed him over to the enemy. So she just thanked Celestia that she wasn’t the element of honesty. “Sombra’s free? Oh my goodness! Are my animals safe?” “So you haven’t?” “Nope, nothing, no, zilch-” “OK, chill Flutters, whatever you say.” Fluttershy smiled, trying to cover up her shaking hooves and flustered face. As soon as they left, she let out a deep breath and settled down on the sofa with her book but, yet again, someone knocking on the door interrupted her. She groaned, and opened the door prepared for anything but froze when her teal eyes met some yellow and red ones. She immediately flew up and started hugging the life out of a startled draconequus. “DISCORD! I’ve missed you SO MUCH!” she squeaked as she buried herself in his fur. He just grinned and stroked her mane, “I’ve missed you too, Flutter Butter.” When she finally stopped crushing him, they entered the house and sat down on the sofa together. “How’s Luna,” asked Fluttershy grinning broadly from ear to ear as she poured chamomile tea for both of them. “Oh, moon-butt is bearable but I always manage to calm her down with my charms.” “I’m sure you do,” Fluttershy giggled. They chatted for sometime before Discord excused himself for nature’s reasons. She smiled happily as she thought of the time she had first met Discord. However, her train of thoughts was interrupted with a shriek coming from upstairs. Whatever could be the matter? thought Fluttershy as she cantered up the stairs. She froze when she saw what was going on. Blankets and pillows were scattered over the floor and the room to Sombra’s room was open. And the thing that a very angry Discord was holding up by the scruff of its neck was Sombra. And he looked remotely terrified. “Care to explain what he’s doing here?” Discord yelled, indicating to the shaking pony. Fluttershy gulped. Chapter 5Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1Author's Note Hi everypony, this is my first story so excuse me if this doesn't turn out that good Anyway, I'm going to try to post a new chapter every week if not sooner Constrictive criticism welcome BTW: this is Sombra-Shy so if you don't like it, don't read it! Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic no matter how much I want to. However, this story is entirely mine Enjoy! Chapter 1 The summer sun was beating down upon the green earth as, inside her cottage, Fluttershy was putting up her mane into an elegant bun, getting ready for her date. She sighed, rubbing her face with her hooves, the dark circles under her eyes extremely noticeable. She hadn't slept well that night, not at all. The pegasus shivered as she remembered the dream. It was one she knew very well and it contained Him... Not long after the battle of the Crystal Heart did the nightmares start. At first, they were little and harmless, only featuring his red eyes with purple smoke billowing out of them and his abnormal horn. Soon, it was showing him whole and he was laughing at her, taunting her, whispering her name. Only last night was different, it was him again but he lost his regal attire and was cut and bruised, his eyes losing the smoke. He was reaching out to her as vines wrapped around his body, suffocating him. "Fluttershy..." he croaked. Then she woke up. She assured herself that it was a horrible nightmare and that nothing was going to happen yet inside she thought otherwise. She slipped on a light green dress Discord got her for her birthday last year... Discord... How she missed him... One year ago, Fluttershy had managed to convince Discord to tell Princess Luna about his feelings and the two had been dating until about two months ago, when they were wed. She wiped away a happy tear at the idea of Discord being in love and being loved back truly for the first time in his long life. Sadly, Fluttershy had too moved on, herself dating Big Mac. She never felt real love towards him, more like puppy love (she had a crush on him a few months ago) but now it was harder and harder to be in love with him. If she told somepony, they would tell her to dump him but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. So, she carried on hoping their friendship would eventually blossom into true love. Fluttershy nearly forgot that she Pinkie Promised to bring strawberries to the date. She galloped up to the cupboard but there were no strawberries there. So, she grabbed a woven basket, closed the door and galloped off into the Everfree Forest. *** Celestia's sunlight barely reached the canopy level of the trees, let alone Fluttershy. Slowly, she trotted through the dark forest, flinching at every rustle in the bushes. The unfamiliar cold wind was blowing in her face, destroying her perfectly neat bun, as a thousand pairs of golden eyes watched her from the shadows. Suddenly, she heard a little shriek. It was coming from an old oak tree before her. She crept up to it and saw that it was hollow, she leaned in... And got smacked in the muzzle by a pair of light grey wings. She rubbed her now pink muzzle looking at what hit her. She was surprised when she saw a little grey dove inside the hollow oak tree. "Hello there, little one" she whispered, smiling. "I'm not going to hurt you." The dove hesitated but then flew over and perched onto her sholder. She giggled and asked "What is your name?" The dove immediately became folorn, it sang a few short notes before drooping his head. "How can you not have a name!" gasped Fluttershy, before shaking her head. "Well I'm going to give you one." The dove immediately perked up, squeaking once more. "I'm going to call you..." she pondered, trying to think of a good name. "Eric!" she suddenly squeaked, the dove loosing his balance and toppling to the ground. "Ooops," she whispered, checking the dove over to see if he was alright. "Did you like your new name that much?" she giggled. Eric face-winged himself. *** She and Eric were picking strawberries when she heard a rustle in the leaves coming from somewhere under the tree. Fluttershy thought she was hearing things but her curiousity won her over when she head a low moan escape from under the bush. She leaned down and moved the branches out of the way. As soon as she saw what she had uncovered she wished she had not seen. A thin body lay at her feet, bruised in many places. Deep, filthy and long gashes ran across his body, his breath jaggered and uneaven. His black fur was scarred and he was unconscious. But the one thing that made Fluttershy's blood run cold was the identity of the stallion. She could recognise him anywhere... It was the former ruler of the Crystal Empire, tyrant and king. The pony that was lying, near death, before of her was King Sombra...
Chapter 2 (Edited)Fluttershy screamed. If anypony else was there, they would be extremely surprised to see Fluttershy reach the volume of an ambulance siren. She continued screaming until the stallion opened a blood red eye, only to be whacked hard in the face by a strawberry-filled basket. Fluttershy immediately felt ashamed at her violent move. It was not like her to almost kill somepony at first sight. Cautiously, she prodded him in the back with a stick, yelping as he growled, shifting his weight. Suddenly, as she went to prod him in the back again to watch his reaction, a cold voice whispered softly in the wind whirling around her. 'You do realise that if you leave him out here, he will die...' whispered the voice. Fluttershy could have sworn that it was behind her but as she whipped around, all she saw were ancient, gnarled trees. "W-who are you?" she asked out loud. For a moment, she thought the voice was Sombra's but quickly chased the thought away. He was unconscious and so unable to speak. 'It is me', the voice replied and Fluttershy felt it smirking. "Who is 'me'?" asked Fluttershy. The voice didn't answer but instead, the wind whirled around Sombra, tugging at the ripped cape and pulling at his mane. Fluttershy felt the blood drain out of her face as she realised just how badly injured he was. His body was covered in scars and cuts and a long, deep and ugly wound stretched out across his right hoof. His mouth was open and his fangs were stained with blood. In fact, his whole body was. The dirtiness of the forest didn't help as many of his wounds could become infected very easily. Jaggered bone poked through the wound on his right hoof, causing Fluttershy to look away before she was sick. For the first time ever, she felt sorry for him. He could have been mistaken for a dead body had they not heard his ragged breathing coming from his sweat-drenched chest. What could she do? One one hoof, if she helped him, he could take over the Crystal Empire again of even worse, all of Equestria! She would be known as a traitor because she saved the enemy and could suffer drastically from the result. However, on the other, he could and would die if she left him there and she would be responsible for the death of a pony! If she gets extremely upset by animal deaths, how would she react to the death of a sapient being? Would she be hated and punished by the princesses? Fluttershy shuddered at thought of the consequences behind the death of him. Reluctantly, she let out a long sigh and told Eric to find Harry the bear and to grab a pencil and clean piece of parchment on the way back. When Eric returned, she first started to write and apologetic letter to Big Mac about her absence. Dearest Big Mac, she wrote I apologise for my absence to our date as a young falcon crashed near my home and it was severely injured. I am so sorry I couldn't make it to our date at Sweet Apple Acres, I hope you don't mind too much. Maybe we can reschedule the date for another day, if you want to of course... Lots of love, your loving marefriend Fluttershy xxx Fluttershy felt bad about lying to Big Mac but she knew that his reaction is would not improve if she told him the truth. Carefully, she rolled it up into a scroll, sealing it, and passed it to the little grey dove, telling him to go to Sweet Apple Acres and give it to a big red stallion and after that, to come to the little cottage on the outskirts of the Everfree. He whistled and flew off, nimbly diving between the branches.. As she turned around again, she saw that she had to carefully put the king onto Harry's back. Harry lowered his head and moved so that Sombra's back was on Harry's neck. With one swift motion, he flipped King Sombra onto his back, the tyrant wincing from the pain, and Harry stood there waiting for Fluttershy's command to move. She sighed and together, they started on the long journey home. *** As soon as Fluttershy entered the cottage, she locked the door and shut the blinds. No pony could seenthem now. Slowly, she helped Harry trudge upstairs to Discord's old room, Sombra dangling from his back like a lifeless doll. When they reached the room, Fluttershy helped Sombra down Harry's back, laying him carefully onto the bed. She turned to Harry and gently shooed him out, telling him he could make himself comfortable the couch and that she will bring him some fish for helping her. As soon as he left, Fluttershy ran out of the room, only to return carrying several medicines and bandages. Despite not being a medic pony, she immediately siesed the antiseptic and began cleaning each wound throughtly. To her shock, she found out that the large gash on his right hoof was not infected, despite the conditions he had been in. Relieved, Fluttershy began bandaging some of the smaller wounds. Satisfied by her work, she managed to give him him a painkiller and began stitching up the major ones, bandaging them afterwards. After throwing the quilt over him, she left the room to give Harry his thank-you meal. 'Sweet Celestia,' she thought. 'What have I gotten myself into?'
Chapter 3His head hurt... A terrible pain throbbed repeatedly through his mind as he stirred, another in his right hoof. Groaning, he tried to lift his aching body off the bed he had been lying on for... Wait, bed? Sombra immediately opened his eyes to find himself in a small and unfamiliar room. And it wasn't crystal. Panicking, Sombra lifted his head to try to understand where he was, only to receive confusion by the room's looks. The tiny suite gave of a warm red glow despite having no red in it. Purple and white spirals covered the walls, giving off the illusion of movement. The windows were cresent-shaped, and dotted about randomly on the walls. Some paintings littered the walls. Sombra moved his aching head to look at them yet only manager to confuse himself more as the paintings were moving! Sombra desperately lit his horn to teleport away from this frightening place yet nothing happens. He tried again but his horn didn't even show a spark. "Stupid horn," he muttered, cursing the world. Princess Lovey-Dovey was sure to find him if he didn't leave soon. He thought about going back to the forest but then re-thought it. Something wanted to kill him, he was sure of it. It must be Princess Lovey-Dovey and her Princess Squad. Who else would be brave enough to go against the most powerful unicorn in Equestria? Not that they were brave, they were the most cowardly cowards there ever was, are and will be. Hiding in their little towers, waiting for a miracle to save them from the constant dangers they keep looking for. He tried lighting his horn again but to no avail. He was stuck here. Unless... Sombra tried lifting a hoof, groaning. The pain was electric. Clenching his teeth, he crawled off the surprisingly comfortable bed and flipped his beaten-up body onto the floor. He tried getting up but kept failing miserably. Groaning, he contracted his body, whimpering slightly at the pain, and extracted it, moving in some sort of formation of a crystalworm. Every few moves, he cursed the stupid princesses, especially Lovey-Dovey. Sweat lingered on his back as he shuffled forwards, towards the door. Finally reaching it, he clambered up to his hooves, shakily, and reached out his left hoof towards the doorknob. Big mistake. His blood-red eyes widened with realisation as he felt something rip in his right front hoof and he came crashing down to the floor, swearing under his breath as he tried getting up again... *** The loud noise coming from upstairs startled Fluttershy, who has been sitting on her couch reading 'The Pony of the Opera' with great interest. She glanced at the window to see that it was already around late evening. She quickly put down the library book and hastily made her way up the stairs, groaning inwardly at the fact that he had to gain consciousness now, right in the middle of a good book she borrowed off Twilight. Her thoughts lingered on the lavender mare as how she was starting to sound like her bookish friend but shook them off. After taking a deep breath, Fluttershy entered the guest room. What she saw surprised her greatly as she found herself face-to-face with a certain scowling, former King of Shadows. He grunted before crashing to the floor and Fluttershy's horror, did not move. Fluttershy immediately started checking for his pulse and realised that he had only lost consciousness. She glanced over at his face, almost giggling at his current situation. A mighty (well, not so much after the events at the Crystal Empire) unicorn King literally lying unconscious before a weak pegasus mare. She immediately scoulded herself for thinking in such a mean way about him and began thinking about his wounds. To her terror, she noticed that most of her neat stitching had came undone and her bandaged were dirty and blood-soaked. Fluttershy managed to carefully lift him onto his bed, he was actually not that heavy because of his forest weeks, and began unravelling his bandages. She dashed out the room to grab the first aid kit, a needle and some thread, bottle of disinfectant and a painkiller. Her gestures reminded her of the afternoon when she just brought him into her care. Hearing a groan coming from the room, she galloped into the room again with her medical supplies to find her eyes were met with confused red ones. She squeaked and hid behind the door, dropping the stuff she had been carrying. When she finally felt brave enough to see what he was doing, she felt surprised that he had not moved at all. Instead, he seemed to have been watching her with great interest. Slowly, Fluttershy crept up to him until they were about a leg away from each other. "Um... Hi Sombra," whispered Fluttershy, hiding behind her mane. "I am Fluttershy, you probably don't remember but I was there at the Crystal Empire when you... Um... Came back all... Um... Um... Scary." 'Nice going, Fluttershy!' a voice commented. She shook her head, thinking that it was her imagination. She saw that the armour- less former-king was staring emotionless at her. "Anyway, I am looking after you here. This is my cottage... Your in the guest room... Um..." She started feeling uncomfortable being the only one speaking but swallowed the feeling away as she continued her one-sided conversation in hope of something she did not know yet. He cocked his head to one side and whispered in a quiet, raspy voice. "Wounds... How? Attacked?" He knew better than to trust a little pegasus filly but he bet that she was so scared, she probably won't even dream about lying. "Oh... Well... Um..." Fluttershy stammered. "I found you in the Everfree Forest very weak and I took you in." she muttered, quietly, avoiding his eye contact. The silence thickened for a few minutes until Fluttershy whispered "Can I have you right front hoof, if you don't mind..." Sombra's eyes narrowed as his gaze flickered between his partly unbandaged hoof to her teal eyes and back at his hoof again. Reluctantly, he gave in, extending his hoof and watched curiously as she began her work on his hoof. 'Why did she take me in?' was his last thought for the day as he slipped out of consciousness. 'Stupid filly...'
Chapter 4A green flame lit up the crystal library room just as Twilight came trotting down the stairs. “Hi Spike!” she called, trying to balance a tall stack of books between her wings. The alicorn turned to her assistant with a smile and started levitating the books off her back. “Its Princess Cadence! Probably something positive.” “Read it out then, please!” said Twilight, now slotting the new books into spaces in the library. “He, hem…” Spike coughed unraveling the scroll and glancing briefly at the contents. The parchment trailed along the floor as Spike gave a look of pure horror. “Um, Twilight…” Spike said, shaking his head. “Princess Cadence has an awful lot to say, can I skim through it?” “Fine, Spike.” Spike cleared his thought once more and began skimming through the letter. “Dear Twilight, I hope you are doing fine… Blah blah blah… The Chrystal Empire has been… Blah blah blah… However, we would like your presence immediately… Blah blah blah… King Sombra has escaped… Blah blah-” “WHAT?” roared the lavender alicorn, paling immediately. She immediately ripped the letter out of Spike’s clutches with her magic and began reading through it quickly. “Oh, no…” she whispered. “Oh, no no no no NO!” she yelled. Twilight started dashing around the place with Spike calling out at her. “Twilight, calm down! Everything is going to be fine!” “How can you say that?” she yelled in his face. “Sorry…” she muttered, sheepishly. “But still, Sombra’s missing. Cadence thinks he’s in Ponyville. My friends are completely unaware of what’s going on right now. Fluttershy’s acting all secretive and she missed yesterday’s picnic. And I have no idea what the buck is going on around he- OW!” Twilight had been subconsciously rising as she panicked and had now hit her head on the ceiling, dropping to the floor. “Don't worry Twilight, lets just get your friends together and have a nice long discussion about this mess. I’m sure its nothing to worry about.” “I guess you’re right, Spike” said Twilight, offering the dragon a weak smile. “I’ll go and get the girls…” *** “WHAT?” That scary shadow monster is missing?” “Are ya sure ya read that letter properly?” “Darling, that can’t be possible!” Rarity, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Twilight were walking along the streets of Ponyville and Twilight was telling them about the letter she had received. “He can’t be in Ponyville, we would have spotted him ages ago!” muttered Twilight, “And he probably won’t go to Canterlot if he just broke out of prison…” “He could be anywhere in Equestria!” “Be realistic, Spikey Wikey. He can’t teleport without his magic.” “What if he’s in the Everfree?” piped up Pinkie Pie, looking up from her cake. “That actually a good idea, Pinkie, What if he is there?” said Rarity, looking at Twilight for the answers. “If he lost his magic thanks to Cadence, then that old punch bag won’t stand a day out there!” Rainbow Dash pointed out. Twilight sighed. “True, but we can’t be sure. He could be still there…” “If anypony knows the Everfree Forest, it’s either Zecora or Fluttershy.” Apple Jack spoke up as they came up to Fluttershy’s cottage. *** “Your right!” said the stage-hoof, frantically pushing his hooves through his rebellious mane. “Your right! But there might be somepony at the organ who can tell us how the stage ca-” “Fluttershy? Darling are you home?” ‘Perfect,’ she groaned inwardly. She had just finished tending to Sombra and settled down for a lovely read when Rarity needed to see her. ‘Rarity!’ she yelped, jumping off the chair and hastily put the book onto the tiny appletree-wood table Apple Jack gave her as a birthday present many years ago. ‘She mustn’t know about Sombra or she’ll…” Fluttershy had literally no idea as to why she was being so overprotective of Sombra but she swatted the thought away as she opened the door to see five faces looking back at her. “Hi…” she whispered, gulping at the thought of why they could be here. Rainbow was glaring and muttering under her breath, Twilight was looking calm yet scared, Rarity looked like she was about to faint, Apple Jack was chewing on her hat, Spike was trying to hide his nervousness by picking his claws and Pinkie… Well, Pinkie was bouncing around the group, singing and eating cake but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Fluttershy invited them in and they sat around a large table. Twilight started the conversation in a loud yet raspy voice. “This morning I received a letter regarding something that must be brought to your attention.” Fluttershy held her breath as Twilight Sparkle spoke the last word that Fluttershy so desperately did not want to hear. “Sombra.” Fluttershy’s blood froze as she felt her heartbeat quicken. She glanced around the room, trying to take her mind off Sombra while the girls had started discussing what to do about him. “Even if we manage to capture him, what could we possibly do against that monster?” “Why don't we just beat the fleabag up? “Am ah literally the only one thinking that capturing him is a bad idea…” “Why don't we listen to Flutters here, she’s hardly said a word ever since we got here!” commented Rainbow Dash, crossing her hooves and giving Apple Jack a strong glare. Six pairs of eyes had turned to Fluttershy, who began sweating nervously. Her chest heaved as she gazed into their eyes, mane slicked back with sweat. “Darling, you don’t look so good, are you ok?” asked Rarity, concerned for her health. Fluttershy just nodded hurriedly. “Well, Fluttershy… Have you seen anything in the Everfree Forest lately? Anything to do with King Sombra?” Fluttershy gulped yet again… *** Ouch… Those stupid tablets the filly… What was her name again? Flittershy, I think… Or was it Flutterby? Why am even bothering? Ow ow ow OW OW! Stupid headache! It’s worse than the time I took an overdose in crystal beer with Lovey-Dove. Celestia, that night was priceless! At least I took it better than her… SHUT UP BRAIN! SHE’S NOT YOUR MAREFRIEND ANYMORE, SHE’S MARRIED FOR BUCK’S SAKE! FORGET ABOUT HER FOR ONCE! He pounded his hoof against the bed, only to find himself tumbling off the bed and landing in a heap of pillows and blankets on the floor. Grumbling, he tried to get up only to find himself wrapped up tight like a inside a cocoon. Seriously? he thought attempting a face-hoof yet finding he couldn't, so he banged his head against the floor. Ugh! He thought, rolling onto his side. Why am I always humiliated? At least that filly isn’t here… Suddenly, he heard his name being spoken underneath the floorboards from somewhere behind the door. He pressed his ear to the floor and heard several voices arguing about something. And most of them were mares. Sombra swore and cursed the blanket whilst rolling around the floor but, unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Soon he managed to crawl- correction, roll up to the door and press his ear to it. What he heard greatly surprised him… *** “So, have ya?” Fluttershy decided to follow the advice Twilight gives her when she gets a problem. So, she assessed the situation. On one hoof, she shouldn’t betray her friends, she knows better than putting whole empires at was because of her but on the other… She’d feel terrible if she had offered refuge to Sombra and then just handed him over to the enemy. So she just thanked Celestia that she wasn’t the element of honesty. “Sombra’s free? Oh my goodness! Are my animals safe?” “So you haven’t?” “Nope, nothing, no, zilch-” “OK, chill Flutters, whatever you say.” Fluttershy smiled, trying to cover up her shaking hooves and flustered face. As soon as they left, she let out a deep breath and settled down on the sofa with her book but, yet again, someone knocking on the door interrupted her. She groaned, and opened the door prepared for anything but froze when her teal eyes met some yellow and red ones. She immediately flew up and started hugging the life out of a startled draconequus. “DISCORD! I’ve missed you SO MUCH!” she squeaked as she buried herself in his fur. He just grinned and stroked her mane, “I’ve missed you too, Flutter Butter.” When she finally stopped crushing him, they entered the house and sat down on the sofa together. “How’s Luna,” asked Fluttershy grinning broadly from ear to ear as she poured chamomile tea for both of them. “Oh, moon-butt is bearable but I always manage to calm her down with my charms.” “I’m sure you do,” Fluttershy giggled. They chatted for sometime before Discord excused himself for nature’s reasons. She smiled happily as she thought of the time she had first met Discord. However, her train of thoughts was interrupted with a shriek coming from upstairs. Whatever could be the matter? thought Fluttershy as she cantered up the stairs. She froze when she saw what was going on. Blankets and pillows were scattered over the floor and the room to Sombra’s room was open. And the thing that a very angry Discord was holding up by the scruff of its neck was Sombra. And he looked remotely terrified. “Care to explain what he’s doing here?” Discord yelled, indicating to the shaking pony. Fluttershy gulped.
