Imprisoned

A few months had passed since Fluttershy and Sombra were rescued. So far, only a few of their captors had been caught. Though neither of them had told the extent of what they'd been through, they had told a little. Twilight hadn't told the princess's yet, though Fluttershy's bond with her brother had been salvaged and they were closer than before.
Fluttershy sighed as she rubbed over her blanket, rolling onto her back and stretching her legs into the air. Her friends were all around her, with Twilight letting Rarity braid her mane. Sombra was playing cards with Rainbow and Pinkie and Applejack was having a nap. She flicked her tail and sighed, happy to feel the sunlight on her belly. Unknown to her, Sombra glanced over at her. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at her.

Her soft belly was gently moving as she breathed. The bright sunlight was making her butter yellow fur glow a little while her thick, pink mane was spread out over the grass, a few hairs waving in the light breeze. A prod on his shoulder made him jump. He turned and blushed as he saw Rainbow's knowing smirk. Her and Rarity had both guessed how he felt for Fluttershy, though they had promised not to tell her. He glared at the now giggling mare and took his turn. Pinkie glanced between the two and shrugged, waiting for Rainbow to go.

Spike came running over, his eyes wide. He slide to a stop and fell over. Sombra looked at him and smiled as the young drake stood up, a scroll clutched in his claw.

"Twilight! You need to see this now." Twilight looked up and Rarity dropped her work. The Alicorn brought the scroll over and scanned it, her eyes going wide as she paled. Concerned, Fluttershy stood and walked over to her.

"What's wrong, Twilight?"

"Celestia and Luna are coming over for a week." The girls looked at each other in shock, while Sombra stiffened in fear. He couldn't hide for a whole week if both were going to be there. His heart began to race and his breathing sped up. Fluttershy turned towards him and her ears drooped. She walked over to him and gently wrapped her hooves around his shaking form. The worried Fluttershy could hear his heavy, rapid breathing.

"Is he okay?" Sombra took a deep breathe and pulled away from her, nodding to Pinkie.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just scared. If you recall, the Princess's and I don't have a very friendly history." Twilight nodded and sighed. This was not going to be a fun week. The princess's got there the next day.

"H... hello Princess." Celestia narrowed her eyes. As of late, Twilight only called her and Luna 'Princess' when she was upset or hiding something. Given her nervous behaviour and darting eyes, she figured it was the latter. Deciding not to confront her, the three Alicorns walked into the castle. As they approached the dining room, however, there was a loud crash from the library, followed by a very familiar voice.

"Oh, come ON, Rainbow!" Celestia and Luna glanced at each other, praying they were wrong about the voice. They all teleported to the library. A dark gray stallion was in a very heated argument with Rainbow, surrounded by shards of glass. Off to the side, the other four were watching in bemusement as Sombra and Rainbow yelled at each other. Luna and Celestia stared for a few seconds before glaring at Twilight who grinned sheepishly.

"Umm.... surprise?"

"I told you, it wasn't my fault! It was..."

" For the last time, Rainbow, a window can't put itself in your way!" Rainbow snarled at him, starting to tremble in rage. Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over, using her magic to teleport them to different areas, a short ways away. She sighed, backed away and repaired the window. Afterwards, they all turned towards a very unhappy Celestia and a neutral Luna.

"Care to EXPLAIN, Twilight!" The purple mare's ears pressed down at the pure venom in her mentor's voice. She knew this wasn't going to be easy. Sombra stood up and started to approach, though the look of pure hatred from Celestia made him sit right back down. Luna placed a hoof on her sister's shoulders. The moon princess stepped forward and lay down in front of a shivering Twilight, her voice calm and even.

"Twilight, tell us what happened. At least I won't go nuts." Luna shot a glare at her sister. Due to the volatile star Celestia controlled, she had a very well hidden temper. Luna was calmer and tempered her sister's tendency to charge in, horn a blazing and ask questions later. Twilight took a deep breath and calmed.

"He was with Fluttershy as a prisoner of the Ying-Yang group, as we're calling it. He risked his life and almost died so she could escape. So, as a thank you and at Fluttershy's behest, we saved him." Sombra looked at the shy pegasus in surprise. She'd never mentioned this to him. Celestia huffed and looked away.

"Can you please just give him a chance? Just get to know him from an objective standpoint." Celestia growled, stood and turned around, walking away. Twilight whimpered and looked at Luna in despair. Luna growled at her sister, her eyes narrowed in anger.

"Do you trust your 'precious student' so little?" Celestia stopped, her ears pricked and her mane began to whip and snap. Seeing she had her sister's attention, Luna continued. "If Twilight didn't trust him whole-heartedly, she would have put a ring on his horn. What's more, if he wasn't deserving of this chance then he would have attacked as soon as he was well. As such I trust him because I trust Twilight' judgment, even if you won't." With that, Luna sat down, not planning on moving an inch. Celestia turned around, guilt clear in her eyes. Luna was correct, as usual. She hadn't trusted Twilight's judgment. She looked at Twilight and her heart cracked. The purple mare's eyes were filled with tears as she stared at Celestia in hope. Hope she shouldn't need to feel.

Celestia relented and walked back to Twilight, scooping her up in a hug, her ears going down even more as she heard Twilight's start to quietly sob. She had betrayed Twilight's trust by not showing her own.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. My sister is right, as usual. I should have trusted you." After Twilight calmed down, Celestia released her and turned towards Sombra. She sighed and walked over, his ears going down. "For the sake of my former student Twilight, I would like to offer a clean slate. We can start over and try to get to know each other." Sombra nodded and gave a gentle, happy smile. Celestia smiled and offered her hoof, which Sombra gratefully accepted.

"However, there is one more issue with Sombra being accepted among us." Everypony turned in confusion towards Luna. She sighed and finished her thought. "Your brother and Cadence must be told." Twilight's ears pricked and a horrified expression came over her face.

"B... but Cadence is pregnant. He's never going to trust Sombra at the moment with Cadence around in her condition." Sombra's ears dropped and he dropped, his face smacking on the floor.

"Great. That's just fantastic."

Shining Armor looked at Cadence as they walked towards the throne room. Suddenly, a loud snore made the castle shake. They both jumped, yelping as the loud sound echoed through the halls. Then, they heard Rainbow remark.

"I didn't know ANYPONY could snore that loud. How is that healthy?" They poked in, freezing once they saw the dark gray stallion draped over Twilight's throne. His sharp horn was still curved and red, though the colour wasn't so bright. His eyes were closed and his thick mane hung over his neck as he let out another loud snore. Rainbow was rolling on the floor laughing hard as he slept. Twilight and her friends were staring slack-jawed while the princess's were shaking their heads. Shining shook his head and cleared his throat. They all jumped and whipped around, though Sombra didn't wake up. Suddenly, a devious look appeared on Cadence's face and she began to slink towards the sleeping stallion. She stopped behind him and caught one of his legs with her nose. In a swift motion, she swung her head up, sending him down.

"AAAHHHHHH!!!" Sombra jumped up and tilted to the side. Everypony, excluding the extremely suspicious Shining, started laughing. He turned towards his sister and narrowed his eyes. Sombra popped up over the table and froze. Twilight turned and also froze.

"Mind telling me what's going on here?" Twilight gave a sheepish smile and stood up. She could barely meet her brother's eyes.

"Umm.... I can explain."