"Mommy, what was Daddy like?"

A small and pink female unicorn was sitting between Celestia's legs on the balcony of her bedroom. Looking out into the sunset she was currently creating.

"Oh? And why do you ask that, my little pony?" Celestia asked, looking down to her little foal.

The young unicorn sighed and slumped down. "I don't know. It's just… whenever I look off this balcony and look down into Canterlot, I see foals my age. Running and playing and talking with their mommies. But I also see them with their daddies. They look so… full of love for their foals." The little unicorn look up and into her mother's eyes. "What was my daddy like? Why have I never met him? Did you and him… not get along? Did he… not love me?"

Celestia internally cringed. She feared this question would come up sooner or later. She thought over her words very carefully.

"Well, it's... a complicated story, little one."

There was a small silence between them as Celestia completely lowered the sun past the hills, darkness of the night consuming the land.

"...Tell you what, how about I tell you the story of your father and I as a bedtime story?" Celestia gleefully asked.

The little princess gasped in excitement and looked up with sparkling eyes. "Can you?!"

Celestia giggled. "Then come along now, into bed with you!"

The princess gave a small whoop of excitement as she and her mom made their way to her small bed beside Celestia's. The filly hopped in and snuggled herself between the cozy sheets.

Celestia sat down beside the small bed, a motherly smile on her face. "Alright, my little pony. Are you ready?"

The filly nodded. With that, Celestia cleared her throat, and began her tale.

"Once upon a time, back when Equestria was only just beginning, there was a prince and a princess."

"The princess was the to-be ruler of the entire nation. Everypony was depending on her to he a high example and a natural born genius. But the truth was, she was just a young, naïve girl who felt alone with this huge responsibility on her shoulders, who felt like she could only be comforted by her little sister."

"That was until a prince, regal and kind as could be, entered the scene. His name was Prince Sombra, the soon-to-be king of the Crystal Empire. A warm and sunny empire shrouded by snow and ice. He had made and impression on her, and soon enough, the two royals became great friends."

"Was the princess and prince you and Daddy?"

"Indeed. Indeed they were."

"The prince was a genius in military tactics and leadership. He helped the young princess out in her time of need by giving her advice and information on how to be a good ruler. This had lead to them talking outside the round table, and becoming even greater friends than before."

"Upon new guidance and respect, the princess looked up to the prince. He was smart, handsome, kind, and was always there to guide her through the countless debates insuring Equestria's future. Needless to say, the princess soon developed feelings for him. Feelings of love."

"Wow… Daddy sounds like an amazing guy!"

"He was." Celestia sighed. "He was…"

"But not long after the princess had fallen for him, the prince disappeared back to the Crystal Empire. And the princess never heard from him again…"

"The princess was furious. Outraged. Hurt how somepony she had respected and loved so much would just vanish before her and never speak to her again. No matter how much she tried to forgive him, she just couldn't. But… try as she might, the one thing she couldn't let go of were her feelings. She knew she still loved him, no matter how angry she got over his disappearance."

"A-are you still mad at Daddy, Mommy?"

"A little, I must admit. But believe, my sweet child, your mother still feels love for him to this very day."

"No matter what?"

"Mm-hmm, no matter what."

"The princess soon succeeded the throne, same went for the prince. Now High Princess of Equestria, she took everything she had learned from the prince and used her knowledge and newly acquired magic wisely, stretching a peaceful rule all the way to this very day."

"The new King of the Crystal Empire though… he was an unfortunate victim of circumstance. The magic he inherited was dark and powerful. And while he kept control of it at first, unfortunately… he subcame to it. And became mad…"

"Daddy… Became 'mad'? What do you mean, Mommy? Who was he mad at?"

"Oh, sweet child, he wasn't mad at anypony. To make it more clear… he lost his sanity." Celestia frowned.

"O-Oh. Poor Daddy..."

"The Crystal Empire went into shambles with it's 'new' King. Taxes went up, citizens were detained, and some even say that they were secretly enslaved. It was a dark time indeed for the Empire."

"Having enough, the Princess decided to hold a private council with the King. ...With some help."

"Help? You mean Uncle Discord, right Mommy?"

"Ugh, unfortunately so…"

"Was he a good guy too? Before you had to turn him into stone with Auntie Luna?"

"Yes, before his magic got out off hoof too. But, as annoying as he was… I must admit that he was a great help. If not for his influence, I don't believe I would have received the best thing to have happened in my life."

"What?"

"You." Celestia sweetly said, reaching out and booping the child on the muzzle.

"Hehe!"

"At the meeting, the Princess and the King argued and argued and argued. The Princess was still upset over the King's disappearance. The King, brushing off the arguments like they were flecks of dust on his throne."

"After the Princess had given up, her assistant had made a secret agreement to the King. A plan to bind the Crystal Empire and Equestria eternally. To have a child between the two kingdoms."

"The Princess reluctantly agreed. And so, the Princess and King were once again joined after so many years. Even with all the hate she felt for him, she couldn't deny her true feelings for the pony he still was deep down."

"And since that fateful day, you came to be. A beautiful little foal between good and unfortunate evil had developed inside the Princess since that very day. A reincarnation of the true love the King and Princess never had the chance to express together. A living symbol of love, who will eventually take over the throne of the Crystal Empire and lead it back to true glory. And the rest of the story has yet to be told…"

Celestia finished up her story, giving a big sigh. She found herself staring aimlessly out her balcony window, nostalgic. It was a story she wished had a happier ending, but… she now had a daughter. A daughter she would give her life for. A daughter to love and cherish and raise as her own. In retrospect, the whole thing was a sad and tragic romance that had no hope for a true happy ending. But… Celestia wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way.

"So, what did you think, Cadence?"

There was no response.

"Cadence?" Celestia looked over to her daughter. She was sound asleep, not a peep nor a squeak coming from the small princess. Celestia raised a hoof to her mouth and softly giggled. She leaned down and kissed her foal on the forehead and very gently nuzzled her cheek.

"Goodnight, my beautiful Princess of Love. Mommy loves you. And I know, deep down, somewhere in his black heart…"

"Daddy loves you too."

Author's Note

I'm back. I'm finally back!
After 6 months of waiting, I hope you pones are happy I'm back, if I even have an audience anymore lol. It's been a tough few months, I'll admit. Family stuff, a really bad writters block, and school. I'm SOOOO sorry I took so long to get back with an official fic.
Honestly, I don't think I ever would have gotten back into my groove if it wasn't for my editor, proofreader, and absolutely irreplaceable friend Moorsheadfalling. It was taking so long just to get a paragraph in at times or to even open Google Docs at all. That was until we ran the idea of co-op writing. We share the Doc, he worked on one part, I worked on another. And I cannot thank him enough, I don't know if I could of gotten back into writting this fic due to the writters block I was experiencing if it wasn't for him. So I honor him, he deserves as much credit on this fic as me. He worked on most of the lewd bits so thank him for that! Love ya dude, you're awesome! Go on and follow his Twitter handle! Be warned! His content is extremely lewd! https://mobile.twitter.com/moorsheadfalli1
One final thing. Sombra in this story is supposed to be a mix of comic Sombra since I know he gets a lot more character in those and show Sombra. Now, keep in mind I haven't read the comics yet (or seen S9 yet for that matter. I know he comes back in it but I don't know if anything happens to his character or lore ), so I apologise if the Sombra in this story wasn't the same as how he is in the comics, lore or character wise. I only took from his green eyes, grey fur design.
But anyway, I'm back. Let's hope my next fic doesn't take as long lol. I think up next, I'll try to return to FPB. I also got another idea for a fic in the works, the idea I have to thank yet again to Moorsheadfalling. Lol, where would I be without you, dude.

Alright, that's all for now. Thank you all for being patient with me! Love you pones! Till the next fic
Oh and if you have any thoughts or opinions, I'd love to hear them! Whether good or bad, I'm always open for any way to improve!