The Darkness Shall Rise Again

Written By KingSombraTheTyrantRuler

Dinner With The King

Fluttershy's P.O.V:

As I prepare for the evening, I can't help but worry. What if...King Sombra tried to poison me? Or what if I accidentally offend him somehow and he gets really angry and punishes Angel and I for it?

I know I must surely be worrying too much, especially since Angel himself tells me the same thing when I discuss my worries with him.

After all, if the King actually wanted me dead, he would have killed me that night in my cottage instead of bringing me to his castle and going through all the trouble of keeping me as his prisoner for all these months.

At the thought, my eyes moisten a little. I've been here for so long...I miss my friends so much. I would give anything in the world to see them again.

Have they been looking for me? Or have they just...forgotten about me?

A soft knock on the door brings me out of my thoughts, and Angel stands behind me, alert as I open the door the tiniest bit to see who it is.

A mare, most likely a maid, is on the other side of the door, and I open it fully. "H-hello?" I squeak out.

"His Highness has ordered me to deliver these to you, Miss Fluttershy. He wishes for you to wear these at the dinner, " she says, handing me two boxes, which I take, smiling nervously, and then shut the door to inspect them.

I open the first box and gasp in delight for it contains a long, beautiful, blood red gown which seems to shimmer in the last rays of sunlight, streaming in through my window as the sun sets. To go with it is a mane clip of a similar color, studded with gems all over.

I open the second box, and see a pendant, which matches the other two items. These all look so beautiful, but my worries haven't eased in the slightest.

Why is the King, after treating me so cruelly for so long, suddenly acting all nice? It's all so strange...But I won't complain. I suppose I should enjoy this nice treatment rather than question it, because it's much more preferable to how I was treated before.

A shudder runs down my spine as I wonder if this is all just some sort of twisted trick, and I'm not actually supposed to wear all this, and-

Angel taps my leg, looking at me with an annoyed expression. He makes a motion with his paws and tells me to just stop worrying because worrying will do nothing.

I take a deep breath. He's right. Worrying will do nothing but make me more anxious, and then that will cause me to really mess up. I steel my nerves, and deciding that enough time has been wasted, start getting ready.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

I sit alone in the dining hall, awaiting my guest, who seems to be taking her sweet time. Not that the cooks have brought out the dishes yet, nor is it truly the set time for dinner, but I expected such a shy, meek pegasus like her to come early, perhaps in hopes of not incurring the wrath of the host.

And yet, as the kitchen doors part and the cooks start to push the trolleys towards the table, I hear the faint sound of hoof steps, growing closer with each passing second. With perfect synchronization of that with the timing at which the table is laid, the mare arrives, and my breath hitches at the sight of her, for she looks absolutely breathtaking in the outfit which I have provided for her.

I draw back a chair for her with my magic as she approaches the table, not knowing where to sit. The chair is one to the left hoof side of my own, and I notice that her bunny has followed her.

She seems to be unaware of this fact until the bunny seats itself next to her, at which she gasps, "Angel!" ever so softly in that sweet, delicate voice of hers and glances at me fearfully.

"The bunny may stay," I say , and she visibly calms down.

"Thank you King Sombra. I'm sorry if I took long," she replies shakily .

"Not at all. It is I who came early," I say, and at my gesture, the servants lift the covers from the dishes and put the covers aside.

I signal for them to leave, and watch as Fluttershy's gaze flits from dish to dish, taking in all the different food. "Take whatever you desire," I tell her as I serve myself some of the roast chicken.

Her face pales noticeably as she notices what I am taking, probably not used to seeing ponies eating any sort of meat. Normal ponies would not require meat, but as I am an umbrum, my dietary needs are...different.

She nervously reaches for some roasted vegetables and salad, the latter of which she also serves her bunny who begins eating straight away.

As I start eating, I notice that she is wearing the pendant, and slightly smirk.

Fluttershy's P.O.V:

There are quite a lot of dishes: lasagna, roasted vegetables, some sort of salad, some sort of pie, and to my horror, roasted chicken with gravy, as well as grilled salmon.

Not feeling much of an appetite after seeing those last two, I hesitantly take some roasted vegetables and salad, and also give Angel some.

I wait for King Sombra to start eating, and then start to nibble at my own food, still feeling bad for the chicken and salmon that were cooked.

We eat in silence for a while, until the King asks, "Do you not like the dishes?"

I look up, startled. " O-oh, I appreciate it...But I'm a vegan... "

"Ah," he says, and the silence resumes, more awkward than ever. "Well, don't hesitate to help yourself to more, next time I shall tell the cooks to include more vegan dishes."

I nod, not sure what to say. The dinner seems to take forever, and while Angel has finished almost all the salad that was given, I've barely touched my food.

My stomach feels like it has knots in it, from how anxious I feel, and even if I wasn't so nervous, I doubt I could have eaten much anyways, because I got full very easily. I assume it's due to the months in which I was kept in the dungeons because I was never given much food...

When the King, at last, excuses me, I'm relieved, and Angel follows me back to the room. I take the dress off, as well as the clip, but leave the necklace on because it looks so beautiful, I just don't want to take it off.

Author's Note

It took me so long to think of how this would play out... That necklace sure is beautiful... If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote/like, comment, share and favorite!