Sombra, still disguised as Crystal Throne, followed after Shining Armor, his attention mostly on the other stallion’s backside. That was until he walked into the room itself and found himself struck by just how nice it was. Sure it wasn't the largest of the bunch, being eclipsed by the other two he had glimpsed so far but it had a unique charm to it.

Two large windows overlooked the street while a slightly smaller one was set off to the left-hand side and allowed Sombra to gaze out over most of the yard. Big enough to accommodate a large four-poster bed, a chest of drawers, a mostly empty bookcase, and an unused closet it would suit his needs perfectly. There was also an end table as well as a few other smaller pieces of furniture but Sombra didn't pay much attention to that.

Instead, he inspected briefly the walls and overall color scheme of the place, noting that it was mostly purple. Some soft blues were added, as well as a couple gold or silver accents but altogether it had a very nighttime theme going on. It also had no spells placed upon it, or any manner of mundane methods of spying on him, or at least, none that he could see.

“This used to be my room way back in the day,” Shining Armor remarked, plunking down on the end of the bed. “Then dad ended up moving the library, allowing me to move into the room next to you.”

“I saw it through the door, it looked quite spacious, with many windows,” Crystal Throne added.

Shining Armor chuckled. “Yeah, Twily was a bit jealous at first, but quickly grew out of that once she realized how hard it is to keep all that light out.”

“A night owl then,” Crystal Throne exclaimed.

“Sort of,” Shining Armor replied with a shrug. “She just gets too excited and forgets that time exists as a metaphysical concept.”

“She seems quite touched,” Crystal Throne declared.

“What do you mean?” Shining Armor demanded, his shoulders tensing.

Crystal Throne waved a hoof. “Nothing bad. There is just a legend back home that such different people were touched by faeries, resulting in great focus but absentmindedness. A local legend, nothing more.”

“Ahh right. You come from the sticks,” Shining Armor winced. “Sorry, that came out ruder than I would have liked.”

“It is no trouble at all,” Crystal Throne declared.

“Well as you can see it's got all the basics. If you have any questions or anything lemme know. I’m going to go wait for Cadance downstairs,” Shining Armor began, hopping off the bed and walking towards the door.

Only to be stopped halfway by Sombra, who held up a hoof and cleared his throat. “Actually, would you mind lending me a hoof for a moment? I was hoping to move a few things around.”

“Uh, sure. What were ya thinkin?” Shining Armor replied.

Sombra hummed to himself for a moment before pointing to the bed and then to the corner of the room directly across from the door.

“I was hoping to move the bed against the wall over there. I know it's close to the side window but I’d like a little more space to practice magic,” Crystal Throne stated.

Shining Armor nodded. “Sure, I can do that. You wanna go backward, or should I?”

“I can do that,” Crystal Throne answered.

The pair moved into position, with Sombra taking a spot at the head of the bed, where he bent down and grabbed the edge. Together with Shining Armor lifting from the foot, they shimmied it away from the wall enough for Sombra to slip in behind. The time-displaced stallion then paused and took a moment to find a perfect position for his hooves to grab onto.

He made a show of flexing his muscles without showing any amount of visible strain. The effort seemed to work too, as for a moment Shining Armor was caught staring at the other male. He quickly looked away, however, focusing himself on carrying the bed across the room.

Once put in its proper place, Sombra shimmied out from between the bed and the wall once more. Then he reached down, and less than subtly leaned over, giving Shining Armor a good view of his backside. Then with a shove, pushed the bed into the corner with a brief screech of wood on wood.

“There we are,” Crystal Throne exclaimed, turning back around. “You know you’re quite the athlete. Do you work out?”

“Oh uh, yeah,” Shining Armor cleared his throat. “As you know I want to join the royal guard and they have a strict requirement for even trying out.”

“I could tell, why I bet you could lift me quite easily,” Crystal Throne teased, only to sigh. “I wish I was as strong as you but the first time I even heard of a gym is when I came to Canterlot.”

“What? You are totally strong!” Shining Armor blurted out. “You barely even seemed to notice when you lifted the bed and that's snakewood, stuff’s super heavy.”

“Really?” Crystal Throne exclaimed incredulously. “Everything’s made from metal back home, so I have very little frame of reference for this type of thing.”

“Well you nailed it, I bet you could probably even lift more than me,” Shining Armor continued.

Crystal Throne chuckled and gently punched the other stallion’s shoulder. “Now you're just flirting with me.”

“Oh uh no. I mean I’ve always been curious but I’m dating Cadance and-” Shining Armor blubbered, only to be interrupted.

“I was teasing you,” Crystal Throne stated.

“Oh right,” Shining Armor muttered while blushing profusely.

“Though, it is a shame that you're taken. Your quite the catch you know,” Crystal Throne pressed.

“Thanks,” Shining Armor murmured.

“You don't happen to have a…” Crystal Throne took a step forward and lowered his voice. “Open relationship, by chance do you?”

Shining Armor’s face went beat read and he hastily shook his head. “Cadance is not really into herds, harems, or otherwise. I mean I’m not super into it either but…”

The stallion shrugged.

Crystal Throne chuckled and took a step back. “Well if that ever changes, or heavens above you end up single, do let me know.”

Sombra then turned and flicked his tail invitingly before trotting over to the chest of drawers.

Shining Armor stood there for a moment longer before hastily trotting out of the room, a blush remaining firmly on his face. Once in the hall, he walked into his room, closed the door, and slumped to the ground, a hoof going to his chest. For a moment he just half sat, half lay there, his mind running over everything that had just happened.

“What the hay was that? Curious? You’ve never said that before,” Shining Armor whispered to himself. “Hell, I haven't even told Cadance that.”

After a moment of panic, Shining Armor firmly shook his head, dismissing the cloying notion entirely. “You handled it well, now just get…” Shining Armor frowned, and planted a hoof against his forehead. “Sun and stars. I’m talking to myself again. Why do I always do this when I get flustered?”

When the empty room didn't give him an answer, Shining Armor shook his head and trotted away. In the next room, Sombra was smiling to himself as he moved about the room, inspecting every last inch of it. He hadn't found any magical or mundane methods that they could use to spy on him, yet, but he was intent on looking everywhere.

Though unlikely to find anything, his paranoia demanded that he do a thorough search and he didn't minded obliging that urge. The ritual of ensuring that there were no unseen traps or other nasty surprises was one that he had gotten used to long ago. It was almost calming in a way, and his body moved on autopilot while his mind churned with plans.

Shining Armor was more interested in stallions than he initially led on, that much was obvious. He was also, bloody adorable, though Sombra pushed that thought from his mind immediately. They weren't friends, nor would they ever be, Sombra mentally declared. They were enemies, and in the end, Sombra would dominate the stallion utterly, ensuring that his future rule was secure.

“And if I get an adorable slave out of it all then all the better,” Sombra whispered to himself, a grin spreading across his face. “Plus if I do this without any hypnosis or the like noone will ever suspect a thing until it's too late.”

The stallion paused as he was inspecting an empty dresser drawer. “All that isolation got to me. I’m talking to myself again,” Sombra muttered. “Better hurry up here and get ready for dinner.”

The drawer snapped shut with a clack.

Sombra stood patiently at the top of the stairs, waiting for the telltale sound of Cadance’s arrival. As he waited, he looked around the area, studying the remarkably spacious room with a passing interest. He was most interested in the master bedroom in the corner, as well as the empty office space that was next to it.

Though he dare not wander into those rooms unprompted, especially so soon after arriving. His horn sparked, and he began to scan the house itself, seeking out any magic that may have been cast on the home. He found plenty, though they were fairly standard, if a bit complex, with the various preservation, and fire resistance spells interwoven beautifully.

“Fascinating,” Sombra muttered.

“Scanning the house’s enchantments?” asked a voice.

Crystal Throne spun around to find that he had been joined by a curious Twilight. The young mare was clutching a book to her chest and looking up at Crystal Throne intently.

“I…” Crystal Throne frowned. “Was curious.”

“I get it,” Twilight exclaimed. “I nearly pulled them all apart by accident when I started learning about enchantments for the first time.”

“There certainly are enough of them,” Crystal Throne exclaimed. “It seems unusual to find so many on the home of a lesser noble.”

The insult went right over Twilight's head.

“Oh yeah. Our family has had a ton of spell crafters in it over the years and you can't push the boundaries of thaumaturgy without starting a few fires as my grandma always said,” Twilight declared.

“Yes yes, that's wonderful, now if you would move out of the way,” Crystal Throne began, attempting to walk past the mare and reach the stairs.

“Did you see the one that cancels out dark magic?” Twilight asked, eyes wide. “That one is super cool. I spent so long studying it that I got a horn ache!”

Sombra hummed to himself and made a mental note to do his own investigations after he had another chance to sink his teeth into Shining Armor.

“Whelp, guess we better go eat. Unless you changed your mind on the whole, scanning thing,” Twilight half asked, half stated, her horn glowing faintly.

“No. I have not,” Crystal Throne declared.

Before Twilight had a chance to complain, however, Sombra roughly pushed past her and trotted down the stairs. Once at the bottom, he made his way towards the kitchen, ears perking up midway there. He stopped suddenly, having heard the familiar, and enraging voice of his greatest foe just beyond.

“Oh it was great,” gushed Cadance. “You should have been there Shiny. Auntie Tia was just beside herself she was so confused.”

“Ha, good one Cadance,” Shining Armor replied. “I’m surprised she didn't end up eating the plastic cake.”

“She almost did!” Cadance exclaimed.

The couple laughed and were joined by the other couple in the house as well, the four ponies chuckling at their monarch’s misery. Sombra nearly joined in their mirth before quickly pushing that thought out of his mind and focusing himself on the task at hand. He was here to test the waters, to see how deep the royal couple’s bond truly went, and to begin undermining that same bond.

Sombra walked into the kitchen and quickly surveyed the area, picking out each person already there. Shining Armor and Cadance were sitting across from him, while the two breadwinners of the home sat on either side of the table. Sitting before him was a pair of empty chairs, likely left for himself as well as Twilight Sparkle.

“Ahh there is our young guest,” Twilight Velvet exclaimed. “I wasn't sure if you were going to join us.”

“We do eat rather early. A leftover from when our evenings were filled with all the extra circular groups, and tutoring programs we had to plan for,” Night Light explained.

“You would not believe how many sports programs Shining Armor was a part of,” Twilight Velvet added. “I swear if there was a tiddlywinks team he would have joined it.”

“Jokes on you, I did,” Shining Armor retorted, sticking his tongue out at his mother.

“Shining Armor’s extensive physical education aside, I think there are some introductions to do, hmm?” Cadance offered, the young alicorn gesturing towards the disguised Sombra.

Before anyone had a chance to speak for him, the time-displaced stallion stepped forward. “My name is Crystal Throne, and I am attending the same school as young sir Armor.”

“Woah, none of that sir thing,” Shining Armor quickly interjected.

Sombra smirked to himself, noting the small blush that had leaped to Shining Armor’s face. “So be it, Shiny,” Crystal Throne replied.

“And none of that either,” Cadance interjected, a smirk on her face. “That's my pet name for him, thank you very much.”

“If you insist,” Crystal Throne remarked simply, seating himself directly across from Shining Armor.

“So,” Cadance began. “Shining Armor mentioned you briefly but he never said why you had moved in here in the first place.”

“It was my therapist’s idea,” Crystal Throne answered, a carefully practiced sigh slipping from his lips. “I know it may seem strange but he thought it necessary for me to, in his words, see a normal family.”

“Well he shouldn't have picked us then,” Night Light exclaimed.

Only to get a wad of napkins magically thrown at his head by his wife. “Now dear, little eccentricities are to be expected, and are normal, even,” Twilight Velvet admonished.

“Yes dear,” Night Light muttered while rubbing his forehead.

“So why do you have a therapist in the first place?” Cadance inquired.

Sombra’s eyes narrowed, and he was immediately able to tell that she was more suspicious than anticipated. The way she peered intently at him, a knowing glint in her eye made Sombra feel rather uncomfortable. His disguise was good, or at least as good as possible given that he could not magically alter or hide his horn. Pushing such worries from mind, Sombra chose to draw her in further and ignite her paranoia even more.

“I don't think you need to know that,” Crystal Throne exclaimed, forehooves crossed over his chest.

“I think I do,” Cadance retorted.

“Babe, it's okay,” Shining Armor tried to interject.

“No, she doesn't. I don't want to talk about it,” Crystal Throne stated firmly.

“You aren't some kind of murderer or something?” Cadance demanded.

“Cadance,” Twilight Velvet hissed. “I know you are surprised but that is no way to treat a guest.”

Cadance turned to Twilight Velvet and blinked, only now seemingly realizing that there were others present. “I uh-” she stuttered.

“My parents were killed, and I am an orphan. Since you must know,” Crystal Throne exclaimed, the stallion turning away and swallowing hard.

“I didn't know,” Cadance muttered.

“Cadance. What came over you? He said he didn't want to talk about it,” Shining Armor added.

“Thank you for standing up for me Shining Armor. I knew you were a good pony from the moment I laid eyes on you,” Crystal Throne exclaimed.

“I what?” Cadance stopped, put a hoof over her heart, and took a breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn't have pried. I don't know what came over me.”

All eyes turned to Sombra, everyone expecting the stallion to forgive Cadance. Though he intended on doing so, Sombra made a show of sniffing and sitting straight up once more.

“I accept your apology,” he replied. “Please don't pry again.”

“I won't,” Cadance declared.

Having forced a concession, albeit a minor one, as well as an apology from the mare, made Sombra grin. He hid that expression beneath a cold mask of indifference and glanced expectantly at Twilight Velvet.

“What exactly were you thinking of for dinner?” Crystal Throne inquired.

“Oh, we’ve got a wonderful quiche that's nearly done,” Twilight Velvet began. “I’ve also got a nice salad and some-”

The specifics didn't interest Sombra, and he watched his targets closely from the corner of his eye. They were close, that much was obvious, but Shining Armor was slightly irritated with the mare even now. Cadance’s immediate suspicion had been a surprise, but evidently, she didn't know his true identity. If she did, then Sombra doubted she would have rolled over so easily and would have likely made some manner of accusation.

As it stood now, she was suspicious, though Sombra didn't know how or why she felt that way. He had checked and confirmed that his strange horn wasn't that unique as a few hundred ponies in Canterlot had that same affliction. So although it could be a simple reaction to seeing someone different, that didn't quite feel right in Sombra’s opinion.

It was more likely that she knew vaguely of his legend but couldn't deduce that it was Sombra who sat before her. Either way, her paranoia was simply another weapon in Sombra’s mind, and one that could be utilized to his advantage quite easily. All he had to was keep goading her, and acting hurt when she pushed too far.

Was it childish? Of course, Sombra knew that but he also knew that he had to start small. This would open the pair up to larger wedges, and eventually the end of their relationship. Which was admittedly a bit of a petty way to deal with his foes, but Sombra relished the thought immensely.

To beat one’s foe so badly that they submit to you, both in body, and spirit was the victory that Sombra yearned for. Sure Sombra could use dark magic for that but that was the easy way and a way that he could employ if worst came to worst. Yet the thought of employing his mind-bending magic on Shining Armor struck him as wrong for some reason.

“Focus,” Sombra muttered to himself.

“Did ya say something, Crystal?” Shining Armor inquired.

Crystal Throne shook his head and smiled. “It was nothing. Just, reminding my focus. Now, what were you saying?”

“Oh, I was just talking about-”

Author's Note

This is part of the 12 days of christmas, head over here to keep track of all the cool stuff coming down the pipes. If you want to ensure I can afford to keep doing stuff like this, consider backing me over on Subscribestar or Patreon.