Chapter 3

After Fluttershy had gotten her wallet and a pair of green flats, she opened her door. Sombra was already standing outside, his arms folded across his massive chest as he studied Angel who was staring him down. Fluttershy shook her head. She loved Angel, but he could be rude sometimes. She crouched down to Angel's height and said, "Angel, will you please make sure everyone is okay while I'm out?" When Angel shook his head and still stared at Sombra, Fluttershy prompted, "Please? I will make it up to you." Angel's stare only got harder. Fluttershy sighed, she knew of one thing that could help her now. "I'll pick up some carrot cupcakes for tonight." Angel's ear twitched and he finally looked away from Sombra to look at Fluttershy. "I promise." She said with a smile. He took a small glance at Sombra before he hopped off to the yard and other small creatures.

As Fluttershy stood up, she straightened her skirt and looked to Sombra. He was already staring at her, watching her every move. Fluttershy didn't cower in fear, however she did blush. Why, she did not know. She delicately cleared her throat and quietly asked, "Um… I-is there something w-wrong?"

Sombra only stared at her. His shirt was dark enough in color to not notice the blood stains and seemed to look fixed. His jeans, while torn and tattered from running in the woods, were still fine. He had somehow found boots to wear, which Fluttershy guessed was made from his magic. She stared back at him, secretly admiring how the light made his coat shine. He is a crystal pony, after all. Fluttershy thought. "W-well… Would you, um… like to go now?" She quietly asked.

"We can." His voice rumbled through her skin and into her bones. It was delicious and sensual and…

No, bad Fluttershy. She thought to herself as she walked past Sombra toward Ponyville. This is exactly why you do not take chances with stallions. They make you think bad thoughts. Bad, but oh so good. She could hear Sombra walk behind her and she felt a tingle on her wings. She wanted to itch it, but she pushed the thought away as the town came into view.

Sombra watched the mare with curiosity. He used an illusion spell to make himself as decent as possible while Fluttershy was fetching her things. Fluttershy… Sombra liked her name. It suited her. He wanted to hear her say his. Preferably when he was ramming into her as she was on her hands and knees.

Sombra stopped as if he hit a wall. Where are these thoughts coming from? Sombra had been known to have lovers and mistresses in his time, but none of them gave him this strong of a feeling to fuck. Whenever he was feeling the urge, he would go to one of his women and then go on with his day. He had no problem with it before. So why does this mare have that strange power over him?

She was small, but then she would be tight as hell. She was quiet, but he could easily have her screaming soon. She was also quite reserved in her own bubble, but Sombra was sure he could talk her into a blindfold and some bondage. Sombra shook his head at his own train of thoughts. What am I? An animal?

"Um… Are you okay?" He looked at the mare that was currently standing a good few feet in front of him. She was trying to keep her distance from him. Good. That's good. He had to keep his distance, otherwise he have the urge to touch her all over.

Remembering she had asked him a question, he pushed aside the thought of her bent over his knee with a red ass, and answered. "I am fine."

"Okay. Well, we're almost there." She said as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Sombra had a strange urge to pet her mane. It seemed to be soft, so why shouldn't he consider stroking her head as she sucked him off? I really am an animal, aren't I? Sombra thought as he caught up to the woman.

Fluttershy waited until he was by her side before moving on. She was having a hard time believing the events of the last twenty-four hours. She was about to take the tyrant of the Crystal Empire into her beloved town to go shopping. She was hoping that he would not draw attention, but with this town, everyone would be questioning why Fluttershy was out with a stallion. She had to come up with a plan before everyone saw her. Especially if she ran into her friends.

What would I say? What would be a good cover for all this? I can't just tell my friends, "I saved the ex-ruler of the Crystal Empire and I want to do naughty things with him." Her thoughts were interrupted when Sombra asked, "Where should we go first?"

Fluttershy looked at him and debated on what to say. Should I tell him to pretend to be someone else? Fluttershy thought. It would be rude, but what choice do I have? If other ponies knew that he was King Sombra, then he would be reported to the Princesses and killed. The thought of him dying had Fluttershy close to tears. She shook her head and mumbled, "How about we go to a doctor for your injuries… only if you want."

"I am fine." He said. He needed to stop talking, it was too distracting. Fluttershy tried pushing away the attraction her stallion protruded. My stallion?! Fluttershy thought. She shook her head again. It's because of the Season. It's because of the Season. "Are you okay?" Sombra asked, leaning down to look into her eyes. His scent, what smelled of amber wood, was intoxicating. His hand which brushed against her cheek was rough and handled her with care.

She felt winded when he looked into her eyes. They were dazzling. Sparkling. Beautiful. A hypnotizing red that bore into her blue eyes. She could get lost in those eyes. But she had to get a grip. What did he ask? She tried to gather her wits and answer his question. "I-I'm fine." She stuttered. "I just n-need to figure out what to d-do."

Sombra looked confused for a moment. He asked, "What do you-"

"Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy jumped away from Sombra and looked around. She ignored the way her body wanted to be back in the warmth of the dark stallion. It was too comforting. The Season was taking hold of her already, most likely because she hadn't ever 'participated' in a Season and was craving a male.

Fluttershy looked around and her eyes landed on someone she couldn't believe. Rarity. She was coming toward Fluttershy with a smile and in her new style of clothes. It seemed she always had a new style to try each week. Most was her own design and others were of other fashion designers. This time she was styled in a white button-up long sleeve V-neck shirt and a knee-high brown pencil skirt. Her legs looked longer in her black tights and three-inch black heels.

"Fluttershy, darling!" Rarity smiled at her friend as she approached her. "My dear, I didn't expect you to be out and about during the Season. It's not like you to be out. Did you forget something when you were out earlier this…" She slowed in her talking and stared at the stallion that her friend had standing close to her. "Who is this?"

Fluttershy shifted from one foot to the other and took a peek at Sombra. There was no way she could tell Rarity his real name. What should I say? What should I say? Fluttershy's thoughts were frantic, trying to think of a name. She then thought of a line in The Tales of the Forbidden Lovers.

"Olivia, don't you remember me?" The strange stallion quirked a brow. At her head shake, the stallion gave a charming smile. "Well then, let me remind you." He took her hand and gave a light kiss to her knuckles. "I am Shaded Crystal."

Fluttershy looked at Rarity. Would she believe her? She hated to lie, especially to her friends, but she didn't have a choice. With a smile, Fluttershy introduced Sombra. "Rarity, this is my friend. Shaded Crystal."

Sombra stared at Fluttershy. Shaded Crystal? Who is that? Apparently, for the time being, Sombra. It might have been a good idea. He needed a cover. A new life. And it starts with a new name and a pretty mare. Speaking of which. He turned his attention to the new mare who had been staring at him. He put out his hand and smiled. "Yes. My name is Shaded Crystal, but feel free to call me Shade." Might as well have a little fun with it.

The mare blinked and took his hand. Sombra studied the mare with curiosity. She was tall and in good health, but her amount of make-up and bust size was a turn off for Sombra. He saw she was a unicorn as well, but it also added to his list of dislikes. Sure, a unicorn has perks such as magic, but when it comes to the bedroom their magic can get out of control, especially when climaxing. She had an overly amount of curls in her mane and tail, which Sombra learned from experience, can be a downfall when it gets messed.

The mare shook his hand and then pulled away slowly. "My name is Rarity." She stared at him a bit longer, which was getting on Sombra's nerves. It was annoying, as if she had never seen a stallion before. She finally looked back to Fluttershy and asked, "Where did you say you and Mr. Crystal meet?"

"Uhm… uh…" Fluttershy's neck and face flushed. "We- uh…"

"We met in the Crystal Empire." Sombra interrupted. She must have been in the Empire since it returned after so long.

"Oh?" The unicorn, Rarity, raised a delicate eyebrow. She looked to Fluttershy questioningly. "When did you go to the Crystal Empire, dear? Last time we all went was to visit Cadence and Shining." She narrowed her eyes at the two. "So when did-"

"Rarity!" Sombra looked to the voices source. He found a stack of light colored boxes moving toward them. Upon closer inspection, Sombra saw claw-like fingers grasping the bottom of the boxes. The legs were covered in black jeans and the shoes were a light gray color. After another look Sombra saw a purple tail with green spines. As the creature stopped beside Rarity, it put down the boxes and stood straight up and stretched. It was a dragon. A purple dragon with green spines. He a few inches smaller than Rarity and had green eyes. He had on a dark purple hoodie that seemed to swallow him. After he stretched, he looked to Sombra and squinted his eyes to get a better look. "Um… Hi?" He gave a small wave.

"Hello." Sombra gave a nod to him.

The four stood in a silence. Then Fluttershy gently grasped Sombra's elbow and quietly said to Rarity, "Well… We better be going. See you soon." She then guided herself and Sombra away from Rarity and the dragon.

Once they left, Spike asked Rarity, "Who was with Fluttershy?"

Rarity narrowed her eyes at the two. She didn't trust that stallion. "Come on Spike. We're going to follow them."

As she started to walk away, Spike called out, "What about your-" Spike pointed to the boxes before sighing. Sure he was strong, but no dragon could lift all of Rarity's purchased items. With a heave, Spike tipped and swayed until he was right on his two feet. He then quickly tried to catch up to Rarity.

Fluttershy's heart was beating rapidly. She had quickly directed herself and Sombra to one of the nearest clothing stores, which was actually around the corner and brought them both to the back toward the Stallion section. Finally she stopped at the shirts and gave a deep breath that she was holding. Sombra had handled the situation well. Except now she is going to have to make up another lie to tell her friends. She had no explanation for meeting Sombra. She looked at the stallion in question and found him already staring at her. Her face heated up and she looked down to find her hand still holding onto Sombra's elbow. She quickly removed her hand with a mumbled apology. She looked to Sombra behind her curtain of pink mane. "This is… um… where we can find you some… uh… clothes."

"Alright." He stood for a moment before sifting through some of the hanging shirts. Fluttershy thought to make herself useful and look along with him. "Where did you get the name Shaded Crystal?" Sombra asked, making Fluttershy stop what she was doing to look at him.

He was looking through the shirts instead of her, which she was grateful for. It was hard to concentrate under his gaze. She looked back at the shirts again, feeling warmth spread to her cheeks. "I read it in a book…" She answered quietly. Please don't ask me which one. Please don't ask me which one.

"What book was it?" Sombra asked. He took off a black shirt and held it up to look at. It looked too small at the sleeves and was short on the stomach.

"What size is that?" Fluttershy asked taking hold of the fabric to look in the collar. A medium? She thought as she looked at the tag again. She shook her head and gently took it out of Sombra's grasp. "You may need a bigger size. This one is too small." She put the shirt back and sifted through to find another size. Maybe an extra-large or a 2XL? She thought.

Sombra nodded in understanding before he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He shouldn't do that… it was as if he was tempting Fluttershy to get closer to him. She was slightly proud of herself when she didn't jump into his arms. "You didn't answer my question." Sombra said making Fluttershy stop momentarily before moving on again.

"I… I think you should try these sizes on." She grabbed two different shirts in two different sizes and pushed him to the dressing rooms. Before he could speak, Fluttershy pushed him into an empty stall and closed the curtain. She turned to the waiting area and sat in one of the chairs. She rested her elbows on her knees and placed her face in her hands.

If she told him what book it was, he may laugh at her. Maybe if I tell him, he may not know what book I'm talking about. Fluttershy thought. But it was foolish to say it now. It would be silly. "Fluttershy?" She looked up at the sound of her name and almost laughed. Sombra had walked out in one of the shirts she had blindly picked out for him. This was an orange-yellow shirt with black horizontal stripes. It was well fitted and actually looked decent on him, though he was not impressed. "I don't like this one." He complained.

Fluttershy tried not to laugh as she covered her mouth with her hand, but she was shaking so much that it was enough to make Sombra's frown bigger. He was about to turn away when Fluttershy got up and said, "N-no, wait!" The sound of laughter was evident in her voice. "It- it actually looks g-good." She walked toward him as he had turned around to partially face her. Fluttershy grabbed ahold of the collar and peeked at the size. An extra-large. At least she knew what size to get him. She looked at Sombra and smiled. "I actually think it looks fine on you."

He looked surprised at her words but recovered quickly with a slight shake of his head. "Well, I don't like the color of it." He said stubbornly. Even though he had a dark coat, Fluttershy was sure she saw a blush on his cheeks. He glared down at the material and took a pinch of it. "It fits me well, but the color is not to my liking."

Fluttershy suppressed her laugh once again and said, "But I think it looks fine to me. In fact I think the color suits you." It was true. The color looked better on him and somehow amplified the fact that he was handsome. "Can I have the other shirt? I'll go find more shirts in this size for you to wear. And maybe I can find some colors that will look good on you." Who was she kidding? He could wear a rainbow and it would still look good on him.

Sombra grumbled and handed her the other shirt. "I would prefer red or blue, please." He said which surprised Fluttershy when he said 'please'. I guess he had to learn manners when becoming a king. Fluttershy thought.

As she turned to go back to the shirts a realization dawned on her. He had said my name. She looked back, just in time to catch Sombra before he walked into the dressing room. "You called me by my name." She said.

Sombra looked back at her and gave an award winning smile. "I remembered." He said before he slipped back into the dressing room and closed the curtain behind him.

Fluttershy turned around with a heavy blush, a beating heart and a smile on her face.