Splatter page for the concept of a random pony I’m calling ‘Velveteen’ or ‘Velveteen Ribbon’.
Her special talent is magical manipulation, her primary spell being the use of magic strings to take control of a pony’s body for a set amount of time. Generally those with stronger wills or magical protections can ward off the effects of her workings. Also the strings can get a better hold if they know and trust Velveteen. Her cutie mark is marionette crossbars and strings for obvious reasons.
Because of the insidious nature of her abilities, Velveteen ears her living as a con artist and general swindler. While she is good at what she does - to an extent - she always manages to blow all of her earnings on gambling in saloons.
I’ll probably never use this character either but she was fun to think about for a bit.
OOC: Look, a mod!pic to show that I’m not completely dead (even if I look pale enough to be). It also may be time to chop off the hair for something easier to manage… what say you, loyal followers?
“That won’t work,” Princess Cadence said lightly or, really, as lightly as she could manage.
How could she stay calm when somepony she was supposed to be close with was attempting to steal the thing that kept the Crystal Empire safe and helped spread love and hope throughout all of Equestria?
“I don’t know what you’re up to but I promise it’s not going to work.”
Sombra’s ears twitched as he heard the door, then looked over at Shining as he called her name. He slowly parted the kiss with a toothy grin, stroking Cadence’s cheek. “I am surprised you actually survived. To be honest, I thought you were gone for good but I guess I was wrong.” Sombra was able to get another kiss from Cadence in front of him before walking up to Shining, looking down at him. “I guess I will have to take care of you once and for all won’t I?” Sombra laughed loudly and his eyes glowed brightly as did his eyes. “You will have wished you never survived little pony.”
Who was that? Cadence looked at the stallion that called her name. Something in her heart recognized him. It pulsed harder just seeing him. Her face was like a light in that moment: the shine momentarily reaching her eyes. She went to take a step forward, to be with him – if she could just touch the white stallion then everything would come back to her. The princess was sure of it.
Then Sombra kissed her again. Purple haze nearly block out her vision completely and she staggered back from it once her pulled away. Ugh. She fell to her rear as the magic took hold again. Her eyes darkened once more, emitting a violet hue momentarily, before she smiled.
“Be careful, my king.” she said.
Sombra felt her soft, pink tongue gliding across his as they kissed. His eyes slowly closed as well and his tongue wrapped around hers, slipping into her mouth to explore it. He slowly brought her closer to him, putting her in a loving embrace.
The shadow pony flew into the air a bit and landed on its back, now in pain. It was about to get up once again but was met with his rear legs in its chest. The shadow pony flew back and vanished into nothingness as it hit a wall. Nothing was stopping Shining from reaching Sombra and Cadence as he was only a little distance away. Was he ready to see what was happening between them? And what had befallen upon his lovely wife?
The princess melted against the dark king – her protector as well as her lover. Her hoof came to cradle the side of his face. Her heart raced and her breathing became rougher. How could she have been so blind before his reconditioning? When she looked back on all of it before – what little she could remember – she had been so stupid!
Nopony else was in her heart. There was only room for King Sombra.
The shadow pony stood its ground, glaring at Shining as he charged. It then charged it him as well, gaining quick speed until it was about to hit him head on. They both clashed, though it was a shadow pony, it was still physically real. The shadow pony would not let up any and continued to fend him off.
Sombra felt her mouth open a little and he grinned while kissing her deeper, placing a hoof on her cheek. His hoof slowly stroked her cheek as they kissed, eyes now looking deeply into hers.
His gaze as the kiss nearly turned her into a quivering mess. Through his eyes she could tell that he was enjoying this and she knew it was right. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head upward. The princess indulged herself but letting her smooth pink tongue glide across his own. Nothing could be better than a moment like this. The love in her heart swelled and she… she didn’t do anything.
Normally it would have caused a few sparks of her love magic to fly from her horn uncontrolled but Sombra’s spell had made her unable to access that power and, really, it was for their own good. Such an ability would only hurt her king. It was something that was better suited to be left untapped.
He had been kind to restrict her usage of her own magic.
He smiled and brought her closer with his dark fog, eyes glowing softly. “I love you too my Crystal Princess~” Sombra said as he nuzzled her slowly and grinned, giving her a soft kiss. He did not move either, letting her choose what she would do.
The castle seemed empty yet something was off. The moment Shining walked in, a dark fog was soon following him. As he got closer to where they were, the fog got closer to Shining until it had caught up to him. It swirled around him slowly and from it formed a Shadow Pony, glaring at him.
He loved her, too! Her heart practically stopped beating at the words. She smiled brightly when he leaned forward to place his muzzle on hers…
Something about the kiss felt wrong to the young mare. This should have delighted her. There was nothing more than what she wanted than to please her king. If use of her body did that then, naturally, she should be more than delighted he took that interest in her. More passionate - that is how it was supposed to be. A momentary flash of a white stallion popped in her head and she flinched away. Purple fog hazed her vision almost completely and a painful pulse resounded in her temples. It receded once more.
How silly of her. Of course it felt right. She leaned forward and kissed him back, opening her mouth a little to allow him to deepen it if he wanted. Her first duty as the Crystal Princess was to ensure the happiness of King Sombra.
He smiled and moved his muzzle next to hers, nuzzling her softly. “that is good my sweet Crystal Princess~ And does she like her new King?~” He asked while moving his face a little from hers, looking at her still as some of his dark fog moves around her like a wing.
As Shining grew closer, more and more crystals formed but it was due to Sombra’s magic still. He saw that it wold be quite easy to get in actually. Was something waiting for him? Was it a trap? He would have to go in and find out.
His sweet Crystal Princess? She practically melted at that. Being doted on by King Sombra felt wonderful, pride swelled in her chest. Cadence nuzzled him back affectionately until he pulled away. A smile still graced her features. Just being around him brought her untold joy.
When he asked her if she liked her new king, she stepped in closer still and rested her head against the crux of his neck. How could she not like him?! He was perfect and the one who rightfully held claim over her. After all, she was the crystal princess: even her cutie mark was the crystal heart. The foggy wing didn’t frighten her. In fact, she felt protected by it.
“My king, I love you more than anything else.” She told him.
Magic shot out of her horn in attempts to trap this particular version of Twilight Sparkle. A ball of light appeared above the purple unicorn’s body and bars began to sprout from it.
“Does my Crystal Princess like the lok of her kingdom~?” King Sombra asked Cadence, already knowing how she would answer do to her being under his control, but just wanted to hear her say it. He kept staring out off the balcony though, making sure nothing was wrong.
Though he had won the battle and taken over the Crystal Empire, Sombra still felt as if something wasn’t right. He knew that somepony was coming but who? Instead of pondering the idea any longer, Sombra shook his head a little to get rid of the thought. With that, he looked at Cadence, letting a small grin cross his muzzle.
That was hardly up for debate. Her clouded eyes tore themselves from the visage of her king to overlook the crystal kingdom once more. So barren and, yet, beautiful in its stark simplicity. How could she have wanted to keep it the same? Was there not loveliness, too, in emptiness? More than she had realized before. The scene took her breath away and she turned back to look at Sombra – the rightful ruler to the empire – those dampened hues surprisingly bright as they lit up from the happiness she received in complimenting him.
“It is truly magnificent,” she let him know. “I never knew brutal elementariness could be so elegant. It suits my king rather well.”
If there was another pony approaching, Cadence could not tell and did not care. Why should she? She was with the only stallion in the entire berth of the universe that’s worth mattered.

