"H-Hey, Sombra, whose house is this?" Raindrops was obviously nervous based on her demeanor as she openly gazed around the interior of an elegant mansion fit for royalty. All of the walls were a bright pink shade, and it was as if every part of the mansion was sparkling due to how spotless it was. She gulped, ensuring to remain close to the colt as he lead the group into the main lobby area. Why had Sombra lead them here? How did he even know where this place was? Everything felt so strange at the moment but the group didn't question the colt, and for some reason Derpy nor Nightmare Moon really seemed surprised nor did they question Sombra's actions.

Sombra paused in the middle of the lobby area, right beneath the glistening chandelier overhead. He glanced back at Raindrops as he wore a bored expression. "Hm? Somepony who will help us. Don't panic." He peered ahead again, as he waited silently.

As Nightmare Moon was some distance behind both Sombra and Raindrops, she didn't seem uneasy, actually, she was fully content.

Lightning Dust was surprised by this as she raised a brow at Nightmare before fluttering on over to her. "H-Hey Nightmare? Are you sure Sombra knows what he's doing? Afterall he's just a kid, we could be trotting into something very wrong right now."

Nightmare Moon didn't hesitate to answer her question. "I trust him."

Lightning Dust flinched a bit before looking guiltily at the alicorn. "H-Hey I trust him, it's just I-"

Nightmare Moon glanced over at Lightning Dust with a fully confident smile. "Grah King is small and weak physically, but he is actually very competent. I have full faith he will bring us a great advantage." Nightmare Moon's eyes closed halfway then as she fell deep into thought about Grah King. Ah yes, he always was fairly competent wasn't he? Always so sure of himself, even in that place. I often forget in life he was a king, a mighty king, and a unicorn. She glanced over at him seriously, as if respecting his past accomplishments. To think he managed to learn the magic of fear and shadow as a mere mortal unicorn is impressive to say the least.

"SOMBRA! MY DEAR!"

All their eyes focused towards the top of a spiraling staircase in which hurrying down was a pale pink unicorn mare.

The pale pink unicorn chuckled happily in delight. "Oh I knew you would show up, I just knew it! My offer was just too good to deny wasn't it!? And it looks like you brought friends! This is great! The more the merrier! I'm sure you could use their support!"

Derpy who was behind the rest of the group suddenly flapped her wings and rose in excitement. "FLEUR!"

The pale pink pony's eyes went wide with surprise before she to returned that delighted smile. "Oh now if it isn't my favorite mail pony! Derpy, what might you be doing here!? Are you a friend of Sombra?" She picked up her pace, hurrying over to greet them further.

Derpy fluttered on over to her as the two embraced in a hug, before pulling back. "Y-Yes! And I'm also working here! It's very nice so far! I just want to keep working harder so everypony can see just how special muffins are!" Her smile brightened.

Fleur De Lis raised a brow at Derpy. "Muffins?"

"FLEUR DE LIS!?"

Fleur's eyes widened exponentially then as she suddenly looked beyond the group at the turquoise pegasus.

"The supermodel Fleur De Lis!? Wait wait wait, when did you all get so buddy buddy!?" Lightning Dust huffed.

Fleur De Lis just blinked for a few seconds more before glancing over and down at Sombra with a grateful smile. "Ah, I imagine it must be quite a surprise for this little one here to be familiar with me, I realize my name gets around often." She smirked. "Sombra here will be one of my next top models, with my skills this little unicorn will shine brighter than the very stars! Speaking of which-" Fleur strolled up to Nightmare Moon then, before placing her hoof firmly upon the alicorn's chest. "Don't think I didn't notice you Ms.Alicorn, it's not often I get such a prestigious visitor in my home. You were quite the talk of the town for some time, just where exactly do you hail from?"

Nightmare Moon just looked down at her blankly. "The realm of darkness."

Fleur De Lis' eyes went wide with surprise as she just stood there. "The what of what now?"

Nightmare Moon smiled as if intrigued by her curiosity. "Darkness! A land of eternal suffering and endless turmoil, a lot of bad ponies go there! Luckily we managed to escape unscathed, mostly, all it required was the destruction of the soul barrier which caused-"

Lightning Dust began shoving Nightmare Moon casually out of the way before snickering. "Yeeea yea yea!" Before glaring at the alicorn and pressing her muzzle against her's while fluttering in front of her. "Hey, keep it simple, she probably got lost at the first sentence."

Nightmare Moon nodded a bit while peering into Lightning Dust's eyes.

Raindrops suddenly made her way over to Fleur De Lis. "M-Ms.Fleur De Lis?"

Fleur De Lis who was still a bit focused on Nightmare Moon and Lightning Dust, then turned around to give her attention to Raindrops.

Raindrops continued nervously. "U-Um, so if Sombra is going to become one of your models? Does that mean that tomorrow we can-"

Fleur De Lis raised a brow in curiosity. "Tomorrow? What is happening tomo-" before she cut herself off and glanced up towards the ceiling. "Ah yes, that is tomorrow isn't it?" She smiled brightly at Raindrops. "You are referring to the event? Well of course if it means I will have one of my newest and most appealing stars there then most certainly. It will surely be the event to remember." She glanced over at Nightmare Moon again. "Although I'm fairly certain that just bringing her along would've gotten you inside even without my assistance."

Lightning Dust sighed before crossing her hooves and nudging in the alicorn's direction. "Sadly this one can't be seen in public like that. She's got some paranoia about her sisters." She paused and closed her eyes. "Even though they haven't even done anything yet."

Nightmare Moon frowned a bit and lowered her head nervously, as if distracted by the thought.

Fleur De Lis continued. "Sisters? Ah, so you're referring to the Princesses. Which ones might I ask?" She then glanced Nightmare Moon up and down briefly before smiling earnestly. "Ah nevermind, I think I've figured it out. Might you be on bad terms with them?"

Nightmare Moon huffed as she still appeared saddened. "Um, I imagine so..."

Fleur De Lis frowned a bit as she showed sympathy for the alicorn. "Well I do hope you clear things up with them eventually."

Nightmare Moon raised her head before closing her eyes and smiling at Fleur De Lis. "Y-Yes! I do as well!"

Sombra finally cut in again as the colt had already made it to the staircase. "Fleur, where might this place I need to go be?"

They all focused on Sombra in surprise with his lax demeanor.

Raindrops blinked a bit before placing her hooves firmly on her hips. "S-Sombra! Show some respect! This isn't your home!"

Sombra just looked at Raindrops silently with a firm blank stare for a moment before looking up towards the ceiling in a bored manner. "Does it matter? I am obviously a necessity, so it seems I have the right to treat this as my home as much as she does."

Fleur De Lis wasn't complaining as she actually looked infatuated with the unicorn. "Oh such a cold direct personality! It's perfect!" She shook her head, concentrating again before smirking. "Y-Yes, but to get started! Sombra we must start with your mane! I believe it is time we trimmed it, your current appearance is mesmerizing but, it does not match your personality. Let us focus on bringing out those lashes, putting emphasis on those alluring eyes! And adding even more focus on that intimidating aspect you possess." She raised both forehooves to her cheeks in absolute excitement. "Oh it shall be perfect! A short cut, wild along the edges! Such an adorable little rebel you will be!" She hurried on over to Sombra before shoving him along up the stairs. "C-Come, come come come let us go get started before the show tomorrow! You will be absolutely stunning, perfect in every way!" She also didn't fail to notice the others before shooing them away in a casual manner. "Do not be shy girls! My home is your home! There are plenty of rooms for you to stay! Ask one of the servants for directions if you happen to get lost!" She went back to focusing on Sombra as the two were making their way up the stairs.

The rest of them just gave the pale pink pegasus an estranged look.

Lightning Dust just didn't get it as she had her hooves crossed. "What could possibly be perfect about that?"

Nightmare Moon appeared lost in thought as she spoke, focusing on the marble tiles upon the floor. "It only makes sense, Grah King is special." Sombra was once a king, he is used to this sort of attention and glamour. It is only expected that he'd give off the vibe of a cold prince. Her eyes went cold in that instant as she was fairly serious. I only hope he doesn't let such things distract him too much.

Raindrops had a hoof raised to her muzzle. "W-Well I agree that Sombra is cute, but a model? Is he up for that?"

Lightning Dust pat Raindrops on the back. "Let's try not to worry about that for now! It looks like Fleur De Lis likes him, so let's just let them do their thing." Lightning Dust seemed eager as she smirked confidently. "Even better, we've got a distinct advantage now. With Fleur De Lis backing us up and Sombra in such a prestigious position, this is the perfect chance to advertise the restaurant tomorrow at the event! Vinyl will now surely meet with us!" Lightning Dust did a spin before cheering. "Haha! You hear that Octavia!? Soon enough you'll finally see that we're not so easily beaten by your cheap tricks and antics! This is going to rock, I can hardly wait for tomorrow!"

Nightmare Moon appeared fairly serious as she made a crooked frown. Hm, tomorrow huh? It is relieving to know that we are bringing this issue to a close, the cello mare is indeed a foe that I would enjoy no longer worrying about. Her frown intensified a bit as suddenly running through her thoughts would be a Luna as she suddenly appeared a bit fearful before putting on a hesitant expression and muttering. "H-Hey, um, might this event be, very public? D-Do you think I'd be safe going there? M-Maybe I should just, um, stay here at this castle."

Lightning Dust placed a hoof against Nightmare's side. "Hey, are you okay?"

Nightmare's eyes widened exponentially as she snapped back to reality. "O-Oh!" She glanced down at Lightning with a smile. "Y-Yes..."

Lightning Dust's lower lip was slightly puckered in suspicion as she grumbled before easing up and smiling at the alicorn. "Alright, just making sure. I'm hard on you, but don't you ever forget something Nightmare Moon." She closed her eyes and grinned. "I care about you. And of course you'll be alright there. You're an alicorn, nothing is going to hurt you you idiot. Seriously, what're you freaking out about?"

Nightmare Moon flinched a bit as she actually looked frightened, as if thrown off dramatically before recovering and smiling a little as she avoided eye contact with Lightning Dust before muttering. "I, I do care about you all as well." She'd cringed saying that particular word and she didn't understand why. She suddenly looked estranged. "More so than I expected." She paused before closing her eyes and smiling at Lightning Dust. "I-It is nothing comrade. Just, a thought." How long must I expect to live this life? Running away in such a manner.

Lightning Dust crossed both hooves again before smiling up at the mare. "See, that's what I like to see."

Derpy then fluttered over to the group of them before exclaiming in excitement. "Everypony! Shall we explore!?"

Raindrops nodded in agreement as she nodded hurriedly at Derpy. "Y-Yea! I've never been in a place like this before! So I'd like to see just how big it is!" She clapped her hooves a bit before glancing around again. "I bet there's all sorts of surprises hidden away in here!"

Derpy nodded before smiling softly at Raindrops. "There is! Lots and lots of cool surprises!"

Lightning Dust tilted her head to the right at Derpy. "So you've explored this mansion before Derpy?"

Derpy looked down at Lightning Dust still with that smile. "YES! It is veeeery big and pretty further inside!"

Lightning Dust shrugged before smirking a bit confidently. "Well, cool then! Let's go check it out!"

With that the group began to depart from the main lobby into another area of the mansion, well all except Nightmare Moon who just stood there again for a moment as she watched the group trot further away from her, as her expression steadily worsened while looking at them. The world around her was black, and they were a steady coursing light, fading away with the distance. She just stared at them trot away blankly before muttering to herself. "Perhaps, we are forgetting what we are, aren't we Grah King?"

As Nightmare Moon looked upon them before smiling again. "Bah! It matters not what they think of me. Not anymore."

Fleur De Lis and Sombra were situated in a large private barber shop located on a higher level of the mansion. The room itself was massive, consisting of many mirrors and different setups for other ponies to also get their mane's cut. Although Sombra and Fleur De Lis were the only ones there at the moment. As Fleur De Lis overlooked the colt, she felt lost in his presence, this was undeniable to her seeing as she admired the colt's natural beauty almost abnormally so. She smiled a little, "Maybe in a past life, you were a Queen."

Sombra only answered her in his expected bored tone. "Close."

Fleur De Lis raised a brow. "Erhm, Sombra might you be a-"

Sombra cut her off in that second however. "There is something I want to ask you."

Fleur De Lis' expression brightened as she smiled. "ASK AWAY!"

Sombra peered ahead silently before speaking in a curious tone. "This cello mare. Do you know her?"

Fleur De Lis raised her brow yet again, a little more confused than before. "Octavia? Yes I've seen a couple of her concerts."

As his mane was cut, he gazed at the marble ground again in deep thought. "Tell me everything about her musical prowess."

Fleur De Lis raised a brow at the colt as she cut his mane, a little confused.

Sombra wore a calculated expression. She has been a constant thorn in our sides. He looked ahead as he sighed, appearing bored yet focused, utterly confident. "I need all the information I can get before I confront her, sadly Nightmare is not made for such tasks."

Fleur De Lis blinked a bit, tilting her head to the right. "You know how to play an instrument Sombra?"

Sombra just blinked a bit, somewhat surprised before smiling and appearing somewhat dazed. "One could say that."