Great, I'm the New Bad Guy...

[Twilight's POV]

Well, so far things have gone... not horrible? The Overlord and his group of minions are staying in a different cabin, in order to "give us some space". I'm still not sure if this is a good or bad thing, since he might genuinely not want to crowd us, but it might also be that he distrusts us or worse is holding some sort of grudge against us for something we (I) may have done in the past. (Like sneaking into his lab and accusing him of trying to destroy the world)

I thought that things might have gotten a bit dicey when Rainbow, seemingly just to spite me, the princesses, and the idea of political stability, almost immediately went to his cabin and tried to... not bully, but, uh, warn the Overlord against turning on Equestria. Admittedly as she was being escorted back to our cabin she finished her 'warning' by saying that the only reason she was saying any of it was because "You're less lame then most of the big wigs I've met, so it would be a shame if we had to kick your butt because you got too big a head."

I think the Overlord took it as a joke since he couldn't stop laughing for almost a full two and a half minutes.

Then there was Pinkie, Scorch and Scratch. I wasn't sure if the minions were just excited or if they were always this active when I wasn't around, as they were close to giving Pinkie a run for her money. It would actually explain some of the things that Scorch and the CMC had gotten up to recently if they were. Hopefully the Overlord didn't mind the three balls of energy whizzing around between the cabins, checking on everypony to make sure that they were okay in Pinkies' case and chasing after Pinkie in the minions'. At least he didn't seem outwardly upset by it so it might've been okay, heck he might be used to this if the minions were always like this.

Other then that not much happened aside from a conversation that Rarity and the Overlord had that I wasn't paying much attention to, though I feel I should have seeing as at one point I heard Rarity yelling about some compound or something since all I heard was "It's made from WHAT?!" before she made her way back to our cabin. When I asked he what the conversation was about she flinched a little and said "N-nothing, nothing at all. Don't worry about it darling."

To be honest, the further north we went the more nervous I got. I mean, this was a big deal! I not only needed to discover what was wrong in the newly returned empire, that I just learned about last night by the way, while balancing a diplomatic mission to keep the Domain from attacking us. Add on to that I have no idea just what the Overlord really thinks of us, how willing he is to fight us, or what I could possibly do to placate him should he actually want to attack.

And on top of all of this, it was Princess Celestia who need me to get it done. Failure was not an option, so you know... just all of the pressure.

[Overlord's POV]

I've always loved the way snow looked. The way it piles up on the ground and just sits there looking fluffy. Growing up in a desert made it very rare to see any, but I remember it snowed on my fifth birthday. I got sick because I wouldn't go back inside after the sun went down.

"I have a bad feeling."

"I'm sure that everything will be fine, after all you promised you would come home and then we could do that thing with the chains and the-"

"I know your trying to make me feel better Sarra, but please... it's not helping."

I could feel the concern coming from the other side of the link before Sarra retreated from actively being in my mind, after all we all need some alone time, even if we can share head space. I was glad that she knew this was one of those times for me.

I tried to put up a confident face whenever one of the main six came by, laughing at Rainbows frankly pathetic attempt at a threat and Raritys reaction to how the metal used at the tower is made, but I don't think Pinkie bought it since she wouldn't stop coming up to me and asking if I was okay.

I wasn't okay. I told her I was, so as not to worry or distract her, but to honest I don't think there was anything she could do to make me feel any better. I was consumed with a sense of dread ever since getting on this train, which was fine since a healthy amount of dread at facing something that literally almost killed a country just meant I was still sane, but it was getting worse the closer we got to the Crystal Empire.

I was worried at first that it was one of Sombra's tricks, but as the feeling began to increase I noticed that none of the girls were affected the same way. That meant that either-

-One, whatever it was, it didn't affect ponies.

-Two, It was something that only I could detect, using my inherent dark magic.

-Or three, whatever was doing this was targeting me directly.

I didn't like any of the options, but I couldn't do anything about it until we got to the empire. I wonder what Shining Armor will think of the big bad Overlord helping out? Should I stop him from being hit by Sombra's black magic, saving his horn? I honestly wasn't sure... there was a case to be made for both options.

If I let him get hit it would mean that he wouldn't be able to use magic, which was both good and bad for me. He wouldn't be able to stop me should he disagree with something I need to do, (other than physically, but even with his military training I was confident I could take him) but he wouldn't be able to assist in the battle against Sombra either. It would also allow me the time to analyse Sombra's magic while avoiding fighting him right away.

If I don't... I will gain the trust of at least Cadence and Twilight, maybe even smooth things out with Celestia a bit too. Shining would be able to participate in the fight against Sombra, though he will most likely just be using shield spells. But that isn't really a bad thing, as I could then focus on offence...

"I suppose I will just have to go with my gut when the time comes." I whispered to myself as the empire came into view.