Kiss of the Dark

Chapters

Last Day of Light
First Encounter
Scratching the Surface
A Quiet Meeting
Checkmate with a Pawn, Part 1
Checkmate with a Pawn, Part 2
Intermission
Captured by the Dark
Dying Light
Deeper Into the Shadows
Discovery
Queen of Shadows
The Stage Is Set
Operation Sunlight (Alternate Evil Version)
Operation Sunlight (Good Version)
Final Apology--Author's Notes
Epilogue, Part 1: Saved by the Light
Epilogue, Part 2: Two Months Later
Prologue: King of Shadows
Checkmate with a Pawn, Part 3

Last Day of Light

The first week of Twilight Sparkle's life as a princess was one big blur to her. It was rough already to adjust to having wings of all things, and not having to cast anything to sit on a cloud like she used to, but that wouldn't be the only change she would have to adjust to.

As per Celestia's request, she spent a week at the castle of Canterlot, soaking up all knowledge of her new duties as she could from her teacher in that time span. As she found out the hard way, the new role she would now fill was a bit overwhelming, yet exciting at the same time.

While she stayed in Celestia's home for the time being, it was so surreal to walk the halls and have the Royal Guards salute her presence while she passed them by. She was used to them knowing who she was, since her brother was the captain of the Guards and she was Celestia's protege, but it was like having an old friend treat you like a king out of the blue.

"You won't have to visit Canterlot very often, no matter what you choose to do, but it is still vital you make the occasional trip for council meetings such as these," Celestia explained, while they were in the study foyer.

Twilight pawed at the old telescope by the window, the same one she used all the time while under Celestia's wing.

"Twilight, were you listening to what I was saying?"

"What?" She swung her head back to Celestia. "Oh, yes. You were mentioning when I needed to come here. I'm listening. It's just so much to take in."

"I'm aware of that. Cadence was the same way when she was a princess for the first time. That is why she only gradually filled into her duties, not all at once. It's still important to know about these things ahead of time, even with that in mind. Now, about the topic of war..."

The entire day was like that, going over what a princess of Equestria was expected to do. Of course, Twilight was up to the task, but it was the first sign that her life was never going to be the same anymore.

At least it would stay the same in the places that mattered most.

After the week of lectures was over, the two princesses were near the gates of Canterlot, with a chariot ready to take Twilight back to Ponyville. All she had to do was go inside and give the signal, and she would be back home.

"Are you sure you want to go back to Ponyville right now? You haven't even decided on having a castle or anything similar to that," Celestia brought up.

"I know. I just want time to think about it. You're not mad at me, right?" Twilight asked.

"Not at all. No matter what you choose to do about it, I respect your decision. After all, Cadence was a foalsitter while she was also a princess."

Twilight laughed. "The best foalsitter! I'll send you a letter when I'm ready to talk about it. Thanks for everything you taught me, this could be a lot of fun."

Celestia nodded, and waved to her former student while she climbed into her chariot and the Guards flew her away to her home.

It felt like a long time since Twilight had last seen Ponyville with her own eyes. Granted, it was nice being in her first home of Canterlot and seeing her parents again for an extended time, but she was eager to return to the small town, especially since a certain scaly friend had to stay behind while she was busy with her duties.

No matter what she was expecting from her homecoming, it was blown away the moment she saw what was waiting for her down below.

As the chariot approached the town of Ponyville, she could make out that a huge collection of ponies was waiting at the spot they were expecting her to land. It had to be the entire town for pony's sake, and they clamored when they saw that she was getting close.

And surely enough, Pinkie Pie was the one in front, pointing her out.

"Look, everypony! Twilight's almost here! Now, when she's here, I want you all to give her a big welcome, because she's a princess and all, and it's cool we have a princess that lives here that's also a really good friend!"

That seemed to encourage the whole audience, and the pegasi moved ahead of time and hovered a big banner for Twilight to read. "Welcome, Princess Twilight!"

How typical of Pinkie Pie, she thought. It was nice to know Pinkie still had that personal touch to her.

"Princess, are you sure we should touch down there?" the Guard asked. "It looks too crowded to me."

"It will be fine. I know these ponies by heart, they won't do anything to us. Try to land us near the library."

The Guards brought the chariot closer to the library while they brought the wheels down to the ground. There was nothing better to Twilight than to see her familiar treehouse come into view.

She even saw Spike look out the window to see what the commotion was about. As soon as he saw her touch down, he appeared excited and raced down the stairs as fast as he could.

The ponies followed her every moment closely, and only cheered louder when the chariot landed on solid ground. Before she had even gotten out, the audience was already applauding her.

While Twilight hopped out of the chariot, Spike opened the front door of the house and ran right to her. He stopped in the middle of his tracks, adjusting to the fact that his closest friend now had wings, a crown, a neck plate, golden sandals, and two Guards following her every move.

"Wow...it's really you, Twilight," he said, awestruck from seeing her like this.

Twilight opened her mouth to talk, but the crowd was practically bursting at the seams to hear anything from her. It was so loud that she couldn't even hear herself speak.

"One moment, Spike. I want to talk to you, I really do. Give me a moment to take care of these ponies first. They've been waiting for a long time to see me."

She turned around to meet the audience face to face. They grew excited when she came forward, knowing she would finally address them for the first time. Her guards stood by her side, giving the moment a hint of formality.

"Hello there, Ponyville. Wow, it's only been a week but I feel like I've been gone for an entire month. It's good to see you all again, I've missed you so much.

"I know things are going to change soon around here, now that you have a princess living here. And I'll address that in time. But I would like to have a few moments to myself for now, if that's OK with you."

The ponies were upset to hear this, and they groaned in disappointment. But it wasn't for long, being a princess was tough work after all, and they understood that.

But one pony was complaining louder than the rest.

"Aw, and I had a whole 'Welcome To Ponyville, Princess Twilight' party planned for the day! We were going to play Pin The Tail On The Alicorn, have so many cakes in a row, and then see if you or Rainbow Dash was faster, even if she says she's the fastest in Equestria!" said Pinkie Pie.

"I heard that!" Rainbow Dash shouted back.

Twilight laughed again. "Thanks for being so thoughtful of me, maybe we can do it sometime soon. Thank you all for your consideration, and I will see you shortly."

She bowed before them, and they stomped their hooves on the ground in applause. It made her steps a little lighter as she went for the shelter of the treehouse.

"Stay at the doorpost and let me know if I have any visitors. If it's one of the Elements, go ahead and let them in," she commanded the Guards.

They saluted her while she came inside. Spike stood inside, still waiting for her to come in, and shut the door behind her.

Waves of nostalgia hit Twilight when she got to look at the familiar shelves and books that she called hers. She brought herself to one of the shelves and pulled out one book in particular, Everything You Wanted To Know About Sleepovers, But Were Afraid To Ask. What good memories she had, just from these pages alone...

Meanwhile, Spike was still soaking it in, the thought that Twilight was a princess now. He kept staring at her crown, the one that once signaled her spot as the leader of the Elements of Harmony, now meaning something else entirely.

"Twilight Sparkle...is that really you?" He blinked his eyes, wondering if he was imaging this.

"Oh Spike, I missed you so much!" She put the book away and hugged Spike tight with her front legs. It was such a welcome sight to see him again.

"I missed you too," he said, as he pulled away. "But this is amazing! I heard all about your wings and even saw them before you went away for the coronation, but I didn't think you would actually look like Celestia too! How was the coronation?"

"It was wonderful, I feel bad you had to stay behind to watch Owlowiscious."

"It's fine, who else was going to keep an eye on him?"

Almost as soon as he said those words, the owl emerged out of hiding from his cage and flew right at Twilight. He perched his claws on Twilight's back and pecked at her neck softly with his beak.

"I missed you too!" she laughed. He was tickling all around her fur, and she shuddered after being pecked so much. After a while, he grew tired of it and flew to the study desk, perching his claws on the end.

"I think he missed you too," Spike said. "He was looking at the front door for the last few days, and he was waiting for you to come in, I think."

"I can believe that. He did seem happy to see me."

After a few seconds, she realized she was exhausted from the trip. She trotted up the steps to her bed and sat on top of the blankets. She took off her crown, neck plate, and sandals and placed them neatly by her side. It felt so good for her bare hooves to touch something so cuddly. Spike followed her, and sat on the side of the bed with the princess.

"So what happens next?" he asked.

"That's why I went back to Ponyville, actually," Twilight answered. "I don't really know what to do. Every princess has her castle and all, but I don't know if I want one right now. That's something I could put away for a while, but I wanted to come back to think about it in private. Do you think that sounds terrible?"

"Why would it sound terrible? It sounds like something anypony in your position would do. But I'm still your number-one assistant, right?"

"Yes, you're still my number-one assistant."

Spike grinned, and everything in his world was right again.

"So, I'm assuming you want some time alone?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice right now."

The dragon nodded and went down to the main floor, going back to reading one of the older Daring Do novels he was in the middle of. Owlowiscious saw this as a chance to take a nap, and closed eyes to sleep.

Twilight smiled to herself and knew that she had some reigns on her new duties after all. It wouldn't be like this all the time, but at least she wasn't drowning in new customs either.

It was in the late morning hours by then, and it wouldn't be long until the Guards asked her what she would like for lunch, given that's what they did for Celestia all the time.

She stretched out her limbs and began to dwell on some of the important decisions she would have to make. The idea of a castle was appealing, no matter what she would say, but she already knew she wanted to stay in Ponyville with her friends. And a castle in the middle of a purposefully small town would stick out like a sore thumb.

So what should she do instead? Truth be told, she didn't know, and realized she didn't have a good answer for the question she was faced with.

She had to think of something to occupy her time while she figured it out, and there was only one thing that could fill the need: A good old fashioned book.

The alicorn used her magical grip to grab a book on a shelf, and drew it over to her bed. She placed it between herself and the pillow and looked over the cover.

The title was older than most of her catalog, and the style matched its age. A thin layer of dust covered its bounds, and the cover itself was thick and red. It had a design for a flame, and on it was written How to Cast Fire Magic For Beginners, by Starswirl the Bearded.

Granted, she knew the book from the front cover to the back, but it was fun to read time and time again. Something written from one of her favorite mages, rich in ideas and technique, of course she was going to love it.

She pushed the front cover open, and it sent dust everywhere. After a few breaths of air, it was clean of dust and she began to read.

Before I begin to write on my new discoveries, it is imperative to note that fire magic is not something to be trifled with. It can burn down entire homes or palaces, so I strongly recommend practicing such an act outdoors in a non-dry environment whenever possible.

In addition, first timers should know that it is very possible their horn could catch on fire, so I would recommend keeping a pail of water at all times for the first few attempts.

After thirty minutes, she got to the good parts.

Like any elemental magic field, one must constantly envision it in order to use its magical counterpart. Think about the properties of fire. It will not be all that is required to cast it, but it will be a good foundation for everything else.

Focus all of your energy to the spell, and then you should feel a spark of some sort on your horn. That is when you must release the spell; if you wait too long after this moment, the horn WILL catch fire. Hours of preparation have proved this to be the case time and time again.

The words of wisdom seemed to be exactly what she needed. She felt relaxed, clear headed, and able to think straight without the pressure thinking for her. It didn't help her figure anything out at all, but it was a step in the right direction.

Her stomach rumbled from the lack of food, and at any moment the guards would come in and ask if they should hire a chef for her. And in the end, a simple sandwich made by a dragon would do.

She climbed down the bed and was about to ask Spike what they had for sandwiches, when out of nowhere, her horn started to glow. Spike was busy sweeping the floor with his broom, and stopped in the middle of his work when he saw it too.

It glowed with a white light, and she didn't know if she should be scared or excited from it. The horn beamed a little brighter with some sort of magic. Spike had to cover his eyes from the light, it was almost as bright as the sun.

And it stopped just as soon as it started. After all of that, there was a letter in the middle of the room. It was rolled up neatly and sealed with a generic black seal.

Neither Twilight nor Spike knew what to make of it, and approached it cautiously.

"Is that from Princess Celestia?" Spike asked her. "Is she sending her letters directly through magic now?"

"I don't think that's from Celestia," Twilight answered. "Look. There's no horseshoe on the seal. She always has that seal in her letters, and it's not like they just run out of them."

"Then who's it from?"

"I don't know..."

They both looked at the letter, uncertain if they should even be opening it. It was so unusual that there was no way of knowing what would happen.

Spike scooted his feet closer to it, treating it like it could be a bomb. His arm slowly extended to grab it.

Twilight watched on while he broke the seal with a claw and unraveled the letter. He opened it very carefully, but it did nothing out of the ordinary. He scanned over the lines with patience, and the contents left him puzzled.

"That's strange. I don't think we've ever gotten a letter like this before."

"What is it? A threat? Something from Princess Luna? She's never sent me a letter before, maybe she does it differently than her sister. Or maybe it's from Shining Armor, that would be pretty cool if we were pen pals now..."

"He says he has a Starswirl book and he wants you to meet him to take it."

"What?"

She grabbed the letter with her magic immediately, and she ripped it off so abruptly that Spike left claw marks on the paper by accident.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, Twilight."

"It's fine. It's still in one piece."

Then Twilight read the letter for herself. After the first reading, she gasped in excitement, but tilted her head right after that. She read it again, and gave the same response.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Congratulations on your ascension to Princess of Equestria. It is an honor to hold such a title, one I never thought would happen under Celestia's rule again. I understand you might be busy with your duties, but I would like to write to you for an important matter.

You see, I have recently found a book from the great mage Starswirl the Bearded, one that has been lost for centuries if I recall. It contains knowledge about a topic that has been lost with time, that of dark magic itself.

Given the value of it, I cannot afford to give this book to your doorstep myself in fear that somepony might steal it, and I apologize for the inconvenience. However, if you come to the stream by the Wispy Woods in the time I have written below, I will happily deliver it to your hooves.

I know how suspicious this sounds, but I have no other choice. Thank you for reading this letter as far as you have, and for considering my offer.

Signed,
Forest Mist

"That was the strangest letter ever, and I read some really weird letters from Celestia," Spike commented. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know, something's strange about this letter," said Twilight. "It could be a trap, this Forest Mist sure knew that I was a princess."

"But everypony knows that."

"Yes, but he knows that while he's asking me to come to the Wispy Woods. Do you know what I mean?"

"Are you thinking it could be a trap?"

"Yes, that's what I'm assuming. I don't like the looks of it..."

"So you're not going to see him tonight, like the letter said?"

"I never said that..."

She paused for a moment, and thought about everything she could do about this Forest Mist character. On one hoof, it was the kind of letter she would imagine one of her enemies would write if they had half a brain.

On the other, if it was true that it was a Starswirl book lost in time, it was an opportunity she would never pass up. And on top of that, even if it was a trap, her magic had only gotten better and she could easily face any threat that came her way. Not to mention, she did have two Royal Guards for protection...

All of a sudden, it was as if she was at peace with the meeting.

"I think I'm going to see Forest Mist tonight."

"Are you sure?" Spike questioned. "Maybe you should bring those two guards with you, just in case."

"I'm planning on it. But I don't want to intimidate Forest Mist either, in case he really means what he said in the letter. So what I'm going to do is have the Guards follow me to the Woods and stay around half a mile away from the stream. If I need help, I'll shoot out a light spell to the sky as a signal that I'm in trouble. That way, in case things go awry, I'll have a backup plan."

The dragon crossed his arms at the thought. "If you say so..." He picked the broom back up, returning back to work on sweeping. "You think we can have lunch soon? I'm starving."

"You know what, I was thinking the same thing."

The next half hour was spent enjoying a couple of sandwiches with Spike, talking about what happened with Celestia all of last week. It was a quiet and enjoyable lunch, and in the end Twilight voted on just expanding her treehouse a bit to accommodate her future needs.

But at the same time, she would spend a good chunk of the day wondering if she had made the right choice. True, the letter seemed straightforward, but it still felt off for reasons she couldn't put her hoof on....

Guess she would know if she was right or not that evening.

Author's Note

I felt really bad about this chapter at times. It's not that I think the quality was bad or whatnot, but the more I wrote about it, the more I felt guility that this came across as filler given what the story will be about.

This chapter had to happen, however, given that I'm doing Alicorn Twilight with this story and you really have to address that issue when writing about her. For the record, I enjoyed Magical Mystery Cure, one of my Season 3 favorites, and I was OK with Alicorn Twilight. Still surprised they did it as early as they did, but given that it was entirely possible this could have been the final season of FIM given the 65 episode thing...

Anyways, it was important to show how I handled that issue, and I DID have to give Twilight some time to develop before the next chapter.

I should note, ahead of time, if you figured out what's going to happen next, that could easily be intentional. I have no intenions of making this story a mystery one, but rather one where you're either curious about how it will happen or dreading that it will happen.

First Encounter

Within the early evening hours, the mountains surrounding Sombra's castle were brutally cold once more. Without anything to keep the temperature from dropping, it dived at an alarming pace, and the winds howled with strength.

It had gotten so bad recently, none of Sombra's guards would dare stay out for very long. Even if they were just his vessels without much of a will of their own, they had some ideas about self preservation, intentionally inserted from their master so that they would survive for more than five seconds without his supervision.

In spite of the hostile conditions, the entrance doors were opening. A black magical aura was the thing pushing them wide, and the unicorn responsible opened the doors as wide as they could go.

Sombra's cape flapped around his back from the blizzard, and a harsh cold breeze greeted his face. He took a deep breath and exhaled the hot fumes from his throat, releasing steam everywhere. Just like it used to be for him.

He emerged out of the castle and moved through the snow. His hooves left a trail in it, but they would disappear after the constant snowfall filled the hoof prints in.

After a few seconds of walking, he stopped in his tracks and thought about the time. Twilight would surely be in the Wispy Woods soon; it was only ten minutes before their meeting was supposed to take place. And he knew well that she was no fool, and would likely be bringing some kind of protection with her. Thankfully for him, he was no fool either.

Still, he took a few moments to go over his plans in his head. From what he would do tonight to what he was going to do after that, he had to make sure everything went perfectly. One botched move and his plans and ambitions would die before his eyes.

He waited in his spot, resting his flank on the ground

Twilight Sparkle...this will be the beginning of something beautiful between the two of us. Now, it is time to begin...let's see what happens when you get a taste of what's to come...

His horn beamed strongly with magic, and he focused everything he had into this spell of his. The image of a unicorn filled his mind, and trails of fire escaped from his horn like those of fireworks.

It took a few minutes for the spell to work, hence why he was doing this far away from anypony's sight. After it was prepared, he launched the spell into the air, taking the form of a green sphere.

The ball flew up into the air at a dizzying speed, and it went just as fast away to the Wispy Woods.

Yet, Sombra's horn did not stop glowing with its signature black aura. No, the spell required more than simply casting it away.

When he opened his eyes, he did not see the mountains or the castle, but the point of view from the sphere itself. He could see it zipping through the vast reaches of Equestria, from the mountains to the plains to the volcanoes dragons called their home.

And soon enough, the ball reached the Wispy Woods. It hovered up in the sky, until it found the stream that would make the meeting place. Sombra brought the sphere to the grassy area near it, and began to transform the spell into something else...

Down in the outreaches of the Wispy Woods, it was quiet save for the occasional cricket. The air was pleasant and not too stuffy. By this time of the year, the trees were in bloom and the flowers were following suit.

However, Twilight could not shake the feeling that something was wrong here. It was a little too quiet, and she thought about preparing a fire spell in case things turned out like she was afraid they would.

The two Guards walked through the woods with Princess Twilight, carefully keeping an eye on anything that moved. They could not afford to be lax.

"What are we supposed to be looking out for?" the first one asked.

"Anything. An attack on me. Some kind of ambush. Maybe even Chrysalis, she might be out there," Twilight responded. "Just make sure it's safe."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As the darkness of the evening grew thicker, she could barely see in front of her. She cast a spell accordingly, creating a light to rest of the top of her horn as a makeshift flashlight.

They kept walking through the forest, until one of the guards stopped and pointed his hoof in the air.

"Look, Princess Twilight! Up above us!"

Twilight looked up with the other Guard to see what it was. But there was nothing above their heads save for the trees and the star filled sky.

"Vanguard, I don't see anything. Are you sure it wasn't just a firefly?" Twilight asked.

"It was right there!" said Vanguard. "I've never seen anything like it before. It was a small green ball, but it looked like it was made of magic. It must have flown off."

"Hmm...that could be something. If you see it again, let me know."

After a few more minutes of trotting through the forest, she could hear water flowing through a stream a few meters away. She knew it was the stream she was looking for. There was only one stream in the Wispy Woods after all.

And upon a closer look, she could make out that there was a stallion there. He kicked his hooves around, waiting for somepony to show up. There was a saddlebag on his back, and it had something heavy inside it.

"Stay here," she commanded the Guards. "You know the signal." The Guards nodded and saluted her.

Now alone in her travel, she came closer to the stream. The more she saw of the unicorn, the more her fears appeared to be baseless. This wasn't the kind of pony to attack her, at least in his outward appearances.

The stallion was a unicorn, tall and slender. His coat had a dark green color, and his mane was shaggy with a lighter shade of the same color. The cutie mark was that of a tree, with the base covered entirely in mist. Made sense to her, if the pony was truly named Forest Mist.

He moved his head when he heard something, and realized that Twilight had arrived. He rose up from his spot and came to her, leaping across the narrow stream's bank to join her on the other side.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, what an honor it is to finally meet you in person," the pony said, while he bowed down to her. "My name is Forest Mist, as I have written, and it is true after all that you are...beautiful."

She thought nothing of the compliment, still a little on edge. "Yes, so you really are Forest Mist after all. Why did you bring me out here in the Woods for? You could have easily come down to Ponyville, I'm allowing visitors."

"Have you not read the letter?" Forest Mist puzzled. "I told you it it why I could not come to you like I would have. There are ponies that would do anything to see this book in their hooves. It could be worth millions of bits by now. I know how desperate they are myself."

He turned his left cheek for Twilight to see. There was a huge scar going from the top of his cheek to the skin on his neck.

Twilight gasped when she saw the old wound. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Why would you? Up until today, you didn't know I exist. And I haven't lived in any of Equestria's towns for years."

He carefully studied her reactions, just to see if they were on the right track. Twilight's expression had changed from tense to calm to sympathetic in the span of their conversation, meaning she was on his side.

This is too easy. You show them a scar, make up a dreadful back story about it, and then they choose to like you. Why didn't I do something like this sooner?

"You mean you've never lived in any town? For years?"

"Yes. You see, my cutie mark pertains to my talent in maintaining forests. That's why I chose to live out in one by myself. It isn't as miserable as most ponies would assume, and it only got better once my cabin was finished. Now, about that book..."

Twilight snapped out of the conversation. "Oh, right! The lost book from Starswirl the Bearded. Tell me, why was it lost for such a long time?"

"You out of all ponies would know the moment you read the title."

He used his magic to open the flap on his saddlebag, and there Twilight could see the book she had come here for.

When Forest brought the book out of hiding, she could see that it was the thickest book by Starswirl she had ever seen. It had to be enough to fit three copies of the fire magic book inside.

The cover was almost entirely black, but with a few curves of decoration done in white. There was a box dedicated just to the title on there, and that's when everything clicked for her.

It read About the Arts of Dark Magic, by Starswirl the Bearded.

"What? Starswirl the Bearded wrote an entire volume about THAT and it got lost? How is that even possible? Is it even a Starswirl book to begin with?" Twilight demanded to know.

"Why don't you look for yourself?" Forest Mist responded. He pushed the book forward to Twilight.

"Fine. I will!" She grabbed the book herself through her magic, and flipped through the pages to read it for herself.

One thing she noted was how the pages were worn out and slightly decayed. Apparently it was not as well preserved as Starswirl's other works, but she could read the words just fine.

Oh, how to describe this field of magic? There are scarcely enough words in the vocabulary to say how fascinating this new dark magic is. There is so much to cover, so much to see, that I find myself overwhelmed, and they have called me the greatest mage of this present day.

My apologies to the reader for writing a book so large that it could be split into volumes, but I could hardly contain myself. When you begin reading about the techniques and of this field, you will be as astonished as I was. It contains power so great it could change the landscape of the magical realm forever.

"Well, it sounds like Starswirl..." Twilight trailed off. She kept reading over those two paragraphs.

It was awesome to read something she had never read before from her idol. The wealth of wisdom in the opening page alone was something to see. And deep down, she was feeling like a filly in school over it.

Forest Mist chuckled while he was watching Twilight read the opening page again, realizing he had her just right where he wanted.

Look at her now...she doesn't even know what I'm doing to her. I bet nopony would know. It's just too innocent...

He kept smiling, and Twilight was prepared to read all 800 pages right there. But she stopped and turned to see Forest again.

"I really like this, thanks so much for giving me this book. But why are you giving it to me, and not Princess Celestia up in Canterlot?"

He clenched his teeth to hide his contempt, hating to hear the very name of that would-be ruler.

"Your name has been well spread throughout all of Equestria by now. You have the authority to do whatever it is you find necessary to keep this country in check. And it's also well known you were a big fan of Starswirl the Bearded. It seemed like the right thing to do with those two things in mind."

Twilight was startled to hear that, even shocked. "Wow...you were really thoughtful of me."

At that moment, she did something that caught even Forest Mist off guard. He felt himself being hugged tight by the alicorn, like she would hug a friend. It didn't last long, but it left a huge impact on his mind.

Things might proceed faster than expected. Sombra, you did everything perfectly.

"I...I really don't know what to say, other than thank you. I will be sure to have this book studied and taken care of," said the alicorn.

"No, thank you," he said, bowing before the princess. "It was an honor to deliver something like this to you. And I do hope to see you again shortly, Your Majesty."

Twilight smiled, and bowed her head as well. "I think we will see each other again too. It was a pleasure to meet you, Forest Mist."

She turned around and headed for the place the Guards waited for her. She thought it turned out much better than she thought, especially with the new Starswirl book hovering near her side.

Forest Mist stood there by the stream, waving her away. All in all, she thought it was a good night, and he was occupying her thoughts.

The Guards could hear her approaching and met her halfway, seeing that she was alright.

"Was the meeting a success?" said the other Guard.

"Yes it was, First Strike," Twilight responded. "There was no ambush, no attack, and he kept to his word. It was just a weird way to meet somepony, but he didn't do anything wrong."

"Perfect. I expected an attack after seeing that sphere," said Vanguard. "Still, there will be a threat made to your name eventually. I still wonder what that ball was about..."

"I don't know either," Twilight said. "Do we know what that could possibly be? I've never heard of any sort of magic that works like that before."

They went on their way to Ponyville, never bothering to look back at the stream on their way back.

If they had looked back, they would have gotten their answer about the sphere. Forest Mist would later transform back into a magical ball, and flew off for a certain direction.

In time, the sphere returned back to the hostile mountains it came from. It blazed through Equestria again, and soon enough it returned to rest inside Sombra's horn.

He was able to see the area around him again and not from an outside source. His cape flapped around so violently, he was curious what was keeping it attached to his neck.

But more than anything else, he laughed. And laughed hard at everything.

"You are far too easy to appeal to, Twilight Sparkle!" he shouted. "I thought you were one of the most loyal and dedicated ponies to the truth, but all one has to do to get your attention is disguise themselves as your newest friend! Celestia would be ashamed of you right now if she could see this!"

He shook his head in complete disbelief, not comprehending what had occurred that night. But he could not deny that the hug stunned him more than anything else Twilight did. What was he supposed to say to this? Was it so easy to accomplish his goals, that all he had to do was...

No. He couldn't take it for granted right now. There was more work for him to do. And going about like he had it in the bag would cost him dearly. Patience...

It wouldn't be long before he wouldn't be able to make out his own castle through the darkness, and so he trotted for his home.

The doors were open for him to come in, and he shut them through his magic as he went indoors. Some of the guards waited for him by the entrance, curious to see if their master was pleased with the evening's events.

"If you're planning to ask me how things went, they could not have gone better," he said, his words echoing through the room. "Our plan is working perfectly. The seed has been planted in Twilight Sparkle's head, and it will soon grow. We will be victorious in our mission, and sooner than anypony of us thought."

The guards gleamed in delight, as he wanted them to.

When he rested on his throne later that night, he was the happiest he had been in some time. By this time tomorrow...he couldn't wait for it. He really couldn't. By then, he could almost taste the thrill of victory...

It was almost ten in the evening by the time Twilight returned to Ponyville. She had half expected some sort of huge parade to be waiting for her, given that every hour was party hour to Pinkie Pie.

But there was nopony out there. It was quiet and most of the townsponies were in their beds. She was getting tired herself, and a nice bed sounded wonderful.

"Vanguard and First Strike, you are released from duty for the rest of the night," she said to them. "It doesn't appear like we're going to see any threats for tonight, so I think it's safe for you to take a break."

They yawned after they were given the command. Apparently they were just as exhausted as she was. After another salute, they took off their helmets and flew towards the sole hotel in Ponyville, a small but nice two story place.

Speaking of which, Twilight realized one thing she could put in Ponyville: A barrack for the incoming Guards that would soon reside there with her along, with the two she already had.

When they were gone and nopony could hear what she was going to do, she clutched tightly to the Starswirl book with her own hooves and almost squealed from delight. It was going to be the sole book she would read that week, she just knew it.

But she still had to get her shuteye and knew it, so she hovered the book by her side again and found herself at the doorstep to her house. All the lights in the windows were turned off except for one, the closest to the front door. And she must have been a heavy walker, since Spike opened the door before she even knocked on it.

"Hey Twilight, you're finally home!" said the purple dragon. "How did it go with Forest Mist?"

"It went pretty well," said Twilight, coming close to yawning. "Look at this!"

She gave Spike the book for himself. He struggled with the weight, but read the title for himself.

"Ah. So it is a Starswirl book. Guess he wasn't lying after all."

"No, he was a pretty nice stallion, believe it or not. There wasn't anything suspicious about him at all. He was the only pony out there."

"That's good to know. Oh man, this book is heavy!" He ran over to the study desk and dumped the book on it. "That has to be at least twenty pounds!"

"Well, it is an older book...it is really interesting to read. I might use it tomorrow, actually."

"Fine by me, but I gotta get some sleep. Good night, Twilight."

"Good night, Spike..." She yawned again, and she was getting sleepier and sleepier.

Spike turned off the light by the front door and went for his own bed. He tucked himself into the blankets and started to doze off.

Twilight took off all her jewelry and placed them near her bed, while she slipped into her own blanket. It felt nice to finally rest at her nice and peaceful home in Ponyville, and the currents of sleep were taking over her eyes.

But she couldn't stop watching the book across the room, with its intricate cover and the guarantee of amazing knowledge that came with Starswirl's name. She couldn't wait to learn all of its lessons inside, and discover the in and outs of dark magic, something she knew very little about.

She was so excited about it, the book wound up being the last thing she saw before she finally fell asleep.

Author's Note

Alrighty then...

First of all, this is a big change from the original plan for this story. Originally, Sombra would have taken the guise of Forest Mist, and then reveal himself to be, well, Sombra. But then I hit a wall when I thought to myself, "Why wouldn't Twilight just report Sombra to Celestia, now that she knows Sombra is alive and he totally tried to kill her and Cadence and the Empire and all her friends?"

And so I went with this direction. It does change the entire course of the first half, but I think you'll agree it's more believable.

Also, I'm calling any editors that want to work on this story. If you want to edit this story for me, just send a PM in my inbox and I'll look into it.

Scratching the Surface

When a dragon has problems carrying a simple book, that's when one knows it's unreasonably heavy. Even a baby dragon like Spike was as strong as many ponies were in their entire lifetimes, so when the new Starswirl book felt like a load on his fingers, it was a miracle the study desk could support it at all without collapsing.

And yet there it was, still in place by the early morning hours. The desk didn't buckle at all, and it was able to carry the weight relatively well.

Over in Canterlot, Celestia went to work on raising the sun, bringing it over the little town of Ponyville.

Spike normally reacted to sunlight by pulling the blanket over his eyes, and mumbling some variation of "five more minutes" before sleeping again.

But this morning, he suddenly woke up when he heard Twilight racing around him to get to the book. In her wake, the basket tipped over and he fell face first into the ground. He flailed his arms around, going from having a dream with Rarity to having his nose in pain.

"Wha!" he said while he crashed. "What is going on? Don't tell me Fancy Pants proposed to Rarity!"

"No, it's tomorrow now!" Twilight squealed. "That means I can finally put this book to good use!"

She levitated the book off the desk and came a few inches from hugging the book again. Her magic flipped to the opening pages, and she soaked in the words once more.

"Hey, Spike, do you think we could make some kind of target range today? We could use a few stacks of hay and a few plates. I saw something about offensive magic and that's what I want to try out first."

"Wait just a second. I thought you had some duties to perform today?" Spike brought up. "Let me see...I know you wrote something down before you went to see Forest Mist..."

He came to the drawer that they always used to store the planner inside. The planner was full of notes and needed replacing soon for one that featured five years of planning, given what Twilight would be doing in the future.

The dragon flipped to the current week, and put a finger on today's date. It had a few scribbled notes here and there.

"There we are. You have a meeting in an hour with Mayor Mare to talk about what you want to do with Ponyville, since you're going to be living here as royalty now. Then you have three hours open until you have to attend a 'Welcome Princess Twilight' party. Pinkie Pie said she just had to throw one for you."

Twilight blushed in embarrassment. "I guess I got carried away with this book. We could use those three hours for target practice, but first things first. Let's get ready to see the Mayor."

She spent the next thirty minutes making herself presentable for the meeting. It bothered her that she allowed herself to get distracted like that, when she had much more things she had to be responsible for.

Maybe Celestia was the same way when she gained the title of princess. Twilight never saw her study magic in her downtime, but she must have learned on the job in the early years. Either way, she couldn't wait for the meeting to be over, the opportunity to study dark magic was just too juicy.

She tipped the crown carefully on her head and slipped her hooves into the golden sandals. Spike watched her get dressed, or wear enough that she would be immediately be recognized as a princess.

"How do I look, Spike?"

"You look pretty good. Do you want me to come with you, or do you want that practice range set up already?"

"The latter, if you don't mind. I'll meet you over there when the meeting's over."

Since it was springtime in the rest of Equestria, the conditions at Sombra's castle improved little by little. Whiteout storms gave way to regular snow showers, and the temperature transitioned from staying below zero to coming closer to the freezing mark.

Sombra could still make out steam coming out of his breath when he went for his walks, which were becoming a regular part of his day. He didn't have much to do until the time came to get started on the next part of his plans.

To kill some time, he sat down on the snow and stopped to dwell on his circumstances. His anger towards Celestia would only act as a barrier for the next few days and weeks, and he chose to release it in any way he could.

So he thought on what he would have done to the princess of the sun if he won. What he wanted to do when he finally wins. Perhaps she could be imprisoned in a crystal, where she could never escape from its imprisonment, helpless to watch Sombra turn her precious Equestria into his own crystal kingdom...

It helped, by the stars it helped. He relaxed his limbs and laughed at his plans for that moment. It would come to fruition if he stayed patient.

And now, with everything in place, he wanted to ensure that things were ready. He glowed his horn with dark magic of his own, and something formed in front of his eyes.

He would know where the book was; it was drenched with his influence. And this spell created a screen, showing him the exact location of the book.

To his surprise, Twilight wasn't there, but Spike the dragon was. His claws clung around the covers of his book. Sombra did not understand what he was seeing with this dragon. A red stallion was with him, one he never saw before. There was a yoke attached to his back, carrying a cart full of haystacks.

Then, he started to pick up on what they were doing. Apparently, they were in a valley overlooking Ponyville, and Spike said something to the one named Big Mac about "target practice" and "a meeting with the Mayor of Ponyville".

Ah. So Twilight was preoccupied with her duties and would be arriving at that valley shortly. He was right on time, and only had to wait a little more.

Still, he could sense the book had been tampered with. Like it was opened many times before. It would make sense, he knew Twilight loved the book on first sight. And the next phase of the plan was simple enough...

All he needed to do was make it appear he was not involved with the next events, therefore making it feel natural and not suspicious at all.

Easy. Far too easy. But then again, what was there to complain about? Doesn't every bad guy secretly wish their plans would go this smoothly?

"That's all you want to do for the first year? Expand your house by a few rooms? I thought you would have asked for a statue of yourself, a bigger fountain in the main square, and more guards," the Mayor Mare said.

"No, not for a while at least," Twilight responded."I don't want Ponyville to become the second Canterlot. I like things the way they are, but I just need a little more space at my house. Two Royal Guards is enough for now. I thought about putting in some barracks, but after thinking about it today, that might need to wait. Why did you think I was going to ask for things like that?"

"Well, we've never had a princess live here before, even if it's a pony that's been living with us for a few years. This is unprecedented, so I'm sure you can understand why I was expecting a lot of monumental changes."

"I understand, but I want it to stay as the little peaceful town near Canterlot. It's nice and we've been able to handle any threats against Ponyville. After all, the other five Elements of Harmony live here too."

For this meeting, the Mayor had a couple of cups brought in, full of tea. They were neatly placed with a few napkins and a plate full of flowers. It gave the room an atmosphere of formality and neatness. The same went with the two Guards waiting in the hallway near the door.

In that room, it struck Twilight that this was her first real taste of the new authority given to her. The Mayor was bending over backwards to accommodate her, because she was below the princess in power now. That took more than a few minutes to adjust to.

"Do you want more tea? I have a pitcher in the other room." the Mayor said.

"No thanks, I'm not finished with my first cup. Now, I understand your term is almost over."

"I was planning to step down to give you that position."

"Mayor Mare, while I know you're being considerate of me, go ahead and run for re-election. I'm not taking over the government in that manner for a while. But should we discuss how we're going to build the expansion to my house?"

Neither one spoke up after she asked the question. Twilight didn't have any experience with construction, and the Mayor wasn't sure how far to go with it.

The princess messed around with the straw in her cup, swishing it around. The Mayor took a few bites out of her stash of flowers to hold off her stomach for lunchtime.

They heard the Guards say something to a visitor on the outside. Something about royal business, and they should come back in an hour.

Then, out of thin air, Twilight got an idea.

"We could arrange a meeting with Princess Celestia to discuss it."

"You can do that now? Of course you can," she corrected herself. "At her castle in Canterlot?"

Twilight nodded. "That is, if you're open."

"It might have to wait for a while, let me check my schedule." She brought out her own planner out of the desk and came to the current month of the year. "I'm open three weeks from Tuesday, so we'll have the meeting then. Are you open the same date?"

"I think so. Is there anything else you want to go over?"

"If you don't have any other plans to build anything, I think this meeting is over."

Twilight's eyes lit up. That meant she was free to go to the target range to finally practice what she read about.

She shook hooves with the Mayor, and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She pushed the door wide open, and it almost slammed into Vanguard's face. He jumped to the side right before the moment of impact, and he posed like there was some kind of invasion.

"What is the meaning of this? Did something go wrong?" he asked.

"No, not at all. I've just been looking forward to this moment all day! Keep an eye on the house while I'm gone, you're doing a good job so far!"

The purple alicorn didn't look back when she rushed out of the Town Hall and arrived outside to the main square of Ponyville.

By then, the townsponies were out in the street, minding their daily routines and chatting with each other. They occasionally stopped when they caught Twilight's crown, gawking at her while she raced through the streets.

The valley she picked for the range was a little ways off from the main hub of Ponyville, but she got through the town in no time. She was so excited to get started that she didn't want to waste any time.

After some time, she found the dirt path leading up to the valley. It was upscale in slope, but she could make out Spike sitting on one of the haystacks. He snacked on a few gems while he read through the Starswirl book himself.

"Hi Spike!" she shouted out to him. "Is everything ready?"

Spike perked up his ears and caught Twilight arriving to the valley. "Yep. Everything's set. This book is kinda weird though. This isn't like any book I've read, and you had me read an entire book in ancient pony language. Are you sure this is a Starswirl book?"

"I know it is. It has his writing style and everything."

When she arrived at the improvised target range, it was set up beautifully. A dozen haystacks were placed in a half circle design, and each one had a plate propped up into place. The plates obviously came from Pinkie Pie. Who else would give out plates that were as pink as her mane, with confetti designs outlining them?

"Can you hand me the book, Spike?" Twilight asked.

He pushed the book off the haystack, and she picked it up with her magical grab. She brought it to her face and opened up the book to the table of contents, past the author's notes and introduction.

Oh, Celestia. This was turning out to be a longer read than she thought. The table of contents alone went for three pages, and there wasn't a section shorter than ten pages. Some went for fifty or more. It had to be the longest book ever written by Starswirl the Bearded.*

There was one section she already decided to focus on for the day. It was roughly in the middle of the contents, and it covered the topic of projectile attacks. That was the purpose of the target range, so she would have some target to aim her magic on. Better than accidentally setting something on fire inside the treehouse.

She moved hundreds and hundreds of pages aside to get to the projectile section, and read the wise and ancient words of Starswirl the Bearded.

This act can be used against your foes, though I have found other uses for it, such as dimming candles and creating hiding spots for stealthy maneuvers. But if you are new to this, I would recommend using it only for offense attacks until you have a better bearing on this technique.

First, find something to attack.

Already taken care of. She looked to the plate on the far left.

Second, brace yourself for the powers of dark magic. To the inexperienced it will seem as if dark magic has a will of its own. That is right and wrong. You ultimately have control of it, but it will require a master. It has to be tamed, one could say.

Third, face your foe and concentrate on the spell you intend to cast.

Twilight put the book down and aimed her horn for the plate. Her other thoughts were pushed aside in favor of thinking about all the properties of dark magic. How Sombra used it. How she turned it to her advantage.

She closed her eyes to concentrate. The air around her sparked with electricity, humming with the strength of something unnatural.

Spike ran to her aid, thinking she was in trouble. The air kept crackling around the princess, almost hitting his feet. He jumped back in surprise.

"Twilight, are you OK?"

When Twilight opened her eyes, their whites were replaced with a nasty green color. Her voice had a slight echo effect when she breathed. He backed away, already jumping to thinking he should send a certain letter to a certain other princess.

"Don't worry, Spike," she assured him. "This is just part of the process. My eyes will go back to normal when I'm finished."

"I don't know, this is scary. The last pony that did that was Sombra, and you know how it went over with me...."

"It's OK. I'm not going to hurt you or anypony else."

She picked up the book again, looking at the last part of the instructions.

Finally, think about a small spark of raw dark magic. It should form on your horn, and you must release it when it forms. There are no consequences for waiting too long, other than the spell will fade out before you cast it

The spark turned into a thought inside her, and she allowed it to fill her mind. At that moment, the spell formed on her horn in the image of a small black ball. While she had the spell ready, two trails of purple mist emitted from her eyes. Knowing the time was right, she released the spell to the plate on the haystack.

When she did, a enormous black spark emerged out of her horn, like a black bolt of lightning. It hit the target almost immediately after release. The plate exploded into a million pieces, and those shards flew in a million directions. The haystack crashed down with it, sending strands of hay into the springtime breeze.

Spike hid behind another haystack for cover. There was no way this was supposed to happen, right? His palms quivered by his side, and he was prepared to do anything to "snap" Twilight out of it.

But everything just stopped. The lightning bolt spell was spent, and it ceased its destruction. Twilight's eyes were still green, but the trails of smoke vanished.

One thing they could agree on: The spell took tons of energy to cast. Her limbs wobbled, sweat drenched her face, and she had to take frequent breaths to catch up.

"Wow...that took a lot out of me," she admitted. "Casting your first spell is difficult enough, but this is different."

Spike came out of hiding and ran to her aid. She sat down on her flank and leaned on the dragon for support, though she was not that exhausted.

"I still don't know about this, Twilight," Spike worried. "That was the weirdest spell you've ever done. I'm telling you, something is not right about this."

"I told you it's fine. I have it under control. And nothing's wrong, it's a Starswirl book after all."

To prove she was fine, she got back on all four hooves and regained her composure. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and felt a lot better about herself.

She couldn't see it, feel it, or hear it, but there was somepony else with her. And he was pleased to see the green eyes she featured. It was the sign of opportunity, shining bright for him to see.

Yes, the time has come for the next part of my plan! Come, Twilight Sparkle. You have only scratched the surface of the true power of dark magic. Now you will have a bigger taste of what it can really do!

Out of left field, Twilight's horn glowed again with dark magic. The trails of smoke came out stronger than ever, and she levitated off the ground. Her eyes were pure green, free from any pupils. Her fur turned into a darker shade of purple.

This was not supposed to be happening. She knew full well that much was true when she felt her hooves lift off on their own, and she heard Spike run again for shelter.

Her horn was one big hub of dark magic, and she had no control over what she was doing anymore. She watched in terror when all eleven plates and haystacks turned to dust, all from her own magic.

Just as soon as she lost control of her horn, she had it again. She fell to the floor and collided with the hard soil, groaning from the pain. Stars whirled around her face, and she could barely shake them away. There was only one way she could sit up, and that was on her flank again.

"What happened? Spike? Are you still there?"

The dragon had fled for some distance, but the moment he heard somepony call his name, he ran back to see her state.

"I'm so sorry! I was going to send a letter to Celestia, but I didn't bring any paper with me! So I ran to the house to get some, but it looked like you were going to destroy Ponyville!"

"It's OK, Spike. I'm back to normal."

"But what was that?" he hyperventilated.

"I'm not sure. There was something in the book about how you needed to master dark magic, and how it would look like it had a mind of its own."

"A mind of its own? Are you crazy? There's no way you can keep practicing THAT! What if somepony gets hurt, or if it kills you?"

Twilight opened up her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She needed to think about this, and paced back and forth while she did so.

"You're right. That was extremely potent, nothing like I've seen before. And this was just the first time."

Spike sighed in relief. So the nightmare was over--

"But then again, it was similar to the time I got my cutie mark."

"WHAT? Don't tell me you're going to keep studying this."

"Look, when I got my cutie mark, I had no control over myself. It was not that different from today, where I levitated myself. And I turned my parents into cacti, and you turned into a dragon almost as big as the time you let your greed get the better of you."

Spike blushed until his cheeks were bright red. It wasn't a memory he cherished. The only good thing that came out of it was getting close to Rarity through it.

"But that was different!" he eventually pointed out. "You got better with time, and it was supposed to happen, with your cutie mark and everything!"

"I guess you have a point. I still want to see if I can get some control on things with time, but if things get any more wild, I'm finished. Does that sound good to you?"

"Maybe...I'm not looking forward to the next time we do this. Do you think we can do something lighter?"

"Deal. Maybe something like casting a few shadows for fun."

That was what Spike wanted to hear. He exhaled a few times, before they both turned to the eleven piles of dust.

"Um...should we clean up this mess?" he asked.

"It's just dust out in a meadow. We can leave this one alone. But I'm going home to rest up a bit before the party. I know Pinkie topped herself, I just know it."

They went on home, all while not realizing the force of nature kept his eye on them.

How much ahead of schedule could one be? My control of Twilight is stronger than I predicted after three weeks of practice! Her mental defenses must have been down after she met Forest Mist.

Given that in mind, perhaps I could use this to my advantage again...

The eye left them in peace, and went to work on another task....

After walking through Ponyville and dealing with another token of respect from the thousandth pony, this one a half eaten muffin from a certain mail pony, Twilight and Spike came back home. The two Guards were already guarding her house by the front door.

"So how many cakes you think she's making?" asked Spike. "I heard she closed down the Sugar Cube Corner just to work on the party. It's why I haven't had a good cupcake in two weeks."

"I'm guessing...forty. Just give me one second, and we'll talk about it inside." She approached First Strike and noticed a letter was over his shoulder. "Who sent that letter?"

"He calls himself Forest Mist," First Strike answered. "He says he's a good friend of yours, and asked me to deliver to this to you the first moment I see you. Is it true that he's a good friend of yours?"

"I don't know about being a good friend, but he's a friend. Can you hand over the letter?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." He gave Twilight the piece of paper.

She found it had the same seal as the first letter, and broke it open with her own magic.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Sorry I can't attend the party the pony Pinkie Pie is throwing for you. She's turning this town into her own little carnival, and I would assume you'll have a good time this afternoon.

I couldn't talk to you myself, since I have some business to attend to. I was in Ponyville this morning to purchase some seeds, and summer is approaching. Those seeds must be planted on time, not a day later. My apologies, but I'm sure you understand.

Since you must be occupied with the party and your new studies, I ask if I can see you again tomorrow night at the Quiet Meadow Cafe in Ponyville that I've heard about, same time as our last meeting. We could discuss how your studies are coming along, among other things.

Once again, I apologize this was the best I could do on such short notice. But I'll try to be more accommodating to your new schedule in the future.

With much respect,
Forest Mist

Author's Note

*or as long as one Fallout Equestria sidestory. :P

Made some changes about the scene after Sombra takes control. Admittedly, one problem I thought was developing and Salanus pointed out, was that Twilight seemed TOO eager to learn about dark magic, so I tempered her down in that part to make it more believable.

A Quiet Meeting

Dozens of cakes. More games than Twilight ever knew existed. Breaking all kinds of logic, and then some. Pinkie saying something about feeling sad that "they" only had a glimpse of the epic party, without explaining to anypony who "they" were. And everypony got cardboard cutouts of crude horns and wings, regardless if they already had one or the other.

Yep, it was a Pinkie Pie party.

When she finally got to throw a party for the newest princess in town, the next few hours of Twilight's life flashed before her eyes. It was the largest party Pinkie had thrown in a long time, one nopony would soon forget. Rather than just giving Twilight a glorified second coronation in Ponyville, "festival" was the closest thing to describe what she pulled off.

And was Twilight tired when it was all said and done. Her hooves were aching, she got sick at the very sight of another slice of cake, and the games wore her out so much, she didn't wake up until eight in the morning the following day. A whole hour and a half behind schedule, for the record.

Trying to plan out the day with a whole hour missing was tough, but she managed to get a few business transactions taken care of. And she even managed to find time in the evening, where she would see a certain unicorn again.

She waited for him at an outdoor table in the evening. The Quiet Meadow Cafe was the only sidewalk cafe in Ponyville, and like its town, it was small, peaceful, but still having a sense of class that seemed more at home with Canterlot than here.

As soon as she took her seat, a waiter arrived to her table with a menu in his magical grip. The unicorn wore a tuxedo and spoke with a thick Trottingham accent. "Welcome to the Cafe, Your Majesty."

"Please, call me Twilight," she corrected.

"Right, Twilight Sparkle. Is there anything I can get you to drink?"

"Could you get me a second menu? I'm expecting somepony soon."

"Of course." He levitated a second menu out from his jacket, and brought it to the opposite chair on the table. "Are you ready with your order?"

"A caramel latte, please."

The waiter bowed to her presence, and went inside the cafe's doors to prepare the order.

If there was one thing Twilight was starting to discover, she wasn't sure if she liked the constant bowing whenever she said anything at all. It embarrassed her and she felt so undeserving of the respect they gave her, regardless if she saved Equestria three times in a row with her friends. Maybe she would get used to it with time. But right now, she was debating inside whenever or not there should be an order to just treat her like a normal pony.

She adjusted her crown and sandals while she waited for Forest Mist to show up. She wasn't nearly as picky about her appearance like Rarity was, but she wanted to look presentable for him all the same.

The sun dipped under the mountains to the west, and the moon took its place in the clouds. The sky darkened to a weak shade of orange, and within minutes the stars would come out. There were a few ponies tending to last minute business, but otherwise everypony would be home.

Twilight's ears perked up when she spotted Forest Mist on the other side of the street. He wore a jacket made out of dark green cloth, covering his backside and neck, but his bag wasn't with him this time.

He seemed just as thrilled to see her again, and trotted over to her table. "It's nice to see you again, Twilight Sparkle. I heard the party was a success."

Her cheeks blushed red. Her hooves were still aching from playing Pin The Tail on the Princess fifty times in a row. "You should have been there. I think you would have enjoyed it."

"I had more urgent matters to take care of, but I'll try to be there for the next party," he said, while he sat down in the seat across Twilight. He peered down at the menu in front of him. What he saw was like reading a book in a foreign language. "What is this? Coffee? Lattes?"

"You've never heard of coffee?" Twilight puzzled.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't. Maybe I should order a black coffee first, to find out what it is."

The waiter arrived and brought out Twilight's latte, in a tall glass on top of a small plate. He placed it neatly in front of the princess, and noticed the green unicorn sitting next to her.

"Is this the pony you were talking about?" the waiter inquired.

"Yes. He'll take a cup of black coffee."

The waiter left again, leaving the two to themselves.

It was at that moment that Twilight realized how handsome Forest Mist was. She didn't even consider the thought of dating him, since this was only their second meeting, but his features stood out to her even then.

He was as tall and lanky as Big Macintosh, but much more slim in muscle. His snout curved at the top and his cheeks hollowed out. His eyes slitted with their eyelids, and he appeared almost exotic in his build.

And the more she looked at him, the more she wanted to know more about this pony.

"So how have you enjoyed the new book?" he brought up. "I hope the condition of the print didn't get in the way. Some of the pages are almost ruined if I recall."

"I haven't had any problems with the book at all. Most of them are pretty easy to read, when you consider how old it is. And I got to practice with it for a few minutes yesterday."

Ah, so she already considered practicing it again. He could feel her excitement in her tone.

"Why only a few minutes, if you don't mind me asking?"

"That's the problem. I found the results very promising at first, but then I hit a few setbacks. After I cast just one spell, I lost control of myself and destroyed a dozen haystacks."

"Ah, sounds like the kind of things that would cause anypony to stop. Are you going to quit, or are you going to keep practicing?"

"I'm going to keep practicing it if I can, get a better handle on things. I know I can do it, but I have to be more careful in the future to make sure it never happens again."

Perfect. "I understand. Dark magic can be a touchy field of magic. Nopony's touched it in centuries to my knowledge, because of the pony they most associate it with."

"And who would that be?" Twilight asked, leaning in close.

"King Sombra, of course. But he's dead now, right?"

"I watched him die in person."

The longer you keep believing that, the better it is for me.

They kept quiet after finishing that line of thought. Forest saw how comfortable Twilight was, fidgeting in her seat while she had a few sips of her strange orange drink.

And then he noted how easy it was to strike a conversation with her. She was just as intellectually curious as he was at her age. It was always a wonderful thing to meet a pony like that, and he realized his image of her was changing from it, from just a pawn of Celestia's to one that deserved to wear the crown on her head.

The waiter arrived back at their table, with a cup of black stuff and a spoon by the side. Forest had never seen anything like it before.

"Give me one moment with this," the waiter explained. "You'll thank me later."

He brought out a few packets of cream and sugar, and mixed the contents with Forest's drink. It was a marvel to watch as his cup turned from black to dark yellow before his eyes.

Twilight laughed while his eyes were glued to his coffee drink, almost like it was a show upon itself. "You can drink it, you know."

Now he was the one blushing. How could he, the King of Shadows, be in such a pitiful state that he was reduced to watching cream swirl around in a caffeinated drink? But he ignored it and used his magic to bring the cup to his lips, taking a few drinks with his snout.

A strange feeling washed over his chest when the coffee went down his throat. It was like a bunch of butterflies flew all around his stomach, and he felt more energetic than he ever did in his lifetime.

He took another drink, and the sensation grew in intensity. This coffee was doing wonders for him, and he felt much less sleepy.

"I like this coffee. Perhaps I should bring some of it home with me when we're done here. I could get used to this."

"They sell a few bags of coffee beans inside, if you like it that much."

"Then that's what I'll do. Thanks for introducing this coffee to me."

They shared another quiet moment together, drinking their cups of coffee in peace. It was something that Twilight cherished, just a moment to calm down with somepony after the chaotic mess that was Pinkie Pie's all-day party.

And he noticed how much she enjoyed her company. She was staring at his face all the time, but she said nothing. Her expression said everything he needed to hear, with that smile on her lips.

The second phase of his plan was already taking effect before the first part was over. It was already finished in a way, so now was the right moment to move the next chess piece in place.

"So what do you plan on doing with yourself in the next week?" he thought out loud.

"A lot of things, actually. You know, princess duties and such. In a few weeks, I'll have a meeting with Celestia and the Mayor Mare in Canterlot. Really important, we'll be talking about the future of Ponyville.

"But there's something else before that. Cadence invited me to come over to her palace this coming weekend."

He stopped in the middle of drinking his coffee, and brought the cup down on the plate in surprise. "Cadence? As in Cadence, the princess of the Crystal Empire?"

"Are you sure you just live in the forest? You seem to know an awful lot about current events."

"I travel to the towns every now and then for supplies. But you're having dinner with her?"

"Of course I would. She was my foalsitter for a long while, and she's my brother's wife."

"Ah, very good to hear about her," he said. "Come to think about it, I've never been to the Crystal Empire since it was restored to its former glory."

"You haven't? It's a wonderful place, full of crystals and interesting culture."

Then she stopped in the middle of a thought. Her eyes glowed with delight when she came up with an idea.

"Maybe you could come with me to the dinner, get to meet my brother and sister-in-law! They would love to know all about you, and they're really nice to their subjects too."

On the surface, Forest Mist appeared very surprised to hear this. But deep down, he realized he just hit the opportunity of a lifetime. Everything he wanted to accomplish, he could do with this dinner. It was so perfect, so full of promising opportunities, that he wondered if she was considerate of his ambitions in the end.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had a cover to maintain, he would have been laughing like any other classic villain. And when he was done wrapping up his plans, he would consider giving Twilight a medal, just for making things as easy as she did.

"You would do that for me?"

"Why not? You seem like a really nice pony, and you've never been there before. It would be an honor to show you around the Crystal Empire."

Ah, home sweet home. "Thank you, Twilight. I would be thrilled to take you up on your offer. When and where do you want to meet me at?"

"Try to be at my house by Saturday, eight in the morning. We'll be having lunch over there."

"Will do. This will be amazing to see for my own eyes."

They finished up their coffee drinks down to the last drop. By then, nighttime had fallen and Luna's moon ascended to the sky above.

"I think I'm going head on home now," said Twilight. "It's been a long day, and I'm getting tired even with all that coffee. Another busy day tomorrow, I'm sure you know what I mean."

"Understood. I'll get a few bags of coffee beans before I leave," Forest Mist said. "It was an honor to meet you again, Twilight Sparkle."

In a calculated move, he came over to her side and took her hoof in his. He brought it to his face and kissed it, as much out of longing as much out of respect.

Her cheeks turned red, and she almost found herself giggling. "Wow, this is going to take time getting used to."

"Used to what?"

"Everypony treating me like this."

"You should learn to embrace it. Many ponies respect what you have done for Equestria."

He gave her another kiss of the hoof, and went on inside the cafe to go get those bags of beans.

But Twilight stood still in her chair for a few minutes, dazed and confused by the way she was just treated.

Forest Mist had gotten to her. She already considered him to be a friend, but she found herself wishing it was Saturday morning already, and not just so she could catch up with her brother and the best foalsitter ever.

Why was she acting like this? And was it right for her to be feeling about him in that manner?

Then again, there was no reason to suggest he was a bad pony to her. Even though she didn't know his true intentions, on the surface he seemed nice, intelligent, and handsome. Nothing suggested there was more to him than that.

But that was the result of careful planning.

By the time Forest Mist exited the Cafe with a half dozen coffee bean bags hanging around his back, Twilight was gone. She went on home and left him to do as he pleased.

So he went on and trotted through the dirt roads, until he was out of Ponyville. Here, nopony would see what he was about to do.

Sombra transformed back into his true shape, though he was bare of clothing. The armor would have been visible had he kept it on, even in the form of Forest Mist. He had to consider every possibility to keep his cover intact.

And now he had two pawn pieces in place, ready to advance his plans. Not only was Twilight starting to change in the ways he needed her to, but he would finally get to meet Princess Cadence this weekend face to face for the first time since his defeat.

Everything was coming together. And he had the makings for dozens of delicious cups of coffee.

Then he stopped in his tracks. It was shocking that a king would act so silly over a cup of that stuff, and he wondered if he fit under the definition of the new word "adorkable".

While he flew on the rest of the way home, he was interested to find out if the two of them had more in common than he initially assumed. It sure seemed that way, and that would only serve to create the effect he wanted for the future.

But first, more coffee.

Checkmate with a Pawn, Part 1

Seven in the morning. An hour to go before the chariot left for its destination. Sombra could spare a few moments to prepare himself, before he sent out the magical sphere to take the form of the pony Forest Mist again.

The Crystal Heart would deny him the chance to walk into the Empire with his real hooves, he was aware of that. It was the reason why he used the magical sphere spell instead of the transformation one.

It was a shame to hit a roadblock like that. While he could see, hear, and even feel just fine within the limitations of the sphere, nothing could compare to being somewhere himself, instead of watching events unfold from his castle again.

Speaking of which, he looked forward to seeing his own home once more. Even if he had to tolerate seeing it in the 'worst' of conditions, and with somepony else in charge that couldn't lift a hoof against him, it would be a great reminder of the prize waiting for him at the finishing line.

The sphere gracefully drifted along the tree tops of the Everfree Forest. To most ponies, the ball was part of the wildlife, one of the many reasons they needed to stay out of that forest whenever they had the choice.

He could make out a small, peaceful cottage on the edge of the woods. It wasn't something he had seen before, but judging from the chicken coop, multiple trees, and the way the house almost looked like a tree itself, he judged that animals made their home inside.

A few more meters down the street, the sphere landed on the ground and transformed to take the form of Forest Mist. He stretched out his hooves and parted them through his mane before he went on his way to Ponyville.

After he spent thirty minutes killing time by looking through the houses, guessing which ones belonged to the Elements of Harmony, he soon discovered that Twilight loved being ahead of schedule.

There was already a golden chariot waiting by her front door, glistening with gems on the outer rim. Two Guards were inspecting every aspect of the ride, making sure it was ready for departure when the time was ready. After that, they left their post to get some breakfast.

He glanced up inside the house's windows to see if there was any sign that Twilight was awake. And surely enough, he saw the purple alicorn in the middle of discussing something with the small baby dragon.

Spike suddenly caught a tall, green stallion, and pointed right at the visitor's direction.

"So that must be Forest Mist," Spike mentioned. "Is that the pony you're taking to see Cadence?"

"Yes, that's him," Twilight answered. "He's never been to the Crystal Empire, so I thought it would be a good idea to show him around while I'm visiting Cadence."

"So let me get this straight. I'm supposed to be here looking over the house, making sure that if there's any royal business to attend to, I'll be here to take care of it in your place. I just have one question."

"Yes, Spike?"

"Does that make me a prince?" he grinned.

She opened her mouth to scold him for it, but she stopped when she realized he was half right.

"I...I guess it makes you closer to being one, now that I think about it. What about 'high ranking official'? How does that sound?"

"I'll take it! I'll see you tonight then. Just make sure he doesn't do anything weird," gesturing to Forest Mist. "He bugs me out."

"Trust me, I'll know if he does something out of the ordinary."

With that business out of the way, she walked out of the front door to see Forest Mist waiting for her by the side of the chariot.

"You're here sooner than I thought!" Twilight beamed.

"I like to be ahead of schedule," he said, chuckling underneath his breath. "This chariot was designed to be manned by pegasi, but where are the pegasi?"

"They should be here any moment. I can't wait to show you around the Empire. You're going to love it there. And it's been a while since I've seen Cadence, so it's going to be even better!"

"Well, you sure seem excited about it."

He took that moment to peer inside the chariot, the carriage they would take through the clouds.

It was around the same size as the one Celestia owned. It had enough room for two ponies to be seated comfortably, complete with plush seating. But then again, those two ponies would be very close to each other.

"Twilight, are we riding in the same chariot?" he asked.

"Of course we are. Is something wrong with it? I can bring a few pillows if it looks uncomfortable."

"No, but we'll be seated right next to each other for hours."

"I know! You'll be able to see Equestria like pegasi do! And believe me, it's unlike anything you've ever seen."

Forest Mist blinked. To say that her enthusiasm caught him off guard was an understatement.

Still, he shook his head and smiled. "That would be wonderful."

Then, they heard two ponies coming up to the house. They turned around to see the Royal Guards return, with ropes in their possession.

Twilight gleamed to see then again. "Everything's set, and we're ready to take off. Anything you want to do before we leave? We are twenty minutes ahead of schedule after all."

"No, I think I'm ready."

Catching this, the Guards put the reigns in place into the chariot. Vanguard went and opened the door for the princess and her guest to come inside.

Twilight piled in first, and Forest Mist joined her on the left side of the seating area. She grinned from ear to ear, and he was anxious about whenever or not the Crystal Heart would block his spell from entering the Empire.

It didn't matter. He had a ride to look forward to.

The Guards spread their pegasi wings and flapped them furiously to take off. The chariot wheels started to turn, as they went into a dashing start into their flight. The house disappeared behind them, and they went from the confines of Ponyville to the freedom of the clouds.

Before long, they could see the top of the clouds below their hooves, and the calm air of the ground gave way to the breezes of the air currents. Their manes went from neat and orderly to windswept in all directions, and Twilight hid her crown behind her seat to prevent it from falling off.

The wide stretches of meadows laid out before them while the chariot flew on. Not far from here, they could see Canterlot embedded into the mountain. Forest never wanted to see that castle until he was ready to act against it, but he kept his cool about it.

"Isn't this great?" Twilight screamed past the current winds. "It's not the first time I've seen Equestria like this, but it's still amazing, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. You must feel privileged to see this as often as you like."

The Crystal Empire wasn't in sight at that moment, so he spent some time to collect his thoughts.

This was a a big moment for his plans, even though it would not look like that to any outsiders. To have a meeting with Cadence as is was an opportunity to set his pieces in motion, and if he screwed it up, he would either have to back to step one or the whole drawing board. Assuming he lived to see it.

And now Twilight was with him. She moved her head out the side of the chariot, gazing at the land she would soon have authority over. To think she could fly over this whenever she had the chance was overwhelming, and one of the latest things she would have to get used to. At least this change was unquestionably positive.

Forest Mist took a few deep breaths in the meantime. Stay calm. Think rationally. Only you can screw this up, and everything will be alright. You just had coffee, so you'll have all the energy you need to survive this--

"Oh my gosh, we're already here!" Twilight yelled.

The two of them looked ahead, and spotted the towering crystal tower that had become a landmark in the last few months. It spiraled up for a good mile, and shined brightly in their faces.

Twilight had to shield her eyes from the light, but she was otherwise very excited. She leaned forward and saw more and more crystals come into view the closer they got.

Forest had to do everything in his might to cover his boiling emotions over his sentiments. It was a bitter reminder that he had failed to stop this from happening. But it didn't matter. If she was happy and he managed to keep his emotions in check, what was there to complain about?

It's still not my empire.

The chariot drew ever near to the Empire, and it soon flew over the houses of its citizens. They all looked up to the princess above, curious about the reason why another princess of Equestria was arriving in their neck of the woods.

Up ahead, the two of them noticed that there was something of a welcoming committee waiting for them by Cadence's palace. A handful of ponies waited for the chariot to arrive, some guards and some officials, and one pink alicorn Twilight would know from a mile away stood out in front.

"Cadence! That's Cadence down there," Twilight explained. "She was my foalsitter for years, and now she's the princess of the Crystal Empire. But where's Shining Armor?"

Their carriage landed just outside the tower, and the committee went to work on giving them a warm welcome. One of the officials swung the door of the chariot open for the visitors. Twilight came out and Forest followed her lead.

Behind them, the chariot was pulled away to a station, where it would remain until they left. But that wasn't what Twilight was interested in. As soon as she touched solid ground, she raced to Cadence, and Cadence ran right to her.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!" they chanted together, while doing some kind of dance most strange to Forest. Then they laughed and hugged together. They were apparently very, very close.

"Wow, you look all grown up, Twilight," said Cadence, noting her crown and golden sandals.

Twilight laughed again. "That's nothing compared to what you're doing. Where's Shining Armor? I thought he was joining us for lunch."

"He got a last minute letter to help with the Royal Guard in Canterlot. He might be a prince, but he's still a Captain." She turned to see the friend Twilight brought along. "And who is this?"

"This is Forest Mist," Twilight introduced. "He's the one I've been telling you about. Lives in a forest, found a long lost Starswirl book, that kind of stuff."

"Please to meet you, Forest Mist. She told me a lot of good things about you."

Forest Mist took another deep breath, realizing this was the moment that he needed to execute perfectly. Just stay calm.

He met her halfway, and he saw everything there was to Princess Cadence. Her crown, how it meant she was princess of his empire. That smile that would have melted most ponies' hearts. Her pink coat. The cutie mark, meaning it was her destiny to take his place on the throne. Or, at least that's what Celestia tried to convince her.

Yet, when he came to meet her face to face, he brought her hoof in his and kissed it softly.

"And I've heard a lot of good things about you, Princess Cadence," he said, bowing his head before her. "What you have done for the Crystal Empire is remarkable."

Ah, he was getting good at masking his true intentions lately.

"You were right about his sense of honor, Twilight" Cadence commented. "I can see why you're friends with him. But I bet you're all hungry by now, so let's go inside for some lunch."

"You have no idea," said Twilight. "I skipped breakfast just so I could make room for whatever you had in mind."

The three of them went inside the Crystal Empire's central tower. The committee dissolved and returned to their posts, seeing that everything was attended to.

Meanwhile, as they walked through the halls leading up to the dining room, Forest Mist brought his attention to the walls of the palace and the subjects that served Cadence. It was like living through a dream where the role assigned to him was reversed.

How long had it been since he was in the castle, acting in the role of a common pony? Maybe when he was just a little colt...

Two double doors marked the location of the dining room. Without a word having to be said, a couple of servants went out to open the room's entrance with their unicorn magic. The wood of the doors creaked while the hallway was flooded with light.

The dining hall was appropriately huge, with a long narrow table going from end to end. Large windows filtered the sunlight into the area, needing no candles to light. It was deserted of ponies when they arrived.

"Go ahead and take a seat by the middle of the table," Cadence said. "It shouldn't take long, they've been working on lunch before you arrived."

Twilight and Forest moved in and took their seats opposite Cadence, right next to each other. There were already glasses of dark red wine waiting for them at their spots.

You got the first impression right, he thought. The second impression is just as important.

"I assume things have been progressing smoothly since Sombra's defeat," he spoke up. "This palace is in good condition from what I have seen so far."

"Yes, that's right," responded Cadence. "It's been rough at times, as you can imagine, but nothing I can't handle together with my husband. But let's talk about you, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. I'm all ears."

"So what brought you to your current position? Most ponies don't live in forests like you do."

Just do it like you practiced.

"Like a lot of ponies, I figured this is what I should be doing with my life after I earned my cutie mark. Not at first, of course, but after I was financially stable with my side job as a carpenter. Once I was old enough to live on my own, I moved to the forest and took a few carpeting jobs to support myself after that.

"And I'm sure you understand why the cutie mark played a part in my decisions. Didn't you ever rethink your life when you earned yours?"

"Everypony does," Cadence responded. "But I couldn't believe it when Celestia explained to me what my cutie mark meant. I was just a filly at the time, and I couldn't see myself ruling an entire kingdom one day. That was a lot of pressure."

While she went over her past, Forest turned to see how Twilight was holding up. She smiled at those memories, even though they weren't hers. And not to mention, it wasn't awkward at all that they sat next to each other. It felt perfectly natural.

All according to plan, even if he didn't envision it like this.

"And you're telling me," Twilight brought up. "I'm excited about this new assignment Celestia's given me, but it's kind of scary. There's so many things I don't know about the job yet."

"I know what you mean," said the pink princess. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. I know you'll be a great princess."

"I never doubted it, especially when I heard of some of her accomplishments," Forest interrupted. "How can she fail, when she has delivered on the level that she has?"

"That's right," Cadence agreed. "I owe you so much, Twilight. I wouldn't be sitting here without your help."

Twilight blushed, embarrassed and flattered at the same time. "Thanks..."

Cadence then turned her attention back to Forest. "After she told me about your first meeting, there is one thing I'm curious about. How did you obtain one of Starswirl the Bearded's lost books?"

Forest brought the wine to his lips, and abruptly stopped after the question. His pupils shrunk and the air around him grew tense. That was one question he didn't count on hearing.

Twilight leaned in closer, curious to hear about this too. It only served to make things all the more tense. And he hated tense moments.

Any excuse will do with these ponies. They trust you right now.

"Well...there can be long lost ruins in the forests, of course!" he explained. "You know about Celestia's former castle in that forest, right?"

Twilight nodded. That was where she defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony.

"Castles are not the only thing that can be abandoned. I once found a small building made out of stone, and half of the exterior walls were gone. Since nopony was there and it looked safe, I peered around to see what was inside.

"There were a few shelves, so I assumed it was a lost library. Most of the books were either ruined or titles that have been cataloged already, but not that one. So I brought it with me and kept a careful eye on it until I knew what I wanted to do with it. In this case, giving it to Twilight."

Smooth, Sombra. Real smooth.

"I didn't know there were old libraries in the forests!" Twilight exclaimed. "I want to see it myself when I have a day off. Do you think you can take me there?"

"Maybe," Forest said. "It might be in worse shape than it was when I left it, and it was almost ready to collapse."

He exhaled a few times and forced his nerves to calm down. Thankfully for him, they bought the excuse. Cadence sank back in her chair and smiled, happy to see such a character turn one of Twilight's newest friends.

"That's interesting," Cadence responded. "Do you like reading like Twilight does? Most ponies wouldn't do what you did."

"Yes, actually," said Forest. "I have a whole catalog of books at home. It's what I do in my spare time. But enough about me. Let's talk about the time where you defeated Sombra with Twilight's help."

He worked to hide the malice in his soul in those last words. It was like an art to him, to disguise what he really wanted to do to her. And his intentions weren't pretty.

"With her help? More like Twilight and Spike defeated him with my help. Most of the time, all I did was buy them a few minutes to succeed."

"But I've read a lot about that incident. And how he put dark crystals on your husband's horn, preventing him from using his magic. And you yourself was exhausted from keeping a shield up to stop Sombra from coming in. That must have been terrible to experience."

"It was...It really was..." Her throat choked up, but she regained her composure quickly. "It's over now."

"Yeah, we could always talk about other things, like Starswirl's best book..."

"There is one thing I never knew about that incident, though. The moment after Sombra had fallen and you restored the Crystal Heart. It must have been a great moment for you, your husband, and all of your friends. But how did you feel about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, to see him die before your eyes, and to realize the Crystal Empire was yours now."

Cadence paused to drink some of her wine. A subject came by her side and whispered something in her ear. She listened and nodded.

"Yes, bring them in."

Her grin cut deep into his skin. He was always curious how she saw his fall from grace, from the place that was always his to claim.

And how did she feel about it?

"It was the second best moment of my life, the first being when I married the stallion of my dreams. All of the Crystal Ponies were free for the first time in centuries, and I became the leader of a whole empire."

He closed his mouth very carefully, so she couldn't see his teeth grinding together.

Patience. You will have your day.

"Yes, I agree," he said. "It was a great day in history for all of Equestria, and I propose a toast to your new rule."

He raised his glass up in the air, prompting the others to do the same. Their glasses came together near the middle of the table.

"To the Crystal Empire!"

"To the Crystal Empire!" repeated Twilight and Cadence.

They clanked their drinks together and brought them back for a nice, long drink.

Right after that, the doors to the dining hall opened wide. Three waiters went in with three silver platters and placed them at the table.

They took the lids off, greeting Twilight and Forest with the scent of hay and cheese salad. It was another modern thing Forest had never seen before, but he knew he would enjoy it.

As soon as his waiter put a fork near his plate, he grabbed it with his magic and had a few bites of the salad. He found it so delicious, he took his second bite immediately after the first one.

"I knew you would like it," Cadence laughed. "It's full of the same vegetables Twilight says you eat all the time."

"Thanks for your consideration," he said, the first real compliment of the day to Cadence.

"Now, how have the two of you been getting along, Twilight?"

Twilight wiped her mouth clean with the napkin. "Really good. He's been a nice pony to talk to, and as you can see, he's really respectful to royalty."

"Please," he interrupted. "Surely you must have that same kind of reception whenever you walk out the front door. Those ponies seem to like you, and they must be thrilled to be in your presence regularly."

"Not as much as you would think. I've been living in Ponyville for years now, and they see me as a close friend than a princess over the years. It's hard to break that image."

"Really. If that is the case, no wonder my treatment caught you off guard. I hope I didn't come across as too...forward."

"Not at all. I'm just not used to it yet."

What they said was everything Cadence needed to know, in order to see what their friendship was like. Twilight was so easygoing with him, it felt to her that they were friends for a while.

Thankfully, they weren't there yet, or there would be teasing. Cadence knew the difference between friendship and romance when she saw it. And all she saw at that moment was friendship.

The rest of the lunch was rather peaceful. They made small talk through the rest of lunchtime, with nothing much happening. There was some catching up, some advice on how to be a better princess in the future, and the important of the meeting concerning Ponyville's future.

Twilight learned how important it apparently was to have a castle during that meal. A castle would be a great judge of character, and having a small peaceful castle would say all there was to her.

However, the members of royalty soon discovered that whenever Forest was not seeing them eye to eye in the middle of a talk, he was looking out the window.

"He seems to love it here, I've noticed," Cadence noted.

"It's not like anything in Equestria," said Twilight. "How many places do you know have buildings made out of crystal?"

In reality, the reason he looked out the window was much more complex. He wanted to spend more time to see how the Empire was being run, now that he had the best view of it that he was going to get.

Truly, it was like seeing a movie of a faraway land, or one that he used to call home but changed in his absence. To see his empire change so much so quickly was almost dreamlike.

"Maybe you could show him around," Cadence brought up. "Do you have time to show him around? I understand that you're a lot busier with your new duties."

"I planned to be here for hours. I can do that, if he's OK with it."

Forest turned to Twilight, having kept a spare ear for anything they talked about. To see the Crystal Empire like that...he couldn't bare it in his heart. At least not today.

"No, I'm sorry to turn you down. It's so much to take in. When we come back, you can show me around as long as you like."

Twilight picked up on the tone in his voice, and noted his ears were perked down. "Is something wrong?"

No. Don't tell her. It would ruin everything.

"I'm just overwhelmed by the magnitude of this place. Not even Canterlot can compare to its beauty."

"I don't know if I would go that far," Cadence countered, her cheeks turning into tomatoes.

"You can't be that modest, Princess Cadence. It's so magnificent that anypony would love to rule it, assuming they had the ambition to do so."

"That's true," said Twilight. "I'm sorry if this is too much. We can go home if you like."

She pressed a hoof on his own, and he realized it was out of concern as much as it was out of respect.

That's when he spotted the opportunity to make the catch.

"Do you mind if we leave a bit early?" he asked Cadence. "I don't mean to insult your hospitality."

"No, not at all," she answered. "You're free to leave whenever you like, and you've been here for an hour already."

"Thank you, Princess Cadence. It was a nice dinner." He got up out of his seat and waited for Twilight to leave with him.

She exchanged a few words with her dear foalsitter, they shared a few hugs, and soon she walked by Forest's side out of the Empire's palace. She was physically closer to him on the way out, something that told him that the next big moment of his plan was at hand.

The Guards would later be disappointed to learn that their rest was cut short, but understood that not all guests of the Crystal Empire would be able to handle its scope as well as they could.

And so they took off into the sky again, aiming to return to Ponyville. By then it was in the middle of the afternoon, and the night wouldn't come for another three to four hours.

However, the ride back felt much different. Twilight paid full attention to Forest, eying him while she frowned over the past events.

"I'm really sorry about all that," she said to him. "I really should have been more considerate of you. Next time, I'll take it slow and make sure you're having fun."

"It was fine. You didn't know," he lied. "You were impressed with the Empire the first time you saw it yourself, right?"

"Right. But it was different then. I came there to stop Sombra, not to have lunch with one of my closest friends."

There it was again. Talking about him like that was grating on his nerves.

"Let's not talk about Sombra anymore, OK?"

"Fine by me. What bothers you about him, anyway?"

"I just like to focus on the future and not dwell on the past like that. It can cloud your judgment if you let it."

"That's a pretty good reason. But we left several hours ahead of schedule. And I didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day, so I could spend time with Cadence. What should we do to kill time?"

Ponyville and Canterlot were not far away by carriage. Perhaps twenty minutes away, and close enough for them to see by that moment.

Forest smiled to himself. All the chess pieces were in place, and all he had to do was move them in for the kill.

"Do you want to show me around your hometown?" he asked.

Twilight moved her head away to hide her red cheeks. "Wait...is this codename for a date? It sure sounds like one."

"Is that a problem, Twilight Sparkle? You could just call it a tour around Ponyville, but it's up to you."

"No...I just never...you know."

"I understand. I can just go home."

"Wait!" She held a hoof on his shoulder to stop him, even though he couldn't just get out of a chariot that was a few thousand feet above the ground. "I...I think I would like that. I just...I just met you is all. And I only brought you to the Empire because you said you had never seen it before. But you seem nice to me, and..." She blushed again, deeper than before. "...nopony's asked me out before."

He smiled and nodded. "Then it's a date."

Meanwhile, he would be making some preparations for later that night. He had a rough idea about how this date would end...

Author's Note

Some notes:

This is going to be the start of a three parter. Why three parts? Because Part 3 is the story's first bombshell. So be patient.

Again, I'm intentionally not hiding that there's a plan behind all of this for Sombra. Why is that? Because I figured, even if I did hide that he's got a few cards up the sleeve, you would figure out that not everything is as it seems, and on top of that, the idea behind it is that you're not wondering what he's up to, it's more feeling nervous that his plan is seemingly working, and you're curious what the hell is he doing.

And much like First Meeting, this whole chapter was changed on the fly, in a way. Specifically, the date in the next chapter wasn't supposed to be happening for a while.

Checkmate with a Pawn, Part 2

As the chariot kept drifting along through the air currents, Twilight and Forest could make out Ponyville in their view. Since it was in the middle of the afternoon, many ponies were wandering around the streets, tending to their own business. School was almost over, and there would be fillies and colts walking around the streets soon enough.

Despite how beautiful the day turned out with a partly cloudy day, Forest felt tense in his seat. It was not his fault he felt this way, that much he knew. He was looking forward to this date, given it was exactly what she needed to do for him. So that left one other possibility on the table.

He turned to his right to see Twilight acting more nervous than she did when they were flying to the Crystal Empire. She hung her front hooves around her shoulders, as if she caught the cold. She seemed to be deep in thought, and she didn't have the courage to look at him.

"Are you still nervous about the date, Twilight?" he asked.

"Of course I am!" she snapped out of nowhere. But she realized what she did and stopped. "I'm sorry that I'm acting like this, but this is the first date I've ever had. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing when we land. And I don't want to ruin anything about it, but I don't know where to begin!"

She breathed heavily, doing anything she could to calm down.

Nevermind, he thought. She was much more nervous than she was at the Empire.

"Take it easy," he said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "This is my first date too. I've never done this before."

"Really? Somepony like you?"

"Yes, it's true. When it comes down to it, I never had many reasons to pursue dating, and I let my ambitions get in the way. But I'm curious to see where this might go."

She relaxed her front hooves, but her muscles were still tense to the touch. "That makes things better, but I don't know how we should do this..."

Quick, Sombra! You have to come up with something soon! She's too unsure of herself to think straight.

"Well, what would you be comfortable with?"

Twilight paused to think about it. She didn't speak for some time.

By then, Ponyville was only five minutes away from their location. Forest might have been good with his sense of patience, but he didn't have much time to work with anymore.

Then the alicorn's eyes lit up with an idea. "It's a really nice day outside, and we have a park in Ponyville we could walk around."

"Sounds perfect to me. You sure you want to go through with this?"

Twilight nodded. Her heart was beating fast, but this was something she wanted in the end.

"Take us straight to Ponyville Park, if you don't mind."

Upon her command, the Guards changed the course of their flight, from Twilight's house to Ponyville park. The currents changed appropriately, sending more of the gusts of wind right into their faces.

Even though they were a few minutes away from touching down, Forest could make out their destination from his seat. And it appeared to be a nice and peaceful location for their walk together.

It was a good sized park, but not too big either. There were a few walking trails cutting through the grass and some benches to rest on. At the center of it was a water fountain that all the trails originated from.

While he thought about what they would discuss down there, he noted that Twilight was still clad in her royal attire.

"I've noticed you don't like to bring much attention to yourself," he brought up.

"Not unless it's something really important. What's the matter?"

"Well, you're a princess and all, and you had a very public coronation..."

"Oh, I see. You're worried that we'll have a walk and I'll be busy talking to ponies wishing to honor me. That's no problem at all."

She used her levitation spell to take off her crown, and she put it behind her seat in the cart. Then she held out her hooves and removed her sandals in the same manner, neatly arranging them in a row around the crown.

"How is that going to help you?" he puzzled.

"It's the crown that gets the most attention, believe it or not. They don't even notice I'm an alicorn when they look at me, but a golden crown? That's when they know I'm royalty without even knowing who I am. How do I look without the crown?"

Forest stopped before he could say something. He had never looked at Twilight's features in that way before, so he took a moment to examine her.

Much to his surprise, he was taken aback at her beauty. Her mane's many colors were alluring to the eye, moving around in the wind currents. Her purple coat was very appealing to him, and he looked at her cutie mark for the first time. It must have been very symbolic to her magical talents, given what he knew of her, and he felt himself impressed with her looks.

"I think you look beautiful," he said honestly.

Twilight shied away, covering her face with a hoof. "Really? I don't think I'm all that pretty..."

"But you are. Believe me."

The chariot drew ever closer to Ponyville, until they could see the buildings as clear as day. Twilight sat close to Forest Mist as the wheels of the chariot touched solid ground, right on the nearest street to the park.

The winds were calm here, and they could hear a pin drop on the ground. Since school was not out yet, there was nopony in the park save for a few marathon runners on the running trails.

Deep down, Twilight's heart was pounding. She was very optimistic about how this date would go, but it was her first date too. What was she supposed to do? Were they supposed to kiss at the end? How many questions is too many questions? Was she thinking too hard about the many ways this date could go wrong?

Her fears grew to be so bad, her front hooves were shaking from the pressure. She felt sick even though she was healthy as she could be, but she wondered if she should go home.

And he knew she was afraid too. He had to do something to calm her down, or this would never work.

In another case of quick thinking, he wrapped one of his front hooves around her waist. She turned to him in surprise, and caught him giving her a comforting smiling.

"It will be OK," he comforted. "We'll take it slow from here. Would that suit you?"

She exhaled slowly and carefully. "I'm sorry...I just got carried away for a while. I'm sure it will be fine."

That worked? That actually worked? Thank goodness...and it's all going according to plan...

The Guards undid the reigns on their back, and rested the chariot near the entrance to the park. Vanguard came to Twilight's side of the vehicle and opened the door for her.

She jumped down to the ground and turned around to see Forest do the same. With that out of the way, she addressed the guards.

"Stay around here for now. We'll be back here when we're ready to leave."

And so the two of them walked side by side to the park's entrance, neither one seeming to point out how awkward this date could be, with two anti-social bookworms going out together.

The trail they picked led up to the fountain, where there were several benches surrounding it. But it would be some distance away, and they would have to walk for minutes to get there.

While they went on their way, Twilight raced through all the questions she could ask. There was so much she wanted to know about him, but she didn't know what would make for a good first question.

And like before, Forest knew she was nervous. She didn't say anything for the first few minutes, and he thought about saying something to help her out. And then she finally opened her mouth.

"I realized that I actually don't know a lot about you," she brought up. "So how was your foalhood like?"

"So you don't know much about me. That is true..."

His voice trailed off, and he knew he was in trouble. His mind raced to create the answer he would need to satisfy her curiosity.

"If you can believe it, my parents were nobles," he started. "They were high in society from where they came."

"So they're from Canterlot?"

Canterlot didn't exist before my exile, so what do I say?

"No, it was another city that was abandoned nearly fifteen years ago. Long story there, involves dragons and invasions. But they held a little bit of power in their day, serving the princess in her court. Since this was my upbringing, I lived a luxurious lifestyle from my parents' wealth, and it was an easy life for me.

"But they desired for me to follow in their hoofsteps as a noble. And that's not what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted something much different."

To take Celestia's throne myself. That's where my desires went.

"So I'm assuming you wanted to live in the forests, given it's your special talent, right?"

"Right," he lied with a straight face. "There is nothing like being in a forest, allowing nature to surround you in your place. You feel small, but significant at the same time. And it's impressive to see how planting a few seeds can make a big difference when you give it time."

"I understand what you mean. I didn't think friendship would mean so much to me just a few years ago, but now that I know what it's like to have it, I don't want to lose it anytime soon."

They carried on for a little while longer, but they grew a little tired from walking as long as they did. So they sat down at the first bench they found. They could see the fountain not that far away, but it would still take some time to get there.

The afternoon went on, and some fillies and colts ran around the park, while the alicorn and unicorn watched them go by. True to what Twilight had said, nopony recognized her as Princess Twilight Sparkle without her crown and sandals.

Forest spied one particular colt, a unicorn that was no older than eight years old. He ran around the grass with a ton of energy in his steps, and he ran around with his sister in an intense game of tag.

It was strange for him to see a colt like that, and a thought began to seep into his head for later...

"So what else do you want to know about me?" he asked Twilight, who was laying rather tight to him.

"There's one other thing I want to know about you. What do you know about books? You seemed to show an interest in them whenever Cadence asked you about it."

He smiled. Finally, a topic where he would not have to lie at all about how he felt about something.

"There are few things I enjoy more than reading a good book," he began. "I can enjoy all kinds of literature, from magical technique to history lessons to fictional work. It's always impressive to see how much knowledge Starswirl had in his brain. It would have been an honor to work with him."

"That's what I keep saying!" Twilight responded, her eyes full of life. "I've read his book about the teleportation spell three times in a row one weekend. It was so interesting and I couldn't wait to learn more about it when I was a filly!"

"Ah, that classic. How long did it take before you were any good at that spell?"

"Well...long story too. I could do it three months after I tried to learn it for the first time, but my mane would always catch on fire after I was finished. I probably spent two years practicing it before I mastered it for good."

"That's half of a year faster than me. Then again, it's clear that your special talent was always magic. Anypony can see that."

Twilight looked down at her flank, staring at the cutie mark in particular. "So you noticed," she laughed. "It's always a great moment to earn your cutie mark. But I'm sure you're good at magic too."

"But I'll likely never match you in your magical skill. Speaking of which, what is your favorite Starswirl book?"

"That's a tough question. How is anypony supposed to answer that?"

"OK, one you really enjoyed."

"I hate to say it, because I just got it. But that book about dark magic is really good. I haven't seen anything like it before, and it's one of his richest works ever."

Hmm...this gives me an idea, he thought.

"How about you show me one of the spells you learned from it?"

Twilight gulped. "Um...I'm not sure if it's a good idea..."

"Why do you think so?"

"It didn't go over so well the last time I did it..."

OK, no intervention this time. She needs to be able to trust the power of dark magic for this to work.

"Don't worry. I will be here in case something goes wrong . Here, try to aim for that tree over there."

He pointed at a tree on the other side of the trail. It was one of those trees that died during the last winter season, and somepony would cut it down anyways.

"OK..." she said, clearly nervous about trying the spell again.

She hopped off the bench and aimed her horn towards the rotting tree. Forest scooted up from his spot to get a better angle of what was about to happen.

Twilight's horn glowed a dark black hue, something that was highly unusual to her. Her eyes began to develop trails of purple mist while she prepared the spell.

He smiled, since it was the first time in centuries he had seen anypony emit purple mist from their eyes. Oh, how he was looking forward to this...

Then a sphere started to form on the tip of her horn. Her face was covered in sweat, as the spell was always difficult to prepare for release. But she had to do it, to prove that she was willing to improve on such a difficult field of magic.

And then she released the spell. Her vision turned to white for a few seconds, unable to see anything. Her ears were plugged up as well.

When she came to seeing and hearing again, she found herself sitting on the ground. She turned to her right and saw Forest with his jaw dropped. What could have caused him to react like that? Then she finally got a good look at the tree.

The tree trunk had a huge hole in the middle of it. There was still enough wood to support it, but a bunch of material had shattered everywhere in her wake.

"So that is the power of dark magic," he commented, feigning a shocked expression.

"OK...I'm never doing that in a public place again. Target ranges only," she noted, as she tried to get back on her hooves.

But she stumbled on her way up. She felt down flat on her flank, and Forest came to her aid. He held onto her for support, and she slowly regained the strength to stand upright.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to do that," she apologized.

"I don't blame you for it," he comforted again. "You didn't know. Let's just keep going to the fountain. Does that sound good to you?"

She nodded. The sooner she forgot about this, the better.

They went on to the fountain, all while Twilight was shaken up from that incident. She could barely walk in a straight line, let alone go on to a walking trail. She seemed more frightened to Forest than she had in a while, and that was saying something given how the day went.

"Stop for a moment," he commanded.

"Wait...I'm sorry..."

But when they did stop, she felt Forest nuzzling around her neck with his snout. He did it very gently, careful not to scare her through his actions. She didn't react at first, but after a while, it felt good to have him comfort her like this.

"Please, don't be scared around me. I'm not going to judge you for that," he whispered.

He kept at it, nuzzling around the top of her head surrounding the horn. She muttered something under her breath, but he could not hear her.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you."

"I said, thank you. I needed that."

He pulled away and smiled back at her. It worked after all.

"Feeling better?"

"I think so..."

So they went ahead to the fountain, and Twilight was much more relaxed the rest of the way there.

All the while, Forest was aware that she was taking a liking to him. Everything he did was working, which was exactly what he wanted to happen.

If anything, he enjoyed how easy it was to get to her. She enjoyed his company, and he knew exactly what she needed at the right moment.

And he knew something was up, when they were so close to each other that their tails were touching.

They arrived at the fountain soon after, with all four benches surrounding it empty for anypony to sit in. They picked the western bench and spent a few minutes just watching the water, falling from the top of the fountain to the bottom.

The fountain was almost therapeutic in how it soothed the both of them. Twilight seemed a lot looser and not so uptight, and Forest was more content with himself. He could hear her breathe, and they were slow, controlled breaths.

"So what do you plan to do with yourself?" he asked.

She propped her head up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're a princess now. You can do anything you want with Ponyville, and you have duties to serve. Surely you must have something on your plate."

"I do, actually. This next Tuesday, I'm supposed to be going to Canterlot with Mayor Mare to hold a meeting with Celestia. We're going to discuss what should happen to Ponyville, now that they have a princess living there."

He almost gasped to hear something like this. "You mean, inside the castle in Canterlot?"

"That's the place."

Another golden opportunity, falling into his lap like this? It was so perfect that he couldn't fathom how he could pass it up. Twilight. In Canterlot.

Already, his brain was working overtime to take advantage of this. It was exactly what he needed, and perfect for the next to last part of his plan.

Then he felt a hoof poking him on the side. A certain purple one.

"Are you OK? You've been quiet since I mentioned I was going to Canterlot Castle."

"Oh, it's nothing," he said, snapping out of it. "I don't want Ponyville to change too much is all."

"I understand. I don't want it to change into the next Canterlot either. It's really nice as it is."

But his mind was preoccupied with what would happen in the real Canterlot. He would have to be careful there, but he was getting good at planning his moves and executing them carefully.

"I think I might move here one day."

Twilight turned back to him, having been lost in her thoughts for a while. "Wait, what?"

"It's a wonderful town, and there's forests in every direction for me to tend to. What's not to love?"

"You...you're wanting to move here because of me, aren't you..."

"I would love it, if you don't mind."

Twilight blushed again. He was getting to her in many, many ways.

"I...I think I would like that."

The water kept flowing through the fountain's banks, as the mare and stallion shared another quiet moment together. They didn't speak to each other, but they didn't need to.

That was when Twilight knew he was something special, when they could just be quiet and share a comfortable silence. At least, that's what she thought.

When the quiet moment was over, the evening was approaching fast. The sun was setting, the moon was becoming more visible, and they would have otherwise been hungry. Yet they weren't.

At that moment, Forest had arranged for something to happen once they left. the next part of his plan set into motion. Everything Twilight did that afternoon suggested she was ready for it.

"Hey Twilight, you notice how you fly around in a chariot all the time?" he mentioned.

"Yes, I noticed that a long time ago," she said, with a little bit of rare sarcasm in her voice.

"Do you think you would want to ride around in the Wispy Woods in a carriage ride, with that chariot?"

Twilight gasped. That was...yes, that's what he meant by a carriage ride. Oh, how Rarity would kill for this chance...

"I would love to do something like that."

"Then we should turn back to the carriage. It is getting late."

So they turned around and went back the same way they came. An older group of ponies ran around the park now, and it turned out that Forest and Twilight were not the only ones out here on a date. More than a few couples came out for a picnic date out on the grass.

Twilight watched them on her way back to the carriage, thinking about her own date. She was still unsure how well it was going, but she was enjoying herself in the end...

...until they passed the same rotten tree that Twilight used for target practice. The tree tipped over and crashed away from the trail, thankfully not landing on anypony. Still, a crowd of ponies congregated around it, wondering what could have caused such a massive hole inside its trunk.

Forest and Twilight agreed silently that they should run past the scene, and dashed through the trail until they found themselves at the entrance again.

At that point, the Guards were busy discussing personal matters in private. They were waiting by the carriage, mumbling and asking what was taking them so long, when they stopped to see that the couple was back.

"It will be nighttime soon, Your Majesty," said Vanguard. "What would you have us do now?"

"If you don't mind, could you take us for a ride through the Wispy Woods for a while? I would really appreciate it."

First Strike and Vanguard looked at each other in confusion. When was the last time Celestia asked them to do something like this?

"Are you sure?" First Strike asked. "That sounds highly unusual to me."

Twilight shot them a brief glare. "There's nothing wrong with it. It's a date, after all."

In the end, she didn't really tell them this was a date until that moment. And the Guards seemed all the more puzzled, but then again they voiced no problems with her going out on a date. It wasn't their place to correct her after all.

So First Strike opened the door for them again, and they climbed aboard the carriage. The Guards prompted the binds of the ride on their backsides, and went off for the Wispy Woods once more.

The way to that place was one long dirt road, still going for a while outside of Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres laid out to their right, the last sign of pony civilization for a while.

While they were waiting to arrive at their destination, Twilight drew herself closer to Forest, and put her bare hoof on his. He didn't stop her, and only seemed more relaxed because of it. And in a way, he was. He went out with his goals that day, and he succeeded at reaching them.

All the while, Twilight's head would have otherwise been full of questions at that point. Was she going too fast with this? Should they go out again?

Yet her mind was clear, because she really didn't care anymore. She was sharing a quiet moment with Forest, and that's all she wanted.

Then the carriage arrived right at the Wispy Woods, a place that she would never forget. The trees curved their branches around the dirt path, blocking the sky save for a few faint rays of sunlight. Leaves covered the dirt in green, creating a surreal experience.

"This is where we first met, isn't it?" Twilight asked. "I remember how I was worried what would happen that night. First Strike and Vanguard were with me, just in case it was a trap."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, seemingly dazed but content. Their bodies were touching each other, and Twilight was only a few inches from snuggling Forest.

What she couldn't see was how Forest smiled as well. Yet he seemed more alert than she was.

"I still feel like I should apologize for the way it was arranged," he mentioned. "You had every reason to be suspicious. I won't do something like that ever again."

"But I'm glad I took that chance," she whispered. "Even if this doesn't work out, we could always be good friends."

Forest responded by pressing the bottom of his head on hers. He could tell she was still a bit nervous, given that her cheeks were a bit red.

He needed to make her feel like she could trust him. And he was aware she was starting to.

"Thank you, Forest Mist, for a wonderful day..."

But something caught his ear. It was a faint noise, but he would recognize it as the sound of a stream any day of the week.

The time had come at last.

"Guards, stop the cart."

"Wait, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. His sudden action startled her, and she moved her head back to see what was going on.

"Why should we stop the ride?" Vanguard inquired.

"There's something I need to show her here," Forest explained.

"Even if there is, we'll only stop if Princess Twilight gives the order," First Strike responded.

"No, stop the car," said Twilight.

"But...as you wish."

The chariot's wheels slowed down as the Guard stopped trotting them forward. It came to a complete stop in the middle of the forest, with leaves and trees surrounding them everywhere but in front and behind them.

"Now, what is it that you need to show me, Forest?" Twilight asked.

"I want to show you something. But I'll have to take you out of the carriage to do it. It's a surprise I'm sure you'll enjoy."

Twilight was confused by his words. They were sharing a nice romantic moment, and now she had no idea what was going to happen. Even then, though, there was nothing that suggested Forest had bad intentions for her.

"Fine. I'll come out. But this better be good."

"I assure you it will be," he said, with just a slight edge in his shot. "You will never see it coming."

Author's Note

Alright...this was another thing that changed entirely from the original plan.

I didn't intend for there to be a dating chapter. Instead, I was just going to take the ending of Part 1 and cut it immediately to what will happen to Part 3. But then a few friends(Mirage Seraph and P. Luna of Equestria Forums, for the record. This wasn't just one person who suggested the change) suggested that I do something like this to make what happens in Part 3 more believable. And I realized they were both right.

But this chapter was a bit rough. I wrote 2,000 words of one version, where the 400 words of this version is still intact, but it would have been them going to Pinkie's place and having a private party for a date, then go to Twilight's place to have the same kind of conversations you see here. But I had to scrap it because I agreed with my friends that Sombra felt OOC and the tone was wrong for the chapter's intent.

But scrapping 1,600 words like that was something I had never done before. And it sent me into a depression that lasted all of last weekend. It's why I was planning on just taking until Thursday to upload this, and why I pushed Chapter 8's target date to next week instead of this week.

Yet, this chapter went so smoothly and it was so easy to write, I might go ahead and try to push out Chapter 8 to this Friday, assuming I have the time for it. And yes, it will be THE bombshell chapter.

Intermission

When First Strike and Vanguard stopped the cart in order that Forest could show Twilight something, the dusk was approaching. Now it was early in the evening, and the couple still hadn't shown up.

It felt like Twilight and Forest were taking forever, and the Guards eventually took the reigns off from their backsides. They were getting sore from having to carry the burden of the vehicle everywhere today.

Yet, they found themselves watching the same spot of the forest that Twilight went into, with her little coltfriend...

"Coltfriend? Are you serious?" interrupted Vanguard.

"What else could it be?" First Strike said. "You saw how they were like. When has Celestia ever asked us for a ride through a forest with a stallion by her side? Never. And I could see them from a ways off when they were inside the park. He was nuzzling Twilight."

"Somepony dares to nuzzle the princess?" Vanguard stomped his hoof for dramatic effect. "The nerve..."

"But she didn't stop him. In fact, she enjoyed it."

"Enjoyed it? How is this possible?"

"I told you. He's her coltfriend. They're probably kissing in there."

"I swear, I will see to it that Her Majesty repossesses your secret stash of romance novels..."

First Strike had a comeback ready for him, when they heard the crunching of leaves again. That meant somepony was coming. They pretended nothing had happened and stood tall for the princess.

But it was only her that showed up. Forest Mist was nowhere to be seen. And the alicorn hung her head low, depressed and exhausted.

The Guards ran to her aid, making sure nothing bad had happened to her. But there wasn't any sign of damage on her frame. First Strike and Vanguard looked at each other, and they had no idea what occured in there.

"What happened? Where is Forest Mist?" Vanguard inquired.

"Oh, him," Twilight mumbled, surprised to hear that name again. "He had to leave on short notice. He's not coming back with me."

"That's good. I was afraid something happened to you in there," said First Strike. "You were gone for a while."

"Do you think you can take me home now? It's...it's been a long day, and I really want to go to bed now."

"Yes, Your Majesty," they said in unison.

Twilight climbed into the carriage again, and the Guards brought her on the way home. It would take some time to get there, and she had some time to spend alone with her thoughts.

To say that she was conflicted about the day's events was an understatement. She felt weary and her eyes tried to close tightly, but she couldn't fall asleep here. Her hooves ached from all the walking, even though she felt perfectly fine up until Sombra brought her to the stream.

Did she do the right thing by letting him leave without a fight? Yes, she would make sure he really was reformed like she had done with Discord, but there was no telling what Sombra would do now. He was much different than the last time they met, but that wasn't enough to quench all her doubts.

However, she couldn't deny that she really liked being around him whenever he was Forest Mist. How could she pretend that she didn't like it when he nuzzled her? And how she leaned on his shoulder, since she felt that comfortable around him?

Yet, it was King Sombra of all ponies. Or, he was king...

The trees gave way for the hills of Sweet Apple Acres. Her home wasn't far away from here anymore, maybe a few minutes tops.

She forced herself to ask a question in her mind. She acknowledged by now that she couldn't decide whenever or not to keep trusting Sombra, or sending that certain letter to Celestia regardless what she promises him.

So why was she so conflicted about this?

Because I might have been in love with him when he was Forest. Or, I wanted to be in love with him. Wait...is this clouding my judgment?

She managed to feel worse about the situation than ever before. There was no way she could allow him to do this to her. She was a princess now. And princesses don't allow things like courting to distract her on this level.

And yet it did.

After a few minutes of debating and internal conflicts, the carriage stopped. They had arrived at the treehouse.

She piled out and released the Guards for the day. They left the sandals and crown with her, and took the carriage with them.

By then, the rooms in the house were all lit. She could hear Spike in there, sweeping around the floors. The door was locked, so she knocked a few times to let him know she was back.

He unlocked the door, and was thrilled to see Twilight there. "You're here! And a full ten minutes back before you said you would. So how did it go at the Empire?"

"Well, it's a long story..."

She intentionally left out the bit about Forest being Sombra. She wasn't sure how to handle it just yet. The part about giving him a slim chance to redeem himself was still subject to change. But other than that, it was note for note the same story.

"You...you went out with Forest Mist?" Spike asked, confused as hay.

"Yes...it wasn't planned at all, but you know how he was in the Empire. We had plenty of time to spend together before I had to come back."

Spike gulped. He wasn't sure how well this next part would go...

"Can I say something, and you'll promise not to hurt me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"It's...it's....I never thought you would have a coltfriend! There, I said it! Now please don't kill me!"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I know why. I'm such a dork and too obsessed with books. And you thought out loud that I would never have friends. Isn't that right..."

Her voice lowered the more she talked, until the last three words were just whispers. She sat down and looked to the floor.

Spike saw this as his fault, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..."

"It's not you. It's me. I just have a lot to think about...and I really want to go to bed."

"I understand. I should probably get some sleep too..."

Eventually, she wound up in bed, tossing and turning around in her sheets. She still kept thinking about Sombra, her every thought revolving around him. Everything he did for her while he took the form of Forest Mist. How intelligent he was. And how he reassured her that nothing was wrong about his character anymore.

And how she wanted to throw him in prison, or let Celestia handle it herself. The princess of the sun would love nothing more than to make up for losing the Crystal Empire to him so long ago...

Then she realized why she was fighting herself over all of this. And she cried herself to sleep for two reasons.

A part of her WAS in love with Sombra, and it was fighting furiously with the part that didn't.

The halls to Sombra's castle had only gotten better and better with time. He managed to put more crystals inside the walls, make the outlining stone stronger, and fill the shelves of his library with more books.

The whole atmosphere changed when he returned. He still didn't bother to put on his armor and cape just yet, not even with his crown. The sound of his bare hooves touching stone echoed around the hallways, as he went the way to his bedroom.

He couldn't have been more pleased with himself. Everything about the day, THE day that needed to be perfect, was flawlessly executed. The pieces were set where they needed to go. And he was in the right position to make his next move.

The guards he passed gave him puzzled looks, given that he wasn't wearing anything save for a black scarf. They still saluted him as he went through the halls.

Hmm, he hadn't come up with a name for them yet. And he would need one if he was going to keep going with his plans. What about the Shadow Guard? Sounded great to him, and it matched his themes...

Eventually, he found himself in his bedroom. Nopony was here to see him, and he instantly lounged around the top of the blankets.

Ah, how relieving was it to finally rest after a whole day of watching Twilight eat his words. It was getting tougher, but that only made his triumphs sweeter.

He parted his hooves through his mane, pulling the hair down around his face. Then he slipped through the blankets and rested his head on the pillow.

His thoughts were entirely on Twilight that evening, though in a different manner than they had been in the previous nights. He wasn't thinking about his next move as much as he thought about Twilight as a pony.

There was no lying in his words when he said that she was a remarkable mare. She truly was, and he couldn't wait to spend more time with her. He just had to wait until a certain meeting was over...

He fell asleep in his bed, a smile draped across his face..

Author's Note

As the title suggests, this was only intended to be an intermission, made to give the story a resting period before we enter the next part of the story, where it will get considerably darker.

This is actually the first time in a while that I did all the work for a chapter in a single day, including line editing. Anyways, the FIM style of writing for the story is all but over, and you'll see why this story has the tags and rating it has soon enough...I just really hope you guys stay on board when you see the story for what it really is.

Captured by the Dark

WARNING: This chapter contains violence that might disturb some readers. Here, you'll see why this has a Teen rating. Read at your own risk.

To say that the first two days of the succeeding week were difficult on Twilight was an understatement.

Sunday was a rare day off, and she spent all her time wrestling with her feelings towards Sombra. Somehow, she wore herself out faster than she did whenever she was working. That defeated the entire purpose of having a day off.

Then came Monday. It was both more and less taxing than Sunday. She didn't debate her options as fiercely, but the stress of the emotional turmoil was replaced with going back to work on her royal duties. And she was no closer to an answer to a question that would never leave her head until she took care of it.

But Tuesday had arrived. The date where she would travel to Canterlot with Mayor Mare to meet with Celestia. Lay out the future of Ponyville with her former teacher and fellow Ponyvillian official.

Around seven in the morning, the Guards arrived at the entrance to Town Hall along with Princess Twilight. She had her crown and golden sandals on, making sure she was presentable for the meeting.

Vanguard knocked on the door first.

"Hello? Who is it?" a familiar voice said from within the hall.

"This is the Royal Guard of Celestia's Army. It is time for the meeting with Princess Twilight Sparkle and Celestia in Canterlot. Are you ready to depart?" Vanguard stated.

The door swung wide open, and Mayor Mare was already dressed for success. Her tie rested perfectly on her neck, and her mane was neatly and orderly.

"Of course. This is a very important meeting after all," she addressed Vanguard. "Hello again, Princess Twilight. Celestia sent a letter last weekend to me, and she said she wanted the meeting to take place right before lunch. There's no harm in showing up ahead of schedule."

"No, of course not," said Twilight. "I guess everything set."

And so they took off into the chariot, Mayor Mare and Twilight Sparkle having to share the space. The Guards went for the walls of Canterlot, where Celestia would be waiting for them.

Having the Mayor of Ponyville sitting with Twilight, with her business first approach and her high position, created a feeling that this was building up to something big.

Yet, Twilight found herself staring outside of the chariot's bounds, looking out to miles of empty plains. She wasn't thinking about the meeting at all, and she came close to nodding off for a nap.

"Princess Twilight? Is there a problem?" the Mayor asked.

"What?" Twilight said, snapping back to reality. "Is what the problem?"

"I've been talking about some of the concepts we could propose to Her Highness, and you haven't been paying attention ever since I started."

"I haven't been listening? I didn't notice..."

"Is something bothering you? You look like something's on your mind."

"You're right. Something is on my mind. But it's really personal, and I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now. Sorry if I sounded rude, but I've been thinking about it for three days and I still don't know what to do."

"I see. Is it going to be a problem for the meeting? We could always delay the meeting by a few hours. I'm sure she'll understand when it comes to you."

"No, we're not delaying anything. The meeting will be held as scheduled. I won't let this get in the way."

Eventually, the chariot arrived within the gated walls of Canterlot. Waves of nostalgia hit the princess, as they always did when she took a trip into her hometown. Seeing all the Guards that served under her brother was a nice treat, and she could spot her parents' house from the bird's eye view.

She could spot Princess Celestia from a watchtower, looking over the skies from her telescope. She spotted her former teacher incoming, and she smiled to see her again. The princess of the sun mentioned to a Guard, and then spread her wings out. She flew down from the high tower, and landed on the courtyard's steps to await the arriving party.

Twilight grinned, and couldn't wait to see Celestia again.

"Remember, we're here on royal business," the Mayor mentioned. "But it will be unusual to be doing business with her, won't it?"

"Now that you mention it," Twilight replied. "Still, I've seen her in the middle of business meetings before. This won't be new to me."

The chariot touched down inside the courtyard, and one of Celestia's personal guards opened the door for Princess Twilight. Mayor Mare followed her out of the vehicle, and the chariot was taken away to a resting place.

As soon as they touched down on solid ground, Twilight ran to Celestia and gave her one big hug. Celestia returned the favor, and it felt like old times again.

"It's always good to see you again," Celestia said. "How have you been adjusting to your new duties?"

"Wonderful," Twilight responded. "It's not overwhelming at all, and I like the job. It's only going to get better, right?"

"Indeed." Celestia then turned to the other guest. "Welcome to Canterlot, Mayor Mare of Ponyville. I trust that your ride was smooth? First Strike and Vanguard are among some of my top pegasi."

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the Mayor, bowing before the princess of the sun. "Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. I never would have thought you would ask me for advice on this."

"I always would have. I need to consider the voice of the ponies living there, no matter what. Now, follow me inside. I have everything arranged for the meeting today."

"How long will it be?" Twilight asked.

"That depends entirely on us, but I budgeted enough time that we will have up to three days to debate this. You can stay inside any bedroom that's not taken in the meantime."

And so they went inside the castle, Mayor Mare going out of her way to make sure she was behind the two alicorns, the ones ahead of her on the totem pole.

Inside the vast hallways, a red carpet graced the floors and gave their hooves a nice cushion to step on. The large windows allowed for equally large amounts of sunlight to come inside, making unnatural light all the more unnecessary. The symbol of Celestia's sun was repeated everywhere, on the banners and the crests on the doors. It was a firm reminder that this was her castle.

Though, in recent years, it was juxtaposed with Luna's moon in a few places here and there. Occasionally, they would see one hallway done in blue and white stars painting on the ceiling. Another reminder for all guests to consider, declaring that Luna was back on her spot of the ruling class.

Eventually, they came to a turn that led to one door-less room. But before they went inside, Celestia stopped and faced the princess and the mayor of Ponyville directly.

"Before we take our places inside, I want to say how fortunate it is that we can hold this meeting openly. I want to make sure that your every word can be heard and considered, and that your opinions will be valued. But we must be certain we're making the right decisions too. This is unprecedented in every way."

Without further adue, they were taken inside the next room.

It was made obvious that it was supposed to be a private meeting room. All that was in here was a small round table for four ponies, no more than that. Pictures and maps of Equestria outlined the simply designed walls.

In fact, it was more functional than pleasing to the eye. But that was intentional, given what the room was used for.

Next to the three taken seats were tall glasses of water and sheets of paper with pens. Those pens would be used a lot over the next few days. Along with those were a few pitchers to refill the glasses with water.

"Please, take your seats and get comfortable," Celestia said.

And Twilight and Mayor Mare did so. They took their seats opposite Celestia, and rested their flanks on the cushions. The Mayor took a large gulp of water almost immediately. Apparently she was nervous about the meeting as well.

Celestia took her place with the mares, and refilled the Mayor's glass to the top.

"As I understand it, you have called this meeting to discuss how to expand Princess Twilight's house and offices, without changing Ponyville in the meantime," she said, taking a look at her notes.

"Yes, that's correct," informed the Mayor. "We both like Ponyville as it is, but that house inside the tree won't be enough. Isn't that right, Princess Twilight?"

But Twilight found herself lost in her thoughts again. Her attention was drawn to her limbs, and all those times Sombra put his hooves in hers...

"Princess Twilight? Are you troubled again?"

"What? Oh..." She cringed, realizing she let the issue get in the way again. "I did it again, didn't I..."

"Did what?" Celestia questioned.

"There's something personal that's bothering her," the Mayor informed. "I don't know what it is, but she doesn't want to talk about it with me."

"Twilight, if there's something that's distracting you, we could stop to talk about it in private," Tia offered.

"NO!" Twilight snapped, seemingly out of nowhere. "Wait, I...I..." She kept shivering through her words, the air around her heating up. "No, I think we should continue."

"I know you want to keep to business, and I respect that, but it's obviously getting to you. We can resume at a later time."

"No, maybe tomorrow," she finally conceded. "We should at least get started on the important matter at hoof. Then I think I'll be more comfortable talking about it."

Celestia sighed. It was never a good thing whenever Twilight felt the need to hide something from her mother figure.

"As you wish. Now then, on the matter of Twilight's new house..."

Around three days worth of planning and effort happened over the course of the next ten hours. There was much discussing, planning out buildings, and Celestia knows how many sketches drawn. Turned out that Mayor Mare was an established sketch artist, given that she had a brief stint in the architecture business before she had a political career.

In that time, there was some aspects agreed upon with Ponyville's future. Twilight's house would eventually be replaced by a small castle, barely two towers in scope, and it would host all the things she would need for her current demands. It would do for the next ten years until she had more concrete plans for the rest of her rule.

In the meantime, they agreed not to increase the amount of Royal Guard by a large amount. A dozen Guards tops. Ponyville was not that big of a city, and didn't need the security of Canterlot yet.

After a bunch of feasting and dining with Celestia and the Mayor, Twilight needed a moment to herself. Allow her mind to think about nothing but Sombra. She had to, now that she would admit to Celestia that she had a coltfriend at the very least tomorrow.

But it was impossible to find that quiet spot at first.

She thought the library would be the right location. Then she found a group of nobles an open book reading club. And they had chosen the latest Daring Do book, so it turned out to be the loudest book reading club she had ever seen.

The ballroom sounded appealing too. Who would be going there at a time like this? Apparently, a group of graduating Royal Cadets, partying their flanks off...

But then she found the right the place by accident. She pushed a pair of doors open, any doors that might lead to a quiet place.

There, the moon was resting above her head. Its light reflected off the flowing waters that would feed the plants and flowers. Only four Royal Guards were there, and they stood tall and didn't make a noise. The castle walls still surrounded it, but it felt strangely disconnected from the rest of the palace.

She found herself in the middle of Celestia's gardens. And nopony was here to take over her attention span. That was just what she needed.

She made a few steps into the grassy fields, and took a deep breath of relief. There were a few critters chirping around there, but that was it in terms of noise.

The scent of flowers filled her nostrils, and it was very pleasing to smell. The Guards watched her very carefully, noting the crown meant she was that princess.

So, what did she want to think about, now that she was sitting down right next to a bushel of flowers? Where should she begin?

She had a good chance to talk to Celestia and reveal as much as she wanted to, concerning her relationship with Sombra. Or hide as much. And sadly, she found herself wanting to hide it.

Why was that so? She was afraid that Sombra would die quickly under Celestia's power, and a part of her was convinced he really did change. But this wasn't something you can just hide for very long...

Maybe she should tell Tia about him. Say everything he told her, in order to convince her that he was worth giving a second chance.

Oh, I just wish this was decided for me...I hate these kinds of dilemmas. It's just like that time Celestia gave me two tickets to the Gala and everypony wanted that second ticket...

She lowered her head to the ground and allowed the trickling water to wash over her ears. How it reminded her of the stream, the river that was beginning to mean so much to her...

What she didn't know was that somepony else watching her. Not a Guard. Waiting to see what she would do. And very pleased to know that there were only four Guards to deal with.

The moment has come at last! the invisible force declared. Everything about this scenario plays up to my need, and now is the time to strike!

The force made its move and flew down into the garden. Once it had found its target, it entered within the confines of Twilight's horn.

A strong sensation of dizziness came over her. She rubbed her temples with her front hooves, and she started to get a headache out of the blue. "Oh...what's going on?" she moaned.

She assumed it was just exhaustion at first, but the pain got worse. It was like somepony was drilling inside her head, and she cried out from the pain. It was almost unbearable, and she was forced to lie down from it.

And then it started to happen. Her horn glowed with magic, magic that she did not cast. The magical aura was black compared to her natural purple coloring.

She moaned as the pain only grew more intense. Her whole head was throbbing from whatever was causing this, and she wanted it to stop now.

A Guard came by, noticing that the princess was in pain. He walked over to her location, and bent his hooves to get down on her level.

"Your Highness, are you not feeling well?" he questioned.

"No...I don't know what's going on..." she whispered. "I think it might be a magical surge..."

That's what she would have guessed in that situation. She had these every now and then, though they weren't as severe as this one was. Her horn would show an excess in magical energy, and she just had to spend it on something to get over it.

But she knew something was up when she no longer felt the grass on her hooves. She was lifting off the ground again.

It was a surge in black magic.

Oh Celestia...not here...

Entire currents of dark magic enveloped her body as she began to hover off the ground. Her eyes gave way from their natural whites to hideous greens, and the magic emitting from her horn grew in power.

"Princess Twilight!" exclaimed the Guard. "What is going on?"

"Get AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted, her voice echoing with another voice not her own. "Run and get help! I don't know what's going on--"

A sphere of dark energy emerged quickly to the surface, overpowering her will. It shot out of her horn and came to hit the Guard straight in the chest.

The Guard flew backwards from the force of the blast. His chest plate was shattered everywhere, and it left a deep mark in his chest. He smashed into the walls of the castle with a disgusting snap.

He fell down into the bush, and there was no movement in his limbs. He stopped breathing altogether after she was finished with him.

The three other Guards turned in time to catch the victim meeting his end, and they went to see what could cause this. When they went to see how Twilight was holding up, she was crackling with dark electricity all around her. Something was wrong here, and they had to do something NOW.

"You two, take her from behind!" the captain of the unit ordered. "I'll face her myself. She's out of control!"

The pegasi Guards nodded and flew around behind the princess. The Captain, a unicorn, moved around to face Twilight Sparkle.

Yet Twilight could see what they were trying to do. She cried out in fear, knowing they were doing this to stop her.

"Please...I don't want to do this to you! Get Celestia, she knows what to do!"

Yet she faced the pegasi first with an unnatural force, and beamed her horn towards them. Her horn was pure black through the preparation, and she released an electricity spell in their direction.

The spell shot lightning at her attackers, hitting them from all angles. They screamed from the sparks as they were electrocuted from head to hoof. Their fur stood up as their faces were contorted to screaming.

When she was finished with them, they fell to the floor with no life in their bodies. They were taken care of.

"You...what are you doing?" the captain shouted. "This is not like you..."

The alicorn turned to face the Guard. Her eyes were pure green, and purple mist came out of them. The captain's eyes widened, realizing what was happening to her.

Yet that was the last thing he saw before she took care of him as well.

Her horn sent out another dark sphere spell, and this time it hit the victim's head straight on. His helmet was gone almost immediately, and his body collided with the hard bark of the only tree in the garden.

The force from the blast was so powerful, that the trunk was smashed into splinters and the tree crashed into the side of the castle.

The captain landed down on the ground, gone beyond repair. Blood trailed down his nostrils and dripped to the grass, staining it in red.

The force was finished with her, releasing its host and letting her go. Twilight slowly descended down to the floor, touching down to the floor. The magical surges had faded away, her headaches were gone, and her eyes had returned to normal.

She shook her head around, trying to get her bearings. She looked around to see what had happened while she lost control, and gasped in horror from the sight.

The whole garden was destroyed, with splinters and uprooted plants everywhere. The tree was damaged beyond repair, and who knows how much debris was everywhere.

Then she spotted the body of a Guard. His body was ashy, and sparks of electricity shot out of his armor. His eyes were shut tight. If she didn't know any better, he was...

No. It couldn't be. It couldn't be true.

She ran to his side and bent down to see him up close and personal. Her hooves shook his head around, hoping to wake him up. But he didn't move. He collapsed when she let him go. She put a hoof on his neck to hear for a heartbeat, just to make sure.

There was no heartbeat. He was dead.

"No...no, it can't be..." she whispered. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she buried her face in the Guard's neck. "I killed him..."

Time went slowly around her. Nothing else mattered anymore. She felt the weight of a thousand planets around her neck, and she was choking from the pressure. She was a criminal, a murderer...

Then she heard something that stopped her heart for a second.

"What was that?"

"I heard a noise in the gardens. It could be an intruder!"

It was the voice of another captain. He was in charge of a separate unit of Guards, one that acted as a response team in these situations. And he was coming to see what happened down there.

She heard the shuffling of hooves, running right in her direction. She looked down at the body, and realized that they would likely capture her if they found out. How could she defend herself? She knew without a doubt that she killed them. All because she allowed dark magic to overwhelm her senses...

She stepped away from the body, realizing in horror that she would likely deserve death for her actions.

What can I do? They'll find me if I hide inside the castle. And I can't hide in Canterlot to save my life. They know every room of it. Oh Celestia, please forgive me for this...

She did the only thing she could come up with. Her wings spread out, and she flew right up into the sky. Her sandals and crown came off, unable to deal with the intense speed she was flying under. One of her feathers escaped her wing, slowly descending to the ground below.

She flew away from Canterlot, wanting to go anywhere but there. She didn't know where she was going anymore, but she kept flying until the city was far away.

Miles of plains and forests passed over her wings, and she kept flying under the eyes of Luna's moon. Drifting for miles, nowhere to go. Nowhere in civilization where she would be accepted. Once Celestia knew what she had done, she would never want to see her beloved student again.

And Twilight thought she deserved it.

Eventually, her wings gave out on her. They felt heavy after so many miles of use, and they forced her to find a landing spot. She found a lake nearby, and landed just outside of its banks.

It was the first moment in a while where she could rest and think about everything. And when she did, she collapsed on all four limbs and cried her heart out.

Her cheeks were drenched in tears, and she covered her face with her front hooves. She kept crying for entire minutes, unable to stop them from gushing out of her eyes.

My future is gone! she honestly thought to herself. How am I supposed to go back to Celestia now? I can't! This is...this is the end of my studies, my rule, my time with my friends...

Her thoughts went to her five friends, the other Elements of Harmony. They would surely be devastated to hear about what she had done in Canterlot, and would likely cast her out from their group after it sunk in.

It was yet another reason to cry. And she had more than enough as it was.

She kept lying down on the grass, never ceasing to cry. The minutes blended in with each other, and she lost all bearings of time. It didn't matter anyways...

The lake watched over her, reflecting the moonlight to give the place a feeling of sanctuary. But she wasn't the only one there.

At first, she didn't know that there was another pony that had arrived. She was too lost in her own despair to what was going on around her. She never picked up the sound of hooves, coming ever closer...

Then the pony put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. She brought her head out, scared it was a Guard, or even worse, Celestia. But it wasn't.

It was Sombra.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Twilight didn't think about what she was doing, and hugged him tightly around the neck. She buried her face in his neck and kept crying. He wrapped a hoof around her shoulders and tried his best to comfort her.

"There, there. I'm here for you."

"It's horrible!" she cried. "I killed four Guards in the garden, and they'll be looking for me soon! And I...I don't know what to do..."

She felt him hugging her back, and she lost herself over to his embrace. She didn't know what else to do.

"How did you kill them?" he inquired.

"A magical surge of dark magic...I'm so sorry..."

He pulled away and forced her to look at him back in the eye. "Twilight, have you not read the book by Starswirl? Dark magic has a will of its own. It can do things you never intended for it to do."

That caused Twilight to cry harder than ever. "So...it means that I wasn't strong enough to stop it..."

"Yes. I hate that it came to this, but it's not your fault. You tried to master something that you had no control over. But it's like that with anypony that tries to learn it. Perhaps that's why the book was lost with time, because you're not the first pony to kill somepony by accident like this."

"But...it doesn't change that I killed four ponies, and nothing's going to bring them back..."

He held her close again, running a hoof along her back. "It's OK. I'm here for you..."

She clung to him at the same time, just wanting to be held and not hated for her actions. The pain and agony from the murders would never go away, but this was helping.

They spent some time holding each other, until the middle of the night had arrived. Time was drifting along, but she didn't want to acknowledge it. And that was the moment she finally pushed aside her fears and questioning, and allowed herself to trust Sombra entirely with her heart.

He pulled away from her, and noticed that the tears were gone. Her cheeks were dry too.

"I can take you away from here," he mentioned.

"What...what do you mean?"

"I built myself a castle, a place to live in while I was in exile. It looks like you need a place to stay."

"But...they'll find me eventually. I just know it..."

"This castle is far away from where they are. It's in the middle of the mountains, and they'll never come to think about looking for you in there. But you have to tell me if this is what you want."

"I have no other choice," she said, her words slurred together as she began to cry again. "Take me with you..."

"As you wish, Twilight Sparkle."

He took on his shadow form again, turning himself into a cloud of shadowy mist. He surrounded Twilight while in that form, and began to turn her own body into mist as well. Her body disappeared along with his, and he took her into the clouds.

Strangely, she enjoyed how it felt to turn into mist. It was soothing to the touch and almost like her body was made out of water.

He led her on the way to his castle, where nopony would know what they were up to. And that was what they both needed at that moment.

They eventually arrived at the steps of Sombra's castle. The mountain range was still in the middle of winter, but there was no snow to cover their tracks this time around.

He let go of his grasp on her, allowing the alicorn to take her physical shape again. He reformed his body next to her, and they turned to his home. She gawked at the towering structure in front of her.

"Well, what do you think?" he inquired.

"It's, well, it's very you," she admitted. "You built all this yourself?"

"Yes, I did. You would be surprised what you can make with a creation spell. But we need to get you inside. It's cold out here."

And so he brought her inside the castle walls, where it was well lit and patrolled by Shadow Guards. Whenever they saw the princess, they stopped in their tracks and stared at the newest member to the castle. She felt strongly uncomfortable from all the eyes watching her every move.

"They're watching you because you're the first visitor here," he explained. "They'll warm up to you soon enough."

"I hope so," she stated. "Sombra...can I say something first..."

He stopped in the middle of the hallway, leading to the bedroom. "What is it?"

"Why...why did you take me in?"

"What do you mean? Has it not been clear that I wanted to take you in to protect you from those who would harm you?"

"I understand...but why? I'm a murderer, and I'm weaker in my studies then I should be--"

She was interrupted when she felt Sombra's lips press down on hers. He was kissing her at that moment, and held her tightly in his grasp.

At first, she was prepared to pull away from his clutches. But the longer the kiss lasted, the more she grew to long for it. She kissed him back, allowing this to wash over her, and let her fears and doubts of him go at the same time.

She was in love with Sombra. And she wanted to be.

They shared that kiss for minutes, neither one wanting it to end. He patted through her mane with his hoof, and she kept her hooves tied around his waist.

After some time, he finally pulled back from the kiss.

"I don't care what you have done. I still love you, Twilight."

"I think I love you too, Sombra," she finally confessed. "Please...don't let me go..."

"I won't."

She responded by giving him another kiss on the lips.

"But you must still be tired after all of that," he mentioned. "It's midnight."

"It is? Last time I checked, it was just after dusk."

"I tell you, it's midnight. Come, I'll lead you to your chambers for tonight."

He led her through the rest of the hallway, where there was a lower amount of guards present. Eventually, it led to a door that was bigger than the rest. He opened it with his magic and led her inside.

The room was enormous, two stories high at the very least. The room was draped in the color red, making it more pleasing than the pitch black shades of the other rooms. Red carpet covered the ground, and it built up to the bed itself.

It was a canopy bed, where the sheets hovering over it were pure white. The blanket was made out of silk, giving it an exotic feel. And the bed was big enough to seat at least three ponies.

"This is where I normally sleep, if you haven't figured it out," he stated. "But given all that's happened tonight, I'm giving it to you for now."

"Wow...you did all of this for me..."

She found herself crying again, confusing Sombra. He came by and nuzzled her neck.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just that...you've been so nice to me...and this means so much, that you're willing to do all of that to make me feel comfortable..."

"It's no problem. I'll see you in the morning."

He turned to go out of the room, leaving the room all to Twilight.

"Wait!" she shouted.

"What is it, Twilight?"

"Could...could you sleep with me in bed tonight?"

He smiled. "I never thought you would ask."

Twilight climbed into bed first, and Sombra followed her in. She made sure she was placed right next to him as they went under the sheets.

As soon as the blanket was pulled over them, she clung her body around his. Her hooves were all around his chest, and their bellies were practically touching.

"Are...are you comfortable with this?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I just never figured you as the snuggling type."

"I'm not, but I really need you with me right now. Does that make sense?"

"It does...and I promise that you'll never have to be scared of me. I want you to be able to trust me around yourself."

He kissed her on the lips for one last time that night. She didn't shy away, a sign that they were making great progress.

"I do...but you're right. I need to get some sleep..."

She dozed off to sleep, all while holding Sombra tightly in her grasp.

He didn't try to push her off when she was asleep. Instead, he gave her a kiss on the top of her head. He smiled to himself, satisfied to have Twilight sleeping with him in bed that night. It was a sweet moment, and he would come to cherish it in his heart.

Ah, yes. Everything was going according to plan...

Author's Note

Well...this is the dark heart of the story. I hope you still like it...

Dying Light

It was a pleasant surprise for Celestia to see how Twilight handled her first big job. Truth be told, the princess of the sun wasn't sure how Twilight would perform in that meeting, not working as teacher and student like before, but as equals.

And Celestia discovered that her protege was more than willing to meet the challenge. She was calm, collected, very professional, and had some thoughtful ideas in how to tackle the issues in front of her.

Obviously, Celestia made the right decision with her.

However, there was one personal matter that wouldn't leave her head. The way the meeting had started left her puzzled throughout the day, up to the moment she was having dinner in the private dining hall.

Her own dining hall wasn't all that big; she didn't see the need all the room in such a place. It still had a good sized table to boot, and it was yet another thing that carried her cutie mark as an emblem. The curtains over the windows were long and covered with white silk, and a chandelier lit the room in a gaudy yellow haze.

She didn't dine alone that evening. The Mayor of Ponyville went with her to eat in the hall, and they enjoyed a crisp salad together, made with the freshest plants from the gardens.

"Are you sure that a two tower castle won't be too much for you?" Celestia asked her. "I know it will house Twilight of all ponies, but it will be the largest structure your town has ever hosted. It's bound to be a landmark in no time."

"I considered that into the design," the Mayor responded. "But you have to admit that everything changes with a princess living in town. Especially an alicorn of all ponies. Things were going to change no matter what."

"But you still think it can be the same town as before, even with these plans."

"Of course. Her castle won't be as big as yours, and you know that."

They continued on with their dinner, talking about this and that. It wasn't often that Celestia could just let herself go as she was with the Mayor, and it always proved to be a nice change of pace whenever she could.

After a while, they heard somepony running outside the dining hall, exasperated and groaning under her breath. Celestia would recognize that voice anywhere, even when she was running around everywhere.

"What is Twilight doing here?" she asked the nearby Guard, the one watching over the hall.

"I don't know for certain, Your Majesty. She's complaining that she needs 'a quiet place'," he explained.

"Maybe she just needs some time alone, like we're doing," Mayor Mare offered.

"Haven't you noticed something's wrong with her, even now?" questioned Celestia.

"I have. She hasn't been herself since we left. But if she says it's personal, I'm not going any further."

"I can't help but wonder what is going on, even with that. You might not know this, but she has always been open to me about everything. She came to me every time her brother was out in battle, asking if I knew if he was still alive. She even asked me if her doll was a living, breathing pony. And now she's shut herself off from me. That is why I don't understand why she's hiding this from me."

"That's strange, but she has to be under some kind of stress. This is the biggest role that she's ever had to do as a princess. Weren't you the same way when your parents gave you the title for the first time?"

"Even then, I was open about my feelings and dilemmas to them. I didn't shut myself off from them and said we should talk about it later. And I don't like how she feels as if she needs to hide it from me."

"She did say she would talk about it tomorrow. That's got to count for something."

"You're right. Maybe I'm just worried about how she sees me now."

They went and finished their dinner later that night, and Luna went to raise the moon over Celestia's sun. The Mayor would find out where her bedroom for the night was, and Celestia would go off to her study foyer to handle some last minute paperwork.

The study foyer acted as her own little quiet place. It had its own fireplace and a cushion seat to rest in. There were a few pictures on the shelves, one full of memories throughout the last fifty years when camera came into existence. One picture stood out to her in particular.

It was taken when Twilight had just reached teenagehood. She smiled nervously at the camera next to Celestia, while they stood at the top of the watchtower. The shot was angled so that all of Canterlot was visible behind them.

Even then, she knew that this latest protege was something special.

She came down to her seat and took out the first of many letters she would have to look over. All from nobles, some from members of the griffin kingdom, and even a few from dragons only she was in touch with. Some things would never change.

Before she could read the first letter, she heard a loud knock on the door.

"Princess Celestia! Open this door right now! It's an emergency!" the pony shouted.

She opened it to find a Royal Guard Captain waiting for her, panicked and ready to run.

"What is it, General Silver Star?"

"We heard a commotion coming from the gardens. We think it might be an intruder."

"Then I'm coming with you to find out."

She ran with Silver Star down the halls that led to the castle's gardens. She looked out the window to see if she could get a glimpse of what was going on outside.

At that moment, she caught something in the corner of her eyes. She saw it for only a second, but it left a lasting impression. The figure was almost silhoutted under the moonlight, but she could see that the figure had wings spread out, trying to get out of there as fast as it could. But what stood out the most was that the pony had a horn as well, and judging from the outlines, she was purple as well. Could it have been her flying for her life....

It couldn't have been anypony else, given that the changelings and their queen, Chrysalis, had been imprisoned for months. This was no imposter.

But as soon as Celestia saw the pony, she disappeared in mid flight.

They arrived at the entrance to the gardens. At least three units of Guards were waiting there, each stallion approaching the door very cautiously.

"On the count of three, you will open those doors and attack any invader that dares to step foot in Celestia's castle. One...two...three!"

They charged into the gardens with their voices raised high. But when they saw what what happened around them, they stopped dead in their tracks. And when Celestia saw it for herself, a wave of shock hit her in the face.

The gardens were ruined. The sole tree in there was smashed in the trunk, and had crashed into the side of the castle. All the plants were uprooted and scattered, and four Royal Guards were lying all around the area.

It looked as if somepony had ransacked the field, but nothing about it made sense at all. Nopony was here that they could put the blame on. In fact, the response team and the princess were the only ponies present.

"Check the Guards," Celestia commanded. "Make sure if they're alive or dead."

The Guards did as they were told, and went over to examine the bodies.

Meanwhile, Celestia stood and observed the devastation that was all around her. She couldn't step anywhere without encountering some kind of damage. One would hear the birds chirping whenever they came into her gardens. But there was only silence. She assumed they might have died in the blast, or whatever caused this to happen.

She couldn't fathom what was the cause of all this. She wasn't the best detective in all of Equestria, but it was unusual that somepony made this kind of commotion, and then just leave without doing anything else. Maybe they did intend to attack her later, but discovered it was a lost cause whenever they realized that they just attacked four Guards in the most unsubtle way possible.

General Silver Star came back for a report. He held the helmet to one of the fallen in his right front hoof. His throat was stuffed up, and he had to work past the tears that tried to form.

"All four Guards are deceased, Your Majesty. We can assume from two of the bodies that magic was used to kill them. That's all we know."

"Send a letter to Shining Armor at once," Celestia instructed. "Tell him everything you know. I think he'll want to be here for the investigations."

Silver Star nodded, and went on his way to send the letter.

Celestia went down to see two of the slain Guards, the ones that were electrocuted to death. Some of the stallions were still examining their bodies, trying to find any clue they could catch. One of their necks was wet, but they only assumed it was from the water around here.

She couldn't help but mourn silently for their loss. Even though every Royal Guard knew that their lives could end in that manner, it didn't soften the blow whenever there was a Guard down. She knew she would have to send letters to four families in the morning, and she was prepared to do anything to help them get through this difficult time in their lives.

But something caught her attention in the corner of the gardens. It stood out to her, almost calling to tell her what it was. She walked over to get a better image of it.

The moment she realized what it was, she let out a rare gasp from her lips. She didn't want to believe it was what she suspected....

She hovered the item over to her face, and realized that it was a purple feather. And not just any old purple feather, but the same shade of purple that Twilight would have on her wings.

She kept gazing at it, trying to convince herself that perhaps it was left by a pony with the same coat color, but she knew she was lying to herself. Maybe she just didn't want to believe that her beloved student could do such a thing. But it only got worse for her case.

A Guard arrived at the scene, levitating pieces of clothing with his magic. "Princess Celestia, we found these all around the gardens."

They were the same golden sandals that Twilight would wear. He even carried the same crown that Twilight received when she was promoted.

Celestia couldn't bear to see that set of jewelry. All it did was confirm that Twilight was the one responsible. She immediately realized it was her student that was the one flying for her life. It just couldn't be true...

"Take those away from me," she demanded. "Put them away with the rest of the evidence."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He took those away from her sight.

She didn't know what to believe when it came to what she was witnessing. There was so much evidence pointing to the theory that this was all Twilight's doing. There wasn't that many alicorns flying around here, and the items she found only fueled the idea that she really did murder those poor Guards.

But there had to be more to this than meets the eye. She couldn't figure out why Twilight would do that. And then the idea got into her head that it might have had something to do with the matter that was troubling her student.

It made sense at this point. Twilight was so open to her about anything and everypony, but she would close herself off from Celestia whenever that topic was brought up.

Celestia decided that she had to find out what this topic really was. It was the only lead that she could come up with.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, this was indeed the work of Princess Twilight Sparkle," she stated to the guards. "But I do not think it was entirely her doing either. I want search parties looking all around Equestria for her, day and night. If you find her location, do not try to capture her, but explain that we want to know what happened tonight. Any attempts to attack her first or to present themselves as a threat will be handled with swift punishment. We will begin searching for Princess Twilight tomorrow."

The Guards saluted her, and continued searching the gardens for anything else they could find.

Celestia sighed quietly to herself. She was not looking forward to discovering what state she wound find her beloved student in. It would be best to find out that she didn't really do it at all, but was just merely framed for it. Or, at least that's what Tia was secretly wishing for.

Shining Armor would be here by tomorrow morning, that much she knew. He would drop everything the minute he realized that the murders involved his close sister. Before the end of the next day, she would have to send out a letter to Spike as well. But she wanted him to sleep in peace before his world came crashing down around his eyes...

Author's Note

Another chapter I wrote and edited in a day. I feel like a one man production factory when it comes to stories sometimes.

Yeah, in some ways it's filler, but given that Celestia does play a bigger role in the story towards the end, I think it's only right that we see the last chapter's events through her eyes.

Deeper Into the Shadows

The following night was one of the best nights of sleep Sombra had in years. It was a deep and relieving sleep, and it left him well rested for the day. He didn't have that luxury for centuries, as he was in a position that forced him to stay on his hooves every single moment of his life, but here he could be at ease with himself as he pleased.

After all, Twilight was finally here with him. And he was looking forward to doing lots of things with her.

But when he opened his eyes and saw what was going on, he noticed that Twilight was with him in bed, burying her face in his chest. He discovered that his chest fur was wet from all of her tears, and she muttered something while her snout was deep in his fur.

"Twilight, what's the matter?" he asked her.

She didn't react immediately, and she allowed the tears to keep pouring out of her. Her body was shaking from the agony of her situation, and she was a mere shell of her confident, self assured self.

"There, there. I'm here for you," he said, wrapping his hooves around her backside. "Let it all out."

"I...I'm never going to see my friends again, aren't I?" she cried out. "Not like this. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, I already miss them all. And how are they going to accept me when..."

He comforted her with a tight hug, soothing her spirits back to normal. He allowed her to keep her head on his chest for some time. She didn't say anything for a while.

"I'll be here for you, even when your friends and family abandon you," he whispered in her ear. "You know I'm not going to let anything in your past get in the way. And you can stay here inside the castle as long as you like. Does that help?"

She slowly nodded, unable to get any words out. Every time she tried to speak, her voice stuffed up and she could never get past the tears. But it didn't matter, when actions spoke louder than words.

They spent a few minutes in the early morning like that, wrapped up in the other's grasp. He would take a moment every now and then to nuzzle her mane around her horn, and she giggled from the move. His snout was ticklish around her horn, yet it turned out to be exactly what she wanted. Somepony to comfort her at that moment.

"What's going to happen to me now?" she breathed.

"Ah, I forgot. This must all be new to you. Have you ever had to be in exile before?"

"Once. But that was different. I was in exile because I lost a magic duel with another unicorn named Trixie, and I wasn't on the run because nopony had any reason to chase me. And I found a way to come back to Ponyville. But that was before I was a princess..."

"So you've never been in a situation like this either. But I think I might have a few things we could do later today. But you must realize that it must all be done inside the castle grounds. We can't risk letting Celestia or any of her guards know you're here."

"I...I understand. I thought that was going to happen anyways."

"Now, then. You lost control of dark magic because you had no control over it, right?"

"Right..." Her voice was low pitched, forced to remember the outcome of last night.

"The problem was, you don't know how to control it. It took over your body for a few minutes. But I know how to master it. And if you are willing, I can show you everything I know about dark magic, so it never happens again. Would you like that?"

Twilight sat up in her bed next to Sombra. Her hooves toyed with the blankets while she was deep in thought.

Am I sure that I want this? There's no going back after I say yes. I'll be deep into dark magic, and he'll be my new teacher.

Then again, what else is there to do if I say no...wait for Celestia to find me?

"I want to learn about dark magic.. Could you teach me everything you know?"

He smiled, and lifted up in his place to hold her again. He kissed her while he held her tightly, and she kissed him back in relief.

"Of course I will. But we should probably get ready for the day first."

They shared a quiet breakfast together, enjoying surprisingly good omelettes and homemade coffee from Ponyville. She didn't know how he came up with the food on her plate, just applying it to the fact that he had a creation spell that knew very few limits. After all, it created the very castle she resided in.

The room that served as Sombra's own dining hall was just as extravagant and lavish as any place Twilight had ever seen. The typical black stone walls gave way to walls that were entirely constructed out of dark crystal. It shimmered the reflections of the two ponies inside, and the room itself was expansive for a whole half mile.

Paintings of various historical moments before Celestia's rule hung on the walls, featuring the likes of Commander Hurricane and Princess Platinum.

However, even in a place as beautiful as this, Twilight didn't say much of anything during the meal. She wouldn't get over all that she had been through in one day, and that was what happened there.

After it was over, he moved out of his seat and came to Twilight's side of the table.

"If you are finished with your meal, we're ready to start today's lessons."

"Yeah, I'm done anyways. So where are we going for this?"

"It's a place that would act as a training ground for any other castle. You never know when you will need it in the future."

So they left the dining room together, and Sombra led her through the way to the training grounds. She went through countless hallways and twists on the way there. It took longer than she anticipated, and at times she felt like a mouse in a maze.

Meanwhile, she noticed that the Shadow Guards were acting much differently this time around. They kept their stoic look on their faces, even when the strange and unusual guest passed right by then.

"See? I told you they would adjust to having a new pony around here in no time," Sombra commented. "Now then. Here we are.."

She was brought to another expansive room of the castle, but it was much different in tone. The walls were almost entirely grey in this place, and it felt very industrial to her in design.

What stood out the most was the presence of a target range, not unlike the one she built in Ponyville herself. There were two dozen haystacks, but the targets were cardboard cutouts of generic pony designs, all white and all unicorns. A few Shadow Guards stood by the range, waiting nearby with replacement targets in their possession.

Sombra came forward to the middle of the room, and lowered himself down into battle position.

"This is what it will look like when you master this particular. Watch closely at how many I can take down."

His red horn beamed with his own magic, pure black in its aura. The magic emitting from him was so strong, it caused the ground underneath Twilight's hooves to quiver.

The magic aura grew in size, until it was one third of Sombra's size around his horn. He took a deep breath and pointed his horn at the targets. When he released the spell, it shot out countless electrical bolts, black in coloring, at the cardboard ponies.

Within a few seconds, all 24 ponies were demolished in their place. Pieces of cardboard littered the floor, some even landing right before the couple. Twilight jumped back in surprise, certain that one piece would smack her in the face if she stayed in one place for too long.

He exhaled and wiped his brow clean when it was over. "And that is the full potential of this craft."

Without having to be told, the Shadow Guards went to work on replacing the targets. Some swept up all the cardboard with their horns, while others placed fresh new targets to work with into the haystacks.

In no time at all, there were 24 targets again, and the range was clean of any debris.

"Now let's see what you can do on your own, Twilight. You might have taken out that tree in the park, but this is dealing with numbers now. You will find yourself in situations where you must deal with a number as large as this, or face certain death."

A shiver went down her spine when she was put on the spot. There was no way she was going to top what he just did. Then again, it was her first day under Sombra's wing...

She stepped up to the plate, ready to show what she was made of. Sombra took a few steps back, since this was a highly unpredictable field they were working with.

Remember, it's just your first day, she thought. You don't need to get every one of them right now.

Her horn beamed bright with the same dark magic he used. She concentrated on all 24 targets at once, lined up in a row for her to get. She would have to use the same spell he used to get them.

All of her efforts went into preparing it, and the aura grew in size with the concentration. She had done 12 targets before, even if it was by accident, and she could do it again.

While she thought about it, a number of thoughts tried to invade her mind. Scaring Spike whenever she lost control the first time she let herself go, killing four ponies the second time...

It proved to be too much. She could barely concentrate on anything but her failures. Drops of sweat traveled down her face, and the magic aura was failing to grow to the heights Sombra had reached.

When she finally did release the spell, it was the weakest one in dark magic she had ever done. Only a few lightning strikes went out to the targets. and they barely hit any of them at all.

After the smoke cleared and Twilight saw the fruit of her work, only three targets were destroyed. The others didn't even have a scratch on them.

And yet the spell took a lot out of her. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, and her limbs were shaking from the energy that was lost in the process. She turned to see Sombra and hoped for his approval, even though she knew she didn't deserve it with that performance.

"Is something getting in the way when you prepare the spell?" he inquired. "While all magical fields do have a mental element to them, dark magic is especially so. And given what's happened to you in the last 24 hours, I would not be surprised."

She nodded in shame. ".I keep thinking about everything I've done with dark magic up til now. I'm not sure what to do about it."

"In that case, it's a simple answer. Do you recall in Starswirl the Bearded's book that dark magic carries a mind of its own?"

"I remember. Does that have something to do with my setbacks?"

"Correct. Dark magic carries a mind of its own, one that cannot be tamed. Do you want to know the secret to mastering that aspect?"

"More than anything. I don't want to end up killing more innocent ponies, all because I can't get a grip on it."

"Then I will tell you. The secret is rather simple, and you'll learn it in no time. The secret to mastering dark magic is to not fight its influence. Allow it to flow through you, control your magic entirely."

"But that's how I lost it! It took over my horn and did things on its own!"

"That's because you were most likely fighting it. Isn't that what you tried to do?"

"Maybe..."

"Then that's the problem. See what happens when you don't fight it, but go with its power."

He took a few more steps to the back, widening the distance between them to.

Twilight turned around to face the same targets. The Shadow Guards had already replaced the three destroyed cutouts, so she could go whenever she wanted. She was going to do it for real this time.

She posed again in battle position, and got her horn to emit dark magic as before. The aura grew and grew, all while the air flew around her like a hurricane.

Sombra observed that Twilight seemed to be more concentrated, and decided to emit a spell of his own. The spell was invisible to the naked eye, and it went inside her ears to enter her brain. He was pleased to see inside her head nothing but concentration to the spell she was working on. Every other thought was cast aside before it could distract her.

So you are willing after all. It's time you get to see what I see.

Then he cast another spell at Twilight. It landed on her horn and caused the aura to grow to a third of her size like it did for him.

To her, it seemed like dark magic was finally working in her favor. She almost let out tears of joy to see that she was making it work like she wanted.

"Release the spell!" he commanded.

She did as she was told and let go, and it felt like a tidal wave escaped from her body. She heard the breaking of cardboard in front of her, and the purple trails coming out of her eyes were stronger than ever before.

Much to her surprise, she didn't feel spent when it was over. And she knew that the second attempt far exceeded the first in power. She took a look at the results, and she was stunned out of her mind.

Very much like Sombra's demonstration, she had managed to destroy every single target in her wake. Debris was sent everywhere, and not one of the pony cutouts survived her attack.

She held a hoof to her mouth, astonished by the results of the new technique. She couldn't believe that something like this came from her. Behind herself, she heard Sombra stomp the floor in applause.

"Impressive, very impressive," he spoke. "You learn faster than any pony I've seen. Let's see you try it again, to make sure you've mastered this for good."

After a few minutes of setup, the range was restocked and it was Twilight's turn to go.

"All right. I'm sure I can do this again," she said.

"I know you can. But practice never hurt anypony."

"That's right. That way, I can stay loose with this."

Twilight went and focused everything she had into her third electrical attack, allowing the aura on her horn to gain in size. She wanted to prove to Sombra that the first success wasn't a fluke, and there would be nothing better than to see her caretaker happy with her work.

All the while, Sombra focused his own magic on going in as deep as he could within her brain. A little seed inserted here, a thought implanted there. That's all he needed to do at this point. He could detect from within that she was willing to work with him at this point.

And so he got out in time, only to witness another 24 targets destroyed by Twilight's spell.

All the pieces were exactly where they needed to be for him.

After it was over, he walked over to her side. She was finally exhausted from the work, and instinctively leaned on his shoulder. She kept breathing in and out, in and out. He felt her body drenched in sweat from the practicing.

"That's enough for now. You were one of the fastest learners I've ever seen," he complimented.

"That...that was amazing. Like I had to do nothing at all to be good at this."

"That's one way to put it. But there's still much to learn. Dark magic carries more than one spell, but I believe you've already mastered one of them."

"Really? You think so?"

"You hit as many targets in one round as I do. And dark magic is almost everything I know. That says a lot about your skills."

She leaned even heavier on his shoulder as she managed to catch up with her breath. Sweat still managed to pour down her face, though.

"Twilight, can I ask you something?"

"OK. I'm listening."

"Are you sure this is what you want for yourself? You're living with me in the middle of exile now, away from everypony you know and love."

"What choice do I have? They'll never bring me back into their fold again, not after all I've done."

"I know that. But let's just say you never killed anypony, and you're allowed to roam around Equestria as much as you would like. Free will and all of that. Would you still want to be with me?"

She stopped in the middle of the conversation and gave herself time to think it over. Turned out she didn't need much time at all.

"I still would. You've demonstrated that you're willing to change. I just wish I didn't have to pick one over the other. It's a horrible feeling to go through. But I like being with you. I really do."

"That's what I needed to know."

He would have kept spending time with Twilight, but then the scent of perspiration overwhelmed his nostrils.

"I'm sorry if I offend you, but after all that, you need to take a shower."

She brought a hoof to her nose and smelled herself. "Wow, I didn't realize how hard I was working. But you actually have a shower I could use?"

"Sure. I might not have caught up with the times as you have, but I know what a shower is."

Hot water pressed Twilight's mane down to her face. Steam rose up from her body, and all the sweat accumulated from the range washed away from the stream.

Minutes melted away as the boiling water soothed away the tension in her muscles. She didn't know how long she wanted to be here for, but that didn't matter. This bathroom was all hers for the taking.

She recognized this as the first solitary moment she had since she had arrived in Sombra's castle. The first moment she could spend with her thoughts alone.

And yet she found herself wishing Sombra was there, encouraging her with his wisdom, holding her tightly and saying he was never going to let her go.

But even then she knew that was not normal for her. She always enjoyed these moments in the past where she could just think quietly to herself without somepony chiming in. So why was she acting like this now?

She brought out the soap and scrubbed it all over her belly and backside. It took away the dirt from the gardens she still carried in her coat, even taking care of trace amounts of blood left behind by a certain Guard.

The soap got rid of it all, and she was grateful for that. It was almost like washing away a memory...

After she was finished with the shampoo and washed her mane clean as well, she climbed out of the tub and shook the water off like a dog. She levitated a towel over to her side and took care of any leftover water.

The cloud of steam eventually escaped the bathroom, and she noticed that there was a mirror in there. She wanted to make sure she was presentable for Sombra before she went out again, so she went over to look at it.

When she looked at her reflection, she saw a purple alicorn staring back at her with the strangest eyes. Where the whites would be, greens took their places. It wasn't an effect of magic; she wasn't using her horn at all and knew it. The greens were permanent parts of her eyes now.

She blinked a few times to make sure she was really seeing this. And when she realized that it wasn't her imagination, she jumped back in surprise.

Are those...those are really my eyes...

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her face pressed closer to the other pony's reflection, and realized it was for real.

Why is this happening to me? How is it even possible that I have green eyes...

Wait. Sombra has green eyes and purple mist coming out of them. And he uses dark magic all the time...

She paused for a moment, and realized the reason behind this change. It only served to weird her out.

Does this mean...does this mean I'll have purple mist coming out of my eyes if I keep doing this? I...I need to keep an eye on this, make sure this is all it does to me. If it gets any worse, Sombra will know what to do. I hope he's not freaked out when he sees me like this...

Discovery

When the following day had arrived and the sun was up, the atmosphere at the castle of Canterlot was considerably different. Having business that would impact all of Equestria was routine within the castle grounds, but not like this.

The gardens were completely closed off from all stallions and mares that did not bear a crown or the armor of the Royal Guard. The entrances were heavily guarded, and any unusual activity would be swiftly dealt with.

Inside the gardens, it really did turn into a crime scene overnight. Every little spot was examined, now that it was light again, and the Guards went out of their way to make sure that not one clue was left behind. Uprooting all the plants to find something would be worth it to them. They had other things to worry about other than the impression it would leave to visitors.

In the meantime, there was one pony in the study foyer, dealing with some grave and urgent business of her own. Only one Guard was there with her, given that she wasn't the focus of the investigation.

It was her least favorite part of the job, but her personal feelings didn't matter in these cases. What needed to be done would be done.

Her pencil furiously wrote around on the piece of paper, making sure every word showed the magnitude of the meaning behind it.

To the mother and father of Eagle Eyes,

I regret to inform you that your son is no longer with us. He was murdered while on night patrol in my castle, and the killer managed to escape before we could find her. We promise to do everything we can to right this wrong.

But I realize that capturing the one who did this will not be enough to console your loss completely. Your son was an honorable member of the Royal Guard, and one that many stallions in his unit looked up to. He will leave behind a legacy of courage and bravery, and we know enough to know that he died fighting as he always had.

If you need anything else to help you through this difficult time, I will be willing to assist you. Reply to this letter and I will offer my services shortly.

With my thoughts and prayers,
Princess Celestia.

She put the pencil down on the side. The sheet of paper was rolled up neatly, and she put her personal seal in the middle to keep it in place. The letter was placed next to three others ones bearing her seal.

"Silver Star, send these letter to the parents of the dead throughout today," she ordered. "They have a right to know what happened. And if they start to cry, don't be afraid to stay there for a moment to help them out. This will be one of the hardest moments of their lives."

Silver Star brought the letters in his possession, and went out to deliver them in person. It would be a somber day for everypony that morning.

After he was gone, Celestia brought another sheet of paper to her desk. But this one letter was going to be much more painful to write. The receiver wasn't going to handle this well, but it was one of the most understandable reactions one could ever have to news like this.

To my dear friend Spike,

I wish that I never would have to send this letter to you. It is as painful to me as it will be to you, but there's no denying what has happened in the past few days.

Twilight Sparkle will not be returning Friday night as planned, since we believe that she has killed four Guards at my castle. I cannot fathom why she would do it even now. But I know it was her. The reasons for this I will have to tell you in person, since my entire life in the last twelve hours has been spent on the following investigation, and I can't waste a single minute.

If you wish to come to Canterlot for yourself to learn more, you are free to do so. I might come to Ponyville myself to see if I can find anything of note there.

We will find her. I know there's more to this than we know.

Signed,
Princess Celestia

After folding and sealing the letter for delivery, she cast the letter away through a spell. The paper turned into a small green wisk, and it escaped out the window to fly over to Ponyville, where it would emerge in the stomach of a dragon.

She already knew Spike would be here before the day was over. That was the way he was like whenever Twilight was in trouble. And there was nothing wrong with that.

A pony knocked on the door, obviously that of another stallion on the case.

"Come in."

"Shining Armor, the leading Captain of the Royal Guard, has arrived in Canterlot," the Guard said from outside the room. "He requests permission to meet you as soon as possible."

"Very well. Say that I'll join him in the throne room."

Truth be told, she was very worried to see how Shining Armor would take this. It wasn't the first time that he lost some of his men in battle, but this was far more personal in nature. So she waited for him to arrive while resting her flank on the throne.

The double doors in the front opened up with the push of a few stallions. When they were opened all the way, a while stallion with a blue mane emerged. His eyes had bags underneath. Apparently Celestia wasn't the only one who didn't sleep that night.

She rose up from her seat and met him halfway. She tried to comfort him with a hug around the neck, and he did the same with her.

"I know, I know," Celestia stated. "It's been hard on me too."

"I can't believe it," he responded. "There's no way it can be her. She wouldn't hurt anypony."

Much to her surprise, he pushed her back and stomped his hoof on the ground in anger.

"How do you even have the courage to say to me, and the rest of my Guards, that she killed those four stallions? You better have a good explanation for this."

Celestia sighed. "I know it will be tough to listen to what I have to say, but give me a few minutes to explain myself.

"First of all, we found her slippers and crown at the scene. They were spread out everywhere around the area. In addition, she left behind a purple feather while she was flying away."

"How do you know she flew away?"

"Because I saw her flying when I looked out a window before I arrived. I didn't get the best glimpse, but I saw enough to know it was her. The pony had a purple coat, wings, and a horn shaped just like that of an alicorn."

"But it could have been an imposter or a changeling! You're saying that not only did she kill them, but she ran away. Does that sound like Twilight to you?"

"You might have not been there when it happened, but in the days after your wedding and before the Crystal Empire was restored, Chrysalis came back and nearly took Ponyville for herself. Twilight and her friends defeated Chrysalis and her changelings, and they're all locked up inside a specially made prison for them as we speak.* I would know if any of them had escaped."

"But...but...."

He couldn't find the right words to say. There was nothing he could say that would defend Twilight's honor.

He lowered his head and didn't show any sort of emotion on his face. But his actions said everything that needed to be said.

"Shining Armor, I know there's more to this than--"

"Show me the bodies of the Guards."

"But I can tell you that we know--"

"I want to see the bodies for myself."

"As you wish."

The princess of the sun came and led Shining Armor through the twists and turns of the castle. All the while, she silently observed his actions to get a better idea of how he was handling this.

He was certainly holding it in. There wasn't any tears yet, but she was almost frightened by everything else he was doing. His eyes were narrowed, his hoof steps were practically stomps, and he wasn't wasting a minute to see this for himself.

Eventually, they were brought into a room that was practically a chapel. For what, an outsider wouldn't know. But with the way it was being used lately, it appeared to be something akin to a funeral place.

There were rows upon rows of benches, where ponies could observe what was taking place in front. In the front of the room was a podium for the speaker, but it was what was under the podium that brought Shining's attention to it.

Four coffins were placed side by side, all with the lids shut tight. Flags carrying the banner of Equestria covered the lids to honor their position.

Shining stopped abruptly when he saw his fallen brothers in their final resting place. He greeted them with a salute, and came up to examine one of the coffins.

There, he levitated the covering flag off and placed it on the front bench. The lid creaked as he lifted it up with his magic. And that's when he saw the Guard with his own eyes.

The stallion was laid down on his back with his eyes closed. His fur was charred with electrical burns, and it would never go away in time before the body rotted away. The burns were in too deep. His front hooves were crossed over his chest, but there was a strong sensation that he didn't die in peace even now. One could just feel it without knowing about the murders.

Shining kept quiet and examined every detail of the body for himself. His front hooves started to shake in place, and he rested his head on the side of the coffin.

Celestia felt obligated to do anything she could to help him. And so she came to Shining Armor's side and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

"I know there's more to this than we know," she said. "We will get to the bottom of this and stop it--"

Shining snapped his head off the coffin and gave Celestia one of the fiercest glares she had ever seen from him.

"And what. Prove that Twilight is innocent, when even you know she did it? How am I supposed to defend her honor, when I have four of my men dead by her hooves? How, Celestia?"

When he was finished, his eyes watered up almost instantly. He wiped the tears away, but another round took their place. In no time at all, his eyes were bloodshot as he couldn't hide his feelings anymore.

Celestia extended her wing and brought it over his back, drawing him close for a hug. She stood there to support him as everything came out within him.

"I don't want to lose her," he cried. "She's the best sister I could ever have. But I don't want to lose any more guards trying to save her..."

"I understand," she whispered. "Neither do I. I'm not sure how this is going to end. I have never dealt with a situation like this in my lifetime, but I have to be optimistic that she will come out of this safe and sound. For her own sake, and yours."

The tears were slowing down, but Shining was still a shell of himself. He hugged her tightly, just hoping that this would help him get through this.

"I know she's smart," he mentioned. "But promise me that if you find her, you won't kill her. Can you promise me that?"

"That was what I planned to do in the first place," she responded. "But where is your wife? She needs to be here for all of this."

"She had to stay behind to look after the Empire. But she's heartbroken about it too. I had to stay strong for her, I had to. That's why I've been holding it all in."

"I see. I think you might want to look out for them as well," motioning behind herself.

Shining turned around in his spot, and saw that his parents were standing at the back rows of the chapel. His mother had a tissue on her eyes, and the father had a grave look to himself.

As soon as he realized they were both here, he ran right to them. He wrapped his front legs around both of them, and they did the same with him..

"Please tell me she didn't do it," the mother pleaded. "Please..."

"You're the Captain of the Guard. Surely Celestia told you that she's innocent, right?" the father demanded to hear.

In one of the hardest things he ever had to do, Shining shook his head. "We think we have proof that she did it."

The mother gasped, and held tight to her husband. "No...not Twilight!" she cried. "Twilight, my dear filly..."

The father wasn't holding up much better, and he clung to her wife as well. "She couldn't have done it. There has to be some way to prove she didn't do it. My daughter is not a murderer..."

Celestia watched them from a distance, not sure what she could do in a situation like this. Shining was already explaining to them that there was always a chance it might have been an accident, or that there was more to this.

Poor Cadence, she thought. She must not be handling this well like they are. That's why I have to find Twilight. I need to fix this as soon as I can.

Before she could do anything else, another Guard arrived at the chapel. He came to see Celestia with a message.

"Your Majesty, Spike is waiting for you in the courtyard. He says he's here because of your letter. What should I say to him?"

"Tell him to stay put. I'll meet him there."

The courtyard had almost as much security in terms of bodycount as it did in the days leading up to the Royal Wedding. Every platform had a Guard watching over it, pegasi and unicorn alike. There would be no way for anypony to get by here and not be noticed.

Celestia arrived at the courtyard a few minutes later, and she found a familiar chariot waiting for her near the front of the area. The same chariot that she had given Twilight for traveling wherever she wanted. And she secretly wished that it was Twilight that was waiting for her in that vehicle.

But it was not. When the door opened, a baby dragon came out in her place. And he seemed just as miserable as Shining Armor was.

When Spike saw that Celestia had arrived, he ran right to her with the letter in his hand. The same letter she sent earlier in the day.

"Is it true?" he said, pointing at the letter. He was a few steps removed from breaking down himself. "Is it true that she--"

"Yes. I'm sorry that you had to find out this way. But there was no reason to hold the truth back from you. You had every right to know."

Spike blinked. And blinked again. Every blink brought out another few tears from his eyes.

"Does this mean...I'll never see her again?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But at this time, I have been able to conclude that she has run away from Canterlot for her life."

Spike's jaw dropped. He always had a deep fear that Twilight would leave him, and Sombra used it to his advantage in the Crystal Empire. But to leave him behind for this reason...

He sat down on the ground, and held his face in his hands. It was like the world around him had perished before his eyes.

The next thing he knew, he felt Celestia's snout nuzzling him, comforting him.

"I'm sorry. But I'm going to try to get her back."

"You...you will?" He almost didn't believe that there was any hope left for Twilight.

"Of course. There has to be a reason this happened. And I'm going to find out."

"Actually, she's been acting weird for the past few weeks."

Celestia lit up. She recognized it as the lead she was looking for.

"What do you mean?"

"She had this new friend for a while, Forest Mist was the name. She was hanging out with him for a while, and between you and me, I think he's her coltfriend."

Is that what she was trying to hide from me? That she's found a stallion for her?

"Anything else?"

"Well, he did give her a book about dark magic, and she's been studying from that book for a while now..."

Dark magic. Dark magic...

It was all coming together now.

"...she's been blowing up targets, and I told her she should hold back on her studies," he continued.

"Spike, do you think you could show me this book you're talking about?"

"But it's back at her house. We'll have to go to Ponyville to see it."

"Then we will make the trip together. I want to see this book for myself."

Author's Note

*This happens in the first four issues of the IDW comic book, which acts as canon for this story.

Anyways, another Celestia chapter out of the way. Truly, the last two chapters were a bit difficult to write, since it's the buildup for the last few chapters, and it still feels like filler to an extent, even if I'm proud of my work.

Either way, it was the final roadblock to get past before I begin on Chapter 14, which honestly might be the longest chapter I will do for the story. Though, if I do everything I want to do with it, there's going to be some things I'll have to do for it that is going to require a few extra steps to take care of...

Queen of Shadows

WARNING: Will contain some suggestive and violent content.

Even when spring grew older with the days and summer would only be a few weeks away, the everlasting winter that engulfed Sombra's castle grew stronger in power. The snow showers turned back into a blizzard, the winds were howling with the ferocity of a lion, and the temperature skydived to the point that the grass froze over.

It was like the castle was in an environment of its own, given how warm and cozy the rest of Equestria was. And to some degree, that sentiment was true.

Within the layered hallways of the castle, Twilight looked around its turns to look for Sombra. The topic of her green eyes was still fresh in her head, and she intended to talk to him about it as soon as possible.

But it was difficult to do when she had no idea where she was going. Either the pathways were identical in design, or she had no idea how to tell them apart. That was something she had to get used to around here.

She passed many doors on the way to...wherever Sombra was. Some of the doors were shut, but other entrances didn't have doors to them at all. But it didn't look like any of those rooms had anything of note inside. She would occasionally see a crystal stockpile in one area, but that was pretty much it.

Then she passed the mother of all rooms, at least for her. Her vision glistened at the sheer beauty of it all, and it was almost like coming home to Ponyville.

Sombra had a library of his own, as it turned out. The shelves reached all the way to the high rising ceiling, and there had to be hundreds if not thousands of books in his possession. Most of them were a bit older than the copies she usually carried around, but that didn't matter. They were books all the same.

Among the library's floors were plenty of desks and seating areas to enjoy a good book, and the area was even in a more pleasing shade of light purple. All in all, it was an impressive library, three to four times the size of the one she had back at Ponyville.

She went to the nearest shelf and examined what was available to her. This shelf carried nothing but copies of Starswirl the Bearded's catalog, though these transcripts were a bit outdated. But they weren't falling apart at the seams either.

She pulled out a book on fire spells, the same one that she used to calm down after she came home following the coronation ceremony. It was one of the easiest Starswirl books to read and understand, and it managed to get her nerves to stop every time.

"So you noticed my library," Sombra said out of nowhere. "I intended to show it to you after dinner, since I thought you would like it."

Surprised, she turned around to see Sombra standing right behind her. He was wearing the same armor and cape that he carried with him at the Empire, though without his crown and facial armor.

"Sombra! I didn't hear you coming in," she said, a little startled.

"I have a tendency to do that at times. I apologize. But what do you think about this library? It might not be as impressive as the ones you can find in Canterlot, but..."

"I love it!" she exclaimed. She put her hooves around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "I never thought you would have so many books like this. It's great and really thoughtful! Do you have any other books that were lost?"

"Plenty. I managed to recover a few books from Starswirl the Bearded that I think you'll find in handy. But it's getting close to dusk. We should probably have our dinner now rather than later. And there's something I want to talk to you about while we're eating."

"Actually, there's something else we need to talk about. It's something I discovered when I was taking a shower."

"There is? What is the matter?"

"Well, it's kinda creepy and weird at the same time. After I was done taking a shower and I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I saw that I have green eyes now. I know you have green eyes, but your understanding of dark magic is a lot deeper than mine. Do I still have them?"

He shook his head. "I don't see them anymore. And it's my fault for not explaining this occurrence to you earlier. You develop green eyes like that the deeper your skills in dark magic are. That's all there is to it. It will only be temporary for now, but don't be surprised if they become permanent. My eyes are like so all the time, because dark magic is almost everything I know. Does that answer your question?"

"I believe so. I thought it might have had something to do with you. You're the only pony I know that has eyes like that."

Her stomach interrupted her and rumbled from the lack of food it was getting. It was loud enough for Sombra to hear clear as day. She blushed and covered her stomach up.

"I think I'm ready for dinner now."

"Yes, even your stomach is saying that. I'm sure you'll enjoy what I have in store for you."

He led her through more and more hallways to trot through. They all seemed to be identical to her, with the same black stones and the same embedded crystals. But she was starting to pick up on the differences between each one slowly, like one hallway would have two doors while another would have five Shadow Guards.

Eventually, she was brought back to the same dining hall that they had enjoyed breakfast in. Her seat was prepared for her already, with a white plate arranged next to a steaming hot cup of coffee.

"Uh, aren't you supposed to only have coffee in the morning?"

"We met for coffee in Ponyville during the evening," Sombra pointed out. "That was when you knew me as Forest Mist, still, but I assumed you could have your coffee all the time. I find it delicious. It's all I've been drinking for three days now."

"I guess you have a point. It's not the first time I had coffee in the evening anyways. But that's usually for all night studies."

They took their seats opposite each other on the table. A Guard came by Sombra's side, and Sombra mentioned something in his ear. The servant nodded and left for another room.

Dinner definitely felt different in tone than breakfast for Twilight.. The atmosphere was calmer and more relaxed, thanks to the day she had spent with Sombra inside the castle. It was much better than the previous night, that's for sure.

However, there was something still inside her head that wouldn't go away so easily. A certain fear that she wanted to get rid of once and for all, if this was going to be her new life.

"Am I ever going to see my friends again?" she mentioned.

Sombra was busy sipping his coffee drink when he heard the question. He stopped and placed the cup down on the table.

"Didn't you just say after you woke up that they were never going to let you into their group anymore? That's how I remember it."

"It's still difficult to live with!" she snapped. "They were the first real friends I ever had in my life. They taught me so much in a short time, and I don't think I would have gotten my wings and my title as princess if it wasn't for them. And I don't want to lose that..."

Her voice choked up, as she was trying hold back the tears.

"I know you've been all I need and more after I needed a place to stay. I love you for that. But if there was some way I could still be with them, I would do it. That's why it's so hard for me to be here, because I had no other choice. I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

As soon as he realized what she was about to do, he went around the table and held her close in his hooves. She let out another round of tears, as the drama of her current situation hit her in the face again.

"You know why you can't go back."

"I know. Celestia will be looking for me..."

"But I still want to help you get through this. Tell me what you want and I'll do it for you."

"Just be there for me when I need it..."

"I can do that."

He stayed with her there, while dinner was being prepared. After a while, he knew that he couldn't leave her side without it getting any worse. So he moved his chair to her side of the table, and put his plate and coffee next to hers. That way, they were always close together.

She leaned on his shoulder, the first time she had done that since their carriage ride through the Wispy Woods. In turn, he rested the bottom of his head on the top of hers.

"Is that better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she muttered.

She started to hum a song, one that he was not familiar with. But the melody stood out to him. It was a very slow but soothing melody, very pleasing to his ears.

"What is that song?"

"It was a song my mother used to sing to me in the crib when I was a foal. I liked it for a while, even after I grew up."

"I can see why. It's a good song."

After that, a few Guards arrived with two silver platters. They set the platters down on top of their plates and lifted the lids to show them their dinner.

For dinner that night was a hay and cheese soup. The cheese was especially thick and creamy, and the hay mixed around with the cheese perfectly. It would smell delicious to anypony, especially to Twilight.

She levitated the spoon over to the soup and scoop up a bit of cheese and hay. She brought it to her lips and slurped it slowly.

"Wow, this is one of the best soups I've ever had," she commented. After a few more spoonfuls of the soup, her stomach stopped complaining. "How did you make it?"

"I really do go into Ponyville from time to time to stock up on supplies," Sombra replied. "Not very often, but it happens. I bought twice the amount of supplies as usual in the last strip, just in case they point out Forest Mist out as your coltfriend."

"I can see that happening. They'll do anything it takes to find out where I am."

She kept eating out of her soup, washing the hay down with coffee. That didn't sound appetizing on paper, but it was one of the better meals she ever had.

Meanwhile, Sombra ate slower than she did. His attention was brought to certain other thoughts in his mind.

He was so close, he could feel it. There was no way he could screw it up at this point, but the fear that it was still possible that it could all collapse was still present.

All he really had to do was play it like he always did. Do it carefully, steadily, and in this case, don't be afraid to go all out.

"Twilight, there's been something I've been thinking about all day. I wasn't sure if I should be asking this, but given that we're living together and you're in exile for the time being, I thought it would be the right time to ask the question."

She stopped in the middle of another bite. "What is it?"

He took her hoof in his, holding onto it with grace. "I don't think it's a secret that I'm still a king. The King of Shadows, with his own castle and Guards and the makings of an army to protect us. But I never had a queen in all of my years of holding this title. And I don't know anypony more qualified to be the Queen of Shadows.

"Twilight Sparkle, would you want to be my queen?"

Twilight gasped when he got out of his seat and bent down on his hind quarters. She wasn't sure if this was really happening.

"Are you...are you proposing to me?"

"Yes. I love you, Twilight, and I always will. I will protect you from those who would seek to harm you, and to be that shoulder to rest your head upon. But will you accept my proposal?"

Twilight blinked. It was as if her whole world had stopped around her.

"But...does this mean...we might have to fight Celestia in the future? She's going to hate you when she finds out about us..."

"I promise you that it will never come to that. She will never find us in this place. It will just be you and me. But it is up to you to say if that will be the rest of your life. There is no turning back."

Twilight forced herself to stop and think about what she wanted. Yes, he was proposing her hoof in marriage, and if there was nothing holding her back, she would have said yes.

But at the same time, she felt like there was still an open door to fix all of this. To prove herself innocent. To prove to all of Equestria that one of its most ancient foes had changed and proven himself to be a respectable stallion now.

"I...I don't know," she finally admitted. "I don't know yet. I want to say yes, but not like this..."

"What do you mean?" he demanded. "How can you say you want to say yes, but fail to do so?"

"I want to think about how I should handle all of this. I want more time. But please don't be angry with me. I still love you...":

He rose up from his hind quarters and brought her in for another hug. "I'm not angry with you. I just thought you would have said yes."

"I really want to be with you. But I know I can still fix this."

"I guess we'll soon find out."

The snowstorm attacked the air below without mercy. The snow was so thick that it was difficult to see more than twenty feet out in front, creating a whiteout effect. Any tracks left behind were covered up almost immediately.

Nopony should have been out there in those conditions. And yet there were five stallions out there, marching through the snowstorm. All five of them were covered from top to bottom in heavy coats, and they carried the Royal Guard armor underneath.

"Why do we have to be out here?" one of them cried out. "There's no way anything can be out here!"

"That's enough talk!" the leader barked. "We were ordered by Celestia to search every nook and cranny of Equestria. And that's what we're doing. You have an issue with that, you talk to her about it!"

"But there's nothing out here!" another complained. "I've been to these mountains before. More ponies die from frostbite coming here than they do from dragons. From dragons!"

"ENOUGH! You keep marching forward or I'll strip you of your rank sooner than you can say you quit!"

And so they pressed forward, looking for anything of note. The winds roared in their ears, almost like a ferocious animal stalking his prey. It seemed like the only thing to find out there was soon and rocky mountain terrain.

"Over there!" the captain shouted. "West of my position!"

Four heads turned to the west, and they all saw it for themselves. A towering black building that rivaled anything they had seen in Canterlot.

"It's a castle," another Guard noted. "But who would have a castle out here?"

"We're going to find out," the captain noted. "I don't know who it belongs to, or who's going to be inside. Even if it's empty, it will prove to be a great place for shelter."

They approached the banks of the castle, all ready for what might happen when they arrived. At first, they thought it was abandoned.

And then the entrance doors came wide open. A whole unit of Shadow Guards came out with their swords and spears raised high. They ran at full speed towards the search party, roaring a battle cry at the top of their lungs.

"All right, gentlecolts. It looks like they're wanting to pick a fight," the captain said to them. "Do not back down. We have no other plans to fall back on, and it's too hazardous out here to run away. Do not stop until every one of them is dead!"

The air was darker and thicker inside the castle, from the beginning of nightfall outside. The patrolling Guards went to work lighting every candle inside the walls, making it almost as bright as it did during daytime.

But it was not enough to escape the feeling of heaviness filling Twilight's heart, as she and Sombra came into the throne room. It was the first time she had ever seen this place, but that didn't bother her as much as what she didn't do a few minutes ago.

As Sombra approached his self appointed throne, she couldn't help but fear that he was going to strike back at her in some form. Probably with bitter words if she had to guess. But he didn't do anything of that sort with her.

Instead, he merely stood in front of the throne and turned to her.

"I really do hope to have two of these one day," he said. "I wouldn't mind carrying the rank of prince with you as the princess of Ponyville if that's what it takes to be with you. But I can't force my will on you."

At least, not yet.

"I realize that, and I feel bad about it," she admitted. "It's not a no. But I don't know what the answer is right now."

"That is something that won't bring any wrath upon you, if that's what you're asking yourself."

What? How did he know? she thought. It was like he was reading my mind...

"Now then. It is early in the evening, but we still have a couple of hours left before we return to bed. So what should we do?"

Almost as if to answer his question, a Shadow Guard arrived at the throne room. His armor was shattered around the front limb joints, and his eye was blackened from a kick straight to the face. The hooves dragged on the ground as he tried to make it to his king.

Twilight took a few steps back, horrified to see one of Sombra's guards like that. What could have caused this?

"King Sombra, we have intruders coming in this way," the guard could barely make out. "There's five of them, and they have killed many of our men in their wake."

"Do you know who they are?" Sombra inquired.

"They have the armor of Celestia's Royal Guard--"

Before he could finish, a shot of fire hit him right in the flank. He roared in agony as his face collided with the floor. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

A whole unit of Royal Guards had arrived on the scene. They were all unicorns, and smoke emitted from the one who made the killing show.

"That covers this area," said the captain. "Now we just need to find--"

He stopped when he realized that Twilight Sparkle was here. She almost panicked to see those stallions again.

"We've found the princess, colts," he said to his men. "And she's with..."

As soon as he discovered who the other stallion in the room was, he immediately starting working on the strongest offensive spell he knew.

"KING SOMBRA! He has returned! What have you done with Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he demanded.

Sombra growled and stomped a hoof on the ground. "I could ask the same thing. Who are you to storm into MY castle, kill my Guards, and then take away my guest?"

Twilight was frozen in place, scared that the Guards would do something to her. This was not going to end well for somepony. She didn't know who yet.

"Give her back to us this instant!" the captain barked. "I don't know what you're doing with her, but stop it at once!"

"And what would you do with her?" Sombra asked. "Take her back to Celestia? Where she'll do things to my dear Twilight that even I can't fathom?"

The captain realized that he wasn't going to get a yes, and got himself down into battle position. His fellow soldiers formed a V shape behind him, and they all began to prepare a gust spell together to stop him now and forever.

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed. "We don't have to fight! I've seen Sombra change for good--"

"Get behind me, Twilight!" Sombra told her.

"But--"

"GET BEHIND ME! Nothing you will say is going to stop them!"

The spells on the Guards' horn grew ever stronger, and they were almost ready to attack.

Twilight screamed and ran behind Sombra's body. She covered her eyes with her hooves as the fight began.

The Guards launched a joint gust spell at King Sombra. It caused everything to fly around in its wake, sending a giant sphere of wind that came for him.

But he quickly employed a bubble shield around himself and Twilight. The gust spell went above the shield and hit the throne straight on. It almost came off its foundations, but it managed to stay in place.

Sombra responded by gathering his own offensive attack. His horn glowed darkly with magic as he readied a spell that would end them in one turn.

The Guards kept firing small light strikes at Sombra while he prepared the spell, but the shield kept him untouched. Even as they brought themselves closer to him step by step, the shield never quivered from their joined efforts.

Twilight uncovered her eyes to witness nothing but chaos around her. The gust winds disheveled everything in the room but the throne itself, and she saw all the light spells deflect off the shield.

But she caught Sombra struggling to keep up both the shield and his counterattack. If she let the shield die, there was a possibility she might get hit by a stray strike. And she didn't want to see Sombra die either.

And they're going to kill you if you let them kill Sombra, a voice said inside her head, not that of her own. They want to hold you accountable for killing four Royal Guards. You know Celestia will never forgive you for murder, even if it was just an accident. And to hear that you took shelter with HIM of all ponies...she will always hold it against you.

You're right, she mentally responded. Celestia will never believe my story.

So she employed a second, stronger layer to the shield. But it wasn't purple like her magical aura was. Instead, it was as black as Sombra's magic.

Sombra realized what was going on around him, as the strikes were coming nowhere close to him.

"Thanks, I needed that," he smiled.

"She's helping him out!" a Guard cried out.

"Ignore that for now!" shot back the captain. "Our priority is King Sombra. We will deal with her betrayal later!"

But by then, it was too late. Sombra was finished with his spell. His horn beamed with a force that shook the ground underneath all of them. The shields came down on their own, giving him an open lane to face the intruders.

What happened next, Twilight could only catch glimpses of.

The sound of wind echoing in her head, with the force of a spell being released.

Flashes of dark light all around her vision, if dark light even existed.

The sound of Guards screaming again, a sound that will never stop haunting her.

And finally seeing four bodies smashing hard against hard stone walls, hearing bones break and lives end.

When it was all over, Twilight got up and saw that four of the Guards were dead all around the throne room. Only one survived, and he was heavily damaged. His horn was chipped forever, and he was the youngest unicorn of the bunch.

He saw that the rest of his brothers were dead. It proved to be too much for him, and he almost cried in the agony of it all. Then he realized that Sombra was looking straight at him.

The Guard ran out of the castle for his life, never stopping until the castle was a speck out in the horizon. That left Twilight and Sombra in there, all to themselves.

Twilight took a look at the four slaughtered stallions that Sombra had finished off. And then the magnitude of what she had done hit her.

She played a part in the deaths of four more innocent ponies. And it wasn't by accident that time. Maybe she could fall back on the excuse that it was all done to protect Sombra, but she had tried for so long to convince herself that there was a way to prove both their innocence. Now she didn't have that luxury anymore. She had cast her lot with him, not even realizing what she was doing before it was too late.

Tears poured down her face like a faucet. She could barely think at all, and every feeling was that of pain and agony. Her body collapsed flat on her belly, and there was nothing she could do to ease the pain away.

Then she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming over. She looked up and found Sombra standing in front of her, with the most gentle expression she had ever seen. It was almost as if being there for her, not scowling her at all, was enough to take away the burden.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. It had to be done. But I believe we know that Celestia will do anything to ensure that you're captured or dead by now. She's going further to see to that than I pictured."

"I thought she loved me," Twilight cried. "I know I was guilty, but at the very least she could have given me a trial or something...anything..."

"I'm sorry to break this to you, but the princess in reality is much different than the one you thought you knew well. But once again, I remind you that I will never leave your side whenever you've done something wrong, as she has."

Twilight smiled and ran to his embrace. She gave him the deepest kiss she had ever given another pony in her life, as she grew to see him a lot differently.

Celestia had betrayed her. Everything she ever had in Equestria was dead and buried. And all she had to hold onto was one of the most vicious enemies in her past.

"You told me that you were holding off on an answer because you wanted Celestia to see our love, or something like that," said Sombra. "Now that you know what you know, what is your answer now?'

He pulled away to see her response. What he saw her do was one of the best moments of his life.

The whites in her eyes were permanently green, just like his were. But more than that, purple mist emerged from them, as every thought and every resistance against his influence was finally gone. She had given in.

"Yes," she said, an echo to her words. "Yes, I'll be your queen."

"But you must understand that this will burn that bridge away for good."

"Celestia did it herself when she tried to kill me," she stated coldly.

"And your friends will never see you again as long as they live."

"If I can't even hide in here without dealing with Celestia's guards, it's hopeless to go to someplace like Ponyville where everything's out in the open. They will understand. And you're all that I have left. And I love you..."

Sombra grinned widely, and kissed her once more. She returned the favor, and the new couple were lost in the other's arms.

His plan was complete at last.

The surviving Shadow Guards were gathered around into the throne room. Almost a whole third of them perished in the Royal Guard offensive, but it was still an impressive show of force for somepony in exile like Sombra. They were arranged into two sections, much like that of a wedding, and the red carpet was left completely open for somepony to traverse down.

King Sombra stood in front of his army, clad in his regal attire along with his crown. He had put the creation spell to work in the meantime, and there were now two thrones waiting behind his back. It was one of the best things he had ever made with that spell. Resting on the second throne was a crown for somepony else, its curves and jewelry suggesting it was made for a queen.

He came forward to his audience of Guards, speaking with a voice almost as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"My Guards of the Shadow, this day marks a landmark occasion in the history of our growing Shadow Empire. For tonight, I will have our first queen to join me on the throne. She is a pony I deeply respect for her intelligence, magical ability, and pure beauty. She is one that will never leave us no matter what, and one that will rule over you all for the years to come.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, Twilight Sparkle!"

All the stallions turned to the entrance, where Twilight Sparkle arrived. Her hooves were clad in silver armor and her neck had a neck plate covering it whole. A dark purple cape went over her backside, coming down to touch the floor behind her. Her coat's fur was darker than it had ever been, and huge puffs of purple mist came out of her eyes.

She smiled to see her stallion waiting for her at the end of the carpet. It was proving to be one of the sweetest moments of her life as she went down to see him.

All the Guards bowed before her, showing the bride a sense of respect that used to go only to Sombra for the last few weeks in that castle.

Twilight joined Sombra near their respective thrones at the top of the carpet. Both of them couldn't have been happier as they shared the stage together.

"Twilight Sparkle, you know how much I adore and love you. You are the best mare I have ever met, and I ask for you to join me on my throne. Do you love me with your heart?"

"Yes, more than anything in the world."

"Will you join me in life and in death?"

"Yes. In life and in death."

"And will you be my queen and my wife, no matter what falls upon us?"

"Yes, I will. Even if we fall upon ruin, I will never leave you."

"Then you are officially my Queen of Shadows."

He brought the crown to her, and placed it gently on her head to make the ceremony official. Once it was over and she was officially his queen, she went in and kissed him with all her strength. He did the same, sharing an embrace with his new wife.

The Guards all stomped the ground in applause, but Twilight almost didn't hear them at all. All she wanted anymore was to be loved, and she would have that right at Sombra's side.

He pulled away after some time, sealing the marriage and the coronation. But tears were still coming down Twilight's face.

"What's the matter, Twilight? I thought this is everything you wanted."

"It is...I'm just so happy..."

"So am I, Twilight. So am I."

He motioned her over to her respective throne, and she couldn't believe that she already had a throne to rest her flank on. He had clearly been planning to do this for some time now.

They went and descended down to their throne seats, mere inches from each other. The Guards all bowed in reverence to their king and queen, the one who would lead then for centuries. Twilight clutched Sombra's hoof in his, her new life overwhelming her in the best way possible.

That was the first moment that she realized how her life was never going to be the same way in marriage, at least in the foreseeable future. And she wasn't upset about it at all. Not when Sombra was holding her hoof in his at the same time.

They spent the next two hours together at the throne room, allowing the Guards to entertain then in various ways. But by then it was late at night, and the Guards slowly departed from the room, one by one.

When they were all gone, Sombra turned to Twilight, more than a little enthusiastic about what he was about to do with her.

"Are you ready to go to our marriage bed, my queen?"

"What do you mean by 'marriage bed'?" she asked. Then she realized what it meant. "Wait...do you mean what I think you mean?"

He nodded. "That is a lot to ask from anypony, even newlyweds, but are you comfortable with it?"

"I would love that, actually."

"Then follow me."

They rose up from their thrones, and the king led the queen through the endless amount of hallways once more for the day. Twilight's heart was beating nonstop, a bit worried over their night together. And yet, there was a part of her that was almost looking forward to it.

After walking and turning around for minutes, they arrived in the bedroom. Its appearance was very much the same, with everything being where they found it that morning, but the atmosphere was much different than before. It was more tranquil and relaxed in nature, perfect for their plans together.

But before they could begin, Sombra came and gave Twilight another kiss. He went in and put his tongue inside her lips, meeting with her tongue inside. She would have normally been disgusted with this, but she returned the favor for that night, wrapping her tongue around his.

She wrapped her front limbs around his neck, and he brought his hooves around her face as they continued to french kiss together, neither one wanting the moment to end. But the moment Sombra realized she was touching his flank, he pulled away from her grasp immediately.

"Wait, I'm so sorry about that," she cried. "Was it wrong what I did with the flank? It's only my first time, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing during...you know what."

"No, it's nothing like that. But we should undress before we do anything else, don't you think?"

She looked down at herself and blushed. She was still clad in armor that was more fitting for the battlefield than the bedroom.

"I need to learn how to think straight in these cases," she commented.

"That's fine, you haven't done anything like this before. But first things first."

They began to undress together in front of the bed. Armor pieces clanged on the floor as they tossed them away, and they hung the capes down on a rack near the door. Sombra took off their crowns and placed them over on the sole bookshelf in the room. It didn't matter where they went, as long as they were nearby.

Ponies usually didn't wear clothes in the first place, but being unclothed next to Sombra in this sense was causing Twilight's heart to pound. There was nothing holding them back from giving in to their urges.

"Now we can continue as we please," he said.

"Yeah...I hope I do good..."

"Don't worry about that. Your performance means nothing tonight. Just show me everything there is to Twilight Sparkle, and that will be enough."

"OK, I'll do that."

He instinctively climbed on the top of bed, sitting right on the silky red sheets. He beckoned for her to follow his lead. She waited down below for a few seconds, adjusting to the fact that they were really going to do this, and joined him on top of the blanket in no time.

As soon as they were together in bed, he went and french kissed her again. Their tongues intertwined around each other, and she let him dominate almost immediately.

She held her hooves around him, not wanting to do anything rash this early into their night. She felt him press a hoof softly on her cheek, massaging the fur on her face. It was soothing and very relieving to the touch, and she found herself almost wishing he would go further than he already was with her.

Their lips smacked against each other, the sound of their kisses echoing throughout the room. It would be a long night indeed.

After it was all over, they panted for air frantically. It had been centuries since Sombra had done something like that with another pony, and it was also Twilight's first time.

She rolled herself over to his face, and they came in for a deep embrace. Yet, when he kissed her again, it wasn't with the same kind of passion as before. He had spent all of that into their lovemaking.

"How...how did you enjoy your first time, Twilight?" he breathed.

"That...that was amazing!" she exclaimed. "Do you think we could do it again tomorrow night? I really liked it."

"As you wish. But I think that's enough for one night..."

"Yeah. I wasn't planning on doing it again."

He smiled, and nuzzled the side of her face with his snout. She giggled and tickled the side of his stomach in response. That got a laugh out of him, and he pulled away to escape her clutches.

But she was starting to get tired as well. So she rolled over to his side of the bed, wanting to be held in his arms. He answered by curving his body around hers. That brought his belly to touching her back.

Then he brought his front hooves around her sides, bringing them to her belly. He gave it a good massage, eliciting a quiet moan from Twilight.

"I can tell we're going to be here for a while," he said. "And I also know that we're going to be doing this frequently. And that begs one question. Have you ever thought about having a child?"

"A...a child? You mean...you want me to be a mother?"

"I wouldn't mind it. You would be such a wonderful mother, with your wise understanding of magic and everything else..."

His hooves touched her belly softly, bringing the idea into light.

"And he would learn from the best. We both have horns, so he would likely be a unicorn. Wouldn't that be great? You would be like his teacher, teaching him everything you know by heart..."

She smiled at the thought, taking the role that Celestia had in her life for years. Only this time, she would never abandon her student like Tia did.

"I think that's a great idea. And we're the King and Queen of Shadows. Wouldn't that also make him a prince? Or a princess, if she was a filly?"

"Exactly. He would be the one to take our place when the time arrives. Or perhaps we would always be there for him. I'm over a thousand years old, and I suspect you will live as long as I have."

"Yeah...I guess you're right. I want to be there for him..."

Her eyelids shut tight, and she fell asleep almost immediately. The day's events had caught up to her.

He kept his body enveloped around her, and brought the sheets above them with his magic. It wouldn't be much longer until he was asleep too.

Everything had worked flawlessly for him. He had a new wife and queen, one that would show undying loyalty for him as he would for her. And she would never turn back to Celestia's support again. That bridge was gone at last.

Oh, yes. It was all going in his favor. And things would only get better for him in the coming days and weeks.

Or so he thought.

Author's Note

My longest chapter to date for any story, with the previous record holder being 5,700 words long....wow.

There is an uncut version of this chapter, but I'm still debating on whenever or not I should release it. It would have been on a seperate story file, but I'm feeling a little bit guilty about showing it. If I ever do go on with it, I will link to that cut of the chapter in the author's notes.

And yet another big bombshell chapter...hopefully you like it.

The Stage Is Set

Twilight Sparkle. Celestia's faithful student, now and forever. And she was gone with the wind. But if Celestia had anything to say about it, she wouldn't be gone for long.

She thought of nothing but the purple alicorn on the ride to Ponyville. She watched as Luna raised the moon above her head, fulfilling her nightly duty. At least there was some sense of normalcy that night.

Spike was sitting in the carriage with her, going back and forth between crying and panicking throughout the ride. He nibbled on the claws on his fingers, trying his best not to have a mental breakdown in front of the princess.

"Stay calm, Spike, it will all be OK," he said to himself. "Celestia knows something is wrong. She will fix it, and Twilight will come home. She won't go to jail for the rest of her life..."

Celestia wished she could say something to Spike, but she didn't speak a word in the end. There was no telling where this trail would end. Maybe Twilight really was guilty. Celestia couldn't tell at that point in time.

When they spotted Twilight's house from the clouds, she noticed that the place was lit from top to bottom. She could make out a few bodies through the windows, though she couldn't make out their features just yet. But she had a few ideas....

"What do you mean, Spike got a letter?" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I don't see any letter that's from her today."

"He took the letter with him to Canterlot, sugar cube," Applejack explained. "But I heard what I heard. Twilight's on the run and they don't know where she is."

"But if it's true that she did all those horrible things to those poor Guards, we may never see her again!" Pinkie Pie pointed out. "She must be running for her life, thinking Celestia's going to imprison her or worse..."

"We don't know that!" Dash replied. "We don't know if it was an accident, or if she's taking the fall for somepony! We've got to find her right now!"

"But don't you think Celestia hasn't considered that?" Rarity answered. "She has a whole army of stallions at her disposal. And this is her dear student we are talking about! Surely she will do everything in her power to ensure that Twilight is brought home safe and sound!"

In the midst of the arguing back and forth, a simple cry punctuated the air. At first, nobody could hear it. Pinkie Pie turned around and tried to find the pony crying. It came from Twilight's bed, and its head poked out of the blankets.

She walked up the steps and came to the side of the bed. Her hoof patted the pony's head softly, doing whatever she could to comfort her.

"I'm here for you," said Pinkie. "Twilight will be back soon when she realizes that Celestia will always take her in!"

The pony's head emerged from the blanket. Her cheek fur was completely drenched in tears.

"But is it true that there's four dead Guards in Canterlot?" asked Fluttershy.

Pinkie frowned, and slowly nodded her head. "That's what she told Spike in the letter. I'm really sorry..."

"So even if she's innocent and it was just an accident, there's still four dead ponies, and their parents must be heartbroken..."

More and more tears came down her face, and she buried her face in the pillow. Pinkie came over and draped her front limbs over Fluttershy's shoulders.. Anything to comfort her friend would help.

Eventually, Fluttershy's cries grew so loud that everypony in the room noticed it. They dropped the argument in the middle, and surrounded Fluttershy in the bed. Rarity pressed a hoof on the yellow pegasus' forehead and felt the signs of a fever on her skin.

"Poor Shy," she moaned. "She's not taking this very well."

"None of us are," Applejack pointed out. "But there's no sense in mourning now. We have to keep our heads up if we're going to get out of this."

At that moment, the front door opened up. All five ponies turned to see who was coming in.

Their spirits soared when Spike walked inside. It almost gave them the slimmest of hopes that Twilight was back with him. But his grim face suggested it was not the face.

Instead, Celestia was the princess that came in that door. Their hearts sank where they stood, and it was only going to get worse from here.

As soon as Celestia was inside, Rainbow Dash flew up out of the bed and came in the princess' face.

"Tell me that Spike was wrong," she begged. "Tell me that there aren't really four dead Guards, and Twilight's just taking an extended break over in Canterlot. Please, you're the only pony to make it right."

Celestia shook her head. "I really did write that letter to Spike. I'm sorry to tell you all of this, but we believe Twilight is on the run for murdering those Guards."

Rainbow's wings stopped flapping, and she lowered herself down to the ground. Her head drooped down to the floor, and she was utterly defeated in spirit.

For the rest of them, it only proved to dampen their hopes for Twilight. Fluttershy gripped the pillow and poured even more tears into the case, and Pinkie Pie held onto her tightly to stop it. But she had tears of her own that she tried to withhold. Rarity nearly fainted to hear that her worst fears had come true, and Applejack brought her hat over her chest.

"It can't be true, it just can't be..."

"I know it's hard to believe," Celestia stated. "But I'm going to save her in time. There is something I came here for. Spike, bring out the book you mentioned to me in Canterlot."

"How's a book going to help us?" Dash complained.

"You'll see for yourself."

Spike went over to the study desk, where the book on dark magic still rested. He struggled to pick up the heavy collection of pages, but Celestia picked it up with her own magic before he tripped over himself to bring it to her.

She examined the book's cover for its title and flipped through all the pages, from the front cover to the back. As she read over it, she shook her head at the sight.

"Spike, tell me something. How did she obtain this book again?"

"Forest Mist gave it to her. He said it was a long lost book that he recovered from a ruined library in the forest."

"And he was the one who was dating Twilight before she disappeared, right?"

"Right."

That could be what she was hiding from me. Maybe she had her own reservations about his character.

The rest of the Elements of Harmony looked at each other in confusion, even Fluttershy of all ponies.

"You mean she was dating and she never told me?" Rarity shrieked. "I could have helped her out with restaurant reservations...oh dear me. I feel so ashamed for getting carried away like that..."

"I forgive you," Celestia said. "Spike, has she been practicing from this book in the past few weeks?"

"Yeah. She thought it was a really fun book to read, and we've been holding target practices out in Ponyville."

"And have there been moments where she has lost control over herself, and left a trail of destruction in that period?"

Spike blinked. "You have no idea! She destroyed the entire range that one time, and she caused a whole tree to tip over in the park."

"It's just as I feared..."

She shut the book and threw it to the middle of the room, right in front of Applejack. The Earth Pony jumped back and the book just barely avoided her.

They all had no idea what was bothering Celestia, as she turned away from them. She stomped her hoof on the ground and caused the floor around Spike to rumble. He fell back on his tail, surprised to see her so angry.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." she complained. "He played her like a violin..."

"Who played her?" Dash asked. "What are you even talking about?"

Celestia came to face them, and gave the group the grimmest look she had ever given another pony in this century.

"I think I know who was the pony that did it."

They brought themselves closer to her. "Yes?"

"Based on everything I have collected from this book and Spike's answers, I believe that King Sombra has returned to Equestria, and he's the one behind all of this."

"WHAT?" they questioned in unison.

"How in the hay do you know it's Sombra?" Applejack questioned. "Twilight killed him back in the Crystal Empire with that big ol' explosion."

"But there's enough evidence around us to prove that he has returned. Do you want to hear my explanation or not?"

They nodded. They wanted to know as soon as they could.

"It all started a little over a thousand years ago, at the peak of Starswirl the Bearded's time on Equestria. There is no account of his final days, and that was by my doing. Nopony needed to know how he went out, and information was easier to withhold from the general public back then.

"He discovered the field of dark magic one day, and much like he did in all of his life, he grew curious about this new field of magic. All of his time for three months went into writing this book."

She brought the book up to her face to illustrate.

"A thousand copies were transcribed at my request, and there would have been more copies printed had things ended differently. But one day, he came to my throne room with a request. I said that there were few things I would refuse to a unicorn that had altered the study of magic as sweepingly as he did.

"But I saw something in his soul that day. His eyes were green and purple mist came out of his eyes. I asked if it was an effect of a spell, and he spoke to me with a voice that was not his own. He said to me, 'You could say that.'

"Then he tried to kill me where I stood, using the dark spells he had learned. He moved with the soul of somepony else, and the Starswirl I knew was gone. I had no choice but to put him down, much to my regret. He was the only pony that could come close to Twilight's raw ability.

"Luna and I investigated what happened to him to warrant this kind of behavior. And that's when we found out something about this book."

She flipped to a certain page, the one that talked about the mind of dark magic.

"We soon learned that the mind of dark magic, as he put it, was not what he made it out to be. He imagined it as an animal that needed to be tamed, and could be tamed with enough practice. But it wasn't anything like that at all. Instead, it turned out that the mind of dark magic was King Sombra himself.

"When you open yourself up to dark magic, you open yourself up to his influences. And eventually, Starswirl the Bearded had practiced it long enough that he opened the door to allow Sombra to control his mind whole.

"And before Starswirl's mind was gone, he would occasionally lose control over his body and destroy everything around him, just like Twilight has done. And given what happened in that garden, it was strangely similar to any room that Starswirl had destroyed in her wake.

"And everything that Spike has seen Twilight do is just like those occasions when Sombra controlled Starswirl. Everything points at the theory that Sombra has returned, and he has chosen Twilight to be his victim."

The air was sucked out of the room. One could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet. Every jaw was dropped to the ground.

"But...but why her?" Pinkie finally asked.

"Have you not learned from the time when Discord broke your spirits? If one Element of Harmony is broken, all of the Elements are useless. You need all six of them to work, and he most likely had chosen her because she is an alicorn as well. If he can bring an alicorn to work for him, he stands a better chance of defeating me."

They could barely say anything. Even Applejack, the most logical pony in the group that was not named Twilight, could barely believe what was happening in front of her. It felt like their world was destroyed before their eyes, and they had lost their friend forever.

And then it got worse.

Somepony knocked on the door. "Princess Celestia, open up! An urgent message for Her Majesty!"

Celestia opened the door, and another Royal Guard pegasus waited for her at the doorstep.

"Go on."

"We have found the location of Princess Twilight Sparkle. She is in the mountains at the north border inside a castle we have never seen before. She is alive and well, but she is with King Sombra. He has returned and seems to be acting as a king. He killed almost everypony in the North Side Team just a few hours ago. Only one has survived and made it back to us, and he says that Twilight is working with him!"

Celestia's eyes widened. It was much worse than she ever dreamed.

Rainbow Dash huffed and stomped the ground like a bull. She flapped her wings and almost flew out the doorway, but Applejack grabbed her hind quarters before she took off. The blue pegasus tried to get the farmgirl off of her legs, but Applejack was far too strong for that.

"Whoa, nelly!" Applejack stopped her. "You're not gettin' out there right now! We need a plan before we go and pick a fight!"

"Forget it!" Rainbow snapped. "I'm knocking some sense back into that egghead! And you're not going to stop me!"

"Applejack is right, Rainbow Dash," Celestia stated. "I understand your concern, but if Twilight has become so corrupted that she's working with Sombra, there is no stopping her with force. And I'm afraid that you cannot help me in this case."

"You can't possibly expect us to stand back and wait, while that disgusting Sombra character does who knows what with our dear Twilight!" Rarity shot back. "We can use the Elements of Harmony on her after all! That will do some good, right?"

"You need all six ponies to use them again, Rarity. And as much as it pains me to say this, you five joined together still won't stand a chance against Sombra and Twilight. It's far too risky, and I can ensure that he will use Twilight against you in any case. This is my fight and my fight alone. But this will end tomorrow, I can tell you that. We know where they are now."

Fluttershy came forward, her tears not as strong as they were before. In fact, she almost seemed kind of angry.

"Promise that you'll stop that no good Sombra," she demanded. "And promise that you'll bring Twilight back home without a scratch."

"I promise you that Sombra will be stopped and Twilight will be back home, Fluttershy. I promise all of you that."

That was exactly what they needed to hear. Their spirits were getting back up, relieved to hear that something would be done about this.

But Applejack approached the princess alone. Her hat still rested on her chest.

"But this is King Sombra. We almost didn't stop him with everything we had. Are you sure you don't need help?"

"I will have some sort of help at the castle, actually."

"Beg your pardon? You just said that we couldn't help you out one bit. So who's this help of yours?"

"Somepony that's faced Sombra before. She'll know better than anypony what we need to do to stop him for good."

Back at Canterlot, the search parties continued to sweep over the town. Every street had a Guard on it, not one stone left unturned, and they combed through the city day and night.

Princess Luna watched over them from her watchtower, observing the surroundings from the telescope. She brought the lens over the train station, and kept an eye on all the ponies going in and out of the arriving train. Nothing to note with the characters out there.

Then something came over the horizon, arriving in from Ponyville. She brought the scope over to its direction, and recognized the figure as her beloved sister Celestia. And it appeared that she was coming right for the watchtower.

Luna took a few steps back to make room for Celestia. The sun princess descended down to the steps, and her face was just as dark as Luna's.

"Have the Guards told you about Twilight's location yet?"

"Indeed," Luna responded. "And she's with King Sombra. I did not foresee his return. It seemed like he was dead after your student took care of him."

"That's what I thought as well, but the Guards tell a different story. I was hoping he would never come back to life."

"Are you scared, sister? It appears that even mentioning him strikes a nerve inside you."

"Of course I'm scared. You know as well as I do what he's capable of doing. I don't want to lose another unicorn of mine to him again. If we don't stop him, not only will Twilight be lost under his shadow, but all of Equestria as well. The fate of the world is on our shoulders."

"Nopony would blame you if this proves to be difficult. You love her as a mother would. It would be painful to see a daughter run astray as she has done."

"I understand what you're saying. But I can't let my emotions get in the way when it comes to Sombra. He knows how much she means to me, and given his past, he'll use her as a weapon. Do you understand what I mean?"

"That must have been the reason why you never wanted him to return. You were afraid you would have to bury another one of your students because of him."

"You're right...you're right..."

"So when will we strike at his castle? We have their location marked on our maps."

"Early in the afternoon tomorrow, when the conditions are at their warmest. We will bring a unit with us to ensure there is no interference in our battles. He has his own Shadow Guard after all."

"That's not a bad strategy to go under. I only hope for your sake that she is not too far gone like Starswirl was when you realized what was going on. It took you two hundred years to get past his death, if what they've told me is true."

"I don't want to talk about it, sister. That might sound rude, but what's done is done. All I care about is making things right at this current age. And Twilight will not be another Starswirl. This time, the story ends with Sombra's death. I will ensure he's dead now and forever by my hoof."

Author's Note

Three chapters left to go in this story....feels like the last leg of a marathon.

Operation Sunlight (Alternate Evil Version)

The day after the second coronation of Twilight Sparkle started off like any other day in the mountain range: A blizzard blowing outside, frigid air, and four dead Guards out in the tundra, their bodies left outside to remind anyone who would think of doing anything silly what their end would look like.

Well, it was normal in most ways.

Within the royal bedroom, the air was nice and quiet. Twilight and Sombra slept within each other's hooves, the lingering pleasure of last night lingering in place. Occasionally, she would unconsciously cuddle her face into his neck, but otherwise they didn't do much.

Sombra's ear twitched back and forth, as the faint sunlight trickled from the windows into the room. He opened his eyes and perceived that it was sometime after dusk. Knowing it was almost time to get up, he sighed and looked down at his queen. She was still sleeping, and he decided to give her a few moments of rest before he woke her up.

The first thing he was thinking about was how badly he wanted to do...things...with her as soon as possible.. It had been far too long since the last time he got to experience that kind of action, and she was the perfect pony to do it with.

He rested his head on her mane, hoping a Guard wouldn't come in to disturb their rest. But it wasn't long until her ears were twitching as well.

"What...what happened..." she stirred.

He pulled his hooves away, and Twilight slowly came back to life. She rubbed her hooves on her forehead, and sat upright in bed. When she realized that he was still there with her, she smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Good morning, my queen," he greeted. "Did you enjoy our time together last night?"

"You have no idea," she answered. "That was one of the best nights in my life. And not just because we did the...you know what. I mean the wedding and coronation ceremony too. Did you know that you're the first pony that's ever tried to go out with me?"

"I did not know that. If I remember right, Celestia was consistently given offers for her hoof in marriage. Partly because the idea of being the first prince of Equestria was always going to be tempting."

"I was only a princess for a few days when you came to me in the Wispy Woods, remember? When you tried to take back the Crystal Empire, I wasn't even considered for the role until it was all over. Close, but not yet."

"Do you think we could avoid talking about that period of time? I don't want to be reminded of that part of my life. I'm sure you understand."

Twilight blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah...that."

She used her magic to pull the covers off her body, and she stretched her limbs out in front of her. Sombra did the same, and got out of bed shortly after. He yawned and slapped his face to bring feeling back into it.

Twilight joined him out of bed, and they shared a kiss together. And then another. And another. Eventually, she found his hooves around her neck.

"So what do we do now?" she asked. "I'm not sure how you do things around here just yet. We don't have a kingdom to rule over, at least not in comparison to Celestia's."

"You said last night that you wanted to do it again," he mentioned. "Well, we could always share a shower together...."

"You can do that? I mean...of course you could. But I've never heard--"

He interrupted her with a hoof to the mouth. "Yes, ponies have been doing it as long as there's been a shower. But do you want to do it?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "More than anything right now."

Meanwhile, in another part of Equestria, it was around the same time in the morning but much warmer and almost humid. It was practically a jungle out there, with trees as high as skyscrapers and the ground moist and mushy to the touch. Monkeys chanted as they swung around in the vines, and jaguars stalked their prey in the shadows. It was a perfect setting for a Daring Do book.

Off in the distance was the same mountain range Sombra had called home. It stood in contrast to the hot and humid jungle bordering it.

There were a few dozen tents in the midst of the jungle, all bearing either the emblem of Celestia or Luna. The ones carrying Celestia's sun had the usual Royal Guards resting inside, while Luna's stallions were all bat ponies. A few of them watched out for any wildlife on their patrol, while the rest were attending a meeting with the sisters.

They set up a few boxes around and arranged them into a large square shape. There, they laid out a giant map that went over that corner of Equestria in great detail. The mountain range was listed there from top to bottom.

A red pencil was levitated off the ground with a yellow aura, and it drew a gigantic circle within a certain section of the mountain range.

"This is where the castle is located at, according to our sources," Celestia stated. "It's in the middle of nowhere, hence why it took almost an entire day of thorough searching to find it."

"And there is a small army of Guards inside to complement Sombra's power," Luna added. "After debating our options, it would be wise if you, our Guards tried and true, to focus your efforts chiefly on the guards. Celestia and I will deal with King Sombra ourselves."

"Forgive me for questioning your wisdom, but what about Twilight Sparkle?" Captain Silver Star brought up. "We all know she is working with Sombra. If she was willing to aid him in the deaths of four stallions, surely she would not hold it above her to attack you."

"That might be true, but our priority is to rescue her from Sombra's influence in any way possible," Celestia answered. "I have to believe my beloved student is still there underneath his clutches. And I know how I'm going to snap her out of it."

Luna's brow lowered upon hearing the plan. "Sister, could I have a moment with you?"

"As you wish, sister."

Luna brought her over to a corner of the jungle where nopony would hear them. The noise of mosquitoes filled their ears, buzzing about and looking for blood to drain.

Even though the princess of the moon was smarter than possibly Celestia herself, Celestia couldn't help but wonder if this private conversation should even be happening. She had it all under control and had it planned to the last letter. Or so she thought. Or hoped. Maybe a bit of both.

When they were alone, Celestia could sense doubt and concern radiating from Luna's eyes. She appeared as if she was a few inches from breaking down in front of the princess of the sun.

"What is this plan of yours?" Luna questioned at last.

"You're not telling me your true intentions over this meeting," Celestia pointed out immediately. "Go on and say what you really feel about this."

"Very well then. If you want me to address you bluntly, so be it."

She stomped her hoof on the ground, bracing herself for what she was about to say.

"How do you plan to save Twilight? You know that Sombra will never let her go by choice. He would rather die fighting with her by his side than to let her go back to you and live the rest of his life inside a prison cell. And where would you start? By asking her politely that she goes back to being good? Using your relationship with her is not going to work. I'm your sister, and there was no convincing me to not have eternal night. It took brute force to subdue Nightmare Moon and you know it."

Celestia sighed, and looked up to the canopy above her head.

"Truth be told, I am not sure if it will work. But I realized a long time ago that I cannot use emotion to save her. He must have used the same thing. However, I have one idea that could work."

"COULD work? We cannot leave anything to chance when it is Sombra we're dealing with. He will consume us if he sees a window of opportunity."

"I'm prepared to do anything to save Equestria, you know that. But if he has used logic to lure her over, we will show her how it's all a lie."

"What do you mean?"

"I can use the story of Starswirl the Bearded to draw parallels with her story. Prove to her that he will only use her, but he dispose of her when he is finished. How he only sees her as a pawn that he can live without."

"This better work. I'd hate for you to lose her."

"We will all lose if she is forever lost to the shadows. But you focus on stopping him however you can. I'll take care of Twilight."

"Very well. Then there is nothing more to discuss."

They left their private corner of the jungle and returned to the campsite. The Guards moved out of the way to have a clear path to the center of the area, where the map was laid out.

While they were gone, the Guards were debating within their ranks why the princesses left in the middle of the meeting. Perhaps the pressure of possibly fighting Princess Twilight was proving to be too much for Celestia. But it didn't matter anymore. The speculation was about to end.

"We will travel down to the mountain range in thirty minutes time," Celestia stated. "There is a time window of three hours where the conditions around the mountains aren't as treacherous, and it starts at one in the afternoon. When this time arrives, we will storm into the castle and deal with Sombra's forces. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," they said together.

"Well done," Luna complimented. "I believe we're ready for Operation Sunlight."

The wood in the fireplace cackled as the fire burned it away. Its embers lit up the dining hall without the need of any sunlight. It felt warm and cozy in there, very inviting and serving as the perfect conditions for having a good lunchtime meal.

The meal consisted of plain daffodil sandwiches this round. After all, they had to save themselves for dinner later that night.

Twilight and Sombra were clad once more in their royal clothes as they ate. They had to be recognized as King Sombra and Queen Twilight Sparkle by now.

They were seated next to each other at the dining table. There weren't many words exchanged between them for a while, as they were still busy recovering from the hottest shower that Twilight ever had.

But something was bugging her. It was something that was troubling her mind ever since the shower was over.

"What happens to us now?" she said.

"What do you mean?" Sombra asked in response. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You have something in mind with me. There's a reason you made me your wife AND your queen. You want to rebuild your Empire again, don't you?"

"Ah, clever. That is part of the plan, and I'm free to answer any questions you have about it."

"How big is this Empire going to be?"

Sombra smiled and kissed her cheek. "As big as we want it to be. It could be bigger than Celestia's empire at its peak if we want it to."

"But she would never stand for it! You know that!"

"Another part of the plan. Now that we realized that Celestia wants both of us dead, the time will come when we will do something about it."

"Is this going where I think it's going?"

"How about you tell me?"

"We're going to fight Celestia one of these day..."

"What's the matter? Don't you want to live in a world where you never have to wonder if she's going to break in the castle to see to your death? That's what she wants to do, and you know it in your heart. And I want to save you from that world."

"I understand. I don't want her chasing me like this. She has to realize that I want to be left alone with you. I don't need her in my life anymore. I only need you..."

At that moment, Sombra brought his lips to Twilight's and kissed them passionately. He could hear her moan past the kiss, as she didn't want this moment to end.

It was so perfect. She was beginning to let Celestia go from her heart...

She broke away from the embrace, and met his glance with her own. Her eyes were green again, purple mist coming out like smoke from a chimney. He was much the same, and he looked down to her belly.

What was to come would make things sweeter than they already were...

"So how do we help the Empire grow?" Twilight inquired.

"We use the creation spell together. Create an army numbering in the hundred thousands. That will be enough to take over any city with any sort of defense."

"Perfect. I can organize the units together as well. Some of them could be nothing but fliers, and others could be a magical guard. That way, we can mix it up and they'll never be able to make a good strategy to stop us."

"Exactly. Our enemies can be clever with their tactics, and they will have resources we don't have. Even the griffins will beat us in some cases."

"They don't have dark magic like we do," Twilight grinned.

And so the corruption is complete, he thought to himself.

"No, they don't. And that will be the key to winning our battles."

"But we have to expand to a point where Celestia and Luna won't be a problem."

"That will have to wait for a while. Those sisters are powerful and very creative in their plans. That much I know from firsthand experience. We'll have to spend years before we can match them."

"At least we'll live forever. We have all the time we could ever ask for. But there's something we have to talk about, if this plan is ever going to happen."

"What is it, my queen?"

"How do you learn the creation spell that you've been using? I've never seen anything like it before. And I want to know how to do it, so I can help you create this army myself."

"It is not as difficult as you would believe. If you follow me back to the target range, I can show you everything there is to it. It will take just half an hour to learn, and the only trick is finding out how to learn it."

"Then show me."

True to Celestia's word, the mountain range was much more bearable after one in the afternoon. Anyone could look around the tundra as far as the eye could see, or as much as the mountains would allow. The temperature was just above freezing, but the ground was so cold that none of the snow would melt. Still too cold for flying for most pegasi.

In the path leading to Sombra's castle, hundreds of hoof prints were left behind in the snow. They ranged from the small to the big to the kind of print only alicorns made.

"Keep an eye out for the castle!" Silver Star commanded. "As soon as you see it, give the signal!"

Celestia and Luna stood out in front of the force of Guards, taking charge in their advancement. Their faces were stern and they kept their eyes forward to their objective.

Despite their advanced intel, they had been walking through the area for a whole hour and saw nothing of a black castle. It didn't help that their window of opportunity was very limited, and the Guards would likely die from frostbite if they didn't hurry their flanks along.

"Are you sure this is the right location?" asked Luna.

"I'm sure of it. That Guard was still traumatized from last night when we left this morning. He wouldn't forget it as long as he lived."

And so they marched forward to the objective, regardless of the doubts creeping into the minds of some of the Guards and even one princess.

It appeared as if there were endless miles of snow to trudge through with no end in sight. With the sun out in full force, some Guards were even getting sweaty.

Celestia and Luna kicked up snow with every hoof step they made. Some of it landed on their bodies, and even they would admit that it was getting rather cold out there. But that didn't matter to Celestia. It was time to put this issue behind her once and for all.

"I see something ahead of us!" said one stallion.

"Go and find out what it is," Celestia commanded.

A pegasus Guard went out and flew over to the mold coming out from the ground. To most of them, it just looked like a pile of snow. It would make sense, as it was white and seemingly formless.

He approached the object and sniffed around it. The smell was atrocious, and he gagged at the scent of it. So he took a few steps back and swiped the snow off of it with his wings, keeping a good distance away from it.

It was the body of a fallen solider. The reason why the scent was so terrible was because the flesh was starting to rot. Somepony had done it on purpose. The body was fresh and it was cold outside, which would have otherwise preserved the flesh. Somepony forced it to start rotting ahead of time.

And then he noticed another mold of snow out there. He shook the snow off the object to find another body. Then another mold revealed yet another body.

When it was all said and done, he had found four bodies to four Royal Guards. The stench was so bad that he had to cover his mouth to stop himself from throwing up.

"Those must be the Guards that Sombra killed last night," Luna noted. "But why would he do something like this with them?"

"It's a warning to any intruders," Celestia figured out. "Acting as a sign to turn back. If this is where we found the bodies, we must be getting close. We'll take the bodies with us to base on the way back. They deserve a good funeral in Canterlot."

The unit forced themselves to march past the bodies. Not one Guard was able to pass by without seeing the faces of the fallen, forever twisted in a state of horror.

Celestia forced her cold hooves to press ever further along. She could feel how close they were getting. She couldn't give up at this moment...

...and then her heart skipped a beat when she finally saw it.

There it was, with the flags featuring Sombra's likeness over every one of them. Stones as black as his mane. And crystals embedded in every part of the castle that one could see on the outside. They had found Sombra's castle at long last.

She forced herself to stop and take a deep breath. Sombra was going to be inside that castle with Twilight Sparkle. And unless Celestia took the right approach, she would have to deal with the death of another talented unicorn.

You know what to do. Everypony knows what to do. Luna will be with you. You can win this fight and bring back Twilight as well. You are one of the wisest ponies that's ever lived, and you know how to get to somepony's heart.

That's what you need to do with her. Don't let your emotions get in the way. She is not lost in her mind just yet. You have time to make this right. So make it right...

While her eyes were closed and she was meditating on her next move, she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She would know that hoof from anywhere with its white sandal covering it.

Luna was doing her best to comfort her before the battle. She smiled weakly and nodded.

"We will bring her home today," Luna comforted. "Trust me when I say this."

"Thank you, Luna," said Celestia. "Sometimes, I wonder how I survived a thousand years without you by my side."

Finally having the courage to begin, she turned around to face her unit. She exhaled and sent steam everywhere, and she addressed her unit as a whole.

"Gentlecolts, it is no secret that this might be the most challenging battle you will ever face in your lifetimes. King Sombra is not just a brute, but one of the most clever foes I've ever had to face in my long rule. He will have tactics at his disposal designed to bring you to your knees.

"But today, I am with you in battle. I trust this fight in your hooves, for I have picked every last one of you to fight under my name. I picked you all because you are brave, you are tough, and you have never backed down from the face of danger.

"So I ask that you put your courage to the test once more for me. For Princess Twilight Sparkle, who I count on you to aid me in her rescue. And for all of Equestria.

"Begin Operation Sunlight at once. Prepare for battle."

The throne room laid dormant for the time being. Not one pony made a noise, not even the two ponies on the throne.

It was sometime after Twilight had learned the creation spell, and regardless if she showed it or not, it was difficult to master and she needed a moment to rest on her new throne.

The Shadow Guards went on their way and patrolled the halls surrounding their room, occasionally checking up on the king and queen. All in all, it seemed peaceful in this part of the castle.

Seeing that there was plenty of time before they had to do anything else, Sombra leaned over and brought his snout to Twilight's ear.

"We could always go to the library if you're not entertained by the majesty of this place," he offered.

"Just give me a moment," Twilight responded. "I think we're just fine out here--"

All of a sudden, the Shadow Guards rushed to the front of the castle. The stomping of hooves broke up any tranquility that was there before.

"What's the meaning of this?" Sombra questioned. He rose up from his throne and looked all around him. "Is there another intruder out there?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Twilight. "That Guard that got away probably told Celestia we're here. And she doesn't like letting things go like that."

"I sincerely hope you're wrong about that. We lost too many Guards the last time to hold a second invasion back without personal intervention. We need to get out there ourselves."

Twilight nodded and got off her seat. They galloped to the door leading out of the throne room, and prepared for a battle themselves.

But before they could get out of the room, the doors were struck by a spell stronger than most spells either one of them usually saw.

The wood panels flew up into the air and landed behind the king and queen. They hit the floor with such impact that splinters flew everywhere in their wake.

Twilight's horn beamed to prepare herself to kill more Guards as necessary, but she stopped when she realized who were the ponies coming in.

These two ponies were taller than even the bulkiest stallion. Their manes and tails flew with the power of the celestial skies, one with the sun and all its glory, and the other with the stars of the moonlit sky.

They carried around regal attire in the form of golden sandals on their hooves, a neck plate, and a crown that told everypony how high up the totem pole they were. One was white as paper, the other was dark blue like the ocean at night.

They were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

The celestial sisters charged into the throne room, ready for anything that was waiting for them. But they stopped in their tracks immediately after seeing Twilight Sparkle there.

"Twilight Sparkle, I've finally found you," Celestia said gratefully. "And you're...you're..." She noticed the different kind of attire that Twilight was wearing. "You...you...what is the meaning of this? Why are you dressed like you're Sombra's queen?"

"Because I am his queen," Twilight said without remorse. "I married him yesterday, in fact. But what are you doing here?"

Upon hearing this, Luna turned her attention to Sombra. He gave them the nastiest grin either one of them had ever seen She stomped the ground and was ready to tear him apart.

"You foul beast," Luna snorted. "We had long suspected that you might have corrupted dear Twilight, but to go so far as to make her love you...you are far worse than Discord and Queen Chrysalis combined!"

"What do you mean, make her love me?" Sombra shot back. "She chose to love me. Isn't that right, Twilight?"

He came over and nuzzled Twilight on her neck. She did the same, but all the while looking to Celestia. Her expression was as much out of terror as it was of love for her husband.

"I...I love him," she finally admitted. "I love him, no matter what you'll say about the kind of pony he is."

"Do you even know what you're saying anymore?" Celestia growled. "Or has he corrupted your brain so much that you cannot listen to logic anymore?"

"But he's changed! He went to dinner with Cadence and treated her with respect, gave me shelter when I needed to hide after that time in the gardens, and he gave me that book by Starswirl--"

"You mean THIS book?"

Celestia brought the book on dark magic out in her possession. She tossed it to land in front of Twilight's hooves.

"That's the book."

"It's the same book that Sombra used to corrupt Starswirl the Bearded!" Luna roared. "That mind of dark magic Starswirl wrote about is Sombra! Didn't you kill those four Royal Guards because the 'mind' took over?"

"Yes, but that couldn't be Sombra!"

"But it is! He did the same thing with Starswirl the Bearded, taking over his mind to do horrible things," Celestia added. "That must have been what he did to you. Isn't it, Sombra?"

Twilight turned to Sombra. Her eyes watered with tears.

"Is it true, Sombra? Did you kill those ponies through me?"

There was no choice in the matter for him. He had to come clean.

"It was to show you that Celestia is a tyrant!" Sombra stated. "After all, when you found shelter with me, she tried to take you away and hold you guilty for those murders. You know that's what she would have done. That night, she didn't know that it was me that did it, but you."

"You're right...you're right," Twilight responded. Her eyes were growing increasingly green, and her voice echoed with a force when she spoke. "You tried to bring me back to Canterlot...to try me for those murders..."

"I NEVER WANTED TO TRY YOU FOR MURDER!" Celestia shrieked in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "I always knew there was something wrong with you that night. The way you tried to hide things from me, and how you ran away for your life. I just didn't have the foresight to know Sombra played a part in it. I wanted to bring you home SAFELY! He is the one who planted the idea that I wanted to kill you!"

After hearing that, it was as if Twilight's world and everything she knew was gone again. Her jaw was flat on the floor, and she shook her head repeatedly.

"No, it's not true...it's not true..."

"I'm sorry, but Sombra is still the same stallion that tried to kill you in the Crystal Empire," Celestia said. "This was all part of a setup to make you his queen."

"But I love Sombra...I love him..."

"Whatever love he had for you was a lie."

"Please...no...I want both...I want him and you..."

She sat down on the floor and pressed her hooves to her head. She heard the voices of a thousand ponies, each saying something different. All of them were telling her that Celestia was the one lying to her.

And she was starting to believe them, as her eyes grew ever more green.

"That is a lie in itself," Sombra barked. He stood up to Celestia and brought his face inches from hers. "Yes, I deceived Twilight Sparkle in order to make her my queen. That was always part of the plan. But I truly love her. She is the most beautiful and smartest mare I've ever met, and when I married her and took her to the marriage bed, I spent all night showing her how much I cared for her in my heart."

"You made LOVE to her?" Luna asked. "You disgusting animal...we will rejoice in putting you down!"

"And no matter how much you love her, that doesn't justify anything you've done to earn that love," Celestia added. "You could have just loved her and took your time to reform. But your ambition to kill me was always the top priority. And now you must die."

"No...not so soon..."

All three ponies turned to see where the faint voice was coming from. When Celestia saw it, her heart broke in half.

Twilight rose up from her position, and her eyes were completely green. Not even pupils to carry around. The purple mist emitting from them turned into fumes of mist, and when she talked, it was not her own voice that came from her mouth.

"You do not understand the love Sombra and I have," Queen Twilight Sparkle snapped. "We will be together forever, long after the skin from your rotting corpses are gone. For we are the new rulers of Equestria. You are only a relic from a time that past centuries ago. The Empire of the Sun and the Moon must cease, and the Shadow Empire will take its place!"

Sombra ran back to her side and joined her in facing Celestia and Luna together. Their purple mist combined to coat the entire room in a nasty purple shade, and the room darkened considerably.

"You corrupted Twilight!" Celestia screamed. "You turned her against me! I will make sure you die for all of your crimes myself!"

"No, YOU will be the pony who dies this day!" Sombra shot back.

The air around that room crackled with electricity, as all four ponies prepared the most devastating spell they could cook up.

Luna was busy preparing a spell that would create a thousand bat ponies to attack only Sombra, but she quickly saw nothing but white around her. Twilight surprised her with a quick dark sphere spell.

She flew up in the air before she hit the ground, and she could feel the bones in her hooves shaking from the force. How they did not break was beyond her. But before she could recover, she felt a gooey liquid go down her face. She was bleeding, and bleeding profusely.

Celestia stopped in the middle of her spell and turned to see Luna bleeding around her horn and flanks. She ran to her sister's aid, but she was interrupted when she felt her hooves skid around on the floor.

She gasped as she felt two sharp pains in her neck. While she was off guard, Sombra ran to her and buried his fangs into her skin. He drew blood from the impact, and it dripped down her fur. The princess tried to break free, but Sombra only chomped down harder to hold her in place, drinking her blood like a vampire.

Desperate, she used her levitation spell to pick him up and throw him away. He yelled as he collided with his own throne on his backside. The stone making up the chair crumbled and buried him whole.

Celestia grunted and felt the area where he pierced her skin. The blood was still coming down from the attack, and it would hurt for some time.

Then she realized that Twilight was aiming another dark sphere spell for her sister. Luna was still trying to recover from the last spell, and she deployed a weak shield to protect her hide.

Celestia didn't want to do this. Not to Twilight of all ponies. But she had no choice.

She pointed her horn at the queen and shot a light beam attack. It collided with Twilight head on and disrupted her spell entirely. Twilight cried out in pain as her whole body felt like it was burning from the heat of the sun.

At first, it seemed like they had won the battle, regardless of their battle wounds. Then they saw something moving from the throne. Sombra threw the stones burying him away with his magical grip, setting him free. He came to face them with cuts big and large all around his body.

He ran to Luna and shattered her shield by stabbing his horn into it. When she was defenseless, he rose up on his hind legs and prepared to attack her with a fire spell that would surely kill her.

But Celestia butted in and crossed horns with him. He growled and tried to overpower the princess. Neither one of them was about to back down. The magic from their horns caused the whole room to glow in light and dark magic.

"You want this to be the way you go out, Your Majesty?" Sombra taunted.

"No, I want it written that I kicked your flank easily this day!" Celestia responded.

They continued to cross horns, the magic illuminating with every attack. It seemed like nopony would win that easily.

However, Luna finally recovered at that point. She wiped the blood off her face and rushed in to join the battle. Her horn collided with Sombra to force things to go in their favor

Twilight tried to recover, but she didn't have the strength to stand yet. Her body felt like it was on fire from the light spell, and it would take some time before she could fight again.

Celestia and Luna working together was too much for Sombra. He tried to hold his own, but his hooves skidded backwards with time. He fell back on his flank, and he was as dizzy as he could be. He was completely hopeless now.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Luna shouted.

The sisters brought their horns together, and the spell they created caused a whirlwind to consume the area. Every flag of Sombra's likeness were ripped apart from their posts, as the sphere that would destroy Sombra started to form/

He couldn't stand at all, and the horn crossing had taken his strength from him. He watched the spell form before his eyes, and he knew it was over for him. His rule wasn't going to last forever, but he wanted it to last longer than this.

He shut his eyes and prepared himself for the long journey, waiting for him at the end of this. "Long live the king..."

His vision ceased to be as the whirlwind spell slammed right into him. His life flashed before his eyes, and blood was shed everywhere and stained the stones in the room. The crown and cape were shredded into a million pieces, and his body finally came down to the ground. All signs of life were gone at last.

Celestia still wasn't sure if he was dead or not. He might have had a card up the sleeve to prepare for this showdown. But before she could examine the body, Twilight rushed to his body in front of them. She bent down and pressed her face into his neck.

"Sombra, it's me," Twilight said. "Please wake up. They're still here. We need to fight them off if we're ever going to be together forever."

Yet the eyes did not open. She tried again and pushed on his belly.

"Please wake up, you can't be dead yet...you're stronger than that..."

No reaction. None.

"No...don't leave me like this. We were going to have our own Shadow Empire. We were going to have our own child, raise him up as a prince..."

She wept over his death, and buried her face in his shoulder joint. The sound of her crying ringed through the halls of the castle.

The Royal Guards, now finished with dispatching Sombra's Shadow Guard, came over to hear what the commotion was about. To say that seeing Princess Twilight Sparkle crying over one of her deadliest enemies had confused them was an understatement.

Celestia looked to Luna, both of them solemn in tone.

"I believe his influence over her has finally past," Luna thought openly. "There's nothing to keep it in check."

"Are you sure?" Celestia questioned. "She was deep into his deception."

"But I know what you want to happen now."

"Yes. I want her to be out of it for good. To have her back to Ponyville. I'll do whatever it takes to snap her out of his influence."

"Then go and make it right."

Celestia nodded, and slowly approached Twilight by her side, still mourning next to Sombra's body. The purple alicorn cried her heart out over what had happened, staining his fur that was also stained in his blood.

The princess of the sun touched Twilight's shoulder with a hoof and tried to comfort her. "It will be alright. It's over. We can go back to Canterlot, and I will help you get through this. I want to help you get through this, because I love you..."

When Twilight pulled her head away and looked to Celestia, Celestia jumped back in sheer horror. The sight she witnessed was enough to send shivers down anypony's spine.

Twilight's eyes weren't just green, but they were dark green. Fangs came down her teeth, the same kind of fangs that were used to pierce Celestia's neck. The expression of her face was pure rage, the angriest that she had ever seen anypony act. Her eyes narrowed down, and she pressed her face on Celestia's.

"You took him away from me," she said coldly. "How could anypony love me, when they take MY stallion away from me?"

She hovered above the ground and emitted a strong force of magic. Perhaps stronger than anything that Celestia had ever seen Sombra do on his own. Then she roared at the top of her lungs, growling like an untamed animal.

"You will die for everything you've done to me!" she continued. "I will finish what King Sombra started, and bring you to your knees!"

In the matter of seconds, she created another magical sphere spell, twice as big as Sombra's spell on his best day, and launched it right at Celestia.

Celestia screamed in agony as the pain penetrated her from every angle. The lights in her eyes blinked rapidly for entire seconds, and her skin was charred from the force of Twilight's spell.

Twilight held her former teacher in this position, aiming to continue the torture until she was dead. All of the Royal Guards came in to confront this act, and prepared to hit the tyrant with everything they got. Luna stood out in front of the Guards, enraged by what she saw.

"Let her go!" Luna demanded. "Stop this nonsense forever! This is not you!"

At first, Twilight was prepared to end Celestia right there. But the force that would confront her over it was far too strong. This wasn't her time.

"It is the new me you are talking to," she responded. "I am Twilight Sparkle, the Queen of Shadows, and the one who will destroy everything you love and hold dear. But not this day. Your time will come in due time."

She released the spell, and Celestia fell to the floor battered and bloody. She couldn't even lift her head up at that moment, but she was still alive. Luna ran to her side and held her hooves in her own.

"Do not worry about me," Celestia said. "Stop her at once. Sombra has permanently corrupted her, and there is no saving her..."

But when she was finished talking, Twilight had taken a shadow form of her own. The shadow wrapped itself around Sombra's body, and he disappeared in the midst of the shadows.

"I'm not letting you get away!" Luna shouted.

The shadow moved out of the front door and descended into the hallways of the castle. It was moving straight for the outdoors.

"Stop her at once!" commanded Luna.

Every single Royal Guard in the castle followed her as she galloped through the hallways. They could see the shadow form drift along the walls, trying to keep itself three steps ahead of the pack.

They stayed in hot pursuit, but Luna realized they were getting closer and closer to the castle's front. If Twilight made it all the way to the outdoors, she would fly after the Queen of Shadows and stop this herself.

They made it to the huge double doors marking the entrance to the castle, but the Guards stopped where they were. The blizzard had returned. The time window where it was calm and clear had come and gone.

And the shadowy mist went right inside that blizzard.

"No! You will not get away!"

Luna spread her wings and flew right into the hazardous outdoors. But as soon as she was in the thick of it, all she could see was nothing but white around her. She kept moving in the direction she saw the shadow fleeing in, but her wings gave out on her and she quickly crashed into the ground below.

Snow flew everywhere around her as she skidded on the ground, but she came to a complete stop without any further injuries. But it didn't matter if she was fine or not. She had to find Twilight, and fast.

But she couldn't see anything. The shadow was nowhere to be seen, and she had no idea where she even was in proximity to the castle.

Twilight was gone. And Luna had no idea where she went.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed, her voice blocked by the howling winds of the mountain range.

Author's Note

And so the story comes to its climax...

There's still two chapters left to go on this, so stay tuned.

But I really, really hope you're OK with this chapter. There will be more on this in the Author's Notes chapter later on, but I honestly didn't plan out the ending like this when I started. More like a happier ending where...this didn't happen.

Operation Sunlight (Good Version)