"Myrkrið er meistari og þú ert allur þræll!"
King Sombra's voice echoed in Cadence's head, triggering her to start pounding on her skull with her hooves in an attempt to drive it out. When the dark king didn't invade her dreams, he haunted her waking thoughts, taunting her with his deep, whispery tone and aura of unmitigated horror. The worst part was Cadence wasn't entirely frightened. In fact, she found herself drawn to Sombra and wanted to know more about him. This drove her to visit the royal library to find out all that she could on the mysterious late King Sombra.
Pouring through the oldest known records in the library, Cadence found little to no information on the former tyrant's life, only detailing his reign as king of the Crystal Empire. There was no mention of his birth, his childhood or his lineage, only vague references to his race the umbrums or "shadow ponies". They were a race of equines that were wiped out during the Umbrum-Draconequus War, a conflict that occurred during the early days of Equestria and nearly divided the new nation. The only known survivors of either extinct race were Discord, ex-dictator and chaos-meister of Equestria, and the aforementioned Sombra.
He didn't just poof into being. Where is his birth certificate? It's as though he just appeared out of nowhere.
"Prinsessa af ást…your time is nigh..."
Shaking her head, Cadence slammed the book closed and turned, finding herself facing a pair of glowing green orbs. She leapt backward and ignited her horn, only to realize that she was staring at the reflective surface of a crystalline column.
"What...what is this...?" She waved a hoof and the second Cadence did the same. "It's my reflection..."
The mare in the column stared incredulously back, tilting her head and powering down the pink glow of her horn. The young alicorn stepped forward to inspect herself, now more intrigued than put off. Twin plumes of purple mist seeped out of the corners of her green eyes and Cadence snapped her eyes shut, a shriek erupting from her mouth.
"Y-Your Majesty?!"
Cadence felt a pair of hooves on her shoulders and recognized them as belonging to Amethyst, the librarian. She opened her eyes back up and sighed a breath of relief as she found her eyes had reverted back to their normal, light purple hues.
"I'm alright, Amethyst. Thank you."
The old mare patted her back, worry etched onto her ancient face. "Should I inform Shining Armor-...?"
"No! I mean, I don't want him to worry. I haven't been sleeping well so I must just be tired."
Amethyst nodded, though she didn't seem entirely convinced.
"Well, if you say so. Go on and rest up. I'll clean up here."
Cadence looked back at the piles of books she'd created and felt a bit guilty for making somepony of Amethyst's age tidy up her messes. Then again, the crystal pony was surprisingly spry and took pride in doing a young mare's job.
"Alright then. Thank you, Amethyst. I'll see you later."
Passing by another crystalline column, Cadence stared intently into its surface and upon finding nothing out of the ordinary, uneasily made her way to her bedroom, unconvinced that what she saw was the result of a sleep-deprived mind.
~*~
"Twilight? Twilight? Twilight!"
"Huh, what, who?!"
"You forgot where, when and how," Spike joked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You've been spacing out all day."
"I'm alright, Spike. Just thinking."
"Thinking, huh? Would it have anything to do with your date last night?"
"What? No!" Twilight blushed and then bobbed her head in consideration. "Okay maybe."
"So what happened? Did you and Parcel Post hit it off or what?"
Twilight's hoof unconsciously began to rub her lips, recalling the way Parcel Post's somehow seemed to encapsulate her own.
Strange, his lips are so tiny and yet it was like they could swallow mine up. And the taste...
Parcel Post didn't taste at all like Twilight thought he would. As he was also a beekeeper, she expected his kiss to taste of honey but instead, it was more of an earthy flavor, like ground cinnamon with just a hint of blueberry. It was strange but exotic, and she found herself longing for more.
"Equestria to Twilight! Hello?"
"I was thinking! Sorry. We had a lovely time. We went to dinner and talked for hours. He put his coat around me and walked me home. When we got to the front door, I didn't want the night to end. And then he kissed me and I just-..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Rewind, play! He kissed you?" Spike grinned and patted Twilight on the back. "Way to go, Twi!"
Twilight tittered nervously, not being used to such a topic.
"Um, gee thanks, Spike."
"Now that you've got that out of the way, are you going to see him again?"
She sighed and tapped her hooves again. "I want to but I'm going to need a few days to think about it. Besides, Parcel Post is going to be busy with his job. I just...need a little break is all."
Spike lifted an eyebrow. "Thinking and breaks? What do you need those for? Do you like this guy or not?"
"I like him. In fact, I like like him. I just don't want to rush into anything, that's all."
Twilight laid down on the couch and sighed.
"I've never felt like this before. And having a coltfriend? It's new to me. Parcel Post treats me like nopony else does. And I want it to last. That's why I need to think. I...don't want to lose him."
~*~
"Enjoy your package, ma'am," Sombra sullenly informed the blue-maned unicorn, who seemed not to hear him through her active headphones, instead nodding and closing the door behind her.
"What is it with this generation's obsession with their fancy technology?" He grumbled aloud and exhaled loudly.
Ever since his date with Twilight Sparkle a few days ago, Sombra found himself feeling miserable as a result of his dual-pronged revelation: he was in love with Twilight Sparkle but she was attracted to Parcel Post, the rather pathetic-looking mailpony that he was imitating. It just had to turn out that he met a nice mare that he clicked with but she just had to be the student of his mortal enemy and just had to be the one mare he couldn't be with. If there were gods, then they were massive sadists.
He shook his head and growled, ignoring the stares of Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstrings, who hurriedly looked away and started to put distance between them and him. Sombra stopped and took several deep breaths.
Okay, perhaps this was for the better. I can focus on the plan. Twilight Sparkle was nothing but a distraction. She made me forget the reason why I returned from death's domain. I have wrongs to right and a world to save.
Try as he might, however, the umbrum couldn't get his mind off of Twilight and he felt his frustration growing more rapidly by the second. She was smart, quick-witted, beautiful and a natural-born leader, all qualities he saw as vital in choosing a partner and it came to the point that he decided that a harem of concubines no longer interested him.
I want a mare that I truly desire and see as my equal. I want Twilight Sparkle.
He went through the rest of his route, trying his hardest to keep his emotions in check and his mind focused on his job. It proved to be a lot harder than he'd imagined.
What a weird, freakin' day!
When Sombra finished delivering the mail, he found that Applejack was at the Carousel Boutique trying (and failing) to make clothing, bearing Rarity's cutie mark of three diamonds and insisting that was where she belonged. Then, Pinkie Pie was at Sweet Apple Acres attempting to harvest apples, only succeeding in possibly fracturing one of her hindlegs and getting hit on the head by a barrage of apples. Admittedly, it was hilarious but seeing the party pony in agony also made Sombra feel sorry for her.
What are these ponies doing to me?!
Rainbow Dash was in Fluttershy's cottage attempting to control a stampede of angry critters, Fluttershy wound up at Sugarcube Corner doing an abysmal job at being an entertainer and Rarity was soaking wet and having a miserable time attempting to control the weather.
Although the shadow pony was a master of obscure magical techniques, Sombra had never heard of a spell that could switch cutie marks, and, by extension, the destinies of other ponies. It was certainly intriguing and could prove to one day be useful but he ultimately decided to ignore it, deeming the event not his problem. He was oddly sympathetic to their plight but knew that Twilight, apparently the only one of the sextet not affected by the curse, could remedy the situation.
Besides, cutie marks have nothing to do with my ambitions. These ponies beat Discord so they can handle it themselves.
After clocking out of work, Sombra did his usual schtick of mildly flirting with Sunny Delivery and cracking a few bad jokes with Rainy Day before heading back to his house to work on a new hex he was excited to try out.
Wait, what...what is that?
The sky over Golden Oak Library erupted in several giant glowing stars that resembled-
Twilight's cutie mark?
Bolting towards the light-show faster than he'd ever run before, Sombra paused to catch his breath, ending up a few feet from the library, where he found five of the six Element bearers, all with their correct cutie marks. Along with Spike the dragon, they stood in awe of the intense glow that was in front and center of them, containing what looked to be a unicorn.
Wait, Twilight?
The light vanished, revealing a wobbly-limbed Twilight, who stood up and spread her...wings...
"No..." It was as if Sombra had taken a blow to the chest.
He spun around the corner of an adjacent house and collapsed against the wall, dispelling the illusion to resemble his usual self. Twilight Sparkle was now...an alicorn. This kind of magical ascension meant only one thing: there was a new princess in Equestria.
Four...now I have to deal with four of them?!
Transforming into his shadow-form, Sombra slithered along the ground, being careful to stick to the adjoining shadows as he neared the group, which had now been joined by Princess Celestia. Of course she'd have a hoof in this.
"...I'll still be here to help and guide you, but we're all your students now, too. You're an inspiration to us all, Twilight."
Celestia, ever the charmer.
Sombra's eyes glowed a venomous green.
You can fool them into thinking that you're this benevolent matriarch but you can't fool me. I see...right through...you.
Having witnessed enough, he whizzed through the darkness and teleported himself back into Parcel Post's house, resuming his unicorn form. Thanks to Celestia's scheming, the time table for Sombra's plan had to be moved up and quickly.
Striking the crystalline cocoon with a bolt of dark magic, the structure cracked open and Parcel Post toppled to the floor, his eyes shooting open as he gasped in several long breaths. He slowly rose to his hooves and upon spotting his captor, opened his mouth to let out a scream, only for a bar of red energy to fasten itself over his lips.
"There'll be none of that," Sombra snarled, a crackling, dark purple energy sword projected from his horn and aimed at Parcel Post's throat. "Now then, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I'm not going to kill you. Yes, yes, you get to keep on drawing breath, big deal. The bad news is Twilight Sparkle is now an alicorn and this means that I have one more enemy. I can't wait any longer. The time to act is now!"
Noticing the mailpony's buckling knees, he sighed, "If I remove the band from your mouth, do you promise not to scream?"
The stallion nodded and the red energy evaporated.
"S-so, you're not going to k-kill me?" Parcel Post sniffled, much to Sombra's disgust and irritation.
"No. No, killing you would draw too much unwanted attention. Besides..." Little green rings began to radiate from Sombra's pulsating eyes and Parcel Post suddenly felt very sleepy. "...I still have use of you."
Parcel Post stared into Sombra's eyes with the expression of one either dead or very drunk.
"What do you wish of me...Master?" He uttered in a monotonous tone, his head swaying to and fro.
"Very good, slave. First, you're going to take this," Sombra stated, pulling at the amulet fastened to his throat. "And ship it to the Crystal Empire. Then, you will forget ever seeing me or having this conversation."
The rings flashed more suddenly, picking up speed as they dove into Parcel Post's unblinking eyes.
"You're going to have a little...accident. You will step into traffic and get your head slammed into a cart. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master."
A savage grin touched Sombra's lips. "Good, very good." He then thought for a moment and shrugged, "Oh, and as soon as you get out of the hospital, go to the post office and ask Sunny Delivery out on a date. You like her, she likes you so stop being a spineless weakling and go get your mare."
Do I have to do everything myself?