The road stretched on for miles, zig-zagging over the landscape in a serpentine fashion, all leading up to a gold-covered Canterlot. Sombra stomped one hoof at a time, sweat trickling down his face and neck from the effort, jaws clamped tight enough so that it felt as though the strain would shatter his teeth. Slowly but surely, the ivory kingdom loomed overhead in the distance and he was overcome by an unsatisfied need to enter. His muscles screamed in exertion but Sombra continued nevertheless, his willpower overruling his pain. The journey was nearing its end and he knew deep within his very being that Canterlot was where he wanted to go-where he needed to go-if he were to find his true purpose.
"I'm so close", Sombra grinned with triumph. "A-almost there..."
An intense heat scorched Sombra's back, halting his progress as an orange-yellow glow cast dark shadows ahead of him. Lifting his leaden hooves, he turned, finding a massive conflagration burning within a snowy village. Even from where he was standing, the shrieks were reverberating right in his ears. Steel clashed against steel, the metal ringing like bells.
"Hlaupa ef þú vilt lifa!"
"Eldur! Þorpið brennur!"
"Bardagi! Þú verður að berjast!"
Suddenly, Sombra found himself yanked around and speeding towards the conflict.
"I can't go back!" One half of his screeched, the other responding, "I have to do something!"
The wind snapped and clawed at Sombra, his hooves sinking into the snow the closer he got but he didn't care.
"I'm coming! Hjálp er á leiðinni!"
He was almost to the gates, the flames reflecting off the crystal ponies' semi-transparent hides.
"Móðir!"
A piercing wail echoed in Sombra's skull. His eyes flickered open and he slowly lifted his head up, his balled-up cloak tumbling into his seat. Taking a moment to fully awaken, he placed a hoof to his chest and took several deep breaths. He was still on the train, his car mostly vacant save for some schlubby unicorn stallion in a fez reading a newspaper and two elderly earth pony mares chattering about their grandchildren. Sombra sank back into his seat and placed his cloak over himself like a blanket. It was that accursed dream again, only this time he actually made it to the village before waking up.
Funny, the one time I actually need Luna and she's nowhere to be found.
A stallion in a conductor's outfit called out, "Next stop: Canterlot Station! Canterlot Station is our next stop!"
Thank the Gods...
Truth be told, riding a train was one of the few innovations of the modern world that Sombra actually found intriguing. Traveling across Equestria used to be achieved solely through carriage and chariot, a process that took weeks, months even and yet a train could do it in half the time. Although he could've simply used his shadow-form to get to Canterlot, it still would've taken time and would've been exhaustive, the same with teleportation. Then there was the fact that Primrose was adamant on the train so Sombra decided to indulge the mystery mare's wishes. If she truly was a genuine oracle, then obeying her commands would be in his best interests.
And if this was all a waste of time and money, then I could just toss her into a lake or something.
The chugging steam engine pulled into the station, screeching to a soft thudding stop. Wasting no time, Sombra gathered his things and exited the train, the sunlight smacking him directly in the face as he stepped out onto the concrete. Cursing the blasted ball of fire, he promptly asked around for directions to the library, receiving aid from a particularly giggly trio of mares. They took turns speaking, taking breaks from either whispering to one another or staring at him through half-lidded eyes. Or rather, the glamored-up image that he was sending out to them, which they apparently found quite attractive, if their flirtations tones were of any indication.
Ah, but if they saw the real me, they'd no doubt flee in terror.
Thanking the mares, Sombra wove his way through a crowd of tourists speaking in a language he was unfamiliar with and trotted down a series of bustling streets. A painted-up mare in a striped sweater mimicked entrapment within an invisible box while some ponies were drumming on upturned buckets. There was a stallion wrapped in tinfoil stiffly walking with his back bent and forelegs held out at odd angles. Was this really what constituted as public entertainment in this century? No wonder it took six young mares and a hatchling drake to do everything for them.
Being back in Canterlot was certainly an experience, as the last time he was here, he was crushing Celestia into the ground and holding a sword to her throat. Defeating Celestia in combat and humiliating her in front of the mindless drones that constituted her worshipers had given him such a thrill and yet, it left him feeling...well, not quite empty but not satisfied either. It still puzzled him as to why that unfulfilled emotion still lingered. He'd finally beaten the accursed monarch and showed Equestria that she was no goddess. He should be elated not confounded.
And this was infuriating.
While waiting for the light to change, a large earth pony slammed his shoulder into Sombra, then turned and had the gall to snarl at him!
"Why don't you watch where you're walking?!"
Now, the civil thing to do would be for Sombra to swallow his anger, walk away, and forget the issue.
Then again, Sombra wasn't civil.
Focusing on the departing pony, Sombra sent dark magic into his horn, releasing it as a red and black vapor that trailed the stallion, encircling his head before jabbing into his eyes. Without warning, the stallion let out a squeal, hooves frantically clutching at his face.
"I-I can't see! I'm blind! I'm bliiiiind!"
Thrown off by his sudden lack of vision, the stallion stumbled over his own hooves, flailing wildly and screaming for aid from the bewildered crowd. He swung his forelegs out, almost as if defending himself from invisible attackers. Ponies backed away and dove back in to restrain him but the stallion was having none of this, clocking a pegasus in the snout. A passing unicorn mare finally managed to retrain the stallion with her magic while two earth ponies tried to calm him down.
"Why don't you watch where you're walking?" Sombra muttered and went on his way.
The blinding spell was, of course, temporary and by the time the stallion was brought to the hospital, the doctors would find nothing amiss. Perhaps by the time the stallion recovered, he would've learned some manners and watch who he insults. "Manners maketh pony," after all.
~*~
The Canterlot Library was quite the impressive structure, consisting of a rectangular building topped by a massive dome of viridian-green glass, the sun's rays sending a flickering trail of shimmering light upon its polished surface. The outer perimeter was decorated with fluttering banners and several tall windows, from which titanic bookshelves could be gleamed from the outside. The four double-doors of the entrance were enshrouded beneath a portico, which was guarded by a pair of stone unicorns, their horns aimed towards visitors like jousting lances. Taking another moment to appraise the architecture, Sombra climbed the steps leading up to the entrance. There, above the center pair of doors, was an inscription carved into the keystone: Quod intus latet scientiam quaerentium.
"Knowledge lies within for those who seek it." Very fitting.
Inside, Sombra was greeted by the smell of paper, ink, and candlewax and drew it in through both nostrils, relishing the familiar comfort that came with it. It'd been too long since he'd stepped inside a library and was actually glad that he'd listened to Primrose. He strode past a pair of light blue, violet-swirled columns and into the main atrium, his reflection appearing in the shimmering mirror-like floor, reminding him of his castle in the Crystal Empire. Or rather, former castle, as he had to correct himself. From across the room, he spied a bronze statue of Clover the Clever.
Not a bad likeness. At least this depiction remembered the freckles.
Approaching the mare at the front desk, Sombra smiled, "Excuse me, but could you tell me where I might find 'Predictions and Prophecies' by Primrose the Prescient?"
The mare's eyes lit up from behind her half-moon spectacles.
"Ah, now that's a good selection. It's a pity she ended it the way that she did and never wrote a second one." She pointed straight across from her. "Head straight down that row there and make a sharp right turn. You'll find it under 'Divination and Prophetic Materials.'"
"Thank you, Ma'am."
He followed her instructions and came across the aforementioned section without incident. He soon came across six copies of Primrose's book and reached for the very last one on the shelf.
Select the copy with the circular indent on the top of the spine...
Releasing his magical grip on the book, Sombra instead drew out the third one from the left and studied it. Apart from the spine, it looked to be in near perfect condition.
Seat yourself at the empty table with the fresh coffee stain...
Finding his way back, Sombra browsed the tables until he found the one with a small, glittering pool of brown liquid and took a seat. Opening the front cover, he found the title page, on which were scrawled the words, "Predictions and Prophecies: The Nice and Accurate Foretellings of Primrose the Prescient, Seeress" in big bold lettering. He flipped through it, finding predictions for baseball championship winners, major weather catastrophes, acting award nomination results, and a whole slew of mostly inconsequential fortunes, at least where he was concerned. Things didn't get interesting until the prophecy concerning Nightmare Moon's return and even then it was vague, going into broad strokes about her defeat and eventual return. After that, the book just...ended.
Sombra frowned. After so much detail was put into Hurricane Nixie's devastation of New Horseleans and Clyde S. Dale's farming innovations, why would Primrose use such scant prose for such a monumental event? And why stop there? She could've written about the changeling invasion, the return of the Crystal Empire, Lord Tirek's rampage and other mishaps. From what history he'd read, mostly in order to catch himself up to the thousand-plus years of history he'd missed, Primrose had been one-hundred percent correct in each and every instance.
He flipped to the very last page and was ready to close the book when he spotted something sticking out from behind it. It was a small envelope with, "For Darkhame," written in a familiar style. Peering at both his left and right, Sombra cracked the wax seal and shook the envelope upside down, causing a wrinkled piece of parchment to come tumbling out. Unfolding the parchment, he inspected it both front and back before furrowing his brow in confusion. It was blank.
Why would somepony, most likely Primrose, leave him an envelope with a blank sheet of paper inside? He stuffed the parchment back inside the envelope and deposited it into his cloak pocket. All Sombra had now were questions and more questions and that was aggravating him to no end. Primrose owed him a great deal of explanations and if she refused, then he would-...
"Excuse me."
Startled, Sombra jumped a little in his seat, taking notice of the young mare staring at him, a stack of books and saddlebags beside her. She was a unicorn with coat was a yellowish grey and she was dressed in a large black turtleneck sweater and large glasses that had evidently been broken, given the tape tightly wrapped around the bridge. What stood out the most was to Sombra was that her red, purple, and violet mane was vaguely styled in a way reminiscent of Twilight's. The mare levitated a napkin and indicated the coffee stain on the tabletop.
"Sorry to bother you but I made a slight mess there and I thought I'd clean it up before I left."
"They have cleaners for that, don't they?"
"Well yes, but I hate messes, plus it'd reflect poorly on me as an employee."
Sombra moved himself away to allow the mare to clean the spot.
"I see. So you work here?"
The mare nodded. "Part-time. I just like the environment." She noticed the open book on the table. "'Predictions and Prophecies'. Excellent choice. It's shame that Primrose the Prescient only wrote the one book."
"Why is that?"
"Nopony knows. She publishes this one, claims to have a second volume in the works, and then nothing."
This was becoming more and more intriguing to Sombra.
"Well, thank you for the information. I'm new in town and I'm a little short on funds at the moment. Do you know where one might find employment?"
The mare shrugged. "The library is a little short-staffed at the moment, if you want to try and apply. Do you mind being around books all day long?"
"Not at all," Sombra answered truthfully. "I spent much of my colthood with my muzzle in a book."
"Great!" The mare sorted through a stack of books and notepads, withdrawing a clipboard. She then frowned and searched through her saddlebags. "Now where did my quills go? I could've sworn that I..."
P.S. Do remember to place a quill in the right interior pocket of your crimson cloak.
Sombra dug the quill out of his cloak pocket and held it up.
"Take mine."
The mare smiled-a real smile-and gratefully accepted it.
"Thank you! What's your name?"
"Guess Who."
"Well, Guess Who, come back here tomorrow morning at seven-forty-eight and I'll conduct your interview. I'm Moon Dancer by the way."
Sombra shook her hoof. "Nice to meet you, Moon Dancer." Gathering his things, he stated, "I will see you tomorrow morning then. Excuse me, but I have an appointment to get to."