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.