Kiss of the Dark

by Soothing Stone


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.