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...