• Published 28th Jan 2019
  • 5,054 Views, 155 Comments

When Darkness Falls - MisterEdd



The nefarious Shadow King, King Sombra, has returned from beyond the realm of death...

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8
 155
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The Start of Something New

Standing in front of the treehouse, Sombra felt an inexplicable sense of panic momentarily grip his heart as his mouth became dry and his throat sore and lumpy. He furrowed his disguised brow.

Why am I behaving like this?

He'd gone into battle, faced off against not one but two alicorns and he never even broke a sweat. And yet, for whatever reason, he was nervous to speak with the purple unicorn that lived inside. Could it be because of the power he sensed from outside? The burst of dark magic he detected back in the Crystal Empire during his return? Sombra swallowed the lump inside of his throat and felt his nerves return. Celestia's student or not, Twilight Sparkle will fall, her and her little band of meddlesome upstarts.

He knocked on the door and waited for a minute, hearing a yelling feminine voice followed by the pattering of small feet on wood. The door squeaked open and the dragon appeared, a big grin on his unsuspecting face.

"Hey Parcel Post! Good to see you again!"

Don't worry, lizard. Your time will come.

Sombra put on his best don't-worry-I'm-your-best-buddy smile.

"Hello again, Spike! I have some mail for you and Twilight, so here I am!"

Spike opened the door wide open and gestured inside. "You look out of breath. Why don't you come in for a water?"

Like stealing candy from a foal.

"Shucks, that's sure nice of you, Spike! Lead the way!"

He was led past the living room and into the small kitchen, where he took a seat and was promptly given a glass of water by his draconic host. While he took a drink, Sombra realized two things: one, he was parched beyond words. And two, and more concerning, he was actually...touched by the dragon's hospitality.

Yuck! What am I doing? This little runt aided in my untimely death and yet here I am, sipping water in his home and feeling something positive towards him!

"You feeling okay there, Parcel? You just sort of spaced out."

Sombra flinched, having forgotten where he was. "Uh, sorry Spike. The-the heat must really be getting to me. That, and I had to beat a quick retreat from Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie wouldn't let me leave until I tried some cake she made."

Spike chuckled and shook his head. "I feel you there. She may seem like a cute partygoer but that mare can be downright pushy and even ruthless when she wants to be. Especially if her baking or parties are involved." He nudged the stallion with his elbow, failing to notice the awkward grin plastered on "Parcel's" face or the way his eyes narrowed on him with murderous intent.

Don't strangle, don't strangle, don't-

"Spike, did you see who was at the d-...oh, hi Parcel Post. What're you doing here?"

A familiar purple unicorn had made her way into the kitchen, a book levitated near her face. Sombra snapped out of his dracocidal thoughts to observe the mare. Her eyes, a gentle violet, were filled with an intelligence and inner wisdom he'd never encountered before, as if she were an old mare trapped in a young mare's body. The book in question was a copy of Hayhoof's Intonements, which he'd purchased when it was first published. The question was, how is it that somepony so young was able to read and comprehend it?

"He was looking exhausted so I invited him in to get some water," Spike explained.

"I see you're reading Hayhoof's Intonements. That's pretty advanced reading."

The book lowered and closed as Twilight stared surprisingly at Sombra.

"How would you know that?"

Drats, I forgot that I'm disguised as an earth pony.

He had no time to wonder why he opened his mouth to converse with his mortal enemy.

"I like to read and that's one that I checked out once upon a time," Sombra answered truthfully. "I thought his theories on transfiguration were fascinating but his attitude on incantations was a little outdated."

"That's...that's exactly how I felt." Twilight now observed him with a mix of impressiveness and suspicion. "But you can't use magic, at least not unicorn magic. What use for spell books could you possibly have?"

"Doesn't mean I can't enjoy reading about it. I'm fascinated by the occult and thaumaturgy."

It surprised Sombra how easily the answers came out. All he had to do was include snippets of truth into the façade and the ponies would never see through his deception. Again, that weird, fuzzy feeling entered his chest after interacting with the locals. He chalked it up to anxiety and refocused his attention on Twilight, who took a seat across from him with her violet eyes wide and shimmering with academic interest.

"A fair point. I think Hayhoof's limitations as a transmogrification expert left him with a biased outlook on more battle-conventional magic, such as teleportation and energy-based projectiles."

Sombra leaned back in his seat. "Oh I agree! It's strange to think how innovative his work was and yet how far behind the rest of his peers he seemed to be. Honestly, I think the Principles of Magic by Dr. Jog Dee was better written. It treats the reader like a colleague rather than an idiot and its concise manner of writing is far easier to grasp."

Twilight giggled, something that Sombra found to be a pleasant sound. "I know, right? It was as if Hayhoof was trying to impress everypony with his big vocabulary. Dee's work just flowed more naturally and covered many more topics."

"Ugh, if you two are going to nerd out, I think I should go," Spike said with an eye-roll and left, not that the two ponies paid him any mind. They moved their conversation to the library, where they spent the better part of an hour comparing and contrasting their favorite books. It came to the point where Sombra actually forgot his vendetta and simply enjoyed himself, finding Twilight's company to be greatly invigorating. Her dedication to learning and interest in literature surpassed his own and the years of stress and loneliness just melted away like ice cubes in the sun. Sadly, like all good things, their conversation came to an end when Twilight's eyes drifted up to the wall-mounted clock.

"Oh wow, would you look at the time! I didn't even realize we were talking for so long!"

"It's quite alright, Twilight," Sombra replied, patting her shoulder, quickly withdrawing his hoof once he realized what he was doing. "I should be going or my boss is going to blow a fuse! Thanks so much. It was...nice talking to you."

The unicorn's cheeks turned bright red. "Th-thanks. You too. You're always so quiet so it didn't occur to me to invite you over to hang out. As it turns out, this was a lot of fun. More fun than I've had in a long time."

Sombra gazed into those violet eyes and felt a genuine smile of pure joy work its way across his face. "Same here. Could I see you again?"

"I'd like that."

~*~

By the time Sombra finished his route and returned to the post office, his boss Zip Code was understandably miffed but seeing as how this was "Parcel Post's" first slip-up, he let him off with a warning. After some mild flirting with Sunny Delivery, which was more tiresome than the umbrum thought it would be, he made his way through town and into the small house that he had to call home. It was a two-story bungalow-style house with several apiaries in the backyard and a collection of garish lawn ornaments in the front yard. The interior was a bit on the plain side, with all cream-colored walls and a few knick-knacks strewn about.

No wonder he's still single.

Sombra snorted and cracked his limbs, having put in a hard day's work and wished to relax.

But first, business before pleasure.

Once the shades were drawn, Sombra dropped the illusion spell surrounding him and let out a long sigh of relief. He'd spent too much time looking like that mail-toting oaf and ran a hoof through his wavy black mane. Unlocking the bedroom door, he telekinetically opened it to reveal the real Parcel Post shoved up against a corner away from the windows, unconscious but alive inside of a crystalline cocoon. As much as he would've enjoyed crushing the mailpony's skull, Sombra unfortunately needed fresh hairs from his mane in order to make the memory potions that aided him in keeping up his ruse. There was also, of course, the fact that once his mission was complete, Sombra needed Parcel Post around as to not arouse suspicion. A quick memory charm and it would've been as though he were never there.

Sombra tapped a hoof on the cocoon.

"Comfortable in there? I spared no expense."

Chuckling to himself, he retrieved his chemistry supplies from out of the closet and went to work brewing his special memory potion, one that he referred to as "the Tonic of Truth," or "TOT". Taking the last remaining strands of Celestia's mane, he mixed the potion and, using the Alicorn Amulet, began the arduous task of separating particular key moments until he was content with the finished product. He held the green-tinted bottle up to the light and a great sadness took a hold of his heart.

This has to be done. The truth must be known and all wrongs righted, no matter the cost. Vengeance WILL be mine.

Suppressing a yawn, Sombra smacked his lips together and after setting everything carefully aside, curled up in Parcel Post's bed, taking one last look at its former owner's petrified form. True, while Sombra didn't care for the job or work, he did have kind of a nice day, enjoying cake and spending an hour discussing books and magic with a smart and charming mare. His heart speed up as he pictured Twilight Sparkle's eyes and her smile. His eyes snapped back open.

"No, what am I thinking?! She's my enemy and is Celestia's pet. She doesn't matter! Only the mission does."

With that, Sombra spent the next few minutes tossing and turning in bed, trying to make himself comfortable and getting used to sleeping in a bed once more. When he did finally drift off, he dreamt of ice and betrayal, of former lovers, death and lost daughters. And warm, violet eyes.

Author's Note:

"Jog Dee" equates to Dr. John Dee, an occultist from the 1600's that served as an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I.