When Darkness Falls

by MisterEdd

At the Golden Horseshoe

WARNING: DARK SCENE AHEAD. NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.

The sun rose high over the snow-capped mountain, bathing the land in blinding, glittering lights as the sunlight bounced off of the snow. Princess Celestia, adorned in her battle armor, surveyed the corpse-strewn landscape, her heart heavy with regret. Why couldn't I have been able to prevent all of this? Aside from ponies, the bodies of changelings and bat-ponies also lay mangled and bloody on the ivory-covered ground, their features beginning to freeze and distort in the cold. Something felt wrong to Celestia. Where is Luna? And didn't this already happen?

"This is your fault, Your Majesty. You failed us." She whirled around, finding a slain pegasus laying on his side, half of his face bashed in and one eye staring accusingly at her. "Why did you lie, Princess? Why?"

"I-I didn't mean to-..."

"She didn't mean to, she didn't mean to! As if that makes it alright," a changeling mockingly added, his carapace littered with several arrows.

With sickening cracking and crunching sounds, the dead warriors began to twist and wretch themselves from the frozen ground, dragging their misshapen forms as they advanced on the frightened alicorn. She tried spreading her wings to fly, but they refused to obey her, instead remaining at her sides and as heavy as iron. A circular wall of undead soldiers surrounded Celestia, their stench clogging up her nostril and bringing tears to her eyes, which were pouring regardless of the awful smell.

"Get away from me! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!"

"Isn't it?"

A new voice offered up, a voice that Celestia knew all too well. A voice she'd heard speak words of wisdom and whisper sweet, intimate utterances into her ear after a night of passion. Standing before her was King Sombra, only his entire body was covered in cracks, little pieces of flesh falling off of him to land on the ground as ash.

"You could've told the truth. If you'd told the truth, you might've been able to prevent this. You stole her. You stole my daughter."

"She wasn't yours!" Celestia howled, though in her heart she knew this to be false. "I was protecting her!"

King Sombra grinned, a rictus that exposed the nothingness that existed beneath his cracked visage.

"'Protecting her'? What were you protecting her from, my love? If anything," he murmured, moving closer and closer, every hoofstep causing more and more of him to disintegrate, "You were protecting your own hide. You can lie to me but you can't lie to yourself."

"Liiiiiiarrrr," the dead crowd started to chant. "Liiiiiarrrr! Liiiiiarrr! Liiiiarrr!"

King Sombra was now right in front of Celestia, his cold, crumbling hooves touching her cheeks, bringing her muzzle to his own. "Now then, my love, I've missed you. Why don't you give me a kiss?"

"GET AWAY FROM HER, DEMON!"

An intense silvery-blue aura struck the surrounding area, converting King Sombra and the undead hordes to dust, leaving the tundra as empty and still as a calm day at sea. Celestia breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the dark blue alicorn in front of her.

Wiping away her tears, she sniffled, "Thank you, sister. I don't know what I would've done. I-..."

Princess Luna wrapped her forelegs around Celestia and held her close.

"There, there, sister. You're safe now." Celestia nodded and went to say something but decided to drop it, instead basking in the security of Luna's embrace.

This was the fourth night in a row she'd had a nightmare like this. Whether it was in the Frozen North, Canterlot Castle or in a forest, Celestia had to deal with the specter of her former love visiting her, accusing her of being a thief and a liar. For over a thousand years, Celestia had to bear the weight of the secret, wishing she could tell it to the right person but backing down out of fear or rejection. As wrong as it was, a mother had a duty to protect her child, no matter the cost. At least, that's what she told herself.

"Celestia, there is a reason you've been having these nightmares. Is there something you wish to tell me?"

The Princess of the Day lifted her head up to gaze at Luna and sighed, feeling every bit as the old mare that she was. "I want to tell her the truth. I don't know how long I can keep it a secret and she deserves to hear it."

"Is it because of Sombra's demise?" Luna offered sympathetically. "Despite it all, I know how much you loved him."

Celestia nodded and stared off at the faux-sun. "Partially. I keep thinking back to the day that I convinced him that I had an abortion. It's because of his fury that he decided to gather his army and this led to the Battle of the Frozen North. So many lives lost because of the lie I told. The lie that I'm still telling. I want my daughter to know the truth. Even if she ends up hating me."

A soft wing brushed Celestia's mane. "She could never hate you. You did what any mother would've done in your situation. Besides, the blame falls on mine own shoulders as well. I told you what to say and I aided in hiding my niece away. You don't have to bear this weight alone, sister. Let me help you carry it or the guilt will crush you."

"I will tell her. But not at this moment. She has far too much to deal with as it is."

~*~

The bell to the door of Carousel Boutique tinkled as the mare made her way into the store, fidgeting with her hooves as she approached the store's proprietor.

The owner in question turned and smiled, "Welcome to Carousel Boutique where-...oh, hi Twilight! Sorry, for a minute there, I thought you were a client! Darling, what's wrong?"

Twilight's eyes fell to the floor, unable to meet Rarity's worried glance. "I, erm, need help. It's embarrassing."

Rarity placed a supportive foreleg around her friend. "Darling, you know I'm here for you. Whatever it is, I will help you overcome it. So please, tell me what's wrong." Sighing, Twilight looked Rarity in the eyes, feeling much more relaxed.

"Please keep this between us and try not to make a big deal out of it but...I have a date tonight."

The white unicorn stopped suddenly in her tracks. "I'm sorry, darling but it sounded like you said that you had a date."

"I do," Twilight said a little louder. "I...have a date tonight at six. At the Golden Horseshoe."

At first, nothing. And then:

"EEEEEE! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THIS IS THE BEST...THING...EVER!"

To her slight dismay, Twilight found herself wrapped in a ribcage-crushing hug and bounced around like a Hacky Sack on a college student's knee.

"Oh darling, I'm so happy for you! When did this happen? How did this happen? Who is he? Is he a gentlecolt? Knowing you, he has to be brainy!"

"Rarity...air..."

"Whoops! Silly me. Tell me everything!"

Thankfully, Rarity let go and Twilight could feel the air return to her lungs, though the room still spun a little. Once she could see straight, she bashfully admitted, "Do you remember that mailpony Parcel Post? He asked me and I said 'yes'."

Rarity cocked her head slightly. "...Parcel Post? That's quite an...interesting choice," she smiled unconvincingly.

"You don't know him like I do. He's smart, kind, warm. He said that he thought I was...beautiful." Twilight laid back on the blue couch and stared dreamily up at the ceiling. "Apart from my family, nopony's ever called me beautiful before."

"Well, I'm happy for you! Even if he's a...never mind. So what did you need my help with?"

Turning away from Rarity, Twilight heaved a heavy sigh. "He said I was beautiful but I want to feel it. I just...don't." In a smaller, more insecure tone, she added, "I'm not like you."

Tears gathered in the corners of Rarity's eyes. She turned Twilight towards her, keeping a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Twilight, look at me. You are beautiful, darling. It takes a lot of work to look the way I do but for you? You're natural. Am I beautiful just because stallions say I am? Or is it because I say I am? You have to believe in yourself. Only then can others believe in you."

Twilight nodded and embraced her friend, feeling her own waterworks coming on. "Thanks Rarity."

"Anything for my friends. Now let's get you ready. By the time I'm done with you, your date's going to need a new jaw!"

~*~

"This was a terrible idea," Sombra reminded himself for the eighteenth time.

He paced back and forth, stopping to sneak a peek at his reflection in the glass window of the Golden Horseshoe. Or rather, the reflection of the stallion he was impersonating. In place of Parcel Post's dull, blue tweed suits, Sombra had conjured up his own, creating a black, double-breasted dress coat, a red undershirt and a black and red-striped necktie. Silver cufflinks with emeralds and a dark gray pocket square completed his ensemble, making him wish that he was going as himself so that his outfit could really look good.

It's hard to make such an awkward-looking buffoon look debonair. Oh well.

He checked his wrist watch, finding that it was six-twelve but didn't panic, as it was possible that Twilight was being fashionably late. It was such an odd expression; how can one show up "fashionably late"? Isn't it considered trendy, and therefore fashionable, to show up on time? He shook his head. Such an odd era to live in.

"This was a terrible idea," he said for the nineteenth time.

Why did I ask Twilight Sparkle out on a date? And furthermore, why am I so nervous? I am, or was, the king of the entire Crystal Empire! I fought both Royal Sisters and I did so with neither fear or doubt. So why was it so nerve-wracking to ask one mare out to dinner?

Sombra froze, his eyes widening in shock. Whatever he was thinking next was quickly and thankfully forgotten.

"Sweet Celestia..."

The unicorn mare approaching him was nothing short of perfection. Her shimmering violet and raspberry mane had been styled in an intricately-braided side-bun and contained star-shaped hair clips covered in faux-diamonds. Her dress was dark pink with silver trim, a golden sash belt and several violet-covered ribbons gracing the dress' hemline. Apart from some dark blue eyeshadow that had been lightly applied, she wore no makeup, not that she needed any.

Okay, NOW I remember why I asked her out in the first place. She's...she's incredible!

"See anything you like?" Twilight teased and all Sombra could do at that moment was dumbly nod.

Gathering his wits, Sombra bowed before Twilight and held her hoof up to his lips, purposefully teasing her with the promise of a kiss.

"Your beauty shames the sun and makes the moon weep with envy," he purred, brushing his lips gently against the smooth surface of her hoof.

By Tartarus' depths, her aroma is intoxicating! No, stop it! You're here gathering intelligence. She's just a mission...a very lovely mission.

Twilight's face turned scarlet. "Thank you. So you're a poet too? You're full of surprises, Parcel Post."

Wiggling his eyebrows, Sombra grinned, "You have no idea."

He sprinted to hold the door open for her, which earned him a red-cheeked grin and a playful curtsy. He may've been a dark magician and the enslaver to an entire race but he still remembered how to treat a lady. He wasn't a savage.

The Golden Horseshoe was the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville, which meant that it was the nicest-looking one and was the closest the small town got to having an expensive, five-hoof eating establishment. The walls were painted navy blue and, true to the restaurant's name, were covered in gold, painted on horseshoes. The ceiling had been painted to feature a mural depicting princesses Celestia and Luna flying face-to-face, one leading a blazing, sun-dominated sky and the other a star-covered night sky with the earth cradled in the center of the two alicorns. Sombra trembled slightly but gave no other indication of his disgust. The waiter showed them to their table and after Sombra pulled Twilight's seat out for her, catching himself before he used his magic, they were given their menus and were ready to order.

"I will have the chili sans carne with wheat fries and a root beer," Sombra grinned, inwardly frowning that there were no alcoholic beverages on the menu. However, upon seeing Twilight's eyes glitter in the light, he decided that it didn't matter.

"Hmm, I will try the...grilled tomato cheese sandwich and a glass of lemonade."

The waiter took their menus and promised to have their meals ready ASAP, leaving the pair alone to silently enjoy each other's company. The strange, warm feeling inside Sombra's chest returned, heating up his insides while also bringing goosebumps to his skin. As he locked eyes with the mare, he finally realized what it was that was creeping its way into his heart: love. He was in love with Twilight Sparkle.

Oh Faust, what have I done?!

Comments

[Crystal Night]

Why, oh why do I have a feeling that Twilight might, maybe, probably be his daughter?

[MisterEdd]

9516133
Spoilers, darling ;)

[Viper Pit]

I'm predicting right now either rarity or cadance is his daughter

[MisterEdd]

9603004
You might be right...

[Wallens Sparkle]

Sombra and Twilight are so adorable couple💜💜,although Twilight doesn't know that the pony in front of her is Sombra☺

[Sephocolys]

I SAID NOT TO SHIP THEM! OH WOE IS ME!!!!

[Late_Night]

10056699
quiet, you

[Redwolf777sg]

9516133
Hmm... Cliche idea yet no less awkward for sure.

[KingSombraTheTyrantRuler]

I have a feeling Twilight's his daughter. And then he'll find out after they've...

[Vampire king Jonathan]

Maybe twilight sparkle could be Persephone it's possible she doesn't know her true name call it a theory I'm not sure she could be Sombras long lost daughter I don't know yet but I can find out if my theory is true