Song of Eventide

First Movement: Noontime

Chapter 1

The Umbrum King

When the Canterlot Museum of Magic finally came into view, Twilight eagerly pressed her nose to the school bus's window, not caring at all that the glass felt cold and that it was probably teeming with germs. She did make a mental note to wash her face later, though, and to not kiss Shiny until after she had done so.

"It's sooooo beautiful!" she breathed.

"Ha ha, yup! Yup!" said the colt sitting next to her. Twilight hadn't expected anypony to answer — usually the other foals just ignored her, or they'd make fun of her sometimes. She turned around, grinning with surprised joy at finding a potential kindred spirit.

But the pale blue unicorn was focused on something completely different. Using his magic, he was weaving and braiding the long red-and-purple mane of the filly in front of him around the metal bars of her headrest.

"That's right, Moon Dancer," he whispered evilly. "Now you'll see why nopony tells on me!"

"Oh," Twilight muttered to herself, rolling her eyes.

Colts like him were the reason Twilight wasn't allowed in the Special Collections wing of the Canterlot Library. They gave all foals a bad reputation and she had to suffer for it, even if she had never, ever played a mean prank on another pony (or any kind of prank in general, for that matter), and she never would.

Twilight stared at Moon Dancer's mane as the blue colt — his name was Neon Lights, wasn't it? — as Neon Lights made the knot more and more complicated. Suddenly she was worried about the other filly — it was going to hurt an awful lot when she tried to get up. Twilight felt like she needed to do something. She wanted to warn Moon Dancer, or to call Miss Memoir, but she was afraid about what would happen later... After all, Neon Lights was doing this as some kind of revenge, wasn't he? So if Twilight got in his way now, what was he going to do to her when she least expected it?

She bit her lip, anxiously knocking her hooves together.

She took a deep breath. She had to at least try.

"Um, I think — you really shouldn't do that, Neon Lights," she told him, her heart suddenly racing a million miles per minute. "It's mean."

The colt turned to glare at her. "She asked for it! And besides, it's none of your business anyway, Toilet Sporkle. If you don't like it, just look somewhere else."

As much as she hated doing exactly what he wanted, Twilight looked away. There it was, that horrible nickname again! She hated it so, so much. It made her tear up every time.

"All right, everypony!" said Miss Memoir. Her orange mane, neatly tied up in a ponytail, swayed as she wobbled in the aisle between the seats. "Here we are! The Canterlot Museum of Magic, founded by none other than Princess Celestia herself! Doesn't it look majestic?"

The bus finally landed in front of the museum and lowered itself gently onto the ground. Twilight wiped her eyes to look out the window again. The sight of the ivory-white complex of buildings, with their tall carved pillars and golden domes that glinted softly in the sun, made her smile.

Then, shrill and sudden, a pained cry made her jump in her seat. Everypony froze and turned to stare as Moon Dancer vainly struggled to free herself from the tight knot of hair binding her to her seat. Neon Lights was cackling like it was the funniest thing that had ever been recorded in Equestrian history, and that got everypony else to start laughing too.

Twilight's stomach sank.

"What's going on here?" Miss Memoir rushed over. Her light yellow fur seemed to become several shades paler when she saw the damage.

"Oh, no!" she gasped. "Moon Dancer, don't move — you'll hurt yourself. We'll get this nasty knot undone in just one minute."

Moon Dancer obeyed. Twilight could hear that she was crying softly.

Miss Memoir turned a stern glare on the colt. "Neon Lights? Would you like to explain?"

"What — why me? I didn't do anything!" He grinned. "Toilet did it."

"Her name is Twilight, young stallion," Miss Memoir said severely. "And for some reason I doubt that you're telling the truth."

"No, really!" It seemed like he was trying hard not to laugh. "Don't let that innocent look on her face fool you! I saw her."

"I didn't—!" Twilight started to protest. But Miss Memoir gave her a reassuring smile before turning her gaze on the colt again.

"Neon Lights, playing such a cruel prank on another pony is not funny — and trying to blame it on somepony else like that is disrespectful and dishonest. You're a very talented colt, but the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns cannot allow this kind of unacceptable behavior. I'm afraid I'll have to have a word with your parents."

Suddenly Neon Lights wasn't looking so smug anymore. "What?! You're going to tell them? Over such a teeny little thing!"

"If it hurts somepony else's feelings, it's not teeny," Miss Memoir said. Then her serious face gave way to a sweet smile. "Now, it's time for a little kindness, don't you think? Wouldn't you like to untie this awful knot in Moon Dancer's mane as a way of saying you're sorry?"

Neon Lights scowled at his own handiwork. He muttered something Twilight couldn't catch as his horn glowed with its blue magical light. He tugged at a strand of Moon Dancer's red hair, and then another. It made Moon Dancer gasp in pain.

After a few tries, the knot wasn't looking that much better.

"Oh." Miss Memoir tapped her chin with her hoof, concerned. "This might be a bit worse than I thought."

All of a sudden, in Twilight's mind, an idea sparked to life.

"I think I can help, Miss Memoir!" she spoke up — a bit too eagerly. She calmed down a bit and then continued: "Um... Do you mind if I help Neon Lights?"

She blushed as her classmates' eyes were all fixed on her from one moment to the next. It felt like the whole world was studying her with a microscope.

Miss Memoir seemed a bit surprised, but she smiled all the same. "Go ahead, Twilight."

Twilight grinned back in thanks. She then turned her attention to Moon Dancer's mane. A thrill of excitement sent a shiver rolling down her back. Out of the blue she was presented with this invaluable chance to try out that new spell she'd been working on! She could hardly believe her luck.

Some time ago — around 7:28 am on Wednesday, March 16th, to be precise — Twilight had gotten annoyed that trying to brush her mane and tail in the morning really hurt. So she'd thought, what if you could use your magic so that all the knots just came undone without you having to keep tugging and tugging at them? The spell wasn't exactly perfect yet (she'd accidentally set her hair on fire once — thank Celestia Shiny had been there!). But it was getting better.

Twilight scrunched up her face in concentration. Her horn tingled with magic. She could see the little swirling tendrils of its intense pink aura as she tried to ignore everypony else and bring the formula to mind.

She unleashed her spell in a bright jet of light.

The stream of raw energy zapped the back of Moon Dancer's head. She reacted on instinct and lurched away from Twilight's blast of magic. And, just as if every strand of her hair were slick with oil, the knot came loose and her mane was free.

Standing in the aisle now, Moon Dancer blinked. She was wide-eyed and quiet as she brought a hoof to her mane. She smiled.

Twilight couldn't believe it.

It… it had worked! It had actually — for the first time ever, her Unknotty Spell had worked!

"Bravo!" Miss Memoir said, clapping her hooves. "Well done, Twilight! Amazing work — very, very impre—"

And then Moon Dancer's hair disintegrated.

For a long moment, everypony was very quiet. They all stared at the small heap of ash that now rested at Moon Dancer's hooves. A soft breeze came in through an open window and blew it away.

The whole class exploded, once more, into laughter. Not even Miss Memoir could get them to quiet down this time. Twilight's eyes were helplessly fixed on Moon Dancer's face. The sand-colored filly was still staring at the floor, though there wasn't anything there anymore. She glanced around at the cackling foals all around them. She bit her lip; her purple eyes filled with tears again.

Then she noticed Twilight looking at her. Moon Dancer stared back — and there was just so much anger in her eyes that if looks could kill Twilight would've been the next thing to disintegrate.

"I'm so sorry, Moon Dancer!" Twilight said. She wasn't sure if the other filly could hear her over the roaring chorus of voices. "I—"

"Excuse me, ma'am," said an impatient male voice. Above Moon Dancer's head, Twilight saw the pegasi drivers' captain step into the bus to glare at Miss Memoir. "You ready to get off yet?"

"Yes, yes," Miss Memoir said, looking flustered. "Just a moment, please! Oh, gracious Celestia…"

Finally, she ordered everypony to stop making fun or she'd heap a huge pile of essays on them. Twilight could tell her teacher was really at her wits' end then, because Miss Memoir had never used homework as a threat before, but it worked. Everypony filed out of their seats as Miss Memoir removed her scarf to drape it over Moon Dancer's head. She tied the rainbow-colored cloth beneath the afflicted filly's chin and told her something Twilight couldn't hear because of all the chatter.

"Good one, Toilet!" Neon Lights snickered, lightly punching Twilight's shoulder with his hoof. "You gotta teach me how to do that sometime. Oh, and thanks, by the way."

He gleefully hopped off his seat. At the very least, he was nice enough not to snicker at Moon Dancer or say anything mean while he passed her. But, through the window, Twilight saw his friends waiting for him. When he met up with them, they high-hooved.

"Totally worth it!" Neon Lights' muffled voice reached her through the glass.

Twilight sighed. He was a horrible, horrible pony.

When just about everypony had gotten off the bus, Twilight, too, rose to her hooves. She followed Moon Dancer and Miss Memoir out into the museum's great courtyard. The bus hummed behind her as it magically lifted off the ground — and then there was the flapping of many wings as the flock of uniformed pegasi pulled it away. They stirred up a nice-smelling waft of freshly-mowed grass and cool morning air.

She was, however, too preoccupied to enjoy it much. Fretfully digging the tip of her hoof into the grass, she gazed at Moon Dancer's bobbing tail as the scarf-clad filly walked alongside Miss Memoir to the museum's entrance. Twilight's heart started cantering rather quickly again. She wasn't that good at talking to other ponies her age — for some reason, characters in books were a lot easier to talk to — but finally she let her conscience prod her into trotting after her classmate.

"Moon Dancer?" she said.

Moon Dancer stopped and rounded on her. "Leave me alone, Twilight Twinkle! Okay? Just — leave me alone."

Miss Memoir frowned at the seething filly. "Moon Dancer, that's a little harsh, don't you think? Everypony makes mistakes, and Twilight was just trying to help." She gave Moon Dancer an encouraging smile. "Come on, now — what's the right thing to say when you've been mean to somepony?"

"I'm sorry," Moon Dancer muttered.

"That's a girl!" Miss Memoir said. Then she turned her gentle eyes to Twilight. "Now, Twilight — was there something you wanted to tell us?"

Moon Dancer glared into Twilight's eyes, possibly longing to burn her mane away. Twilight shrank.

"No, Miss Memoir," she mumbled lamely, shaking her head.

"Oh — all right, then. Well, why don't you come along with us?" An inviting smile. "Nopony should have to be all alone just because of one little spell gone wrong! Right, Moon Dancer?"

Moon Dancer muttered… something.

Twilight obeyed. Once their teacher gave up on trying to get them to talk to each other, however, Twilight lagged behind little by little till she was shuffling miserably along after them, feeling so small that if the museum's great oaken doors had been closed, she would've been able to crawl under them like a tiny, ugly spider.

"And this, my little ponies, is Teeny Lionheart!" Miss Memoir said.

She was gesturing to a marble statue of a very small, bedraggled unicorn scribbling away at a parchment on her desk with a look of intense concentration. She was so short that there were several books piled up on top of her stool, and even sitting on them she was craning her neck a little to see what she was writing.

"Don't let her size deceive you," Miss Memoir went on, beaming at the statue in admiration. "She may look like a filly — you see, she had a very unusual condition called equine dwarfism — but she never let that bring her down. She studied hard night and day, and she became one of the most illustrious thinkers of the Pre-Classical Era!" Now she directed her smile at the class. "Can anypony guess what her life's work was?"

Twilight studied the statue, looking for some kind of hint. Teeny Lionheart's flank was covered by her thick, scruffy-looking tail — maybe the sculptor hadn't been able to find out what her cutie mark looked like. But Twilight noticed the statue was so finely carved that even the tiny mare's books had their titles written on their spines:

The River of Time.

Square Circles: A Critique of Star Swirl the Bearded's "The Time Traveler's Dilemma."

A Brief History of Chronomagica.

And, on the thickest tome of all:

A Thousand Years Before the Cock Crows: A Modest Collection of Short Essays.

"Oh — I got it!" Twilight said in awe. "She was studying time travel!"

A murmur of amazed excitement fluttered across the group.

"Is that… is that really possible, Miss Memoir?" Neon Lights asked, his eyes sparkling with eagerness. "Does time travel actually exist?"

"Well…" She gave him a warm, curious smile. "What do you think, Neon Lights? Could such a marvelous and mysterious thing as time travel be real?"

"Yes!"

"Then, there's your answer," she said. "Anything is possible if you can dream of it! That is one of Ms. Lionheart's most well-known phrases — and my personal favorite."

With one last glance of deep pride at the ancient scholar, Miss Memoir turned and went on with the tour. Twilight smiled up at Teeny Lionheart as she walked past the statue. She suddenly wished she'd been born over a thousand years ago, just so she could be that incredible pony's little sister.

But then… that would mean Twilight never would've met her parents. Or her Big Brother Best Friend Forever! So she very quickly scrapped that idea.

Miss Memoir led them on through long, winding halls of polished marble. Aside from the rows of beautiful and ancient artifacts that lined the walls, all the hallways were very much identical to each other. When the class had first arrived, the guards had warned everypony not to stray away from the group; the place was so huge and so complex, even historians and scholars were given a map when they came in so that they could navigate beyond the established tour routes without getting lost.

"Now, if you think we're gonna give out a map to each of you — I'm sorry, kids, but you've lost your marbles," one guard had said. "Just stick together if you don't wanna end up all alone in this cold, quiet, lonely, definitely not-foal-friendly place. Trust me, that's not gonna be tons of fun."

"Yeah. But most of all, you don't want to meet face to face with… him," another one had added, leering down at the group with a sinister grin. "They say that an evil monster roams these halls. He looks for little colts and fillies wandering around by themselves, and when he finds them… He turns them to stone forever! And then they can never see their mommy or daddy again."

"Oh, my," Miss Memoir had responded, rolling her eyes. "All of that sounds very frightening. I wonder how it is that the museum hasn't closed down, since there's such a dangerous creature prowling about."

The guard had fumbled for an answer and his companion had laughed at him. And really, Twilight thought that was a really silly story. In all the books she'd read (and she'd read lots of books), the Evil Monster was always connected with places like castles, dungeons, and such. So why in all Equestria would this one monster pick a museum —

Her train of thought ground to a halt when she bumped into Moon Dancer. The fuming filly turned to give Twilight one of her terrifying death stares.

Twilight recoiled. "Sorry."

The class had stopped at a strange exhibit. The pearl-white walls suddenly met a simple wooden door that looked like it could've fit in the house of some rustic pony living outside of Canterlot. Beyond that door, there was an equally simple room — a study. A really messy study, Twilight noted with an appalled shiver. There were books and parchments and used-up quills and ink bottles strewn all over the floor. Cobwebs lined the corners of the windows.

The small room was crammed with old wooden shelves that were bent under the weight of a whole library's worth of books and scrolls. In the center of the room, there was a desk so littered with open books and papers and empty teacups that there was actually no space to write or do anything on it. And, next to the desk, there was a pile of books that was probably taller than a large stallion.

To her horror, Twilight realized that everything in the room would've burst into flames if a candle had accidentally been knocked over.

A gold-and-ebony plaque stood proudly on a pedestal next to the door. It read:

"Where Spells are Born"

The study of Sir Star Swirl the Bearded, Father of the Amniomorphic Spell.

Reconstructed by Molten Wax and Interrobang.

Our heartfelt thanks to Professor Crystal Clear for her invaluable help.

"Wow," somepony said. "Whoever lived here really liked to read."

"And never, ever bothered to clean up!" somepony else chimed in.

Miss Memoir chuckled. "Both things are true. Thanks to the writings of his contemporaries, today we know that Star Swirl the Bearded was never very fond of tidiness or organization. Still, he was a brilliant spellsmith and academic — the most important conjurer of the Pre-Classical Era. Without his Amniomorphic Spell, so many colts and fillies could not have been born at all! And he not only helped further the field of medical magic, but also accomplished much, much more." She grinned eagerly. "So very much, in fact, that for your final exam you'll be writing a short essay about him. It's May already, so I'd start getting to know him if I were you!"

Groans of dread erupted all over the study. Meanwhile, Twilight's heart skittered with delight. And… was she seeing things, or had a similar look of joy come over Moon Dancer's face?

Miss Memoir tried to comfort the class as she led them out of the room. Twilight turned to follow them — and then saw something that made her halt right there where she stood.

In that towering, precarious pile of books, there was a really thick one whose title caught her eye:

The Time Traveler's Dilemma, the spine read.

Twilight gasped — a thrill of excitement made her heart speed up. She had a sudden, irrepressible urge to take just a quick little peek at that book, maybe see what had inspired Teeny Lionheart to write about it. Obviously, there was no time to even get through one millionth of that huge, beautiful thing, but she could skim! She was very good at skimming. It would only take a moment, and nopony would even know…

She took a few, eager steps toward the books. Then, she stopped. Ponies probably weren't allowed to touch anything in this exhibit… but then again, she wouldn't really be touching anything! She would've if she were an earth pony or a pegasus, but since she was a unicorn she could always just pick up the book with her magic, so that it wouldn't get damaged in any way at all! Right?

Right!

Grinning, she trotted the rest of the way to the books. The one she wanted was, luckily, near the top of the stack, so it didn't wobble too much when she got the tome out of the pile. Briefly she wondered if this was actually a fake book — just a cover and a spine with a title and a bunch of empty pages inside — and she'd possibly gotten herself into trouble for nothing. With a pang of dread, she opened it on the very first page:

"I dedicate this book to all those young mares and stallions who ever called me a whacko in school.

In your face."

Twilight snorted out a loud giggle — and quieted down immediately, listening hard. But it seemed nopony had heard her.

She snickered quietly to herself a little longer, enjoying the great wizard's wry humor a lot more than she would've admitted to anypony. Delighted, she turned the page and read on:

"Anypony who knows me as more than just a bookworm and a consummate tea connoisseur will also be well acquainted with my love of experimentation," Star Swirl wrote. "The moment I heard about the latest novelty in transportation, the fascinating omnibus, I knew that I was fated to try getting on one and going somewhere, one day. (Never mind where; how in Tartarus am I supposed to know about the comings and goings of those things? My Dear Reader, never forget that what matters most is not the destination, but the journey itself!) But, alas… When one is busy giving lectures and crafting spells and unravelling the secrets of the Universe, there is very little time left in the day to schedule a nice trip into the Unknown. Therefore, until recently, I feared I might never get a chance to have at least one omnibus ride before those peculiar contraptions went out of style altogether and were substituted by a newer technological gizmo."

Twilight found herself smiling and frowning at the same time. Reading Star Swirl, she always felt like she was reading a letter by an old friend. But… he could stray so wildly off-topic! What did any of this have to do with time travel?

If this weren't a book by the great unicorn spellsmith, but rather just an essay Twilight had written, Miss Memoir would take off so many points for rambling…

"Yet," Star Swirl continued, "a couple seasons ago, the doltish stallion who is now penning these words happened to blast his horn off in the course of crafting his latest masterpiece. (I like to call it the Amniomorphic Spell, by the way. That shall be its name until I can think of a smarter-sounding one that gets me more attention.) And thus, the great Star Swirl the Bearded was left stranded in his little cottage in the midst of the wilderness, quite unable to teleport.

"Of course, Dear Reader, you understand that every stallion has his faults. And a great fault of mine is that I am rather proud. I knew the fastest way to make it to Canterlot on time for Mornday's lecture would be to get one of my numbskull friends to come pick me up, but damn me to Tartarus if I ever let them see me with a broken horn! So, I did the next best thing I could think of. I donned my cloak and hat (it looked rather awkward as I tilted it a bit to conceal the stump on my forehead), and walked some ten miles or so to the nearest omnibus stop.

"Buses seldom pass by my lonely little corner of Equestria, but some two hours later the long-awaited vehicle finally rolled by. I paid my two bits and hopped on board. As you might guess, my excitement was great!

"Imagine my shock when I found myself in a wagon impossibly overcrowded with drowsy mares and a small army of rambunctious colts and fillies.

"O, Reader! I had unwittingly climbed into the Whinnypeg-Canterlot bus, which, I now know, is infamous for being the one that transports an unruly herd of little schoolfoals and their frazzled mothers to and fro between Canterlot and its surrounding villages twice a week. I shall be the first to admit I have little patience for the antics of very young ponies, but by the time I realized what I had gotten myself into, it was far too late. The bus was in motion again; and judging by the driver's rather frightening aspect, I astutely deduced that requesting the vehicle stop might have entailed some danger of physical harm to my person.

"So it was, O Reader, that I was forced to sit in that wagon and endure as stoically as I could while those little savages crowed and blubbered and squirmed and flitted about and teased each other to the brink of madness. The trip to Canterlot lasted about some four hours. By the time I descended from that accursed omnibus and kissed the Canterlot cobblestone like a castaway narrowly escaping a watery death, I was a broken stallion; I am unsure whether I shall ever be able to look upon the world the same way again."

Again, Twilight giggled. So apparently a long ride in a schoolbus was just as horrible in the Pre-Classical Era as it was now! She still had no idea where he was going with this, but…

"Now, my Friend. You may be wondering why I have just littered your mind with this rather unpleasant anecdote."

Twilight grinned and nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"The reason is simple," she read on. "Once I had finally managed to regrow my horn (that in itself is quite the story; but for the sake of brevity I am afraid I shall keep that tale to myself), the first thought that crossed my mind was this: 'I shall now concoct a clever time-travel spell. I shall then go to the past and prevent myself from blowing my own horn to smithereens, and then I will have spared myself the most dreadful and discomfiting experience of agonizing in that bus for four hours.'

"Of course, as you well know, no such spell has ever been invented; indeed, to this day time-travel is very much the realm of daydreaming and speculation. However, a very… interesting friend of mine once said to me that anything is possible, if you can imagine it, or some such sentimental adage. My need to forever erase the memory of those harrowing four hours from my mind was great enough that, for once, I felt like sharing in her optimism.

"Ah, but my Dear Reader! This is where we touch upon the crux of the matter. As I was about to embark upon this task, I could not help but wonder… and this is the question I ask you now:

"Is it truly possible to change the past?"

Abruptly, Twilight heard the resounding toll from a nearby clock tower. It startled her; she very nearly dropped Star Swirl's book.

The bell struck ten slow, deep clangs. 10:00 a.m.

"Ten a.m.!" Twilight cried. She actually did drop the book in her horror. How long had she stayed here reading? She was supposed to just skim! Instead, she'd let Star Swirl's prose pull her into some kind of trance!

"Oh, no!" she whispered frantically. "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

She rushed out of Star Swirl's study — and one moment later hurried back inside to pick up the book, brush the dirt off its cover, inspect it for scratches, and carefully put it back in its rightful place. Then she raced out of the wizard's study at a full gallop. She hoped that Miss Memoir and the others had dawdled a bit, lingering at some exhibit or another — maybe she could still catch up with them! She promised to herself she'd see them any moment now, and she ran, and ran —

Until she reached the point where the hallway split into two.

Twilight skidded to a stop — her hooves slid across the polished floor and she plopped down onto her rear. Too terrified to pay attention to the ache spreading up her back, she looked desperately between one branching corridor and the other. Her eyes darted up to the plaque that was fixed onto the wall:

Left: Lunar Wing.

Right: Solar Wing.

Twilight stared at the engraved words as if they were an essay question in a test she hadn't studied for (not that she had ever taken a test unprepared in all her life, but for some reason it was a frequent scenario in her nightmares). And as she sat there, completely at a loss, everypony else kept getting farther and farther away.

The plaque and the pristine white walls and the crimson curtains around her all became blurry as tears clouded Twilight's vision. Oh, how she wished she could turn back time and not get lured away from the group by that silly book! But it was too late. She'd gone and broken the rules, and fallen behind, and now she was… well, she was…

She was lost.

Oh, but there were worse things still than getting lost in this huge museum, and all those things paraded across Twilight's mind like a troupe of grinning, horrifying clowns, one after the other. What was going to happen if Miss Memoir never noticed she was missing? What if nopony ever found her? What if they did find her? Mom and Dad were going to be so, so disappointed in her. And Shiny would be mad, and he wouldn't want to be her BBBFF anymore. And Princess Celestia was going to find out too, and maybe she was going to draw the conclusion Twilight wasn't fit to be her personal student after all, and Miss Memoir had said the School for Gifted Unicorns couldn't tolerate misconduct, so obviously Twilight was going to get kicked out. She'd become a pony without an education, without a future! Eventually she'd forget how to read and then not even the characters from her books would be there to face the hardships of life with her, and Mom and Dad were probably going to kick her out of the house, too, because there wasn't any room there for ponies who couldn't read, and then —

"My dear filly."

The deep, adult voice was very quiet, but it still made her jump. She'd never heard anypony get close to her. Twilight wiped her eyes and did her best to get the sobbing to stop as she looked up at the stallion.

When she saw him, the sobbing really did stop.

He was a large alicorn, tall and imposing. An alicorn! His fur and the great wings folded at his sides were grey. Underneath them, draped upon his back, hung a red cape trimmed with ermine pelts. He wore so much metal on him, he almost looked like he was about to march off to war — a spiky steel crown, and a gem-encrusted ring at the base of his horn, and plated armor on his neck and chest and hooves.

Thick, black sideburns grew across his cheeks — it was something Twilight had never seen in a stallion before, and it made him look very somber and severe. His mane was long and wavy and wild and darker than Neon Lights' pitch-black heart. And this stallion's horn — something was horribly wrong with his horn! It wasn't straight like everypony else's. Instead, it was curved and red and pointy.

But nothing about this stranger was nearly as frightening as his eyes. His eyes were dark red, and his pupils were thin, vertical slits — like a cat's. He had a calm and impassive look on his face, but somehow those crimson eyes seemed to smolder as he gazed down at her.

Her despair all but forgotten, Twilight was seized by an overwhelming urge to run away. Yet, she couldn't find the strength to get up. It was like her hindquarters were made of jelly.

"I could not help but notice," the stallion said, "that you seemed to be somewhat distressed." He smiled — and the smile revealed the tips of two ivory-white, razor-sharp fangs. "Is there, perhaps, something I can do for you?"

Twilight shook her head very emphatically. "N-n-no! No, mister! I — I'm — I'm okay!"

"Are you sure?" He tilted his head a little to the side, smiling still. "It is rather strange for one as young as yourself to wander these halls alone… And it would appear you are not quite enjoying the solitude."

Twilight didn't know what to say. She sat there and trembled like the jelly syndrome had caught up with the rest of her, until she blurted out the one thought that took up her mind: "Are you… a monster?"

The smile didn't go away. The stallion just narrowed his eyes a little, raising one thick, black eyebrow. A curious expression… maybe. "Monster?"

"The guards said a monster lives in the museum," Twilight said, her voice tiny. She avoided saying the word 'evil'; he might get mad if she called him that. "They said he finds ponies who get lost here and he… turns them to stone."

"Ah. I see," he said coolly. "And do you believe this?"

"I…" Well, not until five minutes ago. And yet… she had never read about a monster as rational as this stallion was. "I don't know. Do you like turning ponies to stone?"

"Not especially."

"Oh." That knowledge was very reassuring. Twilight's quaking started to subside little by little. "Well… that's nice to know. But, if you're not a monster, then why… what…?"

Her eyes darted up and down his intimidating frame. She was trying to put together a coherent question that would express her bewildered thoughts without sounding very, very rude.

The stallion's smile broadened — revealing a little bit more of those long, pointy teeth. "What am I?" he finished for her.

Twilight blushed. But she nodded shyly.

"I am not one of your kind, as you have cleverly inferred," he said. "I am an Umbrum, my darling. The ruler of all the Umbrum race, in fact: King Sombra." He seemed a bit rueful now. "Of course, I should have known you would find my aspect threatening. I assure you, my little pony, I mean no harm."

"King… Sombra…" Twilight echoed in wonder. Her fear was gradually giving way to curiosity and awe. She had never thought there could be other kinds of equines in Equestria who weren't ponies! But now it turned out a whole other race she'd never even heard of actually existed — and she had just met their King. Their King! This stallion was just as powerful and important as Princess Celestia, then — and here he was, talking to Twilight of all ponies!

"My dear girl," King Sombra said. "It is not polite to gape at your elders."

Twilight's jaws snapped shut. "I'm sorry!"

"You are forgiven," he said graciously. He took one step forward, and then another — slowly, like he was being very careful not to startle her. "But, on the subject of introductions, I have yet to hear your name."

"Oh! My name is Twilight, Lord Sombra!" She gave him the most graceful curtsy she could manage while sitting. "Twilight Sparkle!"

"Twilight Sparkle," he repeated slowly. "Twilight… Ah, yes. Celestia's student. Well, how simply thrilling."

"Princess Celestia talked to you about me?" she gasped, delighted.

"Not one word."

Twilight crashed into a stone wall of disappointment. "Oh. But then how did you know…?"

"A King has the means to know what is happening in the world around him," he said simply. "And yet, here we are. I came here seeking only a little entertainment prior to my departure from Canterlot — and instead, I have met none other than Celestia's talented young protégée. Even for one such as I, surprises still exist, it seems."

Twilight smiled. She liked the subtle touch of humor in the way he talked. (And of course, the compliment too.)

"I think surprises would be a lot nicer if you could schedule them," she said.

A low, quiet laugh. "Indeed."

Twilight couldn't help but giggle. The only other ponies who ever laughed with her instead of at her were her parents and Shining Armor. And possibly Princess Celestia would too — if she ever laughed. Twilight decided that if she ever got married and had foals and grandfoals, she was going to tell them that once she'd met a King who thought the same thing she did about surprises, and that she had made him chuckle.

"So, then I guess…" She offered King Sombra a shy hoof. "It's… really nice meeting you?"

He courteously hooked his ironclad hoof around hers. "My pleasure."

There was a short pause, during which Twilight gave herself a mental whack on the head for having panicked so much a minute ago. She should've known better than to judge a book by its cover! King Sombra was such a nice stallion.

"And now, sweet filly." The Umbrum gently pulled her to her hooves. "I daresay your companions must be concerned for your well-being. I can easily take you to them — for you see, I am a most excellent tracker. But I suggest we hurry. I do have a somewhat unforgiving agenda to keep up with."

Gazing up at him, Twilight bit her lip. Grateful tears were making everything blurry again. Of course, she'd still feel a bit safer if Shiny were here right now — but then again, all adults (and all ponies in general, for that matter) made her feel that way.

"Okay," she said. "Thank you! Thank you so, so much, Your Majesty."