Moonshadow

I woke up in the North Tower room, wrapped in a deep and uninterrupted sleep. The night had been quiet, devoid of dreams or nightmares, just the tranquility of my body sinking into the soft mattress, recovering from years of struggle.

That night, the world was reduced to a simple act of rest. As I got up, I began to explore my surroundings. The room was spacious and cozy. Though not as majestic as my quarters in the Crystal Empire, it was a much warmer refuge than the cell or my room in the orphanage. The walls were covered in a soft magenta hue, and a sky-blue carpet covered the floor. My attention was drawn to the furniture in the corner, where a small, curved bookcase was filled with books.

I tried to pick one up, but immediately remembered that my magic was blocked by Sparkle's spell. With no other option, I attempted to use my mouth, but bit down so hard that the book fell apart into pieces. Sometimes I forget that my fangs can be a problem, especially since I don't eat meat; I was raised as a vegetarian and have no intention of changing. However, in a moment of extreme hunger, I swallowed a mouse that had been nibbling on my bread crumbs. I didn't taste it at all, but I can't help but wonder if, somehow, the flavor might have been acceptable.

I came back to reality as I looked at the ruined book. Among the recognizable fragments of the page, there were watercolor strokes indicating it was a foal's book. What was that Twilight thinking, giving someone of my stature a book made for fillies?

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. When I opened it, there was Starlight again, this time without Twilight. Surprisingly, she didn't show the same fear as she had in the dungeon. Despite her height barely reaching my chest, she remained calm and composed. She spoke to me with a courtesy that seemed more fitting for an ordinary pony, and informed me that Twilight wanted me to join her for breakfast.

I neither nodded nor shook my head; I simply followed her to the dining room. As we walked down the hallway, the servants glanced at me with fear and suspicion. Some moved out of the way or hid behind curtains. I straightened my neck, which had been bowed; although I was at their mercy, I wasn't going to show submission. This gesture made those who looked down on me cower. I felt a flicker of pride: after all these years, my presence still commanded respect, or at least fear, from others. I had always felt frightened, but in that moment, I experienced a renewed sense of power.

After a long walk through the royal corridors, we arrived at the main dining hall. Twilight's purple magical aura opened the door for us. To my surprise, the room was almost empty despite the numerous chairs set around the large table, nearly as big as my bed.

Starlight took her seat next to Twilight and gestured with her hoof for me to come closer. Reluctantly, I sat on the other side of the table, giving her a serious look. Twilight only barely stifled a mocking chuckle.

Soon, our breakfast was served. They received fluffy pancakes, drenched in honey and adorned with wild frozen berries, while I was given a generous plate of oatmeal accompanied by vegetables. Without a second thought, I attacked the oatmeal with a fierce hunger, emptying the plate in seconds. My bites were so large that I was grateful for my fangs, which kept the food in place. The hunger was so overwhelming that each bite felt like a race against the gnawing emptiness.

Starlight watched me with her eyes narrowed to mere points, like two tiny pebbles, while Twilight stole glances at me, absorbed in her own breakfast.

"Wow, you were really hungry!" Twilight remarked with a smile.

I licked the plate clean to leave not a crumb and nodded slightly.

"It's nothing. In the dungeon, the food was so bland I didn't even notice when I swallowed a mouse," I said, my tone was serious.

Starlight spat out her coffee in surprise, and Twilight hurried to clean up the mess, looking at me with a mix of astonishment and exasperation.

"Do Umbruns eat meat?" Starlight asked, clearly shocked.

"I'm not sure. I only did it because I was Starving ; I didn't think much about it."

"And how was it?"

"I swallowed it so quickly I didn't even taste it. It was nothing to remember ."

A heavy silence filled the dining room; the mares sat frozen, their food untouched. Suddenly, the door burst open.

"Twilight, I need your help!" shouted a yellow pegasus. "The Everfree is—"

The pegasus stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing me. Her wings flared against her body, as if trying to shield her from imminent danger. She trembled visibly, clutching the corner of a column with a look of palpable fear.

I smiled unconsciously, revealing my sharp teeth. Before I could take a step, Twilight rushed over to the pegasus to comfort her. I turned my attention back to the dining room and saw Starlight glaring at me with a mix of anger and bewilderment.

"Fluttershy, it's okay," Twilight said, patting her on the shoulder. "He's under my spell; he's harmless."

"TWILIGHT, HE TRIED TO KILL ME!" Fluttershy screamed.

I stifled a laugh just before Starlight scolded me with a hoof.

Fluttershy continued to tremble in Twilight's embrace, asking why she hadn't been warned about my presence. Before I could respond, a strange being suddenly appeared in the room.

It was grotesquely hideous, beyond any monstrosity depicted in medieval cat paintings. Its legs seemed a mix of a goat and a lion, and its face was that of an old, sickly pony. Not even the Umbruns could evoke such discomfort.

The creature stared at me with unsettling intensity before its eyes literally spun toward Twilight, who now wore a growing look of annoyance.

"Discord, if Sombra was brought to Canterlot by you, why did we find him in the Arctic North?" Twilight demanded, her horn glowing with contained fury.

The being called Discord tried to disappear but was restrained by the monarch's purple aura. Fluttershy, who had been trembling, approached him with a look of disappointment.

"You see, years ago, when I devised my plan to unite your enemies, I needed an incentive to make them work together. But you narrowed my options, so I created my own. I took one of the creatures from the Shadow Prison and gave it the appearance of your little friend here. Of course, the creature went mad and got out of control."

I stayed beside Starlight, who was glaring at Discord with murder in her eyes. Twilight took him aside to discuss the situation. The pegasus was left alone in the dining room, sobbing as she heard what had been done. Even I felt a pang of anger in my chest.

We continued eating breakfast in silence.

"Did you like breakfast?" Starlight asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"The mouse had more flavor," I replied sarcastically.

"Did you eat a mouse?!" Fluttershy cried out in fear.

"Well—" Twilight pulled out a long scroll. "I've planned a few activities for you two; first, you'll start by reorganizing the library, and then you could bring in the sacks of food for the royal birds."

"Twilight, please tell me I'm not part of this plan," Fluttershy begged.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, we can handle him," Starlight replied, to the pegasus's relief.

I huffed quietly as Starlight led me out of the dining room.

The hallway was eerily empty, the staff having vanished before we could pass. We were alone in the library.

Books of various subjects were strewn across the floor, scattered by Starlight to be reorganized.

"I'll handle this pile; you can start with that shelf," Starlight said.

With her magic, she levitated a large stack of books, sorting them into a row of important pony encyclopedias. She muttered something about a Steedlin, which I assumed was an important mage or something similar.

The pile I was assigned consisted of zoology books, which didn't matter much as long as they were in order. As I picked them up with my fangs, I punctured the covers deeply, tearing the pages. The sound of my actions echoed through the room.

Starlight smiled, barely containing a laugh, and said, "If Twilight was here, she'd have had three heart attacks by now." She joked before continuing her task.

The entire morning had passed with an oddly serene quiet, and I wondered what that unicorn was plotting. But at that moment, such questions mattered little.

I was busy sorting the books, gently holding them between my fangs. The bookshelf seemed endless; each row I filled left many more to complete. My stack of books seemed never-ending.

Starlight, visibly frustrated with my pace, approached.

"Is this all you've accomplished? I'm almost done with the history shelf," she said, surprised. With a spell, she neatly arranged the books in place with ease.

"Try sorting an entire shelf using only your mouth," I replied, massaging my tired jaw.

"Come on, it can't be that hard. My friend Applejack does much tougher tasks than this," Starlight said, with a touch of challenge.

"Try it yourself," I challenged her with a mischievous smile.

Determined, Starlight set to work. At first, she handled a mountain of books with great agility, filling the lower section in the blink of an eye. But as she tackled the upper shelves, her pace slowed and her fatigue became evident. Eventually, she collapsed on the floor with a groan of pain, stretching her neck with a crack.

"This is horrible! How do Pinkie Pie and Applejack manage this?" she complained, stretching her muscles. "I need a massage."

"Looks like this will take some time," I said dryly.

Starlight looked at me with a mix of determination and frustration. Her horn glowed with a cerulean flare, and a magical light enveloped the books, swirling them into place. When the glow faded, the shelves were perfectly arranged and the floor, now cleared, shone with cleanliness.

I dropped my jaw in astonishment. Starlight gave me a sly smile.

"I think that's enough for today," she said with a satisfied grin.

The white disk of the sun traversed the sky, bathing the land in light several times before being covered by the dark mantle of night. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since I was taken from the dungeon; not that it mattered much. The days were the same: in the mornings, Starlight came to wake me, talking even though I didn't respond, and we went to the dining room. We had breakfast with Twilight and then went about our tasks: ridiculous things like tending to the gardens or stocking the library. Sometimes, Starlight showed me her spells for practically anything; she may be a silly pony, but I've come to tolerate her. Twilight and I only interacted passively aggressively; I had no intention of getting close to her, but I lacked the strength to confront her.

Every afternoon, my strength waned, and with Twilight's aura, my magic was useless. Was this part of her plan? For now, I would focus on just existing. It wasn't much different from being a prisoner, but it was preferable to remaining in the ice.

Night fell, and I moved from the comfortable feather mattress to a cold, hard floor. The pale blue light made it difficult to identify where I was. The sound of crystal squeaked under my hooves, spreading into the emptiness. I was outdoors. I recognized the place, one that anyone would call home, but to me, it was just a piece of land. Its beautiful gardens and crystal buildings were worthless; they were rotted by crystal ponies and cursed by the presence of the Umbrun.

I had no idea how I had returned to this place. I merely wandered superficially through the deserted streets; there was not a soul in sight, and even the houses seemed uninhabited. Had that Cadence finally ruined the empire once and for all?

A smell invaded my nose, standing out from the sterile view of lifeless buildings. There was a living essence, a lavender-like scent carried by the warmth of a pony. There she was, standing at the castle's platform, a lone little crystal pony in that vast space.

Her light mane fluttered gently in the night breeze, decorating her crystalline texture with moonlight. Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled like virgin sapphires from the crystal mines, reflecting a pure, compassionate soul, filled with... hope.

My heart pounded fiercely at the sight of her. So many centuries had passed, and I still had not managed to forget her. It was a torment, the sweetest torment I had ever experienced. If I saw myself, I knew I would regret not forgetting her. The swift wind caressed my fur as I approached her, feeling my hooves float in the air instead of the hard crystal floor. I was behind her; she did not turn around, only gazing melancholically at the horizon. I noticed an old silver medallion on her hooves, something I had not seen before. She only whispered her laments, almost imperceptible to anyone's ear, murmuring them with helplessness.

I could no longer endure the wait; I embraced her from behind, despite all that had happened, all the pain she had caused me. I simply needed her touch, I needed her. I felt her body, cold, colder than the wasteland. Her once-soft form was now as rigid as steel. Her eyes were now white, her emotions vanished into a dead expression. A shiver ran down my spine; I finally pulled away from her.

"No, it's not you." I tried to say, but the words wouldn't come. This wasn't real.

I was dreaming again, a dream I hadn't had since Luna visited me. It wasn't normal for me to be in such a tranquil place; it was more terrifying than my nightmares. I trotted to the castle's limits, but no matter how fast I ran, I remained within its walls. Damn dreams.

At one point, I was no longer in the castle. The beautiful streets of the empire had become mounds of snow in a frozen wasteland. This was where they had found me, with nothing to see but the pale frost.

"The red crystal."

That door had made me what I was now, not what it had taught me I truly was. Its brilliant exterior exuded a hostile essence; it was silent and cold like the northern peaks. I placed my horn against its surface, trying to open it, but nothing happened.

Suddenly, I noticed someone passing by me without looking, heading toward the crystal. They wore a dark brown hood that concealed any recognizable features, except for their voice. It was faint and barely audible amidst the blizzard we were in, but I knew that voice all too well.

My hooves froze in the snow, my entire body became inert; not even the tingle of fear could be felt in my bones. I watched that beautiful pony speaking with the monster who had given me life. She tried to sound friendly and understanding, but her white eyes remained fixed on her prey. Suddenly, she turned away from her target to face me.

Like a cloud of ashes spreading around me, trying to impose its disgusting presence, it moved its miasma-covered hooves through the snow, its white sockets settling into a demonic expression. It uttered guttural chants that attempted to sound like words, which left me unmoved. I growled back at the creature.

"Do you not recognize your own mother when you see her, Sombra?" the beast said, placing its cold hooves on my face, rendering me immobile.

"You are not my mother; I have no family," I replied, growling.

"Oh, ungrateful colt, we saved you from that horrible prison, only to be left to rot there."

"They only wanted me as a weapon, leaving me at the mercy of Amore and her weapon," I snarled.

"What did you want? To live in the prison of mud and torment?"

My chest grew cold at its response. If the Umbrun hadn't turned me into a pony, I would have lived eternally in the Shadow Prison. Yet, perhaps I wouldn't have faced the loneliness and disdain of the crystal ponies. I wouldn't have suffered from Amore's weapon. I wouldn't have met her.

"You are despicable beings."

"And you are the champion of those despicable beings. Don't fool yourself, Sombra. You may look like a pony, but you're as rotten as any of us," she croaked. "Think about it; you could become the worst. Make all those ponies writhe in pain, begging for mercy. With all the pain in the world."

"Oh, I will. But I don't need you," I pointed my horn at its throat. "If I rule, it will be for myself alone. Neither Umbrun nor ponies will stand in my way."

Rage drove me against the ice wall of a mountain. The stalactites shook upon impact, falling into the snow. She emanated her dark magic, reflected in the ice fragments.

"You were a waste of power and time! Now you will die!"

Before it could drive an ice dagger into my eye, a blue light shot from the sky, turning the Umbrun to rubble. A dark, winged silhouette descended from the pale starry sky like a beautiful angel of death. As it landed before me, I saw that ethereal, dark mane like the night ocean; it was Princess Luna.

"So, all this was a dream?" I asked without looking her in the eyes.

"Indeed," she replied serenely. "I've been suppressing your dreams these past days; they are so extreme and tangled. I've never seen anything like it in a pony."

"Considering I'm not a pony, it might be normal for my kind," I grumbled.

"You're not a pony?" she asked incredulously.

"Didn't Twilight tell you about my race?"

"I suppose she didn't see it necessary," she tried to justify. "Still, I should have suspected; you look like one physically, but I've always had the feeling you weren't a pony."

"I felt the same."

"And what exactly are you?"

"That creature you just defeated claims to be my mother. That's how I looked before being altered."

"An Umbrun; that explains so much."

I sat next to the cave where the stalactites had fallen, looking at my frost-covered hooves from the crystal fragments. Until Luna joined me.

"You plan to free the Umbrun."

"No, not anymore. They don't care about me and they don't benefit me."

"Still, you want to enslave the ponies."

I fell silent, showing a look of disgust.

"I've thought about speaking with you, researching ways to change your mindset, but I always reach the same conclusion: you're a lost cause," Luna declared with frustration.

"That's why my goal is to shape a world where I can live: a world without love, without princesses, without Umbrun. A world where only I will rule," I thought.

"I'm sorry," Luna said quietly. "I shouldn't have said that. I've been rusty at this job. It's even hypocritical of me to say that you're beyond help."

"What do you mean?" I asked with curiosity. Luna remained silent, gazing wistfully at the stars.

"Twilight would tell you if she thought it necessary," Luna said thoughtfully. "If you're thinking of changing, believe me, we will help you. But if not, don't expect us to leave you unscathed."

In a gust, the dream dissipated, leaving me alone in the tower room. I would need to get out of here as soon as possible.

Another morning at Canterlot Castle. Starlight and I headed to the royal gardens to replenish the birds' food. The caretaker had caught a cold, so Twilight had the brilliant idea of assigning the task to us.

I carried about three sacks on my back, while Starlight simply levitated hers. It was infuriating not being able to use magic; whenever I needed an object, I had to use my jaws and make sure not to damage them. It was a hassle trying to read by flipping the pages with my hooves. That's why, when I ruled the empire, I captured a Crystal Bard to handle that for me. I once told Starlight about it, and she was quite disgusted; even the nosy pony told Twilight.

Fluttershy was there in the garden, feeding the chicks from a small wooden aviary. She completely ignored my presence, singing a lovely melody. I directed my ears to listen to her; that gentle song transported me to simpler memories before witnessing my reflection in the Crystal Heart. How would it be to have a mother? Someone who sings to you with such love just for being alive.

Chestnut Falls, the caretaker of the orphanage, was the closest thing I had to maternal affection; intelligent, kind, and understanding with all the foals. She didn't treat me like I deserved affection; I was just like all her other children. Although maybe I wasn't even special to her.

The only one who claimed to be my mother never did anything for me; I was merely a tool for her evil plans. Maybe she wasn't even my true progenitor; she was prone to lying.

A crack snapped me out of my memories. The branch of the tree where Fluttershy was perched was starting to break apart. If it fell on her head, it would surely kill her. Before the pegasus could react, I positioned myself over her in the blink of an eye. She looked at me, almost having a heart attack, until the branch broke on top of my back.

The debris scattered through my mane while Fluttershy moved away from me, her face struggling between terror and relief.

"Sombra! You saved Fluttershy!" Starlight said, shocked, a huge smile gracing her lips.

Hearing her, I broke my stance, snorting with a grimace of annoyance. I hadn't been thinking about that at the moment.

Luna rummaged through the old files in her home, digging up everything she could, but the object of her search remained elusive. That name—she had to remember who it was.

"Hope," she murmured through gritted teeth, her frustration palpable.

Celestia watched her sister with growing concern. Since her return from Canterlot Castle, Luna had been in a frantic search for documents, whispering barely audible words. Celestia wanted to intervene but preferred to stay out of it, dealing with her own bitter feelings about Sombra's return. However, at that moment, her sister was the most important.

"Sister, what are you looking for? You haven't stopped sifting through our things since you returned," Celestia asked, her voice heavy with unease.

"I know I've heard that name before… that purple pony with the light blue mane."

"A Crystal Pony?"

"Do you know her?"

"Radiant Hope. She was our student," Celestia replied with nostalgia.

"I don't remember her."

"It was a thousand years ago, before your transformation into Nightmare," Celestia explained with a sigh. "She was a young unicorn with great talent, radiating vitality around her. Amore and I were convinced she would become a formidable leader with time."

"I can't find anything about her."

"Like what happened with the Crystal Empire when it disappeared. She left her studies prematurely. I tried to persuade her to continue with her life, but she was determined to do whatever it took to save her friend."

Celestia showed her a portrait of Hope. She looked just like in Sombra's dreams: a beautiful purple unicorn with a light blue mane. Her blue eyes sparkled like sapphires, and her coat shone with the brilliance of crystal.

"Sombra must have cared for her deeply. It's the only thing in his mind that hasn't been corrupted by fear."

"She loved him too, Luna," Celestia responded with sadness.

What began as a tranquil morning quickly turned into chaos when Starlight had to drag me to Twilight's School of Friendship to deal with a mutant plant. She had left Sunburst in charge while attending to tasks assigned by Twilight. However, that day, Sunburst, as a crystallizer, had to attend a ceremony in the Crystal Empire, leaving the responsibility in Trixie's hands.

It seemed that Trixie was not the most suitable for the job. Upon learning this, Starlight went into a frenzy and teleported me with her, swearing she wouldn't leave either Trixie or me alone.

The brief time that Trixie was in charge was enough for her to cast a risky spell that turned harmless vines into monsters spreading through the halls, terrorizing the students. Seeing me, Trixie let out a scream of terror. Starlight quickly encased her in a silence bubble and ordered me to block the vines with my body. I wanted to protest, but her furious glare made me fall silent. I rammed the branches out of the hall while Starlight disintegrated the plant with a brilliant spell.

Once order was restored, the students looked at us with curiosity, disbelief, and, in some cases, with fear or resentment. Even one of them with a mocking expression pulled out a notebook, showing curious drawings of me, some with the princesses in friendly situations. A cheeky filly dared to ask if Luna and I had had something in the past.

Starlight pulled me away from the students and explained that I would cause no more problems. We then headed to the staff lounge to have coffee and cookies.

Trixie remained nervous about my presence; her coffee spilled from her constant trembling. I, on the other hand, sipped my cup of coffee, which was bitter and flavorless. I never understood the appeal of coffee.

A few minutes later, the vice-principal Sunburst arrived, a unicorn with warm colors and a disheveled mane. His glasses were fogged up from the sweat of running.

"Trixie, I only left you for a couple of hours!" Sunburst exclaimed. "I had to leave the ceremony early. The Crystal Ponies will think poorly of me."

"What a tragedy," I said with a mocking tone.

Sunburst looked at me with surprise, and I thought he might scream in terror or attack me, but he only approached Starlight to reprimand her for not informing him of my presence. She explained that she hadn't planned it and cast an irritated glance at Trixie.

Sunburst began bombarding me with questions about dark magic, the Crystal Empire, and what Equestria was like a thousand years ago. I remained coldly detached, as although I wanted to respond, my knowledge was limited.

Starlight distracted him by talking about her recent activities with Twilight, and he listened attentively. The connection between them was evident, a bond between two ponies that was hard to ignore. I had once felt something similar, or at least I thought I did. She had been my only friend, always there during the toughest times. But when I discovered my true nature, she sent the princesses to kill me. Ponies are like that, full of hypocrisy and lies about friendship.

While they were discussing, three young fillies knocked on the door: an orange pegasus, a yellow earth pony, and a purple unicorn with curly mane. The earth pony approached Starlight.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had let us take charge from time to time," said the yellow pony.

"Applebloom, we've discussed this. You're still too young," Starlight replied in a stern tone.

"It's not fair. We're more capable than Trixie," retorted the pegasus, leaving Trixie visibly offended.

As they argued, the young unicorn stood in front of me. Standing dangerously close, she looked at me with her huge green eyes that seemed to pierce my very being. She remained eerily silent for a few seconds before finally asking,

"Who are you?"

"Sombra," I replied without thinking.

Starlight showed concern for the behavior of the unicorn named Sweetie Belle, but I remained unmoved. Despite her sweet aura, I felt a subtle hostility that, strangely, was oddly soothing. I agreed to help them with their activities, whether out of boredom or curiosity.

It was a day that broke my eternal boredom and insatiable desires for torment, or at least my hardships. I hadn't felt this way since I was a foal. It was a pity that such a feeling would never be the same again.

As night fell, I returned to my room in the tower as I usually did, but this time Twilight was waiting at the entrance. Her usually serene demeanor showed a displeased seriousness.

"So, you saved Fluttershy's life," Twilight said. "And you spent time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I didn't think you'd progress so quickly. I must admit I'm impressed."

I gave her a false smile as I entered my room. In a flash of light, she appeared in front of me, spreading her wings in a defensive posture.

"I'm not a fool, Sombra. I know you're up to something," she declared with anger. "I'd like to believe you're reforming, that you really care about the ponies helping you. But I know it's not true."

She turned away and headed to the window. She prepared to fly to her quarters, only to stop and say,

"I just want you to know that we're not pretending when we say we care about you."

Flapping her wings, she soared into the night light, disappearing among the stars. I remained at the window, my hooves sliding coldly over the gleaming marble floor.

I must leave soon, before it becomes painful to betray them. It would be so easy to use the ponies to leave them in misery, but being a normal pony is already impossible for me. I have sealed my fate: I will be the ruler of all Equestria, not just this world.

"I'm sorry, Twilight…sorry, Hope," I murmured, letting a tear slide down my cheek.

.