In the Dark of the Night

Celestia bolted upright, gasping for breath. The darkness permeating her bedroom swam with afterimages of the terrible nightmare. Moonlight streaming through a nearby window glinted off swirling dust motes in a silvery mirror of a windigo. Soulless eyes as red as blood glared in her mind’s eye still, quickening Celestia’s already racing heart and chilling her to the core with utter terror.

After all these years, why was she dreaming of Sombra? Why had she seen him standing amid windigos, of all creatures? Were these visions conjured by her Foresight? They were all so grim and hazy now, Celestia could not tell. Perhaps it had merely been a bad dream…

Releasing a sigh to soothe her rattled nerves, Celestia fell back onto her pillows. She lay there for a time, staring at the ceiling through the gloom, waiting for her thoughts to settle. They were yet so troubled that Celestia could not easily find sleep again, never mind how weary she was. Those awful, red eyes still seemed so real…

With a start, Celestia realized that she was not imagining the bloody glower—it stared down upon her, in her room! Fangs gleamed in the black as the creature hovering above her snarled and lunged for her throat.

Before Celestia could react, a beam of cobalt magic hurtled into the monster. It recoiled, lurching in the air and searching for the source of the attack. Luna stood in the doorway, wings flared and horn ablaze. She unleashed another starlit beam, but the monster managed to evade this one. While the monster was focused on Luna, Celestia summoned her own magic and ensnared the shadowy creature in a sphere of golden light. The monster howled, beating against its prison to no avail.

Now that she could see it properly, Celestia found that she recognized the beast. Her pounding heart skipped a few horrified beats, and then drummed all the harder. Then it was not a dream… She shook her head to clear it of the dark thought, but that did not make the fact any less true.

“The umbrum was preying upon your dreams, sister,” said Luna, stepping up beside the floating cage of sunlight. “Are you well?”

“I’m fine, Luna,” Celestia replied. Forcing herself to calm, she tossed her blankets aside and stood. This was no time to lie in bed, frightened like a foal. She was a Princess of Equestria, and Celestia gathered to her the quiet authority and dignity expected of a monarch. She watched, unmoved, as the trapped umbrum raged against its bonds, growing more frenzied by the second. “I had hoped the nightmare was but a dream, but, if there are umbrum freely roaming Equestria again, such a hope is wishful thinking.” She did not need to explain the visions. If the Princess of the Night had sensed the umbrum from the dream world, then Luna had also witnessed what Celestia’s Foresight had revealed.

Luna nodded grimly. “Indeed. However, I do not believe the whole of the umbrum race has been unleashed. Of all the dreams I have been watching tonight, yours were the only ones to be plagued by this harbinger of nightmares.”

“Harbinger…” murmured Celestia, meeting the frantic umbrum’s wild eyes. She scowled, her aura sparkling to life around her horn as she cast a spell upon the umbrum and its prison to deafen it to the Two Sisters’ words. Then Celestia turned to her sister, raising her wings to block the umbrum’s sight of their mouths so it could not read their lips while they spoke. “Sister, if Sombra has returned and has allied with the windigos, we must find him before his full strength returns as well. We may be able to thwart a few umbrum and windigos, but an entire army…”

“Then let us not waste time,” Luna agreed. “Free this creature, and let it lead us to Sombra, that we may finish this once and for all. Now that I know ’tis here, I can track it. Sombra shall not revel in his return for long.”

“Agreed.” Celestia summoned a pair of Royal Guards. Both glanced quizzically toward the intruder that had so easily slipped past them, but their attention swiftly returned to their sovereign. “Assemble a company of our finest Guards and prepare to move out,” Celestia instructed one soldier, who saluted and hastened off. She turned to the remaining guard and commanded, “Send word to Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight. Tell them, an old enemy has returned to reclaim the Crystal Throne. Princess Luna and I march to quell the uprising before it begins.”

* * *

The tundra of the borderlands where Equestria met the Frozen North stretched endlessly in all directions. In the hazy distance ahead, the Crystal Mountains rose to kiss the twilight sky. Behind, the silhouette of Canterlot upon its mountain stood as a quiet reminder of the Two Sisters’ far-reaching reign. A chilling wind swept across the plains, bending the sea of brown, dying grass in rippling waves. There was no sign of the umbrum.

Celestia raised a wing, bringing the Royal Guards to a halt. She turned to her sister and asked, “Are you certain this is where it is?”

Luna stiffened a little at that. After all these years, did Celestia really still need to question Luna’s abilities? But she discarded the brief spark of irritation. Luna had no need of such detrimental emotions now. Celestia was asking for the benefit of their soldiers, to assure them their princesses yet controlled the situation, nothing more. “Indeed. I assure you, sister, the creature has not left the tundra.”

“We must be close, then.” Celestia shifted her gaze to the commanding officer of the company. “Spread out, and stay alert. There may be worse things than a rogue umbrum lying in ambush in these lands.”

The soldier bowed and saluted, stating, “Yes, Your Highness.” Then he relayed the orders to his soldiers, and the armored stallions split into smaller squads. Each group had three or more ponies, at least one from each race, with the pegasi airborne and the unicorns holding their magic at the ready. A full platoon remained in formation around the Two Sisters, including the commanding officer.

The wind strengthened, growing colder. Luna narrowed her eyes against the rushing currents, feeling the familiar tingle of magic filter into the atmosphere. Starlight glowed dimly around her horn as Luna’s suspicion deepened. Beside her, Celestia’s horn had also been set alight, and the sisters traded a brief glance. Something was coming.

“Commander, over there!” cried a pegasus guard abruptly, pointing.

Luna followed his gesture, and her heart sank a little at what she saw. The smoky mountain range in the distance was not the mountains at all—it was a wall of winter, and it was racing across the tundra straight for them. Within moments, it was close enough that Luna could discern individual windigos swarming within the oncoming horde.

“Company, close ranks!” barked the commander. “Protect the Princesses!”

The Royal Guards hardly needed the order, hastening to rejoin their comrades. Not all of them made it before the windigos were upon them. Luna watched as a pegasus was overcome, sucked into the whirling winter storm. Another guard tried to raise a magical shield, but ice froze upon his horn, dousing his magic. One of the earth ponies fared better, outrunning the windigos just long enough to swerve and kick one of the snowy beasts square in the jaw. The windigo shrieked, expelling a winter gale so cold it began to freeze the soldier from the ground up.

Sunlight erupted from above as Celestia dived out of the sky. The windigo recoiled, its magic melting beneath the Sun Princess’s fire. The earth pony guard’s bonds became nothing but water. He sprang right back into action, undaunted.

Luna spread her wings as the blizzard of ice and snow surrounded them, calming the air around her with a spell. Windigos wheeled all around her, engulfing the world in winter. Calling upon the strength of the moon and night, Luna let fly a torrent of cosmic fury. A cascade of silver and blue seared through the windigos in its path, drowning out their startled cries with its roaring tide. When a pair of windigos attempted to circle around Luna, she flipped midair to face them and burned them from existence with another beam of magic.

The clash of armor and hooves mingled with the shouts of the guards and the shrieks of the windigos. Luna would glimpse a squad of soldiers locked in combat with the winter beasts, but then snow and sleet would blind her again. She briefly spotted at least two guards, maybe more, completely encased in ice. Flashes of unicorn and alicorn magic alike lit up the blizzard like lightning in a thunderstorm. While dispatching another group of windigos, Luna thought she heard the defiant war cry of her sister through the howling chaos.

Without warning, a windigo barreled into Luna from behind, driving her to ground. It bared razor teeth in a frightening grin. Luna shoved it from her with a powerful kick of her hind legs and bolted to her hooves. The windigo screamed, collecting itself and five other windigos, and they rushed forward. Luna met their battle cries with a bellow of her own, standing her ground and unleashing a river of searing balefire. The windigos scattered, but two were not quick enough to escape the inferno.

A low, rumbling laugh rolled through the storm. Fear pricked at Luna’s heart as she whirled around, wings flared and magic at the ready. Out of the sheeting ice and turmoil of bodies stepped an all too familiar figure. He was almost just as Luna remembered—he lacked the crown and robe, but he bore his ebon armor with enough dignity and arrogance that he hardly needed the crown.

Sombra chuckled, eyes streaming shadow and horn alight with dark magic. “No more a foal, I see, young Luna. I would almost deign to call you beautiful, were you not so distorted by your sister’s light.”

Luna’s face contorted. Not bothering to indulge the monster in wordplay as she had in centuries past, she conjured several large orbs of moonlight and hurled them at Sombra. A windigo rushed blindly into the path of one. Orb and beast exploded in a blaze of fire and stardust. Sombra… dissipated, fragmenting into wisps of shadow and easily evading every one of the explosive orbs. The windigos swirling behind him caught the attacks instead. Before a wall of bursting light and shuddering shockwaves, Sombra seamlessly melded together again.

For a moment, Luna could only stare. How long had he been hiding in the shadows of Equestria, that he had regained so much of his power? But then Luna recovered her wits and gathered her magic for another blow. However long this villain had waited this time, he would not be able to piece himself back together once she was finished with him.

“You shall find my shade a welcome change from the sun’s harsh rays, I think,” said Sombra, unfazed. His bloody eyes glowed as his black aura extended toward the princess. “Sleep well, young Luna.”

Starlight sheared through the darkness attempting to surround her, but Luna found these shadows not so easily banished. Oily tendrils wrapped around her legs and wings, binding her in place. She fired beams of magic at them, struggling to free herself, but the shadows were untouched. She drew upon more and more magic, her eyes glowing white with the ocean of power surging through her, but nothing she did seemed to hinder Sombra’s dark magic.

Then a windigo swept into the air between Luna and Sombra. Only, it was unlike any windigo Luna had ever seen. This creature was too large by far, with scarlet eyes and a streaming mane of black fire. Shadows swirled amid the snow and ice comprising its body—the shadows of an umbrum. Luna’s magic died as she realized this unnatural creature was a partner of the windigo and umbrum races, artificial but more powerful than either.

The hybrid parted its jaws in a fearsome howl and galloped headlong for Luna.

* * *

More windigos always replaced those Celestia felled. No matter how many she bested, she could not seem to make a dent in the endless ranks. She had long ago lost track of the Royal Guards. Hopefully she would be able to bring them all home to their families after this. But hopes were futile and useless if she and her sister did not find a way to rid Equestria of the tyrant who had summoned and allied with these winter demons.

An alien scream shivered the haze of battle. Celestia whirled midair, expecting to see another windigo charging her. Instead, through the blizzard and havoc she watched as a great shadow overcame and smothered her sister on the ground.

“Luna!” cried Celestia, drawing her wings close and diving. Golden magic blazed around her horn as she descended upon the ravenous shade, piercing the gloom as only true sunlight could. Before she could reach where she last saw Luna, however, something collided violently with Celestia and sent them both reeling. They plowed into the earth together, raking a deep gash in the tundra. When they at last ground to a stop, Celestia was too slow to react, and her attacker pinned her on her back with armored fore hooves.

Sombra stood above her, fangs bared in an evil smile. He leaned closer to her, eyes smoldering. “Shh… Your sister is sleeping, Celestia,” murmured Sombra in the princess’s ear, almost liltingly, as if he were reciting a lullaby. “We would not want to disturb the weary girl, would we? The young should not bear witness to the destruction of their idols.”

The molten fires of the sun exploded from Celestia’s horn, a battle cry ripping from her throat in the strain of sustaining such a vast quantity of power. Sombra recoiled, melting into dregs of shadow with a growl. Celestia maintained the beam of cosmic fire as she regained her hooves, searing swathes of windigos from existence in her hunt to burn away Sombra. But she could not feed the spell forever, and she refused to be bested because she had foolishly wasted her strength at the beginning of the real battle. Reluctantly, she released the spell, searching the blizzard for her foe.

“What have you done with my sister?” bellowed Celestia. “Face me, you coward! Step out of your precious shadows and fight!”

“Oh, how I have missed you, Celestia!” exclaimed Sombra, laughter booming above the windigos’ shrieks.

Celestia wheeled around and hurled a spear of sunlight straight for the tyrant’s heart. Sombra fragmented again and reformed once the attack had passed. He hardly appeared the weakened shell Celestia had seen in her vision. He was far stronger than her Foresight had led her to believe.

Sombra’s laughter faded to soft chuckles. “Such a fiery spirit as yours,” he crooned, “shall indeed be a pleasure to snuff out. Your sister was strong, but the moon cannot resist the dark. You, however…” His eyes glinted wickedly. “You are fire and passion, with the heart and power of the very sun at your command. I think I shall enjoy your fall from grace the most.”

Golden fire reared up all around Celestia, coalescing into a small army of phoenixes. Some darted to intercept the windigos racing all around, but most soared straight for Sombra. Just as Celestia had expected, Sombra dissolved into shadow to dodge the attack, but he would not find her phoenixes simple puppets. The golden firebirds converged and then split part, each chasing a different shred of shadow. No matter how Sombra’s shards darted, nor how fast, Celestia’s phoenixes stayed trained on their targets.

The same unearthly scream from before resounded directly behind Celestia. She glanced back, simultaneously raising a golden shield of magic. The cloven hooves of a titanic windigo scraped against the shield of light as it swerved to avoid collision, snow and shadows trailing in its wake. It rounded vicious, scarlet eyes on the Sun Princess, snarling like a rabid dog.

“What monstrosity is this?” gasped Celestia, retreating a few cautious steps. She met the windigo-umbrum’s unfeeling glare, and sorrow and pity swept through her. Sombra had unmade these two creatures and constructed a race that was never meant to exist—and he had done it to serve his own purposes. Whatever else Sombra had done in the past, this was beyond all his cruelties. “I am sorry,” Celestia whispered. “I cannot undo the evil he has wrought upon you.”

The hybrid howled in response, its cry ringing above the storm of windigos.

A spray of sparks billowed from beside Celestia, and she whirled to find one of her conjured phoenixes imploding. Then another careened into view, out of control and melting amid streams of shadow. One by one, her phoenixes fell, some in tatters and some wreathed in gloom. Sombra was fighting back, and he was winning.

The windigo-umbrum raised another howl and charged.

Celestia flared her wings wide, standing her ground. Pure sunlight shined from her horn. She had lost her sister to this monster, she was sure, but death was not something Celestia meted out lightly. Forgive me, sister, she prayed, for the pity I feel for this poor demon, for not being strong enough to save you… again. She strengthened her shield, eyes burning blinding-white. With the power of a thousand suns flooding her veins, Celestia rose to meet what she feared to be her end.