The Heart of the Sun

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
chapter 4

Prologue

Deep beneath the Canterlot Royal Palace in the crystal caverns, a flying Princess Celestia bobs and weaves dodging the black crystal shards that shoot out in every direction trying to impale her. Her light purple eyes are bloodshot from crying as a diary she should have destroyed long ago and couldn’t bring herself to do so have caused her only son, Prince Somnus Silverlight, to turn on his mother and try to kill her. All the dark feelings she once witnessed in her own sister’s transformation has become magnified tenfold in the heart of her son. Leaving her only one choice; to keep running from her baby and find a way out of the caverns before her son catches up to her.

“MOTHER!” a deep evil voice calls as a very dark blue evil Alicorn stallion with a cyan colored mane and tail streaks toward her at an incredible speed. Before she could react, the alicorn strikes her and sends her through five crystal walls until she hits a hard stone wall at the far end of the caverns

“BABY! Pleases stop this! You are breaking my heart! I don’t want to fight you!” Celestia’s voice cracking as she struggles back to her hoofs after spitting blood from her mouth.

“BE QUIET! YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED MY MOTHER! MY TRUE MOTHER LOVES HER FOALS! SHE NEVER FAKES HER LOVE LIKE YOU DID YOUR HIGHNESS!” The alicorn spit out the words with contempt as the words struck Celestia like a hammer.

“BABY! NO! I have never faked my love for you or your sisters!” Celestia heartbroken as she floats her locket out from under her collar and opens it with her magic.

“STOP CALLING ME YOUR BABY! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO HAVE ME AS YOUR SON! YOU ARE A HATEFUL ALICORN MARE WHO NEVER LOVED HER FOALS LIKE A REAL MOTHER! YOU LOVE US JUST TO KEEP US HAPPY! FATHER WAS JUST ANOTHER STALLION TO PLAY WITH HIS FEELINGS TILL YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED! FOALS! THE MORE YOU, TALK THE DEEPER THE LIES BECOME! YOU NEVER HAD ANY FEELINGS FOR FATHER OR US! YOU WERE USING US! THE ONLY ONE THAT CARED WAS AUNT LUNA!” The alicorn said maliciously charging up his black horn.

“SOMNUS! NO! What you read was written by a hurt and angry mare, who watched a pony that she didn’t know loved her, sacrifice himself for her. Not this mare, who loves her late husband and cherishes what her husband, gave her….three treasures that she loved with all her heart.” Celestia sincerely said as a stoned faced Somnus peppered the back of the rock his mother was hiding behind with black crystal shards till it fractured, revealing his mother behind it.

“ALL LIES! NOTHING BUT LIES! YOU CARE NOTHING FOR US! SO WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT YOU, YOUR HIGHNESS!” Somnus said ruthlessly pinning his mother on her back as a black crystal spike begins to form above his head; suddenly a shadow appears. It was Luna.

“SOMNUS! My pupil and my nephew, what has become of you?….what happened to that noble unicorn knight that I taught about the beauty of dreams and shared the power of the night with. Has he left me alone?” Luna said a bit hurt as she lands and folds her wings to her sides, forcing Somnus to back off from his mother who quickly gets to her hoofs.

“…………..” Somnus says nothing

“I understand how powerful that dark magic makes you feel……better than anyone, dear Somnus…..I know how it feels to be betrayed by your mother….I know how revenge consumes your soul…..But that’s the way of the dark magic…..you are stronger than that, dear Somnus….strong enough to stand by my side as protector of the night.” Luna explains as the black flames begin to go out across his body and he slowly transforms back to normal.

“NO!” Luna exclaimed in a panic as the rainbow power arcs over both Celestia and Luna’s head, striking Somnus.

The rainbow powers encircled the thrashing Somnus, slowly trying to destroy Somnus’s black magic, until at his hoofs the black magic begins to whirl faster and faster building up more and more black energy. The two forces impact each other with an enormous power spike that fights for control of Somnus’s very soul. A look of sheer terror crosses his mother’s face not knowing what would happen. But in the end, a black energy ring is sent back over the rainbow that sent the six rainbow powered ponies helplessly flying through the air till they hit the back wall and slide down.

“What? Why didn’t it work?” Twilight exclaimed very puzzled as her friends try to shake off the effects of the black magic feedback.

“It didn’t work because my baby is not of the night…..he was born of the light…born from me, the Sun Princess. Your power works to light the darkness in the heart of any ponies that have allowed that darkness to filter in….my baby never let the darkness filter in…he was cursed when he was born with the darkness…..Luna knows what I say is true!” Celestia said weeping as she has no idea how to get her son back.

“Celestia speaks the truth Twilight! The dark magic that Somnus uses is a mystery even to me. Just because it is a mystery to me doesn’t stop me from keeping him from falling into the darkness.” Luna exclaims as the black flames return to Somnus’s body and retake control.

“Now I can see clearly, betrayed by my mother, betrayed by my Aunt and betrayed by my friends…..No pony wants me! So be it! Prince Somnus Silverlight is now dead only one remains and it’s me Fantasm the Prince of Nightmare and the Lord of the Unending Night.” Fantasm exclaims as he takes to the sky to find a place to recover and heal.

As Luna and Twilight and her friends continue to plan their next move, Celestia slips away from the camp with one thing in mind, to get back her son at any cost.

Unknown to Fantasm, Princess Celestia has been secretly following him in the huge crystal caverns since he flew off to recover and heal waiting for her chance to face the anger of her son after running from it for this long. As Fantasm comes in for a landing, she lands right behind him.

“Fantasm!” Celestia calls

“Huh?” Fantasm exclaims as he turns around to see Celestia move toward him.

“I have come to get back what you took from me! My son Somnus!” Celestia said forcefully (swinging her front hoof and pointing it towards Fantasm) as she folds her wings on her sides.

“Well guess what Your Highness….He’s not coming back and he will never come back….you caused this to happen!” Fantasm said as he assumes a posture of superiority, as Celestia’s features fall and tears begin to fill her eyes again.

“Yes, (as tears begin to fall) it was all my fault….if I just talked to him when he first brought me that cursed diary of mine, nothing like this would have happened. But instead I thought he would forget about it, it is a mistake I keep making. But he never did and the more he tried to talk to me about it the more hurt he became…till he started to believe what I wrote in the diary….those words were from the quill of a very hurt and angry Alicorn and not from your mother….SOMNUS PLEASE FORGIVE YOUR MOTHER AND COME BACK TO HER, BABY! I WILL NOT ALLOW ANOTHER STALLION I LOVE TO FALL INTO DARKNESS!” Celestia said guilt free as Somnus started to fight back against Fantasm.

“HUH! What’s going on? What did you do to me your highness?” Fantasm groans fighting to stay in control of Somnus’s body.

“I did nothing….this is the true powers of a foal born from the light….born from the Princess of the Sun….I have made a lot of mistakes in my long lifetime….but the one thing I have never done is allow myself to withhold my heart from those I love as a Princess and as a mother….A pony of complete darkness like you will never understand.” Celestia said knowing as Fantasm sneered at her with an arrogant look.

“Ahhahaha…love?” Fantasm said with a defiant smile

“Love has nothing to do with this…..this colt believes his mother is going to save him from me….but once I destroy his hope….meaning destroying you, your highness…he is as good as mine.” Fantasm said as his black horn glows.

Suddenly Celestia shrieks as a huge black crystal shard shoots up from the ground and impales her on it. As the shard stops at the roof of the caverns there are three soft pings as it knocks off her two front gold horseshoes and gold tiara.

“Do you really think by killing me; you will extinguish the light of a foal born from the Sun Princess…if that’s so, you are just as foolish as my own husband’s shadow.” Celestia explains as she passes out.

Chapter 1

It’s a few minutes before noon at the quiet Canterlot Royal Palace in Canterlot. The Princess and her royal daughters go about their routine royal duties with the exception of her son Prince Somnus Silverlight. After losing a hoof ball game bet with his older sister Aurora, Somnus was tasked by her to clean the Canterlot archives, a chore his siblings don’t like doing. Standing on her back legs with her front hoofs braced securely on an empty shelf, she carefully places a book with her teeth. She was a rather unhappy dark blue pegasi mare with an ice blue mane and tail wearing the dull purple colored body armor of Princess Luna’s Lunar Guard.

“I am Captain Adrian Nightwing a proud member of Princess Luna’s Lunar Guard and I am reduced to maid work.” Adrian said with some pride and bitterness as a troubled look appears on her face.

“Somnus!” Adrian calls as he walks out from behind a bookcase floating several books in his dark blue bubble.

“Yes?” Somnus answers floating the books onto the bookshelf she was using to brace herself.

“Did her highness really order me to help you clean the Canterlot Archives, Somnus?” Adrian inquires studying Somnus acutely as a stress line forms on his brow knowing he lied to her.

“The idea of Royal orders is kind of a subjective concept….did her highness specifically pick you to do this job or did she pull your name out of a hat, then assign you to do this job…that is the real question, Adrian?” Somnus explains trying to cloud the issue and baffle Adrian, so she will forget the question she asked.

“Well another subjective concept I would like to make you aware of your highness…. (Blowing the dust off the underside of her front horseshoes) It’s called ‘make you feel the pain of lying to me!’” Adrian said bluntly as she chases Somnus around the Canterlot Archives. For a pegasi who can fly, Adrian is pretty quick on her legs keeping up with Somnus a half-alicorn and half-unicorn pony without the wings of his mother.

“Got you!” Adrian exclaims tackling Somnus.

“Now for the pain!” Adrian exclaimed lifting her hoof up. Unaware that Princess Luna has just entered the Canterlot archive from the hallway. She floats a tray with several small sandwiches cut into small triangles, a pitcher of apple cider and three glasses.

“Captain Nightwing! Don’t lay a hoof on Prince Somnus!” Luna bellows catching the attention of Adrian as he slips out of her grip and runs behind his aunt.

“Adrian, do you know how much trouble you will be in if you strike a royal foal…I bet it’s more than you would like….so tell me what happened?” Luna asks so she gives the explanation. After hearing what happened Luna kicks Somnus with her back leg to make a point to him and promised Adrian she will discipline him for faking a Royal Order from a Princess.

“With that settled, would you both like to join me for lunch?” Luna inquires as they both shook their heads and waited for Luna to set down the tray on a nearby table, at which time the three ponies gathered around the table and began eating and talking.

From a cheerful scene in the Canterlot archives to a more somber scene, Princess Celestia sits in a small sitting room somewhere in the Royal Palace. Her light purple eyes mist over with tears as she holds a shard of a broke mirror in her yellow magic aura.

“I still miss him so, the Good king Sombra from the alternate world…I didn’t know he loved me, if I knew I would have tried to stop him from sacrificing himself for me…” Celestia thought as a beautiful light blue younger Alicorn mare with a crimson red mane and tail enters the sitting room. A floating tray in a dark blue bubble appears with two plates of sandwiches, a pot of tea and two tea cups.

“Mother lunch is here, may I join you?” Inquires the friendly Alicorn mare as a small bit of light from a window in the sitting room reflects off the mirror shard her mother was trying to hide under some papers on the table.

“Sure you may join me, Aurora.” Celestia said friendly as Aurora floated one plate of food in front of her mother and then to herself.

“Thank you mother, but the real reason I want to join you for lunch is because you felt a bit distant in court this afternoon…is something wrong?” Aurora inquires as she pours her mother a cup of tea from the tea pot.

“Thank you, Aurora…I should have known nothing gets past you. You are like your father; you can read me like a book.” Celestia comments chuckling into her hoof after taking a sip of tea from her cup.

“But it’s nothing, Aurora….nothing at all.” Celestia comments lying to her own daughter as Aurora regards her mother curiously and floats the mirror shard out from under the papers.

“Curious mother, I am guessing this magic mirror shard is what you kept in that small treasure box on top of your desk in your bed chamber…I remember as a small filly seeing that small treasure box on top of your desk everytime you took me to your bed chamber to teach me how to use my magic properly.” Aurora explains as it caused Celestia to begin to tear-up with all the precious memories that were made after good king Sombra sacrificed himself.

“You are correct; Aurora. This is the item that was in that small treasure box on my desk that I kept in my room. (Floating the magic mirror shard from Aurora over to herself)” Celestia explains looking at it.

“May I ask why you kept it, mother?” Aurora inquires as Celestia sighs.

“Long before I met your father and had three beautiful foals with him...There was another stallion who loved me, at the time I didn’t know he loved me….his name was King Sombra.” Celestia said beaming fondly.

“What?!” Aurora exclaimed gawking in disbelief.

“Mother! How could you have fallen in love with such an evil pony like King Sombra? He destroyed hope and love in cousin Cadence’s Crystal Empire! If Twilight and her friends didn’t stop him he could have done some serious damage to our home!” Aurora said in a huff wondering who her mother really was.

“Calm yourself Aurora (shaking her hoof) The King Sombra I was in love with is from the alternate world…where your aunt and I are evil princesses. He was good king Sombra or he was that before…….” Celestia said her voice trailing off as a single tear runs down her cheek. Sensing something, Aurora stands up and walks around the table, wraps her wings around her mother and gives her a loving hug.

“What ever happened will not change how I feel about my mother, Princess Celestia Silverlight….The mare I call mother.” Aurora said beaming fondly as Celestia wipes away the tear with her hoof, kissing her daughter on her cheek.

“You three will never really know how special you are to this old Alicorn and her life.” Celestia said lovingly as she finishes her story for Aurora.

Meanwhile back in the Canterlot archives, Somnus with the help of his aunt Luna finishes cleaning the archives, after Captain Nightwing had to leave for her guard duty at the front gate of the palace.

“Almost done, Auntie and thank you for helping me after Adrian left….I don’t think I could have finished cleaning the whole Archives by myself without your help.” Somnus thankful as he dips a clean cloth into some clean water and uses it to clean the dust off Luna’s face for her.

“You are welcome, Somnus….oh, by the way, could you meet me this evening in the training park inside the palace….I would like a few sparing rounds with you….I would like to knock off some of the rust from my sword skills.” Luna asks as Somnus shook his head and agreed to meet his aunt.

“Ouch…ouch…ouch!” Somnus exclaims clamping his eyes shut as the whole contents of a single bookcase falls on top of his head after his aunt accidentally slams the door leading into the Canterlot Archives with her back leg.

As the books continue to tumble off the shelves onto Somnus’s head, several out of date maps of Equestria begin to roll off their shelf being pushed by a rose pink colored diary with his mother’s gold sun symbol on it. As the last of the maps fall off the shelf and to the ground, the rose pink diary also falls and crashes snapping the lock open on the book. This reveals the entries inside. With the books now on top of Somnus’s head he slowly stands-up and shakes them off.

“Huh?” Somnus exclaims stepping on a small pile of books that shoots out from under his front hoofs dumping his chin on top of the open diary.

“Why this looks like mother’s writing….it’s kind of quickly jotted down, not her standard elegant writing style like she does for correspondences…she must have been upset or hurt when she wrote it…but you still can read it…..I wonder what this book is?” Somnus thought carefully moving away from the bookshelf as he floats the books back onto the shelves and leaves the Canterlot archives with his mother’s book.

For the next few hours Somnus reads the book in his bed chamber from cover to cover. Soon the sun slowly sets and moon rises in the sky meaning it was time for his Aunt Princess Luna to take over the royal duties from his mother Princess Celestia. The feeling of a dark cloud hung over the head of the depressed young unicorn stallion as he walked toward the palace training park to meet his Aunt Luna for a sparring match.

In the moon lit palace training park Somnus and his Aunt Luna spar with wooden swords the same weight as the real ones. Their normal sparing matches are very intense to say the least as Luna made a point to train her nephew at her skill level. After dodging a clumsy sword strike from Somnus, Luna fires a magic beam from her horn as a counter to Somnus’s sword strike.

“Child! Dodge it quickly!” Luna shrieks as the beam hits Somnus straight on throwing him head over hoof out of the training circle into a pile of hay against one wall of the palace.

Luna releases the magic on the handle of the wooden sword and runs over to the pile of hay. She begins to dig through the pile as fast as she could with her front hooves searching for her nephew as her breath quickens not knowing how badly hurt he is. With half the pile now dug through a few inches from her silver horseshoes she finds the singed and largely unhurt Somnus. She sighs in relief as she hugs him and brings him out of the hay pile.

“For bucking sakes, Somnus! Don’t scare me like that, child! I thought you were badly hurt or even killed!” Luna snaps as all her worries come out of her as an angry tone of voice is directed towards the depressed Somnus. Slowly Luna calms herself down and notices the stricken look in the face of her nephew.

“What is wrong with you child?” Luna inquires calmly and thoughtful as she sits down in front of the troubled young stallion with concern on her face.

“Do you care about me, Auntie?” Somnus inquires confused catching Luna by surprise.

“Huh? Of course I do, Somnus….why would you think I don’t?” Luna answered as it made Somnus even more confused.

“Does mother care about me, Auntie?” Somnus inquires quickly as the question caused Luna to have a total lapse in judgment and answer with the first thing that came into her mind.

“I don’t know! I can’t read your mother’s mind!” Luna blurts out as she quickly covers her mouth with her hoofs and watches a glum Somnus run off into the night.

“What is wrong with that nephew of mine? Why would he ask me if his mother cares about him? And dumb me blurting out the first thing that came to my mind…I don’t know. I feel that Somnus was hoping I could put something that was troubling him at ease, but I failed and might have made it worse….But I can’t think about that right now I have evening court to begin. If I get a chance or see him I will talk to him.” Luna thought reluctantly making her way to the throne room to begin evening court.

Deep beneath the surface of this troubled young unicorn stallion a dark power begins to bubble and seethe slowly trying to take form. But it’s far too weak to maintain its shape. When it does, two beams, a yellow one and blue one strike it sending it back into its shapeless form. The beams are fired by two Alicorn spirits trying to maintain the balance within the soul of Prince Somnus.

“(Breathing heavy) our power is beginning to weaken…soon that beast will be able to take control of Somnus’ soul.” The yellow Alicorn spirit said exhausted as the blue alicorn spirit lands.

“(Breathing heavy) even though our power is getting weaker….we can’t stop fighting…where’s the turquoise alicorn spirit at?” The blue alicorn spirit inquires looking around.

“She was the first one of us taken by the beast….her power of love kept that beast chained in his cell, but once Somnus started to lose the love in his heart…the chains shattered and the beast absorbed her.” The yellow alicorn spirit explains as blue alicorn spirit shook her head.

“What about magenta alicorn spirit?” The blue alicorn spirit inquired.

“The magenta alicorn spirit was next to be taken by the beast….her power of friendship kept the beast’s cell locked, but once Somnus started to lose the friendship in his heart..The beast escaped and absorbed her…..we are the last of the Alicorn Spirits, once we get absorbed nothing can stop the beast from taking control.” The yellow Alicorn spirit explains with a somber voice.

“Not true…there is a dark blue Alicorn spirit who sleeps deep in the heart of Somnus…the beast can’t absorb him….but once he is awakened the beast will lose its hold on Somnus.” The blue Alicorn spirit explains.

“Yes, that’s true….but something extreme must happen to Somnus to awaken that dark blue Alicorn spirit from its sleep.” The yellow Alicorn spirit explains taking to sky once again after resting followed by the blue Alicorn spirit.

Back in the Canterlot royal palace, a downcast Prince Somnus lies on a patch of green grass in the garden beside a reflecting pool looking at his reflection in the clear water. He lifts his hoof up and splashes it in the pool causing his reflection to become distorted for a while. As the clear water in the pool settles, his reflection returns along with the reflection of a concerned pale pink Alicorn mare with a pastel-colored mane. He looks over his shoulder; standing there was his mother wearing her evening robe.

“Baby is something wrong?’ Celestia inquires rubbing the side of her snout up and down Somnus’s neck in a loving gesture as a mother does to her foal.

“You know if something is troubling you, I am always available to talk. No matter how busy I get with my royal duties. You are my main concern.” Celestia said lovely rubbing her cheek against his trying to get him to open up to her, before placing a kiss on his horn.

“I am ok mother, nothing to concern you about (yawn)” Somnus replies pretending nothing is troubling him as he gets to his hoofs and begins to walk away.

“But?” Celestia exclaims lifting her hoof up.

“Mother! I am fine!” Somnus snaps at Celestia catching her by surprise as she drops her hoof and watches him run back to the royal palace.

A very confused and puzzled Celestia walks over to the reflecting pool and looks at her troubled reflection in the clear water as a single tear splashes causing her reflection to distort for awhile, before it returns soon after.

“What am I missing? Clearly my son needs my help.” Celestia said to her reflection in the pool before she walks back to the palace; no closer to figuring out why her son needs her.

Chapter 2

The following morning in the royal dining room of the Royal Palace, Princess Celestia Silverlight hands out the scrolls containing her children’s Royal duties that they must perform for today. After Celestia hugs her daughter’s good bye at the main entrance of the palace she returns to the royal dining room and is surprise to see her son waiting for her eating his breakfast.

“Gasp!” Celestia exclaims

“That’s my black dairy….where did he find it?” Celestia thought nervously noticing the rose pink diary with her sun mark on it lying on the table in front of her place.

Nauseating spurts of adrenaline courses through her veins as she moves toward the table with her diary on it. She picks it up with her magic and examines the book closely. The only damage is the broken lock on the diary.

“Somnus? Where did you find this I’ve never seen it before?” Celestia said questioning with an angelic smile on her snout hiding the fact it was her own diary as Somnus did a slow, appraising glance of his mother’s face.

“In the Canterlot Archives, mother, under some out of date maps of our home of Equestria.” Somnus explains as Celestia’s eyes blink with incredulity. Setting the diary back on the table and continuing to pretend it’s not hers.

“Well this is surprising….I guess there’s things still to be found in the Canterlot Archives that I even don’t know about. Now if you would excuse me Somnus, I’ll return this book to the Archives and head to the throne room to start court.” Celestia said floating the book in a yellow bubble as a dark blue bubble forms around the book inside her bubble.

“No need to trouble yourself mother, I was planning to keep the book in my collection in my bed chamber.” Somnus comments as his mother gets an idea.

Instead of fighting with her son over the book that will get her nothing, Celestia releases her bubble around the book allowing Somnus to take the item back to his bed chamber. She knows it will be far easier to reclaim the book from his bed chamber after he leaves the palace to attend to his Royal duties for today.

Later that day after morning court has ended and before afternoon court begins Celestia stands on the second floor landing of the palace watching her son exit the palace by away of the main gate to head out into the city to fulfill his royal duties.

The moment Somnus leaves the palace, Celestia quickly makes her way to his bed chamber in the private living area of the palace. Once there, Celestia slips unnoticed into his darken bed chamber and uses a unicorn light spell to begin searching for her diary. Celestia’s breathe catches in her throat as the beam of light falls onto her diary sitting on top of his desk as a smile forms on her snout. As she approaches the desk, a pair of glowing solid white eyes appeared from the darkness making her jump a bit.

“Sister is that you? It’s not funny to scare some pony.” Celestia said a bit shaken as the eyes move closer to her. Once the eyes enter her beam of light, the glow disappears and looking back at her was not her sister, but her son Somnus forgetting that her own sister taught her son many of her own abilities.

“Looking for something mother?” Somnus inquires with an enigmatic expression as all the lights in his bed chamber turn on at once temporarily blinding his mother. Through her spotted vision Celestia watches her son flipping through her diary to a specific entry.

She figures that Somnus has already read through her diary once and wants answers; she’s not ready to give him. As her eyes return to normal, Somnus floats the open book to the end of her snout.

“Explain mother!” Somnus said testily as Celestia reads the entry from her diary to herself.

As she continues to read the entry her heart wrung with deep pity. What was written in that diary is something her baby should have never read. It paints his mother as a very uncaring Alicorn mare who only wants foals so she could withhold her heart for them and shows them as little love as she could to make her feel better about the lost.

“Somnus, that is not who your mother is, I will not simply have babies to treat them so badly to make herself feel better…..My babies are very precious to me.” Celestia thought as she turns and runs out of his bed chamber unable to face that part of her life from long ago.

Back deep inside Somnus’s soul the blue alicorn spirit returns alone to the place where they sent the beast back into it shapeless form to check if it’s gone. As she lands she begins to look around. Without a warning the beast attacks her and absorbs her before she could put up a fight. With the blue Alicorn Spirit the symbol of Somnus’s dreams and belonging now under his control, the beast begins to form into a vaguely pony shape cloud and begins to speak.

“Only one left to absorb the yellow Alicorn spirit the symbol of his guardian and safety. Once she is absorbed no one can stop me….But she is the most powerful of Alicorn spirits that protect this pony from the darkness.” The beast said as he takes to the sky in search of the yellow Alicorn spirit.

Back in the Royal Palace of Canterlot, Prince Somnus walks beside his Aunt Princess Luna wearing a copy of his aunt’s royal regalia in a male version. They are on their way to a meeting in the quiet east meeting room. Suddenly adrenaline floods into Somnus’s heart causing it to beat faster. With a rapid beat it soon makes him black out from the sudden energy dump.

“Somnus! Child!…can you hear me?” a voice calls as he feels someone stroking his front leg with a cold metal object. Slowly he opens his light blue eyes again stroking his front leg was Luna and the cold metal object was her silver horseshoe.

“Were am I? What happen?” Somnus asked looking around

“You are in your bed chamber I brought you here after you suddenly passed out. You’ve been unconscious for a little over two hours….Your mother was worried about you.” Luna explains as Somnus’s mouth crimps in annoyance.

“Like she cares what happens to me.” Somnus said coldly as Luna gasps with her nephew’s bad attitude toward his own mother and her sister.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you Somnus, to have this bad attitude toward your own mother….but if she didn’t care what happen to you, she would have never recalled your (pointing her hoof at Somnus) younger sister Blueberry from her royal duty in Ponyville to treat your sickness…those two mares have enough compassion to overcome your bad attitude….come see me when my real nephew comes back….till then farewell Sir Silverlight.” Luna said icily as she walks out of Somnus bed chamber annoyed.

Looking once again at her own reflection in the reflecting pool inside the palace garden was Celestia and what was looking back at her was a face of an alicorn mare haunted by some inner pain of her own making. A diary she should have destroyed long ago has resurfaced and now threatens to tear apart her carefully maintained perfect little family.

“Celestia! What were you thinking keeping that black diary around…I could have simply tossed the diary into the lit fireplace that afternoon in my bed chamber and watched it burn after finding out what I wrote in it…..But no, I kept it and tried to hide it in the Canterlot archives thinking no pony would find it.” Celestia speaks with bitter resentment as she rears up and crashes her front hoofs in the pool splashing water across her body and mane.

“Now the one pony I wish never found it….found it because he was cleaning the archives as part of maintaining this Palace for us to live in.” Celestia says as her eyes widen innocently and water droplets run off her and splash at her hoofs.

“Sister, May we speak?” Luna asks as she approaches the damp Celestia snapping her out of the anger over discovering the diary.

“Of course Luna, but before we speak….how is Somnus doing?” Celestia inquires shaking the water off herself as Luna lifts her wing to block the water flying around.

“Somnus is conscious and he is the one I wish to speak about.” Luna comments shaking the water off her wing as Celestia is not surprised that Luna wanted to talk about Somnus.

“I have no idea what is up with that son of yours….he seems to have developed an awful attitude toward his mother….when he came to, I told him you were worried about him and he answered me ‘like she cares what happen to me’” Luna explains as Celestia’s heart drops not knowing just how bad her son’s anger towards her was.

“It’s my own fault that Somnus has that attitude toward me, Luna.” Celestia explains as Luna gives a startled gasp.

“What?” Luna exclaimed

“While you were banished to your moon, I fell in love with another pony from an alternate mirror universe….to stop an evil from that mirror universe from crossing over to our universe and destroying me….that pony sacrificed himself for me.” Celestia explains floating her locket out from under her collar.

“After it happened my feelings were so muddied that I couldn’t rule Equestria effectively. So when I saw the empty diary on my desk, I wrote in it. The following morning I woke up feeling better after morning court finished. I returned to my bed chamber and read my diary….I was shocked to read what I wrote in it.” Celestia explains using her magic to open up the locket floating in front of her.

“In the diary I wrote some of the worst things I could write….After reading it, I hid the diary in the archives where Somnus found it and read it. After he read it he brought the diary with him to the breakfast table wanting to talk to me about it, I was shocked to see that cursed book again, so I pretended it was not mine or I ever saw it….” Celestia explains as tears form in her light purple eyes looking at the two small pictures in her locket of her babies and her late husband.

“Doing that caused him to start wondering if what I wrote in the diary was true. I made things worse for me when I tried to steal the diary from his bed chamber and he caught me. He wanted me to explain what I wrote in the diary to him, but instead I ran not wanting to visit that painful part of my life again.” Celestia explains as tears drip down onto the two small pictures in her locket.

“Celestia! You foolish pony!…have you forgotten Justice’s warning to you what would happen if negative feelings begin to build-up in Somnus’s heart….he will begin to change like I did…he will become the next nightmare moon, more powerful than I. If it was hard for you to banish your own sister….it will kill you to have to banish the foal you carried inside you and gave birth to all those years ago.” Luna said hotly as a mask of terror spread across Celestia’s face and she runs at her full speed forgetting she could fly.

Meanwhile deep within Somnus, a titanic battle rages between the beast and the last Alicorn Spirit after a sneak attack that badly wounded the yellow Alicorn Spirit. The Alicorn Spirit has slowly been weakened through the course of the battle, till she is absorbed by the beast with the last of the Alicorn spirits under his control. The vaguely shaped pony cloud begins to take the form of a solid black mass of a unicorn shadow with glowing red reptilian eyes. In short order the shadow begins to corrupt this noble unicorn knight spirit and enhance the negative feeling he had.

“Ahahahahahah.” The shadow laughs evilly as it takes on a dark blue body colored with a cyan colored mane and tail, a pair of blue reptilian eyes look back as dark blue wings grows out of its shoulders.

“I can’t believe how much unrefined magic energy this pony has, I wonder who his parents are to give their offspring this much power?” The shadow thought walking around Somnus’s bed chamber trying to discover whose body it now inhabits.

“Huh? A crescent moon mark on the collar and black metal.” The shadow comments discovering the black collar with a white crescent moon symbol.

“The words ‘Auntie’ keeps coming up in this pony’s mind every time I look at the crescent moon symbol…is the symbol this pony aunt’s mark?….wait, now I am getting a name Princess Luna, the Princess of the night….Co-Ruler of Equestria….if this pony aunt is co-ruler of Equestria…Who is the other half of this dual rulership?” The shadow said very confused walking over to a small table with many pictures on it in gold frames.

“Who is this? Is she the other half of this dual rulership in this place called Equestria?” The shadow thought looking at the picture of an older pale pink Alicorn mare with light purple eyes wearing a gold collar and tiara.

“Is she a Queen or Empress?” The shadow thought studying the picture of the older Alicorn, until its attention is drawn toward a younger Alicorn mare with a light blue body and a crimson red mane wearing the same tiara as the older Alicorn. Also in the same picture was a younger unicorn mare with the same light blue body and crimson red mane.

“This pony has an older sister and younger sister….who I might…..Ugh!” The shadow exclaims as the moment the word corrupting enters the shadow’s mind causing Somnus to fight back against the shadow in his body. Soon the shadow regains control of Somnus’s body and drops the thought of corrupting his two sisters at the moment.

“This pony will not allow me to corrupt his sisters, which is fine with me, if he has so much unrefined magic energy…I can only imagine how much magic energy his older sister commands and most likely full control of it. As for his younger sister she might have a level of unimaginable magic energy that could destroy me and my plans….So best to leave his sisters alone for now.” The shadow comment as he goes back to the older Alicorn mare picture.

“Now the words ‘Mother and Princess’ come up in this pony’s mind when I look at this picture…this older Alicorn mare is this pony’s mother!....By this pony’s best estimate his mother’s magic level is that of a goddess (gulp). But there’s more, it seems that this pony is angry at his mother for not coming clean about something she wrote in a diary….she lied about it not being her’s and ran away when he asked her to explain…but what really did it was when his mother tried to steal the diary from his bed chamber….damaging her own son’s trust and loyalty in her….no wonder I was able to take control of this pony (resting his chin on Somnus’s upturned black hoof).” The shadow comments as he learns the name of this pony’s mother.

“This pony’s mother’s name is Princess Celestia Silverlight…Princess of the sun and ruler of Equestria and lying Alicorn mare.” The Shadow exclaims as he regards with a lofty expression the events that led up to him being able to take control of this powerful half-Alicorn and half-unicorn pony.

The shadow spreads his wings with a running leap jumping off the balcony and takes to the sky to find a place away from the palace to begin planning his next move. A moment later a pale faced Celestia throws open her son’s bed chamber doors with her magic, before entering the room and not finding him anywhere. Out of habit she ran toward the balcony and looked around searching for her son in the sky, forgetting her son doesn’t have wings like her. Dark shadows begin to form around her eyes as she reenters, her son’s bed chamber fearing she just caused another pony she loves so dearly to change and threaten her kingdom of Equestria.

There’s a heavy thud as Celestia falls to the floor of her son’s bed chamber. As she lay on the ground she places her front hoofs across her snout and begins to cry uncontrollably as a feeling of a cold fist closes over her broken heart.

“No, what have I done?” Celestia said her voice a lifeless monotone

“I just turn my only son into an enemy of Equestria.” Celestia said her voice cracking, lifting her front hoof into the air

“Because of that stupid black diary I kept!” Celestia said fiercely slamming her horseshoe clad hoof hard on the ground cracking the tile underneath her hoof.

“There’s no other pony to blam…but myself…. If I just forgot about my past and explain that what I wrote in the diary ment nothing….My son would still be here.” Celestia said fuming as she gets to her hoofs.

“Many times I can just imagine how good my life would have been with Good King Sombra…But that was not to be….Because of his sacrifice I met even an more noble stallion who needed my help and my love. My dear late husband Prince Justice Silverlight….that stallion reopened the shut eyes of this immortal Alicorn and gave her something she could never replace; a new family for herself and her sister to love.” Celestia said with reverence as she runs out of the bed chamber to prepare for the untimely appearance of her son.

Chapter 3

It’s been a year since Prince Somnus Silverlight disappeared from his bed chamber at the Canterlot Royal Palace after a misunderstanding with his mother Princess Celestia Silverlight. Since the incident, his mother has become fully absorbed in her duties as a Princess of Equestria; her remaining two foals know that their mother is a seriously wounded Alicorn. As she put on a confident act in court. In private, she is a broken Alicorn; her spark has left her light purple eyes.

Forcing her oldest daughter Princess Aurora Silverlight to step into her mother’s golden horseshoes and rule Equestria as the new Sun Princess is a role she was born to fill. But not this way. Its mid afternoon as a very exhausted Princess Aurora leaves the throne room of the Palace after several tedious court sessions in which numerous parties tried to take advantage of her. They learned very quickly the oldest daughter of Princess Celestia and Prince Justice is a very different ruler from her mother indeed. At that same time, a wounded Celestia lies in her bed in her room looking out the opening leading onto her balcony.

“My daughter Aurora really knows how to make a stunning day.” Celestia thought as she caught a glimpse of something dark blue flying by her balcony and landing in the palace garden.

“Huh?” Celestia exclaims rolling out of her bed and running onto her balcony.

Her heart leaps as she looks over the side of her balcony into the palace garden. Standing on the path that runs through the garden was a light blue little older unicorn stallion with a noticeable crimson red mane and tail. The single light pink colored stripe stood out against the strong red color of his mane.

“Huh? Somnus?” Celestia said reluctantly as the unicorn stallion gestures to her with his hoof to join him in the garden. Without a second thought, Celestia quickly floats her horseshoes, collar and tiara to herself and quickly dresses.

Once dressed, she takes a running leap off her balcony and glides down into the garden. Once her hooves touch down on the path, the unicorn stallion looks over his shoulder at her and she blinks with surprise.

“Somnus! It is you!” Celestia calls her eyes brimming with joy upon seeing her baby back home as she approaches her son; he turns and runs ahead of her toward the exit of the garden.

“Somnus! No, don’t run away from me baby!….I have missed you!….don’t leave me again!” Celestia screams as she gives chase after her son toward the exit of the garden.

Since the disappearance of her student and nephew Prince Somnus, Princess Luna has been unable to sleep. Her mind swirls with worry and fear. She has taught her nephew much about night magic, both good and bad. If he has truly changed he has become an even bigger threat to Equestria and the ponies her and her sister swore to protect.

“I have taught you so much about night magic my dear Somnus. But now those lessons I taught you will come back to haunt me….you have such skill with my night magic. If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn you were my own son. But now I might have to face you as an adversary.” Luna thought looking at a framed picture of her nephew as her train of thought was broken by the shouting in the garden below.

She stands up and looks over the side of her balcony into the garden. Running on the path was her sister Celestia who was chasing someone. Luna, reeling with surprise, running ahead of her sister was her nephew Prince Somnus. Like her sister, Luna leaps off her balcony, but stays airborne following right behind Celestia.

As she was about to overtake her nephew she struck from all sides by some invisible force. She knocked around the sky like a pinball from one invisible force to the other. Celestia stops to help, but is quickly entranced by her son’s voice to keep chasing him and she does.

“Enough!” Luna bellows as she figures out the attack pattern of the invisible force and begins to dodge the attacks, which confuses the adversary. In the confusion Luna was able to activate her sight and the invisible force becomes visible.

“That’s a shadow sprite. They look like a cute little ball of fluff with small butterfly like wings and a cute face…but those sprites are far from being friendly….Unless you are a very powerful night magic user you could never control Shadow sprites…Because they don’t like being controlled.” Luna thought as she knew how to deal with the shadow sprites. She charges her horn with a flash spell when it was ready. She releases it into the center of the small group of sprites and sets it off.

The bright flash totally obliterates the shadow sprites sending them back into the nightmare world. With that job done, Luna continues in the direction of her sister and her nephew was heading but this time on hoof. Outside the palace garden, the entranced Princess Celestia has finally caught up to her baby Somnus.

Tears of joy streak Celestia’s face as she staggers toward her son; her wings out stretched ready to hug him. Unaware that a black crystal dagger waits to be plunge deep into her anguished, heart neutralizing the roadblock to a complete takeover of her son by the Shadow and full access to his night magic.

“Sister! Stop! That is not your baby!” Luna shouts as she snaps the entranced Celestia out of the charm spell the Shadow was using to control her.

“I am not blind, sister! This my baby!” Celestia shouts back mad that her sister was trying to stop the reuniting with her only son as he rubs the side of his snout up and down her neck slowly setting off her maternal instincts and making her blind to the possibility it could be anyone else.

“Whatever that pony is, it’s using your own instincts of being a mother against you, Celestia!” Luna shouts back throwing Celestia into a state of utter confusion as she fights against her own maternal instincts that have started to kick in as the Shadow rubs his cheek against hers.

“Sister? Why are you trying to stop me from being happy? My baby is back…” Celestia comments slowly falling under the control of the Shadow again as it begins to weave a more powerful enchantment on Celestia’s mind, using her own maternal instincts against her.

“Sister, I am not trying to make you unhappy!….I to want Somnus back more than you think….But that pony is not Somnus!” Luna shouts as Celestia’s collar drops off her neck exposing her chest.

A malicious smile forms on the snout of the Shadow as he floats the black crystal dagger up even with Celestia’s chest; in one quick movement he thrusts the dagger forward intending on plunging it deep into Somnus mother’s heart. The black crystal dagger shatters as it impacts on Celestia’s gold collar that is now floating, taking on a life of its own with a dark blue magic aura. A shard of the dagger flies up and catches her cheek, snaps her once again out of the enchantment the Shadow put her under.

“What!?” Celestia exclaims leaping backward away from the Shadow as the cut on her cheek promptly heals. The breath catches in her throat as her gold collar surrounded by a dark blue aura floats back around her neck.

“You are not my baby!” Celestia yells heartbroken as she regains control of her maternal instincts and the blood drains from her face. With that, she spreads her wings and takes to the sky, leaving a trail of tears leading back to the palace.

“You are really a royal pain in the tail, your highness….as this colt thinks.” The Shadow hisses at Luna and returns to his form of a dark blue Alicorn stallion.

“Well, I am pleased that I have lived up to what my nephew thinks of me….I think?” Luna vexed knowing when Somnus gets back; she needs to sit him down for a very long talk about what he thinks of her.

“Besides that, whatever your plan is for his mother you will not succeed…now that she knows you are around and can take the form of her son.” Luna explains as the shadow rolls his eyes.

“With all the tactics and strategies locked in this colt’s mind…I have millions of plans I can use to succeed and retrieve his dear mother…..is that right Auntie?” The shadow comments unaware that he referred to Luna as Auntie, the only name Somnus calls her.

An improvised smile forms on Luna’s snout knowing Somnus has not been fully taken over by the shadow, he’s still in there waiting to be saved.

That same day, by the Royal Orders of Princess Aurora the Royal Guard Company triples the guards around the Canterlot Royal Palace. Tempering that protection with the Princess’s elite guard unit the Solar Guard are assign to crucial entrance points around the palace. In her mother’s bed chamber pacing back and forth was an armored and nervous Aurora standing watch over her mother Princess Celestia. She calmly sits behind a small table in the center of her room drinking tea and eating her lunch.

“Aurora dear, please stop pacing you are beginning to make me nervous.” Celestia said a bit uncomfortable as Aurora’s face grows chalky.

“Mother, how can you remain so calm, my brother just tried to kill you!” Aurora’s voice edged with tension as her mother sighs.

“First off, that pony that tried to kill me was not your brother. It was a shadow and secondly Luna has told me your brother is still in there waiting to be saved.” Celestia correcting as she points her hoof and gestures with it at Aurora who apologizes for her error.

Meanwhile across the way, stationed in one of the empty guest bed chambers overlooking her mother’s bed chamber was Celestia’s youngest daughter Princess Blueberry Swirl Silverlight. Her crimson red mane and tail was tied in a ponytail. Her light blue body was encased in the steel blue colored pony armor and helmet of the Crystal Empire. A small crystal heart brooch hung from the front of it. In the place of her saddle-bags were a quiver and a pony size composite bow.

For close-in fighting, a short sword hung from the opposite side of the quiver and bow. Her steel blue colored horseshoes clicked steely on the tile floor of the bed chamber as she walked out onto the balcony to look around and keep watch.

As Blueberry reenters the darken bed chamber, a sudden wave of exhaustion washes over her, as her eyelids become too heavy to keep open. Soon she lets loose a yawn and collapses to the ground fast asleep. From a darken corner of the bed chamber, the Shadow appears wearing silvery blue pony armor worn by his aunt when she was Nightmare Moon. His eyes were solid white, a sure sign he gained access to Somnus’s knowledge of his Aunt Luna’s powerful sleep spell.

A menacing smile forms on his snout as he realizes that this young unicorn mare is helplessly asleep and he can easily corrupt her. With that thought in mind, he begins to charge up his horn with corrupting magic. As he was about to touch Blueberry’s horn with his to begin the corrupting process, Somnus temporarily regains control of his possessed body from the shadow and stops him by tossing him back with his magic. The loud crash of metal against the tile in the bed chamber wakes Blueberry up from her slumber.

“Blueberry! Get out of here…this Shadow wants to corrupt you…your heart is too pure and the process will kill you…..escape little sister, I can’t hold him for long!” Somnus said warning as he fights with the Shadow to allow Blueberry to escape.

“Brother! I can’t escape you are blocking my only way out.” Blueberry cries out in a voice raw with terror as she has no way to escape from the bed chamber and the Shadow that wants to corrupt her.

“BIG SISTER HELP!” Blueberry screams at the top of her lungs, catching the attention of her oldest sister Aurora who was standing on her mother’s balcony getting some fresh air. She quickly grabs her halberd pole arm with her magic aura and flies up to her little sister’s post.

“Blueberry! Little sister! Where are you!?” Aurora calls as she slowly enters the darken bed chamber with a tight magic grip on the center of her pole weapon.

Unlike her Aunt and her brother, Aurora didn’t have the advantage of night vision with all the lights off and this room being on the darker side of the palace. It was pitch black inside the room. Her heart pounded in her chest as the only sound that she could make out was the metal clicking of her horseshoes on her hooves as she moved deeper into the room. The only source of light for her was the enduring dark blue glow of her magic aura casted off her horn.

The sudden sound of running hoofs in the darkness coming towards her caused her to bring her weapon to the ready position, ready to defend herself from the threat approaching her. From the darkness running toward her with her eyes darting maniacally about, picking objects out of the gloom was her little sister, Princess Blueberry. Her face brightens upon spotting the dark blue glow from her big sister’s horn ahead of her.

“Big sister!” Blueberry exclaimed as Aurora rubs her wing feathers against her little sister’s cheek, pleased her little sister is not hurt.

“Little sister what is going on? Why did you call for help?” Aurora inquires as her eyes adjust to the darkness inside the room.

“Brother’s shadow is here.” Blueberry exclaims as Aurora’s face glazes with shock.

“What?” Aurora exclaims as devious laughter fills the room and slowly from the darkness the Shadow appears with a magic grip on a sword.

“Oh, how sweet, the big sister has come to save her the little sister.” The Shadow said sarcastically as Aurora uses her wing to push Blueberry behind her and readied her weapon to fight.

“I can only guess you are the Shadow that now possesses my brother’s body.” Aurora knowing pointing the cleaver like weapon with a spike on it towards the Shadow in a challenging gesture as the Shadow accepts the challenge.

“Huh?” Aurora exclaims as she was surprised by how fast the Shadows moved, but not fast enough as there’s a loud clang when she blocked the sword strike, aimed at her neck with a steel shaft of her halberd.

“Oh very good, Princess….you know how to use that weapon.” The Shadow said his eyes narrow with contempt as he pushes her off temporarily staggering her from the force of the push. With her staggered, he follows up the next attack with a hard sword strike that impacted on Aurora’s side armor. She grimaces as she knows she will have a bad bruise on her side after this is over.

Aurora swings her halberd in a great horizontal sweep putting her whole body into this powerful strike. Aurora’s eyes blink with incredulity as she hears a loud thud as the blade of her halberd impacts on the magic shield on the Shadow’s flank. A smirk appears on Aurora’s snout as the force of the blow sends the shadow through several pieces of furniture in the room, breaking them.

A moment later their mother shrieks in fear as the real Shadow snatches her from her room right under the noses of the royal palace guards and solar guard unit.

chapter 4

Fresh blood slowly drips down from the very tip of the black crystal shard as the body of the unconscious Princess Celestia continues twitching with the fleeting signs of life. At the base of the black crystal shard, Fantasm stands as if he was frozen by very powerful freeze spell. While inside this unicorn stallion’s mind, defiant and heartbroken Somnus attacks Fantasm wildly while slowly depleting his precious magic energy that protects him from the corruption. He is blinded by his pain and sadness.

Eventhough he was angry at his mother Celestia for lying to him about the diary she wrote, he never wanted her killed. He wanted his mother he love so much to reassure him that whatever he read in the diary meant nothing and her love toward him was stronger than ever. But in his mind, it was too late to make-up with his mother because she is now dead; killed by his own hoof. The only thing left to do is seek vengeance for his mother and defeat Fantasm at any cost; even his own life. Somnus, breathing heavy continues his reckless attack against Fantasm who simply dodges out of the way of his attack and waits for him to exhaust every bit of his magic energy.

Meanwhile back in the Crystal Caverns Luna, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy carefully lift the unconscious Celestia off the black crystal shard. They set her down on the cavern floor in front of her younger daughter Princess Blueberry, who without being told falls into her routine of medical treatment processes and begins to patch up her mother’s wound with the rolled bandage now tightly around her mother’s mid-section.

Blueberry floats a small phial out of her first aid saddle-bags of what looks like salt crystals. She steps on one end of the phial with her hoof, breaking the seal and begins to float it back and forth in front of her mother’s nose. Before long, Celestia’s eyelids fly open revealing her light purple eyes again.

“By my light, that stuff smells so horrible!….get it away from my nose!” Celestia exclaims as her nostrils contract reflexively pushing away the floating phial with her bare front hoof.

“Blueberry?” Celestia said a bit confused as she lifts one of her wings up and notices the bandage wrapped around her mid-section. She nuzzles Blueberry lovingly to thank her for wrapping up her wound and bringing her back to consciousness.

“Where’s Somnus at?” Celestia inquires worried looking around for him, hoping she’s not too late to save her only son from Fantasm.

“Over here your highness!” Rarity calls waving her hoof at her

Celestia runs over to Somnus’s frozen body and begins rubbing her snout up and down the side of his neck trying to get him to react to her touch, when that didn’t stimulate him; she begins to nuzzle him with some force behind it and once again fails. As her last ditch effort to stimulate her son, she does something she had not done since he was a newborn unicorn colt and she begins to lick his face.

She remembers when she was in bed after giving birth to him at the Canterlot city hospital when the nurse would leave her newborn colt with her in her room. She would carefully float the newborn colt from his crib into her front hoofs and hold him. Everytime she licked his small face with her tongue his tiny horn would begin to glow causing some random objects in her room to float for awhile. After numerous attempts to get him to react to her, Celestia’s features fall fearing she was too late to save her only son.

“Could his mind be so focused on doing battle against his shadow form Fantasm…That no amount of physical stimuli will break his focus?” Celestia thought as her heart soars knowing she is not too late to save her son.

Celestia calms her own mind and relaxes every muscle in her body. With her mind and body now focused on the task ahead of her, her horn begins to slowly charge up with her magic aura. When it’s fully charged, there’s a bright flash causing Celestia’s eyes to glow solid white. Much like her own sister’s ability to step into the dream world of other ponies to help them fight their nightmares, Celestia can enter the awakened mind of any pony to try and change their mind about something. She refuses to use this ability on any pony that way because she wants the pony to choose for themselves. But in this case, her baby needs her and it’s the only way to break through his minds defense.

Back in his mind, a nearly exhausted Somnus continues his battle with Fantasm as his shadow waits patiently for the young unicorn stallion to use-up the last of his energy. He hasn’t long to wait. The incurably sad young stallion’s magic bolt suddenly stops as he collapses to the ground, exhausted. A fanatical glee comes across Fantasm’s face as he begins to descend onto the helpless stallion. Tears begin to fill his eyes knowing that no-one is coming to his rescue and he will spend the rest of his long life as a puppet to this evil puppet master.

“Forgive me my dear mother, for I am now lost to you….If I just didn’t find that book…..none of this would have happened…I wouldn’t be this shadow’s play thing that could destroy all your work….I am sorry, mother.” Somnus sadden as he dissolves into tears.

Suddenly the sound of running hooves grabs Fantasm’s attention. In the distance running towards him at full speed was a bright yellow light in the shape of an older Alicorn mare. Her face etched with determination.

“Huh!” Fantasm exclaims as he is struck by one, two and three yellow bolts that sends him flipping helplessly backward away from the helpless stallion. As the Alicorn skids to a stop next to the stallion, he looks up at the figure with tears in his eyes.

“Mama,” Somnus said. His voice barely audible as she lowers her head and runs her snout through his mane before placing a kiss on his horn.

“Yes, baby….mama is here and she will not allow that shadow to take you away from her ever.” Celestia said very determined as her yellow magic energy begins to swirl around her hoofs getting stronger and stronger the faster it spins.

“Unhh…” Fantasm moans shaking off the shock of the powerful bolts Celestia fired at him.

“You! (Pointing his hoof at Celestia) Why do you not die like a good little Alicorn princess your highness and let me have that son of yours!” Fantasm said indignantly as his eyes show murderous intend toward Celestia.

“I will never allow another member of my family (pointing her hoof at Somnus) to become corrupted…Now or ever.” Celestia said fiercely charging up her horn to its full power.

“Is this the love you speak of your highness? Or is it your need to redeem yourself after you failed to save your beloved from the darkness?” Fantasm said sarcastically as it caused Celestia to temporarily lose focus, as tears stream down her cheeks reliving the last moment of her husband’s life as Dream Eater was born right in front of her.

“No (shaking her head) I will not fail our son…Like I did his father.” Celestia staunch as she releases the most powerful beam ever destroying all traces of Fantasm in her son; or so she thinks. Releasing the trapped Alicorn spirits who quickly gather around the drained Somnus and using their own magic they restore his magic energy to full.

In the cavern with a grateful smile on Celestia’s face she collapses the very power she used to enter her son’s mind and drains a tremendous amount of her own magic energy. But with her baby now safe she falls peacefully asleep to allow her magic to recover.

“Princess!” Twilight calls worried as Blueberry places her ear against her mother’s chest and hears her heart beat.

“Shhh” Blueberry said softly placing her hoof against her lips.

“She is sleeping.” Blueberry said softly again

A moment later Somnus’s body stirs from its frozen state as his spark returns to his light blue eyes. The first one to approach him was his younger sister Blueberry who does a quick medical assessment of him. Once satisfied she winds-up her hoof and smacks Somnus squarely on his chin.

“Ouch! What was that for little sister?” Somnus inquires rubbing his chin with his hoof.

“That big brother is for scaring my cutie mark off me in that bed chamber.” Blueberry said sourly as she walks back up to him again.

“….and this is for……..welcome home big brother.” Blueberry said happy as her eyes moisten with joy, rubbing her snout against his neck delighted to have her big brother back.

“Thank you little sister.” Somnus said thankful but with hidden guilt as he wraps his front hoofs around his little sister in a loving embrace and kisses her on her horn.

Soon Twilight and her friends who were standing nearby watching this tender scene unfold of little sister welcoming back her big brother join in on the celebration. On automatic reflex Blueberry, Twilight and her friends, bows to Princess Luna as she approaches her nephew. The dark purple alicorn mare is normally a hard pony to read as she is really good at hiding her emotions, but this time a huge smile was on her snout happy to have her nephew back.

“Welcome home Somnus.” Luna said her voice full of emotion as she wraps her wings around Somnus in a caring embrace.

By that time, his mother stirs from her slumber and joins in on the welcoming back of her son. With that done, the group turns towards the exit of the Crystal caverns following Twilight who is the only pony that knows the way back out of the cavern.

A rose of indignation forms on Somnus’ face as he’s looking at the black crystal shard in front of him that his mother was almost killed. Soon his angrier face changes to a face growing haggard with worry. Is this who he really is; a monster who would take the life of his own family if he should lose control of the shadow again? On cue, a large pale pink feathered wing wrapped around Somnus, the wing belongs to his mother Celestia who has returned to her son’s side after sensing something was wrong with him.

Its two days later, back in the Canterlot royal palace, the still recovering Princess Celestia lays on top of her bed in her bed chamber doing her overdue paperwork. Her royal messengers come and go from her room carrying correspondences to every corner of Equestria like well oiled machines. It comes to a grinding halt when the representative of the Crystal Empire in Canterlot, Princess Blueberry Swirl Silverlight arrives in her mother’s room. This day Blueberry doesn’t come baring any kind of correspondences from her cousin Cadance or her Crystal Empire. She has come in the function of a medic pony to check out how her mother is healing after being displayed like some kind of morbid fence topper.

“Greetings mother.” Blueberry said respectfully, bowing to her mother as she blushes and she dismisses her royal messengers with a wave of her hoof.

“Blueberry? Please stop that, I am your mother for bucking sakes.” Celestia said a bit embarrassed as she gestured with her hoof for her daughter to stand back up.

“(Chuckle) you train us to do that, Mother.” Blueberry said amused as her mother finally figures out she was just playing with her to relax her, so she can check her bandages for her.

“(Sticks her tongue out at Blueberry) you are a terrible little pony…But it’s too late to send you back to where I got you from. Anyway how can I have three foals of my own with only two? (Chuckle)” Celestia said pleased with the diversion as she floats her half empty inbox back onto her desk.

“Ready Blueberry.” Celestia said as she lay down on her side so her daughter can begin to check her bandages for her. With that she uses her magic to remove the two bandages revealing the almost fully healed holes in her mother’s underside and back.

“I would say give it a few more days, mother, so your natural alicorn healing ability will completely seal the wounds.” Blueberry explains as she replaces the two bandages on her mother’s underside and back.

“Thank you dear; By the way, have you seen your brother? He has not come to visit me yet.” Celestia comments lying back on her belly floating a small tray with a small tea pot and tea cup over to herself from a nearby table.

“Unfortunately, I have not mother…I’ve been busy all day in the palace hospital giving the first shots to the large number of foals born this season from the different royal servitors in the palace.” Blueberry explains as Celestia’s ears drop.

“I understand, but I have one more question for you dear.” Celestia comment as Blueberry stops and listens to her mother.

“What I am about to asks you, I know is beyond your training. But I trust your judgment, dear.” Celestia said as she takes a deep breath and Blueberry shakes her head.

“What is your assessment of your brother’s mental state after what happened to him?” Celestia inquires as Blueberry sits down in front of her mother to think.

“I would say Somnus is a badly damaged unicorn stallion. While the shadow was in control of his body he was forced to do things he normally doesn’t…..He tried to kill you twice…. he was forced to raise a weapon against his own older sister and he was forced to try to corrupt me his younger sister…with all those bad things that happened to him, how can any pony remain sane….especially a pony that runs off honor, loyalty and trust like Somnus does.” Blueberry explains as the normally sweet tea Celestia drinks at this time, now tastes very bitter indeed.

At that same time, back in the Royal Palace garden looking once again at his reflection in the reflecting pool was Prince Somnus. But this time, looking back at him was not his reflection; it was the smirking face of Fantasm. His maniacal laughter echoed loudly in the back of Somnus’s mind, slowly enraging him, until he fired a magic beam from his horn into the pool splashing water on himself.

“Shut up! Cease your wretched laughing! I will never become you again! I am Prince Somnus Silverlight! Only son of Princess Celestia Silverlight! Ruler of the Sun throne of Equestria!” Somnus yelling at the distorted image in the water.

“Never become me again?….You---are--me and I--am y-o-u!….deny it all you want until you die, your highness….it will change nothing. Sleeping deep beneath this noble exterior…beats the heart of a black hearted villain….who will sooner slit his own mother’s throat or destroy his whole family for a taste of raw power.” Fantasm said foreboding as menacing laughter echoes in Somnus’s mind and soon becomes silent.

“NO!” Somnus shouts dropping his head as tears run down his cheeks splashing in the water of the reflecting pool.

A moment later, his mother Celestia arrives in the palace garden after being told by one of the Royal unicorn guards on patrol that the Prince was yelling at his reflection in the pool. Curious, Celestia got dressed and headed down. Her golden horseshoes clicked noisily on the path quickly walking down where her son was. In the distance she spotted her son, his body was hunch over his face etched with sorrow.

She quickens her pace to get to him eventhough it hurts to do. Before Celestia could say anything to her son, he ran up to her and begins to pound on her chest and gold collar with his front hoofs. All the time saying something she couldn’t quite understand through his tears. Instead of trying to stop him from pounding on her, she let it continue, until the pounding slowed and all together stopped. She looks down to see her son Somnus, his head pressed against her chest, as tears run down her collar.

Celestia, speaking softly feeling it was the only thing she could say as she unfurled her wings and wraps them around her distressed son trying her best to comfort him in his time of need “I am sorry, baby.”

With that Somnus steps back, breaks away from his mother’s embrace, his face scarlet and swollen from crying. His unhappy face soon changes to a face flushed with indignation and his voice strained “Why mother? Why?”

Celestia looked at her son, her face drawn in confusing. She has no idea how to answer her son’s question she inquires “Why what, baby?”

The question his mother asked carries him to the edge of impatience and he looked at her with a withering stare “Why did you have me, mother? A pony who’s heart is as black as a villain….How can I be the son of the beloved Sun Princess…..the bringer of warmth and light…my heart is cold and unfeeling….I bring cold and loneness….How can I be your son?”

A stricken look appears in Celestia’s eyes as she begins to cry, she speaks with a wooden and lifeless monotone “Somnus please stop it…you are my son and you were born to the beloved Sun Princess…that brings warmth and light….you don’t bring cold and loneness and your heart is not as black as a villain.”

Celestia continues as she moves towards him and he begins to step back “But quite the opposite you bring hope to those you help and the blessing of both the moon and the sun to those ponies who feel that their pleads were not heard….your heart is as warm as mine and as bright as the sun I represent….as for why I had you (touching her heart with her hoof) my heart told me to and my heart has never lead me astray.”

“But mother! I am a cursed pony! Unworthy to have a mother like you or a family like the Silverlight’s or Princess Luna.” Somnus said still full of doubt as he refused to allow his mother to get close to him.

“(Pointing her hoof at Somnus) you stop that right this instant, Somnus! Your father was cursed just like you! But he never let his curse define who he was…he let his actions speak for him. Because of that, he won the hearts of four Princesses of Equestria and one of those Princesses became his wife….in return he gave that princess three foals she could share her boundless love with.” Celestia said boldly as Somnus still refused to let her get close to him and ran off.

“How can I help fight an enemy that is using my own son’s doubts against him? How can I call myself mother, if I can’t help the one pony that needs me the most?” Celestia said discouraged slamming her front hoofs on the ground as a snarl of agony spreads over her face from her injury.

“But, I know one thing….I can’t give-up on my son Somnus….He needs my help, like his father did and there’s no way, I am going to fail him like I did his father; my heart will not allow me.” Celestia said confident as she heads back to her room to recover.