Moonlight's POV

After a few weeks, my new life in the Crystal Empire begins to settle into an enjoyable routine. Others would dread the life I lead under Sombra's rule, but he has a way of making everything feel as though he is trying to please me, which he is.

I wake at dawn, since the sun's rays are muted enough by the auburn clouds for my eyes to adjust to. I have a small breakfast with Sombra, and we talk about our plans for the day. He is usually in court, dealing with certain ponies who want to break free of Sombra's chains, which I am trying to loosen just enough for the ponies of the Empire to feel comfortable but not enough for them to escape from Sombra's restraints. After all, my fight isn't with the crystal ponies, it's with Celestia.

While Sombra is busy with his work, I travel around the Empire and help those who need it. Technically, I am a Crystal Guard, but I am more free than the guards who are clad in his black armour covered in spikes, and much more free than the guards who have to wear those helmets that cover their whole face save the eye slits that glow green, signalling that they are under the control of dark magic.

My work takes me to the mines where those who have tried to cause rebellions have to work as punishment. A group of about thirty ponies tried to storm the Crystal Castle a while back, but didn't get far thanks to the guards and Sombra's quick thinking. My job takes me to places where magical help is needed, because the Crystal Empire's population is mainly earth ponies. It takes me to schools, where I educate fillies and colts on how King Sombra and I are trying to make the Empire a better place, and ask what they would like to see changed. The one I hear most often is, "Can you make the Crystal Empire more colourful?" I tell them, "The Crystal Empire is already colourful. You little ones are all the colour we need."

When my duties are done, I have a couple of free hours to myself. I usually visit the various shops that have been re-established, and find little things that interest me. A beautiful scarf. A long, hooded cloak. Pretty little ornaments and ceramic figures of foals playing together. I often buy nothing, but occasionally I discover something that I really like. I give the shopkeeper some money and tell them to keep the change. So many of them refuse to talk to me, but I feel that I need to resolve that. Of course, I can never give them the solution that they're looking for, but I can try to be nicer to them. Sometimes.

In the evenings, Sombra and I have dinner together. Considering that he's the ruler of an empire, you would expect him to want a banquet every night, but he eats very little, which is fine by me. Dinner time is usually when he reads out his daily hate mail from the Royal Pain In My Flank Sisters, or rather, Sunbutt. These empty threats never fail to make me laugh, because I know they are meaningless.

"'Dear Sombra,' Oh no, they forgot to call me King Sombra," he'll go on. "'I am writing to you to ask you to give up the throne of the Crystal Empire before we get upset. You have taken the Crystal Empire by force and you are acting like a total jerk.' Oh, I wish they put that. 'You have three weeks to leave the Empire before we force you to leave. Yours not sincerely, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria.' This can go on the rubbish pile with the others."

Often, attached to these pieces of comedy sketches are tear-stained notes for me, begging me to 'think about what I am doing' and 'try to overthrow Sombra to make the Crystal Empire a happier place for the Crystal Ponies,' and so on. These letters are usually from Wishbone, the traitor who tried to hand me in 'for my own good' the lying brat. I couldn't care less about her. If I saw her now, my fangs would be going into her neck. As it is, there are a few hundred miles between us, which has got to be a good thing.

I don't hate Luna, though. She just seems weak to me now. Back when we were working together, she had the power to make Equestria a better place. She still has that power, and yet she cannot bear to lift a hoof against her sister. I wouldn't hurt her if I didn't have to, but she is a figure from my old life, and my new life with Sombra is far better. We are officially a couple now, although it is still early days. I have no idea where our relationship will go, but for now I am more than happy for it to continue.

To fill all of this spare time I have, I often wonder about the meaning of my cutie mark: a purple four pointed star next to a grey crescent moon. I earned it at a very young age, when my mother and I were stargazing one night.

I looked up at the deep purple sky and remarked, "Wow, the sky's so dark tonight!"

"Yes, indeed, my love," my mother answered, admiring the view herself from our village in the mountains. "But can you find the stars?"

I looked hard and saw the stars glinting at me. I found the North Star near the moon, which was a waning crescent. I told her, "There's the North Star. Right next to the moon. When it's dark like this, they both seem so bright."

"The stars in the sky allow travelling ponies to work out where they are," my mother explained to me, "so even on the darkest night, when they can't see landmarks like mountains or tall statues, they can find their way. If you can find the light in the darkest night, you'll never lose your way."

I was mesmerised. "Find the light in the darkest night. That sounds so cool. We're so lucky that we get to stay up in the night, unlike the day ponies. I bet that they don't ever get to see the stars."

"The day ponies don't always have time to look up at the stars because they sleep at night."

"Well from now on, I'll always make time to look up at the moon and stars." I smiled happily. There was a slight tingling on my flanks and a sudden flash, and lo and behold, there was my cutie mark, of the North Star next to the crescent moon.

"By the look of that cutie mark, I think you will," my mother said proudly. "We need to tell your father that somepony is going to be celebrating their cutecenera."

From this story, you would expect my cutie mark to be about stargazing, but I have no particular interest in it. I just like giving the night sky a little respect. I have practically gone about my whole life not really knowing what my destiny is. Enjoying the darkness? Why is there no dark patch, like Luna's own cutie mark? Was it my destiny to be banished to the moon? Maybe. How did Sombra find me so easily? Were we always meant to cross paths? Possibly, but I have never seen his cutie mark. He always wears that armour and that cloak.

One evening, Sombra and I are having a quiet evening meal together, when a guard shouts, "Post!" and a pile of letters land on the table next to Sombra.

"Ah ha, that explains why I did not get any letters from Equestria this morning. There must have been a delay." He uses magic to open one of them and reads it, grunting and humming to himself every so often. He discards it, telling me, "Problem with the train line, so I have to designate some money to get it fixed even though the fault is on Equestria's line, not ours. If I pay it, Sunbutt probably won't worry as much about us, but it still seems stupid to let them waltz in so easily."

I stifle a giggle. "Is it from her?"

"No. Not a single joke within its boring paragraphs, my bat." He looks at the next one. "Primary school needs funding for a new roof. Well, they are still innocent. They need to be treated well. I'll send the school a letter tomorrow. Ah, here it is, our daily death threat, along with an empty plea for you." A letter floats my way.

"Read yours first, Sombra," I say.

He clears his throat, then reads aloud, "Dear Sombra, I am writing to inform you that your deadline for leaving the Crystal Empire ends tomorrow. If you do not leave the Empire by then, we will assume that you wish to declare war on Equestria, and we will force you to leave the Empire. I would like to remind you that Equestria is far bigger than the Crystal Empire, with a vast army of willing Royal Guards and troops on our side." He pauses. "Hmm, they have a point. Do you think we are in trouble?"

I scoff. "Sombra, do you know how rubbish the Royal Guards are in Equestria?" I ask him.

"Enlighten me, so that I can prepare the correct response to this wonderful reminder of where everypony stands."

I hold one of my front hooves quite a way above the table. "This is where you expect the Royal Guards to be, in terms of training, experience and ability." I lower that hoof a little, so that it is just above the table. "This is the Lunar Guards. They are highly trained and have extra abilities because they are bat ponies, but there aren't that many of them because of the whole stigma around bat ponies." I stamp on the floor. "That's the Solar Guards."

He guffaws. "Is that so, or are you being biased?"

"There is not a shred of doubt in my mind. You know Cadance, the alicorn who came here to keep you out, and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armour?" I ask. He nods, so I continue, "There was a complete scandal ten months ago, when they got married."

"Oh?" He raises an eyebrow. "Tell me more."

"Cadance was kidnapped and replaced by the Queen of the Changelings herself, and only one pony noticed. That pony was Celestia's student Twilight Sparkle. Nopony believed her when she interrupted the rehearsal. The second time around, it was Cadance herself who broke up the proceedings. That was the Bug Queen's cue to reveal herself and call in her army, while nopony lifted a hoof. Cadance had to save the day single-hoofedly, apparently. All the while, the nocturnal Lunar Guards slept on peacefully, blissfully unaware of the chaos erupting outside of their blackout curtains."

Sombra roars with laughter, and takes a few minutes to compose himself. "Awww, poor old Sunbutt had a fight with her insect counterpart and nopony did anything. Tsk tsk tsk. I cannot bear to read the rest of that letter. It is far too morbid for the farce that is Canterlot right now. Read yours."

I take the letter in my hooves and my eyes scan the page.

Dear Mrs Shade,

I am writing to you regarding your decision to remain by Sombra's side during these turbulent times.

Both you and Sombra, the tyrant who calls himself King of the Crystal Empire, have received several warnings and you were informed to tell us where you stand by tomorrow. If we do not receive any confirmation of your decision by tomorrow, I will assume that you are an ally of his and you will be declared an enemy of Equestria and banned from entering our land of peace. There will also be a warrant for your arrest given to all Royal Guards and, should you be caught inside Equestria's borders, you will be taken into custody and tried for treason. If found guilty, you will face a lifetime sentence inside Tartarus High Security Detention Centre with no parole.

I should hope that you will make the right decision and send me a letter informing me that you wish to remain a citizen of Equestria and detailing when you plan to return.
Yours sincerely,
Princess Celestia.

"Another piece of fan mail from our favourite correspondent," I say to Sombra. "If I don't say sorry to Sunbutt by tomorrow I am wanted for treason or something in Equestria, and if I'm caught I go to Tartarus for life. Of course, I am only wanted in Equestria, not here."

"Moonlight Shade, wanted in the Crystal Empire," Sombra announces jokingly. His tone changes and he becomes far more serious than he usually is when we are alone together. "Wanted for being a beautiful future queen of the Crystal Empire and future wife to King Sombra." He slides a box across the table, and I find inside a gold bracelet with a swirling pattern carved into it.

"Now, is this a warrant for the protection of your perfect queen?" I question him. "Will I be kept safe within the Crystal Empire, away from the unforgiving land of Equestria and its evil alicorn ruler?"

"If you will be my wife."

"No offence, but so soon? We've only been together for a few weeks."

"Yes, we have only been together for a short time, but you have risked your life for me and I have a great deal of respect for you. If ever I need to, I will return the favour. Yes or no?"

"The answer's a no," I mess with him, "unless you teach me more magic and I eventually become one of the Umbrum. I can't really say no, since you've convinced me to come all the way here and turned me into an outlaw, but in the words of Wishbone, there has to be some commitment shown, or something like that."

"I am sure that we can arrange something. In fact, I would be glad to fulfil that offer. Now we have to tell everypony else. Oh, this is going to go down among the civilians like a sack of potatoes, I bet. Guards," he calls, wiping all emotion from his face. I do the same.

Two stallions clad in armour enter the room. "Yes, sire?" one asks.

"I would like you to spread word that there will be a royal announcement at ten in the morning tomorrow, and that everypony will have the morning off of work and school to hear it."

"At such short notice, sire?"

Sombra and I give the guard the evil eye. I growl at him, "You will tell the other guards to spread word of a royal announcement at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I do not wish to get my hooves dirty and neither does the King. Don't. Make. Us."

"I - I mean - yes, I will make sure that everypony knows," he stammers. Both guards leave the room, and the laughter begins again once the door shuts. Sombra always gives me a reason to be happy, and he has just given me the biggest of all. I leave my seat and trot around the table to embrace him, and we kiss for what feels like an eternity. The Crystal Empire, Equestria, the rest of the world are likely horrified. I am not. I am proud of myself for growing up and changing. I look down at my cutie mark and its true meaning becomes clear.

On that dark night aeons ago, I found the North Star with ease, as if I had been looking up at the stars for decades. I remember how brightly it glowed in the dark.

When I was banished with Nightmare Moon, we hated each other at first, but we soon grew to become friends. We found new and interesting things to do while we waited for the thousand year prison sentence to pass.

Now that I am with Sombra, I have found that, behind the ruler who appears to be driven mad by dark magic, he is actually a gentlecolt with a great sense of humour.

Finding light in the darkest night. That is my talent. That is my destiny.

Author's Note

I wasn't exactly sure how to pull off this part of the story. I originally intended for this to take up 2 chapters, but this seems a lot better.