Sombra's Bat

Moonlight's POV

I bolt upright in my bed, giving a small scream. "Celestiadammit!" I'm dripping in cold sweat, and my breathing is still heavy despite the memory of the dream slipping away from me. But although the details are hazy, I have an idea what the dream might have been about. Once again, it probably has something to do with Celestia. Once again, I'd like to blame her for this. If she can banish nightmares, then she can banish mine for me, surely. Or else Nightmare could actually bother to help me.

I look out of the hole in the roof in my single-storey, one-room house smack bang in the middle of nowhere. The moon has probably risen above the horizon, but not above the tree line here in the Everfree Forest. Wait... the moon. I remember something from the dream. Something about the moon. What was it about?

I stare at the stars that I love so much. I might have my issues with Nightmare now, but she does always put a lot of effort into the night sky. Hundreds, if not thousands, of them, scattered across the sky into different constellations. I find the North Star almost immediately, and look down at the purple star and silver crescent on my flank. The North Star and the moon, together. Supposedly.

The memories of the dream return in a flood, and I have to sit down and process each part slowly to actually understand it. Most of it was just a repeat of past events, the old classics, but there are other little things that don't make so much sense at the same time.

I had dreamt about that final time with my old mistress Nightmare Moon, after she had been turned back into Princess Luna. There are few traces of it in the history books after a thousand years, but I was one of many, mainly the Lunar Guards and other bat ponies, who supported her over Celestia for one reason or another. That didn't end so well for me, but never mind, that isn't so important.

When Luna came back and Nightmare Moon disappeared, I had tried to convince her that Princess Celestia was still the enemy, but she wouldn't listen. Even after the thousand years - yes, one thousand years - I spent with her on the moon, she ignored my pleas and told me that 'times had changed'. Then there was the fight, which ended up in me being injured and having to flee Canterlot. Just as it all happened a year ago, when we returned from our prison and the Elements of Harmony swooped in.

That scene also replayed in my head: of six mares who barely knew each other claiming they carried the 'magic of friendship' in their hearts and then using Equestria's most powerful weapons on us - for the second time. I don't think I'll ever get rid of the memory of how much that hurt. Needless to say, I haven't spoken to them since either, although occasionally word of their 'bravery and talent' is brought here.

Then there were little flashes of something else, something that I can't work out... flashes of something, of somepony... a silhouette of a unicorn. I don't know any unicorns, though. Not personally, anyway. That

Strangest of all, though, I remember an unfamiliar stallion's voice whispering to me, "It is not too late to change the world." Those words send a small shiver up my spine. I've tried to change the world already, I failed, and now I want to leave that behind me. Is this just my imagination? Maybe, but then why did it all seem so... so real?

I feel cold. Not just because my home is literally falling apart, but because of that last whispered sentence. I'm not sure that it was part of the dream. It feels connected, but the rest of my dream was of my memories, and I don't know anypony who would talk like that. It's something else, something sinister, something dangerous, and it's probably the cause of my sleepless nights over the last few weeks. This has been going on for too long already. Something has to be done.

I use bat pony magic to cast a homely light around the bedsit. (Yes, we can use magic without unicorn horns - what do you think those ear tufts are for? They aren't just there to make us look like bats, believe it or not.) My purple eyes adjust to the new light and I jump out of the bed, my magic still not warming me up. Breakfast awaits: fresh fruit from the Everfree Forest. I can hear other bat ponies already outside, either picking fruit or trading it with other ponies for whatever they need, as is the life of the so-called 'feral' ponies who live in places like this.

I fly out of the hole-in-the-roof-slash-skylight, my grey and purple mane blowing in my face, and make a beeline to the first apple trees I can see. I examine each fruit for any sign of disease or damage but all of them are fine. I pick the ripest one and my large fangs sink into it, sucking out the juice. I enjoy the rest of the apple, then head to the workplace and humble cottage of my closest friend, Wishbone Willow, ignoring the other ponies calling my name. This is more important than messing around or randomly bursting into song and dance. Not that I like singing or dancing, anyway.

Wishbone is a strange mare. She has a natural talent for Dreamwalking, visiting the dreams of others while she's asleep. To be honest, the idea of other ponies being in my dreams and being able to change them worries me, but I like Wishbone and we're quite good friends. I think. She's even teaching me how to Dreamwalk, and I'm slowly becoming less afraid of it. Slowly. I've got a way to go yet.

I knock on the door of Willow Practice, and she answers immediately. Her golden eyes light up when we see each other, and she brushes her green mane away from her face. She says happily, "Moonlight! What can I do for you?"

"Evening, Wish." I walk in and shut the door, sinking into an armchair. "You already know about my problems with dreams, but they've been... stranger than normal recently," I explain to her.

"Is that possible?" she snorts with laughter.

"Ha ha, crazy witch doctor bat."

"Fine, carry on."

"It's been happening for about three weeks now, and it got much worse yesterday. The last time I woke up in a cold sweat like that was years ago."

"Do you want to explain it, or should I have a look myself?"

I know what she is getting at. Alarm bells ring loudly inside my head not to let her, but I want to find the root of my problems. There is only one other pony who I know can Dreamwalk, and it took six of the most immature servants of Celestia to make her abandon me. Some ponies would say I'm only like this because of Nightmare Moon, and that's probably true, but I wouldn't have even had any trouble with Nightmare Moon if Celestia hadn't banished both of us!

I sigh to myself. Curse Celestia for trying to ruin my life, but that's in the past, I guess. I need to try and move on at some point and start enjoying this life away from civilisation, and that means getting rid of these nightmares and flashbacks. So I tell her, "Dreamwalking. It's easier for you to find out exactly what's happening that way."

"Fair enough. If you want me to stop because you're uncomfortable, just tell me." She sits in the armchair opposite me. A golden magical aura that matches the colour of her eyes forms on her forehead and snakes over to mine. We fall asleep in seconds.

I find myself standing at the edge of a cliff, Wishbone by my side. A river flows below us, and I feel unsafe. I bite my lip and take a step away from it.

"Wish, I'm not sure..." I trail off.

"Show me the nightmares when you're ready."

I understand what I have to do, but I'm having second thoughts. "Wake us up, Wish. I don’t think I can do this."

"It’ll be fine, Moonlight. I’m here for you." She smiles and rests a hoof on my shoulder. "You have to show me the dreams. It's the only way to get rid of these nightmares."

My slight nervousness changes to cold fear, and I don't have a say in when the dream starts properly, because I see a reflection of my memories on the surface of the water: flying through the forest in sadness and anger, trying to escape from Princess Luna, cursing the Elements of Harmony and Princess Celestia in Old Ponish. I have changed a lot since then, but the memories hurt. I still haven't forgiven Celestia and her minions who got rid of the Nightmare Moon I knew, the kind mare who kept me alive and happy when I was almost completely alone.

I hear hoofsteps, and both Wishbone and I turn around instinctively. A grey unicorn stallion looks at us, his red pupils glowing, the whites of his eyes green, a purple mist beginning to form around them. He is clad in silver armour, and a red cloak with a white trim. He wears on his head a helmet of some black metal, and a matching silver crown embedded with red jewels. His dark grey mane and tail are fairly short, but move as though caught in a breeze that doesn't exist; a mark that he is capable of using very powerful magic. Other than this, he moves not a muscle, but instead takes in my own appearance.

"Moonlight Amethyst Shade," he says finally, speaking in Old Ponish. My name is unusual, even by pony standards, but I grew up in Hollow Shades of all places, so I became used to 'unusual' long before Nightmare Moon got involved. I curse myself for getting distracted, because there is a pony who I don't even know in my Celestia-forsaken dream and he knows my full name without me telling him. "My name is King Sombra. I want to help you, but I need your help too."

Sombra. An Old Ponish word. Shadows. Darkness. Nightmares and the unknown. This is bad. This is terrible. I don't like this at all. I need to wake up.

"Get us out of here," I say to Wish.

The dream changes before she can do anything to help, and everything goes pitch black, darker than a moonless night. A storm rages around me and I can't see anything. I can hear Sombra shouting to me, "Listen, dear Moonlight! I want to help you! What you did and what you believed, none of it was your fault! It was Celestia's fault, and you know that! She hurt you and Luna so badly, then drove you apart! Please, listen, because I bring you no harm. If you join me..."

I notice two red eyes glowing in the dark, sickly purple magic flowing away from them. I barely catch his next words because they are so quiet, but they give me reason to fear him.

"All of your dreams will come true."

He appears behind me, and I try to run from him, but when I turn around he is there again. Something is very, very wrong, and the fact that I can't find Wishbone makes it worse.

"Is my offer not tempting enough?" he eventually asks.

"What do you want?!" I snap back, more out of fear than anything else.

"I want somepony to help me. I am a King who has had his power taken from him, and I want it back. You were the most loyal servant of one of Equestria's most powerful rulers, so I know you are able to help me."

"Servant?" I question him. I feel slightly insulted, and I try to think about that rather than about the mad Dreamwalker giving me nightmares. "She and I were like a mother and daughter. She was Equestria's Queen, and I was her Princess. If you want me to help you, at least treat me with a little respect."

He glares at me for a moment, sending fear coursing through my veins. Then his stare softens a little, and he continues, "Princess Moonlight, then. If you could help me, I could help you get back on your old enemy. The one who sent you to the moon and then stole away your best friend, that is, because I too have quarrelled with dear old Celestia. I could help you repair your friendship with Luna, even. How does that sound?" He holds out an armour-clad hoof, and for a moment I think he is sincere, but then I see through the mask. Behind those red eyes lie anger, anticipation, triumph. He plans to use me and discard me like a piece of rubbish, and I don't plan to fall for it.

"Sorry, but no," I say.

He stops acting like a friend and glares at me, and a blast of purple and green magic travels towards me faster than I can get out of the way and-

I bolt upright in the armchair and Wishbone glares at me. "That was not cool," she snaps.

"What did I do?" I ask, perplexed. "None of that was my fault!"

"You made me see some stuff that I'd much rather forget in that river. And you saw it all."

"I didn’t see anything, I swear. I only saw what happened to me after Nightmare Moon was gone. The only stuff I saw was in my past, with Celestia and the Element Bearers and-" I stop myself and backtrack before I end up saying something I'm bound to regret later. "But what about that pony? I heard him say his name was King Sombra."

"I didn't hear any of what he said, but... the name King Sombra rings a bell from an old pony legend." She's still hurt, but she hides it well and I push my guilt away. There are more important things to worry about.

"Old pony legends are usually just fairy tales, but I'm listening."

"You've been around for a lot longer than I have, so you might know more about this. Do you remember anything about the Crystal Empire?"

I think for a moment. "I remember Nightmare saying that it disappeared because of dark magic or something like that."

"He was the old ruler of the Empire. Tyrannical, he was. Celestia and Luna banished him to who-knows-where and the whole Empire went with him. If there are new ponies representing the Elements of Harmony, Celestia and Luna's connection with them will fade, which could weaken or undo the spell that was cast on Sombra and the Crystal Empire, causing them to return to the Frozen North. If this is true then he probably wants his power back."

And I knew it. Just another myth, maybe even another stupid way of Celestia scaring ponies into doing as she says. "Don't tell me: another greedy, corrupt ruler is trying to take advantage of me again, this time by using the dream world to get to me."

She nods. "He uses dark magic, which has the power to control ponies through fear..."

I find myself growing annoyed. "Well, this is a story and a half. Moonlight Amethyst Shade, the weak little bat pony cowering in the shadows if Equestria's worst tyrants. Let us prepare for the grand sequel, in which she faces dark magic and the Ruler of Shadows, King Sombra! Come one, come all, to watch her try and fail to live an ordinary life for once! It's the best show in Equestria!"

"Moonlight, I'm only guessing, but it's the only explanation I can find based on what I know. That dream wasn't like anything I've ever seen. Please, listen to me."

"I've just been delivered the news that the tyrant king of a place I don't know a thing about and vanished off the face of Equis itself over a thousand years ago is trying to use mind control or something on me through the dream realm. After everything that happened with Nightmare Moon, it seems a bit ridiculous that history would repeat itself and that he would target me specifically. Oh, and in case you didn't realise, history's a bit of a sore spot for me." I jump out of my seat and fly out of the front door, away from Wishbone Willow, because this sounds a lot like what happened between me and Nightmare Moon and I don't want a repeat of it. As much as Wish is a good friend, I need to clear my mind.

I head north, mainly just because it's away from Canterlot but also because I'm half hoping that I can see some proof for or against Wish's theory. The forest is vast, and connects to many other wooded areas across Equestria. I fly above the forest canopy, but I don't see anything for at least two hours. I've almost given up when I notice the ice blue tower in the distance, and the way that its colour scheme makes it almost invisible. I tell myself it's a trick of the light, but I've not kept track of how far I have flown, and bat ponies can fly as fast as pegasi.

Then those colours shift and become darker, more menacing. Storm clouds roll in and amongst the thunder, a menacing laugh rings out through the countryside. It sends me flying back home and wishing that I hadn't called my best friend a liar. Dread grows inside me, and with it the feeling that I will never escape my fears and my past.