Sombra's Bat

Moonlight's POV

Sombra's mood is reflected throughout the castle, and everypony has to walk on eggshells around him for days on end. Every time he enters a room, everypony in there falls silent and stays away from him. Every time I try to speak to him, he ignores me, and whenever I sit down and eat he isn't there. Eventually, I manage to track him down and find him eating lunch in the office.

"No secrets, no spies, no pain, no lies. Tell me what's wrong, my love," I say.

"Everything!" he fumes. "Everything is wrong! No matter what we do, Celestia is always going to be a step ahead. Even if Luna pulls the strings behind her back, she will eventually find out, and Luna doesn't have enough power because the system is rigged against her. Chrysalis has sent in spies, but because of her stupid bureaucracy they can't find out anything, and there is nothing you nor I can do without storming into Canterlot and getting ourselves caught. This is ridiculous! All I want to do is get on with my life!" He slams a hoof on the table, spilling most of his glass of water. I clean the mess for him.

"I know the feeling, Sombra. I spent a year trying to escape everything that happened before I met you."

"You have no idea, Moonlight. You don't know what it's like."

"I do. The fight between Celestia and I has been going on since before you tried to take over the Crystal Empire the first time around with Cozy Glow. I never liked her. Her smiles never seemed genuine. I was given a thousand year prison sentence on the moon, and I was with the Nightmare, who made me see the world in a different light. She made me see how dangerous Celestia is. Then I returned to Equis, and tried to put it all behind me, get on with my life. I couldn't escape the past, though. She was still there, in the back of my head, and then you found me, and she marked me as her target. I was a thorn in her backside from the beginning, and she never let it go. But if she had, I might not have met you."

"It does not matter. She will never leave us alone unless we do something about it."

"She's an alicorn, she's immortal."

"That wasn't what I was thinking of, Moonlight. We need to make some kind of plan so that we can get into Equestria and threaten her as much as possible."

"Your suggestion?"

He lays out a map across the table. It's a modern map of Equestria. It triggers a memory, and I realise that it is the one I brought with me on my way to the Crystal Empire. For obvious reasons, the Crystal Empire is not actually marked on there. He places a coin roughly where we are and explains, "There are a couple of options. We can either go south-west, which will take us to Vanhoover and the North Luna Ocean, due south towards Cloudsdale and Canterlot, or south-east to Manehattan and a little village called the Town of Starlight. I don't remember that being there a thousand years ago, so it must be relatively new." His voice is quiet and calm again, but I know the is still hurt and that I have to help him with that.

"It's only been there for a short amount of time," I recall. "I remember Celestia talking to Luna about a recently founded village in the north of Equestria. Apparently it had been there for about three years before we returned from the moon. It doesn't look all that big now, to be honest. I'm not sure that Celestia would bother defending it. Is it worth a look?"

"We will go there alone. Just the two of us. See what it is like, how far it is from other places, what sort of defences it has."

"Maybe Cozy Glow could come along, since she might be able to convince a few ponies to join our cause. That filly uses some kind of hypnosis, Sombra. Yesterday I found her in her room dancing above a bonfire made of pictures of Celestia she'd ripped out of a book. When I asked the guards they said she was just in there reading and had asked them to light the logs in the fireplace. Thankfully I was able to get rid of the scorch mark."

He snorts. "Is that so? I have no idea where she gets it from."

"You, probably."

"Don't start, I am not in the mood for jokes."

"Then I'll make you happy so you are in the mood for jokes." I step closer to him, lean over his shoulder and give him a little kiss on the forehead. He gives me a smile for the first time in days.

"Quit fooling around, you two," Cozy laughs at us. I had no idea she was even in the room. We turn around quickly and make it clear that we are not impressed.

"Cozy, you and I need to talk about fire safety," Sombra tells her.

"Gee, not this strict! You two are crazy unpredictable, even more than me. But I tippyhooved past and I heard you mention something about a village."

"Stop changing the subject, but yes. Once we speak to Chrysalis, we're going on a little journey to Equestria."

Three days later, I have cured Sombra's sulkiness and he, Cozy and I set out on the journey to the Town of Starlight, leaving Chrysalis in charge. We find ourselves in a bit of a situation when we set off, though. Sombra and I can turn into living shadows but Cozy won't be able to keep up with us. She and I can fly, but Sombra has no wings, and it will take days to get there on hoof. Eventually, we decide it would be best if Sombra and I turn into Umbrum, since we can run faster that way, and Cozy rides on my back. This would have been fine if Cozy didn't tell me to gallop faster every two minutes. I would do something, but I'm wearing my enchanted armour and a travelling cloak over the top.

It takes us three hours to get there even though we gallop for most of the journey. Eventually, we climb over a mountain and find two rows of buildings looking up at us. I estimate about a hundred ponies at the most live there. Sombra and I turn back into ordinary ponies again and make our way down the treacherous mountain path until we are on flat ground again. High time, too, because the sun is setting behind us.

The village has a cheery feel about it, yet there is a foreboding element to the seemingly happy atmosphere. Ponies come out of their houses to meet us, all of them with wide smiles. I cannot put my hoof on what is wrong, but their smiles seem false. I am glad of my cloak and armour when I hear the words cutie mark whispered a few times. Cozy has no cloak to hide hers, and I wonder if anypony knows who she is. They don't appear to recognise Sombra, however, even though he has made little effort to hide his identity, just making his eyes look more like those of a regular pony and wearing a cloak similar to mine rather than his usual regalia.

"Welcome." "Welcome to our village." "Welcome!" the ponies greet us, all with wide smiles. Nothing looks out of place. Everything is perfectly fine. Almost. As I look around, I realise that nopony here has a cutie mark. Or rather, they all have the same one; a black equals sign. I have no idea how that is possible, but I don't think I really want to know.

At some point, a pony with a white coat and mane asks us if he can help us. Sombra says that we are just passing through, and were hoping for a place to stay for the night. We are directed to a house that stands out from the rest quite literally, because it isn't in either of the two rows. He opens the door for us and calls, "We have visitors!"

A unicorn walks out of the back room. She a pink-purple coat, a deep purple mane with a cyan stripe, and teal eyes that widen with delight when she sees us.

"Welcome," she chirrups. "What brings you three wonderful ponies here?"

"We're travelling, and we were looking for a place to stay for the night," Sombra lies, not even batting an eyelid.

"Well, you are welcome to stay here in my cottage. There's just enough room for you. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Starlight Glimmer, the founder of this little town."

"I am Nightshade," I tell her. Lying has become a lot easier ever since I met Sombra. I'm not exactly proud of my newfound ability, but if it means going under the radar whilst we're in Equestria, it's a good thing. Cozy jumps off of my back and I point to her with one hoof. "This is Strawberry Blossom, and my partner here is Silver Shine."

"Nice to meet you. Shall I show you around the village?"

I give 'Silver' a sidelong glance. "Well?"

"I would like to have a look around before it gets dark," he says, walking towards the door. He stops and looks at Starlight. "By the way, Starlight, I have a question. Forgive me for being rude, but what in Equestria happened to your cutie marks?"

"Oh. You see, equality is our mission here. I find it hard to swallow when other ponies fight all the time, and then I found one of Mage Meadowbrook's nine ancient artefacts, the Staff of Sameness. It can be used to remove a cutie mark. Everypony in this village has given up theirs in order to live happier lives."

"Interesting." His thoughts suggest otherwise. He and I both know that Meadowbrook only had eight lost artefacts.

We are shown around the small village, and familiarise ourselves with it should we ever return. Really, I hope we don't have to, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and if desperate times come, then I want to know that there's somepony to support us. Hopefully, willing to support us, and we don't have to resort to mind control. I am just glad that nopony recognises us. Perhaps Celestia's influence hasn't been spread as far as I thought.

When we return, Starlight cooks us a little dinner. We have provisions, but she insists. I try to make myself feel comfortable, but I cannot help but feel that she has an ulterior motive. She asks a casual question, and I have no idea how to answer it.

"So, where are you from?"

"Uh, I used to live in a little village near the Everfree Forest, and I decided to move so I could be with Silver," I tell her. It's not exactly a lie.

"We live in the railway villages on the way to Vanhoover from here," Sombra continues. "It's a bit like this place, except bigger and with cutie marks. It's usually good, but recently we have had a bit of trouble from those above us. I can see why a life like this would appeal."

"There's room for more here," she suggests.

"We're on holiday," Cozy cuts in. "We're only staying for a little while."

I internally sigh with relief.

"Ah, that's a shame. Most ponies who visit end up staying here, but if you have places to be, that's fine too. Just remember that you're welcome here any time." She bumps into the table and dusts herself off. Sombra and I both notice something is amiss.

"Starlight," he whispers, grinning from ear to ear. "I am not going tell anypony, but... your flank..."

She looks down at herself. Where the equals sign was, she has accidentally rubbed off some of the make-up she had applied to blend in. Her actual cutie mark is a purple four-pointed star - coincidence, huh? - with two teal streaks above it. Another leader who arguably abuses her power, although I feel as though it's for a different reason. Her eyes widen, then she glares at us. "None of you are going any-"

"I am not going to tell anypony," he repeats.

"You won't?!"

"I am not a fan of your cheating, but it's incredibly clever, and we have more important issues to deal with. I'm not sure if you recognised me, but I am actually quite well-known... for all the wrong reasons. Have you heard about the whole Crystal Empire saga?" He lifts his hood so she can see him properly. I do the same.

"So you would be King Sombra," she spits at him. She turns and glares at me. "I have no idea about the filly, but I'm right, you are the Daughter of the Night. Servant of Nightmare Moon, and now this thing." She points at Sombra with one hoof. "News travels remarkably fast down here. We still have access to the media, and know all about your little plan. You know, I've never tried taking an Umbrum's cutie mark. That staff I mentioned is a piece of wood I found in the desert. I use my own magic to take them." A blue corona appears around her horn.

"I have never fought a unicorn who has a chance of beating me, either. I for one would love to see your try." The whites of his eyes glow a sickly green, leaking purple mist.

Cozy quivers with fear by my side. I tell Starlight sternly, "Look, we're not here to cause trouble. We were, but now that we've met you we think that you might want to help us. Celestia would surely send you to Tartarus if she knew about you stealing cutie marks, but you're still very determined. I have a feeling that you have something against her, just like us. Either myself or King Sombra can take a peek inside your mind, or you can tell us. Make up your mind."

Her anger fades as she realises that one, she might have something to gain, and two, even a mage with her magical ability would stand little chance against Sombra. Reluctantly, she takes a seat at the table and begins to explain the story behind the town with no cutie marks.