Sombra, Cozy and I don't speak much when we sit down to eat dinner. Each of us are focused on different things. I'm not sure what the others are thinking about, but I really want to know how my old friend is doing, and I can't find the right words to put into a letter, bearing in mind that Starlight will probably read it. What do I say to Wishbone? She took care of me, and I paid her back by hurting her because my emotions got to me, and I was enjoying the new sense of power and responsibility associated with being Sombra's top guard. It's not a moment that I am proud of.

"I'm done," says Cozy after a while.

"Do you want to stay here, or go play in your room or something?" I ask her.

"Well, one of the guards said they could beat me at a game of chess in ten moves. I'm interested to see whether they can live up to their bold statements."

"Probably not. I'll be surprised if they do. Prove me right."

She leaves her plate, cutlery and empty cup at the table, and zips along on her tiny wings, leaving Sombra and I together. I raise an eyebrow at him. "A bit for your thoughts?"

"What do you mean? You're not worried about me being quiet, are you?"

"Yes. What are you thinking about?"

"What do you expect me to think about? You, my bat. My beautiful little bat."

I grin. "Tell the truth, Sombra. Tell me what strange battle tactics Equestria have used and your plans for blowing up Sunbutt's castle. I want to make sure that Luna and the Night Guards at the very least won't get hurt."

"No, I am thinking about you. I am not going to think about the chaos happening out there when I have you to think about." He points out of the window. "The situation, so far, is under control, and the Solar Guards have retreated to Equestria for the moment. Yes, I do need to plan for when that changes, but I want to think about good things too."

"Right. Anything in particular?"

"So, you already know about my old love Radiant Hope who was snatched from me. Did you have a sweetheart before you went on holiday to the moon?"

I so badly want to say no, but, not including a few crushes as a teenage mare, there was one stallion I had eyes for. I tell Sombra, "He was a bat pony called Casper. Light brown fur, green eyes, dark brown mane. Before Luna became Nightmare Moon, I had decided to ask him out on a date, and the day before I was going to ask him Luna and I were sent into the sky to live on a hunk of rock in space for a millennia. Obviously, he's long gone. There's a lucky few ponies good enough at magic to extend their lives by a few hundred years or maybe longer, but he wasn't that good at casting spells. He once tried to impress me by making some flames from a candle turn into a bird. It was supposed to fly a few metres above our heads, but it nearly singed the tips of our ears off."

"Really?!"

"It's true. One of his ears was actually set on fire, and I had to put it out for him. It took months for the fur to grow back."

Sombra guffaws. "So much for trying to impress you. That is just ridiculous."

"He was really embarrassed and kept saying to me, 'You didn't have to put out the fire. I had it all under control. Part of the show.'" The smile falls from my face. "He was a brilliant friend, but Sunbutt snuffed out those flames by zapping me to the moon in a rainbow laser. Typical."

"I know. Anything on your mind?"

"Wishbone says she's forgiven me. She's probably not too pleased about you stealing her best friend, but she wants to try and start over."

"And what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," I admit. "I keep thinking about what her worst fears are, since we've both used the - the mind control spell on her."

"I would tell you, but I think it would be better if you asked her yourself. It would be a shame if I were to shatter your friendship. Unfortunately, I have already done that once, and I'm not proud of it."

"Neither am I, Sombra. What do I say to the mare who saved my life, mentored me and took care of me for a year, before I just outright walked out of her life and was horrible to her without giving an explanation? Luna unintentionally hurt me after we returned from the moon, and by the time I reached the Everfree village infection had sent in. If I hadn't had found her I might have ended up with sepsis. Then I go ahead and practically torture her, and use the mind control spell on her. How am I supposed to mend that?"

"She forgave you. That is something you have and Radiant Hope doesn't."

"What's Radiant Hope got to do with this?"

"I haven't forgiven her, not completely anyway."

"You're talking about her as though she's still alive."

"Well, due to the much more unpredictable side of magic, there is actually a slight chance that she is. Just because she left me when I needed her, it doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't do anything about the situation after I disappeared. To be honest, I don't know if she did anything or not, but I have a feeling that she is still out there, deciding what to do about all this. She was a very powerful unicorn, and even went to Princess Sunbutt's school. In truth, that is part of why I decided to take over this place, but she might still be around."

"What do you think she would do if she saw you?"

"I don't know. She might be happy, or upset, or furious. After all, I have hurt a lot of ponies, and I don't have a doubt that I shocked her when I tried to take over the Crystal Empire the first time around."

"Hope is a lie, Sombra. It's the mere belief that things will improve. They will, but you have to work hard for it first."

"How very pessimistic, and cynical too. That's not a philosophy I believe in. Perhaps we need to change that saying. What I have found is that hope and hard work go hoof in hoof to achieve success."

"I agree with-"

Cozy throws the doors open and bolts into the dining room, holding a scroll in her teeth. "POTHT!" she lisps.

Sombra grabs it in his magic and begins to read, then groans, "I have a report that at six fifteen this evening the newly dug trenches where the Solar Guards were positioned was unexpectedly attacked. Apparently there was a small explosion. There's no reports on how the Solar Guards are faring or who did it, but none of our guards were hurt. It's supposed to be a good thing, but I can't help but wonder if there is a catch."

"Is there?"

"A cloaked figure was spotted near the scene, and then vanished without a trace just after the explosion. It could have been anypony, and I don't know whether it was done to frame us and increase our bad reputation on the other side of the border or help us. Chrysalis sent the letter and she has no knowledge of who did it."

"Starlight and Wishbone would have said something if it was-"

"POST!" declares a guard, galloping into the room. He places a second scroll on the table in front of Sombra, then leaves.

"It's from Luna. She's contacted Starlight and Wishbone, since they're all Dreamwalkers, and none of them know who did it."

"Who do you think is behind-"

"POST!" a third guard shouts, bringing Sombra yet another letter. His eyes scan the page.

"Our scouts are checking to see if there's anypony matching the description of the pony in the area. Obviously, we don't know much, but they used light magic, so they have to be a unicorn, bat pony or kirin. Mind, I can't remember if the kirin are actually real or if they're just a legend. These things tend to get confusing."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure they're real. Whew, I wasn't interrupted that-"

"POST!"

I facehoof. "Sombra, what does it say?"

"It's from Chryssie. She says that there's a mare who wants to talk to us at some point. Do we go and speak to her now, or do we wait?"

"Let's talk to the two of them now. It's late, but this could end up being really important. They might know something, like details of Sunbutt's plans. Or maybe they were behind the attack on the Solar Guards. We know that Sunbutt's resorted to traditional methods of fighting wars, but we don't know what else she might be up to."

"Right, then." He begins preparing to leave.

"Gee, I exist," Cozy pipes up with frustration.

"We know you do, but you're not the one who makes the decisions," I remind her. "Are you coming or not?"

"Eh, it might be fun, and I'm always interested in meeting new ponies. To the Changeling Hive!"

I decide to put on all of my armour, just in case there is any trouble. As soon as I am ready and have assured Sombra that his mane isn't in too bad a state, we teleport to the hive's main entrance. Pharynx greets us and leads us to the throne room.

"Queen Chrysalis, I have King Sombra, Commander Moonlight and Cozy Glow here," he calls.

"Tell them to come in. I have quite a nice surprise for them. Well, it might be nice, but then again, they are unpredictable."

We enter the throne room. A pony wearing a brown hooded cloak is stood in the middle of the room, facing Chrysalis' throne.

"Hello?" I ask. "Who are you? Are you behind the attacks on the enemy's trench?"

They speak not a word, but turn around to face us instead, and take off the hood, revealing a pink-purple coated unicorn mare, with a wavy light blue mane and tail and similar coloured eyes that take in our own appearance.

"Hello, Sombra. Hello, Cozy Glow," she says.

Sombra and Cozy both gasp.

"Yes, it's me. I was behind the attack, or rather, I directed the whole affair. Some other ponies chose to help me. I've been hovering around the Crystal Empire for a while now, trying to stay hidden, and I was only just caught by Sir Pharynx here. Who is the pony covered from head to hoof in armour?"

I take off the helmet. "I'm Commander Moonlight, leader of the Crystal Guard, future wife of King Sombra."

She turns back to Sombra. "So, Sombra. After seemingly disappearing from the surface of Equis, you and the Crystal Empire have returned, you've taken over the place, allied with the Changelings and a few other ponies and creatures, freed Cozy Glow from Tartarus, and you also have a fiancee. Yet you have not made one single effort to find me. Is it because I left you here and travelled to Canterlot? Is it because you knew I was going to become a princess and you didn't want that? Did you grow tired of me acting childish, and decide that you didn't want to be my friend any more?" There are tears in her eyes.

Nothing.

"Sombra, say something," Cozy tells him.

Still, he says not a word and continues to stare.

The mare looks at me. "Did you do something to him?"

"No, he isn't usually like this."

She looks over her shoulder at Queen Chrysalis. "Are you sure you haven't done anything to remove his voice?"

"I have done nothing but help him. He has a voice, just not the guts to use it."

The mare turns to face us again, and begins to walk forward slowly. "Commander, I believe Sombra would have told you the story of his childhood friend, Radiant Hope. The two of them were awfully close, but Hope travelled to Canterlot to study magic, and something happened to Sombra, turning him into," she holds out a hoof toward him, "this. If you are so deeply in love with him, then you are either under the influence of a strange type of magic, or you know what he is and love him regardless."

"I know who he is and what he did," I confirm.

"So why do you still love him?"

"There's light and there's dark, and a lot of colours in between. I could see all of those colours in his soul when nopony else seemed to. I helped him take back the Crystal Empire, and made him a better pony."

"Commander, I can see those colours too, but I think I might have sent him into shock by accident."

"Sombra?" I ask him. Then, through telepathy, I ask him what in Tartarus is going on.

"There's something here that we haven't had in a long while, Moonlight," he finally tells me. "Something that we urgently need. Something I have missed for a long time, and I think Cozy has too."

"He's right," replies Cozy.

"And what would that be?"

"Something you don't believe in, but is right here in front of us now. Hope." He and Cozy sprint forward to meet the pony, and the three of them embrace each other. "Radiant Hope."

Author's Note

Hope has returned... and high time, too. The Daughter of the Night is going to need it.