Shadow Ponies · 12:22am Jun 30th, 2019
Many dark legends and woeful tales surround the mystery of the Shadow Ponies, regarded by many as monsters, phantoms, harbingers of terror and despair. To an extent, this ill reputation is true, but in truth the Shadow Ponies are victims.
Ages ago, shortly before the founding of the Crystal Empire, there was a village of ponies where all three tribes lived together in friendship and harmony. They were the first community to achieve a happy co-existence of Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn, thriving happily and prosperously. Alas, it was due to their isolation in the northern region of Equestria that led to them being forgotten... and targeted.
No one knows where it came from, but like a dark cloud over the horizon did descend a living shroud of darkness over this unfortunate village. The shroud proclaimed itself Arabus, and unleashed its dark powers, connecting to the shadow of every pony in this village and working a horrific infection that transformed them into a corrupted and twisted form of pony that would be known as the Umbrum.
The Umbrum were driven mad by anger, pain, and misery, and ran rampant around the lands that had once been their happy village, which had been burned to ashes by the cruel and spiteful Arabus. The dark entity itself vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving its victims to spread out in blind fury.
The Umbrum quickly ran afoul of the nascent Crystal Empire, and instead of seeing the victims they truly were the Crystal Ponies looked upon the Umbrum and saw only monsters, who couldn't bare the light of the Crystal Heart, the empire's most treasured relic. Using the power of the Crystal Heart, the Crystal Princess imprisoned the Umbrum deep beneath the empire, leaving them locked up for many years. Though they languished unjustly within their prison, the Umbrum soon began to plot their escape and their revenge...
