After Somnambula had walked away from the kitchen, she had seen the Element Bearers make their way to the kitchen when she greeted them and told them to enjoy their breakfast. She could tell that they looked confused when they had seen her look gloomy but she told them that she thought about Stygian which wasn’t a lie.
Luckily, Applejack wasn’t there to detect that there was missing.
She explored the castle and enjoyed the many different rooms and sceneries it offered. It was fascinating that those seeds she and her friends had planted could turn into this.
The purple crystal walls were adorned with fabric that resembled the Elements Of Harmony and showcased what Somnambula assumed were their battles against different foes over the last few years.
There was a black-coated alicorn being defeated by the six mares. Then there was Lord Discord and she couldn’t help but giggle at this. It seems like her friends’ shenanigans caught up to him. When she continued to glance over she wasn’t surprised to see Queen Chrysalis being defeated by Princess Cadance and who she assumed was her husband. She wasn’t surprised when she saw King Sombra being banished either from the Crystal Empire—his darkness knew no bounds. The final villain she saw was Lord Tirek who she knew was the brother of Scorpan who was once friends with Starswirl.
While looking over at all of this, she couldn’t help but fear what Applejack had said.
“Don’t worry, mah friends and I shall slay the Pony once and for all!”
It didn’t sit well with her. She spoke of Stygian as if he was a monster. Stygian wasn’t a monster, he was just misunderstood! Sure, he had committed acts a villain would do, but every pony has done something like that at least once in their life.
Somnambula should know. She didn’t listen to him when he needed her the most.
What terrified her was that there was a significant possibility that he would end up on one of these pieces of fabric, showing that the Element Bearers defeated Stygian—making him look like any regular villain who had no feelings for other creatures.
The orange-coated pegasus felt a small force of anger rush through her veins. No pony had any right to criticise Stygian. They didn’t know what he had gone through, what the Pillars had done to him, and what led him to become the dreaded Pony Of Shadows that rules his kingdom somewhere outside of Equestria.
Looking away from the fabrics and walking ahead, she followed a red mat that stretched into every room and corner with decorations such as vases and small tables and a few couches to rest.
There weren’t many portraits but did stumble upon a few depicting Equestria during the princesses’ reign. The alicorn sisters stood together, one half depicting the sun and the other moon. There were ponies below them, bowing in respect.
Somnambula smiled. She pictured herself together with Stygian in such a way. Not with ponies bowing, but just her and Stygian smiling together.
There were many times they had been offered to take portraits together, but they never took an opportunity because they didn’t have the time or they were doing different things. The few times they did have time didn’t work due to them wanting to spend time off duty and enjoy themselves.
She hung her head as she trotted to the end of the hallway and turned left.
Somnambula deeply regretted now what she wouldn’t do to look at a portrait with the two of them. It would put some of her mind at ease.
After she felt satisfied with her exploration, she made her way to her room where she lay down in bed and started to think about what to do next. There wasn’t much she could do and after the breakfast, she wondered what the other Pillars thought of her. Did they blame her? Were they suspicious of her?
The latter wouldn’t be surprising. She knew that Stygian had done some terrible things with that entity, but she didn’t know how far those terrible things stretched. For all she knew, he could have gone as far as to wrongfully imprison a creature.
…There was, however, one thing that did worry her.
While the Pillars and Element Bearers may not say it to her for fear of her having a breakdown, she knew deep down that there was a possibility that Stygian had… killed.
She gulped. Somnambula knew there were possibilities of it happening because he was a king of his kingdom, and like many Kings with egos, they tend to erase the “unfit” creatures that didn’t fit into their ideal society.
Somnambula didn’t know if Stygian had ever gone so far, or if he will, but it was a possibility they will have to consider. She sighed and turned over to smash her face against the pillow.
“How can I help Stygian if I’m only a hindrance to the others?” She asked herself with a frown. She wasn’t convinced by Princess Cadances’ explanation that Stygian liked her as well and would listen to her.
The hatred from that day was burned into her memories like a tattoo, a reminder of what she and the others had done and spoken of him. How could he like her the same way she did, when he hated her for what happened to him? There was no way he would ever listen to her. It was sad, but it was reality.
Slowly, Somnambula began to fall asleep, the darkness enveloping her in a tight hug. Just before she could drift off, however, there was a knock on her door. Mentally groaning, she got off the bed and trotted to the door.
“Who is it?” She called out while rubbing her eyes with her hoof.
“It’s me, Mistmane, can I come in?” Mistmane asked kindly. Somnambula opened the door which revealed her aged friend who looked at the orange-coated pegasus in concern.
“Good morning, Mistmane,” Somnambula smiled kindly. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did,” the mare replied with a smile of her own but the worried look soon came back to her eyes. “But I heard that you had an… episode this morning, are you alright, dear?”
Somnambula sighed and urged her friend inside and closed the door quietly behind the unicorn mare. Mistmane sat on the floor and Somnambula took her place, facing the mare with the rare mane and tail that flows similar to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
“I had a good sleep this morning,” Somnambula began and had a small smile that Mistmane took notice of. “It… was a dream but I hope that it becomes real someday. It was the wedding of Stygian and I.”
Mistmane giggled with her hoof to her mouth. “I can imagine why you had good sleep, It’s your biggest dream isn’t it?”
Somnambula nodded her head. “Yeah, Princess Cadance came for breakfast—which I’m sure you noticed—” Mistmane nodded her head. “She had questions about Stygian and I and I replied to all of them but then came the question about the identity of the Pony Of Shadows,”
Mistmane winced.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt you, dear,” Mistmane reasoned while stroking Somnambula’s arm with her hoof.
“Oh, no, she didn’t insult me I…” the pegasus lowered her head. “...said something I shouldn’t have,”
When the tears in her eyes welled up, Mistmane was about to move over but the pegasus held up her hoof.
“I… when they spoke about the Kingdom Stygian rules, I started to feel the dark thoughts cloud my mind and I… I told them that I wouldn’t mind living under his rule if it meant redeeming myself in his eyes,” Somnambula admitted and sobbed, embracing Mistmane who still had a hoof stretched.
“Oh, Somnambula dear, none of this is your fault. It’s the sadness that grabbed a hold of you,” Mistmane soothed. “I cannot guarantee that we will ever earn his forgiveness, but I promise you that I will do everything I can to help Stygian turn away from the darkness.”
Despite her generous words, Somnambula couldn’t help but feel as though they were empty—like they were empty promises. She didn’t voice this, it would be completely unjustified after the unicorn had gone out of her way to listen and talk to her.
“I hope so, I still remember the look he gave me,” Somnambula spoke while allowing her tears to fall.
“I know sweetie, I know,” Mistmane replied.
After Somnambula was finished with her crying, she went over to apply more mascara while Mistmane checked her mane and admired it. She was one of the very few ponies in old and new Equestria that had a flowing mane, this was something she took great pride in.
“Are the others… unhappy with me?” Somnambula carefully asked while feeling shame overcome her when she realised what she had said and done.
“No, they’re just worried about you, Rockhoof wanted to check on you but I suggested that perhaps you needed some ‘mare time’ so I came here,” Mistmane spoke while observing the pegasus. “Princess Celestia and Luna are here, I saw Meadowbrook speak with them along with Princess Twilight,”
“No doubt to send me to an institution!” Somnambula tried to joke but saw the disapproving gaze of Mistmane. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, you’re trying to deal with the pain… but in the wrong way,” Mistmane admitted
“Yeah…” the orange-coated mare gave herself a once-over before she was satisfied and trotted to the throne room together with Mistmane while talking about their worries such as their home—particularly if their homes were still existing and standing or if they had vanished through time.
When they reached the throne room, they saw the Element Bearers sitting on their thrones while a white-coated alicorn with a rainbow-flowing mane and tail spoke with an elegant voice. She was facing Princess Twilight and Meadowbrook while the others chatted animatedly with one another. The second alicorn was a dark-blue-coated mare with a mane flowing but with stars shining in them. The alicorn with the star-flowing mane spoke with Magnus about something, the pegasus looked relaxed and calm which was unlike him in many ways.
Because of his soldier background, he was always stiff and saw anything and everything as enemies. That was before he met Stygian and joined the Pillars, but even if he had gained a few friends, he was still stiff. Now, however, he seemed relaxed as if there was nothing to worry about.
Rainbow Dash was sitting beside the stallion while she listened to whatever he was speaking of.
Rarity and Applejack—who had finished her chores at the farm—were speaking with Rockhoof and Starswirl.
“I don’t think I have ever seen him this relaxed,” Somnambula commented while watching the soldier pegasus speak with the Princess of the night.
“Yes, I agree,” Mistmane observed. “I wish he would relax more, that stiffness cannot be good for his muscles,”
Without warning, a third voice spoke up. “I agree, I have tried to tell him he needs to relax but he never listens to me,”
The unicorn and pegasus jumped. They turned and saw Meadowbrook who had the decency to blush. “Sorry dears, I didn’t mean to frighten you,”
“It’s okay Meadowbrook,” Mistmane replied while holding a hoof to her heart. “I think my heart is falling back to the right place,”
Somnambula looked down to the floor and circled the beautiful crystal. “Listen, Meadowbrook—”
“I forgive you,” Meadowbrook replied shocking the pegasus who hadn’t even begun her speech. “I know you had another… episode.”
At that comment, Somnambula hung her head but was surprised when she felt a pair of hooves hug her. She knew the strength belonged to Meadowbrook. The hug lasted a while until the hooves went away. The Pillar of Healing smiled at the orange-coated pegasus.
“I know you miss him, we all do, but…” Meadowbrook looked down, unsure of what to say to the heartbroken mare. “...we cannot allow any pony to suffer the consequences over something we did. It happened over a thousand years ago. I read a few books about us and there is only very small mention of him. It only said he brought us together and that he was an academic and then disappeared—essentially,”
“...And when and If he invades, the ones deserving of it would have perished from the age of time,” Somnambula answered which gained her surprised looks, but they nodded in agreement.
“Yes,” Meadowbrook replied. “...But I do understand why you would have been okay with it,” this gained a startled look from the Pillar of Hope. “I too, feel guilty. If living under darkness would have been redemption in his eyes, I would have willingly lived in his Kingdom. But we can’t. You saw that… parchment we received, we cannot allow Pony Of Shadows to potentially invade Equestria and enslave all creatures living here,”
Somnambula lowered her head. “I’m sorry, but I refuse to believe that he would enslave any creature,” her words didn’t hold anger or malice, just… sadness. Sadness that belonged to a broken mare.
Mistmane hugged the pegasus. “You have every right to, we don’t know for sure if the Pony would or will do something like that, but we cannot ignore what the parchment says,”
“...I know, I am willing to admit that Stygian may have… killed… some pony or creature, but enslaving them is…” Somnambula couldn’t find the right words, or rather, refused to say them due to fear gripping at her like claws from w feathery-winged creature.
Both the Pillars of Beauty and Healing looked at the mare, stunned by what she had said. They never would have believed that Somnambula would say—willingly—that Stygian may or may not have killed. Whenever they would say that specifically Rockhoof or Magnus, she was the first pony to throw a punch.
When she saw the shocked expression, she flashed them a sad smile. “I just have to learn to accept the truth. There is a possibility that he has… done such an act. A thousand years is a long time,”
“Indeed,” replied a voice making the mares turn towards Princess Luna who had trotted up to them, speaking just as elegantly as her sister but with a small hint of harshness but in a beautiful way. “A thousand years is a very long time. Many ponies lose to insanity after living over a hundred years—and I don’t speak of old age and disease,”
The three mares glanced at Starswirl who was now sitting down and drinking tea while sporting a gloomy look on his facial features.
“It must have been difficult for him,” Meadowbrook spoke with sadness while wiping a tear from her eye. “Living a thousand years, seeing his loved ones age up and perish before his eyes while not being able to move on to the next life. Any pony would turn insane.”
Princess Luna nodded while also sporting a look of grief.
“He was Celestia and I’s mentor, he taught us everything we knew, without him we would be lost… but I became lost down the road anyways,” She looked guilt-ridden and ashamed. “But today isn’t about the past, today is about the defences.”
“Defences?” Meadowbrook tilted her head.
Luna sighed. “Due to the potential threat of the Pony Of Shadows, we have no choice but to increase our defences. We have strong royal guards, but they have never faced a genuine kingdom that is a threat and I am ashamed to say; I am a little embarrassed by them,”
Mistmane wasn’t sure what to feel about that. “What do you mean ‘feel embarrassed by them’?”
“I mean what I said; I feel embarrassed by the fact they are royal guards. They carry Celestia and I’s seal on their chest and yet, they are easily defeated by the foes we’ve had to face. On one hoof it’s good because it means there’s peace, but on another hoof, it’s bad because they will get lazy and never need to use their weapons. So when the enemy comes…”
They understood what the Princess meant.
“So, what are the precautions you will be taking?” Meadowbrook curiously asked while looking over at the other ponies and dragon, in the room chatting and drinking beverages.
“We are just about to discuss it now,” Luna said and trotted away from them and approached her sister and whispered something into the older alicorn’s ear. Princess Celestia turned to face all the ponies and dragon, in the room and called out to them with the help of a spell, drawing their attention to her. When she had their attention, she cancelled the spell and smiled at them.
“Thank you all for being here, first of all, I want to congratulate the Pillars of Equestria for their escape from Limbo. I cannot imagine having to suffer such a terrible fate.” The Pillars looked gloomy at the mention of their former predicament. “I also want to thank Applejack for being brave and giving the warning to her friends even if it was just a very realistic dream.” The Apple farmer blushed at the compliment. “Finally, I want to thank the Pillars once again, for warning us of the Pony Of Shadows, I do not know who this Pony is or were, but I will assure you all, that my sister and I, shall find a way to help aid you in battle. I am willing to step off the throne and join in battle if need be.”
This caused a lot of gasps throughout the room, mainly from the new Element Bearers and Twilight. The Pillars and Starswirl didn’t seem too surprised, but that could be because it was the first time seeing her—par Starswirl.
Luna was another pony who didn’t seem surprised by this, but it could be because she was already informed of Celestia’s decision.
“What?! But princess! You are one of the rulers of Equestria! You’re too important to join a battle!” Twilight reasoned, her expression still holding a shocked look.
Celestia quirked a brow at her. “How am I, ‘too important to join a battle’? Last I checked, Princess Twilight Sparkle, it was my sister and I, that had no choice but to face the villains you have faced over the years. We had no choice but to fight them hoof to hoof or claw. So why would now be any different than it was a thousand years ago?”
The others felt the tension rising in the room, Princess Cadance, who had hidden herself in the back of the room out of view from them couldn’t help but frown at her aunt and sister-in-law.
She understood both sides of the story. Twilight wanted to protect Princess Celestia due to not having faced a battle in the last thousand years. Celestia, though, knows how to take care of herself and fight, so Twilight saying that she was ‘too important’ made it seem like Celestia either A had gotten lazy or B had never fought a day in her life which wasn’t true.
“Sister, she didn’t mean to insult you,” Luna tried to calm her sister while looking over at Twilight who had flinched at her mentors’ tone.
“Insult her…? I didn’t insult her! I… I simply believe that she shouldn’t deal with this because…” Twilight trailed off and looked at her friends who gaped at her.
They had never seen or heard of Twilight disagreeing with Princess Celestia. Ever. This was new to them and she was showing a side to themselves that they weren’t sure they liked. At least she didn’t mean to insult or be rude.
“Because what?” Celestia prompted while looking directly at Twilight who was still looking at her friends.
“...because you haven’t battled in over a thousand years…” Twilight had turned to meet Celestia’s gaze for a split second before lowering her head, admitting why she didn’t want to see the Princess of the Sun in battle.
The room was deathly silent. It was so quiet, a graveyard could have been Pinkie Pie’s loudest party. The Element Bearers and the Pillars were wise for keeping quiet, mostly for fear of adding fuel to the fire. Starswirl wanted to intervene, but he was only the mentor of Celestia and Luna, even then, he held no authority over what his former students did with their students.
Princess Luna kept her blank face in place while sipping on tea as she watched her sister also sport the blank look. Cadance, who was still hidden from view now understood Twilight’s reasonings but she didn’t agree with her sister-in-law.
“Warrior skills are not something you forget easily,” Magnus murmured to himself but everypony and dragon heard him. They turned to face him, but Celestia didn’t stop looking at Twilight.
“Certainly not, it would take many moons before all those skills are forgotten, even then, the brain can still remember the patterns so you can relearn easily,” Luna spoke with some pride, being the most prominent warrior of the two sisters.
“Yes, I agree,” Celestia said curtly, making the room flinch par Luna who was used to that way of speaking.
“Look, Princess—” Twilight tried but was interrupted by a raised hoof from Celestia.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia began making the lilac-coated mare sweat. “I understand why you are worried and have every right to be, but I am not above any pony or creature. I am just as killable as any pony or dragon in this room. The difference, however, is that I do have experience in battle. I have fought many wars—big and small and have either come out victorious or licked my wound and pride. I wouldn’t suggest joining a battle or war If I didn’t believe it warranted it.” Twilight felt her heart beat faster and her stomach was rolling. “This, for the first time in a thousand years, warrants my battle armour,”
The other ponies and dragon gulped, even Luna.
“Yes Princess Celestia, sorry about earlier,” Twilight apologised with a bow.
Somnambula was intrigued by the fact the royal sisters were warriors. Had they fought against King Sombra? Maybe they had maybe they hadn’t. But it was fascinating that two royals could fight like warriors it made her think about Stygian. Had the unicorn she knew and loved been training his warriors? Was he a warrior?
There was the sound of fake coughing which made Somnambula lose her daydream and was brought back to reality and saw Celestia look over at them once more.
“With that out of the way,” Celestia eyed Twilight. “I would like to inform you all that there will be a major increase in military activity. There will be bases all over Equestria, even in the most dangerous of areas,” the others looked shocked. This was no joking matter. “Because of the heightened activity, I must apologise, there will naturally be an increased tax rate which I know will bother a lot of ponies.” The Element Bearers grimaced and looked a bit annoyed. “But this will only be until we have cleared the threat of the Pony Of Shadows, I do not know how long the increased tax and military activity will last, it could be five weeks, months or even years.”
Somnambula fidgeted in her seat while Meadowbrook spoke soothing words into her ear.
“Princess Celestia?” Rainbow Dash asked while her hoof raised while she hovered in the air.
“Yes, Rainbow Dash?” The princess asked while motioning for her to continue.
“Well, I was just wondering if you planned on sending any pony out on a search party,” Rainbow asked which gained her a confused look. “I mean, shouldn’t we try to locate the Pony Of Shadows? We know he has an army and If he has an army there is a chance—but isn’t guaranteed—that Pony Of Shadows rules a Kingdom of some kind. If we know where he resides, then we can observe them,”
Everypony and dragon stared at Rainbow Dash blankly. It was a good idea, but… it was risky.
“Well, he does have a Kingdom, lassie,” Rockhoof confirmed with a nod in her direction. “But we don’t know where it’s located, and even if we did know, it would be far too dangerous to venture into enemy territory.”
Somnambula was about to scoff but held back.
“And there is also a major possibility that we’ll be killed due to Pony’s orders,” Somnambula said, getting the urge to speak after holding back a scoff. The Pillars—par Mistmane—looked surprised by this. She was the last pony they believed would say it.
“...Yes that is something we also have to consider,” Magnus acknowledged while stretching his wings that had grown stiff.
Princess Celestia would admit that she never once thought about sending any pony or creature to find the hidden Kingdom. Now though, because Rainbow Dash had pointed out something that could be of use to not just her, but the Equestrian Kingdom as a whole, she was considering sending a few troops just to look over the Kingdom… if they can find it.
“Miss Rainbow Dash,” Celestia called, grabbing every pony and dragon’s attention with her elegant voice. “I will admit, I never thought of sending any creature out because… well because of fear. You see, what would happen If I send troops that get lost or caught by a Kingdom that has nothing to do with Pony? We could make the mistake of thinking that they are the Kingdom Of Darkness and go to war with them only to later find out that it wasn’t them. How do you think they would perceive Equestria?”
Almost all ponies and dragon nodded. Almost.
“Princess Celestia,” the old sorcerer in the room called out, making every pony and dragon face the bearded wizard. “No offence to you, but you are looking at a worst-case scenario that may or may not be likely to happen. What you’re describing is a very big mistake that can cost more than repair.”
The hidden Cadance nodded her head in agreement, what her aunt described was a little… extreme.
Celestia for her part, looked thoughtful before she adopted a sheepish look. She had jumped to the worst-case scenario.
“Thank you, mentor, for keeping me grounded,” Celestia spoke with gratitude. “Or try to,”
Starswirl chuckled. “My pleasure,”
“But as it stands, it is a possibility, but that is the outcome I pray to the God’s won’t happen. I meant what I said earlier, I am indeed afraid of Pony Of Shadows because I have never fought against such a creature before.” Celestia admitted to them with her head hung low.
Luna took this chance to speak up. “I for one, am more terrified of you’re former friend, mentor. Was it, not Stygian who managed to cast a spell that sent the rest of the Pillars to Limbo?”
The Pillars grew uncomfortable under the princesses’ gaze. Her look held no emotion or scrutiny, but it held power. The only one not fazed was Starswirl.
“Yes, that is indeed true, however, I don’t know if you remember this; there were no laws against such spells back then, him casting them into Limbo wasn’t illegal because there were no laws of the sort back then. Today, I’m sure there have been law changes.” The sorcerer explained.
Luna didn’t look or seem satisfied with the explanation, but she didn’t object or refute his claims.
“How about a vote?” Spoke a voice they had forgotten was there. They turned their gaze towards Cadance who was hidden in the corner and observed them with interest. “If the majority vote to stay in Equestria, we’ll stay here and prepare the rest of the defences. If the Majority vote to find the Kingdom Of Darkness, then the Pillars, Element Bearers and Spike shall venture out and search for the Kingdom that has been under our radar for who knows how long,”
The Pillars looked at one another, holding conversations with their eyes. Somnambula didn’t hear the end of Cadance’s speech before she made up her mind on finding Stygian’s kingdom. The Element Bearers looked uncertain whether they should go or not.
Princess Celestia and Luna liked the idea and decided to vote for the decision. Celestia ordered to raise their hooves for those who wanted to stay in Equestria. Princess Celestia, Luna and Twilight raised their hooves at this with a hoof from Fluttershy and Rarity. When they voted for trying to find the Kingdom, the majority had their hooves and claw up, signalling that they would search for the kingdom.
“Okay, because you succeeded with the voting, the ones that want to find the Kingdom shall find it.” Celestia declared with formality in her voice which made them nod in agreement. That was fair.
“Now, I must excuse myself, but I am needed back in Canterlot. I will be making preparations for the potential threat. Princess Twilight, can I trust that you set up a base of operations for the royal guards?” Celestia asked, turning her head to the lilac-coated mare that nodded.
“No problem, Princess, consider it done,” Twilight fidgeted slightly. She couldn’t tell if the Princess was still upset with her or if she had moved past it.
“Thank you, Luna, I shall see you in Canterlot,” Celestia said and walked out of the throne room, leaving the rest behind her. Luna had bowed when Celestia passed her.
Somnambula observed as the princess left, leaving them behind to chat and come up with other ideas they need. First things first, they needed a map, which they had in the throne room, the same room they were in right now. With it, they could potentially find out where Stygian might be holed up.
The orange-coated pegasus trotted up to the map and observed the many different towns and cities she had heard of and was glad still existed and then there were others she had never heard of.
The towns and cities she had never heard of held her interest for a while until her eyes traced the outlines of the map, trying to find the different Kingdoms outside Equestria which wasn’t difficult to do. She saw the Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan, Griffinstone, the Dragon Lands and Badlands.
‘I will find you, Stygian,’ Somnambula thought as she looked over to a far reach of the map. The others didn’t see it, but there was a small circular mist covering the small piece.