Somnambula

Somnambula is a female Pegasus and figure of Equestrian legend first mentioned in season six's The Crystalling - Part 2. She makes her first physical appearance in Daring Done?, and she also appears in the IDW comics' and in the season seven finale Shadow Play.

Development
Somnambula shares her name with a G1 villain, a human witch, from the two-part My Little Pony n' Friends episode of the same name.

The name "Somnambula" is derived from the word "somnambulism", another word for sleepwalking.

Depiction in the series
Somnambula is first mentioned in The Crystalling - Part 2 by Sunburst as the subject of a spell called "Somnambula's Weather Abjuration". She is later mentioned in Celestial Advice by Starlight Glimmer as the subject of "Somnambula's Tempus Objectus".

In Daring Done?, Somnambula is the namesake of a village in Southern Equestria and a pony of legend as told by one of its villagers. In the story, the village is menaced by an evil sphinx that claims most of their crops for herself. Somnambula uses what little she has to offer, such as her pearl necklace, to provide food to the poor villagers and give them hope. Inspired by Somnambula's compassion, the pharaoh's son, Prince Hisan, stands up to the sphinx, but the beast captures him and challenges the ponies with a riddle in exchange for his release.

Somnambula accepts the sphinx's challenge and correctly answers the riddle, enraging the sphinx. Fearing the monster would go back on her promise, Somnambula asks for one more challenge and tells the sphinx to leave the kingdom forever if she completes it. The sphinx thus makes Somnambula walk toward Hisan across a narrow bridge—blindfolded and without flying. Guided by Hisan's voice, Somnambula succeeds with a leap of faith, and the sphinx furiously flies away. In gratitude for saving him, Hisan replaces Somnambula's pearls with a string of glowpaz, with a statue erected and the village named in her honor.

In present day, Somnambula's statue is accidentally destroyed during one of Daring Do's adventures, and A. K. Yearling uses her funds to restore it.

In the season seven finale Shadow Play, Somnambula is revealed to be one of the six "Pillars of Old Equestria" with Rockhoof, Mistmane, Flash Magnus, Mage Meadowbrook, and Star Swirl the Bearded, representing the Element of Hope. Long ago, she and the other Pillars were brought together by the unicorn Stygian to battle a great evil. When Stygian later turned into the Pony of Shadows, Somnambula and the others sacrificed themselves to imprison him in limbo.

In present day, Pinkie Pie retrieves the blindfold that Somnambula wore during the sphinx's trial for a ritual to free the Pillars from limbo. When the Pony of Shadows is freed along with them, Somnambula and the other Pillars team up with the Mane Six to separate Stygian from the darkness and banish it to limbo once again.

Depiction in comics
In IDW comics' series, Somnambula appears on cover A of  and as the central character of. In the latter issue, Pinkie Pie reads Sunburst a story about Somnambula written by Star Swirl the Bearded, which details her role as Prince Hisan's advisor after rescuing him from the sphinx. One day, a giant snake appears in the village and starts devouring Hisan's palace and royal guards. Somnambula, depicted as a blithe optimist throughout the entire ordeal, requests a long wooden pole from the exasperated prince before flying up to question the snake, and it swallows her as well.

Somnambula ventures deeper into the snake's belly, using her luminescent glowpaz necklace to light the way. She finds various ponies and animals who have also fallen victim to the snake, giving each of them a piece of glowpaz and directing them to the mouth. Somnambula eventually discovers the cause of the snake's massive size to be an old wizard's cursed stone that it ingested. She uses the wooden pole to pry open the snake's jaws enough to toss the stone out, causing the snake to shrink and spit out everyone it devoured at once. Somnambula is subsequently hailed as a hero, and Hisan swears to never again question her judgment.

Somnambula also appears on 's cover B and cover RI and in freeing Prince Hisan from a cursed emerald brooch. In the group recruits Mistmane and Star Swirl.

Quotes
"That is a riddle we must unravel. And quickly."

- Shadow Play - Part 2

"Each of us infused a crystal seed with our magic in hopes that it would grow into a force for good."

- Shadow Play - Part 2

"I am glad we have the chance to see what has grown from our efforts so long ago."

- Shadow Play - Part 2

"Who wants to race me to the end of the street?"

"Prince Hisan, I know I'm your trusted advisor, but I would think a prince would know how to take care of a snake. We get a lot of those here. Most of the time they're not even vicious."

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #5

"The inside of a snake is there whether you see it or not. Huh, I guess that's kind of like hope. There's always hope, even when you can't see it."

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #5

"Aren't you just a Grumpy Gus."

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #5

"Hope! And a wooden pole. It's also a wooden pole."

- My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #5

Gallery
Somnambula