@Hollow_Shades_resident  
Well, the Pony of Shadows first appears in the final illustration of From the Shadows Part 3 and returns later in his tv debut in the season seven finale two-parter, “Shadow Play” five months later.

So, with the final two S7 episodes being titled Shadow Play, and this synopsis and a possible reference in the comics, I guess the Pony of Shadows cameo from s4’s Castle-Mania will finally pay off.

@SeraphimDawn
 
Now I remember that old fanfiction Tales of Harmony.

@Background Pony #45BC  
I love Starlight far too much to watch her endure being badly written.

@Philweasel  
Strange…A Starlight fan that doesn’t defend her for stealing the spotlight. Bravo  
If only there are more fans like you!  
Her “tragic backstory”is still weak af tho.

Seeing all of this. I wish Hasbro would team up with Namco Bandai to create a Pony Tales of seriees type of game from this.

@Background Pony #FA85  
Annoyingly enough I thought Chaos Theory was a great arc, and the ending actually made sense. The one huge problem was Starlight’s previous contribution to the comic was to basically walk in and wave, and I for one wasn’t paying any attention to her whatsoever. Twilight, Luna and Celestia were clearly the protagonists.
 
…funnily enough, the same issue as with Mirror Magic.
 
If you’re going to focus on a character for the entire story, please don’t suddenly boot them off stage for the climax and wheel in an entirely different character who’s emotional connection to the story hasn’t received any prior attention.
 
I mean… what the hell?

@Philweasel  
At least we had Discordant harmony as a great pallette cleanser for that; its like gauntlet of fire after the dragontown comic.

@Gian Song Yim  
We don’t speak of that here. Or ‘Chaos Theory’.

@Philweasel  
didn’t even beat the villain herself  
cough Mirror Magic cough

The shadowy dragon on the right looks like Torch.

@IceKitsune  
Maybe somnambula defeats the sphynx by putting it to sleep?

@immblueversion 
In the episode, it makes sense as she uses the song of a magic bird to make the ponies sleepwalk to her illusionary circus trap to steal their youth. Hence the name of her and the episode she comes from.

@Joshua 
Even stranger is that “Somnambula” comes from the word “somnambulism”, which is just a fancy word for “sleepwalking”.

@Background Pony #FA85 

 
That’s what I’m worried about as well. I mean “The Cutie Re-Mark” and “Twilight’s Kingdom” were even worse in terms of the ‘Twilight is the only pony that matters’. Say what you like about Starlight, but at least she shared her season finale (and didn’t even beat the villain herself).

BOSS BATTLES EVERYWHERE!

@Crystalis 

 
I’m excited by her (?)

So, Somnambula appears to be an Egyptian pegasus pony. Understandable. And to think, back in G1, we associated Somnambula with THIS wrinkled hag.  

On the pony of shadows bit, since it specifically says “twilight sparkle”, i’m a little worried we’re going to get a “crystal empire” 2.0 with the other 5 reduced to gofer status or background cameos while twilight gets a virtually solo story.
 
 
That being said, I’d kind of hope that the pony of shadows thing might be some sort of villain ensemble thing and he’s just the one that fights twilight maybe?

@dynamicv  
Because the synopsis tell us everything that happen…
 
No, it;’s guessing at this point, becuse the part right after that, the one of A.K. Yearling, never has anything said somthing of “a new book” before.  
So by all the synopsis we have seen not saying that, that is the final as well.

@Prof.NightJack 
Discovery Family press release says “Twilight Sparkle will fight the Pony of Shadows” this season.
 
No currently announced episode has a synopsis that allows for this occurrence.
 
The only unannounced episodes are the final three.
 
Therefore, by using logic, we must conclude that Twilight will fight the Pony of Shadows in at least one of the final three episodes.

@Background Pony #FA85 
Ya, I know about that, I’m just not getting where they are pulling this thing of it being the villain of the final. 
With how it’s thrown in the middle of other thing it seem more like it’s not.

@Prof.NightJack 
we know that twilight fights the pony of shadows due to some info http://i.4cdn.org/mlp/1500433175523.png released about s7, so most people are assuming he’s the S7 villain.

>Pony of Shadow (Season 7 Finale’s villain)
 
Umm, where was it said that was the villain of the final?

@Dustcan  
She might give up her Beauty in issue 7– She and the other legends come together as a team in that one.