Luna:
Wind sliced past me as I flew, sending flashes of cold down my coat as I soared further into the dark world where I found myself. Even my own form was lost to this lightless place. The winds carried no smell but that of something warm, like a fire long forgotten. I wasted no movement and continued my flight with no words, but that detail troubled me.
I did not need to close my eyes or pause to reflect upon memories of damage brought by untended flames. Fires burned down many structures and crops in the Tribal Era, and oftentimes the record of such events until the remain only in memories, like those of Celestia's and mine. Those recollections aside, I still remembered evenings when I sat around a campfire with my sister while she made the first steps to trying her hoof at the pyromancy she was so naturally inclined to, and the smell of smoke that came from the singed locks of her mane, her words of caution against playing with the fire as she did. In later years, my sister's evenings around those campfires would pay off. Yet, I cannot say that she was ever comfortable with that aspect of her power, as I was with my lightning and storm magic.
As I glide into the depths of this void, I long to feel a colder wind, one that would chill me like the frozen north's arctic blasts and remind me that I can feel, so it might invigorate me. There was always beauty in such a savage, but necessary feeling that spawned such wonder alongside terror and discovery with such risk that came with putting oneself in danger.
Here, there was nothing but the knowledge that I could not rest, and that I was alone in my flight that could last forever. This did not trouble me; I had nowhere to go and nowhere to be, only the winds offered any hint of direction. Even they appeared to come from nowhere at all. Only the lack of terrain to vanish beneath me as well as diversity in surroundings offered no challenge, that would make this perfect. How could I not long to see the outlines of mountains in the dark, their jagged shapes rising from a ground that was not here and a sky that could not be?
I was alone, with nothing and nopony and it was delightful. If I did not treasure the silence here so much, I would have most certainly started laughing. Instead, I closed my eyes and dove into the dark, pulling my wings closer to my sides as I plunged into the shadows below, relishing the privacy that light steals.
I do not know how long it is that I fall - each second etches its way into my mind, but it is not my current focus and the information slips elsewhere - but the sound of the winds around me refuses to die. Cold air kisses my face, and I feel my thoughts start to come in images and senses rather than words, each following my heart's quickened beat and then-
I falter, my roaming mind forced to catch up with me as I arc up in horror, a creeping sensation touching my right wither, like ice-water trickling down my back.
Letting out a gasp, I whirl around, catching the faint shimmer of my mane's outline in the dark as I see a ray of silvery light pierce my shadowed and lightless haven from somewhere far above. The brightness was not unnatural and glaring, my eyes did not ache when they looked at it. It was not like the relentless blaze of my sister's sun on a summer day in some sandy place, but there was some undeniable brilliance to the thing.
Transfixed by the sight, I fly in place with the sound of my near-silent wing beats distant even my own ears as I gaze upon the shaft of light that has made its way into my private world. How surprised I was to see it was not a harsh light, but something that seemed so much colder and far more inviting... I felt compelled to touch it, especially since if felt more magical in nature the longer I lingered near it.
Soon the light began to shift, softening its shape and altering its form until it was no longer a radiant beam. Now, a rabble of butterflies was before me; each delicate creature made from the same light, now gentler.
I watched the small creatures flutter around me like stars in this blackness. Even if they were not truly alive I was too lost in thought to think of them as anything else. Were they alive, I would have expected more nervousness from them at being in such a dark place where the shadows hid their world in a blanket of black that could hold all sorts of surprises - both good and potentially dangerous. But being made of this light, they did not think, which meant that they did not care.
I wanted to touch one.
I had to touch one...
Without a second thought about what I was currently compelled to do, I reached out one forehoof as delicately as possible, so I wouldn't damage the butterflies. They were not like any construct I had ever seen, for they moved too fluidly and felt more naturally than forcefully shaped magic. I tried to feel the wings of one-
-and it ended up feeling unlike the cool prickling feeling I had braced myself for. Yet, it felt familiar, so I blinked, startled-
-and was jolted from my dream, where I found myself blinking tiredly and looking at the darkened cabin of an airship. Mechanical clinks and the echoes of clockwork hums formed an alien, but not obnoxious lullaby of sorts. The noises becoming fainter as my night vision focused and I took in the rest of my surroundings.
The glow of moonlight reflecting off of Fish's floating bubble shone faintly in the corner. From there, the softly gleaming hilt of Fate picked up some of this light, from its current place: buried under Sombra's saddlebags and other possessions acquired both recently and through the course of our journey - including his cloak, which I had managed to convince him to discard. All were placed on the rather plush chair that our cabin housed. My necklace sat next to the chair, on the neighboring coffee table, a mere outline in the night and not a particularly interesting one.
Only one sound filled the thick silence of the cabin, and that was the faint rumble of Sombra's purring. Most of it was muffled by the blankets surrounding us, which were as plush as the chair and as thick as the silence - as well as an unfamiliar luxury to him. Nevertheless, he seemed quite comfortable, though he had discarded the pillows I gave no thought to relinquish in order to snuggle up against my chest, his own rising and falling with his purring.
My forehooves had been wrapped around him, but I had moved my right up close to his face in order to stroke his mane - which is what had disrupted my odd dream. While he was too deep in sleep to know exactly what was happening, each time I stroked his mane, his purr deepened and he instinctively moved as close to me as he could, nuzzling me in his sleep when I began to scratch him behind the ear with a little bit of magic. The gentle turquoise glow of my aura was kept dim in order to help him sleep, though I doubt he was anywhere close to being able to rouse himself at such a minor distraction. Eventually, I just settled for petting his mane, moving his bangs aside once to place a kiss on his forehead.
How could anypony ever want to hurt him? Though, he may be unpredictable and feral in nature, he wasn't one who sought violence in the ways he's made out to. I've seen him scared, and know that even though he can and has hurt ponies, they don't realize that their actions and words can harm him as well. I don't want to ever see Sombra as a victim in anything like this - he's a wonderful pony, extraordinary even, and nopony like Onyx is ever going to hurt him again - not if I can help it.
Since I've met him, he's done nothing but help me. Even if things sometimes don't go as planned, I know he's more compassionate than anypony but me is likely to know. Sombra isn't a tyrant or anything in that vein, but as compassionate as he can be, he can be angry too. I'm not unaware that he has a cruel streak. He could never be as cruel as what is said about him with the sincerity he shows, though he has a funny way of showing it at times.
He loves me, he's honest with me, and he's protected me when I needed it.
He's protected me...
I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle a gasp and nuzzle Sombra instead. He doesn't stir when I flick one of his ears either. I whisper his name in his ear and shake him faintly, hoping that he'll wake up with what I have suddenly thought of. After all, who better to help me make sense of enigmas and secrets than the most enigmatic pony I know, the God of Knowledge himself? A creature born of knowledge itself, who uses it like no other I have seen? I can think of none but Sombra fit for such discussion... if only he'd wake up!
"Sombra, there's something I need to tell you!" I hissed in his ear, making sure my voice was still at a level that could be considered whispering.
"Sombra, please wake up! This is very important!"
He either refuses to stir or is practicing for death, even though he cannot experience it.
What a drama queen.
"Sombra, I order you to rouse yourself this instance!"
In his continued slumber, Sombra nuzzles me before rolling over slightly and batting at something that isn't there with a forehoof.
I guess I will have to up my creativity...
"If you refuse to wake up, the next time you try to explain any of the math you like to me, I will insist that the answer to each of your problems can be obtained by-" I pause for emphasis. "-dividing by zero, regardless of what you are even talking about!"
His purring ceases-
Maybe that was too far...
-be still doesn't wake up.
"I think pizza is a ridiculous example of a popular invention for you to have such a fondness for, and frankly, I find its flavor to not be to my liking!"
How do I insult somepony I love so much without telling a lie? I think to myself as I roll onto my stomach and peer at Sombra, who is now enjoying his slumber cuddled up against my side.
"Purple isn't that ugly of a color?" I offer to no avail.
"Your mane is... adequate?" I cannot fathom how I am supposed to insult him or threaten him like this, when there is nothing I have that can accurately be used against him. Any negative statements I had about him were things that were either pet peeves or things I imagine we could talk out with one another if problems arose. How was I truly supposed to quarrel so terribly with him?
"Your mother-"
Oh wait, he doesn't have one...
After a moment, I finally give up my attempts at trying to annoy him and give him a quick kiss, before turning to watch beams of moonlight streaming in from a nearby window dance on the floor. Soon, a faint and unmistakable grumble could be heard from within the depths of the sheets.
"Sombra?"
I look over to him, puzzled to find his eyes still closed and wait for further signs of wakefulness.
Slowly, the left side of his mouth turns up into a faint smirk.
"Double or nothing," he whispers.
I blink and in the next second, Sombra's face becomes well acquainted with a few nearby pillows.
...
Sombra's ears flicked to catch my words, moonlight outlining his profile in the dark. Like his chest, his ears now bore more pronounced fluff due to his ill-timed winter coat. He tried to hide the fluff under his cloak or wash the new hair out in clumps whenever he had a chance to use the shower in the adjoining room. Unlike me, he hadn't seemed that surprised that a proper washroom could be located on an airship. Still, his efforts had not paid off - unless Sombra counted the fact that we both learned how to get clumps of gray fluff out of a drain.
"Aren't all you dreams vivid, Luna?"
"Yes, they are. Three things mark the nature of my dreams: their vividness, how strange they are, and always lucid. Never had I had a dreamless night. I have often heard of what they are like from my sister, and they sound rather empty, for lack of a better word... but this dream... there was something about it I cannot place my hoof on. It did not feel like a foredream - or at least, not a typical foredream. Those are always very powerful - and often very cryptic, at least in my case - and have always left me feeling haunted, yet this dream felt different. I would call it uplifting, I think."
When I finish, I return to braiding Sombra's mane. Little wisps of turquoise magic flip through strands of black as I move them into a loose Prancian braid, carefully plaiting all but his bangs, as he told me not to disturb them in my process.
"Alright then, I'm going to make the assumption that it isn't a foredream then, since thousands of years of experience have taught you otherwise. However, I think that we should consider that it might be some kind of foredream if we can't come up with anything else."
"That sounds well. Is there anything you need me to explain to you?"
Sombra yawns and pulls away, choosing to rest his muzzle in his forehooves before he let me resume my braiding. I caught him mumble a few things into the blankets at his hooves, and heard the word 'coffee' among them. Deciding that he needed a distraction from tiredness, I moved a wisp of aura to his ear and began to scratch behind it, and was immediately rewarded with Sombra's purring.
"So, what do you think my dream means, O Wise and Powerful God of Knowledge?"
Sombra's left ear flicked and he shook his mane - which was now successfully braided - before resting his head in his forehooves once more, lost in thought. His purr stopped and he narrowed his eyes, yawning once more.
"What are your foredreams usually about?"
"Well, Celestia's are-"
"Wait-" He yawns again, "Celestia has these too?"
"Yes, the both of us dream of things that are to come. Mine are always far more intense."
"Would I be incorrect in guessing that yours are usually more ominous as well?"
"No, you would not be. I have found many of them to be quite haunting." When I continue to stroke his mane, Sombra begins to purr once more, though he still spoke between the melodic rumbles.
"An example of your foredreams would be...?" His voice trailed off into another purr, pricking his ears forward to catch whatever I had to say.
"During Tirek's return - which was shortly before yours, your true return, I should say - my sister and I both had our own dreams warning us of his deeds and plans for our subjects and nation. Before that... there were so many. One that stands out I had when I was a little filly. I had dreams of fire - the dark fire that you used and-"
"And what?" Sombra interrupts, his attention clearly captured by what I had to say.
"...One of the reasons I was scared of you when we first met one another is b-because-"
Sombra immediately looks concerned and attentive once I have brought up that time. He lifts his muzzle and nuzzles me before my voice can truly falter, and I see that he looks worried, his crimson eyes filled with the patience I had never seen him offer to anypony else, except in meager shreds.
"Luna, roughly how long ago was this?"
Will he be upset with me for never telling anypony?
"The night before my mother and father left us, I had a dream of this fire... but I was too scared to tell anypony. They already looked so worried and it might have been just a bad dream and-"
I swallow a lump in my throat, but it doesn't help. My eyes are already watering and I can feel sobs waiting to escape - until they choose to wait no longer and I feel hot tears rolling down my cheeks, my vision blurring because of them and my words coming out choked.
"-and T-Tia has such a n-nice dream - o-or at least I t-thought it s-sounded nice at first... new land s-stretching as far as the eye c-could see, but it a-ate at me for months before T-Tia distracted me with all her s-silly princess tales and antics now that we h-had the castle to ourselves."
I don't see Sombra sit up since I bow my head to avoid eye contact, but I hear the faint rustling of fabric moving and feel him drape his cloak around me, his aura dispelling once he ceases levitating the garment. Moments later, he wraps me in a tight hug, his forehooves wrapping me into his own version of my hugs, only far less crushing. I accept his wither to cry on, burying my muzzle in his coat. I feel him tilt his head ever so slightly in a gesture like a nuzzle, but he doesn't speak. When I listen closely I can hear him purr again, but the sound is softer.
"We didn't do a-anything for years and-"
"You were only four, weren't you?"
"Y-Yes, but-"
"Children are virtually useless on their own, at least physically. I personally have not met many that are too exceptional at anything at the age you were, but I've read a bit here and there about supposed prodigies here and there. There's nothing that you could have done at then that would have made a difference-"
"I could have told them!"
"Luna, you told me that they looked grim, didn't you?"
"Yes-" I wanted to protest more and begin to describe what losing a loved one felt like to Sombra. I know he has had no family throughout his life and would need to have this explained to him if I wanted him to understand the enormity of what I had done.
"They were full-grown gods, Luna, and if you noted their grim mood that day with such clarity that it is one of the first details you recall now, then it must have been unusual for them to behave in that manner. Do you know what that means?"
I shook my head and clutched Sombra tighter.
"It means that they likely knew that something was going to happen to them. I doubt they knew what, exactly but they already seemed to know that something was going to go south if they were so openly worried in front of their own foals even if nopony was going to find you and they were likely assembling an army. What do you think telling them your dream would have done?"
"N-Nothing?"
"Exactly. You were a nervous little filly and I highly doubt you would have been able to explain that dream to them when they were in such an emotional state without triggering one brief slip up in whatever composure they had left. You would have never let them out of your sight once you noticed that. You're far too perceptive as it is, and if you were as vigilant and wary of anything that seemed unusual in their demeanor as your actions show, then you would have done everything to prevent them from leaving once you picked up on anything."
Truly, Sombra is a genius to take so much from so little. Will he ever cease to surprise me? I nod into his coat for no particular reason other than liking how soft it is. Anypony else would have only had the mind to give me empty words and unneeded sympathy - either claiming to understand what all this meant and what I was going through or not understanding in the slightest but still choosing to act as if their choice would be the right one.
"Why do you think I never would have let them leave, Sombra?" I whispered.
If I could see his face right now, I know he would be smirking at least a little bit. "You're clingy when you're upset, and your stubbornness and determination is on the same level with yours truly."
I nod into his coat a second time, continuing to relish in his effort to comfort me - which had been rather successful so far, as I did feel a bit better.
"Sombra, that isn't all..."
"Well then, tell me the rest won't you? I would say that I'm not going to be this young and handsome forever, but that would be a lie."
"Who ever said you were handsome?"
"You see every time I look in a reflective surface, I see this amazingly beautiful and knowledgeable entity with the best taste in manestyles and stunning crimson eyes who tells me all sorts of very lovely things about me."
"What a charmer."
"Indeed."
"He must be quite the gentlecolt to compliment you so. I might have to offer him a kiss."
"Don't worry, I've beat you to it."
I slowly begin to unbraid Sombra's mane with my magic, running a hoof through it and only stopping to arrange it as it was before I braided it. "Are you implying you kiss your own reflection?"
"Confirming, actually. Why?"
"...I thought you did not like to consume any kind of alcohol, and I can think of no other circumstance where one would kiss their mirror image."
"Who kisses their reflection when they're drunk? That just seems downright bizarre."
"Who kisses their reflection while sober?"
"I do."
"...How long has this been going on?"
"Since I was eighteen."
"I lack a proper way to respond to this other than pointing out how egotistical that is."
He chuckles and runs a hoof through my mane, adjusting the way his cloak hung on my withers so it didn't slip. "If you're well enough to participate in my egotistical banter, then I'm going to presume that you are well enough to continue talking with me."
"I... Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Sombra's hold on me never falters. "I wouldn't be asking if that wasn't the case."
"My next dream happened later, eighty-three years after they were gone. Tia and I were traveling in the desert, I know not if she still had any of the dreams that plagued me, but I would awaken late in the night with many powerful dreams still fresh in my mind and no way to decipher them-"
"What makes you think I can help?"
"I find your consul to be wise, insightful, and eccentric and your company is most pleasurable. You know things I do not, are skilled with communication, fiercely intelligent, and are good at spotting details. Thus, I find you to be invaluable, dear Sombra."
Sombra purrs briefly at my praise and nuzzles me once again, and I nuzzle him back, hoping he will not be troubled by what I will have to say to him.
"As I had to way to come close to understanding the true meaning of my dreams," I continued, "I kept them to myself and urged myself onward while still keeping them in mind. The particular dream I had was of the same fire, only now it burned a world beyond recognition. I am sure that if I knew more of the world before whatever catastrophe occurred then I, too, would have seen the signs of something wrong."
"As a child," Sombra says flatly. "Were you older, then I could believe you would have been able to find some damning evidence of dark happenings, but you were a very little filly traveling with her sister in the aftermath of everything. You didn't even know what to look for. By the time you were old enough to understand any of these things in full, you were close to the Tribes and likely had your ambitions set elsewhere now that you had become adjusted to living in a world with even less evidence of disaster as you went farther north. I've seen maps of the Old World, and there wasn't much up there even before the Collapse."
"Ah," I said, my thoughts temporarily straying to what the world must have looked like on Sombra's maps, and if I would have connected it to the wilds I wandered without anypony telling me they were the same place. Even when I continued to speak, mind still half-lost among the phantom outlines of all that had been, I still toyed with Sombra's mane.
"This dream had your eyes in it," I whispered. As soon as I spoke, Sombra tensed up and the silence that settled between us was an eerie one. The only sound that either of us heard being the whir of machinery and the sway of Pink Sunset, which was magically anchored in place by Shining Armor during the evening as a precaution, in case the mechanical brake failed and we began to drift.
"My eyes? Are you sure about that? This would have been centuries - no, at least two thousand years before I was created!"
"Sombra, they were not truly your eyes - but they were like yours. Only the colors were different; the fire that surrounded them was still the same."
"Luna-" Sombra's attempt to talk sounds frantic and confused, like he's scrambling to piece everything together
"When I first saw you all those years ago, I caught your eyes and thought that... I thought that they might be the same as the ones I saw in my dream and that you were a clue, a piece of something larger, or even a hint... Oh Sombra, there were many things I thought during that first meeting of ours, and I was so paralyzed with déjà vu when I saw you that I failed to realize that your eyes were not those of a monster until I saw that you had followed me to the Sky Scraper from the Pantheon."
"Luna?"
"Sombra, I'm sorry. Would you hate me for this?"
His answer is to purr and pull me closer, and I can feel him yawn again before resting his head against my wither.
"No, Luna. I don't hate you for this. Are you really so stubborn that you won't believe that I love you?"
I swallow and find I need to swallow again to clear my throat properly and get rid of the last of my sniffling. Pushing him away, I place a hoof on each of his withers and hold him at a distance, looking him straight in the eye. He looks a bit tired, but certainly happy enough with the shadow of a smirk on his face. Though, he does look more interested in contemplating his next yawn.
"Out of everything in the world that I could doubt right now, Sombra, how could I ever doubt that you love me?"
He blinks and finally yawns.
"Exactly," he mumbles before collapsing back onto the bed, sound asleep. I glance at the small clock sitting on the nightstand on his side of the bed. In the dark I have no problem seeing the hands that clearly indicate that it is only one twenty-two in the morning.
It appears that Sombra will be sleeping in again, I muse looking from the clock to Sombra's sleeping form, feeling more compelled to snuggle him than I did to feel the strange light in my dreams.
Stretching my wings and folding them again, I curl up next to Sombra, my strange dream still on my mind.
...
I was well aware of the fact that Sombra was exceptionally fond of destroying property. He told me that he does have an extensive knowledge of crafting explosives and the art of demolition, but I did not think that he'd appear so eager to destroy anything so late in the morning. The last time I had checked a clock, it had stated that it was barely seven o' five and he was already looking at the window of Pink Sunset's hall with murder in his eyes as the sun's morning rays shone through the polished glass.
I sat down in the chair next to him, setting down a plate with toast - completely barren of even a bit of butter or anything to offer flavor - and carrot sticks, nudging it close to him and offering a small smile. Sombra blinked tiredly and accepted the plate, levitating the toast to his muzzle, which bore an extremely grumpy expression and proceeded to quietly eat the toast as grumpily as possible.
"It was very nice of Shining Armor to help me figure out how the toaster worked, wasn't it?"
Sombra mumbled something incomprehensible and continued to glare at the sun. Having already eaten my breakfast at a more reasonable hour, I was content just to simply sit with Sombra, who I was finally able to convince to wake up at a more sensible hour. Had things been up to him, we could have been having breakfast anywhere from noon to the middle of the night! Such preposterous results could only happen with Sombra's sleep cycle.
Wrapping my wing around Sombra, I managed to pull his attention away from his celestial staring contest with no trouble. He was soon leaning his head against my wither and rolling a carrot stick between his fangs.
"Even Pink One is still asleep," he grumbles.
My only reply is to nudge the mug of coffee he had been keeping close by closer to him, since he'll be needing it. Once he has some more of the bitter liquid and is awake a bit longer, I'll be sure to draw him further into conversation, especially once he has had the time to think about what we discussed earlier. Sombra levitates the mug without bothering to look at it, and I finally reveal my true motives and snatch a few carrot sticks from his breakfast smile, quickly - and with as much smugness as I can muster - devouring them before he can protest.
"Witch," he grumbles.
"Beast."
"Freak," he counters.
"Pariah," I retort.
He takes a long sip of coffee and snuggles closer to me. "Outcast."
"Criminal!"
Sombra chuckles and tilts his head up so I can get a good view of his smirk. "Oh, but isn't that why you love me so much?"
"You think yourself so irresistible, hmm?"
"I know I'm irresistible. I am dark magic and if dark magic, and if dark magic has any infamous qualities, it's being completely and utterly irresistible."
I laugh softly, once and light my horn, pulling Sombra closer to me so he looks more comfortable. I do not think that he's ever had much time to relax or an easy time doing so. If he could get a few moments to be calm alongside me, then I would try to ensure that what little time he happens to have would be peaceful.
"Do you think that my dream might deceive me and that it could be hinting at trouble to come? Is light not something blinding? Surely, that could be a symbol of some kind of oversight on my part?"
"Didn't you say that the light in there wasn't blinding?" Sombra's fangs mercilessly crush another carrot stick he had managed to sneak past me and into his mouth.
"Yes, but deception is always trying to get you to believe-"
"Have your dreams ever deceived you in any way, shape, or form?"
"No, Sombra. They are often cryptic, but they never lie."
He snatches up the second piece of toast as a sign that he'll be speaking now. It didn't matter, I had nothing to add to that remark.
"Then there's nothing to doubt what you were presented with, it's what your dream means that is what we should be discussing."
Letting out a small yawn, I nuzzle Sombra's mane as a gesture of my gratitude. Talking with him has always yielded interesting results, and it was hard not to enjoy his company when he was the one individual in which I could confide and discuss nearly everything with, all while being treated like his peer. Sombra accepted me and my word, as I did to his.
"What do you think it means?"
He pauses his consumption of the slice of toast and shifts in my embrace. "I might have an idea, but I'd like to know more first. If I'm going to give any speculations worth discussing, I'm going to need a bit more to work with. First, you said that there was something uplifting about how the light made you feel. Can you elaborate on just what was so 'uplifting' about the light?"
I paused, pursing my lip in thought. I needn't worry about any interruptions since Shining Armor was in the wheelhouse - most likely in an unsuccessful attempt to guard it from Sombra's presence. Sombra took control of Pink Sunset's wheel if he thought he was nearing boredom, regardless of Shining's 'suggestions' that he leave flying Pink Sunset to him and him alone. Cady was still asleep and wasn't likely to wake up for another couple of hours, stumbling into the ship's kitchen for her breakfast. I do hope that she won't mind that her cereal is going to be lacking marshmallow bits, all thanks to me. However, I do not think she shall be mad that I put the box back for her and made sure it looked exactly as it was when I found it.
With those two elsewhere, I had all the time I wanted to spend with Sombra. Normally, I was only ecstatic at the prospect of spending time by myself, likely in some quiet place. When Cady visited Canterlot, I was occasionally eager to see her as well, since she was the closest thing I had to a friend. I never felt like this with Sombra, whose advice and thoughts I would always consider and whose company I could not help but seek out with enthusiasm I had never even bothered to feign in other social functions - whether it be a meeting between kingdoms that required no pretenses of false joy, or the party of another who was so excited to have my sister's company - and on the unfortunate occasion, mine as well.
"When I saw it... the light felt as if it were drawing itself close to me. While I know this may sound like the ramblings of a foal to you, it felt as if it had something to communicate with me as best as it could."
"Until you start to take after your sister-"
"Sombra!" I hiss, lightly cuffing one of his ears only to earn a slight chuckle before he concluded, picking up right where I interrupted him.
"-I couldn't consider much of anything about you to be foolish. However, I'd like you to go on. What do you think this light was going to 'say' to you?"
"...To not give up, or at least that's how things felt... I think it was a message of motivation, an urge to not give up hope."
I felt Sombra tense up slightly at the last word, but didn't question the gesture. He might just be a tad uncomfortable.
"Ponder that."
"Pardon?" I asked, blinking at the sudden determination in his tone.
"The meaning of your dream. It's pretty damn important."
"So important that you cannot offer a hint if you knew the answer?"
"It appears to be that way," Sombra says, yawning again. "Can you trust me when I say that this isn't something I can help you with?"
I paused, mulling over his words. This wasn't something I really needed to think over. My answer to his inquiry of questioning if I trust him would likely be 'yes' for... well, I could not think of any time where I would not even consider placing a shred of trust in Sombra's words...
"Of course I trust you. Some wise pony once told me that we do the most important things on our own, and I imagine this would be one such thing, no?"
"The wisest," Sombra comments, nodding into my side.
"The most outstanding of sages."
"Rivaled by none in his infinite judgement, I, Sombra am truly the wisest of all."
"I have no argument for that, Sombra of Knowledge." He inches closer to me - he always does seem to find a way to draw closer to me, no matter the situation - when I begin to twirl a lock of his mane in my magic.
"Do you know much about being a goddess, Luna?"
When he reaches for his coffee, I nudge it closer to him and briefly ponder his question, which was in no way surprising. Knowledge was something he craved, if his sharp intellect and collection of books were to be any indication.
"I clearly know something of being a goddess, do I not?" I laughed softly at his question. In the back of my mind, I was already thinking of other possible answers had I potentially misinterpreted his question.
"I meant the more basic things, like domains of power. Do you know much about those?"
Slowly, I blink and wait a heartbeat, to see if he'll continue. When he doesn't, I take that as my chance to speak. "A little. I did not exactly have a teacher or another Alicorn to tell me of the nature of my own kind. As a filly, I recall being told a few things about the domains of a god or goddess. Why do you ask this? If you are asking if it is possible for you to have another domain of power - or sphere of influence, if you prefer that term - it is not. I know that it is only Alicorns like Tia and myself who are able to have-"
"No, no, Luna I wasn't going to ask that. I wanted to know if you're aware of how many you have."
"Is that so? Well then, I have two. The Night and Dreams are mine, though I'm not sure why I have two and Tia only has one..."
Sombra makes a sound in the back of his throat. It sounds vaguely like 'hmm', or perhaps 'hmph', as if he were giving me an audible signal that he were thinking. I'm sure there's never been a time when he cast all inhibitions and sense of thought to the wind, since even his impulses have some motive behind them that I like to observe.
"I doubt she only has one. She's powerful enough that one would be ridiculously underwhelming. She just likely hasn't discovered them; that is how it worked for you, isn't it?"
Resting my own head on top of Sombra's, I allow myself to get lost in memories of magic and newly gained cutie marks, as well as the more recent set of memories of the events involving my creation of dream magic.
"It is, Sombra. I gained power over dreams by experimenting with magic to make something new. Being the sole ruler of Equestria for one thousand years would not leave somepony like Tia with time for experimenting with magic, at least not in her mind. I can only imagine what could be done in ten! One thousand would be something grand."
"She's hardly the sort for arcane experiments, anyway"
"True," I muse. "Yet, I imagine that she will discover something, in time."
"In time, maybe," Sombra responds, his first two words an echo of my own.
Sunlight poured through the window panes, illuminating both Sombra and I, bathing in a warm blanket of morning light. Through the glass, I yearned to feel the cool summer breezes ruffling my feathers and soar in the sky that bore colors of a fading dawn. Sombra purred once more, a faint rumble that died within a moment. I took this to be something like a sigh and returned my attention to him.
"How is your eye?"
"Hmm?" His head tilted upward, but only slightly since he seemed far too comfortable to shift much, and I was not about to force him to move.
"Your left eye," I whispered, though there was nopony to hear, "I am asking if it functions as well as your right does now."
"I think? It feels like it does, but sometimes I still flinch when others approach my left side."
"Huzzah! That is excellent news!"
"I need more coffee."
With a brief flourish of magic, I pluck his empty coffee mug from his grip and it disappears in a flash of magic.
"I know something that will be better than coffee."
Sombra shifts in my embrace, the fabric of his cloak rustling slightly as he does so. "Calculus?"
"No."
"Pizza?"
"No."
"Naps?"
"No, Sombra."
"Belittling the masses?"
"Not really..."
"Being labelled a public menace?"
"Not at all."
"Looking as handsome as I do all the time?"
"Again, no."
"Pelting pigeons with frozen waffles that have been recently shoplifted?"
"I... that is just rude."
"You?"
"Sweet, but I am afraid that that answer is incorrect - at least in this case."
"Sword fights...?"
"Almost!" I cheer, shaking his form. How can he still be half-asleep this late in the morning? 'Tis absurd!
"Just tell me!"
"Are you up for a duel later? I want to assess your skill and any improvement in your sight since our last fight."
To receive no response from a question that Sombra would usually be eager to answer was a mild shock, but when I looked at him the reason for his lack of a reply was obvious: he had fallen asleep again.
"Typical Sombra," I muttered to nopony at all.
...
Lightning flashed across the evening sky, but there was no rain to accompany it. Instead, the rumble of thunder was still only a distant murmur carried by the wind. Still, the crackling of my magic could be heard clearly in comparison. It lit up Pink Sunset's balcony and cast wavering, but dramatic highlights over the metal surface, whose glossy coat of protective enchantments was lost in the shadows brought by the coming storm.
On the other side of the wide, spacious balcony, blending into the gray dusk was Sombra. Only his eyes stood out; their color and the intelligence burning in them made them far too distinct for even nature to try and disguise. He eyed the advancing attack with something akin to boredom before lashing out with his own magic, dark aura flaring to life as a wall made up of äerint big enough to shield him appeared. His horn continued to glow with dark energy and he tilted his head to the side slightly and rolled his eyes, smiling slightly before the barrier vanished with another brief flash.
"So, Luna how do you think my eye is doing now?"
Without warning, I feel myself smile as I look at Sombra, his smugness showing through subtler motions - the way he pricked his ears, or how the left side of his mouth curled up in one of his arrogant, wry smirks that he knew I adored, and the way his pride effected his defiant stance.
"I think you're doing quite well-"
He scoffs, laughing softly, and tosses his mane, likely knowing that I am almost unable to look away from him when he does so, since the only pony I know who's as fabulous as he is would be Miss Rarity.
"Only 'quite well'? That's certainly high praise."
I chuckled at his mock offense. "If you had let me finish, I would have said that you were doing quite well so far."
His eyes stay trained on me, but his magic roams to the sheath at his side and whips out Fate. Another quick toss of his head, as unnecessary as it was, manages to get some of Sombra's bangs out of his face - only for them to fall right back where they had been. He huffed, and rolled his eyes at nothing in particular, clearly amused by the failure of the gesture before he returned his focus on me and waved Fate's blade at me, cracking a half-smile.
"Round two, then?"
...
Rain came swiftly after my fifth duel with Sombra, cold and biting, it relentlessly battered Pink Sunset. Strong winds were kept at bay with mere waves of my magic that assisted in steering through the storm while Sombra and I enjoyed the wrath of the tempest, our laughs somehow not lost to the delightfully winds. We were currently standing at the frontmost part of the rain-slicked structure, he looked out at the whirling gray clouds that fought one another for control of the skies of drowned moonlight.
Cady had long stopped calling for us to come back inside and each time I called back, the Royal Voice rising above the howling wind to let her know that no, Sombra and I were not hungry, or that yes, the both of us were insane, and other similar things.
Weapons woven from false starlight had vanished from my sides and Fate had long since been replaced in its sheath.
And Sombra was smiling.
It was a thin smile, one of great amusement, but still not the adorable grins I caught him giving me more freely, when he didn't disguise his fangs as normal teeth.
"And that's how the play closes? With the two families finding the bodies of their children and that one other stallion nopony really cares about?"
"The count, Sombra. You were playing him-"
"Only because of the two leads that had to show up was the one that was a hormone-addled idiot instead of the cooler one-"
"Well," I interrupt, "if you had let me explain all the scenes we couldn't act out other than the ones involving-"
"He's the best character!" Sombra exclaims over the wind. "He has an entire speech delivered in the middle or a party he was invited to as a testament to just how batshit he is. He just shows up to crash it as if he weren't invited like anypony worth knowing would!"
"Yes, yes, I have seen this play before in a proper theater and own a copy," I say, poking Sombra on the muzzle with my forehoof before pulling down his rain-drenched hood to expose his mane to the heavy rain.
Sombra waves a forehoof dismissively to my gesture, laughing lightly. "You and I should go see this play sometime. The writer sounds genius. I'd love to see more than duel scenes and a few speeches acted out by us on the deck of an airship, however amusing your acting is."
"Yours isn't half bad for somepony who hasn't been trained or exposed to the art."
Sombra shrugs, rain rolling off his cloak that has become plastered to him. "It's a skill I would like to learn, if only for our own amusement."
Through the curtains of rain dividing us, I hold a forehoof to my mouth, though my smile of delight needs no mask. I look at Sombra with something I imagine looks much like the loving, excited gazes he gives me when I demonstrate how much I care for him in the moments he needs it most.
"You would really learn acting, so we might perform alongside one another for an audience of none?"
Leaning forward, Sombra nuzzles me, his muzzle already as soaked as the rest of him. "Of course I would, and I'm glad that you decided to share this with me. Seeing you this caught up in something... it's enchanting Luna. You're enchanting."
By now the rain has been battering us for some time, ignore his current condition, and pull Sombra into a hug. He softens in my embrace almost immediately, and if there was any shift at all, it was merely him making himself comfortable. "'Tis - I mean, it is lovely to see you so invested in something I enjoy, Sombra. You will make a splendid actor."
The cry of thunder that is no longer a mere rumble in the distance drowns out any sound he makes, but I feel Sombra yawn into my coat. "With your instruction and my current knowledge of deception and manipulation, I doubt there will be much difficulty to teach me. I'll certainly be a willing student."
"My peer, Sombra. You'll always be my peer."
"Mhm," he mumbles, moonlight washing over us both from a gap in the clouds before disappearing behind the storm.
With no response, Sombra and I spend a few minutes enjoying the silence between us as thunder screams and strong winds howl, rocking the Pink Sunset back and forth steadily as the ship pushes through all that opposes it.
"Luna?"
"What is it, Sombra?" I whisper back, still holding him while the storm churns and the ocean rages far below.
"Do you think it's wrong to be selfish?"
I paused and swallowed, eyeing the darkened horizon. Rain slides down my throat, but I enjoy the ice-cold feeling and don't bother to shelter us from something as tame as a tempest - for me, there has always been beauty in savage things that none would think to appreciate, and the tempest fits too neatly in this philosophy.
"Not entirely. I think it is like how you are arrogant, where it appears to be a strength of yours and you are too aware of the more negative aspects to let them control you. Wouldn't you agree? I think that for you, morals and pride are intertwined. Is that what you were asking?"
He chuckles softly. "No, not quite. Do you think that it is wrong to be selfish in general? That's a better way of putting it."
"In the case of some, indeed it is wrong. Don't you feel that some of the most selfish ponies - the more obnoxious ones, mind you - claim to be so self-centered as one would expect from somepony selfish, yet they know nothing of themselves to begin with?"
"I feel that every day. What about you, what's the most selfish thing you've ever done?"
"I... I think you can guess."
Thunder booms around us, but Sombra still manages to catch my how I faltered and nuzzles me, clearly pleased when I return his affection. If I focus my hearing, I can catch the sound of him purring through the pouring rain.
"If I ever needed you to be selfish, would you listen?"
"I'd certainly consider your request."
"No matter the circumstance?"
"You know that I shall be sure to always hear you out, however dire or trivial your request may be."
Sombra pulls away abruptly, tugging his hood back on even though his mane, now limp with rain, hangs in his eyes so even I can barely see their crimson color in the dark. He turns away with exaggerated, mock offense. "My requests are trivial now? What a rude thing to say to your lover. Hmph. So much for getting anymore compliments and flattery from you."
"Is that so, Sombra?" I begin, dramatically scoffing. "If we are equals and you deem your requests trivial, then mine are equally trivial when you reduce yours to such a status. How spiteful of you to stoop to such levels. My words must mean nothing to you if you have chosen to speak about me as you currently do. See if I bother to cuddle you tonight!"
"No!" Sombra exclaimed, false horror shining in his eyes, as obscured as they may be from his mane. "You wouldn't dare defy me!"
All around us, thunder sounded once more, mixing with my laughter. "I have dared to! This is my revolt against you, fiendish demon!"
The last word is like magic; it instantly makes Sombra's fragile mirth vanish, his expression now as dark as the skies. The rain is the only sound between us, drumming harshly on the metal of the ship's deck.
"Sombra, I'm so sorry. Please, you must know that I didn't really mean it like that, it was only a joke and I never meant to offend you in any way."
He bites his lip, eyeteeth sinking into the flesh before he winces when a thin stripe of blood runs down his mouth.
"I know," he mumbles.
"Do you forgive me...?"
"I want revenge."
My heart skips a beat, and I back away upon hearing his sudden declaration. I don't know if he can see my shock and my fear show. Maybe he senses it in some other fashion. I know not if such a sudden burst of fear can taint how my magic feels to him, but there is a slight shift in his demeanor when he notes my reaction, shifting his now-cold gaze from my face to the distant horizon. Stars know what what lurks there, awaiting us.
"You want to hurt-"
"No," he interrupts, coldly and decisively cutting me off. "If you choose to doubt anything, my word is only going to be a waste of time. I always mean what I say when I talk to you and hurting you is never something I'd do. The revenge I want has nothing to do with you. I want to hurt Umbra for... well, personal reasons."
I wrap a wing around him, and though Sombra feels almost as cold as a northern blizzard, he does not shiver. The chill of his prison and years in the Arctic have hardened him to the feeling, yet he always remains warm and undoubtedly kind for those close to him, and for himself.
"Would I be wrong to say that it has to do with being a demon?"
Sombra gives a long, heavy sigh, the rain continuing to roll down his muzzle. "Something like that. It's really nothing I want to talk about."
I swallow, thinking of what to say to him next, but he breaks the silence first.
"And don't worry about your remark, I forgive you. Plus, it wasn't you that upset me, it's just that I hate..." He trails off and looks down at the ocean below, trying to focus on something that isn't there to take his mind off whatever currently troubled him.
In a gesture of sympathy, I leaned forward and nuzzled his cheek. "You needn't say anything if it bothers you that much. Would you like to go inside now since it is quite late? While you may not need it, I think some sleep would do you good."
Sombra's only reply was to flick his ear, opening and closing his mouth in hesitation once.
"Sombra, if it is your dreams that worry you, I can watch them for you."
"No, it's not that..."
"You have no desire to talk about this, do you?"
Sombra shakes his head - a gesture that clearly means 'no' even in these hours following midnight.
Ignoring the feel of the cold water covering us both, I lean forward to give Sombra a kiss on the cheek, my concerned expression never faltering.
"I'll leave you to your storm watching then. Just know that you are always welcome by my side when something bothers you."