The doors to her bedchamber swung open with a small pulse of her magic. Floating her regalia off her head and barrel, a soft sigh escaped Luna as she shook her mane out.
“Another day, another eventless night,” she said to herself as she looked out the nearby window. She watched as the Royal Guards completed their changing of the guard and began their morning patrols through the castle grounds. “Another morning of my dear sister not noticing my additions to the castle decor.”
A yawn overtook her before she rubbed at her aching eyes. “How could she not realize what I do for the castle staff each night, ensuring they all get a full, restful sleep?”
Flopping onto her bed, she snuggled with her favored pillow. After letting a deep sigh, she felt her eyes open again. “In truth, I can’t really blame her. She’s busy with all of the responsibilities and pressing concerns of the populace during the day… Right? Surely, she is not oblivious to my efforts.”
Another sigh blew through her nose, if she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t entirely Celestia’s fault. There was something… bothering her. Like a sinking feeling one might have when one approaches a precarious edge.
Groaning, she snuggled deeper into her pillow, closing her eyes to enjoy a day’s rest and another night of watching over Equestria’s dreamscape. Her subjects would need her, she felt.
Even as she felt she was about to doze off, her eyes opened once more. There was… something, but for the life of her, she couldn’t understand what.
-0-
The wind howled and the snow drifted, but that hadn’t kept the young snow fox from emerging from its lair. High up in the mountains north of the Crystal Empire, the animal knew it was time to hunt. The tantalizing scent of hare had reached its nose, and it knew it was time to hunt for its meal. Lifting its head, it sniffed the air and followed after the hare’s trail. With any luck, it would catch it by surprise and not have to waste energy in a chase.
It followed the small set of tracks through the snow, the scent growing stronger with each passing step. It licked at its muzzle as the thought of fresh meal filled its senses.
It jerked to a stop as its nose upended something from the snow, something it hadn’t detected. Stepping back to make sure it wasn’t going to attack it, the fox returned to sniff at the dark, curved object. If it didn’t know any better, it almost looked like a large claw.
Or a horn.
The fur along its spine stood on end as every natural sense it had screamed at it to run. The hare forgotten, the young fox turned and fled back for the safety of its lair.
Just in time for a dark, swirling portal to appear. Snow crunched underneath steel-shod hooves as Dark King Sombra felt his pointed canines jut from his mouth in a vicious grin. Reaching down, he lifted the horn and set it back in its place atop his forehead—the horn fusing back to his scalp. Taking a deep breath of the cold air, he looked over his shoulder at the portal.
“Ah, it is so good to return home, isn’t it, my friend?”
From the portal, a dark mist began to pour forth...