//------------------------------//
// Not Like This [Slice of Life] 
// Story: Endeavors of the Enigmatic and Eccentric 
// by Ice Star 
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I could love Sombra, but not like this. The turquoise hue of my aura dimmed, and I saw the result of my spell. 

Sombra was far shorter, as was expected from a successful, consensual age spell, but he was still clearly quite tall for a youth.

Before I could take in his other features, I frowned thoughtfully. With my great skill in magic, one that is world-class even among the divine, I can safely perform various enchantments that usually would result in death, disaster, or persecution.

Age spells never really manifested if a lower unicorn tried to perform them, but for skilled and higher powered unicorns, age spells were risky, largely due to the last part. Age spells were only ever to be performed safely and with clear, informed consent in specific and negotiated scenarios. To do otherwise was a violation of the law. 

Sombra raised one of his forehooves up closer to his eyes to he could examine it. "I... I never thought I would ever see myself like this again," he said, voice low and clearly rather nervous. His movements were not shy, and yet his usual confidence was softened now, as his gestures were quiet and careful.

The sound of his voice astounded me. Never had I heard his baritone so... underdeveloped. He did not sound like an immature youth, whose voice cracked with every other word, but he sounded so terribly young, far, far younger than I was used to. Moodiness I do not think he intended to communicate had a sort of snap at the edge of his syllables, and where his posture was not as I knew it, his tone was still confident.

And there was something sad and far away in his voice. His eyes did not look young, not if you really looked at them. I have no doubt that Sombra's eyes, though they would have been the same crimson I knew, would be different had I looked into them when he was a hurt and miserable colt.

His coat looked more notably scruffy in this state, and it was not winter, but the tips of Sombra's ears and chest were slightly fluffier looking.

I walked toward him and carefully sat myself down close to him. "Sombra, are you alright?"

He swallowed and nodded, and I watched him with calm concern. Sombra's ears were nearly folded back. He bit his lip delicately and I could see adorable little fangs. They were clearly not what he would have had in youth: they were smaller, and clearly worn. Sombra had to have more teeth than a creature his age did, since age spells don't remove adult teeth or add them, but properly performed ones can accompany these developments painlessly. 

"Why don't you come here?"

He swished his tail and looked around shiftily, a look of deep thought in his eyes. Once a few moments of that had passed, he walked expertly on his lanky legs over to me, and with the curve of my wing, I batted at him a bit as he lowered himself.

Sombra growled sharply at my wing and his pupils widened with surprise. Yes, those certainly did not sound like adult growls.

"I would like it very much if you would stay under my wing."

The endearing little growls ceased, and Sombra's ears pricked up. He blinked at me. "Why didn't you say so?"

It was true that normally I wrapped my wing around Sombra gently, slipped it over him, or he decided when he would be under my wing. For be to 'steer' him with it was new, and... motherly.

Sombra's eyes were on me again. Even as a foal, he stood at a height close to the jawline of an average pony, so we were quite close. Instinct gripped me and I wrapped my wing around him more tightly. "Luna, why are you blushing?"

I tried to look away, and Sombra poked my cheek with one of his forehooves in retaliation. His usual cloak and metal boots were ill-fitting now, and in a pile upon the mountain grass. 

"I never knew you used to be so unbearably adorable."

"I am not," he muttered, and oh how absolutely moody it sounded! "Or, I was not at this age."

I giggled. Somepony had grown tolerant of being told he was cute in a gruff, sassy, and absolutely wonderful sort of way. "You're delightful!"

A certain agitated 'teenager' rolled his eyes and cuddled closer to me. "Yes, I'm sure I am."

He is quite the delightful demon, but there are days when 'cute' and 'delightful' get the same reaction from him.

Maybe it was wrong to say I didn't love him like this. I did still hold him closer than any other, but right now it did not go past that boundless emotional attachment. Our romance was paused now that he was under this spell because I felt nothing knowing his body was that of a foal's.

"How does it feel?" I asked him softly.

"Being like this again? It... brings back memories."

"Unpleasant ones?"

He sighed heavily, and it hurt to hear that even in the voice of a youth there was weight to it. "Not yet."

"Please," I asked gently, "just let me know when to undo the spell. I would loathe for this to be a horrid experience for you."

Sombra snuggles further into my wing, nodding an affirmative into my coat. 

Together, we let more moments of the afternoon slip by in peaceful silence. He purred softly, and I was surprised at how much more innocent it sounded with his adolescent voice, for it was not as deep coming from a smaller creature.

And then I asked him: "Why is it I could not make you any younger?"

It was asked only because I desired to satisfy curiosity, and still, when I felt him stir there seemed to be something deeper in his response. 

"I've never been any younger. There is nothing to further for your spell to find."

This was the single most fascinating result of a full age spell in any recorded history on the whole Eastern Continent, as far as I knew. And that, of course, was quite a lot. On ponies and other creatures, a full age spell brought that being back to infancy. That was it. Nothing had ever happened where such an age spell had achieved anything less than infancy, except in cases where accidents occurred, and death, injury, and surges resulted. I could not speak of any results on Alicorns, since no such thing had ever been done to one before, nor was any mortal powerful enough to perform such a feat upon one.

Or perhaps there were simply none that I knew of. It did not change that I was exposed to something riveting: a full age spell that brought a creature down, not to infancy, but to fourteen years of age. Yes, both were the earliest ages of two creatures, but spells did have a habit of 'correcting' things upon occasion, often depending on how they were channeled. 

This would mean that what were thought of as 'infancy spells' by many a sorcerer today were actually no such thing, regardless of most ways the magic for the spell was focused. Instead, they were 'full age spells' meant to bring a creature down to its earliest possible age safely. For most mammals, that meant a soft and weeping infant with many memories lurking in a fog of magic as a result. For Sombra, it meant he was fourteen until our experiment was done.

Such a discovery, no matter how small, was absolutely fascinating! I wanted to scoop him up in my forehooves and nuzzle him; I wished for us to fall into the banter of magical semantics that passed so easily between us, blissfully absorbed by jargon and technicalities as much as we were with one another.

Just like many more things were, this was to be one of our many secrets. I could feel it. One day, we might put forth our findings, but it certainly was not to be any time soon. I had little desire to offer up information gathered as a result of our various experiments and discoveries, no matter the less-than-ideal state of magic in the world. But I knew Sombra would, one day. He could refine things like this expertly.

So we watched great clouds move across the sky instead. Below this mountain outcropping, there were darker clouds being pushed toward Canterlot. Weather imports were reaching their destination, and the magic of many sorcerers of the city where it would be sorted, prepared, and distributed properly.

Today would call for rain in the city, and I found my mind swept up in the inevitable cold splashes of a drizzle that would grace my coat on my flight back. A sigh escaped me, and I nuzzled the top of Sombra's head. 

"An afternoon storm will be nice, don't you think?"

He nods as well as he can with my muzzle resting between his ears. With Sombra, silence can often mean he's deep and thought, and a familiar itch to know his musings creeps over me.

"What are you thinking about, Som?"

"You."

Deeper into the locks of his mane my muzzle goes. "Oh?" I whisper, hoping for the dark locks to muffle the sounds. "What about me?"

"What if we weren't together?"

I know he could feel me swallow quickly. "...Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry. That was a poor way to phrase things." One of his ears flicked and it nearly hit my face in a playful bat, but I knew the gesture was meant to be one of reassurance, no matter how many times my mind immediately thought to worry over something first.

"How did you mean it, then?" I asked curiously.

"What I meant was what if something about how we met was different and we didn't or couldn't have gotten together? Had I first faced you on the day of my banishment and been a colt instead of a stallion by some twist of things, we would have reunited as a mare and a colt."

"An immortal colt, if we have things proceed largely the same way," I chimed in.

"Exactly. And regardless of any feelings I had toward you... they wouldn't be mature. Or, they wouldn't be what I have for you now. If I were to be stuck as a colt for all eternity with you, we couldn't have a relationship."

"Nor would any feelings of anything but the deepest camaraderie have developed between us," I murmured. "Though, it would be adorable if you at least had a bit of an infatuation with me, hm?" I giggled teasingly into his mane.

"I think it would hurt a bit too," Sombra said quietly. 

"Oh, Sombra. I am so sorry, that is not what I meant-"

"Luna, it's nothing to worry about. And yet... what would I have been to you if that was our circumstance?"

"An immortal youth and a maiden goddess?"

"Yes."

"I think you would be something like a brother to me, or as Twilight Sparkle is to my sister, only a much deeper bond, of course. In fact, though I have desired no apprentice, I think you would be an all-too-worthy exception, and I would adore you as my ward. I shall need some company in eternity, and no matter the reality, you will always be wonderful."

"Thank you," he whispered.

I wrapped a foreleg around him in response and pulled him into a quick embrace. "No, Sombra, thank you. I think it is best that we acknowledge any reality without you is bound to be a lonely one, aside from the fact you have halted disasters and the near-end of the world, which certainly would have made for a 'lonely' future indeed. That, few could have done, and fewer still I would consider fine company... and with the miserable time in my life I was at," I said more carefully, "I do not think I would have ever felt anything for anypony and given up on looking for a lover. Something would just be so empty in the eyes of others, and a part of myself. I would look into some great hollow in their being, and feel nothing. With you as a cherished ward, I could live well, though, even if nothing sparked between myself and another."

Sombra slipped out from under me, turning around to purr comfortingly and nuzzle my cheek. "I would always want otherwise... even if it did hurt me."

I couldn't help but sit up and pull him into a hug, and of course I had to tear up over something so silly.

"I love you, Sombra, and maybe it is possible, but considering our circumstances... and everything, about myself, about you... I would find it hard to love somepony else, in this world or another."

Touching my horn to his, I held him close and ignited my magic. My eyes were shut to blink away the little sentimental tears that had come about from our conversation.

When I opened them, I held Sombra as he should be: a grown, roguish stallion with eyes that held stubborn fire and intelligence, and a handsomely scruffy coat that was soft and comforting.

We were both smiling, and though he was no colt, I could still see it in him. I saw the difference in height, the different lines of his build, and something subtle about how his jaw had altered. 

And I loved it, because he may be this tall, rugged, and wonderfully flamboyant stallion but he could also wear makeup better than me, and sometimes he was taller in spirit because of his confidence. I don't care how much taller I am than him, or whether he is dressed as a stallion or a mare, I don't really mind his 'high maintenance' status or his loathing of others.

He is beautiful. I have no qualms about that, about telling him. I do it often.

So for now I just tackle the poor fellow back to the ground, because I can.

I have something to tell him, anyway.

"I know that even were we adults in some other time, meeting on an airship, in other time," I begin, at least when I know he is listening, "that regardless of whether I favored mares romantically, or none at all, I would still love you ins some way. And Sombra, I would hope that in any world, something could work out between us. You could be my lover, my ward, my family, and many other things, but you'll always be the best of best friends. Aye?"

"Mu-urphp!" he protested.

Ah, I was holding him too tightly again.