"Do you ever feel that ponies are uncomplicated?" Luna asked, twirling a lock of his mane in her magic. Below them, Canterlot sat basking in the evening light, unaware of the chatter of two gods perched farther up on Canterhorn itself.
"Most are," Sombra said with a shrug, watching Luna cradle lavender in her forehooves with great care.
"And yet," she replied, "there are many who would deny this. My sister is a mare who speaks equally of 'all good life is a gift' with sillier things still like simplistic notions being ideal, as if anything was beautiful about the slice of an overrated cake of life. Oh, and do not get me started about the 'everypony is special' mantra of hers." Luna focused her magic upon some of the lavender flowers, popping off some of the blossoms and tossing them into her mouth.
Sombra quietly looked out at the horizon, as he was prone to, marveling at his own contemplation and the sight of the mountains and their vastness. The wilds of Equestria, coexisting with towns, villages, and cities as easily as clouds did with wind was an untamed, intoxicating thing for such an drifter like himself.
At the words of his lover, he flicked an ear. "This will be a meeting of venting?" It wasn't a harsh question, nor was it uncommon for either of them to discuss their problems with one another, or to ruminate upon things. They were thinkers, and it was all thoughts that called to them, for they found like more enjoyable perched among daydreams and musings than among the mindless squabbles bound to be found the closer one was drawn to the everypony.
"Yes, I just... you see what I am talking about. That is more than I can find from anypony in the castle, and most ponies at all. There is something boring about how my sister dictates things, and thinks. I cannot help but feel if anypony did what she does long enough they would be quite unwell, and yet she is filled with such a... flat cheer and... oh, I know not what word might fit the enthusiasm she has that feels... wrong, in ways."
"Generic," Sombra supplied, listening carefully. "Would that work?"
Luna pulled her muzzle out of the lavender she had been nibbling. "Is that not more typical a way to describe a product?"
"I thought it might suit her mood."
Luna sighed, licking a few petals off her lips. "I do suppose that is true. I am tired of discussions with her, about all these irksome things that bubble up over the centuries. I know why it is why you are so quick to recognize ponies as tiresome and not bother with them if you can, for is this not what it can feel like?"
Chuckling mirthlessly, Sombra just nodded. "You know exactly what it is I think of ponies-"
"And yet," Luna said with a smile, "I do always love to hear the further depths and developments of your thoughts. A like mind is something to love."
Sombra rolled his eyes a little, brushing off the interruption with the carefree gesture. "What is it that has you calling them 'uncomplicated' today?"
"A lot of things, I suppose," Luna mumbled through a bunch of lavender petals she was chewing. "Petitioners at the castle have been... just another pony to deal with, and not much more, I suppose. At least, for the most part. It is not as bad as it was, thank goodness. After Discord's banishment, and when the nation was young, just about anypony could walk into open court. Celestia adored it, but it was a disaster. I'm surprised she got rid of it, really. Having mayors bother with trivial problems is a blissful improvement... it's just... stupid ponies never go away."
Luna smashed her face into the flowers and groaned.
Sombra chuckled at her plight, even after she used her magic fling petals at him. "Sister won't let me deal with them properly either."
After combing petals out of his mane, Sombra looked toward Luna instead. "Are you saying that after all these years, you've never had a better way to manage things?"
"Not always. I just... I know things could be better, Sombra. That is what makes things obnoxious."
Sombra nodded in silent understanding, leaning over to nuzzle her nearest wither.
"I think that it is dreaming that reveals the extent of it. Ponies are not all bad, but there is a part of me that just thinks... maybe this pony has great dreams. Maybe they are talented, and their thoughts great. Perhaps there is something about them that feels different and new, and within them are layers of anxieties, fears, thoughts, and memories. Those sorts of things, you understand. I see those things in dreams, yearning to find a true dreamer like yourself. To tell myself this always would be a foolish thing, but there are times when the speculations seem so just for this individual and that."
Sombra steals a few flower petals when she pauses, earning a small glare before Luna continues.
"Instead I find something dead at the very depth of their soul. Gone are all complexities, and I am reminded of the things you say of ponies. They aren't things ponies like to hear, oh no. However, they are so largely true that I'm sure there is somepony who realizes it... and just lies, going on about how a lump of coal is a real diamond and how everypony is dear and great, not because they work to be, but oh, that they just are. It can make dealing with certain foals, and adults that act like spoiled foals very hard. I find so much coal sometimes, and it..." Luna deflated, her withers sagged, and she frowned ears lowered. "...It hurts, when everypony wishes to drag you through the doldroms and desires you to think trash is treasure. I would like to see those in their dreams reflect their true selves, and sometimes there is just nothing to reflect but lint of the soul."
"No cobwebs? Just lint? That's an equine tragedy if I've ever heard one."
With that, Luna finally laughed earnestly. "It is! Be glad you are not called to such dreams, dear Sombra, for you shall find coal a-plenty, and if ponies are but melodies in life, then I have heard the same lackluster song far too often in my travels through the dreamscape."
"Luna?"
She blinked. "Hm? Yes, Som?"
He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "No matter what, keep looking for diamonds. Coal is only useful, to power the worthless wheel and all its meaningless cogs. Diamonds are wanted. Don't they tend to be the ones buried below all the filth in the first place?"
Smiling, Luna looked at him fondly and stroked his mane. "For a long time, you were," she said softly, levitating a few petals into his mane.