Princess Luna was standing on her room's balcony, which overlooked Canterlot. Just as she was getting ready to raise the moon, Celestia came trotting onto the balcony.
"On the count of three?" she asked.
"As always," Luna replied.
"One," Celestia counted. She then hesitated, allowing herself and Luna time to brace themselves.
"Two," Luna said.
"Three!" Luna felt the magic surround her horn with a dark blue aura. She focused on one thing: the moon. She imagined yanking it up into the sky. She felt the familiar tug in the very pit of her stomach, then she pushed all the magic she had into raising the moon. Slowly, she felt it rise up into the visible horizon.
All while this was happening, Celestia lowered the sun with the same difficulty, or so Luna imagined. Luna looked at the moon, exhausted from raising it. She noticed something she hadn't before in the various pits and craters that riddled it's silver surface- the face of King Sombra, before Dark Magic took a hold of him. She looked away, her cheeks a dark shade of purple from her blushing. She hadn't realized how handsome he truly was. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could save Sombra now, or so she thought. She sighed, then yawned and went inside to rest. Celestia was the only other pony who could understand how exhausting raising the celestial bodies truly was- it demanded every ounce of magical strength she could produce. She yawned again, and climbed into her bed.
That night, she dreamed of her imprisonment in the moon. It was always the same nightmare. Every night since her return from Nightmare Moon, Luna had the same nightmare, night after night. Will I ever see anything else? she thought to herself. Will my dreams always be plagued by these painful memories?
In the morning, Luna awoke. She had not had a good night's sleep, but she got up as normal anyways. She walked to her private bathroom, and took her usual morning shower. She then brushed her mane and tail, which was quite a chore, since she had so much mane and tail. Luna walked down the stairs to the dining room, this time for breakfast. She was greeted by a pale blue earth pony stallion with a glimmering white mane.
"You look lovely, Princess Luna," he said, bowing as he did so.
"Thank you, Frost," she responded, unusually shy. She walked into the gilded dining room, where, as usual, Princess Celestia was already seated. Princess Cadence was sitting on a small golden chair, with a small purple cushion to the right of Celestia. The newest of the princesses, Twilight Sparkle, was sitting on a chair much like Cadence's, only the cushion was a lighter shade of purple so that it matched the alicorn's coat.
"Good morning, Princess Luna!' Twilight smiled, her cheerfulness radiating around her. "I have excellent news!" she said as she bounced up and down on her hooves. Luna took her seat, and tried to smile at Twilight, though she had no idea what the news was. As soon as Luna sat down, a bright yellow pegasus stallion with a frosted green mane came out of the kitchen and poured hot tea into Luna's cup. She smelled the fragrant aroma, and noticed it was jasmine tea, her favorite.
"Good morning, Cadence, Twilight," Luna said after she had a sip of her tea. "Morning, Tia. What is this good news, Twilight?"
"Flash Sentry proposed to me last night!" Twilight squealed, smiling widely. The couple had been going out for nearly two years, and were madly in love, last Luna had heard.
"That's wonderful, Twilight!" Cadence told the lavender mare.
"What a joyous occasion!" Luna exclaimed as she grinned. Celestia smiled and put her wing around Twilight.
"Congratulations," she murmured, just barely loud enough for Luna to hear. "I hate to put a damper on the mood here, but I have a pressing issue to discuss."
"Yes, Princess?" Twilight asked, slightly disheartened.
"I had a dream last night, about Sombra."
Silence filled the air, and Luna could feel the tension rising between the four alicorns.
"What was it, Tia?" Luna inquired when the silence became unbearable.
"He is still very much alive. When he was defeated at the Crystal Empire after his return, he lost his physical body, but his mind lived on. He is going to come back. Apparently, he is not as corrupt anymore and we may be able to save him this time, but it will be difficult," she said solemnly.
"Sombra- as in King Sombra?" Cadence asked, feaful.
"Yes, King Sombra is returning."