> Lingering Shadows
>  by Yoru-the-Rogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Prison of Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Long, twisting vines of ivy crept up the side of the observatory tower, one of the few locations in the royal palace that was overgrown.  The royal gardeners had barely touched the ivy in the past year or two, at Princess Luna's request.  She loved the charm and character the vines added to her tower, and if there were any concerns about the creeping plant breaking down the stone and masonwork, then she would be the one to reinforce the tower with magic.  Her elder sister, Princess Celestia, thought the notion a fine one, and nopony else objected.

At that moment, she was finishing the spellwork necessary to weaken the choking vines, and watching as the sun started its slow climb down from its zenith.  The day was moving into the afternoon and before long, the afternoon would move into the dusk, and then Luna would raise the moon and begin her official duties as the Princess of the Night.  It wasn't easy, becoming reaccustomed to her duties after a thousand years of exile, but it kept her busy and gave her mind something to focus on.  And she was endlessly grateful for the distractions from her worrying.

Particularly given the rather disturbing dream she had experienced before she woke that day.

Her spell finished its work at last, mending each crack in the stonework seamlessly and pushing the grasping tendrils of ivy back.  Despite being pleased in her work, Luna frowned as her mind slipped back to her unsettling dream.  Dreams were not always prophetic, but many times they still held an ominous portent.  Having dominion over the dreams of all her subjects had taught her such over time.  And while some dreams were merely limited to personal matters that upset somepony, often there were dreams that held such portents for all of Equestria, and Luna knew her dream was of the latter nature.

 I should tell Tia. She thought, somewhat anxiously.  Rebuilding trust with her sister after a thousand years still had its rocky moments for the both of them, but all the same, her instincts told her to go to Celestia.  After all, the sisters had no better confidant for such matters than one another.  Still, she hesitated.  She didn't want to say anything right away, in the off-chance her fears would prove unfounded.

 Perhaps I should look into the matter myself first.

After a few more moments of hesitation, she left the observatory tower, her purpose taking her down to the subterranean levels of the palace.  Luna hadn't been down there since her return, and she understood her sister rarely descended to those levels as well.  Once down there, she raised her horn high, illuminating the dark passages with a spell of moonbeams and starlight.  The soft glow revealed that the lower corridors were decently kept, but there were still layers of dust on the edges of the walls.  She did her best to ignore it all, and returned her attention to the corridor.  There were several doors down the long hall, and she was trying to find one in particular.  Several of the doors were chambers for storing different sorts of enchanted items and relics, but at first glance, there was no way to tell one door from the next.

Luna strengthened her moonbeam spell with each hoofstep, and was soon rewarded when she neared a door where her light magic was reflecting back to her, faint in the cracks around the door.  Satisfied she had found the correct chamber, she dimmed the spell and poured forth a small amount of magic to push the door open, entering the room beyond.

Mirrors.  Of all the magic in Equestria, mirror-magic was perhaps the most puzzling to work with.  Mirrors were given all throughout the years to Celestia as gifts, and the Princess of the Day had had them all stored in this chamber until she had need of them for magic.  Most of them lay covered, but even now three grand, full-length mirrors stood at the far wall of the chamber, different sights reflected on each of their surfaces.

A shudder ran from the tips of Luna's ears to her fetlocks, and she hesitated.  The magical two-way mirrors always unsettled her.  Not that she would ever tell anyone less than her sister that; She was the Princess of the Night, and it would never do to show fear.

"Face your fears." she murmured to herself, the words she had spoken to many a pony in dreams.  Carrying herself as regally as possible, holding her head high and tossing back her mane proudly, she strode to the mirror on the left and stood before it for a brief moment, staring into the mist-shrouded hallway reflected in its surface.  Another shudder ran through her, but she steeled herself, inhaled deeply, and stepped through the mirror into the hall on the other side.

The mist crept through the dark stone halls, chilling her coat.  Mildly irritated, Luna wove a quick enchantment into her coat to ward off the damp chill, then proceeded to follow the hall.  Her hoofsteps fell without a sound in this unnerving place, and her horn provided little illumination in this unnatural fog.  She had expected as much however, as this extra-dimensional oubliette was designed to be a prison for those foul fiends with little hope of being reformed.  Celestia disliked the use of the oubliette, but even she could not deny that it served its purpose well.

There was a small catch near Luna's heart as she thought about it.  She herself had very nearly faced an imprisonment of oblivion in the oubliette when she had allowed the parasitic Nightmare-spirit to transform her into Nightmare Moon.  It was probably by a sheer fluke that Celestia had sent Luna to her beloved moon, due to the magical Elements of Harmony drawing on the association from Celestia's mind.

"Perhaps the moon was a far kinder prison than I thought," she remarked quietly as she walked through the oubliette.  Something about the place was truly disquieting, and more than once she figured it had to be a result of the only prisoner currently held there.  After all, she had never been there when under the Nightmare-spirit's thrall.  Discord had been turned to stone to contain his powers, thanks to the Elements of Harmony.  And the Changeling Queen had fled after her defeat at the hooves of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.  No, the single captive held within the oubliette had been there before, for nearly a millennium, and had only recently broken free of his bonds.

But he had been bound once more, thanks to the efforts of Celestia's star pupil and her friends.

Luna continued to follow the path before her, until she arrived before a gateway that led into a huge antechamber.  Two of her Night Guards were stationed there, their gazes stoically set on nothing, and the moment they saw her, they jumped to attention.

"Your Highness!" the elder of the two said as they both saluted with their hooves.

"At ease, good sirs," she replied.

"With all due respect, Your Highness," the guard shook his head, "We can never truly be fully at ease in this place."

She gave a solemn nod to indicate she understood, then glanced past them both, past the gate into the antechamber cell beyond.  She frowned again, her brow furrowing.

"The prisoner?" she asked.

"He doesn't do much, princess." The younger guard had finally spoken up.  "Sometimes we hear him talking to himself, and sometimes he'll mock us, but he never tries to escape or anything."

"Never?" she asked, and both of them shook their heads to confirm.  Her frown deepened, and she stared down the hall past the gate for a moment.

"Open the gate."

"Your Highness?" the younger guard said tentatively.

"Are you sure?" his companion asked.

"We are certain," she answered firmly, starting to slip back into a tone of command, "Open the gate."

They responded with respectful nods, reaching around and pulling the gate open together.  Luna peered forward, just seeing a faint shimmer of magic, the spell to ward the prisoner away from the gate to dissuade escape.  Taking a deep breath and holding her head high, she marched forward.

"Do be careful, won't you, Your Highness?"

"We shall be.  Our thanks for your concern." she replied gently, stepping through the barrier spell.  It was like plunging into pure ice.  One moment there was simply a damp chill in the air, the next she was freezing, and in that icy coldness, she felt an overwhelming sense of evil that clung to the shadows.  For a moment, she worried, but the Princess of the Night would not be daunted.  She pressed onward without fear, her horn shimmering with the magic of a spell to ward off the iciness.

The shadows stirred.

Several strides brought her into the antechamber, and she glanced up toward the ceiling only to find nothing, save an inky blackness.  The antechamber was split in half by many iron bars that stretched down from the blackness before sinking into the floor, clearly designating which end of the room served as a cell.

A useless cell, practically.  Luna watched as several tendrils of smoky, curling shadows writhed between the bars, as though dancing idly.  It was nothing but show, however; She knew that much.  Were it not for the spell upon the iron bars, they would not have been able to keep the prisoner contained at all.

A low, rolling chuckle echoed through the cell.

"You find amusement in your captivity?" Luna asked coolly, glancing around at the walls of the cell.  Out of the corner of her vision, she caught movement; A coil of shadows was edging closer to her, moving with the deadly precision of a viper preparing to strike.  She turned sharply and glared, raising a forehoof threateningly.  The shadow recoiled, slipping away into the mass of greater shadows as another chuckle reverberated through the chamber.

"Show yourself!" she snapped, glaring up at the moving darkness.  There was a brief moment of silence, then an answer came to her.

"Very well."

The voice that spoke from the unnatural darkness was deep, warm, and utterly decadent.  There was a certain quality to the way the voice spoke, a particular chime to the voice that denoted regality—a sense of peerless royalty—but it had none of the nobility of spirit that Luna and Celestia had in their voices.  No, it was indifferent at best.  Luna bristled slightly, and watched as the mass of shadows began to draw in tighter upon itself, congealing and tensing as it substaniated.  For an instant, Luna caught a glimpse of two eyes in the smoky shadows, glaring out at her.  Red irises flashed dangerously, ringed with an acidic green glow that trailed off into violet wisps of mist.

Then the eyes flickered out of sight as the darkness began to fade and dissipate.  A figure formed before her as the chamber cleared, until finally a powerfully-built, huge stallion stepped into view, picking up his hooves arrogantly with each stride.  Finely-layered armor adorned him from hooves to forehead, where a twisted, dark diadem rested upon his brow.  A rich, fine cloak of deep crimson rippled upon his back as he moved, the sort that only royalty would wear.  What of his coat that she could see was a deep gray, and his mane and tail were an elegant black.  Rising above his diadem was a blood-red horn, and set in his visage were those same sinister eyes the princess had seen in the sea of shadows.  And as he smiled at her, his grin revealed a mouth with sharp, predatory fangs.

"So...rude." he let out a hiss, though his smile only grew wider. "The royal alicorn princesses simply stride through the land giving orders, dictating to their subjects, with no regards for manners whatsoever."

There was a pause, then the unicorn stallion's ruby eyes flickered, and his smile twisted slightly.

"Tyranny after my own heart."

"Sombra." Luna addressed him briskly.

"I am flattered you remember my name, even if my title is lacking," he said smoothly.  "It has been well over a thousand years since you and your sister ripped from me my freedom and my empire.  It eases the humiliation of my captivity to hear that your sister and you still recognize me, although perhaps not as I deserve."

"What are you plotting?" she demanded.

"Whatever do you mean, princess?" he snorted, rolling his eyes and making no further pretense at smiling. His expression became cold and contemptuous, looking at her like she was a two-bit workhorse.

"Be honest with me now, and perhaps it will ease the judgment against you," she continued stoically, tilting her head back and studying his reaction.  Sombra gave her a withering look, the corners of his mouth dropping further and further down as he scowled.

"And what reason would I have to lie to you at this moment?" he scoffed, "I am incarcerated in this miserable tear between the ley lines of this world and the Shadow, unable to do much beyond shifting between forms and speaking for the sake of hearing my own luxurious voice.  I see little point in trying to escape only to have my physical body shattered again before it becomes stable, so I am going nowhere.  What point is there in scheming anything?"

She stared at him for a long moment, her gaze calculating.  Another pony may have been swayed by his words into uncertainty, but she doubted him.  Even if what he was saying was true enough in regards to his imprisonment, her dream remained at the back of her mind, and if her suspicions were true, Sombra was behind her dream.

"You have had a thousand years prior with which you could have been scheming a great many things for many moons, Sombra.  More likely than not, you were planning on something, and you have time again with which to make more plans of a like nature."

He raised his eyebrows slowly.

"Your tone denotes the voice that speaks from personal experience, alicorn princess."

She looked away at his comment, feeling her face flush with shame.  Did that really still show in her mannerisms?  She looked back up just in time to see Sombra pace a few steps to the side, his neatly-groomed tail flicking as his gaze fell upon her Cutie Mark.  She shifted indignantly at the idea he was staring at her flank, and his eyes flicked in a sudden realization that hadn't been there before.

"Ah, yes," he spoke in a low, purring rumble, "You do speak from experience...Princess Luna.  Or perhaps I should address your illustrious person as the mare who was once Nightmare Moon?"

She gave an irritated flex of her wings and stomped a hoof, trying to force him to maintain eye contact with her.

"Do not try to change the subject!  I am not--"

"Such indignation!" Sombra spoke over her, chuckling once more and resuming his pacing around the cell.  "I was merely asking a simple question.  After all, individuals like ourselves with a high standing in the Royal Equestrian Court must make every effort to address one another with the respect our titles and stations demand."

Luna sucked in a breath, trying to keep calm.  Curse the blackguard and his evasion of the actual topic of conversation!  To make things worse, he was doing so by bringing up a matter of little relevance.  It wouldn't do to overreact to such a childish obstacle; that was probably exactly what he was hoping for.  She shut her eyes, then opened them again, and spoke as calmly as she was able to.

"You gave up a position of any note and standing in the Equestrian Court over a thousand years ago; you are king of no kingdom."

"Only as far as the recognition of the Court goes." he responded in bored tones, his cape rippling as he rolled his shoulders in a shrug.  "Yet all my former slaves and anypony who remembers my glorious reign always addresses my person as King Sombra."

"One who rises to power through cruelty, and on the backs of honest ponies enslaved, does not deserve any title other than tyrant."

The unicorn king fell silent, staring at her for several long moments before he spoke again, his voice strangely soft.

"Nightmare Moon would have been no different, you realize.  And yet, she was a mare of great beauty and power, and all she desired in the end was the love and adoration of her subjects everywhere.  Am I not right in that assumption?"

She hesitated, caught off-guard by the strange sweetness with which he spoke of her alternate self.  But a second later, she shook off the thought; he wanted her off guard, to lull her into a false sense of security and make it appear as though he was not a threat.

"You speak highly of Nightmare Moon, Sombra, yet you never knew her," she declared, her own voice unusually quiet yet hinting steel.  "Do not disassemble and presume to know matters that you speak of so ignorantly."

"Ignorant?!" he snapped, rearing on his hind legs and snorting angrily through his nostrils, shadows beginning to billow around him once again.  "You and your sister banished me to the Shadow for over a millennium!  There was nothing in Shadow but waiting for a chance at freedom and taking every moment I could find to spy on the world I once ruled!  Were the two of you such little fools, you did not think that I would be watching and waiting?"

She watched as the shadows about him continued to grow and build upon themselves, and the smoky trails of his dark magic pulsed angrily from his eyes.  Had she not known better, she would have bolted in fear at the display.  But as it stood, the enchantments continued to hold him fast, and this was simply another empty show of power meant to frighten the overly wary.

"There are many things I have seen from the darkness and oblivion, alicorn princess." he continued, dropping back onto his forehooves, the shadows dissipating again.  "I am drawn to fear, anger, and hate.  I saw the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon, as well as her return and defeat.  I know very well about the Nightmare-spirit that enticed you, as I had met with it once or twice before, when it traveled through the Shadow.  It is not ignorance that pours from my lips, little moon princess.  It is truth!  And believe me when I say that Nightmare Moon was a creature of exceptional beauty."

"No," she replied, not even thinking twice on the matter as she turned her back to him. Nightmare Moon was a creature of jealousy and pain, and drawn out from the darkness within her own soul--by the spirit that had taunted her.  Beauty cannot come from such ugliness within anyone. She hung her head in shame and continued, "No matter if my form may have looked lovely, I as Nightmare Moon would still have been made hideous because of what I allowed to fill my heart."

To that, he said nothing.  She raised her head once more and turned back to him.  He was watching her closely, and some of the echoes of his foul magic had receded from his eyes.  Still, his expression was unreadable, and that set her on edge more than anything else.

"Well?" she demanded.  "Do your words fail you at last, Sombra?  Have you nothing to say?"

"The sincerity in your words is...unsettling," he replied in an even tone hinting on ennui.

She suppressed letting out a noise of frustration, but turned and began walking away in a huff.

"Thou hath wasted enough of our time already!" she spoke in the booming 'Royal Canterlot Voice' and slipped back into the older speech, "We must raise the moon, and attend to our night, but rest assured, King of No Kingdom, that we shall inform our sister of thy devious scheming!"

Head held high and picking up her hooves as she walked, she strode away, never once looking back to see the wicked smile that slowly spread over King Sombra's face.

> The Worries Of Sisters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dusk had descended upon Equestria once again, and Celestia dismissed herself from her duties for the day.  The princesses rarely had a day truly free from their duties.  They had to move the celestial orbs as always, and both had a strong sense of duty to their people.  There were, however, days that they each enjoyed more so than usual.  And today had been one such day for Princess Celestia.

“Shall I have your sunshine cake delivered to your private chambers, Your Highness?” The head of the royal kitchens asked, trotting beside the towering Princess of the Day.  She let out a small chuckle, giving the stout earth pony an appreciative smile.

“Thank you, Bon Appétit, but that won't be necessary,” she replied, “I should like to eat the cake in the Room of Reclining this evening.  I want to commune with my sister.”

He glanced up at her, looking a touch concerned.

“O-of course, Your Highness.  But...your sister was not able to attend the dessert-tasting competition as a judge, like you were.  What if she dislikes the sunshine cake?  Do you know of any alternative desserts I can have sent to the Room of Reclining as well that may please Princess Luna?”

“Why, yes!” She answered, a twinkle in her magenta eyes.  “If I remember correctly, Luna loves those rich, no-bake, cookies-and-cream pies that Crumble Crust is so good at making.  If you could possibly have one made and sent up...?”

“Of course, Princess!  In fact, I believe there should already be one or two of the pies made.  I'll get on that right away!” He answered, turning and darting off in the direction of the kitchens.  Celestia gave another warm laugh, her walk taking her to the tall, open windows that looked out on the royal gardens.  She paused to stand near one of the windows to watch and wait as her sister raised the moon.  Over a thousand years ago, she had had to take responsibility for both of the celestial orbs and the duties of both night and day.  And though she would never tell anyone, the return of Luna had eased the weight and weariness upon her heart immensely.

She gazed out at the rapidly darkening sky.  The twilight was a fleeting, ambiguous time, often not even lasting a full hour.  It was a time now where she could finally begin to relax, and it gave Luna time to ascend to her observatory tower and prepare her night.  In secret, Celestia loved watching her younger sister bring the night to Equestria.  Luna was a pony of great passion in all that she did, and she threw all of her heart and artistic spirit into weaving her tapestry of stars every night.

“Oh, Luna.” She murmured, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she caught sight of her sister on the balcony.  The younger princess strode to the edge of the observatory deck, her jaw set in a determined way as her teal eyes rose to the sky.  Her horn glowed as she reared up on her hind legs, forehooves dancing before her.

Celestia let out a soft giggle.  Years ago, she had asked Luna why she threw her hooves about so when she brought forth the night.  To the elder princess's surprise, she had answered, “Sister, the moon and the stars harmonize their own music, and I am bestowed with the honor of conducting their symphony.”

Slowly, the moon began to climb under Luna's magical summons, and one by one, the stars started to wink into view, shining a soft silver many miles away.  The locks of the younger princess's starry mane ebbed and flowed like waves crashing and receding upon a beach, and slowly, the sky began to mirror her mane.

“Well done, little sister.” Celestia said, turning away from the window, her heart brimming with pride as she walked toward her destination.  The Room of Reclining wasn't far from the base of the observatory tower, and she left a magical symbol outside the tower door, a sign for her sister to join her if she so wished.  

We've been doing our best to catch up every night since her return and it still feels like it is never enough time to reconnect. She thought, turning away from the tower and resuming her trek to the room where she and her sister would be able to relax and commune together.

To her delight, she found the room with its plush pillow-cushions ready and waiting, with the cake and pie waiting on a low table, accompanied with dishes and utensils.  She was going to have to remember to give thanks to Bon Appétit, Crumble Crust, and the Cakes for all of this.  She settled down onto one of the large cushions, and delicately lifting the utensils on the table with her magic, began to slice herself a generous piece of the sunshine cake.

She was about five bites into the piece of cake when the doors opened, parting to reveal her younger sister's approach.  She watched as Luna raised each of her hooves one by one with a sort of strained grace.  Celestia could not bring herself to mention it; Luna's instinct had always been to rush headlong to any threat, to charge into battle as a mighty warrior-princess, not to conduct herself with elegance.  But perhaps because of this, she was always worrying about trying to appear as graceful as her elder sister before their subjects.  And perhaps that was what other ponies saw, a mare of nighttime and power and elegance.  But it was with a sort of sad fondness that Celestia was able to see her sister's lingering insecurities  in the way Luna moved and how she acted and reacted.

“You summoned me, sister?” She asked, her posture stiff with practiced formality.  Celestia offered her a loving smile.

“Relax, little sister.” She answered, her voice kind and gentle.  “It is only you and I here.  You need not worry about anypony else right now.  You may always be yourself around me.”

The younger alicorn paused, her expression uncertain.  After a moment's hesitation, she alighted upon the pillow-cushion opposite her elder sister, letting out a sigh of releasing tension.

“Forgive me my strict formality, Tia.” She mumbled, casting her gaze down as Celestia began cutting a slice of pie for her.  “My mind is troubled with anxieties that I cannot bring myself to so easily dismiss.”

The Princess of the Day furrowed her brow in worry, levitating the small dessert dish to her sister, who swept it up absentmindedly in her blue mists of magic.

“Please, Luna,” she said gently, “You can speak freely to me about anything on your mind.  You know this.  What troubles you?”

For a long time, the younger princess gave no answer.  Conflict glittered in the depths of her teal eyes, and Celestia knew patience would be essential in getting her sister to speak.  She watched as Luna picked at her slice of pie, the passing moments marked only by the constant soft ticking of an old mantle clock that rested above an unused fireplace.

And Celestia waited.

“I have recently had a most disturbing dream, sister.” Luna finally spoke.  “It has left my heart awash in dread, and I fear its message bears ill for all Equestria.”

Celestia's brows shot up and her eyes widened in shock.  Luna had an unsettling dream?  Her sister was just as prone to dreaming as anyone else, especially since she alone had the power to move through the dreamscape freely and enter the dreams of all ponies.  But Luna was not given to having nightmares, much less any dreams of a remotely prophetic nature.  Whatever her dream had been, it certainly had to be ominous indeed, if it weighed upon her mind and prompted her to fear so.

Regaining her composure, the elder alicorn gave a solemn nod.

“Please continue, little sister.”

“I believe my dream is a warning.”

“A warning?”

“About King Sombra.”

The fork that had been floating, held aloft by Celestia's magic, fell to the floor with a low, metallic tone against the tiles.  Luna noticed at once, winced, and looked at her sister anxiously.

“Please, do not be quick to judge my actions, my sister, but I visited the Prison of Shadows before bringing about my nightfall.  I went there to confront Sombra.” She confessed.

Celestia's eyebrows climbed even higher.  “You attempted to interrogate him?”

“Yes,” Luna grumbled bitterly, glaring down at her pie, “But he kept attempting to divert the subject.  I learned nothing from him.”

Silence fell once again, for a brief moment.  Celestia closed her eyes in thought, a pensive frown on her features, and for a time, she was as still and unmoving as a mountain.  But before long, she opened her eyes and looked at her sister.

“Your dream?” She prompted.

“I do not care to discuss it in detail at the moment,” came the swift reply, “But I am positive Sombra is behind it, and that he is scheming something against us all!”

Luna punctuated this with a stomp of a hoof against the floor, and when her sister did not respond, she settled down again, instantly self-conscious.

“Please, forgive my outburst, Tia.”

“Already forgiven and forgotten, dear one.  But you are sure about this?”

“Quite.  And I shall continue with my efforts.  I intend to try to question Sombra again.  Perhaps, given time, I shall wear down his resolve and he will confess about his plans.  I know he is hiding something.”

Something overcame Celestia's heart at those words, an emotion she had felt only once or twice before in her life: Fear.  Her sister had been freed from the influence and possession of the Nightmare-spirit that had plagued her for so long, but the elder princess had seen many a pony over the years reform from dark behavior, only to once again find themselves endangered by evil influences.  It took willpower, constant vigilance, and strength of heart to resist those influences and prevent oneself from falling back into darkness.  To her credit, Luna possessed all of those traits in abundance.  Celestia knew of nopony else with such a noble warrior's heart and the spirit of a valiant defender, save Prince Shining Armor.

But King Sombra was unpredictably dangerous.  Celestia and Luna had faced him once before, many years ago, and the Princess of the Day knew from experience that his power only grew stronger in the presence of negative feelings, especially fear.

“Do you disapprove?” Luna asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.  Something in the way she voiced the question indicated she worried about what her sister would say, and Celestia exhaled a quiet sigh.

“No, I do not disapprove.  But Luna...please, please be careful.  Whether or not he is a prisoner in the Shadow, Sombra will always be far more dangerous and cunning than many give him credit for.  He will try to manipulate you, to warp your perception and twist your mind to darkness.  He will look for any weakness or opening in your resolve that he can use as a chance to break down your strength.  You must not let down your guard around him, sister.”

“Of course, Tia.  I will remain vigilant and unyielding as ever in his presence.”  Luna replied in the most reassuring tone she could manage.  “After all, you and our entire kingdom are relying upon me.”

Then for a while, there was silence.  However, Celestia was able to get her sister talking before long, and their conversations turned to more light-hearted matters.  Soon they were laughing together again, as they had hundreds of years ago.

Yet the elder princess worried in secret, fearing for her bold sister.

	Oh please, Luna...please be careful...I worry you know not the danger you face...
> The Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dark shrouds of deepest gray rose from the ground like living mist, vanishing at chest height.  The mist rippled and shimmered, not unlike the Northern Lights visible in the winter.  Soft snatches of strange whispers floated upon the air, falling silent before their secrets could be shared.  The sky was a midnight-blue, starless void, and the path stretched forward, like a narrow trail cut into the Everfree Forest.  But if this were a forest, the trees were only visible far, far ahead, and the closer one got to them, they vanished.  A normal pony would have been puzzled to find themselves in such a place, possibly even frightened by it.  But to Princess Luna, this sight was nothing new.  The ever-shifting dreamscape was more familiar than anything she could recall from thousands of years ago, and dream-walking was as natural for her as breathing.

For a fleeting moment, she was overcome with apprehension, but quickly she recovered.  Her subjects needed her, and she had no time to worry over whether or not King Sombra was influencing the dreamscape.  And if he was, then she would no longer be caught off-guard.  He had another thing coming if he was of a mind that she would cower in fear from a bad dream.  On her own, Luna was nearly as formidable as her elder sister.  In the dreamscape…she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Do not be afraid, my subjects, ” she spoke into the ethereal mists, her words reverberating through the air, filling the Road of Dreaming with an immense, benevolent power.  “Your Princess of the Night shall shelter your dreams, ‘till my sister brings the dawn. ”

She treaded the path with caution and a careful, searching gaze.  The further she walked down the path, the more and more she saw the gates leading to each of her subjects’ dreams.  They were glittering, transparent portals that sparkled with a great many colors, blurring the sights around them.  If a pony stepped through one, they would be taken into somepony else’s dream.  There, the dreamscape shifted according to the individual dreamer, to fill their dreams.  The dreamscape was nothing short of labyrinthine, and many unicorn magicians who sought to traverse this strange place of otherness ran the risk of getting lost forever, trapped in dreams from which they could not wake.

But never Luna.  She was the sole sovereign this place knew, and even should the Road of Dreaming try to shift beyond her recognition, she could bend it to her will with a thought.

Her duties took her past the dreams of several ponies she recognized.  There was the dream of her sister’s beloved pupil, Twilight Sparkle, who was clearly having anxiety over having possibly miscataloging a book, even in her sleep.  With a chuckle, Luna touched her horn to the gate to Twilight’s dreams.

“Be at ease, my friend. ” She whispered.  Next to Twilight dreamed the dragon she was raising.  Spike’s dream patterns were slightly different from that of a pony, but his dream was hardly difficult to interpret.  He dreamt of being a handsome adult, a strong, brave dragon warrior, to impress a unicorn friend of Twilight’s.  Luna smiled and shook her head in a good-natured, knowing sort of way.  Pony or dragon, boys would be boys.

She walked on, her heart light and her spirit merry.  This felt good, natural.  Most importantly of all, it felt right.  She was beginning to feel more like herself again.  Perhaps her subjects would never look at her as they did Celestia, but she was beginning to accept that.  After all, the sun and the moon cast two different lights.  The sun brought forth heat and powerful illumination, but it could not be looked at for its blinding rays.  The moon was further away, giving no heat to the ponies of Equestria, but its light was soft and its glow enchanting in a way the sun could not match.  Why should this not also be mirrored in Luna and her sister, then?  Celestia was a sweet and caring monarch in her own way, and Luna was a sweet and caring monarch in hers.

“Heh!  I do believe I am beginning to sound like Twilight Sparkle and her friends. ” She laughed to herself, her giggle ringing like gentle, musical chimes.  Her hooves were taking her unerringly toward the dreams of one particular young Pegasus filly she had grown fond of, when an icy wind blasted through the Road of Dreaming.  Luna let out a ragged gasp as the cold seized her chest and stole the breath from her lungs.  She shifted her weight from hoof to hoof anxiously, spreading her wings open wide to buffer herself against the unnatural wind.

“What in the name of the stars…?” She managed to gasp out.  The ice on the wind began to sink mercilessly into the feathers of her wings, and around her, the dreamscape began to turn pitch-black.

“No! ” She whispered in horror, looking desperately to the ponies’ dream gates.  Thankfully they endured, still shimmering despite the sudden darkness, and from what she could tell, the sleep of her subjects remained undisturbed.  She let out a sigh of relief, then threw all of her will and focus against the magic of the Road of Dreaming, ordering it to return to its natural state.

It didn’t.  If anything, the darkness only continued to grow.

Luna began to grind her teeth in frustration, when she noticed a silvery glow emanating from her body.  She glanced down, stunned.  She had not cast her spell of moonbeams and starlight.  Why was she glowing in the dreamscape?

A familiar, rolling laugh rose and fell in the dark shadows, and a spark of rage ignited in her.

“I may not be able to see you, Sombra, but I can sense your presence in this gloom.  Give up this pointless display!  I am the dreamscape’s master, and no other! ” she shouted.

“Hardly a pointless display, sweet princess.”  King Sombra’s voice floated back out to her.  “My powers may be shattered, but they are far from destroyed.  I already recover in the Shadow where you have imprisoned me, and you and your sister are fools for not realizing this.  This…oversight on your part shall be your undoing.”

“You forget one thing, Sombra, ” she pointed out, “Celestia and I have bested you before.  T’would be small effort to do so again. ”

“You bested me in a battle of sheer power,” he replied coolly, beginning to form from a coil of gray shadows, “You are sorely underestimating me, princess.  Raw magical power is not the only thing I have at my disposal.”

“You’re bluffing. ”

“You don’t believe me?” He asked in amused tones, an easy smile making its way onto his face.  He strode near one of the dream gates, his legs trailing dark mists that stank of his foul magic.  He glanced at her, brows narrowing and his smile becoming poisonous.  His horn lit up with a sickly red glow, and his eyes flashed, emanating the glowing shadows of his magic.  “A demonstration of fear’s power, then.”

Before she could cry out, Luna watched in horror as the unicorn king’s dark magic shot toward the dream gate.  The gate shivered, letting out a low, ill hum, and solid, jagged black crystals formed around its edges.

“Sometimes,” Sombra crooned, looking upon his work with pride, “The fear in one heart is all that is needed to incite mass terror in many.”

The black crystals shot from the gate shadows edged in a red glow, which quickly spread and attacked all the other dream gates in sight.  In moments, the Road of Dreaming was filled with the cracking sound of dozens of dream gates forming the same black crystals.  Luna shifted as she watched, her heart pounding, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Stop it! ” She yelled furiously at Sombra, lowering her horn and advancing on him.  “What do you want, you villain?!  Tell me! ”

“Power.” He answered, tilting his head and arching a brow, the smile never leaving his face.  “A throne.  I am a king, and I shall rule again.  It is my right!”

“You will never hold the Crystal Empire or any place in Equestria under your iron hoof again, King of No Kingdom!  Not so long as my sister and I still draw breath. ” She promised in a low threat.

“Then how lucky for me that can be arranged.” King Sombra said with a dark laugh, red tendrils of his magic rippling from his horn like ribbons, embracing and wrapping themselves around the black crystals that choked the dream gates.  “You shall all watch as your beloved sun monarch DIES.”

Luna jerked her head upward, and everything around her vanished, replaced by the image of Celestia attending the royal bath house, looking just as regal as ever, even shroud in her bathrobe as she was.  She strode past her attendants, never once noticing that they all bore Sombra’s wicked, bewitched eyes.  She settled down into a hot bath, sighing with relief as her tense muscles started to unknot themselves, and she called for one of the attendants to bring her bath salts to her.  Before she even suspected anything was amiss, all of the ponies there attacked her, throwing themselves at her and upon her, strangling her about her gleaming white neck and forcing her beneath the water.

“TIA!  TIA!! ”  Luna screamed, desperately trying to interfere, to keep her sister from being drowned.  But try as she might, she passed through the images as though she were little more than a ghost, and she watched in heartbroken fear as her sister struggled and thrashed.

“It takes so little to snuff out the light of Celestia,” Sombra’s voice echoed all around her, “And even less to devour and steal the power you possess, Luna.  You cannot stop me.  The shadows are my throne, fear and mistrust are my bread, hatred and anger my offering wines, and my darkness shall thrive and spread as your precious lights die.”

“No!  “ She snarled, shutting her eyes and forcing the images from her mind, shattering them over and over to rid herself of them.  “No!  NO!! ”

She was jolted awake sharply, forcing herself out of the dreamscape, Sombra’s triumphant laughter still echoing in her mind.  She inhaled and exhaled raggedly, over and over, her heart racing.

“That nightmare again…” she whispered to herself as she panted, slowly rising from her bed, shaking as cold sweat dripped down her back.  This was the fourth time she had had this dream in a week.  Always it was the same—the nightmare would start as she tended to her dream-walking, Sombra would appear and claim that he would take back his status as a king, and he would force her to watch Celestia drown as he threatened to snuff out Luna’s own power—yet her horror at it never lessened.

Pulling on her cloak that hung nearby, Luna slipped from her room swiftly and silently, moving through the palace to her sister’s chambers.  The first time that she had had the nightmare, she was positive it had truly happened, and nearly burst into the royal bath house itself, ready to fight to the death her sister’s attackers.  When she had realized the nature of what she had seen, she instead had decided that she would check on her sister whenever the dream occurred, just to be certain it had not truly happened.  She arrived in short order, nodding to the guards standing on either side of the doors.  Gently, she nudged the door open with her magic, peeking inside fretfully.  Upon her bed, Celestia slumbered on, peaceful and content, never suspecting that her younger sister had just witnessed her death moments ago in a malignant dream.  Luna sighed, relieved to find her sister safe for the moment.  Then she turned and prepared to leave.

“Your Highness?” One of the guards asked, apprehensive and worried.  “Is everything alright?”

“No,” she answered, her voice like steel, “I must descend to the oubliette.  There is a unicorn witch-king I am going to have a word with.”

> That Which Was
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The shadowy prison of the oubliette was always dark in its own way, but that late night as Luna descended, that darkness about the place felt distinctly sinister.  The shadows were silently mocking her she was certain, but her rage at the nightmare burned away all hesitation and anxiety she may have felt.  She moved with swiftness, letting her own natural glow illuminate her path, as her reserves of patience had run too dry to even bother illuminating her horn.

Sombra! She thought furiously, anger coursing through her. That foul, wretched, vile, lying monster!  This time I shall get answers out of him!

A vague, fleeting thought at the back of her mind wondered if the unicorn king could possibly hear her thoughts in some way, but that by that point, she cared not if he could.

Let him!  Let him know of my approach and my intent!  May he be wise enough that he trembles in the face of my wrath!

Her guards saw her approaching at a distance, and for a brief instant, they appeared ready to bar her path.  But a glimpse of her fierce expression had them thinking otherwise.  They moved as fast as they could, pulling the gate open and quickly stepping aside.  The princess charged through without a word, heading straight for the cell beyond.  She came to a halt not more than a few feet from it, watching the shadows within boil upon themselves.

“Sombra!” She roared.  “Show thy face, coward!”

The shadows moved rapidly for a moment, then dissipated, leaving the form of a unicorn stallion behind.  Sombra was lying on his stomach as he lifted his head to acknowledge her, and a look of mild annoyance crossed his features.

“Rude,” he huffed, “Some of us are sleeping, as I’m sure you very well know.”

“Spare us thy pitiful mewling and speak plainly, for we know of thy schemes against us and our sister!”

“Oh, oh yes,” came the mocking, sarcastic reply, “Let me just tell you all about my wicked, devious plans to disturb poor Celestia’s sleep with my thunderous snoring.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed slowly.

“We are not amused.” She said in frigid tones.

“Really?  More’s the pity; I thought it was rather funny.” Sombra yawned, tossing his mane and baring his teeth before rolling onto his side lazily.  “Perhaps you don’t possess a sense of humor, princess.  You do come across as the rather grim sort.”

“So you deny that you have invaded the privacy of my dreams and shown me disturbing visions of trying to kill my sister?” She asked, dropping the royal voice and trying to force herself to remain calm and collected.  Losing her temper now would accomplish nothing.

“Princess Luna,” he huffed a sigh, shaking his head slowly, looking at her through heavily-lidded eyes that barely masked his growing impatience, “While it’s possible that I could touch the dreamscape through the Shadow, what makes you think I would?”

“Your power comes from fear, from terror,” she answered stoutly, “And what better way to frighten all of Equestria than by attacking its inhabitants in their dreams?”

“Hmm,” he began to smile slowly, looking nefarious as ever, “The suggestion you make intrigues me, but I know of your dream-walking power.  With their beloved sovereign moon warrior watching over them… Well, it would be rather foolish of me to try attacking ponies in their dreams.”

He sat up on his stomach again and crossed his forelegs, one over the other, and proceeded to watch her expectantly, no doubt awaiting a response.  She gave him none; she had a feeling they were thinking the exact same thing.  While such an action taken would be foolish indeed, Sombra could succeed in a plan like they spoke of, if he were able to find a way to disable Luna’s powers and ensure she wouldn’t be able to fight back.  If he could do that, he would rampage quite freely, with little to challenge him. Luna did not wish to speak of that into the silence.  Words carried power, Celestia had always said, and to speak of a thing that was merely thought, was to invite to it the possibility of becoming a reality.

“Or perhaps,” Sombra suddenly said, cocking an eyebrow and tilting his head to the side, his smile hiding silent laughter, “You’re not interpreting your own dreams quite right.  Did you ever consider that possibility?”

She frowned at him again.

“What do you mean?” She asked in a challenging tone.  Of all the nerve!  The Princess of the Night and Moon and Dreaming, not knowing what her own dreams meant?  Why, the very idea was preposterous!

“I’m merely suggesting that you are looking at your dreams only through the eyes of a warrior-princess.  You are so eager to believe the worst of me!”

“Hard not to when my nightmares consist of you attacking my subjects and sister.  And I take it you have your own idea of what my dream means, then?”

“But of course, princess.  A bad dream is not uncommon, correct me if I’m wrong.” He spoke as though deep in deductive thought, rising from the floor and beginning to pace the length of his cell.  “Perhaps you are subject to them less often than others, but the fact remains that mostly, bad dreams reflect the fears, the worries that trouble the waking heart.”

“Need I remind you that I am well aware your foul magic feeds off such fear?” She said, her voice cold steel.  “But continue, Sombra.”

“Ugh, details, details.” He rolled his eyes, somehow managing to come off as both condescendingly dismissive and rather melodramatic at the same time.  “Can’t let a fellow alone for a second, can you?  At any rate, the point I seek to make to you is that your own…worries continue to plague you even as you sleep, whereas my appearance in your dreams…”

“Yes?” She prompted testily, and he gave her a roguish, toothy grin.

“Well, let us just say…the romantic fantasies of besotted young mares are not unknown or unfamiliar to the sovereign of the Crystal Empire.” He answered with a decadent chuckle, giving a flick of his carefully-groomed tail.  Luna’s mouth fell open in shock, and her face flushed hot with anger.

“How dare you!” She shrieked.

“Only a harmless suggestion.”

“I would never conduct myself like some love-struck filly, especially not over you!  You’re a foul, heartless fiend, and you care for nothing and nopony but yourself!”

“That’s jumping to conclusions,” Sombra retorted, “And how would you even verify such claims about me?  I do have a heart, thank you very much.  I find it rather irritating whenever anypony seems to think I don’t.”

“Prove it.”

“My heart is the Crystal Heart.”

For a moment, she stared at him in quiet surprise, but laughter began to build in her chest.  She tightened her lips, trying to hold it in, only to find she couldn’t, and the laughter escaped anyway, issuing forth from Luna as loud guffaws.  Sombra watched as she chortled, his face contorting into an unamused frown.

“Th-the Crystal Heart?” The princess managed to say between almost hysterical giggling fits.  “You?  HA!  You expect me to believe that the Crystal Heart is your actual heart?”

“Yes,” he replied, slightly miffed, “The Crystal Heart is my heart.”

“You jest!” She continued to laugh, throwing her head back as she did so.  “The Crystal Heart is a force of pure good, light and happiness.  It brings peace and prosperity to the Crystal Empire.  It spreads joy and illumination to all corners of Equestria.  The unshattered, unfettered beacon of all that is good, your heart?”

“Yes.” He answered stoically, and her mirth evaporated, replaced again by the suspicion and doubt that remained in her mind.  But no longer were they alone the two things she thought and felt; something else had crept in at his stubborn insistence, something that she knew would be rather dangerous if she did not keep it in check.

Curiosity.

“How?” She demanded coolly.

“You doubt my word.”

“Any wise pony would.  How?”

“Do you have time for a story?” He asked, cocking his head to the side and letting a fleeting smile cross his face.  “Or do you only have time to spare for a lonely, dethroned monarch when you think he’s poisoned the water or is conspiring treachery?”

Luna glanced over her shoulder, back to the entry gate.  As though they had known she would look back, there her guards waited, peeking back at her.  Worry was evident on both their faces, and they shifted as though wishing to ask if she was alright, if she needed them.  She gave them a reassuring smile, making the tiniest of nods to let them know she would be fine.  Only when they inched back out of sight did she turn back to Sombra, gauging him.  One of his eyebrows crept up in a silent, mocking challenge and his smile widened.

“Yes?” He purred, and part of Luna was sorely tempted to blast him so hard it would wipe that arrogant, self-assured smile off of his face.  Still, she held herself in check and tilted her head back to assert her authority, resuming the mannerisms of old once again.

“We shall spare thee a quarter of an hour, but then no more.” She declared in her sonorous voice.  “Tell us this tale.”

This time a genuine smile came to his features, and he straightened into a formal sitting position, clearing his throat pointedly.

“I was once like you and your sister, not so very long ago, it feels.  I was prince of the Crystal Empire, but I was just the second-born; I had an elder brother, Crown Prince Lucien.  I was dark where he was fair, childish where he was mature, and obsessed with the study of magic where he concerned himself with learning the mechanics of politics.  Still, even though we bickered and often did not see eye-to-eye on many things, we were brothers.  I looked up to Lucien, he was fond of me, and we were very close for many years.”

Luna arched a disbelieving eyebrow.  So far it merely sounded as though he was fabricating his tale from what he knew of her and Celestia, and quite possibly what little he knew of Twilight Sparkle as well.  She wasn’t surprised by the thought; she had hardly expected Sombra to be honest with her.  Still, she made no comment and let him carry on.

“Time passed and we both grew up,” Sombra spoke in a low, wistful sort of way and stared off at nothing, the shadowy wisps of dark magic dissipating from his eyes.  “I never thought much of the throne or rulership; that was always Lucien’s job, Lucien’s concern, and for a great deal of time, I was content to let him worry about that.  I was too involved in my pursuit of the study of magic to think about our positions in the kingdom and royal family.  That is…until one day.”

“Oh?” She prompted.

“Yes,” he answered with a bit of a vague nod, “I remember it quite well, actually.  My memory has suffered somewhat from spending time as part of the Shadow, but there are some things I recall with perfect clarity.  This is one of them.

“I had been in the royal library, and I was quite given over to childish excitement, as I was certain my studies had led me to discover something of great magical significance.  I had stumbled across a text in an old tome that spoke of a pocket of crystals deep within the Star Lake Caves, crystals with their own latent magic.  Naturally, I desired to requests an audience with my mother and father at once.  Working all forms of magic through crystals was always my special talent, and the chance to study crystals such as those was the chance of a lifetime.”

He paused, a dark look coming upon him, the corners of his mouth turning down.  The black of the shadows flickered around him, and his eyes began to glow again.

“My father’s royal advisor sought me out that day, found me in the library before I could leave to make my request formally.  He came—so he said—because he had to escort me to my family for some important news, some announcement that wouldn’t wait.  Of course, I had to obey a royal summons, and I hope that I would be allowed to make my request upon hearing this news out.  What I did not know then was that this would be the worst news of my life.”

“What was the news?” Luna asked, jolting him out of his memories.  He stared at her for a long moment, and then the smile slowly started to make its way back onto his face.

“Why, princess!  I did not believe you would become so invested in my tale.”  He said, on the verge of a chuckle.  “Surely you do not wish to listen further?”

“Continue.” She said simply, before adding gently, “Please.”

The light in his eyes danced in a merry sort of way before he abruptly scowled again and tossed his head indignantly, ebony mane flying.

“It is not something I necessarily wish to recall.  And really, thinking on it…isn’t the quarter-hour you promised me up?”

Surprised, she raised her eyebrows.  Surely he hadn’t been speaking that long already?  He had really only just begun the story.  However, when she thought on it, Sombra was right.  Almost the full time had already passed, and she needed to leave.  She could not afford to waste much more time down here.  Drawing herself up to her full height, Luna held her head regally and folded her wings primly against her back.

“Very well.  It is time I must be back to attend my royal duties.” She announced, feeling slightly awkward in doing so, but the unicorn king inclined his head gently regardless.

“Of course.” He agreed calmly.

“Still, your story intrigues me.  I would hear more of it…but at another time, during some other day.” She remarked thoughtfully, giving a small flick of her tail before turning gravely serious once again.  “But do not presume that this shall lessen your sentence or imprisonment, King of No Kingdom.”

There was a sneering curl to Sombra’s lip at this, but when he spoke, his voice remained calm and even.

“I would never assume such a thing,” he said coolly, “And I suppose I can’t very well prevent you from shattering the monotony of this miserable hole whenever you choose to do so, now can I?”

“Why, you sound almost grateful!” She chuckled at him.

“Actually, Princess Luna,” he replied in a much more civil tone, “I am.  It has been over a thousand years since I have had anypony to properly hold an intellectual conversation with.  For that, I am quite grateful, and more than willing to divulge my story.”

Luna had been turning to leave, but at his words, she faltered a step.  Memories of the moon, cold, silent and unforgiving, rose to the surface of her thoughts, endless memories spanning a lonesome millennia.  She forced the memories away and drew in a deep breath, willing herself not to look back at him in a show of sympathy.

“Another time.” She repeated insistently.

“Another time,” he echoed her in his soft, rich voice as he shifted back into a vaporous form, “When it suits Your Highness, naturally.  After all…well, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

Steeling herself, Luna marched away, her mind spiraling in a chaotic whirl of thoughts.  She needed to record the events of this evening at the first opportunity she could find, and share them with Celestia.

And in his cell, the shadow of the unicorn king watched the alicorn princess depart, thinking upon what he had told her.  She did not trust or believe him, not yet, but she was intrigued, and that was a start.  All he had to do was be patient, and after a thousand years of imprisonment in the Shadow, Sombra was more than well-versed in the art of patience.

> Fragments Of Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sister princesses had never required much sleep.  Perhaps it was a side effect of their supremely magical nature; perhaps it was simply a skill that they had perfected over many centuries of immortality.  Whatever the reason, Luna awoke from her rest about three hours after sunrise, staring around at her chambers while her mind readjusted to the waking world.  The night had been long, in a way, and it was odd to realize she was waking to a sunny day again.  Doubtless her sister was already deeply immersed in her duties, and Luna had no desire to interrupt her.

Now, she thought, I must record the events that have passed.

She rose from her bed and went to a large desk in a corner of her chamber.  The lamp upon it lit in response to her approach, spilling soft, gentle light into the room.  She didn’t often put the desk to use—if she wanted to correspond with somepony, she could do so through dream-walking, and any reading she wanted to do could be done in the royal library—but there was a small journal lying upon the wooden surface, waiting patiently to be opened.  With a thought, Luna’s magic shimmered around both her horn and the journal, which opened and flipped several pages until it came to a blank point.  Extending the grasp of her magical reach, she pulled an inkwell and quill pen out of a desk drawer, settled them on the desk’s surface, and opened the inkwell.  Drawing herself up importantly, Luna dipped the nub end of the quill into the ink, gave it a dramatic flourish to shake off the excess ink—and paused.

The journal had been Celestia’s idea, of course.  The two sisters had kept a shared diary as fillies, back in their palace that now lay as a crumbling ruin in the heart of the Everfree Forest.  And in fillyhood, Luna had always been eager to write in the diary, to detail every moment of every day and night.  She thought back, doing her best to remember how her entries had been back then, and as her face glowed in an embarrassed blush at the thought, she was grateful nopony else was around to see her.

My writing was probably silly and foolish, she thought, trying to remember how many entries had just been about her favorite slide.  That thought trailed off into another, remembering a time shortly before the Nightmare-spirit had fully possessed her.  In her darker moods, in her brooding jealousy about her sister, Luna had also taken to writing poetry in secret.  At the time, she had considered it an outlet for some of her feelings and had thought herself quite gifted in the art.  Now however as she thought back on it, those were probably embarrassing as well, considering she remembered writing a verse including the words, “Black, black, black, black, black grows my mind like an old dead tree.”

“Ugh!” She groaned, shuddering and wincing.  What sort of poet worth their bits would write “black” five times just to emphasize a point in a poem?  For an instant, her mind jumped to the draconequus Discord, who would probably resort to such redundancy in lyrical verse simply for the sake of driving his readers batty…assuming of course, that Discord ever did something like writing poetry and didn’t simply turn ponies into bats.  But then her mind jumped again, this time to a dark, boiling shadow of malice and power, billowing behind enchanted bars within the oubliette, with two eyes staring out at her.

Doubtless King Sombra would find my old poetry amusing.  She thought soberly.  She shook the thought away seconds later, remembering that the deposed unicorn king was the reason she planned on writing in her journal to begin with.  Despite Celestia’s good intentions, Luna only really wrote in the journal to record her thoughts when something worried or troubled her.

And something in the story Sombra had started telling her was very troubling indeed.

Mind resolute, she put the quill to the paper and began to pen down all that had happened since her first encounter with Sombra in the oubliette.  Already she had much to record, but the Princess of the Night had always been particularly quick with a quill and despite her verbose writing habits, she managed to finish the entry within roughly twenty minutes, give or take.

“There,” she sighed, looking over her writing, “That should suffice for now.”

The doors to her chambers burst open and she looked around, startled, to see members of her sister’s Royal Solar Guard charging in.

“Your Highness!” The guard in the lead gasped, skidding to a halt.  “Please, come quick!”

It occurred to her to be annoyed at their complete lack of regard for her station and the level of respect it commanded, considering they had just broken the rule of royal privacy, but if Celestia could shrug such things off with grace, then so could she.  Instead she simply furrowed her brow in polite puzzlement and pricked her ears forward to show she was listening.

“What is the trouble?” She asked in regal, carrying tones just below the ‘Royal Canterlot Voice.’  “Why does my sister’s regiment seek my aid?  Has something become of my sister?”

“No, no,” the guard replied, immediately looking a touch self-conscious, “The Princess Celestia is overseeing duties in the city.  Forgive us, Your Highness, but we need your help in her absence.  You see, there’s an issue in the palace gardens—“

“Lead the way, captain.” She replied briskly as she rose to her hooves, holding her head high and sweeping her mane back.  The guards said no more, but nodded uneasily and set off at a quick trot around her.  For a split second, she had a terrifying thought that perhaps Sombra had escaped his prison and was loose in the grounds, but it vanished as quickly as it had occurred.  If that were the case, she would have known much sooner and wouldn’t have slept in.

This must be one of sister’s duties that needs seeing to, before it becomes a disaster!

The idea cheered her considerably.  Luna had once made the mistake of claiming she could run the day as well as her sister, and had later come to regret her quick mouth.  Celestia had taken the opportunity to give Luna her duties for an entire day, under the supervision of a picky unicorn named Kibitz.  Between Kibitz and Celestia’s overly-full schedule that was timed to every last second, Luna had very nearly had an emotional meltdown.  By the end of the ordeal however, she had survived and come to a much greater appreciation of everything her sister had to handle in a day.  And this time, she had an idea of what to do and could easily help.

This is just what I need to keep my mind off my own worries, and those dreadful nightmares.  She thought with a smile.  They turned at the end of a hall, moving to an open atrium that led out into the gardens, where several more members of the royal guard were waiting for them.

“Oh!  Your Highness!  Thank goodness you’ve arrived!” One of them sighed with relief.

“What is the trouble?” She asked, but before anypony could answer, several rosebushes abruptly began floating in the air, their buds transforming into brownies with small pops!  And the statues in the garden changed position, vanishing from their pedestals and reappearing on different pedestals around the garden.  As Luna watched, her eyes widening, a loud, chortling guffaw echoed around them.  She recognized that laugh, having heard it once or twice before, and knew instantly what she was up against.  She marched out into the main square of the garden, scowling in annoyance, and looked around for some sign of the culprit.  She didn’t have to wait long, however.  There was a shimmering pop of magic, and a figure appeared, hovering upside-down in mid-air.

“Oh, poo,” the draconequus pouted when he caught sight of her, red-and-yellow eyes going half-lidded in disappointment, “It’s just you, Princess Moody-Moon.  I was hoping for somepony a little…taller.”

Her scowl deepened. 

“Get used to disappointment, Discord.  What are you doing, turning the gardens topsy-turvy like this?” She demanded.

He slowly spun in a loop in mid-air, righting himself and giving her a wounded look.

“I was planning on putting it back.  It was supposed to be a gift for your dear elder sister Celestia, you know.”

“She’s out.”

“Yes, well, obviously,” Discord huffed, reaching out with the tuft on the end of his tail and snatching brownies off a rosebush that floated past, “Otherwise I doubt you would have bothered to come out here and scold me.  Brownie?”

She glanced at the pastries as he juggled them sideways and shook her head, a thought occurring to her.

“No, thank you.  You shall be pleased to know, Discord, that I am willing to forgive this little prank of yours, if you’ll answer a few questions for me.”

“Questions?” He echoed interestedly, ears pricking up.  He stopped juggling the brownies and instead of falling to the ground, they sprouted wings and flew off awkwardly.  With a snap of his claws, an oversized coat and deerstalker hat appeared on him and he pulled a bubble-pipe out of thin air.  “What kind of questions?”

“Do you know of the Crystal Empire?” she asked, genuinely curious.  The Crystal Empire had been established under the rule of a unicorn princess after Discord had been initially sealed in stone, but the draconequus was an enigma.  Perhaps he could provide her with more information to either prove or disprove anything Sombra said.

Discord appeared to think hard about it for a moment, tapping the stem of the bubble-pipe against his chin.

“Hmm.  Let me think… Crystal Empire…” He looked at Luna, snapping his talons again, and a shimmering bubble appeared next to him, reflecting a perfect model of the Crystal Empire inside it.  “Big shiny place?  Lots of crystals?  Ponies that shimmer and sparkle?  Oversized palace set in the middle of everything?  Some legend about a crystal heart and an evil king?”

He snapped his talons a third time and the bubble vanished as he looked away, shaking his head.  “Nope.  Haven’t heard of it.”

“Of course you haven’t.” Luna answered as indulgently as she could manage, although she couldn’t entirely resist a roll of the eyes.  “And I suppose you don’t know anything about that same evil king, either.”

Discord shook his head.

“No, sorry,” he answered, not sounding sorry at all, “But if you wish, I’ll lend you an ear.”

He punctuated this declaration by pulling one of his ears off his head and holding it out to Luna as he started to guffaw wildly.  She glanced at the ear in his claws before nodding regally.

“You have my personal thanks, Discord.  I appreciated your willingness to assist me, and I shall put in a good word for you with my sister.” She said, turning away to leave.

“Wait,” Discord said, and with the sound of a lid being screwed onto a jar, he twisted and turned his ear back into place, watching her with a dubious expression, “Why do you ask?  Why do you want to know about the Empire and King Sombra?”

Luna pursed her lips for a moment before answering.

“No reason.” She replied nonchalantly, unable to think of a viable excuse.  Discord slowly raised a snowy eyebrow, looking utterly puzzled by her response.  She bade him goodbye again, not waiting to see the expression of calculating skepticism that crossed the draconequus’s rarely serious face as he stroked his chin in thought.


***


He was a foal again, running down a familiar corridor to hide behind an old, moth-eaten tapestry in order to escape his governess pony.  The last thing the young prince wanted was to be forced into a bath.  He let out a tiny, muffled giggle as he squeezed himself into the nook behind the tapestry.  Hooves galloped through the hall as the elderly mare’s breathing became short and ragged, and she called out the prince’s name.  He had to practically stuff his forehooves into his mouth to hide another giggle as she passed right by him.

How many times had he done that in his foalhood?

Raised voices could be heard, not too distant from the little prince’s hiding spot.  Queen Platinum was in a towering temper about something, and she could be heard arguing with somepony.  The little colt crept out of his hiding place, curious to find out more.  He picked his hooves up as quietly as he was able to, worried that his governess would somehow hear him and come after him for that bath.  His mother’s voice went quiet a moment as somepony he didn’t know spoke in a tired old voice, jingling bells accentuating his speech.

Ah.  It was this memory again.

Darkness coiled in a tight spiral as two glowing eyes opened in the dark mist.  Sombra gave a low rumble as he pushed the memory back far from his mind, burying it away from his thoughts as he contemplated his solitary imprisonment.
> The Shadows Deepen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A week passed without incident.  The nightmares did not return to Princess Luna, and her dream-walking went uninterrupted.  This should have been a welcome relief, but in truth, the abrupt lack of bad dreams only deepened her sense of unease.  During the daytime while Celestia attended her royal duties, Luna found she was heading to the royal library more often than not.  She wanted—no, she needed—answers about King Sombra’s story.  She doubted very much that he spoke the truth about the Crystal Heart; all she needed was some sort of proof he was lying.

The task was far easier said than done, however.  In order to find nearly any text pertaining to the Crystal Heart, one needed to look up the Crystal Empire first.  And as she was learning during the course of that week, there were very few books that held any knowledge of the Crystal Empire, even in the royal library.

It was during the fourth afternoon as her frustration was mounting and her search still turned up nothing that it occurred to the princess to send a message to Twilight Sparkle.  There wasn’t a book in Twilight’s collection that wasn’t already in the royal library, but she had had personal first-hoof experience with the Crystal Heart itself.  Perhaps she would know something.  Thus Luna quickly penned a letter and sent it on its way before attending to her duty to raise the moon.  Not even a couple of hours had passed before she received a response, the sealed scroll manifesting in a burst of dragon’s breath.

“OooOO curses!” Luna grumbled, stamping a hoof as she read through the letter, disappointed to learn Twilight knew nothing of the Crystal Heart’s origins.  She didn’t even finish reading the rest of it before crumpling the scroll up and tossing it on her desk, trying to put it out of her mind as she went on to her dream-walking.

The fifth day she sent a letter directly to the Crystal Empire and her niece, Cadence.  Surely Cadence and Shining Armor had enough pull they would be able to find a book in the Empire’s library that had something pertaining to the heart’s origins.  She received a response the next day from a baffled yet eager-to-help Cadence, who said she would happily take the time to send somepony to search the library for any such books.

The seventh day dawned, and Luna was back in the library again, trying to pass the time by continuing her search as she waited for more news from her niece.  However, the power of the vast library’s solitude was finally beginning to get to the alicorn.

How odd, she thought, this is so peaceful and quiet.  So soothing.

Warm rays of sunlight shone through a window that opened out to the courtyards below.  The sun’s rays warmed her skin and she basked in the comforting feeling, leaning her head down on the table she was seated at.

“I should relax a little,” she murmured to herself, trying to hold back a contented yawn, “I shall give myself wrinkles if I continue to stress so.”

Her teal eyes fluttered before closing, and her last conscious thought was that her sister had truly made this day a beautiful one.

Everything was mist and darkness.  There was no ground beneath her hooves, and she flew through what appeared to be an endless void.  Momentarily she found herself confused and startled, but only for an instant.  Rapidly her puzzlement gave way to angry suspicion, as a chill sensation of wrongness spread from her horn to her hooves.

“My dreams are no longer enough?” She called angrily into the expanse of darkness.  “You seek to invade peaceful daydreams as well, King of No Kingdom?!”

	A low, familiar chuckle shook the edges of the void, rocking her in mid-flight.  As she struggled to right herself, a spinning, glowing wisp appeared to her right, moving at a rapid pace.  The wisp began to take form, and in the space of a few breaths, Sombra’s head, neck, and torso had materialized, powerful muscles pumping as though he was running at a full gallop.  The corners of his mouth stretched into a broad grin as his red eyes locked onto her.

“Whoever said such a thing?” He asked evasively.  “Why am I always the intrusive one in your eyes?  How are you so certain it is I invading your sleep, rather than the other way around?”

Rage burned in Luna’s heart as she flew.

“I have no desire to see into the tyrannical thoughts of a megalomaniac!” She responded fiercely, her nostrils flaring as she lowered her horn in an unspoken threat.

“Like draws like, princess.” Sombra purred.  “Remember, a thousand years past, you and I were not so different.”

“We are nothing alike, and I am no longer the same pony I was while under the power of that parasite.  Nightmare Moon exists no more.”

The ghostly mist drew nearer to her, close enough she could see the unusual sharpness of the unicorn stallion’s teeth.

“More’s the pity.”

The words were barely a whisper, and he dissipated like smoke before he finished speaking, his unearthly chuckle again ringing through the starless void.

Something was shaking her.  A voice was gently calling her name.  She stirred blearily, her mind still drowsy with the syrupy slowness of dreams.  A half-formed mumble slipped between her teeth and she realized her face was sticking to the pages of a book.

“Luna?”

She pulled herself upright, shaking her head to wake herself up more, and looked up into the face of her elder sister.  Puzzlement and worried concern were evident in the way the edges of Celestia’s mouth had turned down.

“Oh!  Sister, my apologies!” she exclaimed, and upon realizing the library had darkened, she asked with a sinking sensation in her stomach, “What time is it?”

“Nearly moonrise.” Celestia replied, though around her eyes her expression softened.

“Moonrise?!” Luna blurted, and with little more than a thought, her magic reacted.  Her mind jumped to her observatory at the same moment she recounted the spell for teleportation, and the world vanished and reappeared in a flash of blue magic.  Glittering stars were already beginning to appear at the edge of the horizon, little jewels in a dark violet dress of twilight.  A little hastily, Luna nudged her beloved moon into the sky, her magic bolstering its rise, rather than slowly enveloping it and pulling it into place.  A crystalline snap reached her pricked ears, and not even a second later her sister was speaking.

“Luna, are you alright?”  Celestia asked, gentle worry just evident in her low voice.  “This isn’t like you.  Are you feeling well?”

“I am fine.” Luna said, perhaps a tad more dismissive of her sister’s concern than she meant to be.  Her cheeks burned in embarrassment as she released her magic.  “I was just careless and allowed myself to nap, and for far longer than I should have, at that.  Tiberius is no doubt rubbing off on me.”

She turned, exiting the observatory tower, and Celestia fell into step next to her, those ancient magenta eyes soft and searching.

“I’m not just speaking of today, Luna.” She said gently.  “You have been distant and distracted lately.  Is something wrong?”

“There is much on my mind.” Luna murmured, looking away and watching her hooves as she moved down the long, winding staircase.

“Would this have anything to do with your nightmares, or King Sombra?”

She nearly missed a step, avoiding a stumble thanks to the span of spread wings, and looked at her sister in surprise.

“What?” She stuttered.  Celestia had asked so calmly, with such assurance in her voice…

“Did you think I’d just forget our discussion?  You’re my sister, Luna.  I love you, and I worry for you.”  She said, and quite unexpectedly, she swept Luna up with her snowy wings into a fleeting hug.  “And I am willing to share your stresses or your fears and to help you shoulder your burdens if you rely on me to do so.”

“Thank you… for that.” Luna said haltingly, feeling somewhat uneasy by her sister’s sudden display of affection.  “But you have more than enough concerns to worry over with your royal duties.  I don’t want to bother you with my uneasiness; I can handle this myself, and if I cannot, then I shall ask you for help.  I promise, sister.”

Pulling a way, she caught a glimpse of Celestia’s face as she turned and left, perturbed by her sister’s lack of objection given how bright and damp Celestia’s eyes were.



***


“If you are trying to break my will, it won’t work.  If you seek to vex me though, I assure you it is working.”

Her voice sounded as though he was listening from underwater, liquid and muffled.  Sombra opened his eyes slowly, vision gradually returning as it always did in his vaporous form.  Faint silver light chased back the shadows, a sure sign Princess Luna had entered the miserable place.  Moonbeams and starlight adorned the Princess of the Night like a luminous cloak wherever she went, though he doubted she knew just how much of a difference she created in this wretched cell of his.

It would be lying to say he didn’t look forward to these visits of hers.

“I am not sure I know what you are referring to.” He answered patiently, shifting back into his physical form and moving closer to the enchanted bars.  “May I assume you wish to hear the rest of my story, Your Highness?”

She regarded him silently with large teal eyes that searched for signs of treachery, her struggle to stay indifferent just barely visible beneath a mask of neutrality.  Even so, he could sense her building curiosity beneath the distrust, and he was relying on that to win out with her.

“It is not the reason I came here,” she finally admitted, relaxing a fraction, “But I do wish to have you continue regardless.”

Her voice was clear and ringing when she spoke, so different from how he heard things when he was incorporeal.  It was so peculiar; here she stood, older than he by far in many regards, and yet she sounded so much younger when she spoke, for all one’s imagination still in that pristine moment of a filly who had finally, truly blossomed into a radiant mare.

He wondered if she would stay that way forever.

Sombra looked away from her, not trusting that his thoughts wouldn’t show on his face.  He paced back and forth a little before finding a spot near the wall and settling down, leaning against the cool stone, closing his eyes as he started to remember again.

“I believe when we last spoke, I’d told you about my parents’ vizier seeking me out around the same moment I had decided I wanted an audience to request an expedition to the Star Lake Caves.” He murmured.

“You said he was bringing you to hear what would become the worst news of your life.” Luna spoke softly.  He nodded, his right ear and mane scraping against the stone.  Without meaning to, he began to frown.

“Yes…” his voice hissed through his teeth, “Growing up in a palace, you never truly realize how long its halls are, do you, Princess?  How far they stretch on.”

“Halls?” She echoed, confused.

“Especially not when one is feeling so excited.” He went on as though she hadn’t said a word, his voice growing softer as images swam through his mind.  “My eagerness was shattered quickly.  I confess I do not recall the cause or the reasoning behind what happened, just that it happened.

“I was not taken to the audience hall, but a private chamber where the rulers of the Crystal Empire would hold council with ambassadors from all across Equestria.  The moment I entered, I knew my world had changed forever.  The details of the conversation are vague at my best recollection, but my parents had to step down from the throne.  Lucien’s coronation would be held in a few days’ time… and I was to take a place at his side, to act as his confidant, to royally advise him, and to offer my expertise about magic he hadn’t learned.  I had to stop acting foalish.  It was time to grow up and act like a prince.”

“Surely you do not begrudge your parents that reprimand?” Luna asked, and he opened his eyes to look at her.  “All ponies must grow up sometime.”

“Had the reprimand been issued by them, I would have moved past it.  No, it was Lucien turning a sharp tongue against me.”

He watched her eyes widen in shock and horror, and part of him savored the sight.  It was delicious to know he still had that effect on ponies, chained and unable to use his powers as he was.  She offered no thoughts on the matter however, and he was compelled to continue on.

“As such, you can imagine how it stung deeply to be spoken to so coldly by my own brother.  But no objection could be raised on my part.  I was, after all, only the second-born.  I was to resign myself to my fate and that would be that.  Ironically, Lucien told me I was to finish off any of my ‘silly little projects’ by his coronation day, something that wound up staying in my thoughts.”

He shut his eyes again, letting out a rumbling, melancholy sigh that set his mane and tail billowing like clouds of smoke.

“Walking back to my chambers, I suddenly realized how long the corridors were, how easily other ponies could become overwhelmed by them.  Never in my life had I felt like everything was crashing down around my ears.  Little Prince Sombra, useless unless his dear older brother had need of him, every hoof-fall of his life to be determined by the capricious whims of somepony else.” He spat bitterly.

“That can’t have been the case.” Luna said, her voice just below a whisper.  She was speaking to herself more than to him, as though trying to deny something that unsettled her.

Good.  She needed to doubt.

“I was brooding by myself for a time,” he continued nonchalantly, “Only for hours, I expect, but every second passed like an eternity.  You know the feeling, I’m certain.  Eventually it came to mind that if I couldn’t protest my fate under my brother’s rule, then I could rebel in advance, just a little.  Taking little more than a cloak, a diary of magic I had been working in, and a crystal pendant enchanted to protect the wearer, I set off at dusk, slipping out of the palace without a word to anypony.”

“To the Star Lake Caves?” Luna guessed.  His lips curled upward in a faint smile.

“You’re catching on.” He chuckled, and she flushed at his approval, scowling faintly.  “Yes, I was dragon-bent on reaching those caves and finding the crystals with their own magic.  I needed to see them for myself.  I needed to study them, to learn, and I needed to do so by myself.”

Was that a guilty look passing over the princess’s face?  And just below it…a flicker of fear?

“Indeed?” She asked.

“Oh yes,” he answered, nodding, “It took me the better part of the night—sorry, your night.  I daresay it was well past the enchanting hour when I finally reached my destination.  But the moment I laid eyes upon it, it was worth every sore, every ache, and every trifle I had suffered to get there.  The caves were beautiful beyond anything my eyes had ever beheld, and they stole the breath from my lungs.  Crystals.  Crystals of all shapes, in every size, glowing so gently with the pulse of life… of magic.  It felt as though I had cantered into a dream.”

He exhaled, a shiver running from his horn to his tail.

“They spoke to me.” He whispered.

“They spoke?” She said in skepticism.  “The crystals of the cave spoke to you?”

“Did I not say they had their own latent life and magic in them?  Yes, they spoke to me.  What was more, they knew me.  They knew who I was, and they had watched me all my life, awaiting my arrival.”

“Why?”

He chuckled at her.  Such a commonplace question, “Why.”  A single word that could open a floodgate of unpleasantries when spoken.  It was a question all creatures asked throughout their lives, but so few were ever prepared to bear the weight of the answers.

“Because they wanted to help me,” he replied, “The crystals had seen my plight, and knew it had brought me there, to the cave.  They told me the pain I felt was only minimal at the time, but that left unchecked, it would become toxic, grow into a hideousness that would eat me from the inside out.  My pain would lead to negative feelings that would poison my otherwise pure heart.”

Luna shifted uncomfortably again, and he imagined she was probably remembering something from her own past.  The two of them had more in common than she was willing to admit, but in time, he would bring her to her senses about that.

“They were warning you, then?” She asked softly, looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact with him.

“Not just warning.  They offered to help, to prevent the poison from spreading, so my heart would remain uncorrupted.  Naturally, I had grown frightened by these ominous pronouncements, so I readily accepted.  What I didn’t realize was how this living magic intended to do that.  Living magic doesn’t think like us, my dear.  Thus, the most perfect course of action was to separate my heart and me.  After all, splitting up two components of a spell can prevent it from being cast, can it not?”

A breathless hush feel throughout the bewitched prison.  Luna’s eyes were wider than ever as she gazed at him.

“It removed your heart.” She whispered.

“And encased it in a crystalline form,” he finished for her, nodding confirmation, “So I could advise my brother and fulfill my duties as prince until the danger had passed and my heart could be safely returned to me without fear of corruption.  I was unsure of this, or if there was any wisdom behind it, but I couldn’t go back on it.  I left the caves in something of a bewildered trance, my heart safely wrapped in my cloak, to return home to my family.  They were understandably furious that I had disappeared without a word, but Lucien smoothed things over.  He was relieved that I'd gotten my impulse out of the way, and the heart-shaped crystal I had brought back from the caves pleased him.  He said it was a fine token of my loyalty to the family and his leadership, and declared it would be made a beacon of light for the entire Crystal Empire.  I doubt he ever knew it was my heart.”

He went quiet, pondering, and listened as Luna drew in breaths.  Secretly, he was pleased he had her waiting on tenterhooks over this story.  Captive audiences were so delightful.

“And?” She breathed.  “Then what happened?”

“Oh my dear princess,” he said, a deep chuckle rolling out of his chest as he allowed himself a grin, “I don’t think you’re going to like that.”

> Making and Breaking Progress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia waited up in her room, worrying so greatly she was unable to sleep.  She didn’t really require that rest—she could do without sleep if need be—but she was troubled by her sister’s declarations.  She wondered if Luna truly realized what she was risking, what a thin line she was trotting on by interacting with the fallen unicorn king.

The part of Celestia that was a princess, a benevolent ruler who loved her ponies, was unsettled.  If Luna wasn’t careful, she was playing with fire by risking the chance Sombra would somehow cause her to regress into Nightmare Moon, and that would put all of Equestria at risk.  But the part of Celestia that was an older sister, despite her worry for Luna, tried to remain calm and collected.  She had to trust that Luna was older than before, changed, made wiser and more aware so she wouldn’t fall into such a trap.

The elder princess sighed wearily, settling down in front of the fireplace and tucking her legs under herself.  Worries aside, she had had another full, demanding day fulfilling her duties as a princess, and she needed a relaxing, quiet moment to herself.

A quick glance at a small table showed somepony had recently left her a decanter of hot water for making tea, and while tea normally wasn’t her beverage of choice, it sounded soothing at that moment.  Making quick work of fixing a cup with her magic, Celestia allowed herself a smile and poured over Twilight Sparkle’s most recent letter.  The young mare and her friends were no longer required to write to Celestia, but Twilight nonetheless still sent at least one letter a week to her former mentor.

“My poor, dear Twilight.” Celestia chuckled fondly, levitating her newly-made tea close to her mouth.  “I suppose it will have simply become part of your habitual routine by now.”

“Oh, but routines are so dull,” a new voice interjected cheerfully as she started to sip at her tea, “Wouldn’t you agree, dear Celestia?”

Her magenta eyes shot wide open at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice, and she looked down warily into the teacup.  A face reflected off the surface of the tea back up at her, but those yellow eyes with their red pupils weren’t her own.  It gave a quick, sly grin and vanished from her tea with a loud clicking sound, only to reappear before her with its snout inches from her muzzle.

“You really shouldn’t drink orange chai, you know,” Discord remarked, standing on his mismatched forelegs and grinning at her roguishly.  ‘It’s bad for my complexion.”

“It’s not—“

“But really Celestia, we never see each other any more!” the draconequus sighed, affecting a dramatic pout.  “Don’t you ever allow a little time for fun in your schedule?”

She slowly lifted her eyebrows.

“Is there something I can help you with, Discord?” She asked serenely.  His grin widened as he leaned back, balancing on the end of his tail.

“Actually my dear, this is about what your darling Discord can help you with.” He declared, snapping his eagle talons.  Before the princess could ask any questions he lowered his talons as though pulling down a window shade and what appeared to be a book was pulled out of thin air in his claws.  She frowned at it for a moment, thinking.  Something about the book was very familiar…

Her composure slipped as she recognized in alarm what he was holding.

“Discord!” She exclaimed angrily, seizing Luna’s diary with her magic as she got to her hooves.

“Your boring wet blanket of a sister, Princess Moody-Moon was asking some very interesting questions about a certain unicorn king.” He remarked, visibly amused by her reaction.  “I’m surprised you’ve not taken her diary and read it yet.  A good older sister isn’t afraid to stick her nose into her sibling’s personal life.”

“I am not that kind of sister.” Celestia responded firmly.  “I have no intentions to read through Luna’s diary.  I trust her.”

“Oh how positively…sweet.” Discord muttered in tones of clear disgust.  “But I must admit to a curiosity, Celestia.”

“Really?  And what is that?”

“Does your unwavering faith in your sister automatically carry over to King Sombra as well?”



***


“Perhaps you would prefer we continue the rest of the story later?  During daylight hours, maybe?”

The offer was spoken so smoothly and sweetly it took Princess Luna a moment to actually process what Sombra was saying.  His voice had slipped from ardent story-telling back into the silky charm he typically spoke with and caught her off-guard.  She frowned at that.

“Why?  Do you think I won’t have the time to hear the rest of your story in one sitting?  Or maybe you think I’ll be too frightened like some spring foal!” She snapped, getting to her hooves and drawing her head up regally.  Sombra watched her in patient silence, a smile slowly turning up his muzzle.

“Do you find this funny?” She demanded.

“Not at all,” he replied calmly.  “I am simply honored that you haven’t accused me of lying to you or fabricating my life’s story.”

Her teal eyes narrowed in a glare, immediately suspicious.

“Are you?” she said, anger prickling at her.  Stupid to get so caught up in a story!  She had all but forgotten the danger, forgotten who she was talking to.

“Hardly.” He gave a soft chuckle as the smile reached his eyes.  “It simply feels nice to have somepony trust me again.”

She relaxed a fraction, unable to prevent herself from looking upon him with sympathy.  She had to be cautious, as her sister had so urged; and yet, it was unfair to always temper her caution with a suspicious edge.

In any event, her thoughts reminded her, if I always act suspicious, then Sombra won’t trust me.  I still need to learn what he’s planning.  If he is behind all of my recent bad dreams, then I need to know why.

“Princess Luna?” He asked quietly, crimson eyes searching her face in curious inquiry.  She hesitated for a moment, studying him back.  For a former tyrant who ruled with an iron hoof, he seemed little like one now; his manners were courtly at the very least and for a stallion with teeth like a monster, he wasn’t quite so menacing when he genuinely smiled.

“Pray, please continue.” She said with a nod, clearing her throat and forcing herself to make eye contact with him.  “The living magic of the Star Lake Caves removed your heart and encased it in crystal.”

He nodded in affirmation.  “So I could advise my brother without fear or worry of my heart being poisoned by dark thoughts and negative emotions.”

“That seems…somewhat logical, I think.” Luna spoke uncertainly.

“Ahh and that would be the crux of the matter.” Sombra remarked.  “Cold logic and reasoning is very beneficial on many matters.  But what is a pony without their heart?  What are they without emotions to help temper or govern some of their choices?  Being driven only by unfettered emotions is dangerous, yes… but so is always making logical decisions and reasoning without any heart to help govern those choices.”

“Then…the living magic did you no favor by removing your heart.” The words tumbled from Luna’s mouth unchecked as she thought them.  Something about this disquieted her.

“Quite the opposite, in fact.” He responded, his eyes glassy and his gaze far-off again.  “You see, there were rumors the Crystal Empire had been at the center of some ill fortune foretold, though our pony subjects were ignorant of the matter.  I had known a little of it, though I never realized what the ominous portent actually spoke of, and by the time I did figure it out, it mattered to me very little.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, lowering herself very slowly onto her stomach to listen.

“Unbeknownst to Lucien and I, when we were foals our mother Queen Platinum was visited by Star Swirl the Bearded.”

Luna’s brows shot upward and vanished in the rippling waves of her mane, her mouth going dry as the cold numbness of the prison sank into her coat.  Could it be…?  Was it actually possible…?

“You seem surprised.” Sombra observed mildly.

“Star Swirl the Bearded was something of a mentor to my sister and I when we were younger,” she responded softly.  “He assisted us in our studies of magic.  I only recall him ever visiting the Crystal Empire three times in my life.”

And it was true.  Prior to Luna and Celestia confronting Sombra and the empire being sealed away, Star Swirl had only ever visited the place three times.  He had spoken very little of his last two trips but the sisters hadn’t questioned him about the matter.  After all, everypony was entitled to some privacy.  But now…

“He knew, the old wizard.” Sombra’s voice held some sort of ironic amusement in it and even as he furrowed his brow, he smiled wanly.  “He said he had read signs that foretold of a curse that would fall upon our fair empire.”

“Your curse?” Luna guessed tonelessly.

“Perhaps that played into it, but that wasn’t it precisely, I don’t believe.  He said the signs indicated one of the queen’s sons would turn on the other, overthrow him, and enslave the Crystal Empire.  Naturally Mother became furious; she refused to believe either of her precious colts could do something so evil, so she banished Star Swirl from the empire forever after that.  Still, his words must have rattled her because Lucien and I were very closely observed as we grew up in the event either of us displayed any indication we might become the pony Mother was warned about.  And by removing my heart, the living magic had opened the door for me to fall down that path.”

Luna shook her head, not wanting to believe what he was telling her.  “No…no, surely—“

“No?” He cut her off, raising his brows in challenge.  “I remained patient with my brother ruling for a time because it was the logical thing to do.  I decided to bide my time and study magic that dealt with control through fear because it was the logical way to put Lucien in his place.  If it became known that the king was weak and gave in to fear, I was obviously the best candidate to take over the throne.  Logically, King Sombra would be a stronger, better ruler than his brother King Lucien.  And—logically—if I wanted to remain in power and avoid being overthrown myself, the best way to do so was to keep everypony in their place and control all of them through fear.”

Luna fell silent, unsure how to argue against what he was saying.  The worst part was, she thought she could see the sense of what he was saying when regarded from an emotionally heartless standpoint.

In a way, we are parallels and yet opposite. She pondered.  He was tyrannical because he lost his heart and acted on cold reasoning.  As Nightmare Moon, I would have overtaken all of Equestria because I acted upon my emotions and didn’t reason against the Nightmare-spirit.  Strange, how we were different and yet similar.

Perhaps Sombra hadn’t been off the mark when he had stated so before.

But there was still a piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite seem to fit.

“And what of the Crystal Heart?” She asked softly, keeping her voice neutral.  “Twilight Sparkle said you had it hidden away so it wouldn’t be found, or its light be allowed to spread through the Crystal Empire.”

“This is true,” he confirmed, nodding.  “If my own heart was combatting my ability to rule the empire effectively, that would never do.  Furthermore if somepony found it and were to reunite me with my heart, I had no idea what would happen.  Would my body reject my heart and kill me in the process?  Would it become tainted again because my thoughts and emotions would be contained together again?  No, I had to hide it and trust my magic would conceal it, that it would never be found or fall into the wrong hooves.”

There was a strange, brittle quality to his voice as he spoke, and Luna began to wonder about it.

“Naturally,” he went on, “when I felt my curse break and we returned from our sleep in the other dimension, the heart was the first thing on my mind.  My memory was still fragmented but I remembered the Crystal Heart was important, and that I had to reach it before any other pony could.”

“Wait!” Luna interrupted before he could continue, realizing what she was hearing.  “You’re afraid.  You fear your own heart.”

The unicorn’s breath hissed sharply through his teeth as his eyes snapped wide open in alarm.  His gaze shifted totally back to the princess and he stayed silent, his body completely tense.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” She murmured, drawing closer to the bars separating them, feeling a surge of pity for him.  “Even if you’ve been separated from your heart all that time, you can still feel some emotions, can’t you?  You can feel the emotions that you draw your power from.  You can still feel fear, and you fear what may happen to your heart.”

“Preposterous.” Sombra finally snorted, breaking eye contact with her and glancing hurriedly away.  “I fear nothing.”

“Yes you do,” Luna frowned.  How could he deny what he was making blatantly obvious?  “You’re afraid of completely losing your heart, which is why you kept it hidden and safe.  But you’re also afraid of having your conscience reawakened and feeling remorse for what you’ve done, which is why you haven’t tried to reunite with your heart.”

The trails of magical smoke from his eyes abruptly burst back into life, larger and more opaque than Luna had seen them yet.  His countenance darkened as he stood and turned away from her.  Her frown deepened as she watched him, waiting for the angry outburst against her words.

It never came.

“And if such a theory proved accurate, then what would your response to that validation entail?” He asked coolly.  Luna bit her tongue, inwardly cursing herself.  His walls had been coming down around her, and she’d just had to go and give him reason to raise those walls again!  Her mind raced, seeking out a viable response.  She had to tread even more carefully now; if she didn’t, she would never get the answers she was looking for, and he might never consent to speak to her again!  After a few frustrating moments, she decided on simple honesty.

“I don’t know.” She replied.  “That opens up a wide realm of possibilities.  I suppose I would have to think on the matter.”

He glanced back at her over his shoulder, the smoky magic around his eyes fading down to a low mist.

“Perhaps,” he said slowly, “we both need some time to think, Princess Luna.”

“A-are you… pushing me away?” She blurted out, recoiling in shock.

“We both know I cannot force you to do anything, Your Highness.  But I do ask that you allow me some time to myself now.  I feel…drained, and I would like to do some thinking.” He murmured as he turned away again, this time becoming insubstantial and shifting into a coiling mass of shadows once more.  Luna backed up several steps, shocked and confused.  She hadn’t saved the situation at all, she’d only made it worse.  Numbness spread through her that had nothing to do with the chill of the prison and when she spoke again, her voice sounded tinny and hollow to her own ears.

“Very well.  My apologies for causing you such trouble.  I imagine we shall speak at a later date, then.”

With that she turned and marched away, feeling her disappointment seeping into her entire being in spite of trying to maintain her composure.

She barely heard the guards acknowledge her as she passed by, hardly even thought about the uneasiness the two-way mirror normally caused her.  She would never get him to trust her and be honest now.  Was there even a point in continuing her efforts to try?  But she barely had time to ponder on it before other thoughts clamored for her attention.  Sombra’s story… it could not be mere coincidence, him mentioning Star Swirl’s name.  And if that was the case, then she needed to tell her sister and the Keepers of the Elements of Harmony!

Perhaps we could reunite Sombra with his heart after all!  And maybe if that can be accomplished he’ll be different, changed.  We might see the pony he was truly meant to be before all this happened!

She heard somepony addressing her by name, but she ignored them as she started to pick up speed and break into a trot.  The thought seemed slightly far-fetched and there were several factors to consider—Cadence and Shining Armor for one thing, the fate of the empire without the original Crystal Heart for another—but if it was at all possible…

Tia gave me another chance after what happened between us. She told herself reassuringly.  Even Discord was given a second chance.  Tia will see what I mean once I’ve spoken with her.

She had been heading to her sister’s room the entire time and once outside the door, she stopped for a second to compose herself.  This would take some explaining, but Celestia was a patient pony and even so, she would want to hear of Luna’s discovery.  Clearing her throat, the younger princess raised a hoof to knock gently upon the door.

“Sister?” She called.  “Sister!  Tia, it’s me.  Please, I have to speak with you right away!”

After a moment’s pause, the door swung out as if to admit her entry, but she had barely crossed the threshold when she found herself face-to-face with the room’s occupant.  Her enthusiastic greeting instantly dried up on the tip of her tongue.  Celestia’s expression was fraught with worry and she was working her mouth as though she had something to say and wasn’t sure how to go about it.

“Tia?” Luna asked, voice quavering.  “What’s wrong?”

“Luna, I’m sorry.” Celestia murmured, holding out something in the grip of her magic.  Luna glanced down at it with a skeptical frown, not understanding.

And then she recognized her diary.

“Sister,” she gasped croakily, “you-you didn’t!”

“No,” Celestia sighed heavily.  “But Discord had me very temped to read it.”

“Discord?” Luna echoed, laying her ears back as her voice rose.  “He brought thee our diary?!  We demand the rogue be punished!”

“Calm down, Lulu,” Celestia said gently.  “You’re slipping back into the Royal Canterlot Voice again.”

“We always use this voice when we are upset!”

“I know, and you have a right to be upset, Lu.  I promise Discord will face consequences for his actions.  But Luna, I can’t just ignore the things he brought up, either.”

“Such as?” She asked sullenly, cradling the diary to her chest.

“All of these visitations to King Sombra,” her sister replied, prompting the Princess of the Night to give a small shiver.  “Luna, I’m really starting to worry.  I won’t tell you to stop asking him questions or trying to find the truth; I can’t make you do anything against your will.”

Another shiver ran the length of Luna’s spine down to her tail.  She wondered what her sister would say if she knew she was echoing Sombra’s own remarks.

“But for safety’s sake, perhaps you should consider… spacing out the time of your talks with him.” Celestia continued before looking abruptly ashamed with herself for suggesting the idea.  “I’m sorry, Lulu, I don’t want to sound patronizing; I just don’t think it’s wise for anypony to be constantly around someone who feeds off fear and insecurities.  You understand, don’t you?  I’m just concerned for you, sister.”

The hollow feeling she had been experiencing since the terrible ending to her conversation with Sombra increased sharply.  Still she tried to work a smile onto her face.  She didn’t think it worked; it felt more like she was managing some sort of a grimace.

“Oh.  Of-of course, Tia.  I understand.  You’re right, as usual.  Thank you.”

Her thoughts fled her mind as the cold hopelessness stole over her completely.  Where her mind had been a tumultuous whirlpool of thoughts before, suddenly there was nothing in her head at all, but a deep desire to go back to her own room, curl up in her bed and lose herself in dreams for hours.  Throat somewhat tight, she turned away and slowly started to leave.

“Luna?  Are you alright…?”

“Of course, Tia.  Just tired.  Don’t worry about me, I understand what you’re saying.  It is, after all…” she tried to think for a second, then settled on the only term that came to mind.  “It’s the logical thing to do.”
> Trust Me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A few weeks went by without incident as Luna kept to herself and her duties, avoiding other ponies as best as she could.  Cadence had finally sent another letter shortly after Luna’s last visit to the oubliette, saying that most unfortunately her search for information on the Crystal Heart had turned up no results.  Any information left on the Crystal Heart was probably tied too closely to information on King Sombra, and the ponies of the Crystal Empire wanted nothing to do with that dark period of their history.  Luna accepted the news with a sort of sullen grace, sending back to Cadence a letter of gratitude for her willingness to help and her efforts to look, and then took to writing in her journal.

It wasn’t until those few quiet weeks had passed that Luna realized just how much she had begun writing in the journal.  She was busy penning down yet more thoughts when the quill ran dry and she had to dip the numb in the ink again.  Her eyes scanned over her writing when the detail jumped out at her: barely a sixth of the journal was left for her to write in.  Her hold on her magic slipped a moment and the quill clattered to the surface of the desk.  Had she ever written this much before in her long life?

I have too many thoughts in my head, some part of her mind insisted.  I’m too consumed by them.  Writing them out is the only way I can free them and keep from going mad.  I simply shouldn’t question it and just let the matter be, keep writing.  Yes, that will be the simplest thing to do.

But even as she continued the entry she was currently on, she felt half-distracted.  She was still quite stunned to realize how much she had been writing so recently.  There was also a nagging sort of doubt and suspicion that remained with her, left over from discovering Discord had swiped the journal and tried to tempt Celestia with it.  Would Luna always have to be on guard now, should the draconequus make more efforts to vandalize her private thoughts in such a manner?  She didn’t like to entertain the idea.

“One day he shall learn respect for our privacy.” She reassured herself aloud, or tried to.  It all actuality it was highly unlikely; he was Discord, after all.

She finished the entry and set her writing aside, trotting to her large windows and easing them open.  Nearly sunset.  With a sigh, she shut the windows again and concentrated her magic on a teleportation spell, the observation tower she so loved coming into her mind as her destination.  The magic enveloped her and then passed through her until she felt weightless for a brief instant.  The spell was her and she was the spell, her awareness stretching far beyond its normal boundaries.

And then the moment was gone and the world became solid—or rather, she became solid—once again with an audible pop, and she opened her eyes to see the foot of the winding stairs before her.  Silently she started to climb, ignoring the surprised and hasty greetings of the Solar Guards on either side of the archway.  Normally she would have returned the courtesy, but the recent writing left her confused, quiet, brain-numb, and perhaps just a little empty.  Her mind wanted to form thoughts but she just couldn’t, and merely climbed the path to the observation tower deck in a trance-like state.

Once she was at the top of the tower, she looked at the sky again.  Her elder sister was setting the sun to rest, its gold and red-violet plumage waving a final farewell to the day.  Luna stood and watched quietly, mind at peace as she took in the spectacle.  An abrupt memory returned to her, an older diary entry from her days as a filly when she and Tia had both written in the bound volume almost daily.  Little Luna had observed her sister’s first successful attempt to raise the sun and at the time, there had been nothing cooler in her life.  And now a small smile stole across the Moon Princess’s face as she recalled her ecstatic journal entry and watched the sun sink below the horizon, remembering how she had been so in awe and wanted nothing more than for her sister to be equally proud of her raising the moon.

Dusk began to settle in and Luna waited patiently, bringing forth small patches of stars here and there, waiting for the perfect time to raise the moon.  At last, when the moment seemed right, she called forth the beautiful, shining silver light and hung it carefully among the constellations.  Releasing her magic, she took a few steps back to admire her work.  No matter what anypony else thought, it was a lovely night.

There was a soft, sinister hiss somewhere behind her.

The hair on the back of her spine rose and she cast a quick glance over her shoulder, instantly on edge.  All she saw was a small, curling, slithering shadow that was beginning to slip away from view.  As her eyes widened, the shadow slid over the edge of the terrace, forming a jagged claw that beckoned to her.  And then it shot away down to the grounds, slipping between arched windows and into the palace corridors below.  Luna held her breath, hesitating only for a second.

It’s impossible.  It couldn’t be…

But the fact was the shadow had beckoned for her to follow, and Luna, with her curiosity piqued and her mind already forming dozens of questions, teleported down from the observation tower to go find it.


***


Sombra paced the length of his cell just a bit impatiently as he waited for her arrival.  His breath was coming a bit fast and shallowly, and his entire body shivered with excitement.  His shadow continued to draw closer, and he knew from his connection to it that the Princess of the Night was indeed following.  So close…so close…

The shadow slithered down the stony flood in the long, cavernous hall before finally slipping through the enchanted barrier and reuniting with the soft, elegant curls of his black mane.  He allowed himself a small, sly smile as he looked at the mouth of the hall and caught sight of Luna’s approach.  There remained some suspicious uncertainty in the way she moved, but he could sense her intrigue even from there.  She had a brief word with the guards before advancing toward his cell, her tail swishing back and forth behind her.  Sombra worked his features into a neutral expression and slowed his pacing.

“Thou wished to see us?” Luna finally asked when she came to a halt on the other side of the cell.  He had to hold back a bit of irritation at her use of the older tongue; clearly she was trying to lay it out that she was in charge in that moment, and that meant she was unlikely to really hear anything he had to say to her.

Patience… He reminded himself.  If he was correct in his guess based upon his interactions with the princess prior, then she would indeed hear what he had to say, no matter how closed-off she might act.

“What, and you didn’t want to see me?” He tossed back innocently, giving her a broad smile.  She didn’t reply for a long moment.

“Didst thou wish to speak with us?” she finally asked in a tone of polite civility.  “We thought thee of the opinion that we needed to take space from thee.  Is that not correct?”

This last sentence rang with the echo of a royal command.  Some part of the unicorn king still bristled at that—the nerve!  He was royalty too, after all—but at the same time he also found he enjoyed hearing that tone of authority from the alicorn princess.  She wore her regality still with some measure of pride.  Really, she ought to, as far as he was concerned.

“It was,” he agreed with a slow nod.  “Have I vexed you with this change of mind?”

“We are confused,” she replied, tone uncertain, “but not complaining.  Pray tell, what brought thee to this change of mind?”

He took a deep breath and let it out again.

“Do you remember our initial talk?” He asked.  “When I told you that I am caught in this rip, this tear between the magical ley lines and the Shadow?  And our conversations concerning my… ability to move in and out of the Shadow, however minimal?”

She nodded, sending a rippled through her flowing mane.  “We have not forgotten.”

He cast his eyes down and flicked his tail a bit, wondering how to approach what he had to say next as he studied his iron-plated hooves.  Would she believe him?  Or would she snort in his face?  Finally he simply decided to go for broke and try to just speak plainly.

“I trust you are familiar with the present queen of the changelings?” He prompted, and Luna’s teal eyes narrowed sharply.

“We know of Queen Chrysalis.” She spoke in cold, clipped tones.  There was the smallest of magical surges in Sombra’s horn.  The princess despised the changeling queen, and the realization brought a rush of delight to the stallion.  That was good; he needed that.

“She is planning something.” Sombra murmured, and Luna raised a slender brow.

“Planning something?” She echoed.  “What dost thou mean?  How came thee to know this?”

“I must confess,” he admitted a touch guiltily, shuffling his hooves, “I’ve been slowly testing my limitations with trying to see into the Shadow and across Equestria.  It comes and goes, so I haven’t always been able to get far.”

“So thou have attempted escape, and influencing the rest of Equestria with thy powers.” She said coolly, eyes narrowing again.  He returned her gaze calmly, slowly blinking.

“You actually gave me the idea from our discussions, Princess.” He replied quietly.  “But do you really wish to sit here and deliberate when there is a chance to prevent danger and protect your subjects from the wrath of the changelings?”

She remained quiet a moment as the wheels in her head turned, and finally she nodded in a determined sort of way.

“Right!” She seemed to be rallying herself as she spoke.  “We have a duty to our subjects and we must not fail them!  Our royal sister shall wish to know of this development, and we must rally our defenses in preparation for the assault!”

“Not a bad course of action.” He remarked, and abruptly she seemed to recall he was still there and watching her.  Flushing a bit self-consciously, she respectfully inclined her head.

“We will of course let it be known that thy hoof in the matter is not over-looked, unicorn king.” She said formally.  He could avoid lifting his brows in surprise.  “Unicorn king”, she called him.  A bit different in terms of address from “king of no kingdom”, quite a bit different.  Perhaps her previously low opinion of him was beginning to change after all.

Then now is my chance.

“Actually, princess…’ he began cautiously, waiting for her reaction, “I had been considering another course of action altogether.  Provided you are not opposed to listening to what I have to suggest, that is.”

She hesitated, suspicious again, but she nodded.

“Perhaps we could attempt to approach the changeling court.” He said, drawing in another deep breath.  Her brows shot up, almost disappearing into her mane.

“ ‘We’?” She echoed incredulously.

“Yes.” He said.  “It has been over a thousand years since I last actually attempted a diplomatic approach with another royal, but you have been doing so since your return, no?”

She winced, looking a touch uncomfortable.  “Not precisely.  We are learning again the arts of diplomacy, but it is our sister who excels at such things.  But why dost thou include thyself in this?”

He glanced down again.

“If you and I,” he began softly, “were to go on our own to the changeling court, perhaps we could head off the problem.  I can attempt to assist your diplomacy to the best of my abilities.”

She watched him for a long time, before remarking, “Celestia would not free thee from thy cell for this occasion.”

“No,” he concurred, “But I was hoping… that perhaps… you might.”

“What?” Her regal tone and pretense dropped immediately.  “You can’t be serious!”

“I am.” He replied, looking up and meeting those teal eyes.  “Please consider this, Princess Luna.  If you and I personally go deal with the matter, then no one will call you incapable of diplomacy and handling things on your own.”

“And what do you stand to gain from this?” She immediately demanded.

“A chance to stretch my legs and get out of this accursed cell for a while, a breath of fresh air.  And if it suits you, I shall take the blame should this put you in any sort of trouble with your sister.  Besides, perhaps it is time I begin to truly redeem myself and earn back the right to be reunited with my heart.”

She continued to scrutinize him, though something in her expression appeared to soften. After a second, she asked, “And how do I know this isn’t some sort of trick?  You could turn on me the instant I set you free.  I have no guarantee that you aren’t planning treachery of some sort.”

“It would be a very foolish gamble, to risk turning on you while your guard is up.” He answered.  “I know you don’t exactly trust me, fair lady of the night, and I don’t blame you for that.  I’ve done nothing to earn your trust.  But if I should turn on you, then it will be short work for you to incarcerate mem again.  And you can prove your suspicions about me to your sister once and for all.  Is that not fair?”

Silence fell between them for quite some time.  They stood looking into each other’s eyes, measuring and weighing one another in the tense quiet.  Sombra held his breath, waiting.  This was it, the moment of truth.

Do you trust me, Luna?

“You bring up excellent points.” She said quietly.  “I suppose you wouldn’t want anypony else knowing if I set you free and we set off on this venture?”

“Preferably not.” He concurred.  “I highly doubt we would even make it out of the palace grounds if anyone knew.  And I don’t think trying to appeal for the chance to be freed under observation to assist you would work.  At least, not in time to make a substantial difference.”

She hesitated again, looking away and staring at nothing as she thought.

“Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.” He added with a light shrug of his shoulders.  Luna pursed her lips as she frowned, still thinking.  Without warning her horn shimmered, chiming softly with magic.

And then the enchanted barrier dissolved.

Sombra stifled a small gasp and as Luna backed up a few steps, he tentatively picked his way forward, watching his hooves warily as he crossed the threshold where the barrier had been.  Tiny shivers ran up his powerful legs and he had to consciously not shiver like a newborn foal.

“I hope for both our sakes I don’t come to regret this, Sombra.” Luna remarked, and he looked up at her, unsure what to say.  Luckily he didn’t have to think of anything.

“Come stand by me,” she ordered him, “And I shall teleport us to an unguarded, unseen spot beneath the outer wall.”

He complied readily and gave a respectful nod, holding back another shiver as he stood close enough to her their shoulders almost touched.  She raised her horn high, her magic encasing them, and the two vanished.


***


It hadn’t occurred to Luna to double back.  Perhaps she had been secretly too eager for the opportunity to let it just pass her by.  Perhaps she was actually beginning to develop some trust for the deposed unicorn king.  But whatever the reason, the thought hadn’t occurred to her.

Had she doubled back, she would have found the guards as they fell over, dark magic pouring from their eyes like smoke as they entered a mindscape of their worse fears.
> Accept Me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The prickling, crawling sensation of something being off began to slowly creep up on Celestia about halfway through her supper.  She couldn’t attribute it to anything particular at first beyond intuition; nothing jumped out to her as being wrong.  Her appetite diminished slightly and she frowned in thought as she finished her meal, much to the worry of the ponies serving her.

“Is everything to your liking, Princess?” she was asked more than once, to which she automatically answered with a smile and a “yes, thank you very much” each time.  After a few repeats of this the staff ponies stopped asking, content with the notion all was well and the princess simply had something on her mind.  But Celestia wasn’t to have reprieve so soon.  Loyal, fussy Kibitz was too observant a pony to simply accept that answer.

“Your Highness, you have looked troubled since you were served the main course,” he remarked, watching her hawkishly from nearby.  “I do believe you are not dissatisfied with your meal, but everything isn’t alright, is it?”

Celestia carefully lifted her eyebrows as she glanced over to the fastidious unicorn.

“Why Kibitz, are you worried about me being worried?” she asked with a small smile, somewhat amused by the notion.  His mustache bristled from side to side as she watched him.

“It’s my job!” he replied insistently, to which Celestia graced him with a warm chuckle.  His mustache bristled a little further and he added, “And at any rate, anything that worries Equestria’s beloved princess ought to worry her ponies as well!”

“Perhaps,” she agreed.  “But not everything that worries me ought to worry my subjects.  Please don’t get worked up, Kibitz.  It isn’t necessary for you to get stressed; I’m not even sure what it is that makes me uneasy at the moment.”

Though he was clearly reluctant to back off, the unicorn quieted at this and for a short time Celestia was left to wonder still what could possibly be giving her such an unsettling feeling.  It wasn’t until she was on her way back to her rooms that she glanced over a tapestry depicting the recent triumph over King Sombra and the return of the Crystal Heart that she wondered where her sister was.


***


Princess Luna was quite bewildered as they stole away from the palace.  Sombra managed to remain calm as they slipped out of sight, but the farther they got into the wooded pathway winding down and away from Canterlot, the more he started to fidget and trot about.  Luna watched in growing surprise and confusion initially.  Yet the more she observed his eager, excited trotting, the more she realized how genuinely excited he was.  How long had it been—truly been—since he had had the opportunity to get outside and simply enjoy the freedom and open air?  There was something both amusing and sweet in watching his childlike jubilation at being out and walking.  He was like a spring foal getting to see the world for the first time.

“It feels exhilarating, being able to breathe in the night air and feel a dirt path beneath my hooves!” his voice came out somewhat breathlessly as he tossed his mane back, holding his head high.

“Even though this is not the Crystal Empire?” she asked delicately, arching a slender brow.  She kept her wings tucked in tight to her sides as she looked at him, resisting the urge to fly as she normally did.  Sombra smiled brightly at her, a genuinely happy smile, and Luna felt a small swooping sensation in her stomach.

“Where we are at this moment hardly matters,” he replied.  “I only care about savoring it, drinking in the experience.”

She pointedly looked away, pretending to study her stars and constellations.  Something in the way the unicorn king worded himself suggested there was more to what he was saying than just enjoying freedom from his cell.  There were several minutes of silence between them and then Sombra spoke again.

“It is a lovely night.”

Luna glanced at him again, surprised.  “I beg your pardon?”

“It is a lovely night,” he repeated, crimson eyes not leaving her face.  “You should take pride in your dominion, Your Highness.  Its beauty is nearly matchless.”

“ ‘Nearly matchless’?” she echoed indignantly before she could stop the words from escaping her lips.  He didn’t balk at this however; his smile grew warmer and he looked at her through a half-lidded gaze.

“Yes,” he confirmed with a respectful incline of his head.  “Its beauty is only matched by your own, Princess.”

Her jaw dropped open in astonishment as she blinked in disbelief.  Surely he hadn’t just said that!  But no, no he had.  But he head to be jesting, teasing her with playful flattery!  Yet the look in those eyes, eyes for once devoid of the traces of his dark magic, revealed nothing but complete sincerity.  Luna felt a blush creeping into her face and for once the silvery illumination of the moon for which she was named was of no help.  She looked away, lifting her head high and trying to avoid meeting his gaze.

“Flattery is just pretty words.”  She tensed, pulling her folded wings even tighter against her sides.  “If we are going to talk with each other, I prefer we do it openly and plainly.”

“You think I meant to flatter you this time?” he asked quietly.  “I meant what I said, and I have no intention to rescind my statement.”

Against her will her teal eyes flicked toward him to study his face.  Again she read nothing in his eyes but complete sincerity.  Her blush darkened as her cheeks grew warm.  Her stomach twisting itself in knots, Luna relaxed as best she could and cleared her throat.

“Then… thank you, King Sombra,” she said, her voice coming out much softer than she had intended.  The corners of his mouth tilted upward in delight.

“Of course, Princess Luna,” he replied just as gently.  And on they walked, lapsing into a vaguely awkward, but not uncomfortable, silence.


***


“You’re getting worried, aren’t you?”

Celestia let out her breath in a quiet sigh.  She wasn’t even going to bother asking why Discord had taken it upon himself to “visit” again, or how he had in some way picked up on her growing distress.  The delighted tone was irksome but she could address that later.  Opening her eyes, she favored him with a glance.

“Was I that obvious?”

She meant the question to be rhetorical, but from the sly grin spreading over the draconequus’s muzzle, she knew he was ready with an answer.

“Come now dear Celestia, I know you, and probably far better than anypony else.”

“Except my sister,” she retorted gently.

“The enigmatic Princess Moody-Moon,” Discord remarked, switching the heads of statues lining the hall as he floated alongside her, “is the reason you’re worried.”

Celestia tilted her head over her shoulder as she walked down the long hall, her horn shimmering with the glow of her magic as she restored the statues Discord kept switching.  “Yes,” she admitted absently, doing her best to ignore him as he floated along on his back in midair.  “Luna’s been a bit more reserved than usual lately, though I was hoping at some point she might open up to me.  Now though I’m worried she’s gone somewhere without warning.  It’s not like her to miss meals or at least check in if she’s going to be late.”

“Talking like that you sound more like a mother than a sister.”  Discord gave a slight snigger.  “Maybe that’s why she’s being so quiet.”

The Princess of the Day said nothing, pointedly doing her best to keep the jibe from getting under her skin.  This sort of behavior was to be expected; it wasn’t exactly in Discord’s nature to be helpful, and certainly not in any conventional way.  He took too much delight in irritating where he could.  Still somewhere deep, deep down she half-wondered if maybe he had a point.

“Oh sure, fine,” Discord huffed, the silence getting to him.  “Ignore Dissy when he’s trying to be helpful.”

“Why Discord,” she said in a voice of feigned surprise, allowing herself a small smile.  “Perhaps Fluttershy and the rest of Twilight’s friends are having a positive influence on you after all!”

“I never said that!” he shot back quickly, a hint of affront and irritation in his tone.  He regained his usual composure quickly though.  “Listen Celestia, I know you prefer to stick to your boring little morals, but…”

He vanished in a pop and a flash of light before reappearing in front of her in the same manner.  She came to a halt and realized he was yet again clutching Luna’s journal in his mismatched claws.  Celestia’s breath caught in her lungs as a sense of unease stole over her.

“If you really want to help your gloomy little rain cloud of a sister,” Discord continued, watching her intently, “then shouldn’t you use your resources wisely?”

Steeling herself, the alicorn princess took a deep breath in and out before meeting those red-and-yellow eyes.  Firmly she answered, “I wish to respect my sister.  I worry enough already without having to worry about breaking her trust.  And so because of that respect, I won’t read her journal.”

A flat, sullen look came over the draconequus’s face as he regarded her.  He didn’t even bother hiding his disappointment.  “Well, how noble of you.”

She graced his tone of mockery with a tiny nod, but then he grinned wickedly, slipping a talon into the journal’s pages and flipping it open.

“Luckily,” he trilled in a wicked singsong, “I don’t have that problem!”


***


A cold shiver ran down Luna’s spine that had nothing to do with the atmosphere or her present company.  No, it was tied to a sensation she’d rarely felt before, one that was difficult to put a name to.

Like somepony walking on my grave.

She shuddered again and did what she could to push the morbid thought out of her mind.  Unsurprisingly Sombra noticed, red eyes flickering as he looked at her.

“Are you cold, fair princess?” he asked, and without waiting for a reply, he pulled the magnificent royal cloak from his shoulders and gently draped it across her back before she could explain herself.

“Oh!”  Heat buzzed in her cheeks and tingled between her wing joints at this.  “I-I—thank you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” he declared, carrying himself with a bit more dignity and pride as he smiled at her.  She averted her gaze to the ground as they walked, trying to hide the smile she  felt growing in response.  Thoughts tumbled around in her mind erratically, thoughts about the dark stallion walking beside her, thoughts she hadn’t wanted to admit to having.

Sombra was more of a gentlecolt than she had initially would have deemed possible.  And despite her suspicions and uneasiness from before, she found herself drawn to him.  The longer they walked with one another, the more comfortable she began to feel in his presence.

One of the thoughts resurfaced and she felt compelled to voice it.

“Forgive my asking, Sombra,” she began slowly, still keeping her gaze on the ground.  “But I was wondering if by any chance you had given any more thought to the possibility of being reunited with the Cryst—I mean, your heart.”

She sensed his surprise but to the unicorn king’s credit, his strides never slowed or wavered.  Still, it was a long moment before he responded.

“I have considered it, yes.  Probably not quite as much as I could have but yes, I gave it thought after our last little chat.”

“And?” she prompted, and when it appeared he was going to possibly shut down and withdraw, she asked, “Does the idea still frighten you?”

“Isn’t it the fear of the unknown that keeps so many ponies up at night?” he murmured.

“Is that a yes?”

He looked over at her, the ghost of a roguish smile passing over his face.  “It’s not a no.”

“You know,” Luna found herself saying as she looked up and gazed at the path ahead of them, “there is much you could accomplish, so many good things that could happen if you learn to face your fears.”

That deep rolling chuckle spilled over her ears, rich and warm as melted chocolate.  “Words spoken with a practiced ease and familiarity.  Do you say that to everypony?”

“I say that to a good many,” she admitted with a nod.  “I visit them in their dreams to help them conquer what they fear, if I can.”

This time he did slow his stride a fraction and when she looked at him, the roguish grin was back in full force.  Her heartbeat picked up and a buzz of heat returned to her cheeks.

“Why my dear Princess of the Night,” Sombra remarked with a sly tone, “are you offering to pay me a personal visit in my dreams?”

Her cheeks grew even hotter.  “Not in the way your tone suggests,” she mumbled, glancing away.  Of all the things!  He couldn’t be serious!  No, it was just more teasing.  He probably enjoyed flustering her.

The toothy grin only served to prove this true.

“I only tease,” he said innocently.  “Relax princess, I meant nothing by that comment.”

“Perhaps you are not so much of a gentlecolt as I thought,”she mused with a lofty sniff.

“Please relax a little, Princess.  I don’t always like being serious to the point of stiff formality,” he explained, his smile becoming genuine again.  “It allows very little room to get to know somepony properly.  And before you naysay that, yes I do wish to get to know you, to know who Luna is, not just the princess all of Equestria sees.”

The sincerity and softness in his voice got her attention.  She hesitated, just on the verge of doubt.  This was Sombra, deposed tyrant-king of the Crystal Empire.  This was the same unicorn who had cursed the empire even as she and Celestia had banished him to the Shadow, back when they had been united with the Elements of Harmony a thousand years ago.  He was dangerous and unpredictable, and far, far more powerful than any pony ought to be.

Yet he was also the pony who had been locked in the oubliette after his re-emergence, alone and broken.  He had opened up to her and told her his story, a story her heart told her was true.  He challenged her calm façade and yet spoke to her as if she were the closest friend and confidant he could ever hope for.  And all of this, to say nothing of how he had been on her mind for months already or the effect he was having on her now.

She relaxed completely, her heart swelling as the tension left her body and she smiled at him.  His ears stood up in surprise and delight, and she walked a little closer to him.

“Well then, shall we talk?  I imagine we have plenty of time on the path ahead to get to know one another, King Sombra.”

“Please… just call me Sombra.”


***


She rose the sun with the dawn, and still there was no sign of her younger sister, not hide nor hair.  Breakfast came and went, and not a word.  Royal duties called and she had to attend to them, escorted by two of her Solar Guards and flanked by Kibitz as usual… and still Celestia had no clue where Luna was at that moment.

This wasn’t to say she didn’t have her suspicions as to what had happened.  But she hoped and prayed they were wrong.  And even so, she couldn’t afford to spend her time dwelling on the possibilities.  She still had her tasks as a ruler to attend to, and she couldn’t afford to allow herself to be distracted.  She put the thoughts out of her mind and for a while this worked.

But around midday the proceedings of her scheduled were interrupted by an unexpected arrival, one that boded ill.  She was being asked to give an opinion on an argument to be settled when it occurred.  As a Canterlot designer protested her rival from Manehattan had stolen her fabric designs, a loud cry rent the air, almost feral in nature.  All discussion was cut short by gasps as Celestia’s phoenix, Philomena flew into the room, a plume of crackling flames trailing in her wake.  Instantly the Princess of the Sun was alert once more.

“Philomena?” she asked uncertainly as the phoenix flew up to her, the magical bird’s feathers burning white-hot in distress.  “What is it, girl?”

The phoenix let out an agitated cry, flying away a few feet before circling back frantically.  Celestia shot to her hooves, ignoring the shock and protests from those around her, and gave chase, following her loyal pet as Philomena flew from the room and took off through the castle, blazing a path like a comet.  Their flight gained the attention of everypony they passed and it wasn’t long before many of the guards were shouting at one another to get moving and follow their princess.  Celestia barely took notice; she could do nothing but follow her phoenix.  And very soon, she realized where Philomena was leading her.  Her heart and stomach gave a lurch as she recognized the path to the underground levels of the palace, particularly a single corridor.

The guards called after her and she slowed her pace as she drew nearer to the door that stood ajar.  The door to the room of enchanted mirrors.  In particular, where the two-way mirror linked to the prison between here and the Shadow was housed.

Swallowing and doing what she could to maintain her composure, she looked to the entourage of guards.  “Hurry!” she urged.  “Before we’re too late!”

Except we’re already too late, some part of her whispered as the seeds of doubt began growing.  And too soon as they found the guards of the oubliette locked mercilessly in visions of their worst nightmares, Celestia realized she had allowed something into her heart that she hadn’t given power to in years.

Fear.


***


Despite being midday everything was beginning to look gray and gloomy.  At first Luna was confused, then assumed it simply had to be the weather turning.  Thankfully it wasn’t a problem and it didn’t deter them from their path.  If it could be called a path, of course.

“Blast!” Sombra muttered under his breath.  “This doesn’t look quite right.  Where are we?”

She pulled up short, glancing around.  “I’m not entirely sure,” she admitted.  Of course, how could she know?  She had been too invested in the conversation to really notice which direction they had been going.  The stallion let out a ragged sigh as he shook his head.

“I must apologize, Princess.  I’m afraid I’ve gotten us lost.”  He tensed and scowled, more than a little upset with himself.  Luna offered him a smile, walking up to his side and giving him a little nudge with her shoulder.  He gave her an inquisitive look.

“It’s alright.  We were enjoying the conversation,” she said pleasantly.  “There’s no point in getting upset over it.  Besides, we’ll be able to get on the right path again; all it requires is some creativity, that’s all.”

His thick, dark eyebrows lifted.  “Oh really?  Is that so?”

She pursed her lips, frowning.  “I can tell you don’t believe me,” she remarked, bordering on a sulky tone.  “Well, disbelieve all you want; we’ll be able to get back en route with this idea.  Just watch and see, Sombra!”  She trotted past him, smiling and holding her head high.  He made a skeptical noise behind her but she paid it no heed.  She focused her magic into a single spell, weaving it into an enchanted compass to turn loose upon completion.  Luna smirked, pleased as she felt the spell reaching out, ready to lead them.  It had been a while since she had done this, but any doubt she had harbored that she wouldn’t have been able to pull the moon compass spell off vanished when it had come together so naturally.  And she was certain it would work as intended...provided Sombra was willing to help instead of dismissing it.

“Sombra, can you cast a blanket of shadows to follow my spell?” she asked, looking back at him.  His brows rose high again and she smiled sheepishly.  “A moon compass operates better in the dark.”

A smirk turned up the corners of his mouth as he walked up to her side.  “Of course I can.  Foal’s play.”

She held back a chuckle as she watched him, but as she glanced around she did a double-take and lost track of the spell he was casting.  What she was seeing baffled her.  How had she not noticed earlier?  How was it even possible?  Even as the air around them darkened with his spell, she found herself unable to look away.

“There, nothing to it.  And your compass is visible now.  You were right, Luna.  This is cleverly creati—are you alright?”

“I—you—” she stumbled over her words before looking away, shamefaced and embarrassed.  “Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to stare.  But you… you’re not… your flank…”

His eyes flickered, going half-lidded as he realized what she was getting at.  “Ah, yes.”  He glanced back, lifting a hind leg slightly.  “Yes, I am a blank flank.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Luna murmured, unable to meet his gaze.

“Why?  What is there to be sorry for?” he asked, not sounding bothered in the slightest.  “I am not ashamed just because I don’t have a Cutie Mark.”

Luna jerked her head back up, brow furrowing.  “You aren’t?” she asked in puzzled surprise.  So many ponies made such a big deal out of Cutie Marks lately it took her a moment to remember things were different a thousand years ago.  Today ponies seemed to put an almost desperate emphasis on ensuring fillies and colts earned their marks and discovered their talents before adulthood.  But a thousand years ago late bloomers were more common, and it wasn’t rare to sometimes run into a mare or stallion who hadn’t found their Cutie Mark yet.

And a thousand years ago, Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire, her thoughts reminded her.

“Of course I’m not,” he snorted, tossing back his mane.  “When rule passed to my brother, I threw myself into focusing on being his council.  And when I took the throne I was too busy building my empire to care.  I lost all idle time I could have spent focusing on that, but really, is it that important?  Is it such a crime that I don’t know that part of myself yet, that I haven’t discovered my ‘special’ talent?”

“Well, no,” she replied.  “It isn’t.”

“And there is no point in overreacting to the matter, in my opinion,” he remarked.  “I am not bothered by my lack of Cutie Mark.  One day I may discover it, or perhaps I never will.  But it doesn’t bother me; I don’t need it to earn anypony’s approval, and in the meantime I am content with being a jack-of-all-trades.”

“A jack-of-all-trades?” Luna echoed, unable to keep a small chuckle out of her voice, and that roguish grin of his resurfaced.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.  Particularly where magic is concerned.”

She smiled softly, then drew in a breath.  “I am sorry if I upset you.  I didn’t mean to be… well, awkward, I guess.”

“Do you accept me as I am?” he asked patiently.  “Cutie Mark or not?”

A thought, vague and buried, attempted to surface in Luna’s mind but she shook it off and it was forgotten.  “Yes,” she answered, walking close to him again as they began to follow her magical compass.  “With or without it, you are you.”  On an impulse she gave his cheek a quick nuzzle, her own face growing warm.

“You not having a Cutie Mark doesn’t change how I look at you.  I accept you for you, Sombra.”

He turned, catching her by surprise, and for a brief moment their muzzles touched before he pulled back, smiling.

“And I you, Luna.”
> Without Warning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ponies could misjudge others, and ponies could change. These were both common truths, ones Luna had been faced with herself for longer than she could remember. Her own sister had also learned this during the course of their long separation and then reunion. And surely Celestia employed that same knowledge in her day-to-day interactions with their subjects. In fact, had she not even done so for Discord? Then surely she would be willing and open-minded again, once she saw how well Luna and Sombra worked together in their diplomacy with the Changeling queen.

A scowl worked its way onto Luna's face despite her attempts to hold it back. Chrysalis… that fiend had nearly destroyed Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding, had struck Celestia low, and allowed her underlings to temporarily overrun Canterlot. Luna had been preoccupied with the border patrol where she and a faction of guards had fought to near-exhaustion against a legion of the shape-shifters, not realizing their attackers were part of a larger invasion. Still, Luna had heard enough about what transpired once she'd made it back, and the entire ordeal angered her. She would love nothing more than to give Queen Chrysalis a piece of her mind but this wasn't going to be the right occasion for that. She would have to remain calm and guarded once they entered the Badlands and found the Changeling court. Diplomatic negotiations were what was needed.

"Is something troubling you?"

She glanced up, adjusting her wings against her sides as she regarded Sombra. The royal red cloak once more riding over his shoulders, he had paused in clearing a path through some foliage to look at her inquisitively.

"I am surprised; you seem to pick up some of the subtlest mood changes," she remarked.

"I'm not sure how subtle it was," Sombra spoke in a low, wary voice indicating apprehension of reprimand. "One moment you were smiling at nothing, the next you were scowling at your hooves as you walked."

"You saw that?" Her insides squirmed.

He gave a short nod before resuming the use of his magic to part the overgrowth. "Do you wish to talk about the matter? Or would you prefer more pleasant topics of conversation?"

"I'm merely worrying about how negotiations might go once we reach Chrysalis's court, that's all," she replied. "But preferably, I think it would serve us better to speak of other things, to distract my thoughts that I do not dwell on the negative."

As she looked at him Luna thought she saw a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly as he smiled and perked his ears that she must have imagined it.

My anxiety and my overactive imagination brought together will just lead to my mind playing tricks on me, she told herself firmly.I'm trying to see proof of my anxiety where there is none.

As before, a vague thought nagged at the back of Luna's mind trying to get her attention. But Sombra began speaking again and it brushed the thought away.

"Very well. Best not to set ourselves up for failure, after all," he agreed. "What would you like to talk about, princess?"

She thought for a moment. They had already spoken for hours but she always felt it had been mostly about her. Sombra had offered up little about himself. Luna smiled secretly. Time to change that up a little.

"Actually I was wondering if you would tell me more about your foalhood," she answered. "About living in the Crystal Empire and about your brother Lucien."

His pace slowed momentarily as he frowned, looking a tad put off by her choice of topic. "The empire? Lucien?" He grimaced slightly as he regarded her. "Why do you want to know about my days as a colt? What brought on the sudden interest?"

"Curiosity," she replied. "I've shared so many of my own stories. It would be nice to hear some of yours, if you don't object."

"I don't," he said, though he sounded somewhat hesitant. "There isn't much to speak of, though. Lucien and I were thick as thieves when we were foals, and there was little more that we loved than having adventures in our castle and giving our governesses trouble. As we got older, he took to athletic and royal pursuits and I took to books and magical studies… but we still remained close friends for a long time. He tended to venture out far more often than I did; Lucien was more of a social pony from day one. I always kept to myself and liked to be left alone more often than not."

"So you didn't go out into the Crystal Empire all that much as you were growing up?"

"Very rarely. I wasn't intended to rule, so I saw little point in it unless it was necessary." Sombra slowed to a halt, the murky red glow fading from his horn as he raised his head and looked up. "It's getting quite dark."

Luna looked up as well, momentarily startled and embarrassed. "Oh, it's dusk! Please wait a moment, Sombra." And with that dismissal she trotted several paces ahead, closing her eyes and composing herself to raise the moon. As before, her moon and constellations of stars came readily in response to her magical touch. Luna lost herself in the moment, painting the sky with her nighttime. She was artist, musician, composer, writer and astronomer all in one intricate dance of spells, heeding an old call she had known her entire life.

"By the stars!"

She opened her eyes at the sound of Sombra's gasping voice, falling back into herself. She was merely Luna once again, wings spread as she stood rampant, having responded unconsciously to the pull of her own magic. She twisted around to look at Sombra, eager to see how he was responding to seeing a moon-raising up close.

But the unicorn king's gaze wasn't turned heavenward. He was staring open-mouthed at her. Feeling very self-aware in that moment, Luna folded her wings against her sides again and lowered herself until all four of her hooves were touching the ground again. She tried to think of something to say to break the awkwardness of the moment, but Sombra beat her to it.

"You're beautiful," he said breathlessly.

This time it was her mouth that fell open. Her brain tried to think of something—anything— to say but it apparently had fried. She tried to speak but couldn't even string two words together without stammering incoherently.

He thought she was beautiful? Some part of her—perhaps her wildly hammering heart— had been hoping as much without her realizing it. But on hearing him say the words she was stunned… and yet, she felt overjoyed.

"Me?" she finally managed to say, feeling a smile starting to grow. He nodded and returned the smile as he approached her.

"Indeed. I've always thought you were rather striking for a mare and a princess, but just now? There was a radiance and a glow to you I don't think anypony could hope to equal."

Heat flooded her cheeks. "I-I… don't know what to say, I… th-thank you, Sombra."

His smile widened and he knelt into a regal bow. "The pleasure," he said gently, "is all mine, Luna. You honor this fallen king with the presence of your majesty and beauty."

She stuttered for a second, remembering the brief moment where they had touched muzzles, and her face grew hotter. What was she even supposed to say to that? She glanced away, lifting her wing to shield her smile.

"W-we should carry on," she mumbled hastily, trying to switch the subject. "Just because it is night doesn't mean we ought to stop in our quest."

She picked up the pace, walking rapidly ahead. Sombra followed after a momentary pause, trotting to catch up with her.

"Wait a moment. We don't need to rush," he said, flicking his tail. "We can afford to move slower. It's a beautiful night; we should appreciate it."

Luna glanced up uncertainly, looking up from the path that would invariably lead them to the Badlands up to the star-strewn sky. Could they really?

"We still have your moon compass lighting the way we need to take," he added. "And I doubt we'll lose much time by slowing down just a little."

She glanced up to the moon compass, still glowing softly and lighting the way down the path. Technically they were still covering ground by moving during the night. That would give them an advantage. Neither of them necessarily needed sleep, but they could still rest a little by slowing their pace. And it <i>was</i> a beautiful night out…

"Very well," she said, lowering her wing and no longer trying to hide her delight. "I suppose we can. After all, it has been a long time since anypony has appreciated my night with me."

He grinned broadly. "Then we must make it count."



***



Shooting stars darted across the heavens, glittering brightly and winking out of sight as quickly as they appeared, following Luna and Sombra as the two journeyed. The night was alive with brightness and beauty, mirroring the inner joy Luna felt. Talking became storytelling that would dissolve into laughter or subside into gentle silence. The two walked even closer than before, their shoulders touching more often than not. It was during one of those comfy silences that the princess followed an impulse and leaned over to playfully nip at the dark king.

"What?" Sombra blurted out in surprise, before chuckling. "Are you challenging me?"

"It's possible," she answered playfully before taking another nip at him. He continued to chuckle and lunged, attempting to nip back. Luna giggled, dancing away from him.

"Oh, you're not getting away that easily!"

"Try me, unicorn king!"

Laughter and play were contagious for foals, and evidently the same held true now. She cantered ahead of him and he chased after her, keeping pace. He would nip and lunge, always just falling safely short of truly coming into contact with her. She laughed harder, banking sharply and wheeling around, turning the chase on him. He grinned and moved even faster, challenging her to keep pace. But she was an alicorn princess; this was foal's play to her! She raced with him, easily closing the distance between them.

And she was happy. For the first time in what was probably centuries, Luna was light-hearted and happy without any weight on her spirit. Here in this moment, there was only this moment. She could be herself without restraint around Sombra. Here and now with him, she was free.

Without warning he slowed down and she smacked into him, throwing the unicorn off-balance. He stumbled and his hooves went out from under him. He hit the ground with a grunt and Luna stopped at his side, giggling and taking a gentle nip at his ear.

"I believe the game belongs to me, Sombra," she declared with a triumphant smirk. He blinked at her a moment, then chuckled as his eyes flickered in amusement.

"I do believe you are right," he agreed, his smile turning sultry. "You are bewitching, Luna."

The words sent her heart fluttering. "Says the witch-king himself," she murmured.

"Then consider it a compliment of the highest order."

"From the bottom of your heart?"

"As deep as one can draw from a heart of crystal," he answered with a light, happy chuckle. And as he spoke and nuzzled her cheek, something in his words finally shattered the barrier and allowed her persistent thought to make itself known.

Crystal.

Luna's mind rocketed backward at breakneck speed and she remembered her nightmares. Sombra's black crystals overtaking the dreamscape, the image of Celestia drowning, the sense of hopelessness and despair, and the unicorn king's almost reverent praise of Nightmare Moon. The alicorn princess's chest went cold, so frigid with terror in that second her ribs seemed to contract sharply.

"Luna?"

In the blink of an eye she was brought back to reality. She wasn't in the grip of malevolent dreams. She was still standing beneath the stars with Sombra looking up at her, his happiness from seconds before giving way to a look of concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Luna shook her head to clear it and moved back a step. "I, uh…" Blinking, she reached up with a hoof to gently massage her temple.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, frowning as he pushed himself up to stand. She looked at him, searching his gaze. She saw only worry and concern there, and yet she could feel doubt slowly chewing away at her.

The reason I began talking with him in the first place was because of those dreams. How could I have forgotten that? How could I have forgotten my initial suspicions?

But even before those thoughts finished forming she knew why. She could feel her heart sinking. She hadn't had a single ominous dream about Sombra for weeks now. And so she had pushed her fears and suspicions out of her mind. But now…

"Luna…" His voice was soft as he leaned in close, his horn almost touching hers. She pulled back, trying to compose herself and hoping he wouldn't notice her unease.

"P-please, forgive me. I, uh…" The excuse came to her readily in a spark of inspiration. "I realized I have not bathed in a while yet. I am disgusting."

Sombra furrowed his brow for a second and then smiled again, nonplussed. "Hardly, princess. That bothers me not at all," he said, leaning toward her again. His gaze was soft and she could have sworn he was trying to kiss her. She nearly gave in but with an effort she pulled away, turning her head down and gazing at the ground.

"I'm sure you don't but I don't like to be disgusting or unclean in noble company," she murmured, thinking quickly. She had a half-formed plan in mind, but she needed to get away from him in order to pull it off. "If there is a lake or a stream nearby, would you mind giving me a few minutes of privacy to bathe properly?"

She wasn't sure how he might respond, but she nearly sighed in relief when he said, "Of course, princess." She smiled up at him and he smiled back as they resumed their trek. It took no time at all for them to find a slow-flowing river, and as Luna approached it Sombra walked away in the opposite direction for the cover of some dense trees. Heart hammering, Luna waited for him to vanish from sight.

I don't have much time, so I need to make this count.

She turned to the lazy river and touched her horn to it surface. The water rippled and began to glow as she channeled her magic to it. The spell was a gamble; it wasn't hard and it require little from her, but she had to make sure she picked someone likely to respond to it.

Unbidden the image of Celestia's beloved pupil came to mind and Luna smiled. Yes; if anypony was ideal to reach out to, it would be her. And so Luna focused with the spell's power and her strength flowing through it on the face of Twilight Sparkle. For a few seconds that dragged on with every heavy beat of her heart, nothing really happened. But then a hazy image appeared in the glow upon the water and as Luna pulled her horn away, a familiar face came into view.

"Hello?" Twilight asked uncertainly, squinting quizzically at what Luna presumed was the surface of a mirror. "Is this thing working?"

"Twilight?" Luna said hopefully. The younger mare's eyes widened.

"Princess Luna?! What's going on? Did you need something?"

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Please listen carefully, Twilight Sparkle. I don't have time to explain the details this moment, but this is important and I feel if I can entrust anyone with this, it is you."

Twilight's face lit up. "Of course! I'm very honored, princess, and I promise you I'll carry out whatever responsibility you have for me as best as I can." She turned and glanced at something out of sight. "Spike, get ready to take a note."

"There's no time," Luna said quickly. "I'm not at the palace at Canterlot. I'm over halfway to the Badlands, traveling with King Sombra."

"King Sombra?!" Twilight yelped in disbelief, her mouth falling open.

"Yes. We're headed to the court of the Changelings."

"Changelings?!" she squeaked. If it was possible for Twilight's jaw to drop any lower, it did. Luna hurried on, hoping she had enough time left to convey the message.

"Yes," she confirmed. "We're going to speak with Queen Chrysalis. But Twilight, I have doubts. I am not sure if I can fully trust King Sombra or what he has said. He claims the Changeling queen has been nursing a plan of revenge but now I have second thoughts. So I need another plan in case this goes wrong; I left the palace with him in secret. We're very close to the Badlands. I think we should reach the Changeling court by midday tomorrow. If something goes wrong, I need you to inform my sister, gather the Elements of Harmony, and make haste to the Badlands. Can I count on you, Twilight Sparkle?"

The other pony hesitated, looking uncertain. "I…"

"Can I count on you?" Luna repeated, putting as much firm urgency in her voice as she could. She had no time for quibbling or disassembling the matter. She needed Twilight's word that she would carry out this matter, no further questions asked.

It took a moment, but finally the purple mare nodded. "Of course you can, Luna," she said quietly. Luna exhaled in relief. Twilight sounded reluctant, but she wasn't somepony who went back on her word.

"Thank you. Please don't hesitate. Trust your instincts and what they tell you, Twilight."

"But Princess Luna—" she cut in worriedly.

"I have to go. If I delay much longer he might get suspicious," she spoke rapidly, and severed the connection of the spell before Twilight could raise any further protest. She glanced over her shoulder, heart hammering. She saw no sign of Sombra, and she quickly plunged into the cool water, submerging herself for a handful of seconds. Her stomach twisted with guilt over the lie, but she had to give her deception credibility lest he become suspicious. When she burst out of the water onto the shore and started to shake the water off, she called out to him. "Sombra? You can come out now, I'm finished. Sombra?"

She took only a few strides from the river when he seemed to melt out of the shadows into view. One quirk of the mouth into a smile and a glance from those eyes crackling with heat, and Luna's breath caught. Truly in his own way Sombra was beautiful. Not merely beautiful, but darkly so. In a way, it was as if he was a part of the night, as if he had always belonged to it. For a moment she fancied Sombra had always been a part of her night and she simply hadn't realized it until just then.

Why does it feel like I'm betraying him by doubting him? she thought unhappily, an ache in her chest.

"That was a rather quick bath," he remarked, arching an eyebrow. "You haven't even dried off yet." Before she could respond, he walked up to her, his horn starting to glow. "Here," he offered, "let me help you with that."

His magic washed over her, its touch as warm and lingering as a caress as it siphoned the water off of her. Luna shut her eyes and briefly she was able to simply enjoy the feeling. Yet as suddenly as he had cast his spell it seemed to fade, and as she opened her eyes faint shadows were reluctantly withdrawing from her. She regretted the loss of the contact but smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you for that."

A heartbeat passed where his expression was guarded and searching, then he smiled back at her. "Think nothing of it, princess."

His words and tone, his body language, all of it encouraged her to relax. And yet she couldn't help but feel the smile on his face seemed brittle and strained.



***



The midmorning light was bright in the Badlands yet the pallor of the place was so sickly gray and dull it almost negated the sunlight entirely. The further in they trekked the more Luna found she felt uneasy. This place was a wasteland, with few signs of life among the barren caves and rocky outcroppings and canyon walls. She began to wonder if she could truly blame the Changelings for being unhappy with their lot in life.

As far as I can tell they have little to nothing to improve their quality of life, she thought gloomily. While it does not justify Chrysalis's actions, I do feel something could be done to help them. Isn't establishing peace what Tia has always strived for? Isn't it what both of us wanted to achieve over a thousand years ago? Unity across Equestria?

High canyon walls rose on either side of them as they went deeper into the Badlands. Most of the sunlight had been choked away, casting cool shadows that kept the heat at bay. Before long they rounded a sharp turn in the canyon and far ahead, Luna caught a glimpse of a single Changeling sentry standing guard outside the mouth of a huge cave, staring boredly into space.

"Over here," Sombra whispered, darting swiftly behind a large pile of broken shale. Luna followed closely, ducking out of sight but taking care to keep at an angle where she could still see the guard if she turned her head.

"He appears to be alone," Sombra remarked. "Though… appearances can deceive."

Luna barely glanced at him as she analyzed the situation. Again she felt pity for the Changelings and her thoughts began to run away with her.

Perhaps we can negotiate with them. I don't know how well I could do it until my sister gets here, but perhaps we'll be able to meet Chrysalis on middle ground and offer her Changelings a more prosperous piece of land. We don't have to be at odds.

"What are you thinking?" Sombra asked.

"I think we might actually be able to do this," she replied, turning to smile at him encouragingly. "It will be tricky and we'll have to tread carefully, but we may actually be able to negotiate with them peacefully."

"Hmm." He frowned pensively. "Queen Chrysalis is a tough nut to crack. It would not be easy."

Luna acknowledged him with a nod and turned her attention back to the lone sentry. "Yes, but I have a good feeling about this. We just have to take it as slow and carefully as possible," she declared.

"You mean," Sombra's voice turned low and cold, "until your sister and her precious little Element-wielders arrive?"

Luna's heart skipped a beat, clenching in fear, and that second of hesitation cost her dearly.

The blast of power knocked her off her hooves and as she hit her side, icy pain erupted in her horn. The breath tore from her lungs on impact with the ground. Coughing, she opened her eyes and glanced upward. Small black crystals were growing from her horn. Desperately she tried to channel her magic and blast them away, but her attempts were fruitless; the crystals dispelled her magic and filled her with a bone-deep chill as they sapped her strength. Tears stung behind her eyes as she looked to Sombra, crying out, "What is the meaning of this?! How dare you! I trusted you!"

His expression as he approached her was cold and impassive, saved for the pained rage that lit up his red eyes. "The thing is, princess, I trusted you too. We could have made something powerful out of this quest; we could have become partners, friends, perhaps more than that. Together we could have rid Equestria of Chrysalis and her leeching vermin race… but then you had to go and reach out, to send word back to your precious sister of what we were doing. Just couldn't stop yourself from being a good little girl and ruining it all, could you?" He tilted his head haughtily as he loomed above her and his red eyes showed no sign of any softness or warmth from the night before. "I suppose there will have to be some negotiating with the Changelings after all, inconvenient as that is. Thanks to your meddling—"

The last word came out as a snarl as he snapped his monstrous teeth in her face. Luna flinched back, squeezing her eyes shut, and he finished speaking.

"My plans have changed."
> Whiplash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The burn of rage simmered low in the crystal stallion’s belly as he was led through the cavernous tunnel by the Changeling guard.  His horn’s red glow, testament to the magic used to drag the bound alicorn behind him, was almost lost in the sickly, slimy, green glimmer of the passageways.  He had to work to keep his revulsion shut off; Changelings were barely more than insects seeking to hide their abhorrent nature behind faces that weren’t their own.  Of course it wasn’t his first choice to parlay with these creatures; his hoof had been forced in the matter.

He swallowed a growl.  He had not wanted events to play out like this but with that arrogant Princess of the Sun and her wretched Element-bearers on their way, his original plan wasn’t going to see fruition.  If Luna wasn’t open to the possibilities presented and sought her sister’s aid, then so be it.  He would truce with Chrysalis and take his leave.  It felt strange thought; he had suspected after her skittishness Luna might do something like this, but he hadn’t expected it to actually hurt.  And yet it did.  Luna’s betrayal stung, and somewhere in his chest the wound seem to throb steadily, getting worse and worse in a way he couldn’t put to words.

The Changeling led them toward the mouth of a deep antechamber, then slowed down, coming to a halt and looking back, his opaque, orb-like blue eyes regarding Sombra suspiciously.  The unicorn struggled to keep from scowling.  The sentry didn’t trust him and had been giving off signs of uneasiness since Sombra had approached with Luna in tow.  He probably suspected foul play, and to that end Sombra had to commend the guard’s instincts.  In other circumstances, foul play came second-nature to him… and even now, he was planning on doing what he could to ensure that if anything went further south, he wouldn’t be the only one to suffer through the aftershock.

“Wait here,” the guard ordered.  “I’ll go and speak with Her Majesty to see if she’ll grant you an audience.”

Sombra loomed over the guard, a deep growl building in his chest as he reached out for the lesser creature’s innate sense of fear and seized it, forcing him into cowering submission.

“No,” he said, speaking slowly to enunciate just who was in charge.  “I will wait nowhere.  I am King Sombra, the true sovereign of the Crystal Empire.  You will escort me before your queen without question.”  After a second he bared his teeth in a sneer that made the guard quake.  “After all, a ruler of insects and a wasteland of rubble cannot possibly have many pressing matters eating up her precious time.”

He watched the little fool tremble and swallow dryly, legs quaking as he slowly nodded.  Behind Sombra, Luna shifted in the grip of his magic.  If he had to guess he was willing to bet she wasn’t pleased with how he was putting the Changeling in its proper place.  But that mattered little; with her magic nullified, her strength sapped by the black crystals, and her wings and legs bound, Luna was in no position to start giving her opinions on anything.

“Y-yes,” the guard nodded as he agreed, before hastily adding for good measure, “Your Majesty.”

“That’s a good boy.”  Sombra’s compliment was laced with condescending mockery.  Best not to let the wretch get comfortable.  Luna shifted in his magic net again and he wondered just how much self-restraint it was taking her to remain silent.  Glancing over his shoulder, he was unsurprised to find see her glaring at him as she fumed quietly.

He turned his attention back to the Changeling guard as he began leading them into the antechamber, where dozens of Changelings were milling about and conversing.  A raised, crude throne stood at the far end of this audience hall and the Changeling queen lounged in it, giving off an air of boredom.  The guard cleared his throat as they entered and all eyes turned to them.  Instantly the air filled with angry buzzing as the Changelings took to the air, their iridescent wings humming and shimmering.  Queen Chrysalis looked up, her acid-green eyes widening as she beheld the unicorn king and his captive, and she slowly sat up straight upon her throne, emanating surprise and curiosity.

“My Queen,” their escort began, and Sombra had to give him some credit for keeping a steady voice.  “I bring before you King Sombra, the er, true sovereign of the Crystal Empire.”

Chrysalis lifted her brows and her eyes opened even wider.  “True sovereign of the Crystal Empire?” she echoed, doubt and intrigue mixing in her tone.  Her eyes flicked briefly onto Luna before searching Sombra’s face, her gaze skeptical.  “I had heard that that foul little princess, Mi Amoré Cadenza and her husband were ruling the long-lost Crystal Empire.”

Sombra quelled the urge to growl or sneer; he didn’t want to give anyone the pleasure of getting under his skin.  Instead he took slow steps toward the throne, keeping his head lifted regally as he addressed her.  “At present they are,” he said with a nod.  “Thanks to Princess Celestia’s meddling, those two upstart pretenders have usurped my throne and my kingdom.  An unfortunate turn of events not helped by my banishment to the Shadow after breaking free of a millennia of imprisonment.”

During this, Luna started squirming and fighting against his magic and he had to tighten the spell holding her.  A brief flash of terror sparked through the alicorn, lending him strength.  Queen Chrysalis watched carefully, her gaze sharp and alert in an otherwise unreadable expression.  For a brief moment only the Changelings whispered among themselves, their exchanges masked by the humming drone of their beating wings.  Sombra could feel their fear and doubt beneath their suspicion and he fought the urge to smile too greedily.  Then finally, Chrysalis decided to speak again.

“I see,” she said in careful, measured tones.  “My condolences to you, King Sombra.  Believe me, few can related to being a fallen, cast-out monarch as well as I can.  But tell me, what brings you to my court, and in such…” she paused as she cast another glance to Princess Luna, arching a brow.  “—unexpected company?”

“He tricked me into freeing him,” Luna spoke abruptly, her voice low and angry.  “He made me think we were coming here to parlay with you, when in reality he was planning to destroy you and all of your subjects.”

As expected, the entire court renewed with buzzing as the Changelings reacted in shock and outrage.  Even Chrysalis’s mask of neutrality vanished for a brief second, displaying fear and fury beneath, but she composed herself quickly.

“Stand down!” she commanded in a ringing tone, and the audience hall fell silent as the Changelings all landed, keeping a fair distance from the crystal stallion and his captive.  Chrysalis’s gaze was icy and hard as she stared down at him.  “Somehow I doubt the Princess of the Night is given to speaking falsehoods.  So what do you have to say to her claims?”

“It is true,” he responded nonchalantly.  “Initially I had come here intending to eliminate you all in order to save myself the trouble later.  I had hoped Princess Luna would be on my side and once you were provoked into attacking us, victory would be ours and I would have earned redemption in the eyes of Canterlot’s nobility.”

“Well, don’t you have modest goals,” the Changeling queen said with a bit of a sarcastic sneer.  “And what exactly gave you the impression my subjects and I would be so easy to defeat?”

At this the other Changelings present began muttering threats, and many scissored their wings rapidly to add a challenging buzz to the undertone.  Sombra ignored them, smiling confidently.

“Simple,” he replied.  “Your kind feed off of love.  I expect there was more than enough of that to be found when you infiltrated Canterlot.  But my power is fueled by the opposite.  None of you are immune to feeling fear, and the taste of hatred is poisonous to a Changeling, is it not?”  There was a brief flash of alarm in the queen’s face, and Sombra grinned as he went on.  “These are my tools, the catalysts that strengthen my power.  Even if you have the advantage in sheer numbers, you would have fallen.  But as it stands, circumstances have forced my hoof in another direction.”

Luna struggled and fought again as he wrenched her forward to show Chrysalis.  For a brief second Sombra allowed himself to marvel at the strength of the alicorn princess.  Hers was a spirit not easily broken.

If only you had allied yourself with me fully…

“It would appear I shall be interested in a truce with you after all.  You gain strength from love and affection, while I flourish off fear and hatred.  I shall rescind my former plans in light of a neutral ceasefire.  As we both seek to expand our territories, we’ll leave one another well enough alone.”  He tilted his chin to indicate his captive.  “I offer you Princess Luna as a bargaining chip.  If you don’t consider this satisfactory, then I’ll capture Princess Celestia as well to sweeten the pot.”

Luna twisted around in the nexus of magic to glare at him and against his will he found his gaze drawn to hers.  With a shock he realized tears were streaming down her cheeks.  As his mouth fell open, she ripped into him with a verbal assault.

“You monster!  You really are nothing but an empty, heartless fiend!  I was a fool for trusting you at all.  And it was just as foolish to think a witch-king without a heart could change.  But you’ll never best my sister!  Celestia and the wielders of the Elements of Harmony will send you back to the Shadow and you’ll stay in the oubliette forever.  The only thing you’ll ever rule is solitude!”

Each word hit like a kick in the jaw.  He could only stand dumbstruck in the face of her pain and anger.  Faintly he tried reminding himself that her opinions didn’t matter; she was a prisoner and a bargaining tool.

But her opinions did matter.  Her opinion of him mattered.  It shouldn’t have, but it did.  This only left him all the more confused.  When had that changed?  Why was Luna’s opinion, why were her thoughts and feelings, why was all of it suddenly more important to him than his own wants and goals?

Abruptly Chrysalis descended from her throne, landing almost noiselessly at the foot of its steps, and she surveyed Luna like a merchant at a trading fair being offered something tempting.  After a second she gave a nod of approval.  “Very well, unicorn king.  We shall accept your offer and in return, I’ll allow you to leave the Badlands without incident.”

He frowned at her and bared his teeth, letting a growl slip through.  “You’ll let me leave ‘without incident’, eh?  Tell me why I have the feeling you’re coming out of this with a far better deal than I anticipated,” he grumbled.  Chrysalis looked up with a small, cold smile.

“Because I am, you fool of a stallion,” she answered in a poisonously sweet voice.  “Are you really as blind as a bat?  You may as well have given a cornucopia to starving peasants, because the princess loves you.”

Sombra reeled back in shock, his thoughts grinding to a complete halt.  He thought he heard a soft gasp from Luna, but she shifted restlessly in her magical bindings and he couldn’t be sure.  He looked down at her, seeing the princess but unable to fully process anything.  She loved him?  But no, that was impossible, wasn’t it?

Red eyes met teal eyes and the realization hit him like a galeforce wind.  Chrysalis wasn’t lying; Luna had feelings for him.  She truly had fallen in love with him.  As as he stood there attempting to soak this in, a single thought came to his mind.

I don’t deserve her love.

Luna turned away from him, her beautiful eyes stinging with tears of anger.  Something clenched at Sombra’s insides, squeezing them tightly to the point he felt like he wasn’t able to breathe.  Without thinking he started to back away.  Acting on instinct he shifted to his smoke form and fled the antechamber, unable to meet those eyes and yet unable to bear her turning away from him.  He raced out of the court, Chrysalis’s sharp laughter echoing through the halls and taunting him the entire way.

This wasn’t what he had anticipated.  He had been wanting to gain her trust.  He had hoped she would stand united with him and that, given a little more time, he would see Nightmare Moon rise again.  Together they could have conquered Equestria anew and created a kingdom of night and shadow.  But for all his hoping and scheming, he had not anticipated this near-suffocating sense of pain and guilt.  He hadn’t expected how much this would hurt.  He had meant to conquer; but now it felt as though he was the one who had been conquered.

He slowed down as he entered the canyon, and began to wander the area aimlessly.  Never had he felt so lost, not even when he had overheard Star Swirl the Bearded predict his fate to his mother the queen.  He had just been a colt, trying to hide from his governess, and he heard he was fated to become a tyrant ruler who would curse the empire.  He had felt utterly lost back then, and he felt utterly lost now, unable to push Luna out of his mind.

It was almost a relief when Celestia finally arrived with her Solar Guard and the Element-bearers in her wake.


***


“Well, you certainly picked a winner, didn’t you?”

The Changeling queen’s wry sarcasm made Luna look up against her will.  Numbly she numbled, “You’re wrong.”

Surprise registered on Chrysalis’s face, followed by a look of questioning curiosity.  Luna took it as a gesture to continue with her thought.  Part of her didn’t want to give the shape-shifter the satisfaction.  Even so, she couldn’t stop the denial from leaving her lips.

“I don’t love him.  I don’t.”

Slowly Chrysalis shook her head, her mane shimmering as the other Changelings all around shifted restlessly.  The queen had a strange expression on her face.  Was it pity?  “My poor princess,” she said in an almost consoling tone.  “Would you be half so heartbroken if you weren’t?”

Luna bit her lower lip and looked away.  A sharp, stabbing pain had torn into her heart at Sombra’s betrayal and this question only served to renew that pain.  The last thing she wanted to believe or admit to was that she had feelings of any sort for the deposed unicorn witch-king.  And yet…

Would it really hurt so terribly if these feelings weren’t real?

“Unfortunately my Changelings,” Chrysalis was saying, though it seemed distant and hazy to the alicorn’s ears, “there is little to be done right now.  She is weak and ensorcelled by the king’s spells.  Her love may be fresh but it is too faint for any of us to feed off of.  Take her to the lower levels and throw her into a cell.  We’ll figure out a way to feed off her soon enough.”

Distantly Luna heard her own voice naysaying that claim.  “Try all you like but I doubt you’ll find a way to shatter these crystals that fast.  My sister and her students are on their way and she will be furious if you lay a hoof on me.”

“Ha!  We’ll see about that!” someone responded, but Luna thought she heard a note of fear in the voice.  Not that it mattered; in moments, four Changelings seized the magical net surrounding her in an attempt to pull it away.  Immediately they let out pained hisses, drawing away from her as though burned.

“What are you doing?” the queen grumbled angrily.

“Your Majesty, it stings!  It is too painful to hold onto,” one of the four confessed, utterly shame-faced.  Chrysalis let out a snort of contempt and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be weak,” she scoffed, and made to snatch the net herself.  But even as she came into contact with Sombra’s spell, she let out a shriek and nearly leaped away.  Luna’s eyes widened as she watched, confused.  Had Sombra bewitched the binding so the Changelings wouldn’t be able to touch it or her?  It didn’t sting her in the least.

“What did that vile unicorn do?” Chrysalis snarled.  “How did he bind you?”

“Even if I knew what spell he used, what would it benefit me to tell you?” Luna replied coolly.  “Did he not say something about hatred being toxic for all Changelings?  It would scarcely shock me if he wove some of his own hatred into this magic.”

Multiple wary glances were exchanged all around her.  It was only a guess on Luna’s part, but she felt it wasn’t without some basis in valid fact, and the Changelings probably felt the same way.  And if that was the case then none of them would be keen to come into contact with her bindings if it meant injury or worse.  Perhaps Celestia wouldn’t have to find her completely at the mercy of the Changelings after all.

And hopefully that means we can avoid this confrontation becoming any worse than it already will be.

It may have originally been nothing but a ruse for King Sombra, but Luna found she was truly hoping that some compromise could be reached with the Changelings that wouldn’t endanger anypony in the long run.  Right now the chances for any such neutral ground being reached seemed almost impossible but perhaps one day it could still happen.  With the Elements of Harmony, the power of the alicorn princesses, or even the Crystal Heart—perhaps all of those things together—there was nothing that couldn’t be achieved.

A haunting, beautiful chime rang out, making everything in sight tremble, and as the shape-shifters let out cries of alarm, a burst of power and light as brilliant as the middday sun enveloped the audience hall.  Warmth washed over Luna, providing her with such a sense of comfort she was unable to hold back sobbing tears of relief.  The light dimmed but the overwhelming heartbeat of power grew stronger.  Chrysalis let out a hiss, and then somewhere behind Luna a familiar voice spoke with authority and controlled anger.

“Step away from my sister.”

All around Luna the Changelings shrank back, cowering and trying to avoid notice.  Their queen bared her teeth in a grimace but after a few tense moments even she backed up.

“She’s all yours,” Chrysalis muttered.  “Take her back; her love is probably souring already anyway.”

With a tremendous effort she pushed herself to her hooves, wobbling unsteadily.

And then her older sister was there, supporting her.

“It’s alright, Luna,” Celestia spoke in a low murmur only she could hear, comforting and strong.  “I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”

Slowly the two of them began to back out of the hall, not trusting the chance they would be taking if they turned their backs to the Changelings.  They passed dozens of Solar Guards that flanked them as they moved, and Celestia kept up a stream of gentle encouragement.  Luna clung to her words, maintaining a fragile mask of dignity and strength as they rendezvoused with Twilight Sparkle and her friends.  It was only when they left the court and the Badlands that the heartbroken princess succumbed to her pain and began to silently cry at her sister’s side.
> Crystal Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	All royal duties for the day had been postponed and nearly everypony on the palace staff was under strict orders not to disturb the princesses.  Celestia had not left Luna’s side since the Badlands, watching in quiet worry as her younger sister fought to maintain a mask of graceful dignity.  Yet it was obvious to the Princess of the Day and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony that Princess Luna was still suffering anguish and heartbreak.  There being little they could do to help, it was the unicorn Rarity who suggested they attempt a distraction to take the princess’s mind off her ordeal and the earth pony Pinkie Pie declared it her mission to do so.  The plucky young mare insisted a party was needed, a celebration she dubbed the “Super Secret Private You-Got-Rescued-From-Evil-Changelings-And-Need-Some-TLC Princess Luna and Friends Supper Party”.  Luna winced slightly at that and insisted no such celebrations were necessary.

She got one anyway.  Pinkie Pie refused to take “no” for an answer on the matter.

Celestia was of the opinion shortly into supper that for a last-second spur-of-the-moment idea, Pinkie certainly pulled off a fairly impressive mini-bash.  But even so she could tell her younger sister did not share her sentiments.  Luna’s demeanor remained gloomily distraught and not once did she manage to muster up a smile.  She watched attentively, tried a bit of everything put on the table, and even made half-hearted attempt to participate in the party games, yet it seemed Pinkie’s efforts were to be in vain.  Luna hardly appeared distracted from her unhappy thoughts.

Finally another of Twilight’s friends, Applejack, came up with an alternate suggestion.

“Uh, beggin’ yer pardon, princess,” she said somewhat nervously.  “Ah don’t mean ta be insensitive, but ah was wonderin’... wouldja maybe wanna talk about what happened?”

A hush fell over the table and awkward glances were exchanged.  All the rest looked to the Princess of the Night, who blinked, her mouth falling open in surprise.  She stared at Applejack, who twisted her hat anxiously in her hooves.  Celestia waited, wondering.  Would her sister even be receptive to this possibility?  Luna had always been a secretive, solitary pony even when they were fillies.  But surely talking about her ordeal was the best way for her to heal, and surely she knew that…

“I appreciate your intentions, Applejack,” Luna finally said, her voice soft and vulnerable.  “But I’m not sure what there is for me to really say.  I placed my trust in somepony I never should have trusted, and in the end it—” Her breath caught a moment, then after inhaling and exhaling a couple of times, she continued shakily.  “In the end it cost me more than I thought it would.  Now I… I feel stupid for ever doing so.”

“Luna…” Celestia murmured, but her concern was quickly drown out by Rarity’s worried protests.

“Oh no no no, darling!  Er, I mean, Your Highness.  You mustn’t think of yourself that way!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash chimed in.  “You’re not stupid, and especially not for taking a risk and being trusting!”

“They’re right, Your Highness,” Fluttershy added in her gentle voice.  “Trusting and giving others a chance is what anypony would do.  You shouldn’t blame yourself for the actions of someone else.”

Celestia watched Luna’s resolve waver.  Her younger sister’s lip trembled.  A second later Luna bit down, her teal eyes glassy with unshed tears.  This went deeper than what it appeared on the surface Celestia knew, yet she could say nothing.  If Luna herself wasn’t going to open up to these ponies, then it wasn’t Celestia’s place to speak in her sister’s stead.

“Thank you, my little ponies,” Luna murmured, getting to her hooves and turning away.  “I appreciate your kindness but I’m… I’m afraid it may take me some time to recover.  Please excuse me.”

And without another word she turned and strode away, her head hung low and her wings dragging at her sides forlornly.  A pain dug into Celestia’s chest as she watched her sister go, wishing there were some way to undo the damage that had been done.  And yet she knew it simply wasn’t so.

“Did we do something wrong, princess?” Twilight asked worriedly.  Celestia turned to her favorite pupil and managed a small, sad smile.

“Not at all, Twilight,” she replied kindly.  “You girls have done your best to offer support and positivity during my sister’s time of need.  That alone is wonderful and selfless of you all.  I simply think Luna may need some time to herself to work through what happened before she is ready to trust others again enough to discuss it.”

For the most part this answer proved satisfactory and after a little more encouragement, the girls relaxed.  Celestia waited with them a short while before politely dismissing herself to head to Luna’s chambers.  A quick teleportation spell brought her outside the door and she listened intently to the sound of Luna’s gentle sobbing in the room beyond.  Steadying her heart, Celestia knocked on the door and called out her sister’s name.

“Luna?”

The sobbing subsided for a moment.

“Luna?  Can I come in?”

There was a pause but then the door shimmered with the color of Luna’s magic and opened inward.  Tentatively Celestia entered, and as the door closed behind her she approached the bed.  Luna had curled in upon herself to cry, but her head was lifted to look at her sister.  In the dim light, the black crystals shimmered maliciously in her horn and Celestia felt sorrow pulling at her heart.

“Don’t worry, Lulu,” she said.  “We’re going to get you to the Crystal Empire and get rid of those things soon.  Once you’re rested, we’ll head there.”

Luna gave a small sniffle before laying her head back down, eyes puffy as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

“Sister?” she whispered so quietly Celestia had to strain her ears to hear.  “Have you ever fallen in love before?”

There was a sinking sensation in the elder alicorn’s stomach.  So it was true.  She had hoped it wasn’t, that she had read too much into what she had observed, that such a thing wouldn’t befall her sister.  Yet it had happened regardless; Luna had fallen in love with the unicorn witch-king.

Oh, my poor sister… you didn’t deserve this heartache.

“Difficult to say, I’m afraid,” she replied noncommittally, seating herself on the bed next to her younger sibling.  “Oh, Lulu…”

“It’s true,” Luna murmured.  “I didn’t want to think it was, especially not after Chrysalis had been so taunting about it, but it is true.  I don’t think my heart would hurt this much if it did.  I’m not sure when it started, but I love Sombra.  At least… I did.  Maybe I still do, but I’m not sure.  I’m not sure of anything now.”

The words had barely left her mouth before she subsided into sobbing again.  Instinctively Celestia draped a wing over her, waiting for Luna to speak again.  It was several minutes later when her crying had finally eased up enough she could talk.

“You were right all along, Tia.”  She sniffled again, making a small hiccup as she raised her head a few inches.  “I should have listened to you from the beginning, and I should have trusted my dreams meant something.  If I’d done so, none of this would have happened.  I wouldn’t have made poor decisions like a foolhardy, lovestruck filly.”

“Lulu, don’t be hard on yourself for falling in love.  That’s not something anypony has power over, and nothing to be ashamed of.”

“But…”

“You have done nothing wrong,” Celestia said firmly but gently, “just by falling in love.”

Luna furrowed her brow, uncertainty etched on her face.  Clearly she wasn’t so sure about that.  There was another long pause as she processed her sister’s words, and when she next spoke it was in a whisper again.

“I feel I have done wrong by my own heart.  I just wish I could forget this ever happened.”  She lowered her head against Celestia’s shoulder and began to weep again, and this time her sister knew there would be no further discussion.  She allowed this, staying there to offer comfort and reassurance until at last Luna succumbed to her exhaustion and had cried herself to sleep.  Carefully Celestia eased away and prepared to slip out of the room to leave her sister in relative peace.  As she moved toward the door however, her eye fell upon an object in the corner.  She slowed her stride, turning to look at the object fully.

Luna’s journal.

Celestia stared at the small tome for what felt like an eternity, conflicted.  She still felt guilty for having plumbed any of its contents, even if she had done so in order to save Luna and protect her subjects.  And she planned, after the radiance of the Crystal Heart had healed Luna, apologizing to her younger sister for the intrusion of her privacy.  But the longer she stood staring, the more an idea formed in her mind and she could not shake it.  With a quick glance back at Luna to ensure she was still asleep, Celestia took the journal and slipped from the room, her face set in grim determination.

He was not going to get away with doing this to her sister, not without some kind of consequence.

She was halfway to the lower levels when she heard Discord’s voice.

“My my, where are we off to in such a hurry?”

She dug in her hooves, looking around for the draconequus.

“And with Moody-Moon’s journal, too!”  With a pop of displaced air he appeared in front of her.  “I wasn’t expecting this from you, Celestia!  Naughty, naughty!  Perhaps you’re not quite as boring as I said before after all.”

“Discord,” she began, fixing him with a searching stare.  “Are you able to copy things with your magic?”

The idea was spur-of-the-moment, but if Discord could accomplish it in literally a snap, then Celestia could return the original journal to Luna’s room without any issue and still do as she intended.  The draconequus’s eyes opened wide as he went completely still.  It wasn’t often he was openly surprised.  To his credit though, he didn’t miss a beat.

“Well of course I can!” he answered in mock affront.

“Can you copy something exactly?” she pressed, her gaze sharp.  “Every detail, down to the exact words on a page?”

Discord arched a snowy brow, his lower lip jutting like it was considering becoming a full-fledged pout.  “Well, I could…” he replied in a bit of a sulky tone.  Celestia had probably just ruined a potential prank in his mind, she knew, but she didn’t have the patience for his games in that instant.  She raised the journal to eye level so he could see.

“Would you copy this for me, please?” she asked, keeping her voice low.  “It is imperative that the contents are exactly the same as the original.”

Discord hummed uncertainly, stroking his beard as he fixed her with a suspicious look.  She waited patiently, meeting his eyes with a level expression.

“I’m not sure, Celestia,” he said slowly, and she heard the note in his voice that indicated he was just drawing this out a little longer because he could.  “I mean I could, but what would be the point?”

“Please?” she asked again, softening her voice.  “Please help, Discord, just this once.”

He eyed her up and down, weighing the options.  Seeing his resolve already crumbling, she added, “For me?”

That did the trick.  His shoulders sagged as he let out a sigh of resignation.  “Oh, all right.  For you, then.  No need to twist my arm, if you know what I mean.”

He extended his eagle-arm as he spoke, the limb curling around itself in a corkscrew before he gave a snap of his talons.  A replica of Luna’s journal appeared, hovering above his claw, and Celestia brought it close with her magic for an inspection.  Flipping through some of the pages, she was relieved to see Discord had stayed true to his word.  The copy was a perfect replica of Luna’s journal, though on closer inspection, she did find the draconequus had made one tiny addition on the inside back cover.

“I doubt the validity of this copy wouldn’t be questioned upon finding a ‘Discord Press’ logo in it,” she remarked dryly.  At this he finally did pout, but with another snap of his talons the logo vanished.  He then muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed at being unable to have any fun with it, saying something that sounded a lot like “poo”.

“Thank you, Discord,” Celestia said, smiling at him brightly and meaning every word of it.  Without wasting another moment she took off again, barely aware of Discord following behind.  Her path took her to the lower level, to the room of enchanted mirrors, and through to the hall of the oubliette beyond.  The guards posted there looked startled at her sudden appearance, but quickly stepped aside to let her pass.  Returning Luna’s original journal to its place with a quick spell, Celestia carried the copy before her as she entered the antechamber where the imposing cell was housed.

Curling wisps of smoke seeped out from between the bars, originating from the hooves of the captive within.  Sombra was sitting in a slump at the far end of the cell, looking wretched and dejected.  His ears flicked back as she entered, but otherwise he was still as a statue.

“Come to gloat?” he asked gloomily.  When she didn’t answer right away he gave a hollow chuckle and went on.  “Of course not.  The righteous sun monarch would never do something so beneath her, would she?”

Steeling herself with a breath, she ignored the half-hearted taunt.  “I have something you need to see,” she intoned coolly.  At first he didn’t respond or react, but when she made no further attempt to do anything he finally twisted around to look at her.  His eyes flicked onto the journal and his brow furrowed.

“What?  What is that?” he asked warily.  Celestia levitated the journal copy through the bars of the cell and let it land near him.

“You hurt somepony who deserved better than this callous betrayal.  I think at the very least, you should know what that pony thinks of you,” she said quietly.  With that, she turned and began walking away again.

“Is this meant to be some kind of punishment?  Do you think you’re going to torment me?” he called after her.  She walked on, refusing to look back or respond.  She had done what she came there to do.  The rest was on him.

Sombra glared at the alicorn’s snowy back as she left, seething bitterly.  He didn’t know what she could possibly have hoped to accomplish, but he doubted she would get it.  Face still set in a glare, he turned his gaze back to the small tome and started to wonder.  Was this possibly what he thought it was?  Hesitantly he summoned up what weak spellpower he had access to and flipped the journal open.

Beautiful flowing script danced across each page and out of old old habit, the unicorn king found himself settling down to read.  Page after page he read from the journal, slowly immersing himself in Luna’s thoughts.  And with each entry an unpleasant sensation stole over him and grew stronger.  He felt hollow, an empty shell, and yet he was weighed down as though tied to an anchor to slowly drown.

He read about her suspicions of him, her constant dreams.  He read of her belief that they were slowly becoming friends as he told her his story, his story that she believed.  He read of her missing him during the near-month they didn’t talk, of her desire to help him, and her mix of fright and excitement as she thought her feelings for him were deepening.  As he read his head sank lower and lower, and the sensation of emptiness and weight became painful.

And as he pressed his cheek against the paper, tears started to trickle out of crimson eyes.  They rolled down the stallion’s cheeks until they came to rest against the words the princess wrote, forming clear, tiny crystalline teardrops as he wept quietly into the silence.




TO BE CONTINUED IN MIDNIGHT RADIANCE, COMING MAY 2016...