Chapter One
Luna regarded their guest with an impassive countenance as he stared at his untouched meal.
Celestia, true to her nature, offered the colt a benevolent smile. "We're so happy to welcome you to Castle Everfree, Sombra."
Sombra dipped his head, never making eye-contact with her. "Thank you for having me, Queen Celestia. These next..." he failed to suppress his shuddering breath, "t-ten years will g-go by well."
"My little pony, I understand..."
Luna stopped paying attention to Celestia and rolled her eyes. 'My little pony'? Feh. The colt had only just arrived from the Crystal Empire; he wasn't Celestia's little pony. Not yet anyway.
"Your, your compassion, generosity, and joy are..." Sombra trailed off as he tried to remember his lines. "Your grace is, is—"
Celestia opened her mouth to speak. Luna was in no mood to suffer yet another saccharine monologue. "Sombra."
The colt's stole a glance at her. "Y-yes, Queen Luna?"
"Please speak freely, young one, or not at all, if that is thy wish. But do not impress upon Us that false persona thy family hath coached into thee; such an egregious falsehood will not withstand the duration of this meal, much less the decade."
Sombra's red eyes focused on his bowl of stew. He said nothing more.
Celestia shot a scowl at her sister.
Luna nibbled on her toast, nonplussed by the reprimand.
Celestia did not return fire. She placed a gentle hoof on the colt's grey back. He tensed at her touch. "Oh Sombra," Celestia cooed.
Luna decided eating her omelette was more interesting than whatever mawkish speech her sister was spewing this time. She glanced at the clock after several bites.
Oh good, it was about that time Celly-dearest was winding down. Luna sipped her coffee as she tuned back in.
"... immerse you in the wonders of Equestria."
Sombra had remained stiff throughout Celestia's monologue. Luna rolled her eyes again. And once more, in all of her blinding brilliance, the belovéd sun had failed to notice she was being overwhelming. Thankfully, Celestia finally pulled her hoof away from Sombra's back.
The colt relaxed just a hair, but still did not look up from his dinner. "T-Thank you, your grace."
Celestia sighed silently in defeat and turned to her own bowl. It was only the first night; she still had many more chances to connect with him.
Luna focused back on eating breakfast. Truth be told she was displeased to have the colt in their presence. Luna loved foals, but when Equestria and the Crystal Empire set up the exchange, she had hoped the Crystalians would send somepony more... mature than the ten-year-old sitting at the table. Luna wasn't sure what to expect from the colt: he had no mark, barely even had claim title back in the Empire, and was just only beginning to master the bare essentials of magic. What could Sombra possibly offer Equestria?
Luna glanced at the clock. She eyed the last few bites of her meal, then the colt, then she deliberated. Luna pushed her plate away. "Sombra, as thou hath heard from everypony: welcome to the queendom of Equestria. We are at the understanding thee will spend the next ten years of thy life here learning our language, our customs, and our ways, in order to one day utilize that knowledge to help thine Empire. Let it be known, young Sombra, that We are a mare who values honesty, and as such, We will be honest with thee now."
Celestia looked at her sister horror and motioned her to be silent.
Luna paid her no heed. "Equestria is not the Crystal Empire nor will Equestria ever be the Crystal Empire. We say this not as a means to derive pleasure from thy despair, but simply to state a fact. The sooner thee let go of the dream of finding thy former home, the sooner thee can make a new home here. With that said, We must also inform thee We are a mare who values loyalty. As such, We truly empathize with thy yearning for the Empire and respect that it will always be thy true home. Nevertheless, young Sombra, We do wish thou wilt learn to love our small queendom. Celly is right: Equestria is a land immersed in wonders. Will ye give thyself permission to find happiness here, as We so truly wish?
"Thou needn't speak now, nor tomorrow even, nor the next year if such is thy desire. But We are here, young Sombra, when thou art ready."
Celestia went to add on to her sister's monologue, but Luna pushed away from the table with a loud scrape of her chair. "We thank thee for joining Us, Sombra; We hope to enjoy thy presence soon. Now if thou wilt excuse Us, We must raise the moon."
The colt mumbled something into his half-eaten meal.
"Could you please repeat that?" Celestia asked.
"May I watch, your majesty?" Sombra said again.
Luna was taken aback by surprise but regained her composure. "But of course. All are welcome to partake in the moonrise."
The colt pushed away from the table and joined her, barely glancing up from his hooves.
"Follow Us, young one; t'is quite the climb to the top of the Lunar Tower.
Celestia hurried to join them. She flanked the colt, draped a wing on his back and dipped her head to whisper in his ear. The colt was obscured by a cascade of pink hair for a moment. Celestia pulled away with an expectant smile.
Sombra's red eyes lingered on Celestia before he swallowed and shook his head. Celestia's smile froze for a moment, but she regained her usual aura of benevolence. "As you wish, my little pony. Perhaps I can fly you up to the top of the tower some other time."
Luna cleared her throat to get their attention. Without further ado, the moon goddess lead the way to the Lunar Tower.
When the trio reached the summit of the tower, Celestia inhaled the autumn air. "Watch," she whispered to the colt as she lit her horn. She flapped her wings and slowly rose in the air. Sombra focused on her. As the sun sunk lower and lower, the goddess rose higher and higher, turning into a graceful shadow against a brilliant sunset.
Luna rolled her eyes. This vain display again? What a surprise. The moon goddess inhaled the crisp air and lit her horn.
Sombra, sensing her magic ignite, tore his eyes away from Celestia, eager to see what Luna would do.
But Luna simply reached for heaven.
Slowly, delicately, a velvety black replaced the vivid colors of twilight. Sombra focused to where her horn pointed. In the horizon, the moon rose from the peaks of the Everfree trees. He craned his neck up to see all the stars now twinkling in the tapestry of the sky.
When the moon was in her proper place, Luna let the blue light fade away from her horn. By now, Sombra's red eyes were open wide in wonder. Celestia silently alighted by her sister's side, keeping her magnificent pinions open in display. But the colt paid her no heed.
At last, he tore his gaze away from the night. Sombra offered them a small, tentative smile."The night is just as pretty here as it is back home."
Queen Luna smiled and blushed like a rose. "Thank ye kindly, young one."
"Indeed." Celestia now stepped towards him, obscuring much of Luna from his sight. "If you liked that, you can watch me raise the sun tomorrow. The unfurling of the day, with all its many colors, can be even more beautiful. Wouldn't you like to watch me do it?"
The colt nodded. "I would like that, Queen Celestia."
"Wonderful!" The white alicorn was already guiding him back inside. "It's like I said, Equestria is so full of wonders..."
They left Luna alone on the balcony.
Once again, Celestia did not notice her sister's eye roll. "Typical."