Distant Memories and Aching Hearts

Back at Canterlot, in Celestia's castle, she and her husband, Royal Blaze, had finished up their work in Celestia's chambers. Celestia went out to the balcony to lower the sun few inches more. She is then confronted by her sister, Luna. Celestia noticed that Luna had an uneasy expression on her face where a past memory had hit her.

"My dear sister, what seems to be troubling you?" Celestia asks, all concerned.

"I just remembered.....a memory of....HIM!" Luna said, all shaky.

"What do you mean "Him?" Celestia asks.

"My first...husband...Dark Void." Luna says, closing her eyes tightly.

Surprisingly, Celestia knew who Luna was talking about.

"I think i understand now, sister. But I think you should explain it all to your son. He's in Ponyville after all." Celestia says

"I suppose..."

"But remember that you still have to raise the moon since I have to lower the sun."

"I know, sister."

--

2 hours later

Luna had arrived at Ponyville to discover Shadow Force and Spark Wave talking about their lives. Luna decided to drop in on them and took them by surprise.

"PRINCESS!" the stallions shouted.

"Relax, boys, there's no need to get all excited. I just wanted to talk to one of you. If it does get too dark, I'll escort you back home...is that alright, Shadow Force?" Luna asks.

"Oh, I see. Very well then. I'll leave you two alone. Take care." Spark Wave says before jogging back to the house.

"Now, Shadow, I want to tell you something that's really important." Luna says. "You might not know this, but I happen to know a few things about your parents."

"Wait what?" Shadow asks, trying to confirm what Luna just said. "Did you just say you know about my parents? Well, I don't see a reason why I shouldn't hear you out, Princess. Go ahead and tell me."

"Very well then." Luna says. "Now, you see, your grandfather, King Sombra, once had a son who once fought against him. His son's name was Dark Void, a former prince of darkness. I met him when he had finally became an adult. He wanted to put a stop to his father. My sister and I had already banished Sombra to Tartarus. Later on, I got banished to the moon, alongside with Dark Void, mostly because my sister couldn't take a chance on him, but for me, I was blinded by jealousy."

"Wait a second, what does this have to do with my parents?" Shadow asks.

"Allow me to explain. You see, I was Nightmare Moon when I was banished to the moon along with Dark Void. Because he was against the thought of me having MY revenge against Celestia. Eventually, I took a liking to Dark Void, but he never felt the same way. It wasn't until we fought so many times, and of course I lost count, that we...bonded. Eventually, he brought out my good side and we...bonded. But it was all shot downhill because Sombra had been sent to the moon after he escaped Tartarus. Dark Void and I fought against Sombra as he tried to destroy the moon. We fought with all we had until Sombra caught me off guard. I thought he was going to finish me off, but Dark Void...he...he just jumped in the line of fire. I lost control and took out Sombra sending him back to Tartarus. I triumphed over Sombra, but the sad part about it was...I tried to save Dark Void. I used every ounce of magic to trying to save his life...but...it was too late." Luna then broke out in tears.

"I...I..." Shadow said all shocked.

"11 months later, I had my child. A child who looked just like his father and grandfather. Celestia paid a visit to see me. I told her to take my son somewhere safe where he wouldn't have to live a life of neglect. It was my last request before I lost myself to my dark side yet again, my dark side known as Nightmare Moon. Today, I stand right in front of the grandson of Sombra...and the son of Dark Void." Luna says, looking at Shadow Force, who was wide eyed and shocked.

"Y-you mean, all this time?!" Shadow asked.

"Yes...my son. I'm your mother. I'm so sorry!" Luna says, walking towards Shadow, wrapping her hooves around her son.

"M...Mother..." Shadow said, getting all choked up and teary eyed. Shadow then returned Luna's hug with a hug of his own. "I understand, mother, you did what you had to do to help keep me safe. I don't blame you. I'm just glad I finally know the truth."

"I'm so relieved." Luna responds, holding her son close. "I know it's getting late, but can I take you out to dinner? I want to be able to hear all about your adventures when you grew up with my nephews and my brother-in-law."

"I don't mind at all. I think I have plenty of bits leftover from my family therapy sessions." Shadow says.

"Oh no, allow me to treat you instead." Luna says.

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind paying." Shadow replies.

"I insist, son. It's the least I can do after all that's happened." Luna says.

"Alright then. Let's go." Shadow says.

Luna and Shadow headed to a nice, but not too expensive restaurant. At first, many of the customers and workers were surprised to see that Princess Luna would be having dinner at Cafe Hay, and with a "special guest" at that. Luna and Shadow Force took their seats outside enjoying the rising of the moon and the setting of the sun. They each placed their orders and while they were waiting, Luna asked Shadow what his childhood was like when he was taken in by Royal Blaze.

"Well, you see mom." Shadow explains. "When I was growing up, Royal Blaze enrolled me into the same elementary school Eternal Flames went to and at first, I wasn't exactly too popular. Apparently, my grandfather's name AND his reputation spreaded all over the Rogue kingdom and I was always sawn as a menace and somtimes the kids would call me names like "Evil Grandson of Sombra" or "Shady Grandson" and stuff like that."

"Oh dear, I'm sorry you went through that." Luna says, placing her hoof over Shadow's.

"Yeah, but during the whole bullying thing, there was only one colt who stood up FOR me." Shadow explains. "And that was Eternal Flames when he was always aggressive." he'd chuckle. "He'd make threats towards those bullies saying if they ever crossed him OR me again, he'd roast them alive. He was always rough around the edges, but deep down, he truly cared about me."

"I'm happy to hear that. There's nothing that makes me more happier than knowing that my own son had at least one friend who stood by him to the end." Luna says.

"Thanks. But it wasn't always sunshine and daisies back at the Rogue kingdom. Every day, I'd always train with Eternal Flames in combat and every time we trained, he'd dominate over me sometimes, and I'd dominate over him sometimes. Believe me, it was for a good cause because we had recent invasions when we were 8 until we were almost 18. The invaders ranged from measily Changelings, but that was only a one time thing. But there was non-stop invasions from dragons, and of course we had one fight with the evil tyrant, Tirek. We triumphed over them all, but it left some of the citizens homeless, and it left Eternal Flames emotionally scarred."

"Why would the dragons attack so much?" Luna asked.

"They wanted to destroy our kingdom and enslave us and use our powers to their advantage to expand their own kingdom. But finally they stopped attacking for some reason."

"It was because of Spike. He won this tournament and passed on the title of Dragon Emperor to the new Dragon Empress, Ember, who has now stopped these attacks." Luna explains.

"If I do see Spike again, I should thank him. He really saved our flanks." Shadow says with a smile.

"Your food." The waiter said, placing both plates on the table towards Luna and Shadow. They're meals were a daisy and daffodil sandwich for Luna and some hay fries for Shadow Force.

After 15 minutes of eating, Luna escorted Shadow back home with his friends at the apartment complex. Before she left, she gave Shadow one last hug and a peck on the cheek. Finally, Luna flew back to Canterlot and continued her job raising the moon. Shadow went inside the house exhausted and happy. He finally knew the truth about his mother and father. He might have lost his father, but he still had a mother who loves him to this day...and she's a beautiful princess at that. Shadow was now happier than ever.