Shades

Chapters

Prologue - Times of change
Conflicting Emotions: Guilt
Who would want to go to the galla anyway?

Prologue - Times of change

The night is the most dangerous time of the cycle. It is a time where fear rules, predators roam, and nightmares terrorize the citizens to the point of everlasting trauma. The darkness terrifies the populace whether they want to admit it or not. When one stands alone in the blackness with only the sounds of the night to company you, there is nothing one wants more than the light’s comfort.

But that is when one remembers the strange beauty there is in the night. The moonlight reflecting of the dew that forms in the nights cold that sits on leaves, plants, and even the grass, making the night seem like its lit up with candles that stretches as far as the eye can see. The white moon and the stars that comforts the populace for simply being there to guide them through the night. And the dreams that little fillies and colts have. Dreams of wonder, cutiemarks, adulthood, adventures and so much more.

Luna knows of both sides of the night, its horrors, its wonders, and everything in between more than anyone. She had been the one to bring it for so long. Even with her thousand year absence, she still felt that the night was hers. Where others would find comfort in the day and it's light, Luna found comfort in her night's darkness.

She was sitting in the Canterlot throne room, signing documents while having two of her trusty night guards on each side of her. Night court had just finished. Not many comes to night court, but Luna appreciated the few that did. Times had improved since before her imprisonment. Now ponies actually bothered to come whenever she held night court.

Yet something was bothering her. Something hadn’t been the same since her return. She couldn’t place it, but it was if the world around her had become darker than it used to be.

She put down her pen and glanced around the, only lit with a few candles and moonlight, throne room. She watched the long shadows that stretched across the marble floor. Shadows of chandeliers, her throne and even her own guards. Something wasn’t right about them, but she couldn’t place it.

“Your highness, is something wrong?” One of the guards asked beside her.

Luna looked to the night guard that had asked her and gave a little smile. “No, nothing’s wrong.” She answered. The guard nodded and went back to staring through the throne room.

No matter how much Luna tried to dismiss the thought, she couldn’t shake the feeling of something being off in Equestria.

Luna yawned. It was soon time for the moon to go down and the sun to rise. She had around thirty minutes before Celestia would raise the sun. She got up and exited exited the throne room, beginning her ascension to her personal chambers, her guards following behind.

As she approached to her chamber’s doors, she turned to her following guards. “Thou both arst dismissed for the rest of this night.” The guards saluted and began walking the other way down the hall.

Luna proceeded inside and shut the door behind her. She let out a deep sigh as she looked around her chambers. The floor was made of white marble just as the rest of the castle. It had a giant dark blue rug with a crescent moon that filled most of the room. On Luna’s left were a queen sized bed with purple and blue sheets. Beside the bed were a table with a picture of her and her sister. On her right were books, scrolls and various artifacts on a massive shelf that covered most of her wall. And in the other end of the room were windows and the door to her balcony.

It was nice that Celestia had made this room for her on the day of her return, but to Luna it just didn’t feel like home. She missed their old home in Everfree. She missed the traps and mechanisms that she and her sister had played with in their youth, she missed her old room, but most of all, she missed the time before her becoming Nightmare Moon. All of the ponies she used to know were no more and she didn’t even get to say goodbye.

Luna’s tiredness seemed to disappear with her thoughts about her past home and she almost felt sick being in her room. She began to sweat and could feel her stress getting to her. She needed to get out of that room, she needed some air.

Without further thinking she ran out on the balcony, closed her eyes, spread her wings and jumped of. The wind rushed through her mane and fur. For a moment she almost wanted to let her eyes be closed. To let the wind take her somewhere else. A place where no one had ever heard of her, a place where she wouldn’t have to be reminded of her past actions, but Luna knew that she couldn’t. She couldn’t do that to Celestia.

When Luna opened her eyes, she found herself gliding in the direction of Ponyville. No, not Ponyville, but the Everfree forest. How was that possible? The wind currents should have taken her west, not south? Was her desire to see her old home that strong?

Luna squinted her eyes. There was something wrong with the shadows around Everfree. She could see the areas around Everfree were darker. As if the moon’s light barely fell on it. As she descended to investigate, she could also make out a darker shape at the outskirts of Everfree. It looked like a pony and yet not. The unnatural darkness seemed to be following it. And it seemed as if it was about to enter everfree.

Luna landed ever so carefully without making a sound, intent on following the pony-ish shape, she used her magic to blend in with the darkness. It was a kind of camouflage magic that made her almost completely unnoticeable. Only downside was she could only use it at night.

The moment Luna took her first step towards the dark shape, it turned its head towards her.

She froze. The shape was a pony stallion with glowing yellow eyes. his body was darker than the deepest pit and light seemed to be drawn to him, being sucked into his body. It was almost impossible to make out details about the stallion. His body and the unnatural shadows made it too dark to make out any.

Luna’s mind was going into overdrive with questions. First of all: how was this pony-ish creature able to see her? No creatures should be able to detect her and even less see her when she used that magic. Her sister and Discord had been the only ones to ever detect her. Secondly: was this pony the reason why she had felt that something was off? She almost felt drawn towards the stallion like the light around him was. She was certain that he was the cause.

She stared at the stallion for what felt like minutes, but was in truth only a few seconds before he turned his head back and began sprinting into the Everfree forest.

“Wait!” She called after him after, dropping her disguise. She then spread her wings once more and flew after the stallion into the Everfree forest.

Luna beat her wings faster and faster in the attempt to catch up to the stallion. But she had already lost sight of him. This should not be possible! Luna thought, frustrated. She could see as clearly during the night as a normal pony could on a sunny day. There was no way she should be able to lose sight of him even in a forest like Everfree. She kept flying with no clear sense of where she was going and then stopped abruptly in the air.

She could still feel the stallion’s presence all around the forest. She didn’t know where he was, but she knew he was there. Luna began looking around for any signs of him being around there. The forest was quiet, but nothing unnatural about it other than normal. She looked at the trees, the ground and plants, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Then she noticed something about the shadows of trees, plants, and even rocks and vines. They were all stretching towards the same path.

Shadows from the moonlight didn’t usually stretch in one singular direction. They always bend behind the light around them, but this was not the case. The shadows were defying all logic the way they were stretching.

Luna smirked victoriously at her discovery and began flying in the direction where the shadows were stretching.

Behind her, the moon had almost disappeared completely in the horizon.

Luna soon found herself approaching a cave in the other end of Everfree. It was small. Luna would have to duck if she wanted to enter. She began eyeing the cave. Something was off.

Luna suddenly felt a chill. The air itself wasn’t freezing and it was a warm summer night, so why did she feel so cold? Luna felt a shiver go down her spine and felt compelled to look down onto her own shadow. She slowly turned her head and her suspicion was confirmed.

Her shadow was contorting in weird ways and in the second she laid her eyes on the shadow, something began seeping out from it. Something black that quickly gathered up in front of her and took shape.

There he was, the dark stallion with glowing yellow eyes.

Instinctively Luna took a defensive stance. If it was a fight the stallion wanted, then he would get one. But to her surprise, the stallion just tilted its head in confusion, its face remaining expressionless.

“Who art thou?” Luna asked the stallion.

The stallion kept the same expression. Several seconds went by and then the stallion spoke. His voice hoarse, yet powerful and dark.

“Does it matter?”

Luna felt another shiver go down her spine at his voice. Her mind went blank at his response. From her experience the villain usually announced him/herself very dramatically and with great pride in their voice. That pride also went away when she started beating the living hay out of them. But the stallion’s response was the one she probably least expected. Luna asked the first thing that entered her mind.

“What dost thou want?”

The stallion kept its stare on Luna. “I have been wanting to meet you for a very long time, princess Luna.” He answered. “I want to help you.”

Luna looked in disbelief at the stallion. What would this thing possibly want to help her with. “Help us? With what?”

The moon sunk down beneath the horizon behind Luna.

“Though your nightmare is gone, you still hold on to its shadow.”

Luna didn’t know what the stallion was talking about. To the world around her and in her own mind, she was by all means, fine. She was glad to be with her sister and to be back in Equestria. And even if her subjects weren’t the friendliest, specifically the nobles, she was more than happy to have resumed her former duties.

The stallion continued. “In time your nightmare will begin anew…”

Luna’s eyes widened at his words.

“Unless you rid your shadow of this world.” The stallion finished.

Luna stared at the shadow stallion for what felt like hours, contemplating his words. She had no reason to trust the stallion, so why should she? “How do we know thou… You are not lying?”

“You don’t.”

Luna was not satisfied with that response. It didn’t help her whatsoever. She decided to humor the stallion. “And what do you want us… me to do?” Luna asked desperately.

The stallion kept silent.

Luna took a step closer towards him. “Answer us!” She yelled angrily.

The sun was starting to rise over the horizon.

“Stay in the light.”

As the stallion finished his sentence, the sun rose into the sky and its light washed over the land of Equestria.

“What dost thou mean?” Luna asked. But she didn’t get to ask anymore questions as the light hit the stallion and he evaporated into thin air. “Wait!” Luna called, but the stallion was gone and had left her with many questions.

Conflicting Emotions: Guilt

“Voice your questions, princess.” The shadow pony said from across the pond. His voice and words reverberating through the cave. His face was expressionless and uncaring, but his yellow glowing eyes gave a sense of fear around him, probably because of his appearance.

Luna looked over the shadow stallion. In the light of the cave it was much easier to see details on the shadow pony. He had the average build of a stallion and was about half a head smaller than herself. His mane and tail looked slick and hang close to his body. It wasn’t a typical hair or tail style of a stallion, yet Luna found it familiar. He didn’t look muscular nor skinny, just… Average. If one would have pictured a normal pony stallion in their heads, he was probably the picture that took shape. Except maybe for the fact that he looked to be a living shadow. She also had some experience with ponies using that sort of magic. Not any good experiences.

“Are you done staring?” The stallion asked nonchalantly, not moving his eyes from Luna.

Luna flinched at his sudden voice. “Oh, uh, yes.” She quickly replied.

“Good. Would you like to ask those questions now, princess? I tire of you gaping at my appearance.”

Luna realised her mouth had dropped open and quickly shut it. “We were not gaping!” She quickly retaliated, with her face starting to heat up once more.

“Uh-huh.” The stallion simply replied, his face still holding no emotion.

Luna was practically fuming at his response. It was not often that somepony undermined her authority and presence as much as this stallion and even less acting so casual after. Luna took a deep breath to calm down. Take it easy Luna. Don’t let this pony get to you. She thought to herself and took another deep breath. With her mind back on track, Luna remembered the reason she had come to this cave in the first place. “Who are thee?” She asked.

The stallion tilted his head at her words. “I see you are getting more accustomed to the language of this era. Good.”

“Yes tis has been quite…” Luna stopped herself and realised the stallion was playing around her question. “Stop stalling and answer.” She said flatly

The stallion looked oddly at her. “I already answered that question on our first meeting.”

Luna scowled at the stallion. “‘Does it matter?’ is not a proper answer.”

“Okay then, you may call me…” The stallion paused and took a hoof to his chin in thought as if he had trouble remembering his name. His yellow eyes seemed to widen a little as he came to some sort of realisation. He then shook his head and finished. “Seethe. You may call me Seethe.

What a peculiar name. Luna thought. Her mind was drawn back to what he said before and her mind analysed his exact words.‘Language of this era’ He speaks as if he has lived beyond this era. These thoughts sparked Luna’s interest even further. Not many beings were able to live longer than the average pony lifespan, even less an entire era. Only currently known beings that were able to live beyond an era was her sister and Luna herself. “How old are thee and where dost thou come from?”

“Those are some of the questions that I cannot answer.” Seethe replied much to Luna’s frustration.

“Very well then.” Luna said, annoyed. “What is this strange magic around thee?”

“I cannot answer that either.”

“Dost thou have any family?”

“I cannot answer that.”

“Ugh!” Luna groaned. He won’t tell me anything! “Why did thou even want us to get to this place?”

Seethe chuckled at Luna’s frustration. “Because as I have already said, I want to help you.”

Luna snorted at his response. “Thou have a weird definition of ‘help’ if you are referring to thine riddle.”

“It is not a riddle, but a warning.”

Luna resumed her with scowl. “Then what did thou mean by ‘stay in the light’?”

“First when we accept all sides of ourselves can we find peace.”

Luna gave Seethe a confused look. That answer made no sense whatsoever. “Huh?”

“I fear that in time, your Nightmare will return, unless we rid it of this world. You must achieve inner Harmony to accomplish this. Do you wish to achieve Harmony? Do you wish to stay to let me guide you so that you can actually feel comfortable in your own room? To make sure that what nightmare you had will never return? Seethe’s gaze hardened. “Or will you trust in your own abilities and do it yourself?”

Luna gulped at his words. She hadn’t known of his motives, but it just became a little clearer. He wanted her to achieve inner harmony, to find peace and make sure that Nightmare Moon would never return. Now she just had to decide. Did she want his help, or trust herself that she was able to find Harmony by herself? She still didn’t trust this stallion. He was mysterious and downright refused to answer simple questions about himself. She had no reason to trust him. But could she do it alone? She had fallen all by herself a thousand years ago, and she hadn’t changed her isolated state much since her return. She could of course tell Celestia about all of this, but what could she do? They barely saw each other with their duties coming in the way, and if the past had proven anything it was that Celestia essentially wasn’t enough to keep her from falling to darkness. Perhaps this stallion could help? But was it worth the risk? At this point Luna saw no other choice. She knew the darkness was still inside of her and threatening to come out.

Luna came to a conclusion and nodded. “We are willing to let thee guide us, but how will thee rid us of the darkness? Dost thou have a spell?”

Seethe’s gaze hardened on Luna. “The answer is not as simple as you might think.” He gazed down into the pond before him and Luna kept her eyes intently on him.

She quickly noticed that he had no reflection in the water. At a closer look Luna also noticed that he also had no shadow. What is he? She thought and felt sweat forming on her forehead. All natural order and logic seemed to be nonexistent to the stallion as if he didn’t even exist.

“Tell me, princess Luna, when you look into this pond, what do you see?” He kept staring into the pond as he said those words.

First now did Luna realise just how quiet the cave was. The only sound was the occasional drop of water that dripped into the pond, and creating a small ripple. Other than that the cave was silent. There was no wind rustling through the grass, no currents in the water and no other sound than the two beings talking and the drop. It was unnatural and almost frightening. Despite them being in a cave there should still be some kind of emotion or energy in the air, yet there was none.

Reluctantly Luna started lowering her neck over the water, her mane almost making contact with it. She didn’t want to see what she had seen earlier in the reflection. She didn’t want to see the traces of Nightmare Moon lingering on her like paint. Her heart beat faster as she lowered over the water. She had closed her eyes prior to lowering her neck out of fear of what she would see. All she heard was her heart beating fast in her chest and her own breathing. If there was anything she didn’t want to see again, it was her other side, her darker side.

Luna slowly opened her eyes and they were met with her normal reflection. Luna let out a breath of relief at the sight. It was still her, not that twisted monster she had become. As she looked closer, Luna began to see small but significant changes. There were spots in her coat and on her neck that were darker and she even spotted a fang in her mouth. She gasped and tried to pull her neck away from the pond, but she was stuck. She couldn’t move.

“What do you see?” Seethe repeated in a calm voice.

“What is happening?! Why can’t we move?! What did thou do to us?!” Luna yelled still trying to pull away from the pond, but to no avail. She tried to look away from her reflection, but her eyes were stuck to it. She couldn’t look away.

“What do you see?” The stallion repeated again louder and more sternly.

The reflection's dark coat spots were spreading and its eyes was turning into slits. Luna felt as if the reflection was getting closer to her. And despite Luna’s mouth being clenched shut and her trying to will herself away with all her might, shaking in the process against the strange force that kept her there, the reflection’s mouth was twisting into a toothy and malicious grin. All hope of being with her sister again like they used to, to have friends, to finally feel like she was home, were starting to get drained from her as she looked into that reflection.

Luna was starting to get scared. Her heart was pumping faster and faster and she felt herself starting to sweat. What is happening? Why can’t I move?! Her eyes were glued to the reflection as it seemed to come even closer to her. “Please, let us go!” Luna pleaded without even thinking. She wanted to go home, she wanted away from the cave, but most of all, she wanted away from that reflection. Memories began streaming through Luna’s head from the time before was starting to turn into Nightmare Moon. She saw destruction, fear and her own evil laughter over crowds of frightened citizens. She felt her own pride as images streamed across her eyes. Pride of her actions as Nightmare Moon, this pride turned into guilt as she realised she was feeling prideful about her previous actions.

“Tell me, what do you see!” Seethe yelled in her direction.

“We see her!” Luna instinctively shouted back.

“Who?”

“N-Nightmare moon!”

The moment Luna yelled the name, the darkness in her reflection disappeared, returning to her original reflection and she felt the grip that had held her be released. She stumbled back and fell on her haunches. Her breath was ragged and she could feel a single warm tear drip down her cheek.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, but it was the only way to make it resurface.” The stallion said and began walking over the pond stopping in front of Luna, still standing on the pond as if it was solid.

“A-art thou trying to bring her back?” Luna jumped to her legs and ignited her horn, pointing it threateningly in the direction of the stallion. “Is that why thee wanted us here?” Luna’s eyes began glowing white and lightning flashed behind her. She spread her wings in a threatening way and a violent current came out of nowhere in the cave. “DOST THOU SEEK TO BRING BACK THE MONSTER IN ME?!”

The current suddenly seized and the light in Luna’s eyes died out without her control. Memories kept surging through her and the feelings they brought with them were overwhelming. She collapsed on the violet and blue grass, her eyes buried in her hooves. The guilt she felt was too much. She couldn’t pull herself together. She missed the days she used to have with her sister, she missed the friends she used to have and she had betrayed them. And for what? Praise, to be superior to her sister? They must have hated her in their final moments, Luna still hated herself so why shouldn’t the ponies she used to know in their final moments?

“Emotion is a powerful thing in this world.” The stallion said sadly. “What ponies feel towards each other creates who they are. They are what become their personality, they are their experiences, their wisdom, but like everything else, they must be cared for, nurtured and never ignored. Forsaking them will only worsen the effects they might have. You, princess Luna, knows this better than anyone else.”

Luna felt warm tears fall into her hooves as the stallion spoke and the memories kept flowing. She lifted her head and saw that the stallion had laid down as well on the water of the pond and was looking her right in the eyes. His expression hadn’t changed, it still bore no emotion and it angered her. She wanted to fire every harmful spell she knew after him, but she couldn’t. Despite his face holding no expression, she could feel a hint of sadness from him.

“Guilt is the last emotion to haunt one.” Seethe continued. “When everything is finished, when the task is done, when the table has turned and time has past, one cannot help but look back at what used to be and then it happens. You regret your former actions and feels guilt for what they have done and it only pulls you deeper down the hole you were trying to crawl up from.” Seethe rose and walked closer to Luna and stuck out a hoof. “Therefore it is the emotion you must overcome first to finally ascend from the hole that was dug a millenia ago and make sure you'll never fall again.”

Luna stared at the shadowy hoof for a good while, contemplating his words. Then she gulped and took his hoof. It felt warm and at a point Luna was sure her own hoof would pass right through his. She then shifted her attention to his face. She could see a faint line pulling on it. A small smile. And it disappeared just as quick as it appeared, replaced by the same emotionless face.

“Become stronger and overcome your guilt.” Seethe said and let go of Luna’s hoof.

As he let go, Luna’s stream of continuing memories seized and she felt as if a great weight was lifted from her chest. The colors around her seemed brighter than before and she felt relieved. She didn’t know why, but she did. A smile crept up on her face and a tear of joy fell from her eye. She couldn’t help but ask.“W-why are we feeling so… Relieved?”

“Because you are beginning to find your way into the light once more.” Seethe answered and turned his back on her once more and walked over to his own side of the pond.

Luna remembered his words from before. “Therefore it is the emotion you must overcome first to finally ascend.” Luna reminisced. “Thou said guilt was the first to overcome, does that mean there will be more?”

“Yes”

“How many?”

“You were lead to this place because of the guilt you felt and every time a new emotion shall emerge, you will be led to this place for guidance. Farewell for now, princess Luna.”

As Seethe finished his sentence, all light went out in the cave and so did Luna’s vision.

Luna woke up outside the cave she had originally entered. She quickly rose and looked back at the cave. It was still dark, but now she could see through the darkness as she normally could. She still felt the sense of relief inside of her and it made her smile. She hadn’t felt this good in millenia. She spread her wings and took flight towards her relatively new home.

Celestia yawned as she walked down the hall inside Canterlot castle, a bright smile on her face. This gala has been the best in centuries! She thought to herself. She hadn’t thought the gala could have been that great without her sister, but Twilight and her friends had that effect on Celestia. They made her happy. She just wished Luna could have joined in on it. Luna could be very ‘fun’ when she wanted to, she had proven such on the most recent nightmare night and when they were young.

She came across Luna’s bedroom on the way to her own and heard wingbeats inside. Out of curiousity, Celestia opened the door and saw Luna had just entered through the balcony. Her mane and wings were ruffled so she must have been on a long flight. Luna was also breathing heavily as if she had been in a hurry to come back or had done something exhausting.

Luna smiled as she noticed her sister in the doorway. “Greetings, sister, how wast thine gala?”

Celestia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her sister’s unusual smile. Especially since she had been moping a few hours before. “It was good, Luna. Where have you been?”

“We were just out on a short evening flight, no need to worry, sister.”

Celestia smiled warmly at her sister. Above everything she was happy to see that Luna was in a better mood. “Okay, Luna.” Celestia yawned. “I think I’ll go to bed, see you at dawn.”

“Goodnight dear sister.” Luna said as Celestia closed the door to the bedroom and began the rest of her journey to a good night’s rest.

Who would want to go to the galla anyway?

Luna was lying on her bed in her room, thinking. She had grown more accustomed to her room, but she still didn’t like being there. Even after several modifications, like painting the room a dark blue and enchanting the ceiling with stars that twirled around so it resembled her night sky, it still didn’t feel like hers.

Weeks had passed since Luna’s encounter with the shadow pony in Everfree and she couldn’t stop thinking about what he had said. His words were echoing through her mind on a daily basis and puzzled her to no end. What did he mean?

Over the weeks, Luna had also tried to socialise more, but hadn’t been very successful. The only time she had actually managed to socialise was on Nightmare night. A smile crept up on her face as she remembered the laughing fillies and colts, the fun games she played and how much she was looking forward to next years Nightmare night.

But tonight was not a time of fun and games unfortunately. Tonight was the day of the grand galloping gala. There had been a ruckus in the castle for the last week with staff ponies and Celestia organising and preparing for the gala. Luna was a little excited to go to the gala at first, but now she was a nervewreck.

She had been trying to decide on a dress to wear for more than an hour, but didn’t know what to wear. Eventually she had decided not to wear a dress since her sister weren’t either. That decision eventually ended up with her not wanting to attend the gala at all. She wasn’t fond of making new pony friends. Even after Nightmare night she still felt as an outsider. One that might never quite fit in. And now the gala had begun, so there was no turning back.

Her thoughts were once more drawn to the shadow pony. She hadn’t told anypony about her encounter in Everfree. And that was probably for the best for now. She needed some information first if she wanted to discover who this pony was and his intentions. She had tried flying over Everfree and any other places that would prove a good spot to hide, searching for suspicious looking shadows, but she found nothing out of the ordinary. Other than her still having the feeling that Equestria was too dark. She wondered about his words. “Stay in the light” he had said, but what light? Was there nothing more she could do to prevent what he predicted was to come? What was annoying Luna even more was that she had no idea if he was telling the truth or simply trying to trick her.

A knocking on her door ripped Luna from her thoughts. Who could it be at this hour? She thought. She sat up on her bed. “Come in.” She said and the one outside her door complied.

The door opened and in came Celestia with a warm smile occupying her face. “Good Evening, Luna.” She said warmly.

Luna looked lazily at her sister. “Good evening.” She replied, no emotion other than slight annoyance in her voice. She knew what her sister had to say. Ever since Luna had made the decision not to attend the gala, every few or so hours Celestia would come trying to convince her or bait her into joining or conversing with some ponies.

“I was wondering if you might reconsider joining the party.” Celestia kept her warm smile as she spoke. “I have a lot of ponies who would like to meet you.”

Luna simply rolled her eyes. “No thank you, sister. We’re not in the mood to meet our subjects this night. We have thoughts occupying my mind.”

Celestia’s smile faded slightly and she raised an eyebrow. She walked inside the room and sat down on Luna’s bedside. “What kind of thoughts?” She asked.

Luna laid down on her bed and turned her head away from her sister. “Troubling thoughts…” She simply answered.

Celestia’s eyebrow arched. “Care to tell me about them?”

“No.”

Celestia looked worried at Luna for a few seconds after which she rose from the bed and walking towards the door and then looked back at Luna with a small smile. “Okay, Luna. But you know that you sooner or later have to socialise with our subjects.”

“We know.” Luna muttered in reply.

“Twilight and her friends are out there you know.” Celestia continued. “You could join me in welcoming them.”

Luna felt slightly tempted to take Celestia up on her offer. She wanted nothing more than to be a part of the present, but that was much harder than it sounded. Of course the gala mostly consisting of stuck up nobles didn’t help either. Luna had recently met prince Blueblood who in her eyes had been the epitome of how a pony shouldn’t be. And she had felt almost compelled to royal canterlot voice all of his snobby behaviour out of him. She had eventually decided against it, but she would teach him a lesson at some point.

Luna sat up and looked back at her sister. “We’re sorry, sister, but not this night. Tonight we just want to be alone.” She laid back down on the bed.

Celestia gave her another worried look, then nodded and walked out to rejoin the gala.

Luna kept lying there on her bed for a few minutes until a thought struck her. Maybe I can find a clue where I last saw him? It was a plausible plan. She hadn’t been at that place since their meeting. She had looked everywhere but at that cave. Luna shook her head at her poor detective skills. It should have been the first thing she should have done since she started searching.

Luna smirked victoriously. Looks like I have some work to do.

Celestia eyes were focused on the floor as she found her way back to the gala. She still had to attend and welcome everypony that arrived. But her sister’s continuous refusal to attend the gala had saddened Celestia greatly. She had hoped that she and Luna could have held their first gala together in Canterlot, but this was not the case. She was worried about Luna. She was worried that Luna might be isolating herself too much in her own company.

In her absent mind Celestia didn’t notice the many ponies that tried to start up a conversation with her. She simply gave a polite nod out of reflex and continued her way back to her position of welcoming ponies. That is until a familiar voice caught her attention.

“Princess Celestia!”

Celestia’s ears perked and she was ripped from her thoughts concerning her sister as she heard the voice of her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia smiled warmly as her eyes fixed on the lavender unicorn that came trotting up to her. “Hello again, Twilight. Are you and your friends enjoying the gala?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a hoof and smiled sheepishly. “I’m enjoying the gala, but I have no idea where most of my friends are. I haven’t seen Rarity, Fluttershy or Applejack since we got here.”

“I’m sure they’re having fun.”

Luna landed outside the cave on the exact same spot she had been when she had met the shadow pony. She scanned the area, searching for any clues, although not expecting to find any. The pony she was tracking was a shadow after all.

She began to examine the ground in true detective style by stretching her neck closer to the ground and began examining the ground by staring at it intensely and searching for anything that could help her find the stallion.

After around five minutes of wandering around looking like a pony who had lost her glasses, Luna stopped. She had found nothing in her search and it frustrated her greatly. She wanted, no, needed to find that pony.

With a frustrated groan, Luna sat down while keeping an angry scowl on the ground in front of her. She had hoped this would have gotten her anywhere, but this seemed to not be the case.

With lazy eyes she looked to the cave in front of her. It was just as she remembered it. Barely big enough for her to walk through and she would even have to duck so her horn wouldn’t get stuck in the ceiling. Then Luna noticed something and she arched an eyebrow. The mountain rock that made the cave was darker in color than the the mountain it was attached to. And she also noticed something else. As she gazed into the cave, she saw nothing but darkness and that was the weird part. Luna had perfect night vision, so she should have been able to see right through the cave and yet she couldn’t.

Luna smirked at her discovery. She had finally found a clue. So without further thinking, she began walking towards and inside the cave.

“Ow!” Luna yelled as she hit her head against the ceiling. She ducked and continued walking. It felt like the cave was going on forever. After a few minutes of walking she looked back to the entrance only to discover it was gone. She gulped and continued onward. Luna had never been afraid of the dark, but that was because she had always been able to see in the dark. This was new and frightening.

She kept walking. Where is this infernal tunnel leading me? She heard rumbling rocks. As if the rocks were rolling down a cliff, but dismissed it. I just hope it will lead me towards hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” Luna didn’t get to think any further as her hooves ran out of ground to stand on and she fell down a hill inside the cave.

“OW! Uh! Ah! What in? OW!”

Luna eventually rolled out of the dark cave and into an opening. “Ow…” She groaned. Her body felt beaten and bruised from the fall. She also felt dizzy and a weird feeling of blood rushing to her head. Then she discovered her landing position. You have got to be kidding me. Luna had landed with her horn first put deep in the ground. “Hnnngh!” She groaned as she tried to pull her horn out of the ground, but came up with no result. Okay, again! “Hnnnnngh-agh!” She pulled out her horn with great force, so much so that she stumbled to her hind legs and fell onto her back. “Ow…” She groaned in pain once more.

Luna layd there for a few seconds until she heard a noise. It was the sound of water dripping down. She opened her eyes, rolled onto her side, despite her body’s slight protesting, and gasped at the sight. She was inside a large cave. The ground was covered in purple and blue grass. There were luminescent gems in all colors in the walls and ceiling that lit the cave. In the middle was a pond that filled most of the cave. But the water was a weird color. It was like a mirror with red stripes that flowed through it like fish and the water was also glowing. The only indication that is was liquid was an occational drop of water that fell from one of the gems near the ceiling into the pond.

Luna curiously got up and began walking through the cave in awe of the sights and stopped in front of the pond. She stretched her neck and looked at her reflection in the water. She snorted at the sight. Her mane was disheveled and brown from dirt. Luna lit her horn and removed the dirt from her mane. What an unpleasant fall. She thought to herself. She glanced around the cave and smiled a little. It was a beautiful cave. At least this trip wasn’t for nothing after all. I’ve got myself a new place to be alone. Luna felt a shiver go down her spine.

“Hello again, princess Luna.”

“Agh!” Luna jumped into the air, turned and ignited her horn out of fright. Her eyes were met with the entrance she had dumped out of, only this time there was two glowing yellow eyes in the entrance. Luna gasped. Can it be?

A familiar figure walked out of the blackness of the entrance. His dark body seethed as he entered the light and smoke dripped off of him, like drops of water, with every step he took.

“What a pleasant surprise.” The shadow stallion said, his voice reverberating through the cave. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come back.”

Luna took a defensive stance and scowled. “Dost thou have any clue how much we’ve been thinking about thee and thou infernal riddles in the past weeks?!”

“How flattering that you have been thinking of me.”

Luna could feel her cheeks heat up, but shook her head free of it. “Thou knows what we mean! WE HAVE COME FOR ANSWERS!” She yelled with her canterlot voice, making the cave shake underneath its volume.

The stallion tilted his head. “How adorable.” He taunted. “You act like a filly with a temper tantrum.”

Luna could feel her heart pound harder and her face heat up once more, and she started counting the various harmful spells in her arsenal.

“But if answers is what you seek, answers is what you’ll get.” The stallion continued and started walking towards the pond in the middle of the cave.

Luna kept her guard up and her eyes kept on the stallion like an owl looking at a mouse as he came closer. Her jaw dropped as the stallion passed her and walked out onto the water as if it was solid, and proceeded to walk to the other side in a calm manner and then turned to face her once more.

“But there are some questions that I cannot answer.”

Luna straightened up, but kept her scowl. “Can’t or won’t?”

“A little bit of both.” The stallion answered.

Luna snorted in response. She was not very happy with that answer. But then again, she had found him. The pony that had haunted her mind for weeks was now standing in front of her, willing to give her answers. There were of course still the possibility that he was tricking her, but nothing indicated anything of the sort. It was her own choice to come back here. Luna smirked. Perhaps this will be a good night afterall.