Family bonding

While Celestia and Chrysalis were having their own bonding, the two ponies who were more comfortable in the shadows had their own as well.

Luna and Sombra were going through the forest, trying to find fallen wood for a camp fire to survive the night. "Father, if I may ask," Luna said, "why must we use fire? Can we not just use our magic?"

"Unfortunately, no," Sombra said. "I will keep it as simple as I can. Tartarus, this far in, anyway, disrupts all unicorn magic. We're lucky we weren't further in, or else you, Celestia, and your mother wouldn't be able to fly. The wood also has a property that protects hose around a fire that has it as firewood from the area's effects. Everything I went through to check if Hades' seal was intact, which was in vain, apparently, I memorized if I needed to guide somepony out of here. Probably a good thing I did so."

"Yes, I can imagine," Luna said. "I wonder if Celestia's broken down yet from being stuck with mother."

"Wouldn't surprise me if so," her father said. "We may not see eye to eye, but at least we can tolerate one another, unlike those two."

"Let us hope they don't kill each other before we get out of here."

Sombra chuckled. "Too true, Luna. But don't worry, none can actually die in Tartarus, only be sent further into it. So we don't ant them to have a fight to the death, however entertaining it would be."

"That's a little cruel, don't you think, father?"

"Perhaps," Sombra said, with a slight mischievous smile. "But you must admit, on equal footing, you have to be curious as to which would win."

". . .Touche," Luna said. "Actually, I think Celestia losing to mother during Cadence's wedding hurt her ego a bit."

"In my opinion, it needed to be brought down a few pegs," Sombra said, chuckling. "She did have a bit of an ego for being able to control something as large as the sun since Apollo gave they duty to her."

"Yes, she did," Luna said, also chuckling. "It doesn't help that the everyday pony strokes the ego everyday."

"Perhaps being here will help her tame it," Sombra said.

"I suppose that'll be one upside of being sent here," the lunar alicorn grumbled. "I swear, when we get out of here, I'm going to make Hades wish you and the others had killed him."

"Luna."

"What," she said. "I thought as the ones who had no qualms with killing, you'd want him to die as well."

Sombra shook his head and sighed. "Luna, you weren't there when he was cast to Tartarus, nor what his other punishments were. I do want him punished, but his anger had been simmering since his banishment. If I were him, or any of the others were in his place, we most likely would have done the same. It does not excuse his actions, but I am surprised you didn't think as to why he attacked when he did."

"Because everypony was in the same place."

Sombra looked at Luna with a deadpan stare. "Really. He would have had another reason than that, and he is not an idiot. That means he must have had help. Which begs the question-"

"Who helped him," Luna finished.

"Exactly," Sombra said. "We can only hope we find out before we return so that we are not again stabbed in the back."

"How do you propose we find that problem out," Luna asked, crossing her arms.

"We think back on how the others acted," Sombra said, "and see who was acting out of person the most. When we return, we kill them and Hades this time around."