The Moon and her Shadow

by Aquarian_Sage

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Drama, King Sombra, Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance
Length: 2610

Once upon, a time Luna had a student. Once upon a time, Sombra was a colt. Once upon a time, those names were free of sin.

Once upon a time, Luna had a student. Once upon a time, Sombra was a colt.

Once upon a time, those names were free of sin.

--

I asked the lovely WithoutCommonSense for permission to use her art for my cover.

Published 2018-08-15 21:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-03-05 01:38:07 UTC

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."

Author's Note

Please point out any typos.

I've started too many stories and I haven't even completed half of them. Welp. Time to put this one on hiatus! Later, armadillos!

Chapter Two

Winter was approaching the queendom of Equestria. By now, frost was replacing the morning dew, pale slivers of ice lined water, and trees were all but bare of their leafy crowns.

Luna stood on the roof of the solar tower with wings flared open. Every night, the winds caressing her feathers grew colder and colder. She inhaled the crisp, biting air and drunk in the tapestry of stars. Each night grew longer and longer. Soon, the longest and most beautiful night of the year would be upon world.

She dropped down on all fours and studied the castle grounds below.

The Night Court drifted through the misty evening. The Night Guard was returning from their patrol, Shadow Bolts tended to the Everfree clouds, astronomers and mages huddled close together in hush conversations, and a musician plucked sweet serenades on her lyre.

Queen Luna smiled at her subjects. Though few, she could never question their loyalty or love of the night. She only wished she could see more little ponies basking in the moonlight too. Every year, it felt like she had less and less, while her sister had more and more.

"... busy schedule today!" Celestia's chipper voice rose from the stairs below.

Luna rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance. Honestly, who could be this cheerful this early in the morning. She fluttered in through a window just in time to see Celestia canter up the stairs with Sombra in toe. "The harvest moon shall soon be upon us, so today, we'll have a meeting with several of the—"

"We?" Luna raised a brow. "I didn't schedule any meetings with the harvest moon committee today. As a matter of fact, I didn't even invite you to the next meeting. The harvest moon festival is my—"

"Oh hush hush, Lulu, don't worry!" Celestia waved a dismissing hoof. "I just want to..."

Well that settled that.

Luna didn't bother to listen another superfluous word. The moon goddess instead shifted her gaze onto the colt.

Ever since Celestia invited him to see the sunrise several weeks ago, Sombra had been a permanent feature at her side.

And it showed. Sombra's chest heaved as he stifled a yawn, his bloodshot eyes blinked at his hooves, and he sniffled in vain at the mucus crusted on his nose.

Luna plucked an ivy leaf from a vine and approached the pair, keeping her gaze locked on Sombra. "Fine, then, Celly-dearest. Who am I to get in the way of what you want? Enjoy the meeting."

Celestia's usual smile faltered for a moment. "Is something the matter, sister?"

Luna ignored the question. "Good morrow, honored guest."

The colt jolted out of his half-slumber and quickly bowed. "Good morrow, Queen Luna."

"It is rather early."

He glanced up at her and quickly looked away at the sight of her cold, impassive countenance. "It-it is, your grace."

"Too early for a foal," Luna shot Celestia a pointed look, "in Our humble opinion."

Celestia stopped smiling. She went to speak, but Luna cut her off. "May We have permission to touch thee, Sombra?"

Sombra recoiled in surprise. "Excuse me, Queen Luna?"

Luna repeated her inquiry with a gentler tone. "May We have permission to touch thee?"

Sombra sniffled at the mucus that kept dripping out his nose. "Uh, yes?"

The moon god shook her head. "Nay, Sombra. Only with thine honest consent."

Sombra took a moment to consider his option. Then he nodded. "You may, Queen Luna."

And Luna wiped his boogies away with the ivy leaf. "There. It seems thou hath forgotten to wash thy face this morning." She looked at Celestia with a cold expression. "One tends to forget things when they're tired. Especially foals."

Celestia scowled for a moment, but then forced a beatific smile. "How kind of you, sister." She draped a wing over Sombra and squeezed him close. "Are you ready for the sunrise? I know I am."

The colt stiffened and looked off to the side in silent discomfort. "Yes, Queen Celestia."

"Wonderful! This one is going to be spectacular."

Sombra nodded, still not looking at her. "Thank you, Queen Celestia."

The sun god pulled away from him and cantered to her dais. Luna moved next to Sombra, but maintained wing's-distance from him.

Celestia inhaled before lighting her horn.

Dawn waded into the dying night. Everfree clouds became ablaze with soft oranges and pinks, lark song overtook the nightingale chirps, and what bare branched turned to embrace the sun's warming light. Celestia's wings snapped open and morning birds hovered just outside the Solar Tower's windows singing in invitation. The sun god took flight.

Luna and Sombra watched Celestia join the birds in a delicate dance.

Luna lost interest in the performance immediately and Sombra sighed under his breath a moment later.

"Why does she always have to do this right in front of the sun?" he bemoaned.

Queen Luna chuckled.

Sombra's nearly jumped out of his skin. She wasn't supposed to hear that! He glanced at her before looking back at Celestia's blinding dance.

"If thou would like to rest thine eyes from sister-dear's Dazzling Daily Dawn Dance, then look where We look."

Sombra dared to meet her gaze and found himself disarmed by her good-humored grin. She looked into his eyes for a moment and then turned her head west. Sombra followed suit.

She closed her eyes and relaxed her grin into a small smile. Sombra watched as the last vestiges of night were tucked in below the horizon until the last star of the western sky faded out of sight.

With her night resting, Luna trotted over to a window. "Would thee join Us, honored guest?"

He turned to Queen Celestia, still gliding through the air with her dance troupe, and blinked at the assault of bright light. He looked to Queen Luna and joined her.

"What doth thou see?"

He peered down below. "I see... a muscian packing up her instrument... ponies are putting their telescopes away... the Shadow Bolts are going to the stables. What do you see, Queen Luna?"

"We see ponies retiring for the day." She turned to him with a small sweet smile. "We think thou would like to retire too."

Sombra sighed in relief. "I want to so much, but it would be rude of me to refuse Queen Cele—"

She scoffed. "It was rude of her to keep touching thee without thy consent. It was rude of her to rouse from thee at this dreadful hour." Luna walked to the stairs before looking over her shoulder. "We shall make no such impositions upon thee, Our guest. Instead, We shall ask: If it would please thee, shall We escort thee to thy chambers?"

He glanced back at Celestia and then to Luna. "Her dances are pretty..."

Luna turned around and sighed in quiet disappointment.

"... but I've already seen so many." Sombra got up and joined Luna. "I'm so tired."

She smiled at him again. "Then come, come, child. As the night, it is Our duty most sacred to secure rest for all."

And both Luna and Sombra descended down into the darkness.

Celestia, caught up in her dance, noticed none of this. When she at last finished masturbating to her own glory, she landed back on the dais. "Why did they go?"

Author's Note

Please point out any typos.

I need a break from my novel so I got high and typed this up.