Another Sun Rises

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

A stallion's voice reverberated across the field, and I woke, eyes fluttering as they adjusted to the moonlight outside. I turned to see a handsome gray-coated stallion sitting next to me with his long black mane and dark blue eyes. I was lying with him in his bed in a lavishly decorated room. I squirmed, feeling so hot and sweaty, but I was comforted by him and his gentle touch on my shoulder. His muzzle against mine as he asked, "Celestia, are you alright?"

"Hmmm, yes, I feel amazing," I whispered as I nuzzled his mane with my nose. Feeling his hoof wrap around me was unlike anything I had ever felt before the sensation of him being on me. I know it wasn't my feelings, but I could tell Celestia was deeply in love with him, and I could feel that, and it was overwhelming. I looked up at the moon and then heard Sombra ask.

"So you also have something called the Galloping Gala?

I let out an annoyed sigh, "Yes, I do. It's a stupid formal party for a bunch of rich snobs to pat themselves on the back. The only good thing about it is that I used the funds gained from it to give to charity."

The stallion chuckled, "I see, it's that bad."

"It's annoying; my sister doesn't even show her face. I just stand at the castle entrance and shake my hooves until my hooves are numb. I sometimes talk to some of them late, but I'd rather just stay here with you."

"My goodness, things aren't much different here. It's relatively the same thing as it's just a reason for pompous ponies."

"So tell me, how do you keep yourself from losing your mind?"

Sombra shrugged, then said, "It's not really then of the world for me; I just try to make it more interesting, you know!? I invited clowns before."

"Clowns!?"

The stallion laughed and said, "Yes, you couldn't believe the pompous rich ponies were like when they came."

I couldn't help but imagine all of the rish stuffy nobles freaking out as clowns were throwing pies in their faces and rolling around on unicycles. I laughed and nuzzled him. "Oh, Sombra, you are unlike any pony I know."

"Well, I think having a sense of humor makes you much more interesting and helps keep you from becoming too serious."

"I couldn't agree more."

I then laid under him as he stared at her, and they soon were kissing, his lips pressed against hers, and we stayed like that for some time; it was unlike anything. A euphoria overwhelmed me as he laid into me, and she could feel his embrace and then…

I woke and gasped, waking up once again in my bedroom at the weird dream I had, knowing it was a memory. I was sweating heavily, and in places, I did not think I could sweat. I then slowly went through my daily duties as princess of the sun. Still, my mind continued to dwell on the memory of the "good Sombra" with whom Celestia was in love. It was hard for me not to think about it. Wildly, when they… she shook her head and decided not to overthink it. Was Sombra truly good at one point? If so, how long was this memory? I continued to think about this and could not consider that there was a lot of mystery and, worse, fixation on it. Still, I continued to focus my efforts on my duties. I first attended a long, boring meeting about the Gala's success, and it was not surprising that all the proceeds went to restoration projects and charities. It made me quite happy that all that peacocking last night went to something useful. After that, I went through a press conference to talk about the gala's success and mention the dress that Rarity designed for me. Later that evening, I continued reading the newspaper and seeing the news about my new dress. It got excellent reviews from Hotiy Toity and Photo Finish, saying it was Rarity's design.

After the long day, with the moon rising, I decided to have tea with Princess Luna as we sat together. I looked towards her and said, "Princess, I have to say that I had another one of those weird memories come up."

"Oh, do tell?"

I could feel my cheeks burning as I said, "Well, it was odd. I saw King Sombra, but he wasn't evil-looking like I remember seeing him in the newspapers, and he was quite handsome and seemed kind."

Luna's eyes lit up upon mentioning him and said, "Oh my, what else did you see?"

I flapped my wings abit as I continued, "Nothing really, just that it seemed the two were in love and um, well…they uh had um…" I couldn't finish the sentence, but Luna's face turned red as she waved a hoof, "too many details."

"Regardless, I need to ask did you know of this affair?"

Luna bent her head down and sighed, "Sadly, yes." She took a moment to adjust herself and said, "Not too long ago, my sister, along with Twilight and her friends, went on a secret adventure most aren't aware of; some things came to light that I was unaware of with my sister and what she did after I was sealed away to the moon. From what I learned, she and Starswirl learned of another dimension, a mirror world that reflects ours, and there she made friends with the other version of me." She ended the sentence with a growl.

"Oh, my?"

"Yes, it's quite interesting, to say the least, but she also fell in love with their King Sombra, and it seemed he was Good there in that world. My sister formed a relationship with him and fell in love…but at a price, you see, the longer she stayed in that world, the longer it upset the balance between ours. Whem I came back from being Nightmare Moon my former good version of me teamed up with the evil version of my sister. We, along with Twilight and her friends, were able to stop them and save their world, almost at the cost of my sister's life…we destroyed the way back there to ensure nothing like that could happen again. If your memory is correct, maybe I should have asked where my sister was going on vacation. I feel so stupid."

"But you said yourself she destroyed the only way back there!?"

"I know, but she and Starswirl must've done a lot of research into these kinds of portals. I thought she might attempt to see her Sombra again, but with the mirror destroyed, I wasn't worried she would be able to return.

"So what do we do?"

Luna stared back at me and said, "We need to unlock these memories and see if they can lead to her?"

"How do we do that?"

Princess Luna threw a hoof and continued, "Simple. Tonight, when you sleep, I'll enter your dreams and see if I can link your dream bubble with my sister's. That way, I'll be able to see where she currently is."

"That's a great idea, thank you."

"Sombra, I'm sorry, my love, but I have to go."

I woke up this time in a bed of flowers surrounded by a beautiful garden, unlike anything I'd seen before. There were fields of grass and flowers that stretched for miles. The sun was high in the sky, but unlike the sun in Equestria, this one was bigger and seemed to have a golden glow that was unlike anything. A river ran along the way, with waterfalls pouring out into massive streams of clouds. The world was beautiful and serene, but I wasn't supposed to be here. But what made the place odd was the animals they ran around and acted as they would in my world. But they glowed and seemed to have an ethereal form surrounding them. It then hit me that maybe the True Celestia's memories and experiences mixed into my dream, and I realized this was the afterlife!? A world known as Elysium, the end for all mortals.

I saw that I was lying on some blankets, looking over to see this "Good Sombra" holding my hoof and whispering, "You should have left a long time ago; I'm fine now."

"I…I know I came here to restore your soul and restore the goodness you had. I just couldn't bear leaving you the way we did…now, after spending so much time with you, I can't leave."

"I know, thankfully, you have, and I'm forever grateful, but you cannot stay here; you need to leave."

He got up, and that was the first time I got a good look at him and saw that my love looked older and sicker than before but seemed well overall and smiled as he said, "Celestia, our love has brought you only pain and suffering. The longer you stay, the harder it will be for you to leave."

"I know."

The stallion grasped my hoof firmly, and I started to cry, tears rolling down my cheeks, "Why…why must we part? I just want to stay with you and be here forever. I don't want to go back."

Sombra nuzzled into me and whispered, "Sometimes the hardest choices are made by those who care the most. We both care for our worlds and the lives of those within. One day, you can return, and we will be together for eternity, but you are needed. Twilight needs your guidance for a bit longer."

"You're right; I'm being selfish again."

"No, you're not; you were placed with a heavy burden, as was I. We are not gods, just ponies; you made mistakes like I have. That doesn't make you selfish, just mortal."

I nuzzled him, felt his moist coat hit my muzzle, and whispered, "Goodbye, my love."

I then got up. As I trotted through the gardens to a mirror, walking through it and passing the world warped around me, I whispered, "Sister, are you there?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, this isn't what it looks like, my Sombra; he sent me a message a year ago and told me about meeting in Elysium. When we left, he was turning evil to keep the balance but found a way into the fields of Elysium to save himself. I meant to only stay there for a while, but I couldn't and learned he…" Tears filled my eyes, and I started to cry, feeling myself unable to stop sobbing uncontrollably.

Luna came over, looking saddened as she said, "I know he will probably remain in Elysium forever."

"I couldn't leave him like we did and had to make sure he was ok. He told me this was the only way. It's all my fault!" I thrust myself into Luna as she wrapped her wings around me, patting me on the back with her wings.

"That doesn't change the fact he still loves you and you, and like he said, we need you. Twilight needs you. But I'm so sorry, sister."

She morphed as I watched and saw the two embrace and the memory or dream, whatever it was to warp, and soon I was falling until a bright light enveloped me.

After seeing the memory, I woke up and could feel my heart racing. I turned to see Luna over me, and she seemed abit relieved, "I know where my sister is, and it seems that she has somehow saved their Sombra from a terrible fate. But it seems he will have to remain in the fields of Elysium to remain good and restore his soul."

"I see that, but how will we get to them?"

"There's no need; my sister will return any moment."

She turned towards a mirror in my room and unveiled it. Then we both stood back as the door opened, and the actual princess Celestia trotted forward, her head bowed, eyes bloodshot red from crying. She looked as beautiful as she had ever been, but sadness surrounded her as she cried, "I apologize for taking so long."

She came out and cried, hugging Luna, who held her close. "It's alright. I know why you did what you did, and I'm so proud of you and Sombra. You will be with him again."

"Thank you, sister, I don't deserve you."

They sat in the room, hugging each other's wings and wrapping around each other as their heads laid into each other.

I was astonished and felt out of place, seeing that the sisters were clearly having an emotional bonding moment. I was just some random guard being pulled into all of this. But without warning, Celestia lit her horn and pulled me towards them, my hooves scrapping across the carpet as I was thrust into the hug and put into the middle of the wing hug.

After the dust settled, so to speak, we all slept together in Celestia's room. Before the true Princess Celestia woke up in the morning. I was back in "my office" as I stood before the actual princess of the sun. I stood there at attention as she reviewed a detailed report of everything I had done for her. She smiled and said, "This is wonderful; it's more than I could ask for!? I have to admit you make a better me than well me."

I couldn't believe what I heard; getting praise from the true princess of the sun filled me with elation, but I kept my cool as I waved a hoof in front of my hoof and said, "No, princess, I cannot replace you."

The princess gave me a painful smile and said, "Maybe you can, but I will not force that on you. North Star, you did more than I could ask for and beyond anything I can imagine. Thank you sincerely for all the work you did being a princess."

I bowed and said, "It was my pleasure, princess."

"My goodness, you're like my twin sister. It's hard to even see as you anything but?"

I flapped my wings and said, "Well, I wish I wanted to stay like this."

"If you wanted to stay like this and if it were up to me, I would leave you as you are…but I fear the citizens of Equestria would be a little concerned having two Princess Celestias, running around."

"Now, we must return you back…I heard from my sister that you requested to be a mare?"

"Yes I…I do wish to continue being a mare if that's ok?"

"Of course, I'm just surprised, is all."

She then lit her horn and started to transform me again. I could feel my body shrink a bit, but my body exploded as my mane shortened, and my mane did. It was a warm sensation as my body changed and shifted. Princess Celestia was even surprised. "That wasn't supposed to happen?"

I looked over at a mirror to see my new body, seeing I still had wings, a fine white coat, piercing gold eyes, and a sunny yellow and orange mane. I turned my head to face my rear and saw a long, swirling yellow and orange tail with my new cutie mark, a shining starburst. "I…I think being you for so long changed my destiny. and… I'm an alicorn!?"

"I think it has…North Star, that…that wasn't supposed to happen. Do you want to stay like this?"

I was feeling rather awkward being a newly born alicorn in my smaller form, so I squeaked, "If that's ok?"

"Well, we can devise a good reason for why you're an alicorn to the press."

I waved a hoof and said, "We can, but we don't need to go into personal details. I assume the affair with this "Good Sombra" is something you want to keep secret. But I can explain. I helped you run the kingdom behind the scenes?"

"That a good idea, my little apprentice."

I flapped my wings, gave a little spin in the air, and said, "I think I need a new name for my new body."

"So what will you call yourself?"

"How about Morning Star?"

"That's a wonderful name, well, Morning Star; it's about time to raise the sun; would you do the honors?"

"Of course! I love raising the sun!"

I followed behind Princess Celestia, feeling proud of myself as her apprentice and excited to see this new future and what it has in store for me.