Not so Dark After All

Part 7: The Importance of Interaction

Luna felt alone, isolated from all that she knew and cared for. Especially when the barrier between her and those things was one of the ponies she hated most. If he could even be called a pony. 

Luna scoffed at the thought of him. She was laying belly down on her bed. She crossed her forelegs arrogantly, tossing her head. Tears were threatening. But she refused to let them come. Her frown only deepened. She was scowling angrily at the wall, her eyes darting from side to side. She always thought they couldn't narrow any more. Then they did. She was frustrated, alone, and angry beyond belief. With herself, mostly. For falling for such a simple, pathetic trick. And when Sombra had played it, at the least. 

But Luna's emotions overtook her. Tears streaked down her face as she silently sobbed. Her lips pouted, and she burst into a long, lowly cry. She broke down onto her hooves, soft 'hics' escaping her lips. 

Little to her knowledge, Sombra could hear her. He was pacing outside, and began to listen. He heard her sobbing, crying her beautiful eyes red. He could imagine her, curled into a delicate ball on her bed, whimpering and weeping over her solitude. Did she not see him as a pony, just like her? Did he not share her status, if not higher? He quietly placed a hoof on her door, lowering his head. 

With a soft creak, Luna heard her door open. She looked up only to find Sombra's face staring in at her. He looked...surprisingly worried. 

"Wend hence!" she attempted to shout, though her royal Canterlot voice was nearly smothered by her sobs. "We doth not wisheth to beest in thy presence!"

King Sombra did not listen. He only walked to her side, placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder. She did not complain or struggle. Only leaned into his comfort. She crawled closer to him, wrapping two hooves across his broad neck. He was larger and more muscular than many gave him credit for. 

Soon, Luna found herself curled in his embrace, he on the bed with her, only listening quietly to her cries. She gasped as he began to softly stroke her mane.

"My apologies," he said, when she shivered. "I only-"

"No," she said. "It's fine." She closed her eyes.

"I know you wish to see your sister."

Luna cried out again, tears darkening and dampening her beautiful coat around her eyes. "Oh, I do very much."

"I shall let you see her."

Luna lifted her head to him suddenly, a brief smile crossing her face. "Really?"

"Yes, but not physically."

This did not dishearten her, and he continued to cast a spell. It was a mirror, tinted in purple and gray.

"Tell it which pony you wish to see," Sombra told her. "And it will show them to you. You will appear to them as an apparition. A hologram. Nothing more. But they can see you, and are aware of your presence. I have cast a spell, so that you cannot speak of this location to the mirror. You may contact your sister."

Luna, without hesitation, nodded. "Celestia," she whispered to the mirror, placing a hoof on its glossy surface. It swirled for a moment, like an opened portal. Then, Celestia's image appeared in it. She was pacing worriedly, her wings flared. Her magenta eyes were creased with worry.

"Sister!" Luna cried.

Celestia gasped, turning in her direction. She smiled sadly. "Luna! Oh, hello, dearest sister! How are you doing this?"

"It is all thanks to Sombra. He allowed me a magicked mirror so I can speak to you."

Celestia cursed to herself quietly at the mention of his name. "That unicorn king," she snarled, venom in her voice. "I ought to-"

"Tia! Listen to me! He is kinder than you think."

The white Alicorn tilted her head. "He has not harmed you?"

"Not at all." Luna turned to a presence Celestia could not see. "I must go now. I will 'visit' you again soon, sister."

Celestia's face contorted. It was the last Luna saw before cutting the mirror.

She turned to Sombra. She had tears in her eyes once again as she rushed into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

He gasped. Never had he felt such a passionate and sincere hug. He reached his hoof around the back of her neck to pull her closer to him, feeling her soft mane wave like tide pools under his touch.

"You're welcome. Are you alright now?" he asked, forcing her away so he could look in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just...want to be alone right now." She clambered back onto her bed, and Sombra caught only a depressed sigh as he closed the door behind him.

His heart was moved. 

________________________________________________________________________________

He was reading a book, hours later, when he saw Luna again. She approached him with a feral grace, her ears pricked and attuned to the tiniest of movements. 

"Hello, Sombra," she addressed. 

He looked up and smiled in her direction. He was once again without armor. 

Luna sidled down next to him, reading quietly over his shoulder as he had done to her. "Why is it that you have been so kind to me?" she asked after a while.

"Because I ought to be kind to the only pony I have close conversations with. My subjects, I have discovered, called it The Importance of Interaction. It is a principle by which social creatures, such as ourselves, live by, though it might not seem like it."

"I see. And this...Importance of Interaction is...important?"

"Why, of course! It's in the name, is it not?"

Luna giggled. "I suppose."

"How is it that you're being so friendly to me, might I ask?"

Luna hesitated. To be honest with herself, she did not know. She had not had nightmares since she had arrived to Sombra's castle, and had had good sleep ever since. 

"I do not know, to be honest with you," she answered solemnly. "I simply am unsure."

"Well, whatever it is, I hope it keeps up."

Luna looked off, her mind drifting away from all that was important. "So do I," she whispered. 

From the Author

WHEW HOLY CRAP. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this longer chapter. I'm gonna continue this story, so you don't have to worry about it stopping anytime soon. I have a lot in store for the plot, and am very excited to share it with you. You have no idea how little time I have to devote to this thing. But I'm spending every waking minute on it, you can be sure.

Love, Annie