I am nothing but a shadow, Princess Luna thought to herself as she flung door to her quarters aside with a splintering crash. The attendant arranging her bed looked up, startled by the ungracious intrusion. He looked as though he was ready to give the troublemaker a stern word until he saw the dark cloud of fury written across her face. She stormed into the room and he offered a hurried bow before rushing out, bidding the princess a good night and closing the door behind him.  
Her hooves clattered noisily against the floor as she paced, recounting the events of the past hour in her head. Her precious sister had requested an urgent meeting with herself and the captain of the guard, and Luna had attended with the foolish notion that Celestia would be willing to take her opinion into account.
How foolish she had been.
As was always the case, the captain had provided them with the most recent updates on King Sombra’s movements and the condition of his allegiance with the gryphon empire. Reinforcements would be arriving from the east within a week so it was understood that if any time to launch an attack of their own, then it would be now. 
It was then that Princess Celestia had turned to her sister and made the request for her services. She believed that King Sombra could be petitioned to lay his forces low if he was appealed to in the right way, in a way that no simple peasant messenger could manage. Luna understood the meaning swiftly enough, but the revelation did not come with any sense of ease. Perhaps her sister would feel comfortable with it, since it required no effort on her part. But for the one who would be carrying it out…