Gonna need a source for this. Because lorewise night elf priests still use Elune’s power, and she grants them abilities that users of light magic cannot perform, such as shadowmelding and starshards. I don’t think the NPC/ player spells are canonically light magic.
But then I’m not sure if Blizzard retconned this at some point so night elf priests also use the light 
You are right that Elune herself does not grant them the light, nor do they follow it in the same vein as other priest organizations do (minus Seers). Instead she grants them powers over the arcane and nature. And I can see night elf priest using ‘the light’ in game is for gameplay purposes due to how Blizzard loves to homogenize things. We can this when they took the whole ‘Elune grants them powers’ and slapped it into Druids. For example, Starfall was originally a Priestress of the Moon hero ability in WC3 (it fact it was the ultimate) however it was added to the druid kit in WoW with Wrath of the Lich King. That being said, it does have some weight behind it. Night Elf priests are part of the Sisterhood of Elune. A religious body that worships their moon goddess. While Elune herself does not grant them the light, it is their faith in her that does.
Blizzard has gone ham on the whole “light magic = faith” in relation to priests and paladins for a long time. Regardless if the person using it is morally good or from what organization they are from. Even a DEATH KNIGHT of the scourge could still use the light because his faith was that strong. It is why the Priest and Paladin order halls were considered failures in the eyes of the community. Since it slapped all these different orders and sects into the same, “we use the light”. I do wish that different races got different spell effects to their abilities. So Tauren priests and paladins have a more solar and fire look to their spells. While Night Elves are more lunar and arcane in appearance.
So I would look at it more as a soft-retcon to accommodate gameplay purposes.
Well, to be fair, Blizzard doesn’t know or care about its own lore either, so i doubt there is a clear- cut canon about it.
“The story is being built along the way, like a railway track being constructed while the train is running :)”
~ Probably Blizz
Starshards has been retconned away from Night Elf priests. Althought they don’t have it by name, it’s now a Druid thing.
Shadowmeld is a racial ability, not exclusive to Night Elf priests, in fact it’s more effective in Night Elf druids and rogues.
Oh I guess Tyrande just casts falling beams of Holy Light then.
And gameplay mechanics are always canon.
Okay Drah, thanks for the insights.
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I’m still salty about the fact that my priest can’t any more.
They are save when they specifically aren’t such as demons and dinosaurs walking freely in Stormwind or resurrection mechanics which are purely a gameplay thing.