//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: Husband of Hers, Part 6 
// Story: Enemy of Mine 
// by Ice Star 
//------------------------------//

Days could blur a bit when Celestia did not focus on them. With each new one put behind her, memory would let them slip into a certain distant place. This was not the same feeling she had, when she knew that her life was more of something she watched than lived, but a feeling she found decidedly mortal. Memory was a picture ever-sharp to an Alicorn mind, though not limitlessly so. They remembered everything, certainly, but there was a window to the mind where one of its landscapes could be focused on at a time instead of the narrow spotlight mortals got. Things need only be looked upon to be seen clearly through memory's lens. Celestia felt different. She saw much in a fuzzier state, knowing that in the gallery of her life, time was half-dissolved with attempts at recollection.

To aid this, she had her scrapbooks and diaries. The former was enjoyable as it was useful. She didn't have to worry about memory when hers was already above a pony's, but there were times when her thoughts would linger on questions she had no answer for. What was so forgettable to her? Was it even important? To what extent must she compensate for whatever she had lost? Ponies forgot to buy an item on their grocery lists, what is it that a goddess forgot? 

She could never quite figure it out, nor was she a mare for following rabbit holes. She liked to think that her lunches with Sombra weren't such things either and would amount to the reformation she had in mind for him, the very one she had declared to all Equestria. She was already making progress towards having Sombra be more manageable. The years with him were intertwined with Luna's return and Twilight's time in Ponyville, and were far too recent to be dulled by this concerning erasure. 

Knowing some of what he did with his time, who he talked with, and as many small facts about him as she had managed to gain insight into helped shape a clearer image of this stallion and his opinions, no matter how confusing he often remained. Every secret still unknown to her regarding him could stay buried, and she would still have a glimpse of her opponent. That could suffice. 

Perhaps the odd article in the paper did promise a trickle of approval growing for some of his thoughts. What wizened sorcerer stallions sitting in Canterlot diners debating magical arts thought about Sombra's philosophies and magical mastery was of no concern to her. He was still an upstart in her mind, and one that had only managed to completely enthrall a niche of the population instead of the tolerance (and sometimes thin ice) he maintained with the rest. The nationwide annual polls on royalty and policy showed that the majority of ponies still beheld her as their most beloved, and it was adorable to see how Twilight trotted behind in rankings as second. They had become prone to this dance, swapping out ranks one and two ever since Twilight's coronation. 

(No, what she was concerned about was how Luna had fallen in the minds of ponies since her marriage. The worst parts of her wanted to say that Luna's case was proof that marriage really could ruin some ponies. Celestia was so horrified that in the depths of her thoughts, some of the venom so befitting of Solara could escape her with such ease. She could never mean something so cruel, not without a week's guilt burdening her over such words. Could she truly be so old-fashioned?)

(This was why she had never married. That's what she told herself, or some old-fashioned part of her did. Luna followed her heart. The princess did no such things. Celestia could fall in love all she wanted and did enjoy all the pleasures of a relationship that she could dream up. What she could not do was bind somepony to her with such importance for more than personal reasons and the pressures any consort of hers would know. The thought of moving somepony to that closer, higher tier was too much. Ponies really did care about the lover of a ruler, and they did even more if vows were considered. No monarch in centuries had let their public pick their spouse; they did at least listen to their thoughts and knew when to keep things unofficial, though. Only the Alicorns of old had married without this consideration, out of love alone.)

The princess folded her forehooves and oozed patience as she faced Sombra calmly across their little divide. "What is your plan this time?" 

She let herself betray nothing but her everyday passive demeanor as her mane flowed slowly. Such was a natural element of temperament, and ponies had come to know something extra soft and overly gentle about her, a trait she knew was primarily refined from centuries of diplomacy and the thought that she would not put her hoof down when stepped upon. Most of the time, that was correct. She would only do such a thing against a trampling, so to speak. Let fools try and step where they may.

In the time since they began taking their lunches, she had learned one of Sombra's expressions. Really, she had managed to grasp one thing as certain in this puzzle of a creature. He held his ears a certain way and got a particular look in his eyes when he had an idea where he was glowing with this momentary happiness and a bright look was in his eyes. Sometimes, his horn would shoot off tiny sparks and she would see his eyes flash. 

Today, that bright look was plain in his eyes. Somepony took their ideas very seriously. (For better or worse, as she had learned. Sometimes, he brought notes.)

"I was thinking about wingblades."

"Mhm," she murmured through a sip of tea. For a spring day, it was rather chilly. "What about them? Those kinds of weapons are primarily used by outlaws and thuggish sorts."

"They're good weapons." His tone was sure and to the point. She cocked an eyebrow at his remark anyway. "Using a natural advantage over an opponent and maximizing with a weapon is a fine tactic, one not maximally employed by any militaries of the present, as much as some nations do try. I would be more willing to go into that matter with you, could convince me that you had any skill in weaponry."

Her ears swiveled. "My skills begin and end with my ability with a battle ax, and I have not handled such a thing since chaos magic first saw my land. Luna is the master of such things, so you might wish to take these up with her. Please go on regardless. I can still listen."

And she always listened. 

"Equestria's not backward enough to limit the races allowed to join the guard as some countries are. Like any reasonable nation, you have a sizable standing guard across most of your nation, and their police work is passable for such a passive nation. I must admit that some of the investigations conducted by the EUP have been surprisingly competent." 

The princess was pleased to hear in Sombra's tone that regardless of Equestria's history being free from war and only ever supporting the causes of its allies militarily, Sombra still was not scornful of ponies she would not hesitate to ever call heroes. "Is there some issue you have with the EUP?"

He simply nodded. Of course he did, why else would he speak except to complain of something? At one other lunch, he had tried to bring up one of the ideas he proposed while making baseless insulting her school regarding the establishment of magic kindergartens in every municipality that needed one. She was able to dismiss such a proposition without getting the level of backlash she expected from him. 

"Please," she said in a voice brimming with tailored sweetness, "tell me what your idea is this time."

Magic idly glowed on Sombra's horn and would occasionally run through his mane a few times. She could only presume he was gathering his thoughts while she sipped her tea.

"The biggest problem with the EUP is that it doesn't live up to its name," Sombra told her, one eyebrow arched and his critical stare resting calmly upon her with a cool patience that he had begun to show at more of their little gatherings. "Sure, the three pony races are all found in the royal guard, but there is a lack of integration of just what that really ought to mean."

Swallowing the drink that suddenly tasted so bitter, the princess peered at him while wearing nothing but the smallest of plaster smiles. "What makes you think that?"

"Neglecting the individual races that make up your military and the vast majority of individual strengths of each in training is a terrible idea. More than just a few companies and high officers should be able to utilize strengths, like specialized magic. Every race has a broad range of unique magic, abilities, and strengths that are forcibly ignored in conformist legions. If you're willing to distribute a few slight armor variances for each race, you should recognize that formations, training, and more have to be done to strengthen the guard and really let it live up to the name of 'EUP', don't you think?"

Celestia knew the last part was but a rhetorical addition and took another long sip from her tea. "The whole point of the guard, aside from the obvious, is to unite ponies as the same and under the same banner to show the strength in numbers of the legions under the crown's command. Dividing them through any means beyond rank and deviating from the order each pony is trained to adhere to would not create the efficient unity expected of my ponies. They would fight more poorly if everypony cannot fight the same."

Again came the idle motions of Sombra's aura, this time they ran along his circlet's interior. The chipped emeralds embedded in it only looked more mysterious in his magic's light. "Improvement can still be made, Celestia. I think you misunderstand what I propose. The EUP today clearly aims to go with strength in numbers, but leaving soldiers purely inter-dependent on one another to the point where talents are neglected, discouraged, and your only thing to fall back on is 'strength and numbers' and 'look how disciplined we are' there's more that can be done. Soldiers are a living resource, and can't just be expended like a horde. In fact, you could have a more effective military if you had specialized regiments and battle tactics geared towards this."

Anything that simply existed was subject to Sombra's scrutiny. The stallion lived a sizable portion of his life in any portion of the Archives, or off chasing another rabbit hole idea. Everything under her sun was something he thought he could unravel for his plans, and for that alone, they were worth rejecting.

He had gotten a mild lecture about the nature of his ideas when he presented her with his seventh little presentation. His not tiring of presenting his latest schemes to her was just as annoying as how he had told her about how he found the sheriffs who guarded Equestria's settlements without EUP protection to be poor at dealing with conflict. She had to tell him how Cadance, Luna, and Twilight had all added to Equestria. Perhaps she would have to remind him of this more explicitly in the future. 

"Would you mind explaining to me how this would involve wingblades, then?" 

Perhaps there was some good in this situation. Sombra did not discuss things so elaborately with her as he did with his education reforms project. Yes, he still told her about and tried to discuss the research he did with her, and offered to present her with it but no longer did she have to deal with any intensity. Sombra's plans became discussions over lunch.

"Implementing wingblades and more widespread use of combat magic would be a start towards a more formidable guard. Don't you think that problems could be solved by having a military that is better equipped to deal with the turmoil in Equestria? You could stand to draft a lot fewer ponies if you focused more on the skill and strategies behind the guard. The age of outlasting others through uniform tactics and large populations was a manufactured fancy." He waved one hoof towards the clouds far above. "No nation is without enemies. In the past few years, you've had Equestria nearly conquered repeatedly."

"Are you suggesting that my Equestria could fall to an invasion overnight?"

Sombra regarded her with a neutral expression and tilted his head to the side.  "Certainly not. This isn't the Crystal Empire where that is logistically possible from a substantial enough threat. Equestria is an easy nation to threaten and deal substantial damage to, though, regardless of how vast and varied it is. I say this as somepony who has been in a position where I would have been made to evaluate this country in such a way."

'Made'. The word didn't sit well with her, nor did how easily this creature could eye things so combatively. Reminders about this demon and his proposed story of origin stirred a fearful, sour bit of doubt in her. "I see what you mean." She didn't, not really, but it was a reasonable thing to say. 

"And what would your conclusion to all this be?" Every syllable slid smoothly out of her mouth and was drizzled with the soft, faintly sunny warmth that even she had a hard time keeping from Sombra in some chit-chat, no matter how harsh her words were.  

"Equestria is a nation that can easily be described as under-prepared and at-risk. Give me a green spark and I'll begin drawing up plans for better defenses." Sombra's words are too sure for her liking, and she watches how his posture is straighter. (That, admittedly, was one of the few things she found commendable about him, not that she would ever say so.)

One long, calm sip of tea later and she looked at him, smiling. "Would wingblades be a part of this hypothetical plan?" Goodness, she was probably bordering on beaming at him. Blech. 

"They would be the easiest place to start." Sombra was not a creature prone to showing much emotion, and yet maybe he didn't realize just how alert he looked or how the left corner of his mouth was turned upwards just so.

The princess smiled brightly at him, having drained the rest of her tea. "We'll just have to see how things turn out and put a pin in things, hm?"

Hesitating, Sombra blinked, and that little-upward curl disappeared. Something about him had deflated with the quiet regard he had been carrying himself with today. "I... You're telling me no again?"

"Mhm," Celestia mumbled in affirmation, her teaware clinking as she organized it. "That would be correct. Simply put, I do not find this to be suited to put in action. If you require any reasons why, send a scroll to my office. I'll have something sitting on your desk eventually."

She was too busy walking away and humming delightfully to see how he took her words.



...



"Make me the royal executioner," Sombra said as soon as his teleportation spell dissipated and he appeared, seated and quite eager for conversation.

Celestia nearly choked on her coffee at the suddenness of it all. After a few hacking coughs, she managed to scoop up the crown that had clattered to the garden cobblestones and pull her composure back together. Sure, her feathers looked fairly rustled still, but at least she did not look like a petrified goose. 

She certainly knew that she must have, and the amused twinkle in Sombra's eye told her that, yes, it was likely true.

"W-W-What?" Celestia managed, voice still raspy and chock-full of coughs from her choking. 

"Did I stutter?" There was his usual grumpy impatience. 

"N-Not at all... I'm just confused. You want to be what now?"

Sombra pulled a crumpled bag of chips from the sigils under his cloak, reaching within like they were pockets. Their glow ceased when the aura on his horn died. "I think I was clear with what I said." While his hooves unfurled the bag, he shot her a sort of warning look that surprised Celestia with how mild it was. 

In response, she stuck her spoon deeper into her yogurt parfait and stared at it. Maybe eating yogurt when summer was just around the corner and the gardens were already warm was a bad idea. "Are you under the impression that executions are common in Equestria?"

"No, I—"

"The last one was thirty-three years ago," Celestia said with all the terseness she could fit into her voice. "The crimes that result in such a punishment are not ones that happen often."

For once, she found Sombra nodding in agreement with her to be pleasant instead of suspicious. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't have somepony to do the job. I have no doubt that I'm qualified." 

One self-satisfied smile found its way across his face and one that was more content than smug. That did not make her dislike it or what he said any less.

Qualified. Heavens know he probably intended the sick implications a stallion with his history would boast of.

Sitting statue-still, she let her spoon slip from her magic and into the yogurt. "Mhm," she mumbled absently.

Displeasure crossed Sombra's features and he shot her a sharp look. "Not for that reason."

The colors of various fruits were bleeding into the yogurt in a rather unsightly way now. "Then for what reason could you possibly want to have such an occupation?"

"The job is needed, for one. As long as there are ponies, there will be crime, and as long as there is crime somepony's head will end up on the block."

And that should be my burden alone to bear. "Would you go as far as to suggest there is skill needed for the act?"

Sombra eyed her the way she had never dared look at even her more obnoxious Faithful Students, with all his annoyance made clear. "Yes, Celestia. There is an enormous amount of skill in executing an execution." The barest trace of a cold, hard, closed-mouth smile cut across his muzzle. The bitterness to it spoke of something that Sombra clearly knew should have no smile at all, and it made Celestia feel ill. "Few are able to handle that kind of situation, too. That in itself is a skill and a rare one."

"Mhm," she murmured again through tight lips. "You are the kind of stallion who would state such a thing. Do you have any other reason why I should have you do executions instead of me?"

Her mask was stretched across her face in a way that put enough distance between her and Sombra as a brick wall did between quarrelsome neighbors. Behind an ever-pleasant face, she could float free from personal feelings, unattached and everypony gently unaware of how cold it was pushed into such a situation.

Sombra nodding was a bad sign. "Numerous reasons could be brought up, but I think that I'll just leave you with one more for now. Figuring out what kinds of ponies are eliminated from a total population for the unforgivable and unreformable in a country like Equestria doesn't take too much thought. Magical forensics have done wonders, for one."  With a brush of magic, he flicked a few leaves off the books in front of him. "Any 'mistakes' as I imagine you would want to call them aren't a product of your evidence being wrong any longer, and it hasn't for many centuries. I... I may not be fond of your nation, but that accuracy is very admirable, Celestia. I would not hesitate to call it utopian, especially in its efficiency."

Oh heavens, him bringing up that last bit regarding mistakes made her wish there was a big lever in her mind that she could just claw down with a sudden jerk of magic and just shut her mind and memory off. There would be no thinking. There would be no thinking. Please, for but a moment could there be no thinking?

"I know you are perfectly aware I've worked as a mercenary before." In the absence of coffee, Sombra's magic clutched a glass bottle of what was clearly carbonated apple juice by the Germane label. Focusing on that helped. Noting how he wasn't visibly enjoying or disliking his drink helped pull her thoughts back on track. "I'm not ashamed of it," he added a bit testily when he saw how her focus was on him. "Your view of the occupation is too skewed to bother with, but depending on just what you're advertising as a service, you need strength of mind to carry it out."

Taking up her spoon again, she busied herself by poking at strawberries when she felt her mind was back again, though her head felt quite fuzzy. "You speak of intellect?" Maybe it hadn't been meant as a question, but it came out as one.

"Not this time," Sombra said after emptying a sizable portion of his beverage quickly. "For every generic hitpony, you have a monster hunter. I can do both easily. Many ponies can't, at least not for long. When you hunt monsters, you can't let them infect you. Celestia, I'm not going to pretend anything with this: you have encountered some foul ponies and so have I. Quite a few are prone to talking. Investigations dredge up every ugly thing about these kinds of ponies, and if that's not how you experience things? Monsters can confess."

Those had always been abominable. She didn't want the slithery words they told her in their private confessions to flutter about her mind long after the head of the evil one had been severed, but they did. The sights of families who lost loved ones and sought her in her radiance for answers did. The knowledge of those greasy, heavy confessions still slipping about between her ears when nopony else, or nopony else alive, heard those words were still inside her was not something she wanted to carry.

She remembered that she nodded and said something noncommittal and normal to tug the conversation along smoothly. She just didn't recall doing it, only that she allowed whatever puppet strings she envisioned upon herself to work. How far away was that?

"I want this job because I can stomach it and I won't be lost to it." Determination was clear in his eyes.

Did her eyes look too glassy as she gazed in his direction? She certainly hoped not. Great height, thousands of years of life, and putting up with Sombra longer than she ever needed to taught her that there was no need to meet the gaze of ponies like him. Instead, she need only let it rest near his neck and nopony would know differently. 

"I don't think this is your strongest proposition to me. There are many ways you can contribute to Equestria, and I just don't feel that this is one. Maybe we can revisit this one again, but for now, let's just stick it back on the shelf. Hm?" Her mask smiled pleasantly.

Sombra crossed his forelegs, glared to the side of the table where his beverage rested, and silently laid his ears back.

"Thank you for your conversation," she said politely. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Her own magic quickly swept things into a much tidier state and trotted away before he had any chance to refute her.

He would have something new. Perhaps it would not be tomorrow. Maybe it could be next week. She knew not what it might be, only that time would pass and he would have something again.

And she would always refuse him.

There were lots of things that she could boil down her every refusal to. Sombra did not know that she would only let him run his mouth and give him no chance. He did make it clear that he wanted no part in ruling Equestria. She didn't either, and it would only be kind of her to do him a favor.

With every refusal, time passed. Even if Sombra or somepony else did catch onto her intent, that would only come with time. As Sombra kept his place as a royal with no contributions proposed to those who had the power to approve of them — Luna and herself — ponies would be less content with having him as anything but a consort. There was no need to waste a chance on him like he unknowingly wasted effort on his proposals because he would have what he wanted eventually. 



...



Eyes wild, Sombra growled down at his foreleg. No, Celestia did not have Luna's skill with feral creatures and the non-sapient, but she did know enough to tell when a beast was pained, most of the time. 

Sombra's loose stallion-bun had all but come undone. His lip was curled to show off fangs, but Celestia only saw teeth. He hadn't even had time to take off his circlet when it had happened, and the glow of a very frightened phoenix was still fresh in her mind, even if 'Mina had flown away. She had really thought that he wouldn't mind being around her dear birdie and that they merely had a misunderstanding. 

"I'm sorry..." Celestia said quietly. "You must understand she's not normally like this! She doesn't normally attack ponies! Philomena is a very gentle girl, it is not as though she has a nest to protect!" 

Sombra glared at her, holding up his left foreleg. The one day he chose not to wear his boots had backfired considerably. As soon as Philomena had seen Sombra she...

His left foreleg was curled towards him, and now bore three gashes cut into his cannon. Speckles of blood marked his gray coat. "When was the last time she attacked somepony?"

His snippy, aggravated tone was enough to get her to avert her eyes and fold her forehooves nervously. "'Mina has only bothered those who she thinks will hurt me. The last time she really did this to anypony was some time ago, you must understand. It was when a mare by the name of Marigold—"

"Marigold Blueblood?" Sombra interjected sharply. "The Blood Mage of Manehatten? You don't need to explain her to me. I've read of the last owner of the Alicorn Amulet."

"I... Oh, very well then." She fiddled with her coffee mug awkwardly. It was the one Luna had gotten for her recently, and its cheery yellow did not suit the occasion today. "Not everypony is aware of dark artifacts and crimes, and certainly not old, blood magic-related ones..." But of course he would be.

She avoided his narrowed gaze and bit at the inside of her cheeks as stealthily as she could. "You don't think that a phoenix of all creatures would want to torment me because she knows what I am?"

"Philomena had good intentions," Celestia whispered. "That's what matters most." She certainly needed coffee today. Her third mug was sitting right in front of her, waiting for her to have more.

"Good intentions mean nothing," Sombra snapped. 

She focused on the blood dappling him, even if it made her feel faint. What if demon blood was poisonous or cursed? Her head was already starting to feel light at the thought! "...Do you want to see one of the castle's physicians?" she asked cautiously.

"No." A sharp, tearing sound followed his answer and startled Celestia. Mortified, she watched slack-jawed as Sombra tore into his cloak to find a strip to use as a bandage in order to nurse his wounded leg.

Eventually, Celestia told herself that it would be best not to gawk at him any longer; summer was upon them and who knew if some bug might get in her mouth. "You didn't have to do that," she insisted. Goodness, was there a squeak in her voice? 

"Are you going to heal me, then?" He certainly sounded as opposed to the idea as she was and didn't even look at her. Clearly, she didn't need to be a mind reader to know that Sombra wouldn't believe she would do such a thing to him. "Besides, cloaks aren't hard to mend. This is nothing worth worrying about."

He was right, too.

"I'll be sure to keep her away from you," she said instead. "I really did not think this would happen..."

"Then what did you think would happen?" Sombra's magic dulled once the final tug of his bandage. He had damaged no artery, but it was clear he only knew how to make a tourniquet. "I told you that bird despised me and you didn't listen. What did you think could possibly come of this?"

Gold light danced along the handle of her coffee mug. "I merely wanted to avoid any undesirable social situations."

Sombra's gaze was fairly shifty today. Perhaps he thought Philomena would return? Celestia knew well enough that he had nothing more to worry about, she was not a vicious creature, but she didn't tell him that. What she wanted to tell him was that his impromptu 'medical skills' were actually very unmannered and produced unsightly results. If he ever hoped to appear in front of their subjects like Luna and herself could, he couldn't keep this sort of thing up. 

"What might those be?" Sombra's tone was the cheerlessness she could expect from him. Even when she finally fetched lunch from the kitchens via teleportation and started nibbling at her banana bread pudding his expression had still not improved. 

Had he brought his bee-ware with him, she would have at least given him some too. That stallion needed to eat. She didn't care how many dhokla recipes he pillaged from the sometimes-ancient cookbooks she lent him, if she didn't see him do much more than snack on things, he didn't eat. Period. She wouldn't accept it if Sombra started looking underweight — not that he had, at least not yet — and for every way that stallion knew how to use chickpeas, she would find a way to trap him until he ate a meal for each method. 

"I am attempting to avoid no-win situations that can result when we have so many... different ponies living together in Canterlot Castle."

"Your fiery little pest isn't a pony, for one," Sombra pointed out.

Neither are you. "Figuratively speaking." She smiled at him and tasted something bitter and nauseating at the back of her throat. "Did you have anything else to add?"

"When did you get that idea?" His tone was too neutral for her to tell if he actually was interested. 

"From Twilight. In our recent letters, she has been shedding some light on ways I can bring some interpersonal harmony to the castle where my own skills fail me. You see, she doesn't believe in such silly things."

To her surprise, Sombra gave a small, mocking chuckle. "She doesn't believe in what now?" 

She had spoken quite clearly, and yet he still sounded a touch incredulous. "Situations that are not entirely socially optimal all-around, Sombra. Twilight doesn't think they really happen." Now, she was wishing that she had more pudding to eat so she would at least be better occupied. 

The chuckle grew to a sharper, dryer, and louder laugh. "And do you realize that 'belief' is foolish and harmful when you put it in laypony's terms as it is hilarious? 'I do not think it is possible for anypony to be put at a disadvantage or lose in any situation, ever'. Do I need to explain that one, and why that is an impossibility?"

"Twilight is a very successful and beloved young mare," Celestia insisted, letting herself scowl at him. "I'm very proud of her. Can anypony really say the same thing for you?"

"Forget that, though the answer is 'yes' and you know it is. Celestia, when did that ever mean your privileged little private school filly was capable of taking on everything in the world?"

"She's the Spark of Magic—" 

"She's not the somepony who can say things like that without having to deal with the consequences of spreading misinformation," Sombra interrupted, regarding her critically. "You should have thought of that before she sprouted wings. That, Celestia, is the kind of mentality that loses empires..." The light in his irises pulsed faintly. She couldn't help but feel that it was ominous. "I won't tell you what to think this time, just not to think that."

Her teeth found the inside of her cheek again. "Why is that?" 

Sombra was one of the few ponies to be unfazed when her tone grew as thin to reflect her fraying patience. One cloth-wrapped foreleg tapped the circlet still resting on his head. "With these on our heads, we don't have time to waste on being idiotic martyrs. The road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions." 

Sombra tilted his head to the side, letting himself be propped up by his other foreleg. He proudly showed off a slowly-growing smirk as crooked as he was. The way he normally was quick to bore into somepony or leap from this to that was replaced by his cool stare. Was he daring her to respond? Was he curious?

Well, he was getting a response. 

"That is one of the single most terrible lies that I have heard in all the years I have been alive. Where did you nab such wicked words? Some sort of monstrous manifesto?"

"No," Sombra said with a nonchalant shrug. "There's never been anypony who has said that before I have."

"That's good," Celestia said quickly. "Such a phrase is not worth catching on."

At this point, Celestia was certain that Sombra either had not heard her or stopped paying attention, for he had decided that a few of the garden's flowers were best put to use by plucking a few in his magic and eating them contentedly.

Three cups of coffee was not going to be enough today.



...



"Luna tells me that you have a pet fish." She levitated a plate over to Sombra, making sure the fine piece was placed in front of him neatly, along with proper silverware. Whether he trusted her or not, his not eating nonsense stopped here.

"I do," was all Sombra said in reply. He looked warily from his empty plate to the larger one she had toward the table's center. Sitting out in the summer sun was a plate heaped with fresh risotto, the scent of the vegetable broth was clear in the air and steam curled up into the cloudy sky, mingling with the already warm air.

"What is their name?" She plopped a hearty helping down on his plate before he could refuse any. 

"Fish," Sombra said, doing little to acknowledge the food in front of him beyond poking it with his spoon.

"Yes, Sombra. I know you have a fish. I'm asking about their name." Maybe he was like a child or a dog, and would only sample some once she did too. Curious about how her skill held up after making nothing substantial for so long, Celestia sampled a polite amount of her risotto.

"I just told you what his name was." Sombra gave the risotto the same look Celestia gave ponies who told offensive jokes or when he saw that she had given him and Luna a trash can for their anniversary. "You put cheese and butter in this, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. It isn't going to kill you. Now, are you trying to tell me that you named your pet 'Fish'?"

"Technically his name is 'Fish, Destroyer of Worlds'." A touch of telekinesis pushed his meal away from him and toward Celestia. "We can go see him if you want."

Celestia didn't hide how unamused she was with him. "If I had made that without butter, would you have had some?"

"Only if I knew it wasn't poisoned too." Sombra slipped one of her cookbooks back into his saddlebags. His cloak had been repaired since the time he tore it, and he had taken even more of an interest in borrowing her cookbooks and modifying the recipes. "Do you want to go see Fish now? He likes visitors." 

She had tried, she really did. Food was a universal way to connect all true creatures; the fact that this demon was having none of it only spoke for itself, and there was nothing good to say about him because of it. Plus, for an uncouth creature, Sombra still knew enough not to talk with his mouth full the few times she had seen him eating. That had been a surprise to her. Sombra actually taking the time to eat normally would mean that he would have less time to talk.

"We can go see your pet, then." She gave one disappointed look to all the risotto she would have as leftovers and followed Sombra through the gardens and to the large fish pond where Sombra's mysterious pet resided.

She sat on the rocky edge, peering past lilies in search of the creature who Sombra had put in one of the deeper, spacier ponds all alone. Unsure of how to call such an animal, she resorted to making a few soft clucking noises like she did to call the garden's birds. 

Sombra had a much simpler idea. His magic had pulled his plate of food from their now out-of-sight table. Then, Celestia watched in wordless confusion as he dumped so much lukewarm risotto into the fish pond.

"Eat up, you little degenerate."

Celestia was starting to feel just a little bit uncomfortable, and that was before Fish burst from the depths of the pond, splashing her with cold water twice. She yelped in a way that was admittedly not very regal and took to trying to squeeze water from her mane while Sombra couldn't bother to care. He was too taken with watching his fish gulp the rice and vegetables down its round mouth, long barbels waving in the water. 

To her surprise, the creature had big, round eyes on a bright orange face and an array of rainbow-hued scales. He was rather cute for a creature so closely aligned with Sombra. "Does he eat anything?"

"Pretty much." Sombra ran his magic along the dorsal fin and head of the creature in a loose sort of petting gesture. "I clean up whatever he won't touch."

Humming, Celestia scattered a few water lily petals in the water and watched as Fish took interest in those too. "Well, it's nice to see somepony does like my food."

Sombra didn't respond. He actually looked content to be where he was, letting his magic swirl through the water. Lilies stirred about and little crimson lights danced in the air above the water, simulating fireflies that Fish was happy to leap at and try and gobble up.

Was this what he did in his spare time? Did he actually act so...? So what? She really didn't have a word for how he was right now. Surely if they were quiet for too long, the peaceful moment would be scrambled. She may not be invested in his life, but there was no need to refrain from normal inquiries. 

"What made you select a fish as a pet?" She plucked a lily and tucked it behind her crown. 

"I didn't. Luna gave him to me." Sombra flicked a few pebbles across the surface of the pond. "What made you pick a phoenix?" 

Celestia laughed. The sound was light, but for once it was true, no matter how strange it felt to laugh around Sombra. "I did no such thing either! She found me, and we've been together ever since." Two large white wings stretched out to take in the sunlight. Her thoughts were already skirting toward this year's Summer Sun Celebration, which was to be held in Appleloosa and would give her plenty of time away from Sombra. "Does he know any other tricks?"

"I've gotten him to jump through hoops before." The splashing and ripples of sinking stones sounded in her ears. He might not be good at much, but Sombra wasn't wholly terrible at skipping stones. She counted seven skips on his last one. Though, the pond was small. Perhaps that would only be three regular skips on a normal pond? 

Shaking her distracting thoughts away, she chortled at the thought of a fish leaping through a hoop. "Philomena knows plenty. She does spend more time tricking me than doing tricks, though."

"You never struck me as the type to teach tricks."

Was it just her or were the weather ponies starting to arrange clouds that looked like bunches of grapes on purpose? "Why is that?" She snagged a cattail with her aura and stirred it through the water, watching Fish swim below. The faint iridescent quality of his scales traveled past the cool shadows in the water.

"I think you're somepony who couldn't stand if they made a mess, for one thing."

"That is understandable." Sunlight, cool water upon her coat, and the idle swimming of fish had a way of lulling her into a sincere calm. She stifled a tiny yawn. "I dislike a mess as much as the next pony." There was a reason that she never had a Faithful Student who was still at hoof-painting age.

"And you do happen to be an ostentatious nag," Sombra added. This time, his magic swept up a pebble he pelted not into the water but into nearby flowers. A few petals were the casualty of his action. 

Normally, she wouldn't tolerate such words at all and be quick to call out language few ponies dared use against their princess. Today, she decided to pretend it was something that could be laughed off. She was pleased to hear how her laughter could easily be mistaken for sincerity. "You of all ponies would say that, hm? I do think that even if I may be a nag, I do not look like one."

Sombra snorted at her remark, and Celestia knew that if he had been anypony else she would be much more pleased by amusing somepony. "We should really start doing something else together."

Oh dear, what is he going to suggest? Celestia felt her belly tighten with worry. "What did you have in mind?"

A pebble skipped across the pond with a ker-splash. "There's probably a game we could play."

"Chess," Celestia said quickly. "We simply must play some chess." She wanted to leave already. Today was no day she wanted to spend around Sombra. There were meetings to be had and lunch would be best cut short. 

Ploosh went another stone. "I'm up for anything that isn't chess. Do you think that would be worth a try?"

"We'll see." Did she say that too quickly too? His fish really was fond of being played with and was circling the cattail she stirred eagerly. "I think it would be best for me to be going for now. The mayor of Los Pegasus is an impatient stallion."

Sombra gave her a quick glance that she couldn't quite call teasing; it was less mean-spirited of an expression than she was used to seeing from him. Seeing some warmth in his reddish eyes was actually quite startling. "That he is. Iron Pyrite still isn't supposed to be here for some time. Are you sure you don't want to taunt this idiot with me?"

As if he knew he was being spoken about, Fish lept from the waters of the pond and just narrowly avoided flicking water into Celestia's eyes as he flicked his tail about. "Mister Gold Standard is no pony I wish to disappoint in the slightest. Being present early would be best."

Sombra shared a look with his oblivious fish. "Somepony doesn't seem to realize that they're going to have the migraine of the month after that meeting. I'm always available as a backup if you want."

Yes, because Sombra was certainly the pony she wanted around when dealing with the high-strung and worldly mayor or any other petitioner. Did he really think he was ready for such a responsibility? Or that his offer was not absurd? "I think I'll have to give you a rain check for that one. I'll be seeing you later, Sombra." 

That was a nice, neutral way to word something simply instead of bothering with a more friendly farewell. She let the cattail slip from her magic and was just starting to trot off. "Oh, Sombra. Please be sure to clean up the garden table and anything your fish doesn't eat. Dirty ponds are beneficial to no creature."

She didn't look away until she saw Sombra nod, only feeling relief upon seeing the gesture. Celestia had many reasons not to trust Sombra still, which, ah, weren't exactly limited to him being a skinny cook. There was no annoying retort, no quips, and just no nonsense. He must've found her request reasonable by his standards. Every time he was willing to cooperate with her was a time she did actually feel fairly guilty about how she denied his ideas, even if it was what had to be done. 

"Next time, if you don't like what I have to make, cook something yourself. I'm not in the mood to waste any more food."



...



When it rained, the gardens were still available to Celestia because of her magic. However, when it poured she was less inclined to want to be outside at all regardless of what her magic permitted her to do. The scheduled storms of Canterlot were when she would not bother to set hoof outside the castle at all.

Today was a day of storms. The sky was a violent and gloomy gray and Celestia sipped coffee that she had spilled too much cream into this morning and was now regretting that she had never bothered to meddle in separating mistakes like this with her magic. Normally she was far neater or had Twilight jump to the task without asking. When Dissy was awake, she could count on him for help too, but who wouldn't want to sleep in on a stormy day like this and in the absence of duty? 

The large floor-to-ceiling enclosed patio was opulent and usually quite airy. With the summer storm brewing outside, Celestia only made out clouds and the ragged outlines of her beloved and now-drenched gardens. The glass was covered in precipitation and she sat close enough to feel the mixture of humidity and cold radiating from it. The were-lantern she kept on the table was the only thing to shed light into the inky darkness. 

The small bagel she had for lunch was long-gone and with Sombra late, she only had her fountain pen and inkwell for company. A regular letter to Raven needed to be written, and it needed to mention anything but her lunches with Sombra or how whiny and dreary it would sound if she went on about how she missed their chess games so much.

Her personal stationery sat in front of her bearing the faint watermark of her personal crest. Wrapping around the modest shield bearing her Eternal Crown was a banner displaying her motto in calligraphy and in the oldest dialect of Equuish Equestria knew. Anypony who asked her would be supplied with its modern translation: good within light.

A sudden sound reached her ears, and Celestia turned and looked around the table. The chair across from her was still empty, and except for the vase of chrysanthemums and the tablecloth was spotless. The sound reminded Celestia of fireworks because the hissing of sparks was clear to her. 

Just as she was about to open her mouth and say something, she caught sight of a red trail of magic sparks bursting through the empty corridor. 

"Goodness, what is that?" Yes, it was a clumsy sort of thing and very loud but she could look at it easily and say it would cause no bodily harm.

The flight path was a clumsy one and nearly grazed the high ceiling a few times. Her own magic had flared, and just as the little prank device was about to knock her nice vase over, she snatched it up.

It was a scroll and one that was a bit rumpled and burnt around the edges. Celestia gave her coffee mug one last glance and sighed, downing the last bit of it. She was going to need it. Breaking open the familiar seal, she took in the other royal stationery. Like her own, the watermark of a personal crest was present. The Eye of Fire had a motto paired with it now in a bold script: ambition over amity.

Those three words already had her frowning as deep as the creases in the paper. It was clear that this had been shaped into some kind of paper glider at some point and enchanted to cause it to fly as wildly as it did. The message on it read:



I'm probably going to be late for our lunch. I had to do a few things first and explain to whichever staff I am unfortunate enough to run into what the 'firecracker' was. Trying to perfect magical means of sending messages other than teleportation is taking some work. 

If I happen to miss lunch today, is tomorrow still good? You can also feed Fish any scraps you have from your lunch today and I'll clean up the rest. I think the idiot likes you. In any event, where you happen to get this late, that would be a fault of my magic. The level of burns and untidiness on this damned thing should correlate with how long it was in the air. Just bring it to me if you don't see me until later; I would like to be able to calculate that for sure.

With a sizable amount of begrudging tolerance,

Sombra Galaxia



Before she could even crumple up the note for discarding later and consider leaving the empty table and heading off to give her afternoon duties an early start, the loud pop and a burst of crimson light stopped her. 

As the drumming of rain resumed, Celestia blinked and looked down to see Sombra. His mane was pulled back loosely and he looked marginally less grumpy than usual. That might be a bad sign. In fact, it might be almost as much of a bad sign as the array of things he teleported with him. 

Celestia smiled instinctively. "Hello. What is it you've decided to bring with you?"

Sombra's magic shoved a mug in her direction. "Take this," he ordered with all the warmth of the north he hailed from.

She looked inside and felt the gentle touch of steam on her cheek. Hot cider was inside, and it made her stomach rumble embarrassingly. "This isn't in season. How did you get it?"

He replied with a shrug. "Was I correct in guessing that you would prefer tofu to hummus?"

Pausing, she nodded. Was it the pounding of rain that was making her feel dizzy and uncertain? "Why do you need to know—"

Half of a perfectly good quiche was smooshed onto a plate without a single bit of grace, and what a large half it was. A moment passed before she realized he intended for her to accept it, and with great hesitation she did. "Why are you offering this to me?"

"I made more than I wanted for myself. Luna wasn't around, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give you some." Did he really expect that to be a sufficient explanation as to why Sombra was offering her anything? 

"Is this still edible?" she asked, prodding hers with a fork. 

Sombra looked at her humorlessly. His own mug of hot cider had his own face on it. "All compliments to the chef, I see." 

Prodding at hers again, she risked a bite. "You said you used tofu in this?"

He nodded curtly, already scarfing his down like he expected somepony to jump in from the hallway and scare him. She was truly surprised that this creature knew how to use a fork.

"Well, it's alright, I suppose." She pointed one forehoof to the other things he had brought. "What are these for?"

Sombra's food was already half gone and it was alarming how quickly he looked from her forehoof to the box. "You aren't a mare of cards. Skyla likes playing that game with me when she visits. It's all I had that I figured you've probably played too."

Celestia did not betray anything looking at the game box covered with images of little foals sliding down rainbows and skipping up cloud ladders. "That is a foal's game." 

"It's all I had," Sombra repeated. "You've taught foals before. Wouldn't you have played this?"

That really wasn't the point. Was he trying to call her a child by suggesting she play a children's game with the God of Knowledge? These were the exact kinds of small insults she had come to recognize from ponies who presented themselves as friendly, especially during her Solar Millennium. "I think you really do overestimate what I have done as a teacher because that's what I was to my Faithful Students. Whatever you cast me as in your imagination is a much more parental role than I ever had with any of the Students, and there were many boundaries between myself and them. I wasn't their family, and I didn't play informal games with them. I taught and guided them while they lived under my care, but they never stopped being somepony else's children."

Sombra cast the game with a look of slight disappointment. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

The princess breathed out in relief. "That is splendid! We've reached an understanding of one thing, then. My actions as a teacher do not intersect with your own as a foalsitter all that often, you know. So many misconceptions about that role are prevalent."

Of all the ponies in the castle, she felt that it was Sombra who inquired far too much about her past students. Perhaps one day she would feel right telling him a little about the two missing portraits. At least his apathy would be a boon for such a thing.

"Now," she said nodding to a crystal he had brought with him, "would you mind telling me what this is for?"

The crystal was not especially lustrous and was easily able to fit in her hoof. Compared to the enigmatic prism she had from the Empire that held a wondrous map and other enchanting trinkets that could be made from crystal, this one was nothing short of crude. What exactly was she supposed to make of a non-descript hunk of crystal? While it was likely from the Crystal Empire, there was no telling what the crystal could be. Crystal magics and engineering could have made it into a wondrous piece, once activated, or it could just be a crystal. (And though she had come across such devices, it never got easy to recognize one; such magic was rare outside of the Empire, under-researched, and immensely underdeveloped.)

Chewing another bite of her quiche, Celestia didn't let him know that she had spotted one distinct feature. On the surface of the bluish piece, she spied something carved into the hard surface of the crystal with distinct gashes, so it was not ornamental as far as she could guess. While she had long since forgotten the meanings behind the rune she spied, she could recognize it for what it was, if nothing else. Considering how she had never been the best student and how closely those runes were tied with memories of Starswirl, it was only natural she forgot them.

Wasn't it?

He may be deadpan most of the time, but now he actually looked excited to present something to her. Sombra swept the game away and wrapped the crystal in his magic, holding it above her were-lamp. Light shone across the surface mysteriously.

"This is my latest idea for Equestria."

Oh. It's really nothing to get excited over, then. "What does this one do? All I see is a crystal much like the ones Twilight uses for paperweights." At least her quiche tasted surprisingly good.

Sombra toyed with rotating the crystal in his magic. "To see what it does, I'm going to need something that's on fire."

Now she had a reason to be worried. "Excuse me? If I heard you right, you just said—"

"You're fire retardant, aren't you?" Sombra ignored her protests entirely and was sizing her up with the looks flame might give kindling. "I'm going to need more than a sizable flicker here, so you better have something good."

"There's no reasoning with you, is there?"

Where anypony else would have backed down and kissed her hooves, apologizing for demanding anything from her, Sombra chuckled. "You think yourself some radiant and pure being, don't you?"

Wasn't the answer to that rather obvious?

"Let me see light." She caught the ghost of fangs as he gave her a teasing grin. With the dark storm outside and only a were-lamp for light, he was cast in an array of dramatic glows and shadows. The way the former clung near his mouth and jaw made him look like he was a devourer of the light. 

Celestia's muzzle crinkled and she relented. She was not fire retardant, not in the slightest. Before she bound her magic, she glowed with strong emotion (especially if she wasn't careful). Only when some of those binds were inched back could anything of her divinity slip through. What Sombra didn't know was that she could do more than glow. The were-lamp was extinguished and all obstructions, like the table cloth and everything on it, were done away with.

Tiny amounts of aura stirred on Celestia's horn, stirring mere motes of deeper magic. Gleaming upon her horn were hints of gold, orange, and white-hot little bits. Feeling her nerves flare with the light and her stomach flip-flop on itself, she shut her eyes, trying to focus on the blessed feeling of non-flammable patio furniture.

When she opened them again, a modest amount of sweat was on her brow and she was definitely on fire. "There. Are you happy now?"

Sombra's eyes were wide with maniac glee and he was grinning like a foal on Hearth's Warming Day. (Just not a particularly innocent one in Celestia's mind. She could see a freakish pyromaniac love written clearly all over him.) His aura's light was intensifying and sparking with his happiness, but his grip on the crystal was firm. Somepony clearly still had to manage their divinity properly.

What Celestia didn't know was that his crystal was going to glow with white-hot light stemming from the rune and start making an ear-splitting shriek as soon as enough smoke had formed.

"IT WORKS!" Sombra's eyes flickered with magic and he began to trill eagerly in the back of his throat.

"MY EARS!" Celestia screamed, whimpering afterward and reaching to press her forehooves down on them. The familiar sharp pain of one of her migraines was making swift work burning through her head. She fell onto her hindquarters with a thud and extinguished her inferno not long afterward, ensuring her magical suppressors were back in place afterward. "MAKE THAT STOP! PLEASE!"

With a few harsh shakes, the white light died down. The terrible metallic wailing that left Celestia's ears buzzing and her head throbbing followed. Sombra's repeated words of 'it works' were still stuck in her aching head.

"W-What was that awful sound?" she asked loudly. Could Sombra hear her over the lingering ringing? "Why did that h-happen?"

All his curiosity was concentrated on that terrible crystal. "That was proof that my firestone worked."

She kept her hooves over her ears. "Your w-what?"

The dreadful thing was slipped into the folds of his cloak. The drumming of rain and thunder wasn't making her head as sore. Before she could protest, Sombra approached her and used his magic to pry her hooves away from her ears. His voice was lower when he spoke, which was unexpected. He made sure to look her in the eyes when he spoke, clearly wanting her to read his mouth if she still was struggling with the aftermath of the sound. 

She didn't want to tell him he actually came across as more intimidating to her with his softer voice and earnest eye contact. 

"That was my firestone. I had to test a few other versions before the one you just saw." Sombra ran a forehoof through his mane. At least he forgot his circlet today; that would have only made him look more authoritative. "Instead of having fire bells and alarms that ponies have to pull a lever down in order to alert others of a fire, I thought these would be more efficient because they are remotely activated due to the runes and can have models immune to tampering with a few enchantments and a bit of work. They can be put anywhere, are able to be heard more than a bell, and ponies can't use them for tricks unless that trick has a fire. In that case, the stone will still succeed."

She really couldn't respond with the screech of a crystal still ringing in her bones. 

Sombra frowned, absently patting one of her forelegs with a friendly gesture that made her flinch. "Listen, I know they're simple and hardly my best work but—"

"Sombra," Celestia hissed, ignoring the metal-clad foreleg he had stretched out, offering a way to help her up. "Just go. You've messed with things enough for today."

The best thing that happened to her that day was not having to tell him to leave twice. 



...



Celestia and Sombra were different from one another in the way that confit byaldi and ratatouille were different from one another. She wasn't just letting that be the first comparison that came to her mind because that was what they were having for lunch, respectively. Except, maybe that's exactly why it came to mind. She was hungry and managing each vegetable round with dainty bites while Sombra just popped them into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed visibly. When something interested him, he habitually scribbled it down in another one of his infernal notebooks.

Her fork danced lightly across another piece of squash. The staff was very kind to prepare one of her favorites for her today. A mare could not live off comfort food alone. Of course, Sombra was more interested in doing things his way, and their meals were only similar because of coincidence. 

Nibbling at another piece of her meal, she focused on the intricate pattern on her teacup. A breezie tale carriage was rolling away with a happy couple dancing nearby. The trail of a gown formed the general wrap-around for her mug. Something so compact had such focus, and here she was unable to even get her metaphors to work today. If their dishes were alike, then she could draw no comparison. She and Sombra were the divided ones. 

"A bit for your thoughts?" The little phrase would have been charming from the mouth of another. 

"Mhm?" She touched the handle lightly. "Oh, there's nothing on my mind. My thoughts are straying."

"Then where are they taking you?" She was sure he was trying to smile handsomely at her, though she found him to have neither a handsome personality nor appearance. Even without his deeds to taint him, there was little he had that lived up to the word, either from an objective standpoint (that messy mane, his instabilities) or from a subjective one (beyond some of his clothing choices, he had other notably feminine qualities). 

"Well..." She waved her fork in the air with a few curls. What was she supposed to say? This wasn't a question in the usual roulette of daily banter she could expect from ponies. "I was thinking about my tea-ware. Nothing interesting, I'm afraid." The day was warm enough for her to already be longing for a fan, and here was Sombra still wearing his cloak without breaking a sweat.

"Not important?" Sombra regarded her teaware skeptically, especially the studded bits in the handle. "I rarely see tsavorite outside of twenty-fifth-anniversary gifts."

Celestia found the summer air to feel quite cold now and let herself slip into a defensive smile. She inched her cup closer to her like she was going to take a sip. Nopony had asked about them before. Anypony who knew what they meant had not dared to breathe a word of it to her. "Really? How is it that you know about gemstone gifts enough to judge my tea-ware?" 

His gaze slipped towards his plate. Oh, she struck a bit of a nerve, didn't she? "I read up on the subject, and I lived in the Crystal Empire long enough to see how important it is to ponies there. Not everypony tries to 'forget' I'm married, too."

There was something different in her mind with how she placed Sombra in the Crystal Empire. The years those ponies suffered were because of him, that was clear in her mind, but there was something that wasn't right about saying Sombra lived there too. That's what the Crystalline subjects — who were indeed much more interested in such gifts than ponies — did instead of what he did. 

"Getting mother of pearl for Luna was actually very..." She swallowed the bile in her throat. "It was very sweet." She took care to say nothing of the cufflinks of the same material that Luna kept showing her for 'second opinions' along with 'Do you think he'll like them?' and 'Are they nice enough?' types of things. He may not know it, but she had to be the one to give approval by speaking words that were as easy as pulling her own teeth. "Having it on a dagger handle just is not a very traditional gift, and certainly not for a mare."

"Luna isn't a very normal mare." Sombra levitated her teacup to his face, examining the designs carefully while he laughed. "I wouldn't have been very interested in her if she was!"

Celestia wanted to snatch it back from him. "I see..." What else could she say to that? Would she have lost Luna if she had been a bit plainer in thought and habit? "Excuse me if I fail to see a dagger as anything but a violent gift." 

He snorted, passing her cup back to her, mouthing 'It's alright' as he did. "Of course it is. She's nearly stabbed me with it three times!"

The weight of her crown was at the forefront of her mind again, contributing to her sudden dizziness. "She's done what?"

"You didn't think I would get her something just for show, did you?" She thought she saw his fangs again with his cold smirk. "We've sparred with that. You don't keep that around purely for decoration, do you?" He pointed a hoof at her tea set.

She tried to summon the memory of the recent taste of her last bite of food to focus on something other than the violent imagery that threatened to invade her thoughts. "That... This tea set isn't mine. One of my dearest friends used to own it many years ago... I inherited some of her prized possessions with her passing."

Sombra went quiet, but not out of any respect; he was only listening. 

"Something you should expect over the years is for you to inherit things from friends. I've never been married, so I wouldn't be giving or receiving these. Star Skipper was. She and her husband didn't have any foals, so she passed these on to me. Her husband passed his airship onto me too." She rubbed at where Sombra gripped the teacup with her cloth napkin. "I try to keep each gift I am given in good condition."

Sombra chewed more ratatouille in thought. "What happened to the airship?"

"I lost it," Celestia said simply. She didn't want to sound sad, but she couldn't help it. 

"How in Tartarus' name do you lose an entire airship?" 

"Give it to a nephew as a coming-of-age present and have him crash it eight months into owning it. That, Sombra, is how you 'lose an entire airship'."

"You loathe foreign hooves on your knickknacks and duels, then." 

"Duels are legal. If I was afraid of them, that would not be so. He may not be skilled with magic duels, but my nephew knows how to handle Griffish magical arms well. You may be keen on fighting anypony, but avoid Bluey when he has a pistol."

Sombra's brow furrowed.

"It's a kind of weapon," she explained. "No creature is at an advantage with a flint-triggered device unless the device itself is faulty. They're all very ritualistic things, so I'm not surprised you haven't seen one. Such weapons are used in special kinds of duels as a step down of brute force and magic because they're simple things that have very limited outcomes."

"You're either shot or you're not."

So he does know what they are. "That is essentially true. That's why some unicorn dueling circles favor them over something advanced and dangerous, like a magic duel. Have you encountered them before? I'm afraid I'm used to explaining them, to ponies they are a rarity—"

"I've known types who think that they can use them outside of a negotiated duel and have any advantage in a fight." 

Celestia had resumed her eating and nodded in half-understanding. "You and Bluey would probably like talking about these kinds of things. He has a perspective on these trinkets beyond regulations on them and their history." She took a slow sip of tea. "I actually own a pistol. When the griffons first flew here across the Barren Sea, we negotiated the surrender of pony land to form Griffonstone and I was given the weapon as a gift. I might show it to you some time."

"I would like that a lot." For once, Celestia could look at Sombra's face and say he really meant something. "I have an offer of my own to propose."

Oh no...

He managed to make his ratatouille disappear before she had finished her more meager meal because of his pauses and paranoid way of eating. His spoon clinked against his bowl. "I'm aware Luna surpasses you in magical skill."

There was no reason not to nod along with his words. She placed no pride in such a quality, anyway. "I would add that you are certainly on par with Luna."

"I think you neglect the full ability of your magic, Celestia. That's dangerous, especially considering your position. You're shocked when I mention Luna and I spar and duel one another regularly, but you should be doing the same. As willing as you are to admit I'm not without supreme skill, would you be willing to try any of what Luna and I do with me? There are a few things about you that could be improved if you agree."

Celestia was relieved by her continued composure. Magic and Sombra were terrifyingly synonymous in some of the worst ways. She would trust him with the lesser weapons she offered to show him, but her and Sombra on the castle grounds, aggression amped up?

She knew that if anypony was aware of magical neglect, it would be him. She just needed to make sure that he knew not the extent of what she did to herself. "What might those things be? You say that I neglect my magic? How is it that you feel that way?"

There was the fabled eyebrow raise, and all that doubt burning in those two eyes. How could a stallion so flooded with skepticism be certain of anything? "I've felt your magic before, for one. You don't feel like you're at the point where I would say that you're going to atrophy. I still would say that you're at a level that is... notable." There was still something sly about the way he finished that sentence even if she could see quite plainly even he did not know how far things ran. "When I discount that you and Luna are at the head of this nation, it is still dangerous, and maybe even more so. You aren't especially skilled in the ways you should be."

"Oh, is that so?" Her conversational tone slipped in between his relentless determination with ease.

"Yes," he said with all the certainty she would not risk. "One look at you tells me that even if your legs, neck, and muzzle are slender, the rest of you isn't. Luna can't use that she is naturally lean as an excuse if she sat about, passive to routine like you are. Everything's clearly going to your hips, which aren't slender. Living the life you do, without any resistance is nothing short of a terrible idea." 

One foreleg jerked towards his own chest. "I wasn't used to staying put for so long. Moving into the castle and the change in how I lived was something I've had to adjust to, though not quite in the same way. I can't say I'm something unless I maintain it. What about you, Celestia? How can you do the same?"

As a princess, she did not have to fight. She did not have to want anything material or experience hunger. The only ponies that were taken care of at the level she was were those who also wore the crown. It was an expectation in the way that it was expected that somepony without a scarf in the snow would eventually feel cold. 

She wasn't pampered, or she certainly didn't think so, not with the duties and weight she knew. No good ruler lazed on by entirely, and anypony who dared say she sat on a throne all day sincerely wounded her. Anypony who told her such things was sorely mistaken, and unfortunately for her, this arrogant ink blot on her lovely family portrait wasn't quite saying that. (He was, however, daring to speak of her weight.)

That was what ponies saw in her, exactly as he didn't. They saw their gracious leader and the ivory-bright smile she had painted over every ugly pencil palimpsest of names and identities buried down below. To her subjects, she was the most beautiful mare in the world. 

Sombra saw a diet that was slacking, and maybe a few decades ago he would have been more easily proclaimed right just by looking at her. Her general persona wasn't the only thing that had changed shape over time.

"I think a 'maybe' will suffice for this, hmm?" Her smile was a bit too graceless that time, or so she thought. Except, she saw Sombra nodding clearly.

"That works for me." Was that his way of saying 'I'm not doing this for you'? She certainly thought it was, for who else would he do anything else for?

Compared to anything else she had said to him since their lunches began, this 'maybe' was the closest she ever gave to a 'yes'.



...



The princess fixed a glassy smile on her face. Sombra had his own array of letters before him and was diligently going over the contents. His mind was clearly at work, and he was immersed in the content with the serious dedication she found to be rarely observable in her interactions with him.

She sat down, expertly disguising how wary she was of the little details on his stack of letters and the books and scrolls he had close to him. 

The letters were clearly not a simple exchange between friends, but a much wordier correspondence due to the packets of parchment that Sombra clutched. Others were lying close to his folded forelegs, as though he was protecting them. Considering how prone Sombra was to carrying a daily 'collection' of all manner of things about with him (or concealed in his cloak) 

She had not a hint of their contents. What she could see as she poked about her lunch basket with plaster cheer was that the ripped envelopes he kept nearby bore the unmistakable stamps and ink of Germane post. Somepony was very interested in talking to Sombra, and that somepony had managed a very traditional seal upon their letter. It was an Alicorn seal, and though it was now broken she could see the imprint of an Ursa in it.

There was only one who had claim over the star-beasts, and he was the only one that would use such a seal.

She knew that Sombra and Noctus had been writing. She knew that Luna cared enough to do so too and that on occasion those two would combine their magic for teleportation across the hemispheres in order to visit the old god in his seclusion and sanctuary.

She didn't like it; she didn't say anything either. Not ever.

"He writes to you often, then?" Celestia kept her tone as distant as Noctus was from her. She would instead focus on her lunch. Watercress sandwiches had been prepared for her again. 

"He doesn't write to you?" Sombra did have a hint of surprise in his voice, but apparently, it was not enough for him to tear his eyes away from his reading entirely. He did allow his ears to perk up, but she noted he also didn't touch the mixed-flower salad that sat by him, barely touched. Why did he go through the trouble of preparing the food he was only going to waste? 

"Oh, I do get letters... I just have no responses." She frowned as a few crumbs fell from where she had taken a tiny bite from her sandwich. "I'm taking Luna's advice, you see..."

Did the last part sound too hurried? She didn't like it when Sombra asked most kinds of questions, and if she sounded peculiar, he would pick up on it. She remained deliberately indecisive regarding his offer for sparring and spell-duels. Passive excuses somehow managed to keep things from going anywhere, thank goodness. She may be trying to make nice with this stallion, but she was not trying really be his friend. He certainly was far too good at pretending, in a way, by giving her all these offers and invitations. 

All she wanted was to drizzle the same kindness upon him that she presented to all her subjects. Fluffing ponies up with pleasantries worked wonders, especially when the majority of them were seeded with generally equal polite, playfulness. The only difference would be that she felt differently about Sombra than she did about her subjects.

She didn't know what she felt towards him. It was better to dance around the edge of that tangle of unknown emotions too, rather than dive in the deep end. She just knew that they pretended to be friends of some kind and that every time she did something kind toward him, she felt sick. If she didn't know better, she would take the signs her body gave her as a warning. Deep down, she still knew what was the good thing to do even after all the time they spent together. 

Noctus wrote to her sometimes. Part of her wasn't sure why, and another bit of her even fed some of the letters to flame; there was no need to waste them. Other times, she let them gather dust once she hid them away. Either way, they were never opened.

"That advice is...?" Sombra's questioning gaze and the way he trailed off prodded her for an answer after their lapse into silence. 

The glass smile felt like it could crack from the inside. "I will write back... when I'm ready." 

That was Luna's caring advice and consolation boiled down to a single sentiment. Her hesitation was born partly out of nerves and partly out of uncertainty. She wasn't sure if she sounded as nervous as she needed to be to come across as natural-sounding. His skepticism wasn't anything she wanted to deal with, not with an issue this sensitive. 

"You do that." Sombra shrugged, eyes flicking between her and his papers. "He's not half-bad, though."

"Mhm, is that so?" She swallowed, making sure her smile was wide and friendly-looking. Of course Sombra would say that. The old stallion has gone as far as to be approving of this demon as a son-in-law.

The god Noctus, who Celestia could call nothing else without dredging up terrible things, had his family and kingdom lost to the power of demons more ancient than Sombra. He spent many thousands of years more than Celestia had been alive as opposed to those wretched creatures. It was because of dark magic and demons that he had lost everything and Luna and young Tia knew the world they did. 

"He's sent a fascinating amount of information about the Old World." Sombra nodded to the pages in his magic. "The stallion practically is mailing me his own memoirs."

Celestia greatly wished the Old World would have done what most old things did: die and stay buried. "Why is that of such importance to you?"

Three stunned blinks later and the astonishment hadn't worn away from Sombra's face. "...I'm just going to casually toss 'the greatest wealth of knowledge and culture this planet has known' out there." Before she could even put her hoof on the matter, Sombra's expression changed to his usual disgruntled one, and his tone matched it. "That might have something to do with it."

"And the present world might just matter more."

"Yes, looking into advancements greater than anything we have now certainly is a terrible idea..." Anything else he said just trailed off into incoherent grumbling under his breath and tiny growls. 

Celestia did not find herself the slightest bit pleased with anything he had been saying today. Her sole rays of sunshine in this were four simple things: lunch would end eventually, the weather was absolutely lovely, her schedule was fairly light, and she had iced tea cradled within her magic.

"Ah, I see." She really didn't. "Is there anything else he writes in those letters that you can apply outside of eccentric inventions?" Or beyond using history no pony is aware of as some silly attempt at leverage? I presume he uses it for little else...

Sombra was actually thinking about an answer. She could hear the sound of his tail swishing instead of what she imagined would be his next attempt to pick her apart in so petty of a way. "Lately we've been focused on ancient Alicorn ruling methods and philosophies. The in-depth experience he has been able to offer has been fascinating."

Sombra not being in the mood to rain on somepony's parade or complain was something she could usually handle. When Sombra was actually interested in something in this manner she had no idea how to manage him other than trying to nudge the conversation elsewhere. Then he would not talk nearly as much, or at least he would refrain from enthusiasm. 

She nodded absently, thinking he would take it for the non-answer it was, then regretted it. Paired with her smile and how speedily she was sipping her tea, he must've thought she was interested. She tried to be ever-pleasant just so ponies would read her wrong. Now that he did, she could only internalize her displeasure while he showed subtle signs of perkiness. 

"The vast disparity between how Equestria is led and how Old World nations shows such a decline. You and Luna may be Alicorns, but you don't really rule like them. I think that only Aquastria maintains the power, transparency, and barriers that were reflected in the absolute and enlightened old gods. Yes, I know that only mentioning those three qualities is oversimplifying things, but that wasn't my intention. They're simply core principles needed to have somepony rule in the way of an Old World Alicorn, not to mention the skill that was expected of each one along with those three skills." A thin smirk flashed across his muzzle, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from his letter. "I would love to have seen an Old World Alicorn in a fight. The standards for the combat abilities of these creatures were astounding." 

Celestia dipped the tip of her thoughts into memories she usually cursed. "There was little emphasis on one's mortal subjects, then."

Sombra scoffed. "Of course, there wasn't. No capable ruler would do such a thing. Even everything for the benefit of the ponies must not be done by them — you should listen to Luna more when she says that."

She managed as much of a sharp look as she could, giving Sombra the same look she did when Faithful Students did something beyond mere misbehavior and sought less innocent troubles. She had come to think of it as the Sunset Shimmer Look, for she was one of the few Students who didn't think of Princess Celestia as an entirely revered goddess like a flower among the endless plainness of grass. She was the one who liked to find ways to pluck at her petals of composure.

"Do you not realize how high the standards of living were then? Or the greater freedoms and independence creatures had under rulers who were the antithesis to your terrible passive attitude?" His aura twisted, flicking at his papers for emphasis. "An active hoof is one better for working. An active attitude and defense are what keep you in the status you wish to maintain. I know you've never had an advisor, but I could've been one."

There was another bit of slyness to his thin smile. What was he thinking she didn't know? She certainly did not wish to tell him that he was wrong, but she didn't trust that spark he had in his eye, either, and it was a spark for something different.

"You tell me these things like they're high magics." She tried shifting her focus to the distant birdsong among the gardens. 

"Common sense is not so common." Sombra looked skyward, frowning in thought. "Unfortunately, neither are domestic resources on the Old World..."

A cautious, pleased feeling bloomed within Celestia. Of course, there was little on the pre-apocalyptic periods Sombra wished to learn about. Any artifacts were unknown, misplaced, mishandled, or within the wild grave time dealt them (if they hadn't been destroyed and discarded). Writings on it were locked away and never enough.

Everything was never enough in Equestria. He couldn't find hidden ruins without some means to, and no means could be found (at least, not anywhere she knew of). No matter how hard-pressed he was to locate anything, he could only get so much information elsewhere, and she had a feeling that was just what he was doing...

"You have little else beyond these exchanges?" Her mane rippled in a way much like pointing towards his letters. She did so wish that the answer would be 'yes'.

"Sometimes. He's done more than offer his own perspectives and experiences; I've taken out more than a few titles he's suggested." Tracing delicately along the cover of one of the more ancient, and certainly more foreign, books made Sombra look unshakably erudite. That was not something she could easily attribute to him over somepony more respectable. "Maybe more than a few. I've been able to get more than a few excellent relics from him too."

Is that how he described being gifted something? She didn't like the secretive flash in his eyes. It certainly was no trick of the light; that stallion had to be hiding something. Unfortunately, there was little that she could do about this possible development or Sombra's secondhoof books at this time. She certainly would not be able to take any of his books away from him or put any other plan past an entertained thought. She would never show such behavior towards somepony suspicious and unhealthily skeptical of her.

A typical polite smile flickered across her features. "That is very considerate a thing for him to do." Her thoughts were already straying to where she could pull the conversation and what subject of idle chat would work best, and then...

Sombra shrugged a little. "Some knowledge was meant for sharing. Fixing the world doesn't happen because somepony decided to do nothing but internalize their ideas and not act upon them — but there are still points when doing that can help."

Isn't that exactly what you do, though? "That's a nearly positive outlook from you!" That's how I know it can't be yours. Her tone was just as bright as it needed to be. "Where did you get such an idea, hm?"

With a flat tone and humorless, tired stare Sombra grumbled one word: "Experience."

"Oh," she murmured. He was just a bundle of fine conversation, wasn't he? "You really think that some dusty knickknacks are a means of 'fixing' things and that the bright young generations of ponies I have presided over are so incapable of doing so?"

His frown twitched, but otherwise, Sombra did not waver. "I think that what remains of the Old World is one of the few things that can better the problem of ponies."

Ah yes, the 'problem of ponies'. This is just what I needed to be hearing today. "I think you should consider making something as an offering of thankfulness for being sent so many nice things, don't you?" 

The way Sombra's eyes appeared bright with thought made it clear that such an unselfish idea hadn't dawned on him. "I don't see any reason to do that." A twirl of his aura toyed with his bangs. There was the pondering gesture she wanted to see, pulling him away from thoughts of the Old World and of how she did not write letters to the god of star-beasts. 

"It is something that you should start to learn." Her smile widened. "Especially if you want to fit in with ponies and get them to like you."

Her stomach dropped with the daggers being glared in her direction, a sour feeling spreading instantly. "If I'm to work towards achieving anything, it will be something important."

She should've known he wouldn't take a hint. "Somepony with your attitude being drawn to systems rooted in and frank about their leader holding absolute power doesn't bode well to me."

"Those systems worked, and did so excellently, Celestia. The one we have today is only so different as well. Why the need for hypocrisy?"

The way the summer air was tickling her back was surprisingly uncomfortable, and somehow her ability to resist any kind of wriggling at the sensation was what felt worse, in a disconnected kind of way. She did not look at him. "Things were different then." Could she leave it at that? "The authority and ability you and I have would still not be nearly what the Alicorns of old exercised. I would still be seen as having more limited power over my nation and subjects."

She really felt the urge to fidget now; an unpleasant kind of itch under her coat could be felt with each word she spoke. Discussing something she hadn't needed much to cover up when time and the mortality of ponies were on her side had a terrible, uneasy awkwardness to it. The Old World was simply not something Equestria acknowledged, not that there was much to acknowledge in the first place. There weren't even questions her little ponies posed to her about it, for the Tribal Era alone was a stretch to the modern pony. The idea of anything before was lost to the mists of time in their little heads.

Here she was, having to talk about it with more directness than she would dare use outside of conversations with Luna and wishing she had never opened her mouth. The tiny feeling of fear perching in her chest certainly agreed with her. 

Sombra's expression showed that he was clearly not convinced. "Different or not, you have no reason to act so skeptical of any absolute ruler."

She watched the way her mane was rippling out of the corner of her eye, innocent and soft regardless of their conversation topics. "Is that so? As a being of corruption, you would want that sort of absolute to be as apparent as possible, I would presume." She let the empty words slip from her mouth without an iota of boredom in her perfect tone. Such was the result of molding oneself in habits and manners. 

"Being all-powerful and being entirely corrupted are not the same thing, and one is not the ensured result of the other. I've built tyrants. Any words on leadership I can get my hooves on, I read. I don't think that it could be any more obvious that what somepony does with power will always matter more than how much they have." Sombra's stare was hard. "Just because some creature can do something does not mean they will. I am capable of brainwashing nearly every creature I've met; that doesn't mean I actively do so. You don't exactly get much to say on the matter when you and Luna have such power over celestial bodies that the planet could be annihilated as soon as one of you decided to bash the sun or moon into the surface without being stopped."

Sombra noticed the growing shock flashing across her face. "I could go on, but I don't feel the need to. The power or ability to do something does not translate to the certainty of acting upon it."

(On the matter of Sombra, she had her doubts, not that she would speak them.)

"That's a little bit of a stretch, don't you think?" She let a passing breeze through her mane, twirling it. Was her tone showing that she was too quick to offer a reply? "Such a thing isn't going to happen when most ponies are good ponies-"

"Hardly," Sombra gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "Even if that were the case, that does not eliminate the fact that most ponies are more than capable of killing somepony, for example, and they usually don't." 

(Why was it always violence with this brute?)

"Need I also mention that because of Equestria's past and founding, all the land in this nation belongs to you and Luna? Your nation was built on what is practically your foalhood backyard, and you have every power to seize it again as much as you gave it out to settlers. By having the latter, you had to have the former, even if you don't usually utilize it."

(Well, he wasn't wrong regarding the matter of land and how she and Luna controlled it.)

"How is it that you still think power aligns so strongly with certain tyranny?" The barb of annoyance was notable in his voice.

"What stops you?" 

Before the realization of what she had asked hit her, she felt her own forehoof do so. Cold gold smashed up against her lips without any grace, pressure from her movement smooshing her muzzle in a manner barren of any decorum. The sting of her own thoughts and tumbling whispers were already calling her out for that.

Even worse, Sombra was no doubt suspicious of her. Her words clearly registered in his eyes, but did he think of them in the same way she knew them to be? Celestia's careless words were a clear sign that she didn't trust Sombra enough.

He's going to notice. He has to notice.

She watched with her own personal doomsday clock ticking away in her head as Sombra's horn shimmered with crimson light. He swept his books ad gifts closer to him, likely out of quiet discomfort. "Different things," he said quietly. "There have been times when I've met with somepony I would usually kill for things they've done — to me, to somepony else, or for things I know they do — and I keep feeling that way. Some ponies just annoy me enough... I suppose it is past 'annoying' if I want them dead..."

He goes quiet, resting his head on his little pile and not looking at her. "Cooking helps. I've baked Luna loads of things to do something else when I get that angry. It’s either this or I'll go back to starting fires." With mute, masked horror, Celestia watched the way he nuzzled his papers and brushed his cheek up against their crinkling surface. "She likes sprinkles on her cupcakes; I don't know how anypony can stand those things. All they do is get stuck in my teeth."

Sombra could discuss real homicidal urges with this casual air. Behind her distant plaster front, she felt alarm rising. This was something that was never tolerable, this callous disregard for a pony was something she knew was a clear sign that she could never completely trust...

'Completely'? Goodness, was her own mind trying to collapse on itself with the notion that she trusted him even a little behind her regal mask? This was the tyrant king, the accidental god, and the stallion who had rejected the graciousness and opportunity of unity among the other gods to go his own way and become a rogue god, the sort to be under the suspicion of any of the Pantheon and forbidden from their ranks. Celestia had worked so hard to get Luna to join when she returned, but she had rejected things when Sombra did. He was the sole biggest source of worry in her life, and only elevated every concern she had about Luna because of their actions.

She wanted Luna to be safe, and it felt like her baby was robbed of acceptance because of her own spouse's actions. Celestia did the things she did to be a good ruler and to make Luna happy. That was why she sat, chatted, and dined with Sombra for their lunches. For Luna, and for her happiness and the blood they shared. He freely admits to wanting to kill others, and what is she supposed to think? What is she possibly supposed to feel in all this? Where are the sure movements of her body as if moved by a puppeteer to convey the normal response?

While the mind of the princess was left racing to process Sombra, who looked as reserved as she did blank right now, she was so scrambled up in her own unwelcome thoughts and dread that she did not notice the first drop of rain fall.



...



To Celestia, the past was hardly something to be fond of. Considering its habit of sneaking up on her in some of the worst ways, was anything to be expected? After Discord's reformation, she needed no other catastrophes and 'excitement'. Every flawed persona she had maintained in the past had been ground beneath her own hooves and the passage of time to give way to the diplomatic and benevolent princess ponies knew today. Lingering upon the past was to neglect changes brought by self-improvement.

Now, here she was recalling a tale from centuries ago when Equestria was nearing the dawn of maturity and was just leaving its youthful centuries behind. Peace was prominent, as was nationalism at a level she did not see in her ponies presently. Then, a ruler with that same patriotism was called for, and she was what was wanted of her and maintained a deceptively airy mask paired with an overtly nationalist warmth. In those years, she was the brightest builder of kingdoms, and post-Discordian rebuilding was a distant memory. Southern nations had yet to make the leaps of Equestria, now rich from trade and nearing three hundred years of life. 

"...he was rising to surpass my experience so quickly. Beanie and I were looking forward to baking all we could for the Gala that year. Unfortunately, we did a little overestimating on just how much that would be..." Celestia punctuated her story with her usual noblemare's laugh. "Vanilla Bean wanted to make every Gala special. He was the one that pushed through by finding a way for our efforts to make the quota." A soft smile spread across her face, and she tilted her head upward to the sunlight. "We made a cake shaped like a castle that year and I had to tell everypony it was Beanie's idea and he did most of the work."

Sombra nodded from behind his latest solitaire game. Cards were spread around him and a partially touched zucchini noodle dish still had curls of steam coming off it. "Are you going to eat any of those?"

He tilted his head to indicate the plate of cupcakes sitting in front of her. Tiny green sprinkles were oddly plain against potentially bland vanilla frosting. She was generally always fairly peckish, but something about being presented with treats from Sombra quelled most of that feeling. She found it hard to see the cupcakes he had so freely given her as anything but a reminder of his dark words.

"I'll save them for later," she said carefully, nearly tasting each syllable to ensure that she said everything just right enough to sound considerate. "Would you care to hear another story?"

Maybe stories based on memories could be like confessions, where if you had detachment from them and allowed them to really gain some quality of made-up tales in your heart, they could be told without burden. Sombra did not seem terribly invested in them enough to mind that somepony had to keep the see-saw of conversation tilting, even if that sometimes meant he felt like a wall built of noncommittal answer bricks. 

"Tell what tales you want, I don't exactly have any for sharing." He shrugged, picking at his food again, but neglecting to eat any.

"I'm sure you have something of your past you can share."

The sure stab of his fork faltered, and his idle strike upon his food crookedly landed elsewhere on his plate. A short frown tugged at Sombra's features. "I really don't know what to say. There wasn't much living in my life before..." 

The way he trailed off so quietly was enough to stun Celestia. One, two curious blinks later and she worked an effortless genial smile back into her expression. He had sounded shy at that moment, for pony's sake. Or, maybe he was reluctant? Nervous? Whatever it was he felt, she had finally produced a genuinely uncertain response from him. That much she was certain of. There was the tiniest sense of being tickled pink at getting him to show such vulnerability.

"Before your banishment?" The words rolled off her tongue so smoothly, and she saw no reason for them not to. The way Sombra's ears flicked did look like it could be out of discomfort, but he really shouldn't be.

He nodded, eyes having roamed to somewhere else in the gardens. Should she feel even a little bit frustrated? There was nothing that could work her way into her pet peeves like a grown pony unable to pay attention like this.

She really was trying when it came to her interactions with him, and heavens knew she wasn't... fond of him, but goodness he was lazy.

"Then why don't you tell me about something you liked from before that, hmm?"

"I..." Sombra's eyes clouded with thought and Celestia hid a wince upon seeing the force he used to lethally spear a few noodles. "Before the Empire, liked snowboarding... and I still do, I just haven't had a chance to do it lately."

"Mhm, it's almost as though you're a prince." Celestia's softest laughter floated through the air, with the delicate, controlled sounds that Luna's lacked. "I know the feeling. There are times when I wish I was swimming when I have the unfortunate occurrence to be stuck in a meeting in any tropical city."

"You know how to swim?" Sombra finally looked at her, crinkling his muzzle like she had said something fishy. The usual contrast in their demeanor was as stark as the limited palette of the playing cards in his paused game. 

"Yes, since foalhood. I was the one who had to rescue Luna from her early attempts at water-walking spells. We needed that skill, Sombra, so why is it you look skeptical?"

"You just struck me as somepony who would be afraid of swimming. I suppose it was easier to imagine you bobbing about like the giant marshmallow you are." 

While he was making some sort of wry expression a few dozen places below any true smile, Celestia couldn't help but think about how she was not just a marshmallow in his words, but a giant one. She was better off letting that bother her later, if at all, because for once he really didn't seem to mean something truly mean.

"You're still one to talk, though, wouldn't you say?" With a half-real smile on her muzzle, she lazily ran her magic across the surface of the cupcakes, still completely indecisive on whether she would actually bother to eat any. With good luck, she might be able to dodge any questions he had. "I can't imagine what kind of tiny snowboard substitute you managed to cobble together all those years ago, or how a stallion with stature and size like you would have managed with it."

A few notes of a low trill sounded in Sombra's throat. "I wasn't a stallion."

Genuine confusion struck Celestia, sparking interest in his immensely puzzling reply. "How could you not have been a stallion? Luna has told me countless times that-"

"I came from magic and nothing," Sombra's finished quickly, a notable terseness in his tone. He was clearly wanting to avoid being called a demon, though there was nopony around to overhear such a thing. 

"Yes, and I know that means you were, ah, constructed instead of being born. She was sure to explain to me that because of the nature of your kind, none of you are infants; you don't have to explain that to me." Celestia had found the history of Sombra as relayed to her by Luna in the early years of her daughter's relationship to fill in many gaps, some of which she had not known about in the first place, especially when that came to her limited knowledge of Sombra himself.

"I wasn't a stallion."

The princess gave a partial nod of understanding. "I'm aware that you are a sort of incorporeal thing under your demon skin."

With clear discomfort, Sombra shifted and let his gaze drop. "That's not how it works," he mumbled, "I'm not like that..."

Excuse her for not being as well-versed with matters of monsters as Luna was, and not just any monster, but a nearly extinct breed too. Couldn't he just let some of her mistakes slide? 

A cookie-cutter kind of encouraging smile settled over her face and she flicked one of her forehooves in a polite gesture to keep talking. She had no want to say that she was utterly perplexed by the latest turn of their conversation. Since Sombra had become cemented as a historical figure, there was a clear vision of him. Yes, it had been... edited... in recent years, so to say. But Celestia did know that Sombra had the static adulthood no other creature did, and Luna had only added confirming information when she told of Sombra and his Onyx during their time in the cold north.

"I wasn't a grown stallion at first." Sombra's tone was clear again, and he spoke with something deliberate put into each word. While she did not know what that subtle, nigh-unnoticeable quality was meant to convey, she felt it was safe to presume it to be like distant nostalgia. "I first knew this world as an adolescent..." One look to the horizon and Sombra offered a one-wither shrug to something Celestia guessed had crossed his mind. "From there, I just grew."

"...Like anypony else?" There was a fierce crease in Celestia's brow and she swore the ticking of her own confused thoughts was audible outside her head. 

"That's not a bad way to put it. I didn't experience anything special with how I grew; I just wasn't doing things the way any other creature did." She caught him flashing a bit of tooth in a split-second sight of mischief. "But when do I ever waste time on that?"

Celestia kept herself as poised closely to a statue's stillness as she could, and even the rippling of her mane lessened before she took one long breath in. "You... you mean to tell me that you were... a teenager?"

"Yes, though I was an older one." 

Sombra's matter-of-fact curtness was the eye to the raging hurricane of confusion Celestia felt shaking inside her. Flashes of memory bearing and tossing recollections of this conversation, that observation, or the history of some-such were loaded in those winds; each revolving around information on Sombra in the way that yarn and tacks linked a conspiracy nut's presentation together.

"Older..." Celestia echoed, a hazy feeling brushing by her coat.

Clearly, Sombra found it best to just answer her with an air of normalcy that was jarring to think he could have. "To say otherwise does feel fairly inaccurate." He paused abruptly, a momentary unhappiness visible in his eyes and clouding something in his tone. "I didn't think I was that old; later I learned that for pony development, I was an older youth."

'Didn't like'? That remark had something awkward in it, something that sounded so tied with his tone... 

"Er... what... what exactly were you like?" She cleared her throat kindly, trying to achieve greater focus. "As a youth, that is."

Trilling again, but with a much lower pitch (yes, lower even for Sombra), Celestia watched as Sombra's expression blanked. He wasn't looking at her, and his idle fork-fidgeting had ceased. What he did look like was as if somepony had asked him something startlingly obvious, such as inquiring to a weather-pony with a rain cloud if a storm was scheduled. 

"Lanky? Moody? Violent? Curious? Restless?"

"...I see, it's just that the Crystalline records that did survive always describe you as an adult and—"

"You clearly neglected to listen to me when I told you that I grew up? Yes, I think that's exactly what you've seen too. Did you even listen to Luna when she told you this?"

"Yes, I did and she always described you as 'younger'. That is not the same as calling you a teenager and is a most reasonable way of describing any creature that ages slowly with how they were in a previous era. She does neglect many details about you, always insisting on you having 'enough privacy'. I just... never knew that you were..."

What was she supposed to say? There was nothing cruel in her words, but that never meant there was a reason to lie. No, now she just felt that she was slipping into befuddled speechlessness. That wasn't the same as lying. In her mind, there was still a storm and within that storm was an even greater puzzle, only she did not yet know the pieces...

"It's nothing, I'm merely not used to the idea. Leave an old mare to her thoughts." She waved a hoof absently, but her mind was disconnected from the movement of her body, and she only saw it. 

Even the game was something elusive...

Saying nothing, Sombra was quick to ignore her. Crimson collected and cleaned was required without him ever needing to be told. Even his card game was now totally out of her sight, and he strolled away at his own leisure in the manner only he ever maintained: an exit defined more often than not by his silence; he was not a stallion of farewells. When she had lectured him of politeness not being optional some time ago she had learned that he only bothered with good-byes and similar exchanges if it was somepony he liked, even if he was to see them later. She had remembered that last bit because he was so adamant whereas she had been so disgusted by his actions.

These days, she had no reason to attempt and bother with that habit of his. Instead, she was usually left trying to privately decipher why there were some days he tried to catch up to her, asking about the latest cookbook she lent him if they were to meet in the kitchens for cooking, had she seen some recent magic article, did she know that one of his was published, and so on. He had never once said 'good-bye' to her but there had been a few 'see you laters' she had never figured out the ulterior motives behind or why he was saying them to her and bothering to behave this way. 

Celestia, admittedly, did feel that the burden of her thoughts was just another burden of the crown. The schemes that she tied herself up in and hooked so deeply in her life were all hinged back to the hallowed and near-sacred regalia she felt might as well be glued to her. 

(And yes, it wasn't exactly far-fetched. Throughout the ages, she had seen nearly every variety of paper dolls, and Princess Celestia paper dolls always had their regalia sprouting from their very body! Such a sight it was, to see one of the few crown-permitted likenesses of her hold such a haunting trait. What was it that compelled illustrators to have hers depicted so when Twilight and Cadance pieces all had their accessories and even their wings as separate pieces?  Why couldn't she just ignore that?)

Smoke led to fires, and fires were great spoilers for games and meditations. While she was quite sure she had not stumbled upon smoke or any curiosity to kill the cat she found herself to be in this moment, there was something not wholly right with what she learned. Sucked straight from what had been a pleasant lunch get-together were the innocence and any hint of positivity to be found on such a lovely summer day. For goodness sake, now she was just watching the buttercream frosting drip off ugly cupcakes. 

Never ever had Sombra and a child been things she could reconcile. Children of any species were among the most vulnerable demographics a ruler was obligated to protect. In them was an innocence that could be threatened as they grew and if they were unprotected and free of any shelter. Within that demon was no quality of a child, and she could glean no evidence he was one. Surely, for that alone, she should not feel so disturbed.

(The smallest smidgen of frosting had successfully dribbled onto the plate. As long as she said that she was the one who made them, or some similar thing, there was bound to be somepony in the castle who would be glad to have them.)

What of Sombra could have been childlike? What she had learned of him was that he bore connections to the foul servant of Starswirl, a vile Crystalline colt with the name of Onyx. Like Sombra, she had only really learned of Onyx since Sombra's return. Even his true name had been unknown to her; Starswirl had never called him such just as he had called her daughter Selene, all while he had fostered Solara the Worst of Sisters, and Clover the Clever. 

Onyx was the sort of colt who mutilated the forest creatures and who concluded his unsuccessful passes on Solara by screaming all sorts of appalling things that cumulated in the young mare being told she would be easier to seduce when she was dead (though she was sure he was only half-aware of the implication those words had when they flew from his mouth). While a disgusting, dirty pony she had been more than capable of being above him. That was not limited to being more powerful, successfully intimidating, and capable of self-defense she never had to really use, but also the firm knowledge that he bore an unshakable evil about him and she would be safe to show him no pity, even if he was a young teenager lost to his own development as he was his evils. 

He was the foul demon-summoner, and Sombra his demon fully aware of all good and evil, with an unhinged mind, bond, and nature wrought with dark knowledge on terrible deeds (and likely how to do them). One angry pubescent had produced the angriest young stallion Celestia knew in a time she had not. Sombra, according to his own dubious word and those who supported him, wanted no part in being forced to travel to the Crystal Empire and unleash brutal tyranny and genocide upon its inhabitants. Cadance and Luna said he had been used, with varying details about how, as a living weapon. Sombra was unwilling to offer much more about the torment he experienced other than agreeing that he experienced it. 

In her mind's eye, an evil adult Sombra had gone through all these things. He was a beast who was scorched with the pain of a cruel master whose relationship she thought blurry and curious at best, but he was also a beast who was willing to 'bite' the hoof that made him and give into his demonic nature and 'bite' the ponies around him. The thing was a traitorous sort of savage, seeing nothing but red.

And it made a terrible amount of sense. Adult Sombra was a kind of completed story, one that begged for no necessary elaboration. In it was something entirely believable, explainable, and so much more...

(Summer air felt like it was pulsing around her, the heat of it carrying a hypnotic pressure. She should be lulled by the sweetness in the air, not staring off into flowers and seeing only text after text of what Crystalline accounts she really knew...)

(Sombra had only ever been specified as 'young' while he was king, and that was in the most descriptive records that had returned with the Empire when his age was alluded to at all. That was how some of the more knowledgeable crystal ponies had described him, but it was so hard to be knowledgeable on somepony you only saw from a distance and when mass magic muddled minds, or when most who had really seen him were dead... and any present records with any truth to them were sparse... and ...)

(He was young.)

(He is young.)

(Curse Sombra's eternal youth, just how old could he be? How old was he when he stopped aging? To her, very few weren't young; Sombra just had a youthful insolence to him.)

(She had obtained the blessed records on Onyx some years ago when confronting Sombra... Onyx would have been twenty-three then, but what about Sombra? How old was he? All she knows is that he was not an adult when he was created and describes himself as an 'older' youth. That gives her no age except being a 'non-adult'. Sombra was under sixteen, that's it... that's all she can go off of.)

(She thought of what it was like to be a blossoming young mare who had to survive in the lush wilds of the world. Aches of remembered loneliness threatened to bubble up. Then, she thought of what that would be like in the Arctic... without Luna. Her throat tightened.)

...So why was Celestia's traitorous mind not content? Why were her thoughts not settled, not appeased by everything that had happened before her conversation with Sombra...? There was a solid wall in her mind with the distasteful graffiti that was Sombra splashed upon it. Every brick might as well be synonymous with some fact or wrongdoing of his. 

Adding something to this wall was nothing new. She had only found one place of thought and closed her eyes gently. (Her composure was her only relief.) Celestia thought of that little spot, that little brick until it felt like a point she could draw lines from. Mapping her thoughts out as something normal made them easy to organize and understand.

To that point, she willed it to be something else, to let Sombra be a child and see if his story would still be the same as if Sombra had been created as an adult.

The whole thing was purely, entirely hypothetical. Really. All that had to be done was to connect the same thoughts that mirrored the connections the bricks in the thought map as a wall had. 

Focus came over her, and the sharpened mind of the princess was ready to start the speedy line that would shape how one little difference could produce the same ending. No single grain of sand stood out in an hourglass, nor did any single word define a book. The 'one' did not matter over the many, many things that went into contemplations like this. She could build no scheme on a single possibility, and the princess could have hinged no Twilight Sparkle going to Ponyville to bring back Luna on Twilight alone...

Except, her dot did not connect.

Celestia could not figure out how to spin the same past and present for a youthful Sombra... and she didn't know exactly why.