Shining sighed softly. They stood a house away from their usual gaming place. "Thanks for--"
"We haven't done anything." Umbra raised a brow. "What's going on?"
Shining pointed at Umbra. "I think Cadance is avoiding the truth."
Umbra flopped to her haunches. "What?! I... Huh... She seemed the most level headed of the bunch, outside throwing a love spell without asking." She raised a hoof to her chin. "What's the truth she's avoiding? Is this even something I can help with? I... am not exactly Active Listening, if you were wanting a counselor."
Shining smiled at that. "Active wouldn't be able to help with this... the same way." He tapped Umbra on the chest. "Let me start by saying that I think you are a pretty mare."
Umbra colored brightly. "Shining! That was out of nowhere... Um, thanks?"
"I am only telling the truth." He nodded firmly. "The more I get to know you, the more I am convinced you are a lovely pony. Outside and inside. Now, the complication. I think Cadance agrees."
Umbra raised a brow at that. "I'm glad she likes me."
"I think she likes likes you. She's using me as a shield."
"That is your specialty," joked Umbra with a smirk. "But do explain." She rolled a hoof. "Oh! Did you see the houses I made?"
"You're off to a great start." Shining patted Umbra's shoulder gently. "You and your friend. Shifting Prism wasn't it?"
"She's the best." Umbra began to clap gladly. "Keeping me focused on the task. We're gonna burn through the order."
Shining's smile was genuine. "I knew you'd take to that job well. But this isn't about that. I think Cadance is attracted to you, but doesn't want to admit it, to herself. She's a fairly proper pony in most regards. The idea of it is not one she's comfortable with." He rubbed at his own cheek. "To be honest, I'd be just as awkward if you were a stallion, so I'm not... I'm not trying to..."
"I get it." Umbra gave a firm nod. "You two are two cis normies, lovely cis normies, but that." That just got a blank look from Shining. "Don't worry about it, but I get it. You two have a nice image of a boy and a girl come together and make a family."
"Yes!" That he could agree with easily. "A mare and a stallion is a family, with a foal or few ideally. And I think this is part of what makes her so awkward about it. It's embarrassing." He worried his hooves together. "Mares and mares is a thing. It happens. Saying she's specifically not comfortable with it is a bad look for a ruler."
"But she's not comfortable with it," concluded Umbra slowly. "But she sees me and I'm tickling her just a little?"
"Yes!" explosively gusted Shining. "Exactly that." He smiled, leaning closer. "You do the same thing to me, dark mare. But I'll be more honest about it. I'm just fine having you as a good friend and quality O&O pal, to say nothing of defending champion. Those are all very good things, and more than enough really. I have a mare, let's be clear. I have one, and she's, to be super blunt, quite the looker, to say nothing of being a great pony on the inside too. What I mean! Is I'm pretty happy right now. I really am. I am living the dream."
Umbra slowly tilted her head. "So 'That sure is a pretty lady that is my friend. I sure am lucky to be a guy with two pretty lady friends, one of whom I am married to. Score!'"
"Yep." A short nod. "That sums it up. But back to Cadance. I think she wants to be closer to you, but she wants me to sweep you off your hooves. If you're pulled in by me, well, then you two are already close, and she--"
"Can pretend she's just doing 'what has to be done'." Umbra crossed her arms. "Cadance needs to be more honest with herself. Are you sure Active Listening isn't the one you should be talking to about this?"
"We're all involved." He pointed at himself, Umbra, and theoretically Cadance in the distance. "Whatever we decide, we're at least partially stuck to each other. I'm glad we're not making so much mess these days... That's good! I'm still really sorry about how badly that worked at first."
"Forget that." Umbra waved it away. "We all have that under control now, which is good! So I can share, or not." She tapped herself, allowing Shining to feel it, only to tap again without the sensation being passed. "But... The connection is there. Didn't Cadance say she could see it?"
"Brilliant Crystal, yeah." Shining turned in place. "We should get moving, or the others will wonder what happened to us. I just wanted to bring this up, to think about."
"A gift before the game?" she laughed out, getting back on her hooves. "You're the best." With light laughter, she got to a spirited trot to the game. The dice would not roll themselves.
A heavy bag jingled as it was passed to her. The officious pony that had pushed them across the counter nodded. "As agreed upon. Ten houses equates to one thousand royal bits."
Umbra blinked. "Wait, 'royal' bit?" She jingled the massive bag, held firmly in her magic. "Is that different than a normal bit?"
"Oh, very much so." The official bobbed her head. "A royal bit is worth a thousand standard bits."
Umbra flopped weakly to the side, almost crashing over entirely. "W-wha?!" Her hoof danced as she did mental math as quickly as she could. "Wha?!"
"That was the agreed upon sum. My apologies, Umbra the Brave and Glorious, but I do have to pay the other ponies behind you." She pointed past Umbra to the line of waiting imperial employees awaiting their turn at payday.
"Right! Sorry." Umbra scampered away with her treasure, fleeing until she was in front of Shifting's door. "Shifting!"
"Huh?" The crystal bat pony poked her head out of her window, looking to the right over at Umbra. "Umbra! Hey. Is it time to build more houses?"
"No, it's payday." She jingled the bag held in her magic vigorously, creating a chorus of jingles and clinks. "And I just learned something."
The window closed.
Silence grew.
The door popped open and Shifting hopped free. "Here I am! You sound upset. Whatfor?" She reached out to poke the bag. "That's a lot of bits, but they promised it, right?"
"They're not bits." Umbra set the bag down and reached inside with her magic, plucking one free. "Look at it."
It was like a bit, mostly... The symbol and numbers on it were different. "Fancy."
"Ultra fancy. Did you know they had 'royal' bits?"
Shifting frowned at the idea. "I'm, uh... still... kinda new around here?" She laughed awkwardly. "You know?"
"Well I'm even newer." Umbra danced in place anxiously. "Royal bits are a thousand normal bits. One, Zero, Zero, Zero!"
"That's a lot of zeros." Shifting angled her ears off in different directions. "Wait..."
Umbra nodded. "Yeah... I promised you 40%"
"No!" Shifting suddenly thumped Umbra with a hoof. "You promised me forty bits. I will not take forty thousand bits, per house! That's too much for just... I was helping, and not even doing any work!" She stomped a hoof down with a little bat-like squeak. "No!"
"That's how I feel!" Umbra threw up her hooves wide. "If we finish this job, we're rich!"
"You still want to share 40% of that?!" Shifting waved wildly at the set down bag of royal bits. "Why?! You understand how much money you're trying to give me, right?"
"Less than what was just shoved at me?" Umbra sank to her haunches. "Yelling at each other isn't going to fix this." She took a slow breath. "We're friends, right? Let's work through this, as friends."
"As friends, right." Shifting smiled timidly. "You know... most..." She glanced around nervously. "Most changelings feed on love, but I actually don't even like 'love' that much. Not the kind they like." She wobbled a hoof before it turned on herself. "I prefer friendship."
"Well, good. Here's lunch." Umbra pounced Shifting, hugging her tight. "Now I want to pay you fairly. What amount is fair? Say what you really think, not what you think I'll be alright with, since I'll be alright with anything for the most part, since I know you're a good little lovebug."
"Crystal bat," shifting argued with a giggle, not fighting being hugged. "Um... Um..." She reached from the hug to nudge the heavy bag of coins. "I was ready for forty. Can we keep it at forty?"
"That makes me feel awful. At least one." Umbra held up a hoof. "One royal bit per house. I'll figure out what to do with the other 99, but at least one."
Shifting sighed dramatically. "Fine... At least one."
"I got ninety nine problems, but that ain't one," sang out Umbra, pleased with the references she'd only get. "It's settled then. So..." She began counting coins, setting out ten royal bits. "Your share."
Shifting leaned in at the coins, peering at them like exotic, and potentially toxic, minerals. "Huh..."
"It means you can get the crystals you were talking about." Umbra rolled a hoof. "You can make that jewelry."
"Huh... Yeah! Yeah. Good idea." Shifting began to clap, clearly liking that notion. "I wanted to make you something special, so be ready for that."
"It'll be even more special." Umbra nodded confidently. "My crystal is nice and all, but it's magic. When you make something, you do it with your own hooves. There's a difference. I will treasure whatever you make forever."
"That's a long time," noted Shifting, tucking the coins away. "Alright, that's settled. We should get to work?"
"Gotta earn the rest of the bits, right." She shoved away her much larger bag, her side bulging from the amount of it, her pocket unable to conceal it all. "Wow... I didn't know there was a storage max on that."
"We're learning all kinds of things." Shifting began to pronk forward with new giggles, the tension gone. "Let's stuff you to exploding!"
"Halt!" The crystal guard frowned from behind the lenses of the goggles he had recently been given. "State your name and purpose."
"My name is Dry Fear," stated the strange creature approaching at a casual walk. "And my purpose is utter terror."
"T-that...." The guard took a shaking step back as the creature shifted before him, becoming even more grossly misplaced and aberrant of organs and limbs. The strange screeching it began to make didn't help things. That it exploded with darkness in his eyes, all the more reason for fear. "Stop right there!"
"Mmm, tempting offer," The nightmare proceeded towards the guard at a slow methodical pace. "But I decline. Tell me, if I were to leave one of your legs attached, which would you prefer?"
The guard stumbled back, tripping over himself in abject terror. "I would want all of them!" He grabbed for his sword, clenching it as firmly as he could in his clattering teeth. "Not a single step further."
The thing laughed, deep and haunting. It had already come too close. In what felt like an instant, it was upon the guard, washing over him in darkness and dread. It felt like a thousand set of teeth were biting and gnawing, tugging and pulling as if to tear him apart. "Die in the misery you were born into," whispered the dread thing on him. "Pain is all you need know now."
The pony's screams did not summon help, at least not nearly quickly enough. When he was found later, he was collapsed on his side, drool flowing free from his mouth and hooves curled and stiff. He didn't respond to being poked at, despite seemingly otherwise alive.
The Crystal Empire had been attacked.