The games had finished. Umbra had gotten to see all the little ponies trying their darndest in a host of physical sports and cheer them on. She had also got to see her arena be used, and that was nice too in a different way. The structures had held, with zero ponies flopped to the ground under faulty crystals, so score there.
Yes, she was pretty happy as ponies filtered out of the event, discussing the games as they went. "So." She slid in next to Twilight. "Going to meet up with your friends?"
Twilight nodded as she lowered a little for Spike to take advantage of. With him atop her, she resumed her walk in no special hurry. "That was the idea. Did you want to come with?" Umbra was already nodding rapidly. "Then come along. I don't imagine any of them would be sad to see you."
Umbra came up short. "I'm being rude. Let me say hi to my girlfriend real quick." She fell to shadow and sped away. She reformed just next to a walking Prism. "Hey!"
"Eek!" The crystal bat hopped away from the sudden pony. "We have to put a bell on you."
"A shadow bell? Would that even work?" Umbra went in and they touched noses with gentle rubbing. "Had fun?"
"As much fun as I could have without my scary shadow." Prism threw her head vaugely at the royal seating. "So did you chat about snooty royal stuff with the other big wigs?"
"There was some of that..." Umbra pointed in the same direction. "Speaking of that, I want to meet with the flag bearers of Ponyville, and my friends from there. That alright?"
"As if I could stop you." Shifting was smiling despite the somewhat defeated words. "As if I'd want to. I'm not that good with little foals though." She brought her hooves close together to emphasize that smallness. "So you have fun with them. They seemed, um, well trained?" Spoken in the tone of a small dog performing at a show admirably.
Umbra pushed at Shifting with a laugh. "I'll tell them they looked amazing. They're people, not pets. 'Well trained,' would not go over well. Meet you later!"
Shifting waved at the spot that had an Umbra just a moment before. "Shadow bell... Definitely a thing to look into..."
Umbra sprang from the shadows and trotted the short remaining distance to where all the ponies she wanted were chatting, including the little ones. "Hey!"
Rarity raised a hoof. "Hey yourself. Did--"
"We won the medal count!" Rainbow was right up in Umbra's face. "Didn't get the relay, but we won the medal count, that's a big deal." She clapped with clear excitement. "Oh, yeah!"
Umbra pointed past Rainbow. "In part thanks to your amazing flag wavers, obviously."
The fillies giggled as one. One with a big bow approached Umbra curiously. "Hi there! I'm Apple Bloom."
"And you are adorable." Umbra felt no need to be subtle about that. "And Applejack's sister, right?"
"Yep!" Even her similar country accent tickled Umbra just right. "Ya liked how we did?"
Umbra nodded at her and the other fillies. "From the way they were cheering, pretty sure every single pony there thought you did great."
The little unicorn pointed at herself. "Nice to meet you. I'm Umbra." She frowned. "I'm Sweetie Belle, nice to meet you, Umbra."
Umbra recoiled. "You know me? Neat. Nice to meet you too."
The last, a little pegasus, shook her head. "They were talking about you, especially when you were saving the day. It's hard to not know your name at this point, jus' saying. Oh, I'm Scootaloo."
"And you're another I wanted to talk to." Umbra leaned in and down, face equal to Scootaloo. "I hear you found yourself a great big sister."
Scootaloo took half a step back. "Huh?" She had blushed with a little shrinking, eyes darting. "What do you mean?"
Rainbow was there in a flash, hugging Scootaloo with one arm. "You heard correctly! She has the best sister around; me!"
Scootaloo's nervousness faded into a happy laugh. "Rainbow is the best. Can't even argue that..."
"Tell me." Umbra sat in front of both of them. "What was going on? How did you find her? Please."
Rainbow sat up with a squint. "You're getting awful personal there. Why the sudden interest?"
Applejack inclined her hat forward. "Now, ah may be talkin' out the wrong end, but ah think she just likes seein' ponies support each other. So sisters that chose to be are special."
Umbra blinked at Applejack. She had ignored the farmer, compared to the others. "Huh... That was... amazingly spot on." She started. "Not that biological sisters that get along are bad at all! You two are so cute together!" She put up her hooves and brought them together, mashing Apple Bloom and Applejack together, at least in her imagination. "So adorable!"
Apple Bloom laughed at the show. "We're jus' sisters. But we're also Apples, and Apples stick together!" The two met, one arm around the other with a big smile and obvious family pride. "Hey, uh, you got any family?"
Umbra flipped an ear back. "Huh... wow... You just reminded me... I had Found Family, back home... and then I left, and came here to magical pony land." She sank to her belly. "I hope they're alright... Shoot..."
"Perhaps we could visit them." The voice was not any of the mares there, or fillies. Umbra sat up to look around and spot a large pony approaching them. Celestia had joined the conversation without warning. "Or at least look in on them?"
Umbra's ears went off at odd angles. "My first instinct is to tell you not joke around, but you are literally the head horse of magical pony land... So I'll ask 'how' instead."
"Magical pony... land?" Celestia quirked a little smile. "I like the sound of that. As magical as our ponies are, our items are something else entirely. They can do things and hold magic better than any living pony could dream, even Twilight." That got a little pout from the named mare. "You do remember the mirror you used?"
Umbra inclined her head a moment. "Mirror? Oh, Equestria High?" Umbra nodded. "I remember that. You have one that goes to my world?"
"I have one for many worlds... but which is yours, I couldn't say. You know it far better than I do, I should imagine. Now... I should warn a few things first."
"The catch. Lay it on me." Umbra folded her arms over her chest with a little equine snort. "What are we talking?"
"We're talking that there are countless worlds out there... We may find one like yours, almost exactly like yours... but it may not be yours. A tiny difference, for instance, you may still exist in it. Finding your specific world is... very difficult." Celestia reached for Umbra. "I don't say this to be discouraging. I'm only offering because you have served my ponies well, and if this could bring happiness, I want to do it."
"Ooo... Multiverse..." Not a concept she was entirely ignorant of. "That is a tricky wicket... Still, if I don't look, then my odds go to 0%. Now, the mirror we used, that was ponies. Are most of your mirrors ponies?"
Celestia pricked her ears. "Yes, but how did you know? That mirror led to a world that had no ponies in it, from Twilight's report."
Twilight raised a hoof quickly. "They were humans. Still, Umbra called them 'pony humans'."
Celestia raised a refined brow at Umbra. "Explain?"
"Right, sure... Normal humans, my humans, come in varieties of brown, and their proportions are a little different. They didn't each have a unique badge." Umbra pointed to Celestia's sun of a cutie mark. "To me, it was pretty obviously 'What if the ponies were humans', the world. They were pony humans, not human humans. Cute, in their own way, but not quite right."
Celestia hummed gently. "Another case of close... but not quite. Still, you are correct. Most mirrors show ponies. Does that help?"
"Sorta... I think your mirrors are reaching to 'close' world, or realities, or universes. Whatever you want to call them." Umbra waved that argument away. "So, from a pony world, you get more pony worlds. Finding a human world, a human human world, may be hard. Not that I object to more ponies, but that isn't the goal." She curled a hoof to her chin. "Hm, this will take work, and I need--"
"--You need to return to your friends." She waved at the mares and fillies. "I apologize for interrupting. Since you are interested, consider this a formal invitation to stop by Canterlot when you have the desire and opportunity." The group waved at her as she made her way, only to replaced with the other large pony.
"You have subverted mine... my... expectations." Luna peered at Umbra. "You are still a shadow wizard, of some ability, dangerous and wild... But you make it work, I must confess..."
Twilight bowed to the new princess present. "I did my best to instill in her the value of friendship!"
"Not to belittle her, because she's a great pony, but I knew friends were great already." Umbra danced in place. "Which may be part of why I'm 'subverting expectations'. Like the games?"
"I enjoyed them." Luna nodded, eyes turning to the mares. "I will not intrude for long. When you visit, I have a surprise for you. One I think you will very much enjoy."
Rarity grabbed Umbra the moment Luna was away. "Darling!"
"Um?"
"Don't you see? She may be prepared to share some dream magic with you. Wasn't that a fond wish of yours?" Rarity waved wildly at where Luna had been. "All the more reason to visit Canterlot!"
"Huh!" Umbra perked at the idea. "That would be awesome... Still, she is pretty guarded about that. It could be something else." She dampened her enthusiasm a few steps. "Still! Story time! Rainbow, don't hide it."
Rainbow waved that away. "As if I have much to hide. Story time. Sit down, prick those ears, and listen close." So Rainbow told the story of how she and Scootaloo got together. "And now I watch over her like a big sister. Couldn't ask for a better little sister."
Scootaloo colored at the praise. "Stop... Um, but yeah... She's... She's also an adult that knows what it means to fly, and... to do it really well... but she never looked at me like I was... less..." She worried her hooves together. "She keeps saying I'm awesome."
"Because you are?" Rainbow had a brow hiked up, as if arguing that the sky was indeed blue and fire was warm by most measures. "Anywho, does that answer your question?"
"Oh no!" Umbra was gaping at Scootaloo, having learned she was a cripple, in pegasus view. But it arrived on her that focusing on that would be super uncool for anyone with a disability. "I'm glad you have such a great big sister. I'm jealous."
Rainbow laughed at that. "Sorry, taken." She drew Scootaloo closer. "Only one little sister for me, and she's right here."
Sweetie Belle grabbed Rarity firmly by the hind leg. "My big sister's pretty cool!"
Apple Bloom leaned against Applejack. "As if she don't have competition." The fillies seemed united in thinking their own sister was the best, but there was no ill will between them.
They met with a three way clop of hooves and dashed off without a word, as if they just knew which way to go without saying it.
Umbra peered at the fleeing fillies. "They gonna be alright?"
"Dear, of course." Rarity set a hoof at her chest. "We raised them right. Besides, the Crystal Empire's a safe place, thanks in part to your efforts, hm?"
Rainbow laughed at the idea. "Scootaloo would save them all if something happened." The sisters began a light hearted squabble about which sister would do the saving.