Anik was gawking at the world passing outside. To say it was a bit overwhelming would be an understatement. "You have... delivered me..."
Morning hopped up next to him on the soft bench. "This is Equestria, land of ponies. There are other countries in this world."
"That isn't the name of the world?" He looked away from the wondrous window to consider Morning. "I thought everything was a pony."
Morning wrinkled her little snout. "I'm not a pony," she flatly reminded. "There are many creatures, that's what we call all talking things. If you might share breakfast with it, it's a creature. If it has nightmares to plague... probably a creature."
The two chatted, Morning giving bits of information that Anik soaked up eagerly and thankfully. Umbra watched it with a smile. It was like they were actually siblings, an older sister putting up with her ignorant brother. That was unfair, she realized. They were siblings. That they didn't share blood, or even species, didn't matter. They were a family, and had accepted the responsibilities and love of being brother and sister.
She huffed, reminded of the family she had lost, and it was her own dang fault. "Dummy," she grumbled lowly to herself, eyes flaring with power as she ruminated the thousand things she could have done different, right back to the one key thing that would have made all the others unrequired. She looked out the window. It was easier to enjoy the scenery than dwell on those things.
They arrived in the Crystal Empire. The buildings of jutting crystal rising in short one and two story affairs. Umbra stepped off the train, her children trailing behind her. "Anik, not to brag too much, but I built these." She waved over the many houses that were close to the station. "And that." She pointed off to the distant arena. "Oh, don't be--"
As if conjured, a crystal pony hurried up to Umbra. "Welcome back, Great and Glorious Umbra! We missed you." He bowed to her. "Is that a delegate of some far land?" He was looking at Anik curiously.
"Um..." Did he even know what a 'delegate' was? "Hello."
"Hi," cheerfully shot back the pony. "Don't let me get in your way. I'm sure Cadance and Shining Armor will be so happy to see you, Great and Glorious Umbra." He scooted out of the way to allow that to happen.
Umbra took the exit made available. "Have a good day." She looked over her shoulder. "Those two he mentioned are the extended family I was talking about."
Anik accelerated to her side. "He seemed... He was very happy to see you." Perhaps he lacked the proper frame to even approach what he had saw. "Are you his mother as well?"
Umbra blinked, coming up short a moment. "N-no! I have two lovely children." She pointed to Anik and the Morning riding on her back. "I have saved the day once or twice... and they let it go straight to their heads. Don't worry about that." She accelerated with a smile. "This is the Crystal Empire. Home! You look like you belong here, minus the crystal part."
"I do?" He looked down over himself. "How?"
"Very snowy," assured Umbra. "You look like a snow pony, in a good way." She ascended the stairs to the palace. "Now let's see who's available today."
"Great and Glorious Umbra." A guard saluted sharply. "Good to see you back."
"Good to be back." She nodded at him. "Either of the couple available?"
"Umbra!" Oops, that answered it. Shining was trotting up in a spirited jog. "Welcome back!" He threw out an arm and soon had her in a light hug. "Your party... it changed?"
Umbra laughed nervously at that. "Yeah... that happened." She huffed. "I will gladly share details when we're not standing in the middle of the foyer. Now, this is Anik." She turned to wave at him. "He is a human, like that world Twilight and I ran off to? But now he's a pony, and he's been adopted, by me. He may be an adult, well capable of survival in the middle of nowhere, but he's a bit behind on how to live in a society, which we're working on."
"Hello," added Anik, looking Shining over curiously. "I was starting to think all the ponies here were shiny, like fallen snow in this colder place."
Shining perked his ears at Anik. "Hello there. I'm Shining Armor." He waved over himself. "I'm a unicorn, not a crystal pony. I came here with Cadance to operate the land." He looked Anik over for hints of 'humanity', whatever that would look like. Ah. "You have no cutie mark."
Anik turned to point at Umbra's rump. "That thing?"
"That thing," agreed Shining. "It's unusual for an adult to not have one, but that's why she adopted you, I imagine. Still, you probably feel like an adult, so treating you like a foal would be rude. I don't want to do that."
Anik smiled gently, not looking upset. "In this world, I am a child, freshly fallen in the snow. I gaze with unknowing eyes, but I want to know. Please show me."
Shining laughed, a sharp bark. "What humility!" He threw an arm around Anik's neck, hugging him closer. "Looks like I get a nephew."
Umbra clucked her tongue. "Right! This, Shining, is a partner to me. It's complicated... Not husband, and he has a wife... who's also connected to me. It's complicated... And now he's your uncle, sounds like. If you're alright with that?"
"Uncle?" One could almost see the gears turning in Anik's head. "Brother to my mother, but not by blood... There's a term for that. There's a term... Ah! You are my uncle-in-law. I never saw one of those before, but I heard a story or two."
"That'll do." He swatted Anik gently, but his attention was sliding back to Umbra. "Where's your batty friend? I thought you were were becoming practically attached."
Umbra flinched, ears spinning back flat. "Yeah... I messed that up real good... Also something to discuss not-here."
"Oh... Um, welcome!" He turned to the inside of the palace. "As a child of Umbra, you are welcome here. I'll have them get you a room arranged."
Anik blinked at that. "A room? It's better to be closer."
"Closer?" Shining finished his turn right back around to Anik. "What do you mean?"
"For warmth?" He moved in closer to Umbra and leaned against her. "We can't share heat if we're not in the same room."
Umbra colored and laughed at that, even if she could see he meant nothing by it. A literal survival strategy, she quickly gathered. "Sweetie, what if mom wants to do naughty things?"
"Naughty things?"
The way he said it. He had no clue what she was alking about. "Um... You know how you were made... right?"
"My mother grew, with me in her belly." He nodded softly as if recounting a story he'd been told. "And then I joined her."
"Good good... but before that. Why did she grow?" Umbra circled her hoof in the air. "It didn't just... happen... right?"
"It didn't?" Oh no. "I'm sorry, mother, but I'm a boy. Boys don't do that." But then his eyes lit up. "But you're a lady, mother. Could you tell me? You know, right?"
Morning broke into peals of laughter from atop Umbra. "You are older than me, and staggeringly clueless in some ways."
He dipped his head at Morning. "That is why you're the big sister." Despite her being very much smaller, and younger. "Do you know? Will you tell me?"
Morning did not blush. That would look weak. She frowned instead. "I do know, in fact. You could earn the telling." She hopped to the floor. "Pick me up. I'll show you to our room."
He did just that, placing Morning on his back carefully and walking off where she pointed.
Umbra sagged with a relieved smile. "Saved by the daughter... It'll be less awkward for those two to bed together than him and I. So, how are things?"
"We're just fine," he assured, waving that away. "Better now that you're here." He walked off, tossing his head to get Umbra to come along. "Let's tell Cadance the good news."
It was a short distance to the court. Only a few ponies were ahead of them, waiting for Cadance's attention. Being polite and not in a hurry, Shining took a spot in the line instead of just marching up to claim his wife's attention.
"I see." Cadance was speaking to a fretting crystal mare. "That does sound dreadful, but I think it was a misunderstanding."
The mare brightened. "You think so? Can it be salvaged?"
"I think it can be." She raised a hoof to her snout. "But it will require some clever work. Stallions can be slow on the uptake." She winked at Shining, who she had seen come in. "So be patient with him." She began to whisper her relationship advice to the mare that nodded breathlessly at the advice being given.
"Thank you!" burst the mare. "I will try this right away."
"Easy steps." Cadance walked her hooves upwards in the air. "Don't rush it."
"Right, yes. Thank you." She dipped her head low. With a delighted squeal, she galloped off.
Cadance saw her petitioners, most with needs that weren't relationship related, and got to Shining, who she greeted with a warm hug and nuzzle. "Shinie! Umbra!" She went in for a hug there too and got it, the two embracing briefly. "Good to see you back."
Umbra smiled in kind, feeling her funk evaporating for the moment. "I was an idiot. Looking forward to telling you both about it so you can go over my idiocy with me."
"Oh dear." Cadance patted Umbra's shoulder gently. "I have princess things to do right now, but, just to check in... how did things go... besides the mistake I get a feeling I'll hear more about later?"
"Other than that... I'd say it went well." Her spell book appeared with a pop beside her head. "Beware, for now I wield time magic! A little." She held up her hooves close together. "I'm not a natural, like Minuette, but she walked me through the basics, and there's so much you can do when you slip bits of them into a spell properly."
Cadance considered that with a raised hoof. "You are a jack of all trades, magically, aren't you? That seems to be your specialty, besides shadow, is bringing things together to be more than the sum of their parts. Now, off with you both." She made a gentle shooing motion. "I have a court to run, but love you, and looking forward to a full catching up later."
Shining walked with her, leaving room for the next supplicant to approach. "Alright, tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"It's so obvious." Shining was grinning like he knew a secret. "You didn't tell Cadance everything. Out with it! I wanna know!"
"Um, well..." She sorted through the busy trip. "Little Morning learned how to be an umbrum properly, which I suck at, it seems." She shrugged softly. "Umbrum magic is not unicorn magic. Not my thing. But she's taking to it like a natural."
"Aw, that's nice... I think? Should..." He glanced around nervously. "I be worried?"
"Only if you're a bad uncle to her." Umbra waggled a hoof warningly. "Oh! Oh! Shoot, almost forgot." She flipped through her floating spellbook and thrust it right in Shining's face. "Here!"
"Um..." He pushed the book back a few inches so he could actually read it. "Um... a spell?" About all he could determine with a quick look. A wizard, he was not.
"Dreeeam spell." Umbra tapped it excitedly. "Luna gave the official alright to visit the dream realm. I'm basically a deputy of night patrols, under her, of course. She has experience, that's fine." She cantered in place, excitement building. "I can't beleive I forgot that with all that's been going on, sheesh!"