Cadance looked with a pensive face to the quiet night street outside. The city was settling to sleep, but she was awake.
"Hon?" Shining was laying on their bed. "Everything alright?"
Her horn glowed as she tickled Shining the way she knew he liked. "Not entirely."
"What's wrong?" He sat up, concern shown in his features. "Can I help?"
"Not sure you can." Cadance tapped at the windowsill. "I lied. It was a lie of omission, but still, a lie."
Shining slid to his hooves, thoughts of sleep or cuddling banished. "What lie? You aren't the sort of pony to lie about much." He paused on the way towards her, gently nosing their sleepy daughter with a shared happy coo, but he went on towards Cadance, the one that needed him in that moment.
Cadance huffed as she turned. "Which is part of what bothers me..." She sank to her haunches. "Umbra."
"Umbra?" He sat in front of her. "What about her?"
"She was a very naughty pony... to put it mildly." Cadance crossed her arms. "And I could see a lingering thread. This wasn't a single act of passion... She wasn't there, but I'd put it... most likely? Most likely... Umbra has lingering feelings for that mare, Starlight. Maybe she's denying herself, now... Maybe I'm a monster for even looking..." She worked her hooves together. "She broke her promise..."
"She did do that." Shining reached to put an arm around Cadance, only to be rebuffed, pushed away. "Sorry?"
"It's not you..." Cadance sagged. "It's a betrayal. It was to us too... She even rubbed our faces in it... I know she says she is sorry. I know how sad she looked! I know... I know... But I have feelings too..."
Shining rocked in place a moment. "It was not a good... She messed up... Um..." He quirked an ear at her. "If you're so upset, no offense, I promise, but why didn't you say something then, when she was there?"
"How do I?!" she almost screamed, getting a surprised yelp from Flurry Heart. "Sorry, dear. Mommy's alright..." She sank back, closing her eyes against the unfair world."As I told Umbra, we're tied together... The crystal heart has spoken! How do I... argue that? But she betrayed us. That link didn't stop that."
Shining fidgeted in place. "Um, well... I'm on your side, hon. I want what you want." He rose up. "You know that. You are my #1. Nothing else matters compares to you."
Cadance's inhale was interrupted by a chocked sob. "You broke that same promise... I thought... I thought..."
Shining went rigid, realizing what had been brought up. "I'm so sorry."
"And so is she," stated Cadance with a finality. "You are both sorry... and I'm left to accept that and walk forward." She took a shaking breath. "Again..."
Shining wanted so desperately to make it all better... but how? "Even if we are tied... It doesn't have to be physical, at all. We could... end that. Cut Umbra free, romantically."
"You know that would destroy her." Cadance folded her arms. "It would outright ruin her. She is already haunted by the damage she's done... to redouble it? To tell her she's alone? You don't hate her that much... and neither do I... Why do the ponies I adore keep hurting me?"
Shining took a slow and long breath. "Well... first? I say we tell the truth. Umbra's a big pony, literally and otherwise. We tell her what she's done, even if that makes her sadder. Good. That'll teach her to not stray again." He raised a hoof. "Truth. What is a relationship without at least that?"
Cadance smiled at that. "You have a point... As sad as I am, I'm not giving her at least that. Before even loyalty, there is truth... She came to us and confessed her mistakes. She cried over breakfast, and... She told the truth. We didn't have to shake it out of her, or even ask... She did that. I will... admit that. The least I can do is return the favor."
Shining winked. "Don't let Rainbow hear that Honesty comes before Loyalty."
Cadance snorted, it turning into a little laugh. "Shining! Flurry has corrupted you. The Dad jokes begin in earnest."
Shining went in, nestling with her and hugging her without being pushed away. "What can we do?"
Cadance perked her ears. "My inner filly just wants to be held tight and loved a lot... Can I have that?"
"Gladly." Shining leaned against her, and things went quiet, just a couple in a room. "Gladly."
Umbra strolled in for breakfast, a little lighter than the day before. At least everything was out on... the table? The energy of the room was off. The two were looking at her oddly.
Even Morning picked up on it. "Did some calamity happen without us noticing?"
Cadance forced a smile at the little filly. "Nothing that concerns you. We just need to tell Umbra something."
Shining cleared his throat softly. "Does she know about this?"
Umbra sank into her chair, wide enough to support her haunches as a whole. "This?" She hissed softly. "She know why... we came home alone."
"Not alone," corrected Morning. "I have a brother."
Cadance's ears pricked. "Ah, where is he, since you bring him up?"
Umbra willed a biscuit over to chew on. "He needs a lot of, what, remedial training? He knows a lot of some things, and nothing of others that he really needs to know to get along in any actual society..." She could see them looking at her with some confusion. "He's from a dying world where he was basically the last person standing, if not that last one."
Cadance blinked slowly. "How... terrible. They must be haunted..."
"Actually..." Umbra rolled a hoof in the air. "He's pretty cheerful. He's taking this whole thing like a second chance on life, and he wants to do it right. When I found him, he was ready to die."
Shining flinched back, ears pinning. "That's..." He took a slow breath. "I'm glad for him. But we wanted to talk about you, not him, Umbra."
Umbra curled a hoof at herself. "What about?"
Shining sighed, but Cadance was pushing ahead. "What you did was wrong."
"Y-yes... Yes it was." There was no argument for that. "I was a complete idiot, but that's not even the right word..." But what was? "I was a villain. I was a villain without even trying." She tapped her hooves together. "After all that, I went and Sombra'd up a good thing..."
Cadance smirked at that. "Did you just make Sombra a verb?"
"It works," noted Shining. "Though I'm not sure if Lust was one of his big failings."
"More of a greed and control sort of pony." Cadance shook her head slowly. "Back to point... You hurt her, yes... But you hurt us too. You hurt a lot of ponies all at once."
"It did not hurt me." Morning was just there, not being hurt. "Who mother deigns to spend time with doesn't involve me unless they are particularly unworthy of the Shadowhearts name."
Cadance recoiled faintly. "Shadowhearts?"
Right! Umbra dug out a crest from her saddlebag and floated it towards them. "While I was there, Celestia gave me this, with a title." The crest lifted in the air. "Not that I feel super worthy of it right now." She let it thunk to the table. "But there it is."
Cadance wrinkled her nose. "Aunty! Warn a mare before you casually give her a new noble family... At least I know this one... Even if she has been... troubling." She brought her hooves together. "You know, when you were doing that, I thought you were with Shifting. I thought you two had decided to commit... I thought, at the time, it was a celebration."
Shining rubbed along his neck. "It was a nicer thought, thinking that's why you shared..."
"But it wasn't," flatly cut Cadance. "You were betraying her, and letting us see it... That hurts, Umbra..."
Umbra deflated, called out. "I was the worst..."
"The worst," agreed Cadance, frowning. "And now here you are, being reasonable... You always were good at that."
Umbra flipped her ears back. Adulting was not saving her. "I'll do anything... The time magic doesn't let me go back and slap myself until she sees reason... I would, if that was an option. I'd deserve it..."
Cadance seemed to consider that option. "No... You can't undo a mistake, Umbra." She sat up. "The damage is done. But I know you want to... That means something."
Morning frowned faintly at the adult conversation going on. "Can I assist, Mother?"
"I don't think you can." She reached for Morning, but the filly was already jumping to the ground.
"I'll go to school then." She trotted from the room in a light jog, leaving the adults to deal with their adult matters.
Shining watched her go. "She's a mature filly. So, um, we wanted you to know that."
"That I messed up in even more ways?" Umbra flumped with a grunt.
Cadance reached across the table, patting Umbra on the shoulder. "Basically... Truth. I was just going over this last night. If we have nothing else, we can at least have that."
"What comes after?" Umbra had stopped eating or drinking. There was no appetite left for that. "What's next?"
"I don't know." Cadance slid to her hooves. "I need to get to work. You have tasks of your own, both of you." She strode off, the conversation ended.
Shining slid to his own hooves. "Yeah... Sorry." He glanced off and back. "I've been there... You want to fix it... but this isn't something you just... fix..." He huffed out a sigh. "It took a while for things to recover bet--"
"You cheated?" Umbra raised a brow at that. "I don't see you doing that."
"I didn't see you doing that," he fired back, but grunting limply afterwards. "A bad creature was hiding as Cadance... We did things, and I didn't notice the swap... I was a real... I know how you feel, is what I'm saying."
"Yeah..." Umbra joined the rest in standing on the floor. "Today, gonna search for some umbrum, after school... In the meanwhile..." What else did she have to do? She had to do something! Sitting around and thinking sure seemed like a good way to just be miserable. "How's the supply of daydarks?"
"Quite a hit, once ponies understood the appeal. A way to turn the lights out when you want, knowing you can turn them back on afterwards. Oh!" he dashed off suddenly, returning in a trot with a darklight with something attached to it, giving it two heads instead of one. "Ta da. A talented jewelsmith cobbled this together."
Umbra blinked at the strange thing. "I recognize the daydark part. What's the other part do?"
"It's a nightlight. So..." He waved a hoof at it, lightning the room. Moving it the other direction, the light dimmed, then the darkness came in the replace it, able to bounce between the two. "Genius, right? So a pony can have exactly the right amount of light they want."
Umbra clapped softly. "Genius! Are they also an enchanter?" She had no enchanter buds other than Shifting... and that was awkward for the moment... And it was her fault...
"No, both of these were made by somepony else." Shining tapped at the daydark. "One by somepony you probably know."
"Shady character," she jested. "But alright, still, clever! They worked with the tools they had and made something even better. Nothing but applause from me."
Shining tucked the daydark/nightlight away. "Seriously... I get it... Cadance just needs love and care right now."
"Love and care..." Umbra shook herself out violently. "I can do that... And you both deserve that. Ugh! That was so stupid." She kicked at the ground in a futile gesture.
"Been there." Shining saluted and marched off to greet the day.