Umbra almost had it that time. She had Starlight pinned, for a single moment, but the unicorn wrenched away with her magic, freeing herself of the grasping crystals. Almost didn't count for much against the eager combatant. She turned things around with a sharp twist and sealed Umbra in a block of crystal, perhaps in irony. "You're not the only one that can use crystals." She wagged her brows at the captive shadow wizard. "You got closer that time. Have you been practicing? Good."
With a dark flash, Umbra threw off the binding crystal with a snort. "How do you react so quickly?"
"Practice?" Starlight inclined her head. "Necessity, at a time... I led an interesting life, alright? So, I can't take the prize we agreed on before, so what's the next one you have in mind, oh dark sorcerer?"
"Sorceress," corrected Umbra. "Hm..." What she could and wanted to give Starlight came and went in a flipping through the rolodex of her mind. "Well... Let's start with me saying that you're pretty good at this. Going to keep practicing though. You will go down eventually."
"Sounds good to me." She came up and threw an arm over Umbra, hugging. "Let's keep honing ourselves. But, for now... There's a pony to bother."
The two advanced with shared smiles of not entirely benevolent nature. They found their victim walking down the road towards some unknown target. Umbra casually walked in front of him. "Flash."
"Umbra." He saluted sharply. "Nice to see you, ma'am." He jumped, detecting something behind him. He twirled to spot Starlight marching on him. "Um, and you too?"
Starlight flashed a bright smile. "Flash, hey... We had a few questions for you, if you have a moment."
"Um... sure?" He looked between the two nervously. "How can I help?"
Umbra patted the poor guard. "Relax, we don't bite, usually. Word is on the street you and Twilight maybe have a little something..."
Flash colored brightly. "Um..."
Starlight nudged against his side. "We're all friends here, Twilight included. Be honest. You like her?"
"Well..." He stepped from hoof to hoof in slow nervousness. "This is sudden..."
Umbra sat on her haunches, towering thanks to her alicorn nature. "If you really don't want to say, say that. I'm not punishing someone for not sharing."
Flash Sentry took a step back. "Well... She... is a very... There's a lot to like about her... ma'am."
Starlight rolled a hoof. "Please, do go on. What do you like?"
"The way... She overcame so many things." He let out a little sigh, perhaps relaxed thinking about Twilight's positive qualities. "Her bookish nature... She's far more, um... erudite? Is that the word?"
Umbra blinked at that. "That's a big word to throw out there. Were you told to use it?"
Flash smiled dreamily. "She used it, once, and I never forgot it. It, uh, means to know a lot, right?"
"Basically." Umbra didn't argue the fine points of the definition. "Aw... You really do like her."
Starlight clopped her hooves with a giggle. "Aw," she joined. "That's so nice. How did you meet her?"
"When she came back through the mirror?" He pantomimed a mirror as best as he could. "I helped her up... It was a silly thing, but I... we started sharing letters. She's very... eloquent, especially when she's writing..." He let out a sigh. "Say... since you two are her friends?" They both perked. "Do you know if she likes me? She can be hard to get a read on sometimes."
Umbra looked to Starlight. Starlight shrugged. "You're not lying. She can be hard to get a read on sometimes, when she isn't being really obvious about it. Still, if she's writing you back, I think you two are doing just fine. But, before that..." She crossed her arms. "We haven't finished judging you."
Flash swallowed audibly. "Judging?" He looked from Starlight to Umbra. "I am your guard, ma'am. I suppose your judgment is one of the few that really counts, aside of Shining or Princess Cadance."
Umbra took quiet note of the lack of honorific in front of shining. Were they friends, or was that a lesser respect? It was hard to tell with ponies. "True. But this isn't judgment about you as a guard." Umbra waved that off. "You're fine as a guard. This is about two mares making sure their ladyfriend isn't involved in a mistake."
"Right." He took a fresh step back, keeping both mares in view. The wide field of view afforded to ponies helped with that. "We... haven't done anything, promise... I wrote her a few letters, and she wrote some back, that's all."
Starlight snickered at that. "Yeah, see... Twilight doesn't do that for anypony. You're not Princess Celestia. You're not related to her. She isn't ordering something... You aren't a scholar with some interesting lore..." She counted off each with a tap of her hooves. "So that really only leaves one possibility. So, tell us about you."
"I'm a guard." He got that out a little hurriedly. "I fought with Princess Umbra, during the umbrum assault! Um..."
"You did." Umbra nodded, recalling the event. "You were very brave. Full points on that. But I'm way more curious about what you do when you aren't busy being a guard."
"Well..." He sank to his haunches. "I like helping. It's why I became a guard in the first place." He pointed back at his rump. His cutie mark was a shield with a lightning bolt over it. "I'm there to protect and support, and I like doing it. But... Um... Just for fun. Just... for fun." He tapped at his chin thoughtfully. "I like music."
Starlight perked at that. "Now we're getting somewhere. What kind of music?"
"Complicated." He waved his hooves over one another. "The more going on, the better. A full orchestra's the best. I love it when it feels like they're telling a whole story. I can hear the parts... It's magic."
Umbra gave a gentle smile at that. "Really good music is like that, yeah... Alright! Let's pretend, just to pretend... You asked Twilight on a date." He colored vividly. "And, best part, she said yes. Where are you taking her? It was your idea, so you're the one naming the spot."
Starlight nodded along. "Good stuff. Alright." She reached to poke one of Flash's wings. "Pegasus, obviously. What do you think about her being a unicorn?"
"Um." He turned to face Starlight fully. "She isn't."
Starlight blinked at that. "Pardon?"
"She isn't." He shrugged. "She's an alicorn."
Umbra raised a hoof. "Point, but also avoiding. She's not a pegasus. Any thoughts on that? Also waiting on my question."
"She distracted me." He gave Starlight a glare for that. "Her being an alicorn doesn't make me, uh... specifically like, or not like her... It's a bit intimidating. She's a princess!" His eyes went to Umbra. "Um, like you, ma'am..."
Umbra shrugged. "Can't argue that... But the ponies that are worth it, don't care." She wagged a hoof. "So point to you. Now, about that question?"
"A date..." He sighed with the happy thoughts of such a thing. "I'd want her to have fun! Maybe find out when the next book she's looking forward to is coming out and go to get it and get it signed? I bet she'd like that..."
Starlight burst into laughter. "Nerd! Yes... Yes, she'd like that quite a bit..." She pointed up to her glowing horn. "She can weave magic, you know. Bend the rules of the universe you think you know so well. Does that intimidate you?"
"She'd never hurt me... or anypony, on purpose... She's really nice." He nodded with certainty at that. "If I got hurt, it was an accident, or I did something to deserve it. I hope not that. May as well be scared a pegasus might crash into you." He made a swooping motion with a hoof, ending with an explosive noise. "Could happen, but it'd be a mistake."
Umbra glanced back at her own wings. "It was quite a time learning how not to crash into things..."
"It's a trick." Flash nodded, perhaps thinking on his own learning. "Worth it. I love flying." He gave his wings a little flap. "Um... That everything?"
Umbra leveled a hoof at him. "If you two ever hit it off, and not promising either way, but if you did... would you move to her? She's not coming here. She has a very busy royal life, last I hear."
"You heard right." Starlight rolled a hoof with a smirk. "She has a school, and I hear she may have a country to run soon... so... You either go to her, or you give up. Which feels more likely?"
"That's a big question." Flash tapped his hooves fretfully. "We haven't gotten that far... We maybe never will. We're not even dating!"
"But you'd like to," taunted Umbra with a brow waggle. "So pretend. It's serious. Do you go to her or not?"
"I'd be... so happy." Flash slumped though. "And so sad. I'd tell Cadance, and you, of course. I doubt she'd stop me... She is a princess of love, and Twilight's her little sister. Can you even imagine she'd stop somepony from rushing to be her special somepony?"
Starlight shrugged at that. "That would be a stretch... Cadance would buy you the ticket and shove you on the train if that was what you were going for." She snickered at the thought. "You ready to live in Ponyville, or wherever she ends up?"
"If it comes to that." He raised a hoof. "Which hasn't happened. Let's not get too far ahead... She owes me nothing, not even a chance. That she's giving me even that is... I'm very happy... I'll keep writing letters and we're friends... Maybe more later?"
Umbra suddenly brought a hoof down on either of his shoulders. "You just said the right thing. Innocent little pony. Lovely, innocent pony... Why do some human males have such a hard time grasping that."
Flash blinked dumbly. "Ma'am?"
Starlight gently pushed Umbra back with her magic, moving to take her spot. "Excuse her. She's just saying that's a fine attitude to have. Thanks for putting up with us." She waved Flash forward. "Have a nice day."
"Sure, yeah." He dipped his head at Starlight and took his chance to flee in a bit of a trot down the road.
Umbra sank to her haunches with a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that... Just a bit of a flashback. Easy to forget sometimes that ponies are just... nicer."
Starlight hiked a brow. "I don't even want to know the specifics. I've had my share of... issues, but the way you just went off makes me feel like you'd just laugh at me if I told them."
"I wouldn't!" She hoofed at Starlight lightly. "Have some faith in me."
"Says the mare that ran off." Starlight huffed at Umbra. "Sorry, that wasn't fair. We weren't a thing..." She could see that her blow has struck, with Umbra wilting. "Um, seriously..." But the wilting only got worse. "Did I miss something?"
Umbra clopped both hooves to her head. "When we were doing... our thing... I was busy being a huge jerk to another pony... Um, creature. Someone else! I was a thing, just not with you... or Cadance. I messed it up. I messed it all up. I was so stupid, and selfish, and I hurt her."
"Oh..." Starlight raised a brow slowly. "So you were ruining my time and theirs, at the same time? Efficient..."
"I'm sorry," Umbra wailed. "It's 100% my fault. 200% Can we just go with infinite?"
"That barely covers it." Starlight huffed slowly. "I don't like the idea... that I was just a way a pony was acting out... Did you even feel anything?"
"W-what?" Umbra sat up sharply. "Of course! Um..." She worried her hooves. "You are a lovely pony that I want to keep. I am also married, and will not screw that up again. Is... that alright?"