The train-ride to Ponyville lasted until sunset, stopping at around seven-thirty. After Daring trusted Sombra with the more romantic aspects of her life the two chatted about various locales she had visited. All in all, it was pleasant. Though Sombra was a bit emotionally drained, having come to terms with some difficult emotions he had developed.
Still, Sombra felt somewhat indebted to Daring for the help. It was doubtful Daring would ever ask him for any kind of help, but if she called Sombra would aid her to the best of his ability. Though Sombra still felt infinitely more indebted to a certain purple dragon.
As the train pulled up to the station Sombra saw things going exactly as he had predicted.
Spike had beaten the train back to Ponyville and was waiting for Sombra and Daring. Spike certainly seemed in better spirits than before, which Sombra was happy to see. Brooding was more his style, and Sombra didn't like seeing Spike out of sorts to begin with.
Spike had apparently gone to see his mother, as Twilight Sparkle was currently standing beside him at the station.
She seemed in good spirits as well, though Sombra got the distinct impression the both of them had been crying. Their eyes were somewhat red, though Spike's also seemed tinted a familiar pale blue.
Sombra didn't blame Spike for wanting to take the edge off right now. It sounded rather ideal to Sombra as well, but the idea of numbing his emotions further didn't sound productive at the moment. Especially now that Sombra had begun to see things as he did now.
Fortunately, before melancholy could overtake Sombra again, Twilight saw fit to be first to dispense the greetings shortly after Sombra and Daring disembarked the train.
"Hello, Daring. It's been quite awhile, hasn't it? Good to see you're doing well too, Sombra." Twilight greeted.
Daring didn't bother with a bow, but used her good wing to give a salute.
"Hey. I don't suppose Rainbow Dash is around?" Daring asked in response.
"She's off in Cloudsdale. She's captain of the Wonderbolts now. Married too." Spike interjected.
Daring lifted her hat a bit and scratched her mane, somewhat bowled over at the news.
"Damn. I knew that girl was going places, but she doesn't waste any time." Daring laughed.
"Not unless she's napping." Twilight responded with a giggle.
Sombra bemoaned his fate at listening to more small talk he knew nothing about, but eventually he was saved when Spike invited everyone home for dinner.
Daring and Sombra had eaten a barely filling lunch on the train, meaning now they were rather ravenous. Everyone agreed that food was a good idea, and Spike ferried the lot of them to his house on his back.
Sombra was mostly quiet during the trip, though Spike wasn't his normal socialite self either.
Upon arriving to the house however, a new topic of conversation made itself painfully obvious.
In several locations there were enormous chunks of crystal in the yard, each surrounded by a number of the devices Twilight had attempted to use during Spike's wing growth. There were other devices too, some randomly blinking, spinning, beeping, or performing other seemingly arbitrary tasks.
Toward the house was a large tent with cords trailing out to both Spike's house and to many of the various devices.
"What in the world is all this?" Sombra asked as he surveyed the scene.
Spike himself seemed vaguely intrigued, but not surprised.
"Apparently, these are Mom's 'research materials' from the Crystal Empire. They showed up the day we left. Turns out they're huge chunks of crystal mined from different locations and depths all over the empire. She's trying to figure out the correlation between the different types of magic, like natural and dragon, pony, and the magic in the elements of harmony." Spike explained.
"Why exactly is it your yard? I see the merits of such research, but I would assume you have a lab, Twilight?" Sombra inquired.
Twilight nodded, more than happy to answer any questions about the experiment.
"My castle was created by the magic of harmony. It has a sort of background magic to it, which could interfere with the more sensitive instruments I've created specifically for this purpose. Spike's yard is open and spacious, and easily rid of it's low-level background magic via some of the other devices I have set up.
"So far I've gotten some pretty good data, but the secondary purpose of understanding the different magics is still eluding me. I can't seem to drain the strangely potent magic from the crystals and add it to my mana pool, or even replenish the mana I've already used. For the life of me, I just can't do it. I can't generate self-feeding and growing crystal with very high efficiency either. There's some crucial element or step I'm missing." Twilight explained.
Sombra realized immediately that Twilight was trying to replicate his spellwork without Dootha's power in the equation. It was an interesting idea to be sure, as it might even have positive implications. Unfortunately Sombra couldn't recall doing anything special to enact his magic, or anything of use to Twilight's current experiment.
"I cannot recall anything that would be of help. I would attempt to illustrate the process, but I am without my horn." Sombra apologized.
"It's perfectly alright, Sombra. It wouldn't be much fun if all the answers came right away." Twilight replied, dismissing Sombra's concerns.
Before much else could be said, a flash of golden light heralded the arrival of Lyra.
Lyra had a strange set of glasses with many lenses and changeable magnifications sitting upon her snout. She was happy to see Spike and Sombra again, trotting over and hugging Sombra and Spike's tail. Sombra would have complained only a few weeks ago, but now it was rather nice.
Seeing things the way he did now, it felt nice to be wanted. By Spike certainly, but even as a friend. Lyra was weird by anyone's standards, but Sombra was in no position to judge. Lyra was his friend, and it made Sombra feel lighter to realize Spike wasn't the only one.
"Good evening, Lyra." Sombra chuckled.
"It's been super quiet around here without you two. Bonny had to leave yesterday because her Ma up in Vanhoover got sick. I've been doing science with Twilight, but we've learned about all we can from the rocks. Plus, I don't know how to cook and your Mom's been banned from touching the kitchenware after the last incident. We've been living off of hot pockets and cider. It was a lot like college actually." Lyra greeted enthusiastically.
Only once she opened her eyes did Lyra notice Daring Do.
"Oh hey, you guys met Daring Do. Neat. I owe Berry Punch ten bits, but whatever." Lyra greeted, offering Daring a hoof.
Daring shook Lyra's hoof, not fully certain what to think of the turquoise mare. Though to be fair, no one was actually sure what to think of Lyra at first. Sombra was still trying to figure out exactly what she was talking about half of the time, even though he had lived under the same roof as her for a little over a month now.
After everyone socialized a bit the group headed into the house. Spike had promised everyone dinner, and he intended to deliver.
Spike asked Sombra to assist, purely on the grounds that Sombra most likely didn't want to socialize since it made him uncomfortable in most cases. Sombra was in fact getting better at such situations, but was only good with one-on-one at present. Having had a breakthrough with Daring earlier had been somewhat draining, and for all the emotional turmoil he caused, Spike was still much easier to deal with than anyone else on any given day.
There was a fairly limited list of things Sombra could actually help with, but Spike never really needed help in the kitchen in the first place. Sombra was essentially just watching Spike do the work of a full restaurant staff and drinking a cider from the refrigerator. Once Spike got a momentum going he began striking up conversation as he cooked.
"So... Sombra, I'm sorry I left you with Daring on the train." Spike apologized out of the blue as he continued his work.
When Sombra remained silent, (likely because he was unsure how to respond so suddenly) Spike continued.
"I... I was in kind of a bad place, and I didn't want you to see me that way. I thought I had made peace with never meeting my biological family a long time ago, but meeting Phomac hit me hard. Seeing him fade away hit even harder. I was barely holding it together on the flight back home, and me and Mom talked for awhile when I got back.
"I swiped some joke from my old room in the castle to calm down before we met you at the station, otherwise I still would have been a bit out of sorts. But I just really wanted you to know I'm sorry I didn't think about how you and Daring were doing. I should have been better at keeping my head on straight."
Spike turned to look at Sombra, his expression rather defeated.
Sombra was unsure what to say in response. Spike had been incredibly shaken, that much was certain. What the real problem was at the moment was how Spike had reacted. At least in Sombra's reckoning.
"I understand that anyone would have been distraught in such a situation, you need not ask my forgiveness." Sombra replied, going as far as placing a hoof on Spike's arm.
Sombra understood that it was traditional for someone to place their hoof on a troubled person's shoulder, but assumed Spike would get the message. Even with their obvious height discrepancy.
"But... I hope in the future you would think to confide in me, as you have allowed me to do with you. I believe friendship is supposed to be something of a mutual 'relationship'. I understand I am currently not the wisest choice to ask advice from, but I wish to reciprocate the invaluable assistance you have given me." Sombra continued as authoritatively as he could.
Spike shed a single tear of actual liquid pride at Sombra's progress and scooped him up into a hug.
"You are such a dork. Don't you ever change on me. I wanna experience how great a person you are for the rest of time." Spike declared in an absolutely ecstatic tone.
Sombra found himself a bit overwhelmed by the response, but managed to keep his composure. After a moment Spike put Sombra back on the floor and wiped his eyes. Spike realized how much he had just allowed himself to gush in his overly emotional state and gave a short nervous chuckle, running his hand down the spines on his neck.
After a moment of recomposing himself, Spike retrieved his pie pans from a nearby cupboard.
"You're the best, Sombra. I'll try and be a better friend from now on. You deserve a reward for so much friendship progress, and I'm wanting some comfort food. As such, I'm making a cheesecake for dessert. Or three." Spike resolved, feeling a lot better.
Spike retrieved a few more ingredients from the fridge before getting back to his work.
"What is a cheese-cake? It sounds either delicious or terrible." Sombra asked.
"It's delicious, and terrible for you, as most delicious things are." Spike clarified.
Sombra gave his stomach a tentative poke, wondering how much more home-cooking it would take to fatten him up. Spike noticed this and began formulating a plan.
"If you're worried about your weight, which you shouldn't be, we have somewhere to go. Zecora still needs to give you a once over, and afterwards I was thinking about visiting someone for some advice on the fix we're currently in.
"I can't fly there because there are too many trees, but I'd appreciate some company for the walk. If you don't feel like going I understand, we can just come back to the house before I go." Spike proposed.
Sombra felt it odd that Spike didn't directly state where they would be going, but it was far from worrisome. Spike had never knowingly gotten Sombra into any dangerous situation without his consent. Trust was not an issue.
"I see no harm in an excursion. I suppose it would be good to broaden my horizons, as it were. I have yet to see much of the world, as Daring helped me realize." Sombra agreed.
Spike's smile widened a bit as he heard Sombra's words. Not only had Sombra at least socialized with Daring, but was now also expressing a desire to step outside his comfort zone. On top of everything else that had been said only moments ago, Spike felt a deep sense of pride that he had helped Sombra grow into a good person.
A good friend.
Spike felt his admiration for Sombra grow, and his heartbeat grew more rapid at the realization that Sombra's immortality wasn't the main factor in his attraction. Sombra himself was the source of attraction. He had only needed to grow a bit as a person to get the message through Spike's thick skull.
But as happy as the realization made Spike, it was still far too early to reveal anything to Sombra.
Sombra was still easily flustered, especially when someone brought up the subject of his feelings. In Spike's mind, there was no way Sombra would react well to such advances at the present. For now, they could remain friends. It would have to be good enough for Spike until Sombra could handle it.
The rest of the night progressed smoothly.
Sombra and Spike made some small talk as Spike cooked, then once the food was ready everyone gathered in the dining room. Twilight and Daring caught up a bit, Lyra expressed worry for Bon Bon's mother, and Spike and Sombra jumped in whenever they felt it was relevant. Everyone had a good time, and at the rate Spike was learning magic the odds seemed to be increasing in his (and everyone's) favor.
Dootha was still due to wake up in a little over eleven months, but both Spike and Sombra were feeling increasingly optimistic. Even with a new threat looming over them, everything was calm for the time being. Just an evening meal shared with friends.
No great evils, no training, no experiments, no stress. Just the break everyone needed right now. Tomorrow would be a new day full of the unexpected and hardship, but it would all be worth it. Everyone would make it through as long as they remembered they had their loved ones to support them.