Spike and Sombra awoke at dawn, having fallen asleep in the castle courtyard gardens. It was fortunate tours didn't start until noon. It would have been an interesting incident if a class trip of fillies and colts found a dragon six times Spike's size from the previous evening snoozing comfortably with a supposedly dead supervillain in the castle gardens.
The sun hit Sombra right in the eyes as it peaked over the horizon, while Sombra's stirring woke up Spike. While they were still tired from the night before there was much to be done today, and it seemed they were even more unprepared than they might have thought.
Standing about five feet away from the drowsy couple was Celestia and Luna, looking at them with warm, if somewhat smug smiles. Sombra took it upon himself to hasten Spike's awakening, using his shadowy hand to smack Spike in the face. It didn't hurt him of course, but it was jarring enough to make him alert.
As his head rose up on his long neck he spotted the alicorn sisters, giving them a low-energy wave.
"Good morning boys. Spike, am I to assume you didn't have a major growth spurt since last night?" Celestia joked, or at least played the question off as one.
Spike chuckled in minor embarrassment, sitting upright.
It was the first time Sombra had seen Spike upright since unsealing his full size the night before. His new height was even more impressive now, and his wingspan was awe-inspiring. He cracked the numerous bones in his neck, as it had become a bit stiff overnight.
Spike soon let his body be consumed in the raging inferno of emerald flames, heralding his transformation. It took a bit longer than the last time Sombra had seen Spike do it, but that had been well over a month ago. He had never imagined Spike growing so much so quickly either.
It deeply saddened Sombra to know Spike hated outgrowing everything so fast, but he could see how inconvenient it was. Even if Sombra found his powerful true form rather alluring.
Once the towering inferno died out Spike sat in it's place, wearing his much more diminutive size, only a couple of feet taller than Celestia.
Sombra sighed, but resolved to talk to Spike about his insecurities sometime. It couldn't be all that healthy for Spike to keep himself so bottled up all the time. He needed to let himself cut loose more often. But for now, Spike and Sombra had business to attend to.
Spike rolled his shoulders and fluttered his wings in place, wishing he hadn't slept on his back.
"Sorry about that. It's just good to stretch out now and then. I didn't feel like shrinking again last night so we stayed out here." Spike explained.
"It would appear Lyra and Bon Bon adjourned to their suite at some point in the night however." Sombra pointed out.
Spike looked around to see the brides-to-be were indeed gone. Not too strange, considering sleeping outside wasn't for everyone. Although Lyra had been so liquored up it was impressive she could move properly.
Luna coughed into her hoof, casually shifting the focus to her for a moment.
"Yes, I ran into Bon Bon as she carried an unconscious and loudly snoring Lyra back to their room. She informed me of their engagement as well. It will certainly be looked back upon as a night to remember. Between the proposal and sending every noble in Canterlot into a frenzy with their tails tucked between their legs I'd say it was a smashing success. Best Gala In years." Luna smirked.
Spike nervously wrung his tail, recalling his first major use of authority the previous night. In public, in front of a couple thousand ponies and assorted other species, and essentially every major news outlet in the country. Plus probably a few from other countries too, now that he thought about it.
"Yeah... I was kinda seeing red when Lyra's shitty parents tried to hurt her again. Trying to slap Bon Bon was the last straw. I couldn't physically hurt them, but taking away their status and ripping their reputations to shreds seemed a better option. They'll still be rich, but it's not like I really want them to suffer that much or anything. Do you think I went to far?" Spike asked guiltily.
Celestia actually giggled at Spike's internal plight, something a bit out of character.
"Spike, the Heartstrings family, with the exception of Lyra, are by far some of the worst ponies I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. If I had more free time I would have gotten together all kinds of evidence to take away titles from a great many nobles through ordinary legal channels. But I think your show last night will serve as a deterrent. Especially once the morning paper reveals you're spending an extended period of time here in Canterlot. You'll have them all walking on eggshells for some time." Celestia praised.
Spike couldn't help but wonder how often Celestia had selectively fed information to the media. His money was on whenever it suited her, but it wasn't as if Spike was complaining. He merely took mental note to forge more media connections.
Any pointers on leading Spike could pick up would be very useful.
"Right then, how about we get this show on the road? We have to establish something of a baseline before we can go any further, and I am dying to see what sort of abilities our charges have." Luna suggested to Celestia.
Celestia nodded her agreement, equally curious.
"Okay? How do we do that? Establish a baseline, I mean." Spike asked.
On cue, Luna and Celestia both produced a box from beneath their respective wings. Celestia's box was of polished white stone with an engraved image of her cutie mark and golden hinges and clasps. Luna's was of a polished ebony wood with positively gleaming silver hinges and clasps with an inlaid silver moon on the lid.
Celestia opened her box first, revealing two stones nestled on red velvet. They were perfectly spherical in nature, and they glowed a familiar gold from deep within. Deeper within than the mandarin-orange sized stones had any right to have. There was something most definitely magical about them, but only in the sense they seemed to be a sunny day in the park with your family condensed into crystal balls.
It was like the sun was shining on you, telling you things were good.
"These, are light gems. They're light energy condensed over a century by me. Just a bit of magic every day." Celestia said proudly.
"And these, are dark gems. Virtually the same, but polar opposites." Luna said with a flourish as she opened her box.
Inside the box was two polished black spheres sitting upon a folded piece of purple silk that were indeed fitting of Luna's description. They were just as deep as Sombra's personal brand of darkness, and it was as though they seemed to cancel out all the light that touched them. They were the epitome of perfect calm and darkness, like a dreamless sleep on a crisp summer eve that you wanted to leave the window open for.
The aura the gems gave off was so relaxing and calm Spike felt as though he might fall back asleep if he didn't stay focused.
While Sombra didn't seem all that effected he could feel them resonate with him, as if they wanted him to have them. He ignored it as best he could, as they were doubtless important. Seeing their true purpose would be quite interesting.
"My sister and I crafted these long ago for this purpose, but we hadn't ever found students sharing our affinities for our respective elements. These crystal spheres react differently for anyone who touches them. Depending on the reaction it will give us something of a jumping off point to see where we can progress from, likely seeing where your strengths lay." Luna explained.
"There are two of each because we want to see if Sombra has the potential for light as well as darkness. While darkness seems effective enough at suppressing Dootha, light is the opposite force of darkness, the power Dootha started with. It's just a thought though. If nothing comes of it that's fine too, we just need to explore all our options." Celestia continued.
Sombra hummed thoughtfully, skeptical of his compatibility with light. When he looked inside himself there was no light, whether it was with his meditation or in the mirror with his 'Sombra vision' as Lyra had nicknamed his enhanced eyes.
"I suppose so. Taking a simple test couldn't hurt." Sombra agreed with minor reluctance.
"Excellent. Spike, Sombra, all you need do is take the orbs in your respective hands or hooves, one at a time. They will be used up after we see the reaction, but please don't do anything until they're done doing whatever it is they're going to do. Whatever the reaction can be interpreted as is very important." Luna prompted.
Spike hastily outstretched his hand and picked up the glowing light gem on his left with his thumb and pointer finger.
Letting the ball of solid light roll into his palm, everyone watched it in anticipation for something to happen.
The glow of the light gem slowly began to increase, and then the ball began to hover. It stopped a few inches above Spike's palm before it started to wobble. It vibrated and shifted until it had changed entirely into liquid and continued it's strange movement patterns. When all was said and done the orb had become an orbiting ring of luminous liquid floating above Spike's wrist.
It lingered for about thirty seconds before evaporating and mixing with the morning dew upon the grass.
Celestia seemed to know something about the reaction, as once the halo of light had disappeared everyone was looking to her for answers.
"It's certainly interesting. Just not at all what I was expecting of you... You're definitely compatible with light, but for a reaction like that I'd think it wanted to go over your scales, like armor or some form of physical enhancement. That doesn't seem right though, given you're already armored and already incredibly strong. We'll have to experiment and see where your light leads you." Celestia mused in equal parts interest and confusion.
Spike ran his opposite hand over his wrist thoughtfully, unsure what to make of Celestia's information.
"Huh. Gavin said it was different for everyone. But he's also kinda crazy and has an army of undead soldiers, so I wasn't really ready to take him at his word there. I hadn't considered I'd have to figure out my own ability even if I learn how to activate it." Spike replied apologetically.
Celestia shook her head and smiled at Spike's misplaced concern.
"It is different for everyone, but final form of your light takes the form you need it to the most. Based upon your convictions, and what you hold dear. That's why I'm confused about your light reaction. You don't need either possibility I could conceive, but you needn't worry about it yet. Consider the gem something to think about while I teach you the basics. It shouldn't be that difficult to figure out after you learn a few basic light magic techniques." Celestia elaborated.
Spike felt a bit more at ease, but he couldn't help but wonder what it was that his light had tried to tell him.
After seeing Spike's reaction to the light gem Sombra was actually rather eager to see what the dark gem would make of him.
Without hesitating Sombra used his hooves to take one of the ebony orbs, holding it carefully in hoof. To everyone's surprise the gem wasted no time at all performing it's task and sunk into Sombra's hoof. It disappeared into the blackness of his hoof with a blorp, a sound not unlike a heavy water droplet falling into a larger source.
While Celestia and Luna seemed concerned Spike and Sombra were merely underwhelmed.
"Hmm. A bit anticlimactic, wasn't it? I already know I can assimilate dark magic. That was rather... filling, I suppose? That might not be the best word for it, but regardless darkness is my special talent. I can consume it freely. The only surprising bit is that I didn't mean to assimilate the gem." Sombra commented with mild enthusiasm.
Luna however was a bit jittery at the sight of Sombra absorbing the gem without even meaning to.
"That was extremely concentrated dark energy. For it to want to assimilate itself into you must mean you contain a concentration of darkness many times greater. Even more unusual is the fact that your darkness didn't manifest itself through the gem beforehand. It just flat out consumed it." Luna replied, seemingly unnerved.
Sombra wasn't one to show off, but he let his hair resume flowing, now that there was no one around other than people who knew about him. It didn't seem to inspire more confidence in Sombra. Instead Celestia grew equally unnerved.
It took a moment, but Luna was able to calm herself.
"It would appear that you already possess as much dark energy as I do, likely more, given the circumstances. Our over-saturation of magic is what keeps my and Celestia's manes and tails flowing constantly. It would appear you've reached that point as well. Hardly surprising since it flowed in the empire, but we had sort of chalked it up to the possession.
"It is good that you are here. If you were to lose grip on so much power you could potentially cause a great deal of damage to yourself or anyone around you. You are very fortunate. Celestia and I had no teachers, and until Zecora came along we had no idea just what sort of powers we meddled with." Luna urged.
Sombra couldn't deny the thought of losing control had crossed his mind. It was one of the main reasons Sombra had gone along with Gavin's suggestions. That, and the fact that falling into shadows randomly was incredibly inconvenient. Meditation could only help for so long, and Sombra felt as though his powers could only grow.
"Well, I guess we shouldn't keep things moving then. The faster we learn the quicker we can try and master light and dark. I'm really excited to see just what my unique abilities are." Spike said as he grabbed a dark gem.
Unlike Sombra's, Spike's gem didn't react for a full ten seconds, at which time Luna's eyes widened and she made a noticeable effort to cover her ears.
It wasn't until a sound like nails on a chalkboard threatened to deafen everyone else that the action made sense. It was being produced as a sort of side effect of the actual reaction. The dark gem was shrinking bit by bit, as though there was a powerful vacuum at it's center. The end result was a much smaller gem about the size of marble, much rougher than it's previous state.
Luna seemed to know exactly what it meant, and she didn't seem pleased.
She was however more than happy to explain once everyone else had regained the ability to hear.
"I had hoped this wasn't the case, but I was prepared for this outcome. You've locked away your own personal darkness and thrown away the key. Not the worst thing you could do under normal circumstances mind you, but darkness can only be mastered if it is first embraced. Unlike light which forms from necessity and the righteous want to protect and defend, darkness stems from a place of instability and character flaws.
"Gavin Eboncastle's ability is only good for helping others realize their potential because of his own faults. He cannot trust others, so his darkness reflects it. He did wind up with a rather unfortunate ability for his tastes, But they aren't usually from places we like about ourselves, and often times the most useful abilities come with a price. Unfortunately, this dark gem has been consumed without telling us anything. After you finish with Celestia I will have to forcibly awaken your dark power, whatever it may be." Luna sighed.
Spike thought back to the first birthday in Ponyville where he had let his lesser instincts take over. Greed, and the hunger that came with his extreme size enhancement. After he had come out of that incident relatively unscathed he had gone to great pains fighting every draconian urge he had until they were just parts of his personality he no longer heard.
He wasn't too keen on trying to reopen that can of worms. Some baser instincts slipped through the cracks here and there, like when he had defended Lyra and Bon Bon, but that sort of thing was fine with Spike. But hunger and greed caused by the curse of Dootha had to be contained at all costs, especially now that he was already so much bigger and more powerful than before. The damage he could cause would be epic, in the worst sort of way.
Sombra could see the turbulent emotions inside Spike roiling about just beneath the surface.
While he hadn't been around for the event Spike had told him about going on a rampage several times. It was easily one of the worst memories of Spike's life and Sombra doubted he would ever forgive himself. He and Spike both carried that sort of scar, and they made them closer. The only advantage that sort of mental scarring had.
Once Spike had calmed down Sombra placed a spectral hand atop his, reassuring him that they could handle whatever came their way.
Then with his hoof Sombra took the remaining light gem.
The first few seconds were calm, but the light within the gem steadily grew dimmer, clouding over and being transformed at a steady rate. In thirty seconds it was a rainy-day gray, and after a full minute it was the same lustrous black as the dark gem. It then cracked in half, and the shards crumbled away to nothing.
The dust fell to the ground as soon as Sombra turned over his hoof, showing the darkened remains hadn't even gotten absorbed. The gem had simply been destroyed.
Celestia wasn't overly surprised, but didn't seem to have words at first.
"Well then... I'd say I won't be teaching you light." Celestia said eventually, stating the obvious.
Sombra discreetly rolled his eyes and rubbed the remainder of the gem dust from his hoof on the courtyard's lush grass.
"It would appear not. It hardly comes as a surprise, since my mana resembles a sea of black. Not a hint of light or color anywhere. I imagine my lack of any traditional unicorn magic only reinforces the fact darkness is to be my only magic." Sombra responded in a rather indifferent tone.
Celestia and Luna's mutual interests seemed piqued at Sombra's comment.
"You're speaking of the eyes that you obtained when your powers awakened? Can you use them at will now to see mana within people? I have to admit I'm interested in seeing what you make of us." Celestia asked curiously.
Sombra needed to do nothing but blink for an extra second.
When he opened his eyes they startled Celestia and Luna a bit with their similarity to Dootha's eyes they had seen on Sombra over a thousand years prior. At the same time while they were considerably more reptilian or feline than equine they weren't full of malice like the green ones of old.
In Sombra's eyes Luna was a storm of black and midnight blue unendingly swirling about with sparkling stars running throughout and nebulas of various colors coming into existence and burning out seconds later at random.
Interestingly enough her shadow was a vibrant field of black with spiraling blue and purples running through at a calm, almost lazy pace. Whether her shadow had it's own mana pool because of her mastery of darkness or something else was a mystery.
While it was unusual Sombra's attention was more focused on Celestia.
While Celestia was full of blinding white light and fiery novas of yellow and orange there was a blight upon her, making her dimmer somehow. It was Dootha's corruption, but in a much higher concentration than Twilight had been infected with. It wasn't nearly as dense a concentration as Arimaspi's soul bared but it was enough to be reasonably concerned about.
Sombra didn't want to be blunt with Celestia, but he felt it was necessary to ask her about her condition now that he knew he could help.
"Celestia... while I don't wish to pry, how many times have you used Dootha's power over the years? There is a concerning mass of blight and corruption hovering about your soul." Sombra asked, feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
Everyone's eyes fell upon Celestia who seemed uncharacteristically rattled by the question. It seemed very much like she didn't want to answer, yet the silence was becoming too long to ignore.
Swallowing her guilt, Celestia sighed.
"After facing you in the empire I dabbled with it, just to try and understand how you, a seemingly normal unicorn got so powerful. After Zecora explained it and Luna was gone I tried a number of times to break the seal on the moon the elements had made, but I still wasn't strong enough. Even with Dootha's power, all the repeated abuse accomplished was breaking my already strained connection to the elements entirely. Then... the last time was about fifteen years ago. Twilight needed to know how to overcome the traps in the Crystal Palace." Celestia admitted.
"Sister..." Luna exclaimed guiltily.
It was clear Celestia wasn't proud of her condition, but Sombra was hopeful that he could help. Fortunately, Spike shared his hope but as usual held much more enthusiasm.
"Sombra can probably get rid of the lingering miasma in your body. He took the tiny bit of Mom's out of her, and the huge amount inside Arimaspi's soul, and destroyed it. It's pretty metal to watch actually." Spike explained.
Celestia seemed to almost tear up at the news.
"Twilight is free of it? That's... that's a lot of guilt off of my conscience already. If you can keep me from being controlled when Dootha rises I wouldn't object to you trying, but you've already done more than enough." Celestia agreed, sounding extremely grateful.
Sombra was relieved to hear Celestia was receptive to his offer, but at the same time he was nervous. Touching someone's soul was a strange and unsettling thing, and Sombra didn't want to know what would happen if he was too forceful. He took a minute to go through his breathing exercises as he had before trying to help Spike's mother.
"Right then... I've been told this is a painless process but I recommend you stand as still as equinely possible without tensing up." Sombra instructed Celestia, reasonably confident.
"Understood." Celestia stated, taking a calm stance and closing her eyes.
Sombra let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and set about changing his mane and tail into the right tool for the job. The blight was far too large for the precision of the blade he had used on Twilight, but his full spectral hand would be too much.
Weaving his mane and tail into one mass of darkness he formed a pair of tongs, or a fair simulacrum. A decent size, but narrow enough for the job. He experimentally moved the arms of the tongs before proceeding. Once he was satisfied they would work he was ready to begin.
Sombra moved his dark appendages forward, not too fast, not too slow.
Luna took note of Sombra's technique, as Spike noticed. It made him happy and just a bit concerned that Luna was so impressed with Sombra's level of ability and control. It was a relief that they were finally ready to learn, since it often felt like they had no idea what they were doing. Not to mention it would go a long way to stopping Dootha.
Meanwhile, Sombra's shadowy limbs made there way into Celestia's chest, passing through without harming her or even her regalia. Everything was proceeding as planned, and Sombra could see his appendages making their way to Celestia's spiritual core.
What happened next was unexpected.
Pain.
Sombra touched Celestia's soul, and it burned him. It wasn't the corruption, Sombra had built up a resistance to Dootha's power. This was the light within Celestia doing Sombra great harm. His shadows disintegrated and what remained retreated to his mane and tail. Sombra fell to the ground, howling in pain, rolling about as if he thought he was on fire.
Spike wasted no time in snatching him up, although he had no idea what he could do to help.
Sombra coughed and sputtered before he regained enough sense to speak.
"Spike... The light... Get me out of the light." Sombra groaned.
Spike quickly unfurled his wings and draped them around himself and Sombra.
Spike could still see in his cocoon of membranous wings, and what he saw scared him.
Sombra's mane was flowing much more slowly than before, and what seemed to be cracks were trailing down Sombra's face from his eyes. Instead of blood and raw flesh there was only blackness in-between. It was as though Sombra's insides were a congealed mass of inky blackness rather than flesh and blood.
At this point it seemed a possibility that couldn't be ignored.
Sombra's eyes were still pink, still trailing green miasma at a slow pace. Spike watched with worry as they flickered, returning to a paler imitation of their purple hue of normal. Without the miasma it was clear Sombra's eyes were wet with tears.
"I... I touched Celestia's soul. Her light burned away part of me. It's impossibly painful, and I feel like I'm made of glass. The dark, with you is what I need right now." Sombra murmured semi-coherently.
Spike held Sombra tightly, unsure what to do next. Only his ingrained drive to protect what was his was keeping him sane. Sombra needed protection in his vulnerable state, but Spike couldn't think straight even though he also knew Sombra needed to heal.
Spike! Is Sombra alright?! What happened? Celestia yelled in a muffled voice.
"Sombra couldn't handle the light inside of you. He's hurt..." Spike began, not really knowing anything else.
For a couple minutes nothing happened, and Sombra seemed a bit calmer, his breathing stabilizing. He could hear Celestia and Luna talking about something, but he wasn't really listening. Sombra was all that mattered then.
Eventually Spike felt a cold metal boot upon the membrane of the wing that formed the outside of the cocoon he had formed for Sombra.
Spike, I've encapsulated the courtyard in a veil of night. I think it should be safe for Sombra now. We need to assess the damage in case he requires medical attention. Luna shouted.
Spike slowly and carefully unfolded his wings, careful not to jostle Sombra or just in case the veil were to falter.
Once his wings parted Spike saw it was genuinely night, localized to the courtyard. Although it was a blurry light above the canopy of darkness the sun shined down like light from above the water beneath the ocean. It seemed intense enough to be seen, but the trickling light wasn't up to the task of harming Sombra.
Sombra's abnormal injuries seemed to react positively to the change in surroundings, as the cracks began to heal over as black scarred tissue. After a few moments the lesser injuries had vanished entirely. Although Spike's powerful sight could see the remaining wounds looked like hairline cracks Sombra seemed much better than before.
Luna was likewise looking over a very tired Sombra, while Celestia seemed to have sequestered herself to a nearby bench out of sheer guilt.
After an inspection that bordered on creepy Luna seemed satisfied with her diagnosis of Sombra.
"It would appear Sombra has somehow transitioned beyond merely controlling darkness. For all intents and purposes, Sombra has become a living, breathing avatar of shadow and dark. While he can easily smother a bit of light or consume darkness, too much light can wound him. It is an extremely interesting phenomenon, but the long and short of it is that Sombra will heal so long as he can stay in the dark or imbibe another concentration of shadow to replenish." Luna surmised.
Spike looked down at Sombra, concerned, but also happy Sombra was alright.
Sombra however seemed to think his new condition was less ideal.
"So... Am I even a pony at this point? My magic is unnatural, I eat meat, I heal fast, and I cannot die no matter how gravely I become injured... There just seems to be more and more separating me from a normal pony." Sombra sighed.
While Sombra had never put much stock in being normal, he was beginning to realize how strange he was compared to his friends and he was quickly coming to see as family. Every few weeks something drastically changed him, or crippled him, only for him to bounce back while adjusting to his new condition.
Just as Sombra was about to sink into despair again, Spike was there to pull hm up.
Quite literally, and into a surprise kiss.
By the time they separated Sombra had almost forgotten what was wrong. Luna had watched with interest, while Celestia pretended not to. Spike held Sombra, and grasped one of his hooves firmly.
"See? I don't care if you're a pony, a dragon, a demon, a conglomerate of shadows and darkness, or whatever. We've been over this. You're Sombra, and I love you. Plus, that talent tattoo you're sporting does lead one to believe you're a pony anyway. You're special, but that's not a bad thing." Spike assured him.
Sombra gave himself a sad little laugh, mocking himself for being so emotional and easily righted with a simple kiss and encouraging words.
Using his shadowy arm, Sombra pulled Spike back down to his level and kissed him on the snout.
"I love you too. My dear drake, I think sometimes I would come undone at the seams, were it not for that forked tongue of yours. I'm just being childish I suppose. I should really act my age, whatever that may be." Sombra sighed.
As soon as Sombra had gotten over his momentary lapse in self-esteem and clarity he used his shadowy arms to lower himself from Spike's arms to the ground. He ached all over and he felt as though he was recovering from a powerful sunburn (which he technically was), but the night air was slowly helping him mend himself.
He could ignore the pain for now. He needed to set things right before things got any worse. While Spike wasn't overly ready to let Sombra move about he was a grown stallion, and there was something on his mind he needed saying.
Sombra first stopped in front of Luna, as she was closer.
"Luna, I am very sorry to say I think today isn't suitable for any real practice. I've barely got the strength to use my extra limbs, let alone try anything new. I just hope what you saw of me today was enlightening enough that we can start fresh in the morning." Sombra apologized.
Luna giggled, finding Sombra's unnecessary chivalry rather funny.
"It's quite alright. I initially planned on seeing what techniques you had the potential for before getting to advanced techniques, but I think now I'll just have to teach you everything. Be prepared to work hard, starting from dawn every morning. I'm not as soft as my sister, and you'll be put through the wringer." Luna said, sounding proud of Sombra already.
Satisfied, Sombra made his way to the bench where Celestia was hanging her head like a guilty foal.
Sombra sat beside her, feeling rather awkward as Celestia was not the face he was usually used to seeing when forced to look up. But if he was going to stay at the castle for the time being he wanted to clear the air. Meals would be hell if he couldn't even get Celestia to look him in the face.
"Celestia... I want you to know I don't place any blame on you for what happened here today. Neither of us knew what would happen, and I took the risk upon myself willingly. I would like our professional relationship to be amicable, and as we are both immortals I hope you and I can one day become friends. Just know, that one day soon I will be stronger than I am now, and on that day I will try to remove Dootha's power from you again. Until that day, I hope you won't blame yourself for the harm I was inflicted."
Sombra, Celestia, and everyone else sat in silence for a moment, until something unexpected happened.
Celestia hugged Sombra.
In all the years Spike had known her, the only people Spike had ever seen Celestia hug were her fellow alicorns. Sombra himself didn't currently seem able to process what was happening. Out of all the responses Celestia could have had to his civil words this outcome hadn't occurred to Sombra as a possibility.
"Sombra... You're entirely different than I thought you'd be. You aren't the same pony we fought all those years ago, and I'm sorry for everything. Twilight Sparkle is a pony I've always thought of as something like a daughter. If you hadn't helped her... I don't know what I'd have done if anything happened to her when Dootha rose. While it's a bit early to call us friends, I feel like I owe you a great debt." Celestia nearly sobbed.
While they were tears of joy, Sombra was still exceptionally uncomfortable. Displays of affection from anyone other than Spike were still rather awkward. Lyra got a pass because she was Lyra, but Celestia's hug was completely out of left field.
"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I'm very sore. Please put me down." Sombra asked as politely as he could.
Sombra sighed in relief as Celestia gently loosened her grip and placed him on the bench beside her, followed by Sombra carefully dusting himself off and straightening out his ruffled fur.
"Thank you. As for your imaginary debt, as long as you don't let this incident effect Spike's training you can consider us even. Although whenever the time comes for me to reveal my existence to the world I would appreciate some words of endorsement." Sombra requested.
Celestia nodded her agreement to the simple terms, although now that the tension had dissipated she felt tired. Things had gone somewhat off the rails, and even though it was still early morning Celestia thought a nap sounded great.
Unfortunately Sombra was correct.
It was training time, and Spike had much to learn.
Before proceeding, Celestia rose from the bench and made her way over to Spike. She didn't want any repeat instances of light magic harming Sombra. Sombra understood perfectly, happy to be far away from the magic that had very recently burned at his being.
"Alright, Spike. We'll be starting off slowly to get you acclimated to light magic. Just like with the gemstones you've used to get a feel for the other elements the key is to ingrain the sensation of light in your mind. Are you ready?" Celestia asked Spike calmly.
Spike could feel Celestia was letting her mana saturate the air a bit, preparing to show Spike something with as little discretion as possible.
"Alright then. What do I have to do?" Spike asked, bracing himself for anything.
"Just stand still."
Spike did as instructed, and watched as Celestia lit her horn.
Instead of her normal golden aura it was a bright ball of white light. It built up for a few seconds, and then an exceptionally fast beam shot right at Spike. It hit his square in the chest, but it didn't hurt at all. It just dispersed and left nothing behind, not even the telltale tingle of being enchanted or spelled.
"Uh...? Was it supposed to do anything?" Spike inquired.
Celestia hummed thoughtfully for a moment before answering.
"I was trying to forcibly inject light mana into your mana pool. It seems your natural resistance to most magic has outpaced even a concentrated shot from me. Your dragon constitution won't let you learn so easily anymore. We're going to need to go with plan B." Celestia decided.
Celestia reached up into her mane, and as if it were cotton candy she removed a grapefruit-sized tuft.
Her mane replenished the missing mass effortlessly, but the pastel sphere free of the source began to glow. Within a moment the sphere was a vibrant ball of bright light like the beam Celestia had shot at Spike. It floated about an inch above her hoof, making her golden boot gleam in it's light.
"This is a highly concentrated ball of about ninety percent pure light, with about ten percent alicorn magic mixed in to keep it stable. Clypeus tells me you can summon an aura of mana in your hands. You need to do what she did to your mana pool to this ball. Probe it with your magic and try to get used to how it feels. It might take a day or two but the ball is good for the week. So no great rush." Celestia explained.
Spike took the ball when it was offered to him, nervously trying to keep hold of it. It seemed to have it's own sort of gravity about it, never coming within an inch of anything while still being holdable. It wasn't hot, but it gave off the impression of warmth even though it was without temperature.
Spike recognized it's general vibe was similar to the Tree of Harmony's magic, but not quite. The tree had had light, but it had also possessed all the other elements aside from darkness. Pure light was familiar, but it would take time for Spike to get a feel for how to make it himself.
"I think I can work with this. I can tell this is a lot of mana. What is this, like half of what it takes you to move the sun?" Spike asked, admittedly curious.
Celestia smiled, seeing Spike had a fair grasp of at least the surface level details of the sphere.
"More than a day's rotation actually. Our bonds to the heavens make it relatively easy to move the sun and moon. Still more than the average unicorn could produce in six months, but only about a fifth of my or Luna's supply. I'll still be ready to lower the sun later, so don't fret." Celestia said dismissively.
Spike took a moment to wonder just how much mana he had, or if there was a scale with numbers applied to mana. If there was he was almost positive his mother knew how to measure. Something to think about another time.
"Right then. Now that Spike has his hands full, and Sombra is going to rest for the remainder of the day, I'm going to bed until sundown. On my way I'll have the kitchens send out some food and cancel the tours for the next few months. We'll say the gardens are being renovated or something. You two need a training ground, and the barracks are out of the question. Royal Guards gossip like school-fillies." Luna announced as she walked toward the entrance to the castle.
Spike's stomach seconded Luna's suggestion, and Celestia seemed to be thinking the same.
"Yes... It's nearly time to start my daily schedule as well. I'm afraid the first few days we'll only be able to meet early in the morning but in a few days I'll be delegating some of my more mundane tasks to Twilight, Cadence and some more trustworthy individuals like Fancy Pants to give me more time to focus on your training. With that in mind, I'm going to need to leave as well. Good luck, Spike." Celestia apologized.
In a flash of golden light and ozone Celestia teleported away, leaving Spike to his task.
Sombra settled in under a shady willow tree to recuperate, and Spike set about trying to focus his mana through the dense ball of Celestia's light magic.
Unbeknownst to either of them they were being watched by a fellow force of nature.
High above, resting on a cloud was a chimera unlike any other. Discord, master of chaos.
The mad draconequus had a telescope directed down, his magic ignoring the veil of night. As soon as Celestia and Luna were gone he collapsed the spyglass and tossed it out of sight with reckless abandon. He seemed troubled by what he had seen, the confusion actually causing Discord to sit still for a time as he pondered.
"This is unexpected... Sombra's new body was supposed to stay meaty for awhile longer. I knew he had moxie. But I can't help him just now. A deal is a deal, even when it's with the devil." Discord sighed.
After mulling over his options Discord rose from the cloud with an oar in his griffon hand. He began rowing his way through the skies, still less than cheery.
"I hate rules... But even chaos has some rules that it can't break." Discord groaned, "Fluttershy... Why oh why did you teach me how to care, even when I'm not able to help? So torturous."
Discord's cloud kept moving as he rowed, eventually passing through a seemingly invisible wall. The sky rippled like the surface of a lake, and Discord was gone. Off to whatever strange realm he called home, no one even realizing he had been watching.