Footnote

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Before Nightmare moon threatened to cast the world into eternal darkness, yet long after Tirek’s failed campaign to thieve Equestria’s magic, a terrible event was to forever rock the world for centuries. The Crystal Empire would vanish, taking with it thousands of lives and a budding kingdom that existed as a glittering jewel in the frozen wasteland. And the cause of its disappearance was to be a maniacal monarch known as King Sombra.

But before he was a king, he was just a regular pony like any other in Equestria, though he certainly stood out in his homeland. Sombra was found as a colt wandering the borders of the Empire by a group of guards on patrol. They brought him in, thinking he was someone’s lost child. However, when they questioned him, he didn’t seem to know the answer to any of their questions, and the only word he could say was, “Sombra.”

Having no family to return him to, the guards took him to the Crystal Heart Foal Center run by a Miss Chestnut Falls. She took him in with the rest of the orphans under her charge. He was far behind the rest of the foals in the orphanage in terms of schooling, but he was a quick learner, and Miss Chestnut often spent nights at his bedside giving him further instruction to catch him up. Were it not for her, he’d have never learned to read, write, and speak quickly to be on the same level as his peers.

Sadly, the other kids at the orphanage lacked the understanding and acceptance of their caretaker. While his appearance would be considered normal in the southern kingdom of Equestria, his dull, ashen coat with black mane and lack of a Cutie Mark made him the, “Weird Pony.” Only one other foal in the shelter, Radiant Hope, was as “weird” as Sombra, and as she had put it, “We can be weird together.” Her oddity manifested in her belief that she saw “fairies” all around her. Sombra just put it off as her having an interesting imagination.

The two of them were inseparable. They sat together in classes, passing each other secret messages written in their own secret language. During free time, they’d play odd games only they knew the rules to, though there was sometimes debate as to whether Sombra was actually “eated” by an imaginary dragon. The other fillies and colts kept their distance from the two, seeing them as oddballs to be avoided, which worked fine for Sombra and Hope.

Over the course of Sombra’s first year within the Empire, they would gather and save money in anticipation for something Hope thought of fondly. Her most cherished memory was when her parents took her to the Crystal Faire where the whole city gathered to celebrate and offer their love to the Crystal Heart, which would be overseen by Princess Amore, ruler of the Empire, herself.

Sombra was excited to go to his first Faire, and he was especially excited to see the Crystal Heart, which to him sounded like a wonder to behold. Hope thought it would be nice if they went to see it before the Faire, as the Heart was always on display at the base of the castle, and Sombra was more than happy to go see it.

When they approached the Heart, both received visions. Hope saw an older version of herself adorned in royal regalia. Sombra, however, saw a smoky, wretched beast with green and red eyes, sharp fangs, and a curved horn ending in a spike. To him, he was staring into the face of a monster. And it terrified him. To make matters worse, the Princess herself appeared before the two as they stared at the Crystal, Sombra backpedaling into her foreleg when he saw his vision. Amore told them that the Heart was said to give visions of what was in ponies’ hearts, though she added that she felt that anything can be changed. She then asked them both what they saw, and while Hope spoke the truth of seeing herself as a Princess, Sombra claimed to see nothing but darkness. The Princess tried to inform him that if he did see anything, he could change it, though it fell on deaf ears as Sombra maintained that he saw nothing, which Amore stated that she believed him.

Months later, Sombra was woken early by Hope when she excitedly told, or rather shouted, that it was the day of the Crystal Faire. While previously he’d been eagerly awaiting the event, the day it came changed his excitement and joy into pure terror; so much so that he frightfully called to his friend for help when his dread kept him bolted to the ground and unable to move. He was placed in the infirmly bed of the orphanage where the window overlooked the Faire, and despite several examinations, the doctor couldn’t find a piece of mane out of place with Sombra.

His condition only worsened as the day progressed, and each hour that passed marked more of Sombra’s strength being sapped away to leave him weak and in torment. Eventually, Hope told Miss Chestnut, who had stayed at the bedside up until the late afternoon, to go to see the heart while she watched over her friend. The entire time, Sombra desperately wanted to be strong for Hope, but he felt as if he was being torn apart. It wasn’t until midnight, when the festivities died down, that Sombra was finally able to find rest, and Hope fell asleep shortly after him with a promise that next year, they’d get to see the Faire.

The next day, Sombra felt normal again, as if the events of the Faire hadn’t occurred, and he and Hope began to plan for the next year’s Faire. However, the next year brought the two to the same infirmary bed where Sombra felt himself wracked with pain. This happened the year after that, and the year after that, and so on. Each year that they grew, so too did Sombra’s wish to see the Crystal Faire with Hope, but his pain seemed to grow to outmatch his wishes. This went on for many years, until one year proved far more harrowing for the two.

While the day had progressed much the same as the previous ones, the afternoon brought with it a radical shift unlike any they had seen or experienced. Sombra’s eyes changed green and red, then began to leak purple smoke. Cracks started to appear over his body as if he were made of dried clay. Then, Sombra began to float! Hope awakened from his bedside to see the cracks in his form began to chip away bits and pieces of his body, causing a shadowy smoke to leak out. The two panicked, both watching helplessly as something horrific occurred beyond their control. Sombra called out to his friend for help as more and more of him seemed to dissipate into the aether, but Hope had no clue what she could do. Just as it seemed Sombra was going to disappear completely, Hope acted without thinking. She activated her horn, not knowing a spell to cast, but using the thought of fixing her friend to fuel her magic. This caused a bubble to form around Sombra’s dispersing figure, which carefully began to put itself back together in a matter of seconds. When the task was done, both collapsed onto the ground, though Hope arose with a new mark of two serpents wrapped around a scepter with a winged ball above them on her flank, something Sombra happily pointed out.

Things changed for the better for Hope after that event, but not so much for Sombra. Hope discovered she had the ability to cure any ailment, something that gained her great fame and adoration throughout the Empire as ponies fled to her in search for a cure for their ails. Indeed, she wielded a truly powerful magic… which worried Sombra greatly. There was word from the southern kingdom of Equestria that its diarchy was looking for a powerful unicorn in hopes of seeing if they had what it took to become royalty. A Prince or Princess…

The thought that Hope could realize what the Crystal Heart showed her worried Sombra greatly, for if it was right about her… then surely it meant he would become a monster like it had shown him. It was only when Hope approached him with an excited smile on her face and a letter held aloft by her magic that Sombra’s fears were realized. He recognized the seals of the two sisters from Equestria, and it meant his fears had come true. Hope would become a Princess, and he a monster.

He didn’t stay to listen to Hope, opting to run in both grief and terror out of the Empire and into the frozen tundra. He ran as far as his legs would allow in the snow, and when his energy was spent, he collapsed in the frost. However, it seemed the direction he ran was not as random as it had seemed, as a voice broke through the blustery weather to speak to him. It was a dark, creeping voice that made no audible sound to be heard, but instead spoke to him in his mind. He arose to find himself before a large, red crystal formation jutting from the earth. It told him the past he had forgotten, or rather never had, as the formation told him it had created him and claimed to be his mother. It said he was an Umbrum, a shadow pony. Where the Crystal ponies were creatures of shimmering crystal and light, Umbrums were their opposites, made of shadow and smoke. This, it explained, was the reason others feared and avoided him, because deep down, they were meant to.

But most importantly, it told him why he always fell ill during the Crystal Faire. Apparently, the Umbrum once tormented the Crystal ponies until Princess Amore created the Crystal Heart, which when fueled by the love of her subjects, could harm, and destroy the Umbrum. When it was first used, the blast of light trapped the Umbrum in a series of caves beneath the Empire where they remained for years. Only recently had one of them managed to reach the surface in the form of the great red crystal, and then set to work creating Sombra to combat the Heart.

Then, the crystal revealed that the weak form of magic that he could barely use was not his true power, but his real power had been locked away, as it made him far more vulnerable to the magic of the Heart. Without warning, an arch of purple lightning shot from the crystal to strike Sombra’s horn. When he rose from the smoke, his horn had turned red and curved upwards. His eyes changed to green and red, leaking purple smoke from the sides. And just like that, things became clear to him. He understood what he was, what he had to do, and he knew how to utilize the magic of his people. He had to take the Crystal Heart and destroy it. This would likely ruin his friendship with Hope, as she adored the Heart; however, his need to survive seemed to outweigh his wishes to see Hope happy.

And so he went into the Empire with his will to survive motivating him.

Crystal Empire, midnight…

Sombra crept silently down the crystalline streets of the Empire. The shadows themselves seemed to bend and move to shield him from discovery. Each gas lamp he neared had its flame snuffed out well before he entered the circle of light they provided. Even his hooffalls were silent as the grave, despite the glass-like surface he treaded upon. He moved at a quickened pace, slithering through alleyways to avoid patrols and those that would be on the streets at this hour.

He wore a set of black robes with purple trim, a red crystal clasp, and a hole for his horn. Normally, such finery would be well out of his price range, but Dark Magic allowed him to conjure things with an ease he’d never experienced. The robes aided in his desire to move unnoticed through the city, as the fabric appeared to absorb the light.

Soon, the brilliant light of the Crystal Heart appeared before him as he rounded a corner. Sombra’s movements slowed as he stalked up the steps towards the jewel, its radiance chasing the shadows that clung to him away until he stood as a dark blotch against the light. Seeing this caused him to quicken his approach, lest someone see him. The Crystal Heart remained afloat between two long crystals jutting from the floor and ceiling. He reached a hoof out to touch the Heart, only to retract it when the searing light broke through his ashen fur to let shadow stuff leak out. Sombra hissed in pain, taking a few steps back to let his form heal. He wanted to curse himself for his own stupidity. Of course he wouldn’t be able to touch the Heart; it was designed to destroy him.

He stifled a growl of anger as he called on his magic. Green and purple bubbles seeped from his horn and eyes like a sickness and poured out into the space in front of him. From the mass of gurgling energy came a hessian sack with a velvet pull string. Sombra took the bag in his mouth, knowing he’d be unable to use magic close to the Heart, and stepped forward once more.

For a moment, he hesitated. Thoughts raced through his mind about what would happen when the deed was done. He thought of Hope, and how it’d break her heart if she saw him now. What would happen to her afterwards? Would Sombra be able to protect her from the wrath of his people, or would she be consumed in a sea of shadow? Even if he could keep her safe, she’d hardly be grateful to the one that damned the Empire to ruin. Perhaps he could control his brethren to stay their hooves…

Sombra’s resolve hardened and he stepped forward, throwing the sack up and enveloping the Heart and snuffing out its light. The shadows immediately wrapped him in a silent embrace to aid in his getaway.

“Even now, it’s not too late for you, Sombra,” said a calm and maternal voice from behind. Sombra jumped and swiftly spun around to be greeted by Princess Amore, her horn alight to chase the shadows away once more. Her face was composed as she stared at the bag slung around his neck. “You can return the Heart and walk away.”

“Princess Amore!” fear gripped Sombra’s heart as he tried to look for a dark corner to leap into and escape. Sadly, the light Amore shone ensured such an action would fail. “What are you doing here?”

“Somepony needed my help, so I came,” she answered, stepping forward.

Sombra grit his teeth and stepped back, his eyes staring intensely at the Princess. “I don’t need your help!” he spat.

Amore tilted her head slightly and continued her slow advance. “Then why did you believe I was talking about you?” she asked, her tone conveying concern.

Her question brought him to a halt momentarily, making him restrain a hiss of anger that she’d caught him. “You have no idea what I’ve been through, Princess,” he responded bitterly.

The Princess’ face fell to take on a pleading, concerned expression as she dared to draw closer. “Then tell me, Sombra. Don’t make a mistake you can’t take back.” Her eyes stared deeply into his, hoping to make some sort of connection with him. “You don’t have to be one of those monsters.”

“One of those…?” Sombra’s mind froze and his face followed suet as realization struck him like a sack of hammers. “You knew what I was all along and you never told me…” he whispered hoarsely. He felt sick, he felt like his world was crumbling away further as he tried to keep himself from falling to the floor in misery at the revelation. For a moment, he couldn’t bare looking the Princess in the eyes as feelings of betrayal and anger flooded his mind. “You knew why the Crystal Faire made me sick.” He found the strength to look the Princess back in the eye as he whispered, “You knew, didn’t you?”

She didn’t try to obfuscate the truth from him or soften the blow. She simply closed the distance between them further to stand within reach and responded firmly, “Yes, I did.”

Sombra shut his eyes tight, hoping to quell the tears he felt threatening to pour. He felt betrayed. Betrayed… and angry. That anger slowly grew within him, chasing away his sorrow. He looked up, his face contorted into a venomous glare. “All those years of suffering,” he began scornfully with green and red eyes boring into the Princess with hate. “And you knew why because you made it! You made the Crystal Heart to destroy me!”

Amore shook her head, her firm expression still holding. “Not you, Sombra,” she corrected. “I saw the potential to be better. I see it even now. You can choose-”

“ENOUGH!” he bellowed, his horn flaring to life with purple sparks. He was done; done with the lies, done with the light, and done with the conversation. He was going to make her pay! He’d turn her into red and black slag and crystal. He’d drag her petrified form before the masses and drown in pure joy as they watched him shatter her with his hooves. He would free his people, and march his dark army over the frozen north until all became shadow. Then he’d move on to Equestria to enact vengeance on the two sisters for separating him and Hope. All light would be snuffed out until there was darkness and nothing more. Only then, would he be happy again.

And it’s here where events would have gone on as we remember. Sombra attacks the Princess, Celestia and Luna engage him in combat, and the Crystal Empire sinks into a thousand year torpor…

However, one can easily forget small footnotes in history that, while with hindsight may seem unworthy of being remembered, some such footnotes could have changed the course of history and the events therein by their timing. In this case, it comes in the early arrival of a certain individual...

“Sombra?” a familiar voice called out from the darkness behind.

Sombra jolted, turning on the spot and aiming his spell towards the intruder. Amore must have had a guard sneak up behind him. No matter, he’d take care of them, and then return his ire to the Princess. But to his surprise, he found no armored guard with weapon drawn and poised to strike him down. He instead found a purple Crystal unicorn with a light blue mane and sapphire blue eyes staring frightfully at his spell ready horn. “H-Hope!?” Why was she here? Was she trying to stop him too?

Hope looked fearfully at her best friend, barely recognizing him with the drastic changes to his body. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Why is Princess Amore here? Where’s the Crystal Heart? Where have you been?”

Sombra’s shock subsided and allowed anger to reign once more when he heard the order of her questions, the last being about him. He sneered at his friend and broke eye contact. “Of course you care more for the Heart than me…”

“What are you talking about?” Hope was trying desperately to make sense of the situation, but everything seemed so strange, she had no idea where to start.

“I’m taking the Heart!” Sombra admitted, evoking a shocked gasp from Hope. “It’s the cause of my sickness. It’s high time I rid myself of this blight.”

“You can’t destroy the Heart!” Hope objected.

“Then should I leave it here? Let it destroy me as it nearly did at the last Faire?” he fixed her with a grave scowl as a bad taste entered his mouth. “Have you already forgotten what almost happened?” the memory of himself nearly being torn apart played itself in his and Hope’s minds, eliciting a shudder of pain from Sombra.

“I…I don’t understand-”

“YOU NEVER UNDERSTAND!” Sombra hollered. “I’m not like you, Hope. I’m an Umbrum, a Shadow Pony. The Crystal Heart will kill me if it remains here…” his enraged expression shifted to one of detest as he recalled the morning’s event that sent him running. “But why should you care? You received a letter from the Princesses, and I’m sure they’ve asked you to come to their castle to study under them, haven’t they?”

Hope’s eyes widened at Sombra’s outburst. She’d never seen him so angry and… bitter. She was also surprised that he had guessed what the contents of the letter she received were. “Sombra… I-”

His expression softened into a saddened, broken one. “You were going to leave me Hope… you were going to abandon me here to die alone!” As much as he wanted it to be easy to hate her forever, he couldn’t. She was the one who gave him purpose as a foal. She was the one that stayed at his side as the Crystal Faire went on just outside their window, but never once left him to enjoy it. No, he lost his momentary anger towards her. Now, all that was left were feelings of betrayal and sorrow.

“I… I didn’t know you felt this way, Sombra.” Hope’s eyes shimmered with fresh tears. She tried to take a step forward to comfort her friend.

“Don’t come any closer!” he demanded, lifting the sack from his neck and holding it in the air, as if readying to throw it to the ground. He turned and backed up so Hope and the Princess were within his line of sight. “I’ll smash the Crystal Heart!” he threatened, raising the bag a few more inches up to prove his point.

“Sombra,” Amore called quietly.

“I don’t want to hear from you anymore!” Sombra’s eyes hardened as his conversation with the Princess earlier came back to him, and brought with it the anger it created. “You knew everything, and kept it hidden from me so I could suffer!” he looked between the two and snarled. “I’ll not listen to anymore of your lies! Both of you are just trying to hurt me! Trying to destroy me!”

“Sombra, please don’t!” Hope pleaded tearfully.

He turned his glare back to Hope and ground his teeth. Why’d she have to be here? Why couldn’t she have just left him alone? It would’ve been so much easier to kill Amore and deal with Hope later, but she had to butt in where she didn’t belong. Sombra was sick of the two of them. He’d see to it they’d suffer, they’d all suff-

His train of thought was brought to a halt at the sound of sniffling to his left. Sombra flicked his eyes over to see Hope on her haunches, trying to wipe tears from her eyes.

“Sombra,” she spoke in a shuddering whisper, barely audible, but he could hear her. “I’m so sorry… I don’t know what happened to you this morning to bring you here, and I don’t fully understand everything that’s going on…” She paused to suck in a deep, trembling breath before looking up into Sombra’s eyes, her’s now red and freely releasing tears down her cheeks. “I’ve been so focused on getting my Cutie Mark and healing Ponies that I never noticed my best friend was suffering the whole time. I should have taken the time to talk with you more… I… I should have noticed something.” for a moment, her saddened expression broke into a short lived smile. “You’ve never been too good at hiding your feelings. I was so wrapped up in being accepted by everypony that I… I left you behind.” Hope stood up and wiped at her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Sombra… I’ve been a terrible friend.”

During her outpour of emotion, Sombra had managed to keep his composure; however, as he listened to Hope tearfully apologize, his breathing became less calm as he did all he could to keep from mirroring her. Seeing Hope in tears, lamenting over what she perceived as being a bad friend and chastising herself should have been cathartic for him. Instead, he found himself reaching a hoof to his face and finding his cheek wet with fresh tears. And it was here that his resolve wavered. He hated seeing Hope pained like this, despite his wish that he could remain angry with her. Now, he began to hate himself for bringing her to tears.

Then, Sombra looked down to his reflection and winced at the site that met him. His red irises surrounded by green, the curved horn stained red as if it were a hot iron or dipped in fresh blood, the serpentine finge that poked out of his upper jaw, and the purple smoke trailing from the far corners of his eyes brought a terrible memory to surface within his mind. The creature he saw as a colt when he approached the Crystal Heart, the one that plagued his mind awake or asleep, was staring back at him.

And it was all this, Hope being brought to tears, the omissions of truth from the Princess, and his nightmares being made real by his own doing that finally broke his resolve. He had felt justified in taking the Heart out of a need to survive, and he had thought it right to punish the Princess for what he perceived as treachery, but the truth was, he couldn’t accept responsibility for his own failings. No one forced him to run from Hope instead of talking things through. No one forced him to steal the Crystal Heart, the red crystal entity only gave him the facts and suggested what he should do. And no one forced him to prepare a spell to kill Princess Amore. He made the choices of his own free will, and it disgusted him.

Tears ran freely from his eyes. His chest heaved as the pain and guilt that had gathered within was let out. His teeth clenched tightly in shame at what he’d allowed himself to become, and how easily he let it happen. “Hope,” he whispered through a sob. “I’m sorry… You’re not at fault.” Sombra looked up to his friend. To his surprise and relief, she had moved closer to him to wrap her hooves around him. He flinched at the contact, then relaxed as she began to hold him tightly. “I was scared and… and stupid. I didn’t try to talk to you, and I just…”

Hope shushed him, using a hoof to pat Sombra’s back in reassurance. He rested his chin on her shoulder and let himself weep, occasionally murmuring out a shaky apology. “It’s okay, Sombra,” she whispered back. “We can talk when you’re ready. Just… just let it out.”

And so Sombra did as suggested and simply wept into his friend’s shoulder. Thoughts of destruction and revenge were swept from his mind by a tidal wave of sorrow. He clung to Hope for what seemed like ages until his eyes became red and dry, whereupon he moved back to rub his snout with his forehoof and, for the first time that night, he smiled. This expression quickly broke, however, when he realized there was a third party watching him.

Sombra nervously turned to look to Princess Amore, who had stood back and allowed him to be comforted. She stood with a calm and welcoming smile. She didn’t need to speak to convey what she waited for. While she was happy to see Sombra rescued from the dark, he still had the Crystal Heart in his possession, and Amore had to place back where it belonged.

Sombra looked at the bag resting by his hooves, having been forgotten in his need to vent, and lifted it with his magic. The sack was enveloped in a bubbling green and purple aura as it lifted itself from the ground to hover before the Princess. She allowed her smile to grow but a fraction and nodded her thanks to Sombra before taking the Heart from the bag with her own magic. Amore needn’t turn to look as she moved the Crystal Heart back in its rightful place, its light once more bathing the underside of the castle.

This done, Amore gave her two subjects a humored look as she asked. “Would either of you care for some tea?”

Crystal Castle…

The three retreated from the pedestals of the Crystal Heart and took tea within the Princess’ private quarters. The room was was a large and opulent space, filled with exotic furnishings from all across the realm. A mahogany bed large enough to fit six ponies, fitted with silk sheets and pillows, laid next to a grand window with glass made clean enough to seem non existent. A few feet from that, a great hearth carved from the castle itself bathed the room in warmth. The three all sat close to the fire in cushioned seats, a table between them peppered with oatcakes, sugar cubes, honey, milk, and a white porcelain tea set with purple and gold filigree.

The place seemed so strange to both Sombra and Hope, as they had never seen such wealth and decadence in their lives. It helped ease them as the Princess interviewed Sombra on the events leading up to his attempted theft. He was still hesitant to speak on what he’d discovered, but the Princess was patient, and Hope reassured him enough to learn why he made to destroy the Heart. To say the two mares were surprised would be an understatement, though Hope’s shock came from learning the whole story of Sombra’s unique position, whilst Amore was dumbstruck at the revelation that the Umbrum had found a way to communicate to the outside world via the red Crystal Entity.

Almost immediately, the Princess had guards sent out in the direction Sombra had left the city. They would travel three miles out in search of an odd cluster of crystal that they were to remain at a distance if spotted. If they found nothing, a second group would be sent on the morrow to search further and in a wider area. She assured Sombra that, while the Umbrum meant to torment Empire and its ponies, she had no desire to see them destroyed. “While I know it’s rather foalish of me to think, I hope we can coexist one day,” she admitted. “I have always believed that anyone can change who they are, they just need the right person, or pony, to believe in them.” at this, she gave the two a knowing smile.

Apparently, her last statement went unnoticed by Sombra as he sternly looked to her and shook his head. “I hate to disagree with you Princess, but I just can’t see my-” he stopped mid sentence and ground his teeth in frustration. “Those creatures as being anything but malicious. I can’t imagine what years of being trapped to let their anger and hatred fester must be like, but I don’t think I’d like to see them unleashed to vent their rage. My moth… the Crystal Entity seemed to be composed, but I could feel the desperation in its words when it instructed me to destroy the Crystal…” he looked down scornfully as a bad taste entered his mouth. “And I, like a fool, listened to it…”

He quickly felt a hoof resting on his shoulder as Hope reached out to reassure him. “You weren’t in the right mindset, Sombra,” she offered. “You were scared and confused, and the Entity offered you clarity when your mind was all but fog.” She offered him a smile, then brought an oatcake slathered with honey to his mouth. “From what it sounds, you haven’t eaten since breakfast.” the cake was playfully pressed to his lips, lifting them up to show some of his teeth, as if he were smiling from the right corner of his mouth. Sombra responded by staring at Hope with as level a look as he could manage. Hope, meanwhile, was now sporting a humored grin at the sight.eventually, Sombra relented and opened his mouth to eat the treat, trying to steady his breathing to avoid laughing at Hopes strange antics and choking on his food.

Amore chuckled at the two’s strange antics, though her good mood was short lived. She cleared her throat to regain their attention. “While I’m happy to see you two getting along, I feel it prudent to discuss how we’ll be moving forward.” Her words earned her two confused looks, and she realized that she needed to elaborate. “Obviously, Sombra’s continued existence is threatened while remaining here, at least during the Faire.”

“I could move out of the Empire,” Sombra offered, though he didn’t seem sure of the option given his nervous tone and hesitance to look either pony in the eye.

Hope seemed ready to speak in protest to this, when the Princess said, “That’s actually what I was thinking.” Both her subjects seemed shocked at this, Sombra’s jaw visibly tightened and Hope seemed unsure whether to look angry at the Princess or remain surprised. It took a moment for Amore to realize how what she said could have been interpreted, and she snickered at how foalishly she had worded her response. “You were thinking of leaving the Empire in a way that would isolate you from others, wern’t you? I was thinking it would be far more simple, and fitting, for you to join Hope in Equestria.” Once again, she received expressions of surprise, and her light snigger returned at the sight. “I’m surprised the thought hadn’t crossed your minds.”

Hope was the first to reply. “Would the Princesses be okay with it? Their letter asked for me only…” her eyes widened a bit when she realized she made it sound like she was trying to dissuade the idea, causing her to turn to Sombra and quickly add, “Not that I wouldn’t love for you to come!”

“Have you written a response to the letter?” Amore asked, to which Hope shook her head. “I will write a letter informing them of the situation, and that it would do well for them to allow Sombra to join you. I’ve not known them long, but Celestia and Luna have always strived to be welcoming to others. I’m positive they’ll accept one more bed to fill.”

“What would I even do there?” Sombra spoke up.

“There’s a wizard within their court known as Starswirl,” Amore replied. “He’s something of an authority on magic. I think it would be wise for you to meet with him.”

“Why’s that?”

At this, the Princess seemed hesitant to answer, or at least took her time in selecting her words carefully. “Sombra… I’m not sure whether you know this or not, but the magic you’ve been using recently is… dark.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” he admitted.

Before voicing her reply, Amore’s horn lit up to envelope the items on the table between them. Porcelain pots and crystal trays moved smoothly around the table’s surface. When the movement ceased, the table held what appeared to be a small maze. She then levitated two sugarcubes at one end. “Most unicorns utilize magic that requires careful study and practice to perform.” One cube entered the miniature maze and began to carefully weave its way through the small obstacles. “Even when we know how to cast the spell, there are complex ways in which we must focus our magic to achieve a specific outcome. It can take years for a unicorn to master a single spell to the point of performing it instantly.” The sugar cube finally made it to the end of the maze to hover over Sombra’s cup. “However,” Amore’s features darkened as the second cube, rather than pass through the small entrance she had created, quickly made a beeline to the end, bumping through the “walls” of the maze and losing bits of sugar along the way. “When one uses dark magic, they forgo concentration and spell formulae to achieve their goal quickly. While this makes casting powerful and complex spells easy, it rots the mind and corrupts the mage.” The cube hovered over Sombra’s cup, but unlike its predecessor, it had lost nearly half its size. “Each time it’s used, the caster has changed for the worse.” She released her control on the sugar and let it plop into the tea. “So until you speak with Starswirl, I’d like to request you refrain from using your magic.”

Amore received no verbal confirmation. Sombra’s expression had darkened in thought of what she said. Part of him wanted to blame dark magic for making him do what he had tried, but once again, his rationality kicked in, and he knew it would be cowardly to try to mask his actions as out of his control. It was then that he vowed internally to never blame others for his own actions. If he was going to stand with Hope as she trained to ascend to royalty, he’d ensure he was there to help her along the way. It was the least he could do after this day’s events.

Sombra’s eyes moved to meet the Princess’, and he spoke with a new conviction in his voice. “I swear to never use that magic until Starswirl himself says otherwise.” His chest puffed out in pride.

The Princess was kind enough not to snicker at the nobility in Sombra’s words and tone. She assumed this was his way of making up for his actions, so she wouldn’t begrudge him the chance to act in such a way. “Good,” she said chipperly. “Now,” her smile returned and her eyes looked hungrily at the now cool treats that peppered the table. “Would anyone care for some more tea and cakes?”

One Night Down...

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One month had passed since Sombra attempted to steal the Crystal Heart. In that time, Hope had responded to the Royal Sisters to accept their offer of studying magic under them. Princess Amore sent her own letter to accompany Hope’s which informed the two that their new student would be joined by her closest friend, as well as the details of his unique situation and a request he work with their Court Mage to understand his strange form of magic.The Princess was unsurprised when the response letter she received informed her that the Sisters would be more than happy to accommodate Sombra.

The Princess had also decided to keep Sombra’s actions between herself, Sombra, Hope, the Royal Sisters, and Starswirl the Bearded. She felt Sombra would find it difficult to acclimate to Equestria if the populous knew what he had attempted, and it would be doubly worse if the rest of the Crystal Empire found out. Sombra was asked to ensure he keep his heritage a secret from the Crystal Ponies as well, which he wholeheartedly agreed to. This also meant that he had to wear coverings to keep the changes that occurred from the public eye. His horn was wrapped in thick bandages, and a pair of goggles were placed over his eyes. While uncomfortable, he only had to wear them within the Empire, and was given the option of doing away with them once in Equestria.

The simplest portion of their departure was what Sombra and Hope had to pack. Being orphans, neither had much to claim. Aside from their dragon shaped Crystal Bank, they only had a few books and posters to bring; though Sombra made a big deal of carefully packing his Assault on Giant books and posters, saying something about wanting them in “mint condition.”

They did, however, spend a few days debating whether they should have the money in their Crystal Bank converted into Equestrian Bits, or to keep the Imperial currency. Hope felt entering the kingdom with spendable money would allow Sombra to buy some things while in Equestria, as she didn’t think he’d have a lot of opportunity to make money while he worked with Starswirl, and both agreed that they didn’t want to ask either of the Royal Sisters for money. Sombra, however, saw the jewels as keepsakes of their foalhood. This spurred on a humoured comment from Hope about how he was acting like a dragon hoarding gems, and Sombra remarking that Hope wanted to dare to steal from their ceramic dragon bank. They eventually settled on exchanging all but two jewels which each would hold onto as keepsakes, and the exchanged money would be split between them.

By week’s end, a royal chariot arrived at dawn, carried by three grey pegasi stallions in padded cloth armour with metal plates sewn into the knees and chests. One of the guards removed the yoke from his neck to approach the two. He gave the Princess, who stood with her two subjects to see them off, a salute. “Princess Amore,” he addressed in a stiff, gruff voice. “I’m Swift Wind, of the Royal Guard.”

The Princess gave him a respectful bow of her head. “I hope the flight here wasn’t too cold… I notice you come in… unusual armour.”

“Princess Luna’s orders,” he replied, signaling the other two guards with his hoof. They too removed their bindings from the chariot to begin moving luggage. “Metal armour, even if padded for warmth, would slow us down.” He looked back to the other guards, who by now had loaded the few belongings of their passengers into a storage section on the chariot and were getting back into the harnesses. Swift Wind turned to face the Princess once more and gave her a second salute. “If that will be everything, your highness, we’ll set off.”

Amore nodded as she moved passed the guard and approached Sombra and Hope, who were saying their goodbyes to Miss Chestnut. The matron gave each of her former charges a tight hug, asking them to write back when they could, which they agreed to. Once they were no longer being embraced, Amore gently cleared her throat, as the two didn’t seem to realize she was standing near. Sombra and Hope quickly turned to face the Princess, Hope’s face changing to a shade of red.

“Beg your forgiveness, your highness,” Hope said as she tried to compose herself. It was obvious from the way she and Sombra looked to the chariot almost every second that they were either nervous or excited to be flown through the sky for the first time.

The Princess kept herself from giggling. “I remember my first time being on a sky chariot,” she said. “It can be a bit strange the first few times; I suggest you keep your eyes on one another, or the horizon. Just don’t look down or behind you and it’ll be over before you know it.” This advice appeared to calm their nerves.

Hope moved forward to offer a bow. “Thank you for everything Princess Amore, I’ll make sure to keep you updated on my progress.”

Amore smiled down at Hope and beckoned her to meet her eyes and mirthful smile. “You won’t be needing to address me so respectively in the future, Princess-to-be. You’ll probably start calling me, “Amy” as a nickname.” Her statement seemed to fluster Hope as she tried to refute the Princess without stepping out of line. “Kidding,” Amore held a hoof up to try and calm the upset mare, who eventually realized what the Princess had said and managed to regain her composure.

“I’m… just going to hop on the chariot…” she whispered, trying to cover the returning shade of red on her face.

“Just remember not to look down.” Hope nodded at the Princess’ repeated advice and climbed onto the chariot.

“Thank you,” Sombra spoke up. “For everything.”

“Oh, it’s just basic advice for air travel,” she joked.

“No,” he shook his head, then craned his neck to meet the Princess’ eyes. She could barely see his eyes from the smoke filled goggles, but his serious expression told her he was trying to convey something important. “Thank you for giving me a second chance.”

Amore was taken aback by this, though she did well to hide it. “Sombra,” she said in the motherly tone she often used with her subjects. “Don’t see this as a “second chance.” See it as you taking a better path.” her expression saddened as Sombra’s remained stoic and his stance ridgid. “I’ve forgiven you for your mistake. One day, Sombra, I hope you can forgive yourself.” She placed a hoof on his head and lovingly ruffled his mane, offering him a warm smile. “I believe in you, and so does she.”

At this, Sombra turned his gaze towards Hope, who was doing her best not to look at the Princess in fear of showing her embarrassment. Once again, he felt his resolve strengthened, and his personal vow to do right by her surfaced in his mind. He returned his attention to the Princess and nodded firmly before bowing and moving to join Hope.

“Oh, and Sombra?” Amore called, causing the stallion to turn to see her as he walked. “Try smiling, I’ll pay for the stitches.” she gave him a humored grin, which he couldn't help but mirror.

Sombra stepped up onto the chariot and sat in the empty seat next to Hope. She had calmed down a bit and was managing to appear somewhat dignified before their escorts. He couldn’t help noticing the interior of their ride was quite spacious, with cushions set for their long flight.

Swift Wind moved to the front of the vehicle to reenter his yoke, all the while speaking to the two passengers. “Is this your first time in the sky?” he asked. Both responded that it was. His mouth upturned into a smirk at the nervous looks they had, and he waved his hoof about as if to brush off their concerns. “Don’t worry, we’ve done this a hundred times without much incident.”

“Without… much?” Sombra responded nervously.

“Well, mistakes make the best lessons,” Swift answered in a mirthful tone. Without warning, he and the other two pegasi began to gallop, causing the chariot to jerk forward and the passengers to jerk back. They gained a surprising amount of speed in a short distance, though it was clear they could move faster if the ground offered more traction which the shear surface of the Crystal Empire’s streets lacked. Soon, their wings sprang to action and began to flap. The sound of their hooves rhythmically hitting the crystal streets vanished, though their legs still moved as if on solid ground. Hope and Sombra frightfully clung to one another as the sensation of being lifted from the ground hit them unpleasantly, and they felt as if they were going to fall off the vehicle at any moment.

Eventually, their ascent slowed, stopping once they broke through the clouds. Sombra and Hope winced as they tore through the cloud cover, expecting to feel some sort of impact. Instead, they shivered as they were momentarily hit by a cold and wet mist that washed over them, then dried quickly as they met the rising sun. The chariot carefully leveled out until the only indication that they were moving came from the rushing wind and occasional gentle shifting of the vehicle.

Before them, a seemingly infinite expanse of fluffy cloud tops and snow buried plains stretched over the horizon. The frigid wind swept their manes out behind them and brought Hope’s eyes to water, yet they kept their heads above the chariot’s front cover to stare slack jawed at the strange and beautiful scenery. Sombra dared to look behind them to the Crystal Empire, and immediately came to regret it as he felt a sickening sensation overtake him as the landscape rushed into his peripherals from behind him. While the sight of the Empire steadily shrinking in the distance was a fascinating one, he had to quickly turn back, lest he vomit from motion sickness. Apparently, Hope had done the same as him, and like him, she too came to regret it. They both appeared a few shades greener as they laid down in the chariot, groaning in misery.

They could hear Swift Wind chuckle from the front. “You looked back, didn’t you?” he called out in amusement. His passengers seemed to be less entertained as their replies were quiet grumbles and whimpers. Swift laughed again and shook his head, giving both his fellow guards a knowing smile and roll of the eyes, “Groundlings, am I right?” Both snorted and nodded their agreement.

****

It took well over a day for them to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters. The pegasi guards must have had the endurance of Earth Ponies, as they nearly went without rest the entire trip, only stopping to eat, drink, relieve themselves, or when their passengers needed to heed the call of nature.

Sombra and Hope had spent two days and a night and a half on the chariot, which thankfully had supplies and blankets stored within to help make the trip more bearable. While at first they were content to remain lying on the floor of the vehicle and talking to one another to try to distract from the fact that they were six thousand meters from the ground, they eventually grew restless, and sought to overcome their reservations of sitting back up. It took them some time, and a bit of assurance from their escorts that they were in no danger of falling, before they managed to sit upright and stare ahead of them once more. Despite it being late into the afternoon they were still in the Frozen North. Swift Wind had informed them that they would likely arrive late at night the following day, as they were weighed down by both the chariot and its occupants. By the next day, they had arrived in Equestria a few hours after lunch, and only arrived at the castle by midnight.

The castle was unlike anything either Hope or Sombra had ever seen. The Empire earned its name by the structures built from crystal it held, most of the citizens had never seen a building made from stone, mortar, and wood. Three great towers stood erect at the front, serving as the main entrance to what appeared to be a small community. The walls stretched around to incase a multitude of smaller structures that seemed to be a hodgepodge of houses, storage sheds, and workshops. A spire rested close to the three towers of the fort, with two buttresses connecting it to a watchtower and the rightmost tower at the front.

They began to descend slowly as they drew closer to the castle. Swift Wind had warned the two that they may feel some discomfort upon landing before, which they had the opportunity to experience on the trip. Thankfully, he had several tips to help them deal with the pain in their ears. As soon as they returned to ground, the chariot began to slow its pace before the grand double door entrance, where a small regiment of guards awaited them. Once they came to a stop, Swift Wind was approached by one of the guards at the entrance.

Unlike their pegasi escorts, the pony that approached was a brown furred earth pony. He wore burnished steel armour with a small round shield bearing the Equestrian flag tied firmly to his back. His mane, tail, and Cutie Mark were hidden by his armour, giving him a generic look. He finished a quiet conversation with Swift Wind before turning to address Hope and Sombra. “Miss Radiant Hope, Sombra,” he gave both a salute. “I’m Captain Flax Harvest of their Majesties’ royal guard. I’ll be escorting you to your rooms. Once you are ready, you will meet with the Princesses in the throne room. Do either of you have any questions?”

The two stepped off the chariot, using each other to keep themselves stable after having spent so much time off their hooves. Sombra looked to Hope to see if she was going to speak. When she showed no signs of doing so, he returned his eyes to Captain Flax and shook his head. The Captain nodded and beckoned them to follow. Their belongings would be taken to their rooms later. The two guards at the entrance opened the double doors and straightened to salute their guests.

Captain Flax brought them through a spacious room which he claimed to be the wiating room, where ponies would sit and wait to see the Princesses. It was almost ten meters by ten meters, with cushioned seats lining the side walls, with soft carpeting lining the floor. Opposite to the doors they entered were another set of double doors, with the left holding a crescent moon, and the right engraved with a picture of the sun. on each side of the hall were two reinforced doors, which the captain explained were for guards and soldiers only.

They entered the two engraved doors and found themselves in what had to be the largest room they’d ever seen. A hall that stretched well over thirty meters carpeted in red silk fabric graced their eyes. Along the sides were grand openings that could allow more than ten ponies to walk up the stairs they led to side by side without discomfort. At the end of the hall were a set of stairs leading off further to the left and right, and before them, hanging from the high ceiling, were two banners. One was dominated by gold and yellow, and depicted a white alicorn under a bright sun. the other was made of dark and light blues and held an alicorn of similar colours beneath a starry night sky with a crescent moon.

The captain had to pause and turn around to realize he had made it a quarterway across the hall when the sound of two sets of hooves went missing. He chuckled when he saw that Hope and Sombra were staring dumbstruck at the splendor of the Main Hall, and he allowed them a moment more to soak it in before clearing his throat. The two awoke from their wonderstruck dazes and hurried to catch up with the captain.

They moved up one of the stair cases on the left side, and after a somewhat lengthy walk down a hallway filled with doors upon doors that seemed to stretch on forever, came to wooden door that looked like the multitude they had passed already. How the captain knew to stop at what appeared to be a mirror copy of the last several stretched of hallway they passed was beyond them. Captain Flax turned to face the two and nodded his head towards the door. “This is one of our guest rooms. Mister Sombra, this will be your room for the foreseeable future. Miss Hope will be staying in a different part of the castle during her time here.”
“Can’t I use one of the rooms here?” Hope asked, moving her hoof to present several doors within eyesight.

The captain shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, but Princess Celestia herself oversaw the preparation of your quarters in the western tower.”

Hope balked at this. “The tower!?” she hollered. She knew her stay would mean she’d be living in the castle, but the thought that she’d have a room in a tower like something out of a fairy tale surprised her.

If the noise bothered the captain, he did a good job not showing it as he stared calmly at the mare before him and replied, “You’ll be studying under both of the Princesses. It would be wise for your living quarters to be close to theirs for convenience and in the case of an emergency.”

“Emergency?” Sombra went rigid and fixed Flax with a look of suspicion. “What kind of emergency?”

The captain maintained his neutral expression as he replied flatly, “I am not at liberty to discuss this, sir. You may ask the Princesses when you meet with them in one hour. Until then, I suggest you clean and dress yourself in the clothes provided.” With that, he turned and beckoned Hope to follow him. “Miss Hope, I’ll take you to your room now.”

Hope looked between the two stallions, then gave Sombra a quick hug. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” she whispered, then moved to join the captain.

Sombra watched them leave and waited until they were no longer within sight before his face dropped into a scowl. The captain’s reply had left a bad taste in his mouth and left him feeling a familiar anger bubble up within him. While Princess Amore had privately encouraged him to curb his anger lest it consume him, he found it too difficult to simply let it go. Sometimes, he liked being angry.

He opened his door with a bit more force than what might have been necessary when it made an audible, bang against the brickwork. The room, like the other rooms he had seen, was overly large. A single pony bed stood between two nightstands on the right wall, with a sizable storage chest in front. A small fireplace rested on the opposite wall from the door, with two springline windows on each side of it, one of them having a wash basin with soap and towels in front of it. The left side wall contained two large closets, one of which had a small personal wood tub on top, a quarter-filled bookshelf, and a full length mirror. In the center of the room sat four well carved wood chairs positioned around a circular tea table.

For a moment, Sombra had forgotten what had gotten his hackles raised, until the response Flax Harvest gave him surfaced to mind. He grunted through his nostrils and closed the door behind him. The anger had dulled slightly, but part of him still wanted to march up to the captain and demand answers. If there was potential danger, he and Hope had a right to know, and being stonewalled by someone who clearly knew something frustrated him. The captain said he could ask the Princesses when they met, and so Sombra planned to make that his priority. For now… he needed to clean up.

Sombra trotted over to the closets, removing the cloth wrapped around his horn and hopping onto his hind legs to reach the wooden tub. While using magic to lift the thing would be much easier, he was intent on keeping his promise to the Princess; besides, while most unicorns would find it simpler to use magic to move objects, Sombra had never been great at using his horn. This meant he had to do things in a more earth pony way. And so, after he gave the closet a few shakes, as he was still unable to reach the tub, he managed to get it to wobble in his direction… then flip off the top and land face empty side down on top of him. Sombra’s horn pierced the bottom of the tub, and his vision was obscured by birchwood and shadow.

A knock at the door startled him. “Mister Sombra?” a feminine voice called out from the other side of his door. “I’ve brought the water for your bath. May I come in?”

He furiously tried to remove the tub in a panic, dreading the thought of the castle staff seeing him in such a state; however, try as he might, the cursed thing wouldn’t budge. Apparently, one of the downsides of having a curved horn was having it hook itself into things. The servant called to him again, asking if he was in the room. Sombra called out, “I’m in here! Just... give me a moment!”

Sadly, she seemed to miss his last request, and entered the room, pausing mid trot when she met the sight of a stallion trying fruitlessly to remove a tub from his head. Sombra’s heart wrenched in dread when he heard a stifled giggle from behind. He let out a defeated sigh and turned his head and the tub in the direction of the suppressed laughter. “Little help?” he asked.

The tub was encased in a neon brown aura before being tugged upwards. Sombra had to twist his head about to unhook his horn, but he was finally free. Before him stood a smiling unicorn mare with brown fur. She wore what he assumed was typical for the servants of the castle, with a black cotton dress with white apron.

“I’m sorry to have barged in like this, sir,” she apologised, despite the humor in her tone and the smirk still on her features. “I heard you call back, but I couldn’t quite… hear...you…” her words and smile left her as the tub was moved to the floor and allowed her to see just what had put a hole in it. Her expression almost instantly changed from mirth to shock at seeing the red horn.

“I’m not infected,” Sombra spoke up in annoyance. He thought of placing the bundled cloth over the horn again, but seeing as she had seen it, it would do little in fixing her reservations. “I get that it looks diseased, but this is just what my horn looks like, miss…”

The mare blinked and shook her head, her eyes immediately moving to look at anything but the distracting appendage. It was only once she managed to find the far window particularly interesting to look at that she realized she was asked her name, and so she hurriedly replied. “M...Maple Springs… sir. I’ve been assigned to help you this evening.”

“I can cover it up if it bothers you so,” he offered.

“No!” Maple quickly returned her gaze to him and focused on his hooves to avoid looking up. “That is… I’m sorry, sir, I’m not as accustomed to foreign ponies as the rest of the staff… It will simply take me time to adjust to seeing it.” she dared to let her eyes move up to try and meet his eyes, and noticed the goggles, causing her to cock her head slightly in confusion.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Sombra, who sighed once more and promptly removed the eyewear. “Then you’ll need to get used to seeing this as well.”

Maple stifled a gasp in shock at the sight of Sombra’s eyes, though she surprisingly regained her composure enough to blurt out, “Does that smoke hurt?”

Sombra cocked an eyebrow and shook his head at the absurd reaction. “No, it doesn’t.”

The servant slowly let out a deep breath and relaxed her stance. “I’m terribly sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to insult-”

“It’s fine,” he waved his hoof in dismissal. “Let’s just forget about it and move on.”

“Oh! Very well… well, as I said before, I’m here to help prepare your bath…”

Sombra nodded and looked down at the breached tub, sighing with dejection. “I’m afraid I’ve made a bit of a mess of the tub…”

“Oh, that’s all right, sir,” Maple assured. Her horn lit up to once more lift the tub into the air. She gave the hole an inspection before straining her face and changing her stance as if she were weighed down by a cumbersome force. This lasted only a moment as the tub quickly repaired itself good as new. Once the hole was gone, Maple seemed to relax and let out a relieved sigh, placing the tub down.

For a while, Sombra was at a loss for words. He had never seen magic used by other unicorns more advanced than levitation. Hope was the exception, but it was quite the shock to see another pony repair objects much like Hope fixed injuries. It was only until Maple was looking at him expectantly that he realized he had been awkwardly staring. He blinked and shook his head to look somewhere else to hide his embarrassment. “I’ve… never seen magic like that before.”

Maple cocked her head to the side once more. “It’s a basic repair spell, sir. All of the staff need to learn it to do their jobs.”

“Ah… that makes sense,” he replied awkwardly.

This earned him another pregnant pause, which was eventually, and thankfully, broken when Maple asked, “Your bath, sir?”

Sombra mentally groaned to himself. He felt he was doing well with the whole “social interaction without Hope” thing, and then he had to stare at someone uncomfortably long before failing to carry a conversation. The best he could hope for was that Maple would convey to the other servants that he wasn’t threatening or scary… just odd.

He turned to see Maple placing a small blue gem in the tub before she began taking towels from the closet. He trotted over to look the odd stone over, and was surprised to see the tub carefully filling with steaming water. He had apparently taken on a silly look of shock, as Maple suppressed a giggle while facing him. He looked up and asked, “What is this?”

“Lord Starswirl made them,” she answered as she went about setting the towels down and retrieving some soap from her pocket. “I don’t know how they work, but he’s made them easy to use.” Maple placed the bar of soap on top of the towels and retrieved the now clear stone from the filled bath. “Will you need anything else, sir?”

It took him a few moments to snap his attention from the conjured water to respond. “N… no, that’s all… thank you.”

Maple simply bowed and left without another word, leaving Sombra to return his gaze to the newly fixed and filled tub. In a matter of minutes, he had seen two acts of sorcery that were foreign to him, yet were completely mundane to the servants. It was both confusing and exhilarating for him.

He carefully slipped into the bathwater and relaxed as the warmth washed over him. He hadn’t enjoyed a warm bath in some time. The orphanage had a few tubs that needed to be shared, and he’d often have to bathe in water previously used. The last time he’d had the pleasure of a warm bath was the night before he and Hope left the Empire. Princess Amore had the two of them stay in her guest quarters, which allowed him to make use of the chiseled in “bathing holes.” The water of his first Equestrian bath, while lacking in the decadence and comfort of the Empire’s, worked wonders to sooth him. It smelled of citrus and lilacs, which aided in his need to relax himself and remove his frustrations.

****

By hour’s end, Sombra found himself in an outfit that, while comfortable and somewhat loose, felt alien against his body. The green brocade doublet with white undershirt rubbed against his body in an unpleasant way, as if to constantly remind him it was there each time he moved.

Maple returned to his room fifteen minutes before the meeting to guide him to the throne room, as well as to see if he required any help with his clothing, which he remained adamant about needing no such aid. He was sadly wrong, as the buttons and laces required the use of something more nimble than hooves. Maple was kind enough to not laugh at him frustratingly clamping his hooves at the buttons in an attempt to get them to hook into place, all the while having the doublet inside out and messily tossed over his head.

Once he was dressed, Maple brought him back to the Main Hall where they ascended the stairs that laid at the far end. After traveling through several more hallways, they came to the end, where a set of double doors similar to the ones connecting the Main Hall with the waiting room met him. Hope was sitting in a cyan silk dress with ruffles that reached the floor. She too seemed uncomfortable to be dressed with the way she shifted in place and tugged at the cloth with her teeth, though her mood shifted when Sombra approached.

Hope wrapped her hooves around Sombra’s neck and gave him a crushing embrace. “You look silly,” she whispered as she let go.

Sombra raised a brow and looked down at himself. “Really? I thought green suited me well...”

“Oh, it does,” Hope assured him, though her tone held some insincerity to it as she looked her friend up and down. “But you look like bugs are crawling on your fur.” She pointed her hoof at the various intricate wavy lines of embroidery that ran across the doublet.

Sombra visibly shuddered at the imagined sensation of tiny insects skittering over him and fixed Hope with an annoyed, though humored look. “Thank’s, I needed that visualization.”

Hope threw her hooves up defensively. “Hey, it’s how it feels with this…”

“Dress?” Sombra offered.

“Tripping hazard,” Hope corrected. “The silk is nice, but I’m not used to wearing clothes. Are we going to have to wear these all the time?”

“I hope not,” Sombra shivered at the thought of wearing stuffy clothing all the time. “Do you think they wear this stuff to bed?”

“That’d be awful! I don’t even want to imagine all that cloth ensnaring somepony like a thousand snakes, or a like being trapped in a spider web.”

“Stop making me want to tear off my clothes!” Sombra hollered, tugging at the neck of his shirt.

“That is no way to speak to a lady!” Sombra and Hope both jumped at the new voice and turned to see a caramel colored unicorn in a simple green dress with blue undershirt. She gave Sombra a gimlet eye, as if trying to will him silent with her stare.

“What’d he say?” Hope asked before Sombra could pose the same question. She thought over their exchange and couldn’t think of anything particularly rude or insensitive being said. The only thing that possibly came to mind was… “He didn’t mean he was going to actually tear the clothes up by the threads… is… was that what was wrong?”

The other unicorn’s face changed to one of shock and confusion momentarily, then she seemed to go quiet as the wheels turned in her head. “Does… does the Crystal Empire not have clothes?”

“We don’t need them,” Sombra replied, having recovered from the fear that gripped his heart from the unicorn’s glare. “The Crystal Heart keeps the temperature comfortable for everypony. The closest would be the armour worn by the guards and the outfit worn by Princess Amore.”

“I see…” the unicorn said quietly to herself. “We’ll have to go over more than court etiquette… ahem,” She cleared her throat and moved to bow to the two. “Good evening, my name is Copper Star, and I’m the Royal Secretary of the Night. You must be Hope an-” Her voice momentarily caught in her throat as her eyes managed to take in the oddities of Sombra’s appearance, though she recovered with remarkable haste, swiftly placing a smile on her muzzle and finishing. “And Sombra. It’s good to see the two of you have arrived safely.” The doors clicked behind her as she stepped forward and began to circle the two guests, carefully inspecting them.

“Is… is everything alright?” Hope asked, flinching when Copper Star plucked a loose thread from her dress before moving to give Sombra a once over.

“Yes, yess…” the secretary replied absentmindedly as she brushed some wrinkles from Sombra’s undershirt and used her magic to readjust the collar. “Simply making one last check before we begin.” Once she seemed satisfied with her work, Copper Star moved to stand before the two once more, her chest slightly puffed out. “Now then, when you enter, I will be announcing your names, whereupon you are to kneel or bow to the Princesses… do either of you know how to kneel or bow?”

Hope and Sombra exchanged confused looks before the former replied, “Of course we know how to bow, we’re not savages...”

Copper Star nodded, though her expression betrayed her belief in Hope’s statement. “Well then, after you’ve bowed, they will greet you, which you are to respond appropriately by rising and giving thanks for allowing you to be here. Conversation will ensue, and I expect you to speak to the Royal Sisters with the respect and reverence that befits their stations. Understood?” She didn’t wait for a reply as she turned and opened the double doors, then began a brisk canter into the Throne Room.

The Throne Room was just as large and open as the Main Hall, with luxurious red carpet coating most of the floor leading to the thrones, and meter wide walkways that allowed one to enter the numerous doors on each wall. The thrones were raised by two small sets of marble stairs, with a little balcony separating them. Both thrones were on equal height, and both were the same size and dimension. Their differences were in color and the ponies that sat in them.

The rightmost throne was painted in cheery yellows of various shades. In it sat a white alicorn with a multicolored mane that moved about as if lifted by some unseen wind. The leftmost throne was a mix of blues radiating from the center into darker shades. Upon it sat a dark blue alicorn with a mane that looked as if someone had captured a bit of the night's sky with stars included. Both of them sat straight faced and barely moving save for their eyes which tracked the three ponies approaching them.

Copper Star ceased her careful march as she and the guests made it to the center of the room, whereupon she offered a quick and polite bow to each dirach before clearing her throat. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” she moved to the side to allow Sombra and Hope to be the centers of attention and moved her hoof to present them. “I present to you, Miss Radiant Hope and Mister Sombra of the Crystal Empire.”

Hope and Sombra both knelt and bowed their heads.

“Good evening,” Celestia called. Her voice was warm and motherly, causing Sombra and Hope to relax a little. “We trust your journey here was pleasant?”

Sombra and Hope rose from the floor, and the latter spoke. “Y-yes, your highness,” Hope responded nervously. “And thank you for allowing us to stay here…” She feared an awkward silence would ensue, as her mind went blank on what to do or say next. Copper Star said conversation would ensue, but Hope’s mind was going blank at the sight of the Royal Sisters.

Thankfully, Princess Luna had seen the silence was short lived as she spoke. “We have heard many a grand tales of thy curative magic. Wouldst thou humor us a demonstration?” Hope blinked and jerked her head back when she realised she had been given a request. Before she could voice a reply, a small wooden box was lifted in a cobalt blue aura and moved to rest at Hope’s hooves. “A fortnight ago, we discovered this creature wounded in the Royal Gardens,” Luna explained. “While our groundskeeper has done well in seeing to its swift recovery, we are interested to see if thy reputation proceeds thee.”

Hope peered into the ornate wooden box and found a sparrow with a tiny splint wrapped to its left wing. The bird looked up to the strange new pony with fear and concern, then made a short lived attempt to take flight, only to stop when pain shot through its wing. Hope looked down at the creature with an expression of motherly concern, something she had adopted since she first started tending to Sombra during the Faire. She offered the sparrow a gentle smile and sat down. Hope had done this hundreds of times for ponies, and the odd animal, and so found it easy to brush away her nerves to focus on the patient.

She placed her hoof before the box, causing the sparrow to flitter to the opposite corner. “I’m here to help you,” she cooed softly. “You weren’t made to remain cooped up in a box, waiting to be free. Please, let me help you fly again.” The bird seemed unsure at first, but when Hope made no movements away or towards it, it took a gamble and accepted the hoof offered, hopping up to perch.

The sparrow was carefully lifted to allow Hope a better look at its injury. The splint and strips of cloth were removed and placed in the box, revealing a mostly repaired, though still awkwardly bent wing. Hope took in a deep breath and lit her horn up, enveloping the warped appendage in her cornflower blue aura. In a matter of seconds, the oddly misshapen limb reformed itself. In less than a quarter minute, the aura faded and the sparrow’s wing was whole once more. The bird inspected its mended wing for a moment before giving it a few test flutters. Satisfied, it leapt into the air and proceeded to fly about the Throne Room, chirping and singing in delight. It stopped its joyas flight for a moment to let its feet find purchase on Hope’s Shoulder, whereupon it gave her a grateful “peck” on the cheek before taking flight through a nearby window. Hope took on a look of serenity, as she often did when aiding the ill.

“Marvelous,” Luna spoke up, snapping Hope from her bliss. “We see thine power is truly capable of greatness, and with our guidance, thou shalt flourish.”

Hope’s eyes widened and she had to do her best to keep from jumping with excitement. “So… it’s official?” she asked, the anticipation palpable in her words. She didn’t expect the Princesses to have turned her down, she was already accepted from the letter; however, she had been looking forward to hearing it from them ever since she first received their message.

Celestia offered her a warm smile and nodded. “Indeed,” she replied as she and her sister both stood from their thrones. “We accept you, Radiant Hope, as our apprentice and student.”

That was all Hope needed before she began to jump merrily about. “Yes yes yes!” she called as she bounced on her hooves and nearly tackled Sombra with a hug. “Did you hear that!?”

Sombra laughed and returned the affection by wrapping a leg around her. “I think the servants back at the guestrooms heard y- ow!” he was cut off when Hope gave him a playful jab in the ribs. “I need those!” he whined pitifully, earning another, albit lighter, jab.

Their shenanigans were short lived, however, when somepony to their right cleared their throat. They both turned to see Copper Star staring at them with an intense look and jaw tight enough to make diamonds from coal. Her eyes briefly darted towards the thrones, as if indicating where their attention should be focused. Celestia didn’t appear to be taking umbrage with the short but loud display if her humored smile was any indication, though her sister remained straight faced. Hope and Sombra swiftly detached, the former nearly smashing her head to the floor as she bowed and sputtered out several apologies.

Celestia broke the tension with a chuckle and shook her head. “Rise, Hope,” she commanded. “We take no offence to somepony taking and sharing joy.”

“Simply work to remember what is appropriate for the setting,” Luna added, causing Celestia’s smile to waver slightly. “We will begin thine lessons on the morrow,” she continued. “Thou shalt additionally be advised to join us for breakfast.” she didn’t need to ask twice, as Hope bowed once more and agreed heartily.

It was at this point, a new voice spoke up from the back of the room. “Well, now that that’s settled, I’d like very much to speak with the young lad.” Sombra and Hope jumped and swiveled to see the new guest. They both gasped at the sight both magnificent and… somewhat disappointing.

Apparently, Starswirl the Bearded had entered without a sound, and while both had been looking forward to meeting the legendary mage, neither were prepared for what greeted them. Most drawings they had seen of Starswirl were of him as a mature stallion, with a grand and majestic beard that curled and bounced with each step. While some depictions of him presented an aged and thin stallion, they didn’t know how truly decrepit he was. The most noticeable quality he had was his thin body. His flesh managed to both sag and wrap to his bones to expose his knee joints and ribs. His face was gaunt and cheeks shallow, as if he’d not eaten in weeks; and his eyes were fishlike in the way they slightly bulged from their sockets. However, despite his well aged form, his eyes were the sharp yellow of a young stallion filled with curiosity, and his beard, though not quite as majestic as depicted in lore and legend, was as white as his coat. Lastly, his outfit was just as the tales described, depicting a starry sky on both his cloak and famous bell covered conical hat.

Starswirl’s eyes were fixed on the Royal Sisters, awaiting a reply to his question. Celestia was the one to give a reply. “Starswirl,” though her voice was calm, there was a hint of annoyance to it. “How kind of you to finally join us…”

“I got lost,” he grumbled irritably. “I can hardly be blamed for falling victim to this castle’s abysmal layout. Why, I’d not be surprised if one of the myriad doors in this place led to Tartarus!” he moved with surprising fleetness for one his age and swept past Hope, Sombra, and Copper Star to get closer to the Princesses. He took to sitting a meter from their thrones. “This is why towers are better than castles! You either go up, or down. There’s none of these labyrinthine halls and doors and doors leading to halls with more doors and halls! Why couldn’t we have just buil-”

“Starswirl!” Celestia nearly bellowed, slapping a hoof to her face in exasperation. The older stallion didn’t seem surprised or upset by the outburst. “We have guests, remember?”

It took a moment for realization to hit him, but once it did, he slowly bent his head back awkwardly to stare at the ponies he’d forgotten about upside down. He blinked a few times at the bewildered ponies, then moved his head back to face the Royal Sisters. “Hrmm… right… well, I’d like to speak with the boy when I can. I’m excited to see what he can do.”

“We have yet to address him, dear friend,” Luna said, her expression of embarrassment and annoyance mirroring her sister’s. Starswirl simply huffed in response and trotted up the stairs, sitting at the balcony which separated the sisters.

Luna took a few moments to regain herself before speaking. “Copper Star, please leave the room as we discussed,” she called. The mare in question bowed and left without a word. “Sombra, of the Crystal Empire,” her voice returned to its commanding tone as she stared at the young stallion. “We hath read of what occurred many nights ago, when thou sought to take the Crystal Heart and away it into the night.” Sombra visibly winced at the mention of his actions, though Hope offered him a reassuring hoof on the shoulder and her usual calming smile. “The letter sent by Princess Amore was… disturbing, to say the least. To know the existence of a new race, one whom utilizes dark magic naturally… this is upsetting news.” her concentration broke momentarily as her eyes moved to Starswirl, then her sister, and finally back to Sombra. “However, despite our reluctance, our sister and Starswirl the Bearded hath decided thou shalt continue without magic suppression for the safety of others. Thou willst be under escort of a guardspony for the foreseeable future. Dost thou have any protests to this?”

While Sombra disliked the thought of having a guard walking everywhere with him, he chose to accept it if he could stay with Hope. He met the Princess of the Night’s powerful stare with one of his own and replied, “I’ve no protests, and I thank you for your kindness, Princesses.” With that said, he bowed.

Princess Luna was about to speak again, when Starswirl began to burst into raucous laughter. “I already like him!” he shouted between chortles. “Did you see that look of conviction? He might one day best your intense stare, Luna.” The Princess of the Night didn’t quite know how to take that other than remain quiet until Starswirl regained his composure. Thankfully, she didn’t need to wait long as the old stallion managed to calm his laughter into light titters. “Now then,” he began, clearing his throat to wash away his mirth. “Since the boy has been allowed to stay, may I finally have a look?”

The Royal Sisters both appeared ready to deny his request, however, he was swift to offer them the look of a puppy begging for food as his eyes shone and his lower lip quivered. Both sisters synchronistically tightened their jaws and tried to withstand his manipulations. Sadly, this was an effort doomed to fail. Both let out exasperated sighs and Celestia nodded. “Very well,” she said defeatedly.

Starswirl didn’t need any further prompting as his horn lit up with a blue spark and he teleported from the balcony to Sombra’s side. Sombra let out a startled whiney and fell on his opposite side and nearly hit Hope, then scrambled to stand. Hope thankfully aided him in this and once he found himself in an upright position, Starswirl had produced, from who knows where, a glass ball the size of a hoof. “Now, Sombra,” he began, placing the orb on the carpet. “Will you be so kind as to lift this for me?”

Sombra looked at the orb, then to Starswirl, and back to the orb. He reached a hoof out to grab at it, but had it halted by Starswirl’s own hoof. The older stallion shook his head and pointed to his horn. It took a great deal of effort for Sombra not to smack himself in the head. How else would a wizard expect a unicorn to lift something? He returned his focus on the ball, and, for the first time in several weeks, used his magic. His horn bubbled with violet and green energy. Despite his efforts, however, the orb remained on the ground. Surprisingly, it seemed to fill with his magic aura. Sombra ended his attempts and looked to Starswirl for and answer.

The older Stallion picked the orb up in his hoof and eyed the roiling smoke within. Seeming satisfied with what he was looking at, Starswirl tucked the orb into his hat and gave Sombra a bow in gratitude. “That should be all for tonight, I’ll see you tomorrow at noon, sharp.”

“Tomorrow?” Sombra repeated in confusion.

Starswirl nodded. “If you’re to be my newest student, I expect you to be punctual.”

“S-student!?” Sombra balked at the idea. “I’m nowhere near good enough to study under you!” He knew he was to figure out how to deal with his races natural affinity towards dark magic, but he thought Starswirl would just help him get rid of it. He didn’t know he was actually going to become a student to the greatest mage in the known world.

The older stallion waved his hoof about as if to rid Sombra of his doubts. “Nonsense, no one is more or less capable to study magic to unlock their potential. Now remember, noon tomorrow.” He didn’t let any further conversation reach his ears as his horn once again lit up and removed himself from the room in a flash of light, leaving a baffled group of ponies.

Celestia broke the silence in the room by clearing her throat. “Well… I believe that will be everything for this evening… Copper Star will have the staff return you to your rooms. We look forward to your continued stay here.” she and Luna both returned to their thrones.

Copper Star seemed to appear from nowhere and didn’t miss a beat as she swiftly moved in front of Sombra and Hope and began shepherding them out of the room. Once they passed through the double doors, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I suppose that wasn’t… too bad,” she admitted whilst wiping her brow. “Now,” her horn flashed buttery yellow and the various loose strands of hair and wrinkles in her clothes were put back in place to smooth herself out, leaving her clean with a smile that seemed insincere. She stamped her hoof on the floor twice, and moments later, several of the castle’s servants entered and crowded around Copper Star. “I need one of you to take Miss Hope to her chambers, and another to escort Mister Sombra. The rest of you, will begin cleaning the Throne Room in a quarter hour. Dismissed."

The servants took a few seconds to decide who would show the guests to their rooms. Eventually, Hope was taken by some earth pony mare, while Sombra would be led by Maple Springs. She seemed more than happy to help him, though he found it suspicious that she and the other servants looked at him with humored expressions.

As they took the long trek back to his room, Sombra waited until he was sure no one else was listening before speaking. “You… you didn’t tell anypony about what happened with me and the tub… did you?”

Maple halted before him, her body going ridgid. She slowly turned her head to look back to Sombra with an expression akin to a foal caught with their hoof in the cookie jar. She offered him an innocent smile and avoided meeting his eyes. “It… it may have slipped out… a few times…” she admitted shamefully.

Sombra brought his hoof to his fact and groaned in frustration and exhaustion. “Just… take me to my room, please,” he grumbled. Maple gave him a nod and resumed her walk, albit with a noticeably quickened pace than before.

When they arrived at his room, Sombra noticed a guard standing at the door. She opened the door for him and Maple when they approached, though Sombra was adamant that Maple not enter with him. He just wanted to get some sleep, and while Maple offered to unpack his things which were recently placed on his bed, he maintained that he’d prefer to be alone for the rest of the night. He thanked Maple for her help and wished her a good night before closing the door and letting himself flop onto the bed. “One night down…” he groaned to himself. “...couple hundred to go…”

Lesson One

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Soft shafts of sunlight lanced through the clear windows of the castle’s leftmost tower, slowly moving from the walls to the floor. The window faced a grand, king sized bed covered in fine green silks and built from redwood which had been carved, sanded, and polished to a mirror shine. The sole occupant didn’t wait for the morning light to reach her. ‘Sleep is for the weak!’ she thought cheerily as she tossed the many sheets from her body. She bounced on her hooves excitedly, her barely contained joy causing her to practically vibrate.

Hope leapt off the side of the bed and continued to bounce to the mahogany vanity next to the window. She wasn’t a mare that spent any extended amount of time in front of a mirror; she simply straightened her mane and gave her coat a few brushes to even it out. This done, she bounced to the wash basin next to her vanity and wiped her face with a damp cloth. She returned to the vanity to give herself one last look and beamed at the sparkling mare staring back at her. “You’re going to be a princessss~” she whispered to herself, the last word petering off into an excited squee.

She struck a pose, as if offering somepony her hoof while looking down with a bored expression. “That’s Princess Hope, peasant,” She spoke in what she felt was a “royal” voice, which was essentially mimicking Princess Luna. She flicked her offered hoof up and sneered to the ceiling. “To the dungeons with you!” After a few seconds, she broke into a fit of giggles.

When the door to her room was knocked upon, Hope nearly jumped out of her hide. She prayed whoever it was hadn’t heard her. “H-hello!?” her voice cracked a bit when she called, making her groan and bring her hooves to her cringing face.

“Miss Radiant Hope?” the slightly muffled and feminine voice from the other side called. “May I come in? Are you decent?”

The question caused Hope to twist her head in confusion. Was she decent? She thought she was pretty alright by pony standards, so decent would be at least accurate. “Yes?” she called back, unsure if she understood the other mare properly.

The door opened and in walked a cream colored unicorn mare with her nut brown mane tied into a braided ponytail. She wore a butter yellow doublet with wavy white embroidery, causing Hope to think for a moment that the mare had noodles clinging to her fur. She offered Hope a bow and spoke. “My name is Glowing Wick, and I’m the Royal Secretary of the Day.”

Hope returned the bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m here to escort you to Breakfast with the Princesses,” Glowing Wick explained. Her expression shifted to a mix of shock and confusion for a moment before returning to her polite neutral look. “When I asked if you were decent, I was asking if you were dressed. Ponies must be properly covered in the presence of royalty.”

“Oh… do I have to wear that thing from last night?” Hope shivered at the thought of wearing the restricting garments. They were pretty, but the way the material bunched and caught in her hooves made it increasingly uncomfortable.

Glowing Wick shook her head. “Certainly not. It would be unseemly to wear the same attire before it was properly cleaned. There should be a simple assortment of suitable outfits within your wardrobe.” She indicated a tall cupboard placed close to the vanity.

Hope complied, opening the wardrobe which exposed a veritable boutique of clothing. She couldn’t tell which was appropriate for breakfast and which was supposed to be worn at dinner. ‘Fancy ponies wear different clothes for each meal, right?’ Without wanting to stall her minder, Hope snatched what looked to be a simple gown that didn’t look like it would irritate her. It was white and poofy, but it looked easy enough to get into compared to the outfit that needed a dedicated team to fit into from last night.

After slipping the garment on, she worriedly eyed her mussed bed top. The servant that returned her to her room last night had assured her that any and all messes would be taken care of by the staff, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being lazy by leaving a mess to be looked after by somepony else. When Wick took the lead, Hope noticed her guide's cutie mark, a lit candle. She hesitated in asking what she wanted to, feeling it rude. She had to clamp her teeth down to keep herself from blurting out how odd she thought it was for a Royal Secretary to have a cutie mark that seemed contrary to such a position. She had to say something else, anything, or she was going to say something rude. “I met Copper Star last night!” she blurted, and immediately regretted it. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid! I meant to ask if she knew the Night Secretary! What kind of awkward mess of words was that!?’

“Yes, I’d imagine you’d have met my sister,” Glowing Wick replied with a smile.

That tidbit of information brought Hope to pause, and then hurriedly trot back behind Wick to keep from falling behind. “She’s your sister?”

Glowing Wick’s smile grew slightly and she nodded. “I know she might seem uptight, but she just wants to make the Princesses' lives easier, especially Princess Luna.”

“Is being Royal Secretary a difficult job?” Hope asked, finding herself more interested in the subject.

“Calling it difficult would be an understatement,” Wick replied with a good humored laugh. “Planning the Royal Schedule is the easiest part, we simply have to ensure the Princesses eat and sleep, and then we set times for everything in between. Making sure the events stick to the schedule is another task in and of itself. If one pony cancels plans, that creates anywhere from a half hour to an entire afternoon where nothing will happen. We have to be able to plan around such things to ensure the Princesses have their time spent wisely.”

“A lot of ponies must want to meet them.”

Glowing Wick nodded solemnly. “A lot of the time, I have to refuse ponies with legitimate causes to bring to Princess Celestia in order to allow… more “important” individuals an audience.” Her last words were laced with venom and her face took on a bitter expression.

“Couldn’t the other ponies speak with Princess Luna?” Hope offered.

Wick let out a tired sigh and shook her head. “I’m terribly sorry, Miss Hope. This isn’t something I should be discussing openly. I request we not continue exploring this topic… it saddens me.”

Hope didn’t offer a reply, opting to flatten her ears against her skull and look down as they continued on silently. When they arrived at a set of double doors with alicorn iconography carved onto their surfaces, she turned to regard Glowing Wick with a sad, but empathetic smile. She placed a hoof on the other mare’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, Miss Wick. I think you and your sister do wonderful things, and I look forward to working with the two of you in the future.”

Glowing Wick went stiff for a moment, and then her face split into a small grin. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll make sure my sister hears your kind words.”

“Please do,” Hope gave the mare a pat and turned to face the door. Then, a thought rose within her as she remembered the pony she brought with her. “Has Sombra been woken yet?”

Wick cocked her head in thought. “Not yet, I don’t think. The general rule is for the Royalty to arrive first, followed by their guests in… in order of importance…” she said this last part with a hint of shame in her voice. “N-not that anyone sees the young stallion as-”

“It’s alright,” Hope held up a hoof to stop the worried mare from rambling into apologies. “Would you see to it he sleeps in? He has trouble waking early, and I’d like him to get a bit more sleep before he begins the day.”

Glowing Wick cleared her throat nervously, trying to compose herself before giving a response. “I’ll see what I can do.

“Thank you.” Hope took in a long breath through her nose to clear her mind, and was pleased to have the smell of fresh fruit and baked goods waft her way. “Now… breakfast?”

Wick smiled and nodded before turning and opening the doors, announcing, “You’re Royal Highnesses, may I present Miss Radiant Hope.”

The dining room was, unlike many rooms in the castle, rather cozy. The mahogany table, which could easily seat twenty ponies, took most of the space, leaving enough room for the matching chairs to be pulled out and the servants to move around. The head of the table had its back to a warm fire in a carved stone hearth with the Solar and Lunar banners hanging overhead. Four doors were symmetrically opposite on each side of the room, one of which kitchen staff periodically moved in and out of to place more food on the already substantial banquet. Celestia and Luna both sat near the end, leaving the seat at the head open for Hope. Upon the table rested a grand assortment of baked goods, fresh fruits, and ripe flowers.

The aroma in the room brought Hope's stomach to quietly groan in need. She gave the Princesses a deep bow, not just to show respect, but to tear her hungry eyes from the food long enough to keep herself from drooling in front of royalty.

“Miss Hope,” Celestia’s cheerful voice called. “Please,” her horn lit up and the end chair moved back further. “Join us for breakfast.”

Hope didn’t need to be told twice. She moved with a bit of haste in her steps and hopped on to the chair with little ceremony. Without thinking, she grabbed the seat with her hooves and began to jerk her body forward, causing the chair to noisily scoot inwards until there were only a few inches between her and her plate. It was only when she looked up at the two sisters that she realized what she’d done, and she turned a deep red. “I’m sorry!” she squeaked while burying her face in her hooves.

Celestia broke the short silence when she belted out in a hearty laugh. She wiped tears from her eyes with one hoof and tried to steady herself with the other. Between her guffaws, she managed to get out a few words. “Luna used to do that all the time!”

Luna shrank in her seat, her face turning a shade of purple from embarrassment.

Hope continued to bury her face into her hooves in shame.

After a while, when Celestia regained her composure and Hope returned from her shrunken position in her chair, they began to partake in their breakfasts. Celestia enjoyed her cherry cheese turnover with gusto. Luna carefully broke off small pieces of her quiche and took small bites. Hope, still not wanting to look at either princess after she made a fool of herself, simply nibbled on a small crescent roll.

“I hope you slept well,” Celestia offered in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

Hope smiled and nodded. “Oh yes, I’ve never slept in such a large bed before.”

“You get used to it over time.”

“Aside from that, I was too excited to stay asleep for long…”

Both the Royal sisters smiled and snickered to one another. “We were the same when we first started learning under Star Swirl,” Celestia admitted.

Luna rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Dearest sister,” she scoffed humorously. “We recall thou swiftly growing tired of his training. Something about him being a “harsh and grumpy old mule.””

Celestia’s eyes widened and her face reddened in embarrassment. “I’ll have you know,” her voice was a bit off as she was trying to keep from snickering. “That I have always been nothing but respectful…” The amused and knowing look Luna gave caused her speech to peter out.

Hope was fairly lost in what was going on, but found herself smiling at the joyous atmosphere she found herself in nonetheless. It was certainly an odd change to see the sisters in a jovial mood considering how seriously they (and especially Luna) presented themselves last night. Even Princess Amore always held her royal composure during the few times Hope had met her in private. She supposed it was a matter of professionalism, and that they chose to present themselves with dignity when in court.

“Miss Hope?” She snapped out of her thoughts when Celestia addressed her. “You’ve hardly touched your food, is it not to your liking?”

Looking at her barely damaged roll, Hope broke a chunk off with her magic and brought it to her mouth. Before she took a bite, an errant thought came to her. “Um… would it be acceptable if I took some food to Sombra for his breakfast?” she asked nervously. “I asked Miss Wick if she could see to letting him sleep in.”

“Of course,” Celestia replied. “You can bring him a basket if you’d like.”

“And if it isn’t too much more trouble…” Hope hated asking for so much, but knew asking this now would be better than later. “But the pony that took Sombra to his room… he mentioned some sort of… minor possibility of… danger?”

The two sisters blinked in confusion at the question, though Luna Seemed to catch on, as her eyes widened slightly, as if remembering something. “There art some ponies within Our realm that feel We are ill fit to rule Equestria,” Luna explained, her tone leaden with bitterness. “Some of them have less scruples over performing acts of violence.” She shook her head, as if to banish a thought. “Regardless, thou may be at ease within Our protection. No harm shall befall those of this land whilst we remain its vigil protectors.”

Hope breathed a sigh of relief and finished her breakfast. “That’s good to know. My friend was worried about trouble.”

“Ah, yes…” Luna’s expression remained stony, though her tone gave the impression that the subject matter was something she was ill to discuss. “Well… thou may inform thy companion that all is well and safe within Our walls.”

An uncomfortable silence reigned in the dining room once more, and was left undisturbed for the remainder of the meal. Only when the servants had entered to clean things up was the quiet broken, much to Hope’s relief. When the food was being removed, Luna stood and rolled her shoulders and neck. “We shall bid thee good day,” she announced. “Our time to rest is at hoof, and Our sister must begin thy first lessons. We shall begin teaching at Moonrise. Until then, fare thee well, Radiant Hope.” She turned to a set of doors opened by a duo of guards and marched out, shortly followed by her guards.

Celestia had an uncertain smile on her muzzle, though she swiftly changed expression when Hope turned to her. “Right then…” her words sounded unsure and timid, like she was unused to teaching. If that was the case, she recovered quickly as her horn lit up and the doors opposite to those Luna had taken opened. She stood from her seat, beckoning Hope to follow.

Hope swiftly hopped off her chair and moved behind Celestia with a spring in her canter. Her teacher seemed to find something about her movements amusing, but remained silent as she strode into the hallway.

Unlike the sections she had seen already, the corridors they moved through contained more than simple paintings and symmetrical vases. The carpeting was the normal red found everywhere else, but the walls were adorned with Celestia’s banners. The few paintings they passed were unlike those found elsewhere in the castle. They were sloppy, smudged, and amature at best.

“Who painted these?”

“The worst artist in the land,” Celestia responded with a knowing smile.

Hope took a moment to get a better look at one of the blotchy canvases. “Is this supposed to be… moldy cheese?” she asked, squinting at a greenish blob dotted with red, orange, and yellow blotches.

Celestia was silent for a moment as her mouth twitched upwards. “I… think it’s a tree in autumn,” she replied quietly. “Let’s move on. My study is just over here.”

“Your study is really close to the kitchens and dining room,” Hope noted.

Celestia let out a soft chuckle and smiled. “It makes it easier to fetch a midnight snack when I should be sleeping,” she whispered, opening the door.

The study was much like the dining room: cozy. A hillock of cushions laid in the center before a set of stained glass windows which copied the banners of Celestia and Luna. At the northern section, a white painted desk large enough for three ponies sat facing the door, covered in even stacks of parchment and books. The eastern wall was covered in a set of bookshelves that reached the high vaulted ceiling, each stuffed with books both untouched and withered.

All of this would have amazed Hope, were it not for the other decoration in the room. In the north western corner stood an easel with a half finished painting of a splotchy blue… thing. The realization that she had insulted Celestia’s paintings caused Hope’s heart to nearly stop in shock.

“I think I’ll call that one, “I Spilled Blue Ink on an Expensive Canvas and Needed to Try to Salvage it.”” Celestia said, leaning down to Hope’s level with a Cheshire grin. “What do you think?”

Hope simply buried her face in her hoof and mumbled out, “Can we start the lessons, Princess?”

Celestia nodded, having had her fun at her student's expense, and moved further into the room. From the shelves, she removed a large, weathered tome with yellowed pages. She then cleared her throat and beckoned Hope to take a seat on one of the many cushions.

“Light magic is an exceptionally potent energy,” she began.

****

A knock at the door roused Sombra from his sleep. He groaned out at the pony disturbing him when he heard them say something he was too tired to listen to. Even when his door opened and a set of hooves clip-clopped on his floor loud enough to wake the dead, he curled up in the warm sheets and soft pillows, grumbling out a complaint of some sort. It was only when he heard a familiar voice snicker in his direction, followed by his covers being yanked off and pulling him with them to the floor that his focus shifted from sleep. His eyes snapped open to the sound of “You’d sleep through a hurricane, wouldn’t you?”

“Hope?” Sombra called groggily. He rubbed the sleep gunk from his eyes to see Hope smiling down at him as he lay on his back. “Why do you hate to see me in peace?” he grumbled.

Hope rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge with her forehoove. “Wake up, lazy flank,” she teased.

Sombra grumbled/laughed as he grabbed at the sheets and tried to toss them over himself, only to meet resistance as Hope used her magic to enact an impromptu game of tug of war. He didn’t put up much of a struggle before giving up and letting his legs flop lazily to his side. “Lemme sleep,” he mewled.

Apparently, Hope wasn’t going to accept his request as she began to count down from five. As soon as she reached one, Sombra sprung up in time to avoid a splash of water hitting where his head had been. It wasn’t the first time she’d used water to wake him, and he had learned when to get up to avoid the splash. Hope smiled at his deep grimace and slow blinking eyes. “Rise and shine?” she offered innocently, placing the flagon to the side.

Part of Sombra wanted to retaliate by taking the flagon and starting a water fight, however, his focus was taken by the light streaming in through his windows. “What time is it?”

“Half past the tenth bell,” Hope answered.

Sombra winced. He had slept a great deal longer than he’d intended. “How was breakfast?” he asked, knowing he had long since missed it.

“Filling… I brought you some,” she pointed to the opened door where a basket of baked goods sat. “I asked that you be left to sleep in a bit more,” she admitted with a guilty smile. “I know you like to sleep a bit longer than me so I thought it’d be nice…” she stopped talking when Sombra bopped her horn and grumbled out his gratitude.

He snatched the basket from the doorway, giving the guard outside a look before returning to his bedside. “I would’ve liked to talk to the Princesses about what Captain Flax mentioned the other night,” he said before stuffing a lemon and poppy seed muffin in his mouth. Hope cocked her head to the side, apparently not knowing what he was talking about. “Vwa dan-” he held a hoof up, realizing he was talking with food in his mouth. After taking the time to chew and swallow, he tried again. “He mentioned there being some sort of danger last night,”

Hope’s eyes widened as the memory returned to her. “I brought it up at breakfast.”

“What?” He was having second thoughts about being grateful for the extra sleep. “What’d they say?”

“Apparently there are some ponies in Equestria that don’t recognize the Princesses as rulers, and some are more violent than others in expressing their opinions.”

Sombra didn’t know how to feel about that. He knew nothing about how the Princesses ruled, nor did he know anything about politics, so he didn’t know how to react to this. Originally, he thought Equestria was at war, or close to it, with a neighboring kingdom. A significant part of him thought the danger was referring to him. Princess Amore and Hope had forgiven him for what they termed as a “lapse in judgment,” but he wouldn’t expect equestrians that knew to be so forgiving.

He never thought a domestic threat was a possibility. Nonetheless, his curiosity was partially sated, though he’d have further questions to be answered the next time he met with either of the sisters. If that ever happened. For now, he had his first lessons with Star Swirl to look forward to.

“Ho-mph!” His next question was cut off by a mouthful of honey oat and carrot muffin.

Hope, who had been kind enough to force the food into his mouth, bopped Sombra on the horn. “Stop worrying so much,” she commanded. “Eat your breakfast, an-mph!” Sombra retaliated by mashing a chestnut and oat muffin into Hope’s face, trying to look menacing while crumbs covered his snout. He was about to offer a retort when Hope lifted a lemon muffin with her magic, causing Sombra to dive to the other side of his bed in time to avoid being hit. Hope took up shelter on the opposing side. Once she cleared her mouth of food, she called out with a grin. “I’ve got the advantage, Sombra! In your haste to find cover, you left the ammunition!” she held the basket in her magic and picked a strawberry and cheese turnover from the pile.

“You forget, hope,” Sombra called from the other side. “What I lack in foresight, I make up for in actually having good aim as opposed to the flailing of a madmare!” He held the one muffin he had in his hoof with determination and sent a quiet apology to the cleaning staff for what would happen.

****

When he arrived at Star Swirl’s Spire, the scent of mixed fruits and oats wafted heavily from Sombra’s body. While he had managed to clean the sticky fruit preserves and honey from his fur and mane with his wash basin, the smell of fresh baked goods stuck to him like glue. This earned him several confused looks from the castle staff as he and his escorting guard moved through the castle. The spire which Star Swirl called home was, much like its occupant, odd. The only way to get in was by walking the buttress down to its only door, which was more than thirty meters high. There were railings, sure, but they could hardly be called that when they were a hoof in height.

Apparently, Star Swirl didn’t like to be disturbed if he was working on something, and thought this was a good way to ensure ponies would have second thoughts about entering his home; though Sombra had an inkling that the old Stallion just found it funny to make unicorns and earth ponies scared. Thankfully, the Guard escorting Sombra was a Pegasus, so he felt less terrified of falling to his death. The guard offered to carry him across, but Sombra just puffed out his chest and proclaimed that he had no problem crossing. His bravado lasted all of three seconds when he actually looked down and realized just how fast the guard would have to be in order to catch him. Given the options of crossing on his own, or asking the guard for help in exchange for his dignity, Sombra opted for galloping down the buttress as if Tirek himself were chasing him like a true stallion. This resulted in him slamming into the door, followed by the sound of his escort doing his best to suppress his laughter.

He had little time to rub his sore shoulder and snout when the door swung open, and he was gripped by a brilliant blue aura and pulled into the darkness of the spire. Once inside, he was shoved before a rickety table. Adding to his confusion was what appeared to be an obstacle course of sorts set up around him made up of hoops, hurdles and winding tubes just big enough for a foal to fit through… attached to the ceiling. It reminded him of the playground at the orphanage where he and Hope would play. The rest of the room held a few more tables with objects and implements he couldn’t recognize that buzzed and whirred. To the side of the door were stairs leading up and down which stuck to the walls.

“Good, you’re here,” a voice called from behind. Star Swirl stood by the door, holding the orb which contained some of Sombra’s magic from the previous night. The old stallion placed the ball into his hat and moved to approach Sombra. “Now, before you can learn about magic, you’ll need to know what your limitations are.” He tapped his hoof on the table where a thimble sat. “I’d like you to pick this up.”

Sombra thought the request was a bit odd, and felt a bit shaken by the speed of the last few events catching up to him, but he obliged the old stallion anyway. Unlike the orb, the thimble lifted in the air by the black and green bubbling aura with ease. Star Swirl eyed the levitated object for a moment before pointing to a quill on the table. Sombra didn’t need any further instructions and lifted the quill up next to the thimble.

“Fascinating,” Star Swirl whispered. “As I understand it, you never showed much aptitude towards magic, correct?”

“I wasn’t very good with it, no,” Sombra answered. “I learned to write with my mouth before I could lift anything… I just assumed I wasn’t much of a unicorn.”

Star Swirl’s face scrunched, making him look like a fuzzy prune, as he stroked his beard in thought. “Maybe…” his eyes suddenly brightened as an idea came to mind. “You were made to infiltrate the Crystal Empire under the guise of a normal pony, correct?”

The question felt like a kick to the gut for Sombra. It was true, he was made to be a disguised weapon for the Umbrum, but the old stallion didn’t have to be so blunt in his questioning.

“Yes…” he responded eventually with some reluctance.

The other stallion didn’t seem to notice the soured mood of his student. “It’s possible that your previous lack of magical skill is due to the form you took. Using dark magic as a little colt would have drawn too much attention, so you probably had access to a minuscule reserve of mana. But how would you have used unicorn magic if you weren’t a unicorn?” he began to pace the room as he mumbled further questions too incoherent to hear.

This proceeded for half an hour before the old stallion stomped his fore hooves, causing Sombra to jump up from the seat he took on the floor. “I’ve got it!” he announced with a bug-eyed grin. “I simply don’t know!” He spoke the statement as if it were not only obvious, but the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

“Wha-”

“Try this as well.” Star Swirl announced, having abandoned the train of thought and returning to the central table. He rummaged through the pile of odds and ends, eventually producing a small cage/mousetrap. From the cage, he removed a squirming mouse, which upon seeing the fangs jutting from Sombra’s mouth, attempted to scurry away. Star Swirl was swifter than the little rodent, and snatched it back in his grasp.

“I… I’m not sure,” Sombra said. “I’ve never picked a living thing up… especially with dark magic. What if I-”

“Nonsense,” Star Swirl replied dismissively. “If I didn’t know the effects of dark magic infused telekinesis, I wouldn’t have you in my personal tower, let alone handle a living creature.” He gave Sombra a pat on the shoulder and nodded. “If anything goes wrong, I’m more than enough to stop it.”

Sombra breathed and nodded back. With a flick of his horn, he picked the animal up in his aura, and it began to twist and writhe. This caused him to immediately drop the spell and let everything fall. The mouse swiftly skittered behind Star Swirl in fear.

“I- I think I was hurting it,” Sombra explained. “It looked afraid and I jus-”

“It’s fine, my boy.” Star Swirl’s batrachian eyes focused on his student. His horn lit up and brought a cage with a robin inside to the table. “Lift the bird,” he commanded.

“I’m not su-”

“I assure you, my boy,” Star Swirl cut him off. “I’ll see to it that no harm comes to this creature. And it will make sense in a moment. Now… pick up the bird.”

Sombra swallowed his objections and chose to comply. His horn lit up again, and the frightened robin watched as the door to its cage opened. It made a dash to escape, but no sooner than it passed the opening did it find itself flapping to no avail. Sombra lifted it in his aura and watched as it continued to flap in an attempt to escape. Part of him, and he’d be lying if he said it was a small part, enjoyed the feeling of power over the small creature. It was fascinating to see it move so quickly, yet going nowhere. But he banished these thoughts from his mind. He’d not let himself fall so easily to temptation this time.

“Astounding,” Star Swirl whispered. “What do you feel?”

It took Sombra a few moments to understand what the old stallion meant by that. He returned his mind to the robin and felt what he did with the mouse. “Cold, but it’s not a biting cold like northern winds… more like...I’m not sure...”

This seemed to fascinate the older stallion as he began to observe the bird with scholarly focus. “When a unicorn lifts an animal or other living creature,” he began to use various implements Sombra had never seen to poke and prod the bird. “It requires intense focus and mental fortitude. This is because we must ensure the subject is not crushed in our grasp, nor that they slip out. It demands a precise amount of applied pressure to keep the subject elevated and free to move. Yet you show no signs of strain in holding the robin, its movements are completely unrestricted, allowing it to flap as if free. This is similar to previous accounts of dark magic.” He backed away with an expression of excitement poorly contained. “You may release it,” he offered.

The other stallion didn’t need to be told twice. He released his hold on the robin, which immediately shot through an open window. Sombra was about to ask what was next, when he had a stack of parchment placed before him.

“Note’s are the fulcrum of research,” Star Swirl announced, placing a quill and inkwell down. “You’ll want to write down our findings as we work, so begin with what we just discussed and the differences between unicorn magic and dark magic concerning levitation. Meanwhile, I’m going to prepare for the next test.” He didn’t wait for a reply and zipped off towards a far off table.

At first, Sombra was going to write with his mouth like he used to; however, given that he was being encouraged to use his magic, he saw no harm in trying the unicorn way, even if his horn writing was often a tad messy. The quill jumped to attention and dunked itself into the ink before coming to hover above the first page. It was sloppy, uneven, and the letters occasionally hovered or drooped out of line. Still, it was something.

After a few minutes of writing to himself, he looked up to see Star Swirl had removed his hat and cloak and had several of the odd tools strapped to his front legs. “Have you finished?” the old stallion asked. When he received confirmation, he leapt up onto the central table, sending parchments and bits of metal scattering to the floor. “This time, you’ll be lifting me into the air!” he proclaimed with an excited grin.

Sombra was, to say the least, surprised. However, seeing as Star Swirl was the teacher, and he… hopefully knew what he was doing, he obliged the request. Once again, his horn was enveloped and so was his target. Star Swirl found himself lifted a meter into the air by a cloud of roiling black and green smoke. Unlike the thimble or the robin, however, Sombra could feel some strain when lifting the older stallion up. It wasn’t much, but it was as if he was trying to lift a bucket with his horn. It was in no way heavy, but he could feel the weight. “You’re… a little heavier than the animals.” Part of him regretted saying that aloud, as Star Swirl instantly hit him with an offended glare and a harrumph.

“I’ll have you know I’ve lost a pound and a half this year!” Star Swirl grumbled with high dudgeon. “Now focus!”

After half a minute passed, Sombra felt the weight in his horn increase from empty bucket to bucket of rocks. He clenched his teeth as with each passing second, the strain grew. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and neck when he felt he was trying to lift Star Swirl’s actual weight with his head alone. “C-can’t… can’t hold an-any longer…”

Star Swirl tore his eyes from the glass doohickey with red liquid inside to notice the look of pain and tension on Sombra’s features. “It’s only been a minute and a half,” he said in a tone of confusion and disappointment. “Well then, let me down…” Sombra was more than happy to obey the command. He quickly lowered the older stallion and released his hold on him. As soon as the spell broke, Sombra began to gulp in air and fell on his rump. Star Swirl hopped off the table and brought his own stack of parchment with an accompanying quill to his face. “It seems we’ve found the first limit,” he announced as his quill moved at speeds Sombra had never seen in writing. “When a unicorn lifts an object, most of the weight is placed upon them while a small portion is handled by the magic. With time and practice, less and less weight is applied to the caster. The bigger and heavier the object or creature, the more difficult it is to lift; however, it seems dark magic, instead of placing the weight on you at once, gradually adds it over time. In theory, you could lift something three times your weight, but only for a short span of time, whereas a normal unicorn would need time and practice. The trade off is a well practiced unicorn could hold a heavy object longer than you. It’s like the difference between raw strength and stamina.”

Sombra had his quill moving as quickly as he could will it, hoping to keep up as Star Swirl spoke of the mechanics of levitation. He wondered if it would be in his best interests to practice lifting heavy objects to better condition himself towards lifting greater weights for extended periods of time. He’d have to ask Star Swirl sometime at the end of the lessons. He quickly added a small reminder on the corner of his new sheet.

“Now, according to the Quicksilver Meter,” Star Swirl pointed to the glass doodad on his fetlock. “The temperature around myself and the robin which you lifted lowered drastically and peaked at around zero degrees, the freezing point of water. Although, my breath was oddly invisible... I’ve theorized that dark magic, being the polar opposite of light magic, would remove heat. Darkness is, after all, the absence of light. It would stand to reason that dark magic is the absence of heat. You see, Celestia and Luna happen to know a bit of light magic-”

This caused Sombra to halt in his note taking and look up in surprise. “They do?” He immediately felt stupid for asking, considering they were the ones teaching Hope.

“Oh yes, alicorns are living melting pots of magic. They can access any magic which the three pony tribes are capable of, and unicorns can use dark and light magic.”

“So… aside from the names, what’s the difference between dark and light magic?” Sombra asked pensively. An addition to his question formed in the back of his mind, an addition which worried him and despite his reluctance, made it out of his mouth. “Is dark magic evil?”

The parchment and quill held aloft in Star Swirl’s blue aura fell to the floor as the old stallion’s eyes widened and turned to focus on Sombra. “Don’t,” Star Swirl commanded in a harsh whisper, his tone level and features serious. “Don’t ever think that your existence defines you as evil. I’ve seen a caster of light turn a pony to an ashy stain, and a unicorn mage set a town ablaze in “holy light.” The magic you wield does not dictate your character, what you do with it does.” With his left fore hoof, he tussled Sombra’s mane and offered him a warm smile. “You fear this power will corrupt you. Perhaps you’ve been told it can deteriorate the mind?” When Sombra nodded to this, Star Swirl sighed and shook his head. “For a unicorn… it will, but I don’t think that’s the case with your kind. Light magic has its drawbacks as well. Your friend, Hoop-”

“Hope,” Sombra corrected.

“Right… were she not a crystal pony, her use of light magic would bring her body to rot.”

This statement caused Sombra’s eyes to widen in terror. “W-what!?”

Star Swirl nodded grimly. “I’ve known many a healer and holy knight that met their end not by beast or blade, but from their negligent use of light magic. Just as Dark magic harms the mind, Light magic ruins the body. Oftentimes, it ages the caster slightly; but it can cause greater destruction to the wielder if overused. Light magic can do miraculous things… but at a price. The crystal ponies, however, seem to have a natural affinity to it that keeps them safe from the repercussions, though few practice it as their ancestors once did. Your very Princess is supposedly a practitioner.”

Once more, Sombra was flummoxed by what the older stallion was saying. “Princess Amore can use light magic?”

“From what I’ve heard,” Star Swirl’s voice took on a bitter undertone. “She’s specifically requested I not enter the Empire if I intend to study the Crystal Heart up close. She acts as if I were going to shatter the thing on the floor!”

“Well… it is sacred to… to us,” Sombra offered, though hesitated when the memory of the Heart vanishing into his bag played in his mind. The Heart was sacred… to the crystal ponies, but he hated what it put him through. A small part of him, a part that caused his gut to twist in guilt, regretted not destroying the Heart. He knew it kept the crystal ponies safe from the Umbrum and the cold, but the fact it robbed him and Hope of so much left a bitter feeling in his mouth.

“Humph!” Star Swirl’s verbal displeasure and bristling beard shook Sombra from his thoughts. “I didn’t want to go to her silly city anyway!” he declared, crossing his front hooves like an embittered colt.

Sombra smiled at the odd stallion. “So… you were saying?”

Star Swirl needed a moment to recall the conversation before he coughed into his hoof. “Right… as I was trying to say, You needn't worry too much about your magic. If the Umbrum are meant to be the opposing “shadow” of the Crystal ponies, it stands to reason that they would enjoy a similar immunity to their own magic’s deleterious effects. Of the three main branches of magic, dark magic is more suited to… less enjoyable spells. While light magic utilizes feelings of love, warmth, and insight, dark magic is drawn from fear, cold, and obfuscation.”

“That… still sounds evil,” Sombra noted with concern.

“Again, it’s how you choose to use it that matters. A normal Pony’s magic is connected to their soul, and by inviting fear and coldness into themselves, they can turn… not so nice. The warmth of light magic will sear and wither the soul, like leaving fruit out in the sun.” His small joke received no response, causing him to huff at how serious Sombra took things. “Anyway, you and the Crystal Ponies are different when it comes to magic.”

Having finished his lesson on morality, Star Swirl tiredly blinked his eyes a few times and scratched his beard as he looked about the room for something. His eyes eventually settled on the upside-down hoops and vaults on the ceiling and he clicked his tongue. “I hear you can turn into a flying cloud of smoke,” he spoke softly, returning his gaze to Sombra. “How would you feel about running through a little obstacle course?”

****

“Once more!” Star Swirl shouted. He wore a great smile, eyes wide and filled with wonder, as he commanded the moving smoke with Sombra’s head around the courtyard. It had taken a while for Sombra to remember how he had done it before, but once he had shifted, the feeling was truly exuberating. His best way to describe it was like swimming in the air. His speed was nothing to be impressed with, as Star Swirl could outpace him with a brisk trot, but his maneuverability was something to behold. He had spent over an hour twisting and bobbing through the hoops and obstacles Star Swirl had set up in the tower, laughing and whooping each time he swirled through a hoop or hurdle with ease. It only got tiring when Star Swirl started timing him, in hopes of seeing if the speed could be improved. This, according to Sombra, felt like wading through four hooves of snow uphill, and the harder he pushed, the clumsier he became.

Eventually, Star Swirl decided that his tower was too cramped to get a proper grasp on Sombra’s “umbral form” as he called it. His solution was to simply tear the equipment off the ceiling with his magic, and teleport them both to the courtyard, where Sombra promptly fell out of his form from dizziness, and a gardener whinnied in terror as the two appeared less than a meter in front of him. Star Swirl mumbled out a quick apology before setting the obstacles up in the open.

With more open space, Sombra was able to show off his speed, or lack thereof. Eventually, Star Swirl wished to see if the smokey form would allow any manipulation of the environment, and thus hurled himself at a black cloud with a shout of, “Catch me!” Sombra promptly panicked and “braced himself” as the older stallion landed in his smoke and began to fall to the ground at the speed of a feather.

Apparently, if he focused on it, Sombra could condense his body to make it more solid, allowing it to interact better with the environment. The catch was that he found it more difficult to fly and maneuver, and the object he was holding felt heavier than it should. Star Swirl , however, saw another possible use, and began running Sombra ragged with exercises in which he was to alter his form in various ways while condensing as much as possible. In three hours, the older stallion was having Sombra form a set of “stairs” which he’d walk up, leaping off, and then land softly on the ground below. While Star Swirl found the experience fun and exuberant, his apprentice was clearly in need of a rest.

“Alright,” Star Swirl called to the huffing mass of smoke. “Let’s take a break.” he trotted to a well-groomed sycamore tree in the yard and laid against the trunk. Sombra’s smokey form condensed itself at ground level, where with some ease it returned his body to a solid form. He let out a huff from his exercises before joining his teacher, plopping down on the soft grass in the shade with another great sigh of relief. The older stallion took his conical hat off and reached into it, producing a loaf of bread. Before Sombra could question this, Star Swirl answered. “Hat of Holding. Magic enriched fabric with a spatial expansion enchantment placed within.” He reached in once more and placed a pitcher of water with two clay cups between them.

Sombra accepted the cup and slurped greedily at the refreshing drink. He couldn’t help wondering what dark magic Star Swirl commanded to have so much energy, as the elder stallion had already caught his breath and summoned a large, timeworn tome thick enough to double as building material. The text moved from Star Swirl to Sombra, and the younger stallion squinted his eyes to make out the faded words on the cover.

“My old spellbook,” Star Swirl answered between sips. “All my students should learn the basic spells there. You can have it for the foreseeable future, but I expect you to learn every spell there before returning it.”

“Physical practice before reading?” Sombra asked. “Is this normal for your students?”

Star Swirl wavered a hoof about in a so-so gesture. “It depends on the student. Most want to do something practical before going into theories and study. You strike me as a colt who’s a hard study, so we began with some exercise so you wouldn’t get too antsy while reading.”

Sombra nodded, despite feeling like it made him sound bookish. He’d spent plenty of time studying books just to keep up with school, how bad could this be compared to learning to read and write? He opened the book to a random section and-

‘-Ley Line Theory, then it can certainly be a possibility to manipulate matter in such a way that near instantaneous extraction and displacement of said matter on Equas could be practiced. However, if Internal Mana Source Theory is correct, the displacement of matter wou-’

“Unwise to start with teleportation before learning more basics,” Star Swirl announced.

“That’s what all that word salad was supposed to say?” Sombra asked in shock, looking back at the page and trying to understand the multi-syllabled paragraphs. “Why didn’t you just write, “Teleport Spell?””

His teacher huffed and stood to stretch, but gave no response to the question. “Your work for this week is to read five spells in the book, and learn to cast one of them. Dark magic may make it easier to cast, but if you put in some of the effort required, you’ll hopefully use up less magic and find a balance of power and precision. You’ll also be practicing your smoke form as much as possible, and attempt to work on your telekinesis. I’d like to see you able to hold my weight for longer. I’d recommend practicing with multiple small objects, and then lift more until you reach a weight equivalent to a pony.”

“I’m not going to come to your tower for lessons?”

Star Swirl shook his head. “I’m not going to micromanage your learning. Students need to try to figure things out for themselves and have room to breathe.” He turned to leave, but stopped as he seemed to have forgotten something. “However, if you’re stuck with anything, or have questions, or simply wish to talk, my door will always be open no matter the hour.” Star Swirl gave Sombra’s mane another tussle and smiled. “You’ll do fine. Every student is different, and depending on the impressions they give, I can usually figure out a solid teaching method. You’re a lot like Luna, in that you have a strong will to learn but need a bit more self reliance.” His eyes seemed to look at something far off for a moment as a humored smile spread across his face. “I still can’t decide if she and Celestia are my best students or my worst.” Without another word, his horn lit up and in a flash of brilliant light, he and the obstacle course had vanished, leaving Sombra with the books and his thoughts.

****

Sombra had eventually retreated to the castle’s library after his lesson with Star Swirl, intending on getting a start on his first assignment. He figured he’d start with a simple flame cantrip for lighting small fires. Obviously, he’d practice the spells outside the library

With his guard escort leading, he came upon the grand, three storied section of the castle. The room was almost as large as the library in the empire, though far more comforting with the various reading areas littered with cushions and desks. The ceiling sported a large stained glass mural of the sun wrapped within a crescent moon. The soft yellows and blues had a strange effect on the sunlight streaming in, causing it to illuminate the library gently without the glare.

As he took his first few steps inside, Sombra spotted Hope sitting at a table with enough books to make a miniature fort… which she had done. Sombra coughed in an attempt to hold his laughter and approached the book-made keep. His friend was hidden by the “drawbridge” of her keep, but the bored sighs coming from the fort told him she might need some company.

“Those can’t really be the books you have to read,” he said as he took the seat opposite of her.

Hope’s head poked up from the walls of her fort, her dour expression shifting to excitement. “Who dares approach Fort Forlorn Hope!?” She whispered harshly, then turned to peek at the librarian behind his desk to ensure he hadn’t heard her.

“Already got in trouble?”

“Not allowed to use the ladders anymore…” she grumbled in reply. “Apparently, they’re, ‘not for riding.’”

Sombra looked at the tall ladders that were latched onto several towering shelves and smiled. They did look like fun to ride… He shook his head of the thought, not wanting to get in trouble and returned his attention to his friend. “Want to study togeth-”

“Yes,” Hope replied quickly. She lifted her book fort up and brought it to a section of the library with some cushions and a window facing the courtyard. Sombra followed, lying comfortably by the window and placing his book before himself. Without warning, Hope flopped down and rested her head against Sombra’s back, lifting a book to hover above her face.

Sombra tried not to laugh and nudged her with his foreleg. “There’s cushions all over here.”

“Yes, but this one’s squishy and soft,” she replied. Hope sniffed at the air a moment, then smiled. “And smells like lemon and boysenberry.”

“Your aim is terrible.”

Hope snorted, earning a hush from some hidden pony in the library. “And you throw like a foal.”

Sombra huffed, then chuckled before turning to his book. He had missed times like this; when he and Hope could just be together without her being torn away for some medical emergency. They had been slowly drifting apart after she had gotten her cutie mark,so it was nice to have another moment with her that wouldn’t be interrupted. While he knew their stay in Equestria wouldn’t be permanent, he intended to make the most of the time he had with her before she’d be whisked off once more by her mark’s calling. But come hell or high water, he’d be sure to be with her.

Regem et Patriae

by Autism Central

Footnote

One Night Down...

Lesson One