Sombra rubbed his temple in exasperation and groaned angrily, burying his face in his hooves. 3 years had passed since his father had come home from Canterlot to announce that Sombra would become Princess Luna's protege.
At first, Sombra was enthusiastic to hear this. Finally! He would be able to learn advanced magic instead of the basic spells he had figured out on his own, such as levitating things and writing without hooves. The latter he found very useful for studying.
A knock on the door startled him, and he turned to see who it was, his quill still scribbling on the parchment. "Oh, it's just you." His unexpected guest raised her eyebrows at him, closing the door behind her.
"Just me," Princess Luna repeated, moving closer to the table. "How are your studies coming along, Sombra?" She peered over his shoulder to check his work. The parchment was filled with equations and notes, some scrawled out other only half finished. "Hm?" A particular piece caught her attention.

Crystals emanate an amazing energy field. The elemental spirits will love to bathe in their energy. The energies in my room from all the high vibrating spirits and all the Crystals in my house are just way too much energy for . It is not bad energy... it is all good energy. Since Crystals are amplifiers of energy this makes them perfect for a communication device. Crystals are great to use for communicating with higher beings such as Angels and Ascended Masters. Being that Crystals are pure energy they will also attract higher vibrating spirits around you because of your energy field being and up by these beautiful living gems that Mother Earth has given us.

"Ah, crystal magic again?" Sombra nodded, and turned back to his book, scanning the text for anything useful. Luna watched him, a solemn look on her face. "Sombra, why don't you ever talk to anyone outside the castle walls?" She extended a wing to tilt his chin up, her cerulean eyes boring into his.
He refused to meet her gaze and pulled away. "I don't have time for something as boorish as socializing, Princess Luna." He walked over to the closest bookshelf in his room and lifted a heavy volume, rifling through the pages. "I'm close to figuring my destiny out." He turned to look at his flank, which contained a cutie mark depicting a trio of crystals growing out the ground with four sparks surrounding it.

Luna thought back to when his cutie mark first appeared and weakly smiled...

Luna lifted a small test tube filled with a green liquid. "Now watch carefully Sombra." She slowly tipped the tube over on a small dish and closed her eyes. Her horn lit up with magic and zapped the liquid, crystallizing it.

"Amazing..." Sombra watched with wonder, as the crystals grew more spines. He lightly touched one, it's surface was smooth, free of any flaws. Luna smiled, nudging another tube at Sombra.

"Here, now you try."

"I...how do I do it?" Sombra asked, slightly confused. Luna had not explained how she had crystallized the liquid, only done the demonstration.

She huffed, "It's part of creation magic. You visualize what you want in an object and turn it into something else. I decided that it's easier to start with liquid, rather than a solid object." She paused for a moment, to make sure he was listening. "Using your innate link to the aether in all things, you can shape it to your will. Solids are more difficult, as they already possess a form. In order to transform them, you must break the ethereal bonds that hold them together and reform them." Sombra gaped at her, and she gave him a patronizing smile. "It's no mean feat, even for an experienced magus."
He nodded and licked his lips, glaring at the test tube. He poured the liquid out as he had seen her do and concentrated on the task. His horn glowed and the result was...

"..." Nothing. He crossed his hooves and tried again. Still nothing. He sighed and rested his forehead on the table.
Luna patted his shoulder with her wing, comforting her student. "It's all right, I didn't get it on my first try either." She paused and looked at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's late for you, Sombra, consider going to bed." She exited the room where her Night Guards had been patiently waiting and disappeared from his line of sight.

'I can do this,' he thought, licking his lips in anticipation and rubbing his hooves together. Straightening out, he took a breath and tried again. He kept going for another half hour, with no results to show for it.

"Why?!" he slammed his hooves on the table, anger welling inside. The small sound of shattering glass alerted him. He lifted his head up and was startled by the large black crystal protruding from the table. "I...I did it!" he exclaimed gleefully, wiping his brow. He almost didn't feel his flank tingling. Almost. He was too tired to care and fell asleep on the table.
The next morning, Luna would come to check on him after her duty of lowering the moon to make way for her sister's sun. She found him on the floor, surrounded by black debris. At first she was startled, thinking he had accidentally hurt himself, but on closer inspection, she found him breathing and the debris was crystalline.

Careful not to wake him, she moved closer to inspect the crystals, fascinated by the progress her student had made. Her delight soon changed to concern. 'What is this I feel...?' She lifted a black crystal with her magic, examining it closely. 'It vibrates with anger and frustration, but...why?'

As far as she could remember with her time in teaching Sombra, he had never been a negative pony. She glanced at the sleeping colt, watching his chest rise and fall. Something on his flank caught her eye and she gasped. His cutie mark...

"-an't see how amethyst would even begin to compare to quartz. It's superior in every way," Sombra concluded, puffing his chest out with pride. He peeked over at Luna, and frowned. "Princess Luna?"

Luna's eyes flickered, "Oh yes. Amethyst." Tilting her head, she thoughtfully stroked her chin. "I do recall there being crystal caves under our city." She faced him, smiling. "Would you like to see them?"

Sombra gaped at his teacher in surprise. "Really? They weren't mentioned in any of my books." He nodded over to the sizable stacks of books littered around the room and dressers.

"They wouldn't be, no one really knows that they exist, save for me and my sister."

"Oh..." he was silent for a moment, thinking about it. "Say, Princess Luna. Do you ever get lonely?"

"Lonely?" Luna asked, confused at the sudden change in topic.

"Princess Celestia raises the sun and all of ponykind works and plays under it, yet sleeps during your nights..."

"I'm not lonely..." she breathed out, turning away from her student. Straightening up, she added, "I have my Sister, my guards, and you, my dear student. Why ask?"

Sombra shifted on his hooves, looking everywhere except at her. "No reason. I just miss my family...I haven't seen them for three years, aside from the occasional letter from Luz." He trotted over to the window and gazed at the night sky. "I heard that Father is now training him to be King. I...I have begun wondering what my place will be when I return..."

Luna joined him at the window, staring out at the sleeping town. A small wave a sadness began to swell inside her, his words ringing in her head. "Perhaps you would like to go see them? Would you like to go back?"

His head snapped in her direction, his eyes wide. "Really?!" He then coughed, embarrassed by his outburst. "I-I mean, would you really allow me to visit?"

Her bark of laughter resonated against the walls, "They are thy kin, are they not? Who are We to deny you that?" She was shocked when she felt Sombra embrace her, and she awkwardly hugged him back.

"When can I go?" he asked excitedly.

"In two days if you'd like." There was another whoop of joy that filled the night air, which ended in giggles from both Sombra and Luna.

Luz tapped his hoof impatiently on the desk. It had been three years since the last time he had been able to have fun. Ever since his brother left to study magic, the Prince had been undergoing kingship lessons from his father.

Today was no different. Lucent rapped on the desk to snap Luz out of his thought. "Pay attention young colt. We're covering our ancestors today." He launched right into his lecture. Luz merely groaned and planted his face on top of his hooves. Today was going to be another long day.

Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank a special anon from /mlp/ that helped me with this chapter when I was stuck. Whoever you are.