The sun shined brightly over the Star Garden, setting the crystalline plants and flowers aglow and fulfilling its namesake by bathing the place in thousands of dazzling lights. Twilight sighed contently, feeling the sun's rays take her into its warm embrace. She was reclining in a lawn chair made of malachite and cushioned with the softest pillows she'd ever laid upon, the Star Swirl book situated in the crook of her right foreleg as she hungrily devoured word after word. She gazed over at Sombra who was busy growing roses out of variscite, rotating his hoof over each flower and willing them to bloom, his eyes watching the buds open up with sheer delight. Once he'd finished with the twelfth rose, he made his way over to Twilight and sat in the chair opposite her. Twilight had grown accustomed to having Sombra in close proximity, a concept that once scared her to death but now seemed as normal as breathing and couldn't imagine him not being close to her.

"Twilight?" Sombra asked after a period of extended silence, wringing his hooves nervously as he tried to find his voice. This got her attention as he'd been rather relaxed around her as of late. "About that day when I caught you in my room...I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry."

Two words. They were two words and yet they carried so much weight to them. Twilight observed Sombra, noticing his downcast eyes and slumped shoulders, which would've looked cute on a colt that had been caught stealing out of the cookie jar. Instead, it was so genuinely remorseful that Twilight couldn't bring herself to laugh at the mental image. Instead, she replied, "Sombra, it's alright. I know that I broke your one rule and it was wrong of me to invade your privacy."

Sombra's head shot up. "It's not alright. I lost my temper with you and drove you into running into a blizzard and a pack of killer wolves." He scooted closer to her and took her right hoof into his own, turning Twilight's cheeks a deep red. "Everypony fears me. It's a fact that I've come to live with. But you're the one pony in all of Equestria that I don't ever want to fear me. Never you, Twi."

"You called me, 'Twi' again."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You just called me, 'Twi.' You also said it when I woke up after the amarok debacle."

"I did?" He admitted puzzlingly. "If I did, then I apologize. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Twilight chuckled, amused with the umbrum's sweetness. "No, it's okay. I like 'Twi.' You can call me that if you like. That is, if I can call you...'Sommy.'"

"'Sommy?' Hmm, fine but only when we're alone. I have an image to maintain after all."

"Of being an evil pony-snatcher with bad fashion sense?"

"Touché."

They'd taken to using witty banter with one another, which worked well as they used it to establish their shifting power dynamic and to challenge one another in verbal sparring. Besides, it was just fun. "And yet," Sombra added smugly, "Here you are enjoying the pleasure of my company. It just goes to show that no mare can resist my charm."

Twilight looked up from her book with a deadpan expression. "Riiiiight, says the stallion that had to beg me to be his fiancée." She delighted in seeing Sombra's loss of words. "And that's a point for me. As Rainbow Dash would've put it, 'You can't outmatch my awesomeness!'" They both became very quiet. She sighed, calling to mind her friend's brash demeanor and cocky, devil-may-care grin. As overbearing as Rainbow's ego could be at times, at least there was never a dull moment with her. Or with the rest of her friends for that manner. Seriously, did they ever just have a normal, uneventful day?

"You miss your friends, don't you?"

Twilight nodded but said nothing. Sombra took one look at her downtrodden face and knew that he had to do something. But what? He couldn't just let her go; her friends would never let her come back and Celestia would condemn him and possibly have him thrown into the deepest, darkest dungeon and throw away the key. An idea presented itself and Sombra almost hit himself for not considering it sooner.

"Twilight? There's something that I'd like to show you."

Once more they descended down the throne's secret entrance only this time, they entered a fork in the underground corridor and arrived at an alcove with a statue of what appeared to be an umbrum on his hindlegs, a raised sword in his hooves. With a practiced motion, Sombra withdrew the red gem from his crown, which Twilight noticed had a small notched key sticking out of the bottom, and slipped it into a hidden keyhole in the statue's breastplate. A door slid open in the alcove behind the statue and Sombra led Twilight through it, arriving in a large octagonal room filled with all kinds of objects and relics that she'd never seen before or only heard in myths and legends.

"This is the Hidden Gallery, where the most powerful weapons and tools of the Umbrum Empire are kept. My father had it built to ensure that all of his prized possessions were kept safe and secure. This, however, is why we're here." He directed Twilight's attention to a small pedestal in the center of the room, where a thick cloth covered something spherical on top. With a magic-induced tug, the cloth slid off, revealing a partially-translucent obsidian stone, white swirls wrapping around its surface like clouds. It hummed with an ancient power, drawing the pair towards it.

Twilight was beside herself with wide-eyed surprise. "Is that the Black Bead?" Not long after the founding of Equestria, Clover the Clever created thirteen magic crystal balls, come to be known as the Beads of the Rainbow or Clover's beads. It is said that they were infused with the rarest magic of all and were thus twice as powerful as ordinary crystal balls, being able to peer long distances and actually view events either in another time or even another universe. One was given to the alicorns, who received the Blue Bead, the earth ponies were given the Green Bead, the Pegasi were entrusted with the Gold Bead, the unicorns were gifted with the Crimson Bead and the Black Bead was watched over by the Crystal Ponies. The rest were kept by Clover but over time, through uncertain circumstances, the Beads were either lost or presumed destroyed.

"That it is, Twilight. It originally belonged to the old rulers of the Crystal Empire but when King Erebus invaded, it was hidden away in an old antechamber. I only found it by accident and it was tricky hiding it from my father. Anyway, the reason we're here is so you can use the Black Bead to converse with the princesses. Theirs should still be in Canterlot."

"They don't have one of Clover's Beads. Celestia would've told me if they did," Twilight answered, coming off more defensive than she meant to. She was surprised and touched that Sombra would do this for her but also felt that there was no way that Celestia would keep this big a secret from her.

"Does Celestia tell you everything? Has there ever been a time where she didn't hold back information or fully answer your questions? She may've taught you everything you know, but she hasn't taught you everything that she knows." Sombra's explanation seemed a bit curt but then again, Princess Celestia was a sore subject with him. Twilight wanted to make a retort, wanted to disprove what he said but his words carried that same old cold logic of his and she found herself doubting her friend and mentor. She told me that Sombra was a pony with a heart as black as coal but that didn't turn out to be true. She said that they were together but acted as though there was more to the story. What else hasn't she told me?

Lighting his horn ablaze with purple energy, Sombra rubbed his hooves above the Bead as it glowed with a white aura in its center that dissolved and reformed into the crystal-clear image of a gigantic room filled with books, swords, golden staves and ornate paintings. "This must be the vault. The Beads can only communicate with other Beads so it'd make sense that Celestia would lock it up somewhere secure. You can never tell who might be listening in."

Twenty minutes passed before they heard the stomping of armored hooves and a small legion of Royal Guards came into view, lead by none other than Princesses Celestia and Luna, who glanced at Sombra's face with disgust. "Your Highnesses, loyal alicorn minions, greetings to you. Tia, you're looking well. I'm amazed that a mare of your age has managed to keep her figure."

Celestia glared at Sombra but kept her voice low and diplomatic. "Sombra, what are you doing and how are you using the Bead? And further more, what gives you the right to call me that?"

Sombra grinned, "I have a Bead of my own but that's not what's important. I promised Twilight that she could talk to you and I am a stallion of my word. Go ahead, Twi."

Twilight moved into focus and sheepishly waved, "Hi Princess Celestia, hi Princess Luna. It's me."

The two alicorns exchanged a look of shared skepticism. Celestia pointed a hoof at Twilight. "If it's really you, tell me something only the real Twilight would know."

"Hmm. Okay, when I was studying at the castle a few summers ago, Princess Celestia and I were walking down a hallway when picked her nose and when she flicked the booger off, it accidently landed on Spearhead's tail." All eyes were suddenly on Celestia and a tangelo-colored Pegasus backed away slowly from her, his eyes flicking over to inspect his tail. The white alicorn chuckled nervously at Spearhead and then directed her attention towards Twilight.

"It's you but next time, try going with a fact that's less...embarrassing," Celestia whispered while Luna struggled to suppress a laugh. "Are you alright, Twilight? Are you happy?" It was a codeword the two had devised in the event that Twilight was in trouble and couldn't outright say so. If Twilight replied with "Yes, I'm happy" or something similar, it meant that she was either being held against her will or was surrounded by those that meant her harm and using that word would ensure that Celestia would send help ASAP. Thankfully, they've never really had cause to use it. Until now.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm fine, Celestia really. Sombra's treating me very well. He gave me my own library! Can you believe it? And before that, he grew some crystal orchids for me in this place called the Star Garden."

"No, I can't believe it. Wait, Sombra allowed you into the Star Garden? It's off limits, he told me so himself." Celestia was floored. Once, she and her family traveled to the Crystal Empire back when King Erebus still ruled and Sombra took her to where the garden was hidden. He told her that as much as he wanted to bring her inside, it was his special place and only showed her the garden through the slightly ajar gate. He...he really does trust Twilight, doesn't he?

"Really? Huh, that's weird. It's just so great to see you! You too, Princess Luna!"

"It is nice to see thee as well, Twilight," Luna answered, catching a glimpse of Sombra off to the side as he gazed at Twilight. "Methinks that the time is nigh for us to have a chat with thee. Alone."

Author's Notes:

Sorry, no bad puns this time around. Maybe next time.

The Beads are based off of Maerlyn's Bends (Bends o' the Rainbow) from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, which I highly recommend for fantasy/sci-fi readers. Just ignore the movie, it does the novels a serious injustice.

I based the Black Bead's design off of the film version of the palantir from The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.

The bit with Celestia just came from the top of my head mid-writing and seemed hilarious.

The "Happy" codeword was something my mom taught me whenever I'd go to visit my dad. Long, boring story there.