"Thanks for coming over." Shifting adjusted a few trinkets on the top of her fireplace. "I know your schedule is packed these days."

"Too packed, for you? Hardly." Umbra watched, seated on her haunches. "Besides, today's a holiday."

"And you want to spend it with me?" Shifting looked over her shoulder. "You could be with the princess. I hear they do a big thing at the palace each year."

"You just explained exactly why I skipped out." A wry smile was on Umbra's face. "No, Christmas with a single good friend easily wins out over a big holiday bash."

Shifting expressed her feelings with a pouncing hug and a joyful squeak. "Um, sorry if you don't want to talk about work, but what are you building?"

"It isn't a secret." Umbra squeezed Shifting gently until another squeak was produced. "I'm making a big arena, for events and sports and things. It's going to be huge! Still working on the foundation of the darn thing." She waved her hooves as if to encompass the big project. "It'll be great, eventually."

"Sounds great." She bobbed her head with a bright smile. "Don't need an inspector?"

"I was... challenging myself a little. I can't get better if I keep relying on my sempai!"

"You use such funny words!" Shifting stuck out her tongue at her odd friend. "Christmas? Sempai? Did you used to talk another language before you came here?

"In a way?" Umbra raised a hoof to her chin. "Funny thing about that. You're all talking English, which you guys call Ponish, so far I can tell. Sempai is another language. Christmas is still English, you guys just call it 'Hearth's Warming'. Still the same basic idea, winter festival with lots of lights and pageantry and family fun."

Shifting clapped her hooves. "Yeah, all of that. Um... But you're not with family."

"I'm not?" Umbra leaned forward. "Sure looks like I am. Family you make is the best kind of family if you ask me."

Shifting's ears folded on her head. "Oh..." The idea of it, a great weight on her. A new idea entirely. "Oh!" Her cheeks began to darken, spreading across her cheeks and down her neck. "You... I'm really your family?"

"Duh." Umbra smooched that dark nose. "A dear and cherished friend that I'm spending the holiday with. Sounds like the kind of family I'm talking about."

Shifting burst into giggles, though her smile had returned, agreeing with the idea. "Yeah! Do you have other friends?"

Umbra recoiled a bit at that. "That's a funny question."

"Is it?" She poked at Umbra lightly. "My door's open. If any of them want to hang out with friends today, well, a friend of yours is probably a good pony."

Umbra nipped Shifting's left ear in revenge. "I escaped a party and you want to make a new one? What if I'm perfectly happy with my royal lovebug?"

Shifting's ears twitched, perhaps in part at being nipped at, but other feelings were at play. "I'm still... impressed? Confused? I don't know the word." She worried her hooves together. "That you know what I am, but also don't care. You know changelings have hurt a lot of creatures in the world, right?"

"So I hear." Umbra leaned forward. "But you haven't hurt me, or anyone else I know. Last I checked, you aren't given a choice what you're born as. Shoot, been through it twice! Neither time was I asked what I wanted to be. The second time though, they got it pretty right." She thumped herself on the chest. "Magic pony princess! I'm pretty alright with that choice."

Shifting giggled at that. "Magic... changeling princess?" She tried to emulate Umbra's proud stance. "It doesn't have the same ring to it..."

"You have a lot of baggage on that word." Umbra trotted suddenly across the room. "So what are classic Hearth's Warming things? Hit me with classic treats and games."

"Oh!" Shifting was off in a flash, and flaps, wings carrying her swiftly into the next room over. An oven could be heard being opened. "Phew, just in time."

Umbra poked her head into the kitchen to see Shifting pulling out a tray with mittens that fit on her wings in what, she decided, was an adorable way. The smell of the cookies reached her. "Mmm. Christmas cookies, fresh baked? Now you're talking."

"I'm not a super great cook." Shifting set the tray down. "But I hope you like it."

As it turned out, Umbra did like it, and the company she had while she nibbled away at it.

Umbra's tongue poked free as she worked conjured crystal delicately between two real-crystal slabs, unifying them tightly.

"Ma'am." A crystal pony in a postal uniform stood at her side. "Letter for you."

Umbra flashed a great smile. "For me?! Thank you." She took the letter with her magic and flipped it right open.

Hello, Umbra,

I swear I didn't do it to imitate you! You've likely heard by now, though I didn't see you at the coronation. We're both princesses now. Rainbow gave me much the same treatment as she gave you. Wings are not easy to use! I have them mostly under control now. How are yours working out? We're both recognized by harmony for our advances in the field of magic, I feel.

"Huh." Well, she was a shadow wizard! That was magic! She looked back at her wings as they spread themselves wide. "I'm... alright with you two." One came in and she smooched the feathers. An urge came over her and she spent a few quiet moments preening them before she realized what she was doing. "Except when you pull that on me!" Her eyes went back to the letter.

A tangent, I realize, but also a good part of why I wanted to reach out. To explain, I was given my crown for discovering the magic of friendship itself. I'm still learning how that works precisely, but I've seen it enough times. For that matter, so have you! Without the magic of friendship, things would have gone poorly for you.

"Two magical pony princesses for the price of one!" She thrust a hoof in the air. "Um, hm. There's Celestia." She tapped hoof to hoof. "Not much 'magic', but also kinda magic? Moving the sun is magic, but she doesn't do the arcane thingmuch." Umbra frowned in thought. "Luna's a shadow pony. She has spells, and uses them, but is stingy about sharing them!" Twilight was the best princess around for asking for magic advice, so far Umbra could figure.

Your arcane advancements and achievements should not be ignored. You are using shadow constructively, a feat quite rare, and to defend against other shadows? Speaking of that, I've been dying to know, any new discoveries? I want to hear all about your findings, if you care to reply to this letter. We can be pen pals! I'd be happy to share what I learn in kind.

"Sure thing." A pen pal? Why not?! A perfectly fine place to pester Twilight about any shadow magic she might have tripped over!

Oh. I should be visiting in a month or two. Already looking forward to seeing you and Cadance, not to mention my brother. It'll be nice to do it without any great calamity falling on us. Just a little princess summit. My first princess summit. Your first princess summit. You will be there, right? You are a princess! I'm getting off track. Of course you'll be there. I look forward to being there with you.

"Princess Summit?!" She had not been informed of any such thing. On the other hand... "I get to poke Luna directly." She could flee easily in the dreamworld, but in reality, yes, she could ask without being brushed off. Maybe she could learn dream magic! Maybe Luna knew other shadow spells that she'd share? The options swirled and Umbra began to laugh, which turned into an evil cackle.

"Bad time?" Wensley had arrived, watching her cackle with a little smile. "I can come back later."

Umbra cleared her throat. "No no... Shadow princess, cackling comes with the territory." She tapped at her chest as if to clear it. "But all done with that." She folded the letter and tucked it away. "Just learned something I have to bother Cadance about later. What's up, W?"

"W?" Wensley inclined his head. "Never called that before. Good day, Shady."

Umbra stuck out her tongue. "One nickname for another? Fair trade." She turned back to the great arena-to-be and resumed her work. "How are you feeling?"

"Doin' alright." He parked beside her, watching her shadowy magic do its work on those big blocks. "Those look heavy. Ain't they heavy?"

"Very." But she proceeded, pulling and pushing as needed. "Oh! Tomorrow I won't be here." She pointed downwards. "Gonna go with the mining crew and see what I can learn about that process, maybe lend a hand while I'm there. If we can get the crystals coming faster, this project will be done faster, and everyone involved wins."

"That sounds excitin'." Wensley took a deep breath. "Bet you could squash a pony with one of those."

"Bet I could," calmly agreed Umbra. "But I wouldn't, and neither would you."

"It'd be wrong," quickly agreed Wensley, glancing around. "But the thought came anyway."

"I'll let you in on a secret." She brought two heavy blocks together with a deep thump of heavy stone meeting. "I thought about that. I think about that every time I get that big thump. Ha Ha, take that, random pony that annoyed me for a second yesterday! But I wouldn't ever do that. I don't think you would either."

"You do?" He lifted an ear. "But you seem so nice. Everything you do is nice."

"One, I'm still a shadow princess." She leaned in to the side towards Wensley. "I got some dark in here. But I'm also nice. Nice shadow, that's me." She nodded firmly, agreeing with the idea. "Still, I bet if you asked another pony, you could get them to admit their dirty thoughts if you came at them the right way. You're not alone, I swear."

"I feel like it..."

"Which is why you came to me." She raised an ear. "And I'm telling you that. Tell you what. I'll do it, but you have to believe me. I'll make a sheet of pony's dirtiest thoughts. They'll tell me." She curled a hoof on herself. "I'm Umbra! Great and Glorious!"

"Great and glorious," echoed a passing crystal pony. "Thanks for helping!" She waved eagerly on her way by.

"Hold up there." Umbra smiled at the located fan. They weren't hard to find. "I have a question for you."

She would be the first, but not the last, to reveal her dirty little secrets to.

"Princess summit?!" Umbra waved at the floating letter, peering at Cadance. "Why wasn't I told about this?"

"I've been trying to let you just be yourself." Cadance nodded softly. "You've been through so much, much at our own fault. I didn't want to drag you into some official thing you didn't want to be at."

"Hum, well, yeah. I can see that." Umbra rolled a hoof slowly. "But, next time, ask. I may say no, I may say yes, but asking will probably not annoy me. So what's a princess summit?"

Cadance sat up. "It's really not that big of a deal. It's an excuse for those princesses with a station, or involved in that process, to meet and discuss current events and plans for the future. Auntie and Luna should be there, as well as little Twily." The smile on her face was that of a proud aunt, which she was. "And maybe you? I thought you wanted to avoid--"

"Nuh uh." Umbra shook her head quickly. "I'm a magic princess. I want to do my princess duties, which means meeting the other princesses and talking princess stuff." She flashed a toothy smile, sharp and dangerous. "Let's discuss tax policies."

Merr Chrismas! What, you thought I got today off? Ha.

Day 25/28 of the Month of Updates!

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