Once word was sent to Canterlot, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence arrived with a squadron of Royal Guards, bringing relief and medical aid to the Crystal Empire's citizens, helping them rebuild their homes and businesses while the last of the umbrumlings, those not destroyed by the Crystal Heart's energy wave, were swiftly dealt with. The non-crystal ponies' new forms were temporary, much to Rarity's chagrin and the others had the misfortune of hearing about it for the next few hours. Twilight saw little of Sombra during that time, except to prevent Shining Armor from putting him through a wall. Once the situation was explained, he reluctantly backed off and kept his distance, through he still kept a suspicious eye on the umbrum as they assisted in the reconstruction of the castle. Amber Laurel and the other castle staff members had been freed from their confinement by the Crystal Heart, celebrating this by squeezing Twilight and Sombra into a group hug, which Sombra amazingly returned and told each and every one of them how glad he was that they were all safe.

The crystal ponies, having seen how Sombra fought alongside Princess Celestia, cheered him on and presenting him hoofshakes and embraces, with Peridot even kissing him on the cheek and referring to him as her hero. He scooped the filly up and gave her a ride on his back as he went door-to-door offering his aid. Twilight looked on with pride, overjoyed to see him finally accepted and seen as the stallion she knew him to be. Way to go, Sommy. Even though she was happy for him, she couldn't face him at that moment. There was still much work to be done and she had to figure things out about their relationship, about where to go from there and whether or not they could be together independent of fate.

"Twilight, could we speak for a moment?" Princess Celestia asked, interrupting Twilight's train of thought. "Unless you want to keep hammering in that same nail you've been working on for the past five minutes?"

Realizing her folly, Twilight sheepishly dropped her hammer and nodded, "Uh-he-he, s-sure. Let's go." She was led to the roof of the Crystal Castle and, taking a cue from Celestia, sat down to stare out over the kingdom, taking in the vibrant colors that shimmered despite the destruction all around. It reminded Twilight of their moment prior to leaving for the Crystal Empire, which seemed to have happened years ago instead of mere months.

Celestia was the first to break the silence: "Why aren't you speaking with Sombra? Did something happen?"

Straight and to the point as usual. Twilight inhaled sharply. "I don't know how to feel. I love Sombra and he loves me but...I just don't...know if it's because we care about one another or if it's just because we're soulmates. How do I know if it's real? Does he even love me for me or because there's something larger at play."

Celestia nodded, looking as contemplative and sagely as ever. "Twilight, I think it's time that I told you something. Remember when Luna and I told you that you and Sombra were soulmates? Well, the truth is, just because you are soulmates with somepony, it doesn't mean that you'll end up together."

Twilight stared opened mouthed at her. "Wait what? But I thought that was the whole point!"

The alicorn smiled. "Being a soulmate just means that you are drawn to somepony, that your souls are in tune in a way that only the both of you can be. There have been times where two ponies were soulmates but did not end up as a couple due to different circumstances such as premature death or a clash in personalities."

"But why didn't you tell me? I've been freaking out for the past few days!"

Celestia leaned in with a raised eyebrow. "Be honest with me: had Luna and I not told you of your connection to Sombra, would you have given him a chance? Would you have opened your heart to him?"

Twilight opened up her mouth to protest and then promptly shut it. "No. No, I would not have."

"If it truly worked that way, then you two would've been making kissy faces the very moment you made contact. You are drawn together, this is true but your feelings, your love for him and vice-versa, is one-hundred percent genuine."

Things became clear for Twilight and she smacked herself for being so stupid. Once again, she took something basic and pure and overanalyzed to the point that she threatened to destroy something good in her life. She spotted Sombra down below helping Shining Armor lifting a piece of large debris and magically sealing it back into the house it belonged to, visible tension still occurring between them but a hint of some sort of mutual respect brewing. I'm so sorry I ever doubted you. She realized that Celestia was also watching Sombra and the question that had been burning in her mind for the past few months could no longer be contained. "What happened between you and Sombra?"

Celestia jumped slightly at the query but remained posed and seated. She sighed, a prolonged, pained sound that reminded Twilight of an old mare full of regret. "It was all my fault. I...abandoned him."

1,000 Years Ago...

The young alicorn nervously paced back and forth in the garden, wondering if the new perfume she'd selected was too much or if her mane looked straight. Her midnight rendezvous' with Sombra were always the highlight of her days, the sight of the stallion always leaving her breathless. Celestia frowned, noticing that he was late, which was odd since he was always on time or, in an adorable haste to see her sooner, arrived early, usually with a bouquet of flowers. Where is he? What if something happened to him?! Stop it, stop thinking that! Sombra is fine, quit worrying!

A pony-shaped mass of darkness landed behind her, lacking the usual grace accompanying him. Yes, Hyperion be praised! Her fears assuaged, Celestia raced full-speed to meet her beloved only to skid to stop upon closer inspection. Sombra was hunched over and breathing heavily, not at all assuming his natural posture of regality. His scarlet eyes, burning like stars, were now listless and stared straight ahead into nothingness, as though Celestia wasn't even there. King Erebus' crown rested upon his dark-maned head and, to Celestia's horror, what appeared to be blood was splotched on his face and the front of his dress coat. "S-Sombra? What's happened?"

Lucidity returned to Sombra's eyes and Celestia nearly cried out at the abrupt way that he wrapped his forelegs around her. His chest heaved against her in gentle sobs as her neck was wet with his tears. They stayed like that for some time before he finally spoke, his voice strained and cracking with sorrow. "I...killed him, Tia. I killed..my f-father. He's dead."

Celestia was stunned. King Erebus was a wormy pervert that leered at anything mare-shaped, often finding his impersonal gaze scanning her young body and could feel nothing but repulsion for him. In their most intimate and private moments, Sombra spoke at length about the horrors his father put him through, how he wished the old stallion would drop dead and leave him in peace. It seemed inconceivable that Sombra, even though justly furious and frightened of Erebus, would ever actually take his life. "Sombra, look at me. Look at me. You're alright. You're going to be fine."

Sombra lifted his head up and sniffled, nodding uncertainly. "Okay Tia."

Celestia took him by the foreleg, her other hoof stroking his wet cheek. "Come on. Let's go inside." She began to lead him towards the castle but felt him resisting her, his hooves digging into the ground. "Sombra, what's wrong?"

"I can't go inside! What if your parents discover what I've done? I have to go back to the others, make sure that they're okay. I'm...I'm king now and they need me."

"Sombra, there are what, only fifty umbrums left? Come on, my parents will know what to do and this conflict can end."

Sombra shook his head. "What are you saying? I can help them, teach them to love like you did with me. They can change!"

Celestia's grip strengthened as she pulled Sombra forward. "No...ugh! They can't! You know what they've done, what they'll continue to do. Equestria comes first. They can't change and they won't! Umbrums are spiteful and black-hearted creatures. The alicorns must deal with them if-..."

She nearly tumbled backward when Sombra wrested his foreleg free, his eyes alight with pain. Celestia's eyes filled up with tears as she realized far too late what she'd said. "Sombra, I...-"

"Is that what you think? Hmm?" Sombra's voice came out in a raspy growl she'd never heard before. "That they're just monsters beyond hope and redemption? That-that they should just be wiped off the face of the earth?!"

"Sombra, that's not what I meant!"

He rounded on her, his fangs bared aggressively. "Then what did you mean, Tia?! They're my people and I need to help them. You just said that they're black-hearted creatures and I'm an umbrum!" Tears welled up in his eyes, giving him the appearance of weeping blood. "I thought you were different! I loved you and you said you loved me back!"

No, no this can't be happening! Celestia tried to face Sombra but he repeatedly turned away from her. "But you're wrong! I do love you! It's just that with the way alicorns and umbrums are-..."

"I let you in, I gave you my heart!" Sombra began hyperventilating, the tears flowing freely. "I thought you loved me for who I was but now I see you only loved me for who I could be. It's just like my father always said: 'Nopony could ever love an umbrum.'" He added bitterly, his horn glowing with purple fire. He withdrew something small from out of his coat pocket and lobbed it at Celestia's hooves. "Keep it. I don't want it anymore."

With tentative hoofsteps, Celestia approached Sombra, her hooves gliding across his back. "Sombra, don't do this..-"

The umbrum lunged forward with snapping jaws, sending Celestia sprawling onto the ground as he roared loud enough to shake the heavens. "DON'T YOU TOUCH ME! DON'T EVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!" He raced away from her, shooting into the sky like a black comet.

"SOMBRA!" Celestia wept, her hooves finding what he'd thrown at her and staring at it with shock: a diamond-studded wedding ring. "Sombra…" Above her, a pony-shaped shadow rocketed further into the starlit night sky, a wail of anguish and despair bursting from his throat.

Present Day...

"True to my word, I let him go," Celestia said mournfully, pulling aside her collar to reveal a gold chain and hanging from it, an ornate, diamond-studded wedding ring. "For over two-hundred years, I tried to forget about him. Then, I learned that the Royal Vault had been broken into and one of the relics, the Alicorn Amulet, had been stolen. The guards reported it looked like a shadow, except it was like a living shadow. A scout told us that the Crystal Empire was readying itself for war, that every stallion, mare and foal was being forced to mine raw minerals and forge weapons.

"Taking a platoon of Royal Guards, Luna and I marched on the Crystal Empire, finding Sombra waiting for us outside the kingdom with an army of mind-controlled crystal ponies and a legion of umbrum warriors. He delivered an ultimatum: give the Crystal Empire to the umbrums or there would war. We said no and the battle began. After several hours of fighting, all of the umbrums lay dead or dying and Sombra himself was facing off against our finest fighters, the Alicorn Amulet boosting his already impressive still in the dark arts. I tried to reason with him but he was too far gone. Using the Elements of Harmony, we turned him into a shadow and sealed him beneath the ice. The Crystal Empire vanished and a dying umbrum soldier told us what Sombra did, why he needed the Alicorn Amulet. A curse of that magnitude needed something to take the strain. So...now you know."

It was a lot of information to absorb, so Twilight sat silently, processing Celestia's tale of heartbreak. "That's...awful. You said those things to him." Celestia winced and looked away shamefully. The Princess of the Day had always seemed so chipper and kind to everypony. Then again, nopony's ever stayed the same throughout their life. "But maybe he overacted...just a little bit."

Celestia grasped at the chain so that the ring hung at eyelevel. "No, he didn't. Sombra was right. I loved him but not enough to accept him for who he was. I was bigoted against umbrums and I thought that if I could change him, it'd be easier to have him in my life. The truth is...it was a little easier not having him around, not to be afraid of being judged. And that made the pain of his absence and the guilt that caused it that much harder to bear."

She placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and looked her dead in the eyes. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Out of all of the stallions that I'd met over the centuries, I only ever loved Sombra. If you love somepony...then don't let them go."

Hiding the chain underneath her collar, Celestia rose and spread her wings before taking off. Twilight watched her soar away and peered down once more at Sombra, who was now being served hot chocolate by an overly-enthusiastic Pinkie Pie and drinking in a circle with her friends. While she couldn't hear what they were saying, the smiles and laughter were unmistakable. If you love somepony...then don't let them go. Twilight stood up, her resolve hardened by Celestia's words. No, I'm not letting you go, Sombra. You're mine.

Author's Note

And now you all know what happened between King Sombra and Princess Celestia. Sorry for the wait but I thought it had to have come at a point where Celestia had seen how much Sombra had changed for the better and to inspire Twilight to fully give him a chance, the chance she herself missed out on.

On that topic, who do you think was in the wrong? Sombra or Celestia?

Next Chapter: A shocking change...DUM DUM DUM!