Yes! After days of agonizingly waiting for the wretched festival to end, I was finally able to execute my plan to retrieve the child from Hope. Though the effects of the Crystal Heart were still contaminating the air and made it almost hard to bare it. I have to complete the task at hoof.
Meeting with Mother before the assault, I stood before her as she sat on her throne.
“Tonight is the night,” Mother said, staring down at me, “the child will return to us so we could continue our plans. Sombra, do whatever it takes to bring Umbré back.”
I nodded in response, granting her a small bow as in result. “I’ll bring it back to you.”
“Don’t...fail me this time, my son.” mother hissed at me before sending me on my way.
With a nod, Mother’s horn glowed, my body engulfed in magic before teleporting me up to the surface world.
The cold brutally hit against my coat, standing in the field of the hellish field of ice and snow to only see the smoke of the cabin in the far distance. The stench of love lay thickened in the air, making me sick to my stomach just standing out here. But I have to shut it out, the time was nigh.
If Hope knows what was good for her, she’ll back down and hand the child over. If she doesn’t, I will have no choice but use my powers on her…
Even if it means killing her.
I began my descent towards the cabin, my magic melting the snow all around as I walked, warming the air all around.
Sombra….
A ghastly voice rang in my ears as I moved forward.
Please my son, don’t do this!
That voice...I was filled with such hatred when I realized who it was speaking to me from the great beyond. Only one other mare called me that and she was the one who made me this way..
Amore…
“Amore...you have no hold over me no more,” I gravely spoke. Mists of dark magic seeped through my eyes as I kept walking towards the cabin. My dark abilities were clawing out of my flesh, wanting to unleash it all around the Empire, all over Equestria. “I don’t know how you are speaking to me from your shattered parts, but get out of my head.”
I looked to and saw the apparition of the former princess, her transparent ghastly body was obscuring the home.
I’m sorry for banishing you, I’m sorry for everything, but please...leave the two alone. You’ve been brought back to life for a reason. Use this to begin a new life, out of Obscura’s reigns. The princess begged for them.
I snarled at her feeble attempt before passing through the figure, the apparition faded away and so did her voice.
Damned her be, it was her fault that drove me into my dark path. She was my teacher, and I her student. A mistake was made and she casted me out, Hope didn’t even pleaded for my stay and let me out here to die. Mother brought me back, gave me purpose, my intentions of ruling the Empire.
I will have that chance, even if I have to use the child to get my throne back.
These past few days were amazing to Umbré. Nothing but love and affection from her new caretaker. The tiny cabin was slowly expanding so the foal could have her own room where she could do pretty much whatever she wanted. Toys were literally scattered everywhere and empty bottles of milk were present as well.
Hope enjoyed having the filly around. Her heart swelled each time she’s around her, especially since after the faire she went to the court’s office and gained the adoption papers so she could legally adopt Umbré. She was also currently talking to Sunburst to see if she couldn’t have the spell that could tone down the filly’s unstable magic just enough to where she won’t hurt anyone.
But until then, the furniture, the photos, the kitchen sink, all of that was in the air and became the baby’s playthings.
“I see some little filly is going to be a powerful unicorn.” Hope giggled as she marveled Umbré’s magical properties.
Umbré squealed in laughter and joy, periodically levitating herself so she could hop off the surfaces of things she was lifting up.
Hope watched her with a smile. “Umbré, can you call me, mama?” she asked as she sat on a chair and watched her.
“Hopey, Hopey, Hopey!” the foal squealed as she floated into a basket. Hope used that time to grab the basket and pulled her down to her and hugged her.
All the stuff just dropped to the ground, causing the mare to jump with a nervous yelp.
“Oh my.” Hope commented on that as the baby giggled in innocence. She looked to Umbré and smirked. “I’ll get you to call me mama eventually.” She nuzzled up to her cheek. “I have you all to myself, adopting you and all that. You’ll come around soon.”
Now those were the words Umbré could get by. Hope was everything Mother - Obscura - was not. Hope was caring, loving. Would do anything to keep her happy, feed her, change her...love her.
Love...this amazing feeling that surrounded her tiny heart. The darkness was there, but with love to keep it company, she felt complete, whole. And it’s all thanks to Hope.
Umbré planted a kiss on her cheek and cooed in happiness….
Then, this looming dark presences crept along her spine. This feeling of fear and darkness and smoke filled her bones. She remember this feeling. Though when she first came cross paths with him, she thought he’d be an ally...but he was an ally with evil, with Mother.
And he was right outside the cabin.
Umbré started to fuss loudly. Pushing Hope on her head to get her to turn around or to do something. To warn her that a very bad stallion was here.
“Hopey, Hopey!” Umbré cried out. Repeatingly pushing her to move her head to look or to get going. She tried lifting her using her magic but Hope wasn’t budging.
“Huh? Umbré, what’s wrong?” Hope asked with a concerned look. “Is everything okay?”
Umbré cried out, trying to get her to understand. Hope stared at her before she looked up just in time to look up at the mirror and caught a crimson red beam growing closer to them.
Hope gasped loudly before holding her daughter close, her magic quickly engulfed the two and they teleported just as the beam hits the cabin and it exploded.
The two rolled into the cold snow, Umbré started crying loudly being outside once more.
“It’s okay, honey, I got-” hope gasped when she looked up and saw that the cabin was reduced in crimson blaze. The sky turned red and grim, this feeling crept her nerves. Holding Umbré close to her body, the unicorn slowly stood up and turned around…
And faced Sombra himself.
“Sombra…” Hope muttered my name softly. Holding the child in her hoof. Seeing it holding her for protection, depending on her to save it’s life.
There was something different about Hope. Last time her eyes were filled with hopes of redeeming me, thinking we would be together if she would to revive me. There were still love in her eyes, but something else. It was colder, darker towards me. No fear, no traces of such when she looked at me.
“I’ve come for the child, Hope.” I demanded at her, stepping towards her. “If you know what it’s good for you and your wretched life, you will give it to me willingly.”
Hope tightened her hold on Umbré, stepping away from me. Trying to put as much distance as she could between me and the foal.
“Why should I? So you and whoever you have allied with could poison her with the same evil that poisoned you? Not a chance, Sombra.” Hope hissed at me.
“That foal is not a normal filly. It is-”
“I know what she is. A hybrid.”
The child’s eyes widened in surprise, looking up at Hope. “Hopey…?” it spoke softly.
Hopey? Now that was just ridiculous.
“I know what she is. I didn’t know at first, but I quickly learned that she’s like you. An umbrum.” Hope said, staring me down.
“Then you know that having it around you will only cause you pain and destruction. Give it to me at once.” I told her, standing only mere five feet from Hope. “Don’t make me have to kill you.”
Hope’s magic glowed, engulfing the child hold. It cried loudly as the foal was ripped from Hope’s arm. But instead of levitating it to me, she carried Umbré to a tall shelf that was lying down in the snow, picking it up with her magic to set it up straight and placed the foal on the top shelf and placed a shield around it whole.
“I will not let you take my daughter away from me.” Hope stood defiant.
“Hopey…” Umbré whispered from her perched.
I let out a humorless laugh. Daughter? She was that idiotic to even care for the little abomination. To even calling it that as if the child was truly hers.
“Foolish idiot. So be it!” My horn engulfed in its magic before blasting at her.
Umbré was forced to sit back on this shelf and watched Hope have a magical duel with Sombra. She whimpered softly, curling up into a tight ball of fear.
When Sombra shot that high concentration of magic beam shot at her, Hope teleported out of the way, appearing to the right side next to where the beam hit with a snarl.
Hope’s horn engulfed in gold aura, the snow underneath the unicorns’ hooves began to move, raising up in the air above her head. They swirled around Hope before they rapidly solidifying into sharp icicles, aiming right at Sombra and shot at him.
Sombra turned into smoke, letting the icicles ran through him before taking off into the air. His horn consumed in darkmagic caused the ground below Hope to shake. Large shards of black crystals raised up and encased her.
Lights broke through the crystals and they shattered into tiny little pieces. Hope snarled before shooting at Sombra with her magic, the blast was so powerful that when it hit Sombra, he was knocked him out of his shadow form and knocked him to the ground out of surprise.
“Thanks for that longevity curse you set upon me years ago, I had over a thousand years of practice.” Hope snarled.
When Sombra took over the Empire, before he and the empire were banished, he cursed Hope with longevity, forced to spend all that time alone while her home was lost. She had a lot of time to work on her magic.
Sombra started to laugh, staring down at her. “Well good, I didn’t want this to get boring anyway!”
Umbré shook from where she was at. Watching this fight rage on. The classic battle of good vs evil, everything was - as cliche it was - everything was at stake. If Hope wins, she’ll be able to have a good decent life, a normal life filled with love and joy. If Sombra wins...if Obscura wins, then Equestria would be lost forever.
Beams of gold and purple/green flashed across the red streaked skies. The terrain around them was getting destroyed by the magic being flown around. The foal watched in fear, placed her hoof out on the shield and watched.
Fear...she felt this feeling before, during her first few weeks underground, being constantly afraid by the shadows, by mother. The feeling returned twice over, this time...she feared for Hope.
As she watched the magic duel, she didn’t see that her purple hooves where turning black.
I couldn’t believe this, fighting with Hope in equal terms. All I ever known of Hope was her uncanny ability to heal all alement, seeing her with this much power, being able to keep up with my power, it was something else.
When I cursed her with long life, I meant it for her to suffer for betraying me, suffering of being forced to watch as her so called home becoming my empire, seeing her people become my slaves…not learning these powerful spells being used against me.
The spells Hope used was impeccable. From blasts of concentrated magic, manipulating the ground around her, even creating a golem out of ice and snow to fight alongside her. The spells she was using was at that of an alicorn.
Truly, from what we saw in the reflection of the crystal heart many eons ago was correct, she has a potential of becoming a princess. Her power right now shows it.
Having problems, my son? I heard mother’s voice echoing in my head.
“I got this!” I hissed at her as I used one of my powerful spells. The skies above flickered in lightning, the winds picking up heavily, the ground shook. A to-
This is getting ridiculous. The child is more important than this sow. Mother's voice rang again. Allow me to help…
“I said I got this!” I snapped at her as a funnel formed above us. Lightning and ice swarming inside of it, coming to touchdown and wreak havoc.
But as it touched the ground, the spell sputtered out. “Huh?!”
“What's wrong?” Hope called out.
I tried using my spell again but the results were the same. “What the hell is fucking going on?!”
Ooh. I should've mentioned your magic has a limiter on it. I placed the spell there just in case you want to try and betray me.
Oh my Goddesses that did not just happened! I was too speechless to comment on that. She put a limiter spell on me, knowing what I was doing!!??
“Sombra?” I snapped head back up to Hope. Her gaze softened at me. Giving me that one look that meant she still cared for me. “Is everything okay? What's wrong with your magic?”
I don't even fully realize it myself.
Well, that's bad on my part, love. I'm sending reinforcements to your aid. Just grab the foal.
“What?!” I shouted.
“Sombra?” Hope startledly asked.
The ground shook beneath us. Crackling beneath our hooves, opening to the underground city. Sounds of the umbrum screaming and shrieking as something rushed above the surface.
I looked down at the hole before looking at Hope. “Hope, run!” something deep inside of me shouted out. My voice wasn't disembodied like it was before. A piece of my old self came out to warn her...followed by this old flame igniting. “Get out of here now!”
Hope looked at me before she gave me a nod and took off towards Umbré.
But...she didn't even get close to her.
“MAMA!!!!” Umbré screamed.