"Though you came from the dark, your heart always held that spark. So let us walk forward today," sang Cadance, finishing her ballad as she bade Umbra raise with a glowing horn, drawing that vital spark free. Her own had been a bright pink, to no particular surprise.
Umbra caught her by surprise, though she realized almost immediately that it shouldn't have. A ball of purples and greens with flecks of darkest black, her spark was as shadowy as the rest of her. Instead of darting around her questing freedom, it encompassed her entirely, then exploded, ending the vision in darkness.
Shadow cast from nothing stretched across the floor of the entry hall, just to congeal into a darker circle that tightened further still as Umbra stepped free of it, new wings spreading out to either side. "Holy wow!" were her first words. So let it be written.
Rainbow was upon her first. "Welcome back, but also... how?" She waved a hoof in a slow circle at all of Umbra; larger and winged. "Seriously, you alright?"
Rarity smiled, but didn't approach. Walking was too much effort at that point and time. "A princess, how lovely!"
Twilight flopped over, wanting to get closer, but also failing completely at the task. "So many questions..."
"Wow!" Spike approached at a spirited jog. "Look at you."
Confusion and cheer were about equal as ponies beheld what had happened to Umbra.
"Nng." Cadance was recovering, Shining already at her side. "Is..." She looked around as she sat up, seeing things were, relatively, in order. "Good... good... Hm, Umbra? You must be so confused right now."
"A little." She flapped her new wings projecting in two entirely new limbs on her back. "My entire wardrobe is wrecked."
Rarity gave a tired laugh. "I knew that pony was made of good stuff."
Cadance drew herself up to her hooves. "I know that feeling, however distant it is. Umbra, you are a princess. You have proven to harmony itself that you are worthy of the title." She curled a hoof to her chin. "Though the how of it eludes me in its entirety."
"Yay." Umbra sounded only mildly pleased. She folded her new wings in tight. "Does this mean I'm being kicked out? There can't be two princesses in the same place, right?"
Shining started towards her. "Perish the thought! You're a hero, um, again."
Umbra sat down, but was upright and tall. "I refuse to take credit, especially all of it. Refuse! If it was just me there, woulda lost, super hard. All those shadow things and Dry? No no no! Totally dead." She angled an ear. "But I wasn't alone. I had a bunch of really brave ponies that didn't accept defeat. I tooted the horn, but you didn't have to rise to it. This is not my victory, damn it, so don't go saying it is."
She spotted a particular pony and extended a hoof towards them. Soon Shifting was within range of hugs, extracting squeaks from the crystal bat. "I won because of all of you." Maybe extra credit to the tricky changeling, but she didn't say that, at least out loud. Hugs were good enough for that subtle message, yes?
Applejack removed her hat to place at her chest. "Whoever did the winnin', yer the one that's a princess."
"You know what this means?!" Pinkie was vibrating with excitement. "It's so party time." And off she charged to get those preparations underway.
Rainbow elbowed at Umbra. "Do you even know how to use those?" She tossed her snout in the direction of the new wings.
"Not even the faintest clue," Umbra admitted without reservation. "They make passable fans." She gave them a new flap, kicking up a mild breeze in the area.
Cadance's smile only grew. "Well, you have a talented flyer right here. Rainbow, would you?"
"I was working on it." Rainbow huffed. "Whattaya say? I'll have you using those bad boys like you were born with 'em!"
"Sure, yeah, but something's bothering me." Umbra was looking at Cadance directly. "How did you do that telepathy thing? I didn't know that was a thing you could do."
Cadance allowed a weary smile. "Neither did I... But we are bound." She gestured at the crystal line that only she could see. "And I was desperate. It took a lot out of me, but I managed a few whispers."
"See?!" Umbra waved dramatically at Cadance. "This wasn't my win, Christ on a stick. If Cadance hadn't done that, I wouldn't have even tried the first thing, and we woulda lost even faster. This is a group win. A group win." She glared at the ponies in view, daring them to argue with her.
Rainbow laughed instead. "You are really eager to not take the credit for a win. Why is that?" She lifted into the air with nary effort. "I'd be soaking in the praise if I pulled off something so awesome."
Umbra booped Rainbow's floating snoot. "Then we are different, and that's alright, my chromatic friend. Where I'm from, it's knowledge that history is often written to be about 'Great Persons', ignoring everything that actually got them where they got. Very few historic moments were the single work of any single person."
Cadance smiled at that. "Wise words. We are here because other ponies supported us." She leaned against Shining a bit more in emphasis. "Even Celestia is not who she is entirely alone. Still... Let us admire you, just for a little while."
Umbra snorted at that, but she was smiling. "Hey, where are the others? Did everyone go home already? Everyone alright?"
"Yeah, no." Spike shook his head quickly as his hands waved negatively. "The hurt ponies are in the medical wing." He pointed the way. "The not-hurt ones though, they're home. We couldn't find any lurking shadows in the city, so the emergency's over."
"Oh, yay." Umbra smiled, though it grew into a sharp grin. "Seriously, yay!"
The crowd echoed the yay, hooves clopped in celebration, however tired it was, and short it lasted. "That's better... We did it. And seriously, how does that work?"
Cadance twitched an ear at Umbra. "First, you are not a princess 'of' anything yet, just a princess. What you will become princess of will become clear to--"
"--Shadow." Umbra leaned forward. "Duh?"
Cadance snorted softly. "What seems obvious at first isn't always what it ends up being. I earned mine by reversing a spell." She smiled gently. "But did I become princess of spells or magic or arcane items?"
Umbra waggled a hoof at Cadance. "Was it a love spell?"
Cadance colored at that, caught. "Putting that aside, for now, you are a princess without a specific title. That will become clear to us as you learn your new self. That aside, I lived with Auntie Celestia for quite a few years even after my status as 'Princess of Love' became clear. We princesses of Equestria are not a jealous tribe, overall."
"Well, good!" Umbra hopped once, trying to go higher on her new wings, but barely managing to slow her descent by a precious moment. "I feel... like I should be more tired than I am. Is that normal?"
Cadance rolled a hoof. "Auntie explained it once. I was drawn in full form. I was very tired afterwards. However, sometimes a pony can be recognized during a more... explosive transition. In that case, an entirely new body is made." She nodded at Princess Umbra. "Which means you're not tired because, your mind aside, that entire body is new."
"Awesome."
"Took the words out of my mouth." Rainbow elbowed at Umbra. "You look up for it. Let's get flying!"
The two departed, Rainbow half dragging Umbra along to begin her flying lessons.
Shifting stood up, no longer being hugged. "Um, glad things are better now."
Shining considered the bat. "While I am glad to see a friend of Umbra, you are her crystal mentor, are you not?" Shifting bobbed her head. "But why are you here, right now? You weren't in the battle, thankfully. There was little room there for a crystal artisan."
Shifting laughed awkwardly. "Yep, not a place for a crystal worker. But I was worried, for Umbra." Shifting wriggled from her bottom to her tufted ears. "She sees herself as a superhero! And I'm scared it'll get her hurt."
"That... I can see." Shining turned away from Shifting, seemingly satisfied with her place in it all. "I somehow doubt becoming a princess will cure her of that."
Rarity scoffed. "Very much the opposite, I should imagine."
"Why is she so far away?" Twilight was still unable to make any real progress towards the new princess, until everything went down. She was being hefted up, by Applejack. "What?"
"Time fer good little fillies to get some shut eye." Applejack trotted off with a wailing Twilight, denied her chance to study the exciting new thing.
Rarity took up the gem from before. "This little bauble is quite the thing." She looked around. "Does Umbra want it back? She didn't say I could keep it." Nor did she say it was supposed to be returned. Rarity looked of two minds.
Fluttershy shook her head quickly. "Put that d-down... Hopefully we will never even want something like that, ever again!"
Rarity did put it down, instead moving to sit next to Fluttershy's prone form. "Dear, that took a lot out of you, didn't it?"
"Yes!" Fluttershy wailed out, face covered with her hooves. "I'm just... glad it's... over... I don't think I'm ready to be that brave..."
Rarity leaned in. "But you were, darling. Remember what Umbra said. She just opened the door. You are the one that walked through it. You were so very brave, and helped save us all."
"It was terrible!" Fluttershy grabbed Rarity, burying her face into the warm softness of her friend. "It was like I was a whole other pony!"
"I know, I know..." It didn't seem that Rarity was nearly as upset about her 'battle face'. "It's all done now." She gently stroked and patted at Fluttershy's back. "You're safe now."
Spike smiled at Rarity adoringly. "You were quite the vision, Rarity, um, fighting like that."
"Wasn't I?" Rarity gladly accepted the praise. "I felt like a little pony god, raining judgment on those foul shadow things." She laughed low but meaningfully. "Oh, that was an experience. Spike! Whatever happened to you? I didn't see you during all that chaos. Were you hurt?"
"Nah! I was guarding the stairs." He pointed the way. "Those shadow creeps wanted to get up and terrorize the ponies hiding up there, but I didn't let them past." He puffed out his chest proudly. "When Umbra did her... whatever that was, it was... actually kind of amazing."
Rarity clopped her hooves together just past Fluttershy. "Well! Now I'm curious. What did it do to you, Spikey dear?"
Spike grabbed at his snout. "Crystals all around my mouth! And down over my throat." He trailed in two lines with his claws. "I felt like I had fire for days! The shadows didn't have a chance. Besides fire being, um, hot, it was also bright. They couldn't get past me, not one single step."
"Oh! I wish I could have seen it. You sound so very dashing, Spike. I suppose we were all heroes today. That includes you." She hugged Fluttershy carefully, still a bit of a mess. "We came together and protected the Crystal Empire against all odds. Now, really, gonna hope we're done with that sort of drama for quite a while now."
"Really." Spike bobbed his head quickly. "This place has been rescued enough times. Oh, are we heading home?"
"Of course not." Rarity smirked at that. "Pinkie is planning a celebratory bash, and can you even imagine trying to avoid that?"
Spike shuddered, knowing the futility of even trying such a thing. "Fair point... Alright, party first, then we go home!"
"Yay," weakly got out Fluttershy, liking that last idea.