Umbra pawed at the ground, her horn glimmering with shadowy threats. "Until someone gives up, or the old-fashioned knock out."
"Not the first spar I've been in." Starlight waved it off without looking very worked up about it. "You can take the first move."
Umbra could see she wasn't being given much credit. "Well, alright then..." She brought darkness to bear in a great wave of purple and black that enveloped Starlight from all sides. "Let's see you fight what you can't — Ow!"
Starlight had zapped her easily, apparently aiming at where Umbra had been, and hadn't moved. "You should try moving when you do that." From her voice, she was already on the move in the darkness. "Don't spar much, huh?"
Crystal erupted from the ground where Starlight was already jumping, missing her by inches, though Starlight's next blast missed by a wide margin with a sidestep more easily than that first blast. "Not so simple when I move, is it?"
Sunburst and Twilight watched the two attack and counterattack in sprays of arcane fury, crystal, and darkness magic. "Huh, do we look like that?" Twilight inclined her head slowly. "Learn something new every day."
Sunburst raised an ear at Twilight. "Hello, um, princess. How does this relate to you?"
"She is my student, to start." Twilight kept her eyes set on the exchange. "And we have fought like this many times. I don't use so much shadowy magic, of course. I don't like shadow magic. Not... as a preference to others, but wrapping my head around the shadow runes is harder than it appears."
Sunburst watched as Starlight returned with a wall of shadow. She clearly got that spell from the book she had been allowed to read. "Starlight doesn't have that problem, it seems. Is she... really that good at magic?"
"Quite good." Twilight seemed proud of that fact. "We spar because she enjoys practicing. I'm not her magic teacher, though she learns some things from me in that regard."
"What do you teach her then?" Sunburst peered at Twilight with some confusion. "I thought magic was your 'thing', from what I've been told."
"It is, but Friendship is Magic, as my thesis goes. Because of that..." She rolled a hoof through the air. "I take both seriously, and I'm teaching Starlight about one of those while practicing the other. That makes sense, right?"
"Huh..." That Friendship equated to Magic was a new concept to him. "I thought magic was one part learning and study, one part practice, and one part talent." He sank in place. "Two out of three isn't bad, right?"
"Three out of four." Twilight set a hoof on Sunburst's shoulder. "You're gaining friends quite easily and they would gladly help you, or just hang out. Seems to me you've got friendship mostly locked down, which is good, and may help with the thing you feel you're missing."
With a burst of light, Starlight dismissed the shadow in a wave of power that sent Umbra flying back in a rolling tumble. "Battle wizard is one title of many I could take." Starlight was coming closer with a victorious smirk. "Nice try."
Umbra melted against the floor, darting out at Starlight with uncanny speed. With a roar, she burst back into being in a spray of crystals that forced Starlight back with an array of small nicks and cuts. "I'm not done yet!"
Twilight blew a whistle sharply, getting both combatants' attention. "The train is coming soon. I declare Starlight the winner of this exchange, but it was a good match. I hope you both learned something from it."
The two met with firm hoof clops. Umbra was chuckling darkly. "That was new and interesting. I'll be better next time, promise."
"Don't threaten me with a good time." Starlight began heading towards Twilight. "Did you see that?" For all her seriousness in battle, they still rated the approval of her mentor highly. "I used her shadow magic against her. Ha, that was good!"
Twilight led her carefree student away, back in the direction of Ponyville. "I saw her surprise you a few times. It was not a one sided battle."
Twilight's delay did not come without a price. The train that arrived carried her parents. They gushed and cooed at their new grandfoal, but did not let Twilight go away. "Did you see your daughter-in-law?" Velvet grinned at her daughter a bit too wide. "Really makes you think."
Night Light adjusted his glasses, not that he wore any, and not that this stopped him from making the motion anyway. "Time is ticking, young lady. Though the alicorn process may have some impact on the — "
He didn't get to finish as Velvet drove an elbow into his side. "You are not going to end up like Princess Celestia. Think more of being like your sister-in-law!" Yes, surely that was a more fecund princess to take after. "Any stallions catch your eye? Do tell!"
"Mom!" All her attempts to flee had failed. Twilight tried to power past the clingy parents, but they weren't letting her go easily. "I'm busy with other affairs."
Starlight suddenly threw herself between the two mares with a smile. "I'll be sure to keep her on track."
Velvet backed up a step in surprise. "Oh... Who are you?"
"This is my dear student." Twilight threw a hoof over Starlight as the two retreated away. "Who I am taking back to Ponyville. Ta ta!"
Night Light inclined his head slowly. "Huh... Do you think she swings that way?"
Velvet colored. "I wish she'd just tell me if so! I'd stop asking about that." She crashed to her haunches. "I'm not trying to be a terrible mother!"
"And you aren't, dear." Night Light was there to cradle her and rock with her a moment. "Oh, Flurry looks like she wants your attention."
"She does?!" Velvet forgot about all the other problems in favor of playing and making silly faces at her grandfoal. That took highest priority easily.
"It's back." Shifting worried her hooves. "I can tell."
Umbra hiked a brow at her worried girlfriend. "What's back so I can punch it until it stops bothering you?"
"They're searching." Shifting glanced about and moved to close the window blinds. "And trying to be subtle about it. They musta saw a changeling, somewhere."
Umbra went to touch nose to cheek, but Shifting danced away. "Wow, you must be really upset if you turn that down."
"Sorry!" Shifting sank to her belly. "Not trying to bring things down. I know you're not the problem."
"Glad to hear that." Umbra sank next to Shifting. "So want me to go ask around, get the details?"
"Would you?!" Shifting smiled brightly in hope. "Please."
"Already on the case." Umbra pulled herself to her hooves and got walking out of her room. She didn't have a hard time finding Shining out barking commands at a group of soldiers. She let him finish before finishing her approach.
"Umbra." He was turning to her at the same time. "Your timing is amazing. You helped us before so I was hoping you could do it again."
Umbra clapped once. "Is this about changelings?"
"You knew?" He reached up and tapped his nose. That Umbra flinched as if booped was proof enough. "Your intuition is spot on. You're the hero of the empire, so we were hoping you could rejoin us."
"Always happy to help." Umbra wagged her tail and danced in place. "Which way first? Last time, we didn't find many changelings." Just one, and Umbra had kept quiet about it. "You sure it'll be better this time?"
"I think so." He pointed off with one hoof as the other gestured for guards to come closer. "Take this unit and head that way. Hopefully, we can find something. If you see anything, let us know."
"On it." Umbra saluted sharply and began leading the group out in the direction Shining had pointed. "Huh..."
An idea came to her. She willed her tiara free just long enough to tap at her chest in morse code. It was three letters, characters really. 'Hi.' Either they knew it, or they did not.
'Is... tha..t.. you?' came the reply with flutters in her chest from tapping that wasn't hers. Umbra grinned with newfound triumph at the line of communication.
"Yes. Not g...ood a...t... it. Hi." She nodded to the guards she was hiking alongside and refocused on the search as her tiara landed back in place. Talking was possible! That was the important part by far.
A rustle, a movement? Umbra wasn't entirely sure. She was sure if it was an actual changeling, she didn't want the guards to tackle them to the ground first. "Check over there." She casually pointed in the wrong direction. "I'll make sure here's safe." She trundled through the snow, sniffing for trouble.
Did changelings have a smell? Her girlfriend did, but that was Shifting's smell, not every changeling ever's scent. "Hello? Wanna talk?" She slid down a small embankment. "I'm not here to start any fights, promise."
She skewed an ear as she walked past a large rock. Changelings could become rocks, right? But she'd be there forever if she poked every rock suspiciously. "You must be scared..." Umbra sat down and stopped looking. That spot had a bit less snow than the rest. "You must be alone." A single changeling by itself? "Is Chrysalis chasing you?"
"I-I hope not!"
Umbra skewed her right ear towards the voice but resisted turning towards it. "I hear she's a real jerk. I have experience with those, so I know that's a bummer."
"She's really mad..." The voice was small, as if scared, and wasn't coming any closer. "You know her?"
"Her specifically, a little." She brought up two hooves close together. "I know someone who knows her, and not in a good way. If she doesn't like you, then I can give you a point already."
Silence returned. Had they left? Was she alone? Umbra sat still and patiently, hoping that wasn't the case.
"You're an odd-looking pony."
Umbra smiled at the clear sign that she still had company. "I get that more often than I'd want to, really. My name is Umbra and it's nice to meet you, really. Even if you are a little lost lovebug."
"Lovebug?!" A hiss, and the crunches were coming closer. "That's not a very nice name to call me."
Umbra peeked over her shoulder without turning. She couldn't quite see what she was talking to. A guy, by the sound of it. "Give me a better name and I'll use that. I gave you mine, so it's only fair."
"Um." The mystery figure sat behind her from the flumping crunch of snow. "Not sure I should."
"I get that." They were talking. Progress! "Let's just chat then. I'm friends with a changeling. Shhh, don't tell anyone."
"You say that funny." She could hear the smile in his voice. "Why do you say it like that? Anycreature is what they use."
"Where I'm from, creature has some negative meanings." Umbra flicked her ears forward. "So anyone it is. You are one, right? Just one, any one. I'm one. They're one. One one. Prefer not to be a creature."
"Huh..." Quiet settled around them. "You know you have a changeling behind you, right? Aren't you... scared?"
"Not to frighten you back." Umbra smirked with a bit too many fangs. "But you're talking to the shadow crystal princess of the empire, who may have a changeling for a girlfriend, shh. Seriously, keep that to yourself if you care about changelings being happy."
"You've mentioned that." Quiet... "You keep telling me a secret. I could tell every...one... that. Aren't you worried?"
"Why would you do that?" Umbra wanted to turn, but resisted the urge. "You're a lost changeling too. I'm guessing. I could be wrong. If you're an infiltrator, oops, sucks to be me." She laughed despite the dire nature of that sitution. "Guess I just messed myself up in that case. Gonna hope you're not one of those."