Umbra glared at the dark. She could see the street and what was around herself. No ponies. Had they left when things got violent? Good. But she didn't see the umbrum.
"Whore." She wheeled around to find a figure approaching her with a scowl and bristling wings. Shifting Prism snorted angrily at her. "Slut."
Umbra flipped one ear back. Those were not words Shifting had used, or felt right for Shifting to use. Still, it did hurt to hear them said. "I am here to offer amnesty, not fight."
"Are you trying to 'be reasonable' again?" Shifting stomped in place. "Stop trying to explain your way out of everything!"
Alright, that hurt... How did that umbrum know so much about how to get at her? "This isn't about me."
"Everything is about you. Star of your story, of all our stories." She circled Umbra in a predator's stance. "What a pathetic lead role. What did I ever see in you?"
Did that umbrum know that all, or just enough to pry under her skin? "I'm just another creature, and another umbrum."
"Lies!" Shifting waved that away with a scowl. "Spouting nonsense at me won't get you your way. That's just like you, using your tongue to solve your problems." She smirked maliciously. "Or using it to get you in trouble."
Umbra colored brightly. They had pried that out?! Why couldn't she pick up on umbrum magic more? Still, at least, they were with her, which meant Morning and Anik were likely safe. "That isn't a lie." She concentrated on undoing that internal clasp, allowing her rarely seen umbrum nature to rise to the surface.
Instead of a friendly, if potentially concerning, shadowy pony wizard face, she had the skull of a horse, shadow becoming a roiling fog around her, ready to perform umbrum magic she wasn't any good at.
Shifting, or whatever that was, crashed into her in that moment of distraction, knocking her down with a feral hiss. "Then why did you fight for them?" Her form exploded in fresh shadow, unable to hold her shape in her fury, becoming a scowling umbrum atop Umbra. "Traitor!"
Umbra kicked them off, falling back into the shdow just to reform, standing up. Without thinking about it, she had resumed her usual appearance. "I swore no allegiance to later break."
They waved a wing they didn't have a moment before. Shifting's face was revealed with its passing. "You broke at least one."
Umbra flinched. Why did they have to be right?!
The umbrum laughed, having Shifting's face and wings and little else. "Your fears and wounds are plain to see. Miserable and weak."
"And still strong enough to win," Umbra hissed out in an angry lashing.
The umbrum took a step back. "Damn... You have a point there. To think we were crushed by... this... Either a sad testament to us, or a proud moment for you... Both? Maybe." They sank to their haunches, becoming an umbrum mare. They had the face of a pony, eyes downcast. "Shadow take it all..."
Umbra blinked at her suddenly deflated enemy, but it was still dark all around them. The fight wasn't over officially. "I didn't come here to finish the job. That battle is over, the victory declared. I want to put together what's left. You don't deserve extinction."
"The luxury of the victor," the umbrum sighed. "Setting the terms..." She fixed Umbra with a fresh glare. "What do you want with us? Do you need a slave force for your dirty whims? Your tongue may be used to that, but I refuse."
Umbra colored faintly at the implications. "No! No... Christ no." The plea to an otherworly religious figure only confused the umbrum. "Stop bringing up my botched romantic relationships. I don't want any more. I have enough ponies I love a lot."
"I'll stop when it stops working so well," teased the umbrum mare with a smirk. "I love the taste of your loathing."
Umbra grunted with a pawing of the ground. Why did umbrum have to be so trying?! Well, she was one... It took one to know one, they say... "I'm not here to offer romance, forced or not. But a hoof of friendship?" She extended a hoof with that. "I can offer that."
She swatted at the hoof, but the shadow broke, light of the evening sky returning to the area. "Damn you to the deepest pit they can find," the umbrum hissed, but even the tone of that sounded defeated. "What do you want?"
With rapid hoofsteps, Anik was hurrying over with Morning on his back. "I want you to meet me and my family." She waved at the two incoming. "The larger one is Anik, an earth pony. Above him, Morning, also an umbrum."
Morning nodded from atop her mount. "Nice form, but you let your emotions cloud things. That is the only reason I avoided a painful end." Why did she sound almost regretful of that? "Excellent obfuscation."
The new umbrum squinted at Morning. "You parried that?! You!" Their form bled shadow, revealing her umbrum form. "Morning Dawn, darkest before the light! You little imp!"
"Morning Dew," corrected Morning, but it lacked some of its usual bite. "It's on the tip of my tongue..."
"Ugh." The new umbrum curled her snout, which she reformed quickly. "Witching Hour?"
"Witchie!" cried Morning, a bright smile overtaking her features. "You survived? I thought you had taken a forward... One of the first to go."
Witching offered a hoof and the two met in a brief hug before she shoved Morning back. "Why are you with her?" She threw her head at Umbra. "Of all the umbrum..."
"Better alive and plotting," reasoned Morning. "I have continued my education sufficiently to block your rage-addled strike."
Witching huffed, stomping in place. "You're taking after her, throwing 'logic' at me like that! Hmmph." Her eyes slid towards Anik. "And you are? Umbrum, clearly not." She flashed a feral smile. "Did you bring me a snack to appease me?"
Umbra quirked an ear. Not all of her secrets had been revealed, clearly. "This is Anik, my son."
"Hello." Anik looked over the new grey mare curiously. The ponies of that world came in many bright colors, but not Umbra and those near her. All dark. "Did you... do all that?"
Witching snorted with a victorious smirk at that question. "Every bit of it. You were terrified, admit it."
"I was," admitted Anik with no deception in him. "It was suddenly dark. If Morning had not come, I may have gotten hurt. I would have felt terrible, after all that work to come along, just to get hurt... That's a very childish thing to do."
"Foalish, yes." She nodded sagely. "Back to you." She turned to Umbra. "Seriously, what do you want?"
"What I said." Umbra pointed to the tall palace in the middle distance. "Come with me, say hello to the princess, and let's get you in a more comfortable place."
Witching hissed low and soft. "I don't know what side you're on... You see yourself more as a pony." She waved around. "But you leave all these ponies in their misery without even a thought to instead help an umbrum that would watch with a smile while you suffered and died. Where is the logic in that?"
Umbra raised a hoof. "I have an answer for that."
Witching narrowed her eyes. "You usually do."
Umbra stomped. "Stop that! How do you know so much about me, anyway?"
Witching put a hoof on her own chest. "I am Witching Hour, the truth seen in the deepest of night, when you lay still in bed and face your worst nightmare, yourself. There exists none that can save you from that beast, and I wear its dress and bare its teeth." She flashed a too-sharp grin with that. "With great pleasure..."
Morning applauded, clapping her hooves in a rapid clop clop.
Anik inclined his head. "I am not my enemy. I'm the only one I can be absolutely certain is on my side."
"Ugh." She waved him away. "This is why I avoided you, though a little direct slice could have taken care of it... Where did you find him? His head isn't put together like most."
Umbra smiled at the riled shadow mare. "I don't mean this in any romantic way, but you are a little adorable."
Witching blinked softly at Umbra. "Really? Really!" She stormed up to Umbra. "You need to stop thinking everything is cute! It's insulting, really. I am a terrifying creature of existential dread! Not cute! Not adorable! Not huggable!"
Umbra pointed to Morning. "You hugged her."
"She's my niece!" hissed Witching. "Nieces get hugs." She crossed her arms, looking awfully pouty about that, which did little to make her less cute.
"So, that answer." Umbra waved a hoof around the area. "This is a systemic problem. I'm not going to fix it by choosing a random pony and treating them nicely. I need to talk with Cadance and make a systemic solution that fixes this for all the ponies here. The way to fix a slum is to fix the things that made the slum, no amount of being nice to one person."
Witching blinked softly. "Huh..." She turned a hoof on herself. "So why treat me nicely?"
"You're not a systemic problem. You're a natural disaster survivor." She flipped her ears back. "And I was the disaster, so I feel guilty about that... Survivors of a sudden disaster? They need help, personally and directly often."
"You have this all worked out." She smirked softly. "No wonder you pissed her off so badly."
Umbra snorted. "Stop stealing things about Shifting."
"I will not." Witching instead addressed Morning. "Did she say she was your mother? You know she isn't your mother, right?"
Morning shrank back a step, facing the sister of her biological mother. "Not by blood, but by action. She has cared for me like a foal, while respecting my umbrum nature, even celebrating it."
"You are a foal," noted Witching flatly. "Celebrating it? I doubt that... She can't even celebrate her own umbrum nature."
Morning shook her head. "She celebrates mine. She celebrates every time I learn a new trick, and encourages me to become the most frightening thing." She pointed off. "She took me to be trained."
"Trained?" Witching hiked a brow. "By who?"
"Another umbrum, in Canterlot." Morning inclined her head. "I am happy to see you, Aunt."
Witching's face twitched faintly, but she managed a smile, an unnatural expression for her. "I thought you were gone..."
"As did I." She turned to Umbra. "She is not lying. It may be foalish, but she means well and isn't lying."
"She only lies about relationships." Witching looked pleased at Umbra's discomfort there. "Don't take after her there."
"I will not. But she does know shadow magic. Not umbrum. Pony shadow magic."
Witching scowled at the idea. "Ponies have shadow magic? I doubt it's any good... They are creatures of light, even at their darkest." She glanced about. "This is a dark place, with dark hearted ponies, but even they remain light creatures. They can't help it. It's what they are."
Anik perked his ears at the new pony. "I became a pony only recently. Am I a creature of light?"
"Yes," she hissed, averting her gaze. "Very yes..."
Anik seemed only pleased at this. "I came from a very dark world, dying and dim. That I was the final bright ember... I think that makes me happy..."
"Good for you." Witching waved away the bright earth pony. "Almost as bad as a crystal pony having an especially nice day."
"Ponies fear shadow magic," cut in Umbra. "Only a few, like me, use it. Maybe you're not wrong, too light." She turned to the palace. "Come on. Let's get you settled in."
"I am not being adopted," huffed out Witching Hour, but she was following after Umbra.
"I wouldn't allow it," assured Morning, hopping up on Anik for the ride there.