Shining Armor whistled softly. "Huh..." He looked along the line of about a dozen dark-pelted ponies. "So, you're all umbrum then?"
One of them, the largest female, who apparently took leadership just by being the largest female, stepped forward. "Does that terrify you? I can taste a little..."
"It's a little worrying," he admitted. "But not terrifying. You're sure this is all that remains?"
Witching scowled. "Gathered us all together to finish things then?"
"I-I would never!" Shining coughed softly into a hoof. "As Umbra said, that battle is over, for good preferably."
A small umbrum, a colt about Morning's age, sneered at Shining, licking over his lips. "So what do you plan?"
"Glad you asked." Umbra popped out of a nearby shadow, stepping free as if she'd been standing there the entire time. Perhaps she had been? "Creatures of dark nightmares. I understand you." A chorus of doubting noises rose up. "I am you." She reached deep for that door, allowing her umbrum state to be revealed.
It was as if she gave permission. Soon the others were gazing back at her with their skulls, no flesh there.
"Good. We're being honest." She waved at the group of them. "I know one of you, a little, but, overall, you're all strangers to me, just umbrum I gathered here."
Shining threw a hoof towards Umbra. "We have given her permission to oversee this. She speaks with our authority." He smiled with a little chuckle. "I'll say if that stops being true."
Umbra nodded in turn to Shining. "Thank you. Now, you're all umbrum, we know that, but there's more to it than that." She curled a hoof on herself. "Take me. Umbrum, but also eager wizard. Specialties include crystals, darkness, enchantment, and a dreamwalker." She turned the hoof on Witching Hour. "Umbrum, but you have specialties, and interesting ones at that. You can strip a pony bare and lay out their fears and insecurities."
Witching buffed her chest with quite the proud expression. "That is my specialty. What about it?"
Umbra turned the hoof back on herself. "But that specialty is a limit. You could see what I was insecure about, clear as if I had notes plastered on my forehead. You could see nothing about Anik, because I have no insecurities there."
"Yes, yes, thank you for going over how awesome I am." Witching rolled her eyes. "And your point?"
"You can turn--" She levered the hoof from left to right. "--that worrying talent into a productive skill. Ponies would pay you to do that to them."
Witching blinked softly. "What? Have ponies gone mad during our time away?"
Shining perked up. "We pay a pony to do that to us... It's not fun, but we grow from it... Somepony has to lay out the cards truthfully and help us walk through them. Um, from what I heard, your bedside manner could use... a little work."
Witching wrinkled her returned snout. "They want me to point out what repulses them... nicely?"
The young one waved a hoof wildly. "What about me?"
Umbra sank to be closer to their level. "What's your specialty? I admit, I didn't quite catch it."
"I'm still learning," he admitted with a frown on his returned face. "I'm really good at jump scares!" The other umbrum looked ashamed for him, grumbling. "What?!"
Umbra set a hoof on his little head. "You're still learning, as you said. You I would not want to get a job anyway. You need to learn. If you'll let me, I'll send you to school. Two schools, in fact."
He scowled at that. "Two of 'em? That sounds horrible! You monster!" But he smiled. "Guess you really are an umbrum."
"Thank you." Accepting that praise felt right. "But I'm serious." She sat and raised two hooves. "One to learn the world you live in. You'll go with other ponies and learn as they know." She switched which hoof was higher. "The other, my daughter."
"You called?" Morning came walking out of the same shadow, a calculating look on her face. "Hm. Show me the best you have. Terrify me. To death, if you're able."
Umbra left Morning and the colt to work out umbrum education. "The rest of you; you're adults, so you already have specialties. I'm taking on the job of turning them to positives."
A stallion snorted softly. "My 'specialty' is deception. I can take on other forms." And so he was a zebra mare. "And convince a pony of anything I want." And so he was a dragon. "And get what I want, for the rest of us." And so he returned to his first form. "How are you going to make that 'positive'?"
Umbra thumped the stallion dead center on his chest. "You are an actor. A good one, in fact. That is a position ponies will gladly pay you for. If you accept this idea, you can live alongside the ponies, instead of hoping to feed on them. Morning is proof, just having good meals is enough. You don't have to feast on their negative emotions. Just be happy you're not a changeling, they have to feed on love." So far she knew?
Morning paused in her chat with the colt. "Pony food can be quite delicious, and deserves to be punished." She flashed her bright teeth. "And it's fun to do."
New murmurs rose among the crowd, shyly positive.
The lead female stepped up towards Umbra. "You are not our boss... Even if you are... large." Umbra was the only one there that could compete with her for stature. "Who do you think you are, just telling us what to do?"
Umbra dipped her head. "I'm not." A startled noise from a few of them. "I'm offering. You can take it, or don't. But I'm offering a lot for a little. Take advantage of my weak little feelings. I killed countless umbrum, and now I feel bad."
She snorted softly. "They would feel bad to know it... They fought with all their might. They would want to be remembered for their fierceness, not as a regretted action." She leaned in. "You didn't kill every umbrum you blasted that day... I was there." And clearly, still alive.
"Also there," added Witching Hour.
A few other noises of agreement, but many of them weren't there at that moment.
Umbra tapped at her own chest. "Then you know I can fight too. I can stand behind my words."
The umbrum matriarch grumbled softly. "I can't argue that..." She turned a hoof slowly around. "And you built them the largest headstone I've ever seen. Why? More guilty feelings?"
"Nope." Witching peered at Umbra intently. "I don't feel any regrets there."
"This is the coliseum!" Umbra threw her hooves wide. "Where ponies come to compete and show off their physical skills. It's not a headstone."
"Hum." She hiked a brow. "Good. I thought it was another regret made physical... You are stained with sin..." Why did that sound like almost a compliment? "Walk proudly. I loathe you. I hate you. Every breath you take is a breath countless I know will never have." She smiled despite that. "If you could kindly die, I would appreciate that... But doing it myself would be even better."
Umbra inclined her ears forward at the equally large mare. "I'll have to deny you that option."
"Figures." She raised a hoof up, right under Umbra's chin. "But you think we're idiots, and I can at least enjoy dispelling that. We are aware of food, physical food. We would have to be idiots not to." A few of them looked guilty. "We do not teach foals of it for some time after weaning. This sharpens their hunting spirit and better equips them for a rough world ahead. Afterwards, we let them in on the secret.
"Clever." Morning had heard that. "I require no such help."
"I'm actually glad to hear that." She looked over the line of umbrum. "And that's how you all survived, I assume?"
The colt waved a hoof excitedly. "I scared ponies, like you're supposed to!"
Morning patted the shoulder of her 'peer'. "Your survival is your reward. Still, well done."
"Look who has a big head." The colt wrinkled his snout at Morning. "I remember when you were way not the best filly in class."
Morning stared at him, unblinking and unmoving for a silent moment. "Tough times cause one to grow, or die. I didn't die."
The head mare tossed her head at the rest of the line. "I'm sure most of them ate what they could get their hooves on, like any other living creature, which we are. You may be an umbrum, but you have no idea what that means."
Another stallion raised a hoof silently. The headmare nodded at him, giving permission to speak. "We can eat, but the taste of a properly gained hunt leaves that in the dust. That is why many of us specialize."
Witching grinned at that. "The taste of raw regrets is... delicious." She poked at Umbra gently. "Yours are still so raw and spicy, mmm... slut." She only smiled wider when Umbra flinched against her will. "Yeah, that's the taste I like..."
Shining cringed at the display of dark emotional feeding. "Well, the idea is to cut back on that part."
"Yes." Umbra regained her posture. "That doesn't mean you can't feed and help a pony at once. A pony that went to you, for example." She waved at Witching. "They will confess to their regrets, and you will drag out others. Their dismay will be there to enjoy, but you'll guide them towards doing something about it, instead of just baking in those regrets."
Witching hiked a brow. "You want me to go out of my way to have less to feed on? Get rid of my own regrets? That doesn't sound like a bright idea."
The headmare nodded firmly. "Foolish ideas from a stalwart, but foolish, umbrum. You advise hunters to remove their own food? Why?"
Umbra turned to Witching entirely. "Have you ever run into a pony without regrets?"
Witching chuckled darkly at the thought. "Never." She turned on Shining. "You have some old regrets, but they feel like they've been stirred recently... Oh... pervert... Are you hoping I trap you in a world of nightmare and have my way with you?" He began to color brightly as she laughed at his discomfort. "Mmm, tasty..."
Umbra waved to the uncomfortable Shining. "He has been to someone who offers similar services, a lot, for a long time. To be alive is to regret something. You all--" She waved at all the umbrum. "You may help them deal with those emotions, but they'll still be there." She nodded at the actor. "Ponies will want good actors even if they're feeling great. It's a distraction, and a welcome one. Putting on a good performance won't make that go away."
The headmare inclined her head. "Hm. Well, I don't have a scaring specialization."
Umbra perked he ears curious. "What do you do, normally?"
She pointed at the two foals chatting. "I watch over them, and smaller. I watch over the larger foals too." She glared at the other umbrum, who had the good sense to look ashamed. "Somebrum has to... That is my specialty. Grand architect, what future do you see for me?"
Umbra inclined her head slowly. "I... You're good just the way you are."
The headmare recoiled at that. "You're giving up?"
"No." She raised a hoof to the headmare's chin, just to slide along to her cheek. "I can't fix what isn't broken."
"Good of you to admit that... But I don't see how this gets you what you want." She frowned at Umbra. "Speak."
"You're a foal sitter and community leader... and that's great!" She turned to Shining. "The city would support that, right?"
"Gladly." He nodded firmly at that. "You wouldn't be the first pony, er, creature that felt the need to do that. And it's good. Somecreature has to mind the next generation. Perhaps you could help at one of the schools?"
Umbra rolled a hoof. "So, yeah, you just keep doing what you love to do. Good job. All I can offer is pointing you at the place you can do more of that, and be paid for it. Oh! And you'll get ponies to watch too. Is that alright?"
The headmare blinked slowly. "To terrify?" Umbra's look was answer enough. "Ugh... This will... require getting used to..."