In a swathe cut down the center of Equestria, ponies fled in panic as the swarm of sinister shadows swept across the land.
As Sombra led the Umbrum, he searched for someplace where they could rest and recover. Suppressing the Crystal Heart had left him tired, even with the other Umbrum's magic bolstering him, and he knew from experience that it would take some time for the others to figure out how to transform back from the shadow forms he had forced them to take on so that they could escape.
However, the land of Equestria was full of light and happiness, hardly an environment in which they could rest easy. Just as he was beginning to worry that they had left the frying pan for the proverbial bonfire, he saw it, like an oasis in the desert; a forest full of shadows, emanating menace.
Sweeping into the cover of the trees, Sombra pushed deeper, his omnipresent grin widening with each new sight. 'Twisted trees, poisonous plants, vicious animals… there are even Timberwolves here!' Sombra thought gleefully. 'Surely those Princesses won't notice us here until it's too late, and we're ready to strike! Now to find a place for us to rest. Perhaps a secluded clearing, or an empty cave, or a… castle!?'
Sombra stopped short when he saw a ruined castle rearing up among the trees. Rushing forward, he quickly confirmed that it was abandoned. Turning to the other Umbrum, to see them investigating it as well, he declared, "Fortune has favored us, my kin! We shall make this castle ours, and rest for a week. After that, we shall see how the Two Sisters respond to my ultimatum!"
Noticing banners resembling the alicorns in question hanging on the walls of his new castle and rubble strewn everywhere, he grimaced and muttered, "And it seems that I have some redecorating and repairs to do."
Twilight was nervous as she flew towards Canterlot. She had barely returned to Ponyville, when Spike rushed up to her with a letter from Celestia, requesting her presence in Canterlot immediately, saying that something terrible had happened, but not giving any further details.
'Maybe it's just having this happen right after reading Sombra's journal, but I have a bad feeling about this.' Twilight thought as she swooped down to land in front of Canterlot Castle.
"Princess Twilight!" The guards saluted her as she landed. One stepped forward, and said, "I was told to inform you that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna await you within. If you will pardon my saying so, I would hurry. I have not seen them this grim since Discord first broke free."
Twilight frowned, not at the guard speaking out of turn, but rather out of worry for what could garner such a reaction from the older Princesses. As she moved to got inside, however, the guard spoke again, "Princess Cadence! The other Princesses await you as well."
Looking back, Twilight saw her sister-in-law landing. She started to smile in greeting, only for it to fade as she saw the other alicorn's serious expression. "Cadence, what's going on? What happened?"
"Not here," Cadence replied. "We need to speak with Celestia immediately."
As they walked through the castle, Cadence began without preamble. "King Sombra has returned."
"WHAT!?" Twilight cried out, "How? When!? I was just in the Empire a few hours ago!"
"It was just after you left…" Cadence explained. "Sombra burst out of the ground with an army of shadow ponies behind him. He said they were the Umbrum. He left the Empire, but said they would attack Equestria in a week."
"The Umbrum…" Twilight whispered, remembering what they had read in Sombra's journal, as the pair entered the throne room.
"Good, you're both here," Celestia said without preamble. "Cadence, have you explained the situation to Twilight already?"
"I've told her what I saw, just like in the letter I sent you," Cadence replied. "But I don't understand how this could have happened. I thought we had defeated Sombra…"
"It seems we all underestimated him," Luna explained. "We thought trapping him as a shadow would keep him from doing any harm even if he did escape the Arctic Wastes. To learn how to control the transformation, and even use it to free the other Umbrum… we never suspected that he would be able to turn it to his advantage in such a manner."
"Indeed," Celestia agreed. "We also suspect that it was his time as a shadow that allowed him to survive the destruction of his body. How he survived is unimportant at the moment, however. We must decide how to respond to his threat."
"That's simple; we muster the Royal Guard, and prepare for war!" Luna declared. "We defeated him once, and we shall do so again!"
"No," Celestia said firmly. "Last time we only faced him, alone. Now that his kin are free, I fear using force is no longer an option."
"What do you mean?" Cadence asked.
However, it was Twilight who answered. "Remember what it said in his journal? All of the Umbrum are supposed to have the same powers as Sombra. If Celestia and Luna could barely defeat him, and with the Elements returned to the Tree of Harmony… How could we fight such a force?"
"Perhaps we can do the same thing we did with Tirek," Luna suggested. "If we consolidate all of our power into one of us-"
"It would not work," Celestia interrupted. "If King Sombra were a fool, perhaps, but we know well that he is not. All he would need to do is divide his forces, and half his army would be unopposed."
"Perhaps there is some way we could trick him," Cadence suggested. "He called me 'Twilight', so perhaps being defeated twice like he was, resulted in some sort of mental damage. It may be our only option since we can't fight him or give into his demand."
"Wait, what demand?" Twilight asked.
"You did not tell her?" Luna asked in turn, looking at Cadence.
Cadence shot back, "No, but you can't seriously be considering it!"
"We are not," Celestia stepped in, "but Twilight deserves to know." Turning to her former student, Celestia explained, "It would seem that Sombra has mistaken you for a Princess that lived 1,000 years ago, named Radiant Hope. Because of this, he has demanded we hand you over to him, in exchange for sparing Equestria."
Twilight gasped at hearing that, shocked to hear that the tyrant's attention was focused on her. However, Luna was quick to speak up. "Even if we were willing to do something as barbaric as abandon one of our own, you are not actually the one he wants, so it would do no good anyway."
As the other three Princesses continued discussing their options, Twilight stayed silent, another possibility growing in her mind.
Dark Magic glowed on Sombra's horn, as another hole in the castle's roof was filled with dark crystals. "I wonder if a battle took place here at some point," He thought aloud. "This seems like more than usual wear from the passage of time."
Sombra took a moment to admire his handiwork over the day. The hole he had just filled was one of the last, making the castle much more presentable if looking a bit patchwork. In addition, he had taken down all the decorations that featured Celestia and Luna, leaving the walls stark and bare, but without the unpleasant reminder.
Turning at the sound of metal on stone, Sombra saw one of the Umbrum wearing a suit of pony armor, the metal suit helping it maintain an equine shape. "How clever," Sombra said with a smile. "Where did you find that? If there are more, then we should gather up suits for the others."
Nodding, the Umbrum turned and led the way. As he followed the armored figure, Sombra looked around at the other Umbrum. Some were busy exploring the castle, but most were busy experimenting with their new shadow forms, or trying to figure out how to turn back into their former bodies. As he did, Sombra's grin lost its edge, turning into a caring smile. "To see my people free at last… There were times that I began to give up hope of ever seeing this day…"
"King… Sombra… here…" The armored Umbrum said is a whispery voice, pointing a hoof down a spiral staircase.
"Ha! It's like this castle was made for me," Sombra joked. As the other Umbrum continued to lead him down into the darkness, he added, "It is good to know that you have recovered the ability to speak. What is your name?"
"Baleiro… King Sombra…" The Umbrum replied.
"Baleiro, eh? You clearly are adapting to your new body faster than the others." Sombra commented. Before he could comment on the subject further, however, Sombra was distracted by what he saw in the lower hall. "Are those… dismembered pony legs on the wall? Why in crystal would any being want to put those on the walls?"
"Fake…" Baleiro said, as he led Sombra past them. "As for why… bad taste?"
"Ha! Perhaps," Sombra replied, happy to have some being to talk with civilly, after 1,000 years of isolation.
As they moved past the strangely decorated hall, thy came to another hall filled with suits of pony armor. Seeing several dozen suits in the hall, Sombra grinned. "Excellent! These should help the others practice maintaining a solid form. Help me get these upstairs. I want as many Umbrum as possible back in their true forms, when we march on Canterlot next week!"
"What if we were to get Discord to deal with him?" Cadence suggested as the Princesses continued debating about what to do to counter the Umbrum threat.
"Hardly the safest option, but we may not have any other choice." Celestia agreed.
"You do remember how large a role Sombra had in my own fall to become Nightmare Moon, do you not, Sister?" Luna said grimly. "If Sombra managed to get inside Discord's head, it would make the situation far worse."
"That's true," Celestia conceded. "And without the Elements of Harmony, we have no way to reign him in if something goes wrong."
"If only we had more time to come up with a plan…" Cadence said worriedly.
"We could buy more time… if we gave him what he wanted." Twilight spoke up.
The other three looked at her in shock. Cadence was the first to speak up. "Twilight, what are you saying?"
"He demanded my surrender, right?" Twilight clarified, before going on to explain, "If I go with him, perhaps I can distract him long enough for you to come up with a better plan."
"Or, maybe he'll dispose of you once he finds out you're not Radiant Hope." Luna protested. "Besides, even if you did go with him, we have no reason to believe he would actually keep his word."
"And trusting Discord is a better option?" Twilight asked sarcastically. When none of them had a good response, she went on, "I'm a Princess now, so that means I need to do everything I can to protect Equestria, right?"
"Twilight, you don't have to do this," Cadence objected. "We'll find another way."
"If we come up with something in time, then that's all well and good," Twilight said in a firm tone. "But if we don't have any better plan by the end of the week, I'll turn myself over to Sombra." Seeing the others wanting to object further, she added resolutely, "I'm not about to start a war if I can prevent it. I've made up my mind."
"Then we cannot dissuade you?" Celestia asked. Seeing her former student's determined expression. She said, "Very well, then we must make certain to have a plan ready in time so that it does not come to that."
However, deep down, they all knew that there were unlikely to be any new options presented to them before the week was through.