The battle raged throughout the streets, a swarm of one-hundred umbrumlings tearing up the Crystal Kingdom in search of love to feed off of and snatching up anypony unfortunate enough to get in their crosshairs. Three umbrumlings cornered a lost crystal pony filly, laughing mockingly at her tears as she backed herself up against a mostly-dilapidated storefront. The fear she exuded was intoxicating to them, their minds filled with images of the filly scurrying away from spiders. One of the assailants morphed himself into a black shadowy tarantula and slowly made his way towards her, his chelicerae clacking together as he advanced. The filly whimpered, sinking to her elbows and knees to shield her face with her forelegs.

The shadow-spider observed the filly uttering prayers of somepony to rescue her, which only made his mouth salivate even more with the rush of fear. He was ready to pounce when a sharp whistle drew his attention. A ray of grayish orchid light struck him, sending him flying into one of his brood-mates and knocking them both aside. Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, her horn radiating with energy as the filly raised her head and stared awestricken at her savior. The third umbrumling hissed, backing up to place himself between his meal and the interloper's sudden intrusion.

"Get away from her!" Twilight yelled, the aura around her horn intensifying.

The umbrumling sprouted tendrils and swung them at Twilight, missing her by a hair's breath as she rolled to evade him, the tips puncturing the ground in an attempt to sink into her flesh. Changing tactics, the umbrumling transformed a hoof into a giant claw and tossed it at Twilight, who predictably shot it with an orchid bolt. A secondary claw grew from his tail and slammed the unicorn into a pile of barrels, crushing them beneath her weight and leaving her vulnerable to attack. With his maw opened wide, the umbrumling flew at his prey, the taste of her fear almost on his tongue when she suddenly vanished. He turned to find her behind him when she magically lifted a wooden cart and slammed it on his head.

Dusting herself off, Twilight wiped her brow. "And that's how we do it in Ponyville!"

"Twilight!" A familiar crystal pony threw herself at Twilight and held her tightly. "You came for me!"

She returned the hug and brushed the filly's magenta mane. "Of course I did, Peri. You're my friend."

Their moment was interrupted when the other two umbrumlings recovered and charged the pair. Twilight instinctively shoved Peridot behind her and was about to commence a counter-attack when Pinkie Pie arrived, swinging an oversized sledge hammer around.

"I want to be...YOUR SLEDGE-HAMMER!" She sang whilst beating the hapless hybrids, using moves found in a martial arts movie as she ended her last move in a Kung Fu-esque pose.

"Pinkie, where did you get that?"

The pink mare regarded her friend and without a hint of jest replied, "I don't know."

A rumbling sound drew their attention and they both turned to spot Sombra and Erebus dueling in the sky, twin black comets clashing and trading blows. It was darkness versus darkness, two shadowy titans settling an old score with fate of a kingdom, and possibly all of Equestria, hanging in the balance. Twilight watched, first with fascination then with horror when the fight ended and a beaten Sombra tumbled from the sky, hit the castle's roof and plummeted towards the ground.

"SOMBRA!"

There was a loud boom! and a multicolored trail rocketed towards the fallen umbrum and carried him off. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Pinkie. "Take Peridot here and try to find her parents. It looked like Rainbow Dash was heading towards the library. Meet us there as soon as you can. Now hurry!" To Pinkie's credit, she skipped the nonsense and nodded solemnly, leading the filly away while Twilight rushed towards where she saw Rainbow Dash heading. She only hoped that her friend wasn't too late and that Sombra was okay. She couldn't bear to leave things unresolved. Hold on, Sombra. I'm coming!

Pain and darkness reigned over Sombra's senses. He knew that sounds were echoing in his ears but it was difficult to register them. He had been falling, the whooshing of the air brushing past his body being the only sensation he could feel besides his seeping wounds. Something was prodding at his chest and he weakly slapped at it. Sombra then became aware of several voices though their words were muffled and alien. His eyes slowly opened and he awoke to find himself being tended to by Fluttershy, who was carefully wrapping him in gauze while Princess Celestia was working on his wounds with her magic.

"Try not to move. You've got several puncture wounds and three cracked ribs. Two look to be broken," Celestia stated, keeping a hoof on his right shoulder so that he remained lying down.

"I...I was falling. The last thing I remember was falling."

Celestia smiled and jerked her head to indicate Rainbow Dash, who was slouching against a wall with her forelegs crossed. "Rainbow here saved your life. Fluttershy and I have been doing the rest."

"It's not the same as tending to animals but I've been doing my best," the yellow Pegasus admitted shyly.

Sombra gulped, his mouth and throat extremely dry. "Thank you...all of you. I can't adequately express my gratitude to you all for this."

Celestia smiled, "Just rest. You're going to need it."

"Sombra!"

"Twi?" His heart swelled with joy as Twilight entered, flanked by Applejack and Rarity. He would've happily leapt up to join her if it wasn't for his present injuries. She knelt down to meet his gaze, her hoof taking one of his own. "Twilight, I'm so happy to see that you're alright."

"What were you thinking?" Twilight lightly admonished. "He could've killed you."

Sombra nodded with a wince. "I know. I thought I could take him but he's too powerful." He turned away, feeling hot tears of shame filling his vision. "I failed," he croaked. "I couldn't avenge Mother or Nyx."

Twilight gently turned Sombra's head back towards her. "What do you mean?"

It all came pouring out: The fight, the reawakened memories, the sight of his father killing his mother and his unborn sister. "All this time I've spent hating my mother when she was the only one there for me. And now Equestria is doomed and it's all my fault because I'm too weak and terrified to beat my father. I'm so sorry everypony."

Celestia patted Sombra's head, her touch soft and reassuring. "You tried your best and that's all anypony can really ask. You're not weak because you're afraid. Fear doesn't make you any less brave. It lets you know what you're fighting for." She looked at Twilight and smiled. "Or whom you're fighting for. Twilight, what's that?"

They all noticed that the bottom of Twilight's front right hoof was glowing. She turned it over to reveal a pink star imprinted into the skin, softly blinking in and out. She gasped, "Sombra, I think I have something that might help you." Before he had time to question it, Twilight pressed her hoof into the middle of Sombra's eyes and he suddenly found himself back in his childhood room. What in Tartarus...what is this?

"Sombra."

Lumen Morningstar hovered in front of the open window, her dress billowing in the wind and her ivory mane tossing about like an unfurled banner. She held her forelegs wide out, beckoning him to come to her.

"Mother?"

The mare smiled and nodded. "Hello my son. How I've missed you!"

Sombra approached her with leaden hoofsteps, afraid to get close to the specter but also drawn forward. He finally dove forward and was pulled tightly into her embrace, his forelegs wrapped around her as if she'd turn into smoke. He met her eyes, which were filled with such joy and melancholy that his own welled up with tears."You...you're dead. I saw..." His voice cracked. "I saw it happen."

"I'm sorry that you had to experience that again," Lumen stated sorrowfully. "Like Erebus, I attached a piece of myself to you many years ago but sadly, my magic is weaker than his and I will evaporate soon."

"Mother I...I'm sorry. I can't beat Father. I can't avenge you and Nyx. I'm sorry."

Lumen held Sombra's face in her hooves, her touch cold but gentle. "You let yourself become consumed with rage and vengeance. Nopony ever won the day with such thoughts clouding their minds. Don't do it for me, for Nicky or even yourself. If left unchecked, Erebus' evil will consume Equestria. You must stop him here and now."

"But how?! I'm not strong enough!"

Lumen wiped Sombra's tears, shaking her head maternally. "It's not about strength, Sombra." She placed a hoof over the left side of his chest. "It's about what's in your heart. You've had it all along but now's the time to use it. Remember, love is the most powerful force in this world or any other. It can move mountains or topple wicked regimes. You've experienced it firsthoof. By the way, I like your marefriend. She has a good head on her shoulders."

Sombra rubbed the back of his neck and sniffled. "Thank you, Mother. But how can I help? I've got broken ribs and a busted face. I doubt very much that I'll be of much use to anypony like this."

Lumen nodded and closed her eyes as her body pulsated with pink energy, a soft glow that stretched out and began to wrap itself around the bewildered Sombra. "Consider this my last gift to you." She began to wither away, her physical form coming off and turning into rose petals that flowed in streams out of the window.

"Mother? What's happening?!"

"I don't have long. I'm using the last of the magic keeping me here to aid you in your recovery. Princess Celestia and the others need your help," Lumen stated softly, twin rivers of salt water streaming down her face. "Whenever you feel the sun's rays on your skin or the breeze in your mane, just know that it's a sign of how much I love you."

Sombra breathed in and out, his hooves grasping at the trail of her dress. "Please, stop! Don't go. Please."

The rest of Lumen Morningstar quickly evaporated into a cloud of rose petals, a nebula of red and white that swirled around in place before being pulled out the window and into the midmorning sky. "If you cherish the memories of our time together," Lumen's voice whispered, "Then I will never leave you. Love is an ocean. Never forget that, my dearest Sombra."

The bedroom vanished and Sombra once again found himself laying on top of a wooden table, surrounded by stacks of books and six very confused mares. Excluding Celestia and Twilight, who had seen Sombra at his lowest, most depressing moments, they all stared at him with confusion as the tears flowed from his eyes. He was known as a tyrant, a wicked sorcerer and the idea of him crying was unfathomably impossible for them to imagine. Well, let them stare. Sombra slowly sat up and tore away the bandages, revealing healed, unmarred dark gray skin.

"I don't believe it," Celestia gasped.

Twilight stroked Sombra's shoulder. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," Sombra smiled. "For now, we need a plan of attack. Mother says that I need to use my heart and that love is the greatest force there is. Fat lot of good that'll do us now."

"Uh, 'Mother'?" Applejack scratched her head. "Ah think yah done flipped your lid there, Sombrero."

Ignoring her, Twilight pondered this and gasped, her eyes lighting up with inspiration. "The Crystal Heart! You've had it this whole time and now it can be used against Erebus!"

Sombra cocked an eyebrow. "But how? The damn thing's defective. It's been resisting my magic ever since I..." He lightly smacked himself for his idiocy. "Of course! When I first activated it, I filled it with all of my pain and hatred. But then I started falling for you and that must've overridden my previous spell!"

"Because you no longer felt hatred and the Heart was feeding off of your love! If we can power it up with enough love-..."

"-...Then we'll have enough power to defeat my father and his army! Twilight, you're a genius!"

Twilight polished her hoof against her chest and pretended to admire it. "Tell me something I don't know."

Princess Celestia shook her head humorously. "Okay, okay that's enough. We still need a plan."

"Well, I have one," Sombra admitted, rising to his hooves. "But you're not going to like it."

The doors to the library burst open and a dirt-covered Pinkie Pie slammed them shut, looking very out of breath and carrying a heavily-dented shovel. She turned and asked, "What? What did I miss?"

Author's Note

I was listening to Peter Gabriel and the joke pretty much just wrote itself.

The bit with Pinkie Pie not knowing where she got her weapon from was inspired by a similar scene in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.