Second Chances

Chapters

Chapter 1: Friendship
Chapter 3: Constellations
Chapter 4: Bittersweet
Chapter 5: Ashes
Chapter 6: Facing Fears
Chapter 7: Worlds Collide
Chapter 8: Storm
Chapter 9: Nightmare
Chapter 10: Haunted
Chapter 11: Escaping Darkness

Chapter 1: Friendship

Darkened Sky glided along the edge of the fabled Everfree Forest, his black and purple body passing just inches above the treetops. With the powerful thermals coming off the trees, the large stallion's three-jointed bat wings caught the air, necessitating only a flap every once in a while to keep himself airborn. A slight breeze ruffled his black mane, making the solitary ice-blue stripe shimmer in the afternoon sun. His tail stayed the same as usual, the hard crystalline structure splitting into three differently coloured spikes halfway down its length. It was his fourth pass of the day. The monsters of the dark forest were growing bolder every day. With under a week until the Summer Sun Celebration, Ponyville had received an influx of tourists, which meant more monsters trying to get a nice meal.

It doesn't help that all four Princesses are going to be here for a three day summit afterwards. Along with countless other royalty that want to get on the Princesses good side. At least I convinced my dear Twilight not to let any of them bunk in our guest room. "Bah, why did they chose to have a summit here of all places? We don't even have a building big enough to fit all sixty guests," Darkened Sky muttered.

"Who said they needed a building? The summit is being held near my house, just south of the Whitetail Woods," the cyan mare flying beside him commented. "When I asked Twilight why it was being held there, she treated me to one of her egg-headed rants, something about magical luck-lines and jam powered mirrors."

Darkened Sky snorted at her last phrase. "Rainbow Dash, are you sure you heard right? She didn't say ley-lines and gem powered mirrors? If she actually said what you think she did, we should warn the mayor immediately. Twilight might be having a mental breakdown. The last thing we need is her casting the Want It Need It spell on Celestia and Luna during the summit."

Rainbow Dash burst out laughing and nearly crashed into one of the taller trees. "Good one, Sky. Hey, you just gave me the perfect idea for a prank! I'm gonna ask Twilight to explain why the summit is near my house again. Every time she says anything about ley-lines or gem powered mirrors, I'll pretend she actually said luck-lines or jam powered mirrors. She's going to get so mad, but by Spitfire, it'll definitely be worth it."

Trying desperately not to burst out laughing, Darkened Sky angled towards a nearby clearing. Upon landing, he lost the war against his vocal chords. After rolling around in the grass and laughing with Rainbow Dash for a few minutes, he quieted down enough to talk. "Dash, that would be mean— very funny, but mean. If I'm with her when you pull that prank, I won't help you. On a completely unrelated note, I'm going to the spa tomorrow morning before heading straight to your place for my wing work."

Rainbow Dash thought about the last line for a bit. "Got it, I won't prank her when you're around. And I'll make sure to keep a First Aid around this time." Shifting slightly, she looked at Darkened Sky left foreleg. "Sky, why do you have an extra bracelet on? I've only ever seen you with 2. The way you explained how they work, you only need two, right?"

"You're right, I only need two of them. One allows me to chose how sensitive my ears are to noise, so I can comfortably live in an urban setting. I really don't need to know everything that happens in my neighbours' houses, and I enjoy going to DJ Pon3's shows without melting my brain. The other acts as a sort of sunglasses, since I can't naturally see in bright lux—uh light. It automatically senses the amount of light about to go in my eyes and filters it according to how bright I want it to be."

Rainbow Dash scratched her head for a few seconds. "Oh! I remember them now! Where do you get them? The "sight" one could be useful in my pranks."

"I'm afraid you can't buy them anywhere. They have to be made by Regina—I mean Princess Luna, and she only gives them to Bat ponies, so we can interact more easily with everypony else."

"That's too bad, me and Pinkie could have really used them. Before we get off-topic, what's the third bracelet for?"

Darkened Sky took off the bracelet and placed it on the grass in between them. "This one is for a very special friend of mine. You won't belive the amount of trouble I went through to get it. Breaking into the Canterlot archives would have been easier."

Rainbow Dash chuckled and looked up from the bracelet. "From what Twilight said, it's pretty easy to get into. Where exactly did you get it from?"

"I got it from Luna, off the record and all. I couldn't risk Twilight finding about it."

"Why would you want to hide it from...Unless, the bracelet's for Twilight?! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, you're proposing to her! Why didn't you tell me sooner? Where are you going to ask her? The library? No, that new restaurant? Not cool enough, she's a princess. Town Hall? The concert hall? Oh, I know, The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, that's the perfect place! How soon's the wedding? Who's your best pony? Can I perform—no wait, can the Wonderbolts perform? Can I perform with the Wond -"

Rainbow Dash's excited chattering were cut off by Darkened Sky's hoof in her mouth. "Rainbow Dash, this isn't her pugna armillam—sorry, I cant seem to speak English properly today—her engagement bracelet. It's not for Twilight, it's for an old friend who's dropping by in a bit. Now, before I tell you anything else I will need your word as the Element of Loyalty, that nothing said or seen in this clearing will ever be spoken of in public. It's very important that you don't talk to anypony about what happens next. I really need you to trust me. Nothing bad will happen to us or any of our friend. You cannot leave this clearing before I explain everything."

Rainbow Dash reached up and removed the hoof from her mouth. "Why does your hoof taste like icy-mint gum? On second thought, don't tell me. I still have nightmares from when I asked Pinkie Pie why her mane tasted like cotton candy. I trust you with my life, you've saved it enough times. Nothing that happens in this clearing will leave my mouth."

Darkened Sky looked around quickly. "Pinkie Promise?"

"Of course! I Pinkie Promise. Even if Queen Chrysalis were to walk in and hug you, nobody would ever know. Your secrets are safe with me." She looked at Darkened Sky for the first time since removing his hoof from her mouth. "Um, Sky? Why are you staring at me? You might want to close your mouth before something flies in."

"Funny that you should mention Chrysalis," he said slowly, looking at the forest behind his friend.

"You think I'm gonna fall for the oldest trick in the book? Ha, I thought you knew me better, I'm the queen of pranks. Now what did you want to tell me? "

"Darkened Sky doesn't play by the books, that's why he almost always wins, dear Rainbow Dash. " The unmistakable two-toned voice flowed out of the forest behind Rainbow Dash. "Darkened Sky, it's been been too long since I saw you last. We must try and get together more than once every couple weeks. I trust Twilight Sparkle and the rest of your friends are doing well?"

Rainbow Dash shuddered, ears falling back at the unnatural buzzing aproching from the rear. She slowly turned around, wings flared. "Sky! Get Twilight and the others. I'll fight her until you get back!"

Darkened Sky stepped forward and put a foreleg in front of Rainbow Dash. "She isn't going to attack us. She came here to help me."

"Why would she help you? She's evil! Or don't you remember how she tried to invade Canterlot? How could you even think of trusting her?" Taking a breath, she glared at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis walked up to where Rainbow Dash and Darkened Sky stood, and circled them. She flicked Darkened Sky's muzzle with her tail and laid down. "Sky, I think you should explain what happened. I get really emotional about it."

Darkened Sky nodded and turned to his friend. "Dash, you're going to have to trust me—Chrysalis is not the monster you think she is. She made a mistake, but she was't the only one in the wrong. Please sit down and hear us out."

"I don't think so. She can brainwash ponies, how do I know she's not controlling you?" She took a few steps back, and opened her wings.

"Please, Dash, trust me. If at anytime Chrysalis or I even look like we are threatening you, you can go get the others. Just give me the chance to explain some things."

"I don't know, I really should go get them."

Seeing that She was about to why away, Darkened Sky pulled out his last card. "You Pinkie Promised."

"Fine, I'll hear you out. But if she does anything suspicious, she's gonna get a hoof sandwich." Rainbow Dash sat down, glaring at her old enemy.

Chrysalis looked up to the rainbow maned mare. "Thank you, Dash. To start off, I am old, almost as old as the Royal Pony Sisters. When the princesses were young, Starswirl the Bearded created a spell to turn love into magic. He showed Celestia how it worked, and she asked to try it. Starswirl agreed and began the necessary preparations. As she cast her mentor's spell, her magic overpowered the spell's built in power limiter. The unguided magic flooded the spell with enough power to raise the sun. The massive amout of power caused the spell to misfired, creating me, a being who feeds on love and needed the sun to survive. Luna and several guards arrived at the wreaked laboratory moments later, finding Celestia sobbing over the gravely injured unicorn and myself unconscious nearby."

Rainbow Dash laughed harshly. "Do you really think I will you roll over for you, just because you told me a story? You're pathetic, it's no wonder we beat you at the wedding. You're just a washed up bug, desperate for attention. So what if you can shape-shift, Twilight has a spell that undoes it." Chrysalis shrank back from the insults and covered her head with her foreleg.

Darkened Sky put a hoof on her back. "Are you all right, Chrysalis? We can stop if you need a few minutes."

"No, I'm fine. You can take it from here, she needs to know."

"All right, but let me know as soon as you need me to stop. Where was I? Oh yes, Luna rushed both Starswirl and Chrysalis to the castle's hospital. Over the next few days, Starswirl slowly started losing his mind. He had installed a spell in the laboratory to divert any magical backlashes into himself. Celestia did not take the news very well. She blamed the young Chrysalis for the entire fiasco and attacked her. That's why Chrysalis always looks so beat up, Celestia tried to vaporise her. It's very lucky that Changelings require the sun's power to live, and can survive exposure to extreme amounts of it. From that day on, Celestia hated Chrysalis. It got so bad that Luna had to send her away to be safe.

"Over the next few thousand years, Chrysalis found a mate and became a Queen. She had millions of children, and the Changelings freely roamed the planet as accepted members of communities everywhere. That all changed after Sil—Luna's banishment. The changelings, along with bat- and night- Ponies had been supporting Luna during the war against her sister. Celestia declared the Changelings to be evil and proclaimed they were to be captured or driven away. Many of Celestia's supporters took it upon themselves to rid the world of all who bowed to Luna. The only country to offer asylum to Luna's followers was the Nightlands, the one place on Equuis where the sun never rises."

Rainbow Dash looked at Darkened Sky, eyes wide with disbelief. "How could you accuse Celestia of all that! She's, like, the nicest pony in the world. And i've never heard of a place where the sun rise!"

Chrysalis raised her head off the ground and looked at Rainbow Dash, tears streaming down her face. "Celestia has had a very hard life. Her parents died when she and Luna were very young. Her mentor went insane and died in her arms. Her first lover was going through a difficult time when she hit him during an argument. He ran off into the woods and got possessed by a dark soul. She attempts at reasoning with him failed and he had to be imprisoned. There are hundreds of other incidents that affected her mind. I'm surprised she did't lose her sanity sooner. Even before the war that resulted in Luna getting banished, Celestia was not in her right mind." She laid her head back down and gazed blankly at the trees to her left.

Darkened Sky cast a worried glance at Chrysalis. "The Nightlands is a very special place, made by an ancient creature. It was given to Luna as a place for her followers to live, free from the sun. Unfortunately for the changelings, they needed the sun to live.

"The borders were guarded vigilantly by the surrounding countries, they drove any changelings trying to get some sun back into the Nightlands. Only a thousand changelings remaind by the time Chrysalis came to Equestria with her daughter and a few guards. She tried to petition Celestia for permission to have an area just outside the Nightlands where her subjects could feed on sunlight. Celestia refused and attacked the group, killing Chrysalis's daughter and most of her guards. She escaped with her surviving warriors and her daughter's body. She began planning her invasion of Canterlot two days later."

Rainbow Dash looked between her friend and her former enemy a few times. "Um, Chrysalis? How many changelings are still alive? And are they still stuck in the Nightlands?"

Chrysalis didn't reply for a few minutes. Finally she looked up, sorrow in her dull, green eyes. "There are 63 of my children still alive. They are hiding throughout Equestria. Luna and I have almost finalized my terms of surrender. We are working on getting the other two Princesses on signing it."

"Terms of surrender? What does that mean? What will happen to you?"

"If both Cadance and Celestia sign it, I will be banished to the Nightlands Prison Caves for 700 years. But my children will be pardoned and reintegrated into Equestria and surrounding lands." Chrysalis wiped fresh tears from her eyes. "After my banishment ends, I will be allowed to go where ever I want."

Rainbow Dash jumped up, her face purple with anger. "Why so long? You were just trying to save your children! The entire reason you had to take such desperate measures was what Celestia did!" Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she turned to Darkened Sky. "I believe both of you, Chrysalis wasn't entirely at fault. It's so strange to imagine Celestia doing anything wrong, but I think I belive you, Chrysalis."

Darkened Sky looked at the ground, ears back. "Celestia will answer for her wrong doings, eventually. Unless you have any more questions, I need to get going. Twilight is expecting me for supper." He picked up the purple bracelet and gave it Chrysalis. "Here is the anti-magic and illusion bracelet you needed. It's really great to see you again. I will meet you for supper tomorrow, as per our plan?"

Chrysalis took the bracelet and put it on. Dark purple magic flowed up her foreleg to her barrel, then over the rest of her body. The cloud of magic shrunk down until it was looked like an average sized unicorn. Slowly, the magic dissipated, leaving a green furred mare with a multicoloured mane in Chrysalis's place. "Thanks, Sky, for getting me this anti-magic and illusion charm. Now I don't have to worry about Twilight's changeling detection spell. I'll see you tomorrow. Rainbow Dash, thank you for hearing me out. It really means a lot that you care what happens to me, not many ponies do. Goodbye, I hope our next meeting is happier." Chrysalis turned and walked back into the forest.

Author's Note

I will try and have regular updates, about once every day for then next week, then going down to once or twice a week.

Big thanks to my editor PegasusMesa, and my pre-readers, ShadowBlades.

Chapter 3: Constellations

Rainbow Dash stared at the forest for a few minutes. "I can't believe that just happened. First Luna, then Discord and now Chrysalis. Is every villain we faced just going to come to Ponyville and get reformed? Who's next, Trixie? And how do you even know Queen Chrysalis?"

Darkened Sky stood up and looked at the sky. "She is my...distant cousin. Her daughter, Gloria Stellis, was a very close friend. I took it very hard when I found out about her death." He turned his back to Rainbow Dash, voice shaking as he continued. "The next day, my own sister was killed. I left the Nightlands to come to Equestria, hiding out in Ponyville as a pegasus. That was ten years ago, and you know the rest. I'm sorry, but I really need to go. I need some time to calm down before my date with Twilight."

Rainbow Dash walked up to her friend and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Sky. If you need to talk or something, you know where to find me. You can always count on me, no matter what."

"Thank you, Dash, it means so much to me that I can finally tell you more about my past. I'll see you tomorrow, same time as usual." Darkened Sky extracted himself from the bone-crushing hug and wiped his eyes. "Remember how you were asking about my best pony for the wedding? I think you already know who she is."

"That's a lot of ponies, who doesn't know the fasted flier in Equestria? Can you give me a better hint? Wait, you don't mean..." Rainbow Dash instantly started jumping around, shrieking like a filly. Darkened Sky flew off, a small smile on his lips. And so it begins. This time, nobody will ruin the wedding, and nobody will die.

Darkened Sky walked up to the Golden Oaks Library, a crocus held between his teeth. As he reached the door, it opened to reveal Princess Twilight Sparkle. She wore a stunning black dress gilded with magenta stars and white bats. It had a low cut collar and form-fitting body that stopped just short of her cutie mark. Her wings were extended far to ether side, feathers visibly ruffled. What drew Darkened Sky's eyes most was her ethereal mane and tail. Instead of pink stars, there were ice blue bats floating around the purple mist. Handing her the flower, he stared at her mane . "How did you replace the stars with bats in your mane? I thought you didn't have full control of its form yet. And Twilight, your dress is amazing! it accents your figure perfectly. "

Twilight motioned her guest into the library and put the crocus into an empty vase on the table. Both ponies sat down and settled black napkins on their laps. "Thank you, Rarity made the dress especially for tonight. As for my mane and tail, I managed to get enough control over them to change the shapes and colours of the images inside."

Darkened Sky grabbed his mug and raised it into the air. "Congratulations, Twilight! To learning and magic!"

She giggled and raised her own mug with magic. "To learning, magic and good friends!"

Both took a sip of the warm beverage. "Twilight! Darkened Sky! Don't drink—" the rest of Spike's warning was drowned out by the pair spitting out the foul tasting liquid.

Spike burst into the room, apron and chef hat splattered with brown stains. "I put my gem soup in the mugs by mistake! Oh, I guess you found out."

The two diners looked at Spike, and burst out laughing. "You should really label the jugs when you're cooking. It's fine, Spike, I'll clean up the table. Is the food ready yet?" Spike ran back to the kitchen, shouting about burnt waffles.

As Twilight used her magic to remove the spilled gem soup from the table, Darkened Sky took off one of his bracelets. "Are you excited for the Royal Summit next week? I heard over twenty countries are sending representatives this year!"

Having finished off the table, she glanced at her coltfriend. "I know, I just hope they accept me. At least I know some of the dignitaries from past encounters."

"That's good. I really wish I could attend with you, but I have a conference in Edmaneton. I can't believe the annual Bat Pony Assembly is at the same time as the Royal Summit." Twilight opened her mouth, presumably to ask for details. "—before you ask, I can't tell you about what the Assembly is about. It's only for bat and night ponies."

Twilight sighed. "I can't stand not knowing things, but everypony's allowed to have secrets. After all, there are some things I can't tell you about my visits to Canterlot."

"Dinner is served! Fresh fruit bread with Zap Apple Jam for you, Sky, and grilled cheese and dandelion sandwich for you, Twilight. For desert, I have one of Granny Smith's famous apple pies." Spike passed out the food, bowed, and left the room.

"How is your brother doing? Has being the comander of millions of guards driven him insane yet?"

Twilight laughed. "Don't you mean more insane? And no, he's handling his new responsibilities quite well."

"That's excellent. Is he going to be in town for the summit?"

"No, he's going to stay in the Crystal Empire in case something happens. Have you noticed Pinkie acting weird lately? Don't give me that look, I mean weirder than usual." Twilight tried to keep a strait face. "She took out a book, Dating for Dummies."

Darkened Sky chuckled. "I can't tell you exactly what's going on, I Pinkie Promised. But Pinkie has her eye on someone."

"I feel sorry for whoever she is interested in. I love her, but boy can she be a handful." Twilight rubbed her head, wincing at whatever was going through her mind.

After both were done eating, Spike came in and cleared the table. The two lovers sat and stared into each other's eyes. "Twilight, I think we should go do some stargazing, I have a little surprise for you."

She stood up and walked over to Darkened Sky, kissing his cheek. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Do I need my telescope?

"Nope, all you need is yourself, though you might want to take off that lovely dress," Darkened Sky replied as he walked up the stairs.

Twilight followed him with a skip in her step. "You're right, I wouldn't want to ruin it by laying on my balcony. Would you mind helping me take it off?" She walked over to the closet, and turned to face him. "I have trouble getting my wings out."

He stepped over to her and nuzzled her gently. "Of course I'll help you." After a few minutes of tugging and squirming, Twilight managed to extracte herself from the dress and hang it up.

As Twilight was hanging up the dress, Darkended Sky went out to the balcony. He glanced at the clock tower as he laid down on his underbelly, legs folded along his sides. Twilight came out and laid down, her side pressed against Darkened Sky's. Feeling her shiver, he opened his wing and wrapped it around her. After watching the beautiful night sky for a while, Darkened Sky broke the silence. "Twilight, remember how I told you a while ago that bat ponies can enter Luna's dreams to talk with her? Well, last week, I talked to her and got something special set up."

"What? You didn't!"

"Yes I did. I know how much you love it, so I got her to set one up for tonight." He gestured at the sky. Slowly, bands of multi-coloured lights started dancing above the library.

"Oh, Darkened Sky, thank you so much. I love the Aurora Lunas! Wait, why are there letters in the..." Twilight's jaw dropped in amazement as a message was written out in the sky.

PrincessTwilightSparkle, willyoumarryme?

She stared in shock at the sky, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly. She got up and started jumping around. "Yesyesyesyesyes. Finally! I've always dreamed of this moment." Turning abruptly to Darkened Sky, she kissed him passionately. "Yes, I will marry you. I love you, Darkened Sky."

Darkened Sky reached into his mane and pulled out a wreath of ferns. He put it around his fiancées neck, and kissed her back. "I love you too, my Princess."

Chapter 4: Bittersweet

"How does Pinkie have time to set up these parties? I proposed less than a day ago!" Darkened Sky shouted above the pounding music.

Rainbow Dash shrugged and took another sip of cider. "Must be her Pinkie Sense. I swear it's getting stronger everyday." Applejack and Twilight laughed.

The newly engaged couple was at one of Pinkie Pie's famous parties. News of the couple's new status spread across Ponyville with record breaking speed. Despite the fact that Darkened Sky had proposed at one in the morning, by noon there was a massive party planned in town hall. Pinkie had gone all out. There was even a three tier fruit cake.

"Congratulations, Darky and Sparky! I've been waiting to throw this party for months! Do you like it? Do you? Do you?" The energetic bundle of pink fur bounced around the pair, a huge smile on her face.

"We love the party, but I have a meeting with an old friend," Darkened Sky said to Pinkie, before turning toTwilight. "Are wecoming back after?"

"Of course! The're serving fruit cake later tonight, just for you. You know how—" Darkened Sky was cut off by Apple Bloom bursting through the front door.

"The barn dun collapsed on Granny Smith an Big Mac!" The music stopped and everybody stared at the filly.

"Outta mah way! Move yer lazy behinds!" Applejack pushed her way through the crowd and took off running toward Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Darkened Sky quickly followed suit.

When the group got to the farm, they found utter chaos. Farmhands were trying to remove debris from the twisted wreck that was once a barn. The entire mess was unstable and moments away from collapsing on the ponies trapped inside. Twilight and her friends stopped dead in their tracks, mouths open in horror. Darkened Sky took one look at the wreckage and started screaming at the rescuers to stop touching the barn. Seeing that he was being ignored, he took a deep breath and let loose an ear splitting shriek.

"Back away from the barn! If you continue to pull out things, you will kill both of them if they are even still alive!"

The ponies froze and stared at Darkened Sky for a few seconds before backing away from the barn. He walked up to wreckage and fiddled with his bracelets. After walking around the barn a few times and hitting various wooden beams, he started yelling out for the watching crowd to start moving certain boards. After hours of moving wood and shoring up walls, they had made a tunnel large enough for Twilight pulled out a very bruised Big Mac. There was no sign of Granny Smith in the rest of the wreckage.

Twilight started using the contents of a first aid kit on Big Mac. After most of the cuts were bandaged, he began to stir. Twilight sent everybody except Darkened Sky and Applejack to the house. Applejack looked up to Twilight. "Is he gonna be okay?"

Big Mac groaned and open his eyes. "Granny's gone. She pushed mey outta the way. It fell an her, hard. She said something about debt settled, then gone." He started sobbing softly. Applejack soon joined him.

Darkened Sky stared at Big Mac, and started hyperventilating. "Are you sure she pushed you and said the debt was settled, absolutely sure?"

"Eeyup."

Darkened Sky jumped up and flew off towards town, screaming in horror.

"Sky! What? Arg, we need to get Big Mac to the hospital. Applejack, you're going to have get somebody to tell everybody about Granny Smith." Twilight picked the red Stallion up with her magic and started cantering toward the hospital. Applejack followed after sending a farmhand to the house.

This can't be happening, not now! I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility! Darkened Sky raced throughout town towards the library, tears streaming from his eyes. He burst through the library door and saw a blue mare crying into Chrysalis's mane near the fireplace. Her hat and cape were laying by the door, badly singed.

Darkened Sky walked up to the pair and collapsed to the ground, sobbing. "Trixie, he can't have Fallen, not yet. I'm not ready! I just got engaged!"

Trixie glared at Darkened Sky, hate and pain in her eyes. "You should have thought of that before killing your sister and running away. We had gotten married that morning! Instead going on my honeymoon, I had to bury my best friend and put my wife in the vault with the rest of the Fallen!" Trixie picked him up with her magic and threw him into the wall. "You broke father's heart, and his mind! I'm surprised he held off his dark side for so long before Falling. And it's all because of you!" Trixie conjured up a blade made of pure magic and put it to Darkened Sky's throat. "If you weren't now the ruler of the Nightlands, I'd kill you."

Twilight and Rainbow Dash crashed through the windows on either side of Darkened Sky. Twilight conjured up her own magic sword and started attacking Trixie. "Get away from my fiancée, Trixie! How dare you attack him in my own home? Lay down your sword and surrender!"

"Ha! You think you can take me? I am Trixie Lulamoon, crown Princess of the Nightlands! You're lucky I am need elsewhere," Trixie retorted before glaring at Darkened Sky."Don't think this is over. I may not be able to harm you directly, but in a week, Ponyville will be smoking crater." She vanished in a flash of light, along with her cape and hat.

Darkened Sky stared at Chrysalis for a few moments. He stood up and turned to Twilight. "I, I ne-ed toooo." A roaring sound flooded his ears, along with laughter. Staggering slightly, darkness started swamping his vision. The end is near, we shall rise up and destroy all who oppose us. We are pain. We are death!

Darkened Sky fell over, eyes rolling up. "What have I done?"

Chapter 5: Ashes

Darkened Sky stood at the edge of a cliff, staring down at the bright city far below. "Do I need to go through with this, Luna? Is there no other way? I'm scared," He said to the mare standing beside him. "What if I fail?"

Luna wrapped her wing around him and squeezed. "My dear son, you will not fail. You are courageous and kind-hearted, there is no pony better suited for this than you. You will succeed, I believe in you. Just remember one thing. When you stand on the sword's edge, do not be afraid to jump."

Darkened Sky backed away from Luna, eyes furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, jump?"

Bright light started filling up his vision, obscuring Luna from view. "You will know when the time comes. I love you."

With those final words, the world shattered around Darkened Sky as he fell. "Luna!"

Darkened Sky sat up with a scream. Looking around the unfamiliar room, the first thing that stood out was Twilight stretched out on a few chairs, slowing waking up. He went to get off the bed and noticed that his right hind leg was shackled to the bed post. There were also two Solar Guards, standing on ether side of his bed. "Twilight, what's going on? The last thing I remember is falling over at our house."

She stepped off the stairs and walked over to the bed. "You passed out and I rushed you to the Ponyville hospital. I had Spike send a letter to Celestia about Trixie's attack and threat. A few hours later, she came to the hospital with around thirty Solar Guards to arrest you. Since you were still unconscious, you were moved to the Castle's guarded medical wing. Sky, why would they think you committed a crime bad enough for the reinforcements she had with her?"

Darkened Sky looked into his love's bloodshot eyes. "Because I plotted to overthrow Celestia ten years ago. I tried to start a lunar rebellion, and things got out of hand. After the first year, I decided that Luna didn't deserve to rule alone, I did. I convinced a lot of other ponies to support me."

Seven years ago we attacked the palace very late on Hearths Warming Eve. We made it all the way to Celestia's chambers without being caught. We rushed inside expecting to surprise her, and came face to face with a squad of Solar guards. She had some how known about our attack. We fought the guards, disabling most of them. We might have won had I not realized that what I was doing was wrong, on so many levels. I escaped that night, leaving my ex-comrades to face justice alone."

"I returned to Ponyville and met Pinkie Pie for the first time. She's the reason I'm here today. She showed me that the past has already happened, we can only put on a smile and look forwards to tomorrow. I don't know how Celestia ever figured out it was me in charge of the group. I had powerful enchantments that disguised me when ever I did anything as Glacium, a pure white pegasus."

He looked away from Twilight's shocked expression. "I'm really sorry. I know what I did was wrong, I won't try to make excuses."

Twilight her forelegs around his neck, her eyes tearing up again. "What's going to happen to you? I don't want to lose you, not now."

Darkened Sky returned her embrace, tears starting to stream down his muzzle. "Hopefully I will be banished, it's unlikely though. If not, I will be publicly executed for having declared war on Equestria."

Twilight jumped up, eyes wide in panic. In a flash of magic, both guards were unconscious. "I can't let that happen, you have to run. I can't watch you die!" She started using spell after spell on his shackle, trying to open it. Unable to break the enchantments on it, she collapsed on to Darkened Sky, sobbing uncontrollably. "No, not like this. I knew I would lose you, but I never imagined it would be this soon."

Darkened Sky looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, noting it was the day before the Summer Sun Celebration. "I know, my love. But the only way for me to stay with you, is to be pardoned. And the chances of that happening before tomorrow morning is next to none." He reached up and stroked her mane. "Even if I don't survive tomorrow, you must continue on. Your friends will need you, Ponyville will need you. Trixie will attack our home in three days, and without you, it will be destroyed. She is far more powerful than any other unicorn alive now, maybe even as powerful as you. But for tonight, let's forget everything and just enjoy each other." Shifting Twilight so she was beside him, he kissed her.

Twilight wrapped her legs around Darkened Sky and returned the kiss. "I love you."

Two lovers were woken up by the Captain of the Solar Guard. "Princess, it is time for Darkened Sky's trial. Please do not try to help him escape, we have an anti-magic field set up all the way to the throne room."

She nodded her acceptance and and got out of the bed. A guard locked a metal band around Darkened Sky's barrel, pinning his wings to his sides. The Captain took out a key and unlocked the shackle that keep the prisoner from escaping. The group left the medical room and marched briskly to the throne room. Inside, Equestria's three other Princess were waiting, along with an assortment of guards. Standing off to one side were the rest of bearers of the Elements of Harmony. All five had bloodshot eyes and tear matted fur, with a flat haired Pinkie Pie actively crying. The guards lead the lovers up to the thrones' steps.

Celestia stepped forwards, a neutral expression on her face. "Darkened Sky, you have been found guilty of attempted murder and warmongering. Do you deny these facts."

Kill her, kill them all. We have the power, just give in to the dark. "I do not. I accept full responsibility for my actions. I surrender to the Equestrian Diarchy and—"

Darkened Sky was interrupted by a grey blur smashing into Celestia. She fell over, winded from the impact. The grey Pegasus rose back into the air, ready to strike again. Luna's horn flashed and the attacked dropped to the ground, stunned. The guards pounced on the shrieking pegasus, gagging and dragging her to were Darkened Sky stood. Celestia got up and turned to the grey mare. "You have just assaulted a Princess, the punishment for that is banishment or death."

Darkened Sky looked and the mare beside him and swore, it was Derpy Hooves. He stepped in front of the wall eyed mare and bowed. "I accept whatever punishment you were going to give this mare, Derpy Hooves, as well as my own." No! Let her die! You could destroy them all now. You would be king of Equestria.

Celestia frowned at Darkened Sky. "You would sacrifice yourself, so that this mare would live. That is...very noble of you." She looked at Luna, who nodded her head. She turned back to the three ponies standing in front of her. "Very well. Darkened Sky, as punishment for your own and Miss Derpy Hooves' crimes, i sentence you to death. As you have shown kindness this young mare, I will show you a kindness in turn. You may chose how you want to die."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy started yelling at the Princess, while the rest of Darkened Sky's friends Started to cry again. Twilight grabbed him and broke down completely.

Darkened Sky extracted him self from Twilight's embraced and stepped toward the white Alicorn. Now is your chance, take off your bracelets and freeze her! Shut up! I will never listen to you again, that's what got us into this mess. "Princess Celestia, may I have a moment with my friends before I give you my decision?"

She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. The watching guards let the bearers run to Darkened Sky.

When the the five friends reached him, Darkened Sky held out a hoof to stop them from embracing him. "Listen to me carefully, take care of Twilight. Do not let her try and save me. I love you all. I'm going to miss each one of you. When I stand on the sword's edge, I will have our memories until I fall." He hugged each of them and stepped over to the sobbing grey pegasus. "Derpy, I'm sorry we never went on that picnic I promised you. You need to let me go now, you have Dinky to worry about. Take care of her for me, okay?" She nodded, tears streaming from her eyes. Satisfied, he turned to his lover. "My dear Twilight, you will survive this day. Keep living for me, please. I love you, My Princess."

Wait a minute. When you stand on the sword's edge, do not be afraid to jump. I get it now. Turning away from his friends, Darkened Sky bowed to Celestia. "I would like my friends removed from the room before I give my decision. I do not want them to witness it."

"I agree with you. Guards, please escort these mares outside." The guards slowly got all seven of them out of the hall. "What is your choice, Darkened Sky?"

"When I go through with my execution, both of our crimes will be paid for?" Seeing Celestia nod, he looked at the ground. "Then for my punishment, I want the leather in my wings cut at equal intervals so I can't fly. Then I want to jump off the top of the mountain."

There was dead quiet in the throne room. After a few minutes, Celestia broke the silence. "If that is your wish, then I will oblige." With a flash of her horn, the three Princesses and some guards teleported to the mountain top. One of the guards came up and removed the metal band around Darkened Sky's barrel. An other guard started to cut his wings with a sword. Soon enough, Darkened Sky's once proud wings looked like confetti attached to a furry pole.

Darkened Sky stepped to the edge of the cliff and took off his bracelets. "Give them to Twilight please." Looking down he took and deep breath. Without looking back, he jumped off the edge. Celestia watched his receding form fall towards the ground fall below. After a few seconds, a dust plume rose a little ways in the air. Satisfied that he was dead, she turned back to the other spectators. "We should go tell Twilight and her friends Darkened Sky's fate. Let us re—"

The Princess was cut off by a huge explosion, coming from where Darkened Sky had impacted the ground. Spinning around she saw a pillar of smoke rising from the forest. She jumped off the cliff and started flying towards the source of the smoke. Luna and a few Guards followed close behind. Arriving at the impact site, they found four half melted horseshoes in the middle of a small crater.

Chapter 6: Facing Fears

Princess Luna stood outside the Ponyville library, the soft light of dawn warming her fur. She had been there for close to an hour, not having the courage to knock. It had been two days since Darkened Sky was executed, two days full of protests and riots. I don't know what Tia was trying to do by killing him. Did she really expect everybody to just accept her judgment? Half of the delegates at the summit are calling for her arrest, since she broke the United Equuis' Universal Rights treaty. If only they knew ab—. Her silent musings were interrupted by the door opening.

"Are ya gonna come in, Princess, or jus keep standing an staring at tha door?" Applejack motioned for the Princess to enter.

Luna walked in and looked around the trashed room. There were books and ripped parchment laying everywhere, along with the remains of a large table. Picking up the nearest scrap of paper she noticed it was a letter from Celestia. "Is she still in her room? And where's spike? He normally wouldn't let the library stay this way after one of Twilight's rages. "

Applejack walked over to the one unbroken chair and collapsed onto it. "He's at Rarity's place, making sure she don't try anything stupid again. She put this corrosive power on a dress Celestia had commissioned. It did something with the gems already in the dress an blew up. Now she keeps talking to these voices in her head. Pinkie Pie isn't much better, she set up a party for Darkened Sky's return. She's convinced he's still alive and will walk in any minute. Fluttershy is with her, making sure she eats. Twilight came home from Canterlot and tore the place apart before getting in bed. She hasn't moved since then, not even to go to the bathroom. Rainbow Dash is up there now trying to get here to eat."

Luna walked to the stairs, pausing at the bottom. "Applejack, why are you here? You should be at home, resting up for apple bucking season."

"Ya didn't hear? Granny Smith died saving Big Mac when our barn collapsed the night Darkened Sky was arrested. The entire apple clan is in town, so a don't have to go near the farm until a'm ready to." Luna stared at Applejack, mouth open. "A take it ya didn't hear then. With things being so hec—" Luna shrieked and ran upstairs.

"Come on Twilight, just one bite. You need to eat, we can't lose you too." Rainbow Dash was trying to get Twilight to take a bite of a protein bar. She looked up as Luna burst into the bedroom. "Luna, please do something. She's done nothing but lay here since getting back. I don't know what to do."

Luna walked up the steps to the loft. "Rainbow Dash, have you seen Chrysalis since the night Trixie attacked?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"I need you to go get the rest of the Bearers and bring them to the summit. I can't tell you why right now, but you have to trust me. I know how to save Ponyville, and Twilight." Rainbow Dash nodded and ran downstairs. Luna climbed up onto the bed with Twilight and turned the heart-broken mare's head towards her. "My dear Twilight, please talk to me. You've been blocking my attempts to talk in your dreams."

Twilight's voice was rough from sorrow. "Why would I want to talk to you? You let her kill him, I saw the explosion." She opened her eyes as tears fell onto her muzzle. Looking up, she saw that Luna was crying.

"I could do nothing to save him, not without compromising my other subjects. There are some things that I forbade Darkened Sky from sharing with you. It's time you know the entire truth." Seeing Twilight's confused look, she sighed. "Do remember the first time you asked about his father? He said that his father Fell in battle."

Twilight nodded. "He also said his sister fell just before he came to Equestria. I always thought that was his way of saying they died, but he has talked about other ponies dying. When I asked him about it, he said it was a custom from his homeland."

"He told you most of the truth. In the Nightlands, those in the royal family never live long enough to die. They Fall."

"I don't think I understand. Are you saying that Darkened Sky was a member of the royal family?"

Luna shook her head. "Not exactly. Until the day the barn collapsed on Granny Smith, he was the heir to the throne of the Nightlands."

Twilight sat up, face contorted in concentration. "But Trixie said she was crown Princess, and succession in the Lulamoon line is through mares. Trixie is a few years older than Darkened Sky, so she should have been heir."

"You are correct, Trixie would be heir if there was only one line of succession. There are three different lines, Chrysalis, the Lulamoons, and my children. If I have no children abled to take the throne when the current ruler Falls, then a Lulamoon takes the throne."

"That means that Darkened Sky was your son. And you let him die! How could you do that! Didn't you love him?"

Luna swept the weeping mare into a tight hug. "Of course I loved him, but I can never interfere in the lives of my children. He chose his own path, and I had to let him go."

Twilight started crying harder. "I miss him so much, I don't care what he did or what his titles are. I just want my kind, loving stallion back."

"If you love him, let him go. Come to the summit and save Ponyville, the place that he loved so much, he left a palace to live in. Darkened Sky's Fall was not the end of his legacy."

Twilight pulled away from Luna. "You never explained what the difference between dying and falling is."

Luna got off the bed and turned to the loft stairs. "That's Falling with a capital F. The process of being changed from a mortal body of flesh to a body of unbreakable ice. Most creatures Fall, ether from sustaining a fatal injury or going insane, by touching an orb made by the current Prince of Ice. Guess who holds that title now." With that dramatic revelation, Luna ran downstairs and out the front door.

Twilight sat on her head for a few seconds. "Luna! Get back here!" She jumped off her bed and took off after the fleeing Princess.

Luna made it to the summit long before Twilight. The perks of being able to travel from shadow to shadow faster faster than light. She trotted up to the table assigned to Equestria's representatives. "Celestia, Cadance. Twilight will be arriving momentarily." Smiling, she sat down next to her sister.

Celestia stared at her. "How did you get Twilight out of her room? Spike informed me this morning that she wouldn't be leaving her bed."

"Oh, Tia, it was easy. I told her that Darkened Sky is still alive."

"You did what! How could you do that to her! He's dead, you saw the crater!" She stood up and glared at Luna. "Why would you get her hopes up like that? You know how fragile she is right now. I think you've gone too far this time, we are going to have a long talk back at the castle."

"Luna! You can't just tell me he might still be alive then run off!" Twilight tackled Luna and pinned her to the ground. "Explain now!"

While Celestia and Twilight yelled at Luna, four cloaked figures slowly made their through the growing crowd. Once they were behind the two enraged alicorns, they removed their hoods. Slowly, people noticed them and started backing away. Luna started to laugh, and pointed to the four newcomers. "I was right! Tia, look behind you."

Celestia froze, eyes wide in panic. Twilight spun around and came face to face with Darkened Sky, Chrysalis and two other ponies.

Chapter 7: Worlds Collide

Twilight's jaw dropped. She stepped forward and reached up to Darkened Sky's muzzle. "They said you died, that you jumped off the mountain. Celestia saw your body hit the ground and explode. How are you here?"

Darkened Sky hugged his fiancée, and kissed her passionately. "I didn't survive the jump, I changed myself to ice just before impact. In short, my life as Darkened Sky, Prince of Ice, has ended. As for how I am standing before you now, it's a very long story that we don't have time for. Princess Trixie and her army will be here in less than 20 minutes." He let Twilight go and turned to Chrysalis. "You should really take care of your business now. We don't have much time."

Celestia turned around and glared at Darkened Sky. "You shouldn't be alive. And what gives you any right to walk into my summit with a wanted criminal. You may have found a loophole that absolved your crimes, but hers still stand!"

Her rant was cut off by Chrysalis laughing. "I withdraw my terms of surrender and pledge my allegiance to the current ruler of the Nightlands as an ambassador. Guess what, Tia?" She took off her coat and threw it at Celestia's hooves. "I now have diplomatic immunity as long as Equestria and the Nightlands are not officially at war." She cackled gleefully.

Celestia's horn started glowing. Darkened Sky stepped between the two mares. "Celestia, unless you want a full out war with my country, I would advise not attacking my ambassador."

Celestia's legs collapsed under her. "You're the ruler of the Nightlands? But Trixie Lulamoon is older than you and currently the crown Princess. That would make you Luna's son." She started sobbing as she came to the realisation that she had once again tried to kill one her sister's children. " Sister, I am so sorry. I truly didn't know who he was."

Luna walked up to her weeping sister and put a wing around the older alicorn. "I forgive you, Tia. We have many more issues We must discuss, but they can wait. Ponyville needs our help to survive this battle."

Celestia looked down, tears gathering in her eyes. "I can't help you, not anymore. I lost my powers years ago. The only things I can still do are taking care of the sun, and simple reversal spells."

Darkened Sky interrupted the the conversation with a subtle cough. "Can we save the touchy feely stuff until after we save my home? We have 5 minutes until the army gets here. Celestia, if you can't fight, then start getting anypony else who can't fight out of here. Luna, organize the fighters facing north, that's where Trixie will come out of the woods." The sisters nodded and ran off. Darkened Sky turned to the other members of his group. "Black Ice, start forming lightning clouds as ammunition for the pegasi. Snowgleam, stick with Chrysalis, we need to get you as close to Trixie as possible. You're they only one she will listen to." The three ran off, weaving through the thick crowd.

"Darkened Sky, about your execution. Did you really have the leather in your wings cut?" Twilight shuddered and closed her own wings.

Darkened Sky let his cloak slide down his back, stopping it just before it revealed his flank. He extended his wings, the leather strips fluttering in the wind. "It's not as bad as it looks. A bat pony cut them, so none of the nerve-lines were damaged. In a few months, they will be good as new." He folded his maimed wings back up and pulled his cloak back up. "Our friends will be here in a bit. I have a plan that might save Ponyville and Trixie."

"Really? You can save everybody? You're going to have to explain your plan." Twilight looked at her fiancée with hope-filled eyes.

"Alright, this is what need to happen—"

They won't know what hit them. With Darkened Sky in some sort of trouble, I doubt they even remember my threat. This is my best plan yet, soon I will have revenge. Trixie turned to her large army, she used a spell to amplify her voice. "My fellow warriors! Today is the day we get even with Ponyville. They have made fun off you, they ran you out of town, they have even destroyed some of your friend! No longer will we allow them to do us wrong. Today, we make them pay for every single thing we have suffered at their hand. Today, we destroy Ponyville!"

Trixie, ever the showmare, had brought many more allies than she need to destroy one pitiful town. The ranks of timberwolves, Diamond Dogs, manticores, adolescent dragons and other assorted fighters growled and cheered their approval. Trixie turned back around and fired a blast of black coloured magic towards the south. The army started running towards the edge of the woods, ready to fight.

When the armed force ran out of the woods, they were shocked to find that their enemy was prepared for them. Trenches had been dug in the ground, along with barricades made of tables and chariots. A Long strip of black thunder clouds was placed across the middle of the battlefield. Ponyville was very prepared for the attack. "Don't just stand there like idiots, attack them!" Trixie's army resumed their charge towards the barricades. This is all wrong! We were supposed to catch them unaware. How did they find out what direction we were coming from.

"Trixie! What are you doing? Why are you attacking them? There are innocent ponies who are going to get hurt if you don't call off your attack." Trixie slowly turned towards the forest. Standing there was a pure white pegasus, with a green heart for a cutie mark. "The Trixie I fell in love with would never had done this. What happened to the Great and Powerful Trixie, magician extraordinaire? Please come back back to me, I missed you."

Trixie took a few steps forward. "Snowgleam, is that really you? But you Fell, Darkened Sky tried to kill you. I'm doing this for you, to avenge you! I can't stop now."

Snowgleam ran up to Trixie and and hugged her. "Darkened Sky didn't try to kill me, he was using his powers to try and bring Shelled Hope back to life. He was pouring his life force into the effort, so I tackled him. His spell misfired and made me Fall. The entire thing was my fault, but Darkened Sky still blamed himself."

Trixie pushed her wife away and put her hooves to her head. "No, it can't be. Your lying! No, you wouldn't. You've bought into his lies!" She shut her eyes tight and backed away, muttering. She stopped suddenly, and opened her eyes. They were a dark, glowing red. "You're just one of his pawns, it's time for my revenge. First, we will destroy Ponyville, then the rest of Equestria. The world will fear and worship me! I am Trixie Deathmoon! Bow before me, or die."

Chapter 8: Storm

Darkened Sky stood on a cloud just above Snowgleam and Trixie, watching the confrontation. Twilight and rainbow Dash stood on ether side of him.

"Sky, are you sure this will work? I have a bad feeling about this," Twilight whispered. She had been reluctant to try anything other than attacking Trixie.

Seeing Trixie take a few steps towards Snowgleam, he nuzzled Twilight. "You see? It's working. Now we just need to wait for my sister's—NO! Plan C, now!" Darkened Sky jumped off the cloud and landed in front of Trixie. "Trixie, fight her off! Stay in control, we are going to save you!"

"You've lost, boy. The mare you knew as Trixie Lulamoon is dead. There is nothing that can stop me, especially now that you lost your powers." Trixie Deathmoon horn started cracking with red energy. "I have an offer for you."

Darkened Sky backed up a step. "What makes you think I would accept any offer from you? And what makes you think I have no powers?"

"I know you have no powers, otherwise I wouldn't be still be talking. As for the offer, it's more of a threat. Serve me or I will kill your sister, along with every single one of your friends."

"I would rather die than serve evil." Darkened Sky got ready to charge Trixie.

"What a shame, I was looking forwards to having your friends work in the mines. I had bets on who would go insane first." She turned to Snowgleam, and fired a bolt of magic at the white pegasus

Somehow, Darkened Sky managed to throw himself in the magic's path. The bold hit him and sent him flying into a tree beside his sister. "Snowgleam, get out of here! Find Twilight." He got back to his feet and ran at Trixie, teeth bared.

"You think you can take me? Prepare to die!" She hit him with a second bolt of red magic, sending him into an other tree. She stalked over to where he lay, groaning in pain. "It was nice knowing you, Darkened Sky. Don't worry about your country, I will make sure it gets spared. I'm going to need a lot of test subjects for my projects. I will make your death as painful as possi—Ahhh!" A large rainbow wrapped itself around Trixie and obscured her from view. The high pitched scream emanating from the swirling magic abruptly cut out. The colourful ribbons faded away revealing a Trixie shaped statue.

Twilight and the rest of the Element Bearers ran out of the woods. Twilight rushed over to where Darkened Sky was laying. "Sky, it worked! She was transformed, just like you said. What's that smell, are you alright? Your coat is smoking!"

"I'm fine. Is Trixie alright?" Darkened Sky go to his feet and looked over to where he had last seen Trixie. "No! She was supposed to be cleansed, not turned to stone!" He limped over to the statue, tears starting to drip down his muzzle. "Trixie, I'm so sorry. This wasn't what I intended, I promise, I will find a way to fix this."

Twilight followed her fiancée, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, cleansed? And how did you even know we could harness the Tree of Harmony's power without the elements?"

"I didn't know. I was told it was the only way to save Trixie by the creature that brought me and my sister back from our Fallen state." Darkened Sky looked towards the main part of the battlefield. Trixie's entire army had been defeated. "Snowgleam, get the other three Princesses and tell them to meet us at the Old Castle. I have the feeling we might need back up. Twilight, can you grab Trixie? I don't think I'm stong enough to carry it."

Twilight nodded and picked up the statue with her magic. Snowgleam hugged Darkened Sky and flew off to find the Princesses. The rest of the group slowly made their way to the castle.

By the time the seven friends made it to the castle, Darkened Sky could barely walk. Twilight put the Trixie statue down beside the entrance and looked around the eery courtyard. There were scorch marks everywhere, along with a pile of shattered crystals. "Sky, there's nopony here."

Darkened Sky slowly made his way to the center of the open space. "Black Nightmare! Show yourself! You were wrong about the Elements. They didn't save Trixie, they petrified her!"

A laugh that sounded like grinding rocks echoed through the courtyard. "I wasn't wrong about what would happen, I just didn't say what it would cleanse her of. Her dark side, or her flesh." A large creature dropped down beside Darkened Sky. It's fur was black with red splashes that moved constantly. It had two sets of wings, bat and pegasus, along with a long horn. Instead of forelegs, it had a dragon's arms. "Now that you've served your purpose, I see no reason to keep you alive." The creature shot a ball of black magic at Darkened Sky, sending him flying for the third time that hour.

His smoldering body landed right in front of Twilight's, blood seeping from hundreds of gashes. He raised his head and looked at her. "Twilight, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize he might have been corrupted before I released him from his prison.Run, warn Luna the Nox has risen. The Coldfire shards must be gathered." Darkened Sky gasped and let his head flopping to the ground. " I love you." His eyes unfocused and dulled to pure black.

Chapter 9: Nightmare

There was absolute silence in the courtyard. Everypony stared at the broken body in front of Twilight. The black creature started to laugh again. "I did it! I killed the ruler of the Nightlands. We have won, nothing can stop the Nox from taking over the world. I can now take my rightful place as King Umbra, Tyrant of Evil."

Twilight looked up at King Umbra, eyes blazing magenta. "How dare you! I only found out he was still alive this morning, and now he's gone again. Do you know how it feels to have your heart ripped out twice? I'll make you wish you were never born." With a scream, her mane changed from its normal purple mist to crackling black flames. She ran towards the unnatural creature, firing bolts of magic. King Umbra collapsed into a dark mist, letting the projectiles strike the courtyard wall. The wall vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind a haze of dust. Twilight froze, looking around for the monster that had attacked her lover.

"Do you actually think you have a chance of defeating me?" The disembodied voice rang through the air. "I am Darkness, your precious Friendship is useless against me. The power within your friends has been drained, Harmony can no longer help you today. But you and your friends don't have to suffer the same fate as Darkened Sky. Give in to the darkness in your hearts, I know you can hear it speaking to you. Join the Nox and become more powerful than you could ever imagine. You would all be gifted with immor—Ahhh!"

The offer was cut off by a blaze of light sticking the courtyard. When the light cleared, Celestia, Luna and Cadance stood pouring power into a orb of magic around King Umbra. Celestia shouted something above the roar of magic, pointing at Twilight.

"What? I don't know—Oh, magic." Twilight sent a blast of pure power at the orb. The pool of magic shrunk around the captive king, forcing him to curl into a ball. There was a flash of of lighf and Twilight felt herself leave the ground, sight fading to black as she heard a sound like breaking glass.

Pain was the first thing Twilight felt, pain everywhere. She tried to rub her pounding head, and found her forelegs wouldn't respond. If fact, she couldn't move anything. What's going on? Why can't I move?

"What do you mean she doesn't have that level of power? You saw her fire that spell, that came completely from her pool."

Twilight tried to open her eyes unsuccessfully. What are they talking about? My head hurts so much.

"I was with her that morning. She didn't even have enough energy to fly, let alone the fireworks she pulled off during the fight. She drew that power from somepony else, and it couldn't have been the other Bearers. They were drained from using Harmony to defeat Trixie Deathmoon. Sister, you must accept the fact that the end is nearing."

Let's try this again. Twilight slowly moved her right hoof a few centimeters away from her body. "Uunn. Mmm."

The two Ponies ceased their argument. "My dear Twilight, you're finally awake. Over the next few minutes, the sedatives in your body should wear off. There is much we need to discuss."

Twilight felt a hoof caress her muzzle. I must have passed out after whatever spell we did. I hope the others are alright, I really don't need any more dead—don't go there, focus on moving. Slowly, she was able to move her upper body with relative ease. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a private hospital room, much like the one Darkened Sky was in before his execution. Tears started flowing from her eyes. "Celestia, what happened? I remember light and noise, then nothing but darkness."

"You poured so much raw magic into my reversal spell that it exploded. The backlash sent you flying, all the way back to Ponyville. Thank goodness the rest of your friends followed Darkened Sky's advice and ran. They could have been killed by that blast. As it is, you've been unconscious for a day and a half." Celestia helped Twilight sit up and drink some water.

"Nopony else was hurt?" Twilight took an other sip of water.

"All of them are fine. We actually had to threaten to keep Darkened Sky asleep until he healed enough to come visit you." Luna received a face full of water and Twilight's saliva.

"He's alive! Why didn't you start with that? I thought he was dead! I thought he was murdered right in front of me!" Twlight threw her glass across the room.

Celestia placed her hoof over Twilight's mouth. "Please don't shout, there are other patients in the castle. Yes he's alive. He simply passed out from the pain of being hit with magical lightning three times."

'B-But his eyes, and the words and blood everywhere!" She looked between Celestia and Luna a few times.

Luna smiled grimly. "Did you check to see if he was still breathing before assuming he was dead? Bat ponies eyes change to black when they fall asleep. It's a defense mechanism to prevent most predators from attacking them while venerable."

Twilight looked at the sheets, face red from shame. "I didn't check. I let that, thing, get me enraged. What did happen to, whatever that creature was?"

Luna's smile disappeared. "King Umbra was removed from Black Nightmare's body. Black Nightmare is currently in a coma, but can still dream. He is a Dracorn, and the King of the Nightmares. A long time ago, he was once my friend. We got into an arguement and he ran off, I hadn't seen him since then."

"So, the same type of thing that happened to Trixie, happened to him?"

Luna glanced at her sister. "Yes, and the same thing is going to happen to both Darkened Sky and Celestia. Celestia has a few months before she loses herself. Unfortunately, Darkened Sky only has about two weeks before we will lose him. And this time, he won't ever be coming back. The stallion you knew as Darkened Sky will cease to exist, along with any freedom or hope on this planet."

Chapter 10: Haunted

So much had happened in the day since Twilight had woken up in Canterlot. Countless meeting, interrogations and trials had worn what little stamina she had recovered after the fight in Ponyville. The Nox had declared open war on Equuis and all four Princesses were pushed to their breaking point, trying to mobilize the Equestrian defences. It didn't help that nopony could be truly trusted. Many off the attackers were average citizen of Equestria, coming from all backgrounds and ages. Celestia had finaly sent Twilight back to Ponyville after finding her passed out on Luna's bed, stacks of arrest warrants spread around the purple alicorn.

Twilight was now in the basement of the library with Darkened Sky and the rest of her closest friends. Darkened Sky had requested their presence, rufusing to start before the last everypony arrived. Twilight was sitting with him on a three-pony couch, the others sat at a table, enjoying a light lunch. "Sky, who are we waiting for?" Twilight was getting impatient, exhaustion dragging at her bones. She wanted nothing more than to go to bed and sleep in her fiancée's embrace.

"We are waiting for Derpy Hooves." Darkened Sky checked the clock hanging near the stairs. "She should be here any minute."

Rainbow Dash choked on her mouthful of hayfries, and spitting out the remainder of her lunch. "What? Why does she need to be here? I thought this was some sort of top-secret meeting, since Lunar Guards teleported us here." She pushed the rest of her meal away and glared at Darkened Sky. "You know how Derpy is, she can't keep a secret and always get hur—in people's way. There is no way on Equuis I'm would ever let you use her in any of your plans. She's the only...pony that gets into more trouble than all three CMC's combined!"

Darkened Sky let Rainbow Dash finish her rant. "I think you will be surprised what she can do, Dash. She has been working as my bodyguard for years—" Darkened Sky was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass.

Spike opened the basement door. "Twilight! Derpy is here. Should I send her down?"

"Yes, Spike, send her down. And go to the window store, they should have a replacement window," Twilight called back up the stairs.

Derpy trotted downstairs, eyes shifting constantly. "Lord Sky, so sorry I'm late. I had a situation to deal with. Twilight, I can pay for the window. I needed to make it seem like I arrived here accidentally."

"It's no problem, Lieutenant. And please call me Sky, this is an unofficial meeting." Darkened Sky motioned for the grey mare to sit beside him. "Now that you are all here, there are two things I need to discuss today. The first, well, I am ill. I have maybe six days before I die." All five ponies at the table had started talking. Darkened Sky had to shout to be heard over them. "Please let me finish. There is a way to prolong that time, but it's very risky. There is a spell that can remove the Nox from my mind temporally, and separate it into five shards.

"To prevent the shards from returning to my mind, they need to be carried by beings that can cancel out their magic. The Nox exists for one purpose, to destroy Harmony. The Nox literally represent Disharmony, and as such, can be suppressed temporally by the power of Harmony."

All five ponies at the table stared blankly at him. Applejack scratched her muzzle and looked at Twilight. "What in tarnation did he jus say?"

Twilight glanced over at her lover. He had his head in his hooves, muttering something under his breath. She looked back to her friends. "I think he means that as the physical embodiments of the Elements of Harmony, your innate powers will cancel out the magic destroying his mind. Like when we turned Trixie to stone, the power came from within you five."

Pinkie Pie started bouncing in her chair. "Oh! What your saying is that we are like barrels of cider. When you want some cider, you go and pour some from the barrel. When you want some rainbow Harmony power, you pour it out of us! We're walking barrels of magic, and Darkie is going to teach us how to use it. Then we go to the cave and fight this weird monster with sorta copies of ourselves and eat cake—Spike has desert!" Pinkie tackled the young dragon and shoved her head into the pail of chocomint ice cream.

Everypony in the room, except for Darkened Sky, stared at the pink mare. Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. "You got part of it right, all of you have magic in you, magic that I can use to power spells. Since that magic is Harmonic in nature, it will protect Sky for at least a month. As for teaching you to use that power, I'm afraid that impossible. Only an alicorn or the Element of magic can control it."

"Now that we that cleared up." Darkened Sky raised his head and looked each of his friends in the eye. Pinkie Pie had even stopped eating to listen to him "You don't have to agree to the spell, but I would be eternally grateful if you did. I would never ask you to do something like this unless there was no other way."

Applejack was the first to speak up. "Are ya sure there' no chance of us bein' affected by them shards? A don't want no repeat of that amulet thing Trixie had."

Twilight checked a page in her notepad. "With my calculations, there is almost no chance of it interacting with your mind."

Rarity slowly nodded. "Well, as long as it's safe, of course I will help you you. We would all be happy to, right girls?" The other members of the table nodded.

"Great. I need everybody to be quiet while I cast the spell. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if I got distracted." Twilight open her eyes, which were now glowing white. Her horn lit up and a beam of magic hit Darkened Sky. A think, black mist started pouring out of his eyes and mouth. An other beam of magic hit the mist, splitting it into five. Slowly the magic forced the black blobs into shapes. With a final flash of light, five necklaces dropped to the floor. They looked almost identical to the original Elements of Harmony, other than the gems being black. "The only ponies who will be able to see them once you put them on, are the Princesses and us."

Twilight levitated the newly created items over to the table. Her five friend put them on hesitantly, relaxing only after a minute of nothing happening. Darkened Sky picked himself up off the floor panting. "It worked, thank you so much. Now we can move on to my second item of importance. You know that unicorn magic can be externalized in the form of spells, right? There is a way for pegasus and earth ponies to do the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale. I am going to teach you all how to externalize magic without a horn."

Twilight and the other Bearers stared at him, mouths open in shock. After a few minutes of silence, Rainbow Dash jumped up. "This is going to be awesome!"

Chapter 11: Escaping Darkness

Pinkie Pie threw herself on to her bed, sobbing. She had run all the way back to Sugar Cube Corner, knocking aside everypony who got in her way. How dare she lead me on! The flirting, the dates, everything we've done together. Pinkie jumped up and threw her pillow at the wall, hitting the huge Rainbow Dash poster in the face. "I was going to ask you to be my special somepony tonight! And what do I find out? That you've been running around with that mailmare for who knows how long." She collapsed back onto the bed as the memory hit her again.

Pinkie Pie paced in front of the library's wooden door. Everybody except Rainbow Dash and Derpy had left. Tonight was the night she would pony up and tell her friend exactly how she felt. Tonight, she would ask Rainbow Dash to be her special somepony. How long are those two going to take? Dashie said she would be right out. She just had to talk to Derpy about a few things. Oh, I know! I can use my listening cup to hear what their saying. Pinkie took a crystal glass out of her frazzled mane and put it against the door. She placed her ear against it and began to eves-drop.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Darkened Sky's body guard all these years!"

"I'm sorry, Dash, but I couldn't tell you. I was sworn to secrecy, If I had told you, we both would have been arrested and locked up in the Nightlands."

"You could have gotten hurt, or even killed! I lost you once, I can't lose you again, Derpy."

"Dash, I'm stronger than you think I am. You will never have to lose me, I promise."

"You mean the world to me, Derpy. As long as I can still come home after work and find you waiting with open arms, I will support you any way I can. I love you."

"I love you too, my little Dashie"

The glass hit the ground, shattering into tiny pieces.

Pinkie Pie opened her tear-reddened eyes and looked up to the ceiling. "Why, Dash, why her. I though we had something. Was my party not good enough? Am I not good enough?" Rolling back onto her side, she saw her saddlebag had ripped, spilling muffins on her floor.

She got off the bed and stalked towards the spilled food, hair slowly going limp. She picked up one of the muffins and walked it over to her desk. She sat down, placing the muffin on a stack of papers. "Derpy Hooves, you've been lying to us. Making us think you just a simple mailmare. But no, you're some sort of secret agent. Now your trying to steal my Dashie! Well, I won't take it. I'm gonna throw the biggest party ever and win back her heart!"

Hearing hoofsteps behind her, Pinkie Pie turned around. Standing in the middle of the room was a pink pony that looked almost exactly like her. The only notable difference were her glowing black eyes and lack of a cutie mark. "Really, your going to throw a party? Poor Pinkie Pie. You're so naive, so innocent. We need something bigger, more powerful!"

"You're right, Me. Nobody ever appreciates the work I put into my parties. I work my plot off to make sure everypony is happy." Pinkie Pie got up and walked over to her mirror. "What do you suggest we do?"

The pink pony sat down on Pinkie's bed. "I happen to know exactly what will get rid of our problem. Derpy Hooves is going to perform a major magical transformation on a certain filly in the next week. We can make it look like murder."

A pink pony with a red mane and red eyes walked into the bedroom. "Pinkie Pie! You can't be actually thinking about doing that. Think of how many ponies that would hurt. It would drive Rainbow Dash away forever if you do it."

Pinkie Pie glared at the newcomer. "Roseus Morta, how dare you show yourself again. I didn't need you at the rock farm, and I don't need you now. You're evil, you and the rest of the Nox."

Roseus stamped her hoof. "I am most certainly not evil! The Nox may be going about things wrong, but we are not the bad ponies. We are trying to save Equuis from—"

The pink pony jumped off the bed and tackled Roseus. "We've had enough of your lies. We told you to leave." She started to push Roseus out of the room.

"Pinkie Pie, don't listen to her! She will destroy everything. Your reputation, your friends, even your own mind." Roseus watched as Pinkie turned away from the mirror. Her eyes were pitch black. "Pinkie Pie?"

"No, not any more." She got up and walked over to Roseus and the pink pony. "We are now called a different name, one that will strike fear in our enemies hearts. We are Pinkamena." Both Pinkamena's pushed Roseus out of the room and slammed the door.

"You will not regret joining us, Pinkamena. We shall reclaim what is rightfully ours!" The two ponies walked over to the spilled muffins. They streched out their hooves and concentrated on the food. With a flash of pink light, the muffins exploded into dust.

Pinkamena laughed and started to clean up the dust. Her hair had return to its normal, gravity defying state and her eyes were once again blue. "I better get to bed, tomorrow is going to be exhausting. Learning new magic, planning Derpy's destruction, backing cupcakes with Rainbow Dash. We are going to have so much fun." She turned off the light and got into bed.