Black Sun

As the world reappeared around the five ponies and one dragon, Twilight quickly looked round to make sure they hadn't teleported into anypony's way. Luckily her aim had been spot on and they had arrived on a side street a block away from Canterlot Castle. With how busy the city was sure to be, it was better to not risk startling anypony or appearing in the path of a passing carriage. While the others took a moment to recover from the unfamiliar sensation of teleportation, Twilight and Spike moved toward the main road to see how things were at the castle.

While there wasn't much to see from where they were standing, it was still evident that things were just as bad as Celestia had implied. The Royal Guards were on alert at every entrance into the castle grounds and preventing anypony from entering, multiple units of pegasi patrolling the skies to provide total coverage. One of the walls of the throne room was visible from their position and even from here they could see scores of the stone and glass missing, carved out by errant beams of magic. Twilight's heart sank at the sight. She had been wrong. Whatever the situation was, it was even worse than she'd feared.

"Okay..." She said to nopony in particular as she turned back to the others. There were a lot of factors she had to weigh up in a situation like this but a general plan was starting to come together. "Fluttershy, if we-"

"I appreciate the concern, Twilight," Fluttershy interrupted, stepping forward. "But just because I'm a mother doesn't mean I can take this any less seriously. I'm staying, and I'll just trust you all to help if trouble comes."

Applejack nodded and patted Fluttershy's shoulder in support, while Twilight could only smile as a small weight was lifted from her shoulders. Perfectly predicting the concerns that were about to be voiced, they really did know each other so well.

"Alright. In that case, we should find the guard commander and see what's happened."

Despite the confidence that came with having a plan of action in her mind, Twilight couldn't quite keep the edge of concern out of her voice. The others nodded and set off quickly at a quick trot, heading for the main entrance to the royal grounds. The small crowd of ponies that had been gathered trying to find out what was going on quickly parted once they saw the group coming, whispering among themselves. A few scattered pieces were audible to Twilight as her ears twitched, wondering if any of it would be useful.

"How bad do you think it is if Princess Twilight's here?"

"Did you even hear what happened?"

"No, I heard something about Princess Luna being involved though, that she..."

Twilight kept moving like she hadn't heard. They were as in the dark as she was, that wasn't going to help right now. She simply made her way through to the gates and nodded to the guard standing at attention before them.

"What's going on?" She asked, her tone betraying the point that she would rather not wait to find out.

"I'm afraid I know as much as you, Princess," The guard replied, stepping aside. "The commander will be able to fill you in, she's waiting at the castle doors."

'She?' Twilight momentarily thought to herself before the gates were opened and the group stepped through. Nothing had been said about a change in leadership for the guards. It was all starting to paint a rather unpleasant mental image of what might be going on. The castle grounds were completely deserted, the stark contrast to the crowded gates adding another layer of unease to the groups' thoughts as they headed for the main doors. Seeing them guarded by another two units of guards did nothing to ease the atmosphere.

"I can't place my hoof on it but, something feels very wrong out here." Rarity commented, glancing around as if expected whatever their unknown threat was to swoop in on them right there.

"You sense it too?" Spike asked in surprise. Rarity looked forward again and met his gaze with confusion.

"Sense what?"

"There's a trail here," He told them, claws digging into the gravel pathway as his hands tensed slightly. "Picked it up right at the gates. Something, or someone, was practically seeping the scent of ammonia."

"Oh no..." Twilight said quietly, looking back as the others focused on her reaction. "The smell of dark magic. It just keeps getting worse."

"You don't think it might have been something to do with whatshername, Sunbow Shower?" Applejack asked after a moment.

"Sunset Shimmer," Pinkie piped up. "And I wouldn't. Sure she was a magically super-strong manipulative meanie, but she had good intent. Kinda whacko intent but still good."

Twilight just frowned and looked forward again. When they had some free time, she was going to have a long talk with both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash about such private information. Fortunately there wasn't time to stew over it as one of the guards at the door was trotting over to their position, a grey coated earth mare clad in the gold painted armour of the Princess' personal unit.

"Princess Twilight," She said as she saluted, speaking in a thick accent that suggested she hailed from the desert towns of the south-west. "Captain Iron Vixen, acting commander of the Royal Guard. I'm glad you all made it so quickly."

"We came as soon as we received Princess Celestia's message," Twilight replied, only slowing down long enough for Iron Vixen to fall into step next to her. "I was expecting to meet Captain Bomber though."

The guard only replied with a long inhale, the atmosphere around her instantly shifting from serious to uncomfortable. Even without words, it was clear why she was the one walking with them now.

"We're, sorry to hear that." Fluttershy said softly. Iron Vixen looked back at her and managed a small smile, motioning for everyone to head inside as the guards stepped aside for them.

"I wish I had time to be as well, but we're still trying to get a handle on things," She finally said as they entered the lobby, stepping past teams of guards and EDF soldiers that were dashing to different areas of the castle. One or two actually started toward her, though they backed off when they either recognised her or Twilight. "Chain of command is in chaos and trying to control a lockdown across the whole castle at the same time...Nopony expected something like this."

"So, mind telling us exactly what happened?" Applejack asked as they made their way up the central stairs and started toward the throne room.

"I only have scattered accounts so far but there is a general match," Iron Vixen replied, stopping for a moment as Spike needed to pause to let a team of guards rush past. "About thirty minutes ago, Sunset Shimmer appeared in front of the castle gates. She immediately surrendered herself in the face of overwhelming opposition from the Royal Guard and was escorted to the throne room under heavy armed guard, per Princess Celestia's order."

"Oh..." Pinkie commented quietly.

Twilight was similarly surprised by the news. Sunset Shimmer had been Equestria's most wanted for the past three years, keeping away from civilisation and ultimately trying to engineer the second rise of Starlight Glimmer before being undone by the combined efforts of Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom and Peace Walker. While she hadn't been seen in the past six months, if she was still like she had been described then this didn't sound like something she'd do.

"I only have second-hoof reports from this point," Vixen continued, leading the group on. "Sunset was brought to the throne room where Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Colonel Cipher of the Equestria Defence Force were present. The meeting took place behind closed doors but...Midway through, Sunset Shimmer attacked Princess Luna with a magic unlike any we've seen before."

Everyone else gasped in shock at the news. Twilight immediately quickened her pace, the others moving to catch up. If what had actually occurred was anything like she was starting to piece together, then the real threat was closer than even she had feared.

"Is...Is the princess alive?" Fluttershy eventually asked nervously. As they entered the main hallway to the throne room the sight of a scorched wall from a stray magic blast made her outright whimper.

"As far as I know, yes," Iron Vixen replied, sounding somewhat shaken herself as if she'd expected to hear that question. "After the initial strike, Sunset's aggressions became suddenly more erratic before she teleported away from the scene. The throne room sustained significant damage and over a dozen guards were killed or seriously injured trying to contain the threat, Captain Bomber among them. Roughly the same number suffered lighter injuries. Every free unit of the EDF's Recon Corps has been dispatched to track her down and Task Force Harmony has been assigned to shadow her movements once her location is narrowed down."

"Rainbow..." Twilight said quietly to herself before stopping as they reached the doors to the throne room. She quickly focused in on the matter at hoof and turned to Iron Vixen. Rainbow had no idea what kind of danger she was headed toward. "Relay a message that the task force is to determine Sunset Shimmer's location but may not engage under ANY circumstances due to an unforeseen factor. We can't lose her, but we can't hope to bring her in yet."

As the guard nodded and dashed off, Twilight took a moment to steel herself for whatever may lie beyond the door. She knew in her heart though that whatever she tried, it likely wouldn't truly be enough to be ready. Every new threat they came across had a way of surprising her.

"Twilight..." Spike said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm alright, just..."

"I know, it's been a while since we've had to do this," He told her, smiling reassuringly. "We have each other though, that's enough to make sure we all get through this. Right?"

"Exactly," Rarity added. "No matter what, we've got your back darling."

Twilight nodded and took a quick breath before gripping the doors in her magic, pushing them open slowly. The sight beyond left all of them momentarily rooted in place, held by a mix of disbelief and shock. The throne room was as damaged as had been indicated, small pieces of rubble and broken glass scattered across the length of the floor. The pillars lining the path to the throne all had numerous chunks missing while a constant beam of magic had torn through the walls on both sides and across the ceiling, leaving the dozen stained glass windows shattered. The doors behind them seemed to be the only part of the room that had remained unscathed. The twin thrones at the far end of the room also seemed undamaged, though that was no comfort with the sight of the princesses upon them.

Princess Celestia was holding Princess Luna in her hooves, her mane still and her face wracked with a sadness that was barely masking the stress she was suffering from. Luna was in an even worse state, the slow rise and fall of her chest the only indication she was seemingly unconscious rather than dead. Her coat and mane had faded from their luxuriant deep blue to a faded gray-blue, her mane also hanging limp and lifeless. Somehow, the fact that neither alicorn had so much as a scratch on them only made the image much worse.

Twilight's heart momentarily stopped at the sight. Seeing both her beloved mentor that had been like a second mother for many years and the first pony she had been able to help on the path to becoming who she was...The mere thought had been the basis of more than a few nightmares over the years. Seeing it happen for real was almost more than she could take. The others seemed to be having similar reactions as no-one moved an inch for several long seconds. Spike was the first to summon up enough will to overcome his concern and move forward. The others followed quickly, Twilight flying over to cover the gap as quickly as she could.

"Princess..." She managed to say as she landed before the thrones. Celestia looked over to her and while she could manage a small look of relief, it was still just a drop in the ocean of her fears. A quiet whine drew both their attention down, in time to see Luna slowly raise her head and open her eyes. She looked beyond exhausted, like she had walked the length of the entire world without rest. Drained, but alive. Celestia finally allowing herself to smile slightly as she adjusted her position to let Luna be more comfortable.

"Wh...What in Equestria happened here?!" Rarity exclaimed as the others caught up, the closer look only adding to their looks of concern.

"It's..." Celestia started, hesitating as she looked from Twilight to her friends and back again. "Do they know?"

"No. I only discussed it with..." Twilight shook her head and looked back to the others. Ironically the one pony who would actually understand was the one that wasn't here. "Spike, can you explain everything we learned about the true alicorns to the others?"

"Of course." He replied, shaking off the trepidation that had been building within him and shifting into a more serious mode as he took the rest of the group off to one side and started going through everything he and Twilight had discovered about the alicorns and lekli.

"So, what has Sunset Shimmer done?" Twilight asked once she was sure it was just her and the two princesses again.

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment before her horn lit up with its golden aura. A small sealed case was brought up in her magic from behind the throne, the thin layer of magic shielding it fading as it was placed in front of Twilight. The younger princess took it in her hooves and cautiously opened it. The only item inside was a brass pendant, a white engraving of a horn with sparking magic etched into it and with a chain long enough that only an alicorn could comfortably wear it. To any other pony, it was little more than a trinket. Twilight's eyes widened in shock as she realised just what it was, Celestia's words when she had revealed the history of the alicorn race echoing in her mind.

"Pendants were made that the lekli could place on their target and use as focuses for the jump...Fortunately most have been destroyed since those days, only one is currently known to exist. One that was stolen from the castle two years ago, though the pony that took it hasn't been seen since."

"Sunset Shimmer was wearing this when she was brought in," Celestia continued, her voice breaking slightly as she closed and resealed the case. "I should have been more cautious but, I was just so happy to see her return...Tantabus saw an opening and managed to jump from Luna to Sunset. Sunset panicked as the lekli began forcing itself into her mind, causing all the damage you've seen before fleeing."

"So...Is there anything we can do?" Twilight asked, feeling tears start to build in her eyes. She couldn't even begin to fathom the pain Luna must have endured to her very soul during the jump. Without her lekli, without the other half of her being and unseen damage within her that could only be guessed at, she was almost certain to die.

"Do as I do," Luna's voice suddenly spoke up, shaky and weary but with an underlying determination as she raised her head more. "Don't, give up."

Luna slowly lifted herself up from resting against her sister and back into her own seat. Although it was clearly taking a tremendous effort from her just to get that far, the sheer strength of will she was displaying in the face of her darkest hour was enough the pierce the fears engulfing both Celestia and Twilight, sending a fresh spark of hope through them.

"I studied any spells I thought could be used in case this happened to one of us," Celestia said with a little more confidence, spreading a wing out for Luna to steady herself against until she could sit back properly. "As it is, I can apply some of my magic to keep Luna stable as long as we remain close. But it is not an effective solution. That will only allow us a few years at best, and if we were separated for too long...We need to find a way to return Tantabus to Luna's body."

Twilight looked down, under just how bad the situation was. Until, if, they could find a way to reverse this, Luna would be left effectively helpless and Celestia would be heavily burdened in her duties, as she would need to take on all those of her sister as well. It would likely be down to her and her friends to find a way to Sunset and stop Tantabus. On top of that, everything she had learned so far indicated that the unicorn hadn't intended for this to happen either, completely unaware of the pendant's true purpose. That meant that as well as figuring out how to extract Tantabus from her and return it to Luna, they had to do it in a way that didn't end up killing her in the process. It was likely that she would have to weave together a whole new spell just for this. It would be a tall order, more so since none of them were as young as they used to be on their adventures, but she was certain that their bond could still make up for any new shortcomings.

"Spike?" She asked, looking back to where the others were now watching and waiting.

"Everypony's caught up and ready to help." He told her, everypony else voicing their agreement.

"You can count on us, princesses. Just tell us where to start."

"We, have to wait," Luna told her, straightening up a little. Even if her current condition left her with little of her regal look it was still admirable how she was trying. "Once our, task force finds Sunset Shimmer's, hiding place we can make, a plan."

Twilight was about to ask how they were supposed to track a pony that could teleport when there was a sudden white flash behind her followed by a shocked shriek from Rarity. She spun round with her horn lit up to face whatever had happened, only to tense up at the sight before her. A pair of ponies had teleported in at the foot of the steps to the thrones, one carrying the other on their back. Both were clad in full body black armour with silver tinted visors, though at this point it was impossible to tell if that had been by design or if it was that way due to the scorch marks than ran down their bodies.

The one doing the carrying was a short unicorn stallion. Most of his features were obscured by the armour, aside from two telling features; a long silver tail and a pair of hazel eyes that were unfocused and shaking slightly, warning signs of a unicorn under the strain of magic depletion. The pony on top was more recognisable but in worse shape. She rested limply on the stallion's back, the armour along her own back completely destroyed to show singed sky blue fur, her tail reduced to a few inches of smouldering, multi-coloured hair. Her wings were the most shocking part of the whole sight though.

Rather, the charred stumps where Rainbow Dash's wings had been.

"Your highness..." The stallion said through his helmet, his words only increasing the dawning horror in Twilight as she recognised it as Aurora's voice. "...Mission failed."

Twilight covered the gap in an instant, catching her nephew just as his legs gave out from under him. Seeing both him and Rainbow in such a serious condition was almost enough to crush her spirit on the spot. But even through the shock she could feel the weight of command forcing her mind back into clarity again. First things first, she needed to get help for the ponies that could receive it now, utilising every resource she knew she had. Teleportation was unfortunately not an option, since forcing magic on Aurora in his state could prove disasterous. She looked back to where the rest of her friends had been standing and saw them rushing over, looking in similar states of shock. All except for Pinkie Pie, who stood rooted in place, seemingly overwhelmed by this development.

"Spike, get to the Institute and tell Chief Moondancer I need her, now!" Twilight told him, her voice terse but in control. "Applejack, Rarity, help me get them to the hospital! Fluttershy, stay with Pinkie Pie, comfort her as best you can."

Spike nodded and bolted from the throne room, throwing the doors open as he went. Applejack carefully shifted Rainbow off Aurora's back and onto her own while Twilight and Rarity moved to either side of the stricken stallion to help him stay upright. Fluttershy barely had time to move back to Pinkie before she wrapped her front hooves around the pegasus and buried her face in her chest, utterly distraught at seeing one of her closest friends in such a way. Twilight could only look back sadly before focusing on her need to reach Canterlot Central Hospital immediately, her thoughts mirroring those of the others as she lead the way out:

'What in Equestria happened out there?'