Black Sun

"You can't! Trixie can tell you firsthoof what will happen if you put that on!" Fluttershy exclaimed as soon as the initial shock wore off. Twilight hesitated at those words and looked back at her, that same disturbing look in her eyes again.

"I'm an alicorn. I can-"

"You don't know you can control it! If you can't, you'll kill Sunset, leave Luna without any hope of recovering, and all those ponies will have died for nothing!"

Fluttershy put a hoof over her mouth as she finished speaking. That had come out of nowhere, but she had been more shocked that Twilight was even considering this. Was she really so convinced that only she could end this now? And in this way? Twilight remained silent at the outburst, looking down at the amulet in her magic. Just as she was starting to lower it, the sound of somepony else teleporting in behind them drew their attention. They both spun round to see Aurora rush up to them, his face halfway between determination and fear.

"Twilight!" He called as he skidded to a halt beside Fluttershy, either not noticing the Alicorn Amulet or not caring. "Ponyville's weather team just reported a major fire in the Everfree Forest and that they were fired on when trying to investigate. It's Tantabus."

"...Take Fluttershy back to Ponyville and make sure everypony else is okay," Twilight told him as she turned to them, sounding more like her old self. "I'll deal with Tantabus."

Aurora nodded and motioned for Fluttershy to join him. As she did so, she took a last look back at Twilight. The amulet was hidden behind her back and that look was back in her eyes. The sight left a sinking feeling in the pegasus' gut but before she could say anything, Aurora's horn lit up and they were gone.

Fifteen minutes earlier...

Everything was still. Not a breath of wind moved through the halls of the castle or the trees outside. In the realm of concentrated danger and chaos that was the Everfree Forest, the Castle of the Two Sisters was the eye of the storm. For over a thousand years it had served as little more than a broken reminder of a darker time. Now, it was a marker of peace, thanks in part to the Tree of Harmony nearby and Princess Twilight's efforts over the years to make the castle safe to move through. The hostile wildlife that called the forest home never moved into the perimeter and ponies that sought the old knowledge that lay within were free to do so at their leisure.

One of the lesser known reasons for this peace was the castle's occasional lone occupant. Her reason for spending long days there in place of her home was fairly straightforward. The surviving towers provided sight of almost the entire forest, making it easy to watch for anything out of the ordinary. In addition, the tomes within always seemed to contain some new concoction or recipe to experiment with and it was a natural landmark for lost ponies to head for. All very helpful points for a zebra who had grown from a misunderstood herbalist to the official protector of the forest.

Zecora smiled to herself as she sat on the edge of a blown out wall in one such tower, looking out over the western reaches of the Everfree. Once again, everything looked as it should. Leaving her with time to contemplate her path and work on her protective measures. Although she hadn't set hoof in Zebahi for many years, she had been able to acquire the recipe for magic-resistant wards used in her homeland through friendly traders from Wahje, the border town between Equestria, Zebahi and Saddle Arabia. They weren't much, but they could help if she ran into trouble from Tantabus. The ingredients needed had proven to be easily found in the forest and her quiet periods in the castle had allowed her to create them over the past few days. If the crisis came her way, she was as ready for it as she would ever be.

Dipping a hoof into a diluted blend of crushed poison joke leaves and heart's desire nectar, she hummed to herself as she applied the mix to a staff laid in front of her. Roughly four feet long and made of firm sycamore wood, it typically served to protect her if any of the local creatures got too close. Living within the forest had taught her exactly how to fight and survive the right way. If the worst came to be though, it would now give her a chance. Her hoof elegantly stroked across the wood, tracing over the faded symbols that marked the previous wards she had placed upon it. Each one glowed briefly as she finished with it before fading again, adding the strength of its enchantment to those already applied. After several minutes she had applied an even spread around the staff, wiping her hoof of on a rock as she studied her work.

"Body, mind and tool are prepared," She said as she lifted the staff in her hooves, satisfied that each symbol was accurate. "If Tantabus comes now, I may yet be spared."

A small part of her was glad that she hadn't been part of everything that had been going on. Unlike most zebra, she was regularly aware of her fear of death, and the jungles of Zebahi could be more dangerous than anywhere in Equestria. She wouldn't have survived this long back home. She would fight if she had to, but in truth she was scared of doing so. As she stood up and slid the staff through a pair of loops on the side of her robe, the ground shook slightly and a blast rang through the air. The unmistakeable sound of a magic-based detonation. Zecora froze and looked back out of the gap, looking for anything that might have caused it. Although there was nothing living in sight, thick trails of smoke were starting to rise into the sky, roughly a kilometre to the south and growing thicker by the second.

Nothing that lived within the Everfree was capable of causing that, and there was only one magic user that would willingly wander in to do such a thing. Zecora quickly exhaled through her nose as she pulled the hood of her robe over her head and headed for the stairs as quickly as she could.

"There is no rhyme that will help this time. I shall face my duty, no matter what." She told herself as she broke into a run. Realising that that final rhyme had been unintentional brought a small smile to her face, one that quickly faded as she focused her mind on what lay ahead. She had faced almost every dangerous creature in Equestria while living in these woods, yet this was the only one that put pure fear into her heart. There was a good chance she wouldn't be coming back to collect her ingredients later.

She never wavered though. She had originally come to this land to find new ways to help others and spread the legacy of her homeland. One way or another, she would be doing both soon.

Tantabus grinned as she rapidly fired her magic upwards, scattering the fools that had wandered over the forest and sending them fleeing with their tails between their legs. They were lucky that they were probably the only defects in the universe that she didn't want to kill at this moment. Somepony had to go back and let the imposter know what her defiance had wrought. It had been her trooper, the orange flier, that had injured her enough to momentarily loose control and then escaped with the other prisoner. It was a wake-up call, an indicator that she had been taking it easy on then for far too long. A demonstration was needed now, a warning of what further resistance would result in.

The razing of their precious 'Ponyville' and everything in a five mile radius would do nicely.

Despite her satisfaction at the carnage, she gagged slightly at the smoke filling the air in front of her and stepped backward. The forest had been her starting point because, from what Sunset's memories showed, it was the most dangerous patch of land left in the area. It was also the most unlike home, a far cry from the rocky grasslands of Viam Dei. The fires started were already starting to spread quickly, engulfing everything in their path. Her magic had lit the spark, now she could simply leave this area to burn while she moved onto the next. It wouldn't be long before the entire forest looked like the hell she was enduring while stuck in this body.

As Tantabus stepped back further, her ears twitched. Even if the steadily increasing roar of flames was filling her ears, they were still sharp enough to pick out something rustling in the scrub behind her. It wasn't quick enough to be caused by a fleeing animal, it had been slow and determined. Almost as if something was trying to sneak up on her. She rolled her eyes and fired a bolt of magic at the bushes, punching clean through the leaves and wood, leaving a smouldering hole. There wasn't any sign of something on the ground behind it though. Either her ears were playing tricks on her, or she'd missed. The latter become more likely in her mind as there was a similar rustle in the trees to her right, enough cover between her and there for anypony to move unseen. She swung round and fired again, cutting through the low branches with a sweeping beam.

It was only as she started to finish the attack that she realised the sound of her own magic on top of the fires was drowning everything else out. Which meant that if she'd been fooled again, she was deaf to any trouble behind her. Normally she wouldn't even have entertained such an idea, but after how the past weeks had gone...The thought was stopped in its tracks as something thin and hard smacked into her back legs, knocking them out from under her. Tantabus gasped as her world went sideways before her horn glowed brighter, teleporting her several feet forward and up. Enough for her to come down on her hooves and swing round to face the aggressor, her back now to the flames. It was, something. Covered almost entirely in a light brown robe, what was visible was black, white and while it had a similar body to a defect, it was unlike any she had ever seen before.

"What...?" Tantabus half asked, half growled, trying to regain her composure. The figure remained silent, piercing cyan eyes staring her down. It didn't answer, largely due to the staff held in its mouth.

Whatever it was, it still didn't look like a magic user. Which meant it could be made to suffer for making her look like a fool, and all the easier too. Tantabus curled her lip into a cold smirk before firing a rapid burst of magic, the lethal shot headed for the interloper. They quickly tilted their head right, raised their front left hoof up and loosened the grip on the staff in response. It was enough for the magic attack to clip the staff, blocking what would have been a direct hit to the neck. Instead of being burned through or shattered by the magic though, the staff flashed green for a split second and reflected the bolt into the ground, kicking up dirt as the magic burned down several feet. The force of the hit pushed the staff back, against their left side just as the hoof came down. In a second they had gone into a combat posture, holding the staff ready to counter any follow-up.

"You, who would dare deface my home!" The stranger declared angrily. A mare, even through the ridiculous accent. "Innocent lives destroyed, thousands of spirits erased, for what?!"

Tantabus stared at her, jaw hanging slightly, a dumbfounded look on her face. Was this weirdo insane? Considering that they seemed to have swapped coherent speech for combat ability, it actually sounded less likely than she thought. She fired another two shots of magic to gauge the reaction, aiming one just above the stranger's head followed by one at her left side. They ducked their head down to evade the first attack and bit into the staff again, swinging it forward at the second one. It connected enough to sent the cyan bolt straight back at Tantabus, forcing her to put a shield up to absorb it.

"I can tell you are unaware of the Zebra, Tantabus," The stranger continued, shifting the end of her staff into a holder on her robe as she advanced. "My name is Zecora, and I will be the one that shows you the strength of our spirit."

Tantabus took a moment to process this information. Zebra...They must have been from a region that alicorn explorers never reached. Probably somewhere to the south. Nowadays though, they were just another target once the land was hers again. That would have to wait however. The 'zebra' had made it clear she was ready to fight and even if it wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped, a duel like this was exactly what she needed to unwind. So her opponent had some tricks that meant she could counter magic, they would burn out eventually. Everything that thought it could fight an alicorn did. There was also the matter of priority, she would effectively be getting a workout while her opponent would be fighting for her life from the start. If things got too serious...Well there was nothing stopping her from torching the area and finishing it instantly.

With that settled, Tantabus lowered her horn and fired a beam, sweeping it across where her foe's hooves rested. Easy to dodge, but just as easy to gauge how she moved and if she could be put off-balance. Zecora actually charged in time with the attack, using the momentum of pushing herself off to leap over the beam. Tantabus backed up quickly in response, firing smaller, faster blasts of magic on each step. The zebra, as anticipated, was forced to halt her advance and go on the defensive, whipping the staff out again and positioning it to catch three of the attacks at once. The rest passed harmlessly by, each starting tiny fires of their own upon impact with the trees. Again and again she fired, more and more bolts being evaded, blocked, or outright reflected skyward with small yet swift movements of the staff. Much as she loathed to even think it, the dexterity required for such pinpoint manoeuvres was impressive.

Zecora gritted her teeth and pushed left as soon as an opening appeared, moving toward a fallen tree propped up by its brethren. Tantabus twisted her head and fired another beam in an attempt to contain her movements. The zebra's agility caught her out though and she only succeeded in singing her tail. Before she could line up another, Zecora leapt onto the tree, tilting her head to adjust her hold on the staff. In one fluid motion she jumped up further, disappearing into the lowest reaches of the forest canopy. Tantabus bit back a curse and dropped into a more defensive posture, scanning the treetops for any movement. Even though the main fire would prevent her from being flanked this time, it also meant her vision was increasingly impeded by smoke. She couldn't fire recklessly this time either, not without risking leaving herself deaf to hostile movement again.

For a long minute she remained rooted in place, briefly casting a shield around herself to dissipate the nearest smoke before dropping it and scanning the trees further. There were no signs of life before her and the fire was quickly advancing behind her, getting uncomfortably hot at this point. Dealing with the heat was more her passive sister's domain.

Tantabus slowly moved forward, bringing herself out of the danger zone yet never dropping her guard for an attosecond. At roughly a hundred feet away she heard a rustle from the canopy above her and teleported out of the way, firing a pinpoint back at the air above where she had been the moment she reappeared. The magic struck true, punching clean through the empty robe that was fluttering to the ground. Another decoy. This Zecora was a lot more tactical than she'd given credit for. Tantabus spun round to try and intercept any follow up attack, only to be rewarded with lighting pain as Zecora's staff smashed against her left shoulder, Zecora herself half-tackling the unicorn as she dropped from the trees. The hit left them both sprawling on the ground, struggling to right themselves and regain their composure.

Zecora was on her hooves first, rushing Tantabus as she lay on her back, nursing her shoulder and wiping sweat out of her eyes. It was heavily bruised at best, but it didn't seem broken. That allowed her to shift her focus and see the incoming zebra. A bold move, but unfortunately for her, it was too similar to the one Starlight Glimmer had attempted at the vault. Tantabus waited until Zecora was on top of her before bringing her back hooves up in a firm buck, using the momentum to launch her foe off her in one fluid movement. As her back legs reached the peak of their movement she gripped herself in her magic and pushed the move further, letting her backflip straight onto her hooves. A loud thud as she spun round confirmed that the zebra had hit a tree after being thrown off. Hopefully that would put them on more equal footing, as her shoulder was definitely going to be a handicap if targeted further.

As Tantabus took stock of the current situation, she realised that the staff had fallen out of Zecora's hold during that last attack. She gripped it in her magic and tried to yank it over, only for the aura around it to falter and splutter. She only managed to lift it a few feet before it slipped out of her grasp. Whatever magic resistance the zebra had managed to use, it was disturbingly effective for a simpleton's creation. Before she could strategize further, Zecora was advancing again, face contorted with pain but not slowing down at all. Both were walking wounded, but she still had magic on her side. It was time to make proper use of it.

As Zecora grabbed her staff mid-run, Tantabus took her bad shoulder in her magic. Keeping it still would limit the pain and let her keep her full attention on the battle. However it also meant she was forced back onto the defensive, as a barrage of staff swings came at her from beyond hoof range. She was forced to give ground as she parried and blocked blow after blow, dodging those she could and firing near point-blank blasts of magic whenever an opening presented itself. Such attacks were still deflected away, though they were too close to properly redirect and none came back at the unicorn. Such deflections were also getting fewer and further between as Zecora shifted to more evasive action. Was the staff somehow damaged, or its magic resilience being drained or overwhelmed? Either presented an opening, if she could apply the right pressure.

Tantabus teleported back a few feet, out of the trees and into a small clearing. Her next burst of magic was fired low in an attempt to get her opponent to jump into an easy follow-up attack. Zecora instead gripped her staff under her front right leg and dug the other end into the ground. The move vaulted her into the air, shifting her grip to balance on the exposed end with a single hoof right as the blast hit the ground. The force was too much for the staff and it finally shattered into burning splinters as she was launched upward by the blast, mane billowing behind her as she flipped over to continue the assault. In spite of being in heated combat in the middle of a burning forest, Tantabus couldn't help but be impressed by the ingenuity of the move. Even for a wastrel like this, that had to take some serious training. Even she couldn't do that. She had better skills though, and this was starting to get tiresome.

She took hold of her whole body in her magic and rapidly levitated upward to met the attack. At the last moment she swung herself round with her magic, bringing her hind left leg out in a spin kick. The move struck home, connecting firmly with Zecora's left side and wrapping her torso around the leg. Tantabus smirked at the feeling, only for the smile to fade as she realised the zebra had firmly gripped onto her leg in the process. Her self-levitation was only good for manoeuvring, it was useless against outside influence. Before she could counter, her world became a blur as Zecora used newfound grip and momentum to throw her away. Gravity kicked in far too quickly to react and she hit the ground hard on her back, knocking the air from her lungs and blurring her vision.

This situation kept taking the advantage away far quicker than she liked. It was time to stop fooling about.

Even with her body fighting the winding it had received, her mind remained composed enough to make up for it. Her horn flared with intense energy as her magic caught Zecora in its grasp. Without even thinking about it, she tossed her back into the forest at breakneck speed, hardly hearing the crashing and cries that resulted. A minor victory like that wasn't enough for Tantabus, not at this point. As soon as her body had recovered properly she teleported above the forest and levitated herself again. She wasn't even sure if it was the same area she'd been fighting in, but the end result would probably be the same. She gathered what resolve she could without air in her lungs and let her magic gather for several seconds before firing straight downwards.

As the patch of forest below her erupted into a small shockwave of fire, she remained in place. The sight brought some satisfaction to her weary body, considering what it would mean. Even if her aim was off and she hadn't killed the zebra outright, the damage done to the forest would require a supreme effort by the defects to contain. Draining a lot of time and resources while she attacked elsewhere in the area. Her magic reserves hadn't been too badly affected either, thanks to her body's natural talent and her ability to use it efficiently. Physically though, she'd underestimated just what her opponent had been capable of. Any inevitable retaliation would require her to fight at a distance. Speaking of which...

Tantabus' ears twitched as she picked up something new. She could normally sense powerful sources of magic at a distance, to the point that she knew where both Vaeac and the Tomb of the Gods were at all times. This was unlike anything she had ever felt before though. A raging nexus of light and shadow. Inherent power and lekli strength that combined in this form, was easily powerful enough to overcome many natural born alicorns. It would certainly prove a tough challenge in her current state. She turned her head slowly, panting as she looked to the north.

Whatever it was, it was headed straight for her.

"Oh, great..." She muttered sarcastically to herself, looking round for somewhere safe to set down. A field near the edge of the forest was the closest option and she teleported to the ground there, breathing in the clearer air. There were still a few minutes until whatever it was arrived and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew she'd need every second to prepare herself.