Black Sun

Twilight had lost track of how long she had been sat in place now. She hadn't moved a muscle for some time, effectively out of her body as she focused everything on her spell. Making different types of magic interact with each other was difficult enough at the best of times. The only reason she had even been able to now was because her magic was weak enough to be ignored, slowly filtering into all the tomb's magic and steadily being woven into the spells she had isolated as maintaining the safeguards. As long as she had some form of physical contact with the tomb itself, it would fuel her spells and steadily drain itself in the process. In addition, if those safeguards trigged then their ability to replenish themselves would be limited. That would result in it either being drained faster or being left open to actual damage.

Given what she knew was coming, one of those two options would be an inevitability.

Her ears twitched at the sound of echoing hoofsteps somewhere behind her. There wasn't time to try and make the spell any more advanced, but she was confident that she wouldn't need to at this point.

Twilight opened her eyes as the spell faded and the tendrils of magic quickly retracted back into her horn. The glow around her hooves remained active though, indicating the spell was working. She stood back up and turned to face the entryway, her face blank as she was only met with the darkness. A faint light the way she'd come in was the only indication of the way back to Equestria, and there was a silhouette in front of it. The hoofsteps were uneven, whoever was coming was limping. Every so often in the moments of silence, there was the faintest sound of dripping. Were they bleeding? As they got closer she could hear their breaths, heavy and laboured. Whoever was coming in was in a rough way.

Despite what she knew it meant, Twilight couldn't help but grin a little. Applejack must have put up an almighty fight outside.

"Twilight!" Tantabus called harshly as she stepped into the chamber proper. As the unicorn's horn glowed for light, Twilight got a full look at the extent of her injuries. Rather sizeable bruises ran along her torso and front legs. The right one was dragging limply, seemingly disabled. Blood was running from the left side of her mouth, the amount implying she'd lost a few teeth. Despite it all, she still carried an air of determination and superiority.

"Tantabus." Twilight replied, her own horn flaring to life as she took a defensive posture.

"For what it's worth, you chose well," Tantabus' voice actually seemed to carry the faintest hint of respect at those words. It was still filled with contempt though, with a warning undertone that she had zero tolerance left. "The...The 'earth pony' was the greatest challenge anypony other than you has given me so far. And it led to this, our final destiny in the empire. Honestly, there's no more fitting place to end our rivalry."

"You know what? I agree." Twilight stepped closer and poured some more energy into her horn. To her internal delight, she could feel the near unnoticeable drain was coming from her hooves rather than her mind. The spell was working perfectly.

Tantabus looked momentarily surprised at the response but supressed it quickly and paused. Her magic aura appeared over her injured spots and she winced, rapid healing at work. When it faded the bleeding had stopped and she was able to bring her leg back into position, though with minor difficulty.

"I've seen the world you're familiar with," Twilight continued. "I understand why you'd want it back. But I can't stand by and let you create an Equestria that runs at your whim alone. Luna will know-"

"Quiet!" Tantabus snapped, disgust evident on her face. "I would rather let myself be sealed in here than have a clueless imposter thinking she knows what's better for this world than a real lekli. Now shut up, do what's best for everypony, and DIE!!"

The words were barely out of her mouth before she teleported. Twilight saw the move coming and teleported herself ten feet backward, reappearing just after Tantabus did, right where she had been standing before. She gritted her teeth and released her built up energy, directing it into a blast of magic that engulfed her foe. Tantabus yelped as she was blown back toward the exit, only to grip herself in her magic and swing round, firing straight back with lightning speed. Twilight was forced to throw up a shield to resist, and even then she felt the very tip of the spell nip at her chest fur, coming close to hitting her properly. She didn't have time to think about it anymore.

For their own reasons, neither of them could afford to hold anything back now. She would think about what she was doing once it was over.

Twilight pushed herself into the air and flew at Tantabus, firing a rapid scatter of magical bolts as she went. Tantabus met it with her own volley. The charged attacks collided in mid-air, making the chamber flash white and purple fast enough to send an unprepared pony into an epileptic fit. Twilight remained unfazed, dashing through the miniature smoke clouds thrown up by the impacts and gauging her opponents' reaction. Tantabus had her horn raised to fire just above her, likely to try and drive her down, into her hooves. Clever, considering the closing speeds. But now she'd seen it, her instincts were telling her how to counter.

She dropped as the anticipated beam scythed through the air just above her, saw the smirk on Tantabus' face as she started to bring her hoof out for an uppercut. Had she fallen for it, the blow would have seen the hoof planted firmly into her stomach. Twilight pushed her body forward more in response, bringing one of her hooves onto the floor and bracing on it. A quick moment of self levitation allowed her to launch off from the move and go flying over Tantabus' back, horn aimed directly at the unicorn's exposed back. Despite the speed, Tantabus had managed to pull her head back and fire off a counter-attack. The two spells met in the six foot gap between them and Twilight's world became a hot blur for half a second. Her self control was completely overruled by the shockwave from the blast, skin tingling from the energy washing over it. Then it all became pain as she hit the ceiling, stomach first.

Before she could react she was bouncing back toward the floor. It took all her remaining focus to alter her trajectory through split-second levitation, allowing her to turn a straight crash to an angled roll. Even then, it was too fast for her to keep on her hooves and she skidded to a halt on her left side. As she sucked in as much air as she could get, Twilight took stock of her situation. Her body had gone rather sensitive from being almost at ground zero of that burst of magic. Her entire underbelly was aching and she had to be at least partially winded. Not a good state to be in so early on. If she could keep it from getting worse though, she still held the advantage. She forced herself onto her front and pushed her front hooves up, looking round for where Tantabus had gone.

Tantabus had come to a halt roughly twenty-five feet away, also scrambling back to her hooves. Being under the blast point seemed to have done further damage to her bad leg, as she was struggling to hold it straight once she was back on all fours. Unfortunately, that hadn't impaired anything else. As soon as she was on her hooves she opened fire, forcing Twilight to roll out of the way. Beams of aqua flared against the ground around her, coming within inches of burning her momentarily vulnerable body. Twilight panted as she managed to get behind a pillar and straighten herself up, getting her breathing back under control. The pillar vibrated slightly against her as Tantabus attempted to fire straight through it, black sparks being thrown off it and against the floor around her.

'Wait, would this be enough to trigger the failsafes?' Twilight thought as she pressed closer to the pillar, making herself as small as possible. A few moments later, she got her answer as the entire tomb flashed silver around her, accompanied by a burning sensation in her hooves. Her magic was part of the failsafe spells now, her being in contact with the tomb as it happened seemed to mean it was being channelled through her too. Unfortunately, all that seemed to be doing was forcing far more magic than she was used to through her, burning her up as the heat spread up her legs. She needed to dispel the energy quickly.

Tantabus had momentarily stopped attacking, likely caught out by what was happening around her too. Twilight took the moment and pushed herself out of cover, firing what was intended to be a regular beam of magic. Instead, a colossal surge of energy, almost as wide as she was long, erupted from her horn and lanced forward faster than any magic she'd ever seen. Tantabus managed to bring a shield up, but the force of the attack sent her skidding backwards as she fought to hold it back, hooves scrambling for purchase on the stone floor. Twilight couldn't even see it around the flare caused by her spellcasting, the sense of euphoria rushing through her veins momentarily blinding her to what was happening. She could feel the notable drain through her hooves as the excess magic burnt away. The tomb's strength was definitely weakening after an attack like that. Now, she just had to...

The thought was cut off as Tantabus managed to teleport next to Twilight and bucked at her, kicking one of her legs out from under her. Twilight cursed her moment of distraction as she just about kept herself from falling and took to the air, exchanging fire as she weaved backward amongst the pillars. It had shaken her enough to bring her body back to form though. Her less vital senses were numbed and her mind was back on what mattered. Now, she had to find an opening to free Sunset and Tantabus from each other.

A sudden jolt ran through her, like a spark of electricity touching every nerve of her body.

She didn't have any nerves at the moment though. She didn't even have a body.

Sunset Shimmer looked round her mental prison, if it could even be called doing that. It was just black everywhere, the same as it always had been since...How long had it been? She didn't know how many days had passed it had been since she'd last had any control. This wasn't like usual though. Normally Tantabus' taunts and derisions would be echoing around her, trying to wear her down until she submitted entirely. Now though, it was simply silent. Although she relished the moment of clarity it allowed her after weeks of near endless torment, it also left her suspicious. Why would Tantabus be leaving her alone like this?

After a few moments it dawned on her that there had to be something else taking up her captor's attention. Something pressing enough that there wasn't time to pay attention to her anymore. If she had been capable of it anymore, Sunset would have grinned. Ever since her last period of control in the Arimaspi territory, she had been remaining quiet. Conserving her strength of will for a critical moment where she could exploit Tantabus' vulnerability and turn the tides. If she focused, she might just be able to make a start.

After a few moments, she felt her eyes open. She could feel her actual body again, though all her senses were heavily muted. A point that was confirmed as she felt herself being thrown backward into a wall. A blow like that would have winded her at best, yet it felt no worse than being firmly poked in the back. Her body was moving on its own, pushing itself back onto its hooves. Tantabus was still in complete control, but she could see and feel what was happening. On seeing where she was, she realised that Tantabus was a lot closer to achieving her goals than she'd hoped. At least Twilight was still fighting, and judging by the look she got at the alicorn as Tantabus charged her, she was fighting for the right reason this time.

'I'll do what I can, Twilight...Good luck.' She thought as she watched the duel unfolding before her eyes, doing her best not to react to the hooves and magic that came at her near constantly. There wasn't anything she could do from here, but that might change with a little time, and with Twilight continuing to fight as hard as she was.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she ducked under an incoming beam from Tantabus, barely pulling her wing back in time to keep it from being roasted. Getting close like this was always a gamble. Neither of them had any real training in hoof-to-hoof combat, but Tantabus always preferred to use her magic if she could help it. Applejack had been able to give her a hard fight as a result and the best chance to win here, tough as it was to imagine, lay in aggravating those injuries.

As soon as she had clear space again she used her wings to propel herself forward, ignoring the tomb's flash as her hooves were off the ground this time. The slight shift in focus cost her dearly. Tantabus fired a follow up strike that nicked her left wing, making her yank it in as she hissed in pain. Her world went sideways and she hit the ground at high speed, barely rolling enough to keep from damaging her neck. For a moment she wondered if Tantabus would be able to follow up the hit, only for her hind left leg to strike something soft and send her spinning in mid-air. Even through the rush of air filling her ears she could make out a grunt from Tantabus, followed by the whine of incoming magic.

Twilight gripped herself in her magic and brought herself to a halt as the follow up attack skimmed past her head, close enough to graze her eyelashes. The second one came before the first had even fully passed, striking her square in the back. Twilight screamed as she was thrown at least two hundred feet down the chamber, her back burning from the energy unleashed at her. Her senses were momentarily paralyzed from the pain, leaving her helpless as she hit the floor again. Before she could reorient herself she hit the wall as well, yelping as she felt something in her chest dislocate. Despite the agony that came from simply moving as she got back to her hooves, it was numbed by a fresh surge of anger. She wasn't going to lose now, not when she was so close, when she had so many to avenge. So much to set right.

She looked back to see Tantabus charging her again, propelling herself forward in her magic and firing another strong beam. Twilight timed her moment and teleported into the unicorn's path, bringing her strongest shield up. The magic completely missed her and Tantabus crashed against the shield, ramping her magic up to push harder against it. Twilight dug her hooves in as they skidded backward along the stone, waiting for the stray strike to hit the wall. Sure enough, a few moments later the tomb flashed around them again. As soon as she felt the energy start to build up again she unloaded it all into the shield. In a split second the shield started glowing an even stronger purple than usual, enough to flash blind both of them. Then she removed her mental control of the projection, letting all the magic be released in a colossal explosion that engulfed both of them.

Twilight was able to bring up a shield around herself, using the energy of the next discharge to power it and withstand the intensity of the blast. Tantabus's roar echoed throughout the chamber as she was thrown all the way back toward the exit by the force of the blast. The breathing space proved vital as Twilight steadied herself and checked herself over. Although she didn't have time to figure out her exact injuries, it now hurt to breathe and her wing stung where it had been hit. On top of that, she was still conducting energy from the failsafes after the explosion, causing her body to start overheating again. There wasn't time to come up with a proper strategy though, she could see the light of Tantabus' magic headed toward her again. Nothing to do, but let it all out.

Twilight braced herself, levelled her horn and fired. The beam erupted into blinding streak a full ten feet wide, ribbons of green, silver and red running through the deep purple. If possible, it seemed to be even bigger than the ones she had been casting against Tirek. Tantabus stopped a hundred feet away and snarled before firing a maximum strength beam of her own. Though smaller and weaker, it managed to barely hold out against Twilight's attack, only losing a few inches of ground per second. The two ponies remained locked in place, putting every last shred of themselves they could muster into this moment. They both knew something had to give, the only question was what it would be.

Sweat poured down Twilight's face as she kept pouring all the incoming magic into the beam. She could feel exactly how much this was playing havoc with the failsafe spells within the walls. They were draining at an alarming rate. Not enough to run out before Tantabus was overwhelmed, but enough that they surely wouldn't be able to keep up with the damage. She could actually see the carved stone floor cracking under her hooves from the sheer energy of her attack. This needed to end before the damage weakened a lekli's resting place. Her ears twitched as she picked up something over the thundering roar of her magic, coupled with Tantabus' spell losing ground faster. A growl from her opponent, her voice magically enhanced to be picked up from this distance. It didn't sound like Tantabus though, lacking that cold, snide tone. It sounded more like-

"Enough!" Sunset Shimmer's voice rang out. At the exact same moment, Tantabus' spell failed completely. Twilight realised with dawning shock that Sunset had wrestled back control while Tantabus was completely preoccupied...And she was taking the full, unrestrained force of an alicorn's magic!

She cut the spell instantly, eyes widening as it finished tearing through everything in its path. The space her spell had passed through had been completely immolated, the stone itself scorched, cracked and partially melted in places. A number of glowing and burning sections bathed the chamber in an ominous orange light. Stood in the center of the path, exactly where she had been stopped before, was Sunset Shimmer. Her eyes told it all: She was herself again. She was still except for her breathing, a satisfied grin on her face. Her body was a mess though. Almost all her fur was singed short, visible burns were scattered across her body and many of her old wounds had reopened, leaving her chest and head covered in blood. Even as Twilight watched, she slumped forward as her front legs gave out before collapsing fully.

Twilight gasped and teleported the gap to reach the stricken unicorn. Sunset was still conscious, but she was tensed up and her breathing was quickly growing ragged. The smile was still on her face as she looked up at Twilight, though it was more strained than before.

"Tell me...Tell me you know how to remove her," Sunset said through gritted teeth, waiting only for Twilight to nod in reply. "Do it!"

Twilight only need a moment to push through her regrets before straightening up. There was no hesitation anymore, just the entire reason behind her part in this crisis. Her horn glowed brightly as several tendrils of magic drifted out of it and wrapped themselves around Sunset's body, concentrating over her heart. Sunset remained calm as she watched them spread around though, though she grimaced as the magic constricted her slightly. Twilight couldn't offer her any sympathy at the second though. Every last speck of her attention was put into the spell, unravelling the grip Tantabus had taken at the smallest level conceivable. Nothing could be left behind. The purple strands of magic glowed orange, then deep blue, flashing between the three at a steady pace.

After half a minute it turned to a solid blue, flashes of ethereal pink running throughout. Twilight lifted her head back and the tendrils slowly retracted, Sunset slumping over as they left her body. They rose up into the air and curled around each other like a mass of snakes, writhing and contorting until they emanated a flash of light. When it faded they had fused into one, a perfect sphere held tight in the grip of Twilight's magic, pulsing angrily. Then it glowed again before vanishing entirely. Twilight could feel it through the spell she had created. It was next to the anchor she had cast into Princess Luna. Both parts of the spell momentarily became far stronger, before fading away. Finally, she allowed herself to smile.

It was done. Luna and Tantabus had been reunited. That just left...

"Sunset..." Twilight said as she crouched down to check on the unicorn, gently cradling her head under her hooves. She had gone pale from blood loss and was staring up with distressed eyes. "I'm sorry I did that to you..."

"You had to," Sunset replied, speaking slowly through heavy breaths. "Thank you...Thank you, Twilight."

"It's okay. Just stay still, I'm going to get you out of here and then-"

"No..." Sunset reached out and placed a bloodied hoof against Twilight's leg. "Twilight. Did...Did Fluttershy make it?"

It took a moment for Twilight to realise what she was really asking. Their duel when she had worn the Alicorn Amulet. The crushing emotions when she had been freed from her lekli and realised the damage she'd done. Her anguished cry when she truly believed she had killed Fluttershy. Sunset had been a lot like her during the brief period they had spent as mentor and student. It was likely she was feeling the same way. Only magnified dozens of times, over everypony Tantabus had killed. Hundreds even. She may have been little more than a hostage during that time, but Twilight knew that she would be blaming herself for not resisting more. The least she could have right now was this little bit of comfort.

"Yes. Thanks to Discord, she did."

"Good...I'm glad you can rest easy on that," Sunset said quietly, pausing before breaking into a coughing fit, spraying the burned rock by her head with blood. "Me though...I'd just be walking the streets, where ponies died because of what this body did. Facing the judging eyes of those who saw Tantabus...Looking my mother in the eyes and trying to tell her I'll be alright, when my moment of weakness got my father killed. How long would I be able to live like that? How long before those demons became too much to bear? Until one reminder too many pushed me over the edge?"

As Twilight blinked, she realised her eyes had grown damp as she'd listened. She wanted to believe it wasn't so. That Starlight Glimmer had been in a similar situation and she had been able to come back from that dark place. It wasn't the same though. For all her crimes, Starlight had never actually killed anypony, and she had never had the look in her eyes that Sunset had when she looked up at her now. Empty, haunted, the life within them slowly fading. She would bleed out in minutes at this rate, yet saving her would doom her to a waking death. Twilight lowered her head and slowly wiped away the blood on Sunset's face, her tears falling to mingle with the blood on the ground. She had already condemned one pony to living their own personal hell in her lifetime, she couldn't bear to make another suffer like that.

"What...What should I do?" She finally asked, fearful of the answer she would receive. Sunset managed a small smile as she lowered her hoof back to the floor.

"Just walk away. Don't look back, and tell the princesses the truth. That I succumbed to my wounds, but that I did so as Sunset Shimmer. Tell...Tell Princess Luna that I'm sorry, for the pain my mistake caused her. And thank Princess Celestia, for all she ever did for me. And then...For me, Twilight, remain the Princess of Friendship. Help all those who suffered because of me to find a reason to smile again."

"I..." Twilight was unable to hold back a shuddering sob as she inhaled. "I'll try."

"Thank you...And all your friends, for saving me from myself."

Sunset smiled more before relaxing her body, eyes going half lidded as she started to fade into unconsciousness. Even if she was brought to a hospital now, she was likely too far gone to be revived. Twilight remained in place for several seconds, letting her grief and regret flow through her and out through her tears. As she gently lay Sunset's head down and stood up, the chamber began to glow silver again. Seemingly a delayed reaction from the weakened failsafes.

Then the glow began to condense around the floor and ceiling around Sunset. Twilight had just enough time for the horrified realisation to set in before the light engulfed the unicorn, sending out a shockwave that threw her off her hooves.

In the intensity of the moment, she'd forgotten about Caligo.

Twilight managed to land on her hooves, fighting back the pain in her chest as she watched the energy smothering Sunset. It had quickly condensed into a sphere that was lifting off the ground, sounds from inside indicating that the unicorn was coming round enough to realise what was happening. She fired in desperation, only for the sphere to shrug off the incoming magic like it was nothing. The sinking feeling in her heart at allowing this to happen only magnified when she realised the full scale of her blunder.

She'd left a pony without a lekli, in the middle of a tomb full of them.

"Twilight?" Sunset called, panic clear in her weakened voice. "Wh-what is this?! Why am-"

Anything she had left to say was lost as she screamed. A scream of pure, harrowing agony that echoed throughout the chamber. Twilight shied away and pressed her ears back against her skull, knowing already that that sound would haunt her for the rest of her life. Then the other sounds followed. Bones shifting and cracking, flesh and skin being stretched beyond its natural limits, a body undergoing a forced metamorphosis. The most jarring sound of all, above even that, was the way the scream changed over several long seconds. Shifting from Sunset's tortured cry to a more masculine roar of triumph. It wasn't the sound itself that was getting to Twilight. It was what it signified.

After several seconds the sounds died off and streaks of orange began to run across the sphere. Then it collapsed into silver shine that filled the whole chamber, forcing Twilight to briefly shield her eyes. When she looked again, her jaw dropped and her heart stopped.

Standing where Sunset had lay before, was a full fledged alicorn. Amber coated as she had been, its mane flowing down along its back like Celestia and Luna's did, the crimson and yellow colours drifting through it like a living mist. It stood nine feet tall and had a clearly male physique. The transformation had clearly had an adverse effect on Sunset's body however. While the former injuries had been healed completely, most of its skin was stretched thin and there were a number of raw, open wounds across it where there simply hadn't been enough to cover it all. The whole look created the impression of an alicorn zombie, one Twilight felt sick just looking at.

The image was completed as its eyes snapped open, their former cyan pupils replaced by cold silver ones.

Aurora broke into a run before he'd even finished teleporting. The canyon leading to the Tree of Harmony was quiet and empty, but with dusk rapidly falling it was getting dark as well. A flutter of wings behind him confirmed Deep Note was right on his tail. Part of him still wondered why he'd agreed to this, but he stood by the decision to do so. Deep was understandably stressed at his marefriend putting herself in harm's way like this, and he was worried about her too.

"Seriously, I appreciate this a ton." Deep told him in a hushed voice as they came up to the cave entrance.

"Just remember. Any trouble, and we're pulling back," Aurora told him before feeling out through his magic. Going in, he hadn't been sure exactly how many ponies he was going to sense. The actual result still caught him slightly off guard.

Just two. One behind him, and one inside, faint and fluctuating every few seconds. The sensations he was picking up were indecipherable, too mixed and too quick for him to read. He motioned for Deep to follow him and moved right up to the entrance before looking in. The sight made him pause in shock, while Deep sounded like he was trying not to retch when he did the same.

The cave of harmony was carrying a number of battle scars. Sections of the walls and floor were scored by magic hits, rocks that had been torn away scattered across the area. Blood was also spread across the far end of the cave, both drips that led across the floor space and sprays as if thrown from blows. Mercifully, the Tree of Harmony itself appeared to be unscathed, though a thin haze of white magic was seeping from the spaces where the elements usually rested. They were gathered on the trunk and running down to the pony lying at its roots, wrapping them in a faint glow.. Even at this distance, they could both see Applejack was in a bad way. Aurora only waited long enough to be sure the chamber was empty before dashing toward her, Deep actually beating him there.

"AJ!" Deep cried as he reached her, checking her over quickly. Her hind right and front left legs were broken, the latter almost completely twisted the wrong way. Her left side bore the burns of a near direct hit from magic. She was bleeding from her nose and mouth and her muzzle looked like it might be broken. On top of the dozens of bruises and cuts along her neck and body, it was a minor miracle she was still breathing.

"Bloody Tartarus..." Aurora said quietly as he got a look up close. "What the...?"

As he tried to feel her condition through his magic, he realised that the vitals he was able to sense were effectively frozen. As if the magic surrounding her was keeping her held in some kind of stasis. It seemed Harmony itself was doing its best to keep her alive, like it knew somepony would come for her. Aurora only wondered how it was able to do that for a few moments before deciding it was a question for later.

"It's ok hun, just keep listening to me. I'm here for you." Deep was telling her, crouching down next to her head.

"Deep, stick by her side," Aurora told him as he moved back to them. "She'll make it, but only if we can get her out of here now. We'll take her to Canterlot, get her medical help, and tell the Princesses what happened. Okay?"

"Okay...What about Twilight though?"

Aurora quickly looked around the cave again. If the Tomb of the Gods had been here, it was long gone. Twilight with it.

"There's not much we can do to help her from here. Besides, she knows what she's doing."

The tree's magic slowly retracted away from Applejack, letting Aurora waste no time in making sure the other two were right next to him. As he teleported the three of them back out to safety, he could only hope that he was telling the truth.

"How long has it been since I've been like this?" The alicorn asked himself with that same male voice, Twilight realising it was Caligo's real voice. It was surprisingly soft, almost what she'd expect a stallion version of Cadance to sound like. "Oh, that's a weird tongue. Going to have to get used to that."

"Wh..." Twilight started, trying to comprehend just what had happened. Just what she had wrought. She was able to keep a handle on herself this time, but little else. She just remained rooted in place as Caligo turned his gaze to her.

"Ah. Twilight Sparkle, yes?" He asked. His voice was surprisingly casual and he flashed her a genuinely warm smile. "I really can't thank you enough for just offering me this body to jump into. Honestly, if it wasn't for our previous meeting I'd have happily let you go in thanks!"

Twilight just stared at him in shock, focusing on getting herself under control. A sudden thought forced itself to the front of her mind and she spoke before she could stop herself.

"Sunset...Is she...?"

"Hmmm? Oh, the original body," Caligo mused, talking as though he were discussing his plans for the day instead of a pony's fate. "Well with how weakened she was, and her not having a lekli to take the worst of it, it was a simple matter for me to just overwhelm and eradicate her consciousness. No making the same mistake Tantabus did by leaving her lingering. Don't give me that look, it was for the best. The terror I was picking up from her in those last moments was right on the cusp of madness."

Twilight's jaw dropped, both at the confirmation that Sunset was completely gone and the sheer callousness of how he had broken it to her. She knew she shouldn't have expected any better from an ancient alicorn that already disapproved of her though, of one that probably saw her as a stroppy foal at best. That fact helped keep her emotions in check, directing them toward him rather than crushing herself under their weight again.

"As for what happens now. Well, that's a little less positive," He continued, slowly pacing to get a feel for his new body. "I'm sure the world above has become beautiful again after all these years, and I do feel bad that it'll be marred when I deal with the inevitable resistance. But few things come without sacrifice, and the alicorn empire must survive. Even if it's just me and a few of the others in here lording over the 'ascended', we can work that out in time. Vaeac and Nezzari will understand, or made to understand, before they're both executed for treason."

Something clicked in Twilight's brain. Suddenly all the hesitation, the shock, the crippling fear that was pinning her in place. All of that was burned away in the face of newfound resolve. Even if Tantabus had been safely returned, Celestia and Luna were likely in no shape to fight right now. Especially if her suspicion was correct, that Caligo had forcefully transformed Sunset's body into that of a full blooded alicorn. Tantabus had merely been using her unicorn strength to the absolute best of her ability. He would be immeasurably more powerful, quite possibly more so than Celestia herself. He'd already made his intent for her clear, so she would have to stand against him as best she could. She still had her link to the tomb's magic at least, possibly the only advantage she had left. It would have to be enough.

"And what about me?" She asked, stepping forward as her magic surrounded her horn. Caligo paused and looked back at her, his expression a mix of dismissal and irritation.

"Did you not hear me before? Aside from already making it clear that you would never go along with the rightful order, you've stolen quite a lot of magic and damaged my home! Obviously I can't just make it quick."

"Well, I can't run from here then. I'll just have to end your war before it begins."

Caligo laughed at Twilight's words, never taking his eyes off her. A wry, disbelieving laugh.

"This? This is not war. This is pest control!"

His wings flared open to their full span as he fired, his magic the same silver as his eyes. The beam came much faster than Twilight anticipated, barely able to push herself out of its way in time. Her hooves had barely come back to the floor before she fired back, pouring as much strength as she dared into her attack. Caligo's follow up intercepted it in mid-air, the two clashing before his punched straight through hers. Twilight managed to teleport out of the way, only to be met with a face full of fur. Before she could respond, a hoof struck firmly against her sternum, making the pain in her chest spike hard enough to make her see white. She grunted and let the blow carry her backward, giving her some breathing space.

The realisation that she'd have to fight beyond even what she considered limitless hurt her far more.

She teleported again after a few feet, twisting her head back as the spell ended. As expected, Caligo was teleporting to try and intercept her landing. The fact he could use magic so quickly and efficiently meant she would have to fight smarter, not harder. As soon as her back hooves touched the floor she teleported again, reappearing just behind him. Even he wasn't quick enough to move as she fired at close range, catching him just above his right wing. Caligo yelped and bucked at her in response, though she managed to duck the attack, before teleporting out of sight. Twilight took the moment to regroup and steady herself, trying not to let the pain get to her. Her heavier breathing didn't help at all, almost feeling like one of her ribs had been pressed back against her lung.

Caligo was completely out of sight, either hiding down one of the dozens of side passages leading to the actual tombs or even retreated back into the walls. Twilight had no idea where he'd reappear for certain, except for possibly stopping her if she tried to leave. He probably would have planned for that though, set up a contingency plan if she tried it, and they both knew it. She did have a potential way of finding out. She focused her magic back into her connection to the tomb, feeling through all the strands it had touched. At this point she could sense everything except the slumbering lekli themselves. Nothing suggested that he had hidden himself there again, meaning wherever he had fled to, he was physically present.

Twilight grinned as she realised she had a way to bait him out. She glanced down at her still glowing hooves, feeling the heat radiating into them from the floor. The tomb's failsafes were still desperately trying to repair the extensive damage, and she was still part of the loop. It wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as it had been against Tantabus, but Caligo's pride in his home would make up the difference.

A fresh beam surged from her horn, tearing into one of the pillars nearby. Although it didn't go clean through, roughly two-thirds was burned clean away. Moments later a thunderous cry erupted from one of the passages on the other side of the chamber. Twilight saw the glow of his magic before she saw him, charging toward her at a thunderous pace. Even as she turned to face him he unleashed his magic toward her. She fired a full strength beam back and charged after it, bringing a shield up to protect herself from running into the spell. The impact kicked up a huge cloud of smoke and dust that she rushed into without hesitation. Her senses went into overdrive as she saw Caligo lashing out toward her, barely restrained fury on his face. She barely had time to follow through with her next move.

Twilight twisted her body as much as she could as the hoof came for her, practically flipping onto her back as she passed under it. She could see him turning his horn toward her and did the same, charging up for a basic blast before he could do the same. The two launched their attacks at the same time, as if mirroring the same clash she had had against Tantabus earlier. The resultant force was even greater, throwing them toward opposite ends of the chamber at breakneck speed. Twilight gritted her teeth as she slammed against the floor, grinding on the injured part of her back for at least a dozen feet. She managed to lift herself up into a hover on the bounce, only to freeze as a silver aura gripped her tightly. Caligo was already back on his hooves and advancing toward her menacingly. He immediately broke into a run and teleported to cover the gap, horn glowing brightly as he levelled it at her. At this speed, he could easily impale her.

With no time to bring up a proper defence, she brought her hooves up and put the force of her magic behind them, hoping it would be enough as the grip on her faded. His horn barely passed through the gap between them and over her left shoulder. Her front hooves pressed against his forehead while her rear ones struggled for grip, the impact breaking through the hold he had on her. She could feel herself being driven backward by the force of his charge, her forelegs burning from the energy of two sets of magic pressing against them from both sides. His front hooves were fighting to grapple against her, having a longer reach than hers. Before she could do anything against it he got a grip around her left wing. As soon as his hold was secure he stopped in place.

Twilight barely bit back a cry as her body was thrown a complete hundred and eighty degrees, wrenching her forelegs out of their defensive positions, burning her left hoof against Caligo's horn and twisting her wing until a fresh surge of pain lanced through her back. She already knew he'd dislocated it at best and lashed out on instinct, firing an uncontrolled surge of magic directly into his chest. The stallion snarled as he was forced to release his hold and back off, putting a shield in front of him while she stabilised herself and returned fire. Even as she stood there, simply attempting to keep him at a distance, her gaze went back to survey the damage. Her wing was hanging limply at her side, impossible to use at this point. Despite her vision starting to go hazy from the pain she kept firing, desperately trying to think of an alternate way out of this.

A few moments later she heard Caligo snarl and his shield suddenly shot forward, completely overpowering her beam. She teleported out of the way, reappearing behind him and turning to press the attack. He had turned in anticipation and was bearing down on her already. Twilight tried to duck to the side, expecting another hoof to be thrown at her. Instead he lunged forward and clamped his teeth down around her right shoulder, biting in hard. Twilight screamed as she felt him draw blood before being pulled upward, still in his grasp. Even as she was launched back toward the floor, a tiny part of her analytical mind couldn't help but marvel at the strength of an alicorn's neck muscles to perform something like that. Then she was slammed back against the scorched rock. Her right wing had been slightly flared out in surprise and the angle she came in at bent it the wrong way. With the speed and force of the landing, she felt the bone give out before her body had even hit the ground.

Twilight almost blacked out from the pain as she came down heavily on her now broken wing. Her whole body was in agony and she could hear Caligo still coming for her. In a moment of panic she angled her head toward where his noise was coming from and fired a sweeping beam without thinking. She didn't expect it to work, not after everything else that had gone wrong through her impulse decisions. The follow up attack never came though, despite his continued noise and fury. She cracked an eye open to see he was stepping backward, clutching the left side of his face. Her desperation attack had actually managed to catch him right in the eye.

"You insolent quim!" Caligo snapped, stomping at the floor as he tried to deal with his own pain. Twilight's blood was dripping from his mouth and his chest and side were sporting burns as well. "Disrespecting my home, body and legacy! I'll-"

Twilight wasn't listening as she slowly got back to her hooves. Some of her blood was dripping to the floor from her wounded shoulder, as well as another clear liquid. Her mind was so shaken from fighting to survive that it took her a minute to realise what it was. Her tears. Not because of the indescribable pain she was undergoing, but because the moment of clarity was letting realisation set in...

She couldn't win, not in any conventional manner.

There was only one chance left for her to end this in a way that stopped Caligo from killing her, escaping into Equestria and destroying everything. She couldn't run or fight in her condition. That just meant she had to use her secret plan. A third spell she had come up with while preparing for this showdown. Nopony else, not even the princesses, were aware that this spell existed. None of them would have approved, though some suspected what it would involve already. She didn't have a choice anymore though.

Twilight steeled herself as she placed all four hooves firmly on the ground, just about holding her wounded muscles in place. She knew she looked completely worse for wear. Her left wing was still hanging uselessly and her right was pressed upward, two-thirds of it perpendicular to where it should be. Combined with all the scuffs, bruises, cuts and burns she'd picked up, even she was surprised that she was still conscious. None of that mattered anymore though. All that mattered was activating her spell before Caligo could attack her again.

Her horn glowed as it had before, the same white tendrils quickly reaching to her hooves and up to the ceiling. Her weakened magic quickly recovered as she felt her connection to the tomb being firmly re-established. While they had been fighting, her magic had filtered further into the already established spells. While the failsafes had been largely depleted due to the intensity of the fighting, all the others were still strong. She could touch everything short of the lekli themselves, and that was just how she wanted it. The tendrils momentarily glowed brighter as she cast her secret spell. Now all she needed was a little extra power to set them off...Assuming it worked as intended. If it didn't...Chances were she would be too dead to notice or regret it. She had every confidence in her success though.

"I don't know what you're trying to achieve with this posturing," Caligo said to Twilight as he advanced on her again. His anger had subsided and he now had an air of more restrained frustration. "But haven't you realised the futility of resisting a true alicorn yet?"

"It's not posturing," Twilight countered, glancing at his eye. She'd only nicked it, but it was still bloodshot and he was also sporting a long burn up from his jawline to just above it. "It's protecting those that mean the most to me!"

"Well, I have to protect that which means most to me too. Guess we'll find out who's matters more. I'll tell Vaeac to say hello when she joins you, wherever you both end up."

Caligo's lip curled and he fired on Twilight. She had no way of evading in her current condition. It was all or nothing now. The beam struck her square in the chest, yet she felt no pain. Even as his unrestrained magic lashed and flared against her, she simply gave a weak smile to herself. Her magic shifted between white, silver and purple as it flowed along the tendrils, finally having an effect as the colours rushed into the point over her chest. She felt a sudden burst of energy that hit with the force of a train and her magic reserves skyrocketed, telling her all she needed to know.

She had won.

The points where her magic touched the floor and ceiling began to shine a brilliant white that spread outward quickly. This was her secret weapon. Her experiences against Tirek had shown her the method behind magic absorption. Now she had created the spell for a pony to safely perform it, and the magic of a true alicorn to power it. Her magic had touched upon all the magic within the tomb, allowing it to be drawn unto her. Although she hadn't woken them, her proximity to the lekli and their inherent magical nature meant she would be able to take them in as the spell grew stronger. She would effectively become a black hole for magic, drawing in all within the tomb and erasing it from existence. The thought was...Incredibly bittersweet, due to the reason she had been reluctant to use such a spell. Why she had been unable to make an outright promise to Sunset.

The process of gathering all that magic to be safely dissipated meant the spot she was standing in would effectively contain the magic of several dozen alicorns, every one at least as powerful as Princess Luna. If she simply cut the spell and left once the tomb was absorbed, it would be unrestrained, volatile. One imbalance from within it could set off a reaction of uncontrolled magic that may well reduce a currently unknown area of Equestria to the same state as the Badlands. There was no way of knowing exactly where the tomb was either, meaning nowhere was safe at present. The only way she could be sure the magic, and the lekli, would be removed, was to remain in place. To stay in control of the spell until it had taken in every inch of the Tomb of the Gods, and to make sure that every last trace was safely removed from the world.

Even if that meant it took her with it.

Twilight watched as the spreading light engulfed Caligo, who had remained in place upon realising he'd been outplayed. His expression was back to its usual calm and the look in his eyes carried a hint of genuine respect for her guile. Then it was gone, first as he became too bright to see, then as she sensed him being taken in by the spell, reduced to essence around her. Everything around her became the piercing light, forcing her to shut her eyes. She didn't need them anymore though. She could feel the spreading magic, washing over everything within the tomb, ensuring nothing of this last relic of the alicorn empire would remain. When it reached the very edge she halted its progress, more than powerful enough to do so now. Not even an atom beyond these walls had been harmed.

Silently, without hesitation, she cast the final piece. She could feel the world around her began to close in rapidly, hear the confusion in the waking lekli as they arose to this. This was her last chance to run, but she couldn't take the risk. She was scared, undeniably so, but only because the unknown had always remained just out of her reach. Now it would be all she knew. She had her memories though. Of her family, her friends, everypony who had ever played a part in her life. Who had made her time in this world worth living. And she had faith, that they would be able to continue on, to keep spreading friendship and harmony through Equestria, that they would remember her too...

That comfort was all she needed to steel herself and face whatever was coming. Something in her heart told her, this wasn't truly goodbye.

Twilight Sparkle smiled to herself as the world around her vanished.