Black Sun

A faint breeze brushed against Luna's ears as she stood on the balcony, staring out with a singular focus. She paid it no mind, nor did she give any attention to the sunset her sister was starting to bring over Equestria. Her gaze was set to the west, on an area far beyond her sight right now. She could still sense it though, even with her crippled magic capability. Nestled somewhere within the Smokey Mountains, the Tomb of the Gods currently lay. It had been roughly a minute since it had last moved locations, after several minutes of bouncing around every corner of Equestria. She knew just what it signified, but she had every faith in Twilight's ability to overcome the impossible.

It was somewhat ironic. She was facing the very real possibility that she would be resigned to her fate soon, along with who knew how many others if Tantabus was victorious. Yet, out of all the ponies that knew of this, she was still the calmest among them. Maybe it was due to her weakness and the feeling she had little left to lose. Maybe it was duty, shouldering the burden of stoicism after her sister had needed to for so long. Or maybe, she was doing what she always did and not stressing over things beyond her control. If anything, death would just be like another stint imprisoned in the moon, only without being aware. At least, she hoped so.

She shivered slightly as the cold began to set in, the setting sun taking its warmth with it. Normally she was used to the cold, as her duties took her far beyond the reach of Celestia's light. That resilience seemed to have gone with her strength though, along with many other things. She took a last look out at the view, watching as the sunset left a pink glow in the sky, before turning and heading back inside.

"Twilight. Whatever's happening, good luck." She quietly said, taking a slow, sad breath.

As she stepped back into the throne room, Luna looked round at all the spaces that had been damaged in Tantabus' first moments of freedom. Canterlot's finest builders and artisans had been putting their all into undoing the damage and by now there was almost no trace that it had ever happened to begin with. Even the stained glass windows had been masterfully recreated and fitted, some arguably better than the originals. Her gaze halted on the one created to commemorate Nightmare Moon's defeat and her return to Equestria. Ironically, it was one of those that had been undamaged in the chaos. Thinking about that point now brought an extra measure of comfort to her. Tantabus had been beaten before, she had a gut feeling it was going to happen again.

With nothing else to distract her she stepped up to her throne and settled onto it, leaning back. Celestia preferred her to wait here when they had to be separate for a while and she was willing to oblige, if just to put her sister's mind at ease. Before she'd even had time to rest her head against it though, her attention was drawn to the main doors to the throne room being opened.

"I'm afraid that the-" Luna started, only to pause as she saw the ponies coming in. Twilight's group had diverted from coming with her to the throne room after Aurora and Deep Note had vanished. She had used to the time to try and get a feel for how Twilight was doing, without success.

"Sorry for the delay, your highness," Peace Walker replied as she pushed the doors open fully. "We couldn't find either of them around in the castle. But we did find a few other welcome faces instead."

Luna raised an eyebrow as she took in the full set of ponies heading in. Somehow, she wasn't surprised at all to see that the first one in after Peace was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was still bandaged up but seemed to be moving without notable pain. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were right behind her, all three of them. Scootaloo actually looked no worse for wear beyond her eyepatch. Fluttershy was still somewhat shaky on her hooves, Spike sticking by her side for support as they brought up the rear.

"I'm, glad to see you all up and moving." The princess said as she rose again and moved down to the main floor.

"Yeah, the doctors weren't as impressed," Spike admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Apparently they actually tried to convince Celestia and Rainbow that she needed to stay in bed. She's just smoothing things over before joining us."

"Hey, we needed to be here," Rainbow countered. "Not just to give the two of you support, but to welcome Twi back once she's won."

Spike grimaced slightly at her words, though Luna was the only one who saw it and she knew better than to call it out. Fluttershy stepped forward and gently nudged Apple Bloom's leg, motioning to her bandaged throat. Clearly she still felt it better to limit what she said and not risk further injury, a point the earth mare picked up on quickly.

"So, um, how're we doing here?" Bloom asked.

"As well as can be hoped," Luna replied, her smile widening slightly. "My sister will return soon and then we can decide what the best course of action shall be."

As the others voiced their approval, she let her attention wander for a few moments. Part of her wondered exactly where Aurora and Deep Note were. It wasn't like either of them to choose to skip something as important as this. Before she could put too much thought into it or ask anypony else, a throbbing sensation erupted in her mind, like a supersized migrane. She had felt it before, in her old nightmares where she had let Nightmare Moon take over. Tantabus was feeling something strong, something negative. In these circumstances, there was only one likely cause for that.

A sudden flash of light filled the throne room, forcing everypony to shield their eyes. Luna was the first to see through the glare, eyes widening slightly as she saw what it was. A sphere of magical energy, a solid blue colour with a faint pink running across it. It was pulsing rapidly and felt like its mere presence spread a chill into the air. At the same time though, it had a familiar, almost comforting feeling to it. Like she was seeing an old friend that knew her better than she knew herself. The last time she had seen it from this angle had been in her dreams, in the form of a spectral alicorn many years ago. She would just have to do the same as she had back then.

She relaxed her body and raised her head, feeling the sphere press against her chest and be absorbed into her very being. That cold flooded her body, yet she had never felt better about it than she had now.

Twilight had succeeded. Tantabus was back where she belonged.

"We probably should have come here first." Aurora commented as he and Deep headed through the hallways of Canterlot Castle. Applejack was in good hooves now, the rest being down to them. All the two of them could do was let the others know what had happened. None of them were in the room they had been before. If they were going to be anywhere else in the castle, it would be the throne room.

"Yeah, yeah we should..." Deep replied, sounding distracted as he lagged behind slightly. Aurora knew how hard the situation in the cave had been on him, but there was something more to it. There was fear deep down inside him, fear that what he had heard was wrong.

"Deep, a moment," He said, swinging round and placing his front hooves on the pegasus' shoulders. It was enough to snap him out of his funk and put his focus on the unicorn. "The doctors meant every word. The Tree of Harmony may have kept her going until we got there, but its because of us, because of you, that Applejack is NOT going to die. Soon as we're done here, we'll go back and see how she's doing. Okay?"

Deep shut his eyes and took a deep inhale, running those words through his mind. After a few moments he nodded and looked back at Aurora with a small smile.

"Okay, thanks. You know, you've been like a mini-Twilight to those of us who joined in this whole thing. Helping wherever you can and showing us we can keep going. Thanks for that as well."

"No problem," Aurora replied as they started moving again, buoyed up by the kind words. "You've been helping too you know, in smaller but no less important ways."

"Same as Peace Walker has been. I think that she deserves a bit-"

Deep was cut off by the sound of something coming from somewhere ahead of them. A massive outpouring of energy. The duo glanced at each other and took off at a gallop, each realising it was coming from the throne room. Both had the same thought in mind: Whatever that was, it sounded like they weren't done just yet.

The doors were partly open as they approached. Aurora threw them open fully and skidded to a halt beside Spike, Deep taking to the air to get a look at what was happening. Even as they did so, Celestia teleported into the room in front of everypony, flaring her wings out to shield them. They had both seen what was happening though, enough to understand everypony else's looks of fear and caution.

Luna was being engulfed in a barrier of solid black magic. Creating a colossal whining sound and filling the room with a cold powerful enough to make everypony involuntarily shiver. Once the magic had fully enclosed her it began to glow orange, spinning around her rapidly. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had stepped forward beside Celestia, priming themselves for trouble while Spike moved to shield the others further. Aurora reached out through his sensory magic, seeing if he could pierce the darkness and reach Luna's feelings. He expected to feel quite a few things if he did it. Calmness was not one of them. She felt serene, happy, at greater peace than she'd looked at any point in the past few weeks. Of course, none of the others could tell that.

"Luna! Please don't..." Celestia begged, starting to tear up at the sight in front of her. She started to move forward, only to stop as a hoof thrust out in front of her leg.

"Wait!" Fluttershy told her, barely audible over the noise. Despite the damage to her throat, there was enough conviction in it to give the princess pause. "This is different. Look."

Celestia followed her gaze, her eyes widening slightly as she realised there were a set of eyes staring back at her through the magic. She'd clearly expected to see the cold, uncaring fury of Tantabus fixated upon her. Instead, they were still completely Luna's, their cyan glow filled with relief and warmth. Although she was still on edge, it was clear she didn't think there was any harm coming. She slowly relaxed her posture, bringing her wings back in. After a few seconds longer, the barrier burst out faster than anypony could follow. It passed harmlessly through everypony before dissipating against the walls, doing no damage to anything this time. Everypony still flinched from it, before pausing as they saw what it had revealed.

Hovering several feet off the ground, held in her own magic, was Princess Luna. The colour had returned to her coat, back to its natural deep, rich blue. Her mane and tail were flowing freely once again and there was a look of pure peace on her face. She was completely returned to normal. As the warmth returned to the room and everypony was able to see what had happened, they realised that wasn't entirely true. Her body had undergone a transformation upon being reconnected with Tantabus. Her physique was sleeker, her legs, mane and tail longer, horn extended and glowing with a radiance never seen from her before. She was physically identical to her sister now, close enough that they could be mistaken for twins at the least.

As everypony watched in amazement and disbelief, Luna lowered herself back to the floor and let her magic fade. If possible, she looked even more exhausted than she had before becoming whole again. Several wisps of her mane were flickering away from the main body as though unkempt and she could barely keep her eyes open. All the same, she managed to fix her look on everypony and give a weak, yet satisfied smile. That was all she needed for the others to know that it was okay. It was over.

Aurora realised his jaw had dropped at the sight. Even with everything he'd been though, everything his mother and aunt had taught him, something like this was beyond what he'd ever expected to encounter. He couldn't even begin to think about how to respond before Celestia took a step forward. Then she broke into a run, covering the gap in a heartbeat. In one fluid motion she wrapped her front hooves around Luna and pulled her into a tight hug, one that was immediately returned in kind.

"It's alright..." Luna said quietly, tears filling up her eyes as she held her sister close, stroking her back reassuringly. From the sounds of grateful tears coming from Celestia as she draped her head on the back of Luna's neck, she wasn't keeping her composure quite as well. "All is as it should be."

"I was so scared," Celestia replied, her voice choked with emotion as she kept holding on like her life depended on it. "I thought my efforts wouldn't be enough."

"They were more than enough. They're the only reason I'm still alive. All the magic you gave me...With my own magic at full strength again, I must be as powerful as you are. That might explain why I look the part now."

Celestia pulled her head back to look, tears still streaming down her cheeks. As they continued taking in what had happened, the others were slowly starting to come round from the shock. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had a mix of amazement and joy on their faces. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were looking among themselves, hardly daring to believe that it was really over. Deep still looked twitchy, but seemed like he was finding some comfort in the situation. Peace Walker was standing somewhat rigidly, a satisfied grin on her face as she nodded. Spike had reared up onto his legs to watch, looking as content as the others. Aurora could see the concern he was masking though, and he shared the same feeling.

Where was Twilight in all this?

"Speaking of all that magic." Luna finished, gently touching her horn to the base of Celestia's. Her magic gently came to life again, flowing up with its natural cobalt hue and shifting to light yellow as it crossed between the two of them.

For a minute the room was filled with the hum of magic as Luna returned all that her sister had given her. The flow was so strong that the princess of the sun actually started glowing slightly as her energy was returned to her, all her drained power being restored. The look on her face was so joyous, yet everypony knew it could barely convey how she felt. Then it faded again as the transfer ended and Luna stepped backward, just about keeping on her hooves.

"It is done." Celestia told her happily as she helped Luna straighten up.

"Indeed, the only question that remains is if my magic is still potent."

Luna turned and headed back toward the balcony, the others following her. Aurora still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong though. Even if Twilight had been side-tracked by getting Sunset Shimmer medical aid, she should have been back by now. Even if it was just to let them knew that she was alright. The view outside did little to allay his fears. The extended dusk brought on by Celestia lowering the sun already had left a deep orange glow against the clouds. Normally it would be beautiful, tonight it was just ominous. A glance back showed that Spike was similarly ill at ease. At this point, it was taking some restraint not to rush out there and look for any sign of her. Even though he wouldn't know where to start.

Celestia looked down for a moment and stepped back, Spike joining her over by the thrones while the others remained focused on Luna. Aurora silently reasoned with himself that if they had any idea what was happening, they were best placed to do something about it. He sighed quietly and joined the others, watching as Luna stepped out fully and set her magic to work.

"Hey. You ok?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly as she looked back at him. He silently chided himself for being that obvious and shook his head slightly.

"Just, worried." He admitted. She flashed a look back toward Apple Bloom and Scootaloo before backing up to his side.

"About Twilight?" She asked, waiting for him to nod. "Me too...Applejack should be here too. It just doesn't feel right with them missing this."

"Ah, about that," He braced himself internally, trying to figure how to tell her what he and Deep had found. Both their attentions were suddenly drawn to a round of cheers from the ponies around them though. Luna had managed to raise the moon without trouble and everypony's spirits were even higher than before. He couldn't bring himself to ruin the moment. "I-I'll tell everypony soon."

Since nopony seemed to have caught onto their little discussion, they moved forward to join the others in congratulating Luna. The princess was taking some enjoyment in the moment and was making an over exaggerated bow to the group, flaring her wings out. It was hard to blame any of them for milking things a bit, considering how long it had felt since they'd had something to cheer about. Once it was done Luna went to each of them, thanking them personally for their help. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed, more like it had been before all this started.

All the same, Aurora couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that there was one last twist in the tale.

"Everypony..." Celestia's voice came from back inside the throne room. Quiet and sombre "Can we talk to you?"

There it was.

He glanced back at the others as he headed inside, seeing the looks of curiosity and confusion on the faces of the others. It did nothing to ease his mood. Neither did the fact that Spike was sat leaning against the near wall, resting his head in one of his hands. Once they were all inside, Celestia closed all the doors with her magic and took a deep, shuddering breath. Her composure was wavering as well.

"I'm sorry to bring such news, especially at this moment," She told them, looking toward the stained glass window commemorating Nightmare Moon's defeat. "Spike and I went to see if we could find out what was happening. If Twilight was okay. By the time we got to the tomb though...There...There was nothing there. Nothing I could sense of it, or the ponies within, anywhere within Equestria. Nothing upon the continent. Unless it's on the far side of the world...The danger of the tomb, of the lekli...Is gone. Lost...And Twilight and Sunset with it."

He'd been there. He'd seen and felt it.

That didn't make it any easier to hear. Knowing would have been one thing, seeing the proof was another.

Spike felt the tears start coming as he slumped back further against the wall. He'd known Twilight for his entire life. She had been like a mother to him. A sister, mentor, friend...She had been a part of him. Some would simply say he loved her, but love was common. Their bond ran deeper than either of them understood. And just like that, she was gone.

His whole body shuddered as he fought back a sob, trying to keep his composure until he could be alone. He couldn't deny the grief, but he wouldn't let despair overwhelm him now. Not when he still had so much to look toward. The others would need his help finding a way past this, and he would be there to give it. Just like always.

This, this wasn't real. She had to be pulling some kind of cruel prank.

Twilight was dead? Every time she repeated it in her head it made even less sense. Since when did Twi ever fail? Any second now, she'd see a grin cracked or hear a teasing 'Gotcha! She's right here.'. She had to.

But they were still so convinced, and Princess Celestia didn't lie like that. But that would mean...

Rainbow Dash stared forward as she felt her whole body going numb. She simply didn't have a response to something like this. Everypony present was probably going through the exact same thing, and she didn't know what to do about it. There had been a lot that had hurt her in the past few weeks, but this was pure agony in her heart. It took her a few moments to realise she had sat down in shock, still staring, completely at a loss. All she could do was slowly look around, see how everypony else was reacting.

No. No no no no. This couldn't be real! Twilight had managed to bring herself back from much worse, even during the last few weeks. How could this happen now?

Fluttershy felt a raspy gasp escape her throat and her wings droop from her sides. Her chest felt like it was caught in a vice, trying and failing to contain the sudden rush of grief. Her vision blurred and she covered her eyes with a hoof, hoping nopony would notice the oncoming flood. There was no hope of keeping the encroaching sadness to herself though, when it was weighing down on her this heavily. She could feel somepony drape a wing over her and instinctually leaned into it, taking any comfort she could get. Suddenly she missed her family, wishing she could be home with them.

That just made it worse. Twilight was every bit a part of her family.

The realisation hit Sweetie Belle with the force of a meteor impact. Ever since the battle at the vault, she'd been mentally bracing herself for this moment. This feeling of losing another pony close to her. Yet, Twilight was the one she hadn't been prepared for. The two of them had spent many happy months of her childhood together, teaching her magic she could never have hoped to learn alone. With everything that had happened, part of her had hoped they would be able to study some more. Just something happy to relax with while putting Equestria back together. Now though...

She quietly whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, a few sobs coming out as she tried to hide just how devastated she was. A firm leg wrapped around her shoulders and she glanced aside to see it was Apple Bloom's. She looked crestfallen but was trying her best to stay strong. Scootaloo was sitting on Bloom's other side, staring down at her hooves in disbelief, too shocked to respond. At least, that was the closest feeling that was visible from the internal conflict she was going through. Sweetie let herself lean into the hug Bloom was offering, holding onto her tight as the tears began to flow freely.

So that was it then. They hadn't made it though without any more losses. She knew she could have done more, even if her actions in the group may have helped a few other ponies past their inner demons.

Peace Walker watched as Deep Note took a deep breath and moved to support Fluttershy, doing his best to keep her from descending into a full breakdown. She wasn't taking it quite as badly as the others herself. There was no denying it hurt, but it was a numb pain compared to losing Bulwark. She lowered her head and placed a hoof over her heart, offering a silent prayer to the fallen. That Twilight found peace wherever she ended up, that Sunset was judged appropriately upon reaching the sacred isle, and that Tantabus suffered the worst torment imaginable while trapped again.

Then she heard a thud behind her.

He wanted to scream. To remove his emotions. To tear his heart out so he couldn't feel anymore.

But it wouldn't make any difference. Even without the ability to feel, he would never be without the pain of realising why Twilight had gone without him.

She had known the whole time. She had always seen it as a probable suicide mission. Her life for those of her friends and all Equestria. It was just...

Aurora's hooves gave out under him and he dropped to his knees, all restraint lost. His nose brushed the floor as he lowered his head and wept, grief-stricken and helpless. He couldn't see anything around him, couldn't hear the sadness of the others. He was trapped in his head with nothing but the knowledge that his aunt was gone. He had had the strength and position to do something, to keep her safe, and he had thrown it away.

He felt somepony touch his shoulder and instinctively pushed himself against them, bawling his eyes out as he buried his face in their chest and gripped against their torso. It was undignified, but anything was better than facing despair right now. The feeling of fur against his chest reminded him that he wasn't facing this alone.

It meant very little in the moment, but it would have to be enough.

"I should have...We-I-I-I-I...No..."

Luna didn't know how to respond to that. She could only watch as Aurora sat with his face buried in Peace Walker's chest, the mare doing her best to comfort him while pressed against her, his attempts at talking reduced to inelegant blubbering. Few of the others were doing much better, either working through their grief or supporting another in the same.

She couldn't deny how badly the news hurt her as well. Twilight was the main reason she was even here, on more than one occasion. There was so much she had still wanted to say to her. So many thanks she had needed to give. Now none of them would ever get the chance.

She bowed her head sadly and thought of all the interactions she had shared with Twilight. The good memories that were now all she had left. She could feel Celestia move to her side and looked up at her, too saddened to even by fazed by the fact they were at eye level. The tears in her eyes reflected against the ones in Luna's own. The two of them pressed closer and placed their heads on each other's shoulder in support, sharing the pain. Not just from their loss and how much they could feel everypony hurt, but from the question lingering in their minds. One they weren't sure how they were supposed to answer yet.

Where did they go from here?