Black Sun

Twenty minutes earlier...

Rarity shuddered slightly as she felt the world come back into focus around her, not used to the unfamiliar, uncomfortable and frankly unpleasant feeling of teleportation. Her ears instantly folded back as the general quiet of the castle was replaced by the roar of rushing water not ten feet away. As Bounty and Trixie came into view, trying to get their bearings, she could see they were in a tunnel of sorts, pony made if the smoothness of the wall and ceiling were any indication. To her left was open air with a thick, constant cascade of water pouring as far as the eye could see in both directions, thick enough to block any view past it. Just ahead of her, Twilight Sparkle was looking back to see that Aurora's group had arrived as well. Sweetie Belle and Starlight Glimmer had travelled with her and were similarly taking in their surroundings. Aurora himself was nowhere in sight, though a near inaudible sound of magic behind her indicated that he was there.

"This way!" Twilight shouted, barely able to be heard over the unrelenting cacophony assaulting their senses from all sides.

With it as hard it was to even think straight, the others wasted no time in following her further down the pathway. Although the rock beneath them was coated in a thin layer of water spray, everypony managed to keep on their hooves until the path turned right, into a tunnel carved directly through the rock. The route narrowed so they had to progress in single file from here, Twilight, Sweetie and Aurora lighting their horns as they advanced into the darkness.

"So, where exactly are we?" Bounty asked once noise outside had dropped to a tolerable level.

"Neighagra Falls, a few miles upriver from Whinnyapolis," Twilight explained. "A number of tunnels and vaults were built behind each of the twelve waterfalls near the end of the Contact War, designed to store artefacts and provide refuge for ponies in case the city fell to the yaks. After Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ended the war, the vaults were vacated and largely forgotten by all but the most detailed history books."

"Judging by the intensity of the waterfall outside, I'm guessing we're behind Terra Falls?" Aurora mused as he glanced behind them. Not that it was much help with how dark everything else was. In addition, he now wore a pair of saddlebags that hadn't been there when they had arrived. Rarity was tempted to ask but decided against it. He must have simply forgotten them in the spur of the moment and fetched them once everypony was safely here.

"Furthest from the city and hardest to reach," Twilight confirmed. "Combined with how few ponies even know about its existence and the wards Princess Celestia placed upon the vault here, it's probably the best protected secret in Equestria. Ideal as a hiding place for the Alicorn Amulet."

"So...If it's so secure, why are we going to try and move the amulet?" Starlight asked cautiously.

"Well firstly, we're not just going to try," Twilight replied, glancing back at her. Even that was enough to cow the older mare back into silence. "Secondly, between Sunset almost certainly knowing about the vault and Nightmare Moon knowing the magic Luna used to help seal it, it's only a matter of time before she could force her way through the defences. Even if she didn't, it's much less of a risk for us to move it rather than leave its fate to chance."

Starlight nodded and looked down slightly. The discussion trailed off after that, the group proceeding in silence for another minute before the tunnel ended. The light of their horns was now enough to light the room before them. In contrast to the tunnel that had been cut out of the rock, the floor was laid with gray flagstones and four pairs of support pillars ran down the sides of the fifty foot long cave, although the one in the far right corner had collapsed. Another doorway lay at the far end of the room, the room beyond still shrouded in darkness. Every few seconds a faint yellow gleam appeared from somewhere in the next room before fading again.

"We're here..." Twilight said quietly, the edge in her voice vanishing at the thought of being able to visit another historical site.

"Okay, let's see," Aurora said as he entered at the back of the line and undid the catches on his saddlebags, taking a quick look around the room. "Are you sure you'll be able to open all the protective spells up on such short notice?"

"It'll be delicate work to undo them and I can't rush it," Twilight admitted, shaking her head slightly to get her focus back. "But I was walked through exactly what I need to do. The drain on my magic will be insignificant enough that I can keep a forcefield up over the door too, just in case."

"In that case, you should take this," Aurora pulled a unicorn's helmet out of his left saddlebag and passed it over to Twilight. "It was Healing Wave's. I know borrowing things from the dead isn't right but there wasn't time to get a new one made. It won't fit but it'll let me keep you filled in on what's happening out here."

"I appreciate it," Twilight replied simply, unable to read Aurora's reaction before he took his own helmet out of the other saddlebag. As he fitted it on and left the saddlebags by the far doorway, there was a sudden sense in everypony that there might not be another chance for any of them to do something like that. "Thanks. I'll make this as quick as I can though. If anything comes up, I have faith in every one of you to protect each other. Don't take any undue risks."

She gave each of them a last look, doing her best not to look any less supportive toward Starlight Glimmer, before turning and walking into the vault chamber. As soon as she was through the entry her horn glowed brighter and a purple forcefield rose up across it. The six remaining unicorns took a moment to silently acknowledge that they were on their own now before turning to each other. Aurora gave a quiet sigh and turned in a slow circle as he studied the room, breaking the lull and setting everypony's mind on the matter at hoof.

"Well then..." Rarity spoke first, determination in her voice. "Aurora, darling, you have better experience with this sort of thing. How do you propose we go about standing our ground?"

"I ah..." Starlight suddenly spoke up, tensing up as everypony turned to look at her. After a few moments Aurora motioned for her to continue. "I, may have an idea of how to start."

Was that a light?

Maybe she was just hallucinating it. But she'd take it if it meant not being alone anymore. It wasn't the darkness she'd been left with for the past...How long had it been?

It didn't matter. Anything was better than being a prisoner in her own mind, no more capable of influencing her own body than a whisper was of being heard through a storm.

Sunset Shimmer gasped as the world around her suddenly flashed back into existence. Even with her eyes shut she could feel her pupils rapidly dilating back to their regular size, the hum of somepony else's magic piercing the silence she had been trapped with. She staggered slightly as her senses and control returned to her. Tantabus had made it perfectly clear that she would only relinquish her body in highly specialised circumstances. What made this one stand out?

She opened her eyes and froze up again, realising instantly.

She was in a dark room, seemingly underground from what little of the walls she could see. It was almost as dark as her mental prison, the only real light coming from a shimmering purple barrier at the far end of the room. Sitting before it, roughly thirty feet ahead of her, was a lone pink unicorn. Her horn was lit up, its turquoise glow just visible over her mane. From the sickening sense of déjà vu that was gripping her at the sight, Sunset knew exactly why she'd been allowed to see this.

"Starlight?" She asked warily. Starlight slowly looked over her shoulder in response, her magic making her eye glow pure white. There it was. That psychotic look. Sunset had accidentally seen that look from that same pony when she was ten years old, and in the darkest of her nightmares ever since.

"Sunset," Starlight replied calmly, her eyes returning to normal as her magic faded. She looked a mess compared to their last encounter several months ago, but the crazed glint in her eyes was now gone. Now she was focused, full of intent, far more dangerous. "I'd say this isn't personal but..."

"Starlight, please. I-I'm not your enemy here. I'm-"

"Oh we know," Starlight smirked slightly as her horn came to life again, five more igniting their light in the darkness moments later. One pink, one white, one pale green, two blue. "We're going to deal with it for you."

Sunset didn't have time to respond before she felt her eyes closing without her. Her world was closing into again, control over her most basic functions being ripped away. This wasn't like before, this time she was going to be made to watch. A point emphasised as she heard herself give a dry chuckle, knowing Tantabus was back in control again, hearing her voice coming out of her mouth again.

"That was a good way to unsettle Sunset. It's a shame you're not going to be dealing with her."

Twilight's eyes narrowed as she tracked the motions of a faint blue spark of magic, watching it make a long curling motion over the vault door in front of her. Celestia and Luna had placed almost every protective spell there was here to keep the amulet safe and while she knew the counter spells necessary to undo them, the fact her magic had not interacted with the defences before meant she needed to mimic the requirements perfectly. Failure could have any number of consequences, all of which would almost certainly leave her distracted or incapacitated long enough to put everypony outside in jeopardy.

"Twilight?"

She jumped slightly as she heard Aurora's voice quietly coming from her right. Thankfully she hadn't been in the middle of attempting to disarm any of the wards. She reached over to the helmet and picked it up, never taking her eyes off the vault as she lifted the mouthplate to her muzzle.

"I'm here, Aurora. Is everything okay?"

"So far, just-Whoa!"

Twilight flinched as she felt a beam of magic impact the forcefield behind her. It was barely any drain on her reserves or attention, but the recognition of what it meant made her heart sink.

"We're all alright," Aurora quickly reassured her. "Don't risk rushing it for our sakes, we'll still buy you all the time you need."

"Alright. Be careful...All of you."

Twilight stared down at the helmet for a moment before putting it down in front of her. She had sounded calm, but the reality of the situation was that she was on the clock now. Aurora and her had once done a study on the difference in magic strength between unicorns and alicorns, the results showing that the gap was immense. Six unicorns, some with above average or high level magic power, against one that was among the most gifted alive and had an alicorn's knowledge of how to utilise that power. It was a battle of attrition on the other side of the barrier, one that Tantabus would inevitably win.

She put all her focus back into the spells and started undoing the next one, going as quick as she dared.

The former darkness of the chamber was rent asunder, beams of magic painting the area in their lurid glows, some of them colliding and forming even more mixtures from the flash. Tantabus had only been able to advance five feet before being forced onto the defensive, twisting, dodging and teleporting around incoming attacks. Yet the look on her face was one of exhilaration, like she was in the middle of some twisted rave. Rarity and Bounty were using the rubble of the collapsed pillar for cover, firing repeatedly to keep their opponent off-balance. Trixie was bunkered down behind the lone pillar closest to the vault, Sweetie Belle and Aurora doing the same from the next pair up. Starlight Glimmer had adopted a unique angle for the engagement, levitating herself into the air and attacking from above.

"Keep spread out!" Aurora called back to Rarity, flinching as Tantabus' magic nicked his cover and blasted a small chunk away. He already knew none of them stood a chance in a straight fight and making what few advantages they had last was the only way anypony was coming out of this in one piece.

Bounty nodded and used an opening while the others upped the pressure on Tantabus to move to the other end of the rubble, putting himself closest to the barrier. Starlight used the covering fire to bring herself round to the left side of the room and dove for her enemy as soon as the attack ceased. Tantabus barely had time to spot the incoming body before the two of them collided, sending them tumbling to the right. Starlight attempted to stop herself to continue the assault, only to be countered as Tantabus managed to plant her back hooves into her stomach and buck her off in mid roll.

"Pathetic." Tantabus grunted as she landed on her back, looking up to see Starlight skidding to a halt next to the nearest pillar. She immediately shot a beam of her tainted aqua magic at the stricken unicorn, only noticing too late that Sweetie Belle had dashed up from her position, getting between the two and bringing up a magic barrier of her own. The shield spluttered under fire due to the caster's inexperience but held out, long enough for Starlight to get back to her hooves.

The two of them pulled back toward their allies as soon as they could, Sweetie looking visibly taxed from the effort of using such magic for the first time. Tantabus rolled back onto her front and stood up and took aim at the retreating pair, only for a bolt of blue magic to graze her front left fetlock. She snarled as the leg nearly gave out under her and threw up her own shield to absorb the next wave of magic. The pause gave her a moment to judge the positions of her enemies. Sweetie and Starlight had pulled back closer to Rarity and Bounty's position. Aurora was moving for cover at the same pillar as Trixie, who was leaning out cautiously with her horn lit up. The sight of them all, a bunch of defects that would barely be worth the energy to kill in the old empire, the knowledge that they were managing to make an embarrassment out of her...

Tantabus snarled and lifted herself up in her magic, keeping the shield up as she hit the ground and charged, letting it shrug off a fresh barrage of attacks. Once the gap had closed to twenty feet she poured her strength into her magic and collapsed the shield. Before anypony could react she gripped all six of them at once and telekinetically lifted them up, her magic crushing against them like a vice. The mixture of lights that had been illuminating the room died off at once, only the ominous aqua glow remaining. The only ones that could move at all were Aurora, the carbonado layer of his helmet resistant to the effects, and Trixie, who was attempting to struggle against the restraints, her horn lit up in a vain attempt to release herself.

"Really, I'm not sure what surprises me more," Tantabus told them firmly. Her horn launched sparks of black and blue as she violently flipped Aurora over so he couldn't aim at her. "That you genuinely thought that you could stop me, or that it would be so easy."

"We knew what we were getting into," Aurora retorted, sounding groggy from getting shaken up like that. "We don't have to win, all we have to do is fight. Riling you up with a hit like that was just a bonus."

"Or you could just die. It's a shame that I have to do it in this insignificant body, but to turn the true might of an alicorn upon such trash would be a waste."

"Hmm, that sounds familiar."

Tantabus scowled as she looked over at Trixie. Not just for the interruption, but because it sounded like her voice was coming out twice.

"Yeah, I remember that feeling of egotism and wanting to be the best. The thing is..."

Trixie smirked and the glow around her horn increased. Before anypony could react she faded away, the magic around her gripping at nothing. Tantabus had enough time to realise she'd been duped by master-level illusion magic before a solid pink beam hit her square in her right side. The force of the blow sent her crashing into the opposite wall, kicking up a cloud of dust as she cried out. With her focus broken, the other five were released and dropped back to the floor, Aurora coming down on his side due to his position.

"All it does is make a fool out of you," Trixie finished as she stepped away from behind the pillar she'd been hiding behind. "Everypony okay?"

The others voiced in the affirmative, Aurora still sounding shaken. They all knew it would be too much to hope that that had been enough to end the engagement though, everypony's attention quickly turning to the dust. They could all hear sounds of movement coming from within the cloud, a frustrated growl audible. Aurora felt out with his magic, trying to gauge just how Tantabus was going to approach this. The result froze his blood. He'd made a similar judgement when the battle began and had a good idea of how much strength she'd been using.

As it turned out, she hadn't even been trying yet.

"Twilight...Twilight, talk to me."

Twilight reached for the helmet and lifted it up again, unable to look at it midway through dispelling another ward. Aurora sounded worried though, a tone that left her feeling extremely uneasy.

"I'm here, Aurora. What's happening?"

"It's ah, it's nothing huge. I was just wondering how much longer you think it's going to take?"

"I'm close to done now. There's just a last few measures to go before I can get the amulet out," She told him, doing her best to sound reassuring. "Just hold on a little longer."

"I...I-I Don't know if we can."

Anything more he tried to say was drowned out by the high-pitched scream of intense energy streaking past Aurora. Twilight had to use every last ounce of her self-control to keep her magic from being disrupted and triggering the vault security.

"Too close! Too close! Go left, there's no cover here!!" Aurora called to one of the others before returning his focus to Twilight. "We underestimated how much she'd keep in reserve and quite frankly, it's all falling apart!"

"Okay, stay calm. The others are counting on you." Twilight fought to keep the keep the concern out of her voice as she racked her brain for the best outcome at this point, barely feeling the sweat starting to run down her brow.

"I know. We'll find a way to manage, just like you alw-"

Aurora was cut off by the sound of something smashing against him followed by a loud thud. Then silence.

"Aurora. Aurora, what's happening?" Twilight called, panic starting to well up and threatening her own task despite her best efforts. "...Say something!"

A few quieter sounds, as though he was being moved somewhat. A few more moments of quiet.

"Princess," Bounty's voice came through, slightly faded as though he were talking into the helmet the same way she was. "Aurora's hit but the helmet took the worst of it, looks like he's just stunned. I'll keep him safe until you're done...You were going to help me through the worst, I'll make sure to return the favour."

Twilight dropped her helmet without thinking and redoubled her focus on the vault door. Every second she wasted now put her friends' lives in greater danger and she couldn't help them until the Alicorn Amulet was safe and away. All she could do was hope they could hold on. Just a minute longer.

"You ok?" Bounty asked Aurora, the two of them huddled behind the biggest remaining piece of the fallen pillar.

"They didn't wanna be friends, dad." Aurora replied weakly as he rubbed his head, his battered helmet lying beside him. The force of the hit had actually torn it off his head, leaving the underside of his chin bleeding from where it had been cut up in the process.

"That's okay, just stay lying down until you're not dizzy." Bounty told him calmly while he ducked down more.

They were lucky to still have this part to shelter behind. Tantabus' attacks had intensified a hundredfold in the past minute. Almost all of the eight pillars had been destroyed and significant chunks had been gouged out of the rock walls. Everypony else had spread out across the chamber, moving through the new rubble as cover and fighting with what little they could before it was inevitably destroyed. All except for Starlight, who had resumed her aerial assault and was currently managing to draw most of the incoming fire. At this point though, it wasn't a question of if somepony would run out of luck, but when.

"Tell me you've got something else." Bounty shouted over the carnage, directing it to Trixie as she bunkered down at the wreckage of the next nearest pillar.

"Nothing she won't be ready for." Trixie admitted, cowering down as another beam shot over her position and burned a few feet into the wall. Bounty glanced out to check nothing else was being aimed their way before darting over to her. Aurora still didn't look fit to move under his own power and being on his own would actually put him at less risk right now.

"Well, I might have something that could close the gap a little. My speciality is siphoning magic, from myself to another unicorn to give them a booster. Nopony knows why, probably something to do with the whole magic entity clone thing."

"Err, the what?" Trixie stared at him, dumbfounded enough by that statement to momentarily forget the battle raging around them.

"I'll explain later. Do you think it'll help right now?"

Trixie glanced over the rubble again to check the situation. Sweetie Belle was charging Tantabus from behind, attempting to force a hoof-to-hoof engagement. Tantabus managed to duck away from the first strikes and gripped the unicorn in her magic, launching her up and throwing her at one of the remaining pillars. Starlight managed to use her magic to slow Sweetie down enough to cushion the blow while Rarity fired on Tantabus. The element was giving it her all but the wear of continuous magic drain was starting to take its toll on them all.

"I think so. We need somepony with magic to spare if we're going to buy Twilight time." Trixie answered as she ducked her head back down.

Bounty nodded and closed his eyes, a strong blue aura appearing around his horn. As he focused harder a thin stream of magic flowed from the tip and snaked its way toward Trixie's horn. A second stream did the same moments later, the two moving in sync as they connected to the tip and base. Trixie shuddered slightly as she felt the sudden influx of magic flowing into her, restoring the strength she had used already and more. It felt similar to the power she had wielded with the Alicorn Amulet, only with less soul sucking evil involved. She hoped. Still, there was no denying she felt ready to draw Tantabus' attention and give everypony else vital breathing space.

"Okay, here we go." Trixie told herself, unable to hide the nerves in her voice. With one last look at Bounty, still focused on managing his siphoning, she stepped out and fired a full strength beam at Tantabus. Although her movements in driving Starlight away again meant it missed, it succeeded in drawing her attention.

"Do you ever try to fight face to face?" Tantabus snapped in irritation before firing a deadly beam. Trixie counter fired one of her own, her pink magic tinted with Bounty's blue. The two collided in midair, throwing volatile sparks up that briefly illuminated the whole chamber before the clash ended.

Trixie pressed the attack while she could, rapid firing bolts of magic while stepping back toward her cover. Tantabus managed to bring up a shield again, absorbing the bolts for several seconds before smirking coldly. The shield pulsed brightly and suddenly reflected the magic it had withstood, not toward Trixie but straight at the cover she had been using. The force of her amplified magic kicked up a fresh dust cloud as the barrage tore into the rubble, annihilating everything in its path. Trixie cried out as she felt the connection with Bounty suddenly cut out, all the energy he had lent her being ripped away in a heartbeat. The effect left her reeling, disorientated as she attempted to stagger back to any safe space that might be left.

A fresh charge of magic made her ears fold back, knowing it was aimed at her but unable to tell where from. Just as she heard the discharge, a blur of pink threw itself in front of her. Trixie's focus started to return to her just in time to see Starlight attempt to shield the stricken unicorn. Not with her magic, but her own body. The beam struck her square in the chest and blasted her backward into Twilight's barrier. Trixie managed to get herself behind the stump of a pillar before looking back in shock. Starlight lay where she had fallen with her back to the battle, unmoving and with smoke rising from her front half.

Tantabus coldly laughed at the sight and levelled her horn to finish the job, only to be stopped as her back legs were kicked out from under her. To everypony's surprise, Rarity had charged while she was distracted and was bringing the fight up close and personal like her sister had tried to. Even as Tantabus fell she kept swinging, landing punches and kicks that kept her opponent off balance with their sheer unpredictability. It restricted the ability of the others to help though, as they were too close to use magic on and there was no clear opening to assist in the melee.

"You think you're so clever with your stolen body and barbaric magic," Rarity declared as she kept pummelling away at Tantabus, her channelled anger flooding out through the brutal assault. "Well let's see how much that helps you when I rip you out of there with my bare hooves!"

It was almost impossible to tell which way the fight was going, both ponies struggling to take control and find a place they could gain the advantage from. It would have to come down to which of them was more physically capable. A factor that would quickly decide the outcome. As determined as Rarity was, her body was thirteen years older than Sunset Shimmer's and of the two, was the one no longer in its prime. Tantabus pushed herself away from the duel long enough to teleport back to her hooves. Rarity pushed herself up again turned to follow, the movement bringing her forward...Straight into the freshly reappeared horn.

She didn't even have time to realise before their horns touched and Tantabus fired at point blank range. Trixie and Sweetie Belle could only watch in horror as Rarity was blown skidding along the ground, coming to a halt next to the rubble where Aurora was recovering. She was still breathing but her entire body was convulsing, in too much pain to even make a sound. The cause of which was evident from her horn. Or rather, what was left. A sizeable section from the tip to roughly a third of the way down the front had been shattered, visible cracks running throughout the rest. Before she'd even come to a halt sparks of magic had started to erupt from the wound and arch across her body, the beginnings of an uncontrolled magic surge.

"Sis!" Sweetie cried as she dashed out from her position, keeping to the wall rather than risking herself in the open. Before she could reach Rarity though, Aurora pulled himself out from cover. Still looking unsettled but with his composure returned, he threw up a shield to absorb several follow up beams Tantabus fired at Rarity, telekinetically pulling his saddlebags over to him before teleporting the two of them out of the fight.

Now it was just two against one, odds that were getting worse with every passing moment. Trixie went for the now vacated space behind the rubble, only for it to be broken apart by Tantabus' follow up attacks. By now the intensity of the engagement had destroyed most of what could pass for cover nearby and there was nowhere left to run. Sweetie Belle brought herself to a halt by Trixie and brought her pale green shield back up, the two of them backing toward the barrier. Both were heavily worn down and there was no chance of the shield withstanding any real assault for more than a few seconds.

"So this is what amounts to Equestria's final stand," Tantabus said coldly as she advanced, a silhouette in the dust and darkness as her magic faded. "A sentimental fool with the strength of an infant, and a coward."

Trixie bit back a whimper and took another step backward. The only things she could hear over her own breathing right now were the hum of the shield before her and...Nothing behind her. She chanced a glance backward and realised that the barrier they had been fighting to keep up this whole time had disappeared, its purple glow no longer hanging over them. It hadn't taken many stray hits, nowhere near enough to risk failing. So that could only mean...Tantabus noticed as well, her horn lighting up to reveal her eye was twitching slightly. Without warning her magic coiled around her horn and was launched in an all out beam against the two. Neither of them could move quickly enough to do anything, their vision going white.

As nothing happened to them and the sounds of magic intensified, they realised the blinding flash before them had been of somepony teleporting in. Sweetie Belle dropped her shield and her jaw dropped slightly as well. Twilight Sparkle was standing before them, hooves dug into the damaged floor as her own shield withstood the full force of the attack. Tantabus kept it up for several seconds before letting the beam fade away, narrowing her eyes as she realised the new situation. Her target was gone and even with her considerable magic reserves, the amount used already meant she was at a clear disadvantage against an alicorn. She wordlessly shot a death glare at the trio before teleporting away.

"Twilight!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as the princess dropped her shield, panting slightly from the effort. Without thinking she ran forward and wrapped her front hooves around Twilight's chest. "Please tell me you did it."

"Yes, the Alicorn Amulet has been hidden beyond Equestria's borders," Twilight replied, gently hugging Sweetie in return before letting her go. "Is everypony okay?"

The words had barely left her mouth before Trixie gasped and ran over to Starlight's body, rolling her onto her back to see just how bad her injuries were. Twilight followed her gaze and tensed up at the sight. Starlight's entire chest had been scorched, fur burned black, multiple burn wounds visible and bleeding freely. She was almost lifeless, her faint breathing the only indication that she was still alive. Moments later Sweetie Belle gave a chocked gasp and dashed past Twilight, drawing the alcorn's attention that way. She already feared what she was going to see this time.

Sweetie was attempting to drag Bounty away from what was left of the rubble he had been sheltered behind. Although there wasn't a mark on him, he was limp and his eyes lay open and unfocused. It only took one look into them to see there was no spark of life left within him. Twilight felt herself going numb as she realised she was too late. They had completed their objective but her friends had paid the ultimate price to protect her. She looked round slowly as she realised that everypony wasn't yet accounted for.

"W...Where's Aurora? Where's Rarity!?"