Umbra’s scythe swiped at the black tendril, cleaving through the black-spurting flesh with ease. It wriggled in agony, as her shadow form spirited her away before it could lunge for her. Oarkin darted forward with a powerful beat of his wings - splitting the remaining length in twain.

Arin clutched his arming sword at the ready, as the massive vine whipped at the air spewing thick lashes of its blood.

“Surely this is not all?” Arin asked. Umbra shared a look with him, before motioning with her horn to look outside. Dozens more black vines - each nearly the size of the mountain - had ripped through the shaking earth.

“Oh. Right.”

The deep, rich Lunar magic above began to dissipate in clearing streaks of the sky. Without Nightmare Moon’s essence keeping the fabric of reality ripped to shreds, it could naturally begin to mend itself - but not quick enough for Celestia, who struggled to move the last inch of the sun free of the horizon, and into the sky that so desperately needed it.

“Sister! Together!” Luna called, as she pushed the moon away and lowered it far east; Celestia grunting as the blue alicorn’s magic - empowered by the excess lunar power - helped cup the last inch of the glowing ball of flames far in the distance. Together, the sun peaked from the abyss of the astral plane, and began to climb high into the sky once more.

Daylight. Fresh, glorious, warming sun - it rested far overhead, as the world began to wash in its majesty. Celestia nearly gasped in this warmth, the last moment of respite before plunging into the dark once more.

She held the dull blade by her side, turning to face Luna with worry.

“What you see here is the same abyssal monster that killed our mother, Luna. Starswirl - he’s our father! I learned this from his first journal, that he burned before the great quest east. The pony refugees settled in this land, and he obscured this history from us both, because he and Queen Astra - they summoned it, by mistake.

“Luna, this creature - when it crashed into the world, it captured you, as a foal, and planted the seed of darkness that became Nightmare Moon! We are twins! Identical twins! But the Entity’s corruption turned you blue, and ripped your soul partially from your body - giving you the ability to dream walk! This is why your magic can enter the dreams of others! Vee, that purple pegasus you saw - Nightmare Moon attempted to do the same thing to her, to devour the light of her soul - but she failed, and cursed her instead!

“Every vile thing that has happened in Equestria, has come from the Entity - including threats once unknown! The Umbrum, possibly Changelings, the Pony of Shadows, hundreds more - the effects rippled across our land and weakened the natural barriers between the planes! This is why Tirek appeared! Discord! The Wendigoes! The sun and moon - they lost their natural orbit, because our mother drew from their power in a final attempt to DESTROY this creature!”

Celestia panted, wild eyed as the Sun once more rested directly overhead.

“Then how do we defeat it?!” Luna called, the morning mare quick to reply.

“I have a plan!”

Immediately, Luna’s eyes widened in terror. Only she knew what this ‘plan’ could mean; because Celestia would say this when she had no idea what to do. ‘I have a plan’ was code for ‘hope and pray’. She was never a step ahead, not once in her life - the imbalance in the throne room, the constant threats plaguing the lands left unchecked, the fact that she couldn’t even best a single threat on her own in her long life - she only had the strength of others to support her, and little more.

Her Sister only had blind hope. However faint it could be. That giving what you can back to life, sharing warmth, mirth, happiness with others - it was the only thing she could do.

“Come, Lulu! We have to at least try!” Celestia called, darting down into the churning earth - landing in the throne room once more.

“I… we’re doomed,” Luna whispered, beady eyed - but followed close behind, regardless. Better to die with dignity than without.

Umbra yelped as a black vine lashed blindly at her, several thinner tendrils springing up from the shaft unbidden. Her armor cracked as her bones shattered - scythe sent flying only to be caught by Luna’s magic.

Arin darted his hand forward, engulfing her soul within his magic grasp. Like a bolt of lighting, he flew towards the tumbling shadow, scooping her up in a flurry of wings. Antithesis chimed, the radiant bell of healing mending the crushed bone and organ alike.

Luna spun the scythe in a quick circle, slashing hard at a black tentacle. Dark blood churning in sick pumps in the air, as the dissolving mass of flesh wriggled pitifully on the floor. In a flash, another tentacle came to it’s aid - the blue Alicorn’s magical barrier springing up at the last moment. It slammed down over her guard, the sheer weight and power shattering the arcane barricade instantly - as her body bounced from the concussive blow.

Airborn, the same tentacle whipped hard at her barrel - slamming into the stunned Alicorn’s chest with a groaning slam. She flew out of the throne room in a tumble, smashing the railing and plummeting to the entry hall with a rumbling of stone. Coughing, Luna spat up a wad of thick blood from her muzzle - struggling onto her dainty legs. There, she saw it - Dreamcutter. Her old blade, that Nightmare Moon had dropped in the cervine volley.

Arin set Umbra down with a quick nod, flashing Resurgence over her form as a goodbye gift. His wings billowed to Luna’s aid, but in that same moment - a thin, black vine seized his leg. In a yelp, he instinctively shot his grappling hook forward at a nearby rail - reeling at the magic enchantment with all of his might.

His muscles began to sear and burn, leg threatening to give out before the ripping force severed - Oarkin laughing amidst the doom.

“HAHAHA! GARDENING! NOTHING MORE, KING!” he called, giving Arin his chance to escape.

Celestia swung the now simple blade with abandon, her sparkling red magic cleaving through thinner vines with ease. Even without magic, the sword was still razor sharp - maintained by the magic now gone. But this was a losing battle. Even as Umbra found her scythe again and swung in fury, for each vine they lobbed off - another appeared. And without a way down into the depths of the Managem Mines, they likely wouldn’t be able to find the center of this wriggling mass. There has to be a way to beat this… thing!

Arin’s wings flashed, landing by Luna’s side. Instantly, Antithesis engulfed her form with the ring of a bell - the mare springing to life and into his arms.

“Arin, my Knight! I’m so sorry!” she cried. “For everything I’ve done! I’ve said! I have been a horrible lover to you!”

“And I’ve been much the same, Lulu. I… may have abandoned our love for another.” He frowned, as Luna seized the towering Dreamcutter in her magic.

“And? It is common for stallions to seek harems for their own herd, is it not? Or… did this change, during my banishment? I have been rather… daft, when it comes to many things...”

“...”

Arin didn’t know how to respond to that right now. Their talk could wait. That bombshell could wait. In fact, all of that could wait. What’s more important was saving Equestria - no, Equis from certain demise.

“We’ll talk later! Throne Room, now!”

And with a flash of wings, the duo quickly sought to return.

“IT IS NO USE, PRINCESS TIA! TOO MANY VINES!” Oarkin billowed, his massive wings beating out of the way of another crashing tendril. Another snatched his leg - ripping the giant to the floor before throwing his body into the sky. With a crumbling BOOM, his iron body slammed into the shattered wreckage of Bringer of Dawn, putting a massive dent in one of the surviving canons.

“Ow,” he groaned quietly, as Umbra severed the intruding vine. Freeing the Mountain before he could be slammed again.

Canons?

“The airship! The canons - they’re still here!” Celestia called to Umbra, who faded into shadow to avoid another swipe; but it did nothing. The tentacle slapped her shadow form back into physicality - the shattered-armor mare tumbling out of the way with a grunt. She attempted to right herself onto her hooves, but an intense, lightning jab of pain stopped her.

Umbra lifted her gray hoof, the bone shattered and broken, puncturing her skin and fur alike in a gush of blood. Her body refused to move, as the damage began to make itself apparent. She was down, too.

A crashing tentacle sought to swat the former Umbrum like the fly she had been - but Celestia darted in at the last moment, cutting hard into the massive length of twitching, writhing, black flesh. Sun Song, even in its faded state - slid right through the tendral, the wigglin mass flying off to crash into the barred windows.

In this mild victory, came defeat - as a second wretched vine slammed down over the morning mare - pummeling her into drifting consciousness. The marble tiles groaning beneath her.

Before the final blow could be struck, a call rang in her ears - as a figure appeared on the throne room’s roof; right through the massive hole in the ceiling. A buck, flanked by a chipped horn mare, a tiny floating earth pony, and a coffee sipping pegasus.

“Aster?...” Celestia whispered dully, before Vee fell from the ceiling in a wild frenzy of her lance - severing the tentacle as Luna and Arin reappeared, what would have been moments too late. All at once, the buck and two mares fell into the massive hall - a flash of a vine grapple hooking the loose rebar above, as General Falon swung gracefully into action. With a flip, he landed with trained confidence - a surge of Mending Wave falling across their forms, despite the massive magic cost.

In seconds, Celestia was on her hooves - Oarkin struggling to do much the same, as his lower recovery ability cost him now.

But for Umbra, the damage was too great - and her body refused to budge, even as a tentacle seized her in a powerful, swirling grip. A new vine appeared, looming in front of her green eyes. It split at the tip, revealing three, fleshy, drooling black tentacles that yawned with an odd, fetid light; sickly gray and blue twirling within the mouths of the beast’s feeding cords.

It lunged forward - but a moment too late, as an arrow from Sonata shot true - slicing right through the smaller black mass with ease. Luna flashed Dreamcutter with all of her might - the massive bastard sword swirling with faint frost in her hooves, as the sword crashed through the black flesh of the Entity’s tentacle.

Umbra fell into Arin’s awaiting arms, a chime of bells rattling not from Arin - but Falon himself, as the Seraph and Shadow met eye to eye.

“I love you,” Umbra whispered.

“I love you too,” came Arin’s reply, as he gently rested her on the floor once more. Luna raised an eyebrow, offering the scythe once more to the newly restored Umbra.

“So you truly invited her into your herd, Sir Arin? I find her… acceptable,” Luna said, raising a curious eyebrow - anypony willing to fight for Equis was a pony worth accepting into her long life.

“...What?” Umbra questioned. The Ranger rolled his eyes.

“Again, we’ll talk later, Luna. For now, let’s just… save the world. Okay?” At that, the trio was ready for battle once more - prepared.

“Tempest!” Celestia called, dodging out of the way with a beat of her wings. “The cannons! The airship’s cannons! They’re still - hrg! There!”

Tempest nodded, her tactical eye scanning the rubble as Oarkin finally managed to dislodge himself from the loose boards. A dented canon - it will do. But a single cannonball would be worthless, unless…

Like the storm she was named after, she galloped into action - bucking the prepared armament with her immense strength. Spinning on the wood and debris, she aimed the iron chamber at the mass of tentacles - checking the barrel for powder. Empty - but…

“PUMPKIN! AT ATTENTION!”

Tempest called to the idling mare, who quickly darted down in the power of the sunlight. “Yes Mistr-erk… TEMPEST!”

“Explosive Potion! Now!”

“H-Huh?! RIGHT!” Pumpkin withdrew the large, secure bottle from her side with her teeth - the dominant mare gripping the cork and plucking it free from the short neck. Above, a tentacle was narrowly batted away by Luna’s Dreamcutter, as Falon leaped to Arin’s side.

“Did you miss me, Son?”

“To the edge of the world and back, Dad!” Arin laughed, as the duo focused on support - Oarkin and Umbra cleaving through a twin set of vines with halberd and scythe alike. Yet each time, more would come - hungry for a meal, as one of the mountain sized tendrils from outside began to yawn and waver.

And like a falling tree, the mass of flesh fell over the living quarters of the castle - ripping Celestia and Luna’s home down the hills with ease, leaving nothing but the throne room, the remnants of the dungeon, the dining hall, the library, and the scant studies and lodges along the the Castle’s event quarters left.

In this moment, Arin thought quietly to himself, wondering if that Anon fellow survived the crash at all. If he was even still here. He did wander off on his own…

For the others, a new panic set in. This changed things. Because there were two more of these massive, towering pillars of corruption looming above - over the entry hall, and finally - the long throne room.

“Dad. If we don’t make it out of this. You’ve been a blessing to me,” Arin whispered, the old buck chuckling in response.

“You’re a Ranger now, son. Pessimism isn’t one of your traits. Keep hope, even in the face of adversity. Your battalion - no, your friends depend on it.”

Tempest filled the last of the ash-like brew into the mouth of the canon, shooting her hoof forward in desperation.

“Broom, and hat.”

“B-Both?...” Pumpkin mewled, but gingerly took the orange brim off of her head - pressing the wooden cleaning tool into her Owner’s grasp.

“I need a ram rod, Pet!” At that, even Tempest blushed, rolling her eyes. “Just… We’ll wash it later. Together. Okay?”

Quickly, the wine-colored mare fitted the hat over the broom’s bristles - and with a compacting shove - rammed the powder in. She wouldn’t have a cloth filler - but hopefully, the alchemical concoction was strong enough on its own to suffice.

And from her side, Tempest withdrew one of her two remaining Banishment orbs - the small ball fitting perfectly inside the canon. And with its ability to resist magic, it might even survive the blast! Hopefully.

Vee’s coffee was swatted from her hooves nearby - the purple mare frowning at the spilled exceptional drink on the floor.

Her purple eyes slowly trailed up the mess on the tile, to the writhing tentacles before her. At that, she tightened the grip of her lance. “You’ve gone a snoot too far, Entity!” she growled, spinning the shaft effortlessly above her head - before striking out with ferocity at a tentacle sneaking up on Tempest and Pumpkin both.

And when her pointed weapon didn’t work to stab away her problems, she withdrew her most deadly weapon of all. Her right wing.

“Omae wa mou, shindeiru,” Vee said, before raising the deadly appendage up. And with a flash of surprising - and rather terrifying strength that nopony could expect - she sliced through not just the massive black vine, but the tiled floor, the distant oak door at the end of the throne room, and into the now crumbling foyer. With a shockwave, several of the tentacles reeled from the coursing power of the mighty blow, freezing in contemplation of the overwhelming damage.

In this quiet lull, all eyes fell on Vee - as she raised the nearly ruined wing to her muzzle for some quiet preening.

“What? No point crying over spilled coffee. Unless you spilled mine. Then you’ll cry. A lot. Or not. Probably.”

“YOU COULD DO THAT THIS WHOLE TIME, AND YOU DO SO NOW - OVER A SPILLED DRINK?!” Celestia cried out, as Vee gave her a careful look with her expert, heroic, and oh so purple eyes.

“Well, Sun-fry, I can only do it twice for comedic effect per year. Why do you think I preen twelve hours a day?! Because I want to?! ‘Cause I do. Also, the feathers won’t stop growing, might as well put them to good use. D’ohoho~”

Luna paused, resting Dreamcutter over her shoulder. Even the Entity seemed to delay its onslaught, recovering from the blow. “Sister, I like this pegasus. Can we make her a Princess, as well? She is purple, much like Twilight - surely they would get along.”

“...Please don’t encourage her, Lulu. Please.” The morning mare hid behind her wings, before Tempest snapped out of her daze - and aimed the cannon for the temporarily relenting mass of tentacles plunging out of the mine.

And without further ado, she blasted the banishment orb from the iron chamber - an ear ringing BOOM shaking the room as instantly, a MASSIVE plume of corruptive black and green smoke engulfed the base of the black flesh.

Immediately, a groan from beneath the stone caused the Entity to rip its damaged appendages down, free of the tunnel in agony. Heaps of its long flesh turning to stone at the concoction’s touch.

And just like that, their path forward was revealed. Down, deeper into the depths of the heavenly mountain - and into the hell that undoubtedly awaited them.

Author's Note