After following Mathew and the resistance through the secret entrance sunset, Alise and Eric find themselves in what can be best described as an underground tunnel of some kind. It was a bit dark, but luckily there were lanterns hung onto the ceiling of the tunnel, illuminating enough light for everyone to travel through the tunnel without problems.

“My word, you all have been through quite a lot in the last few hours.” Mathew said. During their walk through the tunnel, Eric had been explaining everything to Mathew, from his banishment to meeting Sunset and their journey through the land of dreams. Of course he left out the part of Sunset originally intended to conquer her world, as he figured it might cause unnecessary problems and trust issues between Sunset and the resistance, so he purposely left that detail out.

“Yeah, I guess we did.” Eric said.”What about you, Mathew? Last I checked, I heard you were retired.”

“I was retired.” Mathew said. ”But when Sombra took over the land and kidnapped the princess, I had no choice but to get out of retirement and help lead the resistance in taking down Sombra.”

“What happened to the rest of the guards?” Eric asked.

“When Sombra unleashed the umbrum onto the land, many of the guards tried to fight back.” Mathew said. ”And unfortunately, while they managed to put up a fight, they were ultimately defeated and captured, with only a few managing to successfully escape and eventually join the resistance.”

“And what about the ones captured?” Sunset asked.”What happened to them?”

“They were unfortunately sent to the mines.” Mathew said. ”We have been trying to help both our fellow guards and all the capture civilians escape the mines, but unfortunately, so far we have been unsuccessful.”

“That’s terrible.” Eric said.

“It is.” Mathew said before turning to Eric.”But that’s all going to change now because now you are here. If we manage to get you and Princess Serenity together, the power of your combined love will finally free this land of the evil that has taken over it.”

“But how are we going to do that exactly?” Sunset said.

“Well, that’s why we are here, aren’t we? To discuss our plan.” Mathew said, and after he said that, he, along with everyone else, reached the end of the tunnel where they then found themselves in a large underground chamber. She saw the chamber was full with a large number of people, and from what she could tell, there were at least more than a hundred people inside. There were also many different weapons in the room, ranging from axes, swords, arrows, cannons, pickaxes, knives, etc. Sunset also saw that the chamber also had crate boxes and what looked like sleeping mats lying on the ground, and in addition to that, there were a few horses that were gathered in a fenced area, and not too far away from the horses were some wagons. However, what caught Sunset's attention the most was the other entrance that led to and from the chamber.

“What is this place?” Sunset asked Mathew as she, Eric, and Alise followed Mathew and the rest of the resistance into the chamber.

“This is our underground resistance lair.” Mathew explained. ” After we form the resistance, we set up an underground base and dig up a series of tunnels so we can not only have a safe place to hide from Sombra but also have a way to move our troops and supplies through the land of dreams without fear of getting caught. Now let’s go; we have much to discuss.” Mathew led the group to the center of the chamber where a table was located, and it wasn’t long before all the resistance members quickly gathered around them.

“So what's exactly our plan to take down Sombra?” Sunset asked.

“Well, as we previously established.” Mathew said. ”Since Eric has returned, all we have to do now is reunite both Eric and Serenity together so the power of their combined love can banish Sombra and his dark forces.”

“And how are we going to do that exactly?” Sunset said.”We don’t even know where Serenity is.”

“Actually, we do.” Mathew's said. ”Not too long ago we sent our best men to infiltrate the palace, and through some luck, they managed to find out where they were keeping Serenity.”

“There did.” Eric said in shock.”Where is she? Is she alright?

“Calm down, Eric,” Mathew said. ”To answer your second question, yes, she is alright, and for your first question, according to what they heard, Serenity is being held in the highest tower of the castle.”

“And how are we going to get her out?” Sunset said.”No doubt the tower is the most guarded place in the castle, which will make it difficult to bust her out.”

“Not if there was something to keep all the guards distracted.” Mathew said. ”In this case, that distraction will be us.”

“What are you going to do?” Sunset asked.

“Simple. We will attack the castle from the front with all our forces.” Mathew said. ”And while we do that, you can sneak into the castle and rescue Serenity.”

“Hold on, isn’t that a bit too risky?" Eric said.

“It is, but if you manage to succeed in rescuing Serenity, then the risk is worth it.” Matthew said.

“And how are we going to sneak into the palace?” Sunset said.”Even if you did manage to successfully distract everyone in the castle with your attack, there's still the problem of us needing to find a way to get into the palace without getting caught."

“I agree, which is why it's a good thing we already have that plan out.” Mathew said. before he pulled out a piece of paper from under the table and spread it on the table. Both Sunset and Eric immediately look at the paper and see that it was the blueprint of the sugar plum palace.

“That’s the blueprint of the sugar plum palace.” Eric said in shock.

“That’s right, it is.” Mathew said. ”Luckily, while Sombra used his dark magic to change the castle's appearance, its structure is pretty much the same, and after a long time of planning and observing the blueprints, we were able to find the best way to enter into the palace.” Mathew then taps his finger on a drainage pipe.

“The drainage pipe,” Sunset said.

“Yep.” Mathew said. ”Out of all the entrances, we believe the best way to enter the palace undetected is through the sewer pipe.” Eric didn’t say anything but instead just stood in silence as he thought over Mathew plan, and after a while he finally broke the silence.

“This plan of yours, while risky, might actually work.” Eric said.

“I am glad you thought so.” Mathew said.

“We might actually be able to pull it off.” Sunset thought to herself as hope began to fill her once again. ”We might actually be able to defeat Sombra.”
….
Back on the surface, the huntsman and his wolf can be seen following the sleigh track that was left by the sleigh that sunset, Eric and Alise were previously riding in. Following near him was a group of Umbrum. The huntsman, his wolf, and the umbrum continue to follow the track until they reach the farm.

“The prey is near.” The huntsman said as he eyed the sleigh that was still at the front of the house. The huntsman then turned to look at his wolf and saw it was barking at the horse that was still attached to the sleigh. When the horse saw the wolf barking at it, it quickly ran away, dragging the sleigh with it. The wolf, seeing that, quickly ran towards it, but a quick tug on its leash caused it to stop.

“That’s not the prey we are after.” The huntsman said as he pulled the leash again. ”Now go find us the correct prey.” The huntsman then let go of the leash, and immediately the wolf sniffed onto the ground. After a few sniffs, it then moved its head up from the ground and let out a small howl before suddenly running. Seeing that the huntsman and the umbrum quickly followed the wolf, who led them into the back of the farm. They followed the wolf until it suddenly stopped and began sniffing the ground again. It then turned to look at the huntsman and let out a few small barks.

“I see.” The huntsman said as if understanding what the wolf was saying. He then pulled out his axe, which immediately turned into a chain mace. Seeing that the wolf quickly ran away from the spot it was standing in, immediately after it did that, the huntsman threw the mace on the spot the wolf was standing on. When the mace hit the ground, it quickly revealed the secret entrance that led to the underground tunnel.

“The prey is down there.” The huntsman said.

“Huntsman, blow the horn that we gave you.” One of the umbrum said.”We need all our forces here.” The huntsman nodded and quickly pulled out a warhorn and blew on it.
….
“What is that sound?” Sunset said in shock as she and everyone in the chamber heard what sounded like a horn being blown.

“Oh no, we've been found!" Mathew shouted in fear.
....
Back on the surface, many Umbrum and Black Guards had heard the sound of the horn being blown and were heading towards the source.
....
The huntsman continued to blow on the horn until he saw multiple large shadows were now covering him. He stopped and looked up to see that the sky was filled with an army of umbrum and black guards.

" The prey are in their." The huntsman said as he pointed to the entrance, and immediately all the umbrum quickly flew into the hole, and as for the black guards, they had their bat land on the ground, and shortly after landing, the black guards quickly got off the bat and were now entering the entrance, and it wasn't long before both the huntsman and his wolf joined them.
....
In the underground chamber, Mathew can be seen giving out orders to all the resistance members who were hard at work implementing his orders.

"Load all our weapons, supplies, food, and other necessities onto the wagon." Mathew yell. " And make sure you load all our battle plans, maps, and any other important information. We can't afford Sombra getting his evil hands on them and leave anything that is unnecessary or unimportant behind. We don't need the extra weight slowing us down."

"What are we going to do?" Alise asked in fear as she held onto Sunset's hand. "The umbrum are coming."

"Don't be afraid, Alise; we will be okay." Sunset said in an attempt to calm down Alise.

"Eric, Sunset, and Alise, we need to go now." Mathew said as he ran towards them. "Before its ...." Mathew didn't get to finish what he was saying as suddenly from one of the entrances a large army of umbrum came flying into the chamber, and coming in after them were the black guards.

"The umbrum is here." Alise said in fear.

"And not just them. The Black Guards are also here." Mathew said.

"Black guards." Eric asks, confused.

"Black guards are one of Sombra's creations." Mathew, explain. ” Shortly after he conquered the land, he used his dark magic to create evil creatures known as black guards to help further his control over the land. We need to get out of here now.” Mathew then pulled out two pistols from his pocket and fired at a Black Guard. As soon as the bullet hit the guard, black smoke leaked out from its armor, and shortly afterward the black guard fell onto the ground, where its armor then scattered all over the ground, revealing that the armor was now empty.

“Everyone grab your weapons and prepare for battle,” Mathew shouted to the resistance members as he fired at two of the umbrum, causing them to explode in a burst of smoke. Taking that as their signal, the resistance quickly grabbed their weapons and began engaging the black knights and umbrum in battle.

"This isn't good." Sunset said before an umbrum suddenly appeared in front of her. It opened its mouth and was about to fire its attack on them. Fortunately, before it could, Eric quickly swung his sword on the umbrum, causing it to explode in a burst of smoke.

"Thanks, Eric." Sunset said thanking Eric.

“You're welcome,” Eric said.

“Sunset.” Mathew said as he ran up to Sunset carrying two swords. ”Catch.” Mathew tossed one of the swords to Sunset, who managed to catch it.

“Thanks.” Sunset said.

“You're welcome.” Mathew said before he ran off to help in the battle.

"So what now?" Sunset asked Eric.

"I will help the resistance, and while I do that, you and Alise find a safe place to hide." Eric said.

"Right," Sunset said before she and Alise ran for safety. After he saw the two have run off, Eric quickly joined in the battle.
....
The huntsman and his wolf walked down the tunnel until he reached the chamber where he immediately saw the umbrum and black guards fighting the resistance. He then turned to look in front and saw Eric, who was fighting a Black Guard.

"Eric." The huntsman said before he threw his mace in his direction. Eric, after kicking the Black Guard away, quickly saw the mace heading towards him. Acting fast, Eric quickly moved out of the way before the mace hit him. The mace continued to fly until it hit a black guard, causing it to fall onto the ground, where its armor scattered onto the ground, and from the armor pieces, black smoke came out of them.

After the huntsman pulled back his mace, he quickly threw it at Eric, who acted quickly by using his sword to swat the attack away. However, this didn’t stop the huntsman, who pulled back the mace. However, suddenly Eric grabbed the mace and pulled it with enough force to cause the huntsman to let go of it as he fell onto his face. As he got up, he saw Eric was pulling the mace towards him, and acting quickly, the huntsman quickly grabbed the chain and pulled it towards him. Eventually the two ended up in a tug of war with both sides trying to pull the mace towards them. However unknown to Eric, as he was busy with the huntsman, the wolf had snuck off.
….
“It’s okay, Alise; everything is going to be okay.” Sunset said as she patted Alise's back in an attempt to calm her down. Currently both girls were hiding in one of the wagons. As they hid, they could still hear the sound of the battle that was still taking place. Out of curiosity, Sunset peeked her head outside and immediately wished she didn’t because she saw that while the resistance army was making a great effort in fighting back the black guards and the Umbrum, there were, however, still too many of them, and from what Sunset can tell, they were slowly being overwhelmed, as no matter how many black guards and Umbrum they take down, more keep on coming. She turned and saw a group of Umbrum surrounding a resistance member. She watched in horror as they flew in the air and bit onto his body before flying into the air and towards the entrance, taking the member with them. She turned again and saw a group of Black guards easily disarming a group of rebels and surrounding them. She watched in horror as a group of umbrum surrounded them before unleashing a cloud of smoke from their mouths and covering them. Once the smoke cleared up, it revealed that both the rebel and Black Guards were gone. She looked around and saw more and more Umbrum flying towards the entrance while carrying resistance members with them or unleashing a cloud of black smoke that completely covered them, and when the smoke cleared, the rebels disappeared.

“This isn’t good.” Sunset thought to herself as she ducked back down. ”What are we going to do?" As sunset was thinking of any possible way they could get out of the mess they were in, she and Alise heard something, and quickly the two turned to see the huntsman wolf jumping into the wagon from the side.

“It’s the wolf.” Alise said in fear.

“Let’s get out of here.” Sunset said as she grabbed her sword before she and Alise quickly jumped out of the wagon, and immediately after they jumped off the wagon, the two began running for their lives. The wolf, seeing that, quickly jumped off the wagon and chased after them.

As the two girls run for their lives, an umbrum suddenly appears in front of them. Acting quickly, Sunset quickly swung her sword at the umbrum, causing it to explode in a burst of smoke. The two were about to run off again, but before they could, they heard a growl, and the two turned to look behind to see the wolf had jumped into the air and was about to pounce on them. Sunset acting quickly quickly grabbed Alise and moved out of the way before the wolf could land on them. After dodging the wolf, the two ran for their lives. However, they didn't get far as suddenly two Black guards quickly blocked their path. The two quickly turn back to run only to see the wolf standing behind them.

"Not good." Sunset said as she saw that she and Alise were surrounded on both sides.

"What are we going to do?" Alise said as she held onto Sunset in fear. Sunset didn't say anything as she tried to think of a way out. Sunset looked at the wolf and then turned to look at the Black Guards, who had their swords out. Sunset gripped her sword, ready to try and fight their way out. Fortunately, however, before a fight could break out, the two Black guards suddenly collapsed onto the ground, where their armor scattered all over the floor. Sunset saw, standing behind the now dead Black Guards, was Mathew holding two pistols with smoke coming out of them. It only took Sunset a second to realize that Mathew had shot the Black Guards from the back.

"Run." Mathew yelled.

"Right." Sunset said before she and Alise quickly ran past Mathew, who was aiming his gun at the wolf who was growling at him. Mathew glares at the wolf before firing his pistol at him. The wolf reacted quickly and dodged the bullets before charging at Mathew, who repeatedly fired at the wolf. Unfortunately, however, the wolf was able to dodge the attack with ease and was still charging at him, and to make matters worse for Mathew, he eventually ran out of bullets just as the wolf got closer to him.

"Dang it." Mathew said when he saw he was out of bullets. He then saw the wolf jump towards him in an attempt to pounce on him. Acting quickly, Mathew quickly moved to the side before the wolf could land on him. After dodging to the side, he quickly put the gun in his pocket before pulling his sword that was strapped to his side. He grips his sword hard as he glares at the wolf. The wolf charged at him, and acting quickly, Mathew swung the sword at the wolf, who dodged the strike. The wolf then tried to bite on his leg, but Mathew was able to pull his leg away before the wolf bit on it. He then swung his sword at the wolf, who easily dodged the strike, and after dodging the strike, the wolf pounced on Matthew, causing him to fall on his back and to let go of his sword. The wolf let out a small growl before it opened its mouth.

“Sunset look.” Alise said as she suddenly stopped and pointed to Mathew. Sunset turned to see that Mathew was in trouble, and thinking quickly, an idea came to her. She quickly grabbed a stone and tossed it at the wolf. The stone hit the wolf, and it quickly turned to look at Sunset, who was smiling smugly at it.

“Hey, you idiot dog, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Sunset said before she blew her tongue at the wolf. Seeing this, the wolf let out a growl before charging at them.

“It's heading towards us.” Alise said in fear.

“Exactly.” Sunset said before she quickly stood in front of Alise. The wolf jumps into the air and tries to pounce onto Sunset. However, just as it was about to land on sunset, the necklace around her neck let out a small glow before releasing a burst of light that was strong enough to send the wolf flying away. Sunset smiled as she watched the wolf land on the ground.

“I knew that would work.” Sunset said as she smiled.

“Thanks, Sunset,” Mathew said as he got up and grabbed his sword. He then turned to look at Sunset. I am not exactly sure how you did it, but thanks.”

“You're welcome,” Sunset said.

….
Both the huntsman and Eric were still in their tug of war. The two continue to pull on the chain as hard as they can until eventually, when the huntsman lets out a hard pull on it, Eric suddenly lets go, causing him to fall onto his back. Eric let out a small smile; however, that smile was gone when he saw three Umbrum were flying towards him. Acting quickly, Eric quickly ran for his life as the Umbrum flew after him. Just as it looked like the umbrum were about to be on him, help came in the form of a rebellion member who spotted what was going on and who acted quickly and fired three bullets at the three umbrum, taking them down. Eric, who saw that, turned to the resistance member who saved him. He nodded gratefully towards him. The resistance member did the same and nodded.

“Eric,” Mathew said as he called out to Eric. Eric turned to see Mathew, Sunset, and Alise running towards him. ”We need to retreat now. We can’t win this fight.” Mathew then pulls out a small horn and blows on it. Once he was done, he pulled it away.

“Retreat.” Mathew yelled, and immediately all the resistance members quickly retreated. Many of them quickly got onto the wagon and quickly drove into the tunnels, and the remaining few who didn’t get into the wagon simply ran into the tunnels.

“Come on, let’s go,“ Mathew said, and immediately he, Eric, Sunset, Alise, and a few of the remaining resistance members headed into one of the tunnels. Seeing all this, the Umbrum and Black Guards quickly chase after the resistance as they run down the tunnels.

The huntsman, after getting up quickly, grabbed his mace and quickly ran after them, and joining him were his wolf, the umbrum, and the Black Guards.

“They are following us.” Alise said in fear as she and everyone ran down the tunnels.

“Don’t worry; we are prepared for this situation.” Mathew said before he suddenly pulled out a match and lit it.

“What are..." Sunset said before she noticed up ahead there is a bunch of dynamite strapped onto the walls and ceilings of the tunnel they were in.

“Oh.” Sunset said as she realized what he was planning to do. As soon as they reach the dynamites, Mathew quickly lights them up.

“Run,” Mathew said before he and everyone else ran as quickly as they could in an attempt to get as far away from the dynamite before it exploded.
….
The huntsman, his wolf, the black guard, and the Umbrum continue to run down the tunnels; however, as they got near, they saw something up ahead that caused them to stop.

“Dynamite,” the huntsman said before he and his wolf ran back. This was followed by the Umbrum and the Black Guards, who immediately joined them. However, they didn’t get far as the dynamite exploded, blowing the huntsman and his wolf out of the tunnel and killing many of the Umbrum and Black Guards that didn’t have time to get away. The huntsman and the wolf, after being blown out of the tunnel, landed on the ground. After the two got up, they heard another explosion, and quickly the huntsman and the wolf turned to see that the explosion had come from another tunnel. He then heard more explosions and saw they came from the other tunnels.

“They have planned this well ahead.” The huntsman said to his wolf.
….
Somewhere in the forest, the ground suddenly burst open, and out came Mathew, Eric, Alise, Sunset, and the resistance members that escaped with them.

“Is everyone alright?” Eric asked everyone.

“Yeah, we are alright.” Sunset said, which was followed with a similar response by everyone.

“So what now?” Sunset asked Mathew. ”Many of the resistance members were captured, and not only that, the remaining resistance members that managed to escape have separated and scattered to who knows where. How are we going to fight against Sombra now?"

“Don’t worry; it isn’t over yet.” Mathew said. ”There are some other pockets of resistance in some other places in the land of dreams. We make a protocol that in the event that we are forced to flee from our base due to an attack, we are to immediately go to the other resistance base. No doubt by now the remaining members that escaped are heading there right now and informing them of our plan. This fight is far from over.”

“So what now?” Alise asked.

“Now me and my men shall go to the nearby resistance base to inform them of our plan.” Mathew said before turning to Eric. ”While we do that, you and your friends shall head to Sombra Castle, and with any luck, we will arrive in time for the final battle.”

“I guess this way we part ways for now.” Eric said.

“I guess it is.” Mathew said. ”I wish you and your friends the best of luck.”

“You too, Mathew.” Eric said. After the two bid goodbye, they went their separate ways with their respective groups.
….
In Sombra's throne room, Sombra can be seen looking out of one of the castle windows with a thoughtful look on his face.

“That girl, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get rid of her from my mind.” Sombra thought to himself. ”Without her necklace she shouldn’t be someone important, yet I can’t stop thinking of her. Why is that? Once again he felt the strange feeling overcome him again, and his heart beating faster. Sombra quickly placed a hand on his chest.

“Why does this keep happening?” Sombra thought before his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening. He turned to see an umbrum walking into the throne room.

“What news do you have for me?” Sombra asked the umbrum as it bowed towards him.

“We found Eric and the girl among the rebellion.” The umbrum said.

“The rebellion.” Sombra said in shock.

“That's correct, my lord.” The umbrum said as it raised its head to look at Sombra.

“And what happens next?” Sombra demanded.

“We manage to capture many of them; however, some manage to escape.” The umbrum said.

“And what about the girl?” Sombra said in an eager voice.”Did you capture her?”

“She escaped with Eric.” The umbrum said, causing Sombra to scream in fury.

“Idiot!” Sombra yelled in fury, causing the Umbrum to fly out of the throne room in fear. After calming down, he took a few deep breaths.

“I guess if I want something done right, I have to do it myself.” Sombra said.
….
Sunset, Alise, and Eric continued to walk through the forest until it became night. Eventually all three become too tire to continue walking and decide to set up camp. After setting up the campfire, Sunset volunteers to be the first one on night watch and keep an eye around in case the Umbrum, black guards, or the huntsman and his wolf manage to catch up. Currently right now, Sunset was staring at the campfire bored out of her mind. She then looked down at her necklace before she suddenly heard what sounded like grunts. She then turned to see that it was Alise who was grunting in her sleep, and by the look of things, Sunset could tell she was having a nightmare. Acting quickly, she woke up Alise, who quickly sat up and let out a small scream of fright that caused Eric to wake up from his sleep.

“What is it? Are we under attack?” Eric asked as he grabbed his sword.

“Alise had a nightmare,” Sunset said.

“I am sorry.” Alise said.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Eric said in a reassuring voice before he sat next to Alise and placed his hands on her shoulder. ”There is nothing to apologize about.” Alise didn’t say anything but instead just stared at the campfire.

“You know I heard talking about your nightmare can help a person feel much better,” Sunset said.”Mind telling us what your nightmare was about?” Alise continued to remain silent before eventually talking and breaking the silence.

“I had a nightmare about the umbrum attacking my village and kidnapping everyone, even my friends and my family.” Alise said. ”And then I saw the umbrum taking you and Eric away, leaving me all alone, and that’s what scares me. I don’t want to be alone.” Alise then let out a small cry.

“Hey, it’s alright; Eric and I aren’t going anywhere soon.” Sunset said.”Not until we at least free your parents and everyone that Sombra captured and free the land of dreams from him. So you shouldn’t be afraid.”

“Look, why don’t you just go back to sleep for now?” Eric said.”You will feel better later.”

“I can’t.” Alise said. ”I am afraid.”

“Hmm,” Sunset said before an idea suddenly came to her. ”How about a little lullaby then?”

“A lullaby.” Alise asked as she turned to look at sunset.

“Yeah, and I just know the right one that can soothe your fear.” Sunset said before a sad look began forming on her face, “Someone special used to sing this to me when I was little.”

“Sunset,” Eric said as he noticed the sad look on Sunset's face. Sunset gently put Alise's head on the ground and began singing her lullaby.

Dry your eyes
Everything's alright
I am here to hold you, I won't let you go

Lay your head, let me calm your fears
You are safe forever
I'll always be here

I know there's pain locked deep in your heart
You feel like you're lost all alone
But just when it seems it's hard to believe
The promise of love leads you home

When the rain falls lift up your eyes
There's a rainbow just standing by
And the colors will light up the sky
Bringing hope to your heart
Guide your way through the dark
Where you'll find me
Always with you

After sunset was done, she saw Alise had fallen asleep. She let out a small smile. However, that smile suddenly disappeared once she remembered the song she sang to Alise.

“Celestia.” Sunset thought to herself. ”She used to sing to me that song when I used to have nightmares when I was little.”

Flashback:
It was in the middle of the night, and in the hallway of Canterlot Castle, a filly sunset can be seen in front of the doors leading to Princess Celestia's bedchamber. She knocked on the door a few times, and after a few more knocks, the door opened, and Celestia, who had a tired look in her eyes, looked down, and immediately after she saw Sunset, her eyes opened in shock.

“Sunset, what are you doing here?” Celestia asked her student.

“I had a nightmare,” Sunset said.

“Oh, then do you want to sleep with me for the night?” Celestia asked gently in a motherly tone.Sunset said nothing but instead nodded. Celestia let out a small smile and moved out of the way, allowing Sunset to enter. After closing the door, the two headed towards the bed. Celestia then gently picks up Sunset and places her onto the bed. Celestia got in shortly afterward. When Celestia saw the scared look on Sunset's face, Celestia quickly thought of an idea to help soothe Sunset's fear.

“Do you wish for me to sing you a lullaby, my little pony?” Celestia asked gently, and Sunset just nodded. Celestia then began singing a lullaby to Sunset, who eventually fell asleep. Celestia, who saw this, let out a small smile.

“Good night, my little pony.” Celestia said as she placed a hoof over sunset.

End flashback:
“Sunset,” Eric suddenly said, bringing Sunset out of her thoughts. She then turned to look at Sunset with a look of concern.

“You okay?” Eric asked sunset.

"Yeah, I am okay." Sunset said."Why you asked."

”Because you are crying,“ Eric said, and immediately after he said that, Sunset quickly placed a finger under her eyes and realized she had tears coming out of her eyes. Acting quickly, Sunset rubbed the tears away. She then turned to look at Eric.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eric asked Sunset, who just looked at him silently before letting out a small sigh.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about it now, okay, so drop it.” Sunset said, and Eric just looked at her in silence for a few moments before sighing.

“Alright.” Eric said,” But if you want to talk about it, remember I am all ears.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Sunset said.”Now go back to sleep. I will swap watch out duty with you later.”

“All right,” Eric said before he went back to sleep. Once she saw Eric was asleep, she then let out a small sigh. She then turned her attention to the campfire, and as she stared at the fire, another memory began resurfacing.

Flashback:
It was heartwarming eve, and a filly sunset can be seen in Celestia's room, cuddling her as they both sat near the fireplace. Floating in front of Celestia was a storybook, which she was holding through the use of her magic.

“Thanks to Flash Magnus's courage and bravery in distracting the dragons, his comrades were able to rescue their captured comrades from the dragons.” Celestia said as she closed the book and put it down.

“I don’t understand Celestia; why did he do something like that?” Sunset asked.”Isn’t he afraid that the dragons could get him?”

“Well, that’s the thing about friendship.” Celestia said.”Sometimes, due to the bonds we share with others, we would do something reckless to ensure they are safe. Sometimes, the ultimate test of friendship is risking your life for a friend; that’s how they know that they are really friends. In this case, instead of running away, he chose to risk his life for the ones he cared about. Can you understand that?"

End flashback:
Sunset brought her mind from her thoughts and turned her attention to the fire.

“I am so sorry, Princess Celestia." Sunset thought to herself as guilt began to overwhelm her. She turned her attention to Eric and was about to wake him up so they could switch lookout duty. But before she could, she suddenly heard a voice calling towards her.

“Sunset.” A gentle voice called out to her.

“Hello, who said that?” Sunset said as she stood up and pulled out her sword. She then looked around to see the person who had called her.

“Sunset.” The voice called out to her again.

“Who's there?” Sunset said as she continued to look around. She was about to wake up Eric, but before she could, the voice called out to her again.

“Sunset over here.” The voice said, and immediately Sunset turned to see who had called her and immediately dropped her sword in shock, as standing not too far away across from her was Princess Celestia, who was smiling a kind, motherly smile towards her.

“Princess Celestia.” Sunset said in shock.

“Sunset, please follow me.” Celestia said before she ran off into the woods.

“Wait, Celestia!" Sunset shouted as she ran after Celestia. Her shout woke up both Eric and Alise.

“What sunset?” Eric said as he sat up and turned to see Sunset running into the woods.
….
“Celestia, where are you? “Sunset said desperately.

“Over here, Sunset.” Celestia's voice calls out, and Sunset quickly follows it. As she ran through the woods, she followed the sound of Celestia's voice until she reached a cave. As soon as she entered the cave, she saw Celestia standing inside of the cave, and without a moment's hesitation, she ran further into the cave until she finally stopped in front of Celestia.

“Princess Celestia, I am so sorry; you were right; I was arrogant,” Sunset said as she looked down on the ground, unable to face her former mentor. ”Please forgive me.” Sunset stood in silence, waiting for her former mentor to talk, but when she said nothing, Sunset looked up to see Celestia just standing there and smiling at her.

“Princess Celestia.” Sunset said before Celestia disappeared, and before she knew it, a wall of darkness suddenly covered the cave entrance, engulfing her in darkness.

“What’s going on?” Sunset said in fear.

“What's going on is that you have fallen into my trap. I am not exactly sure who you saw just now, but whoever they were, they must be someone very important to you that you would carelessly walk into my trap.” A familiar voice said, and immediately before sunset could process what was happening, the cave was suddenly illuminated. She saw that what was causing the illumination was a large ball of light that was floating above in the air. However, it wasn’t the ball that caught her attention; it was the person standing in front of her, as standing in front of her was the shadow king himself, Sombra.

“Hello, my dear.” Sombra said.”We have much to discuss.”

….
End of chapter 4

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update. It would have been out sooner, but I got other stories to write, and in addition to that, I also need to make sure I write the story correctly.

Anyhow, don't forget to comment on what you think of my story so far.