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Shadow Reborn2,869 words
The Coming Eclipse5,378 words
Falling Darkness4,902 words
Tartarus On Your Doorstep5,871 words
Payback's A Twitch7,483 words
The Final Piece6,808 words
Revolution7,255 words
Sunrise5,814 words
It Has To Be This Way6,225 words
Epilogue4,368 words

Epilogue

A week after the final battle, an emergency meeting was held in the destroyed throne room of the crystal castle. Officials from all over the world had gathered to listen, as Shine made an address.

"Good afternoon, everypony." Shine announced, "As some of you may be able to tell from the state of this throne room... things have been rather hectic as of late. Well, to be truthful, we in Equestria have suffered greatly in recent times. A foe unlike any other tried to take our country, and oppress all who live here."

"My word..." Baron Broadbeak of Aerovis gasped.

"Again?" Prime Minister Head Strong of Minostan frowned. "Who was it this time?"

"An extremist pony named Black Knight, using the powers of an old enemy to try and enforce his vision of a perfect Equestria." Shine declared. "He and his shadow pony forces nearly brought us to the brink of ruin. But now, the crisis is over... and I like to think that we as a country had grown strong for it. In the last couple of days, I had seen ponies from all over Equestria come together to rise up and fight the evil that had threatened these lands. For that, I am sincerely grateful." Shine smiled.

"Sounds like quite a scuffle." Mr. Cavallo, the Prime Minister of Bitaly, remarked. "I hope the damage incurred during the conflict wasn't too extensive."

"Don't you worry about that. We have already begun to rebuild." Shine explained.

"If you need any help rebuilding, Minostan would be glad to assist." Head Strong declared.

"As would Aerovis." Broadbeak nodded.

"Ditto Bitaly." Mr. Cavallo smiled.

The other dignitaries made similar offers of help

"Thank you." Shine smiled. "Your offers are most appreciated. Our ponies have taken to the repairs with gusto, but we could always use some extra hooves, or talons, or... whatever you call those things at the end of your arms, Head Strong."

"Hands." Head Strong declared.

"Is that what they're called?" Shine shrugged. "I honestly didn't know. Anyway, the hardest-hit areas have already undergone major reconstruction..."

A few days after the battle, Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire were all in the process of being repaired. Though the damage was extensive, the ponies were giving it their all.

"That's it, pardners!" Applejack called, as she oversaw the repairs of Ponyville town hall. "We got us a mighty big gap ta fill!"

"Tell me about it." Rainbow Dash scoffed, as she gestured to town hall's missing top. "Not even Derpy did that much of a number on the place."

"Let that live forever..." Derpy frowned. "I keep telling you, I just don't know what went wrong!"

"The rest of us do." Rainbow glared. "And some of us still have the scars to prove it."

Twilight's palace had weathered the attack far better then the crystal castle did, suffering only superficial damages inside and out.

"Those shadow creeps had better not have been in my room." Starlight growled.

"Way to prioritise, sis." Dusk smirked.

"This shouldn't take too long to fix." Flash remarked, appraising the damages. "Too bad we can't say the same about Ponyville."

"Ponyville's weathered worst disasters in it's time." Twilight declared.

"I'll say." Spike agreed. "Remember the ursa minor? Remember Cerberus? Remember Tirek? Compared to them, that shadow pony attack was a walk in the park."

"I wouldn't go that far, Spike." Twilight sighed. "But at least things will be back to normal soon."

"Yeah, that's the way to describe our lives." Spike smirked. "Normal..."

In the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Ponies were having a harder time repairing the damage to the castle.

"Look at this mess." One Crystal Ponies sighed. "Our beautiful kingdom, tarnished."

"No kidding." Another frowned. "Did those monstrous brutes know how hard it is to repair buildings made out of crystal?! It's not like we can fill in the cracks with bricks and mortar. We have to find crystals of the same type, the same color, the same amount of facets, and in just the right shape to fill in the gaps seamlessly. But did they think about that when they smashed giant holes in the walls? Noooo!"

"This could take a while." Shining frowned, observing the slow pace of repairs. "And in the meantime, we're short on lodgings."

"Maybe a vacation's in order." Cadance suggested. "We could have a nice, relaxing getaway while the castle's being repaired."

"Somewhere nice and sunny, I hope." Anthem smiled.

"Then we're agreed." Shining nodded. "We're going on vacation!"

"We have been reunited with the loved ones we were cruelly torn away from..." Shine continued.

After the battle was over, Twilight hugged the rest of the Mane Six and Spike, glad to see them again.

"I've missed you, guys." She smiled.

"We've missed you too." Fluttershy beamed.

"Ain't that the truth." Applejack nodded.

"I was afraid I'd lost you, and the rest of our family..." Spike confessed.

"Not me." Rainbow smirked. "I knew you'd make it. You always do."

"She does have quite the track record." Rarity agreed.

"Hey, don't go hogging all the love." Flash chuckled. "Save some for me and the kids."

"Coming right up." Twilight grinned, giving Flash a hug and kiss, then embracing Dusk and Starlight.

"Come on, guys!" Pinkie cheered. "Let's get back to Ponyville, and have us an 'Equestria's been saved for the thousandth time' party!"

"Never change, Pinkie." Twilight smiled.

"Why would I?" Pinkie asked. "I just gotta be me!"

There was a lot of hugging going on; Big Red and Cherry were among the many.

"Oh, Red." Cherry smiled. "For a second there, I was worried we'd never have the chance to do this. When that big brute hit you..."

"Shoot, darlin'." Big Red chuckled. "Takes more than an oversized stallion to bring me down."

"Glad to hear it." Cherry kissed him.

Not too far from them, Mist was reuniting with her Shine, Celestia and Miracle.

"I was so worried about you." Mist admitted. "I knew something was wrong when you didn't come back. And when that Red Eclipse showed up, I thought..."

"It's okay, Mist." Shine hugged his little sister.

"Everything's okay now." Celestia added, as she and Miracle joined in the hug.

Just then, Big Red came up and grabbed them all from behind, lifting them up in a powerful hug.

"Darn tootin'!" He cheered.

"Whoa!" Miracle giggled. "Easy there, grampa. I've had kinda a rough day. Might throw up if I don't get down, y'know?"

"Oop, you got it." Big Red put them down.

Meanwhile, Caboose was reuniting with his own family.

"You okay, honey?" Daring asked. "You're looking a little down for a hero."

"I know." Caboose sighed. "It's just... I killed Black. I've only ever killed in self-defense before..."

"There wasn't much of a choice." Daring declared. "He had to be stopped."

"Yeah, I guess..." Caboose mused. "But it just felt so wrong..."

"We don't think any less of you for it, dad." Hurricane declared. "As far as we're concerned, you're a hero."

"So killing makes me a hero?" Caboose asked.

"No." Hurricane shook her head. "You rescuing all of us makes you a hero. Not to mention keeping Celestia's power safe."

"Our daughter's pretty smart." Daring grinned. "So you know, if she says you're a hero, you probably are."

"Daddy's a hero!" Michael squealed.

"Thanks, Mikey." Caboose smiled half-heartedly.

"Look, 'Boose." Daring said solemnly. "We all do things we regret. But we can't dwell on them, or they'll take over our entire lives. I know it's hard, but you have to try to let it go."

"...I'll try." Caboose nodded.

"And we'll be there to help you." Daring smiled. "If you want to dwell on something, dwell on us, and how much we love you."

Daring punctuated her point by kissing Caboose.

"That could work." Caboose grinned.

"Not to mention, old alliances have been reforged..." Shine smiled.

The Changelings were heading back to their homeland.

"Ah, victory..." Char smiled. "I had forgotten how it felt..."

"And we couldn't have achieved it without working together." Wizel smiled. "Ponies, Changelings, and more, all working toward a common goal. Deep down, we're not so different..."

"Perhapzzz..." Char frowned. "It wazzz not completely unbearable to fight alongzzzide them."

"Well, looks like prison mellowed you out some." Sazh smirked.

"Don't puzzzh it, runt." Char snarled.

"I must admit, Char, I was surprised to see you here." Chrysalis declared. "I thought you had given up on me, and our hive."

"For the longezzzt time, I did." Char sighed. "But my time in the dungeonzzz hazzz helped me zzzee the error of my wayzzz. I am ready to rejoin the hive, azzz a loyal and productive member... if you'll have me, of courzzze."

"What do you think, dear?" Chrysalis asked.

"I think everypony deserves a second chance." Sleight smiled. "And from what I've seen today, I think Char has earned his. Welcome back... Colonel Char."

"You would... reinzzztate me?" Char gasped.

"It's the least I can do, after you saved my life." Sleight declared.

"Thank you... my king." Char bowed curtly.

"Oh, joy..." Sazh groaned. "Ol' hardshell's back amongst the troops."

"Buck up there, Sazh." Wizel chuckled. "It's not all bad."

"That's your opinion." Sazh snarked.

"Even friends from as far as Bitaly played their part." Shine smiled. "For they, too, had as much to lose as any of us."

Up in the snowy mountains, the Napoleon brothers (minus Caboose) had returned to the bunker. Salt wrenched open the hatch. Inside was seven very annoyed mares.

"Oh, look who's back." May frowned. "Had your fun playing war, have you?"

"Don't be like that, May." Murray declared. "It was for your own good."

"It did feel like that." Zecora growled. "We were trapped, like a rat!"

"There was no choice." Grimoire declared. "We had to keep you here."

"How do you figure that?" Redheart asked.

"We couldn't let you risk yourselves out there." Salt answered. "And I would like to state this clearly... you are pregnant!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Redheart snarked.

"Come on, Red, as much as I would love our son to get a headstart in fighting, I didn't want him and you to get hurt..." Salt declared.

"Yeah, we wouldn't be able to bear it if something happened to you." Vinny added.

"But it was okay for you to risk yourselves?" Berry demanded.

"Look at it logically." Lars urged. "Few of you have any real battle experience... in fact, the only one that ever did something remotely violent was Zecora back in her tribal days!"

"Logic, shmogic!" Lyra spat. "We should have done it together!"

"That's what love is." Bon-Bon added. "A partnership."

"True, but-" Sonny started.

"No buts!" Vinyl yelled. "Especially you, Slot!"

"Sorry, babe." Slot cringed.

"Please forgive us." Grimoire pleaded. "We know what we did was wrong, but we had to do it. We loved you too much to risk letting you die fighting."

As one, the mares embraced their stallions, tears in their eyes.

"Your deeds were noble and true." Zecora smiled. "That is why we love you."

"Thanks, Zecor." Grimoire smiled.

"You may be a chauvinistic doofus, but you're my chauvinistic doofus." Vinyl kissed Slot.

"Thanks... I think." Slot shrugged.

"I, for one, am hoping you'll make this up to us." Bon-Bon declared.

"How about I cook dinner for the rest of the week?" Sonny offered.

"Deal." Bon-Bon smiled.

"I'll be expecting a lot of hoofrubs from you, mister." Lyra told Lars.

"Consider it done." Lars smiled.

"And you're treating me to a night on the town." Berry told Vinny.

"My pleasure." Vinny smiled.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Redheart hugged Salt.

"Me too." Salt hugged her back.

"Just don't do it again." May chided Murray.

"I promise." Murray nodded, before pulling her in for a kiss. "Now c'mere!"

"I heard the heads of the Bitalian mafia themselves were there." Head Strong remarked. "They had even unmasked themselves... as the Napoleon brothers."

"Yeah... aren't you friends with them, Mr. Cavallo?" Baron Broadbeak glared at him.

The Prime Minister of Bitaly shrunk back nervously.

"Uh... uh... no, I'm sure you must be talking about another group of brothers..." Mr. Cavallo glanced warily.

"Really?" Head Strong snorted. "Another octet of criminal siblings? They must be very common in your country..."

"Rest assured, we have given the matter due consideration." Shine declared.

A couple of days after the battle, the royals had gathered to discuss matters, and the discussion soon turned toward the Napoleons.

"I knew there was something off about them." Shining shook his head. "What other family wear matching suits?"

"But this begs the question... what do we do with them?" Twilight asked.

"Aren't we supposed to have them arrested?" Anthem asked. "They are criminals, after all."

"Things aren't always so black and white, young Anthem." Celestia declared. "They may be criminals, but they are also philanthropists. Most of their ill-gotten gains are taken from those more corrupt then they, and donated to the needy."

"But they're still breaking the law, no matter where the money goes." Starlight pointed out.

"Starlight's right." Dusk agreed.

"But they do happen to be my in-laws." Blueblood reminded them.

"And my family." Dusty added sternly.

"So?" Twilight frowned. "That doesn't make them exempt from the law!"

"Perhaps, but they're far from the worst examples of evil in Equestria." Gothic declared. "From what I've heard, they had actually kept Black imprisoned for ten years, ensuring he wouldn't hurt anypony."

"They didn't exactly have the right to do that, though." Flash countered. "They're not Royal Guards, or even police."

"And what of Caboose?" Luna asked. "He is one of our most dedicated Royal Guardsponies. Losing him would be quite a blow."

"But he was still part of it, wasn't he?" Shining asked. "Before he came to Canterlot. So he should have to answer for his crimes too."

"I think you're forgetting that they summoned a large part of the forces that came to battle Black's shadow ponies." Cadance declared, glaring reproachfully at Shining. "And might I remind you that it was Caboose who freed us all? If it weren't for the Napoleon brothers, we probably wouldn't be here right now. Am I right?"

"...Yes, dear." Shine cringed.

"Cadance does have a point." Twilight sighed. "We may not have beaten Black Knight without the Napoleons."

"But the question remains: what shall we do with them?" Flash asked.

The royal family debated long and hard about that, before coming to a unanimous decision.

"Trust me, we are well aware of their wrongdoings." Shine declared to the visiting dignitaries. "But we're also well aware that if it weren't for them, we might not be standing here today. Which is why they were issued full pardons for their crimes."

"Isn't the youngest brother in the Royal Guard?" Baron Broadbeak asked.

"Yes, indeed." Shine nodded. "He was given the badge of honor for being there for all of us in our darkest hours."

In the Canterlot throne room, Caboose was given the badge of honor by Celestia herself.

"For your courageous and selfless actions, my dear stallion." Celestia smiled.

"Wow..." Caboose looked at the badge. He turned to Daring and the kids, who were waving at him from across the room. "This... really is an honor..."

As Caboose made to return to them, Iron Hooves came over.

"Not bad... for a former mafiosa." Iron declared.

"Oh, you heard about that, huh?" Caboose cringed. "Guess I'm not the Guard you thought I am. You're not disappointed, are you."

"On the contrary, I respect you more now than ever." Iron smiled. "You revealed your secret to save Equestria. I couldn't be prouder, lieutenant."

"You're not the only one." Daring smiled, as she and the kids came over.

"Way to go, dad." Hurricane smiled.

"Yay, daddy!" Michael cheered.

"Aw, you guys..." Caboose chuckled. "Am I a lucky stallion, or what?"

"The luckiest." Iron smiled.

"And what of the other Napoleons?" Headstrong asked.

"Well, I cannot disclose where they are now, but I heard that due to a gas explosion back at their manor in Bitaly, they decided to have a change of venue." Shine declared.

"And where would that be?" Baron Broadbeak asked.

"...Your guess is as good as mine." Shine shrugged.

Within the Everfree Forest, a new mansion was on the verge of completion. The Napoleons, their mares, and Blueblood and Dusty surveyed it.

"It's coming along nicely." Grimoire smiled. "What do you think?"

"It's a real beauty alright." Blueblood admitted. "Better than the original, in fact."

"This is just what we needed." Murray declared. "Now, our mares are just around the corner."

"But won't it be difficult to run the mafia from here?" Dusty asked.

"Yeah, about that..." Salt sighed.

"We've decided to take a little sabbatical." Lars declared. "Not only will we be spending time with our mares, but we're going to pursue other callings."

"Murray's my new bodyguard." May purred. "Which means we'll be working... very closely from now on."

Murray smiled furtively.

"I'll be doing full-time managering at my restaurant in Canterlot." Sonny declared.

"And I'll be doing the same with my teaching job at the School For Gifted Unicorns." Lars added.

"I'll be joining Vi on her next tour." Slot declared.

"I could always use another roadie." Vinyl smirked. "And a cute one, at that."

"I'll be taking up work as a boxer." Salt announced. "And father..." He added, stroking Redheart's stomach.

"What about you, dad?" Dusty asked.

"I got that all figured out." Grimoire nodded, "Given all that had happened, I think I'll start writing a book about the mafia life; An autobiography following the high and lows of a stallion who rose to power as kingpin of Bitaly and his seven crazy yet ever so steadfast brothers."

"Ah, you…" The brothers blushed.

"It'll certainly give me something to do, while I wait for my second foal." Grimoire smiled.

"That won't be all you do." Zecora smiled. "I have plans for you..."

"Well, good luck to all of you." Blueblood smiled.

"Wow." Dusty grinned. "It's like a whole new beginning for the Napoleons."

"And why not?" Murray smiled. "With Twitch dealt with, there's no more old ghosts to haunt us."

"And plenty of new life to look forward to." Salt smiled, rubbing Redheart's stomach again.

"What about Black Knight's second-in-command?" Head Strong asked. "What became of him?"

"That, I really don't know. When I asked Caboose, he just hummed the tune to 'Towroad To Tartarus'." Shine declared.

Twitch languished in Tartarus, his hooves chained to the floor. He glanced across at his neighbor, who was none other than Tirek.

"What are you looking at?" Tirek growled.

"N-n-nothing!" Twitch yelped.

"Nothing?" Tirek spat. "You're the one who's nothing. What you did was low, even by my standards."

"H-how did you know about that?" Twitch gulped.

"My body may be imprisoned, but my mind isn't." Tirek declared. "With careful focus, I can see what lies above. I saw you, and that pitiful master of yours. Your twisted campaign was one of the most repugnant sights I have ever seen. Now, turn away from my being. Your very gaze sickens me!"

Twitch nervously turned away, before snarling darkly.

"You'll pay for this, Napoleons." He seethed. "I don't know how, but you'll pay."

"And Black Knight himself?" Baron Broadbeak asked. "What will become of the fiend's body?"

"Don't you worry about him... I have it all taken care of..." Shine said grimly.

Two days later, Shine, Celestia and Miracle arrived at Dodge Junction. He travelled to the cherry orchard, where Black Knight's body was to be buried.

The grave had been dug right next to White Knight's. Shine and Big Red placed in the coffin, and covered it with soil. Shine stepped forward, wanting to say a few words.

"Black Knight did a lot of awful things." He admitted. "Terrible things. But he felt they were justified. He saw Equestria was corrupted, and he sought to cleanse it so that Equestria would become a better place... but somewhere along the way... he lost himself. But in the end, he wanted a better Equestria, where there was no strife, no anger, no war... An admirable goal, but the way he set about doing it was anything but. He killed, he maimed, he imprisoned my family and friends..." He glanced back at Miracle. "And he almost took you away from me…"

"Dad..." Miracle whispered.

"I want to hate him..." Shine confessed. "But I can't. He was family, and even after everything he did…I can't find it in me to do it. Even now…"

"That ain't nuthin' ta be ashamed of, Shine." Big Red comforted him. "That's what makes ya a good stallion, and ain't nopony can say otherwise."

"Big Red's right, Shine." Celestia smiled. "That's why I love you."

"Me too, dad." Miracle smiled.

"Don't forget me." Cherry beamed.

"Thanks, everypony." Shine smiled. "And I know dad would feel the same way. He'd want Black buried beside him, despite everything he'd done. Brothers to the end."

A slab of tree bark served as Black's headstone. The words "A stallion with a dream" had been etched upon it. Shine stood at the grave, still and silent.

"Are you coming in?" Celestia asked.

"In a minute." Shine sighed. "I just need a moment to compose myself."

"I understand." Celestia nodded.

As Celestia went indoors, Shine turned to his father's grave.

"I hope I did you proud, dad." He declared. "And I hope that, wherever you are now, you and Black can finally reconcile."

With that, Shine turned, and headed into the homestead, the sun setting behind him.

The ponies of Equestria had faced their greatest battle ever, against a foe that seemed unstoppable. But, through the power of love and friendship, they had pulled through. The darkness had faded, making way for a brighter tomorrow.

The End.

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