House Of The Crystal Sun

by Bluecatcinema

It Has To Be This Way

Shine looked on in horror as Miracle was lifted up towards the Crystal Sun.

"Time's running out." Black taunted. "Better make your choice fast... before it's out of your hooves!"

Shine glared at Black, his wings glowing.

"Dad!" Miracle called.

"Shine, please!" Celestia urged.

Shine grit his teeth, pushing his hoof further against Black's throat. His wings suddenly emitted a powerful flash of light. Everypony covered their eyes.

When the light faded, Celestia opened her eyes, as did Black, who was surprised to realise he wasn't dead. They glanced at the Sun, which was still glowing, but at the bottom, there was Shine, holding a trembling Miracle in his wings.

"Shine..." Celestia smiled, relieved.

Miracle opened her eyes.

"Daddy?" She whispered, eyes tearing up.

"It's alright, little sunbeam." Shine smiled. "Your daddy's here...nopony's gonna hurt-GAH!"

Clad in a dark aura, Shine was suddenly pulled back.

"DADDY!" Miracle cried.

Shine struggled as he was brought before Black, whose horn was regenerating his body.

"Heh-heh, looks like Shine here has no loyalty to his country after all... so much for taking after your old man." He sneered. "Rule one of battle, boy... never turn your back on a opponent unless he is dead. But what did I expect from the son of a deluded fool?"

"Funny... you could do well to learn a few things from that 'fool'." Shine chuckled... before gasping, as pain struck his very being.

"Well, one thing that your father had taught me is that there is no 'loyalty' between family." Black snarled. "He betrayed me, the pony whom he owed his life to! He chose his country and some dead kid over me, and ruined my LIFE!"

"You got it wrong... my father loved you... it tore him asunder knowing that he couldn't stop his own brother from going down this path... he did what he did because he was afraid you will become this... a monster..." Shine declared.

For a moment, Black was silent...

"Well, this monster is about to make Equestria a better place." He said, in a hurt voice. His horn glowed and Shine was sapped of Celestia's Alicorn magic, then dropped unceremoniously on the floor. "And I'm afraid you cannot be a part of it... not you or your father."

"You think killing me will rid you of my father, Black?" Shine asked, struggling to stand. "Your brother will always be there, and he will always be ashamed of what you have become... and there's nothing you can do to change that..."

"...Maybe..." Black shrugged.

Suddenly, Shine's throat began to tighten, leaving him unable to breathe.

"But killing you will be a start." Black said coldly.

"No!" Celestia cried.

"Leave him alone!" Miracle begged.

Meanwhile, outside, the giant mutated Twitch was lumbering all around the battlefield, trying to get Caboose off him.

"Hang on, Caboose, we'll get ya!" Grimiore called after him as he and the brothers followed after him.

"Don't worry, I'm hanging!" Caboose stammered, as he clutched onto Twitch's mane for dear life.

"Quit pulling!" Twitch roared in pain.

"No! You're not the crime boss of me!" Caboose yelled, tugging hard.

"Aaah!" Twitch yelped, veering off in the direction Caboose pulled.

"Hmm... this gives me an idea!" Caboose smiled. "Hi-ho Twitch, away!"

Caboose yanked at Twitch's mane again, sending him towards the castle.

"This may sting just a tiny bit." He noted, as they neared the crystal wall.

Without much effort, Twitch burst right into the throne room.

"What the buck?!" Black gasped, freeing Shine from his tightening magical grasp.

"G-G-GET OF-F-F M-M-ME!" Twitch roared.

"I'M TRYING!" Caboose struggled.

"Twitch, what the buck are you doing?!" Black roared.

"S-s-s-sorry, boss!" Twitch cringed. "I c-can't get him off!"

"Unbelievable!" Black roared. "Why did I even bother powering you up? You're useless! Always have been!"

"You really should treat your underlings better, Black." Shine rubbed his throat.

"You stay out of this!" Black yelled.

As Twitch stumbled around, vainly trying to dislodge Caboose, he tottered in the direction of the Crystal Sun.

"Whoa! Get away from that!" Black yelled in horror.

Black's warning went unheeded, as, in one fell swoop, Twitch tripped in a crater (formed during Black and Shine's battle) and fell right on top of the Crystal Sun.

"NO!" Black roared.

As soon as the entirety of Twitch's weight was on the Sun, the orb shattered into millions of pieces, far beyond repair.

"Uh…oops?" Twitch muttered.

Black stood in disbelief as the Sun was destroyed, growing weak in the knees.

"No... no... after everything... after all the work I put in... it's... it's..." He gaped.

"Over." Shine stood up slowly, Miracle trying to help him up. "Without the Sun, you are without power. It's over..."

Black's body then began to shudder with rage…

"You wanna bet?!" Black roared, his horn's magic grasped Twitch and Caboose.

"Uh-oh." The pair chorused.

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU MOTHERBUCKERS!" Black threw Caboose and Twitch out of the castle, creating a big hole in the wall.

"YA-HA-HA-HA-HOOEY!" Caboose and Twitch yelped as they crash-landed in front of the castle. On impact, Caboose was finally thrown free.

"Whoo, what a ride!" He chuckled.

"You..." Twitch snarled. "Look what you made me do! The boss is probably gonna c-castrate me this is all over!"

As Twitch swung his hoof down, a bolt suddenly embedded itself it.

"Yeow!" Twitch yelled.

"Hang on, bro!" Murray waved his crossbow, as he and the other brothers charged in.

"Can't let you guys have all the fun!" Iron Hooves smiled as he joined them.

Sleight and several Changelings also followed, including Char.

"This again?" Twitch snorted. "Don't you ever learn?"

"We learned you're goin' down!" Vinny taunted.

Once again, they did battle. However, by that point in time, Twitch was starting to tire out. His attacks were slower, sloppier. They still punched quite a punch, though.

"Give it up, Twitch!" Grimoire dodged one blow.

"Never!" Twitch snarled.

"Enough of the mindless brawling." Iron declared. "Time for a little strategy."

"What do you have in mind?" Sleight asked.

"Aim for the legs." Iron revealed. "We trip him, then we pin him. I have some rope, weaved from ursa hair. It should hold him."

"A sound strategy." Lars nodded.

"Okay." Grimoire smiled. "Let's do it!"

They concentrated their assault on Twitch's legs. Magic blasts, crossbow bolts... nothing was off-limits.

"How 'bout a hotfoot?" Sonny smirked, using a fire spell.

"Yeowch!" Twitch yelped.

"I've alwayzzz wondered how you poniezzz tazzzte..." Char admitted, as he bit into Twitch's oversized hoof.

"Gah!" Twitch screeched. "Changeling cooties!"

"For my next trick: A flush that busts you!" Sleight threw several razor sharp cards at Twitch's third leg.

"Ow! Paper cut, paper cut!" Twitch winced.

"Time to take you down." Iron rammed Twitch's remaining leg with all his strength. "Timber!"

"Whoa..." Twitch started to fall, right in Sleight's path.

"Uh-oh." Sleight gulped.

Just before Twitch fell, Sleight was pushed out of the way by Char.

"You... saved me?!" Sleight gaped. "I thought you hated me."

"I did." Char admitted. "But I've had time to think. And zzzeeing you in battle today... Well, perhapzzz the queen wazzzn't wrong to choozzze you after all."

"Thanks." Sleight smiled.

"I zzztill think you're annoying, though." Char scowled.

"Fair enough." Sleight shrugged.

"Alright, let's tie this sucker!" Iron passed out some rope.

The group tied up the dazed Twitch, pinning him tightly to the ground.

"Let... me... go!" Twitch struggled. "I'll... crush you!"

"Not today, pal." Salt smirked.

Meanwhile, back in the throne room, Black, taking hate-filled breaths, turned viciously towards Shine.

"Now…for you…"

Black let out a battle cry as he charged Shine. Shine pushed Miracle aside and was knocked to the ground by Black. Black then proceeded to punch him into the ground.

"Die!" He punched Shine. "Die!" He punched him some more, then brought up his hoof. "Die, you piece of CRAP!" He threw his hoof down.

Black crystals erupted everywhere. Shine lay on the ground, badly bruised, unable to recover without the alicorn magic, as Black got up, finally calming down…

"All right." He cracked his hooves. "I think we're about done here..."

Miracle ran to Shine.

"DADDY!

"Miracle..." Shine coughed. "Get out of here..."

"No... I won't leave you!" Miracle insisted.

Black chuckled darkly.

"Hmph... you should listen to your father, Miracle... with the Sun gone, I have no further use for you..." He sneered.

"No... I am not afraid of you!" Miracle stood defiantly over her father's body. "Please, Black... don't do this to us... don't do this to your brother's son and his grandchild!"

"Shut up!" Black roared, causing Miracle to wince. "You didn't even know him! Don't you dare try to bring him into this!"

"You're right... but I know what he did to you." Miracle declared. "I know it must have hurt when your brother did what he did, but he was trying to protect you from yourself! Please, for his sake, leave us be!"

"Hmph, or what?!" Black snorted.

"You forget, uncle... I'm a Paladin too, and I will fight you if need be!" Miracle said boldly.

"Miracle, please!" Celestia gasped.

"Sunbeam... no..." Shine groaned.

"How cute." Black chuckled. "You think you can save your old pop with your weak Alicorn magic?" He shrugged. "Well, go ahead then. But make no mistake... once I'm finished with your father, you're next!"

"I was not raised to fear intimidation by brute force!" Miracle growled. "You should not underestimate the power of light, for it is darkness's brother... and when darkness rises, light will fight it!"

"You little buck..." Black half-scoffed, half-scowled.

As Black raised his hooves, Miracle unleashed her light magic, hitting him square in his one good eye.

"Rarrgh!" Black roared, clutching his struck eye. As he pulled his hoof away, his golden eye was now pale and milky, as he waved the hoof in front of him, "I can't see…I can't see!"

"That will be the least of your problem!" Miracle taunted. "Without your sight, you can't hurt what you can't see!"

"You wanna bet, ya damn brat?!" Black snarled. "I may not see, but I can still smell you!"

To emphasize his point, his snout snorted a few times, before he began approaching Miracle, much to the filly's dismay.

"Stay back!" Miracle stammered, her courage quickly faltering, as she tries firing more light magic.

Unfortunately, they merely bounced off the stallion, her inexperienced magic no match for his powerful dark magic.

"Miracle!" Celestia cried.

"You know what they say, kiddo." Black snickered. "Eye for an eye! A tooth for a tooth! Blood for blood! We've all gotta die!"

"Guess again!" Shine suddenly rammed into Black, knocking him sideways.

"Oh, you want some more, huh?" Black smirked, steadying himself. "You're just like your father: too stubborn to know when to quit."

"You didn't know my father at all." Shine glared. "Not one bit."

"Seriously?" Black growled. "We were brothers! I knew him better than anypony!"

"If you really knew him, then you'd know it was more than stubbornness." Shine declared. "He did what was right, even if it meant going against family, even if it looked like he couldn't win. And I'm the same. That's why I'm still here, still ready to fight. Because I'm my father's son."

"You sure are." Black nodded. "You spout the same pointless gibberish he did!"

Black charged at Shine, and their battle began anew. They traded kicks, punches, and headbutts. Black swung a haymaker, and Shine dodged it.

"Why must you fight me, Shine?!" Black snarled. "Why must you side with Celestia, huh?! What good has she ever done this country?!"

"Much more than you can imagined, Black!" Shine declared. "She loves this country more than anything else, and she had done everything in her power to assure it's prosperity!"

"Oh yeah? The same alicorn that banished her sister, who failed to finish off a god of chaos, and got beaten by that maggot, a bunch of stupid plants, and a buckin' goat?!" Black snarled.

Meanwhile, in Tartarus…

"CENTAUR!" Tirek roared, "Why can't anypony get that right?!"

Back above surface

"Your precious Celestia is a joke of a princess!" Black snorted. "She doesn't deserve to rule anything. She's pathetic!"

"Don't you dare say that about her." Shine growled. "I love her. My Cutie Mark told me that my destiny was to defend what I believe in, and I believe in her."

"Really?" Black sneered. "Well, my Cutie Mark told me that destiny was to cleanse Equestria of evil. Only when the slate has been cleaned can I create a new world, free of evil. Isn't that what we both want?"

"It would be nice." Shine admitted. "But that is not a dream worth killing countless others for. I'd prefer the world as it is, rather then kill even one pony to make it better."

"What a load of idealistic claptrap!" Black snarled, charging at Shine again.

The fight resumed. Black lashed out with more punches. One caught Shine in the chin, and Black made to capitalise on his advantage. But Shine dodged the following blow. Shine then bodychecked Black on his vulnerable side, knocking him across the room.

Black scraped against the floor, as Shine limped towards him.

"This is the greatest fight of my life!" Black laughed.

Shine charged at Black, but Black grabbed him and smashed him into the ground. Then Black picked him up and held him by the throat. Shine managed to kick Black in the face, knocking him out of his grasp. As Shine struggled to his hooves, Black reared back his right hoof and threw it at him, only for Shine to repel it. Black stepped back a bit, then growled as he charged at him with his left hoof raised.

"I'll blow you away!" He screeched.

Shine repelled that attack as well. Black shook his hurt hoof, then full-out charged at Shine with all he had. Shine then spread his wings, and uppercutted him, hitting him hard in the ribs.

"Gah…" Black groaned, acknowledging that his ribs were probably broken. He then glares at Shine, before letting out one loud yet oddly demonic roar as he grappled hooves with Shine.

They struggled for a few moments before Shine then headbutted him, cracking Sombra's horn.

"Of course..." Shine mused, looking at the horn.

Shine proceeded to hit Black a few times in the face, before he aimed his hoof at the horn.

"You little..." Black charged him again.

Putting every last ounce of strength into his hoof, Shine struck Sombra's horn. The horn broke off Black's head, hitting the ground.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Black screamed, as all the magic he stole flooded out through the spot where the horn had once been, and into the horn itself. He fell to the ground, powerless.

Suddenly, darkness began to rise from it as the form of Sombra began to materialize.

"Crystals..." Sombra hissed.

"Not today!" Shine stomped on the horn, and proceeded to stomp it until it finally broke.

"Noooo...." Sombra dissipated into nothingness...

The stolen magic flowed out of the shattered horn. One stream flowed into Celestia, restoring her.

"Yes!" She boomed, shattering her bonds instantly. "I knew you could do it, Shine!"

Down below, the shadow ponies suddenly disintegrated.

"Um... did we win?" Fluttershy asked meekly.

"Yeah, we did!" Rainbow cheered.

From up above, more streams of magic flowed down, restoring Luna, Twilight, Cadance and Chrysalis.

"Do you feel that?" Luna smiled.

"Our magic." Cadance smiled. "It's returned to us."

"That can only mean one thing: Black Knight has been beaten." Twilight smiled.

"Sleight!"

Sleight turned to see Chrysalis flying over to him.

"I'm back!" Chrysalis smiled, her normal form restored.

"Chrys..." Sleight smiled, embracing her.

"It'zzz good to have you back, my queen." Char bowed.

"I could say the same to you, Char." Chrysalis smiled warmly.

As for Twitch, who was bounded by ropes, dark magic began to sizzle off him, as his body began shrinking back to original size, and back to tip-top condition. He was able to slip out of the ropes now…but now, he was surrounded by lots of angry ponies…

"Uhhh... t-time out?" He stuttered.

"I don't think zzzo, zzzcum." Char sneered.

"You were working for that monster." Luna declared. "And you will pay the price for your part in his evil."

"Oh, don't tell me you actually took me s-seriously with all t-the threats and stuff, right?" Twitch stammered.

"If you call trying to kill us 'stuff', then yes." Iron growled.

"You're as bad as Black." Constell declared. "You did everything he said with a smile on your face."

"And now that you've been cut back down to size, it's payback time." Flash smirked, as the ponies advanced on Twitch.

"I'm getting' the f-f-f-f-f-f-f-!" Twitch yelped, running away as fast as he could, before tripping and getting back up. "I'm outta here!"

"Stop him!" Twilight called.

Several ponies moved to follow, but the Napoleons cut them off.

"Leave this to us." Grimoire declared.

"It's personal." Murray added.

"Ya hear that, Twitch?" Salt yelled. "We're comin' for ya!"

Twitch ran as fast as he could, the Napoleons in hot pursuit. He turned every corner he could find, eventually finding his way into an alley. Just as he reached the other side, an excruciating pain erupted in his two back legs, Murray having fired two crossbow bolts into them.

"Yaah!" He screamed, dropping to the ground in agony, "Lauren Faust!"

The Napoleons approached their fallen prey.

"Finally!" Slot panted. "This time, you're dead!"

"All the pain you've caused us will be paid back... in full." Vinny smirked.

"I'm gonna enjoy watching you squirm." Salt jeered.

"I think you should have the honor of wasting this slime, Grim." Lars declared.

"Seems fitting." Sonny agreed. "You knew Anarchy best, after all."

"Here you go, Grimm." Murray passed him one of his crossbows. "Locked and loaded."

"Thanks, but I think the honor should go to Caboose." Grimoire declined.

"Him?!" Slot gaped.

"Me?!" Caboose frowned.

"You deserve it the most, Caboose." Grimoire declared. "Twitch took the big brother that you never knew away. You, more than any us, should be the one to do the deed."

"Right..." Caboose nodded.

Caboose approached the trembling Twitch, pointing his large crossbow at him.

"P-p-p-p-please d-d-don't k-kill me..." Twitch wept unashamedly.

"Do it, 'Boose." Murray urged.

Caboose stared at the terrified Twitch... and sighed.

"I can't do this." He admitted.

"Say what?" Vinny asked.

"You gotta do it!" Slot grimaced. "This slime deserves it!"

"They're right, Caboose." Grimoire nodded. "This piece of scum scarred our family for life. It's time he got what was coming to him."

The other brothers muttered words of agreement.

"No, guys." Caboose said firmly. "Don't you see? Revenge won't solve anything. Killing Twitch won't bring Anarchy back, now will it?"

"No... but still!" Sonny protested.

"That buckface gotta pay!" Slot added.

"But if we kill him, we'll be as bad as he is!" Caboose countered. "We have to be the better stallions here!"

"Of course we're better." Salt scowled. "That's why we're doing this! To show Twitch what happens when you mess with the best!"

"We're only better then him because we don't do what he does." Caboose declared. "But if we stoop to his level, what would make us any better? Would we be worthy of the respect we've earned? Would we be worthy of our mares?"

Grimoire sighed deeply.

"Maybe Caboose has a point." He admitted. "All these years we've spent chasing Twitch has only kept our pain alive. Killing him won't end it…"

"I guess so..." Murray groaned.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Caboose does make a logical argument." Lars sighed.

"But Anarchy…" Vinny muttered. "We did all of this for him…"

"As much as Anarchy would had loved for us to avenge him… I don't think he would want us to kill somepony to do so." Salt shook his head.

"Yeah, Archie was good like that..." Sonny nodded.

"He was pretty forgiving..." Lars mused. "Didn't believe in holding grudges. Maybe we should follow his example."

"Personally, I still think we should waste 'im." Slot shrugged. "But it looks like I'm outvoted. As usual..."

"Welcome to my world." Caboose joked, patting him on the back.

Twitch glanced around…

"So, does that mean you're going to let me go?" Twitch asked hopefully.

The brothers glared at him.

"Oh, hay no." Grimoire shook his head. "You tried to take over Equestria, tried to kill our wives, two of which were carrying our foals."

"But y-you said…" Twitch muttered.

"We wouldn't kill you. But we cannot simply let you go." Caboose explained, "You obviously want us dead, and if we let you go, what's to stop you from trying to kill us again?"

"That's why we are going with plan B." Grimm declared.

The eight ponies light up their horns, and a rift opened up... revealing Tartarus. Twitch was horrified.

"No... No... NO!" Twitch screamed. "Not that! Anything but that!"

"Oh yeah. It's a good thing we all mastered this spell ever since Caboose accidentally brought Anti-Faust into the world trying to find parallel universes." Murray chuckled darkly.

"Y'know, she wasn't nearly as scary-looking as I thought she'd be..." Caboose shrugged.

"The only place fit for monsters like you is in a place filled with them…" Sonny muttered.

"So, in other words…see you in Tartarus, you mangy flank-buck." Vinny sneered.

Salt and Murray grabbed the scared Twitch.

"No, no, NO!" Twitch tried to fight them. "NO! PLEASE!"

"Give Tirek and Cerberus our regards!" Grimoire taunted.

"And let us know if Tartarus ever does freeze over!" Caboose joined in.

With a heave-ho motion, Murray and Salt chucked the poor pony through the portal.

"NO!" Twitch cried as the portal slammed shut behind him, leaving him trapped indefinitely…

"And that's the end of that chapter." Salt smirked.

"Come on." Grimoire urged. "Let's get back to the castle. We might still be needed.

Back at the castle, the leaders of the army was making it's way inside. Mist, Big Red and Luna entered the throne room first.

"Shine?! Celestia?!" Mist called.

"Shine?!" Big Red yelled.

"Sister?!" Luna called.

"Over here!"

The three glanced towards the back of the room, to see a bruised but still kickin' Shine limping, leaning on his wife for support. Miracle noticed her aunts and grandpa.

"Misty, Luna, Grampa!" She cheered, running over and hugging Big Red as her parents join them.

"Oh, Miracle, Ah wuz so worried about yew guys..." Big Red smiled.

"Sorry, Red... just had some family manners to sort out." Shine declared.

"Just what is going on?" Mist asked. "First, the shadow ponies, Crystal Sun, this guy named Red Eclipse, you almost dying..." She rubbed her head. "Oh, I'm nine months pregnant, I shouldn't have this much pressure put on me!"

"It's fine, little sister..." Celestia wrapped a wing around her. "Everything's okay now."

"And what of Black Knight?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, what of Black?" Big Red agreed. "Is it over?"

"Yeah... the Crystal Sun is no more, as well as the horn." Shine nodded. "Black is powerless to do any more harm."

The other royals and leaders came in to join them.

"Whoa, look at this place..." Sazh gaped.

"I'll zzzay." Char agreed. "Lookzzz like a bull went through a china shop... then set off a grenade, and had a hydra trample the ashes."

"That's a very interesting thought process you have there, Char." Sazh snarked.

"Well, at least we won." Twilight smiled. "That's the main thing."

"Yeah." Rainbow nodded. "We kicked their flanks!"

"No doubt!" Blue Blazes chuckled.

"I'm just thankful it's over." Wizel sighed.

"And I'm glad all our loved ones are okay." Luxury nuzzled Constell.

"Right back at ya." Constell smirked.

Shining and his family looked at their ruined home in shock. Shine stepped beside Shining.

"Sorry about your house." Shine apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Shining sighed. "I think insurance should cover this place..." A column fell over and shattered. "I hope..."

Sleight joined them.

"So... what are we going to do about Black Knight?" He asked. "I mean, I'm not one for the death penalty, but he did try to take over and destroy Equestria."

"And he threatened thousands of lives, including our loved ones." Shining added. "No doubt the entire country will be out for his head."

"...I don't know..." Shine frowned. "For all the terrible things he's done, there's a part of me that actually feels sorry for him..."

"Let's not linger on the matter." Celestia joined them. "For now, let's be grateful that we and all of Equestria can rest easily tonight."

"You read my mind." Shine smiled, as they walked over to the others. "I don't know about you, cherryblossom, but I could really go for some veggie shawarma right now."

Everypony laughed. Meanwhile, Royal Guard members moved to apprehend the prone Black Knight. As one went to touch him, Black Knight's eye darted open. A loud growl echoed, much to everypony's shock as they turned around just in time to see the guards get thrown into walls. Approaching the group was Black Knight, his body staggering a bit.

"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me." Sleight groaned.

Black Knight paused, before throwing up a little, and wiped his snout.

"Rule #1, boy... never turn your back on your opponent unless he is dead... you just don't learn, do you?" Black coughed a little.

"It's over, Black!" Big Red stepped forward. "Ya gotta stop this! Ya don't have anything left! No army, no powers... for Faust's sake, yer blind!"

"Bah! I have no need for sight or powers of darkness, nor the hooves of a thousand stallions!" Black boasted. "I will see my dream through to the end, even if I have to work for it with my four own hooves! And I won't let anypony stand in my way!"

"Guards, seize him!" Celestia, Shining and Sleight said as one.

Guards and Changelings alike charged at Black, but Black swatted them aside, still going strong. Unicorn guards and Changelings fired their beams at him, leaving scorch marks on his body.

"Gah!" Black yelped. "Go… with... the... pain..."

"Black... he can't take anymore of this..." Shine realized.

Char let out a growl as he charged at Black.

"Time to put you down for good, Eclipse!" He snarled.

Black threw out another vicious punch, blasting Char against a nearby wall. The magic blasts were finally getting to him though, and he grew weak in the knees. Shine couldn't bear to see his uncle take anymore punishment.

"STOP THIS!" He yelled. "Cease fire!"

"Cease-Shine, he's-" Shining protested.

"I don't care!" Shine cut him off. "No pony, not even him, deserves to be put through all this pain!"

The others glanced at him with shock. Black heard Shine's voice, and his body surged with rage.

"Are you serious?!" Sleight snarled. "He deserves everything he gets!"

"Who are you to say that?" Shine glared.

"Who are you to defend him?" Chrysalis growled. "Have you forgotten what that monster did to us?"

"Seriously, Shine, what's the deal?" Gothic asked.

"He's family... and family don't kill family!" Shine proclaimed.

Black heard Shine's words, but in White's voice... his rage got the better of him.

"That's... where you're wrong..." He hissed.

Shine looked on in shock, as Black Knight charged at him one last time, letting out a guttural roar.

"Shine!" Celestia yelled.

"Daddy!" Miracle cried.

A whistle of a bolt was heard, as Black stopped in his tracks. Shine gasped. Black, unable to see, felt around his chest, feeling blood and a bolt embedded in it. Everypony glanced at the direction of where the bolt came from, and Caboose was standing there, his crossbow shaking, while his brothers were right behind him.

"Uh-uh…" Black gasped, as he crumbled to the ground.

"Black!" Shine ran over and slowed his descent, as he laid him on his side, "Black…"

"Don't tell me... it was that Caboose kid... wasn't it?" Black gurgled.

"Shine... I didn't... he was gonna... I had no..." Caboose babbled in shock.

"It's fine, Caboose..." Grimoire comforted him.

"Black... I'm sorr-" Shine started.

"That kid... for being a pain in the neck, he sure has sparks... just like you... just like... Whitey..." Black laughed deliriously.

"Hang on." Shine turned to the others. "Somepony, get a medic!"

"Don't bother." Black wheezed. "No pony's gonna waste their breath on a traitor to the country. They never did..."

"...Oh, Black... why... why did it had to be this way?" Shine started tearing up. "Aside from Mist, you were the only family we had left. Had I just known..."

"Wait, what are you talking about, Shine?" Mist asked in confusion.

"Black was our uncle, Mist." Shine whispered.

"What?!" Mist gasped.

"It's true." Celestia nodded.

Mist was filled in on Black's story.

"Oh, my..." Mist gasped. "That's awful!"

"But it didn't have to be that way..." Shine sighed. "You could have done something good, atoned for your dark deeds, made peace with your family..."

"Don't beat yourself up, kid… that bridge was burned far before you were even conceived." Black declared. "There was no turning back for me... I knew it from the moment Rookie died... besides... I wouldn't been able to look at you without seeing Whitey in you..." He coughed. "I never stopped loving your father, you know, he was all I had when mom and dad died... guess with the whole betrayal, I just couldn't get over how he did that to me... maybe it was for justice... or to save my soul." He grunted in pain. "All I wanted was a better future for Equestria... was I wrong in wanting that?"

"...No... no, you weren't." Shine admitted. "But this wasn't the way... it just wasn't."

"Huh..." Black put a hoof on Shine's. "At least... at least there's you." Shine glanced at him, confused. "Break the cycle... make Paladin a name worth remembering. Faust knows I failed... but maybe there's hope for you." His breathing began slowing down.

"Black?" Shine gasped.

"I'm glad that if anypony were to best me one last time, it would be you... your old man would be proud..." Black smiled, his body getting cold.

"Black, please..." Shine begged, tears dropping from his eyes.

"Don't cry... Shine... tears makes us Paladins look bad." Black turned limply to Big Red. "Take care of him, Red... like you did Whitey... won't you?"

"Black..." Big Red muttered.

Black let out a small chuckle, as he whispered a somber song.

"I never... said I'd lie and wait forever... If I died, we'd be together... I can't always just forget her... but she could try..."

Black let out one last sigh, as he grew limp.

"No..." Shine murmured, as tears streamed down his face. "Black… I'm so sorry…"

"I killed him." Caboose dropped to his knees. "I really killed him. I really killed somepony on purpose… I feel sick..."

"Dude…what about the Clopranos?" Slot asked.

"I'm pretty sure that was O'Malley." Caboose shrugged.

"You did what was right." Grimoire assured him. "You defended prince Shine the only way you could. Nopony could ever say you were in the wrong."

"Tell that to my gut." Caboose groaned.

Shine, eventually running out of tears, wiped his eyes, and closed Black's blind one.

"Goodbye, uncle..." He sniffed, as Celestia placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Maybe now, you'll finally know peace..."

The hard-fought battle was over, but for Shine, the pain would linger. The uncle he never knew he had was gone. Despite his evil, he was still Shine's blood, and the loss of another family member weighed heavily on his heart.

Comments

[The Sexy Barbarian]

I thought Black was unforgivable but that ending..... I actually forgave the poor bastard.

[HolyCross9]

Thank goodness that it's over. I'm utterly relieved.

[HolyCross9]

I also hope Black's death won't force Caboose to resign his position as a guard.