Dark Libra

by DragonassasslnGR

The Fall Of Old Equestria

It had been a day since Cassius took Ponyville. Discord, Sereen, and Shining Armor had somehow gotten free of the dome. Shining Armor took most of the hits and was nearly killed during the fight. The other two had less... lethal injuries, but did need some time to receive medical treatment and rest. If Sereen hadn't intervened and started healing Shining Armor on the way to the castle, he wouldn't have made It through the shadow barrier alive, let alone to Canterlot. Twilight was sitting next to him as he slept in a recovery bed at the Canterlot hospital. She asked them what had happened in what was now Ponyville, but none of them gave her an answer. They only had a few hours before the battle for Equestria would begin and Shining Armor would be sitting it out. Twilight felt a little relieved to know he would be safe, but annoyed that they wouldn't tell her what happened to them. While they had been in Ponyville she had helped the royal guards whom had wasted no time in preparing the castle defenses and getting the troops to battle ready status. The last thing they needed to do was get all of the commanders together and form a battle plan. Since her brother was out of the picture, Twilight figured Cadence would take his place. To her surprise, Cadence walked in and tapped Twilight on the shoulder.

"Twilight, We need you." She said softly.

"For what?" replied the sad unicorn.

"You are as much a leader as any of us. Celestia wants you with us when we head to the field. Before the battle we are going to try to negotiate something that could stop the bloodshed." Cadence said with hope of the impossible.

Twilight knew the only thing that would stop any of this was either Celestia's head or Cassius's eyes. She leaned to her brother and gave him a kiss on the forehead before turning to Cadence.

"What do you need me to do?" She asked.

"I will let Celestia tell you. Come with me, we are to meet in the great hall." Cadence said as she placed a wing around Twilight and walked her out.

Twilight could see she had stolen herself so she wouldn't cry in front of her. The matter at hoof was too important to show weakness in such a grave time. She needed to be strong for everypony. Even if it meant leaving her lover in the hands of fate. The had walked out of the hospital and Twilight could see that the dome over Ponyville was gone.

"Cadence, do you know how they got out of Ponyville." Twilight asked as she looked at a blob of living shadows that sat above the town.

"I was told that Sereen used the Elements of Harmony’s original forms and caught Cassius off guard. She shared the barrier and left him with a nice burn to his left wing." Cadence said with a hint of anger that quickly faded.

"Wait, she used the Elements of Harmony? Alone? I thought only Celestia could do that." Twilight asked in astonishment.

"Twilight, She was the original bearer. Until you and your friends came along, there was only a single bearer each time. But now that she used them, Cassius knows she still holds the power of harmony and he will not hold anything back this time. Do you see the orb of Shadows above Ponyville?" the pink alicorn said.

"Ya, I don't think I could miss it even if I wanted to." replied Twilight.

Cadence sat silent for a moment, "Cassius is harnessing all of his power. If something isn't done soon, I fear he will kill us all."

"Well we need to try something to stop him. He was beaten once right? So lets do it again." Twilight said.

"Well he will have his chaos elements with him this time, but we have you." Cadence said with a warm smile.

"So does this mean Cassius..." Twilight began as she drifted into thought.

"Cassius what?" Cadence asked.

"Never mind. Lets get to Celestia and plan for this negotiation." Twilight said softly.

****************************************************

Dusk was approaching and everyone that considered themselves part of The Lost Night was lined up and readied for battle. Like them, everyone that was going to fight for Celestia lined up the valley on the opposite side that had the town of Ponyville. In the center of what was going to be the final battle that would change Equestria forever, the leaders of both sides got ready to meet. Princess Luna and Queen Chrysalis stood in the center of town looking to Sereen, Cadence, Discord, and Twilight. Cassius was still inside the orb of living shadows above them, like a sleeping dragon in his cave of riches.

"We are here to negotiate a way to stop this war. Is there any way to prevent the spilling of innocent blood?" Sereen asked as calm as ever.

Neither Luna or Chrysalis answered, they just looked to the orb above as if it would answer for them. Twilight felt a faint magical presence coming from it only for an instant. I was the familiar presence she hadn't felt in days. It was the Cassius she met for the first time when she found him still awake on his cot in the library.

"Come on, there has to be a way to stop this." Cadence said stamping a hoof on the ground.

"Cadence, This isn't for us to decide. We have no power here." Princess Luna said calmly as her gaze found Sereen. "You know this is a waste of time. He is going to try to kill her, no matter what we decide."

Sereen lowered her head and turned without another word. She began to leave and Discord followed her. Cadence followed after them at a slower pace. Luna and Chrysalis left in the opposite direction. Twilight didn't believe what she was seeing. Everypony was giving up and accepting the loss of innocent life. The sun had finally fallen and everypony stopped and turned to look up. Above Twilight, the orb began to swirl and remove layers of shadows. Sereen's horn flashed and she was in her battle armor. Discord yelled to Cadence to get the troops on a charge. Chrysalis took off after hearing the spirit of chaos give his order and was going to send in their forces.

They had run out of time, the final battle was here and Twilight was right under their destruction.

"Move Twilight!" Sereen yelled.

The lavender unicorn ran to her just in time to avoid a blast of dark magic. The orb slammed into the ground and formed a now very annoyed Cassius. Twilight stumbled next to Sereen as she released the same spell that gave her the golden armor.

"Cute Sereen, you two look alike. Did you accept her as your apprentice?" Cassius asked.

"I did and I'd like you to release yours." Sereen replied.

"Now why would I do that? Tell you what though, before I kill you I will let you see them." taunted the shadow Alicorn.

His horn glowed a dark blue and five misty figures appeared next to him. Twilight's eyes grew wide when she saw them. They were the same ponies from the vision, Cassius looked her in the eye and smiled.

"Do you not recognize them Faithful? Well let me fix that. My little ponies, please say hello to your friend." he ordered.

The shadows around the five faded to reveal Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. They all gleamed hate at her through their glowing eyes.

"Uh... Girls!?" Twilight shouted in astonishment.

Her vision was coming true right before her eyes.

"Now I would love to play, but I hear the sound of a charge in the distance. Girls, kill Faithful will you. I have a date with Celestia." Cassius said as he tried to take off.

Sereen slammed into him and knocked them both out of view. Trying to track the flight path of the two, Twilight's ear twitched at the sound of hoofs hitting the ground in rapid succession. She turned as she casted the spell for her swords. Twilight brought up her left foreleg and caught Pinkamena's blade, inches away from her neck. She looked Twilight in the eyes with a scowl. Twilight pushed her off and tried to speak, but was cut off by an arrow nearly hitting her in the head.

"Rainbow Da"- Twilight ducked to avoid Rarity's swords of shadow from removing her head which was very much comfortably connected to her neck. -"Rarity, why are you doing this!?"

She was given no answer from any of them. The only thing that answered was a trident that was slammed into her side, nearly knocking her over. Slayershy stood on the other end of the deadly weapon covered in shadows. The others let themselves be claimed by Cassius's darkness as well. A blast of an energy bolt hit Slayershy and sent her sliding away.
Using her magic, Twilight pulled out the weapon with a grunt and let it fall to the earth.
Her armor took most of the impact, but it still entered her side. A sharp pain reminded her that she still wasn't completely healed from her broken rib. Both Rarity and Pinkamena circled Twilight like dogs after a last meal. They lunged at her, but found only each other's swords. Twilight teleported away and reappeared just in time to watch the shadows clash into one another and her friends roll out of the way to avoid killing other.

"Girls, you don't need to do this. We can be friends again." Twilight said through gritted teeth.

A rope found itself around Twilight's ribs pinning her legs to her sides. With a swift tug Twilight fell to her side. Pinkamena lunged into the air and was coming down on her with the sword’s tip pointed straight down. Rolling around, Twilight missed being impaled by the large blade.
She used her magic to remove the rope and tied up Applejack. She summoned the swords of light again and held them in a defensive stance.

"Is there no reasoning with any of you?" Twilight asked softly.

Once again nopony answered her question.

"Well"- a tear fell from her muzzle. -"I have no choice now. I loved you all." Twilight said.

An arrow flew towards Twilights left eye, but only found a sword that sliced it in two.
Her target was set, Rainbow Dash had to go first. Twilight teleported behind Warrior Dash and bucked her in the spine. The two mares fell out of the air with Twilight over Dash ready to have the swords gut her when they found the earth. A blast of magic from Rarity sent the gold and lavender unicorn flying back only a second before they hit. Dash laid there stunned by the sudden aggression Twilight had just displayed. This was now truly a fight for survival.

Twilight hit the grass and rolled onto her hooves, charging her spells. When she was on her hind legs, she let loose a barrage of anger fuelled energy bolts at her opponents.
The shadows shot into action in an attempt to protect it’s masters. Each of them had a barrier surround them and absorb Twilights attack. Rarity caught her off guard and managed to get a good slash in Twilight's side followed by a kick into her damaged rib. Twilight felt the bone shatter and nearly collapsed, she let loose a howl of pain. The gold and lavender unicorn held herself up on one of the swords, with her breathing becoming more labored.

*********************************************************

Celestia watched in horror as the two masses of creatures collided in and around Ponyville. Cassius was going through with his promise, he was destroying Equestria from the inside out. She thought about how much she wanted him destroyed but soon found that she could place no blame on him. He was fulfilling his duties to the letter. All she could do is stop him from killing her. The doors of her massive throne room slammed against the walls as they opened, letting Cassius walk inside glaring and grinning at her.

"Cassius? What are you doing here? I saw you fighting Sereen." Celestia blurted.

"A changeling that I know from my time the Crystal Empire was able to switch places with me so I wouldn't be late for our date with destiny, Sweet Celestia." Cassius said in a mockingly sweet voice.

Celestia lowered her head and closed her eyes letting Cassius walk up to her. They were muzzle to muzzle and Celestia looked deeply into his eyes.

"Tia, I am truly sorry, but this has to be. I ask that you fight me. Only you can truly kill me." Cassius spoke in his normal voice.

The voice he used was his and not the one that was influenced by his promise to the Eternal Herd. Celestia let a tear fall before giving a nod.

"Thank you." Cassius said as he turned and took a few steps away.

When he faced her again his grin was back and the shadows danced around their master.
He let them arc at her before charging with a shadow blade. Celestia let a massive blast of sunlight leave her body. The powerful burst of UV rays dispelled the shadows and shattered all of the windows in the castle, but Cassius used his wings to power through the shock wave and made contact with his hoof and Celestia's chest. The hit broke Celestia's chest plate making her stagger backwards. Cassius followed up with a new shadow blade.
The sun goddess called her own blade of pure sunlight and the two connected. Both Alicorns charged an attack spell that was based on their spiritual elements of power. A ball of pure light formed from Celestia while an orb a living shadows swirled from Cassius. The two tried to force the other to the ground, but soon found themselves in a deadly stalemate.
Eventually they fired the spheres at point blank range. A devastating explosion shook Canterlot to its very core nearly sending the entire structure crumbling off of the mountain. What was left of the throne room was a floor covered in debris from the walls and ceiling.
A massive hole sat where the throne was and the remains of what was left of the secret steps was in shambles. Celestia was getting up when she heard a faint cry from Ponyville.
One that could only be from her beloved Twilight. The bloodied and beaten Alicorn looked around for Cassius and found no sign of him. Celestia took the opportunity and turned to fly. As she unfurled her wings she heard stones shifting and the manic laughter that belonged to Cassius.

"That really" - Cassius took in a sharp breath as he lifted a stone from overtop of him and threw it with his hoofs. - "Hurt Celestia." he then pushed off a large stone that held his leg in place.

Celestia flew off racing to Twilight while she still had time. Cassius only grinned harder as he pushed another stone from his wing. Flapping a few times he began to trot before entering a full gallop. He ran off of the edge of the destroyed room and followed after Celestia.
It only took a few moments before he saw her glow in his darkness. Cassius fired spears of dark energy at her, Celestia weaved and dodged them while firing discs of white light back at him. Cassius coated himself in a black cloak of his shadow and slammed into Celestia's back sending them both rocketing into the ground of the town square in Ponyville.

**************************************************

Twilight had taken several hits and was bleeding heavily from cuts and stabs.
Warrior Dash fired an arrow from her crossbow and it impacted inside her thigh.
Slayershy stepped behind her with a trident and slammed it into her back cracking the armor and puncturing one her lungs, causing her to dispel the swords. After the trident was removed, Pinkamena used her blade to cut off part of her right ear and some of her mane with a single swipe. Then she placed a hoof over the arrow and twisted it around before pushing it all the way through her thigh before walking away. Rarity ran at her and stabbed Twilight in both shoulders with dual swords. She twisted them to the sides to cause as much damage and pain as possible before removing them and following its counterpart.
Warrior Dash lifted her crossbow with a new arrow and shot her in the chest missing her heart by an inch. She reloaded the weapon again and hovered in place as she watched the others stand around Twilight. She spat up blood and nearly fell over from the unbearable pain.
She grunts from the impacts as she realized that this was the last thing she was to see.
Dying by the hooves of her best friends, what a way to go she thought.

Applejack walked up to her with a lasso that had been tied around her neck like a hangman's noose. She handed the rope to the two pegasi and pointed up with a hoof. This is it, Twilight mentally said. They flew up slowly and lifted her up off of the ground. As she struggled to get free she saw a war being fought by all kinds of creatures. Dragons on dragons, Changelings fighting griffin and pegasi, unicorns attacking and killing the hydra and other animals that fought for Cassius. Spike laid next to a few dead guards as he hid from some changelings that were charged the ones that still lived. She was going to miss Spike and hoped he would stay down. In the distance Discord was fighting Luna in her Nightmare Moon form. The spirit of Chaos was trying to get to Celestia who was laying on her side with Cassius standing over her. The shadows around him twitched with excitement and a psychotic grin filled his muzzle. His horn was glowing a dark blue, then there was a sudden blast of light that temporarily blinded her.
There was a sudden jerk of the rope that Twilight was being held up with, a snapping sound filled the air and her struggling ceased. Twilight found herself hitting the ground and gasping for air. She looked to her left and saw an arrow next to the cut rope. Looking up she saw Rainbow Dash slamming into Fluttershy pushing her to the ground. The others on the ground where being held in place by a magical aura from Princess Luna. Discord snapped his claw and Fluttershy was in a soundproof bubble slamming into the walls trying to desperately break free. Rainbow Dash floated down to Twilight and tried to lift her onto her hooves.

“Dash.”Twilight said weakly.

"I'm so sorry Twilight. This was part of the plan." Rainbow Dash began.

"Plan!?" coughed Twilight.

"We were going to tell you, but we needed you to fight like your life depended on it." Discord said.

"Just let Sereen..." began Luna.

Sereen was sent flying through the air and slammed into Discord. Cassius stepped out of the rubble of a building a beam from his sister had sent him, before he could kill Celestia.
His entire left side was charred, but was healing before everypony’s eyes. He twisted his neck from side to side and the sounds of snapping filled the night air.

"Faithful!" he growled. "You have been a pain in my side for too long!" - He began to walk forward towards her and let burning shadows form around his right hoof.- "I have had it with you! Now you will die and there will be NO BRINGING YOU BACK!"

Cassius ran at full speed past Celestia, slamming Luna out of his way. Time seemed to slow down for Twilight and all sound faded. She knew this must be the end for her.
Twilight didn't want to die but, she wasn't afraid anymore. She closed her eyes and waited.
A scream filled the air that literally stopped the battle. All of the fighting and sounds of explosions ceased to exist and gave to the primal screech. Twilight opened her eyes to see a blood soaked gray hoof looking back. The hoof was all the way through a white Alicorn with a golden mane.

"Sereen!" shouted Celestia as she struggled to get up from the ground.

The screaming faded from Sereen as her spells vanished and she fell limp around her brothers foreleg. Placing his free hoof on it he pushed her off and watched her fall to the ground. Twilight stared in awe as Sereen tried to speak to her.

"Dearest sister." Cassius hissed. "You really are stronger than I give you credit for."

Sereen looked to twilight and waved her closer as blood flowed out of her mouth.
Twilight leaned in and heard her last words, the last words of Sereen,
the Guardian of Harmony.

"Twilight... Awaken." the dying Alicorn managed to mutter, as the last of her life went into a spell that was channeled onto the tip of her hoof.

She tapped Twilight on her chest and a glyph appeared.
At that moment Twilight felt something come over her.
Sereen was going to say something else, but Cassius brought down a hoof on her neck.

"Sister, I believe you have done enough to spite me. Now please do me a favor and DIE!" Cassius said with a satisfying twist of his hoof.

The sound of Sereen's neck shattering made everypony speechless. He removed his hoof and scraped it on the ground in an attempt to remove the blood. Sereen laid lifeless in Twilights place and Cassius showed no signs of remorse. She heard a voice in her mind trying to get past the sudden flush of rage.

Sereen voice echoed in her mind, "Twilight Sparkle, listen to me I do not have much time.
I have died and returned to the herd, my magic let me leave this behind. I have given you many gifts in the last few days, but what I just gave you is complete control of your magic, along with the rest of my own. You can now use all of the Elements of Harmony by yourself. All you need to do is remember your friends and the ones you are trying to save. Cassius is fighting on the inside, make no mistake he needs to die. Just don't hold anything against him when this is over."

Her voice disappeared and left Twilight to feel a power she had only felt back on the day she earned her cutie mark and the times she used her Element of Harmony with her friends.
No, this time she was stronger than before. Twilight closed her eyes and focused on the magic she now had. Cassius stepped closer to her with the his shadows taking form around him like a cobra’s head, ready to strike at an intruder in its home. Without warning the shadow spikes bolted into action. They struck the earth where Twilight stood impacting the ground with enough force to smash the cement on the ground into a fine powder. Cassius looked to the impact area with a scowl. He turned just in time with a shadow blade to parry one of Twilight's now flaming light swords. Her eyes were engulfed by white light. Cassius pushed off and sent another flurry of strikes followed by spikes of darkness to Twilight. The lavender unicorn galloped to the left, dodging and weaving the shadow strikes and using energy bolts while she countered the spears. As Twilight was running she was casting an attach spell that was being channeled from her hoofs that Cassius didn't seem to notice. Every few steps she cast it over and over again six times in a ring around him. The earth began to bulge up and race toward the gray Alicorn. When Cassius finally noticed what she was doing, it was too late.
The ground erupted from all sides of him and he was consumed by the power of the Elements of Harmony. The energy that they held was even more powerful now than it had ever been when she used it with her friends. Cassius let a cry of pure pain leave his muzzle as his shadows were dissolved and he was lifted into the air. Twilight stopped and fired a massive beam of pure white light that struck Cassius dead in the chest and found its was through him. When it passed Twilight wasn't going to take any chances, she fired it again then followed up with her energy bolts. An explosion ripped through the air when the power behind the Elements attack faded leaving a burnt and mangled husk to fall to the ground.
Twilight dropped to her haunches and was breathing heavily from the exertion of master spells. Sereen had a way to give the best gifts when they were needed. Cassius's hold on Twilight’s friends must have died with him, because they all looked as though they didn't know what was going on except for Rainbow Dash. They were released from the grip Luna and Discord were using to keep them pinned. They walked over to Twilight looking at their surroundings in disbelief.

"Twi, What the hay is going on?" Applejack asked.

Still breathing hard Twilight replied," Applejack, Its a long story, but its good to have..."

"You... YOU... FAITHFUL, YOU THINK THIS IS OVER!" Yelled Cassius as he started to get up.

His limbs began to regenerate and the left side of his face was nothing, but his eye and skull. his eyes held a look of pure rage that looked as though flames would shoot from them.
He limped over to them as his legs were trying to fix themselves.

"YoU Can'T KiLl mE, I aM tHe EmBodiMent oF thE ElemEntS of CHAOS!" he shouted as his eyes and horn glowed while laughing maniacally.

Luna stood slack jawed and asked, "How is this possible?"

Cassius turned to look at her, with half of a skull and an eye exposed from the unhealed flesh, "I can't die anymore Luna. I was never dead, I was trapped. I can't die until the balance is restored. NOPONY CAN SAVE YOU NOW!"

A spark flashed in the cold night air. It was bright enough to catch everypony's attention and direct it to the heavens. A white Alicorn with a crimson red mane flew down and landed in front of Twilight. Her cutie mark was on a quill in an ink vile and she had a book was levitated in her magic.

Cassius froze for a moment and then bowed. Everypony did the same, even what creatures remained followed.

"Mother Mare." Cassius whispered.

"Mother." muttered Celestia, Luna, and Discord in unison.

Queen Rosetta looked to her three children and gave only a brief smile before looking back to the now half healed Cassius.

"Cassius Nightshade." She spoke softly. "You have tried to perform your duties to the letter. However, You have become a greater threat to Equestria and you must stop."

Cassius raised his head and looked the queen of creation in the eyes.
Anger still showed heavily in his eyes.

"I will do no such thing your majesty." he spoke as blood seeped from his muzzle.

The flesh on his face began to take shape and undo the damage Twilight had caused.
His eyes however glowed even brighter.

"Mother Mare, I am sorry for what I must do. I can not break the vows I have sworn to the you and the Eternal herd. I am to restore equilibrium to the balance and maintain it. And right now the only thing that will do that is"- Cassius took a step closer to her. -"Your distraction."

Cassius began to close the gap between him and the empress of Equestria.
Tendrils of shadow sprouting from him and everywhere else a shadow could be cast.
Queen Rosetta only let out a sigh and opened the book she had. Before she could write something however, Cassius flung it with a tendril that was created using her own shadow that the moonlight cast. The book was sent flying to him and he used his magic to pluck it out of the air. He looked at the hole in his chest then back to her without lifting his head before he began the painful task of placing it inside. The sound of organs shifting followed by a few grunts of pain from Cassius were heard as it fell into place. The hole in him closed and sealed the book inside.

"I hope you didn't plan... to write me out of existence Mother Mare." Cassius said through heavy breaths.

Queen Rosetta looked in admiration to her determined follower. He had always been one to keep his promises and vows. This was one of his more... crafty ways of doing just that.
She looked to him and let a little smirk appear before she let a blast of rainbow colored light fly at him. It hit true, but was being reflected in all directions around him.

"Mother Mare! I will not let you down! I will restore the balance with your death!"
Cassius said as he pushed past the light using the shadows as a massive shield.

Queen Rosetta was stunned by the determination he had and applied more power.
It wasn't enough, all it did was slow him down. Cassius was getting closer and she was using almost all of her strength. Suddenly a green beam joined the rainbow and Chrysalis was walking over with the sign of strain on her face.

"I'm sorry for what we have done your majesty. Let me make it right." She said through gritted teeth.

Princess Luna ran to their sides and placed her own power to the mix.
Celestia and Discord did the same, taking a place around their mother. The combination of their powers had stopped Cassius but wasn't pushing him back.

"All you are doing is delaying equilibrium! I will fix everything! I...I...I'm sorry!" Cassius yelled.

He began to push forward again using his wings.

"Twilight Sparkle! We need the summoning circle we used for the awakening! Draw it around us!" Princess Luna yelled.

Without hesitation Twilight sprung to her hooves and began to trace the circle around the most powerful beings in all of Equestria. She traced each glyph from her photo memory all the way down to the last detail.

"Finished!" Twilight yelled.

All of them backed away and found a position around the large ring.

"Use telekinesis to pull him in the center!" Celestia yelled.

All of them switched spells and Cassius was flung to the center of the circle and trapped in a barrier like he was in the basement of the library. He let his psychotic smile sit on his muzzle. He placed his head on the walls of the small dome as he stood on his hind legs. Cassius was gazing into Queen Rosetta arctic blue eyes.

"This won't save you." he mumbled as he rolled his head on the smooth surface.

"You have been fighting for over a thousand years Cassius. It is time you rest."
Queen Rosetta said.

Queen Rosetta used her magic to pull him into the wall of the dome. Lifting her left hoof, she slammed it through the wall and into his chest. Cassius spat up blood and began coughing from the pain and force of the impact to his chest. Queen Rosetta removed her hoof and used her magic to retrieve the book from him. She found resistance as his shadows tried to keep their grip on it. A quick flash of light dispersed them and the book was free.

"Cassius Nightshade. You have put Equestria in great danger. The balance was offset not by harmony, but by you. Your return from your slumber and the regaining of all your memories is the cause. I was going to give you a new life here, but somepony decided to give you back your old one." - She looked to Luna who lowered her head. Looking back to Cassius she continued. -"You will not be judged for what you have done these last few days, but you will be removed from this world. Now rest." Queen Rosetta said with authority in the Royal Canterlot voice.

The book opened and she levitated the quill from her cutie mark and began to write in it. Cassius began to fade from the ring in shining fragments of light that floated into the sky.
His eyes began to tear up and the multi colored rings grew dull. His hind legs were now gone and he looked to Luna with an expression that seemed to be his and not what he had become.

"Luna." he whispered in a whine. "I'm sorry for everything. I love you, I always have. Please forgive me."

Luna placed her hooves on the barrier and said, "I do and I love you too. I will always remember you Cassius. One day I will go to the herd and I will see you again."

"I'll be waiting." Cassius said as the last tear fell to the ground and the last spark of light flew up to the heavens.

Cassius was gone and the ring died with his magic. Everypony stood in silence for a few moments. Luna collapsed and burst into tears on the spot. Queen Rosetta motioned for everypony to leave and told them to begin repairs on the town. She walked over to her youngest child and sat next to her.

"Luna. I know how much he meant to you. He has been forgiven for everything and will be waiting for you when you decide to return to the herd." She said softly.

"Mother, it's not fair. I thought I lost him over a thousand years ago. I find him alive just to loose him a few days later. Why would this have had to be the way you wanted things?" Luna asked as she sobbed into her mothers coat.

"Luna!? Everything that I do is for a reason. This was to be a new life for him, but something unexpected happened that I was too late to correct. Until now, when I saw my children working together of a common goal of harmony."

Luna looked to her as she listened intently to her mother's words. Queen Rosetta looked around and saw everyone that was participating in the battle working together to fix and clean the earth and town. At this moment there was no good or evil, only harmony.

"I see this lesson has also been heard by Equestria itself." Rosetta sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them she looked to down to her sobbing daughter. "Luna, I do believe I owe you a few birthday gifts." she said with a warm smile.

"Mother, I don't believe now is such a time too..." Luna started.

"Luna, you will have to wait a little while, but I will give back Cassius. In fact I believe Sereen would also like to return to Celestia's side as well." the queen said with a sly grin on her muzzle.

Luna wasn't sure what her mother was going on about. She looked to the horizon to see the sun was rising on a new Equestria. A new life for everypony was about to begin.

Author's Note:

wiki for info and lure I'm using: http://mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/Lauren_Faust