//------------------------------// // Chapter 90- Making Tough Choices // Story: Of Flame and Shadow // by Garuda IV //------------------------------// The night had been exhausting, and not for the reasons that it should have been. Thanks to Light's appearance and words, after he left, a good number of the nobles who'd attended, along with the castle staff who heard, started to run in a panic about not only the bombs having been planted in Equestria's cities and Ponyville, but also about the news of Inferno's army coming to attack them. In their state of panic, they fled the party and made for their homes, shouting as they ran down the streets and spreading the news to those who were still awake, and those who were woken up by it. Soon enough, most of Canterlot's populace was at a point of mass panic Having thought quickly, Celestia ordered the royal guards to go and contain her panicking ponies, along with Luna's lunar guard, Shining and Cadence's off-duty crystal guards, and the Wonderbolts. Even Discord, who'd given up on trying to track Light down due to his magic interfering with his own, decided to go and do what he could to help. While seeing ponies run around like that would normally give him a nice chuckle, the severity of the situation and the cause behind it was too great to ignore. That, and he also didn't want to disappoint Fluttershy. While Luna and Discord led the guards and the Wonderbolts to quell the fear spreading throughout the city, Celestia led the others into the safety of the castle. Though most of them wanted to go and help in calming the city instead of seeking safety inside, Celestia wouldn't allow for it as she didn't want to risk any of them getting hurt. And despite a number of ponies wanting to go after Light before he got away like Rainbow, Dash, Shining, and surprisingly, Dark, Celestia didn't what that either. While she didn't want Dark out there with how close this was to him, she also didn't want to run the risk with so many lives at stake. So, with no choice but to sit tight and wait, they remained in the now heavily guarded throne room. As they waited, Dark and Twilight found some form of comfort with each other. While they were both upset about Light showing up at the reception like that, it was the ultimatum that he gave that was hitting them the most, namely Dark. Despite the love and warmth from not just Twilight, but also Soul, and their friends and family, Dark's mood didn't improve much as he kept his eyes shut tightly to hold back any tears that would otherwise escape. It took a few hours, but eventually, Luna and Discord returned with Iron Guard, Gray, Saph, Emerald, and Spitfire and Soarin, with news that the civilians had been calmed down to the point where mass panic was no longer an issue. Granted that the ponies were still spooked by it, but at least it was under control now. That, and thankfully, nopony was seriously hurt during that time. But, while this news did allow a few to sigh in relief, Dark remained unmoving. Thinking that he'd gone and fallen asleep, Twilight gently nudged him. As it turned out, Dark wasn't asleep at all, but had remained stoically quiet as he'd been deep in thought during their time waiting. Nudging and calling him again, Twilight waited for a reply. However, when Dark opened his eyes, Twilight immediately regretted it as she became saddened by not just the sight of his eye-color having changed red in anger, but also of the tears that had been let free to flow. After a moment of Celestia talking with Luna and Discord, everyone was cleared to go to their rooms and try to rest, including Maud, Night, and Velvet, who were offered rooms in the castle to sleep in by Celestia, instead of letting them go off back into the streets. With little to no argument, the group was escorted as they all made their way to their rooms. Not long after they made it to their rooms, most of them found themselves quickly falling asleep due to their emotional exhaustion. That is, all but Dark and Twilight, who's minds were too focused on Light's words to fall asleep. It wasn't until a few hours later, and a sleep spell from Twilight, that the two of them finally did manage to fall asleep. The sun appeared as though it was dragging as it slowly rose over the horizon, bringing about the dawn of the new day. Inside their room in Canterlot Castle, Dark at Twilight remained asleep. With how stressful their wedding night had turned out, they had both agreed to draw the curtains before Twilight casted the sleep spell on them, keeping the sunlight from waking either of them as they slept in peace. Of course, while they wanted to just sleep in and rest, their internal alarm clocks wouldn't allow for them to oversleep for too long. By the time the clock struck ten, Dark began to stir as he could no longer continue sleeping. Cracking his eyes open with a silent yawn, he glanced down to see Twilight sleeping against him with a peaceful smile on her face. Though the memoires of last night still weighed heavily on his mind, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the mare he'd just married the day before. Relaxing himself, Dark began to idly run a claw through Twilight's mane, causing her to give a quiet hum of approval as she continued to sleep. Staring lovingly at her as she slept, Dark continued holding her close and gently stroke her mane, enjoying this moment of peace between the two of them while he could. For a while Dark kept this up, not caring about the time that was passing by until Twilight began to stir. Seeing her starting to wake up, Dark leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips, earning him a coo from her as her hooves slid around him and pressed back with a kiss of her own. "Good morning, Mrs. Flame," Dark whispered. Slowly opening her eyes, Twilight smiled when she Dark smiling and gave him a peck. "Good morning, Mr. Sparkle," Twilight whispered back. Sharing another quick kiss, they then proceeded to cuddle in relative silence for a few minutes until Dark spoke up. "How you feeling?" "A little groggy, but otherwise, I'm... alright," she hesitantly replied before looking up at him. "What about you?" Dark shrugged. "I've been up for a while, so I'm alright." "And you didn't wake me, why?" He smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Because I didn't want to wake my beautiful wife when she's sleeping so peacefully. Besides, I don't mind. You're really cute when you sleep, especially when it's with a smile on your face." Twilight smiled at the compliment, but it was short-lived as her expression turned mellow. "And how are you doing?" "Didn't I just say?" Twilight's expression saddened. "You know what I mean, Dark." Letting out a sad sigh, Dark tightened his hug on Twilight. "Yeah... I know..." He looked back down to see her patiently waiting for him. "I'm... not sure what I feel, really," he slowly admitted. "I'm sad and, to be honest, feeling a little depressed about what Light's put before me. But, at the same time, I'm... angry at him. I'm angry about him showing up like that last night, I'm angry that he caused a mass panic last night, and I hate it how he's forcing me to have to choose!" Dark's voice began rising as he continued. "I mean, what kind of a person does this?! Thanks to him, I'm sure that the news has already spread, and everypony in Equestria will soon know that their lives is now dependent on what my answer is!" In his venting, Dark's eyes turned red with anger again with tears of frustration forming. "But I don't want to choose, Twilight! I don't want to leave you and everypony else that I care about to fight Inferno, but I can't just let all of those ponies die because I couldn't bring myself to... to..." Unable to finish, Dark clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as he tried to hold himself together. But it was all for naught as he felt Twilight's forelegs guide his face down into her chest. Letting out a few sniffles, Dark hugged Twilight and quietly cried into her coat as she held him and stroke his mane in comfort. "Nopony should force a decision like that upon anyone, "she quietly said, "and nopony should ever have to make a decision like that, either. I will not ask you to go, Dark, nor would I ever even suggest for you to. You shouldn't have to be the one burdened with something like this." "But I am," Dark whimpered. "I don't want to go, but I'm feeling like I don't have any choice." A few minutes passed before Twilight spoke up again. "We've still got a few days left to think about it. For now, let's try to spend our time together, as husband and wife." Feeling Dark nod, Twilight gave a small smile and relaxed as she laid her head on Dark's, holding him and comforting him as they continued to lay in their bed. As time went by, Twilight felt Dark staring to relax again as he let it out. Eventually, time was soon lost to them as they remained like that together, but it was interrupted when there was a knock at their door. Drawing their attention from it, Twilight looked back and watched as Dark wiped his eyes with one last sniffle. "Guess I should stop moping around like this," he said before putting on a smile and kissing Twilight. "Thank you, Twilight. I'm sorry for how I acted." "Don't be," she gently dismissed. "I'll always be here for you and to support you however you need, for better or for worse." Letting out a small chuckle, Dark began nuzzling Twilight's cheek. "I'll still never understand how I managed to be lucky enough to have somepony like you in my life." *Knock-Knock-Knock* A low, grumpy growl escaped Dark's throat. "I'll go see who it is." Untangling himself from Twilight, Dark slid out from under the bedsheets and made his way over to the door. Throwing it open, Dark was greeted by the sight of Emerald and Saph saluting him. "Good morning, Prince Dark," Emerald spoke. "Princess Celestia has requested yours and Princess Twilight's presence for lunch," Saph said. Dark blinked. "Hey, guys. I'm sorry, Saph, did you say 'lunch'?" "I did," he confirmed. "What time is it?" "It's a quarter past eleven. Why? Is there a problem?" "No, no problem. It's just that I didn't think that it was that late already was all. Guess we overslept more than we figured." The two lieutenants shared a look before Emerald turned to Dark with a smirk. "Shouldn't be surprised," he said with a chuckle. "After all, last night was your wedding night, so I'm sure that you two were pretty busy and didn't get much sleep." Dark's eyes narrowed and darted at Emerald. "Where would you even get the idea of us feeling up to even doing something remotely close to that after what happened last night?!" he snapped, only to see their shocked and nervous expressions a second later. "I'm sorry, Emerald, you didn't deserve that." "No, no. My apologies, Your Highness," he apologized with a bow. "I really shouldn't have said that to begin with." "Darn right you shouldn't have. I swear, Emerald, sometimes I wonder if you have any sense of tact at all," Saph chided him before turning back to Dark. "I'm sorry for his behavior, Prince Dark." "It's fine, and you two don't need to call me that if you don't want to," Dark sighed. "Like I said, I shouldn't have snapped at Emerald like that. And to answer your question: neither of us could sleep last night with what Light pulled on us. At least, until Twilight casted a sleep spell on us." "... if I may, I still can't believe that he's your brother." Dark hung his head and nodded. "Yeah. I'm starting to get that feeling too." "But didn't Princess Celestia say that you were the only survivor of your village?" Emerald wondered. "Light didn't survive. He managed to escape as planned, but instead of going to get us help like he was supposed to, he instead up and abandoned us." The two guards shared a look before Saph spoke up. "Well, I suppose we've overstayed our welcome," he carefully said before they both gave a salute. "Have a good day, Dark, and... we're sorry." "So am I, guys," Dark sighed. "And thank you. You two have a good day too." This business finished, the two guards turned and made their way down one of the halls. With them now gone, Dark closed the door and leaned his head on it with a groan. "Well, that could've gone better," he heard Twilight say from behind as she draped a wing over his back and began nuzzling beneath his chin, "but that also could've gone worse too." "So you heard that?" "Yes. All of it." Dark let out a tired sigh. "I'm so not looking forward to this," he murmured. "It's bad enough that I'm usually pretty sensitive when it comes to the topic of Light, but you guys have been sensitive enough to try avoiding that. Now that everypony knows about us being brothers and what he's done, though... this is going to be difficult to deal with." "I know, but it'll all pass... in time, anyway. Speaking of time, we should probably grab ourselves a shower and get ready and meet up with Princess Celestia. I don't know about you, but I've already missed breakfast, so I'm not going to miss out on lunch." Giving her a silent nod, Dark began making his way over to the joined bathroom to shower up. As he was making his way there, though, he noticed that Twilight was walking right beside him. "Uhhh, Twilight?" "Hmm?" "Did you want to shower first?" Twilight looked back with a half-lidded gaze. "Why can't we both? After all, this wouldn't be the first time we did it, so there shouldn't be any issue with it. That is, unless you don't want a nice, hot, steamy shower with me." Freezing in place, Dark stood still as Twilight walked on ahead and deliberately ran her tail along his muzzle. Seeing her open the door, he gulped when she stopped and gave him a suggestive eye-wink before disappearing into the bathroom. Hearing the water beginning to run, Dark shook his head clear and followed after her. ... maybe this day won't be so bad after all. It was forty-five minutes later when Dark and Twilight were making their way to join Celestia in the dining hall with pleasant smiles on both of their faces. Thanks to their activities in the shower, most of the tension and stress that had been built up from last night had been cleansed, which later caused both of them to silent curse themselves for not having though of doing that sooner to help them relax and go to sleep. As they continued down the halls and past the noticeably increased number of guards patrolling the halls, they eventually came to the open doors of the dining hall where Celestia was in the middle of eating her lunch. Having noticed Dark and Twilight walking in, Celestia put down her food and waved them over. "Thank you two for joining me," she thanked. "Sorry, Princess," Twilight apologized. "We had a difficult time getting to sleep last night with... you know." Celestia nodded. "I see. But just to be sure, you're talking about Light, right?" she asked, having guessed correct when she saw Dark glancing away. "Yeah... him..." Dark answered her. "I understand then. It would explain why I didn't see you two this morning at breakfast. However, you both seem to be in a rather good mood considering." A knowing smile formed when she saw them both blush slightly and glance at each other. "Ahh. I see now. Well then, I'm glad that you two are feeling better." "Thank you," Twilight said before she and Dark took their seats beside each other at the table. Remaining silent, Celestia continued with hear lunch while Dark and Twilight started eating theirs. Several minutes later of letting them eat, she spoke up again. "I'm sorry to have to say this, but after lunch, we'll be convening in the throne room to go over plans for Inferno's army." "Alright," Twilight said with a small sigh. Letting their talk end there, they continued eating until they each had their fill, which included four servings for Twilight, and three for Dark. Setting their empty dishes off to the side, Celestia walked with them as they headed for the throne room. Once they made it inside with the doors closed behind them, they were met with Luna, Shining and Cadence, Gray, Saph, Emerald, Iron Guard, and all but two of Twilight's friends. Seeing them coming in, Twilight and Dark quickly found themselves surrounded by Cadence and their friends in a massive group hug. "How're you guys doing?" Sunset asked. "We're feeling better," Twilight replied. "Well that's good to hear," Rares sighed in relied. "I was rather worried there that your wedding night was ruined with the way that horrible stallion showed up like that. Ehh, no offense, darling," she quickly added, noticing Dark's change of mood. "No, it's... you're right," Dark admitted with a sigh, "he is a horrible pony." He felt somepony hugging him giving him a squeeze and looked back to see it was Applejack. "Don't be so down, sugarcube. We'll find a solution ta fix this problem," she tried reassuring him. "Besides, he's your brother. Ah'm sure you'll figure somethin' out." Dark sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Applejack, but it looks like I may not have a choice this time." "Nor do I," Luna agreed before motioning them with a hoof. "Come. Let us all sit as we discuss this." Listening to her, everyone moved to the rectangular table that was set out for them with Celestia and Luna sitting at the head. "By the way, why are you six girls here?" Shining asked Sunset and her group of friends. "I understand my sister and the Bearers of Harmony being here, and I get that you're her friends, but why are you sticking around?" "Because we want to," Sunset replied before pulling out a scroll. "Also, Pinkie and Pinks both wrote why we should." Shining arched an eyebrow. "And what would be?" "According to this, they say that it's 'because reasons'." "... that's not much of an answer." "Well, it is Pinkie," Rainbow pointed out. "Probably best to not question her about it, especially if she's being that vague about it." While he didn't really like the answer, Shining heard stories about Pinkie and what she could do, though most couldn't be explained. Deciding to go ahead and accept it for now, he took his seat as the others did. "Now, as I was saying," Luna continued, "thanks to the panicking last night, everypony in Canterlot knows about your two choices, Dark." "It wouldn't be surprising if the other cities caught wind of it by now," Shining added. "I'm sure they have," Celestia said. "As for the ponies of Canterlot, I've been dealing with them all morning about what they think must be done. It doesn't help either that Light's threat has made the headlines of every newspaper in the city." "And each are suggesting the same thing..." Luna added, drifting off to let them figure out, which, by Dark's expression, he did. "But that's not fair!" Dash shouted. "Yeah!" AJ shouted in agreement. "They can't expect Dark ta just up and kill his own brother like that!" "But they are," Luna said grimly. "Make no mistake, neither my sister or I approve of this, but ponies are afraid of what will happen if he doesn't." "Dark," Celestia spoke, "nopony here in this room would ask of you to do something like that. Especially Luna and I." With a heavy sigh, Dark shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "I guess that Flash was right after all," he said with a hollow chuckle. "Looks like I owe him an apology." "What do you mean?" "After Sombra's attack on the Crystal Empire, he found out about Light being my brother and confronted me about it, saying that I should be the one to deal with him. Turns out that in the end, he was right." While everyone but Twilight was now staring incredulously at him, it was Applejack who was the most shocked. "You can't be serious!" she shouted. "Ah mean, he's your brother for cryin' out loud!" "Do you really think that I want to do this, Applejack?" Dark sadly asked her. "I know that he's my brother, but he's got me in a corner here. If it weren't for the fact that he's practically holding everypony in Ponyville and those cities hostage, then I would be more than happy to let somepony else deal with him instead, but I can't, nor can ignore him any longer. I don't want to do this, but I have to, and the sooner that I come to accept it, the sooner I can get this over with." Despite not wanting to believe it, Dark knew it to be true. As his body shook from having spoke those last few words, he felt Twilight holding his claw while her wing was wrapped around his back supportingly. "It doesn't help either that the date and time are exactly the same as when Inferno is supposed to attack," Iron guard added. "Yeah, there's that too," Dark sighed. "With me having to deal with Light during the same time as Inferno's attack on Canterlot, I won't be here with you guys to resurrect anypony who dies like I did in the Crystal Empire, so you'll all have to be extra careful if you can." "Well, it's not like we weren't taking that risk before. Besides, we'll be fine. Our guards have toughened up since the changeling invasion, as you've no doubt seen during the Everfree attack on Ponyville. While we're on the subject of our guards, perhaps we should go over what forces we have." "Ah've sent a letter with Pinkie this mornin' ta give ta Braeburn when she and Pinks went back ta Ponyville," Applejack informed them with a small grumble. "Ah'm not sure how helpful we can be, or how many will come, but you'll have the Apple Family here ta support ya." "Yeah, I noticed that they weren't here," Twilight said. "Why did Pinkie and Pinks go back anyway?" "Said somethin' about makin' some last minute adjustments before bringin' their projects over here ta Canterlot. Ah still have no idea what they've been makin', and they didn't say when exactly they'd be back, just that it'd be before the attack happened." "The Pinkie Pies aside," Luna began, "while we are thankful for your family's assistance, Applejack, we do not wish for you and them to suffer any losses for this." "Hey, if that dragon beats us and wins, then everypony will be in this pickle of a mess, so it's better ta stop them here and now before it gets any worse. Besides, they've got somepony special workin' with them down there in Appleloosa, so Ah'm sure that he'll be comin' along too." "Speaking of ponies helping," Rainbow began, "Spitfire spoke to me early this morning before sunrise." She paused when she saw everyone giving her a look. "What? I had a hard time staying asleep last night, so I got up extra early and accidentally bumped into her. Anyway, she wanted me to tell everypony that she and the others were heading back to Wonderbolts Headquarters to get geared up and will be back tomorrow with the others." "Thank you, Rainbow," Celestia thanked. "With them spreading the Dragon Sneeze Tree woodchips and leaves, King Inferno's dragons will be too distracted and unfocused to attack us properly." Dark glanced over to Celestia. "So that's what you did with them." Celestia nodded while Shining cleared his throat. "I should also inform everypony that I contacted Flash this morning through the communication crystal," he told them. "I've ordered him to gather the rest of the crystal guard and have them all board the next train to Canterlot. They'll also be bringing all of the Rage Pellets that we have stored, and the short-ranged communication crystals that we've been working on and disperse them out for the guards to use. That way, we'll be able to immediately send them their orders and communicate with each other, instead of having to send somepony and wait. And before anypony asks, yes, there will be enough for each of us with plenty to spare I'm sure." "We've already tested them and they have a range of up to two miles in a snowstorm, and three miles with clear skies," Gray informed them. "So if we count for all of the dragons, flaming manticores, and pegasi in the air, then we should plan for a two mile range," Twilight figured. "The battlefield may not be as big as we think," Celestia spoke. "If they're planning on attacking Canterlot, then we can use the mountain as a focal point for our communication." "It'll also provide for us with a great overview of the battlefield," Iron Guard pointed out. "That it will. Also, during this time, I want for you girls to stay by my side." Twilight and her Ponyville friends all looked at her. "But what about the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow questioned. "I mean, they'll more than likely want me to be out there with them." "I'm aware of that, Rainbow, and I shall speak to Captain Spitfire about it. Now, like I was saying, I want for each of you to be by our side up on the mountain. Since you'll each have the Elements of Harmony again, you'll all wait until King Inferno decides to enter the battle. When he does, your jobs will be to use the Elements against him and cleanse him of whatever Light has done to him. If all goes well, he should be turned back to normal and see reason again. In which, he'll cease his attack and pull his forces back." "And what about the hellions?" Dark questioned, having broken his silence. "I'm sure that you've got plans and troops for dealing with the dragons, flaming manticores, and salamanders, but what about the hellions?" "I'm sure that Discord and I can do something about them," Luna said with a small smirk. Feeling a little better about it, Dark stood up and sighed. "In that case, I better get ready to go." "Go? Go where?" Twilight wondered. "To Stonewall Village." "Already?" "If I'm to get there by flying and still have any time to rest up, then I'll need to leave soon as I can. Besides, I know of the mountain range it's located in from your books, but not the exact location, so it'll take me some time to actually find it." "There will be no need for you to do that, Dark," Celestia told him. "But, Princess-" "You will stay here, Dark, and spend what time you can with your family and everypony else. Luna and I will provide you with a small airship for you to take to Stonewall Village." "And my troops made a map leading directly to it when we were sent to inspect it last year," Iron Guard told Dark. "I'll have them draw up a copy of it for you to use." Sitting back down, Dark let out another sigh, this one being one of relief than sorrow or worry. "Thank you, everypony." Celestia smiled and turned back from Dark to everyone. "The day before the attack, we'll have Canterlot evacuated to Ponyville. The next morning, the day of the attack, Fissure will lend us the Elements of Harmony while he maintains on keeping the tree alive. After the battle is over with, we'll need to return them back to the Tree of Harmony again. I spoke to Fissure about it, and he said that we'll have one day, that's twenty-four hours, to return them before the tree starts to die again, this time for good." "In that case, we won't let you down and let this chance slip us by," Twilight confidently said, earning her approving responses from her pony friends. "I'm sure that you won't," Celestia said with a smile. "Now then, I believe that that's all that we have to discuss. For now, you may return to what you were doing and try to rest if you can. No doubt that we'll be plenty busy very soon." Being dismissed, everyone got up out of their seats and headed for the door. However, as everyone began to leave the room, Dark pulled Sunset back to speak in private. "Something up?" she asked, watching as Dark's gaze remained on the ground. "I need to talk to you, Sunset," he said. "Okay, so what is it?" Dark peeked down the hallway to see Twilight walking with the others, unaware of him and Sunset not being with them. "I have a favor to ask you." Not liking how that sounded, Sunset's brows narrowed as Dark continued. "I'm sure that you and the others will be leaving Equestria soon." Sunset nodded. "We were talking about it this morning and are planning on heading back home tomorrow. Now, what's this favor you need me to do?" Dark paused and took a calming breath before speaking. "When you go back to Ponyville, I want you to go to my room and take the spare key to my forge located in my nightstand. After that, I want you to use it and take the bits that I have in my forge back with you." Sunset's eyes widened as she took a few steps back. "What?! Why?!" "... for Twilight and our family." Sunset stared, gawking at Dark as he continued. "If it turns out that Light does kill me, then this world will be put out of balance again, but this time for good. What I'm asking you, Sunset, is if that does happen, I want for you to help Twilight rebuild her life in your world with Spike, Soul, our daughter, and anypony else that she brings with her." "But... that's..." "I don't know how many ponies she'll bring with her into your world, though. She might be able to only bring our friends and family, or she might get a few hundred. Maybe even a thousand if she's lucky enough." "What you're talking about is sounding like an exodus," Sunset gaped. "Do Twilight and the princesses know about this?" "I just thought about it while Princess Celestia was talking about their plans against Inferno, so no." Shaking herself out of her stupor, Sunset glared at Dark. "Until you tell them, I won't be agreeing to anything." Dark looked at Sunset in shock. "What?! But-" "No buts! Listen, Dark, we're friends, and I know that you're just looking out for Twilight, but if you're planning something like this, then they need to know. And until they do, I won't give you an answer." Dark opened his mouth to protest, but it quickly died down. With some reluctance, he nodded. "Good," Sunset said. "In that case, I'll go get Princess Celestia and Luna back while you go get Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadence." Dark watched for a moment as Sunset turned around to follow after Celestia and Luna. Now alone, Dark turned around to catch up to Twilight, Shining, and Cadence. Twilight's not going to like this. "I don't like this, Dark." "But, Twilight-" It took Dark and Sunset only a few minutes before the seven of them were back in the throne room, and even less than that for Dark to explain to everypony his plan with Sunset if he failed. "Why would you even think like that?" Twilight incredulously asked him. "Light's been trying to kill me for some time now, and now he has not only Aurora's magic, but also a weapon that's lethal to me," Dark countered. "Still, you shouldn't be thinking like that. You're not going to die, Dark." "Twilight," Cadence softly called, "you know that he's just thinking about you and the others, right?" "Besides," Shining added, "not every battle will end in victory, and not everypony will survive." "But-" Twilight began, but was interrupted when she felt Dark's claw on her shoulder. "Twilight, I was this close to dying when Light attacked me in the Crystal Empire, and I would have if it weren't for Princess Luna showing up. And Don't forget about when I was human and left without my magic. I actually did die for a moment there, but thankfully, that human left my Death Reaver embedded in my stomach, which, according to Nocturne, allowed for the piece of my soul within it to sorta jumpstarted me alive when you fixed the portal and magic started coming through it again." Using this moment of silence in which Dark pulled Twilight into a reassuring hug, Celestia turned to Sunset. "Would the human world even be able to support so that of us?" she asked. "It might, but it'll also be somewhat difficult with there suddenly being two of almost everyone," Sunset answered. "It wouldn't be like we'd have much choice at that point," Shining commented. "It's either stay here and live in a world filled with the living dead, or go through the portal and start a new life there." "I don't like our options either," Luna said, "but if it's to keep our little ponies safe, then there's little choice." Celestia nodded and looked over to Twilight, who was tightly hugging Dark now. "What about you, Twilight?" Hearing her being called, Twilight looked up at Celestia. "If... if Dark... dies... and the dead start to rise again... I'll do it." "Alright, Twilight." "But I'm confidant that Dark won't die," she firmly said, though the hint of desperation in it was noticeable. "He'll come back to us, just like he always does." Dark was about to rebuke Twilight's comment there at the end, but instead remained silent and held Twilight a little tighter. "Sounds like you all got it figured out then," Sunset said with a small headshake. "I don't know how much I can do on my end, but I'll try my best." "Thank you, Sunset," Celestia thanked. "We'll write to you and keep you updated on what happens here. Hopefully this won't come to pass and we won't need to evacuate Equestria." "Yeah. I hope it won't too."