Of Flame and Shadow

by Garuda IV


Chapter 97- A Dark Day

Barely anypony spoke as they worked. Using the spare wooden materials on the airship, the Apples managed to make a simple wooden casket for them to lay Dark in and bring him on board. And while Light's sword wasn't a problem for them to retrieve, Dark's Death Reaver was a bit more tricky as Nocturne had to stop the ponies from picking him up and explain to the them what would happen if they grabbed him. It took them a while to think of a way to get the sword safely on the airship without touching it, but they eventually came to the idea of tying a pair of lassos around the ends of it and having a pair pegasi tow it up. With Dark and his Death Reaver now both on board and secured, and having found the airship Dark used to get here off to the side and still intact, they steered the two airships for the return trip.

The flight back to Canterlot was a rather quiet one as the loss of their prince and friend weighed heavily on their minds. Apart from the wind blowing and the sounds of the engines, the only exception to the mournful silence were the sniffles and whimpers coming from Applejack and Rainbow as they both sat side-by-side. And there, laying in front of them, was Dark's coffin with his crown sitting on top of it.

Glancing up from beneath her hat, Applejack lightly brushed her hoof over the wood.

"It ain't fair," she muttered. "He just got married and was gonna be a pa. Now he'll never get ta see his little filly, and she won't ever get ta see her pa either."

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow slammed her hoof down in frustration and immediately recoiled it as she'd forgotten that that particular bandaged hoof was the one she'd cracked.

"This is my fault," Rainbow whimpered. "If I would've told Princess Celestia sooner, we could've come here sooner and this... this..."

Applejack wrapped a foreleg around her friend. "There's nothin' that ya could've done, Rainbow. If what they said was true when they first found him, then we would've been too late anyway."

Despite knowing that Applejack was right, Rainbow still felt guilty about it. Letting out a shaky breath, she then wiped her tears and tried to put on a brave yet frail face.

"We're still in trouble, Applejack."

"Why?"

Rainbow shot Applejack a sidelong glance. "Two things. First, do you remember what happened with the dead the last time Dark was gone?"

Applejack's eyes widened and her body shuddered. "Yeah, I remember. And since we were on our way here before he died... Ah hate ta ask, but what's Canterlot gonna look like when we get back?"

"If it's like last time, probably everyone who died yesterday will be up walking around again."

Applejack gulped. "And... Inferno?"

"I... I don't know, AJ," Rainbow shakily answered. "But I really, really hope that he doesn't."

"Guess we'll find out when we get there," she sighed. "What was the other thing ya think we're in trouble for?"

Rainbow's gaze fell over Dark's coffin and her head lowered. "It's about Twilight. When Dark disappeared into that other world, we didn't know where he was and Twilight locked herself away in her room..."

"... and now that she's married ta him with a foal on the way," Applejack shivered, "who knows what she's gonna do."

Rainbow let out a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid to find out. But still, she's gonna need us now more than ever."

Silent agreeing, Applejack quietly sat beside Rainbow as the two of them remained by Dark's side. With them in no rush to get back, and not wanting to risk burning out the engines like they almost did on the way to Stonewall, the two of them were told that they wouldn't return to Canterlot until later the next day. And so they sat there in each other's company, quietly watching over their deceased friend and adopted brother. But time was quick to fly by, and before they knew it, it was already nighttime outside. Despite having missed several meals, neither Applejack nor Rainbow were hungry at the moment. Instead, they retrieved a blanket and some pillows from the medical station in the back and laid them out near Dark's casket to try and get some much needed sleep.


Up in Canterlot, things were starting to settle down a little bit. Despite the battle having ended, Celestia and Luna weren't allowing for anypony to return back to Canterlot for a few days yet. While Fissure did return after the Elements had been returned to the tree and used his powers over the earth to shift the ground and hide away the aftermath of the battle, the smell that lingered didn't go away so easily. And so, the two princesses decided to keep the civilians who lived in Canterlot away while the area surrounding it aired out.

Having just finished raising the moon for the night, Luna walked down the halls with a slight limp to her step. Despite the actual damage having been healed up, she was still a bit tender in that leg of hers. Turning down another hall, she came to the doors to the throne room and entered before closing the doors behind her.

"Another long night," she sighed to herself. "No doubt that ponies will be having nightmares about the battle these next few nights, if not weeks."

Luna paused in place for a moment as another sad thought entered her mind.

"And then there are all of those who've lost a loved one during the conflict... still don't know why Tia sent out the casualty list so soon."

Shaking her head, Luna walked up the dais and sat down on the throne. With everything that'd happened lately, she wasn't expecting anypony to show up for night court, leaving her and a few of her night guards guarding the doors alone for the night.

"Suppose I shouldn't delay any longer."

Lighting her horn, Luna's mind entered the Dreamscape. As she expected, she found a large number of nightmares that required her interference. While most of them did involve a family member who lost somepony during the battle, there were a few of those who were involved in it that needed help as well, namely Spike.

Sighing to herself for what was to come, Luna started her night with Spike's dream and ended the nightmare before moving on to the next one in line. Moving from one dream to another, Luna was pleased to see that Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy weren't having any nightmares tonight, unlike the night before. Continuing onward, Luna exited the latest nightmare and glanced around.

"Huh. I thought that there would've be more than that," she said to herself.

Shrugging, Luna expanded her senses outward to check in on the rest of her little ponies. When she did, she found her attention being captured as she found a cluster of dreams moving steadily across Equestria. But, what caught her attention besides them being in close proximity and moving, was the nightmare she sensed from them, and a collection of other less pleasant dreams from the others surrounding them. Curious, Luna entered the nightmare to get a look at what she was dealing with. When the scenery began to clear, Luna found herself below deck of the Applebreaker.

"Curious," she muttered. "Why would somepony dream of this-"

Luna paused when she heard a quiet sound coming from behind her. Rotating her ears, she soon made out the sounds of somepony sniffling. Looking back behind her, Luna paused when she saw Applejack and Rainbow sitting side-by-side in each other's embrace and weeping. Curious and worried as to what could cause them to act like this, Luna quietly walked over to them to ask. But before she could speak, her voice faltered and her body froze as she saw the wooden box sitting in front of them, along with a very familiar crown sitting on top of it.

"... oh no."

Hearing the voice, Applejack and Rainbow both looked up and flinched when they saw Luna standing there looking over them at Dark's coffin.

"P-Princess Luna?"

Hearing Applejack's voice, Luna looked down to see the both of them now looking fearfully at her.

"What are... what are you doing here?" Rainbow asked.

"I sensed your nightmare and came to inspect it," she replied, eyes drifting back up. "However, you both seem to recognize me, so who's dream am I in exactly?"

Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other and shrugged. "Ah'm sorry, Princess, but we don't know."

A shared dream then, Luna mentally figured. They must have shifted in their sleep and ended up close enough to create one.

She motioned towards the coffin behind Rainbow and Applejack. "In any case, what is the reason for dreaming of something like this? Has something happened to Dark?"

Both mares winced as their gazes fell downward.

"Y-Yeah... there is," Applejack replied with a gulp.

Seeing their hesitation, Luna's expression fell as she asked a question that she feared having answered.

"... this isn't just a nightmare, is it?"

They gave a small nod before Rainbow spoke up.

"The guards said that Dark was dead hours before we arrived," she quietly said. "The Apples managed to make this for him before the guards brought him up. We're flying back to Canterlot right now and should be there sometime around sunset."

"But... how did Dark manage to lose to Light?"

"Accordin' ta Nocturne, Dark didn't actually lose," Applejack explained. "Turned out that Light casted some kinda spell on Dark, but it didn't work until after Light had died."

Saddened by the news, Luna lowered her head in a silent prayer for Dark while Rainbow and Applejack returned to their grieving. Knowing what they were feeling, Luna walked over to them and wrapped them in her wings.

"I am truly sorry for your loss," she apologized. "He was a good stallion."

"Yeah... he was," Rainbow agreed.

"Wasn't he a friend of yours too, Princess?" Applejack asked, getting a small nod from Luna.

"That he was, Applejack. And despite already having lost many friends to the sands of time and to battle, it still doesn't hurt any less now than it did the first time."

Remaining still, Luna sat there as she silently held the two. For a while she remained with them until their sniffles and whimpers receded.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you'll have to excuse me," she spoke, removing her wings from around them and standing up. "I need to return and inform my sister of this news."

"And what about Twilight? Will you tell her too?" Rainbow wondered, causing Luna to freeze up.

"... that will be rather difficult. I'll have to talk to Celestia about how to best approach it first. Until then, I'll get rid of this and leave you two with a more pleasant dream."

Lighting her horn, Luna changed the scene for Applejack and Rainbow to that of Sweet Apple Acres. With them in a more content dream, Luna retreated her consciousness from the Dreamscape and returned to her body. Flickering her eyes, Luna walked down from her throne and made her way over to the doors.

"I need to speak with my sister," she informed the two guards. "If anypony should be looking for me, tell them that I am currently unavailable, and if it's important, to make an appointment at a later date."

Seeing their nods, Luna pushed the doors open and made her way over to Celestia's bedchamber, her hooves dragging along the carpet as the weight of what she had to relay slowed her down. While it would've normally taken her ten minuets to get there on hoof, it had instead taken her almost thirty by the time she found herself standing in front of the double oak doors with Celestia's cutie mark on them. Knowing there was no turning back now, Luna breathed in heavily and gave three firm knocks against the wooden door. Not long after, she heard grumbling from the other side of the door before it opened up to a rather groggy Celestia.

"Luna? What is it?" she asked, leaning on the doorframe to keep herself from sleepily swaying.

Luna let out a small sigh as she looked at her older sister with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm sorry to disturb your slumber, Celestia," she began, "but I have just been informed of some rather unpleasant news."

Having been called by her full name, along with the look on her face, Celestia snapped out of her tiredness and willed herself awake.

"What is the matter, Luna?"

Instead of answering, Luna motioned for them to go inside. Only once they were both in Celestia's bedroom with the door closed and magically sealed behind them did Luna face Celestia and speak.

"I won't dawdle with this, so I'll just come out and say it," Luna said before taking a calming breath. "I have just been informed that Dark Flame is dead."

There was a silent pause as Celestia took a few moments to process that.

"... are you sure of this, Luna?" she unsurely asked.

"Sad to say that I am. I went to investigate the nightmare of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and it is there that the two of them informed me of what had happened. They also informed me that they'll be arriving by sundown."

Celestia shook her head in disbelief and massaged her forehead while Luna continued.

"Tia... what are we to do about Twilight?"

"We will tell her tomorrow. For now, though, let her rest," Celestia sighed sadly before looking over to the doors to her room. "I just hope she won't take it too badly."


"I don't believe you," Twilight defiantly said.

It was just past noon when Celestia and Luna pulled Twilight off to the former's room and sat down with her to tell her privately about what Luna had been told the previous night. As they expected, Twilight wasn't handling the news too well. While she wasn't blindly destroying everything in her unbridled sorrowful rage, her sense of denial wasn't making things much better for the two sisters either.

"Twilight, I know that this is hard to believe, and that it's even harder to hear, but Luna-"

"Is wrong!" Twilight interrupted Celestia. "There's no way that Dark could lose to somepony like him!"

"Forgive me, Twilight," Luna apologized, "but incase you didn't hear me the first time, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the ones who had informed me of this. And I'm sure that neither of them would lie about it, nor would they even joke about something like this, am I right?"

Twilight's eyes darted around nervously. "M-Maybe they just saw things? Yeah. That's probably it."

Celestia frowned sadly. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but Dark's de-"

"Don't say it!" she snapped, immediate silencing Celestia before turning to Luna. "You said that they'll be here around sunset, right?"

"I did," Luna confirmed.

"Good. Then in that case, we'll just wait until then and see. When they pull in and dock, you'll both see that you were all wrong and that Dark is alive."

Feeling shaken and having enough of this, Twilight got up and left Celestia's bedroom. Once they could no longer hear her hoofsteps, Celestia and Luna both let out a sad sigh.

"This isn't going to end well," Celestia muttered.

"She's in denial, Tia. It's a perfectly normal stage of grief for any grieving pony," Luna said. "We should know that better than anypony."

"I know, Luna, but it's just going to make it that much harder for her when she's faced with the truth."

Luna nodded and pushed her cup of tea way, no longer feeling thirsty. "What about the dead? Have any of them started to rise again?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, they haven't," she replied. "Although, it is curious how the dead are remaining dead this time."

"One would think that with Dark's death, the dead would rise like they did before when he was sent to the world beyond the portal."

"I suppose that'll be a question that we'll have to ask Nocturne... after they get back."

"And what will we do for Twilight when they do get back?" Luna cautiously asked.

Celestia remained silent for a moment as she thought about it. "With how far she is into her pregnancy, I doubt that Twilight will be able to do much damage in terms of magic. Of course, when the time does come, I have little doubt that she'll be an emotional wreck, and at that point, she'll need all of us there to support her through it."

Groaning, Luna stood up and stretched. "Alright, but if she appears to be getting out of control and hysterical, then I'll cast a sleep spell on her. We can't risk having her accidentally harm anypony else, or worse, herself and the foal. Until then, I shall retire to my chambers and get some sleep. Apart from what's to come at sundown, I'll more than likely have my hooves full with Twilight's dreams tonight... and that of her friends."

"Alright. Have a pleasant rest, Luna, and I'll see you in a while."


Later that evening at the airship docks, Twilight and her three friends stood waiting for the others to return. Along with them were Cadence and Shining, Spike, and towards the back, Celestia and Luna. Before they had gathered, the two sisters went to Cadence and Shining and relayed to them what Luna was told. While their first thought was going to talk to Twilight and check in on her, Luna stopped them when she told them about how she reacted when they told her the first time. Agreeing to not do or say anything about it for now, Cadence and Shining instead opted to keep a close eye on Twilight.

"How much longer do you think it'll take until they get here?" Pinkie wondered.

"It could be any minute as far as we know," Rarity spoke. "Why the rush?"

"I'm just anxious to have everypony here so I can get started on our victory party," she beamed, oblivious to the four royals wincing behind her.

"Perhaps it would be best if we held off on the party for now, Pinkie," Cadence cautiously suggested.

"What?! Why would I do that?!"

"... well, Pinkie..."

"Now may not exactly be the most appropriate time for one," Celestia finished for Cadence. "We just got done with a large battle yesterday," her eyes subtly glanced at Twilight, "now's a time for ponies to mourn for those loved ones who have passed on. Throwing a party right now may have the opposite reaction and do more harm than good for them."

Pinkie looked like she was about to argue with it, but after thinking about it for a moment, her eyes softened and mane deflated slightly.

"Yeah... I suppose a party wouldn't be a very good idea right now," she admitted.

"Perhaps you can throw one next week then?" Twilight optimistically suggested. "I'm sure that ponies will have gotten over the worse of it, and could use some cheering up by then."

Noticing the tone of her voice, Spike shot Twilight a glance, knowing that something was off with her. Besides that, he also noticed that she'd been unusually chipper since after Celestia and Luna pulled her off in private to talk, but hadn't asked about it.

"Is something up, Twilight?" he asked.

Twilight looked back at him and smiled. "Of course not, Spike. What makes you say that?"

"It's just that you seem to be acting a little bit off lately."

"I've noticed something odd about you too," Rarity voiced. "Twilight, dear, is there something going on that you're not telling us?"

"Of course there isn't," she denied, waving it off with a hoof. "I'm just anxious to see Dark again."

Letting out a sad sigh, Cadence walked up alongside Twilight. "Listen, Twilight. Aunty Celestia and Luna told Shiny and I about what happened. Now, it's understandable for you to be in denial about it, but-"

"Oh, look! I think I see them!"

Following the direction of where Twilight was pointing, the images of a large and small airship could be spotted flying towards them.

"Sorry to interrupt," Fluttershy spoke, "but what's she talking about, Twilight?"

"Nothing, Fluttershy. Nothing at all."

Seeing that her mind wasn't going to be changed at this point, Cadence draped her wing over Twilight in a quick and gentle hug before retreating back to Shining's side as the two airships started to make their descent.

Confident that they were wrong, Twilight stood ahead of them all and patiently waited for the Applebreaker to dock. As it lowered, she and the others started to see the Apples, guards, and Wonderbolts standing in a line alongside the airship. Soon enough the airship docked and a pair of Apple family ponies extended the ramp out. However, instead of them filing out, they instead removed their hats and stood off to the side.

Curious as to why they'd removed their hats and weren't coming down, Twilight was about to approach them when she spotted movement through the line of ponies. Seeing some form of movement, Twilight smiled and waited patiently for Dark, Rainbow, and Applejack to come walking off of the airship. And while she did see her two friends appear from the end of the line, there wasn't any Dark. Wondering what was going on, Twilight stood still and waited until Applejack and Rainbow stopped in front of her, both with puffy eyes and matted streaks of fur.

"Hey, girls," Twilight greeted, before noticing the looks on their faces. "What's wrong? Why do you look so sad?"

Applejack and Rainbow shared a worried look.

"... didn't Princess Luna tell you?" Rainbow cautiously asked.

Twilight cocked her head to the side. "Tell me what?"

Applejack removed her hat and placed it over her chest. "Well... it's about Dark..."

As it to accompany what she was about to say, the sound of Iron Guard walked across the wooden plank caused them to look back. And there following behind him, were four of his royal guards, carrying a long wooden box draped with a white blanket, and Dark's crown and Death Reaver laying on top of it. Hearing the sharp inhale coming from behind them, Rainbow and Applejack slowly looked back in front of them and lowered their heads when they saw Twilight staring at the casket with wide, horrified eyes.

"Ah'm sorry, Twi... but we were too late..."

After several seconds of no reply from her, Applejack and Rainbow started to feel worried by her silence. Risking a glance, the two of them looked up and were met with Twilight, tears flowing freely, teeth clenched, body shaking, and hyperventilated breathing.


Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Night, Velvet, and the Dazzlings brought Soul over to play with the Crusaders, while they, along with Aurora's egg, talked with Granny, Big Mac, and Cheerilee. Since news of their victory had reached their ears, they thought that some time out of the castle and over at the orchard would be a welcome change of scenery and relief from the stress these last few days put them under. With Soul, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo playing in the yard, Night and Velvet sat on the porch with the Dazzlings and adult Apples as they talked and watched over the foals play. However, the talking and sounds of playful laughter were silenced as a scream echoed across the sky.

"Am I hearing things, or did that kinda sound like Twilight?" Sonata asked.

"I think so," Velvet said before turning to Night. "What about you, dear?"

"It did sorta sound like her," he agreed.

"But isn't she supposed to still be up in Canterlot?" Adagio questioned.

"As far as I know she is. But why would she be screaming like that?"

"Ah have a pretty good idea," Granny sighed.

"You do?"

Slowly, Granny nodded and closed her eyes as she looked up to the heavens. "Ah do. After all, it's the exact same sound that Ah made when Ah lost my husband all them years ago."

It didn't take long for them to put two and two together, and when they did, Velvet brought a hoof to her mouth as she looked over to Canterlot Mountain.

"Oh Celestia no," Velvet muttered.

"This can't be good," Aria muttered. "Does that mean then that Dark's... dead?"

"Ah'm afraid so," Granny confirmed.

"Granny? Is somethin' wrong?"

Remembering that they had four foals there in front of them, the adults all tried their best to mask their expressions.

"Everything is fine, children," Cheerilee told them, getting up and shooing them inside. "Now, how about we go inside and get something to eat? It's about that time of the day anyway."

While the three Crusaders went along with it without question, Soul hung back for a moment, feeling the swarm of negative emotions flooding off of the adults for a moment before following in after the others.


When Twilight screamed out in anguish for seeing Dark and realizing that he was truly dead, she accidentally used the Royal Canterlot Voice, causing her voice to reach beyond the city and shatter every window within a four block radius of the airship docks. Before she could get anymore hysterical than she already was, Twilight found herself being held by her friends as they all tried to provide her with comfort. Despite their attempts, Twilight continued to struggle, but it didn't last for long as Luna walked up to her and placed her horn to Twilight's forehead, causing Twilight to start losing consciousness before she fell asleep seconds later. But even when she was asleep, while she was no longer thrashing and crying out loud, it didn't stop her tears from flowing as she slept.

With little more to do for her at this point, Luna gently lifted Twilight onto her back and proceeded to bring her to her room to rest with Spike and the others following them, while Celestia, Shining, and Cadence stayed behind to look after Dark's remains. Making it to her room, Luna gently laid Twilight's weeping form down on her bed and drew the covers over her. Lighting her horn, she laid it against her forehead again, this time producing a peasant dream for her in hopes of lessening her pain.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Twilight," she whispered.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Luna turned back around and quietly exited Twilight's room where her friends and Spike waited for them, each with watery eyes of their own.

"She will be asleep for some time," Luna told them.

All around she got a quiet dejected nod in response.

"I can't believe that he's actually gone," Spike quietly said in disbelief. "He even Pinkie Promised, and nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise."

"But he didn't break it," Pinkie corrected, sniffling as she wiped her eyes. "He promised that he'd return to us and he did... just not how any of us had expected."

Spike quietly nodded and wiped a tear of his own. "So what do we do now?"

"All we can do at this point is be there for Twilight when she wakes up, and try our best to help her through this," Luna told them. "I will do what I can in her dreams while she's asleep, but the rest of you will need to be there for her while she's awake."

"As will we."

Everyone looked over and saw Cadence walking up to them with a sad frown on her face.

"It will take some adjusting, but Shiny and I will see if Captain Gray and his lieutenants will be willing to watch over the Crystal Empire for a week while we stay here with Twilight."

"Is that such a wise decision?" Luna questioned. "I understand that you two care for her, but to leave the Empire right after such a battle as what we just went through?"

"Captain Gray and the others can handle it just fine. Besides, it'll only be for a week so that we can help her through the worse of it."

Luna nodded in understanding. "I take it that's why you're here then? To check on Twilight?"

"Yes. How is she right now?"

"Sleeping, thankfully."

"Alright. I also came to inform everypony that Dark has been brought to the catacombs if any of you want to go see him."

"I suppose I should," Luna said. "I can show you the way there if anypony wishes to join me."

Without a word, Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie got up and walked up alongside Luna, while the others remained near Twilight's door in a group hug.

"I know the way there," Spike told them. "You all go on ahead, we'll catch up later."

Letting them be, Cadence and Luna led the way down to the catacombs. When they got there, they paused when they entered the torch-lit room and saw Celestia sitting on the far end. And there, on a small risen platform was where Dark laid, his body out of the makeshift casket with a white blanket draped over him, his crown laying on his chest, clothes folded off to the side, and his Death Reaver laying between him and Celestia.

Hearing the sounds of hoofsteps echoing behind her, Celestia turned around with a sad smile.

"Please, come in."

Listening to her, Luna and Cadence walked up and sat down on either side of her, while Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie were more slow in their movements.

"Nocturne here just finished giving me the details about what happened to Dark," Celestia informed them.

"Would you care to tell us as well?" Luna asked.

"I might as well," Nocturne said. "During Dark's battle with his brother, Light casted a spell on Dark. I didn't know what it was at the time, but it felt familiar somehow."

"What did the spell do?" Cadence asked.

"The spell Light used was an alteration of one that Aurora and I made together. It was intended for married pairs to use, ensuring that neither would outlive the other. However, Light somehow managed to alter it so that if Dark would die, then Light would still live. But, if Light died instead..."

"Then so would Dark," Applejack muttered, figuring it out.

"Right. Of course, Dark couldn't bring himself to kill his brother, so I did it for him, unaware of what Light had done to him."

Rainbow's teary eyes hardened as they slowly turned to the sword.

"So you mean to tell me that you're the one who killed Dark?" she growled.

Pinkie placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "It wasn't his fault, Dashie," she sniffled. "He didn't know that that would happen to him."

Silently, Rainbow got up and made her way to the exit.

"Rainbow?" Applejack called, causing her to stop for a moment.

"I'm fine, AJ," she replied. "I just need to get out of here and cool off for a while."

With that, Rainbow zoomed out of the catacombs, leaving Applejack, Pinkie, and the three princesses behind.

"Should we go after her?" Pinkie asked.

Celestia shook her head. "She'll be alright. We just need to give her some space for now."

Silently nodding, Pinkie and Applejack remained seated as they were for a few minutes longer before Celestia spoke up again.

"We should probably get going pretty soon," she suggested. "You two and the others can all come back tomorrow to see him if you wish."

"But won't his body start ta decay by then?" Applejack grimaced.

"I've casted a spell on Dark to preserve his body for a few more days. After that, we'll be laying him to rest in that tomb behind him."

Glancing up, Applejack and Pinkie saw a stone coffin they'd missed sitting on the other side of Dark. Looking away from it and down at Dark, Applejack got up and walked up to him. Telling which part was his head and which was his tail, Applejack leaned down and awkwardly hugged Dark's body for a while before pulling away for Pinkie to have a turn. Whispering a quiet goodbye to him, Applejack and Pinkie grabbed Dark's clothes and followed the princesses out of the catacombs.


It was the middle of the night when Twilight woke up with a start. While Luna's magic over her dreams did work for a time, it soon wore off, leading Twilight to the nightmare that had awoken her. Remembering what had happened before Luna put her under, Twilight's crying began anew. Curling up as best she could, Twilight's hooves brushed against her belly, reminding her that she wasn't quite alone. Wiping her eyes with a hiccup, she gently caressed her belly with a sniffle. Laying silently in her bed, Twilight continued to rub her belly until she was interrupted by an unexpected source.

"Oof!"

Surprised by the new feeling, Twilight's tears stopped flowing for a moment as she looked down at her belly in shock. Carefully, she brought her hooves back down and placed them over her belly again. Few moments later, she felt that same sensation again, but this time confirmed it as her foal kicking. Wrapping her forelegs around her baby-kicking belly, Twilight felt a new wave of tears flowing, both in joy for feeling her foal's first kicks, and because that Dark couldn't be here to share this with her.

"I'm sorry, little one," Twilight apologized, voice cracking as she spoke, "but daddy isn't here anymore."

As in response, Twilight felt her foal give another kick, this one being its strongest yet. Grunting, Twilight rubbed the spot over where it kicked and sighed. Figuring that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep with how rowdy the foal was, Twilight wiped her tears away before sliding out of bed and quietly making her way to her bedroom door. Cracking it open, Twilight peeked her head out to see if anypony was around. Seeing that she was alone, she quietly closed the door behind her and made her way towards the kitchen for something to eat. Traversing the quiet, darkened hallways, Twilight's trip was uneventful as nopony was spotted, just as she'd hoped, seeing as she wasn't in the mood for any company at the moment. Several long minutes later, Twilight finally reached her destination.

Pushing the door to the castle kitchen open, she was mildly surprised to see that none of the nighttime kitchen staff were present. Not bothering to put much thought into it, Twilight went straight for the fridge where she found a jar of pickles. Levitating them out with her magic, she closed the fridge door and then moved to the freezer where she found a tub of vanilla ice-cream. Pulling that out, she kicked the door shut behind her and took a seat at the table sitting in the center of the kitchen. Pulling a bowl out of the cupboard, Twilight used her magic to scoop the ice-cream into it and applied a heat spell onto the bowl. With the ice-cream being softened, Twilight opened the jar of pickles, dipped one of them in the ice-cream, and started to snack on it, listening as the pickle crunched in her mouth. Despite them being some of the larger pickles, it didn't take Twilight long to finish it off before she pulled out another and started up on that one. Before she knew it, Twilight found that she'd eaten almost half of the pickles, but still found herself hungry for more.

"I though that I might find you here."

Yelping in surprise, Twilight looked over to the doorway and saw Luna standing there with a sad, yet amused look on her face.

"Then again, your crunching wasn't all that subtle either," she playfully jabbed.

Seeing that Twilight wasn't responding much to her joke, Luna sighed and grabbed a bowl and spoon of her own before joining Twilight at the table for some ice-cream. For a while they sat there, the only sounds being heard being spoon against a glass bowl, and the crunching of pickles. By the time the tub of ice-cream was about half-empty, Luna was starting to think that coming here to talk was a mistake until Twilight finally spoke.

"How did you know I would be here?" she asked.

Luna gave a small smile. "I could no longer sense you in the Dreamscape, thus figured that you had awakened. And seeing as how you didn't have anything to eat since lunchtime, this was the first place I figured that you'd be, if not your room still."

"So you didn't really know that I'd actually be here or not?"

"Not really."

Giving her a small nod, Twilight went back to her snack and finishing another pickle before pausing from taking a bite of the next one.

"I'm sorry."

Luna blinked. "Pardon?"

Twilight looked up at Luna with watery eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for, Twilight?"

"For how I acted and treated you and Princess Celestia yesterday. All you two did was try and help ease me in with what you were told, and instead of listening to you two, I interrupted you, shot you both down, and ignored your words."

Luna sat her spoon down and gave Twilight her full attention. "While it was a little bit of a surprise despite us seeing it coming, we also do not blame you for your actions, Twilight. Your reasons for not wanting to believe us were understandable."

"I know, but still..."

Twilight's words trailed off as a new wave of tears flowed from her eyes again. Closing them and sniffling, Twilight didn't see it when Luna sat herself down by Twilight's side until she felt her wing draping around her. Feeling the comforting hug, Twilight buried her face in Luna's shoulder as she started to softly rub her back with a hoof.

"Why did he have to die, Princess?" Twilight muttered. "Is this some form of punishment for him for all of the dragons he's killed?"

"I do not know, Twilight," Luna softly replied, nuzzling her head in comfort. "Sometimes, bad things just happen to good ponies."

Luna patiently sat as she was while Twilight used her as a cry pillow until her it started to taper off to light sniffles.

"Perhaps you should go see him now?" Luna suggested. "While my sister did cast a spell to preserve his body for a few days, it would probably be best for you to go now and 'rip off the band-aid', as the saying goes."

"I don't' know if I can..."

"I know that it's hard and that it hurts, but it will only get worse if you delay it further. All of your friends, Spike, Cadence and Shining Armor, even Tia and I have gone to pay our respects to him. Now it's your turn, Twilight."

"... are you sure?"

Luna gave her a small smile. "Take it from a pony who's lived thousands of years, Twilight. I really do know what you are going through, and for me, I found this method to work best."

Hesitantly, Twilight nodded against Luna's shoulder and stood up as she slowly broke from her hug on her.

"Alright... I'll go..."

"Very well then. Would you like some company?"

Twilight though about it for a brief moment before giving a small nod. "I think I could use a little bit of company actually."

Standing back up, Luna nodded and stretched her stiff legs before walking over to the door with Twilight.

"Wait," Twilight paused, "what about the food?"

Without looking, Luna lit up her horn and put the remaining ice-cream and pickles away while simultaneously putting the dishes in the sink.

"There. That should do it."

Nothing more to distract them, Luna and Twilight made their way towards the catacombs. Apart from the few guards that they passed patrolling the castle, their walk was uneventful and quiet between the two of them. It was only when they reached the stone doors leading into tomb did Luna speak.

"Are you ready?"

Twilight, though nervous and not really ready, nodded regardless, knowing that this moment would come sooner or later.

"Alright then."

Pushing the door open for her, Luna stepped off to the side to allow for Twilight to go on ahead of her.

"Is it okay if I go in alone?" Twilight asked.

Hearing her request, a brief and fearful thought struck Luna, causing her to look over Twilight with a hint of worry.

"You aren't planning on pulling a Pony'o and Muleliet, are you?" Luna carefully asked, earing her a shocked expression from Twilight.

"What? No! Why would you even think of that?!"

Luna winced. "My apologies, Twilight. It's just that with... you know... and you being in there all alone..."

Twilight nodded, now seeing what she was getting at. "While I do see the similarities, I have no intention of doing something like that to us."

"To... ah, yes. Well then, in that case, if you need me for anything, I shall be waiting right out here."

"Thank you, Princess Luna."

Nodding, Luna closed the stone door behind Twilight. Now alone, Twilight took in a deep, calming breath and walked down the torch-lit hallway until she spotted what she came here to see. Air catching in her throat, Twilight held back her tears as she slowly continued forward before coming to Dark's prone form and sat down. However, despite her best attempt, Twilight couldn't hold back her tears for very long, and before she knew it, her cheeks were stained by them once again as they ran down and landed on the blanket covering Dark's body. Letting out a small hiccup, Twilight brought a hoof over and gently glided it over the outline of Dark's head while she held her other over her belly.

"I wish that you were still here," she whispered.

"In a way, he still is."

Taken by surprise by the voice, Twilight glanced down off to her side and saw Dark's Death Reaver laying there.

"... oh... hi, Nocturne," Twilight half-heartedly said before turning back to Dark. "What do you mean by that?"

"While the spell Light used on Dark may have removed his spirit from his body, while forging this weapon, Dark did put a piece of his soul into it."

"Yes. I remember you guys saying something like that when he showed it to us the morning after he forged it." Twilight let out another sad sigh. "But that doesn't really help him right now, does it?"

"..."

Hearing no response, Twilight figured that Nocturne was just being unwilling to reply and returned her attention back to Dark.

"I still can't believe that he's really... you know..."

"Do you know that he actually did die before?"

Twilight's ears perked up a little at this new information. "What? When?"

"When he was taken prisoner in the human world."

"But Dark told me that he almost died, not actually died."

"So he thinks," Nocturne corrected.

Feeling a small spark of hope at where this might go, Twilight rotated around where she sat until she was directly facing Nocturne.

"What happened then?" she cautiously asked.

"That hooded guy, who Light told us was actually his human self, took the Death Reaver and ran Dark through with it."

Nocturne paused, expecting a surprise gasp or something from Twilight. When he heard nothing coming from her, he continued on.

"Anyway, for a brief few seconds after that, I could tell that Dark had died."

"Then what happened?"

"Since a piece of his soul remained within the sword and it was impaled though him, and it was just after he died, the soul fragment in this sword was able to jumpstart the soul still trapped in his body and revive him."

Twilight's expression deflated immediately. "I remember what he said about the thirty minute rule. And since they found him hours after he'd... you know, he was far past the required time limit."

"While that's true, remember that there are a few exceptions."

"Like what?" she asked in a defeated tone.

"For example, while his body's spirit may no longer be there, there's still the piece sealed away in this sword. If a specific condition is met, it could be used to revive Dark. However, the soul would no longer be contained within the sword, so it's a one-time thing."

Twilight's eyes narrowed slightly as her voice took on a small edge to it.

"Why didn't you tell anypony about this when they found Dark so that they could revive him then?" she calmly asked, though Nocturne could easily feel her anger rising behind them.

"Because that 'special condition' I mentioned would be that the one to do it would need to have death magic flowing through them. And since Dark took over those particular powers of mine, he's the only being in this world who can do it. Now, we could go back through that mirror and asked that world's version of me to help, but if he wasn't pleased about us being there, then I highly doubt that he'll be willing to come over here."

Her anger quickly dissipating, Twilight hung her head in defeat. While Nocturne's idea sounded good at the time, they were missing the one thing for making this work. Feeling her foal kick again, Twilight let out a small grunt and looked down at her belly.

"For somepony who's just started, you've been rather active lately," she commented.

"Who are you talking to?" Nocturne asked.

"The foal," she replied, rubbing the spot where she kicked. "She just started kicking not long after I... woke... up..."

Slowly, a thought came to Twilight, causing her eyes to widen and shine with a glint of hope.

"... I know that look," Nocturne spoke. "You've just thought of an idea, didn't you?"

Twilight slowly looked from her belly to Nocturne. "You said that only someone with death magic can use Dark's soul fragment in the Death Reaver to resurrect him, right?"

"Yes, I did," he replied, wondering where she was going with this. "But incase you've forgotten, Dark's the only one in this world who has that kind of magic."

A small smile creeped up on Twilight as she rubbed her belly with a hoof. "No, he's not. There's another, and she's right here."

"..."

"Nocturne?"

"..."

Curious as to why he was keeping silent, Twilight leaned over and gave him a curious look.

"Hey, are you there?"

"... if I had a body, I'd be bashing my skull against the wall right now."

"Huh?"

"You are right, Twilight," he clarified. "That foal of yours is also Dark's, so she inherited his powers over death. It's probably why none of those who've died lately are still walking around."

"So our foal can bring Dark back to life when she's born?" Twilight hopefully asked.

"Yes, but we won't have to wait that long," Nocturne told her. "You two are still connected, so some of her death magic is flowing through your own. While your foal may be providing the required magic, you, Twilight, could use it to bring Dark back to us."

For the first time since she spoke with Celestia and Luna in her bedroom, Twilight found herself smiling, but stopped when a concerning thought came to mind.

"What would happen to her though? If I did this, what would happen to the foal?"

"As far as I know, nothing. Like I said, all that's required is a being who possesses a Lord of Death's death magic. I never said that there was an amount that was required."

"Alright, but I still can't touch you without getting cursed."

"That won't be an issue either," Nocturne corrected. "Besides Dark having given you permission already, with the foal growing inside you being the future Lady of Death, the Death Reaver will recognize her as its owner, and by extent, you. It's similar to the what had happened when Dark took the Death Reaper scythe back from Sombra."

Hesitantly, Twilight reached out with her magic and lifted the sword up. After a few moments of waiting, when she saw that she wasn't being cursed, she carefully hugged the weapon.

"You don't know how much this means to me, Nocturne," she said with a smile.

"I have a pretty good idea," he said with a with an amused tone. "Besides, things have been interesting with him around, so having him gone would make things a little bit boring for me."

"Alright. So then, how do we do this?"

"That's going to be the unsettling part."

Twilight cocked her head in confusion. "How so?"

"Much like what the human version of Light did to Dark, in order for this to work, the sword will need to be embedded within Dark."

Twilight's face paled. "Are you saying that I'll have to stab Dark?!"

"Pretty much, but preferably in his midsection," he confirmed. "If it makes you feel any better, at least he won't feel it."

"Not helping," she muttered distastefully.

Breathing in a shaky breath to calm herself, Twilight stood beside Dark's body with his sword in her held up in her magic. Floating it over, Twilight held it above Dark and flipped it so that its blade was pointed downward.

"Are you sure that my magic will work?" Twilight questioned.

"It will," Nocturne assured. "So long as your magic is in contact with Dark either directly or through the sword when it's impaled in him, it'll work. And while it's very small, I can feel a trace of death magic flowing through your own magic."

"Will it be enough?"

"Yes. Think of that small trace of death magic as a spark that's about to be dropped into a keg of black powder. Also, I should warn you that this jumpstart will consume Dark's soul fragment that he bound in here, so he won't be getting this chance again."

Understanding what he meant, Twilight shut her eyes and gulped as she plunged the sword down, causing her to almost throw up when she heard the sound of the blade cutting down into Dark's body. Holding it still for a while, Twilight waited for Nocturne to tell her what to do next, but he never said anything. Cracking an eye open, Twilight saw the Death Reaver sticking up from Dark's midsection, though the actually wound was covered by the white blanket. Releasing her hold on the weapon, Twilight looked over Dark's form expecting to see any form of movement, but when she didn't, she looked back up at the sword.

"Is it working yet?"

"..."

"Nocturne?"

Looking over the sword, Twilight noticed that the red gem was no longer glowing like normal. Thinking that something might've gone wrong, Twilight gently tapped a hoof against the gem in hopes of invoking Nocturne, but was met with nothing. Now starting to fear the worse, Twilight sat down on her rump and just stared at the gem, completely unaware of what was happening behind her. That is, until the light from the torches began to flicker.

Glancing back behind her, Twilight felt confused and slightly unsettled when she saw shadows that the torches were casting began to creep along the ground towards her. Jumping up to her hooves, she got out of the way and watched as the shadows finally crawled up to Dark and seemed to seep into him. Wondering what was happening, Twilight took a step forward, but paused and backpedaled when the fires from the torches started to flow over to Dark as though they were being drawn. Once they reached his body, the flames flowed towards his head before being absorbed into his mane. Recognizing the look of when Dark would use his Amplify, Twilight rushed over to his other side, keeping her out of the way of the flames and shadows.

Lighting her horn, Twilight began casted a scanning spell over Dark to check on him. A few moments later, her focus was broken when she saw the Death Reaver slowly sinking into Dark's body before disappearing into him, leaving no trace of it ever having been impaled there. As soon as the sword's hilt had submerged, Dark's body gave a sudden jolt, causing Twilight to let out a loud yelp and jump back up against the nearby tomb. Trying to calm herself from the sudden jump scare, Twilight brought a hoof to her chest and laid it over her racing heart before hearing the stone door being thrown open by Luna.

"Twilight! What's-"

Freezing in mid-sentence, Luna watched the scene before her unfold. Looking over it, she saw that the flames and shadows were all converging towards Dark's body where Twilight sat unharmed on the other side. Sighing a breath of relief, Luna cautiously walked along the wall and over to Twilight with a few questions on the tip of her tongue. Standing beside Twilight, Luna was about to speak, but found her words dying out when her and Twilight's attention were drawn to the soft breathing next to them.