All was silent as Sol walked through the castle gardens in the Undercity. After that sit-down with his family, friends, and Discord, Sol felt a flurry of emotions running through him. All at once he felt angry, bitter, sad, hurt, and betrayed. Regardless of what he was told, he was still angry and bitter at Discord for what he had done, but the sadness and betrayal he felt were a bit more complicated.
During the entire time since his awakening, his mother and aunt had both known the truth about Discord and kept it hidden from him. Yes, he understood their reasoning behind their actions, but it didn't change the fact that it still hurt how they both lied to him about it for close to a year now. It didn't help Sol much either that during that time, they had not only forgiven Discord for what he'd done, but also befriended him and allowed him to roam freely in Equestria. And then, there were Twilight and their friends.
With regards to them, Sol felt a sense of both sadness and betrayal from them. Not only did they keep the truth about Discord from him as well, but they were the ones who freed him from his prison in the first place. Not to mention that Discord turned out to be Fluttershy's "mysterious" coltfriend that they had been so vague about, and now he knew exactly why.
But the worst of these emotions came from Twilight. As his fillyfriend, Sol didn't just trust her, he loved her, so it only made this whole situation for him feel a lot worse. Like the others, she too knew about Discord. Heck, as the Element of Magic, she practically spearheaded his release. If anything, she was responsible for Discord's return, and, like his mother and aunt, he was upset with her for not telling him sooner... however, Sol couldn't ignore what Celestia told him, nor what Twilight had done that morning.
He could still hear his mother's voice in his head, telling him that it was by her request that Twilight and the rest of them to keep Discord a secret from him. Though he didn't like it that she did it, Sol couldn't exactly find it in himself to blame Twilight in this regard. As Sol thought about it, he began to realize that, in a way, Twilight had actually gone against Celestia's wishes.
Thinking back to that morning after their first date, Sol started to remember what Twilight had asked him, along with the scenarios that she had given him involving Discord. As he continued to think about them, he began to wonder if they were really just 'hypothetical' after all. With the amount of detail that she went into with them, she made them sound as though they had actually happened. And if that were the case, then Twilight did intend on telling him about Discord all along, albeit in her own way.
If that's true, then that means...
Sol groaned and rubbed his head as he started to realize what this meant. If those scenarios that Twilight told him were real, which was starting to sound more plausible by the second, then he owed Discord for saving his friends, family, Twilight, and Equestria as well. While it wouldn't come close to them being equal by his standards, he would still owe him at the very least his thanks for saving them.
It's times like this that I regret my sense of honor, he mentally grumbled.
Feeling a sense of fatigue about him, Sol looked around the garden for a spot to rest. Remembering the layout, he followed down several paths until he reached a small clearing with a pond surrounded by trees, providing plenty of shade and privacy. Finding one of his more favorite spots in the garden, Sol sat down by the waterline to think.
Several hours had passed since Sol left the castle, leaving Twilight's growing anxiety to come to a boil. Not too long after Sol had left, Twilight decided to go after him, only to be stopped by Celestia, saying that it would be best for everypony if they were to give Sol some time to himself. With nothing better to do, Twilight secured herself by Celestia, who wrapped a comforting wing around her, while Eris sat down and began catching up on what she'd missed out on during the thousand years she had been asleep.
Several hours later, Eris was caught up with most of the important events that had happened since the last time they'd met, including a few from Twilight. Once Celestia was done filling her in, Eris decided to take a moment to learn more about Twilight. While she was curious as to how she and Sol had gotten together, she also wanted to know how Twilight had become an alicorn without naturally being born one, seeing as how the only two alicorns she knew of were Celestia and Luna. When she was told about how it was thanks to an incomplete spell made by Starswirl the Bearded that she finished, Eris rolled her eyes, scoffing at the idea of a pony ascending with such a method as completing a spell by an "old coot", as she so eloquently called him.
While the talking of history and herself was a good distraction, when the clock on the wall chimed the hour, Twilight looked up and wilted when she saw that it was seven in the afternoon, and still no sign of Sol. Feeling her anxiety growing over how long he'd been gone for with no word, Twilight began to nervously shuffle around beneath Celestia's wing.
"Are you alright, Twilight?" Celestia asked, speaking with a concerned, motherly tone.
Twilight looked up with and unsettled look in her eyes.
"Can we go look for Sol now?" she pleaded. "He's been gone for over six hours now and we haven't heard a word from him. I know he's been away for longer than this, but with the mindset he was in when he left... I'm worried about him. He's had plenty of time to think, hasn't he? Maybe now would be a good time to go find and talk to him?"
"Well, that's going to be easier said than done," Eris commented. She was looking at a large metal box with a circular, green screen that had a lighter green line spinning in circles around it. "I've been trying to track Sol down and can't seem to get a ping on him. This thing's searching all of Equestria for him, so he's either not in Equestria anymore, or he's somewhere very well hidden."
"You mean like the Underkingdom?" Spike asked, having stopped talking with Discord to come over to them.
Eris blinked. "... you mean Sol's old project? He's still working on that?"
"Not any more. He actually finished it a while ago, said that it's fully functioning and ready for use... if we ever use it, that is."
Celestia nodded. "It is likely that is where Sol went. The Underkingdom is protected from detection magic, amongst other things, so he would be safe and undetectable down there. It's quiet as well, so he would have plenty of peace and quiet to think. I also wouldn't be surprised if he would try to distract himself by doing some fine-tuning with some of the things he's got going on down there."
Twilight stood up and walked out from beneath Celestia's wing.
"If that's where Sol is, then that's where I'm going."
"Twilight-"
"I'm part of the reason why he's like this, Princess. Sol trusted me, as his friend, and his fillyfriend, and I betrayed that trust when I lied to him about Discord and kept him a secret from him. It's my fault he's like this, so I'm going down there to talk to him and try to make things right." Twilight's eyes began to water as she nervously gulped. "Hopefully he will forgive me... and not break up with me."
"If I know Sol, I'm sure he will forgive you, Twilight," Celestia reassured her, moving beside her and placing a hoof on her shoulder. "And I'm positive that he won't break up with you, either."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Trust me, he won't. I've seen how happy he's been since he met you, even before the two of you started dating, and how he's talked about you during his weekly visits. Sol cares deeply for you, Twilight. He may be upset right now, but he won't break up with you. I promise."
Twilight shivered. "I hope you're right."
"Of course she's right," Eris agreed, floating lazily alongside Twilight. "Sol's got a thick hide, so a little spat like this shouldn't be a problem for you two to bounce back from... unless you're my dad, then you're pretty much boned."
Not expecting this from her, Twilight blinked the growing tears back.
"... I'm surprised, Eris. Considering that you're Sol's ex, I thought that you would be more spiteful at us, or at least a bit jealous."
Eris giggled as she twirled around in the air. "Oh, come on. Just who do you take me for? Sure I might be the Lady of Chaos, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to start messing with you and Sol." Eris paused for a moment. "... okay, I probably will mess with you two, but it'll just be playful, nothing vindictive or anything. The spiteful ex role isn't really my kind of thing, so believe me when I say that while I will mess with you two, I promise it will be harmless fun. Oh, speaking of which, when you see Sol..."
Eris floated over to Twilight and began whispering instructions in Twilight's ear, causing them to perk up at attention as she took in every detail. By the time Eris was done, Twilight had a confused look on her face.
"And what's the point of doing that, exactly?" Twilight questioned.
"Because it's cute and funny how he reacts to it. Trust me, you'll like it," Eris said with a wink.
Though she didn't quite get it still, Twilight saw no reason not to trust Eris so far.
".. we'll see." Twilight turned to Celestia. "Well, I guess I better head out. The sooner I can talk to him the better."
"If you don't mind, Twilight, I would like to come as well," Celestia said. "While I'm sure that Sol will listen to you, I would like to be there to help calm him down, just incase."
"Okay. It would probably be better if you came, anyway."
"What about me?" Eris wondered, earning her a look from Twilight.
"You want to come too?"
Eris shrugged. "Yeah, but mostly to see the Underkingdom. Sol never showed it to me before, so I'm curious about what it looks like."
"What about Sol?"
"Sorry, sister, but that's your problem to deal with. I'll still help if you need me, but for your sake and Sol's, it'd be better if you were to talk to him instead of me."
Twilight looked back to Celestia, silently asking her what she should do. When she didn't see her give any objections to it, Twilight let out a sigh.
"Alright. You can come with us, but you better behave yourself while you're down there."
With a halo floating above her head and playing a harp, Eris gave Twilight an innocent look that they all knew held a glint of restrained mischief behind it.
"What? Me? I'm harmless."
"... whoa..."
Twilight smirked at Eris' reaction as the two stood on the Underkingdom's entrance plateau with Celestia. Despite knowing that she herself had the same look of awe on her face when she first saw this place, she couldn't help but feel a little smug knowing that she saw this place before Eris did.
"Pretty incredible, isn't it," Twilight asked.
"That's putting it mildly. Heh. Guy has his own underground kingdom hidden away all this time."
"Sol was rather secretive about this place," Celestia spoke up. "He always believed that the less ponies knew about this place, the safer it would be for when it's put to use... however, as beautiful as this place is, I hope that we will never have to resort to using it."
Twilight nodded. "Me too. But for now, we should figure out where Sol is. With how big this place is, and considering that Sol probably knows every nook and cranny of this place, he could be anywhere-"
"He's that way," Eris interrupted, pointing a talon at the castle off in the distance.
"Are you sure?"
"Mhmm. I can tell he's at the castle, but I'm not exactly sure where."
"He's probably somewhere in the castle gardens," Celestia suggested. "Knowing my son, he would rather spend his time moping around nature than in his bedroom."
"Even if his room has grass and a tree growing in it?"
"Yes."
"Well, sounds like you two have things figured out," Eris said as she slowly floated away, "so I think I'll just go and have a look around."
"Fine, but make sure that you don't mess with anything!" Twilight warned. "I don't want to hear about you being attacked by the golems and gargoyles because you did something to make them mad!"
Eris rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll behave myself."
"Thank you, Eris," Celestia thanked, getting a smile and wave from Eris before teleporting away to explore. "Well, now that she's gone, are you ready to go?"
With an eager nod, Twilight lit her horn and teleported herself and Celestia to the front castle courtyard. As she recovered and took in her surroundings, Celestia suddenly felt saddened as she recognized the petrified bodies of the Scaleless dragons surrounding her, one in particular. Staring up at the face of her stone lover, Celestia walked over to him and caressed the stone with a hoof.
"We'll be together again soon, my love," she said, placing a kiss on the stone. "I promise."
From her spot, Twilight watched Celestia in silence while she had her moment. Even after she was told about them, she couldn't begin to imagine the sort of sadness that Celestia was feeling at the moment. But, before Twilight's mind could delve too deep into that train of thought, Celestia wiped her eyes and turned back to face Twilight.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Twilight," she apologized.
"It's alright, Princess. I understand," Twilight said with a smile, earning herself a hug from Celestia for a few moments.
"Thank you. But enough of that. We're here for Sol, not Fissure."
Twilight gave a small smile. "Not yet, but we will."
The 'sun' was beginning to set over the horizon, bathing the sky in twilight as Sol sat at the edge of the pond. As the hours had passed, he believed that this was the right call on his part. Being alone and by himself, he had plenty of time to calm himself down from earlier that day and reflect on all that had been said to him. He still found parts difficult to accept, such as Discord being good again and everypony lying to him about him, but with the time he had, he began to understand why they did. However, while he did believe that leaving to think by himself was the right call, as the hours ticked by, he couldn't help but feel bad for leaving Twilight like that. Yes, he was upset that she lied to him about Discord, but turning around and leaving like that? Sol could only imagine what must had been going through her mind when she saw that.
I'll have some serious apologizing to do when I get back.
As Sol thought about getting up and beginning his trek back to the surface, the sound of hooves walking on the grass caught his ears, which was quickly accompanied by the scent of frosted pastries and lavender. Instantly recognizing the scents of his mother and Twilight, Sol took in a breath to calm his nerves. He would've preferred to take the time his trip back to think of how to best apologize to Twilight, but it was clear that he wouldn't be getting that chance here.
Readying himself, Sol turned around to face the two. But, as soon as he turned to face them, Sol grunted as he was knocked back down on his rump. Though surprised, Sol knew that this was Twilight who ran into him, her face buried in his shoulder and her forelegs wrapped tightly around his chest.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
Sol's heart dropped when he saw Twilight look up at him with teary eyes.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you about Discord sooner. Please don't break up with me."
Confused by her words, Sol wrapped his arms around her in a hug in an attempt to calm her down.
"Break up with you? What made you think I would do that?"
"Because I lied to you about Discord from day one. Because, as your fillyfriend, I should have been upfront and honest with you." Twilight hiccupped. "Because... and because you left us."
A new wave of regret washed over Sol. He had a feeling that Twilight would've taken his departure badly, and now he was dealing with the repercussions of his actions. Hugging her tightly as she began to softly sob, Sol brought a claw up to her head and began to stroke her mane in a comforting manner.
"No, Twilight. I'm the one who's sorry," Sol whispered. "This whole thing could have been avoided if I had told you and the others about my past with Discord from the start. Instead, I hid it and kept it from you. And you shouldn't feel bad about not telling me. I've had time to think it over, and during that time, I've realized that mother was right to have you not tell me. If I had been told, I'm sure that I would've gone off and hunted Discord down, instead of staying here with all of you."
The sobbing died off, reduced to an occasional sniffle as he continued to stroke her mane.
"As for me leaving... I'm sorry, Twilight. I shouldn't have left you and the others like that."
"You were hurt."
"... yes, I was... but I still shouldn't have acted like that, especially towards you." Sol sighed, "Guess Discord just tends to bring out the worst in me."
Twilight shifted her head so its side was resting against Sol's shoulder, her face now nuzzled in the crook of Sol's neck.
"Discord's not as bad now as he you remember him. He really has changed for the better."
Sol gave a small nod. "... those things you told me about Discord... they weren't just hypothetical, were they?"
"No, they weren't. They really did happen."
Figuring as much, Sol let out a small snort of smoke from his nose.
"Guess I owe Discord my thanks then," he grumbled, clearly not liking the idea of having to thank him.
Twilight smiled and squeezed him in her hug. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten."
"I remember, but I'm still not going to like it."
"Still, I think it's a step in the right direction to forgiveness."
Though he knew that it would be a very long time until he forgave Discord, Sol didn't say anything about it. By this point, he knew that bringing it up wouldn't do anything for any of them. Instead, he remained silent and held Twilight close.
"I know I said it before, but I'm sorry for leaving you like that."
"It's fine. Just... please don't do that again. You had me scared that we were finished."
Placing a claw beneath Twilight's chin, Sol guided her head up so she could look at him. Once they made eye-contact, Sol glided his claw over to her cheek, cupping it in his claw and caressing it with his thumb, much to Twilight's pleasure, judging by the sound of her cooing.
"I have no intention of breaking up with you, Twilight," Sol said, smiling at Twilight as she nuzzled into his claw. "After all... I love you too much."
Twilight's eyes immediately snapped open. Though they would express it, neither of them had said those three special words to each other since they started dating, so it was hardly a surprise when Twilight began blushing.
"W-What?"
Finding Twilight's reaction cute, Sol kept his eyes on Twilight as he gently rested his forehead against hers.
"I love you, Twilight," he repeated. "I love you, and I'm not going to let some little mistake change that."
As the seconds rolled by, Twilight's shocked expression began to morph into one of deep affection. With a happy tear rolling down her cheek, Twilight gave a warm smile as she wrapped her forelegs around the back of Sol's neck.
"I love you too, Sol."
Filled with a new sense of joy from her returned words, Sol closed what little gap there was between his lips and Twilight's, holding her close to him while Twilight's hold on him tightened. Though it wasn't the first time that they'd kissed, this time it felt different. After that confession of love for each other, it felt as though their kiss had more meaning behind it than it ever did before. As they closed their eyes, the two fell into a state of bliss, their minds focusing on their partner's lips, and the warmth of their coat and embrace. Unfortunately, they had forgotten that there was another pony there with them, and once the sound of moaning was heard through their kissing, she made herself aware by loudly clearing her throat.
"Ahem." Remembering that they weren't alone, Sol and Twilight broke their kiss and looked over to Celestia, who was looking at them with a mixture of affection and mischief. "As touching of a moment as this is, we should probably return to the surface."
Embarrassed by their show of affection in front of Celestia, Sol and Twilight quickly untangling themselves from their embrace and straightened out their coats. With reddened cheeks, the two started to walk over to Celestia so she could teleported them to the entrance plateau of the Underkingdom. But as they walked, Twilight remembered that little thing that Eris told her. Using a wing, Twilight glided her feathers along Sol's spine, trailing from his lower back up to his shoulders. The effects were almost immediate as Sol suddenly froze in place. Eyes wide, his whole body shuddered as his wings extended wide, and his tail pointed straight out, all thanks to Twilight's touch.
She didn't expect a reaction quite like this, but even so, Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Sol's reaction.
Eris was right. That is cute and funny.