Fallen Sun

by shademaster24601

Zero Hour

Chapter 2: Zero Hour

"So, she just rushed out without explaining why?" Asked Luna with a mix of concern and disbelief.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, it was so bizarre. One minute she was all chipper and ready to go out with us and the next, she's all on edge, talking about documents she needs to sign."

Luna looked worried. "That doesn't sound like my sister. I shall have to have a talk with her when we get back." The night princess was concerned. She had never known Celestia to make excuses. It was a slightly troubling thought that was soon pushed back as Luna looked to the west horizon. Busy or not, Celestia still managed to fulfill her duty of lowering the sun. Luna focused her magic, her eyes beginning to glow pure white, and the moon rose into the sky. Twilight was always amazed to see this up close. Such raw magical power performing a task as colossal as moving the moon, and Luna made it look so easy. Just as quickly as it came, the moment was done. Luna released a deep breath then regained her smile and composure. "Are we almost there?" She asked as she leaned over the edge of the carriage to get a view ahead of the night guard escorts.

The younger princess laughed a little. "Hehe, almost. I can't wait to see everypony again. I know it hasn't been that long since I left for Canterlot, but just think of everything I might have missed. How many new tricks has Rainbow Dash perfected, how many new outfits has Rarity designed, how has sweet apple acres been holding up, and is the library still in one piece? Not to mention Pinkie will probably have a million things to say about the last day alone."

Luna was looking forward to this outing more and more. "I suppose we'll find out when we get there."

They were called to attention by one of the guards clearing her throat. "Speaking of which, princesses, it looks like we're closing in on our welcome party now."

The second added in. "Party is right." He said in a surprised tone. "Looks like they went all out for you, your majesties."

Twilight was the next to peer over the side, and the sight warmed her heart. A big banner painted with bright colors and glitter that read 'Welcome back Twilight' in big letters. It was supported on purple and white striped poles with balloons tied near the top. What really made Twilight smile was an unmistakeable pink spot hanging from the top of the left pole by her back legs, waving frantically with the biggest smile she could muster. The lavender alicorn could feel a single tear rolling down her cheek as the rest of her friends ran for the banner to greet her. Beginning their descent she could think of only one thing "It's good to be home."

---

"Getting closer." The exile could feel a fire burning in his chest. It was the familiar rage that he had grown accustomed to. Centuries of planning, he knew he would have the opportunity one day, but to have it right at his hooves. It was the feeling that he could just focus and the object of his undying anger would be obliterated. He flared his wings at the mere thought of that weak, disgusting, treacherous mare. "After all I did for her...for everypony!" His horn glowed a crimson red and with a furious growl, he stomped his front hooves, creating a powerful tremor.

It was her fault. He told that to himself every single night. What he did, he did in the name of peace and sanity. Was he thanked? No. Now he was forced to go to impossible lengths to escape. He ran back and forth between points he had marked on the landscape. He had to time this right if it was going to work. It took awhile, but he eventually found the right position. All he had to do now was wait for the planet to come into range. He waited this long, he could wait a little longer. He scraped the dirt with his hoof, the approaching moment obviously getting to him more than he thought. He brushed back his long, messy, black mane. It was in this brief moment that he realized that he had never checked himself over during his centuries-long imprisonment on this forsaken rock. He looked terrible. His mane had grown from just above the base of his neck, down to his shoulders. His once pristine white coat had become rather sickly looking, like aged parchment. To top it all off, he had lost weight, musculature was still there but he appeared starved; accurate considering there wasn't a spec of food or water on the accursed comet.

Remembering the visage he once had, he felt himself fall into another one of his rages. "She did this to me...She did this!" He blasted another rock formation, then another, and another. Soon there were seven new craters on the surface of the comet. "How often?" He thought. "How often have I resorted to this? This is what they were like. Have I really been so changed by my anger that I'm nothing more than some brutish animal?" He did his best to steady his breathing. "Better I be this way when I meet her again." He said aloud to himself. "I want her to see exactly what she did to me."

---

The carriage touched down easily enough on a nice smooth piece of land a few feet from the banner. Luna exited first, followed by Twilight. No sooner had the lavender alicorn taken four steps, than an excited shout brought her attention forward. "Twilight!" Pinkie pie came charging in with a smile, looking as happy as ever.

Twilight was about to answer, but the two night guards that had escorted the princesses got between them, facing Pinkie. "Halt!" Called the male guard. "You do not have clearance to..." He didn't have time to finish before Pinkie crashed through the guards, knocking them out of the way.

The pink earth pony kept going until she reached Twilight. When she was in range, she jumped and tackled the young princess, wrapping her in a big hug. They rolled a bit, laughing as they did. Twilight returned the hug, then addressed the guards. "Hehe, it's okay. She's one of those ponies you'll never have to worry about. Not that you could stop her if you did."

The still dazed female guard answered. "Duly noted."

Pinkie kept hugging, but pulled back so she could speak. "Oh, twilight, we missed you so so so so so so so so so sooooo much."

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. "Pinkie, It's only been a week. And I wrote you and the girls every day."

"But it doesn't quite compare to the genuine article, darling." Twilight recognized that sophisticated tone anywhere. Rarity and the rest of the gang happily trotted over to join in the reunion. "It is so good to see you again."

Applejack gave her scholarly friend a noogie. "Things just haven't been the same around Ponyville without ya sugarcube."

Rainbow Dash flew in and gave Twilight a hoof bump. "Still practicing those wing exercises I taught you?"

Twilight nodded. "Every morning." This gained an approving nod from the athletic pegasus.

Fluttershy joined in her usual, soft spoken, tone. "Oh...I'm so happy...I can't control myself." She gave her friend a gentle hug. "Double yay."

"Twilight!" cried a familiar voice.

This was a voice the young princess was missing the most. "Spike!" She got up to see the little dragon running towards her. She ran to meet him in a big hug. "Oh, I missed you so much. How have you been? Has everything been going good at the library? You've been getting along with Owlowiscious, right?"

He kept hugging and answered without hesitation. "Yes, yes, and yes." He gave a content sigh. "It's good to have you back Twi."

She smiled. "It's good to be back, Spike." Before she knew it, she was in the middle of a group hug.The look of joy on the young princess's face made Luna smile. It was one of the more touching moments that she had witnessed. Scenes like this reminded her that she really should get out more. To her surprise, in the midst of the grand show of affection, Twilight looked right at her and gestured her forward. "Get over here, Luna. Being part of the group also means being a part of group hugs." The lunar princess didn't know what to say at first, but decided to simply smile while fighting back the urge to cry. She settled in between Fluttershy and Rarity and joined in embracing their friend.

Once they had gotten that out of their system, Rarity voiced the start of the nights activities. "Well, shall we begin. We have everything we need for a marvelous picnic, Twilight, but do tell. What is this big news that brought you all the way down here to visit us little ponies?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at that last part. As if she needed an excuse to spend time with the ponies she cared about the most. "It's something rather fascinating actually. Oh! I almost forgot my..."

"Telescope?" Interrupted Pinkie, who suddenly appeared before her scholarly friend with the item in question.

The lavender alicorn was about to question, but then smiled and shook her head. Pinkie Pie is always Pinkie Pie. "Yes, Pinkie." She took it with her magic. "I was trying to enhance it's clarity, when a little magic accident boosted it's power tremendously. When looking through it, I witnessed a comet that has been undocumented in previous studies of astronomical events..."

As they moved to the blanket they had set up, Rainbow interrupted. She was trying to push aside the egghead stuff. "Woah, wait a sec. You discovered a comet?" She asked with surprise.

Twilight nodded. "Yes and, if my calculations are correct, it will be passing over our planet, at visible distance, for the very first time at midnight tonight." She could barely contain her excitement.

They reached their blanket and each picked a spot to nestle down on. All of Twilight's friends were a little bit in awe, even Luna was a bit "nervouscited" as pinkie would put it. Fluttershy started pulling out cups for everypony so they could serve the punch. "So, we'll be the first ponies in history to ever see this comet?"

The young princess smiled. "And no pony will see it for another five hundred years. It'll be the first of what could possibly the rarest event in Equestrian history." She took a moment to look over the six ponies around her and all that they meant to her. "And there's nopony I would rather share it with than all of you."

This incited a unified "awwwww." from all involved. It was a good start to a wonderful outing. There was good food, good conversation, and Pinkie even orchestrated a few games to play and pass the time. Luna, however, wasn't one hundred percent there, so to speak. It ate at the back of her mind that something must be bothering Celestia. Luna knew her sister loved spending time with Twilight and would normally jump at an opportunity to let her mane down like this one, and then there was the comet. Whatever set Celestia off had something to do with the comet, but if something truly bad was going down, Luna was sure Celestia would tell her immediately...wouldn't she? The comet in itself was a mystery. The night princess was the expert when it came to all things in the night sky, but she had never heard of this event. She had gotten an idea to confirm Twilight's story, but something was wrong. If it was close, she could simply reach out and see it with her own eyes, but something was...blocking her. She knew something was out there, but somepony didn't want her to see it.

---

Celestia was in a fit. Her bed chambers had been demolished in her search. In the end, she found what she was looking for and was shaken to her very core, for her fears were confirmed. She was still as a statue, then started to hyperventilate, and finally broke down into tears. She threw herself onto her bed and buried her face deep in the pillows so her cries would go unheard. It lasted for what seemed like an eternity. She could hardly breath between the sobbing. The great princess of the sun, who had faced down Sombra, Discord, and even Nightmare Moon, was now in more pain than she had ever been in. Memories that she had buried, good and bad, of joy, anger, and sorrow, all came flooding like a torrent of wild fire.

She made sure no pony could hear her. The barrier she put up around her room kept out everything and kept in everything else. Not even Luna's dream traveling could breach those walls. Celestia began to scold herself between gasps. "You stupid...old fool! How...h-how could? Gah, but you...you did! You did everything you could to forget and you did! Now everything is coming back to haunt you and everypony you love and ..."

There was an interruption. "Wow...drama-bomb." spoke a voice that was all to familiar to her ears.

Celestia snapped to attention. "You...where are you!" She spoke first with surprise, then spite.

The lamp on the table by her bed began to wobble and make a growing noise as it shook. It then began to warp, twist, grow and stretch, into the one and only, spirit of chaos himself, Discord. He sat on the table, looking down at her, casually kicking his legs against the table's, twiddling his thumbs, and trying to look as innocent as possible with that sly grin of his. "At first I was going to do the whole fly-on-the-wall-thing, but that seemed so obvious and a bit overdone. I was going to try something with a chicken, a beach ball, and a trebuchet, but then I thought 'Hey...Lamp'." He was going to laugh, but soon found himself heading to the floor.

Celestia was in no mood. She pulled the table from under him with her magic. "Get out." She hissed. To the surprise of the chaos being, she then swung it at him. "Get Out!" She screamed as Discord narrowly dodged the assault. "Leave me alone!" Celestia just chucked the table at him, missing and shattering it against the wall, then buried her face back in her pillow.

The draconequus simply smiled and brushed some dust off his shoulders. "Now why would I do something like that? Wasn't the point of reforming me to teach me the magic of friendship? And what kind of friend would I be if I left you in such distress?" His smile faded and he took a more stoic tone. "There's nothing worse than a bit of bad blood."

She looked back up at him with a look of shock. "You know?"

He rolled his eyes. "How could I not? You spent about two months blubbering at my feet about it when it happened, or did you forget that stone doesn't translate into unaware?"

The sun princess lowered her head. "Then...If you have any kindness, if you really are even a little bit my friend..."

Discord put up his lion paw to stop her. "I'm not going to rib you for anything, especially not this. That would be just plain mean." He took a chance and sat down next to her. "But I'm not going to let you do this to yourself."

"I don't..." She started, but she didn't get to finish her.

He silenced her with a harsh tone. "You know exactly what I mean. Shutting yourself off like this, keeping it so secret. I figured you would at least tell your sister and your precious Twilight. I would think they deserve..."

Celestia protested in a panic. "NO! Especially not them! Discord, you didn't hear all of what happened. It was bigger than what I wept about, bigger than me. I had to do something so terrible...If they find out, if anypony finds out, then what I did would have been for nothing and what I was trying to prevent comes back worse than ever."

Discord glared. "Then sorry, but I'm afraid that's inevitable. This isn't just a possibility. I have a sixth sense for events that cause mass chaos and I got one heck of a doozy." He took a more cautioning tone. "He's coming back Celestia, that much is certain. The question is, how are you going to handle what's coming?" She was silent. The chaos spirit sighed. "I could try to stop him. If he's still in the state you said you left him in..."

"No!...No." She closed her eyes and set her gaze down again. "Let me handle this...I'll...find a way."

He shook his head. With a snap of his fingers, his image began to swirl at rapid pace, then shrank until he was gone completely. The sun princess grimaced at the spot where the chaos spirit once stood. Then her look of spite turned into one of sadness. He did what she wanted. He left her alone. To be safe, she focused whatever magic she had left into one last preventative measure.

---

"Clever, old mare...very clever." He could feel it. A barrier went up around the entire planet. She showed it to him once. It was designed to protect against meteor storms. "Going to try and burn me out before I even get there. Turn me to ash in orbit and let me drift forever. Not a chance!"

The exile took a more secure stance. With all of his anger, he began to concentrate on the comet beneath him. He had to create a field to counteract the one around the planet in just the right way. Too little and the comet would burn up in an instant, too much and the whole of life on the planet would be gone like the dinosaurs and that's the last thing our banished friend wanted. He strained as much of himself as he could, trying to fight back his anger, while letting out just enough for the right amount of power. If he was in peak condition he could do it no problem, but his magic was...broken.

"Paranoid witch!" He spat. "If I had the mental connection, this would be simple." When he was trapped on the comet, his magic was split. You see, the strength of any magic user, alicorn or otherwise, is regulated through both the heart and mind, which is why the strongest spells are cast from either absolute mental focus, or increased heart-rate from extreme emotional distress like rage, sorrow, or joy. It's always safer to go for focus, because relying on emotion can be unpredictable and hard to control, resulting in magic accidents and the exile's difficulty in managing the counter-field. He had been handicapped so the only way to access his magic was through his emotions and, while his rage granted him power to spare, this made it hard to collect his thoughts. He tried to calm himself and formulate a plan, but when using his anger to put it into motion, things fell apart. Otherwise, he would have returned long ago.

It didn't matter. After all this time, Equestria was finally within reach. "One hour..." He mumble in a harsh rasp. "Just one more hour..."

---

"...until show time everypony." Twilight happily announced to her friends. They all gave a little cheer looking up from their activities. They had no shortage of things to do to pass the time. It had been a wonderful picnic, Twilight got caught up with everything that had been going on in Ponyville during her stay in Canterlot. From the simple things like a weeks work at sweet apple acres, to the predicted craziness that equals one day of being Pinkie Pie; Twilight cherished every word like a sweet song and was happy that she would soon return once she had proven that she could handle the many responsibilities of a princess when called upon.

"Alright...Just...yawn...just one more hour." Spike half-cheered, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Rarity noticed his condition first. "Oh, Spikey, you look exhausted. You've been working so lately with heading the library. Are you sure you wouldn't rather rest?" She gently stroked the back of his head with a look of concern in her eyes.

Spike did enjoy his moments with Rarity, but he really didn't care for being fussed over. "I'm fine." He insisted. "I already missed that meteor shower. I'm not...yawn...not g-gonna..." His tired voice betrayed him, followed by the swaying caused by his weakening knees, then, once again, he passed out face first in the punch bowel.

Everypony laughed. Twilight did her best to control herself as she approached the baby dragon. With a smile and a loving look, she used her magic to levitate him out of the punch and cradled him in the air. She then brought up a cloth and dried him off before gently placing him back on the blanket. She took the corner beneath him in her teeth and pulled it up to his neck. She tucked him in nice and snug, then with a look of motherly affection, she gave him a little kiss on the forehead. Yeah...she definitely wanted to get back to living in Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie excitedly suggested they play ping pong to polish off the time. It turned into quite the exciting little tournament. Fluttershy quickly opted out to be the referee. It started out strong, Applejack against Rainbow Dash. The farm pony had one heck of a power shot, but Rainbow had the advantage of speed that pulled her in for the last point for victory. Rarity took on Twilight and gave her one heck of a match. Twilight was never the most athletic of Ponies, but once the young princess got the hang of the mechanics, she turned the tide and won. Luna was no doubt confused by Pinkie's tactics. Some how, the earth pony managed to incorporate party blowers, noise makers, and confetti; not to mention her speed made it seem like she had four extra hooves. However, in her thousand year stay on the moon, Luna had to pick up some hobby to pass the time. It went back and forth like lightening. the game finished when the force of Luna's strike sent the ball into the table so hard it broke both of them in two. This resulted in the entire group falling to the ground in laughter.

Twilight wiped away a laugh induced tear. She took a moment to check her watch and her grin grew. "Girls, it's almost time. Just..."

---

"Thirty seconds." The exile's thoughts began to race. Finally, he would have justice, at last she would pay for what she had done to him. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the ever expanding globe that drew closer. He began counting down the seconds, the barrier around the planet now coming into view. This was going to be difficult, but he had to do this, no turning back, he would not suffer another five hundred years. Twenty seconds to go and his barrier was primed. He did his best to regulate it, but again, his thoughts weren't as strong as they could be. He did his best to gauge the strength of the one around the planet, but now it came down to luck. He took a deep breath and braced for contact. The exile tried to think of something to say, for it would be the last he would ever speak as a prisoner. He gritted his teeth. "I regret nothing!"

---

The girls all gathered around Twilight and turned there gaze to the stars. They were all in such anticipation that they could barely contain themselves. Pinkie pulled AppleJack and Fluttershy into a hug to try and calm herself. Luna felt like a kid again, she even bounced a little bit thinking that something new and beautiful was about to grace her night. Rarity and Rainbow shared some popcorn and stared patiently toward the spot in the sky Twilight had pointed out.

The lavender alicorn kept her eyes on her watch. "This is it!" She began the count down. "Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one!" It began slowly and simply. At first, they were confused as to what they should be seeing, but it soon became clear. A patch in the night that began as simply a round blot in the sky that was a different hue than the rest, but it soon became a prominent, dark red, glow in the night. Everypony was in awe, their eyes widened at the magnificent sight as it became clear.

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "It's so beautiful."

Twilight smiled with her friends at first, but it began to fade. "Wait..." She examined it closely, then a look of shock and terror flushed her face. "It's...it's coming right at us!"

"What?!" they all shouted at once. Luna rushed next to Twilight, then looked up at the comet just in time for what would come next. From the center of the crimson red sphere of light, came a, flame-like, orange burst of magic energy. Luna recognized this immediately. "She's right. That was the planetary shield. My sister and I put it in place during a meteor storm that came a little too close for comfort." There was a sound that sent a shiver up all there spines. It was coming from where the comet was. The red glow of the comet danced around the field, trying to claw through. "It's not working right. Twilight," The night princess beckoned her younger counterpart to join her. "Focus your magic on the comet. Perhaps we can push it back enough for the field to do it's work."

Twilight gave a nod. With a determined look in both their eyes, they charged their magic and set their horns aglow. With a deep breath and exhale, they lowered their heads and aimed their horns straight at the comet, only to be lasted back several feet. The girls all gasped and ran over to them. They helped them to their feet and A.J. asked the obvious. "Are you two alright?"

"Back-lash..." Twilight muttered in a pained moan. "That only happens when an outside force tries to break a clash between two greater powers."

Luna stood as best as she could, Fluttershy supporting her. "That was...unexpected." She took a moment to look back at the growing war of red and yellow flame in the sky. "My sister...has boosted the field. But her power alone wouldn't stop both Twilight and I from interfering."

The lavender alicorn's eyes widened at a sudden realization. "There's something up there."

Rainbow looked confused. "What, the comet?"

"No," Twilight stepped forward. "It wouldn't stand up on it's own and it...changed it's course." Twilight turned to face her confused friends. "I've watched that thing and It was not on a collision course. It was supposed to pass harmlessly over us. Something..aimed it at the planet."

Pinkie didn't look so happy. "Who would do that?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know." She looked worriedly at the surging power struggle that seemed to be getting closer.

---

It was an incredible struggle. The exile stood his ground as the apocalyptic storm of magic raged around him. The red glow of his own magic raging against the glorious golden flame of the barrier. "Come on...almost there..." He could feel his hooves sinking. The comet was breaking apart, floods of energy bursting up from within, cascading waves of magic lashing at the surface, and the stone beneath him turning to ash. The exile dug his way back to stable ground, fighting the pressure and heat piling up on top of him as he did his best to maintain the counter-field. He pulled himself to his hooves and glared into the burning nexus. "Rrrrrah! No! I will not be denied!" He just needed to push a little further in. He closed his eyes and let loose another angered growl as the magic of his horn spiraled out in a beam heading straight into the contact point of the fields. An all or nothing shot that just barely avoided being intercepted by the arcing energy around it. There was a shattering sound. "That's it!" He opened his eyes to see a large whole in the defense barrier.

With one great push off the ground, he shot like a rocket off the comet and through the breach, just before it closed. Without him to create a counter-field, the magic around the comet collapsed and the burning waves of the barrier crashed down on it all at once. The resulting explosion was one of epic quality. The force of it pushed past the defense barrier just enough to accelerate the flight of the exile into a free fall from orbit which he couldn't control. He struggled and fought, but his wings wouldn't lift him and his magic was shorting out from the blast. Best he could do was create a personal force-field. He could feel the heat as the speed of his fall increased. He tried to steer it, but he did little more than curve the fall. It wasn't long before he breached the cloud layer as a ball of fire. The exile gazed down at the ground below, still going at speeds he couldn't believe. He saw something, something he passed over as he fell, a sight that confirmed that he was indeed successful. The exile spoke in a whisper. "Ponies..."

There was exactly five seconds between that word and a massive crash into a field. There was pain, that was the first thing he noted when he came to. He was surrounded by fire, but thankfully his immortality had withstood the test of the fall. He did his best to stand up, so he could survey his surroundings. At first, he thought he was back on the comet, that he passed out in a crater he made in a rage, but the fire trail that led to the spot he stood told him otherwise. He knelt down, took a deep breath, and pressed his head against the dirt. Dirt, not dust, dirt. He could smell grass and trees, he could feel wind. He had done it, after centuries of solitude in that nightmarish quiet of the comet, he was finally free.

He heard something. "Voices...not in my head." he said in an inaudible whisper. He looked up, and standing above him, just outside the craters edge, nine ponies and a dragonling. At least he could see other faces. They chattered back and forth, his ears still rung from the massively drastic altitude change, but he could tell they were concerned. It was either for him, or about him, but that didn't matter. He picked out two alicorns in the group, his gaze fixing on the younger, lavender, one. "You!" He called to her. She looked at him, her eyes meeting his. He could tell she was looking him over, scanning from his horn, his wings, his blood red eyes, and finally to his mark, a completely black sun, with short, sharp, red rays. He was taller than Luna, shorter than Celestia, sickly thin, but very muscular. The exiled alicorn stood firm and unfurled his wing to full length. "Go find Celestia!" He called up with obvious anger. "Tell her...that Uriah has returned!" His horn glowed and a funnel of red fire erupted around him. Within a few seconds, it vanished, with no trace of the alicorn left to be seen.

Twilight looked shaken. Spike, who had been woken in the excitement, could see she was troubled. "Twilight, who was that guy?"

She shook her head, a quaver of fear in her voice. "I...I don't know Spike. I don't know.