Chapter 70- Bitter Revelation
Luna didn't know much of what to do in situations like this. With Dark still quietly sobbing and clinging to her from her back after landing, she figured that Twilight would be the best pony to handle this. Stopping one of the castle staff, Luna asked where she could find Twilight. Thankfully, the maid knew where she and the rest of her friends and family were. After being told where she could find them, Luna thanked her and made for the medical wing with a roll of her eyes for not thinking of it first. As she continued down the hallways, she looked back to see Dark unmoving as he continued to cry. At this point, Luna wasn't concerned about the blood from Dark that had more than likely stained her coat, but of the cause behind his sudden turn of emotions.
Coming to the double doors to the medical wing, Luna pushed them open and went inside. Walking through, she looked around at the dozens of occupied hospital beds aligning the walls. And while most of them appeared to have minor wounds, a few weren't so lucky as they looked like it would take them a while until they'd recover. As she continued through, a few of the ponies, both medical staff and the injured, took a moment to give her a respectful bow. And while it didn't really surprise her, what did was when they all gasped and began staring at her... or rather, at Dark laying on her back.
Following their gazes, she saw what they were all staring at. Wondering how she didn't see it before, Luna understood now what caught everypony's attention. It wasn't the fact that she was carrying Dark as he quietly cried, but the familiar headwear that hung from his belt. Recognizing Sombra's crown, Luna raised her wing to cover it and began to ignore the whispering ponies as she continued past them to the room where the others were at.
Coming to the room, Luna took a breath before she quietly opened the door. When she did, she saw that several queen-sized beds were occupied by Rainbow, Cadence, and even Soul, while the others were gathered around them, including Twilight's parents and the Crusaders. Her gaze sweeping over Cadence and Soul, Luna was even quieter so she wouldn't wake them. However, Luna's face saddened when she saw Rainbow laying in bed awake with Scootaloo hugging her, and a white cloth wrapped over her eyes. Coming closer, she noticed that Rainbow's cheeks were matted down with tears while she gave an occasional sniffle.
"What has happened here?" Luna asked as she joined the others.
"Glad that you could make it, Luna," Celestia said without turning around. "Turns out that not everypony got out clean from that ordeal. When Cadence's barrier was penetrated, the magical backlash from it cracked her horn pretty good. Twilight and I were able to get a good start on healing it, but she won't be able to use magic for a week or two. Even after that, she'll be limited to light-lifting for some time."
"And what about Rainbow Dash and Soul?"
"From what he said for the few minutes he was awake after we found him, Soul managed to return the Crystal Heart, but when he did, the love it radiated overwhelmed him. Between a sort of food coma that he got from it, and the exhaustion of flying back with the heart, Soul was just too tired to continue."
"So Soul is just fine then."
"Yes," Celestia said before giving a sad sigh, "but I wish I could say the same for Rainbow Dash. From what she told us, she engaged Aurora's Apprentice while Soul returned the Crystal Heart. They traded blows, and despite her winning, he blinded her with his magic before the heart repelled him. However, with how close her face was to his horn when the spell went off, not only was she blinded by the light, but it also burnt out her retinas."
"So she can no longer see then," Luna concluded solemnly, getting a nod from Celestia.
"I've already sent for our best eye surgeons in Canterlot. Hopefully they'll be able to restore Rainbow Dash's eyes."
Luna quietly nodded before she felt shifting on her back and remembered that she had a passenger.
"Tia, could you call one of the doctors in please? We have one more who needs to be checked out."
Following Luna's head gesture, Celestia, for the first time, noticed Dark clinging to her from her back.
"Dark?" she said, looking him over. "What happened to him? Was it Sombra?"
"Something's wrong with Dark?" Twilight asked. Turning around from Rainbow, she saw Dark laying on Luna's back with his arms around her neck. Running up alongside them, Twilight looked Dark over, and while she was concerned about the two holes in the back of his jacket and the blood staining the chainmail beneath it, she was even more so when she saw Dark's face. "Princess Luna, what happened to Dark? Why is he crying like this?"
"I do not know, Twilight," she answered her. "When I arrived, I encountered the fugitive standing over Dark with a scythe in his magic, while two others were already pinning him down to the crystal ground through his stomach and chest. However, he blinded us and tried to finish Dark off before he escaped... again."
Shaking from hearing how Luna had found Dark, Twilight wrapped a hoof around him and held him.
"Shhhh, it's okay, you're safe now," she whispered.
Hearing Twilight's soothing voice, Dark cracked a puffy eye open to look at her. And while her lovely smile would normally make him feel better, it wasn't enough this time.
"I-It was h-him, T-Twi-light," Dark quietly whimpered.
"Who was it?" she gently asked, only to find Dark burying his face into her shoulder.
While Twilight held Dark and tried to comfort him, Luna just stood there awkwardly with Dark still on her back. Noticing this and feeling like everyone had a long enough night, Celestia spoke.
"Perhaps we should convene in the morning once we've all rested up," she suggested.
"Yes, Princess," Twilight replied, only to be stopped by Luna's hoof on her shoulder.
"Dark will have to stay behind, though," she told her. "I want the doctors to check him out before he retires for the night, and to hopefully find out the cause for this mood of his."
While most of them left to rest for the night, Luna, Shining, Scootaloo, and Twilight stayed behind. While Shining wanted to remain by Cadence's side, and Scootaloo to help Rainbow, Luna talked with Rainbow about her fight while Twilight helped Dark out of his armor. Once she'd removed his damaged jacket and sat it off to the side to be repaired, her eyes locked onto Sombra's crown hanging from his belt. Hesitantly, she took it in her magic and placed it on a nearby table while Dark dismissed the rest of his clothes.
With him undressed, Dark dragged his hooves as he went into the full-size bathroom attached to the room. Closing the door behind him, he turned on the shower and let the water run. Once the steam began to rise, Dark walked in and stood under the steaming water as it began to wash the sweat, blood, and tears off of him. Though it did help in cleaning him up, the warmth did little to comfort him as fresh tears awaited to replace those washed away by the shower.
"Why?" he asked with his voice cracked. "Why would you want to do that to me?"
Feeling like staying longer wouldn't do him any good, Dark turned off the water and walked out onto the crystal floor. With a sniffle, Dark focused inward and began radiating heat from within to dry himself off, along with hiding any tears staining his face. Several long seconds later, he felt his coat, mane, and tale were dried and refreshed. Doing his best to compose himself, Dark opened the door and walked out. As soon as he closed the door shut behind him, Dark found himself relaxing a little bit as he became wrapped in Twilight's warm and loving embrace.
"Feeling any better?" she gingerly asked as she stroked his mane.
"A little I guess," he muttered.
"I don't know what happened to you back there, Dark, but just remember that I'm always here for you whenever you need me, alright?"
Dark sniffled and nodded against Twilight. "O-Okay. Thank y-you, Twilight."
"You're welcome," she whispered. "And please don't rush it. I'll wait until you're ready to tell me whenever you feel like it."
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Luna softly spoke, "but the doctor is here to checkup on Dark."
Releasing him, Twilight guided Dark towards one of the spare beds for him to sit on while a green crystal pony mare with pink eyes and a yellow mane walked up to him. With a crystal in her right hoof, she ran it over Dark's body from his horn, to his tail, and across his wings. Once she was done running it over him, she looked at it with a confused frown.
"Well, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him physically or magically," she announced.
"What about mentally?" Luna questioned.
Humming to herself, the doctor took out another crystal from her coat and placed it against Dark's head. After a minute of silence, she pulled it away and eyed the crystal out.
"According to this, there's nothing wrong with him mentally either."
"Well, there's obviously something wrong for Dark to be acting like this," Twilight said.
"I'm sorry, Princess Twilight, but whatever it is, it's not coming from an outside source like a spell, drug, powder, or poison."
"I... see." Twilight let out a tired sigh. "I'm sorry about that, doctor. It wasn't fair of me to act like that to you. I just don't like seeing Dark like this is all."
"I understand what you mean, Princess," she sympathetically said. "I suppose I could clear him to go, now that I know that there's nothing physically or magically wrong with him. Just make sure to keep an eye on him and tell me if you notice any changes later on."
"I will. Thank you for your help, doctor," Twilight thanked.
With a bow to Twilight and Luna, the doctor made her way out of the room to leave them in peace. But, before she left, she stopped at the door and looked back.
"I'll be back in an hour to check on Princess Cadence and Miss Rainbow Dash."
With the doctor gone and having closed the door behind her, Dark sighed before feeling Twilight nuzzling up against his side.
"Ready to go to bed?" she asked him.
"Yeah," he tiredly sighed.
"Before you retire for the night," Luna spoke, "would you mind telling me how you got your claws on Sombra's crown?"
With a hollow look in his eyes, Dark looked back to the crown sitting on the table.
"Sombra's dead," he simply stated. "This time for good."
"I see..."
Remembering what he'd found, Dark walked over to his jacket and plucked the feather he'd found from one of the pockets.
"I also found this in his chest."
"Why would he have a chest with him?"
"Not that chest, Princess. I'm talking about his ribcage," Dark corrected, earning him looks from everypony but Cadence and Soul. "After I reduced him to a skeleton, I found this black feather fluttering in his ribcage."
"And you just took it?" Shining questioned.
Dark half-heartedly shrugged his wings. "I thought that it was unusual and figured that one of you might know something about it."
Everypony looked to each other in silence, seeing if any of them could provide an answer for Dark. With none of them having one, Shining spoke up again.
"Sorry, but I don't think any of us know what to say to that."
"It's fine," Dark sighed.
"I could take it to our scientists and have them take a look at it... but..."
Shining's words faltered as his gaze swept over Cadence. Seeing this, Luna gave a small smile.
"If you would like, Shining Armor, I can take it to them for you," she offered, earning a thankful smile from him.
"Thank you, Princess Luna," Shining thanked.
"And what about Sombra's crown?" Twilight asked.
"Hmmm... Dark, I know that you were the one to defeat him and claim his crown, but would you be willing to part with it for a while?"
"Sure," Dark half-heartedly answered. "It's not like I have a use for it, anyway."
Along with the black feather, Luna picked up Sombra's crown in her magic and levitated them both by her side.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to return it to you soon."
"If you want. Like I said, I don't really have any use for it."
"Alright. Have a pleasant sleep, everypony, and I'll see you in the morning."
With Luna gone, Twilight and Dark said their goodnights to Shining, Rainbow, and Scootaloo before they made their way to their room to call it a night. However, while both of them were exhausted from the events of that night, sleep wouldn't come so easily for either of them.
It was a bitter morning as Twilight awoke with her holding Dark's sleeping form tightly to her chest. When they got back to their room and made their way into bed, Twilight wasted no time in holding him as he buried his face into her chest and wept. And while it made her sad to see him like that, it was made only worse by the fact that she didn't know what she could do to help him feel better. It wasn't until Dark had cried himself to sleep that Twilight had a moment to try and sleep as well. However, throughout most of the remaining night, Twilight found herself awakened from her slumber by the sound of Dark crying in his sleep. Whispering words of reassurance into his ears, Twilight hugged him and stroked him mane comfortingly until his weeping stopped and his breathing relaxed again.
Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Twilight sighed when she saw that it was already past nine. Looking down to see Dark sleeping peacefully, Twilight leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"Sleep well, Dark," she whispered. "Hope you feel better when you wake up."
Letting him go for now, Twilight slipped out from under the covers, making sure to tuck Dark in before quietly making her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Once she was finished and exited the bathroom, she stole a glance at the bed to see Dark still asleep. With a sad smile, she quietly exited the room and decided to go to the medical wing to check on Cadence and Rainbow before going to grab something to eat. When she got there, she was pleased to see both of them up with Shining and Scootaloo by their sides, each greeting her as she walked in. However, she noticed somepony missing.
"Where's Soul?" she asked.
"The doctor discharged him, so he's off with the others," Scootaloo answered her.
"Okay, and how are you feeling, Rainbow?"
"Besides not being able to see, not too bad I guess," she answered. "Besides, from the way that jerk was talking to me, it sounded like it could've been a lot worse for me."
Twilight shivered at that last part, but pushed any thoughts about it away and smiled at the good news of no longer having to worry about Soul or Rainbow. Content with her answer, Twilight greeted Shining before walking up to Cadence where she was immediately pulled into a warming hug.
"Shining told me about Dark before you came in," Cadence said as she hugged Twilight a little tighter. "How's he doing today?"
"Not very well, Cadence," Twilight solemnly answered. "He cried himself to sleep last night, and later began crying throughout the night in his sleep. He's in bed still sleeping right now."
"And nopony knows what's wrong with him?"
"Nopony besides Dark, and he hasn't had the time to explain since he's been to busy crying about it." Twilight pulled away from Cadence to look at her horn while maintaining their embrace. "So, how are you feeling?"
Cadence brought a hoof up to her horn and tenderly touched it. "It hurts a little bit, but I'll be fine. As long as I don't try using any magic anytime soon, it should heal just fine."
"It's probably going to be difficult for you to go without magic, huh?"
"Maybe, or maybe not. Remember, Twilight, that unlike you and Shiny, I wasn't born with a unicorn horn, and I remember what it was like to go without using magic."
Twilight sighed with relief. "Good. It's good to hear some positive news involving your condition too."
"Speaking of news," Shining spoke, "we'll be holding a meeting in an hour to discuss what happened last night. Everyone who's had a major hoof or claw in it is required to show for it."
"What about Pyre?" Rainbow asked. "I haven't heard anything from him, or about him from last night or today."
"He said that he had something to do and left soon after the battle had ended last night. He won't be back until later today, possibly around sunset."
"And what about Dark?" Twilight wondered. "We all know his part from last night, but should he really be attending?"
Shining shook his head. "Considering the state he's currently in, I don't think either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna would mind excusing him."
"Thank you, Shiny."
"But he will need to be told about it later, though."
"That's perfectly fine, just as long as he gets some peaceful rest."
"Good. In the meantime, Twilight, you should probably go get yourself something to eat."
As it to agree with him, Twilight's stomach rumbled loudly. Chuckling in embarrassment, Twilight saw the amused looks she was getting, and while Rainbow's eyes were blind and bandaged up, Twilight could still practically feel the smugness behind them.
"Yeeaaahhh. That's probably a good idea," she said out loud.
Giggling, Cadence waved Twilight off with a hoof. "Well, go on then. I'm sure the chefs wouldn't mind cooking something up for you."
"Thank you, Cadence," Twilight thanked before making for the door. I wonder if they have any summer sausage? I remember Sunset and the other girls saying before that it was really good when grilled on a frying pan and dunked in syrup.
Twilight was walking to the throne room from having finished her late breakfast. While her thoughts on Dark had put a damper on her mood, her full stomach helped in making her feel better, which was made even more so with the fact that the kitchen staff actually did have summer sausage. And though she was in heaven while she ate two sticks of them after dipping them in syrup, some of the other castle staff weren't taking it too well. While most of them managed to act professional about it, two of the kitchen staff fainted while three others had to excuse themselves as they felt nauseous from watching her eat. Even one of the poor guards felt sick and had to excuse himself from his post to run away somewhere secluded before using his helmet as a puke bucket.
Making her way down the last hallway, Twilight came to the doors to the throne room where two crystal guards stood. Giving them a smile, she was given a respectful salute before they opened the doors for her. Walking in, she saw a table sitting in the center of the room with a crystal at the center. Around the table were a collection of sitting pillows where Celestia, Luna, Shining, Cadence, Spike, Soul, her friends, Gray, Emerald, and Saph sat.
"Hello everypony, Spike," Twilight greeted them. "I'm not late, am I?"
"No you're not, Twilight," Celestia answered her. "Actually, we were just about to start."
Seeing the empty pillow, Twilight walked up and took her spot between Celestia and Cadence.
"Should you really be here, Cadence?" Twilight thoughtfully asked her.
"I'm alright, Twilight," she smiled. "Besides the small ache in my horn, I'm fine. Thank you for asking, though."
"Alright, and you're welcome."
"Cadence and Shining Armor have already informed us that Dark won't be attending this meeting," Luna said.
"That's too bad," Saph disappointingly sighed. "I was hoping to properly thank him for bringing me back to life."
"And everypony else too," Emerald added in agreement.
"Agreed," Gray nodded. "Without him, our guards would've succumbed to Sombra's numbers. How's he doing, by the way? We were only told that he was rather emotional when Princess Luna returned with him."
"Not very good, I'm afraid," Twilight sadly said. "And Dark's been crying too much to tell me what it was, so I don't know what's bothering him."
"And that's partially what we're here to find out," Luna spoke. "But first, let us hear the report from last night."
"Very well," Shining said before turning to Gray. "Captain, do you have the list of our wounded and losses?"
"Yes and no, Your Highness," he answered him before laying a scroll on the table and unfurling it.
"What do you mean?" Cadence asked.
"According to this, sixty-seven of our guards were admitted to the medical wing to be tended to for their injuries. This does not include Lieutenant Flash, who the doctors want to keep a little longer despite him being mostly healed, Miss Rainbow Dash, Princess Cadence, or Soul... and Dark too now I suppose. Anyway, while there were those who needed some stitches, I'm pleased to say that none of them were in any life-threatening danger, and should all be fine within in a few days to weeks."
"And our casualties?" Shining sighed, readying himself for the bad news. However, that was broken when he saw a smile of relief on his captain.
"Your Highnesses," Gray proudly began, "I am pleased to say that we have received no casualties during Sombra's attack. Though a bit beaten up, everypony made it back home alive."
That wasn't what Shining or any of the others were expecting to hear. While half of them gawked silently at the news, a few gasped in surprised while a few others cheered.
"But... how?" Soul asked confusingly.
"It was mostly thanks to Dark," Gray answered him. "Apparently he was serious when he said that nopony would die."
"I shouldn't be too surprised by his actions," Luna said. "After all, he the Lord of Death, and has some form of bond with everyone in this room."
Gray, Emerald, and Saph froze as they each slowly turned their heads to Luna.
"Umm, pardon, Princess Luna, but what do you mean by that?" Gray asked her.
Everyone else's eyes fell on them.
"Oh... right... you guys don't know yet, do you?" Shining asked, forgetting that they didn't know about Dark.
"About what, sir?"
"Remember when Dark said that he was a lord?" Twilight took over.
"Yes?"
"Well..." Twilight looked at her brother and the other princesses. Silently getting the go ahead from them, she continued. "You didn't know because it's kind of a secret, but Dark is the Lord of Death."
"... which means...?"
"Oh, for the love of- Dark is literally the Embodiment of Death you numbskull!" Rainbow abruptly said.
Immediately, all there of the officers' eyes snapped wide before shouting in unison, "WHAT?!"
"I fought in battle side-by-side with Death?!" Gray shouted.
"I was resurrected by Death?!" Saph shouted next.
"Princess Twilight is tapping Death?!"
While the first two reactions were to be expected, the words that Emerald spoke threw everyone off. While Gray, Saph, Soul, and Shining were too stunned to respond to that, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Spike, and Luna laughed, while Cadence, Celestia, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight blushed fiercely. Regaining his senses, Shining glared at Emerald.
"Latrine cleaning, one week," he said, "with a toothbrush."
"Why would you even say something like that?!" Gray questioned him. "And in front of Prince Shining Armor no less?!"
"Dude, do you have a death wish or something?" Saph questioned. "Because let me tell you right now, dying sucks."
"What?" Emerald said defensively. "You can't honestly tell me that I'm the only one here who's thought of that?"
There was an awkward moment of silent where no one answered.
"... maybe we should get back on topic?" Twilight meekly suggested, trying her best to hide her burning face behind Celestia's wing.
"That... would be for the best," Celestia agreed. Clearing her throat, she redirected her attention back to Gray. "Is there anything else to report, Captain?"
Gray composed himself as he looked over another scroll. "Other than us having no casualties, I'm letting most of our guards have the day off before I send them out to search for Sombra. Since we didn't see him during the battle, we have to assume that he escaped."
"Not quite," Luna objected. Lighting her horn, a familiar crown appeared on the table in front of her.
"Is that...?"
"Sombra's crown, yes," Luna finished for Gray.
"But how? Nopony saw him leading the army."
"The army was just a decoy, as apart of his plan no doubt," Twilight explained. "While you guys were busy with them, Sombra further distracted us by standing towards the south of Cadence's barrier, while his fleet approached from the north."
"But we heard told that Pyre intercepted them," Saph said.
"He did, but they were all decoys for the small group that came in from the west that broke Cadence's barrier."
"We were played this whole time," Gray snorted in frustration. "But that still doesn't explain what Sombra's crown is doing here."
"You can thank Dark for that," Luna said. "After he defeated Sombra, he took his crown. Whether as a trophy or as proof of his defeat, I don't know. But, either way, Sombra is truly dead and won't bring harm to anypony ever again."
Realization came to Gray. "So when I saw Dark leaving..."
"It was because Princess Luna and I felt Cadence's magic suddenly fade, so we wanted somepony to go check it out," Shining answered. "And neither Princess Luna or I could leave because we believed that our troops would lose moral if one of us did."
"So that's why you ordered us to take our Rage Pellets, sir?" Emerald asked.
"Yes. With Dark no longer there to continue reviving our fallen, I didn't want to take anymore chances." Shining sighed and smiled. "I'm glad that I did, too."
"As are we all," Celestia nodded, "but we're not done yet."
"Right," Luna agreed. "There's still the matter of Sombra's accomplice."
"You mean that jerk who did this to me, right?" Rainbow irritatedly asked, pointing a hoof to her bandaged eyes.
"The same. Rainbow Dash, before he blinded you, were you able to get a look at him as well?"
"Yeah. While the guy was invisible when me and Soul were chasing him, he turned visible after I tackled him to the ground."
"I still don't know how you two managed to find an invisible opponent and retrieve the Crystal Heart from him."
"I'm part changeling, remember?" Soul reminded. "I could sense the Crystal Heart, even when it was invisible like he was."
"... of course," Luna mumbled, feeling like an idiot for forgetting.
"While we're on the subject of this guy and my eyes," Rainbow continued, "can somepony tell me how much longer I'm gonna have to be like this? Because I'd much rather be able to see instead of being blind like a bat."
"Excuse me? Care to rephrase that?" Fluttershy snarked.
Oblivious to her comment, Rainbow turned to face towards Fluttershy. "What?"
"I'm part bat, and I'm not 'blind as a bat', am I?"
"Oh, come on, Fluttershy. You know what I meant," Rainbow defended herself. "Anyway, back to that guy."
"Yes," Celestia nodded. "Now, tell me, Rainbow Dash, what did this pony look like?"
"While I did see him, the moonlight wasn't quite enough for me to make out his colors. But, what I did see was that he had emerald-green eyes, some sort of a blue coat, and a short yellow-colored mane or something."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, and get this, the weird part was that his horn was white with a blue tip, and unlike his blue coat, his wings were white!"
A stallion with a blue coat and white wings... why does that sound so familiar? Twilight wondered to herself.
"Sorry I can't help you out more," Rainbow apologized. "If I had some better lighting, then maybe I could tell you more."
"It's alright," Celestia assured her before turning to Luna. "What about you, sister?"
Luna nodded.
"Thanks to both my moonlight and the light provided by the surrounding fires, I was able to get a very good look at both his colors, and his cutie mark."
"Would you care to show us?" Shining asked her. "The gem at the center of the table will allow for you to project an image of him from your memory."
Luna looked over the crystal curiously. "How does it work?"
"It's simple, really," Cadence said, "just pour some of your magic into it while thinking about the pony you want to show us."
Following her instructions, Luna closed her eyes as she focused on her encounter last night. With the stallion in mind, she began focusing her magic on the crystal. A few seconds later, she heard it hum to life and ceased her casting as she opened her eyes when she heard a collection of gasps. Looking up at the projection, Luna showed them not only the stallion, but an entire picture scene with Dark laying on the ground with two crystal scythes pinning him down, the stallion standing over him with a third hovering above him in his magic, and Luna sanding behind him with a magical sword pressed against his neck.
"Oops," she muttered.
"Is that the guy you were talking about, Rainbow?" Pinkie innocently asked, getting a blank look from Rainbow.
"... seriously, Pinkie?" she asked flatly.
"Oh... right... sorry about that."
"It's rather strange, though," Luna said to herself out loud.
"What is it, Princess?" Rarity asked.
"The stallion that Twilight and I tired to capture back in Canterlot does indeed look like this pony, but this stallion's wings are white, not blue."
"He probably dyed his wings then, otherwise he would be sticking out with his wings being different colors to his coat," she said before turning back to the projection and shivered with a look of disgust. "What a brutal stallion."
"Why would he do something like that to Dark?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ah don't know," Applejack spoke, "but just look at his eyes."
"Yeah," Soul nodded. "It's easy to see the anger and hatred behind them... hmmm..."
"Something on your mind, Soul?" Spike asked.
"Just a thought. I'm starting to wonder now if it was really Sombra I was sensing last night, or if it was this guy."
"Either way, your description of him was close, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said.
"How close?" she wondered.
"Well," Cadence began, "like you said, his horn is white with blue towards the tip, and his wings are also white. You were also right about his eye color, and while his mane and tale are blond, his coat is blue."
"Hmmm, more of a metallic-blue to be precise," Rarity said eyeing out the stallion.
"There's also the matter of his cutie mark," Gray spoke.
"I didn't get a look at it," Rainbow said. "What is it? I'll bet that it's pretty lame."
"A golden crown with wings that's being bathed in a ray of light piercing the clouds."
"... okay, that sounds pretty cool."
As they all talked and commented about the stallion, one voice remained silent. Taking notice of Twilight's silence, Cadence glanced over to see her. When she did, she felt a wave of confusion and sadness when she saw Twilight with her hooves covering her mouth, and her eyes red with tears running freely.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Cadence asked, gaining everyone's attention as they all focused on her.
"No... oh, please no... it can't be him..." she whispered.
"Twilight?"
"This doesn't make sense... and yet... it makes perfect sense..."
"Twilight!"
Feeling hooves on her, Twilight looked around to see Cadence and Celestia looking worriedly at her, both with a hoof on her shoulder.
"Twilight, what's the matter?" Celestia gently asked.
"It's him, Princess," Twilight answered with a sniffle.
"Who, Twilight?" Cadence repeated. "Do you know who that alicorn is?"
"He's not an alicorn, but a pegasus. And yes, I was told of him. Actually, almost all of us were."
"Are you sure, Twilight?" Spike skeptically asked. "Because I'm sure that I would remember a pegasus with a blue coat and white wings... wait as sec..." Spike began to mull it over. "Blue coat... blond mane... emerald eyes... white wings... white... light... light wings...!"
Spikes eyes snapped wide-open as he pieced it together.
"Light Wing?! You mean as in Dark's brother?!"
Everyone's attention immediately returned towards the projection.
"No way!" Rainbow shouted.
"Ah thought that Dark said he died a long time ago?!" Applejack exclaimed.
"He also thought that Gunter was dead too," Twilight solemnly reminded them, wiping her tears out of her eyes, "but in the end, he was still alive. And if those two survived, others might've too."
"Twilight," Celestia hesitantly spoke, "are you sure about this?"
Twilight gave a small nod. "When I had the feather flu and Dark was keeping me alive with his magic, I saw some of his memories. I don't know how it's possible, but besides the horn, that stallion trying to kill Dark really is his brother, Light Wing."
"Wait," Gray interjected, "so what you're saying is that Dark's supposedly dead brother is actually alive, and had allied himself with Sombra?"
"It's not just that," Celestia began, "but if this is true, then he's also the one responsible for trying to kill Aurora, Lady of Life, rallying the creatures of the Everfree Forest to invade Ponyville, and is also the one who sent Dark into the other world, thus almost bringing upon an undead apocalypse."
"But it gets worse," Twilight whimpered.
"Worse?" Rainbow questioned. "How can it get any worse?"
"Why did you say that?!" Pinkie shrieked. "You never say that! Whenever somepony says that, it's practically guaranteed to get worse!"
Shining shook his head at them and turned back to Twilight. "You were saying?"
"Right." Twilight took a moment to compose herself before speaking back up. "Anyway, like I said, it gets worse. After I found out that Blueblood was confirmed with helping Light and was captured, I went to interrogate him-"
"You still never told us how you got the information out of him," Luna reminded.
"-when I did, he told me that his accomplice, meaning Light, was able to come into contact with that world's version of him."
"So, what does this mean, Twilight?" Rarity cautiously asked her.
"You don't get it?!" Twilight snapped, her tears running freely once again as she was unable to contain her emotions anymore. "When I went over there to rescue Dark, that world's Light attacked me and tried to kill me! Dark stopped him and his gang, but in the end, Dark killed him and the others! Don't you see?! If Dark is in such a fragile emotional state now, what do you think will happen when he realizes that he killed his own brother?! It doesn't matter if he was from a different world, it'll be the same to Dark, and the emotional and mental damage it could do to him will... will..."
Unable to say anymore Twilight found herself bawling into Cadence's chest as she wrapped her hooves around her in a comforting hug before Shining joined them. While they were busy trying to comfort Twilight, Pinkie's mane went flat as she and Fluttershy tried comforting each other. And while Soul and Spike were quietly talking to each other, Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity were all in deep thought, thinking the same thing.
"Twilight's right, this is worse," Rarity said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "This thing between Dark and Light... I can't imagine what he must be going through. I can't imagine it if it were to happen to me and Sweetie Belle."
"Or me and Apple Bloom," Applejack sighed.
"Or me and Scoots," Rainbow mumbled.
While the three were in thought about their respective siblings, Celestia leaned down to Luna.
"Are you alright, Luna?" Celestia gently asked.
"Tell me, Tia," Luna quietly spoke, "is how Dark acted the same as how you felt after you had to banish me to the moon?"
Celestia's face fell as the shame and sorrow from that night returned.
"Yes. While I made sure not to show it in public, I-"
Before she could finish, Celestia found herself being pulled into a hug by Luna.
"I'm so sorry, sister," she whispered. "I'm sorry to make you suffer like that. It was never my intention to hurt you so."
Celestia's face saddened as she leaned into Luna's hug and returning it with her own.
"I know, Luna. I know," she said with a quiet sniffle.
The two sisters remained like that for a few minutes before they let each other go to wipe their tears from their eyes. Looking up across the table, they saw Soul and Spike comforting Pinkie and Fluttershy, Rainbow with Applejack and Rarity, and Shining and Cadence with Twilight. With a heavy sigh, Celestia and Luna composed themselves.
"I believe that that's all that we have to discuss," Celestia said as she turned off the crystal. "Captain, Lieutenants?"
"Yes, Your Highness?" they replied.
"I hope that you'll keep this information behind Dark's title and his brother to yourselves?"
"We will," Gray answered for them.
"In that case, thank you for attending, and for the information you've provided us."
Saluting her, Gray, Emerald, and Saph exited the room. Not long after, the other began to file out and return to their rooms until Celestia, Luna, Shining, Cadence, and Twilight were left. Shifting on her pillow, Celestia turned to face Twilight with a sad frown. And while she did calm down a little bit, she still hiccupped and sniffled. Placing a hoof on her shoulder, Celestia gently rubbed Twilight, gaining her attention. Feeling further saddened by seeing her like that, Celestia spoke to her in the gentlest, most motherly tone she could manage.
"Twilight, why don't you go with Cadence and Shining Armor and rest yourself? Luna and I will talk to Dark."
With another sniffle, Twilight wiped a her tears away. "I-I'll come too."
"You don't have to, Twilight," Luna gently spoke from alongside Celestia.
"Yes... yes I d-do. Dark's my... he's my fiancé now. It's my job to be there f-for him when he's sad like th-this. And now I know what's bothering him, s-so I can help him get through it."
Solemnly nodding for her answer, Celestia and Luna helped Twilight up before they slowly walked together to talk to Dark. When they were far enough away, Cadence leaned her back into Shining's chest and sadly sighed.
"What do you think Shiny?" she asked.
Sighing himself, Shining wrapped his hooves around Cadence and held her close.
"I think that while I'm proud of Twilight's commitment to be there for Dark, she's still too young to be dealing with this kind of emotional baggage."
"Yeah. She and Dark both."
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Hah! I knew it! I so freaking knew it!
woohoo now they know now to wait to find out the reasons behind his hatred
7502632 your not the only one who knew that man
7502632
lol i knew it almost 20 chapters ago when he used his wing powers, i sat there for a good ten minutes not believing what my brain was trying to feed me.
No waaaay it was his brother all along, totally wasn't obvious from the start
really enjoying the story anyways tho, keep up the good work 
Not enough chapters posted. Give us more ASAP
7502632 We all knew, everyone knew! I knew from the very first conflict with him. It isn't that hard to piece together. You didn't guess anything hard, get over yourself!
7685246 dude, chill. let them feel proud of themselves
... Damn it Krad! No need for dnangel!
I am appalled, yet intrigued, and appalled by being intrigued.
This is like a alterd mirror of nightmare moon vs celestia
Well this brings a whole new meaning to Light vs. Dark, ie. Characters, powers, personalities, love vs. Hate, former races (Pegusus vs. Unicorn). I can continue, but I'm too lazy to do so. Poor Dark has to deal with his brothers hate.
7502656
It's simple.
He wanted his magic
I hate it when I am right about these things.