> Frozen:The day the sun died.
>  by Brosparkles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Frozen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

		Frozen

Sol awoke within his room, far earlier than normal, and rolled groggily out of bed. His hoofsteps echoing down the halls as he walked across the metal floors of his room. The walls were all bare, no windows, just blankness. A vent on the wall occasionally shot out hot steam, which he had moved his bed out of the way of. You could still feel the scalding heat, but it was much better than the alternative. Such was the norm living in a geo-thermal shelter. He had been told he was one of the lucky few, his parents managed to secure a position inside of the shelter for him. He had heard from some of the older ponies living within the shelter that it wasn’t always like this, but he had no idea what it was like before. His bright yellow mane hung down his face messily, as it normally did. His brown fur was a bit dirty, but nothing too bad. He had a cutie mark, which was a bright flash. The elders seemed to know what it meant, but never told him anything other than it represented hope.He tried his best to look presentable, but there wasn’t much that could be done. He headed down to get his daily food dosage, which had to be carefully rationed between the residents Only so much can be grown underground, after all. The food was the same as usual, anything that can be grown in florescent lights. It all tasted horrible, and he tried to down it quickly. He received his water dosage, which had to be drawn from the lower ocean. He wondered if this is how all food tasted. There had to be something else out there. But enough lusting for something better. He did have one thing he enjoyed in this otherwise boring life. His friends. The few other children around his age. He ran off towards their usual meeting place, near steam vent 5. That was the one that was furthest away from the geyser the shelter was built on, and not many ponies hung around it. It was a little colder than the rest, but still stayed warm enough. There two ponies waited, exchanging muffled idle chatter. He approached them, and one waved to him.

“Sol!” the stallion called out.

“Get your flank over here! He’s got something to tell you!” the mare yelled to him.

The three of them were all young adults, the mare being a year or so older, and the stallion a bit younger than Sol. The mare was a bright purple, with a long, flowing bright red mane. The stallion was a light blue, with a deep blue mane, which was short cut, and didn’t hang further than the top of his neck. The Stallion’s cutie mark was a wave, representing his skill with water magic, and the mare had a bright amethyst, which symbolised her truthfulness. Sol, rushed off towards them.

“What is it, Aqua?” he asked the Stallion.

“You know that secret I was working on?” He said quietly, looking around, making sure no one was around.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“It’s ready.”

Aqua motioned them to his room, and they followed. He closed the door behind them,  and he unlocked a box, containing 3 strange suits, one with wings, and two with horns.

“You actually got them working?” The mare said, grabbing one of the horned ones.

“Yeah, but we can’t use them yet Amethyst. We can’t just wear these around the shelter.”

Sol grabbed the winged ones, being a pegasus.

“Well, is everypony ready?” Amethyst asked.

“I know I am.” Sol said.

“I guess so.” Aqua said.

They put the suits back into the box, which aqua carried with him. They acted normal, and calmly walked throughout the shelter, towards the exit, long ago closed. Aqua pointed them to a small closet where they could get the suits on without drawing suspicion, no pony came near the exit anymore. Sol got a closer look at them, and they really did seem to be perfect. They were a bit loose, but were completely enclosed, except for a mask, which had to be attached separately. It looked like something you would see in one of those old comic books that someone showed him once. It even covered the tail, although not very comfortably.

“So, why do we need these again?” Amethyst asked.

“Well, we don’t know what’s out there, I want to be safe.” Aqua replied. “Sol, could I say something to you?”

“Aww, the two lovebirds want to be left alone? I’m heading to the doors, see ya.” Amethyst said.

“I’m sure that these are safe, but...I have no idea what’s out there. If something happens, I just wanted to say...I love you.”

They kissed, in a more bittersweet fashion than usual. Sol tried not to show it, but he was afraid. But he couldn’t just sit around in here waiting for life to pass him by, not anymore.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, what’s the worst that could happen?” Sol asked.

“You’re probably right, but you never know.” Aqua responded.

“What are you two doing in there! Get out here already!” Amethyst yelled from outside the door.

“We should probably go.” Sol said, sliding his helmet on.

Aqua nodded, and slid his on as well. They exited the closet, and approached the doors. The doors were built on an automatic airlock system, and as they passed through the first one, it closed behind them, and there was a bit of a walk to the second one, to give the door time to close. Sol was shaking, both from excitement and from fear. Aqua was a bit as well, though mostly from fear. Sol felt like he had dragged Aqua into this scheme of his. Amethyst was down with it from the start, but Aqua had seemed hesitant. But it was too late to turn back now.

“Okay, everyone turn on the temperature control, the oxygen circulation, and the solar panels. We need to be prepared for anything.” Aqua said through small radios he put in the helmets.

They all turned on each function as he named it, and Sol noticed the suit was indeed solar generating.

“I found these really nice solar panels, they’re really tough, and don’t lose much to heat. I don’t know why they were all just sitting around.” Aqua said, noticing Sol looking at them.

“Let’s go.” Amethyst said.

“Right.” Sol agreed.

Aqua slid the door open, and they head through. The doors closed behind them, and stayed sealed. A loud thud was heard, and the door would not open from this side.

“Well, we can’t go back.”  Aqua said.

The three of them were in a small cave, dug into the ground over a geothermal hotspot. Steam shot up around them as they headed out.

“I can’t see anything.” Sol said.

Aqua fiddled with his helmet, and a light shot on.

“Turn yours on.” Aqua said to the other two.

They both flicked the lights on, and could see. The cave was very dark, the darkest they had ever seen. The surface was just up ahead. They walked out of the cave, and began to survey the land. Snow covered the land, except near the geysers, which kept snow off of the area near them. It was still unbelievably dark. 

“It’s too dark to get any use from this solar.” Aqua said. “But the batteries should be good for quite a while, hopefully the sun will come up soon.”

The Sun was always this sort of mythical object to Sol. He had never seen it, but he heard it was a huge ball of fire in the sky. It seemed like some sort of myth, but supposedly it was real. All around was nothing, but after scanning the area with flashlights for quite some time, Sol spotted a building.

“I suppose we should head inside.” Aqua said.

“It’ll be more fun than walking around in the snow.” Amethyst said.

Snow was interesting to him as well. He had seen water, but never seen it freeze. The three of them headed off to this  building. Inside were lot of mundane things, it looked to be a transport station that had been abandoned. Amethyst found a slip of paper, which she unfolded. It was a map of a land called “Equestria.” That seemed to be where they were, as it matched one of the ones they saw in the shelter. 

“The shelter is in the Dragon Mountains, right?” Sol said.

“Yeah, we’re nearby Canterlot. Still quite a distance to go on hoof though.” Aqua said.

“I heard there are these things, trains I think, that could take us there.” Amethyst said.

“Oh, right! That old railroad worker talked about them!” Aqua said.

“It says here the railroads passed by often.” Amethyst noted, looking at a schedule.

“Well, it is a train station.” Sol said, noticing a sign, which read “Hoofington Train Station.”

“Cmon, the train can’t be far.” Amethyst said.

“Can we really run one with just 3 people?” Sol asked.

“We won’t know until we try.” Aqua said.

The three of them headed towards the rails, careful of anything in the shadows. Not far from the station, a large metal beast sat on the rails, intimidatingly staring them down. 

“That must be it. It looks a lot like what he said it would.” Aqua said.

“That thing can move?”  Sol said, shocked.

“I don’t know, it looks pretty heavy.” Amethyst said.

“It must have a huge engine.” Aqua said.

The three of them approached the train cautiously. Amethyst gave the front of it a light tap with her hoof.

“It’s probably broken. Why else would it just be left here?” Sol asked.

“Where is Hoofington?” Aqua asked confusedly.

“What?” Sol asked.

“It isn’t on this map.” Aqua said.

“But, it’s a town, isn’t it?” Amethyst asked.

“Is it?” Sol asked. “I don’t see any sort of town.”

Sol and Amethyst looked around for any sort of signs of a town, while Aqua kept checking the map. The occasional little bit of a wall or some flooring would show up, but no homes.

“Amethyst, over here.” Sol said, looking around the remainders of one home.

“Ashes.” she said.

“You think it was burned down?” Sol asked.

“Sounds like it, but why?” Aqua said, hearing the conversation through their radios.

“An accident?” Sol suggested.

“Arson?” Aqua added.

“”I dunno.” Amethyst said.

“Hold on.” Aqua said.

“What?” Amethyst asked. 

“There’s something crossed out on this map.” Aqua said.

“Do you think it could be Hoofington?” Sol asked.

“Maybe. It looks like there was a city here. Why would it be crossed out?” Aqua asked.

“Because this place is gone.” Sol said.

Amethyst entered the train slowly, flicking her light back and forth, scanning the area. Nopony seemed to be inside.

“But that would mean that this map was changed after the city was burned.” Sol said.

“Who would be here to change it?” Aqua said.

“Well, the train station is still here, maybe someone was still running it for a while.”  Amethyst said.

“That’d be a pretty bleak job. Running a transport station for a dead town.” Aqua remarked.

Amethyst noticed her hoof hit something on the floor. She shone her light on it, and jumped back, horrified.

“Gaaaah!” She exclaimed.

“Amethyst?” Aqua yelled.

“I’m fine. But...get in here.” Amethyst said.

Sol and Aqua headed into the train, and saw what she was horrified of. A mare, long dead, was on the floor in front of her, iced over.

“What happened?” Sol asked.

“I don’t know! She was just...here!” Amethyst yelled.

Aqua fiddled with another small device on his suit, a small black dot. Some static was heard, and his voice amplified. A tape recorder started up, which he had modified to playback instantly, so he could hear things from outside of his suit, and speak outside of it as well.

“Damn, you really put everything you could think of into these, didn’t you?” Amethyst said, impressed.

“Hello?” Aqua asked, his voice projecting throughout the train

No response. He turned the speaker back off, but left the recorder functioning. Sol turned his on as well, as did Amethyst.

“Come on, let’s see if we can get this thing started.” Sol said.

“How?” Aqua asked.

“It can’t be that hard.” Amethyst said.

The three of them walked towards the back of the train. With the recorders on, they could
hear nothing but their hoofsteps on the floor of the train. 	.

“That must be the engine ahead.” Aqua said.

“I don’t see anything.” Amethyst said.

“Over here.” Aqua said, as he approached the engine.

“That little thing is supposed to move this whole train?” Amethyst said.

“Well, someone needs to go up front and operate it.” Aqua said.

“I can do that.” Sol said.

“Okay, it shouldn’t be too hard, this thing’s on a track.” Aqua said.

Sol hovered over to the front of the train, where the controls were located.

“So, do you know how to start this?” Amethyst asked.

“No, but it should work like any other engine, just put some fuel in.” Aqua said.

“Like this?” Amethyst said, grabbing some coal.

“That should work.” Aqua said. “But I have no idea what will happen when it starts.”

“Well, might as well give it a shot.” Amethyst said, as she chucked some coal into the engine.

“Now to start it up.” Aqua said.

He scanned around the engine, until he found the startup controls. He pulled a lever, firing up the engine. but nothing seemed to be happening.

“Is it working?” Amethyst asked.

Before Aqua could answer, an ear-splitting crash was heard, followed by a screech. A rusted piston began to screech back to life, and slowly started to function. The engine was up and kicking once more, a symbol of hope in a desolate wasteland. 

	
> Smoke
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A plume of smoke shot from the train, and it roared furiously.

“Sounds like it’s working.” Aqua said.

“What was that?” Sol yelled over the radio.

“It’s working, you should be good to go!” Aqua said.

Sol cautiously started up the train, and it began to crawl forward.

“Liftoff!” Amethyst yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Aqua! This is amazing!” Sol said excitedly. “Come up here, you have to see this!”

“You’d better go up there, I can keep the engine fed.” Amethyst said.

“Thanks.” Aqua said.

Aqua walked up the length of the train, when a blinding flash shot through the train.

“Whoah! There’s lights on this train!” Sol exclaimed gleefully.	

“Yeah, I can tell.” Amethyst said.

“It really is a great machine.” Aqua said.

“So, how far to the nearest city?” Amethyst asked.

“Canterlot isn’t too far away from what I can tell on this map. and the train tracks should 
run right through it.”

Aqua felt his hoof bump against something else, another dead, this one a stallion.

“What happened on this train?” Aqua asked.

“Huh?” Sol said.

“Who were these ponies?” Aqua asked.

“They look like they died too long ago to be of much concern now.” Amethyst said.

“I’m not worried about something on the train, I’m worried about what’s outside.” Aqua said.

“It’s so white. You’d think nature would get bored, being all one color.” Sol said.

Aqua entered the front of the train, and looked out the windows. White whipped by him, the snow seemed to run through his vision.

“You really seem to be having fun with this thing.” Aqua said.

“It’s amazing! Have you seen how fast we’re going?” Sol said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fast.” Aqua said. 

“These suits are really annoying.” Amethyst said.

“They’re a precaution. With the train generating heat, we should be okay regardless soon,
but I wouldn’t risk it.

“I will.” Amethyst said. “I can’t stand this.”

Amethyst pulled her helmet off, letting her mane hang down freely. It was a bit chilly, even with the train’s heat, but nothing too bad. 

“Guys, it’s fine.” she said.

“Don’t leave the train without it on, though.” Aqua said.

Sol began to remove his as well, and was exposed to the open air for the first time. He drank it in, let it fill his lungs. 

“C’mon Aqua, it’s a lot better without it.” Sol said.

“If you say so.” Aqua said.

Sol helped him pull his helmet off, and they slid the suits off 

“Hey guys! Catch!” They heard Amethyst yell, as a bag flew towards them.

“Gah!” Sol said, trying and failing to catch it.

Aqua simply used his magic to catch it, and looked inside.

“What is it?” Aqua said.

“Food, I think.” Amethyst said.

“You think?” Sol said.

“I found it on the kitchen car.” Amethyst explained.

Inside the bags were various jars of preserved foods, such as canned fruits.

“Apples.” Aqua read from one of the cans.

“Oh, and this.” Amethyst said, tossing a can opener, not quite as hard as the bag.

Sol actually caught can opener with his hooves, and began to use it on the can. Inside
were small chunks of a whitish fruit, and he took one out and ate it.

“Any good?” Aqua asked.

“It’s...amazing.” Sol said. “You have to try this!”

Already Sol felt as though he made the right choice, no longer stuck within a small metal container deep within the earth. He was free, and he had apples.

Aqua levitated an apple slice from the can, and popped it in his mouth. The sweetness of the Apple rushed through his mouth.

“This is great! Why didn’t we have these down there?” Aqua asked.

“What are you two going on about?” Amethyst asked, entering the front of the train.

Aqua levitated one of the apples, and popped it in her mouth. Surprised, she slowly started to chew. Her eyes shot open, this was the most delicious food she had ever tasted. Aqua opened the bag, nd there wre all sorts of other canned foods inside.

“Well, we'll eat well for a while.” Aqua said.

“A while? This will last forever!” Sol exclaimed.

“Not with Amethyst around. She eats for at least three.” Aqua said, with memories of her eating some of his food rations

“Funny.” she said, grabbing another of the apples.

As she took one, she turned the can, showing them a label on the front, which read “Sweet Apple Acres.” Several more cans and bags were emptied, all with delicious foods within. Amethyst let out a loud yawn, her eyes drooping.

“We should probably take shifts sleeping, and keeping the train running. I sleep first.” Amethyst said, falling over into one of the train seats.

“I’ll go feed the engine.”Aqua said, walking down to it. 

Sol looked outside, but saw absolutely nothing except what was directly next to the train. He grabbed his helmet, and used the light on it to see further. The ground was completely bare. Plain white surrounded them for miles. Sol continued to scan the surroundings, until he found a large beam of wood shooting into the sky. Suddenly, they began to sprout up all around him. They had smaller chunks hanging off of them in random patterns. He lay back, scanning through the forest, looking at the branches with curiosity. Aqua entered, and sat with him, staring up at the trees. Sol scanned the sky, and found something spectacular. A small dot, shining brightly.  The two of them found many more of the twinkling sparks in the sky,and were in awe.

“Sol?” Aqua asked.

“Yeah?”

“What do you think we’ll find? Out there?”

“I dunno. But it has to be better. I know it.”

“How?”

“In my dreams. I saw this mare. An elegant princess. She was out here.”

“Wait, you saw this in your dreams?”

“But it was real. I know it. She was in this big city, some place you’d never see underground. There was free space to fly, and beautiful buildings.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I know I am.”

Sol headed back to the engine, to fuel it with more coal. The two of them waited, every now and then going back to the engine. Amethyst awoke, and switched places with Sol. 

“So how much further away is it?” Amethyst asked.

“We should get there before Sol wakes up, it can’t be much further.” Aqua said, checking his map. “We’ve got no idea about time though.”

“This place better be worth the trip.” Amethyst said.

“Well, we’ve got no other leads.”

Some more time passed, and they started to see actual, standing buildings. Aqua ran off to wake up Sol.

“What?” Sol said, barely awake.

“Look.” Aqua responded. 

Sol looked out one of the windows, and saw large buildings around him. He ran off to get his environment suit. Aqua and Amethyst followed suit. They stopped the train, and, with their suits fully functional, headed out. The area was somehow a bit lighter, but they still needed lights. They flicked their recorders on, and headed into the city. The three of them exited the train, suits running once more. As they had discovered in the train, air tanks were not necessary.  The city was dark and eerie, being completely blacked out.

“Isn’t it supposed to get brighter?” Sol asked.

“I thought so.” Aqua responded.

“For a city, this place is empty.” Amethyst said.

“Halt!” A slightly muffled voice yelled to them fro the distance.

The three of them stopped in their tracks, terrified.

“State your business!” the voice yelled.

The three of them flicked on their speakers.

“We just want into the city.” Sol said.

Two figures approached, both very heavily clothed, with thick coats, and a cloth wrap covering their faces. They both carried large, ornate swords, which seemed to be more decorative than deadly. They were still quite sharp however.

“I’ve never seen you around before. How do I know you aren’t raiders?”

“We’re unarmed, and we don’t mean any trouble.” Aqua said.

“...All right. You may enter, after a search. But we will be watching you closely.” the guard said.
The three of them were searched for weapons, which they did not have. They stood still, and the guards began to search their suits for weaponry by running thier hooves across them, and doing a magical scan.

“Proceed.” the guards said.

Within the outer city it was still dark, but they could see a light up ahead.

“Light?” Sol asked.

“They must light the inner city.” Aqua said.

They approached the light, and the city streets were indeed lit by lamps. The streets were empty, with only one or two other ponies around at any given time, all wearing very thick clothing.. Closed down stores lined the streets, most of which were broken into and empty. At the center of the city, a statue of a young mare and a baby dragon stood.

“Twilight and Spike Sparkle, heroes of Equestria.” Sol read.

Surrounding this statue were five others, these just depicting mares.

“Who are these ponies?” Sol asked.

“The elements bearers, of course.” a pony walking by them said.

“Huh?” Amethyst said. “What’s an element bearer?”

“I thought everypony heard this story. They were heroes, who protected the land of Equestria long ago.”

“How?” Sol asked, honestly interested.

“”By wielding the elements of harmony. Each of them represented one element.” she said.

“Wow!” Sol said. “That sounds awesome!” Sol said excitedly

“Sounds like a kid’s story.” Amethyst said.

“I think it is.” the townsperson said. “That’s all its ever been, as far as I’m concerned, we all learned it as kids.”

“It sounds so real though.” Sol said.

“I’m not sure. It seems a little fake to me.” Aqua said.

“Maybe.” Sol said, shot down.

She looked to the suits the three of them were wearing.

“Are you new here? I’ve never seen anyone wear something like that before.” she said.

“Yeah, we just got here.” Sol said in a friendly manner.

“You might want to go talk with Princess Luna. I’m sure she’d want to meet you, if you’re from somewhere far away. She always seems to want to talk to foreigners like yourselves.”

“Luna?” Aqua asked.

“Princess!” Sol said excited. “Like in my dream!”

“What?” Amethyst asked Sol.

“She visited me in my dreams.” Sol said.

“Yeah, she does that. She’s supposed to be the guardian of dreams, after all.” she said.

“You mean she actually can appear in dreams?” Amethyst asked.

“I knew it!” Sol exclaimed, his wings fluttering fast. “I knew she was real! Where is she?”

“Up at the palace.” she said, pointing to the castle ahead.

“C’mon! Let’s go!” Sol yelled, rushing off ahead.

“Thank you for all your help.” Aqua said.

“No problem.” she said, heading along her way.

“Sol! Wait up!” Aqua yelled ahead, running after him.

Amethyst followed behind them, as they headed to the palace.

> Lunar Dragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Several guards surrounded the doors, covered in gold-colored armor, which marked them as royal guard. they also were very heavily wrapped, as was the norm for living in such cold climate. They all carried pikes, beautifully made, along with side swords. They approached the gates, and the guards readied their pikes.

“Halt! No one is allowed into the palace.” A large stallion yelled to them roughly.

“But we were told that Luna wanted to see people new to the city.” Sol said.

“Maybe so. But not during the daytime. She needs to sleep at some point.”

“Daytime? But it hasn’t seemed to change at all.” Amethyst said.

“Funny.” the guard said.

“Let them in.”  a mare’s voice spoke.

The guards raised their pikes resignedly.

“We’ll be watching you. Closely.” the guard said.

“I am most pleased to meet you.” the voice said, getting closer.

Electric lights lit up, and revealed a dark blue mare,  looking just as serenely beautiful as Sol had remembered.

“They never know the time anymore, it’s actually quite late.” she said.

“Princess!” Sol exclaimed. “You really do exist!”

“Yes child, I am no mere dream.” Luna spoke.

“It is an honor to meet you, your majesty. My name is-” Aqua was interrupted

“I’m Sol, and they’re Aqua and Amethyst. It’s great to meet you!” Sol said excitedly.

Sol noticed that Luna was not bundled up like everypony else.

“Aren’t you cold?” he asked.

Luna gave a slight chuckle.

“I was on the moon for a thousand years. This is nothing!”

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk to us about?” Amethyst asked.

“Come with me. I would like to speak in private.” Luna said, gesturing them up the stairs.

As he walked, Sol took a moment to look around the palace. Stained glass windows covered the walls, depicting various images. A draconequus, with two princesses flying around. Another princess, this one purple, with a large dragon behind her. A white princess, with a golden orb of light rising behind her, and one that appeared to be Luna, with a white orb behind her. In the hallway were 6 more, each of the element bearers they saw earlier.

“A long time ago.” Luna began. “There were two regal sisters, and 6 element bearers, who protected harmony. The eldest rose the sun, and the younger sister brought out the moon.  Thus balance was maintained. But as you all can see, I am the only regal sister here.”

“Well, where’s the other one?” Sol asked.

“We’ll get to that. The two of us ruled the land of Equestria for thousands of years. Harmony kept this land safe all those years. The balance of day and night kept this harmony in balance. everything was going so well. As far as we knew, we were immortal rulers. This was not the case. Our lifespans are tied to the sun and moon. The sun has slowly been burning away Celestia. If I had only known the pain she had endured. The energy of the sun eventually became too much for her, and overcame her. The very thing keeping her alive killed her. Without her life force to feed on, the sun quickly burned its own energy into nothingness.  The only reason we have not succumbed is the night does not draw on my energy. Even my precious moon draws on energy from the sun. Oh Celestia, if only I had known.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sol said.

“So, what is this sun?” Aqua asked.

“You mean you haven’t even heard tales of it?” Luna said.

“No, but people sure won’t shut up about it.” Amethyst said.

“The sun was a great source of energy for the planet. It gave us light, food, and warmth. Now it’s gone, and our cities are frozen and wasting away.” Luna said, and gestured to a stained glass window, which depicted the white princess lifting a shining orb. “This is what Celestia and the sun looked like.”

“What can we do?” Sol asked.

“I have no idea.” Luna said. “I couldn’t have ever imagined such a thing happening. My sister would know what to do, she always did.”

“She’s dead.” Amethyst said.

“Amethyst!” Aqua gasped, shocked.

“What? It’s true. She’s gone, and there isn't anything you can-.” Amethyst said, before being interrupted.

“Please excuse her your majesty. She never learned how to-” Aqua said, before also being interrupted.

“Don’t interrupt me.” Amethyst said. “I never learned to what? Bow down to my superiors? Be a tool?”

“I was going to say speak politely.” Aqua said.

“Please, stop this.” Luna said. “She is right.”

“Huh?” Aqua said, confused.

“There isn’t anything I can do. No more longing for the past.” Luna said. “But, how can I act for the future? There isn’t anything left.”

“Maybe.” a deep voice rumbled. “But we can’t just give up.”

Large steps echoed through the hallway, as a large, purple beast entered. Covered in scales,  with green plates shooting up from its head. Its claws scratching across the floor, it slowly walked up the stairway with some difficulty, as its legs were too big to fit on one stair. Its wingspan was quite large, and it had to keep its wings close to its body in order to fit within the palace halls. Its tail swung occasionally when it walked. But despite all these intimidating features, Sol could see a look of kindness on its face.

“Ah, you have visitors. Greetings, I am Spike.” the dragon spoke.

Aqua was paralyzed with fear at the sight of the dragon. Amethyst was shaking, but tried to hide her fear the best she could. But this didn’t last for long, when their fear was overcome by pure surprise.

“Hiya! My name’s Sol! Glad to meet you! These are my friends Amethyst and Aqua!” Sol said cheerfully.

Even Spike was surprised that Sol didn’t even seem slightly afraid.

“Hmm, you’re quite the interesting one. I’ve never seen a pony act so fearless.” Spike said.

“Why would I be afraid? I can tell you aren’t going to hurt me.” Sol said.

“Really? Even if I do...this?” Spike said.

Spike let out a roar, shaking the floor. Fire shot from his mouth, and he spread his claws. He extended his wings as far as he could, as they rubbed on the walls. Aqua turned pale, and nearly fell over. Amethyst simply watched in awe.

“Yep.” Sol said.

“How?” Spike asked, genuinely curious.

“Your face gives it away.” Sol said.

“Well, at least I got the other two.” Spike said resignedly. “You know, you remind me of somepony.

“Who?” Sol asked.

“Pinkie Pie. She was like that too, always friendly.” Spike said.

“I see it as well.” Luna said.

“Wait, you mean her?” Sol said, pointing to the stained glass of the element of laughter.

“Yeah. Unless you know another Pinkie Pie.” Spike said.

“Nope.” Sol said. “You knew the element bearers?”

“Yep. Lived with one of them.” Spike said.

Sol’s eyes widened, his began to flutter his wings quickly in excitement.

“You’re that Spike? The one in the statue outside?” Sol said. “But you’re so much bigger now.”

“That statue was made a long time ago.” Spike said. “Back when I still fit on Twilight’s back. Now she’d fit in my hand.”

“Aqua! Amethyst! Did you hear that? The elements are real!” Sol yelled to them.

:”I heard.” Aqua said, still recovering from dragonfear. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Amethyst said.

“How do you keep warm? It’s gotta be freezing out!” Sol asked, noticing Spike was not covered in any sort of clothing,  not that dragons ever wear clothes.

“The fire in my belly.” Spike said. “I heat the city with it, too.”

“Really?” Sol asked, removing his helmet, to find it was indeed warm in the palace.

“Yeah. I mean, my fire alone isn’t enough to warm all of Canterlot, but it helps.” Spike said. “The rest is done by fuel heating. I do burn the fuel though.”

“Cool.” Sol said, looking to Spike in awe. “I wish I was a dragon.”

“So, back to the topic of saving Equestria.” Spike said. “Or, at least making our lives a little better.”

Spike grabbed some gems from a bowl on an elegant table. He began snacking on sweet sapphires as he spoke.

“Whoah! You eat gems?” Sol said.

“Yup.” Spike said, his mouth full of gems. “Sapphires, emeralds, amethysts.”

A look of fear shot over Amethyst’s face for a moment, until she realized he was indeed talking about the gemstone, and everyone shared a laugh.

“Could I have one?” Sol asked.

“Um...help yourself I guess.” Spike said, confused.

Sol grabbed an emerald, and chewed it a little.

“How do you eat these? I need a chisel or something.” Sol said.

“Ponies don’t usually eat gems. Your teeth aren’t strong enough.” Spike said.

“Oh.” Sol said, a bit disappointed. “But it looks so beautiful.”

“Go ahead, take a few if you want.” Spike said.

Sol looked around through the gems as the others spoke.

“We need to do something about this.” Spike said. “We can’t let Equestria fade away.”

“I know. But what can be done?” Luna responded.

Aqua and Amethyst removed their helmets, so they could continue talking easier, without electronic devices.

“Wow!” Sol exclaimed, grabbing a ruby, not from the bowl, but within a case nearby. “What about this one?”

“Not that one. It’s a very special fire ruby. I couldn’t ever part with that.” Spike said.

“Oh, ok.” Sol said, a little disappointed, but understanding. “So, did the princess leave any sort of clues?”

“Not that I know of. We never even knew how control of the sun and moon worked. We just did it.”

“Even I never knew that.” Spike said.

“Of course not. We weren’t going to let people know that we had no idea how we were keeping the world in balance. We needed to seem competent.” Luna said.

Sol found another ruby, this one very round. This one he kept.

“Is this one okay?” Sol asked.

“Sure.” Spike said. 

“So, why was it that you wanted to see us? We heard that you like to meet people new to the city.” Sol asked. 

“Because I’m looking for a hope. The elements are said to reincarnate into different ponies. First Celestia and I, then the six bearers. I need to find the next elements. But I don’t seem to sense any sort of connection to the elements with you.” Luna said.

“Have you gotten many visitors?” Aqua asked.

“You’re the first.” Luna said.

“Luna, we can’t let this opportunity pass by.” Spike said.

“Would you three be interested in helping? Even if you aren't the elements, we could still use your help.” Luna said.

“Of course.” Sol said.

“I would be honored to help.” Aqua said.

“I don’t have much of a choice.” Amethyst said.

“Thank you all.” Luna said. “It is getting rather late, I’d imagine you are quite tired.”

“I know I am.” Spike said, yawning.

“There are lots of rooms free in the palace. You may stay here for as long as you like.” Luna said.

“Thank you for the hospitality.” Aqua said.

Luna showed the three of them two the guest rooms.

“Ask me or Spike if you need anything. We’ll try our best to provide for you.” Luna said.

Spike headed into an enormous room, which seemed to be built as an addition the the palace. an incredibly large bed was within, big enough for him. 

“Goodnight to you all.” Luna said, heading back upstairs.

Sol took a look around Spike’s room. It was huge, he could fly around freely. The room was not what Sol would have expected. Various dresses and manikins, all pony sized, lined the walls, each dressed differently in elegant fashions. 

“What’s with the dresses?” Sol asked.

“They were made by my closest friend. More than that, even. She loved fashion.” Spike said.

Sol kept looking around. and saw some pictures and a couple of paintings. One painting depicted a white mare, with a gorgeous deep blue mane, perfectly curled. Her white fur contrasted well with the background of the painting. Spike was the subject of the other one, this one depicted him with some sort of crystalline heart.  Spike curled up on his bed. The pictures all involved him and that mare. One of him as a child, with a much younger version of her. The next of him as a drake, and the mare not much older. As time passed, she began to age throughout the pictures, but did it well, and looked as stunning as ever. The next picture involving her showed her in wedding dress, along with Spike in an tuxedo, much closer to the size he was now. 

“It must have been hard for you to get clothes that fit.” Sol said.

“Not really. Rarity made them for me herself.” Spike said.

“Wait, I’ve seen one of these dresses before. That’s a wedding dress!” Sol said, remembering one of the shelter residents who took hers with her. 

“Yeah, it is.” Spike said.

“You were married to one of the element bearers?” Sol asked.

“Yeah. I was.” Spike said somberly.

“Oh, um...sorry.” Sol said.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind talking about it.” Spike said. “It’s not going to change anything. She passed of illness not long after this crisis.”

“I’m sorry.” Sol said again, not sure what else to say.

“She wouldn’t want me to be sad about it. She’d want me to keep helping the world, carry on her spirit of generosity. So I moved here to Canterlot afterwards, and help Luna any way I could..” Spike said.

“But I thought you said you lived with Twilight.” Sol said.

“I did, as a younger dragon.” Spike said.

“You must have been around the element bearers your whole life.” Sol said.

“I was. I even had to replace Rainbow Dash once. It didn’t work out well.” Spike said.”I enjoyed talking with you, but I need to sleep, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Sol said. “Night.”

“Night.” Spike said, turning out the light, and closing the gigantic door behind Sol.

Sol headed off to bed as well, anxious for tomorrow. He tried his best, but Sol couldn't sleep. The excitement of today, or maybe yesterday, he couldn't tell, was overwhelming. He noticed Aqua was gone from their bed., and decided to look for him.

“Aaaaaquaaaa! Where are you?” Sol called out.

Sol began to hover, and headed towards the gardens.

“Aqua?” Sol asked.

“Over here.” Aqua replied.

Aqua was indeed in the gardens, looking up at the skies.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” Sol asked.

“Nope.” Aqua said.

“What are you doing out here?” Sol asked.

“Just looking around.” Aqua said.

“Why is this called a garden? There’s no plants here.” Sol asked.

“I don’t know.” Aqua said.

“It’s so beautiful out here.” Sol said

While the plants were no more, statues and fountains remained. The frozen over fountains were still breathtaking, even with frozen water, which no longer ran through the fountain. Various statues lie within the garden. One depicted Celestia, another depicted Luna. An odd one was in between the two of them, legs and part of the flank of a mare. Sol got closer to read the inscription.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, guardian of magic and friendship.” Sol read aloud.

“It must have never been finished.” Aqua said.

“Yeah.” Sol said.

More statues were scattered around, from Starswirl the Bearded to Topaz the trader, Applejack the Honest all the way down to Zecora the Wise, and every Equestrian hero in between.

“You know, I wasn’t sure about this whole thing. I had thought about trying to convince you to stay in the shelter. “ Aqua said.

“And miss out on all this?” Sol asked

“But I’m glad I came.” Aqua said.

Sol was completely absorbed in stargazing, the stars seemed particularly bright tonight.

“If only to see you this happy.” Aqua said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? This place is amazing!” Sol said.

“It’s a bit cold though, even with the heat from the castle.” Aqua said.

Without warning, Sol grabbed onto Aqua, embracing him.

“Better?” Sol asked.

“Much better.” Aqua replied.

Aqua kissed Sol, and the two of them looked to the sky, at all the stars.

“I wonder what those are.” Sol said. “Do you think Luna would know?”

“Probably. She and that dragon seem to know everything.” Aqua said.

“Except what to do.” Sol said.

The two of them heard hoofsteps coming from behind them.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Luna asked.

“How’d you know?” Sol asked.

“I watch over your dreams. I can tell when you aren’t sleeping.” Luna said.

“It’s just so amazing. this place.” Sol said.

Luna get her first chance to see what the two of them looked like, now that they had their suits off. She looked to Sol’s flank, and focused her gaze onto it.

“Could it be?” she asked.

“What?” Sol asked.

“N...nothing.There’s no way.” Luna said.

“But it has to be! He very clearly had a cutie mark of sunlight. There has to be something more to this child.” She thought

“Uh, Princess?” Sol asked, as she gazed at his cutie mark.

“Hmm? Oh, my apologies. I seemed to have slipped away for a moment.” Luna said.

“We should really get to sleep. We can plan out what to do tomorrow.” Aqua said.

“Indeed. It is so late it is early.” Luna said.

“How can you tell?” Sol asked.

“I can feel the moon, still out there. I can sense it’s location in the sky, using it to judge time.” Luna said.

“Sounds useful.” Aqua said. “I’ve always had to tell with mechanical clocks.”

“Where’d you get those, anyway?” Sol asked.

“Repaired some old ones.” Aqua responded.

“You sure know machines.” Sol said.

“It’s actually really difficult, I went through a lot of them trying to get it exact.” Aqua said, blushing slightly.

“I remember you saying that one little mistake and the whole balance was messed up.” Sol said.

“But it’s important. Lots of other things run based on time, and they need it to be accurate.” Aqua said, standing up. “I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Me too.” Sol said, yawning, and following Aqua into their room.

Luna stayed behind, looking to the sky, at the stars.

“Does each one of those stars have its own Princess, too?”  she wondered. “Celestia. If I had only known.”  she repeated.
> Succession
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna slowly walked back inside, with her usual graceful steps, and tried to get some rest, even though it was nighttime. Sleep came soon enough, and the castle finally fell silent. Day came swiftly, sounded by Spike’s loud footsteps coming through the halls. 

“You’re finally awake. Luna wants to talk to you, you should go see her when you’re ready. She’s in the throne room.” Spike said, as Sol crawled out of bed.

Aqua was already awake, he always woke up early. He quickly fixed his hair, and trotted out towards the throne room. Of course Amethyst was still sleeping, but he let her sleep. She’d be more deadly than a dragon if he woke her up this early. The palace was just as dark as before, but he figured it was early in the morning, based off of when he slept. Her snoring could be heard from the halls. Sol fluttered his wings, and hovered to the throne room. The smell of food cooking filled the room.

“I hope you all have slept well, Spike has something to tell you." Luna said.

“I’ll wait for Amethyst to wake up.” Spike said.

“She should wake up by the time she smells food.” Sol said.

“We can discuss our plans over breakfast.” Luna said.

Luna headed down to the dining room, where the others followed. A loud yawn was heard, as Amethyst awoke, and followed the smell of food, her mane still a mess. Her eyes were half open, she still looked asleep. They entered a large dining room, with a very large table stretching across the center of the room. Everypony but Spike sat down, Spike couldn't fit in the seats. Luna took her seat at the end of the table, in a chair with a crescent moon on the top. At the other end was one with a sun. Everypony sat near Luna, Spike on her right, everypony else to her left. A mare came in, with several plates of food on a cart.

“So, as the princess said, I have an idea.”  “ As I was looking through the library, I began to think where did Celestia channel her power from? How was she chosen? Princess, would you know?” Spike said, taking breaks in his speech to eat.

“I would. We were both taken to a strange chamber as young children. I remember the two of us being bound to day and night.” Luna said.

“Would it be possible she left any clues there? We’ve searched every corner of the castle, and found nothing.” Spike said.

“Maybe, but I have no idea where it is. We were taken there thousands of years ago. Celestia knew, father told her. But I never did.” Luna said.

“Nothing at all?” Spike asked.

“The only moments I remember where my coronation, which happened late in the night, and Celestia’s in the day. She grew her horn that day, too.  I remember her bright pink mane, and how it changed in the flames.”

“Flames?” Sol asked.

“Bright flames. Brighter than you’ve ever seen. They surrounded her, marking her soul.”

“Wouldn’t they hurt?” Sol asked.

“I don’t know, I never experienced it. She didn’t seem to be in pain though.  Our father looked so proud of her. I was, too. “ Luna said.

“So, how were you crowned?” Aqua asked.

“I took the place of our mother. The light was completely smothered around me. I have no idea what was going on past that, I couldn’t see anything. but then, a spark. A bright little star. Then more appeared, and more still. I could begin to see, our mother’s face watching me. My father was nowhere to be seen. I looked to my sides, and saw large feathery wings. Learning to fly was quite a challenge.” Luna said. 

“So why did you two replace them?” Aqua asked.

“My father had fallen ill.He named Celestia his heir, being the older of his two children, and much more suited to the sun. I became princess of the night, being the second oldest, and the only other child. Our cutie marks were granted that day as well.”  Luna said

“You said he fell ill, of what?” Aqua asked.

“I don’t know. he just seemed...weak. He had a hard time standing, and needed our mother’s help to walk. She seemed vaguely aware of what was happening. He continued to get worse, and was eventually bedridden. We all knew what was going to happen soon enough. He passed, and his throne was given to Celestia. Our mother passed on rulership to me before her passing. Does any of this help you, Spike?” Luna said.

“It does. If we can find this chamber, we may find the answer.” Spike said.

“Any other ideas? We still have no idea where this thing is.” Amethyst said, still eating.

“I can think of a few places to check. we need somewhere relatively close to Canterlot, but not often gone to. Maybe Celestia would have left something relating to the location of the chamber?Princess, with your permission, may we check her belongings?” Spike said.

“Of course.” Luna said.

“Come with me after breakfast.” Spike said.

They finished up their meals, which comprised of whatever food was saved before the collapse, and followed Spike upstairs. He lead them to a locked door, alone in a hallway.

“This hasn’t been opened since her passing. Luna wouldn’t allow anypony in until recently. She must really believe you can find something.Luna could never bring herself to enter, and I can’t fit. So search away.” Spike said, opening the door. 

Sol, Aqua, and Amethyst entered. The room was eerie. It hadn’t been touched in years. Dust piled on every surface it could manage to get on.  

“If there’s anything left to find in the castle, It’ll be in here.” Spike said.

A once elegant nightstand was next to her bed, now dusty and in poor shape. It contained various small items, but nothing of importance. Amethyst checked the closets, which contained various elegant dresses, which Celestia once wore to diplomatic meetings and the like. Aqua began to search her bed itself, not finding much of anything. Her room was rather empty, not having much to search. Sol began to search behind whatever he could find, like the mirror on the wall. He lifted it up, looking for something attached to the wall. But nothing was there. They searched anywhere something could be, but found nothing of importance. Sol touched his hoof to the wall, and in frustration hit it.

“There’s nothing.” Sol said.

“Well, it was worth a shot.” Spike said, disappointed.

As Sol walked away, however, he felt a slight vibration. The wall began to slide, and a sun mark appeared. The wall slid out, and a small compartment revealed.

“Huh?” Aqua said, confused. “I already checked there.”

“It must just need to be hit.” Amethyst said.

Sol rushed over to it, and searched the inside. Within was a note.. Sol read it aloud.

“My dear Celestia. It is of utmost importance you do not allow anypony else to see this note, not even Luna, or your mother. They cannot be trusted with this information. I entrust this to you alone, my beloved daughter.”

“What?” Spike said. “Not even the queen?”

“I’m sure you remember the night of your coronation, and I’m sure you know, I won’t be around forever. You will take my place my precious Celestia, and keep this land alive and beautiful. I’m sure you will do well. But, please, meet me down by the waterfall. I have something to talk to you about in private.”

“The waterfall?” Aqua said.

“Sounds like we should check there next.” Amethyst said.

Spike nodded in agreement rather uncomfortably, as he was having difficulties fitting in the halls. They headed back to the throne room, carefully closing the door to the room on the way out. 

“Princess!” Spike called out.

“Yes? Did you find something?” Luna asked.

“We found a note. From the king.” Spike said.

“Father?” Luna asked.

“He mentioned something about a waterfall. Whatever it was, it was important enough that Celestia hid it away.” Spike said.

“But why would she hide it?” Luna asked.

“The king said to not tell anypony.I’ve go the note, if you wanted it.” Sol said.

Sol gave her the note, and she read.

“If this is true, we have to check there. We don’t have any other leads.” Luna said.

“Right. We should head out.” Spike said.

Aqua, Amethyst, and Sol went to go retrieve their environment suits, as Spike and Luna headed out. They regrouped outside, before leaving the castle walls.

“I knew father prefered Celestia to me, but to hide something so important?” Luna said.

“Why did he like her so much more? You seem like a great Princess.” Sol said

“I was never a natural born leader, like her. She was bound to the day, which he valued more than the night. Perhaps most importantly, she was his heir.” Luna said.

They continued on the roads down to the waterfall, which was completely frozen, now more of a lake with a river above. 

“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Spike said.

“Why did he have to be so cryptic?” Amethyst asked.

Aqua walked up to the ice, and focused. He shut his eyes, and lay his hoof on the surface of the lake. The center of the pool began to melt, even though it was much below freezing.

“You can control water?” Luna asked.

“My name isn't Aqua for nothing.” Aqua said.

The ice now melted, a strange, disk like object could be seen at the bottom of the pool. It shimmered brightly, made of some sort of metal. 

“What is that?” Sol asked.

“Some sort of metal.” Aqua said.

“It might be important.” Spike said.

Aqua nodded, and without warning, lept into the lake. He would normally be much more cautious, but water was his domain. His horn flashed, as he shoved the disc aside. A small hole was underneath, about the size of Aqua. Aqua was quite at home in the water, and effortlessly swam down into it. The tunnel curved twice, and headed back up. Aqua emerged, within a pitch black chamber. He flicked his light on, the light from the city not reaching here, and he began to search. 

“Are you okay?” Sol asked through the radio.

“Where are you?” Amethyst asked.

“I’m fine. It might be a bit of a swim for any of you though. I’m in some sort of chamber, let me see if I can open it some other way.” Aqua said, as he emerged from the pool of water.
> Penumbra
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

		Sol jumped in next, the water strangely calm. But as he swam downward,  the current threw him around violently. He fought against it, but ended up right back at the top, flung out of the pool. It was obvious this water was magically defended. Sol, exhausted from fighting the current, lay in the calm edges of the pool, his head on the edge of the pool.  Amethyst simply waited, not wanting to risk herself to help Aqua, of all ponies. The water being quite warm, Sol decided to remove his helmet, and bask in it. Aqua’s magic aura surrounded him, and the water. He felt relaxed, and content. Amethyst jumped in, and followed suit. She might not have liked Aqua all that much, but she could enjoy his magic. Spike was the only one of them strong enough to overcome the magic, and he couldn’t fit down there. Aqua only made it in because of his countermagic. Sol rose out of the water, and shook off his wings. He put his helmet on and flew around, both because he was restless, and because he hadn’t gotten to fly freely much until now.

Aqua climbed out of the pool, and saw the greyish walls around him. The walls were strangely smooth. His flashlight illuminated a cone in front of him, revealing his path ahead.  The cavern seemed to span endlessly ahead, but there was no way to go but forward. The entirety of the cave was frozen over, and would be quite difficult to walk over without magic. Aqua continued through the blandness of the cave for a while, looking around boredly. He began to sense a change in the water as he trekked along. It was getting warmer. The ice began to melt, slowly trickling down on him. 

“What’s going on up there?” Aqua asked. It’s getting warm down here.”

“I don’t see anything weird.” Sol said.

The cavern began to heat further, and Aqua removed his helmet, His soaked mane hung down his face, as he headed further in.

“There’s gotta be another way in here.” Aqua said.

“We don’t even know if this is the right place.” Amethyst said.

“It is. I know it.” Sol said. “Why else would this be here?”

“That magical field in the water certainly wasn’t natural.” Aqua said, into the radio on his helmet, which he levitated.

Steam began to rise, and the heat became increasingly hard to bare. Aqua felt, for the first time in his life, too hot. He removed his environment suit, which was sticking to him.

“It’s really hot down here.” Aqua said.

“How?” Sol asked.

“I don’t know.” Aqua said.

Aqua looked around, and found a small gap in the wall. He looked within, seeing nothing. The gap was just big enough for him to fit. He decided against it, continuing down the path. He felt the ground begin to vibrate softly.  The gap started to seem more and more appealing. He turned back, and squeezed within. The gap was pitch black, even with his light shining. He felt his way out, to find himself in a completely different room. A switch was on the wall, waiting to be pulled. The walls were much lighter, almost white. Aqua flipped the lever, at a loss for what else to do. The room shook, and Aqua was knocked over.

“Waaaah!” Aqua yelled, flung into the wall.

“Aqua, what’s wrong?” Sol asked.

The sudden shaking stopped as quickly as it started, and Aqua heard a crash from somewhere, followed by a rushing sound, and a loud bang.

“What was that?” Aqua asked.

“I figured you knew. The side of the mountain opened up somehow.” Sol said.

“You mean you had no idea you did that?” Amethyst yelled.

“Nope.” Aqua said.

“I can’t see anything.” Sol said, entering the new hole made in the mountainside.

“Even with a flashlight.” Amethyst said.

“I cannot see either, this is no normal darkness.” said Luna.

Aqua saw a piece of the floor begin to crack, and it fell into a dark pit. A look of terror shot across his face, as he scrambled back to the gap. The floor cracked further as he crawled into the gap, and he once more lost vision. He felt a chill coming from the pit beneath the floor, even as he was in the steaming caves once more. He looked behind him, and in the distance, seeing a new hole in the wall. This one was much bigger, more like a doorway. But it was pitch black within. Sol and the others materialized into the cave, with no sign of approach out of the pitch black tunnel. Spike was hunched over, barely able to fit through the tunnel. But in the cave he could walk more freely. 

“Whoah, what is this place?” Sol said, wonder in his voice.

“A cave. One that’s too hot.” Amethyst said negatively, removing her helmet.

Regrouped within the caves, the group headed forward into the mystery ahead.

“How did it become brighter in here?” Sol asked. “We’re deeper underground.”

“I don’t know, that darkness creeps me out.” Aqua said.

A dark smoke began to creep into the cave, pouring through the walls. The room suddenly cooled. 

“We should probably get going” Aqua said, nervously looking at the slow crawl of the smoke.

“Right.” Amethyst said, trying to hide her fear.

Sol had grown considerably less cheery, but was still happily flying above the group. Spike looked into the darkness confusedly. He backed away from it slowly.

“Everypony step back.” Spike said.

Everypony stepped back behind him. Spike shot a blast of flames into the darkness. Near him it was swelteringly hot. The flame was swallowed up by the darkness, without even a hint of light. A chill still radiated from the blackness, the fire seemed to just disappear.

“This darkness feels... familiar.” Luna said, observing it.

The darkness seemed to slowly grasp at Luna, but not with hostility. A strange limb appeared, with many digits. She stepped back, but the dark limb continued. An eye appeared above it, and looked towards her with desire. 

“Let’s go.” Luna said, not wanting to stick around any longer.

The limb grasped her hooves, but was too weak to keep a hold on her, and she simply slid out of it’s grasp. The limb slid back into the darkness, scratching at the ground. The eye stared at her, untill it too slid back into the blackness. 

“What was that?” Sol asked.

Aqua was visibly shaking, staring into the dark. The others turned away and walked further into the cave, but Aqua was frozen in place. Another limb slowly reached out from the dark, and grabbed Aqua’s hoof. Aqua broke free and ran to the others. 

“Are you okay?” Sol asked.

“Just go.” Aqua said, continuing ahead.

They tried to keep calm, but the limbs began to rise up all around them. One pair of limbs seemed, different. Its claws hooked into the ground,pulling out a mass of darkness behind it. Bright purple eyes shone from the darkness following them. It looked Aqua directly in the eye, and he shook. The limb ran its claws across him, reaching to his face.   Frightened, Aqua bolted forward, and the darkness gave chase. A terrifying shriek broke through the room, as a scaly beast leapt after him. The beast was deep black, marked by contrasting white fangs and purple eyes. The group ran, but the beast was incredibly fast, and gaining. The cavern seemed to stretch on for quite a while, and they would never make it before the beast. More limbs pulled up from the darkness, and their situation seemed hopeless. The beast grabbed on to Amethyst, with a much stronger grip than before. She kicked at it violently, but wherever her hooves landed, the darkness simply shifted. Spike turned, and let out a roar. Flames shot from his mouth, washing over the beast. This seemed to affect it, as it let go, falling over. But it was soon back on its feet. Spike slammed his tail into the walls, the sound echoing throughout the cavernous room. A chunk of the ceiling fell onto the beast, crushing it. But black smoke continued to creep through the cracks in the boulder. The beast would soon reform. Wordlessly, they carried on, looking for any sort of safety. The floor began to seem more and more worked, and less natural. The stones were orderly, and paths were much clearer. But the potency of their lights seemed to grow worse the further they got. Steam no longer rose, the room was cold. Re-suited, Aqua touched his hoof to the mark on his face. Where the limb had touched, he was numb. Amethyst had a hard time walking, he assumed this was the same reason. She relied much more on her other hooves, her back left cold and unresponsive. Sol approached her.

“Let me help you.” He said.

“I can walk.” Amethyst said.

“Where are you hurt?” Luna asked.

Amethyst gestured to her lower left flank, which was paled Luna put her hoof to it, a wave of warmth flowing into Amethyst. Her body relaxed, and her leg unlocked. 

“How did you do that?” Amethyst asked, honestly curious for the first time in a while.

“I’ve seen this before. These beasts froze your muscles. I can deal with cold.” Luna said.

“Must be why those things reacted to my flames.” Spike said.

Amethyst could stand, although painfully, with the help Luna gave her. She did the same to Aqua’s cheek. 

“So...you call yourself heiress of the night?” A voice called out.

“Hmm? Who are you?” Luna asked.

“Interesting  I’ll let you play princess for a while longer.” the voice said.. 

“Who dares call my rule into question?” Luna yelled.

“A real princess of the night would know my name. I am the umbra. The true night.”
Luna looked to find where the sound was coming from, and saw a small glint in the corner of her eye. A scaled mouth moved in the darkness, not seeming to be attached to anything.

“Come, my little penumbra. Let us see if you are worthy of the night.” the mouth spoke, as it faded into the darkness.

“How dare you! I am Princess Luna of Equestria! The leader of the Equestrian ponies, and heiress of the night! Sovereign of the moon!” Luna said.

But, as strong as she tried to seem, she felt afraid. Whatever this being was, it had immense power, and was confident enough to declare itself the ruler of the night.

“What was that thing?” Aqua exclaimed.

“I don’t know. “It seems so...alien.” Sol said.

“This dark, it feels so familiar.” Luna said.

“Do you know what this is, Princess?” Sol asked.

“No.” Luna said.

“You  said it was familiar.” Amethyst said.

“I can’t place my hoof on it, but I’ve felt this before.” Luna said.

“I can only imagine what we’ll find ahead.” Aqua said.

"But we have to carry on.” Sol said.

“I don’t know, we couldn’t even touch those things. If it weren’t for Spike, who	   
knows what would have happened?”” Aqua said.

“I can’t turn back. What would I do? This world is ruined. This is the only lead we have. Of course, if you want to leave, I’m not stopping you.” Amethyst said.

“Exactly. You saw it up there. Down in the shelters, too. This world is falling apart.” Sol said.

“Alright. If you really think the answer to our problems is down here.” Aqua said.

“I do.” Sol said.

The ground ahead was increasingly smoothed out, as they continued.

“We’ve still got no way of standing up to those things, other than Spike.I tried kicking it, nothing would hit it.” Amethyst said. 

“That took a lot out of me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it again.” Spike said

“Don’t worry, you won’t get the chance to.” the mouth said, behind Spike. A claw grabbed him by the neck from behind, and pulled him to the ground.

“Urk!” was the noise that come from Spike as his head slammed into the ground. 

Several more of the beasts came from further in the tunnel. Sol bolted, Aqua right behind him. Amethyst, Spike, and Luna were right behind them. The black smoke had re-formed in front of them, they were surrounded. 

“What’s the matter, Luna? Afraid of the dark?” the mouth spoke.

“Princess, what do we do?” Sol asked.

“Run.” was her only response. 

“Run where? You’re surrounded!” the mouth said.

“Enough!” Luna yelled.

Luna’s wings began to flap, she hovered above the ground slightly. Her eyes shone bright white, anger spreading through her. The breeze from her wings became a gust.  Her fur seemed to darken slightly.

“We are Princess Luna! You shall obey me! We are the darkness!” Boomed Luna.

The beasts were unaffected, and continued watching her hungrily, their scaly mouths hanging open. The beasts were similar to alligators in appearance, and in lethality. 

“Capture Luna.” the mouth said. “Kill the rest.”

The beasts lunged, but were stopped halfway.

“What are you waiting for? Kill them!” the mouth said.

Luna’s horn shone brightly, and the beasts went soaring across the room, slamming into the walls. 

“We shall not be captured by the likes of you.” Luna said.

Her eyes returned to normal, she landed on the ground, and her horn stopped shining. The cave was silent for a few seconds, untill Sol spoke.

“Luna, you’re amazing! How did you do that?” he exclaimed.

“And why didn’t you do it sooner? I could have died!” Amethyst said.

“We...I have no idea, it just sort of, happened.” Luna said.

“It doesn't matter, we need to get out of here!” Aqua said.

“Right.” Spike said.

“Get up! Kill them you imbeciles!” the mouth yelled to the unconscious beasts.

The group retreated through the way they came in, much more cautiously than before.

“Go ahead and run! You can’t escape the night!” the mouth yelled.

The group headed back out of the mountain, through the pitch black passage.

“Luna, did your coat get darker?” Spike asked, once they were outside.

“I can’t tell, it’s always so dark out here.” Luna said.

“How would it get darker, anyway? Sol said.

“I don’t know, I’ve always been the same shade of blue.” Luna said.	

“I must have been mistaken.” Spike said.

Once the group was within the castle, they headed upstairs to discuss what had happened.

“What were those things?” Aqua asked.

“I’ve never seen or read about anything like it before.” Spike said.

“We need to be prepared before we go in there again.” Sol said.

“Right.” Luna said.

“But how do we prepare against something like that?” Aqua said.

“I don’t know, but we can’t go back in there now.” Luna said.

“I can search the library for something.” Spike said.

“Thank you. We need to know anything about this that we can. But we could use some rest for tonight.”

“Agreed.” Spike said.

“Then we’ll meet again in the morning.” Luna said.

Everypony headed off to bed, exhausted.
> Into the pit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Smoke drifted across the room in a small, crowded Canterlot bar. Alcohol was one of the few things people could turn to, and the bar’s sales showed it. Pre-apocalypse hard cider was being sold more than ever. On top of that, the bar owner had supposedly found an old cider press, powered by magic, made by her father and uncle. She was bartending tonight, her red mane contrasting with her blue jacket. Guards blocked the entrance, they looked like mercenaries. It was necessary to keep the place secure, the crime rate in Canterlot had shot up ridiculously, most ponies trying to get anything they could get their hooves on. The place was full, a musical act was booked tonight. On stage a beautiful white mare was finishing her act, on her last song. Her purple mane flowed freely as she sang, cutely curled behind her, wearing a light purple dress..She had a cutie mark of a quarter note.  Along with her were a young reddish brown colt, playing a saxophone, a brown stallion playing the piano,  a much older, grey mare, wearing her signature bow tie, and playing the cello. Octavia was the main draw of attention tonight, she was famous all throughout Equestria before the apocalypse, and just as famous now. She had retired years ago, but decided to come back on stage once more, with a new group. They had wrapped up their performance, and the crowd cheered. They headed off stage, and went to get some cider. The barmare served them up some mugs of cider, and they sat at a nearby table.

“You were brilliant up there, Sweetie.” Octavia said.

“Thanks, but I could never compare to somepony as great as you. You’re the reason so many ponies showed up today, anyway.” Sweetie Belle said.

“You’re improving, really. They loved you.” Octavia said.

An orange pegasus sat near her, her purple mane cut short, with her feather cutie mark shown proudly on her side.

“You were amazing!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

Scootaloo was heavily covered in patchwork clothing to stay warm in the frozen wastes. Holes were cut into her clothes to let her small wings flap freely. Her wings were much smaller than normal, seemingly too small to support flight. She was one of the only ponies with her condition, and the first to fly with it.

“Thanks, really.” Sweetie Belle said, and took a big swig of cider.

Scootaloo ordered a drink, and signaled to Apple Bloom to sit near her. Apple Bloom took over ownership of Sweet Apple Acres, which now grew whatever would take to the frozen soil. Her farming techniques managed to grow some of the more rare crops, within heated buildings. She earned her cutie mark when she took control of Sweet Apple Acres, an Apple cutie mark, as was traditional in her family.

“So Sweetie. Have ya’ll thought about performing anywhere else?” Apple Bloom asked

“Where else is there? Ponyville’s gone, and Canterlot’s all I know.” Sweetie said.

“Manehattan is still alive.” Octavia said.

“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, I’ve seen it, on a delivery. Not quite as big as Canterlot, but the city is still there.” Scootaloo said.

“Maybe I should-” Sweetie said, before being interrupted.

A stallion came crashing in through the door, bloody and bruised.

“What happened to you?” Octavia asked.

“I don’t even know. That...thing just attacked me!” The stallion said, panting heavily.

“Thing?” Sweetie asked.

“It had scales, and a huge jaw.” he said, gesturing to a bite mark on his leg.

“Come on, let’s get you some help.” Apple Bloom said, and he leaned on her.

The two of them left the bar, heading to the medical center.

“What do we do?” Sweetie asked.

“Is there anything to do about it? How would we stop it?” Octavia said.

“I guess not. Still, I don’t feel safe out here.” Scootaloo said.

“Come on, let’s go home, I was thinking of getting out of here anyway.” Sweetie said.

“I’ll be staying here for a while longer, I’ll see you later.” Octavia said.

Scootaloo and Sweetie left, heading to their home. They had undressed, preparing to sleep.

“I still don’t feel right about ignoring this.” Sweetie said.

“Can we talk about this tomorrow? I’m really tired.” Scootaloo said.

“Me too.” Sweetie said.

Sweetie crawled into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sol awoke, hungry and sore. Yesterday took a lot out of him, he was too shook up to have worried about eating yesterday, and he felt it now. The smell of food coming from the kitchen was heavenly, he headed that way. He could hear chatter from the dining room, somepony was in there. 

“Ah, Sol! Perfect timing, we were just about to start breakfast.” Luna said.

Everypony else had gathered around the table, he took his seat next to Aqua. They had begun eating, when somepony entered.

“Princess!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“What is it, child?” Luna asked.

“Did you hear about what happened last night?” Sweetie said.

“Hmm? What would that be?” Luna said.

“Somepony was attacked!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“What?” Sol exclaimed.

“Late last night, somepony said a scaly creature attacked them!” Scootaloo said.

“You mean those...things are attacking ponies in the city?” Aqua asked.

“You’ve seen them?” Scootaloo asked.

“Luna, this is worse than we thought.” Spike said.

“Where is he?” Luna asked.

“Apple Bloom took him down to the medical center, he’ll probably still be there.” Sweetie said.

“We should go hear what he has to say.” Sol said.

“Thank you for telling us this.” Luna said.

Luna stood, she had finished eating.

“Come on, let’s go.” Spike said.

Everypony had finished, and followed Luna.

“We should come with you.” Scootaloo said.

“I suppose there’s no harm in that.” Luna said.

The group headed through the town, still mostly empty, but a little more active than when Sol got here. A few ponies were going about their business, and the street outside the bar where Sweetie played last night had a few ponies outside it. Two were talking, the other simply sat, a cloud of smoke covering him. Smoking was almost unheard of in Equestria before the freezing, as was drinking, but they quickly became popular afterward. The center was just to the left, and the group entered. It was a very small building, but it was packed. Ponies were filling almost all of the beds, injured or sick. The few ponies with medical knowledge and skill were rushing about, horribly understaffed and under equipped 

“Princess! What can I do for you?” A nurse asked, somewhat stressed.

“I’m just here to speak with somepony.” Luna said.

“Who?” she asked.

“The victim of the attack last night.” Spike said.

“Right this way.” she said, leading them to him.

He was lying in a bed, bandaged somewhat sloppily. He looked up at Luna confusedly.

“Princess?” he asked.

“Hello, Gust.” Luna said.

“You know my name?” Gust asked.

“Of course, I know everypony’s names here.” Luna said.

“Well, what can I help you with?” Gust asked.

“Can you tell me about the night you were attacked?” Luna said.

“If it’ll help. I was walking close to the Palace, heading back into town, when I heard these loud, scratching footsteps. I turned around, when I was tackled to the ground, I tried my best to get away, but my muscles locked up. I fought as hard as I could and managed to make it into town, but that thing tore me up. Some mare helped me up, and took me here.” he said.

“If that...thing is able to leave the mountain, then we’ve got a huge threat to deal with.” Aqua said.

“Well, what are we waiting for? If we wait here, somepony else could get hurt.” Spike said, leaving.

“Spike, wait!” Luna said, chasing after him.

Spike left, Luna chasing after him.

“Princess, I’m heading back there. Are you coming?” Spike said.

“Spike, what’s gotten into you? Why did you storm out of there?” Luna said.

“I need to stop this. If you’re coming, great. If not, get out of my way.” Spike said, flying into the air.

“Where’s he going?” Sol asked, as he headed outside.

“I don’t know.” Luna said.

“He just left?” Aqua said, following Sol.

Sol took off into the air, chasing after Spike.

“Sol!” Aqua yelled.

“Let him go.” Luna said.

“But-” Amethyst said.

“Maybe he’ll get through to Spike. I never could.” Luna said.

“What do you mean?” Aqua asked.

“He always helps out around the castle, but he never seemed to want to help me. It felt like he had some sort of other purpose.” Luna said.

“So what do we do now that we’ve got the only hope for fighting those things throwing a tantrum in the sky?” Amethyst asked.

A plume of flame shot into the sky, and Sol came flying back down towards the group.

“He wouldn’t even listen to me.” Sol said.

“Of course not. He’s never been very reasonable.” Luna said.

“He wants to help. I can tell.”  Sol said.

“I’m going.” Amethyst said.

“I guess we don’t have any other options.” Aqua said.

“Let’s go!” Sol exclaimed.

“...Ok, I’ll do it. For Celestia.” Luna said.

They headed off towards the mountain, where the pitch black cavern awaited. The caves were just as dark as before, but they felt different, and were a bit warmer, and much wider.

“Spike must have blown through here, only dragonfire could burn hot enough the cut through the rocks.” Luna said.
Outside of the entrance the light returned. Bodies of several of the scaled beasts lie charred on the ground.

“Maybe Spike’s on to something.” Amethyst said.

“Maybe.” Luna said.

They continued on throughout the caves, getting further than before. The ground grew more orderly, and seemed to resemble a crude road. As dark as the caves were, light could be seen ahead, coming in quick bursts. As they approached, the bursts were revealed to be green dragonfire. Spike was ahead, burning through rock blocking his path.

“Spike!” Sol said.

“You actually took those things down!” Luna said.

“They didn’t even put up a fight. I barely had to use my flames.” Spike said.

“But they were so strong before.” Sol said.

“They just really hate fire.” Aqua said.

The rocks ahead melted, and almost immediately after cooled. They continued to do this under his flames, until a path was made. Ahead of them was a pit,with no obvious way down, and no telling how deep. Aqua picked up one of the smaller rocks with his magic and dropped it down the pit. It seemed to take ages for it to hit the bottom.

“Well, we can probably hover down, but I don’t know about flying back up, and then that leaves Aqua and Amethyst.” Sol said.

“I can carry them.” Spike said.

“Well, are we doing this?” Amethyst asked.

“I’m in.” Sol said.

“Me too.” Spike said.

Luna and Aqua seemed hesitant.

“If it must be done.” Luna said.

“Ok. If I must.” Aqua said.

Spike grabbed Amethyst in one hand and Aqua in the other. The group hovered down, Aqua with eyes closed from fear, not that he could see much to begin with.

> A light in the darkness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The descent continued through the shadowy pit.

“So, are your full names really just one word? That seems odd, most ponies have 2 word names.” Spike asked, to break the silence.

“No, we tend to just go by shortened names. I’m Sol Shine.” Sol said.

“Aquamarine.” Aqua said.

“Amethyst Sparkle.” Amethyst said.

“Sparkle?” Luna and Spike both exclaimed.

“Yeah, so?” Amethyst said.

“”There’s no way...” Luna muttered.

“Somepony as rude and brash as her? No way.” Spike muttered back.

“Maybe it's just more common of a name than I thought.” Luna said.

“I hear you mumbling over there. What is it?” Amethyst yelled.

“Nothing.” Spike said.

“Hmph, whatever.” Amethyst said.

The descent seemed to drag on forever, but they eventually reached to bottom. The stone floors were oddly lit by blue lines, which pulsated across the ground and walls. There was a single tunnel leading out of this pit, where this blue light seemed to radiate from.

“Well, it doesn't look like we have any other way to go.” Spike said.

“Who was that!” somepony called out.

“Hide!” Aqua said in a loud whisper, as he pressed up against the walls.

The blue light grew brighter, as hoofsteps echoed throughout the tunnel. A cloaked figure with a lantern floating nearby entered. The lantern glowed a bright blue, an unusual color for a flame.

“I know you’re in here!” it yelled.

The lantern smashed into the ground, and blue flame spread across the floor, and crawled up the walls. It covered everypony, but didn’t burn.

“Found you!” it yelled once more.

An orb floated above her, pulsating with energy.

“Hooves up, now! Or I blast you into pieces!” it yelled.

Everypony’s hooves went into the air, standing on their back hooves, but Spike kept his claws down.

“You too!” it yelled.

“You think you can challenge a dragon?” Spike said, with a slight grin.

The orb above its head slammed into Spike’s chest, knocking him over on his side. Five more orbs appeared almost instantly.

“Still want to try fighting me?” it asked.

“You’re good.” Spike said, raising his claws into the air.

It began to look each of them over

“You...you aren’t from down here, are you?” it asked.

“No. We came here to investigate some attacks on Canterlot.” Luna responded.

“Canterlot? You’ve come from the surface?” it asked.

“Of course. Do you mean you didn’t?” Luna asked.

“I did, a long time ago. I’ve been living down here for so long, I barely remember what the surface even looks like. But I remember you, Luna.” it replied.

“You do?” Luna asked.

“Of course. It’s hard to forget your princess.” it responded.

The figure waved its hoof, and the lantern rebuilt itself above it, and re-lit.

“I have a feeling you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. But nonetheless, come with me.” it said.

The group followed in silence.

“I too have been trying to figure out what is down here. Through hours of research I came across the coronation rites Celestia underwent. I’m sure you know about them firsthand, Luna. I believe there was something more to that coronation than either of us know.’ it said.

“Father sure made it seem important everything was done perfectly for her. He never even showed up to mine.” Luna said.

“Hmm...interesting. She took over the moon when you were banished, correct?” it asked.

“Yes.” Luna said.

“But you cannot control the sun?” it asked.

“I tried, in vain.” Luna said.

“The king left a note for Celestia, which he didn’t let anyone else see.” Sol added.

“And what did it say?” it asked.

“Something about heading back down here after the coronation. It seemed really secretive.” Aqua said.

The cloaked figure let out a burst of magic, which hit a wall in the tunnel. The wall opened, to reveal a small room. Inside were all sorts of dusty tomes, with strange runes on the front, spread haphazardly across the room.

“This way.” it said.

The tunnels were dark and dusty, but they seemed safe. 

“Where are you taking us?” Sol asked

“Further into the caves. The main roads are unsafe.” it said.

The tunnel went on for what seemed like hours, until it reached a dead end. Once more the figure used magic, and the door slid open. Inside was another room, similar to the one before, but with a makeshift bed set up inside, made of various tattered pieces of cloth.

“You can rest here, where it’s safe. We’ll continue on the morning. I’ll set up some magical alarms to protect us” it said.

Grateful for the chance to rest, almost everypony quickly fell asleep, even on the hard floors. Sol waited until the cloaked figure was asleep, and whispered to Aqua.

“Aqua.” he said.

“What?” Aqua said, almost asleep.

“Are you sure we can trust that pony?” Sol asked.

“It’s not like we have a choice. It could have killed us if it wanted. All we know is that it didn't.” Aqua said.

“I guess.” Sol said.

“I’m the least of your worries down here.” the pony said.

But it was still asleep. A small wisp of energy floated from its mouth, with nothing but a face.

“I’m never truly asleep.” the figure said, and the wisp smiled.

Sol and Aqua headed back to sleep, and the wisp went back within its mouth.

Sol was the first to awake.

“You’re awake.” The wisp said.

The figure stood up, and sounded the magical alarm. Everypony woke up, Ametyst looking quite furious.

“Get up, we’re going.” The figure said.

“You woke me up.” Amethyst said.

“Because you’re leaving. Now.” The figure said, and headed deeper into the tunnel.

“Hmph.” Amethyst said and fell back asleep.

A gray magical field formed around Amethyst, and dragged her across the ground.

“Now.” The figure said.

“Fine, but I’m still sleeping.” Amethyst said, before somehow managing to sleep while being dragged.

One of the orbs above the figure slammed into Amethyst, shocking her awake, and also toppling her.

“We’re going. If you were somepony else I’d have killed you with that orb myself, but I need to take you with me.” it said.

“If I’m going with you, could you at least show me your face? Maybe give me a name?”

“If that’s what it takes.” it said.

The figure’s coak de-materialized, revealing a gray old stallion, with a long, curly beard.

“Call me Starswirl.” he said.
> Swarm of scales.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Starswirl? Like, the Starswirl?” Sol asked.

“That’s right.” he said.

“I saw you on a statue.” Sol said.

“That’s all you know me from?” Starswirl said.

“Yep.” Sol said.

“He’s a very powerful magic user. What are you doing down here, old man?” Spike asked.

“Like I said, I’m investigating.” he said.

Another magic flash came from Starswirl’s horn, and his usual robes appeared on him.

“Huh, it really did have those bells.” Spike said.

Small bubbles enveloped the bells, so no sound would escape.

“We need to be quiet up ahead.” Starswirl said.

A thin rod of magic appeared in front of Starswirl. It spun rapidly, forming a disk. The disk shot backwards covering the group in a cylinder, large enough for even Spike, which then formed itself around them. Spike felt a strange familiarity with this spell, as though he knew it from somewhere.

“This reflective cylinder should cloak us. It’s basically a one way mirror. It distorts the image a bit though, so it can’t be relied on at close range.” Starswirl said.

“You know, Twilight really looked up to you for magic. I can see why.” Spike said.

“More than you know.” Starswirl muttered.

“Huh?” Spike said.

“Oh, nothing.” Starswirl said.

More books lined the walls ahead, but were no longer scattered and were lined up neatly on shelves. This room looked and felt like a proper library, but nothing was legible on the books. Starswirl took his slow steps ahead, leading the group to the exit. He used his magic to open the door, and headed out. Amazedly, Sol looked around in awe. Large buildings, homes, businesses, and even well made roads were ahead. But they were all alien in design, nothing like Canterlot. A gigantic statue of a stallion in long, flowing robes adorned the center of the city, with strange tentacle-like appendages coming out of its back legs, lifting it into the air.. But, for all the splendor and glamour of the city, there wasn’t a soul to be found living in it. A loud scratching noise came from nearby, and Starswirl ducked into an alley. The others followed, and waited in silence for it to pass.

“You think you can hide from the night?” a voice said.

Once more the mouth appeared, in the darkness of the alley.

“Ah, old man, you’re here too? You’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long, draining my minions. I’ll make sure you die painfully.”

“Draining?” Aqua asked.

“Yes, the ones closer to the surface I’m sure you ran into.” Starswirl said.

“So that’s why they didn’t put up a fight.” Spike said.

The scratching noise closed in, and several of his scaled minions entered the alley.

“Your illusions are futile, old man. Die.” the mouth said.

The beast leapt into the air, swiping a few feet away from Sol, and hitting a wall. Try as it 
might, it couldn’t find him. 

“Spike, fire!” Starswirl said.

Spike released a plume of flame, scalding their scales. Starswirl threw his lantern into the air again, this time the flame turned a greenish color. It surrounded the group, incinerating all of the beasts. More began to pour into the alleyway, in a seemingly endless horde. Starswirl bolted, as fast as his old legs would carry him. The others ran after him, except for Spike. Spike took in a deep breath, and shot fire once more. The beasts fell over, and Spike ran off, panting heavily from the exertion of fire-breathing. More beast began to pour in from all around. They began to leap wildly, only having a vague idea of where the ponies were. The mouth tried its best to direct them, being able to see through the spell. Starswirl headed for a large, important looking building, with impressively large doors. The group headed in, when one of the beasts leapt from the roof, pouncing on Aqua. In one quick movement, the beast slashed open his suit, and his chest. The beast continued to tear at him, as he writhed around, trying to shake it off of him.. Sol charged in and bucked it, to some effect. It didn’t appear visibly hurt, but it backed off enough for Sol to grab Aqua, and drag him inside. Spike slammed the doors shut, and Starswirl magically sealed them. Steam was billowing out of his suit, and it was losing heat fast. His blood behaved similarly, emblazoning his chest and legs in bright crimson. A crashing noise came from the door, the beasts were slamming their bodies into it, thirsting for more blood. Aqua was barely conscious, not awake enough to show much of a reaction.What little of his face could be seen through the fogged helmet seemed somewhat afraid, but mostly disconnected from what was going on. He opened his mouth, but the wiring of the radio system was torn, and no sound could be heard. Starswirl ripped a chunk of his cloak off, and used it to bandage Aqua’s wounds. His horn shone, as a near-transparent blue bubble formed around Aqua, sealing what heat was left in the suit inside it. The bubble wrapped itself around him, and turned completely transparent. The beasts continued to smash into the door, unaware of the magical seal. 

“Spike, I need some more flame.” Starswirl said.

Spike once more took a deep breath, and managed out some more embers, coughing violently. Starswirl summoned two staves of metal. He caught the embers in one, which sparked a flame at the tip, and heated the other over it.

“Please forgive me for this.” Starswirl said, now holding the dragonfire heated staff. He removed the bandages, which were soaked and useless at this point anyway. Starswirl pressed the staff onto his wounds, cauterizing them with the heat of dragonfire. Aqua shot awake, in immense pain, as his wounds were forced shut. Immediately after he passed out, but the bleeding had stopped.

“That suit isn’t going to do him any good anymore. You might as well remove it.” Starswirl said.

Amethyst removed his helmet, making his breathing a bit easier.

“Aqua! Please, say something!” Sol yelled.

“Relax, he’s fine. He’ll wake up sometime soon.” Starswirl said a little too calmly.

“Thank you so very much. If there’s anything I can do for you, please, let me know.” Sol said.

“There is one thing. I need you to live.” Starswirl said somewhat cryptically. 

Luna looked at his staff some more. It seemed strangely familiar, she remembered the make of the staff. She had only seen them in ponyville magic shops, they weren’t as elegant as the ones in Canterlot.

“I never remembered Starswirl being quite so kind. He was always bitter and cold to others when I knew him.” Luna thought.

With the doors locked, nothing could get in, and the beasts scattered. 

> Coronation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	‘“So old man, how is it you haven’t seemed to age at all?” Luna asked.

“You were ancient back when I was a child.” Spike said.

“I have my secrets to keep. That being one of them.” Starswirl said.

Aqua awoke, still in quite a lot of pain. 

“You’re awake!” Sol exclaimed happily.

“Thank Celestia, I was beginning to think you were done for.” Spike said.

“What happened?” Aqua asked, still somewhat dazed.

“One of them got you, your suit tore. Your chest did, too.” Amethyst said, gesturing to the torn suit next to him.

He looked down at the burned-closed wounds on his chest. which, while keeping him from bleeding out, looked horrific.

“Can you walk?’ Starswirl asked.

Aqua slowly stood, placing weight on his forelegs, which were wounded. He shook and wobbled, before toppling back over, gritting his teeth in pain.

“Don’t you have some sort of magic for this?” Sol asked Starswirl.

“I’ve already wasted too much magic keeping him alive. Leave him” Starswirl said.

“What? We can’t just leave him!” Sol yelled.

“He isn’t necessary. Not like you. He should have died back there.” Starswirl said.

“This is more like the Starswirl I knew. I thought maybe you had changed, but you’re just
as cold as ever.” Luna said.

“You can’t just leave him. I may not like him, but the colt deserves more than that!” Amethyst said.

“Fine. One of you carry him, then.” Starswirl said.

“No, Starswirl is right.” Aqua said.

“What?” Sol said, shocked.

“I’d just be a burden.” Aqua said.

“Not really, you aren’t that heavy, I could carry you.” Spike said.

Spike scooped Aqua up, careful not to touch his wounds, and put him on his back. Aqua winced in pain, but it was over quickly.

“This is just going to cause more problems. But fine, carry him.” Starswirl said.

“What’s your problem? You act like you don’t even care.” Spike said.

“It isn’t that I don’t care about him, it’s that he isn’t important.” Starswirl said.

“How do you know that? We need anything we can get!  I’m not leaving him!” Sol yelled.

“Trust me, I know.” Starswirl said.

“Can we just go already?” Amethyst said.

“Right, we need to get out of here.” Spike said.

“Let’s go.” Spike said.

“Right, we need to head upstairs. The way ahead should be nearby.” Starswirl said.

“How exactly is it that you know your way around here?” Luna asked.

“I’ve been down here for many, many years. Memorizing the layout of the land, hoping for you. Now that you’re here, I can lead you.” Starswirl said to Sol. 

Starswirl headed upstairs, and beckoned the others, who followed.

“I've been running this same route through the city, over and over again, finding the most efficient way through. I knew you’d come, I just knew it! She told me you’d come!” Starswirl yelled excitedly.

“She?” Amethyst asked.

“The princess! Celestia told me the rightful heir would arrive! Spike and Luna being with you proves it!” Starswirl began to rave on madly.

“You’re mad.” Luna said.

“How do you know my name?” Spike asked.

“I’ve been watching you, since you were a child. I birthed you into this world!” Starswirl shrieked.

“There’s no way.” Spike said.

“Ah, but there is! I know all about you! Your life at Golden Oak Library! Your birth by magic! I am the catalyst that spawned you!” Starswirl continued to rave.

A purple flash erupted from Starswirl, shading his fur and mane. His beard faded, and a purple unicorn was left. She was rather old, but not decrepit. A powerful aura of magic emanated from her. Wings sprouted from her back violently, as the transformation completed.

“Spike, now do you see? It is I, Twilight Sparkle!” She continued to rant.

“I thought you were dead.” Spike said.

“I abandoned the city when the freezing came. Celestia spoke to me! She told me the truth!” Twilight shrieked.

“Which is?” Aqua asked.

“Sol is the true heir! Your mother is Celestia!” Twilight said.

“What?” Sol said, in utter disbelief.

“The mark!” Luna said.

“Celestia gave me her final wishes. I am to protect you until your coronation.” Twilight said.

“Coronation!” Sol exclaimed.

“Of course. Why else would you have come here?” Twilight said.

“The note the king left Celestia.” Luna said.

“Hm. Well, who cares! The point is, you’re here, and you’re coming with me!” Twilight said.

Twilight dashed upstairs, faster than would have seemed possible on her old legs. Above them were two large cylindrical chambers. The group approached them, looking them over.

“This is where my route would normally end. But now, I have you!” Twilight said, grabbing Sol. 

Twilight pressed Sol’s hoof against the chamber, which caused it to slide open.

“Get in.” Twilight demanded.

Sol looked to the group nervously.  A sea of confused faces was all he got back.

“I honestly don’t know. But if you really are the son of Celestia, then you could be the key to saving us.” Aqua said.

“This feels familiar. She may be telling the truth, and what I knew of Twilight was a good pony. She wouldn’t trick you.” Luna said.. 

“...I’ll do it.” Sol said.

Sol stepped into the chamber, which closed behind him. It was completely transparent, with a sun on the bottom.

“Are you ready, Prince?” Twilight asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Sol said.

Twilight energized the tube, magical bolts crawling up the sides. Flames shot from the floor, wrapping around Sol. His fur began to brighten, and shone bright white. Sol closed his eyes, the flames putting him at complete peace. His suit quickly burned to ashes. His hair went from the dark yellow it was before to a brighter, orange color. Sol felt at home within the fire. It flowed into him, filling him with warmth. His feathers shone bright white as well as his fur, and the flame stopped. Sol fell over, suddenly in massive pain. He clutched his head, feeling a sharp pain now both in his head and his hooves. A horn shot out of his skull, shining orange at the tip.

“Prince Sol, your coronation is complete.” Twilight said.
> Finale: Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Now then, can we go?” Twilight asked shakily.

“This is really empty for a coronation room.” Amethyst said.

“This is just so much to take in.” Sol said, rising slowly.

“You’re...a prince?” Aqua said in disbelief.

“Don’t expect me to start bowing to you now, Sol” Amethyst said.

“Please, don’t.” Sol said.

Sol’s new horn began to glow orange, and sparks shot out wildly.

“Hmm, I’ve never seen a pegasus turned prince. It’s, interesting to say the least. You’re acting like a magic kindergartener” Twilight said.

“I can’t control it, I’m sorry!” Sol exclaimed, as his horn shone once more, searching for something to find.

Finding nothing in the empty white room, his magic grabbed onto Twilight. She effortlessly dispelled it, but seemed impressed.

“That’s stronger magic then I’ve seen from most ponies. Of course, without some self control you’re worthless.” Twilight said.

“What’s gotten into you? You were an element of harmony, this is no way to treat ponies. You should know that better than I!” Luna said.

“Harmony is no more. Something you should know too.” Twilight said.

“What!” Luna and Spike both shouted.

“There haven’t been new element bearers since the crisis. Now we’ve passed, and harmony is just waiting for us to die. Besides Applejack and myself, the element bearers are all gone. I’m carrying out Celestia’s will, out of respect. Celestia is telling me to take you to the cathedral. So can we please get going?” Twilight said.

“Wait, she told you, just now?” Luna said.

“Yes, now let’s go.” Twilight said.

“But, my sister has been dead for years.” Luna said.

“So?” Twilight responded.

“Twilight. She’s gone.” Spike said

“No, she’s here, and she says we have to go.” Twilight said.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Spike asked.

Twilight grabbed Sol by the hoof, and dragged him along behind her as she headed downstairs. Sol squirmed free, his horn shooting sparks once more.

“This is just too much. I still can’t believe I have this horn.” Sol said.

A lock of Sol’s mane fell into his view, and he jumped back.

“Orange?” he shrieked.

“It looks beautiful.” Aqua said.

“You might want to look at your fur too.” Amethyst said.

Sol looked down at his hooves, similarly shocked by the white.

“Please, can we go? I promised to carry out Celestia’s will, but that’s all she’ll get from me.” Twilight said.

Luna began to darken slightly, an angered look shot across her face.

“How dare you talk about her that way!” Luna yelled.

“Why? What has she done to deserve my respect?” Twilight responded loudly.

“She taught you! Took care of you! Gave you your title!” Luna shrieked.

Luna continued to darken, her mane becoming translucent.

“Luna. Calm down.” Spike said, putting a claw on her.

“But for what? Now the world is falling apart, and all my friends are dead. She made me immortal, why not the others?” Twilight said, tearing up from her yelling.

Luna gritted her teeth, overcome by anger.

“Luna! You must control your anger. You know what will happen. I might not be able to stop you this time.” Spike said.

Luna stopped, and took a deep breath.

“You’re right. I must...control myself.” Luna said.

“She didn’t tell anyone. No one was prepared. She had to have known she was dying. She didn’t even tell anypony she had an heir! It’s like she wanted this to happen!” Twilight wailed.

“You wouldn’t know what it’s like, to love someone as much as she loved you. But you have to understand, she gave you immortality because she loved you. It was a very special occasion. You proved yourself. This is how you thank her? By cursing her name? ” Luna said.

“What would any of you know about love? I loved her more than you would know, and she betrayed me!” Twilight said.

“I know more about love than you would know about. I loved a stallion, once, by the name of Nightfall. But that time has passed. I have to move on.” Luna said.

“What I know about love? That it drives you. Makes you do anything to keep it. But for all my strength, I couldn’t do anything to save her. I loved her, and I love you, Twilight. Celestia did whatever she could to save you from the curse of mortality. I wish she could have done the same for the others, but I don’t blame her for a thing. She had her reasons. Twilight, I thought you were dead. Last time I saw you I was a young drake, newlywed. Now I’m an old widower, and as far as I knew, I was alone. But you have the nerve to talk about being abandoned and betrayed?” Spike said.

Sol, Aqua, and Amethyst simply watched, not even sure what the argument was about. Twilight began to cry, tears running down her face.

“Spike, I never meant to abandon you. But I had to leave. I couldn’t stay there anymore, not after Celestia refused to help Pinkie. She could have given her immorality, but she chose to let her die. What I do now, I do to clear my conscience.” Twilight said.

“It’s the natural order of things, Twilight. We’re going to die. Celestia couldn’t save everypony, I’m sure. I’ve thought about it too, as I age.” Spike said.

“You were special. Harmony chose you.” Luna added.

Twilight was sobbing into Spike’s chest, completely awash in tears at this point.

“I should have never left you the way I did. Spike, I’m sorry. But I had to do what I did. I still love Celestia, despite how much I hate her.” Twilight said.

“We should get going. If this is what Celestia wants, I’ll do it.” Spike said.

“Thank you.” Twilight said.

Luna shifted back to normal, her color brightening, and her mane solidifying.

“I’ll do it, for Tia.” Luna said.

“I’m in. If this is what I’m destined for, I’ll accept it.” Sol said.

“I can’t exactly say no, now.” Amethyst said.

Twilight took her first long look at Amethyst.

“You look a lot like someone I used to know. My brother, Shining Armor.” Twilight said.

“Her name is Amethyst Sparkle.” Spike said.

“Sparkle?” Twilight asked.

“It’s what my parents named me. I never met them, I was born at the start of the crisis.” Amethyst said.

“Could you really be.. my brother’s daughter?” Twilight asked.

“I guess. I never met him.” Amethyst said.

“I’m sure of it. you look like your father. But you got the coloring of your mother.” Twilight said.

“So, I’m part of a royal family?” Amethyst asked, surprised.

“They must have named you after me. Oh, Celestia, I haven’t seen him in so long.” He probably died thinking I was gone.”Twilight said.

“He may still be alive, we haven’t had any contact with the Crystal Empire in years. Of course, he’d be quite the old stallion.” Luna said.

“I’m going to go there, after this is all over.” Twilight said.

“Can I come with you? I want to meet them.” Amethyst said.

“I’d like that.” Twilight said.

“Let’s get going.” Spike said.

Everypony agreed, and they headed onward to the doors.

“Spike, prepare some fire, I’m going to open the door.” Twilight said.

Spike took in another deep breath, the oxygen igniting in his lungs.The door opened, several black scaled beasts awaiting outside, now covered in flame as fire erupted from Spike’s old lungs. The beasts we knocked back once more, and the group headed forward. Ahead of them the city seemed to narrow, leading into a small passage once more. Behind them the city seemed to fade in the distance. A loud crash echoed, a wall slid behind them.

“So, you’ve finally arrived.” a voice said.

The mouth from earlier reappeared. From deeper in the chamber a faceless blank slab of a pony appeared, gray furred, with a green mane.

“Let’s have some fun, shall we?” the mouth said.

It attached itself to the blank slab, and smiled. A black vat of magic arose from the floor, black smoke pouring out from it. The smoke caused everypony to cough, as a small orb rose from within. The slowly began to change shape, forming into a panther-like being. Several more rose, behaving similarly. Twilight shot a magical bolt at the faceless pony, but the bolt was stopped by the inky magic, which rose up in a wave to catch it.

“That’s it?” the faceless pony asked, disappointed.

Spike shot a small ball of fire at the beasts, but the vat of magic once more caught it. The panther-like magic beasts pounced Twilight, breaking apart on impact, but causing tremendous pain. The magic reached out with a large tentacle-like limb, grabbing Amethyst, pulling her deep into the inky magic. It began to swallow her, she felt it completely overwhelming her. She heard a horrifying snap, as it compressed her front right leg. She screamed in pain, trying to resist. But the thick magic didn’t budge.

“You still can’t do anything about me, can you?” The faceless pony chuckled.

Sol’s horn shone orange, brighter than ever before. The light was blinding, and he couldn’t control it. the magic began to dissipate, freeing Amethyst. Twilight was enraged, looking upon Amethyst’s mangled leg. Her horn sparked, and shot a large bolt, toppling the faceless pony. He turned his back to them, toppled in pain. The group approached, when he quickly turned. A blue wave shot from his hooves, chilling everything it touched. The cold stopped everypony but Luna in their tracks.

“I still triumph in the end! Princess, submit to me!” he yelled.

Luna’s mane went translucent, her fur completely blackened.

“Enough! We are the princess of the night! You shall die here, you miserable wretch!” Nightmare moon yelled.

A deep blue aura rose from her, wrapping itself around the faceless pony. It wrapped around his horn, dispelling his magic, and wrapped around his muscles, rendering him motionless. The freezing magic dispelled, the group could move once more. Amethyst managed to stand, limping.

“I am still the superior ruler! You needed the others to succeed!” The faceless pony said.

“That’s what a ruler does.” Luna said, shifting back to normal.

A face began to appear on the faceless stallion, with bright green eyes, and he began to smile once more.

“Luna, you’ve certainly proved yourself.” The stallion said.

“Nightfall?’ Luna asked.

“You’re really going to give power back to the day, aren’t you? You’ll never learn to appreciate the night, not like me.” Nightfall said.

“You’re responsible for this?” Luna asked.

“Not all of it. After Celestia’s death the balance in night and day was broken. I knew you wouldn’t capitalize on it, like you didn’t back when I was your apprentice. So I took matters into my own hooves. The source of the night is down here. It’s beauty and fullness. I basked in the darkness, and became the lord of the night. But you won’t accept the night’s rule.” Nightfall said.

“Ponies are dying, Nightfall.” Luna said.

“Because they do not accept the darkness.” Nightfall said.

Nightfall began to fade, the magic wearing on his body. He was incredibly scrawny, and barely alive.

“I suppose...you’ve earned your daytime. Enjoy it, your majesty.” Nightfall coughed out.

“He was a student of yours?” Twilight asked.

“A long time ago, yes. He was a great student, but could not accept harmony into his heart. May he have his peace at last.” Luna said, tearing up.

“I’m not quite dead yet, Luna. But thank you for the thoughts. I’ll tell you how to have your sun back, if it means that much to you. After all, more than anything, I wanted to see you happy. I never got to tell you how much I loved you.” Nightfall said.

“I love you.” Luna said, with a tear in her eye

“I’m not going to survive much longer. The magic was all that was keeping me sustained. I wanted you to be able to live in your eternal night. So I waited for centuries. Preparing for the moment I could seize control of the day. I didn’t want it to be done with Celestia’s death, it was just the perfect opportunity. Can you honestly blame me for wanting you to be happy? If the sun is what will make you happy, you can have it back. But it will need a ruler, and fuel source. Your nephew over there should make a fine source. He’ll need to kickstart it though, which will give it enough fuel to burn for a while, at the ultimate cost.” Nightfall said, before passing.

The walls slid back open, revealing the city once more. A small ember appeared in the center of the room, with the royal crest beneath it on the floor.

“Well, you heard what he said.” Sol said.

“Sol, are you really sure?” Aqua said, tearing up.

“I am. I know it. Ever since I saw you in my dreams, Princess, I knew that there was something more than the shelter. Now I’ve found it. This is what I have to do.” Sol said, also tearing up, but smiling.

“Sol, if you’re really going to do this, I just want to say, you were the only friend I ever had. I know you have to do this, but I’m going to miss you.” Amethyst said.

“Now you’re getting emotional too? This is just too much.” Sol said.

“You’re truly worthy of that horn, Sol.” Twilight said.

“Are you ready, your highness?” Spike asked.

“I am.” Sol said.

Sol approached Aqua, and embraced him. Their lips interlocked, for a brief moment absorbed in each other. The others left the chamber, watching from afar. Sol then walked to the ember, and touched his hoof to it. He felt a complete warmth flow through his body. He laid down on top of the crest, spreading his legs wide. The flame enveloped him,covering him completely. The fire didn’t hurt, but blanketed him in warmth. Memories flooded his mind, of Aqua, Amethyst, and a white Alicorn, he now recognized as his mother. The crest shone, and he felt himself slip away. His body immolated, Sol was no more. The chamber filled with flame, and everypony could feel the caves warming. The trek back was full of sobbing and sorrow, but also happiness and memories of Sol. Amethyst and Aqua shared stories, of their childhood, of Aqua’s romance with Sol, leading up to their adulthood. Twilight’s magic helped them scale the pit, and the darkness enveloping the entrance was gone. The sun shone brightly, a reminder of the good Sol had done for the world. From up here, the city could be seen celebrating. Amethyst removed her suit, and everypony took a while to bask in the warmth of the new sun. They basked, sharing stories and each other's company in the new harmony.
> Epilogue: Rebuilding.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Aqua moved into Canterlot, staying in the palace, where he was were always welcome. His wounds eventually recovered, and he could walk again. Aqua still mourned the loss of his love for quite a while, but knew that it was what Sol had to do. Aqua helped out in the reconstruction of Canterlot, his knowledge of machines and hydraulics in particular gave him plenty of work. Aqua eventually moved on, keeping Sol in a special place in his heart, but finding another lover. He knew Sol wouldn’t want him to linger on his death forever, and that he had to move on. He  eventually married, and adopted a child. He aged gracefully, looking and acting younger than he actually was. His new family left Canterlot for many years, with a bittersweet goodbye. They saw the world being built again, and made many memories. Now an older stallion, he returned to Canterlot, slowing down. His daughter is grown up, a beautiful young mare by the name of Steam Billow, taking after Aqua’s mechanical skills. Aqua frequently visits the princess, but spends most of his time at home living quietly, but happily.

Amethyst’s leg healed quickly, not holding her back. She and her aunt Twilight journeyed to the Crystal Empire, to find Shining Armor was indeed still alive and well, happily married to Cadance. Cadance and Shining Armor had explained that they wanted to keep their child out of the apocalyptic world that had come upon them. There was a teary reunion between all of them, and Amethyst moved into the palace. Amethyst spent the following years with her parents, making up for lost time. Shining Armor eventually passed, quietly in his sleep. He had lived a full life, and was happy. Amethyst visits Canterlot occasionally, but since she was technically royalty, she spent a lot of time in the palace, always busy. Learning how to act royal was incredibly difficult for her, and she still never understood all the complex social rules. She remained brutally honest, useful in the political sphere, in restraint. Amethyst never found a lover, not wanting one. She never looked for one, and was happy without a relationship.

Twilight cleared her conscience, losing her visions of Celestia. She left the Crystal Empire, still needed in Canterlot. She helped Luna with her Royal duties. After Applejack’s passing, she was the last element bearer alive. She gave up the element, losing her connection, much like Luna and Celestia. Now she waits, for the next young ponies to take over the role of guardians of Equestria. 

Spike, getting on in years, settled down quietly in the castle. He still helps around the palace, and acts as an advisor to the princesses. He was fulfilled, carrying on Rarity’s legacy of generosity. Even as a dragon, he was mortal, although he still has many years ahead of him to enjoy every second of with Twilight.

Luna faced the challenge of ruling Equestria, but she faced it with support from friends. Sol’s energy supported the sun, and she could take care of the moon. Luna trusted that harmony would find another suitable ruler of the sun, but she had many, many years to wait before that would become an issue. The people reacted well to Luna’s new leadership, and Luna became a truly great leader. Her support from friends helped her to overcome her anger as well, now in full control of the nightmare within her. Luna lived happily in the palace, which was now full of life and friendship.

Apple Bloom was the last member of her family at Sweet Apple Acres after Applejack’s death. Realising restoring the Apple farm to its full glory would be too much for her, she called upon her family from all across Equestria to help. She planned on starting her own family one day, but that day wouldn't be any time soon.

Scootaloo followed in the hoofsteps of her closest friend and practically sister, Rainbow Dash. She eventually got admission into the wonderbolts, rising through the ranks. Her small wings didn’t hold her back, and she became an inspirational hero for fillies and colts across Equestria.

Sweetie Belle performed with Octavia for many years, becoming one of the most popular singers in Equestria. She stayed with her brother-in-law Spike, at the palace for many years before settling down in a home of her own. She married later in life, to a stallion she had known since childhood. The two of them had a child, surprising for a mare of her age. She still performs in Canterlot, now longer able to leave the city easily, taking care of her child.

Equestria reunited, now facing the difficult task of pulling itself together. But with harmony guiding them, and Luna leading them, the ponies of Equestria pulled together, and slowly the world recovered.