It had been a long and exhausting evening, especially after what had occurred beneath the hive. Chrysalis and Trill carried the unconscious Solaris back up into the castle, bringing him to Trill's bedroom to let him rest, as well as heal his wounds. As the queen had expected, her subjects had felt the alicorn's distress nearly a mile beneath the hive, many of them feeling just as upset as he was, and it slightly bothered her. For his sake, Chrysalis ordered a few of her guards to go down to the now useless cavern beneath the castle and carry Pinkie Pie's body out, making sure that they preserve her body to transport her back to Ponyville for a proper burial.

Chrysalis waited outside in the hall where their royal bedchambers reside while Trill watched Solaris, the stallion's chest and forelegs covered in bandages from the burns and bruises he received from Nova. His armor rested on the table next to her bed, not a single piece harmed from the quake and falling stalactites. He was sleeping at the moment, but Trill hated seeing him suffer this much. With the ponies he knew growing up as his family gone, he lost his will to fight.

She checked his bandages one more time, making sure his body would heal. If only she could heal his broken mind and heart, make him forget any of this happened. Trill kissed Solaris's cheek softly, exiting her room to let him rest and give him some space if he decided to wake up. Seeing her mother waiting for her, she closed the door to her room and sat next to her.

"...He's sleeping," she said. "I think his wounds will heal by tomorrow...His physical wounds, at least."

"That colt's emotions really riled up the whole hive," Chrysalis said, still sensing the hive feeling Solaris's despair through the hive mind. "With his mental state deteriorated this bad, there's no possible chance he can stop that infernal tyrant. He's going to have to suck it up and toughen up."

"Mom, he's really sensitive," Trill said. "He has no experience with life outside of the cave her grew up in. Unlike me, he's been sheltered from Lucifer's reign, kept hidden from the world so he wouldn't be killed by him before it was time to face him. You have no idea how hurt he is right now."

"He may be powerful, that much I saw back when he fought that dark version of himself, but if he's going to be Equestria's future ruler, he's not going to last a month." Trill glared at her mother, but Chrysalis avoided her gaze. "They say time heals all wounds, but time is not on our side. All of Equestria has been thrust into madness, and sooner or later, that madpony is going to try and conquer the entire world. He has an army to use only as pawns, not caring if they die for him. With his magic, he can destroy the planet if he's given enough time."

"But Solaris is ready to-" Chrysalis smacked Trill in the back of the head, silencing her.

"Don't even finish that sentence! You may think he's ready, physically, but mentally, he's going to die!" the queen shouted. "His mother told me her premonition, telling me this heroic stallion was going to save not just Equestria, but us as well, but look at him! He's a complete wreck! Even with every single one of our subjects pitching in to suck out every bit of his depressing, distasteful emotions, it'll only keep growing until eventually, his mind will be impossible to fix!"

"I can help him..." Trill rubbed her head, shrinking as she was yelled at.

"What can you even do to help mend what can't be healed? Just face the facts, Trill; the entire world is doomed, and Sparkle was stupid enough to put all her faith in the hero in her vision, which just so happens to be her only foal. There is no hope for all of us. We might as well just kill ourselves off before Lucifer has the chance to do it for us." Chrysalis stormed down the hall to calm herself, leaving Trill behind.

"So you don't believe in him, then!? Fine, mother, just run off and avoid the solution to everypony's problem! Solly just needs help, and your too stubborn to even listen to what he can do for our hive!" The queen froze and turned her head around, glaring at her daughter with disdain. "He has fought hard to get this far! He constantly blames himself for what's happened to his family, but he needs to learn he isn't alone in this conflict! This is all our battle, not just his, and he needs all the support he can get from everypony, and you're acting like a coward!"

"Excuse me?" Chrysalis marched back to Trill, about ready to kill her own flesh and blood. "I suggest you still your tongue before you say anything else you'll regret speaking out."

"No, because I'm speaking my mind, and you know it's true! You have done nothing but wander around the hive, giving out orders and checking on the new hatchlings ever since I was born! We're all hiding out of fear, but we don't have to anymore with Solaris here, willing to risk his own life to save everypony! No matter what you say, whatever pessimistic outlooks you have on what our future will be, then quit thinking those thoughts, because I can help Solaris!" Trill had backed Chrysalis into a corner, the queen unable to retort while her daughter was right. "He needs to know that he isn't truly alone. That he still has a family. And right now, he needs us. So if you want to give up right now, go ahead. Once you decide to commit suicide, I'll take over in your place and have our subjects fight alongside him."

Chrysalis growled, baring her fangs, but grew silent as she saw something bright glowing inside Trill's room, light seeping out of the cracks of the doorway. "What in Equestria?"

Confused, the princess looked behind her, noticing the same light. It soon faded away, mother and daughter looking at each other in fear, quickly barging into the room. They both gasped, finding no sign of Solaris on the bed, and his armor was gone too.

"Oh no. Not again!" Trill panicked, looking all over her room for him. "I can't let him hurt himself like this again!"

"You said he was asleep. Still unconscious?" Trill nodded her head. "...What is happening? Where exactly could he have gone off to?"

"He doesn't know teleportation magic, and the only way he could have, using his fire, was if we heard him use it, and he didn't!" Trill exclaimed. "We need to find him before he hurts himself even more! Why did he refuse to seek theraputical help when he needed it back in the Crystal Empire!?"

Chrysalis grabbed Trill and slapped her in the face, snapping her out of her distress. "Calm down. He couldn't have gotten far. We'll alert the hive and search thoroughly."

"...Right. Hive. True." Trill immediately calmed down and followed her mother down the halls.

"...Maybe you are right, Trill," Chrysalis said as they flew through the castle. "I wanted us to stay neutral, avoid getting involved with the madness Lucifer has wrought...So, in a way, I am a coward, more concerned with keeping us safe than taking care of the threat with the rest of the kingdom." She looked at her daughter. "Don't think this means I'll immediately like your...coltfriend. He's still inexperienced with all of this...but he's really the only one who can stop him."

"...Soooo...?" Trill asked, Chrysalis groaned as she knew what the princess wanted to ask.

"...I'll...approve you two...being together, even if I hate the idea." Trill grinned as the queen knew she would regret her decision. "We'll discuss this after we find him."

"Deal," Trill said as the two quickly alerted the guards and split up to find the missing alicorn.

Solaris found himself back in the deepest recesses of his subconscious, only this time, he wanted to stay here. This place was where he would be able to find peace, with no thoughts about death. Losing his family. Killing one of them. Keeping him safe from the outside world, just like how he grew up at home. But this was his home now. He wanted to stay here forever, even if he is being selfish and letting Equestria continue to crumble under Lucifer's power.

Unfortunately, his subconscious also spawned his fears, where they could hurt him and he couldn't do a thing to stop them. He could only lie there, feeling dead on the inside, watching as the ones he had met and known in his life pulled themselves out of the ground as walking corpses, slowly limping or crawling their way toward him.

Solaris didn't care anymore. He couldn't escape from them, no matter how hard he ran. He could never escape reality, even his own safe haven was useless to shield him from the events that unfolded. His ears twitched as he heard that familiar laughter from Lucifer, the unicorn appearing behind the large horde of undead, slipping past them as if he were one of them.

"Looks like you're finally going to give in, aren't you?" Lucifer asked, gaining no response from the broken alicorn. "You were so close. You passed your tests, with a few bruises, lucky breaks, and even learned a thing or two. But you lack the one thing that every skilled warrior has: willpower. Not wit, since you are so smart, but you don't have what it takes to fight after losing those close to you. If anything, you should have shut your heart out so you wouldn't feel this miserable."

As he got closer, Lucifer's body began to shift, his appearance mimicking Solaris's, only his coat and mane were darker, and his eyes were red. Nova Flare smirked, relishing in his weaker self's misery. He lifted the alicorn up, forcing his head to face the undead ponies, griffons, minotaurs, and changelings he had met, all of them reaching out to him in hunger.

"You will be the death of everypony here, Solaris. You can never escape death, not even you." Nova lowered his broken self down, grinning at Solaris's depressed expression. "I bet you don't want to feel this pain anymore, huh? I can help take care of that. All you have to do is give your mind up to me, allowing you to stay inside the safety of your subconscious, where nothing can hurt you anymore."

"...No more...pain?" Solaris asked.

"No more pain." Nova's eyes turned into spirals, hypnotizing Solaris. "And no more suffering."

"No...more...suffering..." he repeated, caught in a trance as his body slowly began to darken.

Nova chuckled as he watched Solaris succumb to the recesses of his mind, waiting to take full control. Suddenly, he heard a loud shrieking noise as the zombified creatures were burned, turning to see a massive sword of flames slice through and incinerate the undead to ashes. He dropped Solaris in shock, seeing Princess Celestia walk through the burning flames, a golden halo hovering over her head.

"What!? What's happening!? How are you here!? This is my subconscious!" Nova set his hooves on fire, but froze as a curved blade of a scythe made of stars fell in front of him, the blade held tightly against his neck.

"Wrong," a feminine voice said from behind the evil persona. "This is his subconscious. Torment this young soul's dream no more, infernal nightmare." He turned his head, meeting the gaze of Princess Luna, a similar halo to Celestia's over her head. "Die, foul creature of darkness!"

Pulling her scythe toward her, Luna cleanly sliced Nova's neck off, the stallion's body disappearing into the darkness of Solaris's thoughts. Making sure Nova was truly gone, the princesses dismissed their ethereal weapons, Celestia breathing a sigh of relief.

"We made it before it was too late," the Princess of the Sun said. "I'm still amazed you could still enter the dreams of others, even though we're deceased."

"Dreams are like an escape from reality, sister," Luna explained. "Some are able to leave their spirits from their bodies, seeming asleep though awake; astral projection. Traveling through dreams and helping our subjects in the realm of sleep took a lot of practice, but even when dead, it is still possible. Almost like a specter, a spirit that roams freely amongst the living, and can enter the minds of others, awake or unconscious."

"But, that clone of Solaris...he is not truly dead, is he?" Celestia asked, Luna nodding her head to answer her older sister's question. "I guess it's up to him to defeat his inner demons."

Solaris slowly sat up, feeling dazed as he didn't find any sign of the monsters plaguing his mind. He turned face the princesses, feeling confused as he rubbed his eyes.

"Solaris, are you alright?" Luna asked.

"...No..." He laid back down on his side, going back to brooding in the darkness of his dreams. "I'll never be alright." Solaris looked up at the two alicorns as they sat next to him. "I can't do this anymore...I want this to end...It hurts...so much..."

"We know. All of us have been watching you, us and your family," Celestia said.

"...My family?" The teen lifted up his head. "...How?"

"When living in Paradise, you can see everything from the afterlife." Solaris sat up again, staring at the princesses, noticing the halos hovering over them.

"...Halos? But, I'm asleep...How are you here?" he asked.

"There is a lot you want to know, but we won't have much time to explain before you eventually wake up," Luna said, to Solaris's disappointment.

"...My mom can't be here?" he asked, somewhat fearing what his mother would be in the darkness around him.

"It was a struggle to bring my sister and I into your dream from the afterlife," the young sister explained. "Plus, seeing your pain, I tried to help ease your nightmares, but your sorrow was so powerful that it was nigh impossible to breach into your subconscious."

"But we did not come just to mend your mental wounds," Celestia spoke up, looking at the young alicorn sadly. "We...no, I need to tell you the reasons why Lucifer has done the deeds he has done. The root cause of your misery...is me."

"...I don't understand." Solaris looked at Luna, growing more confused.

"It was my fault Lucifer turned the way he is now." Celestia's horn glowed brightly, bringing the alicorns out of the empty darkness and into the halls of a castle. "It all started over a millennium ago, when I adopted him from an orphange as a colt, feeling sorry for him after being mistreated by his peers, and the loss of his family."

The doors at the end of the corridor opened, revealing Princess Celestia and a young colt that was the spitting image of the tyrant, only he was happy and energetic. The young Lucifer bounced around the princess as she giggled at his enthusiasm. Soon, more memories passed by with the Sun Princess and the colt, Lucifer being taught magic spells, being read stories by Celestia before going to bed, even the two of them pulling pranks on the guards at their posts. Solaris was at a loss for words, unable to believe that THIS was his enemy.

"This can't be real," he said in disbelief. "That was Lucifer? As a colt?"

"Yes...He had a lot of magical potential, and he was the first of many students I had taught with what knowledge I had on magic." Celestia's nostalgic smile began to melt into a frown as the next memory appeared, the one moment she highly regretted with Lucifer. "...This...was the cause of his path set down a dark road, a mistake I regret almost as much as I had when I banished Luna to the moon..."

While Celestia in the memory was busy going through some important documents, Lucifer, around the age of ten, levitated a book that, to Solaris, looked like something nopony should ever pick up to learn magic. "A book of arcane spells?"

"Hey mom?" Lucifer said, catching the alicorn's attention, making her gasp in shock at the sight of the book. "I found this strange spellbook in the archives. What kind of spells are-?"

Celestia snatched the book away, glaring angrily at the colt. "What were you doing looking through this!?"

"I-I was just curious. I just wanted to know-" Lucifer yelped as Celestia stamped her hoof down hard on the floor, silencing the confused and terrified colt.

"This is a dangerous book you shouldn't even look at! How dare you even cast anything from here that's this dangerous!?" she shouted.

"B-But I didn't-" he yelped again as he was picked up by his tail in the furious alicorn's magic, the two of them teleporting to Lucifer's room.

"I am not going to hear any of your excuses, Lucifer!" Celestia dropped the colt on his bed, marching out of the room. "You are staying in your room for a month, no studies, no playtime!"

"I just looked inside it!" the colt protested, but his words were fallen on deaf ears as the princess slammed the bedroom door shut.

Celestia walked away from the hallway, hearing Lucifer sobbing as he was punished harshly, entering her own room as she looked at the evil tome. She opened the pages, all of them evil arcane arts that can easily corrupt one's mind if even cast once. She summoned her ethereal blade, burning furiously as she leered at the infernal book of darkness. She thrust the blade through, watching it burn to ashes as they fell to her bedroom floor.

"How did something like that get in the archives?" Tears streamed down the mare's face, feeling pain from both what dark magic like this had done to her banished sister and having to scold Lucifer like that to scare him away from picking up anything like that book again. Ignoring the ashes staining her carpet, she collapsed on her bed and curled up in a ball as her flowing mane wilted against her body. "Not again...I don't want this to happen again...I don't want to lose him like I lost Luna..."

Solaris was shocked as he watched the memory unfold. Everything he was told about Celestia from his family, being a benevolent ruler who would never lash out at her subjects was only half true. She was supposed to be a strong ruler, but to see her break down in tears and snap like that was unbecoming of the princess.

"I never apologized to him for yelling at him," Celestia said, explaining her reasoning for her past self. "I knew he was a colt, and he was only curious. I knew he wouldn't cast any dangerous spells without my supervision, but I was still suffering from the loss of my sister. I didn't want to lose anypony else to darkness conflicting their thoughts, and I thought that avoiding him was the right solution, running away from the problem and hoping it would go away...I was wrong..."

More memories passed by, Celestia ignoring Lucifer during his studies, the aging colt growing more bitter and cold with each moment. It unnerved Solaris when he saw that after the princess started the chain reaction to Lucifer's darkness to rise, he had earned his disturbing cutie mark in the process. The last moment Celestia showed Solaris was one of the most horrifying ones he witnessed; Lucifer wore a cloak over his body, his horn red and curved upward, green mist seeping out from his eyes as he stared down a gravely wounded Celestia holding the Elements of Harmony around her, all while they stood in the crumbling castle caused by their fight, the town outside set on fire.

"Lucifer, please stop this! I only wished to protect you from what you now have!" Celestia pleaded, tears streaming down her face as the glaring unicorn wizard summoned several ethereal weapons. "I'm sorry..."

"It's too late to apologize, Celestia. You brought this on yourself." The variety of weapons began spiraling around Lucifer, picking which one to use to kill his foster mother and mentor. He picked the sheathed katana, pulling the magical blade out, and pointed it at the alicorn. "You're not what I thought you were when I was young. You're not powerful. You're no benevolent ruler. You're no goddess. Now, the world will see that the Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia, is a pathetic mare who is just as mortal as the rest of us. And you will fall by my hooves, proving you have no power to take me down on your own."

"Lucifer...I don't want to do this..." The Elements of Harmony began glow around her as she had no choice but to charge their energy to stop the colt she failed to raise.

"Using the Elements of Harmony against me!?" Lucifer yelled, rushing at the princess with his blade ready to slice through her. "You're only just proving my point greatly, you pathetic excuse of a demi-goddess!"

The unicorn thrust his blade forward, but the Elements of Harmony had finished charging with magic, breaking the dark blade before it touched Celestia. Her eyes glowed as she unleashed their power, a beam of harmonious energy shooting out from the spiraling artifacts and flying straight into Lucifer. He began screaming in agony as the power began to slowly kill him, making the princess gasp as she commanded the Elements to spare him.

Heeding their user's plea, the spiraling rainbow around the stallion entered his mind, causing Lucifer to gasp before closing his eyes, passing out as a light aura enveloped his body. Unfortunately, the Elements couldn't purify him, his heart too far gone to be rescued, leaving him comatose to keep his dark magic from awakening him. Celestia's eyes returned to normal as the Elements of Harmony gently fell to the ground, unable to save him from the dark magic festering in his heart. She could only weep as she collapsed on her side, letting somepony else she cared about fall to darkness and feeling useless trying to save them.

"The Elements of Harmony were going to eradicate him along with the darkness inside him," Celestia said as the memory faded away, bringing them back to the same empty void in Solaris's mind. The teen looked at the princess, her cheeks stained with tears at the painful memory. "I couldn't kill him...I didn't have the heart to do it...Instead, I only delayed Equestria's fate again, just like I had with Nightmare Moon and Sombra...Now, all of Equestria is about to fall into ruin, and it's all my fault."

Celestia wept, unable to look at Solaris as she awaited the hateful gaze he would soon give her, making the young alicorn suffer from her mistakes. But he wasn't. He realized that they both felt the same guilt for ruining the lives of the ones they loved, and he knew what Lucifer's intent on killing the alicorns were now; they weren't perfect. He had been betrayed when he had been given a home, only to have the unicorn's anger fuel his sorrow and turn him into the pony he is now, never letting the past go, and all to show the world alicorns aren't gods.

"My sister blames herself for her mistakes, but Nightmare Moon's creation was my own fault from my emotions not kept in control," Luna said, averting Solaris's attention from the sobbing alicorn. "I had kept to myself when our subjects worshiped Celestia over me. I got jealous and wanted attention, the two of us still young and new to the life of royalty. I knew what I had done while in my darker persona, and I wanted to punish myself for what I did to my sister, and the entire world. Your mother, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends freed me from my darkness, and even after I returned to my former self, I was afraid others would still see me as the Mare in the Moon.

"After a thousand years of banishment, times had truly changed, and now I see there are many ponies who were able to appreciate the night I bring, and I did what I could to help those suffering from nightmares to face whatever scares them into having one in their slumber. Unfortunately, many still linger on the past, like Lucifer, remaining bitter and spiteful 'til the end of their life." Solaris lowered his head, remembering how upset he was when he never was able to see his mother for most of his life. He wanted to hate her, but hearing the truth and finally seeing her back in the Everfree Forest changed his mind. Luna gently lifted his head back up, making him look at the princess. "It is difficult to do, but you must put the past behind you, and look forward to a better future. Learn from your mistakes, make sure it doesn't happen again, and never let your failures overtake you."

"...I understand, Princess Luna..." Solaris looked back at Celestia, having calmed down a little. "...Some things just happen, and can't be fixed..."

Suddenly, the air around Solaris began to ripple, Luna quickly heading back to her sister.

"You are waking up soon," Luna said. "Do not be alarmed if you find yourself in an unknown location. You will be surprised to know what lies in store."

"Uhh...what do you mean?" Solaris asked, only for the princesses to disappear before he got an answer.

Solaris groaned in pain as he opened his eyes, his body feeling sore as his injuries from his previous battle made themselves known. They opened wide as he found himself not in any part of the hive, but in some strange plane of existence, as if he was still dreaming. He saw his armor laying next to him, unsure how he and his gear wound up in this realm. The teen slowly sat up, wincing as he felt his body telling him to lay back down, but his curiosity over this place wanted him to know what it was.

Not wanting to lose his rewarded armor, Solaris put them on, being very careful as he put on his cuirass. He began to limp down a direction, no road or walkway guiding him to where he thought would be the exit.

"Hello? Princess Luna? Princess Celestia?" Solaris's echo was the only response he got. "I can't be dreaming anymore...Unless of course this dream is lucid, and I can actually feel pain while I'm dreaming..." He sat down and rested for a moment after walking for nearly a mile, wishing he knew healing spells to numb some of the pain. "Urgh. This is worse than that stomachache I had after eating all those apple fritters Aunt Applejack made for Hearth's Warming."

Suddenly, a panel appeared in front of the alicorn, spooking him and making him fall on his back, making him groan in pain as he sat back up. It soon flickered to a very familiar moment in his youth back in the cave. It was Hearth's Warming, his aunts and uncle all busy chatting as decorations hung around the underground living room. There was a table set up with a buffet line of food, many of them being desserts.

While the adults weren't looking, a young Solaris sneaked over to the table, double-checking to make sure his family wasn't looking. With the coast clear, the mischievous colt swiped the entire tray of apple fritters and ran to his room. Alone in his little haven, he began scarfing down every single delicious piece of apple goodness.

He managed to eat up every last one, groaning as his belly was distended from the delicious fritters he consumed. His ears perked up when he heard some of his aunts coming down the hallway, panicking as the evidence of his sweets theft was in plain sight. His stomach grumbled, groaning in pain as his binge eating began to bite him in the plot. As luck would have it, two of his aunts went to check on him, which happened to be Rarity and Applejack.

"...Well, seems like we found our apple fritter culprit," Rarity said, the mares seeing the alicorn colt had fritter crumbs all over his face, and the tray laying next to him was empty.

"I-I don't know what you're-" Solaris groaned, clutching his belly, starting to feel sick. "-talking about, Aunt Rarity."

"Solaris, did ya eat all mah apple fritters?" Applejack questioned, sitting next to the cringing colt.

"N-No?" He looked up at his aunt, knowing he can't lie his way out of this, especially when his tummy was aching badly. "...Yes."

"And why in tarnation did ya think it was a good idea to eat all of them fritters like a little piggie?" she asked.

"Because Aunt Pinkie always eats the desserts, and your fritters smelled yummy." Solaris groaned again, regretting ever eating so much. "I don't feel so good..."

"Well, Ah hope ya learned your lesson for takin' them fritters, and liein' to me." The colt nodded his head, wanting the pain to stop. "Alright, let's get ya somethin' for your belly and get ya in bed."

The memory ended and the screen disappeared, leaving Solaris staring in awe. What he had just witnessed was exactly what had happened to him on that day. "What just happened? Does this place...recall memories?" He thought of one moment in his life he wanted to see, something hilarious. "Can you show me the best prank I ever pulled off with Aunt Rainbow Dash?"

Another screen appeared next to him, showing another memory of his foalhood. In the living room of the cave, colt Solaris and Rainbow Dash snickered as they crept into the room. The pegasus had a pair of saddlebags on, pulling out a few whoopie cushions. They placed them underneath the protective coverings on the chair, used to keep the dirt free from the seats, hidden perfectly from anypony if they weren't paying attention. They heard the others walking down the cavern halls, the two pranksters quickly hiding behind the couch and waited for the inevitable sounds of hilarity.

"I don't know why Rainbow Dash came by," they heard Rarity say, stifling their giggles. "She said she was going to be busy with the weather schedule this week, but it's supposed to be sunny the next few days."

"Maybe she's gone off to meet Spitfire," Fluttershy said. "It's a shame the Wonderbolts split up. I don't blame them, though."

"Well, at least we can all get some peace and quiet from the chaos not caused by Discord!" Pinkie said, bounding into the living room. "Say, where is he, anyway? We haven't heard from him for a while."

"Whatever he's doing, hopefully he doesn't appear around Lucifer and get himself killed." Rarity mumbled obscenities to herself, loathing how damaging Lucifer's reign was doing to everyone in Equestria. "Let's not talk about him for now. I'd rather just relax, drink some warm tea, and enjoy the company of our little nephew."

After levitating the tea set on the table, Rarity was the first to sit down in one of the chairs, a loud flatulent noise echoing in the room. Rainbow and Solaris in the memory tried to keep silent as they were about to burst out laughing, while the alabaster unicorn blushed heavily from the obscene sound as Fluttershy and Pinkie were appalled.

"Whew! What did you have for breakfast, Rarity!?" Pinkie said, pulling out a fan to blow the air away from her.

"I did no such thing!" Rarity exclaimed.

Fluttershy sat down in another chair, setting off another whoopie cushion, startling the pegasus. Curious, Pinkie eyed the last chair, slowly pressing her rump down on it, letting out a weaker flatulent sound until she was firmly sitting down on the chair.

"Wait a minute..." Pinkie lifted up the covering, pulling out the deflated whoopie cushion. "Whoopie cushion prank?"

"Whoopie cushions!?" Rarity pulled out one of the prank balloons out from under the cover, Fluttershy pulling another one from hers. "Pinkie, honestly! This is the worst prank you ever pulled, and disgusting! Who even made this thing anyway!?"

"Hey, don't look at me! I thought it was weird these were here after hearing the same pooting sound twice. Good thing I found out beforehoof! Nopony pranks the Pink..ie Pie!" While Pinkie had beaten the pranksters, Rarity's ear perked up when she heard someone snickering behind the couch.

Using her magic, she slid the couch aside, revealing the two pranksters holding back their laughter. The unicorn growled, catching the attention of the culprits. "Oh. Uhh, hey guys!"

"Rainbow Dash..." Rarity was really made, her face red with rage as her eye twitched. "Do you have any sense of maturity in you!?"

"Hey, it was the squirt's idea. I just supplied the pranks." Rainbow held out her hoof to the colt, bumping his hoof as he giggled.

Rarity was not amused, glaring at the immature pegasus. "Uh oh. Aunt Rarity's mad."

"Yes, Solaris...yes I am. And I will take out my anger...on your Auntie Rainbow Dash." Rainbow gulped and quickly flew off, getting chased around by the enraged unicorn.

As the memory faded with the young Solaris laughing uproariously as he watched Rainbow being chased by Rarity, the real teen struggled not to laugh to hard at the nostalgic moment, not wanting to cause himself pain around his chest. "I forgot how funny that was. The look on Aunt Rarity's face..." He looked around the plane, seemingly empty, but holding so much information. "Just what is this place?"

More memories appeared around the alicorn, many of them moments he recalled, while others came from other ponies he knew, or only met once in his lifetime. He could see everything that had happened, all at once, from different parts of Equestria. It was all overwhelming, and this plane of existence only fascinated him further, even though he had no clue how he got here.

While distracted by the many memories he walked down, his favorite memories bigger than the others, mostly of him and Trill, his hoof stepped on something hard, not like the light air of the ground in this plane. Looking down, he stepped on a lavender crystal, which was odd to him since there didn't seem to be anything but nothingness and floating images of memories around him. Picking it up with his magic, he felt it pulse with magical energy.

"Who left this here?" Solaris looked around, but there was no sign of any life around aside from him. "Did one of the princesses leave this here?"

The crystal began glowing as it hovered on its own, floating away from the alicorn as the hundreds of screens began to disappear. It spun rapidly, a beam of light shooting out of the crystal, creating a lavender screen before Solaris. It flickered to life as Twilight came into view, bookshelves set in the background in her home in the Golden Oak Library. She looked upset and terrified, almost like she was afraid to say whatever she wanted to say in the recorded crystal.

"...Hello, Solaris," she said, trying to look happy, but couldn't hide her emotions that well. "If you found this, then I believe you had completed all the trials I set up for you. I know you might be wondering why you're here and what this place is. This plane of existence where you found this recording is a place only alicorns can freely enter, showing events of grave importance that were from your memory, or those around you. How you arrived here...was by a special enchantment placed in your armor, transporting you here after...after losing the last of your family..." Twilight began to tear up, struggling to keep her composure. "I'm so sorry..."

"What?" Solaris asked, having no idea what his mother was apologizing for as he watched.

"I didn't want this to happen to you..." Twilight tried to dry away her freely flowing tears, but fresh ones kept coming, rolling down her cheeks. "In my vision, I saw an alicorn stallion in gold armor...but he was young. While setting up your tests, I searched everywhere in Equestria to find him, but there was never any record of an alicorn stallion ever born. Even Celestia confirmed it..." She took a moment to calm down, grabbing a tissue to dry up her tears. "And, after all this time...the last couple years planning for the day Lucifer will awaken...you, my little foal, are that alicorn...

"Your armor you have won holds special enchantments to increase your strength, so you can easily best Lucifer when the time comes...However, the only spell I was able to find that could give you that power...required a sacrifice once you completed a trial." Solaris could only stare at the magical screen, his theory about his tests killing his aunts were true after all. "I searched all through the Canterlot archives, and this enchantment spell was the only way. And...I chose my friends...The ponies who will help raise you, along with Spike...

"It was supposed to be for the hero I saw, somepony who would continue this quest, knowing the sacrifice of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony would not be in vain...But you are that hero...and...and I'm only hurting you more and more with each loss..." Tears welled up in Solaris's eyes, hurt that his mother wound up doing this for Equestria's future, but he understood it was a mistake when the kingdom's fate fell on his hooves. "I know you must hate me for doing this, but I didn't know until you were born...

"I just want you to know this if you're still listening; you're not alone. We may be gone, but never let our memory fade in your heart. And when you're able to learn how to teleport on your own, you're welcome to come back here and look back on the fond memories you had with them. I know you can do this...We all believe in you." In the background, they heard crying coming from a foal, which was Solaris as an infant. She turned her head in the direction of her foal wanting her attention, then looked back at the crystal. "I love you so much, honey. I'm already proud of you just for coming into my life."

Twilight ended the recording, the crystal dimming back to normal as it hovered back in front of Solaris, tears trickling down his cheeks as his gaze was glued to where his message from his mother was. He slowly turned his attention to a memory that appeared beside him, hearing a foal crying. He saw himself as a foal, crying out for his mother in his crib, inside the tree library in Ponyville. Twilight walked into the room, carrying the crystal she used to record her message in her magic.

"It's ok, sweetie. Mommy's here." She levitated her baby out of his crib, sending the crystal to the plane Solaris was in right now. His infant self immediately calmed down, reaching out to touch Twilight as he giggled with glee. "You weren't supposed to wake up yet...What am I saying? I can't make a schedule knowing when you'll wake up from a nap or sleeping at night." She nuzzled his nose, making him coo as his tiny hooves touched her. The foal yawned and began to fall back to sleep, only wanting her attention for a short while, and it would have been his last time he would ever be held and see his mother physically. As Twilight cradled baby Solaris, her tears began to fall again, avoiding letting them drip on her foal's face as she held him close. "I'm so sorry...I wish this didn't have to be this way...For you...My friends...Everypony..."

Knowing he was sound asleep, Twilight gently wrapped her son in his favorite blanket, hiding his horn and wings. She gave him a soft kiss on the forehead under the foal's tiny horn, picking up a nearby bag filled with supplies for baby Solaris, and headed downstairs. Spike, around the size as Solaris was when he was a colt, was waiting in the lobby, spotting Twilight.

"Twilight, you don't have to join the princesses," Spike protested, greatly worried. "You can hide with Solaris and me in the mountain. Once the Tree of Harmony's back to normal, we can use the Elements of Harmony against this Lucifer pony."

"It could take more than a few years for the Tree of Harmony to regain its energy. We can't risk killing it and throwing Equestria into more chaos." Twilight gently levitated Solaris into his dragon uncle's arms. "Besides, my nightmares are a premonition, and having that same dream over and over, it's obvious it's going to come true...I need to do this, to protect him...and our friends." She gave Spike one final hug, knowing it'll be the last time they'll ever be together. Twilight gave the young dragon the bag filled with baby supplies and stepped away, her horn glowing as she prepared to teleport to Canterlot. "Tell the others I'm glad I had met them when we moved to Ponyville...I wouldn't have had an exciting life without them in my life...And...tell them...I love them all..."

Spike could only nod his head as tears began to well up in his eyes. The alicorn teleported away, leaving Spike alone with his nephew. He set out to find the others to accompany him to his new mountain home, where the memory faded away. Solaris wept as it ended, wishing his mother did stay with him and his uncle, wishing she stayed safe so he wouldn't be alone. If only there was some other way they could have stopped Lucifer, some other way to keep everyone alive and safe from harm, but Twilight couldn't find another way and was left with no other choice.

Other memories appeared around him, looking up at each different moment that played out. They all involved him, having fun with his family individually, one of them with all five mares and dragon together, even his cousins and recently discovered aunt and uncle, Cadence and Shining Armor. His mother's words rang in his head, that he isn't alone. All of these memories he's seeing are the precious moments in his life with them, and he will never forget them.

He looked down at his gauntlets, staring at the colorful gems resting in them, the platinum plate halves attached over them in the indents they were firmly snug in. Bringing his forelegs together, he connected the plates to form the heart shape they were meant to form, not just an addition to his gauntlets, but also a reminder of where his family would forever lie, even if they are no longer with him; in his heart. The gems began to glow, along with the extra plating, shimmering white along with the red, blue, pink, purple, orange, and fuchsia lights from the pieces of the Elements of Harmony.

Solaris's eyes shimmered, his saddened gaze turning bold, wiping his tear-stained cheeks. He slammed his forehooves together, the memories of his family disappearing as the moment he first encountered Lucifer appeared in front of him. He leered at the unicorn tyrant, his trials done, his armor fully acquired, and newfound power obtained through his own Element inside him; Light.

"Hope you aren't celebrating too soon, Lucifer," he said, watching the incredible power the unicorn had as he roared in rage after Solaris was the first to ever injure the arcane wielding stallion. "I'm coming to bring peace back to Equestria."

Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled a large plume of fire around him, transporting himself out of the dimensional plane.

"Alright you! Spill it! Where's Solly!? And don't give me any lip, or I swear I will do horrible things to you when you think your safe and sleeping soundly!" Trill yelled, bags under her eyes as they twitched.

She leered at one of the new hatchlings, holding the newborn in front of her as it stared at her. It looked her nose, the princess groaning in irritation as she flung the infant changeling in the air. Chrysalis, standing behind the delirious nuisance of a daughter, caught the hatchling and lowered it down, letting it wander over to its parents in the throne room.

"Trill, you're tired and acting more brainless than usual." Trill turned her head to face her mother, definitely losing her mind from lack of sleep worrying about Solaris. "He couldn't have gone too far out in the wastelands. Our soldiers will find him, and bring him back by force if they have to. Until then, go to bed."

"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my mother!" The two were quiet for a moment, the changeling hatchling returning back to Trill as it nibbled on one of the princess's legs. "...Ok, maybe you are, but you can't tell me what to do!"

Chrysalis groaned, slapping her forehead, wondering how unlucky she was to have Trill as her heir. Suddenly, green flames appeared between them, spooking the infant back to its parents while the others stared in shock. As the embers died down, Solaris stood where the flames had randomly appeared, wearing his armor.

"...Well...here he is," Chrysalis blandly said.

Trill immediately pounced on the alicorn, pressing her hooves down hard on his chest, causing him serious pain. "You stupid idiot! Where did you go!? Why did you just suddenly appear out of nowhere!?" Ignoring the grimace he made in the agony he was in, she knocked off his helmet and slapped his face, only to have his ring's crystal enchantment protect him from getting a hoofmark on his cheek. "Do you have any idea how worried I was!? Are you ok?" He was about to answer, confused with her sudden change in attitude at that last question, only to get slapped again. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Trill, can you please-?" Solaris was slapped again, getting irritated at the random slapping. "Stop trying to hit me!"

"Not until I know why you just up and-!" Trill suddenly passed out, snoring loudly as she fell on top of the alicorn.

He looked up at Chrysalis, shaking her head. "She's been up all night trying to find you. Mind explaining why you disappeared...and why you aren't a quivering mess of angst and depression?"

"It's...a bit of a long story," Solaris sighed, having no idea where to begin.