Far above the green and blue marble of Equus, within the eternal conflagration of the almighty sun, stood a mighty edifice wrought by a young Solar Alicorn in the flush of her powers. Created from hardened light, cooled plasma and other materials that defied heliophysics, the Luminous Monastery endured against the stellar inferno that raged around it. Within this impossible structure were the remaining gilded equines of the Solarii. While their numbers had suffered during the Lunar Heresy, as they called the Civil War, there were still enough of them to form an effective fighting force. That is, if they ever broke the exile unjustly forced upon them by the thrice-damned traitor Twilight Sparkle. Until that day of Armageddon where they would descend upon the world and purge it in a blessed storm of solar fire, the Solarii busied themselves with combat drills, maintaining their equipment and tending to their matron’s needs. Said matron was currently sitting upon a throne of sunlight in the heart of the monastery staring intently at the world below through the inferno.

“Damn you to the deepest pits of Tartarus, Sparkle.” Daybreaker growled for the umpteenth time since her banishment. “I was this close to cleansing the world of the Night Mare for good. Not only did you betray me, you usurped my throne and stole my power!”

The Alicorn slammed a hoof into her hardened throne in frustration. Without her connection to the very sun she was sitting on, the once fiery Solar Destroyer had diminished. Her eyes, while still slitted gold and blood red, no longer shone with power. Her blazing banner of a mane and tail had gone out leaving only a short crop of soot black hair. Even her frame had withered as her armor no longer fitted properly, leaving the angry mare to go about in the fur.

“You will pay for this indignity.” The mad mare seethed. “You and your friends will beg for death to save you before the end.”

“You always were a spiteful mare, Corona.” A critical voice said bluntly.

Daybreaker turned to berate what she thought was a suddenly mouthy Solarii only to see Celestia sitting beside her. The depowered Destroyer rubbed her eyes in case the heat was getting to her but the apparition remained. The alabaster mare just shook her head sadly at the creature she had become.

“It is never you fault, is it?” Celestia continued like a disappointed mother. “It is always easier to blame somepony else for your many, many faults and failures.”

“I am not the failure here, you pampered Princess!” Daybreaker shot back. “I knew what had to be done! I didn’t wait or delegate to my pets! I was only doing what was best for my Equestria and you have the gall to condemn me for it?!”

“I do, Corona.” The spectral Alicorn answered resolutely. “Just as you damned yourself when you tried to ‘do what had to be done’ for Platinum’s subjects, you have committed an unpardonable evil in your mad attempt to rule Equestria alone.”

“Stop calling me that!” The mad mare snarled savagely. “Corona was an amateur and a fool! I am leagues above that wretch!”

“You may not be Corona in the flesh but there is no mistaking her twisted influence.” Celestia retorted calmly. “That part of me she stole. It was poisoned by her rotten soul and warped by the hellfire of the Infernal Pits. I do not know how that dragon got it but through its flames, that piece was returned and you took shape like a cancer.”

“Now who’s blaming others?” Daybreaker leered. “I have always been a part of you; the best part, I might add. Is it so hard to accept that the part Corona took changed her not the other way around? Maybe you are not the incorruptible pure pureness you so desperately want your plebeians to believe!”

“Obviously I am not incorruptible nor have I ever claimed as such.” The former Princess of the Day responded plainly. “I have wavered and faltered just like any other equine, perhaps more so. But you, Corona? You dove headfirst into madness, tyranny and evil.”

“I recall a certain injured Princess in the middle of a coup trotting right up to the edge.” The mad mare pointed out bitterly. “I lead you to the river of true power but I did not force you to drink from it.”

“My second greatest failure.” The ex-Princess regretfully admitted. “I can only thank the Sun, Moon and Stars that Twilight was able to correct it as well as my first. She has truly earned the mantle of Equestria’s ruler.”

“Earned?!” Daybreaker almost reignited in outrage. “She’s a usurper! No better than that hell-beast Nightmare Moon!”

“Hmhmhm. I hope you appreciate the irony of you saying that, Corona.” Celestia tittered slightly. “But you’re wrong. Twilight will lead Equestria into a new golden age. I only regret not being with her as she does it.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” The banished Alicorn growled past gritted teeth. “You’ll get to see the end of it once I get off this damn ball of burning gas!”

While the two halves of the Solar Alicorn argued, the Solarii standing guard watched with growing but hidden concern. One of them subtly leaned over and tapped the golden shoulder of one of his cohorts.

“Uh…who is our glorious matron speaking to?” He asked quietly as Daybreaker appeared to be screaming at thin air.

“She is given to dramatic monologues. It aids her in formulating grand designs and clearing her brilliant mind.” The other answered without breaking composure. “It is best to just leave her be.”

Across the starry void of space on Equus’ pale satellite, another Alicorn watched the planet like a prize just out of reach from her old makeshift camp of moonrocks. Three times now she had attempted to claim the world and three times she had been defeated, two of those by the same mare. Nightmare Moon’s slitted teal eyes narrowed as she felt that same mare move the moon, her moon, through the sky.

“Is it not enough for you to deny my destiny, seal me away and steal my power, Sparkle?” The Night Mare’s absolute loathing could chill all of Tartarus. “Must you taunt me with my namesake?”

The Usurper pawed the ground angrily, digging deep gashes into the gray dust. Like her Solar counterpart, the loss of her powers had affected her greatly. The talons she once possessed had fused back into immaculate hooves and raven feathers now completely covered her wings. With her helm shattered by Sparkle’s spell along with the rest of her armor, her mane hung off her head like a cobalt veil as did her tail off her dock.

“At the very least, Celestia is suffering the same fate as I.” Moon tore her eyes away from Equus and looked out across the barren moonscape. “Almost.”

The first few weeks after the dark Alicorn was banished to the moon again were spent much in the same way as her first imprisonment. The moon gained a few new craters as she attempted to return to Equus only for the sealing spell to slap her down. It was then that she discovered that her Lunar magic had not only been drained but outright stolen, leaving her with only the innate physical strength of an Alicorn.

Her rage was extraordinary even for her wrathful self. She spent the better part of a month furiously bashing away at the moon itself in some insane plot to just drop the rock on Equus and end it all. The thrice-failed Usurper only managed to unintentionally alter the Mare-In-The-Moon formation by adding a slit pupil to the ‘eye’. As she lay in the moon dust exhausted and anger finally spent, it had occurred to her that her latest exile went beyond just stripping her of her magic.

“I am alone.” The moon mare recalled the revelation her newly banished self had. “No little Luna berating me or Lady of the Stars whispering plots in my ear.”

In a way Moon was glad to be rid of them even if it meant she would have to deal with the oppressive silence of space. She had always considered Luna to be a weakling who literally held her back and it had become abundantly clear that the Primordial thought of her less as an apostle and more of a disposable tool. The Lady did have a history of cutting the strings of her puppets once they outlived their usefulness.

“That she-devil probably wrote me off as a loss the moment Sparkle sent me here.” The fallen ex-Princess sulked. “Unlike me, she has somewhere and someone to fall back to after a defeat.”

That train of thought led to the enigma that was the Theoi who had helped make her third attempt at conquest possible only to seemingly dash it all against the metaphorical rocks. Why did he refuse to accompany them? Did he know about or facilitate the Element Bearer’s survival? How much of this was part of his notoriously far reaching schemes and what was pure chance?

“By my Moon, I swear he conjures up these convoluted plots just because he enjoys watching others rip their hair out trying to solve them.” Moon let out a groan that was lost in the vacuum of space. “I can’t fault him too much. His plans tend to reach fruition which is more than I can say of other ambitious beings.”

The dark Alicorn was about to ruminate on the rise and fall of would be king and queens she had met through her long life when something occurred to her. After all that had happened since initiating the Second Lunar Uprising, her version of the Civil War, she did not know what had become of Suneater or the Silent King. She had assumed one had slain the other and then fled with the Lady once her campaign had fallen apart.

“For all I know, there could be a dragon capable of traveling through space up here with me.” Moon looked behind her toward the dark side of the moon. “Or a Theoi I deserve a few answers from. Or both!”

The Night Mare turned back to her camp and checked the obelisk calendar. She had intended to stay on the light side for a time in case Sparkle’s banishment spell was imperfect and she could escape sooner. As the months started to pile up and the first year was drawing to a close, it was starting to look like another thousand year exile at least.

“I am getting tired of standing in the light anyway.” Moon decided as she turned her back to Equus and trotted off toward the dark side following the old hoof and more recent claw prints.

The ex-Princess had not made it far into the umbral side of her home when she noticed the change in topography. Ridges and cliffs she did not recognize broke up the horizon and cracks crisscrossed the ground beneath her hooves. She was about to write them off as the result of meteor impacts until she reached the edge of the basalt sea. The once flat moonscape was a mess of jagged promontories and yawning fissures that reached deep within the moon. The central crater looked like it had been ripped open by a pack a ravenous giant wolves. From what she could see of the exterior, the structure within was similarly devastated with toppled spires and collapsed wings.

“Stars above! I left the Frozen North in better shape!” Moon thought as she traversed the treacherous maze of ruin. “Was this a result of their duel or did one of them try to shatter my moon?”

It took some time and a few low gravity leaps but she eventually reach her Bastion of Nightmares and trotted inside. Scorch marks, crushed stone and inky ichor splattered across the floor and walls were a clear indicator that the duel between the two Lords must have been devastating indeed. However, there was still no sign of the combatants nor who may have won their battle.

“Hello?” The fallen Alicorn called out, the magic imbued in the walls allowing her to speak but the damage made it reverberate oddly. “Dragon Prince? Dread Lord?”

She received no answer other than the sounds of rubble crumbling. Keeping her guard up as much as a depowered Alicorn could, Moon made her way through the bastion until she reached the now dome-less Orrery. This appeared to be the epicenter of their duel as the area radiated a faint Khthonic power. Bits of meteoric iron lay strew about the circular room and the center was stained a darker hue, not from blood but by something more primal. Amongst all the destruction there was neither scale nor hair of the combatants. Whatever the outcome of their duel was, it allowed both immortals to depart the lunar sphere.

“I truly am alone.” Moon’s ears folded flat against her head in disappointment. “I suppose it was foolish of me to hope otherwise.”

Letting out a long tired sigh, the exiled Usurper trotted toward her cracked moonstone throne. She foresaw herself spending the next few centuries rebuilding her bastion but for now she just wanted to wallow in self-pity for a bit. The Alicorn got one hoof on the throne when she noticed something carved into the base. Moon took a step back and looked over the distinctive hoof writing of the Silent King.

“Nightmare Moon,

If you are reading this, then the Element Bearers have triumphed and the Primordial’s plan has failed. I wish I could have told you my reasons for not joining your quest before you were banished so I will tell you now. You deserve that much.

You are not the first to attempt to conquer the world and you will not be the last. Every being that has tried has met the same fate; defeat at the hands, hooves or claws of destined heroes. You would have been no different.

My goal has always been and always will be the wellbeing of the Land of the Dead. Thus I cannot invite a war against the Overworld that will end in failure. Likewise, I could not sit idly by while those I consider friends make the same mistakes as Sombra, Corona and the like.

To that end, I had Princess Sparkle and her friends resurrected after we departed. They were to be an insurance policy in the event I was unable to persuade Shifting Darkness, Night Sky or you to give up or at least postpone your plot for Eternal Night.

I am not asking for your forgiveness, only your understanding.

Until we meet again,

-SK”

“Suneater was right. He prioritizes the Underworld above all else.” The Alicorn mused aloud. “I can admire that and he did try to warn me of what was to come. Hmm? What is this?”

At the end of the message was a small sliver of dream stone no bigger than a matchhead twinkling in the starlight. It glowed faintly with the crystalized ethereal power of dreams. Moon reached down and gingerly picked up the tiny stone, likely the last one in existence, in her hoof.

“My connection to the moon may have been severed…” Moon muttered as she bowed her head and pressed the tip of her piercing horn against the gem. “…but Sparkle has overlooked my other namesake!”

With a sharp snap, the crystal disintegrated and the miniscule power within surged into the Night Mare. She let out a gasp as the ethereal magic sparked across her frame, causing her fur to stand on end. It was a drop in the vast ocean of magic needed to end her exile but it was enough to revitalize her faded connection with the Dream World.

“Hidden One, you magnificent bastard.” The Usurper smiled widely as her long mane began to billow in an ethereal wind. “Apology accepted.”

The corrupted ex-Princess settled into her throne and let her powers slowly but inextricably grow. She may be stuck on the lunar satellite for the foreseeable future but rebuilding the Bastion of Nightmares into an even greater edifice would make an excellent time killer. Once that was done, enough time should have passed for her to do more than just draw power from the soporific realm.

“There will be dreams to crush and nightmares to sow.” The fallen dream strider plotted maliciously. “Tantibus was able to turn it into a realm of horrors on her own. Just imagine what I can do! My influence will spread to every waking mind of Equus and once I rule their thoughts, they will finally worship me as the goddess I am! Then, at long last, the night will last forever! Mmhmmhmm AH-HAHAHAHAHAA!”

Nightmare Moon’s imperious cackle echoed across her bastion. Already, sparks of her magic guided the smaller bits of rubble back into place. While it may be many centuries before she could fulfill even the most minor of her ambitions, she had learned nothing if not patience from her latest excursions.

Twin plumes of pure Darkness and the starry Night Sky soared through the sunless skies of the Underworld. With the dawn of a new day, the Primordial Lord and Lady had finished their nightly dance across the great void of space and retired to their abode in the stygian forests of Erebos. Across the mighty Rivers Acheron and Styx within the cyclopean walls of Barathrum, the Lord of Shades observed their return from a railed balcony offering an expansive view of Asphodel and distant Erebos. He felt a bit of apprehension every time the two traveled to the surface to revel in the night but thus far there had been no attempts to retry their invasion of the Overworld.

“They just journey across the skies until daybreak, return home and consummate their eternal love.” The Silent King mused as he watched Shifting Darkness pursue a teasing Night Sky into their mansion like a pair of naughty juveniles. “Almost as if nothing has changed over the eons.”

As the pale horse had endeavored since returning to his gloomy realm, a sense of normalcy had returned to the Underworld. The Primordials were content, their daemonic children carried out their duties, shades continued to stream into the afterlife, Tartarus was secure and the rightful Lord sat upon the Immortal Throne. Of course, not everything had returned to the status quo before the Downfall.

“The Knights of the Undying Order have a new Marshall for one.” The pale horse looked down into the courtyard where said knights were training. “He has more than proven his worth.”

“By the Throne! It’s aim and shoot! Not aim, aim, aim and aim! Fire your damn horn!” Grand Marshall Shining Armor drilled the newest recruits. “I know I trained some of you ex-Guards better than that! You’re embarrassing me!”

Naturally, the war fought between the Alicorn had resulted in a flood of new shades that kept the bureaucracy of the Underworld busy for a time. The heroic and valorous were rightly rewarded with Elysium while the villainous and vile were justly punished in Tartarus. A majority that ended up in Asphodel wished to join the Undying Order as was the case with most warriors who fell in the moral gray area but did not wish to completely forget their previous lives.

This had the unfortunate effect of former Night, Solar and Royal Guards being forced to serve together. With the war still fresh in their minds, fighting, insubordination and other inefficiencies were common. The Theoi was about to intervene by expelling the problem revenants when Armor had a rather ingenious idea. He called together the feuding sides and in the presence of the rest of the Order and their Patron ordered them to take up arms and settle their grievances. The Civil War was renewed as a monochrome, undead shadow of its former self for about ten minutes before the Grand Marshall gave the order for the spectators to change in and utterly crush both sides. He then gave the disembodied shades a blistering dressing down explaining that all of their grudges and feuds they had while alive were now meaningless and that they now served a power that was neither the sun nor moon.

“They have been dutiful knights ever since.” A ghost of a smile played across the Dark Lord’s lips. “I do believe some of them even joke about the Equestrian Civil War now.”

While he was thinking about the mortal conflict, he could not help but ruminate on certain things he had learned after the fact. Chief among them was the fact that Celestia had succumbed to some tyrannical evil, becoming the Solar Destroyer Daybreaker. Moon’s ill-fated but timely invasion had actually saved countless lives by stalling the corrupted eldest Alicorn’s purge of what she deemed undesirables. As to what had led the paragon of Equestrian harmony down the path of damnation, the Dread Lord could only guess.

“The most likely cause is that portion of her power that was baked in the hellfire of Tartarus and seasoned with Corona’s wickedness was reintroduced into her through Shifting Darkness’ flames.” He surmised. “One would think Suneater had consumed all of that tainted power during his awakening but it appears that was not the case.”

The Theoi glanced skyward as he mulled over how to correct this unforeseen consequence. The best he could currently come up with involved tearing out the Solar Alicorn’s soul and ripping the Daybreaker corruption off of Celestia’s vital essence. That would involve either traveling to the sun or bringing Daybreaker back to Equus, both of which were currently impossible.

“I might have no choice but to deal with that at a later date if at all.” The Silent King mentally mused as he returned his attention to his realm. “Princess…no, High Queen Sparkle may have very well surpassed her mentor in terms of power. It could be resolved without it even crossing my notice.”

The Alicorn of Harmony nee Magic had exceeded all of his expectations, something that gave even a godly Theoi like him pause. When he first ordered Lulamoon to revive the Element Bearers as a plan B, he thought that the end result would be just like every other time the six mares overcame a foe; the villain is banished, turned to stone, blow apart et cetera, the friends learn a lesson and life goes on. Sparkle ascending to sole ruler of Equestria and becoming arguably the most powerful being in the Overworld was not something he had even remotely anticipated.

“What is worse is that unlike the other Alicorn’s, she knows about me.” The King thought critically. “She probably has eyes watching for any move I make against the Overworld. Fortunately for the both of us, I have none to make…for now.”

His gaze drifted toward the Boneyard and a specific skeleton hanging off a gnarled tree. He recalled just how it came to be there and his mounting trepidation faded somewhat. If the Queen ever deemed to remove him, it would not be the first time he was confronted by an Alicorn with the same goal.

“And unlike Sparkle, he had centuries of combat experience.” The Theoi recalled with a slight shake of his head. “Not that it did him any good.”

The caliginous king went back to surveying his realm. Hive Queen Chrysalis and Princess Elytra had returned from a feeding trip to Elysium and were now observing the knights below. Judging from the excited twitching of their wings and swish of their tails, they approved of finely sculpted male specimens sparing in training clothes. Armor must have noticed as he began a practical demonstration of close quarters combat by laying out several recruits with practiced ease. Chrysalis’ less than subtle reaction told all that she knew what she was having for dessert, much to Elytra’s embarrassment.

“If my understanding of changeling reproduction is correct, her nuptial flight should be coming up in a few months.” The host of the once endangered insectoids mused. “She could go just about anywhere. The ruins of Hollow Shades allow her easy access back here. Ponyville or whatever they change the name to could offer opportunities with its mass of new citizens. She could try the Neo-Crystal City if she wants a challenge. ”

The sound of hooves on stone behind him broke him out of his ruminations. He was about to reach for his bident propped against the railing when he realized who it was.

“Archmage Lulamoon.” The sponsor of the necromantic magician said without turning around. “Care to join me? The view is fantastic.”

“How did you know it was the Subtle and Stealthy Trixie?” The azure unicorn asked as she took him up on his offer and placed her fore hooves on the railing.

“The changelings have a slight skitter to their step, the revenants rarely go without their armor and everything else either flies or goes about on two legs.” The pallid pony rattled off. “Process of elimination. Also the bones of your ensemble rattle a bit.”

“Trixie will remember that next time.” The Archmage said as she took in the view. “So what were you doing up here?”

“Surveying all that I rule.” The King answered with a dramatic foreleg sweep across the vista. “And thinking about resent events.”

“So has Trixie.” The unicorn said with a frown. “She still can’t believe Sparkle is now Queen of all Equestria. Bah! The Great and Powerful Trixie gives her three years until she goes full tyrant and joins the rest of the mad ponies in Tartarus. Hmph!”

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The stygian stallion recited keenly. “Makes me wonder when I will go off the deep end.”

“Ha! You already have.” Lulamoon needled with a laugh. “Fighting demons in Hell, riding a dragon prince into space, courting an insane Alicorn? What sane stallion would do all that?”

“Hmm, I see your point.” Rather than be insulted, the Silent King allowed another ghost of a smile. “But what does that say about the unicorn that followed me into Hell, robbed Canterlot and foiled said mad Alicorn’s plans by resurrecting her enemies?”

“Touché.” The magician conceded the point as she edged a bit close to the Necroarch. “Speaking of the insane Alicorn, you two seemed rather…close.”

“That is a bit of a private matter.” The Theoi was about to change the subject when he reconsidered. “Then again, it might do me some good just to air it out.”

"We were.” The pale horse admitted as he reached into his heavy robes and withdrew Luna’s tiara. “Princess Luna was the first being I met that did not immediately try to kill or use me.”

“Odd. Luna always struck Trixie as the more belligerent of the Royal Sisters.” Lulamoon commented. “Wait, when was this?”

“A few of days after I returned from my exile.” The former Lurker answered after some thought. “When I roamed the Frozen North. We met in a dream.”

“Ah, so Luna was a dream strider.” The Archmage interjected suddenly. “Trixie had heard rumors she possessed such abilities. If the Eager and Capable Trixie could gain these, she could add the many strange and ethereal magics of the Dreamworld to her repertoire!”

“Having access to the Dreamworld could have its benefits.” The Theoi mused.

“An interesting field of study, I am sure.” The King nodded knowingly before he continued. “The location of our first meeting aside, Princess Luna and I formed a bond over similar experiences. We did not actually meet face to face until later in Canterlot not long before I met you.”

“What happened then?” The azure unicorn asked eagerly. “If you were still the Lurker then that could not have gone over well.”

“Better than you would think. I had learned that assuming an equine shape, even if pitch black with white eyes, held certain advantages like not being shot on sight.” The former shadow pony answered candidly. “I was searching for the Sunless Lands then and Luna proved most helpful in that pursuit; securing access to the library, providing tickets for travel including the Gala ticket we used and keeping her sister from vaporizing me. We grew intimate in that time together.”

“How intimate?” Lulamoon asked with an edge to her voice.

“We shared a dream she called a ‘midnight delight’ together.” The stygian stallion answered, earning a displeased nicker from the now blushing unicorn. “It was during this tryst that I met Nightmare Moon.”

“Oh my!” The unicorn’s eyes widened in surprise. “That must have been a surprise.”

“It was…unexpected.” The pale horse recalled being struck across the muzzle by a bursting brassier. “But it was she that warned me of Corona’s Grand Exodus.”

“She did? Why?” The magician arched an eyebrow. “Trixie would think that she would use a break out from Tartarus to weaken Equestria before she invaded.”

“As she put it, she would not have demons infesting her realm.” The Theoi answered plainly. “From that point onward, my allegiance shifted from Luna to Moon. She helped me free the Primordials and in return I helped her return to her full power. We achieved a lot until our goals diverged.”

“She abandoned you to your duel with Suneater.” Lulamoon said solemnly as she mulled over a rather touchy question she wanted answered. “If Trixie may be so bold, did you love her?”

The Theoi did not answer right away. He looked down at the midnight crown as memories of his time with both sides of its owner came to the forefront of his mind. He had initially seen the Lunar Princess as just another source of information and resources while she saw him as a lost soul to bring into Equestria’s harmonic fold but did it become more than that? The dark Alicorn obviously saw him as a means to return to the Overworld just as he saw her as a link to the Primordials but she had expressed interest in making their partnership more permanent. As the manifestation of Luna’s darker emotions, was it genuine love or just more reckless ambition?

“I’ve been in relationship triangles before but this is the strangest one yet.” The King mused as he returned the tiara to his robes.

“You do not need to answer if you wish.” Lulamoon said after the period of silence. “The Kind and Sympathetic Trixie knows that love can be a perplexing thing. She doubts even Cadenza fully understands it.”

“I could say the same for the Lady of Love in my time.” The pallid pony said neutrally. “I suppose there is no use dwelling on it. Moon has been banished for at least the next thousand years and Luna has been marooned in the Dreamworld. Welcome back to the bachelor life, old timer.”

“You don’t have to be alone.” The unicorn was now close enough for him to see the spiral grooves in her horn. “You still have the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“Luna…Moon…Lulamoon.” The stallion fought to urge to face hoof. “The running theme is now a full sprint.”

“I am flattered.” The King said coolly. “But I respect you too much to use you as my…what’s the phrase… rebound mare.”

“Trixie believes it is her catching you on the rebound.” The Archmage countered. “And she doesn’t care if you dribble her down the whole field so long as you score a home run with her. Wait, is that right?”

“We just butchered that metaphor.” The Theoi thought.

“We just finished talking about my other inamoratas.” The caliginous cleric warned. “Would you-“

“The Returned and Necromantic Trixie has already died once.” The azure mare insisted. “No relationship is perfect. Trust Trixie, she knows all too well.”

“I can sense she is being genuine her desire.” The Khthonic Theoi felt the frozen lump of iron that was his heart stir slightly. “She has already expressed as much after we returned from Tartarus. Maybe…”

“Trixie knows she is not an Alicorn.” The Archmage sat back as she nervously rubbed her hooves together. “She knows she is not as endowed as them but- MMPH?!”

The unicorn was cut off by the stygian stallion leaning down and capturing her lips with his. Her crimson eyes widened in shock before they slowly closed as she returned the kiss with a pleased moan. They stayed like that for a few moments until the King straightened up and broke the embrace. The Theoi wiped away a trace of spittle with his sleeve while Lulamoon stared up at him with a dopey but nonetheless happy smile.

“Your beard tickles.” She slurred in a love-struck stupor.

“I’m not shaving it.” He responded with a small smile of his own.

The azure unicorn draped a foreleg across his withers and nuzzled against him with a happy sigh. The pale earth pony returned the gesture and held her close. The two new lovers silently looked out over the Sunless Lands of the Dead; their home and dominion. An uncertain future awaited the Underworld but its sovereign and servants were prepared to face it.

Thus this trilogy is complete. Thank you all for reading, commenting, praising and criticizing.

I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I did writing it.