Celestia’s POV

You awoke slowly, a gentle smile engrained upon your face.

“Good morning Solaire!” The silence which followed did not perturb you in the slightest: Solaire was probably with his troops, or out for a stroll as he usually did every morning.

Now, for your daily duty. You reluctantly leave the comfort of your spacious bed, stretching deftly as a painful stiffness nestles in your leg. A prudent brush, a quick wash and you are once again presentable to the general public. Now, time for the main event.

You step out onto the balcony, disappointed by the lack of a certain sunlight warrior. Normally he’d have arrived back in time for you to raise the sun. Not that you needed to get out of bed to do it anyway… truth be told, you simply enjoyed Solaire’s company and deep-rooted admiration for yourself. Solaire was… different. Over the years that had passed, you had met countless ponies. They all shared an admiration of you, but it didn’t feel… right. Solaire understood you on a personal level, connected with you in an emotional way you had never expected from another pony… or in this case, human. And you knew the respect, and admiration he held was not in fear, or simply due to public norm. He had told you of his quest for his “sun”… and you knew that he regarded you as his sun.

You sigh blissfully, before snapping back to focus. No, these are dangerous emotions you are feeling… emotions you shouldn’t allow yourself to have. Solaire is not even a pony, there’s no way he’d reciprocate the feelings you needed to have in someone, to dispel the crushing loneliness that hung over your life… Even as you cursed under your breath, you knew you were lying to yourself. Solaire admired everything about you: if he wasn’t already feeling the same way about you, as you did about him, then your confession would only lead him to start feeling that way. And what backlash could you possibly worry about? Inter-special relationships were uncommon, but not unheard of.

The only excuse for your denial was a simple fact: You were afraid. You had been without any sort of intimate companionship since… well, forever. The closeness between you and Luna could not fill the aching void in your life: And ever since Twilight Sparkle had moved away, you had found yourself increasingly alone. You constantly talked with ponies, yes: but only on matters of advice, judgement, and politics.

“Maybe I’ll talk to him about this tomorrow…” you mutter to yourself, your morning enthusiasm drained by your depressing inner monologue. As you make your way to the door of your quarters, you are surprised by an untimely visitor.

“Luna? Why are you here at this hour?”

”I regret to be the bearer of bad news.”

Your heart sinks. “What do you mean, sister?”

”The magical surges have grown more and more intense. We may only have a few hours left on our hooves, maybe less.”

“Until… until what?”

”I presume that our realm will merge with Solaire’s. What that entails, I cannot predict… although Solaire’s account of “Lordran” was one of chaos, degeneracy and death.”

“This cannot be happening… this isn’t happening…” you whisper, a thousand thoughts conflicting for dominance in your mind.

”Celestia! We cannot afford a panic attack at this moment, when every second brings us closer to possible ruin!”

“Y-you’re right… for heaven’s sake, where is Solaire? He’d know what to do.”

Luna looks down at the ground remorsefully, and you choke on your words.

“L-Luna? Where. Is. Solaire.”

”He… he must have travelled off in the night. I too have been looking for him these last few hours: although the Guard remained unified in silence, the guilty stares were more than enough evidence.”

“No… no! What if he’s already fighting that demon! What if…” You cannot bring yourself to imagine the consequences of Solaire failing the battle.

”I do not think Solaire has succeeded in his battle, as the magical surges remain, but that does not rule out his survival. He could have retreated, for all we know.”

“Solaire doesn’t seem like the type to back down from a challenge.”

Silence falls between you two, as you desperately try to think up a plan.

“Luna… stay here and rally the troops. I must go after Solaire.”

”What! You cannot seriously entertain the notion of rescue-“

“Luna… Solaire is different. His entrance into my life is no mere coincidence: I would give everything to save him.”

”Everything? By throwing yourself at the demon, you will risk everything! If you die, all of Equestria will be in threat! I won’t be able to do this on my own, Celestia!”

You hold Luna still, staring her down as the argument escalates. “Luna. I know we have always had our differences: we have had bitter conflict, and an uneasy past. But I trust you, completely and utterly. Don’t you trust me?”

”You know that I do, Celestia.”

“Then listen to me when I say: I will return. I promise that I will come back.”

”Celestia, is risking your life, all our lives, worth it?”

“This is something I have to do. If I was to let Solaire die out there, then I would not be able to live with myself.” Your plea is accentuated by your stare, as you desperately beg with Luna.

Luna sighs, admitting defeat. ”I do not need to repeat how insane your idea is, Celestia. While we’re at it, why don’t I join you as well?”

“You now exactly why. I need you to stay here in case… well, in case everything goes wrong.”

”And why not bring the troops with you as well? Their duties are to serve and protect: that seems rather appropriate in this hour of crisis.”

“It would be foolish suicide: none of them would be ready for what Solaire faced.”

”Neither are you…”

“I have to be ready. For him.”

Luna gapes at you, before suddenly chuckling. ”This entire situation… it’s too clichéd not to be real.”

“Indeed, though usually it is the helpless damsel who needs rescuing.”

”I hope that won’t be you when you face down the demon… good luck, dearest sister.”

“Thank you, Luna.” You grasp her tightly in a hug, commanding the tears at the corner of your eye to retreat. After half a minute, you reluctantly break off the embrace, and begin charging your horn.

“Good luck.” Luna says with a faint whisper, and you nod.

“Thank you. I’m going to need it…”You take a step back, focus your magical essence, and envision in your mind a clear image of Solaire.

You release the spell, light filling your vision as you warp to Solaire’s whereabouts through the ethereal plane. Barely half a second later, you find yourself outside the mouth to what appears to be a large cave, and you stand shakily, drained by the power needed to teleport you here.

“Ok… now for the hard part…”

You peer into the mouth of the tunnel, disdained by the unnatural darkness that seemed to be creeping up to the surface. You instinctively shiver: the urge to cut and run overpowering. With a will you didn’t know you had, you slowly creep down the darkening tunnel, the light from the surface quickly abandoning you. You summon an orb of guiding light, its meagre protection leading through the cold, damp tunnel.

Dark, twisted figures stalk you through the caverns, darting out of reach whenever you threatened to attack them, and you quicken your pace: the echoes of your hooves ring out through the cavern, and you hear a faint scraping from afar…

You scream as your hoof slips, and you desperately scramble for a hold. When you back yourself up, you see that the floor has given way to a great, seemingly bottomless cavern.

“Next time, eyes down…” you whisper, teeth gritted in fear. You look round to see if an alternate route exists, but to your dismay, the way forward is missing.

As you turn around to search for an alternate tunnel, you hear a familiar voice cry out from the pitch-black depths: a cry that chills you to the bone.

“Solaire!” you reply in fear, and your exclamation is met with a roar of fury: the ground beneath you shakes heavily. You hear Solaire cry out once more: the pain in his voice brings tears to your eyes.

“Hang on Solaire! I’m coming!” You yell, desperately, searching in vain for a path of safe descent. Another cry of pain: You finally realise what must be done, even as every fibre of your being screams at you to cut and flee.

You flare out your wings and take a steeling breath, before leaping into the darkness below. A few seconds later, you hit the “bottom”, strangely feeling not pain despite the speed at which you impacted the ground. Looking up, the edge from which you just jumped has vanished into darkness…

A moan of pain catches your attention, and the sight before you makes your heart stop.

“Solaire!”

Lying haphazardly, with blood-stained wounds covering his armour and his weaponry scattered around him, is Solaire. He looks up at you weakly, his helmet missing.

”C-Celestia…” he whispers, eyes wide with hope and fear. You rush to his side, tears now flowing freely.

“Solaire..? Are you… what happened?”

”I made… a mistake. A big mistake…” he chuckles weakly, his laughter hollow.

“It’s going to be ok… I’m here now…” you whisper, preparing a healing spell.

”Celestia… you must do something for me…”

“What?”

”Run.” He says bluntly, before looking your shoulder, his eyes widening with terror.

”Run!” He repeats, and you whirl round to face the demon that you knew would be there.

Inching towards you was a demon of almost… indescribable horror. Its head, or what you presumed to be its head, was dotted with several glowing red eyes that bore down on you. On one side it had an arm that stretched and coiled like a snake, threatening to whip out and strike you at any time. In the other hand, a huge wooden staff was clutched: an unsettling power emanated from it.

The demon cocks its head at you, and you suddenly feel a massive presence weighing down on your mind. ”WHO ART THOU?” The voice seemed to be everywhere at once, invading every corner of your conscious.

You weakly reply to it, knowing it was conversing telepathically. “I am Princess Celestia, embodiment of the Sun.”

”A SUN GODDESS? THOU LIES.”

“I speak only the truth!”

”IF THAT IS SO, SUN GODDESS, WHY DOES THOU TRESPASS IN THE DARKEST DOMAIN? WHY DOTH THOU DISTURB THE ETERNAL SLUMBER OF MANUS?”

“I came to rescue my friend!”

”THY FRIEND ROUSED ME FROM MY SLUMBER, AND SOUGHT TO END MY LIFE. HE AWAKENED MY THIRST, AND HE MUST PAY.”

“Manus, please listen to me! It was of no fault of Solaire that you awakened! Stop this onslaught, stop the merging of realms!”

”I CANNOT. IT IS TOO LATE FOR ME… FOR ALL OF US…” With no warning, the coiled arm springs out, ensnaring you in a deadly vice, squeezing the breath out of you.

”Celestia…” Solaire groans, stumbling to his feet, grasping his longsword as he rises. Manus swipes him brutally off his feet, sending him crashing back down to the ground.

As you struggle against Manus’ vice, your mind grows distant from your body, and you dimly think back over the events leading to this moment. Solaire’s summoning had been a miracle, a steadfast knight arriving in the nick of time to save you… you couldn’t expect the same chance of fate to occur twice, could you?

Solaire’s POV

You stared up at the darkness above, your breath coming in short, shaky breaths as you died. The pain in your body was matched only by the pain of your soul. You knew that by falling now, Celestia would almost certainly die. The demon would prevail: Equestria would be brought to ruin…

You blink through tearful eyes, trying to summon the energy to fight on, but to no avail. You had lost…

As you lay there, dazed and confused, you hear the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching you…

You are suddenly lifted up off the ground, and you stand on your feet uneasily, unsure of what was happening. A flask was thrust into your face, and a warm, familiar liquid was forced down your throat. You choke on the estus, wincing as your wounds sealed themselves within seconds, before weakly focusing on your mystery assistant.

You gape at the figure standing before you, your hope re-kindled by the appearance of this familiar ally.

”Solaire.”

“You… how did you…”

”No time to talk now. I’ll tell you after we put this demon down.”

You nod enthusiastically, the estus having repaired you both physically and mentally. You grab your shield off the ground, raising it into a defensive stance, as the nameless Knight with whom you had fought countless battles does likewise. The demon releases Celestia, who collapses to the floor, but you resist the urge to rush to her side.

“Just like old times, eh?” you mutter.

”I don’t remember us ever fighting an abyssal demon to save white horses. That is why you’re here, correct?

“It’s a long story, my friend… and it’s not a horse.”

”Don’t nitpick me when we’re about to die.”

“I’ll bear that in mind!” You chuckle, as the demon turns its attention fully towards the two of you.

”So, what’s the plan?” your companion asks.

“Same plan as always. I’ll do all the work while you stand there and look good.”

”Good plan!” the nameless warrior yells as Manus raises a monumental arm, swinging it down over your heads. You both roll out of the way, and you plunge your trusty sword into its arm, causing it to shriek in pain.

”If it screams, it can be killed!”

“We better make sure not to scream then!” you retort, before the demon smashes down again. You absorb the blow with your shield, wincing in pain as the demon leaps into the air. The follow up smash barely misses you as you dodge, but to your surprise a fireball suddenly engulfs the creatures arm.

As the demon rears back, you see that the warrior has sheathed his Astora Straight Sword, and is instead holding a large, glowing flame in his right hand.

“I didn’t know you were a pyromancer!”

”Things changed rather quickly for me!” He yells, dowsing the creature in vicious flames. The demon begins to back off, the sudden change in tactics obviously unnerving it, before you get an idea. You grasp your talisman tightly, summoning a magnificent sunlight spear, and as you do your companion summons a massive fireball, which he holds tightly.

”How’d you let something this pitiful take you down so easily?” he asks sarcastically.

“I must have tripped… shall I finish it or do you want the honour?”

The fireball grows in intensity, pulsing like a flaming heartbeat: the light illuminating the intricate designs emblazoned upon his Sanctus Shield.

”Let’s finish this as one.”

You nod, standing by the side of the nameless warrior as he readies himself. The demon senses its imminent demise: above you a raging black storm materialises.

”Now!”

You hurl the sunlight spear with all your might, striking the demon in its inhuman face. It roars in indignation and fury, as the coursing lightning blinds it. A split second later, the fireball from your ally connects, immolating the entire front of the beast. The flames expand and explore, spreading cross the demon with uncanny speed. The demon thrashes about, its catalyst hanging uselessly as it convulses in agony. A final, earth-shattering roar surrounds you as the beast disappears, a blinding white light marking its disappearance.

You pant heavily as the light fades, blinking in surprise as a pitch-black sprite materialises in your palm.

“What the… this is unlike any humanity I have encountered before…” A hand on your shoulder distracts you from the quivering sprite. “Solaire, we have to get out of here, now.”

“What’s the hurry?”

”Killing Manus will seal off the bridge between Lordran and… well, wherever it is you went to, and that strange horse came from.”

“That is the outcome I had hoped for, but I’ll be damned if I get stuck on this side. Come; help me lift Celestia up…” With your friend’s help you manage to help Celestia back onto her hooves: thankfully, no damage seems to have been done besides an ugly bruising on her chest.

”Next time… I’m staying at home…” she mutters, still dazed by the demon your friend had referred to as “Manus”.

“You’re still alive, so no complaining. We can do that after we find our way back to Equestria. How should we go about doing that, anyway?”

He points to a bonfire that only just materialised. “We use that, I assume.”

“What if that leads us back into Lordran?”

”If it does, then it does. However, if we waste time now, then our fates will be sealed.”

“All right then. I pray that this works…” You lead Celestia to the bonfire, and hold her hoof tightly while your friend rests a hand on your shoulder. You think of the Canterlot throne room intently, commanding the power of the Lordvessel to warp you there. For a split second nothing happens, as doubt and fear creep into your mind.

Suddenly, you are sprawled across a hard marble floor, Celestia lying awkwardly on top of you. Within seconds you are surrounded at spearpoint by numerous confused guards, who drop their weapons when they realise who they are dealing with. Your friend is treated with suspicion though, although he thankfully he the sense to stand still in this moment.

”Celestia!”  Luna cries as she rushes over to her sister, hugging her tightly. “You have returned with Solaire! Does that mean…”

”Yes, my dear sister. We are safe.”

Luna nods, a wide smile etched into her face. “And who might this knight be? Is he another human?”

Your friend coughs politely. “Yes, I am. I have fought with Solaire many times: you can trust me.”

Luna nods. “Well then, we are well met it seems. Do you have a name one could address you buy?”

He appears to ponder the question. “Truth be told, I do not. I never had a name, for whatever reason… although now is not too late to pick one.” He thinks some more, before snapping his fingers. “Of course, it fits perfectly.”

”Do tell us what you have chosen.”

”Anonymous. I am Anonymous…”

Luna arches an eyebrow. “A nameless mane choosing a name meaning namelessness… you are an interesting individual, Anon.”

”Thank you…?”

”Luna. Princess Luna.”

Your friend… no, Anon bows politely, before edging his way over to you as Luna and Celestia talk. ”You didn’t tell me they could talk!” he whispers fiercely.

“You were surprised? You hid it awfully well.” You laugh, tapping the visor of Anon’s helmet.

He sighs in annoyance. “You can make it up to me by showing me where I can get some sleep. If I don’t have a bed within a few minutes then I’m going to use the floor.” Amused by his onset of annoyance, you lead him through the castle, letting him use an empty guest room. He immediately stretches out on the bed, the framework groaning under the weight of the armour.

“If you break anything, you’re paying for it.”

”Oh be… quiet…” he mutters, sleep already claiming him. You chuckle gently, before shutting the door closed.

The rest of the day speeds by: Celestia arranges for you to have a medical check-up, and a healing-spell follow-up: your apparel and equipment is yet again left in with Vulcana, who argued that you should be mending it yourself, and Anon stayed in his new room for the rest of the day, exhausted from the fight.

As night rolls on, you retire to Celestia’s quarters, taking position on the couch.

”Solaire.”

“Yes Celestia?”

Celestia emerges from her chambers, a worried look on her face. “Could you come here for a second? Please?” You raise an eyebrow, before getting up and walking over, the overall you had been given barely covering your body.

“What is the matter, Celestia?”

”Could you… could you close your eyes for me?”

You comply, closing your eyes tightly. “Celestia, is there a reason for-“

You are cut off as a pair of lips meet your own, shocking you into silence.

You open your eyes as Celestia breaks the kiss, returning your gaze with hope-filled eyes.

“Celestia…?”

”Solaire… I may not have known you for long, but something about you is just… right. You understand me: you’re there for me… I think could mean something more…”

“I… um… this is all rather… sudden.”

”I’ve been alone for far too long Solaire. I need some I can be close with… in every sense.”

“Well… I…” Her lips meet yours again, and you find yourself unable to resist. Sure, she isn’t a human, but she’s a god sun. That’s got to count for something… and besides: she’s not bad looking for a pony…

As the kiss goes on, you embrace Celestia tightly, holding her as close as possible. She finally breaks off the kiss, giving you a sultry look. ”Thank you, Solaire. Now… how about you teach me the ways of “jolly co-operation…”

You lay in Celestia’s bed, her head propped against your chest. “Well, now I can say I fucked the sun.”

”You really are something special, Solaire.” Celestia gasps breathlessly, her eyes filled with adoration. For several minutes, he two of you lie there in silence, recovering from the bout of passion which just occurred.

”So… how do you do it?” Celestia eventually says.

“How do I do what?”

”No matter  what happens, you take it all on the chin and keep on fighting… how do you do it?”

“I simply have faith, Celestia. I have faith in myself, and faith in the Gods above… or amongst us.”

Celestia falls silent, before looking up at you. ”I have a terrible feeling about the upcoming future. Manus, the demon in the Abyss, may have been stopped but I fear despair is sure to follow…”

“Let the bad times come. As long as I am with you, I shall let no harm befall upon you.”

”I know you won’t. Thank you Solaire.” Celestia kisses you one last time, before settling herself down. A few minutes later, her breathing relaxes, and gentle snores signal the start of her sleep.

In a matter of weeks, you’d sacrificed yourself to save a world, crossed the gaps between worlds, killed a Queen, been betrayed, faced down a demon and lived, and engaged in coitus with a sun-god Princess pony. It never is easy, praising the sun…