The Legend of Sol, Titan, and Morgan: Veliuona's Gambit

Veliuona, the Goddess of the Cursed Shades, proved to be more sly and cunning than Sol had thought: for it was not long after their alliance was forged that the ruler of the undead sent word that she desired to meet with Sol and her siblings, face-to-face.

Sol knew what this was: a test, and a trap. They could not reject Veliuona's request: to do so would be to risk making themselves seem weak, as if they were afraid of the goddess, and it would invite trouble from both sides. Likewise, inviting Veliuona in was dangerous: she would be able to see Canterlot for herself, explore their sanctuary, and if she so chose, attack them within their own walls. Sol highly doubted she feared retaliation from the Baron, after all: it was all too clear that her only concern was with her, and her siblings.

Still, they had no choice... and Sol trusted that if Veliuona was cunning enough to make this move, she would also be wise enough to forestall any attempts on their lives. After all, Veliuona could neither reason with nor fight the Tyrant Wyrms even with her armies of the dead: from what they had heard, the terrible words sung by the monsters were as devastating to her forces as they were to the armies of the living.

Titan, always seeing the best in others, always full of hope and kindness, said it would be good to speak with their new ally face-to-face. Morgan was concerned, and her worries were amplified, not soothed, by the whispers of her paladin in her ear. She loved him, and blinded herself again and again to what he did: it seemed, to Sol's frustration, that no matter what the paladin did, no matter how she reflected and thought, Morgan continued to give the stallion chance after chance, chose to trust in him instead of punish him or turn him away. Sol thought it a sign of weakness, and was worried about what it would cost.
Sol was neither soothed nor put off by the reactions of her siblings, however: she knew what she had to do, and she was not willing to back down from her course of action. And what further prompted her was the fact that there were rumors of the Tyrant Wyrms beginning to push inwards throughout Equestria, as if hunting for something... or worse, perhaps only expanding their territory. Either way, it was worrisome news.
There was no denying that even with their shaky alliance, Veliuona was an evil that would have to be eradicated in the future. She would have to keep a close eye on the Goddess of the Cursed Shades. But all the same, Sol had to admit there was a certain... eagerness to meet this creature, to have the rare chance to be able to face this dark goddess in a different sort of battle than a physical altercation, to study Veliuona and perhaps see the way that Veliuona would study her as well.
And when Veliuona came, fearless, with only two attendants - who, powerful as they were, were also subservient, and clearly there as thralls to their goddess' whims - Sol met her, with her siblings on either side, and the paladin hiding in the shadow of Morgan. Veliuona and Sol faced one another, their eyes locking, the great and dangerous and powerful goddess from a distant land staring down into the eyes of a ruthless, fearless warrior.
Veliuona bowed her head first, and that was Sol's first victory against her. But it was not a victory that Sol savored: instead, she bowed her own head to the goddess, and so was sealed their tryst.
However temporary it would prove to be. 

The Legend of Sol, Titan, and Morgan: Other Fronts

Sol had come to expect the unexpected in life: many things had happened to her, after all, that she had never predicted would come to pass. She had a family she never would have imagined; she had come to respect and even enjoy the company of ponies whom, in the past, she never would have spared a second glance. She had put down her most cherished weapons, and taken to using the power of magic and body alone to defend a world that, in the past, she would have never, ever gone to such great lengths to protect.
But she would never have expected an emissary of Veliuona to arrive, begging for aid.
Help was not something that Sol felt comfortable with offering the so-called Mistress of Cursed Shades, but Titan said that if someone was asking for assistance, then they had no right to turn them down.
Morgan was suspicious, but as always, her brother's compassion inspired her, even if she was trying hard at the same time to show her sister that she was learning from her, that she could be logical and astute. She hesitantly said one of Sol's own teachings back to her: that while the enemy of their enemy was still their enemy, if two opposing forces could be guided against one another, why shouldn't they take advantage of this?
Titan disapproved of the wording, saying that they need not be enemies no matter what their past, and Morgan began to squabble and bicker with her brother, in spite of however not-so-secretly she seemed to agree. Perhaps it was for Sol's sake, perhaps it was simply because Morgan liked to argue, but for the moment, Sol simply tuned them both out.
They both had a point, although likely not the ones they thought they did: Titan was right, that they would not benefit from turning down this request for help. Morgan was right that they could use the Tyrant Wyrms and Veliuona against each other. But the key point for Sol was that they would not benefit if Veliuona was destroyed at this juncture: right now, she could serve better as a possible resource for them to exploit, or a sacrificial lamb for them to use as bait for the Wyrms.
Knowing full well that for the ambassador to approach them had to mean that the Tyrant Wyrms had either rejected an offer of alliance from Veliuona, or perhaps attacked her outright, Sol decided to prove the emissary for information: what could the Mistress of Cursed Shades offer them, and what was she willing to concede? It was no secret, after all, that the living dead often hungered for the spirits and vitality of the still-alive.
But that, of course, was among the first promises that the emissary made on her goddess' behalf; while they were allied, no minion of the dead would raise a claw or hoof against the living. If any souls or lives needed to be taken, then the guilty or condemned would be harvested, or those of wild monsters, but not the living ponies of Equestria.
It was a dangerous deal to make, and Sol knew that ultimately, Veliuona would betray them. But all the same, it was a deal she made without fear or hesitation, knowing that the consequences of ignoring this chance would be far worse.
And as Sol shook the hoof of the deathless emissary, she only hoped that she was able to not only defeat these Tyrant Wyrms, but figure out a way to outsmart a cunning goddess whom she knew would be both their greatest ally and worst enemy in the days yet to come.

The Legend of Sol, Titan, and Morgan: Planning

Sol marched what remained of her forces hard, bringing them swiftly back to Canterlot. The few gangs and  marauders foolish enough to get in their way on the path back were quickly and cruelly disposed of, without slowing their pace.
They arrived, exhausted and battered, and once there, Sol immediately made for the castle. The Baron received her, eager to hear her report... but he was surprised when instead of meeting with him, instead, she made her way directly to the Magic Academy.
Titan was left to try and act as diplomat, to explain what had happened and reassure the worried Baron that they were going to do all they could in order to protect Equestria. But he also advised that the Baron reach out to the others: in times past the baronies had often waged war against each other, making battle both in the field and at the political table, but now they had a common enemy. An enemy that would not be pacified by land or money or anything else, but would require all their strength to defeat. And that strength would only come with unity.
While Titan spoke to the Baron, Morgan and her lover slipped away. Morgan wanted to help, but did not know what she could do: her paladin did everything he could to reassure her, to soothe her, to make everything better... but even as Morgan took solace in his words and allowed herself to be comforted, she felt uneasy. The paladin spoke, all too often, of slipping away from the battle... of things that sounded so sweet and comforting, like how he would whisk her away from all this if he could, and yet as they turned over and over in her mind, she heard the secret meaning in his promises...
She asked him if he wanted to run away: the paladin, of course, responded vehemently that he did not want to. But then, in gentler tones, he whispered that he wanted to see her safe, and he wanted to be safe with her.
He whispered beautiful words to her, but as pretty as they were, as happy as they made her... at the same time, Morgan wondered if they weren't laced with poison. A sweet, numbing, happy poison, but a poison nonetheless, and one that was trying to twist its way through her mind and compel her to do things she never would have considered in the past. To flee from the battle, and leave, and be happy with her paladin, and pretend that he was strong and fierce and that he could protect her when really, he was still a young stallion. Still uninitiated in battle, afraid of being hurt, unable and perhaps unwilling to put his life on the line to protect others. Who gloried not in the honor of his order, but in the honor that came with being part of the order. Who did not understand that there was more to service than simply the armor, the sword, and the rewards. That duty, in and of itself, was reward.
Morgan, for the first time in many days, drew herself away from her paladin, saying she needed time alone. She left her paladin, and climbed to the top of a high, lonely tower of the castle, gazing out into the beautiful night, at the moon and stars suspended in the sky, raised by the unicorns of Canterlot.
Morgan sat, and thought, and wondered silently if it would not be better if she simply lived her life with only her family at her side.
Titan did his best to mend fences, to convince the fearful and the meek and the proud to work together, to fend off the coming evil, even while the Baron continued to dawdle and fret and make up excuses.
And Sol planned, and forged weapons and armor, and developed dangerous, devastating enchantments and traps. Tools of great power and great risk, that she knew would serve well in their battle against the Wyrms... but after the beasts were destroyed, could very well be claimed and used by ponies for their own cruel designs.
But as the three had learned, nothing in life came without cost and consequence.

The Legend of Sol, Titan, and Morgan: Far From Over

There were more of them.
Suddenly, it was all Sol was hearing about: great black dragons, showing up here and there across Equestria, causing chaos and making sport of outposts and villages. They were tearing their way through the nation, killing, murdering, destroying... and none of it with any point that Sol could discern. They weren't using strategy, going after weak points: as a matter of fact, there were reports that a mountain garrison had actually managed to destroy one of the Wyrms, albeit mostly through the fortune of the Wyrm falling victim to an avalanche that had carried it down into a ravine. No, they were attacking solely for... the sport of it.
It disgusted Sol. Disgusted, and worried her: these beasts were already so dangerous that she and her siblings had narrowly been able to destroy one. And even knowing their vulnerabilities, she had the terrible feeling that the Wyrms, so far, were only playing with them: they didn't seem to fear death, after all. In fact, they seemed almost to welcome it. She feared what this meant: it told her that the Wyrms either had some cruel strategy in wait, or they were only the expendable servants of some greater evil...
Titan was worried as well. And Morgan had her own concerns, but many of her worries were blurred by her Paladin, who focused on how the garrison had destroyed one of the beasts by themselves, simultaneously praising his fellows while trying to excuse them from the combat. All he could think of was staying as far away from the terrible beasts as possible: Morgan, in her love for him, couldn't help but wonder whether or not he was right, and they should focus not on marching across Equestria to combat these beasts, but instead on getting their own forces back to safety and securing Canterlot: surely, Sol had been able to learn something that would allow the ponies to defend themselves from these foes...
Titan tried to encourage Morgan, to sway her back towards the fight, but to his surprise, Sol agreed to return to Canterlot: she said that first of all, they had to regroup, and preparations for the days ahead had yet to be made. They needed equipment, and to heal, before they could think about going out on the march again: a decision that worried Titan, but at the same time, he was forced to respect.
It was with a heavy heart that he followed his siblings, though, afraid of what the days ahead would bring... and only hoping that Sol would not again turn her mind to cruelty to win against these creatures, any more than Morgan would allow love and selfish desire to blind her to what must be done to save the rest of their nation, and all those innocent within.