Their course was set: they were on the return to Canterlot, to gather more supplies and develop new methods of fighting back against the threat of the Tyrant Wyrm. They had repelled at least part of the invasion, and Sol felt that this was not a foe any army could march against: not with the terrible powers that the Wyrms had.
No, it would be better to train the armies of Equestria to learn to repel and survive the invasions of the Wyrm, how to defy them and defeat them. But hunting down the source and the pack-lords among the beasts, that was something that Sol wanted to do with only her siblings at her side.
But the thorn in her hoof was Veliuona: she did not want to leave the dark goddess in Canterlot, where she could work her malign manipulations over the ponies there. Nor did she want to bring Veliuona with her: she was not blind to the fact that the Goddess of Cursed Shades seemed to have some strange and evil intent on Morgan, whatever she might say otherwise. Worse still was the fact that Veliuona walked with an army of the dead. There was no telling what they would do, clustered in the home of the living...
Sol had at least devised a partial solution: she had asked Veliuona to divide up her army of the dead, to send small contingents to every city around Equestria, where they would help defend them against attacks from Tyrant Wyrms. Veliuona had agreed... although she had been less pleased when she had discovered Sol had already sent messengers on ahead to warn of the incoming platoons of living dead, and that shelters were to be erected for them outside of city bounds. Sol knew it was still dangerous, like having caged beasts outside the city walls for defense. But it was better than having the undead inside the cities, and it was far better still than having that entire army congregating in one area.
Sol did not know what she would ask Veliuona herself to do: as much as she valued the Goddess of Cursed Shades as an ally - whether she would admit that or not - she didn't trust her. She hated her, and perhaps feared her, and most of all, did not understand the creature, nor was willing to acknowledge what similarities they possessed.
Veliuona, however, helpfully provided a solution for her: she wished to return to her own dark tower, where she could gather more Velites and soldiers to bring forward to their cause. Sol disliked the idea of the goddess bolstering her armies further, but all the same, knew it was necessary. If the people of Equestria were to survive the wrath of the Wyrms while she and her siblings searched for the source of this evil, then they would need every weapon and defense they could find, and the undead were the only creatures they knew of that could withstand the poisons of the Tyrant thralls.
So there, at the crossroads to Canterlot, they went their separate ways: yet Sol knew this was far from the last time she would see Veliuona... and she did not know whether or not she hoped that the next time they met would be as friend, or as enemy.
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