USE THE SACRED JEWEL SHARD

THEIR SWORDS SLAMMED AGAINST EACH OTHER. INUYASHA SWIPED AT Jurorenmaru; Jurorenmaru leaped out of the way, landing on the roof of a nearby building. Inuyasha leaped after him, the Tetsusaiga raised above his head.

"I'm getting tired of chasing you around!" he screamed as he slashed. Jurorenmaru stepped back, the tip of Inuyasha's sword passing just inches in front of his face. Tetsusaiga sliced into the roof, cutting off a large chunk of concrete and marble. "Damn it!"

"You're slowing down, Inuyasha. Are you getting tired? Or is it that your sword is a bit too heavy for you?"

"Shut the hell up, you son of a bitch."

Jurorenmaru sheathed his swords and raised his arms to his sides. "I'll tell you what, Inuyasha – I'll give you this one for free. Come on; strike me down. End this once and for all!"

"Are you mocking me?"

"I'm giving you one free shot. You'd be an idiot not to take it."

Inuyasha charged for Jurorenmaru, intent on running him through with Tetsusaiga. Jurorenmaru stood in place, unflinching, an just as the tip of Inuyasha's sword was less than a foot away, he stepped aside. He pulled out a sword and placed it next to Inuyasha's neck.

"Shit!"

"I suggest making your next move very carefully," Jurorenmaru said. "The last time I had someone in this situation, Bankotsu lost his head."

"You fought the Band of Seven?" Inuyasha asked.

"I was hired by the local shogun to help the armies fight them. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a fun time. Haven't had as much fun before or since. But enough about dwelling on the past. What's say we finally end this little spat, shall we?"

Inuyasha pushed Jurorenmaru's sword away from his neck. "Fine by me." He slashed at Jurorenmaru with his claws. "IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" Jurorenmaru leaped back. "DAMN IT!"

"I think you should stick with the sword, Inuyasha," Jurorenmaru chuckled as he pulled out his other sword. "Like this." He crossed his swords. They began to glow red. He thrust them forward. "CROSS SLASH!"

"Son of a bitch!" Inuyasha put up his sword, barely managing to deflect the big red "X" that came out of Jurorenmaru's swords. He pushed the "X" away and charged for Jurorenmaru. "You're dead, asshole!"

Their swords clashed.

###########################

Sango had been riding on Kirara for what felt like hours. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were galloping along below them. She had her eyes scanning the city, looking for the best paths to get to the tower. So far they'd passed by several groups of Changelings and some other monsters she couldn't identify – monsters that the ponies called satyrs and cyclopes.

Some time ago, the rain had changed. Instead of raining water, it was raining some milk-like liquid. Pinkie Pie had been ecstatic – she cheered that someone named Discord had made it rain chocolate milk again. Applejack had just rolled her eyes. Sango didn't know what to make of any of it, but kept her thoughts to herself; she had more important matters to focus on.

Kohaku was somewhere in this city.

Sango patted Kirara. "We'll find him. Don't worry."

"Sango! Kirara! Look out!"

Pinkie Pie's warning barely came in time; Kirara swerved to avoid a scythe attached to a chain – Kohaku's primary weapon.

"This means…."

Kohaku was down below, still wearing his armor, twirling his chain around. Kirara landed, allowing Sango to slip off her back. Sango stared at him. It was strange; his eyes weren't glazed over like they normally would if Naraku were controlling him. Instead, he looked like he was in control of himself. He was staring back at Sango. It looked to Sango like he still didn't recognize her – ever since Naraku had brought him back to life with the jewel shard, his memory of Sango had disappeared.

Still, I've got to see if I can try to get through to him.

"Kohaku…."

Pinkie Pie and Applejack came to a stop beside her. Their eyes were fixated on Kohaku.

"Isn't that the boy who told us about the Changelings?" Pinkie Pie asked. "What's he doing here?"

"Let's find out," Applejack said. "Hey, sonny! You've got some explainin' to do! First off, why the hoof are you workin' with the Changelings?"

"I have my orders, pony," Kohaku said. "Guard the prince while he deals with the princess."

"Okay, second question," Pinkie Pie said. She pointed a hoof at Sango. "Don't you know who this is? She's – "

"Pinkie Pie, no," Sango interrupted her. "Please, let me." She turned to Kohaku. "Don't you remember me, Kohaku?"

"I've seen you before, but should I really know who you are?"

No. He really doesn't remember me, Sango thought. Wait, what was it Kagura said before? Remembering how he slaughtered Father and the others would truly destroy him? I know he would never be able to live with the memory. Maybe it's best that he never remembers.

"Sango? You okay, sugar cube?" Applejack asked.

Sango wiped her eyes. "I'm fine." She stepped forward. "I don't want to do this, but…." She took a deep breath. "Kohaku, there are some things that you don't remember. Things that you may never remember. And you know what? Maybe that's for the best. But even so, I can't let you go on."

"What are you saying?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Sango laced her fingers through the Hiraikotsu's hand holds. "Kohaku, I'm sorry, but if you do remember, I know that you'll never be able to live with yourself. So…." Her voice was getting caught in her throat, and tears were stinging her eyes. "Kohaku, I'm sorry, but maybe it's better if you die."

"Whoa whoa whoa, Sango, you ain't sayin' what I think you're sayin', are ya?" Applejack asked.

"Have you gone loco in the coco?" Pinkie Pie added. "You can't do that! This boy's – "

"Both of you, shut up!" Sango snapped. "I'm the one who has to do this! So you two stay out of it!" She threw the Hiraikotsu towards Kohaku.

Kohaku jumped out of the way and threw his chain. It wrapped around the massive boomerang, allowing him to throw it harmlessly away. Once he landed, he tossed his chain at Sango. Sango grabbed it and pulled it out of Kohaku's hands.

Neither of them had any weapons in their hands. Which was fine by Sango. While she preferred using her Hiraikotsu, she wasn't afraid to get up close and personal. She lunged for Kohaku, and before he could react, she punched him as hard as she could, following up with a hard kick to the chest.

Kohaku blocked her next set of attacks. He grabbed her wrist and twisted, throwing her off balance. Another twist of his arm, and he threw her onto her back.

Sango didn't remember Kohaku ever being this strong. Was this really the same boy who felt guilty for swatting a gnat? The same boy who, despite being raised by Demon Slayers, couldn't stand the thought of killing any living creature? Had his time under Naraku's control made him stronger? Had he always been this strong?

All of these thoughts went through Sango's head as Kohaku pulled out his sword and got ready to run her through. He stood over her, the tip of his sword just a few inches from Sango's heart.

"I'm sorry," he said solemnly. "But I can't let you or your pony friends near the prince during his meeting."

"Kohaku! Please don't do this!" Sango cried.

"I have my orders," Kohaku replied, his voice cracking with sorrow. "I'm sorry." He raised the sword and got ready to bring it down.

Sango closed her eyes and turned away. She could feel her tears squeezing through her tightly closed eyelids. She waited, anticipating the feeling of cold steel pressing into her heart.

There was a loud BANG! Sango opened one eye, saw Kohaku lying on the ground a few yards away. She sat up on her elbows and looked around. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were standing nearby, a large blue cannon in front of Pinkie, smoke coming from the barrel.

"Whoo! Party Cannon to the rescue!" Pinkie Pie cried.

"Sango, I mean no offense by this, sugar cube," Applejack said, "but maybe you should stop beatin' 'round the bush and just knock Kohaku out."

"I can't do that," Sango said. "I just – I just can't!" She looked back over to Kohaku. "You understand, don't you, Kohaku? Kohaku?" He was nowhere to be seen.

Applejack walked over to Sango and put a hoof on her shoulder. "I imagine it must be hard, huh, Sango? Fightin' your own kin, with him not even remembering who you are?"

"He doesn't remember anything," Sango said. "Not me, not Father and the others, probably not even his own name. Ever since that night at the castle…."

"What happened, exactly?" Applejack asked.

"Let me guess," Pinkie Pie said as she shoved her cannon out of the way. "He drank some cactus juice and it made him go all loopy and forget some things, right? Nothing a little bit of cider can't fix, I'm sure."

Sango shot Pinkie an angry look. "Pinkie Pie, it was nothing like that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Pinkie said. "Too much cider can really – "

"Pinkie Pie, SHUT UP!" Sango screamed. "You don't know anything about it! You weren't there! You didn't see the way Naraku took control of him and made him kill Father and the other Demon Slayers! You weren't there to see Naraku put that jewel shard in Kohaku's back and take control of him! So stop pretending you know what you're talking about, because you clearly don't, you stupid idiot!"

The two ponies just stared at her, their eyes wide in shock. Pinkie's mane and tail seemed to deflate a little bit, losing some of their puffiness. Applejack's expression changed; she looked at Sango, her eyes scrunched in anger.

"Sango, that was uncalled for."

Sango shook her head. "I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie. I didn't mean to scream at you and call you an idiot. You couldn't have known. It's just that….Kohaku is a touchy subject for me. You understand, don't you?"

"No, I'm sorry," Pinkie replied. "I shouldn't have said all those things. I guess I was being a little insensitive." She shook her head, the puffiness returning to her mane. "Anyway, don't we have somewhere to be?"

"Just one question," Sango said as she picked herself up off the ground. "Where'd that cannon come from? And why didn't it hurt Kohaku?"

"Oh, I never leave home without my Party Cannon," Pinkie Pie said. She pulled the cannon seemingly from nowhere and pressed a button on the top, shooting out several paper streamers. "And I've got a grand total of three of them!"

"O…kay." Sango shook her head. "We've got to get going before the Changelings show up again. We barely got away last time."

"Don't forget your boomerang," Applejack said. "That thing looks really heavy."

Sango picked the Hiraikotsu up off the ground. "It's not heavy to me. Now, let's get going."

##############################

"FOX FIRE!"

A line of green flame leaped from Shippo's hands, engulfing the pursuing Changelings and other assorted monsters – some resembling two-legged goats, some resembling large ogres with one eye. They screamed as their skin cracked and burned.

Their agony only lasted a moment.

Shippo was surprised; his Fox Fire normally had little to no effect other than mild annoyance.

He took a moment to catch his breath; these creatures had been chasing him for a while, and he was starting to get tired. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if they'd caught him. The last thing he wanted was to get torn apart by these things.

The sound of hooves and feet on the stone road caught his attention. He turned in time to see Kagome, Rainbow Dash, and Shining Armor heading towards him, accompanied by another creature he hadn't seen before.

"YAH!" He ducked beneath a nearby pillar that had collapsed. "Kagome, that monster's not going to eat me, is he?"

"Are you crazy?" the creature asked. "I don't eat little kids. By the way, name's Discord. How're ya doing?"

Shippo peaked out from behind the pillar to look at Discord. "You're really not going to eat me?"

"Nope." He looked at the still-burning Changelings. "Huh. Those guys are having a bad night. They could use some help." He sneezed, instantly freezing the Changelings.

And then he clapped his hands, and the frozen Changelings fell apart.

"How'd you do that?" Kagome asked. "Wait, let me guess – chaos powers?"

"Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner!"

"Kagome! Shippo!"

Sango, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Kirara came out of a nearby alley. Sango readied her Hiraikotsu once she laid eyes on Discord. Discord simply held up a hand, stopping here.

"There will be no need for that, missy. I'm not one of the bad guys – least, not anymore. Just ask Pinks and Jackie. Ain't that right, ladies?"

"Eh, you're an okay feller, I guess," Applejack said. "Better than ya was before."

"Yeah, what she said," Pinkie Pie added.

"Okay. I'll take that." He rubbed his hands together. "Okay, so now we have to get to the tower."

"You can just warp us there," Rainbow Dash said.

"But fighting Changelings and satyrs and cyclopes is so much fun," Discord whined.

"But what about Twilight?" Sango asked. "Do you think she can handle that prince all by herself?"

"Are you kidding?" Applejack asked with a quick laugh. "This is Princess Twilight Sparkle we're talking about here. She faced down Nightmare Moon. She put Discord in his place when he was still a sour apple."

"Thank you for reminding me," Discord huffed. "I can still feel that cramp in my leg."

"She returned Cerberus to Tartarus," Applejack continued, ignoring Discord. "And she beat down Tirek. One little Changeling? Please. Twilight can handle him. I think."

#################################

Twilight struggled to break free of Carapace's magical grip. She could feel her blood vessels tightening, felt her muscles burning and the pressure building on her bones. His magic was also hampering her magic, keeping her from casting any spells no matter how hard she tried. It was getting harder for her to breathe; every time she tried, he tightened his grip just a little bit more. It was like she was being squeezed by a large snake; the pressure on her body slowly growing until she was sure it was going to kill her.

"I find it hard to believe that you, of all poniesss, are praisssed asss much asss you are," Carapace hissed. "You purged the hatred and jealousssy from Princccesss Luna when she wasss ssstill Nightmare Moon. You helped reform Dissscord after Cccelessstia brought him back to life. You murdered my sssissster. You persssonally sssent Tirek back to the pitsss of Tartarusss. And yet, you can't ssstand up againssst me. You are pathetic, Twilight Sssparkle." He threw her against the wall, never releasing his grip. "What happened to the power you usssed when you battled Tirek? What happened to all of your magical abilitiesss? You call yourssself a sssavior of Equessstrai? You call yourssself the Ssspirit of Magic? You are nothing. You are weak." He began to tighten his grip even more. "And you will die here and now."

"Carapace!" Cadance yelled. "Stop this! This isn't even a fair fight!"

"I never intended it to be," Carapace replied. "If it were, do you really think I would have a chanccce? No. She would annihilate me, jussst asss she did Chrysssalisss. A fair fight would be detrimental. I would perish. That isss sssomething I cannot allow to happen." He turned his attention back to Twilight. "Now, Princccesss, tell me – are you ready to join my sssissster in death?"

The wall exploded, causing Carapace to release his hold on Twilight. She collapsed to the floor; coughed as she tried to catch her breath. Slowly, she stood up, all four legs shaking.

A large, human-sized hole had been blown through the wall; the force had been enough to knock Kanna to the floor. Twilight followed the light from the hole, which pointed her to Inuyasha, collapsed on a pile of stone bricks.

"Inuyasha! Are you okay?"

Inuyasha sat up, supporting himself with the Tetsusaiga. "Ow! Okay, I guess I've gotta give him that one."

"GET OFF OF ME!"

Carapace jumped up, throwing Inuyasha off of him. He shook his body, shaking some rubble off, before turning his sick green eyes at Inuyasha, glaring angrily at him.

"You dare to attack me, boy?"

"Oh, save it," Inuyasha growled. "It's not like I threw myself at you on purpose."

Jurorenmaru appeared in the hole. "Oh. My Prince. Forgive the interruption. I didn't intend for Inuyasha to land on you like that."

"I'm sssurprisssed you haven't killed him yet, Jurorenmaru."

"If I may be so bold, I could say the same thing about you and the princess."

"Well, I wasss about to."

"Hey, if you two are through," Inuyasha said, "I'd like to commence with the ass kicking. How about it, Twilight? Up for a few rounds?"

Twilight shook her head. "Just….Just give me a minute."

"I don't think that bastard's gonna give you that kind of time."

"The boy isss right. I will not." He turned his attention back to Jurorenmaru. "Would you kindly finish him off while I ssslaughter thessse damn princccesssesss?"

"With pleasure, My Prince."

"Fine. Twilight, you take a break. I'll handle short, black, and ugly first," Inuyasha said. He charged for Carapace. "You're going down!" He swung.

Carapace leaped out of the way. "Not with that ssslow ssswing, I'm not."

"Damn it, you bastard!" He leaped after Carapace. "I'll cut you in half!" Carapace's jaws clamped down on the Tetsusaiga's blade, stopping Inuyasha's swing. "Hey! Let go of my sword, damn it!"

Twilight and Jurorenmaru were just standing off to the side, watching as Inuyasha tried to fling Carapace off of his sword's blade. She glanced over to the other three princesses, who were still struggling against their bonds. Kanna was standing nearby, her face as blank and expressionless as it had been all night.

Now's my chance to free them.

"Dodge left, Carapace!" Jurorenmaru called. "Dodge right! Jump! Watch out for the swing! Be glad he hasn't used the Wind Scar yet!"

"You are not exactly helping!" Carapace yelled. He dodged another swing of the Tetsusaiga.

"Hold still, you little bastard!"

Twilight kept her eyes on Carapace as she made her way over to Luna, Celestia, and Cadance. She didn't want him to see her, at least not yet. When she was close enough, she fired up her magic and let it go, destroying the green substance holding them to the floor and covering their wings and horns.

Celestia immediately fired a blast of magic at Carapace, sending him sprawling against the wall.

"Holy shit," Inuyasha breathed. "Remind me never to piss you off."

"Carapace," Celestia growled. "Your sister attempted to murder Cadance and Twilight. She attempted to slaughter every citizen in my fair city. How can you possibly glorify that sort of action?"

Carapace picked himself up off the floor. "We are Changelingsss, not poniesss. We mussst feed to sssurvive, be it on flesh or emotionsss. Thisss isss who we are, and ssso help me, I will kill everyone in thisss room if that isss what it takesss to avenge our queen!"

"My Prince," Jurorenmaru said, "if I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, why not use the jewel shard I gave you? The Shikon Jewel, even a tiny fragment, grants its user unimaginable power. You can destroy your enemies and potentially conquer the world with it."

"If you even THINK about using the jewel shard, I'll cut you in two," Inuyasha hissed as he adjusted his grip on the Tetsusaiga's handle. "You hear me? I'll kill you!"

Carapace had been holding the jewel shard in the crook of his ear; he used his magic to levitate it in front of him. "More power, hm? The power to conquer the world? Yesss, I sssuppossse I can ussse thisss."

"Like hell you will!" Inuyasha yelled. He charged.

Jurorenmaru quickly stepped in his way, his swords raised. The Tetsusaiga clashed against them.

"Get the hell out of my way, Jurorenmaru!"

"Sorry. No half-breeds allowed."

"Bastard!" He pushed Jurorenmaru back.

Carapace held the jewel shard in front of him. He cocked his head to one side, contemplating what to do.

How isss thisss sssupposssed to work? he thought. Isss there sssome incantation I'm sssupposssed to recccite? Or do I sssimply presss it againssst my body? He pressed the jewel shard against his chest.

Almost instantly, he felt a surge, a rush of power flowing through him. Like a jolt of electricity jumpstarting his heart. He could feel his heart pumping the blood faster and faster through his veins, felt his magical powers growing. It was amazing, the most amazing feeling he'd ever felt! The energy, the power – it was intoxicating!

Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance looked at Carapace, their eyes wide. They'd seen something like this before, but not with a jewel stone. And the way Carapace's eyes were glowing – they were no longer sick green, but rather, blood red – it was very unsettling, as was the way his horn was growing and twisting around, becoming more spiral shaped. His fangs were growing longer and longer, sticking out of the corners of his mouth like a saber-toothed Ursa Major.

"Inuyasha!" Twilight called. "Look at Carapace!"

Inuyasha was still crossing swords with Jurorenmaru. "I'm…a…little…busy…right…now!"

Carapace's laughter filled the room. "Yesss! I can feel it! I can feel the power flowing through me! It isss amazing!" He turned his eyes towards Twilight and the princesses. "And now, Your Royal Majessstiesss, the time hasss come for you to perish."

I will forever be reminded

Of how I ssstruggled to sssurvive

The battle that you had ssstarted

All that devotion thrown away

Inuyasha glanced over at Carapace. "Tell me he's not really doing what I think he is."

"Yes, I believe he is," Jurorenmaru said. "How odd."

And with everything I confided

I should have known not to trussst again

But at the end of the fighting

There will be nothing left to dessstroy

I'm becoming ssso overjoyed

And your world will sssoon be dessstroyed

In a moment

You will sssee my other ssside

When I'm confronted

Everyone had better run and hide

Hell hasss broken free tonight

No pale deccception anymore

You awoke me, now I will feed on the liesss

I demand your sssacrificcce

"His power," Cadance whispered. "It's almost palpable. Can you all feel it?"

"Can I feel it? I taste it," Twilight said.

I can barely control thisss feeling

Look at the murder in my eyesss

I wasss never good at concccealing

Violent thoughtsss have come to life

Horror will have a deeper meaning

You are the reassson this began

Even now I can hear you ssscreaming

There'sss only one thing left to dessstroy

And I'll be ssso overjoyed

That you will finally be dessstroyed

"Will you cut that out?" Inuyasha yelled as he deflected a series of blows from Jurorenmaru. "You're throwing off my concentration!"

In a moment

You will sssee my other ssside

When I'm confronted

Everyone had better run and hide

Hell hasss broken free tonight

No pale deccception anymore

You awoke me, now I will feed on the liesss

I demand your sssacrificcce

Hell hassss broken free tonight

No pale decccception anymore

You awoke me, now I will feed on the liesss

Hell hasss broken free tonight

No pale deccception anymore

You awoke me, now I will feed on the liesss

I demand your sssacrificcce

Inuyasha leaped away from Jurorenmaru to join the princesses. "Are you done? Seriously, I thought you'd never stop singing. Do you have any idea how damn distracting that is?"

Carapace's horn began to glow; his magical aura was no longer sick green, but rather, a deep magenta. "It doesssn't matter. Sssoon you will all be dead, and I will finally have my revenge." He fired a magical blast at them, manifesting it as a large fireball.

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance leaped in front of Inuyasha and Twilight and fired their own magic. Their beams halted the fireball, but it was clear that they wouldn't hold out for very long.

"His magic's too powerful!" Luna cried. "We can't hold it back much longer!"

Twilight joined in, firing up her horn and launching a beam of magic. Slowly, the four magic blasts began to push the fireball back.

"WHAT?!" Carapace yelled. "Inconccceivable!" He turned to Jurorenmaru. "I thought you sssaid thisss jewel shard would make me more powerful!"

"Even the sacred jewel has its limits," Kanna said, her voice so quiet Carapace could barely hear her.

"Allow me to lend my assistance, My Prince," Jurorenmaru said. He crossed his swords. "CROSS SLASH!" His attack cut through the fireball and started pushing against the alicorns' magic.

Inuyasha stepped up next to them, the Tetsusaiga raised above his head. Energy began swirling around the blade. "I was waiting for something like that." He swung the sword, sending the energy out. "BACKLASH WAVE!"

The energy swirled around Jurorenmaru's attack, pushing it back towards him. Jurorenmaru's eyes grew wide with fear.

"Oh shit."

That wasn't the only thing the energy was doing – it was going out in all directions, hitting the roof, the walls, the floor. Everyone in the room ducked to avoid the energy.

Kanna sidled over to the window, just as Kagura appeared, still riding her feather. "Kanna, get on." Kanna climbed out of the window, barely avoiding a blast, which bore a large hole in the wall.

"You fool!" Carapace yelled. "Your attack isss going to bring the tower down with all of usss in it!"

"Everypony out!" Celestia cried. "Now!" She, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight flew out of the window.

Inuyasha turned to follow them. "See you on the ground, ya bastards." Jurorenmaru quickly stepped to get in his way. "What the – ?"

"You're not going anywhere, Inuyasha," he said as he began his attack.

################################

Arachnae dodged the rubble as it fell from the tower. More and more chunks of stone and iron were falling as the tower began to collapse. Something inside had caused the structure to become compromised, and even though Arachnae was trying to avoid getting crushed, he couldn't help but wonder if his prince was still alive.

He leaped back, barely avoiding getting hit by a large piece of marble.

"Princcce Carapaccce, pleassse give me sssome sssign that you are ssstill alive."

He watched the four alicorns descend from the tower, just as two of the people who were with them before flew away on what looked like a large feather.

Twilight, Luna, Celestia, and Cadance landed nearby. He fired up his horn, ready to blast them.

"Where isss my princcce?" he snarled. "What have you done with him?!"

"Your prince is probably going to end up crushed in the tower when it falls," Twilight said. "Serves him right."

"I will not have you ssspeak about my princcce like that!" He fired his magic.

Twilight put up her barrier, absorbing Arachnae's blast. "Forget it, Arachnae. Your prince is as good as dead."

"Just like you, you monster," Celestia said darkly. She fired up her horn; its bright yellow aura was almost blinding. She focused her magic towards Arachnae, tapping into something she had only ever used once, a long time ago, before King Sombra was turned to shadow and banished into the frigid arctic north.

Arachnae's body became surrounded by the same yellow aura that surrounded Celestia's horn. He could feel his body vibrating. He could feel the pressure building.

And he could feel the pain as his front legs were crushed.

His scream echoed throughout the city, only growing louder as his hind legs were crushed into nothingness. He felt the pressure growing on his body, felt his abdominal section getting crushed.

His mouth was still open, but no sound was coming out. And it stayed that way for a few more seconds, before Celestia used her magic to make Arachnae's head explode.

And that was when the tower collapsed in a pile of stone and iron and a large cloud of dust.