THE FALL OF PRINCE CARAPACE

DISCORD TOOK A DEEP BREATH, INHALING SOME DUST AND CLEARING IT AWAY. What he didn't get was cleared away by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. What they saw was a scene of devastation – the tower was no longer standing; it was lying in a pile of shattered marble blocks and twisted iron rods. Some nearby buildings – all parts of the Royal Palace – had had their roofs caved in or were flattened completely.

Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were standing a good thirty yards from the rubble, coughing and hacking as they tried to get the dust out of their noses and throats.

"Twilight! Celestia! Luna! Cadance! Are you all okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're fine," Cadance said. "But that boy…."

"Inuyasha was in the tower when it fell!" Twilight cried. "He did something when Jurorenmaru attacked, some kind of wave, he called it, and that's what –"

"He used the Backlash Wave in confined quarters?" Miroku asked. "That move is dangerous enough in open spaces, but in a tower?"

"That idiot!" Kagome yelled. "Inuyasha, you moron!"

The rubble moved as Inuyasha threw some shattered marble off of him. "Hey! Who are you calling an idiot and a moron?" He stood up, having to use the Tetsusaiga for support; it had reverted back to its rusty sword form.

"Are you okay?" Rarity asked. "You look like you're hurt."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Please. These are just scratches. My body's build much stronger than any of yours."

Discord got close, practically pressing his face against Inuyasha's. "Is that right?"

"Whoa!" He slashed at Discord with his claws; missed. "Hey, you freak of nature. Hasn't anyone ever told you about personal space?"

"Nope."

The rubble moved again. Inuyasha turned and raised the Tetsusaiga; it transformed back into its demon form. The only question on his mind was, who was climbing out? Was it Carapace? Or was it Jurorenmaru?

A hand appeared.

A human hand.

The rest of the body followed.

Jurorenmaru's body was broken and bleeding; his right arm and both legs had been crushed. Only his left arm was intact, and even then, the bones of his forearm were sticking out of the skin. His left eye had been swollen shut, and blood was pouring out of his nose and mouth.

He crawled forward, digging his fingers into the ground and pulling himself along.

"That sure is one persistent dude," Rainbow Dash said.

"I must…" Jurorenmaru breathed. "I must…complete…my…." He was silenced by the blade of the Tetsusaiga going through the back of his head.

All the ponies winced.

"Ouch. Extreme much?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Inuyasha, I must say, that was a little overboard, don't you think?" Rarity put in.

"Overboard my ass. Bastard had it coming." He turned to Kagome. "Do you see the jewel shard anywhere?"

"Yeah, it's moving," Kagome said.

"But how?" Shippo asked. "Jewel shards don't move on their own."

"Carapace used it," Twilight said. "It made him more powerful. It must have saved him from the tower collapse, too."

The rubble exploded in a shower of stone and metal as Carapace stood up. He was bleeding from various cuts all over his body, but other than that, he was in much better shape than Jurorenmaru had been. He turned to the alicorns, his face twisted in rage, his teeth bared in an angry snarl.

"I will not be denied my vengeanccce!"

"Shut up for once," Inuyasha said. He tightened his grip on the Tetsusaiga. "Are you ready to die, asshole?"

Twilight stepped past him. "Back off, Inuyasha. He's mine."

"Have you lost your little pony mind?" Inuyasha barked. "He was kicking your ass a moment ago!"

"Yeah, well, it's time I returned the favor. Trust me. I can do this!" She charged for Carapace. "Like Inuyasha said – you're going down!" They slammed into each other, their horns crossing like swords.

"You foolish filly. How can you hope to sssurvive? You could barely ssstand up to me earlier. You needed the intervention of that boy to even hope to have a chanccce."

"Shut up, you piece of –" Carapace started pushing her back. His entire body was starting to glow. "No!"

"Thisss jewel shard hasss granted me great power," Carapace said. "It will allow me to dessstroy you, and everything you hold dear. I will conquer thisss world. The new Changeling Empire will be born!"

A stray magic blast hit him in the side of the face. He glanced over. Shining Armor's horn was glowing, surrounded by a deep magenta aura.

"My little sister is NEVER going to be beaten by someone like you."

"Isss that ssso, Captain? Well, jussst you watch."

Twilight fired up her horn and used her magic to throw Carapace back. "You think you can win? Do you really think I'll let you? Face it, Carapace – your army is dead, and soon, you're going to join them!" She got ready to fire her magic again. "Are you ready to join your sister in hell?"

"QUIET!"

Twilight fired her magic. Carapace countered with his own. The two beams met, pushed against each other, tried to gain the advantage. Twilight strained against Carapace's power; she hadn't imagined that the jewel shard would make him so strong. He was starting to overtake her.

I can't let him win. I just can't!

"You got this, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"You can beat that monster," Fluttershy said.

"Don't let him win!" Rarity cried.

"Finish him off!" Applejack yelled.

Pinkie Pie had donned a cheerleader's outfit and was doing a cheer like she were at a game of hoofball. "Twilight, Twilight, she's our gal! She'll kick that Changeling's evil tail! GOOOOOOO TWILIGHT! WHOO!"

"You must win, Twilight," Celestia said.

"Yes," Luna added. "For Equestria's sake."

"Don't let that monster beat you," Cadance chimed in.

"I believe in you, little sis," Shining Armor said.

"You've got more power than he does," Miroku said. "I know that you can beat him."

"Use up all of your power if you have to, just defeat him!" Sango cried.

"Kick his butt!" Shippo yelled.

"You can win, Twilight," Kagome said. "We all believe in you."

"Yeah, what they said," Inuyasha put in. "Kick his ass! Kill that son of a bitch!"

My friends are all cheering for me. I can't let them down! She began to pour more power into her attack.

She began to push Carapace back.

"Imposssible!" Carapace shouted. "Earlier you couldn't land a blow! How can you be doing thisss?"

"Do you really want to know?" Twilight asked. "Fine. I'll tell you. When I left Canterlot to move to Ponyville before Nightmare Moon showed up, I didn't believe that making friends would be important, not if the fate of Equestria was at stake. But I learned that friends are the most important things in a pony's life. If it weren't for them, I would never have freed Princess Luna of her hate, I would never have withstood Discord's spells, I would never have found the Crystal Heart, I would never have tamed the Everfree Forest, I would never have defeated Tirek, I would never have foiled Starlight Glimmer's plans! I would never have gotten where I am today if it weren't for my friends! I have what it takes to destroy you, Carapace! All thanks to the magic of friendship!" Her magic overtook Carapace's and hit him straight on.

Twilight deactivated her magic. The beam faded away. Carapace was still standing, encased in a red bubble – a magic barrier.

"What? NO!"

"An impresssive ssspeech. But bold wordsss are not enough."

Inuyasha charged for him. "You know, you're really starting to become a real pain in the ass!" His sword began to glow red. "Your barrier is coming down! WIND SCAR!"

The Wind Scar hit, shattering the barrier and knocking Carapace to the ground.

"WHAT? HOW?"

Twilight fired up her horn again. Instead of blasting Carapace, a light began to spread from it, a light that encased Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

"I'm going to need your help to finish this battle. We still have the power from the chest. So let's use it!"

There was a flash, and the six ponies' appearances had changed. Their coats and Cutie Marks were still the same, but their manes and tail were much longer and flowing, with multi-colored stripes running through them. Light sparkled off of their bodies, converging to a point at Twilight's horn.

She fired the light at Carapace, who countered with his own magic.

The light quickly overtook Carapace's magic. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor joined in, firing their own magic. Discord took a deep breath and let it out, spewing forth a stream of fire. Miroku took some blessed sutras out of his kimono and threw them. Santo threw her Hiraikotsu. Shippo tossed a fireball. Kagome let an arrow fly.

The blade of the Tetsusaiga crystalized. "You're through!" He swung the sword, sending out a shower of crystal shards. "ADAMANT BARRAGE!"

All the attacks hit Carapace at once. He let out one last cry of pain before his body was obliterated, leaving nothing but the broken pieces behind.

"Kagome, the jewel shard! Quick! Before he has a chance to regenerate!" Inuyasha called.

"I've got it," Kagome said as she hurried over. She plucked the jewel shard from what was left of Carapace's torso. The skin and muscle melted away from the pieces of his body, leaving only the steaming bones behind.

Everyone let out a long sigh of relief. The powers that Twilight had granted herself and her friends dissipated.

"Glad we finally got it," Inuyasha said.

"Yeah," Kagome replied. "Who knows what sort of damage –"

A Saimyosho swooped down and plucked the jewel shard from her hand. "Hey!"

The large insect flew up to a large feather hovering above them – Kagura, Kanna, and Kohaku. The Saimyosho dropped the jewel shard into Kagura's open hand.

"Kagura! Give that back!" Inuyasha yelled.

"See you at home," Kagura said as they flew off.

"Damn it!"

"Let her go," Miroku said. "It's not like it changes anything. Naraku hasn't lost or gained any of the Shikon Jewel, after all."

Twilight was about to say something, but before she could, she collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Darkness followed a moment later.

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

Her eyes slowly fluttered open. Her vision was blurry, but she could still make out the concerned faces looking down at her. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were gathered around her, concern and worry filling their eyes.

"Thank goodness, she's coming around," Celestia said. She put a gentle hoof on Twilight's forehead. "Are you okay, my student?"

"I feel kind of lousy," Twilight replied. "How long has it been?"

"Almost a week," Cadance said. "I used my healing spell to fix your wounds, but you still didn't wake up. For a minute we all thought you were dead. We took turns watching you."

"What about Canterlot?" Twilight asked.

"Hush, young one," Luna said. "Clean up and reconstruction has already begun. Your friends have been helping."

Twilight turned away. "I can't help but feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn't killed Chrysalis back then, none of this would be happening."

"Twilight, don't be silly," Cadance said. "If you hadn't killed Chrysalis, I wouldn't be here right now. And besides, this wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for what that monster Carapace did."

"I guess you're right. But still, I feel responsible somehow."

Cadance draped a wing over her sister-in-law, pulling her in for a light hug. "You're not. Please, don't beat yourself up over it."

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up."

They all turned to the door, where Inuyasha was standing. He was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed.

"How long have you been there?" Celestia asked.

"Long enough to hear your sappy conversation," Inuyasha said. "You'll be happy to know that the dead have all been cleaned up. Miroku's performing a ceremony for them right now. He says it's supposed to help grant them safe passage to the afterlife, or some bullshit like that. The point is, you won't be stepping over any more corpses."

"Well that was…nice of Miroku to do," Cadance said. She whispered to Twilight. "He's not very friendly, is he?"

"He's just a little stressed out," Twilight whispered back. "He's generally a pretty good guy underneath."

"You two DO realize I can hear you, right?" Inuyasha asked. He indicated his ears. "Dog ears. Very good at hearing things."

"Has cleanup of all the rubble begun?" Twilight asked.

"We started that days ago," Celestia said. "Progress has been going very well. Don't forget, we've gotten quite proficient at rebuilding Canterlot. Remember how the Decepticons trashed it?"

"Please don't remind me."

"Okay, I'm going back out there," Inuyasha said. "But I'm saying right now – if Rarity keeps complaining about getting dirt and blood out of her hair, I'm going to kick her."

"You kick her," Twilight said, "and I'll shove my horn up your –"

"I think we get the idea, Twilight," Celestia told her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Thank you." She turned to Inuyasha. "And thank you as well. You've helped us out a lot in your short time here."

"Hey, don't get me wrong, we only came here for the sacred jewel shard. But now that Kagura's got it back, there's not much reason for us to stick around, except to help clean up our mess." He turned and walked out the door.

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

It had been three days since Twilight had regained consciousness, and most of Canterlot had already been cleaned up. Like Celestia had said, they had gotten proficient in cleaning up after a devastating event such as this.

Shining Armor had already begun recruiting new stallions to join the Canterlot Royal Guard. Inuyasha and his friends were ready to go home – Twilight couldn't blame them. This wasn't their land, and going by their story, they still had to find the rest of the shards of the Shikon Jewel before their enemies did.

Celestia had convinced them to stay until after the ceremony.

The ceremony wasn't until later in the day, which allowed Twilight some time to observe the damage. Now, in the light of day, she could see the extent of it all. It didn't look as bad as she had expected – but then again, they had been cleaning up for nearly a week; that was more than enough time to fix up some damage.

She trotted over to where the tower had been. Most of the rubble had already been cleared away, but that wasn't why she was here. She made her way over to where Carapace had been standing. She could still see the blotches of dried blood.

"Carapace, you monster," she hissed. "Look what you've done to Canterlot. I used to call this city home, and your desire for revenge nearly destroyed it. Again. You make me sick. All Changelings make me sick. I never want to see your kind again. You and your sister can burn in hell."

Cadance had told her that what had happened wasn't her fault, but Twilight still felt guilty. Carapace had come looking for her; he had set a trap, and she had sprung it. Sure, Carapace may have died in the end, but did it matter? None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for Twilight.

There had always been the possibility that Chrysalis had had siblings, or a family of some kind. Twilight had never doubted that. Maybe there were still some Changelings out there, and maybe one day they too would come seeking revenge.

"We'll beat them. We'll beat them like we always do. Just like we beat you, Carapace."

You walk on like a woman in suffering

Won't even bother now to tell me why

You come alone, letting all of us savor the moment

Leaving me broken another time

You come on like a bloodstained hurricane

Leave me alone, let me be this time

You carry on like a holy man pushing redemption

I don't want to mention, the reason I know

That I am stricken and can't let you go

When the heart is cold, there's no hope, and we know

That I am crippled by all that you've done

Into the abyss will I run

You don't know what your power has done to me

I want to know if I'll heal inside

I can't go on with a holocaust about to happen

Seeing you laughing another time

You'll never know why your face has haunted me

My very soul has to bleed this time

Another hole in the wall of my inner defenses

Leaving me breathless, the reason I know

That I am stricken and can't let you go

When the heart is cold, there's no hope, and we know

That I am crippled by all that you've done

Into the abyss will I run

Into the abyss will I run

You walk on like a woman in suffering

Won't even bother now to tell me why

You come alone, letting all of us savor the moment

Leaving me broken another time

You come on like a bloodstained hurricane

Leave me alone, let me be this time

You carry on like a holy man pushing redemption

I don't want to mention, the reason I know

That I am stricken and can't let you go

When the heart is cold, there's no hope, and we know

That I am crippled by all that you've done

Into the abyss will I run

Into the abyss will I run

I can't let you go

Yes I am stricken and can't let you go

"Twilight."

Twilight looked over her shoulder. Shining Armor was standing nearby. She was glad to see him on his hooves again; Cadance's healing spell had worked better on him, it seemed.

"What is it, Shining Armor?"

"Luna sent me to fetch you. The ceremony's going to start in a little bit. Come on; we have to get to the audience chamber."

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

The audience chamber was filled with ponies from all over Canterlot, and a few from Ponyville. Twilight hadn't seen the audience chamber this full since her coronation.

She glanced over at Inuyasha and his friends. They were from another world, so she expected them to be a little surprised. But oddly enough, the only one showing any sign of surprise was Inuyasha.

Actually, he looked more annoyed than anything.

"Let's just get this over with," he silently growled. "We got things we need to do."

Kagome elbowed him in the stomach, shutting him up. "Just go along with it, would you?"

Celestia flared her wings, silencing the audience, before she spoke.

"We are gathered here today to remember those who gave their lives during the battle with the Changeling Army. Their sacrifices mean a great loss to us, but they were not in vain. The Changeling Army has been defeated, thanks to the brave efforts of our own Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor, as well as the Elements of Harmony, Discord, and our foreign visitors. If it hadn't been for them, the damage would have been much more severe, and Canterlot could have been completely destroyed. We owe them our thanks. And we owe them our lives."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," Inuyasha huffed. "Now can we get going? We got shit we need to do."

A loud, collective gasp filled the audience chamber as all eyes turned to him. Kagome's eyes were burning with anger.

"Oh crud," he silently squeaked.

"Inuyasha…."

"No, please, no no no, not that!"

"SIT!"

Inuyasha's necklace dragged him face-first into the floor. The audience chamber erupted in laughter and applause.