Now then, on with the show!

New Canterlot Palace, 2 years, 6 months after Day 1

The palace was the first to be plotted in the city's construction, but the last to be built. So far only the throne room and the halls leading up to it have been truly 'finished'.

LordCaptain Griffin and Sir Aoi were attending Princess Celestia, the captain's distaste for such an uncharacteristic act as drinking tea with the Princess was beaten down by a desire to keep her from falling deeper into depression. Ever since the battle with The Smooze cost her her right eye and both wings, she's been steadily declining in health and happiness. With Knightmare gone, she needed someone to keep her company, at least until her little 'pet' came back from his search for answers to the mysterious 'Herald'.

Outside, a buffeting sound could be heard, drawing the trio's attention away from their tea.

"Is he....?" Celestia began, drawing concerned looks from the two hardened warriors.

Outside the throne room, a deafening CRASH erupted from the courtyard, causing the trio to leap to their feet, Celestia's mechanical wings spreading, and Griffin's own wing revving up. Several more loud thuds came, getting progressively closer until, with a silence-shattering slam, the doors to the throne room came crashing down, kicking up a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, it revealed Nyx, The Nightmare herself...

But...

This wasn't the proud demon-mare that ensnared Princess Luna, not the playfully vengeful warrior that brought Octavia to heel, nor the compassionate specter that saved Scootaloo's life.

No, the Nyx before them was, literally, crying blood, gashes all across her face and muzzle hinting that her eyes may be downright destroyed. Her wings were mangled, the feathers torn out completely, and her horn was shattered, as if crushed flat against her skull.

"H-houston...w-we have a p-p-problem...." The demon-queen was able to croak out, before collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap, unable to move any further.

On instinct the three royal warriors bolted as guards marched forward to tend to the injured Nightmare. Rushing downt he hall, leaping over the fallen doors, Griffin spotted a familiar grey face ahead.

"ROOK!" The LordCaptain shouted, "What the hell just happened!?"

"You'll have to see it for yourself, Griffin...." He just stood there, shock and horror plain on the gargoyle's face. Swallowing his growing worry, Griffin was the first to bolt out into the courtyard, and stopped dead in his tracks.

"..M-mother of god...." laid out before the three was The Ragnarok, Knightmare's airship. But like Nyx, to say it had seen better days would be an understatement. The flexible blade-cannon that would rain down holy thunder on its foes was bent and twisted in ways impossible to be a mere accident. The once proud symbol of the Dragon-Horse at the prow of the ship looked as if it had been cleaved in half, with part of the mangled gold skull hanging limply, and the other looking as if it was melted by dragonfire. The hull was literally only sticking on through spit, duct tape, and prayers, having looked like someone took a giant anti-magic can opener to it. The twin engines were wrecked almost beyond repair, the corkscrew drills bent and twisted in impossible angles, and the propellers overhead shouldn't, and couldn't keep the ship aloft any longer, with all save the middle mangled beyond imagining, and one set even tied in a knot.

Standing atop the ruined prow was Octavia, Knightmare's first mate, using the scorched and shredded remnants of her beloved cello as a cane, trying to stand proud even as her left hind leg bled out, having been ripped off save a few strings of tendons keeping it dragging behind her. The mare...attempted to smile, but her shattered jaw made it nearly impossible to do painlessly.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't escape injury, either, as three bruised little fillies poked their heads over the side of the ship, dropping down a rope ladder and waving the trio to come up. Complying with them, Griffin had immediately wished that at least Celestia hadn't.

"W-what happened here?" Aoi said, surprise and horror in his voice for the first time in too many years. Arrayed about was Knightmare's crew, with Vinyl Scratch resting under a bloodstained tarp, Bonbon uncontrollably shifting between her pony and changeling forms, crying relentlessly over Lyra, who's bruised and battered head rested in the changeling mare's own horribly mangled legs, the seafoam unicorn's gaze locked on her golden gauntlets, the formerly shimmering mechanical hands having been crushed so badly that they nearly fused with her forehooves, spilling blood all over the mangled deck.

Surrounding the mostly undamaged central propeller were several changelings, all of them exhausted, having been forced to keep the ship aloft through brute strength and willpower, with the red-dust fuel having been lost some time ago. It seemed nothing escaped damage, and none of the crew of formerly dozens was willing to do much more than cry, whether in pain or for lost lovers and friends....

Celestia approached the captain's cabin, dreading the worst, with her two warrior companions following close behind. She gently raps her hoof against the door, fear welling up inside of her. The one who answers is her beloved niece, Cadance, the bloodied princess wrapping her hooves around Celestia's neck, crying uncontrollably. Behind her, Shining Armor attempts a salute, but the horribly twisted hoof simply falls limp, and he sets it back down with a whimper.

Silently, Celestia looks for the one being she wishes to see, tears welling in her eyes. Cadance, almost reading her mind, leads her to a bed at the back of the room, lifting the sheet.

Laying there was what might have, at one point, been Sir Knightmare Demonbane.

When asked later, Griffin's best description was 'Changeling turned ground beef'.

With his carapace shredded, Knightmare was, literally, bound in sheets just to keep his innards from spilling across the floor. Gasping for air, the changeling whispers something into Celestia's ear, and she responds...

"I love you, too..." The princess breaks down in tears, unable to even think any longer. Griffin braves the journey past the sobbing immortal.

"g-griff..." Knightmare says, his voice distorted by the blood in his throat. "we...have a....si-sit-situation...."

"What kind of situation?" The pirate-king asks.

"We have...six months to prepare....i-if we fail...we all die. The EndGame has begun."

"Then let's get ready." Griffin slams the door open and begins doing what he does quite well, barking orders.

"Aoi! Track down echo and see if you can get in touch with Skeleton Jack!" The Lunar Legend nods and leaps from the ship, his Genji Gear increasing his already intense speed to the point where he kicks up a small tornado with his sprinting.

"LAW! LUNA!" The pony princess and her apprentice teleport on board the ship. "Find the Freuds and get this ship in combat shape, I want this fucker raining death by the end of the week!" The duo salute and leap off of the ship to take stock of the situation.

"Crusaders!" The CMC perk up, "Get inside the palace and find Nyx, she's having a mental breakdown, and Scoots, see if you can contact Zeta, we need all d the help we can get."

"Barricade, Harbinger!" The Pegasus and earth Pony captains drop onto the deck of the Ragnarok, "Find a medical team and get them here NOW! There's a fuckton of major injuries that need tending too. And when you're done, gather your troops, it's time to kick your training into overdrive."

"Octavia!" The cello-wielding mare turns around, "As the first mate, until Knightmare's back from the hospital, you're in charge of the Ragnarok."

"ROOK!" The gargoyle looks up from the ground, "Get mobile and start tracking down as many Chess Pieces as you can! We're gonna need all of the help we can get! I'm gonna go find Fudge and get my crew and the New Dominion army ready! And we'd best BE ready before the End Game hits! We've got six months to prepare, people, let's MOVE IT!"