Author's note
This story has 3 chapters left until it's finally done. Two characters will die (both are my favorites sadly), so get your tissues handy, folks.

 

Chapter 12: Assault on Canterlot

 

Megan and her friends enter the city, heading to the palace. Upon reaching a lava area, the ground underneath begins to break, until it stops a few feet from where everyone's at.

"No turning back now." Megan said to her friends seriously.

The group continues on until they saw a familiar unicorn and alicorn arriving. Nyx exclaims, "Uncle Shiny, Aunt Cadance!"

"Hey kiddo, looks like you all made it." Shining said to Nyx with a smile.

"Wait, where's Aunt Luna?" Cadance ask in concern to the group, "And Spitfire?"

"There were killed during our fight with Discord, along with Lorcam." Alpha Prime said in sadness. "We couldn't save them."

"Oh...well, it's okay. They know what they themselves are getting into, as are we."

Sure enough, everyone saw a gruesome sight: the Crystal Ponies and the Flutterponies are fighting off the armies of Celestia, killing off the corrupted ponies. Shining yells out in determination, "Keep at it, everyone! We will need the distraction to get in to finish off Celestia!"

One of the Crystal Ponies finish off a Unicorn Royal Guard while saluting Shining then goes back to the fighting. Another Earth Pony Royal Guard swung his ax at him but a Flutterpony blocks the attack.

"We must go." Cadance said to the group sternly. "These ponies will hold them off as best as they could. Come on!"

The group heads off to the palace arriving to the palace. Just then a few of the Royal Guards arriving, preparing to kill them...but then a pony jumps in, slashing and killing them all.

The group looks startled as they saw that their savior looks like Pinkie Pie but her mane and tail were flattened and she got a creepy look on her face.

Rainbow gasps, "Pinkie Pie?! No way! We killed her!"

"Actually, this looks like Pinkie Pie but it's actually Pinkamena Diane Pie...my little sister as it were." Golden Heart explains to his friends with a smile.

"Hi everypony, Megie," Pinkamena said while waving a hoof to the group. "Glad for my help?"

"So you're the one who helped us during our adventure so far!" Rarity exclaims in surprise and realization.

"Yes, she's the one who show us to the Diamond Dogs and help us fight Discord and Pinkie Pie..." Megan said thoughtfully while smiling.

"Eeyup; I figure may as well stop hiding in the shadows now!" Pinkamena exclaims with a smile. "Come on, we got to take care of the corrupted princess."

"Right, mother is waiting." Ben said seriously.

The group fight off the Royal Guards and the Lava Demons with Pinkamena using her knives on two Royal Guards, Cadance with her powers on two more and Shining slashed through a Pegasus Royal Guard. Sweetie uses the Ice Wand the Lava Demon.

The remaining Royal Guards try to go after them, but ends up falling into the lava. Megan nods while saying, "We are closer to our goal than before."

The group reaches the entrance of the castle...then gasps in shock. They find a group of statues look familiar. Too familiar; They look like Optimus Prime and his friends.

"No it can't be." Alpha Prime said in a stunned way.

The gang rushes to the statues. Nyx looks at one statue while saying in sadness, "Bumblebee."

"You don't think...she did this?" Rarity asks Twilight who appears, looking down in sadness.

"Oh yes she did. When those metal foals begged the princess to stop, she turned them all to stone." Twilight sighs a bit.

Alpha Prime looks down, ready to cry. Fred said to the alicorn robot, "Hey...it's okay. I betcha when we save our world, they can change back."

"Right, no need to cry," Ed encourages Alpha Prime who looks at the Changelings. "Otherwise..."

"Yes, I understand. Thank you for the kind words...for Changelings." Alpha Prime said with a smile, making the two Changelings feel good for their words.

"What is this horrible place?" Scootaloo ask in concern while glancing at the palace. "Could this be what used to be Canterlot Palace?"

"Unfortunately," Cadance said in sadness. "It looks worst as Midnight Castle from centuries ago."

"It's worst than we thought." Shining said seriously. "We must find the path around the tower to continue."

"Ugh, disgusting!" Apple Bloom exclaims in disgust, but the ponies knew that they don't have a choice now.

"Come on, we can't stay here and do nothing." Megan said to her friends in encouragement. "Equestria needs us, all of us."

The group follows the path around the gross tower, jumping over to the rocky bridge and getting to the other side. They saw some dead Royal Guards while climbing up the solid part of the tower.

"Looks like some ponies got here before we did." Pinkamena said with a smile of amusement of her face.

"Where did you come from, actually?" Ben asks Pinkamena though she grins madly to her.

"That's for me to know and you to find out later, Benny!"

The group saw the Royal Guards firing their attacks at them. Nyx calls out, "Quick; The Jackbomb!"

Ben throws the Jackbomb at the Royal Guards, causing them to blow up. Now they jump down to the right side, entering a hole in a wall. Megan's group follows the path, climbing different stones while killing off many Mini-Devils, the remaining Discord Spawns, Boojums, Phantasamagoria, and the Royal Guards, getting a lot of essences in the progress.

"There's a door." Sweetie said, spotting a door nearby. "We should go this way."

Megan opens the door, making her friends scream, gasping in shock. There are some corpses on the floor, some of them are old friends of the ponies. They have been either killed by Celestia or the Royal Guards.

"Oh man, some of those are our friends." Rainbow said in sadness while looking at corpses of her friends.

"We must move on..." Shining said seriously. "Once we stopped Celestia...there may be a slim chance that they could be back to life."

"But how can we restore Equestria? The Elements are useless without Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy." Rarity explains to Shining in sadness.

"I'm sure there's another way...wait, Megan has used the Elements back when they were the Rainbow of Light, right?"

"Wait, it was...well, yes, I did!" Megan exclaims in surprise and concern. "But...it has been a long time and..."

"You can do it, Megan." Cadance said, putting a hoof on Megan's shoulder. "The Elements may been separated but as the former Rainbow of Light, they may still work for you."

"Yeah...if we can find the Elements," Alpha Prime said seriously then saw a few Royal Guards coming. "But until then..."

Fred throws the Jacks while Apple Bloom uses the mallet on the Royal Guards, killing them. Next they went towards a metal plate.

"So do we go there?" Apple Bloom asks while glancing at the metal plate.

"Must be." Scootaloo said with a nod. The group step onto the plate...causing them all to go upward.

"Whoa!" The group exclaims while flying upward like mad.

 

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The group now came up to the most disgusting castle that they ever saw. Fred groans a bit, "Oh, I'm going to vomit."

"Me too," Ed exclaims a bit, getting sick himself.

"Not on me, you dopes," Rainbow snaps as the group lands onto the ground. "Get away!"

Twilight appears, saying, "The princess, the princess; my horn for the princess. Where is that wretched alicorn?"

"Mom must be in the throne room." Ben answers Twilight thoughtfully.

"All righty, let's not wait here!" Pinkamena exclaims with a mad laugh while waving her knife in the air. "Come on!"

Megan's group moves a bit, seeing two Unicorn Royal Guards appearing. Megan, Rainbow, Pinkamena, Alpha Prime and Golden Heart kill them off. Next they enter the double door to get into the castle, killing all the Royal Guards there.

Megan and her friends goes to two different sides while killing a Royal Guard each then came to a lever. Twilight appears near the first lever while saying, "Only a few ponies find the way. Well, some don't recognize it when they do. Some don't ever wanna."

"One of these days, egghead, you will stop talking like that." Rainbow snaps to Twilight as she teleports away from the area.

Shining pulls the lever, causing the mirror to turn and face a picture on the right. The gang leaves the room, heading back to the entrance. Now they went to the back side of the two where the two Royal Guards came from.

Inside then next room, there is some Airstream. Megan calls out, "Anyone who can't fly, better hang on."

The non-flyers got onto the ones who can't fly as they flew on up, entering a door with the same symbol like the one they saw earlier in the mirror. Now they arrive onto the center platform, seeing three paintings coming up.

"Where to go...let's take the middle!" Megan exclaims as she slash the middle painting (the one shown earlier). Now they leave the place, with Megan and Pinkamena killing off two Pegasus Royal Guards that attack them

Now Megan's group fell down to the place where they came up from through the airstream. Now they got rid of two Earth Pony Royal Guards, entering another room with the mirror.

"Time for more," Cadance said seriously.

The gang ran around the room once more and jumps to pull the lever. They saw what the next bad guy is pointing at as well as the symbol it represent. Megan's group goes back quickly, using the airstream and enter the painting room once more.

"Now the next one's...at the right," Megan exclaims while hitting the right painting.

The gang repeats the same progress one more time, destroying the Royal Guards along the way. Once they came back down, the group moves and arrive outside the door to the throne room. Here is where they must fight Celestia...the corrupted ruler of Equestria and their former friend.

Megan looks hesitated, saying, "I don't know...we can still reason with her. After all, we can still bring back Celestia and..."

Twilight teleports near Megan, looking sadly and concerned; She spoke, "Bravery and I are not always on intimate terms. My natural curiosity is tempered with caution, which is why I've lived long."

"So what are you saying?" Fred ask Twilight puzzled.

"Well, now...I will ignore my instinct to flee or fight. I shall speak the truth without worrying for the consequences. Your courage deserves no less."

"Well, Twilight, you did help us in the past, before this madness happens, helping us all out of tight spots and saving us from Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and more." Rarity explains to Twilight with a smile.

"And even when we doubt you...you still help us and you are still our friend." Rainbow said to Twilight gently.

"Megan, you've suffered great pain and caused some; you endured deep grief and feelings of guilt. But now...you will be tested by something even more wretching and of anger." Twilight explains to Megan with a sigh. Unknown to her, the door to the throne room opens up. Pinkamena notices as she gasps upon seeing a tentacle made out of sunray coming out to the purple unicorn. "The worst is to come. You and Celestia cannot survive. You see, you two are parts of the same..."

"TWILIGHT; LOOK OUT!" Pinkamena screams in terror.

But it's too late. Twilight turns and gasps as the sun ray tentacles hit her, cutting the unicorn's head right off. The heroes gasps in horror as Twilight's remains fell to the floor.

"Twilight," Some of the heroes scream in horror; Twilight is on the floor...dead.

"Mommy," Nyx screams as she tries to run over to Twilight but Shining held her back, shaking his head in sadness.

"No, Nyx...no," Shining said in sadness. His little sister, is killed by the ruler he once respected...his aunt in law!

Ben looks horrified as he trots over to his love's remains. His own mother has killed his true love. She's gone and worst yet, Ben has yet to propose to Twilight...and marry her.

"Twilight...your death won't be in vain...I will join you but first..." Ben said in sadness. He turns to the others while saying to Megan, "Megan, I know what Twilight was going to say. Even I suspected for sometimes now. You and her...you are the same..."

But before Ben could finish, the tentacle appears, stabbing right through him. Everyone gasps as the stallion fell down near the headless Twilight.

"Mother...why...?" Ben groans in fatal pain. He looks to the headless Twilight and held her hoof. "Twilight...we will be together..."

Ben closes his eyes as he lays still. Megan fell to her knees, crying while screaming, "NOOOOOOO!!!"

"Mommy, daddy," Nyx cries as she gallops over and hugs the corpses of her parents. Everyone she knows and cares in her adopted family are gone! Spike, Luna, Lorcan...and now her parents! All of them are killed by the darkness...and ironically enough, from her own grandmother!

"Ugh, that's it! Bitch is toast!" Rainbow exclaims with an angry scowl on her face.

"I hate to say this but Celestia has gone too far this tonight." Scootaloo said furiously, her friends nod in agreement. Celestia has made Nyx an orphan now! She must pay!

Just then more of the Royal Guards appear. Shining and Cadance prepare themselves while the alicorn yells out, "All of you, inside now!"

"But what about you," Megan ask Cadance and Shining, tears coming from her eyes; if she and her pals go inside...

"Don't worry, we will be okay. I promise." Shining assures the group gently. "Avenge Twiley and Benny. Save Equestria. Go!"

Megan hesitates but goes through the door with Rainbow, Rarity, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the shaken Nyx, Golden Heart, Alpha Prime, Pinkamena and the Changelings. Shining and Cadance charge and fight the Royal Guards.

Even if the couple were to die, they won't go down fighting.

 

Author's note
No...Twilight and Ben are dead...

 

Nyx: (sobbing) Mommy...daddy...

 

Rainbow: Bitch Celestia must die!!!

 

Me: In the next chapter, it's time for the final battle against Celestia whom they must fight to save Equestria. But is she really the true villain?

 

Megan: No, especially when the true source of the darkness is revealed.

 

Me: Right, and to restore Equestria, the Elements of Harmony will be used...but by who? Read, review and suggest.