Twilight looked down on Celestia with the glint of tears in her eyes, Celestia not doing anything except staring back at her teacher. "I..." Twilight whispered, her dagger shaking slightly in the air.

"KILL HER!" Trixie shrieked, making Twilight jump slightly and focus even more on Celestia.

"Twilight..." Celestia whispered, stroking her hoof weakly against her former student's cheek "It's ok...be calm...be collected...make your choice..."

"See reason!" Luna cried, stamping her hoof into the ground and letting the tears drip freely down her face.

Twilight silently looked down at the Alicorn as her horn dimmed and glowed with unstable magic. "Celestia..." Twilight whispered, her breath a mere vapor on the chilling air. "I....I'm..."

"No, Twilight..." Celestia breathed, smiling slightly as she whispered "No more words...no more regrets...no more...end it...choose." Trixie and Luna looked towards Twilight as a thunderous explosion rocked the gates leading towards the courtyard. Lunar Guard fled through the the broken in gates, turning to fire as they ran.

"Fall back!!!" came the familiar cry of Nightfire, the bloodied seargent missing his helmet and a few pieces of armor, his teeth red with blood and his left wing looking as if it may have been broken. "Fall back and fight as you go! Don't give them too much ground!" He turned and pushed his good wing forward, spinning his right cannon barrel and unleashing short bursts of bullets back into the crowds and swarms of Afflicted that chased them at the bottoms of the hills.

"Move everypony back to the castle! Get guards on every wall and on every tower!" Cried Shadow-Mane, who looked to be in a worse state than Nightfire and who was quickly followed by Big Macintosh, who also looked weary and overly battle-worn. "Everypony keep moving and hu- SPARKLE!" Shadow cried, looking towards Twilight and drawing the attention of Macintosh as well, who only stared with widened eyes.

"KILL HER!!!!" Trixie shrieked yet again, stamping her front hooves loudly against the ground "KILL HER NOW!" All was quiet...all was calm...Twilight Sparkle looking down...Celestia looking back up. It was as if time itself had stopped, as if the world had stopped, and was now watching Twilight with all the eyes of Equestria upon her.

"I..." Twilight began, sucking in a deep breath...and whispering "...will not." She dropped her magical dagger, watching it as it dissipated in thin-air.

"WHAT?!" Trixie roared, taking a step forward as her eyes gleamed with blood "Why the hell NOT!?"

"Because I'm not like Celestia..." Twilight growled, turning to face Trixie, the blood of her eyes faded and greying slightly. "Though Celestia was wrong in her ways...to let innocents die for a cause she believed to be that of a greater good...that does not give me the right to follow in her hoofsteps, and sacrifice the innocents of Canterlot for revenge.."

"T...Twilight..." Celestia gasped, staring up at her former student who in turn looked back at her with saddened eyes.

"Because..." Twilight went on "What she did was unforgivable...but what I have done is unforgivable as well." She looked back towards Trixie, taking hoofsteps forward and giving forth a glare that could outdo even Fluttershy's famous 'Stare'. "Though Celestia is guilty of murder...I have no right to accuse of her as such when my own hooves are stained in blood as well. I look around me and I see soldiers...husbands...wives...ponies. What crime is theirs? What makes them guilty that they should die, along with the rest of us for what we have done? Nothing...they deserve to live...and I will not assist you in conquering Canterlot and destroying the last of all innocence in this world. I have done enough by opening the gates, by allowing you and your horde the opportunity...but now, despite the hatred that ravages my heart and the malice of revenge that poisons my brain...I will march forward no longer!"

"What are you saying...Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie growled with a threatening tone in her voice "Are you to say that you and I are no longer allies...?"

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, using her magic to pull off her own brown cloak and hood, revealing her bandaged front legs and her unkempt coat. When she opened them, a calm voice answered Trixie's suspicions "I don't think...we ever were." Her eyes narrowed as she spread her legs apart, preparing herself for a fight "As it stands Trixie...the only way to destroy the Ravage completely is by the purge, and those who were already infected once can not be uninfected a second time. When I unleash the great purge...the Afflicted will return to us as innocents...though I can only imagine you won't be allowing that to happen. You'll simply teleport away, preparing only more and more hordes for your assault on Canterlot."

"It seems you've known about this all along Sparkle..." Trixie said menacingly, pulling off her own cloak and spreading her magical wings outwards "Even if you succeed...even if you do win...you'll never be one of them again. As you said, those infected and cured once, can not be so again. You're stuck a monster forever!"

"NO!" Twilight shouted, flaring a pair of her own magical wings outwards "I will no longer be a monster...but a KEEPER of monsters! Should the Ravage Virus ever break out again, I will be its keeper, and I will ensure that this never, EVER, happens again!" The unicorn ignited her horn with a reddish glow, taking a deep breath and growling "And I'll start...by killing you, the last real threat to Equestria...the mare I should have killed from the beginning!"

"It will not be so!" Trixie screamed, taking flight and diving backwards towards the city, hissing in command "Sssslaughter!!!!"

The unified howls of The Afflicted echoed across the city as Twilight turned her head and shouted "Captain Shadow-Mane!" Shadow nodded towards her as Macintosh smiled, and Nightfire looked on with a curious expression on his face. "We have a lot to do and not much time to do it," Twilight began, watching Trixie flee "Continue to lead the defense of Canterlot, and move Celestia and the others inside! Fight for every inch Captain, every block, every stone, every square! Buy me as much time as you can!" Shadow-Mane and the others gave her a mighty salute as she took to the skies, pushing her wings backwards and propelling herself forward as she growled "Celestia...let my wings carry me true...let not my magic fail...give to me your blessings...your hopes...so that I may go forth and bring good and right to Equestria once more." She pumped her wings harder, chasing after Trixie who dove through the air-docks, flying near the rocky cliffs and stone walls that supported them. "Luna..." Twilight whispered to herself as she banked to her left and rolled across the air above the docks "Give me your strength...give me your guidance. Let my aim be true and my hooves be swift as I fight for you and your stars. To the Sun and the Moon I pray...amen."

Trixie looked up as Twilight prepared to dive, the two mares glaring at one another and powering up their horns with magic. "If this is the way you would like to die, Twilight Sparkle..." Trixie said with an evil smile "Bring it on..." Twilight pulled her wings in and extended her hooves outwards, taking a straight dive downwards through the air and moving to engage Trixie. As she soared downwards...Twilight could have sworn she heard the ethereal words of a mare she once knew...once loved...one adored. Words that she once respected, ones that she had often clung to in her most desperate times of need. Though it was odd to accept them now...she did so for her. She smiled and pressed through the air as Celestia's words whispered out to her

"And now..." Twilight whispered, twirling in the air as her horn ignited with bright magic "We battle..." she launched three bolts from her horn, hurling them towards Trixie who simply banked to the right, avoiding the deadly missiles and leveling out across the rocky terrain of the mountain. Twilight continued to launch her magic towards Trixie, the two of them soaring across the side of the mountain until eventually Trixie dove down towards a rocky valley, barrel rolling into it and being quick to dodge the many rocky spires that stuck upwards from the ground.

Twilight followed her, being quick to dodge the blasts of magic that Trixie threw back at her as she flew. Twilight narrowed her eyes as she twisted and turned around the spires, diving underneath falling rocks that were dislodged from the walls or that were falling from the spires. Trixie soared upwards and did a quick front flip onto the top of one of the spires. She turned towards Twilight and ignited her horn with bright, gleaming magic, and let out a savage roar as she launched a high-powered laser beam towards the lavender mare.

The unicorn gasped and banked violently to the left, the laser beam catching Twilight just under her left wing. She went into a roll past several more spires as Trixie followed the unicorn with the beam. "I'll kill you dammit if it's the LAST THING I DO!" she shrieked, bringing down more spires as her beam cut a giant swatch through the rocky valley. "You should have just killed her and be done with it all! We could have had peace! We could have had everything we ever wanted and dreamed Twilight...and you threw it all away for a messy death that no one will ever remember you for!"

"EEYAAAH! HAH! GURRAAAGH! AARRRGH!!!"

Shadow twirled where he stood, blade clutched in his mouth and his wing-blades smeared with blood. Piles of Afflicted bodies littered the small area around Shadow-Mane, the colt driving his right wing-blade through an Afflicted's chest and spinning to catch another in the face with his sword as he roared "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO!" He bucked an Afflicted rushing up from behind, jumping up and rolling across his enemy's back to bring down his wing-blades on another foe behind him.

The Captain panted heavily as several Afflicted replaced the ones he had only just killed, groaning as he looked up at the near endless swarms that dominated the skies and that were pushing up the hills towards the Royal Castle. Bullets rained down from the towers and walls along side magical bolts from the unicorn guards. The Lunar Guard on the courtyards continued to fall back up the hill, with Shadow giving them as much support as they could. "Watch your back!" Shouted Moon-Lance suddenly as he gunned down two infected who jumped at the Captain from behind. The colt was flanked by Sky-Driver, the two of them backing their flanks up towards Shadow and forming a defensive knot.

"Wind-Weaver and Nightfire are inside sir!" Sky shouted, slashing an Afflicted across the face "They're making sure the cave entrance is secure!"

"Good!" Shadow replied as he caught two more Afflicted with his wing-blades "Let's hold them back here and fall back when we have an op-"

"YYYEEAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!"

"THUNDER HOOF!!!!" Sky squealed as a large Thunder-Hoof came barreling up the hills towards them. The three dove away from each other as the hulking beast smashed its giant front hooves down, cracking the ground violently.

"Separate! Attack from all sides and watch your flanks for other Afflicted!" Shadow barked as he twirled his body around once, carving two Afflicted who rushed at him with his wing-blades. Moon-Lance dove to the side as the Thunder Hoof swiped at him, barely missing him with his large, muscular legs.

Sky plunged his sword into an Afflicted's neck, shoving the body towards the Thunder Hoof in attempts to hinder its movements. The beast merely swatted the body away, nailing Shadow-Mane right in the side with it and sending him flying across the grass. The Captain landed with a loud 'oof!' as the Thunder Hoof turned towards him, roaring and charging in his direction.

"CAPTAIN!!!" Sky shouted, galloping towards Shadow who was trapped under the body of the Afflicted.

"Get out of here Sky!!!" Shadow roared as the Thunder Hoof galloped with thunderous hoof steps towards him. He tried to shift his weight off of his back, to at least see if he could maybe get his cannons to line up for a heavy volley. They wouldn't budge however, the body of the Afflicted keeping his back pressed down against the ground, locking his cannons up. "Dammit!" Shadow cried, watching as the Thunder Hoof and Sky got closer. He waved a hoof at him and shouted yet again "DAMMIT SKY GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

"You saved my skin on the train Captain!" Sky shouted as he clenched his sword in his teeth "It's time to return the favor!"

"SKY!!!!" Shadow shrieked as his corporal dove in front of the Thunder Hoof, quickly rolling and springing to his hooves to face the beast. Time slowed down for the Captain as Sky reared his head back, chucking his sword at the Thunder Hoof and watching as the blade embedded itself in the neck of the beast. The Thunder Hoof let out a guttural roar of fury, flailing about as blood splurted from its neck. It swung its hooves wildly, with Sky yelping as one of its hooves smashed into his side, sending him flying across the entire courtyard. "SKYYYYYY!!!!!" Shadow cried out in despair, watching his comrade crash into a marble pillar near the front steps of the castle and fall to the floor in a heap "NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

All sound faded away for Shadow as he looked over towards Sky-Driver. He wasn't moving, his back towards him and his left wing twitching slightly. A small pool of blood seeped out from under the wounded Pegasus as several magical bolts pelted the courtyard, kicking up plumes of dirt and dust. Shadow looked up slightly to see Trixie being chased by Twilight in the air, the two of them diving towards their location as Twilight took potshots at the azure mare. Shadow watched as Trixie zoomed by, and Twilight dove to the ground. She went into a forward roll as she tilted herself forward, coming up and launching herself into the air. As she did so, she twirled her body until she was upside down, facing the Thunder Hoof with her horn gleaming with magic. She narrowed her eyes as she fired off her magic, sending a high-powered laser right through the Thunder Hoof's skull. She completed her roll with a quick spin of her body and a pushing of her wings, quickly resuming the chase.

Several moments passed as the Thunder Hoof teetered violently on its hooves for a moment, before finally falling over with a loud 'thud' which shook the ground slightly. When the beast finally lay still and dead, Shadow gave a mighty heave with his hooves and pushed the body of the Afflicted off of him, screaming "SKY!!! SKY!!!"

"Captain we have to go!!!" Moon-Lance shouted as he backed up towards the castle, firing his cannons off and spraying the advancing crowds with lead "There's too many of them!"

Shadow grunted and limped towards the castle, pointing a hoof towards Sky as he shouted "Get to Sky! Get him inside and get him to a medic, NOW!" He panted as he turned towards the crowds of Afflicted charging up the hill, adding his own lead storm to the fight. "GO DAMMIT, GO!!!" He shouted towards Moon, who nodded and rushed to Sky's aid.

Shadow grunted as his cannons spun, shell casings flying outwards from the machine on his back and clattering loudly to the ground. "I think I can get him stable!!!" Moon shouted from behind "Just give me a se- CAPTAAAAAINNN!!!!"

Shadow let out a furious cry of pain as a Lurker's shimmer appeared to his left, the Afflicted Variant materializing out of its stealth magic and sinking its teeth into an unexposed part of Shadow's armor on his back. The Captain quickly spun, ripping his back away from the beast and smacking it upside the head with his cannons. He let out a savage cry as he spun his barrels, demolishing the ground in front of him with a volley of bullets and annihilating the Lurker.

He groaned as he felt warm, sticky blood leak into his armor, dripping to the ground as he weakly shouted towards Moon "Go! GO!!! GET INSIDE!"

"Ca...Captain!" Moon whimpered, looking towards Shadow's wound.

"FORGET IT MOON! GET SKY INSIDE, NOW!" Shadow roared, tears forming in his eyes "Just go!!! Get out of here! GOOOO!"

Moon-Lance had to force himself to turn his head away, carefully slipping Sky onto his back, resting him right underneath his cannons. He got up slowly, turning his head towards the Captain...the two of them locking eyes for what may very well be...the last time. "Captain..." Moon began, watching as Shadow nodded, telling him that it was ok "It...it was an honor."

"Likewise Moon-Lance...take care of the others..." Shadow said with an affirmative nod, giving him a weak salute and turning to face his foes. Moon-Lance turned away, galloping towards the front gates of the castle with the last of The Lunar Guard. Only one soldier was left to charge head-long into the field...one doomed soldier left to fight on the blood-stained fields of battle.

"I..." Shadow grunted as he limped towards the top of the hill, looking down on the Afflicted who rushed to meet him "I...I am Captain Tiberius Shadow-Mane...of her Majesty, Princess Luna's one hundred and forty second Lunar Guard Detachment...leader of Shadow Squad and the Commander of Canterlot's Defense!" He growled as he felt his insides begin to burn, feel the virus beginning to take its hold over him. "I hereby place you all...under arrest!" Shadow shouted with a laugh "For conspiring against our Princess Luna, the crime being treason...and for being a COMPLETE pain in my ass!" He looked up as the swarms of airborne Afflicted began to move towards the castle, the ground based Afflicted nearing his position on the hill. "The punishment for which," Shadow said as he pushed his wings forward and spun up his barrels "IS DEATH!!!!"

Shadow's cannons with off with mighty roars of their own as he sprayed the area down in front of him, felling as many of the Afflicted as he could before his guns finally clicked with emptiness. He reached around with a hoof, unclasping the machine off his back and rearing back on his hooves. He clenched one of the straps with his two hooves, spinning rapidly and chucking the cannon into the crowd with a savage battle cry. His vision started to fill with the color of red as he ripped his blade free of its sheath, clutching it in teeth that were drenched with saliva, the corners of his mouth leaking with fluid. He felt tears run free from his eyes, but whether or not they were of blood or salt, he did not know.

He felt his hooves carry him forward as he charged forward and down the hill, galloping straight towards the masses which were approaching quickly. With a final cry of "GLORY TO THE NEW LUNAR REPUBLIC!!!!!!", Captain Shadow-Mane of the Lunar Guard dove forward as an Afflicted dove for him, each sharing only one thing in common.

That in the end. They both refused to back down.

Trixie let out a startled cry as a magical bolt sheared off her right wing, the azure mare tumbling through the air and towards the back area of the castle which held the gardens area. The mare cried out as she hit the ground and rolled through three bushes before finally coming to a rest near one of the cliffs that descended off of the mountain. Trixie coughed as she turned her head towards Twilight, her other wing dissipating into thin air. Twilight dropped to the ground as her wings disappeared, the lavender unicorn conjuring a single sword out of thin air and walking towards Trixie slowly.

The azure Carrier laughed as she conjured her own blade out of the air, turning to face Twilight. "Is this really how you expect it all to end!?" Trixie shouted as the two began to circle one another "You think that by killing me, everything will just magically go back to normal?! That Ponyville will suddenly come back, and that you all won't have to live with the scars of what happened!? None of you will accept Celestia, you'll all want her dead eventually! There's no escaping the hatred, the revenge Twilight!"

Twilight simply looked towards the mare in sadness, quietly muttering "I'm so sorry..."

"What was that!?" Trixie growled, stamping her front hoof down.

"I said it's sad..." Twilight said, raising her voice "The Virus has gotten so far into you Trixie...it has corrupted you. I would know...it nearly drove me to assassinate Princess Celestia."

Trixie raised an eyebrow as they walked around each other in a large circle, the unicorn opening her mouth to mutter "But...that makes no sense! You wanted to kill Celestia from the beginning!"

"Perhaps..." Twilight sighed, looking away from Trixie for a moment. "Though I hated her for what she did to us...when it all came down to it, I would never really wish death upon Celestia. This virus is hate and rage incarnate...it destroys us just as it destroys the Afflicted. We're no more happier than they are Trixie. No amount of blood...no amount of death....nothing, is going to take all this pain and rage away."

"Shut up!" Trixie growled, twirling her sword in the air once "I don't want to hear any more of your philosophical shit! Once I kill you, I can finally wipe Canterlot off the map, and instill a new order of ponies, an order where everyone will love me, and everypony else will fear us!"

"You are truly lost then..." Twilight muttered sadly, bowing her head forward. She looked up towards Trixie and growled, deciding that the time for words was over...there was only action. With a flourish of her blade and a whip of her mane, Twilight Sparkle shouted "En' Garde!"

The two mares charged towards each other with savage battle cries, bringing their blades forward. They crashed in mid-air, Twilight quickly parrying Trixie's away and thrusting forward with a mighty stab. Trixie quickly side-stepped and twirled, bring her blade around and aiming for Twilight's side. Twilight quickly brought her blade back with a quick flick of her head, blocking the strike and pushing back against her enemy's blade. The two remained in a sword lock for only a few moments until they both sprang away, rushing back towards one another with intense speed.

Trixie swiped Twilight's blade away and gave her a quick headbutt, shoving the mare to the ground after. She jumped into the air with a savage cry, aiming her blade down for a stab. Twilight quickly rolled to the side as Trixie's blade met the ground, bringing a hoof around and punching the azure mare right in the cheek. Trixie was flung to the side as Twilight sprang up, swinging her magical sword through the air and towards her foe. They locked blades once again as Trixie regained her stability, the two of them staring into each others blood red eyes.

"This is pointless Trixie...give up!" Twilight shouted as she pushed against Trixie's blade "End the violence in Canterlot...enough blood has been spilled today!"

"Quiet traitor!" Trixie hissed as she tried to shove Twilight's blade away with a quick flourish "There's no more room for words, only room for your body in an unmarked grave!"

The two sprang apart, aiming their horns at one another and launching a large bolt of magic towards each other. The bolts met in midair, exploding violently and sending the both of them outwards. They hit the ground with a hard 'thud' and rolled for a moment, before they both regained stability and stared towards one another.

"Last chance Trixie!" Twilight roared "I am not beyond mercy! Give up! I don't want things to end this way!"

"SILENCE!" Trixie roared back, twirling her blade through the air "This has gone on long enough! MEET YOUR DEATH, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"

As Trixie charged, Twilight simply sighed with sadness and whispered "So be it..."

The two of them were silent as they charged towards one another, blades aimed straight and true. Their distance closed quickly as they met one another...and then....

Time slowed down as Twilight swatted Trixie's blade aside and punched her in the chest with the hilt of her blade. Trixie doubled over as Twilight leaped over her, turning quickly as soon as her hooves hit the ground. She reached out quickly, grasping Trixie around her neck and pulling her backwards as her sword pushed through Trixie's back, the tip pushing its way out of her belly. Trixie gasped as she felt the blade run her through, her eyes wide as she looked down and watched as the sword vanished, the magic holding it no longer in use.

Twilight quietly sat on her flank, holding Trixie gently in her arms as the mare began to cough, a dribble of blood forming at the corner of her mouth. "Twil...I ju-...I..." Trixie muttered, drawing Twilight to run a gentle hoof through her silvery mane and whisper "Ssshhh....hush now...it's all over...it's over..."

Trixie choked slightly, gagging on her own blood for a moment before swallowing and whispering "I...I'm so cold...Twilight. The virus...it burned me up so...and...I can't feel it anymore. Am I...am I cured?"

Twilight let her tears flow freely as she held Trixie to her, burying her face in her mane and nodding as she whimpered "Yes dear...it's all gone...you're all better now. It can never...EVER...hurt you again."

"I think..." Trixie whispered, her eyes drooping "I think I'm gonna rest my...my eyes for awhile. We'll finish this o...once I wake up. You got it?"

"Of course..." Twilight said with a small smile, feeling the heartbeat of Trixie fading away fast.

"Good...I'll see you soon then..." Trixie breathed, closing her eyes and finally cutting the last string she had left binding herself to life.

Trixie, was dead.

Twilight let Trixie's body down to the ground as gently as she could, getting to her hooves and looking back up towards Canterlot. Without a direction or order to guide them, The Afflicted swarmed around the castle, bullets still firing towards the masses. "It's time..." Twilight whispered to herself, the mare approaching the edge of the cliff, her horn beginning to gleam. It was then and there that a voice...a voice so familiar to her yet so foreign, cried out to her

"Twi'!!!" Macintosh shouted, the colt limping towards her as his armor barely managed to keep together. "Ah saw you n' Trixie fall n' ah thought that ya'll had...." he trailed off as he spotted Trixie's lifeless body, a peaceful expression etched upon the mare's face. "So...it's over?" Macintosh whispered, to which Twilight merely sighed and shook her head.

"No..." she muttered, looking back towards her coltfriend "Not yet...almost." She turned her head back forward and with a sad frown whispered "Goodbye...Macintosh..."

The workhorse widened his eyes as Twilight began to swirl rings of magic around herself, her body lifting up off the ground slightly. He quickly shook his head and roared "Twi', wait! What's goin' on! What're you doin'?!"

"Purging..." Twilight answered "I'm destroying the Ravage Virus...and hopefully myself in the process."

"What?!" Macintosh shouted, taking a step towards her "N...no! Ah just got you back into mah life, ah can't you go now!"

Twilight let out a frustrated growl as her concentration broke, her hooves hitting the solid ground as she turned and shouted "Macintosh look at me! You and I...we...we cannot be anymore! You were infected once, if you and I were to be together...the risks would be too great! You could become infected again, in which case there would be no choice BUT to kill you! It MUST be this way, for the both of us!"

"But why do YOU have to die!?" Macintosh shouted as tears brimmed in his eyes "Why do ya have to go n' do a stupid thing like that!?"

At this...Twilight smiled, igniting her horn with a golden color of magic and illuminating herself with it. She began to walk towards him as her body shimmered for a moment, and the magic began to dissipate. What Macintosh saw...made him gasp in wonder.

The red of Twilight's eyes...was white. She stared towards her lover with a small smile and pure, uninfected eyes. "H...how?!" Macintosh stuttered "Ya can't...ya can't cure yerself! Ya'll said so yerself!"

"I know I did Macintosh..." Twilight whispered, sitting in front of her coltfriend "And it is the truth...I cannot be cured. All I have done is pushed the virus down into a solid point of my body...which is why I'm really trying not to notice the massive burning feeling in the right side of my flank." They both chuckled slightly as Twilight went on "I cannot hold back its spread forever...but what I wanted to at least give you a proper goodbye...and a proper parting gift."

"What gift...?" Macintosh whispered, feeling his skin tingle as Twilight put a hoof on his cheek.

"At first..." Twilight began "I was sad...I was so sad...because I had lost you...and I thought I lost her too...but with the Purge, and the last bit of magic I have left to spare...I can save her Macintosh..."

Macintosh's eyes widened as Twilight leaned her head up, pressing her lips against his and sharing an uninfected kiss with him...a kiss that Macintosh pushed against with vigor that his marefriend returned with equal vigor. They lingered there for a moment until Twilight finally backed away, watching as Macintosh stared at her in wonder and whisper "Who...who are you talking about...?"

Twilight simply shook her head and smiled, whispering to him the final words she would ever say to him...

Twilight fanned out a pair of freshly conjured wings attached to her sides as the red of the Ravage Virus once more polluted her eyes, the mare wasting no more time in kicking upwards into the air, soaring straight upwards and gathering in as much magic as she could. She rose up high into the sky, her horn pulsing wildly with massive and massive amounts of magic. She strained to keep it all under control, her head pounding with a splitting ache as her magic reached a point where she knew would result in a critical overload...and hopefully...her death.

She cried out in pain as Macintosh held out a hoof towards the sky, hoping there was something he could do...something he could say to make her stay. Her looking down towards him, tears spilling down her face...smiling...it made him forget all those things, and instead made him whisper back "Ah love you too...Twilight Sparkle..." Twilight nodded one final time, looking back up and bringing her hooves in for a moment, reaching the peak of her magical limits.

With a furious cry, Twilight threw her legs and hooves outwards, her horn exploding with a brilliant golden light. A gigantic bubble of gold roared outwards in all directions, smothering Macintosh and the surrounding area. It raced outwards , completely washing over Canterlot Castle and into the hordes of Afflicted. They fell with shrieks and cries as the Ravage Virus was destroyed in their bodies, the whites of everypony's eyes returning quickly.

From the courtyards, a single Lunar Guard rose up quietly, his eyes draining of red and filling once more with a soft white. Shadow-Mane smiled as he looked towards the golden shield which expanded further and further outwards into Equestria. Waves of Pegasus ponies dropped to the ground, those who used to be Afflicted. They looked around in horror at the carnage that was strewn about around them, but before too long...cheers erupted from them all, and from the royal castle as well as The Lunar Guard rushed out with Luna and the Elements of Harmony behind them.

The gold of Twilight's magic met Manehatten....Appleloosa...and every other corner of Equestria, the lavender mare using a small portion of her saved magic on herself to save what precious life she had left to give. She smiled as she thought about...the day where she was terrified to learn that she...she may be giving birth to a monster....but now, at the end of the road, there could only be peace.

Twilight looked down towards Macintosh as her form began to glow brighter and brighter, her figure quickly disappearing into light as her magic neared its end. "Goodbye..." she whispered with a teary smile, the light fully enveloping her and exploding with a great shock wave of rainbow and gold color.

"TWILIGHT!!!!" Macintosh screamed, holding his hooves upwards towards the air, despair tearing at his heart. The light began to subside as the cheers from Canterlot met Macintosh's ears, the workhorse feeling no victory or happiness of his own. He had lost Twilight...lost her forever, lost her to the light that had almost diminished fully.

Just as he was about to lose himself to his sadness, dropping to the ground in a heap...something appeared in the light. Macintosh looked up and gasped as he saw a small basket floating gently from the sky, dropping slowly towards the ground. The workhorse rushed to intercept it, holding out his hooves as the basket quietly slipped into his grasp. With a peer into the basket, Macintosh's eyes widened to the size of saucers and his breath caught as he beheld...

A baby filly, lavender in color with small spots of red lined in her fur. She had a streak of blonde in her purple and pink mane, her eyes the most dazzling color of emeralds in all of Equestria. "S...she..." Macintosh whimpered, tears spilling down his face as the young filly looked at him with wide-eyes and a look of wonder on her face "She was...the whole time...ever since..." The little filly let out a tiny giggle, reaching with tiny hooves towards the workhorse who simply wiped his face off with his front leg and chuckling. "Hey there..." he whispered to her "Hey there little one...it's nice to meet you...Ah'm Big Macintosh...Ah'm yer daddy...Moonlight...Moonlight Sparkle...ah quite like the sound o' that..."

Moonlight giggled and took a hold of one of Macintosh's hoofs as it rubbed her belly, her tiny hooves squeezing it as her father looked up towards the sky, looking towards the rays of golden magic that still lingered in the air. With a simple smile and a sigh of calm and peace, Big Macintosh whispered to the air...

"Thank you..."