Another crack of a Zone Trooper’s railgun punctuated the engagement that Major Blizzard had found himself in. Alien and Nod troops slugging it out with followers of the Cult of Chrysalis, all wrapped up neatly as the 2nd Heavy Armored Division rolled over loyalist forces who were in the way. If not for Hyperion’s change of heart, Blizzard was more than confident that this bloody mess would have been a drawn-out slugfest that would have kept Brigadier Macintosh held up for days, if not weeks.

Instead, the old stallion was happy to watch as Apple Bloom carefully flung herself at her older brother. Reunions were happening all over, with many of the defectors having family or friends among the GDI tankers.

One stallion in particular was still on call with Stalwart Shield and Ironsides to see about getting his troops a change of uniform. The thought of Hyperion, one of the Black Hand’s finest, wearing a GDI eagle again was more than enough to get a chuckle from the major, even if it was only to make sure that Hyperion and his unit didn’t get hit by friendly fire.

What took that smile right off his face though was his First Sergeant walking through the carnage.

“Jet Deck, what exactly do you think you’re doing out of medical?” Blizzard asked, causing the younger stallion’s head to snap left to look at him.

“Truck was crowded, sir. Worse wounded than me needed the space and my suit is still working, so I can still fight… or at least walk.” Jet Deck replied, standing still as if rooted in place as Blizzard made his way over.

“And what exactly, was the last status update the doctors gave you about your condition?”

“Can’t regrow the skin out here in the field. Already past the point of no return since we made landfall.” Jet replied, “I can get magic-based medicine once we’re back at Baltimare.”

“Doesn’t hurt to use your armor, does it?”

“I’m…” Jet began saying, but his hesitation got the better of him as he finally let his helmet pull back, “I’ve got at least two inches of gauze and bandages over the raw spots under my uniform, sir… it’s annoying, but it’s not life threatening, and my suit can keep me more comfortable than a hospital bed ever could.”

“Alright, you’ve left me only one real option.” Major Blizzard told him sternly before letting a hint of a grin flash across his muzzle, “Get the company in order, I expect Ole Stally will be redeploying the lot of us soon enough. EVA has some of our strike forces closing in on Temple Prime, following in behind Chrysalis’ little coup.”

“Think Ironsides will let us have a crack at Kane’s temple?”

“Only if you get the company in order quickly enough, First Sergeant.” Blizzard replied, smirking all the while as Jet Deck saluted and sprinted back into the collection of ponies milling about, shouting orders and insults all the way.
_____________

The uniforms had changed while Rainbow Dash had been recovering, at least for the Air Force. The old sky-blue pattern camouflage that she had been accustomed to was traded out for a digital pattern that matched the color of the hallways and bulkheads that the crew of the Crystal Fury called home. It didn’t have the same “pop” that Dash had enjoyed, but she had to admit that even her Admiral’s BDUs felt and looked better than before.

She could say the same for the bridge of the Kodiak she was standing on as well. Completely reworked layout, reinforced consoles, and none of the bridge had high-traffic conduits, transformers, or couplings which meant no more exploding consoles during intense combat. As far as the Sky Admiral was concerned, whoever designed that particular deficiency in the older models of Kodiak should be fired.

“Admiral on deck!” one of the officers in the room belted out, saluting as the sky-blue pegasus walked through the threshold into her new “office”. Everyone but Spitfire sprung to their feet and rendered a proper salute.

“Admiral Spitfire…” Dash said, barely containing a shit-eating grin, “Should I consider this… insubordination?”

The still wheelchair-bound smirked back, slowly pulling her aviator sunglasses off before gently smacking Rainbow Dash in the shoulder.

“Of the worst sort, you’re gonna have to fire me and take your old job back.” she added, getting a laugh from the rainbow-maned admiral standing next to her. The laughter subsided a little before Rainbow actually embraced her former mentor for a moment.

“Heard you were in a bad way before I… well, y’know.” Dash told her, “What about you? Why haven’t you gotten replacements yet?”

“With you out of action, I was the only officer capable of getting this sorry bunch combat ready. No time for surgery, no time for recovery.” Spitfire answered with a sigh, “But with how the war is looking, it looks like I’ll be waiting until the fight is over to get myself back on four hooves.”

“I got the message too… EVA, patch me into ship Comms.”

“Connection secured, ma’am.” the AI replied.

“All hooves stand to and prepare to redeploy! ‘Ole Ironsides has given us the prestigious assignment of spearheading the newest offensive as we push Nod back up the asshole it came from! As of this moment, I am planting my flag on the Crystal Fury, and Helm is going to set course for Temple Prime! I want everypony at action stations and ready to bury Kane in his precious temple, yesterday!”

“Helm, set course, Comms, make sure we have secure links to any other Kodiaks heading towards Temple Prime.” Spitfire ordered, “Ops, I want a status update for the Sky Admiral ASAP.”

She was answered by various affirmations, with ponies now scrambling all over the ship. She had diverted from a combat zone for resupply mere hours beforehand, as well as to pick up the freshly recommissioned Sky Admiral Dash who was now grinning at the disabled officer.

“Spitfire, you’re still in charge of the ship.” she said, holding up a hoof.

“I’ll take the captain’s chair over an Admiral’s Desk any day, ma’am.” Spitfire quipped, tapping Dash’s hoof with her own, “Now let’s go kill us a Messiah.”
_____________

Three Days Later...

Chrysalis hobbled forward to the top of a hill that gave her a good view of Temple Prime and the surrounding area. Usually she’d be worried about skylining herself in case there were Shadows watching, but at this point she was practically daring Kane’s assassins to try and kill her, or at least what was left of them. Her coup had castrated the Shadow Corps, with more than half of the active Shadows when the civil war started being changelings loyal to her, and now Kane was having to defend his most sacred site with Black Hand and GDI-esque tactics.

Even now as she used magic to levitate a pair of binoculars in front of her, Black Hand and even some militia reservists were digging in while the occasional artillery barrage bombarded the approaching Chrysalis loyalists. She didn’t really care about casualties at this point, drones were easy to make, and the Scrin would bolster her losses after Kane was contained.

The mere thought of that earth pony made her carapace crawl uncomfortably, even without the damage to it after she was thrown unceremoniously off of that Kodiak with her personal guard. She put those thoughts from her mind though, she would be victorious this time.

“Kane will be captured and his alicorn whore will die a painful death…” the changeling Queen thought, seething as another barrage made the ground shake. “And this world will follow soon after.”

“Your majesty, all units are in position. We are ready to begin the assault on Temple Prime. It will be costly with our current numbers, though. We should wait for further reinforcements before attacking.” a drone stated, bowing as he approached her. Shortly after, Chrysalis used her magic to spear him through the throat.

“The final assault on Temple Prime. I have no use for those who lack confidence. This attack will succeed, and the war against Kane ends today.” Chrysalis sneered before looking at her assembled staff, “Begin the attack.”
_____________

The opening salvo of the Battle for Temple Prime was fired by a changeling infantry platoon armed with laser rifles and a single grenade launcher. With how chaotic the EVA network was, they were the first ones to get the order to attack. A few seconds after, the rest of the line opened up as well. Stealth tanks, Scorpions, a handful of Scrin walkers and hovertanks, and every aircraft in Chrysalis’ arsenal surged forward as well, advancing in staggered formations to try and throw off Nod targeting software and the gunners holding the line.

It failed spectacularly as SAM sites opened up and began clearing the skies almost as quickly as Stormriders and Venoms screamed into range, and more than a dozen tanks found themselves on the receiving end of Obelisks lining the various defensive lines that the garrison had been able to put together. For now, the battle was in Kane’s favor as Chrysalis’s ocean of pawns slammed against Temple Prime’s defenses, but not even a legion of Black Hand could hold off several divisions indefinitely.

However, one squad potentially could hold the enemies of the Messiah at bay until the entire planet turned to tiberium twice over. At the center of this massive back and forth between defenders and traitors was Sister Pinkie Pie, now more manic than ever after the death of Maud, leading her hoof-picked, most devout brothers and sisters in the Black Hand unto the breach every time Chrysalis’s forces managed to get within flamethrower range.

All others found themselves under almost constant laser fire as the founder of the Black Hand spent more heat sinks and power cells on her own weapon than the rest of her team combined, shouting all the while.

“COME ON YOU PARTY POOPERS! I’VE GOT ENOUGH PARTY FAVORS FOR EVERY ONE OF QUEEN MEANIE’S UNINVITED GUESTS!”
_____________

The ceiling shuddered once more as the battle above ground continued to escalate. Dust from the cross beams coated Havoc for a moment before his suit compensated and he was once again invisible to the naked eye. He had managed to get underground via an access hatch near one of the SAM sites, and had for the past 72 hours, been prowling around in the tunnels beneath Temple Prime prepping the entire damn thing to blow.

“EVA, who’s shooting at who up there?”

“Chrysalis Loyalists have engaged Temple Prime’s defenses.” the AI replied, getting a chuckle from the commando.

“This day just keeps getting better and better…. Distance to last ion disruptor?”

“Primary route, 172 meters… alternative route available.”

“Clarify.” he whispered, ducking behind a stack of medical supply crates as a pair of Nod soldiers ran by with a stretcher.

“Cutting through the nearby medical bay will cut distance by 50 meters. Chance of detection increases by 78%.” the EVA stated without emotion.

“Only if I leave survivors.” Havoc snarled, making sure his weapons were at the ready.

“Captain Sentry, shooting of injured enemy combatants is agai-”

“Override Code Havoc Mu Lambda, remove all ethics protocols from future calculations.” Havoc ordered as he rounded another corner, barely missing a dragon’s tail as he peeked inside the medical facility his EVA had mentioned. It was different from the standard field hospitals, or even the fully built up facilities he had seen in Nod bases throughout the war.

“Sweet Celestia, it’s a bucking research lab, not a hospital.” Sentry thought as he looked on with legitimate horror. Ponies, gryphons, diamond dogs, every species that fought for the Brotherhood was there, with freshly wounded being injected with tiberium-based serums or having machinery installed so they could become Marked of Kane.

At the center of it all, pacing about as she looked over status reports, was one of GDI’s most wanted Nod officers. Her indigo mane was still frazzled, her tiberium-laced skin showing signs of self-inflicted wounds either from scratching or blunt force, and her eyes held an almost insane look in them that sent a chill down Havoc’s spine.

“She doesn’t look as good as she did in the PR broadcasts…” Havoc mused, sizing up his mark as Rarity gestured to the wounded drake that had just been brought in. The young reptile was quickly dumped into a vat of liquid tiberium rather unceremoniously and a chart was hung next to his tank.

“Low chance of survival, start preparing him for Marked transition.” Rarity ordered, tossing her own datapad onto a nearby desk as she looked back at the main door, directly at the still cloaked Havoc.

“Can she see me?”

“Only 12% probability that she does, Captain Sentry, you are still invisible.” the EVA replied just in time for Havoc to duck behind the doorway as laser fire peppered the opening he had left.

“Who do you think designed the Shadow Suits, interloper!?” Rarity screamed as her pistol let off another burst of pure-white laser fire, this time at the wall that Havoc was hiding behind. The metal heated instantly, with the third shot piercing it and singing the commando’s neck.

The cloak failed soon after, and his reply was to toss a flashbang into the hospital-turned research lab. With Rarity shielding her eyes, and the minimal security staff doing the same, Havoc rushed into the room and put down the two guards with quick, precise headshots that shattered their helmets. Rarity never stopped firing, and her wild shots managed to throw Havoc off enough so that his third silenced burst only clipped her neck.

The mare who designed every Nod uniform, and the architect of GDI’s biggest military loss before the Crystal Kingdom, went to the ground flailing, her magic never relinquishing her pistol which was still letting off laser fire as quickly as she could let it off. Only when Havoc put a hoof on her neck did she finally drop the pistol, glaring up at him.

“Technically, I should arrest you so we can put you on trial for war crimes…” Havoc said, putting just enough pressure on her throat to keep her from trying to get back up, “But in the event that I can’t detain you, I’m auth-”

“If you’re going to kill me, then get it over with you brutish oaf!” she snarled, her tone still as manic as ever. “Enough with the boasting, do it! Do it!”

“.... EVA, scan her.” Havoc muttered, completely taken aback by his prey’s attitude. This sort of behavior was typical of Black Hand, not the meticulous mind that surgically murdered Blueblood and his entire division.

“Target is mentally unstable. Extreme mental duress has advanced her previously latent tiberium infection. Full crystallization of the brain within three months if untreated.” his EVA replied, “With treatment… terminal levels of infestation within nine months.”

“She’s already dead.” he mused, looking back at Rarity before kicking her pistol away for good measure. “Almost takes the enjoyment out of putting down one of Nod’s most brutal leaders.”

“Enough of this!” Rarity barked, her magic flaring and sending Flash careening into one of the auto-surgeons putting metal wings on a gryphon. His vision flashed white and his HUD did the same, but his onboard systems were still working and before he even got back to his hooves, he was shooting at the Nod general. His target refused to take cover, barely flinching as bullets peppered her body, and her magic still holding her sidearm even as she collapsed on the ground and fired off one final laser blast.

By the time Havoc got back to his hooves and managed to take in what all had happened, the Butcher of Blueblood was slumped against a tank of liquid tiberium, her blood mingling with the green, highly reactive substance, and a single laser had burned through her temple.

“EVA... patch me into HIGHCOM, full encryption… let them know that General Rarity is officially KIA…” Flash Sentry ordered, panting as he started shutting down the medical equipment and planting demolition charges, “And tell them that Havoc is moving onto the final target, ETA, imminent.”
_____________

“General Rarity just went dark.” one of Kane’s aides announced, “We have an infiltrator in Transition Lab Alpha, they’re wearing a Shadow suit.”

“Security, get a team down there to handle it.” Luna ordered, only for Kane to laugh lightly.

“By the time they get down there, the commando will be gone, and they will be walking into an empty room at best, a deathtrap at worst.” Kane retorted. “Belay that order, deploy more security to the ion disruptors.”

“You think this Shadow will go after our only defense from GDI’s ion cannons? What sense would that make?”

“Call it a hunch, my dear, ever since Chrysalis decided to throw her lot in with the Visitors, we’ve taken more than enough precautions to keep her loyalists out… if anyone managed to sneak in, it’s either a new traitor, or a GDI commando.”

“Quite the hunch…” Luna replied, but she soon relented and turned her attention back to the holographic map of the Temple Prime battlefield, “We should be able to hold her long enough for what few units couldn’t make it back in time to hit her army from behind.”

“And then her latecomers will hit us from behind.” Kane added before gesturing to the far edge of the map, “And that’s if that oncoming wave of blue doesn’t roll over all of us first.”

Silence soon fell upon the Brotherhood’s two leaders, with the hum of consoles and the light tapping from keyboards being the only sounds present. Luna continued to mull over their situation, while Kane seemed almost apathetic to it all, regarding the ever-steady flow of their enemies pouring into view with an almost bored expression.

“I am going to join the fight.” Luna finally stated, “I know you cannot impact much in regards to combat, but I… I can do more than enough to tip the scales in our favor.”

“I agree.” Kane stated before his EVA chimed in. With minimal chittering from the AI, Kane finally smiled again, “In fact, I believe your presence will be necessary. It would appear that an old friend of ours has decided to take matters into her own hooves now that the finish line is so close, and her pride is still on the line.”

“What, exactly, do you mean?” Luna asked, only for Kane to answer her by inputting a short command code into the table they were looking at. Alongside two of the icons representing Kodiak air carriers, a cutie mark shaped like a sun popped up.

“By your leave, my queen.” Kane said, giving a slight bow as he got out of her way and let the Brotherhood’s queen sprint from the room.
_____________

The defenses were cracking, little by little. Even with her casualties mounting at astronomical levels, Chrysalis could see the obvious signs of the defending Nod loyalists losing their footing. No matter how many times her generals told her she was seeing things, or that she was refusing to acknowledge the facts, that this assault had already been mostly spent and was running out of steam, she knew that this attack would finally end Kane once and for all.

Even as proximity alarms for their command post began blaring, she held fast. Nothing could beat her beautiful, superior race, especially after they had graciously allowed the Scrin to assimilate them.

“Someone shut off those damn alarms.” she barked, only to notice that there wasn’t anyone left to shut those damn alarms off. Her tent was deserted, her staff either running for the front or abandoning the mission entirely.

“What the f-” was the last thing to come out of Queen Chrysalis’ mouth, and the last thing to go through her mind was the rest of her body as two rounds from a Mammoth’s main guns tore through the tent.

The first confirmed kill of the GDI advance on Temple Prime went to Major General Rose Shard’s command-variant Mammoth Tank, the aptly named Long Time Coming. Shortly after, the entire rear of the traitor line erupted as Predators, Mammoths, and Kodiaks all followed suit and bombarded what was left of the decimated changeling army into oblivion.
_____________

As all hell broke loose on the ground below, two alicorns met above the battle lines. While Luna looked upon her sister with mild disdain, Celestia’s eyes burned with a fire that could only be described as vengeance.

“You’re late, sister.” Celestia spat.

“Fitting that only at the end do you finally accept me as I am, Tia. Shouldn’t you be tending to your garden while ponies die in your name?”

“I am done hiding behind Ironsides.”

“You mean he’s done holding your leash.” Luna retorted with a sigh, “Why are you really here, Tia?”

“For you.” Celestia answered, “We can still end this without further bloodshed. Kane is the face of the Brotherhood but he listens to you… convince him to surrender, and we won’t raze Temple Prime.”

“You really believe that if you win here today, that we will simply… fade away. Do you honestly believe that the Brotherhood will die here?” Luna asked harshly.

“I believe that if you force us, we will annihilate Nod, once and for all.”

Before Luna could reply, the ground in front of Temple Prime split open, and Kane’s trump card was raised onto the battlefield. Once the massive service elevator had deposited the Redeemer onto solid ground, it began lumbering forward as missiles streamed from its shoulders. Luna, almost amused at the timing of the display, looked back at her sister and smiled.

“A little present from your former, most loyal student, dear sister. I believe you’ll find that the Redeemer will live up to its name as we come back from the edge that Chrysalis, not your precious GDI, pushed us to.”

Celestia was quick to retort, but was interrupted as the translucent dome at the top of the Redeemer began glowing red. Soon after, the entire mech was glowing a dark red, and a faint musical tone could be heard. Even Luna’s composure broke at that, for she knew exactly what was about to happen. Besides herself, Kane was the only other one able to authorize the use of the Rage Generator.

“Behold, the will of Kane!” Slavik boasted as the energy his walker had been building up discharged in all directions. Celestia and Luna were both directly above the Redeemer as it sowed unrest into the already chaotic battlefield, and even alicorns were not immune to the song of a siren. Their bodies were outlined to the troops below as the Crystal Fury took aim at Temple Prime with her ion cannon, only for the disruptors to dissipate the deadly energy before it could impact the structure. Luna barely brought her own magic shields to bear when a pillar of flame impacted it. Celestia, now giving into the effects of Twilight’s new doomsday weapon, was out for blood and Luna was the sole target of her wrath as she came screaming into this brawl between goddesses.

“We end this today, Sister!”
_____________

With its work done, the Redeemer took once more to wrecking anything in its path, laying waste to GDI formations faster than many could react. Lasers and missiles lanced out to meet the offending heretics while some were busy fighting each other. Not as many as Spike had hoped, but that was to be expected when one of the biggest battles of the war was the field test for the Rage Generator.

Units were also spaced out to the point that it lost its effectiveness, with many GDI infantry units taking pot shots at each other only for mere moments before going back to laying down fire on the troops the Redeemer was protecting. The massive mech took strides forward as it kept battering the GDI attackers with more laser fire from its arm cannon, striking anything that he fancied as more and more data streamed across Slavik’s eyes.

His gaze caught movement soon enough, as well as an anomaly. GDI forces were firing at something coming in from the Redeemer’s left flank, and the reply was plasma. Soon enough, the rumors that had started circulating through Nod High Command were proven true and a six-legged monstrosity blinked into existence on top of a platoon of Mammoth tanks, implaling two of them and throwing them at the Redeemer. Both heavy tanks found themselves bouncing off the Redeemer’s arm plating as Spike brought up his left arm to shield the main chassis from the impact, only for both vehicle to detonate shortly after being deflected.

“LEGION, I need as much information as you can give me on that thing.” Spike said, though by the time he finished his sentence, LEGION was already streaming information directly into his mind. In reply to the impromptu game of catch, the Redeemer leveled its main guns on the Scrin walker and opened up, causing it to screech in defiance and start sprinting towards the first thing that had ever managed to hurt it.

Spike was ready, and as soon as the Eradicator blinked out again, he was already swinging his arm backward as the torso of the Redeemer followed suit. LEGION had run through all the likely attack vectors, and when the Hexapod blinked back into existence, it caught the Redeemer’s fist directly to its face.

Another scream rang out as the Hexapod, now with wounded body and pride, threw itself at the Brotherhood’s most powerful weapon. Scrin chitin met Brotherhood armor and both walkers began to brawl on Kane’s doorstep.
_____________

While titans clashed on the ground below, Gods clashed in the sky above Temple Prime. As the Crystal Fury, Stalliongrad, and Ponyville continued to shell the beleaguered defenders and Chrysalis traitors with indiscriminate fury, Queen Luna and Princess Celestia had once again been brought to direct blows with one another. Magical blasts leveled acres of terrain, each strike aimed at each respective monarch, with both alicorns doing their best to end this fight quickly.

Luna had forgone all niceties, as Celestia was more manic now than she had been back in Canterlot, and neither of them were going to hold back. Both fought with the ferocity of their causes, both fought to save the planet from the green crystal, but only one would ever be able to prevail. They both knew this, both knew that this could only end one way, and now Luna and Celestia were both hellbent on being the victor.

While magic of navy blue and flame orange continued to arc and meet similarly colored magical shields, the Nod Air Force was making as valiant a last stand as they could. Venoms, Firehawks, Harpies, and ORCAs all clashed above Kane’s final bastion, with stray rounds, lasers, and even spoofed missiles careening into the battle of goddesses taking place in their midst.

Occasionally, a railgun would take a shot at Luna, only for the round to deflect off of her shields and scream towards the ground with reduced speed but with more than enough momentum to pulp a light tank if it slammed into it from above.

The opening declaration from Celestia aside, words now were also no longer necessary between the two sisters. Despite their magics making the earth beneath them tremble with their respective furies, after the initial verbal jousting there was nothing but quiet between them.

Luna would have been content to stay silent throughout the rest of this duel, but even goddesses expressed pain. A shining light pierced the sky, the Crystal Fury once again using its spinal-mounted ion cannon to test the defenses of Temple Prime to no avail as the beam of blue energy dissipated a kilometer out from the holy site. However, collateral damage was not to be ignored with a weapon of such caliber and both Celestia and Luna had been caught in the bleed of the beam, as had a swarm of Harpy attack helicopters that Luna crashed through. Both Princess Celestia and Queen Luna landed behind Temple Prime, near the border it shared with a Red Zone, their magic spent and their bodies ragdolling all the way down. Luna came to a steady halt after rolling along with the wreckage of the helicopter she had slammed into, but Celestia was far less lucky, halting abruptly on a bed of tiberium.
_____________

Luna tried to get up but her body failed her. She tried to see the damage that had been done but the moment she saw the strips of metal sticking out of her barrel and legs, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she became one with the celestial body she held most dear. Her eyes hadn’t failed her yet, and while she was not eager to face death, she was at least glad that she wasn’t facing it alone. Kane was galloping towards her as fast as he could muster, and Celestia wasn’t too far away despite being impaled on various tiberium shards.

“My Queen.. You’re-” Kane started, but Luna cut him off.

“Not long for this world, it would appear…” she murmured, giving him a pained smile as her blood began to pool around her wrecked body, “I need you… to continue the vision.. Continue our mission. You were right, Professor Theory…”

His old name caught him off-guard, making him recoil as if struck, but only for a moment as he once again took his place by Luna’s side.

“So long as you live… the Brotherhood lives…” Luna continued, her labored breaths keeping her from saying too much each time she tried to take in more air, “Generosity is gone, and I fear Laughter will not survive this day... you must keep Nod alive if our world is to survive. Promise me… promise me you’ll continue our work.”

“I promise, Luna, your sacrifice will not be in vain, and although we will meet defeat today, the Brotherhood will live on for decades to come.”

“Good… good…” the Lunar Queen whispered, finally letting her head rest against the surprisingly soft soil.

“Is it true, then?” Kane asked, “That you’ll merge with the moon upon… expiring?”

“I can already hear her calling to me… while this body will be gone, I will live on, so to speak. Every time you look to the moon, I will be there, watching over you.. Watching over Nod… may the Brotherhood… never… perish...”

Luna’s last mortal thoughts were of the earth pony before her, and as her body began to slowly flow away with the wind like dust, Kane gave a respectful bow. By the time he finally raised his head, all trace of the Lunar Queen was gone.
_____________

Celestia coughed, blood painting the green crystals in front of her as she felt the pervasive crystal corrupt her very DNA. She could barely see Luna as she faded away with the wind, and as much as she tried to muster one last attack to strike Kane as he stood by and watched, her waning strength failed her.

With little ceremony, Kane looked back at the terminally injured alicorn, scowling slightly for a moment before his signature grin took hold of his muzzle again.

“Celestia, Celestia, Celestia… you really should have just… played along with Twilight’s little cure. Then the nudges I gave the world would have amounted to little more than a border skirmish along the blue zones.” Kane said as he walked over, but as he talked, his voice slowly became one that wasn’t his own. It was familiar to the Solar Princess, but…

“No…” was about all Celestia could murmur before a zipper started opening along Kane’s spine. What came out of that zipper was an all too familiar form of someone she knew to be dead. Mismatched horns, a snake-like body, a paw, a hoof, claws, and those damning yellow eyes, all the tell-tale traits of the only draconequus that Celestia had ever known.

“Yes, actually, dear Sun Butt.” Discord replied, “And yet no… because you are most definitely not dreaming.”