Ponyville was quiet and serene as Twilight got off the train. She was happy to have spent time with her teacher, something special that rarely happened since she'd begun her studies on the magic of friendship. Her day had gone splendidly, and she replayed it over and over in her mind as she walked through the station and out the door. As she stepped outside, she saw everypony admiring the beautiful night sky. She looked up and noticed what a pretty shade of purple the sky was that night, and how wonderfully sharp its claws and fangs looked- whoa whoa, what?!

Twilight ran to the edge of town as fast as her hooves could take her. It didn't help that she had to push through ponies fleeing in the opposite direction. She reached the town limits to see an all-too-familiar blue mare standing next to the Ursa's gargantuan claw, holding a chain that seemed to reach into the heavens.

"Trixie! What are you doing?!" yelled Twilight.

"That's The Great and Powerful Trixie to you, Sparkle!" said The Great and Powerful Trixie with a stone-cold expression. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did to me! After you put on a show for everypony with that bear, I couldn't show my face anywhere without ponies calling me a fake and a fraud! I had to perform at children's birthday parties just to get enough money to eat! Do you know how long it took me to get to where I was before I came to this stupid, backwater town?! And then you ruined me! I had to start all over again with a tarnished reputation! When I wasn't begging for bits, I was stealing! But now...now everyone will see that The Great and Powerful Trixie truly is the greatest magician in all of Equestria! No pony can match my magical skill, not even Princess Celestia's renowned student Twilight Sparkle."

"How did you even...is that a Dragon Binding Chain?!" Twilight said, horrified. "Trixie, they're called Dragon Binding Chains for a reason! You need to get it out of here before your hold on it wears off!"

Trixie merely scoffed as if Twilight had no idea what she was talking about. "Poor, clueless Twilight Sparkle. Don't worry, my unrivaled skill in sorcery and mastery of magic gives me complete dominion over this beast, something I'll bet you wouldn't be able to do in a thousand ye-"

Trixie was cut short by a loud crash that made the ground beneath them tremble. Trixie's chain fell to the ground, leading directly to where the sound had come from. The long, slow sound of each of the chain's links hitting the ground was a testament to how long the thing actually was, and how high the fall was from the Ursa's neck to the bottom. Twilight looked up at the Ursa Major as it surveyed its surroundings; first calmly, then hurriedly. It looked directly at Ponyville and opened its huge maw, and its ear-shattering roar took a second to reach the ground.

Twilight felt every bone in her body rattle as the earth beneath her shook. She looked up to see hundreds of ponies rush out of their houses and away from the Ursa. Trixie was staring up at the Ursa too, and she looked at Twilight for a brief second before she ran off.

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw a yellow pegasus fly up to the Ursa. She hoped Fluttershy's expertise with animals was enough to calm the beast down. Her hopes were dashed as the Ursa roared at Fluttershy, causing her to spiral away from its face. She landed next to Twilight, shaking.

"Fluttershy! What happened?!" asked Twilight.

"R-r-r-ruuuun!" shouted Fluttershy as she ran past her.

The Ursa roared again, even louder than before. Twilight was at a loss for what to do; no matter how fast the ponies fled, the Ursa would just reach out and crush them with little effort. As the beast swung a paw down to crush Ponyville, Twilight did the only thing she could think to do; as she shot her brother's shield spell into the air, it was immediately shattered when it met the Ursa's blow and Twilight fell to the ground with a cry. She hadn't even been expecting any pain, her brother never winced once while the changelings battered his shield! And here she felt like an anvil had been dropped on her head.

She was dazed and stunned, but she gathered her strength and got back up. The spell could work if she did it right, and if she couldn't save Ponyville, the least she could do was buy everypony some time. She hoped to Celestia that she could hold out just long enough for everypony to get away safely. With a heart full of determination, she released another shield spell into the air. The Ursa was enraged, and it let its fury loose on Twilight's shield.

With each hit, the shield flickered and faded but Twilight stood her ground. She felt each blow recoil onto her skull as she gritted her teeth and took the Ursa's brutal punishment. All around her ponies ran, screaming and running for their lives. She heard Pinkie Pie call out to her and turned around to see her friends, all ready to help in any way they could.

"JUST GET EVERYPONY TO SAFETY!" screamed Twilight before the beast struck the shield again, causing it to fade while Twilight was distracted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friends follow her orders and hoped they would be safe as well. She felt her body giving out with each passing minute as the Ursa roared and battered her now-flimsy shield. Twilight felt it could break any minute, and she charged magic into her horn to repair the shield. Apparently, the Ursa noticed the shield was about to break as well. It reared up on its hind legs and brought its paw down on the shield like a guillotine. Twilight was caught off-guard, and the massive recoil of the Ursa's weighted hit was too much for Twilight. The last thing she heard before her hearing left her was the combined sounds of the shield crashing down, the Ursa's roar, and an explosion.

Twilight fell to the ground as her body shook uncontrollably. The sounds around her were muffled and barely audible over the ringing in her ears. She felt blood drip from her nostrils as it clogged her breathing with its iron-like smell, forcing her to try and breathe through her mouth. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie come to her aid as they laid her on Pinkie's back and carried her away from the Ursa.

"Pinkie...," croaked Twilight, her nosebleed making her sound like she had a serious cold. "I can't breathe..."

"Just hang on Twilight, we're almost at the hospital!" urged Pinkie Pie.

As they got to the hospital, the medical staff were already waiting for any patients to be rushed in. They placed her on a gurney and wheeled her inside, clearing her sinuses and applying pressure to her forehead. Twilight saw the lights in the hallway pass by overhead and heard the doctor ordering the rest of the staff to get different CC's of a variety of medicines. She felt her energy, her magic, draining as her hooves got colder. She could taste blood as her vision began to blur with each long, hoarse breath she took. Twilight felt herself slipping away as the last of her strength faded, and she drew her last conscious breath hoping she'd done enough to help her friends. As her world faded to black, she heard the Ursa Major roar one last time in the distance.