1055 AD, October 31st

Within the span of a single second, Celestia mentally drew the symbols that corresponded with a Fire Spray spell. The magic in her body responded by gathering to the tip of her horn and manifesting as a rolling wave of red-orange flames.

Nightmare Moon threw up a barrier and rushed through the flames to smash her hoof into the princess’ cheek, the force sending Celestia into the wall hard enough to crack the stone. Celestia quickly recovered and ducked low to avoid another strike before spreading her wings and launching herself forwards.

The princess pushed her opponent across the span of her room and broke down the doors, their fight spilling into the narrow corridors of the castle. Nightmare Moon threw her weight backwards and used Celestia’s own momentum to aim her down the length of the corridor before kicking out, creating some distance. She twisted in mid-air to land on her feet and her horn shone with the beginnings of a Deep Freeze spell. A dozen yards down the corridor, Celestia spread her wings to catch herself and landed on all hooves, turning in time to see a ball of ice fly towards her, leaving the walls in its wake coated in frost.

She intercepted it with a searing fireball and the collision of the two elements filled the hallway with a blanket of steam.

“It would be so much easier if you simply gave up,” Nightmare Moon called out, stepping forwards. “Surrender now and spare yourself the pain.”

“I can’t do that,” Celestia glared at the shadowy form in the steam. “I have sworn to protect my subjects from anything that threatens them.”

A mocking laugh was her response. “You? Protect them? Like how you protected them from Chrysalis?”

Celestia punctuated another fireball with a yell.

It sailed through the shadow while simultaneously dispersing the steam, revealing a smug Nightmare Moon that was slightly transparent. Before Celestia could react to the deception, her neck was caught in a bone-crushing grip and she was violently yanked back to hit the floor. Reptilian eyes bore down at her.

“You can’t protect anypony!”

Nightmare Moon raised both her forelegs and brought them down on Celestia’s chest, a sadistic grin spreading across her face as she felt ribs snap from the force. The blow was so powerful that Celestia was sent through the floor and down one level, debris following her descent, and dust billowed out from the impact. Nightmare Moon stepped back to admire her handiwork for a moment before flapping her wings – once to hover above the hole and once more to rocket down, hooves first.

Celestia snarled as a golden ripple of energy ran down her body. Nightmare Moon landed on the princess’ belly, but did little more than bury her a few inches in the floor.

“I’ve protected Equestria from others like you for as long as I can remember!” Celestia shouted. “Power-hungry would-be tyrants yearning for a rule which benefits only themselves!”

Growling, Nightmare Moon dispelled the Iron Fur spell, and raised her forelegs again. Celestia’s horn flashed once and suddenly the world began to tilt upside-down. Her sense of balance shot, Nightmare Moon leaned back too far and fell flat on her rear. She broke the illusion within a second, but that was enough for Celestia to lash out with a ribbon of flame that extended from the tip of her horn. It wrapped around the dark alicorn’s throat and tightened harshly.

Her flesh cooking, Nightmare Moon choked out a cry of agony as she was thrown into the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, chunks of stone and hanging pictures falling from the violent tremors.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Nightmare Moon drew magic into her horn before bringing the energy into the core of her body. It only took a second before she felt a powerful chill in her gut and quickly released the built-up magic. Waves of cold air burst from her body in all directions as the Snow Bomb spell clashed against the heated air, snuffing out the flame whip as well as covering the area in ice.

Celestia flinched at the explosion and paused to wipe her eyes, her superheated skin quickly melting the ice that would have trapped her. When she could see once more, Nightmare Moon was already up and about, the charred skin on her neck flaking off rapidly to make way for a new layer that was already sprouting hairs.

“Who are you?” Celestia growled as the puddle around her hooves boiled and hissed. “Who are you to talk down to me? What have you done that’s worthy of respect?”

“Don’t ask what I’ve done that’s worthy of respect,” Nightmare Moon’s horn shone persistently as she spoke; the ice around her hooves climbing up to cover her coat and armour in frost. “Ask what I’m going to do that’s worthy of respect.”

Celestia let loose with a cone of fire, but Nightmare Moon didn’t even bother shielding herself. The fine layer of frost astoundingly resisted the intense temperature.

“I’m going to be the one to take over Equestria,” Nightmare Moon said as the flames died down and the ice covering the corridor sloshed to the floor. “Chrysalis failed and Discord’s time has long since passed – now it’s my turn and it is a task I will succeed in.”

“I am not Equestria’s only line of defence in case you’ve forgotten,” Celestia’s body heat began to warm the air, drying up the crinkled paintings and tapestry hanging in the corridor. “Even if you kill me and my guards, you will have to contend with Luna, the Crystal Empire, Discord, our neighbouring nations, and the Elements of Harmony.”

Nightmare Moon huffed dismissively. “Oh, believe me – I have planned ahead far enough that I am confident in victory. However, ‘kill’ you, ‘Tia?” She chuckled and shook her head. “Perish the thought – you and your guards will suffer no such fate.”

At this, Celestia hesitated. “Why not?”

“Do not mistake pragmatism for mercy,” The dark alicorn warned. “You and your guards are more valuable to me alive than dead.”

The words sent a chill up the princess’ spine. She pawed at the ground, uneasy. “What exactly are you planning?”

Nightmare Moon waved her hoof. “Ah, ah, ah – no spoilers.”

And without another word, she struck.

The guards that entered the room specifically reserved for the Galloping Gala barely had time to take in the severity of the situation before a canister landed at the lead guard’s feet. The glowing sapphire in its receptacle intensified from the force of the impact and shattered. The canister burst as a flurry of cold air billowed outwards.

The guards yelped in pain as a thick layer of ice trapped their legs, leaving them to struggle futilely until the unicorns could begin the tedious process of melting the ice.

Swooping over the heads of her latest victims, Veil’s keen eyes scanned the area for more groups. “Ebony, there’s a guy behind you.”

Swiftly spinning about, Ebony cast her spell before the guard could finish his own. His eyes widened in shock and pain as electricity coursed through his body. Before he fainted, his spell went awry and struck a pegasus; the unfortunate stallion flapped his wings frantically before his muscles seized up and he slid across the linoleum floor to bowl over another guard.

Things were going… well.

Compared to so many nights spent fighting Nightmare Moon, the guards seemed painfully slow and weak in comparison. She had to keep a constant watch out and react to developments in an instant, but it wasn’t as bad as she expected.

“They brought more of their friends,” Fade chimed in. “Whoa, new type! New type!”

A group of guards arrived through a set of double-doors, horns glowing, wings flaring, and hooves stomping. Among them was a unicorn wearing a more elaborately designed set of armour; it was pure silver in colour and covered in intricate swirls and circles.

A lieutenant of the Royal Guard.

The lieutenant’s horn lit up with a light blue glow and the very air around him cooled and formed globules of water that swirled together in a ring around his body.

Ebony frowned as he and the others rushed forward. “Watch out for the silver guard – he’s tougher than the others.”

As if to prove her point, the ring of water lashed out, several balls of water breaking off and quickly solidifying into ice. Ebony threw up a shield and blocked them, the ice shattering upon impact. In response, the guard swept out a hoof, and the fragments of ice melted and flowed around and over the shield, coming together and surging forwards to knock Ebony off her hooves. The geyser continued pressing forwards until she hit a wall, where it then froze to entrap her.

The guard’s victory was cut short as he attempted to grab Fade with a tendril of water only to spot Miasma charging at him from the side. The ring of water surged forwards and rose up to create a thick wall of ice. Miasma ran through it as if it were cardboard. The guard grimaced and teleported off to the side, his horn glowing as he melted the ice once more.

At that point, Ebony’s Kinetic Impact spell had gathered enough strength to shatter her prison. The crimson wave was strong enough to continue surging forwards for several more metres and knock several guards off their feet.

Ebony shuddered violently as she hit the floor, the cold continuing to plague her – enough to make it hard to move, but not enough to kill her.

“I’ve got you.”

A silver aura swept over Ebony’s body, relaxing the muscles and raising her body temperature. Within seconds she was fit to fight. “Thanks, Haze.”

Under the cover of his Invisibility spell, Haze couldn’t do any spectacular spells without revealing himself, but he more than made up for it by debilitating the guards and buffing his friends.

On more than one occasion Ebony had seen a guard suddenly find themselves under assault from their own animated helmet, have their own spell explode in front of their face, and suddenly attack their own comrades in a fit of addled confusion.

As for them, Haze seemed to always be in the nick of time to pull them out of harm’s way, give them a burst of healing magic, and remove any afflictions such as paralysis, fatigue, and dizziness.

“Miasma’s having a bit of trouble with Water Boy,” Veil informed them. “He’s making her slip all over the place while his buddies do the dirty work.”

“Nopony annoys my little sister except me!”

A dark green blur swept down and circled the group attacking Miasma, the winds rapidly picking up speed and forming a small tornado. Miasma simply dug her hooves in to avoid being swept up. Tendrils of water lashed about as the lieutenant attempted to strike Fade; his angered cries able to be heard above the roaring winds.

Ebony nodded. “Alright, nice job, but it’s not over yet,” She turned her attention to the guards that were too far away to be swept up. “We have to give our Mistress time!”

His dark-purple armour glinting in the lunar rays, Wisp raised his voice to be heard over the timber wolf’s roars. “Damn it – hold your positions! Don’t let this thing get out! Where the hell are those unicorns?!”

The timber wolf’s giant paw came down on a stone fountain, crushing it as easily as a sand castle and sending the ground troops running for cover. Narrowing its glowing eyes, it lowered its muzzle and exhaled, a hurricane of foul breath billowing out across the gardens to cover the guards. Wisp winced as he saw them cough and gag and cover their noses in a desperate attempt to block out the stench.

The really unlucky ones were forced to use their helmets as vomit buckets.

Timber wolf breath was in no way lethal, but it reeked to high heaven and stained clothing.

At the very least, breathing on them and flat-out causing a mess was the only thing it was doing so far. He had no reports of injuries and the only ponies that were lying on the ground were the ones who passed out from the smell. Still, he made it a priority to move them; the damned wolf was so big it could have easily stepped on them without realizing it.

“Swish!” He turned to the sky as the pegasus in question floated down, a clothes peg on his nose. “Where are our reinforcements?! We might as well be spitting at this thing!”

Swish shrugged. “D’oh idea, sir; communications are on da fray,” He gestured to the castle. “As far as we can tell, hostile ponies are in dere causing a mess.”

Wisp stomped in frustration. “Celestia damn it!”

“No idea where she is, eider.”

Wisp glared at the timber wolf as it bit down on a magnificently sculpted statue, uprooted it, and spat it out into the garden’s hedge maze. “Fine – Swish, get some pegasi and make some lightning! We’ll deal with the fires later; right now, we have to take this mutt down!”

“Aye, aye, sir!”

As Swish flew off to follow orders, Wisp galloped forwards. The wolf had stopped at a particularly tall tree and raised one leg, uncaring to the guards bucking its ankles and the infuriated birds voiding their bowels over its head. He stopped directly in front and yelled at the top of his voice.

“Hey, your mother was a sapling!” He paused. “And a whore!”

Whether or not it actually understood the insult, the timber wolf switched its attention to Wisp and exhaled noxious green fumes. Wisp sprinted underneath the wolf’s belly and launched himself at its tail, teeth coming down on one of the leaves sprouting from it. The tail flicked back and forth in an attempt to shake him off, but only succeeded in giving him enough momentum to flip onto its back.

Almost spraining his right hind leg as it was wedged in the gap of two thick interlacing branches, Wisp fought for balance as he made his way towards the wolf’s head; the mutt was bucking worse than a bull, knocking over trees, shrubs, and statues as its foul breath filled the area. Through sheer force of willpower and strength, he managed to cling on and grab at a branch sticking out from behind its left ear.

Wisp picked out a spot at the base of the ear, righted himself as best he could and balanced on his front legs. “Smile!”

The force of his buck shattered the layering of leaves and branches. He apparently hit something critical as the entirety of the ear creaked and tilted to the side, its own weight causing the rest of the supports to strain and snap. Wisp grinned triumphantly as the ear exposed a large hole. Leaping from its head, he landed on the grass and yelled up at the pegasi.

“Aim for that spot!”

Crucial seconds passed as Wisp watched the pegasi under his command move a dark grey cloud to hang over the timber wolf, apparently unaffected by the loss of a body part. He spotted Swish land on the top of the cloud, take aim, and…

CRACK

A fork of yellow lightning arced downwards and struck the hole he had created with pinpoint precision, a shower of sparks spraying forth from the hole and the wolf’s mouth. The wolf emitted a high-pitched whine and staggered to the side, quickly losing all sense of balance and falling flat with a tremor that almost knocked Wisp off his hooves.

He – along with every other guard still conscious – leaned forwards with baited breath. The only sounds came from the flames that began to spread from the beast’s temple to its muzzle and neck.

Swish suddenly laughed. “Holy Celestia, we d-”

Orange light pulsated from within the wolf’s chest as the flames were inexplicably snuffed out. Faster than one would imagine for such a titanic beast, it rose back up, and snapped its jaws down on Swish.

A collective gasp tore through the air.

An instant later, the timber wolf swung its massive head to the side, and spat.

Swish – covered in tree sap – hit the grass, a look of supreme disgust on his face as he flicked his wings in a futile attempt to get free.

“Da peg does noding!”

And just like that, they were fighting once more, the orange light inside the beast’s chest throbbing like a heartbeat.

Wisp shook his head in disbelief and mounting rage. “Who in Tartarus makes a giant timber wolf fire resistant?!”

Nightmare Moon bounced off the stone column and dropped heavily, fragments of concrete and piles of dust raining down upon her even as Celestia strode forwards, fiery hoofprints scored into the marble.

“Have you had enough?”

Nightmare Moon pulled her head from the rubble and gave a sardonic smirk. “Just getting started…” She gave the smallest tilt of her head as her horn flashed.

Celestia’s eyes widened as a sense of weightlessness overtook her and she tumbled forwards into thin air. Loose debris in a large circle around Nightmare Moon steadily rose as gravity was rendered null – the alicorn herself immune to the effects. Without any forces to keep her weighted to the planet, Celestia was quickly thrown upwards in a telekinetic grasp, and slammed back down hard enough to shatter the floor along with several bones.

The force was enough to bounce her out of the spell’s AOE, whereupon she landed with a pained gasp, teeth gritted as her skeleton realigned and mended itself. As her hind leg snapped back into place with a surge of agony that quickly faded into numbness, Celestia stood, and shook her head to clear the stars.

“Gravity really is a harsh mistress, hm?” Nightmare Moon chuckled cruelly as her spell ended and the debris clattered to the floor.

Celestia stomped her right hoof – tendrils of yellow light running from her horn and down the limb – and a mess of cracks spread outwards, intensifying with heat until the marble melted.

A moment later, several geysers of flames erupted.

Nightmare Moon threw up a shield and backed away, wincing as the intense temperature slapped her across the face. “Well, at this rate, you’re doing more damage to the castle than-”

Celestia burst forth from the wall of flames, wreathed in the destructive element like something straight out of Tartarus. She threw her entire weight against the shield – using a Kinetic Impact spell to give her more momentum – and it shattered, shards of magic brushing against her coat as she landed a crippling haymaker against the dark alicorn.

“Enough!”

The blow was followed by a right hook and then a left hook which stunned Nightmare Moon long enough for Celestia to spin about and deliver a powerful buck to the chest. Spittle bursting from her lips, Nightmare Moon bounced against a wall, senses reeling.

“Equestria is my home and I will no longer permit you to have one iota of power over any of its inhabitants any longer!”

Celestia kicked her against the wall again – further deepening and widening the island of cracks – before flipping her forwards onto her back with a tendril of telekinesis. Within seconds she was straddling Nightmare Moon’s waist and throwing down one punch after the other, specks of blood spurting upwards with every hit.

Nightmare Moon threw her head to the side after enduring the beating for several moments longer – her graceful features malformed and disturbing to see – to dodge another blow before leaning up and clamping her jaws down on her opponent’s neck.

Sharp teeth easily punctured flesh and she pulled back, a slab of white fur and red muscle in her mouth. Celestia whinnied and clutched at her throat, her nerves too frayed by the primal assault to retaliate as Nightmare Moon shoved her away, got back up, and lowered her head to stab Celestia in the chest with her horn.

Pain surged through Nightmare Moon’s head as rivulets of superheated blood ran down her horn and into her eyes. She pulled her horn out before the princess could use it against her and used a Kinetic Impact spell to create some distance.

Spitting out the flesh in her mouth, Nightmare Moon – realizing how stunned Celestia – took the time to charge up her coup de grace – a spell of her own design and make.

It was now or never; if she could hit with this spell, then the fight was as good as over.

She just needed Celestia to keep being dizzy for just a few more seconds and-

Celestia shook her head, clarity returning to her eyes and breast swelling with a breath of resolve.

“Screw it.”

Forcing the spell to finish early, Nightmare Moon let loose a battle cry, ignored the sting in her horn as her body desperately tried to tell her this was not going to end well if she attempted it, and galloped forwards.

Sparking ribbons of blue magic flowed across her body.

A roaring wind was summoned up behind her; their frigid currents spiralling at breakneck speeds.

Nightmare Moon’s body turned to mist, utterly indiscernible from the violent winds.

‘What in Faust’s name…?!’

Celestia recoiled and took a step back as the unfamiliar spell headed for her. It looked like a Mist Step spell, but it was very impractical to use during a fight seeing as the user couldn’t attack until- were those icicles?!

Indeed, the swirling mist was filled with deadly shards of thick ice, rotating amongst the winds like a blender. They were large, thick, and incredibly sharp.

Celestia flapped her wings and moved backwards to put some more space between her and the sentient winds that corkscrewed its way towards her before bringing up a barrier. She was just beginning to form a Fire Wall spell to counter the ice when her barrier was smashed to pieces and the winds buffeted her chest.

The sheer cold stole her breath by means of freezing her lungs so they couldn’t inflate or deflate. Then there were icicles ripping away at the fur, skin, and muscle on her chest. Only a few managed to make it past her iron-hard ribs; they clashed against the solid crystals that had formed from her own solidified blood. Her muscles flexed in shock and that worked to help the sharp pieces in shredding sinew and lacerating organs.

The majority of Celestia’s nerves were destroyed, so she only felt a fraction of the pain, but it was still enough to make her wish for the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

With a rush of wind, the currents shot behind Celestia and reformed Nightmare Moon’s body. The dark alicorn collapsed at the same time as the princess.

She had rushed the formation of the spell and was suffering the consequences; Nightmare Moon choked and wheezed as her ruined lungs regenerated, and spikes of ice piercing her body were pushed out.

“It’s… over.”

Celestia shuddered as her body struggled to heal the ghastly damage. Her chest, bleeding and reduced to a pincushion for grotesquely large icicles, convulsed as she swayed in and out of the waking world.

Nightmare Moon weakly rose to her feet and staggered on the spot. Shakily, she turned to the fallen princess and trotted over, ignoring how much her body protested the action.

“You… may be immortal, but you’re stagnant…” Standing over Celestia, she raised one hoof. “And now…”

Celestia’s eyes shot wide open as her horn was broken off near the base. Despite the unadulterated agony, she could only manage a slight shift of her legs and a low whine.

“You’re harmless.”

Miasma blinked the sweat from her eyes as she darted from guard to guard, inflicting blows that made them give chilling cries and screams, the sound mingling into the other ambient that pounded against her ears.

“Guys…” Her brother’s voice filtered through – the usual confidence and cock-sureness alarmingly absent. “Do you think if we ask nicely they’ll let us take a break?”

Haze pitched in, equally drained. “A spot of tea sounds nice; I do believe my spells are starting to lose potency.”

Miasma spotted an earth pony in silver armour charging towards Ebony – the unicorn was visibly struggling to maintain an impromptu storm that plagued several guards – and immediately changed direction.

“Ebony – six ‘o’ clock!”

The unicorn turned and teleported at the last second. Miasma collided with the guard as Ebony re-appeared only a few feet to the side, nursing her head.

The lieutenant deftly twisted out of Miasma’s grasp and pulled off a tricky manoeuvre that ended up with her on the ground and having her hind leg twisted into an angle that sent bolts of pain along her spine. She instinctively kicked out and turned to throw a punch, but that, too, was dodged, and the stallion was suddenly behind her, attempting to choke her into unconsciousness.

She planted her back hooves into the floor and threw her weight forward, flipping him over. The counter was somewhat ineffective as he quickly released and rolled to land upright, facing her with grim determination.

‘Yeah, this sucks.’

They were going good at the start, but now it seemed as though the fight was finally starting to take its toll.

Fade and Veil were flying slower than usual and seemed to take longer to deal with threats, Ebony’s spells were unfocused and weak and she looked about ready to collapse, and Haze was starting to become more visible as well lose strength in his rejuvenating incantations. She was in better shape, but taking the brunt of the Royal Guard’s assault was beginning to leech her stamina and health.

The true problems were the lieutenants – even with Nightmare Moon’s enhancements the guards proved a great challenge to deal with alone.

She didn’t know how Shadow was doing, but hopefully he was making a difference in some way.

Miasma wearily faced her newest opponent, matching his fierce expression with-

“Hold!”

The single word cut through the atmosphere like a knife and everypony turned in the direction of the commanding tone.

Standing atop a plight of red carpet-covered stairs was an imposing mare with a pair of magnificent wings and an impressive length of horn. Cold confidence exuded from her form as she regarded the scene with reptilian eyes.

Miasma felt a rare sense of elation fill her. “Nightmare Moon…”

The name spread amongst the guards like an illness, the words uttered with disbelief, shock, and dread. A dozen guards backed down in remembrance of the power wielded by the fabled Mare in the Moon while the newest recruits shuffled anxiously, perturbed by the stories told to them by their comrades.

“Behold…” Nightmare Moon jerked her head. “Your mighty princess.”

Horrified gasps filled the air and even Miasma had to wince as Celestia was unceremoniously chucked down the stairs, rolling down like a sack of potatoes before eventually coming to a rest at the foot.

She was barely breathing.

Seeing such a regal and powerful figure in that state… Miasma was a hard pony to invoke empathy for somepony she didn’t know, but still…

‘Note to self: do not get on her bad side.’

“I have challenged your ruler and defeated her in single combat,” Nightmare Moon stalked down the steps with the deliberation and precision of a predator. “My soldiers have proven to be a match for the entirety of your army and my pet roams the estate as leisurely as a dog roams its owner’s yard. You have failed.”

She cast her gaze over the silent crowd.

“There is no need for further violence; cast your armor aside and surrender. If you do not… then know that I will not be as merciful to you as my soldiers have been to you. If you oppose me… then take the time to cherish your final breaths.”

Miasma looked around, watching as the guards glanced to their superiors for guidance. They appeared to be more like lost foals then full-grown stallions. The lieutenants themselves seemed to be at a loss as to what to do now that their princess – the pony that they had sworn to protect – was lying before them, defeated.

Clank

All eyes turned to the earth pony she had faced not five minutes ago as he unfastened the straps which held his armour in place and allowed it to fall. Within seconds, he was bare as the day he was born.

“Will…” His gruff voice wavered, but he met the alicorn’s gaze, and swallowed. “Will you let us tend to our wounded… and her?”

Nightmare Moon’s face was stone. “Very well – however, know that I have marked her. If she leaves the castle’s premises I will know and my wrath will be felt.”

The stallion nodded and trotted towards the fallen princess.

Slowly, but gradually, the guards that were conscious and able-bodied relinquished their armour, and turned their attention to their unconscious companions, the air becoming charged with energy as healing spells were cast.

Miasma heard the flutter of wings and turned to see Fade land, his feathers ruffled and in need of a good preening. He was sweaty, covered in all sorts of injuries, and exhausted, but he was standing.

“So…” He gave a cocksure grin. “We did alright for ourselves, huh?”

“We won…” A spot of air shimmered and Haze was suddenly at their side, previously immaculate hair messy and left eye twitching from the lingering effects of an electrocution spell. “It… it got a bit sour here and there, but… I must say, we gave a good thrashing!”

“That was…” Ebony had an impossibly wide smile despite the splitting headache that made her want to sleep for a few months. “I… just… wow…”

“And this is the part where I look down and find out all my fur’s gone,” Veil cautiously checked herself, one eyebrow rising in surprise. “No? Nothing? Then sweet, jumpin’ rattlesnake, we got through that with all our limbs intact; any day where you’re still breathing by the end of it is a win in my books.”

Miasma exhaled and sat back on her haunches. “Cool…”

“Well done,” Nightmare Moon trotted over to them with what seemed to be pride in her smile. “You did better than I expected.”

“Mistress…” Ebony attempted to turn only for her exhaustion to kick in and make her fall flat on her face. “Ungh…”

“I’m sure the floor makes for a comfortable resting place, but there is still work to be done,” Nightmare Moon looked back at Celestia. “There’s not much time before Luna will come back, so we must act swiftly.”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: "... while it is common knowledge today, in the time when the three tribes were at odds, pegasi and earth ponies were ignorant of the fact that breaking a unicorn's horn does not stop their ability to manipulate and cast magic.

"A unicorn - and by extension an alicorn - gathers magic within a gland at the frontal lobe of the brain and consciously manipulates it via a cluster of conductive nerves located at the crown of the skull, directly where the horn is located. The horn, therefore, is nothing but a piece of bone which gives unicorns something to focus on and help aim their magic; breaking it may cause pain and shock, depending on how much of the horn is injured, but it is not fatal and does not block their ability to manipulate magic.

"This secret was kept guarded by unicorns of old, and it is what allowed a battalion to feign helplessness and take down a settlement of earth ponies from the inside out, an event famously referred to as the Backwater Overturn." - Excerpt from the notes of Canterlot Museum Historian, Nostalgic Withers.

Note 2: Shredding Blizzard - a spell developed by Nightmare Moon specifically to counter Celestia. It is comprised from both the school of Cryomancy and Alteration.

The spell is incredibly complex, has a long casting time, and uses up a large amount of magic, but the lethality is tremendous as it is capable of bypassing many magical barriers, and very few creatures can survive having their physiology frozen from the inside out.

The biting winds are reminscent of the wendigos that once plagued the three tribes.