Armoured boots thundered against equestrian dirt and grass as the marines scurried to either side and away from the main doorway into the generator facility.

"Fire in the hole!" A battle brother barked as the marines braced.

A dull thump followed by a dry shreik sounded as a terribly intense shockwave passed through all present outside the facility as the melta charge detonated, washing the immediate area in a bright violet light as it's intense thermal energies disintergrated most of the facility's door and the frame surrounding it. Although the air around the door breach was so hot as to shred the skin clean off of anyone who would be foolish enough to pass through it, such a threat put little worry into the hearts of the Hospitalers. The space marines piled in, close combat weapons holstered in favour of ranged weapons optimized for close quarters engagement, meltaguns primed on a broad discharge setting and bolters set to semi-automatic or two-round burst. The marine found that hose aliens within had little to no fight left in them, many having been positioned far too close to the door when the charge had blown, their cover aglow with an angry orange heat, their clothes mostly seared clean off their bodies and their armour melted into their very flesh in a grotesque fashion. The half-cooked feds screamed through lipless mouths, eyes that hadn't popped in their sockets staring out in agony, thoroughly lidless, before collapsing in still smoking heaps on the floor. Those that were left were still recovering either from the horrific sight of their mutilated comrades or from the blast of intense heat that would have singed of their eyebrows if the creatures had had any to begin with. Bolt round blasted out, roaring thuds hammering out and echoing through the metallic interior of the structure, aliens falling amidst bloody mist and spattered giblets as the marines kept their advance pressing on. Soon what appeared to be a reception hall was cleared of all contacts, and the heat left behind by the melta bomb had begun to die out.

"Breach sector clear. Miss Dash, you're clear to proceed." Adventios said through his vox mic built into his helmet, the message transmitting to another marine waited outside, emitted through the marine's amplifier grill to function as a speaker system.

The blue coated pegasus cautiously stepped through the breach, hooves careful not to graze the still very hot molten metal. Once inside she advance towards the center of the room and proceeded to get her bearings, taking a little longer than the sergeant would have liked as he and his marines covered the doorways leading into the room they occupied.

"What's the problem?" Adevntios asked in a low tone.

"Eh, this is all a bit new to me. This place has gotten bigger since the last time I was here, normally the entrance just lead straight to a maintenance hallway that took you straight to one of the reactors." Dash replied as she spun on the spot slowly, trying her best to read the alien signs and labels to try and lead herself to somewhere familiar.

"Where did you get that?" Brother Revitheon asked as he spotted the Magna-rifle held in Dash's grasp, the weapon neatly shouldered.

"The last guy didn't seem to need it very much." The girl replied casual, causing a couple of marines present to emit a single huff of amusement.

"Alright, that's enough. Can you still get us to our destination?" Tyreth growled, his patience tested slightly.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm no ace when it comes to reading Tafish like Twilight is, but I think this'll lead us to the maintenance network." She said as she approached one of the door to the left of the large, mostly pristine waiting room.

"And that weapon?" The chaplain inquired with a wary tone.

"I've used one before, I'll be fine." Dash replied in solid surety.

The marines moved up in solid formation, all doorways still covered by at least one astarte as Denethios keyed in a decoding transmission through the auspex multi-tool he had fastened to his belt. The device chimed as it successfully broke through the doors security systems with relative ease, the mechanical systems in the building sliding the door away in three geometric shaped that receded into the frame. Almost immediately after the way was clear a flurry of crimson fire came hissing through the corridor ahead. Denethios gave Dash a small but sharp shove, throwing her wide from the entryway and stumbling back a few steps to the safety the door-frame offered, the other marines taking shelter in a similar manner.

"For all our sakes, I pray you are right." Denethios called out to he pegasus through the hail of alien fire.

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Errithius marched forward out the front ramp of the stormraven gunship, following the lead of Princess Cadence who seemed outrageously eager to find those she sought after. The pink, purple and blonde female hoped forward with a short stepped jog, her head swinging about, scanning the trees and boulders that were heavily scattered all around the landing zone.

"Shining?!" The princess called out, her voice mostly drowned out by the dying whine of the gunship's engines.

The captain, his command squad and combat squad Viskur strode onwards down the ramp and stopped just before the princess, many also scanning the area for signs of activity, yet all held their bolters just to be on the extra safe side.

"Shining!" Cadence yelled again, louder this time and far more audible as the craft behind her quieted down.

After a short pause the marines started to notice an array of movement in the treeline, groups of shapes moving between the debris of an ancient rock-slide, though in the dying light of day, and considering the distance between them and the creatures they observed, none could identify those they had spotted.

"Cadence?!" A husky, unmistakably male voice called back from behind the trees ahead.

"Shining?!" The princess called back, the plush bodied princess breaking into her scurrying jog once again to close on the treeline.

"Cadence!" The voice called again as a figure rapidly closed in towards the alicorn, soon breaking into a full sprint.

The figure soon revealed itself to be a male native equestrian, his fur a pure, pearly white, his mane and tail composed of streaks of both a darker and lighter blue. Judging by the single horn sprouting from the center of his forehead Errithius could easily observe he belonged o the unicorn sub-breed of equestrian. He was dressed in grey military fatigues of practical design, his combat trousers boasting an array of pockets. He wore a vest of fairly well crafted chainmail, most of it covered by armour plate that was shaped to provide protection to the chest, the left shoulder in the form of a seemingly petal shaped pauldron and three plates of armour linked to his belt, one offering his rear a degree of protection much like a space marine's, while two more were strapped to his legs to cover the front of his thighs. His battle plate was a deep, royal purple in colour bearing a golden trim, reminiscent of the battle plate worn by the Emperor's Children space marines. The two equines ran into each others arms, the two sharing a long, deep embrace before then sharing a questionably appropriate kiss that had Errithius' expression crease in perplexity at the activity he was utterly unfamiliar with. Once the two dureecoupled after a time they pressed their foreheads together, horns criss-crossed as they both quietly spoke of how they had missed each other. The captain could allow the sentiment to continue no further for the sake of the ever ticking clock he knew to be against them, the astarte stepping forward with his brethren in tow to come up behind the couple. The male soon came to notice the group of towering alien creatures, and although quickly seemed to recognise they were not the same breed as the federation, he cautiously tightened his grip on his mate slightly, backing away a step with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Shining, it's okay. They're here to help." Cadence said in an infectiously relaxing tone as she held her lover by the sides of his face.

"Oh, uhm, yeah. Sure." The equestrian replied in a slightly higher pitched tone her had previously had, looking thoroughly shaken by the sight before him.

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Another shot hammered the alien weapon into Dash's shoulder, the muzzle flying high as the recoil took it's toll. The round she'd just fired struck a security unit right in the base of the throat, the velocity of the round passing through the alien's flesh and bone, snapping it's neck in the process and leaving it to collapse to the floor in a lazy heap. The space marine's weapons let out their own thunder, their weapons recoil seeming to affect them as much as a mild breeze would, each shot placed with admirable accuracy to scythe down alien soldier after alien soldier.

"How's that door coming, Denethios?!" Adventios called out as he fired another burst from his double-barreled weapon down the hallway.

"I'm encountering delays, I believe the enemy have deployed digital countermeasures to slow us down!" The marine replied from behind the defenders.

"And this influx of fresh troops leads me to believe they have begun deploying infantry as well. We're going to have a damnable time getting out of here, Chaplain!" Herathor barked over the thunder of his heavy bolter discharging.

"Hold firm and fear not death, brothers! We have made it this far, His will guides us!" Tyreth yelled as he blasted the head clean off another benefactor before an immortal fired a flurry of magna rounds into his right pauldron, sending him reeling back round the corner, another marine replacing his efforts with bolter fire.

Dash kept up her fire as best as she could, but finding her efforts greatly eclipsed by that of the space marines. It did not bother her that she had reaped a far smaller tally of kills than the marines, but she was starting to feel that her presence there was becoming practically worthless at this point. She desperately tried to place her shots to better stem the enemy's efforts, or at least keep their heads down, but since the amplifier suit wearing immortals had entered the fray, the federation's grasp on defensive positions had become slightly more resistant, and their advanced uncomfortably more effective with each passing minute. Dash tried her best to think about what advantages her position held, what she could make use of. The first was easy to remember, and that was this corridor was the only one leading into the western maintenance network, then leading onto the western reactor array that converted the energies produced by the rainbow falls into energies the feds used to power the eastern research facility. This was the choke-point that not only needed to be surpassed by the marines and herself, but at least temporarily seal off to prevent their pursuers from flanking and surrounding them within the maze of maintenance tunnels. Unfortunately the interior of he corridor was built much like any other federation structure and was extremely resilient to structural compromise or collapse. A single segment of the tunnel that stretched ahead could be blasted open, the paneling being destroyed by little more than sustained small arms fire due to the induced pressured kept behind the walls of most federation facilities, mostly those housing sensitive equipment. Dash's eyes widened with revelation before she spun around to address the nearest marine.

"I need a grenade coked off between us and the feds.! I need to expose the conductor conduits behind the internal paneling!" Dash called out over the sound of gunfire to the marine pressed against the wall besides her, who gave a sharp nod in response and readied a grenade, dislodging the pin, calling out a warning, then tossing the cylindrical device down the hallway.

The grenade bounced a fair distance, surprisingly coming to a halt almost exactly half way between the marines and the benefactors, pausing a moment before detonating with a sharp blast that rang the ears of the pegasus. Once quickly recovered from her disorientation she turned again to look at the astarte sergeant, Dathes.

"Cover me!" Dash said before darting off down the corridor, rifle in hand.

"Wait! Rainbow, wait!" Dathes called out, the marine shifting his stance to steadily proceed down the corridor after her whilst providing covering fire.

Dash could barely see what was happening around her with her bloodstream composed of what she assumed was mostly adrenaline at this point. Red flashes surrounded her vision as she sprinted down the corridor, hindered slightly by her half-healed injuries sustained the day previous, but making good progress so far. The yellow flashes of returning space marine fire filled portions of her vision also as she assumed at least a couple of the alien's had begun to follow her advance. Soon dash came to a skidding halt, dropping to one knee just before the breach in the wall the marine's grenade had caused. The torn and charred metal of the interior plating had been spectacularly blasted away, destroying many components hidden beneath the wall, but not the primary electro-static feed conduit as Dash had hoped. The pipe was at least as thick as a pony, it's length divided into segments separated by neon red spaces that thrummed with the energy the conduits contained. Half her mind marveling at how she had made it this far, the pegasus raised her rifle and brought her aim square with one of the glowing separations before firing a heartbeat later. Not a millisecond after she had fire a shot an enemy round blasted clean through he barrel of the rifle she held, the weapon letting out a harsh whine that built in volume before the whole device sharply detonated in her very hands. Dash cried out in pain as the right side of her face felt as though it were on fire, the inside of her right forearm and right shoulder feeling much the same sharp, searing pain. Although extremely uncomfortable, it was not enough to be unbearable, leaving the pegasus tense with pain on her side, her eyes opening to reveal a blurry sight that slowly grew clearer with time.

A degree of relief washed over Dash as she saw how her efforts had not been in vain, a section of the corridor immediately ahead of her filled with white-hot arcs of lightning that was conducted through a quickly dissipating gas that leaked from a breach in the power conduit she had sabotaged. Through it, not only could neither side firmly make out the position of the other, but none could cross through the miniature lightning storm. A deep thud sounded from behind Dash a moment before she felt a large hand gently grip her left shoulder, slowly turning her over onto her back as she cringed and gasped in fits of mild pain.

"Have any of your friends cared to mention how perhaps your bravery is twinned with your foolishness?" Dathes said in a soft tone as the pink lenses of his helmet scanned over the pegasus he knelt over.

"Guh...Yeah, I think...I've heard something...Nnng...like that...before." Dash weakly replied as the marine drew a medical pistol from the rear of his belt, cycling the devices mechanisms to activate some form of spray unit that doused Dash's wounded areas with a cooling mist that numbed her maladies to a degree.

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"I don't know, Cadence. These guys just happen to show up in the last place Princess Celestia happens to look out of desperation? They just happen to be a space travelling military cult and they just happen to feel the need to help us? This is starting to sound like a poor excuse for some kid's comic book. I mean do we really, really know where they come from? Have they shared anything about themselves besides the bare basics?" Shining Armour said, pacing before his wife who sat before him upon an ammunition crate within the captain's command tent.

"Of course not, Shining. They have no more reason to trust us than we do to trust them. But they haven't demanded to hear any more than we have been willing to tell them, and they're actions couldn't prove their convictions more." The alicorn said in a genuine tone, trying her best to ease her husbands fears.

"I just don't understand the motivation behind it. Everything the federation has done for us has always had a price to it, and we've given up so much already. What's to say these...uh...whatever they are, won't do the exact same, or worse?" Stressed the unicorn.

"Because they're not the federation. Because they seem to have a genuine moral compass. They could easily whether whatever the federation would try and throw at them and eventually find a way back to wherever they came from, but the thought of abandoning us to die away here...I feel like they know a part of their honour would die with us as well if they simply left us."

"You're good at reading ponies, Cadence. What have you seen in these aliens?" Shining inquired in a low tone, coming rest upon a stack of water barrels.

Cadence hesitated for a moment, knowing what she had to say wasn't particularly nice, but it was the truth, nonetheless.

"Pain. Hate. The...product of what feels like ten lifetimes of ceaseless conflict. In a way, they're far worse than any federation soldier when considering who fearsome they are in battle. Their fear, it's...it's receded, mishapen...like an amputated limb. Their whole psyche feels...unbalanced...almost, broken. Like somepony cut out everything that would hinder them as soldiers, shaping them into the perfect warrior breed. If the space marines wanted, this haphazard band of castaways could lay waste to our entire domain in days."

"You always know just what to say to put my mind at ease, sweetie." Shining replied, his voice strained with fear and eyes wide as an ironic grin was plastered across his face, the sight causing Cadence to giggle slightly before standing up and placing her hands upon her husbands shoulders in a reassuring display.

"But they wouldn't. I don't think they could even if they wanted to. Like I said, pieces of them are missing inside, even pieces that allow for a pony to succumbed to misplaced actions. It's strange, they're almost...programmed to follow a strict set of moral codes that's been fed into their minds their whole lives. It's...sad, really. Being around them...it's like being around a group of angry little colts who've never known their parents, never felt the love of a mare, never even imagined themselves a future that wasn't dying horribly on some terrible war far from home while the rest of the world just forgets you and moves on!" Cadence grew more distressed as she spoke, recalling all she had felt through the psychic residue the marines exuded around her, all that they were and all that they would never be.

"It's okay, it's okay sweetie. I understand, it's fine." Shining said, calming his wife down as he placed a hand against her cheek to console her, the mare letting out a long sigh as she savoured his touch for a moment.

"But they're brave, they're true to their word, honest and chivalrous. In fact they're a lot like a certain captain of the royal guard I've heard about." Cadence said, looking into her husbands eyes with charming intent.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of him. Sounds like a real shiny-shoed prissy prince from what I've heard." Shining said with a chuckle.

"Oh, but he's sooooo handsome~!" Cadence replied in fake hysterics as she fell into Shining's arms, the two sharing a short giggle before sharing a long, deep kiss, Cadence eventually pulling away.

"I know this is all a bit chaotic at the moment, and I know it's difficult with your guard already so overwhelmed, but if we don't do this we-...then all of Equestria as we knew it will be gone forever." Cadence said with sincerity, quickly amending a misstep that had almost come in her vocabulary.

"Cadence, something's wrong. You've been getting more and more tense recently when you mention these sort of things. What's bothering you?" The captain said, cradling his wife's face as he looked into her eyes.

"It's fine. Really, I'm fine. You know how these things can get to me and...after all this time I guess it's just started to take it's toll." Cadence lied convincingly, inside screaming at herself.

"Okay, but I'm worried about you. Whatever happens over the next few days, I want you to stay out of it, okay? Stay in the camp, a safe house or...if you're absolutely sure it's safe, then at the space machine's spaceship thing." Shining armour said, the last of his words bearing a groan of insecurity.

"Marines. It's Space Marines. And they seem to be quite proud creatures, so you might want to make a point to at least remember the name of their species." Cadence giggled as she straightened some stray strands of Shining's mane.

"Yeah, whatever. It's a stupid name either way." Shining groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, time to behave." The princess said with a amused grin as she lead her husband outside the command tent and through the military camp the remaining royal guard had built for themselves in the north of White Tail woods.

The camp was still surprisingly vast, composed of over a dozen multi-pony tents for soldiers to sleep in and house their weapons and equipment, housing over three hundred equestrian royal guard from all three division's of their military detachment. Day, Night and Crystal guard all roamed and jogged about the hap-hazard campsite, dodging barrels, crates and each other as they busied themselves with whatever task lay ahead of them. Some waited around in groups, fitted for combat, rifles slung over shoulders and worn and chipped armour affixed. Cadence couldn't help but notice how many wounded there were, how many looked as though they were being deployed to combat regardless of their injuries, and how many makeshift sun and moon tombstones littered an area outside the edges of the camp a hundred or so feet away. Cadence had been through a lot, all of Equestria had, in fact, but the military had by far received the worst of the federation's wrath for a handful of reasons.

First, the Federation functioned primarily upon fear, both their own and that of their 'enemies'. They used fear and intimidation to subvert and indoctrinate all who would oppose them, shaving off any unwanted social or emotional excess they deemed unnecessary to one's functional efficiency and moulding them into the perfect worker or soldier unit they desired. And as much as a relatively small percentage of equestrians had bent to he will of the aliens, the guard had remained absolutely and totally steadfast when faced with the threats the federation made. For an equestrian royal guardspony was more than just a conscript of the army or operative of the equestrian navy, they were the finest foot soldiers Equestria had to offer. Although still only mortal ponies of flesh and blood, and many had families and free time to themselves, in deployment the royal guard were a truly magnificent force to deal with. The Minotaur Cataclysm, the Western Griffin Raids, all faced the ranks of Equestria's finest and fell before their titanic defense. Only two occurrences had ever seen the guard brought low, the Changeling Insertion that occurred a few years ago and the war they were fighting now.

For the Federation was enraged beyond all measure when informed that the royal guard had utterly refused to disband and turn in their wargear, finding the equestrian soldiers stubbornly set in defending their land and their princesses from the threat at hand. After threat after threat had been made, budging the guard not an inch, the federation ordered all royal guardsponies be hunted down, stripped of their rank and be processed for 'reeducation'. Not a single guard had met their pursuers quietly, and benefactors had orders to kill any of those that resisted their capture with lethal force, and although none can truly confirm anything in those terrible days where many equestrian streets suffered night-long firefights, it is said that not a single guard was captured alive. Now less than a thousand remained from their original number of over five times such a number, but still the soldiers of Equestria fulfilled their duty in any way they could. Thise was hardly easy work, however, as even the most clumsy and stim-induced benefactor was more than a match for a guardspony, the aliens bearing far superior weaponry and armour, along with vast numbers of vehicular units and considerable air support. Where the feds had magna-rifles, the guard had mere slug rifles, where they had dominator suits the guard had barely twelve operational recon jeeps and every airship the guard had previously had at disposal was now either under decommission or under strict federal investigation.

However the guard had proved themselves far from useless, being almost constantly active in guerrilla strikes and sabotage operations for almost two years now. Many donned simple civilian clothes when on such a mission, clogging reactor exhausts with elastic explosive, re-wiring defense systems and catching small, vulnerable federation patrols in ambushes or well placed traps. Having a considerable number of friendly organisation aiding in their efforts helped a great deal also, those zebra tribesponies able to slip through their containment zone delivering potent poisons and magical concoctions to cripple and slow enemy soldiers, a handful of ponies working the assembly lines located behind Smokey mountain had been leaving out certain components when assembling federation military hardware and, to everypony's surprise, a tiny group of changelings of the pale, pink maned Sltoloxa breed had offered their aid without condition, proving reliable spies, sentries and saboteurs. With all this combined with the raw, uncompromising effort and stubborn nature of the guard meant the Federation had had a thorn in it's side for quite some time now. The camp, however, did reflect how desperate things were getting with guard missing segments of armour lost in battle, not to be replaced, weapons in poor condition, ammo boxes barely a quarter full at best and even their tents and canopies bearing clusters of bullet holes and burn marks, testament to how the guard had to pack up camp quickly when their camp was stumbled across.

Cadence washed her thoughts of what the guard and her husband had been through, and instead focused on how best to save them and everypony else in Equestria. Shining Armour trailed behind Cadence a little as they approach the squads of astartes, like a child being dragged to the dentist's, his discomfort painfully evident around the giant aliens. Upon reaching the astarte captain Cadence brought her husband to her side, looking up at Errithius with a promising expression followed by a short pause as Shining found it difficult to talk to the alien, the unicorn scratching the back of his head awkwardly before receiving a sudden nudge of encouragement from his wife.

"Okay, uh...Look, I can offer you half of what force I have available. I can get them ready in a few days but they won't be able to bring what little sup-" The royal guard captain started before the astarte captain cut him off.

"I understand you care for your men's well-being, Captain, and these are truly trying times for all of you, but I require your entire force committed to this offensive. I have come to understand you have made a habit of snapping at the Federation's ankles for quite a time now, but this is the time to take the initiative in all entirety. Your soldiers will provide the Federation just one of the many engagements we are to initiate all across the region, and so overwhelmed will they be after sitting so comfortable in their cradle of power that their resolve will faulter, their morale crumble and their mobility be crippled. In this instance, my strike team shall cut at the heart of this enemy, leaving them bloodied and finding any sense of vengeance drowned by their grief and panic. We achieve all of this only with your full support, only with all your troops deployed across the country alongside my space marines, and only this one time." Errithius said, his words steady and carefully announced so there would be no misunderstanding.

Shining looked, expectadly, extremely conflicted, evidently torn between maintaining the integrity, if not the actual existence of his guard, and the possibility of finally delivering a truly effective blow to the aliens that had burnt and butchered his ponies.

"Shining, I know this is a big gamble. It could mean we really lose everything. But it could also mean we finally get a chance to rebuild, to take back our homes. We might just get Equestria back." Cadence pleaded, her eyes locked into Shining's.

The unicorn held a pause for a moment, shifting eyes revealing his mind in a state of deep, intense thought before he turned once again to look up at Errithius. This time however, Shining appeared to collect a noticeable degree of resolve and addressed the astarte far more directly.

"Alright, but I have some conditions." Shining said firmly.

"Of course." The alien replied.

"First, you deploy to every city we do, and I know exactly where that'll be. Manehattan, Canterlot, Ponyville and the settlement bellow Las Pegasus. Deal?"

"Agreed, though I shall have no forces to spare beyond those deployed. Once on the ground, what marines you encounter shall be all you can receive." Errithius replied informatively.

"Fine. Second, each field officer that leads my guard in each engagement has complete and total command over them. You can request their cooperation, but they are not yours to command, even if they choose to retreat." Shining said, jabbing an open hand towards the marine to drive home the condition.

"Understood, but have your men know our experience in battle is, in absolution, worth taking heed of. What information we relay to your commanders is not to be taken lightly."

"Alright. And lastly...take Cadence back to your ship and keep her safely there until this is all finished."

"Shining, ponies will need t-" Cadence begun.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I can't let you do this. This world is going to go through the wood-chipper over the next couple days and I can't risk you getting caught up in all this. And this is a condition to my cooperation with all this, if you want the guard to play a part in this then I need to know you're going to be safe." Shining said staring into Cadences eyes with a steely intensity, his mind already utterly made up, the alicorn sighing before closing her eyes in defeat.

"Alright, I'll go back to the ship. But please, be careful, I need you to still be here when I come back." The princess said solemnly.

"I will, I promise." Shining said back as he brought Cadence into his arms.

"You'll find company with your friends who are already aboard. I imagine more of your companions will join you as they fulfill their rolls in informing the population of our plans." Errithius added, Cadence nodding in reply.

"Okay, when should I tell my guard to be ready by?" Shining asked as he turned back to the space marine.

"Now."

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Celestia could almost savour the sense of tumbling weightlessness, the way it seemed all natural law was exempt around her as she hurtled through darkness. This came to a titanic and abrupt stop as her wings first, then her back slammed right into and followed to break through a solid stone wall composed of finely crafted marble bricks. Dense rock shattered all around her, brick and rubble tumbling through the air as she did, the cluster of motion they all made up gliding through the air in a blur of rapid movement. Both less than a second and all of eternity went by before the second impact of snow-white stone on equally white wing occurred, only this time the princess had been slowed down enough to cause only a cluster of crack in the wall she struck, her body bouncing of the surface to almost lifelessly tumble to the palace floor some forty feet below. With a mighty crash, Celestia plummeted to the hard floor of the throne room, the blow she suffered only cushioned by the thin plush of the pink carpet that led down the rooms length and straight to Equestria's throne itself. The princess of the sun, with a grunt of effort and pain shifted herself to her front, slowly pushing her torso upwards to try and ready herself to stand once again. Her efforts ceased when a dull thud sounded from behind her, toward the end of the room where the throne sat. Looking around, the beaten and sore princess looked upon a shadow sat in the middle of the space before her, rising to reveal a tall, massive figure that had just landed behind her and now slowly advanced forwards. The creature's bat-like wings spread out, making it appear absolutely gigantic and throwing a blanket of shadow out over Celestia who felt the pit of fear in her heart grow a little deeper.

"Of course you'd be the one to show up as soon as all the hard work was done for you! You've always only been any good at two things sister; washing away the beauty of the night with the unwanted day, and treating other ponies like your personal chess pieces!" The shadowy figure growled.

Between a pair of teal, draconic eyes the shadow had an equally teal glow emanated before a magical beam was sent forward and into the center of Celestia's back. The blast was mostly kinetic, blasting Celestia forward onto her front once again and skidding her forward on her face several feet, but the essence of the spell lingered where it had struck for a moment that felt like the crackle of static.

"Just listen to that little heart of yours go! You know why you're afraid of me, sister?" The sharp voice said, a voice that sounded much like that of Celestia's own sister s much that hearing it come from her adversary made her skin crawl.

Celestia suddenly felt a pair of large hands grab the back of the shirt she wore, throwing her up a few feet and spinning her about a little way to catch her shirt again by the front before yanking her forwards into the face of Nightmare Moon.

"Because I'm not just another one of your puppets!" The black alicorn roared, her hot breath washing over Celestia's face, the princess unable to face such intimate ferocity head on as she threw her head to one side in panic before being tossed across the room.

Celestia had been thrown by Nightmare as if she'd weighed no more than a bed pillow, the alicorn soaring through the air to come crashing down on the floor once more, smashing through a broken and ruined federation console and sliding up the the foot of the throne platform just in front of one of the two flower dishes that flanked the ramp up to the throne. She groaned as she felt waves of pain wash over the side of her that had slammed into the floor, her limbs cringing inwards as her head fell weakly to the floor. She soon her the rhythmic thumps of heavy, hoof-shoe'd steps that grew closer to her at a casual pace. Celestia open her eyes to see on the floor before her a shadow wash over its surface, revealing the dark alicorn was stood right behind her. Celestia weakly rolled over onto her back, wings limply sliding outwards, lacking any muscular tension whatsoever, her eyes clearing to see Nightmare standing over her, her sharp features tense with a fiery anger, eyes staring at her with painful tension.

"Please, I...I just want my...sister back. That's all I care about. I swear, I just want...my Luna back." Celestia said weakly, but in such solid desperation that no hint of a lie sullied her words.

Nightmare rolled her eyes, baring her carnivorous teeth as her muscles tensed in anger and a deep, feral growl rumbled from within her throat. The massive alicorn, who was easily twice Celestia's size when concerning musculature, snatched the fallen alicorn up by the collar of her shirt once again, the clothing tearing apart in a few spots as she was lifted up over Nightmare's head by her immensely powerful arm.

"Oh, it is just always about precious little Luna, isn't it?!" Nightmare yelled, her voice devolving to something bearing an animalistic growl to it as she spoke.

Nightmare threw Celestia down and outwards a few feet to see her smash into the nearest fountain ponds built into the throne platform behind the flower dishes. A section at the edge of the pond broke clean off as Celestia's shoulder slammed into it, shattering the ceramic material as her body sent most of the water within the pond splashing out in all directions. The now thoroughly soaked princess simply lay there in the scenic pond, wings and limbs splayed out motionless, eyes closed, clothing drenched and torn and hair heavy and still with water. For a moment Nightmare Moon simply looked out over to her victim, giving an almost unsatisfied huff before turning and ascending the ramp too once again bring herself looming over Celestia.

"I'm willing to bet you've not spent a single second thinking about me! Besides when you were thinking about how to defeat me, how to undo my 'villainous schemes'! First you act like I don't even exist, then you turn Luna against me, then all of Equestria! I've only ever wanted what is best for this country, to give them a competent, strong princess for once, to bring them a sky that never fades in its beauty. But you just had to ruin it all, like you ruin everything for me! You made me out to be some monster!" Nightmare barked and growled, her mane flowing with ever greater turbulence as she spoke.

"You...you are a monster, Nightmare Moon. You've only ever brought other ponies misery." Celestia said weakly, though her voice tried to reflect the anger her heart felt, her weakened lungs would not provide her more than a husky murmur.

Nightmare threw her arms down to pick up Celestia again, this time by the throat, and although she was not quite being choked, Nightmare Moon's immense grip made it even more difficult for Celestia to breath.

"I am not a monster! I'm a pony! I'm your sister!" Nightmare roared with such volume that Celestia feared she might go deaf.

"You are just a dark reflection of who Luna truly is. You're little more than an illusion of dark magic." Celestia grunt back, her features tightening in discomfort and anger.

"Why are you saying this?! Why do you hate me so much?! Why does everypony hate me?! WHY?!" With every desperate, hysterical question Nightmare Moon shook Celestia with frightening violence, causing the princess of the sun's vision to become a maddening blur before she was thrown into the pond below her once again, more of the fountain's edge shattering away into the pool below.

Celestia had lost all ability to move, to open her eyes, even simply breathing was becoming a trying chore for her. A trickle of warmth rolled down her nose, swerving as gravity dictated to come speeding down her muzzle and to her cheek. Celestia knew it to be a trickle of bright purple blood, something that had not stained her pristine white fur for hundreds of years. She coughed as her lungs struggled for the air they desperately required, throwing her head to one side to come splashing into the water she lay in. Opening her one un-submerged eye, with some effort, Celestia came to see something she had never even thought possible.

Limply, almost helplessly lent up against the foot of the throne was Nightmare Moon, her normally imposing face was awash with streams of tears still flowing from her mostly closed eye. Her expression was a defeated one, as if she'd just faced up to a hundred fully empowered Tirek's and found herself beaten, her muscle-clad form bathed in the pale light of the sunset filtering through the stained glass window behind her, her whole body slumped to the floor and trembling as she sobbed. Celestia tried to lift her head, and was thankful for the time granted her to make the same attempt three times, each one failed. After a moment she wearily succeeded, both her eyes able to make out clearly her enemy, previously applying her demi-god powers to great effect, now reduced to the same sight one would find a wounded child, sniveling and lacking any drive to function without aid.

"I remember the first thing you said about me. Me and Luna were playing...we were playing 'Castles and Kings' on the floor of our room. We were laughing...and then you showed up. You asked why Luna was making so much noise and she said she was playing with her friend, with me. And you said...you said, 'Imaginary friends are for babies'. Me and Luna cried for an hour after you left us there, we had to comfort each other and I had to convince her I wasn't just some made-up part of her imagination." Nightmare spoke, her voice quiet and trembling, her body still as a rock, mane utterly motionless.

"Over and over again you told Luna to stop playing by 'herself', then to stop talking to 'herself'. You told her that princesses couldn't have 'imaginary friends'. You made her ignore me for years! You took away the only friend I ever had!" Nightmare's anger flared, her large fist smashing into the stone beneath her, shattering the glossy surface.

"Only after everypony else in all of Equestria had stopped paying her any notice did she finally start talking to me again, and still we had to tip-hoof around you almost every day. She just wanted to have friends, just wanted to know what it was to be looked up to and appreciated for her effort. We both did! We both only ever wanted what you reveled in every day, right in front of our face while you completely ignored us!" The dark alicorn blurted out, her voice drenched in both anger and sadness.

"I...I was young, naive and arrogant. And Luna knows how awful I feel about how I acted all those years ago. But that was my crime against Luna, I never di-...you were never..." Celestia started only to trail off.

"I was there for ever scorn you threw at her, every ignored plea, every moment we both spent in the dark. And I was the one who saw you for who you truly were, a spoiled, rotten girl who only thought about herself! Luna loved you too unconditionally to ever do anything to hurt you, even after all you'd put her through, but I remembered everything you were capable off and knew just how important it was to throw you from Equestria's throne. Ponies deserve more than you, just as I did." The alicorn replied, her bulky arm pushing her slowly upwards as she regained her composure.

"You...you can't have-...I mean...I never knew." Celestia blurted clumsily as her mind tried it's best to wrap around what was being said to her.

"Don't play the idiot to me, sister! You know just as well as anyone that both yourself and Luna and I are shaped by the celestial bodies we control. You and your blinding illumination, your arrogant dismissal of any mystery, the way all is apparently revealed to you with such clarity, you couldn't be more like your precious sun if you tried." Nightmare mocked as she slowly rose to her hooves.

"Luna and I are the two halves of the whole, separate and the same. For so long you've tried so hard to destroy me, blinding yourself to the fact that I will always be a part of Luna, just as much as she is a part of me. Just because the dark side of the moon does not make itself evident to all does not mean it doesn't exist, and now all that changes. Now I get to have my chance to rise and rule, as is my right! And after your millenia of imprisonment comes to an end you will return to an Equestria that will never again have any need of you! Then we'll see how easy it is for you to pretend I'm just a figment of the imagination!" Nightmare spat, her eyes renewing their glow as her fury built.

"After a decade everypony will be long dead. If the night sustains for a thousand years, I'll only return to a dead world you created." Celestia said, her eyes now locked with Nightmare's own.

"You really have convinced yourself of your own lies haven't you, you ignorant foal."

"Nightmare, there are so many things we did not understand a thousand years ago, and I know you think what you're doing is right, but if you follow through with your plans, you will kill everypony." Celestia replied, her voice growing desperate.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Nightmare hissed.

"I don't, but the scientists and researchers who lived and died throughout the centuries you were gone for do, and we've come to understand that all Equestrian life is utterly reliant on the balance between exposure to both the day and the night. If the cycle is ceased one half of all Equis will freeze solid in the wake of eternal night while the other half burns under endless exposure to the sun!" The wounded alicorn said, her desperation escalating.

"You sound just like one of those alien freaks!" Nightmare barked back, her hands clenching into fists.

"I'm...I'm sorry I never-" Celestia began before being thrown from the fountain and onto the throne room floor.

"Shut up!" The dark alicorn cried as she tossed her sister to the ground.

Celestia tumbled over as she struck the floor again, coughing as her rib cage was violently compressed from the impact.

"Puh-...Please! If you are going to kill me...and if you'll never let Luna go, then at least let everypony live. If you're going to rule Equestria, then without the elements or my sister I cannot stop you. But please...Please don't kill everypony just o try and prove a point to me."

"I said stop it!" Nightmare yelled, her tone breaking slightly into a helpless whine as she closed her eyes, her horn glowing as her magic tossed Celestia aside a few feet, the sun princess rolling over limply, focusing all her effort on simply talking.

"I...I'm so sorry, I-...A part of me always knew but...You're right. You are right, Nightmare Moon. I'm not fit to rule Equestria, I never really have been without Luna," Celestia said weakly, Nightmare Moon's ears perking up and expression growing confused, "I just...wanted things to stay the way they were when we first became princesses. I wanted my perfect little world to stay the exact same way forever, just for my own sake. And I admit, a part of me has always wished for the same thing ever since."

Nightmare stood, her head tilted in disbelief as to what she was hearing as she stared at Celestia, her emotions swimming from one extreme to another. Celestia groaned as she rolled to face Nightmare again, her nose still running with purple blood.

"And yes, you are stronger than me. Probably in more than one way. My pride would have never seen me admit it, but after failing my country for so long I cannot deny that I do, honestly, believe you could probably rule Equestria. Perhaps better than I ever could. But you'll be ruling a kingdom of corpses and ice if you bring the eternal night to ponies. Times have changed over the centuries, and Equestria's population do not all shun the night as they once did, so please let them enjoy the night as it should be offered to them. Maybe in time they will forget me, and they could come to love you, but let them love you for keeping them safe and alive."

Nightmare Moon's eyes flitted about, staring at nothing in particular as her expressions rolled from hurt to angry to confused over and over for several heartbeat's. The alicorn dropped to her knees, the floor shaking as she struck the marble surface. For a moment it would seem that she was considering heeding Celestia's words, perhaps allowing her to live, yet her next action was to remain a mystery as a sharp explosion rang out next to both Celestia and Nightmare alongside a blinding flash of red light that filled their vision for a couple of second. The best Celestia could do was cringe away from the distressing effects of whatever had occurred to her before slowly opening her eyes to see Nightmare Moon, still on her knees, snarling with wild eyes locked towards the throne room's main entrance as a swarm of bright red targeting lasers shimmered shakily all over her body.