The diamond dogs of Rarity's horrific mansion stood by the entrance of their own prison. As I approached, they slowly opened the gates before me without so much as saying a word. Rarity was daring me to cross the threshold once again. Who was I to reject such an invitation?

I entered her house of madness with newfound courage, for I knew now that the Oracle was right; I would not be the one that spells Rarity's demise today. I had a much more fitting fate in store for her.

And so I walked through the long antechamber again, my eyes set on the far end, refusing to acknowledge the gemstone-mosaics. A fiend such as her did not deserve the admiration she so desperately craved. I passed through the next set of gates and walked, once again, through the mansion following the red carpet she had so thoughtfully placed for me. In the end, I finally reached the central chamber once again.

Waiting for me behind the repaired statue of Rarity, was the dragon Spike sitting in the way of the throne room. I could almost quite see him excitedly wagging his tail in anticipation of meeting me again. He seemed determined that killing me would be what wins him the heart of his heartless unicorn mistress.

And there, lying casually on his shoulder was the monster herself. Rarity, her head still adorned by her grotesque horn and multicoloured gem-crown, looked down on me with her familiar cheeky, wicked smile. When I moved around her glorified depiction at the centre of the room, she hopped off her pet and stood defiantly before me, her head held high in arrogance, still retaining her condescending grin.

“I knew you would return, Twilight.”

“You have always been a smart pony, Rarity.”

“So tell me then, my dear friend, have you changed your mind?” She asked as she motioned toward the picture on the wall which, now completed, depicted herself, my brother and I engaging in a most tantalising act. “Is Shining Armor here?”

“I am flattered that someone of your calibre would still consider us after all we have been through.”

“I am the Element of Generosity after all, Twilight.” She laughed.

“Although, I am afraid I have to disappoint you and decline your generous offer, my friend.” I leaned closer to her. “You know why I am here. We are not done yet.”

Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes. “Why must you be such a sourpuss? You're hurting my feelings, you know.” She whined.

“You have earned it, Rarity.”

“Very well then! I have been patient! I have been gracious! And it shan't be said that I have been ungrateful. You leave me no choice, Twilight.”

Still looking at me, she let out a short whistle. In an instant, Spike stood up and made way into the throne room for Rarity. She turned her back and walked slowly between the dragon's legs.

“Remove her, Spike. I do not wish to see her ever again.”

As the throne room's doors closed behind her, Spike towered above me with a menacing look in his eyes.

“You heard her, Twilight. This time, I won't let you get away.”

“Tell me one thing before you kill me then, you overgrown romantic fool. Is this all out of your adoration of Rarity? How far will you go in the name of love?”

“As far as I have to, Twilight.”

I closed my eyes as my horn lit up with magic one again.

“You know, Spike,” I spoke without opening my eyes, concentrating on my next spell in my mind. “Sometimes, if you are at the right place at the right time, if you meet the right people, you get what you wish for.”

My eyes opened with a burst of light-red light, piercing Spike's puzzled gaze. The scent of roses filled the air as the sounds of a cozy, ethereal flame's crackling seemed to echo in the mansion. A sensation of a loving embrace crept over even me as I channelled the magic through myself. The gentle warmth slowly turned into a burning heat, and the smell of flowers became the smell of something else entirely. The love-spell of Cadence had reached the dragon's heart with unrelenting power, unshackling his deepest desires which he kept hidden and buried within.

“Tell me, Spike.” I spoke as the magic finally left me. “What do you feel?”

Spike stood motionless before me, yet I could clearly see as long-forgotten feeling gathered like a storm behind his eyes.

“You have waited long enough, Spike. The time has come. You may now claim what you have sought after for so long. Go, Spike, for there is nothing in the world that can stop you.”

He looked at me, questioning me with his gaze. I nodded towards the throne room's doors. He then turned around excitedly, effortlessly smashing the gates which separated us from Rarity. As he walked towards the throne and its queen in determination, I followed not far behind.

Rarity jumped up in her seat when the doors burst open, swiftly shifting her eyes between me and Spike, completely and utterly confused as the room shook with each of the dragon's steps. And she shook with it.

“Are you trembling, Rarity?”

“What is this?” She cried out as her pet dragon walked ever closer. “What are you doing, Spike? Explain yourself! Tell me!” She shrieked.

The dragon spoke no word.

“Stop right there! Stay where you are! Sit down! Bad dragon, bad dragon!” The more she screamed, the less he seemed to listen.

“Vae victis, Rarity.” She looked at me one final time as the dragon grabbed her with one hand, clutching his lusting claws around her body. Vae victis.

I stood and watched as it happened. I needed to make sure that the fiend is no more. Normally, what I witnessed would have appalled me so much as to make my disgust indescribable. But seeing Spike finally throw her ragged and broken body to the ground, I could only feel that this was justice. For all the suffering she has caused, for the terror in which she kept the town of Colthagen, for playing with the feelings of so many. Yet, what stayed with me even more was the dawning horror on Spike's face when the spell had faded and he saw himself covered with the blood of Rarity.

He did not look away. He did not turn to look at me. He did not say or ask a thing. He only sat there, looking down at what he had done, silently weeping over the empty halls of the abandoned mansion.. and not a soul to hear.

Once again, the train that would take me back to Canterlot arrived in a matter of days. I left Colthagen for the last time in the knowledge I have freed its people of the scourge that was the madness of Rarity. With Spike paralysed in his pain and remorse, and her dogs scattered back into the mountains' depths, they had nothing more to fear. Soon enough, they would realise it. And even though I knew that they will probably never find out what great service I had been to them, I was pleased to have become their unknown saviour. Thus, I boarded the train yet again, eager to return to the Princess with great news. And yet, somehow, I felt an uneasiness creep over me as I left the town behind.

I wondered whether what I had seen there was the darkest of things this world had to offer. I thought about everything Celestia had told me since my quest to restore the Elements began; was this what she had to endure all throughout her thousand years of reign? The very fact that she kept her sanity in a world beset by such madness was staggering in itself. Such power of the mind. Whatever it was that now worked against us has truly found its match in the Sun Princess.

I could then see everything from a brand new perspective; I saw just how fragile the empire was, and I began to understand the magnitude of the sacrifices she had to make in order to keep Equestria alive. For while the innocent young foals of Poneapolis laughed and played carelessly in their ignorance, the invisible war between the Princess and the darkness raged on constantly around them. Nightmare Moon, Discord and Queen Chrysalis were but few of our enemies. Such were my thoughts on the way back to Canterlot.

I was asleep when we reached Poneapolis. I remember awakening to the violent, metallic screeching that accompanied the sudden stopping of the train. Half-asleep, I almost fell out of my bed. When I realised what happened, I immediately opened my cabin's door and rushed out into the aisle to see a worried crowd of other ponies. Some mares were crying, and I saw grown stallions trembling as they covered the eyes of their foals. Before I could so much as look out a window, the train rolled over, throwing all passengers around within. As I finally came to my senses amidst the chaos, I blast the train's side open with a spell, creating a makeshift way out. With a quick jump, I swiftly left the train as the smell of smoke reached me.

Poneapolis consumed itself before my very eyes. The thick black smoke of the burning buildings filled the air as cinder and embers were blown about by the wind. All around me, I could hear the sound of screams of adults and foals alike, and no matter where I turned, the roads were all paved in blood and flesh. And tinting this morbid composition of black and red were the ever-present and unmistakable bursts of green glow; changeling magic. In my absence, the army of Queen Chrysalis marched straight into the heart of the empire. I knew that once the city falls, Canterlot would be next.

As the terrified passengers of the train fled the scene, either climbing out a window or following me through the gaping hole across the side of the train, they were all quickly picked off—and up—by the changeling swarm above. Their primary objective, clearly, was not murdering the ponies; they were harvesting us. The monsters targeted families first: mothers protecting their foals, wives and husbands running for their lives together. They were looking for love on which to feed, and as such, lone victims such as myself were spared for the time being as they focused on herding those they considered ripe for picking.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Came a familiar voice from the distance. I quickly turned my head upwards to see a small group of Nightguards in the sky, led by Thunderlane himself, fighting its way to me through the swarm. “Twilight Sparkle! Return to Canterlot immediately!”

“I demand assistance, Thunderlane!” I yelled back at him. “I am not risking fighting my way through an entire army alone!”

“I cannot spare a single soldier, Twilight Sparkle. They are all too busy evacuating civilians! You are on your own. You must waste no time! Keep a low profile and they will ignore you while they harvest groups!”

“If I do not make it to Canterlot alive, than we have already lost!”

After a brief pause, he finally nodded towards two of his men to accompany me. “Very well! Know that those lives are on your head.”

The two Nightguards descended swiftly and turned to me with eager looks. “You heard the Flight Lieutenant. We have no time to waste. I suggest you pick me up right now.”

The two carried me tirelessly to Canterlot. I wondered whether their extreme endurance was the product of the same magics that turned their feathery wings into leather-bound ones akin to those of bats, or merely something as pedestrian as physical training. Either way, the two done their jobs without every posing a question. They did not seem at all moved by the fact that they were this time carrying a powerful magus under their wings instead of a helpless mare or foal; this was the cold-blooded righteousness of true Nightguards. To follow orders without a shadow of doubt. Once, I would have been frightened by the concept, but considering my own recent actions, I only adored them for it.

They put me down inside the walls of Canterlot and almost immediately turned around to return to Poneapolis, stopping only to salute a posted commander who stood atop a guard tower. Thus, I made my way into the Palace itself, eager to hear what my brother has to say about the situation.

There he was, locked up in his room, my way to the door blocked by a guard. “Stop!” He yelled at me from across the hallway when I turned. “Shining Armor sees no pony. He is in mourning for the Bright Princess.”

“Oh, he'll be mourning for the empire soon.” I said as I walked up to the guard, my horn quickly lighting up. “And he'll be mourning for you even sooner if you don't get out of my way!” I shouted, throwing the poor soul away from the door like a rag doll. I had no time for my brother's games. Before the guard could stand up, I had already kicked the door open.

He sat on the ground with his back to the door in the middle of the room, by the faint light of a single candle burning on the far wall.

“Shining Armor! The empire is in flames, and you bide your time crying in this dark hole?”

“Twilight.” He spoke silently, without standing up or turning to me, as if he did not even understand what was happening.

“What is it? Do you not understand what is at stake?!”

“You know, Twilight,” He said again, still sounding ignorant of my words. “The guards told me you spent an awful lot of time in that chamber before you came out to tell them that you found Cadence inside. They spoke of blood on your hooves and mane.”

Knowing not what to say, I only stood there for a moment.

“Are you trying to imply something, brother?” I finally asked.

Shining Armor lowered his head and looked at the ground. “Nothing at all, sister.” He took a deep breath. “Nothing at all.”

He only sat there, refusing to stand up or even say one more word, no matter what I told him. After half an hour of fruitless attempts to evoke a reaction from him, I left his room and slammed the door shut behind me. I found Sergeant Rainy Day right outside. The gold-coated unicorn seemed most displeased and impatient.

“I was told I would find you here, Twilight.”

“I have already tried everything, Day. It seems he chose to sit and watch as Equestria burns instead of standing and fighting.”

“I wonder why.”

Her gaze pierced me like a knife. She knew. As much as I would have loved to discuss the specifics of Princess Cadence's death, I knew that this was not the time. “Come now, Sergeant.” I casually walked past her, flicking my tail under her nose. “There is war to be waged.”

By the dawn of the next day, the fires of Poneapolis could not be seen from Canterlot. The battle was over and the city was ravaged beyond repair. The Nightguards had retreated to save their numbers—and all the inhabitants of the city were either dead or have fled. A large number of them either came to Canterlot on their own, or were hastily lead here during the evacuation. As the crowd gathered on the streets, having nowhere to go, they made proper organisation of defense difficult. For by this time the black army of the changelings had massed on the mountainside leading up to the Palace, and their small scouting parties had already been seen flying around and above. Their attack would soon commence.

Shining Armor had finally came out of his dark room, but still refused to say a word. Throughout the preparation for the inevitable siege the changelings would lay on Canterlot, he stood and watched, refusing to give a single order. Organisation was thereby left to Flight Lieutenant Thunderlane, Sergeant Rainy Day, the eccentric, yet—if the others were to be believed—capable Artillery Commander Loon Moon, and myself. Thunderlane was, naturally, put in charge of aerial defense, leading pegasi and Nightguards alike. Rainy Day would control the biggest portion of our ground forces, including a large number of volunteers from the untrained Poneapolis-escapees who now had nothing to lose. At the same time, the unicorn Loon Moon would organise magical spells and barrage. I myself would lead a small team of elite soldiers composed of earthers and a few unicorns. We would become a swiftly moving wild card on the battlefield; if the changelings were able to experience fear, we would give them a reason to do so. Heh, I thought. I was to become a shock troop. How fitting, considering my recent occupation.

As dawn turned into morning, and then noon, the changelings seemed all but ready for their assault. And when they make their move, we would be ready. Amidst the increasing tension, I retreated into the relative sanctuary of my room at the Palace. I thought about everything that has happened these past weeks—how everything I had ever known was being destroyed in front of my very eyes. Everything that has happened since the death of Princess Celestia. Pacing up and down in my room, I happened to glimpse upon the Oracle's trinket, the golden ouroboros. “Hold on to this,” the inscription instructed me. Even though it was—whatever it was—originally meant for Fluttershy, in a moment of superstition, I took the trinket and, bound by a thread, placed it around my neck. Whatever its purpose could be, there would be no better time to find out.

Knowing that the siege may begin at any moment, I walked high atop a tower overlooking the main courtyard and cast a voice-enhancing spell. I would speak to the masses.

“Citizens of Equestria!” I began my speech. The noise of the crowd below quickly subsided as they looked up to see me. “Today, Canterlot witnesses the largest selection of ponyfolk it had ever seen. We have gathered here from all walks of life. Some of you might have lived here your entire lives; some of you only fled here after the last day's horrific attack on Poneapolis. Some of you have pledged your entire lives to protecting the empire; some of you have perhaps never seen violence in your lives. Some of you come from the darkest and dirtiest of streets; some of you are among the wealthiest in the land.”

I paused for just a moment.

“But no matter who or what you are; no matter where you came from or where you wanted to go, everything is decided here. If Canterlot falls, so does all of Equestria. If Canterlot falls, the changelings will show us no mercy. If Canterlot falls—a thousand years of prosperity and greatness will come to an end.”

I stopped yet again, looking over the silent gathering before me.

“Canterlot shall not fall.”

The silence was broken by a cheering loud enough to make the very mountain above us tremble.

“We will stand against the changeling horde, and we will drive them back to the very gates of Tartarus where they belong!”

They responded with another round of applause.

“Make no mistake, however. There will be casualties. Ponies will die. The changelings are relentless and outnumber us by far. But know this: if they win, you will wish you had died today.”

I stopped one last time, receiving no cheering this time, only the stern, yet determined looks of our patchwork army.

“Let us die today as heroes, lest we live tomorrow as slaves!”

The crowd responded with an outcry of praise and applause.

“For Equestria!” I yelled.

“For Equestria!” Came the unanimous roaring of the crowd below. “For Equestria!” They chanted on, pounding at the ground with their front hooves. “For Equestria!”

Canterlot shook with our fervour.

“For Equestria!”