I paced nervously back and forth in the cramped room, passing by the silent and motionless Shining Armor sitting by the door each way. Standing around the large table in the middle, shifting through the myriad papers, plans and maps, occasionally glancing up at my brother, were Sergeant Rainy Day, Artillery Commander Loon Moon and Flight Lieutenant Thunderlane.

“I honestly do not believe this is going anywhere.” Thunderlane spoke up. “He is completely denying the outside world.”

“We need that spell!” Loon Moon flicked his unkept black hair to the side with a quick motion of his head. “His shield stopped the changeling advance before, it can do so again.”

“But look at him!” Rainy Day shouted, pointing at my brother in frustration. “He's just sitting there, looking into the distance! He is completely broken. We will never get anything out of him.”

“Arhg!” I groaned, stopping in front of Shining Armor. “Equestria is on the line, brother!” I waved a hoof before his eyes. “Can you even hear me?”

Thunderlane sighed. “It is no use. Twilight Sparkle, I think it's time you do it.”

I shook my head. “Very well. Moon, are you sure you can do it?”

“I don't think we have a choice in this matter, Twilight.” He stepped forward from behind the table and walked next to me. “If we want his protection spell, there is no other way, it seems.”

“Whatever you say, commander.”

I leaned closer to my brother and touched my horn to his. He did not move a muscle, as if he were completely unaware of what was happening. After a moment, Loon Moon, too, held his horn close and closed his eyes. After a sudden flash of light, he withdrew his head.

“So?” I inquired.

“Uh.” He shivered. “Yes. I can do it.”

He paused.

“I think.” He added.

The clear sky cracked with a deafening sound of thunder as Loon Moon cast Shining Armor's spell from a tower above us. Soon, the sky was tinted with a light shade of purple; the protective magical sphere was forming before our eyes, much to the joy and cheer of the crowd below. As the ethereal wall made its way down, its descend gradually slowed until it came entirely to a halt. That is not right, I thought. It hasn't reached the ground. It has not reached the walls!

Looking up, I could see Loon Moon standing atop the tower with his head bowed, swaying limp from side to side. Then, in a sudden outburst, he lifted his head and cast the spell again, accompanied by a much quieter sound this time. He could not complete the spell. I wondered whether an attempt to reinforce the shield on my part would do any good—in the end, I decided not to try, as the same spell, from a different source, clashing with its counterpart might just break them both. At the very least, we had adequate protection from a full-on aerial assault. The shifting and glowing spell-shield floated elegantly above Canterlot.

This moment of relief lasted short, however, as it was soon interrupted by the alarming sound of horns and trumpets. “It's begun.”

I hurried to take my place among the hastily assembling line of unicorns atop the walls of the city. From there I had a perfect view of what is to come: the changeling swarm, completely enveloping the sky and marching ever forward on the ground. There was nothing, only black and green; as far as I could see, black and green. For whatever shimmer of hope I had held before, it now became apparent that this tide would, sooner or later, wash over the tiny pebble that was Canterlot.

The most terrifying part was their sheer recklessness. They marched toward the walls in endless waves, being picked off by the dozens by the spells of the unicorns and of mine. Their flying partners either banged themselves against the floating shield in their attempts to break it, or tried getting into the city through the tiny empty space below it and above the walls, only to be stopped by the flying divisions lead by Thunderlane. It truly made me wonder, was this suicidal fervour mere natural instinct for the changelings, or perhaps, was it all a matter of motivation?

It was not long before Loon Moon appeared next to me atop the wall in a flash of light, joining the fight with his own spells and coordinating the magical barrage of the rest personally. Yet for every one of their dead there was countless more coming to fill its place. Their bloodless corpses littered the ground before the city. Worst of all, as this almost thoughtless siege raged on, the changelings eventually began marching atop their own dead—and as their carcasses piled up at the foot of the walls, they even began to ignore trying to break through the gates themselves, climbing instead atop their killed brethren, who effectively served as a simple ramp on which to get inside.

The onslaught continued, yet no matter how many of the bugs fell, their numbers showed no signs of subsiding. And as one of them finally made it atop the wall, violently dragging a unicorn down into the swarm below, we came to admit that this position was lost.

“Fall back! Into the city!” Came the order from Loon Moon. “Into the buildings!”

As we quickly fled from the walls, the changeling army was close behind. They leapt carelessly from the wall, once again blindly throwing themselves straight into the kill zone. And they just kept on coming. Rainy Day's earth-based defence force could do little to stop the coming tide; the great gates of Canterlot burst open at the pressure of the swarm. Watching the two armies finally clash in this bloody opera of teeth and steel, I could not resist but jump into the fray. Loon Moon and his force provided backup-fire as I ran into the of the conflict. All around me, earthers wrestled three changelings at a time, while the unicorns of the front line used spears and swords on which to impale the ever-advancing enemy. I myself let loose gigantic waves of magical energy, sweeping the battlefield twenty, thirty of them at a time.

Then there were the cries and screams. I watched as they overwhelmed our ground forces, pinning them to the ground and, without even providing the courtesy of killing them outright, they simply left them there to be trampled over by their advancing forces. Blood soon soaked the dirt roads as changeling fangs pierced the throats of good mares and stallions, leaving them to bleed out on the spot.

Above us, the battle in the sky was none more hopeful; the pegasi and the Nightguards were overpowered as much as we were. Truly, this was no masterplan or some genius strategy from the changelings; it was a simple brute-force attack. For all her evil deeds, Queen Chrysalis wanted her subjects to live, and yet now she was sending them, by countless numbers, to their deaths. While this tactic was undoubtedly successful, I still questioned this decision of hers. Perhaps this war was, in fact, an act of desperation rather than confidence. Perhaps I would never know.

The assault went on for hours. Yet, ironically, the further the changeling army advanced, the more potent Loon Moon's protection spell became—for with more and more lost ground came less and less to cover.

As the battlefield shrunk slowly around us and the changelings drew ever nearer to the central Palace, our soldiers fought to their very last breath. Deep down inside, each of us knew that this was it; that we would never survive this attack. And exactly then, a timely final blow to the army's morale sealed the end. I stayed behind and watched the last moments of the battle unfold as none other than Rainy Day herself ran back to me from the front line, bleeding and wounded, barely able to speak.

“What happened? Report!”

“We saw..” She panted. “We saw Shining Armor. He just.. he just ran right into their hooves! Didn't even fight. He's dead. Torn apart!”

“What?!”

“My entire.. everypony's dead! They're breaking through!” She looked back to see the advancing wave of changelings marching towards us. “It's lost! The city is lost!”

Loon Moon's magical shield closed down behind the last retreating soldier, finally touching the ground. Nothing was left but the Palace, now hermetically sealed by his spell. Thus, the changelings' advance was at last halted. I watched from the outside as they rammed against the ethereal wall, wave by wave. Once again, they were so dead-set on their objective—breaking into the Palace—that they did not even notice that I was just outside its protected sanctuary, looking on from a dark alleyway. Sooner or later, they would penetrate the spell and their quest would be complete. I came up with one last plan of desperation with which to, perhaps, save Equestria.

I made my way through the narrow corridors and alleys in the lower districts of Canterlot. The changeling swarm, almost in its entirety, was concentrated on the very centre and heart of the city, the Palace, and as such, only a few stray patrols roamed these near-impassable streets. Wherever and whenever I could, I avoided direct confrontation. I watched as their small groups broke into houses and bashed in windows just to see if they can find any stray ponies there; families that instead of following the defenders' retreat chose to barricade themselves within their own homes, hoping—fruitlessly—that they would not be found. Mothers and foals were dragged away, and whoever tried to resist was murdered on the spot, left on the roads to serve as a warning and example for all to see.

And there, finally, on the open square directly past the broken gate to the city, I saw the face of Queen Chrysalis—and I have learned the fate of Princess Luna and her mission of negotiation at the same time: for there she was, her head impaled on a robust pike.

And the pike was held high, floating in the air, surrounded by the glowing-black magic of Nightmare Moon herself. Queen Chrysalis had been dead all along. So this was why the changelings seemed all too eager to die. No fervour is as strong as that which is inspired by a madmare. Yet this poignant scene raised another set of questions within me. Was it the changeling queen that caused the resurgence of Princess Luna's dark side, Chrysalis then reaping what she had sown—or did Nightmare Moon herself rise to dominion when she was presented with an army hers for the taking? The answer to such questions I would never learn.

None of that mattered. My plan remained unchanged; something so utterly outrageous, and impossible even, was our last hope for survival. In a quick blast, I swiftly cleaned a path through the army of changelings that surrounded the fallen Princess, and before they could react, I ran straight up to her.

I stood there, adamantly, her personal guards ready to pounce on me—but, as I had predicted, she raised a hoof, signalling for them to be at ease. She looked at me and grinned.

“And so we meet again, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Always a pleasure, Princess.”

“Look!” She nodded with her head towards the glowing magical dome in the distance. “Canterlot Palace. The brain and heart of your precious Solar Empire. It will be such a pleasure to see it crumble.”

“I take it, then, that Chrysalis was against this war?” I turned my head towards the decapitated head.

“Oh, alas, poor Chrysalis. I knew her well.” She, too, looked at the floating pike, pulling it closer to herself before carelessly throwing it to the ground, turning back to me. “Well, not really.” She smirked. “It is true, though. These hideous creatures, they are parasites by nature. They would never even consider an attack like this.” She looked up to see the advancing waves of flying changelings massing on the Palace. “Can you imagine?” She cackled.

“So is this all one gigantic show of strength?”

“Oh, is it not beautiful?” She chuckled to herself. “You just have to look! The great, mighty and pure Canterlot. The seat of Celestia's power. The brightest gem of her Equestria. Deemed, for so long, to be impossible to penetrate, withstanding the strife of a millennium and only rising.” Her mouth widened in an unearthly grin. “And now it has fallen in a single day. I was even being generous. I gave you time to prepare. I even waited for you to cast that pathetic excuse for a repelling spell! And yet here I am, behind the white walls!”

“You do lead an unstoppable force, this much I admit. But it is a force you stole. Just how strong are you, Nightmare Moon?”

“Oh, please! Do not make me laugh, Twilight Sparkle! You may have defeated me once, but tell me: where are your Elements now? Your friends? Your magic?”

Her mocking words echoed within me, my soul burning with passion.

“If you truly believe that you are unstoppable, then now is the time to prove it, Princess! Fight me, alone and unassisted. Then we will see if you are worthy of the power you so desperately desire to wield.”

She burst out with laughter, her eyes lighting up in the familiar white glow of the corruption which consumed her. Before I even realised what had happened, she blasted me away from herself. As I lay on the ground, I saw her changeling minions standing over me. They picked me up and tossed me back into the ring they created with their own bodies. I was surrounded on all sides, and Nightmare Moon stood at the opposite end of this makeshift arena, pounding away at the ground with a front hoof.

“You have no idea what I'm capable of, Twilight Sparkle. If you surrender now, I shall promise you an easy death.”

“I could promise you the same—but it would be a lie.”

Nightmare Moon smirked in anticipation. Her gaze was unsettling, even disturbing. As she laid her terrible fangs bare in a horrible grin, a creeping darkness seemed to envelop her. An almost tangible shadow, a pitch-black aura that was like an endless abyss staring straight into me.

“Do you remember the first time we met, Twilight Sparkle?” She asked, disappearing in the darkness that surrounded her. In a sudden flash of black light, she appeared behind me. I jumped and turned to see her towering above my tiny stature. “For the first time in a millennium, I was free! You cannot even begin to imagine the sensation!”

Before I could react, her darkness engulfed me. I could not see. There was nothing but darkness. At once, I was lying on my back and felt the strange, indescribable feeling of something sitting on my chest, weighing me down, pressing harder and harder each time I breathed out. I was being slowly suffocated. I tried to move but I could not, for my limbs were cold and numb. I tried to scream to no avail, for my mouth would not open. Then, when I was beginning to lose my mind to this madness, a light appeared above me, growing quickly and until it reached me, freeing me from my invisible chains.

“A thousand years!” I could feel her teeth at my ear as I bathed in the eerie light. “After all this time, I would retake my rightful place on the throne. My rightful place. After everything she has done, Celestia does not deserve the glory in which she basks.” The white light was suddenly tinted with the colours of a rainbow. “And then you showed up. You and your friends, so eager to believe everything she had told you. So righteous. So self-absorbed.”

“We saved you!” I shouted into the bright nothingness. “We redeemed you from your corruption. And now you've let yourself be taken over by the very same darkness again! You are destroying everything your real self ever stood for!”

“Oh, you did nothing! I was stunned. My mind was torn apart and reassembled on the spot. I only managed to recover from the shock not long ago.”

“You act as though this was your real self. It is not. You have allowed yourself to be turned into a monster. All you want is to kill and murder. You are deranged, Nightmare Moon!”

“Deranged?! Every year have I endured that insulting celebration you call Nightmare Night, living in the lie that our subjects adored me. Yet still you all worship her with religious fervour. She rules over the sun while I am cast away and forgotten in the shadows.” In an instant, the gripping blackness returned, driving out the colourful light. “All I wanted was to make her pay for her deeds.” Her voice intensified with each word. “Oh, I am sane, Twilight Sparkle. By the stars, am I now sane.”

“You arrogance has blinded you. Whatever you plan to do to Canterlot, or to me, know that you will never be the Princess that Celestia was.”

Her voice grew ever louder, echoing in the all-enveloping black abyss. “Just you wait! I shall become the one and only queen of Equestria! When I am done with you, I will march straight into her room, tear her heart out and eat it before her as she dies! It is what I have been longing for a thousand years.”

“A pity, then, that you will never get to do that.” I wondered if her mad mind would even comprehend it if I told her that the Sun Princess was already dead.

“But I will! In just a matter of minutes. My face will be the last thing she sees before she dies. This time, you see, you cannot stop me. She has sat on that throne long enough. I declare, no more!”

Suddenly, I saw the magical shield protecting the Palace from the inside, as if I had been right there, among the last of the defenders. Atop its highest tower, Loon Moon channelled, with the last of his power, the shielding spell in his final effort to keep up with the siege. From the sky, the Nightguard Thunderlane landed behind him, his eyes glowing just like those of Nightmare Moon.

“What madness is this? Is this your trap?!” I shouted once again into the nothingness around me. Yet all I heard in response was the crazy cackling of Nightmare Moon. I was forced to look on, unable to call out to them or act, as Thunderlane walked up behind Loon Moon—and grappling him, he threw him off the tower, retaining the blank and emotionless expression which he had always held.

As he fell to his death, my vision at once dissipated. I was once again back in the real world, at my senses, floating high above the battlefield of Canterlot, held in the lap of the flying Nightmare Moon. And before us, the Palace of Canterlot, besieged by her changeling army. Her eyes shined ever more brightly as dark clouds began to appear on the horizon. In but mere moments, the afternoon sun was blocked by this artificial black sky as a terrible storm fell upon the city. Amidst the terrifying lightning and thunder, the shield that protected the last remaining survivors of Equestria from the swarm was destroyed.

“Behold, Twilight Sparkle!” She whispered in my ear as I watched the changelings rush the Palace, obliterating what little resistance remained. “Witness the end of an age!”

She let go of me, laughing manically in her triumph. As I fell through the air, plummeting towards my inevitable doom, I heard the last screams of the dying ponies of Canterlot.

And then everything turned black.