"Twilight, please do not panic, but there's a pony here who wishes to kill you. When I tell you to, hit him with a telekinetic blast at a twenty degree angle followed by an immobilization spell okay?"

Though I was still half-asleep, years of late nights studying and being her student had conditioned me to follow her words on a mechanical level. Without a single thought, I began composing the two spells she wanted me to cast and within the second, they were done. Muttering something under my breath, I rolled over and snuggled into the bed more. I was just in a relatively nice dream for Celestia's sake. There wasn't even any torture for once, which was a nice bonus.

"Now!"

Releasing the blast first, a runt echoed through the room followed by a thud. Following up the chains, whoever it was quickly found themselves completely bound up and unable to move. After a couple seconds of wiggling on the bed, I rolled over, fluffed up my pillow before curling back up into a ball. There we go, that's the perfect position – so coooooomfy. I could stay like this forever.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" I mumbled.

"No my faithful student, you need to deal with the problem."

"But I'm tiiiiiiiired."

"Twilight." I gulped; I knew that tone of voice. It was the one she used before giving me that disappointed look of hers. "This is important, you need to deal with your attacker."

Cracking an eye open, I immediately wished I hadn't. Right there in my face was Celestia with her disappointed frown – it was like a lance of pure guilt had been stabbed into my heart. Slamming my pillow over my head I grumbled, "Can't I just kill the pony?"

"I suppose you could..."

"There we go, problem solved, time to go back to sleep." As a yawn escaped, I pulled the bed sheet up to my neck and snuggled down.

"Twilight Sparkle, stop this foalish behavior at once! You very well know it is impossible to maintain a spell while asleep or unconscious."

I ignored her.

"If you do not do what I say, I will be forced to ban you from the library for a week."

"Oh fine then!" Sitting up in bed, I glared at the phantasm who merely smirked back. "Oh shut up you, you're not even the real Celestia so I've got no idea why I listen to you at all."

With my hind hooves touching the cold floor, I slipped out of the comforting bed and stumbled, almost falling flat on my face. Right, I was missing a leg. Resisting the urge to facehoof, I took a couple seconds to balance myself on three legs before stepping towards my prisoner. To say it was awkward would be like saying being tortured by Nightmare Moon is fun. That was when I looked at the pony who had tried to kill me and froze mid-limp.

It was Nightwish.

What the buck was going on?

And then everything clicked. To think I would be unique in my logic was stupidity incarnate. Of course, other ponies would have had the same thought process as me; of course, they would realize the enormous benefit from taking out Nightmare Moon's tyranny from the inside out. But still, I had to be sure he was working against the Nightmare and that he wasn't in it for himself. Could I ask him out right? Sure, but he would no doubt think I was Nightmare Moon's pet – after all, that's what I wanted. That meant I was left with one option and one option only: mind magic.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the spell I wanted and after triple checking it to make sure, I wouldn't melt his brains; I let it wrap around his head and filter through. There was a lot of resistance, but I slammed through it without a second thought and his entire past filled my mind. Novels often describe it as flashes of images or as though it was a dream with the two people locked in place for minutes on end. That was not whole it worked at all. Eighteen years of memories flooded my brain in the blink of an eye, swamping me completely and for a split second, I forgot I was Twilight Sparkle. Then everything snapped back into perspective

I stood there, staring into the mismatched eyes of my second in command and then, without bothering to think about what I was doing, I released him from my magic. Limping back towards the bed, I settled down and curled into a ball. When he still didn't budge from the spot, I opened an eye lazily and yawned.

"I didn't break your brain did I? If so that's going to be hard to explain."

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, fluffed his wings and over all did a great impersonation of a mime before saying, "What. The. Buck?"

With a sigh, I checked the room for any spells and when I found nothing beyond the usual anti-teleportation and protection spells, I fixed my gaze on him. "Did you truly believe you were the only pony who'd sacrifice everything to get closer to Nightmare Moon? Admittedly, you're in a vastly superior position and you've sacrificed less than me, but the end result is the same."

"You mean- But- I- That is..." After a deep breath, he began again, "You mean you slaughtered all those ponies and tortured countless others just to get close to Nightmare Moon?"

"For Celestia," I replied with a smile before my expression hardened. "I don't care what you or Foxtrot or Sunset Horizon are planning, but get in my way and I will eliminate you. I've come too far to stop."

"You're insane. You're completely and utterly insane." The fear was radiating off him in waves.

"You were talking to yourself earlier and now you're switching moods faster than the blink of an eye."

"If insanity gets me what I want, then so be it. I've warned you and I won't repeat myself. Also, there's no doubt in my mind that we could work together since we do have a mutual goal. I shall be in touch."

"Somepony's coming."

Reaching out with my magic, I confirmed her warning, but not before giving her a curious look. Up to now, I had assumed she could only know what I knew, but there was no way I could have known someone was coming down the corridor, which left me with just one question: What the hell is she?

"Who are you lo-"

"Someone's coming," I snapped.

Nightwish looked as though he was about to protest, but when the door creaked open and Silent Spell walked in, he shut his trap like a good little foal. What really caught my attention though was the metal leg strapped to Silent's back. From what little I could see, there seemed to be lots and lots and lots of gears involved as well as a pack for powering it. Clumsy at best and explosive at worst. If he planned on me using that thing, he was sorely mistaken.

Reaching out, I grasped the mechanical leg and Silent Spell tilted his body to the side to give me easier access. Bending the joints this way and that, I got a feel for the way it moved before miming the way a leg should bend when walking. It was a bit twitchy and finicky, but after a couple of attempts, I had the process down relatively well. Putting the leg back down, I smiled at Silent Spell.

"Just make a leg with joints and I can manipulate it myself," I said.

From the looks of things, Silent was about to start crying in frustration. The leg must have taken forever to make and considering the bags under his eyes, it probably did. Worse of all, in one simple motion, I had rendered all that work useless.

"So how long have I been out anyways?"

"Two days. The doctor expected you to be out for longer."

"Huh, two days you say? S-"

"You're talking to yourself again," muttered Nightwish under his breath before adding in a louder voice, "How did you know that anyways?"

"Super powers," I replied without missing a beat. "The explosion didn't destroy too much of Las Pegasus I hope."

"Thanks to you."

A frown creased my brow as I stared at him in confusion. "Excuse me? I didn't do anything though; I was too busy keeping myself alive."

"But a magenta shield blocked the worst of the blasts. Considering the strength necessary to create it, we all thought it had to have been you."

My frown deepened. Had Shining Armor been there? He was the only unicorn that I could think of with magic the same color and with enough power to create such a shield. It was a possibility I suppose, but why show up now after over six months of silence? As far as I could tell, there was no benefit from staying silent for so long and if he had been around earlier, it would have greatly benefited the Dawn Brigade. Then again, there were gryphons in the fight so maybe he was on a diplomatic mission? Considering there had been no information on Cadence and Nightmare Moon seemed unaware of her existence entirely, it was a plausible explanation. But he alone had enough power to probably rival Trixie so sending him out while I was in the field would be a stupid move and from what little I had glimpsed from Rarity during our chess match, she knew tactics. No matter how I twisted things, it simply did not make sense.

Or was Shining Armor acting alone then?

Before I could follow that train of thought any further, the door slammed open and in trotted Silent Spell with a massive grin on his face. Strapped to his back was yet another metallic limb, but this time it seemed as though it was made from solid metal. When I picked it up though, it was far lighter than I expected and a quick magical scan told me it was far stronger as well.

"You based it off the skeletal pneumaticity found in avians?"At his nod, I couldn't stop the grin from forming. "Color me surprised then. How do I get this thing on?"

It took a while and a lot of fiddling around to get all the clamps on tight enough so that it would stay in place and my ruined nerve endings did not help in that respect at all. In the end though, it was on – probably a bit too tight, but hey, can't win everything. Stepping forward, I careened into Nightwish as I forgot to compensate for the extra weight of the leg. On my second attempt, I didn't flex the ankle right so I hit the ground with a stumble. And third time was definitely not the charm. Nor the fifth or the twentieth.

Needless to say, it was going to be a very long night.

Though the sky was clear and without a single cloud in sight, lightning pierced the eternal night. There was no accompanying thunder as the light faded, but there was an alicorn. A single alicorn with an ethereal mane and midnight coat adorned with light blue armor. Below her, just hidden by the ridge a few feet in front of her was the entrance to the Dawn Brigade's base of operations. To think they'd set it up so close to their old one was a stroke of genius, even if it was a risky chance to take. But that chance had indeed paid off and Nightmare Moon was more than willing to acknowledge the fact that it was a decent move.

There were no other ponies with her, no army, no generals. She made that mistake once on the first assault on their original base and she was not about to repeat it – stupid Generals and their stupid tactics. Ah well, this time there would no escape for her little ponies. She had told no one of this little outing, which meant no one could have told given them prior warning. Standing there above the entrance, she sighed sadly at the task set before her, but steeled her heart.

She had to be honest with herself; death was the only option for as long as they lived they would threaten the peace. The kind thing would be to publically execute the Element Bearers quickly so they didn't suffer, but she'd be generous and offer them the chance to forsake Celestia. In the end, everything she was doing was for Equestria and she'd be loyal to the end. Most importantly though, she'd remember what was done and learn to somehow live with it all, after all laughter was about staring horror in the face and pushing through it.

With one last calming breath, she leapt off the edge of the cliff and effortless descended towards the entrance. Along the way, she knocked out a dozen guards before they could even raise the alarm. Amateurs. Stepping inside, it was surprisingly spacious and once more, she took down a variety of guards ranging from gryphons to unicorns with simple stunning spells. Of course, those who decided to shield themselves first found their protections ripped to shreds before they could even formulate a thought, but really, she was a physical Goddess.

She felt the magical buildup far before she saw or heard anything. Throwing up shield, the resulting blast flung her out of the base, leaving a crater on the cliff face opposite the entrance. Unfurling her wings, the dust was blown away giving her a perfect view of her attacker. A blue mare in a magicians cape and hat with the Element of Magic as well.

"You're meant to be dead," hissed Nightmare Moon as a fireball approached. "Are even the Spirits working against me? No matter, I'll just have to kill you myself."

A sweep of her wing and winds crashed down, dispersing the spell. Four beams of white light shot out from the alicorn's horn before she closed the distance with a single flap of her wings. Crystal sword formed and descended forcing Trixie to block. A second sword formed mid-swing then a third then a forth. Twilight was a foal with a stick compared to the wrath of the corrupt alicorn.

Back winging at the last second, the four beams slammed into Trixie's shield. The entire ledge she was standing on was vaporized beneath her feet. Reaching out with her magic, Nightmare Moon caught the limp unicorn and teleported her to the very same cell she had put Twilight in before she became such an exceptional piece.

Below her, she could see ponies scrambling to get away from the assault. Now that won't do at all. Reaching out to the stars, she called forth the creatures of the night. Silver star dust rained down from the sky, condensing into various animals on the cliff face behind her.

"Don't let them escape," she commanded and they leapt to obey their mistress.

Turning her attention back to the cave entrance, her eyes widened as a series of blue bolts flew straight at her. Tucking and rolling, the bolts blasted past harmlessly, but even then, the magical back draft sent her reeling. A hasty shield was thrown up just as five arrows bounced off harmlessly before the six slammed into her with enough force to shatter the barrier and blast her out of the sky. Hitting the ground with a thump, she rolled and flattened everything within a half mile with a telekinetic wave.

That was when a pillar of pure white light slammed into her from above.

This time though, she was ready. A second pillar the color of midnight went straight up towards the sky. It cut through the white, shredding it from the inside out. Then throwing her wings, open, white ribbons were dispersed through the night and she hovered there in the sky, scanning the ground for that annoying mare.

A flash of blue light drew her attention, as did the two dozen blue arrows that came from over four different locations. Using a combination of Pegasus and unicorn magic, Nightmare Moon sent out a shockwave than splintered the arrows in mid flight. What she wasn't expecting though was for each arrow to detonate sending shrapnel in her direction. Snapping her wings shut, she dropped down and protecting her flank with a shield spell, landed next to the white mare. A single hoofstike shattered the shield Rarity had conjured and before she could react, Nightmare Moon was beside her. A quick blow to the side of the neck sent her to the ground and just like Trixie, Nightmare Moon teleported her away.

Four more to go. Or maybe three?

A howl filled the night air and Nightmare Moon's ears perked up at the sound. Sounds like her pets had found something. Using the Canis Minor as an anchor, she teleported over only for her jaw to hit the ground at the sight before her. There were her pets, a couple dozen minor constellations and scattered throughout were about thirteen major constellations and every single last one of them were frozen in place as a pegasus stared them down while systematically cutting them down with a scalpel.

Fluttershy's gaze suddenly turned to Nightmare Moon and for the first time in her life, the twisted alicorn felt something akin to fear. Deep below her, in the very depths of her soul, Luna stirred as the bounds holding her captive wavered. It took every single last bit of willpower the Nightmare had to keep control of her body, but even then, it felt like holding back an earthquake.

"You want to play my little pony?" growled out Nightmare Moon. "Then let's play."

Conjuring up the memory of Luna's jealousy and anger and hate and pain, the alicorn directed it all towards the pegasus with a single glare. The two were locked in staring contest. Pebbles around them levitated off the ground, the air sparked with electricity and winds swirled beneath their feet. The forest was dead silent.

That was when the Nightmare noticed it – Fluttershy's mane was billowing against the wind.

No. Bucking. Way.

Reaching out with her magic, Nightmare Moon opened a channel between herself and the disharmony – it was a dangerous move considering Discord's influence on everything, but it was one that had to be taken. With all that extra negative energy, she slammed it against the pegasus and she immediately crumpled under all that negativity. The Element of Kindness flooded with all that pessimism, it was amazing she resisted as long as she did. A snap of dark blue light and the pony was gone.

Stepping forward, she gazed down at the pink earth pony and grinned. Two for the price of one. Unconscious from the looks of things, which made it all so much simpler – for as long as she remembered, the Bearer of Laughter had always been unpredicted and she was sure this Pinkie Pie was no different. Unpredictable opponents were the worst opponents. With a wave of her horn, Pinkie vanished and Nightmare Moon turned to her last prey.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are," sung the alicorn as she trotted through the camp. "Come out my little pony, my dear Applejack, my lovely Bearer of Honesty. I just want to have a little chat is all."

"Lie!"

Teleporting to the source of the yell, Nightmare Moon grinned at the farm pony who had clamped her hooves over her mouth.

"Well now, that's interesting, can you not control your Element? How interesting... how very, very interesting." She began circling the sheepish earth pony. "Not even going to fight? How disappointing."

"The honest truth is, if ya can defeat Rarity and Trixie, then ya'll be able to beat me easily," Applejack said, though it sounded forced like she was fighting against herself.

"How curious." Head tilted to the side, Nightmare Moon regarded the farmer for a while longer. "And where is Rainbow Dash? Where is the Bearer of Loyalty? Is she alive?"

"I... Don't..." Applejack wrapped both hooves around her muzzle, but it didn't stop her from finishing the sentence. "Know... Think... Dead..."

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Thank you for your assistance."

With a regal bow to the shaking pony, Nightmare Moon teleported her away before launching herself into the air and scanning the immediate area, she spotted various clusters of fleeing ponies.

Time to clean up.

Teleporting back into my room, I put the stacks of book down before flashing over and settling down on my bed. Grabbing the thickest volume from the stack, I opened it up and blinked in surprise. There in the margins, was my own writing, but I never wrote it. Was this it? Was this the final book in the insane series Celestia made me jump through? I certainly hoped so.

Taking a deep breath to settle my nerves, I began skimming through the book using the notes I had on hoof. Almost immediately, I could tell that this was an instruction to a magical spell of some sort. It was complex and had aspects of mind magic woven in, but none of the spells used were particularly dangerous and from my knowledge of spell interactions, it shouldn't result in any weird or wonderful effects either. Once I had the entire thing written out, I quadruple checked it all before nodding in satisfaction.

Then with my eyes closed, I began casting. Ten spells layered on top of one another and interwoven in such a way that I had to maintain spells half completed before starting the next – I doubt any other unicorn could have completed it. Once it was completed though, I sat there like an idiot waiting for some sort of vertigo or feeling of absolute power coursing through my veins, but there was nothing. Not a single thing.

And so I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Growling in frustration, my eyes snapped open to reread the instructions and to double check if I had missed something, but instead all I could do was stare in a stunned silence. All around me were book shelves filled the to the absolute brim with information – no doubt it represented all the knowledge I had accumulated over the years, but all I cared about was what lay before me. There in front of me was a set of giant marble double doors and over it was a pulsating yellow seal – the same color as Celestia's magic. The edges were frayed and golden dust flecked off with each pulse, but it was there. On the outside was a circle with unknown symbols along the edges. At the top, bottom, left and right were four distinct marks comprised of straight lines rather than the cursive nature of the others. Within said circle were three more that overlapped in the center. One had the mark of the moon, another the sun and the last the earth.

There was no doubt in my mind that this was an ancient spell, older than Equestria itself no doubt.

A giddy feeling spread throughout my body as I marveled at the intricate patterns that floated forth and disappeared within the rune. No two where the same and if there was some sort of pattern in there, it was far too complex for me to figure out in the time that I had. It was a work of art and a part of me was sad that I had to destroy it, but it was a necessity and a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Stepping forward, I touched it gently with my horn and without even needing to cast a spell, a magenta bolt zapped out. It struck dead center of the three circles and ever so slowly, my cutie mark appeared. A second later, the entire rune melted away, the doors opened and brilliant light flooded my entire body.

The real world faded into the foreground and a mad little giggle escaped as I felt my entire magical might flow through me. It hurt, it hurt so very much, but at the same time, it was absolutely delicious. Electricity crackled over my tongue and I could taste power in the air. It was like a ray of pure sunlight had been passed over my body, searing away everything and leaving only my pure essence behind.

I looked the same and I moved the same, but I felt like an entirely new pony. I felt energized, as though I could take on Nightmare Moon right there and then, and win. It was as though I had enough power to reach out and rip the moon right out of the sky despite the utter ridiculousness of such a statement.

Most importantly, I laughed. I laughed a full body laugh that used every fiber of my being – it was a laugh that completely and utter consumed me in its entirety.