“The sun take you all!” Apple Bloom hissed as she hit three of her Shadowbolt pursuers with a heavy statue she’d pushed down the stairs. The Shadowbolts melted into shadow and immediately began reforming. Apple Bloom bolted down the hallway, her mind racing for some way to kill her assailants for good. She was no unicorn, but she knew Nightmare Moon’s enchantments almost as well as Nightmare Moon herself. A complex series of spells protected the dark mare from any and all harm within the castle walls—hence the need to draw her away from her fortress—and now it seemed the Shadowbolts were invincible as well, endlessly reforming no matter what she threw at them.

Apple Bloom reviewed her options as the all-too-familiar sound of hoofbeats echoed behind her. Her knives were lost somewhere in the dining room, and crushing was apparently ineffective. She could trap them under a tapestry like she’d done to a couple in the downstairs hallway, but that was only a temporary solution, and no matter how fast she ran, they always managed to cut her off before she could reach a doorway and get them away from the castle’s enchantments. She considered using her blowgun, but that would only take care of one of them at best and leave her defenseless should she come across Nightmare Moon.

A pair of Shadowbolts melted out of the floor in front of her. Apple Bloom redoubled her pace and shoved past them, pausing only to kick down the door that stood at the end of the hallway. She guessed she was somewhere near the castle’s outer wall, but she couldn’t think of any way to use that to her immediate advantage. Her only hope was to get outside, and the Shadowbolts were making that all but impossible.

The sound of cracking thunder echoed through the passage. Apple Bloom frowned. Nightmare Moon can’t be here, she thought as she leapt over a Shadowbolt who stood in her way. They were supposed to fight her down on the plain. She skidded to a stop in front of a window and looked outside. To her horror, she saw Nightmare Moon herself standing in front of Sweetie Belle’s body, pointing her horn at Scootaloo.

A series of growls brought her attention back to the passage. The Shadowbolts were closing in on her from either side, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get past them this time. Apple Bloom took a moment to weigh her options before backing as far away as she could from the glass that separated her from the outside world. Then she pushed off the wall and threw herself at the window, hoping that it wasn’t as strong as it looked.

Jagged shards of class cut her skin as she crashed through the newly made hole in the wall. She ignored the pain, the Shadowbolts diving out the window after her, and everything on the ground except the black-coated mare about to unleash her fury on Scootaloo. She reached into her vest and withdrew her blowpipe, sucked in a deep breath, pressed the pipe against her lips, took aim, and blew.

For the first time in her life, Apple Bloom heard a startled cry come out of Nightmare Moon’s mouth. Apple Bloom hit the snow and rolled, hoping she hadn’t broken anything she’d need to keep running if her plan didn’t work out. Her gaze shot to the shattered window just in time to see the Shadowbolts disappear in puffs of black smoke.

“You!” Apple Bloom turned her attention to Nightmare Moon, who looked ready to tear out her throat with her teeth. “I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

“You got that right,” Apple Bloom replied as she rose slowly to her hooves. Her shoulder ached where she’d hit the snow, and though she could walk, she doubted she’d be doing any more running for a while. “Guess that mistake came back to bite you in the flank.”

“I’ll not be making it again,” Nightmare Moon growled as she pointed her horn at Apple Bloom. Nothing happened. “What is this?” the dark mare demanded. “What have you done to my magic?”

Apple Bloom couldn’t resist a smile. “Remember that potion you sent me to destroy? I’ve been helpin’ Zecora make it this whole time.” Nightmare Moon’s mouth hung open, and her eyes went wide. “It should come back eventually—if we let you live that long.”

Nightmare Moon stumbled back a couple paces and flared her good wing. “I can defeat all of you without my magic!” she yelled.

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Apple Bloom replied. “Sure, you might be able to take me and Scootaloo, but I know for a fact there’s one pony here who scares you—so much you wanted me to kill her if I got the chance.”

Nightmare Moon’s expression gave way to confusion, then shock. Her gaze shot to Sweetie Belle, who was pushing herself to her hooves with a cough. “No,” she whispered. “No!”

“That’s right,” Apple Bloom said. “How you feelin’, Sweetie Belle?”

“Dizzy,” Sweetie Belle said as she rubbed her head. She looked up at Nightmare Moon and glared. “Hello, teacher.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Nightmare Moon shrieked. “Those monsters are just as likely to attack your friends as they are me!”

“Maybe that was true five years ago,” Sweetie Belle replied as her horn began to glow, “but I’ve learned a lot since I got away from you.”

“Even if she can’t control it, it’s still worth it if it means taking you down,” Apple Bloom added, more for Sweetie Belle than Nightmare Moon. “We’ve all come this far, and we’ve all been willin’ to sacrifice our lives to get Equestria back to normal.”

“So, you would sacrifice your friends for a petty grudge?” Nightmare Moon asked. “Well, well, it appears I taught you better than I thought.”

“It’s a sacrifice I’m proud to make,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Me too,” Scootaloo agreed as she landed carefully beside Apple Bloom. “Do it, Sweetie Belle. It’s time this tyrant met her match.”

Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, and her horn glowed brighter still. Come on, Sweetie Belle. Just like you’ve been practicing. Her pent-up hatred for the mare in front of her surged against her chest, but she forced it down. You don’t need it, she reminded herself. You can control this.

The ground at her hooves split open, and a greenish glow emanated from below. Hooves began clawing at the edges, struggling to reach the surface. The ponies that emerged from the crevice were every bit as horrible as Nightmare Moon remembered them. Their half-rotted skin clung to their bones as they shambled towards her, dead eyes boring a hole into her soul.

“Stop!” the dark princess cried, falling on her rump as she tried to back away. That stubborn farm pony and prissy fashionista were closing in from either side. A cyan pegasus she remembered from the last uprising emitted a feral growl, and even that timid, yellow animal lover was stalking closer, rotting teeth bared. What scared her most, though, was her sister’s protégé. Even in death, her horn still glowed with a faint purple light.

“G-Get away from me!” Nightmare Moon cried, but the mob was beyond hearing. The princess swiped her horn at those that drew closest, but her feeble defense was hardly enough to deter them. A pink mare with a flat pink mane lunged forward, knocking Nightmare Moon onto her side. The others closed in quickly and began to feed.

Apple Bloom closed her eyes as the dark mare’s screams echoed across Canterlot. She cringed as the sound of tearing flesh filled her ears, but Sweetie Belle’s spell stayed strong. “Kill me!” the dark mare screamed in anguish. “Kill me!”

Sweetie Belle wanted nothing more than to tear her former master to pieces. Her hatred burned hot in her chest, and she could feel more specters scrambling to the surface. Stop it, said a voice in her head. Stop the spell while you still can. Something clicked inside her head, and she felt both her magic and her anger ebb away. The skeletal ponies backed away from the princess, their mouths, hooves and bodies dripping with blood. Nightmare’s groans filled the silence. “Just do it,” she gasped. “Just get it over with.”

The ponies sank into the ground, and the aura around Sweetie Belle’s horn faded. “I won’t lose control,” she said. “Not again.”

A sickening cross between laughter and choking escaped Nightmare Moon’s throat. “I knew you couldn’t do it,” she said. “You’re weak, just like your sister.”

“I’m not weak,” Sweetie Belle replied. “I’ve learned on my own to control my power, which is more than you ever taught me.”

“Insolent foal!” Nightmare Moon gasped. “What’s the matter? Afraid to take my life? I killed your sister before your eyes!”

“I know,” Sweetie Belle said as she put a hoof to her chest. She expected to feel a surge of hot anger, but she felt nothing. “That’s what fuelled my magic. That’s what made me strong enough to escape Canterlot.”

“Oh, spare me your sob story.”

“But I don’t need that anymore,” Sweetie Belle continued. “Anger and hatred, they might make you strong, but they also make you lose control and do things you don’t want to do, things you’ll come to regret. I thought I’d never be able to control my power until Apple Bloom and Zecora took me in. They never doubted for a second that I’d be able to master my own strength, and they were right.”

“Will you just kill me? You sound like Celestia.”

“Maybe you should have listened to her,” Sweetie Belle replied as her horn glowed once again. This time, the familiar surge of anger never came. “Guess it’s too late now.”

The ground shook, and another specter crawled out of the crevice. Nightmare Moon stared in horror at a being she had not seen in ten years. The white alicorn still bore the burns and scars of their final battle. Her tattered wings hung limply at her side, and her broken horn still glowed with residual power. “Celestia,” she gasped as her sister’s glowing eyes snapped open, fixing her with an accusing glare. “No!”

“Luna,” Celestia gasped as she stumbled closer, her broken leg bending at sickening angles.

“No! Sister! Stop!”

“You betrayed me… you betrayed your friends.”

The white alicorn towered above Nightmare Moon, baring her teeth in the dim light. “Sister,” the dark princess whispered, tears coming to her eyes for the first time in over a millennia. “Please.”

“Your long night must end,” Celestia gasped. Her mouth opened, and she lunged forward. Nightmare Moon had time to utter one final scream.

The aura around Sweetie Belle’s horn dimmed, and the specter sank back into the ground. Apple Bloom cracked her eyes open to see Sweetie Belle walking towards them, a look of exhaustion over her face. “I did it,” she gasped.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “Yeah, you did.”

Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo, who was huddled over Gilda’s body, trembling and covering her ears. “It’s over,” Sweetie Belle said softly, putting a gentle hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “She’s gone.”

A sudden glare lit up the horizon. Apple Bloom squinted and covered her eyes as the sun rose over Equestria for the first time in over ten years. The sun moved quickly across the sky until it reached its highest point and stopped. Though Nightmare Moon’s corpse lay just a few feet away, only now did Apple Bloom believe that her mission was finally over.

“Come on,” she said to her companions, who were looking up at the sun with tears in their eyes. “Let’s get Gilda inside. Hopefully the others will get here soon.”