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- >Just you and Twilight left.
- >The two of you had left the besieged Ponyville Castle, just before midnight last night.
- >The Changelings...too many, far far too many.
- >They washed over the area like a tidal wave, getting everywhere.
- >Canterlot had fallen as well, no word on Celestia or Luna escaping.
- >There were still pockets of resistance, so there was some hope...but it was looking grim.
- >The Crystal Empire had yet to be reached, but it seemed to be doomed as well.
- >The last contact Twilight had with her brother was him urging her to run, and not look back.
- >Her friends had fought to the last, but were eventually overwhelmed and hauled off to the hive for...god knows what reason.
- >Even Discord had trouble with the sheer *numbers.*
- >He would banish one only for twelve more to take its place.
- >Eventually, he retreated via escape slide, and his whereabouts were currently unknown.
- >Twilight was openly weeping as the two of you sat in the throne room of the old Everfree castle.
- >It was enough to hide you two for the moment, but you knew it was a useless gesture.
- >You flicked some of the iridescent green blood off of your appropriated guard sword as you kept watch out of the windows.
- >A storm was gathering, one of the random Everfree thunderstorms.
- >Twilight was...tired.
- >Not physically. Mentally and emotionally.
- >You could see it in her eyes.
- >"We should...keep moving, Anon. Find a way to escape, maybe to the dragon lands to the south." She said. "Oh Celestia, Spike..."
- >The tears began again, and you didn't blame her.
- >The issue was: You simply didn't have time for this.
- "Twilight, listen to me." You said, voice soft but stern. "We have to leave. You said it yourself."
- >"I...I know..."
- >The alicorn sniffled.
- >"I...I'm going to kill Chrysalis." She said with a chilling finality in her tone. "For all of this."
- "...I know."
- >"I should have done it at the wedding. Not a de-camouflaging spell, a kill spell." Twilight growled. "I knew enough of them by that point. Would have broke Shining's shield spells easily enough as well."
- >You sighed.
- "What's done is done. We need to keep moving."
- >"The path takes us straight through the Badlands. The Changelings nest there."
- "Oh. Fuck."
- >"Mmhm."
- >The castle rattled.
- "What the..."
- >Lightning flashed, and you saw them.
- >Changelings, flooding through the forest and over the entrance ramp.
- >Chrysalis was here, possibly to personally oversee the capture or death of the two of you.
- >"I...have a plan. It's not a pretty one, it's not a pleasant one, but it's a plan."
- "Hmm?"
- >"I...'uncork myself', as it were. Unleash every last bit of magical strength I have."
- "Which will...?"
- >"It will have a blast radius of fifteen kilometers. I'll be drained, but Chrysalis will not survive."
- "Let me guess. You need me to hold them off while you prep the spell."
- >"Not at all. I can do this at a moment's notice. I just want to see the bug's face when I do."
- >"Anon..."
- "Twilight?"
- >She looked away, biting her lower lip.
- >"I...won't survive this, either. You will, due to your immunity to magic..."
- "I figured." You said, touching your forehead to hers. "We're lighting the way for the Crystal Empire then, right?"
- >"Right!"
- >You chuckled the kind of chuckle a death row inmate uses on the way to being executed.
- "Let's do this, then. I'll lead the way, they're liable to use magic until we close in."
- >"Right. After that, I'll get Chrysalis in close, then blow this right in her face."
- >You both took a deep breath, foreheads still touching...
- >Then locked lips in a deep, comforting kiss.
- >"I love you."
- "I love you."
- >The two of you exchanged your final words, nodding at one another.
- >You gave her a smile, one she returned despite knowing what would happen in just a few moments.
- >The two of you stepped to the dilapidated drawbridge, you with your sword drawn.
- >"Twilight Sparkle, oh how I've waited SO LONG for this!" The bug queen cackled from just behind the front lines.
- >"If you surrender now, the two of you can be made part of the hive! It's a pleasant experience, and you may even take my place as Queen!"
- >"No sell." Twilight responded simply, voice loud and clear above the cacophony of the shuffling insects.
- >"Very well. I suppose I will have to indoctrinate you as well. Archers, fire when ready."
- >Brainwashed Guardsponies stepped forward, bows in their telekinetic grip.
- >A rain of arrows came down, one Twilight stopped with a shield.
- >Several changelings closed in, firing green beams that may as well have been a warm breeze to you.
- >Twilight kept flying on as you taunted and mocked the changelings.
- >Eventually the lavender mare engaged in close-range combat with the Queen, unleashing absolute hell on one another.
- >Your lack of attention was rewarded when white-hot agony shot through you.
- >Looking down, a changeling had run you through with that wickedly pointed horn, right through your left lung.
- >You cleaved it off with your sword, adrenaline high allowing you to ignore it in favor of decapitating the one that did it.
- >Twilight got in close...then pulsed brightly, like a star.
- >A brilliant flash of magenta was all you saw before everything went black.
- ---
- >You awoke against a tree, the rain still pouring down.
- >Your wound was still bleeding, but you needed to see your Twilight.
- >It was your sole driving purpose.
- >It wasn't hard to find her, either.
- >Everything that wasn't magic-resistant was simply...gone.
- >The lavender mare herself was on her side, star cutie mark missing from her hips.
- >The only thing remaining of Chrysalis was the black crown she used to wear on her head, as well as a single charred wing.
- "Twilight..."
- >You made it to your mare, pulling her limp body close.
- >"Nmmgh..." Twilight groaned. "Did it...work...?"
- "Yes sweetheart...it did..."
- >She opened her eyes with great effort, her normally brilliant violet irises now a dull, lifeless grey.
- >"Good..."
- "Was she surprised?"
- >"Oh, was she ever..." Twilight said with a tired chuckle.
- "Good..."
- >The two of you lie against a boulder, you propped up against it.
- >You were both silent for a while.
- >Sleep was looking...so good right now.
- "Twilight...?"
- >...no response.
- "Twi?"
- >A gentle shake of her wings had no effect either, the limbs hanging limply.
- "Sweetheart...?"
- >Still nothing.
- >Twilight wasn't breathing.
- >You bowed your head and wept quietly, right up until the darkness took you.
- >Funny, you'd have thought dying would hurt a lot more.
- ===
- >Shining Armor and Cadence were nearly inconsolable when they found the princess and human a day later.
- >Due to Twilight's actions, not only had Queen Chrysalis been killed, but so had the large, overwhelming majority of her invasion forces.
- >The bug queen had known how dangerous Twilight really was, and wanted every available Changeling to fight her.
- >The force that hit the Crystal Empire's walls was uncoordinated and weak as a result, and thus had simply broken against the Empire's defenses.
- >The Crystal Empire's army was heading to the Badlands to exterminate the hive, to the last.
- >A small expeditionary force was heading to Canterlot to take the city back.
- >Celestia had been found, tending her sister's wounds in a small resistance camp just outside Canterlot.
- >The Princess had lost her composure when the news about Twilight had been delivered, shedding tears freely.
- >The sun had been set at dawn for a week, unmoving and unwavering.
- >The Princess of Friendship and her Human?
- >Now residing forever in a tomb, dedicated to the two lovers that stopped an evil force from irrevocably taking hold.
- >On the tomb was a simple verse.
- >"As dusk signals the coming of the dark, so too does Twilight signal the coming of Day."
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