I was hurt. My friends were hurt. Equestria was hurt. We didn't count on the fact that our once defeated enemies might try and seek revenge. We thought that our friendship was enough to keep them at bay, Starlight Glimmer was the only one who really got away.

We thought she would just give up, leave us be. We didn't know she got in contact with Queen Chrysalis.

First it started off with small sightings a changeling here another there, something we could managed with ease. Fighting them off was easy… I should have known it was too easy. The map sent us to places that needed help and we followed without hesitation. Dash and Pinkie went back to Griffinstone, Applejack and Fluttershy went to Maretopia and Rarity and I went to the Chrystal Empire. We were back before we knew it, as easy as pie…

Yes, that's where it started… the Pie's rock farm after the fault line miniature earthquake that happened last Hearth's Warming Eve. We got a note tied to Maud's pet pebble, rocks were disappearing left and right. The boulders were okay but Pinkie Pie dashed off to help her family. We thought she would be back in a week. I haven't seen her since the explosion a little while ago, I hope her party canon did the job it was supposed to.

The next place was Manehatten and Cloudsdaile both had reports of missing ponies, Rarity's own Sassy Saddles went missing as well as Rainbow's parents. Fluttershy went to help, soon only Applejack and I were left in Ponyville. Then the Apples started going missing: Apple Strudel, Golden Delicious, Apple Fritter, and even Aunt and Uncle Orange and old Grammy Apple Rose, all missing.

Tension started building as more and more ponies started to go missing. Curfews were set and strangers became enemies, shops were boarded up and the map was sending us to every corner of Equestria. It seemed as soon as we left one place we were needed again, friendship was being lost faster than we could cultivate it.

Fluttershy collapsed from the strain first, after being met with harsh glares and abrasive personalities everywhere we went the mental strain proved too much for the shy pony. It didn't help that she was the one being called on the most. Kindness was in short supply everywhere.

The next to fall was poor Spike. The baby dragon couldn't stand the pressure we put on him, he was there when we needed him and kept up our moral and we selfishly unloaded all the negative things onto the poor five year old dragon. He had entered his first hibernation cycle and wouldn't open his eyes for another four months. I hope I am there when he does but it doesn't look good right now.

Rarity had to shut down her business when her stores were broken into and stolen from, not the dresses but the gems she used. She was the next to collapse followed by both Rainbow and Applejack and then me, being the princess of friendship was hard.

Pinkie was the only one trying after that but even with her seemingly limitless energy and smiles she too wasn't immortal, she had crawled into the castle one day and fell asleep in her seat before she could utter a word. Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence were patrolling the lands during the day while Luna and Discord took the night shift.

Everything seemed to be calming down, the ponies were still missing but after two months nopony else had. Though the kingdom was still on high alert.

Then I got a letter from Sunset Shimmer, in her world people were being killed by magic. Not hers or the human six but what looked to be the sirens manipulation but that couldn't be, their gems broke, they couldn't sing. I told them to find the source but was replied by them saying that the humans thought they were doing it and attacking them every way they turned. So I told them to hide, that I would be there and soon but they - the human six and Shimmer destroyed the portal because they were protecting me from a horde of angry humans set to storm my castle and destroy me for bringing magic to their world.

They said they would hide and wait until something slipped up and they could get some help but that they probably wouldn't be able to write for a while. I didn't like the sound of that, it sounded too much like a final goodbye.

I demanded that they write - ordered them to keep in touch but I got no reply, the book soon disintegrated in my hooves. I sat crying until Applejack found me, because Spike was asleep I didn't get the letter from Celestia. Terek escaped and the hellhound Cerberus was loose, I only found out when Terek used her magic to blot out most of the sun and send a message to all of Equestria.

We are the rulers of Equestria now! Look at your heroes! They are exhausted and the highest powers are mine to control!

Even to this day I can hear the message echoing through the air.

Princess Luna went back to the moon to hide and only contacted us through our dreams. Cadence took her kingdom and hid it underground where no one would be able to find the crystal ponies. The worst part was that they were right.

We couldn't harness the elements anymore- after the first battle with Terek, we were only in our other forms for a small while next to the Tree of Harmony. Now the tree is gone too, the changelings made the cave their nest. Everypony began to cry out for us to help them, getting madder and madder when we ran ourselves ragged and failed to please them. The ponies began to attack us, throwing rotten vegetables at us and blaming us for letting the enemy get too far.

We began to plan one last attack on the palace. If we were organized we could topple their power and win back Equestria. Luna joined us in our dreams and we modified everything we could to help us with our endeavor. Pinkie's party canon became like a real canon, something that had been banned from Equestria's history for its destructive powers, it shot small bombs which exploded on impact with any negative magic.

Fluttershy had her animals become spies, asking the bugs and mice to relay messages to birds who would tell Fluttershy. Dash trained her speed so she could be an all-rounder helping others who needed her. Rarity built armour (with flare of course!) that would protect us against at least a little magic and debris.

Applejack practiced her shooting skills. Kicking up anything around and hitting them towards enemies with startling accuracy. Luna and I went over the castle construct for secret ways in to surprise the enemy.

After a month we were ready… At least, we thought so. The initial surprise attack went off without a hitch, the guards didn't know what hit them (rocks, curtesy of Applejack). But when we arrived in the main plaza we saw an army waiting for us, we fought dirty using everything at our disposal and managed to get inside but we were severely injured. However we all stubbornly pressed on.

The canon had one bomb left, we were saving that for Terek. It was the biggest one we made and our biggest hope.

The throne room doors open and our nightmares became reality. In front of us… was everyone who went missing over the months leading up to this, our friends, our family, our mentors. They were all brain washed, even Celestia was there. Her lovely white fur now pitch black and her eyes red as blood. She gave the command.

"Attack!"

We had to fight. None of us wanted to but we had to, Terek was behind the horde laughing as we fought to end this.

I lost sight of my friends, we were losing, finally, I heard the canon shoot and I was pushed from the blast out of the stained glass window showing my coronation. Even as I fell to the ground memories of how this happened flashed through my mind.

'I am too far up,' I thought calmly. 'When I hit the ground I will most likely die.' For some reason that didn't scare me, if I wasn't in this world I wouldn't be blamed for the deaths of anypony. I closed my eyes 'I should just –"

"Flap your wings Princess Sparkle!"

My eyes snapped open as did my wings and I floated to the ground softly landing and looking around. Luna was still on the moon, I must have passed out on the way to the ground. I listened to the stillness around me, the castle seemed to have one big crater where the throne room was. Had we done it?

Laughter. It was Terek's. We failed. The next step in the plan was to rendezvous back at Sweet Apple Acres. Whoever was left would head there. My steps were agonizing, the pain of the glass lacerations on my wings and back burned and my legs seems to scream with any pressure put on them. I made my way slowly back with one thought on my mind.

'We need help.'