"Stop!" cried Princess Celestia.
The assembled griffon army took no notice of her. They marched ahead, their faces set in cold, stony glares.
Celestia's own Royal Guard set their jaws in fierce, defensive scowls as they raised their spears for attack.
"There has to be a better way!" shouted Twilight Sparkle, from her position next to Celestia.
"We do not need to go to war!" said Luna, signalling for the advancing army behind her to stop.
"Nonsense," said the griffon emperor, hovering in the air, dressed fully in battle armor. "You ponies have refused enough of our demands. If you do not allow griffon forces to occupy the Crystal Empire, then we will merely destroy your country and take it anyway!"
"But the Crystal Empire is a necessary line of defence for Equestria," said Cadence. "The Crystal Heart protects Equestria and the lands surrounding it from threats like Discord. Not to mention the crystal ponies. Where will they go if we give you their home?"
"Your pitiful excuses mean nothing to us! The area around the Crystal Empire is rich in valuable minerals. We must have that land, no matter what," said the emperor.
"Thou shalt not have it!" said Luna, lighting her horn menacingly.
"Enough!" roared the emperor. He turned to his griffons. "Charge!"
All hell broke loose.
The griffons lunged with their swords and swung their axes. The ponies levelled their lances and raised their spears. Weapons flew from both sides of the battlefield. Screams intermingled with battle cries as soldiers dropped, heavy casualties inflicted on both sides. Celestia fought the urge to vomit as a severed pegasus wing landed next to her, splattering her hoof with blood.
She erected a magical shield around several guards as a griffon axe was hurled at them. The axe shattered against the solid magic, and Celestia dropped her shield. Almost immediately, three of the five soldiers she had shielded were struck by a cannonball.
Twilight's horn was glowing fiercely, as she attempted to heal fallen soldiers. Her efforts were in vain, however. For every pony she saved, two more were killed. The griffons had the clear advantage. Their military was far superior to that of Equestria. Equestria was a nation of peace, and war was not something they were prepared for. Twilight wanted to cry. This wasn't a situation she wanted to be in, nor was it one she had expected to be in so early after her ascension.
Turquoise bolts of raw magical energy shot across the battlefield. Griffon soldiers fell instantly upon being struck by Luna's magic. Her eyes glowed white as she tapped into her deep magical reserves. The griffons quickly learned to stay away, and even began using their shields to reflect her magic back at her, but Luna's combat prowess exceeded the strength of their shields. Luna was a seasoned warrior, still stuck in the old days when battles were held every day except for Sunday. Though it pained her to see such bloodshed, she would do what was necessary to protect Equestria.
A pink heart flew from Cadence's horn and into a griffon. The griffon became surrounded by an aura of blue magic and hearts. All griffons who caught sight of him instantly began to fawn over him. Unfortunately, so did the ponies. Cadence's 'Want it, Need it' spell had backfired. However, it did give the most well-trained of the guards, those possible of withstanding the spell, a chance to attack the distracted griffons. When the guards deemed his usefulness complete, they brutally attacked the decoy, slashing his wings off in a spray of blood and pulling feathers from him. Cadence was sick at the thought of what had just transpired, even more so knowing that she had had a part in it.
Celestia fought back tears as more and more of her ponies were cut down by the griffons. She watched as a young soldier, still almost a colt, was ruthlessly slashed into a bloody heap by three griffons.
Overkill, she thought as she looked at the colt's body. He did not deserve it.
"Princess! Look out!"
Celestia whipped around and froze. A griffon soldier, wearing dark, heavy armor, had a huge greatsword ready to swing at her. Normally, she would not fear the weapon, but the blade was made of a sickly grey coloured crystal. Embargo stones. Crystals with the power to breach even an alicorn's magical sheath of immortality.
"Stop! You are making a grave mista-"
She got no further than that when the sword pierced her heart.
"Celestia!" screamed Twilight and Luna in unison as a violent shaking built up. Griffons and ponies alike stopped to stare at the sun. The star in question had turned red, and begun to expand.
"W-what is happening?" asked the emperor, dropping his prideful facade.
"No..." whispered Luna. "This cannot be happening...Celestia, she said that it would never happen. She said the sun would remain. Always."
The sun continued to grow, the sky reddening. In Canterlot, ponies emerged from their houses, terrified at the events that were unfolding. An elderly stallion cried out, "It's the apocalypse! The end is nigh!"
Other ponies began to fret as the sun swelled more and more. In the Crystal Empire, the cause of the disastrous events, Shining Armor looked out the window at the crimson sky. Below him, crystal ponies were milling about, whispering to one another fearfully. One of them looked up and caught sight of the prince.
"Prince Shining Armor! He will know what to do!"
The ponies began shouting at him, some begging him, some angry, some sad, but all of them terrified.
Shining Armor shook his head sadly, and continued to stare at the sky.
Back on the battlefield, the two armies had lowered their weapons to gape at the phenomenon.
"What is going on, Luna?" asked Twilight as the shaking grew worse.
"A cataclysmic event spoken of only in legends..." said Luna.
Twilight and Cadence ripped their eyes from the body of their fallen princess, to instead stare at Luna.
"A Hypernova," said Luna, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks in the brightening light.
As if on cue, the sun erupted in a supermassive explosion.
