Chapter 1: Canterlot

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

The Sergeant called out to the two princess as screams of ponies and gunshots began to filter in through the open window. Luna was the first to act of the two princess. Calling up her halberd to her side, and floating over Twilight's katana to her's. The light weapon being picked up in her own magical grasp once she noticed it's presence. Though she didn't take it out of it's sheath, instead she turned to the elder princess who met her with a steely gaze.

"The time for doubt and hesitance is gone Twilight Sparkle. The time for action and arms is now! Get thy head straight or have it on thy enemy's pike!" The princess flared her wings, with a menacing stance as she turned to the sergeant, "Scramble the fliers, assign unicorn to protect the civilians, earth ponies with us, to the front!" True sight saluted and galloped off to issue out the princess' order.

Twilight was struck dumb, her weapon of choice clicked in her uneasy in her magical grasp. She stared at the device that she'd been trained to use in the past weeks for this very reason, in case the capital was threatened by griffon attack. But she was scared, doubtful of her own prowess with the weapon, worried about letting her ponies down, but most of all, afraid of having to kill. Her jaw worked uselessly as she tried to think of an excuse, a way out of the fight, but the princess of the night loomed over her instead. The stare she gave made her shrink.

"To arms Princess Twilight Sparkle... Your life is not your own any longer, you live or die for you ponies, as my sister once did, you must do as well." She said flapping her majestic wings right before she headed out the window Derpy had flown in through moments ago. Leaving the princess of friendship by her lonesome. Though not for long, her friends came to the door of the war room, all with concerned, fearful looks on their faces. The princess looked up at them for a moment then back at her shaking katana. She firmed her gaze on it, the clicking stopped as her magical hold stabilized.

"For my ponies.." She whispered as she drew her blade, looking up at her two remaining friends, and their adoptive sister. "Fine somewhere safe to hide.." She said trotting over to the window as the three nodded and headed for the inner sanctum of castle.

"For my ponies." She spoke louder as she flared her own wings. "FOR MY PONIES!" She cried out before flying out the window and towards the battle that now raged bellow. Griffons flew about Canterlot airspace in pairs, carrying metal pikes that they pointed from their shoulders. She was confused with the practice, until she noticed a pair of griffons, one was pushing a rod into his pike while the other had his to his shoulder. She was honestly wondering what they were doing until she heard cannon fire erupt from the device. A pony a few yards away, an older unicorn mare fell to the ground, a hole now in her chest. It made the princess gasp loudly, something that the keen griffons noticed, they pointed at the princess and few to meet her, the one that had shot fell back slightly, pulling out a rod an some other materials that he began to stuff down his barrel while the other took aim at the princess.

It took Twilight a second to realize what was going on, she quickly put up a shield, right before the hand cannon erupted its shot! When the projectile hit her shield it made her gasp. The projectile was small, smaller than one of her teeth, and yet the pressure and precision of the single projectile was enough to strain the limits of her shield, almost popping it. It took her back, made the gears in her mind turn, but before she could really think on it, the first griffon was already back and taking aim at her again. This time she evaded the shot, but it still clipped her shield. Her head thrummed with pain as her shield popped, sending a magical backlash to her horn. One that almost made her lose the grip on her sword. Almost.

The griffon hooted in victory as he went about reloading his cannon, while the other griffon took aim again. Twilight could see the grin of malice on his face as he prepared to fire at her. Twilight acted fast, enveloping the weapon in her magical grasp, ripping it out of the now stunned griffon's grasp. She grit her teeth as she turned the weapon on the griffon himself and squeezed the weapon with all her might, feeling the trigger click under her magical grip. She shrieked, not expecting the recoil that now send the rifle flying out of her grasp, but not before she fitted the griffon with a new hole in his chest. It was a mortal wound, but not immediately deadly.

The griffon grasped as his chest, his companion halting his reload to check on his comrade. The griffon grasped at the other's face, splashing it with blood, giving the griffon a kiss on the beak before falling limp in the other's grasp. The male griffon shook visibly as he had to let the body of his comrade and lover fall to the ground dead. Tears in his eyes as he turned to the princess. "DEATH TO THE BITCH PRINCESS'!" he called out in equine right before charging at Twilight.

Twilight looked wide eyed at the charging griffon, unsure of what to do, until he was right on her. She drew her sword and blocked the incoming bayonet at the end of the griffon's cannon. She did this a few times, deflecting blow after blow from the enraged griffon until he had enough. He pulled back just enough to bring his rifle to bear. Twilight barely managed to grab the tip of the barrel in her magic to push the aim off. There was a ringing in her ears soon after the cannon went off right next to her face, a sharp pain the side of her neck, she could feel her warm life blood drip from the new wound.

The griffon still enraged, pulled his weapon out of the princess magical grasp right before charging her again. The princess was ready for him this time however as she brought her sword up to bare, simply holding it out in front of her. The griffon didn't have the time to react at this close of a range, her fell on her sword. It pierced his belly, making the bird cough, tasting his own blood as he looked at the princess. Manic eyes stared at Twilight right before a clawed hand came upand raked her face. Twilight cried out loosing the grip of her sword as she clutched the side of her face raked by the griffon's claws. half her vision turning red as blood washed over her eye.

The extent of her actions not hitting her until she stared at the two dead griffons laying on the steps of Canterlot castle. She shook, a wave of nausea coming over her causing her to loose her lunch. She was given no repose to gather herself as four more griffons came at her. Twilight was scared now, two were hard enough, now she faced four, her options were limited in her mind. Most of them included death. But there was one option, one thing that could save her flank.

Twilight had only read magical theory behind this particular school of magic, but she had no practice on it. Not to mention the listed side effects of using this magic were numerous, to include breaking of the mind. But with her options thin, and this being the only one where she came out alive, she decided it was what she had to do.

Twilight dabbed her hoof in her own blood and splashed it on her horn and focused on it, infusing her horn with the warm liquid. "FOR MY PONIES!" Her battle cry rang out as she began to cast her spell. The effects were almost immediate. She growled as she felt the new power give her courage like no other.

She quickly drew her sword from the corpse of the griffon she had just felled holding it up in her fighting stance she had practiced so many times in the past week. She charged at the griffons this time. Her eyes the size of pinpricks as she fell into the fury of battle. Harnessing her own rage to fuel her actions, barbaric thoughts flowing through her mind as her vision turned completely red at the sight of the griffons as she pumped pure magic into her veins and muscles to amplify them. Giving herself to the berserk school of magic.

__Three hours later__

Canterlot sat in ruin, fires blazing anrazing half the city, griffons still dominated much of the city, even with fewer numbers at the start, they quickly overcame the Royal Guard with their unique weapons. The only reason that the Royal Guard still held any ammount of the city was thanks to their sheer numbers and adaptive strategies. Turning to ranged magic and archery to take down their opponents, the only one who braved enough to face the front was a certain purple alicorn. Her barbaric guttural cries could be hear from the pony line, all they saw was a streak of red and purple flaying griffons left and right in a spurt of energy before the being known as their princess returned. Gasping for breath as she felt her magic reserves dwindling, she was doused in blood, it was griffon blood, mixed in with a bit of hers, gashes and grazing shots littered her once pristine coat. As she stood behind the defences that were hastly made at the stairs of Canterlot castle.

"Mana potion!" she called out to the medic who had been busy tending to an injured pony. The pale green pegasus with a yellow mane turned to her princess and shook her head, "all out princess!" She called out, right before she saw the flash of purple tackle her to the ground. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'ALL OUT?' I NEED MORE!" The pegasus whimpered under the bloodshot gaze of her princess, her jaw working to form a response. Twilight grew impatient and raised a hoof to strike the pegasus, but her hoof was stopped at it's apex by a midnight blue aura. "

"TWILIGHT! STOP!"

Twilight turned to the source, finding a very worn out Luna giving her stern, but worried gaze. Twilight returned her gaze for the longest time, looking like she was about to strike Luna, but she shook her head, her eyes returning to normal, as she shook her head, turning to look at all the scared guardsponies that could only stare at the manic princess. Twilight got off the pegasus and hid herself away inside of the castle halls. Luna quickly followed.

Twilight sat among the dead ponies hidden inside castle's doors. She was crying heavily, both at what she did to the griffons as much as it was what she was about to do to her own. "What have I done Luna?" she whimpered as she turned to the older princess.

Luna moved to Twilight an enveloped her in her wing. "Thou hath done what thou thought was right Twilight, and with it have defended the lives of many of our ponies." She said trying to comfort her.

Twilight looked up at the princess with eyes red from crying, "I almost hit one of our ponies Luna, ME, hit a PONY!" She said, rage filling her voice. Her vision washed with red, but she quickly reigned in her emotions, shaking the red out of her vision. "Was it truly worth it? Even now as we lose the city to those winged bastards?" She spoke with spite for the griffons.

"Thou have singlehoofedly taken down a quarter of the attacking force. Even if we lose this battle today, thou have done significant damage to their overall military strength. Be proud of thy small victory today, we can deal with the consequences another time."

Twilight looked up at the princess and nodded solemnly. It was at that time that True Sight came upon the two princess, gasping for breath and with a fearful look in his eyes. "Your highness, we have trouble! Scouts have spotted reinforcements to the east and quickly approaching!" This brought the attention of both princess' to the sergeant, Twilight was the first to face his guard. "How many?" She asked simply. "Another two companies at least, one of them armed with hand cannons!" The color emptied out of Twilights face, their guard had been hard fighting the griffons for over three hours now, and have only managed to take down half of the original unit of cannoneers, and here came another fresh bath of griffons to battle their tired ponies. Twilight turned to Luna for guidance, to which the elder princess could only figure one possible plan to save her ponies. "Tell all surviving guardsponies to make a full retreat towards ponyville...." Both ponies looked to Luna with shocked expressions, not wanting to admit what they all knew.

"Canterlot... is... Lost.."

Author's Note

The first major defeat in the war, the home of the princess sisters is lost. They're forced to flee to ponyville and to friendship castle. The griffons hot on their heels, what will happen to our princess' and their forces?

Hope you all enjoyed, please feel free to give out an friendly criticism.

Also, I just realized I never quite explained what happened to Pinkie Pie in the crimson plague. I aim to rectify this the next time I get a chance to write. Till then my peoples!