Octavia thought that her eardrums were going to burst because of how loud Vinyl began screaming. The unicorn threw her head back and shrieked so loud that it probably could have been heard miles away.

"Get me away from here!" Vinyl begged, struggling against the evil Wonderbolts, "Oh my freaking Celestia, I must be having a nightmare! FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE, SOMEPONY SAVE M-"

Vinyl was gifted with a sharp smack across the face from the gray stallion that stood before her, silencing her for good.

"You are already on my bad side as it is, Vinyl Scratch," Hissed Sombra, baring his teeth which had grown considerably sharper, "I would keep your mouth shut."

"But... But why?" Questioned Octavia, surprisingly calm despite the situation, "Why did you disguise yourself as a hero?"

Sombra turned his demonic red eyes towards the mare, "To get closer to you and Whooves without raising suspicions and having to deal with the Guardians. My mistress wants you... Ah... Disposed properly."

"D-d-dispose?" Vinyl stuttered, "You mean... You're going to kill us? W-what did we do?"

"You?" Sombra shot back, "You just annoy me. Whooves and Octavia however... They're the cause of what you see around you." He gestured to the dreary, gray landscape that surrounded them, "My mistress is not satisfied about it at all."

"What do I have to do with any of this?" Octavia demanded, "Just tell me what's going on!"

Sombra held up an armor-plated hoof, silencing Octavia, "I refuse to answer any other questions." He turned to the pegasi holding the three back, "Shadowbolts! Bind them to the pillars! Now!"

The Shadowbolts didn't so much as hesitate, pushing the three clueless ponies towards the pillars. Three took Whooves and bound him to the left pillars with ropes. Another three took Vinyl and tied her to the pillar to the right. The final three took Octavia and restrained her to the middle pillar.

For a moment, she thought that they're might have been a chance of escaping, for the ropes felt flimsy and thin. Unfortunately, Sombra dashed those hopes by placing some sort of spell that caused the ropes to tighten and become stronger. Octavia glanced over at Vinyl, who attempted to break the ropes with her magic, but her efforts proved fruitless.

"Release the executioners!" Sombra commanded, pointing at something in the shadows that Octavia couldn't see from the angle that she was placed in.

"Release?" Vinyl questioned in a tiny voice that was filled with fear.

Immediately, a smell like rotten eggs assaulted Octavia's nose. She recognized it almost instantly. Three distinct howls pierced through the air, sending chills down each of the ponies' spines.

"Timberwolves." Octavia said under her breath.

Just then, three brown blurs shot out of the shadows and towards the ponies. With wooden teeth and claws, the wolves began slashing through the thick ropes, getting closer to the vulnerable ponies' stomachs.

"Well?!" Screamed Vinyl over the snarls and barks of the timberwolves, "You got any ideas, Houdini?!"

Octavia realized she was talking to Whooves, who quickly answered with just as much sarcasm as Vinyl. The timberwolves had broken through the first layer of ropes and were working on the second layer.

"No, we're gonna die at the hooves of a maniac!" He shouted back, "Of course I've got an idea! But we have to work together!"

"Are you insane?!" Octavia butted in, "We can't trust you!"

"Who do you trust, me or Smokey Eyes over there?!" Whooves pointed to the gray stallion standing proudly at his achievement.

For a moment, Octavia hesitated. The timberwolves had slashed through the second layer. One more layer and it would be their skin.

"We need to time this just right!" Whooves began, unwilling to wait for Octavia's answer, "As soon as the wolves slash through this finally layer, you have to blast them backwards with your bass cannon, Vinyl! That should throw them into the voids and stun Sombra and the Shadowbolts for a little while!"

"What if I can't?!" Vinyl screamed back desperately.

"You have to!" Whooves yelled. He too was looking very worried, "If we don't, these things will slice into us like kids on Christmas morning! Don't give Sombra that satisfaction!"

Vinyl gulped, "Tell me when!"

Whooves hesitated, "On three! One!"

The wolves were nearly finished with the final layer. Octavia was beginning to regret going to the beach this morning.

"Two!"

The sweat was pouring down Octavia's face. She could hearing Sombra and the Shadowbolts cackling with satisfaction. She could feel the wolves nearly at her skin, barely nicking her fur.

"Three! Drop the bass, Vinyl!"

As soon as Whooves said this, Vinyl expanded her bass cannon at light speed. She fired it even faster, blasting the timberwolves with a beam of heavy dubstep. They rocketed over the voids, falling to their dooms. Sombra and the Shadowbolts were hit next. Every last one of them were blasted all the way back to the dungeons in less than a millisecond.

Octavia, Vinyl, and Whooves were free, thanks to the perfect timing. Unfortunately, Sombra and the Shadowbolts were already recovering, standing up again. Sombra was clearly outraged by the attack, baring his fangs while his eyes began glowing a pure green.

"SEIZE THEM!" He screamed in a voice that shook the ground and Octavia's innards. The Shadowbolts spread their wings, quickly zeroing in on them before charging.

"Run for it!" Whooves commanded. He took off in the opposite direction with Octavia and Vinyl flanking him. Never before had Octavia and Vinyl sprinted this fast in their entire time of being a rescue team. Whooves was very limber and quick, barely breaking a sweat as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. It was as if he did this kind of stuff all the time.

"What do we do?!" Octavia demanded, "They're gaining on us! We have to find somewhere to hide now!"

"I know a place!" Whooves shouted back.

"Where the grass is what's for dinner?" Vinyl questioned with an unserious smile.

Whooves craned his neck around to glare at the unicorn, "No! I know a place where we can hide! Quick! This way!"

He turned off on another path, the Shadowbolts hot on their heels. He kept turning off on so many different paths and passageways, Octavia and Vinyl weren't sure how he knew where he was going. After all, everything looked pretty much the same here.

Finally, Whooves ducked into a small cave. Octavia and Vinyl followed him, skinning their knees in the process. Technically, it was more of a large hole than a cave, for the ceilings were only about six-feet high. The cave itself only went back a couple of feet.

"Where did they go?" A Shadowbolts asked, passing right by their hiding place.

"We can't lose them!" Another snarled, "The boss'll have our heads if we lose them! Search everywhere!"

Whooves pushed a couple of rocks in front of the entrance of their hiding hole, leaving them in pitch-black darkness. Luckily, the sound of the Shadowbolt's voices faded away, allowing them to breathe easy again. Vinyl lit her horn, bathing the small hole in her light blue magic.

"Alright," Octavia began, glaring at Whooves, "I want answers and I want them now. What's going on? Where are we? Why does Sombra want to kill us?"

Whooves looked down solemnly, "I hope you have the time, because this is going to be a pretty long story."

"As long as it tells me what the hay is going on," Vinyl rebutted, "I've got all the time in the world."

Whooves took a deep breath before he looked Octavia right in the eyes, "Look, Sombra wasn't lying when he told you you were from the future. He was lying however when he told you that I used your Dimensional Scream to travel back to the past to ruin the future."

"You heard all of that?" Octavia questioned, "How?"

Whooves smiled mischievously, "A little talent of mine."

"Okay, so why does this Sombrerro guy want to kill us?" Vinyl interrupted.

"It started about a decade ago," Whooves began, "You know Princess Luna, Guardian of the Tower of Midnight, right? It helps Luna control the path of the moon."

The mares nodded.

"Well... A little over ten years ago, Luna cut herself off from the rest of the Guardians. She refused to answer any messages or letters sent by the other Guardians. She was angry with everything. Angry with her sister, the Guardians, every last living thing that was alive and well," Whooves hesitated, "Her anger caused her to turn into her evil counterpart once again: Nightmare Moon."

"Not because she was jealous of her sister like last time, right?" Vinyl questioned.

Whooves shook his head, "No. Luna was angry because the Tower of Midnight was becoming weaker. Without the steady-tempered Luna to hold up the weak tower, it eventually just... Collapsed. It's destruction caused Equestria to fall into chaos and darkness, forever stuck between night and day. For reasons unknown, she blames it on us." He gestured to himself and Octavia.

"Why me?" Questioned the cello-player, raising a skeptical eyebrow, "I've never done anything to weaken the tower!"

Whooves looked down, "I don't know. I believe that Sombra has deceived her into thinking that he was her servant, when really he is the one controlling her. He is making her believe that we have something to do with it."

"Wait, back up," Vinyl interrupted, holding her hooves up, "You don't think that maybe the Tower of Midnight collapsed because of your stealing the Harmony Gears?"

"You don't understand," Whooves quickly argued back, "The tower was weakening long before I began stealing the Gears. Contrary to what Sombra has told you, I wasn't stealing the Gears to destroy Equestria, I was stealing them to 'save' it. They could have bulit the strength of the Tower of Midnight back up with the powers of harmony and order."

"But Equestria would fall into chaos if you kept stealing the Gears!" Vinyl objected, poking the stallion in the chest, "It would be a lose-lose situation!"

"That's where you're wrong," Whooves argued, pushing the unicorn's hoof away, "With the power of the Guardians, Equestria would be able to do without the Gears. It's the tower that can't deal without them, and neither can Equestria deal without the tower. You see, the princesses have lost a lot of power over the centuries and need the towers to help control the path of the sun and the moon. Without the towers, Equestria will truly fall into chaos."

Vinyl silenced, allowing Whooves to continue.

"In conclusion, Nightmare Moon believes that we are responsible for the collapse of her tower. Sombra got involved and is now out for our blood. I must now travel back to the past, take the Harmony Gears, and implant them in the Tower of Midnight in hopes of healing it and Nightmare's anger. Do you get it now?"

Vinyl and Octavia exchanged glances.

"Prove that we can trust you." Octavia growled.

Whooves sighed, "I just saved your lives. What else do you need?"

"Proof that you aren't a psychotic madman and Sombra isn't just trying to put us out of our misery."

Whooves looked down. Slowly, he took out a small brown box, distinctively marked with a note that looked exactly like Octavia's cutie mark. He handed it to the mare who took it with heavy caution.

"This is your's," He explained, "Before you got sent to the past, you dropped it on accident."

Slowly, Octavia pressed the note which was actually a button. Suddenly, the box sprang to life, becoming a cello made of mahogany wood. She gasped and suddenly took out her cello bow and began to play it. The tune was perfect and beautiful, for the cello felt so natural in her hooves.

"I know it may seem hard to believe," Whooves continued, "But we were once great friends before you got sent to the past, Octavia. Best friends, actually. If you still don't believe me, I'll carry out this mission by mysel-"

"I believe you." Octavia cut in.

"I mean, I know this is a lot to take in and-..." Whooves stared at the mare for a moment, "Wait. What?"

"I believe you," Octavia repeated, "This is clearly my cello. Only my best friend would keep it for all this time."

Vinyl looked as though someone had just shot her, "What?! Octavia, you can't possibly believe all this junk!"

Octavia glared at her friend, "Who do you believe? Whooves or King Sombra?"

Vinyl hesitated, "Erm... Is this a trick question?"

Octavia rolled her eyes, "Look, I believe you now. It's clear that we have to stop Equestria from looking like this. We'll help you."

Whooves smiled kindly, his blue eyes twinkling, "Thank you."

"Okay, so we know what going on now," Vinyl cut in, "Problem is, how are we going to get back to the past?"

Whooves smiled again, though this time it was a little more mischievous, "I know somepony. Once we know for sure that the Shadowbolts and Sombra have lost us completely, we can set out and try to find this pony. Do you know Minuette?"

"Yeah," Vinyl replied, "She's a member of the Guild like us."

"Well, believe it or not, but Minuette can help us get back to the past," Whooves continued, "She has a... Very special talent of being able to travel back and forth through time. We have to find her fast though, because Sombra got a hold of her one time and forced her to send him into the past. If he finds her again and sends himself back to the past again, Minuette won't have enough energy to send us back also."

"Minuette can travel through time?" Vinyl questioned, "Epic! Why didn't she tell us?"

"Because she didn't know how to use it," Whooves explained, "Now come on. It's a good thing that I know Minuette and her general hiding place, or else we would be stuck here forever."

Vinyl and Octavia exchanged scared glances. Whooves began moving the rocks off of the entrance to their hiding hole. They emerged back into the gray landscape and began their quest.