Slightly darker chapter...my apologies. Will get a little darker in upcoming chapters, but never to an M type of darkness. Little more on Sunset Shimmer and Equestria Girls here too! :P Keep reviewing and thanks for reading!

As Sombra dragged his prisoner out of the library, I cautiously followed. The thought of what could happen to Twilight horrified me; I couldn't let him take her.

Twilight didn't seem to think I had stayed. She must have assumed I had fled like she had told me to. She twisted and struggled in vain against her bonds. "You won't win against the Elements even if you have my alicorn magic, Sombra!" she gasped.

Sombra laughed darkly. "The Elements of Harmony? Your own friends will suffer their affects once I have captured the stones and their bearers."

"But you don't have my crown! Without one element, all are powerless!" Twilight seemed to be pleading with her captor.

Sombra growled. "How hard can it be to locate the crown containing the Element of Magic?"

Twilight yanked hard on her chain and almost choked herself again. Sombra's scowl deepened. "Enough from you. I have plans for you, 'Princess' Twilight Sparkle."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked fearfully, her ears drooping.

"Your fellow 'princesses' are my enemies, but they can rot in dungeons for all I care. But you…" Sombra pulled her towards him till their noses almost touched. "You kept me from retaking my rightful due in the Crystal Empire. You've obviously hidden your magic. And you are beautiful." The rage in his eyes turned to lust.

Twilight struggled wildly as she understood his meaning. Sombra laughed. "Not now, Sparkle. I will have my fun with you when I am ready."

Twilight seemed absolutely terrified now. Frantically she fought the chains of dark magic, but without her own magic she was powerless. "Help!" she screamed. "Help!"

I longed to save her but what could I do? The only magic I had was in my amulet. I sure as heck didn't know how to conjure it out of the amulet, much less use it against Sombra. For now, Twilight was on her own.

I started to sneak after them again but a pair of blue hooves pulled me back into the secret passageway. A very irritated Rainbow Dash hovered at about eye level with me. "Where were you two?"

"Twilight—Sombra—captured—" I whispered.

I knew my news sounded about as helpful as Spike's "Twilight! Trouble! Help! (faint)" But it was really all I could say after what I had witnessed.

Fortunately Rainbow seemed to get my meaning. She grabbed me under the arms again and shot through the passageway. "Come on! We'll meet up with the others at Twilight's library."

"Rainbow! Put me down!"

"Sorry, not until you've got wings and can fly as fast as I can."

Obviously there was no point in arguing with her.

I fingered my necklace again and remembered watching Twilight enchant it. There had to be some way to summon the magic and save her.

Suddenly something dawned on me. Back in Canterlot High, Sunset Shimmer had once been telling a group of eager kids a story that she claimed was true. I hadn't wanted to be there, but I was responsible for babysitting one of the girls that day and I had to be there. Sunset's eyes filled with awe as she described seeing the Rainbooms singing what she called "a musical counter-spell". She painted beautiful word pictures of them turning "anthro"—growing their pony ears, tails, wings, and magic highlights in their hair. All of the children had been riveted.

"The sirens' singing knocked the microphone from Twilight's hand," Sunset continued, "and it landed at my feet. I picked it up. And Twilight shouted at me: 'Sunset Shimmer, we need you!' I was just as afraid as they were, but I got angry when I looked up at those sirens. I took off my jacket and started to sing another counter-spell. As the rest of the Rainbooms joined in our magic combined and became even stronger than before. Then suddenly, I felt it flowing through me." She paused, a hand over her heart, eyes closed, as she remembered. "I floated off the ground—I grew pony ears and as I spun in the air, my hair lengthened into a ponytail."

The girl I was babysitting interrupted then. "What did you feel when the magic came over you?"

Sunset considered this for a minute. "I felt like…like I needed to surrender. I was scared at first. I hadn't felt Equestrian magic since the rainbow of friendship destroyed my evil form. But somehow I knew this magic was helping me, not against me. Fighting would prevent its work or worse, turn it back to dark magic. So I surrendered to it. And I gained back part of my pony magic."

I had rolled my eyes the whole time at this girl's wild imagination. But now it made sense. The magic had been there—and when she participated in the counter-spell and didn't fight the magic coming over her, she became just as powerful as Twilight for a few moments.

"But that still doesn't tell me how to summon the magic in here to begin with," I thought aloud. Rainbow Dash didn't seem to hear me. I couldn't have heard myself either, if I was intent on breaking the sound barrier as Dash seemed to be.

"Dashie?" I asked. She didn't answer. "DASHIE!"

"No need to yell, I'm right here!"

(Sigh)

Rainbow set me down. I noticed we were in front of Twilight's treehouse now. "What were you mumbling about on the way?" Rainbow asked, still hovering in front of me.

"I need to find out how to conjure the magic from this amulet," I told her. "If I can do that, we can save Twilight before—" I stopped. I couldn't bring myself to tell Rainbow Dash what Sombra planned to do to my new pony best friend.

"Bring out the magic, huh? May be able to find something in the library about that." Dash opened the door.

"Dashie?" I asked. "Have you ever been on the receiving end of one of Twilight's spells?"

Rainbow hesitated. "Yes…"

"What do I do if I'm on the receiving end of pure magic?"

Dash thought about it. "What do you think you should do?"

"Sunset Shimmer says that when good magic wants to flow over and through you, surrender to it."

Dash nodded. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"But what if the spell is dark magic?"

Rainbow Dash looked a little afraid now. In a rare serious moment, she looked me straight in the eye and answered gravely.

"Fight. Fight it with everything you've got."