“Gregory, Fluttershy... RUN!” Twilight panicked, rushing towards the closest exit she could locate. Gregory and Fluttershy disappeared back down the way they came from. Rainbow Dash roared in triumph after being released and dashed off into the same direction that Gregory and Fluttershy went to. The body that she was using made her footsteps loud, and the way she thrashed around like crazy not only did nothing to reduce that sound either, it also echoed through the riven corridors, forcing to uproot the factory's very foundation.

“Gregory hurry! She's gaining on us!” Fluttershy Yelled, while galloping out of the hallway and into the main room of the factory.

“I'm going as fast as I can!!” He hollered back following shortly after the yellow pegasus.

Taking a left he headed towards the other entrance that they had found in that room. It led to a large set of spiraling stairs. Both of them darted up them, heading higher up into the factory. Around that staircase, were walls, but this ended shortly the higher they climbed. Eventually the walls ended and they were outside. Behind them, they could hear Rainbow Dash gaining. She was climbing the stairs just now, and if they didn't find a hiding spot soon, she would catch them for sure. Gregory was moving as fast as he could for limping, forcefully ignoring the pain just long enough to live for one more day. Rushing further up the stairs, they found themselves on a platform of some sort, with large columns spaced around the edges. These columns were large enough to hide multiple ponies behind, and that is where the two decided to hide themselves. When Rainbow Dash finally made it up the stairs, she shambled around the open-spaced platform for a little bit before leaving the area. Gregory thought for sure that they would be found and ripped to shreds.

Fluttershy wanted to fight Rainbow Dash, but as her other side struggled against the very idea of it, all she could do was follow the male human. He found himself leaning on the column, and slowly falling down to his rear. Aside from the fear of that pegasus killing both of them, he also feared the fact that Rukia was here as well. How could they still be alive while being in the same place as so many dangerous monsters? He wanted to run away, to escape it all, the urge to just give up was swelling up inside of him. Hyperventilating a bit, he started having a minor panic attack. He would have lost it, had a hoof not struck him in the jaw. Fluttershy looked pissed.

“Look, I don't like you guys, I couldn't give a shit whether you died here or not, but I'm protecting that wimp inside of this body, and she seems to like you all, so man the buck up and pull yourself together. You are a complete mess. Holy Celestia... I thought humans were suppose to be brave anyways.”

“...” At first he couldn't respond, he was shocked that the filly's hoof hurt so much. “Ow, You didn't have to hit me so hard.

“Like hell I didn't. You were losing it, now stand up. We need to figure out how to take down this raging bucker.” She replied harshly, looking around the column to make sure the coast was clear.

When she saw that nopony was there, she motioned for Gregory to follow her. Twilight had exited to the left of the laboratory, and Pinkamena was watching and giggling at the same time.

“Should we go after her, Pinkamena?” Amy inquired, to which a bored Rukia suddenly piqued up with interest. She wanted to get revenge on that human for escaping her and denying her any sort of entertainment for that evening.

“No. Let Rainbow Dash have some fun, she hasn't been released in a long time.” The pink filly replied.

The two had disappointed looks on their faces upon hearing her answer, and Rukia returned to being bored. Twilight was galloping, frantically breathing heavily and looking for some place to hide in. Darting down the hallway she made a left turn and proceeded forwards, until stopping in front of an opened storage room. She didn't even take the chance to look back, she entered the room and closed the door behind her. As soon as she did that she could hear the loud stomping sounds of Dashie's hooves. Twilight stumbled around in the darkness, her body was shaking with fear. Using her hooves to feel around, she soon found an opened cabinet, which could hold her entire body. Climbing inside she shut the door, and seconds later Rainbow Dash entered. She tried to keep her breathing down, but she was panicked beyond control of the rapid rise and fall of her lungs. They pushed out in an almost inhuman manner, as if ready to burst from her chest. Her stalker scanned the room, and with each passing second increasingly aggravated snorts could be heart. On the door that Twilight hid behind were little slits to which she could barely see out of. Despite her eyes adjusting the to the dark, she was still unable to see much of anything, Until Rainbow Dash came close to her hiding spot. Time froze, and she felt like her breathing also came to a halt. Her mind and body were so racked that she should have died of fright long ago. Right in front of her cabinet, a confused and lost Rainbow Dash stood, looking around. It was apparent that her snout wasn't fully functional, otherwise she would have smelt the perspiration of Twilight within that cabinet. Her eyes soon looked at the cabinet that she hid in, and Twilight nearly lost it there.

“Please go away Dashy.... please.... go away.... go away.... go away....” She thought, already bursting into tears, struggling to remain deathly silent. So much fright, so much panic. Her mind raced.

Just as she was about to give in and pass out, she witnessed her friend leaving the room. Shambling aimlessly down the halls, it began looking in other directions and rooms. Twilight didn't dare to leave her hiding place until she was certain it was safe to make a move. After that she forced a feeble and trembling hoof into the cabinet, pushing it open. When she finally opened the door, she hesitantly exited, head first, shambling clumsily out. Afterward she went over to the opened and slightly damaged door, swiftly closing it. Vision blurred by her tears, she fumbled over the surface of the door, finding and turning a lock on the metal frame. Resting against the door she closed her eyes for a bit, weeping silently, again forcing herself on focusing and meditating for a moment. Opening her eyes again seconds later, she started to investigate the room. Maybe she could setup a trap for Rainbow Dash, she thought. Though what would she do with her? She was dead, and it wouldn't help to just trap her. Whilst caught up in her thoughts, she lit up her horn. Looking through documents, she huffed. Nothing here was of any use, all of these papers only related to the incident that happened month ago in the factory.

Something then caught her eyes. It glinted from the magical light that her horn produced. Lowering herself she bent over to get a closer look. It was a vial of some sort, and it contained a thick liquid of indiscernible color. A vial wouldn't have been out of the ordinary in a place like this, but what really caught her attention was the labeling on it. It read 'Antidote'. She was getting ideas, albeit definitely farfetched. Stuffing the vial in her tightly strapped pouch she decided to save it for later just in case. After finding nothing else of importance in the room, she trotted over to the door, unlocking it and exiting out of it. She had to find her friends, and tell them of a certain plan she was concocting.

Back on the platform, Gregory and Fluttershy were slowly moving downstairs. They needed to locate Twilight. Surreptitiously descending the spiral stair case, they entered back into the large room they started in. Rainbow Dash was scuttling about in the lower levels, ravaging some of the computer equipment, she didn't even hear them come in. Higher up, in one of the foyers of the room, Pinkamena and her entourage watched the show in the shadows. The pink filly giggled to herself, smiling as wide as she could. This whole situation was a thriller for her. Seeing her friends struggle and squirm under pressure like this was an ecstasy for her. Rukia never showed, but she felt the same annoyance that Amy displayed with her own face. The two of them yearned more than anything to partake in the fun that only Rainbow Dash and Pinkamena seemed to be enjoying. It wasn't fair, but they knew better than to complain to her.

Fluttershy and Gregory made their way to the other entrance. They crept ever so silently, so as not to bring attention on to themselves. Pinkamena wasn't about to let that happen. She tossed something down towards the two, and sure enough, Rainbow Dash was now heading in their direction to inspect the noise. The two made a run for the other entrance now. Running down the hallway, they rushed to the laboratory, as that was the last place they had seen Twilight before the separation. Looking back, they noticed that Rainbow Dash had just now managed to climb on to the second level flooring. Her vision must have been horrible, because she passed the hallway without noticing the two down on the other end of it. Rainbow Dash continued to sniff out the area until she found the object that Pinkamena had thrown and began attempting to consume it. With much disdain she spat the object out and grumbled a bit, meandering on to a new location to look at. Her frustration was on the rise, and she grunted to indicate such.

Inside the laboratory, Fluttershy and Gregory had taken the chance to take cover behind some lab tables. Gregory winced and almost yelped loudly as he accidentally propped himself on his bad leg to look over the table. Straining through the pain, he got a few seconds of scouting accomplished before falling back off of his leg. He gripped the throbbing pain, and started to do breathing exercises that he had remembered being taught as a little kid. When he was finished he looked back at Fluttershy, and then gave her a thumbs up. The coast was clear for now, and when she realized that both of them snuck out the left side of the lab. Just before they were to exit the room, they bumped into Twilight. Fluttershy and her bumped heads, and the two fell to their flanks. Rubbing their heads, they both said in a synchronized manner, “Ow!”. They had managed not to be too loud in saying it, and as they helped each other up, Twilight started to softly speak.

“I think I found something.....” She began. Pulling the vial out of her bag she showed it to them and then started to speak once more. “I think I have a plan....”

After filling them in on the plan Gregory and Twilight left Fluttershy, she was to bait Rainbow Dash while the other two went to setup the rest of their plan. She trotted down the hallway and went looking for the blue pegasus. Pinkamena saw her exit the entrance of the hallway, and her eyes narrowed, wondering why she looked so confident. Something wasn't right, she could feel it in her gut.

“Oh Rainbow Dashhhhhhhhh!.... Come out Come out Come out wherever you are! I want to play a little game....” She gripped on to her butcher knife tightly as she said that hearing a thrashing in the distance. From above one of the upper levels of the factory she came. Rumbling down those spiral stairs she made a dramatic entrance into the grated flooring, appearing right in front of the now smirking Fluttershy.

“There you are. I bet you want this don't you?” She shook her flank at the Pegasus to taunt her, and then she took off running, cackling like a mad-filly. Huffing down towards the lab, she entered, quickly exiting out another way immediately.

“RgewwhgiuhuihhhhhH!” Rainbow Dash yowled while she chased what she thought was to be her next meal.

Fluttershy looked behind her to see that her blue friend was starting to gain on her, and this didn't really scare her at all, in fact she wanted to fight her, but she was held back by her true self.

“Ugh, If only you didn't care so much!” She continued to run while grumbling this to herself.

Rounding the corner of another hallway she could see something on the floor a distance down. It was a chain, and on either sides of the chain, hiding within the shadows were Gregory and Twilight. It seemed they were planning on tripping the bestial Dashy. Sure enough the lumbering Pegasus came down the hallway, still in pursuit of the other yellow pegasus. With no logical perception going on within her mind, she just followed on instinct. Fluttershy chuckled some more, the closer she got to that trap.

Pinkamena had already moved her location to a better spot to spy from, and what she was witnessing was slowly replacing her deadpan expression with a stoic grimace. This wasn't what she was expecting to see. Rainbow Dash was her terrifying zombified minion. She was Twilight and Fluttershy's friend, and this ploy was aimed solely at their hearts, so why weren't they afraid and cowering from her minion? She was puzzled, and upon placing her hoove on her chin, she began to contemplate all possible reasoning. A trap, is it?

“Now Fluttershy!” Twilight yelled, while she and Gregory pulled the chain upwards so that it was now it was tightly hanging in the air.

“Heh, It's about damn time!” She said as she crouched her body while still running, and then proceeded to shift her body into a slide under the chain.

Rainbow Dash collided with the chain and though she was strong, the chain was durable enough to hold her frame. Twilight's horn was glowing with it's typical magical aura, indicating that she had to use magic to counter-balance the extra weight that her friend had.

“Gregory, Let's tie her up! Quickly! Before she recovers from the shock!” Twilight commanded, and Gregory responded simply with quick action, and a “Roger that!”

With the help of Fluttershy, Twilight and Gregory began wrapping the chains around the struggling zombie pony. Luckily for them the length of the chain was long enough that they were able to properly bind her up, they even had an object with which to use as a gag. Sticking it in her mouth, Twilight almost got bit, but managed to get it in after a second attempt. Rainbow Dash growled and roared in protest as best she could, trying to get out of her new prison, but it was all pointless. Pinkamena was now openly frustrated, boiling up by the second. It was the next thing that finally made her snap though. She saw Twilight pull out the vial, with a familiar liquid in it. Both of her subordinates cringed, feeling the aura of anger swirling out of control around their master's frame. This was bad, they knew Pinkamena had an intense wrath, but only heard stories of it. It was bound to be hell for them upon returning. The pink filly then turned face both of them.

“....” Conjuring an amulet from her neck she pressed a hoof into a center gem-stone on it, and opened up a temporary portal. Despite not wanting to return to base considering the state of their boss, they slumped into the portal, Amy first and Rukia second. Once they had all entered, the portal slowly closed up.

Back in the hallway, Twilight felt the magical disturbance in the air. Pushing her snout up, she tried to look for it again, but it was gone. Seems like Pinkamena had made her escape. This disappointed her a bit, but soon she focused back on what really mattered right now. With the Antidote now in hand, she hesitated. Her friend couldn't even move, so time wasn't of essence anymore. She honestly wasn't even sure this was going to work, she just randomly found the vial, after all.

“Whats the hold up, Twilight? Aren't you going to try it out?” Gregory asked. “I mean, what do you have to lose?”

“I don't want to put all my hopes on this....” Twilight responded. “What if it doesn't work? What if it only makes things worse? So many things we don't even know about the contents other than what is scribed on the bottle.. I just... I don't want to be disappointed... I want Rainbow Dash back more than anything....”

“Yuck, This is too gushy for me... Fluttershy you can come out now.---- Wha... huh? Twilight? Twilight!” Fluttershy found herself free from the clutches of her shell, and once she realized it, she went over to Twilight and grabbed one of her free hooves. “Twilight. It's okay, You have me here to support you. I might be a burden sometimes, but you can count on me to hold your hoof while we go through this together.” She smiled at her friend, and Twilight responded in kind.

“Well then.... here goes nothing....” Twilight said as she uncapped the vial, revealing the needle tip, and then injected the antidote into the still-struggling Rainbow Dash. She thrashed terribly and then let out a horrendous howl.

Hunching over and writhing in what was clearly an ungodly amount of pain, she soon collapsed to the floor. Her body looked lifeless. Twilight's ears lowered in disappointment, and the tears quietly rolled across her cheeks. Closing her eyes she turned to her friend, and cried into her shoulder. Even Gregory looked upset, having hoped on this, too. Looking down at the ground he remained silent, mourning the fallen blue pegasus. As Twilight wept, she could eventually feel the tears streaming from Fluttershy's cheeks as well.

After a few minutes of silence, Twilight pulled from her friend, and began to speak. “Let's get going guys.... we should bring her body too..... for a proper.... burial....”

“That would be best....” Gregory responded, as he picked up the filly's body and carried it.

Walking back the way they had came, all three of them were silent. Not a single word was said for the remainder of that trip. Twilight just knew this was going to happen, the moment that she got her hopes up on the antidote. It was a silly filly's dream to think that they could even bring back the dead. That kind of science/magic was impossible anyway, though she didn't think it really mattered at this point. Trotting down the stairs, Both of the fillies were caught up within their memories, sadness was painted across their faces. They really thought that they would be seeing their friend once again. Now the aura that had filled them with so much dread was replaced with a heavy air of sadness. Stopping when they got to the main factory room, Twilight sat by one of the rainbow mixing pools.

“It's just not fair....” She whined. “I miss her so much...”

Neither Gregory nor Fluttershy could respond. The purple mare's tears fell into the congealing liquid in the pool. She was soon accompanied by Fluttershy, who sat by her side and comforted her once more. Her heart was hurting, so much that the pain had literally, physically manifested within her. The inside of her head was an emotional wreck, so many thoughts, memories, and feelings mixing together in a whirlwind of chaos. Part of her just wanted to give up there, and run away. The weight of the world had been dropped onto the shoulders of someone who barely knew how to live, and if it wasn't for her friend being right next to her, she might have done that too. She got up again, huffing to herself. Gregory followed behind her, as she made her way outside of the factory.

“Perhaps we should rest here....” Gregory suggested. “I think we need a small rest before...”

Twilight looked at him, her eyes so deeply interlaced with sadness, her ears down, and her mouth curved in a melancholic frown. He couldn't even finish his sentence, yet despite that, she understood what she meant. Outside of the factory, a marble pavilion was now in sight. The group had decided that it would suit their needs for now, and slumped over to it. Sitting their flanks on the ground, Twilight and Fluttershy watched as Gregory gently laid Rainbow Dash's body in front of the two.

“Oh Dashie... I'm so sorry we couldn't save you....” Twilight apologized to the non-responsive corpse.

“Rainbow.... We miss you so much.....” Fluttershy cried.

Gregory sat at the edge of the pavilion nearby. He was keeping watch, while the two mourned. Twilight had nuzzled into the cadaver's cheeks. The tears were still streaming, and showed no signs of stopping. Above them the storm clouds rumbled on, not paying them any heed. Fluttershy, who was still a scared filly when it came to the storms, nuzzled into Twilight, half for protection, and half because she needed the comfort.

While they were close to one another, and had their eyes closed, something began to rustle. Gregory looked behind him and couldn't even believe what he was seeing. Assuming that danger was upon them once more, he took a defensive stance. Slowly the ponies opened their eyes, and witnessed something that dried their tears nearly instantaneously.

“Ughhhh.... my head... it hurts....” A voice said.

“No way...” Gregory gaped, not believing it one bit.

Struggling to sit up, a grumbling Rainbow Dash appeared to be coming back to life. An aura that was very light and transparent was wrapping around her body, and giving it a thorough repair. Her rended flesh, torn sinew and shattered bones, were all regenerating at an increasing speed. It was like an act of Celestia. Both ponies and Gregory looked baffled; the antidote had finally taken effect. A smile stretched across the mares, and after realizing what was happening, their tears returned, but they were now those of happiness. As the light started to fade, Rainbow Dash's colors were returning to her, as vibrant as they were before she was murdered. Her wings were just as strong and powerful as before, and her eyes, orbs filled with the passion of adventure, shined once again.

“Cough, hack, sputter! Ugh.... I feel like my head is about to explode..... Where am I?....” She spoke, her vision still a bit hazy.

“Rainbow Dash? Is that you? Is it REALLY you?” Twilight asked shaking from jubilee.

“Uhhh.... yeah? Who do I look like Twilight, Spike?” She responded sarcastically.

“Oh Rainbow Dash.... I... I.... We..... we missed you so much.....” Fluttershy couldn't hold her crying back, and wailed into the blue pegasus's chest.

“What do you mean Fluttershy? I've been here haven't I?” She questioned, looking at her friend weirdly.

“Dash.... you have been dead for the past year and a half.....” Twilight said with a straight face.

“What?! Bwahahahahahahaha, that's ridiculous, Twilight. How could I be dead? Me die? That's crazy talk.” Rainbow Dash responded, though once she met eyes with Twilight, she felt that her friend wasn't playing around. “Twilight, I couldn't have died....could I...?”

“It's Pinkie Pie....” Twilight said her friend's name, and suddenly Rainbow Dash had very VERY bad memories. Her face contorted in fear, and instantly she curled up by herself away from the others, as if a traumatic event was taking place within her mind that scared her very much.

“Cupcakes.... No.... I don't want to bake...cupcakes...Pinkie.... No... PLEASE NO!” Rainbow Dash was brought back to her senses by the soft hooves of her friends' pressing into her frame gently. “Why, Twilight...? Why did she do it?.... Weren't we friends....?”

“She's gone off the deep end..... We have to stop her.... and though it may be just a hunch.... I think she might actually be in need of help.” Twilight stated.

“WHAT?! Help that PSYCHOPONY? Are you INSANE?” Rainbow Dash was furious at the very idea of helping her killer.

“Rainbow, I know you are upset, but...” Twilight continued.

“Gee, You THINK?!” She hovered in air right now, fuming mad. Her hooves were crossed as well.

“But... I think she might be suffering from some illness... The real Pinkie wouldn't do something like this... It's completely a polar opposite.” Twilight said.

“If that was the case, then WHY didn't anypony catch it early on?” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“Nobody knew... We all thought she just had her major moment of depression after she thought we were avoiding her while trying to setup a surprise party for her.” Twilight said. “Apparently she held back some of that depression and it must have remained dormant in her head for a long while until it finally started to grow... Though that's just a theory...it's the best I can come up with, at least.”

“Twilight, I am still really sour about this. Absolutely bucking pissed like no other.” Rainbow told her. “And I don't agree with even a small bit of what you are saying, that mare is as good as dead to me, but you're my friend, and I am going to help you stop her. Once that is over, I don't want anything to do with her.”

“And if what I am saying is true? You'd HAVE to forgive her then! For the sake of friendship!” Twilight stated.

“Do you know what it's like, Twilight?” She glared coldly at her friend. “To be tortured to death, dissected and have all your organs removed? That's not something I'm about to forgive, so for the love of Celestia, you'd better HOPE and PRAY that wasn't really Pinkie.” Rainbow coldy replied.

No matter how Twilight approached it right now, she knew it wasn't going to be solved through a simple exchange of words. Satisfied with the somewhat better response of Dash's though, she let out a sigh of relief. It was a start. She then smiled realizing that instead of his arguing with her friend, she should be thankful Rainbow Dash was now alive. The details could be sorted out later.

Trotting slowly over to the flying Pegasus, she soon stopped. Looking up at her, she got on her hind legs, and reached out two hooves. The lavender pony motioning for her to come embrace her. Rainbow Dash quickly pushed aside her anger, to drop down from the sky and hug her friend. Fluttershy had managed to make it over to the two as well, reaching her hooves around the both of them and joining in the group's emotional circle. Gregory smiled, his heart was warmed by the sight. After a few minutes, the group parted from each other, and Twilight began to speak again.

“When we have rested up enough, we have to try and get into contact with the ninja again. It is crucial that we find them and bring them here.” Twilight stated.

“I have been meaning to ask, I know you found those ninja randomly, but what is so special about them that we need them to accomplish the mission?” Gregory inquired.

“The land that they hail from is full of many powerful ninja, all who know techniques that may even surpass much of the magic that resides in Equestria, they could benefit us greatly. That is why I tried to seek as many of them as I could possibly find.” She replied to him.

“That makes sense, wait what kind of techniques do they possess?” Gregory was a bit curious about this. “I have heard of ninjas in my world, but nothing on special skills.”

“Its a bit hard to explain, even I don't understand it fully, but the best way I could describe it is an energy that every human possess, and by focusing on that element, they can perform many different abilities.” Twilight explained.

“Oh yeah? I bet they can't fly. Everyone knows that humans don't have wings.” Rainbow Dash boasted while showing off her tricks in the air.

“From what I have heard some of them have very unique sets of skills that can enable them to fly, though not many of their kind can do it.” Twilight responded to her cocky friend.

“What? I wanna meet them then. After this horse-apple storm is over, that is.” Rainbow Dash was quick to react to this. Of course she would act in such a manner, she was competitive afterall.

“If there is anything left of this world that is....” Twilight was very morbid in her statement, but who could blame her? The world didn't seem like it would be gaining its happiness and sunshines back anytime soon. Rainbow Dash kinda frowned a bit, she just came back to life, so she couldn't fully understand the situation they were in, not yet at least.

“Cheer up, Twilight. This isn't the end, we will make sure of it.” Gregory attempted to raise her spirits, which oddly enough, worked. She returned his comment with a smile.

“You're right, Gregory. Though, for now, we need to get into contact and see how our ninja allies are doing.” She told them, while pulling that familiar orb out of her pouch. Holding it in her hoof, she carefully shook it to try and get a signal.

The others in the group huddled around it, waiting for a response to be patched through. It gave them static for a bit, but eventually a voice could be heard, cutting in and out. It was Kakashi's, and he seemed to be in a conflict at the moment, his breath notably fast and rapid. The visual they got was a combat scene, that was soon ended by one of Kakashi's lightning blades.

“Sorry about that.... we ran into some.... trouble.” Kakashi replied.

“See Gregory? Didn't I tell you?” Twilight smiled while boasting to her companion.

“Well I'll be.... You weren't kidding.” He replied.

She giggled a bit before returning focus to the situation at hand. “Kakashi, can we get a status update?”