“We're closing in on the item you were talking about, but countless harvesters seem bent on impeding us.” Kakashi stated in reply to the lavender-colored pony's question. “Shouldn't be more than a few hours until we safely secure it.”

“Actually, Kakashi, maybe we should look for the item together? I mean, if memory serves correctly, the artifact we're looking for might have powerful magic tainting it,” she stated. “I'm embarrassed I forgot to tell you something as important as that...but it shouldn't be to great a concern. I'll just teleport over there right now.”

Gregory watched as his companion, Twilight Sparkle, started to perform her spell. Light flickered around the tip of her horn—and just as it seemed to successfully cast, the light surrounding her fizzled. Twilight stared blankly back at Gregory, and promptly attempted the spell one more time. Kakashi's eyes lit up when he saw her magic, as if oddly familiar. Lifting up his headband and exposing his Sharingan, he analyzed the spell.

“What the hay! I have enough magic stored up, why isn't it working?” She huffed in frustration, unable to comprehend her dilemma.

“Your magic...it reminds me of something strange and foreign I noticed here in our world. Can you try that spell again? I'd like to see it once more.” Kakashi asked, curiously watching through the orb.

“Okay....” Twilight wasn't sure what good this would accomplish, but agreed to do the spell again. Her horn flickered, yielding the same result as her previous attempts.

“Just as I suspected.” Kakashi replied as he lowered his headband back over his Sharingan. “Twilight, what can you tell me about the extent of your magic?”

“Why the sudden curiosity?” She asked quizzically. “I'm not certain how that would help our situation.”

“Just answer the question, please. I'll explain when you do.” Kakashi calmly answered.

“Well then, let's see...the versatility of a unicorn's magic is directly related to their sum total of innate magic power. It can be low leveled magic like changing size and volume, using levitation, or it can be extremely high leveled magic. Some in our land are even known to have power over the moon and sun, and rumor has it that one magician even created a spell that can change anypony's fate.” She inhaled deeply before continuing her brief lecture. Gregory raised an eyebrow, noting how excited she was to be able to share her knowledge—even stranger was how scientific she made it sound, in spite of being magic.
“It is all relative to the unicorn as an individual—whether their talents are powerful or weak usually falls under this factor. There are special cases, such as natural talent or artifacts that bolster one's own talents. Someponies have acquired power through means too horrid to describe.”

“I see. I have another question, regarding this high-leveled magic,” he inquired once again. “Is it possible for...let's say gateways...bearing the same magical properties as that of Unicorn magic to extend beyond just one world? Or even into another timeline or universe?”

Twilight shuffled a hoof nervously. Vortexes? Of course I know about vortexes. But to cross over into another world...another timeline? That is extremely complicated magic, and even I have trouble with it, She thought.
“Well, I guess it isn't...unheard of, but...until recently it hadn't even occurred to me that there could BE other worlds. Coming up with the formula for this method of travel was difficult enough, and you can't just perform that kind of magic on a whim; its a very complex and ritualistic form of ancient unicorn magic. It's a lost magic that I only just rediscovered, and those who would know of it would undoubtedly find it hard to master anyways.” Twilight lowered her head slightly, brows furrowed in anxiety.

Instead of placing Equestrian history in question, Kakashi decided he would inquire later. He glanced at Gregory, who was obviously curious as well.
“There's something else. Looking at your group here, I noticed not all of you are unicorns, and you keep specifying 'unicorn magic.' Does that imply it's possible for your other 'ethnicities' to use magic?”

Twilight thought for a minute on this. She'd been told that since the horn was the conduit for translating magic formulas into the real world, only Unicorns and Alicorns could use it.
There's just no way...right? The only Alicorns I know would NEVER be involved in this. And if that's the case, could that mean that a Pegasus or Earth Pony got a hold of some kind of artifact?
“Well, there are also Alicorns, but there are none of those with us.”

“In that case, whoever made the ones in our dimension must be some powerful unicorn then.” The tone in the Jonin's voice told them he wasn't completely buying her explanation. “If you aren't sure I fear that the worst has yet to rear it's ugly head.”

“Are you sure their properties match up? How did you even analyze them?” A small ounce of panic followed the sound of her voice. “It can't be possible, that level of magic can't possibly be in play here...we need to group up immediately... going around in separate units is bad now, more than it ever was.”

This is bad, this is bad, this IS bad! Twilight thought to herself, rapidly shifting her hooves as she continued her conversation with Kakashi. How could SHE get out, the Princess always warned me about her, but I thought it was an old mare's tale...okay, get it together Twilight, lets not jump to conclusions here! The mare's head was swirling with thoughts, and it wasn't till Kakashi's voice called her name out a couple of times that she snapped back to reality.

“Twilight! Are you feeling alright?” He asked, shifting uneasily while witnessing the mare practically have a panic attack.

“I...I'm fine...it's just that I'm kinda stressed out, that's all.” She replied, smiling weakly to attempt making her statement sound as convincing as possible. “How... how will we know if these 'vortexes' even work?”

Kakashi's face remained stoic. She's hiding something...
“I thought that out ahead of time, and I have decided that a member of our team will check it out. He willingly volunteered too.” Kakashi told her. The crow's feet around his eyes implied a warm smile, assuring Twilight that all hope was not yet lost. “Two of our own should be heading to one of the vortexes as of right now. If I'm not mistaken, the vortex they seek seems to be linked to a rather dark and cloudy place.”

“Big surprise...” Gregory muttered.
Fluttershy whined and shrank back, also painfully aware that nearly ALL of Equestria was now “dark and cloudy.”

“Wait...it's fine, I can sense it. And I think it's nearby.....” Twilight began to feel out for any kind of magic. “I... feel it, a strong aura coming from within one of the nearby villages. Kakashi, I think we found the point of contact.”

“That's excellent news. It was a risky gambit, but I suppose it couldn't be helped. Glad it payed off.” He was pleased at the sound of her words. “Then, I guess the next time we talk it will be in person, or in your case, in pony?”

“Yes.... I guess?” Twilight cocked her head to the side in a questioning manner.

“Oh never mind.” He let out an exasperated sigh—once again his humor had flown over his audience's heads. “Kakashi, over and out!”

“Roger.” She responded.

She then looked over at the rest of her companions: Rainbow Dash was still staring at the now disconnected orb, her eyes cocked in curiosity, all the while her stance was calm and her wings neatly folded to her sides. Fluttershy was resting close to Dash, only looking up once the conversation had ended and Twilight had faced them. A smile appeared on her face, while looking at her two dear friends. She wanted to cry for joy, but she knew the mission was far from over. Trotting closer to the group, she began to speak.

“Well? Shall we get going, or do we need a little more rest time?” She asked, once again exuding her calm facade.

“Where are we heading to?” Rainbow Dash perked up in interest, Fluttershy raised her head, giving her intelligent friend acknowledgment.

“Somewhere in Cloudsdale is a vortex, one that if Kakashi and I think is a bridge between our worlds.” Twilight explained. “They are sending someone through who was brave enough to volunteer to try it out, so we are going to go meet with them.”

“Wait...what? Different worlds? How are we—” Rainbow Dash began to question their cosmic situation before she was cut off by Gregory.

“Wait, how do we know that their vortex is connected to ours?” The human questioned, concern was painted across his features. Dash shot him a disgruntled look, to which he only replied with an apologetic shrug.

“It's alright Gregory, the only thing to worry about with something like this is the unknown. Being sent through a vortex only bears the risk of ending up in some place you are unfamiliar with.” She replied.

“And in the state our worlds are in right now? That's quite a high risk to take.” Gregory's brow furled, irritation accompanied the sound of his voice. “I just don't want anyone else to die, and especially not anyone within our groups.”

“I understand your frustration, but we have to take risks. If we don't then what will become of this world? Or Celestia knows how many other worlds that have been affected by this mess! I am willing to risk everything to stop that, and I am certain the person they are sending would, as well.” Twilight looked up at Gregory, directly into his eyes. Her voice resonated powerfully within his mind, and he could see that retreat was completely beyond her at this point. “Even if faced with death, I will see to it this mission is completed, and harmony is restored to the land!”

“Okay, okay, you've made your point.” Gregory allowed himself a subtle, approving smile.
Such courage, so young... “Let's not keep our new ally waiting then.”

Rainbow Dash fluttered between the two, and then gently glided down to the cloud surface, planting her hooves into the soft composition of water particles. Impatiently glancing back and forth between them, she perked up.

“Hey, uh...guys? In case you haven't forgotten, I know my way around here like the back of my hoof.” She proudly held up a foreleg, as if pointing to the heavens. “Where is this vortex thingy you are talking about again? Maybe I can help guide us through here.”

Twilight looked at her friend, and then smiled softly. “I suppose we will find out exactly where when we go there, now won't we?” She trotted away from the group, ushering them to follow her, as she focused her magic in on honing the target vortex. Rainbow Dash followed after her, and Fluttershy clambered on to all fours to do just the same. Lastly Gregory moved too, trailing just a short distance from behind Fluttershy. With that, they were already on their way, along a flattened cloud pathway, to the village nearby. Soon Rainbow Dash took the lead, navigating many familiar landmarks of her familiar hometown.

Winding through some large conglomerating cloud formations, and traveling up and down the length of numerous cumulonimbus clouds—after what seemed like hours, the group finally spotted structures in the distance. Many of said structures had the same type of arch-flair the Rainbow Factory possessed. The village was planned on a grid structure, formed around plots of clouds with designated areas for residency, power, fuel, food, education and government, most of which at this point were long gone. Twilight had not been to many villages before, but she had to admit, this didn't look like any village to her. At least two sky scrapers occupied part of the city, their purposes? Unknown. This eerie little town, just like any other locale they had come across, was completely abandoned.

“Not much here but cloudweeds and garbage.” Dashy grimaced, having only an inkling of an idea what happened to her fellow Pegasi.

“It's so quiet.” Fluttershy commented, staying close to Twilight's flank.

“It shouldn't be too far from here, guys. The magic signal is getting stronger.” Twilight was relieved, and judging by the sound of many happy sighs, so were her companions. “Just around the corn—”

She froze dead in her tracks: a trash can fell over, and its contents were scattered in front of the lavender maned pony. Out of the darkness, a harvester made its appearance. It growled rapaciously, showing off both its disfigured jaw, and surprisingly sharp looking teeth. It clicked it's sickles together, like two swords, dragging the sharp edges of each across the length of the other. Like a wolf who had cornered its prey, it slowly and deliberately approached the group, and each one of them took an apprehensive step back. Twilight's breath became shallow, the fresh blood on the edges of this harvester's sickles having taken her by surprise. Rainbow Dash, having not seen one of these things before, conjured up some small shred of bravery. Standing in front of her companions, her face took a serious tone.

“I'm warning you, punk! Stay back or I'll knock you into next week!” She called out to the non-responsive walking cadaver. It just kept coming towards them. “Hey! Are you even listening to me?!”

“Rainbow Dash! It's already dead! There's no point reasoning with it!” Twilight called out, while trying to pull her back by the tail.

The pegasus glanced over her shoulder. “Wha-huh? What do you mean dead...” She cut off mid-sentence as she sniffed at something rotten in the air. It was then that Rainbow Dash's eyes took an even closer look at the creature, a horrible realization dawning on her.

It looked like an average pony...sickeningly discolored by the rot of death. The main body was nothing special aside from the gaps and craters where flesh used to be, exposing bones, sinew, and leaking fluids. It's face was may have once been that of a pony, and if that didn't nauseate her enough as it was, something else just made her stomach flip: wings. A pair of plucked and broken wings were propped lifelessly atop the cadaver's back—this was a Pegasus.

“Wh... WHAT THE HAYYY!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to move, unable to breathe. “I.... I.... HOW THE HAY COULD THIS HAPPEN... I haven't been gone THAT long, have I...? No... Cloudsdale...”

The harvester cocked its head, as if curious to watch the spectacle: Rainbow Dash let loose another blood-curdling scream as her body shivered, her legs giving out upon that revelation. Slumping down on to the cloud surface, she was drowning in the reality, so much that she had not even noticed the harvester had resumed its offensive, jumping towards them with it's scimitar like arms extended for an attack. Twilight reacted swiftly, casting some forceful magic of the gravity-manipulating variety. At once the creature found itself being thrashed into the wall of a nearby building. The creature crashed vehemently through it and was buried underneath rubble from the aftermath of the impact. Not wasting any time, she then, with the assistance of Fluttershy, helped Dashy up, and the group rushed out of the vicinity.

Rainbow Dash, ripped herself out of the supportive grips of her friends. Only to fall to the ground vehemently once again, sobbing to herself loudly. Her hooves clasped the side of her head fiercely, and her body curled tightly into a ball. Moving her head side to side in a shaking motion, she wailed to herself. Just thinking of Pinkie pie brought back horrible memories. Suddenly she began to have a panic attack, flailing around like mad.

“NO! GET THAT SCALPEL AWAY FROM ME!! NO NO NO!! AGGGHHHH!!” She thrashed about on the ground, reliving every nerve-shattering moment of pain, holding herself while arching her spine to mind boggling degrees. She whined as her friends watched the spectacle in horror—she was trapped within a nightmare, and they were helpless to make it stop. “AHHHHHHHHHHGGGGHHH! UUUUHHHHGGGG!! Make it stop......MAKE IT STOP!! I'M BEGGING YOU..... please...please, make it stop......”

Her whining continued for a few more minutes, and eventually her constant convulsions slowed down. When she came to a halt, she finally snapped back to, her disheveled face muddled with tears and twisted with an unrecognizable blend of rage and desparation.

“THIS is what Pinkie pie has done to the world?.... HOW COULD SHE??!! It doesn't make sense... this was never like her... she's a monster... no... she is far beyond that! She...she was our friend...SHE MADE US TRUST HER!” Rainbow Dash quivered as she whined.

She curled up into a ball on the ground, bashing her head into the cloud cover at least once. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, now squeezed shut, concealed by her mane.
Suddenly, that technicolor mane seemed a lot less vibrant.

“Dash...” Twilight began, warily setting a hoof forward.

“I DON'T want to BUCKING HEAR IT, Twilight!” She immediately shot upright, as if to attack her friend. Twilight promptly stepped back, unable to handle her friend's outburst. “I already know what you're going to say... 'OOHH, Let's find out whats causing her to do this and try and save her from this all,' or 'OOHH, that can't REALLY be the Pinkie Pie WE know and love!' Right, Twilight? Something like that?” She replied, her eyes dangerously aflame. “That's just a load of horse-apples!! She...what she...did to me...and now? She...THIS...THESE THINGS! How could you POSSIBLY think of saving her? Are you even my friend anymore? Are you WITH HER? You seem to be defending Pinkie a lot, Twilight, DO YOU EVEN CARE THAT SHE KILLED ME?!”

“Dash..... look....” Twilight tried to speak again.

“No, just shut up.” Voice still quivering uncontrollably, she hiccuped, feebly attempting to wipe the tears away. “The next time I see that BUCKING demented psycho-pony she is going to die!” Rainbow Dash's eyes looked as if they were staring daggers into the distance and at the same time, tears continuously cascaded down her cheeks. “And I'm gonna kill her just the same way she killed me!”

Twilight's ears were pinned back. She then looked over to Gregory. The human, much like Rainbow Dash, already knew what Twilight wanted to say: 'You have to believe me, Gregory.... This just isn't like Pinkie Pie.... she just wouldn't turn evil.... I know it from the bottom of my heart....'
Instead, she remained silent, struggling not to tear up.

“Hate to say it Twilight, but she's gotta be stopped. One way or another.” Responding to the implied statement, Gregory cautiously glanced at the pegasus, choosing his words carefully. “This... Pinkie Pie, what was her personality like specifically? Are you sure she was....you know...stable?”

With a sniffle, Twilight began to reply. “You've got it all wrong! Pinkie Pie was the happiest pony in all of Ponyville, and she loved nothing more than bringing a smile to everypony's faces. Everyone in Ponyville loved her, she knew practically everyone in town, and threw parties for them as well.”

A thought passed Gregory's mind, What, how could that possibly be her personality? That's quite a 180 she performed from that point to her current point. His brow creased a bit, as he began thinking.

“If what you say is true, then what could have possibly made her want to...” he jerked his head towards Rainbow Dash, “...and then do all of this?” Gregory quizzically asked and then continued with another statement. “And then there's that amulet you mentioned. You said she came to possess that AFTER after having murdered Dash... Puzzling indeed.”

“That's why I'm questioning it in the first place! None of it makes any logical, cohesive sense, and the moment we met with Pinkie pie in the Rainbow Factory, I couldn't sense Pinkie pie, despite the fact that she was standing there right in front of me. It was like looking at a puppet.” She stated, adjusting her frame to be more assertive in appearance.

“What do you mean 'sense her'?” Gregory cocked his head in confusion.

“Well, I can kinda feel the presence of people I know very well, but its only a small feeling I get, and I couldn't feel—it was as if she wasn't even there...” Twilight explained, while pondering, a hoove softly rubbing the side of her head.

“Odd....” He responded, his mind swarmed with a variety of possibilities, but he then remembered something. “Wait, what about this 'Party of One' you talked about?”

“That?... Yeah, that is the only thing that could possibly be related, but I mean Pinkie Pie was always a little insecure in regards to people liking her and her parties.” Twilight told Gregory. “We all have our insecurities, for example, if I.... f-fai---fail my teacher... I g-get.... crazy...”

Twilight's body twitched as she spoke, the word 'fail' resonated through her head, and connected with many memories, one in particular where she was to be late in turning an assignment into her teacher, Princess Celestia. She had a breakdown of some sort, and ran around frantically trying to resolve the issue in time.

“That alone, however, couldn't possibly be the source or reason for Pinkie pie's sudden and complete flip of her personality. Its just not plausible.” Twilight defended her friend adamantly.

“Sorry, Twilight, but in a situation like this, she's guilty until proven innocent.” He crossed his arms solemnly. “We may have no choice...there's so much at stake that we can't afford to see HER as the victim in all of this.” Gregory somberly closed his eyes and released a sigh.

“I know...I understand...” Twilight trailed off, lowering her head. “But I'd like you to understand something as well. I can't just accept this...so if something does come up...if we find evidence of her innocence, or that she wasn't involved...anything at all...would you be willing to assist me in saving her?” Twilight looked up at Gregory, with almost puppy dog-like eyes.

“Ah geez, Twilight....” he lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck as a twinge of remorse and empathy knotted up his throat. He just couldn't bring himself to turn down that look. “Alright.... but only, and I repeat, ONLY if there is viable evidence that proves otherwise. I mean...you have to understand where Dash is coming from.” Gregory continued, catching a glimpse of an angry Rainbow Dash, who adjusted her position so that she was a bit more comfortable. His gaze returned over to Twilight.

“You have to remember: Whatever happened to her was bad enough, but I'm inclined to believe Pinkie Pie's been doing this to countless lives besides her own friends. Even if we find something, will anyone else be willing to believe you? If anything they might just think you are in cahoots with her for such an unfaltering defense.” Gregory's attempt at a stern stance faltered as he rubbed his eyes, giving himself an excuse not to make eye contact with the pony in front of him. “I don't want to crush you, Twilight, but the way things are going...I don't think you could ever go back to the way things were.” He paused, and added, “None of us can.”

With a deep sigh, Twilight's face washed over with sadness, she knew Gregory was right. “I... don't want to kill her... I don't even think I have it in me....”

“Look, at the very least, it is agreed that we have to stop her. She can't keep on doing what she pleases at the expense of others.” Twilight was now staring at the ground, prodding around in the cloud cover, too exhausted to argue back. Having realized he was making his companion upset, the human feebly attempted to extend a small glimmer of hope.
“I mean...well...let's just hope and pray we find a good enough excuse to save her.”

“Alright...” Droopingly, she nodded her head in acknowledgment to his statement.

He got down on one knee, making himself level with her, and then brushed some of the hair hanging in her face out of the way. “Twilight, It's not my intent to depress you, I just want you to be prepared for reality, that's not saying that I won't do my best to help you in every single possible way to save your friend though.” He smiled at her, and she gave him a smile back.

Fluttershy came over to Twilight too, and nuzzled her side. Visually seeing Twilight upset like this was making her upset as well, and she decided to comfort her troubled friend. Rainbow Dash, still being rather agitated, remained in her slump. After a few glances sneaked in by the rainbow-maned pony, she too soon came to show her support. Twilight returned their gestures—minus Dash, who was still maintaining a 'safe' distance—and looked back at Gregory. Something caught her attention though, and quickly she raised her head up towards the sky. A presence? It's so familiar, who could it be? She thought to herself, and then gave all of her companions a nod.

“The vortex is up there, on top of that building.” She pointed her head upwards at a large tower adjacent to them. “Judging from our location its just on the other side of this building.”

“Want me and Fluttershy to check it out?” Rainbow Dash, who now wanted nothing more than to stretch her wings, asked excitedly.

“No, I think we should approach this cautiously.” She responded, still fixed on the presence she could feel.

“Heh I could take whatever is up there anyways—Oh no you don't stay in there.... --- Hey don't tell me what to do! --- Hush now!..... The harvesters are not even here..... You don't need to be out right now..... --- Tch, whatever.... just you wait. ---Oh, I'm so sorry, Twilight...Rainbow Dash...” Fluttershy struggled in and out of her shell, randomly it seemed.

“What the HAY was that, Fluttershy?” A bewildered Rainbow Dash asked.

“Its... my shell...” Fluttershy replied. “During the chaos, I...” Fluttershy wept silently to herself, as she was reminded of the dreadful scene in the hospital.

“It's a long story.” Twilight left it at that, stepping over to comfort the pegasus.

“I...Fluttershy, I'm sorry to—I mean...” Her voice was quiet, empathetic yet flustered. She was still getting used to this new world, and on top of one friend already having brutally murdered her, not even her other friends were the same ponies anymore?

“Its okay.... they're in a better place anyways....” She shook while saying this. Still visibly despondent, she slowly walked forward. “Lets just get going.”

“Fluttershy....” Twilight started, but the sound of her friend's name was all she could really get out. Nothing else seemed plausible to comfort her right now.

Rainbow Dash stared incredulous as Fluttershy trotted off, finding herself the last to follow suit. Making their ways around the building, they passed through several dark alleys, always wary of the possibility of danger lurking around every corner. A few buildings down and across the street that they faced, loomed the building they sought. Sitting aloft the grand architecture, something bathed the nearby vicinity in an otherworldly blue light. Rapidly, the group took off for the building, with Twilight at the forefront. The presence was definitely someone she recognized, but who? Bursting through the front doors, they looked around. A lobby, with an open area to the left side, and a reception desk to their right. In the open area were scattered numerous pieces of trash and broken furniture. Most of the decorative plants in both this open area, and near the reception desk had been knocked over and dirt had been strewn all over the place. On top of that, copious amounts of blood caked the many surfaces and objects within the dank area, dark and dry enough to be weeks old. Windows lining the furthest left-hand wall were shattered, many of the glass shards glinting below the window sills. Holes in the floor indicated highly intense and violent confrontations had transpired in here.

Near the reception desk, the bodies of some harvesters lay on the ground, organs spilling from their guts, and dried pools of blood enveloping the ground underneath them. Past the reception desk was an elevator, though it was out of commission. The doors were ajar, and the elevator itself had collapsed in, leaving debris that clogged up the entrance completely. There was no hope for using it, so they turned their gaze towards a set of stairs just left of the elevator. Left in utter disrepair, its handrails were in a tattered state, and some of the steps either had holes in them or were missing altogether. Regardless of the dangerous possibilities, it was the only option they had at the moment.

“You guys, I think there is someone up there we know.” Twilight stated, her head held high with determination as she made her way towards the stairs.
“We need to get up those stairs as quickly as we can. The sooner we leave this place, the better.”

Twilight's words were reinforced by the unearthly howling of harvesters gathering around outside, their footsteps approaching the front doors. Without any hesitation, they all shot off, sprinting as fast as they could up those steps. Dodging and avoiding broken spots, the ponies and Gregory found themselves ascending up what seemed to be an endless amount of stairs. Gregory heard a crashing sound and instantly took a look down below. What he saw struck his heart with panic. A group of harvesters had burst into the lobby, and were tearing the place apart—obviously searching for them. Two of them split from the group, traveling quickly up the stairs with blazing speed. With a burst of magic, Twilight cast a spell, hoping it would impede the approaching harvesters. A large barrier was erected just behind Gregory's frame just as a harvester—seemingly from nowhere—crashed those wicked claws into the wall.

“Nice work!” He called out, shocked when the barrier had come inches from touching the tip of his nose.

“MOVE, Gregory! We need to get going!” Twilight called out to him, her face struck with a mix of alarm and concern.

Gregory picked up his pace after seeing her worried face. Once the harvesters arrived at the barrier, they began hacking away at it. Physical attacks seemed to have no effect on it from first glance, Twilight knew, and could also feel the magic waning from each blow landed on the surface of that magical wall. Upon reaching the seventh floor she could feel the barrier shatter and dissipate into the air. A triumphant screech erupted from the throats of the monsters below, while they continued their pursuit.

“Shall I kill them?” Fluttershy's other self stated, readying her cleaver. “No! We just need to run!--You're too scared to even fly, and you just want them to keep chasing you?--- We are almost to safety, just.... --- No, This is what I was made for, stay safe inside yourself toots, its my turn!” The yellow colored Pegasus turned to face the incoming harvesters, ready to fight them.

“What the hay are you doing??” Twilight called out to Fluttershy.

“Shut the buck up, I'm just stretchin' my legs a bit, is all.” The shell replied, jumping down haphazardly and slamming a hoof into one ascending harvester's face, forcing it to careen off into the other, which quickly found a butcher knife lodged into its skull. All three of them tumbled unceremoniously down the stairs. At once the other harvesters on the ground level heard the commotion and started climbing the stairs as well. Managing to take out one, Fluttershy's shell was now stuck fighting just one of them. The harvester shook off the shock of crashing into the wall, and got up, swinging it's sickles at Fluttershy. The yellow pony smiled, rolling to the side, and snickering as one of it's sickles got stuck deep in the wall. Bringing her butcher knife up, she cut a deep gash in the creatures side. She knew this wouldn't kill it, and it barely phased it in spite of its vehement screams. Struggling to remove its sickle, the harvester began to swing its other appendage, only striking at air as Fluttershy nimbly weaved out of the way.

“Hah! I've seen fillies with more kick than you! Now die!” as she said this, her body approached the harvester from behind, but it was prepared, and kicked a leg into her gut. She gasped for air, and dropped her butcher knife, fumbling back a bit.

“Fluttershy!!” Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs, just after the harvester removed it's sickle from the wall, and started to loom over Fluttershy's frame.

“Well horse-apples....” Fluttershy's shell didn't feel fear, but inside, a still conscious Fluttershy was madly fighting her 'captor's will to fight. Her hoof was reaching for the knife, but the creature's claws were just a tad bit swifter.

Had it not been for a sudden intervention from Twilight's magic, she would have been a goner for sure. Twilight was in a struggle to hold the harvester's claws back, just inches from Fluttershy's chest. Rainbow Dash flew directly at the harvester, smacking it into the wall. Stunned from the shock, Fluttershy took the opportunity to get up, pulling her knife from the ground. Jumping on top of the still dazed harvester, she plunged the knife deep into its skull, letting out a battle cry when she did. It died after a brief spasm. Twilight was clearly getting tired from the multiple spells cast in such a short period of time, but she managed to forcibly cast another barrier, just seconds before the other harvesters reached her friends. Crashing into said barrier, the harvesters raged on in an attempt to force their way through. This gave Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy just enough time to ascend up the stairs and catch up to Twilight and Gregory. Luckily for them, they were just a few more levels from the top. They picked up their speed, the desire to escape those things pushing them quickly through the remaining flight. The door was already opened, and the vortex was floating a few feet from the edge of the building. Slowing her steady gallop, Twilight motioned for them all to head towards the vortex. The last one to come out of that stair case was Gregory. Behind him the door seemed to close on it's own, but as soon as a heavy crate was lifted effortlessly with some sort of unusual Draconic magic, Twilight looked over. Her eyes turned on like a faucet on full blast: there before her, wearing a shimmering, exotic ring, stood Spike.

“Hiyah!” He shouted, before walking briskly over to the portal. “We're going to need to enter that gateway fast if we want to avoid those guys!” One of his claws pointed back at the banging that just started on the door.

“S.... Spi.... Spike?.....” Twilight stuttered and tripped over her words, Spike's sudden appearance baffled her. “How.... where... when?....”

“Not now Twilight, we have to go!” Spike urged her to get to the vortex. “We can talk it over once we get outta here!”

Stumbling about, Twilight managed to gather enough stability to make a jump for the vortex. At first she was afraid of the long drop, but barely knowing enough on how portals work she made the jump regardless. Hopping the ledge, she looked as though she was going to fall, but once her body came within proximity of the vortex, she felt a dizzying force pull her in. Before long, she disappeared through the hole.

“Well, its a shame, but I won't be able to fight you bastards.” Fluttershy's shell glanced over her shoulder looking back at the door currently being ravaged. She then hopped into the air, using her wings to fly to the vortex. Rainbow Dash came over to Gregory just then.

“This might get bumpy, just a fair warning!” Rainbow Dash said this as she picked him up, and started flying in the air. Gliding towards the portal, the both of them soon found themselves being pulled in just like all the others.

Spike was the last one to jump, his head turning just as he jumped to watch as the harvesters burst through the door. The vortex, having accepted many recipients already diminished in size, and when the harvesters tried to jump through they fell short of the now smaller vortex.