This would be Chapter 19 by now, I think.

= = = = = = = = = =

“Ra—Rarity? Is that really you!?” She was flabbergasted, hardly managing to get her sentence out. “What in the blue blazes are you doing here?”
The mare before her—previously known as the embodiment of generosity—was adorned in a foreign silk, consistent with the unusual world around them. Her mane had been restyled into two buns ending in pigtails, and her eyes were lined in red face paint, spiking off wickedly towards the side—reminiscent of only the most demonic entities to walk the earth. Her transformation was staggering, only part of the many things Twilight was currently questioning.

“Ahhhh, well look who it is! Twilight Sparkle and her little entourage of rejects and misfits!” She raised a hoof to the heavens dramatically. “But I must say...your lack of etiquette disturbs me greatly.” She casually turned her gaze to the mini dragon, who had already thrown himself at her feet. “Spikey-wikey already understands.”

“Wait... what are you...?” Twilight was perplexed, her face showed it quite well too. Cocking her head to the side, she tried to wrap her mind around what her friend was saying. “You want me to do what?”

“It's really quite simple, darling. You are a smart pony, I am sure you can figure out how to do some simple bowing and praising.”

“Not to knock you off your high horse, but what's gotten into you? Since when have you been THIS egotistical?” Twilight started bombarding her with questions, most of which Rarity simply evaded.

“Egotistical? For beauty like this? Are you mad? Thanks to your carelessness, we've been separated for Celestia knows HOW long, and yet now that I stand here before you, I am met with your...uncouth hostility? You should all be groveling at my hooves right now after such betrayal!” Rarity began to get annoyed.

“Forget egotism, you're a narcissist! What in the hay has gotten into you Rarity?” Twilight was outraged by her friend's demands.

“What has gotten into me? ME?! You're the one at fault here. I so humbly request acknowledgment of elegance and proper respect that said elegance deserves. Even after all we've been through, have you no respect for me? Is THAT it?! Or perhaps you are filled with jealousy, you can never hope to achieve what I have worked SO hard for...” her horn lit up dangerously, surrounding her by a wicked violet aura that sent a chill down Twilight's spine. Whoever was standing before her was no longer her ally.
“...so you seek to take me down in a zealous attempt to just rob it from me! Well, I won't let you!” Rarity was enraged now, she found herself being enveloped by a strange energy that Gregory and the other ninja knew; Chakra.

Witnessing the mare's newfound power, Twilight's eyes widened at the realization. Her gaze darted between Rarity and the ghastly man at her side.

“And here I thought my friends would understand and accept me! But NO! My friends are all just a bunch of jealous imbeciles, who'd want nothing better than to watch me burn!!”

“W-what!! Me jealous!! Why would I be jealous?” Twilight argued with her. “Just because I won't bow and praise you?! Just cause I won't subject myself to such humiliation?!”

“Well, I suppose I can't blame you, Darling.” She aimed a daring hoof at her former friend, grinning maniacally. “After all, until now, you would have been the most powerful out of all of us. Of course THAT honor must belong to the most beautiful, yes? After all, power IS beauty.”

“...you mean my magic? Is that what this is about?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “How did we get on that subject?”

“Envy, my dear. Such a dangerous thing...and now it's YOUR turn to watch yourself devalued as your own friend—myself—is raised far above you!”

“What are you—?”

“You sensed it on your way in, did you not? That overpowering, otherworldly aura of haunting beauty?” She allowed that same aura to pour forth for all to see. Gregory began trembling, unable to tune himself to what he was sensing, and Dash backed away warily.
“I realized long ago that my beauty was incomplete without it, and with your expertise in the way, I would never attain such a whole and complete perfection that I so desired. But then...I should thank you for abandoning me. I found my way HERE, and found magic far beyond anything that false Goddess has taught you.”

“And NOW you're badmouthing Celestia?” Twilight stomped a hoof on the ground. In spite of her frustration, that sickening aura was forcing her back step by step. “Rarity, that magic...can't you see what it's done to you?”

“Yes, YES! There it is! Show me your ENVY! Your words...they are oozing with envy!” She twitched dangerously, reveling in the moment. “If you want beauty I will give you beauty! I will paint you with your blood, after-all crimson red is such a magnificent color to paint with.” Her voice, though concealing some deep-seated rage, degraded into a maniacal cackle.

“But I have something special planned just for you, Darling...beauty isn't always just dolled-up dresses and makeup, you see...” she slowly inched towards the group. “A macabre stage of displaced organs, flesh wounds touched up with a baroque display of one's own blood, corpses propped about in dramatic, interpretive poses—very artistic, yes? And the best part is that anypony can achieve it...if you won't worship me, then I will simply FORCE you—but not before so benevolently giving you a makeover...to die for...” Her cackle started up slowly, and then began to get louder before hitting a peak point.

Twilight stepped back apprehensively, the shift in her demeanor was a big shock indeed. Widening her eyes in terror, she once again had her mouth agape in surprise, horrified at the growing malice emanating from this new 'power' of hers. Not Rarity too! How many of my friends are going to...? Will this hell never end?!
Her head was starting to hurt when she thought of this. She wanted to escape from it all and cry.

“Oh, Rarity, my dear, I must insist that we depart from this place instead, we mustn't dawdle with such a treasure in our possession.” Orochimaru told her, his eyes warily looking around at the various people and ponies who piqued up when he had mentioned 'treasure'--possibly the artifact they were searching for.

“You're not going anywhere, Orochimaru!” Kakashi said while slinging some shuriken he pulled from his pouch at the man.

Orochimaru responded in a snake-like manner, maneuvering his body in a completely inhuman fashion. The weapons Kakashi used missed by inches, disappearing down the hallway that his target had just come from. Squinting his eyes at the silver-haired shinobi, he laughed.

“Does the wolf want to play with the snake?” Orochimaru stated, adjusting his stance for combat. He looked at the others expecting them to jump in at anytime. “Shall I show you the error of such a decision?”
“But we can't leave now! Not after such insolence from these unworthy subjects! I must teach them.... horribly!” Rarity responded, the features of her face contorting in a wicked manner upon finishing her sentence.

“Surely you must understand the capabilities of these ninja, my dear. You cannot hope to teach anything with them in the way.” Orochimaru looked at her, while putting much emphasis on the fact that the ninja were here. Rarity took the hint and immediately took off down the hall.

Twilight ran after her so-called friend, hoping to not be stopped by the snake like man. To her surprise, Orochimaru just stepped aside. Spike, having already been previously worshiping Rarity, got up quickly and chased after the both of them with the rest of the group in tow.

“Good luck, kid!” Kakashi called down the hallway as he and his squad were left to fend off the one known as Orochimaru.
His hands immediately flew about, performing a slew of signals to create lightning within his hand. Raw chakra and electric force crackled forth, and at his side, Gaara had already prepared his sand form, a spherical shield swirling around his frame. Tsunade was likewise prepared, watching as Orochimaru countered their preparations with a flurry of hand signs.

Immediately the whole room was enveloped in a black and dark purple cloud. As far as any of the three ninja could perceive, they were on a plain of this substance. Orochimaru stepped out into the open for them to see. Upon trying to move, Kakashi found that his whole body was paralyzed.

Is it a genjutsu? Or perhaps a ninjutsu? Whatever the case may be.... we have to break it quickly..... Kakashi thought to himself.

Tsunade was able to move some of her body, but it was still a struggle. Unable to discern what type of technique their enemy was using made this difficult to counter. Without any indication of additional hand signs, Orochimaru conjured up some snakes. At the base of his enemies' feet, these snakes started slithering up the ninja. Wrapping and contracting their bodies around theirs, a sense of dread began filling up all three of them.

“And now...” Orochimaru's tongue flickered violently out of his mouth. “...let's play a little game, shall we?”

= = = = =

Twilight huffed while galloping down the length of that hallway. She could barely keep up with Rarity. I thought Rarity wasn't the athletic type? She thought this as she pushed herself to run even faster than before. Rarity quickly made a sharp right, and as soon as Twilight did the same she was gone. Twilight stopped, frantically looking around. Where did she go? She couldn't have possibly disappeared that quickly? Could she?
It was then that Twilight discovered a hole nearby, broken through the floor into a small tunnel dug from underneath the temple. Hesitantly she crawled into it and just as she had half of her body inside the cavernous entrance, she heard voices calling out to her.

“Twilight! Wait up!” Gregory yelled down the hall just as he spotted her darting down the new path.

“I'm down here! Hurry, or we won't catch Rarity!” Twilight responded, urgency laced hastily in her voice. Upon that note the others begrudgingly hastened their pace. Twilight was already crawling into the tunnel when the others arrived and began to slide inside as well. It wasn't a very tight squeeze for the ponies, but Gregory had a rough time maneuvering through the crevasse.

Several minutes later, Twilight felt the tunnel slope down sharply without warning. Squealing loudly, her body began to fall. When she made contact with more dirt, she rolled abruptly forward, indicating a curved slope that opened up into a larger room. With a splash, she landed in a shallow puddle of water. Instinctively lighting up her horn, she struggled to her hooves and moved forward several steps. Just after she stopped moving her friends also fell out of that hole, their echoing screams ringing out before they themselves appeared. One by one, they all fell into the same water that Twilight had fallen into, ending up in an awkward dog pile. The lavender pony spun herself around so that the others had some light to see with. Rainbow Dash was the first to pull herself from the water, followed by Fluttershy, Spike and Gregory.

“She went down that hole... but I don't know where she went afterwards....” Twilight pinned her ears, feeling bad inside for losing track of her friend.

“Then we will just have to search for her down here then won't we?” Gregory attempted to cheer up the pony.

“We just have to find her Twilight...we have to!” Spike whined. Tears were finally welling up in his eyes after having experienced that side of Rarity.

“Yeah...we can't give up now, Twilight...” Fluttershy chimed in as well.

“I'd rather not find her at all!” Rainbow Dash stated snappishly. “Did you even hear what she said? Clearly she's gone nuts! Why are we even chasing after her?”

“Because... she's our friend. We have to help her!” Twilight stated, despite knowing that Rainbow Dash was right—in her own paranoid way.

“Bah... whatever...I don't even know why I bothered following you. It's always 'friendship, this and friendship, that.' Wake up, Twilight. THIS is our reality now!” Rainbow Dash was very blunt, and that hurt Twilight. However the lavender pony quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She wanted to cry, her nerves were so shot. But she couldn't: she knew that Rarity—and the rest of her friends, for that matter—needed her now more than ever, and with that being the focus of her thoughts, she held back those tears.

Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash, holding much contempt for her unkind words, but then she turned. “Shall we... continue then? We have to find her quickly.”

“Right... let's go.” Gregory responded, attempting to end the arguing ponies' feud.

= = = = =

Orochimaru's jutsu was unfolding. As he widened the smirk on his face, his eyes turned to an array of swords, which had just materialized in the air. Floating about, these swords slowly levitated over to the victims being bound by snakes and paralyzed by his jutsu. Then, they stopped. Kakashi's eyes would have widened had he been able to move them, for all the swords were trained on him at the moment. Without hesitation one of them pierced through his arm. The sword disappeared as it cut and despite the fact the pain it caused, it left no visible wounds whatsoever. Although unable to turn his head towards the 'wound,' Kakashi could at least see that Tsunade and Gaara were likewise free of any cuts or slashes. On top of that, the swords were moving directly through Gaara's sand shield with no trouble. Which would only mean...
Then this IS genjutsu, but how do I break it?

“Hehehehe... You are probably wondering why you can't even break through this genjutsu of mine, aren't you?” Orochimaru chastised the ninja, while stepping forward a bit, enjoying every minute of their torture. “This genjutsu of mine is particularly special. You see, I've wrapped this one above a layer of simple paralysis ninjutsu, making it impossible to escape once caught within it. Aside from basic, passive functions such as respiration and circulation, you won't be able to move at all.”

The rogue shinobi licked his lips, savoring the painful expression Kakashi's eyes held as another sword made its way through his body. Again not a single wound was left, but the pain remained. The other two glimpsed in horror, not even able to shut their eyes completely or look away. Orochimaru cackled maniacally as more swords continued to assail the silver-haired Jonin.

“Hahaha.... I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this... and what about you, Tsunade? It has been a while since we have gotten together to hang out after all.” Orochimaru said while getting closer to the blonde-haired kunoichi. “Surely you are happy to have so much fun with an old comrade.”

Like hell I am! If only I was able to move right now.... She was concentrating what little Chakra she could for something at the moment, it would take time, and she knew that.

More laughter filled the room as Orochimaru continued watching Kakashi. One after another, the rain of steel continued his torment. They were like captured rats, mere victims of the sadism of the duplicitous snake that stood before them. Hold on, Kakashi! Just a little bit more..... She continued to think this as her concentration of Chakra continued to rise. Her attention was briefly switched as a dark aura began to surround Gaara, his head instantly felt a gratuitous amount of pressure squeeze him. It felt as if his skull was slowly cracking, but like the swords, all that was delivered was pain. He wanted to scream, but because he was paralyzed completely, he couldn't even do that.

“It seems that now the Sunakage is feeling the true effects of my Jutsu. Tell me...how does it feel, knowing your head is about to burst at any second? Oh my, my apologies.... you can't respond to me can you? What a shame, I was hoping to hear some results. Perhaps we should fix that?” Orochimaru began a rant, performing some more hand-signs. The ninja soon found themselves able to talk, but for Kakashi and Gaara, all they could do was scream.

“Orochimaru you bastard!! You better hope I never get out of this!” Tsunade threatened him.

“Oh, now this is rich~! The Slug Princess, making threats to me!” Orochimaru chuckled, focusing most of his attention on her. “And how, might I ask do you plan on escaping your bindings?”

“Tch....” Tsunade silenced herself, hiding her real intentions.

“I see, nothing but talk. How disappointing, I was expecting much more from you.” As he said this a dark purple flame spontaneously combusted on her foot. Consuming most of her body, this flame burned away, threatening to consume her. She screamed in response, giving Orochimaru the ecstasy he so desired. The man let his laughter echo throughout the entire dimension while the three ninja screamed in agony.

= = = = =

As Twilight trotted down the tunnel, her legs shivered within the cold, ankle-deep water. There weren't any signs of Rarity for a while, until Twilight was caught off guard by the sound of her voice. It was distant however, echoing throughout the tunnels so that it sounded like it was coming from every opening around her. She couldn't discern it's exact location. A chuckle came out of the darkness a few seconds later too, but this time it came from a single, decisive direction. Something moved directly in front of Twilight about a few feet away, but her light wasn't enough to get even a glimpse of it. When that being had walked in front of her path, the sound it's legs made when hitting the water made her jump.

“What was that?!” Fluttershy yelped in fear, as she barely saw something move as well.

“Rarity?! Are you there?!” Twilight called out to the darkness, but nothing responded to her. However a few seconds later, the sound of galloping hooves in water was heard moving away from them.

She was definitely baiting them.
Twilight quickly followed after this sound, followed by her friends. Veering off through paths unknown, they kept running, hoping that they were coming closer to their goal. Meeting a dead end, they discovered that their target was not there. They were only disappointed for mere seconds before hearing that of another giggle teasing them from behind. A pair of hooves again splashed about in the water, moving swiftly away from the group. Twilight gritted her teeth and continued their game of hide and seek. Despite this she carried on, her friends right behind her every step of the way.

“Oh, Twiiiiiliiiiight.... This waaaaay...” A voice called out to her. It sounded familiar, but at the same time it was distorted.

A fading chuckle kept the lavender pony right on her tail, though she couldn't see it. Huffing and puffing again, she galloped down those tunnels, inching deeper and deeper into the abyss. Eventually she finally stopped, as she and the entire group were entirely winded. Aside from Rainbow Dash, they needed a quick breather.

“This is...getting...ridiculous!” Spike heaved, propping a claw on Gregory's leg for support.

Their heaving stopped as the sound of hooves in the water hit their ears once more. It was close...very close, Twilight could feel her heart beat rising. The beast in the shadows had never left their side the whole time...they were merely being toyed with.
She was terrified, her mind running through every possible scenario. She couldn't stop herself from imagining some of the other possibilities of what could be lurking in the darkness. Behind her Fluttershy was shivering, struggling to even stand; she also wasn't about to let her shell come out and make everyone around her suffer, either. Rainbow Dash, though naturally more fortuitous, was experiencing a fit of paranoia, walking back and forth and grinding her teeth.

She had already come to the conclusion that Rarity was going to end up doing the same thing to her that Pinkie Pie had done if they found her. Her body was going through the same shivers that Fluttershy was, though hers were on a whole new level. That trembling constantly thrashed her entire being, her knees grew weak whenever she stopped and she felt short of breath with the returning sensation of being cut to pieces—live. And thus, she kept moving, repeatedly trying to convince herself that she would fight off anything that came her way.
Though also able to hide it, Gregory was as frightened as Spike. He crouched down to wrap an arm around the dragon's head to comfort him, though in reality...he was also seeking some kind of solace. Spike, terrified and confused at his idol's apparent corruption, made no effort to resist the offer, having resorted to huddling up besides the human.

Another sound made them all jump, a clanking sound upon a metal pipe caused them to huddle up amongst one another. Shallow breathing, along with footsteps in the water started to get closer. Their hearts all began beating incredibly fast, and fear's frozen hand gripped them all, sending a cold wave coursing through their bodies. Just as they thought the being that had been making noises all around them would show itself, it vanished. Silence was all that was left in the tunnel. Nothing else remained for them to follow. As they relaxed just a tiny bit, Twilight spoke.

“We... should start.... moving again.” She tried to get the words out as best she could, but adrenaline shook her throat vehemently.

“God... I hate this place...the quicker we find this mare, the quicker we can leave, right, all?” Gregory stated, reinforcing Twilight's directives.

“Twilight....is that really Rarity out there? Or did she.... just vanish?” Spike said, his eyes contorted to where he looked ready to cry. Like the rest, he was still unable to adapt to this new world.

“I...of course she is, Spike...we'll find her.” She felt conflicted, she didn't want to lie to him but she honestly didn't know whether they would find her or not. “Don't worry. We won't give up on her.”
Spike seemed somewhat calmed by her answer, but he knew they were empty words. Twilight's poker face was decent, but since Spike knew her so well, he could read her more easily.
She's just lost her way...though she isn't the only one.

“Let's move guys...” She said, her melancholy voice softly reaching everyone's ears. Slowly she moved forwards, and the group followed her. Trotting down the tunnel, she and the group inched along the walls in an attempt to find any means of progression, until Fluttershy discovered a small path that lead to a wooden door much like the ones from the basement. Approaching it hesitantly, Twilight could feel the malevolent presence from earlier....the 'new' Rarity.
She raised her gaze toward the handle as Gregory, realizing her intent, slowly opened the door. Aside from one flickering candle it was completely dark inside. As soon as the entire group had managed to enter the room, the door suddenly shut with a loud slamming sound. Twilight felt powerful magic wrap around her body and pin her to the ground. The others in the group all grunted and struggled as the same thing happened to them.

Rainbow Dash shouted into the darkness. “No....NO...NOOO!! NOT AGAIN! I TOLD you! I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!!”

“What the hay is this!?” Spike struggled against he field that had formed around him. He attempted to counter it with his own, shining forth from his draconian ring, but it didn't help him at all.

“Not good... I can't...move...at all!” Gregory chimed in.

“Uhnnn.... Uhnnnn.... it's no use...” Fluttershy sputtered in despair.

“Such... powerful magic... could it possibly be...?” Twilight stopped short when her theory was confirmed. Rarity had stepped into the light of the candle. Immediately many other candles lit up as she passed. Twilight's body was raised into the air as the field around her tightened. Only able to struggle against those invisible bindings, she turned her head to face Rarity, now a stone cold face lacking in any empathy whatsoever. Moving Twilight over to what appeared to be a medieval operating table she placed her on the old and wooden surface. She strapped the lavender pony in tightly so that she was unable to move after she released her from the spell. At the same time, she got really close to Twilight's body while carrying a syringe of some kind.

“This won't hurt at all my dear! Its just a magic inhibitor...a precautionary measure so you can't perform magic on me while we make you pretty!” Rarity told her with a sadistic voice as she pushed the needle into her new victim's flank.

Twilight cringed, feeling the needle enter the especially delicate region. Rarity could have easily injected her with precision but for some reason she didn't. The needle pierced through muscle before reaching a vein. Upon puncturing said vein, Rarity started to push the top part of the syringe, slowly emptying the contents into Twilight's blood stream. Almost immediately she couldn't even feel her horn. Attempting to perform any spells resulted in just a fizzle. Whining in response to her new predicament, she looked back at her captor. A smug smile an expression of pure joy was painted across Rarity's face. Tossing the needle haphazardly onto a nearby table, she took a moment to enjoy watching the lavender pony struggle. Moving as much as she could Twilight tried to get out, her bindings however prevented her from doing so. She eventually gave up the idea of breaking free, but Rarity's silent and frightening gaze made her start hyperventilating. She had no idea what this mare was about to do to her.

Rainbow Dash, still unable to move, watched as the familiar scene unfolded before her.
“No..... No.... NO!....” Rainbow Dash violently tried to break the binding she was in though she had no luck. “Why.... why is it like this...? What happened to us??”

Rarity looked over at Rainbow Dash with a look of somber disgust and then she laughed a little. “What's wrong, Dashie? You mean friendship? Don't you understand how absurd that concept is?”

The words were like knives directed at all of the ponies, especially Twilight, who held the ideologies of devotion above all else. “Earlier, you talked about power, but the power of the heart is the greatest force in the universe!” Still short of breath, Twilight attempted to appease to Rarity's reasonable side...if she still had one. “And friendship, loyalty, devotion...that's what fuels the heart! We've saved all of Equestria with that power, Rarity! How corrupt have you become to overlook something so important?”

“You all are really performing quite the comedic performance. Bravo I must say, you really are making me laugh.” Rarity said with much condescension in her voice, though upon looking at how serious Twilight's expression was she got a bit angry. “You're serious aren't you? You really do believe in that horse-apple concept?”

Twilight didn't respond, though Rarity got her answer anyways. “You know, I expected out of all of us, that you would be the one to realize the folly in such a Utopian ideology! I guess I was expecting too much out of you!”

“I.... don't know what has gotten into you, Rarity... but this isn't you!” Twilight was finding it hard to gather her words right now, after being injected with whatever it was that syringe contained, she found it hard to concentrate on her words. Despite this she retaliated against the white mare.

“Lost my way?....” Rarity's words trailed a bit as she spoke before she laughed maniacally. “Oh you misguided FOAL! If this “Friendship” is so important to you, then where WERE you when those beasts began to tear apart our world? I may have been lucky enough to escape before the plague spread too far, but now I've got my OWN nightmares to deal with!”

Her own nightmares...? “Rarity, I'm sorry! I had to...I just had to find a way to undo all of it! I thought you would all be safe in...”

Rarity cut her off. “Not only that, but do you have any idea how positively infuriating it is? I'm a unicorn...you're a unicorn...you're the magic genius, YOU get to save the world, YOU get all the glory, all the attention...even BEFORE abandoning me—which I'm sure Fluttershy knows all about as well...” she aimed a sinister hoof in the pegasus' direction, staring wide-eyed at the would-be tormentor. “...but even before abandoning US, I should say...were we only your lackeys? Your support? Your PAWNS?”

“How so!” Twilight tried to argue with the increasingly aggressive mare.

“You see, Twilight...all of society, Utopian or otherwise...is driven, nay...dictated...by competition. Competition that conflicts with the very IDEA of friendship. This makes us all selfish, no? And though you may be too young and naïve to realize it, or understand why...but it's a competition that only the most BEAUTIFUL can win.”
Gregory narrowed his eyes. He knew what was going through the unicorn's mind, but weren't they just children? Why would she be focused on something so carnal?
“Friends exist only to reinforce our grandiose self-images. And rather than relying on such mundane escapism to delude myself into believing I'm worth something, I intend to ASCEND past such nonsense and make that self-image a reality!” She continued rambling while levitating and examining a variety of intimidating—and somewhat unclean—tools from a nearby table.

“You see...prior to the events leading to my enlightenment...to be honest, darling? I was jealous of YOU. YOU always had all the attention, the glory, the spotlight...and I tried to support you as best I could, deluding myself into believing it somehow made me a better pony. But today...I've learned something about friendship.” She assumed a dramatic pose, with a bonesaw pointed skyward, glinting in the candle light, mocking Twilight's old weekly routine of summarizing her lessons. “You CAN face the problems of the world on your own. Another reason ponies relied on friendship is because they are WEAK. WORTHLESS. The only way our kind survived at all in Equestria was by uniting ourselves as allies. It's disgusting really! Without this so-called friendship, we never would have amounted to anything.”

“Rarity, get a hold of yourself!” Twilight gulped seeing the blade up in the air. “It's me! Your friend! You can't do this!”

“Actually, sweetheart, I CAN. Because right and wrong are defined by the pony with the most power.” A sinister grin peeled across her features as the blade caressed Twilight's cheek. “Take Celestia, for example...is it acceptable to seal away those you deem your own enemy for over a thousand years, only to “reform” them a millennium later? Is it acceptable to pronounce yourself a Goddess and allow your subjects to use your name in vain?”

“There are so many things wrong with what you just said I don't even know where to start!” Twilight feebly shot back. “Now you're jealous of the Princess, too??”

Rarity continued, unabated. “But unlike the rest of you, not only do I not intend to simply shut myself out of reality—becoming sickeningly weak—but I wish to become the pinnacle of living perfection! Power is beauty, beauty is power...therefore, from now on, I dictate right and wrong!” Rarity's voice rose steadily, reaching an insane pitch that rang throughout the chamber. “Friendship is a poison! Friendship makes us all weak! Once you reach the afterlife, Twilight Sparkle, spread the word: Friendship is not Magic!!”

Lurching over her frame up until this point, the small blade she was holding fell from the sky, plunging deep into the lavender pony's hind leg. With no caution at all, the sinister mare twisted and yanked the instrument from its spot, laughing loudly as Twilight screamed out in agony.

Rainbow Dash had squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch, unable to break free and help her friend—even if she was ready to overcome her own trauma: her memories were flooding her mind, and she couldn't take it any more.
Fluttershy was crying too, and had closed her eyes a while ago, unable to look. Gregory kept his eyes open, but was gritting his teeth in both frustration and terror. Desperately he felt a rising urge to get up and stop this mad-pony but he couldn't get up. Sitting there angry, he watched on, not even realizing that something was building up inside of him. Rarity was looming over Twilight's body at this point, she was looking up to face her captor, her ears were back in fear, and her body was shaking rapidly.

“Rarity! Please.... don't do this!” Twilight begged her so called friend.

“Oh, don't worry, dearest, you still have plenty of time left to live! ~It just may be slightly uncomfortable~” Rarity told her pleasantly. She levitated another blade and pressed it into one of her flanks, now taking a much more surgical approach. She started to make a circular incision around her cutie mark, all the while ignoring Twilight's cries. Stopping after having made a semicircular wound, she doubled back to carve what appeared to be a crescent moon shape. Warm blood oozed on out of the wound, staining Twilight's fur. She screamed when Rarity did this, every nerve in her leg on fire. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she whined.

“Yes...cry, Twilight...it's such a tragic, beautiful thing to behold!” Rarity cackled. Pulling a rag from top of the same nearby table, she pressed it into the wound. Once the rag was soaked she drained the blood into a bucket that she had under the table.
“The realization that one will die soon—the unspeakable terror! Your eyes, Twilight, they see all, don't they!?” She leaned in to gaze at her victim's swelling eyes, temporarily ignoring her craft.

“It's so poetic, isn't it?”
She looked from the barely filled bucket back to the crying mare. Taking the scalpel she brought it over to the other side of Twilight's flank and made a symmetrical wound around her cutie mark. Repeating what she did, more blood dripped from the rag into the bucket. Twilight struggled to keep strong, gnashing her teeth and preventing a cry from escaping her mouth.

“~Oh, now I think this is going just swimmingly!~” she remarked, delighted in her 'art.' “Now, I have this idea on what I'm going to do about that dreadful mane of yours...”

= = = = =

Tsunade was in agonizing pain. Despite the fact that the flames never left any marks on her body, she still felt its intense heat. Orochimaru simply savored every second of it.

Desperately she concentrated one last burst of Chakra before finally molding it into a Jutsu.
“Release!” She called out, and Orochimaru's face instantly contorted in shock.

Tsunade found herself dissipating from the universe and eventually ending up on all fours gasping for air in the temple. Orochimaru was just standing there, motionless, still engaged in the genjutsu with Kakashi and Gaara. By the time Tsunade had regained composure though, Orochimaru released the genjutsu.

“Crafty bitch! I won't let you have an advantage over me!” He scowled, a look of discontent on his face. “Let's see how you handle this!”

Snakes poured out from Orochimaru's sleeves by the hundreds. Coming at Tsunade, she nimbly jumped to the side, avoiding the snakes that soon crashed into the wall that was behind her. Standing up ready to go, both Gaara and Kakashi had regained composure as well. Kakashi prepared a jutsu while jumping around to avoid the snakes that were now swarming the room. Gaara rushed to contain and destroy the snakes, clearing a path for Kakashi, now rushing Orochimaru with his hand engulfed in electric fury.

The snake-like individual moved effortlessly out of the way only to be attacked by a wave of incoming sand—within which were the crushed corpses of several of his snakes. Gaara's hand moved around, directing this sand towards Orochimaru. He skillfully dodged the sand-based attacks, only to find Tsunade flank him with a flurry of punches. Her fists brushed past Orochimaru's cheeks, missed his sides by mere millimeters, however, the enemy simple weaved away from the human wrecking ball.

“Gah! Such a nuisance you all are!” Annoyance laced his voice, his face was disgruntled.

Fliping away from them, the man stopped to observe his opponents. A smile reappeared on his face. “Hehehe. As much as I would like to continue our little game, it would seem that our time is up. My accomplice should be about finished with your friend by now. Farewell then!”

After saying that, he pulled out a smokebomb from one of his pouches and then threw it at the ground. Immediately the smoke filled the room and the other three ninja covered their mouth for fear of poison. Once the smoke cleared, Orochimaru was no where to be seen.

“Shit! He's getting away!” Tsunade stated as she prepared herself to chase after him. Kakashi's hand halted her however.

“Forget about him...” Kakashi replied wearily, thinking on Orochimaru's parting words. “We need to find Twilight and the others...now!”

“They went down this way! Let's hurry!” Tsunade led the way, rushing down the hallway with a sense of urgency accompanying her steps.

= = = = =

At this point Twilight's body was covered in wounds, she was more crimson red than lavender too. Sniffling weakly, she whined some more. The others had found it way too agonizing to watch, though Rainbow Dash had already passed out and the 'other' Fluttershy—Bones—was emerging into the real world. Fluttershy was holding her back, though she couldn't help but wonder if her other self would agree to help Twilight.

Gregory was furious. Gritting his teeth together, he almost thought he would break them. Despite his attempts to break free, he remained there helpless to do anything to save Twilight.

“Ahhhh...This is marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! You are already looking positively splendid my dear! Look at all those wonderful beauty marks on you! Fabulous! My best work as of yet!” She complimented herself on a job well done. “Now... I still need more blood.... you will be a dear and let me take more won't you? I want to see how you look in red~”

Twilight didn't respond to her friend's question. She looked away, whining still, her ears pinned down in disbelief at what was happening right now. Rarity's expression shifted from happiness to sharp anger.

“How DARE you ignore me! Your behavior is positively unbecoming of a mare who is receiving such a GIFT from one such as MYSELF!” Rarity's blade stabbed into Twilight's right foreleg, forcing an ear-piercing howl from the helpless mare. Her horn sparked pathetically as she attempted to conjure up some magic—anything to get her out of this situation.

“Hahahahahaha....oh my, Twilight, I never realized before today how marvelous a scream you have~ Now if you would just comply and submit yourself to me this would all be so much easier!”

Gregory's eyes widened, his mind desperately trying to come up with something. Something bad is going to happen if I don't act fast! Think Gregory THINK!
He thought and looked around trying to find something. Nothing was around him that was of any use, and he was still bound tightly by Rarity's magic. It then became apparent to him, the energy that had been building up inside of him. Unbeknownst to him, he had been storing up and molding Chakra. Of course...! I'll have to thank Kakashi later!

The thought crossed his mind as did many other solutions to their current predicament. Forming the proper amounts of Chakra for an ability, he attempted to do something: focusing his Chakra at Rarity when he finally molded and focused it, he let it escape from several points at the base of his fingertips. That energy flew at the white mare, but missed her horribly. Despite his failed attempt the mare stopped the descent of a large butcher knife she had just fetched.

“What in the world...? Did you just use magic... on ME?!” Rarity's attention was now on the human, surreptitiously moving towards him. “HOW DARE YOU! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM!?”

Gregory felt sheer hatred emanating from the mare as that horrific aura filled the room like before. Covered in sweat, struggling not to imagine that knife plunge into his flesh, he focused his chakra once more.
Come on, focus more Chakra, she's coming at you!
Hindered by his fear and with barely a second to think, he prepared enough Chakra to quickly mold and focus another burst. Just as he finished readying up the ability though, Rarity was already looming over his body, a fierce face painted with anger staring daggers at him. Raising the knife she had above her head, she waited a few seconds before plummeting the blade down at him. Releasing said Chakra he had focused, something that shocked both Rarity and even himself happened: instead of escaping through his hands, Gregory allowed the energy within to escape from his entire being in a powerful, short-range blast. Rarity was violently thrust with enough force to smack her into the far side of the room, instantly passing out.