Heavy rain drops streamed down the window to my left. The already blackened clouds outside grew darker before lightning lit up the sky. A raging storm to match my own it seems. And while normally such a display would be soothing to me it appeared now even viewing nature's fury was not up to the task. For my mind was anything but at ease at the moment.

I truly dreaded this day. The day that I would be forced to return to the one place which was the source most of my horrid memories. The one place that I vowed to the very heavens themselves that I would avoid forever. And yet here I was, on my way to my old home town as if it were any other day. I swear the fates have a truly cruel sense of humor.

In turn I rolled down the window shade and closed my eyes. It was my hope that maybe now I could begin to gain a small measure of peace if I blocked out all sources of light. But that hope shriveled and perished when I heard a growing argument on the other side of my train room door.

"What do you want?" I heard Cloud Streak state to somepony. To elaborate I stationed her outside my door for this very reason. I had wanted some peace and quiet for at least an hour or two to clear my mind before I begin discussing the mission with the others. So I easily convinced her into being my temporary doormare if you will. However, I soon discovered that whomever she was addressing was having none of it.

"Nothing that concerns you. Now move out of the way we need to talk to the Lieutenant General," an irritated voice replied.

"No can do. He wanted to be left alone so no guests...or ponies that tried to kill him in his sleep," Cloud Streak snapped back.

The second voice's source snorted in reply before stating, "Ahhh so it's finally out. So that's why you've got your fangs in a twist. I told you once and I will tell you again, it was just business and I spent months rotting in the royal dungeon for it."

"Not long enough," Cloud Streak snarked back.

"Don't start something you can't end you little snot. Now move out of the way!" the voice replied in a tone that slipped from irritation to outright malice.

"Over my dead body!" Cloud Streak shouted before I starting hearing some sort of brawl in the hallway outside my door.

I felt a twinge of pain in my temples before I bellowed out, "ENOUGH!" and slammed my train room door open. I then leered at a guilty looking Cloud Streak and an embarrassed Night Fang. Each ready to pummel the other further. And while it was not much of a surprise to see these two, what was, was that Silver Mane and Sharp Fang both stood a few paces away looking equally bewildered.

"She started-" Cloud Streak began to explain, but I silenced her with a raised hoof.

I then began to rub my right temple with my other hoof as I closed my eyes. "Well as it seems that I shall not get a moment to myself, may I ask what is so important that you were willing to bash Cloud Streak to a pulp, Night Fang?"

To her credit she stepped off of Cloud Streak and straightened her back. "Princess Twilight Sparkle's friends managed to pry some information out of her that she was told by you to keep quiet about. Some sort of blackmail about being watched while having sex somewhere was the leverage. Now being I'd like to keep on living, where are we going that you wanted to keep everything all 'hush hush'?" Night Fang inquired.

I could feel my face heat up at Night Fang's comments before I let out a deep sigh. "Well I suppose Twilight did mention that would come back to haunt us," I lamented before adding, "Well we now know what you desire, but why are you two here? I figured you two would be resting with the others" as I looked at Sharp Fang and Silver Mane.

"We...we just wanted to thank you for helping-" Sharp Fang began to speak but stopped dead mid sentence. Her eyes widened to dinner plates as her ears swiveled in all directions. And her brother seemed to be doing the same thing nearly when she did so. This was not a good sign to say the least.

Needless to say the fur on my neck began to stand straight up right before Silver Mane blurted out "HIT THE DECK!"

Golden beams fired through the windows right overhead. Each item or object they hit either melted completely or was set ablaze. Smoke filled our lungs as we attempted to recover the best we could. But our efforts made little difference for the unrelenting force of solar magic firing upon the train would soon overwhelm us if we did not act and soon. In turn we only had enough time to gather up everypony with us before abandoning the train to its fate.

Then much to our lament we all had to watch as the train speed away down the tracks. What was once our warm and comfortable ride was now a moving inferno that lit up the sky as it continued. Then just as it was about to be out of my range of sight it exploded into a raging fireball. Distant cheers and laughter emanated faintly through the rain storm as my face twisted into a sneer of displeasure. It was obvious who had assaulted us and to be honest it was not all that surprising they would be so bold in doing so. Solar Channelers were never known for their subtly nor self-restraint. They were all probably around twenty years old each with far more power than they should have possessed. Though this fact only made them more dangerous.

In turn I just shook my head as I ducked behind the tree cover next to us. It luckily was thick enough to block out most of the rain but it was borderline pitch black so normal sight would be useless. And though I did not possess such sight that would be considered remotely normal all I could make out was the rough shape we were in.

"Given the nature of our previous onslaught I doubt I need to state who was responsible for it. But regardless what is our status?" I questioned trying to shake off as much rain as I could.

Applejack was the first to speak. "We're a tad waterlogged, blind as newborn mice, and a bit burnt, but all in all okay I guess. Though I gotta ask, where in tarnation are we?" she replied wiping water off her hat.

I took a deep breath to regain my thoughts, but it helped little. A hard knot formed in my stomach on what I needed to explain. As one could assume said topic was not what one would call pleasant to me. Either way they deserved to know. "Now I assume that you all at least have some idea where we are heading due the blackmail attempt directed at Twilight," I stated and glanced over at a now flustered Twilight and her giggling friends before I added, "We are currently a reasonable distance from the place I used to call home. A place that I had no desire ever returning to. But it is the location where Celestia and Luna stated where our foe has holed themselves up. I will explain the rest on the way as we now travel by-"

I was about to state more but I heard something that silenced me. "Blood...Moon...we are not...sure if you can hear....this. But please...help us," a voice sounded as if whispered from a distance.

"What was that?" I said swiveling my ears around.

"What was what darling?" Rarity responded.

I kept swiveling my ears in all directions trying to discern the direction of the strange message. "There was a voice somewhere. It sounded familiar. And for some reason it knew my name," I stated quite puzzled.

Then not but a few seconds later another voice came, "Please we need...your help Blood Moon...it hurts...it hurts so bad..." it stated before something went truly wrong.

"IT HURTS! SooO BAaaAAAd...HURTS HeLp uS...ThEY torTUreD Us...kiLLEd Us...wE'Ll KiLL tHEm aLL...KiLl...tHeM...aLL...KiLL...killkillkillKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL!" a cacophony of voices screamed all around me.

I back pedaled so quickly that I slammed into a tree. My heart started to beat out of my chest and my eyes darted in all directions as I scrambled to my hooves.

"Are you alright Blood Moon? You don't look so good," Cloud Streak said as she walked over to me.

"V-v-voices...v-v-v-voices al-l-l-l aro-o-ound us! T-t-they w-w-were everyw-where! They-y-y wer-r-r-re so-o-o angr-y-y!" I whimpered out and it took me a few minutes before I could gather myself to speak again, but eventually added, "Did...did none of you hear that?"

Twilight joined Cloud Streak next to me before she put a hoof to the side of my face. "What's wrong? What did you hear?" she said barely able to keep the worry out of her voice.

I clung to her touch with both of my forehooves. I then swallowed hard before I said, "I...I heard my father. My adoptive father. And I think Pure Blood too," I then swallowed hard again before continuing, "As you may or may not know they perished over a hundred and eighty years ago. They said they were in trouble and were reaching out to me somehow. But...but that is not worst of it...no...nonono...no the worst...the worst was that they... that they were not alone...."

A wave of silent fear spread out to everypony around me. I could even feel Twilight's hoof begin to shake while touching my face. Her eyes opened to the size of dinner plates and Cloud Streak wore a similar mask of terror. Everypony else were huddled in an equally wide eyed heap and whimpering to themselves. Well all except Night Fang who was attempting to look brave but was failing miserably at it.

"I-I-I have to ask this and I don't think-k-k I will lik-k-ke the answer. But..but where and how did those two you mentioned...die?" Night Fang asked in a increasingly shaky voice.

"They were slain by solar channelers all those years ago. And where they perished...is the very place we are currently heading to," I replied as I moved my forehooves to my chest as if to prevent my heart from beating right out of it.

"That...that's was what I was afraid of. And...and may I ask what were the other voices saying?" she said looking as if ready to soil herself.

I shook my head and tried to get the echos of those horrible voices out of my mind. "Please do not force me repeat what they stated. But it is obvious we may be in over our heads with this. We need aid and I know who may be able to help us," I replied as I begin to reach out with my mind.

But in a strange oddity I did not even need to ask any requests for some reason for he already seemed to know what I wanted. 'I know what you wish to request of me, Blood Moon. However...know that I cannot aid you directly save but one thing. Please let me in and I can explain to you and your compatriots,' Death said in my mind.

Then right as I gave him permission, my vision went dark and I could feel my body move without me willing it so. Greetings from beyond the veil dear mortals. Blood Moon has requested my aid and I speak through him in order to help you, Death's multi-toned voice emanated from me.

The initial "freak out" lasted longer than I had hoped. Most of them knew that Death could physically speak through me from time to time so it should not have been a surprise. However, due to them being so jumpy as it were several of them began to actively panic. It ultimately took I believe Twilight from the sound of it to freeze everypony in place so that Death could get a word in edge wise. And even then I could faintly hear hushed whispers and/or whimpering all while he did.

"I was hoping that would have gone far smoother than it did. Though I admit you mortals can get...uneasy...when in my presence. But regardless of that it was not my intent to frighten you all out of your wits. No...for that I assume shall come from what I state next. And by that I mean you are all heading to a place of great spiritual upheaval, Death said and let the words sink in a for a few seconds before continuing, "As you shall discover this fact anyway Blood Moon's old home was not the only place the solar channelers have ruined. That town was just one among many of such places they have destroyed down the years in their quest for power. And as a result the souls of the unjustly slain have become warped and twisted down the years in their quest for vengeance. Worst yet they have focused themselves around your current foe so your journey shall not be a trivial one. And though there is not much I can aid you with, I can give you my blessing. It will allow you to hear and see the dead so that you may avoid them.

"Not to be rude mister...umm Death. But why we can only 'avoid' them? There's no way we can...you know...fight back?" I heard Cloud Streak question.

Death let out a deep knowing chuckle before stating, "You cannot slay what is already dead little mortal. And while my blessing may allow you to touch the ethereal as Blood Moon can, doing so would be...unwise considering their numbers. Thus the only action you may take at this point is to attempt to avoid them. Well...unless you can find a way to sate their need for justice thus allowing them to pass on. But until that happens further enraging the dead shall only result in you joining their ranks.

Then before any further questions were brought forth Death cast some sort of spell in an indiscernible language before departing. I felt his presence slip from my body and I could see once more. Needless to say everypony with me appeared in some varying form of bewilderment or unease. And after a few minutes of silence it was finally Applejack who seemed to state the general view of the situation.

"Laaand saaakes...how in Equestria did we end up in this mess? It was bad enough nearly gettin' burnt to a crisp, but now we gotta worry about a bunch of spiteful spooks wantin' to rip us to pieces. Ahh but don't worry...at least ya can see 'em before they git ya," she snarked out before bashing her face on the nearest tree a few times.'

This truly did little to invoke confidence in our mission. But at the end of the day it mattered little what we thought. We were tasked with discovering a way to defeat the solar channelers and it was up to us to complete it. For without this information the kingdom stood no chance. So with what little will I possessed I dragged myself up as we continued onward.

Minutes soon turned to hours as we walked all while jumping at the slightest noise. Tempers flared several times and tensions were at an all time high. It was not until we arrived at our destination did our collective moods change, but I doubt it was for the better. For irritation and anger were quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of oppressive dread as the ruined town loomed ahead.

It had been as I had left it all those moons ago. Destroyed and disheveled buildings abound. But what was new was that for some reason even most plant life wanted nothing to do with this place. The ones that did were sickly and full of thorns. A sort gloom blanketed the area as a result of this as we took our first hoof steps inside the town borders. However, before we made it not but ten paces in something reached out to us.

"Blood Moon...please we...need your help. If you...can hear this...we are trapped...in the old farm house. There is another...with us...though we are not...sure how long...he will last...without...your aid," a voice stated that sounded like my adoptive father.

"What the fuck was that?!" Rainbow Dash blurted out.

I squinted in thought for a moment before stating, "That was the voice of my adoptive father. He sounded like he was in trouble."

"Blood Moon, you said they weren't very friendly before. This reeks of a trap," Night Fang commented.

"I also said that his was not the only voice calling out to me. And besides he mentioned somepony else that might need our assistance. Perhaps they have a better idea on what has been happening in my absence," I retorted.

Twilight looked at me and pursed her lips. "Well I guess that's as good as a lead as we got. I say we go for it," she said with a hint of worry.

"Indeed, trap or otherwise we still need information. Just remember everypony stay on your guard. And please...tread carefully," I said hoping against hope I would not regret my decision.

Next Chapter: Chapter 49: Ending the Reign of a Sunlit Betrayer: Part 3 Estimated time remaining: 30 Minutes