Author's Notes:

WARNING!!!
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THIS EPISODE CONTAINS GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED GORE. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THAT OR GET QUEASY EASILY, PLEASE CONTINUE ON WITH CAUTION. IF IT IS BAD ENOUGH, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CONTINUING ON.

Here it is everyone, the long awaited eighteenth episode of MLP:FoG. Sorry for it taking so long. Real life's a female dog. That being said, this episode is an important one, so pay attention to it all. As usual, the adjoining website containing images for all characters shall be updated asap. I will be going on a trip this weekend, and will have little time to work on the next episode. So I will begin working on episode nineteen shortly after my return, which will be sometime early Sunday morning (REALLY early, like probably two or three am).

Cheerfully trotting down the cobblestone Ponyville road, as the cool breeze swiftly slices through the thick, warm, mid-day air, Devlin smiles and hums to himself a little tune reminiscent of the song he sung at the Equestria's Got Talent competition. At this time, it's already been a couple of hours since he had left the library. He had scheduled a prior engagement that he couldn't, and would never even consider to, break; helping his younger sister with some important work around the house. Naturally he does know the importance in researching more about Oblivion and the Elements of Harmony, but with the recent revelation he and his friends had received thanks to Discord, he believes that at the point their knowledge is currently at, they have a clear advantage over the former unicorn king. Bri, Scatter, and the draconequus had gone into the Everfree Forest earlier to stop Oblivion's current aspirations as well as the mysterious cannibalistic pony, and he's sure that they would have achieved their goal, especially with the immense magic Discord holds. Hopefully, there won't be much left to do now. By this point, all three of them should already have returned as well, and accomplished what they set out to do. Whether they were able to stop Oblivion for good or not though is a completely different story. Whatever happened in that forest, he's sure that they must have bought their circle some time for now at the very least.

A couple of pegasi fly high above him, situating the clouds around the bright blue sky. Not far off he even sees Miss Derpy Hooves, the town's mail mare, out on her delivery route. She waves at him, and he waves back. He's helped her in the past, and the two had become quick friends. Continuing onward, he soon passes by Sugarcube Corner. He can see the Cake Twins through the open door serving a drink to Miss Cheerilee from the Ponyville Schoolhouse. The cafe is packed, ponies enjoying the nice day as they eat their quality grade food. Even the writer Conan Royal is there, drinking a cup of herbal tea as he goes over some of his newest work. Near the end of his walk he spots Fuji Apple, Apple Bloom's husband, meeting with Diamond Tiara of Rich's Barnyard Bargains. The two seem to be making a business deal of sorts, and as they come to an agreement, Diamond gives him a briefcase of bits, while in return receiving a large cart of fresh apples. Everypony seems to be making the most of this beautiful November day.

Devlin soon arrives at the giant golden oak tree, the end of his route. The front door catches his eye instantly, being ajar. It's unusual for it to have been left open like that, but with how beautiful the day is, he can't blame them for wanting it open. Thinking little more of it, the stallion heads in, walking right into the library. At first the sight before him, or lack-there-of, causes him a bit of confusion. Not one of his friends can been seen anywhere, and after looking through the entirety of the library, he finds not a single one of them anywhere within. Star, Agelian, Chupa, all of them gone, just gone. Though now that he thinks about it, it is later in the day now. Maybe they had just all gotten tired after everything that happened and decided to head home for the day. It would certainly make sense. Convinced that this is indeed what happened, the stallion sighs and shakes his head with a smile, turning on the spot and heading right back out, past the remains of the destroyed door without even noticing.

He decides to head on home as well, as he is tired himself. He's done hard work before, but for some reason, everything he's done today has just tired him out more than normal. The next two days seem to pass by with very little happening. Just an ordinary couple of days in Ponyville, except something isn't right. Sitting on the porch of his house, Devlin looks out. Worry's begun to set in since he had left the library those couple of days ago, as he hasn't seen or heard from any of his friends since. His original assumption of them returning home proved false, as their families and friends haven't heard from them either. Upon going to Chupa's home, he was greeted by a distraught and terrified Chamomile. She's been a mess, claiming that the young filly had never returned. The same story traveled through town. Honeysuckle and her parents said that Bri hadn't been around at all, and the task force hasn't received a single command from Terra. Nopony has seen or heard anything regarding Star, Fluttershy, or any of the others as well. It's as if they all just disappeared suddenly. He has to find them, no matter what.

He decides that the best course of action at the moment would be to ask around and gather as much information as he can. So getting up, the stallion begins to look around. He has a few ideas to check out for leads, and the first of them is right nearby. So walking for a few minutes, he comes to the Carousel Boutique. He hasn't yet spoken to Grace, and hopes that she might know something. She tends to be very active in her younger sister’s life after all. The large, ornately designed building sits before him, but something doesn't seem right. The windows are boarded up, and as he approaches, he notices that the door is locked as well. He knocks on the door, but no one comes to answer, and not a voice or sound can be heard from within. He moves on, heading eastward and soon coming upon the house of Dinky Hooves, Agelian's fiancée. He hasn't seen her lately either, but then again, never really has, aside from when she's with Agelian. However, just like the boutique, wooden boards cover the windows and the door is locked.

As he travels throughout Ponyville, this same issue seems to be occurring everywhere. City Hall, Sugarcube Corner, the Hayburger, Quills & Sofas, the Day Spa, even the Bowling Alley. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't seen any other ponies since early this morning either. Fear beginning to eclipse him now, he knows that something terrible must be going on. Running throughout the town, he goes everywhere he can, even door to door, but nopony seems to be around. Not even Button Mash and his wife Sweetie Belle, who is taking time off from touring for her recently discovered pregnancy, can be found. It's as if everypony in all of Ponyville just vanished mysteriously. That's when a sudden fear comes over him, and with tears in his eyes at just the thought, Devlin rushes back to his family's home. Bursting in through the front door, he finds it empty. His father, mother, and little sister are gone as well. Screams of terror escape his throat, and the stallion flees the house. Fear and sorrow fill his heart as he gallops through town, heading back towards the library.

There has to be something there that he overlooked, there just has to be. These disappearances seem to have begun two days ago, so maybe he could find some kind of trace of whatever happened. In record time, he reaches the giant tree and stares at it. It seems cold, almost dead. It's a weird feeling that he can't quite describe. He notices that the door is still wide open, and now he understands that something must have happened. Walking into the library, he sees now that it's been broken in. The remains of the wooden door lay to the side, where he hadn't seen them before. Slowly approaching them, the stallion begins to investigate the wooden shards to try and get a feel for what happened, and suddenly, the same cold feeling sweeps over him again. It's the same feeling he got back then, when the dark stars first arrived. Could it be?

"Dark magic?" he questions. Picking up one of the shards, a massive wave of energy seems to flood over him, and the stallion falls back, a look of shock and fear etched upon his face. The shard he had picked up had flown from his hand when he fell, and now sits there upon the floor. It almost seems to pulsate with that dark, evil feeling. This is indeed a sign of dark magic. Getting back to his hooves, he walks over to the doorway and closely begins to examine the area. Black markings can be seen where the door used to be. Not quite burn marks, but remnants of powerful dark magic the likes of which he has never seen before. He knows now what must have happened. When he was gone, somepony kidnapped his friends, and over the course of the next two days, the culprit took everypony else as well. But for something of this scale, it couldn't have been just one pony at fault. This would take a whole group of them.

Now that he knows what's happened, he has to do something. Heading back out of the library, the stallion prepares to check out the rest of the town for more signs of this dark magic, when a sudden noise catches his ear. Looking around, he attempts to find the source of it, but sees nothing. Yet the sound continues, and even increases in volume. That's when he figures it out, and right as he looks up, something collides with him. The crash causes the stallion to be plowed down, hitting the dirt hard. The impact disorients him, and it takes him a few moments to re-gather his composure and assess the situation. Getting back up, he instantly sees what hit him, or rather who. Definitely not somepony he would've expected to see here, but it definitely glad to. Getting to her hooves, Princess Aurora breathes heavily and composes herself as well before then proceeding to flip out.

"Oh thank Celestia somepony's still here!" she yells out as she rushes the stallion, grabbing and pulling him into a crushing hug. The sudden affection shown by the princess catches Devlin off-guard, and unsure of how else to react, he gently pats her on the back to comfort and calm her down. Releasing her grip on him, Princess Aurora slowly backs away. The stallion's vacant expression tells her that he's unsure of what's happening, and has yet to put everything together. He's as confused as anypony would be in a situation like this. So taking a deep breath, she tries to stay calm as she explains to him, "Devlin, we have a major problem here. All across Equestria, J.D. Gumila and his fellow agents of Oblivion have been kidnapping ponies. I don't know why or how, but it's happening really quickly. Judging from what I can see, Ponyville was hit the hardest, and nopony but you seems to remain. I managed to surround Canterlot in a barrier, but not soon enough. Many were already taken...my...my husband was taken. I'm just so scared! I...don't know what to do!"

"But...you're the princess," the stallion replies, confusion and shock echoing through his voice from her actions and the uncharacteristic tone in her voice. The fear she's showing terrifies him. She's the leader of this country, yet is affected this greatly by these events? It just doesn't seem natural. Though now that he thinks about it, everything she'd told him thus far has begun to bring things together for him. Oblivion's behind this all, that much is clear. For some reason he's having his agents kidnap the ponies of Equestria, though the method of which they are doing it is unknown. Is there some reason Oblivion wants them out of the way? This seems like a really drastic move for him to make at this point.

"I never asked to be the princess! I never wanted all this responsibility! I was appointed to this position by Princess Twilight! She asked me to take on the task, and because of my stupid little crush on Blueblood, I agreed! I feel like I've done my best, but I was never born into royalty. I don't know what I'm supposed to do in this kind of situation! I have no bucking idea why Princess Twilight wanted me to become a princess and an alicorn so badly! Unlike the other princesses, I never mastered any kind of magic, I don't deserve to be a princess! Just look at me, I'm a mess! I can't save everypony! I can't do anything! I'm a horrible princess, and I'm going to let them all down!"

Without a word, Devlin steps forward and returns her hug from before, holding the crying princess tightly in his hooves. Her eyes widen, clearly from the surprise of his actions, but she then hugs him back and sobs into his shoulder. Patting her on the back of the head, genuinely this time, he tells her, "Princess Aurora, you deserve your title, your alicornism, more than anypony. You care deeply for the well-being of your subjects. You love and care for even the smallest of us. While you may not be the calmest in the face of hard times and calamity, you continue to show your undying dedication for those who were taken, and in the midst of all this horror, you sought out help to rescue them from the evil that has taken them from us. You are a wonderful princess, and I'm just the stallion you need right now. I live my life to help ponies out, and today, I will lend my aid to the entirety of Equestria. I will save it's citizens, for you, my princess."

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Following a rough flight, the two of them soon arrive at the beautifully crafted, ornate castle directly in the center of Canterlot. Riding on the back of the princess as she flies into the throne room, Devlin fearfully holds onto her as they land hard in the center of the floor. However, unable to keep himself from being thrown off, the stallion flies across the room and slides to a stop across the stone floor. After a minute, he begins to gather himself as he suddenly notices the presence of two others in the room with the princess and him. Standing there, looking at him, as if they had been awaiting the princess's return are Captain Everglade and Commander Meteor Spark of the elite royal guard. The two look at the stallion in confusion. They hadn't been expecting the princess to bring somepony back with her.

"Devlin?" Everglade questions as the stallion gets to his hooves, "what in the hay are you doing here?"

"I'm..ugh...I'm here to help," he replies, rubbing his head as the throbbing pain starts to fade. Getting up herself, Princess Aurora shakes off the landing and walks over to the two soldiers, explaining the situation with Ponyville to the two of them. She mentions how Devlin's the only one left, and that it seems things are worse off than she thought. She seems to purposely leave out the part about her breakdown and Devlin comforting and encouraging her. It's not that surprising to the stallion though. She probably just wants to keep up appearances right now. Especially with two of her strongest and toughest soldiers.

"Ok, so what are we going to do then?" the Commander asks.

"Well, we have to save everypony who's been taken," Devlin replies, to which the princess nods, "but the problem begins there. Do we have any idea where the ponies might have been taken?"

Nodding his head, the Commander tells the two, "We've received a note via messenger hawk only a few minutes before the two of you arrived. The guard we had stationed in the Badlands have discovered a pathway that seems to lead into an underground facility. We don't have any more details than that however. We've checked Equestrian records, and the facility isn't officially documented."

"So we can assume that it belongs to Oblivion and his agents. But what would somepony like Oblivion need with an underground facility?" Devlin asks them.

"With Oblivion's power still rising, he needs somewhere for himself and his agents to work out of," Everglade adds, "Upon receiving this letter, I sent out ten Wonderbolt squadrons out to protect what's left of Equestria's main cities. This will give us the ability to focus on this facility. I myself would go, but have to remain here to command the rest of the guard and Wonderbolts."

"I volunteer to go," Devlin speaks up, stepping towards the mare," it's not even a question for me. I have to save my friends, my family, and all the others who were taken in fear by these monsters. I'm determined to do my best to rescue them all."

"I'm going as well," Commander Meteor Spark says as he too steps forth, smirking over at the stallion, "I'm not the descendent of the great General Firefly for no reason. But we can't go into this blindly. We need a plan of attack, a strategy to go off of. I've got an idea, but we have to work quickly."

Devlin looks over to Princess Aurora with a smile. She smiles gently back and nods, showing thankfulness in her heart. The stallion then turns to face Captain Everglade and Commander Meteor Spark again so that they can begin working on their plans. Though it's true he has never had experience working with the military before, Devlin shows great knowledge as he discusses everything. The Commander then relays to the others his strategy to get them into the facility and hopefully find and rescue everypony who has been taken. The others agree that it sounds like the wisest idea in light of the circumstances. If they can successfully pull this plan off, they'll not only return everypony to their rightful place, but also put a major dent in Oblivion's plans, putting his advancement back by quite a large margin.

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As a couple of hours pass by, Devlin and Commander Meteor slowly make their way through the dark, desolate wasteland wherein they are to meet up with the team who had originally messaged them back regarding the secret facility. Following their letter’s arrival, and the arrival of the princess and Devlin at the castle, a reply was sent back telling the team to await the two stallions’ arrival. So after being transported to the entrance to the Badlands, the two began to make their way in. They decided not to use magic if they could help it while in the mysterious area, as unpredictable effects could occur. Neither knows what kind of traps Oblivion or his agents could have set up to catch intruders, so they have to take things cautiously.

Laying beyond the Macintosh Hills to the south-east of Appleloosa and west of the Hayseed Swamps, the Badlands is a rarely explored area of the country. A ghastly, grim patch of desert, nopony knows what lays within. Rumors spread about endless sands and vicious pony-eating creatures, smoldering heat, and a silence so horrible that it drives even the strongest of ponies insane. No wind is said to blow through, as if any weather besides the summery fires of the sun had long-since abandoned the place. Unfortunately for the two stallions, the rumors seem to be more true than they could have wished.

They've only been in the Badlands for a few minutes, but already their fur is lined in a cool, sticky sweat as the blistering sun beats down upon them. No cool winds come to relive them of this horror, and not even a semblance of shade can be found. Luckily, having prepared for the worst of conditions, Commander Meteor pulls a shroud from his saddlebag, wrapping it around his head to block out the sun's rays. He then passes one over to Devlin as well, who has begun to breathe heavy from the sheer dryness of the air. It was so sudden as well, as if the moment they stepped off the green grasses and into the dry, cracked earth of the desert they were blasted with it all at once.

Neither of them are quite sure how far in the team is, but fortunately they were given directions to follow from the team. After sending out their response letter, they received another response as they were on their way. The leader of the team had told the Commander that they'd be waiting at a large eagle-shaped rock, and that when the two enter the desert through the narrow pathway, they should just head straight. So that's what Devlin and the Commander did. However, they have yet to see this specified rock. Nor have they seen any sight of the team.

"So," Devlin suddenly speaks up after taking a drink from the canteen he brought with him, "care to tell me a little about yourself Commander? It seems I know very little about you."

"Why do you ask?"

"Do you have a better idea to pass the time right now? It'll keep us occupied and take our minds off this unbearable heat."

Relenting, the Commander sighs and takes a drink from his own canteen before replying, "I was born and raised in Cloudsdale, despite working as a member of the guard in Canterlot. I'd move, but to be honest, I just feel more at ease in the clouds. It's my home, ya know? I have pride in living there, and if I have my choice, would never want to leave. What about you? You're from Canterlot I assume."

"No, why would you think that?"

"Oh...well, you're, uh, a unicorn," the Commander replies.

Raising an eyebrow, Devlin shakes off the assumption and tells him, "I'm from Ponyville, and have always lived there. Much like how you've always lived in Cloudsdale. I don't have any long-term career right now. I do small jobs for everypony around town to make a living. Just little things here and there. Currently though I've been saving up, so I'm staying with my parents and younger sister."

"What are you saving up for?" Commander Meteor asks.

"A plot of land. I'm going to fully purchase this small, beautiful piece of land not far outside of Sweet Apple Acres and build a house on it. It's always been a dream of mine to live in a house that I built with my own hooves. You ever have a dream like that?"

"I've always dreamed of being in the royal guard," he replies, smiling as he looks onward, "I come from a long line of military ponies, going all the way back to General Firefly, the first leader of the Wonderbolts. Ever since then, almost all of my family have served in one way or another. Even my father, who died eighteen years ago in the Changeling Invasion of Canterlot on the day before the big wedding of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. It was then, after my father's untimely death, that I decided to one day join the military myself. I was proud of the legacy he left behind. He served an honorable life for his country, and I made it my goal to do the same. Heh, my mother wasn't always so supportive of this of course. She just didn't want to lose me like she did with dad. Every day she prays that I remain safe."

"Sounds like she loves you a lot."

"She does, and I love her just as much. She's who I'm fighting for."

"I haven't faced losses like you, Star, Chupa, or Agelian," Devlin replies, smiling over, "to be honest, I've had it good my entire life. I've never had to struggle, and because of it, I want those who aren't so lucky to be as happy as I often am. I dedicate my life to helping others, even in the most seemingly mundane of ways, so that they can enjoy life and live it to the fullest. Helping in even the smallest of ways can sometimes bring out the greatest of joy in ponies who really need it. I'm not the soldier type like you, but I'll give everything to make sure that nopony has to struggle or suffer in these hard times."

"You're just as much a hero as any soldier," Commander Meteor tells him, "you sacrifice your own time and energy to give to the community. You serve these ponies out of the kindness of your heart, and not for the compensation, but for the feeling of joy you get when you help somepony. That's what it means to be a hero; to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others."

Devlin smiles back at the Commander, when suddenly, he spots something in the distance. Stopping, he points it out to Meteor, who pulls out a pair of binoculars. Looking out, he sees what Devlin had noticed, and instantly his face drains of color. Dropping the binoculars on the ground below, he breaks into a full run, galloping at top speed towards the direction in which he saw the horrific sight. Running behind, Devlin wonders what it could have been. However, as they reach the eagle-shaped rock, the sight before them mortifies the stallion. The corpses of the team they had sent letters back and forth to, mutilated almost beyond recognition. Their stomachs slit open, entrails littered across the dirt. Two of them have their heads crushed in, another's has been sliced clean off. A female soldier’s body lay flat, her innards flooded out from her mouth.

The carnage of the scene causes Devlin an ill feeling, and after losing his lunch, he avoids all eye contact with the scene. However, the Commander examines the gruesome sight, checking the bodies. That's when he discovers something alarming. Turning to Devlin, he tells him the horrifying truth; that the soldiers have been dead for six hours at the very least. He then reminds the stallion that the first letter from them came only three hours ago, right before the princess and Devlin had come into the castle. Putting this together, the two instantly realize that this has been a trap the entire time, and before they can even react, a group of creatures surround them. Shrouded in shadows, the monstrous beasts lunge, overtaking and knocking out the two stallions.

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Feeling begins to return to Devlin as his eyes slowly flutter between open and close. A throbbing pain pierces his forehead, and a feeling of warm blood trickling down his forehead awakens him. Eyes opening wide, he looks around in confusion and fear, trying to figure out what's going on. He notices quickly that he's chained to a wooden bed of sorts, and looking over, sees the Commander in the same predicament. The wooden bed is a torture rack, and by the wheel on the side, he can instantly surmise that the plans are to separate the two halves of their bodies. Not far away are the creatures that had attacked them, and a sudden realization comes to the stallion.

He's seen these creatures before, while researching with Star and the others at the library. He turns to Meteor again, who's just begun to wake up as well, and whispers, "they're Yurupari ogres; violent, monstrous creatures that eat ponies. Look at the walls, those are pony skins, and I bet you anything that the team we saw were left there as bait to capture us. This means that the Yurupari are serving something."

"But, aren't Yurupari supposed to be dumb as nails?" Meteor whispers back, struggling in his binds.

"Yes, and that means that this must be the secret facility. I don't believe that the Yurupari sent us the notes, so that means they're serving under somepony, probably Oblivion and his agents. One of them sent the note, and had the Yurupari set up to attack anypony who came by. We fell right into their trap. Look over there."

Meteor turns his head in the direction that his friend is nodding to. A couple Yurupari stand there, grunting to each other over a giant cauldron of boiling liquid. They seem to be focusing on it, adding different things as time goes along. What throws them both off, however, is the steel walls and the intricately designed doors leading out of the room. That's what clued Devlin in to this being the secret facility. So for some reason, Oblivion or his agents wanted to get them both here too, probably for the same reason as the other ponies that were kidnapped. But that makes this scenario even more fearful. If they're being prepared to be eaten by the Yurupari, then have their friends already met this same fate?

Shaking the idea off, Devlin refuses to believe it. He's dedicated himself to saving them, and he will do so. They are still alive, he knows it. Oblivion wouldn't just kill them off and let the Yurupari eat them. Calming himself, Devlin closes his eyes. Meteor watches as his friend's horn illuminates and the chains around him loosen. Slipping out of his bindings, the unicorn then levitates the chains in front of him and slowly approaches the two Yurupari from behind. A sudden movement, and the chains wrap around the ogres' throats. Grabbing at them, the Yurupari attempt to pull the bindings off while letting out exasperated screams and grunts, but to no avail. After a short time, they weaken and lose consciousness, having been choked to death by their own prey. Running over, Devlin releases the bindings on Meteor, and tells him to keep quiet.

"We need to find everypony, but we have to be careful about it. We can't risk being caught again," he tells the Commander, who nods, understanding perfectly. Continuing on, they approach the doors, which open automatically before them. Peering out, the two see the halls completely empty and slowly walk onward, heading in one of the directions. Of course, they have no clue of where to go from here. They can only hope the way they choose is correct so that they can find their friends in a quick and easy manner. They seem to go around the halls for what seems like forever, carefully avoiding security guards as they are even forced into crawling through the ventilation system.

Eventually, after having to backtrack a bit and find various other ways to go, the two come upon a staircase leading down to what appears to be a dungeon-like area. The two reach the bottom, and instantly realize two things. First, that they were right. Multiple cells line the walls before them, though none seem to hold anypony. However, judging from how large the area seems to be, they have plenty of cells to check. The second thing they realize is that they were expected. Standing before them are three ponies, enveloped with a black smoke. They appear to be Canterlot soldiers, creating a discomfort in Meteor as he looks at them. The trio are obviously influenced by Oblivion, and quickly make their move.

At once, the possessed ponies all attack the two, screeching out with shrill, high-pitched voices. Devlin and Meteor go straight into a defensive stance, having been ready for the attack this time. They block hit after hit as it comes at them, and begin to send their own attacks out. Hooves fly wildly throughout the air, and before they know it, they've taken all three of the possessed victims down. Naturally they've chosen to knock them all out without causing any serious injury. They'd never want to hurt anypony on purpose, especially those who can't control their own actions. They look down at the unconscious bodies of the innocent ponies corrupted by evil, dark magic, and shed tears. The Commander, knowing all of the soldiers personally, situated their bodies against the wall, planning to return later when they rescue everypony else. They then begin to examine the dungeons before them.

Large cells seem to line every available space of every wall. Most of them have nothing in them at all, though a certain few do contain the fresh corpses of different prisoners. That's when Meteor finds a trap door on the floor on the corner of the large dungeon, and calls Devlin over. They examine it for a moment, but decide to keep looking. So for the next few minutes, they continue to go throughout the place, but have no luck in finding any of their friends, or anypony else who had been taken. So returning to the trap door, they open it and with extreme caution, climb down the attached ladder and into the lower part of the dungeon.

Unlike the level above, this section is void of any light. So mustering up his strength, Devlin illuminates the room, summoning a glowing orb of pure light in the center of the room. That's when they see it. All around them, circling the two, is a giant cell in which sit all the ponies who were recently captured by the agents of Oblivion, and right in front of them are their friends. Crying out in joy, Devlin shouts out to them, and looking up, they all cry out in surprise as well. Overjoyed to see the two having come to rescue them, they laugh and cheer.

"Quiet," Devlin tells them. They listen, and the stallion continues, "We need a way to get everypony out of here. Where's Discord? Can he not just use his chaos magic to free everypony?"

Fluttershy begins to sulk, and looking forlorn herself, Bri explains, "Discord is dead. He gave his life to stop the possessed pony, Atticus, in the Everfree Forest. He also reversed much of Oblivion's magic, reverting him back to the level of power he was at back during the dark star incident. And even if he were still here, nopony within this cell can use magic. It has an anti-spell barrier on it."

"I'm not in the cell," the stallion replies, and using his magic again, he unlocks the cage door and swings it open. But before anypony can even move, the cell once more closes and locks. Turning, Devlin and Meteor come face to face with three cloaked figures. The central one steps forward and removes his hood, revealing a unicorn with a dark grey coat, black and blue mane, and glowing red eyes.

"I am J.D. Gumila," he says, bowing in a mocking fashion, "one of the agents of Oblivion. I can see that you two managed to escape the Yurupari. Good, the master doesn't want you dead anyways. Those useless ogres acted against his orders and tried to devour you. Unfortunately, your escape ends here. You did well to make it this far, but the master needs you as well. So you have either two choices. You go into the cell of your own accord, or we have a little fun, then force you in between the bars. Your choice."

"I choose neither! I came all this way to save everypony, and that's what I plan to do! Even if it costs me my life, I will rescue them from you."

"I admire how you certainly live up to your Element, but that alone cannot save anypony. You do impress me however, so I'll give you this. A one on one fight against me. If you manage to defeat me, I'll let you and everypony else go. But, you'd better win, because I'm out to kill."

At the instant he finishes speaking, the agent leaps forward, summoning a sword of pure black magic. Devlin narrowly avoids the full contact of the blade, his cheek being cut into as he jumps to the side. Drawing his own sword, Meteor tosses it over to the determined stallion, who catches it right in time to block another oncoming attack from his attacker. Laughing, J.D. backs away and his sword evaporates. With a smirk, he then pulls out a bo staff from within his cloak, and lunges forth again. At first, Devlin blocks off the attacks easily, not understanding why his enemy would switch out for a weapon like that. However, after only a few moments of fighting, he quickly sees that this is the agent's specialized weapon of choice. Speed and power unlike that of the magical sword he wielded before, J.D. attacks with more brutality than before.

Meteor and the others watch on in heated interest as the two unicorn stallions exchange blows, neither of them actually using their magical abilities. Suddenly, J.D. knocks the sword away from his opponent, and goes in for the kill blow. Devlin luckily avoids the attack, rolling to the side. He grabs the sword and throws it with great force at J.D. The blade slices through his cloak, and barely misses actually hitting him. The rest of the cloak being torn off from the attack, the pony stands there fully unveiled. His cutie mark is that of a glowing red orb, one that just gives off the feeling of evil itself. Having been distracted, J.D. doesn't notice as Devlin lunges at him. Crying out, the stallion plows head first into the villain's torso, sending him flying back.

"I will save them! When my friends are in danger, I will always be there for them! My determination will always shine through!" Devlin tells him as he retrieves the sword then leaps onto the downed agent and presses the sharp blade to his throat, "I've won this battle! You will let everypony go now!"

Utilizing his magic, Devlin once again unlocks and opens the cell door, then climbs off of J.D. The other agents begin to move to stop him, but keeping to his word, the villain simply nods and replies, "You indeed may have won this time, but don't get cocky. This war is far from over, and this, well this was only the distraction needed."

Laughing, J.D. Gumila and the other two agents of Oblivion suddenly disappear in a haze of dark magic, allowing everypony to go free as he had promised. Without any more hesitation, the ponies file out of the cell, and right at that moment, a siren begins to go off, surprising everypony. Red, flashing lights appear, and without warning, Meteor rushes back up the ladder. Turning, Devlin sees his friends come out and rushes over, greeting them warmly with a large embrace. He then asks if they're ok, and is pleased to be told that they are. A moment later, Meteor returns with the three guards that he and Devlin had defeated resting on his back. Breathing heavily, he yells out to the crowd, "Is there anypony here with magic powerful enough to teleport us all out of here? Those sirens are not a good sign!"

"I do!" a regal voice calls out in thick Canterlot accent. Stepping forward, Prince Blueblood makes his way to the front of the crowd. Everypony seems surprised at his sudden outburst, until he adds, "I know I may not seem like it, but I'm actually quite skilled at magic, especially spells such as teleportation and illumination. Now that we're no longer in the anti-spell barrier, I can send everypony back to where they were before they were kidnapped. You just have to have a mental image of your desired location in your mind."

"Ok, good, then everypony get ready!" Devlin shouts out. A small tap on his shoulder alerts the stallion, and looking over, he sees Star standing there with a gentle smile on her face. In her mouth is a golden pendant necklace with an emerald gem sitting right in the center of the pendant. Mouth dropping open, the stallion takes it from her and stares for a moment at the Element of Harmony now in his hoof. She explains that she just found it in the corner of the cell. A laugh escapes him, and he places the pendant around his neck before nodding to Prince Blueblood, who then activates the spell.

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Back in the hallway of the castle, Captain Everglade stands in awe as she looks out the window. As she watches, ponies begin to pop back into being right there in the streets of Canterlot, as if they had been appearing from a teleportation spell. She has to tell the princess. Running down the hall towards the throne room, excitement fills her mind. Devlin and Meteor must have succeeded in their mission! Princess Aurora's going to be so pleased! She gets to the ornate doors and pushes them open. However, the sight before her shocks the mare. Standing there in the throne room are three unknown figures, two cloaked. The princess lays on the floor, bound and gagged with the intruders above her. The uncloaked figure turns to face the captain, and smirks as a black mist surrounds them all. Within a second, the three mysterious ponies and Princess Aurora are just gone. And right away she knows what happened. Suddenly, Prince Blueblood pops in right in front of her, and shock still etched upon her face, she tells him that his wife's been kidnapped.

Preview for Episode 19
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She's been waiting for months now, and the time has finally arrived. DJ-Pon3, Mic the Mic, BlackGryph0n, even dBPony are going to be there! This is the biggest musical festival in Equestria! The only question now is, will they even get there?