Apple Bloom stares ahead. She sees nothing. She hears nothing. She feels nothing outside of Twist's body on her lap. Her fingers brush through her hair rigidly and tears drip from her cheeks. She cannot look at the other Foalings. Or any of the Fellowship for that matter.

“Take what you can and leave them,” orders Blueblood.

Apple Bloom's chest tightens and she looks at Blueblood, not wanting to believe what she just heard. The Fellowship seems hesitant at first, but Scootaloo makes the first move and rummages through Button's gear.

“What are you doing!?” yells Pipsqueak, hoping to his feet and storming towards her.

Scootaloo stands up, digging into Button's bag. “He's dead. He doesn't need this stuff anymore.”

“You can't loot a dead body!”

“Why not?” She tosses a bundle of bread to Sweetie Belle. “Catch!”

The bread bounces off of Sweetie Belle's head, prompting her lifeless eyes to blink some life back, and she looks at the bread, which has become unwrapped and speckled with dirt.

“Shouldn't we bury Button and Twist?” asks Sweetie Belle.

“With what?” says Scootaloo. “We're inside a giant rock!”

“I don't know!” says Sweetie Belle, her voice cracking. “But we can't just take their stuff and leave them without a ceremony.”

“They're dead. They don't need a ceremony. If anything, a ceremony will get us killed because we'll be trying to bury them inside a rock, chanting worthless prayers to a deity that doesn't give a care about us!” She throws Button's bag to Pipsqueak. “Here, go to town, I'm done with that stupid bag.”

Pipsqueak barely catches it and glares at her as she stomps past him, and Sweetie Belle looks at him and Scootaloo before giving chase to the Foaling. Pipsqueak then exhales heavily through his nose and quietly picks through the bag. As for Apple Bloom, she wants to say something, but her tongue is heavy and her throat is closed. It even hurts to swallow. So she resumes stroking Twist's mane, unable to look at Pipsqueak or the rest of the Fellowship.

Not too far from her, Fluttershy is tending Applejack's wound. Applejack's armor has been removed and her shirt has been drenched in blood. Her wound has also been bandaged, but even with Fluttershy wrapping it tight with a heavy amount of gauze spots of red still grow, slowly but surely.

“How is she?” asks Shining Armor, approaching the two.

“Not good,” says Fluttershy. “I slowed the bleeding, but she hasn't woken. I don't think she will be able to do much when she does unless she gets a lot of help.”

“Leave her. We don't need her dead weight,” says Blueblood.

Fluttershy balks and Shining Armor glares at him.

“She's alive,” says Shining Armor.

“She's unneeded weight,” counters Blueblood.

“Unneeded weight? She's my cousin!” snaps Braeburn, marching towards Blueblood with his wounded arm in a rough sling and Rarity is trailing him with his crossbow slung on her shoulder.

Blueblood looks at Braeburn. “Your point?”

Braeburn shakes his head. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I am trying to keep the rest of us alive. We cannot be slowed down by her. Or you if you are going to be a problem.”

“We are not leaving anybody behind,” says Rainbow Dash.

Blueblood looks at Rainbow Dash. “Oh, the Colored Witch has morals? How cute.”

Rainbow Dash growls and grabs her sword's handle, but Blueblood's already got his sword aimed at her nose and Fluttershy has called Rainbow Dash with her hand held out, freezing everybody in place.

“Ponies and ilk have been trying to kill me for a long time, Witch,” says Blueblood. “I will not die in this mountain. Not by them, not by you. The only death I will accept is age. Now, get your hand off your sword.”

Rainbow Dash's ears fold down with her growl, and her eyes lock on to his, both glowing fiercely in the dim lighting. The rest of the group is also observing the stare down in a tense silence, and when Rainbow Dash reluctantly removes her hand, Blueblood puts his weapon away and some of the weight fades.

“We really need to stop doing this,” says Flash Sentry.

As Flash says this, Shining Armor gathers up Applejack's armor and shoves them to Davenport, causing him to stumble back.

“Here, make yourself useful,” says Shining Armor.

Davenport looks at the bloodied armor, and then back at Shining Armor with his narrowed eyes glistening and his ears folded back, but the unicorn is too busy putting Applejack over his shoulder to notice. Once he has a good grip on her he turns to Spike and Twilight and jabs his thumb to Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak.

“Get them up,” orders Shining Armor.

The two nod and go to the Foalings, and Blueblood shakes his head in disgust.

“She's going to slow us down,” says Blueblood.

“You're a real bastard, you know that?” Shining Armor.

“It runs in the family.” He then puts his attention to Flash. “Since you have the map you will lead us out.”

Flash takes another look at the map. “It won't be hard. It is all straight forward.”

“Good.”

Some moments later the Fellowship runs into the hallway, with Applejack firmly held by Shining Armor and the rest brandishing weapons. Even Braeburn is holding a dagger. However, upon exiting the chamber they see Tally Marks standing alone in the middle of the hall, his sword aimed down and both hands on its hilt.

“You cannot defeat the Nightmare,” says Tally Marks.

He raises his sword, and then stabs the ground. The stone cracks and green light erupts from the cracks. A cold burst of air engulfs the Fellowship and the light dissolves into mist that floats into the ceiling. From there the darkness hardens into bones, the mist solidified into veins and muscles, and skin grows over it in patches. Once skin has covered the body spikes pop out and its head splits open to reveal rows of jagged teeth and a lizard-like tongue, and four pairs of glowing blues open and glare down at the group as a hungry growl shakes the hall.

Twilight's jaw drops. “No.”

“Oh dear,” says Rarity.

Tally Marks points at the Fellowship. “Feast, Undying Nightmare!”

The Nightmare drops from the ceiling, popping up stone and spreading cracks to some of the carved in structures, causing them to collapse. It roars, spraying freezing slobber over the ground, and the Fellowship screams and runs. The Nightmare gives chase, and each step it takes shakes the ground, making it difficult for the Fellowship to keep balance, and with its hungry breathing an thudding steps, barbaric howls spill into the hall like a swarm of rabid beasts.

Apple Bloom has the misfortune of looking over her shoulder, and she gasps bolts ahead of the group, for trailing the Nightmare is a horde of Condemned. Their crude armor bangs against the ground and the wave their jagged weapons carelessly as torchlight pops up in the crowd.

“Run faster!” barks Rainbow Dash.

Growling viciously, Twilight turns around and launches a purple beam lined with jagged white sparks. It pierces the Nightmare's chest with ease and explodes against the stone ceiling. The Nightmare howls in agony as it collapses to the ground with rubble raining down around it, crushing a group of the Condemned beneath it. But more scamper over it like hungry ants.

Twilight snarls and tries to get another attack charged, but Spike grabs her arm and pulls her back, causing her to lose her footing and flinging a worthless strand of purple sparks.

“Let's go! We don't have time for this!” says Spike.

He keeps his hand on Twilight and runs after the Fellowship, passing Rarity along the way. As they pass her, her horn and palm glows and she waves it towards the rushing crowd of Condemned. From her hand comes a flurry of opal flakes, and when they hit the floor they explode upward to form jagged crystals barely a few inches high. But when the Condemned step on them screeches of pain and dying gurgles echo in the hall as the crystals stab through their feet and bring them falling on top of the sharp stones.

“You can do that?” says Sweetie Belle, her eyes wide with a mix of terror and wonder.

“Keep running!” orders Rarity. She grabs Sweetie Belle's arm and nearly pulls her off her feet with a sharp tug.

“Over there!” shouts Flash. He points to long, narrow bridge off in the distance. Its slender build is lined by a rail decorated with statues holding large, lit torches. The orange light dances on the darkness, its steps in tune with the hellish chorus of hollers and screams.

A pair of thuds shake the stone and a hungry roar rattles the Fellowship's bones. None of them stop running and none of have to look over their shoulder to know what is chasing them. They also know that the Nightmare is getting closer with every passing heartbeat.

Shining Armor extends his hand to the Undying Nightmare and its horde, and a burst of rose-hued light emits from his hand and horn, and a shield wall goes between the Fellowship and the demons. The Nightmare rams into it and screeches as the wall zaps it with a bolt of energy, and the horde runs up to the wall and starts slashing and beating against it with the Nightmare clawing at it. None of them appear to be fazed by the shocks, and as the Fellowship backs up, panting and shaking with sweat and fear clinging to them, Shining Armor turns to Rainbow Dash.

“Dash!” shouts Shining Armor.

Rainbow Dash looks at him and he points to Apple Bloom.

“Get her out of here!” he says.

Rainbow Dash nods, grabs Apple Bloom and before the Foaling can so much as react she is whisked away by a rainbow streak. Her screams of fear fade rapidly, and Blueblood and Rarity herds Pipsqueak, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to Fluttershy while Shining Armor gives Applejack to Flash. After the pegasus has a good grip on the limp mare Braeburn places his hand on his shoulder.

“Get her far from here, will ya,” says Braeburn, swallowing and blinking tears from his eyes.

Flash nods and he looks at Fluttershy, who is holding Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and then he extends his hand to Pipsqueak.

“Let''s go,” he says.

Pipsqueak nods and holds tight to Flash's neck and Blueblood stares at the two pegasi with sternness and anxiety.

“You better fly fast,” says Blueblood.

“I don't plan on doing it any other way,” says Flash. He nods to Fluttershy and waves her off. “Go!”

Fluttershy takes off, followed closely by Flash, and when the sound of cracking glass and crackling energy assaults their ears the remaining Fellowship jumps and sees a massive crack on the barrier.

“Uh, not good... Not good!” says Spike.

“Stop standing around and run!” yells Davenport.

The Undying Nightmare beats against the barrier again and a piece falls off and shatters on the floor, sprinkling the group with flickering shards that fade into nothingness. And Daveport is the first to run, with the rest of the Fellowship following one by one. The last to actually move is Shining Armor, and that is because he is waving his glowing hands, covering the passage with more layers of the shield barrier. By the time he is done, he can barely stand, his lungs and heart hurt and his horn aches.

He runs after the group, but stumbles over his own feet, and is hoisted up by Twilight, who is looking more drained and pale than he is.

“Come on, Shining! You can't be tripping over yourself now!” says Twilight.

Shining Armor nods and staggers after Twilight, and she is still holding on to his hand, having to run backwards and occasionally look over her shoulder just so she doesn't trip over herself. He can hear her whimpers and see the tears in the dark lighting, and the scratches and tears on her face are lit up by a flash of pale blue while the Nightmare's roar is drowned by the sound of shattered glass and electric crackles.

Twilight looks up and her jaw drops, and behind her Blueblood and Spike run back to them. Seeing this, Shining Armor grabs her hand brings it up to his muzzle, his glazed eyes locking on to hers.

“Keep running, Twilight,” says Shining Armor. “I'll be right behind you.”

Twilight nods and reluctantly runs ahead, and Shining Armor puts every ounce of will he has into getting his legs moving. However, when he looks over his shoulder and sees the Nightmare and its horde getting closer he finds a new burst of speed that puts him right at Twilight's tail.

Very soon the Fellowship reaches the bridge, but there is no time to celebrate or feel pity for the bones that lay on its edge. They keep running as fast as their weak legs will let them, and when the Nightmare reaches the bridge is pushes the lining statues off, plunging the monuments into the dark abyss below.

“Its gaining!” cries Davenport.

Rarity turns to face the Nightmare and she summons a sharp crystal that stabs into its shoulder. The crystal barely misses Shining Armor and Twilight and it easily pierces the flesh of the Nightmare, bringing it to howl in pain and stopping it, giving the Fellowship time run across the seemingly endless bridge.

But in only a matter of seconds the Nightmare shatters the crystal and slams its claws down, breaking nearby statues and cracking the bridge. The shake knocks the group down, and the Nightmare stares down at them, its back arching and heavy mist pouring out of its wide open mouth with blood dripping from its wound.

Without a moment's waste, Twilight scrambles to her feet and uses her magic to grab Shining Armor and throw him into the Fellowship. He grunts on impact and slides to a stop in front of Braeburn and Spike, and when he looks at Twilight he sees her standing in front of the Undying Nightmare and the Condemned horde behind it.

An eerie blue light baths the Nightmare as its protruding crystals light up, and when she looks at the Fellowship her hand is trembling and tears soak her cheeks as her unfocused eyes look at the group. The group is quiet, and the war cries and rumbling of the demons across from them become silent to their ears as a heavy burden comes down on them.

“Twilight?” chokes Spike. He takes a step forward but Pinkie Pie wraps her arms around him, pinning his arms to his side, and she pulls him back. “Twilight!”

Shining Armor shakes his head and holds out his hand. “No. Twilight, don't do it!”

“I'm sorry,” sniffles Twilight.

“No!”

The Undying Nightmare's mouth glows bright and Twilight slams her palm on the bridge, creating a burst of blinding purple light. The air crackles and explodes into fire, and a burst of hot air blows the group off of their feet and covers them with a haze of hot, purple tinted dust. The bridge then crumbles with large sections of the wall and ceiling, raining down red hot stone into the darkness below.

The Fellowship watches with horror as the Nightmare falls from view, its hungry roar fading with the groans and swishes of falling stone. When the smoke clears, all that is left of the bridge is a stub that ends at Shining Armor's feet. Across the way, Tally Mark and his army is but a speck, all screaming for blood and waving their weapons around. Only Tally Mark is not screaming like the rest. Instead he is glaring ahead, sheathing his sword to his back.

Shining Armor drops to his knees and screams.

Outside in the sunlight on a cliff, Apple Bloom and the Foalings and Pegasi look at the entrance to the mountain. A shattered scream is carried out of the ancient entrance like a cold wind and everybody grabs their weapons and waits, with Flash standing in front of the group, Fluttershy guarding Applejack, and Rainbow Dash putting herself between Apple Bloom and the mountain.

Moments later Davenport staggers out, followed by Braeburn and Rarity, then Spike and Pinkie Pie, and lastly Shining Armor being dragged out by Blueblood.

The Banished Prince is reaching for the mountain and weeping incoherently. Apple Bloom's group lowers their weapons at this sight and cold claws grip Apple Bloom's heart and she drops her sword with tears reddening her eyes, knowing the reason why Twilight is not out yet.

Apple Bloom watches in silence, finding it hard to breathe, and when Blueblood forces Shining Armor to look at him she turns away, closing her eyes and covering her mouth to hide her whimpers.

“Listen to me, she's gone. She's gone!” says Blueblood, his hands tight on Shining Armor's shoulders.

“She's not gone, she has a trick, she's always had a trick and she has a trick now. Just watch, she'll come out of that mountain,” says Shining Armor, choking for air and his eyes red and swollen with tears flowing like blood from a gaping wound.

Blueblood cups the back of Shining Armor's head, shaking his head slowly and speaking softly. “Shining, don't.”

Shining Armor throws Blueblood off. “She'll come out!” He looks at the entrance to the mountain, sniffling and shaking. “She'll come out. She has to come out.”

He collapses to his knees and covers his face with his hand while the other one claws into the stone, his shoulders buckling and his whimpers echoing.

As this happens, Pinkie Pie sulks past everyone and sits at the edge of the cliff and dips her head, and Spike paces in circles, shaking his head and gripping his sword tight. Braeburn and Davenport sit next to Applejack, who has been placed in the shade of a tree. Her only sign of life is her quiet, shallow breaths, and Davenport looks at his feet, shaking and swallowing dryly while Braeburn rakes his fingers through her mane.

Davenport looks at Braeburn and opens his mouth slightly, but he quickly averts his gaze to his hands. Barely a scratch or speckle of blood on them. The signs of useless hands.

For minutes nobody speaks. Everyone splits into their own groups, and even then they cannot look each other in the eye. The sunlight feels strangely cold and the rustling of leaves becomes silent, even with a chilly wind moving through the trees.

“We have to move,” says Davenport hesitantly several moments later.

“Give them some more time to rest. They just lost their friends,” says Flash Sentry.

“He's right, Flash,” says Rainbow Dash, sitting on a log with her head bowed and hands covering her head. “Sooner or later those things will find a way out and swarm us. You, me, and Flutters will be able to escape just fine, but not them. They'll be dead as soon as they find us.”

“At this point I won't mind death,” says Spike quietly.

“Same,” says Shining Armor.

He then reaches for his canteen, only to find a gash has been cut into it, so with a sigh he unclips it and throws it at the mountain. It disappears into its gray exterior, but it clattering echoes in the stillness. Then he turns to Pinkie Pie, who is sitting at the edge of the rock, rubbing Maud's stone with her thumb, her mane flat and eyes grayed and focused on a thick, dark green line in the distance.

“What the Hell happened back there? You said it would be safe and it wasn't,” says Shining Armor venomously.

Pinkie Pie remains quiet, but her ear does swivel slowly in his direction, and he snarls and stomps forward, prompting the group to tense and Spike to rush to the Banished Prince's side.

“Well, aren't you going to answer! My sister is dead because of you! Twilight died because of your short cut!” cries Shining Armor.

Rainbow Dash zips in between Shining Armor and Pinkie Pie and presses her hand against his chest, and craning her neck to stare into his fiery eyes. Spike and Flash also flank him and Pipsqueak and the rest of the Foalings go to them as well.

“Hey, lay off!” says Rainbow Dash. “She didn't know this would happen! None of us knew this would happen!”

“And Twilight wasn't the only one who died!” says Pipsqueak. The group looks at Pipsqueak, and he stares back at them, chest heaving and face soaked in tears, grime and blood. “Twist died. Button died. How can I go back to tell Button's mom that her son died and can't even get a funeral? How can Apple Bloom tell Truffle that Twist is gone forever?”

“We tell them the truth,” says Scootaloo darkly. “They died because of the grand quest to save the world. And why do we have a grand quest? Because Apple Bloom's granny had a stupid world destroying Amulet.”

“Wait, why are you blaming Granny Smith?” says Apple Bloom, whipping around and snarling at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo looks at Apple Bloom with cold eyes. “What do you mean why? Your grandma had the Amulet and dumped it on to you. Face it, Apple Bloom, your grandma screwed us all over!”

Apple Bloom screams and tackles Scootaloo to the ground. Both Foalings scream, kick, claw, bite and tug on each other as they roll around on the stone. Very quickly their faces get bloody and Spike and Blueblood rush to pull them apart, but even with their best efforts to pull them away the two still reach for and kick and scream at each other.

“Oh, come on. Stop fighting, please!” begs Sweetie Belle, her hands to her mouth and ears drooped with tears flowing fast.

“ENOUGH!” roars Fluttershy.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and the rest of the Fellowship freeze and look at Fluttershy. She is exhaling sharply with gritted teeth as birds caw in fright and fly off, and all is quiet for a few strange seconds.

“Isn't it bad enough that we lost friends?” says Fluttershy. “I know we're scared and angry, but we have two friends who need help and we can't afford to be fighting. We have suffered enough today. Please, let's not make their deaths be in vain. We have to keep moving... For them.”

Again, silence falls on the group. Words are heavy on the tongues, but no one knows what to say. All they can do is look around, either at the stone, each other, or the distance.

“The Forest Kingdom is not too far from here,” says Spike several seconds later, his tone still low and empty. “They might be able to help Applejack and Braeburn. Plus they can protect us for a little bit and might help us get back on track.”

“The Forest Kingdom is a evil place. Nopony who goes in comes out,” says Rarity.

Spike looks at the dark line of the forest in the distance. “Well, at this point we really have no choice.”