Apple Bloom falls on her knees, panting and shivering. Scrapes cover her body, mixing her thin trails of blood with the sweat and dirt covering her orange coat. Her clothing is torn, her mane has been reduced to a knotted mess with clumps in front of her eyes and twigs and leaves sticking them, and her bow has long been lost in the pursuit.

Her vision swims and her heavy heartbeats thump in her ears with her shallow breaths as she stares at he shaking hands, mostly surrounded by the mud she has placed them on. A droplet of blood drips from her nose and splashes below, creating ripples that fold and push the ground like water.

A childish giggle echoes over the landscape and Apple Bloom whips her head around, eyes darting between every burnt and gnarled tree and bloody rock. But she cannot see anyone or anything except for death. The dead forest is a graveyard with unburied bodies, each rotting and mutilated from arrows, dismemberment, disembowelment, or slash, stabbed or bludgeoned.

Apple Bloom covers her muzzle with her muddy hand to hide her whimpers, but it does not stop the tears from soaking her cheeks or her shoulders from buckling.

“Can you find me?” taunts a feminine voice in a whisper carried by the cold wind.

A branch cracks and some birds cry in fright and take off with furious flapping wings. Apple Bloom turns towards the source and sees a flock of black birds leaving a tree split down the middle. In front of the tree is Pipsqueak, sitting on his knees, shaking, also bloodied and in torn attire. His eyes are glazed, but focused on her and behind him is a foaling in what looks like a tattered dress whose appearance is shrouded in darkness like a living shadow.

The foaling grins impossibly wide, taking up half of her face as pair of bright violet eyes with no pupils taking up the other half look directly at Apple Bloom.

“Can you find me?” repeats the silhouette in the same voice.

She hoists a rounded axe up, and like her, it is also a solid shadow, but the blood splashed on it glows bright and Apple Bloom holds up her hand, trying to scream for Pipsqueak, but her voice comes out weak. She tries again, but her throat feels like it is stuffed with jagged rocks and she hunches over, coughing and shaking with tears, blood and sweat dripping to the ground.

“Can you find me, Apple Bloom?” snickers the foaling mare.

Apple Bloom looks up, wheezing and holds out her hand, trying to scream again when the figure takes aim at Pipsqueak's head. She tries to stand up, but vines with blue thorns erupt from the ground and wrap themselves around her ankles, neck and wrist, purposefully leaving one of her hands free so she can reach for him in vain when they start pulling her to the ground.

The figure presses her hammer against Pipsqueak's head and he squeezes his eyes shut, flinching. Apple Bloom manages a weak, scratchy cry of protest, but the figure ignores her and the vines tug her so that she splashes in the mud. More of the thorny vines pop out of the ground, covering her in clumps of cold mud, and they wrap around her waist, limbs and neck and start dragging her down.

“No,” wheezes Apple Bloom, her hand extended to the sky covered by the thick layer of dark gray clouds. Within seconds, nearly her whole body is covered by mud and jagged ice begins growing into her, slowly piercing and slicing her skin. Apple Bloom screams in pain and struggles with no avail to free herself from the torture that is dicing her with thorns. “No!”

“Can you find me?” says the figure, her psychotic giggling echoing all around and wiggling its way into Apple Bloom's brain. The figure over her, grinning down at her with her axe resting against her shoulder and fresh blood dripping down to patter on the ground or snake down the handle where it collects on her fingers. “Have you found me, yet?”

Apple Bloom looks up at the figure, eyes freezing over and hand shriveling as thick layers of ice form and dig into her hand. The ice and mud have already covered her muzzle, choking her with frozen dirt and her hand remains up with the blood staying inside the icy barrier. The figure's shoulder buckles and her teeth grind from how hard she is laughing, and when she aims the hammer at Apple Bloom she cannot move, she cannot look away and she cannot make a sound. She is completely trapped and can only watch when the figure brings the axe down on her.

Apple Bloom jolts awake with a gasp, shaking and hyperventilating, inside a cave. A foggy canvas lingers over the field just on the edge of the forest and dew clings to her coat, attire and strewn camping gear. The campfire, or what's left of it, is now a gray circle of ash and burnt bits of wood inside a perimeter of rocks. Cookware and dining ware lay in a pile on top of a slab of bark and the utensils sit in a cup, all ready to be washed while the tripod used to hold the pot lies on the ground, next to the pile of dishes.

She looks around without leaving the comfort of her bedroll, rubbing her sore eyes with a trembling hand. She sees Twist's bedroll rising and falling with every soft snore, and not too far off is Pipsqueak and Button Mash, both resting against a log with their feet stretched towards the remains of the campfire and their arms folded across their chests.

Apple Bloom stares at Pipsqueak intently, shivering from more than just the morning dew clinging to her as she rubs the Amulet's resting place in her pocket. Her ears twitch when it whispers her name and a compulsion to have a look at its sleek, Gothic design. Her fingers twitch, but her eyes stay on Pipsqueak, and she forces herself to rub her hands together and pushes herself up. Once standing, she takes a breath and has a look at the fog covered field just past the forest they rested in, trying not to think about the nightmare.

“Find me,” says the shadow filly, right into Apple Bloom's ear.

Apple Bloom gasps and turns to see nothing but the wet trees and Twist standing not to far from her, wiping the dew from her lenses and yawning.

“Are you okay, Apple Bloom?” she asks. “You look a little pale.”

Apple Bloom forces herself to smile. “Ah'm fine, Twist. Ah just thought Ah heard somethin'.”

“You heard something that spooked your colors away?”

Before Apple Bloom can reply, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo appear out of the trees, running and short of breath and tossing a bundle of short swords in front of the dead fire. The resulting mess of clanging metal startles Pipsqueak and Button Mash awake while Apple Bloom looks at the weapons curiously. They all appear to be half finished since they are missing decent handles and are lacking any buffering. Apple Bloom honestly did not realize that they had been missing, but now that they are back, short of breath with cheap weapons in front of them, she thinks they might have gotten into some kind of trouble. Again.

“Did you steal those?” asks Apple Bloom accusingly.

Scootaloo slumps against a tree and wipes sweat from her brow, grinning proudly. “Sure did. Too bad you were all snoring to see Sweetie Belle work her magic. It was gold!”

Sweetie Belle wakes her hand dismissively. “Well, you're the one with the quick fingers. I was only the distraction.”

“But I would not have gotten us these... things without your mare charms.”

Button Mash grabs the closest blade and picks it up for a careful examination. “Eastmarch Forgery... Eastmarch? You really stole weapons from Eastmarch?”

“Is that bad?” asks Sweetie Belle.

“Stealing is bad in general,” says Twist.

Scootaloo rolls her eyes. “So I've been told. But we really didn't have any money to buy weapons so this was the best alternative. Unless somepony here know how to make spears out of twigs and rocks.”

“The point is, is that Eastmarch is an outpost town for King Hurricane,” says Pipsqueak. “And Hurricane's daughter watches over the town to make sure everything goes well. A theft is not well.”

“So we have to worry about the daughter?” asks Sweetie Belle.

“No. You have to worry about the other daughter since she is, well, attracted to trouble and is kind of a jerk. The one that is supposed to watch everything is nice, though. Kind of a rug, actually.”

“Okay, how do we know who's who, then?” asks Scootaloo.

Pipsqueak sighs. “Well, the best way to describe the one we should be worried about is... colorful.”

A portly, earth pony blacksmith, covered in grime, sweat and ash, is sitting on the cold, dirt floor, trembling and rubbing his hands together as he stares at the pegasus mare before him. She is slender and her two, buff stallion escorts are easily a foot taller than she is, but it only makes her all the more terrifying. Her curiass is made of dark metal and is split into three parts, all held together with clips. The first part covers her neck, with her shoulders being covered by a pair of strips attached to the main part with sturdy leather threads. Her chest is covered next and has a gold lightning bolt connecting it to the top portion. Her stomach is protected by more strips of metal and held together like the shoulder armor. Underneath all that is a chain-mail shirt, which covers her arms and stops at her hands. Her forearms are protect by thin gauntlet and her hands are covered by gloves. The tunic that drops past her waist is dark blue tunic and her shin pads stop at her small boots. She is equipped with two curved blades, and she is lacking a helmet, so her light cyan face and shoulder length rainbow colored mane can remain unobstructed.

“Are you telling me that a couple of foalings lifted weapons that were supposed to be given to us?” asks the mare, cracking her knuckles.

“P-Please, Rainbow Dash! You-you have to believe me when I say that I didn't mean to lose those weapons!” begs the blacksmith.

Rainbow Dash's cerise eyes narrow and she steps forward with purposefully hard stomps, making the stallion whimper and shrink with her progress. She then grabs his mane and twists it so he looks into her furious eyes.

“You do know that with those weapons gone that means six soldiers won't be able to protect this little village from barbarians, right?” says Rainbow Dash as she jabs at his chest. “Six soldiers can make all the difference in anything. So, for all we know, you could have doomed this whole town with your stupidity!”

“Rainbow, please stop!” says another mare suddenly, her voice sounding like it takes great effort for it to be loud.

Rainbow Dash and her two escorts look over their shoulders to see a tall, also slender, pegasus mare in holding on the doorway with big, pleading eyes. She is wearing a simple green dress underneath a brown shawl, and her wispy pink mane hangs over one eye and goes down past her shoulders. That look always annoys Rainbow Dash since it makes their clan, one of the most fiercest off all the pegasus tribes, look foolish and weak. However, she says nothing about that and instead stands up straighter while throwing the blacksmith to the ground.

“Fluttershy, aren't you supposed to be taking care of your chickens?” asks Rainbow Dash.

“I, um... Yes. But I have somepony else doing that. I just didn't want you hurting anypony,” says Fluttershy softly.

Rainbow Dash sighs, then nods to her guards. “Get that slob out of here and teach him a thing or two about responsibility. I need to have a word with my sister.”

The guards nod and wordlessly drag the blacksmith away despite his cries and protests, leaving the two alone in the ratty shack. Fluttershy looks down and rubs her arm while Rainbow Dash stares at her with a scowl, once again annoyed by her younger sister, who stands almost a foot and a half taller than her, but walks with her head down.

“I had to teach him a lesson. He can't be losing our weapons to anypony for any reason. Much less foalings, of all things,” says Rainbow Dash.

“But he didn't do anything wrong,” says Fluttershy quietly.

“Uh, actually he did.”

“Rainbow, you can't punish victims. That is just... Mean.”

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. “It is a mean world. Fluttershy. This guy lost six weapons that we could have used to foalings. Foalings!”

“The weapons were not done, though.”

“It does not matter if they were done or not! Weapons are weapons and supplies are supplies! Once they are lost it costs a fortune to make it up! Besides, if Father finds out that the town you are supposed to be watching had another mishap, he is going to be royally ticked off.”

Fluttershy eeps and shrinks down, trembling and holding her hands to her muzzle as tears build in her eyes and trail down her cheeks. This time Rainbow Dash is not irked by her younger sister's reaction, but instead she feels sympathy and briefly shudders from the thought of her father taking out his anger on Fluttershy again. Even though some of the taller mare's traits annoy her, she still loves and can't bear the thought of her getting hurt again, no matter the scenario. With the unnecessary brutality of her father and the nights she spent awake trying to comfort her and make sure her injuries do not get any worse, she made a vow never to let anything like that happen again. No matter what.

Rainbow Dash's demeanor softens and she smiles sympathetically as she puts her hand on her sister's shoulder. “Don't worry, Fluttershy. I will get those weapons back. Father won't know a thing about this, okay?”

Fluttershy nods. “O-Okay.”

Rainbow Dash puts her other hand on Fluttershy's other shoulder and stands on the balls of her feet so they can touch foreheads. Her warm smile grows and she feels a little better when Fluttershy smiles behind her fists, despite the tears in her red and puffy eyes.

“Never again, remember?” says Rainbow Dash softly.

Fluttershy swallows. “R-Right. Never again.”

Rainbow Dash pats Fluttershy's shoulder, lowers herself down, then walks backwards out the door while pointing at her with a confident smile. “Go back to your animals and pretend that nothing is wrong. I will fix all this before the next mailmare gets here. Father will never know about any of this, I promise.”

After Fluttershy nods, Rainbow Dash turns around and marches down the muddy street of the village, her smile fading a determined sneer and cracking her knuckles. Someone is going to get hurt, she will make sure of that.

“Then there is that rumor that says she is the fastest mare alive,” says Pipsqueak dramatically as the mares crowd around him and Button Mash. “They say she took on a whole team of griffin mercenaries without getting a scratch."

“Then there is the story where she killed somepony with a teacup when they insulted her sister,” adds Button Mash

Apple Bloom and Twist cringe while Scootaloo's eyes light up with admiration.

“How did she kill somepony with a teacup?” asks Twist uneasily.

“She shoved it into their neck and popped their jugular wide open! There was blood all over the place!” says Button Mash, mimicking a pop with his hands. Then he leans towards Sweetie Belle and says in a hushed tone. “And then she licked herself clean.”

Sweetie Belle leans back, grimacing and ears folded back. “Eww. Really?”

“Well, that is just great,” huffs Apple Bloom, not giving Button Mash a chance to show off more of his morbid side. “Now we got a cloaked creep, a stinky drunk and a maniac pegasus that can kill ponies with teacups goin' after us.”

“This would be kind of funny if it wasn't us being chased,” says Scootaloo, still in a dreamy state as she stares at the clouds. “Maybe we can bribe this Rainbow Dash mare to be our bodyguard so that drunk and cloaked freak don't get us.”

Apple Bloom shakes her head and stands up, then cracks her back and starts packing up her supplies. “No, we ain't goin' ta try ta bribe anypony fer any reason. Its bad enough that we're in this kinda mess, and Ah really don't wanna sit around, waitin' fer any of those three ta show up ta see if we can bribe 'em.”

“Can't we relax just a little bit longer?” asks Scootaloo hopefully. “Me and Sweetie Belle-”

“Sweetie Belle and I,” corrects Sweetie Belle.

Silence and stares follow. The unicorn foaling, noting the stares, shrugs innocently.

“What? It's proper grammar,” she says.

Everyone exchanges looks before Scootaloo sighs and stretches out her legs while placing her hands behind her head like a pillow.

“Grammar or not, I'm tired and haven't had a decent sleep in the past few days, so I'm going to go to sleep,” she says grumpily.

“No you aren't. We have ta get movin',” says Apple Bloom, ignoring the glare Scootaloo is giving her when she cracks an eye open. “We shoulda never stopped in tha first place.”

Scootaloo sits up with a very loud, clearly agitated sigh. “Apple Bloom, I am going to be very honest with you. I am tired. Very, very tired, from saving your sorry butt from those nuts and getting us weapons to defend ourselves. I want to sleep for at least an hour. Can I at least get an hour, oh supreme leader?”

Apple Bloom furrows her brows and points at Scootaloo. “Ya coulda slept like tha rest of us! Ya didn't have t' go off an' steal those weapons!”

Scootaloo jumps up, almost falling over in the process, but is saved by a tree, and she stomps towards Apple Bloom, eyes narrowed and muzzle scrunched in a snarl. When she is in front of Apple Bloom, the earth pony can see the dark bags and sandy crust under and around her eyes, and she stumbles back a little when the pegasus jabs her finger at her chest.

“You obviously forgot that we had no weapons to fight whoever the heck is after us!” shouts Scootaloo furiously. “We got lucky at the ferry and you are lucky that we were able to find you so quickly and save you from that drunk! We need those weapons to defend ourselves! You need those weapons more than us because it is you that is being hunted!”

“Scootaloo, you need to relax,” says Pipsqueak cautiously as he moves between the two mares.

“You didn't have to come!” counters Apple Bloom, easily pointing over his shoulder at the pegasus. “None of you had to come!”

“But I did!” snaps Scootaloo with tears in her eyes and her hands balled into a fist. “And I forgot why, but it doesn't matter because I'm here, Sweetie's here, we're all here now, absolutely lost with a creepy guy in a cloak, an angry drunk and a crazy pegasus hunting us!”

“Let's stop arguing, please,” begs Twist.

“Just let me sleep!” cries Scootaloo. “Just an hour is all I'm asking! I think I deserve that much for what I've done for you.”

Apple Bloom does not break eye contact with Scootaloo. She knows the pegasus is tired, and she has already risked her life for something she does not fully understand, just like everyone else in the group. With that thought, Apple Bloom glances at the others. They have sacrificed a lot for her in the past few days, and their journey has taken their toll on all of them, as seen by their sagging figures and the growing bags under their eyes, but they are not nearly as worn out as Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom looks back at Scootaloo as her hand rubs against the Amulet's resting place, wanting to do nothing more than keep running until they reach Armonia, or at least a secured shelter. However, she also does not want to push them beyond their breaking point or get them hurt because they are too exhausted to think properly, and the pegasus foaling looks as though is about to crumble into pieces.

Apple Bloom swallows and presses her hand tighter against the Amulet. “Okay. But only an hour before we get movin' again.”

Scootaloo nods and rests against the tree with her arms folded across her chest and legs splayed out. “Don't leave me here alone, okay?”

“We won't.”

Scootaloo stares at Apple Bloom apprehensively, and only with a reassuring nod from Sweetie Belle does she close her eyes and bow her head. She starts snoring seconds later.

Apple Bloom is certain an hour as passed already, but after looking at Scootaloo and seeing how peaceful she is, she finds herself reluctant to wake her up. Her eyes drift back to the fog covering the field and squints her eyes to see look at the mountains in the distance. They are mostly shrouded by the fog, but she can still see the rocky tips poking out.

“Do you think we should wake her up now?” asks Twist.

Apple Bloom nods, but suddenly winces and clutches her side where the Amulet marked her. This sparks a look of concern from Twist and she puts her hand on her shoulder and tries looking into her eyes. But since Apple Bloom's eye are squeezed shut and her head is dipped, that becomes impossible to accomplish.

“Apple Bloom, are you alright?” asks Twist worryingly.

“Wake her up now and get everypony out of here!” orders Apple Bloom.

Twist nods quickly, runs to Scootaloo and shakes her awake. The pegasus snorts and her eyes flutter open as she looks at Twist wearily.

“Has it been an hour already?” asks Scootaloo with a yawn.

Apple Bloom takes a few big steps towards Pipsqueak, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash, who are drawing stick figures in the ash and conversing quietly amongst themselves.

“We need ta go right now!” says Apple Bloom urgently, gritting her teeth and seething as her hand grips the marking.

The trio look at her, their easygoing smiles fading when they see her state.

“Is everything okay?” asks Pipsqueak as he stands up with Button Mash.

Apple Bloom shakes her head. “No, Ah think-”

“Good evening, foalings,” says an unfamiliar voice that seems to freeze the air around them.

Apple Bloom turns around and gasps and takes a step back when she sees the cloaked attacker from the ferry. Only this time it has eight identical copies of it, all standing at the edge of the forest and looking down on their makeshift camp.

The one in the center steps forward, saying: “I believe one of you is carrying something important to me.”

Scootaloo and Twist run to Apple Bloom's group, and Apple Bloom gulps as all of the foaling back up into the field, shivering collectively as the temperature drops and ice covers the trees, mulch and grass. The nine Windigos keep advancing, all of them forming blades made from ice that cover their hands and forearms. This terrifying sight makes her mane crawl and all of the foalings pull out their poor weapons and clutch them as hard as their shaky hands will allow.

The one next to the leader chuckles. “Do you really think those weapons will hurt us?”

The leader points at Apple Bloom. “You. You have the Amulet of the King and I want it. Give it to me willingly and all of you will walk away alive and unscathed. However, if you resist, Charon will claim all of you swiftly.”

Apple Bloom's heart races and sweat rolls down her face and neck as she aims her weapon at the Windigo, trembling violently in her spot.

“Ah-Ah can't,” stammers Apple Bloom.

“Yes you can. It is easy. Take it out of your pocket and toss it to the ground in front of me and we will leave,” says the leader.

“Forget this talk! Let us kill them now!” yells the other Windigo.

The leader holds up his hand. “Let her decide their fates.”

Apple Bloom swallows, and everything becomes amplified as she struggles to make a decision. She can't give up the Amulet willingly, that will mean death to everyone, and there is no telling if the Windigos will spare them if she does anyway. On the other hand, if they resist, chances are they will die and they will get the Amulet, anyway. They cannot fight and they cannot hand over the Amulet willingly, leaving only one option.

Apple Bloom's eyes flick to the vast open space behind them, then she looks at Twist. The awkward foaling's eyes glance behind her as well, then she nods. Apple Bloom looks at Pipsqueak, and he does the same thing. She looks at the Windigo's leader and swallows her spit.

“Run!” barks Apple Bloom suddenly.

The foalings turn and run into the fog and instantly metal boots thumping on the grass follow.

“Kill the others!” orders the lead Windigo, his voice echoing over the flat landscape. “The Bearer is mine!”

Apple Bloom tries to stay with the rest of the foalings as she runs through the wet grass, hearing the cracking and snapping of forming and breaking ice as the demons give chase. She looks to her side and shrieks and dives to the ground as one of the cloaked monsters appears in front of her, bringing his weapon down, barely missing her and kicking up chunks of grass and dirt. She scrambles to her feet and sees the other Windigos have easily corralled her friends, leaving her out in the open and completely separated.

The Windigo that stabbed the ground yanks his blade out and starts advancing on Apple Bloom, and she, in turn, veers to his side at an angle, trying to keep her sight on her friends. Pipsqueak's size comes into use as he easily slips past the Windigos and runs towards Apple Bloom.

“Apple Bloom, run!” shouts Pipsqueak.

Pipsqueak takes a swing at the Windigo chasing Apple Bloom, but the blade bounces harmlessly off its thighs, much to his horror. Pipsqueak's colors barely drain before the Windigo's backhand sends him to the ground, clutching his face and crying out in pain as blood seeps past his his fingers.

“Pipsqueak!” cries Apple Bloom, taking a few steps forwards, even though the lead Windigo's advance is kept constant.

The Windigo keeps marching, either unaware or uncaring of the resistance Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash are giving as Twist running to Pipsqueak's side to help him up.

“Run! Get out of here!” yells Twist, waving Apple Bloom away with her sword while half carrying, half dragging the smaller foaling away until Button Mash runs to her side and helps.

“Stay, foaling,” hisses the Amulet.

Apple Bloom's legs lock and she stares wide-eyed at the approaching Windigo. A shiver runs along her body and the ice from the Amulet returns to dig into her skin, making her whimper from fear and pain and her body shake from more than the cold.

“What are you doing? Run!” screams Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom looks at Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell and sees the former swinging wildly while the latter keeps her poorly aimed swipes at a conservative use. When the other three stumble next to them and form a circle with their weapons out and Pipsqueak's face, neck and shirt quickly becoming stained in red.

Twist looks at Apple Bloom past the Windigos that have made a half circle and clutches her weapon with both hands, shaking to near collapse and tears streaming down her face.

“GO!” screams Twist louder than Apple Bloom has ever heard before.

“Stay!” orders the Amulet.

Apple Bloom snaps her eyes back to the lead Windigo and yelps and stumbles back when he swishes at her. She trips over her backpedaling and lands on her back on the wet grass, but quickly rolls to her feet and runs into the fog, looking over shoulder and watching with a racing heart as the Windigo pursues her. The last thing she sees of her friends before the fog becomes too thick is all the Windigos closing in on them with their bladed arms raised for killing blows.

“Ah'm sorry,” whimpers Apple Bloom.

And she keeps running into the fog, hoping that her friends will forgive her for getting them killed.

Twist's chest heaves with her heavy breathing and through her blurry vision, she keeps watching Apple Bloom until not even her silhouette is seen in the fog. She then looks back at the hooded demons towering above them, all with their weapons raised for the kill, and she closes her eyes, waiting for her horrible end But when she hears a slice and a shriek of agony, she opens her eyes and recoils with a loud gasp. Next to her is the arm of the Windigo that almost killed her, and standing in front of her is a tall, dirty unicorn that is now slicing off the head of the assailant with a broken sword. The Windigo's hood and head is removed with a clean slice, sending its head landing in front of her and blue blood squirting out. As its headless body falls, the stallion stabs the heart of the Windigo going after Pipsqueak. It hisses in pain and latches on to his arms as he pushes forward until it falls on its back, gurgling blood. The remaining Windigos rush towards the unicorn after taking a second to process what is happening.

The unicorn yanks out his blade and jumps to his feet, barely blocking a slash from one of the Windigos and awkwardly retaliates with a punch to its face. The Windigo stumbles and the unicorn ducks down from another swing and slices off the attacker's leg. It howls painfully and he cuts off the hand of the one he punched before slicing off its maw and stabbing what's left of its face, kicking the corpse away right after.

Twist shrinks behind the other foalings when they huddle together, terrified and mesmerized at the same time from the brutal fight. She never thought she would see anything so brutal, but she also never thought she would leave Greenhill to destroy an all-powerful amulet crafted solely for destruction. As the fight progresses, she awkwardly steps back with the group until she hits a tree, then she shrinks down and watches with big eyes as the unicorn takes on two Windigos at the same time.

The two cloaked assailants swing wildly at him, and he blocks each of them with sloppy, but effective, technique. That is until one stabs him through the shoulder from behind. The foalings yell with the unicorn as his blood drips off the protruding tip and stains his attire in red. The two that swung at him earlier take this chance to lunge at him, and he, in turn, twists his body, turning the one that stabbed him into a meat shield.

The Windigo howls and its legs buckle as two ice blades pierce its body, and the unicorn, biting back his tears and another cry of pain, twists his sword and stabs the creature. His blade goes up at an angle and cuts through its lung and heart, and he grunts as he pulls himself off with a wet shlick and wobbles forward until he collapse on ground, clutching his wound with his sword hand and panting. Blood and sweat drip past his clothing and off his maw to the wet ground as his injured arm trembles in its attempt to keep him up.

As he is kneeling, panting and his eyes getting red and wet from the tears, Twist realizes that the stallion is the one that knocked her out and kidnapped Apple Bloom! But that is the extent of her thoughts before the stranger pushes himself up and slashes at another Windigo when it goes in for the kill, cutting it diagonally down its chest, slicing its heart wide open and spraying its cold, blue blood all over his stained attire. The last two jump at him from two different sides and he ducks and rolls away from them, digging his free hand -now stained with trails of red- in the cold grass while keeping his sword aimed at the assassins as he slides to a stop.

He growls when he stands up, and then charges the two cloaked demons, screaming madly while they run forward, screeching with their arms coiled for a strike. The unicorn blocks the slash of the closest Windigo with a powerful swing that shatters its weapon, and he spins around it to cut off the arm of the other one when it takes a swing at him. The painful screech piercing the air is reduced to a bloody gurgle when he plunges his broken blade through its neck, sending a torrent of blood gushing out of its mouth and wound. The last standing Windigo tries to stab him once again with a reformed blade, but he sidesteps it and grabs its face with his bloody hand. A second later, its head explodes with a glow from his horn and hand, and where its head should be is a translucent, rose colored ball.

The headless body drops, the ball disintegrates, and the unicorn removes his broken sword from the other Windigo's neck. He stands in his spot, panting and shaking with his hand still outstretched and its rose colored glow fading. He turns his head when his ears flick and immediately marches over towards the Windigo with the missing leg. It is crawling through the grass, leaving a trail of blue and muttering swears in an archaic language, and when it reaches out to pull itself another few precious inches, he stabs it in the back. The Windigo, grunts, stiffens, then goes limp with its hand still outstretched. After killing that Windigo, his hand remains clenched tight around his weapon, and his mouth hangs open and chest heaving with his heavy panting. Seconds later, he swallows his spit and he turns to the foalings, all of whom shrink back at his bloody appearance.

It does not take the injured unicorn long to spot Scootaloo, and when he does, his eyes narrow and he points a bloody finger at her, wincing at the discomfort from his stabbed shoulder. “You!”

Scootaloo points at herself, shaking despite her defiant appearance. “Me?”

“You punched me in the groin and it hurt! It hurt a lot!”

The pegasus foaling scowls. “Are you saying you went through all that just to get to me because I punched you?”

The unicorn snorts. “Don't be so self centered. I am here to make sure that Honeycrisp and the Amulet do not fall into the wrong hands. Now, where is she?”

The foalings are silence, and at first they exchange confused looks, but Twist is the first to remember Apple Bloom's alias, and she looks at the unicorn warily.

“How do we know we can trust you?” she asks, almost continuing, but stopping herself when the unicorn cranes his head back, screaming and clawing at his face with his bloody hand.

When he is done screaming, one of his hung-over, bloodshot eyes is twitching and his messy mane is more disheveled than before and his fingers are twitching, really eager to choke something.

“Oh, for the love of all things holy and divine! Did you not just see me kill those things that tried to kill you!?” he shouts angrily.

“That could have been a trick,” accuses Sweetie Belle.

“A trick? Are you- Okay, yes, you are right. I tricked all of you.” The unicorn delivers a hard kick to the ribs of the Windigo whose head exploded. “Hey, Richard, they figured us out! Get up!”

The foalings look at each other and Button Mash twirls his finger next to his temple as he and Sweetie Belle look at each other. The foaling unicorn nods in agreement, and Pipsqueak and Twist exchange concerned looks and Scootaloo grimaces when he kicks the headless corpse again. He gives it a few more kicks before he stops and hunches over slightly, panting and clutching his bleeding shoulder.

“Oh well, it looks like Richard may be dead, after all,” continues the unicorn.

“You got some issues,” points out Button Mash.

The unicorn's eyes get a little large as he grins maniacally at the said foaling. “You don't say.”

“Everypony, please stop! We cannot bicker anymore! Apple Bloom is still out there and the longer we sit here, arguing about what ever we are arguing about, the more danger she will be in!” says Pipsqueak.

He quickly becomes the victim of a collection of harsh glares from all the foalings, each wanting to tear his head off and beat him silly for his slip, all while the unicorn just gives him a blank stare.

“Who's Apple Bloom?” he asks.

“Honeycrisp is Apple Bloom,” states Twist, not seeing any point in keeping her real name secret anymore because someone let it slip. “But if you are going to help us, we need to know your name.”

“Just call me Sprinkles,” says the unicorn, wincing when he grabs his wounded shoulder. “Now, which way did Apple Bloom go?”

“No, we want your real name,” says Scootaloo snidely.

Sprinkles glares at her. “Sprinkle Muffin McDoodlepants. Now, where did Apple Bloom go?”

“I think that's a fake name...” comments Button Mash quietly.

“Where did she go!” yells Sprinkles impatiently, making everyone jump.

Twist points into the fog. “She went in there!”

“Thank you!”

Sprinkles bolts inside the fog without a second's hesitation, muttering a lot of colorful phrases under his breath. The foalings, meanwhile, stare at him, unable to move for the time being, and they remain that way until he disappears in the fog.

Scootaloo is the first to follow his trail, and she speaks with a frown as she grips her short sword tight. “If that nut tries any funny business, he's getting castrated.”

Apple Bloom hears the screams of the dying in the fog, and she slides to a stop, throat and lungs burning and legs feeling like they are ready to break into splinters. She swallows what little spit she has and scans the fog with sporadic flicks of her eye and ears, hands clutching and swinging her weapon to every ghostly sound in the fog.

“Can you find me?” giggles the foaling from the dream.

Apple Bloom snaps to the source with a terrified yelp, and starts sobbing and backing up as the shadow foaling with the pure violet eyes grins at her from a distance. She puts her finger to her lips and shushes Apple Bloom.

“Be quiet. He's going to find you,” snickers the shadow foaling, sounding like she is directly in front of her instead of a distance. “And if he finds you, how can you find me?”

Tears burn Apple Bloom's eyes and stream down her cheeks as she shakes her head at the specter.

“Please, Ah-Ah...” stammers Apple Bloom, unable to find the words or the courage to speak to the mysterious foaling.

“You cannot hide, foaling,” says the Windigo from behind.

Apple Bloom spins on her heels and aims in his direction, whimpering and biting her tongue to keep her whines and sobs down. She looks over her shoulder, but sees that the shadow foaling is gone, then she looks back to where the voice came from, trying to blink the tears out of her eyes so she can see better.

“The Amulet calls me. Its whisper is constant in my ears, calling me without falter. It is tormenting me as it is you,” continues the Windigo, this time in another area.

Apple Bloom turns to the source and sees a dark silhouette standing barely thirty feet away from her. It takes a step forward, creating a muffled thump, and she takes a step back, whimpering when she sees it raising its ice blade.

“Do you have the nightmares?” it asks. “Do you sleep well at night?”

It steps closer and Apple Bloom steps back, keeping both hands on the weapon as she points it at its gut, begging in tearful whimpers not to come any closer.

“Tell me, foaling, why keep an item that brings you only torment?” says the Windigo, ignoring her pleas. “You are my prey and I will hunt you until I have the Amulet, and in turn the Amulet will haunt us both until I have it.”

The Windigo's free hand flexes and the fog suddenly gets thicker to where Apple Bloom cannot see. Her head snaps towards the direction of heavy pattering in the wet grass and she shrieks and falls to the ground from stumbling back when the Windigo jumps towards her from its fog cover, dropping her weapon in the process.

“Why not end our torments together!” roars the Windigo.

Its boots kick up wet grass that freeze in the air, and Apple Bloom whimpers and crawls backwards as the demon marches forward, leaving a trail of frozen footprints in his wake.

“This is your last chance. Give up your torment to me willingly and I will spare your life. But if you do not surrender it then you will die. Either way, I will get the Amulet,” it says.

“Surrender, foaling,” says the Amulet.

Apple Bloom stops moving and the Windigo continues walking until he is towering above her, his blade gleaming in the exposed light and his head tilting down with his hand extended.

“Relinquish the Amulet,” orders the Windigo.

Apple Bloom's heart races and her wide, tear filled eyes stare at the demon in front of her. She wants to give up the Amulet in the hopes that she will live and return home with all the troubles behind her. However, as much as she desires to abandon the Amulet, she knows she cannot do that. Twilight is trusting her with it and if the stories are true, then she will be damning everyone to a horrible fate! This she cannot allow under any circumstances.

With a burst of determination and adrenaline surging through her veins, Apple Bloom turns on her hands and knees and pushes herself up to run. But as soon as her hands and knees leave the freezing grass, she feels a rough, sharp object tear through her back, just under her ribs and poke out the front. She gasps in shock with blood pooling and dribbling past her mouth and she stares, wide-eyed at the Windigo's weapon. Her hot blood travels around the blade's ridges and pools at the tip, where they drip down into the grass, and her breathing becomes short and sharp as her heart thumps in her ears and her trembling hand grips the blade. Numbness quickly overtakes her and she drops to her knees, clutching her gushing wound, when the Windigo yanks his blade out, then she is kicked to the ground.

“Foolish foaling,” sneers the Windigo as he paces around Apple Bloom.

She shifts weakly on the ground, moaning and whimpering as her vision pulsates from darkness to dimness, with the darkness bleeding closer to her center with each passing beat of her weak heart. With one hand over the gaping wound, she uses her other blood-soaked hand to grab a tuft of grass to pull herself forward, whimpering a plea not to die with her freezing tears cleaning off the dirt and a trail of blood in her wake. She stops, closes her eyes and lays her head on the wet grass, sobbing weakly when she feels the sharp boot press her down, and then everything fades to a dark void.

The foaling under Starswirl stops moving, but he can still hear hear her weak, desperate breaths, and for that, he coils his arm for another stab to end her and take the Amulet back. However, when he brings the blade down, a rose colored dome engulfs the fallen foaling and catapults him into the air, where he lands on his back with a grunt and some frozen grass being kicked up. He looks up just in time to see a pale, scraggly, blue maned unicorn stallion leap over the bubble towards him with a broken blade, screaming ferociously.

Starswirl's eyes widen at the sight of the broken weapon and he brings his bladed arm up defensively, just barely blocking the strike. The attack has enough force to shatter the ice and jerk his arm down. The stranger takes another swing at Starswirl, but a swift kick to the gut sends the attacker stumbling back with a loss of air, and he rolls on his feet as one gauntlet sprouts a new weapon and he lunges at the unicorn.

The unicorn grabs Starswirl's bladed arm, but a metal glove just as quickly connects with the white maw, sending a spurt of blood all over the glove with the cracking bone and cry of pain. Starswirl then knees the unicorn in the gut and as he doubles over, he slams his elbow on his spine, sending him down in the grass. Any attempts to stab him through his back, though, are stonewalled when the unicorn turns himself just enough to see Starswirl and push him back with a burst of rosy energy from his horn and palm.

The blast feels like a strong gust of wind that pushes Starswirl back a couple of feet, and while he regains his footing, the unicorn scrambles to his feet and charges with his free hand extended. Starswirl sees the hand glowing and out of pure instinct he swings his sword arm, but the glowing hand catches it and the unicorn holds it tight, growling through gritted teeth as red lines snake along the weapon's edges.

Starswirl and the unicorn stare at each other with narrowed eyes, both growling through their teeth and straining their muscles to overpower one another. The Windigo brings his other arm up, surrounding his fingers with sharp, icy claws and he is about to stab the unicorn in the face, but stops when he sees a familiar sight.

The fire in the unicorn's blue eyes, the reckless determination in his actions, even the pale coat and blue mane are familiar. Starswirl's eyes widen and his pupils shake in the darkness of his hood, and his snarl disappears with his breathing becoming short as being locked with the unicorn sends a trickle of memories he has long forgotten.

“Soldiers of Unicornia, cast down your fears! Fight not for your king or country, but for your family and pony next to you! Let not one Condemned breach this line!”

The voice is faint, but just clear enough for him to understand, and the roars of the rallied troops are just the same. He barely remembers the silver armor and the phalanx made of rectangle shields and leaf shaped spears, and the banners of Unicornia fluttering in the cold wind as the soldiers brace for a horde attack. But, one thing that is clear, and it appears like the sun flashing into existence, it is the face to the voice. He looks too much like the stranger challenging him now, and holds the same fury that drove him in the heat of battle before Charon claimed him.

“My heir,” whispers Starswirl in disbelief.

The stranger's hand bursts with energy, thus making Starswirl's caught arm explode from a bubble formed on the inside in a shower of ice, flesh, bone and tattered cloth. There is no pain, only shock, and Starswirl recoils, unable to scream and before he can realize what is happening next, he feels the broken blade get plunged into his stomach, breaching his armor and flesh with ease. Starswirl gasps and steps back with his remaining hand clutching the pouring wound when the unicorn yanks the weapon out.

He then drops to his knees, and as his vision pulsates, he notices the blade is etched with ancient alicornian. What it says, though, he does not know, for he collapses on the wet ground, face first, gasping for air before he can make it out.

As he lies on the ground, shivering from blood loss and desperately sucking in the chilly air, he releases just enough energy to absorb the moisture out of the ground to create rough, blue scabs to stop his bleeding, hoping that no one will notice. Though, with the amount of blood lost, he cannot stay on guard even if he wished to. With each passing second, the fatigue becomes stronger, overpowering his desire and will to remain awake. It relentlessly pulls him into the darkness, and no matter how much he begs with bloody gasps and choked whimpers, it until all he sees is the lonely void.

Shining Armor stares down at the slain Windigo, wiping blood from his muzzle and rolling his injured shoulder, glad that the demon paused its attack that would have more than likely killed him. Though, his relief comes to an end when he hears the other foalings run forward, screaming for Apple Bloom. He hurries towards the fallen foaling, casting a cautious look at the dead Windigo before kneeling next to Apple Bloom.

“Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom! Wake up!” sobs the awkward one as she shakes Apple Bloom's shoulder.

Shining Armor presses his fingers against Apple Bloom's neck and feels some relief when he finds a pulse. It is weak, but still there. He hears some cloth being torn and sees the smallest of the group ripping up his cloak and transforming the strips into bandages. The blood quickly seeps past it though, and he looks at Shining Armor pleadingly with tears in his eyes and lips trembling.

“Sprinkles, the bleeding won't stop!” he cries.

“Get back, all of you,” says Shining Armor.

The foalings step back without a word and Shining Armor closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and places his hand over the gaping wound. He bows his head and mutters: “Please, let this work.”

His horn and hand glow and wispy tendrils slide out of his fingers and into the torn flesh. He grits his teeth as the feeling of hundreds of little bites nibble at his digits and horn, and fatigue comes down hard on him, crushing him and his ability to stay awake. He starts leaning forward, his eyes fluttering and struggling to stay open as his other hand presses against the bloody grass. Then, it all ends like a candle being blown out.

The pain stops, but the fatigue remains, and Shining Armor opens his eyes and smiles with relief when a quick inspection reveals that the bleeding has stopped.

“It worked,” he laughs wearily.

“Did you heal her?” asks Twist.

Shining Armor scoops up Apple Bloom, grunting when his hurt shoulder protests the weight, even though she is limp. “I did not heal her as much as she needed, but it is enough to keep her alive for now. She will need advanced medicine if she is to be fully healed.”

“And where can we get some like that?”

Shining Armor starts walking towards the forest, clutching Apple Bloom tighter, and the foalings follow suit, having to take twice as many steps to keep up with his strides.

“I know a mare that lives about thirty miles from here. I know she can help us,” he says. “But we're going to have to hurry. I don't know how long Apple Bloom will last or how effective my healing is.”

He looks over his shoulder and is glad that he does not see any form of defiance, especially from the pegasus foaling that had been a pain in more ways than one. Seeing the foalings file in behind him, he looks ahead, adjusts his grip on the unconscious foaling and picks up his speed.

“Hang in there, Apple Bloom.”

Starswirl's head is bowed, his hood is pulled back to reveal his pale face and wiry mane. His beard is thin as well and composed of clumps instead of its solid glory he was once known for. His eyes remain closed, but he feels a pain in his back and tries lifting his arms, only to find that they are stuck, just like his legs. He opens his eyes and sees his wrists, ankles and limbs are cuffed and chained to a solid stone throne. He is still wearing his cloak and armor, though, and it only confuses him more about what is going on.

“How does it feel to taste mortality again, Starswirl?” asks a feminine voice heavy with authority.

Starswirl looks up and sees a beautiful, winged unicorn standing before him with a skinny build, but her curves are still easy to see. Her eyes are cyan, her coat is a grayish-blue, and her light azure mane hangs past her shoulders. Resting on her head is a dark, spiked crown and a silver tiara with a full moon, and she is wearing a flowing, dark purple dress underneath her silver armor decorated with stars and wavy lines. The suit actually makes her figure more defines and Starswirl vaguely remembers how this particular alicorn always welcomed his invitations for nights of lavish parties and other activities with open arms. Her sister, on the other hand, did not accept his invitations quite as often. That being said, the good times he shared with Celestial Sisters are vague. But seeing the younger of the two standing in front of him, glaring and holding a sword like a cane with the tip piercing the dirt and her hands resting on the hilt's bottom is a clear indication that he will not enjoy this reunion. The fact that he is chained to a solid stone throne helps enforce this.

“It has been a long time, Luna. How is your sister?” says Starswirl with a forced smile.

“She has been wounded greatly by your actions and has yet to fully recover,” replies Luna sourly.

“Oh, that is tragic. Be sure to give Celestia my halfhearted apologies when you see her again.”

“You have fallen far from grace, Son of Bismuth.”

“And you are still holier than thou, Daughter of Faust. Are you here to tell me something or are we going to relive the old days?”

Luna narrows her eyes and tightens her grip on her sword's hilt. “We have a message from Mother, as well as a personal message.”

Starswirl chuckles darkly. “Do you now? What worthless piece of advice does your mother have in store for me this time?”

Luna remains silent, but her grip does tighten on her weapon and Starswirl notices a slight twitch in her eye and her jaw setting. He thinks he hears a growl, too, but the sane part of him tells him it is not wise to taunt an armed mare that has him chained to a seat.

Starswirl licks his lips. “Well, I suppose I should let you speak.”

Luna purses her lips and sits down in front of Starswirl, sprouting a throne made of onyx and thick, lavender cushions from the ground. Decorating the throne are swirling midnight blue and dark lavender gems that connect to a crescent moon on the top of the back rest, positioning itself right above the alicorn. She then presses her hands together and drapes one of her leg's over the other.

“Listen closely, Starswirl, for We have told this to your fellow Windigo, Medallion, and now We are telling you, as per Mother's request and Our desire to speak with you,” she says sternly, earning a quirked brow from Starswirl.

Starswirl sighs and slouches in his throne, waving his hand impatiently as much as he can. “Well, get on with it, then.”

Luna's eyes narrow. “As We said before, you have tasted your mortality. You have been reminded that you are not invincible, therefore you can die at any time, no matter what earthly blessings you receive. You are lucky to be alive as it is, but now you must take this second chance to repent from your ways.”

“And rejoin the Light?”

“Yes.”

Starswirl snorts and clenches his fists as he flexes his muscles in a feeble attempt to break free, but his wrists remain bound to his throne. “Now, tell me, Princess of the Night, why should I return to the Light? What Light is there to return to, anyhow? It is growing fainter with each passing day. Even your moon – the so called Light in the Dark- ails. All there is, is the resurgence of the Nightmare, and when King Sombra is at full strength he will take his war to Paradise and bring that whore you call Mother down to her knees!”

Luna's eyes glow bright and with a vicious snarl she lunges at the bound unicorn, grabbing him by his neck and crushing his back against the stone throne, cracking it and splitting the air with its thunder. Pressed against his jugular is her blade, gleaming in the moonlight and barely touching his skin, ready to slice his throat open at a mere flick. Starswirl gulps, but despite his trembling body, his racing heart and the tears clouding his vision, he still manages to force a cocky smile to mock the Princess of the Night.

“Are you going to kill me in the Dreamscape? You know that that is forbidden,” says Starswirl condescendingly.

“YOU HAVE MUCH STUPIDITY IF YOU THINK YOUR FALSE KING CAN CHALLENGE MOTHER!” accuses Luna, her echoing voice shaking the earth and making Starswir's ear bleed.

“No, Luna, it is you who is foolish! You think that alicorns can remain on their thrones when you forget that Faust created us to be gods of our own!”

Luna glares at Starswirl, her chest heaving with her heavy breaths and her muzzle wrinkled with her predatory growl as her grip tightens around his throat. He swallows again, feeling the alicorn's digits squeeze harder on his neck.

“We are meant to rule all things,” continues Starswirl. “Sombra will bring the unicorn race to what it was meant to be, and when he does, you will see just how weak deities are compared to us mortals.”

Luna's grip tightens and behind Starswirl's defiant eyes there is fear. He wonders if Luna really will kill him in the Dreamscape, but seconds later, her squeeze ceases and her wrathful gaze dissolves to pity. She releases his throat with a sigh and he leans forward, coughing and sucking in air, barely giving her eye contact as she backs away with her eyes lowered and her blade returning to its sheath.

“Starswirl, once a great king of Unicornia, truly your quest for great knowledge has corrupted you,” says Luna softly. She takes a breath and looks at Starswirl in the eyes. “But if you will not listen to Us, listen to your heart. Ask yourself, what would your son think of you?”

Starswirl's wet eyes snap with his stiffening muscles and he finds his mouth suddenly dry and his throat plugged with a lump. Before he can even make a thought about his son, Luna extends her hand to him, which creates a soft white orb in her palm.

“Wake up soon, Starswirl,” she says.

The orb then explodes in a blinding flash of warm, white light and-

Starswirl's eyes open and he sucks in frosty air. He coughs and uses his one hand to push himself up in the sitting position. His whole body is quivering as the cold he has become so accustomed to digs past his thin coat and blue skin like claws of a raptor grabbing a hold of its prey. His body is damp with his blood and the moisture around him, and in the middle of the field, he finds himself to be alone. And terrified.

He swallows some air with big gulps and runs his hand over the scab of his obliterate arm as he looks for any signs of his team in the foggy field without standing. He has no such luck, and with that depressing sight, he takes a breath, closes his eyes, then grits his teeth as he absorbs the moisture around him. The regrowing bones feel as though they are twigs sprouting from his body, each growing and latching on to each other to create the bones of his arm, wrist and hand. The appearing muscles are like thin worms that grow into fat, wiggling beasts that fuse together using their slime. The scab that covered the wound breaks apart and becomes part of his regrown arm and his skin returns like a careless seamstress sewing patches as fast as she can while his pale, gray-blue coat sprouts like grass. When his arm has returned, he flexes his muscles and twists his wrists and wiggles his fingers. Then he sprouts an ice blade and smiles wearily at the rough weapon he summoned. After that, he does the same with the wound on his gut, feeling the same discomfort as he did with the arm reconstruction. Once he is fully healed, he stands up, leaving a massive circle of dead grass and rock hard, dry dirt around him. After trying to marvel at his work without much success, he walks towards where he last saw his team, his hand shaking and curling and uncurling into a fist the whole time with his ice blade out.

The fog parts like a curtain when he steps into the site of the massacre and his whole body seems ready to collapse. His knees buckle and his eyes shift between each of the destroyed corpses that once made up his team, now lying in pools of blood with their dismembered parts scattered.

“This should not have happened,” says a familiar voice.

Starswirl looks to his side and sees Medallion sitting on the grass, massaging a leg that he is reattaching to his body. His hood is down, revealing his pale face, blood red eyes and wiry mane. His eyes are distant and as the skin and fur regrows on his leg, his strokes become more hypnotic.

“Sombra promised us immortality,” continues Medallion, resentment, worry and sadness weighing down his voice. He stops and looks at the bodies. “He lied to us.”

“That broken blade that the unicorn had was blessed,” says Starswirl. Medallion gives him a curious look and he continues with a loud sigh. “Sombra may be powerful, but he does not have the strength to fight Faust's blessings just yet.”

Starswirl approaches Medallion and offers his hand, and once his companion grabs it, he pulls him up and starts walking towards the forest in the distance, balling his hand into a tight fist.

“Come, we still have work to do,” says Starswirl.

Medallion slips his hood back over his head, balking. “With just the two of us? The one with the Blessed Blade slaughtered us! We will need an army to retrieve the Amulet if he is traveling with the foalings!”

Starswirl stops and takes a breath, understanding Medallion's paranoia, but at the same time annoyed since they wasted precious time napping and talking. “Sombra has many allies in the light and shadows. I am sure we will get an army if we ask our king for one. Let's move. We have wasted enough time.”

Starswirl starts walking again and seconds later, he hears Medallion walk after him. As they walk, he lowers his head and watches the path his feet are taken mindlessly taking him with Luna's question lingering in his mind. A question he has not thought about for centuries, much less a question regarding someone he has long forgotten about until today. His eyes close and he takes a deep breath, and forces his feet to keep moving for the sake of the Amulet and the purpose Sombra gave him, no matter who is against him.

Several hours later, when the sun is beginning to set, Rainbow Dash and a group of six pegasus stallions, all donning the dark armor of the Hurricane military, land in the field. The reason for their landing is that Rainbow Dash spotted almost a perfect circle of corpses through the fog. Her soldiers did not see them, but they always had inferior eyesight when it came to distances, and when they found the bodies in the fog, she could not help but smile. She has once again proven herself to be better, but that smile does not last when she actually starts inspecting the corpses. All of them are covered in thin, blue fur and have been sliced up in the most brutal ways possible. A couple have missing heads, with one having no head to be found at all, and one even had their maw sliced off. The sharp ice encasing their arms do not shed any more light on the situation since she has never seen anything like that before.

“Spread out in twos and see what else you can find,” orders Rainbow Dash.

“What about you?” asks one of the soldiers.

Rainbow Dash kneels down by a patch of dry grass and runs her fingers along it, frowning as the dead blades crumble and her fingers feel the dry dirt underneath. “I will be fine. Just do what I say.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Rainbow Dash looks over her shoulder and watches the soldiers disappear in the fog, their steps careful and their weapons out. Once they are just silhouettes, she gets on her hands and knees and squints her eyes, trying to focus on the mix of blue and red streaks and droplets. The squinting hurts her eyes after a short time, though, and she sits on the cold grass, groaning and rubbing her eyes as she tries to figure out what happened at this location, or why the corpses look like they had been rotting for a long time yet the blood is still semi-fresh.

“Oi! We found something!” calls one of the soldiers.

Rainbow Dash's ears perk and she looks over her shoulder to see the shadowy figures of a pair of her escorts waving.

“Its one of the missing weapons!” says his partner.

Rainbow Dash jumps to her feet and runs over there, sliding to a stop and snatching the weapon from the soldier before anything can be said. She runs her fingers along the blades edge and squints her eyes again to see Eastmarch Forgery etched on the blade. She grins and hands the weapon back as the other four soldiers close in.

“So, our little thieves were here, eh?” she says with her grin becoming more sinister and her hands rubbing together eagerly.

“There was a lot of blood nearby,” says one of the soldiers that found the blade. “It is possible that one of them bled out or is looking for medicine.”

“There is the Redheart Monastery about thirty miles from here,” adds the second soldier. “I doubt that they will make it in their condition, but it is a good place to start looking.”

Rainbow Dash nods and spreads her wings. “Good. Let's fly!”

Author's Notes:

Well that only took two months...