The seven ponies stared at the spot where Sterling had stood. The portal she had opened flashed like a strobe light and faded; the chains, seemingly dying, lay limp on the ground. The portal barely held itself open.

"Where'd she go?" Gates asked, finally breaking the silence that seemed like it lingered forever.

Twilight swallowed, "I-I don't know, from what I've talked about with the princess, it should only destroy the evil in somepony, or at the very least harness the energy," Twilight explained.

"Well, could it have sent her somewhere else?" Gates asked quickly. He watched as the few the guards that hadn't already fled go into what was left of the portal. "Why would they…" Gates pondered what was inside these portals; his thought were interrupted, however.

"Does it matter?" Rainbowdash piped in, "As long as she's gone, we won." Rainbow and the other ponies gathered around Twilight. The portal behind them flashed lightly.

"Well I didn't send her anywhere…" Twilight looked at the ground, puzzled, trying to piece together what had happened.

"Did she jump into that glowing thingy?" Pinkie Pie asked, taking a few steps closer to scrutinize it more thoroughly. A few more guards scrambled in. "Where are they going?" Pinkie asked, curious about the portals they had been dealing with over the past few days.

"I don't think she could have, I would have seen her from how close I was," Gates responded. "And yes, Rainbow, it does matter where she is; we'll have to deal with her again if we can't find her."

"Well, if she did get into that portal," Rarity noted, brushing dust and mud off of her coat, "I have a feeling she'll be exactly where she wants to be." She watched as the last few guards scampered into the portal, oddly ignoring the seven ponies that they been fighting.

Fluttershy winced each time a new wave of guards came through. She hated fighting like this; she just wanted to go home. But she couldn't, she knew she couldn't. She had to stand by her friends. Fluttershy looked at her friends, they seemed so... unwavered by what was going on. Why wasn't she brave like them? Why couldn't she swallow her fears and be strong?

"Are there any other possibilities Twilight?" Gates asked, interrupting Fluttershy's thoughts.

"Well..." Twilight began, "Princess Celestia told me about a 'spirit bond', an ancient spell where ponies connect on a spiritual level. They link themselves to one another and they can share their power at will." Twilight closed her eyes, trying to remember the conversation with her mentor.

"Could that explain how she disappeared like that though?" Rarity questioned, finally finished with cleaning her coat.

"I'm not sure, the princess told me it was a very complicated spell," Twilight explained. "She said something about joining with the other ponies... I don't know, it's a spell that hasn't been used in hundreds of years; I don't think that it can even been done anymore, the shear amount of power alone they would need... "

"Ah reckon that'd make the most sense though," Applejack added as Twilight continued to attempt to piece things together "Ah mean, how else can somepony just vanish into thin air all willy-nilly like that?" Applejack looked at Gates, hoping he could figure this out - if anypony could it was him.

"Well there's no doubt that they have enough power to pull it off," Gates said. "The fact alone that there are non-unicorns casting spells is proof enough for that."

"So, if you're right, I suppose when we used the Elements on Sterling..." Rarity paused, trying to piece what had happened together.

"Her energy went to whoever cast the spell!" Twilight interrupted.

"So that means whoever's helping that big meanie head we just fought is gonna be even more, big and scary and mean?" Pinkie Pie hopped in, standing on her back legs, holding her forelegs up in the air.

Fluttershy began shaking slightly at the thought. The very idea of a stronger and meaner enemy terrified her. Her trembling slowed as she felt a strong hoof rest on her shoulder. Gates stood next to her, letting a firm but reassuring hoof rest on Fluttershy. How was it that he was so strong? So able to deal with everything that had happened. She figured he couldn't be older than any of them - even younger, most likely. But there was something...his eyes, cold and dark. They gave Fluttershy the chills looking into them; while the rest of him was so young his eyes were so full of experience, full of memories.

She felt Gates' hoof come off of her shoulder suddenly. Brilliant flashing came from the portal behind them. The chains that lay on the ground tightened and tore into the portal, disappearing.

Gates looked at the ground around his new friends... friends. It was an odd word to use for Gates, rarely getting close to anypony, though he would go across the world for anypony he cared about, and he was doing just that for these ponies. The idea of friendship brought hope back into Gates' heart. It seemed that every time he had let somepony into his life, they were taken away...

The gray pony purged the thoughts from his mind. He had to remain focused. He watched as the chains rushed into the portal.

"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked quivering from behind Gates.

"It looks like-" Gates froze. "PINKIE!" He yelled in horror.

Pinkie Pie had been standing on top of a coiled chain, it had tightened and pulled the pink pony into the portal. Everyone rushed to try and help Pinkie, but it was no use.

She was hog-tied and dragged swiftly across the ground. "Weeeee!" Pinkie squealed as she was pulled in. The gateway flashed blindingly and closed behind her.

Next Chapter: Chapter Twelve - Still Alive Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 19 Minutes