An hour later, Midnight gazed up at his ship, The Break of Dawn, as a crew composed of members from his Dusk Division in the Harmony Guard prepared the ship to disembark.

“Midnight Blaze!”

Sighing, Midnight looked to see Twilight and Twinken coming his way, the both of them looking miffed. After getting Watcher’s request for help, Midnight had teleported away and sent a notice to Avalanche, the Sirian Dog Lieutenant of the Dusk Division, to meet him at the Ponyville Airfield with a squad of six guards to accompany him.

Once they’d arrived, he’d ordered them to talk with the employees of the airfield and get The Dawn ready to launch. He’d somewhat been hoping to be gone before his wife and brother had found him, but no luck.

“Midnight, where are you going and on The Break of the Dawn no less?” demanded Twilight.
“What was in that scroll, Midnight? You promised no more secrets!” Twinken looked like he was getting upset.

Looking at his wife and brother and seeing the worry and concern underlying their irritation with him, Midnight sighed deeply before saying, “You’re right… I’m sorry, this- It’s kind of a delicate situation. A… family situation.”

“Family? Is- is it my parents or Shining Armor, Cadence and Cora?” Twilight fretted.

“No, no, this is… from someone else,” Midnight assured, “The message is from a unicorn named Watcher. He’s our cousin. That is, me and Twinken’s cousin, on our father’s side.”

“We have a cousin?!” Twinken flabbergasted.
“You never mentioned him before!” added Twilight.

“You used to know him, Twilight,” Midnight explained, “but you were really little, and Twinken wasn’t even born at the time. Watcher and Shining Armor are the same age, but he and his parents used to live in Vanhoover. So he wasn’t able to visit us all that often.”

“So, if Watcher is related to you on your father’s side…” Twilight gathered.

“Watcher’s father was named Coal Obsidian, the younger brother of Ignitus Enflame,” clarified Midnight before he explained, “My uncle served in the Royal Guard alongside Ignitus. While Dad achieved the rank of Captain, Coal was one of his Lieutenants, in charge of his own division in the guard. However, Coal was killed by a group of marauders and our aunt blamed my father for it. Out of grieving anger, she forbade us from ever coming near them. So our families haven’t been in contact ever since, but before being separated, Watcher shared with me a spell that would allow us to exchange letters with one another. The spell makes it so the message can only be sent and received between those who are related by blood.”

“So, why is he contacting you now?” Twilight asked, raising a brow at her husband suspiciously.

“Despite our limited visits and my aunt splitting our families apart, Watcher and I kept contact but we lost touch,” Midnight explained, sounding woeful. “I haven’t heard from him in years, but for him to send me a message like this, asking for help… it has to be something serious, because although he never blamed my father for the loss of his own, Watcher couldn’t help but feel some kind of resentment and I guess our letters were just a reminder to him of what he’d lost.”

Twinken looked sad and went over to give his big brother a hug, which Midnight warmly reciprocated.

“I’m… I’m sorry you had to find out about our family this way,” Midnight’s ears drooped.

“It’s okay. I mean… I’m sad that I’ll never get to know our uncle,” Twinken shrugged but kept his composure, “but you can’t really miss someone you never knew.

“But I am sad our aunt and cousin don’t wanna talk to us anymore.”

“Well… perhaps helping Watcher now may be the start of mending our family bond,” Midnight smiled with doubt but hope at the same time when he heard someone coming.

They looked to see it was Avalanche, Midnight’s Lieutenant of the Dusk Division. The Dog saluted his prince and princess and their little brother before reporting, “The airship is ready to take to the sky, sir. Just give the word and we’ll be on our way.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. You may join the rest of the crew, I’ll be along shortly,” Midnight kindly dismissed and Avalanche boarded The Dawn.
“It’s time for me to go.”

“Lemme come too!” Twinken suddenly asked, surprising his brother and sister-in-law. “I wanna meet Watcher and I wanna help!”

“No, Twinken, you need to stay here, where it’s safe,” Midnight shook his head no.

“But Big Brother…!” Twinken pleaded, using the same mournful eyes that Apple Bloom sometimes used to sway those around her.

“Nice try, little bro, but as adorkable as you are right now, that works better coming from a filly,” Midnight snickered, causing Twinken to ‘Dang it...!’ in irritation.

“Come on, Twinken, maybe I could teach you a couple new spells, you’d like that, right?” Twilight offered kindly.

“All right…” Twinken moped as he went to stand by Twilight again as she gave Midnight a concerned look.

“Just be careful and come home safely,” she said with loving worry, that she got a tender nuzzle as Midnight rubbed his head with hers, and they enjoyed the warmth of each other from that simple yet intimate gesture.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” he promised.

Midnight turned around while his cloak appeared over him like a shroud of shadows spinning itself into an ominous fabric, and he boarded The Break of Dawn while calling out, “Cast off!”

The mooring lines were automagically undone and then retracted into the ship’s sides as it began to rise. The Solar Sails were unfurled, the shimmering fabric reflecting the glorious radiance of the day and soaking up its enriching light. The crystal linings imbued with the anti-grav spells lit up as the arcane thrusters provided some extra thrust to get the ship airborne.

As it rose into the sky, Twilight marveled at what an amazing feat of mystechnological engineering The Break of Dawn truly was. She wished she’d gotten to participate in its creation but understood it had been Midnight’s brainchild, along with Blueblood, Techorse and Time Turner. But recently, Midnight had proposed an idea for something equally as interesting, which they were planning to apply once they were done with the theoretical stage.

The stern arcane thrusters of The Dawn fired up and the airship zoomed off, becoming a speck in the distance before long.

Sighing, Twilight said, “Alright, Twinken, why don’t we head back to the castle and-”

But looking to her side, Twilight was stumped to see that Twinken was no longer there.

“Twinken?” She looked around but saw neither coat nor mane of the colt. “Twinken? Twinken, where are you?”

Suddenly, a disturbing thought made itself known in Twilight’s mind as she looked back towards the sky, just in time to see the speck that was The Dawn before it was gone out of her sight, and she had a theory of where Twinken had got to.

“Oh dear…” Twilight hoped Twinken wouldn’t get into trouble, but her immediate worry was, “Auntie Faerie Tail’s gonna kill me…!”

It was almost 6:30 PM in Trottingham as Watcher waited patiently inside Silver’s shop as the charcoal unicorn flipped a single gold bit out of boredom. He knew that it was risky getting involved with his cousin, especially since the last letter he sent to Midnight was seven years ago, but Watcher knew that he’d need help with this current job.

‘Twenty missing citizens just this month alone… If it was just a normal kidnapping, I could handle this by myself, but whatever those things were, means something really nasty is going on here. This whole city could be at risk if nothing is done about it,’ he thought to himself as he placed his gold bit in his coat’s pocket and began to make his way outside before a letter ‘Popped up’ in front of him.

‘Watcher,

I’m on my way, and will arrive outside Trottingham in my airship. Whatever the problem is, I’ll do everything I can to help.

See you soon, cousin,
Midnight’

Looking it over carefully, the charcoal unicorn couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh as he wondered if it was better for him to go greet him outside the city or to wait patiently in Silver Smith’s shop. It was a difficult call, but Watcher knew that it’d be faster to just meet him there rather than wait.
“Well it shouldn’t take me too long to get that guy’s sorry flank over here, as long as nothing happens.”

Just as Watcher was about to leave, he noticed his friend returning with a few bags of what looked like groceries. He knew that Silver Smith needed to come as his uncle may also be among those who had gone missing.

“Hey Silver? Do you need some help with those?” Watcher offered, but Silver shook his head in response.

“Nah, it’s fine… Any word from your cousin yet?” Silver asked, placing the bags of groceries inside with his magic.

“He’ll be arriving shortly in an airship, we’re going to meet him outside of town where he’ll land.” Watcher explained, fixing the collar of his trench coat. “Once we fill him in on everything going on, I’m sure the three of us can find those missing ponies and prevent this shit from happening to anypony else.”

“Right, I just hope your cousin can help us find my uncle…” Silver fretted in worry. “I learned that he never made it to Baltimare for the convention. Something must have happened to him before leaving the outskirts of town.”

“Hey, don’t worry, my friend. We’ll find him and the others, plus my cousin is a prince now. He probably has an entire battalion at his side right now. Even if he doesn't, the three of us will be more than enough to solve this mystery,” Watcher reassured his friend as the two began to make their way to the outskirts of Trottingham to meet Midnight.

By the time the two made their way outside of the city, they soon noticed the impressive airship up ahead and were baffled by its lack of a gasbag and having sails instead, like an actual seafaring ship. However, the two continued to make their way over where they soon noticed a small group of guards, led by a Sirian Dog, exiting the ship, followed by a pony wearing a black cloak, his face concealed underneath a hood as he made his way off the ship.

“I take it Tall, Dark and Gloomy coming out the ship is your cousin? If so, I can see the resemblance,” Silver playfully shouldered Watcher, earning a groan from the charcoal unicorn.

Taking a deep breath, Watcher approached the cloaked stallion, his horn flickering a bit as he began to feel a familiar aura coming from the hooded stranger, causing him to smirk.
“Well, well, look at you! Lil’ Nighty, all grown up.”

The Hooded Pony looked at Watcher… who heard a sharp yet soft inhale and the Hooded Pony seemed to freeze for a moment as he thought, He looks so much like them…

“Hellllooooo!? Earth to Nighty, are you there? Are the lights on up in the attic?” Watcher asked with light impatience but teasing at the same time.

That seemed to work as the Hooded Pony growled softly while shaking his head a bit and then throwing it back, causing his hood to fall back, revealing his face. Watcher raised a brow at the stallion his cousin had grown up to be.
“Huh. At least you look the part of the ‘dashing prince’. How many mares have you beaten off with a stick lately?”

“I’m happily married, for your information,” Midnight responded dryly before bringing up, “I… sent you an invitation, remember?”

“Yes… And I couldn’t make it at the time…” Watcher rubbed the back of his head, a tad uncomfortable, “I was answering a request from a client of mine and needed to take care of it. Sorry about that, I won’t bore you with the details. Anyways I’d like for you to meet my closest friend, Silver Smith. Silver, this is my cousin, Midnight Blaze.”

“Prince Blaze, it’s… nice to meet you!” Silver replied nervously as he bowed to the alicorn.

“Please, there’s no need for that,” Midnight said politely, “I really can’t stand formalities unless the situation actually calls for it. But any friend of Watcher’s is a friend of mine.”

“Oh that’s a relief!” Silver said, standing up straight.

“Anyways, care to explain who the colt hiding behind those crates are?” Watcher asked, his horn flickering as his mana surrounded the crates and levitated them into the air, revealing a little indigo unicorn.

Midnight's eyes popped a moment…before he did Cadance’s calming technique of breathing in and then breathing out, and very calmly he said aloud, “I’m not going to turn around… but in exactly five seconds that colt had better be… FRONT AND CENTER.”

“Yipe!” Said colt reluctantly ambled out, shoulders hunched, head hanging, ears drooping, trying to look as sympathetic as possible as he moped over to sit in front of Midnight.

“I’m assuming this is your son?” Silver asked.

Midnight and Twinken both gaped at him with a ‘seriously’ look before Midnight cleared his throat, “Watcher, Silver, this is Twinken, my little brother who I seem to remember leaving in Ponyville where he’d be safe and sound- Oh wait! He’s not!”

“I’m sorry, Midnight!” Twinken whimpered before looking over at Watcher, who seemed befuddled, “I just wanted so much to meet our cousin!”

“Oh! So you’re Twinken?” Watcher commented before gently yet firmly saying, “Well, it’s… nice to finally meet you, ya little squirt, but this isn’t exactly the best time for family reunions. It’s for grown ups only right now.”

“Well, I’ll have you know! I am an adept-level mage and apprentice to Princess Luna herself!” Twinken harrumphed. “I’m also a Lunar Pony and a skilled Dreamwalker!”

“Sure, and I’m a descendant of the Great King Sombra and will soon rule Equestria with an Iron Hoof!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!” Watcher declared with an overly dramatic boast of a belly-laugh.

“Watcher, don’t encourage him. Besides all three of us are descended from Prince Sombra,” Midnight pointed out flatly.

“I know, just playing with his little ego a bit. Anyways, as fun as it is to meet you, Twinken, I have to agree with your brother,” Watcher said kindly but with a slight sternness, “This really isn’t the time or place for you to be right now.”

“He can wait in my uncle’s shop while we take care of that issue,” offered Silver.

“He can’t be left alone, as he’s already proven,” Midnight said sternly, “So...Avalanche!”

The Lieutenant came over, “Sir, yes sir!”

“I’ll need one of our guards to stay with Twinken and make sure he stays out of trouble,” Midnight requested.

“I’ll get Comet Tail on the task, sir,” Avalanche nodded.

“Very good, maybe he can keep my brother under control,” Midnight gave the colt a stink eye, which made Twinken shrink back a bit.
“He’s shown he can’t do it himself…”

“Well, at least he’s not like my sister… she’s always getting into shenanigans,” Watcher commented, while Midnight’s eyes popped yet again

“Wait, wha- You have a sister?! Since when?!”

“Since ten years ago,” Watcher responded nonchalantly. “I love that little filly, but honestly she drives me insane.”

“Can we meet her sometime?” asked Twinken with a hopeful smile, which actually got Watcher looking uncomfortable.

“Uh, I dunno, kid, she lives with our mom and…” Watcher grimaced lightly in discomfort. “Anyways, we better get going.”

“Silver, can you give Avalanche directions to your uncle’s shop?” asked Midnight, and upon getting a nod, Midnight looked to Twinken and said, “You are going with Comet Tail to that shop, where you will remain until we leave.”

“But Midnight-” Twinken tried to protest, only to get a Zip-It Spell for his vain efforts.

“I don’t wanna hear it! You deliberately disobeyed me and unless you want your punishment to increase I suggest you go quietly,” Midnight said with an edge, causing Twinken to deflate.

The yellow unicorn guard, Comet Tail, stepped forward.
“Ready for… escort and bodyguard duty, sir.”

“I’m sorry, Comet, but I appreciate this,” Midnight then glared at Twinken to get moving and the colt begrudgingly followed Comet, who received directions from Silver and they ventured towards Trottingham.

Midnight kept an eye on them until they vanished through the distant streets before looking at Watcher and Silver, “So what do we got?”

“Well if you read my letter, then you know that there've been civilians going missing… This month alone, there have been a total of twenty,” explained Watcher, sounding troubled but keeping his cool. “One of them turned up last night… killed by these… monsters! Unnatural, strange creatures that looked to be completely made out of a tar-like substance.”

“Twenty missing cases within the span of just a month?!” Midnight was absolutely worried but then asked, “Wait… how long has this been going on? How many have gone missing altogether?”

Silver Smith pulled out a notebook from his saddlebag with his magic and handed it over to Midnight as he had this look of concern. “Y-You won’t like this answer, Midnight, but this has been happening for about-”

“OVER FIVE HUNDRED YEARS?!?!” Midnight yelled in total disbelief at what he was reading.

“Don’t yell at me!” whined Silver.

“Sheesh, cuz, don’t hex the messenger,” Watcher added, disgruntled.

“I- Ahem, sorry…” Midnight took another calming breath and a moment to regain his composure, and then looked at the notebook again and he was dismayed and horrified to see, “Silver… it says that ponies and other creatures have gone missing in the outskirts of Trottingham over the course of centuries! Like… every eighty years or so. Never exactly at the same time, but still!

“Hundreds of missing cases that went unsolved, every single one of them relating somehow to some... tower?! How has nopony brought this up to the royal courts?!”

“As far as I know, it was brought up a few centuries ago, but times were different and there was always corruption back than. The last time the royal guards got involved was three hundred years ago and… well, they sent forty to investigate the tower… only one made it out alive… And well, they say that he had completely lost his mind. So they barricaded the tower’s entrance, but that didn’t stop ponies from disappearing,” Silver explained, feeling rather sick to his stomach even talking about it. “As for Celestia herself, nopony knows if the word of the tower ever got to her… like I said it was a time of corruption then. Politicians and nobles would do anything to keep their own Bits in their pockets for as long as they can.”

Midnight furrowed his brows in disgust and guilt. He led the most successful and efficient covert ops in all of Equestria and he’d had no idea… He closed the notebook and said, “Where do we begin?”

“Well, if you must know… we need to head to the same place where it all began.” Watcher said sternly. “But before that… I need a drink.”

“Really!?” Silver groaned.

“Trust me when I say that… once we start this, there won’t be any backing out,” Watcher declared as he trotted past the two stallions.

For a moment, Midnight and Silver stood there before Midnight shrugged, “Well, a little liquid courage might be in order, especially if they have Colt Cola with rum.”

Midnight then looked to Avalanche, “Have two guards remain to watch The Dawn. You and the remaining three will patrol the outskirts of Trottingham. Be on the lookout for anything suspicious and protect the locals if they're in danger.”

“Sir! Yes sir!” Avalanche and the Dusk Guards all responded with a salute as Midnight then followed his cousin.

Silver hanged back a moment and sighed, “Once again, I’m the third leg…”

Watcher led them to the pub where he and Silver had been the other night, the Gassy Bronco. The sign showed a wild-looking stallion smiling a naughty smile down at the viewer from around his plump rump, with his tail lifted and letters starting from where his pucker would be, reading ‘The Gassy Bronco’ illustrated with a foggy gas around the letters.

The sight of it, along with the name, made Midnight stifle an amused chuckle as he followed his cousin, Silver in reluctant tow.

“I’ve said this once, but I’ll say it again… worst name ever,” Watcher stated.

“Oh don’t gimme that, Watch,” Midnight playfully shouldered him, “You used to crack up at jokes like that back when we were obnoxious little colts.”

“Heh, I’m surprised you still remember that,” Watcher chuckled.

“Sure it’s gross, but at least it’s memorable, heheheh,” Midnight said as he sat down at a nearby table.

“Mm, can’t argue with that,” Watcher shrugged as he sat down too, followed by Silver.

As the three of them waited for the barmaid to come over, they were unaware that they were being watched…

Standing on an old rain barrel, Twinken peered through the pub window, spying on his brother, cousin and Silver. A simple sleep spell had taken care of his foalsitt- Pardon, bodyguard, and after gently leaving Comet on a public bench to snooze, Twinken had followed the stallions to the Gassy Bronco (‘Hehehe!”) and now he was trying to eavesdrop but the inside was a little noisy with slurred chatter, clinking beer glasses, and belches.

“Unbelievable, he reads me the riot act and then goes drinking…” Twinken huffed.

As annoyed as Twinken was, he was still apprehensive of being caught and getting into more trouble. Yet he wanted so much to help, as well as get to know more of his family, and here was his cousin he never got to know, along with the knowing he had another cousin and an aunt out there too.

Sure he was young and still had plenty of growing up to do, but Twinken wasn’t helpless! His brother, his sister-in-law and his mistress, Princess Luna, had taught him so much about magic, but they hardly ever let him put his knowledge and skills to practical use.

If they’d just… let me prove myself, Twinken thought, so lost in his head… that he didn’t hear something slinking towards him.

Back inside the pub, Watcher was waving his hoof towards the barmaid to bring another round for them. Midnight couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as he watched his cousin chug down his beverage quickly.

“Ah! Nothing like a good mug of fresh ale to ease the stress!” Watcher declared, licking his lips as the barmaid brought another mug for him, winking at him.

“I prefer light booze,” Midnight commented as he took a swig of his cola and rum. “In my line of work, it’s nice to get tipsy but not drunk off your ass.”

“Ha! I say I have the right to get drunk after what happened with my last marefriend!” Watcher boasted confidently as he took another swig from his mug. Silver, shaking his head in annoyance as he took a sip of his own drink before turning to Midnight.

“Watcher doesn’t remember telling me this, but last night he mentioned he caught his girlfriend cheating on him.” Silver whispered to the alicorn.

“Ooh…” Midnight cringed. “How’s he… been handling it?”

“He’s fine… when he’s not drunk off his-” Silver started, but suddenly stopped when he heard a low growl and noticed the stink eye Watcher was giving him. “Uh- I mean… that is- Well, all things considered…”

“All things considered, what, Silver…?” asked Watcher with an edge so subtle Silver felt like a knife was at his throat.

“I- Uh…!” He noticed his saving grace when the barmaid passed their table, and he hastily said, “Uh- heya, miss! Wanna have a drink together sometime?”

He regretted it the moment he said it, but the barmaid gave him a teasing look but said, “Sorry, sweety! Daddy doesn’t like me hanging around with the patrons, or vice-versa.”

“Y-your dad?” Silver uttered when he noticed the barmaid point towards the bar… and he saw the barkeep, a BIG earth pony, giving him a look that promised no mercy if he didn’t watch his step.

Gulping in bone-chilled terror, he shrank back in his seat and whimpered, “Have a nice night, miss…”

“You too, hon,” said the barmaid with a strangely bright smile and she carried on while Midnight and Watcher had a good laugh, banging their table as they guffawed and pointed at Silver.

“Oh shit, what I wouldn’t give for my camera right now-how-ha-ha-HA!!” gasped Midnight, trying to calm down while wiping a tear of amusement.

“I know!!! Silver, seriously you looked like you were about to piss your hooves!!!” Watcher added, nearly falling out of his chair before catching himself.

“Oh come on! At least I tried! Unlike you Watcher!”

“There is only one mare-” Watcher started, but suddenly they heard a loud scream come from outside the bar, followed by the pub windows getting blown in, causing the patrons to let out terrified screams of their own as they ducked under their tables to avoid the shattered glass.
“Oh… Dang, fun’s over… We better get going!”

“Wait- That sounded like-” Midnight was saying when they heard:

“BIG BROTHEEEERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!”

“TWINKEN!!!!” Midnight screamed before throwing the table aside, spilling drinks, and running out the door, quickly followed by Watcher and Silver.

Outside, they saw it was strangely foggy, but they still saw blasts of red mana and heard Twinken screaming, “MIDNIGHT, HELP MEEEE!!”

“TWINKEN, WHERE ARE YOU?!” Midnight cast a spell to clear the fog away… only for nothing to happen!
“Something’s up with this fog, my spell won’t clear it up!”

“It’s not natural!” Silver realized out loud.

“Hold on…” Watcher focused his horn, a purple glow beginning to radiate…before it seemed to pulse and his eyes snapped open, “Got it! Follow me, quick!”

The three made their way through the thick fog, following Watcher as his horn glowed brighter and brighter until they eventually saw four silhouettes that both Watcher and Silver recognized immediately. The same hounds from the previous night that had killed the poor colt had returned once more, but this time they were dragging Twinken by his hind legs, which were clamped in their jaws.

The sight of the colt in peril and his blood dripping incensed the dark gray unicorn, “You’re not taking my little cousin!!! You mangy mutts!!!”

“You’ll pay for threatening my little brother!!!!” added the infuriated alicorn whose cloak seemed to burn away and pale blue mana flowed from the corners of his eyes, behaving like fire.

“Guys!!” Silver gasped in horror as he looked ahead and saw where the beasts were taking Twinken, “This is it! This is the tower from my dream!

“Dream!?” Watcher asked, keeping his eyes focused on the beasts before them. His horn glowing brightly as a purple flame formed at the tip. “Let’s see them try to escape this!”

Soon, the charcoal unicorn fired off a large ball of fire at the hounds, before it split off into multiple projectiles that locked onto them, causing the mindless beasts to try and dodge, dropping Twinken to the ground as he laid down on the ground with his hooves over his head as the balls of fire flew over him, following the tar like creatures before eventually connecting, scorching the four hounds' legs, melting off as one howled in pain as it tried to stand on its three remaining legs.

Midnight raised his leonine tail and a cord of solidified shadowstuff extended from the tip before lashing out to snare Twinken around his barrel and quickly pulled him out of harm’s way, into Midnight’s embrace.

“Twinken! What’re you-” Midnight started but stopped when he heard whimpers and felt his heart sink to see Twinken look up at him, his eyes teary and terrified that gave way to relief.

“B-b-big brother-her-her…!!!” Twinken sobbed as he buried his face into Midnight’s chest, and Midnight felt his ire burn out as he gently hugged the colt close.

“Midnight, get Twinken out of here now! Silver and I can deal with these beasts!”

“Don’t worry… We got you covered, just get the colt out of here!” Silver said, his horn glowing yellow as he levitated an old rusty pipe that was laying on the ground and swung it at one of the hounds that tried to leap after Twinken once more.

Silver gritted his teeth as he bashed the head of the tar-like creature over and over again until it’s body was nothing more than a puddle, but his victory was short lived as another hound came up from behind him and bit into his shoulder, causing the stallion to yell in agonizing pain as he tried to shake it off his back while trying to hit it with the metal pipe he had found to no avail. Until the hound’s jaw was blown off suddenly by a turquoise blue beam of magic.

Surprised, the white stallion turned to see Midnight’s horn glowing as he glared at the remains of the beast that had harmed his little brother.
“I’m not leaving you guys!”

“T-Thanks…” Silver said, bowing his head before turning his attention over towards Watcher who hooves we’re surrounded by a purple aura as he continuously beat one of the creatures to an inch of it’s life with his bare hooves, snarling as he started to tear the beast apart. Not before the last remaining hound pounced on his back.

“RRRGH!! Geddoff me, you ass-sniffing pile of-” Watcher was bucking, trying to throw one of the hounds off his back after it’d jumped onto and was biting onto his withers when Midnight Flashed over beside him…

...and raised one of his wings, a blade of solid shadowstuff extending from the tip, which he deftly used to decapitate the hitchhiker, causing its body to fall off of Watcher and go ‘KERPLOP’ onto the ground as it dissolved into filthy sludge, along with its head after it stopped rolling.

“AUGH… Thanks, cuz,” Watcher winced, already feeling his blood dripping down his side, grabbing the limping hound by it’s hind leg with his hooves and began to spin it with all his might before throwing it against a lamp post, splattering it’s remains across the floor as the tar dissipated.
“E-Everypony alright? I think that was the last one… ”

“Watcher! You and Twinken need to get those wounds patched up, you’re both bleeding!” Silver looked at Watcher in concern but hurried over to Twinken, who was shivering in horror, almost in shock, whimpering as the pain was finally starting to register in his mind.

“Twinken, what happened?!” Midnight hurried over and quickly cast a healing spell he knew, which cleaned off the blood and the wound to prevent infection, dulled the pain somewhat, and covered it with a protective layer of mana that would work akin to a bandage until proper first aid could be applied.
“I thought you were with Comet Tail!”

“The- The dog- beast- things! They-they came out of nowhere…!” Twinken shuddered and struggled to get a hold of himself, but he was just too traumatized at the moment, causing Midnight's heart to sink. This was exactly why he hadn't want Twinken along, but this wasn't the time for reprimanding.

“Midnight, here…” Watcher said, pulling out a small roll of bandages from his coat. “These have some ointment in them that’ll help… It’s not much, but Twinken needs them more than I do.”

“But what about you?” Midnight accepted the bandages but looked at Watcher, concerned for him too.

“Heh, I’ll live… Not the first time I had to tangle with a mangy mongrel… Timberwolves are way worse. Their bark was worse than their bite,” Watcher scoffed, trying to look tough despite the pain
“But, Faust does it sting!”

“Well, let’s get back to my uncle’s place,” suggested Silver Smith. “We should all be safe there for the ti-”

That dead yet monotonous sound instantly froze Silver with overwhelming dread, remembering where he’d heard it.

From his nightmare.

Slowly everypony began turning their heads towards the constant sound of a clock ticking, at first they believed it was coming from the Clock Tower, but the old tower had stopped functioning a long time ago, so they only wondered where it was coming from.

Watcher’s ears twitched in annoyance as he tried to pin-point where the constant ticking was coming from, but soon the fog began to thicken, becoming heavier and more difficult to see, barely seeing his cousin’s silhouettes in front of him. However, just as he was about to approach them, he was able to see Silver Smith, standing there completely still, looking like he was staring off into infinity.

“Hey, Silver… You okay? We need to get out of here… Silver?” Watcher said, tapping his friend on his shoulder, but he did not react to him. Seeing him unresponsive, the charcoal unicorn forcefully turned Silver around, and seeing his face sent chills down the stallion’s back as Silver’s expression was that of pure dread and terror. Something that Watcher had never seen in his friend before as the stallion was usually the one who was level headed and calm in intense situations.

Just as he was about to shake the stallion once more, his eyes widened in alarm as he noticed a large silhouette standing over the two of them, barely seeing a large massive arm swinging down towards the two of them. Thinking fast, Watcher shoved the white stallion to the side and braced himself with his hooves covering over him, feeling the full force of the impact and being pushed to the ground.

“GAHHHHH!!!”

Midnight heard Watcher scream and wanted to get up to lend a hoof, but he couldn’t see much as it appeared the fog was getting thicker by the minute. His horn sparked as he attempted to try to illuminate streets for even a moment to see where his two companions were, but he could see nothing.

“Big Brother… I’m scared!” Twinken whispered in soft terror, his hooves tightening around Midnight as the stallion tried to locate the source of where the ticking was coming from.

“Don’t worry… I won’t let anything happen to you… Stay close okay, we’re going to find Watcher and Silver and get out of here!” Midnight reassured his little brother as he carried the young colt on his back.
“WATCHER!!! SILVER SMITH!!! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!?!”

“oOoVeR HErrRe…!” Midnight heard in response, briefly thinking it was either Watcher or Silver answering him, before realizing how distorted it sounded. It was odd, but they had nothing else to go off of. So with little choice, they followed the direction where the voice had come from.

The ticking suddenly stopped, setting off several alarms as Midnight’s horn flared up, ready to cast a spell, but he soon found himself standing face to face with a stallion towering over him, whose coat was black as the night sky with piercing pale blue eyes, he wore a white suit with a red tie. Midnight attempted to cast a spell, but soon felt something grab hold of his throat and began to strangle him, causing him to panic and preventing him from being able to concentrate.

He was soon lifted up into the air suddenly, Twinken slipping from his back and landing on the ground. It was then he noticed black tendrils coming from the stallion’s back.

“BlAaAzZzzEeee!” It said as it’s mouth suddenly began to open, revealing multiple mandibles as it began to absorb Midnight’s mana, slowly draining him, but not before getting hit in the face by a rock, interrupting it.

“LET MY BIG BROTHER GOOOO!!!!” Twinken yelled, tears running down his face but his eyes blazed with protective desperation. He began charging his horn, ready to put his magic training to the test, but was suddenly knocked to the ground, by several tendrils from the strange creature.

“T-Twinken… run away!” Midnight managed to choke out, when he felt the pressure on his throat relax just a bit but the grip held tight as Midnight felt the monster swing him around and throw him into a nearby tree, knocking the wind out of him.

Twinken struggled to sit up, his head dazed… when he heard a heavy step in front of him and looked up in sheer horror to see the monstrous figure leering down at him… until it raised its leg and struck Twinken over the head, just barely missing his horn, and Twinken was out like a light.

Slimy tendrils writhed as they extended from the figure’s back before reaching down to ensnare the colt into their wretched coils, and raised poor Twinken up.

The figure then turned around and marched straight back through the gates of the high fences surrounding the Tower, a resonant tick-tock sounding with every step, as it returned to its dark domain with its latest victim.

Midnight, Watcher and Silver had all just come to and saw in horror as they saw Twinken get taken away as the- The… Entity carried its prize through the Tower’s doorways and turned to sneered wickedly back at them and the doors slammed shut.

Twinken was gone, and Midnight felt his heart in an ice-cold vice as he threw his head back and screamed in despair!

The dark figure at the end, the Entity, is the villain here, designed and created by Pen. He used the Machine from the film "9" as a reference regarding the Entity