The slow monotonous ticking of an old and dusty grandfather clock filled the air. Cotton Quill was touching up one of the many magical symbols around the mansion. This particular one happened to be in a small reading room. The unicorn had many odd jobs to do around the ancient manor, but he tried his best to linger around Raven Feather and the others. It made him feel useful, and he could perhaps convince them of his usefulness.

Raven Feather was leaning back into a luxurious red leather chair while putting her legs onto the desk in front of her. Compared to most other furnishings in the rooms of the mansion, the chair seemed relatively well kept, being mostly dust free and even structurally sound.

The rest of the room was pretty standard fare for all the rooms that the ponies used frequently. There were candles and lanterns placed around for lighting amid the ornate tables scattered around. The red throw rug was faded and frayed at some of the edges, matching the worn carpet it sat on perfectly. There were two dusty bookshelves on each side wall, and two more behind Raven Feather and her desk, the desk itself having an old reading lamp left behind by the human occupants. There were many such devices scattered around the estate, most of which no longer functioned of course.

The black mare was waiting around idly while her two colleagues finished their mission. She wondered how much time they would spend enjoying their assignment. The extra time would be worth it in the end however, with the elements of harmony out of the picture.

Cotton Quill slowly peeked towards the lounging pony out of the corner of his eye. He was silently hoping that he could find some way to talk her into giving him a mission of some sort. Even if she was royally pissed at him, he felt a need to make it back into her good books.

“So uh… Raincloud and Dust Kicker aren’t back yet?” The unicorn asked curiously while putting on a casual expression. Raven Feather rolled her eyes and looked away from the white pony. She hoped that he would just finish the symbol and leave, but he seemed to be stalling to be around her. This annoyed the black mare to no end.

“You know uh… I could be doing things other than cleaning the dorms and redrawing symbols. I mean… surely there’s something you have for me to do.” Cotton stated in a soft tone.

“You could leave me alone for a start.” Raven Feather groaned under her breath. She turned to see the longing and nervous stare of the needy stallion. She felt like punching him in the nose every time he tried to cling to her. She originally thought it would be cool having someone so fanatical about her, but that thought quickly left her head once she met the awkward unicorn.

“What…?” Cotton asked curiously. He hadn’t heard the annoyed mumbling of the black mare.

“*sigh* Just keep drawing Cotton… you’re a regular prodigy with the paint brush.” Raven Feather stated in a droll and sarcastic tone. Cotton huffed in defeat before returning to his work, much to the joy of the black mare.

The peaceful silence of the room was only interrupted by the constant melody of the clock ticking away at the back of the room. The rhythmic clattering was almost lulling the two ponies into a sense of dreary dullness as they dealt with their own internal emotions. Cotton was dealing with his gnawing desire to be useful, while Raven Feather was trying not to fall asleep while waiting for her two followers to return.

“Miss Raven Feather… with all due respect, I believe that you are ignoring me because of my previous mistakes.” Cotton Quill finally shrugged and got up the nerve to confront the green eyed mare.

“And what led you to that monumental discovery?” Raven Feather asked sarcastically while squinting her eyes in disbelief at the unicorn.

“I know that I messed up, and I’m sorry for that… but I can do so much more than this to help the group out. Let one of those entry level hoods deal with this and give me something meaningful to do… please?” Cotton asked in a pleading tone while giving her his best puppy dog face. Raven Feather growled in frustration as she watched the unicorn beg for a job.

“You know what Cotton… fine, you win.” The black mare shrugged while putting on a casual smile.

“Really?” The unicorn muttered in surprise. Even he didn’t expect to actually get through to the earth pony.

“Yeah… really, I have a very important job for you.” Raven Feather stated while sifting through the desk drawers to find something. While she searched, Cotton Quill was practically giddy with excitement. Finally the black earth pony pulled out a piece of paper and a feather quill. She dipped the feather into an inkwell located on the desk and scribbled away on the paper.

“I have a set of very important instructions for Shadow Mist… I need you to deliver this to him. I believe he is upstairs in the library.” Raven Feather explained while walking over to the eager unicorn and handing him the instructions.

Cotton quickly skimmed over the paper before squinting in confusion and going back to read it from the top. The paper seemed to be filled with unintelligible gibberish and scribbles. He couldn’t even make heads or tails of what the text was about.

“This is just gibberish…” The unicorn stated in slight confusion. Raven Feather chuckled warmly at the perplexed pony.

“It’s a code… Shadow will know how to decipher it. Just hurry up and deliver that to him post haste.” Raven Feather instructed while pointing towards the door. The unicorn nodded eagerly while walking over to the door with a new sense of enthusiasm.

“Right away Miss Raven Feather, I won’t disappoint you.” Cotton exclaimed while opening the door and walking out. The second the unicorn closed the door, the black mare dropped her fake smile and sighed.

“Too late for that one buddy…” Raven Feather shrugged while heading back to her chair and leaning back. Perhaps she could finally get some peace and quiet without the unicorn around.

Meanwhile, Cotton Quill was eagerly walking down the halls of the mansion with purpose. The room he had just come from was a short ways from the basement door, sitting in the same hallway he had traveled before. With the knowledge that his destination wasn’t very far, Cotton smirked happily while clutching the piece of paper with confidence.

The otherwise dull and creepy atmosphere of the quiet Victorian hallway didn’t even faze the excited unicorn as he traveled down the hall. Cotton was surprised that he was actually getting comfortable in the spooky mansion. The poorly lit lodgings he had were enough to test his courage the first few nights he came to the mansion. Cotton was given a room all to himself, though the room was large enough to be a dorm room all on its own.

He was given a room with the bed directly in line with the door. The wooden framed bed had a faded and frayed canopy on it, giving it a more fanciful feel. Next to the already odd feeling bed, there was a single night table with a single lantern on it. This lantern was Cotton’s only source of light in the room. The room stretched out for a long ways beyond his sanctuary of light, with an old vanity mirror and a large wardrobe at the far end of the room, encased in darkness.

Cotton didn’t enjoy sleeping in the room, and kept the lantern on at all times during the night. Not even the light from the moon managed to seep into the room, as the only window at the back of the room was blocked by one of the dressers. The unicorn could practically see shapes moving around in the mirror at the back of the room from where he slept.

Despite these eerie accommodations, Cotton grew used to his room, although he still didn’t travel past the lighted area at night. So if he could get used to that frightening room, the unicorn resolved that he could get used to anything this old house had to offer.

As he came to the end of the hallway, Cotton quickly opened the door and stepped out into the main room. He walked around to the main stairway and headed up to the second floor. From there it was just a short travel through a door to another hallway and a short walk to the library.

Once he entered the library, Cotton stepped inside with eager confidence. He quickly surveyed the room for Shadow Mist, but the red furred stallion wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Instead, there was a young and pale earth pony colt sitting at one of the tables positioned off to the side.

“Grimwood? What are you doing up here?” Cotton asked in confusion and surprise. The colt turned around and got up from his chair when he saw the white unicorn.

“I’m reading Cotton… this is a library. What are you doing here?” Grimwood asked in an accusatory way. Cotton mumbled as he thought about his own reason for a moment.

“Um… oh yeah! I’m looking for Shadow Mist. Raven Feather gave me a code for him to decipher, she said it was really important.” The unicorn explained while motioning the paper towards the colt.

“Riiiight…” Grimwood nodded slowly while responding. Cotton couldn’t detect the sarcasm in the monotone voice that the pale colt had.

“Shadow Mist isn’t here right now… Tell you what Cotton, How about I decipher that for you?” Grimwood suggested while walking over to the white unicorn.

“Well… Raven Feather said that this is for Shadow Mist.” Cotton reasoned while debating whether or not to let the colt have the paper.

“I’ll be sure to give it to Shadow Mist when he gets back… he’s running an errand for me at the moment, so I will be the first person he sees.” Grimwood explained while motioning for the white stallion to hand over the paper. Cotton shrugged in defeat while placing the paper in his open hoof.

Grimwood quickly read over the encoded message and raised an eyebrow curiously. He appeared to be surprised by what he was reading, although Cotton couldn’t tell what he was thinking about the message.

“Wow…” Grimwood exclaimed in a surprised tone.

“What is it?” Cotton asked curiously.

“This entire paper is just her insulting you and cursing you out… I can see why she wanted Shadow Mist to read this. Man… how many different words for annoying and incompetent are in her vocabulary?” Grimwood stated curiously while re-reading a part of the message with intrigue.

“What…? But… she said that it was an important message.” Cotton muttered in a sad and disappointed tone.

“Think for a second Cotton… has my sister ever given you charge over delivering an important message?” Grimwood asked in a slightly sympathetic tone. Cotton sighed and shook his head sadly.

“No… she didn’t do that even when she kind of liked me. She did kind of like me before… right?” Cotton asked with an uncertain sense of doubt. Grimwood just stared at the sulking unicorn with a blank expression to let him come up with his own conclusion.

“Ugh… I just want to do something useful to make up for those two flub ups I made before, but she won’t even give me a chance.” Cotton huffed in a depressed tone while hanging his head sadly. Suddenly, an idea popped into Grimwood’s head that made him smile slightly.

“Tell you what Cotton, why don’t you let me talk to her?” Grimwood suggested in a lighthearted manner. Cotton looked up in surprise at the colt’s offer.

“Really…? You would do that?” The unicorn asked with an uncertain expression. Grimwood nodded with a forced smile, although Cotton figured that every smile that he made looked forced.

“Sure… I will see if I can’t put in a few good words for you. Just come see us in the library later on tonight. Maybe she will have a mission ready for you by then eh.” Grimwood said in an encouraging tone while jabbing the unicorn with his elbow playfully.

Cotton smiled in a sincere manner. He felt happy and optimistic that he would finally be doing something of use. Maybe Raven Feather would finally see him for what he was actually worth. Grimwood smirked at the uplifted unicorn as he turned to walk out the door. He felt a little twinge of pride inside for what he was about to do.

“Thanks for the help Grimwood… I really appreciate it.” Cotton said in a sincere manner while waving to the pale colt.

“Don’t mention it Cotton.” Grimwood replied as he watched the stallion close the door and leave. “Really… don’t mention it.” He chuckled to himself while returning to his books.

Cotton Quill felt a new sense of satisfaction as he walked through the halls. Although Raven Feather felt annoyed by his very presence, he had faith that she would accept him back into her good graces in due time.

The unicorn made his way through the upstairs hallways and came out into the main room. The stairs to the main floor were to his left, while the hallway in front of him extended until it reached another door that exited into the rest of the house. Cotton lingered on the second floor and rested on the balcony that looked down into the foyer.

The various paintings and decorative vases that littered the grand room gave it a sense of prosperity, despite the dust and cobwebs that adorned most of them. The chandelier that hung from the ceiling was a sight to behold. It wasn’t flashy, relying on candles instead of glistening pieces of glass or crystal to supply its light. Although it was missing several of its candles and holders, it still appeared very grand and made Cotton feel like he was in the house of a royal figure.

Even the numerous hooded ponies walking to and fro resembled servants in a medieval castle. It gave the otherwise dead and dreary mansion a contrary feeling of being lived in. Although a quick glance at some of the more broken down pieces of furniture or a shattered window quickly dispelled this illusion.

Suddenly, the front doors flew open and a loud racket sounded into the room. Cotton looked down to see that Dust Kicker was urgently walking into the lobby while carrying Raincloud on his back. The pale mare was crying and wailing in distress from some unseen injury, although Cotton couldn’t even tell if there was an injury to be seen.

“Cotton! Where is Raven Feather?!” Dust Kicker shouted up to the confused unicorn once he noticed him lounging around.

“She’s in the downstairs reading room… what happened?!” Cotton asked in an alarmed tone as he listened to the painful yelps that the pegasus was making. Although Raincloud was usually a jerk to him, Cotton felt like she was part of the only family he had.

“Not now! I need to get her to Raven Feather.” Dust Kicker growled in an annoyed tone while rushing behind the stairs to get to the hallway that led to the reading room. Cotton anxiously rushed downstairs so he could follow the pair.

The unicorn passed all of the confused ponies in the foyer as he walked around the side of the stairway. He opened the door to the hallway and stepped inside just in time to see the brown pegasus running down the hall far away.

Cotton followed the two down the hallway until they turned off into a room. As he got closer to the room, he realized that he could hear the conversation from inside already. Apparently Dust Kicker had left the door open in his hurry. Deciding not to get in the way, Cotton simply listened from outside as the stallion brought his sister to their leader.

“Good lord… what happened to her?!” Raven Feather asked in an alarmed tone as Dust Kicker set the distraught pegasus down on the floor.

“We were fighting the slayer… He attacked her shadow with his claws, when she suddenly just started screaming in pain. She’s been like this since then.” Dust explained in an uneasy tone. “Can you help her?!” The stallion was practically demanding that the black mare take action.

“Ok, ok! I just need to separate her from her shadow temporarily.” Raven Feather explained while setting her hoof on the pained pony. Her hoof glowed with shadow energy as she channeled her magic into Raincloud.

Slowly but surely, the pale mare’s screams died down, letting her fall into a gradual sleep from the shock of the pain. Once Raincloud was at peace, Dust Kicker breathed a sigh of relief.

“I thought you said that it was safe for her to use her powers?” The pegasus asked in an accusatory manner. Raven Feather shrugged before turning to face the concerned stallion.

“It was… she must have had a negative reaction to the slayer using his spirit weapon on the shadow. Her link wasn’t prepared for that kind of stress.” The black mare explained in a calm yet uneasy tone. Dust Kicker wasn’t in the mood for such an explanation.

“Negative reaction?! She practically screamed so much her lungs are raw!” The pegasus stated while gradually getting more upset. “She never reacted this way when the shadow got hurt before… what the hell happened?” He asked in a demanding tone.

“Like I said… I didn’t expect a slayer to come around. His spirit weapons must have packed more punch than I realized. I didn’t think about it too much until now.” Raven Feather tried to calm the pegasus down, but Dust Kicker was still understandably upset.

“Damnit Raven… you’re the one who gave her that thing. You said you explained everything that could go wrong.” Dust Kicker leered at the earth pony angrily.

“She has had that thing since birth… you of all people should know that. I just taught her how to project it into a more stable form.” Raven Feather said in a more calm tone. “Did you complete the mission?” She asked to see if the pair had eliminated the elements of harmony.

“No, the slayer attacked the shadow before Raincloud had a chance to kill any of them.” Dust Kicker shrugged in annoyance. Raven Feather sighed in defeat. She was disappointed that the two hadn’t completed their mission, but the fact that Raincloud was hurt at least made her understand the pegasus’s reason for retreating.

“That’s fine Dust… you did the right thing in getting out of there.” Raven Feather stated in an attempt at ending any confrontation that was forming between her and the upset pegasus.

“Raven Feather… I’ve been thinking, and I think it would be a good idea to remove the shadow from her.” Dust Kicker said while looking down at the unconscious mare sadly.

“Dust… if I take away the spell I used to awaken her potential, she will just go back to how she was before. No control over it, and no way to tell it what to do. Do you really want her to go back to being the girl with the bad luck shadow?” Raven Feather reasoned in a sympathetic tone. The stallion shrugged as he thought about how his life was before he met the black mare.

“Besides, I think that is a decision you need to make with her… when she is conscious.” Raven Feather added while glancing at the sleeping mare.

“Ugh… she doesn’t see the risk of using shadow magic. I at least try to use my powers in moderation… she just throws her weight around without a care.” Dust Kicker explained in a concerned tone. Raven Feather wasn’t used to seeing the normally harsh and stoic pegasus speak in such a soft manner.

“Don’t worry, she knows what she’s doing. I taught her the ramifications of using her shadow and her other abilities, she is just adept at using them is all.” Raven Feather said in a reassuring tone. “I think we should take a break and lay low for a while… we need to rest and rethink how to proceed with the plan. Next time I will be sure to iron out the details with more care.” The black mare explained while giving the stallion some space to be with his sister.

“Good… we could use a break. I’ll carry her to our room so we can get some sleep.” Dust Kicker stated in an exhausted tone while walking over to the pale mare and gently picking her up.

“You two have earned a rest… enjoy the rest of the night. I’m going to head upstairs to talk with Grimwood.” Raven Feather said while walking to the door and heading outside. She gave a passing glance to the unicorn listening outside before walking down the hall.

Cotton Quill glanced inside and watched Dust Kicker as he carried his sister out. The pegasus gave the white stallion a passing glare before returning his attention down the hall. As the two disappeared from sight, Cotton was left by himself to ponder what had happened during the plan.

Meanwhile, Grimwood was sitting at his table upstairs. He was reading over one of the summoning books that the group used to choose monsters. The descriptions and instructions on how to summon the creatures intrigued him enough to warrant reading them in his free time.

Suddenly he heard the sound of someone walking down the hall towards the library. The door swung open and closed again with nobody seemingly coming inside. Grimwood stared at the air in front of the door and smirked.

“Did you get what I asked for?” Grimwood asked while looking forward. Suddenly a puff of dark energy pulsed in midair. The pulse faded as quickly as it arrived, leaving Shadow Mist standing in its place. The red stallion was carrying a bag around his hips, which he promptly reached into to pull out the contents.

“It wasn’t easy to get to them… they used a protection spell to keep themselves safe, so I only got to two of them.” Shadow Mist explained while pulling out two vials. The vials were filled with a red liquid that jostled around as their containers shifted.

“Which ones?” Grimwood asked curiously while taking hold of one of the vials and staring at it thoughtfully.

“I managed to get Twilight and Applejack… the charm you put on this needle is fantastic, they didn’t feel a thing.” Shadow Mist snickered while holding out the syringe he used to extract the blood.

“Splendid… now we just need blood from the other four. That shouldn’t be too hard.” The pale colt stated in a casual tone.

“But those samples won’t be viable for long… we will need to perform the ritual within a week. Raven Feather probably isn’t planning on making a move for a while, what do we do?” Shadow Mist reasoned with a concerned expression. Grimwood merely chuckled at the worrying pony.

“Don’t worry about that Shadow… I have a little something in mind.” Grimwood stated with a slight grin while handing the vial of blood over to the red stallion.

Suddenly the two heard the sound of someone walking towards the room. Shadow Mist quickly placed the vial into his bag and nodded to Grimwood. With a quick flash of shadow energy, the stallion disappeared from sight once more.

After a brief wait, Raven Feather walked into the room. The black mare appeared to have a troubled expression, but she smiled once she noticed her younger brother.

“Hello Grim…” Raven Feather greeted the pale colt in a dull tone before walking over to a table and sitting down. Grimwood was slightly confused by his sister’s depressed mood.

“Hey sis… what’s eating you?” Grimwood asked with a curious inflection in his voice.

“*Sigh* Raincloud and Dust Kicker failed to kill any of the elements… Raincloud got hurt in the process. Ugh, that damn slayer!” The black mare huffed in annoyance. If it were up to her, she would see to it that the meddling human would be tortured for the remainder of his unnatural life.

“Raincloud got hurt…? Is she ok?” Grimwood had a slightly concerned tone, but he barely wavered from his usual blank voice.

“She’s fine… her shadow got struck by the slayer’s spirit weapons. I should have seen that coming beforehand… ugh this whole mess is making my hair turn a slightly whiter shade of gray.” Raven Feather stated while rubbing her face in exhaustion.

“Maybe nobody will notice… I mean, it still looks gray to me.” Grimwood stated in a joking way. If she didn’t know him better, Raven Feather would have thought that he was being serious. Despite his dull delivery, the joke was enough to elicit a chuckle from the black mare.

“You always know how to cheer me up don’t you? *sigh*… I suppose I should just relax for a while. I mean… we are holding off for a few days on our next plan, so there should be some time to rest.” Raven Feather shrugged in defeat as she resolved to stop worrying about everything.

“Hey… have you seen Shadow Mist around? He is normally back at the mansion around this time.” Raven Feather asked curiously while noting the odd absence of the red stallion. Grimwood paused for a moment before answering.

“Nope… haven’t seen him. Maybe he went straight to bed?” The pale colt suggested in a sincere tone. Raven Feather yawned at the mere mention of going to bed.

“*yawn*… I don’t blame him. I’m going to hit the hay for the night… you coming with me Grim?” The black mare asked courteously while heading to the door.

“Nah… I’m going to stay up a bit longer.” Grimwood replied.

“Ok then… just don’t stay up too late alright?” Raven Feather stated with a smirk while exiting the room. Grimwood chuckled ironically at the statement.

Before the colt could return to what he was doing, the door creaked open again, revealing Cotton Quill as he stepped into the room. The unicorn had an anxious expression on his face, giving a clear indication as to what he was there for.

“So… what did she say?” Cotton asked in a hopeful tone while walking up to the pale pony. Grimwood had to hide a smile, which was easy considering how little he expressed his emotions outwardly.

“Sorry Cotton… she said that she wouldn’t let you near a spell book if you were the last person on earth who could read.” Grimwood explained in a sympathetic tone. Cotton Quill immediately deflated his ego and frowned sadly.

“Oh…” The unicorn muttered in defeat. He felt just as useless as everyone made him out to be.

“Look Cotton… I’m going to level with you here.” Grimwood spoke up, causing Cotton to lift his head curiously.

“What?” The unicorn asked with an uncertain expression.

“I don’t know why my sister hates you… but you seem to be a fairly decent spell caster, so I will give you a chance.” The pale colt explained in a sympathetic tone. He then walked over to the table he was at and pulled open one of the drawers. Grimwood pulled out a picture, and a few small bags filled with unknown ingredients.

“Here, take these.” The colt said while handing the items over to the unicorn. Cotton looked at the picture curiously. It was a group photo of Twilight Sparkle and her five friends.

“A picture of the elements…?” Cotton muttered in a perplexed tone. He had no idea what the young earth pony had in mind. Grimwood then went back over to the table and picked up a book. He brought the book over and opened it to a page, which he then showed to the unicorn.

“Whoa!” Cotton exclaimed in shock as he looked at the creature depicted in the book. It never ceased to amaze him just how many horrific monsters were contained in the various books around the library.

“Take these ingredients and perform this spell as directed… the monster summoned will hunt down and kill whoever is in the photo you use. Once Raven Feather finds out that you killed the elements of harmony, she will gladly give you your job back.” Grimwood explained while handing the book over to the confused pony.

“Really…?” Cotton was surprised that the pale colt would do so much to help him. He wondered how someone so nice and someone like Raven Feather could come from the same bloodline.

“Yeah… just find a spot near one of their houses and the spell will take care of the rest. Maybe you should try Sweet Apple Acres? There are a lot of places to hide there, and you shouldn’t need to get too close to them while staying on the property.” Grimwood stated with a smirk.

“You… you would do something like this for me…? Thank you Grim, you’re the best.” Cotton said in a cheerful tone while walking towards the door. He would have to study the spell for a few hours before he could cast it.

Grimwood smirked as he watched the unicorn walk over to the door. He knew that everything was working out just as he planned, and that made him happy.

“Are you sure you won’t tell Raven Feather about this?” Cotton turned and asked in an unsure tone. Grimwood smiled and shook his head.

“Oh no Cotton… I want you to take full credit for this.” The colt explained in a sincere tone. Cotton smiled and nodded before walking out of the door and closing it.

After a few moments of silence had passed, Shadow Mist appeared again and walked up to the pale colt. He seemed to have a concerned expression on his face as he glanced to the door where the unicorn had just departed.

“Are you sure you should be sending a creature to kill the other element bearers?” Shadow Mist asked curiously.

“It was the only way to get him to go. Besides, I think I found something else regarding the need for the elements’ blood.” Grimwood said while walking over to one of the desks and pulling out a section of his notes along with a large book. Meanwhile, Shadow Mist seemed to have an unimpressed expression on his face as the colt feverishly flipped through the pages to get to the part he was going to show off.

“I thought you had this all figured out Grim…” The stallion said with a flustered tone while holding a hoof up to his face.

“I did!” Grimwood whined in a frustrated tone before spotting the impatient expression on his colleague’s face. Even though he didn't emote very often, it was easy to tell that the colt was getting more upset than usual.

“Look Grim… I only agreed to help you because I believed you had something real here. You have more experience with this stuff than most of the hoods combined. But if you’re going to tell me that you still haven’t deciphered the entire prophecy, then… *Sigh* I don’t know what to think anymore.” Shadow Mist said in a calmer tone.

“I know what I’m doing Shadow Mist. This prophecy is one of the hardest things to decipher in the history of Equestria, so I’m bound to make a few mistakes. Even my sister hasn’t deciphered all of it. Do you really want us to go through so much trouble only to have nothing happen at the end?” Grimwood asked curiously, having returned to a more composed tone as he regained his stoic exterior.

“Ugh… no, I guess not. Just… just show me what you have.” Shadow Mist shrugged in defeat while walking behind the colt to look at what he was reading.

Finally Grimwood stopped on a page and hummed in revelation. The page was filled with a bizarre picture that took up the entirety of it. In the picture, there were six colored spheres floating in the air. Each of them were dripping what appeared to be blood onto a crude depiction of a sun, staining it red slightly. Next to the page with the picture, there was a lengthy page of strange symbols and glyphs that seemed to form a language of sorts.

“I’m fairly certain that this section here that talks about the extraction of the blood needed was mistranslated slightly. I think it actually says that we can extract the blood whether the elements are dead or not, as long as we do it within a few hours.” Grimwood explained while pointing to various sections of the text. Shadow Mist had been through the text several times with the pale colt. Although he understood a good chunk of it, much of it was still a mystery to him, even if Grimwood said he could read it.

“Are you sure about this? Because if we collect their blood after they’re dead, and we actually needed them alive, we’re kind of screwed.” Shadow Mist stated in a serious tone.

“I would stake my life on it. I rechecked it at least ten times once I found my mistake.” Grimwood explained with a confident tone. “Now, there is the matter of collecting the blood we need. If one of the elements dies tonight, we will need to get there within a few hours. Now, hiding from the creature and getting to them in secret shouldn’t be a problem, but I wanted to ask if you would be comfortable going out to monitor the situation.” Grimwood said in a curious tone, as if he expected the stallion to say yes.

“*Sigh*… so much for sleeping I guess. What about Cotton? Won’t he tell Raven Feather about this when he gets back?” Shadow Mist asked curiously.

“Oh, don’t worry about Cotton… I have a plan in place to deal with him and speed up the ritual at the same time.” Grimwood explained with a brief chuckle. The red stallion shrugged and shook his head before turning invisible again and walking away. He was going to have a long night ahead of him.