Meanwhile, back at the library, Twilight and Spike were watching curiously as Tom and Peppermint prepared the bathroom door with salt. It was a stretch of the imagination to think that mere table salt could fend off such fierce creatures, but then again, just a few days ago the thought of such creatures existing sounded crazy to the unicorn and dragon.

“And… you’re sure this will keep them out?” Spike asked nervously while eyeing the thin line of salt with a doubtful expression.

“As long as nobody breaks the line of salt, they won’t be able to come inside.” Tom explained reassuringly. Spike still had his concerns about the seemingly flimsy protection system, but he had faith that the human knew what he was doing.

As the boy finished laying the line of salt in front of the door, he stepped out and handed the container over to the stallion.

“Alright, I’m going to go see what’s causing all of this… but first I’ll drop by Sweet Apple Acres to check on everyone. You should tell Sunspot and Rainbow Dash to grab some salt and head to an interior room.” Tom stated as a reminder. Peppermint suddenly remembered that he had abruptly left the pegasus hanging when they got attacked.

“Right, I’ll be sure to let them know.” The red haired pony replied with a friendly smile.

“Bye guys… I’ll be back as soon as all of this is dealt with.” Tom said with a quick wave before turning around to leave.

“Hey Tom?” Twilight spoke up to get the boy’s attention. The human paused and turned around to see what the purple mare wanted.

“Yeah?” Tom asked curiously.

“Be careful out there…” Twilight stated with friendly concern evident in her expression. Spike nodded in agreement with her statement.

“Yeah, don’t get yourself hurt out there.” The dragon added with a smile while admiring the human. He was still amazed that anyone would be willing to go out in a storm with monsters flying around to help people, but he still wanted the slayer to exercise caution.

Tom smirked and gave a lighthearted chuckle while observing the pair. It was still a foreign concept for him to have someone care about him like this, but he welcomed the affection.

“I’ll be fine… I would be more worried about those monsters if I were you. Nobody flies into my friends’ house and threatens them on my watch.” The slayer stated confidently while putting on his best intimidating expression. Twilight and Spike smiled at the seeming lack of fear that their human friend displayed in the face of danger.

As the human walked away and shut the door, the three were left with only the soft sound of rain and thunder in the distance to break up the silence of the room. They wondered how long they would have to spend in the small bathroom, and what they would do to keep themselves occupied during their time.

“So uh... anyone want to play twenty questions?” Peppermint asked awkwardly. Twilight shrugged while reflecting on just how low a point in her life it would be to play twenty questions in a cramped room with a stallion she barely even knew.

Meanwhile, Tom was faced with an entirely different annoyance. As he walked down the stairs and got up to the front door, he suddenly realized what conditions he would be walking in all across town. One swift pull of the door was met by a wall of rainwater being blown into his face by the wind. Taking a moment to adjust to the jarring change in environments, the human realized just how much he was going to hate the next several minutes of his life.

“Lovely…” Tom muttered sarcastically while stepping outside and closing the door. The cold rain and wind combined with the flashing of lightning and the booming of thunder would be enough to deter anyone from traveling outside, anyone without friends in danger that is. So without delay, the boy ran off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. The sooner he arrived, the sooner he could get out of the rain.

Sunspot and Rainbow Dash were uneasily waiting in the bedroom while watching the clock tick away on the wall. The slow and mind numbing metronome was driving the orange mare up a wall. She shifted her weight around and fidgeted anxiously as she waited for Peppermint to call her back.

“Maybe I should go help them…” Sunspot muttered while trying to deal with a tough decision in her head. Rainbow Dash shrugged as she watched the suited pegasus beating herself up with anxiety.

“It’s only been a few minutes… I’m sure that Tom and Peppermint can handle things… I hope.” The cyan mare muttered to herself uncomfortably. As much as she wanted to instill confidence in Sunspot, she couldn’t shake her own feelings of anxiousness and her desire to help her friends.

Still, even with her nagging feeling of being needed, Rainbow Dash was hesitant to leave the safety of her home. Perhaps it was a slowly building sense of fear she was receiving from fighting the dragon and surviving the incident at the hospital, or perhaps it was just paranoia, but the pegasus felt like she almost didn’t want to go rushing out to save her friends like she normally would. However, her bravery was slowly winning over her cowardice. The only thing keeping her at the house now was her anxious companion.

Oblivious to the internal struggle that the cyan pony was having, Sunspot was still concerned with her friends’ safety. She wanted nothing more than to go outside and fly to her teammates’ rescue, but she was held back by the progressively waning need to listen to her orders.

“Ugh… why isn’t he calling back?” The suited mare shrugged in frustration while eagerly paying attention for any signs of a voice in her head. Suddenly, Sunspot’s ears perked up and her spirits lifted as she heard the sound of Peppermint’s voice sounding out.

“You still there Sunspot?” Pepper asked unassumingly. The stallion probably had no idea of how worried he had made her, but she was about to let him know.

“Pepper!” The suited mare yelled with elation. Rainbow Dash nearly jumped out of her skin from how sudden and loud the excited pony’s outburst had been, so she could only wonder how Peppermint reacted to having such a noise directly in his head.

“Gah!” The white stallion yelped in surprise from the sudden noise. The sound of something falling over and an equally surprised set of yelps from Twilight and Spike bled through the call, Sunspot suddenly felt bad from letting her emotions get the better of her.

“Uh… Pepper? You ok?” The orange mare asked with a slight twinge of embarrassment in her voice.

“Ow… yeah, I’m good. Just don’t do that again… yeesh.” Peppermint replied in a strained tone. Sunspot chuckled nervously as she listened to the effects of her sudden outburst.

“Hehe… sorry.” The pegasus stated with an awkward smile. Although the stallion couldn’t see her expression, he could tell that she at least knew that she did something wrong.

“Right… I guess I shouldn’t have kept you waiting like that. We were a little busy trying to get in contact with the others to tell them what to do.” Peppermint explained in a more sympathetic tone.

“You called the others? How are they doing?” Sunspot asked curiously. She assumed that he must have been successful in his attempts at calling the others due to how long he took to reply.

“They are fine. Apparently the strobes aren’t effective… but salt works to repel these things, so all of us are pouring some in front of all the doors and windows to stay safe while Tom investigates this storm.” Peppermint explained with a slight amount of confusion still in his voice from describing table salt like it was a weapon. The orange mare was more relieved that her teammates were safe than she was curious about the odd defensive choice that they had found.

“What about Neon? Did you get in touch with her?” Sunspot asked uneasily. The pegasus grew slightly concerned as she thought about her green friend. She didn’t expect a positive answer from the stallion, after all she knew that something bad must have happened to Neon for her to be unresponsive this long.

“No… I’m afraid not. Tom is going to check on her right now though, so for now we should just sit tight.” Peppermint stated with unease apparent in his voice.

“Really? Because I was thinking that we should be out there helping Tom deal with this.” Sunspot reasoned with eagerness dripping from her voice. Peppermint was a little off put by the pegasus’s willingness to endanger herself.

“Sunspot… the princess told us to watch the girls. Judging from how specific these attacks are, I would say that these things are after them. You and Rainbow Dash need to stick together… just grab some salt and seal yourself in a room… please… for me?” Pepper asked in a concerned tone. Sunspot felt for the red haired pony, she would probably tell him to do the same thing if their roles were reversed.

“Don’t worry about us Pepper… I will personally make sure that Rainbow Dash is safe.” Sunspot stated sincerely. Peppermint felt better now that he knew that the orange pegasus would keep herself and her companion safe.

“Ok, you two be careful… bye.” Pepper stated before cutting off the call. After finishing with her conversation, Sunspot shifted her expression to a brief smirk as she planned out her next moves. She respected Peppermint’s concerns for her, but she also had her own desires and concerns for the others.

“Good news, Brimstoke and the others are safe. Apparently salt repels whatever these things are.” The suited mare said while getting up and walking over to the door. Rainbow Dash was relieved to hear that her friends were safe, and even more relieved that they had the upper hand against the monsters this time.

“That’s great! Let’s go get some salt and hunker down.” The cyan mare suggested while getting off of her bed and trotting over to the other side of the room, Sunspot frowned slightly as she watched the eager pegasus walk over to her.

“Yeah…” The orange mare stated in an imperceptibly sad tone while trailing her eyes off and opening the door. Rainbow Dash cautiously followed her as she made her way out of the bedroom.

Although the two hadn’t even come across any danger, they were leery that the monsters that had come after their friends would find them eventually. With this in mind, the two ponies slowly walked through the darkened house while keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of movement. Sunspot kept her strobe at the ready as she scanned every corner they passed.

As lightning flashed through the nearby windows, the entire room lit up with a thunderous crackle. The two ponies jumped with fright and scanned their heads back and forth frantically as they tried to secure their surroundings. Discovering no threats anywhere in their immediate vicinity, the pair breathed a sigh of relief and continued on their way.

As she ran into a counter, Sunspot realized that they had reached the kitchen area. Taking one last look around her at the pitch black doorways at the edges of the room, the suited mare quickly ran over to the various cabinets dotted around the kitchen.

“Where do you keep your salt?” Sunspot asked curiously while glancing back to her cyan companion. Rainbow Dash thought about all the possible places she could have kept salt. After straining her mind to think of the exact location, she shrugged before joining the suited pony in her search through the cabinets.

“Not sure… I think it’s in one of these… Aha!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly while holding up a salt container like a trophy.

“Good job.” Sunspot said in a congratulatory tone while staring at the unlikely weapon curiously. “Man… who would have thought that salt would be useful as a monster deterrent.” She chuckled slightly as she thought of the irony of a terrifying beast being afraid of a simple table condiment.

“Yeah, I would have thought that pepper would be more effective… at least then you could make them sneeze.” Rainbow Dash stated lightheartedly, eliciting a smile from her suited companion.

“Hey… you can throw salt in their eyes. That would hurt a lot I bet…” Sunspot added while glancing at the salt suggestively.

“Wow… you guys are violent thinkers aren’t you?” The cyan mare stated with a nervous chuckle. Sunspot laughed as she realized how brutal her line of thought was.

“Heh… yeah, I guess so.” The orange pony added before taking the salt from her companion. The pair quickly made their way back through the house while clutching their new weapon close to them.

Once they made it back to the bedroom, the suited mare quickly got to work placing lines of salt at every window and door. Rainbow Dash watched anxiously as her orange friend secured the bedroom against all attacks.

“There we go… this should keep you safe.” Sunspot stated while setting the salt container down on a nearby nightstand. Rainbow Dash was confused by her statement, her confusion slowly turned to suspicion as she watched her suited companion walk over to the door.

“You mean keep us safe… right?” Rainbow Dash asked with a leery expression as she watched the orange pony pause at the door. Sunspot sighed sadly while looking back at the uneasy pegasus. She didn’t want to just leave her like this, but she had to do something to help her friends.

“Rainbow Dash… I need to go help Tom.” Sunspot explained with an understanding frown on her face as she watched the already upset expression on her friend’s face shift into a shocked and concerned one.

“What?! You can’t be serious… you told Pepper you would stay with me!” Rainbow Dash stated in an outrage. She couldn’t believe that the suited mare would even suggest going outside by herself, let alone going to fight by herself.

“I told Pepper I would make sure you were safe… and I am. You’re going to stay right here… where you will be perfectly safe.” Sunspot replied while reaching for the door and stepping towards it.

“Hey wait a minute!” The cyan mare stated frantically while rushing over to block the suited pony’s progress. As Rainbow Dash grabbed the door handle from her and closed it, Sunspot shrugged in frustration.

“You aren’t going anywhere without me!” Rainbow Dash said in a determined tone. Sunspot wasn’t sure what to say to the riled up pegasus, or if she could even say anything to justify her reckless decision.

“Rainbow Dash, it’s too dangerous out there. I’m supposed to keep you safe… Brimstoke will kill me if he finds out I took you with me.” She explained in an attempt at getting through to the stubborn mare. Judging from her expression, Sunspot figured that Rainbow Dash wasn’t budging.

“You’re not taking me with you… I’m going with you, there’s a difference.” The cyan mare stated lightheartedly. Sunspot shrugged and rolled her eyes at the determined pegasus.

“Look Sunspot… I know how you feel… and I feel the same way. If you’re going to go, then I’m coming with you. Besides… you can barely fly. You need me with you… to watch your back at least.” Rainbow Dash said with a hopeful and pleading smile.

Sunspot glanced between her injured wing and the pleading expression the cyan mare was giving her. She knew that if she didn’t take her along now, that she would most likely follow her after she left. The suited mare would rather keep her in sight at all times rather than run the risk of her getting hurt while chasing after her.

“Alright… fine, I’ll take you with me. But you are going to stay close to me… got it?” The orange mare instructed with a serious tone. Rainbow Dash wanted to appear serious, but couldn’t hold in a triumphant smile. She was very excited that she finally got the suited pony to cave in and let her accompany her.

“Yes! Yes! Haha!” The cyan pegasus cheered happily. Sunspot could tell that she was eager to assist her friends. The suited pony smiled as she observed her cheerful partner.

“Ok hotshot, let’s go kick some monster butt.” The orange mare stated confidently. Rainbow Dash smiled as she grabbed the salt and tossed it to her suited companion. Sunspot grabbed the container and shoved it into a holster on her suit.

The two ponies confidently made their way through the house towards the front door. The storm raging outside was intimidating from the dryness and safety of the inside of the cloud home, but the two ponies were very apprehensive about heading out into the elements.

After slowly putting a hoof on the front door handle, Rainbow Dash opened up the door and flinched her eyes shut as the cold rain blew into her face. Once the initial cold shock of water had passed, the pair slowly walked out into the harsh night.

It was hard to walk forward due to the wind and rain constantly blowing around. The pair of ponies huddled together as they walked across the clouds to get over to an edge to take off from. The sky around them practically lit up every other second as lightning constantly flashed and thunder constantly boomed.

Once they reached a point close to the edge, the two looked into the air around them to see what they would be flying into. Most of the clouds above them were thick and black, while the air below them was only obscured by heavy rainfall. Rainbow Dash’s house might have been a cloud itself, but it wasn’t exactly high enough to be at level with the rest of them.

“We should probably stay low to avoid high winds and low visibility… maybe walking would be better all things considered. How’s your wing?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously while glancing over to the suited mare shivering beside her. Sunspot slowly and painfully unfolded her wings, all the while cringing as she dealt with the soreness from her injury. She wasn’t sure if she could fly comfortably, but she was going to fly come hell or high water, whichever was most likely in the raging tempest around her. She certainly didn’t want Rainbow Dash carrying her to the ground.

“I’ll manage... let’s just get on the ground so we can get moving. The sooner we reach Sweet Apple Acres, the better.” The orange pony stated while giving her wing a few test flaps. It stung to even move the feathery appendage, but Sunspot didn’t want her companion knowing that.

“Ok… just take it slow and easy. I don’t want to have to carry you the whole way if you break a leg...” Rainbow Dash shivered violently while trying to cope with the rain hitting her. The cyan mare was used to being out in rainstorms, but she didn’t prefer it, especially considering this was a lot more severe than a simple spring shower.

Without further delay, Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and spread her wings. The cyan pegasus maintained flight relatively easily considering the high winds, but she decided to stop and observe her companion to see if she was alright.

Sunspot gulped nervously before taking a few steps back. She wondered how ironic it would be for her to die by falling out of the air considering her race and her previous occupation as a Wonderbolt. Shoving these thoughts from her head, she closed her eyes and cringed in fright as she jumped forward.

With a frantic flap of her wounded wing, the suited pegasus slowly managed to support her weight in the air. It was a painful and rough flight, but it was working at any rate. After catching up with her partner, the orange mare nodded to her confidently before descending to the ground.

The two pegasus’s walked across town as fast as they could considering the circumstances. The wind was blowing in their faces, the lightning around them looked like it could strike near them at any moment, and they were also terrified of what could be lying in wait in the clouds above.

Neither of the two mares had seen the monsters that had attacked their friends, but just knowing that they were out there made them incredibly nervous. Every time the wind changed pitch or a quiet clap of thunder sounded in the distance the pair looked around them frantically, hoping that it was just their imagination.

Sunspot anxiously glanced down to her locator every few minutes. As expected the small vial was glowing a soft blue, indicating that nothing was around her except for the storm. Despite this empty comfort, she expected some kind of flesh eating beast to fly out of the darkness and take her head off in one fell swoop.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t faring much better from her suited companion. Not only was she frightened by her surroundings, but she also felt confined and tense because of her partner. She knew that the orange mare couldn’t flee from anything chasing her by flying, and she also knew that she couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself. No, the cyan pony had to protect her partner from anything that came their way, and that thought filled her with anxious fear.

“Getting anything on your locator?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously. Even though she had to yell over the rain and wind, the apprehension in her voice was obvious.

“No, nothing yet.” Sunspot replied while taking another cursory glance at her locator. The cyan mare wasn’t exactly comforted by the news that they were alone.

Deciding to take a look around to see where they were, Rainbow Dash smiled as she noticed familiar buildings passing by around them. If they continued at this rate, they would be at the farm in no time flat. The news that their journey was that much closer to ending was a pleasant discovery. It almost made the wet and cold feeling worth it.

“We’re almost there!” The cyan mare announced happily.

“That’s great! The sooner we can get out of this weather the better!” Sunspot replied with a wide smile. She couldn’t wait to get a roof over her head.

The pair’s happiness wouldn’t last long however. Suddenly, a loud and echoing howl made its presence known above the roaring wind. The disturbing noise made the two mares freeze in mid stride. They whipped their heads around while trying to pinpoint the source of the noise.

“W-what the hay is that?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock while darting her eyes around nervously. The noise sounded like it was all around them. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Before Sunspot could offer any insight into their situation, a vibration on her suit followed by a loud buzz drew her attention downwards. Her locator was glowing bright blue on one section, indicating that something was above her.

“Heads up… looks like there’s something above us!” The orange mare announced while grabbing her strobe and tossing the salt container to her cyan companion, Rainbow Dash caught the flying cylinder and readied it and herself for battle.

The pair scanned their eyes above them into the mass of black clouds. As the lightning illuminated their surroundings, they suddenly noticed a few shapes standing out from the swirling clouds. Two black figures were flying above them, seemingly floating in place while observing their prey.

“There, I see them!” Rainbow Dash stated while pointing to the two black shapes. It was hard to make out in the rain, but Sunspot caught sight of the two menacing figures as well.

“What are those things…? Do you think those are what have been attacking everyone?” The cyan mare asked while keeping a leery eye on the two possible threats.

“I hope so… otherwise we have more than one kind of monster roaming around out here.” Sunspot replied wittily. Despite her attempt at lightening the mood, the orange pegasus had a suspicious feeling about their two guests.

“That’s odd… why the hay are they just floating there? Shouldn’t they be…?” Sunspot started to reason why the pair of monsters was just staring at them, when suddenly she directed her attention downward when she heard another buzz from her locator. Midway down from checking the vial, the mare’s eyes caught the alarming sight of something flying towards her at rapid speeds.

“Attacking us!” Sunspot yelled in a panic as she noticed the creature flying towards her. By the time she noticed the white eyed demon charging her, it was too late to take any meaningful action towards evading.

Rainbow Dash turned her head to see a flying blur slam into her suited companion. Sunspot let out a cry of surprise as she was tackled by the monster and sent hurdling with it. The beast took the orange mare into the air and kept going, all the while holding onto the terrified mare as she struggled against it. Suddenly, the creature flung the pegasus downward and let her fall.

“*Gasp* Sunspot!” The cyan mare’s eyes widened as she watched her friend falling to the ground. Although the two weren’t so high up that the fall would be fatal, the orange mare’s impact with the ground let out a cringe worthy thud.

Sunspot had the wind knocked out of her from the force of the impact. She sat up to find where the creature had gone, only to find that it was getting ready to slam into her with its sharp looking claws. The demon let out a deep and haunting moan as it plunged its blades downward. The suited mare tried to move out of the way, but she was too fazed by her recent collision to do anything more than hold her arms out defiantly.

“AHHH!” The orange pony screamed and closed her eyes as she watched the monster getting closer. About the time she would have expected to be skewered, Sunspot suddenly heard the creature cry out in pain, followed by the sensation of some sort of powder flying onto her.

The surprised pegasus looked up to see no sign of the creature previously above her, instead spotting Rainbow Dash directly above her holding the salt container triumphantly.

“You ok?” The cyan mare asked with concern while observing her dazed partner. Sunspot smirked as she realized how close she had brushed with death. Her excited smirk quickly turned to a horrified expression as she noticed what was heading towards the cyan pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash, lookout!” Sunspot yelled frantically while pointing behind her friend with wide eyes. Rainbow Dash turned around and gasped in shock as she noticed what had alarmed her companion. The two demons they had spotted earlier had moved from their far off position. They had moved so much that they were just in front of the cyan mare, preparing to strike the hapless pony.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in surprise while flapping her wings as hard as she could to evade the strike. She could feel a slight draft over her head as the creature’s claws just barely missed her hair. Not wanting to waste an opportunity for a strike, the cyan pony flicked the salt container towards one of the beasts as it flew past her. Much to her surprise, barely any salt came out of the container, and the salt that did come out quickly blended with the rain and fell to the earth.

“What the…?” The confused mare stated while shaking the container more forcibly. Apparently the rain had gotten into the cylinder, making the salt wet, and making it harder to send it flying out in a noticeable clump.

“Uh oh…” Rainbow Dash’s ego immediately deflated as she realized that her only means of taking the offense was just rendered useless. She slowly drifted her eyes down to the two agitated creatures below her and felt her heart sink.

“I don’t suppose you guys are just misunderstood and you really just want to be loved…?” She asked with a nervous chuckle as she watched the two milky eyed monsters stare at her. One of the beasts growled at the brash pony. They weren’t about to let a cyan flying horse escape them. Rainbow Dash slowly felt her sense of bravery fading as she stared back at the two disturbing demons.

“Yeah… I didn’t think so either.” The cyan mare shrugged in defeat, not that she really expected her ploy to work.

Suddenly the two creatures shot upwards towards the pegasus. Rainbow Dash immediately started flying upwards to escape her pursuers. She was surprised at just how quickly the two monsters could move. She could barely keep up with them herself without speeding up further than she typically flew.

As she felt the pair right on her tail, the cyan mare started zipping around to dodge her two attackers. For every dip and hairpin turn the speedy pegasus made, the creatures were right behind her, making almost perfect maneuvers to keep right on her. Whenever they got close enough to warrant a strike, she would use that as motivation to fly just a little faster.

Taking a quick glance behind her, Rainbow Dash was surprised as she only saw one of the beasts behind her. Looking around in a slight panic, the cyan pony couldn’t find the missing monster anywhere she looked.

“What the hay? Where’d the other one go?” Rainbow asked herself in utter confusion. The demon had been right behind her just a moment ago. Noticing movement above and in front of her, Rainbow Dash looked up to see something flying out of a nearby cloud bank. Sure enough, the white eyed beast was rushing straight for her.

“Oh no you don’t!” The cyan mare gritted her teeth and shot straight upwards. She tensed her body up as she anticipated the creature behind her making some kind of contact with her. Unexpectedly, the pegasus only felt a slight brush on her tail as the monster rushed forward, and slammed into its partner in midair.

As she looked down at the two dazed beasts, she felt a twinge of accomplishment well up inside of her. The cyan pony let a smirk creep across her face, she had just outsmarted two demons, and it felt surprisingly good.

“Haha! You guys should practice some more before you chase after a pegasus!” Rainbow Dash mocked the two creatures confidently. Suddenly the cyan mare noticed something that made her stop laughing.

One of the creatures had an odd discoloring on its chest. The patch almost looked like a burn in the shape of powder spray. The strange mark on the creature perplexed the pegasus, until she thought of something to explain it, something that made a cold chill run down her spine.

“But if that’s the guy I hit with salt… then where is…?!” With a newfound sense of panic, Rainbow Dash looked around her frantically. She suddenly heard a growling sound coming from behind her. Swiftly turning around, the cyan mare immediately saw the missing monster right in front of her face. The creature let out a low roar as it reeled its arm back for a strike.

“AHHHHH!” Rainbow Dash screamed fearfully as she watched the beast wind up for a strike. At this distance, there was no way she could avoid it. The cyan pegasus shut her eyes and shielded her face, half to protect herself from harm, and half to prevent herself from watching as she was cut to ribbons.

“Rainbow Dash!” Sunspot’s voice rang out from somewhere off to the side. Rainbow Dash hesitantly opened her eyes, only to see something in a blue and yellow suit plowing into the monster about to attack her. As the creature went flying from her strike, the suited mare struggled to right herself in the air. She seemed to have been fighting against her painful injury to just try and assist her friend, but she didn’t seem to be able to get back down safely.

Finally, after a few moments of desperately trying to push her wing to its limits just to maintain flight, Sunspot plummeted out of the air. She let out a sharp cry as she fell, only to be caught a few seconds later by Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare gently carried her injured companion to the ground and sat her down.

“Holy cow… you just saved my tail.” Sunspot stated with her heart pounding in her chest. She could still barely believe that she made it that far with how bad her wing felt.

“I could say the same thing to you. How did you even get up to us with your wing like that?” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone while looking to the orange mare’s injured appendage.

“It wasn’t exactly easy… you better be thankful you were flying so low. If you were any higher, I wouldn’t have reached you in time… if I could even get that high to begin with.” Sunspot said with a more saddened expression. As much as she tried to play off her injury, it was clear now that it did impede her from flying anything other than short distances at low speeds.

“Hey, don’t look so glum about it. You saved me didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked with a reassuring smile. Sunspot couldn’t help but to smirk as she thought about it more positively.

“Yeah… I guess you’re right. Now let’s get out of here… maybe we can out run those things on foot.” The orange mare suggested in a more urgent tone. As the two ponies looked up to find the creatures that were chasing them, they discovered the trio floating in the clouds a fair distance above them. The beasts seemed to be watching them menacingly, waiting for them to make a move.

“No way… they’re too fast. I could barely keep up with them in the air.” Rainbow Dash replied with an uneasy tone. The orange pegasus shrugged anxiously while trying to think of what to do.

“Don’t worry, we can find a way out of this.” Sunspot said in a reassuring tone.

“But how are we going to lose these guys? The salt is all liquidy, we are too far away for anyone to help, we can’t outrun them, and we can’t out fly them.” Rainbow Dash reasoned nervously. Sunspot immediately thought about using her strobe, but as she reached for it, she suddenly remembered that Peppermint explained that they were useless against these creatures.

“Dang it… Pepper said the strobes don’t work on these things. Ugh… what if we-” Sunspot tried to think of something to do, but before she could finish her thought, she heard a loud howl coming from above her. The two ponies looked up to see one of the monsters above them, but it didn’t seem to be charging after them.

As the pair was watching the beast, it reeled its arms back slowly. The confusing display seemed pointless to the two mares, but their misguided judgment would soon be disproven. As the creature pushed its arms forward, a strong gust of wing suddenly appeared. The gust slammed into the two ponies, catching them off guard. The pair let out a painful groan as the sheer strength of the gust sent them to their knees. It almost felt like they had been caught in a tornado that was focused only on them. Any attempts they made to flap their wings or move to the side to escape were fruitless. Their entire bodies were pinned from the violent tempest.

Suddenly, the direction of the gust changed drastically. Now, instead of coming from above them and pushing them to the ground, the gust seemed to be arcing upwards under them. Before they could even process the new change in direction, the force of the gust increased rapidly and took them with it as it flew into the air.

“AH!” The two mares let out a startled cry as they were sent skyward against their will. The intense wave of air seemed to push them in any direction the beasts controlling it wanted. They were starting to feel sick from being jolted around so much. Before either of the two could think of a way to escape, the gust of wind sent them downwards again. They picked up speed as gravity aided the wind in pulling them down to a sudden stop.

With a bone crushing thud, the two were slammed into the ground. The force of their bodies hitting the earth combined with the force of the gust of wind hitting them, creating a very painful wave of pressure that knocked all of the air out of their lungs.

“Urk!” Rainbow Dash groaned as she tried to move her aching body. She looked over to check on her companion, only to realize that the suited mare was lying motionless beside her. The sight of her chest rising and falling told the concerned pegasus that her friend was still alive, but the fact that she had been knocked out by the blow was troubling. As the cyan mare tried to move her arm over to her friend, she cringed slightly in pain. The height they had just fallen from wasn’t so great that they had broken any bones, but it certainly felt like they did.

“Ughh… Sunspot… wake up.” Rainbow Dash slowly managed to position her arm to where she could shake her unconscious friend. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t elicit any sort of response from the orange pony.

As she moved her head to look back at the sky, she became very fearful as she noticed three black figures looming just above her. The three creatures were slowly descending while staring at their prey with their unblinking white eyes.

Fearing for her life, the cyan mare struggled to escape the imminent danger approaching her. As she tried to move her body, she quickly realized that she was numb with pain and soreness. Managing to roll over and get to her knees, Rainbow Dash looked up to see how close the monsters had gotten.

“Oh no…” Rainbow muttered while out of breath. The black figures were hovering just above her, as if they were enjoying watching her struggle for her life. Taking a quick glance over to her unconscious partner, the cyan mare noticed that she was slowly stirring. Despite the pleasant site of the suited pegasus moving around, Rainbow Dash knew that it was probably for the best that she remain unconscious, unconscious and unaware of what was about to happen.

The creatures growled and reeled back their arms while spreading their claws. The cyan mare closed her eyes and lowered her head. She felt her body shiver, not only from the wind and rain, but also from the gripping sense of fear she had.

A swarm of thoughts flew through Rainbow Dash’s head. She thought back to her friends and what they meant to her. She could practically see the devastation on their faces as they learned that she had perished out in the cold rain.

“Sorry girls… I guess I should have been more careful.” Rainbow Dash stated sadly while preparing for the end. Just before she expected to be sliced to ribbons, the cyan pegasus suddenly heard a strange sound. It resembled the familiar swish of a sword splitting through solid materials.

Following the metallic sound, an ear splitting shriek of pain made by the monstrous figures rang out. Rainbow Dash looked up curiously to see what was going on. The sight in front of her stunned her into silence.

One of the demons was missing, and in its place stood a puff of black smoke that appeared to be split in two. As the black smoke dissipated, the cyan mare looked over to see the remaining two creatures writhing in pain as they sank to the ground. The monsters seemed to be recoiling in agony from some unseen force. They were struggling to move, but they were unable to budge from the ground. Taking a quick look around to determine what was going on, Rainbow Dash was elated to see a familiar figure in blue standing nearby.

“Tom!” Rainbow exclaimed happily at the sight of her human friend. She didn’t care if she was a damsel in distress. She was actually excited to be rescued.

Rather than answering the cheerful pegasus, the human seemed to be focusing on something else. He had his arm stretched out in front of him with his hand clutched as if he were grasping something. The boy was straining against something, and whatever that something was seemed to be wearing him out.

With his free hand, the human flipped his sword around and slowly walked over to the two demons. The creatures tried to back away, but they were rooted in place by his influence. With one fluid swipe, Tom dispatched both monsters into a satisfying cloud of smoke. As the remains of his enemies dispersed into the rain and wind, the human walked over to the two mares with a concerned expression. He still seemed to be catching his breath, but he was more worried about the two ponies than his own fatigue.

“You ok?” Tom asked while glancing over to Sunspot. The suited mare seemed to be getting up, but she was taking a long time.

“Hey Sunspot, you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously while gently putting a hoof on her shoulder.

“Ugh… yeah… I think so.” The orange pegasus stated while rubbing the back of her head tenderly. After slowly getting up and turning around, she was surprised to see the slayer standing in front of her.

“Tom… when did you get here?” Sunspot asked in a confused tone. The cyan mare next to her was slightly concerned for her health after such a blow to the head.

“Just in time from the look of things… You’re lucky I sensed a group of them over here acting weird and came to investigate. What are you two doing out here?” Tom asked while shifting to a more upset tone. Rainbow Dash looked down sadly, with Sunspot following suit once she regained her senses.

“Sorry Tom… we wanted to help.” The suited mare spoke up on behalf of the pair. Rainbow Dash could tell that she was trying to shoulder the responsibility.

Tom frowned slightly as he stared at the two pouting ponies. He could understand why they would want to help their friends, he just wished that they would be more careful in the process.

“Well… you’re out here now, we might as well keep going.” Tom stated in a compromising tone while walking over to the side of the road in preparation to leave. The two mares were dumbfounded that the human was just letting them come along without reprimanding them.

“Really…? You’re just going to let us go?” Rainbow Dash asked with a surprised expression while walking up to the blue suited slayer. “I was kind of expecting more… I don’t know… more telling us how stupid we were for coming out here? That’s probably what the others would have done.” She added in a confused tone.

“We can sit here and argue over how stupid your decision was all day, or we can go save the others… I vote for the latter.” Tom replied while walking off towards the farm. Rainbow Dash and Sunspot shared a stunned expression before trotting to catch up with the human. As much as they were surprised by their friend’s almost casual line of thinking, they knew he was right. Sweet Apple Acres was a decent distance away on foot, and they had to get there as soon as possible to help their friends.