“*Yawn*” Rainbow Dash yawned tiredly while stretching her arms. She was lying down across one of the rugs in the library with a book laid out across her body. As much as she tried helping out her unicorn friend with her research, there was only so long she could occupy herself in a silent room with reading over random notes and letters from the hooded ponies. Taking a look over to where Twilight was, the pegasus found her in the same position she left her in, reading a stack of papers and notes over by one of the desks in the room.

“Any luck over there?” The cyan mare asked in a hopeful tone. She didn’t imagine that assaulting the hooded ponies’ base would be quite so boring when she thought about it before.

Twilight glanced up at the lounging pony and sighed. Even though Rainbow Dash had come to love reading as a pastime, she wasn’t acclimated to studying for hours on end like the unicorn was. If anyone was going to get any work done, it would have to be her. Even though she accepted this, she still wished her cyan friend would help out a little bit.

“Nothing so far… but I have learned a lot about this place while looking through these notes.” Twilight said in an intrigued tone while reading over some of the more interesting sections she found among the faded scribbles and lengthy scrawls.

“Like for instance… Tom was right about this place. Apparently the owners of the mansion were into practicing occult rituals. They put charms and spells on this place before they died to make it last through the years.” The purple pony explained with a fascinated expression while delving deeper into the notes laid out before her.

“So this place really could be from human times?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously while glancing around her at the décor of the room.

“Not only is it from human times, but it’s from ancient human times… it was probably around for thousands of years even before humans went extinct. I see a few accounts here of different people moving in and using it as a base of operations for cults, which probably explains the vast amounts of books on magic.” Twilight replied.

“Wow… that is pretty cool. So right now, I am standing in a building that was around when humans ruled the earth.” Rainbow Dash said in an amazed tone while taking in her surroundings.

“Actually… right now it looks like you’re lying down in a building that was around when humans ruled the earth.” Twilight said with a wry smile while glancing over to the lazy pegasus.

“Hey… if you can think of a better way of occupying my time, I’m all ears.” Rainbow Dash huffed while putting her book aside and getting up to walk around.

“I would say helping me with finding a way out of this place, but clearly that’s not an option.” Twilight shook her head with an apathetic smirk before returning to the papers in front of her. Meanwhile, the cyan pegasus decided to occupy herself with taking another look around the room.

Finding herself wandering over to the back of the room, Rainbow Dash took another look at the strange symbol painted on the wall in red paint. The pair had found the symbol shortly after starting their research, but they weren’t sure what to make of it. It resembled the symbol that Brimstoke and Neon Streak described, consisting of a circle with a line drawn through it at an angle, along with three odd glyphs drawn in the two sections created by the line. Although it looked similar to the style of symbols used in the pictograms that they had seen before, the two ponies hadn’t found anything describing the symbol in their search for information.

“Find anything about this thing yet?” Rainbow Dash asked with a hopeful expression while glancing back at the unicorn. Twilight briefly turned around to see the pegasus standing in front of the odd symbol. She shrugged while taking a cursory glance at the notes in front of her and shuffling through the pages of a book she found.

“No… not yet.” Twilight sighed while reading over everything in front of her once more. Suddenly, her eyes ran across a piece of text that stood out to her.

“Actually, hold on a second.” Twilight stated with an intrigued tone of voice while flipping the book in front of her to the pages referred to in the note. Rainbow Dash walked back over to the desk the unicorn was at and peered over her shoulder as she shuffled through the pages of the book with refueled vigor.

Suddenly, Twilight paused as she came across a page that had a picture on it. The picture was a depiction of the same symbol that was sitting on the wall behind them. There was text on the bottom of the page, and seemingly the next few pages that referred to the same symbol.

“Yes! Now we’re in business!” Rainbow Dash cheered in excitement while giving the unicorn an eager pat on the back. Twilight smiled at her fortune before burying herself into the text and reading. She scanned her eyes back and forth across the pages while learning more about the strange symbol.

“According to this… that symbol is part of a set of three seals scattered around the mansion.” The purple mare explained as she continued reading.

“I guess the one Neon and Brimstoke found in the basement is one of them?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

“Possibly… it definitely sounds like it.” Twilight said before returning her attention to the book. “It says here that the symbols are used to… what the…? Control and suppress powerful entities?” She raised an eyebrow curiously as she read over the confusing statement.

“What the hay is that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash thought out loud while leaning closer to be able to read the explanation for herself.

“I have no idea… I guess it means that those symbols were used to keep something at bay… and when Shadow Mist broke the one in the basement, he let out whatever that something is.” Twilight pondered while glancing over to the symbol on the wall at the back of the room. There was a break in the red paint that made up the outer circle, so perhaps the red stallion did something to this symbol as well.

“Do you think if we can find a way to reverse whatever Shadow Mist did, that we can unlock the doors and get out of here?” Rainbow Dash asked with a hopeful tone.

“Hmm… let’s see.” Twilight leaned closer and rapidly scanned her eyes across the pages. She skimmed over the majority of the page, until her eye caught something interesting that made her pause.

“Looks like there are two ways to reverse the broken seals... Option one would be to fix the symbols.” Twilight stated while reading further ahead.

“That sounds easy enough… what, do we just get some paint and redraw the symbol?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. Twilight’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as she read over the rest of the explanation.

“I wish it were that simple… according to this, since all three seals were broken we would need to completely reset the spells on them… which would apparently take several hours… and that would be if we had all of the required spells and materials.” Twilight explained with a dismayed tone of voice.

“Yikes…” Rainbow Dash cringed at the mere thought of undergoing such a tedious and complex process. “What’s option two?” She asked hesitantly.

“Option two… is using my magic to overload the magic in the seal. According to this, the hooded ponies thought that a unicorn could disrupt the seals as a last resort to defend themselves against the entities.” Twilight explained.

“I still don’t like the sound of these entities… whatever they are, this last resort sounds like our only choice.” Rainbow Dash stated uneasily.

“Well, the details are a little fuzzy… they weren’t sure themselves about what would happen. I guess they never intended for all three seals to be broken.” Twilight shrugged before putting the book down and getting up. She glanced over to the symbol on the back wall before stretching her limbs and walking over to it.

She studied the symbol for a moment before lighting up her horn and leaning closer. As she felt her magic interacting with the magic in the seal, she was surprised to see that she could understand it for the most part. It was certainly easier to wrap her head around than the pictograms the hooded ponies used for summoning monsters.

“Do you think you can do it?” Rainbow Dash asked while nervously watching the unicorn from a ways back. She was sure that the symbol was like a bomb that could explode at any moment with the purple mare messing with it like that.

“I think so… stand back.” Twilight suggested in a cautionary tone while returning her attention to the symbol. While the unicorn charged up her horn to overload the seal, Rainbow Dash cringed and closed her eyes tightly in preparation for the worst.

With a slight buzz, the symbol flashed red once before returning to normal. Twilight let her horn die down as she backed away from the symbol. She turned to her cyan friend, only to find her shielding her face with her arms. Of course, Twilight had expected a much more violent reaction from the symbol herself, so she understood the defensive reaction the pegasus had.

“Did it work?” Rainbow Dash asked while hesitantly opening her eyes. She was surprised to see Twilight standing in front of her in one piece.

“Apparently… I guess we won’t see much of an effect until we overload all three seals.” Twilight pondered while glancing back at the symbol.

“Phew…” Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief while wiping a bead of sweat off of her face. “For a minute there I thought we were going to blow up. I don’t think Glitterball and the others would be happy to find a smoking crater where the library used to be when they got back.” She added with a brief chuckle.

“Hey… shouldn’t they already have been back by now?” Twilight asked while thinking about how much time had passed since they arrived at the library. Rainbow Dash grew suspicious herself as she thought more about the strange absence of their friends.

“Yeah… they should have been back here a while ago actually. Brimstoke said we should all meet back in the main room in half an hour, and I’m pretty sure we’ve been here for at least half an hour already.” The pegasus said with a slight twinge of uneasiness slowly filling her.

Twilight shared a concerned glance with her cyan companion. She highly doubted that the unicorn and her team would be late in picking them up without a good reason, or a bad reason in this case. She feared that something might have happened to her friends that prevented them from coming to the library.

Taking heed of the feeling in her gut, the purple mare walked over to the door to the library. Rainbow Dash followed her friend as she walked between the two candles and hovered near the door. Twilight paused for a moment and glanced back to see if her friend was close by. Spotting the pegasus just behind her, she built up the courage to grab the door handle and open the door.

Blue ripples appeared in the air as the unicorn reached through the barrier and pushed the door open. Strangely, the hallway was pitch black, but Twilight perfectly remembered it being lit up by candles before.

“Do you think we should head back?” Rainbow Dash asked while peering out into the darkness uneasily. She suddenly felt unsafe, despite the two candles burning brightly on either side of her. She wanted nothing more than to head back to the foyer where there was safety in numbers.

“I would say we should wait for Glitter and the others… but I’m afraid that they might not show up.” Twilight stated in a concerned tone.

“Still… I would rather wait for them in the entrance with the others. Besides… I would like to know what’s going on rather than staying here and worrying all night.” Rainbow Dash suggested while swallowing her fear and stepping forward. Thankfully, Twilight lit up her horn and hesitantly followed her outside.

The library doors swung closed with a loud thud of finality. Now the two mares were in a dark hallway by themselves without the protection of the blessed candles to keep them safe from whatever unseen terrors awaited them.

Twilight glanced forward towards the door to the foyer. She could barely see the end of the hallway just outside of her light’s reach. Even though it would only be a short walk, it felt like it would take an eternity. Taking a brief glance behind her, the unicorn was greeted with nothing but pitch blackness in the other direction as the hallway continued on beyond the light.

“L-let’s get moving…” Rainbow Dash suggested with a nervous chuckle while staring uneasily into the darkness. Twilight nodded in agreement before tearing herself away from the frightening void and heading back towards the foyer.

The two mares silently walked down the corridor while darting their eyes around nervously. The only sound they could hear was their own hooves clattering against the wooden floors beneath the carpet. Every object they passed cast a myriad of startling shapes on the walls as the shadows moved along with the unicorn’s light. Thankfully, the door wasn’t far away, and they would be in the safety of the foyer before long.

Twilight quickly trotted up to the door and grabbed the handle eagerly. She couldn’t stand being in this dark and eerie hallway any longer, she needed to be in a safe place among friends. The purple pony quickly turned the handle, but something was amiss. Her train of thought was abruptly derailed as the handle refused to turn in her hoof.

“What…?” Twilight muttered in an alarmed stupor. The unicorn shifted from gently turning the handle to forcibly pulling on it, but to no avail.

“Oh come on! You have got to be kidding me!” Twilight exclaimed nervously while pulling on the door with all of her might.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked uneasily. Even though she could already surmise the problem from watching the struggling unicorn, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge the fact that the only door to salvation was locked.

“The door is stuck… just like the others.” Twilight’s face paled as she suddenly came to the grim realization that they were now separated from the others. Nobody could get to them, and they couldn’t get back to the foyer until the group figured out how to reverse the broken seals, but she was the only one who knew how to do that.

“What?! Are you sure?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a shocked tone while grabbing the handle and pulling on it herself to make sure that the unicorn was right. Sure enough, the door remained steadfast against every attempt the cyan mare made on it.

“This isn’t good… this is not good at all.” Twilight suddenly became very nervous as she turned around to look at the only other path they had to take, which was the pitch black hallway they just came from. She could feel her breathing speed up slightly as she started to panic.

“Ok… let’s not panic.” Rainbow Dash suggested, even though her tone of voice suggested that she was just as alarmed as the unicorn. “We just need to find another way around… yeah, that’s it! There has to be another way to the foyer from this… hallway.” The pegasus’s voice trailed off nervously as she turned around and stared down the very hallway she was mentioning.

“M-maybe we should head back to the library? We can just wait for everyone to come find us.” Twilight almost couldn’t believe that she was hearing herself say such a thing. Normally she would be the first one to suggest pressing forward until another solution presented itself, but she dreaded the very thought of pressing forward when it involved going further into a dark and creepy mansion full of Celestia knows what kind of horrors.

“No… we can’t do that. We’re the only ones who know a possible way out of this mess. If the others don’t figure out that we need to break those symbols, then we might be stuck here forever!” Rainbow Dash stated adamantly. She didn’t seem to be any more eager to venture forth into the darkness, but she couldn’t just cower in a corner and wait for someone else to get the job done, not when her friends could be in danger.

“You’re right… I don’t know why I even bothered suggesting that… but…” Twilight gulped nervously while glancing between her friend and the rest of the hallway. It wasn’t so much the dark hallway that was scaring her so much, it was the thought of what lay beyond that was getting to the unicorn.

“I know… but don’t worry. We can do this together.” Rainbow Dash said while putting a reassuring hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “We just need to take this one step at a- OW!” Suddenly, the cyan mare yelped in pain while clutching the back of her neck. Twilight turned to the pegasus with an alarmed expression as she wondered why she had made such an outburst.

“What’s wrong?!” Twilight asked fearfully. She was afraid that something horrible had leapt out of the darkness and assaulted her friend without her even knowing it.

“It feels like something sharp just poked me!” Rainbow Dash groaned uncomfortably while rubbing a spot on the back of her neck.

“Let me see…” Twilight said while moving to the side and examining the cyan mare’s neck. Rainbow Dash stopped rubbing her neck and pointed with her hoof in the general area before letting the unicorn inspect her freely.

“What did it feel like?” Twilight asked while moving the mare’s fur back and forth to look for any marks on her skin.

“It felt kind of like a needle, but then it just vanished really quickly.” Rainbow Dash explained in a troubled tone as she waited for the unicorn to complete her analysis.

“That’s odd… I don’t see anything. Do you feel ok?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone. If the pegasus was jabbed with a needle, that just begged the question of why and how.

“I feel kind of woozy… but I think that’s just from my nerves.” Rainbow Dash said in a hopeful tone. Twilight looked around for any signs of movement around them. She couldn’t see anything but shadows, but her friend didn’t just get attacked by nothing. She resolved to keep a close eye on the pegasus while waiting for a few minutes to see if she was alright.

Meanwhile, Shadow Mist silently crept down the hallway and opened a door to duck inside. He glanced behind him to see if he was being followed by the two mares, only to see nothing but darkness. Breathing a sigh of relief, he uncloaked and walked further into the room.

“Damnit… the charm must be wearing off of the needle if she felt that.” He muttered uneasily while staring down at the needle in his hooves. Thankfully, he had managed to extract the necessary amount of blood from the pegasus before he was forced to pull out the needle and flee.

“Doesn’t matter… I need to get the last sample before I leave. I don’t care if Grim said we could use blood extracted after they died. I’m not taking any chances with this.” The stallion stated while reaching into a bag on the table and pulling out an empty vial. He jammed the syringe into the vial and dispensed the red fluid into it before closing the lid and wiping off the needle. He then placed the vial back into the bag and secured it before picking the bag up and slinging it around his back.

Suddenly, a noise from behind him made the red pony spin around defensively. He glanced around, only to see nobody outside of the door. Still, the air felt oddly cold and the whole room suddenly had an eerie feeling to it.

“Grr… not now.” Shadow Mist growled in frustration while darting his eyes around. He had managed to avoid the three spirits of the mansion thus far, but he knew his luck was going to run out eventually.

“Don’t get jumpy now Shadow… you’re almost done. The odds of running into them are very slim as long as I keep moving and I stay low.” He muttered to himself before moving to walk out of the door.

*SNIP*

The sound of metal grating against metal rang out from behind him, making the stallion pause and turn around. The sight before him made Shadow Mist gasp in surprise. Hovering in the air mere inches away from his face, there was a pair of bloody scissors with their blades pointed directly at him. Realizing what was about to happen, Shadow Mist ducked to the side as fast as he could as the scissors darted forward. No matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t prevent the scissors from flying into the left side of his face.

“AGGHH!” He screamed in agony as one of the blades of the scissors stabbed into his left eye. A surge of mind numbing pain rocked his body as flashes of red filled his now broken vision. The stallion clutched the scissors before pulling them out of his skull in one swift yank. He cried out in pain again as blood gushed from his now destroyed eye.

“Gah!” While he clutched his eye with one hoof, Shadow Mist stumbled backwards until he tripped over something and fell on his side. He looked up just in time to see two ghostly figures above him. One was a lady in white that was smiling wickedly as she held a blood soaked pair of scissors in one hand. The other specter was a man with a blank expression and black hair that stared down at him menacingly.

Shadow Mist looked down to see what he tripped over, only to gasp in shock as he noticed that it was an axe on the floor. The ghostly man held out his open palm as the axe vibrated slightly. Suddenly, the axe shot up into the air and flew right into the human’s open hand.

The red stallion scooted towards the door as quickly as he could as the human approached him with the axe clutched in his hands. He stopped clutching his eye for a moment and held out his hoof while channeling shadow energy to it.

Before he could do anything meaningful to repel the two spirits, the man with the axe swung his bloody weapon down and hit the stallion’s arm that was on the floor just above the hoof.

“AGGH!” Shadow Mist screamed again as he felt his bone cracking from the blunt force of the axe. As he tried to pull away, blood gushed out of his arm in rivers as what little flesh was holding the arm together ripped. When the stallion brought his arm up in front of him, all he saw was a bloody stump with his hoof missing.

His head was spinning, his body was screaming at him in pain. The red pony thought that his heart was going to explode from pounding so hard. If he didn’t pass out on the spot, he would be dead from blood loss shortly.

As the woman in white laughed at the pony’s misfortune, the man brought his axe up again to strike the stallion down. Shadow Mist used every ounce of strength left in his body to shoot his remaining hoof out and send as much shadow energy as he could through it. The woman in white wailed in pain, while the man silently dealt with his punishment as the pony blasted them with shadow energy. The two humans were sent flying into the back wall, where they vanished from sight.

“*Pant*… Gah… *Gasp*” Shadow Mist tried his hardest to get enough air to supply his body, but his breathing was impaired by how exhausted he was, and by how much pain he was experiencing. As he slowly used his remaining front leg to push himself up, he glanced down to the floor to see part of his hoof lying in a puddle of blood.

Channeling shadow energy to his arm and his eye, the stallion tried his best to stop the bleeding. Without the experience in using shadow magic to heal, all he could hope to do was to keep himself from bleeding out until he could finish his mission and reach his colleagues for aid.

Suddenly, he heard two sets of hoofsteps rapidly approaching from down the hallway. With how loud he screamed, Twilight Sparkle and her friend doubtlessly heard the stallion and were now most likely coming to investigate.

“Crap…” Shadow Mist muttered while stumbling slightly. There was no way in his present state of injury that he could fight the two mares, or even run away from them. Finally, the stallion did the only thing he could think to do. He channeled his powers and vanished from sight, all the while trying to keep himself from leaving a trail of blood, and trying to refrain from passing out from shock.

-A few moments earlier–

Twilight and Rainbow Dash glanced around nervously while trying to find the source of the cyan mare’s sudden injury. Although it was entirely possible that some random pain befell the pegasus, it was highly unlikely in these circumstances.

“Does it still hurt?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone while looking at the cyan pony.

“No… it only hurt for like a second. I would still like to know what that was.” Rainbow Dash shrugged uneasily while feeling the back of her neck.

“Let’s just keep moving… maybe we can get Peppermint to check you out when we get ba-” Twilight was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream coming from down the hall. Judging from how loud the scream was, it sounded relatively close, and it sounded like whoever it was, was in excruciating pain.

“What the hay?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in an alarmed tone.

“Who is that?!” Twilight asked nervously while looking down the hallway. The scream sounded like a stallion, but it didn’t sound like anyone she knew.

Before the pegasus could respond, another scream filled the air. This time, it sounded like the stallion was in even more pain than before. He was screaming so loud that the two mares were certain that he could be heard across the house.

“Forget about who it is! We need to go help them!” Rainbow Dash stated anxiously while getting to her feet. Even if it was one of the hooded ponies, she couldn’t idly stand by while another living creature endured that much pain and suffering.

Twilight followed the cyan pegasus as she bolted down the hallway in search of the source of the screams. Before long, the two came across an open door on their left. When they turned and walked into the room, they were so shocked and horrified by what awaited them that they paused in mid stride and gasped.

There was blood everywhere. Streams and spatters of the red fluid were all along the walls and the floor. The fact that there was so much blood in the room wasn’t even the most alarming thing to the pair. The thing that horrified them the most was the presence of a severed hoof on the floor with a broken bone sticking out of it and blood pouring out of it in spurts.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock while backpedaling as fast as she could. As she hit the wall, she felt her legs wobbling so much that they gave out, forcing her into a seated position.

Meanwhile, Twilight was left in the doorway staring at the gruesome scene before her. She felt sick to her stomach. So much so in fact that she heaved and coughed as her gag reflex was activated. The copper like smell in the air was so thick that the ponies could taste it, which only added to their sickness.

As Twilight shakily stumbled out of the doorway and fell to her knees, Rainbow Dash reluctantly glanced back into the room. There was no sign of the pony that was attacked other than the severed limb on the floor and all of the blood, but there was a hint left behind about their attacker. There was a bloodstained axe lying on the floor at the back of the room. The blood on the axe was as fresh as the blood all around the room, leading the pegasus to surmise that it was the weapon used to create this travesty.

“*Cough* *Cough* *Sputter*” Twilight tried her best to contain the sick feeling in her stomach, but she couldn’t do anything but heave and cough and try to catch her breath in between outbursts.

“Is… is that what I think it is?” The unicorn asked while keeping her eyes closed and remaining on the floor. Judging from how ill she sounded, Rainbow Dash figured that she didn’t want to take another peak inside of the room to investigate.

“Yeah… I think it *Gag*… I think it is.” The pegasus covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting as she took another glance at the red stub on the floor. At least now she understood why the strange stallion was screaming bloody murder, it was because he was literally being murdered in a bloody fashion.

“Ugh… who did this?” Twilight groaned while slowly making her way back to her feet. She still felt dizzy and her face was still pale, but she found it in her to suppress the sick feeling in her stomach to take another glance into the room. Still, she tried her hardest to avoid looking down at the floor for fear of losing her lunch.

“I don’t know… and I don’t think I want to know.” Rainbow Dash said while looking around for the injured pony. There wasn’t a trail of blood leading anywhere out of the room, and the room itself was devoid of life.

“Where is the pony that got attacked? I don’t see anyone… and surely they couldn’t have gotten very far without…” Twilight hesitated and shuddered nervously as she instinctively looked to the floor at the severed hoof.

“Maybe it was Shadow Mist… he did have red fur didn’t he?” Rainbow Dash asked while trying to remember the description that Applejack and the others gave of the red stallion.

“You think he’s still in here?” Twilight asked while glancing around the room suspiciously. She couldn’t imagine why the stallion would even try to hide himself in his state.

“Well if he is… I hope he has enough sense to leave.” Rainbow Dash shrugged while trying not to look around too much. “Let’s… let’s just get out of here.” The pegasus suggested while waiting for her friend to leave the room with her.

“But… shouldn’t we try to help him?” Twilight asked while hesitantly looking around the room for the injured pony. Even if he was one of their enemies, she didn’t feel like leaving him with such severe injuries would be the right thing to do.

“If he’s still here, he obviously doesn’t want us to find him. If he isn’t still here… there isn’t much we can do for him anyway. We have more important things to worry about… like what did this to him for instance.” Rainbow Dash said uneasily while staring at the bloody axe at the back of the room with a glint of fear in her eyes. Twilight shrugged before nodding and walking out of the room. As much as she wanted to help the stallion, she couldn’t do anything for him if he was hiding from her.

Leaving the gruesome scene behind them, the two mares continued down the hallway. They kept their wits about them to look for any signs of being followed, either by Shadow Mist, or the one who attacked him. Still, the only sounds they heard were their own hoofsteps and their own nervous breathing.

As the pair walked on in silence, Twilight started reflecting on her thoughts. Her mind drifted to everything that had happened since they arrived. The group had been in control of the situation before, so much so that the unicorn actually felt confident about their chances of success. But now, so much had happened to complicate matters that the purple mare wasn’t so sure about their odds anymore.

The entire house had shaken due to some unseen force, the front door had locked itself, trapping a good portion of their forces outside, and they had lost contact with Princess Luna and Tom, arguably the most powerful members they had. Now that Glitterball, Applejack, and Rarity had apparently gone missing, Twilight was worried that something bad happened. Perhaps they weren’t missing and they were only waiting in the foyer trying to get the door unlocked from their end, but somehow Twilight had a terrible feeling that something bad happened to her friends.

Rainbow Dash noticed that the unicorn had a concerned expression on her face. Although their surroundings were disconcerting enough to warrant concern in any pony, she seemed to be troubled by something else entirely.

“What’s eating you?” The pegasus asked in a concerned tone. Twilight glanced over to her friend, only to shrug and look away for a moment.

“Do you think the others are ok?” Twilight asked in an uneasy tone. The cyan mare was caught off guard by the sudden grim question.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked to clarify. She wasn’t sure if she liked where the unicorn was heading with this train of thought.

“I just… I’m worried about them.” Twilight admitted while staring at the floor uncomfortably. “First we get locked in here after the whole house shakes… then Tom and the princess go missing… now we’re separated from the others. Not to mention what we just walked away from…” She cringed and shuddered uncomfortably as she thought back to the bloody room. If something like that could happen to one of the hooded ponies, then what did that say for her and her friends?

“Twilight… I’m sure the others are fine.” Rainbow Dash said in a hopeful tone. Despite her attempt at sounding optimistic, she couldn’t suppress the uneasiness in her voice. The pegasus looked to the side and frowned with concern before gathering up her strength to put on a more hopeful outlook.

“I mean come on… there are just two of us in here, and we’re doing fine. Glitter and the others have each other to keep themselves safe… not to mention a highly trained member of the royal guard looking after them. I’m sure that they just got locked out… nothing to worry about.” Rainbow Dash added with her usual confident smirk. Twilight smiled briefly before returning a concerned expression to her face. No matter how much the pegasus tried cheering her up, she couldn’t get rid of her suspicions.

“I don’t know Rainbow Dash… I just feel like something bad is going to happen.” Twilight stated while shaking her head uneasily.

Suddenly, Twilight heard a loud crack coming from beneath her. She felt the floorboards shifting under her weight. Before she could even react, the floor broke apart with a loud snap, sending her falling through it.

“AHHH!” Twilight screamed fearfully as her whole body crashed downwards. Just as abruptly as her fall started, it ended as she slammed into the ground along with all of the debris and wooden splinters from the broken floor. The impact made her entire body throb with pain, but somehow, there was another more severe pain coursing through her body that originated in her leg.

“Oh my gosh! Twilight, are you ok?!” Rainbow Dash yelled fearfully from the floor above. Somehow, she managed to just barely avoid falling through the floor with the unicorn. She stared down into the dark hole, trying to desperately make out any signs that her friend was alright. Twilight’s light had gone out when she fell, most likely from the shock of the fall and the harsh impact of her body hitting the ground.

“Ow… Uh… gah…” Twilight whined softly as she slowly came to her senses. “I’m… I’m ok… I think.” She stammered in a stunned tone while managing to light up her horn again. The light revealed the purple mare lying on her stomach amidst a myriad of dust and pieces of wooden flooring varying in size.

Taking a brief look around, Rainbow Dash realized that the unicorn had fallen straight into a downstairs hallway. There was a patch of light far off down the hall, seemingly coming from a candle placed on a table. The area visible from the gaping hole in the floor was pitch black before due to the candle nearby being extinguished by the dust and debris falling down with Twilight.

“Oh thank goodness… I thought you were a goner for a second there.” Rainbow Dash said in a relieved tone. Although the unicorn was in a state of shock from her sudden fall, she was at least seemingly in one piece. Suddenly, as Twilight tried turning herself over, the cyan mare noticed something that made a shocked gasp escape her mouth.

“AGGH!” Twilight screamed in pain again as she tried moving her leg. Just putting a little bit of effort into moving the limb sent shooting pains all throughout her body. As she slowly maneuvered herself up to see what was wrong, her eyes widened as she noticed that a large sliver of wood was sticking into her thigh.

Although blood was already pouring out of the injury, the piece of wood was easy to see. It looked like a part of the floorboards that had come crashing down along with her. The purple mare most likely fell on it with all of her weight, making it easy to see how it could have been forced in so deep.

“Hold on Twilight, I’m coming down!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panicked tone while spreading her wings. She hopped into the hole and glided down, being careful not to land on her injured friend.

“Owww!” Twilight leaned her head back and wailed painfully as the suffering she was going through prevented her from moving any further. She could feel tears falling onto her cheeks from how much pain she was in.

“Oh man… oh my gosh… oh my gosh.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself in a panic as she knelt down and examined her friend’s leg. There was blood pouring down the side of her leg, but it didn’t look severe enough to be an immediate concern. The main problem was the piece of wood sticking out of the injury site.

“What should I do?!” The pegasus asked nobody in particular as she frantically tried to think of a way to help her friend. Twilight knew that the situation was bad, and that she had to do something if she was going to walk, or rather, limp away from it in one piece.

“Hold my leg steady… OW!” Twilight yelped in pain as she moved her upper body into a position where she could see her leg better.

“What…?! Are… are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously while glancing at the unicorn with a concerned expression. Merely moving the rest of her body caused mind numbing pain for her, so the pegasus couldn’t imagine what pressing down on the leg would do.

“I need to… I need to pull it out.” Twilight cringed painfully as she prepared herself for what was about to happen.

“Are you crazy?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed uneasily while recoiling slightly in shock. She couldn’t believe that the unicorn was going to do something so brash and idiotic.

“Just help me! We don’t have another choice here.” Twilight replied while clenching her teeth as another surge of pain flooded her mind. Rainbow Dash cringed while turning away for a moment to take a breather. Twilight was right. The only option they had was to find a way back to the foyer, and they couldn’t do that if the unicorn couldn’t walk.

“Ok… I’ll help you.” The cyan mare said with a concerned frown while walking back over to her and kneeling down beside her. She hesitantly placed her hooves on the unicorn’s leg. She barely pressed down, not wanting to hurt her friend. Even with the miniscule amount of pressure Rainbow Dash was putting on her, Twilight whined slightly in pain.

“Sorry…” Rainbow Dash said in an apologetic tone. Twilight could tell that it was tearing her up to be doing this to her.

“It’s ok… you can press harder.” Twilight said while steeling her nerves and putting on a brave face. Rainbow Dash nodded slowly before pressing slightly harder.

The pegasus was barely putting on any more pressure, like her hooves refused to obey her commands. She knew that she had to press harder, but every fiber in her body was telling her to stop. Finally, Rainbow Dash figured that gently pressing harder and harder would cause more pain in the long run for the unicorn, and she pressed down firmly.

“Gah!” Twilight yelped slightly before gritting her teeth and focusing. She breathed in and out a few times while preparing herself for the task ahead.

Rainbow Dash watched as the piece of wood was wrapped in a softly glowing purple aura. She cringed empathetically as she heard the purple mare whining softly while preparing to pull the piece out.

“Twilight… are you sure you want to do t-” The cyan mare started to speak up, until she was interrupted by the unicorn screaming out in pain as she yanked on the piece of wood.

“AAAGHH!” Twilight rocked her head back and gritted her teeth as she focused on pulling at the piece of wood. Even though it was moving, it was moving slowly, and every time she touched it another wave of misery surged through her leg.

Rainbow Dash tried her best to hold the unicorn’s leg steady as she yanked the piece of wood out. She turned her head away and cringed while her friend worked on removing the foreign object. Twilight took a break every now and then to catch her breath and let the pain die down before returning to her efforts.

Finally, the piece of wood was freed from the purple mare’s leg. Twilight flung the large splinter off to the side before laying her head back and panting heavily.

“Guh… *Gasp*… *Pant*” The unicorn rested while dealing with the remaining stinging twinges of pain in her leg. She looked up to see that her leg was now bleeding profusely.

“Oh no… that isn’t good.” Twilight muttered uneasily while watching the crimson fluid leaving her.

“Sweet Celestia, Twilight! You’re going to bleed to death if we don’t fix that up!” Rainbow Dash said in a concerned tone while staring at her friend’s injury with wide eyes.

“Oh horsefeathers… I did not think this through as much as I should have. Gah…” Twilight whined while trying to cope with the pain and press on her leg to prevent herself from bleeding out. She was mentally kicking herself for making such a hasty decision. Although to be fair, she could only kick herself mentally due to her leg being so messed up.

“We need to stop the bleeding… it’s the only way you’re going anywhere.” Rainbow Dash reasoned as she racked her mind trying to think of how to help the unicorn.

“I don’t think… *Pant*… I don’t think there is anything we can use around here.” Twilight said while peering around the area as much as she could from the floor. Meanwhile, the cyan mare was looking at the many doorways around them with an idea brewing in her head.

“Wait here… and try to keep pressure on it.” Rainbow Dash suggested in a sympathetic tone. She knew that touching the wound would probably send the unicorn reeling with pain, let alone putting pressure on it.

“Ok… don’t go too far by yourself.” Twilight said in a concerned tone. Life or death situation or not, they were still in a possibly dangerous location, and she wanted the cyan mare to be careful.

Without wasting any more time, Rainbow Dash went up to the first door on her left and tried the handle. The door popped open with little resistance and slid open with a small creak. The pegasus looked inside and strained her eyes to see among the shadows.

The room was almost pitch black, but she could still see the outlines of objects. Unfortunately for her, there wasn’t anything she could use to aid the wounded unicorn inside. There were only a few tables and chairs inside.

Shrugging in frustration, Rainbow Dash closed the door and rushed across the hall to the next door. She opened it up, only to find another useless room. Taking a glance over to her friend bleeding on the floor in the middle of the hallway, the pegasus was filled with a sense of urgency as she went to the next door.

“Come on… there has to be something I can use.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself while grabbing the door handle and twisting it.

“Aha!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed eagerly as she peered into the next room. It was what appeared to be a small bedroom. There were a few dressers and wardrobes along the walls, and there was a mirror at the back of the room, but the pegasus paid no attention to these things. What interested the cyan mare the most was the bed, more specifically the sheets on the bed.

Ignoring the darkness in the room, Rainbow Dash walked in and trotted up to the bed. The sheets were ragged and had many holes in them, but they would work just fine. Gripping the edge of the sheets in her mouth, and gagging slightly at the layer of dust still on them, the pegasus ripped a sizable ribbon of fabric off and brought it with her out of the room.

Rainbow Dash rushed back over and knelt down next to Twilight. She sat the long strip of sheet down beside her and smiled slightly.

“Well… it might not be the cleanest thing in the world, but it should stop the bleeding. Come on… let’s get you patched up.” Rainbow Dash suggested while picking up the makeshift bandage in her hooves. She started to apply it, until she was stopped by the unicorn getting up slowly.

“Here… let me do it. It will probably be easier with my magic.” Twilight suggested while focusing her magic and taking the bandage out of Rainbow Dash’s grasp.

“Are you sure you can handle that?” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone. Surely the purple mare must have been feeling weak from all of the blood she was losing.

“Don’t worry. I can take care of it. You’ve already done so much to help me.” Twilight said with a grateful expression. Rainbow Dash smiled in return before stepping back and letting the unicorn work.

Twilight shakily lifted her leg up and gritted her teeth to deal with the pain. She then started wrapping the bandage around the injury on her thigh and made it as tight as possible while still leaving room for blood flow.

After tying off the ends of the bandage, the unicorn took a moment to admire her work. Although the sheets were already getting stained red as the crimson fluid soaked through, it looked like it would prevent her from losing too much blood until she got back to the foyer where Peppermint could give her proper medical attention.

“Not bad for an egghead.” Rainbow Dash stated with an impressed smile. More than anything, she was just glad that her friend wasn’t going to die of blood loss while she watched.

“Hey… you can learn about a lot of things from books… you should try reading educational things every now and then and not just tales of adventure.” Twilight replied with a slight smirk.

“Yeah… I think I might lay off of the tales of adventure for a while. I think I’m getting my fix of adventure right now.” Rainbow Dash said with an amused chuckle.

“Ack!” Twilight yelped in pain as she tried to roll over so she could get up. Every time she moved her injured leg, it sent pains up and down the limb, making it almost impossible for her to move very much. Rainbow Dash watched her friend struggling to get up with a sympathetic frown. She knew that the unicorn couldn’t get very far like this, or at least she couldn’t on her own.

“Here… let me help you.” Rainbow Dash suggested while letting the purple mare lean up against her. Once she got Twilight to her feet, the pegasus gently put one of her front legs around her to help her walk.

“Thanks Rainbow Dash… I don’t know what I would do without you.” Twilight said in a grateful tone while smiling at her friend.

“Don’t mention it… now let’s get back to the others. Maybe we can find a way back now that we’re downstairs?” Rainbow Dash asked with a genuine tone of hopeful optimism. It was the first time since they left the library that the two mares felt happy and hopeful about their chances.

Slowly but surely, the pair made their way back through the hallway in the direction of the foyer. They hoped that there would be a way back to the entrance from this hallway. They had never been this way before, so they were pretty much running, or rather, limping blind.

Twilight winced uncomfortably as her leg jostled around occasionally. Even with Rainbow Dash helping her to take the weight off of it, the limb would still move with the unicorn. The throbbing pain she was receiving was substantially less than before, but it still hurt a considerable amount.

“How you holding up?” Rainbow Dash asked while glancing at the purple mare.

“I’m doing good all things considered… I’m feeling a little woozy, but other than that I’m fine.” Twilight replied while taking note of her own physical condition.

“Hang tight. We’ll be back in no time.” Rainbow Dash said confidently before returning her attention back down the hallway.

Suddenly, the pair came to the end of the hallway. From what they remembered, the foyer should have been further up ahead. This door must have led to another room or hallway. As she reached up and turned the handle, Rainbow Dash pushed the door open and helped her friend inside.

As expected, the door opened up into a room instead of the foyer. The ponies were in what looked like a living room of sorts. There was a couch in the middle of the room that faced to the left. The couch was positioned in front of a large fireplace and mantle with a painting of a landscape above it. The fire was out, but there was an iron fire poker left to the side. A couple of chairs and potted plants were to the right, though the plants were long dead.

There was another door across the room at the back. The ponies smiled as they realized that this door must have led to another hallway. They were getting closer and closer to getting back to their friends in the foyer.

“This place must lead closer to the entrance.” Rainbow Dash stated eagerly while helping her friend walk through the room.

“Hey… can we rest here a minute? I’m feeling a little light headed.” Twilight said in a sickly tone. Rainbow Dash was concerned to see that the unicorn’s face was a little pale, and she had a generally ill appearance to her.

“Yeah… whatever makes you feel better.” Rainbow Dash said in a sincere tone. The pegasus walked the injured mare over to the couch and gently sat her down. Once she managed to find a comfortable position on the couch, Twilight leaned back and rested for a moment.

Taking a seat in the spot next to the unicorn, Rainbow Dash briefly got comfortable before turning her attention to her friend. Twilight was breathing at a normal rate, but she was breathing so loudly that she could be heard. It was like she was trying to get as much air into her system as possible. Perhaps this was a good thing. She did look like she was about to pass out after all.

“You feeling ok?” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone.

“Yeah… I just need to catch my breath for a minute.” Twilight said while managing a reassuring smile. Rainbow Dash was happy to see the unicorn in such high spirits.

Satisfied that her friend would be alright on her own for a moment, Rainbow Dash got back up and walked around the room slowly. She looked around and examined the features of the room with intrigue.

Although the fireplace wasn’t lit, there were a few candles placed around that provided sufficient, if not a little eerie, lighting. Rainbow Dash stood in front of the fireplace and shrugged in disappointment. She wished that it would have somehow been lit. It must have been quite the experience to sit in front of the warmth of a fire in such a luxurious atmosphere.

“Man… those humans sure knew how to live it up. I want a huge fireplace like this in my house… I’ll even settle for not having the painting.” Rainbow Dash said with a slight sigh.

“Heh… I see what you mean. Even with all of the dust and cobwebs, this place still looks better than my old dorm room back at school.” Twilight said with a brief chuckle of amusement while looking around at the fancy décor.

*SNIP*

Suddenly, a harsh snip filled the air. The noise was so unexpected and jarring that the ponies weren’t even sure if they actually heard it.

“What was that?” Twilight asked uneasily while trying her best to look around the room without moving her leg.

Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around nervously while trying to find the source of the noise. It sounded like a pair of scissors being used, but why a pair of scissors, or even someone to use them, would be near enough to be heard was beyond the pegasus. Suddenly, a small blur of motion made the cyan mare look straight ahead. Rainbow Dash was stunned into silent surprise as she saw a pair of scissors floating by themselves behind the couch that Twilight was sitting on. It didn’t take long for her to realize the urgency of the situation.

“Twilight, look out!” Rainbow Dash shouted frantically while pointing behind the unicorn. Twilight ignored the pain in her leg to turn around fully to see what had startled the pegasus, only to gasp in shock as she saw a pair of scissors pointing at her from in the air.

“AH!” Twilight yelped in fright as she recoiled backwards and off the couch. Just as she crashed to the floor and onto her back, the pair of scissors darted forward and sailed over her head, just barely missing a few strands of her hair.

“Oof!” Twilight landed on the floor with a sizable thud. The impact made her leg throb with pain, but she had more pressing matters to worry about. Now that the scissors had missed their first lunge, they were hovering directly above the injured mare. As the bloody blades slowly yet deliberately pointed downwards towards her, Twilight could swear that she heard sinister laughter echoing through the air softly.

Making an attempt to save herself, the unicorn used her front legs to scoot herself backwards. Much to her dismay, whenever she moved, the scissors moved with her, all the while closing and opening their blades slowly.

“No!” Twilight cried out in protest while shielding her body as best she could with one arm and shielding her face with the other as the scissors shot downwards towards her. The blades were moving fast enough to impale themselves straight through her if they made contact.

Just before she expected to feel a stabbing pain in her body, Twilight felt something grabbing her and pulling her to the side. As she heard the sound of the scissors hitting the floor, she looked up to see Rainbow Dash holding her by the shoulders.

“Rainbow Dash… you saved me.” Twilight said in an amazed tone.

“Don’t thank me yet!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed uneasily while staring at the scissors trying to free themselves from the floor. The blades took little time to yank themselves back into the air and slowly point back towards the two mares.

“Is it Shadow Mist…?!” Twilight asked in an alarmed tone while glancing to her bag. Perhaps if she hurried she could reach the vial that suppressed shadow magic and hit the red pony to make the fight easier.

“There’s no way that thing is Shadow Mist… Those scissors are straight up flying.” Rainbow Dash stated while staring at the floating blades with a fearful glint in her eyes. They seemed to glide through the air effortlessly, almost like they had a will of their own and some bizarre method of locomotion.

“But if it isn’t Shadow Mist, then what is it?!” Twilight grew more alarmed as she stared at the bloody instrument floating in the air. Now she was dealing with the unknown, and the unicorn hated that.

“I don’t know! Maybe it’s a… HEADS UP!” Rainbow Dash yelled suddenly while pushing the unicorn to the floor. Twilight grunted slightly as she watched the pegasus leaping up in the air. Before she could question what had caused the sudden reaction in her friend, she saw a blur of motion as the scissors whizzed between her and the cyan mare.

The two mares looked behind them to see the scissors come to a sudden halt just before slamming into the wall. The blades spun around in the air while opening and closing rapidly, causing a series of shrill snips to ring out. Along with this menacing display, the echoed laughter of a female filled the air clearer than ever before.

Taking a quick glance to her injured friend, Rainbow Dash realized that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself in her condition. Returning her attention to the scissors, she gasped in shock as she saw the blades inching closer as they pointed at Twilight.

“Hey! Why don’t you pick on someone as fast as you?!” Rainbow Dash yelled in a brash tone while stepping forward and to the side. Thankfully her plan worked, and the scissors pointed away from Twilight to face her.

“Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?!” Twilight asked in a shocked tone while watching the cyan pony stare down the scissors like she was having a duel. The pegasus turned her head slightly to face her friend while keeping the scissors in view.

“I would rather it come after me than you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in an adamant tone. Twilight knew that once the cyan mare made up her mind, there was no changing it. She was going to risk her own safety to protect her.

As Rainbow Dash returned her attention to the scissors, she was startled to see that they had disappeared from view. Taking a quick look around, she realized the malevolent blades were nowhere to be seen.

“What the hay?! But there’s no way it could have moved without me seeing!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panic while desperately looking around for the scissors.

Suddenly, Twilight saw what had happened to the floating blades. She gasped in surprise and alarm as she saw the scissors slowly materializing in front of the pegasus where they had probably been the whole time.

“Rainbow Dash, look out!” Twilight yelled frantically while pointing in front of the pegasus. Rainbow Dash spun her head around and widened her eyes in shock as she saw the blades directly in front of her.

“Yikes!” The cyan mare exclaimed in a panic while darting her body to the side as fast as she could. Despite her best effort, she couldn’t match the speed of the scissors. The phantom blades sailed through the air, clipping into the side of her face as they whizzed by and leaving a lengthy gash in her cheek that stung like crazy.

“Agh!” Rainbow Dash yelped in pain while clutching her new injury. The side of her face was burning so much that even pressing on it gently made it sting more. As she brought her bloodstained hoof back down, she groaned uneasily and turned around to face her attacker.

The blades were now floating motionless in front of the fireplace in an open position. The cyan pony’s blood dripped off of the right blade every so often. The two mares heard the laughter again, but this time it sounded clearer and less distorted.

Suddenly, the ponies saw something that stunned them into silence. Right before their eyes, a humanoid figure started materializing into existence. Before long, the figure could be identified as a human woman wearing a white dress. She had pale translucent skin, a sinister smile, and she was holding the floating scissors in her right hand.

“W…w-what the…?” Rainbow Dash muttered in utter bewilderment.

“It’s a… human?” Twilight added with equal confusion to her cyan friend. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“But… does that mean that she’s a… g-ghost?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a fearful panic as she caught on to the only reasonable explanation to there being another human in front of her.

“A ghost… I see. It makes sense now… the notes talked about the seals suppressing powerful entities… they must have been talking about literal entities.” Twilight said in a shocked tone. Even if she could make sense of it, she still couldn’t believe it. She was stunned to hear herself making such a conclusion.

“But… but I thought ghosts weren’t real?! I mean… I believe in monsters now… I kind of have to, but I thought that ghosts were still fake!” Rainbow Dash stated in utter disbelief.

“Tom mentioned clearing out haunted houses in the past… I believed him at the time, but I guess it never clicked in my head that that meant ghosts existed.” Twilight added while thinking back to the talks she had with the boy about his past achievements as a slayer.

“Heheheheh.” The ghostly woman giggled under her nonexistent breath as she opened and closed the scissors slowly. She took a step forward while staring directly at Twilight with her cold, dead, evil eyes.

“Hey! You leave my friend alone! You want to tussle with someone? I’m right here!” Rainbow Dash said while boldly stepping in front of the unicorn.

“Rainbow Dash…” Twilight said in a pleading tone. She knew that the pegasus would get hurt if she fought the spirit. Either she would be badly injured, or worse.

“Leave her to me Twilight. You’re in no condition to fight.” Rainbow Dash said while giving her friend a confident expression in an attempt at reassuring her.

“You want to protect her do you?” The ghostly woman said with a sinister smile creeping across her face. “We’ll see about that.” She stated in an almost threatening manner.

Suddenly, the specter screamed fiercely while rushing forward with her scissors at the ready. Rainbow Dash stood her ground and prepared to attack the incoming threat. As she charged forward with her head lowered in an attempt at head-butting the ghost, she was surprised as she reached the woman and sailed right through her.

“What the?!” The cyan mare exclaimed in a panic as she looked behind her. The spirit was now charging straight for the injured unicorn on the floor.

“AH!” Twilight screamed and covered her face as the ghost prepared to swing the blades down on her. Just as she saw the woman bringing her arm down, the unicorn gasped in shock as she saw her friend jumping in front of her.

“AGGH!” Rainbow Dash yelled in pain as the scissors were driven into her shoulder deeply. Blood sprayed out of the injury as the force of the impact made the crimson fluid fly everywhere before crashing down onto the floor.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried out in shock as she saw her friend getting stabbed in the shoulder. She tried to reach her, but the best she could do was to slowly scoot along the ground.

Rainbow Dash cringed in pain as she tried to think of what to do next. She reached up and tried to grab the scissors, but before she could, the woman in white grabbed her by the neck and picked her up with relative ease. She squealed in pain as her throat was constricted, but all that came out was a strangled cry. Just before the pegasus thought she was going to pass out, she felt the spirit flinging her through the air.

“Ahh!” Rainbow Dash yelled fearfully as she sailed across the room. She spread her wings and tried to stop herself in the air, but by the time she flapped them once it was too late. Her body smacked into the stone mantle of the fireplace. Thankfully her back took most of the impact, but that didn’t stop her head from making solid and painful contact with the stone as it flew back.

Twilight watched with a horrified expression as her friend grunted in pain as she hit the floor. Judging from the sight of the pegasus writhing in pain, she was at least alive, which was the best thing to come out of this ordeal so far. Taking a glance back to the ghostly woman, the unicorn noticed the scissors still clutched in her right hand. There was also a trail of blood leading across the room to where Rainbow Dash was now. Apparently the ghost ripped the blades out of the cyan pony’s shoulder before she threw her. Twilight wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Oh no…” Twilight whined fearfully while scooting backwards from the ghostly woman. Now that she was separated from her friend, it would be easy to pick her off. Strangely however, the human paid no attention to the unicorn as she backed into the couch helplessly. Instead, the specter turned her body around to face the pegasus on the other side of the room.

Rainbow Dash groaned in pain as she lifted her head off of the floor. She clutched her bleeding shoulder, only to suddenly realize that the scissors were missing from her wound. Feeling alarmed for the safety of her friend, she looked over and gasped as she saw the ghostly woman in front of the unicorn. However, she didn’t seem to care about Twilight at this point.

“Hehehe…” The woman chuckled madly as she stepped towards the pegasus with the scissors clutched in her hand. Before Rainbow Dash could even prepare herself, the ghostly figure disappeared from sight, only to reappear directly in front of her.

“…!” Rainbow Dash was shocked into silence as a startled outcry failed to make it past her throat. She scooted to the side in an attempt at getting to her feet, but before she could get up, she saw the woman lunge for her with her free hand.

“Ack!” The cyan mare groaned painfully as the woman grabbed her by the neck again. This time however, she pressed harder and harder, to the point where she was preventing the pony from breathing. Rainbow Dash sputtered and croaked as she desperately gasped for air to no avail. She tried to grab the woman’s arm to free herself, but her hooves merely passed through her body, leaving her with only a cold feeling and a sense of helplessness.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried fearfully from across the room. She could see that her friend was struggling to survive. Before long, she would be unconscious from lack of oxygen.

Deciding that she had to help somehow, the unicorn lurched forward before wincing in pain and looking down at her leg. No matter how hard she tried to suck up the pain, her injury would prevent her body from moving as quickly as she needed it to. Cursing her bad fortune under her breath, she looked up and did the only other thing she could do.

Twilight lit up her horn and scowled fiercely at the woman. There was no way she was going to sit by and watch while someone ended her friend’s life. Enough was enough, and it was time she fought back to save the pegasus.

“Leave her alone!” The purple mare yelled angrily while firing a blast of magical energy at the spirit, being careful to aim it high enough so it wouldn’t hit Rainbow Dash if she missed. The bolt of purple light flew across the room before reaching the woman, and sailing straight through her and into the stone mantle of the fireplace.

“Wh… what?” Twilight felt her heart sinking to her feet as she watched the magical bolt explode on the mantle. Of course, it was at this time that she remembered what she was fighting. Her friend was being attacked by a ghost, and ghosts could walk through walls, so why would a magical bolt of energy pose any threat to such a creature? The unicorn stared in front of her with her jaw quivering and her eyes wide with horror. There was nothing she could do to help her friend. She was going to watch Rainbow Dash getting murdered by a spirit.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still fighting to stay conscious. She could feel her throat burning as the human’s grip tightened. Her head was spinning, and her vision was getting fuzzy. She could feel a numb sensation prevailing in her limbs. Overall, she was losing this battle.

Taking a look beside her, the cyan mare saw the fireplace poker right next to the mantle. It had been knocked over when she flew into the fireplace, and was now sitting on the ground beside her. Using whatever strength she had left, the pegasus reached for the poker. She had no reason to believe that using a different weapon would work seeing how the woman could seemingly pass through solid matter at will, but she had to try and survive.

Rainbow Dash fumbled around as she felt for the metal object on the floor. She could feel her body shutting down as she faded in and out of consciousness. Just before she lost all sensation in her body, she felt her hoof settling on the cold metal of the poker. Wasting no time, she grabbed the handle and swung her arm upwards, hoping that she would somehow do something to make the woman let go of her neck.

“AGGGHHH!” The ghostly human screamed out in agony as the fireplace poker sailed through her. As the metal pole contacted her, her body violently burst into flaming smoke as her form was disrupted. The woman let go of the pony and flew backwards in retreat. Her entire body was flickering in and out of sight as the fiery trail left by the metal pole continued doing damage.

Rainbow Dash took in the largest gasp of air she ever had in her life. She could barely move her body, but at that point all she cared about was catching her breath. After taking a moment to recover, she looked up to see the ghostly woman still flickering in and out of existence. Finally, the human and her scissors vanished from sight, leaving the pegasus staring at her unicorn friend, who had an equally shocked expression on her face.

“Ughh…” Rainbow Dash groaned as she rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up. She barely made it off of the floor before she was forced to pause and take in another series of deep breaths.

“Rainbow Dash! Are you ok?!” Twilight asked in an alarmed while getting up and slowly limping over to her friend. Every step she took made her pause to deal with the pain of her leg, but she didn’t care as long as she reached the cyan mare.

“I’m ok…*Cough**Cough*… just… just give me a minute.” Rainbow Dash replied in a weak voice. She was still dealing with the strain that the ghost put on her windpipe.

Twilight stood by and watched the pegasus working herself up to her feet with a concerned expression. Once she was standing upright, Rainbow Dash glanced down to the fireplace poker on the floor curiously.

“Ok… I’m sure I should be curious about why she is afraid of a piece of metal, but right now I don’t care.” Rainbow Dash stated while picking up the metallic pole and holding it at the ready. She wanted to be prepared if the ghostly woman returned.

“Do you think she’s gone?” Twilight asked nervously while darting her eyes around.

“I don’t know… but let’s not stick around to find out.” Rainbow Dash said while reaching her other arm around the unicorn to help her walk. “Agh!” She suddenly yelped in pain as she tried moving her injured arm. The wound on her shoulder was still bleeding, serving as a painful reminder of her previous scuffle.

“Are you sure you’re ok? I can walk on my own if you’re hurt.” Twilight suggested in a concerned tone while frowning sympathetically at the wounded pegasus. Rainbow Dash cringed for a moment before shaking her head and sucking up the pain to put her arm around the purple mare.

“I’m fine… you aren’t going anywhere by yourself on that leg. Let’s just get out of here before she comes back.” The cyan pony suggested while slowly walking forward. Twilight hesitantly accepted her help. If anything, she could help her walk as well.

Suddenly, a loud crash beside them made the two mares jump in fright. They looked over to see pieces of a red pot scattered on the ground. The pair didn’t need to wonder for very long as to the source of this confusing event as they looked to their side and saw a vase floating in the air above a table at the back of the room.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in surprise while quickly letting go of her friend. She fought against the pain in her shoulder and swung the fireplace poker defensively as the vase sailed at her at lightning fast speeds. Thankfully, she felt a satisfying crack as the vase shattered against the metal pole rather than against her and her friend.

“What the hay is going on?” Twilight asked in a frantic tone while looking around the room. A lamp from a nearby table lifted into the air and flung itself at the two ponies as the vase had done. The lamp smacked into the wall right behind the unicorn, making her yelp in fright as she ducked to the floor.

“I think she’s throwing things at us!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed uneasily while readying her weapon to defend herself against any more flying objects. Twilight suddenly thought back to when Applejack and her family were being tormented by the poltergeist. She vividly remembered all of the objects in the room levitating into the air before hurling themselves at anyone nearby. If a poltergeist could do something like that, then perhaps a ghost could do the same thing.

“Look out!” Twilight yelled as another vase hurled itself at the pegasus. Rainbow Dash barely managed to hit the flying object out of the air before it crashed into her.

The pair darted their eyes around nervously while looking for any more signs of movement. Strangely, the room was still and silent save for the ponies’ own racing hearts.

“D-did she leave?” Twilight asked nervously while scanning the room and warily eyeing any loose decoration.

As if to answer the unicorn’s question, the same sinister laughter from before echoed through the room before localizing directly in front of the ponies. The two mares looked ahead and saw the ghostly woman appearing with a brief flicker. She had her scissors at the ready, and she looked like she wasn’t happy to see the two that just fought her off with relative ease.

Rainbow Dash glanced between Twilight and the human with a concerned expression. There was no way that the unicorn could dodge the ghost’s attacks in her condition. If she was going to effectively protect her, she needed to keep the fight as far away from her as possible.

“Wait here… I’ll take care of this.” Rainbow Dash stated with false courage while walking forward to meet the ghost. Twilight couldn’t believe that her friend was being so reckless.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” The purple mare called out while reaching for the pegasus. She winced in pain as she tried stepping forward, only to fall to the floor as her limbs gave out from underneath her.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was walking towards the woman in white with a fierce scowl on her face. She was done being on the defensive and waiting for the ghost to attack. It was about time she showed the spirit how ponies handled themselves in a fight.

“Ok you see-through jerk! Let’s see how you like it when you’re the one getting beat up!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed while reeling the metal bar in her hooves back for a strike. The ghostly woman merely giggled and held out her open palm.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash felt the poker getting ripped from her hooves. She yelped in pain as the pole was sent flying out of her grip violently. The fireplace poker sailed through the air until it landed behind the couch with a loud clang. Before the pegasus could even react to her sudden lack of a weapon, the woman in white swiped the scissors across her chest.

“OW!” Rainbow Dash cried out while clutching her new injury. She tried to walk backwards to get away from the ghost, but she stumbled and tripped as the woman pushed her off balance. The cyan mare landed on her back with a painful thud. She looked up and gasped in horror as she saw the ghostly figure standing over her with the scissors held high above her head, ready to plunge them down into her.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled fearfully while getting to her feet and lighting up her horn. She didn’t care if she couldn’t directly fight the ghost. She had to at least distract it long enough for her friend to escape. Building up as much courage as possible, the unicorn charged forward as fast as her injured leg would allow.

“Twilight don’t!” Rainbow Dash yelled in protest as she watched her friend charging forward. She was afraid of what the ghost might do to the unicorn if she provoked her.

The ghostly woman merely looked over to the charging pony with a scornful expression. She then raised her free hand and flicked it towards the couch.

“AH!” Twilight yelped fearfully as she was sent flying from her feet. The momentum she had from running was multiplied twofold as the ghost sent her whizzing through the air at high speeds. She crashed into the couch, managing to tip it over as her body collided with it. Twilight groaned in pain as her body rolled over several times before coming to a halt. She tried to get up again, only to realize that the pain coming from her leg had gotten worse. The force of the impact must have opened up any clot the wound had formed, because now it was bleeding again.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock as she watched her friend getting tossed like a limp puppet. “Why you little… I’m going t- AGH!” The pegasus screamed in pain as the woman stabbed the scissors into her stomach, sending a spray of blood everywhere.

“Agh… GAH!” Rainbow Dash screamed again as the ghost forcibly pulled the scissors out and stabbed them down into her side. She could feel her insides burning as each stab plunged the metal blades into her flesh, doubtlessly piercing several vital parts of her body.

Holding her arm out in an attempt at stopping the merciless assault, the pegasus was horrified to see that the woman was ignoring her arm and just continued stabbing her with varying intensity each stab. She even managed to catch the cyan mare’s arm with the scissors a few times as she continued her attack.

The purple mare looked up to see the ghost attacking her friend. She was horrified to hear Rainbow Dash screaming at the top of her lungs as blood gushed out of her body like a macabre geyser.

“Rainbow Dash, no!” Twilight screamed as her heart jumped in her chest. Her stomach did flips as her body violently reacted to the horrific sight she was seeing.

“Guh… *Cough*… *Sputter*” Rainbow Dash coughed, making a disgusting wet sound as red fluid gushed from her mouth. She tried rolling over to get away from the relentless onslaught, but the ghostly woman just pushed her down and kept her in place.

Twilight felt herself shaking uncontrollably as tears welled up in her eyes. She was watching one of her best friends getting brutally slaughtered right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do. No, there had to be something. She couldn’t just give up on Rainbow Dash like that.

Glancing behind her, the unicorn noticed the fire poker lying on the ground a few feet away. She gasped in revelation as she realized what she could do. Acting as fast as she could, Twilight lit up her horn and wrapped her magic around the metallic object. She looked back to the pair struggling on the ground and lined up her shot, just before flinging the pole at the ghost as hard as she could.

The fire poker sailed through the air like a javelin until it struck the specter. The woman screamed in pain as the metal pole impaled her form and caused her body to be disrupted in a puff of fiery smoke. The ghostly human writhed in pain for a few moments before completely disappearing from view in a violent burst of fire.

The scissors clattered to the floor loudly, serving as a final outburst before the room was plunged into silence. Twilight looked to her injured friend on the floor, only to see her writhing in pain as she struggled to breathe.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed while frantically trying to get to her feet. Her injury slowed her pace to a stubborn crawl, but she limped as fast as she could to get to the pegasus.

As she reached the cyan mare, Twilight widened her eyes in shock. Rainbow Dash had numerous deep and shallow stab wounds on her body. Some were on her arms and side, but most of them were on her chest and on her stomach. Around two deep wounds were on her chest, while three were on her stomach. All of the gashes were bleeding profusely.

“Rainbow Dash! Can you hear me?!” Twilight asked while gently putting her hooves on the pegasus’s side where she didn’t have an injury.

“*Cough*… *Sputter*…” Rainbow Dash was coughing violently as she rolled onto her side. There was a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth. Her breathing was fast and erratic and her movements were sluggish, but she seemed to be toughing through a lot of the pain she was going through.

“Is… she gone?” Rainbow Dash asked while working her way to her knees.

“I think so… do you think you can walk?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone. Rainbow Dash tried to stand on her own weight, but her legs were shaking so much that she looked like she was going to fall over any minute.

“Ughh…” The cyan mare groaned as she fell to the side. She would have hit the floor if it hadn’t been for Twilight catching her.

“Don’t worry… I’ve got you.” Twilight said while hiding the painful cringe she was making from the pegasus. The added weight of carrying herself and the pegasus was making her leg explode with pain.

“Come on… let’s get you out of here.” Twilight suggested while slowly moving forward. Rainbow Dash tried her best to shuffle forward with her friend. The pegasus relied on the unicorn to guide them as she stared at the floor with a dazed expression of pain plastered on her face.

Twilight lit up her horn and picked up the fire place poker. It was the only weapon she knew to be effective against the ghosts at the moment. She didn’t know why, but she wasn’t the questioning type, at least not right now. Right now, she had one thing on her mind, and that was to get her friend some help.

“Come on Rainbow Dash… we can do this. Just keep moving.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone while holding the pegasus steady. Every few moments, Rainbow Dash would pause and either stumble or clutch her stomach, and every time the pegasus faltered and shifted more of her weight onto her friend, Twilight struggled to keep herself upright. Her injured leg was about to give out, and her other limbs were getting weaker from the blood loss she was experiencing.

“Twilight… just leave me. That… *cough* t-that ghost might be back soon… I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.” Rainbow Dash said in a pleading tone. Twilight frowned as she realized her friend was getting weaker by the moment.

“I’m not leaving without you… now just keep moving. We’re almost to the door.” Twilight said while looking up and opening the door with her magic. Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked, and it opened with ease. The unicorn smiled hopefully as she saw another hallway. If her memory of the foyer was correct, this hallway should have led to one of the doors downstairs.

As she shambled through the door and closed it behind her, Twilight groaned from exertion as Rainbow Dash fell to her knees. She tried her best to lift her back up, but there was no way she could do it with her muscles.

Deciding to make things easier for the pegasus, Twilight focused her magic on her and tried to lift her into the air with her horn. After a few moments of grunting from exertion and getting the cyan mare to lift a few inches off the ground, the unicorn realized that she was too weak to lift an adult pony with her magic.

“Come on Rainbow Dash… don’t do this to me. I can’t lift you by myself… I need your help if I’m going to get you out of here.” Twilight pleaded with her friend, who was currently on the floor with her eyes closed trying to catch her breath and cope with the doubtlessly mind numbing pain she was going through.

“I can’t…” Rainbow Dash said under her breath.

“W-what?” Twilight asked with a pale expression.

“I can’t go on any further… I’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash droned tiredly. It sounded like she was fading out of consciousness. Twilight saw the pegasus starting to fall the rest of the way to the floor. She realized that if she passed out at this point that she might not wake back up.

“Hey, stay awake!” Twilight said while shaking the cyan mare. Rainbow Dash fluttered her eyes open and strained to keep herself alert. She was still breathing heavily and making soft and painful moans, so she was seemingly awake for the moment.

“Rainbow Dash… we’re so close. The others are just down this hallway, I know they are. You can’t give up like this… just try for me… please.” Twilight pleaded in a sad tone. She knew that she couldn’t pick the pegasus up by herself, so if she gave up, she might very well die.

“Ok… I’ll try.” Rainbow Dash said before taking as deep a breath as she could. She groaned from exhaustion and pain as she tried working herself to her knees. Twilight grabbed her by the arm and gently helped her up. After some work, the pair was on their feet again.

Slowly but surely, Twilight managed to lead the injured pegasus down the hallway. She could visibly see the color draining from her face as she stared at the floor in a haze. There was a sizable trail of blood being left behind the cyan mare. The unicorn frowned with concern as she felt her own strength waning away as well. Although she wasn’t nearly as bad off as Rainbow Dash, the wound on her leg was still bleeding. If she didn’t hurry, then both of them might not survive the night.

Finally, Twilight could see a door to the left further down the hallway. She smiled brightly as she realized that the foyer was so close within reach.

“We’re almost there Rainbow Dash. Just hang in th- oof!” Twilight suddenly groaned as the pegasus became dead weight in her grasp. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor and sprawled out like a lifeless puppet, but her eyes were still open. She was still awake, but all of the strength had left her body.

Twilight groaned as she heaved while trying to lift the now motionless pegasus. The increased strain on her body was making her breath faster, but it was also making her lose energy faster.

“*Huff*… *Pant*… Rainbow Dash… get up.” Twilight said while out of breath. She fell to her knees and rested for a moment before looking to the side and nudging her friend.

“I… I don’t think I’m gonna make it.” Rainbow Dash said before coughing a few times and laying her head back down.

“You have to… I can’t do this without you.” Twilight groaned while trying again to lift the cyan mare. She didn’t care about her own exhaustion. She had to try and save her friend.

“Just get back to the others… save yourself.” Rainbow Dash said in a drowsy haze. Twilight could see her eyelids drifting closed.

“No… no! Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed while frantically trying to pick her friend up. “I’m not going to let you die here! I… I can’t just… just do that.” The unicorn panted heavily as her limbs burned and her body ached. She suddenly felt very light headed, so much so that she stumbled for a moment before falling on her side.

Twilight groaned as she tried to get back up. Her body felt oddly heavy, and her head was in a haze that made putting effort into much of anything a challenge. She looked ahead and noticed that Rainbow Dash’s eyes were closed. This filled the unicorn with a sense of urgency.

“Rainbow Dash… wake up.” The unicorn pleaded as loudly as she could, which didn’t amount to much more than an exhausted wheeze. She reached over and shook the pegasus, but she didn’t stir. Twilight would have shaken her harder, but her limbs were getting weaker by the minute. Suddenly, she turned and looked ahead at the door a short distance away. If that was the door to the foyer, then maybe someone would hear her if she called for help.

“Help! Ughh…” Twilight called out while making every attempt at raising her voice. Her friend’s life and possibly her own depended on it, but she still had trouble making her yells loud enough to carry very far.

“Someone… help us!” She yelled once more as loud as she could. Twilight wasn’t sure if anyone even heard her. She was about to call out again, but she suddenly felt very sleepy.

Glancing back down to her friend, she tried to look for signs that she was still breathing. Twilight strained her eyes to try and make sense of the image before her as her vision blurred. She didn’t even care if she was passing out anymore. She just had to know that her friend was still alive.

Twilight didn’t see the gradual rise and fall of the cyan mare’s chest, but she wasn’t sure if this was just her vision failing her or if Rainbow Dash really wasn’t breathing. She fought hard to stay awake long enough to confirm her suspicions, but the fog in her mind was spreading farther and faster than she could keep up with. Finally, her vision blacked out and she closed her eyes. The last thought that drifted through the unicorn’s mind before she blacked out, was wondering if she and her friend were going to die before they woke back up.