“Ugh…” Twilight groaned in a tired daze as she suddenly came to her senses. She slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a blurry haze of colors and lights. Her whole body felt cold and numb, but her leg felt sore. Remembering what had happened to her before she passed out, the unicorn quickly realized why her leg was hurting. Trying to think any further ahead was challenging for her however. Anything more recent than a few minutes ago seemed to be just as blurry as her vision.

The foggy mess of lights that made up her vision started to clear as the rest of her body started waking up. She could hear what sounded like ponies talking around her. Once her vision cleared completely, she realized that she was lying on the floor staring up at a familiar chandelier.

I’m in the foyer? Twilight thought to herself in a daze. The importance of this realization wouldn’t come to her until a few moments later. Once she put two and two together, she shot up in excitement to view her surroundings. Or at least she made a good attempt.

“Hrk… gah…” Twilight groaned as she pushed herself up using her arms. Her muscles ached and her head was spinning. She had to remain still for a moment to prevent the dizzy feeling in her head from causing any trouble.

“Hey…! She’s waking up!” Twilight heard a stallion she didn’t recognize exclaim eagerly. She looked ahead to see a few guards looking at her while one backed up and waved at others to get their attention. From where she was positioned, she figured that she was downstairs in the foyer lying on one of the couches in the middle of the room. Taking a quick look down at her leg, she noticed that the shabby makeshift bandage that once adorned her injury was now replaced by a clean white cloth.

As she turned her body sideways and planted her hooves on the ground while slouching forward, Twilight noticed several ponies walking downstairs and into the room to see her. Among the ponies present were Peppermint, Glimmer Shine, Glitterball, Applejack, and Rarity.

“Twilight!” Rarity and Applejack exclaimed in unison before rushing over to the purple mare with excited expressions. Twilight smiled as the pair gently grabbed ahold of her and held her in a warm hug.

“Girls! I’m so glad you’re ok.” Twilight stated as her friends released her and stepped back to give Peppermint room to step forward.

“How are you feeling?” Peppermint asked while shining a small flashlight in the unicorn’s eyes to examine her pupils. Twilight flinched slightly from the unexpected examination before trying her best to keep her eyes open in cooperation.

“My head is a little fuzzy, and my leg still hurts… but I feel a lot better than I did before.” Twilight stated with a grateful smile.

“That’s good. You were pretty banged up when we found you out in the hallway.” Peppermint explained with a relieved expression. The stallion’s words suddenly made Twilight remember the rest of what had happened before she passed out. She widened her eyes in shock as she thought about the cyan mare she was with.

“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked in an alarmed tone while looking to her friends anxiously. Everyone frowned sadly as the pegasus was brought up. The group’s somber reactions only made the purple mare even more fearful.

“She’s alive… but she’s in bad shape.” Peppermint said with a sympathetic frown while trying to calm the uneasy unicorn.

“I want to see her. Where is she?” Twilight asked again while trying to get up. She winced in pain and sat back down as she tried putting weight on her bad leg.

“We have her at the back of the room with Sunspot. I think for now you should just rest and focus on keeping weight off your leg.” Peppermint suggested with a hesitant tone. Twilight could tell that he was trying to indirectly keep her from seeing the pegasus.

“I don’t care about my leg! Rainbow Dash got hurt while trying to protect me. I want to see her!” Twilight said while toughing through the pain and shuffling over to the side of the couch. She had to hold on to the piece of furniture for support, but she was determined to see her friend.

“Twilight, Ah really think you should-“ Applejack started to speak up to keep the unicorn from moving any further, but she was interrupted by the purple mare gasping in shock once she got around the side of the couch.

“Oh my gosh!” Twilight exclaimed while staring ahead with wide eyes. Sure enough, the cyan mare was at the back of the room as the others had claimed, but she looked like she just came from a war zone.

Rainbow Dash was lying on a pad on the floor motionless. She was covered from head to hoof in bandages of varying sizes, most of which were stained red. There was a tube leading into her arm that led to an I.V bag placed on a makeshift stand. To top everything off, there was a small box shaped monitor next to the pegasus connected to her via another tube. The monitor had a pulsing line on it that seemed to be keeping track of the cyan mare’s heartrate. A monotonous beep sounded out every few seconds, confirming the unicorn’s suspicions that the odd device was indeed a heart monitor.

Twilight felt her legs wobbling as she stared at her friend lying on the floor with so much medical equipment around her. The group didn’t have the luxury of bringing much equipment with them, but the unicorn could tell that they were using everything they had on the pegasus.

Applejack and Rarity caught the unicorn as she stumbled backwards. Her face was pale and her legs were trembling as they helped her to a seated position. They perfectly understood what she was going through. After all, they had known the pegasus for a longer period of time than the purple mare had.

“Is she… is she ok?” Twilight asked while looking to Peppermint with pleading eyes. The stallion looked down for a moment and frowned sympathetically as he tried to think of a gentle way to put his next statement.

“We’re doing our best to keep her alive, but she is losing a lot of blood. We bandaged up everything we could on the surface, but… I think she’s bleeding internally.” Pepper explained sadly. Applejack and Rarity started tearing up as they were faced with the harsh truth of their friend’s condition again. It was painful enough for them to watch the red haired stallion trying to save the pegasus before, but now they had to watch Twilight’s heart getting ripped out along with theirs.

“But… but…” Twilight stammered in an exasperated stupor. “She’s going to be ok right? You can help her… right?” She said in a hopeful tone. Everyone frowned sadly as they realized that the unicorn was in denial.

“Twilight darling… I think what Pepper is trying to say is… is…” Rarity tried to level with the purple mare, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried her hardest to complete her sentence.

“I don’t think she is going to survive… I’m sorry.” Peppermint said while looking down sadly. He had to hold back a few tears himself as he started getting choked up from delivering the tragic news.

Twilight glanced over to Rainbow Dash and stared at her with a pale expression. All of the sadness she had been holding back exploded as tears welled up in her eyes. The unicorn sniffled and whined uncontrollably as sobs began forming in the back of her throat. Finally, she turned to her friends and buried her face into the nearest shoulder available to her, which just so happened to be Rarity’s. The white mare burst into tears as well as Twilight cried into her fur. Applejack joined her two friends in letting out their emotions as she gave up on holding back a fit of crying.

Glitterball turned and walked away while silently crying to herself. Peppermint looked down sadly as he tried to hold himself together. Glimmer Shine and any of the guards watching the distraught mares lowered their heads somberly as Twilight and the others wept openly. Even the few captive ponies in hoods felt an uneasy feeling of somberness as they watched or listened to the group.

After a few minutes of crying uncontrollably, Twilight walked over to the cyan mare and sat down next to her. She looked down at the unconscious pegasus’s face while sniffling and quietly sobbing as she worked the last of her emotions out. Rainbow Dash looked so peaceful as she laid there breathing slowly. If she wasn’t covered from head to hoof in bandages, one might not think that she was possibly dying.

Applejack and Rarity walked over and sat next to the grieving unicorn. They stared down at their friend, each one dealing with their emotions in their own way. The three mares all thought about everything they had done with the cyan pony, and everything she had done for them. If it hadn’t been for Rainbow Dash, none of them would have gotten their cutie marks as early as they did, and they might not even be living the lives they do now.

“How did it happen… if you don’t mind me asking?” Applejack asked while turning to the purple mare with a sympathetic frown. She knew that it must have been a painful experience to recall.

“She got stabbed repeatedly with scissors…” Twilight spoke in a cold and hollow tone while staring down at the pegasus sadly.

“Scissors? Were they floating by themselves?” Rarity asked uneasily.

“No… they were being held by a ghostly woman in a white dress… a human.” Twilight explained while turning to the white unicorn.

“You mean you saw the lady with the scissors?” Applejack asked in a surprised tone. “We got attacked by her earlier… we didn’t see her, but we heard her laughing… and her footsteps.” She explained with a nervous shudder while recalling the woman’s chilling laughter.

“How could someone enjoy the suffering of others so much that they laugh while murdering someone with a pair of scissors?” Twilight asked in a disgusted tone. She felt sick just thinking about the wicked smile the woman had on her face as she was stabbing Rainbow Dash. The entire bloody scene played out in her head over and over again. She could still hear the cyan mare yelling in pain as the ghostly human brought the scissors down again and again.

“If this past week has taught me anything… it’s that there is evil in this world. I suppose there can’t be true good without true evil.” Rarity said with a downcast expression.

As she turned to look away from Rainbow Dash, Twilight found herself glancing behind her at the orange pegasus laying a short distance away. Sunspot looked to be far less injured than the cyan mare, but she still looked like she was in bad shape. There was a particularly large bandage on her mid-section that was stained red nearly all the way through. Her left arm was also in a makeshift splint to keep it stationary.

“What happened to Sunspot?” Twilight asked curiously while turning back to her friends.

“We don’t know for sure… she crashed through a window when we were on our way back here. We think she was attacked by another ghost with an axe.” Applejack explained while glancing back at the orange pegasus and frowning sadly. Almost every one of her friends had either gone missing or gotten injured in some way. The farm pony wanted to cling to her remaining companions as strongly as she could, and she vowed to try her hardest to find her missing friends.

“I’m regretting joining this mission.” Twilight said gloomily. “If I hadn’t come, there wouldn’t be a reason for any of you guys to come… and then maybe Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have-” The unicorn’s downward spiral of sadness was suddenly interrupted by Applejack putting a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

“Twilight, you need to stop blaming yourself. We all agreed to come so we could help put a stop to the hooded ponies. You aren’t the one responsible for Rainbow Dash getting hurt. If you want to blame someone, blame that Raven Feather and her gang of hooded jerks.” Applejack said in a reassuring tone. Twilight looked down for a moment in thought. She had so much going on in her head that it was hard to calm herself down, but the orange mare was right about one thing. Raven Feather and her cult were the ones behind every bad thing that had happened in the past week.

“You’re right Applejack… if anyone deserves to be punished in this situation, it’s definitely Raven Feather.” Twilight said in a serious tone. She couldn’t imagine what kind of pony would head such a sinister organization, but from what she heard from Cotton Quill about the black mare, and from everything she had seen recently, she knew that she was the most evil foe she and her friends had ever faced.

Suddenly, the three mares heard a noise coming from in front of them. They looked down and noticed that Rainbow Dash was moving around slightly. The sight of the pegasus stirring filled the ponies with a sense of joy and surprise.

“Peppermint! She’s waking up!” Twilight exclaimed cheerfully while waving the white stallion over. Everyone quickly gathered around as the cyan mare shifted in her sleep. Finally, Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened and she looked around in a daze.

“Ugh… wh… where am I?” Rainbow Dash asked while attempting to get up. The moment she moved her body upwards a little bit, she yelped in pain and laid back down while clutching her chest.

“Stay still Rainbow Dash. You don’t want to hurt yourself any more than you already are.” Twilight said in a concerned tone while watching the pegasus writhe in pain. It looked like she was struggling to breathe on top of dealing with the pain she was in.

Peppermint knelt down beside the wounded mare and gave her a checkup. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was looking down at her bandaged body with a concerned frown. As she was looking over her numerous injuries, she felt a hoof being gently placed on her shoulder. The pegasus looked to the side to see three of her friends offering her reassuring expressions.

“Don’t worry Rainbow Dash… we’re here for you.” Twilight said in a soft tone. The purple mare and her two companions had tears welling up in their eyes as they looked down at their injured friend. The severity of the situation suddenly dawned on the pegasus as she made the connection with how bad she felt and what was going on.

“How bad is it?” Rainbow Dash asked while glancing up at Peppermint. “Because if it’s as bad as it feels… I don’t like my chances.” She stated while managing a slight chuckle. Her brief expression of lightheartedness was immediately met with a fit of coughing overtaking her. Twilight and the others frowned at their friend’s statement. It almost sounded like she had accepted what they were about to tell her.

“You’ve sustained numerous stab wounds… a lot of them were deep. You also have some internal bleeding. I wasn’t able to identify the source.” Peppermint explained sadly.

“But, that doesn’t mean you’ll die. You can still pull through… right Pepper?” Twilight asked in a hopeful tone, as if she were trying to keep the pegasus’s spirits high. Even Rainbow Dash was a little concerned with how much the unicorn was in denial.

“Well… I suppose there is a chance she will survive.” Peppermint said in a hesitant tone. Everyone could tell that he was just trying to make the purple mare feel better.

“See? A chance is better than nothing. We’ll just stay here until the others get back, then we can go find Tom and he can heal you.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone.

“Twilight… Ah don’t think that-” Applejack spoke up in a concerned tone, before she was interrupted by the purple unicorn speaking up again.

“Applejack, don’t talk like that. You’re going to scare her…” Twilight said with a sad look in her eyes while trying to keep up a happy and hopeful appearance. The group wasn’t sure if the unicorn believed what she was saying, but they knew that she was at least trying to deflect the issue at hand.

“Twilight, darling I really think that you should consider the possibility that Rainbow Dash is-” Rarity attempted to level with her friend, until the purple mare interrupted her as well.

“Going to be fine… she is going to be just fine.” Twilight said in a shaky voice. She was trying her best to hold herself together but her efforts were falling short. The unicorn felt tears rolling down her face. Finally, she just lowered her head and took a moment to weep. Suddenly, Twilight felt a hoof being placed on her leg. She looked back to see Rainbow Dash offering her a reassuring expression.

“Twilight… it’s ok. I know that I’m dying… I can feel it.” Rainbow Dash said with a slight cough. Her voice was weak and quiet, but she sounded relatively calm given the situation.

“But… but…” Twilight stammered as the sadness she had been holding back came out in full force. “It’s not fair... It’s just not fair.” She wept openly while holding the cyan mare’s hoof.

“I’m just glad we managed to get away from that ghost lady.” Rainbow Dash said while flashing a small smile. “I didn’t think you could get us back here with how bad your leg was, but I guess you proved me wrong… heh.” The pegasus chuckled briefly before another dry cough interrupted her. The group frowned sympathetically as they watched the sickly mare wince in pain from her fit of coughing.

“Rainbow Dash… I… I…” Twilight tried to say something profound and heartwarming to the cyan mare. She wanted to tell her how good of a friend she was, and that she was grateful for all of the time she had spent with her, but whenever she tried to talk about the happy moments of the past, she started tearing up again. To her, it felt like she was giving the pegasus a eulogy before she was even dead.

“Hey… don’t cry. You’re going to make me get all sappy if you start crying like that.” Rainbow Dash stated with a lighthearted tone while holding back tears of her own. Finally, Twilight could take no more. The unicorn reached down and gently wrapped her arms around the pegasus’s upper body. Rainbow Dash wrapped her own arms around the purple mare as she cried into her shoulder. Rarity and Applejack joined their friends and both started crying as they joined together in one last group hug. Before long, almost everyone in the room was crying as they watched the four friends. From the toughest guard, to Peppermint and his team, even Rainbow Dash herself couldn’t suppress her emotions anymore.

After a few minutes of hugging their friend and letting their emotions out, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack backed up and wiped the remaining tears from their eyes. They sniffled quietly as they tried to think of something to say to the pegasus.

“You guys are the best friends I could have asked for.” Rainbow Dash said in a sincere tone. “I just wish Fluttershy and Pinkie were here so I could tell them how much they mean to me before I go.” She said with a sad expression.

“Stop talking like you’re going to die. We still don’t know for sure… you could still pull through. You’re one of the strongest ponies I know Rainbow Dash. If anyone can survive something like this… it’s you.” Twilight said while managing the bravest face she could at the moment and giving the pegasus a sincere expression while holding her hoof.

“Just… please promise me something.” Rainbow Dash asked in a softer tone. It sounded like she was losing her voice from how sick she sounded.

“Of course… anything you want.” Twilight said while looking to the two mares behind her for support. Applejack and Rarity nodded while getting closer so they could listen to the pegasus.

“Promise me… that if I don’t make it, you’ll tell Fluttershy and Pinkie that I love them… just like I love you guys.” Rainbow Dash said with a slight sniffle as another tear rolled down her cheek. Twilight felt the cyan mare’s words smack into her heart like a sledgehammer to the chest. Despite the wave of emotion surging through her, she had to respond to her friend’s request.

“You can tell them yourself… you’re going to make it.” Twilight said in an almost pleading tone.

“I need you to promise me Twilight…” Rainbow Dash said with a sympathetic frown. She knew that the unicorn must have been dying inside as she came to terms with the situation.

Twilight softened her expression up and frowned sadly as her friend pleaded with her. She looked away and closed her eyes for a moment to recompose herself. She then turned back to the pegasus and nodded while sniffling slightly.

“Ok… I promise I’ll tell them, but you have to promise me something in return.” Twilight asked with a sad look in her eyes.

“I can do that… to the best of my ability anyway.” Rainbow Dash replied while glancing down to her injuries. She was surprised when the unicorn suddenly knelt down beside her and looked at her with a pleading expression.

“Please… don’t you dare die on us. I don’t think I can handle writing the princess about losing a friend… that’s not a lesson on friendship I want to learn.” Twilight said in a distraught tone. “You’re the element of loyalty… you can’t leave us like this… not like this.” She added while shaking her head sadly and fighting back another fit of sobs.

“Twilight… I…” Rainbow Dash started to say something to comfort the grieving unicorn, until she paused and stared ahead with a dazed look in her eyes. The heart monitor next to the pegasus started beeping erratically as the wavy line on the screen started deviating from its normal path.

Twilight and the others watched fearfully as Rainbow Dash gasped for air quietly. Her eyes rolled up into her head as she fell back onto the mat she was laying on. The erratic beeping stopped, only to be replaced by a solid tone that filled the air and made the observing ponies’ hearts sink.

“What’s happening?!” Twilight asked frantically while looking over at the heart monitor. There was now a solid line scrolling onto the screen, replacing the waves that signified that the pegasus’s heart was beating.

Peppermint and Glitterball rushed forward and gently moved Twilight out of the way. Peppermint reached down and pressed against the cyan mare’s neck. While the stallion was checking for a pulse, Glitterball was examining her for other signs of life.

“I’ve got no air flow… she isn’t breathing.” Glitter announced uneasily.

“She’s got no pulse either… we’re losing her. Get me the defibrillator.” Pepper instructed in an urgent tone.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried frantically while staring at her motionless friend with wide eyes. Applejack and Rarity helped the unicorn to back away as Peppermint and Glitterball flew into action.

Glitterball quickly levitated a bag over to her side and opened it. She pulled a small machine with two paddles connected to it via springy cords out and set it down. Peppermint pulled the two paddles off the devices while his unicorn assistant pressed a button and turned a dial on the machine.

“Charging.” Glitterball announced while looking to Peppermint for what to do next. An electrical buzz filled the air as the machine charged up and a green light popped up on the machine. The white stallion rubbed the two paddles together for a moment before placing them on Rainbow Dash’s chest and side.

“Clear!” Peppermint exclaimed to tell everyone to get clear of the pegasus. Once nothing was touching the cyan mare, Glitterball pressed a button on the machine, causing a discharge of electricity to flow through the paddles and into Rainbow Dash. The pegasus’s body jerked slightly from the shock before settling back into place.

Glitterball reached forward and grabbed one of Rainbow Dash’s arms to check for a pulse while looking over to the heart monitor. The steady tone and flat line on the screen confirmed the lack of blood flow that the unicorn was feeling.

“No pulse… charging again.” Glitterball announced while racing back to the machine and pressing the button again. Another buzz filled the air as Peppermint rubbed the paddles together in preparation to shock the pegasus again.

Twilight and her two friends watched fearfully as the two vested ponies attempted to save the cyan mare’s life. Their hearts were pounding in their chests and their faces were pale. The hollow and empty feeling in their stomachs was so intense that the trio felt like throwing up.

“Come on Rainbow Dash… you can beat this.” Twilight muttered to herself sadly with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Clear!” Peppermint announced again as Glitterball pressed the button on the machine once more. After the shock died out, the pegasus remained motionless as the loud tone of the heart monitor dug into the ponies’ souls and clawed at them from the inside out.

“Still no pulse…” Glitterball said in a troubled tone.

“Try again!” Applejack pleaded to the pair. Peppermint nodded to his unicorn assistant, signaling her to charge the paddles again.

“Try turning it up ten percent.” Peppermint instructed as Glitterball was fiddling with the machine. The mare nodded before turning a dial on the machine up slightly. Another buzz filled the air as the stallion prepared to shock the pegasus again.

“Clear!” Peppermint announced before delivering another shock to the cyan pony. Rainbow Dash’s body jerked slightly more from the increased voltage, but she still settled back into place and remained motionless.

Glitterball feverishly checked for a pulse while watching the heart monitor screen. She silently prayed that she would hear the miraculous beep that would indicate life, or that she would somehow feel a pulse from the pegasus, but nothing came of her wishful thinking.

“No pulse… Pepper, what do we do?” Glitter asked in a shaky voice while glancing to Twilight and the others briefly. She couldn’t even bring herself to make eye contact with the three mares.

“*Sigh*…” Peppermint looked down sadly as he contemplated what he could do to save the pegasus. Nothing in all of his years of training could help her now, there was nothing he could do if he couldn’t even get her heart started again.

“What time is it?” Peppermint asked while looking out into the crowd of guards watching the situation unfold. Twilight gasped in shock as she realized that the stallion was about to declare Rainbow Dash dead.

“No!” The purple mare yelled while rushing forward and standing in front of the stallion with tears in her eyes. “Try again… please… please try again.” She begged with every bit of sincerity one pony could convey to another.

Peppermint looked at the unicorn’s watery eyes and saw a wide range of emotions. Twilight was radiating fear, sadness, hopelessness, and desperateness, all in the same gaze. She looked like her heart might explode if he declined her request.

“Glitter… turn it up another twenty percent.” Peppermint said while turning to his assistant with a serious expression.

“But that could be dangerous to her heart!” Glitterball stated fearfully.

“It won’t matter if she’s dead Glitter!” Peppermint replied in an urgent tone. The unicorn had never seen the stallion this serious before. For that matter, his brother was even surprised by his sudden spark of urgency.

“…” Glitterball paused for a split second before racing to the machine and cranking the dial up again. Another shrill buzz filled the air that lasted marginally longer than the others before it.

“Charging.” Glitterball announced in a confident tone. Peppermint nodded before putting the paddles on the cyan mare’s chest once more.

Twilight and her two friends watched while holding onto each other tightly. Their entire world was about to be changed for better or worse within the next few seconds. They watched the white stallion with hopeful expressions as they prayed that their friend would live.

“Clear!” Peppermint exclaimed as a final shock was administered to the pegasus. The room fell silent as everyone waited with their mouths agape in anticipation for the sound of the heart monitor to change. Seconds went by that felt like years as the shrill tone continued.

*Beep*

Just as all hope was about to be lost, Twilight and the others perked their ears up as a beep sounded out from the machine.

*Beep* *Beep*

The shrill tone had ended, and a series of beeps had replaced it as a spike in the line on the screen showed up. Glitterball reached forward and grabbed the cyan mare’s arm as everyone watched the wavy lines pass by the screen with shocked expressions of joy.

“I’ve got a pulse!” Glitter announced cheerfully while turning to the others in excitement. Peppermint rushed to the pegasus’s side and listened for the sounds of air flow that would indicate breathing.

“She’s breathing!” Pepper announced eagerly.

“Yes!” Twilight cheered while bouncing up and down excitedly. She grabbed onto Rarity and jumped for joy with her in tow. Although the white mare was hesitant to join the purple unicorn, she was equally excited that her friend was alive, so she accepted the opportunity to vent her energy.

Everyone watching cheered in excitement at the miraculous news that the pegasus would survive a while longer. Almost everything had gone wrong on their mission so far, so it was nice to celebrate a victory, even if it was a relatively small one.

“She isn’t out of the woods just yet. She seems to be stable for the moment, but if that happens again, I don’t think we will be able to bring her back. We need to think of another plan of action.” Peppermint explained while looking over the cyan mare to assess her condition.

“What are we going to do?” Twilight asked in a fretful tone while watching Rainbow Dash uneasily.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Applejack said with a frustrated expression. The orange mare was tired of waiting around while one of her friends was dying. Surely there had to be something they could do to help the pegasus.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening could be heard from upstairs, followed by the surprised gasps of a few guards. Some frantic chattering could be heard as several of the guards upstairs flocked to one location.

“What the hay is going on up there?” Glimmer Shine asked while backing up to see what was going on up on the upstairs hallway. Twilight and her two able bodied friends followed the yellow stallion and his teammates as they trotted upstairs. Once they reached the top step and looked to the left, they gasped in shock at what they saw.

“Oh my gosh… Tom!” Twilight cried in a shocked tone. Sure enough, the human was in the middle of the hallway, but he was in far worse shape than the unicorn would have ever imagined.

Tom was on his hands and knees in front of the open door that sat in the back wall towards the left end of the hall. There were several guards around him trying to help him up, but even with the many ponies crowding the human it was easy to see his injuries.

There were a number of horrific gashes strewn across his body from head to toe. His arms and his face were covered in bloody cuts and stab wounds. His clothes were ripped in several places that revealed even more gruesome looking injuries underneath. Some of the cuts weren’t bleeding as badly as others. They almost looked like they were semi closed up, as if he had started to heal them only to stop suddenly.

“What happened to him?!” Twilight asked frantically while rushing up to the human and looking to the nearest guard.

“We don’t know! He just stumbled through the door and fell on the ground.” One of the guards explained. The stallion’s words made the unicorn and her friends only that much more concerned.

Twilight knelt down and watched Tom breathing heavily with his head lowered to the floor. The sight of the boy in such distress made her frown with concern. She hadn’t seen him this bad before, and the last time he even came close was when he got back from rescuing Applejack’s family from the storm demons.

“Tom? Can you hear me?” Twilight asked in a soft tone while gently putting a hoof on the human’s shoulder. She flashed a brief smile as the boy slowly looked up to see her, only to frown once more as she saw that his face was pale and he had a dazed look about him.

“*Pant*… *Wheeze*… Twi…Twilight?” Tom asked in an exhausted tone. He looked like he was going to either drop dead on the floor or slip into a coma, whichever was more likely.

Twilight turned to the crowd watching behind her. She saw Rarity, Applejack, and the others looking at her with horrified expressions of concern. Rarity had her hoof over her mouth as she stared at the human uneasily. She could barely stand looking at her friend in this condition.

“What happened to him?” Rarity asked with a growing sense of concern as she watched the human’s condition deteriorating right in front of her.

“That’s not important right now, we need to get him downstairs so he can rest… someone help me lift him up.” Twilight said while getting to the side of the human and pushing him upwards. Applejack and Glimmer Shine rushed forward to help the unicorn with carrying the boy.

Tom managed to get to his feet with the help of the three ponies, but he could barely support his own weight. Twilight and the others slowly shuffled forward with the boy in tow. They carefully made their way down the stairs, taking it one step at a time as the human nearly fell several times.

After what seemed like several minutes, the group finally made it downstairs and ferried the human over to a chair. Tom sat down and sank back into the chair like a ragdoll. He breathed heavily while trying to sustain the enormous demand put onto him by his injuries.

“Tom, are you ok?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone while watching the human.

“Ugh… I think I’ve had better days, but I should live.” Tom replied while trying his best to appear cheerful while drooping over the armrest of a chair with bleeding wounds covering his body. Needless to say, his attempts failed miserably.

“Who did this to you? Was it Raincloud and the others?” Applejack asked while frowning with concern. It pained her to see anyone injured this much, let alone a friend of hers.

“No… I got attacked by a ghost.” Tom explained with a painful cringe while trying to heal one of the more painful looking cuts on his arm. The orange flash of light that came with his healing flames flickered as the human put as much effort into the process as he could. Despite all of the energy he was putting into it, Tom’s wound was barely closing at all. Finally, the boy groaned before setting his arm down and giving up.

“A ghost?” Everyone asked in unison while looking at each other uneasily. Applejack and her two companions were well acquainted with what the ghosts inhabiting the mansion were capable of, so they understood what the boy was talking about.

“Yeah… a human woman with scissors. She locked me in a room and did all of this to me, about a hundred times.” Tom explained while pointing out the scope of his injuries for emphasis.

“Oh my gosh… she did this to you for that long?” Twilight asked in an appalled tone.

“Well, I lost count after a while, but yeah… she would leave for several minutes at a time and then come back for me. She has a real thing for cutting people… and apparently meeting a slayer who can’t die from multiple stab wounds has been her dream for quite a while. I just got away from her a little while ago… I’m amazed I made it back here without passing out.” Tom said in between coughs and wheezes. The ponies were shocked to hear that the human was tortured so brutally.

“Where is Princess Luna?” Glimmer Shine asked in a concerned tone. Everyone gasped quietly as they suddenly remembered that the blue alicorn was with the boy when they last saw her.

“I don’t know… she got separated from me when we first encountered the ghost lady. We tried fighting her, but she was too strong for both of us. I think the princess got thrown into the basement… she’s probably still down there.” Tom said in a troubled tone.

“Wait… so the ghost managed to overpower both of you?” Rarity asked nervously. She thought the scissor woman was terrifying before, but if she tossed Princess Luna aside like she was a frightened filly, then the white mare was scared of her on a whole new level.

“Yeah, she moved so fast that I couldn’t even lay a hand on her. Luna tried to help, but she wasn’t able to do much more… even if she did get a spell completed in time, I doubt it would have done anything. Not many things can touch ghosts, let alone hurt them.” Tom explained while shaking his head uneasily. Twilight suddenly thought back to the struggle she and Rainbow Dash had with the spirit. Perhaps the only reason they survived was because of the metallic fire poker fending the woman off.

“That’s odd. When Rainbow Dash and I fought the ghost, she was hurt by a fire poker we found lying around.” Twilight stated in a perplexed tone.

“It was probably made of iron. Iron burns ghosts to the touch… it’s probably the best way to fight ghosts if you aren’t a slayer.” Tom explained in as much detail as possible while still keeping things simple. While the ponies were thinking about the possibility of using iron against the ghosts, the human was thinking about something else.

“Where is Rainbow Dash anyway? You said you two got attacked? Is she ok?” Tom asked while glancing down at Twilight’s bandaged leg. The thought of the two mares being in danger made the boy uneasy.

Twilight and the others fell silent as the cyan mare was brought up. The purple unicorn glanced to the back of room where the pegasus was still lying on the ground. She frowned sadly as she thought about what to do. She thought that the human arriving would solve all of her problems. Rainbow Dash and Sunspot could be healed, they could find the others, and they could get out of the mansion in one piece. But now that she knew how bad the human was injured, Twilight didn’t know what to do.

“Tom… Rainbow Dash got hurt… really badly.” Twilight explained in a sorrowful tone. “I know this is asking a lot of you… more than I have the right to in fact, but could you please heal her? She will die if we don’t do something.” She said while suppressing the urge to cry.

“What?!” Tom said in a shocked tone while sitting up in the chair. “Where is she?” He asked while trying to get up. Suddenly, the human cringed in pain and fell back into his seat as his legs gave out from under him. The sight of the boy trying so hard to get up only to fail made the ponies feel even worse about asking him to exert himself further.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

“Ah don’t think he has much of a choice Rarity… Rainbow Dash is dying. She might not have enough time to wait for Tom to rest.” Applejack said in an uneasy tone. She wasn’t any more for worsening the human’s health, but he was the only chance the cyan pegasus had.

“But… maybe she can hold out a little while longer, just until Tom gets his strength back?” Twilight suggested in a troubled tone. She was suddenly interrupted by the human getting up out of the chair and standing on his own two legs. He was shaking so much that he looked like he could fall over at any minute, but he had a determined expression on his face.

“My health is the least important problem we have right now. If I can do anything to help her, I’m going to do it, no matter how much stress it puts on me.” Tom explained in a serious manner. The group stood back and watched nervously as the human slowly hobbled around the side of his chair. After taking a moment to observe the cyan pegasus’s injuries with a shocked expression, he continued making his way over to the back of the room.

Once he made it to the injured mare, Tom knelt, or rather, fell beside her. Twilight and the others gathered around and watched nervously as the human prepared himself to heal the pegasus. As he tried steadying his hand, he realized that it was shaking so badly that he could barely hold still.

“Are you sure about this Tom?” Applejack asked nervously while observing the poor state of health the boy was in.

“If I use up a lot of energy, I’ll most likely survive… she isn’t going to survive if I don’t do this.” Tom explained before taking in several deep breaths.

“What injuries does she have?” Tom asked curiously while turning to Peppermint for an answer.

“She’s bleeding internally… why do you ask?” Pepper replied.

“It’s easier if I have a rough idea of what I’m healing.” Tom said before returning his focus on the pegasus in front of him.

Before anyone else could voice their concerns, a soft blue light projected from the human’s hand as he placed it above Rainbow Dash’s chest. Tom groaned from discomfort as he used his other hand to keep his arm steady.

Twilight and the others watched silently as the boy put his all into the task before him. They hoped that he would be able to heal most of the cyan mare’s fatal injuries before he was forced to stop due to exhaustion. Despite violently shaking and breaking out into a cold sweat however, the human showed no signs of willingly stopping.

“Please work…” Twilight silently whispered in a sorrowful tone as she watched her friend breathing steadily on the floor. Due to the internal nature of her injuries, any observer would be unable to tell if the human was actually healing her or not.

“Guh…” Tom groaned weakly as he fell to the side. He barely caught himself with his hands before he hit the floor. While the boy was breathing heavily on the floor, everyone turned their attention to Rainbow Dash with carefully hopeful expressions.

Peppermint walked up to the pegasus and checked her vital signs. While the stallion was giving the cyan mare a checkup, Glitterball examined her heart monitor for any signs of changes.

“Her blood pressure is back to normal.” Glitterball announced in a pleased tone.

“What does that mean?” Applejack asked in an anxious tone.

“It means that there isn’t anywhere where she is losing a lot of blood… at least it seems that way.” Peppermint explained before looking down to Rainbow Dash’s bandages. The stallion glanced over to his unicorn assistant for a moment before eagerly rushing over and removing the bandage around the pegasus’s chest. Glitterball assisted the red haired pony as he started cutting the gauze wrappings around the injured mare.

Everyone looked on with anxious expressions as the pair worked to get the bandages off. When they finally removed the last gauze strip, they gasped in surprise at what they saw. There was still blood caked onto Rainbow Dash’s fur, but the gashes that once adorned her chest were gone. As they removed more of the bandages around her body, they realized that none of the injuries on her surface were present anymore.

“Is she going to make it?” Twilight asked in a hopeful tone while smiling at the progress made on the cyan mare’s recovery.

“Well, there isn’t a reliable way for me to look at her insides to see if the bleeding has stopped… at least not here anyway. But judging from her increased heartrate and blood pressure, I would say that any bleeding she had has stopped.” Peppermint explained with a pleased expression.

“She’s… she’s ok now?” Twilight asked with a wide grin building on her face. Peppermint nodded in response, causing tears of joy to form in the unicorn’s eyes. Applejack and Rarity smiled warmly as they started tearing up as well. Finally, the three ponies looked to each other before giving in to their emotions and pulling each other into a group hug.

While the group was celebrating Rainbow Dash’s recovery, Tom was still struggling to get up on his own. The human got to his knees before shuffling over to Sunspot and panting heavily. Twilight and the others glanced over to the boy and shifted their bright smiles into concerned expressions as they watched him building up his energy again.

“How bad is Sunspot hurt?” Tom asked while turning to face the group. His face was pale, and his eyes were dazed and unfocused. He looked like he would fall over if a slight breeze hit him.

“Well… her injuries are far less severe than Rainbow Dash’s were.” Peppermint explained while watching the human uneasily.

“She’s still in bad shape though, isn’t she?” Tom asked to clarify.

“Tom… you’ve done more than enough to help us. You don’t need to heal her right now… I’m sure Pepper can take care of her, right Pepper?” Twilight asked the white stallion with a suggestive tone. Peppermint could tell that she was trying to dissuade the boy from using up any more energy.

“Yes… I think.” Peppermint replied in an unsure tone. The lack of confidence in his voice made the unicorn frown uneasily.

“But she’ll be fine Tom. You don’t need to-” Twilight started to speak again, until she was interrupted by a soft hum filling the air. She looked over to see that Tom was already projecting his healing light onto the orange pegasus.

“Tom! What are you doing?! You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing this.” Twilight said in a concerned tone.

“She has broken ribs Tom… Remember how exhausted you were when you healed Applebloom’s leg? You weren’t even tired beforehand back then.” Applejack explained while walking over to the human with a concerned expression.

“Just let me do this… I can’t allow anyone to go on being injured in good conscience.” Tom explained in-between wheezes and pants. Applejack paused and frowned uneasily. She was afraid that the human didn’t care about his own wellbeing anymore.

Before anyone could react further, Tom dropped his arms to the side and started hyperventilating. He scooted back from the injured pegasus and laid down on the floor.

“Tom, are you alr-OW!” Twilight yelped as she forgot about her injured leg while trying to walk over to the human. Applejack caught the unicorn as she faltered to a seated position and cradled her injured leg. Ignoring the pain she was feeling, the purple mare got back up and hobbled over to the human where she sat down.

While Twilight was checking on Tom, Glitterball and Peppermint walked over to check on Sunspot. Glitterball started unwrapping the bandages around her stomach, while Peppermint gently pressed on her ribs to see if they were still broken.

“Her cuts are gone.” Glitter announced in an amazed tone while looking down at the spot where a huge gash once sat on the pegasus’s stomach.

“Her ribs are fixed too, but I can still feel a little fracture on one of them. She will probably be sore as hay when she wakes up, but she’s fine otherwise.” Peppermint stated in equal amazement before turning to face the human on the floor. He walked over and knelt down across from Twilight to examine the boy.

Peppermint placed a hoof on the human’s forehead and gasped quietly as he felt the clammy and cold skin. The stallion gently took the boy’s pulse, only to shake his head and shrug uneasily.

“You’re in pretty rough shape Tom. You need to rest or passing out is going to be the least of your worries.” Pepper explained in a concerned tone.

“Don’t worry about me… I heal quickly.” Tom stated while forcing a smile. Twilight frowned with concern as she placed a hoof on the human’s arm.

“You can’t keep doing this Tom. I’m grateful that you saved Rainbow Dash, but you can’t just risk your own health to heal a non-life threatening injury like that.” Twilight said in a softer tone while fretting over the boy’s reckless behavior. Suddenly, she cringed in pain as she tried moving her leg to a more comfortable position.

“Are you ok?” Tom asked in a concerned tone. The unicorn was flattered that even while hyperventilating on the floor and semi-conscious, the human was still concerned for her.

“I’m fine, Tom. I just fell and got something stabbed into my leg. It’s nothing too severe… I just won’t be able to walk very fast for a while.” Twilight explained with a small smile while glancing down at the human. Tom looked over to the unicorn’s bandaged leg and stared at it for a moment, as if contemplating something internally. When she noticed the boy starting to get up, she realized what he was trying to do.

“No… Tom, don’t even think about it. You need to rest.” Twilight instructed while gently pressing down on the human’s shoulders to get him to lie back down.

“But Twilight… you said it yourself, you can barely walk on that thing.” Tom argued in a concerned tone. Twilight sighed and shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t even comprehend how someone could be so very ignorant of their own wellbeing. The human would probably kill himself trying to heal a paper cut if she had one.

“Tom… I can’t possibly sit by and let you do that to yourself. Even if my leg was falling off, I wouldn’t want you to heal it in the state you’re in.” Twilight said in a friendly tone of concern while trying to level with the boy.

“It’s ok… I’ll be fine. Besides, you’re more important to this group than me right now, and having a limp isn’t going to help you out in the long run in this place.” Tom reasoned while trying to get up again, only to be met by the unicorn pushing him down again. Due to his lack of strength, Twilight barely even had to press on him to halt his attempts at getting up.

“I said no, Tom, and I meant it. I don’t want you to get up from that floor, do you hear me?” The purple mare instructed in a lovingly firm tone, as if she were ordering a child to go to their room. The annoyed groan that arose from the boy wasn’t far off from what she would have expected an upset child to produce either.

“Fine… I’ll stay here.” Tom shrugged while laying his head back onto the floor and breathing deeply. Twilight smiled as her efforts were successful. Meanwhile, the human looked over to see the unicorn’s bandaged leg in plain sight. As the purple mare looked back to face her friends, the boy smirked slightly as an idea popped into his head.

“But technically speaking, you can’t be mad at me if I do this while I’m down here.” Tom explained while reaching forward quickly and grabbing the unicorn’s leg with his hand. Twilight gasped in surprise while turning around, but it was too late to act. She expected the human grabbing her so suddenly to cause pain to her sensitive leg, but he started projecting his healing light beforehand, so his touch only felt warm and pleasant to the purple mare.

“Tom!” Twilight protested while trying to push the human’s arm away. The way she moved so suddenly, combined with the fact that the boy was holding one of her legs, caused her to lose balance, and forced her to catch herself instead of fighting against the human.

A soft hum filled the air as Tom put all of his energy into healing the unicorn as fast as possible before she could stop him. By the time Twilight regained her balance and grabbed his arm, the job had been mostly done. Due to all of the stress compiled on his body, and his level of exhaustion, the human drifted unconscious before the purple pony could even get out a word.

“Tom…? Tom?!” Twilight called the boy’s name while shaking him to get a response. No matter how much she shook him, he remained motionless. Thankfully, he seemed to still be alive.

“Ugh… why do you have to be so hard headed?” Twilight muttered while glancing down at her leg. She gently pushed the limb down on the floor and put her full weight on it. After cringing briefly as a dull twinge of pain shot through her leg, she managed to use the leg to its fullest extent, even managing to get off the floor with it.

“Dangit Tom…” Applejack cursed under her breath while frowning at the unconscious human. She shrugged in defeat before turning to the purple unicorn getting up from the floor.

“How’s your leg, Twilight?” The orange mare asked curiously. If the human had gone through so much trouble to heal her, she at least hoped that it worked.

“It still hurts a little, but I can walk on it now. I just wish he would have left well enough alone.” Twilight sighed sadly while glancing down at the human.

Suddenly, the group heard two distinct groans coming from either side of them. They looked over to see both Rainbow Dash and Sunspot stirring slightly. The sight of their friends waking up made the ponies gasp in joyous surprise.

“They’re waking up!” Rarity announced in an excited tone. Everyone quickly rushed over and gathered around the two pegasus’s while waiting for them to wake up fully. Twilight and her two friends went to see Rainbow Dash, while Peppermint and his two companions went to see Sunspot.

As Rainbow Dash started moving her head around more, she groaned while squinting one eye open. Becoming fully aware of her surroundings, the cyan mare opened both of her eyes and looked around with a confused expression.

“I’m… alive?” Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically while looking down at her mysteriously injury free body. She was surprised to suddenly feel perfectly normal and pain free. While the pegasus was wondering about her miraculous recovery, she was suddenly pulled into a hug by the purple unicorn sitting next to her.

“Rainbow Dash! Thank Celestia you’re ok!” Twilight said while squeezing the cyan mare tightly and burying her head into her shoulder.

“Uh… Twilight… can’t breathe.” Rainbow Dash gasped for air as the unicorn got slightly overzealous with her embrace. Twilight released the pegasus and pulled back to look at her. She smiled and let out a joyful chuckle as she stared at her friend with an elated expression on her face. Rainbow Dash could see that the unicorn was crying, although she surmised that these were tears of happiness rather than sadness.

“We thought we were going to lose you!” Rarity said while walking up to the pair on the floor to see the cyan mare.

“Don’t ever scare us like that again, you hear me?” Applejack said while playfully chiding the pegasus.

Rainbow Dash smiled as she looked at her friends gathered in front of her. She thought she wouldn’t be able to wake up to their bright smiles again, so to be alive and well so suddenly was an amazing feeling for her.

“I’ll do my best not to get stabbed by a crazy ghost lady in the future… how did you guys save me? I thought for sure I was a goner.” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

“Tom found his way back and healed you. How are you feeling?” Twilight asked while glancing down at the pegasus’s bloodstained fur. Although her injuries were closed up on the outside, she was hoping that her internal bleeding had been healed as well. Even if Peppermint gave her a clean bill of health, they had no way of knowing for sure if she was in fact healed all the way.

“I feel good all things considered… wait, Tom healed me? So he’s here?” Rainbow Dash asked while looking around. It didn’t take her long to find the human passed out on the ground a few feet away. The sight of the unconscious boy made the pegasus gasp in shock.

“Oh my gosh! Is he ok?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone while getting up from the floor in a panic. “Did… did he pass out after healing me?” She asked uneasily. The thought of the human putting so much strain on himself because of her made the cyan mare feel horrible.

“No… not really. He healed Sunspot after he got done with you, and then he tried to heal my leg. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen.” Twilight explained with a saddened shrug.

“Hold on… he healed Sunspot too? What happened while I was out?” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone.

“We don’t know the specifics. We got attacked by the same ghost that went after you, and when we were on our way back, Sunspot crashed in through a window with what we assume to be an axe wound in her stomach.” Applejack explained what little information the group had on the orange pegasus’s injuries.

“An axe wound? Yikes… what tipped you off to that lovely little detail?” Rainbow Dash asked while cringing at the thought of what the orange mare’s ordeal must have felt like.

“They probably saw the nasty customer that did it to me.” Sunspot spoke up from the other side of the room. Everyone turned to see the pegasus sitting up while Peppermint and Glitterball checked her for injuries.

“Let me guess… a pale guy in a brown shirt hefting around an axe like he owns the place? Which… in all likeliness he probably does.” Sunspot said with a brief chuckle. The moment she laughed, she cringed in pain while holding her hoof to her chest.

“I’ll say… if Applejack didn’t pull me out of the way, tall pale and manic would have taken my head off.” Glitterball said while taking a closer look at the pegasus’s ribs.

“I’m sorry I led that creep your way. I was trying to get away from him when he threw me through that window.” Sunspot said with a saddened sigh.

“Don’t be sorry, be thankful. If we weren’t there, that guy would have finished you off.” Applejack said in a matter of fact tone.

“Gah!” Sunspot yelped in pain while clutching her ribs. “He didn’t exactly let me off easily.” She said while gritting her teeth to bear through the pain.

“Looks like you’ve still got some fractures. I guess Tom couldn’t handle mending your bones all the way.” Glitterball said with a concerned frown.

“I’m doing a lot better than I was… I just wish Tom didn’t have to knock himself out trying to help me.” Sunspot replied while glancing over to the human on the floor and shaking her head sadly.

“What about the guards that were outside with you? What happened to them?” Glimmer Shine asked uneasily. Sunspot looked down sadly as the subject was brought up.

“That ghost guy came out of nowhere… he dodged every shot I fired at him, and the guards had nothing to defend themselves with. We all scattered, but he must have turned invisible and followed us. It all happened so fast… I’m the only one that got away, and only just barely.” Sunspot explained in a somber tone. The shocking news hung in the air as the ponies stared ahead in shock at what they just heard.

“Sweet Celestia… these ghosts have killed dozens of royal guards, not to mention taken on Tom and Princess Luna.” Applejack said in a dismal tone. She couldn’t believe how bad the situation had gotten in such a short time.

“What are we going to do? We’re going to be stuck in here forever… those ghastly ghouls won’t let us leave, and we have no way to fight them. Oh woe is me!” Rarity whined in a distraught tone, although her dramatic outburst did have merit to it. Even the remaining guards were starting to lose hope that they would live to see the sun again.

“Actually, I might have something even better.” Twilight spoke up to get everyone’s attention.

“What did you have in mind Twilight?” Glimmer Shine asked with sincere curiosity.

“When we were back in the library, we found some notes talking about the ghosts. Apparently Raven Feather and the others used three protective symbols to keep the three spirits suppressed. If we can find the symbols, we can use our magic to overload them. That should disrupt the ghosts enough to effectively destroy them.” Twilight explained in a confident tone.

“That’s great Twilight! Do you know where the symbols are?” Glimmer Shine asked in a hopeful tone.

“One of them was in the library with us, I already took care of that one. I’m assuming the one that Shadow Mist was working on downstairs was another, so that should be easy to find.” Twilight explained with a pleased smirk.

“What about the third one?” Glitterball asked curiously.

“That one is in the basement too, but the notes didn’t say where exactly.” Twilight sighed in disappointment as she thought about the logistics of her plan.

“Well, we need to head down there anyway. Brimstoke and Pinkie haven’t called back yet, and Neon and Fluttershy are still missing as far as we know.” Glimmer Shine stated in a serious tone.

“Wait… Fluttershy and Neon are missing?!” Twilight asked in a shocked tone. Rainbow Dash and Sunspot were equally shocked by the news that their friends were missing.

“Apparently they got separated by another locked door. Brimstoke says they would call if they got into trouble, but we haven’t heard from them since then. Brimstoke and Pinkie are probably still looking for them.” Glimmer Shine explained in a sympathetic tone as he realized that not everyone knew about the situation happening downstairs.

“We have to go find them!” Rainbow Dash said in an urgent tone while walking over to the door behind the stairs.

“Maybe we should call Brimstoke to see if he’s found them?” Peppermint suggested while looking to his brother for advice.

“We can call them when we get down there.” Glimmer Shine said while walking over and grabbing one of the bags the group had brought with them.

“Get down there? What do you mean?” Glitterball asked with a confused expression.

“We need to find the others, and we need to find those symbols. The best way I figure we do that is to take the initiative and head down there.” Glimmer Shine explained while grabbing another bag and handing it to a nearby guard. “Here, take these and set two of them up in front of each door and window in this room. They should keep you safe when you light them.” He said while watching the guard examining the bag and its contents. The bag was full of enough blessed candles to secure the room. The guard nodded stoically while holding the bag to his side.

“Well… I’m all for getting some payback on those ghosts.” Sunspot said while slowly getting up. The pegasus cringed painfully every time she moved while holding her side with one arm. Her condition made the others worried for her.

“I’m not sure if it’s such a good idea for you to come with us Sunspot.” Glimmer Shine said uneasily while watching the orange mare coping with her pain.

“Yeah… I really think you should get some rest.” Peppermint added with a nervous expression of concern.

“I’m coming with you and that’s final. If you want me to stay so bad, try and make me. But be warned, I will bite.” Sunspot said with a wry smirk. The others weren’t sure if she was kidding or not. Glimmer Shine glanced to Glitterball and Peppermint. Neither of them seemed willing to hold down the pegasus against her will, or even to get near her to make an attempt at doing so.

“Fine… you can come.” Glimmer Shine shrugged in defeat. He then turned to face Twilight and her friends. “And I suppose you guys want to come with us?” He asked as a courtesy. Twilight looked around at her friends. Everyone nodded in agreement without another thought.

“The only way we’re getting out of here is if we work together. We’re with you.” Twilight stated with a confident expression.

“Alright, let’s get moving. We might want to bring Tom with us too… if he wakes up, he might be able to help us.” Glimmer Shine suggested while glancing back at the human.

“You don’t plan on dragging him all through the basement with us do you?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone.

“Don’t worry… we’ll make a safe area when we get down there. We can leave him there and have someone stay behind with him.” Glimmer Shine said before turning to two unicorn guards with a serious expression.

“You two, come with us and help us carry him. Try to be gentle… he’s been through a lot recently.” Glimmer said with a somber sigh while glancing back at the bloodied human. The two guards nodded before walking over to the human and lighting up their horns. The pair of stallions slowly lifted the boy up and put him on their backs. The two walked together to share the weight as they waited for Glimmer Shine’s next move.

Everyone except for the rest of the guards followed Glimmer Shine as he walked through the door at the back of the room. Twilight and her friends followed closely, while Glitterball and Peppermint helped Sunspot to walk.

Before she left through the door, Twilight turned around and glanced over to the side of the room. She noticed the fire place poker that she used to save Rainbow Dash from the ghostly woman lying against the wall. Apparently the others brought the metal pole in with her when they brought her in from the hallway.

“This might come in handy.” The unicorn muttered to herself while lighting up her horn and grabbing the iron pole. She brought it over to her and carried it with her as she turned and trotted to catch up with her friends.

The group walked into the hallway and made their way towards the basement. They were tired of sitting back and waiting for something bad to happen to their friends. The ponies were ready to take matters into their own hooves.