The hallway was eerily silent as the group marched forward in a line. The only sound filling the air was the constant clamor of hooves hitting the wooden floors. The red carpet under their feet was so worn and faded that it barely offered any padding. It really felt like they were walking on hardwood floors, and each creak from a loose floorboard reminded them of this fact.

Glitterball and Glimmer Shine walked in front of the group. Glimmer had his flashlight on to illuminate the way forward, while Glitter had her horn lit up to provide more light for those behind her. Sunspot was right behind her two teammates, with Peppermint helping her to walk. Although the pegasus was in better shape than before, her ribs were so sore that she could barely move without sending crippling waves of pain throughout her body. Still, she seemed to be toughing through the pain better than everyone had expected.

Twilight and her three friends followed close behind the team of monster hunters. Twilight had her horn lit up as well to provide light for herself and for those behind her. The four mares looked around nervously as they passed by each door and intersection. Although they were confident that the others had searched the area beforehand, the ponies were still fearful of what might be watching them from the shadows.

Behind the four mares, the two guards were walking in tandem to carry the unconscious human. Twilight glanced behind her to look at the slayer occasionally and frowned sadly. If the foes they now faced could overpower the human and Princess Luna, then what hope did she and her friends have of matching them? Still, the purple unicorn clutched the fire place poker in her magical grip tightly. She only hoped that if the time came for her to use it, the iron pole would be enough to fend off the murderous spirits.

“Are you sure the basement is this way?” Glitterball asked nervously while darting her eyes around the dimly lit corridor. There were candles placed on tables at the sides of the hall, but these seemed to have been blown out some time ago, bathing the entire area in an eerie veil of shadows.

“Brimstoke said that the stairs were at the end of the hallway. It shouldn’t be much farther.” Glimmer Shine replied in a reassuring tone.

“I hope so… this place is starting to get on my nerves.” Glitterball replied with a nervous chuckle while trying to ease her own fears.

Meanwhile, while everyone else was worrying about their immediate surroundings, Rainbow Dash had something else to worry about. As she walked along silently, she kept thinking about Fluttershy and how she was missing somewhere down in the basement with only Neon Streak to keep her company. The cyan mare was the one that convinced her to go. Not only that, but she also convinced her to help out with the investigation rather than staying in the foyer where it was safe.

“I hope Fluttershy is ok down there… she must be scared out of her mind.” Rainbow Dash said in a concerned tone while frowning sadly. If anything happened to the yellow pegasus, she would never forgive herself.

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity looked over to their friend sympathetically. She was so worried about Fluttershy that she was beating herself up over it. The three mares were worried about the timid pegasus as well, but they knew that there was no sense in blaming anyone for what happened.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash. I’m sure that Fluttershy is just fine.” Twilight said in a comforting tone while huddling closer to the cyan mare and putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

“Twilight is right sugar cube. She’s with Neon Streak right now, and if anyone can keep her safe, Neon can.” Applejack said in a confident tone. She had no doubt in her mind that the brave earth pony could take care of Fluttershy with no problems.

“I hope you’re right… I just can’t stand not knowing where she is or what’s happened to her.” Rainbow Dash stated uneasily. Despite her best efforts at agreeing with her friends, she couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling building in her gut.

“We’re all worried about her, Rainbow. We just have to get down there and trust that she will be safe until we reach her.” Rarity said while sharing a sympathetic frown with the pegasus.

Before long, the group suddenly came to a halt as they reached the end of the hallway. Glimmer Shine and Glitterball paused in front of a door on the right side of the hall and stood in front of it anxiously. Everyone gathered around and waited with apprehensive expressions as the pair prepared to open the door and step inside.

With a loud creek that pierced the air like a knife, the door slid open, revealing an aged set of stairs leading down into a pitch black void. A cold and stale breeze hit the group as the air from the basement drifted upwards. Somehow, the darkness waiting for the ponies ahead of them looked much more intimidating than the darkness in the hallway they were in.

“So… how many creepy basements have we been through lately?” Rainbow Dash asked with a nervous chuckle.

“That depends… are you counting the one at the school? Because you weren’t there with us for that one.” Twilight asked with as much wit as she could muster while staring fearfully at the gaping void at the bottom of the rickety looking steps.

“Well, looks like you’re going to have to add one more to the list. Let’s get moving… the faster we find the others and overload those seals, the faster we get out of this place.” Glimmer Shine stated while stepping forward and hesitantly taking the lead down the stairs. The ancient wood creaked under the stallion’s weight as he slowly descended into the darkness. Once he was at the bottom step, he turned around to wait for his friends to join him.

Glitterball briefly glanced to Twilight and the others before descending the stairs after the stallion. Peppermint and Sunspot carefully walked down after the unicorn as Glimmer Shine walked into the basement itself.

Twilight looked to her three friends, who were offering nervous glances back to her. She sighed anxiously before slowly walking down the steps. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash followed the purple mare as she hesitantly continued downwards towards the cold and musty basement.

Once everyone reached the bottom of the stairs, they looked around to see where they were. To their rear was a wall that had several small cracks in it. To their right was a doorway that led into pitch blackness. And to their front was one of the darkest and eeriest looking corridors they had ever seen.

“Why can’t there ever be a creepy hallway that has lights?” Glimmer Shine shrugged uncomfortably while staring ahead into the pitch black void. His flashlight did little more than reveal a few more doorways down the hall before it ended in darkness a little further away.

“Because it wouldn’t be creepy then would it?” Glitterball asked with a nervous tone while trying to muster the energy to chuckle slightly.

“Let’s duck into this room here and set up base. I want to have somewhere safe I can run to if something decides to chase me.” Glimmer Shine stated while walking through the doorway on the right. Everyone hesitantly followed the yellow stallion as he walked into the middle of the room and looked around.

The room was surprisingly empty considering the cluttered mess of boxes and shelves out in the hallway. Other than a few pipes and a stray shelf on the right wall, the room was barren of anything other than dust on its cold stone floor. There was another doorway across the room that surprisingly actually had a door. Very few of the rooms they saw down the hallway had doors, so it was nice to see something solid blocking the way into the unknown for once.

After walking across the room and hesitantly opening the door, Glimmer Shine was relieved to see that it was just a small and empty pantry. He turned to the group as they settled into the room and turned his attention to the two guards carrying Tom.

“Set him down and get settled in. We’re making this our temporary safe haven.” Glimmer Shine explained to the pair of stallions, who nodded before gently setting the human down on the ground.

Glitterball reached into the bag of blessed candles that the group brought with them. She tossed two of them over to Glimmer Shine before walking over to the doorway. As the two ponies placed and lit the candles, Twilight and the others couldn’t help but to worry about how safe they would actually be.

“Are you sure it’s going to be safe here?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

“It’s going to be as safe as we can possibly make it… take that for what you will.” Glitterball stated uneasily. Her answer didn’t exactly comfort the others, but there wasn’t anything else she could say about their situation.

Glimmer Shine shrugged as he looked around at the group. Twilight and her three friends were equal parts anxious and nervous, and with good reason. Sunspot was injured to the point of being unable to move very fast on her own due to the pain she was feeling. Tom, arguably the most seasoned member of the team, was lying unconscious on the floor. The two guards that came with the group looked like they were way in over their heads. And Glitterball and Peppermint were just as nervous as everyone else. Even the yellow stallion was uneasy about what was going to happen next.

“Glitter, I need you to come with me so we can look for the others. Everyone else stay here.” Glimmer Shine instructed while walking over to the door.

“You can’t seriously be thinking about going out there by yourselves can you?” Rainbow Dash asked in a tone of disbelief.

“You heard Tom up in the foyer. Not even Princess Luna could fight those ghosts.” Twilight stated in a concerned tone.

“Girls… I would love to take an army with me, but we don’t have many options here. We need to find the others and regroup before we go after those symbols.” Glimmer Shine said in an attempt at sympathizing with the nervous mares.

“I’m with them on this one Glimmer… I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to be splitting up down here.” Peppermint suggested uneasily. The yellow stallion could see the concern in his brother’s face clear as day. Taking a look over to Glitterball, Glimmer Shine noticed that she was uncertain about what to do herself.

“Well if anyone else has any ideas, I’m all e-” Glimmer Shine started to speak up, until the floorboards creaked just outside of the room. The yellow stallion immediately spun around while drawing his strobe. Glitterball, Peppermint, and even Sunspot readied their weapons and faced the doorway to battle whatever threat was present.

As the light from the ponies’ flashlights fell on the doorway, the group saw a familiar trio of ponies that made them gasp in shock. Brimstoke, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were standing outside of the door with equally shocked expressions on their faces.

“Guys!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully while rushing forward into the room. Fluttershy followed the pink mare as she ran towards their friends. Twilight and the others gladly accepted a warm hug from the pink pony as she pulled all of them in.

“Oh my gosh, Rainbow Dash! We thought you were going to die!” Pinkie stated with tears of joy streaming down her face while directing her attention to the apparently healthy cyan mare.

“We all thought I was going to die. Thankfully Tom showed up just in time and healed me.” Rainbow Dash said in a happy tone.

“You don’t know how happy I am to see you Brimstoke. Where have you been?” Glimmer Shine asked as he watched the white stallion entering the room with a relieved expression.

“We’ve been trying to get back to you guys for a while now. What are you doing down here?” Brimstoke asked curiously.

“Twilight found a way to get rid of the ghosts and get us out of here.” Glimmer Shine said with a hopeful tone.

“You said Tom was here. Couldn’t he take care of them?” Brimstoke asked while looking around for the human. He was shocked to see the boy unconscious on the floor near Peppermint.

“Oh my gosh… what happened to him?” Fluttershy asked in a concerned tone.

“He tried healing Rainbow Dash, Sunspot, and me with no breaks. I told him not to, but he wouldn’t listen.” Twilight explained with a saddened shrug.

“I’m glad he healed you… I just wish it didn’t make him sick like that.” Fluttershy added in a sad tone.

“Hey, where’s Neon Streak? We were getting worried about you two once we heard you got separated.” Sunspot asked curiously while wondering about the absence of the green mare. Upon mention of the earth pony, Brimstoke, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie fell silent. The three ponies had forlorn and downcast expressions as they looked to the floor sadly.

“Neon is dead.” Brimstoke spoke in a hollow tone. His words barely reached the group due to how quiet he was, but everyone was stunned into silence as they heard the stallion’s statement.

“W-what?” Sunspot stammered in utter disbelief. The grim realization still hadn’t sunk in for the majority of the group. They thought that maybe they misheard the stallion, or perhaps he was playing some kind of morbid joke. However, the longer Brimstoke and the two distraught mares remained silent, the more the group had to consider the unthinkable possibility that what they were saying was true.

“But… but… how? Ah…” Applejack grasped for words as tears began welling up in her eyes. Everyone else began tearing up as well as they realized fully what was happening.

“One of the ghosts tortured and killed her. We got to her too late to do anything. I’m sorry…” Brimstoke said while silently directing his gaze at Fluttershy. He wasn’t sure how he could even begin to explain the horrifying ordeal she went through. Still, even without mentioning the rest of the details, the timid pegasus began weeping loudly along with many other members of the group.

Sunspot remained speechless and motionless as tears rolled down her face. She seemed to be mentally rejecting the fact that one of her best friends was dead. Finally, she sobbed once before lowering her head and quietly crying into her arms.

Glitterball wept openly while nuzzling her face into Glimmer Shine’s shoulder. The yellow stallion was also crying, but he remained composed and silent while the distraught unicorn cried into his shoulder.

Peppermint looked unsure of what he should be feeling. His lips quivered as he looked down and tried to process the wave of sadness and despair washing over him. A few outbursts of sobs and shaky breaths escaped the red haired pony as he stared at the floor.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the others were each sobbing and bawling their eyes out while using each other as a meager form of comfort. They had finally lost a comrade in the battle against the hooded ponies. All of the guards and innocent lives lost in the past week had pushed and motivated them to give their all in the efforts to put a stop to Raven Feather’s group, but now they had lost one of their own. The group had made friends with the green mare and her team through their short time together. They were all striving to protect Equestria, and that fact made them relate to the vested ponies even more after they welcomed them into their homes.

Applejack thought back to the events of last night as she wept while Pinkie Pie held onto her and sobbed uncontrollably. If it wasn’t for Neon Streak being with Applebloom when the terrifying monster flew in through the window, then her little sister, and possibly even her and her brother, would have been dead. She felt like she had just lost an estranged member of her family.

After several minutes of openly crying and letting their emotions out, the group finally fell into a gloomy and uncomfortable silence as everyone ceased their outbursts. Only the occasional sniffle and shaky breath interrupted the otherwise calm atmosphere in the room.

“W-what do we do now?” Glitterball asked while wiping her eyes with her arm. Despite having apparently calmed down, the unicorn was still breathing rapidly as she processed the loss of her teammate and close friend.

“We do the only thing we can do… we get out of here and make those responsible for this pay dearly.” Brimstoke stated in a somber tone, causing everyone to look up. The stallion glanced over to Glimmer Shine with a more serious expression on his face.

“Glimmer… you said that you guys found a way to stop these things, right?” Brimstoke asked in a hopeful tone. Glimmer Shine glanced over to Twilight suggestively to get her to further elaborate on her plan.

“I found some texts in the library that talk about the ghosts. Apparently the hooded ponies had a backup plan in place in case of an emergency. A unicorn can use their magic on the protective seals used to suppress the ghosts to overload them and permanently disrupt the ghosts.” Twilight explained while glancing between the two stallions.

“I’m guessing that you’re talking about that symbol we saw Shadow Mist tampering with?” Brimstoke asked curiously. He sighed sadly as he remembered the other person that was with him when he found the red pony messing with the symbol.

“Yes, I’m fairly certain. Counting the one upstairs in the library, there are three seals in total. I already took care of the one in the library, and the other two are supposed to be down here in the basement.” Twilight said in a confident tone.

“Well… I still remember where the symbol we found is, so that just leaves one that we don’t know the location of.” Brimstoke shrugged uneasily. “Did the notes tell you where these seals were exactly?” He asked with careful optimism in his voice.

“Sorry, but they only vaguely described the location. All I know is that they are in the basement somewhere.” Twilight explained sadly.

“*Sigh*… I guess that’s enough for us to work with. Glitterball, Glimmer Shine, come with me. We’re going to go take care of the symbol Shadow Mist was working on. We can look for the other one later.” Brimstoke instructed to the two while walking over to the door.

“Wait a minute! You can’t just go out there by yourselves! We don’t even know if the strobes work on those guys. Every time I tried shooting the guy that was chasing me, he just dodged the blasts like they were nothing.” Sunspot said while trying to get up. The pegasus groaned in pain while doing her best to ignore her aching ribs so she could walk.

“Relax Sunspot. We found out the strobes do work on the ghosts. If you can manage to hit them, one blast is enough to make them vanish for at least a few minutes.” Brimstoke explained while eyeing the injured pegasus with a concerned expression.

“Maybe you should take this with you. Apparently iron works like a ghost repellent… it burns them to the touch.” Twilight suggested while levitating the fire place poker over to the trio. Brimstoke gently pushed the iron rod away.

“You guys hold on to that just in case. We’ll be fine with our three strobes.” Brimstoke explained in a confident tone while glancing to his two teammates. Glimmer Shine and Glitterball were slightly anxious to be going out into the basement, but they were glad that they had their leader back to direct them.

“I’m coming with you… *Wince*… you need all the help you can get.” Sunspot held her ribs for a moment before walking forward to join the group.

“You aren’t going anywhere in your condition Sunspot. Maybe you should stay back with Pepper to watch the others?” Glitterball suggested while glancing to Brimstoke for his opinion. The white stallion eyed the pegasus as she tried to appear healthy despite the pain she was going through.

“Glitter is right… I want you and Pepper to stay behind to keep everyone in check. We shouldn’t take too long to find those symbols.” Brimstoke stated in a confident tone.

“We should also keep an eye out for Princess Luna… apparently she got separated from Tom when they fought one of the ghosts. She should be down here somewhere.” Glimmer Shine explained while looking to Brimstoke.

“Right… Ok everyone, we’re heading out now. Stay here, and stay safe until we get back.” Brimstoke stated to the group before walking out of the protective barrier at the door. Glitterball lit up her horn before following the stallion, and Glimmer Shine followed behind the unicorn.

Twilight and the others watched the blue force field ripple before vanishing from sight as the trio exited the room. Once Glitterball’s light moved out of range, the doorway was pitch black once again, leaving the group with the hollow and uncertain fear of what could be lurking in the darkness. The only thing preventing some evil spirit from just waltzing in and murdering everyone in sight was a force field they couldn’t even see made from two candles the size of a small apple.

Meanwhile, Brimstoke and his small troop were walking through the seemingly endless corridors of the basement. The three ponies remained silent as they reflected on their own somber thoughts while the white stallion did his best to follow the route he had followed earlier to reach the first symbol.

Despite the eerie atmosphere prevalent throughout the area, the ponies were barely focusing on their fears. They couldn’t stop thinking about their fallen friend, no matter how hard they tried. Just a few hours ago they had been talking with the green mare as if nothing was wrong, but now they would never have that opportunity again.

“How did it happen?” Glitterball asked in a somber tone. Everyone immediately knew what she was talking about.

Brimstoke looked down for a moment and silently thought about the matter. He had a lump in his throat that wouldn’t go away. His entire body was refusing his actions to the point of feeling ill. Still, his team deserved answers. Neon was their friend as well after all.

“Apparently Fluttershy and Neon got abducted by a different ghost than the ones you guys have been dealing with. He carried them into a room and strapped them to tables so he could... torture them.” Brimstoke explained sadly. Glitterball and Glimmer Shine listened in a shocked state of silence as the white stallion continued.

“Fluttershy didn’t tell us much after that… I don’t blame her considering what happened. Apparently the ghost tried to hurt her, and Neon wouldn’t let him, so he decided to torture her in place of Fluttershy. He said that if she could take it that he would let them go, but… I guess he changed his mind.” Brimstoke said in a somber tone. Glitterball gasped quietly as she stared at the stallion with a shocked expression.

“So Fluttershy had to watch all of that?” Glimmer Shine asked in an appalled tone. He couldn’t believe that anyone would be forced to watch a friend die in their place, let alone someone as fragile and kind as Fluttershy.

“I think she blames herself for it. Pinkie and I tried to comfort her, but she just shut down and started crying whenever we tried talking to her about it.” Brimstoke said with a sad tone. It pained him to see a gentle mare in so much distress.

“Poor thing… I can’t imagine what that must have done to her.” Glitterball said in a disquieted tone. She contemplated going back to offer her support to the yellow mare, but she quickly discarded this thought as she directed her attention forward down the hallway. Somewhere in the basement hallways, there were two very important objects that held the key to freedom for the trapped ponies. If there was anything she could do to help her friends escape alive, Glitterball would do it. Thankfully she wouldn’t have to do it alone.

“Are we almost there?” Glitterball asked in a determined tone. It was easy to tell that the unicorn was ready to be done with this nightmare.

“Yeah… we found it right through here if memory serves.” Brimstoke announced while looking ahead at the doorway coming up on the left. The endless hallways and rooms of the basement looked so similar that navigating was almost impossible, but the stallion was fairly confident that the room up ahead contained one of the symbols they were seeking.

As they reached the doorway and stepped into the room, everyone looked around feverishly in the hopes that they would find the symbol somewhere in the room. Much to the trio’s relief, the red glyph was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room right where Brimstoke remembered it to be.

“This looks like it…” Brimstoke stated while walking forward and glancing between the symbol on the floor and the open doorway on the other side of the room. His royal guard training made him antsy around open areas, and that was without the looming threat of a psychotic ghost around every corner.

“So… how do we do this?” Glimmer Shine asked while glancing between his two teammates curiously.

“Uh… give me a second.” Glitterball said while intertwining her magical influence with the symbol on the floor. “Twilight said that it shouldn’t be too hard to overload these things.” She said in a semi hopeful tone while examining the symbol closely

Brimstoke and Glimmer Shine stood watch as the unicorn worked her proverbial magic. After a few moments of concentration, Glitter closed her eyes and put more energy into the symbol. A soft buzz filled the air as the symbol glowed red. Before long, the buzz grew louder and louder, to the point of making the three ponies concerned that something bad was happening.

Before anyone could speak up, a loud whoosh sounded out as a blast of air shot outwards through the room from the center of the symbol. The three were nearly blown back a step as they were caught off guard by the sudden outburst. When they looked back down at the symbol, the red glow was gone and the room was silent.

“Did it work?” Brimstoke asked curiously.

“I think… I don’t remember Twilight describing the reaction as being this violent though.” Glitterball explained in a confused tone while patting her hair to get it back into its normal place.

“Maybe it’s different because this is the second one?” Glimmer Shine suggested in an attempt at explaining the odd occurrence.

“Well if that’s what the second one did, I would hate to see what the third one does… although, I guess we kind of have to.” Glitterball stated with an uneasy chuckle.

As the group drew their attention ahead at the open doorway across the room, they quickly realized a very significant obstacle was in their way. They were now faced with the task of finding a rather small symbol in an entire basement full of similar looking rooms and corridors. The brief boost in spirit that came from overloading the second symbol vanished almost instantaneously as the ponies stared out into the pitch black hallway.

“Where do we go now?” Glimmer Shine asked while looking to Brimstoke with a hopeful expression. The white stallion wasn’t sure how to reply to his teammate’s question. He had been down in the basement for at least an hour and a half and he hadn’t found any sign of the other symbol.

“I think I can take us through an area where we haven’t been… we just have to hope that we can find the symbol eventually.” Brimstoke said with an uneasy shrug.

“I just hope we find it soon. I want out of this place before anything else bad happens.” Glitterball said with a saddened tone while lowering her head slightly. The somber thought of everyone they had lost so far made the group fall into an uncomfortable silence that lasted a few moments.

“Let’s get going… we should cover as much ground as we can as soon as possible.” Glimmer Shine suggested while walking forward to get the group moving. The yellow pony paused in front of the dark doorway at the far end of the room and waited for his two companions to join him. Brimstoke and Glitterball shared a gloomy sigh before walking over to join their friend.

Back in the makeshift safe haven, Twilight and the others were sitting around in silence while reflecting on their thoughts. Most of the group was still occupied with grieving over the loss of Neon Streak, although they were doing it in different ways.

Pinkie Pie was sitting near Fluttershy. While the yellow mare hung her head low to the floor and sniffled quietly, Pinkie was offering her what little comfort she could. Although they expected the timid pegasus to be more greatly affected by Neon’s death due to her sensitivity, Twilight and the others were concerned about her. She seemed to be taking the tragic news with a lot more despair and sorrow than everyone expected. It was almost like she was more involved than everyone else first thought.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was pacing with a frustrated expression over by Twilight. Even though the purple unicorn was more silent about her troubles, she was pondering over the same issue as her pegasus friend. Both ponies were upset that they were just standing around idly while their friends could be in danger.

“Ugh… I can’t believe we’re just sitting here doing nothing!” Rainbow Dash groaned in an irritated fashion while glancing towards the doorway with the false hope that Brimstoke and the others would return with the news that they were now free to escape the mansion. The silent darkness outside only further cemented her frustrations.

“I know how you feel darling, but we need to listen to Brimstoke’s orders and stay here… it will keep us safe.” Rarity said in an attempt at leveling with her cyan friend. Rainbow Dash seemed to be unwilling to look at things in a different light.

“Hay with being safe! We’re only safe for as long as those candles hold out… until we find those symbols and defeat those ghosts, nobody is really safe in this place.” Rainbow stated with an annoyed shrug.

“Well we can’t just go wandering around out there. Who knows what might happen?” Applejack said in a concerned tone. As much as she was against the idea of sitting around and doing nothing while others could be in harm’s way, she didn’t really know what else to do.

“I know what might happen. One of those ghosts almost killed me and Twilight. For Celestia’s sake… Neon is dead. I don’t want that happening to anyone else!” Rainbow Dash said in a determined tone. The mere mention of everything that had happened recently made everyone look down sadly.

Suddenly, Fluttershy started crying uncontrollably. She tried to keep herself as quiet as possible, but she couldn’t prevent herself from falling into a loud fit of sobbing. Everyone but Pinkie was confused about why the yellow mare was reacting so emotionally at the mention of Neon’s name alone. Granted they felt sad about it themselves, but they had gotten over their initial sobs and cries.

“Fluttershy… what’s wrong?” Twilight asked in a soft tone while getting up and walking over to the yellow pegasus with a concerned expression. Fluttershy was too absorbed in her own sadness to even lift her head up to look at her friends as they gathered around her.

Pinkie Pie gently placed a hoof on the crying mare’s shoulder for reassurance. She looked over to the others and swallowed uneasily as she realized that she would have to explain why the pegasus was so distraught.

“She was with Neon when she died… we found them both tied to tables when we fended off the ghost. Neon was covered in blood… the ghost was about to hurt Fluttershy when we stopped him.” Pinkie explained in a somber tone. Everyone gasped in shock as they glanced down at the crying mare. They suddenly understood what she was going through, and why she was so emotional at the moment.

“Good heavens.” Rarity muttered quietly while bringing her hoof up to her mouth.

“Oh my gosh… I’m so sorry Fluttershy. I had no idea…” Rainbow Dash walked up to the crying pegasus and knelt down to her level while putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. Fluttershy barely even reacted to the cyan mare’s touch. Instead, she continued crying and sobbing uncontrollably while staring at the floor.

“How could something like that happen? I know these ghosts are powerful, but one of them shouldn’t have been able to tie down two ponies against their will.” Twilight said in a troubled tone of confusion while looking to Pinkie in the hopes that she could shed more light onto the pegasus’s situation. She certainly didn’t want to ask Fluttershy to remember any more of her horrific experience.

“I don’t know… she hasn’t told us much about what happened. She barely even talked to us at all after we found her.” Pinkie Pie said while looking back at the yellow mare with a concerned frown. Seeing her friend in so much pain and suffering made the pink pony feel horrible.

“She… s-she didn’t want me to get hurt.” Fluttershy spoke up in a quiet tone in between sniffles. Everyone looked over as the pegasus wiped her eyes and looked up for the first time since her fit of sobbing began.

“Neon wouldn’t let him touch me… she made him cut her instead of me. He said he would let us go after he was done… but then he… he…” Fluttershy began tearing up again as she tried to finish her sentence. Pinkie Pie gently held her as she began sobbing again. Twilight and the others were speechless as they looked at the distraught mare with sympathetic expressions.

Twilight glanced away for a moment while deep in thought. She couldn’t believe that something so horrifying could happen to Fluttershy. The yellow mare had been so traumatized by the events at the school that she was stricken by terrible nightmares. The unicorn shuddered to think of how watching Neon getting tortured and killed in her place would affect the timid pony.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy. Everything is going to be ok…” Twilight said in a confident tone while walking over to the other side of the room. She faced the doorway and stared out into the blackness with a sense of determination building up inside of her. She was done sitting by and doing nothing while others tried to solve a problem that affected her and her friends as well.

“What are you doing Twilight?” Rarity asked with a slight twinge of unease in her voice. She had seen that look in the purple mare’s eyes before, and it usually didn’t mean she was about to make the safest of decisions for herself.

“I can’t stand here anymore and wait for the others to find those symbols. The longer we are in here, the more danger we will be in… and it will take a lot less time if we have more ponies searching for the symbols.” Twilight explained while turning to her friends with a renewed sense of vigor.

“You can’t seriously be thinking about going out there by yourself can you?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

“She won’t have to…” Rainbow Dash said while stepping forward confidently to join the purple mare. “I’m coming with you Twilight. Somepony needs to watch your back for you.” She said with a wry smirk.

“And somepony needs to watch your back too.” Applejack said while stepping forward to volunteer. Twilight and Rainbow Dash smiled warmly as the orange mare joined them eagerly.

“Hold on just a minute! Nobody is going anywhere until Brimstoke and the others get back!” Sunspot protested from her position on the floor over by Peppermint.

“Sunspot, the princess told me to-” Twilight started to speak up before she was interrupted by the injured pegasus speaking again.

“I don’t care what the princess told you. The princess told me to keep you guys safe, and I can’t do that if you go wandering off in a dark and scary basement with ponycidal ghosts everywhere!” Sunspot stated in an adamant tone.

“Sunspot, I don’t think you’re in a position to argue with us.” Twilight said while turning to her friends confidently.

“Yeah… no offense, but what are you going to do? Limp after us?” Rainbow Dash asked while pointing out the orange pegasus’s condition.

“I might.” Sunspot glared at the cyan mare and her two companions while trying to get up. Despite her best efforts to keep a serious face, she couldn’t help but to cringe in pain as she lifted herself off the floor.

“Oh for pony’s sake… back me up Pepper! You have un-shattered ribs!” Sunspot said while nudging the red haired stallion towards the three mares.

“Umm… I have to agree with Sunspot here girls. I really don’t think that going out there is a good idea without protection.” Peppermint said while timidly trying to talk the trio out of leaving.

“I have this with me. It should be enough to protect us.” Twilight said while levitating the fire poker over to her side for show. “And if you’re so concerned about us going alone, why don’t you send the guards with us?” She asked while glancing over to the two stallions waiting in the corner. Upon hearing the group mentioning them, the two unicorns turned their attention forward and waited for whatever orders they might receive.

Peppermint glanced back to Sunspot and shrugged his shoulders with uncertainty. Sunspot glanced between Twilight and the guards on the other side of the room. The purple mare seemed like her mind was made up. She would most likely go whether or not she had her blessing.

“Ugh… I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.” Sunspot muttered to herself quietly before turning to the three mares and offering them a begrudging expression. “Fine… take the guards with you. And here, take this too.” She said while unclipping her strobe from her vest and tossing it to the group. Rainbow Dash caught the small vial and held it in her hooves with a smirk.

“Hold on, I think I have one spare on me.” Peppermint said while fishing around the various pouches and pockets of his vest. He finally pulled out another strobe and tossed it over to Applejack.

“Thanks guys.” Twilight said with a warm smile.

“Don’t thank me yet… if you die out there, Brimstoke is going to kill me, and then I am going to find you in the afterlife and kick your sorry purple keister.” Sunspot said in a sincere manner.

“We’ll be careful.” Twilight replied with a smirk before turning to walk out of the doorway with her group.

“Wait!” Fluttershy called out, causing the purple unicorn to pause and turn around. Twilight noticed the yellow mare trotting up to her with a resolute expression.

“Fluttershy, what is it?” Twilight asked curiously. She thought that perhaps the pegasus wanted to see her friends off before they left on their mission.

“I’m coming with you.” Fluttershy said in an anxious tone. Everyone was surprised to hear that the timid pony was volunteering to go on such a dangerous journey.

“What…?” Twilight asked in a bewildered tone.

“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt while I can do something about it… I don’t think I could live with myself if one of you…” Fluttershy paused and looked down sadly at the mere thought of something horrible happening to one of her close friends. The pegasus looked up suddenly when she felt a hoof being placed on her shoulder. She noticed her three friends smiling at her warmly while offering her reassuring expressions.

“We’ll be fine sugar cube. You don’t need to come with us if you don’t want to.” Applejack said in a gentle tone.

“I want to… I really do.” Fluttershy said while managing to smile for the first time since she had been in the basement.

“We’re coming too!” Pinkie Pie announced while stepping forward eagerly with Rarity in tow. Although the white unicorn wasn’t as energetic as her pink friend, she did agree with her opinion.

“We want to make sure all of you stay safe as well.” Rarity said with a warm smirk while glancing around at her friends.

“Thanks guys.” Twilight said in a grateful tone. She couldn’t believe that all of her friends were volunteering to help her.

“Don’t get lost out there. I want you back here in the next half hour, got it?” Sunspot said in a firm yet caring manner.

“We won’t be late.” Rainbow Dash replied with a confident nod, to which her friends nodded in agreement.

Without further delay, Twilight and her troop walked out of the doorway and into the dark corridor. The pitch blackness just outside of the bubble of light being projected by the unicorns made the group uneasy, but their determination was unfettered by their eerie surroundings.

They had to find a way out of the mansion, not only for themselves and their loved ones, but for their sworn duties. It was clear at this point that Raven Feather and the other members of her group had escaped before the mansion was raided, leaving only Shadow Mist and a few uncoordinated underlings behind to spring a trap for the intruders. Twilight had to get out to complete her mission from the princess. She had to bring the hooded ponies to justice, and to put a stop to them once and for all. The purple mare wasn’t alone in her mission however. Every single pony following her was prepared to fight to see the evil’s wrought by Raven Feather’s group put to an end. But before they could focus on the hooded ponies, they had to focus on finding the remaining symbol and escaping with their lives.

“Do you recognize where we’re going Pinkie?” Twilight asked while glancing back at the pink mare. She hoped that Pinkie would be able to guide them around the basement to areas she hadn’t been before to make their search easier, and she still felt that Fluttershy was too sensitive at the moment to be remembering her time in the basement.

Pinkie Pie took a quick look around to mentally recap where she was in relation to the rest of the areas she visited. She and Brimstoke wandered around for a decent amount of time looking for Fluttershy and Neon Streak, so she had been to a lot of places in the basement.

“There should be a branch in the hallway I haven’t been to further down here.” Pinkie stated while pointing ahead into the blackness.

“Good… hopefully we can find that last symbol and get back before our time limit is up.” Twilight said with careful optimism brimming in her voice.

“I don’t know Twilight… this place is really big. I’m not even sure how much of it we’ve seen.” Fluttershy chimed in with an uncertain and uneasy tone.

“Don’t worry. Between us and the others, I’m sure we’ll find it soon.” Twilight said while thinking to Glitterball and her two companions. No matter how big the basement was, their odds of finding the symbol were greatly increased due to them being in two groups.

“We should also keep an eye out for Princess Luna.” Rainbow Dash said as a reminder to the group to look for the missing alicorn.

“I hope she’s ok…” Fluttershy said in a concerned tone. The thought of Luna being lost in such a dreadful place made everyone uncomfortable and sad.

“Ah’m sure she can take care of herself Fluttershy.” Applejack said in a reassuring manner while glancing to the yellow mare sympathetically. Despite her attempt at comforting the pegasus, the farm pony couldn’t help but worry for the alicorn as well.

Before long, the group came to a substantial fork in the hallway. To their right and left, another hallway opened up while the current hallway stretched on for as far as the group could see. Twilight and the others looked around to ascertain which direction they should go before finally looking to their pink friend for her insight.

“Which way do we go Pinkie?” Twilight asked curiously.

“We went down the left path with the others, and they went down the right path when they first came down here… so I say we go straight.” Pinkie suggested while looking down the hall for any signs of familiarity, not that any of the hallways looked familiar to her. It was hard to tell any one section of the basement apart from another, so the pink mare had to go off of memory on how many intersections and rooms she passed in each location, which was harder than she originally thought.

“Then straight it is.” Twilight shrugged before returning a determined expression to her face and marching onwards. She hoped that she wasn’t just leading her group on a wild goose chase, because if they spent too much time down in the basement, something would most likely end up chasing them.

Now that they were treading new ground, the group became more observant of their surroundings. Everyone searched the rooms they passed while Twilight, Rarity, and the two guards offered their lights to assist with the hunt for the elusive symbol. However, the only things they were finding thus far were more disturbing reminders of where they were.

Tables, trays full of various aged cutting implements, and shelves lined with medical equipment and other strange items were in almost every room the ponies looked in. Every once in a while they would find a room filled with only shelves or boxes, but the majority of the rooms held at least one examination table in it. The empty tables lined with faded and dusty white cloth were a chilling sight to behold in such dismal and grim conditions, but they were only the least interesting and disturbing things to be found.

Occasionally the group would find a room that had tables without their coverings. Most of them had a single leather strap in the middle and four other straps to presumably hold someone against their will. There were also several faded stains on the tables that looked like discolored blood or perhaps other disgusting fluids. Judging from all of the white sheets placed over the majority of the tables and chairs, it looked like someone had come in and placed them there to cover up and forget about the disturbing objects underneath. Despite the age of whatever objects and tools that were covered in blood, a sickeningly faint and musty smell of copper mixed into the already stale and rotten smelling air of the basement. The ponies could feel their stomachs churning from simply being exposed to this revolting atmosphere.

“Ugh… that smell is horrible. What did they do down here?” Rainbow Dash asked in a muffled tone while making an attempt at holding her arm over her nose and mouth to prevent more of the foul air from reaching her.

“I don’t know, but from what I read in those notes, I don’t think it was good. The hooded ponies apparently don’t even go too far into the basement themselves, so most of this stuff is how it was when the humans owned the place.” Twilight explained while taking a wary look around at the various rooms she passed.

“Did the hooded ponies know anything else about them?” Applejack asked with a morbid sense of curiosity.

“Not much… just that they were heavily into the occult and black magic. Apparently they were fascinated by death and the afterlife, which probably explains why their spirits and this house are still here.” Twilight said with an uneasy tone in her voice. Knowing that the items around her belonged to a bunch of murderous psychopaths with knowledge of the occult sent chills down her spine as she looked at the bloodstained medical tables in a new light.

Nobody else dared to ask any more questions about their chilling surroundings. The ponies marched forward in an uncomfortable silence as they scanned the rooms for any signs of usefulness. Even the safe feeling that came from being in a decent sized group had vanished as everyone darted their eyes around nervously.

Finally, the group came to the end of the hallway. At the pace they were going, they thought they would be walking for miles in the underground corridors. The sign that they were gradually running out of places to search filled the ponies with hope and anxious uncertainty at the same time. Wasting no time with standing around, Twilight took the only path available to her and led her group to the right.

“How long has it been?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. The thought of how far they had wandered from the safe haven they had built made her nervous. She wanted to make sure that they could get back in time to meet the deadline imposed by Sunspot, almost as if she were expecting something horrible to pop out of the darkness if they didn’t make it back in time.

“I think it’s been about ten minutes… we should have time to search down here.” Twilight replied while thinking about roughly how long they had been walking. Although it already felt like an eternity, it was probably much shorter than their half hour time limit.

“Good… I thought we were already running late. I guess time doesn’t fly when you’re scared out of your wits.” Rainbow Dash said with a nervous chuckle.

“Don’t worry, we should be fine. Just be sure to keep your eyes peeled.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone while subconsciously gripping the iron fire poker tighter in her magical hold. She was prepared to swing the iron pole at anything that moved to protect herself and her friends.

“Ow!” Pinkie yelped painfully from the back of the group. Everyone halted and turned around to see the pink mare rubbing the back of her neck.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked with a concerned tone while observing the area around her pink friend for any sign of what could have caused her outburst.

“It feels like someone just poked me with a needle.” Pinkie said with an annoyed tone while looking around for her attacker. Although everyone was disconcerted by the pink mare’s statement, a certain yellow mare felt her heart skipping a beat as memories rushed back to her.

“Oh no… he’s here!” Fluttershy stated in a terrified tone while darting her eyes around in a panic. Twilight and the others grew concerned for their pegasus friend as she started shivering from fright.

“What do you mean Fluttershy? Who’s here?” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone.

“That’s how that ghost abducted me and Neon! We both felt a needle in the back of our necks, and then we blacked out!” Fluttershy explained in a fearful tone. The yellow pony’s statement gave everyone an empty feeling in their guts, particularly Pinkie Pie.

“Do you feel ok Pinkie?” Rarity asked nervously while eyeing the pink mare for any signs of wooziness.

“Uh… my nose itches… *Gasp* and my foot is asleep! What does that mean?!” Pinkie Pie asked with growing concern while looking at herself and picturing what horrible effects the injection was having on her body.

“Umm… I think that’s normal Pinkie.” Twilight said while observing the panicking mare curiously.

Suddenly, a loud noise behind the group made Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy yelp in surprise. Everyone turned around to see a wooden box clattering to the floor as something knocked it over.

“AH! It’s the ghost! Please don’t take me Mr. Ghostie!” Pinkie pleaded while hiding behind Rainbow Dash for protection. The cyan mare realized that her friend must have been incredibly scared if she skipped her usual method of laughing at anything scary to make it go away and went straight to groveling.

Meanwhile, Twilight was leering at the box on the floor suspiciously. Although she had no doubt in her mind that Fluttershy was telling the truth about her experience, she wasn’t sure if one of the ghosts was the cause of this disturbance.

“I don’t think Mr. Ghostie is going to be taking anyone anywhere…” Twilight paused while reaching into her bag with her magic. She quickly pulled out the vial given to her by Brimstoke and the others back at the guard station and stepped to the front of the group with a determined expression.

Twilight pointed the vial down the hallway and pressed the button on the bottom. Much to her surprise, a loud and abrupt bang sounded out as a fiery ball shot out of the small vial. The unicorn jumped slightly while holding the smoking vial steady. The small bottle held much more kick than she expected, especially considering the only point of comparison she had was the strobes and their minimal recoil.

Meanwhile, everyone else was watching the orange fireball as it blazed down the corridor at lightning fast speeds. The ball suddenly hit something in midair with a loud thwack before burning out and vanishing from sight.

“Ack!” The group heard a stallion grunting in pain before the sound of a body hitting the floor sounded out. Everyone stared ahead with their jaws agape in amazement as a shadowy ripple appeared on the floor. The shadows faded into view before vanishing from sight, leaving a familiar red stallion lying on the ground on his side.

“Especially considering he isn’t a ghost at all.” Twilight finished her previous thought while staring ahead with a triumphant smirk.

“Shadow Mist?!” Everyone acquainted with the red stallion stated in unison with surprised tones. Shadow Mist groaned in pain while looking up at the group of ponies. He was surprised to hear them mentioning him by name.

“What the hell? You can see me?!” Shadow Mist stated in shock while looking down at himself. Much to his dismay, his body was in fact visible for all to see. Twilight blew the smoke off of the tip of the vial before twirling it around in the air for show.

“A little surprise our friends whipped up for us. They let us negate the use of shadow magic in anyone affected.” The purple unicorn explained with a slight smirk of pride. The others glanced back to their bags with an amazed expression. They had totally forgotten about the six vials that Brimstoke and his team had given them. To think that they had such powerful weapons on them the whole time made them feel the same thing their purple friend was feeling.

“That’s just freaking great… like this day couldn’t get any worse.” Shadow Mist groaned in annoyance while looking to his side where the fireball impacted him. There was a small amount of smoke rising off of a circular scorch mark on his fur.

“That’s what you get for causing this mess. Now then… *ahem* Get him boys!” Rainbow Dash said with a playful smirk while looking to the two guards. She had always wanted to say something like that in a situation like this.

The two unicorn guards looked ahead at the red stallion and smirked slightly in agreement. They started walking towards Shadow Mist, until they were suddenly interrupted by Applejack barging past them with an even more determined expression on her face.

“Oh no… if anyone is getting first licks on this creep, it’s going to be me.” Applejack stated in a resolute tone while marching forward on her own. She felt like she owed the red stallion some payback for what he did back at the book store, and she also felt like she would be doing honors to Neon Streak since she couldn’t get her hooves on the red stallion like she desperately wanted.

“You try to kill me and Neon, you let loose a bunch of ghosts that trapped us here and killed innocent ponies, and now you’re attacking my friends?! You’ve got nerve in you boy, Ah’ll give you that.” Applejack said in a livid tone while walking up to the red stallion. Shadow Mist gulped nervously and tried to scoot backwards away from the upset farm pony.

“Umm… uh…” Shadow Mist muttered to himself nervously. He started sweating as he watched his doom approaching him with a Stetson hat on.

“When Ah’m through with you, you’re gonna wish those ghosts would have killed you t- Sweet apple fritters!” Applejack yelped in shock and recoiled as she saw the state the red stallion was in. Twilight and the others gasped in horror as they noticed what their orange friend had noticed.

Shadow Mist’s entire left eye was caked in blood. Although the eye itself was clenched shut, it was easily apparent that it had been damaged irreparably. Not only was one of his eyes bloodied and damaged, but part of one of his front legs was missing. Everything above the wrist on his left arm was completely gone, and in its place was a bloody stump. Strangely, even though the wound was gushing blood, it looked like it had only recently started bleeding. Shadow Mist’s injured eye started seeping blood down his face as well; almost like the injuries had been closed up temporarily but were now open and free to bleed.

“Wh… w-what happened to you?!” Applejack asked in a mortified tone while backing up in disgust. Everyone else was reacting to the horrible sight in their own way.

Rarity had fainted, only to be caught by one of the unicorn guards. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked like they were going to be sick and scream at the same time. Rainbow Dash and Twilight also felt like they were going to be sick, although they managed to quell these feelings while only letting out a few dry heaves.

“I think I know what happened…” Twilight said while eyeing the gruesome injuries uneasily. “Rainbow Dash and I heard a scream when we tried coming back to the foyer from the library. We found a room full of blood and a red severed hoof on the floor, along with a bloody axe.” She explained while trying not to vomit from remembering the details.

“A bloody axe?” Applejack asked with a chill running up her spine. “He must have been attacked by the same ghost that came after us.” She said while glancing down to the white mare still recovering from her fainting spell.

“Actually, I got jumped by two of them… the woman was there too. She was the one who stabbed my eye.” Shadow Mist chimed in with a painful grimace as his wounds started bleeding and throbbing again.

“How are you still alive? You should have bled to death from the look of those wounds.” Twilight asked with a cringe as she envisioned the woman in white plunging her bloody scissors into her own eye.

“I’ve been keeping my wounds from bleeding with my shadow magic, but now I’m screwed… so thanks for that.” Shadow Mist said with a snarky tone.

“As much as I want to say serves you right, I don’t think even you deserve to die like that. Is there anything you can do to help him Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously while turning to the purple mare. As much anger as she felt towards the red stallion, she knew that it would be better for him to spend the rest of his life in jail for his crimes rather than to bleed out in a few minutes.

“I’ll see what I can do…” Twilight shrugged while stepping towards the red stallion. As she approached Shadow Mist, she noticed a few items lying on the ground next to him. One of the items was a bag, and the other was an odd looking syringe full of blood.

“What the…? What the hay is this?” Twilight asked in a confused and slightly disturbed tone while picking up the syringe with her magic.

“*Gasp* you drained my blood?! You… you… I don’t even know what to call you!” Pinkie fumed in outrage as she stared at the red fluid inside of the syringe while holding the back of her neck.

“Hey… is that what you did to me earlier?! What the hay is wrong with you?!” Rainbow Dash said in a mortified and angry tone while glaring at the red stallion. Shadow Mist watched as Twilight and her outraged friends stepped closer to him with upset expressions. He wasn’t sure which pony he was scared of more.

Suddenly, Shadow Mist could feel the familiar presence of shadow energy inside of his body. To test if this was true, he discretely tried to channel the energy to his hoof. Feeling the familiar buildup of shadow magic on his hoof made him smirk imperceptibly as he started coming up with a plan of escape.

“Yep… I collected your blood. Not just you two actually… I have all of your blood. The only reason you two felt the needle is because the charm on it wore off.” Shadow Mist explained with a slight chuckle. Twilight and the others were dumbfounded by the stallion’s bold words.

“What?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in utter confusion and shock. She wasn’t sure if she was more confused that the stallion just gave away such information, or upset that he had collected all of her friends’ blood for some nefarious purpose.

“You… you collected our blood too?!” Twilight asked in a shocked tone. She suddenly felt very ill knowing that the red stallion had gotten close enough to her and her friends to stab a needle into everyone’s necks. What if he had more lethal intentions than just collecting blood? He could have just waltzed up to any one of the six mares and killed them with some kind of poison without them even knowing.

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it. I would have gotten away with it too, but you know how charms are… they always wear off a lot sooner than you’d like them too.” Shadow Mist said with a devilish smirk while maneuvering his weight off of his good arm.

Twilight glanced down suspiciously at the stallion’s front arm, only to see a faint glow of purple enveloping it. She widened her eyes in shock as she realized why the red pony was suddenly being so cocky.

“Everyone get down!” The purple mare yelled urgently while backing up and diving to the floor. As Shadow Mist raised his arm and pointed it forward at the group, the same flaming shadows that all of the other hooded ponies had used fully engulfed his hoof.

The ponies acted as quick as they could in their confused and shocked state. Once they processed Twilight’s words and what the red stallion was doing, they dove for the ground and covered their heads with their arms.

Shadow Mist quickly grabbed the falling syringe with his shadow magic as Twilight let go of it. He then levitated it down to the floor to get it out of the way of what he was about to do.

*BANG*

A loud burst of air rang out in the ponies’ ears as a surge of dark purple energy whizzed above their heads. They felt their hair being blown back violently from the force of the apparent explosion. They buried their heads in their arms and tried to dig themselves in to prevent themselves from being blown away. If they had been standing upright, they would have been blown off of their feet just from the impact of the energy, let alone what else the purple wave would have done to them.

When the burst of air whizzing over her head died down, Twilight flinched one eye open to look in front of her. Among the dust and debris settling to the floor, she could see the remainder of a cloud of darkness as it vanished from view. Shadow Mist, the bag on the floor, and the syringe were all missing from sight, but the purple mare wasn’t about to give up.

“He’s getting away!” Twilight exclaimed while quickly getting to her feet and readied the vial of shadow magic repellent in her magic. She pointed it down the hallway and rapidly pushed the button on the base.

Twilight flinched as another loud bang sounded out while fireball after fireball flew down the hallway at odd angles. She could barely shoot straight from the recoil of the weapon, but some of the blasts sailed down the hallway in a straight enough line to hit the fleeing stallion.

As she kept firing, the vial started smoking and vibrating in the unicorn’s hooves. It felt like it would break apart at any minute. In fact, small cracks started forming on the glass casing as the volatile liquid inside kept spitting out violent burst after violent burst.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the fireballs failed to hit anything as they raced down the hallway before vanishing from sight. Twilight stopped firing the startling weapon and took a few steps forward in a desperate attempt at finding the stallion.

“Dangit… he’s gone. We had him!” Twilight fumed angrily while glaring at the vial in front of her. If the charm hadn’t worn off so quickly, or if the vial had functioned correctly, then they would still have their prisoner.

“I can’t believe this! And it’s all because of this stupid piece of junk!” Twilight groaned while tossing the vial down the hallway in frustration. The already fractured glass shattered on impact with the floor, causing the liquid inside to splash onto the ground.

“Calm down Twilight… Ah know how you feel.” Applejack tried to comfort her upset friend while also staring down the hallway with a frustrated expression herself.

“Who cares if the charm is broken?! Let’s go after him!” Rainbow Dash suggested in a determined tone while stepping forward. The pegasus was getting more riled up by the minute as she hoped that her friends would agree with her.

“A broken charm is going to be the least of your worries in a few minutes.” The group heard Shadow Mist’s voice calling out from down the hallway, even though they still couldn’t see him.

“Stop rubbing it in you coward!” Rainbow Dash yelled down the dark corridor while picking up a small piece of wood off the ground and throwing it down the hallway in the hopes of hitting the stallion. The wood clattered to the floor after sailing out of view into the darkness, creating a hollow feeling of defeat in the cyan mare.

“I would stop making noise and start running if I were you. We made a lot of commotion just now, and the walls have ears. I wouldn’t want to be here if he shows up... too bad you can’t turn invisible.” Shadow Mist said with a warm chuckle. The stallion’s laughter grew fainter until it died off, signifying that he was walking away.

“Grr…” Rainbow Dash growled angrily while gritting her teeth with rage. She couldn’t believe that she had allowed a crippled prisoner with one eye to escape so easily.

“What the hay was he talking about?” Twilight asked in a confused tone while pondering over the stallion’s words.

“I don’t know… I don’t see any ears on the wall, so maybe he was just crazy.” Pinkie stated while examining the walls around her suspiciously. Normally the others would at least give a confused look at the eccentric mare’s behavior, but they were far too annoyed to care right now.

“Whatever. I don’t think he was doing anything other than trying to freak us out. I’ll bet he’s going to be the one scared stiff when I get my hooves on him.” Rainbow Dash said in a determined tone while punching at the air and pretending that it was the red stallion. It was incredibly easy to do so considering he could turn invisible.

Meanwhile, while everyone else was calming down for various reasons, Fluttershy was still thinking about Shadow Mist’s words. Perhaps she was still tense and afraid from when he attacked the group, but the pegasus was nervous as she thought about the stallion’s ominous statement.

“I wouldn’t want to be here if he shows up… is he talking about that human?” Fluttershy muttered to herself uneasily while turning and walking to the back of the group. She already knew that Shadow Mist was likely referring to one of the ghosts, but she saw Brimstoke eliminating the only ghost she knew to be in the basement. At least, she hoped that the man with the glasses was gone for good.

While her friends were unwinding from their brief encounter and talking amongst themselves, Fluttershy sat at the back of the group and tried her best to calm down herself. Ever since she had agreed to come with her friends on their search she had been worried that she would run into another ghost, but Shadow Mist’s words had only served to increase this fear tenfold. More than anything, Fluttershy just wanted to leave the mansion.

Suddenly, the faint sound of footsteps started approaching from down the hallway. Fluttershy perked her ears up and stared down the hallway with fearful eyes. She was sitting on the edge of the light being provided by the four unicorns, so she couldn’t see anything in front of her.

Fluttershy backed up nervously as she noticed a blurry shape taking form in front of her. The footsteps stopped as the shape started becoming clearer. The yellow pegasus felt her heart stop momentarily as she recognized the figure standing before her.

“Girls…” Fluttershy squeaked fearfully while desperately trying to get the attention of her friends. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the utter terror of the yellow mare behind them.

“What’s wrong Flutter-” Twilight started to ask her friend what was bothering her, until she turned around and froze mid-sentence at what she saw standing down the hallway. Everyone else gasped in shock and stared ahead with fearful expressions as they too noticed what had spooked the yellow mare.

A transparent human man with brown hair, blue eyes, and circular framed glasses was standing in the hallway with his arms held behind his back. He had a relatively blank expression on his face, although it still held a certain sinister quality to it.

“Hello dearie…” The ghostly man said while looking directly at Fluttershy with his icy stare. “Did you miss me?” He said while letting a devilish smirk creep across his face.

“No!” Fluttershy yelped fearfully, more so out of denial than in response to the human’s question. She backpedaled until she ran into Applejack and tried to keep going. Her entire body was shaking and she looked like she was going to break down crying any minute. The others had never seen the yellow mare so terrified before in their years of knowing her.

“Leave her alone.” Applejack said while stepping in front of the pegasus defensively.

“Yeah, if you want her you’re going to have to get through us.” Rainbow Dash said while joining the orange mare in standing in front of Fluttershy. Twilight and the others followed suit in standing their ground against the ghostly human.

“Oh my… I didn’t think that there would be this many of you.” The man stated in a surprised tone. “I guess I’ll just have to take you all with me then.” He added in an almost disturbingly serious tone.

“Girls, are you with me?” Twilight asked while readying her fire place poker for battle. She looked beside her to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash readying their strobes while everyone else simply prepared for battle with what they had.

“I wouldn’t dream of missing this.” Rainbow Dash said while glancing behind her at the nervous pegasus. She wanted to make sure that this spirit payed for what it did to Fluttershy and Neon Streak.

“Fire!” Applejack yelled fiercely while pointing her strobe at the apparition and rapidly pushing the button. Rainbow Dash followed her example by opening fire on the ghost as fast as she could.

Before the flurry of energy bolts could hit the human, he flickered and vanished from sight with a devilish smile on his face. Knowing that their enemy was still nearby, everyone backed together and formed a protective circle around each other.

Fluttershy looked around nervously while her friends prepared to battle the spirit. Even Pinkie Pie was trying to help fend off the ghost, despite her lack of a weapon or even magic to aid her. The yellow mare got up from the floor and darted her eyes around anxiously. Even if she couldn’t fight, she wanted to help her friends as much as possible. Suddenly, Fluttershy noticed a blur of motion behind one of the guards. She gasped in surprise when she saw the ghostly human appearing out of thin air.

“Look out!” Fluttershy exclaimed while pointing behind the brown stallion. The guard spun around just in time to see the man reaching for him quickly.

“Ack!” The guard yelped in surprise as the human grabbed him by the throat with surprising strength. Before anyone could react, the ghostly man picked up the full grown stallion by his neck and tossed him behind him like he was a small child. The others watched as the guard flew down the hallway before colliding with the ground and rolling from the impact.

Taking matters into her own hooves, Twilight glared at the spirit while clutching the iron pole in her magical grip. The unicorn let out a fierce cry while sending the fire poker sailing through the air towards the human.

Just before the iron pole collided with him, the human swiftly ducked to the side. Twilight quickly spun the fire poker around to counter the spirit’s evasion of her first strike, only to watch in dismay as the human dodged her strike again.

“Take this!” Rainbow Dash yelled while pointing her strobe at the ghost and firing a few precise shots. The ghostly human vanished from sight again, leaving the bolts of energy to slam into the guard further down the hallway as he tried to get up. Although the bolts of light harmlessly exploded into a shower of sparkles on contact with the stallion, he still flinched and tried to cover his face from the bolts.

“Sorry…” Rainbow Dash said while cringing sympathetically at the annoyed guard. However, the two couldn’t dwell on their mishap for very long as they returned their attention to searching for the human.

Suddenly, Applejack and Rainbow Dash heard a noise behind them. They turned around only to see the ghostly human standing in front of them with a pensive expression on his pale face. He seemed like he wasn’t even breaking a sweat, not that he could if he wanted to.

“Get him!” Applejack said while aiming her strobe forward and firing.

“I’m trying!” Rainbow Dash replied while firing her own strobe at the spirit. Despite the amount of shots being fired at the human, he was somehow able to dodge every one. The man moved side to side and ducked out of the way of each bolt of light the two mares sent his way. It was like he was a blur of motion that could be everywhere at once.

“Your friend caught me off guard with those toys you’re holding right now. I must say, they pack quite the punch… it’s too bad for you that I’m not going to be so easy to hit now that I know about your tricks.” The human said with a slight chuckle.

Before the ponies could think of some other tactic to use, the human reached out his arms towards them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash suddenly felt their bodies being lifted into the air against their will, seemingly by the spirit’s influence.

“Hey, what gives?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a nervous tone while trying to steady herself in the air. It felt very strange for her to be flying without the use of her wings.

“Put us down!” Applejack said in what she hoped would be a threatening tone.

“Heh… why would I want to do that? You’re much easier to fight if you’re floating in the air.” The human said with a devilish snicker.

“Uh, guys! We could use some help here!” Rainbow Dash pleaded while turning her head to face her friends. Twilight and the others were watching the two floating mares with shocked expressions.

“Hang on girls, we’re coming!” Pinkie announced while racing forward to try and help her friends. The pink mare jumped up and grabbed Rainbow Dash by her legs in an attempt at getting her back on the floor, but the pegasus wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Didn’t your parents ever teach you to mind your own business?” The man said in an annoyed tone while watching the pink pony trying to rescue her friends. Before any more of the group could try to help their two incapacitated friends, the human opened his palm and pushed it towards Pinkie Pie, sending a wave of invisible energy hurdling towards her.

“Agh!” Pinkie yelped in pain as she was ripped from Rainbow Dash and sent flying backwards. She groaned in pain as she hit the floor and bent at an odd angle while she continued rolling. The pink mare nearly hit the others as she bounced along the ground before skidding to a halt.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash cried fearfully as she turned her head to watch the pink mare. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy raced to their injured friend to check on her.

“Pinkie, are you ok?!” Twilight asked in a frantic tone while gently placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. Noticing no response from the pink mare, the unicorn gently rolled her over, only to discover that she had been knocked unconscious from hitting her head against the floor.

“Horsefeathers… she’s out cold.” Twilight muttered in an uneasy tone before shifting her attention back to her two friends being suspended in the air.

“Put us down!” Applejack yelled while struggling against the human’s invisible grip. The ghostly man simply chuckled to himself while watching the two ponies trying to break free. He was so focused on toying with the two mares that he wasn’t paying attention to the ponies behind the floating pair.

“Twilight, we need to do something before that scoundrel hurts Applejack and Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said in a concerned tone.

“I know! But we can’t do anything if we can’t hit him!” Twilight replied nervously while watching the two struggling mares uneasily. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were trying to maneuver their arms into a good firing position, but their limbs were being held in place by the spirit. And without the strobes to help the group out, they were running out of options to combat the ghost.

“If only you could hit him with that fire poker, but he’s too fast… and we can’t risk missing or he might hurt the others.” Rarity whispered to the purple mare in a distraught tone. Meanwhile, Twilight was thinking of a way to effectively battle the spirit.

“I think I might have a plan.” Twilight said while waving the two guards over to her. Once the two stallions joined her, the purple mare huddled her four companions close to discuss her plan of action.

“I need you guys to distract him for a minute. I’m going to teleport behind him and use the fire poker on him.” Twilight explained while glancing back at the human anxiously. The longer the malevolent spirit had her friends in his clutches, the more fearful she became.

“How do we distract him?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“You can sit this one out Fluttershy… I need unicorns for this plan to work.” Twilight said while looking between Rarity and the two guards. “I need you guys to fire some energy blasts at him. They probably won’t do anything to him, so I need you to not actually hit him… just make it convincing enough to make him think you’re trying to attack him. Oh… and also, don’t shoot at him too quickly. If he starts dodging like he did before, I won’t be able to lay a hoof on him.” She explained her plan and looked over her small band of troops with a hopeful expression of confidence.

“I think we can manage that.” Rarity said while turning to the two guards for confirmation. The two stallions nodded in agreement before putting on more serious expressions.

“Ok guys… let’s move.” Twilight said before lighting up her horn and channeling her energy into a teleportation spell. Rarity and the others watched as the purple mare disappeared into a flash of light before appearing a ways behind the ghostly man to avoid making noise. Twilight nodded to her friends before clutching the fire pole and waiting for them to act.

Deciding to be the first one to attack, Rarity stepped forward and charged up her horn. She might not have been as magically gifted as the purple unicorn, but when her friends were in danger, she would put her all into any magical spell she knew.

“Hey! Leave my friends alone you ghastly ghoul!” Rarity yelled fiercely while firing a bolt of energy towards the human. Trying to miss something while also trying to make it close enough to be convincing was a hard task, but thankfully the bolt flew right past the human’s side.

The man was slightly surprised to be attacked by the white mare. He looked ahead to see her and the two guards shooting at him with their horns. As he dodged side to side casually, he smirked and laughed at the apparent incompetency of the trio.

“Hahahaha… is this really the best you can do? It’s almost like you aren’t even trying.” The ghost stated in an amused tone.

Meanwhile, Twilight was slowly creeping up on the human with her weapon at the ready. She was a little nervous to be approaching a ghost as energy blasts flew past her a lot closer than she would have liked, but she had to stay calm and keep moving.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash noticed the purple mare approaching the human. Twilight silently brought her hoof up to her lips to signal the pair to be quiet. The two mares didn’t nod for fear of the human catching on, but they did as they were instructed and acted like the unicorn wasn’t there.

Rarity and the two guards fired in sporadic bursts in an attempt at holding the human’s attention. Their fire rate had decreased considerably now that they also had to worry about hitting Twilight with a stray beam. They were nervously watching the ghost for any signs that he was on to their rouse, and unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be as convinced as he once was.

“Wait a minute… you aren’t trying, are you?” The man asked suspiciously while glancing to his side. Before he could turn around, Twilight jumped forward and swung the fire place poker down at his body.

“Hyah!” Twilight yelled fiercely while putting all of her strength into the initial blow. Unfortunately for her, the human dodged to the side before turning around and glaring at her with his icy stare.

“Thought you could trick me did you?” The human asked with a snarky tone of voice. Twilight snorted in irritation and narrowed her eyes to match the ghost’s glare before letting out another yell and swinging the iron pole sideways.

The others watched as Twilight tried her best to match the human’s speed. No matter how fast she swung or twirled the fire place poker, the spirit seemed to be just one step ahead of her attacks. Still, she continued on with the vigor and ferocity that came with a pony fighting for her own life and the lives of her friends. Suddenly, the human pushed his hand forward and sent the unicorn flying off of her feet backwards.

“Ah!” Twilight yelped in fright as she hurdled backwards a short distance before landing on her back. She ignored the throbbing pain in her back and looked ahead to see the human chuckling at her while standing between the two floating mares.

“Heh… you really do live up to your reputation Twilight Sparkle. I’ve heard a lot of talk about you and your friends in these past few years, and you are held in high regard throughout the land for your bravery and valor. But down here, you and your pathetic friends are just toys for my amusement.” The human said while raising his arms and holding them out to the side. Suddenly, Applejack and Rainbow Dash started shaking slightly in the air.

“Whoa! What’s going on?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a nervous tone while trying to keep herself still in the air.

Before anyone could react, the man clapped his hands together and the two floating ponies were sent flying into each other. Applejack and Rainbow Dash offered a brief grunt of pain as their heads smacked together with a cringe worthy thud.

Twilight and the others gasped in shock as they watched their friends plummet to the floor like sacks of potatoes. The two mares settled on the ground and remained motionless save for the constant rise and fall of their chests to indicate that they were still alive.

“Applejack! Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled in horror as she stared at her two unconscious friends. She was going to glare at the human for hurting the two ponies like that, but she suddenly felt her body lifting into the air slowly.

“Whoa… hey! No! Put me down!” Twilight cried fearfully while scrambling to get back to the floor. She managed to turn over in the air and reach the floor with her legs, but she was quickly lifted higher to the point where she couldn’t touch the floor if she tried.

“Twilight!” Rarity and Fluttershy yelled in unison while watching the purple mare getting lifted into the air by the sinister human. Before anyone could do anything to try and help the floating unicorn, the human flicked his outstretched arm behind him, sending the unicorn sailing forward at rapid speeds. She didn’t even have time to think of a spell she could use to break her fall amid her panic.

Twilight flew directly over the human and past her friends, screaming the whole way until she hit the floor and started rolling. The unicorn groaned in pain with each impact to the floor sending shooting pains around her body.

Meanwhile, the human was watching the ponies with a pensive expression on his face. He looked down to the fire place poker at his feet and picked it up with his ghostly influence, being especially careful to not let it make contact with his body.

“An iron fire place poker eh? I guess you ponies aren’t hopeless after all.” The human muttered with an amused chuckle. The ponies either didn’t hear him or didn’t care as they were focused on the wounded unicorn.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and the two guards rushed over to the injured mare and gasped in shock as they saw the battered state she was in. Her hair was disheveled and her fur was covered in scuff marks, she had a few black and blue areas that would likely form into bruises in the future, and she had a general expression of suffering and exhaustion on her face.

“Twilight darling! Are you ok?!” Rarity asked in a concerned tone as she watched Twilight trying to move around.

“Ugh… gah…” The purple mare groaned painfully as she tried to sluggishly get up. Every movement she made only brought her more agony as her sore limbs refused to support her weight. Finally she decided to stay on her side to recover for a moment before trying to get up again.

While the two mares were worrying about their injured friend, the two guards turned around and glared at the ghostly human. They had witnessed the ghost wiping out the six mares one by one, but they were done standing by and waiting for the others to take action. Now that Twilight was out of action, they were the leading authority on battle tactics.

Lighting up their horns, the two stallions charged forward bravely. The human took one look at the approaching guards and sighed in disappointment. Making a swatting motion with his hands, the ghost used his influence to pick up the two stallions and slam them into the walls face first in one swift motion.

Twilight and the others looked over to the unconscious guards and gasped in horror. Their numbers were dropping like flies, and their bubble of light was decreasing with each unicorn they lost, decreasing their morale even further.

“We have to do something…” Twilight groaned while working her way to a seated position and surveying the situation. She looked at the unconscious bodies of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, only to notice two small vials at their feet.

“*Gasp* the strobes!” Twilight exclaimed while pointing forward at the two vials. If they could get the strobes back, then maybe they could stand a chance.

“I’m on it!” Rarity said while lighting up her horn with a determined expression. She enveloped the two vials in her magical grip and lifted them into the air. But before the white mare could bring the vials closer to her, she felt them stop dead in their tracks as something powerful tugged in the opposite direction as her.

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked nervously while staring ahead at the two motionless vials.

“I can’t move them… something is… hrk… pulling on them.” Rarity said while straining to make the vials move over to her.

“Not so fast dearie. I think it’s time for you to stop playing with your toys for tonight.” The human said while holding out his hand. Much to the horror of the on looking ponies, the man clenched his fist shut, causing the two glass vials to shatter into an explosion of glass pieces and liquid.

“But… but…” Twilight stammered in a fearful daze while looking at her two friends. They were even more scared than she was, and were looking to her for what they should do next. Unfortunately, the purple mare couldn’t be the rock of confidence and leadership that they needed right now.

“I suppose you’ll want this next, right?” The human asked while pointing at the fire place poker levitating in the air. The three mares grew uneasy as a devilish smirk appeared on his face.

“Maybe you should take it if you want it so bad!” The man exclaimed while doing a pitching motion with his arm. The fire place poker shot forward and spun vertically as it sailed across the hallway in the blink of an eye. The iron pole was moving so fast that the ponies barely had time to react before it smacked into Rarity’s head.

A small trickle of blood sprayed out as the iron pole made contact with the unicorn. Rarity’s head bent backwards and her legs gave out as the blow instantly knocked her out. Twilight and Fluttershy watched their friend collapse to the floor next to them at the same time as the fire place poker, creating a combined thud and clang that rendered them mortified.

“Rarity!” Twilight and Fluttershy yelled while staring at the unconscious pony in shock. Rarity had a small amount of blood trickling out of a cut on her head, but the major concern was that she was now out cold just like the others, possibly even with a concussion.

“Twilight… what do we do?” Fluttershy asked while on the verge of tears while clinging to her only remaining friend and the only remaining source of light in the hallway. Everywhere else around them was dark, cementing the fact that they were alone and creating a gripping sense of fear that crippled them.

“I don’t know... I’m thinking!” Twilight exclaimed in a panic while trying to come up with a plan.

“Don’t leave me! I don’t want to be alone with him.” Fluttershy said while wrapping her arms around the unicorn and clinging to her. Twilight could feel the pegasus shaking fearfully as she shut down and entered into a state of childish terror.

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head dear...” The human said in a sinister tone while holding out his arm. He made a grabbing motion and moved his hand to the side as if he were moving something, but the purple mare couldn’t tell what he was trying to do, at least until she felt a small prick in the back of her neck.

“Ow!” Fluttershy yelped in pain while clutching the back of her own neck. The two mares locked eyes with each other and looked down to the floor as they heard two distinct clinks. Their eyes widened as they saw two spent needles rolling away from them.

“You aren’t going to be alone. After all, I have enough tables for all of you.” The human finished his grim sentence with a cold chuckle.

“N-no!” Twilight shook her head while scooting backwards. Fluttershy joined the purple mare in trying to distance herself from the human as he started walking forward.

“Twilight, I feel drowsy.” Fluttershy said in a fearful tone while fighting the urge to sleep.

“Me too…” Twilight said in an empty tone of agreement. She was too scared to try and think of a reassuring sentiment to cheer herself and the pegasus up. She could feel her body shivering as it finally sank in that she had lost.

“Don’t try to fight it… you won’t get very far.” The man said while slowing his pace to watch the two mares wriggling on the ground. Twilight and Fluttershy slowly crawled backwards in a vain attempt at escaping the ghost. They could feel their eyes drooping shut as their bodies grew weaker and the world around them grew more distant.

“Nugh… guh…” Fluttershy groaned as she used her front legs to scoot herself backwards. She looked to the side to see Twilight struggling to stay awake. As she reached out to try and tell the unicorn to fight harder, she fell backwards and flopped her arms like a limp puppet.

“Fluttershy…” Twilight said in a drowsy tone while trying to reach out to her friend. As she stopped to try to make an effort at rescuing the pegasus, she realized that her body was completely shutting down, almost like her movement was the only thing keeping her going.

Twilight lowered herself to the floor and rolled her head to the side. She could see that Fluttershy was already unconscious. As she used the last of her energy to roll her head back upwards, she managed to catch a glimpse of the human smiling down at her with his wicked grin before her eyes shut against her will and blackness filled her mind.