Several days passed as the ponies moved on with their lives. Despite the reprieve in activity from the hooded ponies, the group was preoccupied with making preparations for the upcoming funerals. Twilight and the others traveled to Canterlot to attend Neon Streak’s funeral first. The sky was grey and gloomy as the ponies stood in the cemetery. The cloudy day and cold breeze served as a grim accent to the proceedings.

Everyone watched with somber expressions as a team of guards lowered the casket into an open grave. Neon’s family, an older couple, wept openly near the front of the group. Twilight, her friends, Princess Celestia, and the remaining members of Spirit looked down sadly as they held back their own tears. An hour came and went as everyone grieved openly for the green mare. Eventually, only Twilight and her group were left in the graveyard while everyone else departed.

Glitterball, Sunspot, and Glimmer Shine walked up to the newly filled grave and bowed their heads respectfully. While the three ponies were mourning their loss, Twilight took a look around at her own group of friends.

Pinkie Pie was bawling her eyes out while leaning on Rainbow Dash for support. The cyan pegasus was trying to hide her own tears, but her emotions finally got the best of her. Applejack and Rarity were looking at the grieving team of ponies with sad expressions. Fluttershy, who was perhaps taking it the worst of all, was staring off into the distance with a sorrowful expression.

“*Sigh*” Twilight shook her head and frowned sadly. She had never seen her friends so sad in her time with them, and she perfectly understood why. Still, she felt like she needed to at least make an attempt at lifting their spirits.

“How are you holding up Fluttershy?” Twilight asked curiously while walking over to the yellow mare and sitting down. Fluttershy took a moment to snap out of her sorrowful daze. She looked over to the unicorn next to her and sighed in a dejected manner.

“Not too good I’m afraid.” Fluttershy said while looking down sadly.

“I don’t think any of us are really…” Twilight said in an understanding tone.

“Hey… where’s Tom?” Fluttershy asked in a curious tone while looking around for the human. She hadn’t noticed him during the funeral either, and she was starting to get worried.

Twilight looked around with a surprised expression for her human friend. She suddenly noticed the blue suited slayer leaning up against a tree in the distance. He seemed to be looking off in the distance with a gloomy expression just like everyone else was.

“There he is.” Twilight said while pointing to the human. Fluttershy looked over at the tree where the boy was standing with a surprised expression.

“Is he ok?” Fluttershy asked in a concerned tone.

“I’m not sure… he kind of had a meltdown back at the mansion. I think he blames himself for everything that happened.” Twilight explained sadly.

“That’s awful… I never thought that he would put all of that strain on himself.” Fluttershy said in a concerned tone while looking at the human with soft eyes.

“Still, he did volunteer to help recover the bodies. Maybe that’s just his way of coping with something he thinks is his fault.” Twilight said in a sad tone while thinking about Tom’s outburst from the mansion. “I think I’m going to go check on him.” She stated while getting up and walking away. Fluttershy watched the purple mare as she walked across the cemetery to reach the human.

As Twilight walked up to the tree that Tom was leaning on, she noticed that he was staring off into the distance. He seemed to be contemplating something, and whatever it was seemed to be troubling to him.

“Tom… are you ok? You’ve been back here since the funeral started.” Twilight said in a concerned tone.

“Well… I never liked funerals, not that anyone does. Besides… I don’t exactly have anything black to wear.” Tom said while flashing an empty smile.

“You didn’t answer my question.” The unicorn said with a troubled expression. Tom merely sighed and looked back to the group of ponies over by Neon’s grave. The human spent a few moments in silent contemplation as he watched Glimmer Shine and the others. Twilight was staring to get worried about him. She would have spoken again, until he turned to face her once more.

“Do Equestrians believe in the afterlife?” Tom asked in a somberly curious manner.

“W-what?” Twilight stammered slightly in surprise. The odd and sudden question caught her off guard to say the least.

“You’re a scientific mind, so I doubt that you do… but surely you ponies must have a form of heaven. I heard Neon’s parents praying for her to rest peacefully back at the funeral… what do you pray to?” Tom asked in a somber tone.

“I… umm.” Twilight looked away for a moment and tried to think. The only religion in Equestria that she could even think of was focused around Princess Celestia and her sister. A silly notion as far as the purple mare was concerned. She thanked Celestia for every good thing that happened in her life, but she knew it was just an expression. Perhaps some ponies viewed the alicorn as a goddess, but she wasn’t exactly sure about that. After all, gods don’t die, or grieve the loss of siblings.

“I don’t know… I guess we just hope that there is some kind of force of good out there in the universe that will answer our prayers. But I’m not so sure that’s true… even less so in the last few days.” Twilight said with a dejected sigh.

“The sad thing is… I’m not even sure myself anymore. I have memories of a large number of slayers, even down to the first one. I know our powers… I know our weaknesses… I know our purpose… but I don’t know who or what made us. I originally thought there was some kind of powers that be, and that they were trying to balance the evil in the world by adding a little good… but now I just don’t know.” Tom stated with a sad tone. He slid to a seated position against the tree and looked down in a somber state of contemplation.

Twilight looked at the human as he stared at the ground sadly. She couldn’t help but to think about the first time she met him. She was alone and scared, about to be ripped apart by monsters she didn’t yet understand, and she pleaded for someone to save her. And somehow, the universe answered her by sending a boy in a blue suit that would puzzle and confuse her to no end. Something sent her new friend forward in time, and whatever that something was, it sent him to rescue her. Perhaps that wasn’t its primary goal, but it did it anyway. The unicorn was a mare of science, and coincidences were plentiful and explained a lot of quandaries like this, but somehow she doubted that was the case.

“I might not be able to answer that for you, but I can say this with utmost confidence.” Twilight said while putting a reassuring hoof on the boy’s shoulder. “Slayers were created for a reason… to help save the world from evil. You were sent forward in time to help save Equestria from evils that we couldn’t understand. You could have been sent forward to any moment in our time, but you were sent just far enough to save me out in the Everfree Forest.” She said with a warm smile. The human looked up and smiled slightly as he recalled his first night in Equestria.

“I guess I was.” Tom said with a happier tone.

“I don’t know if I’m important enough to have a slayer from the past teleported forward in time to protect, but I’m definitely glad it happened. Whatever powers that be there are out there, I think they are good natured.” Twilight said in a sincere tone.

“Heh… maybe you’re right.” Tom said while managing a genuine smile. Twilight smiled in return as she succeeded in raising the human’s spirits.

Suddenly the pair noticed footsteps coming from behind them. They looked over to see Glimmer Shine and his two teammates approaching them. The three ponies still had somber expressions, but they looked like they were past their initial stage of grieving.

“Hey, where are you guys going?” Twilight asked curiously, causing the trio to pause suddenly.

“We’re going to head back to our hotel… After that, I don’t know where we’re going.” Glimmer Shine said with a depressed sigh.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you staying in Canterlot?” Twilight asked in a confused tone.

“Well… we’re staying until all of the funerals are over. After that we’re probably going our separate ways again. Glitter and I might go back to the royal guards, and Sunspot might go back to the Wonderbolts if they will take her.” Glimmer Shine explained sadly.

“What?! You can’t be serious!” The voice of Rainbow Dash cut in to the conversation. Everyone looked over to see the cyan mare and the others walking closer to them.

“You guys can’t just pack up and go home. You’re a team of monster hunters! Equestria needs you!” Rainbow Dash said in a shocked tone.

“Equestria needs the hooded ponies to go away. Most if not all of the monsters that have popped up in the past few weeks have been because of them. The princess is taking over the hunt for the rest of Raven Feather’s bunch, so there isn’t much need for us. Besides… there isn’t much of a team left between the three of us.” Glimmer Shine explained sadly. Everyone was left in a shocked state of silence as they watched the three ponies hanging their heads in a depressed manner.

Twilight and the others had been through so much with the team of ponies in the past few weeks. They had saved each other’s lives countless times, learned to call each other friends, and experienced loss together throughout their short career as monster hunters. They couldn’t believe that they were even considering disbanding after everything that had happened.

“Hey Tom…” Sunspot spoke up while contemplating something sadly. “Back at the mansion… when I told you to save Brimstoke… I uh… I didn’t mean to sound so harsh, and I really didn’t mean to make you hurt yourself like that. I just wanted to say sorry.” She said while looking to the human with a remorseful expression. Tom thought to himself for a moment before replying.

“Don’t worry about it. You were pretty high strung back there… I think we all were.” Tom explained somberly.

After a short moment of silence, Glimmer Shine and his two companions somberly walked away. Before they got too far away however, the yellow stallion paused and thought about something. He then turned around and trotted back up to the group.

“Oh, and Tom… thanks again for recovering Pepper’s body for me. You have no idea how much you helped me back there.” Glimmer Shine said in a grateful tone. Back at the mansion when the group was recovering bodies and searching for survivors, he couldn’t bear to see his brother in such a bloody state again. The human was more than happy to retrieve the body for him.

“Don’t mention it… I just wish we could have gotten Luna and Brimstoke’s bodies as well. Have they given an update on when they will clear that debris to get to them?” Tom asked curiously. When they went back to the crawl space to get to the area of the basement where the third symbol was, they found that it had caved in from the house shaking so much.

“Um… not that I know of. I’ll ask the princess whenever we go see her.” Glimmer Shine said while thinking about the matter further.

“And hey… don’t be strangers ok? You guys had better come visit us sometime.” Rainbow Dash said with a slight smirk.

“We’ll be sure to drop by every now and then. We are still friends after all… right girls?” Glimmer asked while turning to his two companions. The two mares nodded eagerly in agreement.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Sunspot said with a confident smirk.

“Of course.” Glitterball said with a friendly smile.

“Well… I guess this is goodbye for now. We’ll see you in a few days.” Glimmer Shine said while waving at the group of mares. Twilight and the others waved at the trio while saying their goodbyes as well. Once farewells had been said and everything else was out of the way, the three ponies walked away again.

Now that they were left alone, the six mares had nothing but their thoughts and the gloomy atmosphere around them to keep them company. Of course they still had their human friend with them, but he didn’t seem like he was in the mood for chatting, not that any of them were either.

“*Sigh*… so what do we do now?” Pinkie asked in a dull tone.

“I think I’m going to go check on the princess. She’s been through a lot recently, and she still has a lot to do.” Twilight said in a concerned tone.

“Mind if we come with you?” Fluttershy asked in a curious tone. Everyone else nodded in agreement to the yellow mare. All of them were concerned for the princess’s wellbeing.

“Sure… that sounds like a good idea. I’m sure she’ll want to talk with all of us before we head back to Ponyville anyway.” Twilight suggested while looking around at her group of friends. With a brief nod of agreement, everyone followed the purple mare as she walked out of the cemetery.

On any normal day, Canterlot was a shining example of the best Equestria and its people had to offer. There were cheerful ponies everywhere you looked, there were bustling shops and businesses, and there were hundreds of unicorns using their magic to improve everyday life. But this day was far from any normal day. Aside from the fact that the hooded ponies were still at large, the announcement that Princess Luna was killed was just made public.

The princess of the night wasn’t exactly the most popular ruler between her and her sister. She was met with mixed responses after her return and purification, ranging from fear, to uncertainty, to outright indifference. But after a while, she had come to be loved for her friendly nature and kind demeanor. So to hear an emotionally drained Princess Celestia explain that her sister was killed during an operation meant to capture the hooded ponies came as a shock to the citizens of Equestria.

Everywhere Twilight and the others looked, they saw gloomy faces and heads hanging low as the inhabitants of Canterlot walked around in droves. It was like the hope and happiness had been sucked out of the entire town.

“Man… this place is a real mope-fest.” Rainbow Dash said while taking note of her somber surroundings.

“Can you blame them? They just heard that Princess Luna is gone… we didn’t exactly take it too well either.” Applejack said with a disheartened shrug.

“I’m not entirely sure I’m still taking it too well.” Rarity said while looking down sadly.

“You and me both… the only way today could get any worse is if it started r-” Rainbow Dash’s sentence was interrupted as she felt a drop of water hitting her in the face. She looked up, only to see and hear a light and cold drizzle starting to come down.

“Oh for crying out loud.” Rainbow Dash said while shaking her head in annoyance.

Meanwhile, while everyone else was expressing their silent irritation at the rainfall, Twilight was looking down with a somber expression while dwelling on her thoughts. She still couldn’t get Luna out of her head. Her panicked expression as she tried to escape from the grip of the amorphous cloud of energy, her desperate pleas for the purple mare to save herself, the entire scene played out in her head over and over again.

Noticing the unicorn looking down with an expression of hopeless sadness on her face, Rarity suddenly remembered what her friend had gone through. She hadn’t talked openly about her experience, but the white mare knew that Twilight was with the princess when she had to be left behind.

“Twilight darling, are you okay?” Rarity asked in a sympathetic tone. Everyone else quickly noticed the gloomy unicorn and remembered why she would be so sad about hearing the princess mentioned. They immediately felt horrible for bringing up the blue alicorn again, which was probably like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound that wasn’t yet healed.

“I can’t stop thinking about what happened back at the mansion. Maybe… maybe I could have done something to help her?” Twilight said to nobody in particular while keeping her attention fixed on the ground.

“Twilight…” Rainbow Dash said before falling silent. She wasn’t used to seeing the purple mare so upset. Normally Twilight was the one to find a silver lining to a situation to cheer everyone else up, not the other way around.

Perhaps noticing her friends’ concerned expressions, Twilight sighed in a dejected manner before looking up. As much as she wanted to dwell on the past, she had more important things to be worrying about. And right now, there were other people that needed to grieve more than she did.

“I’m… I’m ok.” Twilight said while softening her expression and glancing behind her. “I shouldn’t be thinking like that anyway. Besides… Princess Celestia needs us to be strong for her right now.” She said in a confident tone. The others were pleased to see the unicorn lifting her spirits slightly.

“That’s what Ah like to hear. Now let’s hurry up and get out of this rain before we catch cold.” Applejack suggested while shivering slightly from the water drizzling onto her. Everyone nodded in agreement before picking up their pace slightly.

After a few minutes of running through the rain, the group could finally see the palace in the distance. Everyone rushed to close the distance between them and the dry and warm shelter that would come from being inside. Twilight led her small troop up the stairs and through the large front doors into the entryway of Celestia’s castle.

“Brrr! It is freezing out there!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed while shaking the excess water from her body, much to the annoyance of those around her. Still, the others were inclined to agree with the cyan mare given their own shivering bodies.

“Let’s hurry up and find the princess before we get hypothermia.” Twilight suggested while rubbing her shoulders and looking around while thinking where the princess might be. Spotting a guard off to the side of the room, the unicorn decided to ask him for directions.

“Umm… excuse me sir. Could you tell us where the princess is?” Twilight asked while walking up to the stoic stallion. “We would like to give her some company and help her cope with her loss.” She said while motioning to her group of friends.

The guard smiled slightly as he saw the group of mares and their human friend. It was always nice to see the princess’s student displaying concern for her mentor. After thinking for a moment about where he saw the alicorn last, the stallion pointed towards the staircase at the far end of the room.

“Last I checked, she was in her study.” The guard explained in a friendly tone. Twilight smiled as she recognized the location from memory.

“Thank you… Come on guys, let’s go.” Twilight said while turning to her troop and motioning for them to follow her.

The purple mare led her friends up the stairs and to the left where they found a spacious corridor waiting for them. She seemed to navigate the many rooms and hallways of the palace with ease. Which considering her time spent as the princess’s student, came naturally at this point.

Meanwhile, the others in the group couldn’t help but to marvel at the beauty of the castle as they walked along. The many decorative tapestries and stained glass windows adorning the walls were certainly a sight to behold. The experience was fresh and new to Tom, but even the five mares were taken aback by the beautiful sights, and they had visited the castle before.

Suddenly, Twilight paused in front of a door on the right side of the hallway. Taking this as a sign that they had arrived, the others looked to their leader apprehensively and waited for her to make her move. The purple mare went up to the door and pensively knocked a few times before waiting for a response.

“What is it?” The muffled sound of Celestia’s voice sounded out from behind the door. She still had the friendly tone in her voice that she always had when addressing her subjects, but there was also a twinge of sadness and frustration in her voice.

“Princess? It’s me, Twilight. We figured that you could use some company, so we came to see you.” Twilight said in a sympathetic tone while raising her voice slightly to carry through the door. She listened patiently for the princess to reply before barging in with a group of people.

“*Sigh*… come in.” Celestia said after a moment of silence. She seemed to have a friendly tone of voice, so she was at least open to the presence of her new visitors.

Twilight briefly glanced to her group of friends before opening the door and stepping inside. As she entered the room, she noticed Celestia sitting on a cushion in front of a table. The alicorn was facing away from the group and reading over a few scrolls she had opened in front of her.

“Princess, are you ok?” Twilight asked in a gentle tone while walking over to the alicorn to see what she was doing. She seemed to have a sad expression as she read over the scrolls on the table. As the unicorn got close enough to see a few of the scrolls, she realized that they were letters written to Celestia from various ponies including herself.

“I’m fine. I’ve just… been thinking about the past a lot recently.” Celestia said while turning away from the letters and managing a slightly happy expression.

“I can only imagine what you must be going through right now. If you need anything… anything at all, we’re here for you.” Twilight said while glancing back to her friends for support. Everyone nodded with sincere expressions of sympathy while looking to the alicorn.

Celestia smiled slightly as she looked around at the group gathered before her. They were all concerned for her wellbeing. Even Tom, who had only been in Equestria for a week or so, was sympathetic to her loss.

“Thank you all. I greatly appreciate your concerns for me. I’m very proud of how you all have grown and matured into kindhearted and strong individuals over these past few years. And I’m sure that if Luna were here right now, she would be proud of you too.” Celestia said in a sincere tone. Everyone felt a twinge of bittersweet happiness from hearing the princess praising them.

“Thank you Princess… that means a lot to hear you say that.” Twilight said in a grateful tone while holding back any sadness she felt from thinking about Luna. Still, she looked down with a troubled expression as her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Noticing her student with such an uneasy expression on her face, Celestia wondered what she could be thinking of. Naturally thoughts of Luna and her untimely demise would cause such a reaction, but somehow the alicorn felt that something else was bothering the purple mare.

“What’s wrong Twilight?” Celestia asked in a concerned tone. Twilight shrugged uncomfortably before looking up with a hesitant expression.

“Do you think Raven Feather and her group are still out there? I know they escaped the mansion… but I can’t stop thinking about what they’re doing now. Maybe they gave up and disbanded.” Twilight suggested in an uncertain manner while shaking her head pensively.

“Somehow I don’t think those creeps could give up so easily. They’re out there somewhere… probably struggling to think of what evil scheme they’re going to pull next.” Rainbow Dash said in a disgusted tone from the back of the group.

“Whatever they are doing, they need to pay for their crimes. Shining Armor is going to do everything he and the royal guard can to find them when he arrives in the next few days. I only hope it doesn’t take long for them to be found. I dread the thought of them still being at large when we hold Luna’s funeral… I think she deserves to be put to rest with her goal being accomplished.” Celestia said in a somber tone while looking down.

“If you need any help finding them, I might be of some use. I might be able to sense their shadow magic if I’m close enough to them.” Tom suggested in a hopeful tone. It was easy to see that the boy was desperate to help in some way.

“That’s alright Tom… you have done much more for me and Equestria than we can possibly repay you for. You deserve to have a rest… as do the rest of you.” Celestia said while looking to Twilight and her friends with a concerned expression.

Although most of the group was against the idea of just sitting back and letting others deal with the hooded ponies, they were spent mentally and emotionally. They glanced around uneasily while trying to find a good reason to argue that they needed to participate. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t force themselves to want anything further to do with Raven Feather and her band of criminals.

“I think I need some time to myself for now. I’m going to go for a walk… why don’t all of you rest here while you wait for the rain to stop?” Celestia suggested while taking note of the faint sound of rainfall against the castle walls.

“Ok…” Twilight said in a disheartened tone while sighing and slinking to a seated position. She felt utterly useless with how little she could do. And worst of all, she didn’t care at this point.

Everyone shared a dejected shrug as they watched Celestia walking out of the room. They all felt just as sad and depressing as the city outside looked. All they could do right now was to reflect on everything that had happened and wait for the rain to stop.

Meanwhile, Celestia was reflecting on something else as she walked through the corridors of the castle alone. She was thinking about all of the time she had spent with her sister since she returned from her banishment. All of the times she could have talked to her, all of the time she could have spent being the big sister she deserved, all of it was gone.

“Oh, my dear sister… I only wish I had been there with you.” Celestia muttered while looking around sadly. Everywhere she looked she could see reminders of the time she had shared with her sibling.

Stained glass windows bearing stylized images of both her and the blue alicorn were littered around the castle. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop seeing younger versions of Luna and herself running around and playing in the halls like she used to.

As she continued recalling memories of her time spent with her sister, the alicorn started tearing up slightly. Not wanting to appear too distressed to anyone passing by, she wiped her eyes and internalized the sadness she was feeling.

Eventually, Celestia found herself in the entry hall. She glanced around the room and saw a few guards scattered around. Once they noticed her walking into the room, they stood straight and adopted more serious expressions, a behavior that the princess had gotten used to over the years. Seeing their stern and expressionless faces only reminded her of how much she missed her sister’s smile.

“Lieutenant…” Celestia spoke while walking down the stairs and up to one of the guards.

“Yes Princess?” The guard asked in an obedient tone.

“Has the team at the mansion hideout made any more progress with the excavation?” Celestia asked with a hopeful tone.

“No… I’m afraid not ma’am.” The stallion replied. Celestia shrugged sadly upon hearing that her efforts had hit a dead end again.

“For what it’s worth ma’am, I’m sorry for your loss.” The guard said in a sympathetic tone. Celestia smiled slightly from hearing that even members of her royal guard cared about her.

“Thank you lieutenant… I think I’m going to take a walk around town.” Celestia said in a slightly more upbeat tone.

“Should I call for a carriage to take you?” The guard asked curiously, to which the alicorn merely shook her head.

“No, that’s fine. I’ll be just fine on my own.” Celestia said in an unimposing tone. The stallion nodded in an understanding manner before stepping back to let the princess go on her way.

The sound of the front doors opening and closing rang out through the room. Celestia and the couple of guards in the room turned their heads to see a mare in a cloak walking into the castle. The mare’s cutie mark couldn’t be seen under her cloak, which appeared to be slightly frayed at the edges, but her fur was black in color, and she had tufts of dark gray hair poking out from her cloak.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but you can’t be in here right now. The castle is closed to the public to give the princess and company time to mourn.” The guard next to Celestia said while walking closer to the strange mare.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I just wanted to pay my respects to the princess and offer her my condolences.” The mare said in a sympathetic tone. Before the guards could further persuade the pony to leave, Celestia stepped forward slightly with a soft expression.

“Thank you. I appreciate your concern.” Celestia said in a friendly tone while putting a hoof in front of the guard to stop him from getting any closer.

“What’s your name Miss?” The other guard in the room asked curiously while watching the mare from afar.

“I’m sorry… I feel like her royal highness wouldn’t want to be bothered by a lonely little mare like myself… especially since her sister died in my home.” The mare said while flashing a sinister smile. The statement sent a grim wave of shock throughout the room that stunned the princess and her two guards into silence.

“W-what?” The guard near Celestia stammered slightly in shock.

“But if you must know, you can call me Raven Feather.” The mare said while pulling down her cloak and revealing her emerald green eyes and conceited smirk.

“You… what are you doing here?!” Celestia asked in an angered tone.

“Like I said before… I want to offer you my condolences, not only for your sister, but for every other one of your filthy companions that I kill today.” Raven Feather said in a more irritated tone while glaring at the white alicorn. She didn’t seem to be afraid in the slightest, even considering she was standing right in the middle of Canterlot, with the princess right in front of her.

Suddenly, the guard next to Celestia stepped in front of her defensively. He unsheathed the sword from his side and stood with a fiery gleam in his eye.

“Princess, you need to get out of here. I’ll handle her.” The guard exclaimed before charging forward towards the black mare.

“No, wait!” Celestia yelled frantically as she watched the guard heading straight for the lone intruder. She knew that he was in way over his head.

Before the alicorn or the other guard in the room could react, Raven Feather held one of her arms off to the side. As the charging stallion yelled fiercely and prepared to strike her, she channeled shadow energy through her arm, causing it to be enveloped by a fiery aura that shortened to a point.

*Shink*

Raven Feather swiped her arm sideways across the guard’s neck area. The stallion was sent tumbling sideways with a strangled cry of pain as blood spurted out everywhere. When his body settled off to the side and slightly behind the black mare, the guard was lying motionless in a steadily growing pool of his own blood.

“*Gasp*” Celestia widened her eyes in shock at the brutal act in front of her. The black mare just killed one of her own guards without a second thought. Her attack sliced through his armor like it wasn’t even there. Even his sword was broken in two from the stallion attempting to block the attack.

“Princess, we need to get you out of here!” The other guard exclaimed urgently while rushing up to the alicorn. She was still in a state of disbelief from watching the green eyed mare in front of her.

Raven Feather chuckled as she watched the stallion trying to pull Celestia away. Even if he had gotten her to budge, she wasn’t going to let her dream be spoiled by a single guard. The black mare raised her arm and pointed at the guard. The tip of her hoof lit up with purple energy as she channeled her shadow magic to it.

“What the- ACK!” The guard let out a startled croak as a similar purple glow appeared around his neck. He clutched at his throat as he was suddenly lifted into the air. Before the white alicorn could even react, Raven Feather flicked her arm to the side and flung the stallion across the room.

“Put him down Raven Feather.” Celestia said in a stern tone while lighting up her horn. She looked over to the guard to try and help him, until she heard him choking as the force squeezing on his neck intensified.

“Ah, ah, ah… don’t even think about using any magic on him. If I see so much as a flicker of another color on him I’ll break his neck. Then again… I might just do that anyway.” Raven Feather said with a wry tone and a threatening gleam in her eye.

The guard writhed painfully in the air while holding his neck. He gasped for air to no avail as the black mare held him in her invisible grasp. Despite all of the training he had, he was obviously terrified for his life, and rightly so.

Celestia gritted her teeth uneasily as she glanced between the guard and the pony in front of her. She had no doubt that she would kill him in an instant, and there was no way she could stop her in time. It pained her to feel so helpless when one of her subjects was in danger.

“Look… I don’t know what you’ve been through, but you don’t have to do this. We can get you help.” Celestia said in a calmer tone in the hopes of finding a peaceful solution to the situation.

“I don’t want your help. Your help will have me and my colleagues locked away forever. Even without all of our recent activities, our powers would be too much for your sensitive view of life to handle. You have brainwashed all of Equestria into believing there is nothing eviler in the world than a stray timberwolf or a diamond dog, but I know different. There is an inherently darker side to the world that you refuse to believe in. Well… you can’t stay in the light now… not when I blot out your sun and bathe the world in shadow.” Raven Feather explained in a threatening tone.

“Just put him down Raven Feather. Put him down and we can talk it out, just you and me.” Celestia said while dimming her horn and backing away slightly. She was relieved to see the black mare lightning up her expression. Her relief quickly turned to unease and concern as Raven Feather smirked sinisterly.

“You should be careful with your words…” Raven Feather said while turning to the trapped guard. She twisted her hoof rapidly, causing his neck to perform the same motion. A sickening snap sounded throughout the room.

Celestia looked over with a pale expression as she saw the guard floating in the air limply. His neck was positioned at an odd and unnatural angle, and his head was drooping to the side lifelessly. Once she took a moment to appreciate her grim deed, Raven Feather let the stallion’s body drop to the floor.

“You said put him down… you didn’t say keep him alive.” Raven Feather said with a wry smile. The sight of the gloating mare infuriated the white alicorn to no end.

“You… you are a sick and twisted individual. You deserve every bit of punishment that is owed to you… and I think it’s time that your debt is paid.” Celestia said in an appalled tone. She could feel a deep and seething anger building inside of her as she glared at the black pony with fiery intent.

Before the alicorn could lash out at the earth pony, the front doors opened again. This time, two ponies walked in that Celestia recognized to be Dust Kicker and his sister Raincloud. They were wearing gray hoodies that were still wet from the earlier rain.

“It’s about time you two caught up.” Raven Feather said in a sarcastic tone.

“Sorry about the delay… we had to deal with a few guards outside. Turns out you can’t stroll up to the palace wearing hoods right now without attracting some attention.” Raincloud said with a slight chuckle. She then turned her attention ahead to the alicorn on the other side of the room.

“So… I guess you’ve already introduced yourself. You need any help taking her down?” Raincloud asked curiously with a small smirk. She almost seemed eager for a chance to fight the princess.

“No... I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. She’s mine and mine alone. Besides… you two have jobs to do.” Raven Feather explained while glancing between the two.

“Namely?” Raincloud asked curiously.

“Raincloud, I need you to make sure no more guards get in here and interrupt us. Dust Kicker, I need you to cause a distraction to divert their attention away from here.” Raven Feather explained.

“I think a small army of darklings sauntering around Canterlot and terrorizing the locals would do the trick.” Dust Kicker said with a small smirk building on his face.

“You think you can handle something like that?” Raincloud asked while glancing behind her and thinking about the conditions outside. Although the rain had stopped and there was still cloud cover outside, it was still day. Projecting a small army of darklings with enough resistance to daylight to survive long enough to cause a decent distraction would take a lot of energy.

“Aww, sis… I’m hurt that you think so little of me.” Dust Kicker said in a cynical manner.

“Well whatever you’re going to do, you had better get to it. Once you’re done, help the others to move the equipment up here. By the time you get back I should have things handled he-” Raven Feather was suddenly interrupted by a magical blast flying into the ground at her feet. She looked forward to see a smoking scorch mark on the floor, and a very angry alicorn with her horn blazing fiercely glaring at her from a few feet away.

“That’s enough. I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else. If you won’t listen to reason, then I will have to fight you.” Celestia said while stepping forward in a threatening manner.

“Wow, looks like you pissed her off. I think I’m gonna go outside and work on that distraction before things get messy in here.” Dust Kicker said while heading towards the door. Celestia stepped forward while charging up an attack with her horn to stop the pegasus from leaving.

“You aren’t going anywhere if I have anything to say abo-” The white alicorn was suddenly interrupted as she heard Raven Feather yelling fiercely. The black mare swung her arm sideways again. Only instead of using the energy on her arm as a weapon, she created a series of small fireballs that erupted from the floor in front of Celestia.

Celestia jumped back in shock as the purple flames exploded upwards in front of her. The fireballs appeared in a line going right to left in the same direction the black mare pointed her arm. The alicorn could feel the intense cold from the menacing flames reaching her face and causing a small amount of pain.

“In case you forgot, you’re fighting one person here. I would stop worrying about what my colleagues are doing and start worrying about me.” Raven Feather said in a cocky tone. Somehow she appeared to have the skill to back up her bold words.

“Very well… but I must warn you, I will not hold back.” Celestia said while steeling herself for battle. Raven Feather smirked as she prepared herself as well.

Raincloud stood at the back of the room and watched as the two sized each other up. Her shadow was already watching the room for intruders, so she was free to stand back and watch as the battle took place.

Celestia shouted as she lowered her head and pointed her horn directly at the black mare. After a few seconds of charging her attack, she sent a beam of energy shooting out of her horn and directly towards the pony across the room.

The brilliant beam of light emitted a shrill magical buzz as it sailed towards the earth pony. Just before it hit, Raven Feather held her arm out and channeled her own magic to it. A wave of solid black energy shot out of her hoof and crashed into the beam. The collision of the two forces sent a small shockwave of sound and light outwards as they clashed. Celestia’s beam made the shadowy energy curve inwards into a semicircle that acted like a shield.

Celestia groaned from exertion as she put more energy into her attack. As she put more energy into attacking, Raven Feather put more energy behind her counter. The pulsating black wave started moving forward and shrinking towards a single point as it slowly overtook the beam of light crashing into it. Before long, the ray of shadowy energy was starting to move forward and away from the black mare.

Suddenly, Celestia’s beam pushed through the ray of shadows and sailed across the room. For a short moment she thought she had destroyed her opponent, however a dark puff of purple smoke appearing off to the side dispelled her brief celebration. Raven Feather appeared out of the puff of smoke and quickly shot a ball of shadowy flame out of her hoof towards the princess.

Celestia raced to project a shield around herself to defend against the incoming attack. Just as she completed her shield, the fireball crashed into her with frightening power. An explosion that seemed far too large considering the original size of the projectile erupted around the alicorn. She yelped painfully as her shield was shattered and she was knocked to the floor from the force of the strike.

Once the smoke cleared, Celestia noticed that she had a few singe marks on her body. Her head was also throbbing from having such a strain put on her magic so suddenly. Once she composed herself and got to her feet, she glared at the black mare in front of her with a newfound sense of anger.

“I underestimated your power… a mistake I won’t make again.” Celestia said while preparing herself for any more attacks the earth pony could send her way.

“We’ll see about that.” Raven Feather said with a wry smirk on her face.

“Hya!” Raven Feather yelled fiercely while stomping her hoof down on the ground. A pulse of shadow energy enveloped her hoof as a transparent black shadow started spreading out from it. The shadow rapidly covered the ground between the black mare and the alicorn, all the while making a quiet and unsettling noise.

Before Celestia could think further about the strange shadow, a solid black form shot up out of it and headed straight for her. She ducked to the side just in time to see a large spike made out of shadow energy piercing into the air. If she hadn’t moved in time, she would have been skewered on the sharp blob.

As the first spike lowered back into the ground, another spike shot up from underneath the princess, forcing her to jump to evade it. Instead of lowering into the ground like the first one, the spike’s form shifted and shot out at the alicorn in an attempt at engulfing her. Celestia frantically lit up her horn and teleported herself away from the mass of shadows.

Appearing by the far wall near the door, Celestia looked over to see Raven Feather turning to face her. She suddenly noticed the blob where she just was sinking into the floor and becoming translucent again. The shadow raced across the room at lightning fast speeds to cut her off. As it moved, it thinned out to a spindly ray that resembled a tentacle.

Before she could react, the shadow reached the alicorn and went underneath her. Celestia suddenly felt something grabbing onto her legs. She looked down to see four tendrils reaching up and holding her legs tightly while the rest of the shadow spread out around her. Once the shadow spread into a circle around the imprisoned princess, it started rising out of the floor and climbing above her.

Realizing that she was about to be engulfed by the rising shadow, Celestia tried struggling against the tendrils with all of her might. Finding no results from trying to forcefully pull her legs out of the tendrils’ grip, the alicorn lit up her horn and tried using her magic on them. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t get them to budge with her magic either.

“Hahaha!” Raven Feather cackled maniacally as she watched the princess getting swallowed up by her mass of shadows. After a short wait, the circle of darkness closing around her finally closed into an alicorn sized ball.

Moments of silence went by, and the black mare thought she had attained victory, until she noticed streams of light burning holes through the dark blob. With a fierce yell and a blinding explosion of sunlight burning the shadowy mass into oblivion, Celestia was free.

The two stood silently while glaring at each other. They panted heavily as they tried to catch their breath from so much exertion. It seemed like they were both surprised by the other’s strength and abilities.

“It seems like I have underestimated your power as well.” Raven Feather said in an impressed tone. “No matter… I have only just begun to show you mine.” She stated while flashing an impish smirk. Celestia growled uneasily under her breath. She didn’t want to show it openly, but breaking out of that shadowy prison had taken a lot out of her. If the black mare truly was only toying with her, then she had a long battle ahead of her.

Meanwhile, back in the study, Twilight and the others were still waiting around for the rain to stop. Everyone had blank and somber expressions, even though they tried to have brighter thoughts. The prospect that they had just come from one of their friends’ funeral was enough to ensure that even Pinkie Pie was unable to joke around like she normally did.

“*Sigh*… so what do we do once the rain stops? Anyone want to get something to eat before we head back to Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash suggested in a dull tone. It was clear that the group wanted to do something to cheer themselves up, but they were too drained to make much of an effort.

“I don’t know… I think I might just head home and stay there for a while.” Fluttershy said in a droning tone while looking down sadly.

“Yeah… me too.” Pinkie Pie added in agreement.

“How about you guys? Come on… it’s my treat.” Rainbow Dash pleaded while looking to Tom and Twilight with a hopeful expression.

“Sorry Rainbow Dash… I don’t think I’m in the mood to eat right now.” Twilight said while shrugging sympathetically. Tom merely nodded in agreement with the unicorn.

Rainbow Dash huffed in defeat while leaning back against the wall. She had a feeling that her friends wouldn’t agree to join her. After all, she herself felt as dreary and somber as they did, so she understood where they were coming from.

“I wish I just had something to get my mind off of last week.” The cyan mare said in a sad tone.

“Ah think we could all use something to get our minds off of last week. Ah wouldn’t mind forgetting about it entirely… aside from meeting Tom of course.” Applejack said while glancing to the human and flashing a smile.

“Yes, it seems like Tom arriving in Equestria was the only good thing to come out of this whole mess.” Rarity stated in agreement to the orange mare.

“Thanks guys… I’m glad I came here too.” Tom said in a friendly tone.

“Now that we don’t need to worry about those hooded jerks everywhere we go, we can finally show you a good time. How about we throw Tom a proper welcome to Equestria party after all of this, eh Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash suggested while looking to the pink mare with a warm smirk. Pinkie perked up slightly at the prospect of throwing a party.

“Hey, that sounds like a good idea. Ooo, I know just what to do!” Pinkie stated eagerly while bouncing slightly in her seat.

“Well how about that… Ah think that’s the first time any of us have smiled all day.” Applejack said with an amused chuckle.

“Maybe we should try harder to put the past behind us. I think we should wait until all of the funerals are over so we can get all of our grief out, but a party sounds like a nice way to lift our spirits after all of this.” Twilight said in a cheerful tone. The others let out a collective cheer of agreement as they finally returned some semblance of happiness to the room.

As the ponies were celebrating their plans for the future, Tom suddenly felt a slight chill going down his spine. Just as he expected, a puff of blue mist rushed out of his mouth as he exhaled forcefully. The shrill outburst from the human put a grim feeling of horror into everyone in the room as they stared at him with wide eyes.

“No… not here, not today of all days!” Twilight said in an upset tone while getting to her feet and looking around nervously.

“What did you feel Tom? Was it the hooded ponies?!” Rainbow Dash asked uneasily while looking to the human for answers.

Before Tom could speak about what he sensed, a faint screaming erupted from outside the window at the far side of the room. Everyone felt a chill going down their spines as more screams and a series of low roars and growls filled the air. Gathering the courage needed to investigate the noises, Rainbow Dash rushed over to the window and looked outside. She gasped as she noticed a frightening scene unfolding out in the city.

Numerous ponies were running for their lives with terrified expressions. There were familiar shadowy creatures chasing after the townspeople and snarling at them with their teeth. A few of the monsters were fighting royal guard members that were trying to contain the chaos to no avail.

“Sweet Celestia…” Rainbow Dash muttered in a shocked tone while staring at the disarray outside.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked nervously while looking to the cyan mare for answers. She was far too terrified to look outside herself.

“Darklings are running around and terrorizing everyone in sight. There must be dozens of them!” Rainbow Dash said in a mortified tone while turning to her shocked friends with a pale expression.

“*Gasp*” Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof as she stared at the pegasus in disbelief. She could hardly keep herself from tensing up from how much shock and fear she was feeling.

“That isn’t the only problem we have. I’m feeling some powerful shadow magic signatures coming from the castle. Something tells me that the hooded ponies are done toying around.” Tom explained in an uneasy tone.

“We have to do something!” Rainbow Dash suggested anxiously while moving towards the door. She was ready to run up to the hooded ponies and punch their heads off from how much anger she was feeling.

“We need to find the princess and warn her!” Twilight said with a fearful glint in her eyes. If the hooded ponies were attacking Canterlot, then Celestia must have been their end goal. The others nodded in agreement and prepared to follow their unicorn leader out the door and into the fray as they usually did, until they were stopped by Tom stepping in their way.

“You guys need to get out of here.” Tom instructed in a stern tone.

“What?! You can’t be serious! There are shadow creatures roaming the streets! We need to do something!” Twilight said in a shocked tone. She couldn’t believe she was arguing with the human at a time like this.

“Look, it’s too dangerous here for you guys right now. The hooded ponies want you dead so the elements of harmony will stop working. If you stay here, you will be putting Equestria as a whole at risk. I need you to go find Glimmer Shine and the others and call for help. Meanwhile, I will go find Celestia and help her deal with Raven Feather and the others.” Tom explained in a serious tone.

“But… but…” Twilight stammered in refusal at the boy’s proposal. Every fiber of her being was telling her to stand and fight, not to run away and wait for backup to arrive.

“No buts, Twilight! I’m not losing any of you like I lost Neon and the others. I don’t care if you think their deaths weren’t my fault. If you die fighting the hooded ponies, it WILL be my fault!” Tom yelled in a serious tone, silencing the six mares instantly.

Twilight and the others stared at the human with mixtures of sympathy and shock in their faces. They couldn’t believe that he was still holding on to so much guilt. However, they also knew he was right in some regard. Everyone looked down uneasily as they thought about what to do.

“Ok… we’ll go, but you better not get hurt while I’m gone.” Twilight said in a serious tone.

“I’ll try my best… now get going.” Tom stated before turning around and running out of the room. Twilight nodded before turning to her small troop with a determined expression.

“You heard him… let’s go get help!” The purple mare instructed before running out of the room and turning down the hall. Everyone nodded in agreement before following the unicorn down the hallway.

“Gah!” Celestia yelped in pain as a bolt of shadow energy whizzed by her leg. She felt an intense cold sensation where the energy struck her. The bolt was so cold that it actually burned her skin on contact. Once she looked down to examine her wound, she saw that her fur had been completely singed off in a small area, most likely from the force of the blast instead of the cold.

“What’s the matter Princess? Getting a little winded are we?” Raven Feather chuckled in a sadistic manner while watching the alicorn cope with her injury.

“You can’t seriously expect to succeed here. Even if you beat me, there are hundreds of guards in the city that are waiting to take you in dead or alive.” Celestia said in an attempt at reasoning with the black mare.

“Oh, well since you put it like that… I guess I’ll just pack my bags and go back where I came from.” Raven Feather said in a cynical tone. “Do you really think that I haven’t prepared for this day? The sad thing is… preparing to defeat you and your guards wasn’t even the hard part. The only thing that has kept me from wiping you and your pathetic subjects off the face of the map is finding a way to realize the legend of the eternal night.” Raven Feather stated in a spiteful tone.

“Even if you did find a way to summon this eternal night, what will you do then? The world would be flooded with all manner of paranormal creatures, and the sun would be gone, so the safety of daylight wouldn’t be able to protect you or anyone else from them!” Celestia stated in a frustrated tone.

“I have spent many hours studying the occult and all of its gifts. When I kill you and blot out the sun, I will be powerful enough to bend any creature to my will, paranormal or not. After I rule Equestria, I might just bring the sun back every once in a while… who knows. All I know is that right now, you are in my way!” Raven Feather yelled while shooting another blast of shadow energy at the alicorn.

Celestia grit her teeth and used any energy she could muster to project another shield around herself. This time she didn’t hold back as she stood strong against the incoming projectile. The fireball slammed into her barrier and exploded, causing it to crack and nearly shatter.

“Guh… *Huff*… *Pant*” Celestia groaned from exhaustion as she drooped her head weakly. She didn’t know how much longer she could carry on like this. Still, she had to fight the sadistic mare with everything she had. Shaking her head to wake up her tired body, the alicorn lit up her horn again and prepared to strike.

With a fierce yell, Celestia charged toward the black mare while channeling her magic to the tip of her horn. If she couldn’t outlast her in a magical duel, then she would have to end things once and for all. As much as she didn’t want to use lethal force, her kingdom and all of her subjects’ lives depended on her winning.

Raven Feather stood perfectly still with an almost bored expression while the princess charged at her. Even the pegasus mare watching from the back of the room was starting to get nervous as her leader refused to move.

Just before the alicorn crashed horn first into her, Raven Feather channeled a large amount of shadow magic to her hoof. With a spiteful glare and a lifetime of pent up aggression fueling her anger, the black mare punched the princess with everything she had.

Celestia felt the energy from Raven Feather’s hoof crashing into her own aura of energy. After a brief struggle between the two powers, the barrier of magic from the alicorn’s horn was shattered with a loud burst of air that sounded like a small explosion. The impact of Raven Feather’s punch landed on the side of Celestia’s jaw. The alicorn was shocked and stunned as she felt a wave of numbing pain hitting her and her body flying backwards at high speeds.

“Agh!” Celestia yelled in pain as she hit the stairs on the far side of the room with her back and her head. She felt the stairs cracking underneath her slightly as she was pummeled straight into them. After her body settled from the impact, she found herself unable to move from shock and pain.

Finally, after a few moments of recuperation, Celestia shakily lifted her head up to see her attacker. Raven Feather was standing a few feet away with a pleased smile on her face. She looked like she was enjoying this experience far more than the alicorn writhing in pain on the floor.

“Ugh… Tch!” Celestia winced in pain while bringing her hoof up to her face. She felt a sticky warm sensation against her face that elicited a feeling of shock in her as she brought her hoof back down. The entire tip of her shoe was stained red with her own blood.

“Stings doesn’t it?” Raven Feather asked with a quieter and more calm tone. Celestia looked up to see the black mare walking towards her slowly with an arrogant smile that led her to believe that her opponent had been expecting this outcome the whole time. As she got closer, the alicorn suddenly noticed a small silver object in the black mare’s right hoof. Before she could even try to get up or figure out what was happening, Celestia heard a soft click and felt something cold and metallic being put around her front legs.

While Raven Feather relished in the princess’s defeat, Celestia looked down at her hooves while trying to pull them away, only to be met with stiff resistance. She gasped in shock as she noticed that there was a pair of hoof cuffs on her with runic symbols etched into the sides. In a slight panic, the alicorn instinctively tried using her magic, but she suddenly found that her horn wouldn’t light up. She couldn’t even feel the sensation of magic flowing within her anymore. The grim realization that she was trapped hit her like a ton of bricks.

“A colleague of mine found those on one of your guards back at our hideout. He thought they might come in handy… and I have to say, he was definitely right.” Raven Feather said with a sinister chuckle as she moved closer to the princess.

Celestia tried to move away from the black mare, but her sore and exhausted body and awkward positioning made it nearly impossible to move backwards up the stairs. All she could do was sit and watch nervously as her captor approached her.

“Ngh… grr…” Celestia struggled in vain to break out of her chains. She glared at the black mare until she picked her up by the neck roughly.

“Look at you… the mighty princess of the sun. From where I’m standing you don’t look mighty at all… you look just as weak as I always imagined you.” Raven Feather said before dropping the alicorn and letting her head hit the stairs. Celestia grunted painfully before raising her head back up to look at the black mare.

“Why don’t you just kill me now?” Celestia asked with an irritated glare.

“Impatient are we?” Raven Feather asked with a smirk. “Don’t worry… I plan on wringing your neck eventually. But first you get to watch me turn your kingdom on its head.” She said with a more sinister tone.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” A voice from behind the group drew their attention up the stairs. Waiting at the top landing on the right, there was a familiar human in blue attire standing and watching the ponies on the floor below with a serious expression on his face.

“Tom…” Celestia muttered in a concerned tone. The last thing she wanted was to see someone get hurt to try and rescue her.

“Well if it isn’t Equestria’s finest hero. Have you come to save the princess and thwart my evil plans?” Raven Feather asked in a cynical tone.

“If that’s how you want to put it, then yes… I am going to thwart the hell out of your evil plan.” Tom said in a threatening tone while walking down the stairs slowly.

“I would choose my next move very carefully if I were you.” Raincloud said while trotting up to stand beside Raven Feather. She stood at the ready to call her shadow into battle, until the black mare next to her put her arm out to stop her.

“It’s ok Raincloud. If I can’t beat the princess and her human pet… then I don’t deserve to be the one to destroy Equestria.” Raven Feather said in a confident tone.

“Alright… if you insist, I’ll stay with the princess.” Raincloud said in a compliant tone.

“Tom… don’t do this. She’s too strong.” Celestia pleaded with the human to get him to stop.

“You know I have to try.” Tom said while offering a sympathetic expression of doubt to the alicorn. She wasn’t even sure if he thought he could win.

“Ah yes… far be it from a slayer to back down and let an evil tyrant overthrow a peaceful kingdom. Tell you what Tommy boy… if you can beat me, I will let the princess go free.” Raven Feather said with a slight chuckle.

“There is only one person in this universe that can call me Tommy… and this is long past her time.” Tom said while making his way down the stairs and glaring at the black mare. Raven Feather backed up to give the human room to descend the steps to the main floor.

“Stop this! Tom, I won’t let you fight her! I order you to retreat!” Celestia said in a frantic tone of desperation. The human paused beside the trapped alicorn and frowned slightly as she stared at him with fearful eyes.

“Sorry Princess… I’m not under your leadership, so I have to respectfully disobey that order.” Tom said in a serious tone before returning his attention to the green eyed earth pony in front of him. He walked forward a short distance until he was away from the helpless alicorn and only a few feet away from the black mare.

“Are you ready to fight me Mr. Greene?” Raven Feather asked with an impish smirk. Tom quickly grabbed his sword and unsheathed it with a shrill and metallic noise. He flipped the luminescent blade around in his hand before bringing it to his side in a battle stance.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m ready… all that matters is that I stop you.” Tom said in a livid tone. All of the wrongdoings he had been forced to witness in the past week had been caused by the mare in front of him. He wasn’t about to let her go unpunished.

The tension in the room steadily increased as the two stood still and silently watched the other for signs of movement. Each of them was waiting for the other to move first so they could counter, but nobody seemed to be eager to make the first move.

Finally, Tom decided to take matters into his own hands and charged forward with a fierce yell. Raven Feather smirked and channeled shadow energy to her hoof in preparation. As the human held his sword up in preparation to strike, the black mare held her arm up to block his strike.

With a metallic clash, Tom’s sword crashed down on the mare’s arm. The positive energy of his sword and the negative energy of her shadow magic repelled each other, resulting in Raven Feather’s arm being protected by a sort of shield that allowed her to push back his blade as if she had one of her own.

Tom swiped sideways in an attempt at catching her off guard, but she quickly moved her arm to parry his attack. The human swiftly threw a series of attacks at the black mare, forcing her to defend against all of them.

“Ow!” Tom yelped in pain as Raven Feather cut across his leg with the energy she had gathered. The green eyed pony chuckled at her small victory. Seeing this opportunity, the boy dodged to the side and swung at her as fast as he could. As she tried to dodge the attack, she caught his blade across the cheek, drawing a small amount of blood and causing a twinge of pain.

After stepping away from each other, both combatants used their own methods to heal their wounds. Tom used his powers to heal his leg, while Raven Feather used her shadow magic to close up the cut on her cheek.

“You fight like a girl.” Tom remarked in a cynical tone.

“You fight like a fossil. I must say, I am not impressed by the capabilities of the human race by watching you.” Raven Feather replied in a mocking tone.

“Oh yeah? Well at least I have thumbs.” Tom said with a wry smirk. He quickly regained his composure before charging forward. Raven Feather stood her ground against the charging human. She channeled more energy to her hoof, causing the shadowy aura to grow in intensity.

“Hyah!” Raven Feather yelled while slicing sideways at the human’s sword. Much to his surprise, Tom watched as the mare’s makeshift blade sliced clean through his katana. A large portion of the luminescent blade flew off, leaving roughly a quarter of the sword remaining.

Not giving her opponent time to process his shock, Raven Feather used the energy on her arm to punch the human and send him flying backwards. Tom was separated from what was left of his once proud weapon and landed on his back a short distance away. He pushed himself up with his hands and groaned painfully from his abrupt flight.

“You know… I always wondered what would happen if shadow energy came into contact with a blessed blade. I guess I can’t say I was expecting anything more.” Raven Feather stated with a slight chuckle while kicking aside the handle portion of the sword.

“Grr…” Tom growled in frustration as he stared at the two halves of his former weapon. She had broken the blade with relative ease. He thought he was evenly matched with the mare, but apparently she had been holding back.

After getting to his feet, the human lowered his arms to his sides and summoned his spirit weapons. The claws appeared out of a puff of fire and rang out a shrill tone as the boy raised his hands into a fighting stance.

“I’ve had enough of you!” Tom yelled while charging forward at the black pony. He pulled back his arm and threw a powerful slash at her, but she disappeared into a puff of purple mist before his attack could even scratch her.

“What’s the matter? Getting a little scared?” Raven Feather asked in a cynical tone while appearing behind the human. She shot a shadowy flame out of her hoof, forcing the boy to dive to the floor to avoid it.

Before Raven Feather could point her beam of shadow energy downwards, Tom turned himself over and held out his hand. He frantically shot out a beam of bright light that met the shadowy flames and pushed them back slightly. The black mare and the human both pushed harder to beat the other, but it was clear who was winning.

Suddenly, Raven Feather pushed against the human’s light with more force than he could handle. Just before the flames engulfed him completely, Tom rolled out of the way, but not before catching a painful burn on his right shoulder.

“Agh!” The boy yelled as he clutched his new injury. The fabric on his shirt had been completely burned away, leaving nothing more than a charred circle of his own skin.

Celestia and Raincloud watched from afar as the frustrated slayer got to his feet. He seemed to be getting more desperate as the fight went on. The alicorn had never seen the human in such a disheveled state before.

“Tom…” Celestia muttered in a mortified tone as she watched the human healing his wounds. The restorative flames took longer than usual to heal his shoulder, but after a few moments the damage to both his skin and his shirt were erased.

“Out of all of the slayers throughout history, they sent you to save Equestria? Heheheh.” Raven Feather chuckled to herself with a mocking smirk on her face, much to the infuriation of the human across from her.

“Just shut up will you?!” Tom yelled in a frustrated tone.

“Aww… what’s the matter? Am I hurting your feelings? I know that emotions are important to you slayers, so the last thing I want to do is upset you.” Raven Feather said with a cynical expression.

“Rragh!” Tom yelled fiercely while charging straight for the black mare. Raven Feather channeled energy to her arm again and used it like a blade to counter the boy’s strikes. The shadowy aura smoked on contact with the claws on his hands, but she was apparently putting enough energy behind it to keep it stable.

After a few tense moments of Tom frantically swiping at the earth pony and having her counter his strikes with ease, Raven Feather swiftly slashed across the boy’s legs again, only this time she directed the energy in her strike to knock him over instead of cutting him.

“Gah!” Tom yelped in surprise as he was sent to the floor. As he looked up to counter any strikes the black mare was preparing to send his way, he realized that she was stepping away from him.

“Try not to break anything when you hit the ground.” Raven Feather said with a wry smirk. The human was confused by what she meant, until she stamped her hoof on the ground. A transparent shadow raced out of her hoof and flew under Tom in a split second. The shadow solidified under the boy until it was a pitch black blob similar to all of the other attacks based on shadow magic she had used.

“What the…?!” Before Tom could even try to get up, two spindly tendrils shot out of the blob underneath him and wrapped around his arms. He suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness as he fell into the floor and disappeared into the shadowy blotch.

The world around him was pitch black, but he was falling at an increased velocity towards some unseen destination. The frightening experience reminded him of when he had fought Raincloud’s shadow for the first time, which in turn made him very nervous about where he was falling to.

“AHH!” Tom screamed fearfully as a relatively blinding light enveloped him. He looked around, only to realize that he was falling out of the ceiling of the room. Which considering that he was in a castle, was shockingly higher off the ground than he first imagined.

Celestia averted her eyes as the human fell to the ground with a sickening crunch. She slowly looked over, and was relieved to see him still alive. Her relief turned to horror as she realized the agony he must have been going through.

“See… I tried to warn you. You really should have tucked and rolled instead of going for more of a falling stone approach.” Raven Feather chuckled while walking up to the human on the floor. Tom tried to get up to face the black mare, but he had broken several bones in his body that were vital for basic movements.

“Don’t mind me, just pick yourself up and dust yourself off. See, I found a nifty little book on slayers in my basement… Well, not my basement per say, but you get the idea. It had a laundry list of observations on slayers written by several people over the years. It even had a few personal accounts written by a few slayers. I was particularly intrigued by how you heal yourself.” Raven Feather said while roughly pressing down on the boy’s arm as he tried to get up. Tom yelped in pain before going back to the floor. Once the black mare stopped touching him, he tried to get up again so he could strangle her with his bare hands.

“You have to spend all of that energy, and for what? Just to cause yourself more agony? Tell me… what’s the point in that?” Raven Feather asked curiously while backing up to give the boy room.

After getting to his knees, Tom held himself upright and started healing his injuries. He yelped painfully as his arms, several areas on his chest, his legs, and even his shoulder started glowing orange as his healing abilities worked from within his body. It looked like a fire was raging inside of him, which in all fairness, was probably accurate to what was actually happening.

Once his bones were fully healed, Tom let out a final yell of pain and fell forward onto his hands. While he was catching his breath, he looked up and glared at the black mare with a seething hatred that only suffering could bring about.

“I… don’t care what the point is. All I care about right now… is taking you down.” Tom muttered in between breaths while getting to his feet. He was exhausted and his legs were wobbling like jelly, but he still managed to strike an impressive, if unsteady, fighting pose.

“Still intent on being the hero are we? Why don’t you just accept what all of us already know. Even the princess over there can see how worthless you are right now.” Raven Feather said while glancing over to the white alicorn.

“What the hell are you on about now?” Tom asked in an annoyed tone. He didn’t really believe her, but part of him wanted to know what she was talking about.

“Don’t listen to her Tom! She’s just trying to get in your head!” Celestia yelled in an attempt at stopping the black mare’s mind games. She yelped in pain as Raincloud smacked her across the face.

“Be quiet! You’re spoiling the show…” The pale pegasus said before returning her attention to the fight.

“She’s wrong you know. I don’t need to get in your head, I’m already inside. You know you can’t beat me, and it is tearing you up on the inside isn’t it?” Raven Feather asked in a cynical tone.

“Shut up!” Tom yelled while stepping forward and making a slash at her with his claws. The black mare summoned her makeshift blade again and clashed with the human before shoving him off balance and watching him stumble with an exhausted expression of anger.

“I think I’ll wait to kill the elements of harmony. First I want to make them watch as I gut their friends and family in front of them.” Raven Feather mocked in a sinister tone.

“Stop it!” Tom yelled again in a desperate tone. His face was pale and his heart was pounding, but he still slowly charged forward and struck at her with a flurry of attacks. The green eyed pony smirked while blocking each of the strikes coming at her with ease.

“If you want me to stop, then just stop me Tom! Your entire purpose is to make sure I don’t win, but I’ve already won! I am going to kill every person you have met in this world, and there is nothing you can do about it!” Raven Feather yelled fiercely while clashing with the human again. She looked at him staring daggers into her, but behind his anger she could see desperation and fear. Taking a look down at his claws, she noticed tiny cracks forming in the metal blades.

“I will die before I let you hurt anyone else!” Tom yelled back in an exhausted tone. He breathed heavily to catch his breath, but between the stress he was feeling and the strain of the battle, he couldn’t recover as quickly as he wanted to.

“You really think you can make that statement? Look at you! I’m barely even trying to counter your pitiful attacks at this point. You remind me of a child flailing at their parents during a tantrum. I could probably walk over there and slit the princess’s throat without you being able to do a thing!” Raven Feather yelled while staring the human in the eye with a fierce glare.

“Stop it Raven Feather! This is sadistic!” Celestia yelled while watching the two struggling. “Tom, please listen to me! Just get out of here… run!” She pleaded to the human to save himself.

“I can’t just leave you! I’m a slayer… I have to defend the innocent wherever possible!” Tom yelled back in an exhausted tone.

“You’re a slayer? Hah! Don’t make me laugh! I read all manner of tall tales about the slayers in that book. They were the monster hiding in the closet of all the evil creatures of the earth. Demons and monsters all across the world would pale when hearing their names. You couldn’t even save your friends from a couple of ghosts for crying out loud! You aren’t a slayer… you’re a joke!” Raven Feather stated in a cold tone while glaring at the human like he was a piece of trash.

Suddenly, the small cracks on Tom’s blades grew in size. The cracks had a sort of orangish glow to them that only grew stronger as they splintered across the claws. The sound of something brittle crumbling accompanied the cracks as they covered the whole of the weapons. Tom and Raven Feather glanced down at the cracks with decidedly different expressions on their faces.

Raven Feather smirked as she looked back up at the boy fighting her. She let out a mighty yell as she pushed her arm sideways with as much strength as she could. A loud shattering noise sounded out as Tom’s claws exploded into a flurry of metallic shards. The human was sent backwards a few steps from the force of the black mare pushing him. He fell on his back and stared ahead with a horrified expression as the bits of his spirit weapons fell to the floor.

Tom looked down at his shaking hands and saw that the portion that held the claws to his fingers still remained. A flash of fire washed over his fingers as the only remaining parts of his weapons disappeared off his hands. He looked ahead and saw that the hundreds of metallic pieces on the ground were melting into small drops of molten metal that quickly vanished from sight.

“*Gasp*” Celestia’s eyes widened and Raincloud’s jaw dropped as they stared at the scene in front of them. Raven Feather stood victoriously across from the human and watched as he processed what had just happened.

Tom desperately tried to reform his claws. He could make a brief flash of fire appear on his fingers, but no matter how hard he struggled he couldn’t get his weapons to reappear. Perhaps they had been permanently broken as they seemed to have been from physical appearances.

“What’s the matter Tom? You were so eager to fight me before.” Raven Feather asked as she watched the human getting to his feet and stepping backwards fearfully.

“S-stay away from me.” Tom stammered nervously while backing away from the green eyed mare.

Raven Feather pointed her hoof forward and shot out a burst of shadow energy at the human. The bolt whizzed straight at the boy and pierced clean through his leg, sending a spray of blood out and causing him to yell in pain. Tom fell to his knee and clutched his newfound injury. He tried to heal it, but he could only elicit a slight glow of orange that flickered out just as quickly as it appeared.

“What is a slayer without his spirit weapons and his powers? Nothing more than a boy trying to fill shoes that are far too large for him.” Raven Feather said with a devilish smirk while firing another blast at the human. The beam went clean through his shoulder, effectively disabling his left arm.

“AGH!” Tom yelled painfully while clutching his arm. He could do little more than remain still while at the black mare’s mercy.

“I’ll tell your friends that you died screaming like the pitiful child you are.” Raven Feather said in a grimly sinister tone while pointing her hoof at the boy’s chest. She channeled as much shadow energy as she could before firing a large blast of energy at the human.

“Tom!” Celestia yelled in a distraught tone as she watched the human getting blown into the air. Tom screamed in agony as his body flew across the room and smacked into the right wall. After settling into place from his brief flight, the human remained still and lifeless.

“Tom?! Tom, are you ok?!” Celestia pleaded desperately while watching the human for any sign of movement. She couldn’t even see any sign that he was breathing. For all intents and purposes, he looked dead.

“Hahhaha… looks like Equestria’s hero wasn’t much of a problem after all.” Raven Feather said with an impish smirk.

“Holy hell Raven Feather, that was awesome! You wiped the floor with him!” Raincloud said in an impressed tone while watching the black mare walk up to the human. Raven Feather slapped him across the face a few times to ensure that he wasn’t just playing possum. Satisfied that her job was done, she smirked and walked back over to the stairs.

“I told you I could handle myself.” Raven Feather said with a joyful chuckle.

“I can’t believe you did that... He didn’t deserve that!” Celestia said in a distraught tone while glaring at the black mare. Raven Feather glared back at the alicorn with an expression of contempt on her face. She reached forward and stepped on the burn on the princess’s leg, eliciting a cry of pain from her as she put pressure on it.

“Lighten up will you? You should be worrying about yourself right now, not about him.” Raven Feather said in a cold tone.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening drew everyone’s attention to the front of the room. They saw Dust Kicker walking inside with a group of ponies in hoods behind him. The other ponies were all carrying books and bags that were more than likely full of occult supplies.

After a small group of assorted workers came through the door, Shadow Mist limped through while being helped along by Grimwood and another worker. The red stallion looked like he was in pain, but otherwise he looked alright considering he was missing a limb and an eye.

“Holy crap… what did I miss?” Dust Kicker asked while looking around the room. Between the alicorn in chains and the human slumped against the far wall, it looked like there had been a full scale war in the room since he left.

“Nothing much… just Raven Feather kicking ass and taking names.” Raincloud explained with a pleased smirk while looking to her brother.

“Ah, Dust Kicker… I assume everything is moving along smoothly then?” Raven Feather asked while walking up to the brown stallion.

“There are darklings all over the castle and the town. Any guards in the city will have their hooves full for a long time trying to sort that mess out.” Dust Kicker reported with a confident tone.

“Very good… in that case, we can start making preparations for the ritual.” Raven Feather said with a pleased smile before turning to the hooded workers around the entrance. “Start moving the equipment into the throne room. That place should be big enough to let us work.” She instructed while pointing up the stairs. The hooded ponies nodded before making their way across the room.

“I’ll go with them to take care of any guards we run into.” Dust Kicker stated while walking to follow the workers up the stairs.

“What are we going to do about her?” Raincloud asked while looking to the princess.

“You can take her with us… just try not to be too rough. I wouldn’t want the princess to get hurt on my watch after all.” Raven Feather said with a sinister smirk.

“Oh trust me. I’ll be as gentle as possible with her.” Raincloud said with a fake tone of sincerity. The pale mare picked up the alicorn, much to her protest, and held her arm roughly while moving her forward up the stairs.

Raven Feather turned and walked over to her brother and Shadow Mist. She frowned slightly as she looked at the stallion’s injuries and the young colt tending to him. Grimwood didn’t show it outwardly very often, but he felt concern for those closest to him.

“How are you doing Shadow Mist?” Raven Feather asked curiously.

“I’ve had better days… I think my wound is starting to hurt less though.” Shadow Mist said in a reassuring tone. Despite his words it was obvious to see that he was in a great deal of pain still.

“We can look for a spell to help you out somehow after all of this is done. Just sit tight and try to ignore the pain.” Raven Feather said in a sympathetic tone. “Take care of him for me Grim… ok?” She asked while turning to her sibling.

“I’ll do my best.” Grimwood said in a sincere tone while glancing to the red stallion.

Raven Feather turned to look at the group at the top of the stairs. Raincloud had paused to wait for Shadow Mist to make it across the room. She held Celestia at arm’s length while watching the black mare escort her brother and the red stallion up the stairs.

The black mare walked over to the broken katana on the ground. She paused for a moment before picking up the smaller half that had the handle on it with her shadow magic. After levitating it up to her side, she smiled with a pleased expression.

“I think I’ll take this as a souvenir.” Raven Feather said with a slight chuckle. She then walked towards the stairs to join her colleagues in heading to the throne room.

Celestia took one last glance over to the lifeless human downstairs with a saddened expression. She only hoped that Raven Feather and her group could be stopped before any more suffering was inflicted on the innocent.