Twilight and her small troop rushed through the winding corridors of the castle. The normally quiet and relatively empty halls were hard enough to navigate on a good day, but now that there was panic in the streets outside, monsters roaming freely, and guards running to and fro in an uncoordinated rush, it was much harder to get around.

“Are you sure we should just leave while the castle is under attack?” Rainbow Dash asked in an uneasy tone while looking ahead to the purple unicorn leading the group.

“We need to go get the others first. We’ll have a better chance with higher numbers.” Twilight replied while looking around to make sure she was running in the right direction.

“Ah don’t disagree with you Twilight, but Rainbow Dash has a point. The princess might be in danger. Those jerks have made it clear that they aren’t here for small talk.” Applejack said with a concerned tone.

Twilight paused for a moment and looked back at her friends anxiously. She had her doubts about why she wasn’t charging headfirst into battle to assist the princess as well. Still, she had to think logically and do her best to help the human, and right now that meant following his suggestions.

“Tom knows what he’s doing. Between him and the princess, they should be able to hold their own until we get back.” Twilight said in what she hoped would be a confident tone.

“We still have to worry about getting to the others… they are a fair ways away from us… and there are darklings everywhere… and…” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off nervously as she thought more about what she was getting herself into. Her pupils shrank and she nearly locked up as she pictured encountering more of the vicious creatures.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we’ll be fine.” Twilight said in a reassuring manner.

A sudden growling noise from around the corner up ahead made the ponies freeze instantly. The hair on the back of their necks stood on end as they recognized the owner of the feral noise. Twilight silently motioned for everyone to follow her as she crouched down and hugged the wall.

Seeing that she would have to make the first move, the purple mare gulped nervously and inched forward to poke her head around the corner. As she had feared, she was greeted with the sight of two darklings slowly walking around the hallway and sniffing their surroundings. Once she saw the two beasts turning in her direction, she frantically ducked back around the corner and covered her mouth to keep herself silent.

“How many of them?” Rainbow Dash asked silently. She didn’t need to ask what was around the corner to know that only one creature could make that noise. At least she hoped that only one creature was capable of producing such a frightful sound.

“There’s two… I don’t think they know we’re here.” Twilight said nervously while eyeing back towards the corner.

“How long will that last? Those things can probably smell our fear.” Rainbow Dash stated in an anxious tone while looking around at her friends. Between the six of them, their combined heartbeats were probably loud enough to be heard by the two monsters.

“How did they get in here?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously.

“They must have been summoned in here… there’s no way that so many of them could just pop up in the city without outside help.” Rainbow Dash reasoned in an uneasy tone.

“Girls… I think we’re avoiding the elephant in the room here. We need to… *gulp*… get past them.” Twilight stated in a fearful manner while glancing behind her nervously. Every stray noise the two creatures made only increased her paranoia and fear that they knew where the group was.

“W-what?” Fluttershy asked in a jittery tone. She almost thought she misheard the unicorn, and that she just said that they would have to confront the pair of terrifying monsters, but as she looked around at the shocked expressions of her friends, she realized that she heard her perfectly.

“Why don’t we just go find another way out of the castle? We don’t need to go this way… do we?” Rarity asked in an uncertain tone. She looked to the purple mare with a nervous expression as she realized that she wasn’t kidding around.

“There are probably more of them out by the front entrance. It will be safer if we go out the back… and to do that we need to deal with these two.” Twilight explained in what she hoped would be a confident tone. Her confidence faded as she mentioned the two deadly creatures that she was trying to ignore.

“Yeah, I feel really safe here with the two shadow creatures that are pretty much walking mouths full of sharp teeth.” Rainbow Dash said in a cynical tone while glaring at the purple mare slightly.

“Look… I don’t want to do this anymore than you do, but sooner or later we’re going to run into some of them. I would rather deal with a pair that I can see than one that will sneak up on us.” Twilight reasoned in an understanding manner in an attempt at getting the cooperation of her friends.

“Ok… so how do we even do this? I left my battle axe at home, and I don’t suppose the princess taught you any spells to combat evil spawns of the netherworld.” Rainbow Dash asked in an anxious tone.

“I don’t know… I guess Rarity and I can hold them with our magic and use some kind of spell to destroy them.” Twilight suggested nervously while looking to the white unicorn for support.

“You want me to touch that thing? I’ll do anything to help darling, but that is asking a bit much.” Rarity protested in a squeamish tone.

“Using your magic is hardly touching it Rarity… Just have my back if things go sour.” Twilight said with a defeated shrug.

“Uh… girls?” Pinkie asked in a nervous tone, eliciting a confused response from the others.

“What is it Pinkie?” Twilight asked curiously while turning to face the pink mare.

“Why did they stop growling?” Pinkie asked with a slightly unnerved expression. The sudden question made everyone turn their attention to the odd silence in the air. They couldn’t hear the creatures growling, breathing, or making any other sort of noise.

Twilight moved closer to the corner as silently as she could. After a moment of hesitation, she poked her head out to look for the two creatures. As soon as she looked around the corner, she was met with two gaping mouths full of teeth staring back at her from only a few inches away.

“AH!” Twilight screamed fearfully as the creatures roared in unison. Before she could turn to backpedal, one of the beasts leapt forward and tackled her to the ground. The only thing she could do was shove her hooves on the darkling’s chest to keep it from getting within biting range.

“Twilight!” Everyone yelled in unison as they saw their friend getting attacked by the vicious creature. Their concern shifted to fear as they noticed the second monster turning to face them.

Throwing caution to the wind for the sake of her friend, Applejack rushed forward and turned around. She kicked her back legs out as hard as she could and knocked the darkling off of the pinned unicorn. Once she grabbed the still stunned mare, she simultaneously dragged her away from the monsters and helped her get to her feet.

“What do we do?! We have nothing to use!” Rainbow Dash stated in a panic while backing away from the approaching monsters. Before anyone could think of a reply, the darklings jumped forward towards the ponies.

“AHH!” Everyone screamed fearfully while scrambling to get away from the airborne creatures. Just before the pair of monsters landed and mauled the helpless group, Rarity lit up her horn and frantically wrapped her magic around one. Twilight quickly followed her example and wrapped her magic around the other one. The two mares barely managed to levitate the darklings and back them away slightly.

The two creatures snarled and barked like wild dogs as they struggled to break free of their floating prisons. The white unicorn seemed to be having trouble with keeping her darkling contained with her magic. She had sweat rolling down her forehead and her horn was sparking. Twilight wasn’t faring much better. Even with her years of experience in magic, the shadow creature was proving to be difficult to handle. It was like some unseen force was making the two beasts far stronger than they should have been. Twilight paled as she suddenly realized that these darklings must have been channeling the shadow energy in their bodies to counteract the magical auras they were in.

“Twilight, do something! I can’t hold it much longer!” Rarity pleaded in a desperate tone.

Twilight’s mind raced as she looked back and forth between Rarity and the two creatures. She had to think of some way to destroy them, but she was running out of time. If the darklings got free again, they might not get a second chance at capturing them.

“Uh… uh…” Twilight muttered while trying to think of a spell to use. Finally she settled on the only thing she could really do offensively. She fought through the strain she was feeling and charged up a magical blast of energy which she promptly fired at the first creature.

Much to everyone’s joy, the bolt of purple light flew into the darkling and blew a small hole in it. The beast let out a shrill yelp of pain before fading into black smoke. Twilight wasted no time and charged up another blast. After a few moments, she shot at the remaining monster and reduced it to smoke as well.

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the weight being removed from her magic. She smiled cheerfully as she realized that she and her friends had just survived a run in with a pair of vicious shadow creatures. Not only did they survive, but they destroyed the beasts themselves with no outside assistance.

“Way to go guys! I thought we were goners for a second there.” Rainbow Dash cheered in a relieved tone.

“I’m glad none of us got hurt… Now let’s get moving before more of them show up.” Twilight suggested while motioning forward with her head. Everyone nodded in agreement before following the purple mare down the corridor.

The six ponies continued making their way through the castle. All the while they could hear shouts from guards and the distant roars and growls of more darklings. They only hoped that they could steer clear from any more monsters, and that they could get back with help in time to save as many people as possible.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of sneaking around hallways and fearfully listening for any sign that a bloodthirsty monster was nearby, the group reached one of the side entrances to the castle. Twilight hesitantly opened the door and peered outside. Judging from the lush hedges and flowers that covered everything she could see, the unicorn gathered that she had found a way out into the garden.

“Ok… looks like we’re in the garden. We should have a straight shot to the hotel where Glimmer Shine and the others are staying, but we will be out in the open.” Twilight said in a cautious tone.

“What happens if we run into more darklings?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously while looking around and listening to the muffled screams and roars coming from the distance.

“Just stay low and stick together. Hopefully we won’t need to run into any more of them.” Twilight replied in an uneasy attempt at reassuring her friends. It was hard to appear confident when she was just as terrified as the five mares around her.

With a hesitant nod, the group followed their unicorn leader out into the garden. Normally such an opportunity would be awe inspiring for all of the ponies, most of all Fluttershy, but any animals that used to inhabit the garden either scattered when the darklings first showed up or they were in hiding.

Twilight and the others kept low to the ground and used cover wherever possible to keep as hidden as they could while they moved across the garden. Every few steps they would pause and dart their heads around. Having six people trying to sneak around had its disadvantages, but they at least had multiple pairs of eyes scanning their surroundings for threats.

After clinging to a hedge at the far side of the garden, Twilight slowly poked her head out to see where they were. She smiled slightly as she saw that they were at the edge of the castle grounds. All they had to do was hop over a small wall to get to the city. As she noticed the chaos and peril that waited in the streets beyond however, the unicorn’s smile faded into a shocked and afraid expression.

There were darklings dotted around the various streets and buildings as far as the eye could see. Thankfully it seemed that most of the citizens of Canterlot had locked themselves inside the nearest building they could find. However, a few trails and splashes of blood along the ground in places was enough to make an uneasy knot form in the unicorn’s stomach.

“How does it look out there?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously, drawing the purple mare’s attention to her friends crouched low to the ground beside her. They seemed eager and anxious to know what was waiting for them beyond the hedge they were clinging to for safety.

“They’ve overrun the city from the looks of it.” Twilight reported while lowering herself back down and looking to her five companions uneasily.

“What about the guards? Shouldn’t they be taking care of this?” Rarity asked in a nervous tone.

“I don’t think they can handle this many darklings… They need someone to tell them what’s going on so they can focus their efforts.” Twilight stated in a frustrated manner.

“Isn’t that usually what the princess does?” Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically. Twilight groaned in a distraught tone before putting a hoof on her face. She couldn’t believe that she was thrust into the middle of such a terrible situation.

“The hooded ponies definitely knew what they were doing. The guards wouldn’t have a chance to even interfere with their plans if there weren’t enough of them organized. If only my brother were here… he would know what to do.” Twilight sighed in an upset tone.

“That’s why we need to go get Glimmer Shine and the others. They can go and get help while we do what we can here.” Applejack suggested in a reassuring manner.

“Right… right.” Twilight nodded while cringing and removing the heavy strain of trying to figure out what to do from her head. She had a plan of action that would make a lot of progress towards beating the hooded ponies, overstressing her mind trying to think of a perfect plan that would take care of everything at once would just hinder her.

“We can do this… just take it one step at a time.” Rarity reminded the group to keep cool heads and not let their fear get the best of them.

“And our first step is getting to the others… Come on, let’s go.” Twilight instructed while hopping over the hedge. Everyone nodded before cautiously following the purple mare.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Celestia was still at the mercy of her captors. Raven Feather and her band of followers marched through her once secure home and made their way towards the throne room, all the while making the alicorn follow them against her will.

Raincloud walked next to the princess and shoved her along every time she paused to try and look around. The hoof cuffs binding her front legs together made it nearly impossible to walk, but the pale pegasus was giving her no other alternatives. All Celestia could do was silently follow her captors while hoping that nobody else would get hurt.

Finally, the group arrived in the throne room and headed inside. There were already hooded workers arranging their supplies and preparing the room for whatever twisted purpose Raven Feather had in mind. Celestia gasped in quiet horror as she noticed Dust Kicker overseeing a few darklings that were dragging bloodied corpses of guards out of the room.

“Ah… here we are. This will do nicely for the ritual.” Raven Feather said in an impressed tone while looking around.

“Should I start working on the symbols?” Raincloud asked curiously while shoving Celestia against a wall and leaving her to take a seated position.

“Yes, but get a crew to help you. I want to be finished here before the guards outside stop running around aimlessly and actually start banding together.” Raven Feather said in a serious tone. Raincloud nodded before walking over to a group of hoods to acquire their assistance.

While the pale pegasus started work on drawing the symbols needed for the ritual, Raven Feather walked around the throne room and imagined her future as ruler of Equestria.

“I wonder what I’ll do with all of the free time I’ll have once I have everyone in Equestria under my hoof.” The black mare pondered out loud while wandering to and fro.

“You can fantasize all you want, but you won’t succeed.” Celestia said with a harsh glare at the green eyed pony.

“Oh… is that so?” Raven Feather asked with an amused chuckle while walking up to the trapped alicorn.

“Even if you somehow found a way to trigger this so called eternal night, you will be stopped.” Celestia said in a confident tone.

“And who is going to stop me? Your dear sister and your pet slayer are dead, princess amore and her lover boy are miles away, and there is no way in hell that student of yours and her friends are going to stop us.” Raven Feather said in a mocking tone.

“Don’t underestimate the elements of harmony. They have been the downfall of many people like you.” Celestia said in an irritated tone.

“Oh trust me… I have no intentions of underestimating the power of the elements… the element wielders however are of no concern to me, especially when I take their precious toys and hide them as far away as I can.” Raven Feather said with a sinister smirk.

“What…? You can’t possibly expect to steal the elements. They have enough protective spells placed on them to keep even myself and my sister out if we tried to break in.” Celestia said in a shocked tone. The black mare merely chuckled at the notion that a few magical spells could keep her out.

“That’s where you’re mistaken Celestia. I created a spell to get past your defenses a long time ago. I already have some workers going to retrieve the elements as we speak.” Raven Feather said in a pleased tone.

While the black mare chuckled with a smirk on her face, two hooded ponies entered the room in a hurry. They had urgent expressions on their faces as they walked across the room to make it to their leader.

“Miss Raven Feather!” The two ponies exclaimed in unison.

“What is it? Did you hide the elements like I asked?” Raven Feather asked curiously.

“No… when we opened the secret panel where the elements are kept, they were gone!” One of the hoods explained in an uneasy tone.

“What?! How is that possible?! Did Twilight Sparkle and her friends take them?” Raven Feather asked in an angered tone.

“We don’t think so… our scouts saw them leaving the castle, and they didn’t have the elements with them.” The pair explained in a nervous tone while cowering before the black mare. They expected her to lash out at them, but instead she internalized her anger and walked over to the chained alicorn with a livid expression.

“Where did you take the elements?!” Raven Feather demanded while grabbing the princess by her chest and pulling her close.

“What are you talking about?” Celestia asked in a confused tone.

“The elements aren’t in their resting place, and your student doesn’t have them. Did you know we were coming? What did you do?!” Raven Feather asked in an upset tone.

“The elements are gone? How is that possible…? There are only a select number of people that can even open that alcove.” Celestia stated in a bewildered tone.

“You… didn’t take them?” Raven Feather asked in a confused tone. Judging from the equal confusion on the alicorn’s face, she was telling the truth.

“Grr…” Raven Feather growled angrily while letting the princess go. She walked over to the pale pegasus in the middle of the room that was working on drawing a large symbol on the floor.

“Raincloud… I need you and Dust Kicker to go in the next room and keep watch for Twilight Sparkle and her friends. The elements of harmony are unaccounted for.” Raven Feather instructed in an uneasy tone.

“What… but what about the ritual?” Raincloud asked curiously. Even though there were a lot of hooded workers assigned to working on the symbol and spells needed for the ritual, a more experienced magic user was needed to put the pieces together.

“I will make preparations myself. I can’t have them interfering with us now that we don’t have their trump card in check. I want them dead… and I want them dead as soon as they step through that door.” Raven Feather explained while pointing out of the room.

“Alright, we can handle it.” Raincloud nodded before turning to her brother across the room. “Come on Dust, we have a new job to do.” She explained while motioning for the brown stallion to follow her. Dust Kicker dropped what he was doing and followed his sibling as she walked out of the room.

Meanwhile, Shadow Mist and Grimwood were watching Raven Feather as she rushed to finish preparations. She seemed to have a new sense of urgency about her as she scribbled the large symbol on the floor. They shared a concerned glance with each other as they realized that things just got harder for them as well. With the elements of harmony missing, their plan could very well shrivel up along with Raven Feather’s.

Twilight and the others carefully made their way through the streets of Canterlot on their way to get help. They had to stick to back alleys and other detours just to avoid the many darklings that were prowling the streets.

Despite how careful they were, they still had several tense moments where one of the beasts looked their way or got too close for comfort. The thought of one of the monsters spotting them and alerting the rest to their presence was enough to terrify the six mares. If they didn’t keep under the radar, they would have been ripped to pieces.

As Twilight poked her head around the corner of the building she was leaning against, she finally saw her goal across the next street. The hotel that Glimmer Shine and the others were staying in was just a short walk across the street away.

“We’re here!” Twilight exclaimed in an eager yet quiet tone to her friends. Although the others were excited, they were still nervous about their surroundings.

“Are there any darklings around?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone. Twilight looked back around the corner and scanned her eyes around.

As her eyes shifted to the distance, the purple mare noticed two of the creatures further down the street. Although they were far away from the hotel, their mere presence was enough to send a chill down the unicorn’s spine.

“There’s two of them, but it looks like they are a ways away.” Twilight stated uneasily.

“Ugh… what if they see us?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

“Do they even have eyes? All I see on them is that big mouth of theirs.” Rainbow Dash stated curiously.

“Well, I don’t think that stopped them from chasing us before. Even if they see by tasting the air, that doesn’t help us in the slightest.” Twilight shrugged in a disheartened tone. “Looks like we’re just going to have to sneak by and hope they don’t notice us. Come on, let’s go.” She said while motioning for the others to follow her.

The ponies carefully started walking towards the hotel. They kept as low to the ground as they could while running silently towards their destination. All the while they were darting their eyes to the two creatures in the distance, fearful that they would start bolting towards them at any moment.

Much to everyone’s surprise, they made it across the street without being noticed by the two beasts. Twilight quickly threw open the door and ushered her friends inside. Everyone flooded into the lobby of the hotel and closed the door behind them.

The room was completely silent other than the muffled sounds coming from outside. There was no one behind the front desk, and nobody up the stairway to the left or in the door to the right. It was like everyone had run away when the darklings started to attack.

“Where is everyone?” Fluttershy asked uneasily.

“They probably ran or hid when they saw what was going on. I just hope Glimmer Shine and the others are still here.” Twilight stated with a hint of concern in her voice.

“Only one way to find out… let’s head upstairs and look for them.” Applejack said while glancing to the stairs. If she remembered correct, the trio was staying on the second floor.

Everyone nodded in agreement before heading towards the stairs. They only hoped that they would find the team in the hotel somewhere. If they didn’t, they would be forced to look for them around town with all of the darklings still running rampant.

Suddenly, the group heard a deep growl coming from the stairs. They froze up fearfully and started to back away slowly as they realized what the sound belonged to.

“What is one of them doing in here?!” Rainbow Dash whispered in a panic.

“They must have broken in somehow.” Twilight explained nervously.

Before they could think of something to do, the ponies saw a dark shape appearing at the top of the stairs. Before long, the angry growls of the beast got louder as it started walking down towards the six mares.

“Twilight… what do we do?” Fluttershy asked in a timid voice while backing away from the frightening creature.

“Everyone follow me… we’re going to go in that door, and close it behind us. Just move slowly, and keep facing towards it.” Twilight explained in a calm tone.

Suddenly, another distinct growl rose up from the side of the ponies. Everyone looked to the side to see two more of the creatures stalking out of the open door they were looking to for an escape route. With their plan and their odds of survival sinking fast, everyone became much more fearful of their situation.

“Which one do we face?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a franticly sarcastic tone.

“We can’t hold all three of them with our magic Twilight. I know you’re good, but just holding one of them was unbearable.” Rarity stated in a nervous tone while turning to her purple companion.

Twilight could feel herself sweating as she glanced between her friends and the approaching monsters. She looked outside to the only escape route they had left. If they ran out with the other monsters chasing them, every darkling in the city would be on top of them in no time.

“We can’t go back out there… if we make too much noise these three will be the least of our problems.” Twilight said uneasily.

“Well right now they look like our biggest problem from where I’m standing!” Rainbow Dash stated anxiously.

Twilight lit up her horn and stood fast against the three creatures. If she could charge up a powerful enough attack to destroy the first two beasts in time, the third one would be on top of her before she could react. No matter how she sliced it, one of the monsters would be free to attack her or her friends while she and Rarity dealt with the second one.

“Ah think we can hold off the third one while you deal with those two.” Applejack said while looking to Rainbow Dash for support. The cyan mare seemed eager to defend her friends, but she was still nervous about fighting the shadow creatures.

“No… I can’t let you do that. You two might get hurt before we can help.” Twilight said uneasily.

“We’re running out of time Twilight! We need to do something!” Rainbow Dash said in an urgent tone. The ponies were already backed up as far as they could go, and the creatures were getting closer.

Finally, the darkling that came from upstairs let out a fierce snarl as it leapt forward. Rainbow Dash and Applejack rushed to get in between the leaping monster and their friends. The cyan mare jumped up and used her wings to give her a boost as she knocked into the darkling from the side.

As soon as they saw that the fight was starting, the other two darklings rushed forward. They charged straight for the two ponies struggling with their friend. Applejack cringed as she saw the two monsters charging at her. She had her hooves full with making sure the third monster didn’t lash out at Rainbow Dash while she held it down.

“Girls!” Twilight exclaimed fearfully while stepping forward. She concentrated on one of the beasts, enveloping it in a magical aura and holding it back. Rarity stepped forward and trapped the other monster. The two unicorns strained to keep the struggling beasts captive.

“Agh!” Rainbow Dash screamed as the darkling on the floor used its front leg to swipe across her face. The beast’s claws raked across her face, leaving a deep wound that burned like crazy and spurted out blood. Despite the pegasus’s best efforts at keeping the creature on the ground, it kicked her off with a frightening display of strength.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack exclaimed fearfully as she saw the cyan pony reeling from her short flight backwards. Now that the creature was free, it sized up the orange mare and stared at her like a fox would stare at a defenseless chicken.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Rarity were still struggling with their respective darklings. Twilight glanced over to her two friends fighting the third beast and widened her eyes as she realized they were losing. She quickly charged up her horn and fired a blast at the monster she was holding.

Before the blast could hit its mark, the darkling violently jerked itself downward. The sudden strain on the purple mare’s magic made her cry out in pain as the monster was freed from her grasp. Once the beast was free, it went straight for the two unicorns that were causing it so much grief.

“AHH!” Twilight and Rarity screamed as they saw the darkling jumping for them. They tried to back up, but it was far too late to be able to do anything.

*ZAP*

Suddenly, a bolt of light crashed into the darkling jumping for the helpless ponies. The creature roared in agony before vanishing in a puff of black smoke. Another series of magical bursts sounded out as the two remaining darklings were gunned down like the first one.

Everyone looked up in a confused state as they examined themselves to check if they were still alive. Rainbow Dash still had her bleeding cuts on her face, and Applejack was a little roughed up by the creature she was fighting, but otherwise the ponies were completely unharmed.

“W-what the…?” Twilight muttered in shock while looking around for the source of her rescue. She then noticed Sunspot, Glimmer Shine, and Glitterball standing on the stairs while holding their still smoking strobes out in front of them.

“Why do you always have a monster trying to maul you to death every time we see you?” Sunspot asked with a slight smirk while lowering her strobe.

“Boy am I glad to see you guys.” Rainbow Dash said in a relieved tone while getting up from the floor. She winced in pain as she clutched her face tenderly. The sight of blood dripping from the cyan mare’s hoof made the others frown with concern.

“Are you guys ok?” Glimmer Shine asked in a concerned tone while examining the rest of the group for injuries.

“We would be a lot worse off if you didn’t show up when you did.” Twilight said with a grateful tone before turning to her injured friend. “Are you ok Rainbow Dash? Those cuts look really bad.” She said in a sympathetic manner while walking up to the pegasus. Rainbow Dash moved her hoof away while the unicorn gently examined her injury in the light.

“For what it’s worth, they feel really bad too.” Rainbow Dash said while cringing painfully.

“Here, let me see if I can help.” Glitterball said while trotting up to the pegasus and examining her wounds closely. They looked jagged and deeper than they actually were, but she should have had no problems with healing them with her magic.

“So what are you girls doing here? I assume it has something to do with the fact that the city is crawling with darklings now.” Glimmer Shine said in a droll tone.

“Yes… that’s right.” Twilight said while looking down in a disheartened manner. “The hooded ponies are attacking the castle as we speak. There are even more darklings out in the city… they are probably using them as a distraction.” She explained uneasily.

“What?! They’re attacking the castle right now?! Well let’s get over there!” Sunspot said in a frantic tone.

“Tom and the princess are handling things right now, but they need help. We need you guys to find a way to signal for reinforcements.” Twilight explained in a desperate tone.

“You guys were royal guard at one point… isn’t there some kind of emergency protocol or something for these situations?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. She winced slightly as Glitterball cleaned her wound.

“There are some telegraphs and other methods for calling guard stations in other towns, but help would have already arrived if they were used.” Glimmer Shine explained in a confused tone.

“The hooded ponies seem to know what they’re doing… maybe they sent darklings or something else to stop guards from calling for help.” Twilight suggested in a disheartened tone.

“Well… there is a signal fire in one of the towers on the edge of town.” Glitter said while recalling from memory her training on emergency procedures.

“Will that get enough guards here to do anything meaningful?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Yeah… all of the nearby towns will see it and call for help using their equipment. We will have enough pony power here to fight an army of darklings in an hour or so.” Glimmer Shine said in a confident tone.

“That’s great! You guys can go light the signal fire while we head back to the castle and help the princess.” Twilight stated eagerly. Glimmer Shine and the others frowned slightly as they saw how eager the six mares were to go fight the hooded ponies.

“Twilight… I really think you should stay here and wait until things blow over. We can put a protective charm on our room upstairs and you guys can wait until we get back.” Glimmer Shine said in a concerned tone.

Twilight frowned slightly as her plans were shot down again by the yellow stallion and his team. She couldn’t really blame them. After all, it was part of their job to worry about her and her friends. Still, she couldn’t just let them argue with her over something like this when they were short enough on time as is. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head about what she could do to avoid a lengthy argument with the three ponies.

“Alright… fine. You guys win.” Twilight said while sounding as disappointed as she could.

“We do…?” Glimmer Shine asked in a confused tone. He expected more resistance from the purple mare and her friends over staying out of danger.

“Yeah… we can’t keep risking our lives like this. We aren’t prepared for fighting like this, so we should just let you guys take care of things.” Twilight said with a disheartened shrug.

“What?! Are you out of your mind Twilight?! We can’t just do nothing while they-” Rainbow Dash protested angrily, until she received a forceful nudge on the side from Rarity. Once she took a moment to think, she realized what her friends were doing.

“Rainbow Dash… I would normally agree with you, but I have a family to go home to. Sweetie Belle would be heartbroken if she heard that her sister got killed doing something stupid like fighting the hooded ponies by herself.” Rarity said in her best heartfelt tone while secretly giving the pegasus a suggestive look with her eyes.

“Grr… fine, you guys win. I’ll stay… but I don’t have to like it.” Rainbow Dash said while folding her arms in an upset manner.

“I’m glad to hear that. We should be back with help soon, so you won’t have to wait long. Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.” Glimmer Shine said while motioning for the group to follow him. Everyone nodded before following the stallion upstairs.

After a short walk to the room that the three ponies were sharing, Twilight and the others stepped inside and watched as the trio prepared a protective charm to place on the door. Once the charm was in place, Glimmer Shine and his two teammates stood outside and prepared to leave.

“We’ll be back before you know it. Try to stay out of trouble while we’re gone.” Glimmer Shine said in a sincere tone.

“We’ll do our best.” Twilight said while flashing a brief smile. Everyone waved to the three ponies as they closed the door and walked away.

After waiting a few minutes to ensure the trio was gone, the purple mare turned to her small band of friends with a determined expression.

“Alright… now we can go help Tom and the princess.” Twilight said in an eager tone.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Rainbow Dash said in an excited tone.

Before the group gathered around the door to leave, something out of the corner of her eye caught Pinkie’s attention. She walked over to one of the three beds in the room and noticed a small leather carrying case with three vials placed in holsters. The vials held blue liquid inside and had a pointed tip on one end of its case, which made it easily identifiable as a strobe.

“Hey guys, check this out.” Pinkie said eagerly. Everyone looked over to see the pink mare holding up one of the vials to examine it.

“Nice find Pinkie… these must be their spare strobes.” Twilight said in an impressed tone.

“Those might come in handy.” Rainbow Dash suggested with a slight smirk.

“Are you sure they would want us to take these?” Fluttershy asked in an uneasy tone.

“Well… if they knew we were sneaking out to go fight those guys, they would probably want us to be well equipped wouldn’t they?” Rainbow Dash said in a witty tone.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we’re only borrowing them. We need all the help we can get, and these should make it easier to get back to the castle.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone. She levitated the other two vials out of the satchel and gave them to Applejack and Fluttershy.

“Too bad there are only three of them… I wouldn’t mind shooting some holes in those darklings.” Rainbow Dash said in a disappointed tone.

“You can take mine if you want.” Pinkie offered while holding her vial out to the pegasus. The cyan mare gently pushed the vial away with a heartfelt expression.

“That’s ok Pinkie, I can manage on my own. I want you guys to be as safe as possible.” Rainbow Dash said in a friendly tone.

“Yeah, we need to divide our equipment as evenly as possible. Rarity and I have our magic, and Rainbow has her flying skills, so you three should take the strobes.” Twilight said in a concerned tone.

“Thanks girls, Ah appreciate it. Now, let’s go kick some tail shall we?” Applejack suggested with a smirk. Everyone nodded before heading towards the door.

The six mares quickly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. After making their way through the building and keeping an eye out for Glimmer Shine and the others, they headed back out into the streets of Canterlot. They had one clear goal in mind as they started their way towards the castle, and that was to put a stop to the hooded ponies once and for all.