Glimmer Shine and his two companions diligently scanned their eyes around as they walked down the street. The trio kept their strobes at the ready in preparation to blast anything that wasn’t a pony to smithereens. Aside from the stray howl of a pack of darklings in the distance, the streets were mostly clear. In fact, it was a little bit too clear and devoid of life.

“I don’t like this… it’s way too peaceful out here.” Sunspot said in an uneasy tone while slowly looking around in a paranoid state.

“It shouldn’t be much further. Let’s just keep moving and stay low for as long as we can.” Glimmer Shine said in a reassuring tone. Despite his attempts at lightening the tension felt by his companions, the yellow stallion was just as paranoid about what could be lurking in the shadows around every corner.

“Do you really think they are going to do it?” Glitterball asked nervously.

“What, take over Canterlot? I think that ship has sailed already.” Sunspot said in a nervously droll tone while taking note of the distant sounds of screams and snarls around her.

“*Sigh* No… I mean the eternal night. Do you really think it exists?” Glitterball said to clarify.

“Well if it does exist, I can only hope those nut jobs don’t get the chance to start it.” Sunspot replied uneasily.

“Then we better hurry up and light that signal fire. The sooner we get done here, the sooner we can go help the princess and Tom.” Glimmer Shine said in a determined tone. The reminder of their grim situation only made the two mares more anxious to get to the tower and finish their task as soon as possible.

Taking a quick glance down to the locator vial secured to her vest, Glitterball saw that the liquid inside was completely aglow with faint blue light. The reading offered little more than the knowledge that there were evil creatures all around her, but the unicorn and her teammates were already well aware of that fact.

Suddenly, the group noticed a tower coming into view in the distance. It was hard to tell from the ground, but there seemed to be an open area near the top where a signal fire could be positioned. Regardless, the sight of the tower greatly raised the spirits of the three ponies.

“Looks like we made it.” Glimmer Shine said in a relieved tone.

“And it looks like we aren’t the only ones.” Sunspot stated uneasily while pointing at the building at the base of the tower. There were numerous black shapes swarming near the entrance to the small building, and they didn’t look like they were leaving any time soon.

“Think we can take them?” Glitterball asked curiously while keeping her strobe ready.

“I don’t think we have a choice.” Glimmer Shine said in a more alarmed tone while looking behind the group. The two mares beside him were confused about why he was so distracted and alert.

“What’s wrong?” Sunspot asked in a puzzled tone while turning around to see what was holding the stallion’s attention. As soon as she turned around, she widened her eyes in shock at what she saw.

Darklings were walking out onto the street from around the many buildings and side alleys dotted around. The beasts were snarling and growling viciously while keeping their attention squarely fixed on the three ponies. They were all bearing their teeth and dribbling from their large maws, creating a disconcerting sight to behold.

“Oh crud…” Sunspot muttered in shock.

“I guess we found out where the rest of them went.” Glimmer Shine said in an uneasy tone while sizing up the many creatures approaching in the distance.

“W-what do we do?” Glitterball asked nervously while backing up in fright.

“Run for the building down there! There are way less to deal with!” Glimmer Shine yelled before running down the street. Sunspot and Glitterball quickly followed the yellow stallion. A loud collection of roars and barks sounded out behind them, confirming their fear that the pack of monsters was chasing after them.

As they drew closer to the building at the end of the street, the darklings at the front of the building turned their heads to look at the ponies and the horde of monsters behind them. Sunspot fired her strobe at the left side of the group before they started running forward, catching two of them in the head and destroying them.

Glitterball and Glimmer Shine followed suit and opened fire on the crowd of darklings. Due to the relatively lower numbers of the group in front of the building, the three ponies were able to easily destroy them all in a few moments of continuous fire.

Taking a glance behind him to check on the progress of the horde, Glimmer Shine was surprised to see that even more darklings had joined the chase. From appearances, it seemed like every darkling in the city had been attracted by the noise of the army of creatures running after the ponies.

Finally, the trio reached the building and rushed up to the door. As they looked behind them to see a wall of shadow creatures barreling towards them, they were overcome by an intense feeling of panic and fear.

“Get inside! There is no way we can fight that many of them!” Glitterball said while rushing to the door and grabbing the handle. Much to the unicorn’s relief, the handle turned easily and the door popped open. Once her two teammates rushed inside, the white mare ran in after them and closed it behind her.

“That door won’t hold them for long.” Glimmer Shine said nervously.

“Crap… What are we going to do?! The protective charm doesn’t work on doors leading outside!” Sunspot stated in a panic.

“Ugh… stupid spells and their limitations! Remind me to work on that charm if we make it out of this alive!” Glitterball said in an annoyed tone.

“Let’s focus on making it out alive first. Follow me!” Glimmer Shine exclaimed while rushing forward into the building. The two mares wasted no time in following the stallion.

The building they were in looked like a guard post of sorts. There were banners with the royal emblem emblazoned on them along with depictions of the three races of ponies scattered along the walls. There was a desk at the back of the room with a door to the right of it. Spotting no other exits aside from a hallway that led further into the building, the trio ran straight for the door and rushed inside.

Taking a look around, the three ponies spotted a small gathering of guards in the back of the room. There were two pegasus’s, a unicorn, and an earth pony. Each of them had tense and uneasy expressions on their faces, which was understandable considering the number of monsters outside.

“Oh… it’s you monster hunters.” The unicorn guard said with a relieved tone of voice.

“We thought you were one of those things breaking in.” One of the pegasus’s added.

“Glitter, set up a protective charm before those things actually do break in.” Glimmer Shine instructed while glancing to the door uneasily.

“Already on it.” Glitterball stated while scribbling away at a piece of paper.

“What are we going to do? Aren’t you guys supposed to be the experts on this kind of thing?” The earth pony guard asked curiously while observing the three.

“Even if we wrote the book on the supernatural, taking on an army of those things with just the three of us is kind of impossible. Weren’t you guys supposed to light the signal fire?” Sunspot asked in an annoyed tone.

“We tried that. By the time we got up there, there were already two of those things in the tower somehow. We barely made it back here in one piece.” The unicorn stallion replied uneasily.

“They were in the tower?” Sunspot asked in a confused tone.

“They must be following orders to guard it.” Glimmer Shine suggested in a frustrated manner while shrugging.

“Ok… so what do we do?” Sunspot asked curiously.

“Well… we have three strobes between us, and an army of those things outside waiting for us.” Glimmer Shine stated uneasily. Suddenly a flash of light surged around the room. The group turned their head to see Glitterball messing with a piece of paper with red symbols drawn on it.

“At least we have some breathing room to think out a plan.” Glitter said with a relieved tone.

“Whatever we’re going to do, we need to do it quick. The more time we spend out here, the longer Raven Feather and her gang have to do what they came here to do.” Glimmer Shine shrugged uneasily.

Sunspot and Glitterball sighed in frustration while sitting down and thinking about a possible escape plan. The princess was counting on them, and perhaps all of Equestria depended on their success. Still, the only resources they had were their own strobes, and three of Equestria’s finest. Which considering how little Equestria was prepared to handle the world of the occult, didn’t account for much.

Meanwhile, Twilight and her band of friends were making more headway towards their goal. Due to their combined use of strobes, magic, and teamwork, they were able to get through the many creatures prowling the streets of Canterlot. But even with all of the equipment they had, they felt scared and defenseless every time they had to confront one of the monsters. Thankfully they hadn’t come across them in large numbers yet.

Twilight took the lead and walked up to the edge of a building to get a look around. Applejack and Pinkie Pie stayed behind her while everyone else watched anxiously from the back. The purple mare slowly peaked around the corner and looked up and down the next street. Spotting only a single darkling off to the left, she motioned for her friends to follow her as she snuck across the street to the next building.

“I think the castle is just through here.” Twilight said while walking into an alleyway around the side of the building. Everyone followed while keeping an eye out for any signs that they had been spotted by the creatures around them.

As she reached the end of the alley and poked her head out, Twilight was pleased to see the castle just ahead. The sight of a pack of darklings roaming around the front of the castle grounds made the unicorn’s happiness vanish almost instantly.

“Are we there yet?” Pinkie asked in a hopeful tone. Twilight shrugged uneasily while ducking back into the alleyway and turning to face her friends.

“We are… but there are a lot of them between us and the entrance.” Twilight explained in a disheartened tone.

“How about the side entrance?” Rainbow Dash asked with careful optimism. The unicorn walked back up to the corner and slowly poked her head out again.

Taking a look over to the side where the garden was, Twilight saw even more darklings. The vicious beasts were surprisingly calm and focused as they sat still and scanned their heads around. It was almost like they were actively guarding the castle to make sure nobody else got inside.

“Horsefeathers…” Twilight muttered to herself while reeling back around the corner and turning to her friends again. “No good… it looks like they are keeping the entrances locked down tight.” She explained in a frustrated tone.

“I didn’t think those things were smart enough to strategize.” Rainbow Dash stated uneasily.

“It’s probably Dust Kicker… if he can summon those things, maybe he can give them orders too.” Twilight hypothesized with a deflated sigh. She would probably be curious about the connection the creatures had to each other and their master, but she was too busy handling the stressful situation before her.

“So what’s our plan? Do you think we can take them?” Applejack asked with a concerned twinge in her voice while eyeing between her friends and the area ahead. The last thing she wanted was for someone to get hurt because they couldn’t handle the situation.

“No… if we make too much noise, more of them will just come running.” Twilight said in a frustrated tone while sliding to a seated position and leaning her head against the wall. As she closed her eyes and took a moment to think about a possible plan of action, an idea suddenly popped into her head.

“Hold on a second… running…?” Twilight muttered to herself while getting up and heading to the corner with newfound energy. She looked ahead at the front entrance of the castle and took note of how many darklings were in the immediate area.

“I know that look. What do you have in mind?” Rainbow Dash asked in a curious tone while walking up to the unicorn and cautiously looking around.

“Maybe we can make a run for the front entrance. We would still need to fight some of them, but it would be a lot less distance to go.” Twilight suggested while turning to her small band of troops.

“What about making noise? Didn’t you say that there were too many to fight quietly?” Fluttershy asked in a nervous tone while clinging to her strobe.

“If we can make it inside, we can just close the doors on them. There could be a hundred of them trying to break in, and they probably wouldn’t be able to bash their way through.” Twilight said in an eager tone.

“That sounds like a good plan darling… but there is still the matter of getting past all of those horrid beasts.” Rarity said in a concerned tone. The unicorn’s statement made everyone look to the numerous darklings in their field of view with nervous expressions.

“We’ll need to stick together. If all six of us work together to keep them away, we should be able to make it inside.” Twilight explained in a reassuring tone while turning to face her friends.

“I’m ready when you guys are.” Rainbow Dash said while stretching her legs eagerly.

“Ok Rainbow, you do whatever you can, but be careful. Rarity and I will use our magic to take some of them out and keep them from getting too close. Fluttershy… you, Pinkie, and Applejack can use your strobes to keep our sides clear. Can you handle that?” Twilight asked in a sympathetic tone while looking to the yellow pegasus.

Fluttershy gulped nervously as she realized that she would play a big part in keeping herself and her friends alive. She felt her knees wobbling as she thought about being rushed by a pack of darklings. She thought she was going to drop her strobe from how much she was shaking, until she felt a hoof being gently placed on her side.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy. We’ll have your back.” Applejack said in a sincere tone while glancing to Pinkie.

“Right, it’ll be easy as pie.” The pink mare added with a confident nod and a lighthearted giggle.

“O-ok… I think I can do this.” Fluttershy said while swallowing her fear and putting on a brave expression. The others were pleased to see the timid pegasus with such confidence, even if it might have been fake.

With a silent nod, Twilight and her friends exited the alley and started crossing the street. Once they made it a short distance, they looked around and saw numerous darklings in the distance to either side. The knowledge that they were surrounded by dangerous creatures made the six mares sweat nervously.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Twilight lit up her horn and charged up a magical blast. She shot at one of the darklings ahead, aiming square for its mid-section. Before the creature could even turn to face the approaching ponies, the bolt of light pierced its form and exploded it into black smoke as it careened to the ground.

Now that their presence was known, all of the darklings in the immediate area growled and turned to face the group of ponies. Taking this as a sign to jump into action, the others readied their weapons and started firing at the horde in front of them.

While the two unicorns picked off stragglers with their magic, Pinkie Pie and Applejack rapidly fired their strobes at as many of the beasts as they could. Fluttershy joined her friends in firing, but her nerves prevented her from having as much speed and precision as them.

“Heads up!” Rainbow Dash yelled while leaping forward and kicking at a darkling that was pouncing for Twilight. The creature yelped in surprise and annoyance while sailing backwards and hitting the ground. Before it could get back up to retaliate, a purple bolt of energy slammed into the darkling and destroyed it.

“Good work, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said in passing thanks before returning her attention to the battle. The cyan pegasus barely had time to smirk confidently before she had to return her focus around her as well.

As the group ran forward and raced to clear the area ahead, the darkling numbers were steadily decreasing around the front of the castle. However, with all of the noise being made, the ponies were attracting unwanted attention from the sides.

“Uh oh… we got incoming!” Applejack exclaimed while turning to the side. A sizable amount of the shadowy creatures were coming in from either side in packs of one or two at a time. While Twilight and Rarity continued finishing off the monsters at the front, the orange mare and her two companions were forced to direct their attention to their sides and rear.

“Keep shooting, girls! We’re almost there!” Twilight stated in an urgent tone while dispatching the last of the darklings in the front and turning around to help her friends.

“I’m shooting as fast as I can!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed in a concerned tone. Sure enough, the sound of strobes being fired and flashes of light filled the air from all sides. The constant magical discharges were almost enough to drown out the sound of the hungry beasts closing in on all sides, but not quite.

“There’s too many of them!” Rainbow Dash said while rushing to kick back a few of the beasts that were too close for comfort. Her friends were trying their best to take care of the darklings she was kicking away while also trying to deal with the rest that were further back.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the group reached the door. Twilight used her magic to grab the door frantically, but when she tried to open it, she was met with sturdy resistance that made her heart sink.

“Uh, Twilight… could you do us all a favor and get that door open!” Applejack stated frantically.

“I can’t! It’s stuck!” Twilight reported in an urgent tone. Her words were like a punch in the gut to everyone who heard them.

“What?!” Everyone exclaimed in fearful shock.

“How is it stuck?! Did they lock the door or something?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a frantic tone.

“No, I don’t think so. I think there is a magical seal on it that the guards use to keep it closed in times of crisis. The hooded ponies must have activated it.” Twilight explained nervously.

“Well that’s just perfect! Can you get it open?” Rainbow Dash asked in a hopeful tone.

“Uh… uh… I don’t know!” Twilight said in a distressed tone. The pressure of the situation was starting to make the purple mare panic.

“Twilight… Ah hate to be the bearer of bad news and all, but we are going to die if you don’t get that door open!” Applejack said in an urgent tone while directing her attention to the darklings ahead. Although the three mares wielding strobes were able to keep most of them at bay, their numbers were increasing as more darklings arrived from other areas.

“Ok… umm… uh… I might be able to get it open. How much time do I have?” Twilight asked in a hesitant tone.

“Do you want me to answer that, or do you want someone else to answer?” Applejack asked in an uncertain tone. The purple mare gulped nervously as she caught on to the earth pony’s meaning. The last thing she probably wanted to hear right now was the truth.

“Just get that door open Twilight... we’ll buy you as much time as we can.” Rainbow Dash said in a confident tone while turning to the others.

“Right.” Pinkie Pie and Applejack stated in unison while stepping away from the others and forming a small perimeter a short distance away. Fluttershy hesitantly followed the two mares and walked over to the right side to follow their example. While the timid pegasus watched the right side, Pinkie watched the front, and Applejack watched the left side. Rainbow Dash walked over to her three companions and hovered near them, ready to do whatever she could to help keep the beasts away.

“Please hurry Twilight…” Rarity said in an uneasy tone before rushing away to join the others. Twilight took a brief moment to look at her friends as they worked together to defend the area. She nodded silently with a more determined expression before lighting up her horn and starting her work on the door.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity were all fighting to keep the monsters charging them at bay. Rarity and Rainbow Dash rushed from side to side, helping whoever needed it most at the time while the others used their strobes to protect their small perimeter.

Applejack sweated nervously as she whipped her strobe around at lightning fast speed to dispatch darkling after darkling. It seemed like every time she blasted one of the creatures to smoke as it got within pouncing distance of her, another one would just take its place and get even closer. Even with the combined efforts of her and her friends, the orange mare was slowly losing ground.

“They just keep coming!” Applejack yelled in a frantic tone.

“Watch your left!” Rarity exclaimed in a panicked tone while firing an energy blast at a darkling that was lunging at the farm pony. The sight of the creature erupting into smoke and blowing into her face with the force of a small gust surprised the orange mare.

“Sweet molasses, thanks Rarity.” Applejack said in a shocked tone.

“Don’t thank me yet, just keep shooting cowgirl! Shoot like your life depends on it!” Rarity stated in a serious tone.

“Thanks for the reminder!” Applejack replied nervously while trying to increase her speed in any way possible. Her nerves were such a bundled mess that she was amazed that she could still feel her hooves, let alone push a button in rapid succession and aim at each incoming threat.

“Uh… uh… ah…!” Fluttershy squeaked fearfully while pushing through her nerves to keep firing at the terrifying beasts assaulting her. Thankfully there weren’t as many darklings coming from her side, so she was able to help Pinkie Pie with her area from time to time, but she was still about to have a panic attack from how many of the beasts were coming her way.

“Twilight, we could use some words of encouragement over here! Preferably something along the lines of I’m almost done!” Rainbow Dash stated anxiously while kicking a pair of darklings to the side.

“I’m almost done!” Twilight reported in a nervous tone. She was so wrapped up in unlocking the door that she probably didn’t even realize the comical appeal of her statement.

“AHH!” Fluttershy let out a sudden cry of terror. Everyone turned their heads to see the pegasus on the ground with a darkling on top of her. The sight of a few more darklings coming towards the pinned mare made everyone’s heart sink. Their hearts sunk even further when they saw a spray of blood pour out of the darkling’s mouth as it bit into her wing, eliciting a scream of pain from the yellow pony.

“Fluttershy!” Everyone yelled in a fearful panic with their eyes wide with terror.

Rarity quickly rushed forward and charged up her horn. With every fiber of her being screaming at her to take action, she fired a magical bolt at the beast on top of the pegasus. The darkling yelped while flying backwards off the yellow mare. As the first darkling shifted into smoke, the other darklings turned their sights to the wounded pony like a pack of sharks.

Fluttershy crawled backwards while crying fearfully and staring ahead. Her wing sent stabbing pains throughout her side, making her already shocked nerves even more stressed. She tried to reach for her strobe, but the vial had been knocked away when she was tackled to the ground.

“Get away from her!” Rainbow Dash yelled fiercely while jumping in front of the injured mare and facing the two darklings. With a swift jump into the air, the pegasus kicked the first creature square in the jaw and sent it flying. Before the other beast could react, she landed and used her front legs to push herself back into a rear kick.

With both darklings on the right side sent careening backwards, Pinkie Pie and Applejack stepped back and combined their efforts into defending their friend. While the two mares continued firing at the approaching packs, Rarity rushed forward and grabbed Fluttershy. The unicorn dragged the pegasus back away from any further danger while simultaneously examining her wing. The mere sight of the injury made her cringe from sympathy and disgust.

There was a set of well-defined bite marks across the middle of Fluttershy’s wing. The feathers around the injury were stained red as blood poured out of the newly created holes. Rarity realized that the darkling’s teeth punctured clean through the thin layer of flesh that comprised the yellow mare’s wing, leaving an injury that looked equal parts gruesome and agonizing.

“Aghh!” Fluttershy yelled while rocking her head back and clutching the side where the injured wing was. She had tears streaming down her face and a pained expression firmly cemented in place from the suffering she was enduring.

“Oh my word…” Rarity gasped in shock while briefly averting her eyes. Her aversion to the bloody injury slowly vanished as she realized that her friend desperately needed someone by her side.

“Is she ok?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a panicked tone while rushing over to the two.

“I don’t know… I’m not a doctor, and I don’t even know anything about wings, but that doesn’t look good.” Rarity said in a concerned tone.

“Here, let me see.” Rainbow Dash said in a sympathetic tone while kneeling down and offering the injured mare a frown of concern. Considering she had more experience with the physiology of wings given her own race, the pegasus figured that she would have a better idea of what Fluttershy was going through. She gently leaned over and looked at the yellow mare’s wing without touching it. Once she saw the full extent of the injury, the cyan mare recoiled in shock and gasped.

“Oh… oh my gosh.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a shocked expression of horror. She cringed with empathy as she imagined what an injury like that would feel like on her own wing.

“Guh… nng… how bad is it?” Fluttershy asked in between painful yelps and squeaks. The yellow mare had a terrified expression on her face, which was justifiable given the severity of her injury. In the best case scenario, she might never fly again, and in the worst case scenario she might bleed to death.

“You’re going to be fine Fluttershy. We’ll get you fixed up soon enough.” Rainbow Dash said in a reassuring tone. She hoped she could offer her friend at least some comfort.

“I hate to break it to you guys, but none of us are going to be fine in a minute!” Pinkie Pie stated in an urgent tone. Everyone looked ahead to see that the darklings were gaining a lot more ground now that there were less people to deal with them.

“Got it!” Twilight exclaimed triumphantly before pulling one of the doors open with her magic. “Girls, get inside!” She yelled urgently while rapidly motioning for the five mares to get inside.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie covered the others as they hurried towards the door. Rainbow Dash and Rarity helped Fluttershy to walk faster as she coped with her injury. After a tense few moments of trying to beat the approaching horde and escape into the safety of the castle, Pinkie and Applejack backed into the doorway and Twilight rushed in and closed the doors tightly.

A loud bang sounded out as the darklings rammed into the door. Although the sound was startling when combined with the muffled sounds of their barks and roars, the beasts outside showed no signs of being able to get in. The six mares silently hoped that these darklings didn’t suddenly realize that as shadow creatures they could probably walk through walls, but thankfully the beasts seemed blissfully ignorant of this fact.

Twilight and the others breathed a sigh of relief while stepping away from the door. They felt safe for the first time in the last few minutes, even though their safety was relative given the fact that the hooded ponies could be anywhere.

“That was close…” Twilight said in an amazed tone.

“Yeah, a little too close for my liking.” Rainbow Dash said with a brief chuckle.

“Girls…” Pinkie Pie said in a stunned tone. Everyone turned to see the pink mare staring ahead with a pale look on her face. As they followed her gaze to see the room ahead, they were stunned into silence at what they saw.

There was a pool of blood spreading out from the lifeless body of a royal guard on the floor. The stallion had his armor broken and his throat sliced clean through. There were also scorch marks and cracks everywhere, seemingly the aftermath of some intense battle.

Further ahead, there was another dead stallion with his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. The sight of the two guards made the six mares’ stomachs churn, but perhaps the most alarming sight before them was the sight of a human slumped against the far wall with a pool of blood under him.

“Tom!” Twilight and the others exclaimed fearfully while rushing forward. Even Fluttershy pushed through the pain from her injury to rush across the room to get to her human friend.

As they got closer to the motionless human, the ponies noticed that he had three gaping and bloody holes in him. One was in his shoulder, one was in his leg, and the other was in his chest. Twilight rushed up to him and grabbed his hand to feel for a pulse, only to find nothing. He felt cold to the touch and had a pale lifeless look to him.

“Tom! Wake up!” Twilight pleaded while shaking the boy gently. The unicorn’s efforts offered no response from the human, but they also made the watching ponies’ hearts sink.

“Is he breathing?!” Rarity asked in a fearful panic.

“I don’t think so… did he even need to breathe?!” Twilight asked in a panicked tone. She hoped that somehow slayer physiology would allow the human to recover, but she wasn’t even sure if she believed her hope.

“Why aren’t his wounds healing? I didn’t think anything could hurt him this bad.” Rainbow Dash asked in a shocked tone. The ponies could only stare with panic filled eyes as their purple friend tried to resuscitate the human.

“Tom... Tom!” Twilight yelled in a fearful tone. “Don’t do this to me! You wake up right now and heal so we can go fight Raven Feather!” She said while slapping Tom’s face hard enough to wake him without causing too much pain if he actually stirred. Much to her horror, the human’s body settled in place like a limp puppet in her grasp.

“Tom…? Please wake up…” Twilight choked slightly as tears welled up in her eyes. She finally let go of the human and sat back to process the wave of emotions filling her.

“Twilight… Ah don’t think he’s waking up from this.” Applejack said in a somber tone while wiping her own tears away.

Everyone lowered their heads mournfully while either holding back their tears or letting go and crying sadly. They hadn’t known the human for little more than a week, but they still felt like they lost a dear friend.

Several minutes went by as everyone let out their emotions. The thought that they had to find the princess and save her from the hooded ponies was prominent in their minds, but they had to vent for a few moments before they could collect themselves.

“We… *hic* we can’t let them get away with this.” Pinkie said while wiping her face and taking a few breaths.

“Yeah… I’m going to personally kick their tails for doing this to him.” Rainbow Dash said in an upset tone while sniffling slightly.

“If we’re going to find the princess and stop these guys, we need to get going.” Twilight said in a somber tone. She wiped a few tears from her face before getting up and turning away from the human.

“Where do we even start? Those creeps could be anywhere.” Rainbow Dash asked with a frustrated groan as she envisioned how many places they could be hiding.

“They couldn’t have gotten far. If they were going to just kill the princess and run, they would have bolted already. They must be trying to set up the ritual for the eternal night.” Twilight said while thinking about what the hooded ponies could be doing.

“That sounds bad… we better go find them before they even get a chance to see if this thing works.” Applejack suggested in an urgent tone. Everyone nodded in agreement before getting up to leave.

“Gah… oww.” Fluttershy cried painfully while clutching her wing. The yellow mare’s outbursts made the others turn to her with concerned expressions of empathy.

“Oh Fluttershy…” Twilight muttered in a sad tone while gently placing her hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. She had been so caught up with Tom and going after the hooded ponies that she almost forgot about the suffering her friend was going through.

“I-I’m ok… I think.” Fluttershy said while looking down to her wing with a glint of fear in her eyes. Despite her attempt at a confident façade, she was shaking like a leaf.

“Twilight, isn’t there something you can do for her? Some kind of healing spell or something?” Rainbow Dash asked in a desperate tone. Twilight looked to her immense knowledge of magic to see if she had something in her repertoire that could help the suffering mare.

“I know healing spells, but most of them require multiple unicorns and a lot of time.” Twilight said in a disheartened tone. “I can’t repair a wound this severe, but I might be able to stop the bleeding and ease some of her pain.” She added in a more optimistic manner.

“I think she’ll take whatever she can get at this point Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said while listening to the yellow pegasus whining in agony with a somber expression.

Twilight took in a deep breath before walking up to the injured pony. The others cleared some space and watched the unicorn intently as she knelt down and prepared to use her magic on Fluttershy’s injury.

“Fluttershy… I need to see your wing. I know it hurts, but it should feel better when I’m done.” Twilight explained in a sympathetic tone.

“O-ok… I think I can do that.” Fluttershy said while moving slightly to get into a comfortable position. She cringed hesitantly before slowly unfolding her wing. She yelped as shooting pains forced her to stop for a moment, but she was able to push through the pain and finish stretching the tender appendage. The mere sight of the distressed pegasus was enough to fill the others with a sad feeling of sympathy. As the yellow mare’s wing was unfolded completely, the scope of her injury was made even more apparent. The fragile tissue with holes punched into it almost reminded the group of paper that had been perforated, only there was a lot more blood in this case.

Twilight lit up her horn and concentrated for a moment. Once she recalled the instructions to the spells needed, she gently pressed her horn against Fluttershy’s wing. The yellow mare felt an odd tingle among the stabbing pains coming from her injury. Soon enough, the blood spurting from the grisly wound ceased. After a few more moments, Twilight let her horn dim and backed away to see the fruits of her labor.

“How does it feel?” Twilight asked in a hopeful tone. The yellow mare cringed painfully as she folded her wing back up, but it seemed like she was in less pain than she was before the spell.

“It still hurts… but it feels better than it did.” Fluttershy said while managing a more cheerful tone, if only slightly.

“Glad to hear. That should hold you over until after we find the princess and stop Raven Feather.” Twilight stated with a genuine smile.

“Thanks.” Fluttershy said in a grateful tone.

Twilight and the others glanced over to Tom somberly. They resolved that they wouldn’t allow anyone else to be hurt by Raven Feather and her followers. Too many people had died because of them, and they had to be stopped.

“Come on… let’s go.” Twilight said in a determined tone while walking away. Everyone quickly followed the unicorn with serious expressions as she walked up the stairs and headed further into the castle. They were all prepared to go to war with the cult of malicious ponies.

The stern silence in the air only served to further cement the feeling of determination in the six mares. They marched forward like a troop of soldiers getting ready for a critical mission. For good or for bad, they were going to finish things once and for all.

Although they didn’t expect to find the hooded ponies setting up shop in some small space, the group checked all of the rooms they passed to be safe. Between the two remaining strobes they had, and their combined prowess and combat experience, they hoped they could get the jump on Raven Feather and her followers.

“I don’t see them… or any guards for that matter.” Rainbow Dash said in an uneasy tone while peering into a room and shaking her head.

“I’d like to think that they all retreated.” Twilight said anxiously.

“What do you actually think?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously.

“I’m not sure I want to think of that.” Twilight replied in a dreadful tone.

“Well, the fact still stands that we are running blind here.” Rarity said with a disheartened shrug. The sheer scope of the palace would be impressive on any normal day, but today they were looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Hmm…” Twilight muttered to herself in thought. “They might be in the throne room.” She suggested in a hopeful tone.

“Educated guess, or…?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

“Elementary my dear Rainbow. If I was a revenge bent mare of questionable mental stability and morals that wanted to evoke an ancient catastrophe and spite the princess at the same time, I would probably choose the throne room as my go to location.” Twilight explained with a surprisingly unwavering delivery.

“Boy am I glad you aren’t an evil genius.” Rainbow Dash said with an impressed tone.

“I prefer the term intrepid intellectual thank you very much.” Twilight replied with a wry smirk.

After several minutes of redundant searches through rooms and walking through corridors, the group noticed a door at the far end of the hall. Twilight smiled cheerfully as she recognized the area around her. The room on the other side of the door ahead of her led into the throne room, and hopefully to the princess.

“Keep on your guard guys. The throne room is just up ahead.” Twilight stated while turning to her friends with a more serious expression.

“Umm… Twilight?” Fluttershy asked apprehensively. The yellow mare had a nervous expression. Apparently being so close to a possible confrontation with the hooded ponies was making the pegasus uneasy, and she wasn’t the only one.

“What is it Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone.

“Do we have a plan to fight these guys? We don’t exactly have that much to work with here… we have even less than before since I dropped my strobe outside.” Fluttershy explained while looking down with a regretful frown.

Twilight looked around at her friends and frowned with concern. They were incredibly unprepared to deal with a threat as big as Raven Feather and her bunch of psychopaths. If the hooded ponies had beaten Tom and possibly even the princess, then what hope did they have of succeeding? Still, she had to do something to stop them, but if she was going to do that, she needed a plan to prevent any of her friends from getting hurt.

“I think I know a spell that can render people unconscious, but it takes a few moments to cast and I need to be up close to do it. Let’s just focus on staying alive for the moment.” Twilight said with a concerned expression.

“Even with just two strobes, we should be able to handle Dust Kicker and Raincloud’s minions. All that’s left after that would be to deal with their shadow magic.” Rarity stated while gulping uneasily.

“Just don’t be afraid to run away if you need to. I don’t want any of you getting hurt today, understand?” Twilight asked in a serious tone. Almost everyone nodded with confidence.

“Ow…” Fluttershy muttered while looking down to her wing nervously. Even with the bleeding stopped and the pain reduced, it still presented her with limited mobility due to how much it still hurt.

“Here Fluttershy, why don’t you take this?” Applejack asked while handing over her strobe to the yellow mare.

“What? But… don’t you need this?” Fluttershy asked in a hesitant tone while eyeing the small vial.

“Ah can manage without it. Besides, you should probably hang back and keep from hurting your wing any more.” Applejack said in a concerned tone while putting the strobe in the pegasus’s hoof. Fluttershy couldn’t help but to feel bad for having her friends handicap themselves to help her.

“Thank you... Just be careful for me, ok?” Fluttershy asked in a concerned tone.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy. If I have anything to say about it, we won’t even need to fight them for very long.” Rainbow Dash said with a confident chuckle. The group couldn’t help but to feel more confident as they looked around at their friends. Each was determined to protect everyone else at any cost, as well as to save Equestria from Raven Feather’s twisted plot.

“Alright girls… let’s go save the princess.” Twilight said in a determined tone. Everyone nodded as the purple mare walked up to the door and grabbed the handle.