Twilight and the others swiftly opened the door and stepped inside. They made it a few steps into the room before freezing nervously and staring ahead with wide eyes. The room itself was more of an in between room than anything else. It was slightly wider than it was long, and aside from a large red throw rug, there were only a few pedestals adorned with vases along the walls to fill the floor space.

The room in front of them wasn’t why the six mares were frozen in place however. Standing at the far side of the room in front of the next door, there was a pair of familiar looking pegasi in gray hoodies. The unmistakable pale blue mare and brown stallion were most definitely Raincloud and Dust Kicker. They appeared to have been guarding the door behind them, which most likely led to the throne room.

“Ah, it’s about time you showed up.” Raincloud raised her voice to carry across the room while walking forward slightly. It seemed like the pair were expecting the six mares to show up.

“Where is Princess Celestia?!” Twilight swallowed her fear and demanded for the two siblings to explain what they had done with the alicorn.

“She’s in the throne room with Raven Feather. Don’t get your horn all bent out of shape, she is fine… relatively speaking.” Dust Kicker replied in a cynical tone.

“Which one of you did that to Tom?” Rainbow Dash asked while glaring at the two ponies from across the room. Just thinking about her human friend getting struck down by the hooded ponies filled her with rage.

“Hey, in our defense, that was all Raven Feather. I offered to step in, but she wanted to take him for herself.” Raincloud said with a wry smirk.

“Grr…” Rainbow Dash growled angrily under her breath. It took Twilight putting a hoof on her shoulder and offering her a serious expression to get her to return to a more cool headed stance.

“I’m going to say this once and only once… get out of our way, or we will be forced to fight you.” Twilight stated in a stern tone. Everyone else stepped forward to be in line with the purple unicorn with serious expressions on their faces.

“Is… is that an ultimatum or something?” Raincloud asked while holding back a snicker. Finally she gave up on keeping a serious expression and busted out laughing.

“We have you outnumbered. Just step aside and this can all be over quickly.” Twilight said in what she hoped would be a threatening tone.

“Hehheh… outnumbered? Have you already forgotten who we are?” Raincloud asked while glancing to her brother suggestively. Dust Kicker smirked before channeling shadow energy to his hoof and stamping it on the floor.

Three lines of pulsating shadows flowed into the floor and travelled in front of the brown stallion. Before long, three darklings rose out of the floor and stood in front of their master protectively. On cue to match her brother summoning his minions, Raincloud directed her thoughts to her shadow and ordered it to make itself known. With an echoic howl, the specter flew out of the pegasus’s actual shadow and hovered menacingly in front of her.

Twilight and the others flinched uneasily as they stared at the four creatures. Raincloud’s shadow was powerful enough to keep up with Tom in combat, and Dust Kicker was capable of summoning even more darklings or possibly other horrific shadow creatures. How could they stand a chance against such monstrosities?

“Of course… they couldn’t just fight us on their own could they? That wouldn’t be cowardly enough.” Rainbow Dash stated in a scornful tone. Raincloud glared at the cyan pegasus with an annoyed expression as she overheard her comment.

“How do you want to handle this Rain?” Dust Kicker asked curiously while turning to his sibling.

“Do whatever you want to the others, but Twilight and that featherhead are mine.” Raincloud stated while motioning towards Rainbow Dash with a sinister gleam in her eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Twilight and her friends were still staring down the two ponies and their monstrous allies with wary expressions. The purple mare glanced to the others uneasily as she started to think about what battle strategy they had.

Fluttershy was injured, with her wing damaged beyond the hope of functioning. Even if she weren’t wounded, her skills were decidedly lacking and her timid disposition held her back from fighting. Still, with her strobe she could probably assist with taking out any shadow creatures Dust Kicker might summon.

Pinkie Pie held the only other strobe in the group’s possession. She had more than proven her worth with the tiny vial as far as Twilight was concerned, but even with her manic energy, she was just one mare. Still, was she ready to fight a pair of fierce adversaries that were more than capable of killing her?

The six mares had two strobes to use, and a possibly limitless amount of shadow creatures that needed to be kept at bay, a fact that was more than troubling to the purple unicorn. One look at the brown stallion standing across the room was enough to tell that he was ready to send his minions to fight once things got started. Any one of the fierce creatures at his disposal could end Twilight and all of her friends without a second thought. Would two strobes be enough? If only Fluttershy hadn’t been injured, then they would at least have three strobes to work with.

Rarity was a fellow unicorn. Even without a vast knowledge of spells, she could hold her own against a few creatures and possibly even assist some of the others if they got into trouble. Even if it was a life or death situation, would she be strong enough to fight?

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had little more than their natural born attributes and skills to assist them. The orange mare had fought off a few darklings before with her powerful kicks and strong will, and the cyan pegasus was one of the best flyers in Ponyville. Both mares were ready and willing to do anything it would take to protect their friends, but were they enough?

“Twilight, what’s our play?” Rainbow Dash asked in a serious tone while staring ahead with a focused expression. She was watching the two ponies on the other side of the room with unwavering intensity, waiting for them or one of their minions to make a move.

Twilight felt a cold chill firmly cementing itself into her core as she looked at her friends. They were about to fight two of the most powerful adversaries Equestria had ever seen by themselves. There was nobody to help them or bail them out at the last minute. Princess Luna was gone, Tom was gone, and both Princess Celestia and the remaining members of team spirit were indisposed.

Were they ready? The same words floated around her head as she stared forward with a blank expression of morbidity. What if someone died? Twilight felt a dreadful knot developing in her stomach as she calculated the possibility of failure. Before, she had only been looking forward to their future victory. They were going to fight the hooded ponies, stop Raven Feather, and save the day. But now the grim realization was setting in that they were going to fight the hooded ponies, they had to try to stop Raven Feather, and if they didn’t, all of Equestria was doomed.

She felt her knees shaking as she stared at her friends with her confidence rapidly vanishing. She had single handedly led them to this point, and they had followed her without doubt, as if they knew she had a plan. But the harsh reality was finally getting to the purple mare, she didn’t have a plan. If someone got hurt, which was a likelihood that was getting more likely by the minute, then it would be her fault for bringing them here.

“Twilight!” The sound of a yell brought the unicorn to her senses again. She looked ahead to see her friends staring at her with concerned expressions.

“W-what?” Twilight stammered in a confused stupor while shaking her head and redirecting her attention forward.

“Don’t lock up on us now. We’ve got your back, but we need someone to tell us our strategy… and you are the smartest one in this room.” Rainbow Dash said with a playful smirk.

“Yeah! I want to know which one of them to beat up first!” Pinkie Pie chimed in with an eager expression while tossing her strobe in the air and catching it in an almost impatient fashion.

They aren’t afraid? Twilight thought to herself in confusion while looking around at her friends. While it was true that they were nervous and perhaps even frightened by the impending battle, the five mares almost seemed to be happy as they waited for her to guide them into the fray.

They seem… confident. Are they confident in each other, or me? The purple mare looked down for a moment to think. Perhaps she was over thinking matters and making them bleaker than they actually were. If she came up with a plan, then maybe they would stand a chance. Filled with more confidence, Twilight adopted a serious expression and cleared her head again for planning, only this time she focused on being objective in her evaluations of her friends’ strengths and weaknesses.

Two strobes were enough to handle the darklings, she was sure of it. She had seen only a handful of strobes used to combat entire hordes of fiercer shadow creatures before. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy could handle the darklings by themselves, and they still had Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity to pick up the slack if needed.

Dust Kicker himself would be troublesome to deal with if he stopped relying on his shadow creatures. He knew how to manipulate shadow magic, which was a fierce power that was not to be reckoned with. Assuming he didn’t know as much as Raincloud, he could most likely be managed if the five mares worked together. Twilight could cast the spell to knock him out once she had dealt with Raincloud, and she was certain that she would have to deal with Raincloud.

The pale pegasus had a fiercesome vendetta against her, whether or not it was warranted was a question for another day. Raincloud and her shadow were going to be the bulk of the fight without a doubt. Perhaps Twilight could deal with the shadow while its master waited on the sidelines, or maybe she could survive a few seconds against both of them at once. Either way, she didn’t want any of her friends to fight the pale mare and the ghostly specter. She had already watched Spike nearly die from the shadow and his abilities, she wasn’t about to let another friend suffer through that.

“Ok girls, listen up. I want all of you to keep Dust Kicker and whatever he throws your way occupied. I’ll see if I can take care of Raincloud and her shadow.” Twilight instructed in a confident tone.

“Are you seriously trying to convince me to let you handle her on your own? From what you said about the last time you met her, she almost killed you.” Rainbow Dash stated in an uneasy tone.

“Yeah, she did… which is why I know that I don’t want you guys fighting her!” Twilight said in an adamant tone. The cyan mare was obviously not giving in to her demands, but they had other problems to deal with.

“I’m done waiting. Shadow, kill Twilight Sparkle!” Raincloud instructed while pointing at the purple mare. Twilight and the others looked ahead with surprised expressions as the battle started without them.

The shadow let out a sinister chuckle before flying forward. It sailed through the air at breakneck speeds and charged for the purple unicorn with its claws at the ready. The sight of the ghostly specter charging straight at her was more than enough to give Twilight a jolt to the system.

“Ah!” Twilight yelped in surprise before lighting up her horn. Before the shadow could reach her, she teleported off to the side and turned to face her attacker. The shadow growled in frustration before veering off to chase after the unicorn.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she felt the shadow whipping past her to get at her friend. The purple mare seemed to be leading the creature away from the others to keep them safe. Although she was dodging every attack sent her way for the moment, everyone was fearful that the unicorn’s luck would run out quickly.

“It’s not her you should be worrying about!” Raincloud exclaimed angrily, her voice much closer than Rainbow Dash anticipated. The cyan mare looked ahead to see the pale pegasus flying towards her with her front hoof aflame with shadow energy.

“Yikes!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed while spreading her wings and leaping out of the way. She barely cleared the pale mare’s trajectory as she sliced her arm downwards like a sword. The pulsating blackness on Raincloud’s hoof sent a cold chill down Rainbow’s side as it barely missed its target.

“Grr… Get back here!” Raincloud yelled in an irritated tone while jumping off the floor to get a head start at chasing after the fleeing pegasus. Rainbow Dash flew into the air and darted around the room to get away from the pale pony.

“Girls!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed nervously as she watched her two friends fleeing for their lives. Twilight was doing her best to dodge the shadow by running from it, while Rainbow Dash was just trying to out maneuver Raincloud.

Pinkie and Fluttershy readied their strobes and pointed at the shadow chasing Twilight. There wasn’t much they could do to assist Rainbow Dash, but at least they could do something to help the purple unicorn.

“I guess that’s my cue… go get em’ boys!” Dust Kicker stated while pointing toward the four mares. The darklings briefly looked at their master before snarling and rushing forward towards their prey.

“Oh no… looks like we’ve got company girls!” Applejack said in an urgent tone while glancing behind her at her friends.

Rarity charged up her horn and stood by Applejack in preparation to keep the creatures away from Pinkie and Fluttershy. Meanwhile, the pink earth pony and timid pegasus were standing behind their two friends and aiming their strobes at the approaching creatures.

“Fire!” Pinkie yelled in a determined tone while pressing the button on her strobe. The tip of the vial exploded into a burst of colorful light as a bolt of energy flew out. Fluttershy quickly followed suit and opened fire on the three darklings.

The creatures ducked to the side in an attempt at dodging the incoming bolts of energy, but they were no match for the two mares’ quick firing and steady aim. As the three darklings exploded into clouds of black smoke while the bolts of light flew through them, Pinkie and Fluttershy cheered in triumph.

“Good job girls!” Applejack cheered with an excited smile while watching the two mares celebrating their victory.

Meanwhile, while the four ponies were cheering eagerly and smiling like they had just won the lottery, Dust Kicker was getting more annoyed by the minute. He glared at the group for a moment with an irritated expression before shrugging and raising his leg into the air again. An aura of shadows enveloped his hoof, creating a disquieting noise that just barely carried to the stallion’s ears through all of the commotion in the room. With a devilish smirk, Dust Kicker stamped his hoof down again and projected the shadow out into the floor.

The four mares suddenly noticed the thin wisps of shadowy energy flowing across the floor and stopped their premature celebration. The shadow split off into three lines and gathered in three spots a short distance away from the brown stallion. Before long, the three blobs on the ground started rising into the air and taking shape again.

“Oh… I kind of forgot he could do that for a minute there.” Pinkie said with a nervous chuckle while glancing to her friends uneasily.

As the shadow creatures took shape, the four mares prepared themselves for battle once more. However, something about these creatures was different. The blobs were forming into darklings; that much was apparent from the shape they were taking, but something was off about them. There were bright purple stripes all across their bodies that glowed and shimmered separately from the rest of their skin. Along with the strange markings on their body, the darklings had piercing eyes that were aglow with the same bright shade of purple.

“Oh no…” Fluttershy paled as she recognized the creatures currently stalking towards her and her friends. The yellow mare’s terrified expression was more than a little unsettling to the others. They wondered if she knew something they didn’t.

“What’s wrong Fluttershy?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

“I’ve seen those darklings before. He used some of them to attack us out in the woods, and they were able to survive Tom using his light on them.” Fluttershy explained in a fearful tone while shivering slightly.

“I remember that… oh wait, that’s bad isn’t it?” Pinkie Pie asked in an uneasy tone as she thought back to the difficulty the human had with dispatching the enhanced darklings.

“But if they were able to do that… then our strobes might as well be useless.” Applejack said nervously as she slowly realized how much danger they were in.

“Only one way to find out.” Pinkie stated with a determined tone while readying her strobe. She fired a shot at the darkling in the middle of the pack.

The bolt of light sailed across the room in a flash. As it crashed into the darkling, the shot exploded into a shower of colored sparks. The beast flinched from having something explode in its face, but aside from a small area of its skin smoking, the blast didn’t have any other effect. Although, saying it had no other effect wasn’t entirely accurate. The small explosion was enough to anger the darkling to no end, which it expressed by growling deeply at the four mares.

“Ok… this is bad!” Pinkie exclaimed in a panic as she realized that the only weapon she and her friends had was effectively useless.

While the four ponies were backing away slightly to distance themselves, the three darklings were steadily growing tired of waiting for their prey. The three beasts let out a series of growls before barking like mad dogs and bounding forward after the mares. Unsure of what to do, Applejack and Rarity stood in front of their two friends in an attempt at keeping them safe. Their bravery practically melted once the three creatures got closer.

“AH!” Applejack exclaimed fearfully while jumping out of the way of one of the attacking creatures. Rarity and the others were forced to run as two of the darklings chased after them, while the other one focused its efforts on the orange mare.

The darkling growled and snarled as it crept forward at an agonizingly slow pace. Applejack backed up defensively in an attempt at getting distance from the beast. She suddenly found that a wall was blocking her path backwards, forcing her to stand her ground.

“Now hold on a minute little fella. Ah know Ah must look mighty tasty, but we can find a way to work this out without anyone getting hurt.” Applejack suggested with an awkwardly nervous smile. The darkling remained unmoved by her attempt at diplomacy, instead opting to rear up for a leap at the defenseless pony.

As the creature jumped forward teeth blazing, Applejack felt her heart skyrocket. She leapt to the side as fast as she could, hoping that she would be fast enough to evade her pursuer. The darkling snapped at the fleeing mare’s tail as it continued forward. The beast kept its attention to the side with an annoyed expression as it watched its prey dodge its attack. Unfortunately for the shadowy monster, it was still in midair as it diverted its attention away.

A loud thud followed by a crash sounded out as the impact of the darkling slamming into the wall knocked a decorative vase from its pillar. The vase fell on the beast’s already bruised head and shattered, causing it to yelp in pain before settling to the floor.

“Ah guess that extra strength was compensating for something.” Applejack said with a slight smirk as she watched the dazed monster with an amused expression of triumph. Her small victory would be short lived however as the darkling shook its head forcefully and started to get up.

“Come on buddy, Ah’m right here.” Applejack taunted the creature with a slightly more confident tone. If she could dodge it once, she could hopefully dodge it more times. And if she could keep at least one of the creatures busy, she could help her friends to manage their numbers.

“AH!” Fluttershy screamed from the back of the room, drawing the orange mare’s attention away.

“*Gasp* Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled in terror as she saw what had caused the yellow pegasus’s outburst. Pinkie and Rarity were dealing with one of the darklings, but the other one was lying on top of Fluttershy, pinning her to the floor. Fluttershy was pushing the terrifying creature away from her as hard as she could, but her arms were shaking from the strain being put on them.

“Hold on Fluttershy! Ah’m co- Oof!” Applejack started to rush to her friend’s aid, but she was suddenly tackled from the side by the darkling she had previously incapacitated. The blow knocked her off her feet and sent her rolling, but luckily the beast didn’t land on top of her. As she got to her feet and looked ahead, she noticed that the darkling was standing between her and the others.

“Oh no…” Applejack muttered in horror as she looked over to the struggle taking place on the other side of the room. As the darkling near her reared up and prepared to charge, she realized that she would be forced to flee from it instead of helping her friends.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was steadily losing her battle with the darkling on top of her. Her arm muscles were burning intensely, and the snapping jaws of the shadow creature were getting closer to her body.

“Guh… h-help!” Fluttershy whined fearfully while straining to keep herself alive. Her eyes were tearing up, and her wing injury’s constant throbbing wasn’t helping the situation.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity and Pinkie exclaimed in unison. They looked at each other briefly before turning their attention to the third darkling eyeing them up nearby. If they tried to help the pegasus without dealing with the creature, then it could very well maul them all.

“Uh… uh…” Rarity stammered in a panic as she thought of something to do. “Go help her! I’ll deal with this one!” She instructed to the pink mare nearby.

“Got it!” Pinkie stated before urgently rushing over to Fluttershy to help get the darkling off of her.

Finally Rarity was left alone with her foe, which in this case, was a bloodthirsty beast with a body strong enough to withstand blasts from strobes. She could feel her legs wobbling from staring into the darkling’s sinister glowing eyes.

*Grrrrrr*

The darkling let out a deep growl that only served to intimidate the white unicorn even more. It stalked forward a few steps before sinking low to the ground in preparation to charge at the hapless pony. Rarity’s mind raced a mile a minute as she watched the creature for signs that it was going to attack.

Finally, the darkling let out a loud bark and dashed forward. Rarity squealed fearfully while lighting up her horn and frantically racing to use her magic to save herself. Despite her clumsy attempts, she managed to wrap her magic around the charging beast and picked it up.

Meanwhile, Pinkie and Fluttershy were fighting their own darkling. The two mares were pushing and pulling at the creature, but it was fighting back stronger than they could manage. The darkling was still on top of the yellow pegasus, snapping its jaws and fighting to get close enough to bite into her flesh.

“Hrrg… gah!” Pinkie groaned while trying to pull the monster off of her friend. Although she had to get over the initial fear of getting so close to a darkling, she managed to use all of her strength in her efforts. But despite all this, she still couldn’t get it to budge.

“I can’t hold it much longer! Get it off… please!” Fluttershy pleaded desperately while turning her head sideways to distance herself from the wide jaws of the beast.

“I can’t! Hrk...! It won’t… guh… move!” Pinkie stated in a frantic tone. Suddenly the darkling turned its head and snapped at the pink mare, causing her to jump back with a frightened yelp.

“Ack!” Fluttershy groaned from the added weight on top of her. Her arms were just about to give out from fighting for so long.

Seeing that her friend was about to get mauled, Pinkie raced to her feet and desperately tried to think of something to do. Reaching down for her strobe, she rushed in front of the two. She didn’t care if the strobe wouldn’t work, she had to do something other than sitting idly by and watching her friend die.

“Get off her!” Pinkie yelled while jamming the strobe as close to the darkling’s mouth as she could. She aimed for the inside of its mouth and pushed the button on the vial as fast as she could. A flurry of blasts flew into the darkling’s mouth, exploding into a shower of sparks and light. The creature shook from the force of the impacts as black smoke started pouring out of it. Much to the surprise of the two mares, the darkling suddenly collapsed into a cloud of smoke with its final cries being drowned out by the bursting energy bolts.

Fluttershy flinched her eyes shut as the cloud of smoke evaporated around her. She crawled backwards a few inches before pausing to breathe. She was practically hyperventilating from the shock and stress she was feeling. Despite her pounding heart and drained strength, she was glad to be alive.

“You… you did it.” Fluttershy said in between breaths with a surprised expression.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Pinkie replied with equal surprise while looking at her strobe. Before the two could even contemplate celebrating their small victory, the distressed sounds of their friend drew their attention away. They looked over to see Rarity struggling to hold the other darkling up with her magic.

“Hrk… gah…” Rarity groaned nervously while struggling to focus her magic on the squirming monster. The darkling was thrashing around so much that it was threatening to break free of her magical aura.

“Hold on Rarity! We found a way to beat them!” Pinkie exclaimed eagerly while rushing to the unicorn’s side. She took aim with her strobe and prepared to fire, until something stopped her. As if it were aware of her tactic, the darkling clamped its mouth shut and effectively blocked any shot the pink mare had at its insides.

“Um… Pinkie darling… I don’t mean to sound needy, but if you have a way to beat them, could you please take care of this one?!” Rarity asked in an urgent tone while flinching her eyes shut and trying to focus.

“I can’t get a shot if its mouth is closed!” Pinkie stated in a troubled tone. The two mares watched uneasily as the unicorn struggled to keep the creature contained.

Realizing that she was coming to her limits, Rarity tried to think of something to do. Finally she decided to use the rest of her energy to charge up a magical blast. If she was going to lose control of the beast, she at least wanted to give her best shot at destroying it.

Clenching her teeth to cope with the strain, the white mare channeled some energy to the tip of her horn. After a brief moment of charging her spell, she shot it at the side of the beast with a hopeful expression. The bolt of magic flew into the darkling’s side, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the creature and causing a small amount of smoke to trail off of it.

If the darkling was unruly and frantic before, it was even more so now that it was wounded. The creature thrashed and kicked its body around in every direction, all the while making as much angry noise as it could with its mouth closed.

“Gah!” Rarity yelped painfully while dropping to her knees. Just before her magic gave out on her, she tossed the monster as far as she could towards the wall.

The darkling crashed into the wall and bounced off slightly before hitting the floor. After a few briefly dazed moments, the creature got back to its feet and turned to face the three ponies. It growled deeply while bearing its teeth, all the while being careful to keep its mouth shut.

Before Rarity and the others could contemplate fleeing or fighting, something flew through the air and knocked into the darkling. Everyone looked over to see two darklings in a crumpled heap on the floor. As they looked around with confused expressions, they discovered their orange friend recovering from a rear kick.

“Woah… nice shot Applejack.” Pinkie said with an amused chuckle.

“Thanks.” Applejack replied while trotting up to her friends. The four mares stood together and faced the two darklings as they slowly recovered from their impact. They were confident that they could handle the two creatures with their newfound experience.

Meanwhile, while Applejack and her three companions were dealing with the darklings, Twilight and Rainbow Dash had their own set of problems. The cyan pegasus seemed to be keeping ahead of Raincloud with her superior speed and flight skills, but the purple unicorn didn’t have the advantage of wings to evade her ghostly pursuer.

“Yikes!” Twilight exclaimed while ducking from a swipe of the shadow’s claws. The familiar cold sensation of a shadow creature’s skin getting close to hers was enough to motivate the unicorn to keep on her toes so to speak. After dodging a few more swipes by the skin of her teeth, she jumped back to get a little distance from her attacker.

The shadow growled in an annoyed tone while glaring at the unicorn. Suddenly, its claws started glowing a bright shade of purple. A sinister laugh echoed through the air as the specter grinned slightly. Before Twilight could even react, the shadow flew into the floor and disappeared into a dark blotch.

Twilight gasped nervously and looked around in a panic to find the missing specter. She turned around several times, looked beneath her, looked to the sides, but the ghostly shadow was nowhere to be found.

“Huh?” Twilight muttered in surprised confusion as she heard the sound of the shadow phasing through something. Hearing soft laughter above her, she looked up and gasped in shock as she saw a glowing purple face staring at her menacingly.

“AH!” Twilight screamed as she saw the shadow swiping at her with its claws. Right before the specter could make contact with her, she channeled her magic through herself and focused on another location. With a magical buzz, the unicorn teleported away a few feet and breathed heavily in shock. After taking a moment to appreciate her close call, she collected herself and turned to her foe with a determined expression.

“You’re not touching me with those claws.” Twilight stated in a vexed tone while glaring at the shadow. The ghostly specter glared back at her with equal intensity as it fumed over its failed sneak attack.

Deciding to take the offensive for the first time in her duel with the shadow, Twilight charged up her horn and fired a laser shot at the creature. As expected, the shadow dodged the attack with relative ease, retracting the center of its shadowy body outwards to form a circle for the bolt to pass through. Once it restored its form, the specter laughed at the purple mare’s failed attack, until it noticed more bolts of energy coming its way.

Twilight concentrated as hard as she could, putting as much power behind her blasts as possible while also leaving room to fire at a constant rate. It seemed as though her barrage of magic was sending the shadow reeling, forcing it to evade every attack instead of trying to attack her.

Grr… this isn’t working. Even if I hit him with one of these, it probably won’t do much other than distract him for a moment. If only I could find something to hurt this stupid shadow. Twilight thought to herself with a frustrated and anxious expression. Dodging the shadow’s attacks and keeping it busy with a few magical blasts weren’t going to win the fight for her.

Wait a minute… stupid shadow? The unicorn paused for a moment as she thought of something promising. Of course… sunlight! That might actually work! But how could I do that effectively? She pondered while trying to think of an appropriate spell to accomplish her desired effect. It was hard to think while also concentrating on her assault on the shadow, but at least she had time on her side with the specter showing no signs of finding a way out of her concentrated fire.

“Heads up!” The sound of Rainbow Dash yelling urgently pulled Twilight’s attention away. Before she could question what was going on, the unicorn looked to the side and noticed a cyan blur flying straight for her.

“Ack!” Twilight yelped slightly while backing out of the way. Just as she jumped back, the purple mare heard a gust of wind tear past her as the cyan pegasus flew by. Rainbow Dash turned upwards and flew at a right angle to the wall to avoid hitting it, which she followed up by flying back out towards the rest of the room.

“Get back here!” Raincloud exclaimed angrily while flying directly past Twilight in her pursuit of the cyan pegasus.

Twilight brushed her hair out of her eyes and steadied herself from the sudden bursts of air pushing her to the side. She looked up to see the two pegasus’s flying rapidly across the room. Rainbow Dash was pulling every stop in her arsenal to keep away from the grey mare, but Raincloud was hot on her tail a short distance away.

With a passing thought of concern for her friend, Twilight quickly shifted her attention back to her own adversary. She widened her eyes in stunned shock as she saw no signs of the shadow in front of her. No signs that is, except for a fading dark blotch on the wall.

“Oh no…” Twilight squeaked nervously as she darted her eyes around her. She didn’t like not knowing where the shadow was. And without fully understanding the breadth of its abilities, she didn’t know where it could pop out next.

Meanwhile, up in the air, Rainbow Dash was still fleeing from the grey pegasus. Every attempt she made at getting around to get an attack in herself was met by Raincloud intercepting her and getting a good slice or two in with her shadow energy.

“I thought you were supposed to be the brave one, so why are you running scared?!” Raincloud asked in a mocking tone as she tried to outflank the cyan flyer.

“I’m not running scared! I just prefer to not be sliced into a million pieces!” Rainbow Dash yelled back while making a sharp turn in an attempt at losing her pursuer. Just as she thought she might have succeeded, she glanced to the side and saw the grey mare right next to her about to strike.

“Ah!” The cyan mare yelled in surprise while darting to a lower altitude. She felt the cold energy of Raincloud’s shadowy blade slicing off a few of the hairs in her mane.

“You might want to try harder to run away then you coward!” Raincloud exclaimed angrily while darting after the fleeing pony again.

What is with this girl? No matter how fast I go, she just keeps catching up to me! I might not be the fastest in Equestria, but there is no way she is keeping up with me this easily! Rainbow Dash thought to herself with an annoyed grimace. Suddenly a thought popped into her mind that almost made her crash into the wall from not paying attention.

She couldn’t keep up with me this easily. Unless… As she looked back to see the grey mare behind her, Rainbow Dash noticed something that made her angry and frightened at the same time.

There was a blur of glowing shadow energy coming from Raincloud’s arm. This was to be expected as she was using it as a sort of makeshift blade to try and kill the cyan mare. What Rainbow Dash didn’t expect to see however, was a blur of the same glowing energy coming from her wings.

“That… little… jerk!” Rainbow Dash huffed angrily at the realization she made. Before she could try to think around her opponent’s strategy, she noticed that she was getting closer, a lot closer in fact. Raincloud was getting so close so fast that she was actually going faster than the cyan mare could handle.

“Oof!” Rainbow Dash grunted in pain as Raincloud crashed into her. Thankfully she had temporarily stopped using her shadowy blade, but she seemed to be intent on sending the cyan mare to the ground with her own bare hooves.

With a painful crash, some equally painful bounces, and the grey mare being on top of her the whole time, Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt on the floor. Her entire body was throbbing with pain from her impact with the floor, but she couldn’t let her suffering get in the way of her survival. As she quickly tried to get up, she was met by Raincloud forcefully shoving her hooves back down onto her shoulders, effectively pinning her to the ground.

“Heh… not so fast after all.” Raincloud smirked in a cocky fashion while enjoying her brief victory. Rainbow Dash looked up and saw that the grey mare’s wings were still unfolded, and they were glowing with shadow energy flowing through them.

“You used shadow magic to fly better you cheater!” Rainbow Dash growled angrily at the pegasus’s use of magic to win the fight.

“I guess you’re not as hot as you think anymore. Fastest flyer in Ponyville? Give me a break.” Raincloud snickered in a belittling manner, as if she thought that the cyan mare beneath her wasn’t worth the dirt under her hooves.

“AHH!” A cry of pain suddenly drew the pair’s attention off to the side. They noticed Twilight still fighting with the shadow, but something was clearly wrong.

“*Gasp* Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled fearfully as she saw her friend in distress. The unicorn was clutching a spot on her shoulder that was obviously injured. The shadow was recovering from a strike with its claws held off to the side with a small bit of blood on them. However, the thing that was most troubling was the fact that the specter’s claws were glowing purple.

“AGH!” Twilight screamed in pain as she uncovered her injury. The shadow must have only clipped her arm, because the unicorn’s wound was only just bleeding. However, the wound was softly pulsing purple, indicating that whatever agonizing effect the claws had, was now affecting the purple mare.

“Well this seems to be wrapping up nicely. Everything is better with a little touch of shadow magic.” Raincloud said with an amused chuckle.

“That… hrk! That isn’t fair!” Rainbow Dash stated while struggling to push the grey mare off of her. She kicked and shoved, but Raincloud was standing on her back legs and her shoulders, keeping her limbs in check fairly well.

“What’s wrong Rainbow Dash? Can’t get over the fact that there are ponies better than you?” Raincloud asked in a cynical tone while getting close to the cyan mare’s face.

“No, I just thought you would have enough spine to not have to use magic to beat me.” Rainbow Dash replied with an irritated glare.

“Why you little!” Raincloud growled angrily at the cyan mare’s boldness. She raised her hoof and channeled shadow energy to it once more, creating a short blade that she was prepared to use to destroy the pegasus beneath her. Rainbow Dash cringed and flinched her eyes shut as she resigned to face her doom.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the room, followed by a high pitched wail. Rainbow Dash and Raincloud looked over to see the shadow writhing in pain as a beam of light was shot at it by Twilight. Apparently the purple mare managed to fight through whatever pain she was in long enough to cast a spell.

“Ow!” Raincloud yelped painfully while clutching her head. Seemingly on cue with the grey mare’s sudden outburst, the beam of light hitting the shadow intensified as Twilight put more energy behind her spell.

Seeing an opportunity to escape her dire predicament, Rainbow Dash threw a punch at the grey pegasus’s face as hard as she could. Her hoof made contact with Raincloud’s jaw, creating a satisfying thud and sending the mare reeling.

While Rainbow Dash swiftly got to her feet, Raincloud was still recovering from being punched and having a surge of pain course through her from her shadow being violently burned. As her minion finally gave up its attempts at struggling and flew back into the floor underneath her, the grey mare shook her head in a frustrated manner.

“Grr… you two are really starting to piss me off!” Raincloud fumed angrily while stamping her hoof on the floor.

“Not so tough without your shadow to help you out are you?” Twilight asked with a triumphant smirk while walking over to her cyan friend. She cringed painfully as her shoulder started throbbing again.

“Are you ok?” Rainbow Dash asked in a concerned tone while glancing to the unicorn’s injury. The small wound was still faintly glowing a bright shade of purple, indicating that the shadow’s attack was still having an effect on her.

“Yeah, I think so. He must have only clipped me a little bit. I should be fine for the moment.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone. Although her shoulder stung a little more than normal for a wound so small, it hurt far less than the agonizing pain Spike and Glitterball went through when they were struck by the shadow.

“Good… are you up for putting her in her place?” Rainbow Dash asked with a confident smirk, to which the purple mare nodded.

“I’ve been ready ever since I met her.” Twilight said while thinking back to everything the grey mare did when she arrived at the library. Between threatening her friends, badly hurting Spike, and almost killing her, she was ready to show the spiteful pegasus the meaning of the word retribution.

While the two mares stood together and glared at their opponent, Raincloud clenched her teeth and growled angrily. Both parties were ready to beat hell out of each other, and now that the odds were slightly more even, perhaps it would be a fair fight.

Meanwhile, in the castle throne room, Raven Feather and her followers were still making preparations for the ritual that would make them rulers of Equestria. The black mare and several hooded workers were working tirelessly on drawing a large symbol on the floor.

The symbol itself was comprised of a large circle and several smaller circles inside of it that were offset at various points. There was a veritable book’s worth of different magical glyphs and letters written on the outside and inside of all the circles, with some writing even being inscribed on the circles themselves.

Celestia watched her captors working with a disdainful expression. Although she was grateful that Raincloud was no longer present to torment her, she was afraid of what the pale mare and her brother could do to Twilight and the others.

“Grr…” The alicorn growled under her breath in frustration as she looked down to the metal cuffs keeping her imprisoned. She tried budging them with her strength, but only elicited a few rattles from the infuriating object. As she tried to channel magic to her horn again, it was met with the same numb feeling that she had received before.

“You can stop trying to break out. You aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.” Raven Feather said while continuing her work on the symbol. She smirked while looking at the alicorn out of the corner of her eye.

“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t take a liking to your arrangements.” Celestia said in a sarcastic tone while glaring at the black mare.

“I’m terribly sorry that your experience has been lacking your majesty. I will have to work on my skills as a competent hostess after I rule the world. I don’t want any visiting dignitaries to think less of me while they grovel at my feet.” Raven Feather replied with an amused chuckle.

Celestia sighed in a defeated manner while sitting back down. She was beginning to wonder if anyone could put a stop to the tyrannical earth pony. At any rate, there was nothing she could do to stop her plot in her current state.

While the alicorn moped and sulked off to the side, Raven Feather seemed to be having the time of her life. She was swiftly bounding around the symbol, making quick adjustments and drawing glyphs while laughing like a giddy child. She had been waiting for this day to come for years, and it was easy to tell that she was enjoying herself.

“Let’s see... put this here, and that there… Ah! There we are.” Raven Feather stated in a pleased tone while stepping back from the symbol.

“Is it finished?” Grimwood asked curiously from the side of the room.

“The symbol is done. Now all we need to do is finish preparations for the spell itself.” Raven Feather explained before turning to one of the hooded workers off to the side. “How is the pool of energy holding up?” She asked curiously. The hooded pony looked down to a glowing pictogram on the floor near a pile of books.

“Everything looks good on this end. The fear we gathered up is stable at the moment.” The worker informed in an obedient tone.

“Splendid! Now we just need to wait for Raincloud and Dust Kicker to finish mopping up Twilight Sparkle and her band of weaklings.” Raven Feather said while rubbing her hooves together excitedly.

“They’ve been fighting out there for a while… shouldn’t they have been done by now?” Shadow Mist asked curiously. The red stallion’s question made the black mare ponder as to why it was taking so long for the two siblings to fight the element wielders. Surely with their combined skills it would have been an easy task to get rid of them.

“Hmm… this isn’t like them to be so sloppy. You there, could you go check to see what is going on out there?” Raven Feather asked while pointing to one of the unoccupied workers. The teal mare looked surprised to have been singled out, but she was quick to nod and get up to perform her given task.

Everyone watched as the earth pony walked across the room and over to the doors at the far end. She paused in front of them for a moment, hesitating with a nervous expression before slowly reaching for the handle and cracking the door open. With just a small fraction of an opening in the door, a muffled racket of yells and crashes could be heard from the other room. The teal mare looked through the crack in the door and moved her head around to get as much of a look as she could without anyone in the other room seeing her.

“Well? Are they done yet? How many of them are left?” Raven Feather asked curiously.

“Actually… it looks like they’re losing.” The hooded pony replied in a surprised tone.

“Who?” Raven Feather asked while furrowing her brow in a confused manner. The teal mare looked again to make sure of what she was seeing. She gulped nervously before closing the door and turning and facing the others.

“Raincloud and Dust Kicker from the looks of it.” The earth pony explained in an anxious tone.

Raven Feather stammered with a stunned expression on her face. She was completely flabbergasted that she was even hearing such a statement. She contemplated whether or not the mare was lying to her, but she probably wasn’t suicidal enough to consider such a prank.

“Move aside, let me see this.” Raven Feather stated while trotting over to the door and nudging the teal mare aside. She peered through the crack in the door and watched intently.

Not only were all of the element bearers alive and well, but they were in fact holding their own against Raincloud and her brother. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity were all keeping ahead of two empowered darklings while Dust Kicker watched.

Raincloud’s shadow was nowhere to be found, and the grey mare herself was fighting Twilight and Rainbow Dash. What’s more, she appeared to be evenly matched with the pair. Raven Feather couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“This can’t be happening. Surely six ordinary ponies shouldn’t be this big of a problem.” Raven Feather muttered uneasily while walking away from the door.

“That’s where you’re mistaken Raven Feather. They aren’t just six ordinary ponies.” Celestia said with a pleased smirk.

Raven Feather offered a passing glare to the smug alicorn as she thought further about the matter. She had to speed up the ritual so it could be done before the royal guard received reinforcements, but she couldn’t do it without Raincloud and Dust Kicker present. They had worked too hard to achieve her goal for her to just cut them out of their well-deserved victory.

Suddenly, Raven Feather’s eyes wandered over to the side of the room as a thought popped into her head. She looked over to the broken Katana blade she had taken from the human after she beat him. The luminescent stub of a blade was calling to her, almost insisting that she indulge in the devious idea that was floating around in her mind.

“Grim… I want you to keep an eye on the workers and make sure they are doing things to my specifications.” Raven Feather spoke up to her brother while walking across the room and picking up the broken sword by its handle.

“Where are you going?” Grimwood asked curiously while watching the black mare stroll towards the door with her prize in hoof.

“I’m going to go give Raincloud and Dust Kicker a helping hoof with disposing of the elements.” Raven Feather replied with a sinister smirk plastered on her face. As she reached the door and stood before it, she took one last look around the room, putting extra focus on the imprisoned alicorn and her horrified expression.

“If you want something done right, you might as well do it yourself.” The black mare said while chuckling to herself. She turned back to the door and channeled her shadow magic through her body. Suddenly, a black puff of purple tinted smoke erupted from beneath Raven Feather and swiftly enveloped her. When the smoke cleared, she and her weapon were completely invisible.

Celestia gasped quietly as the doors to the other room opened a small way and closed. She looked down to her bonds and struggled to break free again. She had to do something to help Twilight and the others before it was too late, but she was powerless to escape from the runes etched into her cuffs.

Meanwhile, Shadow Mist and Grimwood were left alone to themselves as the workers in the room went about doing their assigned tasks. Celestia wasn’t paying much attention to them, and Raven Feather was indeed gone from the room.

“Hey Grim… do you think you should make your move now?” Shadow Mist whispered while nudging towards the symbol. The pale colt glanced down to the floor beside him where he was keeping his satchel of supplies hidden behind shadow magic. He smirked for a moment before turning to the red stallion with a confident expression.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get our shot. I’ll let her go on with the ritual first. When she fails, the energy will still be useable for our adjustments.” Grimwood explained in a patient tone. “Besides, I don’t want to ruin her fun right now by making adjustments to the symbol behind her back.” He added while glancing towards the door. Shadow Mist smirked as he thought about the black mare and what she would do to the element bearers.

“Agh!” Raincloud yelped in pain as a magical blast whizzed past her leg, just barely singeing her skin. She ducked her head, nearly catching another one in the face.

Rainbow Dash watched with gleeful anticipation as Twilight fired at the grey mare repeatedly. She was ready to jump in and take action if the pegasus stopped dodging and started attacking again.

“Keep it up Twilight! You’ve got her right where you want her!” Rainbow Dash cheered excitedly, much to the frustration of the grey mare dodging fire.

“Stop doing that!” Raincloud yelled angrily while hopping over another bolt.

“What’s the matter Raincloud? Don’t like it when someone uses magic on you?” Twilight asked with a wry smirk.

“Grrr…” Raincloud growled under her breath while shooting the two mares an icy glare. Finally deciding that enough was enough, she channeled shadow energy to her hoof and shoved it forward. A ball of fiery energy shot out and sailed towards the purple unicorn.

Twilight yelped in surprise while ducking to the side. She managed to completely dodge the attack, but she was forced to stop firing on the grey mare with her horn.

“Heh…” Raincloud smirked triumphantly, until she took a look to the side to discover that Rainbow Dash was missing from her original position beside the purple mare. “Wait, what the…?” She muttered in a confused tone. Before she could look for the missing pegasus, she heard something swooping down from above her.

“Hyah!” Rainbow Dash yelled fiercely while spinning around to deliver a kick to the grey mare. Her back leg collided with Raincloud’s side, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling to the floor with a painful yelp.

“Nice one Rainbow!” Twilight cheered in excitement. Rainbow Dash smiled triumphantly while pumping her arm in the air.

While the two mares were celebrating, Raincloud was still recovering from the blow to her side. She rolled to a stop a few feet away with a throbbing pain in her side. As she looked up to see her opponents reveling in their small victory, she couldn’t help but to get even more infuriated.

“Gah… Dust Kicker, help me out here would you?!” Raincloud yelled across the room to her brother, who was still watching his darklings fighting the other three mares. She hated how often he just sat back and watched his minions toying with people without even using his full strength. Dust Kicker looked over to see the grey mare on the floor. He briefly contemplated laughing at her for her slip up, but quickly realized that she was legitimately in trouble.

“Got it.” Dust Kicker stated while starting to make his way to help his sibling. Before he could even get a few steps away, he was interrupted by someone stepping in front of him.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Applejack said in a firm tone while standing her ground against the stallion. The orange mare had apparently noticed the stallion going to help the grey mare and slipped away from the two darklings while the others took care of them.

“I’m going to suggest that you get out of my way.” Dust Kicker said while glaring at the orange mare.

“And Ah’m going to suggest that you stay away from my friends.” Applejack replied while matching his glare in intensity.

Dust Kicker glanced over to his two remaining darklings. The two beasts were occupied with trying to get at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. If the stallion was going to deal with the orange mare in front of him, he would have to do it himself.

With a disquieting crackle, the tip of Dust Kicker’s hoof was enveloped with pulsating shadows. He glared at Applejack with sinister intent, causing the orange mare to sweat nervously.

“What’s the matter hotshot… you need magic to handle little old me?” Applejack asked in a cynical tone while putting on the best wry smirk she could, given her fear of the stallion and what he was capable of. Thankfully, her façade seemed to hide her terror rather well, and even seemed to be working.

Dust Kicker growled under his breath before relaxing his face. He wasn’t about to let some farm hand insult him. The energy around his hoof vanished, but he still had the same evil intention in his eyes. He cracked his neck to the sides and stretched for a moment before glaring at the orange mare.

“I’m going to enjoy this.” Dust Kicker said with a smirk. Applejack was a little nervous to be fighting one on one with such a dangerous foe, but she was confident that she would give him a run for his money.

While the two ponies faced off, Raincloud was stuck without the backup she requested. She growled angrily while getting to her feet. As she winced involuntarily from the pain in her side, her frustration only grew towards Twilight and her cyan friend.

“Wow... I think she’s about to pop a blood vessel or something.” Rainbow Dash said with an amused chuckle as she watched the frustrated mare.

“Um… Rainbow Dash, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to taunt the highly dangerous magic user.” Twilight said in a cautionary tone.

“Don’t worry Twilight, she isn’t even confident in herself anymore. She’s asking big bro over there to bail her out.” Rainbow Dash replied with a confident smirk.

“Grrr…” Raincloud growled furiously while glaring at the cyan pegasus. She was practically seeing red from how angry she was. As she thought more about how much she wanted to throttle the cocky mare, she realized that she was going to be alone in her efforts, and she was perfectly ok with that. Channeling shadow energy to her wings, she readied herself for a swift attack to catch her opponent off guard.

Rainbow Dash glanced over to the grey mare as she noticed a hint of a purple glow. By the time she looked over to her, Raincloud had vanished into a blur of shadows that was heading straight for her. In an instant, she felt something slam into her, knocking her to the floor and holding her down.

“Guh!” Rainbow Dash grunted painfully as the air was knocked from her lungs. She looked up to see the grey mare sitting on top of her with a livid expression on her face.

“I don’t need any help to kill you! I just need my bare hooves and natural talent!” Raincloud yelled in the cyan mare’s face. She reeled her arm back and channeled shadow energy to her hoof. The shadowy aura elongated until it shrunk to a point, creating a makeshift blade.

Rainbow Dash felt every nerve in her body explode into shock. She could feel the numbing coldness of the shadowy blade mere inches away from her skin. She wondered if she would live for long enough to feel the cold, or if she would die instantly from the strike.

Before Raincloud had a chance to complete her attack, she was enveloped by a purple magical aura. The confused mare looked around for the source of the aura, but before she could find anything, she felt herself being sent flying into the air against her will.

“AH!” Raincloud yelped as she flew across the room. She tried to spread her wings to break her flight, but the force used to fling her away was too great. The grey mare slammed into a wall on the other side of the room and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Rainbow Dash looked over to see Twilight with her horn still lit up. She couldn’t help but smile at her near death experience, which the unicorn reciprocated.

“Nice save Twilight.” Rainbow said in a grateful tone while getting to her feet.

“Anytime… just try not to antagonize the bad guy next time?” Twilight asked with a slight chuckle while walking up to the cyan mare.

“Raincloud!” Dust Kicker yelled in an alarmed tone. The stallion broke away from his confrontation with Applejack to rush to his sister’s side. The grey mare was moaning in pain as she slowly writhed on the ground and attempted to get up.

“See that, Raincloud? I don’t need any special powers to help me when I have friends to pick up the slack.” Rainbow Dash said with a pleased smirk while taking a few steps toward the two siblings.

*SHINK*

A wet gush suddenly filled the air, followed by a startled cry that died out as quickly as it started. Rainbow Dash felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as a knot slowly developed in her stomach. She immediately recognized the source of the pained outcry. As she turned around slowly, she was faced with a sight that made her face pale instantly.

Twilight was standing still with a shocked expression on her face. There was blood dripping to the floor steadily, blood that was coming from a wound on the unicorn’s chest. As the purple mare shakily looked down and put a hoof beside the wound, she and everyone else in the room got a grim idea of how severe it was.

Before anyone could react further, a purple tinted mist formed at the edge of Twilight’s wound and traveled out into the air, leaving a short luminescent blade sticking out of her chest. The mist traveled further than the hilt of the broken sword, revealing a black hoof holding onto it and a familiar mare standing in front of the purple unicorn. Judging from the descriptions they had gotten on the hooded ponies from Cotton Quill, this was Raven Feather.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash screamed in utter shock as she watched her friend’s legs wobbling from weakness. Twilight’s eyes were wide and she was whining softly from the pain, almost like she didn’t have the energy to yell.

Everyone else in the room paused what they were doing as they heard the cyan mare’s outcry. Once they looked over to see the black mare sticking a sword into their friend, they widened their eyes in shock and froze up with dread.

“Agh!” Pinkie yelped as one of the darklings bit into her leg. She shook the beast off before grabbing her strobe in a fit of frustration and adrenaline and shoving it into the darkling’s mouth. Once she fired and dispatched the creature into a pile of smoke, she aimed at the other creature about to maim Fluttershy as she was distracted. Firing a bolt of energy at the beast’s mouth, she successfully dealt with the two creatures that had been troubling her and her friends since they started fighting. Instead of celebrating her victory however, the pink mare was staring ahead at the scene before her with a horrified expression.

Raven Feather grinned sadistically while gripping the hilt of the blade tightly. She leaned in close to the stunned unicorn’s ear and whispered to her.

“Why don’t you go keep Princess Luna company?” Raven Feather asked with a smirk. Without even moving away from the purple mare, the earth pony shoved on the hilt of the blade, burying the short katana the rest of the way into her chest.

A spray of blood gushed out as Twilight lurched forward involuntarily. Her cry of pain was strangled as a trickle of blood fell from her mouth. The burning sensation in her chest was almost enough to send her to her knees, but somehow she remained standing, albeit on shaky legs.

“NO!” Rainbow Dash yelled while racing forward to help her friend. Once she got close enough to warrant Raven Feather’s attention, the black mare stuck her hoof out and used her shadow magic to push the pegasus away and onto her back.

Now that she was free of distraction, Raven Feather turned to Twilight and smirked victoriously. She placed her free hoof on the unicorn’s chest while still gripping the blade with her other hoof. With a mighty shove, the black mare pushed Twilight backwards while pulling the sword out of her chest. Due to the jagged nature of the blade and its small size, it was relatively easy to separate the two, leaving the purple mare to stumble backwards in a stunned state of pain.

Twilight fell backwards and landed on her back, but any other sensations were overshadowed by the stabbing pain in her chest. She could feel her heart racing and her limbs shaking, but most of all, she felt herself steadily getting weaker.

“TWILIGHT!” All five mares yelled in unison as they bolted forward towards the purple mare. They didn’t even care about their three enemies watching from the sidelines anymore. All they cared about now was reaching their friend.

Raven Feather watched with a pleased smirk as the five mares raced in a clumsy panic to pick the unicorn up to her feet and half walk, half drag her away. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood on either side of the purple mare and helped her walk, while the others followed the three with fearful expressions.

“Shouldn’t we be stopping them?” Dust Kicker asked while walking over to the black mare. Raven Feather looked over to see the brown stallion and his still disoriented sister coming up to her and watching the fleeing ponies.

Raven Feather chuckled warmly as she looked over to the blood trail that the purple unicorn was leaving. There were steady droplets and pools of blood leading behind the six mares as they carried their friend to the door at the other end of the room. She looked down to the blood on her own hooves and let a small smile creep across her face.

“No… let them go tend to their friend. I wouldn’t want to interrupt their last moments with her. We can go check to see how far they made it with her after she dies.” Raven Feather said in a confident tone.

“So we’re waiting here then? Good… I think Raincloud could use a break.” Dust Kicker said with a wry smirk while turning to his sister. The grey mare was holding her head and wincing in pain from her undoubtedly sore body.

“You know what Dust? Bite me…” Raincloud stated in an irritated tone before flinching in pain.

Raven Feather smiled warmly as her two cohorts sat down on the floor and settled in. She was confident that her plan was going as smoothly as it could have been, especially now that the elements of harmony would be out of play.

Twilight whined softly as her chest stung even more. She hung her head in a hazy disoriented state as she tried to keep moving. Her legs were moving along at a sluggish pace, but the only reason she was staying upright was due to the added support from the two mares beside her.

“Twilight! Are you ok?!” A muffled voice rang out from beside her. She was certain it was one of her friends, but they sounded so far away.

“Ugh…” Twilight groaned painfully as her head drooped lower. She was staring at the floor now, though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to spend the energy to right herself.

There was blood steadily dropping to the floor beneath her. She could see the crimson fluid leaving her body, but she couldn’t see the droplets hitting the floor as her friends pushed onwards despite her weakness. Despite her inability to see it, she was sure that she was leaving a sizable trail of blood behind her.

“Is she going to be alright?” Another concerned voice rang out from slightly behind her. She determined the owner of the voice to be Fluttershy. Her ears weren’t ringing as much, and the haze she seemed to be in was clearing. Despite her clearer state of mind, her body still felt numb and weak aside from the excruciating pain in her chest.

“She’s going to be fine Fluttershy! We just need to get her out of here and find some help!” Rainbow Dash stated in a frantic tone. Her voice was full of genuine fear and dread, two emotions Twilight rarely saw the cyan mare express.

Suddenly, her legs gave out from under her, causing Twilight to stumble and fall slightly. She would have face planted onto the floor had the two mares beside her not caught her and pushed her back up to her feet. Although they were practically lifting her up as her legs did the motions of walking, the group was somehow still making progress.

Applejack looked down and noticed that her hooves were now covered in blood. She hadn’t even paid much notice to it when she picked the unicorn up, but now the sight of the crimson staining on her hooves made her shudder with dread.

“Twilight, can you hear me?” Applejack asked in a concerned tone while leveling her head with the dazed unicorn. Twilight shifted her eyes over to the orange mare and groaned in pain. The pale look on her friend’s face made a cold chill run down Applejack’s spine.

“We’re going to get you out of here Twilight. Just hang in there for us ok?” Pinkie Pie asked in what she hoped would be a reassuring tone. Normally she would have been comforting the unicorn and the rest of her friends, but she felt far too afraid and horrified to even put on a smile.

As they rushed through the corridors of the castle towards the entrance, it became clearer and clearer to the five mares just how badly injured Twilight was. The unicorn could barely lift her head up or make coordinated movements. Her legs looked like they could give out at any moment. And to add to the poor situation, the purple mare was whining and groaning in pain, painting a terrible picture of how much she was suffering.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the six mares reached the entryway. The sight of the double doors at the far end of the room filled them with enough relief to keep them going.

“We’re here! We’re almost out!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in excitement while turning to the dazed unicorn beside her. Twilight seemed far too distracted to even hear her.

“What about the darklings outside?” Fluttershy asked in a nervous tone. If they couldn’t fight their way through the horde of beasts with healthy numbers and three strobes, then they stood no chance with limited equipment and their best unicorn severely injured.

“I will fly her over those things myself if I have to. You guys can stay here and find another way around while I get her to help.” Rainbow Dash explained in a determined tone. The thought of being left alone in the castle with the hooded ponies didn’t even cross the group’s minds. The only objective in their minds was to get Twilight medical attention.

As they journeyed down the two sets of stairs, Applejack and Rainbow Dash could feel Twilight’s strength slowly giving out. The purple mare was slowly putting more and more weight on them. Soon enough they would just be carrying her dead weight around, a thought which had far more grim implications than the two mares wanted to think about.

Finally, Twilight could take no more. Even though they were down the stairs and halfway to the door, she could go no further. Her legs were completely exhausted, and she felt physically ill from her severe wounds.

“S-stop…” Twilight instructed in an exasperated tone as her legs gave out from under her. She groaned in a mixture of tiredness and pain as she let her entire body fall to the floor. Despite Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s attempts at keeping her upright, they couldn’t stop the unicorn from falling to the floor on her side.

“Twilight, get up!” Rainbow Dash pleaded while nudging the purple mare. Twilight shook her head while maneuvering herself onto her back.

“I can’t.” Twilight explained in a weak tone.

“We’re so close! We can get you some help once we make it outside! Maybe the others already signaled for help and the royal guard is already here.” Rainbow Dash suggested in a desperate tone.

“No… Rainbow Dash, I-” Twilight started to speak up, until she was interrupted by a fit of intense coughing. With a final wet cough, another trickle of blood shot out of her mouth and fell to the floor.

“I can’t go further.” Twilight explained in a sickly tone while pleading with the cyan mare with her eyes. Everyone frowned sadly as they realized that she felt too ill to even move anymore.

“Ok… ok… We can… we can get you some help from here! I can go get someone and be back here before you know it!” Rainbow Dash said while starting towards the door.

“No!” Twilight cried while trying to get up and reach for the cyan pegasus. She winced in pain while clutching the wound on her chest and going back to the floor.

Rainbow Dash walked back over to the circle of mares around the wounded unicorn with a confused expression.

“But Twilight, I have to do something to get you help!” Rainbow Dash explained in a distraught tone.

“Please don’t leave me… I want you to stay here.” Twilight said in a pleading tone while clenching her eyes shut to deal with the pain she was feeling.

Rainbow Dash stared at the purple mare with a fearful expression of sorrow and concern. She wanted to just scoop her up in her arms and carry her to the nearest hospital. She would fly her all the way to Ponyville in a matter of a few minutes if she had to.

“Rainbow… If we can’t take her there ourselves, there isn’t much we can do for her other than stay with her. If someone was coming, they would already be on their way. You flying out there to tell them they need to get here faster wouldn’t change anything.” Rarity explained in a saddened tone.

“Ok… we can stay here.” Rainbow Dash said while looking down to the injured unicorn with a concerned expression. “But if we’re staying here, then we need to do everything we can to keep her alive.” She said while rushing over to the purple mare’s side.

Applejack and the others backed up a little bit to give the cyan pegasus room. Rainbow Dash knelt down beside Twilight and examined her wound further. The mere sight of the bloody gash made her sick with concern and fear. Although she knew next to nothing about first aid, she knew that losing that much blood was probably a bad thing.

“Twilight, you need to keep pressure on the wound. Can you do that for us?” Rainbow Dash asked in a pleading tone.

Twilight glanced down to the wound on her chest. She slowly moved her arm up and placed it over the length of the gash. As she pressed down on it with all the strength she could muster, she cringed painfully and let a small groan escape her lips.

“It hurts so much…” Twilight said in a distraught tone while rocking her head back. There were tears streaming down her face, but it was hard to tell if they were caused by the pain, or her shocked emotions.

“I know it hurts Twilight, but you have to stay strong for us. Just keep pressing on that and focus on staying awake.” Rainbow Dash said in a sympathetic tone.

“Girls… I think… I think I’m going to die.” Twilight said in a frightened tone while taking note of her current state of health.

“You’re not going to die. I don’t think she hit anything too vital… I hope.” Rainbow Dash muttered uneasily. “All we need to do is control the bleeding and you’ll be fine.” She added in a reassuring tone, though the others couldn’t tell if she was trying to reassure the purple mare or herself.

“Rarity, is there anything you can do with your magic to help her?” Applejack asked in a hopeful tone.

“I’m afraid not. I can’t do anything to even begin to heal a wound this big.” Rarity explained in a sad tone.

Rainbow Dash glanced over to her friends with a worried expression. She had never seen such somber expressions on their faces, and earlier in the day they had been to a funeral. She hoped that they could somehow keep Twilight alive long enough for help to arrive.

When she looked back at the purple mare, Rainbow Dash gasped in shock as she saw her with her eyes closed and a drowsy expression on her face.

“Hey, wake up!” Rainbow Dash said while gently shaking the purple mare. Twilight jolted awake and looked around in a surprised stupor.

“Wha…? W-what… happened?” Twilight asked in a confused tone.

“I need you to stay awake, Twilight. Just keep looking at me and focus on keeping your eyes open.” Rainbow Dash explained while putting a reassuring hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.

“Ok… ok…” Twilight replied while nodding slightly.

Everyone looked to the unicorn with saddened expressions as she lay on the floor trying to stay alive. Her breathing was heavy and erratic, and she didn’t move aside from gentle fidgets to deal with the pain she was feeling. The hoof she was using to keep pressure on her wound was already stained red from her own blood, and she was shaking weakly any time she tried moving a muscle.

“There has to be something we can do to help her. Maybe there are some medical supplies somewhere in the castle.” Pinkie Pie suggested in a troubled tone.

“There aren’t any on this side of the castle… and besides, I don’t want any of you running into the hooded ponies.” Twilight explained in a concerned tone. It nearly broke the five mares’ hearts to hear the unicorn expressing concern for them in her current state.

“Did they follow us?” Fluttershy asked in a nervous tone while glancing up the stairs behind her.

“If they did, they will sorely regret it.” Rainbow Dash said in an angry tone. She was ready to tear Raven Feather’s head off for doing this to her friend.

“No… no more fighting.” Twilight said while flinching painfully.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone.

“Look at us Rainbow… we shouldn’t have been fighting them in the first place. We barely got out of there with our lives… and I’m not quite sure if I did just yet.” Twilight explained sadly while looking over to her friends.

Pinkie Pie winced in pain while looking down to her leg. She was bleeding slightly from where the darkling bit her, but it wasn’t nearly as severe as Twilight’s injury or Fluttershy’s wing. Everyone looked back to the purple mare with sad expressions as they realized what she meant.

“But… we were winning! We had those jerks on the ropes until Raven Feather came in and pulled that stupid invisibility stunt!” Rainbow Dash protested in an upset tone. She couldn’t believe she was hearing Twilight Sparkle having regrets over fighting against bad guys.

“Please… just don’t fight them anymore.” Twilight pleaded in a desperate tone. Before she could say anything else, she coughed violently. No more blood came out, but the wet sound suggested that her insides were still in poor shape.

“Ok… we won’t fight them.” Rainbow Dash said with a sincere nod. She didn’t care about fighting to justify something, not when the unicorn was wounded so severely.

Everyone watched somberly as Twilight breathed in and out. It seemed like she was having trouble breathing from how much air she was sucking in with each inhale. The others wondered if perhaps she had a punctured lung, but it was hard to confirm without medical equipment or training.

“Hey… could you do something for me?” Twilight asked in a weak tone.

“Sure… anything.” Rainbow Dash said in an eager tone while leaning closer to the exhausted mare.

“Can you tell Spike I’m sorry… and that I love him?” Twilight asked in a somber tone. The others were shocked to hear such a request. From how serious she sounded, the unicorn must have thought she was dying.

“You can tell him yourself. We’re getting you out of here.” Rainbow Dash said in a reassuring tone.

“Ok… but in case I don’t, I just wanted to say that you guys are the best friends I have ever had. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for all of you… I love you so much.” Twilight said while tearing up slightly. Everyone else teared up as well from hearing the unicorn talk like she was about to die.

“Stop talking like this Twi… you’re started to make me all sappy.” Rainbow Dash said while sniffling slightly and wiping her eyes.

Twilight smiled slightly while looking around at the others. Suddenly she drooped her head to the side and closed her eyes. Her arm slid off her wound slightly, and her breathing stopped. The sudden change in her condition made everyone gasp in shock.

“Is she… is she dead?!” Rarity asked in a distraught tone.

“Hey, wake up!” Rainbow Dash yelled while shaking the unicorn. When she showed no response, the cyan mare slapped her in the face.

Suddenly Twilight gasped and shot upwards in an adrenaline fueled rush. She breathed rapidly for a few moments before Rainbow Dash gently pushed her back to a resting position.

“Don’t do that to us again Twilight. You almost gave me a heart attack!” Rainbow Dash said in a relieved tone.

“Sorry… I’m just so drowsy.” Twilight said while trying to keep from slipping away again.

“Keep pressure on your wound. You need to keep that blood loss in check.” Rainbow Dash said while gently grabbing the unicorn’s arm and placing her hoof back on her injury. She decided to help put pressure on it to compensate for the purple mare’s weakness.

Everyone watched sadly as Twilight clung to life. She remained still, breathing heavily and staring up with a glazed look in her eye that told of a great deal of pain. Somehow, even through all of her pain and suffering, the unicorn still managed to have a concerned expression on her face. She seemed to be contemplating something deeply. Perhaps she was thinking of her own mortality, or how her death might affect the ones she loved.

“Girls… I really don’t think I’m going to make it.” Twilight said in a weak tone.

“Twilight…” Fluttershy muttered sadly while staring at the sickly mare with teary eyes. She could barely stand seeing her friend like this, and the others weren’t faring much better.

“You listen to me Twilight Sparkle. You can get those thoughts out of your head and stop talking like you’re going to die. I believe in you… you can get through this.” Rainbow Dash said in a hopeful tone. Her voice trembled a little bit, deceiving her sense of confidence in the unicorn’s chances of survival.

“I don’t think I can Rainbow Dash… I feel so cold… so tired.” Twilight replied in a somber tone. Suddenly the cyan pegasus started sniffling and tearing up while looking down.

“Dangit Twilight… *Sniff* You can’t die here… we… we need you!” Rainbow Dash said in a distraught manner while looking up to face the unicorn. She was barely holding herself together as tears streamed down her face freely and her lips quivered.

“Rainbow…” Twilight muttered in a sad tone.

“If it wasn’t for you, none of us would be as good friends as we are now! We wouldn’t have had all those adventures… none of those cherished memories would have even happened!” Rainbow Dash said while squeezing the purple mare’s hoof tighter in her own. “You never gave up on any of us. Even when I was dead to rights back at the mansion, you didn’t give up on me. So now, I’m not going to give up on you. You can beat this! We’re all here with you… so don’t you dare die on us!” She said with as much devotion as she could before trailing off into a series of sniffles and sobs.

“Rainbow Dash… I’m… I’m… so-” Twilight muttered in a dazed tone. Suddenly the unicorn cut off mid-sentence. Her eyes fluttered for a moment before drooping shut. Rainbow Dash felt her arm going limp in her grasp as her head settled to the floor and rolled to the side.

“T…T-Twilight?” Rainbow Dash whimpered softly in a stunned tone. She gently shook the purple mare, only to receive no response. “Talk to me Twilight… say something!” She yelled in a distraught tone while trying everything she could to wake the unicorn up.

The four mares watching from the side felt their hearts sink as they watched the unicorn for any signs of motion. Her chest was still, with no indication that she was breathing. The only movements arising from the purple mare were either from Rainbow Dash trying to shake her awake, or from her blood flowing into the steadily growing puddle beneath her.

“Twilight…? Twilight?!” Rainbow Dash could barely create legible words amid her shock. She raised a shaky hoof and placed it against the unicorn’s neck. She waited patiently, desperately hoping to feel a pulse. One second, two seconds, ten seconds, all passing by without anything pushing back against her hoof.

“N…n-no…” Rainbow Dash muttered in denial while checking again for a pulse. With a distraught feeling of frustration building inside of her, she groaned while putting her ear over the purple mare’s chest to listen directly for her heart. Everyone else was stuck with a silent sob caught in the back of their throats as they watched with teary eyes.

“No… no… no, no, no!” Rainbow Dash finally broke down into a fit of crying as she buried her head into Twilight’s chest. She felt the wave of emotion she had been burying inside of her coming to the surface as it finally sank in.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy immediately burst out crying while covering their faces. Rarity and Applejack managed to hold back for a few seconds, but even they began sobbing and had to turn away to prevent themselves from looking at their fallen friend.

The five mares wailed and cried like they never had before. Each had felt hardship and tragedy in the past few days, but nothing as heart rending as losing one of their own. They felt like a part of them had just died, and they were inconsolable in their grief. None of them had ever even thought of the possibility of one of them dying to be real when they eagerly stepped forward to fight the hooded ponies. They understood the risks, and they acknowledged the possibility of death, but somehow it never felt like it could actually happen. And now that it had, everything was crashing down on top of them.

Memories of the times they shared with the purple unicorn came flooding to the surface as they all wept over her body. She had always been their brave leader, able to find the courage needed to best any evil plot that threatened her home, but now she had lost. She had been struck down in an agonizing display of blood and tears, before she even had a chance to lead them to victory.

Not only was she one of Equestria’s greatest protectors, but she had been one of its greatest denizens as well. Throughout her lessons in friendship, she had always strived to be a caring and kind individual, ready and eager to help her friends with any problem they might have. She had touched the hearts of so many in such a short time. Ponyville, and possible the whole of Equestria might have been different if she never came along.

After several minutes of openly sobbing and crying, the five mares quieted down slightly. They hadn’t gotten better, far from it in fact. The pain they felt had only gotten worse as they gradually accepted that this was really happening and not just some dream. Truth be told, their cries only died down because their systems couldn’t handle crying any more. Now only broken sobs and sharp hiccups or sniffles filled the air as they all stared at the unicorn on the ground with mournful expressions.

Rainbow Dash listened to the steady sobs of her friends as she stared at Twilight’s unmoving face. She was lost amid her own thoughts, blocking out everything else that was going on. She wondered how the unicorn’s family would take the news of her death, or how Princess Celestia would react when she learned that her faithful student had perished. Finally she shuddered as she realized that Spike had to be informed at some point. The young dragon would probably be destroyed by the news. After all, he had lived with the purple mare for all of his life. Twilight might as well have been a big sister to him.

Suddenly, the cyan mare’s mind turned to Raven Feather and the hooded ponies. She glanced behind her and stared at the door to the rest of the castle at the top of the stairs. The more she thought about the sadistic smirk on Raven Feather’s face, the more her blood began to boil. She looked back down to Twilight and clenched her teeth angrily. The black mare hadn’t just taken her friend from her, but she reveled in plunging that sword into her chest. She was actually pleased to see the shocked expression of pain on the unicorn’s face as she performed the bloody deed, and that made Rainbow Dash more furious than she had ever been in her life. Now, all the sadness she felt was replaced with anger.

“Grr…” The cyan mare growled under her breath while getting up and turning around. She clenched her teeth so hard that her jaw hurt. Her entire head felt like it was vibrating from the sheer force of her rage, but at least she had something to direct it towards.

Suddenly the cyan pegasus yelled fiercely while charging forward. She galloped towards the stairs at top speed with a death glare fixed on her face. She probably would have jumped up the stairs in one bound, if she hadn’t been stopped in her tracks by Applejack gripping her tail.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” Applejack stated through clenched teeth as she fought to keep the pegasus from storming off towards danger.

“Let me go!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily while pulling against the orange pony. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop herself from being pulled backwards slightly.

“What the devil are you doing Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone.

“I’m going to beat Raven Feather within an inch of her life!” Rainbow Dash replied with pure rage evident in her voice.

“You can’t do that! If you go back there, it would be suicide!” Pinkie Pie said in a shocked tone while gasping at the cyan mare’s reckless abandon.

“I don’t care!” Rainbow Dash yelled while yanking her tail out of Applejack’s grip. The orange mare had to race forward to catch her again, this time putting an even stronger grip on her tail.

“Stop hollering like a mad mare and think about this for a minute Rainbow! Twilight wouldn’t have wanted you to throw your life away!” Applejack stated in a concerned tone. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash stopped running, causing the orange mare to fall back from pulling so hard.

“Wouldn’t have wanted?!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily while turning to face the orange mare. “Don’t talk to me about what she wanted Applejack! She didn’t want to die!” She said in a raised voice while glaring at the earth pony. Applejack flinched nervously and prepared to receive a verbal beating from the pegasus. She was surprised to hear the cyan pony sobbing again.

Applejack looked up to see Rainbow Dash sitting on the floor and crying into her hooves. She wasn’t expecting to see such an abrupt change in emotion from the pegasus. It certainly caught her off guard to say the least.

“What’s wrong Rainbow?” Applejack asked in a sympathetic tone. She had known the cyan mare for long enough to tell that something was bothering her, other than the obvious fact that her friend just died in front of her.

“I was right there!” Rainbow Dash stated in a distraught tone.

“What?” Applejack asked in a confused tone.

“I was just a few feet away from her! I should have done something… it… it should have been me that got stabbed!” Rainbow Dash sobbed openly while hiding her face from the others. Everyone gasped in concern as they heard the shocking statement.

“Rainbow… Ah know this hurts… it hurts all of us just as bad as you. There wasn’t anything you could have done to stop it. By the time any of us heard, it was already too late.” Applejack said in a sympathetic tone while scooting closer to the cyan mare and putting a hoof on her shoulder.

“I know… I just… I just…” Rainbow Dash sniffled loudly while looking up at the others. “I would do anything to get her back.” She said in a mournful tone while looking over to the purple unicorn.

“We all would sugar cube… we all would.” Applejack said while putting her arm around the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash lowered her head sadly and sobbed quietly while the orange mare comforted her.

Pinkie Pie sniffled sadly while turning to Rarity and Fluttershy. The pink pony sobbed loudly before grabbing the two and pulling them in for a hug to comfort herself. The two mares couldn’t help but to tear up alongside the others as they slowly coped with their loss.

After a while, the five ponies could finally turn their attention to what they needed to do next. They were no match for Raven Feather and her group, not without Twilight there to band them together at least. Besides, they had promised the purple mare to not fight them anymore, so the only option they had was to go find help.

“Come on girls… lets go. We can make them pay for this when we have numbers on our side.” Applejack said in a determined tone. Everyone nodded somberly while strengthening their resolve to see justice brought to the hooded ponies.

Everyone got up and slowly walked to the front of the room. Once at the entrance, they opened the doors and peeked outside to search for darklings. Seeing only the empty grounds of the castle before them, they knew that they could make it through the town once they got a head start.

Taking one last look back at Twilight’s lifeless body, the five mares looked down sadly before walking outside and closing the door. They were determined to make sure that nobody else lost their life to the cult of ponies and their sadistic leader.