As work continued on preparing for the ritual, the throne room was buzzing with ponies walking to and fro to complete their assigned tasks. Various workers read from books, arranged candles, touched up on magical symbols in and around the main circle on the floor, and other such complex looking duties.

Grimwood stood at the sidelines overseeing the progress on the ritual while still tending to Shadow Mist. He smirked slightly as his and his sister’s dream was coming to fruition before his very eyes. Soon enough, the world would be their oyster to do with what they wanted.

“Put that candle a little to the left.” Grimwood instructed to an earth pony mare arranging candles by the main symbol. The mare looked at the colt for a moment before observing her work. She nodded in revelation while nudging an askew candle back into line with the others.

Meanwhile, Celestia was watching the pale colt overseeing the numerous ponies in the room. She wondered how someone so young could be wrapped up with ponies of Raven Feather’s twisted ilk. Even if the black mare was his older sister, surely he had some form of morals that told him what she was doing was wrong.

“You know… you don’t have to do this.” The alicorn said in a sympathetic tone while looking at the colt and leveling with him.

“And?” Grimwood asked in a curious tone, as if the princess hadn’t finished her line of reasoning. The odd response confused the alicorn slightly.

“I mean, surely you must have doubts about what your sister intends on doing.” Celestia said in a softer tone as she tried to appeal to the colt’s morals.

“Well… I suppose her approach is a little bit misguided.” Grimwood said while thinking about his sister’s plan in higher detail. Celestia smiled a little bit, completely unaware of what the colt actually meant.

“You can still make things right… just remove my cuffs, and I will make sure that you and your sister get the help you need.” Celestia said in a sincere tone. Although she was dead set on making sure that the hooded ponies received ample punishment for everything they had done, she also felt slightly responsible for allowing them to go so far off the reservation. After she sent them to prison, the princess would make every effort to at least try to help them deal with their psychotic ideals. Grimwood simply looked to the alicorn with a blank expression as she eyed him pleadingly.

“But I already have all the help I need to make things right… right after my sister and I start the eternal night.” Grimwood said while smiling slightly. Celestia was horrified to see such sinister desires in the young colt.

Suddenly the sound of the door opening on the far side of the room drew everyone’s attention away. The ponies were greeted with the sight of Dust Kicker and Raincloud walking into the room, being closely followed by Raven Feather.

“So how did it go?” Shadow Mist asked curiously while looking to the trio with an intrigued expression.

“Let’s just say that we don’t need to worry about the elements of harmony anymore.” Raincloud said while hiding a devious smirk.

“What?! What did you do?!” Celestia demanded in a shocked tone. The alicorn practically fell over from trying to get up to her feet.

“I did what I should have done a long time ago. I took care of the problem.” Raven Feather said while tossing the sword she was carrying over to the surprised princess. The broken blade was almost completely stained red with blood down to the hilt.

“Twilight Sparkle is dead. The elements of harmony won’t be a problem anymore.” Raven Feather announced with a pleased expression while looking around to her followers. Most of the room had indifferent or hesitant expressions, but some were genuinely happy with the news.

“W-what?” Celestia stammered in a stunned tone. She fell back to a seated position as she stared at the blood soaked sword in front of her with wide eyes. Taking a look back up to the black mare, she saw no signs that she was lying.

“I went to check myself after the other element bearers ran away with their tails between their legs. She was practically swimming in a pool of her own blood by the time I got there, and she had been dead for a few minutes at least.” Raven Feather explained with a sadistic smirk while reveling in the distraught expression on the princess’s face.

“You… you monster.” Celestia muttered in a shocked tone while looking down. She felt a single tear fall down her face as the grim news sank in.

“I’m no monster Celestia. You did this to her yourself by creating ignorance and fear among your subjects. After I start the eternal night and gain control of the dark world instead of hiding from it, I will be twice the ruler you ever were!” Raven Feather said in a spiteful tone while glaring at the alicorn.

“Twilight was innocent… she didn’t deserve to die! All she was doing was protecting her home and her friends… and you… you killed her.” Celestia shook her head sadly while fighting to hold back her emotions from the twisted mare. The last thing she wanted to do was to give her the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

“I’ll kill many more before we cut out the weakest links of Equestria. All of the ponies too ignorant to see that this is the best way to keep us safe from any who would oppose us need to be taught, or they will die fighting for their own beliefs… beliefs that you forced on them.” Raven Feather explained in a scornful tone.

“This is insanity Raven Feather! How do you expect to keep anyone safe once the eternal night begins?! The world will be flooded with evil creatures, and the sunlight that keeps so many of them at bay will be gone forever!” Celestia yelled in a frustrated manner. The black mare merely chuckled in response.

“I don’t know why I expected you to appreciate my vision. You see dear princess, the eternal night doesn’t just pop a load of evil creatures into existence. It allows those who summoned it, those with power over shadow magic, the ability to take control of the forces of darkness, and to shape the world how they see fit. I want nothing more than to protect Equestria… but I’m protecting it from you and your weakness. The ease of our takeover should only prove my point to you Celestia… you are not able to protect your subjects from forces you refuse to accept the existence of.” Raven Feather explained before turning away from the imprisoned alicorn. “Start getting the energy ready for transfer. We’re going to go through with the ritual.” The black mare stated with a pleased smirk.

Upon hearing Raven Feather’s orders, the various hooded workers in the room scurried about in a rush to get everything ready. Several ponies picked up books and coordinated with their colleagues to complete their assigned tasks.

Raincloud sat in the middle of a small group of workers in front of a pictogram that was just on the outside of the primary symbol. She did most of the footwork in overseeing the energy transfer from their reservoir of everything they had gathered in the past.

Dust Kicker merely stood near Grimwood and Shadow Mist behind the crowd of hooded ponies watching the events unfold. Celestia was forced to watch uneasily as the group prepared to start the ritual that would doubtlessly be Equestria’s undoing. She hoped against all hope that something would happen to stop the madness being wrought by the black mare and her cult.

Meanwhile, Raven Feather herself stood at the front edge of the symbol with a proud smirk on her face. She had been preparing for this moment for as long as she could remember, and it was finally going to happen. She had a whole room full of ponies under her command, and they were all prepared to do their part to bring her dream to life.

The various symbols around the room were all drawn and surrounded by lit candles, the books needed and the spells contained within were being held by a designated group of readers off to the side across from Raincloud, and all of the energy needed was within reach. If the eternal night was going to be started in Equestria, then this would be the most likely opportunity for it.

“Raincloud, start the energy transfer.” Raven Feather instructed while looking over to the grey pegasus. Raincloud nodded with a pleased expression before looking down to the symbol before her and starting her work.

As the grey mare and the few ponies around her started interacting with the symbol, it started shimmering with a bright blue glow. Raincloud channeled shadow energy to her hoof and placed it in the middle of the symbol, which caused it to erupt into a solid purple glow. The light from the glyphs incased inside the symbol seemingly lifted into the air a short ways, creating a three dimensional image of them that was mesmerizing to behold.

With a nod of confirmation from the hooded pegasus, Raven Feather looked over to the other side of the symbol. There were around five ponies, two of them reading a grouping of books and notes off the floor, and three of them holding books open to certain pages in their hooves.

“Start reciting the secondary incantations.” The black mare instructed to the group of ponies, who all nodded in response before burying their heads into their books. Once they found their places, they all started reciting passages in a bizarre language that not even Celestia recognized. They continued reading the passages, seemingly starting over in loops once they reached the end, creating an unsettling harmony of hushed voices.

Suddenly, the outer circle of the main symbol and all of the glyphs contained inside started glowing purple. Another light erupted from the center of the smaller symbol near Raincloud, which started flowing upwards and downwards into the outer circle.

Raven Feather smirked as she saw her plan coming to fruition. She then turned around and started walking over to the imprisoned alicorn watching from the sidelines. Celestia thought she was walking over to gloat, but then the black mare produced a small knife and a vial from one of the pockets on her hoodie.

“What are you doing?” Celestia asked nervously while eyeing the small blade. She wondered if she was going to die before she even got to see her kingdom fall.

“I’m going to need a little more from you than your presence.” Raven Feather said while roughly grabbing the princess’s arm and holding the vial under it. She used the knife and made a small incision in her arm, taking great pleasure in slowing down the process as much as possible.

“Tch!” Celestia cringed painfully as the black mare sliced her arm open. Raven Feather held the vial under the incision and let the alicorn’s blood flow into it and fill it up. After she was done, she simply let the princess’s arm go and walked away, almost as if she didn’t care whether or not she bled to death.

“Essence of the princess of the sun… the missing ingredient that was lost to humankind. See, even in magical terms, there never existed pure essence of the sun, not until you were born that is. That probably explains why the humans never started the eternal night. They were sorely lacking in the materials they needed.” Raven Feather explained with a chuckle while eyeing the vial full of liquid with a wide grin.

“Then how do you know the humans even figured out the right way to perform the ritual?” Celestia asked in a cynical tone. The black mare merely offered a passing glare to her while walking back over to the symbol.

“Simply put your highness, they didn’t. I had to sift through studies on magic from the human world and our own, not to mention the dozens of tomes on the eternal night, just to find a workable version of the ritual. Years of my life spent buried in the past… and now, I can finally look forward to the future.” Raven Feather stated with a proud tone while standing at the front of the symbol again.

In the time it took the black mare to extract and collect Celestia’s blood, the other two circles within the symbol had started glowing with the same purple light. Now the only portion of the symbol that remained unlit was the smallest circle in the center of the symbol.

“Dust Kicker, please come over here and stand on the opposite side of the symbol.” Raven Feather asked while looking back at the brown stallion. Dust Kicker nodded before trotting over and standing across the symbol from the black mare.

“Once I pour this into the center circle, the three of us will need to channel as much shadow magic as we can through the symbol.” Raven Feather explained while looking to Raincloud and Dust Kicker.

“Got it.” Raincloud said while nodding understandingly.

“Alright.” Dust Kicker said while readying himself.

With her two colleagues prepared to do their part, Raven Feather directed her attention ahead of her to the symbol. The black mare took a step forward through the glowing outline of the outer circle and planted her hoof down. As expected, nothing worthwhile happened and she was permitted to continue towards the center.

As she stood just before the center circle, Raven Feather held the vial of blood in her outstretched arm and tilted it sideways. The crimson fluid poured out and landed in the circle, collecting in a small pool within the confines of the glowing edges. Once all of the blood had been poured, the mass of fluid suddenly erupted into a puff of smoke and light. The symbol emitted a low hum at fixed intervals, seemingly giving an audible clue as to how much energy was contained within.

Raven Feather stepped back outside of the symbol and stood at the edge. With a nod of confirmation between them, the three ponies held out a single hoof and channeled shadow energy to the tip. In perfect synchronization, they all placed their hooves down on the outer edge of the symbol and channeled their energy through it.

Three streams of a darker shadowy color started creeping across the symbol and into the center. After reaching the inner circle, the three streams traveled into it and seemingly filled it up with energy. Suddenly the glyphs inside the inner circle turned pitch black, offering a sort of visual cue as to the progress being made. Raven Feather smirked as she saw how close she was to finishing the ritual.

“Stand back everyone. This could be a little hectic.” Raven Feather instructed while walking over to a symbol on one of the outer circles of the pictogram. Raincloud and Dust Kicker backed up and watched eagerly as the black mare stood before the symbol in preparation for the final step.

An anxious hush befell the room as everyone stood by and watched with varying degrees of fear or excitement while Raven Feather looked down at the symbol. The only sound that could be heard was the strange hum coming from the symbol itself.

Finally, Raven Feather raised her hoof into the air and placed it down on a particular grouping of glyphs. The entire symbol suddenly lit up a bright shade of purple as the magical hum grew in pitch. Just as suddenly as the black mare stepped on the symbol, a wave of air rushed outwards in a circle, blowing out all of the candles and blowing back everyone’s hair with a loud whoosh.

Once everyone opened their eyes and looked around, they noticed the symbol wasn’t glowing anymore. The magical hum had vanished with the rush of air, leaving the room in silence once more. Strangely enough, nothing else seemed to be happening. Everyone looked around curiously for any signs of change around them. They were all confused, having expected more of a display out of the ritual that was meant to bathe the land in everlasting darkness.

“Did it work?” One of the hooded workers asked in a confused tone while looking around at the others curiously. Taking a look outside, the group saw the sun still beaming down through the clouds spaced out around the sky as if nothing happened.

“Raven Feather… wasn’t that the last step?” Raincloud asked in a confused tone.

“Yes, it was…” Raven Feather replied while looking around the symbol to see if anything meaningful was happening. None of the glyphs were glowing, nor were any other part of the large symbol. If it weren’t for the presence of the snuffed out candles, the room would have looked the same as it did before she started.

“I imagined the eternal night would be a bit… darker than this.” Dust Kicker said while taking note of the sunlight streaming in through the window.

“I don’t understand… we did everything perfectly. All of the necessary spellwork and ingredients were present… we did the ritual right… so what the hell is going on?!” Raven Feather said in an agitated tone while stamping her hoof down on the ground.

“Perhaps your plan wasn’t as well thought out as you first thought.” Celestia said with a wry smirk. She hid a sigh of relief behind her smug expression. She was just as pleased that nothing happened as the black mare was frustrated.

Ignoring the alicorn and her sarcastic musings, Raven Feather trotted over to the side and snatched a book full of notes from one of the workers near the symbol. She read the checklist of steps and materials needed for each step to see if some mistake was made. As much as she wanted to blame the organizational skills of the appointed scribe, the pony had diligently marked off each step as instructed, and she knew each step by heart anyway.

“What went wrong?! We couldn’t have made a mistake… unless… unless…” Raven Feather muttered in an agitated sense of shock.

“Unless what, Raven Feather?” Raincloud asked in a concerned tone while walking over to the black mare with a sympathetic expression. Raven Feather slid to a seated position and stared at the floor with a stunned expression. She seemed to be having a mental crisis from the distraught appearance she had.

“Unless the ritual itself was never going to work in the first place.” Raven Feather stated in a dull tone as she slowly gained the willpower to speak outwardly.

“What?! But that can’t be possible! You did so much research… all of the stuff you ran past me was flawless!” Raincloud said in a shocked tone.

“I know… I know… but I just can’t fathom what else could be wrong.” Raven Feather stated in a frustrated manner while rubbing her temples pensively.

Meanwhile, Grimwood and Shadow Mist were watching from the sidelines. The pale colt looked to the stallion and gave a brief nod before getting up and walking over to his sister. Grim paused behind the black mare and watched her trying to contain her frustration with a sympathetic expression. For both of their sakes, he hoped that his method would actually work.

“Raven Feather, I think I might know what went wrong.” Grimwood said while putting a reassuring hoof on the black mare’s side. Raven Feather turned her head and shrugged before bottling up her agitated nerves to address her sibling without biting his head off.

“What is it Grimwood?” Raven Feather asked in a dull tone. It was easy to tell that she wasn’t impressed with whatever solution the colt might suggest.

“See, I think you got it mostly right, but you didn’t account for some of the older texts. I have a bag full of some supplies that will-” Grimwood said while turning to look over to Shadow Mist and his supplies. He was suddenly interrupted by Raven Feather groaning softly and shaking her head.

“Grim… please don’t start with your theories again. Now is not the right time for this.” Raven Feather said in an agitated tone. She didn’t want to hurt the colt’s feelings, but she was far too emotionally unstable at the moment to be dealing with his nonsense.

“What…? But… but I have a fix that will work. I spent a lot of time and effort trying to check my work and gather supplies.” Grimwood explained in a confused tone. He thought that seeing her own plan fail would make the black mare more open to his ideas, but clearly he was mistaken.

“Grimwood… I really don’t want to get into it with you right now. I already looked over all of the old texts, and most of them are full of myths and inane gibberish. Just leave me alone and let me process what to do next.” Raven Feather said in a more frustrated tone.

“Hey, Raven Feather… maybe you should go easy on him. I’m sure he just wants to help.” Raincloud suggested in a concerned tone. She had never seen the black mare act so restrained with her anger. Still, it looked like she was boiling over on the inside. The pegasus wondered if she was having a mental breakdown from so many failures happening at once.

Grimwood frowned slightly as his sibling tossed his efforts in his face again. He normally didn’t let his emotions get the better of him, but seeing such stubbornness in his sister was starting to make him frustrated as well.

“Raven Feather, why won’t you just listen to me? I’ve worked on this plan with you ever since we came to the mansion! I helped you fact check most of your work… I did a fair amount of your work! Why can’t you just accept that you messed something up for once?!” Grimwood raised his voice into an upset tone while facing the black mare.

“Because I can’t mess this up!” Raven Feather finally turned around and snapped at the colt, catching him off guard. Grimwood took a step back, but she simply stood up and followed him.

“I’ve done all of this so we can live in peace with the world instead of hiding from it! I took you with me once they started to treat you like trash… just like they did with me!” Raven Feather yelled angrily while trying to reason with the colt. She wasn’t yelling as loudly as she usually did with someone that upset her, but somehow she seemed to be putting more frustration and emotion behind it despite the fact.

“R-Raven Feather... I-” Grimwood stammered slightly while backing up to distance himself from the black mare. He had never seen his sister so upset with him before.

“I don’t want to hear it Grim! I worked so hard to make this plan work, but it didn’t ok?! I tried everything that was available to me! The only reason I even rejected your theories was because I had already gone over them! I failed, so there is nothing that you or anyone else can do about that! I’m not even sure if the eternal night exists anymore! This stupid symbol might as well be a piece of useless junk!” Raven Feather yelled while venting her emotions. Everything that had been building inside of her was suddenly let out, and unfortunately for Grimwood, he had been the one that triggered her inevitable meltdown.

Grimwood backtracked with a shocked expression on his face. He was on the verge of tears from hearing his sister snap at him. He understood her anger perfectly, but somehow he felt crushed from hearing her discredit him so harshly.

“Raven Feather… I… I’m-” Grimwood muttered in a distraught tone while stepping backwards. Suddenly, he found himself smack dab in the center of the symbol on the floor. He inadvertently planted his back leg down inside the center circle, when a sudden burst of light and sound rang out.

“AHHHH!” Grimwood screamed out in pain as he was caught in the center of the newly created light. Just as suddenly as the light appeared, several streams of a black smoke-like substance started flowing out of the symbol and traveling into the colt’s body.

“*Gasp* Grimwood!” Raven Feather exclaimed in shock while staring at her brother with wide eyes. He was being suspended in the air slightly as the black substance continued flowing into him. There was seemingly nothing the colt could do to free himself from the grasp of whatever was happening.

A droning screeching sound accompanied the colt’s screams of pain, seemingly coming from whatever the dark substance flowing into him was. Even with Raven Feather’s knowledge of shadow magic, she knew that whatever was happening to her brother was bad, and she had to do something to save him.

Taking a frantic look around, the black mare discovered that the symbol responsible for storing the energy for the ritual was glowing. Whatever was happening must have been drawing power from the symbols themselves.

“Break the energy symbol!” Raven Feather yelled frantically to Raincloud, who was still staring in shock at what was happening to Grimwood. The grey pegasus looked to the black mare, and then to the symbol beneath her feet with a panicked expression.

“Won’t that dump all of the energy into the air?!” Dust Kicker asked in a concerned tone from the other side of the symbol. Surely having so much energy explode out of a symbol at once wouldn’t be a good thing for anyone standing nearby, let alone the possible consequences after the fact.

“Who cares?!” Raincloud yelled while channeling shadow energy to her hoof and raising it. She was more concerned with Grimwood’s safety than whatever might happen from releasing the energy.

As the grey mare stomped her hoof down onto the small symbol and channeled her energy into it, a brief flash of light appeared and nearly blinded anyone watching. Along with the light, a loud and powerful wave of energy erupted out in a circle, blowing everyone’s hair back violently and traveling out of the room. As the faint shockwaves hit the edges of the room and escaped into the rest of the castle, what few windows and glass decorations there were shattered and flung shards against the walls.

When all of the commotion died down and everyone could open their eyes again, everything was quiet. The symbol was unlit and silent, with Grimwood having dropped to the floor limply after the strange black substance stopped suspending him in the air.

“Grim!” Raven Feather exclaimed in a distraught tone while rushing forward. She knelt down beside the motionless colt and picked him up in her arms gently.

“Grim, can you hear me? Are you alright?!” Raven Feather asked in a panic while examining her sibling for any signs of life. He felt oddly cold to the touch, and he resembled a corpse for all intents and purposes. The longer the colt remained limp and motionless, the further the black mare’s heart sunk.

“Is he breathing?!” Raincloud asked in a concerned tone while walking over to the black mare and watching anxiously for any signs that Grimwood was alive.

Raven Feather placed a hoof to Grimwood’s neck to feel for a pulse. Through her frantic and shaky hooves, she couldn’t manage to feel anything, no matter how much she felt around. She nearly felt her heart skip a beat as she desperately hoped that her mind was playing tricks on her.

Suddenly and very abruptly, Grimwood shot upwards and gasped for air. He looked around with an expression of shock while trying to calm down and catch his breath.

“Grim! You’re alive!” Raven Feather exclaimed with joyous relief while hugging her brother close to her.

“What… what happened?” Grimwood asked in a drowsy and confused tone. He looked around slowly with a paler appearance than usual and a tired disposition.

“I don’t know Grim, but it doesn’t matter right now. We’re going to take you home so you can rest.” Raven Feather explained while gently setting the colt down and letting him lay on the floor.

“Raincloud, start packing up the supplies and gather up all the workers. We’re heading out as soon as possible.” The black mare instructed in a serious tone. Raincloud nodded before turning and walking away to start gathering up all of the vital materials they brought with them.

Meanwhile, Celestia was watching Grimwood with an uneasy expression. Ever since the colt inadvertently started the reaction with the symbol, she had felt an odd aura around him, like some kind of puzzling feeling nagging at the back of her mind.

Grimwood was laying on the ground and staring up at the ceiling while breathing softly. He had a dazed look about him, as if he weren’t really paying attention to anything and was simply staring into nothingness.

Suddenly, Celestia saw a brief flicker of movement on the colt’s side. It looked like a twinge of blackness just appeared and disappeared out of his body, almost like it was emitted by him. The uneasy feeling building in the alicorn’s mind only grew worse with the bizarre and troubling sight. She wasn’t sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if she actually wanted them to be or not.

“Raven Feather… I feel weird.” Grimwood said in a genuinely frightened tone while shivering violently.

Raven Feather turned to see a sickly expression on her brother’s face. She frowned with concern while walking over to him and feeling his forehead to see if he was running a fever. Much to her surprise, she actually felt an icy chill travel into her hoof from simply touching the colt.

“Good lord… you’re freezing cold, Grim. Do you feel sick or… different?” Raven Feather asked in a concerned tone while thinking back to what the symbol did to her sibling. She wondered what was actually happening during the sudden and frightening reaction.

Grimwood simply remained silent while staring ahead with a sickly expression. He shivered violently while being cradled in his sister’s arms, much to the concern of everyone watching. Even the hooded workers that didn’t personally know the colt were starting to feel bad for him.

“Let me see him. Maybe I can do something to help.” Shadow Mist suggested while struggling to get up. The stallion seemed to have lost a fair amount of strength due to his injuries.

“Don’t strain yourself Shadow. I appreciate the offer, but I can take care of him. First we need to get out of here before any more guards arrive.” Raven Feather said while glancing behind her to check on the progress of Raincloud and her band of workers. The grey pegasus and several workers were packing up all of the books and materials used in the ritual, but they were taking a bit longer than Raven Feather would have liked. The black mare gently sat her brother down and stood up. Just seeing the pale colt shivering on the floor with a blank expression on his face made her feel terrible inside, after all she was the one who did this to him.

“Raven Feather… unlock these cuffs and I will help you… I’ll help him.” Celestia spoke in a concerned tone, eliciting the black mare to turn and look at her.

“Why would I want your help?” Raven Feather asked in an irritated tone. She half expected to see no emotion on the alicorn’s face, but she seemed genuinely concerned and empathetic as she looked over at the colt sitting on the floor.

“Look… we can sort out differences between us later. If you free me, we can work together to make sure your brother gets all the help he needs. You know a great deal about darker magic, and I know a great deal of light magic, so if we hurry we might be able to do something.” Celestia suggested while making every attempt to level with the black mare. Raven Feather instinctively scoffed in disgust at the princess’s words before looking down and actually considering them. She looked back to Grimwood with a concerned expression before shrugging in frustration and shaking her head.

“I don’t need your help Celestia. I can take care of my brother myself… I’m the one who did this to him anyway.” Raven Feather stated in an adamant tone. She wasn’t declining due to her grudge with the alicorn, far from it in fact. She knew that any form of magic the princess knew about was likely less potent than the things she knew herself. And right now, Grimwood needed someone capable and strong.

“How are we doing Raincloud? We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Grim isn’t looking too good.” Raven Feather asked while walking over to the grey mare to see how much she had left to pack.

“I’m moving as fast as I can.” Raincloud replied in an uneasy tone while glancing over to Grimwood with a concerned expression. She had the help of several workers, but there were still a lot of supplies that needed to be packed up, and not everyone seemed to be as motivated as the black mare and her colleagues were.

“Where are we even going after this?” One of the workers asked in a concerned tone.

“Yeah… and what are we going to do after we get there? I signed up for taking over the world, not botching a takeover of Canterlot and becoming an enemy of the state.” Another worker stated in an irritated tone.

“Just shut up and work will you? We’ll have a plan set up after we get out of here.” Raincloud said in an annoyed tone while shooting a glare towards the unruly ponies.

“I thought this was the plan.” A third worker said in a troubled tone. Even with the looming threats coming from Raincloud, most of the hoods in the room were whispering amongst themselves uneasily. Raven Feather could practically feel the distrust and scorn coming her way from the more unsavory members of her following.

“Will all of you just be quiet!” Raven Feather yelled in a threatening tone, causing the room to fall silent. “The arrangement I made with all of you was to take over Equestria together. Just because this plan failed doesn’t mean that anything has changed. I will rip the crown from Celestia’s head if I have to, even if the eternal night isn’t real. Whether or not you believe me… you can take this as a fact. If I hear one more person objecting to me getting my brother out of here, I will personally ensure that you get to be Raincloud’s shadow’s new plaything!” The black mare yelled angrily. Everyone in the room, whether they had been quietly whispering or vocalizing their opinions, went deathly quiet. All of the ponies that were stirring up trouble hid their faces and returned to what they were doing. They quickly realized that this organization was not the place to be staging a coup.

“You’re wrong…” Grimwood said in a stoic tone. The odd and sudden response from the colt made Raven Feather pause with confusion.

“What?” Raven Feather asked in a puzzled tone while looking over to her brother. The colt had stopped shivering, and was simply staring at her with a blank expression.

“I said you’re wrong.” Grimwood repeated himself casually while continuing his blank stare. Such emotionless expressions were the norm for the colt, but somehow Raven Feather felt a little uneasy from the particular stare she was getting from her brother.

“What was I wrong about?” Raven Feather asked with guarded curiosity while looking around at the others. Raincloud, Dust Kicker, and even Shadow Mist seemed to be just as confused by the colt’s odd behavior as she was.

“The eternal night is real… just not in the way you imagined.” Grimwood stated while getting up slowly. He started walking towards the black mare at a casual pace, all the while staring ahead with a passive, almost calm expression.

“Grim… you should be resting. We can talk about the eternal night after you get better… and I can go over your theories again with you.” Raven Feather said in a concerned tone. She felt horrible for causing so much pain in the colt. The way he stood up to her and vented his emotions only made the fact that she caused him to get hurt that much more terrible.

“I don’t want to go over theories with you. I just want to stay here.” Grimwood said in a calm tone while continuing to walk closer to the black mare.

“What…? What do you mean stay here?” Raven Feather asked in a confused tone while taking a step back. She was slightly disturbed by the sudden shift in her brother’s behavior.

“I feel weak… I need to rest for a while like you said. But I need to stay here to do it. You all can just go on ahead of me… I’ll catch up eventually.” Grimwood said while continuing to walk forward. Just as Raven Feather thought he was going to passively chase her to the other side of the room, the colt paused at the center of the unlit symbol on the floor and sat down. He waited in the center of the symbol while humming to himself quietly and bobbing his head, as if he actually expected everyone to get up and leave him to his own devices.

“Is he ok…?” Raincloud whispered uneasily while sharing a concerned expression with Raven Feather. The black mare glanced between the grey pegasus and her brother, who was still humming quietly to himself while looking ahead pensively.

“I don’t know… maybe that reaction with the symbol did something to him?” Raven Feather whispered back in a concerned tone. Grimwood seemed to pay little attention to the others in the room, and his bizarre behavior was seriously creeping out many of the hooded workers, not to mention Raven Feather and the others.

“Grim… are you feeling ok? Maybe I should take a look at you with my shadow magic and see if something is wrong.” Raven Feather suggested in a soft tone while slowly walking up to her brother and putting a hoof on his shoulder. The colt still felt icy cold, and not just the type of cold that came from sickness or any other natural occurrence. He felt colder than any living thing should have.

“Hmm…. Such an interesting concept isn’t it? Harnessing the power of shadows to do one’s bidding. It’s actually rather humorous to think that such a power can just be tapped into without much effort.” Grimwood said while briefly glancing to the black mare.

“That does it… I’m getting you out of here right now. Raincloud and the others can pack up by themselves. I need to get you somewhere to help you.” Raven Feather said while getting up and putting her arms around her brother’s shoulder. She tried lifting him up, but he refused to budge.

“Leave me alone.” Grimwood said in a passive tone while the black mare struggled to lift him up.

“Grim, you’re not well… you need to… hrk! You need to come with me!” Raven Feather said in a frustrated tone while putting her arms around the colt’s waist and trying to pick him up. Grimwood was fighting to stay in place with great force. It felt like she was trying to pick up a boulder. All the while the colt remained still and passive, albeit with a slight curve to his mouth that suggested annoyance.

“Damn Raven Feather… how heavy can he be?” Dust Kicker asked in a concerned tone while watching the black mare struggling.

“He isn’t letting me pick him up. Could you come over here and help me?” Raven Feather asked in a frustrated tone. She didn’t even care about gathering her supplies anymore. She was ready to cut her losses as long as she got her brother to a safe location where she could see what was wrong with him. Dust Kicker quickly walked over to the two siblings and gently grabbed Grimwood around the waist. He tried to pick him up, but strangely the colt was able to resist even his efforts.

“Stop that.” Grimwood said in a more irritated tone.

“hrrg! He’s not… guh… he’s not moving!” Dust Kicker said in a surprised tone while pulling with all his strength. Finally his grip faltered and he fell backwards from trying so hard to move the colt.

“Grimwood, you listen to me right now. You are coming with me whether you like it or not so I can figure out what is wrong with you. I…” Raven Feather paused suddenly as she put her hoof on her brother’s chest. She pressed harder and felt around with a stunned and confused expression before looking at her brother in shock.

“Grim… your heart isn’t beating.” Raven Feather said in a stunned tone, to which the colt simply smirked.

“Well what can I say? Heartbeats aren’t really necessary for me anymore.” Grimwood said with a wry smirk. Suddenly, the colt blinked and his eyes turned pitch black.

“You… you’re not Grimwood!” Raven Feather stated while recoiling in shock.

“How would you know?” The colt asked while standing up suddenly. In one swift motion, the tip of Grimwood’s hoof was covered in a pitch black pulsating mass as he shoved his arm forward towards the black mare.

Grimwood’s hoof stabbed into Raven Feather’s chest, piercing it like a blade. A gush of blood poured out of her chest as the black mare let out a stifled cry of shock and pain.

“You barely paid attention to me anyway.” Grimwood said in a cold tone while returning a blank expression to his face.

“Raven Feather!” Dust Kicker exclaimed in shock as he watched the black mare stumble backwards. Raven Feather put her hoof up to her chest and looked down with her mouth agape in shock as her own blood poured onto her hoof.

Dust Kicker growled with anger and got up again. He channeled shadow energy to his hoof and charged after the colt, fully intent on ripping whatever evil presence had taken him over out of him and beating it senseless with his bare hooves.

Grimwood, or rather, whatever was currently using his body, used his still pitch black hoof and slashed sideways at the brown stallion, catching him across the neck. Dust Kicker was sent tumbling sideways from the force of the strike as blood gushed from his throat. He barely had time to let out a grunt of pain before he started clutching his throat choking on his own blood.

“Dust!” Raincloud screamed in shock as she watched her brother spurting blood from his neck while writhing on the floor. She ran across the room and knelt down beside him to pick him up and cradle him in her arms.

Dust Kicker was unable to talk or even acknowledge his sister other than looking up at her while clutching his injury and coughing. It was easy to see that the stallion was growing weaker by the second as he clung to life.

“Dust, don’t you even think about dying you big knucklehead!” Raincloud said in a panicked tone while trying to coax her brother into putting more pressure on his wound. Dust Kicker struggled for a few moments more before gradually growing still and closing his eyes.

“Dust…?! Dust Kicker!” Raincloud yelled in a distraught tone while shaking the brown stallion to no avail.

Raven Feather watched the grey pegasus holding her brother’s lifeless body while still reeling from her own wound. Raincloud had tears streaming down her face, something that the black mare had never seen before.

“I’m sorry… Raincloud.” Raven Feather said in a weak tone. Her legs wobbled slightly before giving out and sending her to the floor. Raincloud turned her head to see the black mare on the floor clutching her injury with a pale expression.

“Raven Feather!” Raincloud yelled mournfully while watching the black mare gasping for air. She was gradually losing the strength to even hold her head up or clutch her wound.

Raven Feather glanced over to the pale colt still sitting in the center of the symbol. He had a passive expression on his face, though there was a small smirk of accomplishment as he watched his handiwork.

“I’m so so..rry…” Raven Feather muttered weakly while lowering her head to the floor. The pain in her chest and the coldness around her were the only feelings she had. Finally her eyes drifted shut and she limply settled on the ground.

Raincloud wailed mournfully as she watched the black mare die. She looked down to the stallion still held in her arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Still, the sadness she was feeling was overshadowed by another emotion that she was directing towards the one responsible, pure and unyielding rage.

“You…” The grey mare said in a stern tone while glaring at the pale colt. “I don’t know who, or what you are… but you are going to pay for this. I am going to rip you out of Grimwood myself… and when I do, you are dead.” She said in a quiet and scornful tone.

“I welcome the challenge.” Grimwood said with a slight smirk while watching the pegasus.

An echoed and distorted noise rang out as Raincloud’s shadow rose up behind her. The pegasus glared at the colt before looking around at the others. Everyone, including Shadow Mist and Princess Celestia were watching in stunned and shocked silence as far away from the pair as possible. Raincloud contemplated fighting the colt and delivering on her promise right here and now, but somehow she knew that she wouldn’t win.

“I’ll be back for you… mark my words.” Raincloud said with a final passing glare at the black eyed pony. The grey mare set her brother’s body down gently before getting up and walking away.

As Raincloud walked over to the door and exited the room with her shadowy minion, the room was left in an eerie silence. Everyone stared at the pale colt with terrified expressions. They all wondered if he was going to slaughter them all or eat them alive. Either way, the black eyes he had didn’t make him any less creepy as he looked around the room with a passive expression.

“Well…? What are all of you waiting for? I did say leave earlier didn’t I?” Grimwood asked in a curious tone while looking to the hooded workers.

Almost all at once, all of the workers got up and ran towards the door while whining nervously or outright screaming in terror. After a few short moments, the only ones left in the room were Shadow Mist, Celestia, and the pale colt.

“Ah… peace and quiet.” Grimwood breathed a relaxed sigh while getting up and walked forward passively. He looked over to see Shadow Mist and Celestia staring at him with shocked expressions.

“Mother of mercy Grim… you just… you just killed them.” Shadow Mist stammered in a shocked tone while looking back to Raven Feather and Dust Kicker.

“I did…?” Grimwood said in a confused and almost shocked tone. He blinked a few times while looking back at his sister’s body. His black eyes turned normal again as he stared ahead with a stunned expression. Just as suddenly as his confusion arrived, he cringed while clenching his eyes shut and holding his head. After shaking his head for a moment, the colt opened his eyes to reveal nothing but blackness again.

“Yes… I guess I did. Sorry… I must be a little out of it. There are so many memories floating around up here… old memories… well, not old for me I suppose.” The colt explained in a confused tone before collecting himself and returning his blank tone of voice.

“Look… Grimwood, I don’t know what happened to you, but I can help you.” Shadow Mist said in a concerned tone.

“Don’t call me that… I’m not Grimwood… well, mostly anyway. I just woke up inside his head a few moments ago, so he is still rooting around in here… still, as of now I am different enough to warrant my own name.” The colt said in a clarifying tone.

“Ok… what do you want me to call you?” Shadow Mist asked in an uncertain tone. He was still trying to figure out how he could help to return his friend to normal.

“Hmm… I don’t know. I’ve had a few names before, but nothing that felt really me-ish… it feels so unusual to pick a name for oneself.” The colt said while putting his hoof under his chin and pondering to himself.

“What happened to him?” Shadow Mist whispered in a concerned tone to Celestia. The alicorn realized that the red stallion must have been truly terrified to confide in her.

“You know more about shadow magic than I do… isn’t there anything that explains what happened?” Celestia asked curiously.

“No… nothing like this has ever happened before to our knowledge. None of the texts even refer to something like this.” Shadow Mist said in a troubled tone.

“Whatever he is… he isn’t natural. I feel his aura so intensely… it feels like… like…” Celestia muttered as she tried to find a word for what she was feeling. Whatever was currently residing in the colt felt utterly wrong and evil to her.

“Shade...” The colt said in a pleased tone.

“What?” Shadow Mist asked in a confused tone. The colt smiled slightly as he stared back at the two nervous onlookers with his black eyes.

“You can call me Shade.” He said with a genuine smile that the red stallion had never seen the colt produce. The fact that it wasn’t really Grimwood producing the expression only made it more disturbing to behold.

Meanwhile, back at the entry hall, a pair of ponies in hoods were walking around and observing their surroundings. One was a yellow earth pony stallion with grey hair, and the other was a green pegasus mare with white hair. The pair were casually standing near the stairs and waiting around for someone to come by.

“Ugh… I hate how Raven Feather put us on scout duty… I bet we’re totally missing the ritual.” The mare said with an annoyed sigh.

“That would probably explain that wave of energy that came through here.” The stallion replied while looking over to the large windows at the front of the room. The burst of energy ripped through the room, nearly shattering every glass object in sight and leaving a large series of cracks in the windows as it traveled out into Equestria.

“What are we even doing here? Keeping an eye on these stiffs?” The pegasus asked while looking over to the purple unicorn in the middle of the room and the human leaned up against the wall off to the side.

“Raven Feather said to keep an eye out for any guards coming this way.” The stallion said while trying to get the green mare to be quiet.

“Yeah, well I have a few choice words for Raven Feather if she thinks I want to be doing this all day while she and her ring of freaks do all that hocus pocus stuff.” The pegasus muttered in an irritated tone.

“Geez… don’t let anyone hear you talk like that. I’ll bet any one of them could turn you into mincemeat by just looking at you.” The stallion said in a concerned manner.

“Oh come on, I could at least take the kid on in a fight.” The green mare stated in an unimpressed tone while giving the stallion a shifty look.

“Grimwood? No way… have you seen him back at the mansion? He just sits in a corner and reads quietly or watches people. I wouldn’t be surprised if he grew up to be a serial killer. Not to mention the fact that he knows how to do that weird shadow magic shit Raven Feather does… he could probably kill you and still be as emotive as a rock.” The yellow pony said in an uneasy tone.

“Remind me why we said yes to this? I wanted to just tell Raven Feather to shove it when she recruited us.” The pegasus asked curiously with an aggravated expression.

“Well… she did say she would rule the world and then lit a fire with her bare hooves just in front of us… unholy displays of power like that tend to be attention grabbers.” The stallion replied.

“Whatever… let’s just forget about that and get back to this skull grating boredom.” The green mare said while folding her arms and leaning back against a pillar with a dull expression. The stallion simply sighed before returning to his own thoughts as silence returned to the room.

Suddenly, the doors at the top of the stairs burst open and a loud uproar rushed into the room while a crowd of hooded ponies ran down the steps. The ponies had terrified expressions as they all made a break for the front door.

“What the…? What the hay is going on?” The green pegasus asked in a confused tone while looking to anyone to stop and explain what was happening.

“It’s Grimwood! He just snapped and killed Raven Feather and Dust Kicker!” One of the hoods said in an alarmed tone while passing by.

“Wait… what?!” The yellow stallion asked in a shocked tone.

“It’s true! The ritual went wrong and something got inside of him! He’s psychotic!” Another pony said while running past.

“Holy crap… Raven Feather is dead?” The green pegasus said in a stunned tone while looking to her yellow companion with a shocked expression.

“Should we… should we go help the others or something?” The yellow stallion asked in a stunned tone.

“Screw that noise, let’s cut our losses and get out of here!” The pegasus replied while getting up and grabbing the stallion by the arm. She pulled him along to coax him into running with her. Once the stallion agreed to follow his friend, the pair joined the crowd running out of the castle.

“What are we going to do now?” The stallion asked in a concerned tone.

“We can worry about that later! Help me get this hoodie off. We don’t want to go down with the ship when the guards show up!” The pegasus replied while trying to take off her shirt. After everyone made it through the doors and out into the streets, the doors closed and the room was silent once more.

Several minutes passed by in utter silence. The sound of the panicked crowd slowly died down in the distance as they fled. The room was still and calm, with little to disturb the atmosphere of the castle other than the broken decorations and the two bodies on the floor.

Suddenly, an orange light flickered to life as small embers formed in the wounds on Tom’s body. The flames weren’t doing much to heal the gaping wounds in the boy’s body, but they were still burning brilliantly enough to show signs of life.

“*Gasp*” Tom sprang up slightly as air rushed into his lungs. He quickly found himself unable to move further than a few inches before settling back to his resting position. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he saw the sorry state he was in. There was a sizable pool of blood under him, and his clothes were soaked and stained red around the three holes in his body, which were still causing him a considerable amount of pain.

“Oogh… gah…” Tom groaned painfully and cringed while trying to get up and move. His body was sore and stiff, and he was so weak that even if his muscles could cooperate he probably couldn’t get far.

“Where…? What the heck happened?” The human muttered while mulling over the scattered haze of memories he had from before he was knocked out. As the stinging pain from his injuries reminded him of just how badly he was beaten by Raven Feather, he remembered what was happening and what needed to be done.

Taking a quick look around the room, Tom noticed a pool of blood over in the middle of the room. It was hard to see with the pillars in front of him blocking his view, but he could just barely see a purple leg sitting in the pool of blood.

“What the…?” Tom muttered in an uneasy tone. Fighting through the pain to scoot himself to the side with his good arm, he strained to get a better look at the body ahead of him. When he finally got a clear view, he widened his eyes in shock at what he saw.

“T-Twilight…?” Tom asked in a stunned tone. Hearing no response from the unicorn and spotting the bloody wound on her chest, the boy became incredibly terrified for her safety.

“Hold on Twilight… I’m coming.” With a painful cringe, the human used his uninjured arm to drag himself forward at a slow crawl. With a little added help from his legs, he managed to move closer to the lifeless mare.

Due to the wounds on his body and his weakness, Tom had to pause every few moments to catch his breath and sit through the pain. He wanted to just get up and walk, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle getting upright. Finally, after a painful struggle that lasted a solid few minutes, the boy reached his goal.

As he rested next to the purple mare, he saw no signs that she was breathing. Taking his hand and feeling for a pulse yielded no results, leading the human to confirm what he feared when he saw how bad the unicorn looked at a distance.

“Damnit Twilight… why couldn’t you just stay away?” Tom muttered in a somber tone. He flinched in pain as his own wounds started mending themselves in a flash of embers. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. He knew that he shouldn’t even entertain the idea, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t stand to see the innocent mare like this.

“I need all the energy I can get for this…” Tom winced uncomfortably as he suppressed his healing powers. His wounds ceased glowing and continued bleeding anew, sending stabbing pains all throughout his battered body.

“I know this won’t work… but that hasn’t stopped me before.” Tom said while placing his hand over Twilight’s wound. Against his better judgement, he started projecting his healing light from his hand. He could already feel his remaining energy vanishing, leaving a burning feeling of exhaustion that took every ounce of his will to overcome.

After a few moments, the wound on Twilight’s chest started closing up. Just after it closed completely, Tom groaned heavily and ceased his efforts while laying down and trying his best to recover. Taking a break from his attempts at healing the unicorn, he groggily reached his hand up and felt for a pulse again.

“Damnit… that’s not enough.” He muttered weakly while letting his arm fall to the floor again. The purple mare was still stone dead, and just healing her physical body wouldn’t change that. The boy knew this, and yet he still rejected the idea of giving up.

“Come on… I can do this. I need to do this… it’s all a matter of willpower.” Tom said through gritted teeth. “So what if nobody has ever done this before? There’s always a first for everything.” He stated as a sort of self-pep talk.

With shaky limbs and a pale face, the human readied his hand over the unicorn’s body and tried again at projecting his light. The blue glow flowed into her and enveloped her in its aura. Tom strained hard just to maintain the stream of light, and even harder just to keep his hand steady. He practically had to prop his other arm up just so he could use it to steady his shaking. Regardless of how weak he felt, he couldn’t stop. He had to press onward, and he would use every last bit of his willpower and strength to ensure that he didn’t pass out before he could succeed.

A solid minute went by with no change as Twilight remained limp and motionless. The only progress being made was Tom’s strength rapidly fading and his exhaustion growing. He felt physically ill from how much energy he was using in his already withered state of health. After a few more moments, the thick haze that his mind was already in grew until the human started relaxing.

“Gah!” Tom jerked himself awake after drifting into unconsciousness for a moment. He could hardly keep his eyes open from how tired he felt. If it had been any other circumstance, he would have given up and let himself pass out by now, but he had to keep going, he had to save the unicorn.

“Come on Twilight… *Pant* Come on...” Tom said in an exhausted tone while breathing heavily to catch his breath. He continued projecting his light, much to his body’s refusal, as he fought against the urge to pass out. At this point, he was using much needed energy to ensure he didn’t just pass out. Using his powers like this would be catastrophic to his health, even with a healthy state of mind.

“You can’t be dead… you and the others are the only ones who can fix this mess. This world needs you… it needs you a hell of a lot more than it needs me.” Tom stated while steeling himself and concentrating.

With a frustrated groan, the human pushed himself even harder to put more strength behind his efforts. The light grew in intensity for a few moments before returning to normal. After a few more moments passed, the light started waning in brightness and intensity.

“Come on… wake up… please… please just… wake up.” Tom muttered in a tired stupor. Against his will, his head started drifting to the floor. His muscles finally gave out as his arm fell beside him. He closed his eyes and remained as still and motionless as the unicorn next to him.

Moments passed by as neither of the two moved an inch. The room was silent once more as time went on without the pair. It was almost like nothing had changed since the hooded ponies left them to rot where they lay.
.
…
………

“*Gasp*” Twilight suddenly shot upwards and took in a large breath of air. She breathed heavily as she processed the wave of adrenaline coursing through her. It felt like she had just been woken up from a shallow slumber, only to feel tenseness in her body and a jolt to her system.

As she slowly came to her senses, she put a hoof to her chest and felt around for her wound, only to find nothing. She could feel her heart racing just from simply touching the area, which made sense given how she felt.

After a few moments of touching her chest and her face, the confused unicorn looked down and saw the pool of blood she was lying in, a pool of her own blood. Now that her mind was relatively clear after her initial jolt to the system, she wondered what had happened up to now.

“What happened?” Twilight said to herself in a confused tone, still recovering from her rush of adrenaline. “I was… dead? I remember getting stabbed… but why am I alive?” She muttered with a puzzled tone while looking around. Suddenly, she noticed the unconscious human lying next to her.

“*Gasp* Tom!” She exclaimed in surprise. The unicorn turned herself over and rushed to check on the boy. As she felt around for a pulse, she recoiled slightly in shock from how cold and pale he was. Taking a look at the wounds still present on his body, Twilight wondered just how difficult it must have been for him to move across the room to get to her, let alone revive her with his powers.

“How did you even heal me? You said that no slayer had done it before… and that any who tried died from the attempt. Oh Tom… why did you have to do that?” Twilight muttered in a sad tone. She picked up the human by the shoulders and gently shook him, hopeful that he was still alive.

“Come on Tom... wake up please!” Twilight pleaded in a concerned tone. The human was ice cold and had no visible signs of life, but he appeared this way when she and her friends found him before, so she hoped that he could recover.

“Where did the others go? How long was I even out?” Twilight pondered while looking around the area for anyone else. She quietly hoped that her friends decided to leave instead of going back to face the hooded ponies alone.

Suddenly, the quiet sound of a flame burning to life drew the unicorn’s attention downward. She noticed orange embers forming around Tom’s body. The embers didn’t burn her as she held onto the boy, but they smoldered and glowed just as they would if the human was healing a wound.

Twilight smiled a little as she watched the embers spark to life. She hoped that this was a sign that the human was healing himself and that he would wake up any minute now. However, the longer she watched the odd phenomenon, the more concerned she grew.

“What’s happening?” She wondered out loud with a confused tone while looking around as the embers started forming all around the human’s body. It was like he was emitting an aura of tiny orange sparks that crackled briefly before disappearing into the air.

Suddenly, Twilight noticed that the embers were completely enveloping Tom’s legs. When the orange particles lifted into the air and vanished, they revealed that the boy’s body was vanishing along with them.

“No… no! Tom wake up!” Twilight pleaded as she realized what was happening. She shook the human once more in the hopes to revive him somehow, but he didn’t move at all as his body slowly vanished among the dissipating embers.

“Don’t do this to me! Don’t leave!” Twilight yelled with tears streaming down her face as she held onto the human desperately. Soon enough, the embers were spreading and causing his entire body to vanish in her arms. With a final crackle of sparks flying into the air, Tom’s body completely vanished, leaving the purple mare speechless as she stared at her own hooves.

Twilight remained still in a stunned state of despair as she watched the last few embers flicker out into the air. Tears freely fell to the floor as a wave of emotion built inside of her. Finally she could resist no more and a series of sobs erupted from her while she fell forward and let her head hang low to the floor.

“No…” Twilight mumbled in between sobs. She pounded her hoof against the floor in a fit of frustrated despair.

“It’s not fair… it’s not fair!” The unicorn yelled mournfully while sobbing into the floor. “I was supposed to show you what it was like to live peacefully again… to not have to worry about fighting or anything else… *Hic* If only I didn’t get stabbed… why… *Sob* … why didn’t you just leave me? You barely knew me… we only met a week ago, but you always went out of your way to protect me and everyone else.” Twilight spoke to thin air while trying to process her sadness.

“You didn’t deserve this… I just wish I could make things better… I wish you never became a slayer!” She stated before falling into another fit of sobs and crying. The finality of having her friend vanish right before her eyes was more than the unicorn could take.

Minutes went by as the purple mare cried her heart out. The weight of everything that was happening came crashing down on her as she sobbed into the floor. She had recently died, she was covered in her own blood, she just lost a friend, and all of Equestria was falling to pieces from the recent attacks, this was perhaps the lowest moment in her life. Twilight couldn’t even bring herself to entertain the thought that anything would be ok ever again. All she could do was cry until her eyes stung and wait while her emotions poured out.

Finally, the distraught mare managed to pick herself up off the ground. She remained still for a few moments while steadying her breathing and letting her last few tears roll down her face. She felt empty inside, like she was still lying dead on the floor. She almost wished she was still dead; then maybe Tom would still be here. The human would certainly be more able to help the others than she would be.

“No… I can’t think like this.” Twilight muttered to herself while shaking the gloomy thoughts from her head. “I have to keep going… I can’t let what you did be for nothing. I have to stop all of this.” She said in a determined tone while getting to her feet. Her legs wobbled slightly, either from her weakened state or her shocked emotions, but she managed to stand up tall and turn her thoughts to progress.

“First… I need to find the others. I can’t do this alone… I just hope they’re alright.” Twilight said in a concerned tone while looking towards the front entrance. There was no way she could take Raven Feather and her colleagues on by herself, so turning around and heading further into the castle wasn’t an option.

With uncertainty and fear gnawing at her mind, the purple mare walked over to the entrance and paused before the doors. She hesitantly opened the door to provide a small crack for scouting ahead. Finding no darklings or other such unpleasantries anywhere outside, Twilight breathed a brief sigh of relief before opening the door and stepping outside.

As much as she hoped to see an army of guards waiting to storm the palace and rescue the princess, Twilight saw no such thing. She was left with only herself and the distant growls and roars of the many darklings that were doubtlessly still plaguing the city. She wished that the clouds would break at least a little bit to let in some sunlight to destroy the beasts, but the grey haze above was solid and unmoving as it had been earlier.

“We can’t let them go through with the eternal night… if a few darklings can cause so much trouble with just some clouds overhead, I don’t want to think about what could happen if the sun were to vanish.” The unicorn stated with a nervous shudder. The mere thought of so many monsters running rampant across Equestria made her cringe fearfully. Filled with some reassurance in her goal, Twilight walked away from the palace grounds and out into the barren streets of Canterlot.

It was eerily quiet all around, with the only noises being the far off sounds of darklings and Twilight’s own hooves clopping against the pavement. She looked around nervously, wondering if she was being tailed by one of the beasts, or if she would turn a corner and run into a pack of them. She almost missed battling with Raincloud’s shadow. At least the ghostly specter was only one creature, and she knew its relative location at all times.

“Hello…? Is anyone around?” Twilight spoke up slightly in a hopeful tone while looking around at the buildings beside her. All of the shops and businesses and even the residences were all locked up tight. A few stores had broken windows and furniture strewn around, as if a few darklings ripped through the place while chasing after some unfortunate pony.

Just as she expected, nobody replied to her. The empty silence combined with the eerie noises in the distance served to further cement the knot developing in her stomach.

“*Sigh* This place is like a ghost town… I hope everyone is doing ok wherever they are.” The purple mare fretted while thinking about the sheer amount of danger that the citizens of Canterlot must have faced during the initial attack. Everyone was off the streets now, most likely tucked away in their homes, but how many ponies didn’t make it to safety?

Turning her thoughts to her own predicament, Twilight wondered where her friends went. Assuming they weren’t fighting the hooded ponies by themselves, and the unicorn really hoped that they wouldn’t do something like that, the five mares most likely went to go find Glimmer Shine and the others. Perhaps they went back to the hotel to see if the team had returned from their escapade. Whatever the case, the hotel was at least somewhere solid to start her search.

As she thought ahead to the long journey it would take to get across town to the hotel, Twilight decided that it would be best if she kept a low profile. She was barely able to contend with a crowd of darklings when she had the help of her friends and three strobes with her, but now she only had herself and her own magic. Confident she might have been in her ability to dispatch one or two of the creatures should the need arise, any noise might have attracted more of them, and that was the last thing the unicorn wanted.

Taking a quick scan ahead to see what options she had, Twilight laid eyes on the entrance to an alleyway just up ahead. She smirked cheerfully as she started making her way over to the dark path. In any other circumstance she would probably avoid such a shady looking location, but with monsters prowling through the city, shadows were her best and only friend right now.

After making sure she wasn’t being followed, Twilight ducked into the alleyway and walked onward. There was barely any light in the cramped passageway, but she didn’t want to draw any attention to herself by lighting up her horn.

A loud crash suddenly sounded out as a trashcan was knocked over up ahead. The jarring noise made Twilight jump out of her skin. As she landed and darted her eyes around in an alert panic, she saw the trashcan rolling on its side from an intersection just ahead.

Even though it was relatively dark, Twilight could see a large shadow being projected onto the wall in front of her by the brighter light coming from outside of the alley. The intersection probably led out onto the streets, so any number of things could have wandered into the alley with her. The shadow was furry looking, and it was large enough to belong to one of the darklings. As the shadow got closer to the edge of the intersection, the purple mare felt her muscles tensing up in fright.

Just before Twilight thought her heart would explode in her chest, a soft meow filled the air. Much to her confusion and relief, a stray cat wandered out into the alley in front of her. The shadow it was casting was still present, although it was easier to see that it belonged to the feline instead of some shadowy beast.

“Phew… you scared the living daylights out of me little guy.” Twilight said in a relieved tone. She smiled slightly while kneeling down to further examine the cat. It was a nice distraction from the tenseness around her to be able to see something as cute as a wayward feline. She almost felt like she wasn’t alone anymore, even though it was silly to think that the cat would offer her any meaningful assistance.

Suddenly, the cat looked ahead into the other alley and paused. It arched its back and let out a loud hiss before starting to back up.

“What is it?” Twilight asked with a confused expression. As if to answer her question, a loud and familiar deep growl made the unicorn freeze in place.

The cat wailed in a terrified manner while turning tail and running down the alleyway from whence it came. Just as the cat’s shadow disappeared from sight, another shadow appeared on the other side of the intersection.

Twilight backed away slightly as she watched the shadow drawing nearer. Judging from the sounds coming from just around the corner, and the shape of the shadow approaching her, there definitely wasn’t another cat waiting to pop out at her.

“Darklings…” Twilight muttered in a slight panic. She could tell that there was more than one of the beasts from just listening to the disturbing growls. From the sound of it, there were more than a couple of the frightening creatures.

Deciding that it would be better to run than fight, the purple mare turned around and started running back where she came from. She hardly got to break into a sprint before she skidded to a halt and stared ahead of her with eyes wide with terror.

There were two shadows on the ground just outside of the alleyway. Just as the unicorn made the connection with what the shadows were, two darklings walked into view and turned down the alley to see the defenseless pony.

“Oh no.” Twilight squeaked fearfully while backpedaling away from the two beasts blocking her path. She turned around to face the other darklings behind her, only to see that there were three of them coming around the corner and stalking towards her.

Her options for escape were dwindling quickly. The purple mare’s mind raced as she tried to think of a way to survive for the next few minutes at least. Even if she did manage to get past the vicious pack, then she would probably make them angry enough to chase after her.

Spotting the empty alleyway that the cat came through just behind the three beasts, the unicorn knew that she would have to act fast to save herself. Hearing a loud snarl behind her and the sound of the darklings leaping into the air, Twilight lit up her horn and pictured herself behind the creatures in front of her.

With a magical buzz, the unicorn blinked out of existence for a moment and reappeared at the intersection just behind the creatures. The darklings looked confused for a moment, until they doubtlessly heard the purple mare behind them and turned around with less than pleased looks on what one could loosely call their faces.

Feeling her adrenaline kick in, Twilight turned tail and started to run. Thankfully this alley wasn’t a dead end as there was an opening back out onto the streets just ahead. Seeing the relatively bright opening to freedom lifted the unicorn’s spirits ever so slightly.

Hearing a strange noise beneath her, Twilight looked down with a confused expression. She widened her eyes in surprise as she saw two dark blotches racing out from underneath her and travelling ahead of her at rapid speeds. The unicorn skidded to a halt and watched the two blotches as they stopped at the entrance to the alley and started forming upwards into darklings.

“What?! Since when can you do that by yourself?!” Twilight exclaimed in a panicked sense of shock. The only time she had seen a shadow creature exhibit the ability to sink into the ground and move around like that was when it was a creature much stronger than a darkling.

As if to respond to the stunned mare, the two darklings let out a collective snarl before barking at her wildly. Taking a closer look at their behavior, Twilight realized that these darklings were somehow acting odd. They seemed far more wild and ravenous than the darklings she usually ran across. Sure, any darkling would happily rip her face off and use it as a chew toy, but these ones looked like they would rip each other to pieces just to get the opportunity. The two beasts walked forward, only to snap at each other angrily when one would get closer to the terrified pony than the other. Unfortunately for Twilight, they still seemed to only have one objective in mind, and that was her.

Recoiling slightly in terror, the purple mare took a few steps backwards before hearing more growls behind her. She turned and saw the rest of the pack approaching slowly from down the alleyway. The three beasts were snapping at her with their enormous jaws, and they were barking and snarling at her so fiercely that their small bodies could hardly stay still.

Taking a frantic look around at her predicament, Twilight felt herself breaking out into a nervous sweat. There were too many of the creatures to fight off in close quarters, and she couldn’t teleport behind them again without them chasing after her.

“Stay back… leave me alone!” Twilight said in what she hoped would be a threatening tone. Even if her voice wasn’t trembling from fear, she doubted that the darklings would have cared.

Suddenly, the two darklings behind her charged forward. The beasts barked wildly while bounding towards the purple mare at high speeds. By the time Twilight turned around, the pair was already a few inches away and leaping into the air.

“AHH!” Twilight screamed fearfully. In her adrenaline fueled panic, she noticed a fire escape behind the two creatures leading upwards. Deciding that anywhere was better than where she was currently standing, she lit up her horn and concentrated on teleporting herself away. The darklings landed where the unicorn was and looked around with irritated expressions. They turned around and looked up, only to see the purple mare blinking into existence up on the fire escape.

As they realized their attack failed, the pack of darklings growled angrily and barked while jumping up towards the elusive mare. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to reach up to the platform she was on, and they were unable to climb the ladder leading up to her.

Before Twilight could celebrate her victory and leave, she widened her eyes in shock as she watched one of the darklings sink into the ground. The others quickly followed their comrade’s example and flattened out into translucent black spots on the ground. The black spots all scattered before rushing up the walls of the two buildings on either side of the alley and quickly making their way up towards the unicorn.

“That’s not fair! Can’t I get a break for once?!” Twilight stated with a frustrated sense of panic filling her. She quickly turned tail and made her way up the fire escape as fast as she could. Her hooves clattered against the metal staircase, almost matching her racing heartbeat as she fled her shadowy pursuers.

Hearing a strange noise beside her, Twilight turned her head to see one of the shadowy blotches appearing on the wall next to her. She widened her eyes in shock and let out a startled yelp while dodging backwards. Just as she cleared the blotch, a darkling leapt out of it with its teeth bared. The beast snarled while sailing past the unicorn and over the rails of the fire escape. While the darkling fell to the ground below, Twilight had to catch herself from falling over the rails in her hasty retreat.

Spotting another of the blotches on the other building, Twilight realized the darkling must have been trying to jump to her. She steeled her shocked nerves and charged up her horn for a preemptive attack. As the darkling leapt out of the wall with a vicious growl, the purple mare fired a magical blast at it and shot it out of the air.

As the darkling erupted into smoke, Twilight returned her attention forward and rushed up the stairway. With a loud clatter, the entire fire escape shook as one of the other darklings leapt onto it. The purple mare looked down to see the beast on the landing below her.

“Ack!” Twilight yelped in surprise as she saw the creature heading upwards. She quickly started making her way up the stairs in a panicked rush to escape the predators giving chase.

The purple mare could hear the darkling haphazardly making its way up after her in a clumsy rush that made a terrible racket against the metallic stairs. Along with the fear inducing sound of the beast getting closer, she could also hear its constant barking and snarling just beneath her. She hoped that she would be fast enough to climb the staircase before the creature caught up with her.

Taking a look up to see the roof of the building rapidly approaching, Twilight quickly realized that she wouldn’t have many places to run to after she made it up there. Deciding to make an attempt at outsmarting the beasts pursuing her, she looked down and tried to find a spot to teleport to. As the sight of the darkling chasing her on the landing below spooked her into acting quickly, she lit up her horn and teleported beneath it.

The unicorn popped back into existence and looked around swiftly. She found herself on the second landing a few feet off of the ground. Taking a look up, she noticed the darkling further up looking around in utter confusion, and the other darklings still racing along the side of the building as shadows trying to find her.

“Phew…” Twilight breathed a silent sigh of relief while trying to quietly make her way down the fire escape. If she could make it back to the ground without the creatures noticing, then maybe she could escape through the alleyway and lose them.

As she looked behind her while rounding the landing, Twilight gasped as she saw another shadowy blotch on the wall directly in front of her. By the time she turned to get out of the way, the hapless pony saw the darkling within leaping out of the wall towards her with its claws outstretched and its teeth bared.

“AHH!” Twilight screamed fearfully as she dove to the side of the landing. As hard as she tried to get out of the creature’s path, the limited amount of space she had to deal with and the amount of time she had to react in were both too small. The darkling smashed into her side on its way past, sending the unicorn back against the rails before plummeting off the fire escape.

Although the beast didn’t clip her with its claws or its teeth, it did something far worse in its brief flight. Twilight felt herself being pushed back as the creature’s body flew into her. By the time the darkling bounced off of her and did its damage, the unicorn was already halfway over the rails.

Twilight yelped in a fearful panic while trying her best to grab the railing on her way over, but her momentum was too great for her to stop herself now. She felt her hooves losing their grip as she fell off the fire escape backwards.

The entire experience would be over in a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to the purple mare. Twilight watched the world spin upside down as her body flipped from her momentum. She would have tried to light up her horn to teleport away, but around that time she smacked into the rail on the landing below, catching it with her jaw.

The impact wasn’t nearly as severe as it could have been, although she did put a lot of strain on her neck as her head bent back from the weight of her body continuing to fall. Due to her body only hitting the metal rail with a small area, Twilight flipped again before settling on her back. She barely had time to process the stinging pain in her chin and neck before she finished her brief flight and landed on the harsh ground below.

With a heavy thud, Twilight slammed into the ground with her upper back taking most of the impact. Her head smacked against the ground as her body settled into a crumpled heap. The air was knocked out of her lungs as everything around her became an unfocused blur. Even though she had only been a short distance off the ground at the time of her fall, it felt like she just smacked into the pavement from much further up.

As she slowly opened her eyes, the purple mare could feel her head ringing and her body screaming out in agony. The back of her head, her entire frame, and even her chin were all throbbing painfully with varying degrees of severity. She let out a painful groan while bringing her hoof up to coddle her aching skull and rolling to her side.

The world in front of her was a hazy mess of spinning colors and far off noises. While she slowly writhed on the ground dealing with her pain, Twilight quickly realized that she wasn’t recovering from her daze. In fact, she was gradually feeling more and more drowsy as time went by.

“Guh… hrk…” The unicorn moaned as she tried to lift herself off the ground. The one arm she used to try and push herself up quickly faltered and turned to jelly like the rest of her limbs. She felt so weak and she was hurting so much that she wondered if she would ever get back up.

Suddenly, Twilight heard a muffled growl in front of her. She would have thought the disturbing noise to be part of her ringing ears, until she looked up and saw blurry shapes in front of her. As the image before her focused ever so slightly, she saw the four remaining darklings all gathered in a row, slowly stalking forward towards her.

“N…no! Get… g-get away!” Twilight slurred in an alarmed tone while trying to distance herself from the beasts. She tried pushing herself away with her hooves, but she could barely do anything other than roll onto her back.

Feeling her body shutting down and slipping into unconsciousness, Twilight realized she had to do something fast. If she passed out with the four creatures nearby, she wouldn’t wake up to regret it later. Taking a look to the area above her, she tried lighting up her horn to teleport away. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to concentrate her magic through her painful daze.

While her vision degraded into a blurry mess again, Twilight thought for sure she was going to die again. She hated herself for letting her second chance go to waste in such an abrupt manner. She couldn’t even make a difference with her new life, getting mauled by a pack of darklings instead of dying at the hooves of Raven Feather and her colleagues while trying to stop them.

As she let her head roll over limply to face her doom before drifting into unconsciousness, Twilight felt a bizarre sense of déjà vu building inside of her. She was helpless, her head was hurting from a recent blow, and she was about to be mauled by a group of the monsters that started this whole mess. If she were only out in a freezing cold forest at night, her final twisted trip down memory lane would be complete. Unfortunately for her, there was no slayer appearing out of a flash of light to help her now.

Suddenly, a bolt of light sailed into one of the darklings and exploded, causing Twilight’s already unfocused eyes to sting slightly. She heard a series of magical zaps as more bolts flew into the other darklings. While the four creatures turned tail and tried to run before collapsing into smoke, the purple mare felt herself going numb again. Her vision faded, and the sounds around her melded into a single haze.

Before she lost her vision completely, Twilight saw a tint of blue and what looked like hooves walking in front of her before blurring into an unrecognizable mess. Whatever pony the hooves belonged to lowered its head to inspect her, but the purple mare couldn’t make out a face.

“Twilight? Can you hear me?” A muffled voice spoke to her in a concerned tone, but Twilight was too far gone to tell who it was. Strangely though, the voice sounded oddly familiar even through the muffled and fading sound of it.

Before she could gather her foggy thoughts to ponder on her rescuer any further, Twilight felt herself drifting off into a hazy sleep. Her eyes closed and her mind went blank as her body finally slipped into unconsciousness.