Back in the castle throne room, Princess Celestia and her unlikely companion were both sitting together against a wall while warily watching the pale colt in the center of the room. Grimwood, or rather Shade as the strange entity that possessed the colt called itself, was pensively looking over the large symbol on the floor left over from the botched ritual.

The pale colt would occasionally pause to shake his head and scratch out one of the glyphs on the symbol. He seemed to be content with leaving the room in dead silence as he continued his work, but that wasn’t what was concerning to the two captive ponies on the other side of the room.

Ever since Shade took over Grimwood’s body and killed Raven Feather and Dust Kicker, his personality had been shifting violently, and he seemed to have something wrong with him on top of that. Every once in a while he would cringe and shake slightly, only to have a small pulse of darkness exit his form before dissipating. He also seemed to have lost much of the color that was present before the ritual. His fur looked like a washed out form of greyish white now instead of the pale white that used to belong to the colt.

“Let’s see here… this should go here, and this shouldn’t be there.” The colt muttered to himself while making more changes to the symbol.

“What are you doing?” Shadow Mist asked with an uneasy sense of curiosity. The colt paused what he was doing and looked behind him with an annoyed expression.

“Don’t interrupt me… I’m trying to think.” Shade said while glaring at the red stallion. His tone of voice had even changed from eerily passive and cheery to cold and stoic, almost like his personality was slowly separating from Grimwood’s and distinguishing itself.

Celestia and Shadow Mist shared concerned glances with each other while observing the colt. Neither of them knew what he was capable of, and neither wanted to incur his wrath. But at the same time, they knew that something had to be done to stop him.

“Listen to me… Shadow Mist was it? You need to get these cuffs off of me.” Celestia whispered in a concerned tone while eyeing between the red stallion and the pale colt.

“Why should I trust you?” Shadow Mist whispered back in a wary tone.

“Because, whatever punishment you might receive from me will be much better than what he might do to you. Even if you spend the rest of your life in a jail cell that is still better than losing it isn’t it?” Celestia reasoned while leveling with the stallion.

“Maybe you’re right.” Shadow Mist said with a hollow sigh. He looked down to the bag of supplies near his feet and contemplated reaching for the key to the alicorn’s bonds.

“So… you are the princess of the sun?” Shade asked in a stoic tone while turning around and facing the pair. Shadow Mist and Celestia froze up as they met the colt’s icy gaze. His eyes were no longer pitch black, but his pupils were a darker shade of their usual color.

“I must say, I expected more from the physical embodiment of something so powerful. Yet here you are, confined by mere scratchings into some metal restraints.” Shade said while walking closer to the alicorn. He then shifted his eyes over to the red stallion next to her.

“And you… you can use shadow magic, am I correct?” The colt asked in a curious tone.

“Y-yes…” Shadow Mist replied in a hesitant manner.

“Hmm… perhaps you can be useful to me after all.” Shade stated while scratching his chin pensively.

“Why would I help you? You just hijacked my friend’s body and killed his sister. Besides… I can’t do much of anything in my current state” Shadow Mist said while offering the colt a slight glare. Shade looked down to the stallion’s missing limb and his destroyed eye curiously.

“I never said your cooperation was a requirement.” The colt said while placing his hoof on the stallion’s forehead. “And as for your impairments…” He paused while concentrating for a moment. Suddenly, a black aura appeared around his hoof and flowed into the red pony.

Celestia watched in horror as Shadow Mist grunted in pain. He closed his good eye and struggled against the colt’s grasp, albeit very weakly. Much to the alicorn’s surprise, she saw a pulsating purple aura forming on the stallion’s stump. The aura elongated and solidified until it resembled a hoof. Before long, the stallion had a pulsing purple mass of light where his leg used to be.

As he opened his eyes, a purple glow emanated from both of them. Although it was impossible to see his pupils, it seemed like he could use both eyes as he looked around curiously. The stallion looked down to his new appendage and moved it around to get a feel for it.

“I think that the immense power I hold can take care of a few missing limbs and eyes. Not to mention a headstrong personality.” Shade stated with a sinister smirk while backing away from the red stallion. Shadow Mist stood up and looked down to his glowing leg before smiling.

“Shadow Mist?” Celestia asked in a disturbed tone. The stallion simply turned his head and scoffed at her.

“Stow it princess… I have no use for your help anymore.” Shadow Mist said before walking over to the pale colt’s side.

“What did you do to him?!” Celestia asked the colt in an angered tone.

“All I did was heal his injuries and give him a new point of view… one that let him know how utterly weak this world is in comparison to the power of shadow.” Shade replied with a smirk before returning a blank expression to his face. He then turned to his new colleague with a pensive expression.

“I need you to make some changes to the symbol. I’m going to rest and get used to this new body.” The colt said while looking down to his body with a curious expression. Shadow Mist nodded before walking over to the symbol.

Celestia was shocked to see such a vulgar display of power. The colt just influenced the stallion’s mind to suit his needs. If he could do that with little effort, then what else was he capable of? The mere thought made the alicorn shudder nervously. She only hoped that the remaining forces Equestria had were enough to stop the sinister colt and the frightful power held within him.

Twilight groaned softly as she suddenly came to her senses. Her body was sore and her mind was hazy, but she was slowly waking up from her brief stint of unconsciousness. The ground beneath her felt cold, but there was something warm draped over her body.

As she slowly opened her eyes and blinked rapidly to adjust to the light, she noticed that she was inside of a building, an abandoned house from the look of things. She was lying on a couch with a blanket strewn over her.

Taking a look around the room she was in, she discovered a pony sitting over by a fire place facing away from her. The pony had a cloak on that concealed most of their body. However, a bit of their legs were visible, revealing dark blue fur.

“Are you the one who saved me?” Twilight asked curiously while getting up to a seated position. She cringed softly as her sore body protested her movements.

The cloaked pony turned their head to look at the purple mare, though their face was still covered in shadow. It was hard to see from the low level of light in the room, but judging from the shape of the hair poking out from the cloak, Twilight guessed that the pony was a mare.

“Thank you… I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t-” Twilight paused suddenly as the strange mare turned around fully and pulled down their hood. The unicorn was stunned into shock from what she was seeing.

“P… P… P-Princess Luna…?!” Twilight exclaimed in shock as she stared at the blue mare in front of her. There was no mistaking what she was seeing, but she rubbed her eyes and shook her head to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

The blue alicorn smiled and chuckled softly as she watched the purple mare’s jaw hanging open. She seemed as though she didn’t have a scratch on her, which was surprising considering that she had been declared dead for the past few days.

“It is good to see you too Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said in a cheerful tone.

“But… but… how…? You… but… you were…” Twilight stammered in a confused stupor.

“Dead? I suppose things were looking a bit grim the last time you saw me.” Luna said with an understanding expression.

“How did you get away? I tried so hard to free you from that mass of energy, but it wouldn’t let go of you…” Twilight frowned sadly as she thought back to her encounter back at the mansion. At the time, she was tearing herself up from leaving the alicorn to her fate. She felt like she was letting her die by failing to save her.

“I almost didn’t get away… I just barely managed to find the energy to teleport away before that cloud could overcome me. But it’s ok now…” Luna put a reassuring hoof on the sulking unicorn’s shoulder, causing her to look up at her.

“Where have you been these past few days?” Twilight asked curiously. The blue alicorn frowned slightly as the matter of her absence was brought up.

“After I got away from the mass of energy, I passed out in the room I teleported to and didn’t wake up until everything blew over. I made it out of the mansion and wandered through the forest until I reached Ponyville. I was barely functional by the time I made it into town… I actually collapsed and fell unconscious before I could do anything else.” Luna explained sadly. “By the time I woke up, I was inside of a house in a bed. It turns out that a kind couple of ponies saw me collapse in the street and took me in. They were going to notify the royal guard that they found me, but I asked them not to.”

“You asked them not to? Why did you do that?” Twilight asked in a confused tone.

“I knew that everyone thought I was dead… I didn’t want to make any of you go through that, but my situation did have certain advantages. Not only did all of you think I was dead, but Raven Feather and her colleagues most likely did as well. I could have done much to bring them in if they didn’t think I was a threat anymore.” Luna explained with a regretful frown. “After I told the couple to keep my survival a secret, they offered to nurse me back to health. I was barely able to stand on my own, so I wasn’t in a position to refuse. I recovered to my full strength only last night. I thanked the couple for their kindness and left for Canterlot in the morning, but by the time I arrived, Raven Feather and her followers had already sieged the city.” She sighed in a defeated tone while looking down sadly.

“It’s ok Princess… we can still win if we work together. Now that you’re here, it should be much easier to free Princess Celestia and take back the city.” Twilight said in a determined tone. The alicorn looked up and smiled once she saw the purple mare’s spirits so high.

“You are right Twilight. With the power of the elements of harmony, we can undo whatever Raven Feather has done.” Luna explained cheerfully.

“Wait… the elements of harmony? Oh no… they were kept in the castle. Knowing Raven Feather, she probably already found a way to get past the defensive spells over them so she could hide them.” Twilight frowned as her hopes for victory deflated. However, the blue alicorn didn’t seem fazed by the unicorn’s fears.

“Don’t worry about that Twilight, the elements are safe.” Luna said in a confident tone.

“They are?” Twilight asked in a confused manner.

“When I arrived, the town was already full of those terrible creatures. I went to the castle to find my sister, but unfortunately she was already captured by Raven Feather and her followers. I couldn’t do anything to help her by myself, but I was able to do one thing before I left. I took the elements of harmony from their resting place and brought them with me.” Luna explained with a cheerful smirk. Twilight smiled excitedly as she listened to the alicorn’s clever thinking.

“That’s great! Where did you put the elements?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I ran into the other element bearers as they fled the castle. I left the elements with them while I went to observe Raven Feather’s progress.” Luna said in a confident tone. Suddenly, Twilight frowned as she remembered her friends.

“The others… they must be heartbroken. I feel so horrible that they had to watch me when I…” Twilight paused hesitantly while looking down sadly.

“How are you alive Twilight? The others were fairly certain you were dead when I found them.” Luna asked curiously as she thought back to the distraught mares and how they described their experience. It was hard to tell what exactly happened through their avoidance of the topic and broken sobs, but it didn’t sound good for the purple mare at any rate.

“I was dead, Princess… I bled out right in front of them. The only reason I’m here right now is because Tom sacrificed himself to revive me. I must have traumatized them… I said some pretty crushing stuff toward the end after it sunk in that I was dying. I hope they’re doing ok…” Twilight said in a concerned and forlorn tone.

“Maybe we should head back to them. I’m certain that they would be ecstatic to see you.” Luna suggested in a sympathetic tone.

“Where are they anyway? Somewhere safe I hope…” Twilight muttered uneasily. The mere thought of her friends being stuck in a city full of darklings made her concerned for their wellbeing.

“Don’t worry, they are safe. I left them in a building not too far away from here while I went to investigate Raven Feather’s progress. They have Glimmer Shine and the others with them, so they are fine.” Luna explained in a reassuring manner.

“Glimmer Shine and the others? Did they finish their mission already?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Apparently so… they ran into some trouble with some darklings, but they eventually managed to light the signal fire and escape.” Luna stated in a thankful tone.

“Well that’s a relief... I think it’s time we regrouped with the others, Princess.” Twilight said in an eager tone. The alicorn nodded in response while getting up and walking over to the purple mare. After helping her to her feet, Luna motioned for the unicorn to follow her and walked towards the door to the building.

Now that she had Princess Luna with her, Twilight felt an incredible sense of hope and courage flowing through her. She felt like they could actually beat the hooded ponies and save Celestia if they worked together. The constant threat of darklings didn’t even seem all that threatening as she walked through the streets with her new companion.

Judging from her surroundings, Twilight inferred that the alicorn had ducked into the nearest abandoned building she could find to let her rest. She could actually see the alleyway where she encountered the darklings and fell off the fire escape as she looked behind her. The unicorn shuddered nervously as she thought about what would have happened if the alicorn hadn’t noticed her on her way to the castle. She made a mental note to start carrying around strobes and any other weapon she could find to deal with the horrible beasts in the future, because somehow she knew that her luck was rotten enough to get chased by darklings by herself for a third time.

After a few twists and turns followed by a few minutes of walking through the streets of Canterlot, Luna stopped suddenly and directed her attention to a building on the right. The building seemed to be another abandoned home, though this one had two stories to it.

“We have arrived.” Luna announced while looking down to her purple companion.

“This is where you left the others?” Twilight asked curiously, to which the alicorn nodded. The purple mare looked ahead with an almost hesitant expression. She wasn’t sure what she could say to her friends after they watched her die. She was certain they would be eager to see her, but she wasn’t sure if she could make up for the soul crushing things she said to them. She basically told them to give up and stop fighting the hooded ponies, and yet now here she was, coming back from the dead and telling them to do exactly the opposite.

“You seem troubled by something… are you ok Twilight?” Luna asked in a concerned tone as she picked up on the unicorn’s sadness.

“What? Oh… I guess… I guess I’m just afraid of how I affected them when I told them to stop fighting. I just didn’t want them to get hurt trying to avenge me… but maybe it broke their spirits or something?” Twilight pondered in a solemn tone while looking down slightly. She looked back up as she felt the princess putting a hoof on her shoulder.

“They were understandably distraught over seeing you die Twilight… but they did not have their spirits broken. If anything, they seem to be more eager to put a stop to all of this now than ever before.” Luna explained in a reassuring tone.

“Really…?” Twilight asked in a surprised tone. She looked toward the house while thinking about her friends and how they were faring when she saw them last. Despite everything that had happened, the five mares hadn’t given up hope or their will to keep fighting. In fact, they were more determined to fight on so they could find justice for those responsible for all of their hardships. The purple mare couldn’t help but to smile warmly as thought of the others and their incredible resolve.

“Come on… let’s go. I think they’ve been waiting long enough.” Twilight said in an eager tone while looking to the alicorn with a smirk. Luna couldn’t help but to smile as the unicorn’s spirits were lifted immensely. Without further delay, the pair walked up the steps to the front door.

Luna grabbed ahold of the handle with her magic and opened the door. Twilight followed the alicorn into a small entryway that opened up into the rest of the house. There was a storage closet to their left, and just ahead of them was a living room with a few doorways that led elsewhere into the home. There was a couch against the wall that looked like it would sit two ponies comfortably, and there was a decorative rug across the floor.

“Princess? Is that you?” A voice and the sound of hoofsteps approaching came from one of the other rooms. Twilight and Luna looked over to see Glitterball and Sunspot walking in from a doorway.

“Oh good, you’re back. We were starting to get worried about y-” Glitterball paused mid-sentence as she noticed the purple mare next to the alicorn. Both the white unicorn and the pegasus next to her were stunned into shock as they stared ahead with wide eyes. The pair stammered as they looked at each other and the princess to make sure that they weren’t seeing things.

“Hey guys… heh…” Twilight chuckled awkwardly while offering the two ponies a slight wave.

“What’s wrong with you two? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Applejack asked curiously while walking in from the other room with Glimmer Shine. As the two stopped looking at the shocked ponies and drifted their attention ahead, they both froze up with stunned expressions as they noticed the unicorn standing next to Princess Luna.

“Twilight…? Is that you?” Applejack asked in a tone of disbelief. She shook her head to wake herself up and blinked several times to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating.

“Yes… it’s me.” Twilight said with a slight smile building on her face.

“Girls! Get in here!” Applejack suddenly yelled behind her loud enough to carry her voice through the house. The clamor of several ponies rushing through the house sounded out as the others came running.

“What is it?! Did the hooded ponies find us?!” Pinkie Pie asked in a slight panic while rushing through the doorway. The pink mare gasped loudly and dropped her jaw in shock as she settled her eyes on the purple unicorn. While the others slowly caught up with the pink pony, they wondered why she looked like she was going to jump out of her skin with excitement.

“Twilight!” Pinkie yelled eagerly while leaping forward and snatching the purple unicorn up in a tight hug. Twilight was nearly sent to the floor until the pink mare grabbed her by the waist and held her close to her.

“Oh my gosh… Twilight?!” Fluttershy exclaimed in a shocked tone while walking over to the group gathering around the unicorn. Twilight watched as all of her friends flocked to her side. Strangely, there were only four of the mares present, with Rainbow Dash being the only one missing.

“How are you alive?! We… we watched you die!” Rarity asked in a state of excited shock. Much like everyone else in the room, she thought that seeing her friend alive and well again was too good to be true.

“Well, Tom must have woken up after you guys left and somehow revived me. I came to and found him unconscious next to me.” Twilight explained her miraculous revival to her friends as best she could. Everyone was relieved to hear that the human was alive as well.

“Tom is still alive? Thank goodness… I suppose he is sturdier than we thought.” Rarity said with a relaxed sigh. Twilight suddenly frowned as the white mare brought up the subject of what happened to her human friend. Everyone grew uneasy as they watched the purple pony lower her head sadly.

“Actually… Tom is gone. He… he didn’t make it.” Twilight explained in a somber tone.

“Hey, cheer up. Maybe you just thought he was dead again. We all thought he was dead when we left the castle… we even thought you were dead! That guy is full of surprises.” Pinkie said with a slight chuckle while thinking back to all of the amazing feats the boy had pulled off in his short time in Equestria. Strangely though, the unicorn wasn’t being affected by the pink mare’s attempts at cheering her up.

“No Pinkie, he’s gone… for real this time. He… he disappeared right in front of me. His body just evaporated into embers… I guess that’s how slayers die.” Twilight added while holding back a few stray tears. Everyone fell silent as a wave of surprise and sadness washed over them. The knowledge that the human was dead was enough to bring tears to their eyes. Although they had thought he was dead before, they now had a hollow and empty feeling in their guts that wouldn’t go away.

“I’m so sorry Twilight… I can’t believe he risked his own life to save you.” Pinkie said in a somber tone.

“That’s what he does Pinkie… ever since he got here he always put others before himself. It got to the point where I wasn’t sure if he cared about himself anymore.” Twilight said with a slight sniffle while rubbing her eyes and collecting herself.

“I’m not sure if I should tell you this… but Tom said that before he came to Equestria, he was going to just give up and kill himself.” Fluttershy said in a hesitant tone, much to the surprise of everyone else.

“What? That’s awful… why would he do that?” Twilight asked in an uneasy tone while shaking her head.

“He told me that after he died and became a slayer that he didn’t have anyone to be friends with or even talk to. He didn’t really specify if people avoided him or if he avoided people… either way, he would just roam around and deal with any monsters plaguing a town, and then he would move on. It must have gotten to him after a while… he must have been so lonely.” Fluttershy explained in a sad tone.

Twilight felt horrible knowing the reason why the human was so reckless in his efforts to protect her and the others. She now knew why he always blindly charged into danger. It was because he was protecting the only friends he had had since he was a normal human. Given his age and the harshness of becoming a slayer, he must have been an emotional wreck on the inside.

The purple mare looked down sadly and fought against a fresh set of tears and sobs building inside of her. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t realized that her new friend needed help sooner. If only she could have helped him deal with his reckless behavior, then maybe he would still be alive.

“I just hope that we can make his sacrifices mean something. But to do that we need to beat Raven Feather.” Twilight said in a determined tone. She wiped her eyes and stiffened up to prevent herself from breaking down again. Right now was not the time for lamenting the past. Right now, she and the others had a job to do.

“We’re all with you whenever you’re ready to fight Twilight.” Applejack said while turning to her friends to confer their opinions. Everyone else nodded eagerly at the prospect of beating up the hooded ponies.

“Wait… you all want to fight? I thought you would want to stay out of trouble after I… well… you know.” Twilight said in a hesitant tone.

“Of course we all want to fight, Twilight! The only reason we didn’t clobber those hooded jerks sooner was because you didn’t want us to. Ah mean hay, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t shut up about how much she wanted to turn around and strangle Raven Feather for what she did to you.” Applejack said in a cheerful tone. Twilight paused suddenly as the absence of her cyan friend was brought to mind. She looked around, only to find that the pegasus was nowhere to be found.

“Where is Rainbow Dash? I don’t see her… is she ok?” Twilight asked uneasily. Everyone grew uneasy as the cyan mare was brought up.

“She’s upstairs… she wanted to be left alone for a while after we got here.” Rarity explained in a somber tone.

“Really? I didn’t think she would be that emotionally unstable after a few minutes… or however long I was out for.” Twilight said in a concerned tone while looking around at the others.

“We were all pretty messed up before you got here… Rainbow just wanted some time alone Ah guess.” Applejack explained somberly.

“Yeah… I tried to go cheer her up a little, but she just asked me to go away.” Pinkie said with a concerned sigh.

“Where is she? I think I should go see her.” Twilight said in a troubled tone while getting up.

“The stairs are through that door at the back of the hallway. Rainbow Dash is holed up in the first room on the right.” Applejack explained while pointing to one of the doorways.

“Thanks… I’ll go talk to her. I’m sure she will be happy to see me.” Twilight said while walking over to the door and heading through the house.

After making her way through a lengthy hallway, Twilight discovered the stairs opening up to her left. As she climbed the steps, she drew her attention to the door just down the new hallway. The door was closed like many of the other doors she had passed by, but knowing that her friend was most likely sulking behind this one made it somehow different.

Twilight walked over to the door and paused in front of it. Taking a quick listen yielded no sounds coming from the other side. At least the cyan mare wasn’t bawling her eyes out anymore. Twilight was unsure if this was a good sign or not. Deciding to waste no more time with her thoughts, the unicorn raised her hoof to the door and gently knocked on it.

A slight rustling noise came from inside, though the sound didn’t get closer to the door. Whatever Rainbow Dash was doing in there, she didn’t seem interested in greeting any visitors. Twilight grabbed ahold of the handle and tried to open the door, but she quickly discovered that the pegasus had locked it. Before she could knock again, a muffled voice rang out from within the room.

“Go away… I said I want to be alone didn’t I?” Rainbow Dash asked in a clearly gloomy tone. It nearly broke the purple mare’s heart to hear her friend in such distress.

“Rainbow Dash…?” Twilight spoke up in a concerned tone. Nothing but silence greeted her for a solid few moments.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried feet approaching the door rang out, followed by the sound of the door being unlocked. The door opened to reveal the cyan mare peering out with a shocked expression. Once she laid eyes on the purple unicorn, Rainbow Dash let go of the door and took a step back in surprise.

“T…Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked in a stunned tone, to which Twilight nodded. The cyan pegasus rubbed her eyes and shook her head to make sure she was awake, she then continued staring at the unicorn and eyeing her up and down as if she weren’t really there.

“Rainbow… I’m so-” Twilight began to speak up in a somber tone, until she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash rushing forward and wrapping her arms around her. The pegasus held her friend close while hiding her face by burying it into her shoulder.

Twilight heard the cyan mare weeping softly into her fur for a moment. Rainbow Dash pulled back and let the unicorn go. She sniffled and wiped a few tears from her eyes before smiling warmly at the purple mare.

“Don’t you ever do that to us again… you hear me egghead?” Rainbow Dash said with a playful smirk. She still had a few tears welling up in her eyes and an overwhelming expression of joy on her face.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Twilight said while fighting back her own tears.

“How are you…? I mean… you were dead.” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone.

“Tom revived me… he didn’t survive the process though.” Twilight said while lowering her head sadly. The cyan mare widened her eyes in shock as she heard that her human friend had survived his encounter with Raven Feather, only to die by bringing the unicorn back to life.

“Grr… I’m tired of losing friends to these creeps. We need to head back to the castle and make them pay.” Rainbow Dash said in an upset tone.

“I agree… let’s head downstairs and talk strategy with the others.” Twilight said with a determined expression. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement at the prospect of taking the offensive once more.

The two mares started back down the hallway and went downstairs. They walked through the house again until they stepped out in the living room where their friends were waiting. The others seemed to occasionally stare at the purple unicorn, as if they expected her to disappear at some point. Still, Twilight didn’t mind. She was half expecting all of this to be some demented dream her mind cooked up as it was dying.

“Yay! We’re all together again!” Pinkie Pie cheered while roping all of her friends in for a group hug. Given the circumstances, everyone was eager to participate in the sudden embrace.

“And now that we are all together, I was thinking that we should come up with a plan of attack.” Twilight suggested in a determined tone.

“There’s the Twilight we know and love.” Applejack said with a pleased smile. The purple mare couldn’t help but to smile warmly as her friends looked at her with cheerful expressions.

“Well if we’re going to go after them, we may want to hurry it up. Who knows how far along they are with their ritual after that shockwave.” Glimmer Shine said in a concerned tone.

“Wait… shockwave? What shockwave?” Twilight asked in a confused tone.

“A little while before I found you, a shockwave of energy passed through town. It looked like it came from the direction of the castle.” Luna explained in a troubled tone.

“Yeah, I’ll bet that thing is halfway to Ponyville by now. It didn’t look like it was stopping anytime soon.” Rainbow Dash said with a surprised expression.

“That must have happened before Tom revived me. If something they did made a shockwave that powerful…” Twilight paused with concern as she thought about the matter further. “We need to stop them before things get any more out of hand.” She said with a frustrated sigh.

“You guys lit the signal fire, so how long would it be before reinforcements get here?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously while turning to Glimmer Shine and his two teammates.

“It’s hard to say... maybe an hour, maybe more.” Sunspot said with a troubled frown.

“We might not have any outside help, but all of the guards left in the city will be gathering over by the guard station.” Glimmer Shine suggested optimistically.

“Good… we’ll need all the help we can get. I vote we head over to the station and rally up the guards. We can think of a plan after that.” Twilight said in a confident tone.

“Sounds good to me… any objections?” Glimmer Shine asked while looking around at the others. Everyone shook their heads in response.

“Very well then, let’s get moving. I will go grab the elements of harmony and meet all of you outside.” Luna stated while getting up from her seated position. Everyone nodded before eagerly walking to the front door and stepping outside.

After waiting for a few moments for the blue alicorn to join them, the group embarked on their way towards the guard station. Given the fact that the city was still crawling with darklings, the ponies were still nervous about traveling on the open streets. However, the presence of Princess Luna and the members of Spirit made everyone a little more comfortable and confident in their safety.

The walk across town was beginning to wear on the group in more ways than one. Their nerves were strained from the tense atmosphere and the daunting odds they had to overcome, their feet were sore from walking, fighting, and running for most of the day, and their spirits weren’t doing very good either. Even with the uplifting boost from having a plan and having Twilight back, everyone felt tense all around from the upcoming battle with the hooded ponies. Still, despite all their fears and doubts, they were confident that they could persevere by working together.

Twilight walked a short way behind Princess Luna, Glimmer Shine, and his teammates. The unicorn had walked around Canterlot many times before, and her brother was captain of the royal guard, so she knew her way over to the guard station by heart. However, she gladly accepted the yellow stallion and his companions taking the lead to better protect the group from the front.

Taking a look behind her, Twilight saw her friends bringing up the rear. Rainbow Dash was walking a little to the side directly behind the purple mare, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were walking at the back of the group, and Fluttershy was nervously walking in the middle of the group with Applejack beside her.

Everyone was scanning around them for signs of movement. Glimmer Shine and his two teammates were feverishly looking at their locators. If they saw so much as a streak of light pointing around them, their strobes were well within reach.

“Are you sure we’re safe out here?” Fluttershy asked timidly while darting her eyes around.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we’ll handle any darklings that come our way.” Sunspot said in a reassuring tone from the front of the group. The yellow mare seemed to be slightly comforted by the statement, but it was clear she was still nervous about her surroundings.

“How’s your wing Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone while glancing back to the pegasus. The yellow mare looked down to her wing and moved it slightly to see how it felt.

“It still hurts a little bit… I don’t think I can use it though.” Fluttershy reported with a slight frown.

“I’m just glad that it isn’t bleeding anymore. We can worry about functionality after all of this is over darling.” Rarity said in a reassuring tone.

“I hope I can still fly after this...” Fluttershy fretted with a concerned expression. Although she didn’t enjoy flying as much as some other pegasi, it was still a large part of her life.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy. I’m sure it’s nothing a little medical attention can’t handle. You’ll be airborne again in no time.” Rainbow Dash said with a confident smirk. Fluttershy smiled slightly as she thought about her situation more positively.

A low buzzing followed by a magical hum made everyone look around anxiously. When they discovered the source of the noise to be glowing vials on the three Spirit members’ vests, they all felt a collective lump forming in the pit of their stomachs.

“Heads up guys, looks like we have something up ahead.” Glitterball said in a concerned tone while pointing her locator straight ahead. Although the liquid was only glowing on a small portion of the vial, the sight of the reading made everyone as jumpy as if it were totally lit up.

Taking a look ahead and hearing a slight noise, the group was alert and on edge as they scanned their eyes around for the source of the noise. They quickly noticed a trash can jostling around in an alleyway down the street. Before they could process any thoughts about what could be causing the can to rattle, a darkling jumped out into the street with an agitated growl.

Fluttershy let out a muffled yelp of fright, Twilight and the others readied themselves for battle, and Glimmer Shine and his teammates reached for their strobes. However, the darkling was the only one among them that wasn’t preparing for battle.

The shadowy creature was still facing the alleyway and barking like a mad dog. The slightly distorted noise made a slight chill run up the ponies’ spines from hearing it, even if it wasn’t directed at them. Before long, another darkling jumped out of the alley and landed on the first one. The two growled viciously while rolling around on the ground. Each seemed to be biting or clawing at the other, almost like they were fighting.

“What are they doing…?” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone while watching the spectacle.

“It looks like they’re… fighting…?” Glitterball said in an equally confused tone while tilting her head at the odd sight. The unicorn and her teammates lowered their strobes as they continued watching the two beasts fight while trying to think of what would cause such a thing.

“I’ve never seen them fight before… they were always focused on finding us.” Fluttershy said in a slightly nervous tone while thinking back to all the other times she had seen darklings. Even in the sleep deprived dreams she had of the monsters, they were exceptionally well coordinated with each other and always worked together towards their goal, which just so happened to be ripping her and her friends to shreds.

“They were acting a little weird the last time I saw them. Before Princess Luna found me, I ran into a pack of them in an alleyway… they seemed almost… more feral. They also had better control over their abilities as shadow creatures from the look of it.” Twilight pondered in a curious tone while trying to think of a good explanation for the beasts’ behavior.

“Maybe these ones aren’t under Dust Kicker’s control?” Glitterball suggested in a curious tone.

“What makes you say that? They were following his orders the last time we ran into them.” Rainbow Dash said with an uncomfortable scoff as she thought about the brown pegasus.

“Well… think about it. All of the darklings we have seen thus far have been summoned by either Dust Kicker, the hooded ponies, or some kind of spell or other creature they also summoned. And no matter where we have seen them, they all seemed to work together and focus on whatever objective they had at the time. If they are acting more feral now, then maybe something happened to break their connection with their master… who knows, maybe it was that shockwave of energy earlier?” Glitter reasoned while shaking her head in a confused tone. As helpful as her theory might have been, she didn’t know all of the answers.

Suddenly, the two darklings stopped fighting each other and froze in place briefly. The beasts started sniffing the air around them in an almost paranoid fashion until they settled in the direction of the ponies. Much to everyone’s dismay, the darklings growled viciously as they caught wind of their unexpected observers.

“Feral or not, it looks like they still want to rip us apart.” Glimmer Shine said in a more serious tone while readying his strobe. The stallion’s teammates followed suit and quickly pointed their strobes at the two monsters.

Before the darklings could charge forward and chase after the group, Glitterball fired off two quick shots with her strobe. The bolts of light sailed down the street and slammed into the two creatures in rapid succession, leaving them to explode into puffs of black smoke.

“Wow… nice shot Glitter.” Sunspot said in a congratulatory tone.

“You’re really getting the hang of these things aren’t you?” Glimmer Shine asked in an impressed tone while offering the unicorn a playful chuckle.

“Heh… I guess so.” Glitterball replied with a bashful smirk.

Princess Luna offered a congratulatory smile to the unicorn for her swift dispatch of the two darklings. however she also had other things on her mind. The alicorn walked ahead of the group with an anxious expression and looked back to them.

“We should keep moving. The longer we take to stop the hooded ponies, the more lives could be in danger.” Luna said while thinking about her sister. She shuddered to imagine what Raven Feather and her group was doing with her right now. Everyone nodded in agreement while returning serious expressions to their faces. Without further delay, the group continued forward while watching for any further threats coming their way.

After many tense minutes of walking through town and avoiding the distant sounds of darklings, the group could see the guard station coming into view. The sight of the colorful flags flapping in the distance filled the ponies with a sense of hope, even given their last experience involving a guard station and shadow creatures.

Everyone rushed to close the gap between them and the safety of the station. Given their track record, they were half expecting a pack of darklings to come and chase them, but no such thing happened. The group huddled around the front door and smiled triumphantly.

“Let’s head inside and see how many guards are here.” Twilight suggested in an eager tone.

“I just hope they will leave some for us when we reach the castle.” Rainbow Dash said with an amused chuckle. She was more than eager to level the playing field by adding some more numbers to their ranks.

Princess Luna opened the door with her magic and ushered everyone inside. The lobby of the station was devoid of any life. Any staff members were most likely hiding from the darklings outside along with the rest of Canterlot. However, the group was certain that at least a few guards would be waiting to offer their assistance with taking back the city.

“I will go look for any guards waiting in the back. You all should wait here and rest before we head to the castle.” Luna said while walking towards a doorway to the right of the lobby. After the alicorn disappeared from sight, the others were left to occupy themselves.

Pinkie Pie and Glitterball sat down on a row of chairs lined up against the left wall. The pink mare seemed mildly bored with having to wait in a dull room, however the unicorn seemed to be genuinely resting.

Rainbow Dash leaned up against a wall and sighed while looking down wearily. Everyone else simply stood or walked around the room slowly while looking around. The slow and steady rhythm of the clock ticking away behind the front desk only served to further cement the feeling of anxious impatience in the air.

“Man… I can’t wait to put these guys behind bars. How long has it been since we could go a whole day without thinking about what’s going to try to kill us next?” Rainbow Dash said in a hopeful tone.

“We’re almost there… all we need to do now is stop Raven Feather once and for all.” Twilight added with a pleased smile as she thought about how close they were to victory.

The thought of victory made everyone feel better about their situation. Knowing that they were close to finishing their battle made it seem like all of the hardships they were going through were worth it. As long as nobody else got hurt, they were confident that everything would be fine, and they were also confident that they wouldn’t let anyone else get hurt.

After a short wait, the group noticed Princess Luna walking through the doorway at the right of the room. Much to everyone’s excitement, there was a group of eight guards following behind the blue alicorn.

“Hello everyone, I have returned. There were only a few guards left in the building. Everyone else is scattered around town still from the look of it.” Luna said with a mild shrug of disappointment at the small amount of help they would receive. Despite their small numbers, the guards stood at the ready with determined expressions waiting for their chance to assist the alicorn and her group.

“This is good, Princess… we can use all the help we can get.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone while getting up and walking over to the blue pony. Everyone else got up as they anticipated leaving to go rescue Princess Celestia.

“Are we ready to go or what? I’m itching to give Raven Feather the payback she deserves.” Rainbow Dash said in an eager tone. Perhaps a little left over anger from watching Twilight getting stabbed by the black mare was still present, but the cyan pegasus seemed to be handling her emotions and converting them to useful energy.

“In due time Rainbow Dash. But before we go stage an assault against Raven Feather and her colleagues, we should make sure that we are as prepared as possible.” Princess Luna suggested in a more patient tone.

“What did you have in mind, Princess?” Glitterball asked curiously from the back of the group.

“Given a few minutes, I think I may be able to tweak your strobes a little bit to make them more effective against shadow creatures and shadow magic.” Luna suggested in a hopeful tone.

“How are you going to do that?” Glitterball asked while offering up her strobe to the alicorn. Luna levitated the vial out of the unicorn’s hooves and over to her.

“I might be able to boost their power against shadows if I use a smaller version of the spell we used to beat the dark matter when we were trapped in the Ponyville guard station. I can’t be sure how well this will work… if it will even work at all, but as Twilight said, we can use all the help we can get.” Luna said while using her horn to interact with the small vial and casting the spell on it. Everyone watched the alicorn work with intrigued expressions. She seemed to handle reworking spells on the fly very well to suit her needs, which was a useful skill considering the circumstances.

Meanwhile, while everyone was watching the alicorn working with the strobes, Pinkie Pie was watching something else. A flash of movement outside of the window caught her attention, and when she got up and walked over to investigate, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Uh… guys?” Pinkie asked in a nervous tone.

“What is it Pinkie?” Rarity asked in a curious tone while offering the pink mare a stray glance out of the corner of her eye.

“I think you should take a look at this… like, right now.” Pinkie replied in a stunned tone of voice. The genuine nervousness in the pink mare’s voice made everyone pause what they were doing to turn around.

“What’s wrong P-” Twilight stopped mid-sentence as she looked out of the window where her friend was staring. As everyone caught on to what the unicorn had already noticed, they were stunned into a shocked state of silence.

Outside of the station, there were dozens of black shapes moving past the window heading away from the building. Upon closer inspection, each of the shapes was in fact a darkling that was simply walking forward in a mechanical and silent march. The sheer number of the beasts shocked the ponies deeply. It looked like every darkling in the city was walking past the building on their path towards whatever destination they had in mind.

“What the hay…?” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone as she looked out at the crowds of darklings moving together. She would have thought that a group of the beasts that large would be after her and her friends, but the creatures seemed happily ignorant of the ponies inside the station.

“Where are they all going?” Twilight pondered while trying to think of what had gotten into the strange beasts. She was thankful that they weren’t attacking, but their sudden change in behavior made her more concerned than happy.

“I think they might be going to the castle… that is the only logical explanation I can find, and they are going in the right direction.” Luna said in a troubled tone.

“Why are they doing that? I thought they weren’t under anyone’s control anymore.” Glitterball shrugged in a puzzled tone.

“I don’t know… if Dust Kicker were ordering them around, then they wouldn’t have gone feral before.” Twilight added with equal confusion. It seemed like any explanation that involved the hooded ponies didn’t make sense. The darklings were scattered around the city on purpose to serve as a distraction. Why would Raven Feather and her colleagues order them to come to the castle now? The more the ponies thought about it, the more troubled they became.

“We should hurry… I have a bad feeling about this.” Luna said in a concerned tone. The alicorn offered an uneasy glance to the darklings outside before returning to her work. The others watched anxiously while the princess raced to finish with the strobes so they could stop whatever was going on before it was too late.