The air was still and quiet in the castle throne room. The tense silence persisted not because nothing was happening, but because there was a pervasive lack of verbal communication in the room. The only sounds to be heard were the occasional erratic breaths coming from the colt sitting off in the corner, and the soft scribbling of Shadow Mist making changes to the symbol left on the ground. And sitting in the midst of the two, was Princess Celestia.

The alicorn watched her two captors with a wary eye, silently trying to ascertain just how deep in trouble she was. Shadow Mist seemed to be an entirely different pony now. He dauntlessly went around the symbol and made additions to it as if he had trained his whole life to. The stallion didn’t even need to communicate with Grimwood, or rather Shade, to know what he wanted. Doubtlessly the pale colt had implanted the stallion with all the knowledge he needed when he tampered with his mind.

The colt himself was an entirely different pony as well, although Celestia wasn’t sure if he was a pony anymore. Ever since he took Shadow Mist under his control and ordered him to change the symbol, he had been silently sitting against one of the other walls. Shade was staring down at the floor, as he had been for the past several minutes while his body shook slightly. It looked like he was struggling to adjust to his new body, and he would groan softly every few moments.

What concerned Celestia the most however, was how his physical appearance was changing. On top of the tremors increasing in frequency, the colt’s skin was actually darkening slightly, yet it still somehow appeared pale. It almost looked like an eerie shade of darkness was slowly overcoming the deathly pale color that belonged to Grimwood’s natural body. Along with the strange change in fur color, the same black substance Celestia noticed earlier was being emitted all around his body. The black tendrils of energy had grown in frequency and size, almost resembling something one would expect to see when dealing with a powerful black magic spell.

Celestia offered an uneasy glance over to the pale colt. She could feel a cold presence growing stronger within him that made her skin crawl. She had never felt something so powerful or impure in her entire life. Just being in his presence made her uneasy, but there was nothing she could do to escape her current situation.

Suddenly, Shadow Mist ceased his work on the symbol. He sat down the materials he was using and turned to face his new master with little more than a slight smile on his face to show any emotion. Despite the strenuous work he had been doing, it seemed as though he was pleased with whatever new goals he had after being taken over by the possessed colt.

“I’m finished with the symbol, it’s ready to channel the energy like you wanted.” Shadow Mist announced in a pleased tone. The colt off in the corner looked up for a moment before getting up and turning around.

“Very good… you make a fine assistant in a pinch.” Shade said in a distorted voice. With the new change in his voice, it sounded like Grimwood was speaking, but it also sounded like another voice was present behind the colt’s.

Shadow Mist stepped aside and allowed the colt to examine his work. Shade walked up to the edge of the symbol and looked it over with steely diligence. He smiled slightly as he touched the outer edge of the circle lightly with his hoof. A few wispy tendrils of the black energy emanated from his hoof and dissipated in the air, however there seemed to be a few tendrils coming up from the symbol and flowing into his body as well.

“Are you sure this will work? Raven Feather and the others dumped all of the energy stored in the symbols when they were trying to help you… er… Grimwood.” Shadow Mist asked in a curious tone. Even if he was under the colt’s control, he didn’t seem to be a mindless puppet that was an extension of his master in every way.

“Don’t worry about that. The energy I’m going to use isn’t the same that was used before.” Shade explained with a wry smirk. The sinister look in his eyes wasn’t exactly comforting to the alicorn watching nearby.

“What do you plan on doing with that symbol?” Celestia asked in what she hoped would be a threatening tone. The colt paused suddenly and slowly glanced over to the bound alicorn with a cold and blank expression. He then started walking over towards the princess, piercing her with his lifeless eyes as he went.

Celestia backed against the wall defensively as the colt got up to her and stared at her a few inches from her face. She could feel a cold aura around him sucking out all of the warmth in the air, but the slight cold feeling emanating from the colt wasn’t the reason a shiver went down her spine.

“What does anyone plan on doing with an arcane symbol?” Shade asked before falling silent, as if he wanted the alicorn to answer him. Celestia fought the urge to shrivel up and cower so she could stand her ground against the colt’s unnerving stare.

“Well…? No thoughts from the mighty Celestia?” Shade asked in an almost disappointed tone. “Hmm… I suppose I wouldn’t expect much more from people like you.” He added while keeping up the blank expression and judging stare that he had since he started talking to the alicorn.

“Enough games… tell me what you want.” Celestia asked in a stern tone while glaring at the colt.

“I just want one thing, Princess… to get stronger.” Shade said while raising his hoof up and inching it towards the alicorn. Celestia backed her head away until she hit the wall behind her.

“And why do you want to get stronger?” Celestia asked hesitantly while maneuvering her head to the side to avoid the colt’s touch.

“Life is a funny thing isn’t it? Thousands of complicated biological processes all working together just to let you exist… and what does it all amount to?” The colt asked while placing his hoof on the side of the alicorn’s face.

“Tch!” Celestia cringed painfully as she felt a wave of cold instantly hitting the area where the colt was touching her. The sensation was somehow spreading across her face and down into her body, progressively increasing how cold she felt, especially around her cheek. As she looked down to see the colt’s hoof on her cheek, she noticed a soft aura of dark purple was covering it. The aura was barely visible, and more of the darker wisps of energy were coming out of his hoof.

Shade sat still and watched as the princess squirmed to try and get away from him. As the cold feeling got worse, it was getting more and more distressful to her. Celestia didn’t feel a lot of the pain that would normally come from extremely cold temperatures, she felt something much different. It felt like her body was growing weaker and weaker, as if she was dying, and her nerves were screaming at her to try and make it stop. She could feel the area around her cheek and the surrounding areas growing number than everything else, as if the colt was sucking the life right out of her.

Celestia groaned in distress as the strange feeling intensified to the point that it was causing her actual pain. Still, the pain she felt was numbed and yet somehow overwhelming. It felt like her whole body had fallen asleep, and now it was waking up and causing an unbearable pins and needles sensation.

Just before the alicorn felt like she was going to pass out, the colt released his hold on her and let her fall to her side in a shivering mess. While Celestia was recovering on the floor from the brief attack, the colt seemed to be enjoying himself from watching her.

“You asked why I wanted to get stronger? Well… I suppose the simple answer would be to kill you and every other living thing on this planet.” Shade said in a calm, almost nonchalant tone. Celestia managed to glance up at the colt with an uneasy expression as the feeling returned to her face. She still felt weak to the point where she wasn’t sure if she could get up, but at least the cold sensation was gone as the colt walked away from her.

Shade walked ahead a few paces, seemingly thinking to himself and paying no particular attention to anyone or anything. When the colt stopped, he looked over to Shadow Mist and then to the symbol on the floor, letting a slight smile come over his face.

“You… I want you to head outside and watch the door for me. I’m going to absorb the rest of the energy from this symbol and… get more comfortable in this body.” Shade explained while looking down at the shell he was currently inhabiting.

“Watch the door…? But, I’m not sure if I can keep that many intruders away from you by myself, even with this new power you’ve given me.” Shadow Mist explained in an uneasy tone. He was never much of a direct fighter, always choosing to sneak up on his enemies or catch them off guard with a sudden attack.

“Hmmm… that could be bothersome if anyone comes for us.” Shade said while looking down and thinking. The colt looked around the room, deep within his own thoughts as he tried to come up with a way to ensure his privacy while he completed his plan.

Suddenly, the colt laid eyes on the two corpses left in the room. Raven Feather and Dust Kicker’s bodies were lying motionless in their own pools of blood where the colt left them. He hadn’t paid much attention to them after he killed them, but now he figured that he might as well use all the resources at his disposal.

“Not to worry, Shadow Mist… A little necromancy should get you the help you need.” Shade said while lifting his hoof into the air and stamping it on the floor. As he made the connection with the ground, a shadowy black substance flowed out of his hoof and into the ground, where it sunk into the floor and became translucent like a shadow.

Everyone watched as the shadowy energy traveled across the room and split off into two separate beams that each traveled to one of the two bodies. Once they reached their destination, the shadows on the floor flowed upwards and into the bodies.

Celestia watched in horror, and Shadow Mist watched in passive intrigue as Raven Feather and Dust Kicker shook slightly while the shadowy substance traveled into them. After a few moments of the convulsions getting worse, the two ponies suddenly stopped moving.

The room was deathly silent as all eyes watched the two bodies for signs of anything strange. Celestia almost thought the colt’s attempts had failed in whatever purpose they had, until her eyes widened as she saw something disturbingly shocking.

Raven Feather moved her arm and positioned it to lift herself up off the ground. Dust Kicker followed suit shortly after the black mare. The two ponies slowly got up off the ground. Their eyes were still closed, and their movements were clumsy and lethargic, but they were able to get to their feet.

Suddenly, the wounds on Dust Kicker’s neck and Raven Feather’s chest glowed bright purple. The light appeared similar to Shadow Mist’s leg and eyes, and it seemed to pulse softly like a magical aura. In almost perfect unison, the two ponies opened their eyes to reveal a similar purple glow.

“Good heavens…” Celestia muttered in a quiet state of shock as she watched the two ponies look around curiously. They settled their eyes on the colt in front of them before remaining still at attention.

“You can reanimate dead bodies?” Shadow Mist asked curiously. He seemed far more comfortable with the chilling act than the alicorn was.

“It takes a little effort and some creative application of energy, but yes. You would be surprised at how simple things are with enough power.” Shade explained in a pleased tone.

Celestia stared at the two undead ponies with a mortified expression. Raven Feather had terrorized Equestria with horrific monsters, ended dozens of innocent lives, and even robbed her faithful student Twilight from her, but somehow the alicorn felt that the black mare didn’t deserve this.

“Are they… are they aware?” Celestia asked in a concerned tone.

“Their minds left them as soon as their life did. I am merely borrowing their bodies until I finish my work.” Shade explained with a slight chuckle before turning to the two ponies standing at attention. “You two follow Shadow Mist and help him keep others out of this room. You are to prevent anyone from reaching me at any cost.” He instructed in a stern tone. Raven Feather and Dust Kicker nodded slowly before turning to Shadow Mist and waiting for him to move.

“Well… I suppose that takes care of that. I will go outside and keep you safe.” Shadow Mist said in a sincere tone while looking to the pale colt.

“And take the princess with you… I want to be alone for this.” Shade said while glancing over to the alicorn. Celestia watched as Shadow Mist walked over to her and picked her up roughly. Her legs were wobbling and her body still felt weak from her previous encounter with the colt, but the stallion forced her to stand and move forward.

As the red stallion and his two silent companions escorted the princess towards the door at the far side of the room, she looked back to see the possessed colt stepping into the center of the symbol. He chuckled to himself in an amused tone before looking down as more of the black substance flowed out of the symbol and into his body. The process resembled what had happened before when Grimwood stepped on the symbol, though Shade seemed to be welcoming the experience more than the colt did.

With a rough shove bringing her attention back to her captors, Celestia begrudgingly walked through the door into the other room. The three ponies followed her closely, fully intent on making sure that she didn’t escape or that anyone else came to rescue her and disturb their master.

Meanwhile, Twilight and her small army were walking back through the streets of Canterlot on their way to the castle. Princess Luna and the team of guards were taking up the front while everyone else followed behind them. Although the crowds of darklings had passed them back at the guard station, they were still nervous about what the creatures might do if they did bump into them.

The daunting task ahead of them was present on everyone’s mind as they walked forward with pensive expressions. Some were more nervous than others, but everyone could feel the dread and fear that accompanied their mission. They were the last and only line of defense Equestria had left. If they failed today, then all of the citizens of Equestria and beyond would suffer in eternal darkness. They had to succeed, not only for each other’s sake and those who cared for them back in Ponyville, but for the world as a whole.

Rainbow Dash noticed a few nervous expressions among her circle of friends. She was a little anxious herself about facing such powerful foes, but the others seemed to be taking it worse than she thought at first.

“So Twilight, do you have a plan to fight these guys once we get back there?” Rainbow asked curiously, hoping to have the purple mare instill some confidence in the others. Twilight looked back to see everyone looking to her for what she had to say. The thought of fighting the hooded ponies again was one she was trying to avoid, but she had to plan ahead if she was going to succeed.

“Well… we did fairly well against Raincloud and Dust Kicker until Raven Feather showed up and… ahem… snuck up on me.” Twilight said with an uneasy tone before shaking the thoughts of her death from her head. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Shadow Mist in his current state… so that just leaves whatever workers they have with them, Raven Feather, and her younger brother as unknowns.” She explained while trying to think of a way to approach taking on the black mare and her gang all at once.

“If Raven Feather was able to best both Tom and my sister in battle, then she must be a formidable opponent with daunting skills. We should focus on disabling her and her shadow magic as soon as possible… perhaps I can make a pair of shadow magic concealing cuffs when we arrive at the castle.” Luna pondered out loud in a curious tone.

“I really hope these upgraded strobes will work… one of us is going to have to put those cuffs on her, and I don’t think she is going to like it very much.” Sunspot said in a concerned tone. She wasn’t too sure if she wanted to rely on the small vial working against shadow magic, especially when it was being used by Raven Feather.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. Just keep an eye on my back and I’ll keep mine on all of yours.” Rainbow Dash stated with a confident smirk. Everyone seemed a little more comfortable with facing the hooded ponies now. As long as they were together, they would try their hardest to protect each other and stop Raven Feather.

Suddenly, Princess Luna and the guards stopped at the front of the group. The concerned and surprised expressions shared between them made the others uneasy about what could have made them pause so abruptly.

“Everyone stay low.” Luna instructed while ducking low and moving to the corner of one of the buildings off to the side to better conceal herself. Once everyone noticed what had spooked the alicorn, they all gasped in shock.

The group had arrived at their destination. The castle laid just down the street from where they were. However, there was a sizable obstacle blocking their path. Standing in front of the castle grounds in droves were dozens if not hundreds of darklings. It was hard to see anything but blackness and teeth in front of the main door and out in the area around the castle. It was like every darkling in the entire city had gathered at the castle.

Twilight and the others raced to find cover and hide themselves from view. They all crouched low and stood behind Princess Luna and the guards while staring nervously at the armada of monsters. They had never seen this many of the beasts in one place before.

“Look at them all… there must be easily a hundred of them… probably more.” Rainbow Dash stated in a stunned tone.

“W-what are they doing here…?” Fluttershy asked while nervously staring at the scene in front of her. She could feel her knees shaking from the flashbacks she was having to earlier. Her wing stung slightly from just thinking about fighting so many darklings again.

Twilight looked around at the hordes of beasts gathered ahead. All of the darklings seemed to be sitting or standing in place, staring at the castle as if they were expecting something to happen. None of them were biting or snarling or fighting each other in the slightest. It was almost like they were taking orders again and they had been told to stay in place.

“They aren’t moving very much… are they waiting for something?” Twilight pondered in a confused tone.

“Perhaps they were drawn here by something.” Luna suggested curiously while observing the shadowy creatures. She expected to have been seen by at least one of the beasts, but all of them were just staring ahead stoically.

“If they were drawn here by something, then that can’t be a good sign.” Twilight said in a concerned tone while looking around at her friends.

“So how do we handle this? Just because they aren’t doing anything now, that doesn’t mean they will just let us stroll past them.” Glitterball said in a troubled tone while trying to fathom how they would get past the creatures. There were more of them around at the sides going as far as the castle stretched, so entering the castle without dealing with them wasn’t an option.

“Well, as good as we are with these strobes, and even if the upgrade works… I don’t think we can fight that many of them.” Glimmer Shine said in a more concerned tone while going through the logistics in his head. Every option he came up with didn’t end well in the long run.

“Hmm…” Sunspot muttered curiously while taking a look up to the still cloudy sky. “Maybe we won’t have to fight them. You thinking what I’m thinking Rainbow Dash?” She asked while smirking at the cyan mare.

Rainbow Dash looked at the orange pegasus for a moment before glancing up to the sky. A wry smile formed on her face as she slowly came to the same realization that her fellow pegasus came to. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of such a simple solution before. The clouds seemed to have thinned out since it was raining, so it would be incredibly easy to move them now.

“I think I know what you mean.” Rainbow said with a wide grin and a confident nod.

“What are you two planning?” Twilight asked curiously while looking up to where the two mares were looking. “Oh… ohhh…. You’re going to move the clouds out of the way to let the sun destroy them aren’t you?” She said in an impressed tone as she caught on to the plan.

“Yep, we’re gonna give those guys the first and last sunburn they will ever have. Come on Rainbow Dash, let’s get going.” Sunspot said while motioning for the cyan mare to follow her. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and leapt into the air after the orange pegasus as she flew upwards towards the area above the darklings.

After taking a few moments to fly over to the castle and size up how big of an area they would need to clear, the two mares nodded to each other before readying themselves to begin. With a brief countdown, Rainbow Dash and Sunspot bolted through the air, kicking and flying through each cloud they saw.

The sunlight above immediately poured through the new openings in the clouds, bathing the ground below in a brilliant cone of light. As soon as the rays of light touched the darklings, they all started yelping painfully as they started smoking. The beasts barely had time to react before they were reduced to smoke completely.

The other darklings didn’t seem to be reacting much to the sky opening up around them and their friends burning to death, but even if they had, the two ponies in the air wouldn’t have given them much time to flee. Sunspot and her cyan companion were zipping around and clearing the entire area of clouds, effectively wiping out all of the darklings below.

Twilight and the others watched silently as the shadowy creatures were wiped out. The disquieting cries of the darklings as they erupted into smoke clashed with the beautiful sight of sunlight returning to view, creating mixed feelings in the group. However they felt, they were all glad that they were progressing towards victory.

After a few minutes of work by the two pegasus’s, the entire area around the castle had been cleared of darklings. Rainbow Dash and Sunspot flew back over to their friends and landed with excited smirks on their faces.

“Nice job guys!” Twilight said in a congratulatory tone.

“Yeah, you really showed them!” Pinkie added with a cheerful smile.

“Heh… we did get results, that’s for sure.” Rainbow Dash said while looking behind her with a smirk. The path to the castle had been opened up, and any darklings that remained were far away and unmoving as ever.

“Well done you two. I’m glad that we were able to deal with those horrid beasts without anyone getting hurt.” Luna stated while looking to the two mares with a relieved expression.

“Looks like we’ve got a clear path… I doubt any of them will be able to chase us now.” Sunspot said while looking over to the front door of the castle. There was now a protective bubble of sunlight standing between them and any darklings that might have decided to chase them.

“Let’s not waste any more time. Princess Celestia needs our help. We need to get in there as soon as we can.” Twilight suggested in an anxious tone while looking to the castle. She couldn’t stand thinking about her mentor being held captive by such despicable people.

Everyone nodded in agreement at the prospect of moving forward. The group quickly fell in line and followed Princess Luna and the guards toward the castle. Sunspot and her two teammates kept their strobes at the ready and kept their eyes fixed on the darklings sitting off to the side. Although the ponies were confident that the sunlight would keep the beasts at bay, they still felt paranoid about them being in such close proximity. As expected, they managed to get up the steps and over to the front doors without issue.

The guards quickly opened the doors and scanned the inside for threats. After they were satisfied that the way was clear, they ushered everyone inside while watching their backs just to be safe. Once everyone made it in, the guards closed the doors behind them and joined the others as they took a look around.

Twilight and the others were gathered around a certain spot on the floor that was very familiar to each of them. There was a pool of blood still left on the floor, though most of it was starting to dry. However old or fresh the blood was, it still left an uneasy feeling in the ponies’ stomachs from looking at it.

“So this is where…” Princess Luna hesitated uncomfortably as she watched the six mares stare at the bloody puddle with equally uneasy expressions. Twilight nodded silently while trying her best not to think back to the awful experience.

“Let’s keep moving. We have a job to do… and I don’t want to think about this too much. I don’t… I don’t want to think about him… too much.” Twilight explained in a saddened tone while glancing to the small trail of blood leading over to the larger puddle of her blood. Everyone went quiet as they pictured their human friend using all of the energy he had left in an attempt at reviving the dead unicorn on the floor where they left her.

Twilight looked up suddenly as she felt a hoof being placed on her shoulder. She noticed Princess Luna offering her a compassionate expression of sympathy, and all of her friends were behind her offering her similar looks of reassurance.

“We’ll make them pay for this, Twilight… you have my word.” Luna said in a sincere tone.

“Thank you Princess. Now then… we should probably get moving.” Twilight said while clearing her throat and recomposing herself. Now that her emotions were relatively settled, the unicorn could focus her attention on the matter at hand.

With a unanimous nod of agreement, everyone started walking forward towards the stairs at the back of the room. After making it upstairs and into one of the castle’s hallways, the group followed Twilight and her friends as they led the way back to the hooded ponies.

“So where are these guys anyway?” Sunspot asked curiously while looking around at the passing decorations of the hallway.

“We ran into Raincloud and Dust Kicker just outside of the throne room. I’m pretty sure that is where they have set up the ritual, and with any luck that will be where we will find Princess Celestia.” Twilight explained as she thought back to how close she and her friends had gotten before.

“I just hope they don’t pull anything like they did last time.” Rainbow Dash said in an uneasy tone. Everyone gulped quietly at the mere thought of another one of them dying at the hooves of Raven Feather or her cohorts.

“So… Raven Feather just turned invisible and snuck up on you?” Glitterball asked in a hesitant tone, hoping to tread lightly around the subject of how the unicorn died.

“Yeah… she must have used Tom’s sword to stab me. I didn’t really know what was happening at the time.” Twilight explained with an uneasy shrug.

“How did she turn invisible anyway? I thought Shadow Mist was the one that could do that?” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone.

“Maybe you can do just about anything if you know how to use shadow magic enough. Some unicorns are better at certain spells than others, so it wouldn’t be too farfetched to assume that Raincloud and the others have certain abilities that they can do easily, while Raven Feather and anyone else with mastery over shadow magic can just do those things anyway.” Twilight explained while thinking about the matter further.

“She would have to be incredibly powerful to defeat both Tom and Princess Celestia.” Rarity said in a concerned tone.

“Hopefully we can slap these cuffs on her before things get out of hand.” Glimmer Shine said while glancing back to his shadow magic suppressing cuffs. Sunspot and Glitterball looked to their own pairs with anxious expressions.

“Are you sure these will work Princess?” Glitterball asked in an uncertain tone while thinking back to how the alicorn hastily inscribed the runes into the hoof cuffs as they walked.

“Well… I suppose we never got the chance to test them out in the field. However, I am confident they will work. After all, the charms you gave Twilight and the others to suppress shadow magic worked back at the mansion… if only briefly.” Luna said in a hesitant tone.

“I’m sure it will be fine. Let’s just focus on getting close enough to put these on before we worry about them working or not.” Sunspot suggested in a reassuring tone. The others shared uneasy glances with each other as they wondered whether or not any of the gear they had would even be effective against shadow magic.

After a few more minutes of walking, the group neared the end of their journey. The ponies could feel a palpable sense of unease and tension in the air as they got closer and closer to the throne room. They would be fighting the hooded ponies again, and however large their group might have become, they were still horribly under equipped to handle things. Even if they managed to subdue Raincloud and Dust Kicker by the skin of their teeth like last time, what would they do to fight Raven Feather? They didn’t even know how powerful Raven Feather truly was, but she was strong enough to best a slayer and the princess of the sun in rapid succession.

Despite any doubts they might have had, the ponies still moved forward. They were willing to fight to protect their home and the ones they loved, even if it meant making the ultimate sacrifice. The thought of death terrified most of the group, but they couldn’t be anywhere other than side by side with their friends as they fought the hooded ponies.

Finally, the group stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway they were in. The door was immediately familiar to Twilight and her friends. They were just outside the room they had fought Raincloud and her brother in. Knowing the two ponies, they were probably still standing guard with their minions ready to rip any intruders to shreds.

“Are you guys ready?” Twilight asked in a serious tone while looking back to her friends. Everyone looked around for a moment to see how the others were faring, and to process their own feelings.

“I’m ready whenever you are.” Rainbow Dash said with a confident smirk.

“We’ll do our best, Twilight.” Rarity said while turning to the others for their opinions. Pinkie Pie and Applejack nodded immediately in agreement, and even Fluttershy managed to swallow her fear and put on a determined expression.

“We’ve got your backs.” Glimmer Shine said while holding onto his strobe confidently. Sunspot and Glitterball stood by the yellow stallion and smirked while keeping their own weapons close.

“Ready and willing… let’s go take back our city.” One of the guards said with a determined tone of voice. The other guards stood at attention and waited for the group to move forward.

Twilight looked at the small troop amassed before her. She felt proud knowing that she was fighting alongside some of the best Equestria had to offer. The purple mare looked over to the alicorn standing beside her and pushed all of the hesitation in her body away.

“Are you ready Princess?” Twilight asked in a curious tone while putting her hoof on the door handle.

“Yes… I am ready.” Luna replied with a confident nod. She slowly placed her own hoof on the door handle along with the purple mare. With a small smile and a look of determination, Twilight counted down from three and opened the door with the alicorn.

Everyone quickly rushed into the room and surveyed the area ahead for threats. The group immediately noticed the presence of ponies over at the other end of the room. However, instead of seeing Raincloud and Dust Kicker, or even any of their minions, they saw an entirely different set of ponies.

Princess Celestia was sitting against a wall off to the side, and from the look of it she had Dust Kicker, Raven Feather, and Shadow Mist with her. Even from where they were standing, Twilight and the others could see that something was off with the trio. There were purple glowing portions on all three of the ponies, with their eyes completely obscured by the sinister glow.

“Princess!” Twilight exclaimed eagerly as she saw her mentor in one piece. The purple mare took a few steps forward and smiled widely as a wave of relief fell over her. Celestia lifted her head up and looked across the room to see the newly arrived gathering of ponies. She gasped in surprise as she noticed the purple unicorn and the blue alicorn among their numbers.

“T…Twilight? Luna? You’re alive?!” Celestia asked in a stunned tone. She never thought she would see her faithful student or her sister again, so to see them standing in front of her overwhelmed the alicorn with happiness.

The cheerful reunion between the three was interrupted suddenly as Shadow Mist stepped in front of Celestia. The red stallion glared at the princess for a moment before turning his attention to the group on the other side of the room.

“I’m only going to say this once. Leave now, or we will kill all of you.” Shadow Mist said in a threatening tone. As if to further cement the stallion’s threat, Raven Feather and Dust Kicker slowly walked over to be in line with him.

Twilight and the others watched the three ponies with varying degrees of unease. Raven Feather and Dust Kicker were acting more sluggishly than usual. Although nobody had seen the black mare for extended periods of time, they were confident that the unnatural way she carried herself and looked around wasn’t normal for her.

“What is up with their eyes?” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone.

“That looks so cool! Hey, do you guys think you could use your magic to make my eyes glow like that?” Pinkie Pie asked with an excited tone. “Although… I don’t think purple would be a good color on me.” She added while pondering about the matter further.

“Something’s wrong here… why is Raven Feather out here instead of working on their ritual? And where is Raincloud?” Rarity asked in a troubled tone.

“Everyone listen to me! Their ritual failed and something got inside Raven Feather’s brother. He killed Raven Feather and Dust Kicker, and did something to influence Shadow Mist’s mind. You need to forget about me and go stop Grimwood before he gets any more pow- Gah!” Celestia yelped in pain as Shadow Mist punched her in the face. The sudden strike against the alicorn made the others gasp in shock.

“Quiet… you don’t get to speak unless spoken to.” Shadow Mist said before returning his attention to the ponies ahead. The princess’s warning took a minute to settle in, but once everyone processed what she said, they looked at the three ponies with fearful expressions.

“W…what?!” Glitterball exclaimed in a shocked tone as she tried to make sense of the brief statement made by the alicorn.

“Wait… Raven Feather and Dust Kicker are dead? But how…” Twilight started to ask the obvious question, until something clicked in her head that made a chill go down her spine. “Shadow magic… whatever got into Grimwood must have… *Gulp* reanimated their bodies with shadow magic.” She stated in a mortified tone.

“Good heavens…” Rarity said while looking to the two ponies with a horrified expression. Was she really looking at two walking corpses?

“I didn’t think things could get any worse… how are we going to beat something not even Raven Feather could handle?” Sunspot asked uneasily. Everyone shared concerned glances with each other as they thought about what to do next.

“The only thing I am worried about right now is getting my sister away from them.” Luna said in an irritated tone. The others looked over to see the blue alicorn staring ahead with a determined expression. Before anyone could react, Luna dashed forward and lit up her horn.

“*Gasp* Princess!” Twilight yelled after the alicorn in a concerned tone, but she didn’t seem to care as she continued on her path.

“Luna, stop!” Celestia pleaded in an attempt at getting her sibling to turn around. Unfortunately for her the blue mare wasn’t keen on stopping unless she reached her and rescued her.

Shadow Mist smirked slightly as he watched the alicorn charging towards him. He stepped ahead of his two minions and lifted his shadowy leg into the air. Luna yelled fiercely as she discharged several bolts of magic towards the three ponies. The red stallion pushed his hoof forward and held it in place. As he concentrated for a moment, the tip of his hoof glowed brighter than the rest of his leg. Suddenly, the bolts of energy sailing towards the three ponies stopped in midair as they hit something. The bolts exploded into particles of light, and a soft glow of purple appeared in the air as if a force field were in place.

“Grr…” Luna glared at the red stallion as her attacks failed. She started casting another spell, until something stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Hyah!” Shadow Mist yelled fiercely as he stamped his hoof back down on the floor. In one swift motion, a dark shadowy substance flowed out of the stallion’s hoof and into the floor.

“Ack!” Luna yelped in surprise as a ray of dark energy shot up in front of her. The force of the shadowy column shooting up blew her hair back and nearly took her head off as it flowed up into the ceiling.

As the alicorn moved backwards to prevent herself from flying into the beam head first, she fell onto her side. Shadow Mist smirked with a sinister gleam in his eye as he channeled more energy to his hoof and into the floor.

“Princess, you need to get out of there!” Glimmer Shine yelled frantically from the back of the room. Everyone was watching the alicorn on the floor fearfully, unsure of what they could do to help her.

Before Luna could move again, another beam of shadowy energy shot up beside her and clipped her shoulder. The alicorn yelped in pain while frantically moving to get to her feet. As she got up and started to run back towards the others, another beam shot up where she just was.

Racing to concentrate on another spell, Luna could already feel the ground beneath her growing cold as shadow energy formed under it. Clenching her eyes shut as she felt a painful surge of freezing cold energy on her legs, she teleported off to the side just as another column of shadows shot up where she just was.

“Agh!” Luna yelped in pain as her legs gave out from beneath her. The brief exposure to the shadowy energy was enough to sap some energy from her and cause a mind numbing surge of pain in her hooves.

“Luna!” Celestia yelled fearfully as she watched her sister trying to get back up. The blue mare’s legs were barely holding her weight, no matter how much she struggled or forced herself through the pain.

Shadow Mist chuckled to himself warmly as he watched the princess of the night fumbling around in her attempts to flee from him. The stallion channeled more energy to his hoof and prepared to skewer her on a thinner spike of shadow energy. Suddenly, what sounded like a magical zap filled the air and died out suddenly.

“What th- Ow!” Shadow Mist cried in surprise and stumbled backwards as a bolt of light hit his face and exploded into a cascade of sparkles. Luna looked behind her to see where the bolt came from, only to discover a bit of smoke coming off of the tip of a strobe held by Glimmer Shine.

“Sunspot, go grab Princess Luna! Everyone else give her some cover!” Glimmer yelled while pointing his strobe ahead with a serious expression.

“On it!” Sunspot replied in a determined tone while spreading her wings and leaping into the air. While the orange pegasus picked up speed, the red stallion on the other side of the room was seething angrily from the sudden attack on him. As he looked up to see the rest of the ponies jumping into action, he growled under his breath.

“Stop her!” Shadow Mist commanded while looking to his two companions and pointing to the orange mare. Dust Kicker and Raven Feather directed their attention to the pegasus picking up speed in the air and immediately knew what had to be done.

Raven Feather channeled shadow magic to her hoof and pointed towards the orange mare. After a brief moment, a beam of fiery shadows shot out of her hoof and carried all the way across the room. Sunspot exclaimed in surprise as she rolled in the air to dodge the beam, which continued on its path and scorched a black mark into the wall above the others.

Before the black mare could start another attack, another bolt of light was shot at her feet from across the room. The three ponies looked up to see the three members of spirit opening fire on them with their strobes.

“Agh!” Shadow Mist yelped in pain as a bolt sailed into his shadowy leg and exploded. The glowing limb pulsated a few times as its form was disrupted slightly, causing the red stallion to falter.

Shadow Mist growled angrily while pushing through the pain and looking up again. He channeled shadow magic through his good leg and sent it into the ground. A dark shadow stretched out on the floor and traveled away from the stallion and towards the spot underneath Sunspot. With a disquieting roar, a series of shadowy balls of energy shot out of the shadow at high speeds and traveled straight up.

“Woah!” Sunspot darted sideways as she noticed the energy blasts sailing towards her. The dark orbs shot up past her, barely missing her as she dodged them. The shadow beneath her seemed to follow her as she flew, going wherever she went and firing at her.

Over at the front of the room, Twilight and the others watched their friend flying for her life with tense expressions of concern. Suddenly, Glitterball looked over to the three ponies on the other side of the room and noticed something. Shadow Mist seemed to be concentrating and channeling energy through the floor still, and he was watching the pegasus as if he were trying to control the shadow on the floor.

Glitterball quickly aimed her strobe at the red stallion and opened fire. She pressed the button on the small vial as fast as she could, sending a barrage of light blasts towards Shadow Mist. Once he saw the wave of projectiles coming his way, Shadow Mist flinched his eyes shut and covered his face.

As the red stallion was getting assaulted by miniature explosions, the shadow beneath Sunspot stopped firing out balls of shadow energy and disappeared completely. Seeing an opening for her, the orange pegasus swooped down and quickly closed the distance between her and Princess Luna.

“Come on, Princess. We need to get out of here.” Sunspot said while kneeling down and helping the alicorn to her feet.

“No, I’m not leaving without Celestia.” Luna said while holding back a painful groan. She looked back to the bound alicorn and gasped as she noticed something else.

“Look out!” Luna yelled urgently while using all her strength to push the pegasus away. Sunspot yelped in surprise as the alicorn sent her to the floor before diving to the side herself. Just as the two mares hit the floor, a beam of shadow energy sailed past them, nearly singeing their sides.

Sunspot and Luna turned over to see Raven Feather and Dust Kicker with their hooves raised in front of them. The tips of their hooves were engulfed in shadow energy, and they had devilish smirks on their faces.

Luna raced to light up her horn to protect herself and the orange pegasus beside her, but she quickly realized that she was too weak and too late to do anything meaningful. Raven Feather shot out another burst of fiery shadows from her hoof. The dark flames sailed through the air and headed straight for the two helpless ponies on the floor.

Sunspot and Luna covered their faces and tensed up as they prepared for the worst. They heard the sound of the blast impacting something and exploding, but strangely they felt no pain or any other indication that they were the ones hit.

Taking a hesitant look up to see what happened, the two mares were surprised to see a bluish magical barrier being projected around them, shielding them from the shadowy blast and any other attack the two ponies might throw at them. As they looked back to see who was responsible for their rescue, they saw Glitterball with her horn lit up struggling to keep her magic steady in the face of adversity.

“I promise we will get Princess Celestia out of here, but for now we need to go!” Sunspot said in an urgent tone while helping the alicorn to her feet again. Luna glanced back at her sister, who was offering her a concerned expression in return, most likely intended for the blue mare to flee instead of rescuing her.

“Very well… let’s get to safety.” Luna said in a begrudging tone while turning to the pegasus and giving in. She didn’t just have her own safety to look out for anymore, she had the orange mare and the rest of the ponies in her care to worry about. If she died while rushing blindly to free her sister, then the others might very well follow her to the grave eventually.

Using Glitterball’s shield as cover while the three hooded ponies fumed and fired shadowy projectiles at them, the two mares made their way back to the others as quickly as they possibly could. Once they made it back, they were greeted with the concerned faces of their friends as they checked for injuries.

“Princess, what were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed out there!” Twilight said in a worried tone while helping the blue alicorn to a resting position.

“Guh… I don’t care what happens to me as long as my sister is safe.” Luna said while cringing in an attempt at fighting through the pain. Most of the numbness her legs felt from being in contact with shadow energy was gone, leaving her to feel a burning cold sensation that caused a fair amount of pain in her legs.

“Heads up!” Sunspot yelled urgently as she noticed another shadowy fireball sailing towards the group. Glitterball and one of the unicorn guards raced to project a protective barrier around everyone, barely making it in time to shield them from the blast.

Glimmer Shine and Sunspot fired back at the three ponies on the other side of the room with their strobes, forcing them to dodge their strikes as they aimed at the glowing portions of their bodies affected by shadow magic.

Twilight looked between her side and the three ponies across the room. Whatever had happened in the past few hours, it had changed things drastically. If what Celestia said was true, something even more powerful than Raven Feather had gotten into her younger brother and used his body to kill her and Dust Kicker, as well as making them and Shadow Mist into its slaves. Even if the unicorns of the group used their magic to shoot more damaging projectiles at the trio, they could most likely use their old powers to evade the attacks. The purple mare didn’t even want to think about what they could do now that they had massive amounts of dark power surging through their bodies.

“We’ll get Princess Celestia back… we just need a plan to do it. Otherwise we will just be making needless risks and getting nowhere.” Twilight explained in a more level headed tone.

Luna shrugged as she looked at the veritable fire fight going on between the hooded ponies and her own group. The strobes they had were barely doing anything to the ponies even if they hit, only causing Shadow Mist to yelp in pain if a blast hit one of the parts of his body restored by shadow magic. Dust Kicker and Raven Feather barely reacted to anything with more than anger, frustration, or sadistic enjoyment. Otherwise the two ponies were as emotionless as zombies, which given their apparent death and resurrection, probably wasn’t such a bad description.

“Maybe you are right… but what can we do? Who knows how powerful they are now. We could barely contend with them before, but now they are even stronger.” Luna said in a forlorn tone. Twilight was surprised to see the blue alicorn so defeated. The weight of everything happening along with her sister being captured by the enemy must have been getting to her.

As she thought more about what to do, not many options came to the purple mare. As Luna just demonstrated, trying to reach the princess directly would only be met with possible injury or death from the three empowered ponies guarding her.

“Hmm…” Twilight pondered as hard as she could ponder given the situation. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. The idea was feasible, but was it practical? Either way, the unicorn cringed with dread as she realized what her plan would entail.

“I have an idea. Glimmer Shine, are the keys to the magic suppressing cuffs universal?” Twilight asked while turning to the yellow stallion with a hopeful expression. Glimmer Shine stopped firing briefly as he thought about the matter.

“Yes… I believe they are. What th- hey! What are you doing?!” Glimmer asked in surprise as the purple mare walked up to him and reached into one of the pouches on his vest to look for something. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, the unicorn switched to another pouch and tried again, much to the stallion’s discomfort.

“Hold on… got them!” Twilight exclaimed cheerfully while pulling her prize out and holding it up triumphantly. She was holding a small key that looked like the ones used for the hoof cuffs.

“You know, I could have gotten that for you.” Glimmer Shine muttered in an annoyed tone, still getting over the sudden invasion of his personal bubble.

“No time to waste. Listen, I need you guys to put everything you have into firing at them. Use your strobes, use magic, use whatever you have.” Twilight said while looking around to everyone, ensuring that they were included as well.

“But what can we do? If we step hoof out of here they will blow us to kingdom come!” Pinkie Pie said in a concerned tone.

The grim reminder of their situation wasn’t needed for the ponies to realize how much trouble they were in. Glitterball and the unicorn guard were trying their hardest to keep the magical barrier intact, although it was clear just how much of a strain they were under with all of the attacks Shadow Mist and the others were shooting at them. Nearly every few seconds another shadowy projectile or beam exploded into the magical shield, causing more strain on everyone inside in more ways than one.

“I don’t need you to go out there, I just need a distraction.” Twilight said while looking over to the bound alicorn sitting behind the three ponies. As they caught on to what the unicorn was planning, the others frowned with concern.

“You better not try anything stupid Twilight. We already lost you once… we don’t want to lose you again.” Applejack said in a worried tone. The purple mare couldn’t help but to smile as she saw her friends looking at her with loving concern.

“I’ll be fine. Hopefully I can get Princess Celestia’s cuffs off and get back here before they notice.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone.

“You heard her, guys… let’s give them all we’ve got.” Glitterball said while stepping forward and offering her strobe to Applejack. The orange mare hesitantly accepted the small vial and nodded while turning her attention forward.

Sunspot and Glimmer Shine returned fire with their strobes, actually managing to catch a few of the shadowy projectiles in midair before they reached the barrier. Applejack aimed her strobe and opened fire as well, shooting for the weak points in the three ponies’ defense. Glitterball, the unicorn guards, and Rarity used whatever magic they knew to fire magical bolts at the trio or to throw various objects around the room at them. Everyone else merely cheered their friends on and allowed the purple unicorn to slip behind them and out of sight.

Twilight looked back to her friends with a serious expression. They were all giving their best to fight the hooded ponies, even if it was just for show. She had no doubt in her mind that even though they didn’t have weapons, Rainbow Dash and the others would be up there fighting the trio with their bare hooves if they could.

The purple mare looked to Shadow Mist and the others nervously as she prepared to execute her plan. Regardless of whether or not it was because of the influence Grimwood had over them, the trio looked like they would gladly rip her and her friends to shreds given the opportunity. She gulped fearfully as she realized just how close she would be to the three ponies when she teleported behind them to free Celestia.

Finally, her attention shifted to the alicorn behind the three ponies. Celestia was watching the fight from the floor with a worried expression on her face. She was clearly weak judging from the way she was laying, doubtlessly from when she fought the hooded ponies and got captured. However, the metallic cuffs around her front legs were the only thing keeping her from escaping.

Lighting up her horn and concentrating on the area behind the three ponies across the room, Twilight steeled herself and teleported. As she blinked out of existence and blinked right back near the princess, she quickly raced to her side and started unlocking her cuffs.

“Twilight?” Celestia said in a hushed tone of surprise as she looked to the purple mare.

“Come on Princess, we’re getting out of here.” Twilight replied while fitting the key into the small lock on the cuffs and sliding them off. The unicorn started helping the alicorn to her feet, until she heard the red stallion behind her exclaim in surprise.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” Shadow Mist asked in a stunned tone as he saw what the unicorn was doing. The stallion quickly raced to raise his hoof to the two mares and channeled shadow energy to it.

“Ack!” Twilight yelped in fright while recoiling from the sight of the roaring aura of shadows around the stallion’s hoof. She tried to think of a spell to use to defend herself, but by the time she thought of something, Shadow Mist shot a ball of dark flames out of his hoof.

Twilight covered her head with her arms and fell backwards in a vain attempt at dodging the strike. Before she could see her life flashing before her eyes, she heard a magical flash and felt herself moving slightly.

“Huh…?” Twilight muttered in a confused tone while uncovering her face and looking around. She discovered that she was still lying on the floor, but now she was across the room behind her friends. The unicorn looked up to see Princess Celestia standing above her with her horn still lit up from a spell.

“Celestia!” Luna exclaimed in excitement while rushing up to her sister and briefly hugging her. After sharing a tender embrace with her sibling, the white alicorn adopted a more serious expression to her face.

“Everyone follow me. We need to retreat and regroup.” Celestia explained while motioning towards the door. The others briefly glanced over to the trio of ponies across the room before silently agreeing that they could all use a moment to recover.

“Why you little… Stop right there!” Shadow Mist yelled angrily while firing off a bolt of shadow energy towards the group. The shadowy projectile crashed into the barrier that was still being made by Glitterball and the guards. Raven Feather and Dust Kicker tried a few more attacks of varying strength, only to achieve nothing as the ponies headed to the door and escaped.

The last shadow ball thrown by Shadow Mist slammed into the door as it closed behind the ponies, leaving a large scorch mark and a small crack in the door. The red stallion ran across the room to give chase to the fleeing group. He turned around to see if his two companions were following him, only to discover that they were standing in place.

“What are you doing?! We need to go after them!” Shadow Mist yelled in a frustrated tone. Raven Feather and Dust Kicker silently stared at the red stallion with indifferent expressions, their glowing eyes fixed on him like they were expecting him to carry on with his day.

“Right… you want to stay close to Shade… *Sigh*” Shadow Mist shrugged and looked back to the door while deep in thought. Finally he shook his head and walked back over to the pair.

“I guess we can just wait for them to come back… however long that might take.” Shadow Mist droned in an annoyed tone as he sat down and prepared to wait. He had to keep watch over his master in the trophy room, and he would need to stay at his post to do so. Still, he wished that he had someone to keep up a conversation with, and his two undead comrades were silent as the grave.

“Ugh…” Tom groaned slightly as he became aware of his surroundings again. The world before him was black, and a myriad of sounds filled the air. As the sounds around him focused more, he realized that there were birds chirping softly nearby. There was also a gentle and cool breeze blowing around him. The strange sensations he was getting confused the human, but he could scarcely piece together his foggy memories to figure out what was going on.

He was dead, or at least he thought so. Tom was no stranger to the concept of death, but he was certain that he was going to stay dead this time. Or was he still alive? The hazy feeling in his head and his numb body made it hard to infer whether or not he was actually still living. Was this the afterlife?

Once the feeling returned to his body, the boy found that the strange blackness he was stuck in was only because his eyes were closed. Peaking open one eye revealed only a blinding light that forced him to shield his eyes and revisit the calm blackness he had awoken in. After taking a few moments to adjust to the light, the human looked around to see where he was.

“Woah…” Tom exclaimed in absolute astonishment as he took in his surroundings. He was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of what seemed to be a public park. There was a stone path cutting through the grass in front of him, and there were trees all around that rustled with the breeze.

“What the heck…? What is this place?” The boy asked in a confused tone. Strangely though, he had the feeling that he had been here before.

“Look familiar?” A male voice from beside him rang out suddenly, catching the human off guard. “I suppose it is a beautiful sight.” The voice spoke again. As Tom recognized the voice from distant memory, he froze suddenly with shock. Slowly turning his head to view his strange companion, he saw the last thing he expected to see.

There was another human, and not only that, but a human that the slayer knew. The human was a teenage boy around Tom’s age and height. He had medium length black hair that was parted in the middle to keep it out of his eyes, which were brown in color. He was wearing a pair of denim jeans and an orange shirt with short sleeves.

“H-Henry?” Tom asked in a stunned tone. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head before looking back at the boy in front of him. There was no doubt about it. This was his friend since childhood. The same one that was with him on the fateful night he died and became a slayer.

“Heh… not quite.” The boy said with a slight chuckle while leaning back on the bench. “I’m not Henry. I’m simply… borrowing his image for now. I thought it might be better for you to talk to a familiar face.” He added in a kind tone.

“Where am I? And… if you’re not Henry, then who are you?” Tom asked in a slightly uneasy tone.

“You don’t recognize this place? I thought it would be perfect for our little chat.” The boy said while looking around at the luscious scenery. As Tom took another look around, he felt fond memories flooding back to him.

“Oh yeah… this is the park in my home town. We used to go here all the time after school. Well… me and Henry did anyway.” Tom clarified while turning back to the strange person using his friend’s face.

“Ah yes, I suppose you must be curious as to who I am.” The boy stated while noting the confused look on the slayer’s face. Tom waited for him to introduce himself, but he simply sat still and stared ahead with an amused expression for several seconds.

“Well…? Who are you?” Tom asked in a bewildered tone.

“That is the question isn’t it? Well… I suppose you could say I am an interested party. For the moment however, you can call me Clarence if you want.” The boy said with a slight smirk. Tom nearly cringed so hard that it was audible as he thought about his strange companion’s choice in name.

“Really... Clarence? That’s a bit cliché don’t you think? Are you an angel or something?” Tom asked curiously.

“Aww… where would the fun in that be if I told you what I am? The grand powers behind all of the universe’s inner workings tend to feel a little less grand if you can put a name and a face to them.” Clarence said in a lighthearted manner.

“Fair enough.” Tom nodded in understanding as he thought about the boy’s logic. “Ok… Clarence, what am I doing here?” He asked while looking around at the park and wondering why he was even conscious right now.

“You’re here because you failed. You were under too much fatigue, and you didn’t have the will to continue, so you died.” Clarence explained in a more stoic tone.

“Oh no… Twilight. Is she...” Tom hesitated as he remembered what he was doing before he died.

“She is alive… for the moment. You did a pretty good job with that one Tom. No other slayer has managed something like that.” Clarence said in an impressed tone.

“Really? I did it?” Tom asked while raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“Well… I might have given you a bit of help towards the end there, but it was mostly you. Not a bad way for a slayer to go out.” Clarence said with a slight chuckle.

“What’s going to happen to them now?” Tom asked in a more somber tone. Clarence adopted a more serious expression while leaning forward and resting his clasped hands on his lap.

“They are facing terrible powers that their world has never seen before. And as for their future… well, I don’t know what the outcome will be, but their fate looks grim.” Clarence said while looking ahead somberly.

“What?! What do you mean grim?!” Tom asked in an agitated tone. “You should help them! They don’t deserve this punishment. Their world is pure and good… at least when compared to mine.” He added while looking down hesitantly.

“I can’t do anything to help them. I’ve already interfered more than I should have. You see, I’m not supposed to interact with the mortal world in any way.” Clarence explained with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“What about the slayers? I’m assuming that since you brought me here that you’re the one that created them. I would say bringing dead people back to life and giving them otherworldly powers is as much interference as you can get.” Tom stated while controlling his anger and glaring at the strange boy.

“You are correct… I did indeed raise you and all of the other slayers.” Clarence said in an understanding tone. He looked over to see Tom looking away from him with a frustrated expression, as if he were dealing with the stress of knowing that there was nothing he could do to help his friends.

“Let me tell you something Tom.” Clarence said in a friendly tone, eliciting the slayer to turn and look at him. “I’m not by any means the most powerful being in the universe. In fact, I did not even create the universe. My… well, my boss shall I say, created the world and everything in it. The humans thrived and grew with every other beast of the earth, and strived to learn and create and live.” He continued while thinking about how best to put his explanation. Tom listened intently as his companion went on.

“However… as was inevitable, a great many evils thrived along with the rest of the world and spread all across it. Dark magic… monsters… beings from other worlds and dimensions entirely, all seeking to kill and destroy and corrupt. My colleagues and I detested the state the world was in. However, every time I would go to my boss, he would send me away with the same explanation. Boss, I would say… the world is corrupt and evil creatures threaten to destroy all you have created. And he would say, do not interfere, because everything is as it should be.” Clarence explained in a pensive tone.

“That sounds a bit stupid in my opinion… wait, your boss isn’t listening is he?” Tom asked in a nervous tone while looking around. Clarence chuckled warmly at the human’s statement.

“Don’t worry, he has a good sense of objectivity and humor.” Clarence explained before continuing. “Anyway… the years went by, and man learned to make tools and keep himself sheltered from the harsh world around him. But as humankind advanced and spread across the globe, so too did the forces of evil. Once again I went to my boss, and I pleaded for him to intervene, or even to let us intervene for him.” He said with a sincere sense of emotion in his voice.

“Let me guess… that went about as well as the first time?” Tom asked curiously.

“Heh, you’re quick on the uptake aren’t you?” Clarence asked with a smirk. “More years went by, and more evils were wrought upon the world of man. The innocent and the unclean alike would be slaughtered by the many evil creatures of the world, and even by the hand of their fellow man. One last time I went to my boss, and I begged him. Please… they are undeserving of this torment. I pray you, let us intervene and save them. And my boss… in all his wisdom, turned to me and said… If you want someone to intervene for them, let them intervene on their own behalf.” He said in a more quiet tone.

“The slayers…” Tom said as he caught on to the boy’s meaning, to which he nodded.

“And around that time, down on the earth, a young Arthur Redwood was dying to protect the kingdom he loved. I felt for his plight… so I raised him and molded him to fight back against the forces of evil. I even gave him my own personal weapons to fight with.” Clarence said while gently taking ahold of Tom’s hand. Tom watched in amazement as the familiar sight of flames sprouted from his fingertips and formed into his spirit weapon.

“My claws…?” Tom asked in a confused tone. Clarence let go of his hand, causing the weapons to vanish against the boy’s will.

“Why else do you think that only you and Arthur received claws as your spirit weapons? I gave them to Arthur because he was my first soldier… the first person to fight against all of the evils of the world. And I gave them to you, because you were the first person to be sent to fight all of the evils of a new world.” Clarence explained with a more stoic expression.

“So you were the one who sent me to Equestria that night. Out in the woods… the bright light.” Tom said in an intrigued tone.

“I must say, none of us expected a new form of life to take the place of humanity, and we certainly didn’t expect it to be ponies of all things. Still, their world was full of love and harmony and they lived in peace, so we let them be. Until that is… some evil from the past lingered through the years and resurfaced in the new world of Equestria. They needed someone to protect them… we needed someone to protect them as we had needed someone to protect humanity.” Clarence said while looking to the boy next to him suggestively.

“But… why me? I… I’m not special. I’m certainly not the strongest slayer to exist. I was going to give up and die for crying out loud… why did you pick me?” Tom asked in a confused tone.

“Because you were perfect for the role. You distanced yourself from humanity, and you felt like you didn’t have anyone to talk to or be friends with. But at the same time, you still felt the need to protect that most slayers felt, which was why I chose you to become a slayer in the first place. Sending you to Equestria was the best choice… and the only choice we had.” Clarence looked down hesitantly as he continued.

“Why pick me though? Why didn’t you choose Henry in the first place? He could have done a much better job.” Tom said with a slight shrug.

“Well, you did a fairly decent job yourself. Considering your age, you did better than many other people thrust into the life of a slayer.” Clarence explained in a reassuring tone.

“I didn’t exactly do well enough though…” Tom frowned and looked down sadly as he thought about his failure to stop Raven Feather.

“Maybe you should go back? Beat the hooded ponies, save the day… be the slayer I made you to be.” Clarence suggested in an optimistic tone. Tom shrugged as he thought about his fight with Raven Feather. He probably wouldn’t be able to do anything to help if he went back.

“I don’t think I should go back. I lost… I couldn’t beat Raven Feather if I wanted to. They need someone dependable that can protect them… someone else. Maybe I should just stay here…” Tom sighed in a depressed tone while leaning back on the bench.

“Hmm…” Clarence said in a surprised tone while pausing slightly. “Maybe you’re right.” He added with a pensive expression while leaning back as well. He watched the boy as he stared up at the sky and thought to himself. Tom seemed to have had the fight taken out of him, and he was perfectly content with giving up and staying dead.

Minutes of silence went by as the two sat on the bench together. Tom looked down at the floor and frowned sadly, while Clarence simply watched him with a curious expression. Neither of them broke the peaceful atmosphere of the park as the wind blew and the birds chirped, a seemingly still picture of a happier time for the slayer. Perhaps he could finally move on and rest after everything he had been through.