"Ooh, I'm detecting a lot of frowny faces near here!" Pinkie Pie giggled, having still failed to see the intensity of the battle before her. "Looks like they really need a huge dose of happiness! Maybe a Pinkie Pie-style party can cheer them up!"

"Of course they'll be frowning when they're in the middle of a bloody battle, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash yelled, unable to push the frustrated anger boiling within her down any further.

"They what?" Pinkie blinked, her mane deflating as she finally realized the truth. "Oh," she mumbled half-heartedly as she turned away miserably.

"Oh, it's fine, darling," Rarity tried to comfort the pink mare as she laid a hoof on her shoulder. "We're all under a lot of stress from Twilight's... predicament."

"Ah wouldn't blame ya for bein' like ya are right now," Applejack sighed, "we're all tryin' ta avoid the truth, y'know."

"Yeah, sorry, Pinkie. I shouldn't have lost it like that; it makes me 20% uncool than normal," Rainbow apologized, embarrassed.

Pinkie gave the rainbow-maned pegasus a small smile as she embraced her. "It's alright, Dashie, I forgive you."

"You do? Thanks a lot, Pinkie! I would never be able to forgive myself if you were still mad at me!" Rainbow's expression changed to that of relief as she returned the embrace. The hug lasted for a long time, no pony willing to let go like they were stuck to each other by very strong glue, until finally Fluttershy eased them apart gently.

"Right," Rainbow cleared her throat, blushing slightly as she did so, "I reckon we'll have to take care of those... are those dead ponies fighting over there?"

As soon as she began squinting - her view was quite flawed from there since all she could see was the glinting of sunlight on the crystalline weapons that the crystal ponies used - to see if her theory was true, a loud gasp sounded from Rarity. Immediately, their attention was drawn to their fashionista friend as they watched her face completely flush of any color.

"Hey, uh, Rarity? You okay?" Rainbow questioned, ignoring the stinging pain of her eyes that she was suffering as a result of squinting too hard. "You don't look so good to me. What's wrong?"

"King Sombra used necromancy, a forbidden type of dark magic, to revive the dead and enslave them to fight for him," Rarity whispered.

Their hearts all fell to the pits of their stomachs.

"Now look here, Rarity," Applejack began, trying to process what her friend had just said, "yer tellin' us that those really are dead ponies over there?"

Rarity nodded.

"An' that ol' Sombra used this necromancy magic ta revive the dead and enslave them to do his biddin'?" Applejack persisted, acknowledging that the answer wouldn't be to her liking at all.

Another nod from the white unicorn.

"Buck this! Even if he really used this so-called necromancy thin', we're still goin' to find Twi and save her!" the farmpony snarled, narrowing her eyes.

"Spot-on, AJ!" Rainbow grinned, hoofbumping Applejack. "So, what's the plan? I've got these babies ready to go at any time!" She spread her wings and flapped them a few times to support her statement.

"We need to get to Twilight as soon as possible," Pinkie finally spoke after a long silence on her part, "even if it means going through all those... undead."

Rarity glanced at the straight-maned mare. "Well yes, darling, but it's too risky and dangerous to go directly into the middle of the fray where most of them are. I say we split up into three groups of two, try to push past those at the edges of the battle to the Crystal Castle, and group up at its entrance. If I've learned anything about King Sombra the last time a disaster like this happened, he should be there with Twilight trying to usurp Princess Cadance and Shining Armor so he could regain what he'd lost."

"Sounds good!" the others agreed, preparing their respective weapons as they divided into their groups: Fluttershy was paired with Rarity, Rainbow Dash with Applejack, and Spike with Pinkie Pie.

At first, Spike wasn't too happy - he wanted to be paired with Rarity instead of Pinkie Pie - but he eventually accepted the truth after some difficulty and followed Pinkie as she led him to the very left of the commotion. On the other hoof, Rarity and Fluttershy went to the very right while Rainbow Dash and Applejack, being the courageous ones, entered through the middle despite the others' protests.

Little did they know that fate would not show them mercy in the coming hours.

Rarity scanned her surroundings uneasily as she trudged on, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to check if Fluttershy was still behind her. For some unknown reason, the area was pretty much deserted and devoid of anypony. It didn't feel right; she was certain that she had at least spotted a few undead around a few minutes ago when she was headed there.

It was also quiet. Too quiet.

Suddenly, fear struck her as she realized that she could no longer detect the sound of Fluttershy's hoofsteps from behind her. She immediately whirled around, only to be greeted with two decaying undead dragging a struggling Fluttershy away despite her slightly heavy armor. One had a grotesque hoof on her mouth - preventing her from screaming for help - while the other one wielded a crystalline axe that was probably stolen from a crystal pony it had brought down.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity's eyes widened as she galloped at full speed toward the undead wielding the axe, her horn glowing with its normal azure aura as multiple rubies appeared in front of her, merging together to form a large ruby sword. As soon as she neared her intended target, her magic propelled her sword forth and it slashed off its head with ease like a knife slicing through butter.

The axe it had previously wielded dropped to the floor with a loud crash, shattering completely, while the now decapitated corpse dropped to the ground, having finally been put to rest.

Rarity turned from the gruesome sight to face the remaining one, her expression one of pure fury. "You'll pay for what you've done, you disgusting corpse!" the unicorn snarled as her ruby sword sped forward and brought the same fate upon it as she'd done to its comrade.

"Ugh!" Fluttershy sputtered as its grip on her loosened. "This is just awful!"

Rarity gave her a small smile, her fury diminishing. "They're quite the disgusting ponies, I agree. Their scents are definitely horrid during death. Oh, how I would love to give them a proper makeover!"

Fluttershy stared at her like she was mad.

"Well, of course I can't since they're dead," Rarity chuckled. "No worries, however. How about we focus on the task at hoof instead of having such a ridiculous conversation on proper undead fashion?"

"Of course!" Fluttershy laughed, smiling.