The moment Tantabus teleported the five into the castle, she immediately left with no trace of her being there. While most thought this to be rude, especially Rarity who was expecting some sort of conversation between her and Tantabus, all found this worrying. What was she in such a rush to do? The team couldn't think about that now: They had to save Fluttershy!

They all looked around and saw that the castle was very dimly lit, with only a few torches here and there lighting the area. The carpet was a lovely shade of velvet-red, and the walls were painted a nice beige color. Rarity, again, took more interest in the detail than the others, but still decided to pass the finely made things off as yesterday's news.

"Humph... I seen better than this rubbish" Rarity stated "I mean, perhaps the velvet does feel... rather nice, but the beige simply does not clash with the lighting nor the carpet!"

"No time fer lookin', Rare" Applejack reminded her friend "We have ta find Fluttershy, and fast!

"Yeah, who knows what that creep has done to her by this point" Rainbow said, an anger soon welling up inside her "I swear, when I find him, I won't just kill him, oh no... I'll burn his castle down, then kill him again!"

"Easy now, Rainbow" Twilight eased her friend "You can do all that and more, but we have to rescue Fluttershy first. Do we have ANY idea where she might be?"

"Oooh! Oooh! Why not the west wing?" Pinkie suggested "Important stuff is always held in the west wing!"

"Well, that's certainly... a lead" Rarity said confusingly.

"But that's literally the only thin' we got" Applejack sighed.

"Well, let's start with the west wing of the castle" Twilight nodded "And if that doesn't work, we could always to the east wing later... Or we could split up..."

"Split up?" Rainbow wondered.

"Yes, that's what I said" Twilight reminded her friend "If we split up into two groups, we can cover more ground a lot faster. We've split up before, so we shouldn't have a problem doing it again."

"Yes, but darling, may I remind you this is the residence of a crazed psychopath who kidnaps any who he thinks is he wife, stores them away in this place, and kills them should he discover they aren't actually his wife" Rarity explained again "More than likely, that crazed psychopath is in this house as we speak! How will we be able to deal with him should we encounter him?"

"Beat him with a stick?" Rainbow snickered, but stopping after everyone started giving her looks "...sorry."

"I think we should try to hold him off as much as we can" Twilight suggested "He's powerful, but at least, I hope, not invulnerable. Any spell or weapon should be able to touch him."

"Then we split off then" Applejack nodded with a grin "But who'll go with who?"

"Hmm..." Twilight pondered before giving her answer "There should be at least one mage and one physical attacker on each team, so I'll go with Applejack to the west wing, and Rainbow and Rarity should go to the east wing. But that leaves Pinkie..."

"I know!" Pinkie ecstatically bounced up and down "Why don't I go with Twilight and Applejack to the west wing? Rainbow Dash and Rarity will find someone in the east wing who can help them, I'm sure!"

"How CAN you be sure, Pinkie?" Rainbow questioned.

"Eh, just a hunch."

"Well, Pinkie's theories have yet to be proven wrong" Twilight remembered earlier that day "Alright, I can deal with that. Lord Dario probably has someone stored away in the east wing anyway. Alright, everyone go in their assigned groups and split up! We have to find Fluttershy at all costs!"

"Right!" everyone nodded at the same time before joining each other and walking off left and right.

"EEEEEEK!!" Rarity screamed in fright.

"Rarity, what is it?!" Rainbow quickly turned around and faced her friend "Is it a monster?! Lord Dario?! Heck, I'll even settle for a dead guy because of your nature!"

"These walls don't compliment at ALL with with the floors!" Rarity cried, causing Rainbow to groan "Oh, but darling, yellow carpeting doesn't go with dark, dank prison colors. That's not to say prison colors are bad, but my eyes are burning with horribleness! The horribleness of mismatched colors!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Rarity!" Rainbow slapped her across the face.

"Ow..." she rubbed her cheek "...y-you're right. Sorry, darling. Now, this place... it sort of..."

"Looks just like a prison, you're right" Rainbow finished her friend's sentence "This must be where he keeps all of the people he thought was Posey, and kills them later on. There might not even be anyone left."

"If there are, we should save them as well" Rarity brought up "Not only would it be the right thing to do, but some could have some valuable information on where Fluttershy is."

"Oi, did someone say Fluttershy?" echoed a distant, Scottish female voice "Hey! Hey, if you're lookin' for her, I know where Lord Dario put her! Just, y'know, lemme out!"

"Whoever could that be?" Rarity wondered.

"I dunno, but it sounded like she came from over there" Rainbow pointed down the long hallway of a prison "Um... somewhere... Hey! Which cell are you in?!"

"What? I dunno!" the voice shouted "If I see you, I'll call out ta you!"

"How can we be sure we can trust you?" Rainbow questioned "How do we know you're not some kinda spy?"

"Well, you're not goin' ta figure it out unless you get over here" the voice brought up a good point "C'mon, it's gettin' really stuffy in here, and since I was thrown in here, I've done nothin' but wander around my cell. Please you gotta help me! If you do, I promise you that Fluttershy will be able to recognize me as a friend!"

"We have a choice, darling" Rarity placed a hand on her friend's shoulder "But I think if this woman is telling the truth, she could prove helpful in our search."

"Well..." Rainbow sighed "...okay, I trust you..." she turned back to the hallway and called down it once again "Yo lady! We're coming for you, so hang tight!"

"Thank you, really!" the voice echoed down again.

"Rare, if she turns out to be a huge dick... ironic because she's a girl..." Rainbow began "I expect 2000 bits from you."

"We share the precise amount of bits though, darling" Rarity pointed out.

"Oh, shut-up..." Rainbow rolled her eyes as she continued down the hall, Rarity soon following her.

Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, where a single cell was right in front of them. Inside the cage was a woman that looked strikingly like Fluttershy, only she had short hair and wore a white vest, kilt and tam o'shanter on her head. She looked extremely agitated being cooped up in the prison cell for so long.

"Oi! Took you long enough" the woman scoffed "Now could you unlock that door? My fist isn't strong enough ta break it."

"You're a Monk, darling?" Rarity wondered "Hmm, yes, that will be quite helpful to have for now. Rainbow Dash, I do believe we had a deal, did we not?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Rainbow waved her finger a bit "The conditions were that if I won, you had to pay me 2000 bits, not the other way around. Besides, we're still not sure if she's some sort of spy yet."

"I'm no spy!" the woman shouted

"Oh, fine..." Rarity sighed before looking back at the woman "By the way, darling, I never quite got your name."

"The name's Reed Pipes, or just Pipes for short" the woman grinned "Ace Monk and countryside girl, at your service. Hey, you're a Dragoon, right? Never been to Cloudsdale. Is it ni-"

"NO!" Rainbow Dash shouted, causing her to jump back.

"Alright, alright, no need ta get your panties in a twist..." Pipes rolled her eyes "Anyway, get me outta here! I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to last cooped up in here."

"Fire!" Rarity raised her rod and cast a small flame on the cell's lock, melting it and allowing Pipes to escape "There we go. Do you feel better, darling?"

"Yes, much better" Pipes stretched as she got out of her cage "Now, as I promised, if you guys are looking for Fluttershy, or rather Posey, she's in the west wing."

"The west wing, huh?" Rainbow questioned "Sounds like the others will get to her first. Well, we better head back then, Rare. No point in sticking around this awful place."

"Wait, hang on a minute" Pipes spoke up "I'm comin' with you, yeah?!"

"Rainbow Dash, I'm sure she won't get in the way... too much" Rarity tried to convince her friend "Besides, we have no idea what may happen in the future. Any sort of help would be greatly appreciated and, dare I say, needed."

"Fine..." Rainbow sighed "But one hint of betrayal and she gets a spear in her back. No hard feelings?"

"Some taken" Pipes flatly stated.

"Great!" Rainbow nodded before walking off. Pipes, however, stopped her.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash, was it?" she began "If the need arises for any sort o' escape from this place, I know a good place ta go. Once we get Posey, of course."

"Thanks, but..." Rainbow breathed in and out "...please, call her Fluttershy. I'm sure after this entire time escaping that name of Posey, she wouldn't want to be called anything else but the name we met her with."

"Fair enough."

"Very well, darlings, let us meet up with the others then" Rarity nodded and began walking with Rainbow Dash and Pipes back to the entrance of the east wing "By the way, there may have been one or seven monsters I spotted whilst walking this way. I say we take them out quickly and quietly."

"Wow, Rarity" Rainbow chuckled "I expected you to at least be a little bit scarred of the monsters in this place."

"Years of being in a cave have taught me that monsters are nothing to be afraid of" Rarity stuck her nose into the air "In fact, I have grown to be rather fond of them."

"Is that why you nearly freaked out when you saw that Scorpio?" Rainbow smirked.

"...Mute" Rarity blushed from embarrassment a bit, forcing her to use her rod and silence her friend for the remainder of the walk "Now, you just stay there and be a good girl until we exit this foul place."

"Hahaha! That is too funny!" Pipes laughed, much to Rainbow's dismay.

(Music Stop)

"Ugh! Her room has to be around here somewhere!" Twilight frantically searched the entire west wing, opening doors, checking them quickly and closing them a few seconds later "Here? No. Here? No. Here? OH SWEET JESUS, NO!! Ugh... This is hopeless! There are just too many doors here! We'll never be able to find her in time!" a few strands of hair began sticking up on her head.

"Calm down, Twi" Applejack placed a hand on her friend's back "Jus' try ta relax, okay?"

"CAN'T YOU SEE I'M PERFECTLY RELAXED?!!" Twilight snapped.

"Nope! You're all tense and stuff!" Pinkie observed "You're even screaming and shouting and stuff!"

"Kaw!" Spike nuzzled his owner in an attempt to cheer her up.

"See, even Spike wants ya ta try and relax a bit" Applejack pointed out "Yer panicking too much, and ah dun think Fluttershy would want ta come back and see a sad Twilight, would she?"

"...no, I guess not" Twilight sighed.

"Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?" said a voice familiar to her, for better or for worse "My goodness, it's been far too long! How have you been? Oh, I see you've brought a few new friends as well! How wonderful."

"Discord... A pleasure..." Twilight sighed, turning around and going face-to-face with the crazy bounty hunter "What are you doing here? Are you working for Lord Dario? That honestly wouldn't surprise me."

"Twilight, who is this?" Applejack wondered.

"This, Applejack is the most messed up guy you'll ever meet" Twilight explained to her "He works for money, being the bounty hunter he is, but he doesn't exactly do things the way most hunters would. While most would complete their job and get paid later, Discord here will find any and all loopholes to back stab, sometimes literally, his employer and take the cash afterwards."

"You remembered!" Discord shed a single tear "That's so thoughtful of you... Then again, you described me in the utmost cruelest way. I don't back stab my employers: I simply punish them for not reading the rules right."

"Super duper nice to meet you, Discord!" Pinkie Pie bounced "I'm Pinkie Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie, or Pie! But not like pie, pie, but pie as in my name Pie! But you probably already knew that!"

"Pinkie Pie, eh?" Discord looked closely at her "Hmm... You look familiar, but I don't know why..."

"Discord, I'm still waiting on an answer" Twilight tapped her foot.

"Oh, of course! How silly of me!" Discord clapped his hands together "I am indeed working for Lord Dario, but-" everyone sheathed their weapons "A bit quick on the draw, hmm? No matter; this is simply natural mortal reaction, I suppose."

"You better have a good reason why we shouldn't fight you right here right now" Twilight growled.

"I have several! Ohohohoho!!" Discord laughed "Fighting me would be fruitless because I would win, even if you could somehow match my power I would just reflect it with my Mime powers... Oh, and freed Fluttershy."

"You freed Fluttershy?" Twilight wondered.

"Yes, indeed" Discord smiled "I was tasked with putting her in her room and guarding it, giving her anything that she required. Naturally, she required to escape the room, so I let her out and continued guarding the room!"

"That's... actually pretty darn clever..." Applejack couldn't help but smile at the loophole.

"So where is she now?" Twilight eased up a bit.

"I haven't a clue" Discord shrugged "The last I saw of her, she turned the hallway's corner and continued running away. The only reason I'm here is because I got bored with guarding a normal door."

"Oh for the love of... YOU LET HER OUT IN A CASTLE OWNED BY A PSYCHOPATH?!!" Twilight shouted.

"That's what I said, yes" Discord nodded "But if it makes you feel any better, I will help you find out where Fluttershy had gone off to... for a small fee."

"No!" Twilight shouted "You're helping us find Fluttershy whether you like it or not! It's your fault she could be captured by Dario, or worse... Surely you can find it in your heart to help us?"

"...oh fine" Discord rolled his eyes "But only because I see Fluttershy as a good friend of mine."

"What?"

"Nothing!~"

"Alright, y'all" Applejack motioned her arm to make the others follow her back "Let's head back then. Only one way Shy could've gone was this way, so the main entrance should be our next stop."

"Right back to square one, I guess" Twilight shrugged "Okay, follow Applejack, you guys."

(Music Stop)

Suddenly, Pinkie's body began to spasm, starting with her ears flopping about, then her left arm and finally her torso. The others looked at her in curiosity before she finally stopped. Her normally happy and bubbly face soon turned into one of worry and utter panic. She started screaming uncontrollably, running around the entire room before being stopped by Applejack 'accidentally' tripping her.

"An ear flop, left arm wiggle and torso shake, Twilight!" Pinkie shouted, getting back up and grabbing Twilight by her robe collar "Do you have any idea what that means?!"

"Um... I don't-"

"IT MEANS SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED TO SOMEONE!!!" she clutched her head and freaked out again, only stopping after Applejack once again 'accidentally' tripped her back to sense.

"Wait, you mean Fluttershy could be in danger?!" Twilight caught wind almost immediately.

"Worse!" Pinkie nearly pulled out some of her hair "It means something bad already happened to Fluttershy!"

"Then every other reason ta get back as soon as possible!" Applejack nodded, taking her friends' hands and dragging them along, leaving Discord behind "C'mon, y'all! Let's go! Ya too, Discord!"

"Ugh... Always playing second-fiddle, aren't I?" Discord groaned before joining the others.

After rushing out into the main foyer, still dimly lit as ever, the four met up with the other team who had also completed their round, now interestingly with a new member. After a few more introductions, the four explained to the three what had happened thus far in their side of the castle, even what may have happened to Fluttershy.

"So... She's gone..." Rainbow sighed "Goddammit, Discord, why couldn't you just have stayed with her?!"

"That wasn't in my contract, Rainbow" Discord smiled "Though I am starting to regret just allowing her to run off like that... She is my friend, after all."

"Oh, don't even get started with that bull-"

"Rainbow, calm yourself, please!" Rarity urged "You mustn't yell, especially in this foyer. It echoes, and it might attract unwanted attention from someone we have all come to loath."

"R-Right... Sorry..." Rainbow sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Speaking of, I think I'm just about ready ta beat this guy down" Pipes cupped her fist in her hand "So we get back Fluttershy, kill the dastard, then escape usin' the escape route we found. Sounds like the perfect plan to me!"

"While ah think gettin' back Fluttershy as fast as we can is the number one priority," Applejack began "ah think we should come up with a far more elaborate plan than jus' go in and kick his ass."

"Gotta agree with Pipes on this: the sooner and simpler we do this, the better" Rainbow stated "Besides, haven't we just winged everything before? We'll be find, don't worry! What's the worst some creepy guy in black robes can do anyway?"

"Mmmm~ Perhaps not a man..." echoed a familiar, but at the same time distant female voice to the group. They frantically looked around the foyer, hoping to catch a glimpse of who the person who spoke to them was. But she stayed well hidden, much to the dismay of the team. Discord, surprisingly stepped forward and smiled.

"Oh Fluttershy, you needn't be scared of us" he chuckled "Come out and show us that lovely face of yours."

"Fluttershy?" Applejack question "...well, the more ah think 'bout it..."

"...the more you realize that IS Fluttershy" Twilight gasped "Fluttershy, what are you doing? Where are you? Is Lord Dario forcing you to do this? We're here to get you back! Just hang tight and-"

"Oh, Twilight..." Fluttershy's giggle echoed through the hall "Can't you see I'm perfectly happy with spending the rest of my days with Lord Dario?"

"...what?" Pipes questioned "Fluttershy, you can't be serious."

"Foolish mortals!" Fluttershy shouted "I am not Fluttershy, as you apparently like to call me. Nay, I am Posey, the lovely flower bride to the powerful Lord Dario."

She finally revealed herself in front of the door leading to the throne room of the castle with a puff of black smoke. As soon as the smoke faded away, the group took a closer look at her and saw that her cream yellow skin had darkened slightly, her long pink hair was now ruffled a bit, and her ears were now fuzzier with pointed hair on them. She wore a green that went down to her ankles and revealed the left side of her thigh and leg, and around the shoulders of the dress were light green ruffled feathers. Her eyes had turned a bright red color, and in her hair was a hairpin shaped like a bat that kept her messy hair in check.

"Fluttershy..." Rainbow spoke under her breath.

"Ahahaha!! Do you like her?" a laugh came from behind them, to which they all turned and saw Lord Dario had somehow appeared there with a large smile on his face, showing his true, sadistic nature "She's mine now, you pathetic mortals! None of you may have her! Only she can be mine!"

"That is just borderline creepy" Rarity scoffed "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Ashamed, she says?" Dario laughed as he teleported right next to Posey "The only ones who should be ashamed here are you! You took her away from me and kept her from me! My search would have been over if you hadn't gotten in the way!"

"What did you do with her?!" Rainbow shouted.

"I simply gave her the only things she'll ever need in her life" Dario explained "The unquenchable thirst to love me, and immortality so her beauty may last through the ages!"

"Immortality?" Twilight questioned "That's impossible. No one can live forever, unless you were some sort of all-powerful being. And while I can admit you are a very powerful mage, immortality is well out of anyone's grasp."

"Actually, darling..." Rarity spoke up "Both him and Fluttershy may be Vampires."

"Excuse me?" Twilight's expression turned into one of shock and confusion "Vampires? You can't be serious!"

"Remember when my father spoke to us about Blue Mages?" Rarity reminded her friend "I had done some studying in my free time when I was younger and discovered there was actually a sub-job to Blue Mages known as Vampires, which were much more combat-central and aggressive."

"The Vampires then proceeded to wipe out every known Blue Mage in the world, but not before they got into a war that annihilated both forces" Posey recalled "At least, that's what my husband told me. As far as I'm aware, we are the only surviving members of the Vampire/Blue Mage race. Lord Dario has even witnessed the battle for himself!"

"Indeed, my lovely flower" Dario chuckled.

"Whoa! You're super old!" Pinkie gasped.

"Ngh!" Dario winced "I am not old! I haven't aged since the day I became a Vampire."

"But... Fluttershy..." Rainbow sighed "She's a Vampire now, but..." she breathed in and out before pointing at Dario 'Okay, listen up, Lord Dick-io!" Dario became cross by that insult "Whatever you did to Fluttershy's head doesn't matter! If you think some kind of sick forced love will work, it won't! Fluttershy is still in there... and we plan on getting her back and kicking your ass!"

"Forced love?" Posey wondered "Dario, whatever is she talking about?"

"Nothing, my dear, I assure you" Lord Dario relaxed his wife "Now, will you please see our... guests out?"

"Of course, my love" Posey began slowly walking toward the group "Poor mortals... You are very fortunate I'm in a good mood today, so I'll ask you to please leave our castle now, or I'll have to kill you."

"Fluttershy, darling, you have to snap out of it!" Rarity plead "This isn't you! You must come back to your senses!"

"I had told you to stop calling me that name!" Posey shouted "Inferior peasants! I will end you!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Discord grumbled as Posey stuck out her hand and charged an attack. Lord Dario, however, stopped her. He placed a finger on her chin and raised her head up a bit before kissing her. After ending the moment, he looked at the group and shook his head.

"Posey, my dear, these mortals aren't worth the trouble" he said "I finally have you back after years of searching, and I wouldn't want to spoil the day with... more death."

"Hmm... You're right, my love" Posey blushed "Let us ignore these whelps and enjoy our time together..."

With that, they brought an arm around each others' back and walked away from the others, opening the door to the throne room and entering it, closing the door behind them with a great slam that reverberated through the foyer. All stood shocked, but Twilight was quick to speak up. She smiled, knowing something incredible had just happened.

(Music Stop)

"Guys, did you not see that?" Twilight wondered.

"See what?" Pipes asked.

"All I saw was a dick taking away Fluttershy..." Rainbow stated before blushing a bit "Um... Don't take that out of context..."

"That! Exactly that!" Twilight pointed at Rainbow, much to her confusion "You're blushing! Fluttershy blushed! Blushing occurs when you become embarrassed or extremely happy."

"Like me!" Pinkie cheered.

"Yes, like you, Pinkie" Twilight smiled "But that's not all: blushing only works if you have blood in your body."

"Blood?" Rainbow wondered "But Vampires aren't supposed to have blood... unless..."

"Fluttershy isn't a Vampire!" Twilight grinned "There's still a chance we can save Fluttershy!"

"Then what are we waiting for, darling?" Rarity questioned with a triumphant smile "Let's make for the throne room post-haste! Just be warned everyone that whatever awaits for us on the other side of the door, I smell the horrid stench of a battle."

"That was a given... But you're right, we should prepare" Pipes nodded.

"Everyone take a few minutes to get yourselves ready" Twilight nodded "The second we're all ready to go and get our friend back, we bust through that door! And we WILL get Fluttershy back!"

Author's Notes:

Epic moment foretelling the coming of the next battle! But who will it be against? Will it be the team verses the Lord Dario, or the team verses something even they wouldn't dare harm?

This chapter took a while to get out mainly because of school and the sort. But now that it's the weekend, I'll have a lot more time to get out the final two chapters of this arc. Every arc will have 7 chapters, BTW, as per tradition of the story. And as per usual, each chapter will have the word "The" at the beginning because... Actually, no real reason. It was just kind of a thing that popped into my mind when I was writing this thing. Probably just to sound edgier or some shit, I dunno.

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow, and until then, dream on everyone!