Fluttershy wandered around the Via Purifico to find her guardians, hoping that they were ok. She had heard this place was dwelling with fiends, a harsh punishment for those who commit heinous crimes or shun nonbelievers of Faust. Now she and her friends were the prisoners, wrongfully put down here because of corrupted maesters, two who are unsent, and allowing the use of machina in her home.

While creeping around the dimly lit halls, she heard magic being cast from afar, along with a few grunts and sounds of weapons piercing through flesh echoing in the maze. Peeking around the corner, she yelped as she ducked her head back, a fiend getting flung back into the wall as it was blasted by a Firaga spell.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as she peeked around the corner again.

"Fluttershy?" The unicorn turned around the corner, happy to see her as she ran up to her. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Where are the others?" she asked.

"I don't know. As soon as I was thrown down here, I've been getting ambushed by fiends, and I think I'm running low on mana." Smarty Pants and Mog dug around Twilight's pockets to find some potion bottles, but the last one she had on her was empty. "And I used up the last of my ethers I kept in an emergency. I don't know why the guards didn't confiscate our weapons or items. It's so illogical if it's supposed to be a death sentence."

"I hope they're ok. This is all my fault." Twilight gently lifted Fluttershy's head up to look at her.

"No it's not. None of us knew any of this. We'll make it out of here," Twilight reassured the pegasus. "I mean, we actually took down Evrae...Well, I mean Rainbow Dash did, but you get the idea." The two mares soon heard a dragon roar echo in the halls as it sounded really close. Spike came charging in, stabbing a fiend into the wall with his spear. "Spike!"

"They call this place a punishment?" Spike scoffed as he whirled his spear around. "The fiends on Mt. Gagazet are more dangerous. In a blizzard."

"Now now, Spike, no need to show off," Rarity said, walking around the corner. "Though I can see you have quite the muscle to take down anything. Perfect attributes to being a guardian."

The dragon rubbed the back of his head as he grinned, subconsciously flexing his muscles to try and impress the white unicorn. "Well, seems like Spike's finally coming out of his shell," Fluttershy whispered to Twilight as the two mares giggled.

"While we were thrown down here, I managed to find an exit. Follow me, everyone." Rarity lead the way as Spike, Fluttershy and Twilight followed.

After navigating through the maze, they found a long hallway that seemed to be an exit. As freedom was in their grasp, somepony walked out from his hiding place behind the stairway. It was Fancy Pants, though he seemed to be blocking the way.

"Fancy Pants? What are you doing here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Trixie and I had rode in on the Al Bhed's airship after getting off of Bikanel. It landed in the Calm Lands, needing some repairs for its first voyage. Quite a thrilling experience to fly through the air." The stallion took off his monocle and cleaned it, looking away from the others.

"So, were you captured too?" Twilight asked.

"...No." Fancy put his monocle back on as he leered at the four prisoners, though he seemed a bit hesitant. "I was...ordered by Maester Star Swirl to 'deal with the traitors in the Via Purifico'...and it had to be you and your guardians."

"Wait, we were falsely accused!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "We've done nothing wrong!"

"She's right, Fancy Pants," Twilight added. "Blueblood and Star Swirl are unsent, and they're ruining all the teachings we were all taught for so long!"

"...I believe you two. I know you aren't one to lie, Lady Fluttershy...but I have no choice." Fancy's horn glowed as he began to summon, standing on his hind legs.

"What of your family, Fancy? They aren't going to watch you attack those who are considered innocent?" Rarity asked, almost making the stallion falter.

"...No. I don't wish for them to see me do something like this...They would only loathe me for harming somepony as innocent as you." Fancy summoned Ifrit, calling the beast from the depths of the earth as he broke free from his molten prison. "And if I have to, I have no choice but to kill you to keep them safe from the maesters if I fail!"

"...Fancy..." With no choice but to fight, Fluttershy summoned Shiva, the aeon breaking free from the icy pillars as she faced the fire beast. "...I understand why you're doing this..."

"I'm not going to go easy on you. I won't lose my wife and son!" The two aeons began to fight as they were commanded by the thoughts of their summoners.

Even though both Shiva and Ifrit opposed each other by element, the aeon of ice had a better advantage on speed and agility, along with magical power. Ifrit's claws couldn't hit the icy mare, constantly evading each attack while countering with a hard kick to its face. It didn't last long as Shiva shot a barrage of icicles on top of the flaming aeon beast, defeating it as it disappeared. Shiva was dismissed, and Fancy was suffering heavily from the loss.

He then summoned Valefor while Fluttershy called her Ifrit. Like before, Fancy held no chance against Fluttershy's aeon as the avian aeon was obliterated by her Ifrit's powerful attack. The flaming aeon leapt up in the air, shooting out two orbs of fire from its hands directly underneath Valefor, shooting a large pillar of flames from the ground. While it hovered in the air, Ifrit shot out a large ball of fire, almost resembling a meteor, shooting it at the trapped aeon as it struck, trapping it in a large sphere of fire. The fire aeon landed on the ground, digging its claws into the earth and lifting a large chunk of the floor. Ifrit flung it up at Valefor, causing the orb to explode and deal a massive amount of damage to Fancy's aeon, the summon avian falling to the ground as it disappeared.

"N-No...I-I can't...I can't let you pass!" The stallion began to grow desperate as he summoned the last aeon in his possession. From above, a glyph appeared above the ceiling, a large dragon-like beast crashing through it as it dove to the ground. It righted itself up and landed on the ground with a thud, standing twice as tall as Ifrit. Its body was black, its wings don't look like it was physically a part of it as they seemed solid spread out, connected to its back, and hovering behind it was a symbolic halo. "I'm stopping you here, with Bevelle's aeon, second powerful compared to the Final Aeon, Bahamut!"

With Fluttershy staying with Ifrit, her aeon rushed forward to attack. Bahamut grabbed Ifrit's arm, stopping its attack and flinging him hard into the ground. While it was down, the massive dragon punched the fire aeon hard, defeating it and making it disappear. Twilight was astonished, seeing how powerful Bahamut was, though Rarity and Spike knew Fluttershy had faced tougher aeons from Cadence.

Fluttershy wasn't going to back down. She needed to stop Blueblood and find the rest of her friends. She summoned Valefor to help her, feeling pity for Fancy Pants, able to see the desperate determination to keep her from progressing any further. Valefor screeched as it attacked, avoiding Bahamut's fists and wings while striking at it from all angles. Thanks to Cadence for helping her increase her aeons' attributes and abilities, her Valefor struck Bahamut with a barrage of elemental spells and special attacks.

In a last ditch effort to take the avian down, Bahamut roared as it flipped back, landing on all fours as it dug its claws into the ground. Energy began to form in his mouth as the halo on its back began spinning faster and faster. As soon as the beam had finished charging, it fired off a powerful beam of magic, Valefor quickly shielding itself with its wings as it took the full force of the powerful attack.

"Heh...Sorry, Lady Fluttershy. You should have learned to summon Bahamut and use him before-" Fancy suddenly gasped as the smoke cleared away as Valefor was still alive, its increased defense protecting most of it from the devastating beam. "N-No...H-How did Mega Flare fail!?"

"I'm sorry, Fancy Pants, but I need to keep moving. I need to continue my pilgrimage and find my other friends." Valefor screeched as it hovered higher into the air, rearing its head back and fired a small beam to the ground, the energy exploding underneath Bahamut as it finished the powerful aeon off.

As Bahamut disappeared, Fancy Pants watched in horror as he was beaten. His monocle fell off his eye as it broke off its chain, the glass shattering as it hit the ground. Fluttershy bowed in apology to him as she, Twilight, and Spike walked past the broken stallion summoner and up the stairs. Rarity stood before him, slowly looking up at her as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Your pilgrimage ends here," she said coldly. "I hope your wife and adoptive son are proud of you for attacking Kindred Heart's daughter. That is, if they find out about this."

Rarity soon left Fancy and caught up with the others, leaving the stallion alone as he wept, failing his duty, but more upset as he had possibly lost any faith his family had for him.

Deep under the flooded caverns of the Via Purifico, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack swam through the water as they struck down any aquatic fiends that got in their way. With how confusing the labyrinth is, they wound up coming back to the same hallways several times. After figuring out where they were going, they seemed to reach a long corridor that wasn't as closed in like the previous halls. Since the exit must be nearby down this path, they figured it was where they needed to escape this fiend infested dungeon.

As soon as the trio reached a large room adjacent to the corridor, the three mares froze as they heard a creepy, guttural growl come from one of the crossroads along the labyrinth. They turned to face the fiend confronting them, their jaws dropping as they saw Evrae again. It was once beaten, but it had a strange gross hue to its body, as if it was resurrected from the dead, just like how Blueblood and Star Swirl were unsent. Even in death, this guardian wasn't going to stay down, and seeing the pegasus that challenged it and defeated it made it seek out revenge for its defeat.

Before Rainbow and Applejack could fight the undead fiend, Pinkie let out a bubbled sigh of annoyance as she dug around her mane. She pulled out a few Phoenix Downs and tossed one at Evrae. While the two mares were confused at the action, the reviving feathers actually injured the fiend greatly, letting out a screech of agony as the healing lights damaged it rather than do nothing. Pinkie threw one more, which ended up killing the guardian fiend, hopefully for good, as it disappeared yet again with several more spirits flying out from it.

Both blitzball players' jaws dropped as Pinkie had just beaten the fiend, with Phoenix Downs, not her own weapon. Pinkie put away the remaining feathers and, somehow, bounded down the now empty corridor underwater. Both mares quickly grabbed the Al Bhed and swam up to an air pocket to speak with the pink mare.

"Pinkie, what the hay did you do!?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, I can't believe you actually killed Evrae, who somehow came back to life after I killed it, but...What the hay is going on!?"

"Ah think what Rainbow's tryin' to ask is how ya killed Evrae with Phoenix Downs. They revive those that fall in fights and are useless to anypony alive!" Applejack said.

"Well, duh, that's why they worked on Evrae! He was a zombie!" Pinkie explained, only receiving a more confused look from the other two.

"...Is this another one of them random things ya do?" Applejack asked.

"Nooooo. Did you not see Evrae's status? It was a zombie, and what do zombies hate?" Pinkie waited for an answer, but Rainbow and Applejack remained silent. "...Seriously? Do I have to pull out another sphere explaining status effects?"

"Just explain, Pinkie. Please?" Rainbow begged, not wanting to see herself getting smacked around by random fiends in a simulation.

"Fine," Pinkie sighed, moving some of her wet, yet still poofy mane out of her face. "We probably won't encounter undead foes until we reach Zanarkand. Just a big hunch. Those that are zombies, or inflicted with zombie status, have complete differences when it comes to healing. Normally, when Fluttershy uses white magic to heal or if we use potions, then we get back health we lost. And we use Phoenix Downs to revive teammates if any of them get knocked out.

"However, the exact opposite happens for a zombie, where healing them actually hurts them, but only doing half of what's expected to heal when it damages. Which is why Phoenix Downs are useful to take down the undead, though you'll need to use two cause it deals half damage always." Both mares took in this information, though it was still quite a shock to see how easy the undead fiends could be vulnerable to. "Plus, I saved us all from swimming away from Evrae and possibly getting us all killed with its same moves it had when it was still alive. You're welcome."

Pinkie took in a deep breath and swam back down to find the exit. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other, shrugging off the thought of what would have happened if they did fight undead Evrae without using those Phoenix Downs and swam after her. After navigating down the long passageways, Pinkie swiping some treasures along their way, they finally found their exit out of the long labyrinth underneath Bevelle. The three poked their heads out of the water as they tasted sweet freedom, winding up next to the long walkway that lead to the palace.

Climbing up on the road, they shook off the water they've been in for who knows how long as they looked around. "Well, we're out. Now all we need to do is find the others."

"Rainbow Dash!" The three turned to look toward the palace, relieved to see the others are ok and had managed to escape.

Fluttershy nearly tackled her pegasus guardian to the ground and hugged her tightly. "Heh. Easy, Flutters. Glad to see you're ok too."

"You all won't be for long." They all turned to the palace, seeing Sapphire Shores standing before them, holding her rifle out and aiming it at them, mostly at Rarity. "Attempting to flee from your doom is deserving of death."

"Sapphire Shores, think about what you're doing," Rarity said, standing her ground as she held her katana over her shoulder. "You know this is wrong. Why do you keep doing this? Is it because you believe you're powerful as a maester?"

"I'm not the same mare I was before you left with Kindred Heart and Jet Stream a decade ago!" Sapphire fired her weapon, only for the bullet to miss as Rarity dodged it, quickly running up to her as she held her katana up to her friend's neck.

"Yet I remained the same, holding true to the teachings I was taught ever since I was a filly," Rarity said. "You have changed, Sapphire, into a traitor. I am following what I believe is right, while the maesters have turned their backs on the rest of Spira and abuse their power, just like what you've done at Operation Mi'ihen. Others die for you because you're so important, yet you hide behind them like a coward." Rarity slowly backed away, changing her blade back to its original gem with her magic. "I want the Sapphire Shores I knew growing up. The Sapphire who trained with me, who I helped train when you weren't ready enough to meet the warrior monks' standards...I want my old friend back, away from the corrupted system of power in this city that lies to all of Spira."

She held her hoof out to the maester, Sapphire's hooves on her rifle wavering as she looked at the unicorn. Memories of their time together in their youth flashed through her mind, reminding her of the fun they had and the rough times they shared in training. After standing with her cursed weapon for a long while, she looked down at it, realizing she had made so many mistakes when she became a maester. She grew mad with power and got several ponies killed in Operation Mi'ihen, not even caring that lives had been lost as she acted coldly to those who barely made it out alive, even to Rarity and her fellow guardians and summoner when they did more to help than she had.

Sapphire lowered her rifle, tossing it aside. "...What have I become?...I'm no worse than Sin..." She looked up at Rarity, feeling guilty for her behavior. "I think I should throw myself in the Via Purifico for a month after all I've done...I'm sorry, Rarity. I've sinned more than I ever had, too blinded by the power I gained."

"...About time you finally came to your senses." Rarity grinned, glad to see the old Sapphire back.

Sapphire approached her friend, ready to quit living in the corrupted life of a maester and rekindling her broken friendship with Rarity. Before her hoof could reach out to hers, a sword dove down over the mare, stabbing her as it pierced through her back. Everyone gasped in horror, Rarity's eyes widening in terror as Sapphire's breath began to waver, blood spilling out from her wound and out her mouth. Appearing behind her, Blueblood teleported before them, a few of his Guado soldiers running toward them from the palace, stopping just behind him.

"You know, Sapphire, you were right not to trust me," Blueblood whispered in the dying mare's ear. "A bit too late for you to escape from your fate, unlike Yiazmat."

He pulled the blade out with his magic, lifting the mare up on her hind legs a little as blood splattered on his robes. Sapphire fell on her side as she breathed her last breath, her injuries greatly severe as she was killed by the manic Guado.

"N-No...Sapphire," Rarity uttered, her eye twitching as she clenched her jaw as she glared at Blueblood.

"Now now, don't be too upset, Lady Rarity," Blueblood calmly said, though his eyes showed a glint of sadism as he tossed the sword aside. "I merely saved your best friend from her possible fate in the near future. You two would have just kept fighting each other." The unicorn growled as she transformed her diamond back into a katana, the blade stabbing itself hard into the ground. "Why fight it? I'm doing all of you a favor.

"If everypony were to die, all life in Spira passing away in an instant, then nopony will ever suffer." He turned his attention to Fluttershy, pointing to her with his hoof. "This is why I need you, Fluttershy. Come with me to Zanarkand. With death on our side, me taking your strength, your life, becoming the next Sin...I will save us all, destroying this cursed land of despair and torture!"

"Blueblood, you're insane!" Rainbow said.

"Am I?" In the blink of an eye, Spike lunged forward and thrust his spear into the stallion's chest, growling at the maniacal Guado as he buried his spear deeper into him. He didn't bleed, which began to concern the dragon. "I see you wish to be the first to die before the time comes..." He soon lifted his hoof up as he began absorbing the life of his guards and the body of Sapphire Shores. "Let me grant you your death!"

Blueblood's body soon began to transform into a monstrous being, his body and clothing growing pale as he seemed to look like a floating statue with a twisted grin of malice, his pupils and irises disappearing as his insane laughter echoed around them. Appearing from behind the transformed stallion was a strange looking mechanical insect that rested over his shoulder, looking like a floating scorpion-centipede hybrid. Blueblood grabbed Spike's spear and pulled it out of his body, leaving behind no scars or wounds.

Knowing this was going to be a fight he wasn't going to win, Spike turned back to the others. "Get Fluttershy out of here, now!"

"Spike, we're not leaving without you!" Rainbow tried to run in to help him, only to be blocked as Rarity swung her sword in the pegasus's path.

"Just go," she quietly said, her head hung low as she leered at the stallion. Rarity looked back, still seeing Rainbow Dash standing there. "I SAID GO!"

"Rarity, are you-?" Rainbow quickly ducked as the enraged unicorn swung her katana at her. "Ok, ok! I'm going!"

The two quickly ran down the bridge after the others, leaving Spike to fight against Blueblood by himself. As soon as they caught up with the others, Fluttershy stopped as she looked back at the palace, watching Spike fighting Blueblood and his mutated form.

"...I'm not going to leave Spike behind!" she said.

"He's a guardian, Fluttershy. His main priority is protecting you from harm," Rarity sternly said.

"I don't care! Spike's my friend!" Fluttershy argued back.

"Same here." Rainbow Dash walked next to Fluttershy, looking back at the others. "Nopony's getting left behind and fighting on their own. Besides, we're Fluttershy's guardians. Anything she says goes, right? No ifs, ands, or buts?" She looked at the summoner, giving her a grin. "Anywhere you go, I'll follow. No questions."

"...Ok. Then let's save Spike!" The two pegasi ran back down the path to help Spike, leaving the others dumbfounded.

Pinkie was the first to snap out of her shock, bouncing high in the air as she pulled out a small, mobile cannon. "Hey! I'm not missing out on the fun! And the free AP!"

Sitting on top of the cannon, aiming it away from the palace, she pressed the button to fire it, shooting out a blast of confetti as it was pushed back by the powerful force it had for being smaller than the ones back in Operation Mi'ihen. None of them questioned how she was able to store a cannon that big on her, brushing off the bits of confetti that got on them.

"Might as well get back at that no good liar for puttin' us in this mess." Applejack ran on after them while Twilight followed, after giving Rarity an apologetic look.

The unicorn watched them as she let out an amused snort. "...Whatever Lady Fluttershy says...I feel like I'm getting too old for their shenanigans...What I wouldn't give to be young again."

Rarity ran forward and caught up with the others, assisting Spike as they struck him with their unique abilities and magic, surrounding the stallion. Rainbow and Applejack struck Blueblood with their weapons, Pinkie distracted the creature assisting the transformed Guado, and Fluttershy and Twilight using their magic to assist their friends, the former healing Spike's previous injuries to try to sacrifice himself and the latter casting the most powerful of spells she had at her disposal.

"Fluttershy, I don't understand why you all came back," Spike said as he took a small break to recover.

"Nopony's going to fight their battles on their own. Especially you, Spike." After finishing healing Spike, the dragon readied his spear to continue fighting.

"You all must really wish to seek freedom from your pathetic existence," Blueblood's voice said, his mouth unmoving as he continued casting magic at them, all of his elemental spells blocked by Fluttershy's Nul spells.

"Why don't you just shut up and stay dead!?" Rainbow shouted, slashing his insectoid helper as it lunged for her.

"I will never die! I am immor-!" The stallion was interrupted as Rarity leapt up from behind him, thrusting her katana straight through his back and slamming his body into the ground.

"Nopony is immortal. Not even you." She flipped off him as his pet lunged at her, stabbing it as soon as it reached her. "You were lucky for only a moment when Spike stepped in to do the deed for me...but I see you're still stubborn to stay dead." Her weapon swung around in a blur, and as soon as it stopped, the creature that came from Blueblood's body was torn to pieces, disappearing into nothingness. "Now you'll face my wrath. You killed my best friend, just as she was coming around to her true self. I'll make sure you never come back again. Not even the Farplane will accept you if you are sent!"

"How bold. You will meet your dear friend soon!" Blueblood thrust his hoof at the unicorn, encasing the mare in stone and petrifying her.

"Oh no! Rarity!" Thinking quickly, Fluttershy summoned Bahamut, the aeon quickly flying down from the sky and blocked the petrified mare from getting struck by the fiend-like unsent stallion.

"Whoa," Rainbow said, staring at the dragon aeon in awe. "That's the kid I kept seeing back then?" Now that having an aeon keeping them safe, Bahamut could easily crush Blueblood without a second thought. "Let's see him try to beat that thing."

"Death awaits you." The stallion shot his hoof forward, casting some kind of spell at Bahamut that made the aeon fall to its knees.

"What!?" Bahamut began to disappear as he was automatically dismissed, or more likely defeated. "Are you serious!? What the hay did he just do!?"

"He...somehow dismissed Bahamut," Twilight said, just as astonished as the others. While Blueblood was too busy watching the aeon disappear, Pinkie bound over to Rarity and used a Soft on her, getting rid of her petrified state. "That's...impossible."

"I am a god!" Blueblood laughed as he held his forelegs up above him. "Not even aeons are a match for my might! FEAR MY POWER!"

As soon as he threw his hooves to the ground, the area went dark as everyone was engulfed by a powerful blast of magical energy, as hot as a powerful Fire spell but lacking the burns it left. Everyone was flung back by the powerful multi-cast, their bodies scorched from the searing energy, all except for Rarity. She managed to hold her ground as she kept herself up with her katana, planting it hard in the ground. Having enough of the Guado, she lifted her sword up as she prepared to unleash her rage on him.

Taking the jug she has with her, she takes a swig of the liquid inside it, but doesn't drink it. Holding her blade before her, she spat out the liquid onto it, the diamond katana beginning to charge with unknown energy as it shook in her grasp. "This is for Sapphire Shores, you heartless demon!"

Rarity slashed her sword down, shooting out arcane magic out from the blade as they flew toward Blueblood. He wasn't able to block it as they went through his hooves, sending him staggering back as his entire body shook, the damage to him overwhelming. The stallion began to disappear as he was killed yet again, the spiritual light floating up in the evening sky. With him hopefully dead, Rarity raised her sword and hefted it over her shoulder as she looked up at the sky, a few tears rolling down her face.

As the others got up, greatly injured by Blueblood's magical attack but thankfully alive, they grouped back together as they had just barely survived. "What the hay was that?"

"Flare," Twilight answered, shivering slightly as she felt the magical energy that came from Blueblood. "One of the most powerful of black magic spells to use...It was...horrifying."

"And we're still alive." Rarity wiped away her tears, looking at the palace where everyone could have probably heard the chaos outside. "We better go, or we'll be thrown back in the Via Purifico." The others nodded and ran out of Bevelle, heading straight for the Macalania Woods to wait until the heat dies down. "...Sapphire...I'm so sorry..." Next Chapter: Chapter 34: Suteki Da Ne Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 50 Minutes