Ordinarily, Sheton Crimson Flash Nightstalker Shenron was a pony that really loved the nighttime and all of the beauty that it held, as well as the creatures that were more nocturnal than others. This was unsurprising to those who knew of his species on his mother’s side, since all Thestrals were known for being particularly active during the night and very nocturnal. While Sheton did like the daytime and the beauty that it held as well, there were just some things about it that he honestly just really didn’t like. One of them being just how much light would be in his eyes whenever he was outside, either on his own, with his friends, and the rest of his family. Having such sensitive eyes that were made specifically for seeing during the night, it was a problem for him, and there was a couple of times where Sheton nearly went blind from looking at the Sun for too long. It was the main reason why Sheton almost always wore his Fedora wherever he went, except for when he went to bed, other than the fact that Evening Glory gave it to him on his seventh birthday. While he knew that the daytime had every reason to be just as beautiful as the night, Sheton just preferred to nighttime more, because he it made him feel safe, especially the shadows he’s sometimes nestle himself into.

Despite having never having any reason to really fear the night, as the stormy grey Thestral sat and spent time with his new friends, he was starting to feel uneasy. Not because of the fact that it was frighteningly dark all around the apple orchard, but because, for some unexplained reason, he was just feeling very anxious. Sheton didn’t know what it was, but it was getting worse as time went on, and it he an even worse feeling that he and his new friends’ lives would be on a very dangerous line.

“Sheton?” The soft voice of Dinky asked, snapping the colt out his thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“H-huh?” Sheton asked, looking over at the grayish violet filly. Upon seeing her curious gaze directed towards him, he blinked and replied, “Oh, I’m okay Dinky, don’t worry. I was just really spaced out that’s all.”

“Spaced out?” Dinky asked innocently. “What were you thinking about?”

Sheton hesitated, his bat ears flicking back as he looked back out the wind he was just staring out of, before looking back at Dinky. “It was about…everything that had happened this morning. Or temporary morning, whatever you want to call it.”

“Oh.” Dinky murmured, her own ears going limp. “You mean all that happened after that scary Alicorn lady came into the Town Square?”

“Mhm, exactly that, and everything that went on afterward too.” Sheton replied softly. “I all happened so fast. I was hanging out with my sister and her friends, and along with the rest of you back in the Town Square. Then, I was being taken back to Ms. Twilight’s tree house with the rest of you, only to be taken again back to Sweet Apple Acres. Only here, it’s at the barn and Apple Bloom’s treehouse…so many things to happen in so little time.” He sighed as he plopped down onto his beanbag, his long mane spilling over his face. “Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, more than I did back at the treehouse, I’m only now seeing just how…terrifying all of this is.”

“I think we all do Sheton.” Dinky said softly, swishing her tail skirt from side to side. “I’m pretty sure that we’re all scared of what’s happened today, and, not be mean and all but, it’s not just you who’s scared.”

“I know that Dinky, it’s not like I haven’t noticed it.” Sheton murmured indignantly, giving a small, yet sharp glare towards the Unicorn filly. She shrunk back a bit as Sheton sighed and continued on more gently. “I’m sorry Dinky, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

“No, it’s alright, I’m sorry if I sounded mean there.” Dinky shook her head, smiling reassuringly at Sheton. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I…don’t know honestly.” Sheton replied, sighing as he straightened the Fedora on his head. “But I think I will be. After all I have you, Crescent Shield, Spike and the other fillies here with me, so I think I can relax, if not a little bit.”

“Great!” Dinky squeaked, a smile spreading across her face. “Because me Apple Bloom and the others were just about to get started on our drawing contest!”

“You’re wha-whoa!” Sheton’s question was cut short when Dinky once again enveloped him in her aura of magic. Lifting him off of his beanbag, she carried him over to where Spike, Crescent Shield, and the other fillies were, at a large table full of papers and coloring pencils. Some of them looked like they were already going at it, while the rest of the group was trying to think of, or look for some inspiration.

“Oh, Sheton, you’re finally awake!” Sweetie Belle chirped, her expression brightening upon seeing her new friends. She scooted off to the side of the table and put a chair forward, allowing the colt to sit in between her and Fire Flash. “Did you have a good nap?”

“Um…yeah, I did. Thank you for asking Sweetie Belle.” Sheton replied, clearing his throat a bit as he tried to recover from being carried through the air. “I did get a little bit distracted by some of the noise you were making, but I did manage to rest up for a while.”

“O-oh, w-were sorry Sheton, w-we didn’t mean to disturb you.” Scootaloo said apologetically, her single eye gazing at the stormy grey colt’s. “W-were we m-make too much n-noise?”

“No, you weren’t, but I was almost woken up a couple of times.” Sheton replied, smiling at Apple Bloom as she hoofed him a few more apples. “It’s okay though, I slept like a bat in a cave, and it felt amazing!”

“I bet it did; you were literally hanging upside down like an actual bat. It was crazy!” Fire Flash exclaimed. “To be honest, I really thought that you were just making it up that you could actually hang from your tail”

Apple Bloom glanced over at Fire Flash with a raised brow. “An’ jus’ what reason would a Bat Pony have t’ like ‘bout doin’ somethin’ bat related?”

“Yeah Fire Flash.” Spike nodded. “Sheton is literally half bat! You can tell by his wings, ears, and his fangs! What makes you think that he can’t do a majority of the things that actual bats can do during the nighttime?”

“Because…well, I…” Fire Flash stammered over her words, trying to come up with a legitimate explanation for her thoughts. Eventually, she gave up and looked away from the eyes that were glaring disapprovingly at her. “…never mind, stupid thought.”

“Yeah, it was.” Crescent Shield chastised firmly. “Anyway, you feeling okay Sheton? Your heads not hurting from hanging upside down like that, is it?”

“Um…no?” Sheton blinked. “Why would you ask something like that?”

“Oh, nothing…it’s just that I thought that if you hung upside down for too long, that the blood in your body would rush to your head.” Crescent replied softly and absentmindedly. “It does tend to happen to pones who’re suspended upside down for too long. You get a sign when it does happen, when their eyes tend to get bloodshot. So…”

“Ooooh…right, that.” Sheton nodded, an understanding look coming to his face. “Don’t worry Crescent, I didn’t feel my head hurt from my reversed sleeping position. I was actually feeling kind of nice in fact. Besides, if we Thestrals did end up getting headaches due to the blood rushing to our heads when we hang upside down, we wouldn’t be doing it in the first place, hmm!”

“He makes a point there Crescent.” Sweetie Belle giggled as the ocean blue filly blushed. “Still though, if you feel like your head is hurting, we can always make it feel better.”

“Yeah!” Dinky nodded, smiling sweetly at the colt. “Whenever my head is feeling achy, my mommy and big sister kisses it to make it feel better! I can kiss your forehead if that’ll make you feel better! Or, maybe we can have Scootaloo do it instead!”

Scootaloo jumped, her single visible pupil dilating as she dropped her coloring pencils. “M-m-m-m-me?!”

Sheton flinched, blushing hard as he slowly shrunk into his seat, abruptly stopping in is coloring. Pulling his hat down over his face as he bit his lower lip. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he slowly looked back up at Dinky, he timidly replied. “Um…t-t-thank you f-for the o-offer t-there D-Dinky…b-b-but I think I’ll be good f-for right now. I-I already g-get enough of t-that from m-my momma, a-and m-my s-sister…b-besides…” He glanced over at Scootaloo, who was extremely red in the face. “I-I don’t think Scootaloo would be c-comfortable with that, e-especially with w-what happened at M-Ms. F-Fluttershy’s c-cottage earlier today.”

“M-m-m-mh-h-h-h-hm.” Scootaloo nodded, squeezing her eye shut as she hit behind her large wings.

“Wait a minute, what?” Apple Bloom asked abruptly, her ears perking up as she too stopped in her coloring. “What happened at Ms. Fluttershy’s cottage?”

‘Uh-oh…I spoke too much!’ Sheton froze, his own ears going back as he began to sweat. “Um…n-nothing, nothing happened, nothing at all!”

“No, don’t you dare say nothin’ happened!” Apple Bloom shouted, sitting up in her seat. “What happened between you an’ Scootaloo back at Ms. Fluttershy’s cottage?!”

“Nothing Apple Bloom, I swear!” Sheton cried pitifully, backing away from the advancing farm filly. “I-I just said something to her by accident and I made her really embarrassed!”

“What did you say?” Sweetie asked more calmly, yet just as curiously. “It wasn’t anything mean was it?”

“N-no, it wasn’t Sweetie Belle, honest!” Scootaloo cried desperately, immediately coming to Sheton’s defense. “S-Sheton d-didn’t s-say anything mean to me, h-honest…in fact, i-it was actually r-really s-sweet.”

Dinky glanced over at the bright orange filly. “Sweet? What did Sheton possibly say that was sweet but make you embarrassed at the same time?”

Spike shot a deadpan look at the grayish violet filly. “Did you seriously just ask that question to Scootaloo of all ponies?”

“It…it just slipped out of my mouth before I even realized it.” Sheton replied, sinking back into his seat as he sighed. “I-I asking Scootaloo if she wanted to be friends with me, and she, um…said something that made me think that she didn’t think I’d want to. S-so while I was comforting her…I-I sort of said that she was…w-w-was…”

“Was what?” Fire asked impatiently. “Come on Sheton, spit it out! What did you say to Scootaloo that was all damn mushy?!”

“I…I…I-I…!” Sheton stammered, not noticing the look Crescent shot at Fire. Before she could scold the crimson filly, the stormy grey Thestral blurted out. “I said Scootaloo was pretty! That she was really pretty, okay?! I looked her right in her eye and told her that I thought she looked pretty!”

The whole upper clubhouse went completely silent, nopony speaking a single word as they all stared at a fiercely blushing Sheton. A fly’s wings could’ve been heard buzzing around due to how quiet the room was, only broke by the whimpering coming from Scootaloo. Only Crescent and Spike were left unsurprised, but that did not stop one of the filly’s from asking Sheton the one question he did not want to answer.

“Did…did you really say that Sheton?” Sweetie asked softly. “Did you really say that Scootaloo was pretty?”

“Y…yes, I did.” Sheton replied, his eyes shut tight. “I said it right to Scootaloo with Ms. Fluttershy, and my three sisters watching! It told her how sweet and pretty of a filly she was just minutes before I met her!”

“Awwwwwwww!” Dinky cooed, her own cheeks flushing red as she smiled sweetly at Sheton, her hooves clapping together. “That is so sweet! I can’t believe you said something that sweet Sheton; that was so nice of you!”

Sheton ran his hooves through his mane, the blush on his face darkening. “Yeah, w-well…I sort of said it by accident to be honest. O-of course, I did mean it, but I didn’t really mean to say it out loud.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Apple Bloom asked, wrapping a foreleg around the colt. “If ya didn’t mean somethin’ like that, then why’d ya say it? Ya told scoots she was really good lookin’, an’ that made her feel nice, so why would ya wanna take that back if ya mean it?”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle squeaked with a giggle; a cute smile stretched across her own muzzle. “Saying something like that isn’t mean or embarrassing at all! It just shows just how sweet of a pony you are Sheton!”

“Y-yeah…I-I guess so.” Sheton nodded shyly, mentally deciding he wouldn’t tell them the other thing he said to Scootaloo. He seriously did not want to be assaulted by even more teasing than he already was. “C-can we not talk about this anymore, p-please? I-I’m already d-dealing with enough f-from N-N-Nightmare Moon returning, a-and I really don’t need this right now.”

“Y-yeah…S-Sheton’s right e-everypony.” Scootaloo nodded, looking like she wanted to go over and hug the fledgling colt. “I-I don’t think my cheeks c-can take much m-more of this!”

Spike giggled, his draconic tail wagging back and forth. “I think so too~!”

“Uh-oh, are they hurting?” Dinky asked, putting a hoof on the filly’s back. “You poor thing…I can kiss them if that’ll make you feel better.”

Scootaloo squeaked, her face turning even redder than t already was. “T-that’s not helping D-Dinky!”

“Oh, come on Sheton, we were just joking around with you, that’s all.” Fire Flash said coolly. “No need to get upset about that.”

“I-I know that Fire, that’s not why I’m upset.” Sheton replied. “It’s fine if you want to mess with me, b-but I feel like you’re doing it at my expense. T-that’s why I’m feeling the way I am right now…”

“Oh…Ah see.” Apple Bloom cooed, wrapping a foreleg around Sheton’s neck. “We’re sorry Sheton, we didn’t mean t’ hurt ya.”

“No, don’t worry, I’m not mad.” Sheton said reassuringly with a timid smile. “I just felt like you guys were getting carried away that’s all.”

“Yeah, they kind of were.” Crescent Shield nodded, glancing over at Sweetie Belle and Dinky. “I know a certain couple of Unicorns were.”

Sweetie Belle blushed, rubbing the back of her head as she giggled sheepishly. “Sorry…”

“Say, now that you bring it up…” Spike said, glancing over at Sheton. “Are you still reeling about what happened at the Town Square Sheton?”

“Spike, don’t ask such a rude question!” Crescent chastised sharply, glaring at the amethyst draconic colt. “I’m sure that Sheton doesn’t want to relive it! Especially since it happened only more than five hours ago!”

“No Crescent, it’s okay.” Sheton replied, holding a hoof up as he came to Spike’s defense. “To be honest with you all, yes…it is bothering me a little bit. Not as much as it did when I first saw Nightmare Moon, but it still does a little. I’ve seen plenty of scary things when I was younger, but that by far had to be the most petrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my life, more than any fictional monster!”

“I don’t blame you.” Dinky said softly, staring softly at the colt. “You did end up telling me about it before you came here. I could tell that you were a little down, and I thought that there was something up…it looks like I was right too.”

“Well, Ah can’t really blame ya.” Apple Bloom nodded. “When Ah first saw that varmint, Ah thought that mah boe was gonna fly off o’ mah head! Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever been more scared than Ah was at that moment!”

“M-m-m-mh-h-h-hm…” Scootaloo nodded, hugging herself. “I-I-I was s-s-so t-t-t-terrified! I-I-I-I c-couldn’t m-move o-o-o-or e-e-even b-b-b-breath! I-I-I-It was s-s-s-s-so s-s-s-scary!”

“That’s an understatement Scootaloo!” Sweetie added, her tail skirt tucking between her legs. “I thought that I was going to pass out! Not like the way that my sister does whenever somepony give her criticism, but like, overwhelmed by fear pass out!”

“I feel like that’s something that Melon Cake would say.” Crescent murmured. “But I can get what you’re saying Sweetie Belle. I…felt my mind shut down for a minute there…Nightmare Moon was the only thing I could focus on…and nothing else but that.”

Spike nodded with a whimper. “Me too.”

“You’re all literally reflecting my thoughts exactly…I felt all of that in my and maybe more than that too.” Sheton nodded, looking down at the ground as his mane spilled over his face. “I know I only say her once, but I can still remember every single detail on her. Her sin black fur and ethereal mane, her giant space-like bat wings, her icy armor, her gleaming vampiric fangs and…and…” He shivered as he forced the last words out of his fanged mouth. “Her eyes…her turquoise slitted blue eyes as cold as actual ice…it felt like I was staring right in the face of a giant bloodthirsty dragon!”

“Whoa…you only saw her once and you can remember all of those little details on her?” Fire asked, looking impressed. “You have a good eye there Sheton...a real good eye.”

“Yeah, sometimes I wish I didn’t, and what happened at the Town Square just became another reason.” Sheton admitted bluntly, running a hoof through his mane. “Yeah, every single one of those things were scary…but…there was something else about Nightmare Moon that struck out to me.”

“You noticed something else?” Dinky asked, blinking in curiosity. “What was it?”

For a moment, Sheton didn’t say anything, as if he was afraid of what the others would think if he did. Then, he looked back up at them, and quietly murmured. “For some reason…Nightmare Moon’s scent…was really familiar to me. She…she smelled…just like my Mom.”

Gasps echoed about the clubhouse as everypony stared at the fledgling Thestral colt in shock, with only Spike looking like he was as composed as him. Before any of them could question him on his discovery, they found themselves flown out of their seats as they tree, they were in shook violently out of nowhere. The tables, chairs, and just about everything not stuck to the walls fell with them as the foals tumbled across the floor with their items following.

“Whoa, what the buck was that?!” Fire cried, having been the only one to catch herself. “The tree just started shaking! You guys all felt that too right?”

Apple Bloom hoisted the beanbag that fallen on her off of her small form and glared heatedly at Fire Flash. “Ah don’t know Fire Flash, what do you think?! Nearly all o’ our stuff went flyin’ along with th’ rest o’ us! Ah think we all felt that really good!”

“The question is, who or what did it?” Spike asked, rubbing his head. “Nopony, with the exception of the Apple Family, should be strong enough to make a tree this size to shake so hard. Do you think something or somepony else could’ve done it?”

The sound of the second treehouse’s floor door flew open, preventing anypony from answering Spike’s question as somepony popped out from under it. Said draconic colt was sent flying into the far back of the room, consciousness leaving him as his head made contact with the hard-wooden wall. Nopony paid attention to it thought, for they were too focused on the pony they least expected to show up.

“C-Cousin Apple Grove?!” Apple Bloom cried, surprised by the older mare’s sudden intrusion into the treehouse. “What in th’ hay are you doin’ here?!”

Apple Grove wasted no time with explanations and just got straight to the point. “Apple Bloom, we need ya an’ yer friends t’ get outta this tree, right now!” She commanded, her violet eyes filled with desperation and panic as she ran towards her cousin.

“W-what?! W-w-why, what’s goin’ on?!” The sun yellow filly asked as the Pegasus grabbed her by the scruff of her neck like a cat would her kitten. “Why’re so scared, did somethin’ happen?!”

“Please Apple Bloom, jus’ listen t’ me fer right now okay?!” Grove pleaded as she made her way back to the floor door. “All of you, jus’ come with be before y’all-”

“MS. GROVE WATCH OUT!!!” Scootaloo suddenly screamed.

The warning came just in the nick of time as a pillar of dark green fire burst out of the floor door of the higher treehouse. It slammed into the ceiling with such a force that it went through the roof and into the upper part of the tree. It spread across the leaves and branches of the tree immediately making it a gigantic candle of dark green fire within seconds. Add insult to injury, it even spread into the upper clubhouse, adding to the fire coming from the floor door as the foals all screamed in terror.

“AH, MAH TAIL; IT’S ON FIRE!” Apple Bloom screamed, her hooves failing as the fire got at the end of her scarlet tail. “MAH TAIL IS ON FIRE! PUT IT OUT, SOMEPONY ANYPONY, PUT IT OUT!!!”

“Hold still!” Grove commanded, dropping her cousin as she began to repeatedly stomp on her burning tail. In no time, the fire was gone, and the tip of Apple Bloom’s tail was nothing more than charred smoky black hair. “Are you okay now cuz?”

“Y-y-yeah, Ah am now!” Apple Bloom whimpered, backing away from the fire as she held her tail close to her. “What in the hay was that?! Did a dragon come and decide t’ attack the farm?!”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a dragon, little one.” A smooth, yet dark and chilling voice suddenly said. “Though from what I just did, I suppose you could consider me a partial part of the mighty reptilian.”

Apple Grove and all of the foals froze upon hearing the voice and they shook as a scarlet red hoof gripped the edge of the treehouse. It was soon followed by another, then a large sword horn covered with scarlet screaks, and soon revealed the head of a smirking Serafino. The rest of his form following shortly after as he plopped on all fours in the treehouse, draconic dark green eyes looking pointedly at Apple Grove.

“I have to admit my dear, you picked a pretty poor place to take seclusion from me.” He said smoothly, his fangs flashing as he grinned darkly at the young mare. “Of all the places to hide in your farm, you choose here? And with a group of helpless foals, nonetheless? Dear me, just how careless can you be?”

“Shut the fuck up you damn shitbag!” Apple Grove shouted, stomping her hoof. “You were th’ one who followed me here, an’ Ah sure as hell wasn’t puttin’ any o’ mah cousin’s friends in danger! Ah was tryin’ t’ git them out an’ git them away from yer ass! So, don’t you dare try t’ twist this!”

“I’m not twisting anything my dear Apple Grove.” Serafino replied casually, flicking his tail. “All I’m doing is pointing out your mistakes as to why you should’ve a bit smarter. That way, these precious foals wouldn’t be at my mercy now.”

“G-G-Grove…” Sweetie stammered. “Who is this stallion?!”

“From what Captain Moon Blade told me, another one o’ that Nightmare Moon varmint’s followers.” Apple Grove replied, causing all of the foals to gasp. “While Ah was with Ma an’ th’ rest o’ th’ family, this varmint here came flyin’ in like an apple fallin from th’ sky, an’ before we knew it! He was fightin’ Granny Smith, Ms. Blossomforth, an’ Ms. Derpy! At some point, Ms. Cloud Kicker joined in th’ fight, along with Captain Moon Blade, an’ while he was dukin’ it out with hm Ah took the opportunity t’ come git you guys an’ git ya outta here b’fore he got y’all too!”

“H-he was fightin’ Granny Smith?!” Apple Bloom cried, horror filling her heart. “Is she alright?”

“Oh yes my dear, I can assure you that she’s indeed very fine.” Serafino replied, his smooth tone gaining a lustful edge to it. “Although, I don’t think that’s going to last, especially with how much my master is mangling her and the rest of her little friends.”

“M-m-m-master?” Scootaloo stammered. “W-w-w-what master?”

“Oh, right, I forgot to mention.” Serafino replied casually, letting out a little chuckle. “I’m actually a magical copy of the real Serafino, not the actual one. Long story short, my real self saw this beautiful young mare here making a break for the woods. So, in the midst of my real self’s fight, he had created me for the purpose of going after her and see where she was going.” The grin on his face grew slightly wider as he glanced at each of the foals. “And, oh my goodness, what a little prize that I’ve found in my search. So many precious little foals to add to my dear Dark Queen’s colony…”

“You ain’t gonna touch any o’ these precious little sugar cubes, or take ‘em anywhere ya hear me?” Apple Grove glowered as the foals huddled behind her. “The only way yer getting’ t’ them is if ya go through mah dead body, an’ there’s no way that Ah’m goin’ anywhere with you either!”

“Oh, really now?” Serafino asked, amused by the lime green mare’s bold stance. “And just who’s going to stop me from getting what I want?”

As if to answer his question, a draconic roar suddenly echoed about the tree before a purple and green blur pounced on the Serafino. Everypony watched as Spike lunched and clamped his razor-sharp fangs down on Serafino’s right shoulder and clamped down hard, the sound of crunching bone resonating in their ears. The sin black stallion screamed in surprise in pain as the draconic colt’s claw turned hooves dug into his hooves and back, causing black blood to spew about.

“Spike!” Crescent Shield cried out in relief and surprise. She made to run towards him, but Apple Grove held her back, shaking his head at her not to interfere, least Serafino seriously harm her along with Spike.

“You little brat!” Serafino shouted, bucking and slamming into the walls as he tried to throw the Kirin off of him. At some point, he noticed the weight of the colt was beginning to get heavier, and before he knew it, he was through to the floor and onto his back. He only had time to look into the enraged eyes of an enlarged Spike, before he found himself bitten and slashed by the colt, splattering black blood and lose black fur everywhere.

After a few moments of the vicious attack, Spike grabbed Serafino by his through and through him into the other side of the treehouse. Ignoring the blood staining his face, forelegs, and chest, he snapped his head back to the group behind him. “What’re you guys still doing here?! All of you, get out of here now!”

“Are you nuts?!” Dinky cried; her eyes wide with disbelief. “We can’t just leave you here! There’s no way that you can be this stallion on your own!”

“Did you guys forget that I’m half-dragon and can turn into a full blooded one too?!” Spike asked as if it was plainly obvious. “It’s fine, I’ll hold him off while the rest of you leave, now just GO!”

He barely managed to get that last word out of his mouth before found himself having go dodge a magical blast shot at him by Serafino. As it hit the floor and created a giant hole within it, Spike leapt at him and once again grabbed at his neck with his teeth, slamming him into the wall behind them. As the Nightmare Alicorn stallion and Kirin colt struggled against one another, Apple Grove looked between them and the new hole in the ground, before making a painful decision.

“Come on y’all, let’s go!” She said regretfully, once again grabbing Apple Bloom and making her way towards the opening in the floor. “We’ll leave this t’ Spike!”

“WHAT?!” Crescent yelled, her jaw dropping. “We can’t leave him! Are you feeling the power coming off of this stallion right now?! How is Spike supposed to-?!”

An explosion of emerald green fire cut the ocean blue filly off as it spread and mixed along with Serafino’s darker fire. As Crescent and the other foals tried to get away from it, they heard Spike shout out, “Crescent, I’ll be fine alright! This fire isn’t going to kill me, but it will kill all of you if you don’t get out of here right now! At this right it’ll fall at any minute, so you need to leave!”

“B-but we can’t leave you!” Crescent protested desperately. “W-what if he ends up k-killing you?!”

Spike gave a vicious slash to Serafino’s face, causing him to stumble as the colt looked back at his foster sister. “I won’t let that happen; I didn’t get killed by the Battookuma that attacked Ponyville, and I’m not gonna let this asshole kill me either! He may be powerful, but so am I, I’m not part of two of the most powerful families for now reason! Now, get out of here!”

Crescent gave one last weak plead. “B-but…but, Spike…!”

“I, said…LEAVE!” He bellowed, his scream turning into a powerful roar that effectively shut down Crescent’s protests. Seeing that he wasn’t going to change his mind, Crescent tore her tear-filled eyes away from the colt and followed the others down the gaping floor. As Sheton made it down himself, he glanced over at Spike, his eyes holding a stern gaze to them.

“You’d better not die Spike; do you hear me?!” Sheton warned, sounding like his sister Goku for a moment. “Cause if you do, I swear, that I’ll make sure Twilight and Crescent will tear you a new one, that is if I don’t do it myself!”

Spike gave a violent tail swipe to Serafino as he tried to kick him away, looking back at the Thestral colt with a fanged grin. “Heh, don’t worry, I’m not planning on dying here! Besides, I wouldn’t be able to see you unleash that awesome Crimson Glare of yours if I did!”

Sheton gave a grin of his own, his fangs giving a shine the light of the green fires, before he flew down the gaping hole, where Apple Grove and the others were waiting. As soon as he made it over to them, Apple Grove ushered them all into the edge of trees of the orchard.

“Good, yer all here.” She said, relief flowing through her as she eyed them all. “Alright, now Ah want y’all t’ listen t’ me very carefully. Ah’m gonna take y’all t’ th’ edge of the orchard, right where the fence separates it from the actual woods. There ain’t really many places that Ah can have ya hide right now, an’ Ah’m pretty sure that Ponyville isn’t exactly safe at th’ moment either, especially if there are more varmints like him around.”

“A-a-are you sure t-that’s a g-good idea?” Scootaloo asked worriedly. “I-I mean, t-that stallion d-did end up seeing you sneak out to see us and m-made a c-clone to follow you. W-what if he d-does it a-again?”

“Ah won’t let that happen t’ any o’ y’all, Ah promise.” Apple Grove assured softly and gently, running a hoof through the filly’s mane. “If anypony like him tries t’ hurt y’all, Ah’ll make ‘em pay, an’ besides, it’s not like we’re goin’ right back t’ th’ house where he’ll surely see us.”

“Wait a minute…ya jus’ said yer takin’ is t’ where the edge of the orchard is.” Apple Bloom suddenly said, narrowing her eyes at her cousin. “Are ya takin’ us where Ah think yer takin’ us cousin Grove?”

The lime green mare nodded, one of her violet eyes winking down at the smaller filly. “Eeyup, exaclty that place cousin AB.”

“O-okay but…” Sweetie said hesitantly, looking back up at the tree and fire covered tree. “Is it really a good idea to leave Spike alone with that stallion?”

A painful scream coming from Serafino, followed by another deafening roar rendered everypony down below silent, and they watched as a stream of flames erupted from the burning leaves of the tree. All of their eyes went wide upon seeing pitches of black fur follow the fire as he fluttered down towards them like black snowflakes, the smell of smoke and fire lingering off of them.

“Uuuuh, yeah, I think he’ll be just fine.” Fire Flash replied after a long moment of silence. “In fact, I think it’s that black looking stallion that should we should be worried about.”

“You said it Fire.” Crescent murmured, flicking her tail. “Then again…maybe we shouldn’t.”

“Ditto.” Dinky nodded, looking worriedly up at the burning tree and the wooden houses attacked to it. ‘I hope he’ll be alright.’

“Eeyup, I think Spike’s got this handled jus’ fine.” Apple Grove replied, staring at the fire covered tree one final time before looking back down at the foals. “Come on y’all, let’s git t’ th’ Black Tree Grove b’fore that varmint comes after us again!”

All seven of the foals nodded firmly as they squeaked, “Got it!”

Trixie’s star covered cape billowed in the wind as she flew back from an incoming Deathgod, her horn ignited in preparation to block any incoming attack. Deathgod immediately retaliated afterward, blasting a powerful beam of magic at the azure blue Thestral to which she blocked with a giant shield the shape of the blade on her staff. As Deathgod hovered over her, Trixie lunged with her spear, stabbing the Nightmare Alicorn right in the chest and throwing him into the ground. Hovering over him, she drove her spear forward and stabbed him in his stomach again, driving him deeper into the earth.

“Why you…you little vile bloodthirsty bitch!” Deathgod shouted, grabbing Trixie’s spear and yanking it out of him, as he threw it to the side. “Nightmare Solid Form Magic: Bolt of Black Thunderous Lightning!”

Trixie cried out as the black lightning bolt shot right into her chest, nearly going through her as it sent her flying away from Deathgod. The Nightmare Alicorn smirked and teleported away, appearing, appearing behind Trixie and give her a vicious tail swipe to the magician. She was sent crashing to the ground as Deathgod flew down towards her, ready to finish her off with another magical attack.

“I don’t think so dearie!” Trixie shouted, rolling over on her back and pointing her star shaped spear at Deathgod. The blade at the front began to glow as bright as Trixie's eyes as she unleased her next attack. “Unicorn Thestral Solid Form Magic: Lunar Moonlight Blast!”

Faster than even Deathgod could blink, a pure white beam of magic shot out from the tip of Trixie's spear and shot up directly at her adversary. Deathgod’s yellow eyes widened as the attack headed straight for him, and he was barely able to conjure up a shield to block the attack, but was soon destroyed by the Trixie’s power. His scream resonated in Trixie’s bat-like ears as he was sent flying into the sky, before crashing to the ground.

“You shouldn’t underestimate my reflexes my dear foe.” Trixie murmured as Deathgod staggered to his feet. “Just because I may look like I won’t be able to defend myself, but don’t let that make you believe that I’m an easy target. It’s happened to plenty of ponies that I’ve fought over the years, and I’m sure that you won’t be the last either.”

“Don’t be so quick to think that.” Deathgod hissed as he burst out of the ground as he glared at Trixie. “I don’t know what kind of opponents that you’ve face during your time in this world, but I can assure you that I will be the last one you face! I haven’t even begun to show you the full force of the Dark Army yet!”

“Then by all means, bless my eyes with the power you possess.” Trixie crooned, twirling her spear in her magical grasp. “Otherwise, I’ll just shatter that precious gem that gave you said power in the first place.”

“Not if is shatter that damn spear of yours first!” Deathgod shouted, slamming his hooves down as the cracked grown glowed with yellow energy. “Nightmare Alicorn Earth Make: Black Thorned Vine Whip!”

A giant vine burst from the ground and lashed out at Trixie who merely smirked and leapt out of the way as the vine sliced into the ground. Large cracks were left in the split earth, and they just barely managed to miss Trixie as she continued to fly around the street. After a minute or two of evading she decided to retaliate, her horn ignited as she did so.

“Unicorn Thestral Solid Form Magic: Shooting Star Gattling Gun!” The magician shouted, her horn giving off multiple bolts of purple magic at the giant incoming vine. It was blasted and torn to shreds as the thorns flew everywhere, some of them nearly stabbing into Trixie.

“I’m not done with you yet!” Deathgod shouted, undeterred as he continued channeling more magic into the ground to strengthen his vines. “Nightmare Alicorn Earth Make: Impaling Vine Flock!”

Ears perking up at the sound of splitting earth, Trixie looked behind her and saw a whole group of vines rising up from the ground and heading towards her. As she turned around to face them, some ripped at her cape while others sliced her sides and face, causing blew to spew out as she fought against it. Gritting her fangs together, fire her horn off and blasted each of the individual vines that were coming for her, using her wings to slice them apart. When she got to the ground, she gave one final magical last towards the vines ultimately destroying them in the process.

“Too slow.” Trixie said as she glanced back at the Nightmare Alicorn. As she flared her wings in preparation to charge him, she suddenly cried out as felt multiple stabbing pains all throughout her legs. Looking down, her eyes went wide upon seeing more vines pop out and wrap around her before pulling her to the ground.

“Correction, you’re not fast enough.” Deathgod smirked, serrated fangs exposed. “Nightmare Alicorn Earth Make: Black Earth Dome Sphere!”

“Shit!” Trixie cursed as the large black earth dome encased her in its shell. “Not again!”

“I’ve got you know; there’s no way for you to escape from a dome of this magnitude!” Deathgod boasted as he ignited his horn. “Now say goodbye; Fire Nightmare Alicorn: Swirling Explosion of Black Fire!”

With roaring explosion, Deathgod shot off a blast of black fire at the black dome that Trixie was entrapped in, the flames heating it the closer it got. Just before it hit, it suddenly exploded, and for a moment, Deathgod thought that he had connected. That was when he noticed the purple magic coming from the end of his, and his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw Trixie out of his black earth dome.

‘What in the world…that’s impossible!’ He thought as his jaw dropped. ‘I made that dome and those vines three times as powerful now that I fused together with the Death Trio! How was this mare able to get past it?!’

Unfortunately, the Nightmare Alicorn didn’t have any more time to think on it, for he soon felt himself being blown away by Trixie’s attack. The sound of something cracking filled his ears before he found himself crashing into a house, just meters away from the magician as she took a moment to collect herself from the assault.

“Did you seriously try the same trick that you did on me just moments ago?” Trixie asked incredulously as blood flowed from her legs and face, a few thorns stuck within her. “Sorry my dear, but that’s only going to work once. If there’s one thing ponies should know about me, especially in battle, is that I never fall for the same trick twice. So, unless you have some other trick on that fused brain of yours, I suggest not doing that a third time.”

Deathgod snarled, tearing himself from the destroyed house as he glared at the azure blue Unicorn Thestral. “Why you…you dare criticize me and my intellect?! You have some nerve doing that when you fell for my trap the first time!”

“That may be so, but you didn’t get anywhere near as close of a chance to kill my like you did the first time.” Trixie murmured rolling her eyes. “So, like I said, you should really come up with more sneaky moves, otherwise I’ll just end it right here and now.”

“I’ll be the one who ends you, you damn excuse for a Bat Pony!” Deathgod shouted, flaring his wings as he flew at her. “You don’t stand a chance against me!”

“We’ll see about that sweetheart.” Trixie muttered softly, pointing her spear forward as she too flew forward.

Not too far away from the fight, Crimson Skies, Spearhead, Shining Armor, and Wonderbolts were all sitting off to the side of the Town Square. The palomino currently had all of them encased in a large blood red oval like dome with her sitting outside of it. She had her hooves pressed up against the tome, and it gave of a bright glow as her eyes gave off the same red shine as the dome did.

“C-Crimson, are you sure that you’re okay with healing all of us at the same time?” Fleetfoot asked worriedly. “I mean, you can do us one at a time if it makes it easier for you.”

“Thank you for the offer Fleetfoot, but no can do.” Crimson stated firmly, not breaking from her concentration. “All of your injures are much too severe for me to do resort that that plan of action, so the best one for me to take is to do it all at once. That way, all of you will be back in peek condition to help Ms. Trixie in her fight against Deathgod!”

“Well, for where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like she really needs our help for right now.” Soarin murmured. “I can tell just the way that she’s moving that she knows what she’s doing, and that she’s not even that winded right now.”

“Of course you can see that.” Spitfire snorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she cuffed the stallion across his head. “You’re just too caught up by how she looks to see how much she’s stealing our spotlight.”

“While I appreciate her help, I do wanna know who she is.” Spearhead murmured, staring at the mare as she battled Deathgod. “I’ve never seen her anywhere around anywhere, especially in Canterlot City…yet, I can’t help but feel like I should know her.”

“I do...her name is Trixie Lunamoon Nocturnis, also known as the Magic Wanderer Equestria.” Shining Armor replied as he sat on his haunches. “She’s known as the most powerful magically powered Unicorn in Canterlot, aside from me and my sister.”

“Wait, you know Ms. Trixie?” Crimson Skies asked, her the flashing redness dimming in her blue eyes as they widened in surprise. “Y-you even now where she’s from?”

“Yep, I sure do Crimson.” Shining nodded. “From what my little sister told me; Trixie came from the Thestral inhabited town of Hollow Shades, which is said to be in the northern part of the Everfree Forest.” A shocked gasp coming from Fleetfoot and Crimson let him know that they didn’t know that was where the magician came from. “When she was around my sister’s age, she was sent to Celestia’s School for Gifted Ponies, and they ended up being friends pretty quickly from what I’ve heard. Although, Trixie wasn’t quite enthusiastic about meeting other ponies that were friends with Twilight, which I can understand, since she was a Thestral and all.”

“I see…so she was a part of Queen Celestia’s school, was she?” Spearhead asked, glancing over at the magician, who looked to have Deathgod pinned to the ground. “That makes sense…I mean, where else would she have learned to harness such powerful magic?”

Soarin frowned skeptically. “I don’t know about that. I’ve seen plenty of powerful Unicorn’s come out from the Queen’s school, but this mare…she’s something else.”

“I agree…I wonder how she and the other Thestrals managed to survive in a forest as terrifying as the Everfree too.” Crimson Skies nodded, staring at Trixie for a moment longer before turning back to the ponies she was healing. “Well, we can worry about that later; we’ll let Trixie handle Deathgod for now. Let’s just focus on us and get ourselves patched up so we can take care of the rest of the Dark Army.”

“Yeah, right…” Spitfire snorted as she crossed her forehooves. “Us.”

Sheton’s emerald blue eyes flashed in the darkness as and he and the fillies zoomed through the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Grove taking the lead in the run. The sound of pounding hooves and wing flaps was the only thing that could be heard as the young Pegasus mare led the foals’ father away from the burning tree and the two wooden houses that accompanied it. Every so often, one or two of them would look back at the carnage happening behind them, only to hear another explosion that caused them to look ahead of them once more.

“M-Ms. Apple Grove, how long do we have to keep running?!” Dinky huffed as she struggled to keep up with the group. “I’ve been running for who knows how long, I don’t know how long I can keep up!”

“Don’t worry sugarcube, we’re nearly at the edge of the orchard!” Apple Grove shouted behind the grayish violet filly. “We only have a few more yards and then we’ll get there!”

“Cousin Grove, are ya sure that it was a good idea t’ leave Spike t’ fend off that varmint?” Apple Bloom asked worriedly as she clung to her cousin’s back. “Ah mean, he threw him ‘round like how Winona does one o’ her toys. Don’t ya think we should go back?”

Appel Grove glanced over at the filly with a guilt-ridden expression. “Look AB, Ah didn’t like doin’ that any more than you did, okay? Ah didn’t wanna leave him b’hind, but it didn’t look like Spike was gonna let me take him with us! Besides didn’t ya hear him when he said tha he was half dragon, an’ can turn into a full one if he wanted to?! Who in their right mind would even think o’ takin’ on a full-grown dragon?!”

“Only somepony as psychotic as that guy.” Fire Flash snorted. “But you did have a point there Grove…odds are that guy’s already finished right now.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think we should take our chances.” Crescent Shield advise as she flew above the group. “Spike will be able to find us thanks to our scent, but that stallion may also follow him too, so I think we should take precautions and lie now until he comes, and comes alone.”

“Good idea Crescent,” Sweetie nodded, before noticing something ahead of her. “Hey guys, look!”

All the other foals followed the alabaster filly’s gaze, and went wide eyed when they saw that they were heading right towards enormous grove of trees. It didn’t look like any of the other trees that were around the orchard, they were all as black as the night sky above them, having no rich green leaves or ripe apples adorning any of them. Piles of fallen leaves of various colors adorned each and various parts of the ground, crunching under the hooves of the ponies as they ran under them. As they did so, Sheton couldn’t help but get the familiar smell of apples on the trees, as if they were still on there, like the trees they were just going past.

The stormy grey Thestral barely had any time to properly take it all in though, for he found himself and everypony else stopping under a particularly large tree. Apple Grove ushered them all under a huge gaping hole under it that managed to fit all of them, plus the older mare, as she too crawled inside. They took those several minutes to catch their breath from their frantic running, and a few more to take in what had just happened at the now destroyed treehouse. As Apple Grove crawled back out to look out for anymore danger, Sheton’s curiosity about where they were now was voiced.

“Um…Ms. Apple Grove?” The stormy grey Thestral colt asked as they stopped under a giant leafless tree. “W…what part of the orchard is this?”

Apple Grove took a few moments to catch her breath, before answering Sheton. “This…this is what th’ Ponyville Apple Family, ‘r Granny Smith likes t’ call, th’ Black Tree Grove. It’s a part of Sweet Apple Acres that was abandoned long ago by cousin Applejack her brother an’ sisters, an’ Granny Smith some time ago.”

“Abandoned?” Sheton repeated, looking somewhat surprised. “Were they not able to keep up with the apples in this part of the orchard?”

“Oh no, they were able to keep up with them just fine.” Fire Flash replied gruffly. “Unfortunately, AB’s awesome grandmother of a mare ended up having to deal with a pack of Timberwolves that had wandered onto the very edge of the farm. Long story short, they ended up having beef with Granny Smith, and…those damn mutts ended up burning up this part of the orchard beyond recognition, and I mean everything in it. Now the only thing left of this part of the orchard is all of these dead trees, which look like they could be used for some new Nightmare Night celebration or something like that.”

“Oh…” Sheton murmured, his ears pinning back as he looked over at Apple Bloom. “I guess that Granny Smith wasn’t very happy about that, huh Apple Bloom?”

The sun yellow filly snorted. “You have no idea Sheton.” She replied dryly. “Those wooden doggies really did a number ‘round here when they came here. Granny Smith lead them here t’ try t’ keep us safe from th’ Timberwolves an’ took them on herself. She managed t’ drive them away but…it ended up with this part o’ our orchard bein’ destroyed. Ah can still feel th’ magic from them doggies lingerin’ ‘round here…somewhat.”

“Awww, that had to suck.” Sheton murmured, draping a warm bat wing. “I’m sorry you had to go through that Apple Bloom.”

“It’s okay, at least we still have our other chest on different fields.” Apple Bloom said smiling sweetly at the colt. “This is just a small lose for us apples; we still have plenty o’ apple t’ bring int’ harvesting t’ keep this farm goin!”

“Yeah!” Dinky squeaked. “And there’s a lot of other places for us to play all we want with each other too!” She paused as she glanced over at Fire Flash. “Though, using the part of the orchard for a Nightmare Night party doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Right at that moment, Apple Grove, who had just finished surveying the area of the grove of black trees, turned back to the foals. “Alright, it doesn’t look like there’s anypony here right now, so Ah think we can take a breather fer right now. Still, don’t let yer guard down no matter what happens okay? There’s no tellin’ when that varmint is gonna come after us, if he’s comin’ after us that is.”

“W-w-we won’t…w-we won’t l-leave u-unless we n-n-need t-too.” Scootaloo stammered softly, speaking up for the first time since they got her. “W-what’re you g-going t-to do?”

“Ah’m gonna keep a lookout fer that varmint if he comes here.” Apple Grove replied firmly. “Ah don’t know what’s happenin’ between him an’ Spike, but if he is on his way here, Ah’m gonna by y’all sometime t’ escape from th’ lack Tree Grove.”

“Y-you’re gonna fight him by yourself too?!” Crescent cried. “B-but that’s what-!”

“Ah know that that’s what Spike did sweetheart, jus’ listen t’ me okay?” Apple Grove said gently and firmly, holding a hoof up. “Ah’m not gonna really fight him all that long, Ah’m jus’ gonna keep him distracted long enough t’ let ya run back t’ th’ barn if hindin’ here doesn’t work. Once Ah’m sure that your safe, Ah’ll come an’ join’ y’all, an’ me an’ the others will keep ya safe.” A reassuring smile came onto her face as she looked fondly at them, mainly Apple Bloom. “Ah promise, Ah’ll make sure that Ah don’t die at that varmints hooves, an’ Ah don’t want any o’ y’all lookin’ back until yer back at th’ barn, ya understand?”

None of the foals replied for the longest time, honestly contemplating whether to take Apple Grove’s words to heart. The gentle reassurance in those violet eyes made them want to take it however, and after another minute of silence, Apple Bloom replied. “A…alright cousin Grove, we’ll trust ya t’ keep us safe. Jus’ try not t’ git taken out too quickly, alright?”

Apple Grove nodded, reaching over and patting her little cousin on her head. “Don’t worry, Ah’m not goin’ down any time so-”

The sound of something stabbing and sinking to flesh cut the young Pegasus mare off as she froze in shock, her eyes widening as her jaw dropped. Apple Bloom and all the foals’ eyes widened when they saw a thick stream of blood fall from Grove’s mouth, which fell onto the black blade protruding out of her stomach. Grove slowly looked down at the blade protruding out of her mouth, the shock slowly wearing off as the pain began to set in.

“Sorry, but it doesn’t look like your cousin is going to be protecting you anytime soon.” A familiar voice said from behind Grove. “Although, since you were so keen on that, I’ll this quick for you.”

Scootaloo screamed bloody murder as Apple Grove was yanked out of the entrance of the giant tree by her tail before she felt a set of claws grab her on the back or rump. Faster than she would’ve ever thought possible, Apple Grove found herself slammed into another one of the trees, the force so powerful that it knocked her out cold.

“APPLE GROVE!” Apple Bloom screamed as she watched her cousin fall to the ground with a sickening thud.

“Awww, don’t worry my dear, I didn’t hurt your dear cousin too much.” Serafino cooed as he smiled wickedly down at the filly. “Although I don’t think she’ll be waking up from that attack anytime soon.”

Fire Flash growled heatedly, her golden eyes flashing with anger. “Why you…you’re going to pay for that, you asshole!”

“My, my, what filthy language from such a young filly.” Serafino chuckled, not in the least bit intimidated by the filly’s glare. “I’m going to need to teach you a lesson for that, just like I did with that little insolent draconic colt.”

“Wait…are you talking about Spike?” Crescent asked, her eyes widening in horror. As soon as the horror came to her face, it was quickly replaced by anger. “What did you do to my brother Serafino?! if you even harmed a single scaly hair on his head, I swear…!”

Serafino let out another chuckled, giving his tail skirt a light flick. “Oh, no need to get so worked up my little filly…your dear big brother is just fine. In fact, due to his draconic heritage, he’ll survive the treehouse fire without a problem. That is, if he manages to regain consciousness quick enough to jump out of the treehouse before it falls on top of him.”

“Y-you…you got the drop on him?” Dinky asked with a slight stammer. “B-but how…h-h-he’s a Kirin, he never lets somepony take him out that quickly!”

“Well, it looks like he let his guard down for a little bit too long.” Serafino commented with a slight shrug. "No matter I’ve taken care of him, and rather quickly too, and now…” He smirked evilly down at the foals, pointedly at Sheton. “There’s just the seven of you.”

Sheton’s eyes widened in terror. “No, wait! D-don’t do it-!”

The young fledgling was barely able to get that sentence out of his mouth before the tree they were hiding in exploded out of nowhere. Sheton and all of the other foals all screamed out in terrified pain as they scattered about the Black Tree Grove, Sheton lying the furthest away from them. He moaned in pain at the bruises and that covered his body, and as he looked up, he felt his heart stop upon what he saw in front of him.

Serafino, who had not moved from the spot he was when the tree exploded, had all of the fillies around him, either encased his magic, or having thorns wrapped around them. Each of them struggled violently as they tried to escape from the stallion’s grasp, but they were either stilled in the air, or had Serafino’s vines grasp them tighter. All of them were giving out multiple pain filled cries of response from this, all of them torture in Sheton’s sensitive ears.

“S-S-S-Sheton!” Scootaloo wailed, tears falling from her single violet eye as she felt the thorned vines dig into her flesh. The bright orange filly sobbed with pain as she tried to break free, causing the thorns to drive deeper into her. “I-it hurts…! P-P-P-Please….h-h-help us!”

“Girls!” Sheton cried as he shot to his hooves. “Don’t worry, I’m coming!”

Serafino’s dark green eyes glowed. “I don’t think so little colt.”

Just as Sheton began to fly towards the Nightmare Alicorn, he felt himself violently slammed back int the ground, his fedora falling off of his head. He hissed and screeched like a bat in a cave as he fought and struggled against Serafino’s black vines, ignoring the thorns that stabbed into his small form. Thanks to his supernatural strength, he had a better chance of getting out, but at the very least he managed to get to his hooves.

“Faustdammit…let me go!” Sheton hissed, baring his fangs as his entrancing blue eyes glowed with anger. “Put my friends down, now!”

“Oh, so you want me to put them down?” Serafino asked, smiling in amusement at the colt as he watched him continue to fight. “And just what’re you going do to if I don’t?”

Sheton’s ears went back as a growl formed in the back of his throat. “Do you really want me to answer that question?” He asked, his tone gaining a sharp edge to it. “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with right now!”

Serafino, although a little taken aback by the razor edge to Sheton’s voice, let out a laugh as he walked over to the colt. “Oh, I think you’re wrong there my little colt. I’m dealing with a colt that looks like a bat pup that’s fallen out of its mother’s embrace before it even managed to fly yet. That, and one who should know when to hold his tongue…and since your dear mother isn’t here, I’ll have to teach you that lesson for her.”

The next thing Sheton knew, the left side of his face exploded with pain as Serafino punched him across the face, not looking like he put much effort into it. The colt screamed as pain flashed through his head, a few teeth, plus his fangs, flew out of his mouth, having been torn out right at the roots. As Sheton fell to the ground, Serafino slammed a hoof down on his face, emitting another scream from the colt as his head was dug into the earth he lay upon.

“Awww, what’s the matter young colt? Not able to take the pain from a real Thestral?” Serafino asked, smiling in sadistic glee at the colt’s agony. “That’s too bad…I expected a lot better from one of the descendants of the Dark Queen.”

“You leave him alone you jerk!” Sweetie shouted, her horn igniting as she prepared to try to blast Serafino’s face off. When it was clear that he wasn’t listening to her, she growled and screamed, “I said, leave him alone!”

Blinded by rage, the ocean blue filly shot a blast of magic at Serafino, which ended up striking him in the back of the head. The stallion cried in pain in surprise as he stumbled forward trampling over Sheton as he did so. His right hoof slowly reached to the back of his head, and when he pulled it away, he watched as black blood slowly dripped from his hoof and into the ground. As if it was made of paste, Serafino’s head slowly turned into Sweetie’s direction, and shot her the most baleful look she had ever seen.

“You shouldn’t have done that young filly.”

The sheer iciness and dripping venom in Serafino’s tone sent a shiver down Sweetie’s spine, and as he teleported in front of her, all the rage she felt was sucked away. She squeaked in fear as she felt the stallion grab her by the horn and force her terrified emerald eyes to look into his evil darker ones.

“I must say that was quite the magical attack you shot at me…you actually hurt me there.” He commented as he clenched down on the horn in his hoof. “If you were a Thestral, like that colt over there, I would’ve been impressed by that move. Too bad that you’re not going to be able to use it again…”

Before Sweetie Belle could react, Serafino lunged forward and chomped down hard on the filly’s horn. Her screams of pain echoed about the clearing of the Black Tree Grove as Serafino pulled and yanked on her horn, sending sparks of pain through her head. Although he wasn’t trying to snap her horn in half, it was clear that he wanted to cause Sweetie as much pain as possible.

“Sweetie Belle!” Dinky squealed, tears falling from her golden eyes as she watched her fellow Unicorn get tormented. “Stop it, stop! Please stop hurting her!”

“LET HER GO YOU BASTARD!” Fire Flash screamed, blood dripping from her body as she struggled with all her might. The vines got tighter around her body as she did so, but that was the last thing on her mind. “DO IT NOW OR I SWEAR I WILL BURN YOU TO ASH!!!”

“Oh, and just how will you that my little filly?” Serafino asked, not stopping in his torment of the sobbing filly beneath him. “You’re not even able to loosen the vines entrapping you and your friends, and you’ll only quicken your death the more you do so. I suggest that you stay still, least you accidentally snap your own neck.”

“You damn varmint…” Apple Bloom hissed, her eyes glowing fiercely. “When we git outta this, Ah’m gonna bury you six feet under th’ ground, an’ Ah swear, Ah’m gonna make it slow!”

Serafino chuckled, finally letting go of Sweetie Belle’s horn as the filly sobbed and cried in agony, while he stared down in amusement at the farm filly. “Oh, really now? That was just what I was about to say about you and each of your friends. now that I bring that up, I think it’s about time I start to have my fun with you all…”

Scootaloo whimpered, her eye widening in fear. “F-f-f-fun?” She stammered, not liking the way that Serafino said it. “W-w-what d-do you m-mean…f-f-fun?”

Serafino slowly shifted his gaze towards Scootaloo, looking directly into her face. The grin on his face made the poor filly lose her bladder that she only just realized she was holding all day. “Why, the fun that I’m going to have in utterly breaking all of you of course. And, since you were so eager in finding out what it is…I think I’ll let you be my first participant.”

In the blink of an eye, Serafino teleported over to Scootaloo and away from Sweetie Belle, standing right in behind the petrified filly. She gasped as she felt him grab her mane and pull her head back, exposing her neck for all to see. As Serafino leaned his head down towards her’s, Scootaloo noticed his gleaming gaping fangs, and she immediately knew exaclty what he was going to do.

“N-no…no…n-n-n-no don’t p-p-please!” She pleaded, tears falling form her eye again as she began to sob. “N-no, d-d-don’t drink my blood! Please don’t drink my blood!”

Serafino paused in his advancing on Scootaloo’s neck, looked her in her single bloodshot eye, and replied, “Who said that I was going to drink your blood?”

Scootaloo paused, the question throwing her off guard. “W-what?”

“T-that’s right…I’m actually going for your magic reserves little one.” Serafino explained with a dark chuckle. “See, unlike Vampires and the rest of the Three Pony Tribes, we Bat Ponies have ability to drain ponies of their magic and use it as our own. Something that I’m pretty sure that you’re little Thestral friend can do as well if I’m correct.” He glanced over at an ashen faced Sheton for a moment, before looking back down at Scootaloo. “Although this will drain you of your magical reserves that’d be far less painful for you then me drinking your blood, you will do doubt be left in quite the dazed and aching state. If I do say so myself little one.”

“S-s-so…” Dinky stammered, stopping in her crying. “Y-you’re…not going to drink her blood?”

“Oh no, I was just going to drain her of all her magic.” Serafino replied casually, before a bloodthirsty smirk came to her face. “After that, then I’m going to drink her blood…every, single, drop.”

He didn’t even try to suppress his laugh at the screams of horror from Dinky, Scootaloo, Crescent and Sweetie Belle, nor the enraged obscenities from Apple Bloom and Fire Flash. As he once again traveled down to Scootaloo’s neck, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, that Sheton was struggling harder than ever.

“I am warning you Serafino, you better let her go right now!” He yelled, smoke shooting from his flared nostrils as his eyes blazed a bright blue. “I swear, I will make you regret it if you do!”

“By doing that? You can’t even escape my vines, even with the amazing strength you have.” Serafino grinned, his fangs inching closer to Scootaloo’s neck. “You really are a pathetic excuse for a Thestral…I almost feel sorry for your dear friends.”

“No, please don’t do it! I’ll do whatever you want, I swear!” Scootaloo pleaded, sobbing loudly as more tears poured down her cheeks. “I’ll even let you take all the magic I have, just please, please don’t drain me of my blood! I wanna live; liiihihihihiiive!”

“Then again…I really don’t.” Serafino added, giving on last pause as he looked around at all of the crying and screaming foals. “Now, say goodbye to your little friends...Sheton.”

With those final words, Serafino gave a stomp of his hooves, and the vines trapping the other fillies to the ground, Sheton included, became even tighter around them. They even wrapped around their necks and began to choke them, as if they were Anacondas trying to strangle them before swallowing them whole. As the foals struggled to breath, Serafino turned his attention back down to Scootaloo, who was the only one not choking on the vines. With a predatory grin, he leaned down and grazed his fags across her neck, causing her to squeak out in terror as he licked at the trickles of blood flowing from her cuts. Unable to resist any longer, Serafino opened his mouth wide and began to slowly clamp down on a screaming Scootaloo’s bleeding neck, and at that moment, something inside Sheton snapped.

“I SAID LET THEM GO!” He screamed out, his young childish voice gaining a dark and almost demonic edge to it.

A wave of solid black energy suddenly exploded from underneath the colt, tearing through the black vines like they were scrap paper. It washed over the clearing and enveloped Serafino and the fillies, blowing the former back while the latter were still rooted to the spot. The sound of bat-like screeching echoed through the air making everypony who was close by go deaf for a long agonizing minute. As quickly as it came, the dark power receded, allowing everypony to see and hear again, and when they glanced over at Sheton, they all froze upon what their eyes lay upon.

Sheton, who was just a minute ago looking like a helpless fledgling, now looked like something that crawled out from the most petrifying depths of Tartarus. His stormy grey colt had darkened considerably, to the point where it was almost as black as his mane. Said mane, which once had gentle midnight blue streaks in them, now had ones that were a deep red, as if they were painted in blood. The colt’s fangs, which were so violently punched out, had now regrown, to the point where they looked like sabers, gleaming brighter than ever. His wings had also turned an inky black color, even blacker than his mane, looking twice as big, with wing claws just as wicked as his new set of fangs. The most disturbing part, however, were Sheton’s eyes…what were once gentle orbs of emerald blue, were now a malicious blood red. A redness that made those who seemed to look into it feel like they were being scorched in the Eternal Pit of Hell Fire. Flooded with pain and agony beyond their comprehension and understanding.

The very same feeling that Serafino was currently feeling as he stared into the colt’s eyes, and looked on in terrified horror at his appearance.

“W-w-what…what in Solaris’s name happened to you?!” Serafino sputtered out, his shock finally beginning to wear off. “What did you do to yourself?!”

Sheton didn’t say a word, just baring his newly evolved fangs at Serafino as a blood curdling snarl left his throat, his darkened fur bristling. Without warning, deep red auras surrounded each of the wounded fillies, lifting them up with such a gentleness it was like tending to a group of newborn babies. They slowly carried them over to Sheton and nestled them behind him, being careful not to aggravate the wounds covering them. As they looked up at him, it was at that moment that they realized Sheton had also grown in height, nearly as tall as Serafino now.

“I told you not to hurt any of my new friends…but you didn’t listen.” The colt murmured, his soft voice holding a dark and powerful edge to it. “Now…you’re going to pay for it.”

“Don’t try to change the subject here you little brat!” Serafino commanded, stomping his hoof down and leave a crack in the ground. “I asked you a question, and I expect you to answer your superior! What did you do to make yourself turn into that?!”

No sooner did those words leave his mouth, did Sheton’s new tail skirt lash out and cracked like a whip, before his mouth opened to let out a leonine roar. The power behind it caused dust and chunks of earth to rip from the ground, as well as send Serafino into another one of the dead black trees. He could feel the power radiating from the roar alone, and it let him know that he was not just dealing with a helpless little colt anymore.

He was dealing with a monster.

“Don’t you dare demand me of something that doesn’t deserve to be given to somepony like you! You’re the one who hurt my friends, not me!” Sheton shouted, picking up his Fedora and setting it back upon his head. He aligned it in a way that gave him an even more menacing look, and it didn’t help that his hat was covering his right eye. “And how do you go off saying you’re my damn superior when none of us even know you?! That’s okay though, because what you did tonight alone lets me know that you’re nothing but a bloodthirsty deranged PSYCHOPATH!”

Rearing up, Sheton reared up and slammed his forehooves down, causing the ground in front of him to become obliterated with cracks and crevasses. They went up to where Serafino was, along with three he was leaning against, and buried both under the destroyed earth. As Serafino tried to pull himself out, he looked back up into Sheton’s eyes, shock and fear replacing his anger.

“W…w-what are you?” Serafino asked, a slight stammer coming to his smooth voice. “What in the hell are you?!”

Sheton flared his newly evolved sinister bat wings, his equally sinister bat ears pinning back as he hovered in the air, the fillies behind him watching in terrified awe all the while. With his eyes glowing redder than blood and teeth gleaming as sharp as knives, the colt growled and said, “I… am your worst nightmare!”

With a sound that was mixed between a screech and a roar, Sheton hurled himself at Serafino, going at a speed that would’ve had Rainbow Dash sweating in fear. He collided with Serafino with the force of an elephant, clamping down on his neck as he drove his hoof into the stallions’ stomach, sending him right through the tree he was under. The tree exploded on impact like a nuclear bomb and splinters and branches flew everywhere as Sheton carried the stallion in the air. Once they were well above the Black Tree Grove, Sheton spun through the air and delivered a powerful side kick to Serafino’s face, before delivering an axe kick to his head. With a screech, Sheton drove both of his blood red forehooves into the stallion’s back, driving him down to the earth as he crashed into it.

With a beat of his powerful wings, Sheton flew down towards Serafino as he was pulling himself from out of the ground, driving him right through it as chunks of earth rose as a result. The stallion’s screams could be heard echoing about the Black Tree Grove as Sheton tore him through it, right in front of the spectating fillies.

“Land Sakes…look at him.” Apple Bloom murmured softly, captivated by the scene happening before her. “He’s tearin’ that varmint up like he’s nothin’! he was barely able t’ git outta his vines jus’ a second ago.”

“No shit AB!” Fire Flash exclaimed. “He’s gone completely nuts! Scratch that, he’s going batshit crazy!”

“W-well can you b-blame him?” Dinky asked, wiping her tears. “H-he just saw is g-getting held to the g-ground b-by that s-stallion’s v-vines. N-not only that, h-he literally s-saw Sweetie B-Belle -getting her horn r-ripped off, a-and S-Scootaloo nearly g-get bitten! W-who wouldn’t g-get upset about that?”

Sweetie Belle, who was consoling a whimpering Scootaloo, looked over at Dinky and said, “W-well, to be fair…S-Serafino was b-biting and p-pulling at my horn. S-so I don’t t-think he was t-trying to r-rip it off.” She looked up at her horn and winced as another stab of pain flashed through her head. “S-still, i-it did hurt r-regardless…”

“Don’t worry Sweetie Belle, when this is all over, we can go to Nurse Redheart and see if she can do something about any possible nerve damage your horn has.” Crescent Shield said soothingly, rubbing her hoof down the Unicorn filly’s back. “Well, after Sheton finishes him off that is…”

“D-d-d-d-do you t-t-t-think S-S-S-Sheton w-w-w-will b-b-b-be o-o-o-okay?” Scootaloo asked, her eye still full of tears as she clung to Sweetie Belle. “S-S-S-Serafino m-m-managed t-t-t-to e-escape f-from S-S-S-Spike…w-w-w-will he d-d-do t-t-the s-s-s-s-same t-t-t-to S-S-Sheton?”

The sound of a tree exploding brought the foals attention back to the one on one fight, and they Sheton slamming Serafino into another tree. He whirled around and kicked the stallion into the tree, the sound of ribs cracking echoing about the air, before turning back around and lunging at the stallion. Sheton sunk he newly elongated fangs into Serafino’s lower neck, and after holding on for several moments, he ripped them out, blood spewing from the wound. The shock from the attack allowed Sheton to grab Serafino and life him in the air, throwing him across it as he blasted him with a bolt of fire.

“Oh yeah…he’s gonna be just fine.” Fire Flash replied; her mouth stretched into a grin. “And I have a feeling that Sheton isn’t going to be that easy to fool.”

“You damn pest, get the hell off of me!” Serafino yelled, kicking the enlarged colt off of him as he blasted him away with magic. “Fire Nightmare Alicorn Thestral: Green Sea of Fire!”

With his mouth agape, he shot a stream of fire from his mouth, letting it envelope the Sheton in a sea of green. The sound of the colt screeching in pain filled Serafino in a sense of satisfaction, letting him know he was at least some damageable retaliation. A few moments into the attack, he suddenly saw Sheton burst out of the fire, red eyes blazing as his giant wings melted in the darkness of the night, the claws gleaming.

‘That’s impossible!’ Serafino thought to himself, his dark green eyes widened in disbelief. ‘He managed to withstand my Nightmare Flames?!’

“Nice try there, asshole, but you’re not gonna get the drop on my like you did to Spike!” Sheton shouted acidly as his wings glowed with a blood red aura. “Dark Wind Thestral: Dark Bloody Slicing Flock!”

With a speed that was just as fast as his last attack, Sheton unleashed a flock of sinisterly dark wind attacks at Serafino. The speed in which they were going in left him barely able block most of the attacks, and as he tried to form a shield to stop the remaining ones, a few ended up viciously slicing into them. The pain that exploded through his body gave Sheton the opening he needed to send a vicious punch to his face, giving his fangs the same treatment that Serafino did him just minutes ago.

“Don’t think I’m done with you yet, because I’m just getting started!” Sheton shouted as she inhaled a deep breath of air. “Dark Fire Thestral: Dark Vortex of Scorching Flames!”

With a powerful exhale, a giant black vortex of dark fire blasted from the colt’s mouth and headed towards the spiraling Serafino. In his flight, he saw the vortex coming and tried to conjure a shield to protect him, but it was a practically futile effort. He found himself slamming into a dead tree, leaving him helpless against the flames that burned him and the tree along with it. He screamed in agony as Sheton’s flames drove him deeper into the tree, and by the time the attack ended, the tree exploded on impact, burying Serafino underneath it.

“How did you like that? Was that worthy enough for a Thestral?” Sheton asked, giving another flick of his tail skirt. “Because I’ve got plenty more where that came from, much more!"

Serafino then pulled himself out of the destroyed tree, shaking the bark and splinters out of his bloodied form. As he took a few moments to collect himself, he glared up at the enlarged colt with his own fangs bared and wings flared wide.

“Alright, now you’ve really made me mad you little wretched fledgling!” He shouted as he stomped his hoof. “I’ve tried being nice about all of this, but your pathetic little resistance has forced my hoof! And now, you’ve brought out the nightmare inside of me, and he’s about to teach you a lesson!”

“Oh, so you’re going to teach me a lesson?” Sheton asked incredulously, with a snort. “Did you seriously forget that you tried to kill my friends and drink one of them dry as if she was an apple?! You’re even more of a sociopath than I thought you were! While I do think that somepony needs to be taught a lesson, and it’s not going to be me! One of those lessons, is to not piss of a Thestral!”

“That makes two of us.” Serafino murmured, stopping out of the wooden debree as he ignited his horn. “I hope you’re ready you false Thestral, because I’m gonna show you why you shouldn’t disobey the Dark Army of Nightmare Moon!”

“And I’m going to show why you shouldn’t mess with the Thestrals of Hollow Shades! Especially one who’s friends you nearly murdered in front of their eyes!” Sheton retorted, giving another spine-chilling hiss. “Then again, I’ve already planned on doing just that, and I swear, when this is all over, you…will…bleed!”

Author's Notes:

Okay, I'm gonna say this right now, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter down! Especially with the one about the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sheton, Crescent Shield, and Spike all slowly, but surely making their way into the battlefield and playing a apart in protecting their town agains the Dark Army. I could feel my heart pounding as I wrote this particular part of the chapter, especially one with Sheton's fight against Serafino after he had tried to kill the fillies! Now, just like all of the other previous times, I was having a bit of trouble trying to think of what other scene to set the one with the foals apart before I went back with them, and after a while, I managed to think of the one having Trixie duking it with Deathgod, which was, in my honest opinion, a good scene. Especially since we're starting to near the edge of the climax of the incoming finale battles. Now, I sensed that this chapter was running off for a bit too long, but while I was writing Sheton's fight with Serafino, I decided that I would make an except for this one...and maybe the next few chapters, because I have a sense that the next ones are going to be quite the eventful ones for our youthful little foals. Also, for all of who who're wondering about Sheton's frighteningly dark powers, worry not all will be explained in due time, and trust me, your minds will be blown!!!

Well, that'll for now folks, tune in next time to everypony's favorite drake, and his face off against the mastermind of the events in the treehouse and the Black Tree Grove of Sweet Apple Acres!!!