Starlight continued to head down to the forest in search for Twilight. She searched for her further and further aftering entering the forest. She continued to find a lead that could help her get Twilight, but she was completely traceless. Starlight moved around in circles to find out where Twilight went, but she came up short on answers. Defeated, she decided to head back to the Empire. Just then, she heard shaking in the bushes.

“Hmm? Who’s there?” Starlight said, glowing her horn.

She heard low growling come from the bushes. Starlight backed away out of caught and her horn grew brighter when the growling started to become louder. The growling sounded like snapping twigs and the glowing eyes coming from the bushes were like fireflies on a starry night. The growling stopped when Starlight kept her distance away from the bush. All of a sudden, timberwolves lunged at her with intense ferocity. Starlight jumped away from the wooden creature and fired a blast of magic at it. The shot worked, but creature didn’t die. Instead, it mutated into some form of creature which oddly stood on its hind legs and was a lot more taller. Its arms were larger and its torso was incredibly wide. The timberwolve howled into the sky and charged at Starlight. She managed to dodge its attacks, but it was stronger than it appeared to be, even for her. She fired another beam of magic at the timberwolf, but it just shrugged the shots off like they were bee-stings. Starlight was cornered and had no idea what to do at this point. She completely helpless and about to be mauled to death by a timberwolf. Just then, the timberwolf felt something sink into its back. It pulled the mystery object out of its back and had a look at it. Starlight took a look as well and saw that it was a scythe. She remembered what it was and who it belonged to. The timberwolf turned around saw that it was Twilight Sparkle.

“Repent and cease,” Twilight said in a dark yet humorous voice.

The timberwolf growled, slammed the ground repeatedly, then howled into the sky as it lunged at Twilight. She simply grinned and levitated her scythe in a spinning motion as it went right through the timberwolf. It yelped as it tried to get away from Twilight. The timberwolf whimpered out of mercy as she spun her scythe around and slammed it deep into the Timberwolf’s head. After that, the creature died. As the creature breathed its last, black ooze came out of its body as it tried to escape before Twilight levitated it into a canister.

“Where have you been?” Starlight asked, sternly.

“Around,” Twilight simply replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“What you don’t need to know.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You’re excused.”

Starlight was baffled by Twilight’s callous attitude as the latter retrieved her scythe from the now-deceased timberwolf’s head.

“How about you tell me what you’re doing in the forest when you’re supposed to be with us, fighting an entity that will more than likely eat us!? I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Where in the hell have you been?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’m making it my business!”

“Are you?”

Starlight remained defiant as Twilight grabbed her scythe.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. If I catch you with so much as your hoof in the cookie jar, you won’t get as much as a job teaching foal school chemistry, you one-trick pony!” Starlight shouted.

Twilight levitated her scythe back to her side and said, “Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. But whatever grudge you may hold against me, I would hold off on any hoof-pointing if I were you. If I were to be completely honest however, you shouldn’t be snooping around either. You should have learned that by now.”

Twilight started to walk away after putting the canister away.

“At least I don’t go sneaking behind my friend’s backs,” Starlight retorted.

Hearing this made Twilight stop for a brief moment. Then she started to walk away without a second thought. Just then, Pinkie Pie appeared and said,

“Hey Twilight! How’d you end up here with Starlight?”

“I was out here on recon until she compromised my position…”

After Pinkie and Twilight left, Starlight was left alone and did not know what to do next at this point. She wanted to get to the bottom of what Twilight was doing, but it now seemed more than impossible since Twilight had no traces. But before she could leave, Starlight found some leftover black ooze leaking from the timberwolf as it laid there. Starlight levitated a stick and poked it into the ooze. Upon physical contact, the ooze corroded the stick and choked the utter life out of it. She quickly but a barrier around it to avoid getting on her. Now she started to get suspicious and wondered what Twilight was truly planning.

“Could she…?”

Starlight pulled out a bottle and scooped some of the ooze into it. Then she dashed back to the castle, hoping to analyze more of it and to hopefully identify what this Corruption is doing inside the Crystal Empire.

Making her way back into her room and clearing her desk away for room, she levitated the bottle that she stole from Twilight, the other one from her former teacher’s room, and the stuff she just retrieved. Spending countless hours recording and researching the ooze, she was barely coming up with anything on answers and she was ready to throw in the towel. Just then, she noticed a cockroach come near the ooze. When it came closer, the ooze started reacting. As the cockroach finally came close to the ooze, the ooze latched onto the insect. Just then, it started changing, making it more twisted and wretched. It hissed and growled with anger as it eyed Starlight. But before it could attack her, Starlight scooped it in a jar and it was trapped. Just then, she heard a knock on the door.

“Y-Yes?!” Starlight shouted, trying to keep the noise down.

“It’s Applejack, sugarcube! Is the spell coming out nicely for the unicorn battalions?” Applejack asked from behind the door.

“It’s a work-in-progress, Applejack! Halfway complete!”

“I hope so! Because the soldiers are a little on edge now!”

“Yeah! Who isn’t on edge these days?”

“Is there something wrong, sugarcube? I hear something unpleasant back there.”

“It’s nothing! Just searching for materials!”

“Do you need help with that?”

“No! It’s under control! Just somewhere in here!”

“If you say so! Just don’t go pushin’ yourself, ya hear?”

“Yeah! I hear ya!”

After waiting for Applejack to leave, Starlight unwrapped her arms surrounding the jar. Looking at the trapped cockroach, it now all but confirmed Starlight’s fears: Twilight was no longer sane.