Twilight pulled herself free from a patch of bramble and relit her horn to illuminate the enshrouding darkness. “Come on, Rarity! Hurry!” she cried over her shoulder.

Rarity scrambled out from the underbrush, yanking a grasping branch from her mane with a look of disgust. “I’m trying, Twilight.”

Spurred by worry, Twilight took off down a path with newfound determination the instant Rarity caught up. The Everfree was no place for three little fillies to play. What had they been thinking?

Dark shadows played across the leaves and limbs that pressed in on either side, and ominous animal calls threatened danger at any moment. Her heart beat with fear of what lay beyond the shadows, of what may have happened to Applebloom.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said it had happened near a fallen tree, but being in a forest complicated things. Twilight and Rarity had already scoured around dozens of fallen trees, but without luck.

“Twilight, we should turn around,” Rarity pleaded, eyes darting nervously about. “There’s no way they came this far in.”

“We don’t know that, Rarity. What if she’s just up ahead and we turned around right now?”

Rarity bit her lip, looking away, but continued on without complaint.

The path turned around a massive boulder covered in moss. Another fallen tree came into view, its body mangled as if by otherworldly claws. “Rarity! Over here!”

The two dashed around the tree, and at the far reaches of their hornlight, they could make out a small yellow figure laying in a clearing.

Twilight gasped, and her heart bottomed out. “Applejack! Rainbow Dash! We found her!” She rushed to the figure, Rarity close behind. Panting heavily, she looked down on Applebloom and sighed with relief. Still breathing.

“Applebloom?” Twilight said, putting a hoof to her shoulder. “Applebloom, wa—” She gasped and retracted her hoof. Even in the darkness, she could make out a monstrous scar running the length of her chest, black as char.

“T-Twilight, w-what happened?” Rarity asked, her voice shaky.

Rainbow Dash burst into the clearing, covered in leaves and clinging branches. “Where is sh—” Her voice caught in her throat, and she landed beside them, silent.

Applejack tore through a patch of thorns seconds after, bleeding from innumerable scrapes and cuts, her face wrought with fear. She ran to the group, but stopped cold. “Applebloom!” She pushed the others aside and shook her sister violently. “Applebloom, wake up!” No response.

“Applejack, we need to get her out of here!” Twilight said.

“You think I don’t know that, Twi!?” Applejack snapped as she lifted her sister onto her back and took off, the others hot on her heels.

The warm light of Fluttershy’s cottage grew ahead as they left the forest and its oppressive darkness behind. The moonlit meadow would have been a welcoming sight for Twilight if not for the overwhelming sense of dread.

She shot a glance at Applebloom’s scar as they ran. Was it the same as that old ghost story? Twilight cringed at the thought. From the bottom of her heart, she hoped not, but had to make sure.

“Applejack! Take her to the library! I’ll meet you there!” Twilight said, breaking off toward Fluttershy’s cottage. Applejack gave a distant nod and continued toward Ponyville along with the others.

Twilight leapt across the stream outside Fluttershy’s cottage. Oh, Celestia, please let me be wrong... She burst through the door, causing the animals to scatter and Fluttershy to leap in fright.

Both wearing their Crusader capes, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran to Twilight with tear-stained faces. “Twilight!” they both yelled.

“Did you find her? Is she okay?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Though she wanted to slap them for doing something so foolish, Twilight gave them a reassuring hug; this was the time for answers, not scolding. “We found her, don’t worry.” Their faces lit up, but Twilight gave them a fierce glare. “But you two need to tell me exactly what happened."

Sweetie Belle looked away, fresh tears forming in her eyes, and Scootaloo bit her lip, looking down at the floor.

Twilight stamped her hoof. “Girls, this is serious!” The two jumped and then cowered together, staring up at her as if she were a monster.

“W-we were walking through the forest and everything was really dark,” Scootaloo said shakily. “Applebloom wanted to go home, but...” she sniffled, “but I said we should keep adventuring for our b-b... bravery cutie marks. And th-then it jumped out at us...” She shook uncontrollably.

“What jumped out at you?” Twilight asked, growing more concerned.

“We don’t know!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “It was s-some big shadow! It attacked Applebloom and then, and then...” She looked at the floor and sniffled, her tears staining the carpet. “She stopped moving...”

Scootaloo started to speak, but fear had deafened Twilight to the world. A shadow? No, anything but that. Celestia, don’t let it be true...

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, causing her to jump again. “Keep the girls here. I’ll come back to pick them up when we have this all sorted out.”

Fluttershy nodded sheepishly before calling them to her side.

In a flash of light, Twilight blinked out of the cottage and into the library, where everypony yelped in surprise.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” Spike asked from the staircase, his voice full of concern. “What’s wrong with Applebloom?”

Twilight ignored him, instead walking toward Applejack who held her sister close, stroking her mane consolingly. “Applejack...” she said softly, a lump forming in her throat. “How’s she doing?”

Applejack looked up with bloodshot eyes. “She won’t wake up...”

Twilight couldn’t help the pity growing in her heart. Applebloom lay cuddled in her sister’s hooves, breathing soundly as if dreaming, but the scar looked worse. Its blackened necrosis had turned grey and spidered outward liked cracked earth.

Something deep within Twilight didn’t want to believe, but there was still one last hope she was wrong. She took a deep breath and blew on the scar. Its grey scattered in a cloud of ash, and Twilight fell to her haunches. No...

Horror-stricken, Applejack watched it settle on the floor. “T-Twi...” She looked to Twilight who was scanning the shelves.

Taking a black leather-bound tome from the shelf, Twilight flipped through its pages, eyes alight with fear. She stopped toward the end, and her heart skipped a beat. From a dark shadow that consumed the page, black tendrils ensnared the figures of two ponies, contorting them in agony. Within the shadow, the faintest outline of a face was discernible.

“W-what’s that?” Applejack asked.

“This...” Twilight gulped. “This is a story about a princess from a faraway land. She was attacked by a shadow while picking flowers in a forest by moonlight.” Twilight passed the book around to the others, who all cringed at the sight. “She was found later that night when the villagers heard her screams. Black scars covered her body.” She looked at Applebloom and shivered.

“They tried everything they could to wake her, but nothing worked. The whole time, she screamed in pain while she slept. Then one day, a brave knight and secret lover of the princess vowed he would save her. He laid down beside her and entered her dream with his magic. But...” She stopped, unable to tell the rest.

Applejack lunged at her. “What happened then!? Did he save her!?”

“‘Neither of them ever awoke,’” Rarity read in a shallow voice. “‘He shared her fate, and together, they decayed to ash, consumed in eternal nightmare.’”

Everypony fell silent, and the room went cold.

Applejack stared at her, stunned. “No... It can’t be.”

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Send me in,” Applejack said.

“What?”

Applejack wiped the tears from her face. “I said, send me in.”

“Applejack, you can’t possibly be serious,” Rarity said, eyeing the book.

“Shut it Rarity,” Applejack replied with a reproachful glare before shifting it to Twilight. “You said he went into her dream with his magic to save her, right? Send me. I know you know how.”

Twilight’s ears fell back against her head. She wanted to help, but the book described horrors beyond imagination; she couldn’t let Applejack dive headfirst into something like that. “I-I do, but... I’m sorry, Applejack, I d—”

“Damnit, Twilight, she’s my sister!” She teared up again, trembling. “I have to at least try! And if you’re not gonna help me, then I’ll figure it out myself!”

Suddenly, Applebloom began to whimper and convulse, her face wrenched in pain.

“Applebloom!” Applejack cried. She rushed to her sister, but recoiled as new scars blistered across Applebloom’s back. Applejack shot Twilight a fearful glance, eyes filled with terror.

Twilight hesitated, at a loss. This was something that happened in old mares’ tales, not real life. What was she supposed to do? The book said that nothing could wake the princess. The only thing that supposedly had a chance was the knight. And since he died the same way she did, then he at least made it in. That much had to be true.

Twilight looked between her friends. Rainbow Dash looked pale, and Rarity had sat down, visibly fighting the urge to faint. Applejack was on the verge of a breakdown, but she was right. Somepony had to try.

Twilight set her face with determination. “Spike! Take a letter!” Spike yelped in surprise, but snapped a quick salute before readying a quill and parchment. “Tell Princess Celestia it’s of the utmost importance that she comes to Ponyville immediately,” she dictated as she walked to Applebloom and knelt beside her.

A flourish of his wrist and a wisp of smoke sent the letter on its way.

“But what are we gonna do until she gets here?” Rainbow Dash asked. “We can’t just sit around while Applebloom’s turning to dust!”

Twilight cringed. That was something she wanted to both avoid and avoid thinking about. “Exactly. That’s why you four are going to wait here for the princess. I’m going to save Applebloom.”

“Oh, no you don’t, Twilight,” Applejack said. “She’s my sister, not yours. “You ain’t goin’ alone.”

Rainbow Dash stepped up beside her. “Yeah, what she said. We’re your friends. Where you go, we go.”

“No,” Twilight said. “If the book is right, I don’t... I don’t want you stuck in there, too.”

“But, Twilight—”

“No. I’m going alone and that’s final!” She laid down beside Applebloom, gazing at her. “You have no idea what you’d be up against...”

Relaxing her breath, Twilight closed her eyes and encircled herself with magic. She knew her friends had no idea what awaited, but the truth was, neither did she.

Twilight opened her eyes. Monolithic slabs of stone rose into darkness on all sides save a large archway standing before her, where a faint ambient glow filtered in. A light mist concealed the ground beneath her hooves, and her breath coalesced in the stagnant chill about her.

Where am I?

A pair of pale blue saddlebags lay empty on the ground beside her, emblazoned with her cutie mark. She rose from her haunches and strapped them around herself, glad for something familiar in this odd place.

A light flashed in the distance. What was that? She took a step toward it, but something clanked beneath her. Hundreds of intricately connected, concentric metal rings lied at her hooves, the outermost barely larger than her hoof in diameter. Worn runes covered their rusted surfaces. She lifted it from its setting and placed it in her saddlebags. It would undoubtedly be useful later. She gave the room one last glance before trotting through the doorway.

A shiver worked its way up her spine as she crossed the threshold and beheld her new reality. She stood on the peak of an underground mountain and could see for miles. Every inch of the subterranean world was a labyrinth. The ground. The walls. The ceiling. Tiers upon tiers rose above one another, choking themselves with complexity. No crevice was spared from its twists and turns.

Far in the distance, a great shadow loomed over the maze.

Twilight’s ears fell back against her head, and she gulped. A maze this size could take years, centuries to navigate. How long would she be in here? How could she possibly find Applebloom in this? She bit her lip, but then stamped her hoof. By taking the first step, that’s how.

Chest out in resolve, she did just that.

A staircase began not far from the doorway and carved a steep path down the mountain. Its jagged and broken steps descended treacherously, nearly taking Twilight with it in its crumbling ruin, but in time became easier to navigate. Soon confident in her footing, she gazed out at the labyrinth.

If she had a map, which she could only hope she would find, the labyrinth itself would be of no concern. She knew time was essential, but her worries of getting lost were dwarfed by those of the great shadow over the far end of the maze. With every step, it felt more real, more sentient. She pushed the thought from her mind. Just a trick of the light.

The mountain leveled off onto a barren, rocky terrace, but the staircase continued down through it, unhindered. Twilight paused at the entrance way. The darkness within seemed all-consuming, waiting for her. She lit her horn and focused the beam, but it failed to illuminate the staircase beyond a few steps.

Her heart beat faster. Be strong... You’re not afraid of the dark... Slowly, she took a nervous step through the entrance.

The darkness quickly engulfed her, and the light behind died away unnaturally fast. A cold chill emanated from the grimy limestone walls, which looked eaten away both by time and some hideous creature.

Time passed slowly in the infinite darkness. Her hoofsteps were the only thing that kept her company, but it was not a friendly company. The noise played over in her head in shrill harmony with her heart. The stairs unexpectedly leveled off, and the passage turned right. She stopped, unsure what to make of it.

Carefully, she peered around the corner. It wrapped around and continued downward.

She followed it with a flighty heart. A step gave way to her weight, and she recoiled, screaming in fright. Though relieved it was only the stair, the lack of an echo bothered her immensely.

One hoof in front of the other, Twilight... One in front of the other...

Hopping over the broken step, she arrived at another landing and a doorway. The walls opened up on either side, falling away into nothingness. She couldn’t see the far wall. Goosebumps ran up her legs, and her heart rate spiked.

Oh, Celestia...

Instinct told her to turn and run, and muscles were ready to comply. Come on, Twilight, you can do this. Mustering her will, she took a step forward.

Splish.

She leapt back, gasping. Was that water? It couldn’t be; it stung. Anxiety mixed with fear as the dark corners of her imagination whispered in her head. Be strong, Twilight. For Applebloom... Taking another step, she walked straight, praying to Celestia.

Her hoofsteps were thick, as if walking through molasses, and the acrid smell of bile burned at her lungs and eyes. A thick, heavy droplet landed on her head and a low hiss came from above. She froze, the hair of her nape standing on end as the room again fell silent. The slimy droplet ran down the side of her face. It stung like the liquid around her hooves, but she didn’t flinch.

She remained frozen, listening for the sound. All she heard was the pounding of her heart in her ears. Forward, Twilight.

Ten seconds of fearful eternity ended when the far wall came into sight, along with a nondescript passageway. Relief coursed through her. She stepped up through the doorway onto dry stone, glad for the sight of walls on either side.

Splish.

Her hair shot upright, and she charged blindly down the hallway. Another right turn descended into more darkness. She paid the crumbling stairs little heed, wanting only to put miles between her and the hollow sucking noise that grew behind.

A speck of light grew in the distance. Thank Celestia! The stairs became less decrepit, and the walls became wider. A cold wind swept up from the exit, and the floor leveled off. The speck grew into a large doorway, and she broke free of the darkness before collapsing on the ground, wheezing for air.

She looked over her shoulder, muscles trembling. In the darkness, two tiny gems glinted, followed by thousands more. She slid herself further from the entrance in a frenzy, eyes fixed in place.

The gems returned to the darkness, and the noise faded away. She breathed a sigh of relief, but a glance at her hooves made her cringe. Whatever the substance was, it had eaten away at her skin, leaving blisters.

Twilight stood, thankful that it didn’t hurt much, and looked around in the ambient light.

Sandstone walls, thousands of meters high, lined either side of an expansive pathway. Etched in red, designs of fearsome machines and incomprehensible mathematics scaled every inch, floor and wall alike.

She gave the doorway one last glance. A shiver shot down her spine, and she hurried down the path, away from that forsaken place.

The pathway ended at a three-way intersection where another wall of sandstone towered above. Its face was blank, save for a small inscription at eye level. It was slashed deep into the rock, as if made by bestial claws.

Straight bespins the safest flight

While inward sures the winning fight.

Twice as kind:

The left you find.

Then all that’s left is right.

Below was a small, circular engraving not much larger than her hoof. A thick line cut up through its bottom radius, ending at the center.

She raised an eyebrow, but then gasped. Using her magic, she pulled the metal device from her saddlebag and set it against the stone, but it didn’t look right. Small pieces were missing from random places. She moved it to the side to compare the two. Carefully, she tried spinning the rings, which moved with ease.

“Aha!” She twisted the outermost ring, then the rest, lining up the missing portions to mirror the engraving. A triumphant grin swept across her face, only to be replaced by fear as the runes took shape to read a message:

Enter left to seek redemption.

Enter right to give relief.

The prior yields temptation.

The latter yields belief.

But beware the hallowed halls of stone;

Beware the hollow walls of bone:

Be quick, make haste! The fool is spent;

By claws of rage, his flesh be rent.

But further in, the Darkness calls,

Echoing off soundless walls.

Where chance will find him in his strife,

When all is calm and still:

The faintest voice, a cry for life;

Right judgment has no will.

Let Courage turn his heart to steel,

And all his mind be numb to feel:

A battle high when Death is nigh.

The Faceless One awaits.

Twilight read the final line over and over again. The device trembled in her grasp, and her breathing quickened. She looked away from the device, shutting her eyes. Be strong, Twilight. You’re not getting anywhere by being afraid. She stomped her hoof and held herself high. Just work out the riddle. Self-confidence returning, she gave the wall a resolute glare.

The circular engraving pulsed a faint light. Instinctively, Twilight placed the device into the engraving. It fit perfectly. She looked around, expecting something to happen. When it didn’t, she grumbled and tried to pull the device out, but it wouldn’t budge.

To her surprise, the inscription in the wall melted away, and another took its place in the same demented script.

Follow the holes to find your desire,

Or wand’ring halls, your life will expire.

To keep oneself away from such fate,

The objective is simple: the path make straight.

The script faded away again. Twilight stood in silence, absorbing the information. Suddenly, the sound of grating stone filled the air as the device began to flip and spin, each ring moving to set its opening to a different spot within the circle. It stopped, and after the light within faded, fell to the floor and clattered to a rest.

Twilight sighed in relief and picked up the device to study it. The path make straight... Realigning the rings must be how to get to the center of the labyrinth, given direction by the limerick. She shifted and spun a few rings to test her hypothesis. Feeling confident that she was correct, she returned them to their original configuration and thought through the riddle.

She grinned. Going straight meant flipping the ring over, each ring coincided with a chosen direction, two spaces meant left, and directions are opposite, so two spaces actually meant right. Too easy.

Enter right to give relief.

Still grinning smugly, Twilight headed left. The Faceless One awaits... She stopped dead and shivered. That wasn’t something she wanted to think about. The pathway before her was open and well lit, so she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

Hours passed in relative silence. Twilight’s hoofsteps echoed off the stone walls and into the sky of mazes, and eerie noises sounded down the twisting halls. The device clicked away arbitrary intervals of time and direction.

Left. Right. Straight. Left. Straight. Right. Right. Straight.

It became senseless to keep track. Her attention was better spent looking over her shoulder or eyeing corners and shadowed corridors as the ambient light began to lose strength. That worried her. If it was getting darker, then she was getting nearer, nearer to that sentient darkness.

But what exactly was it? She thought of the book and the gruesome page, those tentacles of shadow. Twilight shivered. The Faceless One... Images of eyeless monsters and lipless demons whirled in her head. Silent and unnerving, they gazed at her from the shadows of her imagination, hauntingly real in her darkened solitude.

She started to wish the others had come with her. Applejack. Rainbow Dash. Rarity. She missed their encouraging smiles, their teamwork, even their insufferable quirks.

A whisper met her ear. She paused and shot a glance over her shoulder, ears swivelling to pick up the noise. Nothing. Just her ragged, nervous breathing.

She continued down the corridor, her face etched with worry. Hearing noises was bad, but thinking that she heard noises was equally as bad, if not worse. Her sanity was something she needed to keep if she had any hope of finding Applebloom.

For the umpteenth time, she clicked the device as it led her leftward. Using it had become second nature, having straightened more than half its ringlets. She gave the little rusted contraption a friendly glance, happy to keep her mind away from insidious thoughts. It was her guide, her only friend in this dark and foreboding maze, the only thing that felt safe and normal.

The path wrapped around in a spiral, the ten thousandth one it seemed. It doubled back on itself where it came to another intersection. The device commanded a right, so she followed it loyally, clicking the ringlet into place and forming a new message.

Trust in stillness.

Another riddle? She didn’t like the sound of it. Such a simple sentence could mean anything. Stillness. It made her think of quietness, which made her think of loneliness. Alone. Trust in being alone? She could do that. Though not what she wanted, that’s what she had been doing. Cautiously, she ventured forward, past an intersection, and spun the next ring.

It is cursed. Movement is its enemy.

Concern grew in her heart. If the messages were to be believed, then something was indeed ahead. The corridor turned left. Following it, she then passed by an opening to the right, again spinning another ring. A third message appeared upside down on the device.

The eye unleashes the beast.

The message forced a glance behind. Thankfully, there was no beast to unleash, but the thought remained. More nightmare-fuel for the fire. I am alone...

She continued through the maze, deeper into its darkening passageways. Long stretches seemed to bend and contort while turns seemed sharper, more abrupt, more treacherous. I am alone...

Another turn. Another click. Another message. Twilight didn’t want to read it, afraid of what was in store, but the thought of Applebloom gave her courage.

From on high: unexpected friends.

She didn’t like the sound of that either, especially in a riddle: friends could just as easily not be. I am alone...

The whisper came again, louder. Closer. I am alone...

Concern swelled in her heart. She picked up to a slow trot, looking over her shoulder nervously. I am alone... The whisper grew into a frightful noise, like flesh dragged upon stone. I am alone...

Her trot became a canter. I am alone... Then a gallop. I am alone... But the noise kept stride, becoming more distinct with every click of the device. I am alone...

Chaotic gashes and rubble replaced the smooth texture of the walls. Broken stones littered the floor, but she cared not for tender footing as she scrambled over them. I am alone... I am alone... Her heavy breathing echoed around her, though became drowned out by the noise.

She dared a glance over her shoulder, which proved to be a mistake. Her hoof rolled on a stone, and she tumbled to the floor. Fear righted her instantly, but she froze, eyes locked ahead. Towering into darkness, cast in the eerie purple of her horn-light, stood a wall of those who came before, packed in like twisted bricks.

She instinctively backpedaled away, eyes glued to those that stared back unblinking. I am alone... This isn’t real... I am alone...

Sickeningly close, shifting and choking sounds came from behind. Twilight felt all the warmth leave her body.

I’m not alone... Run!

Twilight dashed down the hall at breakneck speed. Grotesque limbs and contorted smiles blurred at the edges of sight and scalded her lungs with their stench. The pain brought tears to her eyes as she tore left around a corner, her hooves screeching against the stone floor as a flood of some vile liquid splattered close behind.

The wall’s smiles grew more manic, and its members became less compacted the further she raced from the ever-growing noise behind, their twisted limbs reaching out, grasping at her.

A wall ahead became illuminated by her hornlight, and she shot the device a steely glare before taking the path right, hearing more sputtering and choking behind. She cut the corner sharply and shouldered a loose limb in the wall. It cracked and squished as it bent unnaturally beneath her desperate force. It felt slick with a fluid she dared not question.

Twilight heard a body come loose from its facet in the wall beside her, then saw it fall to the floor in the corner of her eye. A loud roar resounded, tearing her gaze over her shoulder. The scene disappeared into darkness within a fraction of a second, but the image of a grinding, gaping maw and a fine red mist seared itself into her memory. The gory crunching nearly sent her gagging to her knees, but she was in no mood to become its next victim.

She raced down the path, ignoring the burning in her legs and the knives in her chest, despite the noise falling away. Whatever it was, it moved faster than her, the point proven as its unearthly sounds returned, sliding and slithering after her. An orchestra of steel, as of swords upon grindstones, accompanied its guttural noises.

She skidded around another corner and dashed up the corridor’s incline. It sucked away what little remained of her energy, as if her legs had turned to mush. Her breathing became a heavy wheezing, and she grew hysterical listening to the noise not a full length behind.

Be quick, make haste! The fool is spent.

In spite of her closing lungs, she managed a gasp. Trust in stillness. Movement is its enemy. The riddles. Combined, they could only mean one thing: it could only attack what moved. Against all instinct, she stopped.

And so did it.

Her legs wobbled beneath her like gelatin, barely holding her up as she heaved for air. She could hear and feel its warm breath against her back. The noxious stench brought tears to her eyes, and something warm dribbled on her nape, sending a shudder down her spine.

The urge to run again grew with every breath she took, the all-encompassing pain subsiding. She could hear it inch toward her and feel its breath grow heavier. She had to escape, and planning her route was the first and only idea that came to mind.

Not moving her head, she swivelled her eyes to meet the device. She imagined its spins and spaces, committing them to memory, burning them into her mind. But remembering to account for her flight, she clicked the device.

Lightning quick, something shot out from behind, striking the device and launching it into the darkness beyond. Twilight barely managed to suppress her scream.

In the corner of her sight, a long rancorous claw extended where the device had been moments ago. With every beat of her heart and every breath she took, it twisted, ever so slightly.

A low growl sent a shiver through her, forcing her to look. The gangly claw pointed directly at her heart, inching nearer in tiny spurts, but only held her focus for an instant. For in the middle of the claw, a lidless eye blazed with bloodshot fury.

Twilight felt every muscle in her body seize. Its slitted, red-ringed pupil pierced her like an arrow, boiling the blood within her veins. She cared not that the claw moved faster with her trembling, only for the eye as it shivered with rage, trying to reach her like a beast on a leash, and the growl that slowly grew behind her. It bubbled and sputtered in a crescendo of noises not meant for living ears before reaching a climax that ended in a strident cry and reverberated throughout the maze. A sudden twitch of the claw sparked realization—the leash had snapped.

Twilight ducked, felt a slight tug at her mane as it grazed overhead, and, as her chest hit the cold hard ground, everything clicked. From on high: unexpected friends.

The sound of steel on stone shattered her eardrums, but she flared her horn in defiance of the fear that gripped her. Dust and rubble scattered in an unseen wind, followed by a sickly sucking sound far above.

Slick with decay, a body fell from atop the wall, its frightening smile shining in her horn light. But it was quickly rent apart by the beast and rained down upon her. Though the heat, stench, and taste turned her stomach, instinct gave her the strength to redouble the magic coursing through her horn before the beast could turn its wicked claws upon her.

The walls rumbled, and bodies fell in numbers beyond count.

Twilight heard the beast roar behind and turned to see it flailing all but one of its claws at the corpses. The one with the eye coiled back like a scorpion tail, its singular eye boring into her, and the beast lunged to strike.

Twilight stumbled over backwards, narrowly avoiding the claw as it cratered the stone where she stood not a second before. In the blink of an eye, it recoiled for another strike, the long sickle-like blade at its tip flashing in her horn light. It swung again, and Twilight felt the wind of its swipe brush against her neck.

Not a moment passed before she was on her hooves at a breakneck speed down the corridor, dodging the bodies that fell like rain and grabbing the device as she passed.

She could hear the beast slamming and stabbing the walls, her spell taking advantage of its curse. She smiled at her cleverness, but the burning in her lungs cut her celebration short.

The corridor cut right and downhill. It gave her a chance to put on the afterburners, but the sound of carnage nipped at her tail. Twilight leapt over a pile of bodies, landing more gracefully than she would have believed possible, grazed her shoulder on the next corner, and leapt another pile.

Unexpectedly, a claw lashed around the corner, severing the end of Twilight’s tail and part of her back hoof. The stone beneath her heaved and sent her tumbling forward before she had a chance to scream. A searing pain split her skull like a railroad spike, and the side of her face felt warm.

Get up!

Gritting her teeth, she scrambled to her hooves to leap just out of reach of the next strike and cut another corner. Not a second after, the beast charged into the wall like a runaway freight train. The surprise forced Twilight to glance over her shoulder, wide-eyed in disbelief at how close death had come, only to see one of the beast’s many claws arcing toward her. Its chitinous shell struck her square in the ribs.

Her sense of time and consciousness faded, but she distinctly heard the sound of breaking bones. Were those hers? She felt awfully light, and there was a ringing in her ears that muffled a cacophony of other sounds. The ground circled overhead, then below, and then above again before rising to meet her.

She lay motionless for a second, listening to the bells in her ears. Where was she? The device shimmered in the ambient light from where it sat propped against a wall. There was a door beside it, a small tunnel no more than ten meters long. The roars and sputters of the beast grew louder, and realization returned.

Without turning to look, she pulled herself to her hooves and staggered for the tunnel with all the energy she could muster, almost forgetting to grab the device. The broken ribs within her chest grated together like stones, and her lungs refused to expand. Move! She could hear the beast close in as she passed through the tunnel and spun about to see a claw flying toward her like a spearhead. There was a crunch of bone and the settling of dust, and the claw stopped.

Right between her eyes, she felt the faintest twinge.

Twilight backed away from the door, fearful it may try again. The claw swung about futily, the beast’s eye boring into her, veins pulsing and red.

Safe, Twilight collapsed, heaving for air, and the device clanged to the ground. She closed her eyes to let the sensation of rest wash over her. That thing could roar and sputter at her all it wanted; it couldn’t do a damn thing now.

Adrenaline subsiding, the pain of her flight returned, so she looked herself over. Her head wound was superficial and had already crusted over. The gash in her hind leg, to her surprise, was much less threatening than it felt. A quick bit of magic stopped the trickle of blood, and a makeshift bandage made from tearing her saddlebags into strips sealed the deal. As much as the thought bothered her, her ribs and aching muscles would simply have to be ignored.

Her triage done, Twilight looked back at the claw that still swung wildly about. The beast screamed from the other side louder than she thought possible. A chuckle escaped her at the thought of how it couldn’t achieve the one thing it desired most. “Yell all you like.”

She reclined her head, a smile on her lips, but she blinked in surprise at the sudden silence. The claw had stopped moving. Frozen, the eye gazed over her shoulder for a split second before retracting through the doorway in a hurry. Its noises died away almost instantly, and Twilight couldn’t help the creeping feeling that came with the newfound solitude.

She stood for a moment, wrapping her head around what had just happened and trying to refuse the possibility of what it meant. Then, nervously, she turned. The ambient light died at her hooves, blackness devouring the enclosing limestone walls to either side of her, like a portal into emptiness. Panicked, she lit her horn to fight back the void.

She almost wished she hadn’t.

Its soft purple glow illuminated a shimmering wetness on the walls, but what terrified her was the darkness. It was more than an absence of light. Along the edges of her hornlight, it flagellated and palpated in time with an icy chill that brushed against her face. She shuddered.

Forward, Twilight. You’ve come this far...

She took a shaky step, and the darkness receded, but slowly, as if resisting. A glance over her shoulder brought with it the worry of what it was. She couldn’t see the tunnel.

Forward...

Her steps were hesitant, slow like the darkness’s retreat, and she clicked the device to account for her progress. She was close, its cleft almost completely to the middle. Whether that was good or bad she would learn soon enough.

The device filled the heavy silence with intermittent clicks. She continually eyed it. One less turn. Two less turns. The fear that Applebloom may not even be at the end grew. Was it all for nothing? Had she made a wrong turn and not noti—

A foal’s cry echoed off the walls. It started low, but built to a constant, recognizable volume. Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. Applebloom? Casting aside her fears, she darted down the corridor. “Applebloom!”

She came to a fork in the path and skidded to a halt. The device commanded a left, but the sounds came from the right. Twilight’s ears fell back against her head. “Applebloom...?”

Which way should she go? A lump formed in her throat knowing that every second she wasted standing still was another Applebloom spent in torture. She bit her lip, but then set her face with resolve, heading left at the device’s orders. She couldn’t afford to get herself lost now.

Further in, the crying remained constant, but the darkness pressed in closer. Thin tendrils of smoke snaked their way through her hornlight in spurts. They carried an unnatural chill that froze Twilight’s skin on contact.

Her courage waned quickly, and her pace fell to a nervous stroll. Every instinct in her body screamed that something was there, watching her. Her breath crystallized in heavy puffs. It felt like she was heading downhill, but was impossible to tell in the darkness.

“Applebloom...?” she called out, almost too quietly for herself to hear herself. The crying never came any closer. “Applebloom, please... where are you?”

Another turn brought another click of the device, but Twilight resisted the urge to look at it. Her nerves were shot, and she refused to take her eyes off the darkness ahead, afraid of what she would find. Her breathing became heavy, whether from fatigue or the stifling pressure of the air she couldn’t tell. Her hooves felt as heavy as the sounds they made, and Twilight was about to call out to Applebloom again before a plaster-white face suddenly appeared at the limits of sight.

Every hair on her body bristled.

Silently, it hung motionless in the air. Its featureless form held empty eyes, ever staring. Her heart felt like it was in a vice. She could not look away, and her breath became short. There was a tugging in her chest away from it, as if her very soul was trying to flee.

Seconds passed in eternity as Twilight remained rooted to the ground where she stood. Her legs wobbled with the fear that pumped through her veins, and her mind slowly recollected itself, telling her what must be done.

Forward. Forward, Twilight. Her body resisted the order. Just move... For Applebloom. Giggle at the ghosties...

She took a step.

Guffaw at the grosslies...

And another.

Crack up at the creepy...

A third.

Whoop it up with th—

It blinked.

Twilight’s heart stopped. It’s not real. It’s not real. You’re not real...

It lurched forward, and she turned tail with the speed of all things holy.

Pain beyond imagination tore through her chest from her grating, splintered ribs, and the gash in her leg reopened, but she ignored them. Corners came and went at the edges of sight as she rounded them without a care of what was beyond the receding darkness. Abruptly, she collided with solid stone, the bridge of her nose erupting in fire. Dead end. She spun about, back against the wall, to see it no further than before. Her heart pounded in her chest like an animal trying to escape.

It came closer.

Twilight pressed against the wall with all her might, tears streaming down her face. No. Go away!

“Go away!”

The wall behind her disappeared. Her horn went out as she fell backward, screaming in terror. Looking back where it had been, it was gone. Everything was gone, leaving her in darkness absolute, save a terrible ringing in her ears and the unending cry.

She stood trembling. The darkness palpated and wormed against her skin. She was afraid to relight her horn, afraid of seeing it again, so she remained still, praying for salvation.

The ringing subsided, and behind her left ear, a heavy breathing grew, asynchronous with her own. Suddenly, a cold chill ran up her back like ice water, then seized her by the neck, pulling her screaming through the darkness where she landed hard on her back.

Coughing, she scrambled to her hooves and saw, to her surprise, Applebloom not ten hooves away, bound in chains on a small circular dais beneath an unseen spotlight. “Applebloom!”

“Twilight!” A mixture of terror and relief filled the little filly’s eyes.

Thankful it wasn’t an illusion, Twilight sighed briefly before examining the chains.

“Twilight! Run! It’s gonna come back!”

“No, I have to get you out of here!” She grasped the chains with her hooves, but yelped when they turned white hot and seared through her coat.

Applebloom went pale, gazing over her shoulder, and an unholy chill rippled up Twilight’s backside.

She turned on a dime to see the face not an inch from her own. A concussive flash rattled her skull to the sound of a deathly wail. It vanished. Eyes wide, she stood trembling as tears ran down her cheeks. They tasted of copper.

“Twilight!” Applebloom cried.

Twilight remained frozen, her head swimming with the blood her heart refused to beat. This can’t be real... This can’t be real...

“Twilight!” Applebloom cried again, her voice more desperate than before. “Help!”

Twilight turned to see black smoke engulf her, snuffing out her screams.

“Applebl—!” Twilight’s voice caught in her throat at the sight of the face hanging where Applebloom had been moments before, staring emptily.

This can’t be real... Applebloom... A sudden anger-fueled courage welled within Twilight. Give her back.

She clenched her eyes shut, then huffed, glaring death. “I didn’t come this far to be afraid of you. Give. Her. Back.”

It remained unmoving.

She pawed the ground and lowered her head. If it wasn’t going to give her back, she would take her back. Eyes shut, Twilight charged, yelling with all her might.

The sensation of passing through a curtain and the ground disappearing beneath her caught her by surprise. Her eyes shot open to reveal Applebloom nearly face to face, who looked equally frightened. Without hesitation, Twilight stomped on the chains binding Applebloom to the floor. They shattered into millions of pieces.

“Come on, Applebloom, we need to get out of here!”

Applebloom didn’t respond, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears. “Twilight...” She grew transparent. “Twilight!”

“Applebloom!” Twilight reached out to grasp her, but a scalding pain shot down her foreleg. She looked down to see the chains that had bound Applebloom now covered her. Looking up, Applebloom was gone.

In the silence that followed, Twilight remained still, the realization of her fate becoming all too real.

A clatter of metal on stone.

Twilight turned, eyes wide like dinner plates. Before her, the device floated of its own design. Slowly, its discs clinked and scraped to account for her flight, wording a message. Tears formed in Twilight’s eyes. She whimpered, barely audible over her beating heart, and her blood ran cold.

No escape.

Though made of metal, the device rotted away like flesh, and behind it, at the limits of sight, the face slowly neared.