//------------------------------//
// The Magic of Friendship  
// Story: The Alicorn Ring 
// by Dull Mist 
//------------------------------//


The Magic of Friendship


Shit. I thought as we more and more caricatures of Sombra came to life and started to approach us, each one varying in appearance. Some wore armour that had seen war while others wore armour that gleamed. Others wore thick, expensive looking robes and all sorts of refinements of gold and gems. Some were as big as the average pony seemed to be, some a bit bigger and some a bit smaller, but every single one of them, even the once immobile statues that were only a few in number, had the same eager expression on their faces. An expression of pure bloodlust aimed at us.  

I ran my eyes over the malicious grinning faces as we backed up. There were many, and they were taking their sweet time at the moment, but that could change at any second.  Rainbow Dash tugged hard at the door which might as well be nailed to the floor with how much good it was doing. There had to be at least twenty of them.  Just...shit.

“Stupid...door...” Rainbow Dash growled through her efforts. “Why won't you open?!” 

“I told you already, dense pony.” the sentient ball of light by my side spat. “It won't until the trap completes its purpose.”

“And what is that purpose?” Rarity asked with a tremor in her voice, her eyes flitting from one face to the other as they came closer in unison. 

“To kill, of course.” it replied. If it had shoulders, it would have shrugged. 

“But of course...” she muttered as Rainbow Dash cursed, Fluttershy squeaked, and Pinkie Pie said “That's not very nice!” in an indignant voice. 

“Oh, don't you worry your foolish little heads, ponies.” it said with a chuckle. “You will get the horrible ends that you deserve. Indeed, dying here would be a mercy for you. No, Lord Sombra will make quick work of this with his terrifying magic, and we will round up the rest of your comrades. Isn't that right, my lord?”

I could feel the stares of the other three ponies boring into me. I was going to have some explaining to do when we got out of this. If we got out of this. 

“Don't count on it.” I muttered. All of the sudden, the Sombra's stopped and tensed.  

“Scatter!” Rainbow Dash shouted as they rushed forward all at once, leaving the door forgotten and shooting up into the air. The rest of us took her example as they all pounced, fangs bared and hooves extended. I dived to the side only seconds before a stone arm occupied the space where my head was just was just moments ago. The others went their own separate ways , Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie diving, crawling, and bouncing to safety respectively. 

Immediately, their heads turned to follow us, never breaking eye contact with their prey. It was disarmingly creepy how they moved, stiff and robotic like with their lifeless eyes never leaving us and their frozen smiles never leaving their faces. They didn't seem to be that fast or coordinated, but there were a lot of them, and I had no idea how strong they are. 

I scrambled to my feet to see them break into smaller groups, each one focusing on only one of us. With my heart hammering in my chest, a darted away from them before they could pounce again.

“What do we do?” Fluttershy cried as she crawled away from the approaching effigies, her wings flapping ineffeectively at her sides. One of the Sombra's, one dressed in velvet robes with a golden crown on his head, darted for her as she scrabbled across the ground, and she let out a shrill scream. 

There was a blue blur and the mad king crumpled as Rainbow Dash slammed into it with all four hooves from above. “We fight!” she said, bringing up a hoof and slamming it into its head where it lay squashed beneath her. All at once, it vanished in a puff of black mist.

“What the-” Rainbow Dash started before a Sombra that had slipped by unnoticed tackled her from behind. They rolled across the floor for a moment before she managed to place herself underneath it and kick it off of her with all four hooves, sending it flailing and crashing into the floor. A giggling Pinkie Pie then bounced extra high into the air and landed directly on it. It too disintegrated into mist. 

“It seems like-” I said, but stopped as I had to swiftly move to the side to avoid another one lunging for me. “-they aren't that durable.” I faced the grinning Sombra, this one dressed in a torn and dented suit of armour. Still grinning, it started to slowly circle me as three of its companions joined it.

“The statues most certainly are!” came Rarity's high pitched voice. From where I stood, I could see her levitating a large stone that she must have picked up from one of the many already broken statues in the room and was bashing it with vicious abandon against the head of one of the slow moving statues. It didn't even flinch as it lumbered towards her, the rock crashing into its cranium over and over again. “Get back you vile...thing!” she screamed as her impromptu weapon became smaller and smaller with each swing. 

I had no time to curse as the four Sombra's started to charge me all at once. Letting my body do all the thinking for me, I started to charge back before I realized what I was doing. Just moments before we ran straight into each other, I tensed my legs and jumped, leaping over them like a runner would a hurdle. My leg grazed against the sharp horn of one of them, tearing through my pants and making a shallow cut on my leg. 

I hit the ground rolling and sprang back up without losing any momentum. Rainbow Dash was divebombing the Sombras from the air, turning them into puffs of black mist every few times she struck. Pinkie Pie was leading them around the room with her bouncing, causing them to run into each other as they tried to catch her. I was the only one who wasn't preoccupied with their own conflicts, but that would soon change if I stayed still for too long.

I sprinted across the room to where Rarity was now backed up against a wall with wide eyes, her stone reduced to nothing more than a jagged pebble. The statue was only an arms reach away from her now, and as slow that it was, I had no doubt that it would be very strong. 

I leaped into the air once again, drew both of my legs into my body before and throwing them out in a donkey kick, and slammed my feet into the side of the statue. The jolt of it ran up both of my legs and into my spine, vibrating my entire body like a plucked string on a guitar. 

The statue felt it just as much as I did as it went stumbling back, tripping over its bulky legs and falling to the floor with a crash, cracking the stone floor a bit under its heavy body. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks you for that darling.” she said with a grateful smile as she threw the levitating rock behind her.  I nodded back. 

“Don't mention i-” I was interrupted as her horn lit up and felt a strong force on my shoulders and neck bring me to my knees. A dark shape sailed over my head and landed on the ground on four legs, sliding across the floor as it did so. 

“Now allow me to return the favour.” she said with a wink, and the force on my shoulders disappeared. To my surprise, she turned away and, with another quick flash of her horn, pulled down one of the many crimson banners hanging off of the wall. Manipulating it with her magic, she began to twirl it around herself as the Sombra turned to her her and began to charge. 

I scrambled to my feet as my heart leapt into my throat. Was she planning to fend off that thing with nothing but big piece of fabric? It would tear through it, and her, like a knife through butter!

“Look out!” I shouted as I went to make my way to her, but was brought down again as two more Sombras tackled me from the side. From the corner of my eye as their rictus grins filled my vision  on top of me, I could see her opponent leap for her, hooves extended for her throat.

I cursed, putting my arms up to protect myself as the two fell on me with a flurry of blows aimed at my midsection and head. They got a good amount of hits on me, and even though they weren't flesh and blood, I felt them as keenly as though they were. The pain went forgotten though as I heard a very audible thump, like a taut bungee cord being plucked, followed by several cracks coming from where Rarity was. 

My blood ran cold, and I could already see the aftermath of what happened in my minds eye. A twisted body underneath the bloodstained hooves of the mad king, grin wider than ever and victory gleaming in its dead eyes. 

Against my own will, I looked to see the aftermath. What I saw, however, brought me up short. 

Rarity was alive. In fact, there wasn't a mark on her. Sombra, however, wasn't doing nearly so well. Almost entirely wrapped in the banner, only bits and pieces of its body visible behind the black and red fabric, it seemed that Rarity had repeatedly slammed it into the ground as hard as she could, causing some of its limbs to bend at wrong angles. The broken mass was only able to twitch ineffectively against its constraints. 

She turned to smile at me, but stopped when she saw the predicament I was in. I saw a fire light behind her eyes, and with another flash of her horn, the bound Sombra went sailing in my direction. The two that were on top of me, pummelling into the ground, had no time to react before they were steamrolled by their ally, causing all three to vanish in puffs of black mist. 

“Are you all right?” she asked with concern. I grunted in reply. 

“I...could be better. Thanks.” I said, gritting my teeth through the pain of sporting many new bruises to call my own.

“Don't mention it dear, but I think you really should get to your feet before-” she stopped mid sentence, her eyes focusing on something behind me. “Fluttershy!” she said with alarm. 

That got my attention, and I was on my feet before I knew it. 

The timid pegasus, once creeping around the room trying to go unnoticed, was now running at a full sprint as she was being chased by five of the Sombra's, four of the faster paintings and one of the slower statues. Tears streamed from her eyes as she ran in random directions, crying out all the way, only delaying the inevitable as they got closer and closer to her with every passing second. 

I looked around frantically. Rainbow Dash was holding her own, dropping on them and lifting them into the air where she would beat the stuffing out of them and drop them back to the ground, and Pinkie Pie was jumping from head to the other, using them like stepping stones in a fit of mad giggles, but both were too engrossed with what they were doing to notice their friend's plight. With all the noise in the room, I imagined that they wouldn't even be able to hear me if I shouted their names. 

“We need to do something!” Rarity said, looking at me with desperation in her voice. I worked my brain furiously, every instinct telling me to not put myself in any more danger, but something stopped me. 

“Can you stop that statue with that banner?” I asked Rarity. She blinked in surprise. 

“I-I think so, but-”

“Do it!” I commanded before taking off at a sprint after the pegasus, leaving her standing with her mouth open. 

Destroy them...

the edges of my vision pulsed with red as I got closer to the Fluttershy and her attackers, becoming deeper and stronger with every step. The usual fear that I felt in the presence of even the slightest hostility was gone completely now, filled with a fire lit up underneath my heart and making me a creature fuelled by nothing but his emotions, and right now my emotions were running white hot with anger. 

Crush them to nothing.

There was a whipping sound beside me as I rapidly gained on them, weaving around broken statues and  at one point almost crashing head on into Pinkie Pie, and I saw a long piece of fabric surrounded by a purple aura of light fly ahead of me and wrap itself around the legs of the stone golem and pulling tight like a drawstring. It went down with a satisfying crash. With it out of commission, I had a chance. 

Teach them the consequences...

I smiled now Rarity had taken out my most dangerous competitor, at least temporarily. This would make it a lot easier for me to deal with the others. 

...of crossing you.

With a yell, I put on a burst of speed and blindsided the Sombra's, crashing into one from the side mid leap towards Fluttershy, ramming it with my full body and not stopping until I flattened it against a wall. It's eyes widened for a heartbeat before it vanished into mist. 

My hands clenched and relaxed as I slowly turned around to face the remainders who had, thankfully, stopped their chase of Fluttershy to focus on me. Fluttershy herself, having noticed the sudden lack of pursuers out for her blood, glanced behind her, and when she saw me, she came to a screeching stop.

“Kael, no! You mustn't! It will tear you apart!” she shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears. The only thing that mattered to me now were me, and my opponents. 

My prey.

I didn't know who moved first, me or them, but I soon found myself embroiled in a mess of black limbs, snapping jaws, and lifeless eyes. Faster than thought, I lashed out, my fist connecting with the chin of one effigy and sending its head backwards with a gruesome crack before it went up in a puff. Another got a knee to its stomach, and another a slam into the ground. The last one managed to swipe at me with metal claws that it had attached to its forehooves, bloodying them even more so than they already were. I threw myself at it with a vengeance, crashing two trembling fists on either side of its head. Had it been flesh and blood, it would have popped like a grape. 

“Kael, stop it!” Fluttershy commanded once more, now hovering unsteadily beside me, her injured wing flapping erratically but managing to keep her airbourne. She grabbed my arm and dragged at it. “You're hurting yourself!” 

Panting, more from the adrenaline surging through my body than from the exertion, I barely heard her and pushed her away. I wasn't done yet, and I didn't need her to get in the way. I looked towards the still bound and struggling statue. The banner hogtied around its legs still held, but I could see it starting to rip under the stress it was being put through. Taking a page from Rarity's book, I grabbed one of the stones that lay scattered across the now trashed room. To my surprise, it seemed that it was the head of one the statues that had littered the grand room, but had been smashed in all the confusion. How fitting, I mused, that I was going to smash in Sombra's head with his own head. 

You're next.”I thought to myself with a grin as I started towards it, hefting the stone in my hands. It had a good weight and feel to it, and I was confident I would be able to damage the statue enough for the spell holding it to dissipate, like it did with all the others, although if I was being honest to myself, I was far more eager for the sensation of destroying it than I was in actually defeating it. 

“Hey, get over here! I ain't done with you yet!” a sandy voice yelled from somewhere far off in the distance, too far for me to pay any mind.

That proved to be a mistake however, as the sound of multiple hooves beating against the ground came from behind me. I barely had enough time to turn around and wildly swing my rock in both hands, somehow managing to connect with a dark head before a pair of jaws clamped on my shoulder, and it disappeared into mist inches from my face.

This had the unforseen result of the dark misty substance getting into my eyes, nose, and throat. The smell was rotten and it burned like tear gas in my eyes and throat, sending me into a coughing fit as my  I was blinded by involuntary tears. I only had a second to recover before something tackled my legs and brought me to the ground, hard. 

“Kael!” Fluttershy somebody screeched as bodies started to surround me. It seemed that every single Sombra in the room, now only four or five or so left, was now focused on me and me only. I thrashed and kicked and at them, but they held my limbs down tightly on the floor. 

There was a great ripping sound from nearby, and then the sound of stone grinding on stone as the bound statue freed itself and got to its hooves. It stomped its way to where I was held down, struggling to move, and soon I was able to make out its blurry figure standing above me. 

“Hey, what do you think you're doing?!” I heard Rainbow Dash yell as she gave it a full body tackle, but not managing to do much more than annoy it. I could vaguely make out it swatting at her in response, its hoof connecting with her and sending her flying back.

“You big meanie!” A high pitched voice cried. At this point, my eyes had cleared somewhat from the tears and the burning sensation that I could only vaguely see that Pinkie Pie had firmly attached herself to its head and was ferociously gnawing on it. I felt my hopes drop to new lengths as the statue didn't seem to even be fazed by her, as evident by it simplt shaking her off before raising a hoof right over my head. I closed my eyes and stopped my struggling, trying to say something, a pleas for mercy maybe, but only managing a sigh. 

“I won't let you!”

Fluttershy?

I cracked my eyes open to see a blur of yellow and pink catch the hoof before it managed to crush my head like a grape. Faster than I could follow, the blur moved, wrapping an arm around the head of the statue and placing another underneath it, pivoting with a yell, and somehow managed to send the statue soaring through the air to land with a bone shattering crash that blew it apart in a shower of black mist and rock. 

“Rarity!” The blur called. It sounded like Fluttershy, and it certainly looked like her through my bleary vision, but something in the fact that she had just picked up that statue and hurled it across the room made me doubt my own senses. I didn't have much time to worry about it though as I was still being held down by the others, and with their stronger ally taken out, I didn't doubt that they would be just as eager to finish its job.

A strong rush of wind passed over me and my attackers, causing a mild tingly feeling to erupt over my skin. The last few remaining Sombra's were somewhat more affected by it however as they were sent flying backwards with helpless screeches, disintegrating in mid air. 

“Woah, Rarity! That was awesome! Why didn't you just do that before?” An exuberant voice asked as I blinked and reoriented myself, all redness from my vision gone without a trace. One moment they were holding me down, a painful death promised in their eyes, and the other they had disappeared. 

“That's because...” I heard Rarity's elegant voice say as she panted for breath. She sounded incredibly tired all of the sudden. “releasing raw, unfocused magic like that...is never a good...idea.” I sat up just in time to see her collapse to her knees daintily, her long mane that she cared so much for hung by her side bedraggled and, surprisingly enough, forgotten. “Phew.” she breathed. “I'm just going to...rest a moment.” 

Of course, she had used magic to get them off of me. And as for the statue...

I was almost bowled over once more as I shakily got to my feet by a frantic pegasus. “Ohmygoodness are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need help? YOu shouldn't have used the ring! Do you-”

I winced as a headache started to form out of nowhere, a muted throbbing in my brain that rapidly turned into something sharper and more painful with each and every word, and her high pitched voice only dug the nails in deeper. I tried to tell her that I was fine, that she needn't harp on me so needlessly and...gratingly, but she was talking so fast that she wouldn't let me get a word in otherwise.

“For the love of Christ, I'm fine!” I finally snapped at her, resisting the urge to clench my eyes shut, instead settling with clenching my fists. She finally stopped talking and withdrew away from me with a timid look and a whimper. 

“Relax dude, don't be so hard on her.” came Rainbow Dash's disapproving voice as she floated up to the two of us, a few feathers out of place and her mane a little bit more messed up than usual, but still in one piece. 

“Yeah, she did just save your life after all.” Pinkie Pie commented as she sat by Rarity, rubbing her back with a hoof as the unicorn recovered. It was the only time that I've seen her wear something other than a smile or stay still for anything. Right now she was switching between looking at me with a neutral expression and at Rarity with a concerned one. 

I bit back a retort that found itself on the tip of my tongue. I was angry for some reason, and I wanted to snap at the ponies some more, maybe even yell and argue. Like bile rising from my stomach, a violent mass of vitriol threatened to erupt forth from my mouth. 

I shook my head violently, managing to make my headache worse as well as make me dizzy on my feet, but also managing to clear my mind a bit. 

“Sorry, I...I don't know what came over me there.” I muttered, looking away with a wince. “I'm fine, but I've got murderous headache for some reason...” 

Fluttershy touched my arm gently, reassuring herself that I was okay whilst managing to reassure me that she was there to support me. I could see in her eyes that there were still things she had left unsaid. A thought suddenly came to me, and I looked at the wide eyed, still somewhat trembling pegasus.

“How did you...with the statue...” To my surprise, she only smiled at me and didn't answer, an errant tear leaking from her eye and falling down her cheek.

“Well, everyone seems to be alright. That's good.” Rarity said with a sigh as she tried her best to salvage what she could of her mane. “We're safe now.”

“FOOLS!” A loud voice said from out of nowhere, nearly making each one of us jump out of our skin. Fluttershy froze up with a squeak and slowly started to tip over, falling to the ground with wide, unblinking eyes. For my part, my heart started to beat rapidly in chest as I whipped my head around, trying to find the source. 

There can't be any more! I thought desperately. Please don't let there be any more! My head pounded like a church bell and I already ached all over. The last thing I needed was to fight the 'final boss.'

In front of us, a golden light materialized out of thin air, and I let out a tense breath. It was only that weird little thing from the library with the strange accent. I had completely forgotten about it amongst the excitement, and it seemed to have hidden itself until the ordeal was finished. 

“Safety is only an illusion for you, ponies.” It sneered as it immediately came to my side. “You may think that you've saved yourselves, but truly all you have done is delay your own demise!”

Three sets of eyes turned towards me as Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were reminded of its existence as well. “You wanna explain this for us Kael?” Rainbow Dash asked bluntly with a raised eyebrow. 

“I...” I started, still recovering from the surprise. There was no way that I could think of to tell them what was going on, especially since the longer it thought I was Sombra, the more it could help us, so I only sighed. “Let's get going and I'll tell you on the way.” I answered, wondering how I was going to explain this to them, especially since I didn't exactly understand it myself

Rarity slowly got to her hooves, seeming to be mostly recovered from the exertion that her spell had on her. She had to lean on Pinkie Pie to remain standing though. “On our way where, darling?” she asked.

I turned to the ball of light which rose expectantly as I looked at it. “Where are the other...intruders?”

“The last two haven't moved from their previous location. They still roam the treasure room for whatever nefarious purposes.” a slight distortion went through the light. “I shudder to think what they are doing with their filthy magic and hooves to your most prized posessions.” 

I saw Rainbow narrow her eyes at it, ready for a heated remark in response to the insult to her friends, but I shook my head slightly at her.  She squinted at me curiously and huffed. 

“Take us to them.” I told it. 

There was a long pause. “Er, my lord...” It said uncertainly. “should we not take these ones straight to the dungeons?” 

Now it was my turn to scowl, and it came quite easily to me. “I am a very busy king, and I don't have time to be going back and forth from the dungeons.” I said with real irritation in my voice. “We'll just lock them up all at once.” Profoundly baffled expressions blossomed on the ponies faces, and I couldn't help but give the slightest of grins. It was good to be in control for once and to not be the only one who was confused about everything that's going on around them. 

“Understood, my lord!” It said with newfound eagerness. It was disturbing how fond this thing was of dungeons. With no more preamble, it zipped past me to the entrance of the high ceilinged chamber and disappeared right through the door. 

“We need to follow it if we're going to find the others.” I said. I was met with a variety of stares from all but the still frozen Fluttershy. I knelt beside the pegasus and shook her slightly, but there was no response. I glanced at the remains of the statue that had almost killed me. How strange it was to think that in the heat of the moment she had been able to shatter that  thing like a fragile christmas ornament, but a loud noise was enough to render her catatonic

“And why would it show us where they are?” Rainbow asked, hovering over to land beside the recovering Rarity. “For that matter, what is it anyway?”

“As far as I know, it was made by Sombra as some sort of librarian or record keeper or something. And it thinks that I'm him, so it basically does whatever I tell it to.” 

Rainbow looked at me for a long, hard moment before she burst out laughing, shortly followed by a similarly amused Pinkie Pie. Even Rarity gave a few tired giggles. 

I rolled my eyes. “This really isn't the time...” I muttered. 

“I know, I know...” Rainbow said between raucous guffaws. “But seriously, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. How could it think that you're Sombra? You're as friendly as an overgrown teddy bear compared to that guy!” 

“While I wouldn't put in exactly the same manner, it is rather amusing.” Rarity said, hiding a tired grin behind her hoof.

I sighed, but couldn't help a tiny smile from forming that vanished as my head continued to pang painfully. It was pretty funny now that I thought about it, but I wasn't in the mood to do any laughing right about now. Sleeping maybe...

“As ridiculous as it is, it's  still our best chance of getting out of here with our lives intact.” I said dryly. This caused them to sober up a bit, although Pinkie still wore her signature smile. Each one of us looked at the closed door that the light had left through, our imaginations running wild as we wondered what was on the other side of it. 

“Alright, no point in wasting any more time!” Rainbow Dash said with confidence. “One way or another, we're leaving this castle and getting that ring off of you Kael, and we ain't gonna do it in here.” With the help of Rarity's magic, the catatonic Fluttershy was lifted onto Rainbow Dash's back who balanced her with her outstretched wings where she remained still. Noticing my concerned look, Rainbow Dash grinned at me as she started walking, the rest of us naturally falling in behind her. “Don't worry, she just needs some time to snap out of it. She used to do this all the time in flight school.”

I had to admit, I found her confidence to be somewhat...gratifying. It was a relief to have somebody take the reins, pressing forwards and taking charge. It was something that just didn't come naturally to me, much more suited as I was to taking orders than giving them. 

“The slave knows when to obey.” A voice that was not my own spoke in my head. “You will learn soon enough.” 

I shook my head with a grimace as I strode through the doors, now able to be opened with only the slightest touch, to find the light waiting patiently for us, or more specifically, for me. It rose a little bit higher into the air as I came out, seeming expectant and eager. 

“They are this way my lord!” It said quickly before zipping off with a mad cackle that made me shiver. It may have been our best hope at leaving alive, but that didn't mean that I had to like it. It waited for us at the end of the dark corridor, waiting patiently as its dim light cast long shadows across the floor. 

Pinkie Pie giggled as she bounce after it. “Hee! He's funny!”

“I don't think it's a 'he.'” I muttered to myself as we started to once more walk straight into the unknown. 





As we moved through the decrepit halls, occasionally taking detours due to collapsed walls that blocked the path or traps that could be set off if we ventured too close, we filled each other in on how we had fared once the castle had started to rise from the ground. At this point, Fluttershy had, thankfully, come to her senses and was able to walk once again, keeping close to the rest of us. 

The two of us had just finished informing them of what we'd been doing, stumbling around Sombra's private library, meeting our new,  not-so-faithful companion, and finding them. They told us how they had managed to stick together through the chaos of the rising castle a combination of Rarity's magic, Rainbow Dash's wings, and Pinkie Pie's randomness. 

“-so Dashie flew up into the air and started to look around for a safe place, but all these big pointy things were coming out of the ground, so she pointed to where Rarity and I needed to go, but Rarity didn't want to move becasue dirt and mud was being thrown everywhere so Rainbow Dash told her to get her head out of her-”

Well, Pinkie Pie was telling us. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were content to just move along and with us and keep their eyes and ears open for intruders and recover from our scuffle. 

My mind flashed back to the events that happened just moments ago. My bruises ached as I rembmeberd the beating I took at the hooves of those Sombra's that had me pinned to the ground begore Rarity could bundle them up and break them in half with her magic. If I hadn't moved when I did, she would gotten a lot worse than I got from that statue though, so I didn't regret it. 

That was before everything started to get...weird. Just like in the Everfree forest when Fluttershy and I were surrounded by those wolves, I simply lost control of myself when I saw that the demure pegasus was in danger. My senses had become sharper, my reflexes faster, and I threw myself straight into harms way such as I never normally would in my right mind, even if somebody near and dear to me was in danger. It simply wasn't in my nature to be thrown into a frenzy like that. I couldn't even walk down the street without avoiding everybody's eye for fear of accidentally offending them. 

And yet I did once again, all because of the ring. If it hadn't activated when it did, Fluttershy could have been killed and I would have been powerless to stop it. 

I sighed quietly to myself, resiting the urge to rub the heel of my palm against my head in a fruitless effort to quell the raging headache that pounded in my brain. 

Wait a minute...didn't I pass out for three days last time this happened?m

My heart froze for a moment when I came to this realization. Indeed, I had been unconcious for a long time last time, becasue my body was fighting off the magic as though it were a foreign invader, Celestia said, tearing itself apart in the process. It was only because of her quick healing that I hadn't died a very painful death.

"You mustn't! It'll tear you apart!" Fluttershy had shouted at me when she had noticed I was using the ring's power again. It seemed that she had remembered what happened last time as well. I was only thankful that she wasn't hounding me like a mother hen making sure that I was alright. 

Why am I still awake now? I wondered to myself. If the last time the ring's power had overtook me was anything to go by, I should be out like a light by now, yet the only thing I had to show for it was a splitting pain in my skull.

The pleasant voice of Celestia rang through my mind. “The Alicorn Ring is irreversibly connected to him and his will, and it is because of this connection that any who wears it will slowly become tainted with its…his…evil.”

I pondered this for a moment, and my blood turned cold as a terrifying thought occurred to me. Am I...getting used to its magic? Is it becoming a part of me?

I felt something warm and wet on my face, and reached up and hand to feel blood running down my nose and over my lips. I stared at it on my fingers for a moment before a violent shudder went through my body.

What's happening to me? 

I wiped the blood away from my face before anybody could notice it. Thankfully, Fluttershy was distracted by the constant yammering of Pinkie Pie, so her eyes were pointed in the other direction. The last thing she needed was to worry about me any more than she already did. 

Before I had the chance to think on it any more, Rainbow Dash came up beside me and peered at me closely. 

“You look terrible.” she stated bluntly. I blinked, and gave her a smile that must have come out weakly. 

“You don't look too great yourself.” I replied lighteartedly. She only grunted, looking at me closely some more. Had she noticed my nose bleed just then? Had she noticed how every step of ours that rang against the hard stone floor made me wince? 

Thankfully, she just shrugged and looked forward, staying beside me as we followed the light that led the way down twisting halls, crumbling stairwells, and old passages. Finally, after a long moment of silence, if it could be considered silence with Pinkie's incessant talking; I think she was talking about the key differences that separated muffins and cupcakes, Rainbow spoke again. 

“Thanks you, by the way.” She said gruffly, still looking forward. Now it was my turn to peer at her. 

“For what?” 

Her eyes flicked to me, and then back. “For keeping Fluttershy safe.” she said quietly. “Both now and when you were in the Everfree Forest. I never thanked you for that too.” 

I was quiet for a moment. I seemed to remember a moment where this very same prismatic pegasus was pointing her hoof at me accusingly, loudly declaring me to be a spy, and now she was thanking me? It didn't seem like it was a very easy thing for her to do too, considering how stiffly she kept facing forward. 

“D-don't mention it.” I said back, and she nodded, satisfied. She had said what she needed to say, and that was that. 

“Besides...” I continued after a moment of quiet thought. “She's been keeping me safe too.” 

Now she did look up at me, her eyes curious. 

“If I had been alone in here, even for a short amount of time, I...” I stopped, unable to form the words I was looking for. It was only because of the demure pegasus that I had even been able to keep myself on my two feet, because if I wasn't strong for her, I didn't think she'd have been able to be strong for herself. “I would be screwed.” I finished. 

Rainbow nodded slowly. “I understand.” she said, and it sounded like she really did. She cracked a small grin at me. “Not to mention how she stopped that statue from stomping your head in.” 

My mind went back, and I could clearly see the raised leg of stone poised above me, ready to come crashing down with destructive force. I had closed my eyes; held down as I was, there was nothing I could do about it, but then a blur of yellow and pink had arrived with yell and the statue had been heaved through the air and smashed into the ground. 

“Yeah...” I muttered. Although I knew rationally that that blur must have been Fluttershy, I simply could not force my brain to accept the notion that she was capable of such brutality. It was like suddenly being told that the sky was yellow and that fire was cold and being expected to believe. “That too... How the hell did she do that?”

The pegasus smirked. “That's the magic of friendship.” 

I looked at her for a long, long moment. “Really?” I asked, doubt clear in my voice. 

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Yep, same way you rushed to her help the way you did when you saw she was in danger, Fluttershy, usually so meek and cowardly, rushed to yours. That's the magic of friendship.” 

That shut me up. I rolled the thought around my head for a moment before Rainbow chimed in with one more thing. 

“Well, that and that she practices on bears with chiropractic issues. Say, how long do you think until we find the others? Applejack was the one with all the food and I'm starving.” 

“I...what?” was all I managed to say before she flapped her wings a few times, put her hooves to her mouth, and hollered, “Oi, light thing! How long till we get there?” My vision went black for a moment as the sudden loudness hit me across the head with a mallet. I had to struggle briefly to stay upright. 

“Have no fear, little pony!” It cackled back. “We will be arriving upon both of your companions shortly. Your torturous demise is soon to come!” 

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and I could see that she was about to say something sarcastic but she was interrupted by Rarity's tired voice. 

“Both of them?” She turned to look at me with confusion. “What does it mean, 'both of them'? We're looking for three individuals, not two.” 

Everybody, including even Pinkie Pie, stopped where they were and looked at the unicorn. Slowly, the math started to work itself out in our heads. 

There are three in our group not with us now, Applejack, Spike, and Twilight. It said that we were going to find 'both of them,' which suggests that there's only two of them at our destination, and not three. A quietly rational part of my brain told me. 

“Hey, light thing! Front and center!” I called. In the span of a blink, the bulb of floating light was hovering in front of me expectantly. I stared at it sternly. 

“How many intruders are left in the castle?” I asked it clearly and slowly, praying that it had simply mispoken earlier and that we were coming up on all three of them. 

“Two, my lord!” It swiftly replied in its unnervingly tinny voice, like from a broken radio. I heard gasps from the others, but I ignored them. 

“Are you sure? Is there nobody else in the entire castle but those two?” 

The light hesitated for a moment. “I am sure, Lord Sombra. My knowledge of The Obsidian Castle is ever reaching and forever up to date. If there were a mouse out of place, I would know of it.” 

One of them is missing. 

There was a long, drawn out silence between each of us, first broken by a brief whimper that I heard behind me. 

They're not in the castle, and we have no way of finding them. 

I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “Alright then. Keep leading the way.” I told it with a noncommittal gesture onwards. It zipped ahead of us a few metres and turned a corner. Without really wanting to, I turned to see the faces of others staring at me with wide eyes, some of them showing signs of tears soon to fall. I had to admit that I felt the same.

“I guess we'll...just have to keep moving and hope we come across whoever is left.” I said, hating every word as it left my mouth. The ponies looked at each other in silence for a moment before nodding amongst themselves somberly, and we continued onwards in silence. 

They could be hurt already, or worse, and I didn't even realize until now. 

“And it would be all your fault.” An unseen voice whispered in my ear.