“A pony falls from the sky…”

Another Gryphus dives down knocking a standing regiment of ponies onto the ground. He turns and smashes into another group of ponies. This caused the survivors of the flame bomb attack to scream louder in horror. After the Gryphus stirred up enough panic he flies up into the air and lands onto a nearby cloud.

“You know I never thought this would be so easy,” The Gryphus smirked to Polis.

“A little tactical planning compounded with some shock and awe can get you far,” Polis answered. His bad arm was in a sling well he kept a sheathed sword by his hip. He then smiled back, “A book of magic runes, some old books and a few days prep doesn’t hurt much either.”

Then both the Gryphus and Polis flies back down to the castle to cause more confusion and chaos.

Blaster puts Diamond Luck over her shoulder and makes a run for the nearest door. Out of the corner of her eye, Blaster could see a Gryphus homing them out. This caused the pony to try to move faster but the Gryphus was homing in.

In a panic she shoves Diamond Luck aside, this allowed her to pick up speed as a Gryphus remains focused on its target. Blaster leaps on a series of wood barricades that blocked the path she was running.

The pony’s hooves skillfully leaped from plank to plank. Behind her the Gryphus simply crashes through the barricades sending chunks of wood flying with the force of its wings. Blaster soon reached the end of the barricades and she leaps up into the air.

While up in the air, Blaster pulls out her laser rifle and fires upon the Gryphus. The blasts caused the Gryphus to flinch but it did not slow down his momentum as the mare hits the ground landing on her back.

Just before the Gryphus came down on her, something came in and headbutted the creature causing it to be repelled back. Blaster looks up to see Celestia standing over her.

“Stay back you foul beast,” Celestia commanded. Even though her teenaged Alicorn body was three times the size of a pony. The Gryphus was still three times bigger than her.

The Gryphus smiles, “My aren’t you larger than a normal pony, and the wings of a god. You shall make a fine meal.”

“I shall not even give you the satisfaction of choking on me!” Celestia shouted shooting a beam of flame at the Gryphus. The Gryphus screams and recoils back but Celestia heard the screams of other traumatized ponies. “Okay, fighting with flame might be a bad idea right now.”

“We have your back Celestia,” Black Rose says stepping out behind the white Alicorn.

“It is your light that guides the life,” Summer Harvest says as she too steps out.

“There is three of you,” The Gryphus sniffs the air. “But only one of you is meat.”

Summer Harvest‘s horn glows, the same golden and yellow glow surrounds the bees on her dress, suddenly they spring alive attacking the Gryphus. The bees were small but the intelligence that guided them made sure that they attacked the most vulnerable spots on the Gryphus.

As the Gryphus screams and takes off for the sky, two more Gryphus come in for the attack. A Gryphus tackles Celestia as Polis takes on Black Rose.

“Leo works in his lab…”

The brown stallion had his war time exosuit taken apart. He took an arm and placed it on his work table. The arm was attached to some kind of spark crystal by a fiber crystal and metal filament cable running from the crystal and down the arm.

Leo picks up a gas torch, after lighting and holds it to the palm of the robotic hand. The cable and spark crystal both glows red.

“Okay, it can absorb fire magic,” Leo mutters as he wraps his hoof around a trigger. “But can it release it?” He pulls back on the trigger and a ball of flame shoots out from the arm.

Screams and a thud from outside his door draws Leo’s attention. The door opens up and Whirly Pop and Pot Shell walks into the room.

“What are you doing walking around?” Leo raises an eyebrow.

“We are escaping,” Whirly Pop told him.

“Good for you, but you do realize you’re not getting out of this city?” Leo answered. “Your brother maybe if you split up but Whirly your too important to allow to leave.”

“Leo!” Pot Shell snaps.

“It’s the truth,” Leo answers.

“Are you coming with?” Whirly Pop’s voice was showing she was losing her patience.

Leo looks at the arm and spark crystal. “I have very important work to do,” He told her.

“So it’s a no then?” Whirly Pop asked.

“Yes,” Leo nodded his head still looking at the table.

Whirly Pop and Pot Shell turns around and walks out of the room. Leo turns back and starts working on the table again.

“In the city…”

Claymari follows Generous Thread, behind them was Metalance and her colt Caramel followed by Catfish and Weedie. They walk out onto the lake harbor now abandoned due to the siren alarm and explosions that had happened.

“So are we taking a boat?” Metalance asked. After she had ran out of the fire and her colt recovered enough that he could walk, Metalance had snuck away around the building. It was there she ran into Claymari and Generous Thread. Little did she know Catfish had followed her with Weedie at her side. Now the four of them was stuck following Claymari and this strange pony.

“No, at least not yet,” Generous Thread told them, “We need to head to the Wax and Taxidermy Museum first.”

“The Taxidermy Museum?” Catfish questioned, “But ever since the cue that neighborhood has been put off limits.”

“It makes a great meeting place, the fact it’s off limits now really wasn’t a factor in choosing the place but that would be an added bounus.” Generous Thread told them.

“It may be of some importance to know why the museum is off limits?” Claymari asked.

“They say that the exhibits have come alive,” Catfish answered.

“It's a Taxidermy Museum so obviously zombies,” Metalance notes, “You and Weedie really should head back, I’m having second thoughts of taking Caramel with me.”

“I want to know that the two of you will be alright before I abandon you,” Catfish told them, “I have already made too many bad choices to let the two of you become one.”

“I’ve been told it’s safe for us,” Generous Thread points out.

“I kind of wonder why the new regime didn’t clear the neighborhood out?” Metalance asked.

“It’s not a high priority,” Catfish answered, “The creatures of the museum keeps to themselves and we need to use the manpower for other things.”

“It is theorized what happened to the museum is some kind of defense mechanism,” Generous Thread adds.

“It’s just of course there be something like that in the middle of the city,” Claymari grumbled.

“In the castle’s dungeon…”

Whirly Pop wonders the dungeon hallway with Pot Shell walking nervously behind her. As she walked by the prisoners they pleaded to be let go. She obliged them by picking the locks with the strand of wire she kept with her.

“When you reach the weapons cash if you find Paladin Spears take them to me,” Whirly Pop told the highest ranking officer.

He was a stallion named Prime Key with a cutie mark of a large key with three smaller keys under him. His coat was some light colored mixture of purple yellow. His mane light orange.

Prime Key replies by nodding his head and leads the military prisoners out of the dungeon.

“Aren’t we going with them?” Pot Shell asked.

“No, following a large crowd like that is suicide when in enemy territory,” Whirly Pop answered.

“Then wouldn’t it have been better to leave them locked up?” Pot Shell wondered.

“They didn’t object,” Whirly Pop shook her head, “Besides we need the distraction.” She pushes her hoof on you the wall and a secret door opens.

Rat Tak-Tak squints her eyes at the light. She puts her hoof up to shield her eyes. “Whirly Pop?”

“Hello commander,” Whirly Pop smiles as she unlocks the door and removes the chains.

“It feels good to be free,” Rat Tak-Tak replied rubbing her sore muscles.

“Why didn’t you free her with the rest of them?” Pot Shell asked.

“Because we need her with us,” Whirly Pop answered.

“You freed the others before me?” Rat Tak-Tak questioned, “

“Yeah there’s some kind of attack going on,” Whirly Pop said, “By the suddenness of it I assume it's the Pegasus or something.”

“I need to get my weapon,” Rat Tak-Tak stated.

“Not a high priority right now,” Whirly Pop tells her, “That’s a command from the highest ranking lord of Capital City.”

The ponies made their way out of the dungeon where they were stopped by a figure laying against the wall. It was a Pegasus in shackles and an iron mask.

“You?” Whirly Pop said in shock.

“Help me,” The pony in the iron mask gasped.

Whirly Pop undid the shackles and unlocked the mask. With a groan it pops open and the stallion pulls the mask away. Under was the face of La Dawn only this La Dawn had a scar over his left eye and his mane was ragged.

“Elsewhere…”

The other La Dawn suddenly screams out as black cracks came across his pelt. With a burst of energy the pony’s coat and wings shatter off revealing a black tall Crystal Unicorn.

“Damn, he removed the mask,” Eclipso snaps. He glows over at Ponyville. She was standing there looking at him with a dull thoughtless look on her face. “What are you looking at!” Eclipso shouts slapping her so hard that her knees gave out.

Ponyville stands back up and Eclipso starts stomping his hooves out of frustration. “What am I going to do now! Maybe I can still salvage this if I regroup.” Eclipso glares at Ponyville. “But all I have is her, well she is a nice prize she is too hard to reliably control in a way that can be useful. Unless I summon more creatures.”

Eclipso’s horn glows, a black mystical gate appears in front of him. Four red bugs and a conch shell crawls out of the portal. After summoning the objects, Eclipso begun to cough. He wipes his mouth with his hoof and looks at the blood streak left behind.

“Serves me right for doing a new summoning without a sacrifice,” He complained to himself.

Eclipso picks up the objects with his magic. He then combines the conch shell with Ponyville’s choker and puts one of the bugs into Ponyville’s ear.

“Now go find my other servants,” Eclipso orders causing Ponyville to take to the air.

“Somewhere in the city…”

“So Claymari had to have gone this way,” Winkz remarks her horn glowing.

“Maybe I should fly up?” Ferngully asks, “It should be easier to see her that way?”

“Not unless you want to risk getting shot down” Winkz answered.

Ferngully felt a familiar tug at her heart and she takes up to the air. Winkz heard the flap of wings and turned around to see that the Bat Pony was gone.

“That little bitch,” The Crystal Pony snaps.

Ferngully lands on a nearby rooftop, Ponyville was there waiting for her. The sight of the beshoveled and abused mare shocked and horrified Ferngully.

“Put this into your ear,” A commanding voice came from the conch shell as Ponyville puts down one of the red insects. Ferngully was about to protest when she felt a pain in her chest, and so she got the idea.

The Bat Pony picks up the squirming insect with her muzzle, she lifts her forehooves and puts the bug on the back of it, then lifts the insect to her ear. It crawled inside the filly causing shivers to go up Ferngully’s spine.

“Can you hear me?” A voice and Ferngully’s ear asked.

“Unfortunately yes,” Ferngully gritted her teeth.

“Good, the Pegasus in front of you is strange,” The voice replied, “How long I can control her is limited. She has another one of those bugs on her, they are called earwicks, be a dear and give one to that Gryphus friend of ours and wait for further orders.”

After taking another earwick from her, Ponyville flies off. Ferngully puts the earwick in her saddlebag and mutters shamefully to herself. “It’s time I take desperate action.”

“Black Rose…”

The two swords clashed against each other. The Gryphus’s larger size and power caused Black Rose to buckle a little. Polis forced himself forward. Black Rose’s horn glows and the bricks below Polis’s feet give way. As he fell, he grabs Black Rose’s forehoof. With her first he smashes her into the walls below.

With a flap of his wings, Polis rights himself on the roof. He turns and looks into the hole. As he looked stone bricks taking the form of spikes fire up at him. Polis manages to block with his sword but as he blocked, Black Rose flew out and dive bombed him.

When Black Rose struck the Gryphus, Polis’s sword lights of flame.

Black Rose smiles at this sight. “You use rune magic to set your sword a flame.” Black Rose’s horn glows and her sword becomes red hot and bursts into flames. “I used earth alchemy magic, any substance that comes from the earth I can make it do what I want.”

Polis watched as Black Rose’s hot blade began to melt through his own. He did not get a chance to see the blade split because the heat transferred to the handle forcing him to let go before it could.

Black Rose stood back and laughed as the flames extinguished from her sword leaving it black and charred. “You know if another sword struck this one in the state that it is now this sword would surely shatter.” Black Rose’s horn glows and the black suet is magically peeled away from her sword making it like new. “But thanks to my earth alchemy magic I can rejuvenate it as many times as I want.”

“Celestia…”

Celestia is tossed into the castle wall. The impact shakes the wall by its foundation and before she could fall the Gryphus grabs her head by the neck and slams her head back against the wall. With his grip firmly on the Alicorn, he flies along the wall dragging her against its surface.

Celestia was slammed hard into the wall’s inner corner. To add insult to injury, the Gryphus spikes Celestia’s face into the ground.

On the wall above, Summer Harvest runs across with her horn glowing. The Gryphus looks up at the large mare as she blasts a wave of pollen mist at him. The Gryphus was stunned by the missed and starts sneezing. Well in the middle of his sneezing fit Summer Harvest leaps off the wall and dives into him. The Biollante Alicorn knocks the Gryphus back and she lands putting herself between the creature and Celestia.

“Are you okay my Princess?” Summer Harvest asked Celestia as she got to her feet.

“Okay,” Celestia answered after spitting the blood and gravel from her mouth. “It's a good thing I can grow back teeth.”

The two mares laughed at this.

“Perhaps it would be prudent that you use a bit more power on this creature?” Summer Harvest suggests.

“I don’t want to use flames around these ponies,” Celestia answered.

“I guess that’s a little understandable,” Summer Harvest nods her head, “Can you still fly?”

“It will take more then that to wreck Alicorn wings,” Celestia replied.

“Then take the battle to the sk-!” Summer Harvest was interrupted by another Gryphus coming from the sky and slamming her body into the ground.

“The castle dungeons…”

“Can’t believe the Church of the Sky did this to you!” Pot Shell snaps.

“Why would the Church of the Sky do this to me?” La Dawn answered putting his hoof to his face as his eyes hurt from the light.

“Didn’t they capture you?” Rat Tak-Tak asked.

La Dawn just looked at her with a blank look of confusion then replied. “Sorry, I’ve been out of the game for months what’s going on?”

“Months!” Whirly Pop shouted, “We last saw you three weeks ago.”

“Eclipso,” La Dawn said in anger.

“Eclipso?” Pot Shell questioned.

“He’s a Dark One that captured me and use that mask to steal my form,” La Dawn explained.

“I thought that you seemed extra sleazy lately,” Whirly Pop remarks, “You even tried hitting on me until Smart Cookie reminded you that I was like your little sister.”

“Sorry poppet,” La Dawn reaches over and gives Whirly Pop a hug.

Rat Tak-Tak coughs to remind them that they don’t have much time.

“Anyway this explains a lot,” Pot Shell adds as they moved out of the dungeon, “We’ve been theorizing that one of the Dark Ones has been affecting Chancellor Puddinghead.”

“Black Rose…”

Polis dodges the sword swing from Black Rose. As he fought, he felt a pain in his chest and knew he had to go. The Gryphus took straight up to the sky.

“No you don’t,” Black Rose snaps.

Polis sees the Biollante Alicorn following after him. The Gryphus grabs a nearby small cloud and tucks in his wings. He and the cloud drop like a rock. Their descending speed overwhelmed the Biollante as Polis smacks her hard with the cloud.

Black Rose was knocked out and sent falling to the ground. As she crashes Celestia takes up to the air with her own Gryphus following her.

Celestia dives through a cloud bursting a hole through it. The Gryphus follows after her, but once he went through the hole he had lost the Alicorn. He was frantically looking around when Celestia leaps up at him from out of the cloud.

She puts her hooves on his shoulder. Her eyes glowed with divine fury that overwhelmed one of the Gryphus’s retinas causing the vision in that I to go black. Her mouth next held smoke and she kisses the Gryphus on the lips.

Light and heat followed, pain came out of Celestia’s mouth and into the Gryphus. It filled his body and he found himself wondering what kind of dark magic was keeping him alive. Celestia let go in the Gryphus stumbled back with a few flaps of his wings.

It begun with a slow burn, the Gryphus screamed out in pain. A dull light could be seen in the back of his throat. But that light did not state dull for long. Soon flames shot out his eyes and mouth as the Gryphus’s body glowed red ending in an explosion.

“The harbor… and the edge…”

Generous Thread had led them to a wooden barricade at the edge of the lake harbor.

“This is the start of the quarantined neighborhood,” She told them.

“Catfish you and Weedie should turn back,” Metalance warns.

“It’s not safe for us then it’s not safe for your child,” Catfish snaps, “Besides I don’t remember anyone ever getting hurt in this neighborhood.”

“Incoming!” Claymari shouted.

They looked up to see a flaming Gryphus skull come falling of the sky and crashes into the dock that the ponies were standing on. Generous Thread, Claymari, Metalance and Caramel were all knocked onto the sandy beach. While Catfish and Weedie fell into the water.

Once in the water gills opened up in Catfish's side and she swims toward Weedie. The filly had slits opening up in her side too, but they weren’t as well formed as her mother’s. This caused the pony to have trouble breathing and she passed out. Like a torpedo, Catfish scoops up Weedie and takes her a shore.

A shore Weedie starts coughing up water.

“Its okay, the water is not going to hurt you,” Catfish pats the filly on the back.

“Are you okay!” Metalance shouted as she came running up.

“Yeah,” Catfish answered as she took a deep breath and exhaled through her gills forcing water out. Then the flaps sealed neatly against her side becoming almost invisible again. "I should teach her how to swim one of these days. It’s kind of pathetic that she sinks like a rock.” Catfish gives a nervous laugh to break her emotional tension.

Suddenly they heard a magical pop.

“What now,” Claymari snapped.

They turn to see Winkz and the last remnants of her magical teleportation disappearing around her. She looks around and gets a smile on her face. “What happened to you guys now?” She remarks.

“This thing attacked us,” Claymari tapped a smoking skull the size of her body with a sword. “It was on fire, we can still smell the boiling marrow.” The mare smiles, “I so love that smell.”

“A Gryphus?” Winkz said in shock, “How did you blow it up in such a flammy matter?”

“Oh we didn’t blow it up the skull went at us and it was on fire,” Claymari then laughed, “Maybe they are escaping the flames of Tartarus to have their revenge.”

“If there was a hole to Tartarus, I wouldn’t be shocked to find one here given recent events,” Generous Thread remarks.

“Just you?” Metalance frowned.

“Who were you expecting-“ Winkz stops herself as she realized what Metalance meant. “Yes, Ferngully for some reason she abruptly decided to do her own thing. I didn’t have to worry about her keeping up with me so I teleported here.”

“Did she say what’s she’s up to?” Claymari asked, “She’s free to do what she wants but I can imagine anything more important to her than sticking together and getting the heck out of here.”

“I suppose that’s out of character,” Metalance notes.

“Well the odd thing is, she’s heading for the castle,” Winkz points out.

“Think she turned traitor?” Metalance asked, “Speaking of which.” She glares at Winkz.

“Ease off,” Claymari snaps, “She did what she thought was right for the group. Her and Mousecakes, their actions got us captured as peaceful as possible.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Metalance snaps back, “You broke all ties to this country.”

“This country broke me!” Claymari shouted.

“Girls,” Generous Thread interjects, “Perhaps we should keep moving?”

“Castle courtyard…”

La Dawn cautiously follows Whirly Pop and Pot Shell outside, Rat Tak-Tak followed at his rear. The stallion’s eyes darted around nervously.

“It will be okay sir,” Rat Tak-Tak tries to comfort La Dawn.

“I know you’re trying to help out please don’t say stuff like that to me,” La Dawn replied, “I know Eclipso has to be looking for me in hopes he can do damage control. He will kill you all and capture me again if he can. There is also the prospect of being captured by the church which would actually be a much better fate than what that Dark One has instored for me.”

“Stop!” Whirly Pop held up her hoof.

“What is it?” La Dawn asked nervously.

Whirly Pop raised an eyebrow. “An Alicorn fighting a Gryphus?” She remarks as she sees Summer Harvest fighting against a Gryphus.

“What is this? Like the third time we seen that?” Pot Shell remarks.

La Dawn looks back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“They are not joking,” Rat Tak-Tak says then pauses for a moment and adds, “We’ve been traveling with Claymari.”

Suddenly a large equine shaped object crashes to the ground next to them.

“Ahhhh!” La Dawn screamed grabbing Whirly Pop.

Whirly Pop turns her head to him, grits her teeth at him and flips her ears back. “Did you just piss on me!”

“I don’t know maybe?” La Dawn blushed.

Black Rose stands up, she was screaming in pain and several parts of her metaphysical body was so damaged that they dissolve the way leaving her with only one foreleg, one backleg, and one wing. Magic sucks into these gaping areas as she tries to heal herself.

The Biollante turns and looks at the ponies standing in shock in the courtyard. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

Despite his reaction from earlier, La Dawn managed to keep a calm look on his face. Him and Rat Tak-Tak both. Whirly Pop and Pot Shell on the other hand had big fake he nervous sweaty grins on their faces.

“Having fun Black Rose?” Mars asks as he came walking into the gate. He stops and looks at the group of ponies. “Whirly Pop, Pot Shell, La Dawn you looked better? And purple girl I don’t know. Are you out for a stroll?”

“Wait? I know these names? They are supposed to be locked up!” Black Rose shouted.

Mars looked at the ponies and shrugged. “Good luck with that.” Mars then walks past Black Rose.

He sees Summer Harvest struggling with the Gryphus that she was fighting. “You need any help?”Mars asked cheerfully.

“Yes please!” Summer Harvest shouted trying to hold back the beast.

Mars bursts open one of the burn wounds on his legs. Blood starts to trickle out of the wound. With a swing of his leg, a whip shoots out and slices the Gryphus in half. He then smiles and does a bow to Summer Harvest.

“You are welcome sir,” Summer Harvest said in reply.

“Up in the sky…”

Polis twitches as the earwick crawled inside of him.

“Yeah it’s not pleasant,” Ferngully answered.

“Polis are you there?” Eclipso asked over the earwick.

“Yes?” Polis replied I’m sure if his reply can be heard.

“Good,” Eclipso answered, “I need you to catch a pony that escaped from me.”

“It’s nice to know that there’s hope,” Polis remarks. For that remark he gets a pain that causes him to clutches chest.

“Anyway,” Eclipso continued, “He’s a sea green Pegasus, you may know him as La Dawn.”

“La Dawn? The La Dawn? The one that was around town sticking his thing in any mare he can find?” Ferngully remarks.

“Yes,” Eclipso replied.

“I can just imagine how he got your wrath,” Ferngully smirk, “What’s her name by the way?”

“Just find him he should still be in the area!” Eclipso shouted before the communication line went dead.

Ferngully turns to Polis. “You’re the one with the eagle eyes.” She points at the ground.

Polis sighs and stares down at the city below. “You seem different than when I first met you?” He noted.

“That’s because the snake was forcing more control over me,” Ferngully answered.

“Snake?” The Gryphus questioned.

“It talks to me,” Ferngully replied, “Gives hypnotic suggestions, you see I don’t want to help him, I want to escape, I know how to escape but I have several psychological barriers stopping me.”

“I see,” Polis answered.

“So? All you Gryphus know rune magic?” Ferngully asks.

“Not as a general rule but I got a hold of magic spell books from a friend,” Polis told her.

“My mother used rune spells,” Ferngully points out, “She did this neat trick that allowed the soul of my sister to possess my body.”

“Crap,” Polis said.

“What is it?” Ferngully asked.

“I found him,” Polis answered, “But that black Alicorn bitch is about to get them.”

“Them?” Ferngully questioned.

“Awe yes, some of your traveling companions appeared to be with him,” Polis points out.

“That kind of makes things easy then,” Ferngully remarks, “You attack the Alicorn, I’ll rescue my friends and later you can take La Dawn when you’re ready.”

“I am not looking forward to trying to escape from her again,” Polis groans.

“Down in the courtyard…”

Black Rose stomps her hoof. Her alchemy magic sets the ground on fire causing all the ponies in the area to run from the flames. Whirly Pop uses her wire like whip to attack the Biollante. This held Black Rose back enough for the others to head for the gate.

Polis drops from the sky. He hits into Black Rose hard. Well she was stunned he lifts her up into the air. From above, Celestia rams into Polis causing him to drop the black Biollante. Polis spins around and punches Celestia in the nose. She becomes stunned and the Gryphus flies away.

Guards come at Whirly Pop. She braces herself to fight them when blasts of green energy knocks them out. Whirly Pop looks up to see Ferngully flying down from the sky.

“Move!” She shouts at Whirly Pop.

All the ponies run for the gate fighting off whoever comes to stop them.

“Inside the Castle…”

Blaster fires her laser rifle at the escaped prisoners. She and Diamond Luck still in pain and barely conscious were pinned down in the hallway. She had a better weapon but they had numbers.

“Shit!” Blaster looked at her energy cell. She never had to fire the old weapon so much. The mare comes around and shoots some cover fire. Prime Key fires a bolt that whizzes past her head causing the pony to take cover again.

Then Blaster hears the prisoners cry out in pain. She turns around to see Honey Mead attacking some of them. Prime Key hits the ground holding his hoof.

“Honey!” She calls out.

Honey Mead turns around. “Blaster!”

“Stay away!” Blaster cries out aiming her rifle at Honey Mead.

“Blaster, it’s okay,” Honey Mead takes a step forward.

Blaster begins to pull the trigger.

“Stop! She’s on our side.” Oubliette shouts jumping between the two.

Blaster drops her rifle and falls to her knees crying with her hooves over her face. The other two mares stood there and watched.

“The city… abandoned district…”

The streets were covered in magical mist. This made Metalance and Catfish uneasy and they walked close together keeping their foals between them in case of some kind of attack. Winkz was just ahead of them but she wasn’t any more than a flank away her horn glowing probing the area. Claymari and Generous Thread being the more confident of the group walked several feet ahead of them.

“Where did this mist come from?” Metalance asks looking around nervously.

“Yes it is dreadful,” Generous Thread remarks.

“We don’t know, it started around the museum then expanded a few blocks overnight and stopped expanding,” Catfish explains.

“It’s coming from here,” Winkz says as she veers off course. She stops at a nearby building with a rune drawn on a wall. The Crystal Pony cuts into the wall with her sharp hoof slicing the image in half.

A section of the mist disappears. In the edges of the remaining mist shadows of figures starts to emerge.

Claymari draws her sword and turns to the Crystal Pony. “Winkz you shouldn’t of done that,” She snaps at the pony.

A small figure steps out of the mist. To their confusion it was a doll. A pony doll, glazed in ivory white wearing a black trench coat and fedora. Its eyes were piercing black with spikes pointing out for irises. A hook was stuck at the end of its muzzle.

“Mommy, that’s a weird looking doll,” Weedie remarks.

“Don’t touch it sweetheart!” Catfish ordered pushing the filly back.

“She’s right don’t hurt it!” Generous Thread shouted.

Two more figures step out of the mist. These two were pony sized but were obviously dead and covered in shiny wax. Claymari charges at them.

“Please don’t attack my exhibits,” A voice called out stopping Claymari before she could swing at the creature. It didn’t flinch at all at almost being attacked.

The mist begins to pull back revealing a large figure. This was a mare with a gray and black mane wearing black lipstick with a wide smile on her face. She had an exclamation point as a cutie mark.

“Who are you! I demand an explanation!” Claymari shouted.

The mare gives off a slight giggle at the question and answers. “Explanation is what you got.”