"No!" Twilight begged. "Stay away from me!"
The moving darkness grew closer and closer to her. It didn't want to leave her alone. It was almost as it found Twilight appetizing. Twilight could see the exit. The light at the end beckoned Twilight to safety. She was just about to reach it.
"Twilight! Twilight, help!"
"Spike?!" Twilight could hear Spike yelling desperately to be saved.
"Hang on! I'm coming!" Twilight yelled.
Twilight ran to find Spike terrified on the floor. He was huddled against the wall and he didn't look like he wanted to move ever again. Twilight picked up Spike and ran towards the exit. But it was now too late. The darkness took form in front of them.
"Girls! Are you out there?! Anywhere?! Help!" Twilight called.
Spike was laying in Twilight's arms. He seemed to be lifeless.
The darkness clouded over Twilight, so she couldn't breathe. She sobbed. She was afraid. Her assistant was dead and she was about to die too. She didn't know where her friends were and she never would.
I wish this was just a bad dream, Twilight thought.
Twilight screamed. "No!!"
She shot up in her bed and she realized she had been crying in her sleep as tears still poured down her face. The tears changed into tears of relief as she realized it was just a nightmare.
Spike sat up and looked at Twilight in worry. "Twilight? What's wrong?"
Twilight looked over and was overjoyed to find that it was truly a bad dream that Spike had died. She ran out of bed and gave him a hug.
"Spike! Spike! Spike! Spike!" she cried in joy. It went on like that for awhile.
"I'm happy to see you too?" Spike replied.
Twilight realized what she was doing, laughed nervously, and forced herself to stop.
Spike got his things and went off to Rarity's. Twilight was a tad upset that Spike was helping at Rarity's more than her castle, but she recognized that he deserved to choose where he wanted to be and let him.
As Twilight got out a book, she saw a shocking familiar sight. She never remembered owning the book before, but what she saw next terrified her. She saw the darkness on her dream on the front cover. She suppressed a scream, grabbed the book, and rushed off to find her friends.
Scootaloo sighed.
"You can do it," Rumble encouraged her.
"No, I can't," Scootaloo cried. "I can't. Did you hear the doctor? I can't fly."
"But what about all the progress you've been making?" Rumble protested. "You can do it! I believe in you!"
Scootaloo's eyes welled up with angry tears. "Stop trying to make me feel better."
"Why?" Rumble asked a little hurt.
"Because I don't want to feel better," Scootaloo replied.
"Fine," Rumble agreed quietly.
They sat next to each other in silence. That was all the progress they made on Scootaloo's flying.
"Crimson Arrow?" Applejack asked in surprise. "Who's Crimson Arrow?"
"He's a dangerous villain that has never made appearance in Equestria before," Twilight replied. "Just Saddle Arabia and Germaneigh." She paused and then continued. "Crimson Arrow isn't a normal pony. He's not an umbra like Sombra. He is purely made of darkness."
Twilight's friends were shocked.
"How can somepony be made of darkness?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"That's what I asked myself," Twilight answered. "But the book says he's pretty big."
"How big?" Fluttershy asked in fear.
Twilight looked through the book and her friends crowded her to see the answer the book held.
"20 feet at his regular height," Twilight said. "But he can grow or shrink to the size he pleases due to not having a certain structure."
"20 feet?!?!" Fluttershy squealed. Fluttershy felt weak at the knees and shook in fear. "But that's huge!"
"Then we have to find a solution before it's too late," said a determined Twilight.
"But Twilight---" Spike began.
But she had already shut the door to her castle library.
Apple Bloom and Tender Taps had got the salsa down. They could do it with little mistakes and they had lots of fun doing it together.
However, Apple Bloom realized the more she met with Tender Taps, the better she felt about everything. It was as if she could forget about what had happened and just have fun. They learned more partner dances: Waltzes, tangos, additional salsa moves, and even square dancing together.
"Hey, Apple Bloom?" Tender Taps said.
"Yeah?" Apple Bloom answered.
"I was wondering if we could perform together sometime," Tender Taps admitted. "You know, if you want to."
"I'd love to," Apple Bloom replied. "Which dance should we do?"
"I like the tango," Tender Taps said. "Could we do that?"
Apple Bloom smiled. "Of course."
"Okay!" Tender Taps exclaimed. "See you tomorrow to start practicing!"
As Apple Bloom watched him trot away, she felt her heart skip a beat.
Scootaloo opened her door and burst into relentless tears. She didn't care how many ponies heard her cry. She just wanted to cry as long as it took her to feel better. However, it took Scootaloo a long time to stop. No one knocked on her door to ask if she was feeling alright or wanted somepony to tell her it would be okay. When she did stop, she looked up in realization.
"That's it," Scootaloo said to herself. "I know what to do."
Scootaloo knew once and for all. She would fix the long broken friendship with her best friends.
Scootaloo knocked on the door to Apple Bloom's house. It was Big Mac who answered the door.
"Hello, Big Mac," Scootaloo said. "Is Apple Bloom here?"
"Eeyup," Big Mac replied.
"May I see her?" Scootalo asked.
"Eeyup," Big Mac invited. He signed for Scootaloo to enter the house.
Scootaloo came inside the barn and looked around. It was good to see Sweet Apple Acres again after a year. She even saw some new things that the Apples put up. Apple Bloom had told her they had a memory wall for ancestors and she saw Granny Smith's picture added.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack called. "Come downstairs! Scootaloo is here to see you!" She paused. "Apple Bloom?!"
Scootaloo's heart began to pound. She knew Apple Bloom would always answer when she was called.
Scootaloo, Applejack, and Big Mac climbed the stairs and opened the doors.
"Apple Bloom? It's me, Scootaloo."
Scootaloo gasped. Apple Bloom was in the corner of her room frantically hiding from a shadow of darkness.
Applejack's heart sank. She knew exactly what it was.
After helping Apple Bloom escape, they moved onto Sweetie Belle's house.
"Sweetie Belle? Are you home?" Scootaloo asked from outside.
Sweetie Belle answered the door.
"Girls?" Sweetie Belle asked in confusion. "What are you---?"
"Shh," Apple Bloom whispered. "We're needed at Twilight's. She'll explain why when we arrive."