Spiritus ex Machina

by wonderkid125


Chapter 26: Ghosts of the Past

Several minutes went by as the group continued their work. The light of the nearby lanterns flickered, bathing the area in a dim, orange tint. The overwhelming silence, along with the wavering shadows around them, made them uneasy, but somehow they felt at least a little safe in their makeshift base.

Glitterball sat near Glimmer Shine with a pile of rope in front of her. She was tying any strands that looked strong enough to hold weight together. The yellow stallion beside her and some of the others off to the rear were doing the same thing.

The white unicorn glanced over her shoulder to see Sunspot off in the distance, finishing up with lighting the other lanterns. She looked back to Glimmer Shine and frowned slightly. Ever since the pair had returned from the storage room, they had been acting very distant toward each other.

“Hey, umm… Glimmer…?” Glitter scooted closer to the stallion while still trying to think of what to say.

Glimmer Shine glanced beside him before looking back to his work. “What’s up?”

“You want to tell me what’s going on between you and Sunspot?” Glitterball asked, adopting a more serious expression of concern.

“Oh…” Glimmer Shine frowned uncomfortably. “You noticed huh?” He looked to the unicorn and set the rope he was working on aside.

“It’s not like you’re being subtle,” Glitterball said, briefly glancing toward the orange pegasus. “You’ve barely said anything to her, and she looks at you like a sad puppy.”

Glimmer Shine chuckled quietly. “I told her she was like a puppy…” He muttered, much to the unicorn’s confusion.

“What?” Glitter tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

Glimmer Shine shrugged and shook his head, avoiding looking at the white mare. Finally, he looked up at her and adopted a somber expression. “Alright… you deserve to at least know why we’ve been acting so weird. Me and Sunspot… we uh,” He paused hesitantly while eyeing over to the pegasus. “We had a bit of a… heated, discussion after we found the keys to the gate. Some things were said… things that both of us would rather be… unsaid.”

Glitterball frowned as she noticed a hint of sadness in the stallion’s eyes as he looked down in thought. “Are you ok?” She asked with a concerned tone. She might not have known everything that happened, but she had a rough idea of what it could have involved.

“Yeah… I’m alright. I know she didn’t mean any of it.” Glimmer Shine replied, still harboring a bit of gloom in his expression. “Umm… I’m not sure how I should say this. We had a talk a little earlier when we were alone. She tried to apologize… and, I asked her if she really wanted to be here.” He explained hesitantly.

“Huh…?” Glitterball paused, unsure of what the stallion was telling her. “What do you mean?”

“You and I both know how often she… improvises her own plans. She’s only gotten worse since we’ve been here. I don’t even want to talk about how many times she’s almost gotten herself killed. That’s actually the reason we even had an argument to begin with.” Glimmer explained. “I just want her to be safe… and in this line of work, doing the things she does isn’t exactly healthy. I wanted to give you a heads up… she might be leaving the team after today, of her own decision of course.” He said with a somber expression.

“O-oh…” Glitterball was taken aback by the yellow pony’s words. She looked over toward Sunspot with a regretful frown, unable to find anything to say. “…Ok…” She nodded slowly, her eyes beginning to water. Not wanting to let the stallion see her in such a vulnerable state, she sniffled and wiped her eyes.

Glimmer Shine rested a hoof on her shoulder reassuringly. “It’ll be ok…” The stallion said softly. “Let’s just get through this mess for now, ok?”

“Right…” Glitter nodded, managing to put on a determined expression.

The pair looked up as they heard footsteps approaching. They saw Twilight walking over to them with the others in tow.

“All finished?” Glimmer Shine asked, noting the jars of oil being carried by Pinkie, Sparkplug, and Fluttershy.

Twilight nodded after doing a brief mental check. “I think so. All we need now is for you two to get that rope tied up.” She motioned to Applejack, who had a lasso held in her mouth.

Glimmer Shine and the white mare beside him glanced down to the ropes they were working on. They already had them at the length they would need, so it shouldn't take long for them to tie the ends into loops.

“Alright,” Glitterball got up and looked around pensively. “Once we get that done, what's next?”

“Well…” Twilight paused hesitantly as she looked across the stone bridge leading further into the cave. “All that's left is for someone to go lure Dream Catcher here.” She said, her eyes hiding a glint of unease.

Sunspot glanced around at the others curiously. “So, who's going to be poking our not so dead friend with a stick?”

Everyone remained silent as they looked around for volunteers. They knew that somebody had to go bring the yellow mascot to them for the plan to work, but they weren't sure how they felt about their friends being live bait.

“I'll go.” Tom suggested while stepping forward confidently.

“I'm coming too.” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “Somebody needs to keep an eye out for you.”

Glitterball stepped forward to join the cyan mare and the human. “I'll come with you… to watch your backs.” She said, suppressing any feelings of nervousness inside of her and flashing a confident smile.

“Hold on,” Sunspot spoke up while stepping to the front of the group. “If you're going, I'm going too.” She stated, looking to the white mare protectively. She was surprised when the unicorn shook her head at her.

“No, Sunspot… you need to stay here. You can't just abandon your part in the plan to come with us.” Glitterball said, pointing out the rope clutched in the orange pony's hooves.

“But…” Sunspot protested before pausing and sighing.

“I'll be fine… Tom and Rainbow Dash will keep an eye on me for you.” Glitterball assured with a warm smile. She appreciated the pegasus’s concern for her.

“Alright,” Sunspot shrugged in defeat before softening up. She smiled as the unicorn walked up to her and wrapped a foreleg around her neck. “Just be sure to be careful out there, ok?” She added, receiving a soft chuckle and a nod in return.

Glitterball backed up and joined her two designated companions. The trio walked over to the stone bridge with the rest of the group following behind. The ponies gathered to see their friends off as they prepared to head out into the darkness.

Glimmer Shine looked at the trio with a confident expression. “By the time you get back, we should have everything ready to go. Just focus on getting Dream Catcher over that bridge and we'll do the rest.” He explained. Glitter and the others nodded.

“Good luck guys.” Twilight smiled at the brave troop.

Pinkie waved at the trio as they started to walk across the bridge. “Go show that big meanie who's boss!”

Glitterball and her two teammates turned and waved back at their friends. They could see the group beginning to rush off to ensure that the final pieces of the plan were in place. All the trio could hope for right now was that the plan would work.

The cave stretched onward as the unicorn led her group forward. Although the light cast between her horn and Tom’s flashlight wasn’t nearly as good as when Twilight was with her, they still had a comfortable bubble of illumination around them.

“So…” Rainbow Dash coughed and scratched the back of her head. “Does anyone actually know how we’re going to get this thing to follow us?” She asked with a clueless expression.

Tom shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know… shouldn’t be too hard though. From the sound of it, this guy is really aggressive and unstable. Not surprising considering he’s been stuck in a mascot suit in this place for the better part of a century. He should just want to chase us naturally.”

“Why is he so strong anyway?” Glitterball asked.

“Maybe he is somehow feeding off of all the energy down here? He is right next to all of the children’s remains.” Tom suggested pensively.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her expression at the conversation topic. “I still can’t believe some creep would stoop low enough to kidnap and kill kids.” She shuddered with revulsion.

“He definitely has a lot to answer for.” Glitterball added with a serious expression.

Tom nodded. “Unfortunately, the only justice we can give the kids is to make sure their spirits can rest.”

With renewed determination to complete their goal, the two ponies pressed onwards through the cave with their human companion. For the next few minutes, they made their way through the areas previously discovered by Cotton Swirl and his crews, until they finally passed the smaller opening that led into the area of the cave where their target was lying in wait.

A few minutes later, a noise drifting through the cave up ahead made the trio pause. The echoed sound was unmistakably the distorted groans of the spirit trapped in the ancient mascot suit.

The ponies crouched low to the ground and hid behind a rocky outcropping with the human. They peered out around their cover and scanned the area ahead for any spot of yellow.

“What the hay…? I thought he would be back in that building we found him in?” Glitterball looked between her friends and the cave ahead with a confused expression of concern.

“He must have moved after he chased you guys.” Tom reasoned while keeping his eyes fixed ahead. He cautiously stepped over the rocky ledge and silently motioned for the two mares to follow him.

Rainbow Dash and Glitterball shared an uneasy glance with each other. The unearthly noises coming from up ahead were skin-crawlingly unsettling to them, but they had a job to do, so they couldn't let any fear or hesitation get in their way. Slowly and quietly, they stepped up and stayed low as they followed Tom.

The pair saw the human pause at another ridge up ahead. He looked down into the area below before jerking his flashlight away. After checking over the ridge again, he nodded for the ponies to join him.

The pegasus and the unicorn crept up and crouched near the ridge on either side of the human.

Glitter looked down the steep slope and into the area ahead. She vaguely recognized it from her previous journey with Twilight and the others. The ruined building they originally found the yellow rabbit in was just a short walk further into the cavern from here.

As her light caught on a silhouette moving in the darkness, she gasped quietly and dimmed her horn. Standing just outside of the light’s reach was a very familiar looking pony shaped mascot suit.

“Looks like he hasn't noticed us.” Tom noted in a hushed tone.

Judging from appearances, the human seemed to be right. The aged mascot was facing away from them, and it was shuffling around slowly, making jittery movements that were somehow sluggish at the same time.

The suit reached up with its forelegs and tugged at its head, letting out another labored groan.

Rainbow Dash watched the strange display with her jaw agape with stunned curiosity. “What's it doing?” She turned to the others, seeing that they were in a similar state of silent observation.

Tom and Glitterball could only shake their heads as a response. Neither of them could offer any insight as to what they were watching. However, if they were to wager a guess, it looked like the suit was trying to rip itself apart.

“Ok…” Glitterball exhaled anxiously. “How do we get its attention?” She asked, hoping to plan out what to do next with her teammates.

Tom looked to the floor and smirked before bending down and picking up a rock. “Are you kidding me? That's the easy part.” He stood up and reeled his arm back, chucking the stone as fast as he could.

The rock sailed through the air, smacking the yellow rabbit on the back of the head and bouncing off.

The two ponies cringed and watched the mascot in nervous anticipation as it stopped moving. As they expected, the rabbit slowly turned around and looked toward them. Another deep outcry shook the walls of the cave as the possessed suit shook angrily.

Glitterball took a step back uneasily as she watched the yellow rabbit staggering toward her. “Yeah… ok, that wasn't what I had in mind… but that works I guess.”

“So that was the easy part,” Rainbow Dash said hesitantly. “What's the hard part?” She turned to the human, hopeful that he had a plan.

Before Tom could speak up, a gust of air blew up at them, knocking some of the looser rocks on the ridge past them and startling them into jumping. They looked ahead to see Dream Catcher picking up his pace as he steadily got closer.

“Getting him back to the others without getting killed!” Tom exclaimed while breaking into a run.

Glitterball glanced back toward the ridge behind her before settling eyes on the cyan mare. “You heard the man, let's book it!” She said while running after the human. Rainbow Dash quickly followed her two companions as the ghost followed after them.


Back at the flat clearing, the others were geared up and ready as they waited for their friends to return.

Twilight was sitting back near the rocky archway along with Pinkie Pie, Sparkplug, and Fluttershy. The purple mare was keeping a clear line of sight with the barrel of oil perched high above the stone walkway, ready to tip it over on top of Dream Catcher. Meanwhile, the three mares beside her had seven smaller jars of oil arranged into a pile beside them, meant to be used as a backup.

Glimmer Shine, Sunspot, and Applejack were sitting closer to the stone bridge. The trio each had makeshift lassos in hoof that they had crudely fashioned from some of the rope barriers back by the tents.

The yellow stallion examined the rope in his hooves with a bit of confusion. While the two mares seemed to have no trouble with how they planned on using their lassos, he wasn't so sure. “Uh…” Glimmer fidgeted with the rope awkwardly while trying to picture how to use it. Sunspot and Applejack noticed the stallion struggling and watched him in silent amusement.

“Need some help there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, using every ounce of her willpower to hide her internal giggling.

Glimmer Shine looked up in surprise. “Huh? Oh, umm… n-no… I've got it under control.” He stated sheepishly. Finally, he shrugged as all of his attempts at figuring out a proper technique failed. “But uh… let's say I didn't… have it under control?” He looked up at the pair and chuckled awkwardly.

Sunspot failed at hiding her smirk, unlike her companion. “Hypothetically speaking, right?”

“Of course… right.” Glimmer nodded.

The pegasus chortled softly while getting up and spinning her lasso around. “Just watch and learn.” She explained while directing her attention forward. After a moment of aiming her rope, she flung it forward, managing to snag one of the posts against the edge of the chasm.

Applejack raised an impressed eyebrow and whistled. “Not bad… not bad at all. Where’d you learn how to do that, Sunspot?”

“I uh… had a bit of practice.” Sunspot replied while looking away slightly. She ignored the subdued chuckling from the yellow stallion and went to collect her lasso.

Suddenly, Sunspot and Glimmer Shine heard the sound of Glitterball’s voice in their ears. “Guys! I hope you're all set over there because we're coming in hot!” The unicorn exclaimed urgently.

The pair glanced at each other anxiously, making sure that they weren't imagining what they heard.

“Look alive everyone! They're on their way back right now!” Glimmer Shine spoke up so the whole group could hear him.

Twilight and the others immediately tensed up and stood at their respective posts, shifting their attention over toward the other side of the leftmost bridge.

The yellow stallion and the two mares beside him spread out around the area, keeping near the bridge and staying relatively hidden behind rock formations with their ropes at the ready.

Fluttershy peeked out from around the stone archway. She looked ahead to see Twilight standing at the ready, looking far more composed than she felt. “Are you ready, Twilight?” She asked nervously. If the purple mare didn’t execute her part of the plan, then the only way they could succeed was for Fluttershy and the others to use their oil jars.

Twilight glanced behind her to see the yellow pegasus and her two companions waiting out of the way, prepared to leap into action if things went south. “Yeah… I am. Don’t worry. Everything should be over quickly after I pour the oil onto Dream Catcher.” She assured, briefly looking up at the oil barrel perched on its ledge.

Over at the bridge, Glimmer Shine clutched his rope tightly while scanning the darkness across the chasm. He was the closest to the action, hiding a little to the left of the bridge near the rope barriers and the cave wall.

As the stallion narrowed his eyes in search of the others, he suddenly heard frantic footsteps echoing down the cave. Soon enough, the sight of lights could be seen wavering as the footsteps got closer and closer. As if to further confirm the urgency of the situation, a chilling growl rumbled through the cave coming from behind the approaching group.

“Here they come!” Sunspot announced from off to the side. Everyone could feel their nerves kicking into overdrive as their plan was about to be stress tested.

The three members of the scouting party ran as fast as they could toward the bridge. Even from across the cavern, the others could tell that they were exhausted and panicked. As they paused at the bridge and spun around, they revealed the yellow mascot suit giving chase to them near the edge of the path.

Tom picked up a rock from the floor and tossed it in the rabbit suit’s general direction. “Come on, ugly! What are you waiting for?!” He taunted before joining Glitterball and Rainbow Dash in sprinting across the bridge.

“Wow… that thing looks mad.” Glimmer Shine muttered with a stunned expression as he laid eyes on the disturbing creature. Although the suit’s facial expression was permanently unchanging, its clenched teeth and cracked exterior made it look like it was either smiling or enraged almost constantly.

Rainbow Dash was the first of her group to make it across the bridge. She rested briefly while looking around at the setup her friends had made. “I… *Pant* I really hope… you guys know what you’re doing.” She said uneasily.

“Believe me, so do I,” Sunspot replied. “Now get back there with the others where it’s safe.” She nodded behind her toward Twilight and the three mares behind the archway.

Rainbow Dash nodded and followed Glitterball and Tom as they raced to get out of the way. At the same time, they were hoping to lure the decrepit mascot across the bridge by running further away.

While the trio rushed to reach the relative safety of the back of the clearing, everyone else was keeping their attention squarely fixed on the darkness across the chasm. They could hear the groans and labored footsteps that the yellow rabbit was making, but they couldn’t see it. After a few moments of waiting, they finally saw its silhouette crossing the bridge.

Glimmer Shine, Sunspot, and Applejack all crouched down and hid as best they could, with Twilight doing the same. The group waited tensely as the possessed suit stumbled over the walkway, getting closer and closer in its dauntless chase.

The rabbit paused as it stepped onto solid ground once more. It looked around the clearing, scanning its head around and searching for any signs of its targets.

Just looking at the decayed mascot was unsettling to the ponies. It was nightmare fuel by appearance alone, but it was even worse when the fact that there was a dead body inside of it was brought into consideration.

Dream Catcher, or at least the spirit dwelling in his body, looked down and brought a foreleg up to his head. Another chilling groan filled the air as the suit briefly tugged at itself before twitching and settling back onto all fours.

“Now!” Glimmer Shine announced while hopping up from his hiding spot. Applejack and Sunspot did the same, twirling their lassos in the air and preparing to capture the mascot.

Applejack managed to hurl her rope first, followed by Sunspot and Glimmer. The three loops all landed around the mascot’s head, pulling taut and making it stumble as the three ponies pulled on it with all of their strength. The yellow rabbit struggled against their hold on it, trying to step backwards or free itself from the ropes.

Spotting her opportunity, Twilight lit up her horn and focused her magic on the oil barrel. The barrel glowed purple as her aura wrapped around it and she lifted it up with relative ease. She quickly floated the barrel toward the suit as it struggled to break free from its bonds.

Twilight smirked as she hovered the barrel above the mascot. “Have a load of this you freak.” She muttered while starting to tilt the barrel. As the unicorn was starting to pour the oil, the yellow rabbit stopped struggling against the ropes and looked up. Noticing the purple light coming from Twilight’s horn, it growled while taking a step forward.

Suddenly, Twilight felt an invisible force slamming into her. She yelped in surprise as she was knocked backwards. With her hold on the barrel still intact, it jerked to the side before her magical connection was broken as she smacked into the base of the archway behind her.

All at once, the barrel fell to the ground and broke open. While the black fluid inside splashed out, barely any of it even got close to the yellow suit.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped while rushing to help the dazed mare. Twilight groaned and held a hoof to the back of her head as the pegasus helped her to a seated position.

“Oh no…” Twilight’s heart sank as she looked ahead to see the remains of the barrel shattered against the ground. The mascot suit was still dry as a bone, and now it was seriously ticked off.

Glimmer Shine and the others struggled to keep a hold on the spirit. It seemed like the rabbit was somehow pulling on them despite not even reeling back. Before anyone could formulate another plan, the force pulling on them intensified, jerking them forward as they held onto their ropes.

Sunspot and Applejack fell face first into the ground as their ropes were yanked from their hooves. However, their stallion companion was not as fortunate as they were.

“AH!” Glimmer Shine yelled fearfully as he was sent hurtling into the rope barrier in front of him. The fragile ropes creaked under his weight briefly before snapping. He tried to reach out and grab something to halt his fall, but he couldn’t do anything to stop himself from plummeting off the edge.

“*Gasp* Glimmer!” Sunspot bolted to her hooves and sprinted after the stallion. She unfurled her wings and leapt off the edge before zooming down into the abyss. She caught up with the falling pony and miraculously managed to grab him by the forelegs before he fell out of the light’s reach. She pulled up hard, countering the stallion’s weight and slowly lifting herself up.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” Sunspot grunted while pulling the yellow pony up.

Glimmer Shine chuckled hysterically while smiling at his winged savior. His smile suddenly shifted to a shocked expression as he looked past her. “Sunspot, lookout!” He exclaimed.

Before Sunspot could look up, she felt something hard smacking into her back. She yelped in pain as the weight of the impact knocked her out of the air. She flapped her wings in an attempt at breaking her fall, but she knocked into something else before she could. The pegasus found herself falling onto a ledge on the cliff face. The ledge was barely big enough to fit her, and she was dangling off of it partially while still clinging onto Glimmer Shine.

A rock whizzed past her left, nearly hitting her. More rocks started falling from above, leading her to believe that she had been struck by one before. Sunspot tried to flap her wings again to get away from the danger, but as she did, one of the larger rocks smacked into the base of her right wing.

“AGHH!” Sunspot cried painfully and rocked her head back as a stabbing pain filled her side. She instinctively tried to fold her wing back in protectively, but the only thing that resulted in was more pain.

“Sunspot, are you alri- WOAH!” Glimmer Shine’s voice dropped an octave as the ground started shaking. The tremors weren’t very intense, but with the steep incline they were on, the shaking was enough to make the pegasus slide further down the ledge.

Sunspot fought through the mind numbing pain she was going through and dug her hind legs into the rocky outcropping. She managed to just barely halt her sliding, but not before losing even more ground. Now she was laying at an awkward angle with her forelegs dangling completely off of the ledge, with the stallion in an even more precarious situation than he was before.

“I’ve… tch… I’ve g-got you. Just h-h-ooowww… hang in there.” Sunspot cringed and clenched her teeth while making every effort to keep ahold of the yellow pony. She looked over to her injured wing, the color draining from her face as she saw how bad of a condition it was in.

“How are we looking up there, Sunspot?” Glimmer Shine asked hesitantly while glancing to the endless void beneath him. The mere sight of the abyss he was dangling over was enough to shift the contents of his stomach.

“Glimmer… I can’t move my wing.” Sunspot reported with her voice barely holding together. The weight of the situation was finally starting to sink in for her. And as the stallion’s eyes widened, he quickly came to the same conclusion she had. They were stuck on this ledge, and the pegasus couldn’t just fly them out of danger if they fell, which was becoming more and more likely by the minute as the ground kept shaking.

Back up on relatively solid ground, Twilight and the others were still reeling from the powerful display made by their ghostly opponent. The ground around them was shaking, and small bits of dust and debris were falling from the ceiling. Although they could stand easily enough, the tremors were more than a little alarming considering where they were.

“What’s happening?!” Fluttershy asked fearfully.

Twilight looked over to see Dream Catcher still standing where he was before. The three ropes were still around his neck, but their wielders had since been scattered, with only Applejack remaining where she had been flung. The farm pony was struggling to get to her hooves due to the ground shaking, but the mascot suit a few feet away seemed to be having no trouble with moving around.

“It’s Dream Catcher… he must be doing this somehow!” Twilight said while turning to the others.

“His power must be fluctuating. We need to stop him before he brings the roof down on top of us!” Tom suggested urgently. It wasn’t hard for the others to see his line of reasoning. Perhaps it was in their minds, but the shaking seemed to be getting worse.

“H-hello?! Is anyone still up there? We need some help!” Suddenly, Tom and Glitterball heard the panicked voice of their orange companion in their heads.

Glitterball looked around, only to find no traces of the pegasus or the stallion she was supposedly saving. She put a hoof up to her ear and focused on her friend. “Sunspot, where are you?” She asked, concern brimming in her voice.

“Off the side of a cliff!” Sunspot replied urgently. “Look, I can’t explain right now! Just get someone to help us!” She said before falling silent, presumably dropping the call. Judging from the urgency in her voice, it wasn’t hard to tell that she was in trouble.

Glitter shifted her attention to the leftmost edge of the clearing. The rope barriers had been broken where Glimmer Shine fell. Assuming the pair hadn’t moved, they would most likely be there somewhere. “Uh… guys, we’ve got a huge problem.” She said while turning back to the others.

“You mean aside from the one we already have?” Rainbow Dash replied, nodding toward the possessed mascot suit.

“In a word… yes. Sunspot and Glimmer Shine are in trouble. They haven’t gotten back up yet… I think they’re stuck down there, and it sounds like they are just barely hanging on.” Glitterball explained urgently.

“Oh my gosh…” Rainbow Dash muttered with a shocked expression. She looked over to the cliff side where the pair fell before looking back to her fellow pegasus. “Come on, Fluttershy! We’ve got to help them!” She suggested while trotting forward. The yellow mare nodded and swiftly followed her friend into the fray.

As the two mares closed in on the edge of the cliff, they spread their wings and took off. In the air, they were much faster, and right now they needed to reach their friends as quick as possible. However, before they could pick up much speed, they suddenly felt their bodies being flung in the opposite direction.

Fluttershy yelped while being tossed backwards and landing on the floor. While the yellow pony bounced along the ground painfully, Rainbow Dash attempted to correct herself in midair. She managed to break the majority of her momentum, but not before coming to a rough stop as she skidded on the cave floor.

Rainbow Dash held her side tenderly while getting to her knees. “Oww… what gives?!” She muttered angrily while looking around. She paused nervously as she noticed the yellow rabbit suit staring back at her.

“Ooof…” Fluttershy took a moment to cradle her throbbing head while resting on the floor. She looked up to see that she had landed near her friends back at the archway. The others were already gathered around her, waiting to help her up.

“Are you ok?” Pinkie asked worriedly while slowly helping the battered pegasus to her feet.

Fluttershy nodded slowly, taking care not to shift her head too much. “Yeah… I think. What happened?” She looked behind her with a confused expression, trying to piece together the events leading up to her abrupt landing.

“It’s probably that ghost. It’s the only thing capable of flinging us around like this.” Glitterball inferred, looking over to the mascot with a troubled frown.

“But if he keeps tossing us around, we won’t be able to do anything to help Sunspot and Glimmer Shine!” Fluttershy said, her eyes full of panicked worry.

Twilight looked over at Dream Catcher as he twitched in place as the ground kept shaking beneath his feet. She then snapped her head to the side as she remembered her backup plan. “Guys, grab the jars! We need to burn him!”

The others looked behind them to the grouping of jars they had placed behind the archway. The seven containers of oil had been little more than an afterthought that nobody thought would be needed, let alone work, but now they were much more important in the group’s eyes.

“Right.” Glitterball nodded. She quickly lit up her horn and cast a levitation spell on the jars, bringing them closer to her. She kept one by her side while handing the others out to her companions. Pinkie Pie, Sparkplug, and Fluttershy all accepted the small containers and held them with a sense of determination welling up inside of them.

Tom stepped forward and stood beside Twilight. “You guys make sure to make your shots count. Twilight and I will distract him, and you can nail him while he focuses on us.” He explained before turning to the cyan pegasus. “Rainbow, you see if you can slip past him while we’re attacking and get to Sunspot and Glimmer Shine.” He said while nodding to the side.

“On it.” Rainbow Dash nodded with a serious expression.

Twilight stared ahead with a determined gleam in her eyes. “Alright everyone, let’s go!” She exclaimed while rushing forward. The human beside her did the same while the others trailed behind.

With Glitterball and the others lagging behind and waiting for an opportune moment to strike, Twilight used her range to her advantage while darting to the side. She charged up her horn and fired off a bolt of magic at the mascot’s feet. The laser exploded almost harmlessly, but it did get the possessed suit’s attention.

The yellow rabbit leered at the unicorn, its lifeless eyes burning holes into her. It stepped toward her until some more movement caught its eye. As it spun around, it saw Tom running toward it at top speed. The human leapt into the air and kicked his leg out while aiming right for the suit’s mask.

Tom’s attack collided with the mascot, sending it stumbling backwards as its head was snapped back. The human dodged to the side, getting around the suit in the hopes of further drawing its attention away. Just as the boy hoped, the rabbit turned to keep its attention fixed on him.

Meanwhile, the others were using their newfound opportunity to act. Rainbow Dash picked up her pace and sped toward the edge of the cliff. At the same time, Glitterball reeled back the jar in her grip and sent it flying.

The jar zipped through the air directly toward the mascot. However, just before impact, the suit convulsed and twitched, lowering its head and allowing the projectile to just barely miss its mark. The container smacked into the ground just behind the suit, cracking and spilling its contents everywhere with a loud crash.

The yellow rabbit snapped its head to look at the broken pieces of the jar before turning around. It saw the approaching ponies and paused. And although it couldn’t move its face, the four mares could almost swear that they could see it vibrating with anger.

Glitterball and the others skidded to a halt. Fluttershy panicked slightly and threw her jar at the mascot. Before the jar could even reach the midway point in its flight, another invisible force surged out of the decayed suit and blew everything in its path backwards.

Rainbow Dash felt a massive gust of wind erupting behind her. She paused and turned around, only to gasp as she saw her friends being hurled backwards. The four mares, the human, and even the purple unicorn to their side were all sent flying through the air briefly until they smacked into a hard and abrupt stop.

While most of them landed relatively unharmed by bouncing along the cave floor, Glitterball caught more of the blast and was sent flying all the way into one of the pillars of the stone archway. Her body made a sickening crack as it smacked into the rocky wall and flopped to the ground. She barely even let out a cry of pain before she was rendered unconscious.

Rainbow Dash reached a foreleg out toward the white unicorn. “Glitter!” She cried with a shocked expression. Her concern for her friend quickly turned to alarm and regret as she clasped a hoof over her mouth and stared at the possessed rabbit suit. “Uh oh…”

Dream Catcher turned to see the cyan pegasus off to the side behind him. Just as quickly as the mascot spun around, Rainbow felt something grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up. The familiar feeling of being choked by something invisible was short lived however as she was flung through the air back away from the edge of the cliff. The cyan mare bounced along the ground before rolling to a stop. As she groaned while lifting her bruised body up, she looked around and saw that she was right back where she started over by her friends.

Spotting Fluttershy over by the motionless unicorn on the ground, Rainbow Dash staggered to her hooves and hurried over to the pair. As she got closer, she thankfully saw the gradual rise and fall of the white mare’s chest to indicate she was alive. “Is she ok…?” Rainbow asked, looking to the yellow pegasus with a concerned expression.

“She got hit pretty hard,” Fluttershy said softly while gently examining the unicorn for other injuries. “I think she just got knocked out… I hope anyway. There’s no real way to tell if she has internal damage.” She explained regretfully. Looking around her at the sight of all of her friends picking themselves off of the ground with various cuts and bruises made her frown sadly.

Rainbow Dash turned and looked behind her, only to see the yellow mascot standing between her and the two ponies stuck on the cliff. She growled under her breath in frustration while turning back to the others. “What are we going to do? As long as that thing keeps tossing us around, we can’t do anything to help Sunspot and Glimmer Shine.”

Twilight bit her lower lip while racing to find a solution to save her friends. She glanced over to their remaining oil jars, only to frown as she saw just how many were remaining. Along with the two used by Glitterball and Fluttershy, a few of the other jars had broken when everyone got flung through the air. Now they only had three containers to use. “Dangit… we’re running out of oil here.” She muttered uneasily while looking ahead at the decayed suit. If they didn’t have any oil to use, then they had no way of igniting the mascot for long enough for the remains inside the suit to be burned up. More importantly at the given moment, if they couldn’t take care of the possessed rabbit, then they couldn’t help Sunspot and Glimmer Shine.

Suddenly, a voice off to the side snapped the unicorn out of her thoughts. “Any ideas, Twilight?” Tom asked curiously, putting full confidence in the purple mare.

“Uh… umm…” Twilight sweated nervously as she realized that all of her friends were looking at her expectantly. Either they had run out of plans, or they thought that she could come up with something better. Shifting her eyes around, her mind raced in a panic to come up with something useful. Finally, as she laid eyes on the remaining oil jars, a thought popped into her head that made her even more hesitant and uneasy. “Hold on…” She spoke up before swallowing uncomfortably and sighing. “I think I’ve got an idea.”

Meanwhile, while the others were desperately trying to find a way past their ghostly opponent, Sunspot and Glimmer Shine were desperately trying to survive their harrowing predicament.

The sporadic shaking that would happen every few minutes made the rocks and the very cliff around them tremble as if they were going to break. The ledge that the wounded pegasus was clinging to would shift underneath her as several small rocks on the edge would crumble and fall past the stallion and into the abyss beneath them.

Sunspot gritted her teeth to cope with the pain from her wing and the added strain on her forelegs from the stallion’s weight. She wasn’t exactly in the best position to be holding onto the yellow pony, but she refused to let go even for an instant.

“Just… hang in there Glimmer.” Sunspot said reassuringly. She grunted as she tried to lift her friend up higher so she could get a better grip on him. Feeling her grip loosening, she quickly stopped moving and tightened her hold as best she could.

Glimmer Shine cringed as he felt himself lowering slightly. The orange mare was slipping on the rocky slope, and it seemed to be just barely holding together on top of everything else. Although she was making a good effort at keeping herself anchored to the ledge, she was clearly fighting a losing battle.

“Sunspot…” Glimmer spoke up somberly while looking up at the pegasus. “Things aren’t looking too good for us right now. That rock can’t hold the both of us much longer… I think it’s time we had an adult conversation about what we’re going to do,” He hesitated uneasily before adopting a serious expression. “Or rather… what you’re going to do.”

Sunspot locked her widened eyes on the stallion. “W-what?! You better not be insinuating what I think you are… because the answer is no!” She tightened her grip on the yellow pony’s forelegs with a shocked expression.

“But, Sunspot-” Glimmer Shine started until he was interrupted by the pegasus.

“But nothing!” Sunspot snapped before pausing to focus on digging her hind legs into the ledge and pulling herself back. She didn’t manage to get very far. “Look… the others are going to come and pick us up. This discussion is over.” She explained with a stern expression.

Loud commotions from above them made the pair look up, or at least as far as they could. They heard a myriad of shouting and footsteps, along with several distorted cries from the possessed mascot. All at once, the shaking returned and a shower of small rocks and dirt came flooding down onto them from above.

“AHH!!”

Sunspot yelped as she felt the ledge shifting beneath her. She was sent to the floor completely, ruining any attempts she had made to reel herself and the stallion up. As Glimmer Shine was partially ripped out of her grasp, she frantically grabbed at him, managing to barely catch him by the foreleg with one hoof.

The shaking died down to barely noticeable levels. The sounds of rocks falling and settling in place gradually slowed as well.

Miraculously, the rock the pair was on was holding steady despite everything that was going on. It was flimsy for sure, but it was staying intact. However, the stability of their precarious safe haven wasn’t going to be relevant to the ponies for much longer.

Glimmer Shine was dangling even further down than before. Sunspot only had one hoof clamped onto his, and she was in an even more compromising position now than she was in before. She practically had to hold onto the ledge with her other foreleg while keeping the stallion from falling at the same time.

“G-Glimmer… I’ve got you, ok?” Sunspot said shakily, unable to hide the fear in her voice anymore.

The stallion was staring down into the chasm of darkness below him. He was holding up surprisingly well, but he was starting to panic a little bit. All he could do was hold onto the orange mare’s hoof with his own and hope against all odds that everything would be fine. However, the constant shifting from the pegasus sliding and struggling to hold on was making it hard to stay optimistic.

Sunspot tried her hardest to pull the stallion up. After failing this, she tried to reach her other hoof down to reach him. Feeling herself falling off the ledge slightly, she returned to her previous strategy of clinging onto the rocky cliff for dear life.

“You... y-you wanted to know if I want to be here, right?” She asked, looking to the stallion with trembling eyes.

Glimmer Shine looked up with a confused expression. “Huh?”

Sunspot hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Yes… of course I want to be here! Joining this team is the best thing to happen to me since I got accepted into the Wonderbolts. I want nothing more than to go around hunting evil things with you and Glitter… and I’m sorry if I’ve been doing anything that would make you think I hate being here.” She stated sincerely. A few tears welled up in the corner of her eyes as she saw the stallion smile back at her.

“Sunspot… you don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that.” Glimmer said with a hollow chuckle. His smile faded as the pegasus slid further and he drew his attention downward. “But right now… I need you to do something else for me. I need you to let go… ok?” He said while looking her in the eye with a bittersweet expression of calmness on his face.

Sunspot grunted and maneuvered her body to the side. Once she was balanced, she slowly brought her other foreleg down and grabbed the tip of the stallion’s hooves. “No… I’m not letting you go. I already let your family down one too many times.” She explained adamantly. Despite her own precarious position, she was steadfast as she tightened her grip on her companion.

“What…?” Glimmer Shine paused in confusion. “What do you mean?” He asked. Much to his surprise, he heard the pegasus sniffling slightly.

Sunspot averted her teary eyes from the stallion, which meant just burying her face into her shoulder considering her positioning. As she looked back, her lips were trembling and a sob was barely being kept at bay in her throat. “It’s… i-it’s my fault. Peppermint dying w-was my fault.” She finally managed to speak. Glimmer Shine remained silent as she continued. “I… *hic* I didn’t stop him f-from going out there and getting himself killed. I didn’t stop the girls from going out there in the first place. I… I just stood there and let everything happen! Every night I wonder… if I had just done something… maybe… *Sniff*… m-maybe he would still be here. I’m so sorry Glimmer… I’m so sorry.” She wept while pressing her face into the ledge beneath her.

Glimmer Shine looked up at the pegasus silently, letting her cry while deep in thought. Finally, he sighed and shook his head with an empty smirk on his face. “Sunspot…” He spoke up, causing the orange mare’s outburst to cease. “I tried blaming a lot of people after Pepper and the others died… myself included. I wanted it to be someone’s fault… so that I could have something to direct my feelings toward. But even in the darkest moments I went through… I never blamed Pepper for what he did. I never blamed Twilight and the others for what they did. And… I never blamed you.” He explained, devoid of any sadness or resentment.

“Wh…” Sunspot stared back at the stallion, her mouth agape in speechless awe. “W-what?”

“You heard me… I never blamed you. There wasn’t anything you could have done to stop Pepper from going to help the others. You had broken ribs for crying out loud… and even if you didn’t, there still wasn’t anything you could have done. Once Pepper set his mind on helping out someone in need, there wasn’t any force on this earth that was going to stop him or change his mind… no matter the cost to himself. I think he knew what he was doing that night… he understood that stepping into that room might have been a one-way trip.” Glimmer Shine took a moment to process his emotions before smiling slightly and continuing. “I know you would have done anything to save him… just like you’re trying to do everything you can to save me. But I want you to listen to me on this one Sunspot… I am not going to take you down with me. If you only do one thing I tell you to ever again… then make it this one. Let me go.”

Sunspot felt a buildup of tears welling up in her eyes. The broken sobs she had been holding back gathered in the back of her throat as her jaw quivered. She shook her head while clenching her eyes shut, allowing her tears to fall freely. “No! I’m not doing it… y-you hear me? If we’re going to die here… then we’re doing it together!” She said, her face full of stubborn determination.

Before Glimmer Shine could say anything further, another bout of shaking rocked the ground beneath them. The ledge they were clinging to gave a mighty crack as it shifted violently downward. The pegasus felt her body falling forward. As the rock stopped moving, she narrowly avoided sliding completely off. However, her grip on the stallion was loosened during the sudden movement.

“Glimmer!” Sunspot cried while desperately holding onto the stallion with one hoof. She had a tenuous grip on his wrist, and it was getting worse by the second. Despite the fact that she was barely sitting on the edge of the cliff, she tried reaching down to grab her companion’s other hoof.

As the pegasus reached forward, her weight finally outdid the fragile balance she was in. Her body slid forward and didn’t stop as gravity took hold of her. Both ponies let out a fearful scream as they plummeted down.

Sunspot clenched her eyes shut as she fell, the sound of her own scream mixing in with Glimmer’s and echoing through the cave. She had never felt so helpless in her life. Normally falling through the air held no fear in her mind due to her wings, but now the only things she could feel were her nerves screaming at her and a pit in her stomach bottoming out.

Suddenly, the falling sensation stopped. Disoriented and confused, Sunspot peeked one of her eyes open, half expecting to already be dead. Much to her surprise, she could still see the cliff face above her, along with a sparkling purple light in front of her face. As she looked to the side, she saw Glimmer Shine suspended in the air as well with a similar purple aura around him. All at once the pieces clicked together in her mind. She was being held by unicorn magic, and not just any unicorn magic at that.

“Twilight!” Sunspot exclaimed cheerfully while looking up. As she expected, she saw the faint shape of the purple mare standing atop the distant edge of the cave floor.

The pair felt the unicorn starting to move them upwards. She quickened the pace as much as she could without giving the two whiplash. Soon enough, Sunspot and Glimmer Shine were back on truly solid ground.

“Oh… oh my gosh… I really thought that was it for a second there.” Sunspot breathed heavily with a hysterical smile on her face. “Twilight, I could kiss you right now.” She added, turning to the purple mare and contemplating whether or not to hug her.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the pair was safely recovered. “Thank goodness I made it on time. Are you two ok?” She frowned slightly as she noticed the bad shape that the orange mare’s wing was in.

Sunspot cringed slightly before sucking up the pain and stiffening her expression. “Nothing that can’t be fixed later… How are we looking up here?” She asked while directing her attention past the unicorn and to the apparent commotion going on behind her.

Tom and the others were doing everything in their power to keep Dream Catcher’s attention away from them. The decayed mascot looked like it had been tossing a few of them around, but they kept egging it on and forcing it to face them.

“Not too good…” Twilight said. “He kept picking us up and tossing us away whenever we tried getting to you, so we had to use one of the three jars of oil we had left on him. It didn’t work… but I figured it would keep him occupied long enough for me to teleport over here and out of his sight.”

“Three jars?” Glimmer Shine asked uneasily.

“Yeah… Err, I suppose it’s more like two now.” Twilight clarified with a troubled expression. “He keeps sending out waves of energy whenever we try anything on him. Most of us are pretty beaten up, and Glitter got knocked out.”

Sunspot narrowed her expression as she looked at the possessed suit that almost got her and the yellow stallion killed. “So what’s our plan for taking this guy down?”

“Do you think maybe you could hold him down with your magic?” Glimmer Shine suggested with guarded optimism.

Twilight paused slightly as she thought about the stallion’s plan. “Uh… I’m not sure. He seems to be leaps and bounds more powerful than any of the animatronics we’ve encountered, and I could barely hold onto them for more than a few moments with Glitter’s help once they started breaking out.” She said hesitantly. Still, she was willing to try anything if it meant beating the monstrous spirit. “I can try… but I can’t promise it will buy very much time.” With that, she blinked out of existence once more.

While Sunspot and Glimmer Shine watched from the other side of the clearing, Twilight popped back into sight behind the rest of her friends. As soon as she appeared, she had to cover her face and steady herself as another gust of wind blew through the archway past her. Much to her surprise and alarm, she heard a grunt of pain beside her and looked down to see Pinkie Pie on her back.

The pink mare looked up and smiled as she noticed the unicorn above her. “Oh hey, Twilight… are you back already?” She asked, seemingly ignoring any pain or discomfort she had felt on her rough landing.

Twilight looked ahead to see Tom and the others barely managing to contend with the furious spirit. The best they could do was to taunt it loudly and hope that they could dodge out of the way of its chaotic outbursts of invisible energy. “Yeah, I am… and I think I might have another plan.” She explained while helping the pink mare to her hooves.

“Another plan?” A voice approaching from off to the side made the pair turn their heads. They saw Sparkplug breaking off from the others and walking up to them. “I’m game to try anything you have in mind… We aren’t really doing much to him other than seriously ticking him off.” She said while cringing sympathetically as Applejack got blown backwards and rolled along the ground behind her. The constant gusts of wind and unseen hands grabbing onto people and throwing them were happening much more often now.

“Good, I’m glad you’re onboard. I’ll need help from both of you.” Twilight explained, flashing a confident smile to the two ponies. “Where are the two jars of oil we have left?” She asked curiously while looking around.

Pinkie Pie walked behind her toward the back of the archway, away from all of the commotion. “We moved them back here after you went to go help Sunspot and Glimmer Shine so they wouldn’t get broken.” She said while stepping around the unconscious body of Glitterball. The group had collectively decided to move the helpless unicorn out of harm’s way so she wouldn’t be in any further danger.

Pinkie reached down and picked up the two lonely jars from their resting spot against the rocky pillar. She walked back over to her friends and presented them eagerly until one of them got lifted out of her grip by a magical aura.

Twilight gave the second jar to Sparkplug, who accepted it with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty on her face. “You two are going to throw those at Dream Catcher while I hold him down.” The unicorn explained, hiding a bit of nervousness from the others as she sized up her task mentally.

“Are you sure about this, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked while hesitantly looking down at her jar of oil. The group only had two left, and things would get a lot harder for them if they failed.

Twilight frowned slightly. She couldn't honestly say that she was totally confident in her plan’s success. “Just make your shots count.” She said.

The two mares nodded silently, managing to suppress the tension they felt. With their roles assigned, they cautiously got closer to the battle going on in the clearing.

Pinkie and Sparkplug spread out to either side of Twilight, inching closer to the possessed rabbit suit and staying low to the ground. They each looked back to their purple leader, waiting for her to make a move.

Twilight let out a shaky breath and steeled her nerves. She charged up her horn and looked to the yellow mascot, an intense feeling of unease washing over her. Pushing her anxiety aside, she quickly wrapped her magic around the rabbit costume.

Dream Catcher let out a confused and agitated noise as his body was enveloped in a purple aura. He tried jerking to the left, only to be met with stiff resistance.

“Do it now!” Twilight yelled urgently. She could already feel her magic straining as the immense power inside of the suit started fluctuating.

Sparkplug reeled back and prepared to chuck her jar at the decayed mascot. Just as she started to let her projectile go, the ground started shaking once more. “Woah!” Sparkplug fell to the floor as the intense tremor passed through her. The jar of oil clattered to the ground and broke open, but the gray mare was too busy holding on and riding through the quake to care.

“Gah!” Twilight yelped as she fell to her knees. On top of the violent shaking, a mass of energy shot out from inside the yellow mascot, completely shattering her magical hold over it.

Everyone in the clearing had to steady themselves or cling to the floor as the ground shook beneath them. More rocks and dust fell from the ceiling, nearly hitting a few of them. The stuff being shaken loose wasn’t too big, but it was still alarming to think about how much more the cave walls could take.

Thankfully, the shaking died down again before any serious damage could be done. Twilight uncovered her head and looked up, only to see her friends doing the same. She could see Dream Catcher still standing a few feet away as if nothing had even happened.

As she looked to her side, she saw Pinkie Pie still holding onto her jar of oil, which had somehow survived the quake. “Oh no… what are we going to do?” Twilight said with a defeated frown. “Anything we do to him just sets him off.”

Sparkplug frowned sadly as she looked at the broken pieces of her jar on the ground. “Whatever we do, it better work. We’ve only got one jar left.” She stated.

Meanwhile, Pinkie took a look around while her friends were already lamenting their defeat. She looked between the jar in her hooves and the possessed mascot ahead of her while deep in thought. Finally, she looked up at the archway overhead and smirked.

Twilight looked to the side and noticed her pink friend walking away. Pinkie seemed to be focused on something as she circled around to one of the stone pillars. “Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight tilted her head curiously as the pink mare started climbing up the rock face.

“I’ve got an idea… but I might need your help.” Pinkie said while carefully keeping the jar of oil balanced as she climbed. The rocky ledges were relatively easy to scale, but she had to be extra cautious with the only remaining source of oil they had.

Twilight glanced to the gray mare beside her before turning back to Pinkie. “Umm… ok. What do you have in mind?” She asked curiously. At this point, any idea was worth trying if it meant finding a way to beat the haunted suit.

Pinkie grunted while working her way further up the pillar toward the top of the archway. “Can you lure him under the arch and keep him distracted for me?” She asked without turning away from her task.

Glancing back to Dream Catcher, Twilight grew slightly hesitant as she realized what the pink mare was doing. “I think we can manage that… but are you sure about this, Pinkie? You’ll only have one shot.” She explained uneasily.

“Don’t worry about that. Just get him close to me and I’ll do the rest.” Pinkie replied confidently while finishing her climb. She crouched behind one of the rocky outcroppings at the top of the archway and offered her friends a reassuring smirk.

Twilight nodded before exhaling anxiously and turning toward Dream Catcher. “Sparkplug… you might want to step back.” She said while charging up her horn. The gray mare beside her took a few steps away while nervously watching the unicorn preparing to kick the proverbial hornets’ nest.

Steeling her nerves and taking in a few deep breaths, Twilight fired a bolt of energy at the mascot’s feet. The blast did little in terms of damage, but it did get the yellow rabbit to look over at her. “Hey, Dream Catcher!” She yelled fiercely.

The others watched with concerned expressions as the rabbit suit stared at the purple mare. They couldn’t believe that she was trying something so bold.

“What is she doing?” Fluttershy asked her cyan companion while looking ahead worriedly.

Rainbow Dash was just as clueless and concerned as the yellow mare was until she looked up. She could just barely see a pink shape poking out from behind one of the rocks at the top of the archway. “What she usually does…” Rainbow smirked while nudging the pegasus beside her and pointing up. Fluttershy gasped in silent revelation as she looked to the purple unicorn with newfound anxiousness.

Everyone either figured out what was going on or figured that Twilight had a plan. Either way, they stood back and watched as the possessed suit staggered forward one step at a time.

Twilight swallowed nervously as she felt the suit’s dead eyes locking onto hers. She backed up slowly, making sure to not get too far away and possibly anger the ghost into another outburst. “Yeah… I know you’re in there. I know what you’ve done.” She continued egging the ghost on, managing to hide her fear behind the resentment she felt toward the orange stallion.

The mascot kept slowly walking forward, keeping its eyes focused on the purple pony. It tilted its head and let out a quiet hiss as if it understood what she was saying. Slowly but surely, it kept moving closer to the unicorn, and by extension, the trap she was setting.

Twilight kept a straight face and continued talking while backing up. “You might not believe it, but I was there the night you died. I saw you… what you did to those children.” She stopped walking as she saw the suit getting into place. She briefly looked up to see Pinkie waiting in place, silently looking down at her. She then turned back to the mascot with a disgusted scowl. “You’re sick… you caused so much pain and suffering to so many people. And if you ask me… you deserve to be stuck in that suit.” She said while glaring back at the walking corpse.

The yellow suit stopped walking right where the unicorn wanted it to. It stared at her, its wide mouth full of teeth conveying a false expression of happiness. However, behind its hollow eyes, she could feel intense hatred.

Suddenly, Twilight felt something grabbing her by the throat and squeezing hard. The intense sensation made her croak out a surprised cough as she clutched at her neck. Surprisingly, she wasn’t being lifted up in the air, but it felt like she was being squeezed by an iron vice.

Sparkplug widened her eyes and rushed forward. “Twilight!” She tried her best to help the purple mare in some way. However, there was nothing that could be done. Whatever was strangling her was invisible and intangible.

The mascot suit watched the unicorn falling to the ground and clutching her throat. It seemed to enjoy watching her suffocating, which was unsurprising considering it was the reason she was being choked in the first place. It stood still, quietly staring ahead, making sure that it didn’t miss a single moment of the purple pony’s suffering.

Before the grisly act could be completed, however, a shower of black liquid fell down onto the mascot’s head.

Twilight gasped for air as the invisible force let go of her. She remained on the ground while catching her breath and looking around in surprise. She looked up and noticed the yellow rabbit covered in a black substance that was dripping off of it, along with a pink pony holding an empty jar upside down even further up.

“Ha! Take that you big jerk!” Pinkie exclaimed while sticking her tongue out at the possessed suit. She tossed her now empty jar down at the mascot, where it broke into pieces upon hitting it in the head.

The yellow rabbit groaned in discomfort while wriggling around, seemingly trying to shake the substance off of its body. Despite its efforts, the oil was already dripping through the seams and cracks in the suit, doubtlessly covering the insides of its chest and neck.

“Hey!” Twilight yelled to get the mascot’s attention. The suit looked ahead to see her standing up with her horn lit up once again, a slight smirk on her face. “This is for Glistening Gold, and everyone else you’ve hurt.” She stated in a resolute tone. Without any further hesitation, she charged up her horn and fired out a ball of flames toward the rabbit.

Time seemed to slow down as everyone watched the fireball flying through the air. The rabbit suit tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. The fiery orb crashed into its body, erupting it into flames.

Every inch of the mascot touched by the oil was immediately engulfed in an alarming display of fire. The flames licked at the air around the suit, climbing higher and higher as they crackled and smoked.

Through the sound of the fire popping, a distorted scream could be heard. The sound was deep, yet it was also shifting pitch to become a piercing wail. The mascot writhed around and frantically tried to put itself out, but nothing was working.

Twilight and the others watched in silence at the disquieting display. They each had mixed feelings about seeing the source of all their problems being burned alive, or rather, dead. Some were disturbed, some were relieved, and some felt a faint sense of enjoyment in watching the orange stallion finally getting his punishment.

As the mascot and the remains inside continued burning up, dust and debris from the floor started kicking up in random spots around the clearing. A few of the ponies could feel stray gusts of intense wind appearing and then disappearing just as quickly as they arrived. It was like the energy inside the suit was lashing out at random in defiance of what was happening.

Finally, the charred rabbit suit stumbled and fell to the floor. It twitched and convulsed weakly, its movements slowing down over time. The distorted cries died down as well until they disappeared completely.

The group waited for a few moments to make sure the suit didn't get back up. After the mascot remained motionless for a solid minute, the ponies started moving closer and gathered around the still burning costume.

“Is it… gone?” Sunspot was the first to speak up. She glanced around at her companions in between staring at the flames.

Tom nodded. “I think so. No ghost can survive something like that.”

Twilight rubbed her neck and breathed a sigh of relief. “Nice timing, Pinkie. You really saved my tail.” She said while looking up at the pink mare, who was still standing atop the stone arch.

Pinkie smiled triumphantly while looking down at the group. “I'm just glad I didn't miss.” She chuckled slightly.

“How did you even get up there, Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

“I climbed, silly.” Pinkie replied. As she looked behind her, her smile faded and she paled slightly. “Uh… guys, could one of you help me out? I'm not sure how to get back down.” She whined nervously.

The others laughed, partially from the pink mare’s predicament, and partially because they were in disbelief at their victory. They finally felt at ease again, and they couldn't contain their positive emotions any longer.

While Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy went to retrieve their pink friend from atop the archway, Twilight stole another glance at the burning remains of Dream Catcher. She looked up in surprise as something else caught her eye.

Standing behind the others at the other end of the clearing, there was a young filly with white fur and golden yellow hair. Her form was slightly transparent and shimmering faintly.

Twilight looked around at the others. They seemed to be unable to see the ghostly filly. Even so, she immediately recognized the young girl.

The filly smiled back at her, showing happiness for the first time since Twilight met her.

“Thank you…” The filly’s voice echoed softly. Once again, the others seemed unaware of the ghostly visitor, as if she were in Twilight's head.

Twilight smiled and nodded slightly. She was glad that she was finally able to bring peace to the white filly and the other children.

Just as suddenly as she appeared, Glistening Gold’s form vanished amid the smoke and embers flickering into the air from the foreground. Twilight felt a little sad to see the filly go. She felt like she had bonded with her, despite their lack of two-way conversations and their brief meetings. Still, she felt good as she dwelled on the thought that the filly was moving on to a better place, perhaps even to be reunited with her parents.

“Twilight…? You alright there?”

A voice from beside her brought Twilight out of her thoughts. She turned to see Applejack offering her a confused and slightly concerned look. Not surprising considering she had been staring off into the distance and smiling like a goofball.

“Oh,” Twilight said in mild embarrassment. “Uh… I was just uh…” She softened up and sighed. “Just thinking about an old friend.”

Applejack smiled, perhaps catching the unicorn’s meaning. “Well… are you ready to get outta’ here?” She asked curiously.

Twilight looked around at the others for a moment. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had already retrieved Pinkie from her perch, Tom was tending to Sunspot’s broken wing while Sparkplug watched with a bit of queasiness evident on her face, and Glimmer Shine was gently waking up Glitterball, who had been unconscious throughout the majority of the battle. Everybody seemed to be just about ready to leave, and that was when it finally occurred to the purple mare. She could leave. They were finally free to head back up to the surface.

Twilight nodded with a relaxed smile. “Yes… I think I am.” She said confidently.

Once everyone was ready to leave, they all gathered under the stone archway. After taking one last look at the burning remains of Dream Catcher, the group started making their way back toward the entrance of the cave. They couldn’t wait to reunite with the others so they could finally depart from the underground hallways and rooms of the abandoned resort.