Silver Spirit, Ghost of Equestria.

by Powerdrainer

Never Split Up!

Sam flew through the forest with blurring speed, occasionally glancing back to make sure those chasing her were still there, while also ensuring they wouldn't press too close by deliberately putting unavoidable obstacles in her path. Well, unavoidable by mortal standards at the very least. 

It was with a smug smirk, she saw one of the hunters, a dark pink mare, stumble over a tree's roots hidden in the dark as they were forced to avoid the wooded titan whereas she simply phased through it. 

With the cloak she wore to obscure her visage billowing after her in the wind, joined by the intangible trail her legs had become, she chuckled just loud enough for the supposed hunters to hear while grabbing hold of the time medallion hanging around her neck.

'Just a bit longer.'

With legs a blur, Rolling Stone and his team chased after the ghost who had so foolishly revealed itself; ears twitching as they could hear it mock them while they hunted it deeper and deeper into the forest, not unaware of the dangers of their environment itself, as well as the threat posed by this ghost. After all, the human responsible for their training, the renowned Jack Fenton, did bestow upon them his vast knowledge and oversaw most of their training regarding anything spectral. Add to that the training during bootcamp and years of experience as a guard in her majesty's service, and Rolling Stone knew it was only a matter of time before this unholy abomination would slip up. And when it did, they would be there, ready to send it back to the deepest pits of Tartarus where it belonged.

They were ready. And nothing this ghost would throw at them would phase them… except for it to simply vanish without a trace.

"What the!" Rolling Stone shouted, digging his hooves in the dirt, coming to a grinding stop. "Ice, where is this thing!?" he barked.

"I- I- I don't know, sir. This ghost, it just vanished," the mare said, sweeping the area with her scanner. 

"We saw that," Ornate Charm shot back, keeping an eye on her own scanner's readout. "It must've turned invisible," she frowned, though, when she, too, couldn't find any trace of the ghost.

"I know that," Blue Ice called back heatedly. "But it won't show. I had a solid hit the entire time we were chasing after this thing, but now… It's like it just disappeared and not just turned invisible. I… I don't understand wha- … Hold on, I'm getting something," she trailed off as she stared intently at her scanner, slowly rotating to her left, then stopped, looking up from the device. "Right that way."

"Is it the ghost?" Sound Wave asked, glancing around for any unwanted surprises.

"Don't know. It's right at the edge of this thing's range. But it's big, whatever it is. The reading I get, even from this distance… No doubt this is where our ghost has gone to." 

Snorting, Rolling Stone stomped a hoof. "I don't like this," he muttered as he scanned his surroundings. "Stay close and move slowly. This thing knows we're on its trail and it has shown to be able to fool our equipment — something which must be addressed as soon as possible when we have the chance — so stay close and keep your eyes and ears open. Ice, take point!" he ordered, receiving confirming nods from his team. 

"Right," Blue Ice stepped up, looking at her scanner with anger gleaming in her eyes. "No way this thing is getting away from me now!"

Twilight and her friends ran out of Zecora's hut, screaming after witnessing the horrible abomination that this ghost was, who had managed to bypass Twilight's shield through means none of them were currently able to even figure out; a shield that flicked and vanished, making the forest that much darker, as the mare casting the spell lost her focus in the ensuing panic, and the group ran through the last remaining, flimsy layer of solidity that had failed to disperse in time, breaking it apart in small wisps of purple energy.

Whether it was by luck, coincidence, or a strong herd mentality, all the mares and lone stallion stayed together as they fled; their numbers at least providing some measure of safety against the numerous beasts prowling the forest and made aware of their presence from the screaming, and pounding hooves.

Ever the analytical mare, however, Twilight's mind soon raced to catch up with the rest of her; slamming into her panicking consciousness with unrelenting force, beating it into submission and bringing to attention a most important fact she had noticed, yet completely overlooked at the same time. 

Slowing down just a bit, the rest of the ponies sped past her, and only ponies at that. Allowing her to confirm what her mind had already told her.

"EVERYPONY, WAIT!" She shouted, alarmed. 

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Rainbow Dash yelled back, scarcely glancing back at her friend.

"ZECORA'S NOT HERE!" Twilight pointed out with urgency. 

"WHAT!" a multitude of voices chorused at once, and all ponies came to a grinding halt; some more reluctantly to do so than others, but even Fluttershy couldn't ignore the fact her friend could be in grave danger and fought her every instinct to resume fleeing from the forest, trembling on the spot.

"We have to go back for her!" Rainbow Dash said without waiver, already dashing back towards Zecora's hut when Applejack stomped down on her tail, grounding her.

"Hold on, Rainbow. Ya cain't jus' rush back in there like that!"

"But Zecora's our friend!" Rainbow Dash shot back, heatedly. 

"Ah know," Applejack grumbled as she stared at her prismatic friend from under the brim of her stetson. "An' so are you. An' we won't jus' let ya rush inta this like tha, cause this ain't some scary looking critter from tha forest we're dealin' with."

"Applejack is right," Twilight stepped closer to the two as Applejack released her hold over Rainbow Dash. "Don't forget. It isn't just Zecora who's missing. Danny vanished too. And let's not forget why we are out here in the first place. Clearly this can't all be a coincidence."

"But what are you saying?" Rarity asked, worried. "You don't think that what happened to Danny and Zecora also happened to- to…"

 "We can't dismiss the possibility," Twilight sighed out. "And right now, it seems all too likely."

"Be tha as it may, or may not be, what are we goin' ta do 'bout it?" Applejack asked. "Danny's gone, so is Zecora. An tha ghost is ta blame, no doubt 'bout it. But how would we fight against something like that?"

"I don't know," Twilight admitted, "But we have to do something. And more importantly, we need to stay together."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bellflower asked meekly. "Shouldn't somepony go back to get more help?"

"That would be the wisest thing to do, yes. Unfortunately, I think that is what this ghost wants us to do." 

"What!" Rarity shouted. "Why would you think that?"

"Think about it," Twilight said to the entire group. "First Danny vanishes, in front of Zecora even, but only after they singled themselves out from the rest of us. Then this ghost reveals itself to us, making us turn our backs on everything else and now Zecora is missing, too. If we were to split up, who knows what could happen."

"Then why don't we all leave the forest and ask the princesses for help instead?" Fluttershy quietly asked, eyes shifting around, fearful her voice would draw the attention of the ghost. 

"They did already send those hunters," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Maybe there are more hiding in town?"

"Rainbow's got a point," Applejack gave a nod to her friend. "Fluttershy, too. 'T makes more sense ta leave now, let those who know what they're doing do their thing while we ask tha princesses for more help, instead of us standing here being sitting duc-" she fell silent as she noticed her friends all looking in fear at something behind her, again. A cold shiver traveled down her spine. "It's behind me, isn't it?" she stammered, not daring to turn and look.

"Boo!" A voice whispered in her ear and she bolted with a scream; joined by her friends.

Chuckling, Sam watched the group break apart and run in different directions away from her, slowly shaking her head.

"Too easy."

"What in the world?" Ornate Charm gasped out, vocalizing the group's collective thought as they approached, then stopped before an ice bridge crossing the chasm separating the Everfree Forest from the princesses former castle. 

"Blue," Rolling Stone grunted. "What do you make of this?"

Lowering her scanner, Blue Ice slowly approached the frozen construct, eying it carefully and critically. Glancing at the readout of her scanner, a frown creased her features.

"Definitely spectral," she told them, pocketing her scanner and picking up a nearby rock; throwing it halfway across the bridge. "No reaction to movement… at least none to any inanimate objects tossed on it." She slightly bit her lip in thought as she took careful notice of the design of the structure.

"You think it's safe?" Sound Wave asked after a moment.

"Doubt it. It's clearly ghost made. But it, or they clearly took their time making this thing. No way something as large, or as dense as this was made in a short moment. It was built to last. Though, why? Ghosts can fly, so why the need to make something like this?"

"Can we cross it?" Rolling Stone wanted to know, glaring at the castle up ahead.

Pondering this question for a moment, Blue Ice carefully lowered a hoof towards the frozen surface; pressing down on it with a light touch and holding her hoof there, waiting for something to happen.

"It doesn't seem to react to me touching it, but I would trust this as much as I would Discord… Sound Wave, you've got wings. Try crossing this thing. If it collapses, you won't fall for it… literally. If anything else happens, Ornate and I got your back."

"Right," the second unicorn of the group nodded her confirmation, lighting up her horn with a spell at the ready, while Sound Wave, noticeably less confident, shuffled towards the bridge; looking at it wearily. 

"You sure about this?" Rolling Stone asked Blue Ice. 

"As far as anything related to spectral ice goes," she answered. "You know this is one of the things I excelled at during training. Though, we all know there has been no record of any kind of ghost using elemental powers in such a way… Then again, elemental ghosts aren't all that common either. The few that are on record, though, always used these powers to cause destruction, never to create something. My money is on this being a trap. Most likely made to collapse should we try to cross it. Which is why Sound Wave is the best pony to set it off, unfortunately." 

"Great, let the pegasus play the guinea pig," Sound Wave groaned in annoyance, glancing back at her teammate. "Isn't there some other way to test this?"

"Not without retrieving more specialized gear from Canterlot," Blue Ice informed her. "The only reason we didn't bring it with us from the start is because we needed to remain incognito; limiting us to the equipment easily concealable, like the scanners."

Sighing out, Sound Wave returned her gaze to the bridge. "Sir?" 

"I don't like this any more than you do, but Blue has a point," Rolling Stone stepped besides her. "Besides, time isn't on our side either. There are foals missing and my money is on this ghost being involved. If given the chance, I'd stop and think twice about taking such a risk; let you take such a risk, but we can't forget what's at stake here," he sighed out warily, then his eyes hardened. "Sound Wave, cross this bridge!" 

"Sir!" 

"Don't worry, Wave," Ornate Charm told her. "Ice and I got your back."

A forced smile was all Sound Wave was able to show in response as she stepped closer to the frozen construct. Closing her eyes and holding a breath, she carefully took a step forwards; feeling the ice's chill travel up her hoof the moment she touched the frozen surface. 

For a moment,  she stood there, unmoving, eyes closed. When nothing happened, she blinked, looked at her hoof, then exhaled loudly. 

Taking another step, then another and another, she found herself standing on the bridge with all four hooves; taking increasingly notice of the numbing chill creeping up her legs.

"Sound Wave?" Rolling Stone said.

"I'm good," she replied, lifting a front hoof and looking at it. "So far, at least… Though this ice is definitely not normal. We pegasi are naturally more resilient to colder temperatures, yet I'm already feeling like my hooves are freezing off." Shaking her head, she put her hoof back down and continued walking; crossing the distance in less than a minute, stepping on solid ground with a sigh of relief.

"YOU OKAY!?" Ornate Charm called out.

"OTHER THAN COLD HOOVES? YEAH, I GUESS!" 

"Ice?" Rolling Stone turned to the blue mare.

"If something would have happened, it should have happened already," she replied. "I'd say, go for it."

Snorting, Rolling Stone nodded tensely. "Right. We’ll cross one at a time." He instructed, then set hoof on the bridge without a hint of hesitation; quickly crossing to the other side under the watchful eyes of his team. 

Ornate Charm was the next to cross and Blue Ice after her; both hurrying across in fear of any ghostly trap, or ploy, despite the others having set hoof on the bridge without any ill effect as far as they could tell. 

Still, the group did take a moment to scan themselves just to be safe. 

When all scans came back clear, they turned to the half rotten, partially unhinged doors of the ruined castle. Blue Ice, scanner in hoof, slowly moved the device from left to right, frowning as she read the results. 

"Ornate, you're seeing the same I'm seeing?" 

"If with that you mean one massive blot of spectral activity a stone's throw away, then yes."

"We're getting close to something," Rolling Stone grunted, glancing at the display of Blue Ice's scanner, then looked at the abandoned castle. "Stay sharp!" 

Several confirmations followed and the four ponies slowly made their way inside; their hooves' clopping unnervingly loud on the ancient stone while Blue Ice and Ornate Charm were slowly sweeping their scanners around.

"Wow, this place is lit," Blue Ice muttered quietly, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself, or the rest of the group this close to whatever they were getting close to.

"How bad we're talking about?" Rolling Stone asked.

"Jack Fenton near an all you can eat buffet kind of bad."

"Oh Tartarus. I still have nightmares about that," Sound Wave shuddered from the recollection of that particular memory. 

"Can you pick up anything specific?" Rolling Stone wanted to know.

"It's all just one big spectral hotspot. No way to pinpoint the source of it," Blue Ice informed him, never averting her eyes from her scanner while sweeping it around.

"Alright, everypony. Stay on guard and keep your eyes open. We're getting close to something, and I don't want any avoidable surprises," Rolling Stone commanded them, while a faint sound coming from behind her caught Sound Wave's attention.

As she turned around to investigate, her eyes locked with that of the last thing she wanted to have sneak up on her.

"You mean like a big, green glowing dog?" She asked with a faint waver in her voice as she stared into the partially open mouth of the mentioned dog.

"Oddly specific, but yes," Rolling Stone replied, turning to look at his subordinate and locking eyes with the green hound standing behind them.

"WE'VE GOT CONTACT!" Rolling Stone roared at the same time the dog released a ferocious growl, their voices echoing away through the dark passages of the castle.

Shouting, barking and weapons firing filled the ancient chamber with echoing cacophony as the Ghost-keteers fought the Tartarus spawned hound.

Bright flashes of green cut through the darkness with each shot they fired, scorching the walls, floor and some of the support columns, while also filling their vision with green blotches from the brief, but intense bright flashes.

The dog, however, managed to evade all of their attacks so far; running and jumping around them, with a daring snap at their legs whenever there was a lull in the firing.

It was at one such instance, the hunters' weapons stuck in between charge cycles, that the green hound struck; charging towards Ornate Charm who managed to dodge out of the way, but at the cost of her scanner, which flew out of her saddlebag during the wild motion.

Not even batting an eye, the dog snatched the device out of the air with its mouth at the same time as Sound Wave's weapon cycled through and she fired her blaster; scoring a hit on the dog's upper back.

A loud yelp escaped the beast when struck, almost dropping the scanner in the process, but managing to catch it again as it scampered out, the way the hunters had come.

"Wha- After it!" Rolling Stone ordered through hard breath, already in pursuit himself.

And as they followed with pounding hooves, none of them noticed the shouting, silver filly running from the passage behind them; yelling as she charged in moments after they had left.

Green beams of searing energy soared past the green hound as he ran, literally, through the castle doors and over the bridge of ice; leaping from left to right to avoid the wildly aimed beams fired by the hunters as they ran past the obstructing doors, only managing to hit the bridge, flash melting potholes in the frozen surface and spraying hot water over the dog.

A moment later, when the hunters crossed the bridge themselves, the pungent smell of wet, unwashed dog assaulted their sense of smell to such extent they didn't even consider the worries they faced when first crossing the frozen construct. Instead they pushed through, grimacing as they followed the ghost dog along the path of the ravine.

Of course, Sound Wave didn't face the same difficulties as the rest of her team. Being a pegasus, she quickly took to the air, close on the dog's tail while aiming her blaster.

Firing, the charged beam of energy soared just over the ghost's head, impacting the ground before him and forcing him to change course; veering off into the thick of the forest, the hunters close behind.

Running towards one of the more sizable trees, the hound phased through, using the split second delay it caused as the hunters were forced to go around it, to venture deeper into the darkness. Fortunately for Rolling Stone and his team, the ghost's glowing nature made it stand out all too easily in the darkness of the forest. The searing beams of energy they subsequently shot at the ghost also served to further illuminate the suffocating foliage.

More energy beams impacted the ground closely behind the dog and he glanced back to the hunters; missing the tree right in his path as he did so. 

Unaware and thus fully tangible, he slammed head first into the unyielding giant; his mouth snapping forcefully shut, his teeth crunching the metal device he'd nabbed earlier. 

Stumbling back, the hunters closed in while he shook his head in disorientation; feeling the burn of several beams of energy impacting on his body and he growled loudly in pain and anger. 

Kicking off, he resumed his run deeper into the forest, drawing the hunters along with him; though the gap between them had now all but closed and it wasn't long until Sound Wave managed to circle around the ghost, and block his path as they entered a bone, and carcass covered clearing. 

With a growl, the dog jumped to the side, right as Sound Wave fired her weapon. 

Not expecting this sudden evasion, nor having the foresight of realizing the position of the rest of her team, the path of the searing beam of green glowing energy coursed right towards the three grounded ponies, who only managed to jump out of the way at the last possible second.

"HEY, LOOK WHERE YOU'RE FIRING THAT THING!" Blue Ice yelled in anger, glaring at the shocked, then embarrassed pegasus whose apologetic look soon morphed into one of anger as she turned her attention back to the large hound.

The ghost, of course, didn't stick around to find out what they would do next and took the opportunity the split second distraction provided to circle around, and get the drop on the ghost hunting ponies. However, Sound Wave's vantage point, as well as the shorter than expected amount of time for her to return her attention back to the green hound, meant he had only managed to make it halfway around them before she shouted her alarm to the rest and renewed firing on the ghost, forcing the canine to dive behind a pile of bones draped over a sizable rock.

Rolling Stone, blaster at the ready, slowly moved around the obstruction, making sure to give it a wide berth, while Blue Ice and Ornate Charm did the same, but moving the other direction. Sound Wave, able to see what happened, slowly flew over the same obstruction, seeing and relaying the position of the hound.

Holding her position, Blue Ice aimed her blaster at the pile of rock and bone, fully aware this beast could just as easily phase through it should they all circle around its chosen cover, while Ornate Charm continued onwards with the same, slow, deliberate pace. 

"We've got you now," Rolling Stone muttered grimly, blaster primed and ready to fire as he finally rounded the obstruction. "Ornate?" He barked, never taking his eyes off the target.

"Ready!" The dark pink mare confirmed her position as she pulled the spectral containment unit, better known as the Fenton Thermos out of her saddlebag.

"There's no way he's getting away from us now!" Blue Ice shouted with confidence while the dog growled, eying the hunters one at a time.

Closing in, Sound Wave fired his blaster near the ghost's paws, drawing the large dog's attention and forcing his back to Ornate Charm.

"GOTCHA NO-" Ornate shouted victoriously, only for an unexpected and loud whistle to cut her off abruptly. 

Everypony, as well as the massive dog, turned to the source; seeing a weather stripped bone hover in the air.

"What the!" Blue Ice shouted her surprise as they all saw the sizable bone wave around in the air.

"THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!" Sound Wave yelled, her voice breaking slightly.

The dog barked loudly, wagging his tail while also reminding the hunters he was there as well; doing their best to keep him in their fields of view, while also keeping an eye on this other ghost, which they were only able to see thanks to the bone still waving around.

A moment later, the bone pulled back, then flung towards them with a spin; flying over them, then continued onwards into the darkness of the forest just past the bone littered clearing; landing on the ground with a dull thud, right at the hooves of a startled purple unicorn who stared at the bone with wide eyes.

An unexpected, loud bark tore her attention towards the green glowing dog, which, to her shock, she saw running towards her. 

Without thought, Twilight dove for the nearest cover she could find: a large root system of a nearby tree.

Peeking over the thick root she was currently hiding behind, she watched as the large hound came to a grinding stop not even three steps away from her; her breath frozen in her lungs and her body unwilling to move. 

With an elated bark, the dog pounced at the bone, overshot and crashed into a nearby, young tree which snapped from the impact, and toppled over. 

Not deterred in the slightest, the dog quickly ran back to the bone, barking as he did; dirt kicking up as his paws dug deeply in the earth as he sprang to his current fixation; showering the hiding unicorn with dirt, twigs and small rocks, and Twilight had to stifle a yell lest she draw any attention to herself. 

Fortunately, the dog seemed more interested in the bone, which he picked up with his mouth, threw up in the air, then grabbed it again as it dropped down, before running back to the clearing with a spring in his steps.

Twilight did not move and only the faintest of whimpers escaped her as she took shallow breaths as she heard, but didn't see the continuing chaos just beyond the veil of night's darkness.

Then the night lit up, repeatedly, as she heard the unfamiliar, yet distinct sound of spectral weapons firing. 

Yet despite her fear, she could not ignore her need to know; her mind pleading, begging with her more rational side of her psyche to move out of cover and see what was happening. It wanted to know. She needed to know.

Slowly, with a small step, Twilight moved closer; fighting herself as she took another step and another. Each step took her more effort, yet each step also brought her closer to something she wasn't sure she wanted to see. 

But she needed to know. 

Eventually, blocked only by a tree, the last obstruction she almost deliberately put in her path as a last defense, she stopped; pressed closely against the bark. Then she shuffled to the right, following the tree's natural curve until she was able to see past the wooden giant and saw the ghost hunters fight off an unseeable adversary. 

The dog, she noted, was laying not too far from her, and she froze up once again. Yet as the impossibly long seconds ticked by, she realized it had no interest in her, or the hunters for that matter; content on just chewing on the bone she saw him retrieve only a moment before. 

Realizing this, the part of her mind screaming at her to flee, find her friends, run back to Ponyville and alert the princesses was muzzled, tied up and thrown back to the darker recesses of her mind, and she once more focused on the ghost hunters.

"What!?" The pegasus hunter, whose name eluded her at the moment, shouted in response. To what, or who, Twilight didn't know. That changed quickly, however, when a new, disembodied voice answered.

"My point exactly," she heard, ears swiveling around to locate the source. A sudden salvo of green beams fired by the hunters stopped any attempt, however. And it was with stocked breath she saw a green glowing shield materialize out of thin air, easily blocking the incoming beams; illuminating the forest with the same light for the duration of the hunters' attack.

"Look," the voice spoke again, and this time Twilight didn't have any problem identifying the source, invisible as the ghost may be. "Let me just make this as clear as I can possibly make it. You four don't pose much of a threat to me. Not to say you're bad at what you do, but other than your training, it's clear you have yet to actually face a ghost in combat like this and I'm not even fighting you. Heck, you were struggling with Cu-, eh, this dog over here and all he really did was just run around for you to chase him. So, how about this. You lower those weapons and try talking instea-" The invisible ghost was promptly cut of when Rolling Stone fired his blaster; yet still managing to miss his intended target. Twilight, however, cried out as the beam of sizzling energy impacted the tree she was hiding behind, just a hoofs width away from her face. Her cry of fear and surprise went unheard, fortunately, when the nearby hound jumped up and growled loudly, and aggressively. 

Now retreated back behind the protective wood the tree provided her with, Twilight stood with her back pressed against the bark, a hoof pressed against her chest as she tried to calm her frantic breathing; smelling the charred wood still sizzling slightly while her eyes shifted around frantically. 

After feeling confidently enough she had regained control over her breathing, Twilight once again inched her way around the tree until she was once more able to see the hunters. When she did, her eyes widened once again when she heard a shout from the ghost as one of the hunters fired at bright blue beam at the ghost from what looked like a thermos. 

For a moment, she hoped that this was it. That the hunters were successful in the capture of such an dangerous entity. 

Her hope was short lived, however, as a beam of toxic green fired out of thin air, blasting the strangely shaped apparatus out of the pony's grasp and flunging it through the air before they all lost sight of it somewhere in the pile of bony remains.

A dejectedly sounding sigh came from frighteningly close to her hiding spot, and she realized the ghost was practically on top of her and she quickly jerked back behind the tree. 

"Can't say I'm surprised. Just make sure that, when you report back with your tails between your legs, you mention you were the ones to shoot first."

That was the ghost, she realized. Fear keeping her from realizing just how familiar the voice sounded. What did caught her attention was the way the ghost spoke, indicating this horrible creature was facing the hunters and had hopefully missed her moving back behind cover. 

"Last chance to run, cause this won't take long!"

She just hoped the hunters were every bit as good as she had heard them to be. 

Applejack and Rarity found themselves wandering aimlessly through the forest, pressed close together while nervously scanning the forest around them. 

They had run into each other shortly after that ghost had once again snuck up on them, breaking the group apart as they fled. Unfortunately they didn't realize this until it was already too late and now they were desperately looking for the others, without much success save the two of them. 

Now, with each passing moment, their worry about the safety of their friends grew; not knowing what fate befell them. Twilight had already made it perfectly clear why they shouldn't split up, only for this ghost to show up again and make them do what they just agreed would be a foolish mistake. 

'Almost as if it was planned,' Applejack thought.

Shaking this distracting thought away, she instead focused on the fashionista at her side; her once pristine coat and mane now a tangled mess of dirt and twigs. And once again Applejack wondered just what happened to her friend before they found each other. Not that she got an answer when asked. All Rarity said is that she would not talk about it, as she shuddered at the memory.

Applejack did not press further, mostly due to their immediate and dire situation. And instead, as her ears perked up at some sound, she gave voice to another question both mares have asked each other numerous times already: "Did ya hear somethang too?"

"Hear what?" Rarity asked, concerned. A silent shriek escaped her immediately after when a low rumbling roar could be heard.

"That," Applejack said, uncomfortable.

"Applejack, dear," Rarity pressed even closer to the much stronger farm pony. "I'm all for finding our friends, but perhaps we should look for them elsewhere. Some place not here."

"Ah hear ya, Rarity," Applejack agreed wholeheartedly, both ponies shuffling back quietly while keeping their eyes and ears sharp. 

After a short moment of backtracking their steps, then heading for a not specified direction away from whatever creature did the growling, the two mares found themselves arguably even more lost than before. They certainly hadn't had any luck locating their friends. Yet as they rounded a particular wide, and menacing looking tree, the two ponies found themselves stepping onto rather soggy terrain. A pungent smell of rotting vegetation also slamming onto them rather suddenly as their hooves partially sunk into the water soaked ground.

Rarity immediately reared back, looking at her mud caked hoof in abject horror. 

"Ah guess we ain't going this way either," Applejack sighed out, looking at her friend's overly dramatic response. Before Rarity could reply, however, a low growl rolled out of the darkness behind them; forcing both mares several steps onto the murky ground, only adding to Rarity's continuously growing dread. 

"Stay close," Applejack told her, stepping in front of her friend. 

"Don't think that just because I'm filthy, I can't defend myself, Applejack." Rarity sneered as she glared into the darkness, her horn flickering to life as she readied a spell. 

"Ah know," Applejack said, bracing herself to fight if needed while staring intently into the dark.

Neither mare moved, nor spoke as they waited and watched for any sign of their invisible stalker. They knew it was there, cautious footsteps audible to them as this beast of the Everfree drew closer.

Then, slowly, a large form presented itself as it stepped closer; revealing first it's wild lion's mane, then it's partially flared bat wings, while a bulbous tip of a scorpion's tail hung high above the pink maned pegasus riding on the beast's back.

Wait, what.

"Fluttershy?" Applejack balked, confused.

"Oh, Applejack, Rarity. I'm so glad to see you," Fluttershy sighed in relief, gingerly fluttering to the ground. "When that ghost found us and we all ran away, I thought I would never find any of you. I was so scared." Her voice lowered into a faint squeak as she trembled at the memory. A large muzzle gently nudged her head and her spirit lifted immediately. "But fortunately Manny found me and he has helped me find you," she introduced the hulking predator with a warm smile. "You remember him, don't you? We met him when we searched for the Elements to stop Nightmare Moon."

Both Applejack and Rarity moved their mouths, but no sound escaped them as they looked at the manticore, then at their shy friend; once again confounded how she of all ponies, afraid of her own shadow, could be so calm and confident with such inherently dangerous animals. 

Still, it came as no big surprise, and it didn't take either mare long to finally find their voice. 

"Fluttershy, dear," Rarity pulled her friend into a hug. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you. You wouldn't believe the hardship I have gone through; how much dirt has stained my coat."

"Really?" Applejack deadpanned, eyes rolling. A warm smile soon overtook her annoyance as she, too, turned her attention to her feathered friend. "But Ah'm really glad to see ya too, Fluttershy. Ya and, eh, Manny, of course."

Fluttershy smiled happily while petting Manny on the head, much to his enjoyment.

"Oh, but did you find anypony else?" Fluttershy asked, worried.

"Other than each other, no," Rarity answered with a shake of the head.

"How 'bout you?" asked Applejack. 

"I'm sorry, but no," Fluttershy answered apologetic, looking down. 

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. It ain't your fault."

"Indeed," Rarity nodded. "We just need to keep looking. And with you with us now, I'm certain we will find the others before long."

"You really think so?" the shy mare asked hopefully.

"I know so," Rarity answered, brushing her curled mane back, only to realize her mistake when she saw the wet muck, previously dirtying her hoof, now staining her meticulously stylized hairdo. 

Pupils shrinking to small dots as she stared at a thick dollop of muck lazily drip to the ground with a wet splat, one of her eyes begining to spasm. Before she could scream in anguish, however, Fluttershy daintily pressed a hoof against her lips, eyes shifting around nervously.

"Oh, please don't scream, Rarity. Manny says a hydra lives here. And apparently she's rather mean."

Nodding in understanding, Rarity kept herself composed as Fluttershy removed her hoof. 

A brilliant flash of icy blue light suddenly lit up the forest and Fluttershy shrieked out in fear, latching onto Manny's head with earth pony like strength, trembling severely. 

With the occasional flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash hovered through the forest, looking for the source of that flash while keeping her noise down to an absolute minimum.

Not because she was scared, or anything. THE Rainbow Dash doesn't do scared. Instead, she was keeping herself as quiet as Fluttershy, so she would be able to hear her friends, should they call out for her.

Yes, that was the only reason, and definitely nothing else.  

"Hoo!" 

"Ghyaaaaa!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she shot off in a blur. Leaving behind the horror which had startled, and definitely not scared, her out of her fur.

The owl in question merely sat on a branch, preening his left wing while watching the fleeing blur with calculating eyes. 

A look matched by the well groomed, white feline sitting besides him.

"You know, the way they're going at it, it makes you wonder how they even managed to do anything at all." She 'said', turning to her feathered companion.

Taking a moment to reply, he took the time to align a primary. "Can you fault them for it?"

"No, not really, I suppose. But still, one would expect better. I expected better."

"They are still young."

"That is hardly an excuse."

"No, it's not. I admit. But that's why they need to learn. For all our sakes. If left unchecked, their biased, understandable, or not, opinion about ghosts will only worsen events to come should they not be taught."

"Like those fillies are right now," she looked off to the side, seemingly staring at a tree, never blinking.

"Yes. If anything, it shows they are capable, but naive."

"They're mortals. What did you expect?"

"Potential. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I suppose that is all we can expect from them, yes. Though I have a hard time understanding their thought processes. True, that one human, this Samantha, is putting in an active effort to keep them from realizing the truth. But still, how do they not see? Your charge even! She stood no less than a couple of steps away from Daniel, heard him speak and still did not realize the obvious truth."

"They are young. Their souls are young. Just look," he pointed a wing at the distant pegasus as she neared a shadow covered, snarling hill. "We can see because we understand. And we understand because we can see. Right now, though, she can neither. How would you react to the unknown? Don't judge a young mortal's lack of understanding because of their lacking senses. You would not fare any better had it been you in her place."

"..."

"Would you?"

"No… I suppose not."

"Don't lose sight of the smaller details amidst the bigger picture. Just like them, we are capable of making mistakes. But when we do, the results are far more catastrophic."

"Agreed. At least she's only approaching an ice bound, angered hydra."

"If only we all could be so lucky."

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily as she quietly moved further into the woods. 

After her initial, totally not panicked, fright and subsequent daring dash, and definitely not fleeing in fright, into the unknown, she now faced another obstacle to overcome: a strange, out of place hill.

A moving hill, with freezingly cold mist hanging at the base of the strange incline, obscuring it from sight.

"H-hello?" she said carefully as she moved to round the hill, passing through a wisp of cold vapor which set her hairs on end. 

Jumping back, she stared in shock at the low hanging cloud.

"That… how… No cloud can be that cold," she stated to herself while looking at one of her hooves. Slowly stepping closer, she pressed into the cold vapor. The second she did, a bone numbing chill traveled up her leg and she quickly pulled back.

"What the hay is going on in this forest?"

Not finding any answers, and not wanting to remain standing there, she nervously continued on her way; following the oddly shaped hill's circumference until a faint, unusual glow became visible through the mist. Intrigued, she looked left, then right to see if she was still reasonably safe. 

Satisfied that she was, she turned back to the faint blue light. 

Biting her lower lip in contemplating thought, she shrugged, steeled herself and stepped into the biting cold of the low hanging mist.

Silence.

"GHYAAAAAAAA!"

Pinkie Pie pronked through the forest with confidence, eyes set in determination; locked on the direction this mysterious flash of light came from, never blinking. 

Macintosh and Bellflower, both following after the pronking pony, had given voice against her idea of finding out what this flash of light was, but neither were able to persuade the energetic mare as she set off before they even finished voicing their concerns. 

Not wanting to be left in a forest they knew even less than Pinkie, they carefully followed after the Element of Laughter with nervously shifting eyes; the sounds of the forest, or lack of them at present, only added to their feeling of unease; their most basic of instincts screaming at them to turn around and flee.

Of course, this basic instinct also seemed to be absent in the pronking pink pony, seeing how she laughed and giggled at the shadows around them more often than they screamed in fright. 

"Are you sure we shouldn't go back to town?" Bellflower tried once again, looking at the shadows around her, expecting anything to pop out and attack them.

"Nope," Pinkie replied readily, not slowing down. "You heard what Twilight said. Going back to Ponyville is what that meany ghost want."

"So instead we go deeper into the forest?" Bellflower stammered. 

"Yup!" Pinkie exclaimed. 

"Why?" Macintosh asked, swiveling his lantern from one shadow to the next.

"To find the others of course, silly."

"By going towards whatever that flash of light was?" Bellflower asked.

"Now you're getting it!" Pinkie said with glee.

"Why?" Bellflower wanted to know. "What makes you think our friends are wherever this light came from?"

"Because Zecora gave us a neat bottle with flash lightning in it back when we were looking for Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle last time they were here. I'm sure she used one of those flash thingys to tell us where she is now."

Bellflower and Macintosh stopped in their tracks, looking at the pronking pony. Somehow, that made just a bit too much sense. 

With a shiver going down both spines, they picked up the pace, fearful of what else this night would bring.

For minutes they followed after Pinkie Pie in silence, not wanting to draw any more attention to themselves than they already had, when a resounding SPLAT made both ponies flinch in fright.

Pinkie, too, had come to a stop; looking bemused at her hooves which had disappeared halfway into the water lodged ground.

Pulling a hoof free with a wet squelch, a string of muck still clinging on for a moment until the pull of gravity returned it to the ground, Pinkie looked up and at the rest of the terrain.

"Huh, soggy." 

Putting her hoof back down, she continued onwards. Though this time she walked, as the ground wouldn't allow for much else. Still, she did not allow this to lower her spirit. Though, had Bellflower, or Macintosh looked at her face, they would have stumbled in shock upon the sight of the slight frown compromising her trademark smile.

Despite her upbeat attitude, Pinkie Pie did have reasons to frown and she didn't like it one bit. 

That ghost had scared her and her friends. Not once, but twice. And even worse, this ghost and its baddy bad friends were also responsible for Danny, and Zecora suddenly vanishing. And though her dearest granny Pie taught her to always giggle at the ghostly, right now she couldn't help but feel like the scared little filly she was back when the ghosts attacked the city she and her big sis Maud were when visiting their grandmother.

She smiled, because it was the best way to fight such meanies, but she frowned because, deep down, she worried for all her friends. And not the good kind of worry, like if she got the right kind of punch, or the right flavor of cake. No, this was the worrying kind of worry. The kind of worry that made her worry about worrying. Which only made her more worried. 

This worried her greatly.

Stopping in front of a menacing looking tree, Pinkie blew a raspberry at the evil silhouette the combination of darkness and faint moonlight created on its bark. 

Looking left, right, then left again, she scratched her head, somehow not smearing the muck covering her hoof into her coat and mane.

Rarity would have been green with envy had she been there to see it.

Though, she doesn't like green. So maybe not.

"Do you know where to go now?" Pinkie asked the two ponies behind her, not realizing the sudden tensing of their bodies when they realized the pony they were following didn't know where they were going either.

A loud scream cutting through the dark took them by complete surprise and all three ponies jumped up in fear; Pinkie's mane also joining in on the act as it stood straight up and remained in its rigor mortis state even after the pink mare had returned to her hooves, looking towards where the familiar voiced scream came from.

"Never mind," she said nonplussed. "I've figured it out."

The two groups, coming from different directions, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Manny, Pinkie Pie, Big Mac, and Bellflower unexpectedly ran into each other while hurrying towards where they heard Rainbow Dash's yell come from.

The ensuing crash as a result of their hurried pace, combined with poor visibility, left the group groaning in pain and irritation, not to mention the weight pressing down on them as Manny ended up on top of them all; only Fluttershy being spared as she lay spread out over his head.

Of course the situation only grew worse when Macintosh and Bellflower realized a manticore lay on them, and their ensuing wild struggle to free themselves only increased the tangle of interlocking limbs, leaving all of them groaning, yelling, and shouting as they tried to pull free.

All the while, a most perplexed pegasus watched this strange turn of events unfold from the side.

"Eehhh… What are you guys doing?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Everypony and manticore seized their struggle as they, when possible from their position, looked towards the prismatic mare.

"Euhh… Rainbow Dash? Aren't ya supposed ta be in trouble, or somethaing?" Applejack was the first to ask.

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie called out from somewhere in the mass of bodies. "We heard you screaming halfway through the forest."

"And that is saying something, because my ears were still ringing from Fluttershy's scream just before that," Rarity droned, annoyed, her muzzle poking out from Manny's wild mane.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Fluttershy apologized to her friend.

"Is no pony going to mention the manticore on top of us?" Bellflower asked, almost hysterical. 

"His name's Manny. He's a friend of Fluttershy," Applejack groaned, once again trying to pull free.

"Hi Manny!" Pinkie Pie immediately greeted, to which Manny purred happily.

"Great, have we all met?" Rarity sighed in annoyance, "Then, Fluttershy, can you please tell Manny to get off of us?"

"Ah reckon that's a good idea," Applejack slumped back into the mass of bodies as she was unsuccessful in freeing herself.

"E…. yup," Big Mac wheezed, lying on the bottom and carrying the full weight of the group.

An awkward shuffle later, during which numerous grunts, groans and squeaks came from the group, they finally managed to pull free, and were now focusing on Rainbow Dash while pretending the unintended gropes during their struggle didn't happen. 

Fluttershy's face was still beet red.

The fact that she lay on top of the pile, and could've simply flown off only added to the confusion. 

Averting her gaze everytime somepony looked at her, she instead kept herself occupied by patting Manny on the head, thanking him for keeping her safe while looking for her friends and send him on his way back to his home. 

"So, Rainbow. Mind tellin' us what happened here?" Applejack asked while this happened.

"I could," she replied, frowning, "But it's easier to just show."

Turning around, she motioned for her friends to follow.

Looking at each other, shrugging, they followed after Rainbow Dash. Though Fluttershy, Bellflower and Big Mac did lag behind a bit in hesitation, but eventually they, too, followed after the rest. 

"Just let me say right now," Rainbow Dash added as if there hadn't been a lull in the conversation, "I was just caught off guard when I found him."

"Found who?" asked Applejack.

"Is it Danny?" Pinkie Pie asked, hopeful but worried.

"No," Rainbow Dash shook her head, "Not Danny." Stopping, she took a deep breath as she looked at the fog covered beast she first mistook for a hill. "Him!"

Looking around, Applejack scratched herself behind an ear, "... Mind giving us a clue what we're lookin' at?" 

"Just follow the light," Rainbow Dash told her, pointing a hoof.

Squinting her eyes, Applejack now noticed the faint light coming from deep into the mist.

Stepping besides her, Rarity, too, saw the faint illumination just barely shining through the layer of mist surrounding the base of the odd shaped incline. "Is that what made that flash of light we saw earlier?" 

"Don't know," said Rainbow Dash, frowning pensively. 

"But what was it that scared you so much?" Bellflower hesitantly asked.

"Hey," Rainbow looked at her adoptive sister's caretaker, "I didn't get scared. I was just taken by surprise."

"Not important right now, Dash," Applejack said sternly, "Just tell us what spooked ya…" Blinking, she realized the rather poor choice of words and smiled sheepishly. "Eh, ya know what Ah mean."

Snorting, Rainbow Dash looked at the creature she first mistook for a hill. "You see that hydra over there?" She asked them, and everypony reacted exactly how she expected them to; a shocked jerk back, eyes wide and shifting around, ears perked, and a barely audible, frightened whimper from Fluttershy. Though none of them seemed to see the beast she knew was there. "Yeah, neither did I, at first."

"You mean there is a hydra here? As in, right HERE!?" Rarity demanded.

"Yeah, right there," Rainbow nodded once towards the misidentified hill. "Though, that's not the scary part."

"Then what is?" Macintosh asked, voice wracked with nerves. 

"What happened to him," and with a powerful flap of her wings, she created a gust of air which blew away the obscuring fog layer, revealing the five heads of the hydra locked in place on the ground by a thick layer of ice encasing them wholly, save for small holes for the beast to breath through. 

Everypony, save Rainbow Dash, reared back in shock.

"Told ya," she said matter of factly, then created another gust of wind, revealing the ice encased legs as well. "Whatever this guy tried to attack, it certainly knew how to fight back."

"A- actually," Fluttershy said meekly, eyes wide, "it's a she."

Those not too shocked by what they were seeing turned to look at the shy pegasus, confused.

"She's the hydra Manny warned me about," she said quietly, shying away from the gazes locked on her. 

"... Okay," Applejack said with uncertainty, looking back at the hydra. "At least it ain't in any place ta attack us. A hydra attack is tha last any of us need right now."

"You said it," Rainbow Dash agreed wholeheartedly. 

"So, just to make sure I get all this," Pinkie Pie said, completely serious. "First the Crusaders went missing, then Danny vanished, only for a ghost to scare us away and we lost Zecora. Then this ghost shows up again and we all rush off into the forest, while Twilight just told us not to split up, because that is what the ghost wanted, and now we were drawn here by a strange light, and Rainbow Dash yelling, only to find each other, and a hydra frozen in place." She paused there for a moment, her alert eyes locking with everypony present, some of them nodding in agreement with the summed up events they have experienced this troublesome night. "That just leaves one question," she stomped a hoof for emphasis. 

"Eh, which is?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

"Where's Twilight?"

A gasp escaped all present as they finally realized there was yet another pony missing in their group.

"Oh, this is bad. Real bad!" Rainbow Dash muttered as she rapidly looked around, expecting the same ghost that had terrorized them twice before to suddenly pop up again.

"It must be trying to pick us off one by one," Rarity surmised.

"Okay, that's IT!" Applejack stomped a hoof, "Twilight warned us 'bout this and now she's the one ta go missin' next. We're sticking together from now on out."

"Okay, but what do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked 

"Maybe we should try and find the ghost hunters," Bellflower suggested, unnerved. "Certainly they know what to do, right?"

"Ah s'pose," Applejack muttered pensively. "Though they ran off chasing that other ghost."

"What if it was the same ghost and it took them just as it did Danny, and Zecora?" Pinkie Pie asked with an almost casual air. 

This question made everypony freeze up, staring at the pink pony with worry and fear. Pinkie Pie didn't seem to notice this, though, as she looked up at the canopy, rubbing a hoof under her chin, lost in thought.

"Or what if this is all one big misunderstanding and everypony, human, and zebra is perfectly okay, while all these ghosts are just here on some mission to try, and help one of their own who has been living amongst us, hidden in plain sight, but lost his, or her way, and us running into them is just random chance as our own actions caused us to cross their paths?"

Now everypony looked at her in confusion. 

"Or maybe…" Pinkie Pie continued, only for Rarity to step up and slowly push a hoof against her mouth, looking absolutely distraught.

"I think that's more than enough weirdness for tonight, Pinkie. Why don't we just focus on what we do know and get out of this forest without losing more of our friends."

"Phokay," Pinkie Pie sputtered around Rarity's hoof.

"Uhmm… But what do we do about the hydra?" Fluttershy asked after a few silent, awkward seconds. "We can't just leave her like this, can we?"

"Ah don't know, Fluttershy. If Ah was trapped in there, Ah would be mighty angry. If we free her, we would all be in danger. More than we are now," Applejack countered, looking at the trapped but clearly angry predator. " 'Side's, it's ice she's stuck in. Don't know how that happened, but Ah do know ice melts. She'll be free before long, a recon."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Fluttershy agreed doubtfully, looking at the trapped animal with pity and concern. 

"Don't you worry your pretty head about her, Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said warmly, placing a leg around her withers. "Soon she'll be free to hunt, kill and eat all the smaller, but also dangerous animals in this forest."

Of course, this did little to make the animal loving pony feel better and she visibly paled at the scene sketched by her friend.

"PINKIE!" the rest of the group shouted, while the owl and cat sitting on a nearby branch both rolled their eyes.

Scootaloo rode on the back of the small windigo, putting in a serious effort to control the spectral equine by making her walk around, slowly, lest she fall off again. 

For the better part of an hour she tried to maneuver the windigo, with increasing success the longer she was at it. Realizing quickly she needed to steer herself as much as she did the windigo, just like her scooter. Except, unlike her scooter, this smaller than the other windigos did have a mind of her own. And as she had experienced several times, if she did something the windigo didn't like, she'd end up face first into the snow. 

Numerous face prints already pock marked the snowy surface, only added to her determination for the last time to be actually the last. 

Commanding the windigo to stop, she leaned back a bit, eyes closed, and exhaled a billowing cloud of hot air in the cold, ghost chilled night. 

Eyes snapping open, she stared up at the starry sky with burning determination. 

"Let's do this!" she said with force, getting back in position to steer the windigo. 

Locking herself in place with her hind legs and pressing forward on the windigo's neck, the spectral equine started to walk. Applying more pressure, the pair began to move faster. Pressing further, Scootaloo urged the windigo on to pick up even more speed. Then, as both their manes whipped wildly in the rushing wind, Scootaloo pulled up and with an expected, but still surprising lurch the small windigo shot up; followed close behind by the rest of the herd. 

Scootaloo, gritting her teeth and clenching her legs to keep herself from falling off, kept going for as long as she dared before easing back on the pressure and leveling out the flight. 

Holding her position, sitting perfectly still, she waited, expecting something, anything to go wrong. When nothing did, she released a breath she didn't even realize she was holding, and finally allowed herself to take in her surroundings. 

With widening eyes, the full ramifications of what she just did finally registered. And with it, her place in the sky. 

It began with a low chuckle, but it soon grew in a full belly laughter of excitement as Scootaloo whooped and hollered in sheer elation as they punched through a cloud.

She was finally home. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Screaming as loud as her lunges would allow, Abella held the back of Eclipse's neck in a deathgrip, eyes closed so tightly the pressure of it could crush coal into diamond.

"ABELLA, LOOK!" Sweetie Belle, sitting behind Abella, shouted excitedly, her voice barely audible over the howling wind.

"YOU'RE CRAZY! ALL OF YOU PONIES ARE CRAZY!" Abella screamed in anger, mixed with terror.

"I KNOW. ERLEA HAS TOLD US THAT ALREADY," Sweetie Belle replied with an excited laugh, joined by Eclipse. "JUST LOOK!"

"NO! NOLING IS SUPPOSED TO GO THIS FAST! IT'S NOT NORMAL!"

"NOT NORMAL IS NORMAL WITH US," Sweetie Belle laughed. "REALLY, OPEN YOUR EYES! YOU WANT TO SEE THIS!"

"YOU'RE CRAZY!"

"NOW YOU'RE JUST REPEATING YOURSELF!" Sweetie Belle chuckled, looking around wide eyed at the moonlight illuminated ground below; seeing it rush past in a blur as Eclipse soared high and fast through the night's sky; a distant glitter revealing the reflective surface of the frozen land created by the windigos, while, high above, a true spectacle was created by Princess Luna herself as a borealis of fantastic colors graced the night's sky, complemented by several shooting stars.

"WE'RE NEARING THE HIVE!" Eclipse informed them, angling down towards the snow and ice covered land below.

"YOU'RE REALLY MISSING OUT!" Sweetie Belle tried once again, but to no avail as Abella kept her eyes tightly shut.

Admitting defeat, Sweetie Belle instead looked around in wonder, never before having seen the world in such a way. 

Eventually, unfortunately, the amazing spectacle came to an end as Eclipse slowed down; though she didn't lower herself to the ground. Instead, she slowed, then stopped in a hover, staring forwards in silence. 

"Eclipse, is something wrong?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I'm not sure," came the hesitant reply, and Eclipse moved forwards at a cautious pace. 

Leaning to the side trying to see what Eclipse was looking at, Sweetie Belle started to fall off. Grasping at Eclipse's back in a panicked flail of legs to keep herself from falling to the unyielding ground below, Sweetie Belle managed to find purchase and stop gravity's call to her. 

Of course it was only after the fact she remembered she could fly and, looking at Eclipse, she smiled sheepishly at the unamused look she shot her way.

"Ehh, sorry," she apologized, then quickly flew off the shadow's back and joined her in flight.

Rolling her eyes, Eclipse turned back at the unexpected sight before her.

"Hey guys!" Scootaloo greeted them excitedly, waving a hoof at them while sitting on the back of a small windigo, slowing down to a hover before the trio while the rest of the frost emitting herd slowly circled around them.

"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle gasped out. "You're controlling them?"

"I know!" Scootaloo's wings buzzed with excitement. "Isn't it awesome?"

"But… how?" Sweetie Belle sought to know, amazed. Before Scootaloo could even calm down enough to respond, however, Abella made herself heard.

"WHAT THE!?" she yelled peeking up over Eclipse's head, struggling a bit with her ethereal mane and stared, almost glared at the orange pegasus. 

"Hey, Abella!" Scootaloo said exuberantly, completely missing the steely gaze the changeling aimed at her. "Isn't this awesome?"

"Awesome…" Abella slowly repeated the word, one of her eyes twitching. "WHY DO YOU PONIES ALWAYS DO THIS!?" she screamed, Eclipse flinching from the unexpected, hard assault on her ears, which was promptly ignored by the angry filly as she seemed to climb on top of the shade's head just to be able to properly glare at Scootaloo. But before she could continue to vent her frustration further, an annoyed voice cut her off. 

"Alright," Danny half groaned, hovering behind Eclipse and scaring both Sweetie Belle, and Abella as he spoke, while Scootaloo merely looked up at him in excitement as she saw him approach. "Though I'm sure there is a story to be told here, I find myself currently short on time and sleep. So, why don't we instead just ignore what is going on here for now, and just do what we've been trying to do from the start? Meaning, helping the changelings."

"FINALLY!" Abella huffed, then leered at Danny. "You've better brought that wolf guy!"

"Hey, yeah. Where is Fenris?" asked Scootaloo, seemingly oblivious to Abella's mood as she looked down, scanning the ground despite it still being too dark to see anything from that high up.

"And where's Wind Chill… and Cujo?" added Sweetie Belle.

"Long story," Danny told them, the tiredness in his voice palpable. "Wind Chill will come later, I hope. Cujo's looking for him last I saw him. As for Fenris, let's just get down there and you'll find out soon enough." He then stopped, blinked, then looked at the filly riding the windigo. "You do know how to get down, right?"

"Do I?" Said Scootaloo, a competitive edge to her voice. "Watch this!" 

Sitting back down, her hooves back on the windigo's neck, Scootaloo turned her around and pushed down. Immediately, the windigo dove down, followed moments later by the rest of the herd, while Danny, Sweetie Belle, Eclipse and Abella were left watching with wide eyes. 

With the wind howling in her ears, Scootaloo forced her vision to remain clear despite the tears forming thanks to the cutting winds; mentally counting down as she watched the ground approach with startling speed and pulling back with her hooves at the last possible second. 

A small whinny escaped the windigo, lost to the howl of the wind as she pulled up sharply, leveling out in command by Scootaloo's actions; her hooves lightly scraping over the snow and ice covered ground before connecting with the ground fully in a ready gallop. 

Grinning ear to ear, Scootaloo steered the windigo to the Hive's entrance, coming to a full stop near the tunnel leading deeper underground. 

Releasing a shuddering breath in excitement, she jumped off the spectral equine's back, turned around and looked back up at the rest, watching them slowly descend after her with perked wings, and a winning smile. 

Dropping down, breaking through the thin crust of iced up snow, Danny's feet sunk a bit into the frost before settling down near his ankles; clumps of snow sticking to his boots' soles while Eclipse dropped down just behind him.

Sighing out, Danny looked at the entrance tiredly, knowing there was still much left to be done. "Eclipse," he called out to his shade.

"As ready as you are," she answered as she stepped closer to him.

"Then let's not waste any more time," Danny said to all. "Let's go!"

Apple Bloom was tired. All night long she'd run from one sick changeling to the next, doing whatever she could to help, but never able to do much more than to help them lay in a more comfortable position, or move them closer to the dying fires.

At least the effort from Danny to remove the cold had been a helpful change, but was nowhere near enough on its own to truly help the changelings. 

Fenris on the other hoof, or should that be claw, was able to really make a difference with his ability to cut out most of the infectious hate. Unfortunately his temperament towards Eclipse, and in extent to Danny quickly proved to be his undoing in ways none really understood. 

Worse still, this left those still unattended to in an ever declining state, some of them having even passed the tipping point and passed on. 

The first time Apple Bloom witnessed this, watching as a young stallion breathed his last before going still, any traces of tiredness were quickly shoved aside as she rushed from one patient to the next with frantic pace; tears in her eyes.

Of course, the way she felt now was what the changelings had lived with for far longer than they had any right to. Even if they did attack Canterlot and disrupted the royal wedding, they didn't deserve this, a cost far too high. 

'Do Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor even know what they did?' She wondered, hurrying towards the one changeling who got hit the hardest: Queen Chrysalis. 

The tall changeling was a wreck; a husk of her former self. At first glance, one would think she had died long ago, yet she proved to still be clinging to life with each faint, raspy breath which seemed to do more harm than good. 

They needed nothing short of a miracle if they wanted to save her, or anyone of them for that matter. 

With a loud bang, the doors of the throne room slammed open as Danny barged inside; dropping out of flight and skidding to a halt while Apple Bloom and the changeling foals stared at him with wide eyes. 

"Danny!?" Apple Bloom shouted her surprise, then a relieved smile replaced her surprise as she ran towards the human and Eclipse. "You're back!"

"I am. So is Eclipse. Fenris is here too, but I don't have time to explain why he's nowhere to be seen," Danny said quickly, looking around. "Where's the queen?"

"Here," Erlea's voice came from his right and he saw the filly leer at him, standing before the prone form of her mother. "Where's Abella!?" She demanded to know, despite her connection with her friend.

"I'm here!" Abella said, gasping, out of breath as she stormed into the throne room with Sweetie Belle. 

Quickly stepping towards Chrysalis, Danny knelt down as he looked at the unmoving mare with worry and concern. "Is she-" a faint, ragged gasp answered his unfinished question, though it also showed just how close to the brink she was.

Standing back up, Danny's frown of worry was replaced by a glare of determination.

"Eclipse, Fenris, it's time to do our thing!"

"Right."

"Do what thing?" Asked Apple Bloom as she looked around, "An’ where's Fenris?" 

"I dunno?” Scootaloo shrugged as she stared at Danny as he stood awkwardly on the spot, unmoving. 

"I think Fenris somehow became part of Danny,… or something?" Sweetie Belle thought aloud.

"Wait, what?" Apple Bloom balked, blinking rapidly as she stared first at her friend, then back at Danny. "How would that even work?"

"Honestly," Sweetie Belle sighed out as she shook her head. "I've stopped understanding what was going on sometime shortly after finding that book in Twilight's basement… Just… just go with it, I guess."

Unconvinced, and in need of answers, Apple Bloom approached the still unmoving human; though his face shifted through numerous expressions while he stood there. 

"Ehh, Danny?" Apple Bloom said hesitantly.

"Hold on," Danny said hastily. "Trying to sort something out with the others… It's really crowded up here right now."

"Our lives are in the hands of a nut job!" Abella said in disbelief, staring at Danny with shocked, wide eyes.

"And this is how we changelings die!" Erlea cried out. "Fools amidst fools."

"Hey, don't give up like that!" Sweetie Belle yelled back.

"YEAH!" Scootaloo cried out. "Danny will totally come through for you!"

"Right!" Eclipse suddenly shouted, catching the foals by surprise, the youngest flinching back in fright.

With burning eyes, Eclipse suddenly flew up, losing form as she arched up, then back down to Danny; becoming a column of darkness which slammed against, then seeped into his chest.

Danny gasped out as he staggered back, hands instinctively reaching for his chest, then looked down. Shock was clearly visible on his face. A look mirrored by the children as they saw his body fall apart into nothing more than a toxic green cloud with a pitch black stain dead in the center, spreading out like an oil spill.

With a roar, Danny fell to his knees, his eyes burning fiercely as the stained smoke spread out, consuming his lower body and shoulders first; then continuing further and further as his entire being fell apart. 

Horrified, there was nothing they could do as they saw Danny, or what had once been Danny topple over and fall apart on the floor in nothing more than a haze of dark smoke.