You duck as another swinging branch threatens to turn you into Rainbow Mash. The garden is a living obstacle course of rapidly moving threats, forcing you to constantly jump, run, and dodge.
You know you can't keep this up. You only need to make one mistake then it's game over. No more Rainbow Dash. You're sure you have something in your Inventory that would be perfect for this situation, but the branches strike so often you don't have any chances to stop and fish for it.
A low sweep forces you into a jump that you carry into a combat roll. Flying is totally out of the question. It's dangerous enough on the ground!
Through the branches you spot an opportunity. A cobblestone bridge crossing over where a water feature intersected the path. There's not much room underneath, but you saw it survive several hits from the branches which is better than anything else is faring.
Getting there is another matter. A series of close calls (one so close you swear your mane is an inch shorter at the top) makes you thankful the tree is only lashing out at random and not specifically trying to target you. You doubt you'd last a minute if it was. The journey was difficult, but you finally manage to scramble into the relative safety of the underbridge.
It's filthy. Full of dirt and sticks, yet you seem to be safe. Now all you need is a plan of attack. You use the momentary relief to search your Inventory Bucket for something helpful, and eventually settle on the lantern you got from the cultists. Even after being tossed around in your bag, the flame within the glass enclosure is going strong as ever.
You wait for a moment of relative peace between the thrashing branches. When it comes, you wind up your foreleg and throw the lantern as hard as you can before ducking back under the bridge and covering your face.
You hear a crashing sound, accompanied by shattering glass. Almost immediately follows a near-thunderous *woosh* as an entire garden full of bone-dry tinder goes up like a powder keg. The heat rolls over you in waves, but your stone shelter protects you from the worst of it,
Above the sound of crackling flames comes a horrible wail, a scream like a thousand ponies crying out in anguish.
You risk a peek.
Most of the garden seems to have burned down to ashes very quickly, save for a few scattered pockets. The Loomis Elm, however, is still engulfed in fire. Smoke, thick and tar-like, billows off of it and escapes through the one broken section of the glass ceiling. You swear you can see faces in it, melting and merging as the tree continues to burn.
It ends sooner than you expected.
The all that remains of the garden is a field of white ash. With the walls blacked out by soot, you can almost imagine you're in a winter field in the dead of night.
A chiming tone confirms your victory and something starts manifesting in front of you out of teal magic. The light vanishes to reveal... a Stick.
A walking stick, really. Maybe a staff if you're feeling generous. It's made of the same white and black wood of the Loomis Elm, but sanded down for a better grip. One end is rounded off while the other comes to a decently sharp point. You grab it and use it to sift through the ash as you walk back towards the doors. The last thing you want after such a great victory is to trip over some ledge and get a face full of ash and soot. 'Chimneysweep' is pretty low down on your list of Nightmare Night costumes.