Setiya found herself in a blank land, where she was thrown from the portal, of darkness with the surface she laid upon damp and reflective. She peered around constantly, but everywhere she saw was black, much like her nightmare which the mare had wished to never return to.
Now back to a location mirroring her nightmare, Setiya was on edge; paranoid as her fears began to take hold.
The mare mustered what little courage she had and stood up before trekking the blackened abyss. Nothing but the sounds of her breath and wet hooves rippling the abyss's dank waters.
Setiya kept walking until her brand began to irritate her chest; a burning cold feeling the mare desperately tried to appease but to no avail. This pain gradually became stronger and Setiya could no longer bring herself to walk any further; she was forced to stop and rest.
Her anxiety flared up when she heard the sloshing footsteps of Emmerich. Setiya imagined his blood-red eyes piercing through the darkness, his voice ringing deep within her skull, and the metal mace he carries skidding across the black waters with an intent to slaughter.
Setiya's heart quivered and her body trembled to know that Emmerich's skulking crept near. For fear of being assaulted by the one who killed Flint, Setiya forced her body to inch up off the ground in a pitiful attempt to escape assured destruction.
And there he was, blending into the ever-encroaching blackness, staring her down. She couldn't move; her body was afraid, and as Emmerich chortled, Setiya coward into despair.
It was the end for her. She lost her fiance, her village of friends, and now she's about to lose her life. Setiya didn't want to die; there was so much she had to do, what needed to be done, and then she prayed as a last resort.
Emmerich chuckled to himself. "I can smell your fear; it's intoxicating."
Emmerich's hand gripped and pulled Setiya's mane, raising her into the air as she shrieked in pain, and slamming her against the watery surface with a resounding splat.
He submerged Setiya's head into the mysterious liquid. She kicked and screamed trying to break away, but Emmerich wouldn't relent.
"Take it all in."
The water was dark and tasted metallic, Setiya struggled to breathe as she continued to flail in horror. Emmerich chuckled, pushing the ailing mare further into the murky depths until she stopped moving.
"Oh...done already?"
Emmerich yanked Setiya out of the black water. Her body shook as she convulsed and vomited the black substance. He thrashed the weakened mare against the surface and laughed.
"You are a gift to relish," he said in a dark tone. "I enjoyed making your life a living nightmare; the misery you responded with was extraordinary. Our time together has been special."
Setiya gathered what little energy she had to crawl away. Her eyes were stained with tears, her mouth slightly agape in shock, and her body fought against her every action; exhausted from trying, and then she just stopped.
She inhaled through her nose, drawing in heavy breaths, her eyes gazed forward in a daze. The black substance seeped from her mouth and made the ailing mare retch in pain.
In her mind, Setiya thought of her new friends, the king, queen, and their children. She imagined Flint's distant body and stared at his warm smile. He was so happy, and Setiya emulated him, although looking quite pitiful.
She wasn't anything like Flint: brave, courageous, smart, or charismatic. She was a weakling, a quitter, and an idiot.
How foolish, she thought.
Emmerich stood over her body and clutched her mane once again as the mare reeled back. The soulless wretch lowered his head as painful grunts escaped Setiya's weakened lips.
"You are going to die," he uttered in her ears. "It's a shame...that an object for pain such as yourself won't be around anymore."
Perhaps this was for the best if she died. It'd be better if Setiya stopped trying. Of course, she would think that, how couldn't she? All Setiya has ever done up to this point was try and fail, nearly die, and weep when she couldn't do anything to help others. Perhaps this was her cruel fate; she was always destined to fail.
Setiya then contemplated something else: if Flint was in my place, would he keep trying? Of course, he would, he's Flint. He never truly gave up, even at the end of his life, he made sure I got away from Emmerich.
The mare wept not because of her impending death, but for wasting the last act of kindness of Flint's good graces. Setiya had to do something. Anything. Would she try and fail? Maybe...but it was better to try and fail than to not try at all.
That cold-hearted blackguard has taken too much from everyone, Setiya thought to herself. I can't let him win! I have to do this!
Setiya got angry, and thought to herself once again, You have to get up and respect Flint's good graces. Flint wouldn't take this laying down, he'd fight or run. He never gave up. Get up, Setiya. Get up and honor Flint!
Emmerich raised his metal mace above his head, glaring at Setiya's withering body. He drops his mace unto the mare, but Setiya leaped forward and dodged his attack. She then fell back on the ground and began to crawl away, fighting through the pain.
Emmerich laughed. "Look who's awake. A desperate bid to escape my clutches? Good. I love it when they struggle."
Emmerich stomped over to Setiya, slamming his mace to smash her body, but the mare attempted to evade his every strike.
"You can't get away, little pony," he let out in a euphoric tone, kicking Setiya in the stomach.
The mare yowled as blood spat out from her mouth, yet she kept crawling away. Emmerich kicked her again, enjoying her shouting in distress.
"I will never tire of this little game," he chuckled, "however, all things must end."
Emmerich pinned Setiya down by stomping on her back. A screech of agony escaped Setiya's lips.
Emmerich gripped her mane and rose his metal mace once more to smash Setiya. She turned with all her strength to look at Emmerich's bloody-red eyes with a gaze of defiance. She breathed heavily with a fuming rage, pulling against Emmerich's power with all her might, making an effort to escape. She attempted to ignore the pain her head felt with Emmerich yanking her mane.
Emmerich chortled in a gargled tone. "Yes, that's it. That's the face the poor stallion made that day," he said, referring to Flint. "The fool continued to put up a fight despite his situation. I guess he edified you a few things before he perished."
"He...is no...fool!" Setiya shouted vehemently.
She could no longer run away, no matter how hard she struggled. Setiya had finally decided to stand against Emmerich in an attempt to escape his murderous grip.
Something deep inside Setiya reacted to her act of resistance. Her brand began to glow an eerie purple and black as it burned her chest.
Emmerich slammed his mace onto Setiya, but in an effulgent purple flash, his mace collided with something else. Emmerich witnessed a black tentacle clenching his mace.
"Ah...anonymity within you," Emmerich uttered. "The incomplete brand I etched upon your chest...you activated it. How did you...?"
The black tentacle forced Emmerich away from Setiya as another one lifted her on her hooves gently. Setiya's coat was a dark purple, her mane was black, and her face was obscured in a shadowy vortex.
An echoing sound of integral incoherence came from Setiya; it was scattered and distant, and it directed anger and animosity toward Emmerich.
He chortled. "Lost all sense, have you? Resorted to beastly impulses? Very well, I shall entertain you for a short while."
Setiya, without a single word, lunges at Emmerich in an attempt to swat him with her black tentacles. The black-armored menace rushes at her as well and they collide in a heavy smash that rippled the watery surface beneath them.
Setiya's tentacles and Emmerich's mace struck one another in a fast-paced brawl, neither side letting up until Setiya showed a moment of weakness as the black menace's mace strikes her body.
Setiya was flung in the air with a mighty blow before crashing across the surface and skidded to a grinding halt.
"Your heart beats evermore; faster...with no signs of slowing down," he said. "To fight, to struggle against certain doom...it's a beautiful song."
The black tentacles gently put Setiya on her hooves once again. She screamed in a senseless manner, calling out Emmerich's name in a distorted voice.
Emmerich tittered at her. "Then come at me and I'll demonstrate where you truly stand."
They fought and collided again, with Setiya losing every interaction, however, she never relented her assault. She got faster and stronger, more resilient, and eventually, she managed to gain a hit on Emmerich's helmet, knocking the mace out of his hand.
Emmerich was forced to step back and regain his footing, but Setiya slammed her body against him with a monstrous impact and caused Emmerich to crash on the watery surface with a loud boom.
Setiya mounted atop of Emmerich and repeatedly smashed his helmet in a vicious and violent display of wrath. She screamed and hollered before one final slam onto his black helm.
Raspy breathed, Setiya slid off of Emmerich and fell to the surface in exhaustion. Just before she could rest and compose herself, Emmerich arose, grabbing Setiya and punching her face with a heavy impact, sending the mare sprawled out atop the reflective surface.
His helm didn't have a single dent.
"That was a paltry display of power," Emmerich said, taunting Setiya's newfound strength. "Did you think it would be so easy? Foolish child."
Setiya couldn't recover from the surface; she had completely depleted her energy and laid there as her new form vanish in a puff of dark smoke. She was powerless and unconscious; she was at the mercy of Emmerich.
Emmerich sauntered to her and grabbed his metal mace. He glared at Setiya's face, her eyes had lost their color and feigned death. Emmerich raised his mace to pummel Setiya into a paste, however, he ceased his assault and lowered his mighty weapon.
Emmerich chortled. "Not yet," he uttered under his lips. "I will let you live, let you oppose me again. I crave more of your pitiful struggle. In the end, however, that heart will be mine."
Emmerich snatched Setiya by the mane and summoned a dark portal, throwing her in. Setiya's body appeared in the middle of Zaria with Emmerich following after her.
The invasion had almost finished and it seems that the kingdom of Zaria still stood tall. Emmerich stared at Setiya before giving the order for the Darkside soldiers to retreat to the Kingdom of Darkness.
"As one gives a gift to another, allow me to bestow upon you my gift in return," Emmerich said. "However, I am a dastardly wretch..."
Emmerich shifted his mace's physical form into a knife as he held Setiya's mane to cut off a few strands. He snatched a generous sliver of her mane before conjuring a jet-black flame just like in Orbis, engulfing the strands in a blistering blaze.
After being incredibly greedy, Emmerich summoned the gray soul he effortlessly crushed earlier and sent it hovering next to Setiya as he left the unconscious mare. The Darkside army has retreated, and Ms. Frendi, Janus, along with King Enoch, ran towards their friend after spotting Emmerich vanishing in a veil of dark shadows from Setiya's body.
"Setiya! Setiya!" Ms. Frendi cried out, holding her unconscious friend. "Setiya! Are you okay?! Please, say something!"
Janus put his hand on Ms. Frendi's back. "She's not dead," he said, trying to de-stress his feathered friend. "She's only passed out. She needs to rest."
King Enoch agreed before he retrieved the gray soul.
"Come. While my soldiers secure the perimeters around the kingdom, we can put Setiya in my royal chambers," he told them. "She will be looked after. Let us return."