//------------------------------//
// Shadow Realm 
// Story: A Witch in Broad Daylight 
// by Epsilon-Delta 
//------------------------------//

An envoy appeared in the distance. A single bat pony in the typical grey and blue variety stopped a good distance from Dash’s encampment and planted the flag of the Bloodstorm Cartel on the ground. Just about anypony would recognize this as standard procedure for delivering a peace offer.

Dash didn’t even know the cartel had a flag until somepony told her that’s what it was. She thought it was just the pirate flag. Apparently, that whole skull and crossbones thing was invented by Bloodstorm himself. One of those things everypony thought was much older than it was.

And for some reason, this caught Dash off guard. Was this the first time one of her enemies tried to negotiate with her before a fight even started? Maybe Dash had made it. Either that or the new boss was much improved over the old.

With caution, Dash went out to meet the messenger, who sat still with hooves out to either side, with Spitfire and Lightning Dust following behind.

“I’m not sure how aware of the situation you are,” the envoy began. “Twilight and Screwball are both gone. Batton Pass is the new leader of the Bloodstorm Cartel and is willing to make a truce with you. Know that we have two witches currently on our side and that you severely are outnumbered here.”

“You have two witches but aren’t attacking?” Dash asked.

“Batton Pass acknowledges that many others have underestimated you. We’d like to avoid an unnecessary confrontation if possible.”

Certainly, the biggest compliment she’d gotten from an opponent so far.

“Well alright,” Dash wasn’t sure what else to say. “What are your uh… terms?”

“You are aware of the azoth spell? It is the ultimate attack magic. We have gathered six artifacts that will be able to power a single use of this spell and intend to use it on our mutual enemies. Either Starlight or Crater Cemetery will win this upcoming confrontation. Auntie Eclipse intends to cast the spell on the winner immediately after their final battle. We do not have the forces to invade Equestria and will only occupy Everfree and below. Standing in our way is not in your best interest.”

Dash folded her forelegs and closed her eyes. On the surface letting these ponies take care of those two sounded nice about now. If they just somehow saved the day that’d be great, wouldn’t it?

No way Dash would ever get that lucky, though.

“I assume you want something in return?” Dash asked.

“Only this: you and all the others to retreat from this theater. Do not return to the Everfree until this is settled and do not contact Sunset Shimmer. You can do whatever else you wish in Equestria. In turn, we promise to make no move against you and call off all previous hits.”

They weren’t even asking for much. Did Dash spook Batton Pass that badly?

“The most immediate problem is why I’m here in the first place,” said Dash. “You’re in my house and if I’m not mistaken you have Rarity and several of my friends hostage. Give me Rarity and her sister and then maybe we can start talking.”

“Rarity and most of the others will be released after the war if you do not violate any of these conditions.”

“You think I trust you to let her go after the fact?” Dash asked.

“We’re willing to give you a hostage to be exchanged with her later. One of Batton’s family.”

Dash grew silent again. These ponies were being surprisingly reasonable.

Immediately, she couldn’t think of any reason not to let Eclipse try to cast that spell. Other than it felt wrong.

“What do you two think of this?” Dash asked the others.

“I wouldn’t be so sure this will work,” said Spitfire. “If I’m not mistaken, Starlight already tried casting that spell and it failed.”

“Starlight placed her faith in just that – faith. We will instead meet the raw magical needs directly, channeled by the most skilled mage in the world. It does not rely on Eclipse’s connection to any other pony.”

“How can you be sure that will work either?” Dash asked.

“If it doesn’t there is no hope for you.”

“Nailbat also has some plan to use this spell,” Spitfire informed Dash. “I can confirm that much. They aren’t the only ones.”

It certainly seemed like everypony wanted to cast the Azoth spell to solve the problem. Dash had yet to be convinced that was the only way.

“Perhaps, but is it worth getting in our way?” The bat asked. “Unless you have some alternative plan to destroy your enemies. Surely you are clever enough to know not to interrupt two opponents when they are fighting. So why not let us attempt to destroy Starlight for you?”

Dash looked over to Dust, disaffected at the current talks. That was another thing to worry about. Dash only had so much reputation with her ilk. Retreating this early wouldn’t be good.

Not to mention it’d go against the main reason she’d brought this force down here in the first place.

“Because that’s not enough.” Dash shook her head.

The emissary could only flick her ears, confused, annoyed, wondering what else Dash was going to ask for.

“Flash Bang was right about this: destroying our enemies isn’t enough. There’s always going to be another threat. Just like how Batton Pass took over the cartel. Killing Starlight and the witches and… whoever the buck else won’t change the world because we’ve been dealing with this forever!”

Dash’s pain vanished briefly and she stood up straight enough as though she were free of injury.

“That’s why I’m here. I’m thinking about the world I want to build after the fact, not to kill anypony. I want to create actual peace. That’s why we need to join up with Sunset and Moondancer. Even if there were no monsters that’s what I’d want!”

“Oh? You talk about peace but refuse to accept our negotiations?” The emissary sneered. “Then what is your counter offer? Surely you’d have one after prattling on like that.”

“Join me instead.” Dash put a hoof over her heart. “When this is over, I’ll pardon whatever crimes you’ve all committed. I’ll give you another way forward, a way to live without having to act like this anymore.”

“Batton Pass will not agree to that,” the emissary spoke through a deep frown. “She will not settle for anything that doesn’t include total control of this land.”

“Then I’m sorry.” Dash hung her head.

“As am I.” The envoy tore the flag out of the ground. “Remember that not one of the ponies had to die, Rainbow Dash. If you’re willing to sacrifice them for this fantasy, then so be it.”

She flared one wing as she turned and marched away with her flag, leaving Dash with a sinking feeling in her stomach at those parting words.

“They were just trying to hurt you,” Dust consoled her. “Plenty of us will die either way. And it’s not like Batton Pass isn’t putting even more lives in danger.”

“I know but.” Dash let out a troubled sigh. “I guess I just didn’t realize how much responsibility I had until just now.”

“Cool. So what’s your plan this time, boss?” Dust idly scratched at her cheek as she watched that messenger walk away. “They do have us surrounded; save the way we came. We can’t fight our way past this point.”

To the north, a witch blocking them from getting to Sunset Shimmer. A witch right on top of Rarity. Forces blocking them from heading south. Dash had stepped in the mud here. Not a great first move with her new command position.

“Well,” said Dash. “It sounds like Batton Pass really doesn’t want to attack if she doesn’t have to. Probably she’d be fine to just leave us here if we don’t move. She knows I can’t put up much of a fight myself but also sees me as the main target. And she’s a lot more hesitant than Screwball was.”

Spitfire and Dust watched her, waiting for Dash to finish her thoughts. At last, Dash opened her eyes, her course determined.

“I want to go to Oaken Field as I originally planned. I’ll slip in with just one or two other ponies. But I want to create confusion about where I am. She won’t be sure where to attack or where to avoid.” Dash looked back toward camp. “If they send anypony after the main group, just retreat however far you have to. It’s not worth it right now.”

“I think the best course,” said Spitfire. “Would be to make it look like you’re trying to infiltrate the castle. You got her scared of you. She’ll be paranoid about an attack if we can manage.”

“Right. Just need a way to do that… and decide who I’m taking with me down south.” Dash closed her eyes in thought again.

“Obviously me!” Dust proudly declared.

“Uh.” Dash looked over to Spitfire. Dust wasn’t the best for sneaking or diplomacy missions. “Is Fleetfoot–?”

“She’ll need another day or two.” Spitfire shook her head.

Deathblow was in even worse condition.

“Come on!” Dust pointed to herself. “I’m the only pony with the speed and agility to carry your fat ass down there.”

“I’ll be disguised as a crow,” Dash muttered. “And not a fat crow, even.”

“Some disguise.” Dust turned her hoof up. “Everypony and their grandma knows you turn into crows at this point. What’s her face is probably one rustling bush from ordering every crow in fifty miles dead.”

Loath as she was to admit it, that was a good point.

“Wait! I can make that work!” Dash straightened up. “She’ll expect me to be disguised as a crow. So we have, let’s say, Fluttershy march up to the castle with a crow that’s me on her back. Then a crow down here turns back and…”

It was all coming together.

“And then somepony sees crows going south too?” Dust asked. “You know everypony is going to be looking for that.”

A good point again…

“Also why do you have to turn into twenty crows every time?” Dust got closer, tilting her head as she challenged Dash. “Do I gotta stomp on nineteen crows every time you want to get away? It’s a big mess.”

“Believe it or not I have no idea how to turn into one crow,” Dash said flatly. “I can only…”

Dash’s eyes widened. The mention of turning into one bird triggered a distant memory in Dash. She had another spell.

“An owl!” Dash stepped forward. “They won’t be looking for an owl!”

“No?” Dust glanced left and right. “Is that an option or…?”

“A long time ago, when I learned the murder spell Twilight also showed me how to turn into an owl.”

“Okay, but why?” Dust interrupted.

“Look! It was like a sentimental thing at the time,” Dash brushed it aside. “The point is I never once used that spell up until now because why would I? Well here’s the answer to that: because nopony else knows I can turn into an owl!”

Dust stopped to mull that over. Dash knew it was a good plan when she didn’t come up with any objections.

“I think we can make that work,” Spitfire concluded. “Though we’ll have to be fast.”

“So it’ll be me and–” Dash looked to a smirking Dust. “And Derpy and…

Dash took a deep breath.

“You.”

“Heh! You’re useless without me, aren’t you?” Dust pressed her smiling cheek up against Dash’s frowning cheek before trotting away.

Phase two would be keeping her from doing anything stupid.









“Batton Pass!”

Atop the tallest tower of the castle, where Batton set up her war room, the envoy she’d sent out finally returned.

“Rainbow Dash refuses to a truce, saving anything less than total surrender.” She kept her head down. “Worse, that specter, wielding the armor of Crater Cemetery is on route to the castle as we speak. We noticed several crows on her back.”

Rainbow Dash was coming straight for Batton?! This was the worst-case scenario. She was up to something. She had to be! How much of this had that insufferable trickster planned out from the very beginning?

“Whatever she’s up to!” Batton declared with a flap of her wings. “She doesn’t have the raw strength to force her way in. But do not underestimate her. She has some more elaborate plans. Put everypony on full alert. Leave no gaps for her to slip through. Report anything suspicious. Kill any crow or bird or mouse that tries to cross into our territory.”

She could see some hesitancy at the last part of the order. No matter how disciplined, that old superstition about killing crows ran deep.

“Do it!” Batton ordered, banishing all doubt from her followers who rushed off to obey.

Batton turned to look out the window and into the forest – towards the east. The opposite direction from which Rainbow Dash was coming. Or was that merely what the pegasus wanted her to think?

Batton bit her lip harder. She was getting paranoid. Just stick to the plan for as long as possible!









Finally, Sweetie Belle was in sight of the castle again. At least, from the east side she could look up and see the tallest tower of the castle.

Sweetie Belle did the best she could come up with: hiding in the bushes. That worked up until a certain point. That point being when the enemy actually appeared. They got only a little closer before finding swarms of them.

“We won’t be able to get much closer than this,” Saccharine warned.

They were on high guard too, ponies circling up above and positioning at every corner of the grounds like they had no idea where an attack might come from.

“Um! Well they look like somepony is about to attack,” said Sweetie Belle. “Maybe we just need to wait a little while until then? Then we’ll have a distraction. Maybe.”

It was the best she could come up with. She looked at one of her spare Sweetiebots. There were three left. She could maybe use one to make her own distraction if there weren’t so many ponies around. There were like, layers of them, out in the field and near the castle walls, then probably more inside. It’d have to be something absolutely insane for all of them to leave their posts.

How did ponies come up with rescue plans in movies and stuff? There wasn’t even kind of an opening in all this!

Air vent? None that went this far outside. Potato truck? Sweetie Belle did look but couldn’t find one. Pretending to be a guard? They didn’t have any robots! Pizza delivery pony? Zombie? Mind control! Cardboard box? Shapeshifting. No…

Sweetie ducked deeper under the bushes as a pony flew overhead. She was lucky she even got this close! Hopefully, somepony or something attacked the castle soon. Her nutrition tank was getting lower every second.

Before long she did notice some odd behavior. It was like the guards were giving somepony a wide berth. The head bat pony, maybe? Sweetie didn’t remember the name.

She watched closely to find it much worse than that. It was one of the two witches! The older one, Auntie Eclipse! This had to be the worst-case scenario.

The witch trotted about slowly, looking around as she chastised the guards for something, Sweetie only making out the last part.

“You have all these sentries, and you can’t even find a blasted filly?” Eclipse asked.

Sweetie was glad she didn’t have a heart just then! Was she talking about Sweetie Belle?!

Eclipse noticed her immediately after that, looking right at the bush with a thin smile.

Wait! No. It wasn’t her. It was…

Something like a spear fired from Eclipse at one of the spare Sweetiebots, impaling it and pinning it to a tree, totally destroyed. The others gapped at the sight, including Sweetie Belle.

She noticed that the bot had been slightly exposed just at the last minute. It was remotely possible Eclipse had only seen that! She didn’t dare move just in case.

“Another thing you missed,” said Eclipse.

“There are more of those left?” The soldier next to her asked. “We should search–”

“You’re not exactly good at that,” Eclipse warned. “My old bones need a moment to rest. The ponies in this section will search the castle for my target and I will relieve you of sentry duty for this portion of the wall.”

They stopped, surprised, before one of them spoke up.

“Batton Pass said you weren’t cooperating with us. We have orders from her to–”

“And did she sound happy about that? You should be thankful I’m unwilling to let this… Rainbow Dash character slip in,” said Eclipse. “If Batton gives you any trouble, simply say I gave you no choice. It’s the truth.”

It seemed like they weren’t sure how reluctant they should be to accept her ‘help’. But it did work. The whole side Sweetie Belle was facing began to clear out before her very eyes. Other than the aerial patrols soon it was just Eclipse sitting in the empty field facing Sweetie Belle’s direction.

Briefly, she thought Eclipse might call her out of hiding now they were alone. But no.

Had the witch really not noticed Sweetie Belle? Was it just the one bot?

Eclipse sat for a moment, writing something down on a slip of paper. Then she took out an amulet, maybe something closer to a crystal ball, and studied the green glow on it. She quickly grew frustrated with whatever she saw and put it away and burned the small slip of paper.

The witch’s ears perked up just then. She noticed something else in the woods not close to Sweetie, something significant enough for her horn to light up at the ready. Though Sweetie had no idea what it was, it filled her with relief to see Eclipse slowly trotting toward it, turning her back on Sweetie as she approached.

Sweetie looked up to see the aerial patrol passing by once again. This was the best distraction she would get!

“The way is open,” Sweetie Belle whispered to Saccharine.

“This looks suspicious. It may be a trap.”

“We’re not getting another chance. And what would she need to trap us for, anyway? A pony like that could just grab us whenever she feels like it.”

Unable to counter that point, Saccharine followed Sweetie Belle.









Sometime after Fluttershy departed toward the castle, Dash reverted to a pony, then to an owl, and then flew out into the forest. Oh, did her little owl wings ever hurt! But she only needed to fly a short distance and it was easier to fly when you were smaller for whatever reason.

She found two ponies wearing heavy cloaks and carrying what looked like a few essentials, Derpy and Dust in disguise as fleeing refugees, and landed on the latter’s back, not daring to revert just yet. She was promptly stuffed into a backpack, squished up alongside a sleeping bag, just enough room to peek out.

Without speaking a word, the three of them took off to the south, staying below the tree line and above the brush, going for stealth more than speed.

It was nice to have a clear night after several rainy days in a row. Dash could hardly remember the last time she’d seen the stars.

A crisp wind replaced the rain, blowing through the quickly changing leaves, knocking down the first few casualties of autumn. A significant number of zombies still lingered, though they were back to their mostly harmless bumbling selves.

The sounds of rustling leaves, and the footsteps of the zombies, they’d serve to obscure their own presence. Yet it cut both ways. It wouldn’t be easy to tell if somepony was following them.

Owls relied on their eyesight more anyway and Dash could easily watch their backs from her position. She kept it up, nervously scanning the area as they crept south. Things should remain calm until they neared the enemy lines.

She still didn’t have a concrete plan to deal with that hurdle just yet, would have to think of one once she was sure what they were up against.

The atmosphere became increasingly unsettling as they went. Maybe she wasn’t used to being an owl anymore. Maybe it was just in her head because she couldn’t articulate just what was off. But the way the trees were moving wasn’t right.

After some staring, she got closer to figuring out what. It was like some were only pretending to sway in the wind. Their movements were only slightly off but didn’t match up to the breeze like the others did.

What it meant she could hardly say. So many things could be wrong in the Everfree, so many things could be following them. Only a few would be an actual threat with Lightning Dust around. Still, she kept careful watch on their backs.

Then at last she saw it: taking shape at a distance too far for a pony to be able to see something began to twist and swirl.

Dash hooted three times.

“I don’t know what that means,” Dust growled. “We should have worked out a… a hoot system.”

They really should have but no time for that. Something was coming and fast. Should she turn back? That might reveal her location!

Thankfully, Derpy noticed too just then. Now it was close enough to see the general shape of the attack. Though the central force was invisible, it tore up the ground as it rushed by and animated the trees, turning them into clutching hands whose branches reached out towards the ponies, digging into the ground.

So fast it came that Dash doubted she would have been able to dodge even at full strength. Lightning Dust alone had the reflexes to act, her body glowing blue as she grabbed Derpy and took off into the air, Dash still on her back. Even then it was only a narrow escape as every tree nearby lurched forward and cratered the ground where they had just stood.

The invisible force charged forward, visibly affecting the woods as it went.

“Damn! What is that? One of the witches?” Dust looked around at the ground, watching the force speeding ahead, then making a wide turn back towards them. Dash would have no answers even if she could speak. She didn’t know how either of the remaining witches fought.

The hope that it had to stay close to the ground faded as the force took toward the air and transformed into a violent gale. The wind came too fast too hard, slamming into the pegasi with such might it may as well have been a brick wall. Dust alone managed to stay in place through great struggles.

Derpy and Dash were flung down toward the ground alongside their fake luggage, unable to push back even an inch. And beneath them the trees contorted their branches upward, sharpening and pointing toward the two to form a bed of spikes to receive them.

Noticing, Dust spun around and blasted a bolt of lightning ahead of them. It obliterated just the right tree, allowing the two to crash-land into the relatively safe ground, Lightning Dust coming tumbling not far behind.

Escape through the air became hopeless as the trees shot up, growing several stories tall, and their branches spread out to form a roof. Suddenly, they found themselves in something like a cave, not a single star could be seen.

Thorns, some the size of rail spikes and some so small even Dash’s owl eyes could barely see, grew from every trunk, every branch, and root to cover the ground, walls, and roof of the new cave. Many thrust themselves forward at the group, forcing Dust to cowl herself in lightning, struggling to punch them away as quickly as they could come at her.

The ground trembled and the trees sank, bringing the spikes from above down to Dash this time. She swiveled her head in every direction but there was no escape in sight. She hooted, though Dust undoubtedly knew the only solution available already.

“You think some trees will stop me?” Dust challenged her invisible opponent. “If I can break through Flash Bang’s thick skull some branches won’t stop me.”

She took a second to charge, letting one or two thorns stick her before blasting upwards like a bolt of lightning. Dash had seen her wild punches before and had no doubt she could break through a ridiculous number of tree trunks with a blow like that.

The cavern lit up with blue light and the ceiling stopped descending for a second as electricity poured across it.

And yet, when the flash faded, the wall of spikes above remained unchanged.

“What the?!” Dust gritted her teeth, looking up at the ceiling as it came back down to them. “Something is pumping serious magic into that! Even if I hit it hard enough to break my other leg…”

The wall of spikes was too close! What else could Dash possibly do?! It was too far to run in any direction. She had to…

Something grabbed her and Derpy both. Hooves! They wrapped around Dash and dragged her onto the ground? Dust noticed and moved to grapple them as they sank, falling in herself just as the trees finally slammed into the earth.

But no crash from such a massive impact could be heard. Dash found herself falling through the ground only to land on it once more. Only now the forest fell silent again, that horrible bluster and roar nowhere to be found.

She desperately looked around. Wooden spikes in every direction had replaced the forest but Dash somehow went down to get on top of them. And nothing looked quite right. Everything too still, the shade of the spikes brighter than the front.

Having a sudden idea, Dash looked up at the stars. Sure enough, they were as tiny holes in a swirly ocean of blue light up above. Dash had seen that sky before. This was the shadow realm! But how?

She heard a clamor and found her answer as Lightning Dust tackled Applejack up against one of the wooden spikes.

No sense in keeping up her disguise here. Dash reverted to her form and called out for Dust to stop alongside Derpy at that same moment.

“Who’s this?” Dust held the electrified claw blade inches from Applejack’s neck, the latter having the good sense to keep her hooves raised and still.

“Erm. This is the pony who lives in my basement. We’re cool. I think.” Dash turned to Applejack with some suspicion. “Are we cool? Where have you been, exactly? I dunno if you noticed but things haven’t been going well lately.”

Dust kept her death glare up, so Dash motioned for her to let go, letting Applejack fall to the ground.

“I was trying to contact the Element of Honesty but to put it bluntly, it didn’t work out,” said Applejack.

“I mean, cool?” Dash rubbed the back of her head. “Would that help us in any way? And by us, I mean me.”

“Well it can defy deterministic principles,” said Applejack.

“What?”

“Like. Shoot. You know, destiny and stuff. Like you roll a die, and you think it’s random but it ain’t. How it’s going to land is determined exactly by the time you throw it. We just ain’t smart enough to see things like that coming. But the element of honesty is. And it can alter that course.”

“Okay.” Dash flitted her eyes left and right. “And if I did understand that why would we need it?”

“Far as the Darklord sees it, it’s the only way to keep Twilight from dying on the course we’re on.”

“Twilight?!” Dash stepped forward. “She’s alive?! I know she’s alive but– but she’s alive?”

“Most likely but not for long,” said Applejack. “And that’s why I came looking for you. Maybe ya’ll can help me get through to that thing.”

Dust looked around cautiously as she listened to all this.

“We’re already kind of on a mission, aren’t we?” Dust rubbed her muzzle. “Unless this is going to call Twilight back to us right now, I don’t think our forces will hold out much longer. ”

She wasn’t exactly wrong. Dash’s emotions screamed at her to drop everything to go help Twilight, but she had responsibilities beyond her best friend. There was no telling how good of an idea Applejack’s plan even was besides.

“Please! You seem like you’re headed to Moondancer, right? It ain’t far from that,” said Applejack.

It was a good enough excuse to follow her heart.

“Alright, fine. If you can get us past the enemy, it’ll be worth it anyway,” said Dash. “I hope you know what you’re doing with all this, though.”

“Afraid I don’t, exactly,” Applejack admitted. “But it’s something I got to do either way.”

Dash smiled a little. She could relate.

“We got company!” Dust warned.

Everypony stood on guard, but Dash relaxed however slightly upon seeing it. It was the shadow of a pony, rather than an actual pony. Not exactly like a shadow in the real world but the kind ghosts saw. Her shape was vaguely well-defined, but no facial features could be made out, save perhaps the pink fur and that it was a smallish unicorn.

That meant whoever this was remained in the real world and could neither see nor touch them.

“Don’t worry, they can’t get to us in the shadow realm.” Dash stuck her tongue out at the mysterious pony.

“Actually…” Everypony turned to Applejack as she spoke.

The shadow grew eyes of twinkling blue light that made direct eye contact with Dash. Dash hobbled to one side and those eyes vanished. It had to scan the area again before opening them back up to look at Dash once again.

“Okay! What is this thing?!” Dash pointed toward it.

“If I’m right.” Applejack took a step toward it. “Well the elements are all connected, and Honesty began to stir just a tad before I left. I’m guessing this is a fraction of the element of Magic. Not sure what else it could be.”

“Can it get in here?”

“No. But…”

“But what? This is bad, right?” Dash put a foreleg over Dust’s back, ready to turn back into an owl to escape if needed. She recalled that fragment was Twilight’s old doll. That it didn’t like her very much.

“Yes and no.” Applejack studied it a second longer before speaking. “Okay, I don’t think it can hear us: This thing probably don’t like you much, Dash. And it ain’t something we can fight. But if it is chasing you, and if its presence can stir the element of Honesty like I’m hoping.”

“Got it!” Dash pounded her chest. “Lure it to the thing. Whatever. I’m the bait master general right now! We can do this.”

Applejack nodded to affirm.

“So do we go back to the real world, or can we just go through here safely?” Dash asked.

“That depends on–” Applejack's words sank as the pony planted her hoof on the ground. Something began to sprout, not a shadow of a tree but an actual plant inside the shadow world. “Nope! Can’t do this safely.”

The wood crumpled and cracked until it took on the same form as the pony who created it, only a splintered, wooden golem.

Dust's instinct was to attack but Dash weakly pulled her back.

“Don’t even bother trying to fight it!” Dash warned. “We’re running.”

Dash turned back into an owl and dug her talons into Dust’s back, which took off immediately.

Derpy grabbed onto Applejack perhaps intending to carry her, but it was Applejack who took Derpy with her. Because Applejack typically stayed back, Dash had forgotten how strong she was. Dust only had to slow down a little for her to keep up on foot.

With only a brief delay, the element of Magic and its golem gave chase on foot. The two versions moved like images mirrored about a plan centered on Dash. When one moved left the other moved right.

Something like a black hole appeared above the golem’s head as it ran. The sphere quickly grew in size, red light forming swirling rings around it.

Dash vaguely remembered seeing one of these in Twilight’s fight with Trixie. The impact of one of them…

The sphere reached an immense size before finally being shot forward at them. No way to block something like that. Maybe they could fly up but then…

“Hurry!” Applejack called out. “Down here!”

Dust wasted no time flying down to her. Upon collision, Applejack pulled them through the ground, back to the real world. Dash didn’t see the ensuing explosion in the shadow realm but could only assume she narrowly avoided obliteration just then.

Yet even that bought them precious few seconds.

They’d only gotten a little bit ahead of their pursuer in the real world. The invisible force came rushing from that pony towards them, this time shattering the trees into makeshift spears that launched themselves toward the group.

They were still far away enough to dodge, but that gale was coming up behind them and fast! Worse, they couldn’t tell where that golem would be, either. Dust tried staying close to Applejack as they attempted to get more distance, knowing it wouldn’t be long until they had to dunk under again.

And that moment came all too soon. Not even Fleetfoot would have been able to outrun that rush of wind. Just before it could scatter the four of them, Applejack made the signal and they all went back to the shadow realm. They had dodged something horrific. They were only just slightly past the crater left from the blow.

As Dash feared, the golem stood close to the spot where they appeared, just off to their left while the pony herself landed an equal distance to their right. The golem and pony both fired simultaneous shots at Applejack. They couldn’t use their old trick again, she’d get hit from either side.

“She’s onto us!” Applejack shouted out.

“She’s not onto me!”

Dust threw Dash, easily enough as she was still an owl, and jumped down to slam Derpy and Applejack out of the way. With her reflexes, Dust fidgeted about rapidly as the storm of attacks raged around her. Dash wasn’t even sure if she got hit or not it was so close!

But just as the golem turned its attack back to Dash, Dust flew up to grab her again.

“You sure you don’t want me to say and distract this thing?” Dust skidded to a halt, ready for a fight.

Dash did not! She hooted.

“We need a hoot system.” Dust looked up at her confused.

“Not worth it!” Applejack called out to her, thankfully. “We’re close to the enemy line and don’t gotta go much further than that.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Derpy asked.

“No choice but to find out.”

Dash could see it already. The enemy line! Purple fog, the way ghosts described firelight, shrouded the area up ahead. The shadows of their camp formed a thin wall stretching out in either direction, blocking them from Oaken Field.

Watching behind, that filly stopped her pursuit of them, not daring to get close to that army. Maybe she knew they wouldn’t return to the real world from there? Or…

A wall of thorns rose in their path, blocking the way higher and higher. The golem had already gotten ahead of them. Rising high up into the air as it readied another destruction sphere.

Dash swerved her head between the two sides, unable to tell which of the surrounding threats would be worse. Applejack decided for her, pulling them back to the real world before that sphere could fire off.

There were two walls between them and Oaken Field now. One in the shadow realm and one in the real world. The question was which would be harder to get past?

“Nowhere to run now!” The filly lifted a hoof and a disc of swirling purple magic formed above it. Then she paused as something else materialized in front of her face. A slip of paper.

She cringed first at its appearance and quickly skimmed the note over.

“Gar!” She let out a frustrated shout at whatever it was she just read.

The filly became deeply conflicted over whatever message she’d just received. Like, too conflicted. The sort of conflict where you clutch your head and start stumbling left and right crashing into trees, marking ‘argh’ sounds...

“I can make this work!” the filly shouted out to nopony in particular. “I have to…”

“Is she okay?” Derpy looked to Applejack for possible explanations.

“Maybe she joined with the fragment of magic?” Applejack suggested. “Never seen it happen myself but it must be like having two minds at once. A filly might not be able to–”

“Don’t insult me!” The filly regained her composure quite suddenly. “I’m nothing like fillies my age and I will not be talked down to by the dog of the idiot son. I have obtained in a few short years what your lineage has failed to for centuries. You are the one unable to handle it, fool!”

Dash had no idea what she was even talking about.

“Yep. She knows that thing.” Applejack deadpanned.

“Both of us!” She retorted. “Know this: I will not rest until you’re dead Rainbow Dash!”

Dash had no idea who this even was! But she didn’t dare turn back, not this close to the enemy.

“This isn’t over, Rainbow Dash! I’ll be back shortly.”

She hurled the swirling disc forward. Dust electrified herself and pulled Dash out of the way about as easily as normal. Yet the disc broke up into needles shooting in every direction as it continued forward.

Even this wasn’t enough to catch Dust’s deft maneuvers. It was the others Dash had concerns for and she got out of Dust’s grip as soon as possible to look once the attack was over.

She saw Derpy safe but on her back, next to Applejack. It was the latter who got stabbed by one of those glowing needles. She must have pushed Derpy out of the way.

“That thing has to be bad!” Derpy moved to grab onto it. “We need to get it out!”

“Leave it!” Applejack staved them off. “If that pony left, I won’t get the alicorn magic down here like I wanted. But maybe this is enough.”

Dust brought the two of them over and Dash could already see something spreading across Applejack’s leg. It had the appearance of a poison traveling through her veins, albeit slowly, the purple visible through her skin and fur. They might have an hour before it covered that entire leg.

“We’d have to be fast.” She turned back to where that filly had been. She was gone now.

But was that good or bad?

“At least we don’t have to worry about anypony attacking us,” Dust said cooly.

An artillery shell went off not far from them just as she did, prompting her to straighten up with indignation at the insult.

“They saw us!” Dust got ready.

“That golem might still be there,” Applejack warned. “Get ready.”

Once more they dove into the shadow realm.









Luster Dawn returned to the castle and fell against the wall. Her head hurt so much. It was like it was always spinning and the letter from Auntie Eclipse only made it so much worse. She wasn’t sure who decided to come back here.

It was like having two brains! One of them was single-mindedly obsessed with destroying Rainbow Dash, the other had so many other wants.

Luster wasn’t even sure which of the two she was anymore. She had all the memories of ‘Smarty Pants’ now. All those years spent watching Twilight train. It was as if Twilight trained Luster herself!

Unfortunately, this power was finite. It would evaporate and with it all the knowledge Luster now possessed. But she would have memories of remembering. Sort of like how mind fibers worked. It wouldn’t all be lost.

But how much depended on the strength she used to kill Rainbow Dash. As a fragment of Magic, Luster had had only that one problem. But now she had to have concerns about the future. Starlight. Nightmare Moon. Both had to die, and she needed Auntie Eclipse for that.

Yes, she knew that Smarty Pants thought it would be in full control… but it wasn’t. Just like how Luster could barely handle so much information, it could barely handle so many conflicting emotions and desires.

Was coming back here a good idea? Was it a good idea to use the bare minimum amount of this strength to destroy Rainbow Dash? She couldn’t tell but… she also had to do this at some point. Eclipse’s plan was vital as well.

Luster closed her eyes and sensed her target easily enough just below. Yes, using Magic it was so easy to see them, hiding near a closet in the basement as though they had no plan at all. Time to look like an idiot for the camera.

She threw on her cloak, keeping the hood up high enough to make it look like she didn’t want to be seen. Then down to the basement, put the guards near the target to sleep.

Even that other filly wasn’t stupid enough to not tell their slumber was enchanted when she stumbled upon them. They cautiously backed away from the spot and Luster chose that as the time.

Backing up herself she made sure to bump into the robot with a tank on its back: Sweetie Belle. Both turned instantly on contact.

The robots drew their weapons and pointed them at Luster, Luster doing the same to them, brightening her horn. But both lowered their guards after making eye contact.

“Another kid?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to rescue my sister,” Luster whispered.

“Wait! You too?”

Too easy. Ponies her age really were dumb…