Upon waking, Amaterasu and Issun were buffeted by a delicious scent. Forgetting she was now a pony, Ammy leaped up and started greedily gobbling down the food, while Issun ate from the smaller dish he had been provided calmly. Rarity peeked her head in from the doorway. "Good morning! I see you two are enjoying the breakfast I cooked. The least I can do, you saving me and all."
"Not a problem at all, babe! We're glad to help. This place is looking livelier too!" Indeed it was. Bright pinks and purples had appeared where previously there had been dull gray. It seemed they had broken the curse here as well. Rarity dipped her head back out, her hoofsteps resounding on the staircase as she made her way down. Issun stretched then looked to Ammy, who was staring out the window. He hopped over to see what had caught her attention. "What's wrong, furball?"
Outside, things had taken a turn for the worse. Though indeed more of the town had become cleansed, more monsters began to roam as well. Amaterasu sensed something else was wrong as well... something she couldn't quite put her hoof on. It was as if something was starting that would affect everything, and it made her fur stand. They had to find the next element, but where would it be?
"Hey Ammy, is that statue giving us the evil eye?" She turned to see what Issun was talking about. Her attention turned towards a large purple statue standing on a stone ball. It was facing towards them with a scowl on its face. "I think we should go investigate... besides, there's no cursed ground around it, so what's the harm?" She wanted to tell him how dumb that statement sounded. Being mute could really be a hassle sometimes, and this was one of those times.
Instead, she simply walked down the stairs, waved goodbye to Rarity, and started walking to where she believed the statue had been. As she progressed, she was forced to fight with the roaming monsters. A majority had been imps with their multitude of musical weapons, but a few were mannequins and the weird bird creatures. Though she managed to deal with them relatively easily, she wished she was able to use her old Holy Instrument, the Solar Flare... wait, what? Where had that memory come from?
Thinking about it, Ammy realized that she was having a hard time realizing what she did and didn't remember. As a matter of fact, when did she get all of her brush strokes back? Her thoughts were still focused on it when she bumped into a pedestal. She rubbed her nose. "Ammy, were you spacing out again? Seriously, this thing was right in front of you... but isn't this where that statue was? Where did it go?"
Their answer was quick. Amaterasu leaped backwards as a large stone ball crashed into the ground. Landing nimbly on it was a large purple statue of a pony, glaring at them with extreme malice. It balanced on the ball on one hoof, and looked as if it should fall over. Instead, it began to roll towards them with the intent of crushing them. Amaterasu leaped to the right, avoiding the hit by millimeters. She whipped around as the statue began to turn in place. It was a slow process compared to how fast it could move forward.
As soon as it managed though, it was rolling towards her once more. Once again, she dodged, and it had to work on turning again. Issun had an idea. "Listen up furball! This thing is unstoppable once it starts moving, but vulnerable when it stops!!! Maybe we can find some way to use that against it?" Taking a lower combat stance, Ammy dashed behind the statue and slashed. Her mirror crashed into the ball, and bounced off harmlessly. The statue smashed by Ammy, hitting her side with an ear-splitting crack. It felt like a few ribs had broken.
"Yikes!" Issun hopped down and looked at the wound. It wasn't pretty. "Ammy, how're you gonna fight like that? Our bodies aren't as tough as they used to be!" Ammy used the healing technique on herself, and was instantly refreshed. "Well... I guess that works." Ammy picked him up quickly and leaped to the side as the statue came crashing by again. "Ammy, this thing is made of stone. I don't think we'll be able to just take it. Maybe if we could deal with it another way..."
If she wasn't afraid she'd crush him, Amaterasu would have kissed Issun right there. She carefully crouched to the ground, watching the statue turn to face her. It bore down on them, and Ammy dodged easily. As it stopped however, she used her Celestial Brush to circle the rock it was balancing on and then circle some dirt. The rock and dirt switched places, and the statue now stood on an orb of dirt. It couldn't sustain it's weight, and it came crashing down hard. A shiny black gem appeared on the bottom of the hoof it had been standing on.
"Quick Ammy! Go hit that shiny part!" Amaterasu trotted over, and let loose a barrage of strikes. The surface of the black substance cracked, and a bit of black mist seeped out before the statue leaped onto all fours. Amaterasu backed away, watching this new development.
The statue stamped its foot, and the boulder it had used soared from the ground. Leaping up, it landed on the stone, once again covering its weak point. The expression on its face seemed to grow darker, despite being unable to move. It started to roll at Ammy once again, somehow moving even faster than before. She was glanced on the side again, but didn't feel anything break. When the statue stopped, she prepared to remove the boulder again, when it leaped and turned, facing her once more.
"Uh-oh! I think it learned its lesson!" This was one of of Issun's less useful observations. Amaterasu facehoofed herself. The statue started rolling again. Amaterasu dodged, and looked for some way to stop its continuous roll, when she saw the pedestal it had previously stood on. Issun looked at it as well. "Ammy... if we can't get rid of its ball, then maybe we can make it slip up instead..."
Making a square around the pedestal and one on the ground, Ammy made a slick patch in between herself and the statue's destructive rampage. It rolled at her at high speed, wither not noticing the new ground or not caring. As soon as the stone came into contact with the polished stone, it slipped from under the statue, making it land on its back once more. The weak spot was revealed, the darkness still spilling out. Amaterasu dashed forward, and with a powerful smash, broke the black crystal-like protrusion. Black mist poured out, flowing towards the sky. Slowly,the statue came to a stop. As she watched, an explosion of color came out from the statue, and soon a chunk of the city was restored to its original vibrant style. Cursed land was blasted away, and a familiar black mist made its way north unseen.
"Alright! We did it Ammy! Now, let's see if you can still manage your famous victory howls!" Obliging, Amaterasu crouched low, and lifted her head high. A mighty howl escaped her throat, one which would make even the mightiest of timberwolves whimper in defeat. "That's the ticket! Now, let's go find the rest of those Elements and save Equestria so we can get back home!"